Closure

"Where you going all smelling clean?" AJ asked as she more so smelt rather than saw Dean walk by her around the kitchen, "Hot date?" She smiled, grabbing a bag of popcorn from the cupboard, already in her pyjamas as her and Punk's hot date was planned in front of the TV watching movies all night.

"As a matter of fact. I do." Dean nodded to her as she smiled.

"Anna?" AJ asked him as he nodded, "Good for you. She's hot." AJ nodded.

"She's a nice person too." Dean said, "She's not like she was in high school." He shook his head.

"Well here's hoping. She used to tell people I had a penis." AJ said.

"You have a penis?" Punk asked, creeping up behind her, wondering where the popcorn was at.

"I did in high school." AJ nodded as he grinned and laughed to himself whilst opening up the fridge.

"We all said a lot of mean shit in high school. She just… spread it a little more." Dean said, "She's not like that anymore. Actually, if I didn't know any better, she's trying to redeem herself. She's actually pretty sweet, and funny." Dean said.

"We're only kidding." AJ placed her hand on his arm and smiled, "I'm sure you'll have a great time." She nodded as Punk agreed with his head in the fridge.

"Hey, if you're not home too late, maybe you could bring a pizza home with you?" Punk suggested, closing the fridge over.

"Who says I'm coming home?" Dean winked.

"Oh." Punk nodded, impressed, "Good, that means we can be extra loud tonight." He nodded to AJ.

"Extra loud? How much louder can it get?" Dean screwed his face up, "Don't… just don't answer that actually." He shook his head, "I better go. I don't wanna be late." He said.

"Have fun." Punk nodded, watching as Dean left the kitchen and headed out of the apartment, "They grow up so fast." Punk sighed dramatically as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Real talk, when do you think you and Dean are gonna… I don't know, not live together." AJ looked up at him, "Not that I don't love Dean being around." She said, "But well… we're gonna need our privacy at some point." She said.

"I don't know. I guess it's always just been convenient. And then when you left there was no reason for us to get separate places." He shrugged, "If we'd stayed together, maybe we would have moved out by now." He nodded.

"Maybe." AJ smiled, taking the bowl filled with popcorn and heading back into the living room as he followed her, "Something you think about?" She asked him, collapsing down on the couch as Punk sat down beside her.

"Yeah, of course." Punk nodded, "Especially if Dean ends up seeing Anna on a regular basis."

"Well this is just their first date. Don't spook him." AJ smiled, "He deserves someone. Someone good. Someone who loves him." She nodded.

"Yeah." Punk agreed, "To be honest, it's not like he's been looking for it. He's been pretty happy just going about his life. I always felt bad that he'd always third wheel with us but… he really didn't care. I think it's maybe getting to him now. We're older, it's natural I guess." Punk shrugged, taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl in between her legs.

"I hope it goes well for him." AJ nodded.

"Yeah." Punk said, "Did you book flights today?" He asked her as she nodded.

"Yeah. Cheaper than I thought which is always a bonus." She said, "Next week. Just one night." She nodded to him.

"You figured out what you're gonna say to him?" Punk asked her.

"Not exactly." AJ said, "But I know I'm gonna tell him the truth." She said, "Regardless if you were back in the picture again or not… if I found out that he was doing something that was criminally wrong, as severe as what he was doing, even if it had nothing to do with you, our relationship would have been over." She nodded, "But… you were involved and… it brought feelings back… feelings that never left… I'll tell him all of that." She said, "I don't know how he'll react."

"Well it's not like he can do much about it." Punk said bluntly, "He ruined it. I'll give him the tiniest bit of acceptance because he turned himself in, he owned up to it, other than that… lock the door and throw away the key for all I care." He shook his head.

"It's just… it's still not sunk in. That he was a completely different person to what I thought he was. It's weird. You think you know someone… for so long." AJ shook her head, "And they're not who they say they are." She shook her head, "To be honest, I felt used a little."

"For what it's worth, I don't think he used you. Actually, I think he did love you. Even if he did… punch you." He said, feeling himself get aggravated just at the thought, "Doesn't make a difference though, he still did what he did, he can't change it." He said, "I'm sure if you say all of that to him, he won't have much to say back."

"I just wanna close that door with him. Really end it so we can move on. I feel like he's just gonna say that I never loved him and that me being back with you shows that he was right, that he was always second best… and that's gonna make me feel like an idiot." She sighed a little.

"He assisted a murderer, rapist, paedophile and a drug dealer in trying to not only murder me, but murder two innocent kids." Punk said, "If he has the cheek to call you anything, you let me know I'll come to talk to him." He scoffed as AJ sighed, "You have nothing to feel guilty or bad about. We had a past. Our door never closed. And through all of this chaos that Ben helped create, we found our way back to each other again. Let's face it, we would have gotten back together sooner if we'd bumped into one another and you were single." He said.

"I know." AJ nodded, "But I know it'll get inside my head."

"Once you see him, you can forget all about it, all about him." He nodded, "And we can… we can start thinking about us." He turned to her as she smiled softly and nodded.

"Yeah, I like the sound of that." AJ smiled, reaching up and kissing him softly.

Later that night, AJ had fallen asleep on top of Punk on the couch where Punk had happily kept the popcorn to himself and watched the movies he wished to watch. Of course he made sure AJ was peaceful and comfortable, and threw a blanket over him as she slept against him.

He lost track of time and figured it was late when he heard Dean come through the door, turning his head around and looking over.

"Hey." Punk smiled quietly, looking over at Dean, "Well?" He waited, watching as Dean made his way over, noticing AJ fast asleep and lowering his voice too.

"Yeah, it was good." Dean nodded, taking a seat on the couch, "We just had a few drinks, got to know each other a little." He said as Punk smiled. He could see Dean was happy and he loved to see his brother happy. He deserved happiness. They all did.

"So is there gonna be a second date?" Punk asked him.

"Yeah." Dean said, "She's not like she was before, man. She's really nice. You'd really like her. So would AJ." He nodded.

"I never hated her." Punk laughed a little, "She was just… well she was one of the popular kids. I felt like they hated me more than I hated them." He shrugged.

"Well she's not like that anymore." Dean shook his head.

"Hey, I can tell you like her." Punk assured his brother, "Maybe we can double date at one point." He nodded as Dean scoffed.

"That's be like going on a date with my parents." Dean shook his head, "No thanks." He said as Punk laughed.

"Maybe." Punk said, "Hey, man as long as you're happy then I'm happy. We've been through a lot of shit. I know you and AJ think that it's me you guys have to worry about because I was the one about to die but… we all went through shit. We all deserve a bit of happiness, and when I told Anna our address so she could come talk to you, she did seem nice, and she did apologise to me for saying I looked like a recycled chip packet." Punk smiled as Dean laughed a little.

"We'll see where it goes." Dean nodded. He'd never had a serious relationship. He'd had dates here and there, but nothing that ever made him feel legitimately interested and excited, "Keep her asleep. I don't want any noise from you two tonight." He warned, standing up as Punk laughed.

"I'm taking advantage and watching star wars." Punk told him, "That's why she fell asleep." He said.

"Star wars probably gives you a quicker boner." Dean rolled his eyes as Punk scoffed, "Goodnight." He said, shoving Punk's head playfully as he walked around the couch and headed into his bedroom.

Punk smiled to himself, glad that his brother had a good night and was possibly seeing something hopeful with Anna. They deserved good things coming their way.

He gave AJ a kiss on the head, curling back down on the couch and unpausing the movie as he basked in all his glory.

The next week, Punk and AJ had headed back to Florida in hopes for AJ to gain some closure from a visit with Ben in the lead up to their divorce being finalised and the house they once shared being back on the market. She didn't know if she'd be able to fully move forward if she didn't get the chance to sit down and tell him what was going on with her life now and why he deserved to be in prison for the things he had done.

She was glad Punk had come with her. She wouldn't have forced him. She knew that it wasn't a great place for him to be considering what happened there, but he assured her he'd be fine, and he wanted to come with her to be there for her.

She'd left Punk at the nice hotel they were staying at and headed to the prison in hopes to close this off once and for all.

She waited in the visiting hall, sitting at the table and playing around with her hands until the prisoners were released, spotting Ben who looked tired, frail and beaten up, watching as he approached her table.

She didn't feel bad for him after all he had done. He'd chosen to take part in something so despicable, and had tried to somehow turn it around on her because he suspected she didn't love him. That annoyed her the most.

"Didn't think I'd see your face again." Ben admitted, looking across at her as she looked back.

"You won't after this." AJ assured him, "I just wanted to come here before our divorce is finalised, so I can… say what I need to say." She said as Ben looked across at her, "You're in here because you deserve to be, so don't think that I feel any sort of sympathy for your situation." She said. She wasn't afraid to tell him what she felt. She wasn't afraid to tell anyone what she felt.

"Always count on honesty from you." Ben nodded.

"Well that is me being honest." AJ said, "It's not even like you can say that Phil was in my life again and you wanted him out of it… because you took part in this before I had to go see him again." She said, "No excuses can be made for what you've done, either way." She concluded, "I don't know what your thought process was. Whether it was Alberto and the situation you had with him, or if you really felt that threatened by a man who wasn't even in my life anymore, that you jumped at the first opportunity to get rid of him, knowing fine well that two innocent lives were going to be killed. Two young girls with their whole lives ahead of them." AJ said.

"You'd never understand the situation I was in." Ben said.

"I don't want to understand." AJ told him bluntly, "Phil had to wait on his death. You were happy to just sit and watch an innocent man count down the days he had left until he was gonna die, and… and what hurts more is that you knew how much it was upsetting me." She said.

"Because you still loved him and I was just a distraction for you." Ben nodded.

"No." AJ said simply, "I had a life with you, and it's hard to believe it now given how much you ruined it but… I did love you, Ben. You were good to me." She said, "But you're not who I thought you were, and in the end it's brought me full circle, back to where I was before I met you… and this time I know better." She said.

"So you're with him?" Ben nodded, already suspecting it.

"Yeah." AJ said, "Whether that was something that was gonna happen at one point, I don't know, but that doesn't excuse you being a part of this ordeal. Setting someone up for murder. Helping a drug dealer and a… a child abuser?" She shook her head, "You made that choice, and I won't feel guilty or ashamed for getting back with Phil, because he doesn't lie to me, he doesn't betray me… he doesn't hit me." AJ spat.

"I lost my temper and I didn't mean that." Ben said immediately.

"Right." AJ nodded, "I think it was wise of you to turn yourself in and in the process, you may have saved Phil's life. Maybe some people will look at that as redemption for trying to have him killed in the first place… but I can't look past it. I never will." She shook her head.

"So you came here to… rub it in my face that you're with your ex that you always wanted to be with anyway? And that I'm in here for no doubt, the rest of my life?"

"That was your choice, Ben. You made the decision to take part. You played me like a fool, trying to pretend you were out here helping me and Dean." She shook her head, "You can't be forgiven. Not by me, not by those girls who are dead, not by Phil… I don't think you've realised what you've actually done." She said, looking on at how calm he was. It was abnormal. Scary almost.

"I was caught up. I didn't know what I was doing." Ben said.

"That sounds like a guilty man talking." AJ nodded, "I came here to get some closure. To end this part of my life and move on, because I'm not gonna let you make me feel anything other than relief that you're not in my life anymore." She said as he just nodded, "The divorce should be settled within the week." She told him.

"I hope you have a nice life, April." Ben nodded to her coldly, "I really do." He said, staring inot her soul as AJ looked back. She was almost frightened of him. He was never this way before. He seemed out of character. Creepy. Haunting. And she really wanted to leave now.

"I will." She stood up, "And I hope you think about it every day in your cell… how good a life I'm having." She nodded as he looked up at her, "Goodbye." She said, turning away and leaving the room as Ben sat and watched her every move until she disappeared out of sight.

"Bye." Ben nodded to himself, cracking his neck from side to side as a guard collected him to take him back to his cell.

A/N: Let me know what you think!