First Time
When Hector got caught by the police, Stefan gave Ben a night off.
Ciara showed up at the gatehouse after seeing her mom.
" Hey."
" Hey, How'd it go with your mom?"
" Fine. When you texted me, I thought my mom was going to give me all sorts of grief about seeing you, but she actually didn't say anything."
" We've come a long way, considering a few months ago, it was her mission in life to put me behind bars."
" What do you want to do tonight?"
" Don't you have to work?"
" Nope. Stefan gave me the night off. Apparently, he and Chloe have a hot date."
Ciara was taking cartons out of a bag.
" You know, when you said you were going to feed me, this isn't exactly what I had in mind."
" You didn't actually think that I was going to cook, did you?"
" What's wrong with cooking?"
" Nothing at all if you want to spend the night shopping and prepping and cleaning and all that. No. It's just so much easier to do it with an app. You just swipe a couple of times, and boom, dinner is served."
" Oh. You make it sound so romantic."
" Mm. Well, you know what? Actually, it, uh, it kind of is. Think about all the energy that I will be saving for you. Instead of keeping my eye on the stove, you, my dear, have my undivided attention."
" You make an excellent point. You know that, right?"
" I know I do."
" And the Chinese food, that's a nice reminder of our first date. So that's nice."
" Oh, right. An outdoor picnic in December that was really amazing."
" Please tell me you have some General Tso's chicken in there because I have been dreaming of that."
" Come on," Ciara said as she pushed Ben on the bed and climbed onto his lap."
" Back at the cabin, you waited on me hand and foot."
" We are not going to start that again."
" What? Am I not allowed to talk about it anymore?"
" Not if it's about you paying me back for something that you've already done a million times over."
" See, the thing is, it's not about me paying you back. I believe in reciprocating. And besides, I like taking care of you."
They shared a kiss before eating dinner on the bed.
" You know what. I will take some of that chow mein."
" Alright, coming right up."
Ciara tried to pick the food up but struggled. Ben watched her and started to laugh.
" No offense. You're kind of terrible with the chopsticks."
" I am not."
" Okay. You're right."
" I'm trying."
" I can see that you're trying. Maybe you should try with two hands. Or a shovel."
" Just be quiet, Ben Weston, okay? You're messing with my concentration."
" You know what? I think I got it."
Ciara lifted the chopsticks to his mouth and then dropped them all over him.
" Oh, my God. I am so sorry."
Ciara picked a noodle off his shirt and fed it to him.
" I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
" For what?"
" Your shirt."
Ben looked at her and removed his shirt.
" I can go get you a fork and spoon or something if you're still hungry."
" I am."
" Mm?"
" Last night, I'm pretty sure we almost made love for the first time."
" I know we started and got..."
" Interrupted. Yeah, we did. But you know what? I have every intention of finishing what we started."
Ciara leaned in and started kissing Ben. Things started to heat up when Ben pulled away and said, " Ciara, I'm sorry I can't do this," and got up.
" What do you mean you can't do this?"
" No, no, that came out wrong."
" Yeah."
Ben walked back to the bed and said, " What I meant was I don't want any interruptions. I just want it to be us," Ben said as he sat on the bed next to her.
" I want that too. That is why I turned my phone off as soon as the food came."
" Looks like maybe we're thinking along the same lines."
" Hm. I'm thinking maybe we are."
Ben kissed Ciara and started to remove her shirt. He started kissing her neck, and she ran her hand down his back.
They continued making out while Ciara undid his belt. Ciara flipped them so she was on top. They made love and cuddled after.
" You know. A part of me thinks I might be dreaming right now."
" Tell me about it."
" I pretty much given up the idea of ever being happy, let alone this. This is something else. This is more than happy. This is I don't even have the word."
" You don't need to think of one because I know exactly what you mean."
" Ben, I have something really, really important to tell you."
" Me too. Can I go first?"
" Okay."
" I love you. I've never loved anyone like this in my entire life."
Ben leaned over and kissed her.
" I needed you to know how I feel. I just hope you believe that I'm not still that person who did all those horrible things. Ciara, I'm not crazy anymore. And the weird thing is, with you in my life, I'll never be crazy again. Ever. You make me happy. You made me happy when I didn't think happiness was even a possibility."
" You know, you did that for me too. I had my own reason to believe that I would never fall in love or have anyone love me back, for that matter."
" Chase?"
" Yeah, Chase. But with you, with you, Ben, It's like everything he did. It's finally in the past, and I love you too."
Ben leaned over and kissed her again. Then, they continued to cuddle together.
" Ben."
" Mm?"
" I have something else that I really need to tell you. I am so, so hungry," Ciara said as she got out of bed.
" You ate everything you ordered and half of mine."
" Well, so you know what? Happiness makes me hungry," Ciara said as she put on his sweater.
" We have fortune cookies. I totally forgot," Ciara said as she sat on the bed.
" Oh, great. Nobody eats those."
" I do."
" What? They're dry and make your mouth all dry. They have no taste."
" Maybe to you," Ciara said as she pulled one out.
" Okay, this is a crap fortune."
" Don't you eat that cookie? It won't come true if you eat the cookie."
" Well, there are plenty more," Ciara said as she dumped the bag on the bed.
" You know, I am searching for something along the lines of you are going to live happily ever after."
" Let me help."
They took turns opening cookies and throwing them at each other.
" You know, these fortune cookies are not bad."
" See, I told you they have some taste in them, right?"
" Still pretty dry though, not bad but still pretty dry."
" Turn it back on, Ben, your phone. I know that you're worried about Chloe and the kids."
" It's my night off. Are you sure?"
" Mm-hmm. Positive, I actually really like that you care about them. And watch out for them."
" Just In case," Ben said as he turned his phone back on. But to be honest with you. I really, really don't want to think about anything else but you."
Ben kissed her and then pulled her back under the covers with him. They continued to kiss and cuddle.
Ben had to go back to work after Holly went missing. Ciara was cleaning up from dinner when there was a knock at the door.
She opened the door, and Ben was standing there.
" Hi," Ben said as he walked in.
" Oh, my gosh. Ben, what happened to you?" Ciara said as she noticed the dirt all over his jacket.
" I must have searched every inch of this estate trying to find any clue where Holly's kidnapper might have taken her."
" And?"
" Nothing. Not yet, anyway. I just came back here to tell you not to wait up. I'm probably going to be working most of the night."
" Yeah, well, finding Holly is the only thing that matters right now."
" I know, but I'm sorry. I just wish I could've stayed with you for the night, you know? It was our first time. I wanted to make it special; just hold you in my arms all night long."
" It was special. Really special. And besides, you know, there's always tomorrow night. Okay? Right now you just need to do everything you can to find Holly."
" Oh, my gosh. Just imagining her out there, all alone, so scared, Ben, I know exactly what that little girl is going through. And I can only imagine how worried her mother must be."
" Ben grabbed his keys and said, "Alright. I gotta get back out there."
" Like that?"
" Yes."
" No, no, no, You've gotta shower and put on some dry clothes. You're soaked."
" No, I don't have time, babe. I gotta go."
" Come on, please? It'll take, like, ten minutes. Come on, please? For me? I just, I really don't want you to get sick. For me? Please?" Ciara said as she stood on her tippy toes and looked into his eyes.
" Okay. For you. I'll be right back."
Ciara continued to clean up when there was another knock at the door.
Ciara stood there in Ben's shirt and said, " Mom. What are you doing here?"
" Hey, I don't suppose you'd want to join me in the shower, maybe? Ben said as he walked out in a towel.
Ben and Ciara were both embarrassed.
" It's fine. Did you come here to see me?
" No. no, uh, Ben. I actually need to talk to Ben."
" Right, Ben."
" Yes. Ben lives here."
" Right."
" Stefan gave me permission to access the estate's security footage. One of the guards told me you could help me with that, Ben."
" Let me just get dressed, and I will get you those access codes."
" Good idea."
Ben grabbed his clothes off the bed and walked out of the room.
While Ben was in the other room, Ciara and Hope talked.
Ben came back dressed, " I can go get you those access codes now. I just gotta get my laptop."
" That'd be great. I appreciate that, Ben."
Ciara and Hope hugged before Hope left.
Ben was putting fresh batteries in the flashlight.
" So, how did it go with your mom?"
" She knows we slept together."
Ben dropped the battery on the floor, " seriously?"
" Yeah."
" I'm really surprised I'm still in one piece."
" Yeah, well, she certainly wasn't thrilled. But I think I calmed her down at least a little bit."
" Ciara, I'm sorry. I hate that our relationship comes between you and your mom."
" Hey, it's fine. It is not your fault.
" Alright, I should head back out there."
" Call me if you need anything, okay?"
" I'll be fine. I'm sorry for abandoning you tonight."
" Hey. I know you'll be back."
" As soon as a can."
They kissed, and Ciara said, " I'll be waiting."
He kissed her again, and she watched him leave. Ciara got back in bed and cuddled up with his pillow. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. Ben spent the rest of the night working.
He got back at five in the morning. When he walked in, Ciara was sound asleep. He got in behind her and wrapped his arm around her. She stirred a little and said, " Hi."
" Hi. Go back to sleep."
" Okay."
They fell back to sleep, holding each other.