12 hours into Darius and Ben's drive to Texas, it was now their second night in. Ben was struggling to stay awake. Despite how heavy his eyelids were, he refused to let them close. The moment Ben closes his eyes, he'd run the risk of losing control of the wheel and endangering himself and more importantly Darius. As if the two weren't in enough danger already. The Nublar 5 are being hunted, Ben was sure of it. By who or from where, he had no clue. Which made their situation all the more dangerous. The one who threatened him and his friends could be anyone, lurking anywhere.
Ben had been on edge ever since the night he received those anonymous DMs while browsing Dark Jurassic. He hadn't been so paranoid since the day the Indominous Rex broke out of its enclosure, that fateful day at Camp Cretaceous where everything fell apart. He paid close attention to the dimly lit highway in front of him, bracing himself incase something or someone jumped out from the nearby woods. What startled him wasn't a nearby dinosaur or a suspicious vehicle, it was the concerned voice of the man in the passenger seat beside him.
"Ben!" "Aah!" Ben accidentally jerked the wheel to the side, nearly veering off the road. He quickly regained control the van before they ended up in a crash. "Sorry, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Ben's eyes frantically checked Darius for any injuries. "It's alright, I'm fine. What about you? I've been trying to get your attention for the past two minutes." "Really? Sorry, D. What's going on?" "You're about to collapse, that's what's going on. Come on, pull over and let me drive." Ben waved a dismissive hand. "Nah, I'm good. Don't worry about me." "You almost made us skid off the road," Darius argued. "kinda hard to not worry about you right now, dude."
Ben rolled his eyes. He appreciated Darius' concern, but it was making it really hard for him to make sure he kept him safe. "Fine," he begrudgingly replied. "I'll pull over once we reach the boarder." "We're not gonna be there for another HOUR." "Exactly." Ben's casual response earned him a death glare from Darius, one the was strikingly similar to the one he got after he threw his phone out the window so suddenly. Poor Ben was in for it now.
"Look at you, you need rest man." As he glanced at the rear view mirror, Ben couldn't help but grimace at the sight of the dark rings hanging under his eyes. He continued to protest despite that. "No I don't." "Why not?" "Because I'm the one that started this mess!" Darius' eyes widen upon hearing Ben's sudden confession. "I.. I need to make this right." Darius sets a gentle hand on Ben's shoulder, something they've done so often it was almost second nature to them now.
"Ben, pull over. Please. Just for a few minutes." Ben reluctantly gave in and parked the van on the side of the road. Darius stood up and entered the back of the van. After a moment, he poked his head out from behind the door and gestured Ben to follow him. He was bewildered, but entered the back as well where Darius was sitting on his bed. He pats the spot beside him and Ben sat down. "Are you okay?" Darius broke the silence. "I'm.." Ben averted his gaze away from Darius. "not really." "Is it because you think we're being hunted?" Darius gently asked. Ben replied with a slight nod. "I know we are."The younger boy draped his arm over Ben's shoulders, which was a bit more challenging than it was back on Nublar, no thanks to their newfound height difference.
Darius softly rubbed his back as Ben's sight clouded up due the tears he was struggling to hold back. "Ben, none of this is your fault." Ben shook his head. "I got Brooklynn into Dark Jurassic. I have a bad feeling that it has something to do with her death somehow. Or why she wanted you to meet with her that night."Ben's hands softly tremble above his knees. "If I hadn't showed her the website then maybe.." He glanced up at Darius who was patiently waiting for him to continue. "Maybe she would still be with us."
The tears that welled up inside Ben have started to fall onto his shaking hands. "Maybe you wouldn't be blaming yourself for what happened." Darius almost instinctively pulled Ben into his arms. It only took one small action for the older boy to break. His tough island-man persona was gone and what remained was that little part of him that was present before Nublar. That scared little boy who could only panic and hold people back whenever a present threat arises. All Ben could do now was cry as Darius cradled him in his arms. "Oh Ben…" "It hurts, you know?" Despite Ben's face lying against Darius' shoulder, he was able to hear this clearly, his eyes widen a bit.
"Whenever you would blame yourself. It kills me so much that the person I care about would think that way about themself." Ben choked through his tears but tried to keep himself composed. "It's like when you blamed yourself for what happened to me when you know that's not true. It breaks my heart, Darius." Ben's breathing quickened, he felt his surroundings sway from side to side. "Ben?" Darius cupped Ben's face, fear and panic clouded his sky blue eyes. He composed himself as to not scare Ben more. "I-I'm just.. I'm so scared! I have to make sure you and the others are safe! I-I can't lose anyone else! Especially not you! I-I-" He loudly spoke through his gasps and choked up tears.
"Hey hey! Ben, listen to me. You need to calm down and breathe. You're gonna faint if you don't slow yourself down. Breathe with me, okay? In for three seconds." Darius slowly inhaled through his nose to demonstrate. "Hold for three seconds." Three seconds go by. "Then out for three seconds." He then exhaled through his mouth. "Can you do that for me?" Ben shakily nods. "In for three." Darius instructed, the two of them deeply inhaling. "Hold for three… Then out for three." Ben followed Darius and gently exhaled. "Good. Keep going, keep breathing." They do this a few more times until Ben started to feel the speed of his heartbeat decrease.
"You feeling okay?" Darius asked. "Sort of, I'm still on edge." The older boy confessed. "Why don't we try that technique one of our counselors gave us?" Ben blinked at Darius' suggestion. "Which one?" "The five sense one." Ben nods. "Oh. A-Alright." Darius smiled warmly. "Okay. First, tell me five things that you can see." Ben took a moment to glance around the back of his van. "The boot I was eating out of sitting in the trash." "Rightfully sitting in the trash." Darius emphasized, making Ben chuckle a bit. "I can see my theory board. Uh.. that microwave I set up in the corner." "Yeah, why do you have that actually?" Ben casually shrugged. "What? I stop at a lot of gas stations." Darius snickered. "And yet you wouldn't stop for me when I had to use the bathroom?"
"You're never gonna let me live that one down, aren't you?" "Nope." Ben grined as he kept going. "I see…" Ben glanced down and his hand, his face reddened upon seeing that Darius had his hand intertwined with it. Ben quickly pulled away, beads of sweat soaked his beanie. "Ah! S-Sorry!" To Ben's surprise, Darius didn't pull away as well. "It's okay, you can see my hand, right?" Ben could only reply with a stiff hesitant nod. "Can you tell me one more thing you see?" He almost didn't make out what Darius was asking him, his gaze gravitated toward Darius' eyes, those rich chocolate brown eyes Ben would catch himself staring into on several occasions. They were so dark and yet so radiant, they almost had a little spark. One akin to Darius' kind and curious personality, the one he fell in love with all those years ago.
"You." Ben breathed before immediately clasping a hand over his mouth. Darius' cheeks reddened, making his guilt practically skyrocket. Carefully moving his hand away, he repeated himself. "I see you.. heh." Darius sheepishly giggled. "Oh, I-I figured you'd say that. Now, what about four things that you can feel? This creaky bed of yours can definitely count as one, huh?" Ben snickered. "Hey! I got a good deal on it." "Are there even any sheets or anything?" Darius asked, noticing how empty the bed was. "How do you sleep in this?" Ben pointed to a cabinet below the bed. "All the covers are under the bed so they don't get tousled around when I'm driving, duh." "Huh, that's surprisingly smart coming from the guy that eats fake candy and food out of a boot." Ben playfully punched Darius arm, sharing a little laugh.
"I can feel my pouch around my chest, the clothes off my back and.." A subtle chill surged through Ben's spine as he could feel one of Darius' hands gently squeeze his shoulder. They touched each other's shoulder's all the time, Ben couldn't understand why he suddenly felt as though his stomach became a butterfly sanctuary. "Y-You're hand.." Darius seemed to have realized what he was doing and let go of his shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry." Ben frantically shook his head. "No no no! Don't apologize, we do that all the time. This whole situation just makes me feel so lost, you know?" Darius cautiously set his hand back on Ben's shoulder. And there he was, with his hands that always pull the older boy out of the clouds.
"It's alright. Just focus on our current surroundings, okay? What about three things that you can hear?" Ben chuckled. "Your voice for one thing." As if that was something to complain about though. Back on Nublar, he loved listening to Darius ramble about his special interest in dinosaurs, as well hearing him talk about his life back at home while he did the same. During more tougher nights, Darius would offer to give facts about a specific dinosaur each night to help keep Ben's mind at ease and to help him fall asleep. It wasn't just because he loved seeing how happy Darius would get when talking about the things he liked, although it did make him wonder if he ever got the chance to do so back at home after what happened with his father. He also just loved hearing his voice.
Darius didn't bring up his father often, but when he did Ben remembered him saying that he used to have such a calm and comforting voice. One that made you feel warm and safe. Ben could definitely hear that in Darius' voice as well. "Anything else?" Ben concentrates for a moment, trying to make out any sounds. "The cars on the highway passing us and the music from the radio." "Good, this next one's gonna be a bit tricky but try to tell me two things you can smell." Ben snickered. "How do I do that? We're in my old van in the middle of nowhere." "Just give it a try. I can already name something." Ben chuckled. "If you say that darn boot again, I'm leaving you on the side of the road." Darius faked a dramatic gasp. "Benjamin Fitzgerald Pincus! How could you accuse of making such rude comments? I thought you knew me better."
Ben rolled his eyes, playfully shoving Darius. "Fine, what were you gonna say then, Dino-nerd?" Darius ruffled Ben's hair "That fruity shampoo that Bumpy loves." Ben might as well be a strawberry himself with how red in the face he was. "I'm telling you, Ben. You keep washing your hair with that around Bumpy, she may think you have actual berries in your hair." Ben grinned. "Fair enough. Then I'd say that and I don't know if that's your cologne or not, but that was another thing I noticed." Now it was Darius' turn to blush. He was still holding Ben in his arms, so he should've seen that one coming. "Yeah, it is. Sorry, I don't use it often. Is it bad?" "No, no!" Ben cleared his throat, realizing how quickly his response was. "I mean, it's nice… You should use it more often." Darius smiled warmly. "Yeah. Maybe I will."
The two were quiet for a few moments until Ben broke the awkward silence. "Um, Darius? The last one?" "Right! Right. One thing that you can taste." Ben laughed. "That I can TASTE? How can I tell that unless I was eating right now?" "Well, you can't just taste things like the food you eat. It can also be things like the toothpaste you use or your saliva for example." "Gross." "Come on just think. Surely you can taste SOMETHING right now." Ben scoffed before he concentrated on the taste buds on his tongue. "I can still kinda taste your Twiblers from earlier." "You mean the ones you tried to swipe from me after they were supposed to be a peace offering?" The two share a laugh over the memory, then Darius gazed at Ben fondly.
"Hey, between you and me." Darius reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the wrapper with one twibler left inside. "I saved the last one for you." Ben was taken aback by Darius' generous act. "What? But I got them for you." "I know, but if it wasn't for you coming to get me, and don't go celebrating until we know for sure, I'd probably be dead right now. You thanked me earlier, but I never got the chance to return the sentiment so.." He held up the licorice and offered it to Ben. "thank you, Ben." Tears started to form again, but they were different. Instead of them being the result of fear and anxiety, they were the result of joy and gratitude. Ben took the candy and instead of eating it right away, he broke it in half, giving one half to Darius.
"No. Thank YOU, Darius. For always being my best half." Blush slowly crept onto his cheeks as he took the licorice from Ben and popped it into his mouth. "Glad to hear you finally admit it." His playful response was muffled a bit by the licorice in his mouth, making Ben laugh. "Hey, if you're gonna tease me, at least don't do it with your mouth full." "The one who ominously showed up to my house late at night without calling me and the one who threw my phone out the window is talking to me about manners." Ben erupted with laughter, covering his ears with his hands. "Don't remind me! I already said I'll buy you a new phone once this is all over."
Darius rolled his eyes, ruffling Ben's hair. "Fine. You're getting me that dope case I was talking about too, right?" "Duh!" Ben wrapped an arm around Darius. The younger man rested his head on Ben's shoulder. "You know it was gonna be a Christmas present, but since you just pulled me out of a panic attack, better you get it a few months early." "Awesome!" The two were silent for a couple minutes, Ben's smile fading a bit as everything that just happened played back in his mind. He rested his head against Darius' and sighed. "I'm sorry." Ben mumbled against Darius' hair. "I just want to keep you safe." "Shh." Darius carefully pulled away, lifting Ben's chin and looking deep into those blue eyes he loved so much, the ones that are normally so bright and full of life were now so foggy.
"I get it, believe me. But, that doesn't mean you should blame yourself for everything either. I… That night. I see why you don't believe I'm to blame, but you aren't either. Brooklynn needed me there that night and I bailed on her. I-" He paused upon seeing Ben's worried expression. "Right, we shouldn't be talking about that right now. I'm sorry, Ben. I had no idea how much that's been hurting you." Ben reached up and cupped Darius' cheeks. "No, no. Don't apologize. I can't imagine how hard that night was for you. It just still hurts me to see you hurting, you know? I wish you reached out to me or any of us, but I'm not mad at you." They embraced each other in another hug. Darius could hear a soft yawn come from Ben making him chuckle as he pulled away.
"Okay, you really should get some sleep. You're not gonna fight me this time?" To Darius' surprise, he shook his head. "Fine, I won't. But you better wake me up by sunrise." "No promises." Darius winked. Ben was too exhausted to argue, he just grabbed a couple blankets from underneath the bed and got comfortable as Darius stood up. "Please be careful with my baby." "Don't worry, I'm not gonna veer her off the road like you almost did." "Har har." Ben replied dully as he reached out and gave Darius one last side hug. "Thanks, D. I don't know what I did to deserve you." Darius gave Ben an affectionate grin. "Trust me, you did more than you could possibly know." Before Ben could reply, Darius leaned forward and kissed Ben's head. "Goodnight, bud." Without another word, he walked off to the front of the van and closed the door behind him, leaving Ben to smile like an idiot as he softly caressed the area of his head that Darius kissed.
The things that boy does to him.