saveourearth | A Little Unsteady [Closed Log]

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A Little Unsteady [Closed Log]

Date: February 20th
Characters: Benjiro and Sadie

The quiet sound of the engine cuts completely as Benjiro pulls off the street and up the drive of his great aunts’ house. Rolling up to the door of the storage shed, Benjiro plants his feet on either side of his motorcycle to steady it as he waits for Sadie to dismount from behind him. He follows after, sweeping his foot to pull out the kickstand and lean it to rest momentarily. He reaches up to unlock the strap under his chin, and pulls off his helmet with a shake of his head to free his hair from sticking down after the drive. Helmet under one arm, he walks over to the shed to pull up the door, then rights his bike to walk it inside.

Motorcycle parked for the night, he hangs both his helmet and Sadie’s, and then moves to unstrap their bags from the back rack. As he starts to undo the straps while speaking to her, his words trail off briefly as his eyes fall on the blanketed heap in the back corner left untouched since they visited the mouth of Moss River, “So, for dinner, do you want....um...” He shakes his head and finishes as he picks up the bags, “Sorry. A-anyways, I was thinking noodles.”

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Sadie would readily admit that she'd been hoping that Ben would say otherwise, that he had never had a dinosaur pencil case because this definitely now felt like an invasion of privacy.

"I saw it when I was helping you calm down. Suddenly I was standing in a house at night, in your bedroom and you, you were so small and cute, were lying on the bed." Sadie frowns, "I asked about the pencil case because I honestly wasn't sure if what I saw was real or not."

Immediately, her reluctance regarding the vision is clear, and Benjiro reaches to take her hand. Although he had intended to ask soon, her words deliver an answer to one lingering question on his mind, "...when you were in pain. Is that when you saw my bedroom?"

Waiting only for confirmation, he nods and then encourages her, "Then the only way to know if it was real is for you to tell me as much detail as you can recall. If anything doesn't match with what I remember, then it might be more like a dream."

Sadie thinks back to what she saw and starts to recount it to Ben, "It looked late at night but you weren't asleep. Emiko started crying so you got up and went to find your mother, the hallways were full of moving boxes which you stopped behind because your mum was on the phone."

Sadie's expression immediately sours and the register of her purr deepens into an angry growl. "She told you to go away, so you returned to your room and then decided to go to Emiko. She calmed down with you there, it was very sweet."

“...._oh,” is all he initially utters as recognition dawns. He remembers that night rather well given how monumental that moment with Emiko had proven to his whole life. In the wake of that recognition, he feels mortified that Sadie had to hear the interaction with his mother. Second hand raised to cover his mouth as he looks away with a heat rushing across his face, Benjiro murmurs in Japanese and reverts to English after.

“That...that really happened,” he states and pulls his hand down against his face. Looking down at his lap, seeking the right way to address it, he cannot bring himself to look at Sadie as he speaks again, “Things weren’t like that after we moved from London.”

"You shouldn't have had to experience that at all, regardless of whether it got better after you moved." Sadie scowls and mutters angrily, "That was a cruel thing to say about a child, even if she didn't realise you were there. It's not right at all."

Physical closeness is necessary right now, Sadie leans into Ben to stop herself from growling again because picturing younger Ben's reaction to his mother's words was just going to make her more angry and after today that's the last thing Ben needs, it was time for a slight change in her focus, "Emiko was adorable as a baby."

Briefly, there is an urge to defend his mother. Not one born of great affection for her, but because he feels that he should as her son. In the face of Sadie's anger however, Benjiro merely offers a flimsy justification, "...it was complicated."

When Sadie turns into him, he finally looks back to her with a lingering redness at his cheeks, and his arms reach to wrap around her in a hug meant to comfort them both. Leaning his head over to rest his chin on her hair, he smiles faintly at the comment about his sister, and agrees, "Wasn't she? People we met loved fawning over her."

Sadie's frown perfectly conveys how convinced she is by that statement. That does not justify Ben's mother's actions in her eyes at all. The cuddling is nice and Sadie purrs at the comforting feeling of Ben.

"From what I've seen, I bet she still has that effect on people even today. Tiny you was even more adorable though," She teases, "Now I'm definitely going to have to ask Emiko for childhood photos of the both of you."

The combination of discomfort and his lack of energy make discussing his mother too much for him to delve into the matter, and he chooses to let it rest. The topic of his sister and her purring are far more pleasant.

Fading blush prolonged at her tease, he lifts his chin from her head and he rolls with her to lay down on top of the bed with a soft flop, “She has them, but I have several of us literally right over there.” He gestures with one hand at the small collection of framed photos in the corner, knowing she has seen them before but still willing to at least attempt to redirect her.

Giggling as Ben rolls them into laying down Sadie spends some time peppering Ben's face with kisses, most of which land on his lips and jaw.

"Oh I know," She grins cheekily at Ben, "But Emiko will have ones that I haven't seen before and that's the true picture goldmine."

That was wholly ineffective.

In consolation, the kisses she indulges him with instead get him smiling and curling a little beneath her. At least once he manages to kiss back when her lips find his, and he sighs softly at that cheeky grin that follows when she insists on asking his sister. He makes a show of rolling his eyes with a shake of his head then reaches to pull back the covers above them on the bed, “If you must, but they may come at a price.”

Emiko absolutely will work the situation into her favor somehow, and not for money.

"If that is the case, then it is a price that I am willing to pay," Sadie swears solemnly, the cheeky grin quickly slipping back on to her face as they lie on the bed together.

"You know, if someone had told me even a year ago that this is what life would be like I would have told them that they were insane but...I'm definitely happier now than I was before, and so much of that is because of you. Even with the Numbers, changes, and strangeness, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here with you."

The sheets of the bed are now open and waiting for them to transition into bed rather than on it, however Benjiro is delayed from maneuvering that way when Sadie confesses unexpectedly.

Instead, he looks quietly at her, studying the details of her eyes and face as if they were new, “Sadie...” Despite his failings, one such happening this very day, she wants to be with him. Not merely content, but honestly happy. A warm color paints his cheeks as he brings a hand around to cup her cheek as he struggles for words that barely touch the depth of what hearing that means to him, “...that’s all I could hope for.”

Sadie leans into Ben's hand, eyes sliding closed as she purrs happily, "That's all I want for you too, Ben. Your happiness is my happiness." She mirrors Ben's gesture and brings their foreheads together, "You deserve happiness, Ben, and I want nothing more than to help you find that happiness."

The sound of her purring permeates her voice, and it makes her desire to share that happiness with him all the sweeter to hear. Foreheads touched together, his eyes close and his breathing softens automatically. His smile spreads as he replies with confidence, “You already have... I am happy with you.” His thumb brushes over her cheek as his eyes barely open and he continues, “Everything started changing when I moved here, but for the first time in my life, I feel like I have a home. With you.”

Between moving, expectations for school, and his distance from most peers, he had every expectation to remain transient. Then, he met Sadie.

Sadie's chest feels fit to bursting at Ben's words and all she can really do is bask in them and the private perfection of this moment.

"That makes me so happy to hear. So, so happy."

“I love you, Sadie Moore,” the quiet words carry with them the weight of the emotion, every syllable clear and adoring in spite of his fatigue. His love has deepened ever since he first uttered the words, and the future still lies ahead.

Parting their foreheads, he lifts his head to meet her in a light kiss that last for a patient moment, then he lowers his head back down to speak again, “…there is only one thing that could make me happier right now.” Waiting only for any sign of curiosity, he states with a touch of humor, “Falling asleep next to you.”

Sadie melts into the kiss, short as it is, before regarding Ben curiously. His real request gets a laugh out of her, "Oh I don't know, Ben, that might simply be a request too far for me to fulfil...But I'm feeling magnanimous so I suppose just this once."

Smiling further when she laughs, he chuckles at her response and manages, “I shall not to impose any further tonight.” Hand sliding from her cheek, he separates from Sadie to roll over and reorient with the length of the bed to then slip beneath the covers. Benjiro waits for Sadie to follow, then pulls the turned covers up, and sinks both into the mattress and towards Sadie alike, simply grateful for the comfort as he snuggles in with her.

“…thank you, Sadie,” he whispers before his eyes close, face nuzzling into her hair. He barely settles before the boy is out like a light.

Letting Ben settle down, she happily gets underneath the covers and cuddles up against Ben and is quick to follow Ben into the land of sleep.

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A Little Unsteady [Closed Log]

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