orphcvs:
He kept a straight face now, but he’d been genuinely terrified as he stood in front of Russell and that gun, ears ringing from the gunshot and trying to process what the hell had just happened. All he could think about then was how he couldn’t die there, not when there were things he still needed to do. And in the warmth and safety of Bastien’s apartment, it really was finally hitting him that he could have died there. All his work - years of working for the Titans and trying to get even a step closer to finding Rosie’s killer - gone, just like that.
He’d barely been paying attention to Bastien’s movements until the other man spoke, and he scoffed, recognizing the hidden sentiment in his words. You were worried, he thought. It left a bittersweet taste on his tongue.
“I think he tried to,” Ben replied, laughing without really meaning to. He knew there was nothing funny about that particular hypothetical but he was alive, right? “But the kid couldn’t hold it steady enough, from what I could tell. I didn’t even know he’d have a gun on him. Always the pretty ones that are unpredictable - ow.” He winced as his arm was turned and he scowled at Bastien, not at all looking forward to whatever was going to come next. His other hand wrapped around the top of the vodka bottle when it was given to him, though he quickly let it go and pressed the hand against Bastien’s cheek instead, stopping him for a moment.
“Hey.” He only briefly met the other man’s eyes and then let it drop along with his hand, fixing his gaze on the countertop instead, spreading his fingers against the hard surface as he tried to keep himself steady. “Thank you, for…everything. I didn’t know who else I could go to. Fuck, I didn’t even know what to do.”
In the quiet, Ben’s scoff was as loud as a gunshot, and Bas felt seen, all the way down to his bones. His emotion had been that obvious, huh? He bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to hurt, itching for the burn of a cigarette now, even as much as he hated the taste. His jaw tightened again, and he kept his eyes down. There was no need to acknowledge what they both knew. Bastien had been self-destructive enough lately, every time he texted Ben to let him know he was coming by or that he was free for a night-
Bastien drew in a quiet breath at Ben’s laughter, lips parting around a snarl. “You’re such an idiot,” he bit out, voice rough with sudden anger. His hand twisted into a fist, and he thought of jerking Ben’s arm around. Instead, Bastien glanced up at the other Titan with dark eyes, before shaking his head. “Of course you got distracted by a pretty face. Never thinking- That’s Chimera’s job, idiot. Jesus, I should just- He should’ve shot you in the fact, you should’ve been more careful you absolute fucking numbskull.”
It was the touch to his cheek that quieted him, and Bas turned his face away from the warmth of Ben’s fingers for a moment before he was able to look up at the other man. He watched Ben avoiding his own eyes, and he thought of sweat slick skin and faces turned away from each other. He thought of kisses with too much bite that never lingered. He thought of his cheek pressed to the pillow, a hand to his back. Distance at all times. And it all unfurled on his tongue like something bitter, slick as oil. Bastien was the one to scoff this time, but when he spoke, his words held none of the anger or venom from before.
It was quiet, like the air in a confessional.
“Of course, Ben. I’m always here. You know that.” Short words. Short sentences. Focus on a steady voice. Careful breaths. Bas looked back down to the wound on Ben’s arm, and a shudder ran through him. It pressed right into Ben with how close they were, and then Bas got to work, because he felt as if he were tearing apart at the seams.
















