#benny. ic.

[nuclearspring-a]

[ LUCKY ] / @savorre. full of vexation is he, with complaint against that jackass, that asshole swank. benny spits at the feet of the guy who's just thrown 'em out - some new hire benny's never seen before in his life.

then the guy reaches for his gun, and benny's rolling his eyes and backing up and bringing his hands skyward. "cool it, pal - i ain't about to storm the place. look," he lowers his hands as he speaks, satisfied that the situation's defused. "this is all just a case of mistaken identity. but this kid-" he nudges fox with his foot. "this kid's real important, and i happen to know swank'd take issue with your manhandling of him."

listen, there's a grain of truth to it.

the grain of truth goes ignored - benny watches with a scowl as the back door to the tops shuts with a slam.

he shrugs. "worth a try." moves to haul fox off the ground. "ain't you a bit of terrific - you just got me thrown outta my own goddamn casino."

this, too, has a grain of truth to it. a fine grain. benny would've been thrown out eventually. that fox got him noticed earlier than might otherwise have played out ain't really on the kid.

benny reaches up to remove his fake moustache and realizes it's been gone the whole time.

oh. shit. "okay," he admits. "maybe it ain't on you. i still ain't paying you, though."

[nuclearspring-a]

[ FAKE ] / @savorre benny goes for it. in for a penny, in for a pound, whatever the fuck a pound is. some bullshit old world currency, he's pretty sure. definitely entirely fucking irrelevant - he's never seen a pound in his life and he does not give a shit if that ever gets righted (or wronged, he supposes).

anyway, point is he doesn't do half measures, thank you very much. is it the best kiss ever? is he gonna write swank about it? no. thing is the two of 'em can't pass as an old married couple, so benny's going for the newlyweds angle.

not that he's looking to overdo it - he and fox still gotta work together, after all.

huh. actually, they don't. not technically. but benny would prefer they do, he realizes.

been doing a lot of realizing lately.

benny emerges from the kiss feeling like he's done some stellar undercover work. winks at fox as he draws back. his arms are still draped on fox's shoulders, and benny doesn't bother removing them.

for the bit. for the con. for the love of the game. this is professionalism.

(it's nice, though).

out of the corner of his mouth like some ventriloquist stranded without his dummy, he murmurs: "is the coast clear?"

[nuclearspring-a]

@vault119s / he stands outside the tops with cigarette in hand, staring at the pavement and listening to slightly above average stand up comedy. (everyone, benny included, is a critic). the strip's as bustling as ever - new vegas sleeps only rarely - so when the vaultie enters the scene it's not their presence that catches his eye, but their apparent origin. he tilts his head, raises the cigarette to his lips and leaves it there, and tries to figure out if they're the genuine article based on appearance alone. doesn't know why he's interested - but hell, ain't like he's got anything better to distract him tonight.

he nods at the suit. "that the genuine article or a souvenir?"

[nuclearspring-a]

STARTER CALL / @atombic. "you said your name was maria?" he's half distracted. swank's been on his ass lately. he's also, to be absolutely fair, been on swank's ass plenty. the kinda shit the sorta assholes that got their noses buried in books all day would call symbiosis.

benny's read books before, but there's no fucking way in hell anyone's ever gonna get him to fess up to it.

then he looks up, and boom. recognition. "well i'll be goddamned. ain't i seen you on a billboard somewhere?" he sidles ever so slightly closer. "should swing by the tops sometime, doll. can find someone to help you out with-" what the fuck was it she'd been asking about? "...all your troubles."

there. real smooth, benny boy.