---Tu madre detesta que fume,--- y aún así, parecía no importarle ni un poco, considerando el hecho de que el cilíndrico tabaco reposaba entre sus labios momentáneamente antes de tomarlo entre dos dedos para permitirle exhalar con lentitud el humo, una sonrisa sutil manteniéndose en sus labios mientras sus orbes oscuros se paseaban por el más joven. ---Y no estoy tan seguro de que apruebe que socialicemos con esto de por medio,--- levantó con su mano libre la botella de whisky, antes de servir a la mitad ambos vasos de nuevo. ---Así que será nuestro secreto.--- No iba a llegar a casa hasta el día siguiente, ¿qué era lo peor que podía pasar? Con la posibilidad de terminar muy ebrio, ni siquiera quería pensar en la posibilidad.
"We should head out…" Ben told her, grabbing the last of his luggage and waiting for her to leave so he could follow. Sighing, Ben and Amelia made their way down to lobby so that they could thank their host. The man stared at Ben and Amelia in a way that made Ben slightly uncomfortable. He was just grinning at the pair. The man’s eyes wandered above them, and Ben’s followed.
Mistletoe.
Ben did his best to suppress the smirk that had crossed his lips, before slowly glancing over to Amelia, who wasn’t paying any attention. Shrugging, Ben dropped their luggage and grabbed Amelia by the waist before, very gently, dipping her. He didn’t kiss her immediately, but in stead, stared her in the eyes for a few, brief moments. “Merry Christmas, Miss Buchanan,” was all he said before leaning in and giving her the kiss she deserved - passionate, hot, and full of desire.
When Ben pulled away, all he could do was smirk before standing up straight and asking the man how much they would be charged for their stay at his inn.
"Don’t you dare leave me again, Mr. Howard" (for ben n amelia omg)
oh my god
Benjamin had left Amelia alone for a couple of minutes - if that. They were studying the inside of a secret underground passage, and Ben had gone up to get more supplies for the two. And in that matter of time, the entrance had collapsed. There was stones and rubble everywhere.
"Amelia?!" Ben cried out, dropping his belongings and landing on his knees as he began to pull at the stones furiously. They were heavy, yes, but there was no time to go and get help - all of their employees were away for the night. "Amelia?!" Ben called out again. He stopped momentarily, to see if he could hear her.
"Yes! Yes, I'm here!"
"I'm coming! Just hold on."
After what felt like centuries of work, Ben had managed to clear a path big enough.
Thankfully, Amelia wasn't too far, and her only injury seemed to be a hurt ankle. Ben lifted her up effortlessly, her face covered in dirt and sweat. Honestly - she had never looked better.
"Don't you dare leave me again, Mr. Howard!" She exclaimed, the annoyance evident in her tone. But her face told another story.
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it, sweetheart," he murmured sarcastically, smirking as he carried her out.
A line had been crossed that night. It was their fourth night in Athens, and Ben honestly didn’t think things would escalate as quickly between he and Amelia. He was wrong.
They had made the mistake of sharing a room. They were staying with highly respected guests in Greece. The other rooms were full. Ben slept on the floor. Sometime around one in the morning, she had climbed in next to the pathetic pile of blankets that he called his bed.
They never spoke or said a single word to each other. Both of them just automatically knew what would happen next, and they did nothing to try and stop it.
She fell asleep almost immediately after, but Ben stayed awake. The window was wide open. It was too dark to see anything, but the moon shone through pridefully. He ran his fingers over her smooth, fair skin. His eyes wandered down to her lips. The ones that he had claimed as his own, despite never vocally declaring it. She was different in her sleep. She was a softer, kinder woman. It made him laugh, because she wasn’t cruel hearted or sadistic. The two just bumped heads so often, Ben rarely ever received a facial expression from her that didn’t involve an eye roll or a scowl.
Ben just felt differently about her that night. After seeing the world together, sharing their discoveries, and fighting like hell, he realized that he had wanted to be with her. He thought about her differently. No longer did he see her as someone beneath him, but rather as someone equal.
He loved her. Ben had never before in his entire life loved someone. His parents were a touchy subject, but they sure as hell didn’t count. He had never said those three words out loud, and he honestly wasn’t sure he could.
An hour or two passed, and he was still awake. He wanted to tell her, but he didn’t know how. So instead, he woke her up by kissing her on the mouth, thinking the only proper way to do so was to simply show her.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Raff was at it again.
Shouting things at Brooke left and right about how he was wrong for her, and how he had warned her about falling for him.
Brooke wasn’t actually in love with him. But she did care for him. She cared for him a lot. And the only thing that he bothered to do was push her away.
"No, Raff," Brooke finally said, interrupting him in the middle of his speaking. "How dare you do this to me? All I’ve been doing is trying to help you. And you won’t let me." She was glaring at him now, arms folded as she began walking towards him.
Raff opened his mouth to speak, but she just shook her head. “No. It’s my turn to speak. You’ve pushed me away again and again, and I’m finally tired of it. It’s not fair to me. You know it’s not.”
The brunette finally walked all the way towards him, with determination, before grabbing him by the collar and pulling him towards her. “Be quiet, and let me kiss you.”
She pressed her lips against his, allowing him no time to respond. Her eyes were closed, and she rested her hands on the sides of his face. Her entire body relaxed as she parted her lips against his.
She ran her hands down to his neck slowly, before pulling away. She stayed close to his face, allowing herself to readjust. “Okay,” she said, before walking away completely and sitting down on his couch. “You can continue yelling if you want. I’ve said what I had to say.”
Woops, Amelia and Ben’s got long so I did it under a read more.
I’m dead inside.
They’d done it. After almost half a year spent abroad, without touching American soil whatsoever, Benjamin and Amelia had found the grand discovery they had worked so incredibly hard on. This would go down in history. Everybody would remember their names from that point on.
It was just the two of them, standing there in the empty, dark cave with ancient scrolls and treasure surrounding the two of them. Ben let out an overly excited laugh, clapping both of his hands together. “Yes!” He exclaimed, slapping a hand over his mouth out of sheer shock. They had done it. All of the hard work, the arguments… it’d all led them here. He was grateful, and in that particular moment, he didn’t care if she knew it or not.
Benjamin wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a hug. He lifted her up off of the ground before pulling away. “We did it, Miss Buchanan. And I don’t give a damn if you think this is inappropriate right now. God, I could kiss you!” He exclaimed as he shook his head, looking around the room.
Amelia’s hand was suddenly on the back of his neck, and she had pulled him down momentarily. She stared at him for a good two seconds before pressing her lips against his. Ben’s eyes widened, but he didn’t respond right away. At least not physically. Was this seriously happening? The woman who he had claimed to hate not so long ago was kissing him. And he didn’t have the urge to even pretend to be disgusted.
Benjamin pulled away slightly, knowing what just happened had been inevitable all along. He looked down at her, smiling, before wrapping his arms around her and lifting her up. He kissed her back, only properly this time, the way a woman should and deserved to be kissed.
Their discovery, at that point, seemed almost meaningless.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
He was kissing her.
Her mind couldn’t even fathom how long he’d been kissing her for. But he was doing it. And boy, was he going for it. She stood there, thankful that it was late and dark and he was unable to see her face. Her eyes were wide open and she could feel her face growing hot. She’d told herself time and time again that she wouldn’t allow this to happen.
She simply couldn’t.
Yet here they were.
One of the things that Brooke wasn’t blessed with was self control when it came to attractive men kissing her on the mouth. So finally, she just closed her eyes and parted her lips as an invitation.
The kiss grew in intensity, and with it, she felt everything that Raff had ever told her about. The devastation of war, the anger that trailed not too long after seeing someone die, and all of the flashbacks. He was sharing that with her, physically, and she wasn’t about to stop him. That’s what made this different than all of the other intimate moments that they’d ever shared.
She wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him in closer, refusing to let any space come between the two.
"Don’t fall in love with me, kid." (Brooke/Raff) "I will grant you one wish." (Amelia/Ben)
"Don’t fall in love with me, kid."
He didn’t need to tell her twice. Brooke could handle fooling around. She could handle the late nights, spent wide awake trying to calm him down. But she couldn’t handle love, and she was almost certain that he couldn’t, either. Brooke was way too invested in her own freedom to even think about ever settling down. She was a free spirit. She loved to dance and sing and hated the idea of war. Meanwhile, he’d probably killed more than a dozen men in Vietnam.
She was standing in the dark, across from his bed. It was late, and she wasn’t exactly sure what had brought on that request.
"Oh, trust me, Raff. I don’t plan on it. In fact, it should be me warning you.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"I will grant you one wish."
Amelia and Ben had just made an incredible discovery, something that was definitely worth celebrating. They were burning a hole in the bottom of the freshly imported whiskey before them, and for the first time ever, Benjamin found Amelia’s presence somewhat desirable.
Mostly everyone had left the lavish bar they were in, aside from the band that was playing softly in the background. “One wish?” Benjamin said, downing the rest of his glass before looking her in the eyes. “Dance with me, then,” he insisted, removing his jacket and standing to his feet. He extended his hand towards her, looking back over at the band who was still playing, before feeling her soft, small hand in the palm of his. He probably wouldn’t remember his actions the next day, and if he did, he’d simply deny it or blame it on the amount of liquor in his system, but right then and there: he didn’t care.
Benjamin was sitting downstairs, suited up and ready to go. Amelia was taking longer than usual, which kind of annoyed Ben. They were supposed to have left fifteen minutes ago. Standing up, Ben walked up the stairs and opened the door to Amelia’s room. “What in the hell is taking you so damn—” he stopped dead in the middle of his words.
Over the months, the two had experienced a lot. Initially, he downright hated her. But now? Things had changed. There was something there, despite it not necessarily being acknowledged by either of them. She stood there, beautiful, and half naked. Ben felt his face redden, but he refused to peel his eyes away from her. Three dresses were sprawled on the large bed beside her. Apparently she was having difficulty picking one out.
However, Benjamin’s shock didn’t last long. He grabbed the black dress in the middle and handed it to her as if she wasn’t standing there, half clothed. “Hurry,” was all he said. Amelia stepped into it, and Ben remained close by, helping her by adjusting the dress in the back. One of his hands remained on her waist. Amelia handed him a necklace and held her hair up. He clasped the necklace and brushed his fingers against her skin. “You look beautiful.” He managed to say, not giving her much time to respond before receding back into his typical persona.
Don’t pretend like you ever cared. oh oh oh and I needed you and you weren’t there. hEH
"Don’t pretend like you ever cared." The words stung. Because honestly, Benjamin hadn’t been actively, consciously caring before Amelia had waltzed into his life. But he wasn’t "in the business" just for the money and the glory. He had a passion for it all. And somewhere, along the way, he had grown to care for her, too. Her words were the biggest insult. He allowed them to sit, but only momentarily. He could feel a flood of rage coursing through his body, and before he could shove those thoughts back, he stood abruptly from his seat.
"Oh, I didn’t care? This meant everything to me,” Benjamin said, though he didn’t specify what exactly “this” was. Their work or whatever semblance of a relationship the two had formed over the last few months. “I was stupid enough to start trusting you. That’s the only thing I regret.” Ben paused, gathering up his things from the small, dark room they were in before making his way towards the door. “I wasn’t the one pretending,” he added in lowly, before exiting and slamming the door behind him.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Benjamin sat there beside her, shaking his head sadly. The guilt he felt was unavoidable. While he was away having a mental breakdown for reasons he just couldn’t tell her, she was doing the work alone. She was laying in that bed because he wasn’t around. She was still new to their line of work, inexperienced, and it was because of his own selfish reasons that she was in that current predicament.
"I… I’m sorry." Those were the only words that he could utter at the time, though they weren’t enough. He honestly wasn’t sure that she’d ever be able to forgive him, but that’s all he had to offer. "I know that’s not enough. I know you needed me, and I’m… I’m sorry." It was the first time that Benjamin had ever truly, genuinely apologized to her.
It was the worst feeling in the world. Not the apologizing part. The hurting her part. He waited until she was asleep to reach over and hold her hand.
