Scenes From Space

Chapter Forty: Another Talk with Ben

"You look like shit, Ben," I greeted as Kuzzon opened the cell for me. Ben popped up from his prone position on the floor with a smile. The side of his face was bruised. His clothes were covered in dust and dried blood.

"Guinevere!" He said happily before looking me up and down. "Somehow you look worse." I walked across the cell and slid down the wall so I was sitting next to Ben. I pulled the cork out of the bottle and handed it to Ben. He took a long drink.

"You knew that it was Zymerian on board, didn't you?" I asked. "That's why you insisted on trading places with me?" I looked his face over again. It seemed to be healing up okay without advanced treatment.

"I knew, and I wasn't going to put you in this cell where he could do anything he wanted," Ben said. I smiled at him and slid over a little more. Ben got the hint and threw an arm over my shoulder.

"What's his face told me he loves me in the official exchange message," I confessed and took a long pull off the bottle before handing it over to Ben. I snuggled in a little closer to his side. He was radiating warmth in the cold cell.

"Like in the records and open to everyone?" Ben asked. He took another drink. His eyebrows were raised.

"Yep. And all it did was fill me with embarrassment. He signed the message 'Bucky.' As in a character he's never heard of or seen, from Earth, that I casually mentioned a few times. That meant more to me than him saying that he loves me. I think I'm broken," I said. Ben handed the bottle back to me with a hum.

"Well, I love you," Ben said confidently.

"I love you too," I responded immediately.

"See, there you go, you're not broken," Ben said, taking the bottle back for himself. I chuckled lightly.

"I honestly don't know what I would've done without you," I sighed. "Thank you for rescuing me. Thank you for continuing to rescue me." Ben passed the bottle back.

"You rescue yourself more often than not. I just give you a place to go to," Ben's tone was light but his eyes were serious.

"I'm pretty sure you gave me a home, Ben," I said, earnestly. My eye was watery. My smile was small. I set the bottle down on the cold floor and wrapped my arms around Ben's torso. He hugged me back tightly. His cheek rested on the top of my head. We stayed there for a few breaths before pulling apart.

"And we'll get to go home soon," Ben said. I pulled the bottle back to me and took another drink.

"Good cause I fucking hate Waseatryn vessels and honestly, at this point, not to be speciest, but most Waseatryns," I said with a laugh, trying not to cry.

"Honestly, same," Ben said with a laugh as well.

"Guinevere, time to go," Kuzzon commanded. I left the rest of the bottle on the floor for Ben to finish. I stood, less gracefully than meant to, and rearranged my clothing to hang properly. Kuzzon was holding the cell door open for me. I turned back to Ben who gave me a nod and smile which I returned. The cell door shut and the lock clicked behind me. I followed Kuzzon out of the cell block a step behind him. Once we were in the elevator headed up a few floors, Kuzzon started to speak.

"That was a very sentimental conversation you had with my brother," Kuzzon pointed out. He kept his gaze in front of him. Not that it mattered. Our reflections were clearly visible in the metal elevator doors. I waited to see if Kuzzon was going to follow up his observation with a point.

"That was a very sentimental conversation you had with my brother," Kuzzon repeated.

"Yes, and," I sighed.