Benevolence [H.S.]

Chapter Thirteen

Harry

Greenery swelled over the horizon as Liam and I barreled back to Eureka. The night before had been rough, and getting our rocks off in San Francisco afterwards was something of a treat for both of us. Now the sun was creeping back to its perch as the light of day signaled our return to somewhat normalcy.

Liam steered with his palm, periodically flexing his knuckles and wincing. Likely broken, but he'd refused any first aid whatsoever, so obviously I wasn't about to pay him any sympathy.

"Do you ever wonder what they look like?" He offered into the cab, knowing I wasn't going to ask about his injuries, let alone personal review of the night before. Liam's restrictions weren't nearly as tight, and he knew by now I didn't like to discuss what happened at the Shadow Box. His jovial manner is hard to get irritated with though and I think he knows it, because he always tries anyway.

"No, not really," I mumbled behind a cigarette, "Don't care who they are. That's the whole point, Liam."

"No the point is they don't know who we are, actually." I nodded and looked out the window, the memory of a stubbled jaw moving up my thighs making me shiver. I never asked what Liam's experiences in the Shadow Box were. I assumed it was only ever women, but it didn't matter to me anyway. Whatever happened there was anonymous, engulfed in darkness literally and figuratively. A place where people go to disappear into sensation without being known, to be touched without feeling anything beyond the pleasure of physical release.

It was dangerous for any of us to develop attachments, just a shitty idea really, given the eyes on us from the dark at all times. But it wasn't explicitly forbidden for Liam or Louis.

I mean it wasn't expressly forbidden for me, either, I did have a choice. But that choice was stick to agreement or be fucking knocked off and erased from memory so given the options I'm definitely sticking with the first.

Outside the roads were still slick with morning mist, reflecting every angle of light into the front seat of the truck.. My head was killing me, s'pose a knock to the jaw can do that to a person. Or five.

I squeezed my eyes shut, the memory of a strong pair of lips around my cock abruptly shifting to the crunch of bone under my fist. Jarring transition, to say the least, and a bit nauseating.

I rolled down the window and leaned against the cool metal of the door, trying to piece together a mental checklist of all the things we needed to do today...starting with fixing Benny's stupid fucking car.

"Do you want me to just drop you off or what?" Liam breaks the brief silence, again clearly unable to sit in the quiet.

"No, no I could use your help with that car and we've still got a few orders to push before Louis gets in. Told him I'd get Duncan's bike checked out, too. Wants to start using that instead from now on." I stubbed the cigarette out in the tray and rubbed my palms over my jeans, trying to wake myself up a bit.

"You can head out after we get the car done, though, shouldn't take long once I get some fucking coffee going."

He hummed in approval and exaggeratedly nodded toward the radio, "Let's get shit done then!" And, of course during the most obnoxious Four Seasons song in the history of shit music, cranked the knob as far as it would go, nearly blasting me through the seat and launching my heart into my ass.

"JESUS CHRIST LIAM!" I dive for the dial but he smacks my hand away, singing at the top of his lungs-

"BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY..."

I try again but he swerves like a dickhead, throwing me to the other side of the cab, "Will you turn that shit off?!"

"Myyy girllll, didn't CRY-EYE-EYE...not until you sing it with me!"

"Absolutely not"

He looked in the rearview before jerking the wheel back and forth, smacking me into the door over and over, "come on H i'm not stopping until you do it!"

"Fuck off, stop-god damn it-"

He swerved again, pointing at me and mouthing the words until finally I gave up so he'd not send us into a fucking ditch, I glared at him and mumbled "Silly boys..."

"Ha ha! Yes there it is!" I rolled my eyes and reached for the knob without interference this time.

"You're an idiot."

"But it worked though, didn't it?"

I looked at him sideways, "if you mean nearly sent us to an early grave, yeah it fucking worked."

"Nah it woke you up, grumpy bastard."

I chose not to give him the satisfaction of agreement...even if it did wake me up, certainly didn't help my head. But nonetheless I settled back in the seat, we kept the radio off for the rest of the drive, a cool drizzle cracking open the sky just before we pulled into town.

Mercifully, Liam seemed to be content for once with the quiet, maybe because the rain had begun to play its own song reverberating throughout the cab. I'd even begun to drift off here and there, having avoided sleep for so long...I was just teetering on the edge of some half-dream when Liam broke the silence; 

"Is that Benny?"

Hello hello!! Hi darlin's, sorry it's been forever and a day, also apologies this is a bit of a short one here. Just needed to get back on the proverbial horse and remember how to write without fear of...everything, lol. 

Hope you're all being kind to yourselves and one another, the world is a real weird place right now but at least we have smutty fanfiction to escape to at the end of the day...??

How are we feeling after Harrychella? I just about died during Medicine. Writing this from the grave, in fact. 

There will be more Benevolence to come, the next chapter will be from Benny's POV and we will finally get to the point where the story *actually* begins. 

I've been considering putting together a brief summary of history that's going on every few chapters or so, just to give some perspective on the world Harry and Benny are living in. What would ya'll think of that? 

Anyway okay have a fabulous evening or morning or whatever time-space situation you're currently occupying, thanks for reading and being around.

xx

Trysta