Long Away

Chapter 12

As they only spent a few hours away, Roger had the idea to grab some takeout on their way back home. Ben was holding two bags of Chinese food while Roger unlocked the apartment door. Inside they were greeted by an unexpected mess. Freddie, who must have been in his room, had scattered a bunch of papers across the kitchen table. Roger took in the chaos for a moment, then turned to Ben.
"Let's just eat in my room, shall we?" Ben hummed in agreement and handed him their bag.
"I'll just bring Freddie his food real quick," he said, and they both headed for their bedrooms. After a quick knock on the door, Ben peeked inside, finding an even bigger mess and a frustrated looking Freddie sitting on his bed.
"Do you have any idea how many Jim Huttons there are in London?", Freddie exasperated himself, his eyes fixated on a list he was holding. Ben placed the bag on Freddie's nightstand.
"Why yes, we had a great time, thank you for asking. You're welcome for the food."
"Sorry." Freddie finally looked up. "Thank you, that's really nice, dear. How did it go?"
"Good so far. We're gonna eat now, I'll report to you later," Ben said. Freddie nodded approvingly.
"Very well. Don't spare me any details. But really, there are a lot of Jim Huttons, could you not be a little more precise?" Ben sighed.
"I actually thought you were looking for Deaky." Freddie dismissively gestured with his hand.
"Oh yeah, that too." Shaking his head, Ben headed for the door.
"Rog is waiting for me, we'll talk later."
"Alright, enjoy yourselves." Ben walked over to Roger's room. The door was standing open.

Roger had cleared out some space on the floor in the middle of the room. He laid out the food and placed two pillows for Ben and himself to sit on. Now he was standing in front of his record player, putting on a vinyl.
"I hope this one's okay?" He held up the cover. It was an Elton John album.
"Of course. Doubting my taste?"
"Well, you have to have some kind of flaw," Roger said. He turned on the music before sitting down. Ben joined him and grabbed a box of spring rolls.
"Oh you're gonna have to try harder if you want to find my flaws. My music taste certainly isn't one of them," he said in a playful tone.
"Challenge accepted," Roger said. "I bet you can't take spicy food very well."
"How spicy are we talking?", Ben asked. Roger handed him a small dish with bright red sauce in it.
"Try this," he dared him. Ben dipped one of his spring rolls in it and took a bite. A burning sensation spread in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed quickly.
"Barely feels like anything," he lied.
"Yeah right. And your face is just getting red for the aesthetics?"
"Exactly."
"Oh? I didn't know you were part chameleon," Roger joked.
"And I didn't know you were a sadist. Here, you eat that." He returned the sauce to Roger, who promptly snatched a spring roll to show off. As soon as the sauce came in contact with his tongue, he recoiled, covering his mouth with his hands. Ben couldn't suppress a laugh.
"Remind me, who is it that can't take spice?"
"This is uh... slightly worse than I remembered."
"You don't say?" Roger wiped a tear from his face.
"Okay, that point goes to you," he admitted.
"Alright, my turn," Ben said. "I think your flaw is that you underestimate how beautiful you are."
"Your flaw is that you're too distracting when I need to focus," Roger threw in.
"You're too much of a flirt," Ben complained.

This continued on until they finished their meal. All that was left were two fortune cookies they had been saving for last. They threw away the empty boxes and went back to Roger's room. Ben watched as Roger cracked his cookie open and unfolded the note inside.
"Past patterns will repeat when you least expect it," he read. "Whatever that means." Ben opened his own one.
"Lifelong love will find you soon. I like the sound of that."
Roger let himself fall on his bed.
"Whoever that is is lucky." Ben sat down next to him.
"Well, there's this guy I met recently. He is really cute. It might be about him."
"Tell me more," Roger requested. Ben looked at him adoringly.
"He's a really special person. Talented, smart, and funny all at once. Not to mention he looks like an angel. He also makes me feel like, no matter how crazy my situation may be, as long as I'm with him, I'll be safe." Roger sat up and took Ben's hand into his.
"Of course you'll be safe," he said. Ben placed a kiss on the back of Roger's hand. When he looked up again, Roger brought his hands up to cup Ben's cheeks. With his heart pounding, Ben closed his eyes. Roger's lips grazed his, shyly at first, almost hesitant. Ben parted his lips ever so slightly, just enough to fit the tip of Roger's tongue. With shaking hands he wrapped his arms tightly around Roger's back and pulled him in, closing any space that had been left between them. He let himself melt into the kiss as Roger altered between pecking softly at his lips, sliding his tongue over them and intertwining it with Ben's. After what felt like an eternity and the briefest moment at the same time, they pulled away. Their eyes met, not any less lovingly than their lips just had. Ben gently caressed Roger's cheek with his hand, bringing forth a sweet smile.
"I like you, Ben," he whispered, before leaning in for another kiss.

***
Hey everyone! This was my first attempt at writing a kissing scene, so feedback is appreciated. I do hope you liked it!

Tay