Deep Like Water (Yandere!BEN Drowned X GN!Reader)

Oh No! It's Sorcery!

When you awoke the next morning, it took you a while to realise that you had slept for twelve hours straight. Your bleary eyes barely managed to read the flashing time on your phone screen, and when the numbers registered in your brain you let out a low, cracked groan as you shoved yourself into a seated position. Light was peering around your blinds and curtains, and you wished for nothing more than complete darkness so you could go right back to sleep. Alas, the brain doesn't really like sleeping for over twenty-four hours, so it forced you up.

Getting dressed was tough, but you managed, and it was only ten minutes later that you trudged downstairs, calling out, 'Hello?' through a yawn.

You got a response from the kitchen. 'Afternoon! I was just about to come upstairs and put an ice cube tray on your head.' Obviously it was BEN. He was sat at the table, a handheld console propped up on its stand while the controllers rested in his palms. A laptop and keyboard sat just behind the console, and the flat lemonade told you that he'd been sat there a while.

None of that was important to you, though; what was important was the pair of thin frames that sat on his nose. You might have missed them if you weren't looking, but once you saw them, your mind fixated on them and how much better he looked with them on. Dare you say he looked hot...?

No. No, no, no, no, no. You refused to let that thought linger in your mind. If this was what a proper night of rest was going to do to you, then you were sending yourself back on the train to Sleep Deprived Town, and you would stay there until BEN had vanished from your life completely. (But, you reasoned, he was probably going to be a thorn in your side for years to come. And you liked sleeping too much.)

'Please don't,' was all you said to his threat. 'Where's Frankie?'

'Working. He made me promise that I wouldn't disturb you, so I was bound to the kitchen.' He pouted. 'It's a shame—I wanted to see what you look like when you sleep.'

Your nose scrunched up in a disgusted frown. 'Again, don't.'

'Chill out, I knew you needed to sleep anyway. So, what's the plan for today? Crime fighting? Crime?'

Chuckling, you shook your head, taking a seat to BEN's left, pulling your own laptop towards you. 'Nope. Boring day today, I'm afraid. If I don't take notes from at least two pages of my history book, then I get left behind. After that, we can do whatever.'

'Schoolwork?' He pretended to gag. 'Do you do anything else? Hobbies? Do your teachers even let you have a life?'

'Welcome to life, my dear. It sucks—especially sixth form.'

'That's rude. How long will it take to do your notes?'

'Depends.' You drummed your fingers along the keys of your keyboard. 'Sometimes it doesn't take long, sometimes it can take up to an hour?'

'That's not too bad, I guess. What do you say to a game of Scrabble afterwards?' It was a proposition you never expected to hear from him. 'You do have Scrabble, right?'

'Uh, yeah, we do. Original only, but we have it.'

<><><>

While you worked through your textbook, BEN silently played his game, giving you space to concentrate. You were grateful for him somehow knowing that it was a 'quiet day' and your mind wouldn't handle multiple forms of audio stimulation.

Being in the same space like this, physically vulnerable and close, wasn't as asphyxiating as you'd expected, and you were thankful for that. It was almost a blessing in disguise having him next to you—he was probably the only person capable of finding James' killer on the first try, and you weren't willing to lose that chance. You didn't care if you had to go as far as sacrificing yourself in order to catch whoever was responsible. You didn't care if you had to destroy your entire life...but maybe that was the desperation talking. Maybe the grief had warped your thinking.