Are we still friends? ( GORDON x BENREY )

I can't stop you, I can't rock too

The first week of teaching had gone about as Gordon had expected, maybe a bit better even if one of his students kept being an absolute asshole to him. It was fine, Gordon was used to dealing with unwanted attention from mean people throughout his lifetime. At least he got to see Bubby daily, and it added some drama to his otherwise boring life. He found he enjoyed teaching more than he expected, enjoying seeing his student's faces light up as they figured out a difficult problem or being proud when they did good on work he assigned.

It was the weekend, so Gordon had a few days off to grade work and see his friends. He and Tommy had planned to go to brunch on Sunday at a local cafe they had never been to before. Gordon got up early, not trying to wreck his sleep schedule so quickly after getting used to waking up at five in the morning. He made breakfast for Joshua, skipping it for himself seeing as he'd be eating out with Tommy later in the day. He showered, got dressed, and dropped Joshie off at his mother's house for the week. Joshue hugged his stuffed bear close to his chest, standing at the front door of his mother's, Penelope's, house. She was standing in the doorway, leaning on it. She had a gentle look on her face.

Her long, blonde hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and she was wearing a pretty blue v-cut shirt and plain black pants. Her dark eyes had deep circles under them. She smiled, nonetheless. "Daddy," Joshua started, "will the kitten be at your house next week?" he asked with a playful glimmer in his eyes. Gordon patted his head lovingly.

"No, sorry Joshie. The kitten will need some more time with its mom before we can get it." Gordon explained. Joshua frowned, but didn't seem too upset by the news. He pouted.

"Aww, okay." He squeezed his stuffed animal closer to his chest. "I'll call you later, daddy." Joshua waved goodbye, darting past his mother's thin legs and into her house. Distantly, Gordon could hear Brian exclaim happily at Joshua's arrival.

"You're getting a kitten?" Penelope asked, making small talk. "I'm surprised it took you so long. You've always been a cat person." She huffed, smiling.

"Joshua wanted one, and one of my friend's cats recently had kittens." He replied politely.

"Oh, how nice!" Her smile faltered slightly. "One of your friends from Black Mesa?" She asked in a quieter voice, like it was a horrible secret. To be honest, it was. Gordon's expression fell slightly.

"Yeah." He nodded his head slightly. "I'm actually on my way to have brunch with one of them after this." He stated. She gave him an indecipherable look that, at the same time, said all it needed to. Gordon shifted uncomfortably on the balls of his feet.

"Well, I'm glad you have some friends." She took a slow, deep breath. "Don't let me keep you long. Have fun with your friend, Gordon." Her posture straightened, hand clasping around the edge of the wooden door. Gordon gave a forced smile.

"Thank you. I'll talk to you later, Penelope." He stood there, watching as she closed the door with a heavy thud. He could hear the door being locked from the other side. Gordon turned on his heel, walking down the steps of her small porch towards where his car was parked in the driveway. He tried not to think into it too much as he drove towards the small cafe where he would be meeting Tommy. Music played quietly as he drove, humming along to the beat. It wasn't too far of a drive, and soon enough he was pulling up in the parking lot of the cafe.

The building was small, and cozy-looking. It was off of the main road, so it was no wonder that Gordon hadn't really seen it before now. He exited his car, straightening his shirt and checking the time on his phone. He was a few minutes early. He walked into the building, scanning around for a good seat, or to see if Tommy had already arrived. Tommy wasn't there yet, so Gordon decided to pick out a seat for the both of them. There weren't very many taken.

Gordon decided to settle for a booth seat by the large windows at the face of the cafe. He slid into the seat, and texted Tommy to let him know that he had arrived. Tommy didn't reply in his usual timely manner, so Gordon assumed he was on his way and was practicing safe driving by not texting. Gordon scrolled idly on his phone while he waited for his companion to arrive. Tommy was as punctual as he always was, that being exactly on time. The second the clock struck 10:30am Tommy walked in, the door closing quietly behind him as he skipped over to Gordon, a smile across his face.

"Hey-Hey Mr. Freeman!" Tommy waved, sitting across from him at the booth. The sunlight coming in through the windows lit up his face, making his freckles appear more prominent. "How are you?" He toyed with the sleeves of his yellow cardigan. Gordon returned his smile politely.

"I'm good, I just dropped Joshua off at his mom's house a little while ago." Gordon replied. "How have things been for you, Darnold and your dad?" Gordon asked, looking over at the menu plastered above the counter. He had to squint a bit to see the small, black text on the pastel pink background.

"We've been- We've been fine! My dad, uh, he's been more busy lately so me and Darnold have the house to ourselves." Tommy replied, taking a moment of pause before continuing. "Well, not all to ourselves, because Sunkist is with us too... Yeah." Gordon chuckled slightly. "How is Joshua?" Tommy asked.

"He's fine. Excited to get those kittens from Forzen." Gordon hummed, memorizing his order in his head. "Do you know what you want to order? I can go order it for us." Gordon asked suddenly, scooting towards the edge of the booth seat, preparing to stand. Tommy waved him off.

"No, it's okay Mr... Mr. Freeman! I can order for us, and pay! I know you probably haven't been paid yet." Tommy stood from the booth seat, adjusting his multi-color propeller hat. Gordon couldn't argue against that.

"Thanks, Tommy." Gordon began reciting his small order. Tommy gave a thumbs-up before happily walking over to the counter to order. Gordon was watching him order when he heard his phone vibrate on the table besides his arm. He glanced over at the screen which was now lit-up from the notification. It was a text from Penelope. Gordon picked up his phone, unlocking it to read the text. He promptly re-read it.

Penny: Hey Gordon, hope you got to the cafe safely. I just wanted to say that I don't think it's very healthy for you to be friends with those people you used to work with. I mean no offense, and I should've mentioned it earlier, but I don't think it'll end up good for you. Brian agrees with me. I'm not a therapist by any means but it just makes me uncomfortable.

Gordon: I'm fine, thanks. Can we talk later?

He put his phone back down on the table, sort of dumbfounded. He had felt better since he got back in contact with the Science Team, why was she saying it was bad? She hadn't even met them yet. What had caused this? Gordon pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, sighing. He would talk to her later. For now, he was supposed to be having a good time with his close friend Tommy.

Speaking of Tommy, he sat back down across Gordon. "Our... Our food should be out, uh, soon. They'll call my name when it is." He smiled. Gordon nodded.

"Alright, thanks Tommy." He gave another polite smile. "Now, about that thing you mentioned in the group chat? The thing about someone trying to rob your house?" Gordon asked, curious. Tommy took a deep breath, beginning a long-winded story that was able to keep them occupied for some time.