repressed love | ben hargreeves

15

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Ben dragged me over to the open bar, both of us taking a shot before sitting on the floor. I grabbed a bottle of wine from behind the bar before joining him, the two of us taking turns drinking from it. We leaned our heads against the wooden panels of the bar, the song faintly in the background. "Can I ask you a question?" Ben whispered to me, eyes fixated on the ceiling.

"What?" I mumbled back, my body becoming like a ragdoll from dancing and drinking so much. I grabbed the bottle, taking a swing from it before placing it back between us.

"Do you think..." he began, finding the right words. "Do you think your family will ever like me?" He whispered, taking a drink from the bottle afterwards.

I turned my head towards him, taking in his features. At this moment, he seemed nothing like the Ben we had met a couple days ago. He may have not seemed just like our Ben, but he still seemed like Ben. "I think they already do." I answered. "They have a weird way of showing their love."

Ben turned his head towards me as I spoke, staring right back at me. He slowly leaned his head towards me, as if gravity was pushing onto him. "What are you doing?" I whispered, not getting any response from him as he gently placed his hand on my cheek. Our heads touched, our lips centimeters away. My eyes remained on his, searching for what his intent was. After a beat, our lips connected in a gentle kiss, his lips barely touching mine before he pulled away. I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or the tiredness, but immediately after, I leaned back in for a second kiss, this one more real and passionate. As quickly as we had joined, I had slightly pulled away, relishing in the moment as our foreheads touched again.

"Siblings!" Klaus bellowed, pulling the two of us apart immediately as he stumbled towards us. He grabbed the bottle of wine we were sharing, taking a couple of sips from it. "Who wants to karaoke with me?"

Ben and I shared a look before I had beaten him, "Ben will." I replied, getting up as I waved back at Ben before making my way over to Viktor who was sitting at his table, watching Luther and Sloane dance. "They're cute, aren't they?" I asked, taking a seat next to my brother.

"Yeah," he whispered, smiling at them.

"What happened with you and Allison?"

Viktor let out a sigh, looking down at his lap. "I apologized and made the mistake of telling her I forgave her for what she did. She didn't take it too lightly. Actually, she doesn't even forgive me."

"Well, you did lie to us." I spoke, Viktor shooting me a stare. "Sorry. I'm a little drunk. It's fine, she'll get over it eventually, hopefully." I spoke. He nodded in response, both of our attention being directed back to Luther and Sloane as they led the rest of us outside to end the night. We found a small stone wall for us to sit and lean on. Diego and Lila cuddled on the floor, half of their bodies leaning against it. Sloane sat on the floor, between Luther's legs as he sat on top of the wall with Viktor and I. Five stood a few feet away from us, standing as he leaned against the wall.

"Hey, uh...I saw." Luther spoke to Viktor, not caring if I heard. "And I...I appreciate you trying."

"Oh, no, no, no no!" Diego yelled, Klaus and Ben walking over to us, arms around each other.

"Hey, what?"

"No!" Diego yelled, earning a fit of giggles from me.

"Klaus, why are you bringing Ben here?" Five yelled.

"Come on!"

"Hear me out before–" Klaus began.

"Hear him out." Ben drunkenly spoke.

"The brother that you all knew as Ben is gone. And not–I don't mean our Ben, the nice Ben. I mean this Ben. The asshole, he's gone now." I think Ben was just gone.

"Klaus, what are you talking about?" Luther asked.

"And the man that stands in front of you is new new Ben, and he's one of us, and he's a member of the team. And he's..." Klaus continued.

"Part of the family!" The two yelled, Ben laughing hysterically.

"And as a welcome gift, I suggest we throw him off the roof." Five suggested.

"Five, play nice." I scolded, slightly leaning against Viktor.

"Yeah, I'll help." Diego added.

"Come on."

"You know what? You know what? He can stay. He can stay." Luther spoke, welcoming Ben in.

"Why?" Diego asked.

"'Cause it's my wedding day, man. Come on. He can stay."

"Yes!" Klaus and Ben exclaimed as they sat next to Sloane, leaning against each other. I smiled to myself, enjoying that he could be with our family, in some way. Even if he was drunk.

"Hey, big guy. Awfully nice of you." Ben spoke.

"Yeah, you're...you're welcome." Luther replied, shocked he had said some form of a thank-you.

"Holy smokes!" Klaus exclaimed, all of us looking towards the Kugelblitz.

"Hey, you know something?" Luthe began, gathering our attention. "Tonight is all I ever really wanted."

"To get hitched?" Diego asked stupidly.

"Just...everybody coming together when it really matters. One big real family."

Five stood up, retching on the ground before getting up, again. "Whoa whoa!" We all spoke in unison.

"Oh, I think I'm gonna hurl." Five spoke groggily. We all laughed at him, not being able to handle as much liquor in his 13 year old body. "Actually, uh, I think I'm hungry. See ya, guys. I'm gonna hit the buffet."

"Is he gonna be okay?" Viktor asked.

"It's Five. What do you think?" Diego rhetorically asked.

"Maybe we should call it a night." Lila spoke.

"Come on, it's early." Luther protested.

"Good night, guys." Lila spoke, dragging Diego with her.

"Where are we going? To bed?" Diego asked.

"The night's young." Ben protested, following after them like a lost puppy.

"Who's this guy?" Luther pointed at Ben. Klaus and I followed, leaving Viktor with Sloane and Luther.

"Who's up for some more..." Klaus began.

"Scrabble?" Ben finished.

"Karaoke!!!" Klaus finished.

"Yeah, count me out." I answered, heading towards the elevator.

"No, stay.." Ben mumbled, grabbing onto my arm. I playfully shoved him away, although I didn't leave. None of us did, actually. We all headed back to the bar and began more drinking games. This was going to be a long night.