It's Always Been You

Chapter 3

Dinner was delicious. Ben relished in the homemade meal and silently thanked his friends for begging him to come over.

After dinner, Santiago's grandparents ushered him into the living room where he proceeded to open his presents. He thanked his grandparents for his new bike, which they decked out with Voltron stickers. He hugged his aunt, Ben's long-time rival, for his new clothes with the Voltron paladins and Voltron defense gear. He screamed and hugged Ben for his brand new Blue Lion.

Ben hurried to leave, but hovered around the dining room, knowing Marco had wanted to talk to him about something.

Marco sat back down at the dinner table. "Thanks for coming out. Santi loves when you come by."

Ben smiled at the thought. "Thanks for the invite."

Marco leaned back in his chair. "Come on, man. You know you're always welcome here."

"I know." Ben sat down at the end of the table. From his vantage point, he could see into the living room, where Ariana was playing with both Santiago and Daniela.

Marco followed his line of sight."Hey, thanks for leaving it PG in there."

"It's not like we were gonna get into a shouting match."

Marco shrugged. "We never know with you two."

Ben stared off into the distance. He and Ariana did find every little thing to disagree and argue over, but it never got out of hand. At least, he didn't think so.

"So, don't take it the wrong way, but I had an ulterior motive for inviting you tonight."

Ben rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah?"

Marco nodded. "Cristina and I have an announcement to make, but we're waiting until the kids go to bed."

Ben's eyes widened. "Is it another baby?"

"What?" Marco's eyes widened comically. "No."

Ben shrugged. "I don't know. It could be. You already have two."

Cristina's leaned into the dining room. "I'm taking the kids to bed."

Marco nodded, standing up. Ben followed him into the living room and stood aside and watched Cristina and Marco herding their children to their rooms.

"Goodnight, Tia." Santiago hugged Ariana tightly.

"Goodnight, birthday boy." She pressed a kiss onto his cheek. "Hey, what did you wish for?"

He scrunched up his nose. "I'm not going to tell you. Then it won't come true." He scurried away. He wrapped himself around Ben's legs. "Goodnight, Ben. Thank you for coming to my birthday party."

"Awe, Santi," Ariana whined.

Ben smiled down at the boy. "Goodnight, Santiago."

Santiago walked down the hallway.

Daniela wrapped her small arms around Ariana's neck, leaving a wet kiss on her cheek. "Goodnight, Tia. I love you."

"I love you too, muñeca."

Daniela then launched herself onto Ben's legs. "Goodnight, Ben."

"Goodnight, Daniela."

Cristina peered around the corner, eyeing her sister. "Don't play any Mario Kart. Santiago can hear it in his sleep."

Ariana deflated. "Awe, man."

The kids and now the parents left the room, leaving Ben alone with Ariana. She sat on the floor, cross-legged, messing around with Santiago's new toys.

After a few moments, she moved and started picking up the toys, setting them down softly in a basket. When she was done, she dropped herself down on the couch. He didn't want to linger about the room anymore and plopped down on the opposite end of the couch.

"Do you know what they want to talk about?" He asked her.

She crossed one leg over the other and played with the hem of her skirt. "No."

He sighed and leaned on his arm.

It was silent for a while, but then Ariana's phone lit and vibrated on the TV stand. She walked over to her phone and read the message that had just come in.

Ben stared at her legs. She always seemed to be showing them off. Marco walked up to the couch and slapped Ben's arm, knocking him out of his thoughts.

"Hey," he whined under his breath.

Marco stared at him pointedly. "Hey, yourself. Stop staring."

Ariana's gaze fell on them, her expression stern.

"Everything okay?" Marco asked, walking up to her.

"Yes. Everything is fine. Why?"

Marco shrugged. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "It looks like something is bothering you. Trouble in paradise?"

"No," she snapped.

Marco chuckled. He walked her to the couch, making her sit beside Ben. He took a step back and grinned. "You two are gonna be so excited to hear what Cristina and I have to say."

"I hope so, you're making me suffer waiting here with Suzuki."

Ben faced her. "Oh, like you're such an angel."

"What?" she pressed a hand to her chest. "I'm a delight."

Cristina walked into the living room, chuckling. "Alright, you two." She stopped beside Marco, kissing him on the cheek.

Ben felt Ariana relax beside him.

Cristina moved back and forth on her toes. "We have something exciting to announce."

Ariana leaned forward slightly.

Marco grinned. "We're getting married."

"And we want you two to be in the ceremony," Cristina added.

Ariana gasped beside him, grabbing his arm. He jumped in surprise. She leaped from the couch and hugged her sister tightly. "Really? This is so great!"

Ben stood up too and walked to his best friend, holding out his hand. "Congratulations. I can't believe she said yes."

Marco shook his hand and pulled Ben in for a hug. "Don't be a smart-ass."

"So," Cristina stepped back, along with Marco. "Will you be in the wedding?"

"Yes."

"Of course."

Ben stilled, turning to look at Ariana, who was scowling. She pointed at him. "With, Suzuki?"

He groaned.