Dragon-Shifter: Legend Returned

Chapter 24: Night

A/N: From here on is still being edited, so just a couple of notes:

Ben = Logan

Constant = magi

Perm(anent) = mystique

If you're confused about something, just ask in the comments. :-)

The glass slipped out of my hand, and I heard it clunk against the floor as I fell face-first downwards. I felt my shin smack into something hard, and yelped as I dropped full-length onto the couch.

As a result, I found myself lying on top of another body, Ben's eyes wide open and staring into mine.

A hot flush rushed into my cheeks, and I quickly rolled away, scrambling to sit up. I pushed off his chest before I could register what I was doing, feeling bare skin beneath my fingers.

"I'm sorry - that was an accident - I didn't mean to -" I gabbled out, trying not to look at Ben too intensely. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I was wondering desperately why he hadn't said anything.

"It's fine, I didn't - it's fine, I know you didn't do it on purpose." Ben's cheeks were flushed with a red I could see even in the near dark as he sat up.

Faint light from under my bedroom door was reflecting off his eyes, and he was staring at me with a sort of wonder. I was suddenly aware that I wasn't wearing all that much just thin pants and an old, loose t-shirt.

"Uh... I'll just go back to my room now..." I stammered, starting to scoot further away away from him. I was struggling not to look at his bare chest, the shadows giving a strange dimension to his physique. Who slept bare-chested in someone else's home, anyway?

"Yeah, um, but can I - can I ask what you were doing?" Ben sounded off-balance, and as he spoke he seemed to suddenly realize he didn't have a shirt on.

"I was just getting a drink," I told him quickly. "I tripped on the coffee table, I think." My shin twinged, and I reached down to rub it absently.

"Oh." Ben pulled the blankets up around himself, which had the effect of putting him in a cocoon. He bit his lip, looking like he didn't know what to say. My heart throbbed, seeing him looking vulnerable like that, and I had to look away before I did something I might regret.

"I'll just - I'll just go now," I said, scrambling up off the couch. My foot bumped against the glass, sending it rolling away before it clunked against the leg of the coffee table.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ben asked cautiously. "You look kinda... spooked."

I hesitated, reluctant to tell him my weakness in letting Artorius in. But he was watching me with an open, curious expression, and I was going to have to tell someone at one point. Why not Ben, now?

I sighed, and sank back onto the couch, turning around to lean against the headboard. Obviously sensing this was important, Ben reached out to grab a shirt off the floor and pull it over his head.

"I had a dream about Artorius," I told him.

"Artorius?" Ben had been hunting for something beside the couch, but he lifted his head to give me a confused look. "What did you dream about Artorius for?"

"I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Well obviously, but - ah!" Ben pulled out his phone, and I stared at him in astonishment as he unlocked it, and swiped sideways.

"Are you even listening?" I demanded, then immediately felt guilty as he turned his phone torch on, flashing light in my eyes.

"I can turn it off, if you like." Ben sounded uncertain, lowering the phone so that I could see his face.