Gonna Give All My Secrets Away [Ben]

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt was damn tired. And it wasn’t even so much work as it was all the things that happened outside of work. Terrorists, hospital visits, old friends returning, old friends not getting along with new friends, suddenly having new friends and having to worry about keeping them, new friends’ dates who may or may not be cheating on them… it was exhausting. On top of that, he was pretty sure Leila was getting sick with something more serious than just seasonal colds, but he didn’t know what and didn’t know how to ask without seeming like he was getting in her business.

Life was so much simpler in Chicago.

And, truth be told, he didn’t even want to meet up with Ben to go have dinner. But he’d turned the man down the last several times Ben had asked and Cobalt was beginning to suspect that the other man was getting impatient with Cobalt’s constant avoiding. Even though half the time, he hadn’t been doing it on purpose. Ben just happened to ask about days that he’d already made plans with Danny, or he had too much work to do. And some days, he just wanted some damn peace. Regardless, Cobalt had changed plans with Danny this time so that he could spend time with Ben. Not that this was something to be lamented over. Cobalt liked Ben; he liked spending time with the other man. Ben made him smile when he wasn’t being completely incomprehensible. But Cobalt was tired and didn’t have the wherewithal to try to parse Ben’s significant glances and silent messages that Cobalt just knew he was somehow missing.

Maybe that wouldn’t happen tonight.

Blinking away the beginnings of an inconveniently timed headache, Cobalt knocked on Ben’s door, probably looking a little worse for wear. When the door opened, he gave Ben a flat, half-hearted attempt at a smile, and a nod. “Hey. How’s it going?” Cobalt was definitely not feeling up to conversation right now. Sorry Ben.

[Benjamin Rhodes]

Dinner was slowly cooking in the oven and Ben was getting ready for Cobalt. It had been awhile since Danny's arrival that they had spent any time together. Ben was pretty sure his behaviour was not appropriate for someone who was already seeing someone. Someone a lot younger than he was. Someone who could be with someone his own age...

Ben shook his head and continued putting on his jeans and going downstairs to check on dinner.

He had attempted to make some easy chinese dishes and all the while, he wondered why he was going through all this trouble when it was just a little too obvious that Cobalt was simply not interested. Hell, he was spending more time with Danny and that should have told Ben something. But no, he was trying hard to not think about that. Not tonight. He was going to have dinner with the guy he liked and he was going through it with a smile on his face and no thinking about Danny Silverman.

The knock on the door alerted him to Cobalt's arrival and he quickly scooped up the fried rice and set it on the table before answering the door, the smile he had on wilting just slightly when he saw Cobalt looking a little down. No, Ben...continue being cheerful...maybe that's what Cobalt needs right now.

"Hey!" He opened the door wider, ushering the older man in before leading him to the dining room. "Hope you're up for Chinese. Figured I needed to try something new and all." Ben offered Cobalt a wide smile, pulling up a chair for him. "What would you like to drink?" He asked, moving to the kitchen to get them drinks.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Great. Ben was cheery. Cobalt shook himself mentally—he really needed to stop this. Ben had invited him over, and Cobalt had taken the invitation. So all this was his own fault. A light headache tapped at his temples, but he ignored it as best he could. “Chinese sounds good.” Cobalt tried to sound enthused because hey, Chinese was always tasty. “It smells great.”

For some reason, Cobalt didn’t feel like sitting about awkwardly while Ben bustled. Ben was a rather good bustler, and he could fuss better than anyone. Right now, being fussed over, or bustled out, sounded like the most irritating thing on the planet. So when Ben asked about drinks, Cobalt kicked off his shoes (remembering common courtesy) and followed Ben into the kitchen. “Just water. I got it.” He rocked forward on the balls of his feet to reach up into the cabinets for the water glasses. Filling it up with water from the tap, he figured he ought to be polite and try for some conversation.

“So how are you? How’s that one kid you were working with? Whatsits… Timothy, I think his name was? The little one with anger issues?”

[Benjamin Rhodes]

Ben gave a small victorious smile at Cobalt's keen response. Or rather what Ben thought was a keen response coming from the shadow manipulator. "Thanks."

He let Cobalt get his own water as he took out a bottle of beer out of the fridge. Chinese and beer, wasn't the healthiest choice but Ben had decided long ago that they go hand in hand together.

"Oh Tom. He's actually working through it. I mean, it's been months and I'm finally seeing progress. I'm surprised you remember." Ben gave the other man a small grin before going back to the dining room. Picking up the bowl of rice, he scooped up some of the rice for him before even asking if that was what Cobalt wanted.

"How was your day?" Ben asked as he scooped some rice for himself.

[Cobalt Weaver]

“Tom, that’s what his name was. That’s right.” Cobalt settled back into his seat, trying to remind his stomach that it was dinnertime, so it was time to be hungry. Not that such tactics worked; Cobalt was rarely actually hungry. He just ate at the designated times because he knew he ought to. And if he didn’t, he would just forget to eat altogether until he was passing out somewhere embarrassing. Cobalt shrugged, “Sure, I remember. I always felt a little bad for the kid.”

Cobalt bit back a little spike or irritation and the childish urge to inform Ben that he could serve himself. For Christ’s sake, Ben was just being a good host. Maybe this dinner wasn’t such a good idea, if Cobalt was going to be touchy about everything. It wasn’t Ben’s fault, really.

“It was a day.” Cobalt replied brusquely, “Leila may or may not be sick again, but she refuses to talk about things. I’m irritated. Same old.” He stared moodily down at his rice and contemplated potential exits. He was simply in no mood to socialize today, not even with Ben, and he knew he was going to start being unfair soon.

[Benjamin Rhodes]

Cobalt's enthusiasm from the food was noticeably wearing off but Ben was determined not to let his own wane so he continued with his smiles and food scooping. "You don't mind broccoli do you? I hope the steamed chicken tastes good with the fried rice." He said, keeping up the small talk. "Tom's gonna be fine though. I mean at least he's opening up, however slowly. All he needs is someone who'd listen to him. That's all."

Ben nodded when Cobalt replied to the question about his day. "Oh no, and she's still going to work? I hope it's nothing contagious," Ben said mindlessly. He started on his food, trying not to laugh at Cobalt's 'Same old' quip.

"How's Danny?" Ben asked, stupidly thinking it would at least make Cobalt smile, bringing up the man's...friend.

[Cobalt Weaver]

“No, it’s fine,” Cobalt said shortly, raising an eyebrow at Ben. “Don’t worry about it.” It was more a warning than courtesy, because Ben should probably stop worrying about it before Cobalt snapped at him. He’d been doing that more often of late, and he was honestly trying to sort that out. Maybe if everyone was less irritating.

His irritable demeanor did soften slightly, however, at the topic of the little boy Ben was working with. “Well, that’s good. I hope everything goes well for him.”

“Yeah.” Was all Cobalt was willing to say to Ben on that subject. He was going to try to broach the subject with Leila later, because he had a bad feeling about all this. He just didn’t know what it was.

Cobalt gave Ben a sharp look at mention of Danny. “Oh, he’s all right. Still afraid to go anywhere near you for fear that you’re going to snap at him.” He leveled a stern glare at the younger man, “Which I don’t appreciate. Danny’s my oldest friend, it would be nice if you didn’t glare at him all the time.”

[Benjamin Rhodes]

Ben almost dropped the spoon he was holding when he heard the sternness in Cobalt's voice. Okay, so Ben knew his friend was not in the best of moods and he had been trying to accommodate the man's general pissiness but it was clearly not helping. So Ben set the bowl down and took a few pieces of the chicken for himself and started eating.

He did however soften a little, just as Cobalt did when he showed compassion for Tom. But it all changed once more when he actually felt the anger from the shadow manipulator, along with the shadows rolling around the man's shoulders.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise it was that much of a bother." Ben could have said more. Something along the lines of "Seeing that you do the same to me and Sean." But no. He had the smarter sense of shutting up before things got a little too heated. And besides, it might not hold as much merit since he hadn't known Sean as long Danny and Cobalt apparently had.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt saw the look Ben gave him, and felt a little bad about it. He was acting like a poor houseguest, and he really should go home. But he knew that suddenly cutting out now wouldn’t make it any better. In fact, it would hurt Ben’s feelings more. So he poked at his food for a minute before taking a small bite. “It’s good. Thanks.” And it was. If only Cobalt was more in the mood to eat.

Were he being honest with himself, this issue with Ben and Danny was bothering Cobalt more than he expected it to. He could easily attribute it to not knowing what to do with friends who don’t get along, but the truth of it was closer to the fact that Cobalt really wanted Ben to like Danny. And it was disconcerting how much Ben’s opinion mattered to him. And Cobalt wasn’t sure he liked it.

“Really.” Cobalt gave him a level stare, “You didn’t realize that being fairly rude to someone who is firstly a very good friend of mine and secondly someone who wanted to make friends with you would be a bother.” He shook his head, “I don’t get you Ben. I don’t get you at all.”

[Benjamin Rhodes]

The smile he put on was strained and Ben hated forcing a smile around Cobalt. He didn't exactly know why it was so hard to please Cobalt and why he even tried so hard to please Cobalt but there it was. And he honestly didn't like it one bit. Not the part where he felt like he should please Cobalt. Just the general feeling of not actually appreciated for it. How melodramatic, Ben.

Had he even the slightest clue as to what Cobalt was feeling, Ben would have just let Cobalt's next comment slide. But because he didn't know anything, he based it off on face value and damn it, it hurt.

"Uh, pot meet kettle. You don't think you're the same when it comes to Sean? He's a good friend of mine too and he's also tried to befriend you as well yet you are still so adamant in making him out to be the bad guy."

Dinner abruptly forgotten, Ben dropped his spoon and fork beside the plate on the table. Clearly his appetite was shot.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt didn’t want to be pleased. He just wanted some peace, and Ben’s fussing was just irritating. The younger man needed to stop trying so hard. It was confusing and unnecessary and threw Cobalt for a loop. He didn’t know what to do with this attention and it just sort of stressed him out. Ben was being so stressful lately, and Cobalt couldn’t figure out what the hell the other man wanted. Which was extremely irritating.

However, up to this point, Cobalt was wiling to admit that he was being a bit of an ass. And then Ben brought up Sean. And every bit of stress and fear and anger surrounding the telepath, and the events of the day just came spilling out.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Cobalt spat, rising to his feet to more effectively glower down at Ben, “You’re right. Sean has been nothing but completely helpful to me and the people I care about. Especially when he covered up Josh getting the crap kicked out of him by terrorists, or effectively leading a charge against said terrorists that resulted in Morgan, the closest thing to a son I will ever get, being blinded. Blinded, Ben. He’s afraid of the dark, and he’s blind.” Cobalt’s voice wavered a bit, shaking with fury and frustration, “And I don’t know what the hell to do to help because there’s nothing I can do. So, sorry if I don’t think Sean is worth my time.”

“And you.” He pointed at Ben, the words spinning out of control and tumbling out of his mouth, “You’re so damn annoying sometimes. I can’t tell what the hell you want from me, but you have to go and make me feel bad over the stupidest shit and I’m sick of it. You go and get mad at Danny, who’s never done a damn thing to you in his life. You act all put out, like I’m ignoring you for him or something. Which is stupid.” Cobalt rolled his eyes, “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I changed plans with him to see you. Does that help?” The last bit was sarcastic, and Cobalt was standing, glaring at Ben, his shadows bristling and his fists clenched.

[Benjamin Rhodes]

Ben froze when Cobalt recounted Sean's indiscretions. No. Sean was not responsible for those things. He couldn't have been. He was an upstanding citizen and he's a good guy! He couldn't...but really why would Cobalt lie? What could he possibly gain from lying to Ben about a friend? He couldn't be so petty as to want to drive a wedge between friends?

He supposed, given more thought on the matter, Ben himself was thinking of doing the same thing with Danny and Cobalt, wasn't he? Good God, he was forty years old and he was acting like a seventeen year old girl.

Ben physically moved backwards when Cobalt called attention to him and listing down his imperfections. And being called out on being such a bitch to Danny was not helping matters any.

Was it wrong that he felt slightly superior when Cobalt revealed that he had changed plans with Danny just for him? Well, if Cobalt's sarcasm and shadows bouncing about, yes. Yes it was wrong, and Ben should have known better.

An apology was right at the tip of his tongue but Ben would be damned if he reassured Cobalt of his utter stupidity. "No it doesn't help actually." Ben frowned slightly, his hands gripping the arms of the chair he was sitting on. "It just means you already had plans with him and if I hadn't asked, you wouldn't have thought of coming over at all. So no, Cobalt...it doesn't help that you had to change your plans with him just to see me."

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt was pretty damn livid at this point. He knew he wasn’t supposed to talk about those things, that he was supposed to keep it quiet because even he didn’t know all the facts, but he didn’t actually give a shit one way or another. The fact of the matter was that he was tired of people he cared about getting hurt, or being put in danger or…

Or looking at him like that. When Cobalt turned the conversation back to Ben, the look of alarm and frustration on his face made Cobalt feel guilty even through his anger. But no. Cobalt wasn’t going to feel guilty about this. This was a long time coming, and Ben was going to sit and listen to it.

“Oh for the love of Christ, Ben!” Cobalt snapped in frustration, throwing his hands up in the air, “Yes, I already had plans with Danny. What is the big damn deal about it? I had plans with Josh a few days ago, and I didn’t hear you bitching and moaning about that. All I want—” Cobalt cut himself off abruptly, suddenly and disconcertingly aware that the next words out of his mouth would have been all I want is to figure out how to make you happy. And that was not okay. That was not what he wanted. “…All I want is to figure out how to have some peace in this goddamn town.” He stepped back so he wasn’t so far in Ben’s space. So that he could slowly start making his way to the door.

[Benjamin Rhodes]

Were he any other person, Ben knew he would have been less pleased about how things were turning out. But damn it, this was Cobalt. And what the hell was so special about Cobalt anyway?

He shook his head and was about to launch into a tirade when he sensed the hesitation in Cobalt's. The way he seemed to basically lose steam by the end of it suggested to Ben that there was something the shadow manipulator wasn't saying.

But he couldn't actually ask the man about it. That would be weird. And would completely throw the conversation off balance.

"Peace? You want peace here? What, did you not get the brochure for this goddamn town?" Ben laughed incredulously, standing abruptly from the chair, knocking it back a bit. "The town where telepaths and sonic screamers and psionic blasters are cohabiting. You wanted peace here? You'd have more peace in Vegas."

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt wished he hadn’t hesitated. He was in the middle of an argument. And he was winning. There were things that Ben needed to hear, because there was some bullshit that needed to be worked out. So when he hesitated, Ben hesitated, and Cobalt couldn’t push if there was nothing pushing back.

Abruptly, Ben stood up, knocking his chair back and towering over shorter Cobalt. Not that this was anything new. Ben was a tall man, and Cobalt…wasn’t. And Cobalt was used to being the short one in fights. Instinctually, Cobalt’s knees bent and his glare turned steely. Did he really think this would come to blows? Absolutely not. He was enraged, but not enough to even think about putting a hand on Ben. And he knew the other man was far less violent than he was. But still, his body recognized a confrontational situation and responded.

Cobalt barked out a laugh, “Yeah, clearly. I should have stayed in Chicago. There, I was left alone. There, I didn’t have friends to act this way around each other. I mean… Jesus Christ, Ben, you act like you’re jealous or something. You know that? Like a jealous fucking teenager.” Cobalt used mild swear words in day to day conversation, but not like this. He was angry, and his anger made his language especially coarse. “And I’m sick of it. Grow the fuck up.”