Ben Loves a Challenge Ch. 17

"I saw a lot of women who needed help over the years, but recently I've seen younger folk who are struggling with their sexuality, or gender, and in turn struggle with their faith. It made me think, and made me realize that these people aren't evil or corrupted. It's just how they were made, and I realized that God's plan isn't as black and white as some people interpret it to be."

Dean stood up and walked woodenly to his mother's side, then almost fell on top of her, crying hard. She hugged him with the arm that wasn't hooked up to an IV as he sobbed. "Ma..." Ben felt like a voyeur, and wasn't sure if he should leave or stay.

Dean pulled away from the hug before Ben could make a decision, then dragged his chair closer to his mother's side. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"You don't hafta be sorry, Dean," his mother said, reaching out for his hand, then looking irritated when the IV caught it again. "I love you, no matter what."

Dean held his breath, Ben could see him battling with another round of tears. "Thank you," he said, sounding raw. He held his mother's hand in his, his large hands making hers look small. "I... I missed you, too."

"Course you did," she said, smiling softly. "But you coulda shown it by writing a little more often."

"I wasn't sure what to say," he admitted after a short silence. "It's not, it's not that easy."

"How long have you two been dating?" his mother asked, changing the subject, but not really.

"A couple months," Dean admitted. "Been a couple months now."

"Ben?"

Ben jumped, then straightened up in his chair. "Yes ma'am?"

"You don't have to call me ma'am," she corrected. "Tell me about yourself. How'd you meet my son? I'd like to get to know my potential son-in-law."

Ben's cheeks burned, and he saw Dean react the same. "Oh. Um. We work in the same place, where we met. I, ah. I had a bad breakup with my ex-girlfriend, and, um-"

"Girlfriend?"

"We were engaged. Like, um. I'm not, like, I dunno." He was terrified of this conversation, he realized, not having thought it through at all, afraid it would go similar to how it did with his own mother somehow. "I, like, um... I dunno, Dean's special."

She smiled and a little of his panic went away, but not enough. "He is."

"Yeah, so, I dunno. He caught my attention, helped me out after I got a little too inebriated on the anniversary of my breakup with my ex, and, I dunno. I fell in love with him. It wasn't even an option not to."

Dean's whole face was red. "He, um. It was a work party, a going away party. I couldn't leave him there, and his dumb friends ditched him."

"Ex-friends," he corrected, his mouth moving faster than his brain.

"Good riddance." Dean barked out a laugh, then caught himself and cleared his throat.

Dean's mother looked at Ben, then back at Dean, a soft smile on her face. "That's an awfully big jump, from an ex-girlfriend to a current boyfriend."

Ben shrugged. "It just felt right. I dunno. Like, I fell in love before I even realized it, and then it was too late, you know?"

"I do," Dean's mother replied, nodding her head. "I promise I won't tell the others, I'll just tell them you're good friends."

"But, you knew, don't you think they'll figure it out?"

Dean's mother gave him an amused stare, then shook her head. "Not in a million years, not if you don't tell them, or do something obvious like kiss in front of them or something."

"Mom!" Dean barked.

She chuckled. "Oh, you two don't kiss?"

"We do," Dean snapped, frustrated. "But, like, yea? Not, um, you know? Like, we don't hafta talk about it!" Ben thought he was going to say something else, but his head pivoted to the door and he shut his mouth.

Ben heard someone talking outside the door and turned to find someone standing in the frame. He realized a second later the man was on the phone, then turned back to Dean. "It's Sean," he said quietly.

"Oh."

"Don't worry about it," Dean's mother dismissed. "Sean?"

"Just a sec, Ma, on the phone with Dad."

"You feeling okay, Mom?" Dean asked, looking her over.

"I am, especially now that you're here." She smiled and he flushed.

Sean came into the room, passing by Ben with barely a glance. "Sorry Ma, oh, hey Dean. Didn't think you'd be here yet." Dean and Sean were day and night different. Dean was tall and skinny, too skinny, but Ben saw he took after his mom that way. Sean, on the other hand, looked sort of like a dude-bro, like his second home might be the gym. He was short, but big. Not fat, just stout. He also smelled like he bathed in Axe body spray.

"You told me Mom was in the hospital and then immediately hung up! I had no idea what was going on, of course I'm gonna rush here, asshole."

"Dean," his mother chided. "Language."

"Sorry Ma," he said, staring daggers at Sean. "You coulda at least told me what was going on, yea?"

"Figured there was a better chance you'd show up if I didn't," Sean said with a shrug. "Seems like it worked."

"You are such a..." Dean trailed off, lips pursed in irritation.

"Ah, just like the good old days," their mother sighed. "My sons instantly fighting. Sean, where's your Father?"

"He's on the way," Sean said, throwing himself into the only other chair in the room. He pulled out his phone and scrolled for a second, then looked up at Ben. "Ah, who's that?"

"Oh, Dean's friend drove him here, and I didn't want him to have to sit in the car by himself. It's so cold out today," Dean's mother said, smooth as butter. "You got him all nervous and he was worried about driving, you know how he gets when he's stressed."

"Mom!" Dean barked, embarrassed, but he also looked relieved.

Sean seemed to immediately forget he was there, which was nice because Ben could just watch Dean interact with his family while pretending to be on his phone. He could tell that Sean was not going to be coming back into Dean's life anytime soon, but the knowing glances that Dean's mother kept sending in his direction made him super nervous.

Dean's dad showed up, a mountain of a man, and Ben knew where Sean got his genetics. It was hard to see that Dean and his father were related, maybe the shape of their ears, and definitely the color of his hair, but not much else. Dean shut down when his dad got there, pulling inside of himself like a turtle, but Dean's dad pretty much ignored him anyway.

Dean pulled his phone out and started typing, and a second later Ben's pocket buzzed. 'Wanna go?'

'You ready?' he responded.

Dean looked up and nodded. 'Yes, with emphasis.'

Ben stood up, drawing Dean's mom's attention. Dean stood up, too, and his father looked over at Ben as if noticing him for the first time. "You leaving?"

Dean nodded. "Yea, got work in the morning."

"You're going home when your mother is going under the knife tomorrow?" his dad asked, but the way he asked it was meant to cause guilt. Ben watched the guilt flow into Dean, and was instantly pissed, but kept his mouth shut.

"I can't do much if I'm here, right? Like, it's not like I'm a surgeon or something. And my bills won't pay themselves."

"You'd do well to watch that smart mouth of yours," Dean's dad barked.

"Go on, kiddo," Dean's mom said, softly, but it still somehow overpowered Dean's dad's attitude. "Sean will call you tomorrow after the surgery. Everything's gonna be fine."

"You sure?" Dean asked, obviously worried about his mom, and the guilt still sitting heavy in his stomach.

"Absolutely," his mother responded with a warm smile. "Go on, it's getting late, and I think we're supposed to be getting snow tonight, so it'd be good for you to miss that. Ben, it was wonderful to meet you, I'm so glad that Dean has such good friends. Drive safe, kiddo."

Dean stepped close to his mother and kissed her on the cheek. "Love you, Ma. Good luck tomorrow."

"I'm in God's hands tomorrow, kiddo. I'll be fine. Love you, too."

Dean headed towards the door and Ben followed him silently. Dean looked back once, then hurried out the door and down the hall. Neither of them talked as they retraced their earlier steps and left the hospital, or as they walked to the car.

They were seated and buckled, with Ben starting the car before Dean said anything. "Fuuucccckkk..."

It felt appropriate. "You okay?"

Dean shrugged, looking out the window. "I dunno. It's all... I dunno. It's a lot."

"Yeah," he agreed, shivering as the car heated up. "I don't mind calling off tomorrow, if you wanted to stay close, just for tonight. I know your boss can't say shit to you right now after all that shit you did with the malware he wasn't around for..."

Dean twisted in the car to face him. "Do you think I should? I feel like shit now, after what Dad said. Like, I really can't do anything if I stay, right? Like, and, hotels are expensive, and like hell I'm going back home here. I'd rather sleep in the car than go back to that house. I mean, what if it doesn't go well? I don't know what to do."

"Let's stay. I'll find us a hotel room, and you can call us off for tomorrow. There's no way anyone is going to hold your mom having major emergency surgery against your attendance, and if they do, then fuck 'em, cause that's bullshit."

"Ben, I can't ask you to stay. We should go back. I can drive back out tomorrow."

Ben gave him a stern look. "I'm not leaving your side, Dean."

"Ben..."

"Dean, I love you. Why would I be like, 'yeah, this's your shit, you deal with it alone'? I'm one hundred, thousand percent here for you. Also, I think your mom likes me..."

"What the fuck was that, yea? I mean, yea, she does. But, fuck, Ben. She knew! How'd she know? I was so careful."

"I think it was me," he admitted. "Like, I dunno. I don't know what I was doing, but obviously I was worried about you. I musta done something to key her into it. But, she took it well, right?"

"Yeah, she did. Too well. It feels like a trap."

Ben sighed, scrolling through local hotels on his phone for a vacancy with a king sized bed. "Do you hear yourself? Why would it be a trap?"

"Because..." Dean sucked in a deep breath, then blew it out slowly. "You're right," he finally admitted. "It's just, like, I didn't think anyone in my family understood me."

"Seems like your mom does."

Dean snorted. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it."

"Hey, I found a room at the Holiday Inn. Call us off, would you?" Ben put the address into his map app and plotted his course, and they were checked into the hotel and excused off of work in the next twenty five minutes.

"King sized bed?" Dean asked, smiling a legitimate smile for the first time since his brother had called that morning.

"Lately I don't like sleeping alone, I've been spoiled."

"Hardly," Dean said, rolling his eyes. "But, I'm not gonna lie, I'm super grateful for this. For all of it. How much do I owe you for the room?"

"Nothing."

Dean stared at him. "Nu-huh. What do I owe you?"

"Are you gonna badger me until I let you pay?"

"Absolutely, one hundred and fifty percent."

"Why can't I just do something nice for you?" Dean just stood there, flat staring him, hands on his hips. The stance was so Dean that he couldn't help but chuckle. "You can get me back later, I'm seriously not worried about it."

"I'm worried about it!" Dean growled. "Just let me pay you back, yea?"

Ben smiled his best teasing smile and doubled down. "Nope. It should be the last worry in your mind. Anyway, it's my treat."

"Ben!"

"Dean?" he replied, trying to rile Dean up, but in a good way.

It was working, and he was relieved he could get Dean's mind off the events of the day. "Don't make me spank you," Dean threatened after a healthy sigh.

He winked at Dean, then kicked his shoes off and jumped onto the bed. "Gonna have to catch me first."

Dean kicked his shoes off as well, then launched himself at Ben, knocking him on his back. "Caught you," he whispered, then kissed Ben's nose. "Thank you for today. You don't know how much it means to me, that you came. That you're here. That you stayed."

"I couldn't send you alone into the belly of the beast, so, you're welcome, but you didn't need to thank me at all. It's the least I could do. Like, literally the least," Ben said, wrapping his arms around Dean's neck. He pulled Dean down and kissed him on the lips.

Dean pinched his lips to the side. "You took your last day off and threw it away to drive me out to see my mom in the hospital, and now you're staying overnight and calling off tomorrow just so I can be close by in case anything happens. Your least is an understatement, yea?"

Ben snorted. "I mean, what else was I gonna do with my day? I got Aisha to come over and feed my cat, so the only thing that I had to go home for is covered. Also, this is the only place I wanna be right now."

"Wait, Aisha knows where you live?" Dean asked, tensing on top of him. "Why's she know where you live. Does she have your key? She'd have to, right? To get inside?"

Ben wrapped his arms around Dean's neck, preventing him from leaving. "I texted her and she said she'd stop by after 'dungeon time' tonight. I told her where I hide my spare key, and where Tennille's food is. She's never been to my house before, and I didn't know who else to ask so short-noticed. I promise you, I am not into Aisha at all. I'm only into Dean. Hence why I'm here, right where I wanna be. Where I need to be."

Dean went to argue, then sagged. "You're loco, DeLuca."

"It's been a while since you've said that," he noted. "If I'm crazy, so are you. Oh, and that's probably why you love me. The crazy part."

Dean exhaled slowly, then lowered himself down onto Ben, relaxing as best as Ben figured he probably could, given the situation. "Thanks Ben," he whispered, then kissed the tip of Ben's nose.

"Thank you for letting me come."

Dean barked out a strained laugh. "Letting you come. You weren't gonna let me go without you, yea?" Ben nodded, then hugged Dean, just a quick squeeze. "I don't know how I would've... I don't know if I woulda made it through today if you hadn't," Dean admitted. "Having you... Knowing you were gonna be with me the whole time, it really helped."

He pulled Dean down until he lay on top of him. "Anytime," he whispered, then kissed him again, still gently, enjoying the weight of his body. "I mean it."

"I know you do." Dean exhaled, relaxing, weighing Ben down like the best weighted blanket. "Love you, Ben," he whispered, then kissed him back. "I don't deserve you."

"Doesn't matter what you deserve, even if I think you do. Shut up and kiss me, Disney Princess Dean." Dean chuckled, and followed it up with a kiss that was still chaste, but had the promise of something more.

One kiss turned into two, four, and then a flurry of gentle kisses shared between the two of them. This wasn't the usual passion and heat that Dean had, this wasn't about dominance or submission. It was different. Intimate. It felt like Ben could see inside Dean, see what made him who he was, and that Dean was doing the same.

They made out for a long time, gentle kisses and tentative exploration of each other's bodies, a new level of intimacy that they'd just discovered together. He wasn't sure who started it, but after a while he realized his pants were open, and so were Dean's. He rolled them both so they were side by side, then tried to shuck off his pants without breaking away from the kiss.

Dean snorted and pulled back, watching him struggle in amusement. "Take yours off, too," Ben complained, pouting.

Dean didn't say anything, just smiled and watched Ben struggle, then pushed his own down, but only once Ben had his shirt off. Dean's movements were lazy and relaxed, and it warmed Ben's heart that he had helped.

Dean pulled his shirt over his head and sat on the bed with his legs crossed, watching Ben, still not saying anything. "What? Did I do something stupid?"

Dean shrugged. "Nope. Just like watching you is all."

Ben bit his bottom lip. "We don't have to, like, we can just, you know. Whatever you want is cool. I mean, I just wanted to feel you, and we don't have any clothes for tomorrow, so, like, it'd be good not to wear them to bed, and I don't wanna make you feel like-"

"Ben, come to bed, yea?" Dean said, pulling the blankets back and slipping under them.

"Sure," he agreed. The second he was in bed Dean pounced on him, pulling him under the comforter, then plastering his face and chest with kisses. He expected the kisses to turn to nips as they usually did, but they stayed kisses, and they stayed gentle. It quickly got too hot for him under the covers and he pulled them back, hoping that Dean wouldn't stop.

He did. "You okay?" Dean asked, looking up at him, his knees on the bed between his legs.

"Yeah. Just got hot. Are you okay?"

"I'm amazing." Dean returned to kissing Ben's body, his lips and tongue traveling over his chest. Dean's gentleness was strangely arousing in a different way than he was used to with Dean. It felt special. "You're amazing."

Ben caught Dean's face between his palms and brought it to his. "So what I'm hearing is that we're amazing," he whispered before kissing Dean. He could almost feel Dean roll his eyes, but Dean still returned the kiss.

"I wanna make love to you," Dean whispered. "But only if you wanna."

"I wanna," he immediately responded. "Like I'm ever gonna turn down a chance to be with you."

Dean snorted. "Not like we normally do. I wanna, like take our time, do it slow."

"Sounds good," he said, his hands now roaming down Dean's back. "I want you."

"There's no lube, but there's probably lotion, or conditioner. Are you okay with that?"

"Will it work?"

Dean nodded. "Generally does."

"Well then, I should go get it, right?"

"Stay here," Dean demanded. "I'll get it. Just, relax and stuff."

"Do you want me to shower first?" Ben asked, sitting up again.

"Only if you want," Dean replied, already headed towards the bathroom. Ben watched his ass as he left, hypnotized by it. "I want you to be comfortable."

"If you don't mind, I'll shower after, but I'm gonna go clean up the undercarriage real quick for now." Ben jumped out of bed and sprang to the bathroom, closing the door the second Dean was out.

"You don't have to," Dean said through the door.

"I know," Ben replied, loud enough that Dean could hear him through the door. "I wanna, though." He grabbed a washcloth, considered his options, then decided he'd shower twice and hopped in. It wasn't even warm yet, but he was in a hurry, worried that the longer he took, the more likely Dean was to talk himself out of it.

He was barely dry as he re-emerged from the bathroom to find Dean laying on his side on the bed, stroking himself slowly. "You showered?" he asked, pouting a little.

Ben shrugged, then used the towel around his waist to dry off as best he could. "It was the most practical."

"You didn't have to, I really don't mind," Dean fussed, watching Ben's every move.

Ben smiled, then let the towel fall to the floor as he slid into bed. "S'okay." He wrapped his arms around Dean and rolled them so he was on his back and Dean was on top of him.

"You're cold," Dean fretted.

"I was in a hurry," he noted, trying his best coy smile. "Besides, you'll warm me up, won't you?"

"That's the cheesiest thing you've ever said," Dean complained, adjusting his body until they were both more comfortable.

"That cannot even remotely be true," he dismissed, then pulled him down for a kiss.

"Hmmm," Dean hummed as Ben pushed his way into his mouth, cutting off anything else Dean had been going to say. "Mmmmm." Dean kissed him back, still gently, but a little more possessive than before his shower.

Dean's sword was stabbing into his belly and freed his arms to adjust it. When he tried to return to hugging Dean, Dean caught his hands and pulled them over Ben's head, then held them easily with one of his. The kisses stopped and Dean looked at him with a hunger that staggered him.