[Ben can't help but wince at that sound because that's never good. He glances back over his shoulder as well, waiting until they're on the side of the road, before going to climb out of the car.]
That sounded like a tire. You got a spare in the trunk?
( He hopes that he rolled over something, but he knows there's a tire that's not intact. Still, as he steps out of the car, he holds onto the sliver of hope and comes face to face with a busted tire.
He nods, coming around to the trunk. Opening it, he remembers at the last minute -- when he's faced with a bag of hunting supplied zipped up and a trunk next to it. He slams the trunk back closed. )
[It's repeated in commiseration, and he sighs before running a hand over his face.]
Alright. You want to call the tow, I'll see if I can spot somewhere for us to crash?
[They've maybe an hour away from Peoria at most, but who knows how long it's going to take to get the tire fixed. They probably weren't making it to Lawrence tonight.]
It's fine. The actual birthday stuff wasn't until tomorrow anyway. We've got time.
[He tabs another motel option - how far away he'll get will depend on how long the tire is going to take - dropping it off and renting a car in another state doesn't seem like the best idea in his opinion, but maybe they'll be able to get a little bit further before they stop for the night.]
Elena's actual birthday, anyway. I think it's also Damon's birthday but that was Wednesday.
[And he wasn't necessarily expected for that. Ben puts his browser to the side and pull up his text messages to text Dean: Got a flat near Peoria. Waiting on a tow, but probably won't make it in until tomorrow.]
( And he thought hunting and secret love child, angels were something. )
Dean and Elena and you had lunch with their alternate universe children and Damon. Who is a nice vampire.
( Okay.
Let me know when you land somewhere for the night.
AAA drops the car off a few miles outside a mechanic's garage and gas pump. That garage is off of a dive bar and across the street sits a motel. Once he squares away with AAA, he rejoins Ben by the gas pumps. )
Damon and the alternate universe children is honestly the least crazy thing about Elena's life.
[It all just spirals from there.
That being said, he will thumbs up Dean's text and glances up and Dickerson when he returns outside.]
What did the mechanic say about when it'll be done?
[It's roughly mid-afternoon at this point, so maybe they have some time, but if the mechanic's hands are full, he may not be able to get to them until much later.]
Well, considering Dean dragged her along with an angel...
( He can see it. )
Mechanic's backlogged, but he can get to it first thing in the morning, or at the end of the day, if he's lucky. But, we're gonna need a room. And, maybe a drink. Maybe not in that order. Whatdya' say.
Room first. We can drop our stuff off before we eat.
[Hopefully the motel isn't as shady as it looks.
They get a room for the night and then head over to the bar. Ben orders himself a burger and a ginger ale before texting Dean an update and a new ETA.
And maybe they can use the extra time to make things a little less weird. Because Ben's been feeling the weirdness, and even if he thinks he knows why, he doesn't necessarily want it to be something Dean picks up on.]
I like a dinner. Low pressure. You excited to celebrate your dad's girlfriend? With her ex and her ... children from another world. Our lives have gotten very weird.
They have gotten very weird. And Elena is very intense about her people. I guess it's nice to be considered one of her people, even though we haven't known each other that long.
[Ben is aware that he's been lucky in the step-parent department. Rudy has always treated him like his own, and Elena took his sudden emergence as Dean's son like a champ. He figures the least he could do is show up for her birthday if invited.]
And I think it's good for Dean. That he sees that she sees me as part of things too.
For what it's worth, you being anybody's people. It's a no-brainer. She's lucky she has you as a person. I can vouch, it's pretty great.
( To be his friend. )
Yeah, that guy really held an apology tour. It's good, you're finding your footing. Celebrating things. And thanks for including yours truly. Been a minute since I celebrated anything.
[It feels so casual, the way he says it, but it's really not. Even if things are weird or complicated, there's no version of reality where Ben doesn't want Dickerson around in some capacity.
Still, he keeps talking, softening the statement some.]
[Ben finishes his drink and pops one last fry in his mouth. Once their tab is settled, they make their way back to the motel room and Ben finds himself looking at the pair of beds in the room and asking, apropos of nothing:]
( They didn't talk about it when they dropped their stuff off. Before Dickerson made any kind of move, it wouldn't have mattered. And it shouldn't. Despite the beds being shoved together, Dickerson can keep his hands to himself. He respects his friend. It's been months since his missteps, anyway, and while it hasn't been the same, it hasn't been bad. He's not ruining the good thing like a road trip and a birthday not about him. )
We're good.
( They trade off getting ready for bed, using the bathroom, brushing their teeth, etc, so that by the time Dickerson lets Ben get settled, he's in sleep pants and a t-shirt. It may not be the best sleep he'll ever get, he just doesn't want to be presumptuous going shirtless or in boxers.
Maybe things might be different had he not done the dumb thing, but he can't change that now.
He lays on his back, testing the pillow, before saying goodnight and closing his eyes.
He doesn't know the time when he becomes aware again. Some time in the middle of the night. He can hear the air from the a/c unit. He can hear and feel Ben's breathing. He shifts, rolling from one side to the other facing Ben, eyes opening just because. )
[That isn't what he meant, but Dickerson moves right into getting ready for bed, so he lets it go. He changes into pajamas and brushes his teeth and gets into bed and ... doesn't sleep.
He can't. It's as though his brain is buzzing and none of this is good for the drive they have to make tomorrow but he can't shake the thoughts swirling in his mind.
He's still not sure he knows what he wants. Part of him is still worried about what happens if this crashes and burns the way so many things have in the past. But the parts of him that protest the change have slowly fallen away over the last few months.
He hears Dickerson shift next to him, and he doesn't look but does ask:]
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That sounded like a tire. You got a spare in the trunk?
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He nods, coming around to the trunk. Opening it, he remembers at the last minute -- when he's faced with a bag of hunting supplied zipped up and a trunk next to it. He slams the trunk back closed. )
I pulled it out. I rearranged my trunk. Shit.
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[It's repeated in commiseration, and he sighs before running a hand over his face.]
Alright. You want to call the tow, I'll see if I can spot somewhere for us to crash?
[They've maybe an hour away from Peoria at most, but who knows how long it's going to take to get the tire fixed. They probably weren't making it to Lawrence tonight.]
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( He's happy they have cell service, at least. As he pulls up the app, he knows Lawrence is not in their future tonight, but tomorrow. )
They'll probably tow us somewhere close, But, we'll need to stay somewhere tonight.
( The app updates. )
Thirty minutes.
( He waits, leaning against the driver side of the car. )
Sorry, this is not the weekend you were looking for.
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[He tabs another motel option - how far away he'll get will depend on how long the tire is going to take - dropping it off and renting a car in another state doesn't seem like the best idea in his opinion, but maybe they'll be able to get a little bit further before they stop for the night.]
Elena's actual birthday, anyway. I think it's also Damon's birthday but that was Wednesday.
[And he wasn't necessarily expected for that. Ben puts his browser to the side and pull up his text messages to text Dean: Got a flat near Peoria. Waiting on a tow, but probably won't make it in until tomorrow.]
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( It's an easy replacement. It's just a matter of where they end up. )
Damon's...
( You okay, though? Let me know if you need a hand." )
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[So naturally that makes things complicated.]
He seems nice enough, though. We had lunch with Dean and them and the kids back in Mystic Falls.
[To Dean: No, we're good. Even if we had a spare we wouldn't have made it anyway. I'll keep you posted.]
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( And he thought hunting and secret love child, angels were something. )
Dean and Elena and you had lunch with their alternate universe children and Damon. Who is a nice vampire.
( Okay.
Let me know when you land somewhere for the night.
AAA drops the car off a few miles outside a mechanic's garage and gas pump. That garage is off of a dive bar and across the street sits a motel. Once he squares away with AAA, he rejoins Ben by the gas pumps. )
We should grab rooms.
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[It all just spirals from there.
That being said, he will thumbs up Dean's text and glances up and Dickerson when he returns outside.]
What did the mechanic say about when it'll be done?
[It's roughly mid-afternoon at this point, so maybe they have some time, but if the mechanic's hands are full, he may not be able to get to them until much later.]
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( He can see it. )
Mechanic's backlogged, but he can get to it first thing in the morning, or at the end of the day, if he's lucky. But, we're gonna need a room. And, maybe a drink. Maybe not in that order. Whatdya' say.
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[Hopefully the motel isn't as shady as it looks.
They get a room for the night and then head over to the bar. Ben orders himself a burger and a ginger ale before texting Dean an update and a new ETA.
And maybe they can use the extra time to make things a little less weird. Because Ben's been feeling the weirdness, and even if he thinks he knows why, he doesn't necessarily want it to be something Dean picks up on.]
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Probably should've checked beforehand, but not one or two star reviews. No claim of bed bugs.
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[On theme and brightly colored but at least clean and relatively safe. He's pretty sure Dean's stayed in worse.]
And everything works out and we get an early enough start we should be able to get there by lunch tomorrow.
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( Room's VERY brightly colored. )
What time's the - is it a party?
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[Elena just wants to spend some time with her people.]
I think the start time is flexible.
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( He takes a sip from his beer, chuckling. )
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[Ben is aware that he's been lucky in the step-parent department. Rudy has always treated him like his own, and Elena took his sudden emergence as Dean's son like a champ. He figures the least he could do is show up for her birthday if invited.]
And I think it's good for Dean. That he sees that she sees me as part of things too.
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( To be his friend. )
Yeah, that guy really held an apology tour. It's good, you're finding your footing. Celebrating things. And thanks for including yours truly. Been a minute since I celebrated anything.
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[It feels so casual, the way he says it, but it's really not. Even if things are weird or complicated, there's no version of reality where Ben doesn't want Dickerson around in some capacity.
Still, he keeps talking, softening the statement some.]
No one I'd rather go on a road trip with.
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( Road trip. Shoot the shit. Unpack years of childhood trauma. He'd do any and all of it with Ben. )
We should probably go and get some shut-eye.
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[Ben finishes his drink and pops one last fry in his mouth. Once their tab is settled, they make their way back to the motel room and Ben finds himself looking at the pair of beds in the room and asking, apropos of nothing:]
Are we good, dude?
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We're good.
( They trade off getting ready for bed, using the bathroom, brushing their teeth, etc, so that by the time Dickerson lets Ben get settled, he's in sleep pants and a t-shirt. It may not be the best sleep he'll ever get, he just doesn't want to be presumptuous going shirtless or in boxers.
Maybe things might be different had he not done the dumb thing, but he can't change that now.
He lays on his back, testing the pillow, before saying goodnight and closing his eyes.
He doesn't know the time when he becomes aware again. Some time in the middle of the night. He can hear the air from the a/c unit. He can hear and feel Ben's breathing. He shifts, rolling from one side to the other facing Ben, eyes opening just because. )
no subject
He can't. It's as though his brain is buzzing and none of this is good for the drive they have to make tomorrow but he can't shake the thoughts swirling in his mind.
He's still not sure he knows what he wants. Part of him is still worried about what happens if this crashes and burns the way so many things have in the past. But the parts of him that protest the change have slowly fallen away over the last few months.
He hears Dickerson shift next to him, and he doesn't look but does ask:]
You awake?