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Bail did finally look at Ben's hand and... realized he might be coming off as cold. Which he didn't want to do. He just didn't want to come off as taking advantage of Ben.

And he didn't want Ben to move to get a lint roller, because it was unnecessary.

He placed a hand over Ben's for so many reasons.

"You don't have to do that. I have a lint roller in my car. At my office. Every room of my house almost... she's a lovely cat."

The second he was touched he relaxed. His expression lightened, his eyebrows weren't just on the edge of being pulled down, the set of his jaw loosened up, his shoulders dropped, his spine curved and became less upright. Just pure, immediate response to having the touch returned and, in truth, just being touched.

He curled his fingers a bit into Bail's arm and, while not quite leaning into him the overall level of being more relaxed decreased distance some. Not with intent but just for feeling... overall better.

He even laughed, albeit very softly. "That's right - golden retriever. I wonder what Elsa would make of him."

Bail noticed how Ben relaxed in every way and made the decision to just give in more with the touch if it had that much of an affect on him.

He grabbed Ben's hand, to move it, to hold it with his.

"Franklin?" Bail said. "Oh, he's a big baby. She would walk all over him."

He was perplexed a little when Bail moved his hand but when he realized what was happening, he simply folded his fingers around Bail's, pivoted a little and sprawled down against his side with a sigh of relief.

"She walks all over everyone." Literally - she was currently padding softly up along Ben to get to the back of the sofa. "She's a benevolent dictator, most of the time. I don't think she's seen a dog since she left her breeder, though."

It was just natural from there to move his arm to wrap around Ben's shoulders and then lean back against the couch for support- it was more comfortable that way.

Bail tried not to think too hard about all that contact. Just all at once.

"Franklin is just happy to have attention. And that he gets to go to the park. How old is Elsa?"

Ben took the arm around his shoulders as a pretty clear signal that Bail was okay with the contact, relaxed even more somehow and let his eyes close.

"I feel like your dog and I might understand each other," he said dryly. What? He liked attention, too. Clearly. "Elsa is." He stopped to remember and do that minor bit of subtraction for a half second. "Ten months old."

And then, because why let things stay entirely comfortable : "Are you going to be bothered by the scars?"

Edited 2020-06-06 06:22 (UTC)

That, looking back, had escalated quickly. And Bail didn't mind and he thought maybe he should. He was here to be supportive, for a friend. (A friend that maybe could be more than a friend.)

But that question threw him.

"No," he said promptly, but it was followed by, "why would I be bothered by the scars?"

"Well." He didn't quite drawl but he did crack an eye open to look at Bail. "We did decide that we are dating - or at least have had a date. Which usually leads to some naked time at some point. There are people who really, really don't like scars, and that's okay. But if it's going to be a problem, now's probably the best time to acknowledge it."

Bail was unprepared for that level of frankness - not opposed to it in the slightest - just surprised Ben went... all the way there. And his mind, of course, asked 'were they dating?' after one date?

He finally took a drink from his water bottle. After that, he needed it.

He smiled, realizing he was breathing through a heady feeling of elation he hadn't felt in quite some time.

"You want to get naked with me?"

"...do most people ask people they aren't attracted to the idea of at least eventually getting naked with on dates?"

People who weren't asexual or dating for very different reasons he supposed but it was definitely part of the whole compatibility thing, and he was definitely attracted and-

Okay maybe more frank, less confused.

"I wouldn't have asked you out if I wasn't attracted to you."

Bail smiled, taking another drink- now he was amused. He was trying to relax also- if Ben was directing the conversation, then Bail was more comfortable with where it led.

"Did you ask me on a date, or did I catch you taking me on a date?"

"Always maintain plausible deniability of anyone not dressed from head to toe in rainbows in a gay club." He grinned, just a little tiredly. "You definitely caught me asking you on a date. Wanna do it again sometime?"

The order might be a little off, but hey.

"Yes," Bail said, no hesitation. "I want to. I pick this time."

"Absolutely," he agreed. He was honestly a little relieved at the moment - he did not have normal amounts of bandwidth to make big plans, "but I want to at least know how I should be dressed a day in advance, please."

Bail moved his hand in Ben's, the tips of his fingers moving against the tips of Ben's.

"I'm not one for big surprises- mostly because that takes a lot of wit to pull off, which I don't have. I'm thinking pizza. Somewhere casual. So we can talk... like we're doing now." Maybe touching, too, later in the evening.

That was nice and Ben flexed his fingers so he was returning the light touch but also so there was more of his hand available to be touched. "I promise to show up to this one wearing pants with a zipper." He was dryly amused and a little frustrated at himself. He really did not continually dress down. "Pizza sounds fantastic, actually, especially if you take me somewhere you know and like." Talking and touching were good too. He was enjoying them now. "Why do you think you don't have wit?"

Bail couldn't tell if Ben was purposefully dropping innuendo all over the place. It just made him want to kiss Ben more- but he deliberately held himself back, to let Ben lead.

"I know a few great pizza places."

He focused on their fingers for a moment before pointing out, "witty enough to carry of surprises- at least big ones."

Ben would drop innuendo on purpose and that particular bit was one he would enjoy-

but it hadn't been intentional, this time.

"There's something really great about meeting you the first time outside a meeting at a really healthy place and our dates being much more casual and... guilty pleasure food." Just absent observation. "Ok. What kind of wit does it take to carry off big surprises that you lack?"

"Eating kale on a date is hardly what I call romantic," Bail pointed out.

Bail liked this simple touch of Ben's fingers. Sometimes, the simplest things are the most impactful.

"To pull off a big surprise, you have to know everything about the other person, all their likes, dislikes, their general mood, their current mood. If you pull it off, and the other person enjoys it, that's wonderful. But the potential for failure is high, and it can range from mild disappointment to actually harming the other person. I much prefer communication than leaving everything to luck and chance."

"I have some very mixed feelings about romance," Ben admitted, openly and without a single bit of hesitation. He really was pretty relaxed, especially within the context of the day they had had.

He glanced up at Bail at the rest, though. "That isn't a lack of wit. That's the presence of caution, and care, and respect, and deliberateness." There was a difference, he thought.

If Ben wanted to call it presence of caution and care, Bail didn't object.

Besides, he was more interested in something else.

"What are your feelings about romance?"

"That it's a mixed bag." He smiled, slightly. "When you hear romance, what most people think of is... candlelit diners, moonlight walks on a beach, or rose petal strewn paths. The... showmanship. I am not going to pretend that I am above enjoying a good show, especially if it's a reflection of feeling." What with his love of performing and all, that's probably pretty damn clear. "It's fun sometimes, but it isn't substance. When the show replaces the substance, all you have is a very pretty house of cards."

Edited 2020-06-06 19:53 (UTC)

"Is that what you think romance is?" Bail asked. He was curious, not argumentative, it was good to know what Ben thought.

He had to mull that question over longer than he had the previous one and was silent for a little bit. "I'm not really sure I think romance is anything particular, to be honest. Just caring about someone and actions reflecting it, within the context of a... romantic relationship and if you ask me to define that one I'm going to be forced to resort to googling dictionary definitions. Possibly dictionary definitions of art, while I'm at it." That last bit was a soft, gentle, tease.

The "Hmmm," Bail said revealed his amusement. Part of him was tempted to ask what Ben considered this, what they were doing right now. But maybe he'd ask that later.

"But I think you should define romantic relationship. I want to hear you're take on it.