Chapter Text
Anna and Benedict leave the elevator after a giggly ride up to his floor. They make their way down the hall and around the corner to his room for a somewhat interesting, slightly tension filled sleepover.
"Geeze, wow! This place is bigger than my apartment! Very Nice!" Anna takes her overnight bag from Benedict's hand and asks "Bathroom?"
"There are two. If you're not needing the tub, you can use the one nearest the sofa." He places emphasis on the last two words, in a very resonant baritone.
"Thanks. A nice warm shower sounds good. No need for me to be traipsing in and out of your en suite." She clicks her tongue and winks.
"Cheeky monkey." she smiles, to herself.
Anna unzips her tiny spinner, and sits on the floor in front of it with folded legs as she rummages through its contents. She grabs a smaller bag, two indistinguishable black garments, and something tie dyed in all manner of pinks and purples. She also fetches two bottles of wine, and a waiter style corkscrew.
She stands up, hands the wine and corkscrew to Benedict, gathers her things and pads toward the bathroom.
"Hey, Ben?! Open the Super Tuscan, and chill the Rosé please!" She requests, over her shoulder.
Benedict takes a look at both wines, he will indeed open the Red as requested. He quirks a brow at the Rosé, but finds an ice bucket and ice.
He decides to make himself more comfortable, and ambles to the en suite. He performs some cursory ablutions and makes his way back to the living room in pyjama bottoms and a T-shirt.
He literally bumps into Anna in the hallway. They jostle over who'll walk in front of whom. Anna wins, and Benedict goes down the hall first. She takes the towel she's using on her hair, grabs it at both ends, torques it and snaps at Benedict's ass.
The resounding thwack was suitably satisfying enough to cause a round of fiendish giggles from Anna.
"Bloody Fuckin' Hell, Anna!" he growls, through clenched teeth, as he rubs his bum.
Anna begins to feel a little guilty about popping Benedict so soundly. "Aww, geeze, Ben. I'm sorry..." He wheels himself ‘round, and she looks over at him through her lashes and sighs. He reaches towards her with an index finger and taps the end of her nose - "BOOP!" he chortles.
A brief moment of silence passes between them, before they both erupt into raucous laughter. "I so deserved that" she laughs. The apples of her cheeks aglow in bright magenta.
"Bloody gorgeous, you are..." Benedict muses silently, captivated by Anna's down to earth manner.
"Did you open the wine?" she asks as she scoots by him into the living room. She stops at her suitcase and fishes out two polycarbonate wine glasses and moves to a sofa, where she plops herself unceremoniously.
"Which would you like first, Anna?"
"Ooo! The Rosé, please." she coos. "The red can wait for us" He fetches the wine and touches Anna's neck with the bottom of the bottle as he walks around the sofa. She winces slightly and rakes her hair over to the other side of her head, exposing the cold spot to the ambient air. "Mmmm..." she purrs.
Benedict sits across the coffee table on a second sofa, with his legs folded. Anna opens the wine, and pours them both a glass. Benedict does a bit of facial histrionics, but accepts the glass and takes a very small sip.
"I saw those facial gymnastics, Ben. Yes, it's Rosé. Yes, it has a Stelvin closing. Give it an honest try. Pleease?" She flutters her lashes and smiles coyly, mocking herself.
"Swirl if you must. If it's too cold for you, that'll open it a bit. I really like this wine. Reminds me a bit of Cherry Blossoms. Ahhh, smell the berries? Maybe a tiny bit of vanilla?" "Close your eyes and sip. You'll see..." she convinces him, he swirls and takes another sip.
"Oh. That's quite a bit different. How?..." He looks at her and shrugs.
"Trial and error, and a soupçon of fluid dynamics. I'm not an expert. So, if I like the way it smells, it'll probably taste good too."
"Ben, let's have a little fun" she quirks a brow and smiles lasciviously.
"Okay. Count me in." he replies. "What are we up to?" he wonders.
"How about a little Truth or Dare?" she asks, in her earthy mezzo.
"Who goes first?" he asks. "You can go first. Ask me..." she purrs.
"Anna, Truth or Dare?" he asks, charmingly.
"Truth. Do your verst, dahhlink" she answers as Marlene Dietrich.
Benedict narrows his eyes as he gazes over at Anna while he formulates a question. He purses his lips and hollows his cheeks. Just as he drops his bottom lip to speak, Anna interrupts him before he gets out a single word.
"Yes, and damned well too..." She pours herself another glass of wine and sips very seductively. "
"How could you possibly know what I was going to ask?"
"Non conscious affect display, Benedict." she smiles.
"WOT?!"
"Hollowed cheeks, pursed lips. Oral sex?, Ben. Yes, I give head. And I'm really fucking good at it, too."
Puzzled, he scratches his head, and rubs his palms on the legs of his pyjamas.
"Was I wrong?" she asks
"No, but... I..." He shakes his head, and takes another sip.
"♪My turn♪." she says, in a self congratulatory sing song.
Benedict swallows hard. Unsure of where this is going, but curiosity has gotten the better of him -
"In for a penny, in for the whole bloody pound..." he smiles to himself.
"Truth or Dare, Benedict?" she smiles, her eyes full of mischief.
"Dare" he mumbles, into his glass.
"Coool!" she chuckles, and wiggles her shoulders. "This is fun. Aren't you having fuuuun, Ben?" she chortles, and pours herself another glass of wine.
"Remains to be seen, Anna. Do you have a dare, or not?" he grouses.
"Okay, okay... " She crinkles her nose, and takes a sip before giving her reply.
"I dare you to come and sit by me." Surprised by the simplicity of the request, Benedict grabs his glass, stands up, walks across the coffee table and throws himself down on the sofa on the end opposite Anna.
The cushions bounce slightly, prompting a girlish, albeit slightly tipsy giggle from her. "Ooo! Well then... Your turn, Benny." She rakes her fingers through her hair, and leans away from him, on her elbows. Then, she crosses her legs and wiggles her toes.
He sets down his glass, and begins to formulate a plan for either choice - Truth or Dare. He quirks his chin, and worries the corner of his bottom lip before speaking.
Making note of his expression, Anna raises and lowers both eyebrows, leaving the left brow raised.
"Ohhh, you're postulating, yes? Bring. It. On." she chides, playfully.
"Truth or Dare, Andromeda..."
Speaking her given name in his lower register to call her out makes her toes curl. He notes her reaction and gently strokes the top of her foot.
"Scheisse. Gurrrl!, what've you done? Oh... Fuckkit! Let's see where this goes." She ruminates.
"I'll take Dare for twelve hundred, Alex." she says, tongue firmly in cheek.
"I dare you to sing. I heard you in the shower. You sounded lovely." He shares, thoughtfully.
Anna blushes, sits up and asks "Whaddaya wanna hear?" She tosses her hair over her shoulder and leans in for her answer. Benedict removes a rogue tendril from Anna's face and replies "What were you singing in the shower? I'd love to hear more of that song."
"It's a new fave of mine. It's a rap song sung in the style of Jessica Rabbit. You don't want that a cappella, do you? It's better with music."
"As you wish..." he grins.
Anna reaches behind the sofa into her bag to retrieve her phone, granting Benedict a view of her cotton clad bum. Her boy cut undies ride up slightly as she reaches, revealing the curve of her bum where it joins her thighs. Benedict pours the the last of the Rosé into his glass, and smiles as he takes in the flirtatious visual before him.
Anna settles back on the sofa and reaches for her glass, finding it empty. She boldly reaches for Benedict's glass, and he offers her a sip. He scoots closer and places the glass to her lips. They both tilt the glass as she sips.
He takes the glass away, and wipes a stray droplet of wine from her bottom lip with his index finger. She kisses the tip of his finger, and purrs "Thanks. Maybe we should have the red now?"
He nods, and saunters over to a console table where he'd left the wine. Returning to the sofa, he pours them both a glass, and remarks "Anytime you're ready..."
She flips through her playlists, cues up the song and begins to warble in a jazzy chanteuse style with the music:
♪Shorty get down, good Lord♪
♪And baby got 'em open all over town♪
♪Simply ‘cuz you don't play around♪
♪Cover much ground... got game by the pound♪
♪Getting paid is a forte♪
♪Each and every day♪
♪True player way♪
♪I can't get him out of my mind♪
♪Think about the boy all the time...♪
When she finishes, she shrugs, and takes a sip of wine, but smiles over her glass. Benedict gives her a light peck on the cheek. "Brilliant! That voice should be heard places other than the shower, Anna."
"Well, I did tape your walking tour for you" she says with a raised brow.
"Wait, you mean I was the only one who heard your voice?"
"Yep." she says. Popping the "P" sound. "Everyone else got the docent's voice as usual"
"When did you record it?" he asks, quite quizzically.
"A gal's gotta have some secrets, Ben"
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