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Fred pulled up to Ben's house in a short amount of time. Fred wasn't planning to go anywhere for a while, because he felt awful usually after he goes out with his fellow Banzai Blasters. He was still hurting internally right after he managed to escape the museum without going to jail.
He thought he'd actually be happy this time around due to how successful the night went.
He wasn't.
However, Ben wanted to hang out with him after the mission and Fred couldn't deny his friend. So, now he was there, sitting in his banged up truck. His hand was still gripping the wheel. He almost didn't want to go inside. But, he ignored his feelings. He loosened his grip on the steering wheel and got out of the car. He dragged his feet to the front door and knocked.
Ben, excitedly, went to the door and opened it. "Car Crash! You made it! Awesome, so glad you're here!" He exclaimed with a smile. Fred sighed, "Ben, you don't have to call me Car Crash when we're on our days off. Off-duty, I'm just Fred." Ben giggled, "Oh, I know that silly! I just like messing with you, bro!" He elbowed him a tiny bit to prove his point.
Fred gave a smile, but it seemed pretty sad. 'Yeah... Just bros... Right, that's all we are. Glad to see he hasn't noticed how... bummed out I am.'
Ben, still, doesn't notice how out of character he was acting. He was just happy Fred was there! "Well, why don't you come inside? We can't have you staying out here in the cold!" Fred nodded, "Yeah, that'd be great."
Ben steps aside and lets Fred walk in. Fred takes a quick look around the house. He's been here before, so he didn't feel the need to look for long. Everything looked the same. Ben quickly shut the door and waited right behind him. "Let's go up to my room so we can hang out there!" He exclaimed, making Fred jump. Fred turned to him right after, however. "Y'know, since it would be boring to stay down here." "Heh, yeah, that'll be better for us." Fred replied, chuckling a bit. He put his hands in his pockets, to hide the fact they were shaking. Ben stayed positive none the less, hurrying over to his room as quickly as he could.
Fred followed slowly behind. He had to mentally prepare himself for this, since there was something horribly wrong with him and he knew exactly what was up. You see, he realized not far too long ago that he had fallen for him. That's why it had been so painful for him to go with his fellow Blasters, because *he* would be there. That's why he was always so... easily angry around him and would argue with him a lot. He truly did love him, but he knew he wouldn't like him back. There was no way. He heard being like this was wrong throughout his life, but he still did. He was trying to hide his feelings for so long, and now Ben was making it harder on him. He really was... an emotional wreck at the moment. All he had to do to last through this evening, however, was to contain his composure... But it'll be hard with his crush being the nicest person he is.
When Fred got into the room, he took another quick look around. Again, it was like before when he visited Ben. Same ol' room, the same happy Ben. The Ben that Fred had fallen for. Ben was on the floor, sitting there. He looked up to Fred with a smile. This basically meant he wanted Fred to have a seat. So, Fred sat right in front of him.
"So, uh, what do you wanna do?" He decided to ask. Ben lightened up, "I'm glad you asked! I was thinkin' of playing some Truth or Dare and when we get tired of that, we can play some video games!" Fred gave a slight smile in response, "Sounds fun! Yeah, I can't wait to play..." He wasn't really scared of playing that. It was just a simple game, nothing much could be in mind for Ben.
So, the two played a couple a rounds. Most of them were harmless, and occasionally stupid. The two of them really were having fun, enjoying each other's presence. That is, until Ben decided to ask one more thing.
"Okay, okay! One last round, and that's it!" Ben exclaimed with a chuckle. They were previously laughing at a stupid dare Fred asked Ben. Fred, still giggling a bit, went along with it, "Pff, alright. Whatever makes you wanna forget about that!" "Hey!!" Ben exclaimed, but not very seriously. "Well, I'll try to make this short: Truth or Dare?" Fred thought for a moment, and answered, "Truth." Ben huffed, "Maaan, I wish you went with dare! I had a funny one planned... Guess I now gotta think up a truth." Fred rolled his eyes,
"Hmph, okay then."
He thought long and hard, but then realized he didn't know something about Fred. Something he was genuinely interested in learning about him! So, with an evil smirk, he said,
"I want you... to tell me who you have a crush on!"
Fred froze. Oh no... no, he couldn't tell Ben about that! He knew that Ben didn't mean any harm in this but... he just couldn't do this. It's not like he could lie either, he'd just feel worst. 'No no no no! What am I going to do?!' His mind was racing, trying to find a way around this. 'Maybe I could tell him I don't have one? No... there's no way he'd believe it... What if I just... not tell him? Well, then he'd say something about it...' Goodness, he was getting so worked up and emotional over this. It was almost as bad as when he first got there! If only he could just--
Then, Ben intrupted his line of thinking. "... Sooo, you gonna answer or nah? 'Cause if you don't, I'm gonna be really pissed!" He exclaimed, jokingly. This made Fred's thinking just... leave him completely. "U-Uhm, yeah... j-just..." He paused a took a breath. "Just gimme a sec..."
Ben tilted his head a bit, "What's wrong dude, is the crush really that embarrassing? If so, I really won't judge!" He told him with a smile.
Fred looked down at the ground, silently hoping he could find a way out of this, so that he wouldn't have to tell him. However, he knew that hope wouldn't happen. It couldn't. His voice, now quivering, let out, "I-I like..." But he wouldn't allow himself to finish the sentence, almost as if he was physically repulsed by it. He tried again, "I... I like..." Once more, he couldn't do it. He fell silent.
Meanwhile, Ben was now getting increasingly worried. Something was really off now. He thought he was just embarrassed, but it seems like it's so much more now. "H-Hey... you good, dude?" He asked. Then, he heard sniffling coming from the other male. His head was really far down now, so he couldn't see his face. Ben quickly scooted over to him and, very gently, lifted Fred's head up.
He was crying.
Fred quickly tried to look away from Ben, wiping some of his tears away, but Ben turned his head back in the direction of him. "Bro... seriously, tell me what's wrong. Was it something I said?" He asked him, genuinely concerned. Fred could see it all on his face, how serious he was and how sad he looked. He gave a sad smile, his voice still quivering, "Heh... No, it's not what you said. It never was you. It was all... me." Ben questioned him again, "Then what was it?"
Fred looked down, he couldn't bear to look into his eyes to tell him what he was about to say. "It's... my feelings. My feelings for you. They're so bad, unnatural, but I still find myself having them..." He chuckled, beginning to cry again. "The truth is... I've been in love with you, Ben! I've tried to deny it, but I can't! And I know you'll hate me for it if I ever said it... Sadly, I can't even control that." He sniffed again, "However, just as long as you don't do anything bad to me, I will leave you alone from now on."
Ben was taken aback by what he was telling him. He was... speechless. But, luckily, he found his voice again, and exclaimed. "Why would I ever hate you or, heck, even harm you over that?!" Fred, still sobbing, whimpered, "I dunno... but you never know, dude..."
Ben got silent again. How could Fred ever think that? That... being gay was a bad thing? 'Well, there's only one thing to do now.' Ben thought to himself. And so, he wrapped Fred into a big hug. "Fred, I absolutely love you too! I've just been afraid to say it too... but I didn't think it was this bad to you. So please... don't say something like that again. Loving someone isn't unnatural or bad, it's a nice thing... And I honestly be there for you if you are having negative thoughts like those."
Fred was... surprised by... well, everything. The hug, Ben's confession, and his kind words in general. He slowly began to hug the other male back. "You... you really mean that?" He asked, unsure if this was actually happening. Ben smiled, gently replying, "Of course, why would I lie to you about that?" Fred gave a sigh of relief. He pulled away from the hug and wiped all his tears away. "I'm... I'm so glad." When he said that, he gave a genuine smile to Ben. Ben, smiling back, did something that took Fred completely off-guard.
Ben was kissing him.
Fred froze in place, but melted into it after a bit of time. His arms found himself wrapped around Ben once more, as they kept prolonging the kiss. Neither of them wanted it to end. However, it had to when the two needed to breath. Ben was practically gasping for air, but he didn't mind it. Fred gave a chuckle, "Man... I'm gonna have to get used to that." Ben, finally catching his breath again, he giggled. "Heh, well then... Wanna do it again? The more we do it, the more you'll get used to it!" Fred laughed, "Oh, hell yes!"