Chapter Text
Benrey had been aware of Gordon’s presence on his mountain for quite some time before he ever caught a glimpse of the human. He could sense the human at the boundaries of his territory, like a waypoint at the edge of a minimap, just barely brushing his awareness. At first it was just an annoyance. The human wasn't anywhere near the Sanctuary, so Benrey just brushed it off and continued his rounds.
That presence returned almost bi-weekly, always in different spots, all just barely inside Benrey’s ‘minimap’ sense. It was suspicious as hell. Almost like the human was… looking for something.
Shit, did the human know what was out here? What Benrey was guarding?
After that realization, Benrey actually went looking for the human for the first time, ready to deal with the threat. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t killed humans before. It wasn’t often, and he didn’t enjoy it, but he had people to protect. A job to do. He couldn’t let any humans discover the Sanctuary.
Benrey was good at staying out of sight despite his size. The human had no idea that he was being hunted. The Guardian’s ability to sense living beings never gave him an exact location, but he made up for that with his keen sense of smell and sight. Having four eyes that could move independently of one another meant that he had an incredible field of view. It wasn’t long before he finally laid eyes on the pesky trespasser.
Oh shit, he was hot .
The guy had a nice dad bod going on. Shoulders broad and torso soft. He had long, curly brown hair, bright green eyes, and tan skin with- oh shit, he had freckles .
This dude was like, really really hot.
And also apparently meant no harm whatsoever, if the guy’s cooing over a ‘cute little plant’ he found was any indication. He treaded carefully over the terrain and avoided disturbing any of the wildlife as he went along, gazing around with a respectful sort of awe. He definitely gave off ‘total softie’ vibes. He also talked to himself. A lot. It gave some insight as to what kind of person he was, and his name. Gordon.
Shit, he couldn’t kill this dude. That would be like murdering a dog or something. Just a funky little guy exploring and enjoying life with no intention to hurt anything. It would be super fucked up to just kill the guy when he’s not doing anything wrong. So Benrey let him be, but checked up on him every once in a while when he encroached on his territory. Had to make sure the guy didn’t like… steal anything.
Yeah, that was the reason. Not because Benrey thought Gordon was really fucking pretty. Nope. Nuh-uh.
Benrey was so fucked.
He would never admit it out loud... but Benrey was lonely.
Sure, he had his friends Tommy, Bubby, and Coomer to talk to, but the majority of his time was spent patrolling the area outside the Sanctuary where they lived. It got boring. Spying on Gordon became a highlight of Benrey’s time out here, as creepy as that sounded now that he thought about it. Eh, what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
Benrey never planned on actually interacting with the guy, so what was the harm in a little looking?
Well, best laid plans and all that.
When Benrey noticed that Gordon was here when the storm rolled in, he didn’t even think about it. He went right to the dumbass human- who the hell went mountain climbing during a thunderstorm?- and gave him a piece of his mind.
It wasn’t Benrey’s fault that Gordon apparently startled easily!
He totally didn’t freak out when Gordon slipped and fell. It’s not like anyone was there to see him fret over the unconscious man. He was tiny and fragile in Benrey’s grip, hardly bigger than the length of their hand. Even soaking wet, the guy didn’t weigh anything. And he was shivering.
What was it that Coomer told him about humans? If they stayed cold and wet they got… hippo something. He couldn’t remember, but Coomer said they could die from it!
Panicked, the Guardian held the human close to his chest and ran toward the cavern he’d claimed as his hideout. It was closer to the Sanctuary, and he really shouldn’t be bringing a human near it, but this was an emergency!
He settled Gordon on his favorite napping spot and gave him a dose of calm blue just in case he woke and started freaking out. Benrey wasn’t very good at casting magic- that was Tommy’s thing- but he managed a decent heat spell to help dry out the little human. Only when the tiny body stopped shivering did Benrey let out a sigh of relief and let himself relax.
Laying on the floor of his cavern wasn’t very comfortable, but seeing as his moss nest was currently occupied, Benrey made do. He folded his lower arms under his chest and curled his hind legs close. As an afterthought, he tilted his head up and sang out some bright Sweet Voice to chase the gloom away. The delicate lights danced toward the ceiling before settling there, shifting slowly. Benrey didn’t need them to see, his eyes were perfectly suited for the dark. It was more for the human’s comfort than anything.
Speaking of the human-
Benrey leaned his head down toward the unconscious man to get a better look at him. While his eyes were capable of seeing tiny details from afar, being this close to Gordon just made Benrey want to get even closer.
God, Gordon had way more freckles than they thought he did. The little dots were like constellations across the man’s cheeks and nose. His arms had a fair smattering of them as well. Benrey wondered how far they went under his clothes-
Blushing, Benrey tore himself from those thoughts. Way to be a creeper, he scolded himself. He wasn’t that lonely… was he?
Who was he kidding, he was practically a hermit.
A twitch from Gordon’s prone form brought Benrey out of his thoughts. The giant felt excitement bubble up in his chest and he shuffled a little closer to the moss patch. He’d been imagining what their meeting would be like, and while this definitely wasn’t anything near those hypothetical scenarios, Benrey was absolutely elated to finally have the chance to talk to the object of his one-sided friendship.
Hell, maybe by the end of the day it wouldn’t be so one-sided.
“Hey. Heeeey, little- little human dude-man. Clumsy human feet-man.”
-
And then Benrey proceeded to put his foot in his mouth more times than he could count, but hey, at least he got a friend out of the whole ordeal.
He considered that a win.