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Benny settled in front of the fire, absolutely amazed that the tent he had assembled was still holding up! Usually it would’ve long crumpled, or been blown away, or a hoard of boars would’ve run it over …
But even though Razor and him had gotten into all kinds of trouble today, somehow, together, it was so much easier to get out of it. This was what Benny’s adventure team was all about! Friends helping each other! Adventure! Excitement!
“I bet we can see the sun set from here. It’ll be so great!” The campfire hadn’t leapt out of its bounds and tried to burn their camp down either, and the rabbit he was roasting over the flames was coming along nicely. How lucky!
He could hear Razor behind him, coming closer. Seemed he had finished securing the tent, then. Maybe Razor taking care of it was the reason it was still standing, actually. When his friend drew close to look over his shoulder, Benny felt himself break into a big, proud smile. He’d caught this rabbit for Razor, after all, and now he’d make a great meal for them both!
He opened his mouth to say so, when Razor’s long hair brushed his bare shoulder, distracting him enough to clear his mind of any thoughts. It fell down his arm like a curtain, and suddenly, something warm pressed against his shoulder. He only realised it was lips when he felt Razor’s breath against his bare skin.
Benny yelped, jerking in place so hard he knocked his shoulder into Razor’s face. Oh no. “Oh no! Razor! I’m sorry! What are you doing! You startled me!” He whirled around, watching Razor hold his face, obviously in pain. Benny felt so bad for it, no band aid in the world would make up for this! Why was he so unlucky he had to constantly hurt his friends?!
“It’s …” Razor looked down at his hand, frowning at the blood. “It’s okay.”
“No, it isn’t! I didn’t mean to hurt you … I was just startled!” Anguish aside, he could also now feel a flush creep onto his face as his panicked brain caught up with why he’d reacted that way. “Wh-why’d you – k-kiss me –“
“Healing,” Razor said simply, gaze fixed on Benny’s shoulder.
Benny had to follow his gaze to remember that there was one of his biggest scars there – and Razor had put his lips to the scar tissue, rough and knotted as it was. For … healing? Benny blinked in surprise, caught between being charmed and confused. “It can’t heal, though. It’s a scar. Proof I survived yet again, despite all odds!”
The world did want him kind of dead. But here Benny was, every new day a gift snatched from uncaring hands that he enjoyed to the fullest. And right now, he wasn’t even alone doing it …
“Looks painful,” Razor said, his crimson eyes soft with concern, still lingering on the scar. “Kiss it better. Barbara said … helps.”
Oh. Benny’s cheeks still burned. “That – I mean – it doesn’t hurt so much, y’know? Just when the weather changes, then it twinges …” He couldn’t stop thinking of Razor’s lips against his skin now. Not that it’d ever happen again, considering he’d repaid this overbearing but kind gesture with nothing short of assault! So there was no point even thinking of it at all! But still … !
Razor made an affirmative little grunt, but his eyes kept trailing along the other visible scars, as if still wishing he could make them better. Something about the way his gaze travelled made Benny burn without a speck of pyro in his palms.
Many people looked at his scars with pity, but not Razor. The intensity in his eyes had no speck of misplaced pity, but whatever made his gaze burn like that, it left Benny so flustered he covered his shoulder and arm. “It’s really fine … I’m used to it. I get hurt so often, I’m surprised I even feel pain anymore!”
That made Razor’s brows furrow. He looked deeply displeased, but it wasn’t like Benny could change it. This was just how things were, though it was nice, that his friend cared enough to look so frustrated with Benny’s fate …
“No good.” Razor lowered his hand, and a speck of blood was visible at the corner of his lips. It must have caught on his tooth … “Benny must be careful.”
Benny waved it off. He got to his feet, far more concerned with Razor’s injury. The one he had caused. “It doesn’t matter if I’m careful or not, my luck makes it impossible. But I’m so sorry, Razor. Does it hurt a lot?” He gingerly drew closer, wishing he was safe enough to be around to actually reach out. But if he did, he’d just make it worse.
"Don't like blood. Taste bad." Razor wrinkled his nose, and had absolutely no right to look so adorable doing it.
"Yeah, it sure does," Benny sighed, getting out his water flask and offering it. "Here, to rinse! Then once we eat the rabbit, I’ll make sure it’s so good, you'll forget all about the taste!"
But would Razor even be able to enjoy the food now? Had Bennett ruined their companionable adventurer dinner? He'd been so excited for it ... he never got to share a meal and a camp with others while out exploring. And especially with Razor, he wanted to show things could be different. Benny had gotten used to being left behind and couldn't fault anyone for it, but with Razor ... it'd be a lot harder to accept, once he decided he'd had enough.
Benny smacked his own cheeks. No more of those thoughts! Right now Razor was still here! And he accepted the bottle, wincing slightly as it touched his lip.
Benny forced himself to look away, else it'd definitely seem creepy. He really, really wanted to make up for all this ... even though he knew he'd make things worse more likely than better, he just!
"Razor -" he began, cut off by a finger poking between his brows.
"Don't like that look," Razor said sternly. In the light of the sinking sun, his eyes were much more breathtaking than the sky. "Stop. Just a small hurt. Stop being guilty."
"How could I, though?!" Benny didn't dare reach up and swat away Razors hand. For some reason, he feared he wouldn't let it go when his fingers would close around it. Strange. "I only want good things for you! I want to make you strong and support you and have cool adventures together, and here I go, hurting you ..."
Razor looked at him like figuring out a puzzle. Then he huffed a small sigh. "Will it help ... to make it better?"
"Of course! But how could I - it's not exactly like I can put a bandaid on the corner of your mouth ..."
Razor nodded in agreement. "No bandaid. Not what I meant. Kiss it better."
"H-huh?!" Benny stared at him. Sure, Razor's dad was a cool super strong wolf ghost and his family was cool super strong normal wolves, but surely he had to realise - ?! "Th-that won't help -"
Razor's expression darkened. "Barbara said helps!" He crossed his arms, looking put out. "Barbara wouldn't lie. She doesn't."
Razor got that expression Benny liked least, when his eyes would flicker with doubt, his brows furrowing as he struggled to figure out human rules, clearly uncomfortable. Benny sighed deeply. What Barbara had taught Razor meant something to his friend, how could Benny take that away? "It's just that it's ..."
"Yes?" Razor asked, in a way that showed he had absolutely no idea why Benny would object kissing better a spot on the corner of his lips. Flustered, Benny didn’t really dare point it out, and besides, wasn’t Razor his cherished friend? Maybe it really would help … just a little. Didn’t the gesture at least count?
“You really want me to?” Benny asked, voice quiet and a little weird-sounding. He rubbed at his neck, feeling a flush burn on his cheeks. With accidents as frequent as his own, true embarrassment was a matter of his past – but not in this case, it seemed.
Razor held his gaze, eyes so honest and true. He nodded very seriously. “I trust Benny.”
Benny took melt damage from such a line, but definitely in a good way. His heart had skipped a whole beat, and was burning up in his chest, making it feel full and warm. So he stepped closer, even though he was afraid something stupid might happen again, like him tripping and bashing Razor’s nose in, or the meadow lighting on fire, or a spontaneous calamity breaking out.
Instead they simply faced each other, nothing but a gentle breeze keeping them company. It made the long strands of Razor’s hair sway gently, and again Benny’s hands itched to touch it. It looked a little coarse to the touch, not unlike wolf fur, but every evening Razor combed out all the tangles and when he curled up, it would glow all silvery in the light of the moon.
“Ready?” Benny asked, curling his hands into gentle fists so they would not shake.
Razor nodded. “Mn.”
Benny took half a step closer yet, and still no lightning struck him down before he could make contact. So now he had to actually figure out how to do this. Somehow lifting his hand felt right, and he gently put his fingertips against Razor’s cheeks.
Razor, for his part, did not protest. Instead he let his eyes fall shut, a gesture of trust that made Benny’s throat tighten with emotion. Nothing about him had ever been reliable or trustworthy, no matter how hard he worked, but somehow Razor … Razor still …
“I’ll be gentle!” Benny promised, with his whole chest. Instead of closing his own eyes and blindly going for it as his nerves begged him to, he approached very slowly. Making sure that he would not touch with too much force, and make it hurt more. Just a sweet little peck.
He exhaled, his breath so close it brushed Razor’s lips, and he could see his friend’s brows twitch. But instead of pulling away, he tilted his head slightly towards Benny, and that was clear enough. Razor really wanted him to do this.
So Benny leaned in with all the care in the world, and kissed the corner of his mouth.
It was the most powerful healing spell he could imagine.
It felt so much like an overload he was surprised he wasn’t being blasted away! Instantly warmth shot through him, head to toe. It hit with the force of lightning, and it made his heart race like an electric shock for sure, but instead of making him feel bad, it was incredible. Like floating! His belly swooped like he had just launched himself off a cliff and had yet to open his glider, and his hand settled along Razor’s cheek fully as he tilted his head. It just felt … natural.
Surely a spell like this would be best applied thoroughly?
Razor hummed against his lips, pressing back. Benny startled when hands found his waist, but the fingers folding around him were familiar and trusted, and so he exhaled through his nose and felt only this. Their lips locked together, their hands holding on tight to the other.
It was perfect.
It was everything.
This was, for lack of better word, right. Like looking up at the sky and finding it blue. Like the click of a treasure chest’s lock as it sprung open. Like stretching hands to a campfire and finding it warmed the palms. It was right, and yet, it was a miracle that it happened, somehow. That they were here and things felt like this.
If Benny could feel like this every day, then no matter how many catastrophes befell him, he would never call himself unlucky again. That was how woah-oh-wow it felt!
They kept the healing up for a bit. Razor’s hands wandered up a little, resting on Benny’s flanks, falling and rising with every breath Benny took as they kissed. It was all so … so intimate. Every soft sound, every exhale of his friend, Benny could feel it, and his palms were so warm, and slightly tingly. Shyly he lifted his free hand, settling it against Razor’s neck first and gathering strength through their touch until he dared to slide it into soft, silky hair.
So. Silky. He hadn’t expected that at all, but now he knew. Now he knew!
Razor sighed at the touch, his lips parting slightly, and it felt nice. Very nice. It was so nice, in fact, Benny forgot how to breathe. So far he'd been okay just breathing through his nose, but suddenly he had total trouble with it! He parted his lips like Razor had, to get more air, and – somehow –
Their tongues touched. It was strange and it went through his entire body with an entirely different energy, but one that was no less of an overload, and it made Benny make a weird noise in the back of his throat. They startled apart at that, but his hand tightened in Razor's hair as if that could help him hold on and Razor's hands on his hips did not loosen their hold in turn.
"Woah," Benny breathed, feeling more dazed than he would have after being flung down a cliff and hitting the ground. He’d know – he’d been there, done that.
Razor just nodded very seriously, agreeing with the sentiment. His tongue dated out, very pink against his lips, and Benny felt himself burn up with the memory of how it had felt. So strange and new and thinking back on it, not bad at all ...
He kind of wanted to try it again. All in the spirit of adventure, of course! But he most certainly didn't want to hurt Razor again and have to kiss him better! Ah, speaking of which -
"Better?" he asked, surprised his voice still worked and that he could, like, form words. His brain felt like mush.
"Yeah," Razor said, sounding awed. His eyes were wide, pupils so huge and dark there was barely any red left. "Tingly ..."
Tingly ...
"And warm," Razor added. Feeling warm all over, from the very bottom of his heart, Benny could wholeheartedly agree. And it didn’t help when Razor’s hand reached up to his own face, fingers curling against his lips, because that movement alone set off something in Benny that made his heart race. He pressed his own lips together, but that reminded him of the touch of Razor’s anyways, and –
“Less worried now?”
“H-huh?” Benny blinked at Razor, whose hand was still hovering in front of his lips.
“When I’m hurt. You can just kiss it better. So no more worries.” Razor nodded to himself, as if satisfied with a puzzle solved. “When we go out, together. No more worries.”
Benny felt his smile start slowly, and grow with each second as the meaning of those words unfolded wings in his heart and soared. “Y-yeah! Yeah, you’re right …” Considering how incredible it had felt, there really was a truth to it. “I mean, I still don’t wanna hurt you, but …”
“But you won’t stop coming with me?”
“What!” Benny couldn’t believe Razor would be afraid of that?! It was him who should be worried Razor might not wanna! “Of course not! Are you kidding me? You’re one of my very best friends, ever, and adventuring together is such fun! Who knows what cool thing we’ll discover tomorrow! What treasure chest we’ll find, and who we could help! Who knows what tasty thing we’ll ea – wait!” Benny couldn’t believe this! “The rabbit!” Yelping, he turned, and found the rabbit burned on one side. “Nooo …” he muttered softly, but at least the other side still looked good, and it didn’t seem to be totally inedible.
“I can always hunt more,” Razor said, utterly unconcerned. “Will go right now.”
“No, no! No need!” Benny lifted it up to Razor’s face. “See?”
Razor inspected their food very seriously, and then nodded. “Smells great,” he agreed. Coming from him, that made Benny’s heart soar with pride! “Perfect, then settle right in, we can eat in no time! I got a side dish Barbara packed for us, too …” He thought very fondly of her, and was taken aback by a small prick in his heart. He’d never felt that way thinking about Barbara before, and pondered it as he unwrapped the food.
He liked Barbara a lot, she was great, and she was kind, and she had a really pretty voice. Settling in and distributing the portion, he thought of how nice it was to be healed by her, and then suddenly it seemed to make sense. At least a little.
He watched Razor peel off his gloves to dig into the greasy rabbit, and nibbled at his own meal. Those strange feelings sat too heavy in his stomach now to leave any space for food.
When the mighty beast that was Razor’s hunger was tamed enough for him to take pauses between bites again, Benny tentatively brought it up: “So … Barbara.”
“Mh?” Razor looked up, cheeks stuffed.
“She taught you that,” Benny said, drawing his words out. The strange prick in his heart attacked again, and only strengthened the leaden, sour weight in his stomach. Like eating a dish he had messed up completely. “So … you … that, you and her …”
Razor swallowed. “Words hard,” he said, understanding and patient. “Deep breath.”
Benny took one, and then, he said his piece in a rush: “So you and her did that too? What we did?”
Razor looked a little startled, and then tilted his head. “When I cut my hand.”
“Oh.” Benny stared into the fire, even though the warmth of the fire made his eyes burn. It sure did. “Was it … it was probably way more helpful, with her, right?”
Razor did not meet his eyes. “It was … warm,” he admitted, haltingly. “But … not … tingly.”
“Not …” Benny tried to wrap his head around what Razor meant, even as his heart suddenly leaped, and the weight in his stomach was lifted. “Tingly … is better?”
“Tingly is way better!”
Oh! Oh … and Barbara was such a good healer, too! “Then, in the future! It’s probably best if you let me do it, right!” Benny finally looked at Razor again, and it was okay, because his cheeks only burned from the campfire. Both their faces were red and warm from it.
Razor just nodded again. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then just bit a huge chunk out of his rabbit, and nodded again. He did it with such vigour his hood fell off. Flustered, he reached up to pull it back up, and Benny reached out quicker: “Wait, your hands!” His weren’t as greasy, since his appetite had kinda left him for a bit there, but now it sure was back! He carefully pulled Razor’s hood back up, and gave him a smile so wide it ached. “Razor, I’m so happy you’re my adventuring partner!”
Razor looked at him, and away, but the smile was unmistakable. “Me too,” he said very quietly.
And so what if the food was a little burned? And even that accident with Razor … somehow, hadn’t it all worked out? And slowly, the stars were coming out, and Benny felt warm outside and inside, with a friend next to him. A friend who was very special to him … and who considered Benny something special, too! He could ask for nothing more, and kept grinning as he finally dug in properly.
The food was delicious. One of the best meals he’d ever had. And when his knee bumped against Razor’s, neither of them pulled away. They just sat like that, and it was warm and cozy and perfect. Thinking of Barbara again, there were no pricks or bad feelings. He was just grateful that her care filled their bellies and had found them a solution to Benny’s bad luck!
Benny counted this day, this night as a stroke of good luck, as rare as it was precious in his life. Glimpsing over to Razor in the light of the fire, it felt like Razor himself was a blessing so massive that maybe, it was the universe’s way of making up for all the bad luck.
And if that was the case … well, Benny would sure accept!