Work Text:
There were benefits to knowing about your friend’s secret relationship. These benefits mostly included getting to see them be affectionate openly, without worrying about having to reveal their relationship. Benny had just finished regaling them on the tale of some very-similar-to-marvel-character mech armours he’d built when Heath poked his head into the room.
He’d made eye-contact with Vasilia and then turned to leave when she rose to meet him. She kissed him on the cheek, they had a quick exchange, then she was calling a farewell over her shoulder as the two disappeared to do… something, probably hunt kaiju and flirt, that was what most of their dates sounded like whenever Vasilia spoke about them.
That left Benny and Champagne sitting on a couch in a, now empty, room in the Sharp Tank. Benny did not fail to point this out.
“Looks like we’re alone now.” He stated as he scooted over to sit directly next to Champagne.
“So it does, Captain Obvious.” Benny grinned up at him.
“Sooo, no one's here to interrupt us.” Champagne raised an eyebrow at him.
“Oh?” Benny scooted close enough that he was basically sitting in Champagne’s lap. Their faces were very close together.
“Mhm. Indeed.” Champagne sat up a little straighter, causing their noses to bump. Benny’s heart fluttered as he let out a soft laugh.
“Right, so are you just going to sit there?” Benny smiled at him then moved in to kiss him. He hesitated a few centimetres away, allowing Champagne to move in and initiate the kiss, just to make sure.
They were in one of the many common spaces of the building, making the likelihood of them being walked in on low, and even if they were walked in on, most of their friends just ignored them and went about wherever they were going, or whatever they were doing. Emphasis on low, and not impossible.
Mere moments after they’d started to kiss, Benny registered the door opening. Most of his attention, admittedly, was not focused on that, and the only thought he really had for whoever was there was- go away and find your own room. Unfortunately, the person did not go away, and the lack of privacy resulted in Champagne pulling away.
Letting out a noise of frustration, Benny spun round to face the door, his legs sliding off of Champagne and onto the ground in one fluid motion.
Sterling stood looking like a deer in headlights. Benny’s motion seemed to snap him out of his daze, which changed his expression from startled to brilliant, red faced panicked. With a rapid succession of “sorry”s, he dipped out of the room, closing the door.
Benny was tempted, if only for a moment, to pretend there had been no interruption. Unfortunately, his better judgement told him this had been going on long enough, and, with a sigh, he gave Champ a quick, “I’ll be back,” and followed Sterling out the door.
Sterling was just down the hall as Benny shut the door, then jogged down to catch up with the younger man.
“Sterling, wait.” Sterling’s shoulders rose to his ears, and he turned to face Benny, still with the panicked expression.
“Ah, Benny, I’m so sorry, I should have knocked, I didn’t think-"
“Sterling.”
“I swear I won’t tell anyone, I really am sor-”
“Sterling!” His jaw shut with an audible clop. Benny sighed and pulled him into the nearest room, a small storage space filled with dusty boxes. “Sterling, buddy, listen. We weren’t trying to hide it. If we were, don’t you think we’d choose somewhere a bit more private to kiss? Like a different dimension?”
“Ooh, right, yeah, that makes sense.” Sterling gave him a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, uh, how long have you two been together, then?”
“About six months, maybe a little longer.” Sterling’s eyes widened.
“Six months?! I- how- You’ve never said anything though!” Benny gave him a withering look.
“Really? So me saying “we’re just trying to do more fun stuff as a couple”, when we went into that monster dimension, wasn’t anything? Or do you mean more generally, about me liking men, because all you had to do is ask literally any of our friends and they’d probably tell you I was gay. Or just ask me! I’d tell you I’m gay!”
Sterling looked slightly upset.
“No, no I don’t mean you being gay! I mean, yeah I didn’t assume you were, gay, I mean, but I don’t mind!” Benny rolled his eyes.
“Sterling, I honestly don’t think you have it in you to be homophobic, even if you tried.”
“Um, thanks?”
“No problem.”
“Wait, so if you two have been together for six months… How many of our friends know?” Benny thought for a moment.
“Vasilia was there for our first kiss, Heath was also there but he didn't see it, we told him what happened after though, so he knows, Gooby knows because the little rat is partially the reason our first kiss happened when it did, murder-seeking little sh-,”
“Benny!”
“Right, sorry. Astra knows because we also recounted to her what happened, Alexis knows because she’s Alexis… I’m pretty sure Mara and Kayla know, I haven’t exactly been subtle around them, but then again, I wasn’t subtle around you either.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologise. If Kayla knows Tayrun knows, and Vasilia knows so Tayrun almost definitely knows, the Sci-5 kids have watched us kiss on multiple occasions… I don’t know if your B-Team knows? I reckon they do, I just don’t think they care. I don’t think I’m forgetting anyone.”
“So pretty much everyone already knew.” Sterling had a crestfallen look on his face.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Right.” Benny would have responded, probably to tell him that it wasn’t that big of a deal, or that it was kind of funny for the first little while, but a knock interrupted them. Benny opened the door to see Alexis standing on the other side.
“I thought I heard talking… What are you two doing in a closet? Sterling, is there something we need to talk about?”
“Wha- no, I was just-” Alexis smirked at him.
“Wrong answer, I need to talk to you. You two done in here or can I steal Sterling?” Benny made a go for it gesture, and answered,
“Go right ahead, I have to get back to Champ anyway.”
“Alright, you two keep it safe then.” She gave him a wink then grabbed Sterling’s arm and basically dragged him into the hallway, already talking about… something, Benny wasn’t really listening, and they were moving in opposite directions as he returned to the room where Champagne had been waiting for the past ten minutes.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~Bonus~
“They weren’t even trying to keep it a secret!”
“I know, Sterling.”
“He’s referred to them as a couple multiple times!”
“I know, Sterling.”
"Everyone else already knew!"
"I know, Sterling."
“How did I not realise!?”
“I don’t know, Sterling.”
“I’m so oblivious.”
“I know, Sterling.”
“I’m such an idiot.”
“I know, Sterling.”
“You’re not really helping, Alexis.”
“I know, Sterling.”