Chapter Text
The huge amount of cheap beer didn’t hold up to the microwaveable ramen and chips they had for dinner, to, honestly, no one’s surprise. The empty bottles were scattered on the coffee table of the small dorm room that Ben had for himself for the night. His roommate had gone home for the weekend and it was a rare opportunity to be alone which he actually didn’t take because he wasn’t alone.
Ben and his classmate, Joe weren’t studying the same career but similar enough that they happened to share a class. After all, it was the same department. Visual arts. Ben wanted to be a screen actor and Joe wanted to write and direct movies. Their passion for films made them click instantly and they spent hours and hours walking around New York where Joe, the native of the two, would point and share with Ben, his English friend, the history of the city and how and where some of the most iconic movie scenes were filmed.
When Joe came over that night, he had a stack of films with him that he really wanted Ben to check. American classics that he thought would help the brit in his classes and further increase his love of film; match his own. Besides, in Joe’s own words, Ben missed the golden age of film which according to him, was the 80s. Best Spielberg movies, John Avildsen, Richard Donner, John Hughes, the list was endless and somehow Ben lost track of them halfway as he watched Joe’s hands move all over the place while he passionately took him through it one afternoon in one of their walks. It was Ben’s cue to invite the redhead over to his dorm room and let him teach him about the wonders of film, but in reality, it was just an excuse to have Joe for himself in an enclosed space to see where this could possibly be going because truth be told, Ben was just completely infatuated with his classmate and everything about him. The way he passionately talked about what he loved and how he could even get a little cocky about knowing so much, not caring that he might even be seen as a nerd for it. Joe didn’t seem to care or be ashamed about his passion but he did seem to care about impressing Ben because the brit could tell that whenever he would be surprised about how much detail he can remember, Joe would beam with pride and try to hide it behind a shy smile. And Ben was sold.
What he wasn’t expecting was how much more enthralled he would be while being drunk and listening to Joe. It was probably near the end of the second movie, around beer six each, when he stopped paying attention to it or Joe’s words and his eyes would drift to Joe’s moving lips. All his mind could think of was just how much he wanted to kiss him. Make him stop talking about the movie and put his mouth to better use. He was nervous about it, yes but this was the right time. The perfect time to do it.
“Is there an off button?” Ben asks suddenly in the middle of Joe giving another random trivia about the second AD that worked in something else that the blond couldn’t quite remember at the moment or even cared about. He was trying to be funny and might have not noticed that he was being a little rude or how much he’ll dwell on it in the future, but now the words are out there and are Joe’s to interpret.
“hmm?” Joe asked, confused. Ben’s sudden interruption after being quiet for a while made him stop and really look at the blond and he noticed that his eyes were heavily lidded and his cheeks were as pink as his lips which now Joe was staring at as well. He smiled and chuckled nervously, looking back up at Ben’s eyes. “Sorry, was I talking too much?”
Ben went quiet again for a moment, his drunken mind still split in between just shutting up and continuing their movies. Leave things as they are, just two friends who enjoy spending time together. His other half, on the other hand, yelling at him to jump the damn pool and kiss this man in front of him. Take the chance, see what happens. And of course, Ben gave in to the most chaotic of the two options.
“Can I…?” He starts forming the question in the midst of the heavy silence that surrounds them, not sure on how to finish it and he swallows mid sentence but he gets a shy nod across from him.
“Yeah,” Joe finally whispered and he looked as if he was too nervous to make any kind of move but lucky for both of them, the liquid courage and just sheer impulsiveness from the brit finally closed the space between them and made them lock their lips.
The kiss started slow and shy but not for long. Ben was hungry for this man and his lips, and he wasted no time in letting him know and showing him he meant business. It gets heated in an instant when Ben leans in and moves to straddle Joe and in a breath, he removes his top which grants him a soft gasp from the redhead below him.
The makeout goes on for a while, Ben cradling his friend’s face and Joe shyly running a hand over Ben’s skin but it all gets interrupted when Joe breaks the kiss startling him and almost dropping him only to point out something about the scene that’s going on on TV behind his back. It frustrates Ben but makes him laugh because it’s utterly ridiculous and endearing at the same time so he grabs Joe’s face again and makes him look at him.
“I’m trying to kiss you here, can we stop with the movie trivia for the rest of the night?” He chuckles, looking down at Joe’s lips, waiting impatiently for confirmation that he can, indeed continue. He gets a nod and sees Joe palming the sofa for the remote control until he finds it and soon the tv is off and their lips are pressed back together.
It wasn’t that Ben didn’t want to know all there was to know about The Goonies, he actually did and if they hadn’t had more than a few beers each, he would have actually really enjoyed Joe’s random facts with great attention, maybe adding his two cents, asking questions, maybe give his opinion too. But he’s been wanting to do this for a while. Have Joe like this, his hands on him, his lips on his, so he took his chance and wasn’t going to let him get away. If he’s lucky, there will be a lot more nights like this one. And he really hopes there will be.
The worn out sofa where the night began, started to feel small and the intensity of the kisses too big for the furniture and Ben slowed them down briefly, moving from Joe’s lap to stand up, the last thing leaving him, his lips. but he quickly offered a hand.
“Where are we going?” Joe asked and if Ben wouldn’t have been this drunk, he might have picked up on the slight hesitation in his friend's voice before answering him with the determination of someone who’s rarely been rejected in his life.
“To my room. You’re wearing too many clothes and I’d like to change that,”
There’s a brief pause and Joe moves but before he grabs Ben’s hand, he picks up his beer bottle and chugs what’s left of it, seemingly ready for the blonde to drag him to his bedroom, foot kicking the door closed behind them, hands back on Joe’s face, lips pressed back together too.