Work Text:
Kipo and her friends had been walking on the empty streets of Las Vistas for hours. Occasionally, they would have to hide behind buildings as the mute groups passed them by, searching for humans to capture and send to Scarlemagne.
Kipo was walking at the front, a firm expression on her face. She had started to become more serious ever since her father got captured. She desperately wanted to find him before it was too late.
Wolf was walking a couple of feet behind the group, on lookout in case someone tried to sneak up on them. Stalky was held firmly in her grasp as her eyes wandered, taking notice of every single movement.
Benson was in the middle, fidgeting with his hands as he bit his lips. Ever since Kipo had revealed her crush on him, he'd been anxious to reveal the fact that he was gay to Wolf as well. Kipo had promised to keep it a secret, letting Benson decide when to come out by himself.
He didn’t think that Wolf had a crush on him. She was only ten after all. Still, he didn’t want to take the risk. He wanted to be open about himself with his friends, especially when they had trusted him with their own most vulnerable secrets.
Benson was unsure of how Wolf would react to him coming out to her. Maybe she would get mad at him for keeping it a secret, just like Kipo with her jaguar-abilities? Maybe she would be grossed out? Honestly, he was mostly afraid of her treating him differently. The group of five had turned into a weird little family. Benson would hate for that to change.
He took a deep breath, figuring that he should just get it over with. He looked back at Wolf, grimacing when he was met with her resting angry face. Maybe it wasn't the time for him to talk to her? Maybe he could wait...
Wolf noticed him staring at her and quickly raised an eyebrow at him.
"What?" she asked, crossing her arms as she frowned.
"Uh- I was just gonna tell you that- that I-" Benson stuttered, struggling to find the words.
"Spill it", Wolf sighed, expectantly waiting for him to tell her whatever was on his mind.
"Well... There is something that I have been wanting to tell you, heh", Benson started with a nervous chuckle, sweat trailing down his forehead.
"Okay. Tell me", Wolf replied.
Benson swallowed thickly. The speech he'd planned was forgotten and he was left with nothing to say. His throat was dry and Benson coughed, trying to come up with something to say to escape the awkward silence. Wolf tilted her head to the side, confused as to why Benson had suddenly gone quiet.
"Well?" she prompted.
"I'm gay!" Benson blurted, bright red as he stared at the ground. Good job, Benson!
He slowly directed his gaze to Wolf, expecting her to look grossed out or at the very least surprised. Instead, the younger girl was staring at him with a blank expression.
"What's... Gay?" she asked after a couple of seconds of silence.
Benson's jaw almost dropped. He'd completely forgotten about the slight chance of Wolf not knowing what being gay was. He hadn't expected to have to explain it to her. Then again, she was only ten and she'd been living alone since she was five. He supposed that he couldn't expect her to know what 'gay' was.
"Uhhh- Gay means that you like people who are the same gender as you", Benson explained, observing Wolf's reaction carefully.
"Okay", Wolf answered, her facial expression remaining the same.
"And that means that I like guys. Romantically", Benson added.
"Okay", Wolf repeated, shrugging her shoulders. "Why do I need to know that?"
"Well, in the old world, you would have to come out because being gay wasn't as common as being straight."
"No, I mean, why do I need to know who you like?" Wolf asked, confusion plastered on her face.
"When I took Kipo to Ratland to celebrate her birthday, she told me that she had a crush on me", Benson revealed.
"And you thought that I did too?"
"I just wanted to make sure that you knew. Just in case."
Wolf grinned.
"You think too highly of yourself", she teased and Benson chuckled in return, glad that she seemed to take the fact that he was gay pretty well.
"So, we're good?" he confirmed.
"Yeah."
"Hey, guys! Pick up the pace, we have to find my burrow as soon as possible!" Kipo called out further ahead, waving her arms.
Wolf and Benson shared a glance before smiling at each other. They quickly made their way over to the purple girl, who wanted to find her birth burrow and her anchor so she could save her people.
Together, they continue to walk forward. Benson felt like a weight had benen taken off of his shoulders. Now that he had come out to Wolf, he could finally focus on their mission to save Las Vistas from Scarlemagne for once and for all.