Chapter Text
Gordon had been just getting ready to hit the hay, idly humming to himself as he snagged a glass of water so that he could take his pills. It had been oddly quiet and peaceful—not that Gordon minded that much, in all honesty. Ever since Black Mesa, he'd been on edge of something bad happening. He honestly couldn’t even believe that it was real ; he also knew that the world by now should’ve been utterly fucked, but he absolutely wasn’t complaining about the fact that it wasn’t.
Ultimately, it was put down to extreme luck that GMAN spared the four, excluding Benrey. There was an air of unknowing on that one and a bit of anticipation.
A small scuttle from outside had gained Gordon’s attention, and he craned his head up to look at the front of the door, conveniently placed right across from the living room. Though he didn’t hear it again, Gordon chocked it up to possibly imagining things or just it being an animal outside. He continued with his nightly routine, brushing his teeth and washing his face, though once again, he was interrupted by an even louder noise this time: a knock.
Gordon huffed a bit, an uneasy feeling twisting his stomach into knots. Everything in his gut seemed to go against opening the door, though he had grabbed a kitchen knife just in case.
Slowly, he unlatched the door, a primal fear of unknowing gripping the inside of his chest; what he saw, granted, was to be feared, but it left him more angry and confused than perturbed.a few things notable about his appearance that were different. The first thing was that he was a bit ruffed up; pieces of fabric being a bit ripped off on the edges of his shirt, though it didn’t seem horrible. Second, he had full-blown catlike ears, which Gordon had argued in his head a bit to
Standing on his doorstep was Benrey. Though he was not in his guard outfit, there were actually have been covered by the helmet during their short time of knowing each other. This thing clearly wasn’t human from the start; but that fact was even more obvious now, even with the eldritch powers beforehand.
Benrey must’ve caught Gordon staring as his yellow spheres met the other man’s, almost sheepishly.
“Yooo... Long time no see, Feetman .” He vocalized, though it wasn’t antagonizing this time; more so in an affectionate pet-namey sort of way. Regardless, the tone still rubbed Gordon the wrong way; but to be fair, anything Benrey said would’ve at this time.
“I was wondering if I could crash on your couch for a bit, y’know….. do a bro a favor?”
Had he forgotten EVERYTHING he did at the facility? Gordon thought, and as that thought approached, he quickly shut the door on the other man’s face. A small “WAIT!” being hushed out by the door.
He waited for a bit, peeking out of the window a few times to check if the ex-security guard had moved his way out; but, with every look, he stood firmly in place, a confused expression planted on his face, but it was genuine.
The man sighed, rubbing his temples in response to the stress. He knew shit was too good to stay like that forever. Of course, this fucker had to ruin his life again, without even feeling any remorse.
Reluctantly, Gordon opened the door again, having no choice but to let the weird half-cat half-man in. He wasn’t cruel enough to let him freeze to death; Gordon knew that much. He hated Benrey's guts, but he still never exactly wanted to kill him again. Or ever. He could tell this would be something he regretted in the morning, though, and that was for more awake Gordon to deal with.
Sighing, he started sternly. “Fine.”
The man bit his tongue a bit, trying not to let out everything he was feeling at that moment. He moved out of the way, so that Benrey could trot in. Immediate mixed feelings started surging through him, but, ultimately he knew Benrey wasn’t a large danger, at least not like this. He didn’t seem, at the very least, to have those same freakass powers he had previously. Or even the same antagonism. It was strange, even with the nickname, he didn’t seem to be filled with hatred; much unlike Freeman himself. He rubbed his eyes, pondering a bit.
This would be a morning conversation, or argument. Depends.
“You’re lucky I’m too damn tired to deal with you right now. Go fucking lay on the couch or something. There’s a blanket.”
The other man had a face of extreme gratitude, as he padded lightly to the couch, nodding in understanding.
Gordon, walking away from the scene, almost wanted to groan out of stress. Why did he just let him in? It seemed as if Benrey, though, wasn’t going to be an annoyance, for tonight.
As he walked into his and Joshua’s room, he made sure to lock it. Gordon was NOT going to have any knife murder scenes, just in case.
—
As morning reigned in, the sun filtered through the blinds.
Gordon hadn’t gotten a decent sleep, even with the pills. Turns out, when there’s someone you hate in your home, sleep becomes quite impossible.
Hell, even when he did reach sleep, due to the resurgence of memories and feelings, he had nightmares, mostly involving his blue-faced couch crasher. Though those are not what woke Gordon up; in fact, it was the unique sound of someone rummaging through his pantry. The man quietly got up, stretching a bit before heading into the kitchen.
On the counter, it was exactly who he thought it was. Benrey was perched up, having eaten half of the box of stale cheerios that Gordon had forgotten to throw away a month ago.
“What the FUCK are you doing!?” He snatched the box from him, looking into it. The guy had ravaged it. He sighed, looking up at Benrey with more than just slight annoyance.
“You’re lucky stale cereal doesn't make you sick. How did you even eat that?”
The ex-guard just shrugged.
“I was hungry, I dunno.” A smug look was placed firmly on his face, the same look that Freeman
hated
. He let that boil for a moment, figuring to finally interrogate the fucker.
“Why are you here?” Gordon finally asked, a harsh tone coating the question.
“Whuh?” Benrey responded, of which, Gordon couldn’t tell if he was genuinely confused, or just being an asshole.
Gordon asked again, even angrier than before. “ Why are you here?” This time, Benrey seemed to have clearly heard, fidgeting with the ends of his shirt before responding.
“One moment, I was gone, the next I was outside your house.” It was a very cryptic response, but it was weird. Gordon was genuinely taken aback by the straightness of it, even if it led to more questions than answers. “Kinda cringe, honestly. I guess respawning like the epic gamer I am was cool enough for this world.” Benrey, himself, seemed a little freaked at the situation. The man shifted position, from squatting on the counter to dangling his legs from it.Gordon had lost his fire, crossing his arms in contemplation.
“So, you don't know?” Gordon asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. Great, just great. Well, at the very least, it crossed out the idea that he had come back specifically just to ruin Gordons life again.
“Yep.” Benrey looked down, the air of the room becoming a bit awkward under the silence. “Soooo….. You got any games?” He broke the silence, a hint of humor layering the question.
Gordon ignored the question, mumbling a ‘shut up’, before swiftly turning back the topic.
“I guess I won’t be mad if you stay here for a while.”
Oh jeez, Freeman, fawning already?
He let the thought dissipate for a bit, before continuing. “Clean up after yourself, and when Joshua is here,
behave
.” Benrey didn’t argue, instead muttering an ‘alright’. He seemed away from himself, as if lost in a deeper thought than what was at surface. Gordon sighed, deciding to pry about things later.
—-
It had been a few weeks since Benrey had shown up unannounced, and, honestly with time, Gordons hate sort of…… slowed down. Actually, Benrey wasn’t that bad of a roommate at all, and was really good with Joshua, surprisingly. Still, Gordon had tried to talk to him about what happened at Black Mesa. From what Gordon could understand, it was something of Benrey being controlled by the facility, and that most of what he did wasn’t exactly him. It was all over the place though, and Freeman himself could tell that Benrey didn’t even know what happened.
Benrey, also, had been pretty reserved, and not pulling any of the shit Gordon had been accustomed to when they were at the lab; besides well, being his normal asshole self. It was a bit lovable though, Gordon would never admit that to himself though.
Here was him and Benrey, though, hanging out outside for a change. Benrey had dug up some clothes that even Gordon hadn’t seen since college, and was now climbing on shit he likely shouldn’t have been. Granted, he had better luck due to him having claws; but, if he broke something, he didn’t want to have an entire quiz from the ER. Just when Gordon was thinking this, he heard a yelp and then a thud.
Panicking, he trotted towards the tree, which was a good 20 feet tall. Benreys was laying on the ground concussed and definitely with a broken leg, Freeman could feel himself getting sick looking at it; instantly rushing to his side.
–
A couple hours later, after an ER visit, getting a cast, and the shame that followed the car ride back, they were home. Luckily, Benreys anatomy wasn’t too inhuman, so the x-rays didn’t confuse the doctors, besides the fact that well, he was just a genetic anomaly, but they didn’t ask too many questions. The walk inside of the house was awkward, Benrey having to lean onto Gordon for support, making them invade each others personal space(which wasn’t unusual for Benrey, he was always up in Gordon’s space to piss him off). The man sighed, once the other made it over to the couch. He ended up getting fractured pretty badly, but it was weird, considering how before Benrey couldn’t even get hurt. Admittedly, Freeman felt bad just seeing him look out of it, as if he was trying to desperately disassociate from the reality of getting hurt. It… probably was scary.
“Kinda cringe of me to fall, was… too OP so they nerfed me.” Benrey spoke, an attempt of breaking the silence. Gordon couldn’t help but snicker at that. He pinched the bridge of his nose, moving the crutches to a place they wouldn’t fall over, but also where Ben could reach them.
“Try not to be ‘cringe’ and fall next time, you seriously worried me.” He replied back, quickly putting in an order of food for the both of them. Thank fuck for food apps.
“Whuh? Doctor Stupidman worried…. for Benrey ? Thought stupid Failman wanted me dead.” He replied, a smug grin plastered on his face, as his tail swished a bit.
He rolled his eyes, before continuing. “Natural human instinct to be worried when your roommate's knee is facing the other way that’s intended. We’re having pizza, by the way. I don’t want to cook tonight, I’m sure you don’t have any protests.” He cocked a brow, and just like that, Benrey absolutely didn’t. It was an upturn from being nearly killed by the guy, that’s for sure.