Chapter Text
A loud buzzing startles Ben awake. He tiredly searches for his phone, feeling around his bed until he finds it, nearly knocking the thing off in the process.
It's probably an ungodly hour right now, but a call in the middle of the night isn’t unexpected- the Camp Fam is spread out all over, and sometimes they forget about timezones when they want to talk. Ben answers right away, always willing to chat with his friends even at the expense of his sleep schedule.
“Hey. I hope you know what time it is here?” He asks groggily.
There’s no response, only a low static hum, and Ben’s immediate instinct is that it’s Brooklynn messing with him again.
“This isn't gonna work on me again, you know.” He teases.
Nothing but static.
Ben sits up a bit and looks at the caller ID- An unknown number. It was the same when Brooklynn tried this a month ago, but he has her new phone number now. Maybe it is her, and she once again has a new phone, but his gut tells him that it's someone else.
“Hello? Who is this??” Ben asks, more awake now.
The static gets louder, then a badly garbled voice starts talking. He can barely make out anything they’re saying, but what he does hear gets his attention, loud and clear.
“----at ----door--- Ben---”
A shiver runs down his spine. He's been known to skulk on Dark Jurassic, and he wonders if that was the wisest of choices. The less-than-legal activities it reports alone should have given him pause, but honestly, it’s so fun- discussing theories and chatting with like minded people. Now, he may be paying the price. Whoever is behind the door might have found him through the site. And in Ben's experience, one should never trust strangers who are super into dinosaurs.
He gets his shoes on and grabs his crossbody bag, ready to make a break for it. He never got out of the habit of being prepared to run for his life at a moment’s notice, even after making it back to the mainland. It's helped immensely in college- he's never late for a class! Though, it also means he's a little skittish around loud and sudden noises. Kinda embarrassing. Still, considering he’s potentially about to be jumped by some internet rando, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.
Three loud knocks echo in Ben’s dorm room.
He stays still, not wanting to alert the other person. Whoever the caller was, they’re already at his door.
“Ben? You there?”
The voice is muffled, but it sounds familiar. As quietly as he can, he makes his way over to the door and peeks through the peephole.
Of all people, standing there on the other side is Kenji.
Ben immediately unlocks the door and swings it open, seemingly startling the other.
“Whoa. Hey, man. Uh, you going somewhere?” Kenji questions.
“Huh?" He looks down and remembers that he's dressed. "Oh! I, uh, just got in a little while ago. Didn’t change yet.” He fibs.
“Oh. Cool.”
“How’d you get past the RA?” Ben looks around outside, seeing no one but Kenji in the hallway. "Guy is a real stickler when it comes to visitors."
“Didn’t see one. No one was downstairs.”
“Oh. Cool.” He parrots.
They stand there awkwardly for a moment, neither moving.
“So, uh, did you wanna come in?”
“Yeah, if that’s okay?”
Ben sidesteps and allows Kenji to enter. His room isn’t exactly the cleanest right now, but if Kenji has a problem with it, he doesn’t say. Ben switches on the lights and Kenji takes a moment to look around.
“Heh, as far as dorms go, this isn’t bad. Better than mine was at least. No roommate and you got a full-size closet." He turns his attention to Ben. "You settling in well?”
“Eh, well enough. Albuquerque is real different from Chicago.”
“Lemme guess... The heat got you down? Oh, or the lack of skyscrapers? Maybe the dry desert air?” Kenji teases. Ben just rolls his eyes playfully.
“Shush. You know that's not why." Kenji grimaces at that.
"Miss home?"
"Yeah. I talk to my folks all the time, but it's not the same." Ben sighs, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably. "It's just... I chose this school to be closer to the fam, but we still don't see each other that often. I get it- our schedules aren't exactly synced up."
"I know. But hey! At least you can hang out with all your new college buddies, right?" Ben cringes at the question. He could make something up- lie to Kenji. They haven't spoken one-on-one in a while, and it's possible they won't again after this. He'd never know if he just fibbed a little. Still, looking at the half-smile on the other's face, he decides to come clean.
"Honestly? I still haven't made any new friends here.” Any new IRL friends, he corrects mentally. Though, considering he was ready to jump out of his window thinking one of his pals on Dark Jurassic had found him, maybe he should rethink who he considers a ‘friend.’ The closest thing he has to friend here is this one Italian classmate that's in most of his Paleontology classes, and even then, calling her a 'friend' is a stretch. The longest interaction they had was studying together for a couple of hours. Once.
“You haven’t been here that long. I’m sure you will. I mean, I know how it is. When I first moved to Colorado, it took me a while to get used to... everything. I didn’t think I’d last, but it's really grown on me." Kenji looks at him, his eyes somewhat hopeful. "You should come visit once in a while.”
“I would, if I knew where you lived.”
“I’ll send you a map later. Oooh, maybe I can put up an ad somewhere on campus, get some more students. Been working on some sweet merch to give out.” Kenji's eyes light up and he switches to his ‘schmoozing’ voice, making Ben laugh.
“Well, while you’re at it, give me your number, too. You got a new phone again?”
“Oh, yeah, my old one got wrecked when I dropped it during a climb.” The other pulls out a dated smartphone, the screen protector cracked and barely hanging on. “I mean, I dropped this one too, but it still works.”
Ben smiles at that. Something that really changed about Kenji since their time on Nublar is his relationship with money and possessions. Ben still gets migraines thinking about his garish penthouse on the island, and all the excess the other boy showed off for them. Since his dad (and a bunch of his money) was locked away, the other had to adapt quickly to a new way of living. He doesn't know what his living situation is like right now, but if this is anything to go by, he’s adjusted really well.
“Hate to break it to you, but I think something is busted. When you called, the signal kept breaking up.”
“Man, seriously? I just got this too.” Kenji frowns, pocketing his phone.
The shorter man finds a seat on Ben’s unmade bed, so he joins him there. Kenji on his bed isn't a sight he thought he'd ever see- and as it is, Ben is trying to be completely normal about it. They're just talking. Nothing serious. Yeah.
“So, I’m assuming you didn’t show up at,” Ben glances at his table-clock, “three-thirty in the morning just to catch up.”
The other man says nothing as he looks down at his feet, his shoulders slumped. Oh. Something is wrong, huh? Kenji is something of a brooder, though this is the first time he’s done it around Ben. Usually when Kenji has a problem, he'd just go to Brooklynn or Darius. Heck, even Sammy or Yaz would sooner get a call than him. All of them are friends, of course, but Ben can count on one hand the number of times Kenji has sought him out alone like this.
“Hey, if you wanted to talk, there’s somewhere more comfortable that-”
“I broke up with Brooklynn.” The other says quickly, like ripping off a band-aid.
Ben is stunned for a second, unsure if he heard him right. But it’s clear from Kenji’s solemn expression that he did.
“Oh. Uh, when did-”
“Today. Or, yesterday, I guess. I came straight here.”
“Huh? Why?”
Kenji finally looks at him again, his brows furrowed. Ben puts his hands up defensively.
“I just mean- Why me? I figured Darius or Brand-”
“They’re all the way in Northern Cali. You... were the closest.”
Ben nods at the answer. It sort of stings that Kenji only chose to visit him over his bros because it’s more convenient, but he gets it. Honestly, part of him is glad that Kenji thought of him at all. Well, since he’s here, Ben will do his best to be a shoulder for him to lean on.
“Alright. Um, how are you holding up?”
“I drove for hours through a desert in the middle of the night, just so I wasn’t alone.” Kenji says dryly.
“Right, right, stupid question.” Ben backpedals. “Well, you wanna tell me what happened?”
Once again, Kenji is silent, his face morphing into one of sadness rather than contemplative brooding. Ben’s immediate instinct is to stop talking about it all together.
“Sorry, you don’t gotta tell me if you don't wanna. It just happened, so-”
“It didn’t just happen.” Kenji finally speaks up.
“What? Didn’t you say-”
“I mean, it did, but... I dunno. I think it's been a long time coming.” Kenji scratches the back of his neck. Ben notes they do the same thing when they're uncomfortable. “Our lives went in different directions, I guess. I started my business and settled down. Brooklynn always goes from place to place, doing her own thing.”
“Right, but like you said, she’s always been like that. What changed?”
Kenji goes silent again. Ben just waits patiently. The other lies down, putting his hands behind his head. Ben doesn’t join him, nervous at the idea of them both lying down.
“Lately,” Kenji starts again, “even though she’s there with me, it’s like she’s a million miles away. Distracted. Just... always on her phone, ignoring me. It-” He swallows a lump in his throat. “I guess it reminded me of how my Dad was growing up. I didn't say anything for a while, but I think I just couldn’t do it anymore.”
Ah. Right. It’s been years since his last encounter with Kenji's absentee father, Daniel, and that man still haunts them, especially his son Kenji. Ben's parents were the opposite, always checking in on him to the point of nagging. He can't imagine how lonely Kenji was growing up, and all over again, he wishes he could send Daniel Kon to jail.
“That sucks, man.”
He cringes to himself, realizing how unhelpful and somewhat insensitive that came off. He just said the first thing on his mind. To his surprise, a deep, rumbling laugh comes from the other.
“Yeah, it does.” He replies breathlessly, amusement in his voice. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Ben, despite himself, laughs as well.
After that, he and Kenji just talked about anything they could think of. The topic of Kenji’s relationship never came up again. Regardless of the fact Ben has about a hundred questions he’s dying to ask, he figures that if Kenji wanted to talk about it more, he would. He's probably gonna have a much longer conversation with Darius about it when he gets the chance.
Ben’s okay with just being the distraction. Everyone needs one of those.
Kenji finally passed out around six in the morning, in the middle of Ben's rant about Barbasol. Ben should really hit the hay as well, but he had wanted to go study at the library at eight. He can’t just leave Kenji here alone in his dorm, can he? Would that be rude? ... Eh, screw it. Studying on two hours of sleep can’t be good for him anyway.
Throwing away his earlier reluctance, Ben settles in right next to Kenji, the other turned on his side and facing him. He tries not to focus on the fact this is the first time he’s sharing a bed with Kenji. Well, at least one that wasn't a wooden palette in a treehouse or a sofa in a secret lab. Like this, he notices things about the other he never did before- he has long eyelashes, he has a small mole near his temple, and he has a few light scars peppered all over his face, probably from their time on the island. Fourteen year old Ben would never believe this is happening.
He chooses to ignore all those thoughts and closes his eyes, letting Kenji’s gentle snoring become the white noise that finally lull him to sleep.
--
Once again, Ben abruptly wakes up. This time, it was a nightmare about a dinosaur about to eat him- something that happens more often than he'd like to admit. Blinking awake, he checks the clock on his bedside table and sees he's been asleep for over five hours. He also finds that he's alone in his bed. He checks the bathroom, the hallway, even goes downstairs, but Kenji is nowhere to be found.
Disappointment washes over him- Kenji left without saying goodbye.
Ben shakes his head at the childish thought. Going back to his room, he sits at his desk and opens his planner. It's not even noon, but he's ready to cross the day off, choosing to be responsible and study tomorrow instead. Ben stops in his tracks when he notices a new entry not there the previous night.
The upcoming weekend is circled in bright red marker. The words- ‘Visit Kenji in Colorado’ are scrawled inside, with a string of numbers written underneath. Ben is so confused by his discovery that it takes him a moment to realize that Kenji wrote down his new phone number. He smiles at that- judging from the state of his 'new' phone, it’ll probably change again soon.
Ben should be annoyed- Kenji just decided for him that he’ll come up and visit. No question, no discussion. What if he had plans? (He doesn't but that's not the point.)
Then Ben remembers the fact that Kenji visited him, just because he didn’t want to be alone, even sharing a bed with him, and the feeling that leaves him with overrides his judgment. He changes Kenji's number in his phone and shoots him a text.
Bumpy_2015: ‘You still need to send me a map’
Seconds later, he gets a reply.
King_Kon: ' ;))) ’
The little winky face makes his heart skip a beat. He frowns, not liking his body's reaction to such a simple, dumb thing.
Damn. Ben is going to regret this, isn't he?
