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Ben was not like Colin. He didn't lap up their mother's stories about romance or her passive pushing to find their Great Love. Ben was one to see a beautiful person and have fun with said beautiful person as long as he and the beautiful person wanted, then he moved on. Yet he felt like he was struck by Cupid's arrow when he met Sophie Baek the night of the Great Headboard Mystery.
Sophie was…an enigma. She didn't say much, but when she did, Ben caught a sense of humor. Based on how she reacted to seeing Mick, she was protective and nurturing.
Michaela?
Ben didn't know what they were supposed to call her.
Her?
Are those the correct pronouns? He made a note to ask Fran.
He didn't know much about her, but he wanted to.
He tried to talk to her during drinks, but they kept having to break up the arguments between Anthony and Kate. Those two had argued about the virtues of rest, the current Formula 1 standings, and the order one brushes their teeth.
It was floss, brush, and mouthwash. Anthony knew that. Ben didn't know why he felt like being contrarian with Dr. Sharma.
Kate?
Are they close enough for first names? She had seen him shirtless.
Nevertheless, Ben felt like his mother's son for the first time in a long time, in that he was in love.
It was love at first sight.
He was, in fact, ridiculous.
So ridiculous that he was going to conduct an investigation and figure out if Sophie was single. If she were, he would ask her to dinner.
If she wasn't, well, he could push Colin over so they could mope together.
He knew exactly where to go for help.
"What's her last name again?"
"Baek. B. A. E. K."
Ben was trying not to rush Hyacinth, but he did want to get some information and leave before their mother saw he was there and started on her What are you doing with yourself routine. Anthony did that enough.
He stood over Hyacinth as she was stretched out on one of the many settees his mother had set up in Number 5.
Hyacinth rolled her eyes and continued her search on Instagram. "Her?"
She shoved her phone in his face. He shook his head.
Hy shrugged and went back on her search. "What about her flatmate?"
"Kate or Mick?"
"Kate is the vet?"
Ben nodded.
"That's easier." He watched Hyacinth go to Daphne's profile, looked at her tagged photos for the animal shelter, then found Kate, then went to Kate's profile. She searched her tagged photos, swiping so fast that Ben couldn't keep up.
"Wait. Stop. Back up." Ben waited until he saw the photo again and steadied Hyacinth's hand.
"There. In the baby blue." Sophie was there, smiling with Kate and Mick and a tall, dark-skinned man who had his arm around Sophie.
Hyacinth tapped the photo. "It was posted by Edwina Sharma."
"Must be Kate's sister."
"Kate? Why are we talking about Kate?" Ben looked up to see Anthony come into the living room and kiss Hyacinth on her head. "What are you two doing?"
"Nothing," Ben said.
"I'm helping Ben find a girl."
"Who?"
"None of your business."
"Sophie."
Ben glared at Hy, who shrugged. "I'm looking through the tags. She's not tagged, but the guy is."
"Okay. And who is he?"
"John Stirling."
"John Stirling," Ben mumbled. "Go to his profile."
Hyacinth rolled her eyes. "Duh." She looked through his pictures - there were not many, but the ones where he was in them, so was Sophie. And she was always by his side.
So she did have a boyfriend. Of course she did.
"Tough show, sport." Anthony clapped him on the shoulder.
Ben rolled his eyes. Why did he sound 50?
"Thanks, Hy." He sighed. "I owe you one."
"I know." She looked up at Anthony. "Do you want me to see if Kate has a boyfriend?"
Anthony scoffed. "No."
"Oh, she has a bi flag in her profile. I'll check if she has a girlfriend too."
Anthony pouted. "Okay."
If Ben remembered correctly, Mic….haela's last name started with an S, and Michaela had a cousin who was named John. He looked at the screenshot Hyacinth sent him.
That man did remind him of Mic…k?
He knocked on the door to the girls' flat and waited. Fran answered the door.
"Ben?"
"Hey. Are you busy?"
"No."
"Are you alone?"
"Michaela is at home."
Ben nodded and waited. Fran looked him over and stepped aside. He came in and waited. Fran returned to the kitchen and her lunch.
"Frannie?"
Fran looked up. "Yeah?"
Ben hesitated. He didn't know where to start…
"What pronouns does Mick use? Do we call them Mick or Michaela?"
Fran blinked in surprise. "She/Her is fine. Mick or Michaela is fine. She's not picky about that."
Ben nodded. That was good. "But they is also fine?"
Fran smiled and nodded. "Yes."
"Good. Just wanted to be sure."
"Thank you."
"Of course."
"Was that why you came by?"
"No. I wanted to ask about Sophie. Have you met her officially?"
Fran shook her head. "No. We can't get our schedules to line up. Mick is trying, though. We will succeed."
"And John?"
"John who?"
"John Stirling."
"I've met John. He's great."
"Yeah. And is he single?"
Fran stopped adding the seeds to her salad. "No."
"No?"
"You are not sleeping with my girlfriend's cousin. That's too close."
Ben shook his head. "No. That's not what I'm doing."
"I know. Because it's not happening."
Ben opened his mouth. Fran sent him an icy glare.
He sighed and nodded. Fran looked very worried. "I won't."
"Thank you. I already have Anthony asking me about Kate, which is a little too close. Kate is practically Mick's sister."
Ben leaned forward. "Really?"
Fran nodded. "He's claiming he doesn't want Daphne to hang around her, but I'm not Greg."
Ben laughed. Greg did take everything Anthony said as gospel. Poor kid.
"I won't go there."
"Thank you, Ben."
Ben squeezed his baby sister's hand and smiled. He would have to get his information from another source.
Ben rarely visited Daphne at work. None of them visited Daphne at work except maybe Hyacinth.
Hyacinth did love a cute little animal.
So this was going to be a bit awkward.
"Ben?" Daphne furrowed her eyebrows at him as he stood up. "What's wrong? Is everyone okay?"
"Everyone's fine, Daph. I just wanted to come by. Say hi."
Daphne pursed her lips. "Why?"
"I have to have a reason?"
"Yes."
Ben huffed. "Is Dr. Sharma here?"
"Kate? Yes."
Daphne waved for Ben to follow her. She led him through the shelter to her office before pushing him into a chair.
"Wait here."
Ben nodded and looked around her office, smiling at a picture of the family with their mother pregnant with Hyacinth and their father still alive.
He wished he could ask Dad for advice about Sophie. He would know what to do.
"Hi Ben. What's up?" Kate looked at him in the doorway.
Ben stood up and smiled. "Oh, hi. Just wanted to ask if it is okay if I call you Kate."
"You came all the way down here to ask me if you could call me by my first name?"
Ben nodded.
Kate narrowed her eyes. "What is this really about?"
Daphne appeared before he could answer. She squeezed past them.
"Don't mind me. Just need to answer some emails." She slid behind her desk and ignored them.
Well, appeared to ignore them. He kept catching her eye. He glared.
"What?" Daphne asked and stared at her computer.
"I don't know what you wanted to ask, but your sister being here is stopping it, so I can make a guess. Come by the house."
"The house? Your house?"
Kate nodded. "Give me your phone. I'll text myself, then text you our address. Come by. Ask me whatever you were going to ask me."
Ben smiled. "Thanks, Kate."
"Of course. We're friends now." Kate knocked on Daphne's door. "See you later."
"Good luck with Trudie."
Kate waved and walked back to the medical side of the shelter.
"Trudie?"
"Pregnant dog. She's having a C-section."
Ben nodded. "I didn't know they could do that."
Daphne looked around her computer screen. "They can."
"Cool."
Ben came home to find Anthony standing by the couch, stiffly hugging Colin.
"Alright?"
Anthony stepped back and nodded. "Yes. Just giving Colin some advice."
"And taking some of mine."
Ben laughed at Anthony's face. "Well, glad to hear it."
"What's up with you?" Colin asked.
Ben smiled. He was a bit too intuitive for his own good. "I'm good. Don't worry about me."
"Is this about Sophie?" Anthony asked.
"Sophie? Sophie, Michaela's housemate, Sophie? Do you like her? Are you going to ask her out?"
"She has a boyfriend," Anthony answered.
"Oh bummer."
Ben nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine. I'm going to hang out with Kate tonight anyway."
Anthony stared at him."What?"
"Yeah. We exchanged numbers. We're friends." His grin dropped when Anthony frowned. "What's wrong?"
"I don't think you should hang out with her."
"Well, I'm an adult, so no."
Anthony glared. "She's not-"
"Do you want to come with?" Ben watched Anthony's jaw twitch.
"Yes."
"Don't embarrass me," Ben whispered.
Anthony glared. "I won't."
"You will. Just try not to be so you."
The door opened, and Kate looked at Ben with a smile before it fell when she looked at Anthony.
"Ben. You brought your brother."
"He needs to be around more people. Enrichment."
"Yes. We do that with the feral cats as well. Come in."
They stepped inside and looked around. The house was older and had mismatched furniture in the living room. A man was sitting in the living room watching football.
"Simon. Anthony and Benedict Bridgerton."
Simon looked at them and nodded hello before turning back to his game.
Kate led them through the hallway to the back office, where Mick was playing cards with John Stirling.
"You two know Mick, and this is their cousin John."
John looked up and waved. "Hi."
"Boom." John looked down and glared at Mick.
"You cheater."
"Don't hate the player." Mick looked at her buzzing phone and stood up. "I'm off."
"Off where?"
She looked at John, then looked at them. "To see Fran."
"Oh? Is that right?" Anthony asked. "And what will you two be doing?"
Mick slung a backpack on her shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want me to answer that?"
"No. Go." Ben shooed her out. Mick patted his shoulder and squeezed Kate's arm before leaving.
"Text Soph."
"Yeah. Yeah."
"Michaela."
"I will!" They heard her say goodbye to Simon, and the front door slammed.
Kate sighed. "Sorry."
"Sophie worries?" Ben asked.
Kate looked at John to answer.
"Mick got in a bad bike accident a few years ago. Sophie was the first one who saw her, so she's a bit…"
"Protective." Kate finished.
"Bike accident?" Anthony asked.
"Motorbike."
"Please tell me she doesn't still ride."
They heard a motorbike drive off, and Anthony groaned.
"Excuse me."
Ben grabbed his shirt. "No. Leave Fran alone."
"Are we sure about this relationship?"
Kate raised an eyebrow and held her hand up when John opened his mouth.
"Michaela is a loving, caring partner to your sister and has spent the past two hours making your gran's cookie recipe that Daphne sent because they are Fran's favorite. She calls her when she wakes up. They talk on the phone every night. I've heard her soothe your sister from a nightmare. Do not make assumptions based on the type of transportation they prefer."
Ben watched Anthony swallow and nod. "My mistake."
"Maybe get to know Michaela before you make a decision."
"I'll do that. I apologize. To both of you." Anthony nodded at Kate and John.
John gave a forgiving smile. "Apology accepted. Do you like football?"
Anthony nodded. "I don't hate it."
John smiled. "Good. Simon should allow us in there. Also, between you and me, I'm ready for her to stop riding it, and Fran is too."
Ben could enjoy hanging out here. The Stirling/Sharma/Baek/Insert Simon's last name here house was warm.
A different type of warmth than Ben was used to with his horde of siblings, but familiar. This was a found family. People who have known each other over the years and one day decided they were siblings.
It was beautiful to see.
John and Simon reminded him of Daphne and Fran, similar but not. Both can understand each other very well and have a moment of quiet companionship in the chaos.
Kate and Michaela gave him Anthony and Hyacinth - both bold and fully themselves and very different, but loving, and Kate was fiercely protective of her. It was very obvious to Ben how much Kate also worried about her, but let Sophie be the one to vocalize it to not overwhelm Michaela, who reminded him a bit of himself.
They were funny and made jokes constantly, but chafed at any concern directed their way.
He would have to sit down and talk with her for real. Michaela sounded like she was very loving underneath all that bravado.
He loved that for Frannie.
The front door opened, and Sophie walked into the house and smiled. "Hi. What brings you two by?"
"Just hanging out," Ben said. "How was your day?"
"Good." She looked at Kate, who raised her eyebrows. "Kate?"
Kate stood up. "Excuse us, gentlemen. Did you hear from Mick?"
"I did. They made it safely."
"Good."
They made their way into the kitchen. Ben heard their voices get soft.
"So…"
Ben turned to see Simon looking at them.
"You like Sophie." He stared at Ben before looking at Anthony. "And you like Kate."
"I do not like Kate." Anthony retorted.
"Well, she is pretty indifferent about you, too. Maybe don't talk so much, she may like you better."
Anthony huffed. John smiled in laughter.
Simon looked at Ben. "Am I wrong?"
"No. But she's got a boyfriend."
"She does?" John asked.
"Yeah. You."
"Me?" John asked.
Ben nodded. They were dating. The pictures on Instagram. John's incredulous look, coupled with Simon's squint of disbelief, made him question his conclusion.
"Instagram?"
"Oh, we just always stand next to each other in pictures. I'm aroace."
"Oh." Ben excitedly answered. "So…"
"No."
"Right." He took a breath. He had a chance.
HE HAD A CHANCE!!!
Right?
"I'm sorry. I'm lost." Anthony said.
"I'm asexual. And aromantic. I don't date."
Anthony nodded. Ben made a note to explain that in the car on the way home.
"So you're not dating Sophie," Anthony said.
"No."
"So Ben has a chance."
Simon shrugged. "Maybe?"
Ben smiled. He would take maybe.
Ben found Sophie in the kitchen. She looked up from her dinner of…he didn't know what that was.
"Is it okay if I get some water?"
"Yeah, of course," she smiled as he stepped around her to grab a glass and the water pitcher on the counter.
"What's that?"
"Oh. Chapchae. Noodles."
Ben nodded. It looked good. "It looks good. It's…"
"Korean."
"Right. Cool."
Sophie smiled at him. "What are you doing this weekend?"
"Me? Nothing. Why? Do you want to do something? Like dinner? Or lunch? We can do lunch. Or we could-"
"Ben?"
Ben knew his face was red. He didn't even know where that came from. It was like he channeled Eloise. "Sorry."
Sophie laughed. Ben may have sighed at how beautiful her smile was. "Dinner sounds good. Let me give you my number."
Ben grinned and pulled out his phone.
Ben didn't know what to wear on his date. There were only a few people to ask for help, and unfortunately, Daphne was out with Kate doing some shopping. Fran was with Michaela. Hyacinth had to study.
"I'm here. I'm here." El came into his room and flopped on his bed. "What's the emergency?"
"I have a date tonight."
"You?"
Ben nodded and held up two shirts. "Which one?"
"You're going on a date?"
"I think I'm in love, El."
El's eyes widened. "How?"
"I just am. Mum is unfortunately right."
El grimaced. "Who?"
"Sophie." He may have said her name with a sigh. That's okay. She was going to be his wife.
Sophie Bridgerton. Sophie Baek-Bridgerton?
Benedict Baek-Bridgerton?
Benedict Baek? That sounded cool.
"You've met her once."
"We hung out Thursday night."
"Oh. I thought you were going to Kate's."
"They live together."
"So the whole family is just going over there to pick up people? Didn't Ant go with you?"
Ben shrugged. "Ant has a crush on Kate, but she is not interested in him emotionally."
"Emotionally?"
"They'll probably hate bang."
"Bang?"
"I'm saving your delicate ears."
"You can say fuck."
"When talking about Ant?"
He laughed at El's disgusted face.
"Okay. Yeah. No." El frowned. "I like the blue shirt. Bring out your eyes."
Ben nodded. That was a good idea. He should accentuate the good features. Who was he kidding? He had all good features.
"Thanks."
"Wait. You went to Kate's just to ask Sophie out?"
"Well. I needed to find out if she was dating. So Hy looked online and we saw her with a bunch of pictures with John and -"
"Who?"
"Mick's cousin."
El nodded.
"Then I went over there because I planned on asking Kate, but he was there and he told me he was aroace, so they are not dating. Then I asked her to dinner."
"I could have told you that. And given you her number."
Ben frowned. "What?"
"We swapped info at the pub two weeks ago. Why didn't you ask me?"
Ben pouted. He didn't know.
Why didn't he ask El? She was his partner in crime on most things.
"I'm like your partner in crime on most things. Pen could have looked it up for you. Now you owe Hy a favor."
Ben grimaced. He did. He did not do his sleuthing well. Oh well. It didn't matter. He shrugged. "It's fine."
"Hy's going to milk that favor."
"It doesn't matter. I'm going out with Sophie."
"I guess."
"Now. What shoes should I wear?"
El rolled her eyes but got up and looked at the options. He didn't even let that stop his good mood.
Benedict Bridgerton (future Mr. Sophie Baek-Bridgerton) has found his Great Love.