Starring:
Summary: Alice embarrass Benji, this is nothing new. However parts of their conversation is.
Date It Happened: September 3rd, 2007
Log Title No No Place
Primatech - Hartsdale Facility
Fresh from a shower after hitting the gym, Benjamin heads towards the offices. Slacks, button down shirt, no tie or suit jacket, this is as casual as he seems to dress around here when on the clock. Checking his messages on his phone, he's more or less on auto pilot as he winds through the halls.
Twirling a set of keys on the index finger of her right hand, Alice comes strolling down the hallway from the opposite direction as Benjamin. She's dressed in a long black dress with a corset, hair dyed completely black and some sturdy black boots on her feet. In short, like she used to dress. "Hey there stud. You haven't seen this nerdy guy… I think his name was Winters. Total momma's boy, except for when he's drunk."
Benjamin looks up and over at Alice and smiles as he pockets his phone. "I missed this look," he says as he approaches her. "I'll take the nerdy comment.. and okay the momma's boy." Because there is no denial. He loves his mama and does what she asks. Is that a crime? Since they are at work, he leans over to give the woman a kiss on the cheek. "Where are you heading to?"
"The City. Thought I might go get drunk, maybe get laid. You know. It's my night off and all that," is Alice's response, a bemused expression on her face as he gives her a kiss on the cheek. "Or maybe take a walk in the park. See what sorts of monsters might be lurking about. See if I can't lay the fear of God into them."
"Ah.. I see.. should I be jealous? Or clock out and chaperone you?" Which is laughable an idea. Benjamin changes his mind about heading to the offices. There's nothing in there that can't wait a little longer and he does put in a lot of hours. Offering his arm to Alice, he walks along with her.
"And by God, I mean my nine millimeter full auto," Alice clarifies. Just in case that needed clarification. "I figured after a walk, we could head back to my place… maybe give you a real workout instead of the lame ass ones they do here nowadays."
Benjamin blushes just a little at the forwardness. It's a little embarrassing and a little refreshing. "Your place is good.. Otherwise I'd scar Rose further for life." The remark about the gun however, gets his head shaking. "You and .. Doug, my former partner, he went back to the Alaska facility for a bit, so I'm temporarily assigned to Babenkov.. I'm not letting you two meet. He's a gun nut, and doesn't think highly of abilities." Which kind of rankles. No wonder people with powers can't come forward. Think of the civil rights movement it would spark.
"They are kind of cheap… when it comes down to it," Alice offers with a roll of her shoulders. "I prefer a gun in my hand. At least I know that it's only going to kill someone if I pull the trigger and make it happen and there's something to be said for that." She steers them both towards the door to the parking lot. "Also? While I think it's cute that you care about your daughter the way you do… I think she can handle her father having sex. She may not like it, but it's something she's going to have to get over, because I don't plan on going anywhere."
"I know.. I need to step up my training. I just had that talk with Babenkov, after he ridiculed my physical state." Not that Benjamin was /too/ insulted by that. He knows he's a marshmallow. Still. It didn't need to be said. "Cute? I sign my life away to keep my daughter safe and you call it cute?" Some people would say he's damaged in the head, and he may very well be. "She will get over it, I can just be discreet about it. I never ever want to think about my mother.. Not going there." Margie Winters is a saint! MOVING ON. "Where do you want to go have dinner? I owe you a few dates since my mouth was all wired shut when you got back."
"Hahaha… you think you only owe me dates." Alice pats Benjamin on the cheek lightly as they continue on. "Don't get all dramatic on me, Benj. It really doesn't suit you. The Company is far from the monster you might think it to be." She also notes, "I still have to meet mummy dearest. I can't wait to tell her how long we've been going at it."
"Well.. I was being polite when I said I owe you dates." Aw, how cute. Benjamin's still trying to be a gentleman. "Sorry.. It still feels a bit like signing some kind of pact." Which it is. "I know it's not some evil monster and there is a lot of good here. If it weren't for them, I would still be causing accidents, hurting people.. I wouldn't have met you. I've made a few acquaintances here too." Then he sputters, "No.. no.. Uh.. we're not telling my mother that. It's not necessary."
"Awwwwww, Benj 'fraid to tell his mommy he's been puttin' his peen in some young thing's no-no place?" The newly gothed Alice teases relentlessly. "What does it matter, one way or another? You love me and I love you. Someone needs to help cure you of this What Will My Mother Think-itus that you seem to be holding onto. Granted, you've made excellent progress while I was gone, but clearly we must ramp up our efforts. I say, you invite your mother over… I'll cook dinner, we'll all eat together and clear the air. I'll tell her what's what, let her know her boy's all growed up /in more ways than one/ and that he's happy. /And/, that she's welcome over for dinner whenever she wants. That last bit will get her. Watch."
Benjamin closes his eyes and groans with embarrassment. ".. I'm capable of telling her that myself. She knows. I've been married, divorced and given her a granddaughter.. I introduce her to you and she's.." He can see it in his head now. "She'll be pestering about grandkids, rings.." And she'll whip out the babybook and pictures as if he were still in highschool. Trying to tear his mind off that horror, he steers Angie towards her car out in the parking lot. "It's not so much as I care about what she thinks, it's how she is. Rose is just like mom, you'll see easily where she gets it from."
"Would it help if I started walking around naked?" Alice offers after a few quiet seconds of contemplation. She hits the security button on her keys and then moves to unlock her door. "You are still way too stressed out for me to think about poppin' out your babies from my vag for you. Seriously."
Benjamin rushes around to open the door for Alice, hopefully before she can open it herself. Color floods his face at Alice's bluntness. "I.. wouldn't mind the walking around naked.. behind closed doors." Just please no striding around naked in front of others. He really has no reply for the crude way that was just phrased. ".. I'll .. be sure to remind mom of that. Just.. not in those terms."
"That's not to say I wouldn't ever. But, babies can sense that sort of stuff, you know. Stress. I wouldn't want to inflict that sort of thing on a fetus. Poor thing can't even put headphones on and ignore you when you get neurotic like Rose does," Alice teases some more. Benjamin, he makes it so easy. She slides into the driver's seat and looks up at the man. "Someday though."
Benjamin does indeed make it easy. The color finally starts to fade from his face, then.. Okay, shutting the door now, and walking around to the passenger side. Sliding in, he looks at Alice as if unsure of what he just heard. ".. Did you.." Is this cause to try and stop being so stressed out, or this a reason for more stress? "I've gotten better." Since a lot of what he was stressing about when he first met Alice, he's adjusted.
"Say that I loved you? Yes. And I also said I might even have children with you someday. What? A girl has dreams, okay? I don't want to play Secret Agent the rest of my life," Alice points out, slipping the key into the ignition and turning the engine on. She puts an arm around Benjamin's seat and looks backwards as she pulls the car out. "In fact, there's only two things I don't really want to do with my life. One is have Sylar cut my head open and steal my power. And the other…" she shifts the car into drive and starts to peel out of the parking lot, "Is get married."
Benjamin buckles himself in with the seatbelt. Pardon as he's a little blindsided. "Even my ex-wife never said that much to me.. about dreams, and she flat out refused kids." As to the marriage part, he can't say he ever saw himself remarrying. "And.. amen to the Sylar part. I try not to dwell on my run-in with him and the way he was looking at Rose." Not wanting to discuss that one too much, he shifts topics back, "I understand about not wanting to play agent all the time. I can't imagine that it's been fun since you haven't known too much else. In a way, it makes me feel alive for a change, but a little overwhelming as I get accustomed to this."
"Yeah, well, I think we pretty much figured out I wasn't anything like your ex the first time we met, hmmm," the goth says as she drives along through Hartsdale, hands draped over the steering wheel. "Woman needs to get herself laid properly. If I didn't want to beat her bitch-ass up, I'd say let's ask her over for some adult sexy fun times."
"Yeah.. the ex gave me a ring, you gave me lo-jack." Benjamin says, trying to find the humor in the meeting and Alice tagging him on day one. "Oh god.. no.. I'm not into that… I'm kinda selfish." And the flush is back as he's having a conversation about sex. In so many words. "I don't think she'll ever be happy, and that makes me kind of feel sorry for her. She doesn't want kids, she's not content with what she has or gets. Even when Rose showed up at a bad time, it made me so happy to find out I had a daughter."
"Gosh." Alice skews a glance Benjamin's way and says, "I never knew you were such a girl." Smirking, she adds, "You're a good father."
Benjamin looks aside at Alice and leans over to kiss her on the cheek again. "I do what I can for her." No comment's made about her calling him a girl. He knows she's teasing, and well, it'll be disproved soon enough.