Safety from Drama Ch. 21

BEN only awoke when the sun had fully risen into the afternoon sky. He tried cuddling up to his lover only to realise he wasn't there. The Hylian felt his eyes well up with tears again. He blinked them away and stood, wandering onto the platform outside to get some fresh air. He breathed in the essence of the cool forest. A sigh soon followed.

StitcheZ had awoken already and was in the higher branches of an oak just outside. The smell of fresh rain lingered in the air. He listened to the birds with his legs crossed as he rested on the branch.
He held his violin in one hand as he listened intently, memorizing each note. The others were asleep still or grieving in their rooms. He looked down to see the Hylian had awoken.

BEN heard the violin and his ears perked. He looked up. Seeing the proxy in the trees made a small smile cross his face. The elven male assumed Pinkie was still asleep. She always slept late. But now that she was carrying a child, she probably wanted even more rest.

StitcheZ paused for a moment and hung upside down above BEN, his legs straddling the branch.
"I see you're awake..." He murmured softly.
The Proxy sighed softly.

"Yes..." BEN looked on before he yawned. He truly didn't want to relax. In all honesty he wanted to be up and about, knocking down trees and burning people alive. He gulped down the urge as he once again heard footsteps nearby.

Inferno paused in the door frame, leaning against the cool wood.
"Ibraxus will be coming to give his regards..." He stated softly, sighing as he ruffled his greyish blonde hair. He looked to StitcheZ, seeing the violin.
"I thought you played piano...?" He tilted his head.
"Who says you can't play both?" StitcheZ replied, shifting his gaze back to BEN. He wondered if the Hylian needed to do anything today.

BEN watched the two converse. He heard his sister groan and hopped up to StitcheZ' room. "Sis?" He called.
The Party girl sat up and gave a weak smile. "Hey there sweetie... How-OW- are you...?" She held her stomach.
BEN knelt beside her and placed a hand on the small bump there. He blinked calmly. After a moment, he rested his head on her chest and crawled into her lap. Pinkie giggled softly and rocked him a bit.

StitcheZ was the next one to be at the window, slipping inside to greet Pinkie.
"Morning, love..." He purred softly. His heart still ached slightly but it wasn't as painful as last night. The painful truth had sunk in.

"Good morning, chickadee!" Pinkie's cheerful demeanour didn't falter. Of course she was upset, but she was a Party girl. Her job was to lift people's moods. BEN nuzzled a tiny bit and the girl cringed. "Not too close hun... You'll hurt the baby."
BEN blushed and moved away. "S-sorry... Have you picked names yet...?" He looked to the two and raised a brow.

StitcheZ looked to pinkie. It was only a day after they had found out Pinkie was pregnant... Or had it been more? So much had happened since last night. He frowned.
"Not yet sadly..."

"But don't worry." Pinkie ran a thumb across BEN's cheek. She smiled. "We'll just wait! A lot has been going on, we can't be expected to drop everything for a few names can we? We have time." She looked to StitcheZ proudly. Her bubblegum gaze swept to the door in worry. "Well I heard Inferno... Is Ripped up yet?"
BEN thought about the night before and blushed. "Uh."

"I don't think so. He's been moping around lately. I wouldn't blame him." He replied softly. His gaze looked to BEN.
"Something wrong?"

"No... I'm fine..." BEN looked down, trying to deter his attention from the proxy. He ran a hand through his hair.
'Wonder if it's what I said last night...'

StitcheZ crawled closer to Pinkie and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He buried his face in her neck and sighed.
"I wish things didn't go like this... " He murmured softly, running a hand through her bubblegum hair.

Pinkie frowned and rubbed StitcheZ' back with a thumb. "I know... It was shocking and it shouldn't have happened... But we have to try and stay strong for him." She mused comfortingly.
BEN stood and left the room, not wanting to be in the conversation. 'Why are you running from this? You're pathetic BEN. Absolutely pathetic.' He cringed. The Hylian retreated to the safety of his room with a quiet sob.

Ripped tapped his fingers to the beat of the music as he sat against the wall on his bed. He sighed, obviously upset by something as he took another gulp from the bottle in his hand.

BEN heard the music and peeked through the door. His ears fell. He was sorely worried for Ripped. He knocked on the door, the noise barely audible over the music.

"Come in..." Ripped's voice rang out thorough the door. He sighed, not looking up. The Proxy coughed once into his arm and stared up at the ceiling.

BEN slipped in and knelt in front of Ripped, frowning at him. He looked over the proxy with a sigh. "You're worrying me." The Hylian moved to a sitting position, his hands holding on either sides of his own hips to steady himself.

"There's nothing to worry about with me..." He sighed, still tapping his fingers. He brushed his hair back, combing it through his fingers. He didn't really mind that BEN was here.

"But you're drinking." BEN murmured. "If I'm right... A lot of people drink when they're stressed." He kept his eyes firmly on Ripped. He wasn't used to alcohol, but he knew that he only drank when he felt socially incapable. "Unless I'm wrong."

"HA!" Ripped laughed.
"Stressed, depressed, slowly feeling like snapping one day and just leaving. Yup." He took another drink and traced his mask softly. The Proxy didn't return the Hylian's gaze. His body was sore from last night's massacre.
The harvest hooks hung on the wall, dried blood flaking from the metal.

BEN cringed at the sudden swing in tone. He put a hand over his face. There was no point in reasoning with the other. "... Don't leave..." The only reply he could offer was quiet as wind and almost desperate. He couldn't lose two people he cared for so soon. He couldn't.

Ripped frowned softly.
"Why...?" He asked, tracing the lip of the bottle in his hand. He went silent soon enough. Ripped's eyes slowly left the ceiling and looked to BEN.

"Be..." BEN lifted his hands to his chest, his crimson orbs glazing over with sadness. "Because I need you too..."

Ripped tensed up. No... He hadn't heard what he thought he had. It had to have been his imagination.
"... But... I thought you needed Masky." He spoke, letting the bottle rest on the floor beside his bed.

"Of course I needed him... I loved him..." BEN covered his whole face with his hands.
"I still love him... I'm... Nothing..." He bolted up, taking Ripped's arms with trembling hands. "But I can't lose you too...! I..." He let his head hang emptily. "I need you most..."

Ripped looked down.
"He can't be dead... Hoody could never actually kill him..." He hissed, sitting up and holding his legs. He looked to the Hylian.
"Masky was a prophet... Did he ever tell you that?" Ripped asked, tilting his head.

"No. He told me he had a prophet name, not that he was one..." BEN lifted his shirt to show the bond, furrowing his brows. "If he was with us..." He bit his lip. "This would be the colour of my eyes. To prove we belong to each other... But it's not..." The elf backed away again, running a hand through his hair.

"He can't be... Not unless... No..." Ripped felt his heart leap into his throat.
"No no no... It... It might not have been entirely Hoody's fault...." He leaped up from his bed, swinging his legs off of the sheets. He stood up with a slight wobble and looked out of the window.
"No... He couldn't have..."

"Ripped..." BEN clutched his shirt, knowing it was true. He didn't want Ripped to be upset but he needed him to realise what happened was true. He thought of Masky's smile and choked down a sob. He held his throat and choked again.
"Stop... Please... Stop my heart..." The Hylian tried to find his dagger but when he couldn't, he cried out in distress. "Stop it...! Stop beating...!"

Ripped looked to BEN and grabbed his arms gently.
"BEN? BEN!" He cried, trying to hold onto the Hylian. He felt that the worst had settled over him at the sudden realization. He couldn't tell BEN... Not now in his moment of despair.

BEN gripped his arms tightly, his nails digging into his own flesh and leaving red lines in their wake. "Make it stop..." His voice cracked harshly.
"Make it STOP!" He grabbed the hook from the wall, holding it to his throat.

Ripped threw his arms around BEN and did the only thing he felt he could and pushed his lips roughly against the Hylian's. He threw the hook across the room and held him there in his grasp, feeling a cold hand grip his heart as he prepared to be socked in the eye.

BEN froze, his muscles tense and eyes widened. His heart raced. He tried to piece together what was happening. After a moment his eyes slid shut and he whimpered, his arms shaking in uncertainty.

Ripped pulled away after a moment and hung his head.
"I-I'm sorry..." He whimpered, pulling his mask fully over his face once more. He looked away from BEN and shut his eyes tightly. He felt he had betrayed his best friend now by kissing his lover.
No... He couldn't.

BEN merely sat there, staring at his hands with no emotion. "I..." He bit his tongue. The words he wanted to form wouldn't come. He was torn. He loved Masky with all of his being even if he was dead. But with Ripped... He didn't know. He felt a pain in his chest. He turned Ripped's head toward him, looking over his mask and into his eyes. His own were bright in confusion. "Don't... Move." His voice was light.

Ripped's glowing violet eyes gleamed from behind the mask. They glanced to the ground but he remained still as BEN had said to. He closed his eyes. If the Hylian was going to knock him out, it was best to prepare one's self.

BEN flushed red. He blinked a few times. The Hylian had no idea how to feel. But in all honesty, he felt quite empty. He closed his eyes and moved his hands to Ripped's shoulders. He scooted a bit closer to him and softly pressed his lips to the lips of the mask.

Ripped was startled and couldn't help a small jump. He had expected pain. Instead... He got this. It took him a minute to pull his senses together and gently brush BEN's hand with his own as he pushed closer.

BEN held Ripped's hand, interlocking their fingers with a sigh. He grew a bit more sure of himself and slid the Proxy's mask up with his nose. He let his lips link with Ripped's. Seeing sapphire eyes in the back of his mind made him look away in shame.

Ripped could feel Masky's glare and looked around quickly. Nothing was there. He tuned back to BEN and apologized once more. He realized that their fingers were still locked together. It took all of his strength to let go. The Proxy let his gaze fall to the floor once again.

BEN gulped. He wanted Ripped to kiss him again. He had the urge in his heart but he didn't feel he could. "Ripped..." The Hylian's throat was stuck.
'Kiss me...' The words wouldn't flow. He kept seeing Masky's eyes, making him curl in on himself until he was a tight ball on the floor.

Ripped brushed BEN's cheek softly and knelt down. He felt horrible. His best friend had trusted him and he let himself slip. The Proxy closed his eyes.
"Should I go...?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"Please don't..." BEN murmured. He would be damned if Ripped left. Loneliness would destroy him, or even worse, turn him into Nameless or BENmallow. He held an arm out to take his sleeve, pulling him close with a pain in his chest. "I need you..."

Ripped's fingers shook as he hesitantly took BEN's hand. He furrowed his brow and gazed into the Hylian's eyes. He tried to push the mental glare of Masky away but found it impossible. He could feel how upset BEN was and understood that this wasn't easy for him.
The Proxy pulled him closer and wrapped his arms around him.

BEN gulped down a sob. He had to stop crying sooner or later. He set his temple on Ripped's collarbone, shuddering nervously. He was losing himself in the blackness, and he had to pull out of it. So many thoughts were assaulting him. 'Masky's dead... I love him. But wait, Ripped's here. I'm getting feelings for him too. No, I can't! He loves me. I love Masky!' He felt his head about to explode.

Ripped sighed and pulled away.
"I'll give you time to yourself. I'll be out in the living room if you need me." He spoke softly, brushing BEN's hair.

"Ngh." BEN didn't want Ripped to go. He stood up with incredibly shaky legs and moved into his room, standing in front of the door leading out. The cool air swiped his face and froze his mind. His thoughts instantly stopped and he fell to the floor, fast asleep.

Ripped had heard the thud and glanced up with a sigh, moving towards the noise. He frowned as he saw BEN. The poor guy must've been exhausted.
He closed his eyes for a moment and soon gathered the Hylian in his arms. He needed rest. The proxy lay him in the bed before slipping from the room silently.