[ Ben and Klaus joke, and they tease each other; it's just what they do. It's how they had survived together, even before Ben had died, even before Klaus's addiction had reared up and laid waste to his life. So Ben knows pretty well, by now, all the ways Klaus can sound when he is teasing, and the sorts of things he teases about.
Which is why it makes no sense, the way Klaus asks that question. Not like he's goading Ben, not even like it's just a bit of flourish and nonsense to make his brother smile and roll his eyes. It's so matter-of-fact. Klaus sounds quiet, distracted, happy. Like he might actually be confused about the situation.
Ben is quick to correct him, his tone of voice implying that what he's saying ought to be obvious: ]
Cole and I aren't dating. He's just a friend.
[ What really confuses Ben is how Klaus could think otherwise. Doesn't he know better? Has he even met Ben? Isn't it just a given, at this point, that that's not something he does. He's never had a boyfriend or girlfriend or anythingfriend and he's not going to. Ben has certainly been taking that as a given, for a very long time. It's one of the many reasons why he hasn't picked up on the obvious, in his own life.
But in the moment's silence after he makes that automatic denial, the tiniest, microscopic seed of doubt burrows its way into Ben's mind. He can feel it there, tiny but present. A small, shapeless, still voiceless questioning. It is so minuscule and fragile still that Ben doesn't touch it, pretends not to notice it. ]
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Which is why it makes no sense, the way Klaus asks that question. Not like he's goading Ben, not even like it's just a bit of flourish and nonsense to make his brother smile and roll his eyes. It's so matter-of-fact. Klaus sounds quiet, distracted, happy. Like he might actually be confused about the situation.
Ben is quick to correct him, his tone of voice implying that what he's saying ought to be obvious: ]
Cole and I aren't dating. He's just a friend.
[ What really confuses Ben is how Klaus could think otherwise. Doesn't he know better? Has he even met Ben? Isn't it just a given, at this point, that that's not something he does. He's never had a boyfriend or girlfriend or anythingfriend and he's not going to. Ben has certainly been taking that as a given, for a very long time. It's one of the many reasons why he hasn't picked up on the obvious, in his own life.
But in the moment's silence after he makes that automatic denial, the tiniest, microscopic seed of doubt burrows its way into Ben's mind. He can feel it there, tiny but present. A small, shapeless, still voiceless questioning. It is so minuscule and fragile still that Ben doesn't touch it, pretends not to notice it. ]