Plan B: The Final Installment of the Taking Chances Verse
Title: Plan B
Series Title: Taking Chances Verse
Author: hunters_retreat
Fandom: Dark Angel
Rating: R
Pairing: Alec/Logan
Summary: “Sometimes, plan B was always the better plan.”
Author's note: Thank you to the awesome candygramme for the beta on this! If you notice, you'll see that the title of the post says that this is the final installment of this verse. Yep, this one is done. I love these characters and these boys, but I feel like they've come where they need to be and I'll be leaving them to live their lives now. Thank you to everyone who stuck around to read the series. I have loved writing every story and I'm so glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. Now, I hope you enjoy the last update.
So life didn’t always go the way things were planned. He learned that at Manticore when the lights blinded them, and the heat came, and everyone was running, but no one told him where to run to.
He learned it when they were put into cages and shocked when the stupid humans felt intimidated by the children with the bar codes who didn’t act or behave the way they were supposed to.
He learned it when the man who had taken him was nice and gentle but a stranger and not to be trusted. When the man took him home and fed him and bathed him and let him sleep on a soft mattress.
He learned it when the man spoke softly, but Ben recognized that voice and ran, because the other man had found Daddy.
It wasn’t all bad and it wasn’t all good. At first, he’d wanted his daddy all the time. Daddy had to work though and he was left with Logan. Logan was nice, just like he’d been the night he’d taken Ben from the nasty cages, but he wasn’t Daddy. It didn’t take more than one night to understand that Daddy and Logan were romantically involved. He wasn’t sure what that entailed, but Manticore had given them enough education to understand the signs. It meant that Logan was the biggest threat to Ben and had to be sent away.
He’d done his best, but Logan wouldn’t run. He wouldn’t turn on Ben and he didn’t turn on Daddy. Ben admired the man’s persistence, but he had a plan to make sure his daddy kept him and Logan was messing with it time and time again by being there.
That was until his daddy had gone into seizures and Logan had brought him back to himself. It was before Logan had spent all night comforting him and holding him close. It was before Ben realized that Logan was taking care of him the same way his daddy was.
So life didn’t always go the way things were planned.
Like today. Daddy was supposed to go to work and Logan had some work on the computer that he said he could do in a few hours, and then they could go to the park or take a walk through the market district. Ben liked going down there with Logan now. Logan asked him questions about what he saw, what he thought, and he didn’t expect him to answer like a regular five year old the way other people did. He asked real questions, like how the closing of one store affected the rest of the district and if Ben noticed the way certain street venders were talking to one another. It was fun and it honed the skills that Manticore had given him. He knew Logan was Eyes Only and his daddy worked for him, just like he knew Max was an X-5 like them and that OC wasn’t but she knew all about them.
He knew the knock on the door meant he should hide behind the kitchen counter in case something bad was coming for Logan and Eyes Only. He always said he could help, but Logan and Daddy were adamant that the best thing he could do if something bad ever did come was to witness, so that he could tell Daddy where to go find Logan.
He took his position and watched as Logan caught his eye and nodded his approval at his choice of vantage points. When the door opened Logan stared out for a few minutes before smiling wide. “Why are you knocking?”
When he stepped back Daddy followed him in, a bottle of wine in hand and a bouquet of flowers. “My hands were too full to get the lock.”
He set the things on the kitchen counter and crouched down to Ben’s size. “Nice spot,” he said as Ben launched himself forward. He buried his head in Daddy’s neck, taking a hard sniff of him. They smelled different, he and his daddy, but right there they smelled the same, and it was that spot that always made him feel safe, that allowed him to know that this one was his daddy and not the mean ones that had come before with the same face.
“Why aren’t you at work?”
“Power outage at Jam Pony. Not even the phones are working to take orders. A few people stayed back to work if anyone came to drop things off, but I opted for the day off. Thought maybe I could talk Logan into a day at the park. What do you think? Can we convince him to stop at the market and get those sandwiches we like? Spend a day picnicking in the park with his two best guys instead of glued to the computer?”
He smiled at his daddy, nodding as they both turned their eyes up to Logan, who was a daddy to him too, sorta. He wasn’t daddy. He was more like … father was too formal for someone who bought a magnifying glass and crawled around in the dirt with him, exploring roots and bugs. He wasn’t sure what to call him anymore but Logan seemed wrong somehow, like calling his daddy, Alec .
They looked up, and a quick peek out of the corner of his eyes showed him that he and Daddy were thinking the same. He pouted his bottom lip out and raised his eyebrows slowly, begging with his eyes. Logan caved quickly but Ben had an idea and he figured it was the best place to try it out.
“You’ll go with us, won’t you Papa?”
He felt Daddy’s arms around him get tighter and Logan’s face was open with surprise. He wasn’t sure if he’d said the right thing or not but then Logan let out a shuddered breath and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go with you. If you promise to let me take a nap with you in the park this time. You forgot last time and fell asleep without me.”
“Alright Papa,” he answered, squirming out of his daddy’s arms to go find his shoes.
He wasn’t really eavesdropping when he heard Papa’s quiet voice and Daddy’s soft reassurances. He didn’t need to hear the soft scraping of feet to know that Daddy had pulled Papa close and kissed his temple.
“Did you do that?” Papa asked.
“No, he’d never mentioned it. You were the one that brought him home though, Logan. You brought him to me, and you made us a family. It was only a matter of time before Ben figured that part out too.”
“I love him Alec. I don’t need the words to think of him as my son.”
“I know, which is why he found the words now. Because he knows you’re his Papa.”
So no, life didn’t always go the way things were planned. His morning was spent playing soccer in the park with Daddy. Papa read stories to him and helped him find the flowers from his books to take home. They napped together in the afternoon with Daddy watching them fondly and when they went home that night, he splashed them both when they checked in on him at bath time.
When bedtime rolled around, Papa asked when they would be staying for good and Daddy said it was about time Logan came to his senses and asked. Ben pushed down the memories of psy-ops and serial killers and cages. He pushed down greasy men and electric shock. He pushed down the thoughts of what his life would have been like if things had all gone according to plan.
When Daddy and Papa kissed him good-night, he held on until they both snuggled in beside him. He thought back to what he’d been taught at Manticore and smiled as he whispered before going to sleep.
“Sometimes, plan B was always the better plan.”
In the back of his mind he heard Daddy explain it, that Manticore always taught them to have more than one plan and that sometimes, events changed until other plans were the better option. He knew there were a few tears, but they were happy ones, even if he wasn’t sure which one of his fathers they were coming from. Logic said it was Papa because he wasn’t raised like they were, but he thought it just might be his daddy because he would understand what Ben meant.
Maybe Alec hadn’t planned to be his daddy, and he hadn’t planned to love Logan. Maybe he’d planned to be an assassin just like Manticore had wanted. But Plan B had worked out so much better for them all.
Maybe they were Daddy’s tears because maybe Daddy felt the same way. Plan B was always the better plan.
Series Title: Taking Chances Verse
Author: hunters_retreat
Fandom: Dark Angel
Rating: R
Pairing: Alec/Logan
Summary: “Sometimes, plan B was always the better plan.”
Author's note: Thank you to the awesome candygramme for the beta on this! If you notice, you'll see that the title of the post says that this is the final installment of this verse. Yep, this one is done. I love these characters and these boys, but I feel like they've come where they need to be and I'll be leaving them to live their lives now. Thank you to everyone who stuck around to read the series. I have loved writing every story and I'm so glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. Now, I hope you enjoy the last update.
So life didn’t always go the way things were planned. He learned that at Manticore when the lights blinded them, and the heat came, and everyone was running, but no one told him where to run to.
He learned it when they were put into cages and shocked when the stupid humans felt intimidated by the children with the bar codes who didn’t act or behave the way they were supposed to.
He learned it when the man who had taken him was nice and gentle but a stranger and not to be trusted. When the man took him home and fed him and bathed him and let him sleep on a soft mattress.
He learned it when the man spoke softly, but Ben recognized that voice and ran, because the other man had found Daddy.
It wasn’t all bad and it wasn’t all good. At first, he’d wanted his daddy all the time. Daddy had to work though and he was left with Logan. Logan was nice, just like he’d been the night he’d taken Ben from the nasty cages, but he wasn’t Daddy. It didn’t take more than one night to understand that Daddy and Logan were romantically involved. He wasn’t sure what that entailed, but Manticore had given them enough education to understand the signs. It meant that Logan was the biggest threat to Ben and had to be sent away.
He’d done his best, but Logan wouldn’t run. He wouldn’t turn on Ben and he didn’t turn on Daddy. Ben admired the man’s persistence, but he had a plan to make sure his daddy kept him and Logan was messing with it time and time again by being there.
That was until his daddy had gone into seizures and Logan had brought him back to himself. It was before Logan had spent all night comforting him and holding him close. It was before Ben realized that Logan was taking care of him the same way his daddy was.
So life didn’t always go the way things were planned.
Like today. Daddy was supposed to go to work and Logan had some work on the computer that he said he could do in a few hours, and then they could go to the park or take a walk through the market district. Ben liked going down there with Logan now. Logan asked him questions about what he saw, what he thought, and he didn’t expect him to answer like a regular five year old the way other people did. He asked real questions, like how the closing of one store affected the rest of the district and if Ben noticed the way certain street venders were talking to one another. It was fun and it honed the skills that Manticore had given him. He knew Logan was Eyes Only and his daddy worked for him, just like he knew Max was an X-5 like them and that OC wasn’t but she knew all about them.
He knew the knock on the door meant he should hide behind the kitchen counter in case something bad was coming for Logan and Eyes Only. He always said he could help, but Logan and Daddy were adamant that the best thing he could do if something bad ever did come was to witness, so that he could tell Daddy where to go find Logan.
He took his position and watched as Logan caught his eye and nodded his approval at his choice of vantage points. When the door opened Logan stared out for a few minutes before smiling wide. “Why are you knocking?”
When he stepped back Daddy followed him in, a bottle of wine in hand and a bouquet of flowers. “My hands were too full to get the lock.”
He set the things on the kitchen counter and crouched down to Ben’s size. “Nice spot,” he said as Ben launched himself forward. He buried his head in Daddy’s neck, taking a hard sniff of him. They smelled different, he and his daddy, but right there they smelled the same, and it was that spot that always made him feel safe, that allowed him to know that this one was his daddy and not the mean ones that had come before with the same face.
“Why aren’t you at work?”
“Power outage at Jam Pony. Not even the phones are working to take orders. A few people stayed back to work if anyone came to drop things off, but I opted for the day off. Thought maybe I could talk Logan into a day at the park. What do you think? Can we convince him to stop at the market and get those sandwiches we like? Spend a day picnicking in the park with his two best guys instead of glued to the computer?”
He smiled at his daddy, nodding as they both turned their eyes up to Logan, who was a daddy to him too, sorta. He wasn’t daddy. He was more like … father was too formal for someone who bought a magnifying glass and crawled around in the dirt with him, exploring roots and bugs. He wasn’t sure what to call him anymore but Logan seemed wrong somehow, like calling his daddy, Alec .
They looked up, and a quick peek out of the corner of his eyes showed him that he and Daddy were thinking the same. He pouted his bottom lip out and raised his eyebrows slowly, begging with his eyes. Logan caved quickly but Ben had an idea and he figured it was the best place to try it out.
“You’ll go with us, won’t you Papa?”
He felt Daddy’s arms around him get tighter and Logan’s face was open with surprise. He wasn’t sure if he’d said the right thing or not but then Logan let out a shuddered breath and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go with you. If you promise to let me take a nap with you in the park this time. You forgot last time and fell asleep without me.”
“Alright Papa,” he answered, squirming out of his daddy’s arms to go find his shoes.
He wasn’t really eavesdropping when he heard Papa’s quiet voice and Daddy’s soft reassurances. He didn’t need to hear the soft scraping of feet to know that Daddy had pulled Papa close and kissed his temple.
“Did you do that?” Papa asked.
“No, he’d never mentioned it. You were the one that brought him home though, Logan. You brought him to me, and you made us a family. It was only a matter of time before Ben figured that part out too.”
“I love him Alec. I don’t need the words to think of him as my son.”
“I know, which is why he found the words now. Because he knows you’re his Papa.”
So no, life didn’t always go the way things were planned. His morning was spent playing soccer in the park with Daddy. Papa read stories to him and helped him find the flowers from his books to take home. They napped together in the afternoon with Daddy watching them fondly and when they went home that night, he splashed them both when they checked in on him at bath time.
When bedtime rolled around, Papa asked when they would be staying for good and Daddy said it was about time Logan came to his senses and asked. Ben pushed down the memories of psy-ops and serial killers and cages. He pushed down greasy men and electric shock. He pushed down the thoughts of what his life would have been like if things had all gone according to plan.
When Daddy and Papa kissed him good-night, he held on until they both snuggled in beside him. He thought back to what he’d been taught at Manticore and smiled as he whispered before going to sleep.
“Sometimes, plan B was always the better plan.”
In the back of his mind he heard Daddy explain it, that Manticore always taught them to have more than one plan and that sometimes, events changed until other plans were the better option. He knew there were a few tears, but they were happy ones, even if he wasn’t sure which one of his fathers they were coming from. Logic said it was Papa because he wasn’t raised like they were, but he thought it just might be his daddy because he would understand what Ben meant.
Maybe Alec hadn’t planned to be his daddy, and he hadn’t planned to love Logan. Maybe he’d planned to be an assassin just like Manticore had wanted. But Plan B had worked out so much better for them all.
Maybe they were Daddy’s tears because maybe Daddy felt the same way. Plan B was always the better plan.