After the Spiders (Yates/Benton)
Title: After the Spiders
Rating: PG-13
Summary: part of a series of "after the episodes" stories, about the relationship of Captain Mike Yates and Sergeant John Benton.
After the Keller Machine
After the Daemons
After the Chronovores
After the Giant Maggots
After the Dinosaurs
After the Spiders
Sergeant Benton drove home after a quiet day at UNIT, and ready for a few days of leave time. The Doctor was still gone. He had been for a few days now. It wasn’t as though the Doctor had gone off on some adventure lasting this long before. It was the circumstances of his leaving this time, as had been explained to him by Miss Sarah Jane Smith.
Still, he, Sarah, and the Brigadier all held some hope that the Doctor would come back. He always managed to beat the odds, if only barely.
But that wasn’t the only thing on Benton’s mind. A few days before all that Metabilis crystal business, the Doctor had sat down with him and everything he could about former Captain Mike Yates’ involvement with Operation Golden Age. It basically came down to it not really being his fault. A few factors were to blame for Yates’ betrayal.
And the day after all the Metabilis crystal events, Sarah had told him about Mike’s role in defeating the giant spiders. She expected him to take the information that she and the Doctor had given him, and do something with it.
The Doctor and Sarah were the only people who had known about Benton and Yates’ relationship. The Doctor had found out after they had rescued Mike from the clutches of Captain Athel Cyprian. Benton had only recently found out that Sarah was Mike’s friend, and had been since soon after his resignation from UNIT. Between being friends to Mike and Benton, she had gathered enough clues they had unconsciously given to her about their past relationship for her to figure it out.
Sarah wasn’t pressuring him, but Benton knew she expected him to try to talk to Mike. Now was his best opportunity to do that. For the past few days he had been thinking about how to approach his former partner. With the Doctor’s explanation of Mike’s mental state at that time, Benton’s confrontation seemed very harsh in hindsight.
He parked outside his apartment and looked at his keys. There was one key on there that hadn’t been used since his and Mike’s falling out. He didn’t know why he had kept it. He would use it tonight.
********
It was after midnight when Benton walked up to the door of Mike’s apartment. He didn’t knock, not wanting to wake the probably sleeping man inside. He took out the key to the door and used it.
He snuck inside the dark apartment and draped his jacket over the back of the couch. He took off his shoes and put them next to Mike’s by the door. He didn’t spend much time looking around the familiar apartment. It hadn’t changed at all, really. Benton looked up from his task.
Benton went to the bedroom, as quietly as he could. He didn’t turn on the light and gave himself a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Mike was sleeping. The blanket came up to his waist and left his naked torso uncovered. He was positioned on his side and facing away from the middle of the bed.
Benton let out a deep breath, then got into the bed behind Mike. He lightly laid his arm over Mike’s waist and settled in. He felt the other man stir, but not tense.
“You… you came back,” stated Mike.
“Yes, I did,” Benton whispered.
Mike started to turn over. “John-“
“We can talk in the morning. Go back to sleep.”
“Okay.” Mike settled back down. Out of old habit, he unconsciously pressed his back against Benton’s front.
“I promise I’ll still be here,” Benton whispered.
********
Mike awakened, alone. The warm weight of Benton behind him was gone. He hadn’t dreamed what had happened last night, had he? He had dreamed about Benton before, though. That wasn’t too unusual.
His body tensed when he heard someone doing something in the kitchen. Then he smelled the scent of rich coffee. He got out of bed, and left the room, pausing only to grab his robe.
“I wasn’t dreaming,” Mike stated when he saw Benton in his kitchen, making coffee.
“Good morning.”
Mike leaned back against the refrigerator. “Good morning. Um…”
“Would you like some?” Benton offered.
“Sure. I get the feeling I’ll need it.”
Benton half-smiled and found two mugs in the first cabinet he opened. He still remembered where everything was.
While Benton prepared the coffee, Mike took the opportunity to look him over. He was wearing jeans and a simple tshirt. He looked the same, still as attractive as ever.
Benton handed Mike one of the mugs, and the two men took a couple minutes of quiet to drink.
“You came back,” Mike broke the silence.
Benton nodded. “Do you… do you have any plans for today?”
Mike shook his head. “You said we could talk in the morning.”
“Is it morning already?” Benton joked.
Mike could see he was clearly nervous. He had seemed so confident last night, sneaking in and getting in bed with him. Mike took the lead in going to the living room and sitting on the couch. He set his mug down on the table and waited for Benton to join him.
They sat on opposite sides, facing each other.
“I wanted to talk to you. I’ve been wanting to for a little while now, but I was so busy and-“
“I understand. Was there anything that brought this on?”
“Things the Doctor told me. And things our mutual friend told me a few days ago.”
“Sarah.”
“Yes.” Benton took a sip from his mug. “A couple weeks ago, before the Metabilis crystal and spider business, the Doctor told me all about your involvement with Operation Golden Age and why you did it.”
“What did he say?”
Benton put his mug down next to Mike’s on the table. “You were still suffering from the effects of being under control of that BOSS computer. Even after you returned from your leave. Operation Golden Age took advantage of that, of you.” He was quiet for a long moment. “I knew you were… off… during a bit of time before the dinosaurs and while we were dealing with them. But… I thought that was only you being stressed about work and maybe you had come back from leave too soon.” He cleared his throat. “Is that true?”
Mike took a drink of coffee from his mug. When he put it down, he stared down at his hands. “I was still recovering from that, yes. The Golden Age people probably approached me because of that.”
“Mike, why didn’t you tell me all this that night?”
Mike knew what ‘that night’ was. The night after he had gone home from UNIT, after being let go by the Brigadier. The night his and Benton’s relationship had ended.
“I was too weak to resist them, to really fight back. It sounded like an excuse. And you deserve so much more than excuses, John.”
“Having your mental state taken advantage of is not an excuse.”
“I was too weak to resist them.”
Benton shook his head. “What had happened to you, what you were trying to recover from… you needed time. You hadn’t had enough time before they took advantage.”
“You really think that?”
“I know it, now. You weren’t yourself. You would not have done what you did, willingly. And, you did resist, didn’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“The Doctor said that you were adamant about not killing or hurting him, even though they wanted you to kill him. When his dinosaur gun thing didn’t work, you were the first to come to his aid.”
“I was the one who sabotaged it.”
“Yes, but when he was in danger, you did what you always do. You did resist them, as much as you could. If you had been completely under their control, you would’ve gone and killed us from the start. You would’ve shot me. You resisted enough to give us a chance.” Benton moved forward, closer to Mike. He put a hand on his shoulder. “You weren’t weak, Mike. You were strong. As strong as you could’ve been.” He sighed. “I was too harsh that night.”
“You didn’t know all this. I can’t blame you for being harsh. You thought your… partner had betrayed everything you and he stood for. That he had betrayed those who trusted him with their lives.”
“But now I know he didn’t.” Benton scooted closer and put his other hand on Mike’s knee. “I know there’s something you need to hear from me.” He held Mike’s steady gaze. “I forgive you.”
A heavy weight that had been in Mike’s heart since that night quickly faded away. He had needed to hear that from the person he loved, from the person he had shared so much with.
Benton pulled the silent man into a hug. “Are you alright?”
“Yes…. Better, actually.” Mike relaxed into the embrace. “Thank you. I… I needed that.”
Benton kissed Mike’s forehead, then said, “To be honest,” he let go of the other man. “I’ve missed you, Mike. This entire time. And I… I never stopped loving you. I was angry and hurt, but I never stopped loving you.”
That came as a bit of a surprise. “Really?”
“I‘m serious.” To add to his point, Benton leaned forward and kissed Mike’s lips. He held it a fraction too long for it to be a chaste kiss.
“John?”
“Never, Mike.” Benton went in for another kiss.
This time Mike reacted. He rested his hand on Benton’s chest and kept the kiss going. He was careful to not be aggressive, not wanting to take more than the other man was willing to give.
They pulled apart, and Benton cleared his throat. “I guess what I’m trying to say is… I still love you, Mike.”
“I still love you, John.”
A third kiss, and Mike still held himself back from making it more than a soft and slow one.
Benton cleared his throat again when they pulled apart. “Um… I guess this is as good a time as any to ask this. Would you… Do you want to try this again? Us, I mean.”
Mike softly laughed. “John, we’ve been kissing for the past few minutes. If that’s not a sign of ‘I want you back in my life,’ then I don’t know what is.”
Benton laughed and kissed the other man’s neck. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes.’”
“Mm-hmm,” Mike agreed. He pulled Benton down on top of him as Benton captured his mouth again.
During the passionate kiss, the robe slipped off Mike’s left shoulder. He didn’t even notice, until they stopped to breathe and Benton stared down at Mike’s bare chest.
“What is it?” Mike asked.
“This burn on your chest is new.”
“Oh, that.” Mike looked down to look at the new scar as well. It was a dark jagged line nearly three inches long over his heart. “I took a shot of electricity from the combined forces of four people with the powers of those giant spiders.” He noticed Benton’s wince. He quietly added, “I shouldn’t have survived it.”
“I’ve got a scar like that, too. Got zapped when Lupton stole the crystal from the Doctor’s lab.”
“Really? May I see?”
Benton sat up to take off his shirt. “It’s not as big as yours, though.”
“We are still talking about scars, right?” Mike joked. He yelped at the playful slap to his shoulder.
Benton continued removing his shirt. His scar was in the same place, and was of the same jagged line design. It wasn’t as long as Mike’s, a little over half the size. “I was only hit by Lupton. I can’t imagine how painful it was to be hit by four people.”
“Like I said, I shouldn’t have survived it.”
“Well, however you managed to, I’m so glad you did.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Mike dipped his head down to kiss the burn scar on Benton’s chest. Then he worked his way up to the other man’s mouth.
They pressed their foreheads together and smiled at each other. Mike stated, “I’ve missed this. I’ve missed us.”
Benton responded caressing the other man’s cheek. Then he tucked a stray lock of Mike’s hair behind his ear. “I think I like the long hair look on you.”
“You don’t think it makes me too pretty?” teased Mike.
“You were always the pretty one,” Benton grinned. He untied the cloth belt of Mike’s robe. He was tackled onto his back on the sofa as Mike started hungrily kissing him.
“I think this was her plan all along,” Benton said quietly as he and Mike laid on the couch together.
“Hm?” Mike replied, lazily trailing his fingers up and down Benton’s torso.
“Sarah.”
“Ah.” Mike softly laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”
“She’s got a copy of my apartment key.”
Mike looked up. “She’s got mine, too.”
Benton grinned. “Oh, she’s got us, doesn’t she.”
“I’ll say,” Mike agreed as he moved to straddle Benton’s waist and leaned over for a kiss.
“You know what I say?”
“What?”
“I say this couch is starting to feel too small.”
“Well, I’m quite comfortable,” responded Mike with a teasing smile.
Benton tickled Mike’s sides until Mike managed to grab his hands and hold them down. Benton broke free, picked Mike up, and stood in one motion.
“You’re too good at that,” Mike remarked, moving around until his ankles were hooked around Benton’s waist. He whispered into his ear, “John, I want you so much right now.”
“Bed?”
“Please.”
“I thought you weren’t expecting anyone,” Benton of the knock on the door a few hours later.
Mike sighed at the interruption to their conversation. “I wasn’t.”
Both men got up from the bed. Mike shrugged on his robe and Benton put on his tshirt.
Mike went to the door and peeked through the peephole. He turned to the other man and mouthed, “Sarah.”
“Of course,” Benton mouthed back. He went back into the bedroom, listening intently.
Mike tied his robe closed and opened the door. “Hello, Sarah Jane.”
“Hello, Mike.” Sarah’s eyes looked up and down at him. “Don’t tell me you’ve ben lounging around in your pyjamas all day.”
“Maybe?” At her accusatory stare, he amended it to, “Yes?”
“You’re not sick, are you?”
“No?”
“Sarah shook her head and chuckled. “You haven’t let me in, yet.”
“Oh, you’re right. Come in.”
Sarah bounded inside and Mike closed the door.
“So… how have you been? Anything new at UNIT?” Mike inquired awkwardly.
Sarah turned to him, a grin on her face. “I want to talk about you.”
“Oh? What about?” The grin on Sarah’s face was starting to unnerve Mike a little. “Would you like something to drink? I’ll put the kettle on.”
Mike focused on the self-assigned task. He had just put the kettle of water on the stove when Sarah said from behind him, “How about…”
Mike turned and sheepishly smiled. Sarah had taken off her leather jacket, and had put on Benton’s denim one. “How about I ask what Benton’s jacket is doing here?”
Sarah squeaked when Benton snuck up from behind and lifted her off her feet. Mike laughed at her reaction. Benton put her down. Sarah turned and said, “Oh, you brute.”
“You really can’t resist that jacket, can you?” responded Benton. He looked to Mike with a smile. “Really, every time we go out, she ends up wearing it by the end of the night.”
“I guess I’ll amend my question. What are you doing here, Benton?”
To answer, Benton seized the front of Mike’s robe and pulled him in for a deep kiss. When they pulled apart, he said, “That answer your question?”
Sarah was absolutely beaming. “Oh yes, that does.”
The kettle shrilled. Mike asked, “Cocoa or tea?”
“Tea,” Benton and Sarah responded.
Benton and Sarah went to the living room while Mike prepared the tea. Benton pulled her into a hug and said into her ear, “I want to thank you. For helping me come back to him. And for taking care of him.”
“Anytime,” Sarah responded with a kiss to his cheek.
They sank down onto the sofa and grabbed their mugs when Mike came in and joined them. They told Sarah about their relationship, then talked about everyday things.
With the man he loved on one side, and his dear friend on the other, Mike finally felt that everything in his life was coming back together.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: part of a series of "after the episodes" stories, about the relationship of Captain Mike Yates and Sergeant John Benton.
After the Keller Machine
After the Daemons
After the Chronovores
After the Giant Maggots
After the Dinosaurs
After the Spiders
Sergeant Benton drove home after a quiet day at UNIT, and ready for a few days of leave time. The Doctor was still gone. He had been for a few days now. It wasn’t as though the Doctor had gone off on some adventure lasting this long before. It was the circumstances of his leaving this time, as had been explained to him by Miss Sarah Jane Smith.
Still, he, Sarah, and the Brigadier all held some hope that the Doctor would come back. He always managed to beat the odds, if only barely.
But that wasn’t the only thing on Benton’s mind. A few days before all that Metabilis crystal business, the Doctor had sat down with him and everything he could about former Captain Mike Yates’ involvement with Operation Golden Age. It basically came down to it not really being his fault. A few factors were to blame for Yates’ betrayal.
And the day after all the Metabilis crystal events, Sarah had told him about Mike’s role in defeating the giant spiders. She expected him to take the information that she and the Doctor had given him, and do something with it.
The Doctor and Sarah were the only people who had known about Benton and Yates’ relationship. The Doctor had found out after they had rescued Mike from the clutches of Captain Athel Cyprian. Benton had only recently found out that Sarah was Mike’s friend, and had been since soon after his resignation from UNIT. Between being friends to Mike and Benton, she had gathered enough clues they had unconsciously given to her about their past relationship for her to figure it out.
Sarah wasn’t pressuring him, but Benton knew she expected him to try to talk to Mike. Now was his best opportunity to do that. For the past few days he had been thinking about how to approach his former partner. With the Doctor’s explanation of Mike’s mental state at that time, Benton’s confrontation seemed very harsh in hindsight.
He parked outside his apartment and looked at his keys. There was one key on there that hadn’t been used since his and Mike’s falling out. He didn’t know why he had kept it. He would use it tonight.
********
It was after midnight when Benton walked up to the door of Mike’s apartment. He didn’t knock, not wanting to wake the probably sleeping man inside. He took out the key to the door and used it.
He snuck inside the dark apartment and draped his jacket over the back of the couch. He took off his shoes and put them next to Mike’s by the door. He didn’t spend much time looking around the familiar apartment. It hadn’t changed at all, really. Benton looked up from his task.
Benton went to the bedroom, as quietly as he could. He didn’t turn on the light and gave himself a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Mike was sleeping. The blanket came up to his waist and left his naked torso uncovered. He was positioned on his side and facing away from the middle of the bed.
Benton let out a deep breath, then got into the bed behind Mike. He lightly laid his arm over Mike’s waist and settled in. He felt the other man stir, but not tense.
“You… you came back,” stated Mike.
“Yes, I did,” Benton whispered.
Mike started to turn over. “John-“
“We can talk in the morning. Go back to sleep.”
“Okay.” Mike settled back down. Out of old habit, he unconsciously pressed his back against Benton’s front.
“I promise I’ll still be here,” Benton whispered.
********
Mike awakened, alone. The warm weight of Benton behind him was gone. He hadn’t dreamed what had happened last night, had he? He had dreamed about Benton before, though. That wasn’t too unusual.
His body tensed when he heard someone doing something in the kitchen. Then he smelled the scent of rich coffee. He got out of bed, and left the room, pausing only to grab his robe.
“I wasn’t dreaming,” Mike stated when he saw Benton in his kitchen, making coffee.
“Good morning.”
Mike leaned back against the refrigerator. “Good morning. Um…”
“Would you like some?” Benton offered.
“Sure. I get the feeling I’ll need it.”
Benton half-smiled and found two mugs in the first cabinet he opened. He still remembered where everything was.
While Benton prepared the coffee, Mike took the opportunity to look him over. He was wearing jeans and a simple tshirt. He looked the same, still as attractive as ever.
Benton handed Mike one of the mugs, and the two men took a couple minutes of quiet to drink.
“You came back,” Mike broke the silence.
Benton nodded. “Do you… do you have any plans for today?”
Mike shook his head. “You said we could talk in the morning.”
“Is it morning already?” Benton joked.
Mike could see he was clearly nervous. He had seemed so confident last night, sneaking in and getting in bed with him. Mike took the lead in going to the living room and sitting on the couch. He set his mug down on the table and waited for Benton to join him.
They sat on opposite sides, facing each other.
“I wanted to talk to you. I’ve been wanting to for a little while now, but I was so busy and-“
“I understand. Was there anything that brought this on?”
“Things the Doctor told me. And things our mutual friend told me a few days ago.”
“Sarah.”
“Yes.” Benton took a sip from his mug. “A couple weeks ago, before the Metabilis crystal and spider business, the Doctor told me all about your involvement with Operation Golden Age and why you did it.”
“What did he say?”
Benton put his mug down next to Mike’s on the table. “You were still suffering from the effects of being under control of that BOSS computer. Even after you returned from your leave. Operation Golden Age took advantage of that, of you.” He was quiet for a long moment. “I knew you were… off… during a bit of time before the dinosaurs and while we were dealing with them. But… I thought that was only you being stressed about work and maybe you had come back from leave too soon.” He cleared his throat. “Is that true?”
Mike took a drink of coffee from his mug. When he put it down, he stared down at his hands. “I was still recovering from that, yes. The Golden Age people probably approached me because of that.”
“Mike, why didn’t you tell me all this that night?”
Mike knew what ‘that night’ was. The night after he had gone home from UNIT, after being let go by the Brigadier. The night his and Benton’s relationship had ended.
“I was too weak to resist them, to really fight back. It sounded like an excuse. And you deserve so much more than excuses, John.”
“Having your mental state taken advantage of is not an excuse.”
“I was too weak to resist them.”
Benton shook his head. “What had happened to you, what you were trying to recover from… you needed time. You hadn’t had enough time before they took advantage.”
“You really think that?”
“I know it, now. You weren’t yourself. You would not have done what you did, willingly. And, you did resist, didn’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“The Doctor said that you were adamant about not killing or hurting him, even though they wanted you to kill him. When his dinosaur gun thing didn’t work, you were the first to come to his aid.”
“I was the one who sabotaged it.”
“Yes, but when he was in danger, you did what you always do. You did resist them, as much as you could. If you had been completely under their control, you would’ve gone and killed us from the start. You would’ve shot me. You resisted enough to give us a chance.” Benton moved forward, closer to Mike. He put a hand on his shoulder. “You weren’t weak, Mike. You were strong. As strong as you could’ve been.” He sighed. “I was too harsh that night.”
“You didn’t know all this. I can’t blame you for being harsh. You thought your… partner had betrayed everything you and he stood for. That he had betrayed those who trusted him with their lives.”
“But now I know he didn’t.” Benton scooted closer and put his other hand on Mike’s knee. “I know there’s something you need to hear from me.” He held Mike’s steady gaze. “I forgive you.”
A heavy weight that had been in Mike’s heart since that night quickly faded away. He had needed to hear that from the person he loved, from the person he had shared so much with.
Benton pulled the silent man into a hug. “Are you alright?”
“Yes…. Better, actually.” Mike relaxed into the embrace. “Thank you. I… I needed that.”
Benton kissed Mike’s forehead, then said, “To be honest,” he let go of the other man. “I’ve missed you, Mike. This entire time. And I… I never stopped loving you. I was angry and hurt, but I never stopped loving you.”
That came as a bit of a surprise. “Really?”
“I‘m serious.” To add to his point, Benton leaned forward and kissed Mike’s lips. He held it a fraction too long for it to be a chaste kiss.
“John?”
“Never, Mike.” Benton went in for another kiss.
This time Mike reacted. He rested his hand on Benton’s chest and kept the kiss going. He was careful to not be aggressive, not wanting to take more than the other man was willing to give.
They pulled apart, and Benton cleared his throat. “I guess what I’m trying to say is… I still love you, Mike.”
“I still love you, John.”
A third kiss, and Mike still held himself back from making it more than a soft and slow one.
Benton cleared his throat again when they pulled apart. “Um… I guess this is as good a time as any to ask this. Would you… Do you want to try this again? Us, I mean.”
Mike softly laughed. “John, we’ve been kissing for the past few minutes. If that’s not a sign of ‘I want you back in my life,’ then I don’t know what is.”
Benton laughed and kissed the other man’s neck. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes.’”
“Mm-hmm,” Mike agreed. He pulled Benton down on top of him as Benton captured his mouth again.
During the passionate kiss, the robe slipped off Mike’s left shoulder. He didn’t even notice, until they stopped to breathe and Benton stared down at Mike’s bare chest.
“What is it?” Mike asked.
“This burn on your chest is new.”
“Oh, that.” Mike looked down to look at the new scar as well. It was a dark jagged line nearly three inches long over his heart. “I took a shot of electricity from the combined forces of four people with the powers of those giant spiders.” He noticed Benton’s wince. He quietly added, “I shouldn’t have survived it.”
“I’ve got a scar like that, too. Got zapped when Lupton stole the crystal from the Doctor’s lab.”
“Really? May I see?”
Benton sat up to take off his shirt. “It’s not as big as yours, though.”
“We are still talking about scars, right?” Mike joked. He yelped at the playful slap to his shoulder.
Benton continued removing his shirt. His scar was in the same place, and was of the same jagged line design. It wasn’t as long as Mike’s, a little over half the size. “I was only hit by Lupton. I can’t imagine how painful it was to be hit by four people.”
“Like I said, I shouldn’t have survived it.”
“Well, however you managed to, I’m so glad you did.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Mike dipped his head down to kiss the burn scar on Benton’s chest. Then he worked his way up to the other man’s mouth.
They pressed their foreheads together and smiled at each other. Mike stated, “I’ve missed this. I’ve missed us.”
Benton responded caressing the other man’s cheek. Then he tucked a stray lock of Mike’s hair behind his ear. “I think I like the long hair look on you.”
“You don’t think it makes me too pretty?” teased Mike.
“You were always the pretty one,” Benton grinned. He untied the cloth belt of Mike’s robe. He was tackled onto his back on the sofa as Mike started hungrily kissing him.
“I think this was her plan all along,” Benton said quietly as he and Mike laid on the couch together.
“Hm?” Mike replied, lazily trailing his fingers up and down Benton’s torso.
“Sarah.”
“Ah.” Mike softly laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”
“She’s got a copy of my apartment key.”
Mike looked up. “She’s got mine, too.”
Benton grinned. “Oh, she’s got us, doesn’t she.”
“I’ll say,” Mike agreed as he moved to straddle Benton’s waist and leaned over for a kiss.
“You know what I say?”
“What?”
“I say this couch is starting to feel too small.”
“Well, I’m quite comfortable,” responded Mike with a teasing smile.
Benton tickled Mike’s sides until Mike managed to grab his hands and hold them down. Benton broke free, picked Mike up, and stood in one motion.
“You’re too good at that,” Mike remarked, moving around until his ankles were hooked around Benton’s waist. He whispered into his ear, “John, I want you so much right now.”
“Bed?”
“Please.”
“I thought you weren’t expecting anyone,” Benton of the knock on the door a few hours later.
Mike sighed at the interruption to their conversation. “I wasn’t.”
Both men got up from the bed. Mike shrugged on his robe and Benton put on his tshirt.
Mike went to the door and peeked through the peephole. He turned to the other man and mouthed, “Sarah.”
“Of course,” Benton mouthed back. He went back into the bedroom, listening intently.
Mike tied his robe closed and opened the door. “Hello, Sarah Jane.”
“Hello, Mike.” Sarah’s eyes looked up and down at him. “Don’t tell me you’ve ben lounging around in your pyjamas all day.”
“Maybe?” At her accusatory stare, he amended it to, “Yes?”
“You’re not sick, are you?”
“No?”
“Sarah shook her head and chuckled. “You haven’t let me in, yet.”
“Oh, you’re right. Come in.”
Sarah bounded inside and Mike closed the door.
“So… how have you been? Anything new at UNIT?” Mike inquired awkwardly.
Sarah turned to him, a grin on her face. “I want to talk about you.”
“Oh? What about?” The grin on Sarah’s face was starting to unnerve Mike a little. “Would you like something to drink? I’ll put the kettle on.”
Mike focused on the self-assigned task. He had just put the kettle of water on the stove when Sarah said from behind him, “How about…”
Mike turned and sheepishly smiled. Sarah had taken off her leather jacket, and had put on Benton’s denim one. “How about I ask what Benton’s jacket is doing here?”
Sarah squeaked when Benton snuck up from behind and lifted her off her feet. Mike laughed at her reaction. Benton put her down. Sarah turned and said, “Oh, you brute.”
“You really can’t resist that jacket, can you?” responded Benton. He looked to Mike with a smile. “Really, every time we go out, she ends up wearing it by the end of the night.”
“I guess I’ll amend my question. What are you doing here, Benton?”
To answer, Benton seized the front of Mike’s robe and pulled him in for a deep kiss. When they pulled apart, he said, “That answer your question?”
Sarah was absolutely beaming. “Oh yes, that does.”
The kettle shrilled. Mike asked, “Cocoa or tea?”
“Tea,” Benton and Sarah responded.
Benton and Sarah went to the living room while Mike prepared the tea. Benton pulled her into a hug and said into her ear, “I want to thank you. For helping me come back to him. And for taking care of him.”
“Anytime,” Sarah responded with a kiss to his cheek.
They sank down onto the sofa and grabbed their mugs when Mike came in and joined them. They told Sarah about their relationship, then talked about everyday things.
With the man he loved on one side, and his dear friend on the other, Mike finally felt that everything in his life was coming back together.