(Untitled)

[theguthries]

Characters: Sam & Wee!Ben
Date & Time: long ago and far away
Setting: Las Vegas, Nevada
Summary: You see, there are birds, and then there are bees...
Rating: PG-13 for content
Status: Closed

If you had asked Sam Guthrie five years ago what he would be doing with his life at this point, he'd reply honestly and admit that he'd likely be working in the coal

Comments

[staticsnap]

That was weird. Talking about sex had somehoe paralyzed Sam, which was ironic considering he`d definitely been mobile last night. It was good information to have though, for the future. A card to keep in his back pocket and pull out as a distraction. Ben liked having a varied arsenal at his disposal and considering the (usually innocent, often well-intended) mischief that he and Jay got up to, he needed every negotiating weapon that he could get his grubby hands on.

"Yup. It`s sort of a weird word, but I guess everything sounds dumb when you say it all sciencey. Blowjob`s pretty awful, too, and inaccurate," Ben chirped. Sam didn`t seem to be taking the hint with the cake, too caught up in their conversation, so Ben nudged him out of the way and fished out a baking pan, plopping the yellow pastry on and shoving the whole thing into the oven. "That I learned from Valerie-Ann."

There were remarkable educational benefits to having an older brother associated with the Hellfire Club, one of them being friendships with some very interesting, entrepreneureal women.

[theguthries]

"Do you even know what that means?"

Sam was desperate, trying to remember back when he was Ben's age, what he knew of sex. He had an idea, considering he grew up on a farm, having to learn again, and again, and again that his mother was pregnant. But the schematics? The details?

He made a mental note to talk to Valerie-Ann, to remind her that while both Jay and Ben had witnessed rather horrid things, they were still kids. And kids that Sam was trying to raise in as normal of a childhood as he was possible. Giving them lessons in the fairer sex, was not included in that list.

[staticsnap]

Sam was an excellent teacher. He had a natural patience about him that seemed to be almost sentient, reaching out to envelop those he cared about in a warm, assuring hold. He was the sole reason that Ben was now reading near-about at his grade level and actually almost sometimes nearly enjoying it. He'd loved Treasure Island, had even read it a second time on his own just because.

One thing that the boy had learned from his Kentucky-born guardian was that actions spoke louder than words.

Ben smiled sweetly and stuck his finger in his mouth, crooking the tip and drawing it along his cheek so that it pulled out with a lewd, hollow pop.

"Yup," Ben said. And alright, maybe he was being a little crass but Sam deserved it for keeping him awake, goddamnit. "And it's disgusting."

[theguthries]

"When did Valerie-Ann talk to you about this?" Sam's voice cracked for the first time in the last ten years, crackling around the word 'talk'. He had to nip this in the bud, even when the weeds were already well planted. God forbid, forbid that Jay had already learned this, and worse- had informed their mother all that she had learned on her travels. Not that it would be enough for her to be brought home; but the ear-ripping that Sam would receive...

He finally, somehow, found his way back to the kitchen table, nursing the half-mug of coffee as if it was the only container of his salvation. Please stay asleep Jay, please. "What all do you know about... sex." the last word was supposed to be a question, but somehow it didn't exactly come out that way.

[staticsnap]

Ben ignored the first question. There was no reason that Sam needed to know his conference times with the ladies, because then there was a risk of him interceding and putting an end to what had become one of the highlights of the boy's week. Instead he snagged the sugar bowl and a banana from the bunch on the counter and returned to the table.

He offered a wicked little smirk and hitched a shoulder up in a shrug. "Easier to ask what the fuck don't I know about sex," Ben said, heaping a spoonful of sugar granules into his mug. He was enjoying this. Waving his spoon about in the air, he added, "I know the whats and hows but what I don't get," Ben stabbed the bowl of the utensil in Sam's direction, "is why."

[theguthries]

Ben's answer was rather bittersweet. Why seemed to be so much a better of a question than how, because he knew that if he was to explain that answer, he'd have to do such to his sister as well... a talk he was not looking forward to.

"Why people have sex?" He finally asked, hoping praying for clarification. Did he want the biological? The metaphysical? The emotional? Ben was a eleven year old boy, shit knows what he was seeking.

[staticsnap]

"Yeah," Ben nodded, making a face that finally betrayed how young he actually was. He was in the possession of a hell of a lot of interesting information but none of it actually made any kind of sense because oh, God, what the heck would possess anyone to do... any of those things. At first he'd thought maybe it was for exercise, but running and calisthenics would have solved that problem.

Valerie-Ann hadn't been helpful. She'd smiled and run a hand through his hair, telling him that one day he'd understand.

"One day" was a phrase adults liked to use to cop out.

"It's gross, Sam, and it seems like an awful lot of hard work. I mean, why would you go through all that effort to put your mouth there?" Ben frowned, his nose scrunching up. "It must taste better than anything because otherwise why?"

[theguthries]

"Well, there is more to sex than that." Sam admitted, trying his damndest to think of the right words to say. Nothing so appealing as to encourage the kid to try it himself (especially considering who his closest female companion was), but not so horrid as to turn him into a priest. There had to be a very specific middle, a fence line that Sam wasn't sure of his balance on.

"But when you get to be a certain age, many years from now for you... your body is going to uh. Change, you'll get hair, acne... and your body will want certain things. Things like that. Do you understand?"

Please god, he privately prayed. Get it.

[staticsnap]

Ben blinked. "Sam," he said slowly, confused, "I already have hair."

A lot of it, in fact. No matter how often they cut it or how much Pomade they combed through it, his hair (brown, but such a dark shade that it was almost black) was always a tangled mess that stuck up in odd places and crackled with static when he was worried or angry or scared. Which was never. Ben was eleven and knew not the meaning of fear.

But back to the matter at hand. Namely: Sam's discomfort.

"Do you have to have a license, like driving?" Ben asked, steepling his fingers together in front of him. "Because I want to drive now, but I can't until I'm older. What if I wanted to have sex now?"

[theguthries]

"Hair on your face" Sam corrected, his hand already reaching up to scratch at the scruff that had grown in since the morning before. He was blond, and could get away wit shaving too close, but it was still there.

The query about when Ben wanted sex caused Sam to cough again, though he was better at hiding it this time around. He only knew of one other child Ben's age, and beyond Jay the boy's option fell down to the women that Sam himself was after. He had faith that the women wouldn't allow a child into their beds, but in three years? Four? He didn't want to think about it.

"It... wont work yet. Having sex doesn't work til you're older. And when you do, you have to use a condom, and you're not... tall enough for those quite yet." Yes... height was what mattered here. Height.

[staticsnap]

None of the books had mentioned this. It only served to prove Ben's oft-wielded point that proper education from texts only went so far and ultimately was of very little use in the real world. He'd learned applicable skills living on the streets and what had his tutoring sessions granted? The ability to pick out a noun in a sentence? Knowledge of the major battles of the Civil War? How to do long division? That was boring.

But what Sam was saying made sense. Ben nodded slowly, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. Lots of things had height limitations. He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Sort of like the rides at that carnival in Des Moines?"

[theguthries]

"Exactly, only not. When the time comes... you have to care for the woman a lot, and respect her even more. You know what I mean by that?"

Sam wasn't sure how else to explain it. And indeed, how much more he ought to explain. Wasn't this the father's job? Wasn't this supposed to be discussed over a lazy afternoon, fishing and cooking and father-son time.

Even as Sam reminisced his own 'talk', he realized, almost bitterly, that the father's position was one he had to claim. Who else was there for Ben? For Jay even? Certainly not one of his co-workers, and neither had a paternal sort to look up to besides Sam.

He was too young for this conversation.

[staticsnap]

Respect. That was one thing that Sam was big on. Most of the time, he was a pretty swell guy. He didn't care if Ben and Jay jumped on the beds or got into mud fights or decided to swindle the neighborhood kids in a game of blackjack. Heck, he didn't even care when Ben broke out his city street talk if it was just the two of them.

But bring a lady into the picture? Forget about it.

The one and only time Ben had been clipped 'round the ear in a manner that was serious and not Sam's gentle teasing way, had been in some tiny, useless town in Idaho. They'd been leaving a diner and Ben hadn't even really paid attention to the older woman trying to get to the door, had just pushed past her and then the next thing he knew Sam was giving him that patented Guthrie look that was far too much like Mama Lucinda for comfort. Apparently the right thing to do was to hold the door open for women, especially older ones. Ben thought there was something fishy about that and he'd tried to argue as much ("Why the hell should I have to, Sam? Isn't that presuming on their rights? I won't let you stomp on the spirit of women everywhere, you misogynistic - ow! Hey!") but it was one topic that his brother would not be swayed on.

So he nodded, pleased that he could get this question right. "You mean like opening the door for her when she leaves and giving her a sweater if it's cold out. Which you didn't do this morning, by the way. Don't worry. I gave her one of your jackets from the closet. The leather one 'cause I heard what she said last night about likin' leather."

[theguthries]

His leather jacket? His? Though Sam was sure it wasn't one that was worth worrying about losing (those he kept in the back of the closet in his own room) a leather coat was a leather coat, and not something to give to a two-bit girl from the deli down the street. He wasn't so much upset with Ben at that fact, as the simple fact that now he'd have to take her out again, wine and dine and get his clothes back.

Rubbing his face, Sam only nodded for a few minutes, agreeing with whatever Ben had on mind after that. "Thanks. Though Ben... the women I bring home, they need respect like I said but. But let me worry about if they're cold or not. Alright? They're... complicated. Girls are." Finally he looked back up at Ben, trying to catch his eyes.

"All girls are. Look at Jaybird. Which, speaking of... I know you two share everything, but let me talk to her too before you go sharing this conversation, alright?"