What Ben Gates and Riley Poole Know
I don't know how active this community is anymore, but I've lurked here since December 2007, when Book of Secrets came out, and here I come with a fic, finally!
Title: What Ben Gates and Riley Poole Know
Author: telenovfan
Rating: PG
Pairing: Ben/Riley, of course!
Summary: Lots of people claim that they truly know Ben Gates and Riley Poole, but only they
truly know about each other.
Disclaimer: I don’t own National Treasure or Ben or Riley, sadly.
...
There are many people who claim they know Riley Poole, and sure, they do know him. But there is only one person who honestly knows Riley Poole, inside and out, and that person is Ben Gates.
Ben knows more about Riley than anyone could imagine. He knows how much Riley loves to wear his Converses. He knows Riley’s special detergent, because he can’t stand the ones with too many chemicals. He knows Riley sings in his sleep sometimes. Ben even caught Riley one night sleep-singing and sleep-dancing to “Old Time Rock and Roll” in his boxers in the living room!
Many people know or think of Riley as the quirky, nerdy, and somewhat childish techie who is useful for technological purposes or the occasional smart-assed comment. But not Ben. Ben knows that Riley is just as much of a man as he or Sadusky is. (Riley went on all of those adventures and didn’t run away crying or scared, even after those near-death experiences!) Ben knows that Riley is hurt whenever he feels that people don’t appreciate and/or realize the person he really is. A great example is when Ian basically insulted him right to his face during their Templar/Declaration adventure. On the outside, however, Riley seems like the kind of guy who doesn’t give a damn about what others think of him. But when it comes to his job, and especially Ben’s approval of him as a person, Riley will do whatever it takes, through hell and back, to do everything just right.
Ben knows the quirky things about Riley. He knows that Riley loves to play only Nintendo video games; the others simply won’t do. He knows that Riley loves pickles, and must have them with every meal, should the meal call for them. He knows how much Riley loves minty-flavored toothpaste.
Ben knows that Riley also had it hard as a teenager. He knows that Riley got bullied and laughed at on a daily basis. He knows that his parents died when he was only five, and that he bounced from household to household until he was in junior high, and that his home from then on was not the best or the most stable of households. Ben knows that it wasn’t any special connections that got Riley a full ride to MIT. Riley did that all by himself.
But most importantly, Ben Gates knows that he loves Riley Poole and every single thing about him, more than anyone else could ever know. And he always will.
Riley Poole knows a lot of things. He knows basic trivia. He knows almost everything about computers and technology, and how to hack into some of the most well-developed systems on Earth. He also knows how to come up with some pretty witty comments. But he knows more than that. He knows a whole lot about Ben Gates.
He knows the everyday stuff about Ben. He knows that Ben drinks his coffee without sugar with his breakfast, daily without fail. He knows how Ben does his laundry every Sunday afternoon, no matter what. Riley knows that Ben sets a “quiet hour” every night, so he can either work or relax. He knows how Ben must read something about history, every day, even if it is only one sentence.
He knows how determined of a person Ben is. Riley knows that even it seemed like Ben should have just given up his search for those treasures, he did not until he achieved his goals. He also knows that Ben always works to achieve (or at least tries to) whatever he sets his mind to. And he doesn’t mind if Ben forgets the occasional important date (such as birthdays or anniversaries) because he always makes it up to him afterward. It’s the heart that counts, after all.
Riley also knows some of the weird and personal things about Ben. He knows that Ben will never actually admit it, but he has a secret addiction to country music. He knows that Ben is very particular about where he likes to get his cappuccinos…only Starbucks will do. He also knows that Ben has a pet goldfish in their room. When Riley found out that the fish didn’t have a name, he immediately took care of that, naming it Steve Jobs, after the famous technological entrepreneur.
And Riley knows how Ben’s teenage years sucked. He knows that Ben’s parents split up during the middle of his sophomore year of high school, and how his relationship with his father became strained after that. Riley knows how much Ben’s mother’s bitterness toward his father somewhat rubbed off on Ben, and how that bitterness lasted until they met and they had to go visit Mr. Gates to get some clues for finding the Templar Treasure.
But no matter what, Riley will always love Ben.