Logs:Pasta Summer Night

Pasta Summer Night

Players

Washington Park
31 August, 2022

Ben invites Wolfe to dinner, sets a surprise for him and things skyrocket all in a sudden.

At Ben's family house...

Upon the front door there was a letter with instructions to head straight to the backyard. The place has been cleaned and, under the dead looking American Elm, a table for two was set under a myriad of decorative light bulbs hanging from the tree. The table cloths and decoration were set like a traditional italian cantina and, from somewhere, comes a sweet, sweet music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBJ4Zi_2u10

Ben is also there, getting the cloth napkins folded as he watches a tutorial on his phone. Despite the whole place being ready, the man himself is not, though. He's still wearing jogging clothes. Or part of them. He's not wearing his shirt anymore, leaving him only in his shorts and running tennis shoes. Bad timing doctor.

Or perhaps it is perfect timing. Wolfe doesn't announce himself right away, instead he pauses once he sees Ben and stands quietly, watching with a small smile on his face. He himself is dressed fairly casually in jeans and a sky blue, silk button-down. He does have a bottle of wine gripped in one hand, a red by the looks of it. He takes in the decorations though his eyes linger a bit more on Ben. Finally he steps into the back yard, a smile still broad on his face. "Looks good." And the way his eyes linger on the other man, it's clear he's not entirely meaning just the decorations, either.

Ben lifts his eyes with surprise upon seeing the other man already there. He then checks his swatch and spills a curse so low it can't be heard, but it looks like 'fuck' by the way his lips move."You're werent's supposed to see me like this. I think I lost track of time. This tutorial I found made folding a cloth napkin look so much easier than it really is." He says as he leaves one napkin unfolded and heads to the other man, going straight to give him soft kisses on his lips."You, though, are looking absolutely gorgeous, sunshine." He whispers between the first and the second kiss.

"Why? I like seeing you like this. And every other way, but shirtless is nice." Wolfe says cheekily as he pulls Ben into a hug, eagerly meeting that kiss, and the second one. "So does the decor." He says finally complimenting the yard as he looks over the lights and table set up. "Very romantic." He says honestly, letting his arms drop as he moves to the table to set down the wine, before turning to face you once more. "Special occasion or just spoiling me?"

Wolfe's smile turns soft and gentle as he turns around, taking a few more moments to admire Ben's handiwork. "It's perfect." He humms along with the music for a few moments as he steps up to Ben once more, reaching out to take his hands, and brings them up for a kiss. "Probably one of the sweetest things someone's ever done for me." Ben smiles brightly as the other man kisses his hands too. There is the purest delight in his eyes as he looks at Wolfe at that moment."I'm happy that you liked it. I had to put some effort into this since the cooking part is not my thing." He says with a very sweet voice. Then he gently leads Wolfe to the table and hurries to pull the chair for the other man."Please."

Wolfe's laugh is delighted as the chair is pulled out for him. But he takes it with a broad grin. "If all you made was toast, I'd be a happy man right now." He assures Ben with a grin. Though he does pick up the bottle of wine, producing a corkscrew from his pocket. "Didn't know if you had one." He explains, giving it a wiggle, then setting to uncorking the wine.

Ben grins as he sees Wolfe coming with the whole wine package."I'm not sure I do, actually. And I really forgot to look for it around the kitchen." He offers and then he takes the two glasses that were already on the table so Wolfe could pour wine on them easily."I didn't make toast. Truth be told, I made nothing. I ordered it online. So you and I will not head to the hospital with a possible intoxication."

"Well, now you have one." Wolfe states as he pulls the cork with a soft pop, then pours some rub red wine into each glass. "Ah, my specialty as well. The delivery order." He sets the bottle down and accepts his glass from Ben. "How about I make a toast then?" He ruminates for a moment, then says. "To the start of what I hope is a great relationship." He says, holding his glass out to tink against the other man's.

"Perfect! Cheers to that!"Ben toasts and sips from his own glass briefly before taking a seat, not minding he's still shirtless and maybe even a bit sweaty."Thanks for that, by the way." He says and points to the corkscrew."I'd like to say a few things to start our date." He then pauses for a second to sip from his wine a tidbit more."I feel like I'm being a little bit...distant. I'm still working too much and living too little. And I should be doing exactly that, living my life. With you. So, I'd like to tell you that I'm trying to talk to the hospital HR to release some of my shifts so I can have more free time to spend with you."

Wolfe takes a sip of the wine, looking at it in the glass as he lets it linger on his tongue for a moment before swallowing. It seems to meet his expectations as he nods before setting the glass back down. He smiles as Ben speaks, reaching out to take hold one of his hands, thumb running across his fingers. "I.. also wanted to ask you something."

He looks over to the house, then back to Ben. "My residency will be over in another month, and then I'll need to find a job. And, I was also thinking of moving. My apartment is, well, it's not where I want to live. It was good while in college and interning." He looks at Ben. "I was hoping.. I mean I can rent one of the other rooms if you're not ready to share that yet, but it would be a way to spend more time together, as well."

Ben blinks, confused."Wait. I...hm." He then shuts his mouth for a moment, pondering about what he just heard. He stares at Wolfe, his eyes carrying a million emotions all at once."I never thought about it that way, but..." He starts in a low tone and then, all of a sudden, he smiles brightly."Yes! I mean, Sure! I'd love to have you around. If you don't mind my mess rolling around the whole house. I still have no time to organize everything, but I promise it's next on my 'to-do' list." He now looks more excited than ever before. His eyes shining brightly and his smile as big as possible to a human being.

Wolfe's smile is softer, more subdued, but no less genuine. He gives Ben's hand a squeeze. "I.." He goes quiet, trying to pick out the right words. "I want to help you fix this house up. It's a beautiful home, it just needs well." He points upwards to the lights hung above them. "A little love. No rush, I still have time on my lease, but I wanted to ask before I went looking for a place." His smile widens a bit. "I just realized coming to visit you here already kind of feels like coming home."

Ben's excitement drops a few levels as he hears it's not going to be as soon as he had pictured on his mind. But the smile persists."Take your time. And, to be pretty honest, you made me feel like that too the first time you slept over. I mean, this is home. It's full of memories and love and stuff. But since I came back to live here it was looking empty. Something was missing. And that night I realized what it was missing." He then looks at Wolfe with puppy eyes."But please, make it happen as soon as possible."

"I can make it quick, I just didn't know if you wanted me upending your living space with moving boxes and even more medical texts so soon and on such short notice." Wolfe says with a short laugh. "Between the two of us there's going to need to be a dedicated room just for those books." He says, perhaps only half-jokingly. "I'll start packing, then."

Ben grins and finally looks satisfied. He sips from his wine, but keeps his eyes on Wolfe and when he talks, his voice is serious and filled with the taste of experience."You know? It sounds very cliche, but life is too short to let fear freezes you in place. You're here, today, healthy. Enjoy it. Love, Hate, Forgive, Forget. Do whatever you want because tomorrow may never come. I know what I'm saying."

"Do what I want, hmm?" Wolfe tilts his head a little to the side as if considering that for a moment, then nods and stands from his chair. He moves around the table and holds out his hand to Ben, his other hand tucked behind his back, "Then may I have this dance?" He says with a mischievous grin coming across his face.

Once again Ben is caught off guard and smiles a little bit confused when he's asked for a dance."Are you sure? Of all the things I suck at, dancing is on the top 3." He warns but stands up all the same. He grins and gently brings Wolfe close to him, kissing his lips briefly. Then he starts leading a 'one step right, one step left' dance while he leans his cheek against Wolfe's very gently."You really surprise me sometimes, you know?" He whispers."You make me want to have a normal life again."

"Don't worry. I'm a terrible dancer, too. I just want to do it." Wolfe may be light on his feet, but the simple dance Ben leads seems to be about his speed anyway, just keeping in time to the jazzy music playing over the speakers. The only thing that isn't awkward is the way he holds Ben, close enough it would give a high school dance chaperone fits. "That's all I want for either of us. We have to deal with enough weirdness out there, we should be each other's normal. The nice comfortable place to come home to."

"To be each other's normal." He repeats."I like the sounds of that. I really do." Ben says and grins as he enjoys the closeness of Wolfe's body, his smell and his warmth."Do you think we could keep dancing just a little bit more? So I can paint this very clear in my memory."

"Good, because I mean it." Wolfe answers with a kiss to Ben's cheek. He nods at the request, hand resting in the small of the other man's back as he continues to sway slowly to the music. "As long as you want." He says just above a whisper. "It's a good memory to have."