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[ p r a c t i c e ] by kHo "Hey," Ben said, flopping heavily down next to Owen on the couch. "Hey," Owen said, smiling at him. Ben smiled back, reaching down and patting Owen's knee. "So," he said, flinching slightly as he couldn't quite meet Owen's eyes. "That kissing scene." "Yeah." Owen laughed slightly, shifting awkwardly and straightening out his shirt. "Kinda awkward." Ben nodded, staring straight ahead. "I was looking at the dailies and…" "Yeah, too stiff," Owen said, nodding his head. "A little too…" "He's definitely gonna wanna shoot it again," Ben said, casting a furtive glance at Owen. "I mean… we can do this right?" "Oh yeah," Owen said, his voice not sounding as confident as he'd wanted it to sound. "I mean… of course we can." "Cause it's just a movie kiss…" "Right…" "And it'll be funny, and we…" "We can do funny…" "It's what we do," Ben said, nodding. "It's just…" "It's you, ya know," Owen said, looking at him finally. "And me." "Yeah," Ben said, laughing and looking at him. "I mean, I've done movie kisses… many times… but never…" "Never with a guy," Owen said quietly, looking back down. "And not with me." "Yeah," Ben said, nodding. "But we can do this." "Yeah." "Cause… we just can." Ben nodded. "Definitely." "Ben?" Ben looked at him. "Huh?" "We can do this, right?" Ben started to laugh and was quickly joined by Owen. "This is ridiculous," he said, shaking his head and turning his body to face Owen's. "You're my closest friend, you know that right?" Owen nodded. "And you mine." "And this is ridiculous… it's a kiss, Owen." Owen nodded. "Yeah. It's a kiss." "And not even a real one," he said continued, still nodding continuously. "A movie kiss." Owen smiled, nodding. "Right. It doesn't even count." "We should…" Ben paused, motioning between themselves. "We should practice," he said, grimacing slightly. "So it won't be…" "So awkward," Owen said, turning to face Ben a little better as well. "So when we reshoot, it won't be so…" "Weird, yeah." "Yeah," Owen said quietly, looking at Ben. Ben's eyes drifted down to Owen's lips as he licked his own. "So," he said softly. "Who should… I mean, someone has to…" "You should," Owen said, his breath coming in a little more shallow than usual. "In the movie you do…" "Right," Ben said, finally looking up to meet Owen's eyes. "So I'm just gonna…" "Don't talk, just go for it," Owen said, nodding encouragingly. Ben nodded, his hand coming up to Owen's face. He nodded again slowly and licked his lips. Closing his eyes he leaned forward through the last little bit of awkwardness and met Owen's lips with his own. He started to pull back at the jolt he felt but Owen's hand was in his hair and he couldn't. Suddenly unexpected tongues were involved and he could hear Owen let out a nearly inaudible moan that somehow managed to propel him forward into pinning Owen into the couch underneath him. Owen's hand traced down his back and gripped his shirt, pulling him against him as the kiss deepened, making Ben's mind go completely blank. When Ben started to unbutton Owen's shirt and Owen started to pull at Ben's overcoat it seemed like the most natural thing to do. Ben let out a garbled moan into Owen's mouth and Owen echoed it with his own, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss further still. Ben's hand drifted down Owen's torso, his fingers slipping inside the band of his jeans, grazing over the slightly hairy trail, causing Owen to buck involuntarily. "Ben," he gasped out, gripping Ben's shirt tightly in his hands. "Mm," Ben answered, licking at Owen's neck, biting slowly. "Ben, we should shop," he said, trying to will his hands to push Ben away. "Mm-mm," Ben protested, shaking his head in the negative. "Ben," Owen said, finally gaining some authority in his voice. "The movie doesn't go this far, and you're *married.*" Ben stopped what he was doing, leaning his forehead against Owen's shoulder. "Married…" "Yeah," Owen said, finally pushing at him a little, trying to squirm out from under him. "I'm married," Ben said, slowly sitting up, nodding. "Married." Owen took a deep shuddering breath, starting to button up his shirt again. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Ben. He licked his lips, bumping his knee against Ben's. "You okay?" Ben nodded slowly, his hands coming up to cover his eyes. "I'm married," he repeated again. "You are," Owen said, a slight smile creeping out. "Oh my god," Ben breathed out, looking at Owen. "I know." "No, Owen," Ben said, shaking his head, his eyes wide with awe. "Oh my god…" "I know, Ben," Owen said, nodding and laughing. "I was there." "That was…" "I know." "I didn't…" Owen laughed, standing up and walking over to the fridge. He slung a beer in Ben's general direction and smiled in relief when Ben caught it. "It was unexpected," he said, taking a sip off of his own beer. "To say the least," Ben said, staring at the bottle between his legs. "Owen, I…" "You know what," Owen said, leaning against his fridge. "Don't even finish that thought." Ben looked up at him, frowning. "What?" "Don't even finish the thought, man," Owen said, smiling and shaking his head. "That kiss was…" "Amazing," Ben said, standing up and starting to walk towards Owen. Owen straightened up against the fridge, putting up his hand up to stop Ben. "It was, Ben, it was amazing. But no matter what feelings it brought up, or out, or… made us… whatever, man. Whatever feelings might go along with it, or… it doesn't matter," He said, warning Ben to stay back with a serious look. "Because you're married. And I love your wife. And what's more, so do you." Ben leaned back against the counter facing Owen, flinching. "Yeah," he said, his voice strained. "But Ow…" "Stop it, man," Owen said, slightly exasperated. "Seriously, Ben. This isn't something…" He sighed, walking past Ben into what constituted a den in a trailer. "This isn't something I've never thought about," he said, unable to look at Ben. "You and me, it's not new." Ben looked at him, shocked. "Owen…" "But it's something I've learned to… curtail," he said, still facing away from Ben. "Because you're married, and you're happy, and she's great, man. She's great." He laughed, looking at the floor. "So it was fine, cause I love you man. As a person, as a friend… the whatever else doesn't matter." "But Owen…" "And," he said, talking over Ben. "If you finish that sentence, you might blow that slightly noble gesture of mine out of the water, so I need you to shut the fuck up, Ben." "I had no idea…" Ben said, his voice soft. "I know," Owen said, turning to smile at him. "Listen, it's not a thing…" Ben nodded. "Sure, but…" Owen shook his head, laughing slightly. "I know you, Ben. You're going to obsess over this now, and you shouldn't. It's fine. Really." Ben licked his lips, staring at the floor. "I had *no* idea…" "Stop," Owen said, walking over to him and putting his hand on Ben's shoulder. "Listen. We're still right where we were, okay?" "But everything's changed," Ben said, looking at him. "Owen, I felt something…" Owen shook his head. "So forget it. Forget that you felt something." "I can't just…" "You have to," he said, patting his shoulder lightly and backing up again, leaning against the fridge. "The friendship is what counts." "But…" "Ben," Owen yelled with a laugh. "Married!" Ben let out an annoyed growl, slamming his hands into the counter. "I know!" Owen looked at him over the top of his beer as he took another sip. "You should go," he said quietly. Ben looked at him. "Yeah?" Owen nodded. "Yeah. It's late. Get some sleep. Calm down." Ben nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Are we… I mean, we're…" "We're fine," Owen said, nodding. "Believe me. Fine." Ben nodded, standing up straighter. "Okay." Owen nodded. "Okay." He nodded again, walking slightly to the door. "But shouldn't we…" Owen laughed, clamping a hand on Ben's shoulder and physically guiding him to the door. "You're a woman, you know that," he asked, laughing. "Go! Go home," he shouted, shoving Ben's coat into his hands. As Owen was about to shut the door Ben's arm flew out to catch it. He looked up at Owen, chewing on his lip. "Hey, Owen?" "Yeah," Owen said, smiling at him and leaning against the door jam. "Seriously, man… no kidding," Ben said, facing him. "I love you too." Owen nodded. "I know." Ben nodded, holding his coat balled up in his fists. "So I'll see you tomorrow." "Yep," Owen said, nodding. "We'll uh…" "Goodnight, Ben," Owen said, smiling at him and grabbing the door, shutting it most of the way. "Night O," Ben said, grinning. "See you tomorrow."
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