Dem exhaled contentedly as Ben settled his ear against his chest. He thought about the two of them. There they were, both so unhappy for so long and all they needed was each other. It was funny how the thing he needed all along had been there the whole time.
He thought about Ivan and Lisbeth, his son taking in Ben’s daughter like she was his sister. The two of the them and their kids all living in under one roof. They were a real family, Ben making Ivan pbj’s and knowing how he liked the crusts cut off and doing all their laundry together and making grocery lists and kissing each other in the morning. He smiled, “We are domestic aren’t we?”
He hoped that Ben didn’t hear the way his heart skipped a beat thinking about the life they had to come and he hoped Ben wouldn’t find it stupid for being so excited about it. Dem had always tried to play it off like he wasn’t a big sentimentalist, but he completely was, down to the bone.
His hand brushed Ben’s bangs out of his eyes, “Spock, you really need to cut your hair before the wedding. I’m all for the something-to-grab-onto thing, but it’s getting pretty shaggy, you can hardly see.”
“We are,” Ben agreed. “And we’re awesome at it. Just saying.” He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He thought about how Lisbeth was probably going to end up speaking fluent Russian between Dem and Ivan talking to her. He thought about being there to help Ivan with homework. Not that he thought that Dem didn’t help him, but Ben had always wanted kids, and he’d always wanted to do all the fun parent-y things with them.
He knew he’d be able to help Lisbeth once she was the right age, but he loved that he could be there for Ivan, too. He glanced up at Dem from under his bangs, knowing that Dem was thinking about their odd little family, too. His smile faltered slightly when Dem mentioned his hair.
“Yeah, I guess I could use a trim,” he said, his voice going a little soft. Without thinking about it, he reached up and ran a hand through his hair, moving it so that it covered his ears. His ears had always made him self-conscious, and after what had happened to him in high school, he’d always worn his hair kind of longish in an attempt to cover them up. He knew it was childish to still be insecure about it, but four years of kids calling him Dumbo had left an impression.
Dmitri had no Ben for a long enough period to notice when something was off. Nevermind that it was pretty easy to tell when Ben wasn’t being totally open, Dem could tell something was off just by looking at him usually. This was one of those occasions.
So when Ben’s smile slowly faded away and his voice turned soft as if he’d been just scolded, Dem couldn’t help but frown. He put a palm to Ben’s cheek, eyes searching the other man’s.
It wouldn’t be the first time Ben had tried to hide something from him. For the most part, Dem let things that slide. He figured that if Ben really wanted to talk about it, he would in his own time. Forcing something out of somebody wasn’t very fair or kind or helpful as far as his experience went. Yet, this time it seemed different. What ever was bothering Ben seemed to be genuinely hurting him.
“Spock, what’s wrong?” whispered Dem, his hand sliding up to tuck the hair Ben had moved behind his ear. He kissed the top of his fiance’s forehead, “You can tell me. You know that.”





