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It was days like this that made Ethan feel like a mom. He didn’t have kids, but hanging our with Benny made it feel like he did. He didn’t mind the fact that it felt like he was babysitting the dude, you just wouldn’t expect Ethan to be the one doing the babysitting. Benny was significantly taller than Ethan, yet he was always running off and getting lost or dropping something when the pair went out in public.
It was a sunny Sunday morning and the two were out of the house, for once. Normally they’d stay in and play video games from sunrise to sunset, not today. They were actually out looking for a new game to obsess over. The two walked down the busy street, Benny stumbling every 20 seconds.
“Benny I swear to God” Ethan narrowed his eyes at Benny with fake annoyance, Benny had just tripped over his shoelaces for what seemed like the 87th time. “If you don’t tie your shoelaces I will step on them on purpose”
“It’s a fashion statement E!” Benny never wore anything other than polo shirts and baggy jeans, except for the time he wore a leather jacket over his polo shirt but that’s something that Ethan never wants to remember ever again. Needless to say, Benny wasn’t the most fashionable person out there.
“Whatever just don’t die before we get to the store please” Ethan continued to walk down the street to the video game shop that they always went to when they needed something new to play. When they walked in, it was surprisingly deserted. No one apart from the cashiers was there, although the cashier looked like he didn’t want to be there.
Benny and Ethan walked down each aisle, desperately looking for a new game to play. They didn’t. At first.
“Hey E,” Benny called out to Ethan from the other side of the store, “this looks cool.” He walked over to Ethan, a small cartridge in hand as he tried to hide the fact that he almost fell over. Ethan took the cartridge from Benny’s hand, flipping it over in his hand while inspecting it lazily. It seemed decent, it could probably hold them over until a new game came out in a week or two. Ethan looked closer and realized how old the game was. Upon noticing this, he realized how much dust was on his hand and on the game itself.
“Benny this thing is like 100 years old” Ethan exclaimed, shoving the game back into Benny’s hands. “Do we even have a console that’ll work for this?”
Benny flipped over the game and read everything printed on the back, having a hard time considering how faded the words were. “It’s not that old,” Benny said. He remembered this grandma having a console that might work with the game. He held up the cartridge, looking at Ethan with pleading eyes. As Benny’s pleads grew more annoying, Ethan felt himself give in.
“Alright, okay!” Ethan almost shouted, earning a warning glance from the employee. He turned back to the brunette in front of him, taking the game and walking up to the cashier. As Ethan paid for the game, Benny tried his absolute hardest to not jump up and down with glee. Although he did let out a few “yays,” much to cashier’s annoyance.
They walked out of the shop, Benny skipping happily down the sidewalk with the game in his hands. Ethan walked next to him, glaring at the boy while hiding his admiration for him. That is until Benny tripped on his shoelaces and fell on the pavement. Ethan shook with laughter as the taller boy tied his shoes and got back up.
“We never speak of this” Benny stated, turning on his heel as he continued their walk home. Ethan held back his laughter throughout the walk home but had a shit-eating grin on his face the whole walk.
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Ethan didn’t realize how easily Benny got addicted to things, which gave him a mental note to make sure Benny never does drugs.
When they got home from the shop, they both immediately rushed upstairs to Ethan’s room to start playing the game. Benny had started keeping a lot of his things at Ethan’s house and included all his video games and all his consoles. It made sense considering how much time they spent there. The two started to play the game, instantly getting immersed into the game and rarely ever taking their eyes from the screen. Eventually, Ethan did get a little tired and stopped playing, instead going to work on classwork just to look at something other than a screen. Not Benny though, he continued to play even if it meant holding in all his pee.
It was around hour 8 that made Ethan worry a little bit. He took a nap and thought Benny would tire himself out eventually. So Ethan took an hour long nap, and by the time he woke up, Benny was still playing the game.
“Hey, are you gonna take a break anytime soon?” Ethan asked from his bed, Benny didn’t budge. Ethan got up and walked over to the taller boy, trying to get his attention. Upon closer inspection, Benny looked like a walking corpse. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was a mess, his hands were surprisingly shaky, he looked like a meth addict. And of course, Ethan means that in the most loving way possible.
“Hey, Benny” Ethan raised his voice, trying to get his attention. Still, Benny hadn’t budged, so Ethan resorted to violence. He grabbed one of his pillows and chucked it at Benny. “Earth to Benny!”
Benny jumped back in response, quickly pausing the game to glare at Ethan. “What the hell E!”
“Aren’t you gonna take a break anytime soon?” Ethan had his arms folded to his chest, staring intently at the brunette in front of him. He wouldn’t ever admit it, but Ethan was genuinely worried about Benny. He cared deeply for him and he didn’t like seeing him in this state.
“I’m almost done I have two more levels until I get to the boss level and then I have a couple of bonus lev-“ Benny was cut off by Ethan smacking him upside the head. Benny yelped in shock, not pain considering Ethan would never hurt him.
“Dude you reek” Ethan had just barely taken in the smell coming from Benny. “Change your clothes and take a nap or something just not the stupid game please!” Ethan hadn’t realized he was basically pleading by the end of that sentence. Benny could see the worry in his eyes, so he turned off the console and lazily threw the controller aside.
“Good, now get up let's eat” Ethan stated, getting a change of clothes for Benny. He saw that Benny hadn’t moved and gave him a questioning stare.
“Yeah around hour 6 my legs fell asleep so I can’t get up even if I tried” Benny gave the shorter boy a sheepish grin with his signature puppy dog eyes. It had dawned on Ethan what the other boy was asking.
“No there’s no way I’m carrying you downstairs!” Ethan was shaking his head no, putting his hands up in protest. Benny’s puppy dog eyes somehow intensified as he starting pleading and begging basically. After a while, Ethan reluctantly gave in.
“Fine!” Ethan yelled, practically slumped while going to lift up Benny. Sadly, Ethan was smaller than Benny, plus Benny was still sluggish on the floor, making this a lot harder than it has to be. Ethan huffed as he pulled Benny up by his arms and started dragging the taller boy. He opened the door and started to think about how he was going to get him downstairs.
“Thanks, E” Benny mumbled, very obviously falling asleep. The things Ethan does for Benny.