[hr][center][h1][color=#4dff4d]Benji Baker[/color] & [color=yellow]Yazmin Cormick[/color][/h1][/center][center]Collab between [@beyond visions] and [@SheriffLlama][hr][/center][center][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/05/66/78/056678eb6dd8e04748ea85ab2a3dbfd4.jpg[/img][/center][center][h3][hr]The Artemis: Living Quarters[/h3][/center][hr]
[indent]Yazmin left the storage bay with a small box of wires, her soddering pin, and her limp mechanical arm, all tucked under flesh limb. Though the device could still be connected to the terminal in her shoulder, the severed wire which controlled main functions of her arm made it completely impossible to move her prosthetic. She took her time as she walked back towards her room. She spotted Benji as she rounded the corner in the dorm hallway, flashing him a pearly white smile. She tried to wave with her good hand, but only ended up  dropping her mechanical arm with a loud clang on the metal floor. [color=yellow]"Dang it."[/color] She muttered. She looked down to the items in her had, and then towards the empty sleeve the hung off her right shoulder.

[color=yellow]"You mind picking up my arm?"[/color] She asked, stepping in front of her door as it hissed open. [color=yellow]"Hm... Never thought I'd ask someone that..."[/color] She observed. Upon looking at her, Benji might recognize the puffiness under her eyes and her bloodshot irises as signs that she'd been crying. Truthfully, she had. The situation with Rend had not only scared her, but worried her.

His hand cradled the palm of the fallen prosthetic. At that moment, Benji realized Yaz stricken with wound as his finger flooded through bullet hole. [color=#4dff4d]"Let me carry it,"[/color] the rough, raspy sound left lips. His voice expressed his choked crying-- the type when you know someone is holding back the weeping, so they bury it deep within the throat. [color=#4dff4d]"You have a... err... [i]h-handful[/i]."[/color]  Benji angled his direction towards her dorm, [color=#4dff4d]"You want this in your room?"[/color] When she replied with a nod, so did he while then entering to set the arm against the desk's surface. There, he stared at it longer, processing her shot- the attack. 

[color=#4dff4d]"Yaz..."[/color] he turned around taking his careful steps towards her, [color=#4dff4d]"I won't let anything or anyone hurt you."[/color] He lightly tapped the exact spot where the bullet could have landed, if were her real arm. [color=#4dff4d]"I won't run again, I swear..."[/color] His hand collapsed till it found her palm, where then his fingers weaved through hers. [color=#4dff4d]"It doesn't [i]matter[/i] if I could or could not stop a bullet. Running should not be an option-- hiding should not be an option. It does not [i]matter[/i] if I'm scared, because nothing could scare me more than having to stitch you up or you lying down in the med bay. But even if I do, I want to be there to save you."[/color]

Yazmin regarded Benji with kind, empathetic eyes. She understood his issues, and she appreciated everything. She had been admittedly frustrated and confused when he revealed that he'd been awake for two years without them, but now she saw that he'd done it out of care for them. Sure, he was a bit quirky, but he was genuinely a good guy. He cared about people that he'd only [i]really[/i] known for a few hours. The young woman looked at him with a smile.

She unlocked their fingers and hugged him. She pulled back and sat on the desk. [color=yellow]"Benji, you're the hero today. You saved Rend, even though the rest of us might have made a different choice."[/color] She said, truthfully. [color=yellow]"Running from something you're scared of isn't a bad thing. I would've run away too, but my arm prevented that. What matters is that you came back."[/color] She sat back and looked at him.

[color=yellow]"Speaking of which, where did you find those cuffs?"[/color]

Being called a hero, he did not like it. Benji didn't [i]feel[/i] like a hero. If there were anyone that saved Rend, it would be Yaz. Without her, the traitor Rend would have never seen a ventilator, because Benji would have not let him. And now, he had some explaining to do-- Why the cuffs? Where did they come from? Where? 

[color=#4dff4d]"Oh... These cuffs... I was going to announce it to the rest-- there's an armory in this ship-- a [i]secret[/i] armory. You see, I was going to tell you sooner. I just didn't want to pull out guns and blades on your first day back. It's not the best introduction. Yet even now, I don't want to tell them, not after what happen... But everyone deserves to know."[/color]

[I]She[/i] deserved to know even more-- Why he did what he did. But much more importantly, why he [i]didn't[/i] do what he orginally planned. He was at first afraid to confess it to Yaz, terrified to admit that he didn't want to save Rend. Benji feared he would sound heartless, but wouldn't it show the opposite? That he didn't lose any ounce of humanity. He still remained intact with his emotions, even after two years of no social interaction. 

[color=#4dff4d]"I'm going to be honest... I didn't want to save Rend."[/color] He gave a sigh, a disappointing dreadful sigh.[color=#4dff4d] "To know, to [i]see[/i] a man willing to shoot my... friends-- I don't want to call you guys friends. You're not my friends, that's a title far too casual. Because you're so much more! I spent two-- TWO-- years alone. I couldn't imagine another world without all of you again. Because that's when I knew earth was gone. When there was no humanity left, but me..."[/color] 

He was not finished yet, because for the most part, he stated what she already knew. He was terribly lonely. But today made more sense. [color=#4dff4d]"Yaz, I liked you even when we first met. You were cute, yes, but kind and gentle- helpful."[/color] He felt like he was falling in love again, it's been so long. [color=#4dff4d]"You haven't let me forget mercy... I love you. Is that weird?"[/color] Nervous, anxious, he began rambling and stuttering.[color=#4dff4d] "Um-um-um... T-That's not c-creepy right? I-I don't wish to seem off... o-or c-crazy. I-I'm sorry." [/color]

The girl's eyes held the same gentle look, all the way until the words, [color=#4dff4d]"I love you."[/color] At that moment, her eyes widened ever so slightly, but not because of disgust. She'd been surprised, and genuinely. Part of her had the feeling that when he spoke of "meeting her," he'd meant two years ago when he woke up and started watching them all. She had simply chalked his actions and treatment to wanting to be good friends, but she'd never considered he'd been romantically interested. If she remembered correctly, he was at least eight to ten years older than her, so she'd honestly though he had treating her like a younger sister.

[color=yellow]"Thank you, Benji."[/color] She said, earnestly. She carefully formed her next sentences, but then continued. [color=yellow]"I'm flattered, completely. It means a lot that you care that much."[/color] With that, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

He's felt rejection before, countless times at the end of a restaurant table, waiting patiently for somebody until he realizes- nobody's coming. Yet, what proved much worse than rejection- betrayal. Benji could picture-- though it made him ill to dare imagine it-- if he never discovered the affair he would be married by now, with possibly a newborn baby. Yet, again without the infidelity, Benji would be dead, as dead as earth. He would have never considered the project if that meant leaving his own family. When he left earth, Benji left without anyone saying goodbye. He was lonely even before the surprise awakening on the Artemis. Perhaps that was the reason why survived the solitude, he at that point was use to it. 

The kiss on the check released some ounce of relief. She was not upset with him nor disappointed that he had feeling of hesitation to revive Rend. Though while the same, that simple kiss on the cheek caused Benji to overthink [i]everything[/i]. He was not sure whether Yaz plainly bore pity on him, or whether she returned the same affection. So what did he actually do in that moment? What does Benji ever do, he believes in that positive outcome relentlessly, being quiet naive as he often is. You would think a man who has been cheated on before would be rightfully guarded. Yet if that were so, Benji would be assuming Yaz would be do the same-- No, he would be [i]accusing[/i]. And he would never do that to her.  

Instantly after her kiss, he moved to make his. Surprising his own self, he was daring and dauntless. Benji already learned his lesson of running, of hiding when unsure or scared. No more of that, that was no way to live. He pressed his lips against hers, it was soft, delicate but he didn't linger long there. [color=#4dff4d]"You've been crying..."[/color] he whispered while giving gaze at the hue of red in her eyes. [color=#4dff4d]"I-I hate to see you cry..."[/color] 


Yazmin did her best to hide her surprise when Benji kissed her back. Her gesture had been one of appreciation, by which she was trying to show him that she loved him, but not the way he loved her... She wanted to tell him that because the last thing she wanted to do was lead him on and not correct her mistake, but when she tried to form the words, she couldn't. She couldn't break his heart like that. Instead, she just smiled, wiping away the leftover moisture from her eyes. 

[color=yellow]"Benji, you're the kindest I've ever met. One of the bravest, too."[/color] She said. [color=yellow]"Don't... don't let people tell you otherwise.[/color] She sat for a moment, then glanced to her mechanical limb. [color=yellow]"Benji, I- uh... could you give me a minute? I have to undress to fix my arm."[/color]

[color=#4dff4d]"Y-Yeah, s-sure... Strange, I got so lost in the moment that I almost forgot that the crazy bas--"[/color] he paused, halting before the curse word, it was a rarity to see Benji swear mainly because it was rare to see him bitter over anything. Yet today was different because unlike any other day in his life he never encountered a weapon fired on the people that he could only describe tighter than family. [color=#4dff4d]"I almost forgot you got shot, [i]almost[/i]."[/color] Of course he was still upset, two kisses could not wipe away the sloppy past. Benji cherished Yaz's comments, but he didn't feel like a brave man. He only proved cowardice, but was determined to change that, if only he knew how... [color=#4dff4d]"Heh, I should um... leave you alone, now was a bad time to bother you. But h-hey, we'll m-meet again right?"[/color] He gave a slight smile, nodding his head while now recollecting the previous event. 


He hesitantly turned away, stepping out the door. 


What was next on the agenda... Oh yes, Benji was not sure how long he had been speaking to Yaz but he should probably go just up on that man in the med bay that he rather see dead. Well, perhaps a harsh way to put it, but it was not void of truth. Also, he needed to speak with Tahlia, he wanted to know why she seemed so cryptic... 



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