with Chloe, Benjamin had kissed his sister-in-law and niece goodbye, assuring them that they would spend some time together soon enough, but right now, he was hungry and Dan had promised to come home with pizza. So, with the wonderful taste of cheese already poking at his imagination in the most tempting of ways, Benjamin eventually left the Decker residence and hopped into his Camaro to drive back home, where he expected a box of pineapple-free deliciousness to await — if not, heads would roll.

Luckily for Dan, just as Benji curved his car into the parking lot of their shared apartment building, the oldest Espinoza did the same. However, he wasn't alone — Benjamin noticed that quickly, and he couldn't help but lift an eyebrow when he spotted someone else coming out of the car along with his big brother. But when he saw the short, red hair shining in the darkness of the warm night, he broke into a grin whilst walking towards Dan and the woman in his company, the one and only Izzy Holt.

"We brought pizza!", Izzy grinned whilst lifting the three hot boxes of pizza to show Benjamin, who clapped his hands together and sighed in satisfaction when the irresistible scent of warm food reached him.

"Yeah", Dan cleared his throat, "it's okay if Izzy joins us, right?", giving a careful look to Benjamin — as if his brother wasn't usually okay with making new friends. Snorting at the cautious look in Dan's eyes, Benji simply threw his arm over Izzy's shoulder and started to walk towards the entrance of the building, far too hungry to remain outside anymore.

"Hell yeah, it's okay. Come on, I'm starving", the boy encouraged, and with that, the three of them walked inside — a silent bond already formed between Benji and Izzy, which was causing the latter to smile even if Benjamin was trying to keep it cool.

They settled in eventually, the TV turned on to keep them company in moments of silence as they were all seated in the living room, munching on slices of pizza happily. It wasn't awkward, by any means, if anything it was comfortable as they occasionally laughed at the funny lines of the cop show on TV, or when Benjamin wondered if Dan and Izzy's work was like that, too.

"You've always wanted to be a cop?", Benjamin questioned Izzy as he grabbed his third slice and eyed the redhead curiously, and without a second of hesitation, she nodded to confirm that was the truth.

"Always. My mom used to work for the LAPD, but she's retired now. Still, that inspired me and here I am — lucky to have Dan as my mentor, too. I haven't been around the precinct for too long, but I'm already loving it, you know?", Izzy explained, and a happy sigh escaped her lips as she told the short version of her story. Nudging Benji then, she lifted an eyebrow, "What about you? What's your dream?"

It was a question that always required time and effort from Benjamin, mostly because he truly didn't know the answer. Other people had these vivid, clear views and plans for the future — his brother included — but he had never been that. Since childhood, he had been spontaneous, impossible to keep in one place, unable to commit.

That was why he answered, "I don't know", earning a sympathetic smile from both of the detectives in his company. "I was a bartender while traveling. That was cool, I guess. But right now, I just want to be home and bond with my family, really. I've never been good at looking at the bigger picture, but I suppose somewhere in the future I want to fall in love and share my life with someone. The usual", he chuckled softly.

Placing a hand on his brother's shoulder, Dan offered a smile. "You'll find that, I promise. Somewhere, there's a happy ending for all of us", he reassured, and with a grateful look in his eyes, Benji nodded. He did hope so — although a steady relationship wasn't that timely for him, he had tossed the idea of a family around in his mind a few times. That maybe, one day, he wouldn't have to be the rebellious little brother, but a loving husband to someone, perhaps even a good father.

But right now, he settled for the role he had taken on.

Once almost all of the pizza boxes were empty, they were all groaning at the unhealthy amount of food in their bodies, but eventually, Izzy decided it was time for her to leave. She pointed out how she had a dog to feed — which got Benjamin excited, as he had always loved dogs, but instead of gushing over the beauty of puppies with her, Benji simply gave Izzy a goodbye hug, and Dan wished her a good night before they'd see each other again at work tomorrow.

After helping his brother clean up the mess they had made in the living room, and brushing his teeth like the responsible man he had promised to be, Benjamin was about to head into the guest room, which was slowly turning into his own bedroom. However, before he could slip through the doorway, undress and hop into the bed, Dan spoke up, and Benjamin immediately stopped walking. Twirling around to face his brother, Benji then put on a smile but it quickly faded away — he wasn't good at talking about feelings and emotions, but Dan was clearly a sappy guy.

"I'm really glad you're back, Benny. You know I love you, right?", Dan smiled, and sighing, Benjamin couldn't help but do the same as he stepped closer. "And I know you've always felt like you don't belong, but you do belong here. I'm your brother, and that doesn't only mean I have to always scold you and be that annoying older sibling. It means you can talk to me about anything, and no matter what, I'm here for you. Okay?", Daniel then continued, and with his heart bursting with love for him, Benjamin stepped towards Dan and wrapped his muscular arms around him. Chuckling, the other brother did the same, leaving them hugging each other in the dimly lit hallway, silent but fond.

Eventually, Benjamin let go of Dan, and as he walked to his room, he shot him one last smile.

"Yeah, love you too, bro."

—————

sucker for sleeping in, and loathed early mornings, which was why he could have slept all day — if it wasn't for his phone ringing around 4 PM, perhaps he would have. But indeed, his ringtone snapped Benjamin out of his comfortable slumber, filled with a nostalgic dream of his childhood, and groaning at the abrupt awakening, the young man lifted his spinning head from the soft pillows and blindly tried to locate his phone. It did require smacking off the alarm clock on the nightstand and bumping his elbow in the very same furniture, but eventually, the cracked iPhone was in his hand and rubbing his tired eyes, Benjamin answered the call.

"Hello?", his morning voice was groggy and vexed, and through the slowly spoken word, he slipped a long yawn whilst stretching his body under the cool sheets. As the covers tickled his bare chest and thighs, Benji kept his eyes closed and rested one of his strong arms against his forehead, the phone barely remaining against his ear, but eventually, the caller on the other side of the line spoke up and he was startled back awake from his half-asleep state.

"Did you just wake up? At 4 PM? I'm jealous."

Eyes fluttering open, Benjamin then pushed himself to sit up as he pressed the phone against his ear better, another yawn forcing its way out of his mouth. "Izzy? 4 PM? Okay—uh, in my defense... I didn't know it was 4 PM. What—what's going on?", he stammered, unsure of he should have reacted, or how Izzy had even gotten his number, but he connected it to Dan, and therefore didn't bother to ask. Instead, he ran his fingers through his messy hair and tried to stay awake whilst waiting for his new friend to respond in any way.

"I was invited to Lux, uh, and I don't wanna go alone? I know it's weird, but the whole place is kind of intimidating, and Maze—", Izzy began, but before she could finish, Benji cut her off.

"Who's Maze?", he wondered out loud, and chuckling, he then continued, "I think that's the sound of someone who needs a wingman", putting the pieces together whilst throwing the covers off of his body and stepping out of the bed — the cold floor made him cringe, but he fought back the desire to go back to sleep, for the sake of his new friend. On top of that, the sound of Lux and this mysterious Maze did interest him.

"Oh, Mazikeen— she's Lucifer's, umm... Well, demon bartender, apparently. So, are you coming or not? I bought you coffee and a sandwich, for what it's worth", Izzy carefully inquired, and whilst trying to pull on skinny jeans whilst holding the phone between his shoulder and ear, Benjamin broke into a smile and nodded in agreement.

"Of course I'll come with you. Where are you?", Benji then tapped on the speaker, before tossing the phone on the mattress and proceeding to find a shirt to wear. Naturally, he had to agree — he loved being a wingman, and he loved Lux, and he was already kind of loving Izzy. Mostly all of Benjamin's friends, were people he slept with, but not Isadora. And he couldn't get enough of her company.

Through the phone, Benji could hear the squeaking of tires as Izzy stepped on the brakes, but only then, he realized that it actually came from outside. And as he looked out of the large window in his room, he spotted a familiar redhead waving at him from the ground.

"Come on, drag your lazy butt out here!", Izzy put her hands around her mouth as she shouted at Benjamin, and flashing a grin and putting up a thumb to confirm he was already on his way, the Espinoza then grabbed his leather jacket and ruffled his hair before heading out.

Frankly, he felt like he was signing up for a good time.

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