A Night In

[singingdrummer]

 It all started with Ben tugging Meredith onto his lap, lips pressed against hers in a heated kiss. His hands roamed on her figure while his desire for her grew. He had wanted her ever since their first encounter at the bar but Ben never imagined something would actually become of it.

"I want you to know you're not some groupie to me, Meredith. I really want this with you."

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[highfidelity]

"Well, I appreciate you doing this for me," she continued. Then something else hit her. "Do we need to go somewhere and get the rest of your stuff? Maybe take you by the mall? I don't know how much you needed to bring over..."

They'd learn very quickly if their relationship had a future because they'd have to do things like this. Cooking, shopping, learning how to exist in the same space. It was the basic stuff that would either solidify their relationship or prove they did not have a future together.

[singingdrummer]

"I'll be happy to do it again. Anytime." And he meant it, too.

"I've got some of it here. At a mate's house.. Don't have furniture or anything like that, because a rock star was always on the move."

This would be a crucial time for them, finding out if they really had a future together.

[highfidelity]

"I'm not convinced you ever had furniture. I only saw a couch and a bed," she teased. "But we should get the rest of your things. And pick up whatever it is you still need. If you're really going to live here, I at least need to make sure you have all your stuff."

[singingdrummer]

"The couch and bed at our special place, yeah," he laughed softly. He nodded at her words. There were some little things he could bring over, and stuff he needed to buy.

"That's the plan."

[highfidelity]

"Then I'll try to make some time tomorrow to go out for a few hours." She nodded and ran a hand through her hair. If only she could get through work. She just felt like her life was in a rut and maybe him being here would liven that up, as much as it was also a huge change. "You're just lucky I'm not still mad at you, if your whole plan was dependent on me!"

[singingdrummer]

"Sounds good to me. It'll be nice getting out of the house."

He could see the stress in her eyes and heard it in her voice. Hopefully he could do something to take some of that load off her shoulders.

"The plan was to come back and make sure I was completely honest with you. To build a solo career for myself, away from all that unhealthy stuff.."

He grinned a little.

"You're not mad?"

[highfidelity]

"No. Well, I have a few things I still need to work through, but I'm not angry with you. You've seen me angry with you," she said with a dry chuckle. "I moved past that stage of the process a long time ago."

[singingdrummer]

"Yeah.. Of course, Meredith."

There's a time for jokes and this certainly was not it. His mouth sometimes worked faster than his brain.

"I'll work hard to be worthy of your trust again. I broke it in a horrible way."

[highfidelity]

"We'll work on that. We have to, if we're going to be living together."

She nodded as she reached across the table and took his hand.

"You're still the only one I want, Ben. I just have to learn to get there. But I'm not interested in anyone else but you."

[singingdrummer]

He nodded, squeezing her hand gently.

"You're the only one I want too, Meredith. I've never been more sure of anything."

[highfidelity]

"Then I guess we're stuck with one another."

She chuckled as they ate, just catching each other up on how their days were. It was easy, simple, uncomplicated. She liked uncomplicated. Liked the idea of them having a future together.

"So. I got you a key on my way home from work."

[singingdrummer]

"Looks like we are."

He grinned a little. It's always nice hearing about her work and what else she was up to during the day, while giving her a few tidbits about his day.

"Oh? Great. I can go out tomorrow and get the ball rolling with my own career."

[highfidelity]

"You thought I was just going to leave you stuck here?"

She chuckled at his apparent surprise, even as she reached into her purse and handed him the key. It was a major show of trust on her part. She would never have done this before, too worried that one of his many friends would show up and trash the place or start going through her stuff.

"If we're going to try and live together we have to start building that life somewhere. And unfortunately I don't think I could find another flat, so this is it for the time being."

[singingdrummer]

"No."

He laughed, shaking his head. He took the key while appreciating the meaning behind it. If it was two months earlier he wouldn't have been worthy of such trust.

"It's really not that bad here, Meredith. A nice little flat for the pair of us."

[highfidelity]

"I know it's not bad, it's just the size. With the size of the bed, and the bathroom, it's going to be a little interesting with two of us."

She chuckled as she stood and picked up the dishes. Since he'd cooked the least she could do was clean up afterward.

"I was almost laying on you last night."

[singingdrummer]

"We'll manage. It takes some compromises surely."

He stood up to help out. They lived together now and Ben wanted to do his part.

"You got pretty cuddly, but I didn't mind."

[highfidelity]

"Of course you wouldn't." She said it gently, clearly teasing. He was a red-blooded man so of course he'd like a woman trying to cozy up to him. Like many of them before she suspected. Except she still had her clothes on.

But this time she was joking, and playfully squirted him with the faucet.

[singingdrummer]

The old Ben would've cozied up with any girl in town, but meeting Meredith changed him. Now all he could think about was her and how much he really loved her.

"Oi," Ben laughed, squirting her too.

[highfidelity]

"Your aim is terrible," she laughed, splashing him a little. She had no problems playing around with him, she kind of liked this idea of the two of them being cute and doing cute couple things together. The kind of nice normal relationship without people staring at them or other girls trying to hit on him.

"We should do this more often."

[singingdrummer]

"We'll get plenty of chances now that we're under the same roof."

Ben hadn't laughed so much in ages, let alone felt so happy. He didn't need drugs and partying to make his life fun. She was so much better at that and he wanted to see this through with her.

He paused for a moment to just look at her.

"You're so beautiful, you know that? I've been a right twat to you."

[highfidelity]

Him saying that made her smile and blush slightly, the same way she had the first night they had met. Meredith had never seen herself as that beautiful until he kept telling her that.

"Thank you," she said. "On both counts. It means a lot, to hear that from you."

There was something in having the man that every other girl in the room was trying to go home with, making you the object of his attention that boosted her ego. And even now he had this way of making her feel special.

"I count myself lucky that you ever noticed me," she said, not to belittle herself but to say how much she thought of him.

[singingdrummer]

"About time I grew up and became more like the man you deserve."

Ben cupped her cheek, caressing it gently as he leaned in for a soft kiss. Not too much, because he respected her wish to take things slow.

"I'm happy you feel that way.. It's mutual. I never expected you to fall in love with this scruffy drummer with too much make-up."

[highfidelity]

"I tried not to," she laughed softly, thinking of how nervous she had been to kiss him the first time. "But you convinced me to give you a chance."

A small smile. "Still the best first date I've ever been on and we never actually got to the date part."

[singingdrummer]

"My schedule was unforgiving back then. Now that I'm going solo, I won't have to live according to my band mates' schedules."

The thought of doing his own thing had Ben excited. The future looked bright, even more so with Meredith by his side.

"But it was fun. I couldn't have asked for anything better."

[highfidelity]

"Just mine, I guess, with me going back and forth out of the office and whatever gigs they send me on."

She chuckled. Having finished with the dishes she leaned up against the counter and just enjoyed being there with him for a moment.

"I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you, before. About my music. I try not to tell anyone, I don't want anybody getting the wrong idea about me."