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It was when Ben crawled on his lap that he realised he probably wasn’t giving him enough attention. The smaller man slipped his head through Callum’s arms that were joined at a controller as he squeezed into Callum’s space, straddling his legs. He didn’t say anything for a little while, instead just stared at Callum with his lips in a thin line.
But Callum had to beat this level, he’d never got this far before. Ever.
Dodging his head to the side so he could see the screen again, he continued with the correct combinations of pressing buttons and moving the joysticks on the controller that he was holding behind Ben’s back, who was now wrapping his arms around Callum’s torso, hands coming up and squeezing his shoulders from behind while his head rested on his chest.
Coming to the correct conclusion that Ben wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon (not like Callum wanted him to, not really) he hooked his chin into Ben’s shoulder, leaning forwards slightly so Ben was cuddled closer against him. It was the best he could do with no hands.
Ben must have realised there wouldn’t have been much point trying to drag Callum away from his gaming, as he didn’t try and persuade him to turn it off and come and play with him. Instead he moved the hands that were behind Callum’s back down to were the T-shirt met his boxers and slipped his hands up the thin cotton of the shirt, palms being instantly warmed by Callum’s hot skin.
He smiled at his smaller boyfriends antics, pressing a kiss to his temple before he hid his head almost completely into the warm nest that he had made out of Callum.
It didn’t take long for Callum to hear those light little snores that Ben makes when he’s sleeping in a position that isn’t quite perfect. Callum smiled, squeezing is arms around his body tighter. God, his boyfriend was beautiful.
He beat the level, and maybe had the situation been different, he might have made a bit of noise, stood up and made a fool of himself. But instead, he felt no need to do that, dropping the controller carefully to his side and then turning the console and the tv off with the remote. Cautiously, not wanting to wake Ben up, he fell slowly back, so he was no longer sat at the edge of the sofa, and through doing this Ben’s face ended up squashed so preciously against his T-shirt. Callum blushed at the sight before him, Ben Mitchell lay completely vulnerable on top of him, fingers squeezing the meat of his hips on almost every exhale as he let out little murmurs and snores.
If you asked him, Ben didn’t snore.
But he definitely did, and Callum loved it.
Looking down at his gorgeous boyfriend, Callum smiled privately to himself. Stretching carefully, as to not wake Ben up (although, a truck could have driven through the front door and he probably would have only just stirred before falling into an even heavier sleep) he reached for his phone, tapping the screen determinedly.
Afterwards, Callum placed a hand carefully on to top of Ben’s head, scratching rhythmically at the scalp until Ben stretched like a cat and slowly opened one his eyes.
“Want to go to bed, ‘andsome?”
A simple nod was all he got before Ben closed his eyes again and cuddled deeper. Callum let out a breathy laugh, it seemed he was carrying him to bed tonight.
With an over dramatic groan that elicited a scoff from Ben, Callum raised them both up from the couch, hitching Ben’s thighs around his waist as the younger man draped his arms behind Callum’s neck. He gave a not-so-subtle squeeze to his arse before planting a kiss on Ben’s temple and beginning the short walk out of the lounge, upstairs and then into their bedroom.
:::
Callum practically bounced to the front door the next Tuesday, Ben cocking his head and giving him an incredulous stare, before shouting from behind him, “Not shagging the postman are ya, Cal?”
The older man shook his head as he neared the door, flipping Ben off over his shoulder, to which Ben snickered, the sound of his socked feet padding somewhere behind him until Callum felt strong arms wrap around his waist and a head placed in the dip between his head and shoulder. Working with the restricted space he had, Callum crouched down, picking up the parcel that had been slipped through the letter box, Ben coming down with him so he didn’t have to unwrap his arms from Callum’s middle.
“Ooo, what did ya get? Somethin’ naughty?-”
“Not everything is about sex, Ben.”
They both stood up, shuffling in each others space, the desperation to stay in each others warmth overriding being sensible and eliminating the risk of one of them falling flat on their arse.
“Well it should be.”
Callum laughed at his boyfriend, turning around in his vice like grip so he could place a soft brush of his lips against Ben’s forehead.
“This is even more fun than sex.”
Ben quirked his left brow, clearly not convinced, “Huh, well now you’ve hurt my feelings-”
Callum swatted a hand to Ben’s shoulder, his boyfriend knowing exactly how to wind him up. He was such a little shit, and by the grin on his face, Ben was well aware of that fact. “I bought us a video game.”
Ben rolled his eyes.
“For both of us!”
The young Mitchell’s face twisted then, eyes scrunching as he let out a loud groan. “Callum, fuck off.” Callum placed a kiss on his cheek, laughing to himself as his boyfriend continued to complain and whine, “there are so many better things we could be doing together, I can list a few-”
”You might surprise yourself, you might actually enjoy it.”
:::
It was a Friday night when Callum finally got Ben to sit down with him in front of the console and play the game with him, having bribed him with a combination of sex and Chinese.
Ben sat down with a dramatic moan as he brought his chest up to his knees and held a hand out for his boyfriend to give him a controller, Callum obliged, moving a hand up to ruffle Ben’s hair that lay damp and flat against his forehead, a result of their shared shower, after he passed him the black controller. Turning back into the direction of the television, Callum bent over to switch on the console, retrieving the disc from its case and sliding it in, ignoring the wolf whistles coming from his terrible boyfriend behind him.
As soon as he sat down onto the couch, Ben’s threw his legs onto Callum’s thighs, his socked feet stroking the material of his shorts. “We could go agai-”
“Benjamin.” Callum warned.
“Benja- alright, alright. We’ll play the stupid game then.”
Callum smiled smugly, as he scrolled through the menu of console, selecting the game he had chosen just for him and Ben.
“Right so it’s a simulation game,”
“Stimulation...?”
Callum sighed, taking one had from his controller and dragging it lazily over his face, “No, simulation.”
Ben tutted,“Sounds piss poor.”
“Are you going to be like this all night?” He looked desperately over to his boyfriend, who just grinned back. God he was so soft for Ben, even when he’s being like this.
“Ya know me Cal, I pride myself on being a bit of a dick. You are what you eat after al-”
“BEN!” Callum gasped as Ben giggled wickedly from the other side of the couch, digging his socked toes into Callum’s hoodie pocket.
“Alright, alright! Let’s get this over and done with shall we?” Ben said through a breathy sigh.
“Loving the enthusiasm.”
Ben playfully nudged Callum’s side with his foot, before turning on his own controller (Callum was surprised he knew how) and settling into the couch. He smiled towards the younger man, grateful for his efforts, despite him not being keen on the whole gaming thing.
Selecting the ‘a new game’ option, Callum turned to his boyfriend, who was already yawning.
Unbelievable
“This parts easy, we need to make our characters, you do you and I’ll do me, alright?”
“I’d much rather you be doing me, Cal.”
“Shame.” A smirk thrown towards Ben from Callum was received with a grunt.
Ben sat up a bit, feet not leaving Callum’s lap though, as he observed the screen in front of him and then experimented with the buttons that adorned the black controller. “Can I give myself a big cock? Needs to be accurate. It’s for the greater good.”
“No.”
They both shared a look, Ben’s smirk faltering in the way it always did when Callum looked at him, like really looked at him. The older man could sense Ben’s back was up tonight, sure, innuendos were kind of his thing, but usually, when it was just them, they were few and far between. Tonight, clearly, wasn’t an example of that.
“What’s up with ya tonight, darlin’?”
Ben ducked his head, changing the hair on his avatar followed by the eyebrows, “well- you like this sort of stuff, and I guess I’m just worried that if I’m no good at it you’ll... well.”
“It’s just a video game ‘andsome. You can’t really go that wrong.”
“Yeah, but it’s your hobby.”
Callum sighed, dropping a hand from his controller to stroke at Ben’s left sock clad foot, massaging the arch with the knuckle of both his index finger and thumb, “Ben, you like tap dancing, but I ain’t worried your gonna leave me because if I tried I’d fall flat on my arse.”
It was clearly the right thing to say, as Ben smiled that genuine grin that Callum treasured so deeply, he always missed it when it wasn’t there. Then he shuffled messily across the length of the sofa, placing his head heavily against Callum’s chest, eliciting an ‘oof’ from the bigger man, and then squeezing his ankles into his parted thighs.
A quick kiss was placed at Ben’s hairline, fleeting but at the same time a permanent reminder of Callum’s love for the small man, and his promise to be there for as long as he would let him be there. They exchanged giggles as Callum made his avatar much stronger than he was in reality, representing a body builder, with bulging biceps (the thighs were accurate though, Ben noted). Ben squeezed Callum’s bicep before mock wincing, earning him a light whack against his thigh that was now hitched against Callum’s own legs as he sunk further and further it into his side.
“Now pick a profession babe.”
Ben’s chin met his neck as he stared bewildered at Callum, “I’m not about to sit here and watch a fitter version of myself go to work, Cal.”
“It’s not just about that, they’re are hobbies you can learn, relationships you can make and challenges you can take part in, but to start of with you need to pick a career and then personality traits.”
Ben grumbled as he clicked on the career options from the character, “Ooh, Cal look, charity worker. Spot on for me.” Callum enveloped Ben’s hands that were holding the remote and manipulated his fingers so he could move the joysticks himself, hovering over criminal. Ben huffed, before biting his lip, “Always new ya had a thing for cops and robbers baby.”
Callum rolled his eyes, as Ben continued to pick personality traits (that would have been surprising to anyone else, but not Callum, because he knew the real Ben.) predictably, Callum chose the policing career, earning a “bit kinky, cal,” from the smaller man.
:::
After the rest of the setting up was completed and their characters had settled into a two bed apartment, Callum explained that it would be important to get both of their characters to a friend stage.
“Not really accurate though is it? We weren’t exactly friends that night in the park.” Ben’s voice was deeper now, the older man could tell he was getting tired, his grip on the controller loosening. Callum blushed at the memory, of their first time inappropriately placed in a children’s park. Ben was right, they were far from friends back then, but their was an overwhelming feeling of care towards the younger man. And maybe in another situation it would have eventually been named a friendship.
“You’re my best friend now though.”
“Soft.” Ben lifted his head to give Callum a smile, that implicated Ben himself as nothing but exactly what he was calling Callum. The older man smiled back at him, running a slow hand through the other mans hair as he settled back into his side.
“Still don’t get why our characters can’t just go straight to shagging?”
Callum groaned loudly as he threw his palms up to his eyes, Ben belly laughed, a hand coming to rest against his heaving chest as he tried to catch his breath.
“You aren’t funny, Ben.”
“Mm...I kind of am.”
:::
He didn’t realise what was happening until a couple nights later, since Callum had first introduced the game, he had walked into Ben sat on the couch controller in hand a number of times. And each time freaked him out again. Ben didn’t do this. This wasnt Ben’s thing. For a while he allowed himself to believe it was just Ben trying to make an effort for Callum’s hobby.
But the nights had began to drag on, Ben still trying to get their video-game versions of themselves to even be at the friend stage.
His boyfriend huffed loudly, head coming to rest against the back of the couch as he flung the remote carelessly towards the opposite side of the sofa. It landed at Callum’s feet, which were brought right in, tucked into him as his knees were drawn against his chest.
“I don’t get it! I mean I’ve made plenty of mates around the neighbourhood, but oh no! The guy I’m living with? Not a fucking chance.” his eyes scrunched up, his young face creasing with tiredness.
“It don’t really matter Ben, it’s just a ga-”
At that he stood up, hands thrown dramatically up to the air, a defensive pose. Callum recognised it well.
“Don’t tell me it’s just a game Callum. Don’t you see what it’s showin’ us?” He contemplated answering sarcastically, but decided he couldn’t be arsed giving Ben the fight he clearly wanted. He opted for a simple head shake. “That we ain’t compatible, Cal.”
Callum laughed after giving his boyfriend an incredulous look, and it was the wrong thing to do, he knew that. This was a genuine insecurity of Ben’s, one that had been with him since before their relationship had even properly began. It was always that question of compatibility between the two of them.
The younger man glared now, eyes thunderous as his eyebrows shot down to an angry point. Swallowing beforehand, Callum stood up and cautiously placed a hand on his partners waist, slipping the T-shirt up slightly so his fingers could dance along the skin there. Ben took in a snarl of a breath as Callum’s free hand moved up to hook under the other mans chin, forcing him to look him in the eye.
”I didn’t mean to laugh, I’m sorry, it’s just- Ben, the real me and the real you, we are here, together. And we’re happy, we work together.”
“But no one gets that Callum! Even our family! Hell it’s all Jay and Lola talk about, how much of a weird pairin’ we are. And why? Because you are this fucking angel and I’m some low life piece of scum who drags everyone around him down.”
A finger against his lips silenced him, the owner of said finger looking down at him with wide eyes that only spoke of concepts of love and adoration. “You ain’t that Ben. Me and you, well we’re the same ain’t we? Two lost souls who found a home in each others hearts.”
Ben rolled his eyes, but there was a smile there, hidden in the glints of his shiny pupils.
“It’s just pissin’ me off, Callum. Your guy doesn’t even like mine! No matter how nice I am to him!” He looked back, pointedly, towards the tv before turning back towards Callum, the frustration returning to his eyes once again.
He knew Ben got like this, it stemmed from his relationship with his father, insecurities of not being good enough or worthy of love just growing from there. It was Callum’s mission to absolutely abolish all of those worries and replace them with confidence and belief in himself. He kept thinking they were getting there, and then something like this would happen.
But Callum didn’t regret buying the game, it was a reminder that he just needed to try harder.
“You didn’t exactly win me over by bein’ nice Ben, don’t ya remember?” That earned him a small smirk from Ben, his lips turning up at one side just slightly. So slightly, Callum was sure someone else wouldn’t have noticed. But he noticed. He noticed everything there was to notice about Ben. “Pretty sure it was the whole bad boy, leather jacket situation that first got me going. The nice came later, that’s when ya really sealed the deal.”
A small shove to Callum’s chest was all he got as a response, along with a blanket of red across his nose. Callum loved making him blush. They swayed in silence for a little while, Ben raising his eyes every once in a while before dropping them back down to the floor coyly.
Callum dropped a hand between them, squeezing Ben’s fingers then stroking his thumb over his knuckles, “Bed?”
His smaller boyfriend looked over his shoulder towards the tv again, a sigh falling from his lips. Ben opened his mouth, then shut it before turning back to Callum and squinting up at him.
“Or you could grab a controller and help get us together? Because your character is being downright stubborn and I think he needs to start understanding what’s on offer.”
Pleading with his eyes, Ben knew Callum wouldn’t say no. He was right.
“FINE! But you owe me.”
“Hey, not my fault video game Callum is playing hard to get.”
Laughing to himself, Callum pressed a kiss onto his boyfriend forehead, knowing he wouldn’t be satisfied until he had finished what he wanted to do. So despite his tiredness and his want to be snuggled up in bed against his boyfriend, he reached towards the coffee table, wrapping fingers around the controller before falling back into the couch, arms open and inviting for Ben to crawl into his space.
It didn’t go any better, ending in Ben once again rage quitting, flinging his remote to the other side of the couch just like he had done before, and then storming off upstairs to bed.
Callum rubbed his hand over his face as he listened to the sound of a door slamming above him and soft thuds pacing the room.
Okay, so maybe he was slightly regretting buying the game.
:::
It was 3:42am when Ben woke up and realised the Callum had never come upstairs to join him after Ben stormed out in a very Callum-diva-strop like fashion.
He twisted from side to side, trying to convince himself that Callum wasn’t angry at him, perhaps he had simply fallen asleep on the couch downstairs. But it wasn’t working, the dark seemed to be taunting him, it’s fingers wrapping around his wrists and gluing him to a bed that he didn’t want to be lying in without Callum. Maybe part of him didn’t want to go looking for his boyfriend, because there was a chance that when he woke him up, that Ben would be the last person he wanted to be seeing.
Callum hadn’t seemed mad earlier, he had seemed supporting and understanding. Like Callum always was. It was possible that Ben had been so blinded by his insecurities that maybe he had been mistaking sympathy for a tiredness, a hope that if he said the right things, Ben might drop it.
After further tossing and wriggling under the suddenly claustrophobic linen, Ben threw the sheets back, battling against the grip of darkness as he hooked his legs over the side of the bed and cautiously stood up. If he had upset Callum, he needed to go sort it out. Because Ben had never been able to sleep the whole night without Callum by his side.
Out of all the scenarios Ben had painted in his head, the one in front of him wasn’t one of them. After walking down the stairs as quietly as possible, hoping not to wake Callum up before he had a plan of what to say and how to apologise, he entered the living room to witness something that soothed all of his worries in an instant.
Callum sat on the sofa, controller held loosely in his hands and his head rolled back on his shoulders, eyes closed and mouth ever so slightly open and these beautiful, subtle snores escaped his lips. Ben watched his chest rise and fall and then the way his cheek twitched every so seconds. Finally drawing his gaze from the man, his man, in front of him, his head turned towards the screen he himself had spent the past few days staring at way too often.
His heart skipped a beat once he noticed the change, unnoticeable to most, assumably, but not Ben. His eyes tracked the bar at the top right of the screen that showed the relationship status between the video game versions of both himself and Callum. When he had left (before storming ungraciously up the stairs) the line had barely even moved into the orange zone.
Now? Now, the line was well into the green, a friend status icon appearing just below the bar. Ben beamed, at the television and then to his boyfriend, then back to the television and back to his boyfriend.
Callum hadn’t come to bed because he was angry, but because he was doing this for Ben.
His heart soared, Callum, oblivious to the heart eyes being sent in his direction, let out a slightly louder snore, one that almost caused him to stir.
Carefully and quietly, he approached a sleeping Callum, and gently de-tangled the remote from his long fingers, placing it lightly down on the coffee table. Then, he turned the console and television off before slipping down onto the couch next to Callum, lifting up his heavy, sleep-weighted arm over his shoulders and curling in tightly against his angelic boyfriend.
“Thank you Cal, I love you.” placing a kiss to his clothed chest, Ben closed his eyes and fell asleep with a smile on his face.
:::
“I can’t believe I’m still playing hard to get?”
Both Ben and Callum sat on the edge of the couch, clad in T-shirt and boxers as they rested their elbows on the shoulders. Anyone might have assumed they were playing a violent action game with the way they sat, backs curved as their eyes tracked everything happening on the screen in front of them. Only stopping when they threw chips and burgers messily in the almost-direction of their mouths. Barely noticing when sauce dripped down from their Big Macs and onto their T-shirts.
“Pretty accurate though, ain’t it. I had to get literally shot for you to realise.”
“I knew the day ya walked into the Vic, darlin’”
Ben swallowed down a chip, fingers sticky with barbecue sauce as he thumbed the joystick. “Could of saved us a whole load of hassle in that case babe, although, I get it, the bullet wounds hot.”
Callum reached over, pressing his hand to Ben’s shoulder with a light shove. “Dickhead.”
The younger man shot him a greasy grin, ketchup smeared down his chin and Callum wanted to lick it off. But they had important matters to deal with, Callum’s character still turning down all of Ben’s romantic advances, despite being well into the friend stage (Ben had been very grateful to Callum for the progress he had made between the two characters the other night, and had shown just how much in a classically Ben Mitchell way.) so instead, he opted to wipe it away with his thump, bringing it to his lips afterwards to clean the sauce from his digit. Perhaps that wasn’t the ‘subtle’ he was hoping to achieve, as Ben’s eyes darkened under hooded lids.
“Now, now, Highway, we have our video game selves’ sex lives to worry about, our own will have to wait.”
Callum huffed out a laugh, god Ben was adorable. They both turned back to the screen, knees knocking every now and then, private smiles shared.
:::
It was weeks from when Callum had initially bought the game that found Ben sat on Callum’s knee, remote in hand, as Callum had is own remote in his hold, arms wrapped around Ben.
“Oh MY FUCKING god!!! are they going to kiss- CALLUM I THINK THEY ARE GOING TO KISS!!”
He laughed as his boyfriend bounced up and down in his lap, hands shaking around his controller with excitement as he watched the screen, completely engrossed by the two characters in front of them.
“Shh, babe don’t scare them away!”
“Oh Callum fuck off, look at them! Wow, video-game Callum’s looking at video-game Ben just like you look at me when I do that thing you like with my tongue in the mornings!” Huffing out a laugh, Callum hid his face into the back of Ben’s neck, feeling the heat of his cheeks grow and grow. “Just because I can’t see you, don’t mean I can’t tell your blushing.”
“Shut up and play your game.”
Ben cackled loudly, before turning his concentration back onto the pictures playing in front of him. Callum watched too, but not at the screen, instead at his boyfriend, he watched absolutely enraptured as he appreciated just how much this meant to Ben. He understood now, why this meant to much.
It was proof. Proof that they worked, that they, despite their obvious incompatibility, were so fucking compatible. So right. So perfect. If a game algorithm allowed the two of them to get together, it proved they worked.
Callum’s eyes moved from the back of Ben’s head to the television, just as their characters’ lips touched.
After weeks of trying, lack of sleep and arguments. It was so worth it.
To see their love replicated on a programme based on code, based on yes or no branches, well that.... that was worth it.
Ben jumped up, shouting loudly in victory, dragging a silent Callum up to stand with him before he jumped, wrapping arms around Callum’s neck and legs around his waist.
“Callum, we- we work!”
“Course we do, Ben, course we do.”
They kissed in harmony to their characters on the screen, smiling against each others lips under the shine offered from the only lamp on in the room.
They were compatible. Not like they ever really needed more proof, it was all there, in the way their lips connected and the way the sparks flew every. single. time.
They were compatible.