The story of us ˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ Ben Gross

More alike than they thought

"Ben, it's so good to have you in my home," Devi says sarcastically taking a bite "a place i usually consider a safe haven from my nemeses" Ben rolls his eyes

Lorelai really doesn't want to laugh but Devi that keeps teasing Ben is hilarious
"Devi" her mother scolds her "you promised you'd be polite."

"I said it was good to have him in our home." the girl remarked
"If you want to stay in the family cell phone plan, you're going to have to be better behaved than that." Nalini warns her while looking quite intimidating. Devi's mom is really a great one, Rory always admired how she cares about her daughter even if she could seem somehow very strict, everything she does is Devi's sake.

Ben looks around the table, observing everyone diving into their meal before eating he too.

"Nalini, this looks and tastes delicious" Lorelai affirms taking a glass of water "a bit spicy but good" she chuckles softly

"Thank you very much, Lorelai. Anyway, how is your mom? I haven't seen her in a while"
Rory's eyes dulls immediately "Oh well, uhm she's good" she nods "actually we don't talk so much these days she's...busy"

"Oh i get it" Nalini offers her a compassionate smile "tell her i said hello"

"Sure." Rory forces a smile. Ben's eyes fall on the girl's strange expression, she seems...weird?

"Now, guys why don't you tell us what you learned today at school"
Rory almost choked, she doesn't even remember what class she had today

"Fine" Devi says "I learned that the tangent of theta is dual to the sine of theta divided by the cosine of theta. Happy?"

"Extremely" Nalini replies

"Oh i'm improving my chinese with extra lessons that help me" Ben adds after swallowing a bite, pretending his throat isn't on fire

"That's impressive, Ben! Good for you"

"Today i learned that if you forget your wallet at the grocery store, the cashier will pay for your item personally" Kamala continues "and even give you his phone number to make sure you get home okay"

Ben gives her a confused look, the one that never fails to make Rory laugh.

"And you Rory, what did you learn?" the older woman asks her

Taylor: "Shit"

"Yeah, i learned about- uh"

Ben notices so he tries to help her. How nice "War. Politics" looks like read my lips game

"Mh" Lorelai nods towards him and then looks back at Nalini "yeah we talked about the end of the Second World War and kinda how that affected the world"

"Oh that's really important"
Now Rory can take a sigh of relief

"You know" Devi's mom chuckles slightly "when i was in school, my only extracurricular activity was bathing my senile grandmother. She fight me every time."

"Thank you." Lorelai whispers to him when no one is watching her anymore. Ben's lips curled in a smile watching Rory's eyes sparkling from across the table.

If she was in her normal state of mind, she would have been upset at Ben, the genius, Gross because he knows she doesn't remember anything. And probably thought he was gonna tease her, but he didn't.
And, frankly, with everything that happened today she's kinda glad to be with more people around her, even if one of them is Ben.

The boy couldn't remember the last dinner he'd had. Probably may 2018 when his dad's flight to the Billboard Music Awards got cancelled. And even though his family dinner featured humiliation, bickering threats, food was way too spicy it was still a family dinner. And that was pretty cool.

At the end of the dinner, Lorelai and Ben helped Devi to wash the dishes and Devi was much less angry with the poor boy.

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷

"Ben, can i ask you something" Lorelai asks him, leaving Devi's home and stopping in the driveway

"Yeah sure"

"Are you okay?" she glances up meeting his now softened blue eyes "I mean- i heard that you cried in Nalini's office today"

"Oh it wasn't a big deal. I was...kinda feeling bummed" Ben explains

"Why is that?"
"I don't know." he sighs "I guess sometimes i feel like and NBA player, but...no matter how many points i score, my dad always ignores me"

Taylor: "Does it remind you of anyone, Rory?"

Lorelai's mouth slightly ajar not knowing what to say, she's never been good with words, neither her mother is.
Ben can swear he saw a hint of sadness mixed with empathy passing in the girl's eyes
"Lor it's not a-"

Stepping forward, she calmly and slowly wraps her arms around Ben's neck.
He stops being taken unawares by Lorelai's arms and his body tenses up. Soon, the shivers caused from the evening wind are replaced by...he actually doesn't know. It's a weird feeling in his chest. The only way Ben can describe it is weird, like his chest is warmer.

"Are you okay?" the boy whispers still finally letting his hands rest on Lorelai's waist.
"Totally"

"Are you sure? You're not usually like this"
"Yeah, i am" Lorelai nods repeatedly, detaching from the embrace "Just because i showed a little bit of affection. Sorry, uh i don't know what came over me"
"So i think we're friends now"
"God, don't say that" she chuckles "Goodnight, Ben"
"Uh and thank you anyway for...before" Ben adds before turning and leaving

Taylor: "They really needed that hug."