Ben saw Eileen sitting on the porch steps, her head resting on her knees. As the car approached, she stood, eyes filled with concern and searching for him.
Ben felt that look sear through his soul. His Mate was worried about him.
As soon as the car stopped she was at his door, "Are you okay? Is Kurt okay? Do I need to call a healer? An ambulance?"
"Nah," Widower Vale said from the front seat, turning to look at her, "the idiot'll heal up. In a way, it was lucky he was so drunk. His body didn't suffer the impact as greatly as it would have if he'd been sober. 'Course he probably wouldn't have challenged Alpha if he'd been sober in the first place...Claire, are you okay?"
"He meant me, didn't he?" she whispered.
"Yeah, Ma, he meant you," Ben agreed, watching her movements, her expressions. "You're his home."
A look of determination flashed across her face, and then she turned to Eileen, "I'm taking him to our room."
Eileen nodded, "I'll stay in my room again. I can crawl up the lattice without waking anybody."
"Not going to ask how you know that," Clair said with a smirk; Eileen blushed.
"Or she could stay in my bed," Ben suggested hopefully. He needed his Mate to comfort him, even if it was just for a few minutes, so he didn't fall apart. "I still have that air mattress. I can set it up in the hallway or something if you want. Or the kitchen."
His mother suddenly looked much older than middle aged, and Ben regretted pushing.
"Can I at least walk her home?" he asked, longing and vulnerability in his voice, his face.
To his surprise, his mother's face softened, "You really are in love with her, aren't you, Benji?"
He nodded, but he turned his gaze to Eileen, "I always have been."
Eileen's eyes sparkled with emotion, her face so full of tenderness it made his breath catch.
"And you, Eileen?" his mom demanded. "How do you feel about my son?"
"I love him, Clair," she said, meeting the other woman's eyes.
"He's young," Clair pointed out.
"He's worth waiting for," Eileen said with a shy smile. "And he's already a wonderful man."
"Eileen wants to wait for marriage, Ma," Ben said, wanting his mother to know that she'd been wrong about her.
"I know. She and I talked about it earlier this week. You're welcome to go home, Eileen," Clair said slowly, "or... he does have that air mattress he can use."
Ben's eyes jerked to his mother's face, "What?"
"If she stays, you use the mattress. Let her have the bed. Now, let's get your father out of the car."
Widower Vale chuckled at Ben's astounded look and moved to help as well. Between him and Ben, they were able to get the unconscious man out of the car and up the stairs, leaving Clair to open the doors ahead of them and Eileen to shut them after.
"Do I need to bed down elsewhere tonight, Clairy?" Widower Vale asked, wiping his forehead as they stared down at the passed out figure on her bed.
"Why would you? Eileen's staying in Ben's room, so the couch is still open."
He raised a brow, "And where will you sleep?"
Determination filled her eyes, "With my husband. I didn't fight for him before, but I will now."
"That's my girl. Holler at me if you need anything, okay, kiddo?"
"Yes, sir," she agreed, stalking out of the room and towards the shared bathroom. As Ben and Eileen watched, she grabbed a cleaning bucket, washed it out well, filled it with lukewarm water, and grabbed a couple of washrags.
"Do you need me to do anything, Ma?" Ben wondered, almost afraid to break her concentration.
She shook her head, "Nope. I'm good, Benji. You two go to bed. I'll take care of your father."
With that she returned to her room and shut the door and Widower Vale hobbled down the stairs, leaving Ben looking at Eileen questioningly.
"What do you want me to do, Benji?" she asked, searching his face.
He grinned, "What kind of male wouldn't want his female in his bed...even if he can't join her."
"Well then, lead me to your bed, Mr. Cougar."
"Right this way, Ms. Grau."
He couldn't wait until he could call her Mrs. Cougar, couldn't wait until he could lead her to their bed. But she was worth waiting for too.
***
Training at the Academy changed in the spring. In the mornings the whole group met together for a few hours of rigorous training. In the afternoon, those that had graduated were led on expeditions to hunt dark creatures, giving them real-life field experience. Those that were not graduated, including Ben and Archie, focused instead on their academics.
As time went on and Ben counted down the days to spring break, Stew became his favorite person to see.
One Thursday evening, Stew knocked on the door, mail bag in his hands. Ben immediately rushed to the door, followed more slowly by Archie and Jessup.
"Five for Cougar," the man said, handing Ben his envelopes.
"Three for Cook," he said, handing the envelopes to Archie.
"One for Carroll," Jessup eagerly took the letter.
"And one for Cassel."
They saw P.A. freeze. Uncertainly he said, "Me?"
"Peter Cassel?" the guard repeated. "That you?"
They watched P.A. take the letter and turn it over to look at the return address. The breath hissed out of him, and his hands trembled.
"Who's H.o.T?" Archie wondered.
P.A. shook his head, rushing to his bed to read the letter. They all followed, watching, reading over his shoulder when they could.
"Who is it from, P.A.?" Jessup prompted.
"A friend," he said dismissively, but his actions were anything but dismissive.
"What kind of friend?" Ben pressed with a knowing grin.
"A friend I screwed up with. I thought she hated me, but...she wants to see me again."
The smile he gave them was brilliant, and they all smiled back at his joy until Archie's gaze settled on the letter.
It was in his hands in the next second, "Wait, I know this handwriting. This is--this is Helen's handwriting!"
Ben and Jessup froze, glancing back and forth between Archie and P.A.
"Why is my sister sending you letters, P.A.?" Archie demanded, shaking the letter in front of his face.
P.A. grabbed it, folded it carefully, and to their surprise, reverently placed it in his pillow. "She's my friend, Archie."
"Wait... was she the 'old friend' you've been seeing off and on since last year?!"
P.A.'s face paled but he nodded.
Jessup grabbed Archie before he finished swinging his fist. Ben got ready to block P.A., but P.A. just stood there.
His eyes were full of remorse when he looked at the angry Archie squirming to get out of Jessup's grasp. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't think you'd understand--"
"That you're trying to fuck my sister? That's low, man! She's a good girl!"
"I know," P.A. groaned. "That's why we're friends. Just friends, Arch."
Archie stopped struggling. "What?"
P.A. ran a shaky hand through his hair, "She's too good for me, Arch, I know that. She deserves somebody extra special, but I couldn't keep myself away from her. She offered friendship, and I took it. Then I pissed her off, and she quit being my friend, and..."
"What. Did. You. Do."
The words were cold, threatening. None of them had ever heard Archie sound that way.
"I made a move on her," P.A. admitted, looking down, ashamed. "She kicked me out."
"Good!"
P.A. seemed to deflate a bit, and Archie continued, "I don't want you messing with my sister. She's not a one-night-stand kind of girl."
"I know," P.A. whispered.
"You need to leave her alone. Don't write her back, don't talk to her, don't see her, don't even think about her!"
Jessup opened his mouth to say something, but P.A. cut him off.
"I can't do that, Arch. If she wants to see me, I'll see her."
"What the fuck, P.A.?!"
"I-I think I'm in love with her."
"In love?" Archie scoffed. "The guy that's balls deep in a new girl every weekend is in love? Really? Cougar!"
"Yeah?" Ben said hesitantly.
"Could you fuck somebody else?"
"No." Ben's answer was immediate.
"Jessup? Could you?"
"No," he admitted more slowly, hesitant to take sides.
Archie turned to glare at P.A., "You're not in love with my sister if you can--"
"I haven't been, Arch," P.A. said, and he sounded tired.
"What do you mean? I've been with you, watching you, and--"
"And I've been faking everything for the past year, okay?" P.A. bit back. "I've been walking girls to their cars and leaving. Happy?"
Archie gaped at him. Then he started laughing.
"What?!" P.A. demanded.
"I-I did that too," Archie admitted, "when I first started courting Melody. When I was talking to those groups of girls?"
P.A.'s mouth gaped, "You little faker!"
Jessup let go of Archie, he and Ben simply watching the exchange again.
"Are you serious about my sister?" Archie finally asked.
P.A. looked down, "Not that it matters, but yeah."
"Not that it matters!" Archie parroted indignantly.
"She doesn't want me, Arch."
Archie snorted.
"What?" P.A. demanded, eyes heated.
"She dotted her eyes with smiley faces, P.A. She only does that when she has a crush on somebody."
P.A.'s eyes widened, "Wait...so...she might like me too?"
"No might to it, which means if you're going to start seeing her, I'm going to be your chaperone."
"Hey-hey, wait a minute," P.A. said quickly. "We're both of age!"
"That's my sister, man," Archie shot back. "And until I know you're serious and somebody's actually told her stuff she needs to know, stuff you had to tell me, I'm not letting you two be alone."
P.A. considered for a second before nodding, "Okay."
Archie eyed him carefully, "Okay?"
"Yeah. If that's what it takes to be able to spend time with her, then okay."
A teasing smile flitted across Archie's mouth. "You actually like her."
"You have no idea, dude. There's not another girl like her anywhere--and you know I've looked."
The tension in the room evaporated as the two of them laughed.
***
The end of Ben's first year of the Academy was bittersweet. It was great to have the first year under his belt, but it also meant that Jessup would no longer be with him.
"Cougar, if you start crying, I swear I'll tell Archie you need a hug," Jessup teased, rubbing his head affectionately.
Ben laughed, the sadness easing as the guys continued cleaning out their bunks and dressers.
"Please tell me those aren't the same ones from the beginning of the year," P.A. said, a half-gag in his throat when Ben took too long to put Eileen's bagged underwear into his Ferocious Felines bag.
Ben laughed, "No way. These are fresh, and I returned the other pair a long time ago."
"Lucky bastard," P.A. grinned, but quickly schooled his features when Archie walked in with Helen.
"Who's lucky?" Helen wondered, arm in arm with her brother.
"Cougar. His fiancé's going to be here soon," Jessup said smoothly.
P.A. gave him a grateful look.
"I'd love to meet her," Helen said with a smile. "When you guys all turn eighteen, let's go out together some, okay?"
"Cougar's the only one not eighteen yet," Jessup said, throwing his bag across his shoulder.
"I will be in August," Ben informed them. "So, yeah, let's plan on all going out together. Maybe some of my buddies from home can join too."
"Awesome!" Helen beamed. She turned to P.A., her face turning shy, "Have you thought about my offer?"
P.A. glanced at Archie before looking at her, "Did you ask him?"
"Of course she did," Archie grinned. "It's not like you could keep it a secret since I'm staying with her this summer too."
"And?" P.A. wondered, looking between the two of them.
"And you sleep with me," Archie said decisively, "since there's only one guest bedroom. Unless you want the couch."
Eileen and Widow O'Hara knocked on the door before he could respond.
Helen bounced over to them, "Hi! I'm Helen! I'm Archie's sister and P.A.'s--"
Her smile faltered, and the two most important men in her life walked up behind her, each wrapping an arm around her back.
"Girlfriend," P.A. filled in. He dropped a kiss to her cheek, "Why are you weird about saying that?"
"I've never had a boyfriend before, remember?"
"Hello, dear," Widow O'Hara smiled, "I'm Louisa. I'm Eileen's Guardian and Jessup's fiancé."
"I'm Eileen, Ben's fiancé," Eileen held out her hand, and Helen shook it, her eyes widening as she sniffed, "You smell... Wait, you're a Vampire!"
The room stilled, waiting--
"That's so cool! Do you have fangs?!"
A sigh of relief shuddered through the building, and Eileen lifted the side of her lip to show a slightly distended canine.
"That's all?" Helen asked, disappointment thick in her voice.
With a wicked grin, Ben stepped behind Eileen and wrapped his arms around her, leaning low to drop sucking kisses onto her neck.
"Ben!" She gasped, fangs lengthening as he nuzzled her collar bone.
"Cool," Helen and Archie both whispered.
Jessup and P.A. gave Ben a thumbs up when nobody was looking, and Mrs. O'Hara laughed.
Another knock sounded on the door. A second later Coach Hail pushed open the door, "We're starting graduation soon, cadets. Carroll, it's time to leave your mark."
They followed Coach Hail outside, watching as he handed Jessup a spray can.
Gulping, Jessup turned to the building and started working. In the end, his mark was a large C encasing a heart with the letters L+J.
He handed the can back to Coach Hail, and the man surprised them all by pulling Jessup into a quick hug. "You've been an over-analytical pain in my ass for the past five years. I'm going to miss you, cadet."
"Thank you, sir," Jessup whispered, voice filled with emotion.
Coach Hail stepped back, slapped him on the shoulder, and turned with precision on his heel before marching towards the makeshift graduation stage that had been set up on the practice field.
***
"Keep in touch with these guys," Helen demanded as Jessup, Ben, Louisa, and Eileen climbed into Eileen's car. "They won't say it, but they're going to miss you. Did Archie give you guys our number?"
"Right here," Ben said, patting his pocket in acknowledgement.
P.A. stared down at Jessup miserably, and Eileen eventually sighed, "I can feel your sadness, P.A. Just tell him."
P.A. reached into the car and wrapped Jessup in a tight hug, "You're like another brother to me, man. Please don't let this be the end."
Jessup tensed before relaxing into the hug, tears threatening his eyes as he nodded, "You've got it."
And then it was time to go. Eileen's crew drove away, waving, while Helen and her guys started walking their stuff to her apartment.