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+----- Thread: The Night We Met | Bae (/showthread.php?tid=1261)
The Night We Met | Bae - Benji Laurence - 08-31-2026
The first night after classes was always a quiet one. The buzz had well worn-off from the excitement of everyone returning to school, the reality of rigorous coursework finally settling on the shoulders of all who attended Hogwarts. Naturally, it was always Benji's least favorite day of the school year, saddled with agendas and course outlines, and always homework from his mum without fail. Most professors preferred to wait a week before divvying out assignments.
Not Julia Barlowe. Class was in session and she wasn't wasting time.
This year, however, things felt a little different. It was his final year at Hogwarts. In the span of time that felt like a whirlwind, Benji had grown from a smart-mouthed street kid in oversized hand-me-down clothes, to a young man with an entire bright future ahead of him. A dynasty that laid in wait, a colorful career as an auror - and he supposed a boring ass barrister too - and a girl who made him feel things he'd never thought he was capable of.
Ruth Anaya Elliot was the brightest star in his sky.
They'd met in the corridor just outside these doors, all those years ago as little first years. She'd stepped on him while he'd army-crawled beneath the portraits, a brilliant start to a story Benji could have never foreseen in his wildest imagination.
Together, they'd been through a myriad of ups and downs, highs and lows. Things that tore them apart and ultimately brought them back together. Tears - plenty of them. Fights - innumerable. But the smiles, the laughs she could tear from the deepest parts of him, outweighed them all. With time, Rae had become more than his friend, more than his girlfriend. She'd become his rock, his conscience, his reason for wanting to succeed and do better than he'd ever imagined he could.
There had been a time when Benji was lost. When he'd thought himself content to settle in someone else's shadow and live off scraps for the illusion of family and love. Rae had chased that fog out, reminded him who he was, that he was great and meaningful in his own right and had an entire life that belonged to him. Benji knew a lot of who he was was because Rae had always challenged him to reach for better, to be a better version of himself.
A man that he could be proud of. A man that his mother and step-father could be proud of. A man that his uncle would feel confident handing his family over to one day.
A man that Rae would want to marry and share her life with.
The kitchens were dimmed, Toddles having ensured the other house elves vacated the premises early. Together, they'd set out a smorgasbord of all of Rae's favorite desserts. Cauldron cakes, exploding candy, cookies and of course, muffins. On every surface there were candles, illuminating the walls with golden flickers of light and all around the floor were dozens and dozens of flowers, all picked by Julia and Rosie who had been overjoyed to hear what he had in store.
He'd sent her a quick message, non-descript, to meet him in the kitchens for a late-night snack. His girlfriend never passed up on the opportunity for a treat, or for extra time with him, so there was very little worry that Benji would be left amongst his elaborate gesture alone.
As the door swung open, Toddles scampered out of view and hid himself in the pantry. Benji grinned as she wandered in, his hands in his pockets, looking every bit like the cat that had got the cream.
In many ways, he had.
RE: The Night We Met | Bae - Ruth Elliot - 09-01-2026
It was her final start of term.
A part of her had assumed that, being the last, she may have felt some form of sentimentality. It was true that when she'd first been forced onto the train, Rae hadn't held any form of affection for the school. She'd never heard about Hogwarts and hadn't had the best track record as a student. Hell, she'd started within the castle unable to read beyond a few basic words and desperate for the grimy alleys that had become home. Somewhere along the lines, she'd made friends. She'd attached herself to a boy she could no longer imagine life without. Her family had changed many times, expanding to include people who didn't share her blood. Through it all, she'd slowly learned to accept that she was no longer alone and that she was no longer the only person who cared about herself.
That should've counted for something, yeah?
Shouldn't she have revered the walls with a creeping nostalgia, knowing that the clock was winding down? Shouldn't the sight of her common room or even the hospital wing have been enough to have her clinging to her 'youth'?
She didn't know about all that.
In some ways, Hogwarts had become home, and when she finally left, there were some within the castle that she would inevitably miss, but...if she was being honest...most of her friends were already gone. She'd spent her younger years making older friends, then becoming heartbroken each time another left. Now she would be the one leaving, and while she wasn't sure she would be missed in the same capacity, Rae also found herself...at peace with the whole thing.
She was excited, too. A new chapter laid itself before her. The Collegium – so long as she maintained near-perfect scores for her NEWTs, her own place in Mayfair, and greater freedom to do as she pleased. It would be a little silly to say she wouldn't miss Hogwarts and the carefree days she carved out for herself, but there was also an itch inside her to see the other side and establish something even bigger.
Her only hang up?
The boy who'd asked her to meet him in the kitchens.
Benji would be off on a university adventure of his own. He'd be all the way across the country rather than up a flight of stairs and across a corridor or two. He'd meet people she'd never know about, find new friends...create new experiences. For so long, they'd done it together. It was strange to suddenly think that he wouldn't be there. She knew they had a whole year before that became the reality, but it still twisted knots inside her stomach every time she thought about it.
Rae tickled the pear, as she'd done so many times before, then let herself into the kitchen. This was where it all began, wasn't it?
Two hungry children with poor (non-existent) home training coming together to finesse the elves out of extra food when they should've been in bed. Benji had let her punch him that night without knowing much about her, and now they were betrothed. That sort of thing sounded like it should've been reserved for the fairytales. What were the odds?
The smells greeted her first, drawing her attention to the spread that immediately sent her eyes twinkling and her stomach rumbling. She was usually ravenous after her final shift in the hospital wing, but usually, she had to settle for a sandwich or some cookies. Tonight, she would have a feast.
Dark eyes searched immediately for Benji, finding him with the grin she'd never been able to resist. The girl drifted over, her own smile crinkling the corners of her eyes. "How did you know I was ready to break into the stables to roast one of their abraxans?"
A silly question. When was she never hungry?
Rae draped her arms around his neck, reaching up on her toes to give him a quick peck before turning to the food once more. "What's all this?" she asked, reaching automatically for one of the muffins as she leaned against the counter. Their anniversary wasn't until the end of October.
RE: The Night We Met | Bae - Benji Laurence - 09-02-2026
There was that sweet smile that illuminated the dark.
For all her craziness, for all the things that Ruth Anaya could be, for everything he knew other people thought she was, that smile could drown all of it out. He'd always been a sucker for it. The way her lips curled delicately upward, wrinkling her nose and causing that little sparkle behind her eyes had had Benji in a chokehold from the night he'd met her. He'd never get tired of seeing it, especially when it appeared for him.
She wandered closer, her arms draping around his neck as his own wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly against him.
"How did you know I was ready to break into the stables to roast one of their abraxans?"
"I'm psychic, didn't you know?" he teased, accepting her kiss and returning his own. "Can foretell the future. Talk to dead things. Time travel. All sorts of dumb shit." He let his arms drop when she reached around him for a muffin, letting her settle against the counter. Benji wasn't romantic by nature, and it was something he struggled to understand when Rae requested more from him. To him, love meant being present, being hers. He didn't always understand how big gestures or candles or an entire garden within the kitchens could be so important to a girl, when he told her every day what she meant to him.
But it wasn't about him or what he understood. Things like this meant something to Rae. She liked being courted and wooed, and swept off her feet. For the gremlin that she was, she liked delicate sweet things that made her feel the same. She liked her boyfriend to be sweet and cuddly and surprise her with little romantic things.
He'd pulled it off a time or two. Valentine's Day. Halloween. And he had to admit, it never failed to stir something within him to see how happy those gestures made her.
"What's all this?"
"I don't know," he said, almost resigned, but not quite, his eyes remaining on her as he took a step back, letting her enjoy her muffin. He leaned on the counter beside her, resting his elbow on the surface as he pretended to be in deep thought. "I was just thinking it's our last term, this is where we met, why not make a romantic scene of it all?"
His smile returned as he reached a hand out to brush a wayward curl from her face. "Can I ask you a question?" A simple one, really. Nothing to be concerned about.
RE: The Night We Met | Bae - Ruth Elliot - 09-04-2026
"I'm psychic, didn't you know? Can foretell the future. Talk to dead things. Time travel. All sorts of dumb shit."
Rae scoffed lightly, amusement sparkling inside her dark eyes. "You?" she bit into her muffin. "Don't think I've forgotten the way you slept through half your divination classes." Poor Ren was shouldering it all alone. Though she didn't suppose she would consider her friend to have suffered. His bizarre obsession with the divination professor aside, Ren really seemed to have enjoyed the obscure and often nonsensical topics covered in that attic, always going on about feelings and premonitions.
Thinking about it, Benji had never told her about his premonitions. She doubted he had those. The most her boyfriend could discern was a grumbling stomach, meaning he hadn't shovelled enough food into his mouth. Sometimes, he misread even that. Feeling a little peckish was often enough for him to insist he was a growing boy who needed more while she needed him for other things.
Suddenly, he was psychic.
She'd wait to see how long it would take for him to realise what she was currently thinking.
"I don't know."
...Huh.
A slow grin spread across her lips, her eyes taking a second sweep of the spread. He didn't know. No real reason then. "Benji Laurence, I do believe you've been shot by cupid." Benji wasn't the romantic sort, not by a long shot. He refused to help her make flower crowns and didn't see the need for half the fuss she made for the delicate and nonsensical things. More often, he would ruin a romantic moment by not realising what was required of him. That had been what the fight had been about two summers ago. All he'd had to do was tell her something sweet.
He chose war.
She'd given him war.
It wasn't to say he didn't have romantic inclinations. When the boy put his mind to it, he could be sweeter than a basket full of cauldron cakes. He just didn't like having it pointed out. The very night was in jeopardy just from her poking fun at him, but she couldn't help it. She was thrilled. The surprise moments of romance always managed to make the butterflies in her stomach flutter. Rae liked how it made her feel like she was the luckiest girl in the world. Not hardened. Not tough. Not needing to bulldose her way through anything, but handed softness she was allowed to keep without first considering the cost. It was freeing in a way she'd had to learn to allow herself to enjoy.
"But you know me; you didn't have to stuff me like a turkey to get me going," she said, harkening back to the feast she'd spread him and the cheeky response he'd given.
"I was just thinking it's our last term, this is where we met, why not make a romantic scene of it all?"
Rae reached a hand out to cup his cheek, admiring her unexpectedly sweet boy. It was where they'd met and what a ride they'd been on since. "You're going soft on me. I kinda like it."
She lowered it as his rose to train her curl back into place.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Rae cocked her head to the side, the muffin hovering by her lips. "Since when have you needed permission to ask me things?"
RE: The Night We Met | Bae - Benji Laurence - 09-04-2026
"You're going soft on me. I kinda like it."
His smile softened, his lips parting to answer, but Benji was suddenly taken by an uncharacteristic nervousness. A small scoff through his nose as he dropped his eyes to the floor for a moment, her gentle touch reaching deep beyond his skin and into his chest. His heart thudded, rising from a soft consistent beat to something much more irregular and unwelcome. He liked having all of his faculties. He liked being sure of himself.
Rae had the unique ability to take both of those aspects away, and not only have him not complain about it, but be happy about it.
She'd said he'd been shot by cupid. It was a nice sentiment, for two kids that had chaotically orbited each other for six years, much to the chagrin of nearly everyone they'd ever known. His 'friends' had disliked her, and questioned him about his friendship with her countless times. Her friends had done the same, thinking Benji was a no-good prick who cared about no one but himself.
She always saw through it. She always saw his heart. She always believed in him. He hadn't been shot by cupid, but captured by the girl - nearly woman - who had always been the one person to accept and love him exactly how he was.
Didn't she deserve more than him? Benji thought she deserved the world. She deserved a man who could do things for her like this every single day, without complaint. She deserved a man who would lay with her for hours in silence and cuddle her the way she wanted to be. She deserved the entire world, all its riches, every good thing it had to offer a girl who for so long had been beaten down by it and told she was worth nothing.
She was worth absolutely everything to him. And if he was the man she was choosing, then he would try every day to be exactly what she deserved.
"Since when have you needed permission to ask me things?"
"Well," Benji said, fishing into his pocket, his elbow still on the counter in that lazy lean. "You see, I have this ring..."
Between his thumb and index finger, he held it up so she could see it glittering off the candlelight. A thin platinum band with a soft pink round diamond at the center. On either side was a leaf-shaped emerald. A flower, for the girl who loved them so much.
"And in the spirit of romance..."
Benji pushed himself off the counter, taking her small hand in his larger. A genuine smile, not cheeky or boyish, but something far more loving crossed his lips, traveling all the way up to his eyes. There, in the kitchens, were two little first years had wailed crocodile tears in search of treats, Benji sank to one knee.
"I always wanted this to be for us." His eyes misted, overcome by the moment in a way he hadn't expected. "I always knew when I asked you, I wanted it to be just you and me. On our terms, no one else's."
He looked up at her, struggling for the words, but knowing exactly what he wanted to say even as the lump in his throat grew. "I want you to know that even if I had nothing, even if we didn't have this enormous life in front of us, and we were meant to be drifters - I would have still chosen you. I would have stolen every last galleon I needed to to make sure this ring was yours."
He swallowed hard, his heart hammering now in his ears. "I promise if you'll have me, I'll make you the happiest woman on this earth. I'll be the man who chooses you every single day, even when you drive me fucking mental." He laughed, his thumb brushing nervously across her hand. "I'll bring you flowers and hold you when you need holding. I'll fight with you when you're wrong, and probably when you're right. I'll share all my meals with you and steal all your desserts." His smile spread wider, but his tone grew softer.
"I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you never have to wonder if someone wants you. If someone loves you. You'll always know exactly where you belong. You'll always know you're worth more than all the gold this world has to offer us." He blinked hard against the moisture building in his eyes. "You've been my best friend since we were kids, and I guess this is me asking you if you'll be my best friend the rest of our lives."
Another deep breath. For a boy who had never been about grand gestures, he had to give himself credit. He was doing pretty fucking good.
"Ruth Anaya Elliot."
Because it was her name, until she wanted to take his.
"Will you make me the craziest-driven man on Earth and marry me?"
RE: The Night We Met | Bae - Ruth Elliot - 09-05-2026
He was growing curiouser and curiouser.
Rae watched Benji, trying to pick him apart in the absence of words. Whether he'd have liked it or not, she could tell that there was something on his mind. As much as she'd like to think that he really meant it and that there was nothing behind this lavish display of sugar, she knew him much too well for that. Her boyfriend did want something. In a past life, that would've been enough to put her on edge. The girl had never liked owing anyone anything, always quick to refuse unless she could determine that the thing requested of her wouldn't require more than she was willing to give. In a past life, while every instinct she'd learned from the street still dictated the bulk of her thinking, Rae may have handed the muffin back, threatened to throw up what she'd already eaten, and then asked him to cut to the chase.
How things had changed. How she had changed. The Slytherin didn't find herself growing anxious by the obvious little tells. She wasn't impatient for him to spit out whatever it was he clearly held in.
But she was curious, and if Benji decided to take much longer, she might decide to poke a bit. For now, she was in no rush. It had been a long first day back at school officially. Getting back into the swing of classes, getting signed up for all her extracurriculars, and checking in with the nurse over in the hospital wing. With the day long since ended, Rae was content to lean against the counter, watching him debate with himself whatever held him captive.
He was cute when he was a bit ruffled.
"Well. You see, I have this ring..."
Another one? Hadn't she been clear enough that she wouldn't wear the first? Merlin knew where it was now, tucked in the bottom corner of her trunk, perhaps or otherwise at Bilie's – had she left it back in New York? It was doubtful. Her father would've had it mailed to her the moment someone stumbled onto it. Wherever it was, there was no need for him to give her another. She'd simply lose it, too.
"Cute," came her borderline indifferent reply. Objectively, it was. The flower design made it all the nicer. But, on principle, she wouldn't be having it. If that was what this was all about, then he'd wasted his time.
"And in the spirit of romance..."
Her amusement remained as he eased away from the counter, the girl willing to let him go through with whatever nonsense had sparked this, but it all vanished the moment Benji got down on one knee. Rae straightened a little, suddenly less sure she knew where this was going. Even then, she didn't dare hope, not when she felt it was already too late.
She couldn't say when it'd happened, but somewhere along the lines, the girl had begun to imagine an engagement and marriage to her insufferable Hufflepuff. Rae knew he wasn't the most romantic, but she always imagined it would be magical, that it would make her heart flutter and leave her feeling like she was floating. Her father and his uncle had done everything they could to strip her of that dream. They'd compelled Benji to propose, removing her ability to know whether he'd ever have done it on his own because he genuinely sought a future with her. They'd dragged them before scores of people she didn't care about and made a spectacle of them, violating her ambitions from every angle until she couldn't honestly say she was looking forward to any sort of marriage.
But Benji...
"I always wanted this to be for us. I always knew when I asked you, I wanted it to be just you and me. On our terms, no one else's."
Her expression softened when it became clear that he was...this really would be...
"I want you to know that even if I had nothing, even if we didn't have this enormous life in front of us, and we were meant to be drifters - I would have still chosen you. I would have stolen every last galleon I needed to to make sure this ring was yours."
Her mouth fell open slightly, though no words materialised. She was in awe of the boy who'd watched her be stripped of something she'd cared so deeply about and had taken it upon himself, there where everything first began, to hand it back to her.
"I promise if you'll have me, I'll make you the happiest woman on this earth. I'll be the man who chooses you every single day, even when you drive me fucking mental. I'll bring you flowers and hold you when you need holding. I'll fight with you when you're wrong and probably when you're right. I'll share all my meals with you and steal all your desserts. I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you never have to wonder if someone wants you. If someone loves you. You'll always know exactly where you belong. You'll always know you're worth more than all the gold this world has to offer us. You've been my best friend since we were kids, and I guess this is me asking you if you'll be my best friend the rest of our lives."
Tears prickled in her eyes, though by some miracle none fell.
Listening to him say those words cracked open something inside her that she could never have imagined. It was, in some ways, how she'd always hoped it would be. Intimate. Romantic. So full of love that her insides felt like they were melting. Yet, as she stood there, trying not to cry, she freely admitted she could never have seen it coming. Her heart was...unexpectedly full, until she felt like she might burst if she didn't force herself into some form of motion. The magic had returned. She no longer felt robbed, but...whole.
It was better than anything else Benji could've given her.
"Ruth Anaya Elliot."
She had to force herself to swallow the lump in her throat, bracing for what she knew came next.
"Will you make me the craziest-driven man on Earth and marry me?"
Rae nodded immediately. The half-eaten muffin was immediately discarded as the girl threw herself at him. "
Yes! Yes!" She nearly toppled them both, but it didn't matter to her. Rae flung her arms around Benji's neck, peppering kisses all over his face. "Yes, forever." She pulled back, cupping his face in her hands before pulling his lips to hers. There weren't enough yeses in the world to express how full and entirely she wanted him, but perhaps the kisses might help.
RE: The Night We Met | Bae - Benji Laurence - 09-07-2026
Had there ever been anything more beautiful than the happy tears that shimmered in dark mahogany eyes? Benji didn't think so.
He'd seen Ruth Elliot in nearly every way imaginable. Angry, devastated, joyful, exuberant, excited, exasperated. He'd seen the deepest parts of love and the shallowest of her pettiness. He'd been witness to parts of her that so few, if any others were. The softness of her skin. The compassion that she saved for few. The gentleness of hands that reached to help. The resignation that resided in her voice when things felt impossible.
Seeing the multifaceted sides of his girlfriend was a privilege offered to few, and yet Benji, for some reason, had been chosen as one of them. Despite the many ways he'd hurt her. Despite the anger he often roused in her. Despite how many times she'd tried to break up with him, and how many times he hadn't let her.
Watching the tears linger behind soft eyelashes did something to him, that he didn't know how to put into words. His prettiest girl. His sweetest girl. His craziest girl. All of them existed in one little firecracker he would one day call his wife.
How could he not feel like the luckiest bloke on Earth?
"Yes! Yes!"
He would have yelled. He would have laughed and leapt to his feet to swirl her around the kitchen, but her lips were already on him as he nearly tumbled backwards at the force of her hug.
Yes.
The word had never sounded sweeter.
Benji knew that their original engagement hadn't been what Rae wanted, or what she deserved. His uncle and her father had robbed them of a moment that was meant to be just for them, on their terms, and intimate. They were meant to enjoy the moment for themselves and tell everyone else after. Instead, everyone had been informed and the whole ordeal turned into merely a formality.
It wasn't how he wanted his life with Rae to begin. One day, when his son asked him how he'd proposed to his mother, Benji wanted to be able to give a grand story of romance and love. He didn't want it simplified down to contracts, agreements and handshakes. His son deserved to know that his mother was loved, cherished and chosen. What kid wanted to know that the only reason he existed was because of business deals?
"Yes, forever."
Forever. That was the point of it all, wasn't it? Benji never wanted to be without her. He couldn't imagine a life without her smiles and the way she made his heart feel things it otherwise never would have. He couldn't imagine raising children that didn't have her sparkling eyes, or her fiery spirit. He couldn't imagine navigating the enormity of the world that awaited him, without her ability to ground him and remind him where he actually came from.
He hoped she felt the same.
"I love you," he muttered against her lips as she kissed him again. They weren't words the two exchanged often, settling for the quiet knowing, but she deserved to hear them. He stood, taking her with him, before he slipped the ring - her actual engagement ring - on her finger. "You'll wear this one, yeah?" He grinned, finally letting a bit of cheek into the atmosphere again. "Now that you're actually my fiancée, wouldn't want anyone getting it twisted."
Not that they would. Anyone that mistook either Benji or Rae for available, were in for a harsh reminder. The two had never been subtle about their possessiveness, but maybe one little piece of jewelry would finally cut others off at the pass.
RE: The Night We Met | Bae - Ruth Elliot - 09-08-2026
"I love you."
Three words. A sentiment she already knew. How different they sounded now. It wasn't a secret to anyone with eyes that she and Benji had always had a ...fiery relationship. They were a tempest that occasionally subsided before picking up speed again, for better or worse. Most likely thought it was tiresome or not worth the volatility. The pair had learned to find peace in the storm. That wasn't to say that chaos was all they had. There was sweetness; there were tender moments. Benji was the first person to make her feel seen and not disdained. He'd looked into the eyes of all her demons, took her by the hand and decided he wouldn't leave her to face them alone. Those all mattered. In fact, they were the things that made weathering the storm feel almost effortless.
Did he annoy her? Could he sometimes hurt her feelings by the simple act of being himself? Of course. Did she sometimes frustrate him beyond reason and go out of her way to provoke him into whatever feelings she harboured? That went without saying.
Those things were...them. They'd never been, nor had they ever needed to be the couple that constantly spouted words of love and affirmation. Neither believed the connection was so fragile that it wouldn't stand without such props.
Yet hearing it now, it did something indescribable to her. Rae knew that Benji loved her. Even in the midst of their nastiest fights, it had never been the question on the table. In the same way, she knew that he didn't doubt it either – no matter the mood he happened to find her in. Knowing a thing and feeling it overwhelm you in a moment were two different things. It was hard to find the words that might adequately explain the liquid warmth that bubbled beneath her skin, but if she were forced to try, she might say that she felt...so...unconditionally and irrevocably...loved.
Looking into those hazel fields, she saw a future, her future – their future. She saw long nights, busy days, curly-haired children with expressive hazel eyes and Cheshire grins that said they were up to no good. Somewhere in the periphery, she saw the dynasties they were inheriting and the expectations that would inevitably come with them, but for the first time... she wasn't discouraged. Rae wasn't looking at shackles but at the boy she was so insanely crazy about that she was willing to endure.
"I love you, too," she managed, her voice cracking with emotion. The girl couldn't remember the last time she was so overcome with feelings she had no control of – feelings not connected to her temper, of course.
She kissed him again before allowing him to help her to her feet. It was funny; she'd been fine before entering the kitchen and fine while leaning against the counter. Now? Her limbs felt too light, as if they belonged to someone else. Rae was floating far above the clouds, giddier than she knew what to do with.
"You'll wear this one, yeah?"
She almost hadn't heard him. Rae was transfixed by the ring that had slid onto her slender finger. It felt so different from the other he'd been obligated to slip into place. Her body didn't radiate with raw anger. It hummed gently, content and basking in the love that poured out of him. Looking up, she ran right into his grin. It pulled one out of her, too, her lips stretching wide.
'I'll never take it off."
"Now that you're actually my fiancée, wouldn't want anyone getting it twisted."
She laughed genuinely before leaning in to be close. "Hard to miss a ring that's being shoved right into your face. No one's going to be confused."
Ruth Anaya was prepared to be obnoxious. Well, more obnoxious than usual.
Rae buried her face in his chest, inhaling the familiar scent of fresh grass and licorice. "Thank you," she said softly. Benji knew what it had meant to her, and he'd done the only thing she'd wanted. It was worth gratitude, the real kind.
RE: The Night We Met | Bae - Benji Laurence - 09-08-2026
"I love you, too."
He knew that. There had been times when Benji had the thought that maybe Rae loved him a little too much. He'd never been the type of bloke that wanted to be tied down, or had his attentions solely belonging to one girl. He'd always thought himself to be a bit of playboy. A bachelor with a girlfriend in every city, bouncing from one to the next with boyish grins and empty promises to 'be back soon'.
Instead, he had this. A beautiful girl with a heart full of love to give him. Someone who saw all of his potential and all of his failures and still chose him. Someone who had known him as the street kid from Hackney and helped project him into the future leader of one of the most powerful magical families in England. The alternative felt so...empty. So lacking in warmth and genuine companionship. A life of loneliness, of fleeting rushes and gratification.
All gone cold the next morning.
It wasn't a concern. Rae was going to be his wife, the mother of his perfect, rowdy, infallible children. His beautiful duchess. The boy couldn't have felt any luckier if he'd been declared king of England.
"I'll never take it off."
"Better not," he teased, pulling on one of her curls gently to watch it spring back into place. He accepted her kisses, offering more of his own in return. "I'll hunt you down and shove it right back on." He would. Rae knew he would. There was a reason the bracelet he'd given her was charmed to....not come off.
"Hard to miss a ring that's being shoved right into your face. No one's going to be confused. Thank you."
He smiled, tucking her in against his chest and resting his chin on her head. Thank him? For what? Benji knew he was the winner in all of this. His girl could have practically any man she wanted wrapped around her little finger, and she had chosen Benji to torture for the rest of her life.
He kissed the top of her head. "Well, if we're handing out gratitudes," he mused, his hands squeezing her a little tighter, "I can think of a few better methods." At that, a snap came from the pantry, signaling Toddles had made himself scarce, and Benji pulled his wand from his pocket, warding the kitchen from any intruders.