By Chance: Fate Finds You

Nine --{-@

Bin had left his number and, wisely, put the ball in her court.

Well, s**t.

Just when Ari thought tonight was going to have to suck. Maybe some Bin was just what she needed to relieve her tension, eh? And piss her mom off, to boot? She looked at her phone for a solid minute before deciding to go for it.

she typed.

She balked again before squinching her eyes shut and hitting send.

The response was almost immediate,

Had he been waiting for her to text him? She bounced up and down on her bed like a kid.

Ari clenched her thighs together at the thought.

she bit her lip as she sent it, then instantly regretted it.

Was she really gonna do the Booty Call Playbook?

Again, the text came back fast,

Ari practically threw her phone across the bed, as though it would burn her, squealing and kicking her legs like a high schooler. She hopped up with a start. She panicked, thinking about fixing her makeup and hair and changing her clothes.

But, like, then what?

She plopped back down. If she was going to make this kid into a frequent flyer, he was going to have to see her underlying shitshow eventually. She opted for another route. She washed her face and put on a moisture pack mask. She left on her pajama bottoms, but switched out the oversized shirt for a tiny black tank top. She took of her mask, and just finished rinsing and drying her face as she heard a knock on the door. Tossing the damp towel into the laundry hamper, she fussed with her hair and got it off of her face before opening the door to find Bin standing there with two white paper bags in his hands and a huge smile on his face.

Oh s**t.

He was wearing boyfriend material.

Bin was dressed in a plain white t-shirt, under a half-unzipped grey hoodie. His matching sweats were baggy, but not saggy, and his shoes were simple running shoes that looked like they had seen some action. Ari's heart bumped hard in her chest a few times as she stepped to the side to let him in. She took a quick peak at the back as he walked past her.

It was as nice as the front.

Bin walked to the kitchen and put the bags on the counter, turning to Ari as she followed behind.

"I didn't want to them to get soggy on the ride over. Some assembly required," he said, gesturing to the bags, "Sorry I didn't grab utensils or anything. Came straight from the gym when you messaged."

Ari slanted her head, thinking about the implications of that. A guy who snapped to, just because she called? Not bad, kid. 10 points to Gryffindor. She watched Bin as he casually walked over to take off his hoodie and sling it over the chair that went with the little dining table in the breakfast nook. He seemed confident, laid back, but not rude or overbearing.

Also, arms. Whoosh.

She almost dropped the plates she had gotten from the cupboard as Bin walked back past her to come around to her side of the counter. His shirt was worn, but still well-fitted. The ends of the short sleeves were having a bit of a struggle over his biceps, and now Ari was as well. Bin didn't seem to notice as he went to the sink to wash his hands, giving her time to recover and set the plates down properly before getting spoons and forks from the drawer in front of her. She handed him a towel from another drawer as she heard the water turn off, and went to step around him to wash her own hands next. They both went in the same direction, though and bumped straight into each other.

Bin smiled and put his hands on Ari's waist as her heart began a double-time, misfiring every few beats. He'd just come from the gym, but didn't stink. How? He smelled like water and soap and...man. She caught herself before leaning into the embrace. She didn't want to lose the upper hand while there were still tacos involved.

Instead, she tipped up on her toes and kissed him on the very end of his nose, leaving him surprised with wide eyes and an 'oh' mouth. She giggled in delight, as she saw his eyes go distant while he pondered what just happened and a goofy grin slowly spread across his face. Ari took her chance to side-step him and turn on the sink, washing her hands as she heard Bin let out a sigh and start opening the bags behind her.

"You're cute," he said, she turned off the water and grabbed for the towel.

"Oh?" asked Ari, a little shocked.

She hadn't been called 'cute' in a while. Sassy, cool, stuff like that sometimes, but people rarely called her cute anymore.

Bin was still setting out containers on the counter, "Yup. Your duality is a bit intimidating, to be honest." He pulled out two large white to-go boxes that had tin foil sticking out between the lid and bottom, "You're like, powerhouse dancefloor vixen one night, and adorable superhero pj kitten the next. I'm not sure what to do with that." He pointed to one box and then the other, "This one is cabeza, that one is chicken mole'."

Ari was taken aback, but flattered. Bin didn't seem to take his time with his words, and so far they always seemed to come out right.

"What about you?" she asked, tugging on the strained sleeve of his shirt, "What am I supposed to do when you come over wearing this?"

Bin looked at his sleeve where she had her hand, and then back up at her shyly, "Yeah?" he chuckled, "I didn't really think about it. I just wanted to get over here and see you."

"Me too," she lied, realizing she still had her hand on his arm, and he had gone still. Pulling it back quickly, she handed him a plate, "Forks and stuff are over here. Get at it."

Ari was starving. She made a small soft taco of each kind, loading them with every available veggie and extra guacamole. Bin had two huge burritos on his plate, barely holding in all of their contents. She grabbed two hard ciders, opened them, and handed one to Bin before picking up her plate and leading him to living room couch.

"Wanna watch something?" she asked, picking up the remote.

"Sure. Twilight Zone marathon is usually one every night about now."

10 more points, for Gryffindor, friend. Ari grabbed the remote and flicked on the television, finding the appropriate channel. They sat in comfortable silence, eating their food and occasionally remarking on one thing or another happening on the screen. It was companionable and natural, and Ari mused that maybe the bracelet she was wearing worked on everyone she was around as she got up to get two more bottles of cider.

They finished their food, and Bin took their plates and utensils to the sink, rinsing them quickly and putting them in the dishwasher like he had done it a hundred times before. Ari grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch, and invited him to join her under it. They snuggled close together, his arm around her as she laid her head on his chest with her legs curled up beside her, just as another episode started.

As the closing credits came up, Ari decided she needed a cigarette. She looked up at Bin, and saw that he had fallen asleep with his head on his hand, elbow propped up on the arm of the couch. She tried to scoot out from under the blanket gently, but he started awake as soon as her body left his side. He smiled sleepily at her.

"Sorry," he said groggily, "Must have worn myself out more than I thought today."

"It's okay," she said reassuringly, "I'm a night owl. Comes with the territory of bar ownership."

Bin gave a little laugh, "I should go. I really liked hanging out though," he started to get up.

"No!" Ari said too quickly. "I'm just going out for a smoke. You can hang out more," her voice dropped a little, "If that's cool with you."

Bin smiled and nodded. They got up, and she grabbed a jacket from the hall closet as he put his on by the kitchen table. She led him out the back sliding glass door to her balcony, grabbing the pack from a little wrought iron table. She offered him one first.

"Nah, I don't need a whole one," he waved it back to her. "Can I just have some of yours?"

Ari nodded as she lit the cigarette and inhaled, taking a long drag. She exhaled, handing the cigarette to Bin. He took a drag, still looking at her, then handed it back before turning to grab the rail and leaning against his outstretched arms. He exhaled heavily.

"Ari,' he said suddenly, "Who are you?"

Ari took another drag before answering, "Just a chick. I don't really have much to hide." She felt guilty knowing that she had something very, well, big that she hid from everyone. But other than the whole half-god thing, Ari wasn't really into being anything other than completely open. 'I'm a me," she went on, "Why do you ask?"

"Because I don't think I've been this into someone in a long time. Feels like I've known you forever, and it weirds me out a little."

Ari didn't really know how to react to Bin's confession. She'd been riding on this wave of comfortable familiarity as well. She'd thought that it was just tonight, maybe fueled by the pajama party, but realized looking back that it had really been the night before as well. The s*x was a very much added bonus, but she really fell into him from the moment they met. She ticked his arm to get the dwindling cigarette back.

"I dunno," she started as she took another drag. Exhaling the silver smoke, she finished, "It's cool though. You're cute," looked up and winked at him.

He laughed, pushing himself off of the rail to stand closer to her. "I dig you, Ari." He waved off the offer of more cigarette.

Ari took the last drag and stamped it out in a silver ashtray on the table, opening the glass door again.

"Hey," she said, grabbing the bottom hem of his shirt, "Let's go to bed. We can talk about it in the morning."

They held hands while they walked to the bedroom. Ari released her light grip to use the restroom as Bin slid into the bed and fluffed the same pillow he had used the night before. When she returned, she found him asleep already, so she walked around to the other side and moved her phone from the covers where she had tossed it earlier onto the nightstand before crawling in and laying down. As her head hit the pillow, Bin reached over her and pulled her tight to him.

Smiling and relaxed, Ari drifted off to sleep in his arms.