Bennett/Melanie, Rated G
The thing about Bennett that Melanie had discovered early on, was that he was a good listener. It was easy to talk to him; he never minded her using him as a sounding board. And if it was a train related matter, he’d often offer her an opinion-and take no offense if she chose to disregard it. Sometimes she’d stay up late talking to him until they lapsed into silence that was never uncomfortable; they simply had no more words to say-and they didn’t need them either.
It was something that had been nagging at the back of her mind for a while. They’d been aboard Snowpiercer almost six months now. It was just now that she’d managed to step back enough to realize there was a potential problem: what if the passengers demanded to speak to the now reclusive Mr. Wilford?
“Ben?” she asked, hesitantly. It was a new thing, calling him that; but he didn’t seem to mind, and it just flowed naturally out of her mouth. Besides, he called her Mel just as often; tit for tat was never a bad thing.
“Yes?” he answered, turning the chair at the helm around. He’d insisted on continuing his shift even though she’d woken up early enough to take over; she appreciated his attempts at trying to make her take care of herself-even if they always failed.
“If a passenger wants me to call Mr. Wilford,” she swallowed, “Would you be willing to answer the phone? I know that it’s a lot to ask, and that plausible deniability is a thing, but-”
“Of course, Mel,” he cut her off, smiling reassuringly, “I’m in the shit with you, you know.”
She nodded, exhaling, “Okay.”
“I trust you,” he admitted a few minutes later, breaking the silence that had descended.
Melanie looked closely at his face then for a moment, assessing the seriousness of the statement. Deciding that what she’d found there was genuine, she smiled a little and replied, “Thanks, Ben.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to try to sleep some more?” he switched topics, sensing that the conversation had gotten too heavy for her. Her shoulders sagged slightly in relief.
“Don’t think I could, even if I tried,” her smile became tight now.
“Alright then,” Bennett sighed, clearly upset by her answer-yet understanding it at the same time, “What do you want to talk about?”
They talked about everything and nothing, until the sun rose, and Melanie was forced to reluctantly prepare herself to become the head of hospitality again.
By the time she was dressed, Javi had joined Bennett in the engine. She greeted him absently, eyes meeting Bennett’s.
They conveyed a mutual understanding without words.
Smiling a little, Melanie told him, “You have the train.”
He nodded in agreement, “I have the train.”
As she left, she hoped she’d get to talk to him again during her shift tonight-even just for a little while. It was perhaps selfish, given he hadn’t had time to sleep.
Nevertheless, she hoped for it. There was something comfortable about spending time with him that she couldn’t quite explain; nor was she ready to.