Disclaimer: Blah blah blah legal jargon etc. etc.

A/N: This one is related to another--the first “Hurricane” obviously. It takes place shortly after.

I think I’m on the edge of something new with you.

At two o’ clock in the morning, Ben finds himself standing outside of Riley’s apartment. In the dark. At two o’ clock in the morning. And he can’t help but wonder what in the name of Thomas Jefferson he is doing. Because at the moment, it looks suspiciously like he’s preparing to ruin the only successful relationship of any kind that he has anymore.

But some will stronger than this logic moves him and he finds himself rapping brusquely on the door.

It takes much less time than Ben expects to get the techie to come to the door. Riley is a notoriously heavy sleeper, so the only explanation is that he wasn’t sleeping either.

“Ben?” understandably, the younger man is bewildered. “Is something wrong?”

“Um.” the historian says intelligently. Riley’s expression becomes, if possible, more confused and he opens the door wider and ushers Ben inside.

“You want some…coffee?” he asks, assumedly still trying to discern his friend’s odd behavior. Ben nods, but remains standing. With another concerned glance at the historian, Riley sets about making coffee. For a while, Ben is content to watch him, but when he decides to finally say what he came here for, he says it suddenly.

“I don’t want to make up with Abigail.”

Riley freezes mid-stride and turns to look at him. His expression is indiscernible and he’s still holding the coffee pot. “Why not?”

“I wanted you to tell me not to make up with her.” Ben confesses, not quite answering the question.

“But why not?” the younger man repeats, obviously frustrated. The historian meets his eye for a split-second before dropping his glance to the tile floor.

“Because I want to be with you.”

Even though he doesn’t see it happen, Ben is less surprised than Riley when the coffee pot slips out of his hand and shatters on the hard tile. The older man risks a glance up and sees Riley staring down at the broken glass with a perplexed expression. And then he looks up and before Ben can look away, he’s caught his eye.

“What do you mean, exactly, when you say you want to be with me?” he says, his voice hoarse.

“Um.” he says again, and wonders who came up with such a stupid word and why he can’t stop using it.

Riley waits, staring at the older man with an expression that Ben doesn’t understand.

A few long moments pass as Ben tries to gather his thoughts. Since when is he the scatterbrained one?

"Ben?" Riley probes him, trying to coax him into explaning.

"I..." Ben breaks off, mid-sentence and stares at Riley as if that will explain everything. "I think I'm in love with you."

The techie drops his gaze quickly and focuses on the shattered glass again. Ben takes a hesitant step towards him and already-broken glass crunches underfoot. Riley's head snaps back up and there is something akin to pain in his eyes.

"You should get home, Ben." he says hollowly. "It's really late."

"But--"

"Just go!" Riley snaps loudly enough that it Ben flinches.

"Ri...I--"

"No. Just...get out of here!" Riley turns his his back on Ben and strides out of the kitchen, ignoring the mess of glass and coffee everywhere.e

Ignoring Ben.

Mortified, Ben makes his way to the front door, hardly noticing Riley's absense from the living room when he pases thorugh. Standing out in the cold, on the sidewalk, he wonders what he could have done wrong.

But he found no reply but the rush of a strong, icy breeze.

A/N: Just to clarify, there will be a third part to this particular set of oneshots, it just isn't done yet. Please review!!