Lemme just work on that a biiiiit.... 
Once it was just the two of them, Rob started off with, "So. Ben. This whole 'giving pieces of your soul to Alicia' matter."
"It's alright, Rob," said Ben in a placating tone. "I have it all under control."
"Thank you for confirming that," replied Rob, visibly relaxing as the tension left his body. "That puts my mind at ease. But Usagi spotted the matter in your report right away, and she shared it with Hyoga. They talked for almost a half-hour, then they gave me a long list of technical questions and asked me to ask you for answers. I told them no."
Benjamin blinked at that, then remembered that Rob had a tendency to keep matters relating to other people very close to his chest.
"You did? Rob, you know I don't keep secrets from all of you."
"I know," agreed Rob, "and I also know that things that affect only you are your business. If you want them to know, then tell them yourself when they ask. And you should know by now that Usagi will ask about this. She loves you too much to let the matter go unaddressed to her satisfaction."
Benjamin sighed heavily at that. This was nothing new to him. Usagi had been very up-front about how much she cared about him - starting off from the night after the Halloween Party. At that time, she had managed to pry out of Rei what had transpired between the two of them in Benjamin's apartment, and then showed up in San Antonio, fully intent on giving Benjamin some Moon Healing Escalation.
But then, learning about what that may do to Benjamin had been a heartbreaking thing for the girl. To know that this was something she couldn't fix. Usagi had spent a good while crying on his shoulder for that. (And hadn't that been an uncomfortable few minutes for the man, because the girl was exactly the sort of dainty-yet-shapely that drove him nuts, but this was Mamorou's Lady and he was absolutely not about to infringe on that!) But afterwards, Benjamin had become something of a pet project for the girl, trying to come up with ways to help him heal.
Rob, of course, picked this up right away from Ben's reaction.
"You knew already?" he asked in surprise.
"Rob, this is Usagi we're talking about. She was so out-in-front with it that it was almost one of those speeches she would give in the anime to the monster of the week."
Why am I even surprised? thought Rob to himself as he shook his head, and decided to continue anyhow just to be sure.
"Well, she doesn't love you the way she loves Mamoru, but she loves you and me and even Accelerator the way she loves Rei and Ami. Usagi is Love, the same way that Madoka is Compassion. Of course she cares about you."
Ben raised an eyebrow with a knowing smirk. "Usagi or Madoka?"
Rob grinned. "Both of them, actually. And they both care about both of us, and all the other displacees and building managers they've met. In some ways it's humbling to have two such kind and caring people care about me without wanting to be a part of my life. Why do they think I deserve something like that? But I'm getting sidetracked. Usagi is going to ask because she wants to make sure you aren't killing yourself by giving yourself to Alicia. And that's something I wanted to know, too. It won't do Alicia any good if you die."
"Oh, I know that very well, probably better than you do. But why are you so concerned about her? I mean, besides the obvious - little brat can probably charm a Wall Street Shark out of their fortune."
Rob was at first surprised at Benjamin's seeming ignorance, but then he couldn't help but snort at the follow-up snarky remark. But even with that, he wasn't going to be deterred easily.
"Think about it, Ben. I was present at her rebirth, and other than the Celestials, I was the oldest person present. I'm the closest she has to a godfather in this world. Unless you've asked somebody else to take that role in her life. If something happens to you, it's up to me to make sure she has a loving family - and that's a responsibility I take seriously and accept gladly."
And that made Ben wonder for a moment. Sure, he knew that Rob wouldn't let Alicia suffer if something happened to him, but to go that far? Then he remembered that Rob's early life was nothing like his, and his attitude started to make sense.
Ben sighed. "Well, fortunately for you, we're working on some plans for the future."
Rob frowned. "What sort of plans? ...if you don't mind sharing."
"Not at all," replied Benjamin. "In fact, it's part of the reason why I came here in the first place." Benjamin's mien suddenly turned serious. "Precia has asked me to make a formal request to Shinobu Nunotoba if she would be willing to make a Testament for her. And not just any testament. She wants her memories of being Alicia's mother."
Rob stared at Benjamin in surprise, then cursed under his breath.
"Skuld's sake, man. What the hell is going on with all the drama over there!? If it gets any worse I'll be worried that you were stuck in some kind of soap opera!"
Ben shrugged. "With great power seems to come great emotional damage. Some of us are a lot better than others, but then shit hits the fan and... well, you know the rest. Anyhow, Precia-chan likes Alicia very much, but she feels terrible about not being able to be her mother again. Apparently she was really compassionate in her youth. Which makes sense, otherwise she would never have kept the pregnancy that resulted in Alicia's birth. So yeah, the idea is we use Alicia's memories to generate a Testament for Precia, and she can take over her day-to-day care... and maybe also help Fate heal, too. Because without me in the picture anymore.... yeah."
Rob raised an eyebrow. "You don't mean to push her away like you've been doing to Nanoha and Fate, do you?"
Ben shook his head. "No. She'll still be living with me. In fact, we're working on remodeling two units into a large three-bedroom unit so that Precia can live with us and still have her own space. Though I don't doubt that Alicia's bed is gonna see very little use because she's probably going to want to spend a lot of nights either in Precia's room or in mine."
"Are you sure that's safe given what happened?" said Rob. He didn't like to think of it much as it was very disturbing for the man, but sometimes to question needed to be asked. "Alicia is very... mature."
Ben nodded. "Hild came and made a special filter for our soul-bond. The most she'll get now when THAT happens is a warm and fuzzy feeling. Pleasant and comforting, but without being overtly sexual. Which is perfect for a child. While Alicia doesn't see Taiga as a parental figure, knowing that her father figure shares a healthy love with someone else she loves and respects is like the ultimate security blanket. It gives a child a sense of stability and safety, which she desperately needs right now."
"But still, she seems to be... attracted to you."
"Inara is helping us with that to keep it from turning into an Electra Complex. And it seems to be working. That incident was just that she desperately needed a connection with someone that was closer than what she had then, and it was starting to drive her over the edge."
Rob nodded as he began to understand. "And it didn't matter exactly what the connection was, so long as it was filial in nature."
"Right," said Ben, nodding as well. "Becoming a romantic partner would have more than just done the trick alright. But pushing it back towards a father-daughter bond works just fine, too. Really, the father-daughter bond is a very profound thing. It skirts the edge of being a lovers' bond, but that's only because a daughter is learning how to love from her father. And the same applies to the mother-son bond - which is probably why I came out as well as I did. My mother and I are incredibly close, even now."
Rob sighed. "Hooo, that's a load off of my mind. And you're sure this thing with Precia is going to help?"
Ben shrugged. "It sure as hell can't hurt at this point. Washu-chan is certain that Precia-chan is in a healthy enough state to handle it, and she'll continue to monitor Precia long afterward. In fact, Precia asked if Washu-chan would do that because of what happened in MSLN."
Rob nodded at that, his concerns now laid to rest.
"So, with all that out of the way," said Ben, "I suppose you want to know the answers to Usagi's questions, too."
"I don't actually want answers to those technical questions - all I needed to know is that you've got things under control, and you already told me that. I just told you that the questions exist so you'd be ready for Usagi."
Benjamin sighed again. "I'm gonna have to see if either Mami or Sasami would be willing to whip up some sweets. If she's really that upset, then that's the only thing that's gonna get her to settle down and not overreact."
Rob snorted. "And here you claim that the women in your life conspire against you."
Ben gave a crooked smirk in reply. "As Darjeeling in Girls und Panzer would say, all is fair in love and war. What kinda of strategist would I be if I didn't cheat at least a little bit?"
..... Okay, maybe that's more than a bit... (;*_*)
And later on....
Usagi eyed the spread in front of her. Hot milk tea, macadamia macaroons, and the most delectable looking matcha cake she'd ever seen in her life. The aroma alone was almost intoxicating.
She then glared at Benjamin. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
Benjamin, though, only made a whimsical "Who, Me?" gesture in reply, earning a spectacular Bronx Cheer from Usagi.
Once it was just the two of them, Rob started off with, "So. Ben. This whole 'giving pieces of your soul to Alicia' matter."
"It's alright, Rob," said Ben in a placating tone. "I have it all under control."
"Thank you for confirming that," replied Rob, visibly relaxing as the tension left his body. "That puts my mind at ease. But Usagi spotted the matter in your report right away, and she shared it with Hyoga. They talked for almost a half-hour, then they gave me a long list of technical questions and asked me to ask you for answers. I told them no."
Benjamin blinked at that, then remembered that Rob had a tendency to keep matters relating to other people very close to his chest.
"You did? Rob, you know I don't keep secrets from all of you."
"I know," agreed Rob, "and I also know that things that affect only you are your business. If you want them to know, then tell them yourself when they ask. And you should know by now that Usagi will ask about this. She loves you too much to let the matter go unaddressed to her satisfaction."
Benjamin sighed heavily at that. This was nothing new to him. Usagi had been very up-front about how much she cared about him - starting off from the night after the Halloween Party. At that time, she had managed to pry out of Rei what had transpired between the two of them in Benjamin's apartment, and then showed up in San Antonio, fully intent on giving Benjamin some Moon Healing Escalation.
But then, learning about what that may do to Benjamin had been a heartbreaking thing for the girl. To know that this was something she couldn't fix. Usagi had spent a good while crying on his shoulder for that. (And hadn't that been an uncomfortable few minutes for the man, because the girl was exactly the sort of dainty-yet-shapely that drove him nuts, but this was Mamorou's Lady and he was absolutely not about to infringe on that!) But afterwards, Benjamin had become something of a pet project for the girl, trying to come up with ways to help him heal.
Rob, of course, picked this up right away from Ben's reaction.
"You knew already?" he asked in surprise.
"Rob, this is Usagi we're talking about. She was so out-in-front with it that it was almost one of those speeches she would give in the anime to the monster of the week."
Why am I even surprised? thought Rob to himself as he shook his head, and decided to continue anyhow just to be sure.
"Well, she doesn't love you the way she loves Mamoru, but she loves you and me and even Accelerator the way she loves Rei and Ami. Usagi is Love, the same way that Madoka is Compassion. Of course she cares about you."
Ben raised an eyebrow with a knowing smirk. "Usagi or Madoka?"
Rob grinned. "Both of them, actually. And they both care about both of us, and all the other displacees and building managers they've met. In some ways it's humbling to have two such kind and caring people care about me without wanting to be a part of my life. Why do they think I deserve something like that? But I'm getting sidetracked. Usagi is going to ask because she wants to make sure you aren't killing yourself by giving yourself to Alicia. And that's something I wanted to know, too. It won't do Alicia any good if you die."
"Oh, I know that very well, probably better than you do. But why are you so concerned about her? I mean, besides the obvious - little brat can probably charm a Wall Street Shark out of their fortune."
Rob was at first surprised at Benjamin's seeming ignorance, but then he couldn't help but snort at the follow-up snarky remark. But even with that, he wasn't going to be deterred easily.
"Think about it, Ben. I was present at her rebirth, and other than the Celestials, I was the oldest person present. I'm the closest she has to a godfather in this world. Unless you've asked somebody else to take that role in her life. If something happens to you, it's up to me to make sure she has a loving family - and that's a responsibility I take seriously and accept gladly."
And that made Ben wonder for a moment. Sure, he knew that Rob wouldn't let Alicia suffer if something happened to him, but to go that far? Then he remembered that Rob's early life was nothing like his, and his attitude started to make sense.
Ben sighed. "Well, fortunately for you, we're working on some plans for the future."
Rob frowned. "What sort of plans? ...if you don't mind sharing."
"Not at all," replied Benjamin. "In fact, it's part of the reason why I came here in the first place." Benjamin's mien suddenly turned serious. "Precia has asked me to make a formal request to Shinobu Nunotoba if she would be willing to make a Testament for her. And not just any testament. She wants her memories of being Alicia's mother."
Rob stared at Benjamin in surprise, then cursed under his breath.
"Skuld's sake, man. What the hell is going on with all the drama over there!? If it gets any worse I'll be worried that you were stuck in some kind of soap opera!"
Ben shrugged. "With great power seems to come great emotional damage. Some of us are a lot better than others, but then shit hits the fan and... well, you know the rest. Anyhow, Precia-chan likes Alicia very much, but she feels terrible about not being able to be her mother again. Apparently she was really compassionate in her youth. Which makes sense, otherwise she would never have kept the pregnancy that resulted in Alicia's birth. So yeah, the idea is we use Alicia's memories to generate a Testament for Precia, and she can take over her day-to-day care... and maybe also help Fate heal, too. Because without me in the picture anymore.... yeah."
Rob raised an eyebrow. "You don't mean to push her away like you've been doing to Nanoha and Fate, do you?"
Ben shook his head. "No. She'll still be living with me. In fact, we're working on remodeling two units into a large three-bedroom unit so that Precia can live with us and still have her own space. Though I don't doubt that Alicia's bed is gonna see very little use because she's probably going to want to spend a lot of nights either in Precia's room or in mine."
"Are you sure that's safe given what happened?" said Rob. He didn't like to think of it much as it was very disturbing for the man, but sometimes to question needed to be asked. "Alicia is very... mature."
Ben nodded. "Hild came and made a special filter for our soul-bond. The most she'll get now when THAT happens is a warm and fuzzy feeling. Pleasant and comforting, but without being overtly sexual. Which is perfect for a child. While Alicia doesn't see Taiga as a parental figure, knowing that her father figure shares a healthy love with someone else she loves and respects is like the ultimate security blanket. It gives a child a sense of stability and safety, which she desperately needs right now."
"But still, she seems to be... attracted to you."
"Inara is helping us with that to keep it from turning into an Electra Complex. And it seems to be working. That incident was just that she desperately needed a connection with someone that was closer than what she had then, and it was starting to drive her over the edge."
Rob nodded as he began to understand. "And it didn't matter exactly what the connection was, so long as it was filial in nature."
"Right," said Ben, nodding as well. "Becoming a romantic partner would have more than just done the trick alright. But pushing it back towards a father-daughter bond works just fine, too. Really, the father-daughter bond is a very profound thing. It skirts the edge of being a lovers' bond, but that's only because a daughter is learning how to love from her father. And the same applies to the mother-son bond - which is probably why I came out as well as I did. My mother and I are incredibly close, even now."
Rob sighed. "Hooo, that's a load off of my mind. And you're sure this thing with Precia is going to help?"
Ben shrugged. "It sure as hell can't hurt at this point. Washu-chan is certain that Precia-chan is in a healthy enough state to handle it, and she'll continue to monitor Precia long afterward. In fact, Precia asked if Washu-chan would do that because of what happened in MSLN."
Rob nodded at that, his concerns now laid to rest.
"So, with all that out of the way," said Ben, "I suppose you want to know the answers to Usagi's questions, too."
"I don't actually want answers to those technical questions - all I needed to know is that you've got things under control, and you already told me that. I just told you that the questions exist so you'd be ready for Usagi."
Benjamin sighed again. "I'm gonna have to see if either Mami or Sasami would be willing to whip up some sweets. If she's really that upset, then that's the only thing that's gonna get her to settle down and not overreact."
Rob snorted. "And here you claim that the women in your life conspire against you."
Ben gave a crooked smirk in reply. "As Darjeeling in Girls und Panzer would say, all is fair in love and war. What kinda of strategist would I be if I didn't cheat at least a little bit?"
..... Okay, maybe that's more than a bit... (;*_*)
And later on....
Usagi eyed the spread in front of her. Hot milk tea, macadamia macaroons, and the most delectable looking matcha cake she'd ever seen in her life. The aroma alone was almost intoxicating.
She then glared at Benjamin. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
Benjamin, though, only made a whimsical "Who, Me?" gesture in reply, earning a spectacular Bronx Cheer from Usagi.