Disclaimer: I don't own this and I never will, which means I'm stuck writing crappy slash fics at 3 in the morning.

Warning: Slash! Hells yeah!

Competition or Lack Thereof

By: EIW

Riley hated blondes.

He especially hated blondes that had funny accents and know-it-all tendencies.

Her sleek blond hair was perfectly groomed and styled. She accessorized it with glittery barrettes and colorful clips. Just normal little things that catch a man's eye and make him look twice. They could be running across mountain tops or racing threw the streets of London in a stolen car and the woman's hair was still perfectly placed, unlike Riley, whose hair was in a perpetual state of disarray. His curly average brown hair was constantly flopping about. He never looked put-together, even when he made the effort. Riley thought his hair made him look frumpy and lazy compared to Abigail.

Come to think of it, Riley hated her voice too.

Abigail's voice was soothing and soft. The look that Ben often got on his face when she was recalling some ridiculously obscure event in history made Riley cringe with bitterness. Ben's eyes would cloud over and his lips would stretch into a grin of awe. His eyes would sparkle; literally sparkle, with unspoken adoration. Ben never looked like that when Riley spoke to him. Most of the time, Ben wouldn't even look at him when he said anything. Ben was often too busy checking something on the map or looking over a clue to actually acknowledge that Riley was even existing let alone speaking.

But not when that sassy little tart said anything, oh no, it was always 'Oh yes Abigail, I totally agree' or 'that's genius, Abigail. Should we make beautifully smart babies now or later?' 'We're so perfect together, Abigail. Maybe we should have a Riley whip up a contraption that would allow us to read each other's thoughts so that we'd never have to speak out loud and pretend to include Riley in any discussion every again!'

So maybe he was getting a little ahead of himself, but honestly, Riley was sick of it. It's not like he contributed anything to this "team." He could work a computer, but a robot could do that just as well or even better than him.

The bottom line was that he, Riley Poole, was expendable.

That thought hurt beyond anything else ever could. To think that he wasn't needed.

He had no claim on Ben or anything that made him remotely necessary. That was another thing that he hated about Abigail, she had this pull that over Ben. It was like and invisible grip on his heart. Which made sure that anywhere they went, Ben talked about her constantly. Ben's voice held pure love and affection. So much so that it was obvious to anyone that he was in love. When Ben spoke about him it wasn't with any tone in particular, it was just a man talking about his best friend. There was a hint of affection in it, but Riley was his best friend after all. His best friend and never anything more. That made Riley almost want to cry. Almost.

He hadn't lost all of his dignity yet, but it was only a matter of time. Because every moment that he spent with the treasure hunter made him fall deeper in love with him. It wasn't enough that Riley was upset over the fact that Abigail had the one person in the world that Riley wanted, oh no, now he had to listen to said person prattle on and on about his one true love.

It literally made him ill.

It wasn't that nauseas feeling that people in romance novels speak about, not that Riley read those stupid things, but it made his heart ache and his chest felt compressed by an unknown pressure. When this happened Riley would tug at the top left corner of his shirt, where his heart was. He'd press down and try to make it stop aching with such intensity, at least while Ben was around. Later at night he could wallow in his sorrows in his lonely flat, but now he had to keep up the façade. Ben had little time for him as it was, he couldn't let his sorrows push the man further away.

That would be the worst thing in the world, if Riley couldn't be near Ben.

Riley had always had attachment issues, even as a child. So it wasn't surprising that he felt upset about not seeing his best friend, but this was beyond ridiculous. Sometimes Riley thought that it might literally kill him because if he went for longer than a day without seeing his best friend, his only friend come to think of it, his heart would hurt. For the first few hours it felt like a pinch and would gradually worsen as the day went on. By the twenty-four hour mark, Riley would be feeling a constant tugging pressure in his chest and his heart was tingling.

Riley often hoped that he was having a heart attack.

Pssh…he wished.

That would be too easy of an explanation and much more convenient. It wouldn't involve him having to confess his feelings to Ben. Something that Riley was sure would only end in disaster and heartbreak. If it was just a heart attack, all he would have to do would be to stop ordering Chinese at 3 a.m. and go for a jog in the mornings.

As Riley sat in his flat pondering his feelings for Ben and ticking off things that he loathed about Abigail; he realized that there were numerous things that Riley hated about her, but above all else he hated her because he simply couldn't compete.

This shall be continued with Ben's side. Assuming you all like it, of course.

Please review!