[ Wow it really is the wildest thing, giving advice and actually being listened to. Ben had just been expecting, without really noticing he was, that Peter would reject his words out of hand and just do whatever he wanted. Klaus had always done that when Ben was a ghost - well, okay, not always, but a lot of the time. It feels good... being heeded. The same way it feels good still to be able to touch people and to do simple things like sleep and eat and even though he's starting to get used to them, it hits him sometimes, at moments like this, how good it is being alive again. ]

You'll think of the right thing to say.

[ There's certainty in Ben's voice as he says it; he believes in Peter a great deal, even if Peter doesn't always believe in Peter all that much.

And he listens, corners of his mouth gradually curling more and more into a smile, as Ben explains how he'd ended up toppling into a pool. Ben covers his mouth with his hand but the smile is still all too visible, and his eyes are sparkling with amusement. ]

Oh, man. That is just... that's the best thing I've ever heard.

[ From the sound of it, Poison does know Peter very well, had known just what to say to help him get around his awkwardness with words, to encourage him to take that first step. And that first step had led to him dunking himself in a hot springs, but that only makes it more endearing. It wouldn't have been, if she'd laughed at him or turned him down, but she hadn't. And now Peter - who he remembers talking to about how almost no one here was his age and he should resign himself to being dateless and alone forever - has someone making him grin like this even on such a hard day. So maybe the world is good after all. ]

You just went straight for the kiss? Damn, that's brave as hell. I'm impressed.

[ He's teasing a little, but he means it, too. And then, because Peter doesn't have a brother to do it for him and someone ought to, Ben reaches up and ruffles Peter's hair, genuinely proud and deliberately obnoxious at the same time. ]