Family matters

[thesmartone]

Who: Ben Tennyson, Gwen Tennyson
What: Two cousins meet again after secrets have been revealed.
When: Friday afternoon
Where: The Tennyson house (Pick one)
Warning: Dorks being dorks and dweebs being dweebs.



Gwen easily sneaked in through the window and changed cloths into her normal 'Gwen Tennyson' attire. Her mom had told her that she had to be home early because they wanted to have some friends over for dinner. When she came down the stairs and was greeted by her aunt and uncle she could have almost dropped her face in her hands. After the encounter with Ben she was sure the last place he wanted to be was in her house. She looked around reflexively. Where was he anyway?

Comments

[thesmartone]

Gwen offered him an uneasy smile in return. No one had ever found out about Lucky Girl's secret identity and it made her nervous; especially that it was Ben. She'd told him everything, well, sort of. She'd told him enough for him to think of her as some weird alien freak at least.

"Hey Ben." She didn't even try to counter his insult. What did it really matter anyway. She needed to talk to Grandpa Max, the both did, but that wasn't happening anytime soon and if it did she doubted she was going to be able to be the one to drag Ben to him.

[omnitrixter]

Ben's smile dropped a bit at the awkwardness of the situation. Really, was it too late to fake sick and go home?

Without thinking, he clutched at his left wrist, right over where the watch was hiding under the sleeve.

"How was...uh...where was it you went again?"

[thesmartone]

"Harvard." Because that looked better on college applications then outer space. Gwen dug her toe into the carpet for a few seconds before she just grabbed Ben by the arm and hauled him off to her room, closing the door before breathing a heavy sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry I never told you. I just -" She refused to look up at him.

[omnitrixter]

Ben yelped as she dragged him away, flailing for a moment.

"You don't have to apologize. I get it: Secret identity, keep the family safe. Superhero fanboy, remember?" Ben said with a grin. "Just never would've figured all the time you and Grandpa Max went off on camping trips were just covers for...y'know."

[thesmartone]

She shrugged. "I didn't know who else to turn to." It wasn't like she'd ever had a lot of friends. "The whole Lucky Girl thing happened totally on accident." Somehow she figured he could at least relate to the later part of that. Ben had his watch and clearly his own superhero thing had started as an accident too.

[omnitrixter]

"Okay..." Ben said, nodding his head slowly. "You told me that before: how you randomly developed your powers."

He wasn't getting why she was apologizing for it. Heck, they both hadn't exactly asked for powers.

[thesmartone]

It's called rambling Ben, go with it. "I'm just, I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

[omnitrixter]

"Gwen. Seriously. I get why you didn't tell me. Really. I mean, c'mon. I did basically the same thing. Duh," Ben said, crossing his arms.

[thesmartone]

"So you're not mad?" He has no idea what kind of a relief this is to her. Five years of relief.

[omnitrixter]

"At you? No. I mean, you're an alien. So what? I turn into ten of them and, technically, I'm part alien, too. I just didn't inherit any of the cool powers."

He sighed.

"If I'm mad at anyone, it's myself."

[thesmartone]

And that last bit doesn't compute for her. Why would he be mad at himself? There is literally no reason for him to be. "Why?"

[omnitrixter]

"You're gonna say it's dumb. And it is," Ben said.

[thesmartone]

"Probably." She's not going to lie. "But tell me anyway."

[omnitrixter]

He sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed, glaring down at the floor so he didn't have to look at her.

"Being a superhero is about helping people, and when I figured out who you were, I got jealous because not only are you a superhero, too, but you're better than me at it." He snorted. "Nothing new."

[thesmartone]

"I've also been doing it for five years and had help." She makes her way over to the bed and sits next to him. "The more you do it the better you'll get, and if you want, that offer for help is still open." This is her cousin after all. She's more then willing to do anything to help him become a better and more confident superhero.

[omnitrixter]

"Yeah, but the fact I got jealous over it? Well, after the original 'oh gross it's like Star Battles all over again' thing wore off."

He grimaced. He was never going to look at his Lucky Girl action figure the same way again.

"After that, I just...I was frustrated because you're always better than me. Even if nobody could ever know it, it felt kinda good knowing that I could do something you couldn't."

He gripped onto the watch again.

"See? Dumb."

[thesmartone]

If this was Star Battles then she'd have some cute rogue who was totally in love with her. That (sadly) wasn't the case.

"You can still do a lot of things I can't Ben." Writing his name in the snow came to mind, but she decided not to point that one out. "You're the only one who can be Ben Tennyson and the only one who can be the superhero Ben 10. That's kind of a big thing you know."

[omnitrixter]

"Not if Grandpa Max decides to take the watch," Ben pointed out. "Being Ben Tennyson isn't much of an accomplishment anyway."

He groaned and put his face in his hands.

[thesmartone]

"Grandpa Max isn't going to take the watch; especially from you." Seriously, now she knows it's Ben who has the watch she's more sure of that fact then ever. "And stop being so hard on yourself; Being Ben Tennyson is just as great as being a superhero."

[omnitrixter]

It would've been easier if he could prove himself to somebody who didn't know him. At least then they wouldn't have any prior knowledge of what a doofus he could be.

He lowered his hands and looked at Gwen skeptically.

[thesmartone]

She means every word of what she's saying. "I mean it Ben; and if something ever happens to the watch you can still be Ben 10, just without the aliens." Gwen knew her cousin had a good heart. Alien watch or not he'd make a great superhero.

[omnitrixter]

"With what powers or skills?" Ben asked, spreading his hands out. "You've got your karate on top of your alien magic. You'd be fine if you lost your powers tomorrow."

[thesmartone]

She was pretty sure she'd die if she lost her powers tomorrow, but that was because they were part of her whole being an alien thing. "So take karate with me. Or judo, or jujitsu or something. If you're worried you can't fight then learn to. What makes a superhero isn't their powers or gadgets, it's their heart."

[omnitrixter]

Ben toed the carpet, looking back down at it and thinking what Gwen said over. Fighting freestyle was more his thing but learning a few moves wouldn't be a bad idea. However, he wasn't sure he'd be able to have the time or dedication for classes.

[thesmartone]

Gwen watched him for a few minutes before speaking up. "Talk to Grandpa Max. He'll help." And she'll help of course, but she already said that.