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

[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.

[omnitrixter]

Ben nodded his head. Cousin or not, she was a more experienced hero and, therefore, was trying to get him the help he needed so he could become a better hero. Gwen wasn't the only one who'd told him that all heroes had to start somewhere. He'd been fumbling for the past two months.

"I just hope he'll give me a chance to prove I can do this," Ben admitted. "I thought about going to him after I found the watch but, well, I wasn't sure what he'd do then."

[thesmartone]

"He probably would have taken you away so you could learn to use it right." She looks down at her hands. "Like he did with me and my powers." She didn't regret her childhood travels with Grandpa Max, they just got lonely sometimes. It would have been nice to have Ben around actually; but he'd only found the watch a few months ago, so it wouldn't have helped with those years, just the most recent year away.

[omnitrixter]

"Is that where you went this past year?" Ben asked. "I know it wasn't Harvard. Well, I know now."

[thesmartone]

She nods. "He wanted me to get some official training, just in case." Gwen had learned that Grandpa Max really worried about all of them. She'd always known that he loved them all; there was no denying that, but in the past five years she'd learned that he worried more then probably both their moms put together - and with good reason. "Grandpa Max is a retired Plumber, you know, the space cops. He was worried someone was going to go after me because I was a Tennyson and an alien; but I think you're a bigger target now that you've got the plumber tech watch on."

[omnitrixter]

"What's the big deal about us being Tennysons?"

Also, he was nervous about her calling the watch Plumber tech. That meant that if not Grandpa Max, somebody in the Plumbers was probably gonna want it back.

"Our parents don't know, do they?" Ben realized. "Our dads, I mean."