Hey folks! Hope you haven't been missing me too much since I told you guys that the next Q&A for "Rainbow Rocks: The Omniversal Crossover" is gonna be out near the end of August. But, I figured since it's going to take a while for me to get into the swing of things with "Stay The Same", since it's supposed like a full episode of Teen Titans, I figured doing a quick one-shot like this would be good.

Now keep in mind, this stuff is all headcanon. So at this time, Ben and Hinata were a couple so that she would feel at ease when she would start going out with Naruto. The reason they ended up breaking their relationship off was so that Ben could keep her out of the danger he was getting into, and to establish the 'no dating teammates' rule for Team Omniverse.

Now onto the background. This one-shot takes place after the attack by the Nine Tails clone on Tonika Village, along with Naruto getting abducted. While the Leaf Shinobi were rescuing the villagers, Ben was fighting the clone to keep it away from the people, and because it reminded him of the awful memory of how Hinata was almost killed during the battle against Pain, and how he would never forgive himself if something were to happen to her.

For those of you who are fans of either series, you probably get the gist of where I'm going with this. It's just a simple one-shot to buy some time since I'm down for a fresh change of pace before my big final Q&A. So, let's dive on in!

"O-OW!" Ben yelped as he felt Hinata's palm touch his left arm with the healing ointment in her hand as he sat on the counter.

"S-Sorry!" she stammered as she pulled her hand away. The two of them were the only ones apparent inside the medical tent after almost half the villagers had been there. Ben continued to cringe as Hinata continued to rub his left arm with the ointment on her palm.

"Agh…" he groaned, "Still not feelin' it…" he added as he grabbed his shoulder.

"Hold on a second," Hinata replied as she held both palms right by Ben's arm, without touching it. Then, a green aura emerged from her arms, moving onto Ben's bruised arm. Ben gasped as he saw his bruises began to disappear, and then looked back at Hinata in disbelief as she continued to focus the aura on his arm.

"Medical ninjutsu?" he said, "But I thought-"

"Lady Tsunade taught me," Hinata interrupted, "I can only do so much though. At least I can make this better." Ben turned back to look at his left arm, completely clean of any scratches or bruises. He then looked back at the Omnitrix, eyeing it with uncertainty in his eyes. "Ben?" Hinata said, trying to get his attention, "Is something wrong?"

"I should've taken that clone out when I had the chance," Ben said as shook his arm around to get some blood flowing in his veins, "I should've just turned into Way Big and-"

"Ben, it wasn't your fault!" Hinata interrupted, surprising him.

"But I noticed how strange he'd been acting just today!" he replied, letting his head fall into his hands, "What have I done?"

"You didn't do anything," Hinata said as she put her hand on Ben's shoulder. "You probably prevented anyone else from getting seriously hurt in that fight, and-"

"What does it matter?!" Ben screamed, "Naruto's been captured, that clone's now with Kabuto, and, and-" He stopped as he realized he was beginning to scare her. "Sorry…" he said as he turned away, "I'm just… really frustrated that I couldn't do more for his sake…" There was an awkward silence between the two as the sun outside was still setting. Neither of them said a word as they each glanced left and right, trying to think of something else to talk about.

"So, were you the one that called Rook in?" Ben asked, breaking the ice. Hinata replied with just a simple nod as she looked anxious about talking again.

"I knew Rook would want to see our universe since you've been here," she said, "I thought it would only be an easy mission for him to handle, but…"

"I'm sure he's had to deal with stuff that's worse than this," Ben replied, "Remember the Incursean War?" he asked.

"Right," Hinata replied with a little giggle, "That wasn't easy."

"Neither is having a partner who almost blew up at you for flirting with the enemy," Ben joked, making Hinata blush and smile.

"It's so weird…" Hinata admitted.

"What's so weird?" Ben asked as he stretched his arms.

"When your grandfather told you that I'd be one of your new partners with Rook," Hinata began, "you said you wouldn't even consider it. And now look what's happened." Ben just chuckled as he remembered.

"Things do change," he said in reply, "And it's not all that bad now that I've seen what you're capable of," he added.

"So…" Hinata tried to say, but couldn't bring herself to do so.

"What's the matter?" Ben asked as he finally jumped down from the countertop.

"Are we… well…" Hinata began to say while blushing, "…are we a couple?" she asked, making Ben's eyes widen a little. Ben blinked before looking down to think about her question.

"I don't know…" Ben said, "I mean, I know that you really want to be around Naruto, so… the better question is: should we be a couple?"

"This all feels so crazy…" Hinata said as she placed her hand on her head as this conversation was now mind-boggling.

"Can't be weirder than me turning into dozens of aliens," Ben joked, getting a smile from Hinata, "But yeah, this does seem pretty crazy," he said, "Knowing all the things we've gone through since I've met you… It really is crazy…"

"Ben…" Hinata said, getting his attention. Ben then turned to see Hinata hugging him tightly, with her face dug into his chest as she felt the warmth of his body.

"Uh… Hinata?" Ben said with a blush, "Are you-?"

"Thank you," she interrupted as she lifted her head from his chest while she still held onto him. "If I hadn't met you, I don't know if I'd even be here today…"

"Don't say that!" Ben said, grabbing her arms, "You and I both know that you're strong!"

"I know…" Hinata said, "For all it's worth, I've had the best time being your friend," she added with a blush as she continued to hug him.

"And you've been my best friend ever since we met…" Ben added as he wrapped his arms over her head, "This is so bizarre," he said, "Sooner or later, we're going to be at war with the Akatsuki… And right now we're talking about our relationship…"

"Crazy, isn't it?" Hinata asked as she leaned her head up, "I mean, b-being we're not actually a c-couple yet…"

"You're stuttering," Ben noted, "You barely do that around me."

"I g-guess it's because I'm in a different situation than normal…" she said, closing her eyes as she moved her head closer to his. Ben quickly closed his own eyes as he was about to kiss Hinata, a girl he admired for her constant bravery, especially when she stood up to Pain to protect Naruto. But he pulled his head away, before his lips could touch hers.

"I can't…" he admitted, "You love Naruto, not me…" he said as he let go of her, turning away.

"Ben," Hinata began, "The truth is that I've grown to like you and Naruto equally. But, you're right…" she admitted, "I do love Naruto."

"Then this won't work," Ben said as he put his hands on the counter, "Me dating you when you love someone else… It's just-" Ben stopped as he felt Hinata's lips brush off his cheek. He turned in surprise to see her smile with a tint of red on her face, while his was bright red.

"Maybe it'll just be a way for me to experience what it would be like to have a boyfriend," she said, "Um… so to speak…" Ben just smiled as he held his hand out to Hinata. She, however, just hugged him again in delight.

"Guess that's a deal then," Ben said. Suddenly, the tent flap flew open, allowing the light from the setting sun to shine in as Sakura saw Ben and Hinata still hugging.

"Uh… am I interrupting something?" she asked, embarrassed that she walked in unannounced.

"S-Sakura?!" Ben stammered as he let go of Hinata in surprise, "N-No!" he said, "We were just finishing up a healing session!" he exclaimed. Sakura blinked as Hinata stood by Ben with a blush on her face, while Ben was sweating just a little.

"Well, anyways, Kakashi Sensei wants everyone together now," Sakura said.

"What's up?" Ben asked.

"We're all headed back to 'The Hole'," she explained, "I think that's where Naruto might be." Ben and Hinata's eyes both widened upon hearing the update.

"We'll be right with you," Ben said in reply. Sakura then exited quickly, along with Hinata, but not before she gave Ben a quick smile as he stayed inside the tent for a few moments. "Phew…" he sighed, "That could've gone worse…"

"Indeed," Rook said, coming out from the shadows of the tent, "At least this way, no one will know about your future relationship."

"Yeah…" Ben said, "Wait, ROOK?!" he exclaimed as he realized his Plumber partner was beside him.

"Do not worry," Rook said with a smile, "As you earthlings say, 'your secret is safe with me'," he said, moving his fingers over his lips. He exited, leaving Ben to stand in shock as Rook knew about his relationship with Hinata.

"Great…" Ben sighed as he smacked himself in the face.

END

Now that, my friends, was fun. I was sort of hoping to do something like this a while back, but I never got a chance to do it. But now that I have, I should let you know that all my focus is being geared towards the Q&A and the final product of "Rainbow Rocks: The Omniversal Crossover".

And yes, I do like the idea of Ben and Hinata as a couple. But not as much as Ben and Rainbow Dash. I know, I'm a little weird, but that's just how I feel.

Hope you guys enjoyed this!

~NegaiFreak