Title: My One Man Show
Author: kawaiichiisaikitsune (pirate kiari)
Rating: K+
Pairings: Implied BenGwen
Summary: Ben's tired of being ignored by a certain someone as of recently. So, he tries something new. One-shot. BenGwen-ish.

I was watching "Tough Luck" when this idea just suddenly hit me. Gwen likes magic tricks. Enjoy!

Disclaimer- Don't own Ben 10 nor anything relating to it.

My One Man Show

Ben Tennyson watched his orange-haired cousin tap away at her laptop, a bored expression spread across his face. With a sigh, he placed his cheek in his hand and leaned against the RV's table. As of lately, things had been very quiet. No aliens popped up to ruin their lives and no psychopaths interrupted their day. Everything was how he'd wanted it to be for a really long time. However, now that he gotten this time to himself, he was completely and utterly bored with it.

To make matters worse, Grandpa Max was so focused on his driving to get them wherever it was they were headed to. He didn't even make any stops to train Ben to better perfect his powers like he would occassionally do. Then Gwen made herself so busy with this researching of her's. He couldn't see why she would even want to do something like research on summer vacation, but that was her for you. As a result, Benjamin Tennyson, alien hero, was left with nothing to do and no one to pay any attention to him.

"Ugh!" the boy groaned, head dropping from his hand and falling against the hard plastic of the table. He stared directly at the table top, eyes burning from the utter closeness of the object. "Gwen!" he complained a second later, talking into the solid object he rested on, "Can't you do something else? I'm bored."

"Don't bug me Ben. I'm on a lead here," she replied, not lifting her eyes up the slightest bit as her slender fingers continued punching the keyboard keys. The 'hero' looked up instead and leaned over the table as much as he dared to see exactly what she was typing up there.

"What are you doing anyways?"

"Don't bug me," she repeated hastily, shooing him away with one hand. Ben pouted, but sat back in his booth seat with his arms crossed moodily over his chest. After a minute or two of pointlessly pouting at his cousin, he got up from his seat and headed back toward the general bedroom area. There he climbed onto his top bunk and flopped down upon his back. Staring up at the ceiling of the RV, he sighed again.

The beaten up RV pulled to a slow stop in a busy parking lot. Grandpa Max stood from the driver's seat and headed toward the table Gwen still sat. "Alright, we're here," he announced, looking around. Not finding what he searched, he turned to the busy girl, "Where's Ben?"

"I don't know grandpa," she replied, finally looking up from her laptop, "Last time I saw him, I think he was headed for his bed."

Both went back to look, missing a small grey alien jump onto the girl's keyboard. Large, curious yellow eyes stared at the screen, its brain working a mile a second. Yet, he didn't understand the display. There was him as XLR8, Cannon Ball, Grey Matter...

"Ben, you freak!" came Gwen's cry and in a hurried motion he was swept up in her hand and the laptop was closed. He clung to her hand and looked up with slightly apologetic eyes.

"I was just curious," he explained in a voice that betrayed his sorry look.

His orange-haired cousin didn't reply, but the furrow of her brows told him he was not forgiven. He sighed and then she sighed, setting him down on the table. "Well, grandpa said this is our stop today," she informed, "You can come and join us once you've changed back. And don't looked at my stuff." She didn't wait for his reply as she headed toward the door and exited the RV. Grey Matter groaned.

Ben Tennyson remained inside the RV, spread out on the booth seat and looking up at the ceiling. It'd been like this for a while now; a week or so. Grandpa Max gave him enough attention considering his recent driving fetish, but Gwen was different. She barely even gave him the time of day to argue. And that was something they'd done to oftenly before! He didn't like being ignored by his cousin, no matter how much he said he didn't like her.

He wanted her attention back. And by God, he'd do anything he'd have to for it. No price was too big to pay. He'd do it all. The only problem was what. What could he do?

The omnitrix sounded its familiar beeps and soon enough, in a flash of green, he regained his human form. With that, the watch died and he left the RV to find his grandpa and cousin.

"Gwen!" he called loudly as he saw her orange head enter a section of audience surrounding a stage. She turned to him, eyes bright with excitement.

"Look Ben, a magic show," she pointed in front of her. She was as excited as a small child and he noticed this.

"Sounds fun, but I'm going to find grandpa," he excused himself and ran the opposite way. The girl just shrugged.

"Gwen, have you seen Ben?" Grandpa Max asked as he walked up to his granddaughter some hours later. She looked back at him.

"No, I haven't seen him around for a while. I think he said he was going to find you when he left though."

"Did he now? What is that boy up to?"

"Should we go look for him?"

"Might as well."

Later, the two met back up at the RV unsuccessful. Neither of them could find him or anyone who remembered clearly that they'd seen him pass by. Gwen did ask one shop owner who gave a slightly more positive reply than the rest, but they were the owner of a magic shop. Knowing her cousin well enough, she imagined the owner was a little dumb in the head. Ben would rather enter some trick store opposed to a magic one. So she mentioned nothing about it.

"I'm getting worried for that boy," Max said.

"Don't worry grandpa," Gwen assured, "He's got ten aliens on his wrist. He'll be just fine."

"Even so, I'm going to do another circle. Why don't you stay here, in case he comes back to the RV while I'm gone."

The girl nodded as she watched her grandfather head back for the mall. Some seconds later, she climbed into the RV to see Ben there waiting for her in a top hat and a cape. "Ben! Have you been here the whole time?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, waiting for you," he replied in a none too happy voice. Gwen blinked.

"You have?" He nodded. "Why?" He did not reply, but smiled and pulled a large boquet of flowers from his sleeve. She nearly gasped and took the flowers as they were offered.

"Now then," Ben started with a smile a mile wide, "Would you like to see the rest of my show?"

"Gladly," she returned the smile and took a seat at the table.

Ben was ultimately proud of himself as he preformed for his cousin. It had taken him those hours to practice from the little kit he'd gotten, but in front of Gwen, everything went perfect. It was as though she was his good luck charm. And he didn't mind that at all.

"And for my last trick," the brunet announced in a large voice, "I will need a volunteer. Anyone? Anyone?" He looked around the RV with a little smirk before resting his eyes on Gwen. "How about you?" he offered her his hand.

The orange-haired girl took the hand and helped herself up. "What am I suppose to do?"

"I'm going to fit myself in this box. When I say okay, I want you to repeat these magic words," he said and she nodded, "I promise to show Ben what I've been doing on my laptop." Again she nodded, as if too entranced that he was doing magic to realize his actual words. However, he smiled, because this is what he had anticipated.

So Ben crawled into the box, closing the top over him with a click. He signalled for her to say the "magic words," and she did without realization.

"Will you really?" he popped out from the general bedroom area of the RV, Gwen's laptop inhand. "Cool, because I've wanted to know for a long time."

Gwen looked back and forth between her cousin and the box he was previously in with surprise. "Ben, you dweeb," she said at last with a laugh. Taking her computer, she set it at the table and sat down herself. Once Ben had settled down beside her, she began to explain.

She'd been keeping records of the omnitrix for a while now. She'd gotten most strong poitns and weak points for each alien. This was how she'd help him, like Grandpa Max trains him with obstacle courses.

"Wow!" the hero exclaimed, "That's awesome."

"There you are Ben," Max said suddenly, coming in the door, "Where have you been?"

"I've been here the whole time grandpa," he replied. Gwen even vouched for him.

"Turns out he has," she said, closing her laptop. Then she turned to Ben with a smile, "And thanks Ben." She leaned over a bit and pecked his cheek, before standing up and heading for the other side of the RV.

Benjamin smiled a bit, cheeks a little pink, before catching himself, "Bleck!" he exclaimed, sticking out his tongue, "Gross Gwen!"

Their grandpa just watched them, a questioning eyebrow raised.

The End

Flames are ignored, constructive criticism is highly appreciated, and praise is great for Kiari-san's ego.