Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10. So there, nyah!
Gwen stirred in her sleep. Cracking open an eye, she saw the blurred images of vast, expansive wheat fields as they passed by, bathed in the eerie light of the full moon. Gwen shifted slightly, trying to ease the discomfort in her back from sleeping sideways in the front seat of Kevin's car. She saw him glance over at her in the reflection in the window. She stayed still, not wanting him to realize she'd woken up.
After a few seconds he turned back to the road, and Gwen relaxed more into her seat. It was a weird thing, to be here, riding with Kevin…or doing anything with Kevin that didn't involve fights to the bitter end or preventing the mass murder of hundreds. Memories flitted through her tired mind, images of Ben and Kevin fighting atop the Golden Gate Bridge, of Ben sacrificing the Omnitrix and himself to try and protect her from Kevin and Vilgax when they were in the Null-Void. Ben…
Moving as subtly as she could, Gwen peered into the space between her seat and the car door. Ben had fallen asleep in the back seat. He was slumped over, his face flush against the glass of the window, mouth slightly open. The seatbelt was probably the only thing holding him up. Gwen felt a sort of warmth beginning to fill her up, spreading itself across her face in a smile. But as quickly as it had come, the smile faded, the warmth in her being replaced by a dull anxiety.
Ben… Just five years ago the very mention of his name was enough to make Gwen's blood boil. The little dweeb. So when she had discovered she was going to be spending her whole summer trapped in her grandfather's RV with him, she had just about blown a gasket. How could they do this to her? Everyone in the family knew how much she and Ben hated each other, least of all her parents and grandfather. She would have rather been sent to cheer camp, but there was no changing Grandpa Max's mind once he got it in his head to do something. And so, she had resigned herself, if only for the sake of her grandfather's feelings, to wile away her summer with her doofus of a cousin. Things had turned out quite a bit differently than she had expected, though. Of course, prototype alien watches that fall from the sky and latch themselves onto the wrists of unsuspecting ten year-olds have a tendency to do that.
Gwen's eyes drifted to the Omnitrix, and she felt a cold anger rise up inside her. A part of her hated that thing. She had been so relieved when Ben had decided to take it off. Finally, she could breath easy again, knowing that he was no longer putting himself in danger. The watch was like a magnet, drawing every sociopath and unrepentant killer in the galaxy straight to him. Not that she wasn't proud of all the good he'd done, didn't admire him for how heroic he could be, she was just happier with him safe and sound and at home, instead of off running around the galaxy with a bomb strapped to his wrist or being teleported to alien space craft where he had to fight for his life or being sucked into alternate dimensions with no way out or—or—or…the list was endless. But tonight had brought all of that crashing back down around her. She had said as much as felt she could to discourage him from putting the Omnitrix back on, but…ultimately… she knew he would no matter what she said. It was the right thing to do.
It had never seemed to sit well with Ben anyways, the fact that he had taken it off, wanted to live a normal life. It seemed to Gwen that he felt guilty or like he was letting Grandpa down by making that decision. She had tried to reassure him that Grandpa Max was proud of him either way, that Grandpa respected his decision, but Ben never seemed to quite believe it, and, truthfully, she wasn't sure she did either. That made her a little angry, that her grandfather might place the safety of the world over that of Ben's, of his own grandson! The world had gotten along fine without him up until that point, right? Ben had earned the right to a normal life, someone else could save the world…right? Somehow, she couldn't quite convince herself of that, either.
It was all a moot point now, anyways. Ben had put the Omnitrix back on and was hell bent on finding their grandfather. All she could do at this point was support him as much as possible; be there for him when he needed her analytical mind to help solve a problem, watch his back when they were in a fight, and, most of all, to be there for him to confide in, to chase away all of his fears and doubts so he could focus on the task at hand and become the leader she knew he could be. He was the only one who could uncover this new conspiracy and save their home from whatever these new aliens were plotting, that's what she believed. Not Kevin, not the plumbers, not even Grandpa Max; for some reason, he was the only one she truly had faith in, the only one she really trusted to do it. She had meant what she said to him in the gym before this whole escapade had started. The Omnitrix really wasn't what was special, he was. It had taken a summer filled with fighting villains and saving the world for her to realize that, but she knew it now, and depended on it. It amazed her how far they had come since that summer. From bitter rivals to…to…whatever they were now.
Gwen squirmed a little in her seat, feeling suddenly tense. Folding her legs beneath her, Gwen rested her forehead against the cool glass of the window, trying to sooth away the tension that was building there.
"You okay"?
Gwen jumped a little in her seat. Looking around, she saw Kevin had been watching her. Extending her legs once more, Gwen turned in her seat so she could more fully face him. "Yeah," she replied, "Just feeling a little tense, I guess."
"You're worried about Ben," he said after a moment. More of a statement than a question.
"No!" Gwen blurted out before she could stop herself. Stupid, really, Kevin had just seen her watching him, and judging by the look on Kevin's face, he didn't believe her either.
"I mean—yes—but not too much. I mean, he's done these kinds of things before, right"?
Kevin shrugged, "Yeah, I guess. Unless you know anyone else who has a watch that can turn them into an alien."
"No, I don't," Gwen conceded, feeling a little foolish.
"Well," Kevin said after another pause, "I wouldn't worry too much. He's almost as tough as me."
"Almost?" Gwen asked, cocking an eyebrow. "From what I recall, he won your little fight."
Kevin flushed a little. "Y-Yeah, well—he just took me by surprise is all. I'd never fought that new alien of his 'til tonight," Kevin retorted, only a little defensively.
Gwen smirked before turning her gaze back to the road, mesmerized for several long moments by the passing of the road beneath the car, watching as the dusty, bumpy dirt road was illuminated for a few brief seconds before it was once again swept into the darkness.
"This is a nice car, by the way," Gwen said, breaking the silence again. She ran her fingers over the paneling of the door, and across the dash. "Mind you, I don't know much about cars, but it seems nice."
"It ought'a be," Kevin replied. "I've spent a lot of time and money customizing this baby."
"With illegal alien technology?" Gwen asked, arching one of her slender eyebrows once more.
Kevin shifted in his seat. "Maybe."
Gwen smirked again before facing forward once more. "I can't wait till Ben and I can drive," Gwen continued after a moment. "It'll be nice to be able to get around without having to ride our bikes or get ride from Grandpa."
"Do you and Ben hang out a lot"?
Gwen felt the sudden urge to panic again. "N-No—I mean, maybe we hang out a little more than most cousins, but it's not like we're around each all the time."
"Alright, alright, I was just asking," he said, "You guys just seem really close, is all."
"Well, we're not," Gwen snipped, her tone a little more biting than she had intended. Kevin looked a little hurt, and Gwen felt a little guilty, but, really, he was just being ridiculous. So what if she and Ben hung out every once in awhile…or…everyday? That didn't mean anything, it didn't. They were just like any other cousins out there, just two family members who happened to get along. That's all; just keep moving along, nothing unusual to see here.
Coming back to her senses, Gwen noticed Kevin still looked a little put out. "Thank you, though," she said, and Kevin shot her a quizzical look. "For all your help tonight," she clarified, "I appreciated it."
Kevin turned a little pink at the compliment, but he tried to brush it off all the same, "It was no big deal. Besides, if I left everything up to Tennyson—er, I mean, Ben—we'd all still be back at the train yard."
Gwen gave him a flat look. "Excuse me, but who was it that had the spell that led us too the giant spaceship"?
Kevin kept his gaze firmly on the road. "Well…at least I didn't yell at you."
"He was just under a lot of stress was all," Gwen replied, waving her hand dismissively. "Ben's just really worried about Grandpa."
"And you're not?" Kevin asked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
Gwen felt a little insulted. "Of course I am! How could you say that?" her voice rising dangerously, she could wake Ben.
"Sorry," Kevin said, and he looked it. "It's just, you never seemed to be as worried about him as Ben was, or as worried about him as you were about Ben."
"Well—Well, that's just because I know Grandpa Max can handle himself, that's all."
"And Ben can't"?
"Of course he can—it's just—I mean, he's just—I –,"
"…Care more about him?" Kevin ventured, but immediately regretted it when he saw the fire suddenly snap in Gwen's eyes.
"You know, I don't think I want to talk about this anymore," she said, before crossing her arms and turning to glare out the passenger side window once more.
Kevin continued to glance at her for several minutes, unsure of exactly what to say, before he finally gave up. Glancing in the rear view mirror, he saw that Ben was still slumped up against the window, his steady breathing fogging up the window near his mouth. You'd better not drool on the upholstery, Tennyson.
Author's note: Though this is slated as a one-shot right now, I'm seriously thinking about turning it into the prologue of a full length story. We'll just have to wait and see.