A/N: I got curious to the team's heritage. So this sprang into my head as I was watching the Citi commercial with the two guys and they go off to Norway where they think they're from only to see the record books and find out they're Swedish… I always crack up sooooo hard when I see that!! Lol!! So this is a quick little one-shot.
Few things: There's one of the funny Jacob moments in here from Twilight. But it's Ben instead of Bella because Bella's a wuss. Don't criticize, it's just my opinion. Team Jacob! Also, normal Kevin. Just saying. And read Car Arguments to understand some parts such as living in the car. No offense to any cultures mentioned here (although I don't think I said anything bad). I'm only writing and don't forget who's talking when it's said (of course, Ben).
Disclaimer: don't own it. Want to. But I don't. Sorry. We should all call Man of Action and ask if we can buy it from him. A bunch of girls(most of us) who love to write for Alien Force owning the show… CALL PEOPLE! CALL!
"Heritage"
Ben was looking Kevin over. Near Saint Patrick's Day, he and Gwen were in all out celebration mode. The redhead was wearing more green than normal and Ben was… still equipped in his green soccer jacket. No changes there. But it got him to thinking. "Hey, Kevin?" he asked, coming into the garage uninvited and unneeded.
Looking up at his name, he realized it was only Ben and put on his stoic face. "What do you want, Tennyson?"
"I was thinking-" he started, but was interrupted with a snorting sort of laugh from Kevin.
"Thinking? Really?"
"Yeah," Ben said, not quite getting it yet.
"That's something new!" he said, chuckling and then turning back to the car with the hood up. "Can you hand me the car jack real fast?" he asked.
"I don't know. I can't think."
"Pshh," Kevin said, a smile breaking out again across his face.
Ben was getting impatient with him now. "What?" the brunette whined. He stamped his foot angrily.
"Okay," he said, trying to stifle it now before his ribs started to hurt. "Two things now. One, you said you can't think." This fact and thinking of it again made him crack up and lean against the car to keep from falling over. "And two, I thought only girls did the funny stomping." It was starting to hurt now and he had to try to stop the laughter.
A low growl emitted from Ben's throat and that got Kevin to shut up. He knew the younger boy could beat him to China and back if necessary. "Alright, alright." He breathed and wiped the smirk off his face.
"What are you two doing?" asked a quiet and familiar voice from the door. Gwen walked in to sit back down on the couch, curling her feet under her. She had some plastic green beads around her neck on a string. "When did Ben get here?"
"'Bout a minute ago." Kevin gave a little shrug before getting up to find the car jack himself. "He still hasn't gotten to the point of this surprise visit." The dark teen got back down on the board and rolled beneath the car again. "But I'm in the middle of something so can we make it fast?"
Gwen raised an eyebrow to her cousin, but he was already trying to find a way to word his question.
"And by the way," added Kevin, "Ben says he can't think, and before that, he stamped around here like a girl."
Rolling her eyes, Gwen had a smart remark ready for him, but Ben had gotten his thoughts first. "So you know how Gwen and I are Irish?"
"Yeah. I was wondering what all the green was about then it hit me. Stupid March." His voice was muffled with a rag and the sounds of the work on his car, but the words were clear to the two in the garage. "What about it?"
"What about you?"
This got Kevin to freeze for a second. He rolled out again to see his friend's face, light flooding into his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"We know our heritage, but where are you from?" Ben asked.
The brown and black orbs flicked to the ground, not wanting to meet another set of eyes. "Dunno. Never came up for me. I was in the Null Void when I thought of stupid questions like that then forgot a few minutes later while I was fighting for my life." It was a silent rage that was battling his sense of control and he was dying to lash out at Ben. "It doesn't matter anyways." The dark teen went back beneath the car, pushing away the subject as simply as it had come up.
The cousins' eyes met: Gwen's were worried, whereas Ben's had been coated over with curiosity. "I'll bet I can guess," the boy said. He grinned.
"Oh yeah?" Kevin said, not caring in the slightest.
Ben nodded. "I'll bet you've got French in your blood."
The girl's gaze immediately swept to her cousin. "How did you get that?" she asked. "He looks more Mexican or something. Dark hair and eyes and all that. Maybe Indian."
"Nah," the younger boy said. He shrugged and ran his finger through the layer of dust on one of Kevin's tool chests. "He's too pale."
"Quit talking about me like I'm not even here." The words echoed fiercely from beneath the car in the center of the garage. "Do I even get a say in this?"
"No," the Tennysons replied in unison. The glares started.
Ben was the first to speak up after that. "I'll make you a bet he's French."
"Deal. I bet he's Indian or Mexican."
The two shook on it.
A groan was the only response from the car's driver. He was sick of this discussion already. Too bad he already knew which one was wrong. In his head, Kevin was making his own conclusions.
The next day, Gwen was in the garage early, tapping on the car window to wake up the boy sleeping in the backseat. "Get up!" she hissed, when he unlocked the door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out. Or at least tried. The redhead succeeded in letting him fall to the floor of the car.
He moaned.
She winced, realizing the mistake. "Sorry," the girl breathed, helping him back up.
"Well, you could've rephrased it like, 'Morning, Kevin, I brought you breakfast,'" he said with a huge yawn. "Or even letting me sleep a few more hours."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "No breakfast and no more sleep for you."
He slumped over some more. "Why are you even here?" he asked, suppressing another yawn. Deep brown eyes scanned the horizon to see the sun barely coming up. "It's too early."
"I wanted to know who won the bet."
Kevin felt the need to bang his head against the car and try to knock his brain out. "Can you guys let it go?" he whined. "I'm tired and I didn't even get home last night. That leaking tank is really bugging me and I haven't gotten it fixed yet. It could be a while before I decide to visit my mom again anyways. The step's in town again and I'm trying to skip out on food for as long as possible so I don't have to go and ask for more cash." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Sorry, Gwen. Give me a week or so."
Her eyes narrowed before she could see the sincerity that he was giving her. "Okay. But as soon as he's gone-"
"I'll get around to it," he said, cutting her off again. The dark teen reached into the backseat and pulled on a black shirt. "I still can't believe you guys bet on me," he muttered.
"How about I make it up to you and bring back some breakfast?" offered Gwen. She was angry with herself for not realizing he was naked from the waist up. She would've been staring at his body the whole time and probably forgotten the reason for waking him up anyways.
His lips turned up in a smile. "Okay." He reached into the car and pulled a bag from under the front seat. "And tell Ben to leave me alone if you see him."
She nodded and turned to head out. "You good?" she asked, turning back.
He gave her a knowing grin. "Yeah. Fine."
The redhead disappeared around the corner, her heart nearly stopping in her chest. He could be so sweet at times like that when he could've just snapped. She leaned against the wall for a second, taking in the moment. Then she headed out.
The same thing happened for the next few mornings. She'd get there and wake him up, but not at dawn. Then she'd find an excuse for coming and headed to get him something to eat which after a while became the highlight of her day. It turned into a routine that ended abruptly when the car wasn't in the garage. Gwen's head whipped around, looking for it, but only found an empty space where it had been for nearly two weeks.
A rumbling engine dragged the girl from her misery of him being missing. "Gwen!" Kevin called from the driver's seat. He leaned over and opened the passenger side door to let her in.
She jumped in and immediately jumped on him with questions. "Where were you? Why weren't you here? What happened? Did you get a tip?"
His reaction was a smile that stopped her world for a second and her mind had to work really hard to think again. "He finally left and I went home to stock up on cash for the next month or two. Now, I finally got the answer to the bet so call up Benji and let's get this over with."
Gwen's face fell and she had to try to hide her disappointment. "Really? Who won?"
By the look on his face, she already knew the answer. The redhead pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed her cousin's number.
They all met up at Mr. Smoothy less than an hour later.
"So who won?!" yelled Ben, coming up to the car at top speed on his bike. He dropped it off at the last second, jumping over the handlebars in a miraculous leap, stumbling half way to his team. "I'm right, aren't I? You're French?"
Kevin seemed pissed at himself in a way. "Yeah. My dad was half human so I got it from him." He gave a tiny shrug, giving up.
Gwen was sitting on the hood. "I don't get how…" the girl sighed.
The younger boy smirked wildly. "Told you."
"How did you know?!" his cousin snarled. "I mean, it makes no sense!"
"I'll tell you how." He was quiet for a while. "After I get a smoothie, of course." His cocky arrogance was back as he walked away with exaggerated swagger.
"I swear, I'll kill him," muttered Gwen.
The dark teen beside her grunted. "Get in line."
Ben came back with a mix of cherry, applesauce, and coconut in hand. "Here's how I figured it out."
The other two leaned in to listen.
"Dark hair, dark eyes, and strong build point to Spain or Russia mostly, so France doesn't come to mind until you look harder. Russians have shaggier hair, but Kevin's is way too fine and shiny for that." Ben was analyzing the other boy again as he spoke. "Plus, if he were Mexican or Spanish or Indian, his skin would be darker, but he's totally pale." The brunette sipped his smoothie. "But this is what really sold me." He took the lid off his cup and put his fingers into the drink. He wrote out two words on the hood of the car. "This was a French art studio that I saw somewhere but I didn't notice it until I thought about it a little."
Gwen and Kevin cocked their heads to read it. The mushy liquid spelled out 'LES VINS'.
"Now check this out," Ben said. He used his fist and sleeve to wipe away both of the 's's. "It spells Levin. That really got me. So I figured France. It all kind of occurred to me when you said you didn't know so I was doing a few mental checks and got it."
The redhead was already fed up. She stalked to the car and fell into the passenger seat.
"Gwen doesn't like losing," Ben laughed, putting the lid back on his smoothie. "So enjoy having a pissy girl on your hands for the rest of the day." He headed over to his bike and pulled it back off the blacktopped parking lot. "See you around!" Grabbing his helmet, he slammed it on his head. Then his feet hit the pedals and he was gone in a few minutes.
Kevin shook his head and climbed in beside Gwen who had the music blaring to drown out her thoughts and emotions. It was working.
A/N: alright, I really was curious about this in general and I had to bring it up. ('Something About Mary' just came on so I gotta finish my author's note really fast) But I did see Les Vins and I took a pic with my fone. Now ik Ben probably isn't irish because it just doesn't make sense, but for Gwen it does. So any thoughts for Ben and anyone want to argue against my logic on Kevin being French, just review to tell me. Or you could always review to tell me how much you love it… lol. Jk jk, but please review! Thankies, biiii!!
~Sky
P.S. im looking at how Ben was again and I'm thinking, 'how did he pay attention that much?' weird, rite? Stalkerrr………