Disclaimer - I don't own Ben 10
AN - These are just a couple drabbles I wrote on Heatblast's Ben 10 forum… im gonna have to get that url somewhere x.x
Babysitting
Ben was furious! How could those two talk me into this, he thought, fuming as he plopped onto one of the large cushions of the high-style sofa, its off-white leather squeaking under his weight. At the moment, his grandpa was talking to the owners of the large, two story home he now sat in. Apparently, these people were friends of his from "back in the day"; his grandpa had avoided anymore information than that.
A movement from the right caught his attention and he looked up to see the three adults and Gwen stepping out of the kitchen and into the spacious living room.
"Alright, Ben, you know the number if anything happens?" Ben nodded stiffly, trying not to show any hostility to the man and woman who stood with his family, but wanting to show his displeasure to his grandpa.
"Thank you so much for doing this, Ben." The woman chimed in, giving the boy a polite smile. "It's been so long since we've been out of the house."
"We'll be back in a couple of hours. Call us if you need us." Ben stood, nodding again before Max stepped out the front door. He sent a glare to his cousin as she too stepped out, but in truth, her situation was about as bad as his; sitting around while a bunch of adults talk... boooooring.
The last of the adults stepped out, closing the door shut, and Ben was left in the house, alone... with two little children.
The two were both four years old, twins, a boy and a girl. He turned to see the two standing in the openning that led into the kitchen, both staring at him in silence.
"so... uh... what do you want to do?" His question went unanswered. Absentmindedly, he rubbed the back of his head. "uh... how about... " Ben quickly looked around, searching for something to occuply the two. "TV, you wanna watch a movie?"
They shook their heads, the girls blond pigtails swaying with the movement. She was the first to speak up, "I wanna play my princess game!" At that, both boys wrinkled their noses.
"That games for girls, 'Manda." Her brother shot back at her. "Let's play Cowboys!"
"Tommy! I don't like that game!" Amanda pouted, her eyes already brimming with tears.
Ben could already see the next two hours were going to be more than he had expected. Fearing that the fight would go on until someone started crying, he quickly stepped forward, "How about we play cowboys and cowgirl? You can dress up?" He added as he saw Amanda beginning to protest.
"Okay.." The two spoke in unison before running off to their rooms, leaving Ben standing in the living room.
Sighing, the brown haired hero sat down on the couch, waiting for the kids to return. With any luck, after this game, the kids would want to go to sleep, seeing as how their bedtime was in an hour.
A slight commotion in the kitchen caught his attention and he stood, moving quickly to the doorway. He blinked, having seen something, but not sure what. He stepped into the empty kitchen, his eyes searching for movement.
"Tommy? Amanda?" He strained to listen, but got no response. Great, Tennyson, not even five minutes into the job and you've lost the kids...
Moving into the hallway, he found a room on the left that obviously belonged to a little girl; the pastel pink walls and stuffed animals were a dead giveaway. "Amanda?" She didn't answer. He was about to step into the room when another sound caused him to turn back to the hallway. "Are you two in here?" He smiled as he caught the sound of giggling,surprised at himself as he felt a hint of relief.
A door at the end of the hall was ajar and he pushed it open. His bright green eyes widdened as he took in the room before him. It was about as large as the living room, and filled with toys and games! A swingset stood at one corner, one of the swings swaying gently. He stepped farther into the room, taking note of the wall to his right. The lanolium floor connected with a multicolored wall, splatterings of dried paint creating a sparatic design.
"Freeze!" Ben spun at the childish command sent from the other side of the room. There stood Tommy, slingshot in hand.
"Reach for the sky!" Amanda stepped up beside him, her weapon at the ready. They both wore cowboy hats that fit perfectly atop their small heads.
"What are you two doing?" Ben hadn't stopped to think as he stepped towards the armed children.
"Fire!" A round object shot past him, missing his shoulder by mere inches, a resounding splat coming from behind. He turned to see neon green paint slowly trailing down the wall. And he couldn't dodge the next projectile as it collided with his stomach, pink paint spraying across his black and white shirt.
"I got him!" The cheerful voice of the little girl was barely heard over Ben's confusion and disbelief.
"Uh oh! He's spotted us!" Tommy continued the game. "Quick, back here!" The children scrambled for cover behind what looked like a bookshelf as Ben's gaze left his shirt and found the brother and sister.
They're only four... calm down... he took a deep breath. "Okay you two, you got me. Let's find a new game to play." His voice was tight as he tried to control his anger.
"No! We like this game!" Tommy shouted from his hiding place. " Get'im 'Manda!"
The girl shot up, weapon already cocked back and she fired. Ben's arms shot up in defense as the paint bomb struck his hand sending blue paint over his head. Before he could speak again, another ball smacked into his leg, splatters of yellow paint now dripping onto the floor.
The battle continued for a while longer before Ben finally made it to the children, his form dripping with multiple colors. His face was hidden by a wall of neon orange paint, his green eyes the only feature visible.
Amanda let out a yawn, "I'm tired. I'm going to bed now. Goodnight."
"Me too. Goodnight." And with that, the two twins walked out of the play room, leaving their hats and a very silent Ben behind.
He turned, walked out of the room towards the bathroom, muttering to himself. Never again...
Later that night, the group of adults and Gwen stepped into the large house to find Ben getting up from his seat on the stairs, his clothes obviously damp.
"How did everything go?" The husband spoke up, hanging his coat over the rail of the stairs.
Ben could only give him a forced smile and a nod before he went to stand beside his cousin. "They're asleep."
The two married adults smiled and turned to Max. "Thank you for a wonderful night. We hope you and your family can come back to visit soon?"
Ben tensed, waiting for his Grandpa's answer. "We're heading to Nevada in the morning, but I'm sure we'll be back by some time. It was great seeing you again. Have a good night." And with that, the three heros left.
That night in the RV, Gwen couldn't help but ask, "What happened to your hair?"
Ben frowned and went over to the bathroom mirror, running a hand through his hair. Indeed, he had small splotches of blue still left from the game of cowboys. He let out a sigh, never again...
The end
Warning- this next one was just me playing around x.x don't take it too seriously!
Three Years
It had been three years... The brown haired teen was surprised at how much he could still remember about that summer. Him and his grandpa and Gwen, fighting evil. It was so long ago but still so clear in his green eyes. At the time, he thought those days would last forever... but the day the watch had been retrieved still stung in his heart, the loss of his powers, the aliens he had become... just a fading memory.
A light tap on his shoulder and he turned to see his cousin, a little more grown up than he had last seen her, her bright orange hair longer and pulled back into a tight bun. She gave him a sad smile, "Its time to go. Everyone's waiting in the car."
He nodded slowly before turning away from her, hearing the light footsteps as she headed for the row of vehicles that lined the street behind them.
Ben could feel the hot tears threatening, his eyes stinging as his heart began to ache. "Three years since our adventures... I miss that summer... a whole lot." he lowered his gaze to his hands, his fingers intertwining nervously. "I'd give anything... to go back to those days..."
Quiet passed over him for a moment longer before he heard the gentle call of his mother from the car. Bringing up a hand, he wiped the wetness from his eyes and looked down at the small grave stone in front of him, slowly reading the engraved words across it.
Here lies
Max Tennyson
His adventures continue on.
Ben turned, his head lowered as he made his way over to his parents. Without a word, he climbed into the back seat, shutting the door behind him. He glanced out the window at the lone grave, vaguely aware as the vehicle slowly pulled forward. "Goodbye, Grandpa." He whispered, and turned away as the line of cars pulled out of the cemetery.
The end...