Author: aFigureOfSpeech

Title: Stay - Gwen

Word Count: 1,091

Pairing: KevinxGwen

Rating: K

Summary: Not all choices are difficult. Just the ones that really matter. Gwevin

Author's Note: Okay, so this was perhaps the easiest thing I have written in ages. Seriously.

But anyway, yeah. I really enjoyed that episode. It was just...so great. I have some theories and opinions and stuff that can be found in my journal on deviantART (there's a link in my profile).

Oh, also, I'm posting a Kevin Version of this too, under the same title (except it's Stay - Kevin). Yeah.

Disclaimer: Ben 10: Alien Force and all characters belong to Man of Action.

Okay, so Gwen knew that when her parents said they wouldn't stop her from leaving, they didn't mean they didn't care enough to prevent her. And when Ben said that they were already recruiting more Plumbers' kids so the two of them would be alright if she wasn't there to back them up, he didn't mean that she wasn't really a necessary or important part of their little hero group, or that he and Kevin, her boys as she liked to call them, didn't actually need her. They all didn't mean that they didn't care if she left, that they wanted her to leave.

It just sounded like that.

Really, she was being illogical and she knew it. Gwen hated it when she was illogical. They were only trying to show that they thought she was old enough and mature enough to make her own decisions and they would support her no matter what she chose. But…

But.

But she didn't really want to be old or mature or make her own choices, for once in her life. What if she made the wrong one; what if she regretted it forever? Could she live with that? This was such a big thing. Too big. Really, she just wanted someone else to tell her what to choose (as novel a concept as that was). But her parents wouldn't tell her what to do. Ben was hardly any better. If anything, they almost seemed to be pushing her to go. Mentally, she knew they were just trying not to hold her back if she really wanted to leave. But in all honesty, she kind of wanted someone to tell her that they didn't want her to leave. Silly and selfish as it was, she wanted to know that people would be sad or even upset that she was gone.

The only one who seemed to have no inhibitions in sharing his negative opinion was Kevin (that made Gwen smile because it was so utterly Kevin and so exactly what she had wanted to hear. Some day she'd have to thank him for, despite his history of questionable dependability, always trying to be honest with her. For now, a kiss might do). Still, none of them would or could make this decision for her, because they understood that it was hers to make, even if she didn't really want to. So…

So.

Yes, going to Anodine would be a fantastic opportunity. She could learn so much, about not just her powers but her heritage as well. In fact, the Anodites probably had vast knowledge of the universe itself. There was so much she didn't know, so much she wanted to know…

But at what price? Her family. Her friends. Her chance with… Could she really give up all that, her entire life, up? She had hardly even begun to experience it, too; there was so much she hadn't done, so much she wanted to do. She was having so many adventures, discovering new things and beating up the bad guys, all with her boys. She cared about them so much; it made her heart swell, just thinking of all the ways they showed that they cared as well. (Really, eavesdropping on her roof? That was so clichéd, albeit adorably sweet). Could she actually leave them behind? Was it really worth it?

…No. No, it wasn't.

More than she wanted to learn about her powers Gwen wanted to live the life she had begun on Earth. Though it would take more time than with an experienced teacher, her powers she could practice on her own if she stayed. Her life she could never have again if she left. When looked at that way, there was really no question left in Gwen's mind.

Evidently, Grandma Verdona felt otherwise. Gwen was having trouble comprehending her thought process, though it could make sense in a removed kind of way. But destroy her body? Wouldn't she die? Apparently, Verdona didn't think so. Maybe Gwen wouldn't, in the sense that her consciousness would disappear, but her life most certainly would end. She didn't want that to happen.

And neither did her boys. If the situation hadn't been so serious, she would have smiled in gratitude; they would never abandon her. Ever. Ben had been perfectly honest when he spoke: he would support her decision fully, even more so now because in the end he really didn't want her to leave. And Kevin… Well, he was Kevin, and no matter how weird and stupid he was being about asking her out (and he honestly was, because she had even told him she wanted to), he most certainly did not want her going anywhere he could not. He wanted her around.

But (though it pained her to even think it because her boys, for all their idiotic, stubborn, pig-headed tendencies, had always seemed invincible) Kevin and Ben didn't even seem to make a great difference against Verdona. She was just so powerful, and she had the advantage of experience on her side. Not to mention she was quite convinced she was right. Gwen by no means thought she was evil; Verdona just felt, as an energy-being and a superior life-form, that she was entitled to what she wanted, even if other people thought differently. She believed she knew best.

Gwen had to make her see otherwise. In desperation, with Kevin rammed like a nail into the ground and Ben wrapped up in his own sticky-webs and herself trapped in Verdona's energy-hair-tentacles, she had yelled, "Listen to me!"

And, miracle of miracles – she had.

Finally, Verdona left with a parting though temporary farewell (but thankfully not before using her powers to revert Gwen's house back to its pre-battle state, a move that almost made her wish she was going; if their previous destructive fights were any example it would be something incredibly useful in the future). As she placed the energy flower by Max and Verdona's tree, Gwen felt an overwhelming sense of relief, so strong she couldn't help but smile. Here she was, surrounded by the people she cared about (albeit with a few significants missing) and who cared about her; they needed her, and she could just imagine the adventures awaiting her.

One day, when she had experienced life and felt she was ready, perhaps she would take her grandmother up on her offer if it was still available. But, if not, Gwen knew she would not regret the choice she made.

And in the end, that was what truly mattered.