-Looks around- Uhh, you didn't see me here, nope… -shrugs- alright, alright, fine. I'm so new to this fandom I haven't seen season one (yet). But I felt like writing SOMETHING. All my muses are dead and my OTPs are MIA. Aaand I'm bored.
Enjoy?
Warnings: SLASH, PWP, SHORT, I'M RUSTY!
Disclaimer: Ben 10 owned by DC comics and Man Of Action.
Note: Set in unknown future so… consider it AU. Forgive me if I get anything wrong and for the sake of AU, let's just say Kev's freed of his current unfortunate condition.
The music was so loud that Ben could swear the rocks on the ground were bouncing away in hopes of escaping the risk of becoming sand. A week had now passed since the hero's twenty-first birthday and he hadn't had his first beer until now. At least he thinks its beer, since Kevin provided it; it was safe to say that it wasn't from Earth.
Even though the pair was outside of the vehicle, Kevin had opened both doors and cranked up the volume to max.
"Could you turn it down?!"
"WHAT?"
Ben frowned and pointed to his ears, then the car. "I'M GOING-" when stereo system suddenly died and the headlights shut off. "-DEAF."
"NO MY CAR!" His ears were still ringing and his hearing was taken down several decibels but Kevin's cry of horror still came out much too loudly for Ben's taste. The night had started off as a simple outing for the two friends, to catch up after some years apart. When Kevin and Gwen broke up, the then nineteen year old had taken it hard and left their group; of course he stayed in touch with the Tennysons after the initial blow lessened, even helping out for one or two key missions. But today was the first day Kevin actually stayed in town for more then a night. When Ben confessed his 'alcohol virginity' as Kevin so kindly put it, the hero's fate was sealed.
"Do you still think my suggestion to go to a bar- like normal people, was a bad idea?" Ben huffed, crossing his arms all the while holding an unmarked beer can. At this, Kevin snarled and opened the hood, a miniature light automatically going on; Ben assumed it had a separate power source. "The battery's dead, mind using that fancy watch of yours to boost it?"
"Great, keep on ignoring me… I can't, you know that. Azmuth tweaked it so it only activates when there's an emergency." The hero couldn't help but let resentment seep into his statement; it wasn't like he was a kid anymore, or a teenager for that matter. But Azmuth was a sneaky little bastard.
Kevin groaned and carefully shut the hood. "This is an emergency! We're six miles from the nearest road and it's the middle of the night!" Ben hid the smile tugging at his lips by taking a sip of his beverage. It was a full moon, so he could still make out most of the other's features and for a moment, he saw a flash of the old, younger Kevin from when they hung out and he would whine at the slightest hitch of his beloved Challenger. He still does that, but it just wasn't as amusing as it use to be.
"Relax, we'll be fine. We have our cell phones, remember? And Gwen is probably still awake."
"Oh." When the silence grew thicker, Ben knew he'd said something wrong. He quickly dialed his cousin's number and urged her to hurry up.
"Ugh, but Gwen, its cold and dark," The hero tried to sound desperate. "Too bad, grandma's visiting and if I leave, mom is going to murder several people, myself included. Look, everyone's still partying but I'll see what I can do when all of grandma's friends leave, okay?" Click.
"She hung up on me!" Ben glared at his phone until the screen and digits stopped glowing; which was unwise, seeing as he couldn't make anything out anymore. Kevin meanwhile, had gone to the back of the car and was fiddling inside the trunk.
"Nope, no spare battery," He muttered, catching Ben's attention. "How come? Knowing you, you've got a spare everything in there." A light went on and Kevin's smirk became visible. "Had to make room for the booze."
It was no use complaining, they weren't going to be stranded for more then a few hours, they had drinks and best of all: someone to annoy. Kevin was mentally kicking himself for not checking the battery right after he fought off an electrically based alien. Teasing Ben was the next best outlet to finding the creature that zapped the juice away from his baby.
"Dude, what is this stuff, it tastes like liquorish and ginger." The duo had gone through a six pack of 'light beer' and were moving onto heavier, bottled stuff.
"One of the finest brewed drinks in the universe- the only thing you need to know is it doesn't give you a hangover." By now, they were sitting in the car with a lantern sitting on the dashboard, the amber colors it emitted mended with the moonlight giving everything contrasting shades.
"It's illegal, isn't it? 'Cause I'm feeling something I'm sure doesn't quite fall into 'drunk'. " Ben glared at his dark haired friend, mildly cross-eyed. Kevin raised a brow and opened another bottle.
"Ben, my man, if you can still talk that fast; you're not drunk enough." The ex-con gestured the bottle towards Ben, who snorted but accepted the offering.
"Are you sure I won't like, die from alcohol poisoning or something?" The hero continued, successfully getting the older male to snort. "Told you, no need to worry about anything! Geez Tennyson, next you'll accuse me of date-raping you." For a moment, Ben simply stared blankly, before puffing with laugher.
"No way! Where'd you get that idea from?" It took a good minute before Ben calmed himself before falling eerily silent. Ben finished his drink and set the empty bottle into the designated paper bag Kevin had brought and gave the former mutant a dead serious stare.
"But… you won't, right?" Kevin couldn't even blink he was so taken back. Thankfully, he didn't need to answer the strange question since the Hero Of The Year once again burst into barks of laughter.
"You should have seen your face! I didn't know you could loose color- haha!" And before the 'why you little' could register, Kevin had him by his collar and was waving a menacing finger at him. Unfortunately, the booze had begun to take effect and Ben found the move to be even more hilarious. The conman hissed and let him go, unsure as to how to respond. But a smirk was tugging at the corner of his mouth. So, Ben wanted to play? Sure, Kevin was the best at this game.
"Anyway, how are you and Julie?" He would have to tread carefully, but if Kevin knew Ben, it was the perfect opening for the gag he wanted to pull. Ben immediately sobered up, smile shrinking by half and he shrugged his shoulders half heartedly.
"Broke up last year, nothing bad; she got into university and I was lucky just getting accepted into college. Long distance, heh…" Kevin nodded attentively. "So, ah, did you guys get to do it?"
"Excuse me-?! None of your business!" Ben's eyes widened and his face was painted an extra shade of red thanks to the added heat from the alcohol.
"Relax, this is guy talk. Everybody does it." Kevin inclined his seat and popped open his third bottle.
"Well I'm not everybody! D-dude…" There was his opening, perfect.
"Speaking of 'dudes', ever had the hots for one?" Ben shifted in his seat uneasily, suddenly regretting having teased the other. He opened his mouth, managing only incoherent noises before drawling out a "Why?"
"It's a simple question," Kevin started casually. "One you usually shriek out a 'no' to, or…" The elder man cracked open an eye and counted down mentally.
"THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL THAT I- I- JUST NO!!" Right on cue; the twitch.
"You're lying!" Kevin sat up to better emphasize his statement, unable to turn his grin back into a smirk. "This is golden, I was just gunna mess with ya for a bit but I actually hit pay dirt!"
"It's not twitching!!! It's doing that because I'm angry!" Even Ben didn't believe himself and it only flustered him further.
Alright, too much nostalgia, he had to get himself out of this one before things got really ugly.
"Who is it?" Kevin asked eagerly before feinting a thinking pose. "No, wait, wait let me guess… Dr Paradox!" Ben shrieked. "Hmm… oh! It's Adam, isn't it?" The hero lunged at his verbal assailant.
"Nope…" Kevin paused dramatically with an expression of utter mortification. "It's not Vilgax, is it?" The statement was so absurd that Ben ceased trying to harm Kevin and deadpanned.
"That's just pure evil."
"You got me there…" For a miraculous moment, Ben was sure that that was the end of his torment. Unfortunately, he was mistaken.
"Hang on a bit, I got it-! It's me!" Ben physically flinched and his cheeks tinted darkly. His eye began to twitch despite his silence.
"Oh my God, it is me!" It was Kevin's turn to howl in laughter.
"Is not!" Ben bolted off of the male at lightning speed and crossed his arms defensively. "Oh so you admit you had a crush on a guy?" Kevin tried to avoid a hard kick but to no avail.
"I never have. And even if I did- which I don't-! Why would it be you?" The hero sneered.
"Because I'm just that great."
"What- so now you're saying you want me to like you?" Ben furrowed his brows as he continued trying to become one with the seat.
"No, but I can't be held responsible for my rugged charms." Kevin raised his hands in a 'what can I do?' fashion, closing his eyes assuredly.
"Oh yeah?" An action he immediately regretted seeing as Ben was now sitting heavily on his lap. "So then if I kissed you now and proved to you that it didn't rock my world, you'd admit defeat?"
The former mutant shrugged nonchalantly. "Pretty much, I guess. But the fact you're suggesting that isn't voting well for your sexu-MMPH!" Truth be told, Kevin had thought the hero was bluffing. But there they were, lip-locked with Ben holding down Kevin's arms. When neither party separated once the anger was gone and the awkwardness settled in, Kevin tried to move his arms only to have them squeezed tighter. Ben was in no way stronger, but the surprise of it caused him to heed to the action. It was only when he felt something warm and slick over his lips that he lightly pushed off the shorter man.
And just in time seeing as headlights shun through the windows at the very moment Ben was back on his seat. Soon, a tired looking Gwen opened the front door.
"Hurry up, I haven't got all night, grandma's asleep but I can't be sure." The duo nodded mutely and left the car.
"Shotgun." Ben rushed to the passenger's side door before Gwen even got a chance to unlock it.
"You bring a battery?" Kevin asked carefully, although his caution still didn't spare him of a deathly glare from his ex.
"And let who drive, you? I can already tell you're both wasted." She took a deep breath. "Sorry, long night. I was going to get one at your place but I'd missed an exit and wasn't in the mood to turn back." In a rare show of sportsmanship, Kevin shrugged and got into the back seat. "I guess it'll be alright, there's next to no wind and it's not supposed to rain… but if anything happens-"
"You'll kill us; we get it." Gwen adjusted her rear view mirror and the van began moving.
"It's nice to see you again." Kevin smiled sparingly and the redhead turned her head to flash him the same smile. "Likewise."
"But we're still just friends." The half Anodite added firmly, electing a laugh.
The rest of the ride went on in relative silence, causing Gwen to wonder just how drunk they were. She ended up dropping them off at Ben's newly leased apartment. Once again, Ben was quick to leave but his escape was less then graceful; he sauntered every which way but the intended pavement and fiddled ragingly with his two keys.
"Fit you stupid thing!" The hero slurred, holding himself steady.
"Kevin…"
"Don't look at me, I only provided it!" Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose and took a long deep breath. "I thought you grew up just a tiny bit." The woman knowingly crushed whatever ego her friend had left with her words.
"I did!"
"Or so I thought." Gwen leaned her head disapprovingly against the window when Ben began trying to command the alien device to activate.
"Come on Gwen, he's 21 now, he deserves to have a little fun!"
"Right. You're obviously less drunk so get in there and keep an eye on him." The pair were vaguely aware of a cry for help; "YOU CAN COME OPEN THIS THING ANY TIME NOW!"
"No way! I'm not staying at Tennyson's; he's only got one bed!" Kevin knew he said too much with Gwen shot a suspicious look at him. "And how would you know that?"
"Well, he's not with Julie anymore, right? How many single guys with apartments do you know with two beds?" Gwen reluctantly let it pass.
"Fine, whatever, it's too late for this. You've both obviously got issues to work out so I'll give you a hand." Within moments, Kevin, Ben and Gwen were standing inside Ben's new bedroom.
"Woah- your powers." The hero scarcely had time to gawk before his cousin shushed him.
"Talk. Now." She pointed at the two men.
Kevin coughed, and started, afraid of what other new powers Gwen had gained over the years.
"Uh… so you…?" Ben nodded.
"But just when I was younger… but earlier you-"
"Yeah… that doesn't mean-!"
"Of course not…" The duo avoided all eye contact through out the 'talk'.
"Yay! You've cleared things up, now continue getting along and don't call me- seriously, don't. Not until grandma's gone." Gwen warned with a hint of sarcasm as she disappeared in a flash of mana.
"Why didn't she just do that from the start?" Kevin jived when the realization dawned on him.
"Probably still mad at you." The Plumber was about to retort to that when he wisely chose against it at the last second.
"Extra pillow's in the dryer, I'm going to sleep." Ben shrugged off his jacket and shoes before unceremoniously landing on the bed, immediately hiding under the blankets. "Enjoy the couch."
Kevin growled but complied. That was, until he saw the couch.
"That's like half my size!"
"Tough!"
"Well I ain't sleeping in it, scoot over." Despite repeated attempts to kick off the buff man, Ben barely managed to make him jerk.
"My place, my rules, now get off!!" After what seemed like eternity, the hero was distraught to hear snores coming from the former mutant. Flabbergasted, Ben crept to the very edge of the mattress and turned his back to the other, childishly muttering: "I hate you."
And just when Ben's reluctant conscious was allowing him to fall asleep, a gruff, mocking voice began singing:
"But you still liiike me."
Needless to say that neither of them slept that night, and although Kevin would be sore all over the following day, it was not because Ben 'rocked his world', that only happened several months later. Until then, he could only gawk at a non-alien-educed bruise caused by the hero.
There you go :3 my first Ben 10 fic ever.
I feel the need to point out that if it seems like I'm de-glorifying Gwen, it's unintentional, hell, I'd act ruder in her position xD I love Gwen! And I find her and Kevin and Ben and Julie together cute... but slash is my mistress and I do as she says!