Creation began on 07-27-14
Creation ended on 12-05-14
Ben 10
Ben and Gwen: Coming of Age
Sometimes, Ben had to wonder when his life became off kilter by whatever factors that were there to be seen and those that weren't seen. One factor, however, that was seen by him was Gwen's current phase that involved her not keeping her room tidy, which resulted in him having to clean it for her every day.
"Still at it, Gwen?" The fifteen-year-old boy asked his fifteen-year-old cousin, standing in front of the doorway to her room.
Gwen, watching a martial arts movie on her computer while eating some potato chips, spoke up and said, "I had just remembered that I borrowed two Blu-rays from the library and just started watching them. If I had forgotten about them, I'd have to pay the fines for late returns."
As he started collecting her dirty clothes near her bed, Ben told her that her borrowed discs were due tomorrow, so she would have to return them within that time to avoid paying the fines. And maybe if she were to just talk with her parents about their intrusion into her diary, she could drop her rebellious phase and go back to being orderly like she had always been.
"…Of course, I'm not one to talk," he went on. "I've had to clean both our rooms since you stopped cleaning yours. Now, I can't sleep without the smell of lemons around my bed, Gwen… Urgh!"
He got caught off his guard at the sight of Gwen's underwear, still on Gwen's legs, and being shown through her reflection in the mirror of hers that she used to examine herself in her outfits to make sure she looked alright.
"What's wrong?" She asked him, unaware of the cause of his gasp.
"Nothing," he lied; he didn't want her to know what he was thinking just a few minutes ago. "Just something I ate an hour ago. I can't get the taste out of my mouth."
Once he had gathered her dirty laundry and took it to the washing machine downstairs, he allowed himself a moment to clear his head. Lately, there were times where he did think of Gwen as a very beautiful lady, but other times, his way of thinking about her was less than the way a person was supposed to think about a girl his own age.
"It's been a long time," he expressed, holding a pair of Gwen's panties, and then tossing them into the washing machine.
-x-
"…Honestly, Ben, I think you would go for a girl like Gwen," said Elena Validus to Ben the next day they were in school.
"Huh? What would make you say that?" Ben asked her, helping her put away the soccer balls in the storage shed.
"I mean, look at Gwen: Valedictorian, top of her classes, she has a black belt in martial arts, and excels in athletics and sports. All the girls go to her for lessons."
After they stored all the balls in the shed, Ben left to the tennis court, where he noticed Gwen was teaching several girls how to play the game.
"…And then you serve like this!" She instructed them, hitting the ball.
Wow, he thought, but had a harder time keeping his eyes on her face than the rest of her because her outfit was Japanese, due to the students mostly being Japanese and still adjusting to living in Bellwood, so she was dressed like their instructors did as a sign of respecting their culture.
"It's hard not to look at her," went his friend, Kevin Levin, showing up behind him, surprising him.
"Huh?!" He gasped.
"Your cousin's a looker," Kevin expressed.
"Hey, that's crossing a line," Ben told him, but his friend left already. "That's crossing a serious line."
Thud. He felt something small his left shoe, and saw a tennis ball beside him.
"Hey, Ben," he turned and saw Gwen, who was now in front of him.
"Hey, Gwen," he responded.
-x-
"Arigato!" The girls thanked Gwen, bowing to her before they left.
After school let out, Ben greeted his cousin with a smile and a can of soda for the fifth time. It was getting to the point where he wondered where the line between her immaturity and his maturity was now, since she frequently left her wallet at home.
"Thanks again, Ben," she praised him, accepting the canned soda from him and sat on a bench off the tennis court. "I can't believe I didn't bring my wallet with me again."
"It's your fault you didn't bring it with you," he told her. "Don't you think your rebellious phase against your parents has gone far enough?"
"No way," she expressed; her rebellious phase all started when her parents suggested that when she apply for college in the next four years, she go live with their aunt. "What are your plans for the future, Ben? You're still vying for the soccer scholarship, since you've confessed that you're not good at many of your other classes. Could you really imagine not being able to see me as often as we do now?"
Ben sighed and found that he couldn't answer that question right away. There was a time where he might've questioned his family living with Gwen's, but that was long ago, and he never liked to admit it, but there was always something being in his cousin's company that was different than his relationship with his other friends. He guessed it was because they've been together in the same house since they were both five years old.
"Say, Ben," went Gwen to her cousin, "you care to try your hand at tennis?"
"Huh? Um…okay," he answered her.
-x-
"Oh, come on, Gwen!" Ben gasped, unable to believe that his cousin would put him through this stunt by making him wear the girls' uniform before they started to play tennis. "Is this really even necessary to do?!"
"Would you relax?" Gwen responded, not even the least bit bothered by her cousin's current situation. "You look like you could pass for a girl."
"But…it's breezy between my legs!"
"Try swinging the racket."
"Like this?" Ben asked, trying to ignore the breeze between his legs and swing the racket, but he was extremely uncomfortable.
Gwen, on the other hand, was fine with the breeze.
To be continued…
A/N: Please, make do with this chapter until I get to work on the third. A sneak of what's to come will involve what was in the first chapter, but awkward and so on. Peace out!
