Chapter 10

This chapter is all about cold-water awareness and the dangers of hypothermia! No, seriously, it kind of is. A bit of Bevin will warm that up, ne? (No lemon yet).

Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10

"We'll have to stay here for the day," Ben said as he looked at his Omnitrix and sighed at the red light. His phone was also dead, sucked dry by Michael when he attacked the hero.

Kevin kept his hand over his eyes, shielding himself from the sun as it broke through the gray clouds and reflected off the frosty trees. Late autumn was suddenly beginning to feel like mid-winter.

Luckily, the two had come across a summer cabin as they were following the river home. It was the first time in a long while that Ben had done something bad on purpose. He used a rock to break one of the dusty window panes and carefully unlock the door before pushing the thick wood away and pulling Kevin inside.

It was a single room cabin. No bathroom or kitchen, just a fire-blackened wood burning stove and three small beds covered in thick but musty blankets. The brunette heaved a sigh of relief when he saw a tidy woodpile and a box of matches. That was one problem out of the way.

He ordered Kevin to lay down on one of the beds while he began loading the stove with wood. The black haired teen silently did as he was told, burrowing under the covers and sulking as Ben lit the fire.

By the time a healthy fire had been made, Kevin was fast asleep. Ben stood to his feet and grimaced at the pain and the feeling of his jeans sticking to his thigh. He peered at the large sleeping form and outside at the gray sky, deciding quickly that he should wash off before sleeping. He threw his jacket and shirt on the empty bed next to Kevin before he stepped outside into the biting air.

*

The cocoon of blankets stirred as the pale body wrapped inside them woke. Kevin peered out of his dark little blanket cavern at the chilly cabin. The fire had died not long ago, as bits of glowing coal were still present; but without the flames to keep the heat up, a bitter cold wind was blowing down the chimney.

The dark haired boy grumbled as it stood and walked to the wood pile. He grabbed several pieces and threw them into the stove before looking out the dirty window and seeing the tiny dots of snow falling down from the sky.

"It's starting to snow," he said, turning to the empty bed and seeing pieces of Ben's clothing, but not Ben. His black eyes widened and he called the hero's name. Doing so was quite useless, of course, the boy wasn't in the cabin.

Kevin felt his heart begin to race. Where was Ben? He threw open the cabin door and looked wildly about. His eyes scanned through the gray forest until he saw the familiar chestnut hair off in the distance. He broke into a run, dashing past trees as the snow began to drop thicker flakes.

What the hell was he doing wandering around half naked in the snow? Kevin came to a screeching halt when he saw that Ben was in the river, cupping his hands in the freezing water and scrubbing at his skin with fervor. His attention was so fully dedicated to cleaning that he didn't even notice the raven stomping into the water to retrieve him.

The large pale arms threw themselves around Ben's waist and hoisted the small body on his shoulders.

"Nn-n-no," the smaller said dumbly through chattering teeth as Kevin hobbled out of the water and began to run up towards the cabin.

"Shut it," Kevin barked, his eyes stinging as the sun managed to shine through the snowing clouds and reflect of the thin white sheet on the ground. He slammed the door and set the smaller boy to his feet.

The brunette wobbled slightly and glared, "I needed to clean off."

"Shit, Ben." Kevin rubbed the boy's shoulders vigorously. His lips were blue and his usually tan skin was whiter than the mutant's. The smaller tried to brush the hands away from his arms, but his strength was so far diminished that his push was nothing more than a slight wave against the raven's skin. "You idiot, you're hypothermic."

"I needed to clean off," Ben repeated, his speech slurring slightly as his eyes began to close in a sleepy manner.

"Don't fall asleep!" Kevin yelled, shaking Ben and glancing at the fire which was flickering weakly. It certainly was not enough to warm the boy in time. The elder swore and quickly peeled off the wet jeans, catching Ben as he nearly toppled with them to the floor. He then grabbed one of the blankets and dried off his skin, rubbing harshly at the deadly pale flesh.

He grabbed the boy's wrist and swore at the red color on the Omnitrix. They really were in trouble. Ben couldn't change into anything helpful.

He flung back the covers and threw the smaller body on the mattress before he removed his clothing and crawled over the hero. He grasped the covers he had previously tossed aside and wrapped them around their two bodies. Ben's breathing was shallow and his eyes were closed. Kevin tucked the blankets under their bodies, coving them completely inside a shelter of cloth. The brunette squirmed and weakly pushed the larger body away.

"Come on, Benji." The raven pleaded, rubbing his rough hands over the cold skin in an attempt to make friction. His body was terribly cold and frighteningly still, Kevin knew it was a bad sign that the smaller body wasn't shivering.

"I'm fine," the green eyes opened sleepily, his pupils were dilated and his voice was heavily slurred "…clean off."

"Idiot," Kevin said, his eyes full of angry tears. "You could have killed yourself."

"…Felt dirty," Ben replied, "it's dirty..." His eyes closed once again and Kevin screamed to wake him.

"You are not going to sleep!" He yelled and Ben's eyebrows creased together in fatigued aggravation. "Damn it, Ben!" He hit his forehead against the smaller boy's and earned a long moan as the semi-conscious hero lifted his hand and rubbed the sore spot.

"Ouch.."

"Stay awake, stupid." Kevin whispered as he braced himself against the crummy mattress, letting his body touch the cold skin of his hero without crushing him under his weight.

The green eyes looked up at the face hovering above his and frowned. They stayed in the position for what felt like ages before Ben began to shiver. Kevin gave a relieved laugh and pressed his forehead lightly against Ben's.

"C-cold," the smaller stammered.

"I thought I was going to lose you." Kevin's fangs were showing in a tight smile, "You stupid idiot."

Ben continued to shiver, his eyes fluttering and his breath still terribly shallow.

More time passed and Kevin's grin dissolved into worry. Though Ben was shivering, his body was still not warming up. The green eyes would close slowly but open when the raven called out his name.

Kevin exhaled slowly when Ben took his tiny breaths, it was something he learned from a survival show on television- an old re-run, of course. He racked his brain trying to remember what else the show had said to do. Use body heat, avoid excessive jarring- oops, well, he'd managed to survive that anyway- insulate, keep dry, if conscious give warm liquid…

The raven shuffled slightly and peered out into the cold cabin. The fire was completely out and a blizzard was shaking the walls slightly. It would be impossible to make a new fire, let alone find a kettle and gather snow for boiling water. He swore lightly and Ben whimpered, shivering at the new exposure to the freezing air. Kevin apologized quietly and tucked the blankets back around them, biting his lip but instantly regretting the action because his sharp fangs easily sliced open the skin and made it bleed. Kevin licked away the warm red liquid before it fell.

His eyes widened in realization and he looked down at the shivering face of his half-thawed hero. He didn't want to do it, but there was no other way.

"Ben," he whispered and the green eyes opened to gaze at him, "open your mouth."

The smaller did as he was told, his still pale lips parting just slightly as his shallow breaths continued. Kevin frowned and brought his wrist to his mouth, biting down into the skin. He felt the blood leak over his fangs and drip down to his elbow before he positioned the bleeding mark over Ben's mouth and let the liquid drip over his teeth. The green eyes widened slightly at the taste, bringing his lips up to brush against the pale wrist.

Kevin shivered slightly as he felt the hero's soft tongue moving over the bloody holes, probing them lightly with a drowsy curiosity. The elder grimaced when he heard the boy swallow. Ben let out a small moan and took another gulp as the blood slowly filled his mouth.

The dark eyes watched in morbid fascination as Ben drank. The sounds made by the younger boy echoed in his brain and made his heart beat faster; the scent of blood billowed up in the tight confinement of blankets and clouded the raven's brain with bloodlust.

He felt his fangs aching as devious little thoughts entered his brain. How nice it would be to lean down to that pretty little neck and take a bite. He moved forward and nuzzled the skin, opening his mouth just slightly. His jaws clenched shut as he pulled back quickly and cursed himself for his lack of self control.

But the scent was overpowering. If he didn't taste blood soon he might really lose control. He moved his lips up to the small dripping wound on his wrist and extended his tongue out to it. Ben moaned gently as their tongues met and slid against each other, playing in the taste. The smaller boy's breath was quicker and deeper than before as his body was warmed by the thick drink.

He pushed the pale hand away and pressed his lips against Kevin's, slowly and carefully slipping his tongue inside the fanged mouth for a daring kiss. Ben arched slightly and moaned, slowly wrapping his leg around the elder and not bothering to hide the stirring in his groin. He smiled when he felt the blush spread over Kevin's face as his hand slid down Ben's toned body.

The brunette gave a little flinch when he felt a sharp fang rip into his tongue. The taste of his blood spread inside their mouths and Kevin pulled back quickly.

"Don't stop," Ben whispered, wrapping his hands over Kevin's shoulders and dragging him back down.

"I can't," Kevin choked out, his mouth was salivating at the hero's blood still on his tongue, "you're still too weak to fight me off when I lose control- because I will if I taste anymore. I don't want to risk hurting you."

"You won't."

"Don't you think you've done enough of that yourself?"

"What does that mean?" Ben's cheeks heated and his expression grew slightly angry.

"What do you think? You can't keep risking your life for stupid things, Ben. You're too important."

"Saving you wasn't stupid."

"Yes, it was. Look at what he did to you- and for what?! For me? I'm not worth it, you idiot. I wouldn't go through anything like that for you." It was a lie. A big lie. And Kevin knew it.

Ben's eyes became teary and he pushed the larger teen away from him, knocking him off the bed in a tangled mess of blankets. "It's no wonder your father left you!" he growled and slammed his feet down to the cold floor. Kevin's eyes widened in shock, quickly looking away to hide the look of pain on his expression.

The smaller immediately began to shiver at the cold air but he stomped across the floor and wrestled with his shirt and jacket as he tried to put them on before the other was on his feet and quickly wrapping the small body in the blankets.

"Stay covered!" He scolded, lifting the green eyed boy off his feet and carrying him inside the fabric bundle back to the bed.

"What do you care?" Ben growled, his voice muffled by the cloth.

"I care if you die." Kevin spat. "Wise up, Benji!"

"Don't call me that." The brunette's head popped out of the blankets and he glared at the raven.

"Fine, just stay covered. I'm going to get the fire going again." He turned his broad back on the other and busied himself with the kindling.

The glare on Ben's face faded slowly as he watched Kevin's still naked body shivering in the cold as he fumbled with the matches. Snow was covering the windows and the cabin was becoming darker and colder. The elder swore when the match he was holding was blown out by the wind billowing down the chimney. His fingers were stiff and stinging from the cold as he grabbed another match and struck it against the box.

He lifted the new match to the wood and sneered when it too went out. He threw the smoking twig into the stove and swore again. Ben sighed and stood from the bed, walking over the cold and dirty floor and throwing the covers over the larger boy.

"You're doing it wrong." He said, reaching into the stove and rearranging the wood.

Kevin frowned and wrapped half the blanket over the smaller body as it worked.

"Am I the only one that finds it ironic that you know how to start fires and I don't?" the raven half-joked as he watched Ben frown while he placed several small pinecones into the wood stack and lit a match under them.

"Grandpa Max taught me," Ben replied in monotone as the firelight bounced off his face. Kevin shielded his eyes from the glow, listening to the crackling of the fire as the sap in the pinecones ignited and popped.

They sat in relative silence, Ben occasionally stirring the flames and adding wood. He'd scrubbed away most of the blood from his mouth but a sticky brown coating remained under his chin. The blanket was held tightly around their two boys as they tried to stay warm without actual contact between their bodies.

The cabin began to shake violently and, without thinking, Kevin wrapped his arm protectively around Ben. He prepared for the worst as the door blew open, sending a furious wave of cold and snow inside the house as a red headed girl marched inside and stared at the two boys huddled by the fire.

Damn it, Kevin! You had him!

Oh, and I did a bad, bad thing. New art is up on Deviant. I couldn't help myself once Seraphic gave me the idea.