Okay! So who's in the mood for some fluff?... And some serious drama!XD
This one is for all my Latinos in the fandom! I want all of you to represent on this one gente!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!
After the 'incident' in The Crystal Palace, the Osmosian was more than a little wary of following his Floridian so-called friend's advice about the restaurants in this resort.
However, the San Angel Inn at Epcot's Mexico Pavilion in the World Showcase had been at the very top of the woman's list of recommendations and she'd said it was the most romantic eatery within Epcot- maybe even in the whole resort. This had stoked the dark teen's curiosity.
After walking the whole day, the older couples decided to go ahead of the teenagers into the restaurant in order to reserve the tables for them, since this was an a la carte, casual dining eatery and advanced reservations were not an option. This arrangement was perfectly agreeable to the teens, who were all itching to ride The Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros.
The entrance to this ride was at the very entrance to the towering pyramid modeled after an actual Aztec Pyramid at Teotihuacan, which also housed the restaurant. It was described to the oldest teenager as pretty much a 'kiddie ride' by his connection here. It was meant for all ages (in other words, it's slow) and starred the characters from the 1944 Disney film, The Three Caballeros: Donald Duck; Panchito, the Mexican rooster and José Carioca, a Brazilian parrot. It was just a musical, animated ride to fascinate the minds of very young children.
This ride certainly should not have fancied anyone in their late teens. As a matter of fact, the only reason Ben, Julie, Gwen and Kevin were so eager to go on the very slow boat ride, was the fact that the Osmosian's friend had told him- it was very, very dark.
The teens had been under the constant deprecating scrutiny of their mutually disparaging, arguing parents since arriving. They desperately needed five minutes of nice dark couple's alone time!
For this reason, when the usher at the front of the line asked if all four wished to share the first small boat to empty before them, he received a very resolute and resounding chorused 'NO' as a response. The brunette quickly jumping into it while pulling his girlfriend along so suddenly that she lost her footing and fell unceremoniously right into his lap.
The ebony was just regaining her bearings and the leverage to get off him, when she noticed the suggestive smirk he was regarding her with; he quirked one eyebrow up smugly. "Well aren't you eager!"
The shade of crimson that instantly tinted the girl's face as the blood rushed to it was impressive, to say the least. Amazingly, however, it actually managed to deepen once the usher cleared his throat, crossing his arms and sending the couple a reproaching look. "I'm sorry, but the young lady can not ride on your lap, sir! This ride is for all ages!"
Julie instantly catapulted herself out of her boyfriend's lap, sitting ramrod straight beside him and interlacing her fingers on her lap. She pointedly avoided turning her mortified face to regard the usher as she eeked out sheepishly, "I'm so sorry, sir!"
She brought her hand up to rub the bridge of her nose in embarrassment, once the boat began moving. She could kill both Ben and Kevin for continuing to laugh at this. She could hear them both snickering clearly. She shut her eyes tight in a failed attempt to block them out. This wasn't funny!
Her abashed moping was quickly interrupted, when a strong arm wrapped around her waist unannounced, simultaneously crushing her to the body of the boy beside her and lifting her once more onto his lap. She squeaked in surprise at the sudden change in position, locking outraged almond eyes with the deviously smirking emerald-eyed teen. She was a split second from voicing her arraignment at him about his lack of respect for the little ones on the ride (as the usher had so poignantly pointed out) when his mouth crushing rather violently and greedily against hers muffled her complaint.
She'd craved this so bad for quite a few days at this point. Therefore, it took every ounce of will in her being to work her delicate fingers up the abdomen of the boy who was presently entertaining himself with trying to pin down her tongue with his (Wow! Ben had a lot of definition on his stomach!) in an attempt to reach his chest. Once her hands reached their destination, she pushed off against him hesitantly, breaking the ever-desired kiss.
Undeterred, ignorant of her reason for pulling out of their kiss (and not particularly caring for an explanation on the matter right now either way), the brunette instantly tightened his grip on her waist to bring her flush to him once more. He made a second advance at recapturing her mouth, but the ebony turned her face away too quickly, denying him access to her face altogether. He quirked an eyebrow up in irritation fleetingly, before a sinister grin parted his features. So, she wanted to play?
Julie couldn't believe how difficult Ben was making it to communicate with him. It was hard enough for her to focus on what she was trying to say without him constantly trying to kiss her! She'd finally gotten her thoughts straight enough to communicate coherently, once she turned away from him to look at the ridiculous little show going on around them, when her mind went blank again. Her eyes rolled back inadvertently at the unbelievable sensation the tenacious young man holding her sent through her entire body as he bit down on her earlobe.
She tried again to refocus as he moved down her neck from her ear, peppering wet little kisses everywhere. He was making this so hard! She found her voice again, though the quality was shaky, needy and gasping as it emerged from her throat. She really hated this guy! "Ben... Ben! I'm not supposed to be sitting on you in here! The little kids behind us can see us! Remember what the man at the beginning of the ride said!"
"Yeah, mister! You're violating our innocent little eyes back here! Our precious child-like innocence is gone! GONE! My eyes! They burn!"
The wielder of the Ultimatrix couldn't help burst into laughter, turning to regard the occupants of the boat behind theirs. How Kevin got his voice to sound like he was eight when his natural baritone was so deep, he'd never know!
He turned back to direct his retort at his giggling girlfriend, who was looking over the seat at their friends as well. He pointed a thumb back in the direction of the older teenager, mockingly. "Yeah. No. That is neither innocent nor a child, unless were talking maturity or intelligence wise."
"Whatever, Pato! The pot can call the kettle black all it wants! It don't make it any lighter!"
"Kevin! Seriously! Calling him that is so not cool!" The brunette turned confused emerald eyes back to see his best friend rubbing his rib cage as he laughed unabashedly at the condemning look his cousin was burning into him. She had obviously just elbowed him. The younger male teen chose to direct his inquiry at the redhead, whom he knew possessed the superior intellect to supply the knowledge he required. "I know I barely passed Spanish, but didn't he just call me a duck?"
When the Osmosian's laughter intensified to the point that he now infected both his cousin and his own girlfriend with a fit of snickering, Ben's eyebrows further knit together in profound befuddlement. He turned to the little Asian American on his lap for some answers. Obviously, she was in on whatever obscure little joke they were all laughing at. "You wanna help me out, here?"
The ebony stifled her giggles by biting down on her lower lip shortly before placing a sweet kiss to the boy's nose. He was simply adorable with that confused frown on his face. "In Mexico, calling a man 'duck' doesn't mean you're calling him the actual animal, Ben. It basically means you're calling him a-" She brought her hands up to cup his ear and whisper the end to her explanation.
The Savior of the Universe instantly turned blazing emerald eyes at his so-called best friend. "Oh really, Levin! Well the only fa- humph..."
Good thing Julie had excellent reaction time and was able to muffle that last part with her mouth. The indignant young man's voice had attained a decibel that she was fairly certain could be heard by the people at either end of the tunnel they were in. It wouldn't serve his reputation in the public eye if anyone heard him screaming that!
The moment their mouths melded again, Ben forgot why he wanted to tell the offending older teen off, preferring to wrap the beautiful little ebony tighter in his arms and deepen the kiss. The psycho wasn't worth giving this up for, anyway.
Gwen snickered as she watched her friend effectively derail her cousin out of his rant. Ben was amazingly easily distracted, she noted inwardly before turning to face her own boyfriend, whose arm was surreptitiously encircling her waist. She snuggled closer to him, bringing her own arms up to wrap around his neck, playing with the longish strands of raven hair there.
He smiled affectionately down at her, bringing their faces close enough that he could touch noses with her, their lips ghosting softly against each other in a sweet, teasing prelude to an actual kiss. She nipped ever so softly at his bottom lip, continuing to stare into the infinite onyx of his eyes before quirking up an inquisitive eyebrow. She breathed her inquiry against his mouth. "Aren't you going to pull me into your lap, too?"
His smile lopped sideways into an amused smirk. He placed a light soft kiss to the area right between her nose and upper lip, responding just as softly. "I don't think that's such a hot idea in here. I have a bad feeling what those two," his eyes flitted briefly in the direction of the boat ahead, "are doing is going to come back to haunt them..."
The ginger's eyebrows knit together in mock annoyance. "Why do I have to be the one stuck with the schizophrenic, paranoid, lunatic?"
The dark teen's smile turned unabashedly flattered and devious as he tightened his grip on her until neither could tell which of the heartbeats they felt in their conjoined chests was whose. He purred his retort directly against her lips. It held both enticing threat and enthralling promise. "Sticks and stones, Gwendolyn... sticks and stones..." Then, all teasing and prelude ended, as he crushed his mouth to hers with the hunger days of not having the slightest contact evoked.
The Anodyte let her mind and emotion flow freely into the kiss, allowing the pent up stress of dealing with her mother on this trip just melt away. All there was in the universe anymore was her and this amazing boy, who was pouring as much of himself into this simple gesture as humanly possible. She could feel it. It was almost as if she heard him making a mantra out of her name within her soul, telling her he loved her. He wasn't vocal about this. She doubted he'd ever say the words out loud unless it was sarcastically or mockingly. However, every time he held her like this and kissed her... she knew. He screamed it into her soul.
Kevin tried to focus completely on the beautiful young woman in his arms but he couldn't. He had an amazing eye for detail and he could have sworn he saw something about this ride when they first walked in the building that had him on edge- something he should be on the look-out for. Consequently, he opened his tightly closed eyes but a flicker of a moment about two minutes into he and Gwen's kiss. Said eyes instantly snapped wide with panic and in the direction of the boat ahead of them as he frantically pulled out of the kiss, calling out, "Tennyson! Watch out!"
Noticing the brunette continued as oblivious as ever to his impending peril (and far too distracted in his current endeavor to pay the older teen any mind), Kevin quickly moved away from his very confused girlfriend towards the edge of the boat they occupied. Dipping his cupped hand in the tepid water, he wrenched it forward in the direction of the two kissing teenagers before him, effectively soaking them.
Two distinctly feminine squeals resounded from the lead boat, before the wielder of the Ultimatrix turned furiously deranged eyes on the affronting Osmosian behind him. His baritone was icy, threatening, venom. "That's it, Psychopath! I'm going Rath and wiping the floor with your a-"
"Hello, Daddy! Hi, Mom!" Julie's purposefully overly loud and cheerful greeting cut into her boyfriends tirade at just the perfect time.
The brunette turned back to send her a questioning glare, his eyes instead darting up to land in horrification on an open platform that apparently led to the restaurant beyond. All the adults in their group leaned against the veranda, looking down on them.
Oh, God!
"Smile, Sweetie!" Ben barely registered his mother's request as the flash indicating she'd snapped the picture went off. However, he was completely certain, whatever expression that photograph captured- it was decidedly not a smile!
"Tennyson... Why is my daughter in your lap?"
All the youngest male teen could muster as a response was a muted, flustered opening and closing of his mouth as he withheld the recriminating, furious glare burning into his retinas courtesy of the Japanese man. The raucous laughter booming from the Osmosian in the boat behind his in this tortuously slow, roughly one minute long, traversal through the inside of the eatery, wasn't exactly working any wonders for his concentration, either.
Once it became painfully obvious her boyfriend was not going to be able to offer an even slightly cogent response, the little Japanese American came to the poor boy's rescue. She replied in the most casual, nonchalant manner she could muster, "My side of the boat was wet when it arrived, so I sat on Ben to keep from getting my shorts soaked, Dad."
She cringed at the painful sounding thud that came from beside her. From the corner of her eye she realized her boyfriend had let his head fall back against the hard plastic of the seat so hard, she was surprised he was still conscious. He was rubbing the hand that wasn't wrapped around her roughly up and down his face in frustration. She felt somewhat insulted. It wasn't as if he came up with anything better!
"Ah God, Julie! I really love you, you know that?" The oldest teen gasped out between bouts of laughter. He was literally doubled over at the pain his humor was causing him, now. His girlfriend was trying to send him a chastising look but it failed miserably due to her own hysterics.
The Asian girl's father sent the Osmosian a quick amused look before rolling his eyes back to land on his own daughter. "Then, why are you still wet, Julie?"
The girl perked up at having the perfect answer for that. "Because Kevin's an immature jerk and he thought it was funny to splash us with the funky water in this ride." She punctuated her false accusation by pointing behind her with her thumb.
Mr. Yamamoto regarded the oldest young man again with narrowed eyes. "Is that true, Levin?"
The Osmosian's answer was automatic and he never stopped snickering. "Oh, for sure! I find this whole situation absolutely hilarious!"
The ambiguity in the response was not lost on anyone. Yamamoto merely rolled his eyes again, turning and walking away to sit back at their table. He shot one last reply over his shoulder to his daughter's boat as it entered the tunnel once more. "Whatever. We'll talk when you get off that ride, Tennyson!"
Ben only moaned in response.
The little ebony turned back to send a sympathetic smile at the boy, who still applied a painful amount of pressure with his thumb and index finger to his tightly shut eyes. She leaned down to place a soft kiss to his cheek, cooing gently, "At least, I still like you, Ben. You don't need Daddy to like you..."
The brunette lowered his hand away from his face in order to quirk an appreciative eyebrow at her, deadpanning mirthlessly, "That's good to know, because I don't think if I were on fire, the man would dignify himself to spit on me for fear of putting out the flames!" The little Japanese American giggled, laying her head on the crook of his neck as he shot his head back to vociferate, obviously regarding the older teen behind them. "Oh, and by the way, thanks for the whole half a second of warning there, Kev!"
The Osmosian scoffed out indignantly, "Don't blame me for that, Stupid! You're lucky you got even that! I've never been on this before and I wasn't exactly paying attention either back here. Who told you to sit her on your lap, anyway?"
The wielder of the Omnitrix just wrapped his arms tighter around his girlfriend, huffing out petulantly- a pout clear in his voice, "Whatever, Dude!"
Then, after another second of moping, added with actual sincerity in a much lower grumble, "Thanks for having my back..."
There was a tangible tension as the two teenage couples approached the table the adults in their group presently occupied within the San Angel Inn. However, just as Yamamoto, who had his arms crossed across his chest, regarding the youngest male teen with murderous intent opened his mouth to voice whatever nasty diatribe he'd planned to inflict upon the poor boy- his cousin slammed a hand down forcefully on the table, effectively squelching the man's comment and detracting every surprised eye to her.
She lifted an accusatory index finger, pointing it in a circle at every sitting adult at the table. She didn't raise her voice, but there was an unmistakable edge of danger to it. "Okay. We were all kissing on the ride. We're young. We're couples. We have strong feelings for each other. We have also behaved perfectly civil this whole trip while all of you bickered, criticized and all-out insulted us. We needed to get away for ten minutes! And we do not feel sorry about it! You were all young once and I'm certain did far worse than kissing on a joyride!"
Her eyes darted pointedly toward her father. "I know for sure you did, Dad! You were in a fraternity in college that you never talk about! So, we really don't need to hear what you guys have to say about what just transpired. Let's pretend it never happened and just sit down to a nice peaceful dinner... Okay?"
Her fiery emerald eyes roamed over each face to make sure they were all nodding, noting most of them showed some level of fear at her little outburst. Then, she smiled congenially at all of them. "Thanks! I'm starving! Where's the waiter?" she perkily commented as she sat herself at the adjoining smaller table, lifting the menu to look it over.
The other three teens exchanged a bewildered look first with each other, then the adults, before shrugging and sitting down to join her.
Kevin, of course, was unable to help himself. "So, Mr. Tennyson... You were in a fraternity?" He didn't try to veil the mirth in his tenor whatsoever.
The addressee didn't even bother looking up from perusing his menu as he responded, flatly. "So, Kevin... You've been in prison?"
The Osmosian cringed, rasping out a pained. "Touché.
His girlfriend smiled sympathetically at him, placing a hand on the arm he splayed on the table. "He doesn't tell anyone about that, Kev. Ken even got in the same fraternity as a legacy and has been forced into some sort of secrecy pact..."
The Osmosian's eyebrow quirked up in curiosity at that, he couldn't get any details on the subject out of the older man, but he was certain he'd be able to cajole it out of his eldest child. It would just take some time... and a few bottles of good scotch...
His devious introspection was thwarted by the arrival of two dark-haired waitresses beside their and the adults' tables. One looked to be in her early twenties and the other in her late twenties. They quickly introduced themselves in amazingly good English (considering their name tags indicated they were from two different cities in Mexico). "Buenas noches! I am Luz," said the oldest, then pointed at the youngest, continuing, "and this is Iliana. We will be taking care of your dining needs this evening. We will start with drink orders."
The younger of the two now moved closer to the table where the older folk sat, pulling out her tablet. "Wuat wil yu laic tu drinc?" Her English was nowhere near as good as the oldest waitress'.
Frank regarded both young women with a kind expression. "I'm sorry. I believe there has been some kind of misunderstanding. We" he gestured with his hands at both tables "are a single group. There will only be one tab. Which I'll be taking care of, Kevin." He said this raising his voice while sending a pointed look at the dark teen. "Therefore, we only need one waitress."
The youngest looked back questioningly at her counterpart, who simply smiled back hospitably. "There is no need, Señor. The staff of the San Angel Inn is happy to serve your group on the house, free of charge and my manager has asked both Iliana and I to see to your every request. He says it is the least he can do for a hero such as Ben 10." She turned to regard the rather confused youngest teen. "You saved his village from some kind of attack a few months ago, Mr. Tennyson. The news cameras captured the whole thing. All of Mexico knows who you are. We are very big fans, here. All we ask is that you would take the time to sign some autographs and maybe take a few pictures with the staff..." She gestured with her head in the direction of the kitchen as she finished her statement.
The eyes of everyone in Ben's group followed the movement to find what looked like a dozen cooks, bus boys, servers and the aforementioned manager, standing at the entryway. They were all shoving and vying excitedly for a glimpse at the green-eyed boy.
All eyes turned back to the Savior of the Universe, who sported an obscene self-worshiping grin. He waved at his sycophantically fawning fans, addressing his companions. He could feel their glares boring into him. "You all can hate all you want. I don't care what any of you thinks. That is totally awesome!"
The younger waitress giggled at him briefly, before turning back to her assigned table. "Bueno... wat wud yu laik tu drinc?"
Sandra instantly spoke up, bubbling with the effervescence of the proud mother she was at the moment. "Well, since this is Mexico and we should celebrate... How's a round of Margaritas sound to everyone?"
There were 'Here, Here's' from the Yamamotos, her husband and her brother-in-law in response. Her sister-in-law pursed her lips and regarded her husband with concern in her blue eyes. "Remember what the doctor said about alcohol and your blood pressure, Frank."
Her husband turned to face her with a tired smile. "I hardly ever drink, Lily. This is sort of a special occasion..." When her brows knit together in an almost hurt look, he sighed and turned to the waitress. "Make one of the Margaritas very light on the alcohol."
The older ginger immediately perked up, wrapping her arms around her husband's and giving him a peck on the cheek. "Thank you." He grinned back at her.
Although, everyone at his own table was busy listing away their own drink orders to the older waitress, the Osmosian didn't miss the little exchange between his redhead's parents. He regarded the older man with a pitying look, before regarding the server. "I'd like a bottle of Tequila and three shot glasses, please."
Everyone at both tables went deathly silent. Luz, the waitress, quirked an intrigued eyebrow at the dark teen and smiled replying, "Not a problem, Señor. But, I do need to see your I.D. to serve you alcohol. Florida law requires we check anyone who looks younger than twenty-five."
"This isn't funny, Kevin. What are you doing?"
The Osmosian ignored Frank, continuing to grin up at the waitress as he pulled out his wallet and handed her his license. The server took it, surveyed both the picture and his face briefly, wrote something off the document down on her tablet and handed it back. Then, she regarded the group as a whole. "Very well, the soft drinks and Tequila will be out right away. The Margaritas will take a little longer, because they have to be mixed. We will return shortly." Then, the two servers commenced their retreat back to the kitchen quickly.
"You are not seriously bringing that teenager a bottle of Tequila, are you?"
The oldest waitress looked nonplussed at the rather rude redheaded woman at her comrade's assigned table, then down at her pad. Realizing she had not overlooked anything, she regarded her again flatly. "Florida law only requires us to check the identification, Señora. And we are trained to identify fakes." She gestured back at the teenager briefly. "If he is not the age he says, then he has a forgery beyond our ability to detect, which is very unlikely, and we have no legal right to deny him services." With that she turned, heading for the kitchen.
"Well, I'll never! At least the ones who keep our lawn know their place!" The older ginger whispered into her husband's ear. The man immediately rounded on her with an outraged hiss, "Natalie! Honestly! Keep it to yourself!"
The Anodyte didn't bring her hand down from where it had shot up to rub the bridge of her nose the second her boyfriend's drink order had left his mouth as she grunted out, "Kevin, did you just flash a fake I.D. in front of my parents to get booze?"
Though she couldn't see it, the Osmosian graced her with a mock insulted grin. "You think so little of me, Gwen. If you must know, this happens to be my actual license." He waved the little plastic card in front of her tauntingly.
She snatched it out of his hands, throwing him a nasty look before glaring down at the document. She immediately looked back up at him incensed. "You are not twenty-three years old, Kevin Ethan Levin!"
His smile only grew ever more devious as his amusement escalated at her ire. "That isn't what that chick at the D.M.V. wrote on it when I first got it at fifteen... now is it, Gwen? Then again, she was a little dazed after I took her out to 'lunch'. She would have written pretty much anything I'd asked her to..."
The ginger grimaced in disgusted outrage. "You are such a slut!"
The raven-haired teenager started outright snickering as he analyzed the fuming ginger. He loved the way the blood rushed up her delicate neck to pool in her naturally pallid cheeks, the way her eyes darkened just a shade or two, seeming to burn with green fire as the passion of her anger won over her almost ever-present discipline and restraint. She absolutely glowed in the throws of her rage. It was awe-inspiring. It made him wish he'd done this to her back in the tunnel. That would have been amazing! Alas, lost opportunity, he guessed...
He finally decided not to press his luck with her patience any longer. He placed both elbows on the table, clasping his hands together and reclining his chin on the conjoined knuckles as he locked eyes with his sneering girlfriend. He kept that heart-wrenchingly debonair smirk as he spoke. "Slut, huh? I don't think anyone has ever called me that before. I've certainly been referred to by variations of it..."
Gwen just let out an outraged huff of air, rolling her eyes in exasperation, before landing them once again on the infuriating teenager. Did he seriously take that as a compliment?
The Osmosian noted this reaction and his smirk grew as he ended his statement with nothing but sincerity in his tenor. "Then, I guess you actually lowering your standards to give a slut like me a chance, has made me a better person all around, huh Gwen?"
The Anodyte was at a complete loss for words. That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her! She was literally on the verge of tears as she beheld aghast the gaze of the boy adjoining her at the table.
"Wow! He is really, really good! I can see why she likes him. That get anyone else flustered?"
"Mom!" The wielder of the Omnitrix turned horrified eyes on the blonde.
"I'm with you, Sandra." The Japanese woman spoke up, turning to the oldest teenager. "That silver tongue of yours is going to get you out of anything with her, Kevin. Mark my words..."
"Yes! He's a perfectly charming, debonair psychopath who could just as easily embrace her lovingly as try to kill her if he looses control... every mother's dream for her only daughter!" Natalie huffed out sarcastically, shoving away from the table violently and getting up. She cast accusing glares at the two females at her table, adding. "I'm going to clean up before dinner. We've been walking around this park for hours and between the dust and the sweat, my hands are filthy. Anyone, want to join me?" She didn't wait for a response as she stalked off in the direction of the restrooms.
Both the older women got up to follow, Julie's mother nudging her on the shoulder to join her. The ebony got up and went with her.
This left only the Anodyte who continued staring at her Osmosian, whose eyes had become hard as steel at her mother's cruel words. She rubbed comforting patterns into his arm as she spoke softly. "You won't ever hurt me, Kev. Even if you ever lost control again, we'll bring you back. I swear it."
His eyes softened as he sent her a grateful smile. "You should go wash up, too. I'll be fine."
She hesitantly got up, placing a quick kiss to his forehead and turned to leave. Then, she thought of something and turned back to regard all the men, her eyes narrowing. "Aren't you guys going to go clean up too?"
The consensus of all the males came in her boyfriend's intriguingly humorous reply. "Nah! Guys are gross! You go ahead!"
She quirked a confused eyebrow at the teen before understanding illuminated her demeanor. "You're all staying here to drink behind their backs, aren't you? That's why no one put up much of a fight when Kevin asked for it." She then rolled her eyes and turned in the direction of the restrooms, shooting over her shoulder. "I'll stall them as long as I can!"
"That's my girl!" Both Frank and Kevin stared at each other with amusement at having chorused the exact same sentiment, until the younger man added, smiling sheepishly, "Well, technically, she's still yours, sir."
"I don't think that's been true for a while now, Kev. It's just a matter of you asking her. She's not my little girl anymore." The ginger's father leveled a sad smile at the boy.
Happily, Luz the waitress arrived carrying a tray with the soft drinks and the bottle of Tequila just at that moment. She handed Ben his strange concoction of mango, avocado and tomato, then placed the girls' sodas where they were sitting. Next, she placed the bottle and shot glasses before Kevin, gracing him with a knowing smile, before leaving once again to the kitchen.
Yamamoto sent a questioning look at the raven-haired teenager as he poured the three shots and started passing them around to the men. "Aren't we short one glass, Levin?"
"Nah. It would have raised the harpy's suspicion if I'd ordered enough glasses for all of us. Besides, the bottle is technically for me, anyway." As soon as he finished saying this, he brought the bottle to his lips and swigged down a quarter of the contents.
Looking on in amazement and not wanting to be out done by the young buck, the three older men all downed there shots in one gulp. All three gasped and hissed as the spirit ravaged its way down their gullets. Carl actually burst into a coughing fit, pounding his chest.
His son was immediately at his side, pounding on his back with concern warping his features. "Why would anybody willingly drink something that hurts?" The inquiry was directed at no one in particular.
"It actually gets easier the more you drink" Came his best friend's easy answer.
"Can I try some, Kev?"
"NO" was his resolute answer, chorused by every single male in his group.
He immediately rounded on his best friend, ignoring the others. "How can you say no to me? You're actually drinking it! What harm can one shot do?"
The Osmosian rolled his eyes, taking another drink before responding to him in the kind of intonation you use when explaining something to a mentally deficient toddler. "Your scrawny, buck-and-a-half pound butt has absolutely no alcohol tolerance, Tennyson. I don't think anyone in your family is particularly good at holding their liquor, if your old man's reaction just now and what I've seen from Ken is any indication. So, believe me, one shot of this stuff and you'll likely be plastered. As funny as the video of that will be once I post it on YouTube, I'm willing to wait until you're twenty-one to get my footage, thank you."
The brunette just plopped back down on his seat, folding his arms, pouting. "I'm a hero and you guys don't let me do anything!"
"Oh, and there's another thing! Can you imagine the trouble I'd have if you decided to drunk dial the Omnitrix and I'd have to wrestle down a drunken Rath or Humungousaur... no thanks, kid! You don't get any of this!"
The rest of dinner passed rather normally for this particular group. They all ate in semi-companionable silence, then had fried ice cream for desert (Yeah, I know. Weird.)
Then, at the end of the meal, their two waitresses came out to stand almost anxiously beside the table that held the younger generation. The youngest stepped forward hesitantly, regarding The Savior of the Universe without meeting his eyes. "Aim sori, Señor Tennyson. Bot wud yu plis sain yor pitchor for mai lidel sister bac in Mexico bifor yu teik pitchors wif da staf. She wud absolutli lov it."
Ben was back in his conceited blowhard persona instantly. He stood from his chair, taking the picture and pen from the shy young woman. He placed them on the table as he regarded her with an endearing smile. "Who should I make this out to, beautiful?"
Fully aware of what was to come; Julie brought her hands up on the table, interlacing her fingers, stoically. Breathing calmly, she focused her hazel, almond-shaped eyes on her hands. This was the hardest part of loving this particular young man.
The introverted young server giggled prettily at the flattering adjective he'd used instead of her name. "Mai sisters neim is Rebecca. An can yu rait con amor bifor yor sicnashur. Shi wil yust dai!"
The wielder of the Omnitrix winked up at her, his cocky smile widening. "Well if she's as pretty as you, I'll certainly be happy to, Iliana." He set to scribbling what she had asked.
Both Gwen and Kevin were sending commiserative looks at the little ebony by this point. The girl literally seemed to be digging her short nails into her hands as her eyes attempted to burn the skin right off of them.
Ben finished and handed the picture and pen back to the waitress, grabbing her hand before she could pull away. He continued to smile coquettishly. "No really, is your sister as pretty as you? 'Cause I'd love to meet her if she is..."
Sandra had been listening to her son flirt openly with this stranger in front of the girl she knew he felt deeply for and had tried to ignore the insurmountable impropriety of it for both their sakes. She didn't want to start a fight between them. However, when that last part exited her boy's lips, causing the little Japanese American to bring a hand up to her mouth to muffle a humiliated sob that they all still heard, she couldn't take it anymore. She darted out of her chair shouting reprimandingly at her son. "Benjamin!"
The brunette turned a blank expression to his mother as if remembering she was there suddenly. "Yeah, Mom?" Then he held up his finger in a halting gesture, "You know what, Mom... hold that thought. I have to go take pictures with the nice restaurant people to show our gratitude for everything they've done. Be right back." And with that, he wrapped an arm around the shoulders of both the waitresses and led them away in the direction of the kitchen.
The blonde's eyes were still as wide as saucers, her mouth hanging open, when she turned back from following where her son had gone to regard the little ebony he'd left sitting behind on the table. "For God's sake, Julie! I'm so sorry! Does he do this a lot? Since when is he like this?"
The almond eyed girl brought her hand down away from her mouth to reveal a bittersweet smile. She turned to face the mother of the guy she loved in spite of her better judgment. "He's been like that ever since his secret identity was blown and he started getting all the attention from the media. He hates it when the paparazzi swarm him, but he doesn't seem to have any problems with female fans. You saw how he reacted to your outburst, he had no idea you were still here. He cocoons himself in his own little sphere of praise, forgetting everyone else. He doesn't even notice he does it. When I yell at him about it, he just shrugs it off and tells me that he's still with me for a reason- that if he really cared about any of those girls he wouldn't stay with me. It's just a game of make-believe to him... harmless..."
"Well that is the epitome of selfishness if ever I've heard it! Do you see why I don't like my daughter being with your son, Mrs. Tennyson. My child deserves better!"
Julie now turned on her father, anger beginning to resonate in her soft timber. "There's no one better than Ben, Dad! If he is the epitome of selfishness then he is also the epitome of altruism. He willingly goes out and nearly gets himself killed week after week for total strangers, some of whom aren't even grateful! Sometimes, he goes more than twenty-four hours without sleep. He never has time for any of the things he likes to do for fun anymore. He barely has any time for me. He's almost constantly injured. So, if he has an infuriating personality quirk that I don't like, I'm willing to look past it for the chance to be the only person he can turn to when he needs support, because so many others need to turn to him!"
The Japanese man couldn't find a rebuttal to that. Especially, as he gazed at the proud way his daughter held her head up as she spoke of the young man she so obviously cared deeply for. He just huffed out a defeated sigh. "Fine, Julie. Keep dating the insensitive idiot if it makes you happy... but don't expect me to be nice to him."
The little ebony cocked her head sideways at him, sending him a genuinely amused, loving smile. "I wouldn't dream of it, Daddy!"
"Wow! You guys wouldn't believe how popular I am in this chick's country!"
All eyes focused on the now returning brunette, who was closely followed by the oldest waitress.
"Yes, Tennyson. We're all certain you're a god to them. Can we go now? I want to find a good spot for IlumiNations." The Osmosian quipped, pulling out the chair for his girlfriend as the adults began getting up and moving away from their seats.
"Aww! But, this place is so great! It's way better than some stupid light show!" The younger teen whined, instinctively reaching for his little ebony's hand and interlacing their fingers.
Julie hated the unbelievable comfort she felt at that seemingly insignificant gesture. She hated that he need her. She hated that she needed him. Most of all, she hated him for making her love him.
The four teens were the last to leave the dining area. Just as they were leaving, Luz the waitress came up to the oldest teen. She placed a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention, giving him a pointed look once his dark eyes were on her. She handed him a business card, nearly whispering these final words, "Para cuando te aburras de andar con niñitas y quieras saber lo que es realmente una mujer."
The Osmosian watched her walk away completely confused. Excepting a few curse words and insults, he didn't speak a lick of Spanish. He looked down at the business card and realized it had a phone number and address scribbled on the back. As the realization that the woman was actually coming on to him dawned, so struck another horrifying epiphany: Gwen understood Spanish.
He turned frantic eyes to the redhead, whose eyes were glowing magenta due to her rage. "No, she did not just do that right in front of me!"
Kevin had to literally, pick her up, throwing her over his shoulder while running for the exit to keep the enraged Anodyte from testing her theory that she could actually peel someone like a grape.
FIN!
A/N: Okay! I made this one obscenely long because I don't plan to update next week. We'll see if the finale inspires a one-shot or not, though. I'm not providing a translation for what the waitress said. If you don't know Spanish, use a translator program... you'll get a good laugh. Otherwise, leave a review asking what it says and I'll respond with the translation.
Okay! So the writers have given Ben an Omnitrix again! This is the most inconsistent show ever! I have fixed this chapter but there is no way I'm fixing the other ten, nor six of the seven other stories I've written. I refuse to bend to these writer's flights of fancy! Except for my use of the words Ultimatrix and Omnitrix, my stories are as cannon as you're going to find! God! I can't stand CN for continuously doing this!
Please review!