A/N: More Ben/Gwen stuff. Not based on any canon episode. That is all.
"I figured you'd be here," Ben said as he stepped inside the Rust Bucket.
"Well, you do have my mana signature. So you know how to find me better than most people," Verdona said in an amused tone. "Your grandpa is down by the creek fishing, so we have some time to talk Anodite to Anodite if you'd like."
"I was kinda hoping he was here, but this might be easier to admit if he isn't," Ben said before looking away nervously.
The gesture made Verdona raise an eyebrow. He was never nervous around her. Actually, she couldn't recall a time where Ben was nervous period.
"You alright there? You look more nervous than a cockroach with a boot hanging over it," she said before putting a comforting hand on his arm. "You can talk to me."
"I know. It's just that this just went a lot better in my head," Ben said before meeting his grandmother's gaze hesitantly. "Kevin told me you talked to Gwen about something. Something... personal."
Verdona couldn't have held back the smile that flitted across her face if you paid her. She could see him blush from head to toe just saying such the statement innocuously. Embarrassment was something she didn't see much on Ben, but she was going to enjoy every second of it.
"Yes, I did. I'm afraid I can't give away many of the details. Woman to woman talk, you know. I can't ruin the confidentiality of such a conversation. But I can answer a few simple questions," Verdona said with a wink.
"Ok. So... hypothetically of course..." Ben started, which made Verdona grin wider. "If I were to think about asking Gwen out, do you think she would be... receptive to that?"
"Oh, absolutely! That photo I took of you two at your dance... I'm sure many young men at her school wished Gwendolyn would look at them that way," Verdona said with a smile.
"It's still weird coming to terms with this. That I like..." Ben could practically hear Kevin screaming at him in his head, so he amended his statement. "Love her, I mean. I guess deep down that I always knew it, but acknowledging it is way different."
"Love her, eh?" Verdona said in a teasing tone.
"I've always loved her. It's just romanticized now," Ben admitted.
"That's a very smart observation," Verdona said with a smile.
"Kevin noticed it first," Ben said with a sheepish grin.
"Well, he's smarter than I give him credit for," Verdona said before shaking her head. "Back to the topic at hand. What you feel for Gwen is nothing to be ashamed of. Lots of aliens have traditions that others would consider strange or even downright criminal. Humans consider someone mating with someone who is a member of your family or significantly underage a crime. Many other species don't."
"Well, regardless of it being looked down upon, it's still legal in some places. Including Bellwood," Ben said. If Verdona grinned any wider, she'd split her face open like the Grand Canyon.
"So you could take Gwendolyn as your bride one day. Oh, that is perfect!" she said excitedly.
"Whoa, whoa! We haven't even gotten nowhere near that far!" Ben exclaimed, holding out a hand. Part of him wanted to disappear on the spot rather than have this conversation. "Besides, you might not even be right. She could still say no."
"She won't," Verdona said with traditional Anodite confidence.
"How do you know?" Ben asked.
"Because I know. Regardless of how much her mother may not like it, she's got some of her grandma in her. And I don't stop loving someone. Love is as eternal as my lifespan. I know for a fact Gwen won't let that go willingly," Verdona said with a gentle smile, putting a hand on her grandson's arm. "But she is as stubborn as her mother. It'll might be a long time before you can get her to face you."
"I'm not waiting for her to be ready. So I'm going to her," Ben said before closing his eyes and running over the facts in his head.
The moment they made the choice to date, everything would change. Once people found out, and they would eventually find out regardless if they wanted to keep it a secret, there would most certainly be some challenges ahead. Most people found the idea of incest repulsive.
But he wanted what he wanted, and he just happened to want Gwen. Plus, he was with Kevin when it came to public opinion. Other people didn't matter. His family were the only ones that did, and they would have his back. He knew they would. They stuck with him through his troubles of learning how to be an Anodite. He knew they would stick with him through this. Regardless of it being an entirely different can of worms.
"Oh? When, may I ask?" Verdona said with a smile, already knowing what his answer was going to be.
"Right now," Ben said before giving his grandmother a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks grandma. I'm glad for the talk."
"You're welcome. Now, if she decides to be a little difficult, give her some of your power. I think there's a big difference in the sensation she'll feel now," Verdona said with a smirk, making Ben repress the urge to blush. He knew exactly what sensation his grandma was referring to.
"Er... that's up in the air. But I think I'll just go about the bullheaded Tennyson way. It works pretty well," Ben said with a shrug as Verdona shook her head.
"Men. Always have to go about things to the stubborn way," she said with a shake of the head as Ben opened the door, nearly running into Max.
"Whoa! Where's the fire, kiddo?" his grandpa said with a smile.
"Sorry grandpa. I have somewhere to be! It's not dangerous! Just important!" Ben said quickly.
"But you just got here!" Max exclaimed, but Ben was already flying away before he even finished the sentence. Max shook his head before placing the fish he caught in the sink. "That boy can never sit still."
"Cut him a break Max. The child's finally gotten his first taste of realized love," Verdona said with a wide smile.
"Really? And he didn't tell me?" Max asked, a smirk donning his face as he started washing his hands. "You out of all people should know that I'm not half bad at charming a good woman."
"Yes, but he's stubborn like all of you Tennyson men. He doesn't want help. He wants to be able to do it his way," Verdona said.
"That I understand completely," Max said with a wide smile before glancing at his wife. "So who is this lovely lady that managed to steal the heart of my grandson? That's no small feat."
"Oh, I'm sure Ben will introduce her to the rest of the family when he's ready. But you're right about that first part. She is a lovely lady," Verdona said with a wide smile.
"You know, this seemed a lot easier in my head," Ben thought as he was pacing in front of Gwen's house. "No. Stop hesitating. The faster this is resolved, the better."
So he buried any of trace of nervousness deep down before knocking on the door. After a few seconds, Frank was the to open the door.
He smiled once he saw Ben, causing the male Anodite to smile back with a tiny of trace of guilt in the expression. He can't imagine his uncle would be receptive to him having... guy thoughts about his daughter. If Gwen spent as much time with another guy as she did with him, that guy probably would've gotten the overprotective father thing a thousand times over.
"If this happens, this is going to turn everyone's world upside down," Ben thought before speaking out loud. "Hi, Uncle Frank."
"Hello Ben. Here to see Gwen, huh?" Frank said, making Ben nod. "Good. Maybe you can get her out of this rut she's in."
"Rut?" Ben asked, stepping inside the house.
"She's been in a pretty iffy mood for the past few days. Since she's not busy fighting aliens, she hardly ever comes out of her room now. And when she's not looking upset, she's got that thoughtful look on her face. The one where she's thinking about something she can't figure out. I can't say I have the slightest clue what it's all about, and she won't tell me or Natalie," Frank explained, his tone showing some of his concern. "What about you? Do you know anything?"
"She has been a little off lately, but hasn't said anything to us about it. Her acting like that is actually the main reason I came down. Hopefully I can help sort the situation out," Ben said, making Frank smile.
"I'm glad you're the one who's got my baby girl's back. You've both always been good for each other," he said.
"Yeah. I guess we have been," Ben said with a small smile. "I'll head on up."
"If you can cheer her up, I think we'll start deferring to you whenever she gets upset," Frank said with a grin.
"That sounds like a full time job. Do I get a six figure salary?" Ben asked, smiling widely.
"No. But you do get a spot at the dinner table," Frank said, making Ben laugh. Suddenly a lot of the tension he was feeling eased away.
"Close enough. Let's just see how this goes first," he said before walking up the stairs.
Gwen recognized Ben's voice even with her door closed, and the girl couldn't help but groan with her pillow over her face. She was not ready to see him yet. She couldn't even look at him unless the situation practically forced her to. Or when she was angry at him. Anger was a great distraction.
If she had none of those things going through her head, then she suspected she might wind up doing something stupid. Like ask him on a date or something.
When Gwen heard a knock on her door, she only pressed the pillow down on her face harder in the unrealistic hope he would walk away.
"I know you're in there Gwen," Ben said, his voice muffled slightly behind the door. "Either open the door or I knock it down."
"Dad would kill you," Gwen said, taking the pillow off of her face.
"Perhaps. Perhaps not," Ben said ambiguously. Gwen groaned before rolling off her bed and opening the door, seeing Ben with his ID Mask on. Though he removed it when she opened the door.
"What? If this is about schoolwork, then I'm way too..."
"It's not about that. I just need to talk to you," Ben said, putting his hands behind his back.
"About what?" Gwen asked.
"I... let me start slow," Ben said, walking in and closing the door. He put a hand on the door, and cast a spell so their conversation would only between the two of them.
"What's that all about?" Gwen asked, looking at his actions skeptically.
"Privacy. Gwen, have you recently noticed anything... different between us?" Ben asked, putting his ID Mask on her dresser.
"Different how?" Gwen asked.
"Different as in the way we act when we're with each other. Even if you were to minus all the alien stuff, we're not normal cousins. At least if normal cousins like dancing with each other and holding hands," Ben said.
"We're not normal. Never have been. Is there a point to this?" Gwen said, unable to look him in the eye.
"You've always been smart Gwen. You know exactly what I'm talking about," Ben said, putting a hand on her arm. He willfully start transferring his energy to her, and Verdona was right. It was a lot more intense than before, and Gwen immediately smacked his hand away.
"Don't do that," Gwen shot at him, repressing a few shivers from the sensation that she just felt.
"You feel that? That's a dead giveaway that something between us has changed. And you know exactly what it is. That's why you're trying to stall," Ben said, getting close enough to her where there was barely an inch of space was between them.
"I am not ready for this yet," Gwen thought before looking him dead in his face. "How do you know?"
"I've always kind of known, and I suspect you did too. Kevin was just the one who forced me to acknowledge it. Apparently, he hasn't been blind to all of the things that have been happening," Ben told her. "He had to practically beat it into my head that what was going on between us is very real before I was willing to do something about it."
"Ben..." Gwen trailed, suddenly looking scared. And that was something that immediately worried Ben. "Listen, I know that this may sound..."
"Strange? Unnatural? That's our lives," Ben said, still staring at her in the face.
"It doesn't excuse feeling like this though. I'm a girl that like likes her cousin. It's... well..." Gwen trailed, turning her head to the side. But Ben held her chin to keep her gaze on him.
"And I'm a guy that loves his cousin. We're good people and we strive to be better. But if this..." Ben said, gesturing between the two of them. "...is wrong, then it just proves more than ever that we're not perfect. And I'm alright with that."
"Love?" Gwen questioned, her eyes widening.
"We've always loved each other. It's just romanticized. That alone makes it harder to admit. And before you ask, Kevin was the one who made that conclusion. Not me," Ben told her.
"I guess it makes sense," Gwen said before sighing. "Ben... this is a lot different than fighting bad guys behind the scenes. This isn't something we can keep hidden forever. And when people find out..."
"...they're going to go crazy, treat us differently, and all kinds of things are going to go bad. I know. I've thought about all of that stuff too," Ben interjected before grinning. "But hey. If all else fails, you got all of this to yourself. That's not a bad future."
Gwen tried stay focused on the topic at hand, but the statement and grin on his face forced a small laugh out of her.
"Maybe in your tiny mind," she said with a small smile.
"That sounds more like the Gwen I know. I missed that," Ben said with a soft smile. Gwen returned it before grabbing his hand, facing him with a look that was extremely embarrassed. But Ben didn't miss the happy look in her eyes.
"I know. I did too. I was avoiding you because I didn't know how to deal with seeing you, knowing I was feeling like this," Gwen said.
"Feeling like..." Ben trailed with a teasing grin.
"You gonna make me say it?" Gwen asked with a look of exasperation.
"Mmm-hmm," Ben said with a serene smile. "If I gotta say it, so do you."
"Like I loved you. There. Happy?" Gwen said with her arms crossed stubbornly.
"Very," Ben said with a wide smile. Then he hesitated for a moment before kissing Gwen on the cheek.
"Taking it slow, huh?" she said with a smirk.
"I haven't exactly asked you out yet," Ben pointed out.
"Save your breath. The answer's yes. I've never felt like this about a boy, and the fact I'm thinking about you as a boy is equal parts insane and scary," Gwen said before sitting down on her bed, pulling Ben down with her. "But..."
"But..." Ben trailed with a raised brow.
"But the fact that I'm feeling it in the first place says a lot. Especially with my dating history. Ugh. And the fact that Kevin figured it out faster than I did..." Gwen said, putting a hand on her head. "I just feel like the worst."
"He seemed to take it pretty well. But I think that's because he had a lot of time to think about it. Even I don't know how long he knew for sure. I know he had suspicions for a long time," Ben said, momentarily widening his eyes to emphasize his point.
"Guess he's a lot more observant than us at any rate," Gwen said, rubbing the back of her head. "At least he seemed to deal with it pretty well. My parents on the other hand... just thinking about it gives me a headache."
"We can tell them together if you want," Ben offered.
"Oh, no. I'm perfectly fine with keeping them in the dark for now. We'll keep this strictly between the people who know. No more than that. Besides, doing stuff in the shadows is what we're good at," Gwen said.
"It'll be our little secret," Ben promised with a smile. Gwen gently pulled him towards her so that she was able kiss him.
The kiss was plenty proof that these feelings weren't a phase. Both cousins were tentative once their lips met, but they were able to relax more after a few seconds passed by. Gwen kept both her hands on his shoulders, and Ben had one on her cheek and the other on her hip.
When they broke apart, Gwen looked back up at Ben who seemed about dazed at she was. But it felt good, and was, as far as she was concerned, a great first kiss.
"I am going to hurt Charmcaster next time I see her," Ben suddenly said as he sat on Gwen's bed, causing her to give him a surprised look.
"Um... can you explain?" she questioned skeptically. "I don't think the kiss was so bad that you have to hurt someone."
"Oh, no no. It being bad wasn't the problem. It was great," Ben assured her before a look of irritation crossed his face. "The problem I have is that it technically isn't my first one."
Gwen immediately got his meaning. And now she had an urge to throttle the spellcaster as well.
"Well, that's one more reason I have to hate her guts," she said, plopping down on the bed next to him.
"We'll see her again eventually. Getting back at her can wait until then. Besides, seeing her would just put a damper on a good day," Ben said before grabbing Gwen's hand and stroking the back of it with his thumb. "You want me to stay? Since the Helpers are still taking over alien work, we have plenty of free time.
"I would, but my parents could walk in at the worst possible moment, and I don't want mom having a heart attack and dad getting the shotgun," Gwen said with a small smile. Then her expression turned inquisitive. "But come to think of it, that second one would be interesting to see."
"Nice. That's a great way to make sure this dating thing only lasts for a few minutes," Ben said sarcastically, but stood up anyway.
"Tomorrow, alright? I can't even think straight around you right now," Gwen said with a genuine smile.
"I'll contribute that to my irresistible charms," Ben said with a grin, disabling the sound spell he cast before walking out of the room.
Gwen threw a pillow at his back before getting to her feet, failing to wipe the dumb smile on her face as she walked to her mirror.
"Well?" Frank asked when Ben walked down the stairs.
"You'd have to ask her yourself," Ben said with a shrug, a horribly hidden smile on his face as he walked out the door. "Just know that I'll be back for dinner."
"I'll tell Natalie to set a place for you," Frank said with a smile before heading up the stairs.
Slowly heading up the stairs, Frank made his way up to his daughter's room and opened it moments after she knocked.
Gwen, who was looking at the mirror and smoothing out several strands of her hair, quickly wheeled around when she heard the knock. The older man raised an eyebrow at his daughter's sudden reaction.
"Does all that alien fighting always make you so jumpy?" Frank asked.
"Sometimes. It can be a bad habit sometimes," Gwen said, smiling as she returned her gaze back to the mirror. "So what brings you by, dad?"
"You seem to be in a good mood," Frank said with a raised brow. Whatever Ben helped her with, it worked a little too well.
"I usually am," Gwen said before tying her hair back in a ponytail.
"Could've fooled me these past few days. You've been holed up in your room for the longest, and you wouldn't talk to anybody. You didn't seem sad. Just upset. And distracted," Frank said, leaning against the doorway.
"If you really want to know..." Gwen trailed, avoiding any eye contact with her dad. "I was having problems with a boy."
"Huh?" Frank asked, his expression resembling a goldfish. He never thought he'd ever hear those words come out of Gwen's mouth.
"There was a guy I like, and I didn't know how to go about it. Ben helped me figure it out, and that was that," Gwen said, her tone giving away the fact that she did not want to talk about this particular subject. Mostly because it was flying a little too close to the sun.
"You didn't feel it was appropriate to talk to your mother about this sort of thing? She is a woman, you know," Frank reminded his daughter.
"I also know I happen to get all of my stubbornness from both of you. I wanted to figure it out myself. Well, at least until Ben threatened to break down the door if I didn't open up and talk," Gwen said with a shake of the head.
"He did know he'd have to find a way to fix it, right?" Frank said in a rhetorical tone.
"Somehow, I don't think he really cared," Gwen said with a laugh.
"You see? That's the kind of bullheaded recklessness only Tennyson men are capable of," Frank said with a wide smile, putting a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "So he helped you?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. I mean, either he'll say no or yes, right? I'll have an answer either way," Gwen said with a smile. "As for the alien fighting part... that'll have to work itself out later."
"That's the spirit. Just make sure whoever my little girl brings home is prepared for a Tennyson shakedown," Frank said with a wide grin.
"Oh, come on. Don't you trust me to have good judgement?" Gwen asked with a groan.
"Who said I was doing it? I'm fully expecting Ben to do the deed. Poor guy's probably gonna get a full background check before being verbally poked and prodded. Probably physically, now that I think about it..." Frank trailed with a thoughtful look.
"I doubt he'd go that far," Gwen said with an eye roll.
"I don't know, sweetie. Your cousin's an alien who fights bad aliens with a Tennyson tenacity. If he doesn't do anything more than a full background check on anyone you date, I'll be surprised," Frank said.
"I'll sort him out on that later. You on the other hand? Move on old man," Gwen teased before pushing him towards the door. "No one older than sixteen is allowed beyond this point."
"Should've known my time in your inner sanctum was limited," Frank said before giving his daughter a reassuring smile. "But you don't have to bottle up everything until Ben has to nearly break down your door for you to say something. Feel free to talk to us about anything that's bothering you. Or at least give us a hint if you don't want to tell us outright."
"I like solving things on my own, but I'll try and ask for help more. Thanks dad," Gwen told before closing her door, her back pressed against the door. She waited a few seconds before slowly exhaling.
"For all that is right in the world, please don't have them completely freak when I tell them," the Anodite prayed to herself.
A/N: Ok, they're officially together now. I feel like things came together fairly nicely. Just prepare for stuff to really hit the fan next chapter. Cause we're covering the Alien Force finale.