A man had a woman in a choke hold, giving a wicked and challenging smile to Ben. He was daring Ben to come to kill him. Everything seemed to slow to a crawl as Ben took a step. He turned into Diamondhead without doing anything. Time was moving so slow that he could see himself change. Another step, the woman's eyes were pleading to him but he couldn't tell if they were pleading for help or for him to run away.

Time started speeding up as he extended his arm and impaled the man's foot with a diamond. He watched as the man's face contorted in pain and he let the woman go to tend to his fresh injury. Time was almost back to normal as the woman passed him, giving Ben a look of contempt. A chill went down his spine as she left. Why did she hate him so much?

Distracted, Ben was blindsided as the man tackled him. When the man tackled him, time resumed normally. He felt a blade pierce his side and screamed in pain. It was impossible, he was Diamondhead, nothing could pierce his skin like that. It didn't matter anyway; the man just became a serious threat. He had to end it quickly. Punching the man in the head to distract him Ben turned his hand into a blade and stabbed the man in the stomach.

They locked eyes, his face a mask of fear and confusion. Ben smiled as he ripped his arm downwards, eviscerating the man. Suddenly the man's hazel eyes turned to brown. As his guts started to fall out of him his face and body started bubbling and morphing. Ben watched in horror as his brown and green hair recited into his skull and turned silver. He grew taller and fatter. Within seconds the thug was Grandpa Max.

"Why…did you do this to me, Ben?" Max asked, a look of betrayal on his face.

Ben was suddenly a kid again, human and vulnerable. "No," Ben whined, tears running down his cheeks. "No, I didn't…" He started to hyperventilate as blood and gore dripped onto him. "It wasn't…I didn't…it's, not my fault." Ben pleaded.

Max fell to his elbows and coughed up blood which splattered against Ben's cheek. "You're a murder, Ben," Max said softly. "It's all your fault." As he said that his arms completely gave out and he fell on top of Ben. He was so heavy Ben couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't think. With the last of his breath, Ben screamed at the top of his lungs.

000

Ben woke up with a gasp. His heart pounded in his chest and he couldn't stop himself from shaking. What in the ever-loving fuck was that? He had never ever had a dream even remotely close to that. It was so personal like it was a targeted attack. Ben ran his fingers through his hair trying to comfort himself and slow his breathing. He felt so helpless, he felt as if he'd be in this state forever. The thought just fueled his anxiety and he instinctively curled up, bringing his knees to his chest and lying on his side.

He struggled to breathe, only being able to get in short gasps that were let out with tiny whines. He tried to close his eyes against the images that flashed in his mind, but of course, it didn't work. Dizziness sent him spinning in a dark tornado, feeling as if he was being tossed like a Frisbee. In the vast assortment of rapid-fire thoughts that shot through his mind a memory surfaced. It was of that nice woman who had helped him while he had his first panic attack.

That was it, he was having a panic attack. He latched onto the memory for dear life but it was difficult to concentrate. What had she said? Ben could only remember her piercing blue eyes. Breathe? That's right, taking slow breaths. Ben scoffed, it was easier said than done, his breaths kept coming in shaky gasps. Screwing up his face in concentration he forced his breathing into a steady rhythm. Slowly he took deep breaths in and out, mentally counting how long each one took.

Without him even realizing it his mind calmed down. It became easier to breathe slowly and soon he didn't even have to force it. Eventually, he opened his eyes were met with the near pitch dark. Laying there he stretched back out, lying on his side and wondering where the faint light was coming from. Even after he was fully calmed down, he stayed down, hoping to be able to fall back asleep. He closed his eyes and willed himself to drift off.

Something clinked far away, it sounded like dishes being moved around. Ben shot up, on edge. He strained his ears for the sound again. The more he thought of it the more he didn't understand who made the noise, Gwen would be asleep by now. Clink…tink There was the sound again! There must be someone in the house, it was the only conclusion Ben could come to. He turned into Rath and went to investigate the sound.

After sliding out of his room he dropped to all fours. Silently he padded down the hall, moving slowly. There was someone standing in front of the TV, Rath could only see their silhouette. Rath continued prowling down the hall silently until he was at the entrance of the living room.

He tensed all his muscles, preparing to pounce. The person started to turn around and Rath sprung, leaping through the air at the intruder. He crashed into them but before he had time to sink his claws into them a pink blast threw him back. When he hit the ground he continued to roll until he was stopped by the wall. "Ben it's me!" Gwen called out. Wait, what? The lights turned on and Gwen came into view. Oh.

He turned back into a human and sat up. "What the hell was all that noise?"

"I was making some food," Gwen said, pointing to the kitchen in exasperation. Now that Ben thought about it, he could smell something savory being cooked. "I was just watching TV while it boiled."

"What are you even doing up anyways, it's like 3 A.M." He stood up and stretched.

"I couldn't sleep," Gwen muttered, looking away.

"Neither could I." Ben sighed.

"Wanna talk about it?" She asked.

"Did you make enough food for two?" Ben said, answering her with a question.

Gwen smiled and nodded. They went into the kitchen and sat down. "So, what's going on with you?" She asked.

"I had a nightmare. What about you?"

Gwen looked hesitant but eventually said, "I couldn't stop thinking of yesterday. Of that man in the alley." She looked down at her hands and pretended like she was fascinated with them. "What was your nightmare about?" They seemed to be exchanging questions.

Ben sighed and rubbed his face. "It was pretty messed up. A thug was attacking a woman. Time got really slow. I made him let go of the woman and she hated me for it. She distracted me enough that the thug managed to jump me and even though I was Diamondhead he was still able to stab me." He paused, remembering what happened next. "I…I gutted him a—and then he…uh…he turned into Grandpa." He could feel his throat closing up in fear. "And suddenly I was a kid again and he fell on top of me. He was so heavy and his blood and guts soaked me. I couldn't breathe. He crushed me to death. I only woke up when I died." He choked the rest of the story out as fast as he could. When he looked back up, he saw Gwen's eyes were wide with horror and she covered her mouth. "So…uh…I don't think I'm sleeping tonight." He chuckled.

"That is just horrible," Gwen whispered. "I don't think anyone could sleep after that."

"Yeah, so why can't you sleep?" Ben asked.

A timer went off and Gwen got up. "Every time I try to lay down to sleep all I can see is that alley." She paused, draining the water from some pasta. "That man. What a horrible fate."

Ben wanted to say something smart or sarcastic, but instead only said, "He looked a lot like grandpa, huh?"

Gwen nodded. "It's probably why neither of us can stop thinking about it." She came over with two bowls of pasta covered in a jarred red sauce. "It's nothing fancy but it tastes good," Gwen said with a smile. Ben muttered his thanks.

He stabbed at his food unenthusiastically. He was hungry at first but the whole conversation had his gut twisted in tight, angry knots that made him feel sick. "Do you remember that day?" Ben asked.

"Yeah…" Gwen muttered.

"Cause I don't," Ben said, taking a bite of food. "Not after…" his voice trailed off; he didn't need to finish the sentence. The air hung heavy with the unspoken words.

"Remember his awful cooking?" Gwen asked.

"Oh my God. He was so insistent on expanding our pallets. Who the hell even does that to a child?" Ben laughed.

"I think the tentacle soup was the worse!" Gwen exclaimed, laughing. And suddenly Ben's dreary, depressing, outdated, death trap of an apartment was filled with laughter and fond reminiscing. Ben felt a weight that he hadn't realized was there lift off his chest. At least for now, he was happy, warm, and safe. When they ran out of food they moved onto the couch. Even though the TV was running they weren't really watching it, they were too busy talking and laughing.

No matter how happy Ben felt at that moment he couldn't help but feel a nagging sensation at the back of his mind. He knew what it was, and knew what would happen if he ignored it. He excused himself to the bathroom. He reached for that small orange bottle that kept him sane more days than not. He shook a pill out into his hand and then thought about it. One pill would keep him sane –Ben smirked. "Well, mostly sane." He corrected— but two pills would help him get back to sleep and he'd be less likely to dream. Without much hesitation, he shook another pill out and took them both. "Besides," he thought "I have a full stomach so one would do almost nothing."

With the knowledge that the gnawing feeling would soon leave him, he made his way back to Gwen. "Hey, I made some popcorn to munch on. Hope you don't mind." She said with such a sincere smile that there was no way he could be mad at her.

"Hell no, popcorn is always good," Ben said, jumping onto the couch and sending popcorn flying. After a couple of seconds of shocked silence, they both burst out laughing. Gwen helpfully used her magic to levitate all the spilled popcorn she could get ahold of and put it in the trash. Ben took a fistful of popcorn and shoved it into his mouth, it was slightly burnt but it played off the saltiness well. Gwen snorted and shook her head.

For the next hour, they watched shitty late-night infomercials and made fun of them. When they'd get bored ripping on one, they'd flip through the channels to find a different one. Slowly the meds started to work their magic. Ben was finding himself wanting something soft and cuddly and so put on his favorite hoodie. It was a dull, dark green, and had ridiculously soft, tan, curly fabric lining it. When he wore it without a shirt if was super comfortable and warm. He sat down on the couch again and grabbed the remote, searching for something with an actual story. Without a second thought, he laid down, putting his head on Gwen's lap and putting his knees to his chest. "Uh…Ben?" Gwen said gently. Ben ignored her, too focused on scanning the menu to care.

"Oh shit, it's M*A*S*H!" Ben exclaimed, putting on the old show. "Have you ever seen it?" He asked, turning to look up at Gwen.

"Um, I don't think so," Gwen said.

"Oh, well it's really good, it's like the only good thing on this early in the morning," Ben said, turning back to the tv.

"Are you often up this early?" Gwen asked, gently.

"More like up this late. Sometimes I just can't sleep for, like, days." Ben answered, not paying attention to what he was saying. "You either find shit to watch or you go insane. I've tried both." He said, only half joking.

Gwen draped an arm over him; it felt nice. When she started to idly run her fingers through his hair, he let out a contented sigh and closed his eyes. It was such a simple touch, such a small display of affection, but it made him feel so loved. He thought of the last time he had just held someone or was held. Not counting a couple of days ago when he sobbed into Gwen's chest for an hour he couldn't remember. "We should do this more often…" Ben mumbled, half asleep. The voices coming from the tv blurred together He heard Gwen say something but couldn't make it out. He let out a soft, "mmm" in response and slipped into unconsciousness.

000

Gwen heard Ben start to softly snore and sighed. He had been high as a kite and it was painfully obvious, did he just think that she couldn't tell that he was high? Did he get high every day or did she just catch him in a run? She debated on what to do, she doubted that he'd respond to a regular intervention. She had to do something; she couldn't just ignore the fact that Ben was abusing narcotics.

Gwen let out a large yawn. Even though she was still afraid to go to sleep exhaustion made her eyes irresistibly heavy. She could decide what she'd do in the morning, but for now, she wiggled around into a more comfortable position without waking Ben. She laid her head back over the edge of the couch and closed her eyes. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but it'd do. Her mind idly tried to problem solve while she drifted off to sleep.

I swear to God this is not turning into a shipping fic. Trust me, you wouldn't want to see what would happen if they got into a relationship with Ben as fucked as he is. I'm sorry for this being a day late. We are trying to post every other Tuesday from now on. We just couldn't sustain once a week updates, thank you for your understanding. (YD)