A/N: Holy shit, I love teenage superhero protagonists who hide their mental health issues with jokes. Seriously, just look at my fandom list. This is the only character type that I will do anything for.

You guys think that this is a Ben/Rook fic? Wrong. This is just 20 chapters of me gushing about Ben. This is a Ben Tennyson appreciation fic.

Anyway, I've been hard into Miraculous Ladybug recently, but I've been rewatching some of the OG Ben 10 with my brother and it's gotten me hyped enough to finally get this chapter done. I crammed most of it into one day. You're welcome. (Hopefully, the fact that this is my longest chapter yet makes up for the three month wait.)

Side note: This is sort of an obscure trivia fact, but I mention in this chapter a species called an Uxorite. That's the species of Xylene, Max's alien lover from the OG series episode, "The Visitor." You can look up a picture of her if you don't know what I'm talking about. But just so you know, that's what species I'm referring to.

When Rook woke up to the song on his alarm (again), alone in his room (again), he had to admit that he wasn't much looking forward to today (again).

As far as Thursdays went, this wasn't the worst one — not by a long shot — but after the moment they'd shared last night, he wasn't looking forward to spending a day away from Ben. He knew that he had to, though. It was part of becoming a more well-rounded person. Rook knew already that he'd be inconsolable if Ben died. He didn't need to make it worse by adding codependency into the mix. That wouldn't be fair to Ben, either, seeing as how he didn't return Rook's feelings and was in no position to take care of another person when he could barely care for himself.

Rook toyed with the idea of writing up a list of personal flaws that he wanted to work on, but that seemed self-defeating to him. It would be gone in the morning, anyway. Such an effort seemed largely pointless.

He supposed that he'd always had problems making friends while growing up. He'd only been close with Rayona because they were the same age and, as an only child, she'd wanted someone to talk to on those long days working the field. Rook had always been a little bit self-focused. He'd never been able to relate to his peers on Revonnah, and once he'd gotten to the Plumber Academy, he'd considered himself above everyone else. He was friends with Scout for a short amount of time, but that was mostly just a friendly acquaintanceship born out of convenience and the one thing they had in common. They'd never been close.

And now that Rook was thinking about it, how close was he with Rayona, really? It'd been a while since they last talked. Was it so difficult to arrange a voice call? It couldn't be hard to check in with his family and siblings.

The simple truth of the matter was that while Rook loved his family and Revonnah, a part of him had always resented it. He'd always held an attitude of being better than those simple farmers who were satisfied with a boring, predictable life. Rook was happy to return for the Harvest, but he couldn't leave soon enough. Maybe if he'd visited more, called more, he would have been able to stop the Incursean invasion as well. At the Academy, his status as a Revonnahgander had always been a source of humiliation. He'd had to work twice as hard to prove himself against the mocking of peers from more developed planets.

But he'd done it. He'd become the best of the best, and he was partnered with Ben Tennyson. Was that the source of Rook's problem? A superiority complex? Had he somehow deluded himself into thinking that he deserved Ben?

He was so lost in his thoughts that Rook realized he'd been standing there and staring into space for the last fifteen minutes. He shook his head and forced himself to move toward the bathroom so he could shower and get ready.

Maybe the problem was a superiority complex, but Rook was over it. He wasn't sure how he'd never seen it before. If he was big-headed enough as a rookie to think that he was more capable than Ben Tennyson, then it was a problem that he'd let progress for far too long. Looking back on some of their first instances together as partners was just embarrassing. Like his attitude in forcing Ben to ask for his help, even ignoring his obvious peril unless directly asked to intervene. What could have possessed him to think that such behavior was normal? It lacked compassion, and that was the simple truth of the matter. Rook struggled with empathy.

Well, not anymore. He was never going to treat another person as beneath him again.

He turned on the shower to as hot as he could stand it and brushed his fur out, taking the extra time to be thorough. Rook considered that he had a lot of free time today, so since he did, there wasn't any need to stick to his schedule. He wanted to hit up the gym anyway, though. It'd been two weeks since he'd last worked out and Rook felt like it might make him feel better, physically.

Once he had his uniform on and his Proto-Tool safely holstered, Rook left his room and went down the hall toward the gym. Maybe he could shake things up by hitting the weight machines. Rook focused more on stamina and speed than raw muscle, but it never hurt to work on building his strength. Then he could probably talk to Magister Tennyson before he stopped by the cafeteria. He wasn't sure where he'd sit, since he unfortunately wasn't friends with any of his coworkers, but he'd figure it out.

The gym at the Plumber base was uniquely equipped to meet the physical needs of nearly every species in the galaxy — everything from Galvans to humans to Tetramand to Piscciss Volann to Vaxasaurian. Revonnahganders were physically very similar to humans, so Rook often found himself using humanoid workout equipment and adjusting as necessary for his long arms and legs.

As he was adding weight to a barbell, though, Rook happened to look over and noticed a human cadet doing something similar. It wasn't any of his business, but something struck Rook as off. He didn't figure out what it was until the cadet laid down on the bench press and grabbed the bar.

"I would not do that," Rook interrupted, his polite words betraying the panic in his voice. He hurried over to the human's side, indicating the gravity setting on the side of the bench. It was created for human-sized aliens with exceptional strength that couldn't be stimulated with regular weights. "The gravity on this set is far too heavy for you to lift. You ought to pay more attention with the weights. Some people use them and do not set them back to their default settings afterward. It could very easily be fatal if this fell on you. Or, at least, break many bones." Rook grimaced at the idea. He thought of Ben's leg bent at an awkward angle and the sound of his ribs cracking around his last breath.

The human cadet in question was not someone that Rook recognized. He had big green eyes and a handsome face topped by an unruly mop of blond hair. He sat up and looked at where Rook was pointing, letting out a small laugh. "Right! Yeah. Sorry, you'd think that after the Academy, I would be used to it, but I'm so scatterbrained in the morning." He offered Rook his hand to shake. "My name's James. I only got assigned here a week ago. And your name is…?"

Rook tried to remember if he had ever seen James here on any of the previous loops. He normally didn't come by the weight section, and he was typically at the gym much earlier than this. He wondered if James had died on this bench fifteen times before.

"I am Rook Blonko," he introduced himself upon realizing how long he'd been standing there without saying anything. Rook shook the hand offered to him politely. "This is why you ought to have someone spot you. That could have ended badly."

James laughed again. Rook wondered if it was a human thing to laugh at near-death experiences. "Good thing that you were here, then. It doesn't look like you have a weight lifting partner, either."

"I do have a partner," Rook told him, "but he is not one for weights." He wasn't sure if inviting himself in was how friends were made, but he figured that he'd get a chance to try again tomorrow if this didn't work. "Do you want me to spot you?"

The smile that Rook received as answered seemed unnecessarily dazzling. All he had done was make a simple inquiry. Were all humans so affection-starved and easy to please?

Once Rook adjusted the gravity setting and helped James find a more ideal weight to lift for his current muscle mass, they worked together mostly in silence. Rook wasn't pressed by the lack of conversation. The occasional smile and encouraging word seemed to be plenty. It was sort of fascinating, actually, the way that James glowed at the slightest praise. As someone who graduated top of his class, Rook was accustomed to that. He wondered if James had graduated poorly or if this apparent issue with self-worth had a deeper-seeded origin.

At the end of the day, though, it wasn't any of Rook's business. He kept his nosy questions to himself. After they switched and Rook took over the barbell, it was easy to forget his curiosities in the pleasant sensation of his muscles burning. It really had been too long since he'd had a good workout.

When they were done, James helped him up and checked the time on his Plumber badge. "I'm probably going to go for an early breakfast," he said. "Do you want to tag along, Rook? I can introduce you to my friends."

He sounded enthusiastic, but Rook frowned. "Friends?" He echoed. "You have only been here for a week and you already have friends?"

The incredulous tone in Rook's voice must have been obvious because James' smile faltered. He didn't intend to be rude, but Rook couldn't deny a tiny spark of jealousy. He'd been here for months and didn't have any friends to speak of. Ben was his closest friend and only because they'd been assigned to work together — Ben hadn't even liked him much for those first few days.

Of course, the only person that Rook had to blame for that was himself.

"Well, I'm probably cheating," James admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "One of them is another human that I've been friends with since childhood. We stayed close and went to the Academy together. We were both really glad to get assigned in the same place. She's a lot more social than me, so she's made friends, really. I just sit at a table in the cafeteria with them."

That made two of them, apparently.

"I apologize if my question was rude. I would like to have breakfast with you and your friends," Rook said.

James gave him a funny look, then laughed. "Sorry, I just— I've heard that Revonnahganders don't use contractions and you really can tell. The way you speak is very formal," he explained.

"It is the polite thing to do," Rook replied with a little smile of his own. After spending so much time with Ben, Rook had to admit, he was fonder of contractions then he used to be. He was when Ben was the one speaking, at any rate.

They left to go to the cafeteria, making idle small talk as they went. Rook kept the conversation away from himself as much as he could and turned it into a game, trying to learn as much about James as he could. He learned that James was an only child who had grown up in a wealthy family. His mother had died when he was at a young age and his father never recovered. He'd never been very good at making friends due to growing up homeschooled. Becoming a Plumber was basically a dream come true for James, and he said as much frequently.

"—But I think that my biggest source of inspiration," James continued to prattle on, "is Ben 10."

Rook nodded, resisting the urge to smile. Much as he wanted to gush about his partner, this conversation wasn't really about him. "Ben 10 inspired me as well. Before me, no Revonnahgander had ever been a Plumber before. I would not have had the courage to leave my home without stories of his exploits to inspire me," he confessed.

"Really?" James looked a little starstruck. "I can't imagine how scary that must have been. I mean, I'm lucky because I'm not the first human to join the Plumbers. But it was still intimidating, you know? The technology on Earth might as well be children's toys compared to what they had at the Academy. And hearing about Ben 10 — that not only was he accomplished as a human, but the greatest hero in the galaxy — was absolutely incredible. He's so young, too! I couldn't imagine doing a fraction of what he's already accomplished and I'm in my twenties!"

"Neither can I. And with no training as well," Rook chimed in. He didn't think that he'd accomplished anything impressive in comparison to Ben, but that was alright. Anymore, Rook was just happy if Ben made it through the day without dying. "He is a natural with the Omnitrix. I truly think that if anyone else had ended up with it, our galaxy would be doomed."

"He sounds amazing. I've wanted to meet him for so long, but I don't even know what I would say." James gave a self-depreciating chuckle. "I imagine he's probably heard plenty of people ramble about how incredible he is, anyway. He probably wouldn't be impressed if that was how I opened a conversation."

This was the part where Rook would insist otherwise. Where he was supposed to say that everyone loved to feel appreciated, and Ben would appreciate the praise, and hearing something like that would undoubtedly make him smile. But then Rook's thought process skipped like an old record and the words died in his throat.

"I never actually thought that you wanted to get saddled with Ben Tennyson. Ben 10 is the hero of legends, you know…"

Oh.

Oh, no.

Suddenly, Rook was faced with a realization that gave him whiplash. No, being complimented for being a hero was the last thing that Ben would want. Oh, sure, it might feel good at the moment. He would smile and grin and say some stupid one-liner to deflect. But it was just like their first day through the loop, when Ben got cornered by reporters. As soon as the cameras turned away, he would deflate. He'd shrink back into himself, put up walls to keep Rook or anyone else from noticing that he was upset, and insist that he was fine.

Rook felt sick. He wondered if this had always been a problem. Had he contributed to it somehow, in those early months of being partners? Not only had Ben treated Ben Tennyson and Ben 10 as different people, but so had Rook. Someone that Ben was supposed to be able to trust with his life, and Rook had fucked up so badly that Ben was still not convinced that Rook genuinely appreciated him as a person.

His hero worship had blinded him to the truth: that Ben was just a sixteen-year-old with too much responsibility on his shoulders, and Rook had been hurting him.

He felt like someone had slammed him upside the head with a baseball bat. Everything that Rook knew about Ben had been carefully organized and compartmentalized, and it had all just been shoved out of place. The new picture that it made wasn't something that Rook had ever wanted to see, but now that he knew, he couldn't unknow it.

"I think you are right," Rook said when his voice returned to him. "Ben appreciates when he is just treated like a normal person."

Ridiculous. Ben Tennyson had the power to shape the universe on his wrist, and all he wanted was to make the people in his life happy and drink smoothies. Fucking ridiculous.

It was probably a good thing that time was looping, Rook realized belatedly. He could never do anything about his feelings for Ben, which was fitting because Rook definitely did not deserve him.

"You think so? Have you met Ben 10?" James asked as they entered the cafeteria.

Their conversation was put on pause by the sudden increase of noise. Rook was normally never in the cafeteria so early in the morning, and he'd only eaten breakfast properly a handful of times. Thankfully, all he had to do was follow James' lead — they bypassed the protein bars to head for the spot where they picked up their trays.

Half of the options were inedible for Revonnahganders, but there were some human-based foods that Rook sort of recognized. One thing that he really appreciated about Earth was the meat. His species were omnivores, but Revonnah had been going through a dry season for most of his life, and muroid meat was unappetizing to put it lightly. He was glad to pick a meal of what he was pretty sure was ham. Rook wondered why he'd ever skipped a good breakfast to begin with.

His mouth twisted as the answer came to him. Because he had to be perfect. To be a soldier worthy of keeping up with Ben, he had to be more of a machine than a person. No wonder Ben had never opened up to him before… The last person who would have understood his insecurities would have been Rook. Unlike Ben, he'd never shied away from crushing expectations. Rook had embraced them. He was used to it. He'd enforced them himself most of the time, because…

Because he thought that it was what was needed to be worthy of Ben 10.

Rook really had created his own problems, hadn't he?

With food on their trays, James led Rook over to the table where he usually sat. There were already four other people there, and for a second, Rook hesitated. A glimmer of insecurity ran through him, but he'd never been the type to give into worries like that, so he made sure that his expression was neutral and took a seat next to James.

"Hey, guys," he greeted his friends animatedly and the five other Plumbers at the table glanced at Rook without much of a reaction. Rook relaxed. "Hope you don't mind that I invited someone else to sit with us today. This is Rook. He saved me from getting myself crushed in the gym this morning," James said proudly.

One of the people at the table, Rook recognized. Molly Gunther, who was yet another human, had been a Plumber for a while. They'd had a few conversations, and she knew enough about Revonnahgander culture to call him by his chosen name, Blonko. For some reason, though, it bothered Rook when she did it. If Ben wouldn't call him by his chosen name, then Rook childishly felt that no one else had the right to, either.

Molly acknowledged him with a tilt of her head, subtly curious about what she no doubt thought was out of character for him, but she didn't say anything. Why would she? It wasn't as if they were friends.

"You did what in the gym?" The human female sitting on James' other side looked about ready to throttle him. Her dark eyes narrowed. "I swear, you were just like this at the Academy, too! Alien technology only exists for you to speedrun how quickly you can get yourself killed."

James laughed and waved his friends' concerns aside. "If you're talking about the accident in the particle accelerator, I already told you, it was a dare! Which I won, need I remind you." His grin widened. "You worry too much, Karma. I'm fine."

She — Karma, apparently — looked less-than-impressed. "Yeah, but not because you suddenly grew a sense of self-preservation," she retorted. Ignoring James' affronted cry of, "hey!" Karma leaned around him to stick her hand out for Rook to shake. She gave him a smile that was positively beaming. "Nice to meet you. My name's Karizma. Rook, was it?" He nodded, and Karizma let go of his hand and leaned back. "Thanks for keeping James from getting himself killed. He's always been a magnet for trouble, ever since we were kids."

"My siblings are the same." Rook nodded in understanding.

"Oh, no." Karizma blushed faintly. "We're not siblings. We—"

"We're as good as," James argued good-naturedly. "You know that you're like a sister to me, Karma."

Rook raised an eyebrow at the exchange. His knowledge of human courtship rituals was sparse, to be sure, but he didn't think that it was normal for humans to look at their "siblings" so tenderly. Or for them to look both heartbroken and touched at being compared to a sister. He shared a look with Molly, who shrugged in a, "what can you do?" gesture.

Was this what other people felt like, watching him and Ben before Rook realized his feelings? He felt even dumber now, for never figuring it out sooner. How much more obvious could it be?

Apparently, he wasn't the only one who was fed up with the exchange. The female Uxorite rolled her eyes and reached around James to shake Rook's hand. "I'm Twi'leks Lekku," she introduced herself. Her lips stretched into a smile with too many teeth. "On my planet, we don't have siblings. After our eggs hatch, we're left to fend for ourselves, even eating the others if necessary."

He couldn't help but feel faintly amused when James and Karizma both grimaced. Interspecies etiquette said that they ought to be polite in the face of severe cultural differences, but Rook could tell by the look on Twi'leks' face that she knew exactly what she was doing and took immense enjoyment from it.

"Nice to meet you," Rook said breezily. He directed his attention to the only alien at the table he'd yet to be introduced to — a male Petrosapien. "And who are you? I do not think I have seen you around here before."

"Oh, um—" The Petrosapien seemed shy and uncomfortable with being called attention to, which was unusual for a species of proud fighters. "My name is Popigai. I'm only here on Earth as part of my training. I just graduated from the Academy," he explained. "I'm getting some hands-on experience with the technology in a large base before I'm transferred back home to Petropia next month."

The mention of Petropia got James' attention, and Rook remembered that Petrosapiens were extinct in the galaxy until almost a year ago, their home planet blown to smithereens. Another thing that the galaxy had to thank Ben for. Rook frowned — what had been a footnote in his textbook at the Academy was life or death to billions of lifeforms.

"Of course. How is the reconstruction going?" Rook asked politely. "I am assuming that your Plumber base is still not in working order."

"Not really." Popigai sighed. "And we just got a new Magister, too. It's been a bit of a mess, if I'm being honest."

Unable to hold in his excitement much longer, James leaned forward and asked, "So, were you there? When Ben 10 reformed your planet? What did it look like? What did it feel like? I bet it was amazing," he gushed.

Karizma muttered something that sounded like, "I wish he'd talk about me the way he talks about Ben 10." Molly patted her sympathetically on the back while Twi'leks laughed.

Rook took a bite of his breakfast to hide his smile, tuned in politely to the conversation between Popigai and James. He added in when necessary, but mostly stayed quiet, trying to gauge how he felt. He wasn't as happy as he was when he was around Ben, but he was weirdly content. He liked his co-workers, even if Popigai wouldn't be here long and Twi'leks (as she later explained) was just getting additional hours in before her promotion to Magister. Rook could easily see himself one day calling these people his friends, and the strangest part was that he wanted it. He wanted to be their friend.

It had been a long time since he'd let himself crave companionship.

After breakfast, Twi'leks, Popigai, and Karizma had shifts they had to rush off for. "James and I have the afternoon shift in the security room," Molly explained. "After work, the five of us are going to Undertown to unwind. Do you want to join us?" She extended the offer politely, with a tone that implied she expected Rook to say no.

"Yes," Rook said before he could think about it. He was determined to have fun with people other than Ben today. "What time will we be leaving?"

"Really?" Molly was surprised for a few seconds, but quickly recovered. "If you want to meet us in the garage at eight, we can head out then."

"Hey, until our shifts start, do you want to go to the shooting range, Rook?" James asked, enthused.

He nodded, marveling at the strange feeling of making new friends. New friends who seemed to want him around in return. It made Rook laugh a little, remembering how hostile Ben had been when they first met. Not that Rook blamed him.

"I will meet you there. First, I am going to discuss something with Magister Tennyson," Rook promised.

He expected that to be the end of the conversation, but once James ran off to get his blaster from his quarters, Molly stopped Rook with a hand on his shoulder. "Has something gotten into you, Rook? You're not acting like yourself," she said. Not like it was a bad thing — just like she was confused.

Their relationship was strictly a working one. Rook remembered with some guilt how Molly had tried to reach out to him and be his friend when he first started working here. He had put all of his energy into training and being Ben's partner, though. Her invitations to go out had slowly trickled to a stop, and Rook had never regretted it until now.

"I know," he said. "I am trying to be someone new. Someone happier. Is it unusual?"

"No, not unusual." Molly shook her head, a small smile on her face. "I don't know what changed, but if you're happier, then I'm happy for you. See you at the shooting range in a few minutes, Rook." She waved at him as she left. Somehow, the fact that she was using his family name felt more personal than every time she'd called him Blonko.

It was going to be frustrating to have to befriend the same people everyday. Rook hoped that if one day the time loop stopped on its own, he would be able to do it for real.

On his way out of the cafeteria, he glanced at the clock. It was still a half hour before he had to go pick Ben up, which was plenty of time. Rook went to find Magister Tennyson in the central hub of the Plumber base.

Securing time off was as easy as he knew it would be. As soon as their conversation was done, Rook stepped off into one of the quieter hallways away from all of the noise to call Ben on his Plumber badge.

It took five rings for Ben to pick-up, but it was close to the time that his alarm normally went off anyway, so Rook didn't feel too guilty about it. "Mm. 'ello?" Ben asked, voice slurring with sleepiness.

Rook couldn't help the fond smile that spread across his face. Brallada, he was so cute. One day, Rook hoped to be able to wake up next to Ben and hear that voice in person, in all of Ben's bedhead and morning breath glory.

"Hello, Ben, I am calling to let you know that I got us today off from work," Rook informed him. "Magister Tennyson approved my request, so our patrol is canceled and you will not be expected at the base."

"Oh, cool. That's great." Ben muffled a yawn, and Rook wondered if he had actually been understood. "So what time will you be over?"

Ah. Rook chuckled. It seemed Ben hadn't really been listening. "We have the day off," he reminded Ben gently. "I have made plans with some of my co-workers. You should go to Undertown and see if Ester is available," Rook suggested.

There was a pause — presumably while Ben processed. "Oh. Alright." Maybe it was Rook's imagination, but Ben sounded a little disappointed. "I'll, um… Yeah. I guess I'll see about doing something like that." Another pause, this one longer. "Thanks for letting me know. See you later, I guess?"

"I will see you tomorrow, right on time," Rook promised cheerfully. Whether the day looped or not, he had no plans to be anywhere else tomorrow. He hung up before he could convince himself to spend the whole day talking to Ben.

The only concern Rook had was that Ben would end up at that fire again without Rook there to stop him, but he reasoned that the Hot Spot was underground and, therefore, should be safe. And if not, then Ester herself should be a suitable distraction.

With that taken care of, Rook went to fulfill his other promise: the shooting range. He hadn't been there in weeks, from his perspective. In a linear sense, it had probably only been closer to a few days. Rook went shooting on Mondays and Fridays to keep his skills with the Proto-Tool sharp.

When he got to the shooting range, Molly and James were already there waiting for him. The Plumber base had a highly sophisticated range that could be tailored to a users' preferred difficulty and weapon type. It was great for practice against all sorts of targets, from Anodites to Ectonurites. Normally, Rook would select settings that randomized his targets and set the difficulty to max in order to truly push himself. For today, he decided to handle the Proto-Tool strictly as a blaster.

Although he was in the Plumber base, he wasn't working. Rook was here to have fun in his down time. What a novel concept.

"I'm not very good with my blaster," James explained as he stepped up to the line to take his turn. "I used to go shooting with my parents, but moving targets designed to emulate real aliens is sort of different from hitting old milk cartons."

Rook, reminded of his time with his father warding off the muroids, nodded in agreement. "It took some getting used to for me as well."

"Don't be modest, Rook," Molly said, elbowing him. "You're the best shot in this base! It's no wonder Magister Tennyson picked you to be Ben's partner."

James' next shot missed by a good several feet, and the scoreboard flashed "DEAD" as the target got close enough to kill him (provided it had been a real combat situation, of course). He didn't seem to care. "You're Ben 10's partner?" He asked, jaw on the floor.

Molly grimaced and clapped Rook on the shoulder. "My bad. Have fun with that," she said, taking her blaster up to the line to have her turn.

"Dude! Why didn't you tell me?" James demanded, scandalized.

Despite his mild annoyance, Rook found it in himself to smile. The word "dude" was so stupidly human and it reminded him of Ben. "It did not seem important for me to bring up," he said, because that was the truth. "I should warn you, if you want me to get in touch with Ben for you, I will not do it. His privacy should be respected."

"Well, yeah." James rolled his eyes and grabbed Rook's hand. "I don't care about getting his autograph or something. I just want to know what he's like," he insisted. "Ben 10 inspired me. He's larger than life, he's a face in history books, he's been beyond the edges of the universe. And that's hard to imagine," he admitted. "Hard to live up to. But you know him. What's he like? Really?"

Rook softened, even though he couldn't help but be a little bitter. How was it that this rookie who'd been here for a week already had a better grasp of Ben as a person than Rook had when their partnership began? He swallowed his regrets. Time might be frozen, but Rook couldn't turn back the clocks and do better the first time around.

"He is amazing," Rook said honestly. "When we first met, I had it in my head that Ben 10 was going to be the hero that the legends painted him as… And Ben Tennyson turned out to be all of that and more. I admit that at first I was disappointed, to realize that he was just a person rather than a walking personification of all of his accomplishments. He has saved the universe, but he also eats smoothies and chili fries almost exclusively. He loves video games, and he is terrible at physics. He is always helping people. He is a good son, a great Plumber, and the best friend I have ever had."

At that moment, Rook wasn't sure which one of them was more starstruck. "Wow," James breathed.

The score board beeped as Molly finished her run through the shooting range, holstering her gun over her shoulder with a smirk. "Rook, if you're done gushing about your boyfriend, it's your turn," she teased.

Rook turned pink beneath his fur. "Ben is not my boyfriend," he protested weakly.

Unfortunately, Molly wasn't buying it. She winked. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll wear him down soon enough. You're not the only one who's smitten." She jerked her thumb toward the score board. "If you can beat my score, I'll buy the first round of drinks tonight."

Getting drunk later sounded like a terrible way to keep his crush on Ben underwraps. But, Rook reasoned, it wasn't like it was going to matter by the end of the night. "I will do my best not to order anything too expensive, for your paycheck's sake," Rook replied, unholstering his Proto-Tool.

At the end of their spontaneous shooting challenge, Molly owed him three rounds, which was as high as Rook went before stopping for her sake. He was the undisputed best of the three of them, but James made a little bit of progress on his own scores, which seemed to enthuse him.

By the time they were done, Rook was surprised by how late it had already gotten. He checked his Plumber badge, but there were no new texts from Ben. He eyed the time, stomach churning with worry.

Before Rook could convince himself to drive downtown and check the fire to make sure that Ben stayed away, James and Molly had managed to wrangle him into an early lunch before their shifts started. As they were leaving, Karizma, Twi'leks, and Popigai had finished their morning shifts and were just joining them. Karizma took the seat right next to James, just in time for him to kiss her on the cheek and then jump to his feet to dump his lunch out and head toward his shift.

She waited, red-faced, for him to leave the cafeteria before banging her head against the table with a groan. "It's not just me, right?" She bemoaned, looking at her tablemates for support. "He's flirting, he has to be! And he still has no idea how I feel."

Twi'leks shook her head, patting Karizma on the shoulder comfortingly. "I'm not sure why you're overcomplicating this," she said. "Have you tried just telling him?"

"I don't have much experience with romance, but I agree," Popigai chimed in. "At least if you're straight-forward, you won't have the regret of leaving things unsaid." It sounded like he spoke from personal experience. "What's the worst that could happen? He says no, and you continue to be friends? Don't you like being friends."

"I do. Of course I do, I just…" Karizma bit her lip. "I don't want things to change."

Rook wasn't sure how welcome his advice would be, considering that he was new to this group of friends, but he cleared his throat and tried anyway. "Coming from personal experience, you will feel much better once you get it off your chest, no matter how it goes. Regardless, you need this sort of closure if you are ever going to move on. It is not fair to either of you to continue being in love with someone who has made their lack of interest clear. But you will always be friends. It is clear that he loves you very much, even if it is not necessarily in a romantic way." He tried for a smile.

Karizma sighed. "You guys are right. I know you are, I'm…" She shook her head and straightened up. "No, that's it. No more pouting! I'm finally going to come clean and tell James that I love him."

"I've heard that one before," Twi'leks said. She nudged Popigai with her elbow. "Five taydens she won't do it."

"Done," Popigai agreed immediately. He gave Karizma an encouraging look. "I think you can do it!"

He had no personal stakes in anyone's love life, so Rook stayed quiet, his thoughts lagging behind as the conversation continued around him. The more he thought about what he said, the more he wondered how applicable it was to his current situation. Should he be trying to move on from Ben? He already had his closure: the answer was no. But then there was what Molly said: "You're not the only one who's smitten."

But what would she know about it, really? She wasn't close to Ben, or to Rook. Could she have gathered that much just from watching them at a distance? Assuming that it was true, though, did it really matter? Was Rook selfish to hold onto this thin hope that Ben might one day love him back? Worse, what if it strained their friendship? He didn't want to become bitter. A part of him protested, saying that he would never stoop so low, but Rook hadn't thought that he was capable of strangling Ben a few weeks ago, either. The thought hit him like a bucket of cold water.

What if months and months into the time loop, he became cynical and jaded? What if his unreturned feelings (feelings that were impossible for Ben to return, the way things were now) caused him to do something terrible? Something that no amount of regret or time resets could possibly undo?

"Rook?" Popigai waved a hand in front of his face, and the glare from the cafeteria lights against his crystalline skin snapped Rook out of his thoughts. "Sorry," he apologized as Rook rubbed his eyes. "You looked really dazed. I was just asking you if you wanted to help me do some maintenance on my cruiser."

A quick glance around the table showed that Karizma and Twi'leks had already left. Rook's lunch sat half-eaten in front of him. How long had he been staring into space?

"Alright," he agreed vaguely, getting to his feet. Anything was better than thinking himself in circles.

Together, they got up and dumped their trays in silence. Rook wasn't looking to make conversation as they made their way to the hanger, but eventually, he couldn't keep his compounding thoughts trapped inside of his head anymore.

"If you do not mind the personal question," Rook began, "earlier, you alluded to having some struggles with love of your own. How did that turn out?"

He winced at his own awkward phrasing, but Popigai didn't seem to mind. His expression turned lovelorn. "Oh, you know…" He shrugged. "I never confessed. I had the biggest crush on him for years, and now he's… Well, he has feelings for someone else," Popigai said. Rook grimaced sympathetically. "It wouldn't change anything now, but a part of me always wonders if things could have turned out differently if I hadn't wasted my chances. And she's great. They'll be good together, I just…" He trails off. "I just think we could have been good together, too."

"I'm sorry," Rook said, because it was the only thing that seemed appropriate.

"Don't be. That's the way life is sometimes, you know?" Popigai sighed and then gave Rook a sad smile. "What about you? The way you talked back there, there's got to be someone special."

He thought about denying it, but Rook didn't really see the point. It was surprisingly easy to be open with people he'd just met with the knowledge that it would be wiped away tomorrow. Right now, he needed a sounding board.

"I have already confessed. I knew what he would say — he has a girlfriend." Rook looked away. "But I wonder if attempting to woo him is worth it. Perhaps I should just be happy with what I have, instead of longing for more."

Popigai hummed thoughtfully, then shrugged. "Honestly, who can say which option is better? You can try getting over him if you think it'll make you both happier, but the heart doesn't always listen to reason. I think as long as you don't let your emotions overwhelm your logical thinking, it should be fine. If he's worth loving, he won't hold it against you."

That made Rook feel a little better — but of course, he already thought the world of Ben.

"Thank you," he said, and let the conversation end at that.

Afterward, getting along with Popigai was easy. He was the quiet type, and while working, tended to get in the zone, like Rook did. He was incredibly knowledgeable about mechanics, and they soon fell into sync together once they got their hands on his cruiser. Working on it made Rook think about Kevin. He made a mental note to try hanging out with him and Gwendolyn both, after the time loop ended and there was an opening in their schedules.

Time ticked by slowly, and Rook realized that he couldn't spend hours and hours just working on the cruiser. Popigai wanted to be done for the day by three, and that still left five hours until they were all supposed to meet up and go to Undertown.

The gap in his schedule was difficult to contend with. He wasn't used to free time. Rook had already accepted that he didn't have many hobbies, though. He could work out or go shooting again, but in the end, he decided to do a bit of minor maintenance on the Proto-TRUK since he was already in the mood for it.

When he was done with that, he was covered in grime and oil, so he returned to his quarters to take a shower and clean his armor. It was well-past time for Ben's death on the first day, and since nothing had been said to him and no alarms had sounded, Rook assumed that Ben had stayed away from the fire and that he was alright. It took everything in him not to text Ben, determined to make this a day where he focused on people other than his partner.

Despite his resolve not to see Ben, though, nothing could keep Rook's thoughts from straying toward him. He sat cross-legged on his bed and ripped the pages out of his books, folding them into paper cranes. He mused about whether or not Ben might appreciate a bouquet of paper roses, when he realized that he was tearing out the pages in his Plumbers' intergalactic history textbook.

Rook flipped toward the back, where the chapter (and a half) on Ben Tennyson was. It felt like an insult. It didn't cover even half of everything Ben had done, and it barely said anything about him as a person at all. He took particular pleasure in tearing those pages out. His paper cranes were still far from perfect, but he was getting better. Perhaps on the next loop, Rook ought to consider learning an instrument. He could probably learn how to compose a song while he was stuck doing this for the next however-many-years.

Eventually, though, he'd finally wasted enough time that he was ready to head out. Rook was pretty sure that showing up in his Proto-Armor wasn't what the others meant by asking him to hang out in Undertown off of work hours, but he didn't have much else to wear and he didn't care enough to go get something.

Sure enough, when he met up with the others by the exit to Bellwood's streets, they were all wearing casual clothing. Seeing Molly in something other than her uniform threw Rook for a bit of a loop, but she didn't seem at all surprised to see him.

"Rook! Glad you could make it," she greeted him, looking pleased. "Hope you don't mind, but we're walking. Plumber cruisers tend to be pretty obvious."

Whether she meant obvious to humans or to the sort of people who hung around in Undertown, Rook wasn't sure, and it didn't particularly matter to him. He just nodded. Walking was easier than carpooling, and the humans in Bellwood were used enough to aliens by this point to at least not scream or attack them. Rook was used to the staring, anyway. (Although he was never sure if that was because he was an alien or because he was with Ben Tennyson.)

They made smalltalk on the walk to Undertown, and Rook joined in occasionally. He looked at James and wondered, if he hadn't been in the workout room that morning to stop him, would he still be on this outing? Was he supposed to spend today in the infirmary, or dead? The thought made his stomach churn in unease. Skipping his usual Thursday routine had been a great decision, it turned out.

When Rook started to lag behind the others, he was surprised when Twi'leks slowed her speed to match his. "Hey." She looked at him with mild concern — interesting, since Uxorites weren't particularly known for their empathy. "Are you alright? You've been quiet. You didn't have to agree to come out with us, you know."

"I am aware," Rook assured her. "I have a lot on my mind. I think that getting out was just what I needed." Twi'leks didn't look convinced, but she nodded. To change the subject, Rook said, "Being promoted to Magister is quite an honor. Are you planning on being stationed back on your home world, or somewhere else?"

It was a clear deflection, but surprisingly, it was easier for Rook to socialize when it was just one-on-one. And he was right, it was nice to get out of his own head. Twi'leks had a lot of very strong opinions about many things. Her goal was to become a Magister and then be stationed on Vulpin — the homeworld of Vulpimancers — where she hoped to work at undoing the toxic waste and pollution that had plagued the planet for centuries. Her insight to the issue was impressive. Clearly, she had done her research.

Before he knew it, they were in Undertown. There were numerous bars and pubs to choose from, but Rook figured that the group had a regular place in mind, because they passed a dozen of them without any discussion as to where they were going.

He was content and enjoying slowly getting to know the friends he'd managed to make, right up until a very familiar voice shouted, "Rook!"

Immediately, Rook came to a halt, turning on a dime. His eyes widened, and Rook kicked himself for being surprised. Of course Ben was in Undertown — Rook was the one who told him to go there. "Ben," he uttered as his partner came running up to greet him. "What a surprise."

He felt like an idiot. The only "surprise" was that Rook aced all of his academics courses at the Plumber Academy and yet was still caught off guard by the most predictable outcome imaginable. And the one time he didn't want to see Ben, too.

"Seeing you out and about, having fun? Yeah, that is a surprise," Ben joked. He looked over Rook's shoulder at the others, who had stopped to wait for him. "Are these your co-workers?" He waved. "Hey, Molly. Nice shirt."

Molly — who was wearing a shirt for some Earth band that Rook had never heard of — smiled and waved back. "Always nice to see you, Ben. I know Rook is thrilled to have you here," she teased. The glare that Rook sent her way did little to deter her.

At least James was a little bit too busy trying to remember how to breathe to make things worse by screaming.

"You guys are just in time to join in our game of soccer!" Ben continued, ecstatic. It was then that Rook realized Ben was sweating lightly and panting, face flushed from the exertion of a good work out. Rook swallowed audibly. Fuck. "Ester and I got the Kineceleran kids together to play a few rounds, but you can't really have a proper game of soccer with only seven players. Do you guys want to join in? I can teach you the rules, if you don't know them," he offered. "Not to brag, but I did bring home the gold medal for my district's junior championship."

The grin on his face told Rook that Ben knew exactly how underwhelming an accomplishment that was. It didn't matter. He was smiling so wide that his dimples were visible and Rook wasn't sure how he was supposed to concentrate on playing when he was putting all his brain power into not blurting out something stupid. Something like, "your smile is so pretty," or, "can I kiss you?" or, "I have a better idea, if you want to work up a sweat."

Rook really should have just gotten drunk while he had the chance, because his decision ended up being made for him.

"We'd love to!" James blurted out, finally remembering how to speak as he swung one arm around Rook's shoulders. "I used to play soccer all the time before the Academy," he said with a too-high laugh.

Karizma rolled her eyes fondly, pulling him off of Rook. "Six against seven? Hardly seems fair," she joked.

Ben sent her a challenging grin that made Rook's stomach flip. "What? Scared that a bunch of intergalactic officers can't beat a bunch of children at kicking a ball into a net?"

"You did say that they're Kineceleran kids, didn't you?" Popigai piped up. He was ignored.

"Well?" Ben raised an eyebrow, and he was talking to all of them but his smirk was all for Rook. "You guys game, or not?"

Thankfully, before Rook could give in and kiss Ben, Twi'leks swooped in to rescue him. "Anything for Ben 10." She did a mock bow that had Ben snickering. "Lead the way, Savior of the Universe."

"Not tonight." Ben shook his head. "Tonight, I'm Savior of the Goal. There's no way you guys are going to get a ball past me. Come on, I'll introduce you to the kids, and Ester, too." He waved for the group to follow him and then took off jogging in the direction he came from.

When his back was turned, Karizma giggled. "That's the guy who saved the universe?" She asked, marveling at the absurdity of it all.

"Yeah," Rook sighed dreamily. "He is."

He was rather rudely yanked out of his daydreaming, however, when they got to the makeshift soccer field that had been cleared out in a large, empty place behind a bunch of stalls. As soon as Ben rejoined the group, Ester came over to greet him.

"Ben! Where'd you run off to?" She asked, draping her arms around his shoulders.

For a second, Ben's smile grew tight. If Rook hadn't been staring, he wouldn't have noticed, because the next moment it was gone. "I just want to get us some real competition," he drawled, gesturing to the group triumphantly. "You all remember Rook, right?" Ben's eyes flickered from Ester to the kids gathered behind her. "These are some of his friends from work. Now we can have a proper game."

"Good thinking! Nice to see you, Rook." Ester waved at him, then turned to the kids without waiting for a reply. "What do you guys think? Are you up for it?"

One of the kids — K8-E, Rook thought her name was — grinned. "You're going to need more players if you have any hope of winning." Her visor clicked into place as she took off toward the nearest goal in a blur. The other kids echoed her sentiment with enthusiastic cheers and followed.

They weren't as fast as adult Kineceleran were, but their speed was still nothing to scoff at. Rook prepared himself for the hardest-won game of soccer of his life.

"I guess that's a yes!" Ben laughed. "Um, okay, quick rules — no touching the ball with your hands, you have to kick it into the opposing goal, and no grabbing the other players. You guys are protecting the other goal, so figure out who your goalie is and good luck!" He grabbed Ester's hand and tugged her after him as he ran after the kids.

"That's not much of an explanation!" Popigai called after him, again getting ignored. He huffed. "I have no idea how to play this game."

Rook clapped him on the shoulder as the others made their way to their goals. "Do not worry. It is only a game. And it is not that difficult. If you want, you can be the goalie," he offered. "Goalies are allowed to grab the ball with their hands."

Popigai frowned. "But Ben just said that was against the rules."

While they were talking, N-8 slammed the ball into their team's unprotected goal with a whooping laugh. Scratch that earlier thought — Rook kissed any hope of winning this game goodbye.

Ah, well. At least it would be good exercise.

Two weeks ago, the lack of rules and the complete and utter chaos of the soccer field would have bothered Rook. Aside from what Ben rattled off, no one seemed to care about going out of bounds or bouncing the ball of off surrounding structures. Everything was fair game — last man standing wins.

One thing that Rook used to their advantage (once he convinced Popigai to stop playing the goalie) was enhanced abilities. Twi'leks started using her tail as an extra limb, and jumping high enough with her long legs to deliver a punishing kick towards the goal without anyone being able to stop her. Rook quickly picked up what she was doing and mirrored her, the two of them crossing half of the field in a single large bound. Meanwhile, Popigai would make peranite paths that cut across the field for him to skid down, crystals breaking the ground in front of him and disappearing behind him as he plowed his way forward. It was faster for him than running, and had the added benefit of peranite being too slick for Kineceleran to run on.

Since Molly had experience with soccer, she was their goalie, and Karizma and James were the last pieces in a well-oiled machine. Despite going against aliens with super speed, their teams were fairly evenly matched.

Of course, Ester was similarly playing dirty, stretching across the field and giving herself boosted agility and speed by stretching where bones and joints ought to be. With Ben as the goalie, the game of soccer quickly became more of a pin-ball match, as neither side was making very many goals.

Then Rook kicked the ball as hard as he could, straight up. While the Kineceleran kids rushed him, Twi'leks jumped high above him, executed a perfect twist in mid-air, and slammed the ball straight toward the goal.

It hit Ben square in the stomach, so hard that he went flying back and crashed into the net. There was a long, terrible moment of silence, until Ben finally had the breath in his lungs to groan.

"Ben!" Rook and Ester yelled at the same time, both of them forgetting the game to rush to his side.

He was on his back, clutching the ball to his chest with both hands. "Caught it," Ben managed, a pained smile on his face. "Shit…" His face scrunched up in pain.

Ester took the ball from him, kneeling at Ben's side. "Who cares about the score? I'm more worried about you," she chastised gently, discarding the ball over her shoulder. "Are you okay? Can you sit up?"

"I'm fine." Ben batted her hands off and pulled himself into a sitting position, grimacing as he clutched his arms around his midsection.

"Clearly, you're not. Let me take a look," Ester said, reaching for his shirt.

Ben recoiled, averting his eyes. "Really, Ester, I'm fine. Just leave it."

There was a pause, tension in the air that Rook couldn't find the source of. Ester looked like she was about to say something, but they were interrupted when N-8, holding the soccer ball, came to a skidding stop next to them.

"Are you okay?" He asked Ben, concerned.

The discomfort on Ben's face finally made Rook take charge. As good as Ben was at dealing with the press and putting on a good mask when it was expected, Rook knew that he didn't like to be the center of attention.

"It is probably only a bruise. Continue the game — I will make sure that nothing is wrong with Ben. I am trained in first aid," Rook said. He was looking mostly at N-8, but couldn't help the way that his gaze flickered over to Ester, gauging her reaction.

She must have decided that it wasn't worth kicking up a fuss over, because she nodded and kissed Ben on the cheek. "I'll be the goalie while you're gone. Take your time," she said, worried.

Rook offered his hand to help Ben up, but stubbornly, Ben ignored it and forced himself to his feet, visibly wincing. "Like Rook said, it's just a bruise. I'll be fine once I get my wind back," he boasted.

Ester hardly looked convinced, and Rook didn't blame her. Before either of them could say anything else stupid, Rook gently took Ben by the elbow and steered him away. On the ground nearby, Ben had left his jacket, with a water bottle crammed into the pocket. Rook picked it up for him and directed Ben to a more private place to talk.

Behind one of the nearby stalls, Ben pressed his back against the wall and slid down to the ground. "Remind me next time I play soccer with aliens to transform for my own sake," he said jokingly, trying for a smile.

Crouching down next to Ben's side, Rook said nothing and offered him the water bottle. While Ben took it and drank, Rook tried to think of why he felt like he was missing something. He felt strangely put-off and protective, but why? It couldn't just be because Ben was injured, although that certainly wasn't helping.

"Do you mind if I take a look at the injury?" Rook asked, tilting his head to indicate Ben's midsection.

It was quiet while Ben thought about it. "I don't know what you're expecting to see," he said at last. "It's not like you can do much about a bruise, anyway. But if it'll make you feel better and let me get back to the game…" He rolled his eyes and bunched up the hem of his shirt, pulling it up to expose his stomach.

A part of Rook thought for a moment that asking to see his crush shirtless was a terrible idea. But whatever fantasies he might have been fueling immediately went out the window as Rook saw the extent of the bruise. It was an angry red and covered a good portion of Ben's stomach, just below his ribs. It would be gone tomorrow, but Rook could picture how it might look after a few days, purple and black and undoubtedly painful.

"Perhaps you should sit out the rest of the game," Rook suggested when Ben lowered his shirt.

"Nah, it's fine." Ben shrugged, finishing his water and shoving the empty bottle back into his jacket pocket. "I've had worse. I don't have that many days off and I'm not crazy about going home just to have my parents fuss over me."

They probably could have left it at that and gotten back to the game. Instead, Rook took a seat next to Ben, setting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "Is there something else that is wrong?" He asked, trying to sound gentle. "You let me look at your injury, but not Ester. Are you embarrassed?"

"Embarrassed? No." He shook his head. "It's just— Well…" Ben trailed off, biting his lip. "Okay. Don't tell her this, but Ester has this tendency to be sort of… touchy."

Rook frowned, certain that he was misinterpreting another human cultural thing. "As in she has a tendency to be overly sensitive?" He guessed.

"No, like— Physically affectionate," Ben stressed. He looked uncomfortable, breaking eye-contact with Rook in order to continue. "It's not that I have a problem with that in concept, it's just… I haven't been with Ester that long. When I was with Julie, she was a lot more chaste. Especially in public. I don't know, I guess it just feels like Ester is putting pressure on reaching certain milestones that I'm not really comfortable with."

"Like taking off your shirt?" Rook supplied, feeling uneasy.

"Yeah. Sort of." Rubbing the back of his neck anxiously, Ben forced a laugh. "I'm not really a PDA kind of guy, either. I guess I should probably talk to her about it but I don't know what to say."

"You could start with what you told me," he suggested. Feeling bold, Rook set his hand over Ben's, giving a reassuring squeeze.

There was a flicker of surprise at the contact, then Ben relaxed. He flipped his hand over to squeeze Rook's back. "Yeah, maybe," he said distantly. He was quiet for a few minutes, lost in thought. Rook felt no urge to break the comfortable silence that had fallen between them. "Are you ready to head back to the game?" Ben asked.

He still didn't think that it was a good idea for Ben to play, but Rook wasn't in charge of him. So he nodded, getting to his feet. "I am, although something tells me that victory will come easily to my team now," he boasted teasingly, offering Ben his hand again.

That time, Ben took it, letting Rook pull him to his feet. "Get ready to eat those words," Ben quipped, and Rook wanted to memorize that glint in his eyes.

After that, they didn't play for much longer. A lot of the energy had been taken out of their game, and they hadn't been keeping score, anyway, so there was no real incentive to keep playing. Ben was good at hiding it, but it was clear that his bruise wasn't as painless as he wanted everyone to believe.

They were all getting ready to go their separate ways when Molly nudged Rook with her elbow. "You should invite Ben to come out for drinks with us," she suggested, getting up on her tip-toes to mock-whisper it into Rook's ear.

"What? Why?" Rook knew damn well why she was suggesting it, as if Molly's smug little grin wasn't explanation enough. He glanced over at Ben, who was laughing at something that Ester said. Far enough away to not be able to overhear them, anyway.

"So you can spend time with him outside of work, duh." Molly waved him along. "I'm sure he'd say yes."

"That does not seem like a good idea." Rook averted his eyes, embarrassed. "For one, Ben is already spending time with Ester, who is his girlfriend, and I believe that he would prioritize that over spending time with friends. For another, he is not old enough to drink, even if alien bars do not necessarily have to comply with this states' laws regarding the consumption of alcohol, and—"

Molly cut him off by giving Rook one good, hard shove in Ben's direction. Rook stumbled, caught off guard, and when he straightened up, found himself face-to-face with Ben's disarming green eyes. Goddamnit.

"Hey, Rook." Ben seemed utterly unbothered by Rook's lapse in grace, and instead smiled as brilliantly as he always did. "Is something up?"

Well. There was no harm in asking, right?

"No, nothing at all, Ben." Rook pointedly avoided looking at Ester. "I was just— Well. All of us were wondering if you would be interested in joining us? We are going to a bar to get a few drinks, which we were planning to do before you intercepted us."

Ben's smile was answer enough, and Rook's heart sank. "I'd love to, buddy, but I promised Ester I'd walk her home." Ester linked their arms together with a giggle and Ben's smile grew tight at the corners. "Maybe next time, though. See you tomorrow for patrol?" He held his fist up.

On autopilot, Rook knocked their fists together, completing the fist bump. "Patrol tomorrow? Of course," he said, like an idiot. Ben was already turning away, though, waving at Rook over his shoulder as he walked off with Ester clinging to his arm.

There was the sound of footsteps from behind him, then a click of the tongue and a sympathetic hum. "Shit, that's got to suck. Sorry, Rook. Better luck next time," Karizma said, which was probably supposed to be consoling.

Rook rolled his eyes. "Until you can confess to your crush, you do not get to comment," he replied.

That made Karizma turn red, and while she fumbled for a reply, James joined them. "Oh, you've got a crush on someone, Karma? Who's the lucky guy?" He asked, trying to tease her with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Twi'leks sighed. "I'm not drunk enough for this. Are you all coming, or not?"

"You all go on without me. I think that I am going to head back to the base," Rook said, staring off in the direction that Ben left. "I have some things on my mind."

Molly set a hand on his shoulder, though didn't let it linger, which Rook was grateful for. "You okay? I wasn't trying to be pushy," she apologized.

"What? No, that is not it at all." Rook shook the cobwebs from his head and turned to face her. "I am just worried about Ben, and I do not think that I would make particularly pleasant company. I appreciate the invitation for a night out all the same."

"Don't worry about it. The soccer game was fun," Molly said. She waved as she started to walk off with the others. "See you at work tomorrow, Rook!"

He managed a smile, waving after her. "Tomorrow…" Rook muttered to himself. "Right." He sighed.

Alone, and with no other plans for the evening, Rook walked back to the base. Something about his earlier conversation with Ben rested heavy on his chest, like there were still things left unsaid… But he wasn't even sure what those things were. It nagged at him.

Even moreso, it bothered him that in the morning, Ben's bruise would be gone. Not that he wanted Ben to be in pain, just that it was a reminder of this memory. Another one that only Rook could get to keep. The friends he'd made would no longer exist. It probably didn't matter, but just when he thought he'd come to terms with the time loop, Rook was getting annoyed with the lack of permanence in his actions. Was trying to change things worth it, other than keeping himself entertained?

He let himself into the base the same way that he came out, making his way to his quarters without any interruptions. He wondered if Karizma had finally confessed to James. He wondered if Ben had kissed Ester goodnight. He wondered if it mattered where he went to sleep, if he always woke up in the same place.

Rook sighed, shrugging his Proto-Tool off of his shoulder and letting it clatter to the side of his room carelessly. His Proto-Armor followed suit, then Rook went to the bathroom to angrily brush his teeth. As if scrubbing hard enough would get the thoughts out of his head.

Was Ben done walking Ester home yet? If Rook texted him, would he answer? Rook burned with curiosity, itching to know the answer, but forced himself not to.

Exiting his bathroom, Rook swept all of the paper cranes from earlier off of his bed, organizing them into a pile haphazardly kicked into the corner. He collapsed onto his back on his bed with a huff, glaring at the ceiling. The evening was over, so why did it still feel incomplete?

Frustrated, Rook pushed himself up. He sat on the edge of his mattress, staring at his communicator next to the empty picture frame. Rook hesitated. He drummed his fingers on his thigh thoughtfully. He shouldn't pester Ben, really, but he had seemed upset earlier… And good friends did that, didn't they? Checked in on someone when they seemed off?

Rook grabbed his communicator before he could talk himself out of it, opening his chat logs with Ben's personal cell number. He took a deep breath, cursing himself for being nervous. It was just a text. Nothing he hadn't done before.

He texted something innocuous on a whim, so that it wouldn't look like he was prying. Rook wasn't exactly excited to hear about Ben's date with someone else, but he was going to look past that to get to the heart of whatever was wrong.

At least Rook didn't have to worry about Ben being asleep. He almost never slept at all. For once, Rook was grateful for it.

Rook Blonko 9:53

How was your day off? Did you have fun on your date?

Ben Tennyson 9:54

having a day off for once was fun lmao

i dont know if that was a date

me and ester were just kinda

hanging out

Rook Blonko 9:54

I was under the impression that going somewhere alone with your significant other was considered a "date."

Ben Tennyson 9:56

yeah i guess

but uh

i think i might actually just

break up with ester

Rook Blonko 9:56

Do you mind if I ask why?

Ben Tennyson is typing...

Ben continued to type and retype whatever he was trying to say, so Rook set his communicator down. While he waited for a reply, he got up and went to brush his teeth again, just to have something to do other than hover around obsessively waiting for a message. (Of course, he was still obsessing over it, but at least this way, he could deny it to himself.)

Rook wasn't stupid or delisional enough to think that Ben breaking up with Ester on one of the loops was his cue to "make a move." Ben had already made his feelings perfectly clear, even if he didn't remember it. But he was concerned, as a friend. He wanted Ben to be happy, but today, he had seemed more uncomfortable with Ester's presence than anything else. Rook didn't understand why. They'd always seemed like such a good match.

When he got back to his bed, there was a wall of messages waiting for him. Rook didn't waste any time replying.

Ben Tennyson 10:05

idk

shes a lot more serious about our relationship than i am

not that im cheating on her or anything ofc

but im kind of just looking for something casual and i feel like shes putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on me

sort of in the way that she expects me to act? its hard to explain

were both still young

i dont understand why shes in such a rush to reach all of these relationship milestones

Rook Blonko 10:06

Ben, you do not have to answer this if it makes you uncomfortable, but did she pressure you sexually?

Nothing. There was no indication of Ben typing, or even that he'd seen the message. Rook worried that he'd said too much, pushed a little too hard, gone just far enough outside of Ben's comfort zone for him to retreat entirely. But the possibility that Rook was right was terrifying. He didn't think that Ester would ever try to force Ben into something, but the worry nagged at him regardless.

He fiddled with the idea of contacting Gwendolyn for advice about how to handle this situation, but decided against it. Ben obviously trusted him a lot to come to Rook with something like this, and Rook didn't want to squander that. He wanted to give Ben the support that he was clearly craving.

No one should ever have to feel pressured in a relationship. Rook felt sick at the idea that his partner, his best friend, his greatest love was being pushed into something that he didn't want.

When he finally got the notification for Ben's reply, Rook nearly dropped his Plumber badge in his haste to reply.

Ben Tennyson 10:34

well

yeah

and i know this is dumb of me

i know that i should want it and i do on some levels but every time she tries to make a movie i just

shut down

i dont think im ready

emotionally

Rook Blonko 10:35

If you are not ready, then you are not ready. You are right to stand up for yourself.

If you both want a different pace when it comes to intimacy, perhaps it really is for the best that you see other people.

Ben Tennyson 10:39

yeah

i just feel like somethings wrong with me

esters really attractive and shes never made me feel bad about how i look

theres always been nothing but green lights

its kind of weird to date someone who was a fan of me before i knew them

this will probably sound weird but

it feels like shes wanted to sleep with me for years now

and ive only known her for a few months

Rook Blonko 10:40

I imagine that it would be weird. But nothing is wrong with you, Ben. You should not be ashamed of something that you can't control.

Ben Tennyson 10:42

youre right im just

idk

thanks for listening

Rook Blonko 10:42

Of course.

Rook typed "I love you," and stared at it, unsent in his text box, for a long time. He could think of a dozen things he wanted to say: "Any time," and, "I am here if you want to talk," and, "I am sorry that I never reached out before. That I never realized something was wrong." He watched Ben start to type and then stop, several times, before giving up and leaving their conversation on read. With some difficulty, Rook erased his message and set his communicator aside, laying down.

That was enough for one night. No need to make it about himself.

Even when he tried to focus on himself, though, everything circled back to Ben. Rook wondered if that was a sign, or if he was reading too much into a coincidence. Did any of this mean anything at all?

He thought about what Ben said — that it was odd to date someone who had been a fan of him for so long. Ester probably had all sorts of subconscious expectations and years of fantasies when it came to dating Ben 10. Rook wasn't much better. He wondered if, by some miracle he actually got to date Ben, he would ruin it in the same way. Being pushy. Not noticing the red lights. Getting caught in his own fantasies. Maybe it would be better if he moved on. If he crushed these feelings for Ben swiftly and brutally.

He didn't have the answers. With some of his worries sated after talking to Ben (and new ones popping up in their place), Rook rolled over and did his best to go to sleep.

When he eventually managed it, he dreamt about Ben.

A/N: I tried to make this chapter as short and as boring as possible (Ben wasn't even supposed to be in it), but instead this whole mess happened. I accidentally had a few really good character moments come to mind so I had to write them. Sorry about that!

Two of the OCs in this chapter are easter eggs from my other Ben 10 fics, for dedicated readers to recognize, two of them are new, and Molly is an existing minor character that I used out of convenience. I hope they didn't distract too much from this chapter, since it is still very much about Rook and Ben.

I don't know who's dumber: Rook, for not realizing when Ben is flirting with him, or Ben, for not realizing when he's flirting.

The next chapter is when we're getting all the answers! And after that, I imagine that the chapters are going to be pretty short. Home stretch, folks!