* There was a scene in this chapter that was a little bit toned down here to keep the rating. If anyone is interested, there's an uncut version of the chapter on Archive of Our Own, the link can be found in my profile or you can just google "Watch Boy & Lucky Girl Archive of our Own" to find the fic there
What Magic Does To Us, part I
Gwen
Gwen felt the wind blowing past her as Ben - or, more precisely, XLR8 - ran through Bellwood carrying her in his arms. A few minutes later, the duo arrived at the woods in the outer limits of town. Right after, the Omnitrix timed-out and Ben turned human again.
"That was … freaking fast," Gwen said, resting her hands on her belly, a little queasy but smiling. She had liked that. It was almost the same feeling of being on a roller coaster.
"Yeah, as cool as a ride on a roller coaster, right?" Ben asked. Gwen just giggled, it was not uncommon for the two cousins to think the same thing at the same time.
The teenagers sat down on the grass to rest. Gwen would teach Ben how to use his new Sorcerer alien, but Ben needed a break for the Omnitrix to recharge, and Gwen needed a few moments to recover from the 'ride'.
"You know, while we wait, I have an idea of a thing that we can do," Ben said, with a mischievous smirk, leaning towards her.
"Ben," Gwen said sternly, pushing Ben away so he didn't get too close. "We really need to talk about this thing. We can't just ... you know. "
Ben sighed in disappointment. "Come on, Dweeb. Are you still going to insist on that stupid idea that we need to find other people? Because... it's a stupid idea. "
"No, you're actually right for once, Doofus. That was not a good idea. This time, I have a plan ... for us," she said hesitantly.
Ben raised an eyebrow. "Keep going, keep going ..."
"We can't be together now. Our family, our friends at school ... people would not accept that. They would push us away. But in one and a half years we will turn 18. We won't have to worry about school anymore, and we will have a job plus higher education as agents in training of S.E.C.T. Then we can be together. We will be old enough and we will have money enough to live on our own wherever we want," Gwen said. "Our parents will be furious for a while, but ... either they accept us, or they won't see us again. If you're really onboard with this, you have to be prepared for both possibilities."
"Okay, I'm in," Ben said. In typical Ben fashion, he didn't even think before answering. "We're going to hide our relationship until we turn 18."
"That's not what I said," Gwen replied. "We're not going to date until we're 18. If we do, our parents will find out and things will get out of control. "
"Aren't you the 'Lucky Girl'?" Ben grinned. "Of course no one will find out."
"I'm not pushing my luck," Gwen said with a stern face. "I don't want to risk everything doing something stupid. I really want things to work between us, and that's the best way. I know it's asking a lot, Ben, so I won't ask you anything. If you meet someone else in the meantime, I'll accept that. I won't like it, but I'll try to be happy for you. You don't have to 'wait for me'. "
"You know I'm a disaster with girls. I'm more worried about you meeting someone else," Ben said in a sad whisper.
Gwen took a deep breath. Ben was thinking that the reason she wanted them to be just cousins for now was because she did not like him that much. He couldn't be more wrong.
Despite not being blind to his flaws, Gwen always saw Ben as a fine young man. If Ben was any other boy that she had liked before, she would have come to him and said something silly like, "Why haven't you asked me out yet?" and they would've started dating a long time ago. But with any other boy, there was no problem doing things any which way because if the relationship didn't work, she could just move on. But she would never be able to move on from Ben. So she had to do it right, she had to do it the smart way. Because what she felt for Ben she had never felt for anyone before.
She had accepted it some time ago, but she didn't want to say it now, because she didn't want to pressure Ben. But she felt she had to say.
Gwen took his hand in hers ... "I love you." A single tear fell from her eye.
Ben was speechless. He was really surprised. He was about to open his mouth to answer her, but Gwen put her hand over his mouth, stopping him. She knew what he was about to say.
"Don't say it. I don't want you to say it just because I said it. I just want you to know how I feel. It's okay. It's okay," she said.
Gwen knew he didn't love her. Not the way she loved him. She knew Ben felt for her the same thing he felt for Kai Green and other pretty girls that he crushed on in the past: an infatuation. It could turn into love one day, but it wasn't that yet. Of course, Ben also had a special affection for her as his cousin, but it wasn't the same either.
"If I tell you, you'll be mad at me." Ben sighed.
"Yeah, because I don't want you to lie to me or to yourself," Gwen said. "The Omnitrix is green again. You can turn into the alien now." She changed the subject.
Ben slammed the watch. He still looked the same, but this time his clothes changed. Now he was wearing leather boots and a belt, light-green rustic clothes, and a dark-green robe. And, of course, Gwen could feel a magical aura emanating from him now.
"Dweeb, meet Magus Viridis, the Green Wizard! Ta-Da!" Ben said, doing a pose. "I'm Ben the Green - like Gandalf the Grey, and Radagast the Brown, and ... you get from where I based my name and looks. I thought about adding a hat too, but it was going to be impractical in a fight. It has the Ben Tennyson version and the Watch Boy version, with red eyes and white hair."
Gwen took out of her pocket a purple and gold pocket sized book - the spell-book Grandma Verdona had given her - and began to look for an easy spell for Ben's first lesson.
"Wait, Gwen, I want to show you something that I learned by myself," Ben said.
"Sure, go ahead, coz." Gwen closed the book.
Ben lit his finger in a green light - his magic was green-colored - and began to draw in the air. He was drawing a heart. Half of a heart, more precisely.
Gwen smiled. "That's ... very sweet, Ben." She lit her own finger in a blue light, and completed the other half of the heart with her magic. But in the end their fingers touched and Gwen felt a spark of magic run through her body.
From Ben's reaction, he felt the same. She saw his eyes flashing for a second in a greenish-blue color - a mixture between the colors of their magic. Their fingers seemed to be glued together.
It felt good, and they instinctively held each other's hands instead of trying to pull away. Both hands.
"That's ... incredible," Ben said. "Did it happen to you before with someone else?"
"Never ..." Gwen said. "It looks like our auras are connecting..." She was surprised too.
The more physical contact with each other, the better the feeling. Instinctively, the two embraced. She could feel Ben's magic flowing through her body. But the fabric of their clothes... was getting in the way.
The two pulled apart for a second. It was a horrible feeling to break physical contact with him. She needed Ben's magic. Ben took off his robe and shirt. And she, not thinking about what she was doing, took off her blue blouse - and her bra.
Gwen hugged Ben tight. Her hands ran down Ben's back - she had to feel his skin, touch him - and he was doing the same. She kissed his shoulder. And then his face. It was as if she were trying to absorb his magic through his skin.
Ben threw himself on the grass with her, and began to kiss her body. He kissed her lips, then her chin, then her neck, then… he kept going down. Gwen ran her hands through his hair as he kissed her body.
The two of them locked eyes. She knew what was about to happen and she wanted it to happen. Ben started to take off his pants, but suddenly Gwen had a moment of clarity.
"Ben, no." she pushed him gently, and crawled away, panting heavily. "We can't."
"Please, I need you ..." Ben begged, desperate.
"I'm feeling the same way. It's our magic, it's intoxicating us... We have to resist it ..." Gwen quickly put on her bra and blouse again. It was almost impossible to resist, but she had to be strong.
"Let me at least touch you again... please," Ben said as if he were in physical pain, reaching for her.
"Ben, if we touch again, I don't know if we will be able to stop." But she didn't move to avoid Ben's touch. She didn't want to move. She wanted him to touch her, she wanted him to kiss her, and she wanted them to make love. But she knew that shouldn't happen. Not now.
Ben got up and ran into the forest. A part of Gwen let out a deeply relieved sigh, while another part of her was extremely disappointed.
A few minutes later, Ben came back, with the Omnitrix on his wrist. He was human again. And he was blushing hard. Her face was just as red as his.
Obviously, Gwen realized that it was better not to be alone with Magus to prevent another 'accident' like that from happening. She decided to take him to train with Grandma Verdona. Gwen didn't want this at first because both Verdona and her other apprentice - Charmcaster - were criminals, and if Ben were to train with them, he would technically be their accomplice, and Gwen did not want to make things complicated for him. But if she didn't do it that way, things would get a lot more complicated.
At Verdona's house door, Gwen spoke to Ben, "Cuz, just to let you know, there's another person who trains with my Grandma. It's Charmcaster..."
"Charmcaster ?!" Ben asked in surprise. "This girl is wanted by S.E.C.T., she is an ally of that terrorist Sorcerer, Hex. We should arrest her! "
"I know, I know, but I trust Grandma Verdona, and Grandma Verdona trusts her, so we're trying to redeem her," Gwen explained.
They entered the house, and waited in the living room, until Verdona came and hugged Gwen.
"Hi, Grandma. I brought my cousin to train with us. He can turn into a Sorcerer as well." Gwen said. "Show her, Ben."
Ben dialed his watch and turned into Magus Viridis.
"I can definitely feel the magical aura emanating from him ..." Verdona said, eyeing Ben curiously, "Did you touch him, Gwen?"
Gwen blushed immediately. Verdona realized that this was a yes. "Did you two... ?" She asked with her arms folded.
"NO!" Gwen shouted. "But we got close to that ..." she whispered.
"You two obviously have repressed feelings for each other. Of course, your magical auras will react to that. Imagine something like teenage hormones, but ten times stronger," Verdona explained. And then she turned to Ben, "Stretch out your arm, please."
It was a strange request, but he complied. In a quick move, Verdona poked him with a needle.
"Ouch!" Ben complained.
Verdona rubbed her finger on the wound, to get a drop of Ben's blood, and recited a spell, "Genus revelatio!" She closed her eyes for a moment.
"He is a pure Sorcerer, he has the full pair of the magical gene!" Verdona said, surprised. "At least if anything happens between you two, do it while he is like that, to make sure that my great-grandchildren will be Sorcerers," Verdona said smiling.
"Grandma!" Gwen said, blushing.
"Before, I just tolerated the fact that you liked him as human, Gwen. But now that he can be like us, I actually approve. But I also have to warn you, boy... " Verdona said, now looking at Ben with a very unfriendly face. "My granddaughter loves you a lot, probably way more than you deserve, considering that you are just a boy with a huge ego. If you do anything to hurt her, I'll kill you."
"Grandma, don't talk to Ben like that!" Gwen said.
"That's funny, you know," Ben replied, "I was going to say the same thing to you, witch. My cousin loves you a lot, probably way more than you deserve, considering that you're a criminal. If you ever do anything to hurt her, I'll kill you."
"Stop that, both of you!" Gwen said, while Ben and Verdona stared down each other. She pushed them apart.
"Your grandmother can't say anything about me," Ben complained, "You told me she's protecting Charmcaster, someone who should be in jail."
"I should be in jail?" A pretty silver-haired girl was watching everything from a bedroom door with her arms folded. "Are you sure about that?" She winked at Ben.
Ben's jaw dropped. He began to stutter. "Er... N-no, I-I'm sorry, I think I'm m-misjudging you..."
Gwen punched Ben's arm. "Ouch, that hurts!"
Charmcaster approached Ben and put her hands on the back of his neck, staring at him with a seductive smile. "Actually, I think you're right about me... I'm a bad girl..."
"I-I'm sure you have a g-good h-heart d-deep down." Ben said, nervous.
"I'm very bad," Charmcaster whispered into Ben's ear.
Gwen folded her arms and looked at Charmcaster with a frown. "I know you're hitting on Ben just to get under my skin, CC. Stop it."
"What? You've told me before that he's not your boyfriend ... I'm single, he's single, why can't I get to know him better?" Charmcaster said with a smirk.
"And you told me before that your ex-boyfriend was a psychopath. Ben is not your type," Gwen replied dryly.
"If he's an 'ex' it's because it didn't work out, right? I want a good boy now… And this one is very cute." Charmcaster gave Ben a kiss on the cheek.
Gwen was already tired of that and shoved CC away from Ben.
"What's wrong with you?" Charmcaster asked angrily, lighting her hands in a magenta tone.
"Girls, girls…" Verdona rested her hand on her chin, and looked at the teenage trio a little surprised, "I don't want to see my niece and my granddaughter fighting over a man. Solve this situation peacefully. I'm going to set up our training room." Verdona then left the living room.
"That's embarrassing," Ben said. And then he completely changed the subject. "CC, if you're Verdona's niece, then you're my cousin's cousin from her mother's side?"
"CC and I are 'honorary' cousins." Gwen replied quickly. "My grandmother is CC's 'honorary' aunt, which would technically make her cousin to my mother and me. But we're not blood related."
"No, we are blood related," Charmcaster said, "Aunt Verdona had a thing with my Uncle Hex back in the day. I'll give you half a chance to guess who's Gwen's mom's daddy is."
Gwen was infuriated now. "You can be proud of being related to a terrorist all you want, but I can assure you that your dear uncle Hex is NOT my grandfather! Grandma Verdona already said that, and you know she would be furious if you implied it in front of her!"
"Truce, truce." Charmcaster raised her hands up in a surrender gesture.
And then she whispered in Ben's ear, "If you want to annoy our common cousin, tell her that Hex is her grandfather. Always works."
"I heard that!" Gwen shouted.
"What did you hear?" Verdona came back at that moment.
"Nothing, nothing." Charmcaster giggled a little nervous. "Let's start the training?"
Author's Notes
* Thanks to Aurora Nightstar for beta reading this, and thanks to all my reviewers, favorites and follows.
* Do you think I should use Green Wizard or Magus Viridis to refer to Ben's Sorcerer form?
* Did you like the rivarly between CC and Gwen? What do you think that will happen between Ben, Gwen and CC?
* Do you actually think Gwen's mom is Hex's daughter?
* Who do you think CC's ex-boyfriend is? He is a very important character, and he will show up later in this arc...
