The dark sky lit up by the glistening light of the distant stars, a beautiful sight to behold for those who have any passing interest. Trees swayed in the gentle breeze of the cold night air, stray animals scurried about looking for their next meal or anywhere to stay warm for the time being. All of this complimented the silver light of the moon shining up above.

During this time, when everyone was fast asleep, Alex would make himself a quick and warm snack to eat as he gazed up at the stars from his bedroom window. Wearing a white tank top complimented with orange pants and black socks, he simply ate what he prepared... however weird it looks.

Alex enjoyed this, the quiet of the night where nobody was making a single sound. It felt as if this was the only time in the world he could feel so at peace about anything really, about his love life, about his friends, about his enemies... about the Omnitrix.

"Y'know Pickle, it's like you're the only person in the world I can ever talk to and not feel judged by.", Alex says quietly but loud enough for his pet to hear, which said pet in question tilted his head once he heard his name. "I wish I was a dog sometimes...", he looks outside again.

He thought about something, before quickly activating the Omnitrix and flying through the roof as Cold Soar... before dropping back down to grab a jacket. Slipping on the jacket he detransformed, laying down and looking up at the stars. "Despite going to Xenon with Tetrax and junk, I never think about going out and seeing what else is out there. So many people, so many cultures... who knows, maybe some sort of alien is doing the exact same thing as me right at this very moment."

The mere thought of this made him chuckle softly, he brought his left arm up and held said arm above his head. He gazed at the device that changed him, for better and worse. "What would happen if I never found you? Would the world be fine without me? Or would it be worst off?... I guess I'll never find that answer, not now anyways."

Alex thought about the many things he's done so far, from simply finding the Omnitrix to stopping a war that would've killed all humanity and every other life form in the Universe possibly. "Would things be so different if Ben got the Omnitrix... what about Gwen, or Grandpa Max or Gramps?", he smiled at the memory of them.

Ben was like the little brother he never really had before, they were so different yet in some strange way they could relate to one another. Gwen on the other hand was a bratty little sister he never wanted, but for some reason it felt so endearing and charming... maybe that's why he saw her in that way? Alex had a great opinion on Max, the man that helped him through things he needed the most, he was such a kind and welcoming man... he even consider Alex family, and even went as far as to give Alex the offer of staying at the Rust Bucket when things go south for him.

Oscar? Alex had mixed opinions, he couldn't remember him too much growing up but Alex had respect for him and looked at him as a superhero. Oscar and Max are opposites, and yet they get along so well you'd think they were brothers.

And that's not even forgetting Tetrax and Charmcaster. Tetrax on one hand was like a mixture of Max and Oscar, a perfectly blended warrior with a heart of gold that was originally coal. He was Alex's mentor and his best friend, a form of guidance without completely forgetting Alex's humanity. And Charmcaster? She was amazing, not only in combat but as a person in general, she had her issues at first but the more they were around... the more they enjoyed each others company. Charmcaster is not only a beautiful young lady, but an equally as amazing person...

Yet with all of this.

"... What am I missing?", Alex says to himself, even after all of the good things he's obtained in his life... he still like there was something he missed. "My life is a 10/10... I get to eat good food, sleep in a warm bed, date a super hot chick, train with a badass soldier. But it still feels like I'm missing the one thing to make my life perfect..."

"Is it wrong to dream for more? I've already got all I could ever ask for... but I still want something better. Does that mean I'm ungrateful? Am I taking everyone and everything for granted?", Alex thought about it more. Flashes of everyone ran through his mind, Ben, Gwen, Oscar, Max, Helen, Manny, Pierce, friends and foes alike... then closing on Hope.

He couldn't explain it, but he always felt like Hope was the one who saved him from... something. Alex remembered seeing everyone around him, they always had someone to look at and that someone to look back at them with both caring equal amounts of love and respect. He felt his heartache as he sat up.

"Are you serious?", Hope asked as she and Alex were sitting in the top of a roof after stopping a bombing from taking place.

"What?"

Hope tilted her head. "You expect me to believe that hunk of horse shit? I don't buy it, especially from you."

Alex smiled at this and looked down below. "When I was a kid I was bullied so much, everyday and every year no matter what school I was in.", Alex says as he remembers those torturous days. "But Bradley helped me deal with them, I broke their arms but it didn't make anything better... I became invisible, nobody would seem to know I'm even there even if I was standing right in front of them.", he says as he holds his head in his hands. "... I want to be seen so badly."

Hope grabbed him by the head and forcefully made her look at her in the eyes. She got close, her magenta eyes staring into his bright blue ones. "I see you. Right now, I see you as the person who saved me and my uncle from doing something we would've regretted. I see you as the motivation for so many people, Ben, Gwen and even Tetrax... I see you as the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.", she says as she pulls him into a kiss, it only lasted a few seconds, but that was all they needed. "No matter crazy it sounds, your dreams are valid. Okay? Don't let anybody else say otherwise."

Alex remembered all of that so vividly, despite it happening a few weeks ago it felt like yesterday when she told him that. "There's nothing wrong with dreaming. Everybody dreams like that right? It's not a bad thing.", he thinks to himself as he crawls back into his bedroom, tossing his jacket off and gently going on his bed and warming himself up with his blanket.

"... That can't just be it, there's gotta be something else I'm missing here.", Alex says as he lays on his back with a smile. "Whatever the case is, I still have plenty of time to figure it out.", he says as he slowly yet surely drifts into a deep sleep.

"What could go wrong?", was the last thing he uttered internally before he completely fell.

/End/

A/N: a bit different than my usual 4-7k length chapters filled with bullshit and mindless action but I really wanted to try something different with this.

I might do more, I might not... we'll see.