When Ben and Gwen went to talk to the owner of the apartment they wanted to rent - an old lady named Agnes - things ended up a bit awkward.
"I know you two from somewhere, don't I?" Agnes asked, scratching her chin, "Oh, I remember now, you are the cute couple I saw at the cafe yesterday! What a nice coincidence! I didn't know you had a daughter," Agnes said, looking at the two-year-old baby in Ben's arms. Coincidentally, Dawn had brown hair like Ben, so they actually looked like father and daughter.
"No, no, we're not a couple," the two quickly denied it.
"The baby is kind of my adopted daughter, and Ben is my cousin. He's going to help me take care of her." Gwen tried to explain the situation.
The old lady rolled her eyes, clearly not believing them. "You two are very young, and I don't see any rings on your fingers. I understand that you are ashamed to admit that you had a baby before the right time, probably a party night full of booze, but I actually think it's admirable that you two have decided to keep the baby instead of ... you know."
"Really, that's not it." Gwen blushed a deep red. But Agnes was stubborn, Gwen realized that it would be a waste of time to argue with her, "We're just looking for a three-bedroom apartment, please."
"Three bedrooms? Are you thinking of having another baby soon?" The old lady said with a mischievous smirk. "It will be significantly more expensive than a two-bedroom apartment, but it is your money. I won't complain."
When she told them the price, Gwen saw Ben's eyes widen the size of dinner plates. Gwen was already feeling guilty for making Ben spend his money in the first place, and didn't think twice before saying, "We'll stay with a two-bedroom apartment."
"You and Dawn can have the bedrooms. I'll sleep on the couch," Ben said as they unpacked their things in the new apartment.
"No, I'll sleep on the couch," Gwen protested, "I put you up to this. It's only fair that I get the worst part."
"Who's paying the rent?" Ben asked.
"You," Gwen replied, a little confused. In her mind, that was just another reason for him to keep the bedroom. He was paying, so he deserved the best part.
"Exactly. I'm paying, so I decide where I'm going to sleep. And I decided it's on the couch."
Gwen sighed. Then she smiled and said, "You can be a Doofus sometimes, but a very sweet one. Julie is so lucky to have a boyfriend like you," Gwen couldn't help but to think that she wanted Kevin to be more like Ben. Then she placed a quick peck on her cousin's cheek as a way to say 'thank you'. He made a 'ewwww' face in return and they burst out laughing as if they were ten years old again.
Gwen knew the first few weeks were going to be especially hard.
Dawn was feeling the absence of her mother and would wake up in the middle of the night crying. To make things worse, that week Gwen would have some difficult college exams and a good night of sleep was essential. But Gwen knew very well what she had signed up for, and she was ready for it.
But when she got to Dawn's bedroom, Ben was already lulling the little girl in his arms and singing a song that she didn't know in a lullaby rhythm, "And the river bank talks of the waters of March, It's the end of all strain, It's the joy in your heart."
"Don't worry, Gwen, go back to sleep. I can take care of Dawn," he seemed to be very awake, unlike Gwen, who was almost falling asleep on her feet.
"Thank you so much, Ben. I'll figure out how to make it up to you later"
For a week, that same scene was repeated every night, but after Gwen's exams had passed, she refused to continue to accept Ben's help, "No, Ben, you go back to sleep today. I will take care of Dawn," Gwen let out a yawn as she took Dawn in her arms.
"Come on, Gwen, I can handle this better, look at how awake I am and how sleepy you are," Ben argued.
"It's true..." Gwen's brain started working, "But why aren't you sleepy too? We're in the middle of the night and you're wide awake. There's something wrong with that."
"The Omnitrix helps," Ben shrugged.
"You're having trouble sleeping, aren't you?" Gwen asked as she lulled Dawn, "It's the couch."
Ben sighed, "The couch is not the-" he suddenly paused for a few seconds, and then said, "Yeah, it might be the couch."
The way he said that was odd. Gwen tried to read the expression on Ben's face to find out whether or not he was lying, but her brain was not yet functioning at one hundred percent, "Whatever. You're not sleeping on the couch anymore."
"No. I'm not going to let a girl sleep on the couch while I stay in a comfortable bed," Ben folded his arms, very determined.
Gwen simply went to the couch and laid down on it, "I'm not getting up from here."
Ben grabbed her and lifted her in his arms, "I'll carry you to the bedroom if I have to."
Gwen thought about twisting to force him to release her, but she didn't, because a stupid struggle could wake up Dawn and the neighbors. Of course accepting to be carried bridal style by Ben had nothing to do with the fact that she felt comfortable in his arms. Now 18 years old, in physical terms Ben was already a lot like the future version of him that they had known before, Ben 10,000: tall, very strong, handsome, manly... - that was her sleepiness talking, definitely.
Ben dropped her on the bed, "Now, stay here."
As soon as he left the bedroom, Gwen got up, picked up something in the drawer, and went back to the living room. Ben was lying on the couch, and Gwen pointed a finger at him, making him levitate.
"What?" Ben asked, confused.
"The Charm of Telekinesis," Gwen said, "I might not be physically strong enough to carry you, but magic solves all problems. Don't protest, or Dawn and the neighbors might wake up."
Simply moving her index finger, Gwen levitated Ben back to the bedroom and laid him on the bed.
"I won't accept this, Dweeb," Ben said.
"This way neither of us will get any sleep tonight, Doofus, which is a lot worse," Gwen sighed.
"Okay, I'll stay here," Ben was visibly upset.
The redhead smiled, "Good night and sweet dreams," she said, using telekinesis to cover Ben with a sheet and placing a pillow under his head.
About half an hour later, Gwen was almost falling asleep when she heard the sound of groans. She jumped up from the couch and ran to Dawn's bedroom. But the baby was sleeping with a peaceful expression on her face, and Gwen realized that the groans came from the other bedroom.
She went there, and saw Ben squirming on the bed. It wasn't the couch that was making Ben have trouble sleeping. He was having nightmares. She would definitely have to talk to him about this later.
Gwen wasn't sure if she should wake him - after all, he needed to sleep - so she tried a more subtle strategy. She sat on the bed and gently began to caress Ben's face, trying to calm him down without waking him up.
"Gwen," the young man mumbled in his sleep. The expression of pain on his face was replaced with a smile.
"I'm here," Gwen whispered, continuing to nurture him. After a few minutes he seemed to be in a peaceful sleep, so Gwen stood up to go back to the couch.
"Please don't leave me, Gwen," Ben mumbled, the pain returning to his face, "Please, please."
Gwen laid on the bed, facing him, and began to caress her cousin's arm, "I'm not leaving."
Ben seemed to calm down again, and, still sleeping, wrapped an arm around Gwen's waist, pulling her closer, and buried his nose in her neck. The redhead felt tickles and something else that she didn't quite know how to describe.
She was relieved that their parents and Kevin and Julie weren't seeing them in that compromising position. Then she mentally berated herself for thinking that. There was no malice or shame in that act, Ben was not even aware of what he was doing, and Gwen was not going to ruin his sleep, not after all he had done for her.
A few minutes later, she too fell asleep, trying not to think about how comfortable she felt with Ben rubbing his nose on her neck.
The next day, Gwen awoke with a startled scream from Ben, "W-what h-happened?" Ben immediately looked under the sheets and breathed a sigh of relief, "For a moment, I thought that- never mind."
Gwen blushed a deep red, and explained everything to him.
"I'm sorry. Gwen, I'm really sorry," Ben said.
"Hey, you don't have to apologize. You were asleep and nothing happened," Gwen said, "What we really have to do is talk about your nightmares."
"Look at the time, I'm late for work," Ben said, dropping the subject, "Can you dress Dawn up so I can take her to daycare on my way to the Plumbers?"
When Gwen came back from college and walked in the apartment, she found Ben talking to her mother on the cell phone.
"Aunt Natalie, I agree with you, but I'm just making things easier for Gwen. She would do it one way or the other, and she's the best person to take care of Dawn. One day that girl will develop magic and-" Ben suddenly stopped talking, and Gwen could hear her mother yelling at him.
She took the phone from his hand and said in a very angry tone, "Mother, if you want to talk to someone, talk to me! Ben doesn't deserve to hear your crap!"
Then Gwen hung up the phone on her.
"I understand that she's mad at me, but yelling at you is crossing the line. She doesn't have the right," Gwen said, and then rubbed her fingers on Ben's face, "I'm sorry you have to go through this because of me."
Before Ben could say anything, Gwen's phone rang.
"If it's my mother, she'll hear some more," Gwen said, picking up the phone. But the caller ID showed another name: Kevin.
"Hi, Kevin."
"Hi, babe," Kevin said, "How about we go to the movies this weekend?"
"Oh, I don't think this is a good option now. Can we go to the zoo instead?" Gwen offered.
"Zoo? Why? You already get to see Ben every day now, aren't you tired of looking at an animal?" Kevin laughed.
"This isn't funny, Kevin," Gwen said in a scolding tone, "and the reason is simple. Dawn would probably not stay quiet in a movie theater for two hours. The zoo would be a much better place for us to take her."
"Babe, I actually meant it as a date for the two of us. Why can't you leave the baby with your cousin?"
"Ben has done enough for Dawn and me, I won't ask him for anything else. I understand that you don't want to help me raise Dawn, but if you don't even want to spend an afternoon near her, I don't know what to say," Gwen hung up the phone without giving Kevin a chance to reply.
Then she took a deep breath and sighed, "Kevin called me at a bad time. I just got back tired from college, and then got mad at my mom. I think I was ruder to him than I should have been."
"Nah, Kevin deserves any rude response at any time," Ben chuckled, "So, do you want to take Dawn to the zoo tomorrow? I can go with you."
"Don't you want to spend the day with Julie?" Gwen asked, "I can take Dawn on my own, or maybe Kevin will change his mind."
"Julie and I have a date at night, but before that, I have the entire day off," Ben said, "But if you don't want me to go, no pro-"
"No, no. In that case, we would be happy to have your company." Gwen smiled.
"Does Dawn like animals?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, a lot. Margie told me she'd take her to the zoo every once in a while," Gwen said, fondly remembering her deceased friend.
"Let's see if Dawn will like this," Ben slammed the Omnitrix, and turned into Wildmutt.
He approached Dawn, who laughed, very excited, not frightened at all by the strangeness of that big and orange canine alien, "Cute puppy!" The baby girl ran her fingers through Wildmutt's fur.
Gwen smiled at that scene. Ben would certainly be a wonderful father.
Kevin didn't like children, and he didn't like how things between him and Gwen changed because of Dawn. But he liked Gwen and definitely didn't want to lose her, so he accepted the idea that he would have to get used to Dawn and decided to stop avoiding the baby. That Saturday, he went to the apartment to visit them, and take Gwen and Dawn to the zoo like she wanted.
When Kevin arrived at the building, he saw the doorman talking to an old lady.
"Hi, I want to visit Gwen Tennyson," Kevin said.
"Oh, she's not here now," The old lady intervened, "She went out with her boyfriend and daughter."
"What?" Kevin frowned, "You mean, Gwen went out with her cousin and the baby she's taking care of?"
The old lady laughed, "She said that to you, too? The lovebirds are ashamed to admit the truth, you know how our society is, very judgmental," Kevin's heart skipped a beat. Was the old lady saying that Ben and Gwen were in an incestuous relationship? Then she proceeded, "They prefer to say that they are cousins and the daughter is not theirs," and Kevin breathed a sigh of relief.
"I know them," Kevin said, "They're cousins, and the daughter is not theirs. It's true. You probably jumped to the wrong conclusions because you saw a guy and a girl with a baby."
The old lady just stared at Kevin for a few moments. Then she widened her eyes and gave him a sympathetic smile, "Poor boy, you like Gwendolyn and love blinded you to the truth. I don't think she noticed that you like her, otherwise she'd probably have told you the truth so you wouldn't hold on to false hopes," The old lady sighed, "I'm 75 years old, I know a couple in love when I see one. Before I even saw the baby, I saw them together at the cafe and they reminded me so much of myself and my husband - God rest his soul - when we were their age-"
"Whatever, bye." Kevin left abruptly, grossed out by the old woman's insistence that there was something going on between Ben and Gwen.
"It's not worth it to waste my time talking to this crazy old woman who can't even tell left from right anymore," Kevin thought as he got inside his car. He thought of calling Gwen, but his hand began to shake, "What if she's not completely senile? What if she really saw something I didn't?"
Ben's grandfather was in space with a lizard-woman. Traditional relationships were not exactly the norm for the Tennyson family. And Kevin had to admit that he never felt very comfortable with the long hugs shared between Ben and Gwen, and the fact that they were "playing house" with a baby was making him even less comfortable. Sometimes Ben and Gwen seemed too close for cousins.
But Ben already had a girlfriend... who wasn't nearly as beautiful as Gwen, not by a long shot. Kevin couldn't imagine a single reason for Ben to want to stay with Julie if he had the opportunity to choose Gwen, except for the 'cousins' factor.
"I have to stop with this paranoia. My girlfriend and her cousin are not incestuous freaks," he started the car and drove, and tried to push these thoughts out of his mind.
Author's Notes
* If you are curious about Ben's nightmares, go read my one-shots, Hurt and How It Ends. I'm officially making this story into a sequel to them.
* The song Ben sings is called Waters of March (it's the English version of a classic Brazilian song, Águas de Março) you can find it on youtube (both in English and in Portuguese)