Chapter 32: That 70's Reference

I just found out what lime is. Is it strange that I knew about lemon before I knew about lime?

Anyway, there's a hint of lime in this chapter. Nothing too bad, and it ends rather comically. Also, the chapter talks about meeting parents. I hope I made it awkward enough.

Sam really didn't want to buy a new shield.

After the High Breed flattened it into a pancake, Sam had to go into the underground city's armory and buy a new one. She hated going down there alone. It wasn't that people bothered her. It was just when people accidentally made eye contact with her they quickly averted their gaze and hurried away. It never happened when she was with Carter or Evan, but alone was a different matter. It was like she had some sort of mark on her face that made people shy away from her. Yes, she was the vessel of the war goddess, but it didn't mean they had to always be afraid of her.

…After thinking about it some, Sam decided that they should probably be afraid of her. It still hurt when people wouldn't look at her though.

After coming home with a new shield charm on her bracelet, Sam made her way to the computer. Charlie was somewhere doing God knows what with his afternoon, and she had scheduled a Skype meeting with her parents' right about now. Alone in her room, she quickly booted up the computer as she wondered what her parents wanted to talk about. A few minutes later, Sam was online talking with her parents.

Sam had obviously gotten her looks from her mother; Irene was well-endowed with her wavy brown hair in a professional bun. Her full red lips were smiling, and her sparkling green eyes matched her business suit perfectly. Her husband Alexander had the DuBaer flaming red hair and copper brown eyes flecked with green. His beard was trimmed professionally and he looked like a twig. You couldn't see the muscles under his white dress shirt and black slacks.

"Hi mom, hi dad," Sam said brightly.

"Hi, sweetie!" her mother said cheerfully.

"How're things over there?" her father asked.

"Is Charlie giving you trouble?" Irene studied her a minute. "How are Carter and Evan?"

"Charlie's great, and they're fine. More than fine," Sam added quickly. Wanting to get right to business, she asked, "So what did you want to talk about?"

Alexander sighed heavily. "I know you're not going to like this…"

Sam groaned audibly and leaned back in her chair. "You set me up on another date." It wasn't a question. It never was.

"I know you don't like it, but we have to be on friendly terms with some other companies," her mother said gently. "With the DuBaers negative reputation being what is it, it's important we set up friendships with these people. And that includes you."

"Dating the sons of these people; mom, I hate them!"

"Oh, come on, they're not all bad," her father scoffed. "What about the Davenport boy? He's a good kid."

"He's a hypocrite."

"What about the Ishiyama boy? Hiroki's a good guy," Irene said.

"I don't date boys two years younger than me." Sam sighed. "I have to tell you something."

As usual they ignored her. "Well, what about-" Alexander began only to have Sam cut him off.

"I have a boyfriend."

This was met by complete silence. Sam silently wished she could take it back. Yes, she and Kevin had gone out a few times-they kissed just last night! - but they had never talked about their relationship. Sam was pretty sure they were official, but they had never bothered to clarify it.

Irene was the first to break the silence. "Oh, that's wonderful, sweetie! Is it someone we know?"

"Oh, no, it's no one you know," Sam said. Her father was staring at her, making her feel awkward.

"Is it someone from school?" Irene asked cheerfully, oblivious to her husband.

"A friend introduced me to him," Sam said evasively.

"Which friend?" Irene's smile faltered. "Did Cordelia…"

"And Isaac," Sam confirmed. Then she added hastily, "But the relationship has nothing to do with the mission! We just met because of it."

Irene sighed. "Well, does this mystery boy have a name?"

"Kevin."

"Kevin." Irene mulled it over. "I don't know anyone with that name."

"He's middle class."

"Oh." She blinked. "Does he know about…" she waved a hand between her and her frozen husband.

"Yeah, he knows I'm rich, but he doesn't care about that," Sam answered. Truthfully she didn't know, but it was another thing they didn't discuss. She would have to fix that.

Alexander decided to unfreeze himself. "Are my shotguns still where I left them?"

"Dad!" Sam cried out in horror as her mother yelled, "Alex!"

He held up his hands. "I'm an overprotective father, what'd you expect?"

"For you to not shoot first and ask questions later," Irene told him sternly. Alex looked chastised, and she beamed back at Sam.

"When can we meet him?"

"I'll talk to him about it and set up a date," Sam said. "You know how boys don't like to meet the parents."

Alex nodded his head begrudgingly. "Smart boy."

"If you shoot him I'll never talk to you again."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Ugh, fine. But if he does anything funny…" he mimed a gun with his finger and made a 'pop' sound. Irene swatted his hand away.

"Don't worry, I'll hide the keys to the gun cabinet," Irene assured Sam. "Send Charlie our love."

"Okay, bye guys, love you." Sam disconnected on their goodbyes and sat back in her chair, exhausted. How in the hell was she going to tell Kevin?

In Evan's Basement

Band practice was supposed to start. Carter was sitting on the stage, her legs dangling over the edge, writing lyrics in a school notebook, and Sam and Ben were sitting in decrepit wooden chairs across the room from each other, bouncing a red rubber ball at each other and letting it bounce on the floor once before catching it. All of the instruments were tuned and waiting.

For some reason, even though it was his house, Evan was not there.

Ben had noticed that Sam was distracted. She was still catching the ball easily, but she had a distant look in her eyes. Knowing that she wasn't going to say anything outright, Ben asked:

"Is everything okay, Sam?"

Sam caught the red ball and stared at him. Carter stopped her pencil scratching and looked up with an anxious look on her face. Ben waited for a response.

"Everything's fine, it's just…"

"You're parents set you up on another date?" Carter said blithely, since they've been doing it for years. She and Evan went through the same thing, so she knew the signs of anger and resignation the dilemma brought.

"Your parents force you to date?" Ben asked, incredibly confused. Wouldn't parents normally stop their kids from going out?

Sam nodded slightly. "For the three of us, our families set us up with the kids of important people so they rub shoulders with each other. It's so annoying."

"You did it, too?" Ben asked Carter hesitantly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

She shrugged. "I had to. On the plus side, our parents often didn't push us to date people we hated. And some of them were right bastards, too." Ben gave a relieved sigh. Carter smirked.

"Though admittedly some of them weren't so bad," Sam admitted. "Hiroki Ishiyama was okay."

"He's two years younger than us," Carter pointed out.

"He's still an okay guy. And Evan thought his older sister was cool." Sam bounced the ball back to Ben. "But that's not the problem."

"Then what is?" Ben said as he caught the ball.

"I…kinda mentioned I had a boyfriend."

Carter groaned audibly. "Let me guess; they want to meet Kevin."

"So let them meet each other," Ben said slowly. He was puzzled over Carter's reaction.

"Don't you get it?" she snapped. "Kevin's a middle class ex-con. Sam's filthy stinking rich."

Ben thought about it for a minute before getting it. "Oh."

"That's one of the reasons why it's bad," Sam said quietly, her eyes downcast.

"What's the other reason?" Ben asked curiously.

"I…don't know if we're officially a couple."

Carter blanched. "Didn't you two kiss already?"

"Yeah, but we never actually talked about it," Sam explained. "I mean, it happened just last night."

Ben jerked his head towards her. "Last night? At the garage?"

"Just before the High Breed attacked."

Carter face palmed. "No wonder you didn't talk; we had other things to worry about."

"Yeah, and now there's my parents and we have to talk and I have no idea how I'm going to bring it up." Sam ran her fingers through her hair and tried to stop the look of utter panic from spreading across her face.

"So, you talk," Ben said densely. "You're going to have to do it sometime." Sam and Carter glared at him. "What?"

"You suck at giving advice," Carter told him tersely.

"Oh, you're so supportive," Ben snapped back sarcastically.

Sam heaved a defeated sigh. "You're right, though. I'll talk to him after practice." Her brow furrowed. "Where's Evan? He can't be late, it's his house."

"Maybe one of us should check on him," Carter suggested. Sam stood up and stretched.

"I'll get him. I need to think anyway." She walked towards the door.

"Have fun!" Ben called out insensitively.

"I won't!" she said as she slammed the door shut.

Carter glared at him. "Idiot."

Ben frowned. "How am I an idiot?"

"She just said she needed to think about how she's going to talk to Kevin. Of course she won't have fun."

It took a bit for that to sink in. "Shit, I am an idiot."

Carter allowed a small smile. "Yeah, but you're my idiot." She put her notebook aside and walked towards Ben. Without warning she grabbed him by the collar and put her lips to his.

This kiss was different from the first. The first had electricity buzzing through Ben; now all the blood was rushing to his head, making him lightheaded. He put his arms around Carter, feeling like he was melting.

Carter pushed Ben back into the chair, never breaking contact. He was leaning back as far as the chair would let him. She put her knee in the small space between his thighs, always pushing him back hungrily.

…Until the chair tipped over backwards, spilling the two of them onto the floor. The kiss broke when Ben hit the back of his head on the linoleum floor. For a second dark spots swam in his vision until only a single gray moon stared back at him; it took him a moment to realize it was Carter on top of him.

Carter, who was trapping him underneath her.

Who was on top of him.

Ben opened his mouth to speak, only to have a funny sound come out. It sounded like, "Um-duh."

Carter snorted, her eyes closing momentarily, her nose scrunching up slightly. "You're hilarious, Foreman."

"Where'd you learn to kiss like that?"

"Oh, so it was that good?"

"Are you kidding? That was amazing!"

"So you want another."

Ben put a hand behind her head and tilted it so his mouth could reach hers. They were about to make contact-

Evan and Sam burst through the door. "Tell your damn sister to mind her own business!"

"Bitch, you tell her!" Evan stopped his outburst when he saw the position Carter and Ben were in. "We are totally interrupting something."

"Ya think?" Carter hissed as Ben went brick red. "We were just getting to the best part!"

"Next time we won't come in," Sam said apologetically.

"Thank you!" Carter said as she helped Ben up. He was shaky in the legs and had to hang onto his girlfriend to stand.

Evan wolf whistled. "She's that good, huh?"

"Bitch, I'm flawless!" Carter said with mock arrogance.

"So when are you going to meet Ben's parents?" Evan asked slyly. It was obvious that Sam had told him her problem.

Carter and Ben stopped short. They eyed each other carefully before Ben said, "Soon."

"Yeah. Soon," Carter agreed.

"Like after band practice soon?" Sam was smirking so hard right now.

"The sooner the better," Carter said robotically. It was all Ben could do to not freak out.

You better make a good impression on his parents, Aquaria advised gently from inside Carter's head. It would put shame on the Valentine name if you couldn't date the vessel of Ventus.

I don't care that he's the vessel for Ventus. I'm dating him because I want to, Carter thought sternly. …You do have a point though.

"So what are we playing today?" Ben asked as he detached himself from Carter. He tried to give the air of indifference, but the pink tingeing his face ruined it.

"We could play some of Carter's songs," Sam said. "We still need to work on that love song."

"That shouldn't be a problem now, don't you think?" Evan wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at the two of them.

Carter rolled her eyes. "Sam?"

Sam stepped back a ways, grabbed the drumsticks out of her boots, and threw them at Evan.

"OW!"

"You sure about this?" Ben asked Carter. It was a few hours later with band practice over for the day. Evan and Sam had already left the basement-Sam most likely to work on what she would say to Kevin, and who knew about Evan - and Carter and Ben were alone. The mood was tense.

"No, I'm not, but Evan has a point," Carter said. "I have to meet your parents. Why not now?"

"Because you're not ready to meet them," Ben pointed out. "I mean, look at you."

She didn't have to. Her arms were crossed tightly around her, her back stock still. She was biting her pale bottom lip hard, and the worried look wouldn't leave her face.

It took some effort to unclench her teeth. "I know I'm a wreck, but I want to get this over with. Do you have everything?"

Ben slung his guitar case over her shoulder. "Lead the way through subspace."

Carter got the card out and swiped the air with it. The green door with the angel wing on the right and the devil wing on the left graphic appeared, and Carter turned the knob. She grabbed Ben's hand and led him through the darkness with the door disappearing behind them.

They were standing on a bright, lime green highway with darkness surrounding them. The highway was split into thousands of roads, stretching out into oblivion. The air was warm, and the only light came from under their feet, giving them an unearthly glow. Carter had once told him that flying was impossible in between spaces, so they would have to walk to their destination. It would be a lot slower, but then they could hold hands while walking.

"How come you don't always use subspace?" Ben asked Carter about ten minutes later. He was trying to ignore the tense air around them.

"Who says I don't?" she asked back. She softened a little. "I use it to bring Sam, Evan, and me to school, but I don't use it for missions. I don't always know the roads, and I want James to keep his job."

"How thoughtful of you," Ben noted.

She shrugged weakly. "I guess. Here's our stop."

"Already?" He looked up at the white door in front of them. It was pretty normal looking; no angel-and-devil-wing design, no disappearing act, no nothing. It was just Ben's front door.

"Yeah, already," Carter said. "I used a shortcut." She tightened the grip on Ben's hand, making it slowly lose feeling. He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"They're going to love you," he declared.

"Or at least barely tolerate me," Carter said stonily. "That's what I'm aiming for."

Ben shook his head. There was no reasoning with her when she was like this. He grabbed the door knob and turned, leading into his house.

The interior was normal: beige carpeting, white walls, a living room with a sofa and an armchair, a wooden staircase leading to the second floor. The sounds in the clean white kitchen indicated that someone was in there.

Ben turned back to Carter, who was looking gray in the face. "You ready?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

"…I'll take that as a yes." He pulled her to the kitchen where his mother was washing dishes and listening to Mozart on her iPod. She was totally in the zone, unprepared for any interruptions.

Carter quickly let go of Ben's hand even though she didn't want to. He looked at her questioningly. "I think it'd be better if we didn't act like a couple," she explained in a whisper. "I want make to make it easier on her."

"Good idea," Ben said, because it really was. He turned back to his mother just in time for her to notice them. She dried her hands and took out her ear buds.

"Ben, I didn't know you were here. Who's your little friend?"

"This is Carter, my…my girlfriend," Ben introduced awkwardly. He stood to the side as Sandra took her in, from her grayish face to her tiny skirt to her combat boots. Sandra wasn't technically a strict parent-she was fairly New Age, after all- but she obviously had standards for her son's taste in girls.

"How do you do, Carter?" Sandra said coolly, offering a damp hand. Carter shook it, hoping her grip wasn't lax.

"I'm fine, ma'am."

"Is Carter short for something?" she asked as she broke contact.

"No, it's my actual name," Carter answered, beginning to babble. "My grandmother named me. Said she hated the name my mother picked out for me."

"Really?" Ben had never heard this before. "What was it?"

"Candy." She shuddered comically. "Do I look like a Candy to you?"

Ben gave a bark of laughter while his mother gave a little smile. "No you do not," she said. "Carter suits you."

Carter smiled. "Thank you."

Sandra turned to Ben. "Put your guitar upstairs while Carter and I have a chat."

Ben turned to Carter, who was no longer gray in the face. She gave a slight grimace, but nodded her head towards the stairs. "I'll be right back," he told them before leaving the kitchen.

Left alone, Sandra asked, "So how long have you been dating my son?"

Carter had to think about that one. "A few months, I think."

"He mentioned you," she revealed. "Not very often, and he never said your name, but he said he had to hang out with a few friends."

Was that the excuse Ben used to get out of the house for alien attacks? "He probably meant me and a group of friends," Carter said. "We almost always go on group dates. It's a lot less awkward than by ourselves."

Sandra liked this; group dates meant more chances to talk and few chances to fool around. They probably still did-she could barely imagine her baby boy growing up- but the chances were smaller in a group. She was happy the kids were acting responsible.

"So how did you two meet?" Sandra asked pleasantly.

"At a soccer game. Ben got a medal and I went over to congratulate him."

"Did you watch him play?"

"I did. He was good."

"Who was good at what?" Ben asked as he returned to the kitchen. He looked at the two of them, his face a mixture of worry and expectancy.

"I was telling your mother about you winning a medal," Carter said honestly.

"Oh, that?" Ben scratched the back of his head nervously. "I forgot about that."

"Liar."

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

Sandra began to laugh, forcing them to stop their childish bickering. When she stopped, she was beaming. "Carter should come over more often."

"R-really?" Ben couldn't believe it. He looked at Carter. She couldn't believe it either.

Sandra shrugged. "Sure; she makes you act like a child. I feel much younger now."

"I really like your mom," Carter said happily as Ben blushed.

The front door opened then, and Carl Tennyson called out, "I'm home!"

"We're in the kitchen!" Sandra called back. "You have to meet Ben's girlfriend."

"Ah, the mystery woman finally reveals herself," he said as he bustled into the room. He stopped short when he saw Carter, then he whistled softly. "Where'd you find her?" he asked Ben.

"Hey, she came to me," Ben said, smiling wolfishly.

"It's true," Carter attested. "I went to congratulate him on his shiny new medal."

"You mean the one hanging on the wall?" Carl asked densely. Ben made an angry choking sound and he glared at his dad. He stared back dumbly. "What?"

"I knew you never forgot," Carter said with a snicker. "You liar."

"I am not!"

Carl patted Ben on the shoulder. "Keep trying to convince her, it'll eventually work. So, do you have a name?" he asked the Goth.

"Carter."

"Carter…" He studied the name. "I don't know many girls with that name."

"Yeah, well, my grandparents wanted me to be unique," Carter said casually. "Besides, it was better than the alternative."

"Which was…?"

"Candy."

"You don't look like a Candy."

"Thank you!"

"Is anyone home?" Gwen's voice called out from the front.

"Join the party!" Carter called back. She was jubilant, just beaming at everyone. She had expected Ben's parents to hate her instantly-his mother seemed like that-but after they all thawed out, they were warm and inviting. They probably didn't love her like Ben initially thought, but they seemed to like her, at least enough for her to continue dating their son.

Gwen walked in and immediately assessed the situation. "Hey, Carter, what's up?"

"Just introducing her to the parents." Ben's brief explanation was all she needed.

"That must be awkward."

"It was at first, but mainly for Ben," Carter pointed out. Ben glowered at her, and she looked innocently back. Gwen gave a slight chuckle.

"Must be nice, knowing that you can date Ben long term now." The statement was innocent enough, but Carter's smile faltered a bit, her eyes widening in surprise. And then she showed a toothy grin and said:

"Yeah, it's great. Can I talk to you? Girl stuff," she explained to the rest.

Ben gave a wave. "Have fun!"

"We will!" Carter and Gwen walked out of the room, the redhead shooting concerned glances at her friend as they disappeared upstairs.

Once they were out of earshot, Carl said, "I like your girlfriend. She's got a sense of humor."

"Yeah, when she's not being sarcastic."

"But you should still bring her more often," Sandra said. "Why haven't you before?"

"It never really came up," Ben said awkwardly. "We just kind of decided today."

"Yes, well, she's certainly makes the place more lively," she said, smiling softly. She liked the way Ben was acting, shy and yet childish. It seemed Carter brought out a different side in her son that she hadn't seen in a long time.

Sandra's eyes flickered to the stairs, and she briefly wondered what she and Gwen were talking about.

"You've never dated anyone for more than a few weeks?" Gwen asked incredulously. "Ever?" For some reason, they were in Ben's messy room. It was probably the most private place in the house.

Carter shook her head. "I've either gone out with guys my grandparents set me up with-and they only lasted for one date- or they were a Slayer guy who I only used to play around with." When gave her a particular look, she added, "No worries, I'm still a virgin. No way am I getting pregnant in high school."

"That's good to know. But what I'm really curious about is you're grandparents setting you up on dates." Gwen raised an eyebrow. She could expect Cordelia to do that, but Isaac? He didn't seem the type. Then again, looks could be deceiving.

"They wanted to rub elbows with potential business partners, so they used me, Sam, and Evan as pawns," Carter explained dismissively. "But that's not the point. I've never gone out with a guy for more than a month. How am I supposed to date Ben for a long time if I don't know how?"

This was a first, Carter asking Gwen for advice. The Goth never really talked to her outside of alien missions, and even then it wasn't actually conversational. The first time they really had a friendly talk was after she had found out about Ventus. Carter shouldn't have to go to Gwen for advice when she hardly knew her, and yet here they were. And Gwen was honestly flattered.

She thought for a moment. "But you have been going out for a long time. A few months now, right?"

"Right…"

"And you've been doing what, exactly?"

"Trying not to act like a typical high school couple."

Gwen blinked. "But you are a high school couple."

"Yeah, but we don't make out in the hallways and walk to each other's classes," Carter said exasperatedly. "Hell, we've only gone on one date!"

Gwen stared at her in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, and it was a total bust." Carter gave a bark of laughter. "Can't exactly call it dating, now can you?"

"Yes, you can," Gwen said sternly. "You're just going slowly is all. Maybe that's what you need to do."

Carter thought back to earlier in the day. "…right…"

"What, you don't believe me?"

No, no, I believe you." Carter held her hands up in surrender. "I just wouldn't say we've been going slowly."

"Then what have you been doing?" Gwen suddenly shook her head. "Scratch that; I don't want to know." Carter silently attested to that.

"I think you should go the middle ground," Gwen finally decided. "Not too fast, but not too slow. Just go from there and see how it goes."

Carter thought for a moment. "Yeah…yeah, that could work." She gave Gwen a relieved smile. "Thanks, Gwen, you're a lifesaver."

She had to give her a happy smile after hearing that. She still had some trouble accepting Carter as Ben's girlfriend-they just seemed so wrong for each other on paper- but he liked her and Carter really wanted to make the relationship work. How could Gwen not give her support?

"Come on," she said. "We have a party to get back to."

Like I said, lime ending comically.

Not gonna lie, this story is going to really push the envelope sometimes. I personally love stories like this in real life-everyone's too scared about the crazy trolls who want to destroy all the good in life, so they're rare- and I've always wanted to read fanfiction like that. But since I've never seen it, I decided to write it. Hope you enjoy.