Chapter V

"I never would have guessed..." Gwen trailed off, she took her hand and brushed lightly Ben's cheek. "It must have been so hard for you, keeping in those emotions, trying to sort them, all while spending time with me."

Ben shook his head. "It wasn't so bad."

"You've said that a number of times after getting your butt kicked by aliens." She grimaced.

"Yeah… but we always came out on top." Ben reassured her with a smile. It faded slightly when he spoke next. "There's no way it could've been easier for you." He placed his free hand over Gwen's, who still held hers lightly over the side of his face, and pulled it away gently.

Their fingers entwined at the center of the table, they gazed longingly into the other's eyes; and like four days before, they inched slowly together. There was no water to be thrown into this time, no room to make a quick escape, and to reason left to back out now. Gwen closed her eyes and Ben followed suit, his trembling lips were inches from hers. He could feel her warm breath against his skin; it gave him goose bumps. Gwen's fingers dug into her cousin's hands in anticipation.

And their lips met.

Softly pressed together, a warm, chaste kiss between the cousins held for an eternity. Never had anything felt so good, so wonderful. A strand of Gwen's hair fell down against their faces; Ben brushed it back, behind her ear. He held his fingers in place and slowly moved them further back until they stroked the back of her neck. They parted their lips for only a second or two, just long enough to catch their breath, but in that short time they opened their eyes and stared lovingly at the other, and smiled. Gwen couldn't help herself but to lean in closer to him and move her head to the left and the right, rubbing the tip of her nose against his.

"Eskimo kiss?" Ben leaned back and cocked his eyebrow, holding back a laugh all the while. "And you call me a dork."

"Yeah, I do." Gwen leaned in to give another peck on the lips. "Now, let's get some snacks before we head out again, all we've left in here is Grandpa's food."

"Ugh… that's right. I've got enough money for snacks as well as movies; enough to give us something to do in our downtime for the rest of the summer."

"Aww, you plan on getting something romantic?" Gwen batted her eyelashes.

Ben groaned.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Grandpa would definitely know something was up."

They both got to their feet and hopped out of the Rustbucket. Gwen fought the urge to hold her cousin's hand, and was thankful she did, as Grandpa Max walked out the doors of the convenience store.

"Gas costs an arm and a leg, even on a plumber's salary." He joked, making his way over to his grandkids. "Where are you two off to?"

"Gonna get some movies and some snacks." Ben said, taking out his wallet.

"Alright, just don't get too much candy, you don't want to rot your teeth."

"Grandpa, we're not ten years old anymore."

"I know… I'm a grandpa, it's obligatory that I give those same old nuggets of information from time to time." He smiled and turned back to the Rustbucket.

Gwen smiled sadly over her shoulder as she and Ben continued on into the small convenience store. Ben turned to look her way after he noticed her sudden silence, the enthusiasm had been drained from her features. He didn't care about appearances at the moment, and took her hand again. She held his in return.

"Something wrong, Gwen?" Ben asked quietly.

"Grandpa." She stated. "He can never know about us, can he?" Her voice cracked.

"Soon… We can keep this to ourselves for a bit, have some time alone." He paused, and spoke up again. "I don't think Grandpa would mind us… you know."

"Why do you say that?"

"He almost ran away with an alien, Gwen. There's still a lot of people on this planet that are unwilling to branch out because of race or religion. Grandpa was able to look past the fact she wasn't even from this planet… I think he could handle the two of us together."

"And the rest of our family?"

At this, Ben could not help but chuckle. "Honestly, I think they'd marvel at how well we'd be getting along. Besides, even if they don't like it, it won't stop me from feeling the way I do for you."

"That's so sweet of you, Ben." Gwen said in mock-sarcasm, "proclaiming your undying love for me at a gas station.

Ben laughed to himself and put his arm around her waist. "With all the stuff we've been through, would you honestly expect anything normal?"

"No, I guess not." Gwen smiled and laughed, putting her arm around him.

The End