Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Ben 10

Chapter 3 – Birthday Gift

After she got completely dressed, Gwen quickly went down to join her parents and Ben. What she witnessed wasn't really what she was expecting. Everyone knows that Ben was family and their families were very close but the way that the three of them interacted was really something else. She was still thinking about it when Ben called out to her.

"Hey, the birthday girl finally shows up." Ben teased with a smile on his face. She heard what he said but she felt something hidden in the words. As if hearing two sentences being said at the same time, she understood it as "Wow! She's really beautiful in that mini black dress."

She wanted to make sure that what she thought was really what's happening so to test the waters she pulled Ben outside to talk. They walked near the big tree at the back of the house. As they neared the swing on the tree Gwen looked at Ben and gestured him to sit down. Ben quickly declined and told her that she should be the one to sit down, and he'll just push the swing from behind.

"You're quite the gentleman aren't you" Gwen commented as she sat down on the swing. Ben just smiled and decided to tease her.

"You only noticed now after all those years that we've been together?" Ben asked her.

She smiled at his sweetness. After getting herself comfortable on the swing she gestured him to push, which he so willingly did.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" She asked him, not bothering to look back.

"Yup" Was his only answer but from what she could read from him what he was really trying to say was "You're the prettiest girl I have ever seen."

Gently he pushed the swing forward making her sway in the air. Wind blowing her hair like fire dancing in the wind. He was mesmerized by what he was seeing, the redness of her hair accentuating the white smoothness of her skin. He was lost as his gaze finally stopped in between her neck and shoulder. How he wished that he could touch her, kiss her there and nibble on it.

No words were spoken but flashes of the things that he was thinking came flooding into Gwen's mind making her blush at the thought. She tried to get her mind off those thoughts so she changed the topic.

"By the way where is my gift?" Gwen asked him.

"Eh-heh" Was his only reply as he gave her a sheepish grin. "Aren't you a little too old for gifts?" He teased. Gwen turned around and pouted at him. She looked so cute while she made face that Ben unconsciously reached for both her cheeks and then pinched them.

She didn't get mad but instead she just continued pouting while they stared into each other's eyes. Ben was the first to break the silence.

"Okay! Okay!" Ben said out loud as he raised his hands in surrender. Gwen smiled as she watched his antic; she knew she had already won.

"What do you want as a gift?" Ben asked. "I promise to give you anything you want as long as I can give it."

Gwen pretended to think for a couple of minutes before finally speaking.

"You're going to be my slave for a day." Gwen told him with a devilish grin. Ben took a couple of steps back for fear of what horrors his cousin had in mind for him. But he had already told her "anything" and Ben Tennyson doesn't go back at his word.

Gwen was hearing his thoughts as he debated her request in his head. She knew that even if she wasn't able to read his thought he would still agree as she had known him for a long time and never had he once broken a promise that he had given.

Ben returned to his position at her back and held the ropes that supported the swing. He leaned in closer to her, his face beside her ear.

"Ok so should I call you Master?" He teased. Gwen just shook her head and turned her gaze away from him. A soon as she had her back on him again, he called her with a name that caught her attention and made her heart jumped.

"My Princess" Ben said to the wind. Gwen couldn't believe that a meer word could cause her whole world to suddenly stop. It really wasn't him calling her Princess but saying that she was his was really what made it meaningful.

She quickly stood up from the swing as if to show that she was against him calling her names but made sure not to let him see her face as the smile on her lips would betray her.

Ben followed her as she started to walk further away from the tree and move onto their garden.

Neither said a word as they slowly walked through the garden. Occasionally stopping only to look at the flowers or secretly sneaking a peak at one another. Both wanted to reach for one another but neither admitting out loud what they wanted.

Ben looked at Gwen's direction and saw that she had crouched in front of a flower bed to smell one of the flowers. It was like a work of art as he saw here sat still in front of that flower bed. The sun radiated off her and butterflies were flying around her.

Unknown to Ben Gwen was seeing the pictures in his head and she was hearing him speak to himself in his mind. A smile spread across her face as she heard him poetically talk about how he was seeing her right now.

She tried to stand up to get back to him when she slipped. A pang of pain seared through her ankle causing her to wince in pain.

Ben quickly moved towards her and in one quick scoop he was already carrying her in his strong arms in a bridal manner. Gwen flushed as she finally figured what had happened. She hit him in the arm telling him to let her go but Ben wouldn't budge.

"You're my Princess so I need to take care of you." Ben told her as he gently carried her inside the house to take care of her ankle.

As soon as they got inside their parents were surprised to see Ben carrying her. Natalie immediately came to their side along with Sandra who had an eyebrow raised at him.

"What did you do this time Benjamin Tennyson?" Sandra asked in a scolding tone. Gwen immediately came to his rescue and explained that she had slipped and it was not due to Ben's doing. After a brief explanation the two excused themselves as Ben brought her up to her room to address her sprain.

It only took him a couple of seconds to get her in the kitchen. Gwen noticed that there was no effort in how he carried her up until he gently placed her on the chair beside the kitchen table. With a quick motion he reached for a ice pack inside the refrigerator and hurriedly applied onto her raised foot. He made sure that it was secured on her ankle before moving back to look at her.

Gwen saw how he busied himself with the work he was doing and unknown to him she noticed how he would sometimes stop for a split second to look at her smooth leg. She could read from him that it was an unconscious action but she never really thought that he would react that way towards her.

Gwen wasn't mad at what he had done but she wanted to talk to him about it. Slowly she tried to reach for him but she was stopped short as a familiar voice echoed through the kitchen.

"Gwen!" Kevin called to her as he entered, luckily for them he seems to have not noticed how they looked at each other or has he?

Author's Note:

I hope you like this new chapter.. ^^

Thanks again for the support for those who have continued to read this story!