Kevin glanced at the wall clock in his garage, which read 9 PM. One more hour of studying until he'd rest for the night. He had spent most of the day working on his car and decided to put in a few hours of studying. Unfortunately, Gwen wasn't able to spend time with him today. She had a new project to work on for school and wanted to finish it as soon as possible, despite it being due a week from now. Kevin couldn't blame her too much. There was no telling when they'd have to deal with some big threat, leaving little time for anything that wasn't a matter of life and death.
From the exercises he had completed over the weeks, Kevin found today's subject, Reasoning Through Language Arts, to be the easiest of the four, though not without challenges. Reading passages and making inferences were fine enough, provided he paid close attention. What he struggled with was writing essays. Articulating his thoughts or opinions, especially in a way that forced him to use formal language and structure his arguments carefully, was tricky. On top of that, he had to make a conscious effort to make his writing more legible. Gwen had told him time and time again that there was room for improvement, even once joking that only a deciphering spell could help her understand his writing.
A deep rumbling in Kevin's stomach reminded him that he had skipped dinner, which he now regretted. Maybe he'd do a burger run after he was done studying. Until then, he had to power through.
He flipped to the next page on the workbook. Pen in hand, he readied himself for another essay question. That is, until the sound of someone calling his name alerted him. He set his pen down and turned to the entrance of the garage to see Ben sauntering in. Startled by Ben's unexpected visit, Kevin hurriedly closed his books and shoved them, along with his writing materials, into an empty box on the shelf next to the table. He stood up and walked up to Ben. "What're you doin' here?"
"Am I supposed to pretend I didn't see-" Ben's gaze shifted to several small purplish spots on Kevin's neck, and he inched his head closer to inspect them. "Oh, dude, you've got bruises. Who'd you tick off this time?"
"They ain't bruises," Kevin replied with a smirk. Memories of the previous night played in his mind, when Gwen rewarded him for making it through their long study session by passionately leaving love marks on him. To say she got carried away would be an understatement, but he didn't mind one bit.
"What else could they-" Ben stepped back as realization struck him, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "Ew, ew, ew! Shouldn't you be covering all that up?"
Kevin gave him an unconcerned shrug, dropping his smirk. "Wasn't exactly plannin' on havin' visitors, which reminds me you still haven't told me why you're here."
Ben brushed past Kevin to lean against the hood of his car. "I'm bored."
His response- and his decision to lean on the car- earned him a piercing stare from the older boy. "Seriously? You walked-"
"Flew," Ben interrupted him, raising his arm and pulling the sleeve of his jacket back to reveal the Ultimatrix. "Getting used to Stinkfly again. It's just like riding a bike... if the bike was a freaky insect thing."
"Okay, whatever. You flew all the way here 'cause you were bored?" Kevin pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, placing his other hand on his hip. "Didja forget you have a girlfriend?"
Ben crossed his arms, slightly annoyed at Kevin's tone. In some way, though, Kevin was doing him a favor by reminding him to spend time with Julie. He knew he could stand to be more present in her life. "She's busy with homework. I guess you're busy, too. What were you doing before I got here, anyway?"
"Nothin' you need to know about." Kevin's unhelpful reply prompted Ben to raise an eyebrow. "It's legal," he quickly clarified.
"Then you shouldn't have a problem telling me what it is." Ben began walking to Kevin's shelf, but Kevin blocked his path. "Okay, what are you trying to hide? I thought we were way past keeping secrets."
"Ben, seriously, it's nothin'," Kevin insisted.
Unluckily for Kevin, his evasiveness made Ben even more determined to know the truth. "Just tell me what it is. You know I'm not gonna let this go." He simpered, knowing he was doing a good job of getting under Kevin's skin.
Kevin began to wonder if it was worth withholding the truth from Ben, or risk being pestered for the foreseeable future. He couldn't come up with a decent enough lie that would make him back off, so he didn't have many options. While Kevin weighed the pros and cons of being honest, Ben walked around him to search his shelf. By the time Kevin noticed it, Ben's hands were on the box Kevin had thrown his books into. Ben turned around to face Kevin, his smug grin disappearing. "Y'know, I could just pretend this never happened. Don't get me wrong, my curiosity is killing me, but it seems like this secret is important to you."
Kevin sighed. Ben was giving him a way out of the situation, yet part of him wanted to let Ben discover the truth and be done with it. "Nah, go on. You've got the box in your hands. Might as well rip off the band-aid now." As Ben took the GED workbook out of the box, Kevin hoped he wouldn't come to regret his decision.
"'GED'?" Ben read the cover. "Wait, this is your big secret? Why didn't you want me to know? This is a good thing!"
"Didn't know how you'd react." Kevin struggled to maintain eye contact. "Plus, I wasn't even sure if I could pull it off at first. Didn't wanna give ya false hope, y'know?"
"Well, this explains why I haven't seen you lately, outside missions." Ignoring how he was a tad offended that Kevin kept what was unquestionably good news a secret from him, Ben put the book down on the table and approached him, giving him a fist bump. "Can't say I saw this coming, but I'm proud of you, man."
A grateful smile stretched across Kevin's face. "Thanks, but I don't think I'd be able to do any of this without Gwen."
Ben's brow creased at Kevin's near-self-deprecating comment. "I dunno. You're pretty smart on your own, and if you've been working on this as much as I think you have, you've definitely got moxie. Give yourself a little credit, Kev. You're gonna crush this."
Thinking back to the many times Gwen reassured him of the same thing, Kevin laughed quietly. "You almost sound like Gwen."
"She's right." Ben supportively clapped a hand over Kevin's shoulder, then headed for the front passenger door of Kevin's car. "I've decided we're gonna get food. My treat. No wiggling your way out of this. We're long overdue for a guys' night."
Kevin glanced at the table behind him. As determined as he was to study, there wasn't much use if he couldn't get food off his mind, not to mention how he was exhausted from the hours he spent working on his car. He deserved a break. Plus, how could he possibly turn down free food? "Burger Shack?"
"You read my mind." Ben grinned at the thought of having a large helping of chili fries.
Kevin pulled out his car keys from his pocket and pressed the button on it to unlock the car. "Fine, get in. I gotta make a call first."
"Okay, but hurry up. I'm starving." With that, he entered the car.
Kevin went to his table to grab his phone, dialing Gwen's number. She picked up after a few rings but couldn't even utter a word before he spoke. "Ben knows."
There was a brief silence from her end of the line as she tried to figure out what exactly he was talking about. "How?"
"I kinda let him know," he admitted with a chuckle. "He was bein' nosy and I couldn't get him off my back."
"How'd he take it?" Her voice was laced with concern.
Kevin turned off the light switches in the garage, progressively enveloping the small space in darkness. "Pretty good, actually. Didn't make fun of me like I thought he would. He's actually takin' me out to Burger Shack. Uh, I mean, I'm drivin', but he's payin'."
Her voice brightened at the good news. "See, I knew he'd be nice about it! The people around you care about you, Kevin. Never forget that."
"I'll try." He supposed he was learning his lesson about not believing that he had a solid support system. As much as Ben and Kevin liked to pick on each other, they were best friends. Kevin shouldn't have had a reason to think Ben would ridicule him for taking steps to secure his future.
Following another short silence, he changed topics. "Hey, want me to get a burger to-go for ya?" Knowing Gwen, she likely hadn't eaten dinner yet, being too focused on finishing her project.
"Sweet of you to offer, but no. I'll make do with whatever I can find in the fridge."
"How's the project comin' along?" With any luck, she'd be done with it soon, and they'd be able to hang out. He already missed having her around even though they'd only been apart for a day.
"Should be able to get it done tomorrow," she replied, to Kevin's delight. His cheeks almost hurt from all the smiling. "Gonna put in a couple more hours."
"Don't stay up too late, 'kay?"
Gwen burst into laughter, her jovial tone echoing through the phone. "I was just about to tell you the same thing!"
Kevin chuckled to himself. How did that saying go? 'Great minds think alike'? "You don't gotta worry. I'm pretty beat. I'll hit the sack as soon as I get back from Burger Shack." He heard clacking of keys from her end of the line. Not wanting to keep her from her work- or Ben from waiting- any longer, he decided to let her go. "Talk tomorrow?"
"Of course. Goodnight, Kevin," she said warmly.
"Goodnight, Gwen." After hanging up, Kevin walked to his car with a spring in his step and slid into the driver's seat, fishing his keys out of his pocket and inserting one into the ignition to start the engine. He sensed Ben's unwavering gaze focused on him.
Before he could call him out, Ben snorted in amusement. "You're smiling like a maniac."
Kevin checked his reflection in the rear-view mirror, taking notice of the almost inhuman grin on his face. "What can I say? Gwen's... well, Gwen."
"What's your secret?" Ben asked, his words taking on a dejected tone.
Confused at the sudden change in Ben's demeanor, Kevin finally glanced in his direction. "Whaddya mean?"
"You and Gwen. You two couldn't be more different, but you somehow ended up the perfect couple. You two are a well-oiled machine, on the field and off. Even when you guys argue, you always make up. You two make it look so easy." He sighed in exasperation, his shoulders slumping. "Sorry, Kev, I shouldn't be bothering you with my relationship problems. We're supposed to be celebrating."
Kevin had made it clear to Ben several times that he didn't quite like talking about feelings, and that he was far from a relationship expert, but given the support the Ultimatrix wielder showed him tonight, he decided to renege on the rule. "Wanna talk about it?" Ben stared at him, wide-eyed. He was about to make a comment about Kevin being replaced by an imposter, but, having seen that joke coming from a mile away, Kevin added, "Limited time offer. Take it or don't."
"I'm taking it," he said with a nod. "But you gotta tell me what made you wanna take the GED first... and you should probably start driving or we're never gonna get to Burger Shack."
Kevin raised a fist, challenging him to a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Ben raised his own fist, and on the count of three, he drew paper, while Kevin drew rock. Kevin grumbled, slamming his palm on the steering wheel upon losing the game.
Ben restrained himself from laughing. "Okay, spill! I won fair and square."
"Chill. I was gettin' there." Kevin turned on the car's headlights, slowly driving out of the garage. "Okay, remember that time we fought Animo?"
"Which time?!"
I know that ending was kinda abrupt, but it felt like the kind of thing a typical episode of the show would end on.
This was something different from my usual fare. I've never written Ben and Kevin having a one-on-one conversation before.
It was important for me to still have Gwen in the story, hence the phone call. I really like writing mundane interactions between Gwen and Kevin, where they're just checking up on each other and stuff. I think such interactions make their relationship more real.
Thank you all for the support so far! I've been having a blast writing this story, and I'm glad to know that people out there are enjoying it!