Fic Exchange
For: woodsgal
From
stargazer_abeo 's fic exchange
Title: Stranded (....what?)
Rating: PG
Sorry, sorry, sorry! I don't think it's that good, and there wasn't enough alien attackage and Gwen was being all 'fail' everytime I went to write something for her, so this is devoid of awesome!Gwen, sorry, sorry, sorry! Please forgive me, I hope you still like it!
“Look out, Tennyson!” Kevin’s verbal warning was pointless. He’d already taken physical action to ensure the younger boy wasn’t hurt, grabbing Ben around the shoulders and forcing him to the ground.
The vulpimancer growled angrily, deprived of his intended target. It focused in on the nearby wall of the cave, and before any member of the team could make a move to stop it, it picked up speed and headbutted the wall, over and over again.
“What’s it doing?” Gwen shouted, orbs of manna beginning to glow around her hands.
“Questions later, shots now!” Kevin called back.
A pink whip of manna extended from Gwen towards the creature, but it was just a second too slow in getting there. The cavern shook, and suddenly a flood of rocks came down. This time, Ben grabbed Kevin out of the way, but the only place to take him was behind the falling rocks.
The force of Ben’s grab, combined with Kevin’s last minute attempt to duck out of the way sent both of them rolling along the floor of the cave until they came to a stop, Ben perched accidentally on top of Kevin.
They stayed that way for a moment, neither seeming to notice the situation. Finally, Kevin realized that Ben was straddling him. “Um…you wanna get off?”
“Huh?”
“Get. Off. Me.”
“Oh!...sorry, Kevin,” Ben apologized, pushing himself off. He turned back towards the direction they rolled from. “Looks like we’re caved in.”
“No, Tennyson? Really?” Kevin said sarcastically.
“Maybe I can shift some of the rocks if I go Humongousaur..” Ben thought aloud, going to adjust the faceplate of the omnitrix.
Kevin shook his head. “I wouldn’t try that if I were you. Could cause a much worse cave-in. Might get us both killed.”
“Echo Echo?”
“Same problem.”
“I could phase through if I went Big Chill..”
“Yeah, and I’d be stranded here.”
“What, big bad Kevin afraid of being all alone?” Ben teased. Kevin glared at him, but neither denied nor confirmed any fear. “Well, we have to get out some way. Any ideas?”
“Sometimes old caves like this have more than one entrance. Maybe we can find our way out some other way. I’m sure Gwen’s trying to get to us, but there’s no telling how long that’ll take.”
“So we’re just going to wander about aimlessly?”
“You got a better idea?”
“No,” Ben admitted. He squinted. “Maybe I should turn into Swampfire, make it easier for us to see…”
“Not a good idea. There’s a potential for gas leak. I’d rather not be blown to bits, thank you.”
“Great….ten super powerful aliens, and none can help in this situation,” Ben mumbled. “Maybe if I went Brainstorm I could think up some way to get out of here?”
“You’d just come up with my suggestion,” Kevin insisted. “We’re wasting time. Let’s just get going already.”
Ben finally conceded to Kevin’s request, following after him. He still fiddled with the omnitrix, though, trying to find one that could help him.
“Okay, I admit,” Ben said, not realizing he just passed Kevin as he intently studied his watch, “Maybe there’s nothing in here that can help, but at least it makes a good flash li--” His last step he’d taken, there was no ground where he’d expecting it to be. He put his foot forward, and when it went down, his whole body fell. There was a chasm here. The only thing that had saved him was Kevin reaching forward at the last minute and grabbing his hands.
“Sheesh, Tennyson, ever figured out how to watch where you’re going?” Kevin demanded.
“Can you just help me up?” Ben asked, allowing himself a wary glance down. “I can’t see the bottom, and I’d rather I not be introduced to it…”
“All right,” Kevin agreed. He tensed his arm, and soon Ben was standing on solid ground beside him.
“…You did that one handed.”
“You’re scrawny,” Kevin said in reply.
“Kevin…” Ben had been wanting to ask this for a while, and finally the question surfaced. “What’s going on with you and Gwen?”
“Nothing.”
“No, seriously. You two had this whole attraction thing going, and lately you won’t even look at her…”
“I said nothing, I meant ‘nothing’.”
“Don’t have to be so touchy,” Ben insisted.
Kevin groaned. “How thick skulled are you? We were dating behind your back and things didn’t work out.”
“Oh. I’m…sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Kevin shrugged. “I broke up with her.”
“Wait…you dumped Gwen?! But you’ve been mooning at her and flirting with her for months..”
“Yeah. I used to like Gwen. Now drop it.”
Sensing a sore subject, Ben started to retreat. But his natural curiosity got the better of him. “But…why did you break up with her?”
“We can talk about this later. Now are you going to help me get out of here or not? I don’t have the ability to fly.”
“Oh…right,” Ben agreed. Glad to see the omnitrix isn’t completely useless in this situation…He chose Jetray’s form, grabbed Kevin by the shoulders using the talons where his feet had once been, and soared across the chasm.
“Make sure you don’t drop me, all right?” Kevin asked, sounding nervous.
“Well, you are pretty heavy…” Ben responded. They reached the other side in about five minutes, Ben released Kevin and then changed back, doubling over, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
“You all right, man?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little winded. Give me a sec…”
“You should sit down,” Kevin insisted, helping Ben to the ground. Kevin sat Indian-style beside him. Ben sucked in a huge breath, but he still felt exhausted. He felt his body leaning, trying to find something to support itself. It found Kevin’s lap. Before he knew it, his head was in Kevin’s lap, and Kevin was staring down at him in surprise.
“Sorry…just….” Ben took another deep breath, “Need to rest…”
“That’s fine,” Kevin said stiffly, looking away. Instinctively, Ben snuggled closer to the other boy, feeling his warmth, enjoying just how great a pillow he made. “…I like someone else.”
“Huh?”
“The reason Gwen and I broke up. I like someone else.”
“Oh,” Ben said. He felt his heart plummet into his stomach, nervous, scared, and even partially excited about Kevin’s revelation. “Someone I know?”
Kevin grunted in reply.
“Umm…Helen!”
“No.”
“….we don’t know that many girls, Kev,” Ben pointed out. Kevin looked away, and Ben was surprised to see him blushing. “Oh. …um…wow. So. Manny?”
“Are you on something, Tennyson?”
Ben laughed. “Okay. Not Manny. I give up. Who is it?”
Kevin’s eyes met Ben, and they just stared at one another. Ben gulped, and sat up, his green eyes never darting away from the brown ones. “You, all right?” Kevin whispered, “I….I like you.”
Ben leaned in, his heart racing in his chest, so certain they were about to kiss….
“Ben? Kevin? Where are you guys?” Gwen’s voice called after them.
“Damn it..” Kevin cursed.
“We’re over here!” Ben called to his cousin.
“Wow…you two are sitting pretty close together,” She remarked casually. She and Kevin exchanged looks for a moment, but he broke her gaze and stared at the ground. “Hmm…well..The entrance is open again. It took a while, but I broke through.”
“What about the vulpimancer?”
“Captured him, he’s waiting for us back at the entrance. We’ll drop him off with grandpa on our way home, see if he can figure out what made it act so violently. We better get going. It’s almost dawn.” She turned and started to make her way back towards the chasm, summoning up a large square of manna that she stood on. “Are you guys coming?” She shook her head, knowingly, “Oh all right. I’ll turn my back for a couple of seconds. Do whatever it is you were about to do before I interrupted, but then we’ve got to get going.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking abou--” Before Kevin could finish, Ben had launched himself at Kevin, his lips firmly pressing against Kevin’s. Kevin kissed back, wrapping his arms around Ben.
“Are you guys done yet?” Gwen asked. “I can’t keep this here all day, and I’d rather not fall to the bottom of this pit.”
“Yeah, we’re done!” Ben called, breaking away. His hand, however, found Kevin’s and squeezed it tightly, but didn’t let go.
“At least,” Kevin added, “For now…”