Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After a hundred failed attempts to reach Ben and Gwen, Kevin’s frustration eventually turns into concern.

He decides to check his Plumber’s badge for any suspicious activity but can’t find any. Everything is quiet. He has also not heard a word from his other unofficial means of information. This is one of those nights they would go out, buy some smoothies and chili fries, and just drive around, looking for trouble. Except neither Ben nor Gwen have shown up.

It is not that unusual for Ben to be late, ignore texts, and not answer calls — Kevin actually can’t remember a single time Ben answered one of his calls. Normally he just shows up hours late with the lamest excuse and that is it. It annoys the hell out of him, especially considering he kind of does the same, in his own way.

Gwen, however, is nothing like that. She is punctual, always — and the few times she knows she will be late or won’t be able to come at all, she lets them know beforehand. She never lets any of them in the dark, not even when they deserve it. She is by far the most reliable person in the Force, so the fact she’s suddenly unreachable worries him. 

This is a bad, bad sign. It’s been far too long. He has tried every way to reach them except going personally to their houses — only because it’s kind of hard to break in when their parents are home. Besides, he doesn’t even know where they are. This time of night, they usually are together, patrolling. 

So, he decides to check. He activates his Plumber badge once again, turns the map on, and searches for the Ominitrix’s location. The green light fills in the darkness inside the car as a small flashing dot pops up on the map. He recognizes the street name instantly. He knows the address. He drives there all the time.

According to the map, Ben is home. 

Kevin sighs. Ben might as well be asleep, playing video games, or watching Sumo Slammers. It wouldn’t be the first time. He decides to track Gwen’s location but just like Ben, she’s home. She could be studying, but she’d have said something by now. If she is home, safe and sound, why is she ignoring him? Why is Ben?

He’s about to give her another call when her face suddenly pops up in front of him, taking over the holographic map.

“Finally!” he exclaims. “What the hell’s going on?”

“Can’t talk much,” Gwen says quietly. She’s visibly worried, constantly looking over something Kevin can only guess to be her bedroom door. “I’m grounded. Ben snitched on me. I tried to reach him but he wouldn’t answer. Have you talked to him?”

Fuck. 

“No,” Kevin replies. “He’s gone radio silent.”

Gwen sighs in response. Her voice is a mix of different feelings, but the one that stands out the most is concern — almost fear. “I was afraid that would happen eventually,” she whispers, more to herself than to Kevin.

“What are you talking about?” he asks then, growing more confused by the minute. 

“I don’t know for certain, but—” She stops herself, eyes fixated at her side as if someone is about to walk through the door. “I have to go now. See what you can find out.”

Before Kevin has the chance to say anything, she vanishes into the air along with the green light of the hologram, and he stares at the badge in the darkness of his car. What the hell? His mind rushes with a thousand questions he can’t possibly answer by himself.

Wondering won’t do it any good. 

Without wasting any more time, he turns the key, starts the motor, and sets course to the Tennyson house. The feeling in his stomach gets progressively worse as he gets closer to the neighborhood. It no longer feels like an ordinary bad sign. As he parks his car hidden from the house’s view, he can feel his heart pounding in his chest. Something is terribly wrong.

Every instinct in his body flares up when he approaches the house. All lights are turned off, including Ben’s bedroom. He checks his Plumber badge again but, this time, Ben’s location signals from far away, somewhere in the city center he doesn’t recognize. At this point, he doesn’t question it.

He circles the house and stops in front of Ben’s bedroom window. He tries to open it but it won’t budge — locked. Ben has never once locked his window. Not even after he forbade him from jumping in through it. Everything about this is wrong. He walks to the rear of the house, breaks in, and of course, damages the doorknob as a result. Ben can get angry at him later, he won’t mind. 

He enters the house cautiously, sneaking in the dark. Everything looks as it should, but he can’t shake the feeling that something is out of place. He makes his way to Ben’s bedroom and his stomach immediately drops. For a second, he thinks he broke into the wrong house because the room he is in right now is not Ben’s bedroom. He turns the lantern from his phone on and lights up the room.

Kevin looks around in complete shock — it is Ben’s bedroom. If he hadn’t been there a thousand times before, he wouldn’t be able to recognize it.

Everything that makes Ben Ben has been removed from the room. 

The computer and video game have been taken away, seemingly by force, judging by the aspects of the cables left. Every poster has been torn from the walls. Every collectible, toy, prize, and decoration — gone. In the closet, Ben’s clothes are the only thing left but they’re thrown in a pile down on the floor instead of on the hangers. The usual mess of boxes and other random things that Ben kept in his closet is also gone. The shelves in the walls are empty, as well as under the bed. Whoever did this was thorough. 

Kevin leaves the bedroom and searches throughout the house. He checks every room, every closet, every trash, and finds nothing. Ben’s belongings can’t be just gone, they must be somewhere — but even the garbage bin outside the house is filled only with regular trash. It takes a moment to occur to him that he hasn’t looked in the garage yet.

And there it is. The second he opens the door connecting the house to the garage and enters it, he sees a pile of boxes with Ben’s belongings poking out. He sees the computer and the video game, still intact, but stored away. Everything is piled up in the garage corner, but before he walks towards it, he stops by the workbench first and stares at a set of different tools lying over the table, every single one visibly worn-out or straight-up broken. 

Kevin doesn’t notice the blood at first. In the dark, he thinks that the dark spots and splashes covering the table and the tools are grease or something of the sort. It is only when he turns his lantern on that the dark spots turn red and reveal themselves to be blood. It doesn’t take a genius to guess someone tried to remove the Omnitrix out of Ben’s arm. 

A new wave of fear hits Kevin as he makes another attempt to call Ben’s phone and he jumps at the muffled sound. Ben’s phone is ringing not far from him, hidden somewhere in the garage. 

He searches for the sound until the call goes to voicemail. He calls again and continues looking for the source of the sound — until he locates a red metal toolbox. It’s probably where the set of tools was stored before they were used, but the toolbox is broken. He quickly absorbs the metal from the box and hits his now metallic red hand against the lock.

A single hit is enough and the lock is cracked open. Before he fully opens it, the sound of the phone ringing gets louder and he can see the metallic green color vibrating inside of it. He cancels the call before it goes to voicemail again and takes the phone off the box. In the phone’s display, he can see all his numerous attempts to reach Ben. All his calls and his texts — unseen. 

Still, it doesn’t make sense to him. Despite their limited knowledge of how the Omnitrix works and how to properly manage it, they know it functions well as a communicator — just as well as his Plumber badge. He tried the Omnitrix a few times throughout the night. Ben should’ve been able to answer him. At the very least he should have been able to call for help.

Kevin doesn’t understand the connection between all the strange events of tonight, but he gets more shocked and more confused when he notices there’s something else inside the toolbox. He freezes for a moment as he stares at its content. At the bottom of the box, lies a magazine.

A very specific kind of magazine. He doesn’t have to put it under the light to know what exactly he’s looking at. He can perfectly see the muscled semi-naked body on the cover. He’s seen this magazine before. Perhaps not this exact edition, but he’s certainly seen others. He owns a couple of these magazines himself.

He never expected Ben to own them, too.  

A noise comes from behind Kevin and to his despair, the garage door begins to open. He barely has the time to think. As fast as he can, he shoves the toolbox where he found it, holding the phone tight in his hand, and runs out of the garage, closing the door behind him. Within a second, he makes a choice. 

He can hear the car parking inside the garage and the echoes of familiar voices as he rushes to Ben’s bedroom. He closes the door behind him once again, and hides himself in the only place possible — in the closet. He listens closely as the sound of firm footsteps approaches and the door creaks open.

In the darkness of Ben’s closet, Kevin holds his breath and waits.

Chapter Text

Kevin stands in the most absolute silence as Ben walks into the bedroom with his father. Through the small gap he left in the closet door, he can see only a fine line, but it’s enough to worry him. 

He can see Ben only by his right side and his back, but he looks like he’d look any other usual day. He’s wearing his regular clothes — blue jeans, a black shirt, a green jacket, and sneakers. There are no injuries visible, no blood, cast, or bandages. He should breathe out in relief but he can’t. From his position, he can’t see Ben’s face, but he can see his father’s, Carl. 

And he’s never seen Carl wearing such an expression. There’s fury in his eyes and disgust in his words. 

“You know the rules,” he says angrily, almost spitting out his words. “No funny business. No contact with anyone — not even Gwen. You already put her in enough trouble tonight. Do you understand me, young man?”

Ben nods in response, but Carl demands verbal confirmation.

“Y-yes, Carl—sir,” Ben replies quietly. There is a shake and fear in his voice that Kevin never heard before. “I understand.”

Carl gives him a soul-cutting look before he turns his back on him and closes the bedroom door. The sound of the key turning in the lock does not go unnoticed. Ben continues frozen in place, staring at the door. 

As the sounds of Carl’s footsteps dim, Kevin finally allows himself to relax. He counts to three in his head before he opens the closet door at once and reveals himself. Ben turns to the sound’s direction instantly, looking at him with blank, lifeless eyes.

“What the hell is going on here, Tennyson?” Kevin asks as quietly as he can, still keeping his usual tone of voice, which strips his question of concern and leaves it sounding more of a demand.

Still, somehow, Ben must know the nature of his question because the second their eyes meet, his blank expression fades away. In mere seconds, he goes through a rush of different emotions — surprise, shock, confusion, relief, happiness, fear, and then conflict. For a brief second, none of it matters, as he steps closer to Kevin and unexpectedly leans in on him.

It’s not a hug, but it’s not not a hug either. It’s awkward and confusing but Kevin welcomes him in. Ben rests the top of his head against Kevin’s chest, while Kevin holds him in place with his arms awkwardly placed around his back. There’s still a vast amount of empty space between their bodies, but Kevin doesn’t do anything to change it.

He gives Ben full control of the moment and so, for a while, they remain just like this — Ben leaning his entire body weight against Kevin while Kevin breathes in the smell of Ben’s hair, right down his nose. During that moment, they are at peace. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last nearly as long as it should.

Ben eventually breaks the hug-not-hug and steps away from Kevin. When he looks up and their eyes meet once again, he has a much worse look than Gwen had in hers during her transmission. 

“What are you doing here?” he whispers, asking.

Kevin takes Ben’s phone out of his pocket and hands it to him.

“You didn’t answer me,” he replies as Ben takes the phone, slightly brushing his fingers against his hand. “I came to figure out why.”

In the dark, Ben’s face lights up as he opens the phone. Against the light, Kevin can see the trails of dried tears over his face, marking all the way from his eyes to the very tip of his chin. He can also see the exact moment Ben notices the unbelievable amount of calls and texts Kevin left him, as he looks up with the most bittersweet look in his eyes. 

“Kevin, you can’t be here,” Ben says as he closes his phone, leaving them both in the dark again. Despite the relief in his voice, the fear is also palpable. “You need to leave.”

“What’s going on, Ben?” Kevin asks, blatantly ignoring his request. “What happened to you? What are these rules? I’ve seen the—”

“Shhh!” Ben urges, throwing his hands up in the air. “They’re gonna hear you.”

Kevin loses his voice in horror.

From the gap in the closet, he could see only Ben’s back and the right side of his body. Now, standing right in front of him, he can see the left side as well — the very side he wields the Omnitrix. On that arm, Ben’s green jacket sleeve is stained with a dark color. 

If Kevin didn’t know any better, he might have guessed it to be grease or something of the sort. Unfortunately, he knows better. Besides all the blood, the left sleeve slides down a little and reveals a bunch of cuts and wounds covering Ben’s skin, all around the watch. 

“I’ve seen the garage,” he says, fearing to already know the answer to his next question. “Did your parents do that to you?”

Immediately, Ben puts his injured arm down, trying to hide it behind his body. 

“They don’t understand,” he tries to argue desperately. “They…”

At this point, Kevin no longer cares for an explanation. He’s never seen Ben like this. He’s been at his side through all. He’s seen him at his best and his worst. He’s seen him face the most dangerous villains of the universe, the worst possible situations, even watching his own grandfather sacrifice himself right in front of him. But he’s never seen Ben anywhere close to this feeling — this utter despair. He doesn’t have to think twice about it. He is leaving, yes, but Ben is going with him. 

But before he can tell Ben that, an angry voice shouts from the hallway.

“BENJAMIN TENNYSON!” The sound of angry footsteps shakes the room. “What’s that sound?! Who’s in there?!”

“N-no one!” At once, Ben shoves Kevin back inside the closet, closing the door as quietly and fast as he can, while his father rushes the key through the lock. “It’s just me.”

This time around, Kevin can’t see a thing. He feels the wall against his back, holding his breath and listening as Carl furiously opens the door and begins a search around the room while shouting at Ben, demanding an explanation. In the closet, his angry words echo loudly in Kevin’s ears and he can feel his heart racing inside his chest in a way he hasn’t felt since he was a little kid. 

Ben is on the verge of tears as he begs his father to believe him. He swears and promises he wasn’t talking to anyone, that he’s completely alone, and that he didn’t break any rules, but none of it matters. Carl won’t have it.

Memories of his childhood flash in Kevin’s mind. He’s used to violence. He’s used to screaming and yelling. He’s used to facing villains, criminals, aliens, knights, and other bad guys. He knows he must do something. He must protect Ben and fight Carl if he needs to. But the idea of fighting Carl, Ben’s father, is different from fighting other bad guys. He’s never had to fight a parent before — except his own. To fight someone else’s parent… It’s an entirely new kind of villain to him.

And before he realizes it, he’s discovered and thrown down on the floor in the middle of Ben’s bedroom, falling over his shoulder. He holds a groan of pain as he looks up, staring right into Carl’s raging eyes. In the hallway, right next to the door, Ben’s mother, Sandra, sobs with her hands over her mouth, silently watching everything unfold.

“YOU.” Carl spits at Kevin. He turns to Ben next, raising his hand and a finger, pointing back to Kevin. “Is this the boy who’s influencing you?”

“No! He—he’s just a friend from school, he’s—”

“STOP WITH THE LIES!” Carl slams the closet door, leaving a broken mark of his hand over the thin wood, as he yells. It is at this moment Kevin decides he’s had enough. He was only eleven when he faced his mother’s husband at the time. He’s sixteen now. He’s older, wiser, and stronger. He knows better now, and he already knew well enough then. He did it before, he can do it again. 

He gropes over his pocket, trying to take hold of his phone and absorb its material. When he finally does, he welcomes the titanium in as it takes over every inch of his body, covering him with a hard, shining layer of metal. At once, he jumps off the floor and places himself between Ben and his father. His sudden change of appearance is enough to make the room fall silent.

“Step back!” he demands, his voice just as firm, just as sure. He looks at Carl dead in the eye, ready to attack him at any sudden movement. He corners him, trying to direct him out of the bedroom. “STEP. BACK. NOW!”

Carl takes a couple of steps back, shifts his posture, and lowers his voice. Aware of the physical disadvantage he’s in, he tries to appeal to Ben. 

“Benjamin,” he calls, much calmer this time around. “This isn’t you. This isn’t how we raised you. You know better than—”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Carl,” Kevin says. “But I will if I have to. This is my last warning — step the hell back!”

“Benjamin, listen to me—”

“You’ve said enough!” Kevin replies with contempt. With a single movement, he shoves Ben’s father into the hallway as hard as he can, and watches with joy as he falls to the floor. They’re even now. While Sandra rushes to aid her husband, he has just enough time to pull the door shut and hit the doorknob off. 

Still transformed, he turns to Ben next. 

“We’re leaving,” he announces. He marches towards the window and forces it open, accidentally putting too much force into it. The pressure shatters the window into a million little pieces of glass and it spreads everywhere, but he pays it no mind. He uses the back of his titanium-covered arm to clean the remaining shards of glass off the window frame. They can’t hurt him, but they can hurt Ben. Once he’s done, he signals to him. “Come on.”

Kevin makes his way through the window with ease, but when he looks back, Ben hasn’t moved an inch. He’s still inside his bedroom, still standing in the exact same place, looking at Kevin with the saddest eyes he’s ever seen. Ben’s expression hits him like a train. He knows what this means.

“Ben, c’mon,” he says quietly as he steps closer to the window — closer to Ben. “One leg after the other, that’s all.”

“I can’t,” Ben replies, holding back tears. “They’re my parents.”

Before Kevin has a chance to argue, the bedroom door is kicked open. With the scare, Ben instinctively steps back, right in Kevin’s direction, closer to the window — but not close enough so Kevin can grab his arm. At the same time, Carl comes marching at them, stopping only when he realizes that whatever happens next, is going to be Ben’s choice and Ben’s choice only.

“Benjamin,” Sandra cries out. “Don’t do this, please.”

“Is this what you want?” Carl asks. His voice is much quieter now, but even more violent. “Is this what you want to do with your life? Do you want to leave your home with this boy… this thing… Do you really wanna be a f… a freak?”

The last word makes Ben flinch himself. He turns his head to him, and Kevin can see the quiet tears running down his face. 

“Benji,” Kevin calls softly and reaches out his hand in his direction, imploring him to take it. He has Ben’s attention now, their eyes locked together. He wants to remind him that he is the Great Ben Ten, that he’s a hero with a capital letter, and that he’s loved by many, many people. He even wants to joke that, yeah, he might be a freak, but not in the sense his father means. But all that comes out of his mouth is, “Please.” 

“I’m sorry,” Ben says, breaking eye contact. “I’m really sorry. I hope one day you can understand.”

Kevin’s hand falters, but he keeps it there, extended, waiting — begging — while Ben turns to his parents. They’re ready to take him in, to push him away from Kevin and his so-called bad influences, but something makes them stop. Kevin sees it too. It’s just a glimpse, but he sees it. As if he was injected with a newfound power, Ben’s entire posture changes. When he opens his mouth, his voice no longer breaks. 

“Grandpa Max would have understood.” 

To everyone’s surprise, Ben turns back to Kevin and grabs his hand as hard as he can. Kevin returns the grip, giving him the support he needs as, one leg after the other, he jumps out the window and joins him. Outside his bedroom, away from his parents’ reach, Ben looks at him and nods slightly.

Neither one of them let go of the other’s hand — and together, they run.

Chapter Text

Waiting in line for his order of chili fries, Kevin stares back at Ben.

Right now, he looks much younger… like he’s just a kid, 10 years old again. A little kid separated from his folks, sitting alone at a Mr. Shack table, looking down at his untouched smoothie — waiting and wishing for a miracle he knows to be impossible.

Ben loves his parents, and Kevin knows what just happened between them is far from an ordinary fight, but he can also take a good guess that his parents might not be the ones hovering in Ben’s mind now. Even by this distance, he can recognize the look in his eyes. He can almost hear the words again.

‘Grandpa Max would have understood.’

Ben hasn’t said another word since. He sat quietly during the drive and he’s sitting quietly at the table. Kevin didn’t even know Ben could sit this quietly for such a long uninterrupted period of time. At least he never did before. The smoothie wasn’t enough to cheer him up, but Kevin still holds onto hope that the chili fries might be. 

“An extra large portion of chili fries,” Kevin announces with a deep voice as he approaches the table, parading the plate in front of Ben. The slightest smile appears on the corner of Ben’s lips and Kevin breathes out in relief. 

Ben is still in there, somewhere — he just needs to bring him back and keep him present.

Kevin walks to the opposite side of the table, to sit face-to-face with Ben, but before he finally does, he remembers the object in the back pocket of his jeans. 

“I almost forgot—” he brings out the green phone and hands it to Ben. “—here.”

The weak smile immediately vanishes off Ben’s face. He stares at the phone as if it were a threat, an enemy weapon, or an evil enchanted item. It takes Kevin a moment to understand why — he is the idiot of idiots.

“So, you’ve seen it…” Ben’s voice is slow, cautious, almost afraid. A pain that is only reinforced by the sad look in his green eyes, avoiding at every chance to meet the gray ones in front of him. “The magazines.”

Kevin sits on the bench and looks at him. There is no point in lying or denying it. After everything he witnessed with Ben’s parents, he’s far too deep in to pretend. The word Carl called Ben still echoes in his ears. It’s easier — and much less painful — to just pull off the bandage at once. 

“I did,” he confirms. He wants to continue. He wants to tell Ben the truth — the whole truth. He wants to tell Ben he knows about the magazines, but that it’s okay, because he has magazines too. He wants to tell Ben why he has magazines too. He wants to tell Ben it’s more than okay, it’s perfectly actually because he… No. He can’t. It would be too much to take in on a regular day, let alone on a bad one.

Ben is too vulnerable right now.

“You like dudes,” Kevin shatters the silence then, in the most casual way possible. “So what?”

There is a clear change in the air when Ben looks up. The green finally meets the gray, and locks contact — a mix of confusion and relief. 

“No jokes?” Ben asks, still waiting for a punchline.

“You’re annoying,” Kevin replies, grabbing some fries as if they were only discussing the latest episode of Sumo Slammers or some shit like that. “You’re always causing damage to my car and you have a terrible, terrible taste for smoothies. But…” 

But he does care, and only then he realizes his words sound completely different inside his head. How can he be honest with Ben, when he is still struggling to be honest with himself? Everything he wants to say feels too much right now. Truth is, he doesn’t even know what he actually wants to say. He never thought he could ever stand a chance.

Regardless, one thing is true.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Tennyson.” Kevin throws the fries inside his mouth and chews on them. He feels the green eyes fixed on him and he can’t help but ask. “What?!”

Ben chuckles quietly and finally touches the fries in front of him. He eats one, thinks for a moment, and finally answers.

“‘Tennyson’,” he reveals. “You called me ‘Tennyson’ just now, but before you… before you called me ‘Benji’.”

“What about it?” Kevin asks, trying his hardest not to let it show his fear of the answer.

“Nothing,” Ben replies after a minute. He sips on his smoothie under Kevin’s stare and adds then. “You’ve called me many things before, just never ‘Benji’.”

Silence falls between them, both ignoring the many possible interpretations of it. But in that silence, as Ben finally puts some food in his body, Kevin notices how he only does so with his right hand. Ben doesn’t move the arm of the Omnitrix for, even his shoulder seems nailed to the air. 

“How bad is it?” Kevin asks, staring in the direction of the arm hidden under the table. 

“They’re not bad at all,” Ben replies, his mouth full of chili fries.

“The arm, Tennyson,” Kevin specifies, seemingly annoyed. In truth, he holds a smile inside knowing Ben can still joke around. “I’m talking about your arm.”

Ben swallows the chewed fries before answering. 

“It’s fine,” Ben lies. “It doesn’t even hurt.”

Kevin only has to raise an eyebrow in response, and Ben lets out a frustrated sigh as he realizes he can’t talk his way out of this one. 

“My left eye just twitched, didn’t it?” he asks.

Kevin shakes his head in disapproval of the lie and gets up from the bench. “Wait here.”

Without further explanation, he walks to his car, opens the trunk, and grabs a small white box. He returns to the table, but this time he sits side by side with Ben, who turns to face him.

“Kev’s alien med kit,” Kevin explains, placing the box over the bench in the space between them. “Can you take off your jacket?” 

Ben does so laboriously. 

Kevin tries to help, but there’s little he can do. Once the jacket is removed, Ben reluctantly lays his arm on the table, avoiding himself to look at it. Kevin then pulls it closer to him as gently as he can, so he can better access the damage without adding to it. 

While the Omnitrix does not display a single scratch, Ben’s skin is a bloody mess. His entire arm is covered in bruises, burn marks, and other cuts. The worst injuries are on his pulse, around the watch. Kevin is no stranger to blood, but the sigh makes his stomach turn on itself. 

In all the time he’s known Ben, of all the villains he’s faced, he has never been injured like this. Usually, the aliens are strong enough to take the worst of it without serious damage, but Ben is only human. His skin is as soft and fragile as any other person’s. The amount of pain Ben must have endured… and for what? A simple touch or command would have activated the Omnitrix, and he could have transformed into any alien to get himself free.

Kevin quickly glances at Ben, who is also staring at him, studying his reaction to the arm. There is a question on the tip of his tongue, but Kevin does not bring himself to ask. Before he can return to the arm, Ben pulls it back, bringing it closer to his chest and away from Kevin’s touch. 

A silent tear runs down Ben’s face, which he is quick to wipe away with the hand of his good arm. He avoids looking Kevin in the eye for a moment, as he pulls himself together.

“You must have a thousand questions,” he thinks aloud. 

“They can wait,” Kevin replies firmly, but kindly. The answer seems to be both comforting and surprising, given the look in Ben’s eyes as he finally faces Kevin again. Before Ben changes his mind, Kevin once again pulls the injured arm back to his care. “No more questions, okay? For now.”

No reply comes from Ben, but Kevin knows he’s relieved and thankful for it. Wordlessly, he proceeds to care for the injuries. He cleans and disinfects the cuts and wounds as best as he can, with only minor gasps and groans of pain coming from Ben.

The silence is only interrupted by words when Kevin pulls out a small jar with a greenish goop-like substance inside.

“Ew!” Ben’s voice comes out high-pitched with disgust as Kevin opens the jar and shakes the goop. “What’s that?!”  

“Thought we had an agreement,” Kevin replies bluntly, making sure to hold Ben’s arm in place before he can try to fight it. “Trust me, you don’t wanna know.”

Kevin’s assertiveness is enough to shut Ben up, besides the occasional groan of disgust, as he spreads a considerable amount of goop over his injuries. The complaint lasts only briefly, as the goop’s properties instantly begin to act on his skin, speeding the healing process as well as eliminating any pain that’s left.

Ben’s relief is visible on his face, and Kevin allows him a moment to have his arm back, closing his hand and stretching his fingers — pain-free. Then, he wraps bandages around the goop, making sure everything is protected and secure. 

Once he is done, Ben gives him a silent look that says ‘Thank you’. Kevin returns with a kind nod, cleaning the mess he made before returning to the table, but sitting on his original spot — in front of Ben instead of on his side. Despite having his arm back, Kevin notices Ben still keeps it low over his lap. 

There is far more than only physical pain to it, but Kevin promised not to ask, and so he doesn’t.

Time passes slowly. They finish eating in silence, with only chili fries, smoothies, and burning questions between them.

Two other portions of chili fries come and go, until there is nothing left for them to do but think about the next move. Usually, this was the moment Kevin would drive Gwen and Ben home. Tonight is not a usual night, and the same concern weighs on Ben’s mind. Kevin waits for him to say it, which eventually he does.

“What am I gonna do now?” Ben asks quietly, not really expecting an answer.

Kevin plays dumb. “What are you talking about?”

“I can’t go back home,” Ben replies, thinking aloud. “I can’t go to Gwen’s. Grandpa Max is gone. Julie and I… well.”

The mention of Julie does not go unnoticed, but Kevin decides to ignore it. Instead, he pretends to be offended.

“Aren’t you forgetting someone?” he asks.

Ben replies with the same pretense, a hidden smirk on his lips. “Gonna offer me to sleep in the back of your car?”

“Hey, do not badmouth my car,” Kevin argues, this time actually offended. He has to take a second to return to his common voice. “The seats have a triple layer of cushion in them. They are very comfy. But no, I have a better idea.”

Ben raises an eyebrow. “Which is…?”

“C’mon,” Kevin grins, excited for Ben’s reaction. There might be a way to salvage this night yet. He gets up from the table, and heads to his car. “You’ll see.”

Under the promise of a secret ride, Ben takes a deep breath and follows Kevin, entrusting him completely.