Fantasy (Ben/Kevin, Pg-13)

[perhapsormaybe]

Pairing: Ben/Kevin
Chapter one:

Ben was swinging. At first, he was all alone. The playground was covered in fog, but he wasn't scared. He just continued to swing, his eyes focused on the horizon.

Another figure emerged from the fog - Kevin. Kevin said nothing to him, merely sat down in the empty swing beside where Ben was. Two more figures came a moment later. Julie and Gwen. Julie stood before Ben, and Gwen stood before Kevin.

"What's going on?" Ben finally asked, dragging his feet to stop the swing. He held on tightly to the chains, twisting them as he turned to face Kevin. "Kevin?"

"Choices," Kevin grunted.

"What, I'm supposed to choose between Gwen and Julie?" Ben asked, bewildered. Kevin shook his head, and he himself began to swing, ignoring Ben's calls to him to stop, to explain what was going on. "Well, gee, that helps," Ben said sarcastically.

The alarm in Ben Tennyson's room went off so suddenly he actually jumped. "Wow. Crazy dream," Ben said as he switched the alarm off.

He stopped to puzzle over it. His past ten or so dreams had featured both Kevin and Gwen every time. He laughed at himself. "I'm over thinking this," he thought out loud. "I spend so much time with them when I'm awake, my subconscious thinks they're supposed to be there all the time, too."

Ben finally slided off of his bed to get ready for school. He'd taken his shower last night, so now all he had to do was find some clean clothes. "...Hope mom did laundry," he said to himself, realizing that the clothes that littered his floor where all far too dirty for him to wear today. He only had his boxers on right now. Shrugging to himself, he made his way downstairs, hoping to find clean clothes in the laundry room.

"Nice boxers, Tennyson." Kevin stood in the door frame between the livingroom and the kitchen, his arms crossed. Carl was studying Kevin over his newspaper, but Ben didn't worry about that. Carl and Sandra Tennyson both approved of Kevin, even if they did think he was a 'ruffian'.

Ben looked away, embarrassed that Kevin had seen him like this. It was just awkward. "Mom, do I have clean clothes somewhere?"

"No," Sandra said, pouring herself some orange juice. "Because a certain someone didn't pick up his clothes and put them in the laundry basket so that I'd know they were dirty."

Ben sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry," Ben ran upstairs, hoping to find something, anything that was passably clean enough to get him through the day.

"Wow, Ben, your place looks like you got raided," Kevin had followed Ben up the stairs, and was now looking around the room, an amused smile on his lips.

"I haven't had much time to clean...not with all the DNalien attacks," Ben defended himself. "Just help me find something that's clean..." Kevin raised an eyebrow, "Okay, fine, fine, something that's clean enough."

Kevin said nothing else, just started picking clothes up and examining them. His calm demeanor was starting to frustrate Ben, who was certain he was going to be late for school at this rate. "Why are you here, anyways?" Ben asked, examining a white t-shirt. He found a stain and deemed it too dirty. He tossed it onto his bed.

"Came to give you a ride."

"You didn't pick up Gwen first?"

Kevin shook his head. "She's away on some school trip this week, remember?"

Ben nodded. In truth, Gwen's field trip (some sort of academic contest, Ben recalled), had completely slipped from his mind. Ben frowned. He would love to have his cousin's input on the strange dreams he'd been having. Guess it'll just have to wait until she gets back, he decided.

"Here, try these," Kevin threw a pair of jeans and a black shirt at Ben. "They don't smell too funky."

"Thanks," Ben pulled the jeans on. He glanced up at Kevin, who was determinedly looking away. That's weird.... Ben pulled his shirt on over his head. "Well, there we go. Not too bad, right?"

"I'd spray some cologne if you got it," Kevin suggested. "They were just the best pick out of a bad bunch, if you get my meaning."

Ben nodded. "Yeah...I've got some body spray. Hold on," Ben ran down the hall and sprayed some "For Men" body spray on, perhaps just a bit too liberally. He ran back into his room. "How about now?"

"Are you seriously asking me to sniff you?" Kevin asked.

"Guess that'd be a little weird," Ben admitted. He glanced at the clock. "Oh, shoot...I'm gonna be late! We've got to get going."

"All right," Kevin rose up and pulled the keys out of his pocket, jiggling them as he went. He passed Ben, leading the way. Before Ben could leave the room, Kevin turned around. "That stuff smells pretty good," Ben just stared at him. Apparently feeling the need to throw a jab in, Kevin added "But you smell like you went swimming in it."

[Lady Lasa]

Great start. I'm loving it so far.

[perhapsormaybe]

The school day passed in the usual fog of boredom for Ben. He was unfocused, his thoughts still lingering on his strange dream. Luckily for him, the day had passed fairly quickly. He sighed as he unlocked his locker, depositing the books he didn’t have homework in there and grabbing his Algebra book.

Ben looked up, a sudden realization hitting him. Julie usually waited for him at his locker at the end of the day. So where was she now? He dropped his Algebra book into his backpack, took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed frantically.

“Hello?” Julie sounded a little frustrated.

“Julie, where are you?”

“I have practice today. And I’ve gotta go…coach is glaring at me,” with that, the line went dead. Ben stared at the phone for a few moments, trying to work out why he couldn’t seem to remember her telling him about practice. In fact, he was certain that she hadn’t mentioned it. Wasn’t tennis season over?

Deciding it was nothing to worry about, he shouldered his backpack and headed outside. Instinctively, he headed to the bike rack. He scanned it a few times, before remembering Kevin had given him a ride this morning. So, of course, his bike was in the garage at home.

“Great,” Ben muttered, kicking a rock out of the way. A loud honk came from the parking lot to his left, but Ben ignored it. Probably just some parent trying to get their kid’s attention.

The honk came again, but this time it sounded closer. Guess the kid’s not paying attention, Ben noted, continuing on his way.

The third honk, this time sounding like it was right behind him, finally got him to turn around. There was Kevin, leaning out the side of his car. “Do you want a ride or not, Tennyson?” he shouted.

Ben nodded, and ran over. He climbed into the front seat and stared at Kevin for a moment. “Since when do you pick me up from school?”

“You know, I can still make you walk,” Kevin pointed out.

Ben took the hint.

“All right, fair enough. But you usually only pick me up from school if we’re about to go on patrol, or if we’re gonna hang out with Gwen.”

Kevin muttered something. Ben leaned toward him, trying to catch it. “I can’t understand what you said. You said it too low….you’re…sore?”

“I said I’m bored,” Kevin admitted, putting the car back into gear and slowly rolling forward. His foot hovered above the gas pedal. “Gwen’s out of town and…I don’t know, I just wanted to hang out. Problem?” He asked, turning to face Ben. Ben smiled.

“No, it’s not a problem. It’s just we’ve never really hung out together without Gwen or Julie. What did you want to do?”

“Dunno,” Kevin admitted.

“Well, we can decide after we go to Mr. Smoothy’s. They have a new flavor out – blue raspberry blueberry mocha mint.”

“That sounds disgusting.”

“It’s the only flavor I haven’t tried,” Ben explained, pulling a few dollars out of his backpack before dumping it in the back seat. “It’s my treat.”

“I don’t want to try it,” Kevin said, shaking his head. “How many smoothies do you drink in a week, anyways?”

“Depends on how much allowance I got for the month,” Ben answered. “And whether or not I can get Gwen to pay for a few.”

Kevin was silent for several minutes after that, and Ben wondered if the mention of Gwen was the reason. Ben frowned, feeling suddenly aggravated. He ran a hand through his hair, as though it would loosen those thoughts. Finally, he just leaned forward and turned the radio on.

“Don’t even think about changing the station,” Kevin warned.

Ben hadn’t thought about it. He wasn’t really paying attention to the music, he just wanted something to distract him from the unusual irritation he felt at his cousin. I’m probably just annoyed that she’s not here. Nope. That was a lie, he was sure of it. He couldn’t really figure out why he felt so annoyed that Kevin had gotten quiet after Gwen’s name was mentioned.

“Earth to space cadet,” Kevin tapped Ben on the shoulder, and jerked a thumb towards the smoothie establishment. “We getting this to go or what?”

“I’ll go grab the smoothies. Then we can go to Grandpa Max’s old fishing spot.”

“What, hoping to run into your grandma again?”

Ben shook his head. “Nah…it’s just a good place to think.” With that, the brunette hurried inside. He paid for the new flavor of smoothie for himself, and a soda for Kevin. The clerk handed him his receipt, and told him to wait until number forty-two was called. Ben moved over so the clerk could get the next person in line, but he leaned against the counter as he waited.

Something he saw out of the corner of his eye made him jump. It was a small flash of pink – Julie. Julie was sitting in a booth, doing homework and munching chili fries. I thought she was at practice. Ben looked for a sign that she was with someone – not necessarily cheating, maybe just out with a friend. But the young Asian girl seemed to be completely alone. Why would she lie to me?

“Forty-two?” the clerk called. Ben grabbed his smoothie and Kevin’s soda and bolted for the door, hoping Julie hadn’t spotted him.

“You look like you’ve seen a …” Kevin stopped there, looking thoughtful. “Well, I can’t think of anything scarier than Highbreeds or Dnaliens…”

“Julie was in there.”

“So? Did you want her to come with us?”

“No…it’s just…she told me she had practice today,” Ben explained. He pulled his cell phone out and checked the time. “If that was true, she’d still be at the school right now.”

“So, maybe her coach let her out early,” Kevin suggested. Ben shook his head.

“Her scooter’s parked near the door, I saw it on my way out. It takes about fifteen minutes to get here from the school on that, and that would only give her time for a five minute practice. Julie lied to me.”

Kevin rubbed his neck and kicked his boot along the pavement, trying to think of what to say. “Well, was she with another guy?” He finally asked. Ben shook his head.

“That’s the even weirder part. She’s not cheating on me, she was just…doing homework,” Ben was bewildered. Not only was his girlfriend lying to him, she would rather do homework than spend time with him.

“I dunno, Ben,” Kevin admitted, shrugging. “Maybe you should…I dunno…go talk to her about it?”

Ben shook his head. “Nah, let’s just head to Grandpa’s spot. I need some time away from girls right now…I just need to think everything out.”

Kevin said nothing, just handed Ben the smoothie that Ben had set down and got into the car. Ben followed suit. They drove in silence, Ben’s thoughts whirring.

The dream had been about choices…Julie had been there. Maybe it was trying to warn him that he had to make a choice about Julie or she’d leave him? But then, why was Gwen there? And strangest of all….why had Kevin been there?

[perhapsormaybe]

Kevin glanced over at Ben, wondering what the brunette seemed so distracted by today. Normally Ben was a rather chatty guy. More like he won’t shut up most of the time, Kevin noted, his gaze drifting lazily back to the road. Kevin sighed. If something was wrong with Ben, he was going to have to take care of it. Deep down, it was fueled by a desire to help Ben, but on the surface, Kevin convinced himself that he was only doing this because Gwen would want him to.

“So…you need to talk about it?”

“About what?” Ben asked, fiddling with his seat belt.

“Come on, man. Your girlfriend’s sneaking off to your favorite joint to eat by herself and do homework. That’s gotta be bugging you.”

“Of course it is,” Ben agreed, “But it’s not just that Julie’s doing that. It’s that…” They reached the lake, but Kevin merely put the car in park and turned off the ignition, trying to let Ben know he wanted Ben to tell him what was going on. “Well, she’s not cheating on me, but she’s hiding something from me and lying to me, and I’ve been having all these crazy dreams lately about swing sets and choices and –“

“Whoa, whoa, slow down, Tennyson,” Kevin held out his hands in a sort of ‘stop’ motion. “I’m trying to help, but I can’t do that if you throw everything at me at once. I’m not so good at the whole dream interpretation thing, so why don’t we just focus on Julie?”

“Well, let’s talk outside of the car,” Ben said, releasing himself from the seatbelt and jumping out of the car. Kevin shrugged, but did as he was asked.

“Well, we’re out of the car now,” Kevin pointed out. “Now are we going to talk about it?”

Ben studied the older boy for a few moments, looking puzzled. “What?” Kevin asked, irritated with being studied so intently.

“It’s just…since when do you really care about my personal life?”

“I don’t,” Kevin insisted, staring determinedly at the lake. “Gwen does, though. And she’s not here, so I guess you need someone to talk about it to, so, here I am. Plus your fighting really stinks when you get too upset over something.”
“I was upset when I kicked your butt a few months back,” Ben pointed out, referring to when they had first met up again after Kevin’s time in the Null Void.

“Whatever,” Kevin dismissed the subject, finally looking at Ben. “Point is, if your cousin comes back and you’re still moping around, she’s gonna get mad at me and think it’s my fault.”

Ben crossed his arms, irate. Why did they both have to keep bringing Gwen up? Couldn’t they enjoy a day without her there physically or in spirit? Ben furrowed his brow, wondering why he cared so much. He and Kevin just didn’t hang out one-on-one that often. And suddenly, Ben felt like he regretted that.

“Look, why don’t we go somewhere else?” Ben asked. The lake was too much his and Gwen’s to share. Kevin would always associate this place with both Tennysons (and quite possibly Verdona – she was just too hard to forget), so Kevin would be preoccupied with thoughts of Gwen here.

Kevin shrugged, not really caring one way or the other. He was wondering, though, why Ben’s left eye was…well, it wasn’t twitching like it would when Ben told a complete lie, but it seemed to Kevin that Ben was closing his left eye a bit more than his right.

“Whatever.” For Kevin, this was pretty much agreeing. “Where do you want to go?”

--------------------------------------------------------
“Hello?” Ben answered his cell phone without checking the caller i.d. – he and Kevin were far too absorbed in a wrestling match on television for him to peel his eyes away long enough to check.

“Hey, Ben!”

“Gwen?” Ben tried to whisper the name, but Kevin had heard. He gave Ben a strange look, and then glanced at the cell. Though he said nothing, Ben got the feeling Kevin wanted to talk to Gwen too. Ben ignored this instinct, though, and headed for Kevin’s kitchen to take the call (after all, Kevin liked to keep his tv volume all the way up – there was practically no way to hear Gwen while he was in there).

“How’s the competition going?” Ben asked, shrugging up a shoulder to keep the phone pressed to his ear so as to free his hands while he raided the fridge. He grabbed a soda and popped the top off before returning the cell to his hand.

“Well, we come back the day after tomorrow…Our school didn’t win but we did get second, so the teachers are giving us a day at the theme park tomorrow.” Gwen sounded very cheerful to Ben, but after knowing her for so long, as well as he did, he knew there was something on her mind she was reluctant to bring up.

“That’s great. It’ll be good to see you,” Ben sighed, before adding, “Kevin will be really happy you’re back. He gets really quiet and sulky when you’re not around.”

Gwen laughed on the other end, and Ben couldn’t help but notice that she sounded relieved. “Well, take good care of him. Make sure you don’t let him get too lonely, okay?”

“Yeah…oh, uh, did you want to talk to him?”

“Okay, sure,” Gwen agreed. Ben headed back for the living room, and extended the arm with the phone out to Kevin. Neither boy said anything. Kevin merely seized the phone and started chatting animatedly with Gwen.

Kevin’s bad mood seemed to have lifted a bit just from being able to hear Gwen’s voice. Ben felt frustrated, but he merely plopped himself down on the couch, focusing on the wrestlers.

“Umm..yeah, I guess….fine, fine, I miss you. Happy?” Kevin was apparently being coerced by Gwen. “Why do you sound so worried? No. …oh, Ben told you about that? He didn’t? then how did you?....Julie told you? So, then, you know why she did it?...what do you mean you can’t tell me?”

Ben leaned forward. Apparently, Julie had revealed why she’d lied to Ben to Gwen. But she wasn’t giving the secret up to Kevin. “All right, fine,” Kevin said. “Bye.” Kevin hung up the phone and handed it back to Ben, who pocketed it.

“What did she say about Julie?” Ben asked.

“Some stupid thing about Julie thinking you like someone else,” Kevin explained. “Gwen wouldn’t tell me who it is.”

“Oh.”

“So, who is it?” Kevin asked, trying to appear casual.

Ben shook his head. “I don’t like anyone else. Really. I’ve got a great girlfriend…Julie’s awesome. I just…” Ben lowered his head, finally admitting it out loud. “I just don’t like her as more than a friend.”

“So, who’s the new chick?”

Ben glared. “That’s just it! I don’t have anyone else I like.”

“Gwen seems to agree with Julie,” Kevin told him. “Like I said, she wouldn’t tell me who it was, and I didn’t think to ask her if the girl likes you back.” Kevin smirked. “Didn’t take you for a player, Ben.”

“I’m not!” Ben insisted. “They’re both crazy. I don’t like anyone...there's no way they know something I don't, right?"

"Dunno, man. Chicks have a sharp nose about this kind of stuff," Kevin explained. "You know how gaga they all go over romance."

"I guess...but can you like someone without realizing it?"

[Lady Lasa]

Aww. Poor Ben is confused still.

Did I mention how much I really love this story?

[perhapsormaybe]

Ben is most adorable when he's confused. ^_^

Thanks very much! ^_^

[perhapsormaybe]

tThis time, Julie wasn't there. Ben was sitting on that same swing set, with Kevin beside him. The fog was still so dense he couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him, but it was enough to see Gwen. She'd moved. Last time, she'd been directly in front of Kevin.
This time, however, she was standing more in the middle - her eyes focused on Kevin.

Kevin seemed to be avoiding looking at her, swinging higher and higher, his long muscular legs pumping as fast as he could.

"I don't get it," Ben said softly, shuffling his feet against the ground.
Gwen's attention turned to him.

"It should be obvious," she admitted. "I'm not sure why you haven't realized it yet."

"Realized what?" Ben asked. "I need your help. You won't tell me what's going on, and I can't stop having this dream...every night I'm in the same swing, at the same playground. What is going on here, Gwen?"

"Choices," she and Kevin said in unison.

Unable to hold it back, Ben jumped to his feet, glaring at his two best friends. "I get that it's about choices, but what choice am I supposed to be making here? You're both my friends, and you both get along...maybe a little too well sometimes, but--"

"Maybe you're starting to get it," Gwen said without any hint of emotion.

"I'm getting what?!" Ben asked, reaching for her. The moment his hands touched her, she melted away. Ben looked back at Kevin, who was still swinging, his form almost as high as the beam from
which the swings were suspended. "Kevin, what's going on here?"

"I won't know the full thing 'til you do, Tennyson."

"BEN, YOU'RE DROOLING ALL OVER MY COUCH, MAN!" Kevin's voice broke through Ben's dream.

"Sorry...guess I dozed off," Ben said apologetically, wiping the drool away with the back of his sleeve.

"That's disgusting, dude," Kevin shook his head and plopped down on the couch next to Ben. "You're gonna pay for that if it stains."

"All right," Ben agreed. "Kevin? What time is it?"

Kevin nodded towards the cable box that was perched on top of his tv. The bright green numbers claimed it was twelve past midnight. Twelve minutes passed curfew if he wasn't fighting aliens.

"Oh no," Ben groaned, pulling out his cell. He pushed speed dial 1 and waited for one of his parents to pick up. "Yeah, hi mom...just checking in. Uh...no...not tonight. Yeah, I know what we agreed, but I...umm..huh? No, I'm at Kevin's. Kevin?....the ruffian. Yeah, that guy. ...I don't think he'd like that..."

"Like what?" Kevin asked, irritated he was being talked about.

"Mom thinks I should spend the night," Ben explained, holding a hand over the mouthpiece of his cell.

"Why?"

"She doesn't like the idea of us on the roads at night unless we need to be there."

"So lie and say a Dnalien just attacked," Kevin suggested. Ben shook his head."Why not?"

"Because, mom just overheard you," Ben explained. He turned his attention back to the phone.

"Yeah, he is a bad influence...Do you really want to drive that far?"

"All right, all right, don't tell your mom to get you," Kevin threw his hands up in surrender. "You can spend the night. Tell your mom I'll have you home tomorrow morning."

"Oh, Kevin changed his mind. Yeah, he's letting me stay the night. Nah, I don't need anything. Love you too. Bye, mom."

Kevin groaned. "You're not getting my bed, man, so don't even bother asking."

"That's fine. I can sleep on the couch," Ben agreed, throwing off his jacket. He paused for a moment, seeming to consider something. "Uh...Kevin?"

"What?"

"Do you have an extra pair of pajamas I can borrow?"

Kevin stared at him. Ben felt a blush reach his cheeks, wondering what was so odd about his request.

"Do I look like the kinda guy who wears pajamas?"

"No..." Ben admitted. "But what do you wear to bed, then?"

Kevin did a face palm. "Boxer shorts, duh. And I'm gonna warn you, it gets hot in here and I don't crank up the ac. You're going to want to get out of your day clothes."

"Oh...okay," Ben said, pulling his shirt off over his head. When Kevin came back into site again, he looked both bewildered and frustrated.

"Don't strip in front of me!" Kevin said, shaking his head and stomping off towards his own bedroom.

"Sheesh, wonder what his problem is," Ben said to himself. "Not like he didn't see me in less this morning." Ben removed his pants and set them on the back of the couch, on top of his shirt. He laid down on the couch, trying to let his mind settle.

He wanted to go back to sleep. He needed to...he had to know what his dreams were trying to tell him.

[Lady Lasa]

Interesting...

So, doing a little psychological analysis here... Kevin's not entirely secure in his "preferences" so to speak or he wouldn't be freaking out about Ben getting undressed in front of him.

And poor Ben is still confused. I just love this. Great chapter.

[perhapsormaybe]

*laughs* well, we've had all these discussions on Bevin, and I just don't see Kevin as a "I see the light, I am fruitier than a lime!" kind of person. He takes time...got to rip him away from clinging to Gwen somehow, right? (at least, if he were to like Gwen more).

I just like confused Ben too much...he's just so adorable with that puzzled look on his face. Besides, this isn't an easy realization for a teenage boy to come to. Oh, the plans I have planned.

This part was heavily inspired by the little moment I wrote with Kevin seeing Ben in his pajamas...I almost wrote that, then realized it would be ridiculous for Ben to have his pjs with him when he didn't know he'd be spending the night. So I compromised. I still like the end result, though...so long as someone sees someone's boxers, we're good.

[Lady Lasa]

I completely agree. This is one of those BeVin stories that people need to use as an example. The guys seem very much in-character, which is wonderful (as you know OOCness is one of my pet-peeves when people try to write this pairing).

[perhapsormaybe]

Yeah...there's a lot to rant on with *some* Bevin stories....I do say some, of course, because there are a few out there that do such a great job....really, it's not a way out there scenario, so it's much easier to keep the characters in-character.

[perhapsormaybe]

"Okay...back to where I started," Ben said aloud, this time jumping up from the swings before Kevin or Gwen appeared. Gwen looked a little upset when she saw him standing, but Kevin ignored them both, resuming his spot on the swingset. "Gwen, what's going on?" Ben demanded. "And don't give that 'choices' answer. What choice am I supposed to be making here? Or are you supposed to make it?"

"I already made mine," Gwen said sadly. "You and Kevin have to make yours."

"About what?" Ben demanded. He looked back at Kevin, trying to gain some form of assistance. "What do you think this is about?"

"He won't know until you know," Gwen repeated Kevin's statement from his nap. "Him being able to make a choice means you have to make yours first. Otherwise..."

"Is something going to happen to Kevin?" Ben asked. "If I don't figure out my choice...will something bad happen to him?" He studied Kevin carefully, trying to see if the older boy had some inkling of what was going on here. But Kevin merely began to swing, much more slowly than he had last time.

"Not physically," Gwen admitted.

"Then what will happen to him?"

Gwen smiled. "If you never realize it, he'll never realize it. He'll live, but...he won't be happy. Not..." she stopped herself, and shook her head sadly. "You have to make your choice, Ben. Julie knows you need to make this choice. Why do you think she left you alone?"

Ben gaped at his cousin. "Because she thinks I like some other girl..." he recalled Kevin's conversation with Gwen. "But I really don't! I mean, yeah, I realize now that I don't like Julie as more than a friend, but that doesn't mean there's some other girl..."

Gwen laughed humorlessly. "Denial's only going to make this harder, Ben." She watched Kevin for a few moments before she spoke again. "I think you'll get it soon. I really hope you do..." Her voice began to fade, and she followed soon after.

Leaving Ben alone with Kevin on the playground until Ben could wake up.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Gwen, when are you going to bed?" Her roommate for the trip, a girl named Katherine, asked, throwing a pillow at her. "I can hear you muttering, and I swear I keep seeing a purple light."

"Oh that's...that's nothing," Gwen lied, forcing a smile. "Just go back to bed." Katherine shrugged, but seemed to take Gwen's advice, but this time she threw the covers over her head, presumable to keep any light out.

"Do you get it yet, Ben?" Gwen asked softly, wondering whether her cousin would be upset with her for tampering with his dreams. She sighed. "Well, it's for his own good," she said to herself, before stretching out on the bed, waiting for her own dreams to overtake her. And, she admitted to herself, finally, in the dark "Kevin's, too."

[Lady Lasa]

Ah, so Gwen is behind the dreams... Nice.

As always. Great update.

[perhapsormaybe]

Thanks. It wasn't originally going to be Gwen, but then I thought about it, and my dreams never stay so neatly linear (Hell, I started off last night here in Texas, then went in a grocery store for cheesecake and wound up in Nevada, yelling at Cris about something while I tried to pay for candy with bubble wrap.) So I needed a reason, and Gwen's the only one I feel would try to help them this way, and whose powers would probably allow her to.

[perhapsormaybe]

Ben sat up, puzzling over his dream. This time, the cable box said it was only two in the morning. Ben had slept for only two hours. But now, his thoughts were racing so quickly, he doubted he'd ever go back to sleep.

Someone I like....Gwen's just my cousin, and I don't hang out with any other girls, Ben searched his mind frantically, but the only females he spent time with were all related to him. Except for Julie, of course, but she wasn't the answer either.

"What's wrong?" Kevin had come back into the living room, on his way to the kitchen for a midnight snack. But Ben's whimpering had temporarily side tracked him. "You keep making a funny noise.."

"I'm thinking," Ben explained.

"Ah. So that's the sound of your brain trying not to explode," Kevin joked. Ben glared.

"It just doesn't make sense," Ben said finally.

"What, are we still on what Julie was up to?" Kevin headed towards the kitchen and grabbed a soda. He flicked the living room light on before taking a seat in the recliner beside the sofa. "I already told ya. Gwen said that Julie's just staying out of your way so you can get started with this other girl."

A shocking thought occurred to Ben. One so disconcerting, he didn't want to mention it, but he had to. "Uh...Kevin...did she actually say another girl?"

"Yeah, she said you liked someone else," Kevin took a swig of his soda, not realizing he hadn't grasped Ben's meaning.

"No, I mean...did she say ...did she say the word girl?"

"No," Kevin admitted. It took a moment to register. "Wait....are you saying you like a guy? Seriously, Tennyson?"

"I don't know if that's what she meant," Ben faked a laugh, "I'm just wondering. I don't like any guys, I promise." Ben insisted, feeling a sudden pang in his chest - Kevin's expression was shocked and a little uneasy.

"Okay, if you say so," Kevin finished off his soda, crushed the can, and threw it on the table. "Get some more sleep, man. And if you have any more weird dreams, you should tell Gwen about 'em."

"Think she'd be able to help?"

"I think that I can't," Kevin said simply.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that day, Ben was at home, dialing his cousin. "Gwen?" Ben waited for her to respond. "Gwen, I know you picked up the phone. I need to talk to you."

"Sorry, Ben," Gwen said suddenly, "I was just thinking about something. So, what's wrong?"

"Dreams," Ben explained. For a moment, Gwen felt her heartbeat quicken. Please don't figure out I'm doing it..., she prayed. "I'm having these really weird ones, and...well, with what happened with Julie, they're hinting at something that's...." Ben forced a chuckle, "well, completely ridiculous, really."

Gwen let out a sigh of relief. Ben wasn't on to her. "Oh? And what's ridiculous?"

"My dreams are hinting that I like someone I couldn't."

"Why couldn't you?"

"Because he ---because the person," Ben corrected himself, "Likes someone else." And because I'm not gay, Ben added to himself.

"Even if uh...this 'person' likes someone else, it doesn't mean you don't like hi--them," Gwen clutched the phone with both hands, trying to take comfort in the motion. "Ben...I'm going to ask you a question. You have to be honest."

"Of course," Ben agreed.

"Do you like Kevin?"

Ben paused. "Well, he's not as bad as he used to be. So yeah, I like him sometimes. He's not a bad friend."

"That's not what I mean, Ben."

"What about how you feel about him?"

"This isn't about me, Ben," Gwen said impatiently. "I need to know. It doesn't necessarily mean you're gay...love is love."

"So now you're jumping from thinking I have a man-crush to thinking I'm in love with him?" Ben frowned. "It's not true, Gwen. I don't love Kevin."

"Fine," Gwen said sharply, "I'll talk to you later." she hung up the phone, leaving Ben bewildered.

"Why does she care so much?" Ben muttered, closing his cell a little too roughly. "I don't like Kevin that way. She does...."

"She does what?" Kevin stood in the door frame. Before Ben could ask how he'd gotten in, Kevin held up a metal plated hand. "How many times are you going to break the back door? We have a door bell."

"This way's more fun," Kevin said simply, sitting down in the computer chair. "Now, are you ready to stop moping around?"

"I'm not moping...just thinking," Ben glanced down at the floor again.

"Hey Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"You know, I'm not going to bug you about it if you do like some guy. Whatever. ....well, I'll probably tease you a little," Kevin admitted. "But it won't be anything serious. I don't care how you swing, man."

The word 'swing' brought Ben's thoughts back to his dreams. Ben gulped. "Well, I know who it is now."

"Oh?" Kevin tried to appear like he wasn't interested.

Ben's words tumbled out, without any careful thought. "Apparently it means you..." Ben's green eyes tried to make contact with Kevin's black ones, but Kevin said nothing. He just rose from his chair, and walked out. He paused before he reached the hallway.

"I uh..." Kevin shook his head, "I'll see you around," he said finally, before leaving.

"Oh great," Ben muttered. "Way to screw that one up, Tennyson..." Ben glanced at his phone, wondering if he should call Gwen and tell her what had happened, but he quickly decided against it. He just wanted to be alone for right now.