Wonders: Another BenXGwen novel – Chapter 5
A/N: Hey! I’m sorry for not being able to update since –err…the invention of the light bulb? Honestly, college life isn’t easy. Seriously.
Chapter 5: Want, or Need?
“I hate you, Benjamin.”
“I love you too, Gwendolyn.”
“I hate you…” Gwen grumbled, leaning back against the couch as the RV rumbled down the highway.
“Listen, I said I’m sorry. Can we like, not do this?” Ben asked, hands clasped in a mock praying stance.
“I had him, Ben. I had him! Why did you have to knock him out before I did it?” Gwen growled, Ben flinching.
“I was worried about you!” Ben said defensively, carefully controlling his tone. “I didn’t wanna leave it to chance, y’know? Remember the bank heist last week?”
Gwen harrumphed while staring out the window, but her expression fell soon enough. Ben decided to move in for the finishing touch.
He moved swiftly from his seat across hers, breaking that invisible wall that seemed almost impenetrable just a second earlier.
He discreetly held her hand in his, careful to not give Grandpa any hints.
“When you almost got shot by that bank thief, my heart almost died there and then, Gwen. I couldn’t let the same thing happen when we fought Six-Six yesterday,” Ben said soothingly, Gwen pouting just a little.
“Ben, I can handle things by myself. I’m a strong girl,” Gwen said, finally smiling as Ben chuckled.
He gave Gwen a daring peck on the cheek as he wrapped his arm around her, all the while his actions invisible to Grandpa Max, who just honked at a passing motorcycle.
“I know you are, babe. I just love ya too much to see anything bad happen to you,” Ben said with another of his famous cheeky grins.
“Oh? So was that why you always shielded me from attacks during our first summer together?” Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ben didn’t immediately answer. His grin turned into a crooked smile as he tried to suppress the laugh that was dying to come out. “Well….in a way…” he said after awhile, Gwen giggling.
“Then thank you for all you’ve done for these past years, Benjamin Tennyson,” Gwen said, turning his face towards hers, and after stealing a quick glance to Grandpa, she kissed Ben softly on the lips.
“Amazing, isn’t it? A few weeks ago you were still adamant about us not being a couple, but now look you, all kissy with me,” Ben smirked, Gwen turning pink.
“Damn you,” she said, slapping his shoulder as he chuckled.
“I haven’t decided as of yet, Ben. I just…like kissing you, that’s all,” she said, her voice trailing lower and lower. He chuckled at her rather flimsy denial.
“Goodness, Gwen. Just admit that you wanna be my girlfriend already,” he said, still laughing gently. Gwen pursed her lips, avoiding direct eye contact.
“Oh fine then, I wanna be your girl. Happy?” she asked, crossing her arms. Ben felt rather surprised. Gwen was never this submissive over something like this.
“Really? No protests? No hits to any of my appendages?” Ben asked, tilting his head slightly to the left. Gwen almost laughed at Ben’s expression. It reminded her of Ben’s pet dog, as cute as it was.
“No, Ben. You want me? You got me, okay?” she asked, rubbing her nose against his. Ben gave his toothy grin and kissed her forehead before standing up. “I’d like that, Gwen. You’re mine, and I’m yours,” he said.
“That’s a nice way to put it. You’re not so dumb after all,” she said with her cheeky grin in place, Ben huffing.
“I’d be a fool any day of the year for you, Gwen,” he said, winking as she giggled softly. Ben then reached into the fridge to find something edible for tonight. Grandpa had earlier offered to reheat his notorious dung-beetle stew.
“Gwen? Where’s that leftover pizza from yesterday?” Ben asked, pushing aside several containers of choice leftovers both he and Gwen saved for just the right occasions.
“It’s in the white box, next to the 5-week-old yogurt,” Gwen replied, Ben cringing. The yogurt expired weeks ago, but remained in the fridge as an ‘experiment for utter curiosity’. Ben reckoned a monster would grow from it. Gwen figured it would just corrode out of the fridge.
“A First Aid kit box. Very funny, Gwen,” Ben said, taking out the white box with the all-too-familiar red cross on it. Gwen snickered, shrugging as Grandpa Max remained oblivious to the conversation. He was too busy humming to Let It Be.
Ben opened the box to reveal a few slices of pizzas, some fries and a chicken drumstick. “Meh, it’ll have to do,” Ben said, placing the box in front of Gwen.
She took a look at it and closed the lid. “There’s bound to be something else in there, right? Can’t we cook for tonight?” she asked, handing Ben the box.
He shrugged, sitting back next to her. “I’ll think of something. We still have some things left that I can rustle up,” Ben said.
“Rustle up? We’re eating out tonight, Ben,” Grandpa Max said, looking back for a fraction of a second. “We’re in New Orleans, after all. I bet you missed the Cajun-style Salmon, eh?”
Ben’s face lit up visibly as Gwen giggled. “I still remember the crawfish incident 5 years back, Grandpa,” she said before bursting out, laughing with Grandpa Max as Ben scowled.
“No fair. Gwen’s Lucky Girl powers made that happen,” Ben said with a slight tinge of dissatisfaction in his voice.
“Hey, lucky is lucky, dweeb. You gotta live with it,” she said with a slight arrogance to her voice, Ben looking at her reproachfully. She then got up and hugged him, kissing him once on the lips while whispering “Sorry, Ben. Need to lead Gramps off the trail.”
“You owe me tonight, Gwen,” he said, groping her left rear. Gwen squealed as she jumped. “Ben!” she hissed, slapping his shoulder –again.
“Hehe, just kidding, babe,” he said before tossing the white box back into the fridge and shutting it. But he could have sworn that he heard a growl as the box hit the yogurt cup.
*
It was almost near midnight when the 3 of them came back from the town’s festivities. It wasn’t exactly Mardi Gras yet, but they wouldn’t pass that celebration down for anything.
“Listen, kids, I’ve still got some things to do before we all turn in for the night. Think you can hold the fort without me?” Grandpa Max asked while leaning on the open door, both cousins only nodding at him.
“Alright then. Behave you two. No more fights, got that?”
“Right Gramps,” Ben said, turning on the television.
Gwen murmured her reply as she continued to type away on her laptop.
“Meh, they’ll be fine,” Grandpa Max muttered to himself as he closed the door.
And with that fact evident, Ben immediately got up slowly to sit next to Gwen, who only averted her attention for a second.
“What is it, Ben?’ she asked, continuing to type on her laptop.
“What’s all this work ’bout, Gwen?” he asked, looking at the screen. He spotted words like hypothesis, conclusion, thesis and research.
“Homework? You’re doing your homework?” Ben asked, clearly in disbelief.
“Yes Ben, homework. Summer homework,” she said, still typing.
Ben shuddered.
“I know I’ve said this many times, but the words summer and anything to do with work don’t match up. Ever.”
“Maybe not on your world, dweeb, but it does in mine. And that’s the difference between an A-average student and a C-average one,” she said, sticking out her tongue at him.
Ben didn’t like being picked-on when it came to his studies, so he did something he knew Grandpa Max never would’ve approved of.
He crashed his lips hungrily on Gwen’s, his tongue already fighting against hers. Gwen’s eyes went as wide as they could for a nanosecond before she closed them, utterly in bliss.
She happily responded to Ben’s actions, their tongues engaged in a war of passion. It stirred up so much bottled-up tensions –sexual or otherwise.
“Mmf…Ben…” she moaned, trying her best to fight it back. Her better judgment screamed that Grandpa could burst through that door any second now, and she really needed to get back to work.
But her body said otherwise. Grandpa could take all night for all she knew, and she really wanted Ben so bad. Screw homework. She’d get an A anyway.
Ben’s hands travelled on forbidden territory, causing her to groan and squirm to his touch. “Ben…not there…” she whimpered, weakly resisting his advances. She loved it, but she had to know when to draw the line.
“Ben…stop…B-Ben, stop,” she said, dropping her voice dead serious on the last bit, Ben truly stopping as he was halfway squeezing her….assets.
It caused Gwen to let out an involuntary moan –one that left Ben unconsciously licking his lips.
“Ben!” she cried, and he chuckled, letting go of Gwen.
“That’s all you’re getting for tonight, sweetie. Can’t have all the fun over and done with in one night alone, now can’t we?”
“You’re such a damn tease, Benjamin Tennyson…” Gwen growled, huffing back to her work as Ben got off from her side of the sofa.
“Wow…Our folks -or Grandpa for that matter- would’ve never expected you to say that in a million years,” Ben chuckled, Gwen raising her eyebrows at him.
Oh God…how I love those eyes of hers…Ben sighed internally.
“What would we tell them, in the future?”
Now that caught Ben off-guard.
“Eh?”
“We’ll need to tell them someday, wouldn’t we? I mean, we can’t keep this relationship a secret forever, right?”
Ben didn’t want to dabble on that topic because honestly, he didn’t know how to answer her. Would they have to bring this up to their parents next time? Sure, Grandpa may be able to take it, but Mr. and Mrs. Tennyson –both versions- would be a different story altogether.
“I really have no idea Gwen…but…let’s not worry ’bout that now, eh?” Ben asked, getting onto her side of the sofa again after pacing the RV for a few seconds. He crept up to her as Gwen slowly shifted to the side. She wasn’t all that used to Ben’s physical contact yet, though she craved for it so much. Irony was beautiful sometimes.
“Let’s just enjoy what we have right now, and let the future come as it may,” Ben said before grazing his lips against his redhead cousin’s.
It was one of the few innocent kisses they shared, only their lips softly pressed against each other’s. Still, it sent electricity down their spines, smiles up their united lips, hands through each other’s hair.
Gwen always tasted like strawberries, her skin heavenly scented with peach. Ben almost laughed when he remembered back then how he chided how much she smelled like a fruit salad.
Ben would never complain about eating fruit salad ever again, then.
“Ben…I don’t want us to end, ever,” she said weakly, and Ben caught her in a full embrace. It was her warmth, her presence there and then that he wanted. And he knew deep down that this was what she wanted too. The way she hugged him back said it all.
*
Max was beyond sleepy by the time he got back. What was supposed to be an hour or less, shopping for some ingredients he thought he saw to make his long-forgotten Dung-beetle Stew, turned into a 3-hour scavenger hunt for every single last ingredient for –no, not the stew- but even better, Sea Urchin Omelet made from Quail Eggs. He remembered how he used to cook them for Frank, Lily, Carl and Sandra last time and it’d all disappear by the time he came back from the kitchen. However, Carl and Sandra’s dog seemed to have larger portions of leftovers than usual on those days too…
Oh well, coincidences, Max thought as he fumbled for keys to the RV door. Truth be told, the biometric scanners would’ve detected him even if he just touched the handle.
Max brushed that aside too as he got in and placed the ingredients in the counter.
The entire RV was almost shrouded in darkness of the pure pool sky, so he could’ve barely made up the shapes on Ben’s side of the bed.
Sure, Ben was there, as his snoring was unmistakable. However, it was the presence of another figure shifting beside him that caught Max by surprise.
They’re sharing beds? Max thought, rubbing his chin.
Whatever is was, Max was happy that at least they were finally bonding –one way, or another.
——————————–
A/N: There you go. Short, simple. Ugh, I promise I’ll try and make longer chapters next time, yeah?
Chapter 5: Want, or Need?
“I hate you, Benjamin.”
“I love you too, Gwendolyn.”
“I hate you…” Gwen grumbled, leaning back against the couch as the RV rumbled down the highway.
“Listen, I said I’m sorry. Can we like, not do this?” Ben asked, hands clasped in a mock praying stance.
“I had him, Ben. I had him! Why did you have to knock him out before I did it?” Gwen growled, Ben flinching.
“I was worried about you!” Ben said defensively, carefully controlling his tone. “I didn’t wanna leave it to chance, y’know? Remember the bank heist last week?”
Gwen harrumphed while staring out the window, but her expression fell soon enough. Ben decided to move in for the finishing touch.
He moved swiftly from his seat across hers, breaking that invisible wall that seemed almost impenetrable just a second earlier.
He discreetly held her hand in his, careful to not give Grandpa any hints.
“When you almost got shot by that bank thief, my heart almost died there and then, Gwen. I couldn’t let the same thing happen when we fought Six-Six yesterday,” Ben said soothingly, Gwen pouting just a little.
“Ben, I can handle things by myself. I’m a strong girl,” Gwen said, finally smiling as Ben chuckled.
He gave Gwen a daring peck on the cheek as he wrapped his arm around her, all the while his actions invisible to Grandpa Max, who just honked at a passing motorcycle.
“I know you are, babe. I just love ya too much to see anything bad happen to you,” Ben said with another of his famous cheeky grins.
“Oh? So was that why you always shielded me from attacks during our first summer together?” Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ben didn’t immediately answer. His grin turned into a crooked smile as he tried to suppress the laugh that was dying to come out. “Well….in a way…” he said after awhile, Gwen giggling.
“Then thank you for all you’ve done for these past years, Benjamin Tennyson,” Gwen said, turning his face towards hers, and after stealing a quick glance to Grandpa, she kissed Ben softly on the lips.
“Amazing, isn’t it? A few weeks ago you were still adamant about us not being a couple, but now look you, all kissy with me,” Ben smirked, Gwen turning pink.
“Damn you,” she said, slapping his shoulder as he chuckled.
“I haven’t decided as of yet, Ben. I just…like kissing you, that’s all,” she said, her voice trailing lower and lower. He chuckled at her rather flimsy denial.
“Goodness, Gwen. Just admit that you wanna be my girlfriend already,” he said, still laughing gently. Gwen pursed her lips, avoiding direct eye contact.
“Oh fine then, I wanna be your girl. Happy?” she asked, crossing her arms. Ben felt rather surprised. Gwen was never this submissive over something like this.
“Really? No protests? No hits to any of my appendages?” Ben asked, tilting his head slightly to the left. Gwen almost laughed at Ben’s expression. It reminded her of Ben’s pet dog, as cute as it was.
“No, Ben. You want me? You got me, okay?” she asked, rubbing her nose against his. Ben gave his toothy grin and kissed her forehead before standing up. “I’d like that, Gwen. You’re mine, and I’m yours,” he said.
“That’s a nice way to put it. You’re not so dumb after all,” she said with her cheeky grin in place, Ben huffing.
“I’d be a fool any day of the year for you, Gwen,” he said, winking as she giggled softly. Ben then reached into the fridge to find something edible for tonight. Grandpa had earlier offered to reheat his notorious dung-beetle stew.
“Gwen? Where’s that leftover pizza from yesterday?” Ben asked, pushing aside several containers of choice leftovers both he and Gwen saved for just the right occasions.
“It’s in the white box, next to the 5-week-old yogurt,” Gwen replied, Ben cringing. The yogurt expired weeks ago, but remained in the fridge as an ‘experiment for utter curiosity’. Ben reckoned a monster would grow from it. Gwen figured it would just corrode out of the fridge.
“A First Aid kit box. Very funny, Gwen,” Ben said, taking out the white box with the all-too-familiar red cross on it. Gwen snickered, shrugging as Grandpa Max remained oblivious to the conversation. He was too busy humming to Let It Be.
Ben opened the box to reveal a few slices of pizzas, some fries and a chicken drumstick. “Meh, it’ll have to do,” Ben said, placing the box in front of Gwen.
She took a look at it and closed the lid. “There’s bound to be something else in there, right? Can’t we cook for tonight?” she asked, handing Ben the box.
He shrugged, sitting back next to her. “I’ll think of something. We still have some things left that I can rustle up,” Ben said.
“Rustle up? We’re eating out tonight, Ben,” Grandpa Max said, looking back for a fraction of a second. “We’re in New Orleans, after all. I bet you missed the Cajun-style Salmon, eh?”
Ben’s face lit up visibly as Gwen giggled. “I still remember the crawfish incident 5 years back, Grandpa,” she said before bursting out, laughing with Grandpa Max as Ben scowled.
“No fair. Gwen’s Lucky Girl powers made that happen,” Ben said with a slight tinge of dissatisfaction in his voice.
“Hey, lucky is lucky, dweeb. You gotta live with it,” she said with a slight arrogance to her voice, Ben looking at her reproachfully. She then got up and hugged him, kissing him once on the lips while whispering “Sorry, Ben. Need to lead Gramps off the trail.”
“You owe me tonight, Gwen,” he said, groping her left rear. Gwen squealed as she jumped. “Ben!” she hissed, slapping his shoulder –again.
“Hehe, just kidding, babe,” he said before tossing the white box back into the fridge and shutting it. But he could have sworn that he heard a growl as the box hit the yogurt cup.
*
It was almost near midnight when the 3 of them came back from the town’s festivities. It wasn’t exactly Mardi Gras yet, but they wouldn’t pass that celebration down for anything.
“Listen, kids, I’ve still got some things to do before we all turn in for the night. Think you can hold the fort without me?” Grandpa Max asked while leaning on the open door, both cousins only nodding at him.
“Alright then. Behave you two. No more fights, got that?”
“Right Gramps,” Ben said, turning on the television.
Gwen murmured her reply as she continued to type away on her laptop.
“Meh, they’ll be fine,” Grandpa Max muttered to himself as he closed the door.
And with that fact evident, Ben immediately got up slowly to sit next to Gwen, who only averted her attention for a second.
“What is it, Ben?’ she asked, continuing to type on her laptop.
“What’s all this work ’bout, Gwen?” he asked, looking at the screen. He spotted words like hypothesis, conclusion, thesis and research.
“Homework? You’re doing your homework?” Ben asked, clearly in disbelief.
“Yes Ben, homework. Summer homework,” she said, still typing.
Ben shuddered.
“I know I’ve said this many times, but the words summer and anything to do with work don’t match up. Ever.”
“Maybe not on your world, dweeb, but it does in mine. And that’s the difference between an A-average student and a C-average one,” she said, sticking out her tongue at him.
Ben didn’t like being picked-on when it came to his studies, so he did something he knew Grandpa Max never would’ve approved of.
He crashed his lips hungrily on Gwen’s, his tongue already fighting against hers. Gwen’s eyes went as wide as they could for a nanosecond before she closed them, utterly in bliss.
She happily responded to Ben’s actions, their tongues engaged in a war of passion. It stirred up so much bottled-up tensions –sexual or otherwise.
“Mmf…Ben…” she moaned, trying her best to fight it back. Her better judgment screamed that Grandpa could burst through that door any second now, and she really needed to get back to work.
But her body said otherwise. Grandpa could take all night for all she knew, and she really wanted Ben so bad. Screw homework. She’d get an A anyway.
Ben’s hands travelled on forbidden territory, causing her to groan and squirm to his touch. “Ben…not there…” she whimpered, weakly resisting his advances. She loved it, but she had to know when to draw the line.
“Ben…stop…B-Ben, stop,” she said, dropping her voice dead serious on the last bit, Ben truly stopping as he was halfway squeezing her….assets.
It caused Gwen to let out an involuntary moan –one that left Ben unconsciously licking his lips.
“Ben!” she cried, and he chuckled, letting go of Gwen.
“That’s all you’re getting for tonight, sweetie. Can’t have all the fun over and done with in one night alone, now can’t we?”
“You’re such a damn tease, Benjamin Tennyson…” Gwen growled, huffing back to her work as Ben got off from her side of the sofa.
“Wow…Our folks -or Grandpa for that matter- would’ve never expected you to say that in a million years,” Ben chuckled, Gwen raising her eyebrows at him.
Oh God…how I love those eyes of hers…Ben sighed internally.
“What would we tell them, in the future?”
Now that caught Ben off-guard.
“Eh?”
“We’ll need to tell them someday, wouldn’t we? I mean, we can’t keep this relationship a secret forever, right?”
Ben didn’t want to dabble on that topic because honestly, he didn’t know how to answer her. Would they have to bring this up to their parents next time? Sure, Grandpa may be able to take it, but Mr. and Mrs. Tennyson –both versions- would be a different story altogether.
“I really have no idea Gwen…but…let’s not worry ’bout that now, eh?” Ben asked, getting onto her side of the sofa again after pacing the RV for a few seconds. He crept up to her as Gwen slowly shifted to the side. She wasn’t all that used to Ben’s physical contact yet, though she craved for it so much. Irony was beautiful sometimes.
“Let’s just enjoy what we have right now, and let the future come as it may,” Ben said before grazing his lips against his redhead cousin’s.
It was one of the few innocent kisses they shared, only their lips softly pressed against each other’s. Still, it sent electricity down their spines, smiles up their united lips, hands through each other’s hair.
Gwen always tasted like strawberries, her skin heavenly scented with peach. Ben almost laughed when he remembered back then how he chided how much she smelled like a fruit salad.
Ben would never complain about eating fruit salad ever again, then.
“Ben…I don’t want us to end, ever,” she said weakly, and Ben caught her in a full embrace. It was her warmth, her presence there and then that he wanted. And he knew deep down that this was what she wanted too. The way she hugged him back said it all.
*
Max was beyond sleepy by the time he got back. What was supposed to be an hour or less, shopping for some ingredients he thought he saw to make his long-forgotten Dung-beetle Stew, turned into a 3-hour scavenger hunt for every single last ingredient for –no, not the stew- but even better, Sea Urchin Omelet made from Quail Eggs. He remembered how he used to cook them for Frank, Lily, Carl and Sandra last time and it’d all disappear by the time he came back from the kitchen. However, Carl and Sandra’s dog seemed to have larger portions of leftovers than usual on those days too…
Oh well, coincidences, Max thought as he fumbled for keys to the RV door. Truth be told, the biometric scanners would’ve detected him even if he just touched the handle.
Max brushed that aside too as he got in and placed the ingredients in the counter.
The entire RV was almost shrouded in darkness of the pure pool sky, so he could’ve barely made up the shapes on Ben’s side of the bed.
Sure, Ben was there, as his snoring was unmistakable. However, it was the presence of another figure shifting beside him that caught Max by surprise.
They’re sharing beds? Max thought, rubbing his chin.
Whatever is was, Max was happy that at least they were finally bonding –one way, or another.
——————————–
A/N: There you go. Short, simple. Ugh, I promise I’ll try and make longer chapters next time, yeah?