Lilana

“Good morning, Mr. Qi!” the doctor chirps cheerfully, reading something off his clipboard before looking up at his patient with a courteous smile. When Dr. Grayson glances at you though, his whole face goes slack, ears bloom a bright red, and composure becomes that of a teenage boy laying his eyes on the prettiest girl in school. 

"Why h-hello there, Miss…?" 

"Y/n!" you greet cheerfully, standing up and reaching a hand out. The doctor timidly takes it in his own clammy one, eyes never straying from yours for a second. 

"I d-didn't realize Rafayel here is, uh, married," Dr. Grayson chuckles breathlessly as he retracts his hand and rubs his sweaty palm against the side of his lab coat. 

"Oh, he's not! I'm acting as his, um, translator, for today." You give the physician a sheepish smile, completely misinterpreting the man's inquiry about your relationship status as a question over the reason you're here instead. To your unassuming relief, the doctor offers you a wide grin in return. 

"That's excellent news to hear! Very excellent." 

You beam at him before seating yourself, unaware of Rafayel dangerously narrowing his eyes at the other man in the room. 

"So, Y/n," Dr. Grayson flashes you another dimpled smile, "what brings you both in this morning?" 

You and Rafayel exchange a look. Don’t tell him, his face deadpans. But I have to, he’s the doctor! you respond with incredulous one. 

Rafayel whirls away from you again, ears blushing pink, but not before landing a piercing glare at a nonplussed Dr. Grayson. You pinch your nose bridge and sigh, taking that as the fish's acquiescence to share. 

“Raf here has a…hobby where he likes to, uh, gather large groups of seagulls and teach them songs, kind of like a choir. He’s been really going at it this week to prep them for a performance at his next art exhibition, but um,” you awkwardly chuckle, “obviously the birds can’t sing actual lyrics so, uh, Rafayel has to…squawk them.” 

“Squawk them?” Dr. Grayson repeats, utterly perplexed. 

“Yeah, like, make bird sounds but to the rhythm of the song! He was teaching them a Mariah Carey one, but they were having issues hitting the high notes. Rafayel kept redoing the sound for them over and over and over again until he, uh, I guess damaged his voice box.” 

Dr. Grayson slowly nods his head. “...Right. Well, let me take a closer look and try to see what's going on with our dearest songbird.” 

The joke earns him a soft chuckle from you and the doctor elates as if it's music to his ears. The sound—which should be just reserved for his mediocre puns—only makes Rafayel brood further like he's about to unleash a storm. 

After your boyfriend begrudgingly situates himself on the paper-covered table—you scowl at him when he takes his sweet ass time just to walk three steps forward—, Dr. Grayson begins his physical examination, still making idle chit-chat with you in between each maneuver. Rafayel just about blew a lid at the third laugh his newest archenemy pulls out of you when an idea dawns on him. This will teach the inferior quack human for ever flirting with MY cutie. He couldn't help but smirk. 

“Okay Rafayel, now open wide and say ahhhh!” The doctor gingerly pushes the tongue depressor into his mouth.

“Auhh..hh…hahh, ackk, ackk!” Rafayel starts coughing and wheezing dramatically, eyes watering and face turning tomato red in his efforts, before retching out the meanest loogie ever to grace god's green earth—or Dr. Grayson's face for that matter. 

The scene after unfolds like something straight out of a slow motion film. 

Glasses now completely covered in a wad of spit and phlegm, Dr. Grayson viscerally jerks his head back, the backwards motion so violent that the once slightly bent forward doctor loses his balance, ass hitting the floor with a loud thud. You gasp in horror as the small tray table of tools that was next to him also clatters to the ground, the metal pings sounding far beyond the four walls of insanity that currently box you in. Meanwhile, Rafayel begins having a legitimate coughing fit, his little act of revenge irritating his already damaged vocal cords to no end. 

Yvonne, the nurse who had first greeted you upon entering Akso Hospital, comes bursting in through the door, the images before her just as puzzling as the sounds she had heard from down the hall. 

Another person enters the room behind her, a green-eyed doctor you immediately recognize to your embarrassment. 

"You two again," he says dismally before helping his splayed out colleague up to his feet. Dr. Grayson's slimy glasses now lay askew on his face, cheeks flushed and mouth agape. You mumble out a feeble "are you okay?" but you're not sure if Rafayel's doctor even registers you speaking to him, too shellshocked to notice and, quite frankly, too scared to look at you again while his patient is just a foot away. The two physicians quickly exit the room, but not before Dr. Li shoots your still croaking boyfriend a very pointed look. 

Yvonne takes over, handing Rafayel a water bottle and honey stick from the staff lounge to help sooth his throat before relaying Dr. Grayson's advice on the matter once he recollected himself in his office. Five minutes later, you and Rafayel are told you're free to go, as well as notified to find a new healthcare practitioner for all future visits. Safe to say, you've never walked faster out of a building. 

𓇼𓇼𓇼

"You little shit, you did that on purpose, didn't you!" You immediately pounce on Rafayel like he's a fish in a barrel—or inside the privacy of your Toyota Camry—once he shuts the passenger door. 

“God, we can never step foot in that damn hospital again! First the paintbrush incident and now this!” You stuff your face in your hands, the embarrassment so demoralizing you want to crawl into a hole. 

He grimaces at your tone, water bottle still weakly clutched in his palm and a frown pursing his lips. Raf tries to grab your hand but you slap away the attempt. 

"No! You're on timeout!" 

You scoff at him starting to pout, those stupidly beautiful pinkish blue eyes rounding innocently. 

"Oh, don't even try that. Now, why the hell," your voice drops a degree lower before rising again, "did you ever think it was a good idea to spit at your damn doctor?! The guy tells a couple of jokes and you what, resort to shutting him up toddler style?" 

Rafayel's face flushes and he looks away from you, his eyebrows creased and mouth down turned. There's something off about his expression. You squint, leaning in closer. Is that…resentment? 

Then, it hits you. 

A loud gasp escapes your mouth. "You were jealous!" You can't help the devilish grin that breaks out across your face, shock and unbridled amusement temporarily overpowering your will to be angry. 

Your boyfriend only slouches into the seat more, face aflame and his signature side eye trying to cover up the fact that he's been figured out. Your finger jabs into his side and he flinches hard at the intrusion.

"You're a lunatic, you know that right? A sick," you tickle his waist, "twisted," then both sides simultaneously, "individual," your fingers now freely roam across his body, targeting every and any spot that you know is sensitive. Rafayel squirms and jerks around, a bright smile framing his face and eyes tearing up from overstimulation. He lets out a small laugh, voice gravelly, and at last grabs both of your hands with his. You giggle, both of you grinning at each other now, the earlier fiasco momentarily forgotten. 

That is, until reality rears it's ugly head back in between you two. 

As if on cue, you finally notice your phone light up in your lap, the latest notification from a long string of missed calls and texts popping up on your screen. You tug a hand free to scroll through them.

missed called from Thomas -8:40am Thomas: Hey Y/n, please tell Rafayel to pick up his phone. -8:43am Thomas: Are you with him? I think he's dodging my calls. -8:46am  missed call from Thomas -8:48am  missed call from Thomas -8:50am  Thomas: Y/n why does his latest location say Akso Hospital? Did something happen? Call me! -8:51am missed call from Thomas -8:53am missed call from Thomas -8:54am Thomas: What the hell is going on? Call ASAP! -8:56am missed call from Thomas -8:58am missed call from Thomas -8:59am Thomas has shared a location pin with you  Thomas: I'm getting worried. I need him over here at ArtForm Studios in thirty minutes! Where's my artist?? -9:00am

"Rafayel, why is your agent spamming me to find you? And what is this ArtForm Studios thing about?"

You turn your phone over to your boyfriend in complete bewilderment, only becoming more concerned when you watch his face blanch white. He makes eye contact with you again, his look having oh shit written all over it. 

𓇼𓇼𓇼

“Fucking pardon?!” 

You wince and jerk the phone away from your ear at Thomas’ outburst, putting the call on speaker instead so Rafayel can also hear the conversation.  

“Y/n, what do you mean he ‘lost his voice and can’t do the interview’?” 

“Um,” you gulp and glance at your boyfriend who only huffs in response, “well, we just got done with the doctor's and they told us he needs vocal rest for at least two weeks. I mean, he can barely string together a sentence without sounding like a damn toad!" Rafayel glowers in the seat next to you, but even he had to admit to himself that was an accurate description. 

“Seriously Thomas, there’s no way he’ll be able to talk and answer questions for over an hour. Do you think you can convince them to reschedule?” 

The line goes eerily quiet and for a split second you think your boyfriend has finally succeeded in giving his agent a heart attack. Then, you hear an exasperated sigh that makes your shoulders drop in relief. 

“...yes. I’ll talk with the magazine and see what I can do, but tell Rafayel that it’s not a good look to cancel the day of with one of the biggest art critic conglomerates in the country, especially when we—and when I say we I mean I—planned for this half a year in advance!" 

Rafayel only makes a face and blabbing gesture with his hand. You point your finger at him in warning and he raises his palms in mock surrender. 

“I’ll, uh, pass on the message. Thanks, Thomas.” You two exchange a quick goodbye before you hang up the call. 

You run a hand down your face and turn your attention back to the fish. 

"You're really pulling out all the stops today, aren't you?"

𓇼𓇼𓇼𓇼𓇼

Despite Rafayel taking a forced hiatus from speaking, he only continued to piss you off. For someone who literally cannot use his words, it was honestly impressive how tempting the urge to throttle him became.

The first straw was pulled later that morning when you both got back to his studio and you decided to take a short nap. 

WHACK! “Urmmm,” you groan, barely registering something hitting you as you drift back asleep. “Five more minutes.”  WHACK! “Ugh, what–” WHACK! Rafayel hits you with his pillow again, this time square in the face. Any sleepiness you had is quickly replaced with confused anger. “The fuck, Raf!” You’re fully awake now and jolting up to snatch the pillow from his grasp. You glare at your boyfriend who kneels beside you on the bed, your phone alarm sounding off a second later.  He points at the vibrating device with a self-satisfied grin, taking "hey, wake me up if my alarm doesn't go off," too seriously and, somehow, completely wrong.  He immediately regrets ever waking you though when you chase him out of the room, the tuft cushion locked and loaded in your hands.

The second incident happens that afternoon when he downloads a sketchy 'Learn Sign Language in 10 Days' manual from a website you've never heard of before. 

"TripleLango? That's not even a word."  You hand Rafayel his hot tea, the perfect combination of steam and hydration to help soothe his larynx, a suggestion Yvonne gave before professionally shooing you away. He takes the offering with a small smile before placing it on the side table and refocusing on the flashcards feature he was toying with.  Before you can walk off, he quickly grabs your wrist and makes a gesture with his other one: an inward curve of his right hand that starts at the junction of his collarbone, slides up along his throat, and flattens out towards you once his fingers fling past his chin. Fuck you, it means. He beams triumphantly.  You scoff at him, grab the mug, and storm off, leaving a very confused Rafayel to figure out hours later that what he really said was the exact opposite of gratitude. He gave up on learning ASL altogether after that.

The final tally on the he's fish bait score sheet was added in the evening when you two decided to play a friendly game of charades. 

"You cheater! How the fuck is that supposed to be a flying chicken?!" You bend your arms and start flapping them erratically. "This is what it should look like." Rafayel profusely shakes his head before redoing his previous movements, drawing in his arms until his fluttering hands protrude from his sides. You continue criticizing him while his face turns beet red from exertion, neither of you ceasing your animal mimicry even when an unwitting Thomas enters the living space. "Hey guys, the door was unlocked and I just wanted to bring by a care pack—" The agent doesn't finish his sentence, silently cursing his wife for ever telling him to 'do something nice for once.' You and Rafayel both freeze in place, eyes wide, chests heaving, and arms crooked awkwardly. "Oh, hello Thomas," you say out of breath, immediately dropping your arms to your sides. "Is that," you clear your throat, "um, for us?"  "…it is."  He carefully places the basket of goodies onto the nearby coffee table, then slowly backs away. "I'm just going to…yeah." Thomas jerks his thumb behind him before turning and briskly making a break for the entrance. Right as he steps out of the doorway, the man glances over his shoulder to make one last comment.  "And Y/n, nice turkey impression, by the way. You may want to stick to your day job, though."  Mortified, you just stand there, jaw dropped to the floor as you watch the door shut behind him. A choked chortle sounds from your right and your head snaps over to see a bent forward Rafayel wheezily laughing his ass off.  You grit your teeth, rage and embarrassment coursing through you. Without hesitation, you snatch the basket and march off to your shared bedroom, slamming the door shut and locking it for extra measure. Rafayel doesn't find it funny anymore when he ends up sleeping on the couch that night. 

The next morning, you wake up with chocolate spread smeared on your lips and a box of those fancy sugar cookies still clutched in your palm, some of the basket's confetti paper sticking to the bottom. You have a nasty habit of eating out your feelings, especially when you get upset over something—and, in this case, a multitude of things—your boyfriend does that sends you over the edge. Yet, despite your lingering annoyance with him, you can't help but feel guilty over your latest outburst. 

You quickly wash up, change clothes, and head for the other end of the room, determined to make things right between you two. But just as your hand goes to grab the doorknob, you see a neatly written piece of paper lying under the door. You pick it up and read aloud: 

𝒞𝓊𝓉𝒾ℯ,  𝐼 𝓀𝓃ℴ𝓌 𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝓋ℯ𝓃'𝓉 𝒷ℯℯ𝓃 ℯ𝒶𝓈𝓎 𝓉ℴ 𝒹ℯ𝒶𝓁 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓁𝒶𝓉ℯ𝓁𝓎, ℴ𝓇 𝓅𝓇ℴ𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓁𝓎 ℯ𝓋ℯ𝓇 𝓉ℴ 𝒷ℯ 𝒽ℴ𝓃ℯ𝓈𝓉, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼'𝓂 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓈ℴ𝓇𝓇𝓎 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝓈ℴ 𝓊𝓅𝓈ℯ𝓉. 𝐼 𝒽ℴ𝓅ℯ 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝑔ℴ𝓉 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓈𝓅𝒶𝒸ℯ 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝓃ℯℯ𝒹ℯ𝒹 𝓁𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓇ℯ 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝓉ℴ 𝒻𝒶𝒸ℯ 𝓂ℯ 𝒶𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓃. 𝒲𝒽ℯ𝓃 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈, 𝒸ℴ𝓂ℯ ℴ𝓊𝓉𝓈𝒾𝒹ℯ 𝓉ℴ ℴ𝓊𝓇 𝒻𝒶𝓋ℴ𝓇𝒾𝓉ℯ 𝓈𝓅ℴ𝓉 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝒷ℯ𝒶𝒸𝒽. 𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝓋ℯ 𝒶 𝓈𝓊𝓇𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓈ℯ 𝓌𝒶𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓎ℴ𝓊.  ℒℴ𝓋ℯ,  ℛ𝒶𝒻𝒶𝓎ℯ𝓁 

You bite back a grin, clutching the letter close to your heart before bursting out the door. 

𓇼𓇼𓇼

It takes a few minutes to reach the spot he was referring to—a tucked away corner about half a mile down the shoreline from Rafayel's studio. When you finally get there, passing through one last rock formation, you let out a soft gasp.

Before you stands Rafayel in a navy suit and tie, a bouquet of lilies in his hand and picnic blanket spread out next to him with your favorite assortment of breakfast pastries, desserts, and other finger foods artfully splayed out on a large charcuterie board. 

You offer him the brightest smile. "Oh, fish stick, this is beautiful!" 

He takes your hand in his as you step forward, his lips brushing your knuckles and eyes gleaming up at you with adoration. You're guided over to sit down at the picnic display, to where you immediately grab a tiny fruit tart that you've been eyeing since your arrival. 

You groan in contentment from the mouthful of custard swimming across your taste buds, the temporary distraction giving Rafayel time to send out a hand signal to an awaiting flock of gulls perched upon some distant boulders. 

They fly forward in a flurry before landing atop the surrounding rocks, forming a near perfect arch with how they line up. You can't help but ogle in awe.

Rafayel places the lilies in a vase in front of you before whipping out the conductor's stick that was hidden behind his back. He grins at you before taking his position in front of the choir, waving his stick in the air as the birds begin to sing—er, squawk—My Girl by The Temptations. 

Besides a few pitchier screeches from some seagulls in the back, the performance was nothing short of perfection. You give them a standing ovation once they finish and rush forward to give your boyfriend the biggest hug. The sheer force of it knocks the breath out of him, but he squeezes you back with the same vigor. 

"Thank you, Rafayel. I loved it so much," you lean back slightly to look him in the eye, "and I love you even more." 

It's his turn to beam at you now, those words true music to his ears. 

ginny's note: special shoutout to the lovely @lunarify and @irandial for helping me with some of the ideas :3 i kinda ran out of steam at the end, so sorry if it's a little rushed @uzmacchiato for the divider

───│↬𝐁𝐄𝐍 𝐋𝐄𝐓'𝐒 out a sigh of relief after a long day at work. Finally finishing his work, he puts his hand above a sensor at the door of his home. The sensor scanned his palm before lighting up green and opening the door for the hero.

The man goes in, he kneels down to take off his shoes, a practice of habit that sticks to him as the years go by. He puts his shoes on the rack before stepping onto the wooden floor.

He then heard the tv playing making him walk towards the living room. As he reached, he saw a woman sitting down on the couch as she folded clothes on her lap while listening to the news at the tv. Ben walked towards her, making the woman look up.

"You're early." The hero bends down to plant a kiss on her forehead, "Got off work early, wanted to spend time with you and smart pea. What about you? You're early too." The woman—who we know as Eva hums, "I decided to get off work early too. We've been busy because of work. I wanted to spend time with my spouse and son."

Ben then sat beside Eva as he let his gaze settle on the tv in front of them while the ravenette continued to fold the clothes. " Speaking of our son, where is Ken anyways?" He asked, not looking away from the electronic devices. "I suppose he's with Devin. The two will be home soon, we'll just wait."

"How long since we took Devin in?"

"5 or 6 months."

(A/N: Ben and Eva had adopted or taken Devin in, Kevin's son. Ever since the fight, Kevin was locked up in confinement while Gwen traveled around to find an antidote. Since both parents are absent and Devin being a minor, the two decided to take care of him.)

Eva stopped folding as she began to think, "Do you think it's okay to hand Ken the Chrono Spanner suit? He's been using it a lot lately." The hero looked at his wife before gently putting his hand on her back, "Ken knows how to take care of himself. I trust him he'll know what to do. Besides he's like he's awesome dad, he takes it from me."

The woman playfully rolled her eyes, as she watched as her husband took some of the clothes and folded them, "You're so full of yourself, peabrain." The other laughs, "Right back at you, smart girl."

The two then heard the door opening and turned their heads, "私たちは帰ってきた!" A voice said, a pair of feet can be heard marching towards the room that the couples are in. A head pops out from the hallway, "Mama, papa. You two are early."

Ken bounces towards his parents, jumping towards them and embracing them as he wraps his hands around their necks. Ben patted his back, "Yep we are." The boy unwrapped his hand off his father and hugged his mother.

Someone also came in, "Hey there, Devin." Ben greets as the Levin boy walks towards the family, letting the Omnitrix user put his hand on his head and ruffling his hair, "Hello there, Devin." Eva greets as the boy walks towards her as she pats his head.

Kevin had considered his cousin and best friend's family as his own, since his parents are busy on their own way. Despite being their nephew, he was treated as their son, so he was grateful for his aunt and uncle to look after him, when his parents can't.

"You three go freshen up while I go set the table up."

"Sure, love." "Okay, mom." "We'll do, auntie."

The family of four had eaten dinner and talked about their day earning some laughs, after that they had cleaned the table, before they all retired to their room.

"Hey Devin, I suddenly have the urge to use the suit." Ken exclaimed as he stared at the ceiling, the two were at Devin's room, as the Tennyson boy wanted to sleep in the same room as him as sleep over. "Go back to sleep, Ken." The Levin kid grumbles, the ocean eyes boy day up from his futon and looks at the bed beside him, "I still have the urge to do so."

"Just do what you do, I wanna sleep." The other said before drifting off to sleep. Ken at his cousin for a few seconds before scrambling to his feet towards his room. He quietly closed his door before walking towards his closet and opening it. He took the Spanner suit out and carefully put it in.

"Okay let's do this." With that he disappeared.

Meanwhile in another universe, "Mom would never let me wear the spanner suit!" Ken yelled out as he lays on the couch, his sister sitting beside him, busy with her phone, "Maybe because the last time you wore it, you almost ruined the past."

He glared at Glen before letting out a loud whine, "It's so boring I wish there was something exciting happening!" Glen rolled her eyes, "You just wish—"

"Ack!"

The two siblings jumped and looked over where the voice came from. The two see a mysterious person wearing the spanner suit similar to ken's, the only difference is this spanner had an ocean colored theme,rather than the typical green one.

The mysterious person rubbed his head before looking up to see kids his age looking at him in shock and silence, "Hi?" before the girl shouts horrified, "Mom! Dad! There's a stranger in our living room!" The guy looks alarmed and hurriedly stands up and waves his hand around, "Wait I'm not gonna hurt you!"

"Hey get away from my sister!" Ken shouts as he slams his hand on his Omnitrix, transforming into diamondhead. A crystal blade formed in his hand before pointing it at the stranger who remained standing and not moving.

Rushed footsteps came in, then two adults showed up, "What's going on!" The woman who had similar hair color with the man and children and had purple eyes shouted looking towards the commotion. "Who are you!" Ben who entered the same with the woman shouts as he grabs Glen and hides her behind him.

"I swear I didn't want to hurt anyone! I just came in an accident!" The mysterious boy said as he raised both his arms up in surrender. "How do we know you're not lying?" Ken said as he pushed the crystal blade while the other backed away.

"Ken, let him explain." The purple eyes boy looks at his mother and at the guy before hesitantly lowering the blade and transforms back.

"Now start talking."

"So let me get this straight." Ben rubbed his head as he sat on the couch with his family while the spanner guy sat on a different chair. "You're from another world? You accidentally teleported here cause you weren't aware in which universe you will go." The boy nods.

"Ben, I know that the multiverse exists, but I'm still worried." Jen exclaimed as she glanced towards the stranger who was sitting awkwardly, with his hands on his lap. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"

"Well I am a variant of one of your children." The mysterious person answered, the parents perked up and looked at their kids, "Which one?" Spanner looked at Ken and pointed at him. "Wait does that mean you're also Ken?" Glen exclaimed, making him nod while Ken looked shocked.

The family looked at each other and back at the boy, "Prove it." He flinched and sweated, "Ah right." Slowly he puts his hand on his helmet as the Tennysons leaned closer and anticipated, as he lifts up the mask, they are all shocked to see a copy paste of Ken, same face but different.

"Ken?" Jen speaks out, as the other Ken looked nervous, "Yeah I'm also Ken. But you can call me Yves so you won't confuse us." The two adults snap out of their shock, Ben said first, "Does that mean you're our son then?" Yves shakes his head, "Only your son."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, I am ken yes, but y'know a different universe so my origin would be different. I'm only Ben Tennyson's son and also an only child." Glen blinks and squints her eyes, "Wait do you mean I don't exist in your world?" The other Ken nods, while her brother Snickers makes her give him a stink eye.

"Wait what did you mean by only Ben's son?" The female Omnitrix wielder asks, "I meant that I have a different mother. To be honest Miss Tennyson I never met you." They all understood what he meant, Yves' turn to ask, "What's your full name? Since I wanna know the people in this dimension."

"Well my name is Jenny Jane Tennyson." The purple eyes woman said, "And I'm the wielder of the second Omnitrix." The other looked at him surprised, "A second Omnitrix exists in this universe? How awesome is that!" He awed, Jen smiled seeing the boy smile as he really looked like her son.

"What about you guys?"

"Glenda Tennyson."

"Kenny Tennyson."

"You don't need to know mine since you already know." Ben said as he smiled smugly as he leaned back on the couch, Yves smiled at him innocently, "I know, Mr. Benjamin Kirby Tennyson." The others laughed at the hero's expression who deadpans at the smiling boy.

"He seems to be the better version of you." The brunette girl whispered to her brother who side eyes her, while she smirks at him tauntly, "Shut up."

"Oh, so we have different full names." The ocean theme kid said making the purple eyed boy look at him confused, "What do you mean? Kenny isn't your full name?" Yves shook his head, "Nope, my full name is Kenjiro Yves Tennyson, mostly people call me Ken."

They all sweatdrop at his name, "Wow your name sounds fancy and japanese?" Glen exclaimed, "Well my mom is japanese so yeah."

Suddenly Jen sits up making them look at her, "Seems like we have nothing to worry about. We'll go back to work, you kids stay here and look after Yves, okay?" She said looking at her two kids, "We will mom." The two answered simultaneously, "You kids have fun." The two adults excited the room, leaving the three teens behind.

The two then turned their attention at the other, "Y'know I'm kinda curious what your mom looks like." The girl said, Yves then grabbed his phone and opened it before showing his lock screen at the two who leaned forward.

The lock screen consists of three people, the kid in the middle obviously Ken, Ben on their right and a black haired woman at his left, their background was Disney land. It seems like the photo was just recent.

"Woah, that's your mom? She's really pretty." Glen praised as she studies the woman, "Thanks! Your mom is also pretty, I bet she's a kind person." The girl nods back agreeing. "I have a question, you're able to use the spanner suit. Won't your parents get mad?" Ken questioned as he looked at his other self with a raised eyebrow.

"They won't. They trust me to use it. As long as I am responsible enough to use it properly and not cause trouble, they'll be fine."

Ken pouts and furrows his brows, "That's not fair. Mom would kill me if I even used the suit." Yves smiled softly at his other self, "Maybe she's worried. That's our moms sometimes. Although my mom does get worried when I do somethings, she won't stop me unless it's serious. Your mom is a kind and strong woman, she just really loves you guys."

Ken blushed a bit embarrassed, "Thanks about that." Glen loudly sighs making the two ken look at her, "I wish you were my brother instead." She pointed at Yves, meanwhile the purple eyes boy glared at her, "Hey!"

Hours passed as the three all talked about their lives and universe while laughing along the way. Jenny comes home after her work, she went to the living room to check up on the teens, only to see them happily chatting, she crossed her arms and leaned on the doorway, watching them.

Glen and Ken would sometimes bicker during the conversation while Yves would be the composed and calm one to stop them from going further. Jen felt arms wrapped around her waist and a kiss on the side of her head, making her look back to see her husband.

"The kids are having fun." He comments as they both watch them. "I've been thinking, there's other worlds that we're not together." The woman trailed off but was cut off, "Even if we're not together in others, we're together here. That's what matters." Jen smiled at her husband.

"I'm also wondering who is Yves mom, cause I'm surprised that he's really behaved. I mean I can see he got some of your personality but is more mature and tamed, far from who you were when you were their age." The female alien hero laughs while the other hero pinches her, who yelps and slaps his hand.

"Anyways, kids! Dinner is ready!"

"Come on, Yves!"

"Thanks for the food, Mrs. Tennyson. That was very delicious." The ocean eyed boy bowed, while Jen waved him off, " I'm glad that you liked it." The boy walked towards the sink, making the woman raise an eyebrow, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm helping with the dishes." He answered, "You don't need to do that." She said, but he shook his head, "I insist." Jen sighed, "Fine and thank you. Also it's already past 7, won't your parents get worried?"

Yves looks surprised and looks at the clock hanging from the wall, "I never realized. I think they would."

"Mom!" Jen and Yves run towards the living room, they both stopped when a portal appeared making the family alarmed. Yves squints his eyes seeing two familiar silhouette from the portal.

Then two figures comes out the portal, another version of Ben Tennyson, accompanied by a woman who had black raven hair and blue eyes. "Ken? Are you there?" The woman called out, making Yves run towards them and jump to envelop them into a hug. "Mom! Dad! How'd you guys know I was here?"

"Well, when we woke up, we noticed you weren't in your room or Devin's, so we asked him, he said you use your spanner suit. At first we let you off since we'll know you'll handle yourself, but your mom got worried when we noticed you didn't come back after dinner. Which she tracks your location. So here we are."

Kenjiro laughs and looked at his mom who looked embarrassed and she coughs, "Your peabrain of a father wouldn't let me check on you. I was worried." She kneeled in front of him, putting her hand on his cheek while he leaned on his mother's touch.

The two parents faced the other parents, "Thanks for looking after our son, we owe you." Inv!Ben said, while Eva bowed her head, "Yes, in exchange for looking after our son, you can contact us anytime." Jen walked towards them along with her family, " It's not a problem, he's a nice kid to be around with." She ruffles Yves' hair who smiles at her.

"My name's Jen." The second wielder lifts up her hand, "Eva, pleasure to meet you." The inventor accepts her hand.

The ravenette looks down to see Ken and Glen and waves at them, as they wave back at her. "It seems like you guys have to go." TSW!Ben said, " Yep we do." Hsi other self answered.

"We'll see each other soon, Ken and Glen!" Kenjiro said as he waves at them."Come back and visit us sometimes!" Glen yells, "I will." The portal then slowly closes as both families waves at each other, before the portal disappears.

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

"I don't get it!" Marinette loudly groaned, her head slamming down on her desk as Alya sighed from her seat on Marinette's bed. "I've been trying hard to win his heart, and she manages to have it that easily?"

"All fair in love and war," Alya reasoned, "It sucks, but you can't come between two people who like each other. You have to think about Adrien's feelings you know? I talked to Nino about it, he seems head over heels in love."

"And this new Ladybug!" Marinette looked at the news, Nadia talking about another victorious win from our famous heroine, Ladybug.

"As great as the old Ladybug was, I think this new one is doing a pretty good job too." Alya hummed, looking through her blog. "Next time I see her I wanna get some questions. Like why did she have to step in for the old Ladybug?"

Marinette knew why she had to give up her miraculous. It didn't mean she was happy about it. Especially seeing how Chat Noir seems just as, if not more, smitten about his new Ladybug. Almost like she was never in his life to start with. She couldn't be selfish, she was getting too emotional and it caused her to get akumatized too frequently. She was risking her miraculous falling into Hawkmoth's hands.

But ever since she did give it up, and this new Ladybug came along. It was as if everything was taken from her. Tikki, Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste.

"I have to go," Alya suddenly announced after getting a text, "Mom called family emergency. See you tomorrow!" She rushed out.

"Bye. . ." Marinette tiredly mumbled, heaving herself up. She couldn't just lay around. She needed some air before all this negativity starts to suffocate. She stepped out on her balcony, taking in the scenery of Paris. Watching pedestrians walk by going on with their life as if this new Ladybug was always their heroine. Heck, even her statue got remodeled to fit this new girl.

Paris didn't need Marinette Dupen Cheng as their hero. And apparently, Adrien didn't need her either. Speak of the devil. She noticed the pretty celebrity Y/n L/n walking with her arm around Adrien's, appearing to have been going by her parent's bakery for some treats.

They looked so happy together. Adrien looked so happy, with her. She felt her stomach start getting twisted as the bitter feeling of jealousy started settling in. Why couldn't it be me? Why was she great? She because she had a bit of fame? What was so special about Y/n? . . . I really need you, Tikki.

Droplets fell on her hand as Marinette snapped out her thoughts before she realized that it wasn't raining. She continued watching the couple, Adrien leaning down to whisper something into her ear and she laughed in response, shoving him lightly as they turned the corner, out of sight.

Marinette stepped back leaning on the wall and sliding down as she couldn't hold in the tears from her heavy broken heart she wished she did things differently. Wished she was a better Ladybug. Wish she didn't stutter so much. Wish she didn't push him away. She wished she didn't waste her chance at love.

____

The next day, Marinette decided to take a walk out to avoid worrying her parents about her locking herself in for most of her days.

"Marinette?" Luka waved, "Nice to run into you, are you doing okay?"

"Luka? Oh, yeah." Marinette gave an empty laugh. "Absolutely perfect. Not completely ruined or anything."

"Well, we're close to a really delicious ice cream stand, do you maybe, want to get some, with me?"

Marinette weighed her options. She really did like Luka. He was a great guy. But she didn't want to burden him.

"Or not, that's okay."

"No, no! I'd. . . I'd love some ice cream." Marinette didn't know what came over her. What was she doing? Whatever it was, she just couldn't stand seeing him disappointed.

"You don't have to force yourself, I can handle rejection."

"No! I want to get ice cream, As a matter of fact, I was gonna get some but it's better with you!" Marinette lied.