You're so pure, he says, does he know I'm forsaken

“humans are weird,” he lands until he’s sitting across from you. “you say that like strong legs are some kind of tragedy.”

crossing your arms, you avoid his gaze. “they’re not elegant.”

“elegant?” hanako repeats like the word itself is ridiculous. his hands pet your ankles lightly as to prove a point. “you run around the school chasing supernaturals with me, don’t you? these legs seem pretty useful for that. the amount of times i’ve saved myself from running after a spirit is unbelievable.”

“you don’t even run, amane.”

he simply shrugs and grins. “if you were delicate, you’d probably trip over a ghost and die. this way you can at least kick it.”

“and besides,” he adds, finger trailing up your shin and settling on your knee. “i wouldn’t mind having them wrapped around my hea—”

“AMANE YUGI.”

“...understood.”

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“i wish my legs were thinner,” you mutter. “they’re just… unpleasant.”

you currently sat on the rooftop’s bench of kamome academy, staring down at the lunch resting untouched on your lap. you didn’t feel as hungry anymore once the bad thoughts started poisoning your mind.

as much as you wanted to push them away, it was like they had taken root and refused to stop sprouting—until it was literally messing with your health overall. however, you didn’t expect for kou to have heard from nearby, as he was approaching you with two juice boxes in each hand.

and you only realize, when you hear him nearly choke on the drink he’s holding after taking a sip. “huh?!” he exclaims loudly, staring at you in raw disbelief. “those are called muscles!”

you grimace. “they look stubby.”

“stubby?” kou jumps forward and points at your legs. “do you know how useful strong legs are? running from spirits, jumping over stuff, kicking things—”

“kicking things?”

“yeah!” he says immediately, all confident for a second when he realizes how upright he’s sounding and takes a step back, ears already turning the shade of strawberries. “uh..like evil ghosts! or… uh…rocks..” his tone turns into a mumble at the end, aware of how he was acting.

it’s adorable. already making you laugh at his flushed earnestness.

kou scratches the back of his head, sheepish but still determined. “look, i’m just saying… strong doesn’t mean bad. it means you could probably outrun me too.”

raising a brow, you reply with an,“that’s not true.”

he squints at your legs again despite the blush adorning his cheeks. “okay but it might be.”

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you mention it offhandedly while walking through the hallway with your boyfriend, akane aoi. he had offered to carry your textbooks and walk you to class after lunch ended, so here you are now.

“i hate how short i am,” you say quietly. “and how thick my legs are, too.”

akane stops walking. slowly, very slowly, he turns to look at you like you’ve just announced something deeply offensive.

“…who told you that?” he asks.

“no one,” you assure quickly. “it’s just something i..think. you know—an insecurity. i guess,”

akane’s expression turns into a pained frown anyway, as if he can’t bear the thought of you thinking less of yourself. he surely didn’t see you that way, and he wanted to make sure you did, too.

“that’s ridiculous,”

“what?”

“you’re criticizing your own body over something that trivial,” he continues. “strong legs are completely normal, as well as short height. there’s nothing objectively wrong with them.”

akane sighs like the conversation itself is inconvenient. “if someone actually said that to you,” he adds, “i would consider them extremely foolish.”

he supports all the books under one arm while the other finds your hand, intertwining your fingers. “and as vice president of the student council, i may be able to pull some strings if it came to that, too.”

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the moment you say it, nene gasps in a way that sounds like she’d make when she finally meets her soulmate (and she low-key has already).

“you hate your legs too?!” she blurts out, grabbing at your shoulders and shaking you lightly in excitement as if you weren’t discussing insecurities.

“too?” you ask in confusion, not understanding what she meant at first.

nene immediately lifts one foot and points angrily at her ankle.

“do you know how many people have made fun of these?!” she says. “they literally refer to them as daikon legs!”

“but they aren’t that bad—”

“it’s awful!” she continues, throwing her hands in the air before bringing them down to tug at her soft locks. “everyone expects girls to have tiny delicate legs, and if you don’t then suddenly it’s a whole thing!”

well. guess you didn’t expect to insecurity-bond with your now exasperated girlfriend.

nene sighs wistfully. “honestly? strong legs are probably better anyway. at least you can run without tripping..”

“i still wish they looked different.” you admit, though it doesn’t stop the laugh from slipping out.

“yeah, me too honestly.” she says. “but we’re stuck with them, so we might as well survive with them.”

it’s in her tone when you suspect she doesn’t mean that genuinely. it was too calm, too accepting in a way that could only be feigned to try and, in this case, make you feel better.

but you know her better than that.

“oh who am i kidding i wish i had better legs!!” nene cried out.

“there she is.” you reach out and gently pull her into a hug to calm her down.

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first of all, it was your fault when you made the mistake of saying it out loud.

“gosh, i hate my legs. and why did i have to be so short?” you talk under your breath, voice clearly bitter. it wasn’t fair at all. why did you have to be the different one?

standing by your side adjusting his camera, mitsuba immediately looks up.

“…that’s stupid,” he says flatly.

you glare at him, defensive even in your self-depreciative state right now. “excuse me? insecurities exist, and the majority of people have them, in case you didn’t know.” you retort without hesitation.

that only spurs mitsuba on further. “why are you acting like strong legs are embarrassing?” he scoffs, waving you off. “do you know how many people would kill for muscles like that? i think you are the one who doesn’t appreciate something good.”

“they’re bulky!”

“and?” mitsuba asks, crossing his arms with his camera strap dangling to the side. “at least you can probably send someone flying away with just one kick or something.”

your eyes narrow. “that’s not the point.”

mitsuba rolls his eyes dramatically, letting out an exaggerated sigh.

“ugh, humans worry about the dumbest things,” he mutters. “they look fine anyway.” after a moment, he adds more quietly,

He's very protective over you

Always obsessing over where you are

He's just worried that something bad will happen to you

Super flirty

Type of guy to lean on some boxes, give you a flirty look, while saying "What are you doing later tonight baby?"

He's still so nervous around you, even when you both start dating

He's very affectionate and always wants to touch you

He's super egotistical and is always trying to impress you

Huge show off

"Y/n! Y/n! Look! Y/n, are you looking?! Watch me Y/n!"

Gwen loves to tease him, but he doesn't care

He daydreams about you lot

Especially when he's supposed to be paying attention in class

How can he focus on anything when you're in his life?

He writes stories about the two of you being together. Well, not stories, but like his daydreams

Since the day you were born, you lived the same way as you did presently. You woke up early to train and slept on time. Your day was planned down to the minute. While others took breaks from training to play video games and read, you spent the time studying.

You had your parents to thank for your time growing up, both high ranking members of the plumbers before they retired. They raised you to exceed them in every way possible, which is why you were deemed the youngest ever Proctor, outranking the both of them.

Others thought that your parents were horrible people for raising you that way; like their own personal doll that would do anything they wished. You, on the other hand, never saw anything wrong with that, you just assumed they were smarter than everyone else.

Since birth you knew what your boundaries were, and they were very clearly set for you. They didn't entertain any mistakes, any bending in routine or mannerisms. You were the most well-mannered child and that couldn't be a flaw.

When you were younger, you wondered why they wouldn't let you watch TV or read anything other than educational material or listen to music or hang out with others your age but once you got older and your training increased, you realized that you didn't have any time for that.

Art and literature would just give you inner turmoil and hence decrease your efficiency. Without being efficient and doing your duty, what was even the point of your existence?

And to be quite frank, you were the best.

Why give that up just to live like any other human?

Chaos was no stranger to Earth, ever since Ben Tennyson had reclaimed the Omnitrix. It was remarkable, really, how after 5 years of absolute dormancy from the planet, mayhem was brought down upon the planet coincidentally when he had decided to rear his head.

You had sent many magisters to Earth, to warn Ben and his band of bumbling buffoons on your behalf but so far it had all been for naught. They continued to wreak havoc and break the law under the guise of it being for the greater good as magister after magister came back, after having failed.

They either always saw Ben Tennyson in a new light or refused to ever return to the backwater planet. Finally, you decided you would take things in your own hands, your faith in your sub-ordinates severely shaken.

You had sent out an official notice on behalf of the plumbers to the trio, stating that as long as they continued to poke their heads into plumber business uninvited.

Preparing your bag and clothes that would help you disguise yourself on Earth, you made your way to the docking bay, internally going over mission stats and change in timing. The ride to Earth was long and extremely boring; you were wedged in between a sweaty Polymorph and a Vaxasaurian woman who was crying after leaving her son at the plumber academy.

Between avoiding the corrosive sweat and tears the size of a plate, you barely got any sleep. Of course, you were able to push through, but you were still annoyed that your circadian rhythm would be messed up by the time you got to earth, since it would be day there.

And right as you got off the ship, the sight you had been expecting greeted you warmly. It was a well-known fact that whenever the green trio were involved, Magister Tennyson wasn't far.

You greeted him with a stiff nod before introducing yourself and he saluted you. You outranked him but it was no secret that Max Tennyson was an absolute legend. You were sure he would've been Proctor or even Magistrata had he applied for the position. But he always declined, opting to grow his family -- a choice you would never understand.

He was kind (or unemployed) enough to drive you himself to your barracks, where you swiftly changed into a pair of trousers and a white collared shirt tucked into it. If he thought there was something weird about the outfit, he didn't say it.

You would spend some time in your room, either training or reading up on Earth laws until your plumber’s badge rang out with static, a sign that someone tuned into the police frequency.

And to no one's surprise, it was an alien sighting.

You didn't respond, only grabbing your holster and leaving the dorm.

***

"So, you're our new babysitter, huh?" Ben smiled when you walked towards the three of them, arms folded behind your back. Just as you assumed, they didn't think to salute, but you wouldn't let your pride be struck by something as irrelevant as that.

Ben had a bright look on his face, having no problem with going with the flow. Behind him stood his cousin, Gwen Tennyson; an anodite who stared at you apprehensively and ex-criminal Kevin E. Levin who didn't look too pleased with the situation.

"It would appear so. Though I imagined you would be older." You replied stiffly, standing straight as an arrow.

"You didn't look through my file or anything?" He asked, raising a brow and the corner of your lip twitched into a frown, "I did, but not anything that would require me to identify you. You already have an unmistakable beacon bound to your arm."

You glanced at the glowing watch, and he hid it underneath the sleeve of his jacket, feeling your piercing gaze.

"As you assigned officer, I will be accompanying you on your missions from now onwards."

They frowned, clearly not expecting you to be so down to the point.

"We don't need a babysitter." Said Kevin, pushing his way forward and trying to get in your face. Whether he was attempting to be intimidating or annoying was something only he knew but you didn't let him faze you, blinking uninterestedly at the way his nostrils flared like a gorilla.

"On the contrary. In the past few months, the three of you have done more felonies and misdemeanours than all the plumbers combined on this planet," You began, pulling up your plumber badge to show the growing list of reports against them, "A babysitter is precisely what you need. Unfortunately for the both of us, I am the closest thing."

"But we've also done a lot of good!" Argued Ben.

"Congratulations on that but good conduct doesn't nullify the many records of you breaking the law to do so. Though it does give you some privileges', which you are already experiencing considering you haven't been to court yet."

"Court?"

"You don't think people intend to sue you after the amount of damage you've done? I have three whole teams that handle lawsuits against you on the daily."

This seemed to catch their attention, looking like children who finally achieved the brain capacity to understand certain things and you sighed, "So far, we've been settling but with a proctor on the team, we could easily write it off as collateral damage or liability and leave it to insurance."

It was like they finally understood where you were coming from, "Wait, you're a proctor? But you're so young?" Gwen began and you almost smiled with pride when you heard her whisper to her cousin about how you outranked their grandfather.

"So, where are we headed?"

***

The three of them were grossly inefficient, you were realizing as you crouched down behind some cover as you continued to stake out the place. Kevin had apparently gotten a tip stating that there would be a firearm dealing tonight. You were waiting on their road path to intercept them before they got there and managed to unload the expensive and deadly weapons.

So far, they had been waiting for the former to show up, proving them right before they went in guns blazing. Just as Ben was about to turn into an alien, no doubt large and would attract a lot of attention, you stopped him with a hand to his arm.

You quickly raised your gun, calculating the trajectory before shooting at one of the truck's tires and watching as it swivelled into the others, even managing to knock some of them on its sides.

You continued to shoot silent shots, until all the trucks were immobile and turned back to them, finding them looking at you with incredulous looks.

"Gwen and Kevin, restrain all the knights as best you can. Ben, turn into a Talpaedan." The two of them nodded (one of them more begrudgingly) but Ben turned to you with a confused glance, "A what?"

You sighed, "Big yellow alien? Jackhammers for arms?"

"Oh, Armadrillo."

The rest of the mission went off without a hitch, you managed to arrest all of the forever knights and recover all the weapons before sending them to the concerned authorities.

You resisted the urge to rub away the growing headache, remembering that you had an Advil in your pocket that you took once you were inside the safety of the car.

Ben spared you a glance as you swallowed the pill, raising his brow, "How many of those do you take? I've seen you take one every day since you got here."

"I have a headache." You murmured, closing your eyes, and keeping your posture straight against the backseat.

"It's probably your body's way of telling you to relax."

"I am relaxed."

"No, you’re not. You're all tense and scrunchy." He replied in a light-hearted way that you knew was intended to brighten the atmosphere but failing. Every sound he created made your ears ring out which didn't help with your headache.

Ben mistakenly took your silence for dumbfoundedness or contemplation and continued to speak, "You just think you're relaxed because you're always tense and anxious, so you don't know what it's like to not be."

"That makes no sense." You murmured, trying hard to fight sleep but also not wanting to aggravate the splitting headache any longer. Once you were in the comfort of your barracks, you'd be able to crawl under the covers and rest your tired muscles.

"Of course, it does, why else would you be saying you're relaxed? You're sitting like you have a meeting with the president."

He was right. Your spine was straight and your neck stiff like you were prepared to jump out of the vehicle at any second. Which to be fair, you were. You were trained to always anticipate the unexpected.

"Better to be prepared than dead."

"Yikes, you need a day off." He replied and you almost scoffed. You had never taken a day off unless you were injured and even then, it was absolute torture when you couldn't fill your day with training like you usually did.

Of course, studying science and law kept you some company but other than that, lying still in a hospital bed was the worst feeling you had ever experienced.

Ben Tennyson was a weird one, you realized. The same age as you and just as much burden and responsibility and duty pressed to his shoulders and yet he saw the world differently than you did. It seemed like he was selfish if you were being quite honest.

How could he dream to live as a normal human when he wasn't?

***

"What do you usually dream of, (Y/N)?" Ben asked curiously when he realized he had been dozing off in his car, a steaming cup of coffee in the cup holder that he was waiting for too cool so he could take his much-needed dose of caffeine.

You stayed silent and he took the opportunity to prompt you, sharing his own dreams first, "I usually have nightmares about a million Vilgax's chasing me down or something similar. If it's a good dream, then I'm with Gwen and Kevin and we're having fun at a waterpark or something."

"Your turn."

You still stayed quiet, but he waited silently for you to reply until finally your voice spoke up, "I don't ever dream."

"You never dream?"

"Sometimes I get dreams my routine at the academy and training, but they seem so real that it's hard to tell." You hated the way your voice suddenly sounded so unsure, so unlike yourself. You were always sharp and straight, either you knew the answer, or you didn't but this time, without your permission, your voice wavered.

The car was silent.

Although it might as well have not been, considering the sound of his pity was speaking waves.

***

"This is my favourite song at the moment!" Ben cheered, turning up the volume and you cringed at the vibration of the speakers as the sound of drums filled the car. You sat there awkwardly, unsure if you both were listening to the same thing while Ben thrashed around in his seat, dancing wildly.

"What's your favourite song, (Y/N)?"

"I don't have one."

"None?" He turned, raising a brow at you and you continued to stare out the window, memorizing landmarks and the path so you would know how to get back on the off chance that you got lost. Not that you didn't trust Ben's know-how, but it was always better to anticipate all the things that could go wrong.

Maybe you didn't trust his know-how.

"I didn't listen to music growing up. So now when I do, it doesn't sound as appealing as it does to you." You answered simply and he turned to you in shock.

"That's horrible! How could your parents rob you of dance parties and karaoke nights?!"

You raised a brow, "I was raised to be a soldier, not a performer. Besides, it would have been a waste of brain space."

"How so?"

"Well, you knew the last three songs by heart and yet can't seem to recognize the fact that we've been through this street twice already."

***

"We need to talk about what happened." Ben said, voice sharp and his jaw was clenched so tightly, you were sure it was going to feel sore later. His fingers were gripping the steering wheel so tightly, you could hear the squeal of the leather every time he tried to make a turn.

"What are you going on about?" You sighed, swallowing a painkiller, and letting your hair out of the tight pony you had put it up in. There are few things that bring you peace and one of them is running your fingers through your scalp after your hair was tugged into an up do for the majority of the day.

"How could you draw their fire? Who told you to go and do that?"

"It was the most logical decision. You and Kevin needed to be inside to handle the hard-hitters and access the mainframe."

"You could have died!"

"I'm not stupid enough to put myself in a situation where I would end up dead just to put you out of harm’s way. I know how much I can handle."

This much was true. As proctor, you were in charge of looking over plans for missions and it was now wired into your brain how to get a job done as efficiently as possible and with the least number of injuries. Could you have died? It was a possibility but one with a low probability since you were skilled. You didn't quite understand why Ben was so upset.

"You never know, one second and something could have happened to you." He really wasn't letting this go, was he?

"That's part of the job, Ben. If I was worried about getting hurt despite my immense skill, I would've taken a desk job."

"That's the point! You're never worried about anything! You don't even know what it's like to feel worried because you don't feel anything!" His sudden outburst caught you off guard, but you didn't even flinch in response, continuing to stare ahead.

"See? This is exactly what I mean! I'm telling you that I'm worried about you, I'm yelling at you for putting yourself in harm’s way and you don't even blink!"

You didn't reply, staying silent instead. You didn't need to waste your neurons on trying to understand just what had gotten Ben this wound up. He was making absolutely no sense and just ranting constantly; you learnt not to ask just why he was so upset after the third time.

"I just don't want you to get hurt." He finally said, voice so wobbly that your neck snapped towards him, and you were more than surprised to find a lone tear running down his cheek.

"Are you crying?" Came your incredulous question. Ben stopped at a traffic light and finally turned to look at you with a pained expression that confused you to no end.

"I worry about you."

"I outrank you. You shouldn't worry about me; I should worry about you."

He shook his head, "This isn't a junior plumber worrying about their senior. This is me worrying about you because I like you."

You paused for a moment, letting what he said sink in.

"Considering you just told me that I don't feel anything, I don't think you'll be too surprised to learn that I haven't thought of you in the same way."

He chuckled lowly, sounding a little broken hearted and for some reason, your heart panged at the sound. Why should you be upset? He was the one who had a crush on you. Who went on and told him to do that?

***

You had immediately known why your stomach was twisting itself into knots as you heard the account of Colonel Rozum on how he imprisoned all aliens that landed on Earth without bothering with the correct processing for the last 50 years.

You couldn't tell what was closing your throat shut as you glared at the man in front of you with fury. You were much younger than he was, and he had more experience than you, but that didn't chance the fact that you had more power than he could dream to.

"Alien species that land on Earth is not under your jurisdiction. You will shut this place down instantly and turn them over to the proper authorities for processing." You seethed, resisting the urge to court martial him then and there.

"They are terrorists."

"Maybe," You replied, "But that is not for you to judge. You will pay for this Rozum. Be it with your title or with time. You are dismissed."

You could see in his eyes how angry he was that someone younger than him was his commanding officer. Perhaps a blow to his pride would do him some good, you thought, watching him walk away.

You turned back to the trio and Ben noticed how you stumbled slightly when you turned, immediately reaching out to steady you, "You okay?"

"Just a headache." You replied, rubbing your temples.

"Come on, let's get you home." He said, gently grabbing your arm and leading you towards his car. You didn't really need his help and you shrugged out of his grip as soon as you gained your footing, but he still hovered around you like he was paranoid you were going to collapse.

Kevin and Gwen shared a glance as they watched you both walk away. It was no secret to them that Ben was helplessly infatuated with you, and they were hoping he'd snap out of it sooner or later. You weren't looking for a relationship and they would go as far as to say that you would never even consider looking at him in the same way.

When Ben began driving back to the hangar from Area 51, he immediately noticed something off about you.

"Something wrong?"

"What would make you think something's wrong?"

"You're slouching."

You shot up like an arrow, straightening your spine and with embarrassment, you realized that you weren't doing your best tonight.

"What's wrong?"

"It's not worth your concern." You replied, looking at the window. The desert took a while to clear, since they didn't let you land the Rustbucket 2.0 in Area 51, it would take a while to drive back to where you had landed it.

"I think I'll be the judge of that. Is it your headache? Is it that bad?"

"No," You sighed out, "It was the prisoner. Just brought back some bad memories."

Ben paused.

Up until now you had never confided in him. You kept to yourself and while you did speak with him, it was mostly about work, or you listened to him derail the conversation while you tried to talk about work.

"What is it?" He asked, attempting to be nonchalant. He didn't want to pry, but he also didn't want the first time you had ever actually spoken to him about your life to fall flat.

"When I was magister, my commanding officer had changed and because I wanted to rise in ranks, winning his favour was important. So, I dug up one of his cold cases and found a bandit that he had been trying to track for years. He had long since stopped and when I arrested him, he pleaded with me to let him go. He had a family. A wife and two kids. But I didn't listen and brought him in."

You stared out of the window, watching streetlights pass the car with speed and you felt a faint headache throb in the back of your head because of the flashing lights, "My commanding officer was so humiliated that I solved one of his cases that he tried to establish his dominance by issuing a life sentence for the prisoner. I never stopped wondering, if someone like Magister Tennyson had found the prisoner himself, would he have let him go?"

"Justice is black and white. It has to be, for someone who lacks experience. It was this case that brought attention to my career, and I got promoted like I wanted but was it worth it?"

It was silent for a minute while Ben tried to think of what to say, "Maybe, maybe not. But I know you do a lot of good in the position you are now. And now, you're in a position so that if one of your junior officers come to you with one of your cold cases, then you'll give a fair punishment isn't of let your pride blind you like your commanding officer."

Hearing his words brought you slight comfort. You had never told anybody about it, in the start you were too scared that they would think the same that you did, and you'd lose your rank. Then you were too scared that it would lose you the respect of your peers and yourself.

But now, hearing Ben's words, you felt better than you had in a while. Your head felt just a little lighter.

"Thank you. Although, I don't really have any cold cases." You quipped, watching as a bright grin spread on his face.

"Alright, you show off."

***

Ben was changing you too much, you realized one morning when you found yourself trying to decide what to wear. Usually, you were only concerned with looking presentable and official but now you were looking in the mirror, wondering just why your lips lacked colour and made you look lifeless.

You realized that he was changing you too much when one day you smelt the scent of his deodorant in the car and the faint headache you had immediately disappeared even though the strong scent of “ocean chill” was the reason your head used to hurt when you first met.

You realized just how much that Ben’s presence in your life had changed you as you sipped a smoothie from his favourite smoothie place even though you had taken your calorie intake for the day. He has seriously recommended it and said it was pretty healthy too, so out of curiosity you ordered a flavour called ‘It takes two to Mango’.

It was weird. Ever since his confession, you hadn’t expected anything to change, and you certainly hadn’t been expecting to feel differently about him but something about his compassion from the time you had shown him your vulnerable side made you feel like a bird was fluttering its wings madly in your chest and that your stomach was getting tickled.

You remembered how reluctant you were to open up to him at the time and you even regretted telling him about your shameful past but the way he responded and the way he didn’t let it deter the flow of your existing relationship made you grateful to him.

Since birth, everyone has always been looking for a flaw in you. Whether it was your parents so that they could tell you how to hide it to fix it, or it was your peers, subordinates and even your higher-ups that wanted to pull you down from your position.

But Ben, who had nothing to gain from offering moral support, who had nothing to gain from putting his life in danger time and time again, made you feel better regardless of what good it did him.

Now, you started to understand him better. You always followed your path because of your aspirations and because it was expected of you, but Ben followed his heart and it led him to the same mission you were. It was admirable. You vaguely wondered if you had grown up the same way he did, would you still be where you were now?

Ben certainly was changing you.

But you didn’t dislike it.

In fact, you thought it might be for the better. So much so that you wanted to keep being by his side, to see what more would change between the both of you.

“I had a dream recently.” You mentioned nonchalantly. You weren’t even sure why you were telling Ben about it but something inside you felt obligated to mention it to him since he was the one that made you extremely aware of the fact that you didn’t dream in the first place.

“Really?!”

“Yeah, I was eating a piece of cake.” It was true. It seemed so vivid, and you usually didn’t dream so when you woke up, you had honestly believed you had eaten a slice of cake before going to bed but no matter how much you racked your head, you just couldn’t remember if you actually had.

“That’s it?” Sure, it seemed kind of lacklustre compared to his dreams of taming a giant hummingbird by using a giant flower but still, you thought it was something worth mentioning.

“Yeah. I think it’s because I saw them through the window of a bakery on the way back home. I guess, I wanted it more than I realized?”

“Was it good? The cake?” He asked.

You smiled faintly, watching the way his eyes lit up from something so trivial, yet so important, “Yeah.”

Forever Taglist:

@simonsbluee

@hanbedumbaf

miscellaneous ..

maybe ( tumblr, wattpad, and ao3 ) .. a non-canon one-shot that takes place within the same universe.

art by s-escapist.

may

bullies

rocks and fire

mutt

stray hairs

reward

pools

bounty

old friend

kick back

do it for..

concerns

the circus

down-time

lucky charm

sick as a dog

captured

truth revealed

june

reunited

fabricated lies — ( 05/24/2026 12PM EST )

surreal nightmare — ( 05/31/2026 12PM EST )

a request — ( 06/07/2026 12PM EST )

rescue mission — ( 06/14/2026 12PM EST )

opposites reflect — ( 06/21/2026 12PM EST )

fungal supervision — ( 06/28/2026 12PM EST )

mask of grievances — ( 07/05/2026 12PM EST )

to be added.

It didn’t snow all that often in Bellwood, and when it did, it wasn’t that much. In fact, Ben can only barely remember the last time it did. He had to have been in kindergarten- maybe first grade. There wasn’t even enough snow on the ground to make a snowball, and yet school was canceled because everyone panicked. This time, however, everything seemed at peace and it was even less than last time. A little too peaceful to not hurt. He’d woken up to a few ‘happy birthday’ texts, texted one back to Gwen, and then went about the day.

Anyone who could have known when his special day was, was busy or off planet, leaving the hero to spend the day alone. Which was a bit weird, his mom and dad always made sure they had the day free so they could do something special, but this time they were busy. That was fine, he understood, they’ll probably do something to make up for tomorrow or in a few days. It seemed like the universe decided to give him a break though, on solo patrol all day with no action. It was great that no one was at risk for getting hurt, but it left him itching to do something.

Ben ended patrol early, figuring that if something happened he’d be alerted. He bought himself a smoothie, full price as Mr. Smoothies had stopped doing half off for birthdays deal when too many people found out and took advantage of it. He was probably the only person there seeing as how only he would be buying a smoothie in cold weather- but he did go back to his car and sit with the heater on. Everyday he was on his toes, something always seemed to happen, leading him to forget just how lonely it is. On any other day it would have been a godsend, but today he was supposed to be celebrated… That isn’t egotistical, right?

Secretly, he hoped it was all staged, that he’d suddenly have Gwen and Kevin pop up as a surprise for both his and Gwen's birthday, but finals were next week and they were probably way too busy for that. Ben has never been a social media or mobile game person- if you ignore the sumo slammer’s mobile game he’s played through at least five times already- but he keeps his phone open. Waiting for anything at all.

It must have been intuition because another text notification popped up. It was you, a longtime friend- since as long as he could remember really. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a happy birthday or anything. You had shared your location with him. By nature, he assumed the worst, had someone targeted you? Were you in trouble?

He opened up the GPS on his phone and was guided to… the Bellwood soccer fields. The grass was wet and covered with a thin layer of slushy snow. He got out, noticing you in the middle of the empty field. You hadn’t ever been one to like soccer, but there you were, with a ball on your hip. “Hey Tennyson! Happy Birthday you goober!” You say, tossing him the ball when he got close enough. He catches it with ease, a smile spreading quickly.

“Goober? You haven’t called me that since freshman year!” he says, joining you in the middle of the field. You only shrug as he looks around at the empty fields. It was bone cold, and one of your biggest things you would fight over when you were kids is just how boring you found sports to be. “You don’t even know how to play- and it’s freezing.” He watches you shrug.

“When has the cold ever bothered me? Plus, when we were in fifth grade you promised me that you would teach me how to play. Today's the day to make good on that promise.”

-

Even in the cold the two of you were dripping with sweat, laughing as the sun made its descent known. The round pink mark partially on his nose bridge and forehead making you burst out laughing every time you tried to regain composure. After hours of practice and explaining, you had eventually caught on enough to 1v1. You played many times over, your longtime friend and birthday boy winning all of them, but this time he ended up with a ball to the face. It stung a little bit, but he didn’t mind- in his own fit of laughter at your wheezing and snorting laughter.

Eventually, your laughter died down and he was able to peel you from the ground. You began to dig through your bag, pulling out two small presents. One was a green wrapped box the size of a deck of cards and then a gift box with a sparkly silver bow on top. “Here, it’s not much but it’s all I could afford right now. I’ll make it up to you later. Promise.” You say as you hand it to him. He shakes his head.

“Nah, don't worry about it. I had a lot of fun today.”

He had offered you a ride home, but you insisted that you had to walk- something about getting steps in. The moment he closes himself in his car again, he looks down at the presents. The gift box had ‘open me first!’ written on the top. Of course he did. Pulling off the lid, he was first greeted with a note. ‘Remember this? You forgot it and I kept it all this time, but I thought you should have it.’ Looking past it is a picture frame made out of popsicle sticks, decorated with glitter glue, stickers, googly eyes, and elbow macaroni.

The frame itself held a single photo your mom had taken, the reason behind the nickname. The two of you at age five, napping on your bed. His mouth was wide open, with a large pool of drool under his head, soaking into one of your pillows. He remembers you waking him up, and when he sat a thick string of drool was attached to his face and the pillow- And henceforth he was referred to as Goob or Goober… until alien stuff started to take over. There it was. In his chest begins to bubble up the regret. He missed this, you, all of his other friends.

He misses soccer games and birthday parties, going to the local arcade after school and blowing that last of his allowance. He misses when everyone had so little going on that they remembered his birthday.

But, at least he had you.

Placing the box on the passenger's seat, he tears into the golden wrapping paper of the other present. “Wait- no way.” It was a set of Sumo Slammers cards, first edition that were only sold in japan. Judging by the fact that they still had the plastic wrapping on them, they had never been opened. A short and astonished laugh leaves him, almost involuntarily. How did you get these? How did you afford these? No collector in their right mind would sell them for any reasonable price.

He did one more round of patrolling before deciding to call it quits. By that time the sun had already gone down, so the drive home was dark. Pulling into the driveway next to his parents car, but the lights were off. If they’re home then it’s around the time dinner was usually made and nowhere near the time they went to bed, why would the lights be out?

Cautiously, he got out of his car and made his way to the front door. Something just… felt off about this. Maybe the universe hadn’t actually given him a break for his birthday at all. He swears if someone got his mom and dad involved again- The front door wasn’t unlocked, so with a quick turn of the handle he bursts into the dark living room. His face is illuminated by the Omnitrix's roster for a split second as he opens it, the lights flip on with a loud shout of “Surprise!” His eyes widen, as he’s frozen, about to slam his hand down on the Omnitrix.

You, his Mom and Dad were standing in the decorated living room. Streamers hung from the ceiling, on the wall over the couch was a banner reading ‘Happy birthday Ben!’ with a bunch of his favorite snacks and a cake decorated in various shades of green. He blinks rapidly, looking over the room and everybody there. A smile slowly splits his face as his mother pulls him into a tight hug. Of course they hadn’t forgotten, it all made sense now. Why you had him out at the soccer fields all day.