Gummie

Maybe a kid was being bullied nearby, and Ben was getting all worked up, and Aiden knew he had to do something, but he ended up getting too close and received a good punch to the cheek or some such.

And suddenly, Ben snaps right out of his blinding rage and sees what he's done, and it brings him the most soul crushing sense of guilt he can't stand being in his own skin.

So, despite all of Aiden's reassurances and attempts at hiding the blooming bruise, Ben feels the need to make it right. He pulls a first-aid kit, takes out some bandages, and gets to work. By the time he's done, Aiden has forgotten the ache altogether, but Ben's not as lucky.

That day stuck with him, and for a while, it made him feel heavy and nauseous. So he promised himself to be the opposite of a person who hurts - he'd be a person who heals. So every time there's a fight, he'll be the one with bandages and antiseptic, not balled up fists and gritted teeth.

What if Ben got to see firsthand the drastic change that his cousin went through, just to make himself feel a bit more bearable

What if Aiden still had his black hair and black eyes when Ben hit him

What if Aiden wasn’t as boisterously smiley about it as he would’ve been after he changed himself, what if that was a later development

What if no matter how much Aiden tries to laugh it off, change the subject, smile through it, Ben can only see the emotional hurt on his cousins face when he got struck

What if Aiden still flinches, not because he’s scared of Ben, or scared at all, but because of the survivalist mindset he’s always in making him feel like he can never rest and there’s always the potential for danger

What if Ben assumes Aiden told the others about the hit, because that’s part of his backstory, but Aiden ignores its existence because he knows it upsets Ben

What if this makes Ben hate seeing Aiden hurt in any way, angry at who/what caused the injury and at Aiden for not being careful, and at himself for not being able to protect him

What if Ben doesn’t trust Aiden with his own safety because he’s shown time and time again that he doesn’t care and is willing to put himself in harms way for whatever reason

What if Ben takes it upon himself to “be the healer” for both Aiden and the rest once the group forms because he’s trying to “atone” for the pain he’s caused

That’s not a face of someone who’s enjoying patching people up

He’s made it his responsibility, despite it causing him stress and mental strain

This has become a Ben appreciation post you’re welcome

What if at that point Aiden didn't understand how deep Ben's anger issues went and this was his first time witnessing it firsthand and he couldn't help but just stare at Ben wide-eyed and shocked at first until the hurt on Ben's own face at what he had just done registered.

Ben is often shown to be worried about his cousin or straight up terrified of his impulsive, dangerous acts like when he looked all freaked out when Aiden jumped off that 13 feet tall wall.

What if he tried to talk to (text) him about it, ask him to stop being so reckless and putting his well-being on the line and Aiden just brushed it off each time as Ben "overreacting" because "it wasn't actually that dangerous" but all Ben sees in those moments is Aiden's black eyes filling up with tears by the sheer force of the blow he was responsible for before Aiden could blink them away. And what if each of those instances lead him to remember that was the last time he saw tears in his cousin's eyes.

What if that was the day Aiden decided he needed to stop showing sadness because Ben spent days apologising and trying to make up for it even though Aiden had told him multiple times that it was okay and he understood it was an accident but the guilt in Ben's eyes convinced him to never look upset in front of him again because he didn't want him feeling like it was his fault each time.

What if like you mentioned Ben feels so much anger toward anything and anyone that hurts Aiden, including Aiden himself, but he doesn't know how to confront him about it so he just keeps silent and hates himself a little more every time he sees Aiden flinch at anything even it had nothing to do with Ben himself but it makes him wonder if all that flinching started the day he hurt him?

Oh and he most definitely doesn't enjoy watching all the gore and blood as he fixes people up but he refuses to complain because he feels he is the only one who deserves to bear such a burden after hurting so many people before, including his own cousin if we truly believe in that theory.

STOPPP I LOVE THE COUSINS SO MUCH THIS IS UNFAIR

Aiden pretending to be happier than he is so Ben wouldn’t have to see the sad child hidden underneath

Ben secretly missing that sad child so dearly because the new facade feels disingenuous

Aiden pretending to be happier than that day to prove to Ben that moment is behind them

I want Ben to witness Aiden being sad/angry/scared/literally any emotion other than happy and see what his reaction would be because surely he won't be glad that his cousin's upset, but at the same time he'll finally see him be genuine and not unhealthily bottling up any and all of his emotions

THEY MAKE ME WANT TO

Also made this comic bc the idea of hirose thinking they’re already dating is funny to me

Hi @lennsart !

Found your dtiys challenge and just had to try it!

I imagined the caves to be more granite-like but the spiky blue look was fun to render

went a bit nuts when adding the luminous stones

Finished stitching my Oversight series.