Martial arts.

Ben could never really say he had much interest into it until he saw what Gwen could do with it. Her movements seemed to mystify him with her grace and fluid motion.

He had his aliens, yes. And sure, they had their strengths, but once his time was up, he was defenseless.

Maybe that's why he asked her to teach him.

Maybe that's why things turned out this way...

"Ben, pay attention! There's no point in teaching you if you're going to space out in the middle of a spar!" Gwen was trying, she really was. But for the love of all that was holy, if he didn't stop spacing out, she was going to deck him.

"Sorry Gwen, I was thinking about something." Ben shook his head as he fought down a flush of embarrassment. His eyes once more met hers, taking his stance once more. "Here I go..." He said, and struck forward with a right palm thrust.

It wasn't to be. Gwen seized his wrist with her right hand, her left foot sliding along the ground as she yanked his body closer to her. Her right foot came down in front of him, right beside his own right foot. Off balance, he stumbled forward, caught off guard as she released his wrist and with a deft twist of her hips and waist, her hands slammed into his chest, knocking him down on his rear.

"...Ow. Okay, maybe I deserved that. But that was still...kinda cool." Gwen flushed red in pleased embarrassment. Something about his compliments always prompted a blush in a way no one else did. Oh, she had her suspicions as to why, but she kept that locked away firmly.

"You're too rigid, Ben. You need to flow from form to form. Following the kata exactly destroys it's power if you have to think about each one. I can see each pause you make, and it tells me what you're about to do ages before you actually move. Your footwork is also too slow. If your feet stumble over each other, then your balance is destroyed. It breaks your root, and makes you easy to knock over. Once you fall, it's all over for you."

Ben frowned, feeling incompetent as he listened. Her words made sense, but he always seemed to hesitate too much before moving. He watched her own movements, and marveled in the way she never seemed to hesitate. When she practiced, she didn't ever stop moving, never stopped her flow.

"Remember, Ben... Footwork is important. Practice your circles with your feet. If your right foot is moving, your left is firm. When attacking, you must be firm." Offering a hand, she helped him to his feet.

"Now, right foot forward. The ground is a triangle, Ben. Only on three points should you ever stop and stay firm. If you aren't on two of the three, your foot should be moving." Right foot forward...advance. She was too close...!

Gwen didn't seem to notice her position as she hugged him from behind. Her right foot nudged his, attempting to guide him. Once she was satisfied, she she settled her feet into her usual stance.

"Now put your left foot back against mine, Ben." Her breath tickled his ear, and he felt a shudder go down his spine. Heat infused his cheeks, and he fought his blush. She's GWEN! Your dweeb cousin! STOP BLUSHING, DAMMIT!

He did as he was told, positively glowing as she reached around, positioning his hands in their proper place. Soft mounds pressed against his back, and he felt a stirring that he fought down with all of his willpower. One thing was certain. This position was going to haunt his dreams, in more ways than one. He could do no less with such a image of beauty pressed against him. And she WAS beautiful...

Gwen was no fool. She could feel him shuddering under her "teachings". As they got older, their teasing tended to escalate to higher and higher levels. Ben, however, had grown immune to many of her tricks, despite being more immature than her. Only in mind, though...that body is amazing! She mentally told her hormones to stuff it, and shoved them into the box she kept her unwanted thoughts in.

She couldn't deny a twisted sense of satisfaction as she teased his hormones, though. It was a delicious sense of sinful satisfaction as she felt his reaction to her. She couldn't help it, however; it was addicting, and the fear that he would one day return the favor and turn the tables sent a chill of positively naughty thrill through her body.

But first things first... "That's about right, Ben. Now, remember...flow from form to form. Its all about balance."

An hour later, Ben collapsed on his bed. It had ended in disaster, as always. No matter what she did, he just never seemed to learn.

"Maybe I'm just not meant to learn martial arts." It was a troubling thought. She was too fast, too flexible. It was like she was dancing around him, and it annoyed him to no end.

"...Dancing?" He spoke out loud. Say what you will, he sometimes surprised himself with his own brilliance. He sat up, considering how far he was willing to go to beat Gwen.

Gwen panted softly, her face flushed as she thrust forward with her palm. It was deflected by his right palm, as his left followed his right, seizing her wrist. She ripped it from his grasp, pivoting around, her right leg lashing out at his head as she had seen her do before. He blocked it with a forearm and with confidence, stepped in past her guard, his left foot hooking behind her left. His left hand almost playfully pushed against her chest, disrupting her center of balance. She stumbled back, almost falling before he caught her.

Falling into his arms, she blushed as he looked down at her. She was out of breath,pink cheeks and heaving chest showing her exhaustion. She was...beautiful. He smirked, leaning down with deliberate slowness and-

"NOPE! That's...NOPE." Blushing cheeks were smacked as he tried to forget his daydream. It wasn't unusual, he was ashamed to say, but it happened far more than he was comfortable admitting.

Okay, so maybe he DID want to win that badly...

It was harder than he expected, to secure the needed equipment. It was more embarrassing though, having to ask for it.

Thankfully, he knew Grandpa wouldn't ask questions, nor would he tell anyone if asked not to.

With a gulp and a mental sigh, he hit the power button.

"DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION~!" The TV exclaimed, causing him to hastily turn down the volume. It was pointless, he knew, as no one would be able to hear it. He had made sure no one could just come in, considering this was his own personal hideout.

"Now...remember what she said. Balance..." he kicked his shoes off, and stood on the mat. "it's not quite the three points, but this can't hurt."

An hour later, he was panting. Irritation seeped from him in almost palpable waves as he looked at his abysmal score. He refused to give up. "This...this game won't defeat me! I am Ben Tennyson! I AM Ben 10! And I will be the greatest hero the world will ever know! Prepare yourself game, I will CRUSH YOU!"

The song started, and once more his feet began to move. Goods covered the screen as he concentrated. Sweat dripped down his face, and he wiped it away. He was doing well...

And a misstep ruined it all. His skill points dropped rapidly as his dance meter plummeted.

"Bad! Wha-wha-what happened?!" The TV seemed to mock him as he growled, shutting it off without saving.

"Stupid game!" He couldn't believe he wasted his money on this stupid idea. However, his pride wouldn't let him give up. He'd try again tomorrow.

It wasn't until a week later that he noticed something strange. It wasn't anything in particularly odd, just something he wasn't expecting.

He had been sitting on the couch, waiting for Ken to finish...whatever he was doing so they could play the latest Sumo Slammers game, listening to his Ipod as he often did. He absentmindedly tapped his feet, his eyes closed as he lost himself in the music.

"Ben...what are you doing with your feet?" He opened his eyes to see Ken looking at him strangely. "You were tapping your feet in a strange pattern."

Ben blinked, unsure what Ken meant. "I was just tapping to the beat. That's normal, isn't it?"

Ken shook his head, a strange knowing smile on his face. "No...your feet were...dancing. I'm pretty sure that's not normal."

After a few hours of gaming, Ken took his leave. He had seemed oddly amused the whole time, as if he knew a secret.

A week later that he realized what Ken had meant. He had gone to practice his dan-FOOTWORK, and had been only half awake at the time. His motivation was dwindling, and as his mind wandered, he began to space out.

"Pe-perfect! You're doing amazing!" The TV's words caught him by surprise and he miss-stepped. His streak was ruined, but at the end of the song, he gaped at the score. His best score yet.

"What the fu..." He couldn't understand. With a blink, he restarted the song. With a deep breath, he listened to the song start. The arrows on the screen started to pulse, and he found himself bouncing slightly in time.

His eyes widened as he realized. The arrows pulsing...it was the beat. Looking down at his feet, he found his feet moving with the music, almost on their own. Looking up, he felt a grin cross his lips. There was variation, but his body knew it.

The pattern. The beat. It was predictable if he tried. Another song, a faster song. Applying what he had realized, he found he was doing better.

Again.

Again.

AGAIN. Each time, his smile widened, and his movements grew smoother.

He could do it. He knew what to do now.

Next day found him at his hangout with earbuds in his ears. Hitting the play button, he closed his eyes. Music drifted into his ears, lingering behind his eyes. His breathing steadied, and then he began to move. He couldn't help his smile as he moved. His heart pulsed in time to the beat, and his feet bounced slightly as he ran his body through the forms taught to him.

He began to sing softly to himself as he practiced. It was like an epiphany, a revelation that seemed obvious.

For many years, people compared kata to dancing. They were right to. It had a beat, a pattern. It was balance. A line from a movie echoed in the back of his mind and he smiled.

"Kung fu is in everything we do. It is a way of life. It lives in how we put on the jacket, the way we take off the jacket. It lives in the way we treat others. EVERYTHING...is Kung Fu."

His practice only stopped when his earbud fell out of his ear.

Apparently, he needed new earbuds.

Gwen wasn't sure why she was so sure something had changed. The way Ben seemed to move suggested that he had reached some new state of understanding. Though, to be fair, something irked her about the way he had earbuds in.

"Focus, Ben. Take the earbuds out." He smirked at her. It was confident smirk, one that sent butterflies through her stomach. Was today the day? It sent a thrill through her as she imagined it. His sexy, confident smirk...Make me pay, Ben...may me pay for teasing you. Show me the source of your confidence...it may be my downfall, but if it's you, I don't think I'll mind.

"..." He smirked, and whispered something under his breath, before beckoning her to attack. "Come at me, Gwen." Oddly enough, he seemed almost...bouncy.

"Your funeral, doofus." A name she hadn't used for a while, but his actions sent a contradiction of both irritation and giddiness through her. Oh, she knew she lusted after her cousin; that much was obvious. However, she couldn't seem to stop, and she got the feeling if something happened between the two of them, she would never regret it.

She led with a simple straight punch, which was easily blocked. He sent out a right palm strike toward her face, which she turned aside. Honestly, he always led with that.

However, what she hadn't expected was a simple twist of the deflected strike to turn into a crane style jab which curled AROUND her guard as he stepped closer, hooking right foot around hers. The force from his redirected attack pushed against her guard and forced her to attempt to "roll with the punch", realizing too late that he had planned that as she stumbled over his right foot.

A throw?! I never taught him that! It was crude, but effective as went down, rolling away from him and getting to her feet. That sexy smirk of his was back in full force. She could feel her cheeks flush, and her body shiver in anticipation. Something about this was undeniably arousing to her, and her heated cheeks were testament to that.

"Me and you, you and me, why don't we see who is better~?!" He smiled, singing softly. Something about it was teasing, but not quite mocking. She felt her insides melt at the potent combination.

However, Gwen was never one to give up that easily as she edged closer, watching him as he stayed in place. Suddenly, he began to bounce in place, loosening his stance as he did so.

She capitalized on the moment, darting forward with a flurry of punches, which he seemed to dodge with ease. That chaotic movement...he's not even planning this, is he? Part of her was annoyed that he seemed to have abandoned her teachings, but another part of her was absolutely giddy at this development.

For some reason, it was as if he was playing with her, even if she wasn't trying as hard as she could, and it was giving her a naughty excitement. A particularly hard punch aimed at his face was caught, and she had to marvel at how fast he was able to move when he needed. Truly, his time with the Omnitrix affected him more than he realized. His time as XLR8 seemed to have bled slightly into his reflex movements, though it wasn't near as fast as the alien form. His strength had increased as well, though it was less because of his hero business and more those push ups and exercises she defiantly didn't watch with lustful eyes.

A kick was narrowly dodged as he leaped back. Say what you want about Gwen, but her kicks HURT.

"We don't have to be one, and the same thing~! Oh, what's so wrong, with a little competition~?" She lost her focus as his voice playfully tickled her where no hand but her own had ever touched. Her distraction cost her as he charged forward. His right hand darted forward as he stepped forward, pivoting at the waist.

She brought a hand up to deflect it, but it was a feint, and his left leg came up in a kick as she was forced to concede ground. She couldn't help her own secretive smile. Ben was the only one who was allowed to see it.

"Battle, You wanna win it~ lets have a battle, battle of the hands~!" She was caught off guard as he stepped into her guard, a viper like strike of his right hand neatly lashing against her arm as his right foot moved forward, slamming firmly on the ground. The attacking hand came back toward his chest in a defensive gesture...then his left foot came forward, along with a lashing viper left hand.

His flow continued, uninterrupted, as she was forced to retreat. It was relentless, it was not something he was taught, it was turning her on so damn much!

Seriously, she could feel her body shuddering with each turned aside strike. Her cheeks were a rosy pink, and she was breathing heavily as she worked to keep up with his attack. Her shoulder ached, the only clean hit he'd had when he had entered his seemingly unstoppable flow.

The wall hit her back, and she could only manage a soft "crap" as his speed seemed to double. She was pinned, and she knew it. An attempt to move left was thwarted with ease, and his left hand pinned her right. She hesitated, and found her left wrist was likewise pinned.

"Battle, we'll go all in it~! Battle, a battle of the lips~!" He leaned forward, and she felt her heart and hormones surge as their lips met. She could taste his sweat on his lips, and her own chest heaved as they savored each others lips. She could feel herself shaking as he stole her lips with a hunger that was born of YEARS of teasing.

Her efforts had finally paid off as she was crushed against the wall. His grip loosened, and she ripped them from his hold. Her hand found the front of his training robe, and seized hold.

Don't you DARE stop, Benjamin Tennyson. Do you know how damn LONG I've been waiting for this? All those years of teasing, all those years of feeding your hormones, all that time spent plotting...don't you dare stop!

Ben, on the other hand, had no intention of stopping as he hungrily supped on his beautiful cousin's lips. "Gwen...I love you, so never change." He mumbled softly, wrapping his arms around her. She stiffened in his arms, and for a moment, she pulled back, staring him in the eyes as if searching for something.

"You...You're not kidding. You're...actually serious?" Gwen was dumbfounded. The box of forbidden things cracked, and pandora's box opened. She couldn't help but laugh softly as he looked down at her in such a serious way. "You...You're a whirlwind of chaos, aren't you Benjamin Tennyson? I should have known it was that simple." She smiled, leaning up and pecking his lips.

"That's a verbose way to say 'I love you too', Gwen." Ben stated, his cocky smirk returning. Gwen melted, kissing him again with all the heat of the previous kiss.

The line was crossed, and both know they could never go back.

"You're still a dweeb, Gwen...but no one but me gets to call you that."

"I'd have it no other way, doofus, but I took it easy on you this time. Next time it won't be so easy."

"If this the prize, Gwen, then consider me the best student you'll ever have."

"Ben, you're the only student I have."

"Exactly."

So yeah, the best I've got from my long, long absence. It's not great, but it's something.

Bye bye, Read and review~