Alien Force. Ben's thoughts on Gwen and Kevin. Gwen/Kevin, NO Ben/Gwen. Mild swearing and very slight innuendo. Spoilers through "What Are Little Girls Made of?"

Dedicated to my very own twin cousin, born just a few hours before me. Sharing a birthday does kind blow on occasion. But it's kinda cool too.

All characters and situations belong to Cartoon Network. I'm borrowing them for fun and not profit.

On Gwen and Kevin

There is a simple, undeniable fact of childhood:

Every kid, at some point in time, HATES their brothers or sisters.

Of course, one day, when they're older and wiser, they say they didn't. Sometime between hair-pulling and reminiscing grey-haired over cockroach salad (ok, I don't really know what normal old people eat), they construct this nice fantasy of how, deep down, they always really loved and respected each other.

NOT TRUE.

Truth of the matter is everyone had at least some moment where they wouldn't have minded chucking their sibling off the nearest bridge.

That was certainly true of me and Gwen.

Yeah, yeah, she's not my real sister. But she is the closest thing I have to one, and while she has Ken, I'd like to think she thinks of me as her "other" brother.

Gwen is my best friend. She's my confidant, my advisor, my conscience. She gives me a quick kick in the ass when I need it, and she lightens the load when I'm stressed. She makes me laugh and smile when things are at their most bleak. I know she completely has my back, and I'd do anything for her.

But yeah, I used to hate her.

She was annoying and bossy and a know-it-all. I couldn't stand her self-righteous attitude or smugness. At 10 years old she was the bane of my existence. It was bad enough being related, but having to SHARE EVERYTHING? Birthdays sucked; I mean, your birthday should be one day that was just yours, right? Then I had to share my perfect summer vacation, just me and Grandpa, with her annoyingness.

I mean, how much is one 10-year-old supposed to take, anyway?

One shared summer of fighting aliens and a couple years of maturity later, and we're best friends. But back then, yeah, we hated each other. If Gwen is being honest, she'll admit it, too.

At 10, we had no concept of real hate. Siblings don't really want each other DEAD, per se, just as far away from each other as humanly possible. They're basically just convinced they'd be happier and just better off if the others weren't there.

By the time we turned 11, we'd learned real hate. Real hate became an emotion that belonged to those who try to hurt people you care about, plan to enslave your world, and take over your body. Hate is reserved for the real evil, beings like Vilgax, Hex, and, later, DNAliens.

And, of course, Kevin.

Hating Kevin was always easy. He back-stabbed me, stole my powers, and tried to steal the Omnitrix. He framed me, tried to kill me, and used Gwen and Grandpa Max to get to me. He was constantly vying with Vilgax for the "top villain" spot in my little rogue's gallery. The fact that under all that mutation and anger was just another kid like me somehow made it all the worse. He could have been me and I could have been him; we were yin and yang, black and white, hot and cold. That made me hate him even more.

Which leads me to think: Maybe, deep down, I still hate Gwen a little.

Strange transition, huh? But really, sometimes, I wonder what I'm thinking. What she's thinking. Even what Kevin's thinking. Cause, honestly, who would willingly support their best friend and cousin dating KEVIN?

Logically, it makes no sense. A month ago, I wouldn't have crossed the street to save the guy's life. In fact, I probably would have joined in with the group of aliens beating the crap out of him, then pointed and laughed as he bled to death (never said I was a saint). A month ago I would have pulled aside whatever poor sob of a girl who by some lack of brain power decided to fall for him and try to talk some sense into her. Hell, I'd probably warn VILGAX against dating him, if either of them swung that way.

So what in the world am I thinking? If I was her real brother, I'd probably be chasing him down in whatever alien form was most handy. If Ken knew a quarter of what I do, Kevin probably wouldn't be walking under his own power, superpowers or no.

Do I have some kind of secret hatred of Gwen I've somehow hid from myself all these years? Some desire to see her betrayed and heartbroken? Kevin's track record speaks for itself. Sure, he seems to not be who he was, and I do, to some extent, trust him. I trust that this isn't some big, major plot of his, to gain our trust and then betray us. I don't honestly think he'd be here with us if he didn't want to either. He's here cause he wants to be, and not entirely for any real selfish reasons either. Saving the world sure doesn't pay like arms dealing or offer the freedom of a life of revenge and anger. He's paid his debt to Magister. Whatever is driving Kevin now days is a mystery to me, but I trust him for what it's worth.

But there are still ways I don't trust him. I don't know what I or Gwen will be when we grow up, but I know WHO we'll be. We both got Grandpa Max's heart, a strong desire to see good done, and a stubborn streak where we won't quit no matter what's thrown at us. I know we, and Ken, Julie, and dozens of other people I could name, will turn out alright. I don't know who Kevin will be. Five years ago, he was the "bad-boy" friend, five years minus one day he was a horrible enemy, and a couple weeks ago he became a friend. It's really hard to keep a score card on that guy. I was telling the truth when I said it's what he does that matters, but I don't know WHAT he'll do a few years down the road.

I don't think he really does, either. I don't know who Kevin thinks he'll be, if he feels he has a choice in the matter anymore. I think Kevin has given up making plans, because he's not ready to believe in anything anymore.

So why would I let Gwen date a guy like that? Granted, I couldn't really STOP her, part-alien-black-belt-with-enough-blackmail-material-on-me-to-make-me-lock-myself-in-my room-until-I'm-30 that she is. But I could at least try to talk her out of it, instead of joining her in egging Kevin on (as much fun as that is). I don't know who Kevin will be, and yeah, we're only 15, but we're OLD 15, and I don't want to think about what having an ex, who you've been through so much with, turn evil will do to Gwen. She doesn't deserve to have to have lingering feelings for a guy who's trying to kill her. She should never have to be back-stabbed in such an intimate way.

So I'm still here, wondering why I don't try to nip this in the butt, whatever this is, or turns out to be. I can't even figure out when in started, and I was there with them the whole time, unless they were brain-washed into it in the five minutes I was fighting the head DNAlien guy. It wasn't gradual either, one day we're fighting Kevin in the train yard and a couple weeks later they're fighting over who-asks-who-out-when. No gradual there. It seems all it took was a touch on the shoulder, a kind word here, a bit of protectiveness there, some trust given without it actually having to be earned.

Maybe their attraction isn't as simple or as complicated as I think. Maybe it's not just hormones or dark-side attractiveness. Maybe Kevin appreciates Gwen more for giving him a chance then he does for any physical attributes that I'm-not-going-to-think-about-cause-she's-my-cousin. Maybe Gwen isn't as attracted to his bad-boyness as much as his concern for her shows his potential for goodness. And he was the one who saw past my and Uncle Frank and Aunt Lilly's best wishes for her and gave her what she really wanted; for someone to really WANT her to stay. We all might have lost her otherwise. Add to that the fact that he isn't rushing things, that he's taking his time and being more respectful of her than I would have thought possible, being so careful…

I guess that's why I've been ok with this. Not so much as I trust their judgments; we're 15-16 year olds and I'm pretty sure making bad relationship decisions is part of our rights. They each bring out something… good in the other, something that no one else can seem to. I guess I want that for them more than I worry about how this is all going to blow up in all of our faces.

Gwen and Kevin. It really didn't take as much getting used to as I thought it should. It's nice to know that I really don't have any secret hatred of either of them anymore too. Just a desire to let them be who they are.

And being the supportive, non-judgmental friend-cousin-former enemy? Kinda rules.

Wow! I've written two stories! And actually uploaded them! NEVER would have guessed that this of all fandoms would actually get me to do so. Now if I could only learn how to write dialogue and actual plot...