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Kenji POV
Kenji Kon knows three things with absolute certainty-
One: that he has amazing hair. Not open for debate, thanks.
Two: that he is insanely rich. Okay, yeah, his Dad is the rich one, but by theory of relativity or whatever, that makes him rich too.
Three, which he discovered recently: Ben has a thing for his butt.
Kenji can't blame him. He does have a great butt, after all, but jungle-boy can hardly keep his eyes to himself. Not that he ever could, now that Kenji thinks about it. Before the monorail, Ben used to stare at (and touch) his arms and chest. And yes, Kenji is proud of them, too.
Ben has gotten an eyeful several times, and Kenji admits to making a show of it. He first noticed Ben's lingering eyes when he joined Kenji on night-watch. He made sure he leaned over the railing almost obnoxiously after noticing this. Later when the group went to scavenge the hunter's campsite, Kenji made a show of picking something heavy up, and with perfect form, he might add. He's also made sure to go before Ben every time they needed to climb the ladder at camp.
Honestly, he’s known since the first day of camp that the smaller teen is attracted to him. Anyone with eyes could look at the way he'd cling to Kenji when he was scared and just know. Seriously, during the gyro-sphere incident, Ben had been practically glued to him. He would do everything he could to be near him, even when something scary wasn’t happening, all the while complaining.
Kenji likes the attention. Of course he does. The entire world knows that Kenji loves any and all attention. But with Ben it's… different. It's rare that Kenji actually receives the attention he's trying to get. He acts out to get any sort of reaction from his Dad, which isn't always successful. He tried doing nice things for Candy, but she is as cold as ever. His servants dote on him and make sure he has everything he asks for, but that's just their job. Heck, he and Darius almost got eaten when he tried to impress Brooklynn!
With Ben, he just had to exist, and Ben gave him all the attention he could ever want. Even when they were bickering or trading insults, Kenji enjoyed it. He was never close enough to anyone before to have that kind of rapport. Honestly, he feels that way about everyone, but with Ben it's just different.
It's all so new to Kenji.
If it wasn’t obvious yet: he likes Ben, too. When the campers thought Ben was gone, Kenji took it the hardest (okay maybe he and Darius were tied) and he tried to distract himself with anything and everything. Scooters, walkies, helping Brooklynn film a new video for her vlog. He tried, in vain, to distract from the ache in his heart. Wearing Ben's dork-pouch didn't help much, but it was the only thing he thought he had left of the other. It sucked that it took “losing” Ben to realize what he felt for him.
But he's back now! He's just. Different. Weird? Yeah, kind of. This new wild-child version of Ben was certainly surprising back when they were dealing with Mitch, Tiff, and Hap. That didn’t stop Kenji from hugging the crap out of him when he showed up, though. Sure, Ben now eats grubs and won't shut up about defeating Toro, but now that it’s been a few weeks (months??), Kenji and everyone else is used to new Ben. Kenji finds he doesn't mind how take charge and confident the other is now.
He also might have been avoiding Ben for a while because of this change. Again, not because he doesn't like it! It's just that Ben is very different than he used to be, and Kenji just wanted to make sure he had the space to get used to them, no pressure. But it had been weeks and Kenji didn't have the courage to rekindle anything. He may have compensated by watching him like a mother hen. Creepy? Maybe. But, they've recently talked things out and are on better terms now, though it's still far from what they had before.
One thing for sure has carried over from old Ben to new Ben: checking Kenji out. Kenji takes this as a good sign, that maybe they could be close again. With that in mind, Kenji plans to turn up his flirt game.
--
Thanks to him and Sammy discovering Mitch and Tiff’s yacht during their paragliding misadventure, the group has hope once again for getting off the island. And, thanks to this discovery, everyone needs swimsuits so they can get to aforementioned yacht. Which, not only means that Kenji may get the chance to see Ben in something other than the rags he's been wearing, but it's also another chance for him to show off for the smaller teen.
They waited for the Rex on Main Street to leave before they hit one of the stores. Everyone, except for Ben who volunteered to keep watch for the Rex, is able to find something. Kenji, of course, makes it his job to find a pair of shorts for Ben while searching for a pair for himself. He lucks out with black shorts that were similar to the ones he brought with him to the island but had lost. For Ben, he goes with white shorts, a nice contrast with his own. There was a really nice green and black one, but when he noticed it had pteranodons on them, he immediately decided against it.
They all regroup by the shore, swimsuits in hand, then spread out in the nearby brush so they can change in privacy. Kenji, however, follows Ben who's tending to Bumpy. He sticks his hand out with the shorts, offering them to the other teen. Ben looks at the shorts briefly before returning his attention to Bumpy again.
“Thanks, but I don’t need ‘em.” Kenji visibly deflates.
“What, you’re gonna swim over there in that?” He gestures at Ben's outfit.
“Sure. This way, I won't lose 'em and they’ll get washed in the ocean.”
This isn't working. Also, ew. Kenji, quick on his feet, decides to try the classic "guilt trip" method.
"After all that trouble I went to get them for you. Braving a Rex den, risking my life..." A mock-rueful tone drips from his voice.
"First of all, no you didn't. Second, I was on watch and you guys weren't in danger. I mean, thanks and all for grabbing them for me, but I didn't actually ask you to." Ben doesn't even look at him when he says it.
Kenji just stares at the other blankly. Yeah, what Ben said is all true, but... This is one thing about 'new' Ben that Kenji isn't too keen on- his aloofness. He'd been very vocal about his opinions before the monorail, but he was at least spirited. He'll still get worked up now and then, but there'll be times, like now, that he doesn't know if he's upset him or if Ben is really just that disinterested. Disappointed that his plan backfired, Kenji sighs in resignation.
“Fine.” He grumbles under his breath. He turns away from the other two and starts to strip.
Ben POV
Kenji doesn't sound too happy with him. Ben knows he's disappointed he didn't want the shorts. Maybe he shouldn't have been so direct with his reasons, and he did feel kind of bad when the other's mood dipped almost immediately because of him. He did go out of his way to make sure he wasn't left out, after all... Ah. It's whatever. He'll get over it.
He can hear Kenji changing his clothes behind him, and he makes it a point to keep his gaze directed at Bumpy. Ben playfully rubs the ankylosaurus' face, soothing her as she coos.
A sudden, annoyed grunt from Kenji catches his attention, making him turn his head. He was expecting to find the taller teen with his head stuck in his shirt, but instead he catches an eyeful of Kenji’s shirtless back. And pants-less bottom. Kenji is bent over slightly, having snagged his foot on the new shorts. He really should look away, or help him or something.
But as creepy as it sounds, he just can't bring himself to. Ben's eyes follows his spine from his broad shoulders, along his tanned back, past his tiny waist, down to his bare rump. After what was probably seconds but felt like an eternity to Ben, Kenji finally unsnags the shorts and pulls them up. He starts to turn back towards him, and Ben whips around as fast as he can.
Blushing furiously, he refocuses on Bumpy who softly groans in what Ben assumes was concern. He shushes her and strokes her face again, trying to distract himself from the other behind him.
Idiot, why'd you look??
Kenji POV
Kenji knows Ben looked. He always knows. His intention wasn't actually to flash him, just for him to appreciate his bare torso and new shorts, maybe flex those arms he knows Ben loves. But hey, happy accidents do happen. He smirks to himself before tapping Ben on the shoulder. The other teen jumps and turns around, startled. Thanks to their height difference, Ben finds himself eye level with Kenji’s chest. His cheeks grow impossibly redder, and he settles on avoiding looking at Kenji at all.
“W-what?” Kenji finds his nervous stuttering cute. Reminds him of 'old' Ben.
“Uh, it's time to go?”
“Oh.” Ben says rather dumbly.
Taking pity on him, Kenji puts his arm over his shoulders good naturedly and leads him back to where the others are already gathered.
When the group notices them coming, Kenji removes his arm. Yaz looks between the pair, then gives Ben a look.
“What, no swimsuit? I thought Kenji said he was going to get you one, too.” She folds her arms and looks at Kenji. The tall teen in question holds up his hands defensively.
“He did. I just prefer my normal stuff.”
“Uh-huh." Yaz squints her eyes at him. "And what’s with your face? Did you get sunburned or something?”
Ben immediately enters fight-or-flight mode, runs past Darius and Brooklynn and jumps head first into the water, heading toward the rock near the yacht. He can vaguely hear Bumpy crying out for him.
Yaz cocks a brow and nudges Sammy who was next to her. Sammy just shrugs, the two sharing a look.
Kenji smiles fondly and jumps in after Ben. If this yacht turns out to be the answer to their prayers, his time left to even be with Ben, and everyone else for that matter, might be coming to an end. A weird, confusing ache settles in at the thought, but he ignores it. They're all in good spirits, and he should be too. He's going to make the most of today, and every day they have left together. He has hope that he and Ben will get back to being comfortable around each other, before they (hopefully) all made their way home.
Until then, he'll continue to mess with Ben.
2022 Redraw!
