Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It has been a rough day for Ben frankly. They'd been driving in this stupid desert for hours with nothing but sand and heat around, his Grandpa making weird yucky foods that he didn't wanna eat, his cousin not letting him play any games on her laptop- really everything was just going wrong if you asked him! At this point he was just sitting on his bed, arms crossed and pouting, because what else was there to do? his game system was out of battery, he'd read all his comic books a million times, and there wasn't anything outside to do!

The Rust Bucket came to a sudden shuddering halt, causing Ben to thunk his head against the wall- another bad thing to add to the list!- as Grandpa Max stood from the driver's seat with a sigh.

"Looks like something's wrong with the old girl, I'll go out and check the engine- Ben, want to come with?"

Ben grumbled a slight bit from his spot, but still climbed off the bed to follow- looking at the engine was still better than being bored. The two exited the Rust Bucket and made their way to the hood, sun beating down on them both and making the air almost shimmer. The hood was popped up as Grandpa Max began to fiddle around inside, checking on various components Ben couldn't tell you the name of if you payed him. This was boring, and it was hot, and now there was an annoying little beeping that practically drilled into his head- wait, beeping?

With a flash of green, Ben stepped back as the omnitrix seemed to activate on its own, causing the boy to change- rocks and fire took over his body, and when the light disappeared in his place was the form of Heatblast, his pyronite transformation. The flames of his head grew brighter and lighter as he gritted his teeth.

"Stupid watch! I didn't tell you to do that! Change me back right now now now!" He stomped, shaking his fists a bit as Max paused. He looked at his grandson, eyes squeezed shut as the boy burned bright in what seemed to be anger. This could end up bad, he had to do something.

"Hey Ben, how about we go away from the Rust Bucket for a second? Why don't we blow off some steam?" He offered a smile as gestured for the boy to follow as he began walking. Ben hissed a bit, making a crackling sound, but followed with stomps muffled by the dry sand. The two walked for a ways, getting clear of the rv, before Max stopped.

"This is far enough, why don't you let out some of that anger here? There's nothing around besides us so it's safe." As soon as he was given permission, Ben immediately let out a bit of a yell, fireballs forming in his hands as he launched them at the ground. Plumes of fire erupted from his hands and head as he ran around and stomped, pausing on occasion to flap his hands and hiss like a raging inferno. By the time he was done, panting a bit, a lot of the sand had melted into glass from the intense heat it had been subjected to. Grandpa Max slowly walked over from his position, notably away from where the fire had been thrown.

"Do you wanna tell me what's going on kiddo?"

Ben made a sniffling sound as he plopped into the ground, hands coming to try and rub at his eyes as tears (not of water but of what looked like magma) formed and fell to the ground, scorching the sand further.

"It's stupid! Everythin's been sucky and hot and boring and the food's been yucky tex'ure and smelly, and and Gwen won't let me play any games on her 'puter, an' I've been feeling fuzzy and ucky all day and I hate it! I hate everything!" His flames burned brighter, a yellow that bordered on white, as he yelled at the ground. Grandpa Max paused, before kneeling in front of him.

"Why didn't you say anything? I know this day hasn't been the most exciting, and I like expanding you kids' palettes, but I'm sure we could have found something to do and something new to eat, I don't want you to suffer," He hovered a hand over his grandson's shoulder, making sure not the touch the burning hot rocks but still provide a similar gesture, "And you said you've been feeling fuzzy? Is there a chance you've been feeling small? We did do that bit of research, maybe that's why everything's felt more overwhelming."

Ben sniffled, hiccuping a slight bit before nodding. "Think so.. stupid fuzzy feelin's..."

"Now Ben, I know you're overhelmed, but those feeling aren't stupid, they let you know when things are getting to much and you need a break. Your feelings matter to me."

Ben nodded a little bit, scrubbing at his eyes. "C'n I stay out here a li'l? Don't wanna go in yet.."

Grandpa Max smiled, giving a nod as he placed his knees and stood. "Of course kiddo, How about you get all your big emotions out until the watch times out, then by the time you're ready to come back I bet the ol' Rust Bucket will be as good as new."

"Rus' Bucket's not new, it's super old." Ben said, a slight giggle in his voice as the last of his tears dried. "T'ank you.."

"Of course Ben, you're my grandson. Just come back when you're ready, before you know it we'll be somewhere a bit more fun." He offered a wave as he walked back to the RV, Ben slowly standing and looking at the pretty glass he'd made in his tantrum. He had some time before the omnitrix turned him back, and shooting more fire sounded fun right about now, a good way to get those big feelings out. As he slowly formed another fireball in his hand, he smiled a little. This might have been a lot of emotions, but Ben liked the idea of spending some of his little time as his aliens.

Chapter Text

Ben was definitely feeling small, and despite being surrounded by woods he could play in at the campsite they'd stopped at, he was bored- and in his opinion, feeling both bored and little was basically torture! They'd already set everything up, Gwen was busy on her laptop, and Grandpa Max was out collecting firewood, so he was basically alone! With a little sigh he began twisting and turning the omnitrix, listening to the little clicks and beeps it made- until he paused, looking at a hologram.

Wildmutt! He liked that alien, it was fun getting to explore around with such different senses, that would be a cure for his boredom! With a bright smile on his face, he slammed his hand down on the dial and was engulfed in a flash of green. Gwen quickly looked up, blinking the light from her eyes as in the place of her cousin stood a particular orange doglike alien. Ben immediately came bounding over to her, shoving his head into her lap and giving the best equivalent to puppy dog eyes that an eyeless alien can give.

"What do you want, doofus?" Gwen questioned, letting out a sigh as she closed her laptop. Ben whined a little, trying to shove his head into her hands- ah, ok, she thinks she understands. She began to pet Ben's fur, scratching him behind his gills as he let out a happy bark and started panting. In his excitement, Ben tried to leap onto his cousin's lap, bowling them both off the picnic bench and onto the grass.

Gwen pushed his face away, scowling a tiny bit, "Alright alright, that's enough! Down boy, or whatever-" she stood, dusting herself off as Ben let out a whine, "You have way too much energy."

She looked around, hands on her hips, until she spotted what she was looking for- a rather big stick. She could definitely pick it up and throw it, which would be good for this next step. She quickly picked up the stick and held it in the air, waving it a bit, "Want the stick Ben? Go get it!" And with that, she tossed it as far as she could.

Ben immediately let out a few barks, leaping toward where he could smell the stick. His scent gills flared as he sniffed the ground, padding along until he found the object that smelled faintly of his cousin. He grabbed the stick in his fangs, proudly tramping back toward where the scent grew stronger, he wanted to show his cousin he'd found it!

Gwen's eyes focused on her screen as she typed away, only stopping and looking up when she felt something thud against her. She looked to her side to find Ben, stick in his mouth as he gently tapped her with it before sitting down, smiling proudly. Gwen let out a fond sigh before patting him in the head, "Good job Ben."

He dropped the stick at her feet, panting and smiling with his head tilted. She looked between her cousin and the stick, before standing with a slight exhale of exasperation, "Ok ok, I'll throw it a few more times but that's it, got it?" he quickly barked in response, immediately rising to all fours as she picked up the stick and tossed it.

As he chased after the scent, Ben couldn't help smiling and doing slight wiggles. He liked playing with his pack

Chapter Text

Ben hated being stuck in one place, especially when it was for a boring reason- He'd just beaten up Animo again, and the omnitrix hadn't timed out yet. It hadn't even been a particularly satisfying fight- he'd been trying to get Four Arms, but his watch had given him Diamondhead, and while it was a good matchup the transformation always dulled his senses quite a bit, so punching a large squishy frog wasn't exactly the most satisfying feeling. His grandpa was currently outside, talking with a few officers about what he 'witnessed', and Ben was stuck inside the Rust Bucket because he couldn't just go out and expose himself while he was still an alien.

He let out a sigh, creating a thin crystal in his hand that he gripped tightly. Ben began to absentmindedly scratch at his blue skin with it, listening to the scritches and humming a little at the feeling of rock-on-rock. It stung a tiny bit, but with how Diamondhead dulled sensation, it was almost a welcome pain. He heard a slight click of the Rust Bucket's door, causing him to look up and turn his head.

"I'm back Ben, sorry that took longer than I-" Grandpa Max paused, looking at his grandson, "What are you doing?"

Ben looked down, noticing he was still scratching himself with his crystal construct. "Oh, I dunno, bored," He shrugged.

Max sighed a slight bit and sat down, carefully taking the thin crystal from Ben's hands. "I don't want you scratching yourself, I know Diamondhead is tough but it's still not good for you. Do you know why you're doing it?"

He shrugged once more, tapping a finger on the table. "I dunno, bored and the fight was super boring and I think I feel a little young? Not like normal young, a bit older? But still younger, aybe that's got something to do with it, just need some sorta sensation thingy." He let out a slight mouth-fart sound, letting his head thunk onto the tabletop.

Grandpa Max placed a hand on his chin, pausing as he thought of a solution. He perked up, snapping his fingers as he smiled. "I have an idea!"

Ben looked up slightly, tilting his head in curiosity. Grandpa Max gently pat his hand, "Summon a couple of crystals, whatever shape you want, maybe something drumlike?" His grandson gave a slightly confused nod as he created a few small crystals that fit in his hand, as well as a plate sized and flatter crystal. He looked to his Grandpa for approval, who continued, "Now, try hitting the crystals!"

Ben gave a testing tap, immediately perking up at the sensation. When the crystals hit each other, they made a vibration that reverberated throughout his arm and into his chest. He immediately started hitting the crystals together harder, revelling in the loud klik klik of rocks hitting and the strong vibrations that travelled through his body. Grandpa Max gave a nod, slowly standing and heading to the driver's seat (after making sure Gwen was inside the RV, he was not losing one of his grandkids), turning on the ignition.

Ben smiled as he kept playing with his crystals, humming along with the vibrations. He'd definitely have to remember to do this again next time he was bored.

Chapter Text

Ben didn't know how long they'd been on the road, but frankly it was too long in his opinion. The travel between place to place was the most boring part of this whole road trip, and at this point Ben had taken to fiddling with the omnitrix to try and alleviate any of his boredom. Beeps and slight whirrs emanated from the watch as he turned it back and forth, watching the silhouette on its face swap from alien to alien. He let out a sigh and stopped, going to stretch his arms a bit, when he accidentally hit the omnitrix's face against one of the walls.

A flash of green overtook the room yet quickly dissipated, and in its place was a very tiny froglike alien. Turning into Grey Matter hadn't been part of Ben's plan, but this was an opportunity for entertainment for as long as he was stuck in this form. With a quick series of leaps, he made it to the sink cabinet and pried them open, spotting his prize- a relatively small plastic tote he had shoved inside randomly. Ben quickly pulled the tote free, lifting it over his head as he began to semi-parkour his way onto the counter, tote in tow, before depositing it into the sink with a thud. The faucet was quickly turned on, and he sat on the edge of the sink as his tote filled up- this was perfect, his body was quite adept for swimming and his container was large enough at his current size to be able to float in well. Though now that he thought about it, there was a slight problem.

How would he get it out of the sink?

Gwen slowly made her way to the kitchen in search of a snack, not paying too much attention, until she heard a very distinct high-pitched mumbling- great, looks like her doofus cousin was around, and in his tiniest form. Her eyes darted around before landing on the site before her, her cousin pacing on top of the sink counter while occasionally looking at a tote full of water in the sink, muttering to himself the whole time.

"Perhaps if I use the faucet as an anchor point, I could create a pulley system to lift the container out of the sink and swing it onto the counter? But that would run the risk of accidentally spilling all of the water, which would make this endeavor quite pointless- perhaps if I find the right angle-"

Gwen let out a rather exasperated huff before moving closer, picking up the tote from the sides with a slight grunt at the weight- Ben looked up at her as she rolled her eyes.

"Dweeb. Where do you want this?"

Ben scowled a slight bit and crossed his arms, turning away in slight embarrassment, "On the dining room table, if you would." Gwen gave a curt nod before lugging the tote, her cousin quickly hopping onto her shoulder to hitch a ride.

The tote was quickly placed onto the tabletop, water sloshing as Ben practically leapt from her shoulder into his now personal pool. He floated to the surface, laying on his back and letting out pleased little croaks. He felt a bit like a tadpole at the moment, just floating along in the water, a nice fuzzy feeling creeping in his brain(s)- though this didn't fully diminish his boredom. Ben grabbed onto the edge of the tote and lifted himself out a little bit, resting his chin on the edge as he looked at his cousin, who was looking at her phone.

"Do you perhaps have any games?"

Gwen paused, looking at the tiny frog alien and his big sad eyes, "I have sudoku, but I'm not letting you touch my phone- you're wet."

"That's fine, we can play together! It will be much more interesting that way." He smiled, sharp teeth curved in glee as he bounced in the water slightly. Gwen rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth quirking up as she let out a sigh. She leaned against the table, phone naturallg angled away from her cousin's sight.

"Finee, ok here's what the board looks like- four eight blank, blank blank two, five blank blank...."

Grandpa Max parked the Rust Bucket at a gas station, slowly standing with a groan as his joints popped slightly- he quickly snagged two little treats he had picked up last time the group had stopped, but that he'd forgotten to give to his grandkids- He followed the sounds of talking to the kitchen/dining area, where he found a bit of a sight- Gwen and Ben seemed to be playing a game, sudoku if he had to guess, with Ben giving the answers to his cousin without being able to see the screen. Normally Max would chastise Gwen for making it harder deliberately, but they both seemed to be enjoying himself, so he would let them have there fun. He walked over, and help up his treat fir the two.

"Hey kids, I remembered I picked up a little something at our last stop- they're lollipops, but they have ants in them, I figured it would be a good way to expand your palettes, try something new." He smiled as he held the suckers out. Gwen couldn't keep the slight grimace off her face as she gave a 'no thanks', but Ben seemed to light up and make a slight grabby motion, letting out froglike chirps. Grandpa Max smiled and took the plastic off of one, handing it to his grandson who happily took a few licks before carefully resting it upright against the tote. His focus shifted back to his cousin, quickly returning to talking.

"Now where was I? Ah yes the twenty-nineth spot- that's the upper middle spot on the middle left box- should be a 3.."

Max turned toward the front of the Rust Bucket as he began to exit, a smile on his face. It was nice seeing his grandkids get along.

Chapter Text

Ben and his family were stopped for the day at a campground- at least that's what it called itself, in Ben's opinion if it's just a big open field with no trees it doesn't count as a camp. Grandpa and Gwen were doing their own thing, and this left him feeling rather... bored. Ben hopped off of the bed where he sat in the Rust Bucket, speedwalking his way outside to find Grandpa Max. A quick tug on his sleeve got his attention.

"Grandpa Max I'm boreddd, could we wrestle? We used to do that when I was a kid! I wanna do it again!" Ben quickly demanded, rocking back and forth on his heels- ok, maybe part of that boredom was him feeling rather small.

His grandpa gave a smile and ruffled his hair, nodding. "Sure Ben, let's just move away from the campfire, I haven't lit it yet but we don't want to ruin the set up."

Nodding excitedly, Ben quickly rushed a good few feet away before bouncing a little, watching as Grandpa Max meandered over. His grandpa gave a little nod, and Ben's face broke into a wide smile as he slammed his hand on the omnitrix's dial. A green light flashed around him, and when it faded in his place was a very tall, red, four armed alien. Grandpa Max startled slightly, before quickly recovering- he hadn't been expecting Ben to want to wrestle while transformed, though he supposed his grandson did quite like using Four Arms.

Max quickly set his stance to something more sturdy before nodding once more, and Ben took that as his cue to rush forward. The two clashed, hands grappling as they pushed against each other- it was very obvious Ben was holding back so he didn't hurt his grandpa. Once Max began to slide back a little bit, Ben quickly used his other two arms to grab him and swing him around, pressing him to the ground and slightly pinning him. Grandpa Max smiled, trying to push his grandson off of him, but Ben took his arm and pinned it behind the man's back, letting out little laughs. Oh, ow that kinda of hurt- he quickly used his free hand to tap a few times on his grandson's arm, and the kid very quickly got off. He stood up with a slight groan, holding his shoulder a little.

"Are you ok? Did- did I hurt you?" Ben immediately seemed to hunch in on himself, head tilted down but eyes big and wet and anxious as he fidgeted- he looked so small, a rather impressive feat for a 10 foot alien.

Grandpa Max winced a little, bit gave a smile. "I'll be fine kiddo, I'm just getting a bit old, not used to this sort of roughhousing anymore. We had fun though, right?" his grandson gave a nod, messing with his hands as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Ben walked over and leaned down quite a bit, placing his forehead on top of his grandpa's head and giving a slight nuzzle to his hair.

"'M sorry.."

"It's ok Ben, you didn't mean it, how about we head back over to the campfire and you can help me light it? I know it's not dark, but I think it'd still be fun to make smores even if it's a bit early, no?" The prospect of smores got the kid to smile, nodding a bit against his grandpa's hair. He stood back up to his full height, shifting slightly still, but in a much better mood. "Once we get it set up, you can go get Gwen, we wouldn't want her to miss out."

The two slowly walked back over to the small fire pit, and Ben began to set the sticks up in a sort of cone shape like he'd been taught. He'd make the best campfire ever to make it up to his grandpa.