Work Text:
“I’m heading out!” Ben called out to his mom as he was putting on his sneakers for his daily morning run.
When he opened the door, he was met with a blue fist. Ben jumped back, surprised.
Rook looked just as surprised, wide eyes blinking twice. Rook’s surprised expression was quickly replaced with joy spotting Ben.
“Ben!” he beamed. He lowered his hand which had been poised to knock on Ben’s front door.
“Hey, Rook…” Ben was unsure why Rook was at his house. “Patrol’s not for another couple hours. What are you doing here?” Rook had been picking up Ben at his house for morning patrols, so that Ben wouldn’t be late, but he never arrived this early.
“Magister Tennyson informed me that you like to run in the morning before our patrols. I was hoping I could join you,” Rook said, putting his hands together.
Ben was hesitant to accept the invitation. Rook had only been Ben’s new hero partner for a couple of weeks now; the two weren’t that close. Ben was still unsure he even wanted a partner, confident he could go solo. But perhaps this was Rook’s way of reaching out to Ben. Ben couldn’t fault the guy for trying, even if his efforts were in vain.
“Um, sure,” Ben said, pushing past Rook. He jogged down the sidewalk. Rook followed Ben, quickly catching up to him.
Rook jogged next to Ben, matching his speed. His large size had pushed Ben off to the side of the path. When Ben looked up at Rook, and purposely bumped into his arm more than a few times, Rook only looked down and smiled at Ben. Ben shook his head, resigning himself to the small sliver of sidewalk Rook left for him for the next hour.
The two were quiet as they jogged together. Rook didn’t seem to mind, but Ben found it awkward.
To break the silence, Ben commented, “You’re wearing your plumber suit.” He himself was wearing what he always wore for his morning run: a fitting black shirt and a pair of old jogging sweats.
“My Proto-armor,” Rook corrected.
“Do you not have any other clothes to wear? Like, casual clothes?” Ben elaborated.
“I… had tried searching for new clothes when I arrived on Earth, but nothing I found fit me. I tried navigating your Earth clothing sizes, but they were just too confusing,” Rook explained. “But I do not mind, my Proto-tech armor is quite comfortable.”
Ben hummed, making a displeased face. Was he going to have to teach Rook how to shop on Earth too?
With the silence broken, Rook felt comfortable enough to speak. “On Revonnah, all our clothes are handmade, stitched from the hides of Muriods. They are typically stitched by your mother, until one is old enough to make clothes themselves. We do not have ‘malls’ or ‘shopping centers’. The most comparable thing would be ‘trade centers’ or ‘flea markets’. On Revonnah, when one outgrows their clothes, they can be given to other families in exchange for—”
Ben tuned out the cultural lesson from Rook. “Uh-huh,” Ben chimed, only half listening.
Once Rook had finished his short lecture, the two jogged in silence again. Rook’s lips pressed together, and eyes shifted to Ben often. He clearly wanted a response from Ben. Ben guessed he shouldn’t leave him hanging.
“Try searching in the ‘long and tall’ men’s section. They’ll have stuff to fit you. You should be able to find something.”
“I will take that into consideration,” Rook replied. The two fell quiet, the silence more uncomfortable than before.
Ben and Rook rounded the corner, exiting the suburbs and entering the busier streets of Bellwood. Tall buildings towered over them, and local shops were beginning to open. Streetlights turned off as the sun began to rise. Cars honked at one another, making little progress on their way to work in the middling Bellwood traffic. Children and teenagers walked along the sidewalk on their way to school, playing videos and music out loud on their phones.
Ben, having grown up around the chaos, was used to it. It was somewhat comforting, to hear others up and about, on his otherwise quiet morning run. The blur of sights and sounds was nothing compared to his alien fights.
But Ben noticed Rook was no longer by his side.
Ben slowed and turned towards Rook who had fallen behind, now leaning his hand against one of the tall Bellwood buildings.
“What’s wrong?” Ben asked. Ben couldn’t believe that Rook was tired already. They hadn’t been running for that long; Ben had expected a lot more out of a plumber agent.
“It-it is—It’s nothing, let’s keep going.” Rook pushed himself off the building, but he was unsteady on his feet.
“Maybe we should head back,” Ben said, turning around. If Rook couldn’t handle a simple jog, then Ben would seriously consider bringing up Rook’s lackluster stamina to Grandpa Max. He didn’t need someone holding him back.
Rook stopped him with an extended hand on Ben’s chest.
“It is just, I am not used to the loud sounds of the city yet.” Rook said. Ben saw Rook press his hand against one of his ears. “But I can keep going.”
Ben looked unimpressed as he hooked his arm around Rook’s, and dragged him through the alley way, away from the busy street. Ben had liked going down that street, liked seeing the people go about their normal lives, but perhaps Rook was more of an indoors person. The way he talked about studying and reading Ben’s file, Ben could easily imagine it.
Ben guided Rook to a quieter street. It was off his usual running path, but Ben would be able to manage.
Away from the noise, Rook caught his breath. “Thank you, partner.” Rook smiled.
“I’ve never seen you get overwhelmed like that before. You’ve been down that road a dozen times in your truck,” Ben pointed out.
“My truck is equipped with windows built for space travel. They are quite thick, and block out most sounds,” Rook explained. The smile slipped off his face as Ben didn’t acknowledge his gratitude.
“Oh.” Ben had never noticed before.
“Let’s continue our run,” Rook said. “I am ready to go!” he moved his legs up and down, exaggerating running in place.
Rook jogged down one of the sidewalks, leaving Ben behind. Ben frowned at Rook’s enthusiasm.
“This way,” Ben called out, as he started to jog down the other way. Rook made a quick u-turn, quickly catching up to Ben.
Ben and Rook quietly jogged, interrupted by a ringing bell. Up the road, Ben and Rook watched as two bank robbers burst out of a wall, bags of money flung over their shoulders. They looked around before running off down the street.
Rook reached up to grab his Proto-Tool from his shoulder, but when he grabbed nothing but air, he realized he had left it in his truck.
“Leave it to me!” Ben said, slamming his Omnitrix down. In a green flash, Ben transformed into Bloxx. Extending his arms down the street, Ben grabbed the two bank robbers. The bank robbers struggled in his block hands. Bloxx sent another wave of himself down his arms to create a makeshift dome around the two robbers, enclosing them within.
Bloxx retracted his hands as the Omnitrix timed out, and transformed back into Ben. He ran up ahead, and stood in front of the hole in the wall on the side of the bank. “Everyone, okay?” Ben asked. The scared bank patrons nodded, and cheered for Ben.
Ben turned back to Rook. “Should we keep going?” Ben said casually. He felt proud, happy he was able to show off to Rook his hero skills. He hadn’t been able to do that on their first day.
“I see…” Rook was astounded. Ben smirked with pride and smugness. Perhaps Rook had finally realized just how great he is, and that Ben Tennyson didn’t need a partner—
“That is why there are so many incident reports before our morning patrol,” Rook concluded.
Ben was taken aback, miffed that that is what Rook took away from what he just witnessed.
Rook looked at Ben, as if he had just connected the last two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. “You cannot help but find trouble!”
Ben looked away, hiding the frustrated pout on his face from Rook.
“Yeah, sure,” Ben jogged up ahead. He passed the two robbers who were yelling for help to escape their makeshift prison. As Ben jogged around them, he looked back at Rook who was jogging behind him. Rook had a troubled look on his face, but Ben didn’t pay it any mind. He faced forward and continued running.
Ben and Rook slowed to a stop as they stood at the Bellwood Bridge. It connected the two halves of Bellwood together, spanning a medium distance across the ocean.
Ben stared across it, debating what he should do.
Rook noticed Ben’s hesitance. “Ben?”
Ben turned away from the bridge, “We should head back.”
“Is that what you normally do?” Rook asked.
“Well,” Ben began, “I usually do a full sprint down the bridge. But I don’t want to push you…”
“Not at all!” Rook exclaimed. “Please, do not change your routine for me,” Rook insisted. “I have barely beaten sweat!”
“It’s broken a sweat…” Ben corrected. He was still unsure.
At Ben’s hesitation, Rook looked down the bridge again. Ben could see the metaphorical lightbulb above Rook’s head before he turned back to Ben. “How about a race? A full sprint across the bridge. Whoever makes it to the other side wins.”
Ben could feel his legs brimming with excitement at the thought of a race. His run hadn’t done much for him, and Rook’s comments had only made him more antsy. He thought he was going to burst with how much unspent energy he had. This could be Ben’s chance to prove to Rook once and for all who the better hero was. Ben agreed. “You’re on!”
Ben and Rook lined up on either side of the sidewalk paths along the bridge. It was early enough in the morning that the traffic was slow, as the cars inched little by little across the bridge, and there were no other bystanders or bikers to block their sprint.
“On three!” Ben shouted across the way. Rook nodded, determined.
The two kneeled. Ben counted down, “One—two—
“Three!” Ben shouted, taking off. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. The wind pushed back his hair, cold air unabashedly hitting his face. Ben loved this part of his routine, when he could let loose and push all of his energy out.
Out of the corner of his eye, however, he could see a blue blur across the way, matching his speed. Ben pushed him harder, shoes slamming against the concrete.
Ben had pulled ahead for just a moment, until he saw Rook again. Ben wanted to push himself further, but he couldn’t go any faster than he was now. Soon enough, Rook had passed him.
Ben panted as he crossed the imaginary finish line; the same one Rook had crossed just moments before.
The two boys panted. They were both bent over, hands on their knees, as they caught their breath.
“That—,” Rook said between breaths, “was very fun!”
Rook stood, holding out a hand to Ben. “It was a good race.”
Ben didn’t acknowledge Rook’s invitation to a hand shake. He stayed kneeled over and continued to pant. He hid his face from Rook, fully knowing he couldn’t stop his expression from betraying his obvious frustration. His old soccer coach would scold for not being a good sport, but Ben didn’t care. Ben was pissed that Rook had ruined his morning run, his bridge sprint, and his good mood.
Ben wanted to fight back all of his ugly feelings, but bitterly choked out, “You—only won—because—you have—longer legs.”
Rook pulled back his hand. “Ahh…” he said nervously.
He took a step back. “You are disappointed because you lost.”
Ben couldn’t look at Rook, still pretending to catch his breath.
“I forgot that it is Earth manners to let your opponent win, if it is their game. This is your run after all.”
Ben groaned. How could he be mad at Rook? He was trying so hard to win Ben over, and Ben had shot down everything Rook offered. He was being so genuine. He couldn’t fault the guy for that. Rook looked and sounded like a kicked puppy (or more like a sad kitten), and that made Ben feel all the worse.
Ben took a deep breath before exhaling, releasing all of his anger and frustration. Rook was just being a good plumber. Ben wasn’t a plumber, but Rook was, and he shouldn't hold a grudge against him for doing his job. Ben stood, and took Rook’s hand. Rook snapped his attention towards Ben.
“Hey, it was a good game. You won fair and square.” Ben said, smiling up at Rook. He didn’t necessarily like the guy, but he didn’t want to hate Rook.
Rook hesitated for a moment, before smiling down at Ben. “I enjoyed it!”
Rook looked around. “Should we head back?” turning to look at the bridge again. “Do you normally sprint back? Should we race again?”
“I got a better idea. Follow me,” Ben gestured to Rook to follow him, as they walked down the sidewalk.
The two walked the streets of Bellwood, away from the bridge. The two approached a bus station, just as the bus pulled up.
Ben entered the bus, greeting the bus driver. “Hey Mrs. Bea! Working hard?”
“Hardly working,” she replied, smiling at Ben. She glanced behind Ben, and gasped at the tall blue monster behind him.
But Ben only winked as he swiped his card twice, “He’s with me.”
Ben and Rook took their seats in the middle of the bus. Ben practically greeted and chatted with everyone on the bus: the business man on his way to work, a mother who was dropping her young kids off at daycare, a young couple of kids no older than eight buying groceries for breakfast.
Rook and Ben got off at the bus stop near the edge of Ben’s neighborhood. Ben and Rook would have to walk down a few blocks to get to Ben’s house, but it would be a short walk compared to the path they just ran.
As the two walked back, Rook spoke up, “I am glad I decided to join you today.”
Ben looked up at Rook quizzically.
“I have to admit, you did not make a good first impression to me,” Rook admitted. “Our conversation in the truck the other night, when you had said that you were only bored because there was nothing to do… it gave me the impression that you were some ‘adrenaline junkie’, only covering your debilitating thrill by claiming to be a hero.”
Rook smiled to himself. “But I see now, I was wrong. You are a hero. You talk and get to know the people you’re saving. You reach out to them, and care for them. That’s what makes you a true hero.”
Ben and Rook had reached Ben’s front door. Rook turned towards Ben. “I am glad I got to know the real Ben Tennyson.”
Ben flushed red at that comment. Pushing the overly sentimental atmosphere away, Ben said, “I think I got to know you a little better today too… par—Rook.”
Rook beamed at the hint that Ben may start to accept him. He pulled out his plumber communicator, “We should head out now. We are already a few minutes behind on our patrol.”
As Rook was speaking, Ben had opened his front door and slowly slid inside. “Ben…” Rook warned.
“Showers are a part of my morning routine!” Ben shouted as he quickly shut the door.
“Ben!” he heard Rook call out on the other side. Ben chuckled to himself. He couldn’t warm up to Rook too much. He was still Ben Tennyson after all.