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Ben cracked his eyes open, slowly adjusting them into focus as he glanced over the vast expanse of space. He hadn’t realized he’d fallen asleep, and now noticed the journey was quickly coming to an end as a planet had come into view.
“Have a nice nap?” Rook asked.
Ben yawned and stretched his arms upwards, nodding. “Yup. Sorry, didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”
“No worries,” Rook responded. “I am just excited to be home.”
Ben smiled. “So that’s your home planet, huh?”
“Yes.”
“It’s pretty.”
“It is.”
The proto-truk maneuvered towards the planet’s surface, and Ben was out of his seat before the landing gear touched down. Despite how many planets he had traveled to, he was always excited to see new ones. He was especially excited to see where his partner came from and grew up, and to meet his family.
Rook landed the truk skillfully and stood as well, following Ben towards the truk’s exit. Ben grabbed Rook’s hand, something he’d become used to doing in the last few weeks. Rook, instead of holding Ben’s hand back like usual, pulled his hand out of the grasp and brought it to his side.
“Better not,” Rook said, an uneasy edge to his tone.
Ben frowned, his heart sinking a little. He opened his mouth to ask for further explanation, but before he had the chance the door opened and a child was throwing himself at Rook.
Rook caught the child with ease, his demeanor changing instantly as he swung the child around and pulled him into a tight hug. “Young One! How big you have grown,” Rook exclaimed.
“Rook Blonko! It has been one million years since I last saw you,” The child, Young One, replied.
Rook rolled his eyes playfully. “It has not. You would be a very, very old man.” He put Young One down on the ground, giving the fur on top of his head a ruffle.
Ben watched the interaction, enjoying seeing Rook seem so happy. His questions could wait. He looked to where Young One had run from, seeing several Revonnans had gathered. Ben’s eyes made contact with an older male, whose scowl only deepened as he glared back at Ben. Ben quickly averted his gaze.
Rook put his hand on Ben’s shoulder, guiding him over to the group before Ben had the chance to protest. “Ben, this is my family,” Rook started, using his free hand to gesture to each person as he began introductions. “My parents, Rook Da and Rook Bralla, my sisters, Rook Shar, Rook Shim, Rook Shi, and my brother, Youn-”
“You are Ben Tennyson!!” Young One exclaimed, beaming up at Ben while practically vibrating with excitement.
Ben grinned, squatting down to the kid’s level. “You know me?” He asked.
Young One nodded enthusiastically. “You are famous. I listen to your television show every day,” he said.
Ben raised a brow. “I have a tv show?”
“I refuse to believe someone with your inflated ego does not know they have a show,” Rook said.
Ben shot a glare at Rook, then rolled his eyes. “Well excuse me if I’m too busy saving the universe to keep track of how famous I am.”
Rook shook his head in amusement. “There it is.”
Young One tugged on Ben’s sleeve, regaining his attention. “How many aliens can you turn into? Is alien X real? How many times have you really saved the universe?” he asked, rattling off the questions too fast for anyone to actually answer his questions.
Rook scoffed. “Alien X is not real,” he said.
Ben shot him another look. “Alien X is so real!” He turned back to Young One. “Once, the universe was destroyed right in front of me before I could save it, so I used Alien X to create an exact copy.”
“Your only evidence of that is your smoothie tasting ‘different’,” Rook interjected.
“Well it does!” Ben shot back.
“Ahem!” The three boys froze, turning their attention to Rook Da, who had only looked increasingly more irritated since Ben first saw him. “It is time for dinner. Which you would know, Blonko, if you were ever home.”
Ben turned to look at Rook, who had stiffened at his father’s words. Ben stood up, glancing uncomfortably between Rook and the rest of his family.
“Apologies, you are right father. We should get going,” Rook said, walking forward and past Rook Da. The rest of the family fell in step behind him.
Ben felt a tug on his shirt, and looked down to see Young One making grabby hands up at him. Ben picked him up, and the child continued talking and asking questions, somewhat oblivious to the tension that had fallen in the air.
Ben couldn’t focus on Young One’s questions, instead noticing the way Rook Shar fell in step with Rook and started talking quietly with him. She glanced back at Ben, and Ben could’ve sworn she winked before returning her attention back to her brother.
Rook’s youngest sister, Rook Shi, held back to walk next to Ben and Young One. She started talking to Young One, which somehow turned into her pulling on his tail, causing Young One to squirm out of Ben’s arms and start chasing her.
Ben took the opportunity to jog up to the front of the group, just as Young One managed to tackle Rook Shi to the ground. He looked at Rook, hoping to grab his attention, but his partner’s eyes stayed trained in front of him. Ben’s expression fell with the lack of response, but he tried not to think too hard about it.
Dinner was just as tense and awkward, and Ben swore if looks could kill, Rook Da would have buried him six feet under already. Ben and Rook got assigned to doing the dishes, and Ben used the opportunity to try and talk to Rook.
“Hey, is everything alright?” Ben asked as Rook handed him another clean plate, drying it off with the towel in his hand.
“Yes. Why would it not be?” Rook answered.
Ben sighed, leaning his head against Rook’s shoulder when he got handed the next dish. “Are you sure?”
Rook paused, a dirty plate frozen in his hands. It was only for a moment, then he returned to cleaning it as he was before. “I am sure, Ben,” He said, leaning over and planting a quick kiss on top of Ben’s head.
Ben wasn’t so convinced, but wasn’t going to push the subject with the dining room so close in ear shot. He was at least pleased that Rook didn’t seem mad at him specifically, and was glad to be receiving affection again.
Ben felt an uneasy feeling in his chest, glancing over his shoulder just in time to see Rook Da giving a disapproving look in the doorway before returning to the dining room. Ben bit his lip worriedly, wondering if he’d seen the display of affection between him and Rook.
Bedtime rolled around, and Ben was slightly surprised to see all the children shared one room. Rook gave up his bed to Ben, opting to sleep on the floor. Ben was a little disappointed they didn’t just share Rook’s bed, but understood why that was the case.
Ben was still awake a few hours later when he felt a hand on his arm, scooting over to make room for Rook as he climbed into the bed. Rook wrapped Ben in his arms, placing his face in Ben’s hair and inhaling deeply. Ben smiled, hugging Rook back just as tightly.
“Apologies for not warning you about the sleeping arrangements,” Rook whispered.
Ben shrugged. “All good man. Although you didn’t warn me about a lot of things,” he said.
Rook pulled back, looking at Ben. “Apologies again. I know my family can be… a lot. I wasn’t sure how to prepare you.”
“It’s okay, really. Your siblings are really nice.”
Rook leaned in and pressed their foreheads together. “That is good to hear.”
The two sat in silence for a moment. Ben took Rook’s hand, intertwining their fingers. He listened to the sound of his partner breathing, trying to formulate what he wanted to say. He didn’t want Rook to clamp up again like he did in the kitchen.
“Dude, okay, I have kind of a weird question for you,” Ben said, a twinge of nervousness in his tone.
“Okay.”
“Is your dad like, homophobic or something?”
“‘Homophobic’?” Rook thought for a moment. “I supposed he is not the biggest fan of humans.”
“No nonono I mean like–I forgot English is your second language. I mean–you know how we’re both boys? Is he not okay with the fact that we’re together because of that?”
Rook’s eyes widened at the question. “There is a word for that?”
“Yeah, I mean, on Earth at least. There are a lot of people against it.”
The expression on Rook’s face was that of complete bafflement. “I was not aware that was a thing. On Revonnah, there is no such belief.”
It was Ben’s turn to be surprised. “What?”
Rook nodded. “Here, you may pick whoever you please as a life partner. Those of us who choose the same sex are considered useful, since they take care of our young ones communally, and take in young ones who have lost their family.”
Ben smiled warmly. “Dude, that’s amazing.”
“It is natural for most species, it makes no sense to be against it.” Rook’s expression returned to being confused.
Ben’s smile twisted into a more sour look. “On Earth, there’s some really old religious book that says marriage is between a man and a woman. There are a lot of people who believe that, so it’s taken a really long time for gay people to actually be allowed to be together and shit. It makes no sense and I hate it. So it’s nice to hear that here it’s just normal.” He said.
Rook frowned. “Ben, tell me you are joking with me right now.”
Ben shrugged. “No joke man. It’s a real thing. A big thing. Politics on Earth are whack.”
Rook furrowed his brows. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, a question hanging on the edge of his tongue. “Are your parents…?” He asked.
Ben grimaced. “Well… when I told my dad I was bi, he didn’t really care. His mom’s an alien, so you know, it would be kind of hypocritical if he was homophobic when his parents aren’t even the same species.” He furrowed his brows as he formulated his next sentence. “But my mom? She was raised religious. She’s never been the biggest fan of my grandma, or my dad’s side of the family. I always saw the faces she made whenever she saw a gay couple holding hands in public so I kind of just… never really told her. Figured I’d end up with a girl and never need to. Then I started bringing you around, and she totally adores you, so I guess that conversation is going to happen soon.”
“You have not told your mother about us?”
Ben sighed. “It’s not that easy. She’s not thrilled about aliens, or gay people, so I don’t know how she’s gonna react. I’m kind of… waiting for the right moment.”
Rook unhooked their fingers and clasped both of Ben’s hands in his own. “I am sorry. I was not aware this was an issue you were facing. The human plumbers I have met never seemed to have any kind of problem with us.”
“Yeah well the plumbers are pretty progressive. You can thank my grandpa Max for that. He realized way back in the 60s that if it was okay for him to be with an alien, two boys or two girls was totally fine,” Ben’s expression shifted to a softer, warm smile. His eyes glazed over slightly as he recalled a fond memory. “I actually came out to him first. He just laughed and said ‘you probably get that from me.’”
“Came out?”
“Oh right- that’s a term for when you tell someone you like the same gender, or that you’re a different gender or whatever.”
“I see.”
“Yeah. It’s kind of messed up that we have to pick and choose whose safe to tell and stuff. It’s not like it was ever gonna stop me though,” Ben said cheerfully, leaning forward and giving Rook a quick kiss. “I’m fucking Ben 10, I can be with whoever I want, and no authority on Earth is strong enough to stop me.”
Rook smiled. “I suppose that is true,” he said, giving Ben a kiss on the forehead in return.
“Wait, so if your dad’s not homophobic, how come you wouldn’t introduce me as your boyfriend?” Ben asked.
Rook shifted uncomfortably. “My father is a very traditional man. He did not approve when I joined the plumber academy. I have my doubts he would approve of my partner being a non-revonnahgander, regardless of their gender. I suppose I am also ‘waiting for the right moment’, as you said.”
Ben nodded. “Rook Shar winked at me earlier. Does she know?”
“She does. She was the first to support me joining the plumber academy, and I find I cannot hide things from her,” Rook said. “Altough, she thinks I have strange taste.”
Ben laughed quietly. “That’s okay. I think Gwen thinks the same thing about me.” He frowned again. “Also… I think your dad saw you kiss me in the kitchen earlier,” he admitted.
Rook sighed, pulling Ben back into an embrace. “I believe that is a problem for tomorrow,” he said.
Ben yawned, burying his face in his partner’s chest. “Sounds good to me,” he muttered.
The two fell asleep like that, hidden under the cover of the bunk above them, embracing each other because they could.