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A well-furnished apartment in the heart of the city. The hum and rattle of a working air conditioner, keeping the space cool. The sight of the sun setting behind the towering buildings just outside the window.
These mundane things are valuable. Something no one would argue.
Though, as the front door is slammed shut behind her, they hardly carry any weight in her mind.
The strap of her bag comes off her shoulder in hardly a second, and the purse is tossed in the direction of the couch.
Helen glides across the floor after it, reversing the rotation of one wheel to turn herself around as she reaches and falls into the cushions. Her tail shifts to one side to fall off the front of the couch with her legs. As comfortable a place for it as any. Not that she cares much at the moment.
Time is something more often valued. The time to do things, the time to relax, or the time spent with others.
She thinks a lot about time. More commonly how slowly it moves, or how much of it she has to waste waiting for other people. But right now, she’s thinking about how little of it she got before getting ditched.
A date. Or what should have been a date, at least. Someone she met online, that she’d been getting along with. They chose a day they were both free, and were supposed to meet downtown.
A frustrated sigh escapes her as the events replay in her mind.
She uses one of the digits on her left hand to flip open her bag, reaching through it for just a moment to find and pull out her phone. The device barely keeps up with the speed her fingers tap through the menus to get to her contacts.
The time displayed in the corner of the screen confirms what the analogue clock hanging on the wall states. It’s just slightly after 6 in the afternoon. Still plenty of the day left, she thinks.
Manny. The image of a tetramand in full Plumber gear, glancing towards the camera, accompanies the first contact she selects.
The phone rings, and rings. Too slowly for her.
Her foot rapidly taps against the carpet as she waits. A quick rhythmic drumming that seems rehearsed.
Then, it connects.
“Helen?” The other side questions.
“Manny, hey.” She immediately responds.
“What’s up? Aren’t you supposed to be on a date right now?” He checks.
“Uh, plans kinda fell through. I figured we could grab a bite if you were free.” She suggests.
“I’d love to,” Manny starts.
Great. Plan B is a go. The day has been salvaged.
“But I’m actually off-world right now.” Manny continues.
Damn it.
“Plumbers sent me to deal with a scuffle in the atrocian system. I shouldn’t be back for a few days.” He explains.
“Oh. Well, alright. I’ll talk to you when you get back then.” Helen accepts.
“See you then, Hel.” Manny says.
And the call ends. Again, far more quickly than she would have liked.
She can’t keep a hold of any of her friends today, it seems.
Her thumb swipes down the screen to get her back to the top of the list, where her next pick is listed. The image is that of a human this time. Dark skin, short black hair, and an arm made of molten rock and fire. Alan.
The device starts ringing again. The droning sound plays once, then twice, and then again. All the while she’s forced to just sit there waiting. Tapping the wheel below her foot against the floor, watching the seconds roll by.
And then they answer.
“Hello? Who is this?” Alan shouts from the other side if the line. Shouts. Noticeably raising his voice to be heard.
“Hey, Alan. It’s me, Helen.” She says.
“Oh, hey Helen.” He again shouts, coming through over the sound of what seems to be blaster fire.
“Get down!” Another voice calls out, audibly crashing into Alan, and knocking the phone into the ground with him.
“Are you in trouble? Do you need help?” Helen quickly offers, pushing herself off of the couch to get to her feet.
“Helen? Is that you?” The second voice questions.
“Kevin?” She recognizes.
“Sorry, bad timing. We’re a little busy right now.” Alan shouts.
“I can be there if you-” She tries to offer.
“Nah, it’s alright. Thanks though.” Alan tells her.
“Tell Manny I said hi, Helen!” Kevin shouts as the call abruptly ends.
There goes her next option, too.
She doesn’t even think about it as her wheels take to motion, slowly gliding her towards the edge of the room as she looks through the rest of her contacts.
Cooper, Gwen, Rook. None she’s really close enough with to call out of the blue.
One option left, and she’s just inpatient enough to hit the call button without a second thought. The image this time is of another human male. Light pink skin, brown hair, and vibrant green eyes matching his jacket. Ben 10.
The call rings for what feels like minutes as she paces back and forth, leaving depresses trails on the carpet where she glides over it. Ring, ring, ring. But eventually, the call ends itself, the other side failing to pick up.
So he’s busy too, she guesses.
“Ugh.” She groans, tossing her phone back over to the couch.
So she’s not salvaging the rest of her day off, after all. She’s going to stay home and feel bad until the weekend is over and she goes back to work. And given that it’s her, that time is really going to drag on.
She eventually stops herself by the window, idly looking out to the dimming sky between the buildings.
With another sigh, she reaches up to place a hand over her temples, leaving it there for a second before dragging it down the soft blue skin of her face.
Her focus slowly shifts to the buildings themselves, and then the streets below them. To the bustling crowds of people moving from place to place, mixing and shifting. And then, down further still, to herself. To the clothes she picked out for the day, and to her hand. The one that just fell along her face, faintly stained a darker hue by the top layer of her makeup.
Great.
Well, she might as well take off the rest. Not like she’ll be going back out today.
She turns from the window, heading for the restroom.
She reaches up and unzips the back of the biceps on her jacket, letting her slide it off over the spikes extending from her elbows. The jacket is tossed to the couch beside her bag, and the door to the bathroom ahead of her is swung open so she can enter.
The sound changes as her wheels fall off the thin carpet and onto the smooth tile of the bathroom floor.
Her tail flicks up to grab the door handle behind her, pulling it shut while she comes to a stop in front of the sink.
She looks at herself in the mirror. The clear reflection of a creature that’s not at all human.
She reaches across the counter to pull out an alcohol wipe, moving it to her face. One of her solid white eyes shuts, letting her run the makeup remover over her upper and lower lids, and cheek.
She carefully opens her eye again as the wipe is pulled back, glancing at the shades of blue and black staining into it. She tosses it towards the garbage can beside the counter and pulls out another wipe to clear the other side of her face.
She has to reach around the edges of her helmet to even get to her face, inset in the hardened structure. The fine scales of her soft blue skin give under her touch, falling and rising again as she moves over them. She feels the slight intent at the lines running down her face. The black grooves running over her temples and cheeks, separating the sections of her skin.
It’s hardly a minute before her face is wiped clean, letting her close the packet of makeup removers again.
She flicks the faucet on and cups her hands below it, but is forced to acknowledge the rate at which she’s moving. She has to consciously slow down to let the water flow at what she can perceive as a normal rate. The water takes a second to pool in her hands, less so than it would if she had more than her three digits on each hand, but enough. And then she moves her hands up to splash the water over her face.
Cold, but refreshing.
She lets out a breath, feeling the droplets of water pushed off her lips as she does. The towel hanging on the wall finds a place in her grip after a second and is pulled over to her face. She has to force it slightly to dry the parts of her skin below the edge of the helmet. Her eyes then open again as she pulls the towel away, looking at herself in the mirror again.
Clean. Pretty, even, by some standards. But still alien.
Might as well take off the clothes she was supposed to wear today. No use getting them dirty if she isn’t going out.
She reaches down to the edges of her shirt, carefully pulling it up over herself. She first pulls it over her head, stretching the neck slightly to fit it over the long shape of her helmet. Then, again, she has to mind her elbows. Carefully sliding the sleeves over them one at a time to not damage it.
She tosses the article over to the washing machine, then crouches down to reach the sides of her legs. She unzips the pant legs covering her shins, then reaches around the unbuttons the part over her tail, letting her slide the rest of them off over the spikes extending from her ankles. They’re tosses over to the washing machine as well as she stands back up.
Alien, but still very human. Several traits across her body fail to register as anything else.
She isn’t sure if true kineceleran even have breasts, or bellybuttons, or if hers are a result of being a hybrid.
She rests her hands on the edge of the counter and leans over it to get closer to the mirror hanging on the wall.
Her light blue skin darkens ever so slightly at the points human skin would. The front of her neck, where her collar bones meet. Her elbows, where short thin spikes emerge. The palms of her hands, resting against the counter. He hips, faintly. And more noticeably the front of her pelvis, leading down to her crotch.
Her eyes shift back up to her torso. To the mounds of flesh on her chest, and her pert nipples faintly outlined below the thin fabric of her bra.
She’s too alien to fit in with humans, and still too human to fit in with the secondary species she is.
She might have a shower if she hadn’t before she left. Even on a plumber salary, it feels wasteful to use the water.
The towel is cast over the hook again as she heads out of the restroom and around to her bedroom. She just heads for her dresser, pulling out a cotton tank top, and a pair of sweatpants. With the direction of the spikes at her elbows and heels, its much easier getting clothes on than off. She slips on both articles and heads back out to the living room.
She uses her tail to reach over and grab her bag as she passes by the couch, letting her continue on to the coat hooks by the door where she hangs it. She then skates back to the couch and falls into it again.
Well that’s uncomfortable. She has to lean over slightly and reach under herself to grab her phone and jacket, which she’d landed on. She tosses the jacket over to the coffee table, but keeps hold of her phone.
She taps the power button on the side and swipes down the menu at the top to check her notifications.
Something about the weather she quickly dismisses. Expected rain, she thinks it was. A message from her banking app confirming her paycheck from the Plumbers, dismissed just as quickly. And a text from Manny, suggesting they go out when he gets back.
She decides to reply to him later, dismissing that message as well.
She swings her legs up onto the couch and leans back to rest her head on the arm. She has to scooch herself back a little more so the sharp of her helmet can hang over the end. She pulls her tail up to let it run down the length of the couch between her legs and off the other side.
She loses track of time fairly quickly once she starts browsing the extranet. Her news feed, some publicly available television channels, and social media.
But “fairly quickly” for her is pretty damn quick, and she notices the time not long after. About half an hour later. A little before 7, according to both her phone and the clock on her wall.
She’s going to go nuts at this rate. She feels this way every weekend. Most days after she gets off work, too. That she just has nothing to do. That she’s stuck in her apartment, listening to the same couple dozen songs on repeat at 2x speed.
Plumber work usually keeps her busy. She can always go on patrol, or find crime to deal with somewhere. The people down in Undertown are all nice enough, too. They don’t pause when they first see her, at least. They don’t try to awkwardly find a way out of the conversation when they realize she’s an alien, and that they don’t know how to talk to her.
Not many of them are her friend, necessarily. They see her as a plumber, appropriately. But they treat her like she belongs.
Most of Bellwood has been getting better about that sort of thing since the incurseans forced the aliens on earth out of hiding. In no small part because of people like her, working for the plumbers, keeping them safe. Getting them used to seeing other species on the streets.
But that doesn’t mean everyone’s up to speed. No, there are still plenty of people that freeze up anytime they see an alien. That react with shock and discomfort upon seeing a different skin tone and skeletal structure.
That ditch her not 10 minutes into what was supposed to be a date, because they really weren’t comfortable with what she looked like.
She reaches up to her face, pressing her palms into her slightly teary eyes with another frustrated sigh.
She doesn’t even know why she cares so much. She likes how she looks. She likes being a kineceleran. She powers, the speed, and form. The helmet, and the claws, and spikes, and the tail, and the wheels. She likes looking like this. She just hates that it makes people freeze up when they realize she’s not human.
That it ruins her chances at a normal relationship.
And now she’s navigated to an extranet porn site without even thinking about it. Browsing through the categories.
Yeah, whatever. That’s as good a way to spend her time as any, she guesses.
Its always clear that some species are more popular than others.
Uxorites, loboans, protost, chimera, tetramands. Each for their own kind of audience. Tentacles and muscles seem to be the leading theme in those sections.
Then there are the next most relevant ones after the main species. Races that are evidently popular, if slightly more niche. Appoplexians; lenopans; pyronites; even humans to a lesser extent; and, notably, kinecelerans. A section she always feels weird about browsing through.
So, they do have nipples. That’s comforting, she supposes. It’s something she never consciously noticed before.
Wow, she didn’t realize their tongues were quite that long. Lots of interesting uses for mouths, and breasts, and tails, and every other kind of hole on display across the site.
Their tails are considerably dexterous compared to a lot of other species. Prehensile, she thinks the term is. Capable of grasping things. That’s not all they’re capable of, though.
Her own tail curls around, sliding back up the length of her body against her legs. Coming to rest softly against her crotch, moving back and forth to rub against her vulva. Her dominant hand slinks down to meet it, sliding under the waistband of her pants to stroke herself.
She continues browsing with her other hand, flicking through the countless videos available.
One catches her eye, in a way she doesn’t quite like. A thumbnail displaying a tetramand and kineceleran together. His upper arms pinning hers to the bed, and his lower gripping her waist.
The video plays a preview of itself automatically with her lingering on the thumbnail.
He holds her down, and she squirms. Clearly consenting given the context, but regardless. Her tail curls under his legs and grips his back, and his hips shift forward to slide into her.
Helen quickly flicks the screen down before any more of it plays, keeping her thumb on the screen to keep it between videos so the next doesn’t start its preview.
“Come on, Hel. Gross.” She mutters to herself, trying to keep her mind from filling in the positions of the participants.
She keeps scrolling, and it’s only a second before another video catches her eye.
Another kineceleran, as is a given with the category, paired with a relatively lithe petrosapien girl. She taps on the video before the preview begins, letting the full thing load. She taps the skip button to get past the add as soon as she can.
They start most of the way into it. The kineceleran erect, his usually internal member poised over the crystalline woman’s stomach. The smooth faces of her gem-like skin shift with each motion, adjusting her pelvis to let the other alien slide himself towards her opening.
The camera is facing down from the Kineceleran’s perspective, leaving most of the screen focused on the woman. Helen can live with that, though.
You can almost see his dick through her skin as it sinks into what turns out to be a rather flexible opening. What has to be her species equivalent to a vagina. The woman moans at the sensation, clearly exaggerated for the camera.
Helen pulls her hand back from her crotch, and grabs the waistband of her pants. She shimmies her hips side to side to help slide out of the clothing, the strap over the back of her tail not even needing to be undone. Once they’re low enough she adjusts her position, poising her tail around the pants trapped at her ankles, and against her opening.
Focusing on the video again she finds the kineceleran to have started speeding up. She can hear the way the woman’s crystals glide against themselves, creating a soft and high pitched grinding noise that mixes with their moans, and the wet slaps of the reptile’s genitals against hers.
She moves her hand to rub herself again, carefully oscillating her primary finger over her clitoris, while her tail gradually pushes into her vagina.
They change the angle of the camera so it looks from the petrosapien’s perspective, just over her shoulder. The kineceleran has his visor down, but she can still see how much effort he’s putting into the rhythmic thrusting. Into penetrating the alien below him.
Her tail glides back after moving a few inches in, then pushes forward again. She can feel herself already building up as she starts to get into a rhythm. A consequence of her physiology seems to be a low level of endurance, but quick recovery time. Something a lot of videos make use of.
She can hear the kineceleran in the video moaning slightly louder as it continues to play, mixed with the increasingly rapid thrusts that would be outright uncomfortable for a more fragile race.
She can’t help but quietly moan as well, her legs trembling slightly as her tail pushes and pulls in and out of her again and again.
She taps the screen just to see how much time is left in the video, and sees that its approaching its end. She’s pretty sure she is too, letting herself speed up slightly more.
And then, the video pauses. Completely without her prompting. Her tail abruptly stops as soon as this registers with her, as does her hand.
She’s about to move her thumb to hit the play button to start it again, when she finds out why her phone paused it in the first place. The screen switches over to display a caller ID, and the option to either answer or ignore the call.
Her eyes widen as she sees the name, and she immediately pulls her tail out of herself with a wet “schlop” sound. She frantically wipes her dominant hand on her shirt, the only thing in reach, and then reaches up to hit the answer button on screen.
“Hi, Ben!” She says, trying to sound remotely composed as she reaches down to pull up her pants with her other hand.
“Hey, Helen. Sorry I missed your call earlier; I’ve been in and out of it all day. What’s going on? Aren’t you supposed to be on a date right now?” Ben asks, his usually collected and confident self.
“Who told you that?” She questions, very genuinely caught off guard.
“Manny.” He answers.
“Oh, of course he did.” She grumbles.
“Let me guess, they bailed?” Ben asks.
“Uh… yeah.” She admits.
“And now you’re looking for another way to spend your day?” He guesses again.
“Yeah, actually. How’d you know?” She wonders.
“Been there. I’d offer to hang out with you, but I’m stuck on stakeout duty right now.” Ben tells her.
“What for?” Helen asks, now simply curious.
“This old, decommissioned plumber base. Sensors got tripped a few days ago, so they want me to make sure nobody’s sneaking in for the equipment down there.” He explains.
“That doesn’t really sound like a job for you.” She points out.
“Yeah, I don’t think so either. Pretty sure I was just getting on everyone’s nerves up at headquarters, so they stuck me with this to get rid of me.” Ben says.
“At least you have Rook to keep you company…?” She says, more so to check whether or not that statement is true. She tries not to sound too hopeful.
“Nah, Rook’s off-world right now. Visiting family back home.” Ben says.
Score.
“Well I could keep you company, if you wouldn’t mind me.” She offers.
“You sure? I wouldn’t complain, but I’ve been out here all day, and I’ve barely been able to stay awake. Not much going on in the middle of the woods.” Ben warns.
The middle of the woods? That gives her some ideas.
No, bad Helen. Come on. Gross. He’s just a friend. He has a girlfriend. She scolds herself for the idle thought.
“All day? I could grab some food on the way over. I don’t exactly have anything else going on.” She tells him.
“Really?” He checks.
“Sure” She eagerly affirms.
“Yeah, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks. I’ll text you my coordinates.” Ben accepts.
“Okay, Ben. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Helen says, quickly tapping the end call button.
Her heart is beating out of her chest right now.
She does have plans. Not only does she have plans, but she gets to hang out with one of her friends alone. One of the few people that’ll probably understand how she feels about everything, and who she’ll be able to just talk to.
And her phone automatically switches back to the previous app she had open, unpausing the video again to fill the apartment with the sounds of moaning, and grinding, and wet slapping.
She almost tosses her phone out of her hand in fright as she desperately hits the pause button, stopping it so she can close out of the app.
And now she’s unsatisfied, and needs to clean up. Better than being along and bored, but still. The end of her tail is still wet, as are her panties probably. And there’s a noticeable stain on her tank from where she dried off her hand. Just, great.
She pushes herself off the couch and zooms back to her room, pulling herself out of her clothes again. Another tank, a change of underwear, the same sweatpants, and she grabs her jacket from the coffee table in the living room. She tosses her clothes to the washing machine in the restroom and wipes off her tail before heading back out. Her phone is shoved into her pocket, and her purse is grabbed off the coat hooks on her way out.
The air rushes over her, past her, against her. Giving another sensation to the motion of drifting through the streets. In addition to the others. The subtle texture of the sidewalks and roads under her wheels, forcing her legs to serve as organic suspension keeping her level. The g-force of every stop and start, and every sharp corner. The sheer momentum of it, letting her almost glide above the ground for moments.
The cars appear frozen in place compared to her, as a snail’s crawl to her sprint.
It would blister her skin if it weren’t designed for these kinds of speeds. Something she has to keep in mind when moving people around.
But right now, she can just move as fast as she wants.
She only needs to glance as Ben’s message to know where she’s going. She knows the area.
Her speed is only reduced as she comes to approach a place to get food. Mr. Smoothy’s. Something she knows Ben likes. Everyone knows Ben likes Mr. Smoothy’s. Its hard not to, given how often he’s there.
She doesn’t quite see the addictive appeal several of his other friends do, but it’s alright. More importantly, it’s cheap. Just a few dollars for a large smoothie. A steal compared to most other places, and something they could all afford before they got real jobs.
She comes to a dead stop upon reaching the ordering window.
“Gah!” The employee erupts.
She comes to a stop so abruptly it makes the server on the other side of the counter jump, taking a second to catch her bearings.
“Fuck.” She says, clearly still reeling.
“Sorry.” Helen says.
“No, it’s… Jesus, you came out of nowhere. Uhm. What can I get you?” She asks.
Helen quickly glances up to the menu, scanning her eyes over the listed flavors.
“Uhm… one Tiffin, one Grape, and a side of fries.” She orders.
She pays, and the cashier head back towards the kitchen to actually make the food.
Helen rotates herself around, rolling back to lean against the counter as she waits. She spares a glance to her surroundings, lit by the streetlamps coming on in lieu of sunlight. Then her attention moves to her phone as she slides it out of her pocket.
About 4 minutes since Ben called her. She should be another 5 from his location once she gets moving.
“Hey you go.” The cashier says, causing her to spin around as she slides her phone back into her pocket.
“Thank you.” She says, taking the cups and bag before turning to take off back on the street.
She should have paid more attention to that notification about the weather. Turns out she’s heading in the direction of the overcast, which she only finds out when she has to flick her visor down to keep the drops in the air from hitting her eyes.
The puddles on the road spray up behind her when her wheels pass over their surfaces.
She gets more wet from the water she’s running into than the water actually falling onto her, falling considerably slower than she moves. From a stationary viewpoint she leaves a cone of air splitting the rainfall in her wake, like a jet traveling over the sound barrier.
She could travel faster than sound if she wanted to. She’s pretty sure. She’s not because, even outside of the city, it’s usually loud enough to get some attention.
It’s not too long before she turns off the road and into the woods, meaning she has to take slightly more care to not get tripped up on the uneven terrain. One of the few things that her body isn’t adjusted to managing terribly well. Thankfully there’s still a dirt road leading towards her destination, even if it’s not terribly well maintained.
It doesn’t slow her down much though, and in a few seconds she’s barreled through enough of the forest to reach to spot Ben’s parked. She glides around the black and green car to the passenger side and quickly leans down to knock on the window, keeping the cups under herself to protect them from the rain.pp
She can see inside that Ben flinches at her abrupt arrival, but doesn’t hesitate to unlock the door, letting her pull it open and get herself inside.
“Hah. Thanks, Ben.” She says, quickly moving the cups to the cupholders in the center console so her hands can slam the door shut behind her.
“Yeah, no problem.” He responds.
Finally out of the rain, she takes a second to get settled in the seat. She scoots herself forward so her tail can rest behind her. Her bag comes off next, getting placed in the foot well on the other side from her tail. Her visor then slides back up into her helmet with a “shink” sound, leaving her view of the car’s interior clear of obstruction.
Ben, to her left, takes to leaning his chair back to reaching under her seat. Something she has to just watch him do for a second until he leans back up with the seat, pulling a towel with him.
“Here you go.” He says, handing it to her.
“Thanks.” She responds, taking it from him. She moves to dry off her clothes first. Her shirt, jacket, sweatpants. Then she moves it up to her helmet, wiping down the smooth material.
“Do you just… keep a towel in your car?” She asks after a moment, moving the town down to her lap.
“Sure. A few, actually. I didn’t used to, but I kept coming back from adventures soaking wet, and Kevin kept yelling at me about drenching the seats. So, y’know.” Ben explains.
“Right, that makes sense.” She says, leaning around to put the now damp towel in the back seat.
The conversation hits a lull there, for just a moment. Where neither she or Ben immediately pick up the next line of dialogue, and the space is filled only with the ambient sound of the rain beating against the roof of the car.
Better than being stuck home alone, still. Probably. Now she’s stuck out in the woods, at night, in a car with Ben. Dressed in his default brown pants, and graphic tee, and white and green jacket labeled with the number 10. The look everyone associates with him now. Ben 10.
That name makes her a little uneasy, honestly. It didn’t when they first met. When she and Manny tried hunting him down, and he caught them up on what was really going on. But now, after the reputation he’s gained across the universe, she always feels slightly uneasy about it. Like she shouldn’t be as casual with him as she is. And she has to remind herself each time that he’s her friend first.
“So, what’d you get?” Ben questions after what was probably just a couple seconds for him, snapping her attention over to him.
“Oh, right.” Her attention shifts down to the drinks between them, and her hand quickly gestures to the cup in the forward cup holder. “Mr. Smoothy’s. You like grape, right?”
“Uhh, yeah.” He says. “Not the same, but still good.”
“Okay. And I got fries to share.” She says, gesturing to the bag she set on the dashboard.
“Sweet. Thanks, Helen.” He says, leaning forwards to unroll the top of the paper bag, and slide out the container of fries. “What do I owe you?” He checks, grabbing a few fries to move to his mouth.
“Don’t worry about it. Mr. Smoothy’s is cheap.” She tells him, reaching to grab some for herself.
Another brief lull, where Ben’s attention moves to the darkness of the woods ahead of them. She has to guess its barely visible for him, but her eyes can make out the shapes of the trees in the dim light of the moon. The shapes that nothing but the rain moves through.
She can guess by the passing rate of the rain that she’s taking in the moment in real time, or close enough to it. So they’re both just silent, occasionally reaching over to grab a few fries. She’s pretty sure Ben is making sure he doesn’t take too many. Something ever so slightly more considerate than his friends would usually give him credit for.
“What happened, anyways?” Ben speaks again after a second, moving her attention over to him again to meet his emerald eyes.
“Huh?” She can only respond, not quite knowing what he means.
“The guy that bailed on you. Or- guy…?” Ben checks.
“Yeah, guy.” She confirms.
“What happened with him?” He asks.
“Uh… Well, things were going pretty well, right up until the part where we actually met in person.” Helen tells him.
“Did he not know you were a Plumber, or something?” Ben guesses. Fair he gets one wrong, after so many dead on.
“No, he didn’t realize I wasn’t human.” Helen states.
“Owch.” Ben reacts, failing to repress a pained chuckle. A sympathetic chuckle, clearly. “Dude, that sucks. Sorry.”
“Yeah, well, better luck next time I hope.” Helen rationalizes.
“His loss.” Ben says, pausing as he takes a sip of his smoothie.
“Yeah.” She reluctantly agrees.
“No, really, I mean it. That dude’s missing out. I’m sure you’ll find someone that deserve you.” Ben states.
“… Thanks, Ben.” She accepts after a second.
She takes another breath to speak when she’s abruptly cut off with the sound of a ping.
“Oh, that’s me.” Ben says, pulling up his arm to look down at the Omnitrix. The sleek, white and green device affixed to his wrist, with a black faceplate usually displaying the hourglass representing galvan technology.
“What is it?” Helen asks.
“One of the motion sensors in the area just got tripped. Grandpa thinks it was probably an animal, but wants me to stay out here a little while longer just in case.” Ben informs her.
“Guess that means you’re stuck with me, huh.” She jokes.
“Oh no. How terrible. Trapped with my friend Helen, alone in the woods. Whatever will I do. Surely there must be a way out of this excruciating situation.” Ben says with palpable sarcasm lacing every word.
It’s goofy, but it gets a small laugh out of her.
“So, what were you gonna say?” Ben asks after a second.
“Hmm?” Helen questions.
“Before the watch cut you off. You took a breath like you were about to say something.” Ben reminds her.
“Oh! Uhm… Aw, come on, I just had it…” She struggles to remember.
“Aw, I hate when that happens.” Ben says.
“No, I- uhm… Oh, right. I was going to ask about how things have been going with you. We haven’t had much time to talk since the whole thing with Servantis.” She tells him.
“Huh, yeah. I guess we really haven’t. Well, uh, Rook and I saved the universe a couple times. I found and lost a slimebiote. I got some new aliens. Y’know, just the usual stuff.” Ben says.
“How’s, uhm… Ester, right? How’s she been doing?” Helen checks.
Ben visible cringes at the mention, immediately making Helen feel like she said something wrong.
“Oh, no. What happened?” She asks.
“She, uh… found someone else. Few months ago, now. She was “tired of fighting fate” or something. We’re just friends now.” Ben recounts.
“Her loss.” Helen parrots Ben’s words back to him, earning a chuckle.
“Thanks, Helen.” He acknowledges.
She takes a quick sip of her drink.
“Is there anyone else?” She checks.
“Uhm… sorta? Have you met Kai?” He asks.
“I don’t think so.” Helen responds.
“Well, she’s, uh… It’s kinda complicated. We aren’t together, but this guy we know, Spanner. He’s from the future? And keeps mentioning that we’re supposed to get married. But my future’s completely changed before, so, y’know.” Ben explains.
“Wow.” Helen reacts.
“Yeah.”
“But you and her aren’t…?” Helen double checks.
“Nah. I’m pretty sure she kinda hates me. We really get on each other’s nerves.” Ben tells her.
“And I thought my love life was a mess.” She remarks.
“It doesn’t get any crazier than mine. I haven’t even told you about Attea, or Looma.” Ben says.
“Oh, I heard about that actually.” Helen tells him.
“You did?” Ben questions.
“Yeah. While we were stationed on Khoros, it was big news. It was hard not to hear about it. And then the wedding was just, called off.” She recalls, reaching to her smoothie to take another sip as she finishes.
“Julie beat her in hand-to-hand combat.” Ben states.
Helen nearly chokes on her drink, really needing to take a second to process that statement.
“Julie!?” Helen questions.
“With my help, but yeah.” Ben confirms.
“But Looma’s a tetramand! How did she even- survive?”
“She wore Ship as a suit, then used me as an explosive tennis ball.” Ben explains.
Helen has to just laugh at the statement, not really knowing what else to do.
“You have an odd life, Ben.” She eventually tells him.
“No arguments here.” Ben says, putting his hands up to accentuate the gesture.
It kind of helps to put things her perspective, at least. That her problems aren’t so world-ending. Ben at least has options in his life, though. Even if most of them are unwarranted. While her options pretty much boil down to rejection and isolation.
She hesitates when her hand reaches for the fries again, noting how few are left now. She carefully takes about half of the last few, and lets herself lean back in the seat.
It’s still raining outside the car. Beating down against the thin metal frame around them and drowning out all other noises. Its hard to even hear Ben breathing not two feet from her. Still, nothing moves outside besides the swaying of the trees in the wind.
“Hey, Ben?” She asks, looking over to find that Ben has leaned his seat back slightly as well.
“Mhm?” Ben responds.
And of course now her mind bothers to rethink the question she’s about to ask. After its too late to decide against it.
“Do you think I look…” She sighs, not really having the right words. “Like a freak?” She eventually says.
“Woah. Is that what he said when you met?” Ben questions, audibly taken aback by the question.
“Uhm…” She hesitates, noting that he didn’t actually answer her.
“No, Helen. I don’t think you look like a freak.” Ben assures her.
Well, that’s comforting. Actually. She finds that a little reassuring.
“Not sure I’m the right person to ask, though. Y’know,” He holds up his left wrist, shaking it back and forth to make sure she can see the Omnitrix before he sets it back down. “Turning into aliens and all.”
“You’re the perfect person to ask. Anyone else either wouldn’t have the right frame of reference, or would just be trying to make me feel better. You would actually know if I looked weird… y’know, by alien standards.” Helen explains.
“Helen, by alien standards, I’m pretty sure you could be a runway model.” Ben says.
She can’t help but chuckle at the idea.
“Ugh, god. Do you think they make high heels for kinecelerans?” Helen wonders.
“I don’t even know how that would work.” Ben responds, stumped by the very idea.
“I don’t think it would work.” Helen says. “I don’t think that’ll stop them from trying though.
They both have another shallow laugh at that before returning to the comfortable silence of the rain, filling the air between them.
This is better than spending all night at home, alone. She’s stuck in the woods, but she’s with good company. She’s having fun, on a day she previously assumed was pretty thoroughly ruined.
“Helen, really, I think you look great.” Ben repeats. “No matter how many losers panic when they see you. Believe me, I know what it’s like to have someone look at you like a freak. I get it, and it sucks. But it doesn’t matter what they think. If they aren’t willing to see past your body, they aren’t worth you.”
That is considerably more well-put than she even realized Ben was capable of. It takes her a second to recognize just how much sense that makes, and her head quickly leans up to look over to him. Just staring at him.
“What? Wielder of the Omnitrix and all. I feel like I get to have some thoughts about body positivity.” He says.
“You’ve thought about it a lot, huh?” She realizes.
“I get to walk a mile in other people’s shoes. It’s all about trial and error. I know how discouraging it is to have someone rooting for you to lose. It makes learning anything about yourself feel like a risk, because it might upset someone. Best solution is just to learn anyways, to spite them if nothing else.” Ben says.
“I know what you mean.” Helen accepts.
“I bet.” Ben inherently believes her.
She lets out a groan as she thinks back over her life.
“I used to hate how I looked, before I knew I was a hybrid. I thought I was just a freak, contaminated by radiation or something. I would have given anything to look “normal” back then.” She recalls.
“And after?” Ben asks.
“Well after that Manny and I went to the Null Void. Suddenly the way we looked didn’t matter anymore. We were treated like everyone else. Which wasn’t great, but it wasn’t “different.” We were normal. And when we finally came back to earth, it was in the middle of the Highbreed invasion. Again, nobody cared. And after that, we stuck with Max. He treated us normally, and made sure everyone else did too. Then we started training to join the plumbers, and then aliens started openly living on earth, and human standards just didn’t matter anymore. And now…” She thinks, trying to find a way to say it.
“Now?” Ben asks.
“Now the only people I have to prove myself to are assholes, and… myself.” Helen admits.
“And how’s that going?” He wonders.
“I like how I look. I do. I’m just… embarrassed by the number of times I’ve had to look up how kinecelerans work on the extranet to understand my own body. To make sure I’m normal by non-human standards.”
“Now that I understand.” Ben says.
“You do?” Helen questions, looking over to him with a raised eyebrow.
“Imagine that exact situation, but for like 70 different bodies.” Ben tells her.
“Yeah, but… You don’t have to stay as them. And you know other people that understand the aliens you turn into.” Helen points out.
“You don’t know any other kinecelerans?” Ben questions.
“…No” She answer, reluctantly.
“Have you gotten to know the ones down in Undertown?” Ben asks.
“No, they- I’m not sure about how they’d react to finding out I’m not actually a kineceleran.” She explains.
“Come on, they’re nice. They were pretty excited to see me using XLR8, and they know I’m not one of them.” Ben assures her.
“Yeah, but you’re-” Helen stops herself mid-sentence, realizing she doesn’t actually want to call attention to it.
“What?” Ben questions, forcing her to commit anyways.
“You’re Ben 10.” She almost shouts. “You get to walk around in other people’s skin, because you have the Omnitrix.”
“Helen…” He speaks.
“Don’t “Helen” me, Ben.” She tells him bluntly. “It’s not the same.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Ben admits openly. “It’s not the same. The Omnitrix means I get special treatment. I’m just saying that I can relate. To not knowing how your own body works. To people jumping back in fright, and not knowing how to talk to you, and tripping on your tail. I get it. I don’t get much time with other people that do too.” Ben says.
“… Okay.” She accepts after a moment. “Thanks. I’m… sorry for snapping.”
“’Course, Hel. Don’t worry about it.” He says.
And they’re back to silence.
She knows Ben is probably right, it’s just frustrating to have him respond to her problems with “me too” instead of just listening. He wasn’t lying though. He does get it. That sense of not fitting in in your own skin despite liking who you are, and not being accepted by others. She can only imagine how many dates he’s managed to scare off with the Omnitrix.
“… People do trip over my tail a lot.” Helen realizes after a moment, getting a chuckle out of Ben.
“It’s just a lot longer than they expect, and hangs pretty low when you’re upright.” He explains.
“It kind of hurts.” She adds.
“Yeah, it does.” Ben agrees.
Helen’s fairly sure she catches an idle glance towards her tail from where he’s sitting. His brain being drawn to it given the discussion.
“The worst is when people actually step on it.” Ben says.
“Ow, yeah. I had to go to medical this one time after a tetramand fell on mine. It took weeks to fully heal.” She remembers.
“The Omnitrix always takes care of it for me, but I’m pretty sure Vilgax broke mine a few times when I was younger.” Ben adds.
“and it’s not like it doesn’t effect anything. It’s dexterous. Breaking it means I’m down a limb.” Helen continues. “It means I can’t, like… y’know.”
“Yeah.” Ben affirms unthinkingly.
Then they both pause.
“What do you mean by “y’know,” Hel?” Ben checks.
She meant railing herself, and suddenly really hopes she can avoid clarifying that.
“Uh, lot’s of things. Practical stuff, recreational stuff. It’s a useful body part.” She tells him, hoping to leave it there.
“It is.” Ben accepts, to her relief.
And back to silence. A more comfortable silence this time.
Helen thinks to check her phone. She leans over slightly so she can reach into her pocket and pull it out.
The screen’s somewhat bright compared to the until interior of the car, meaning her pale eyes have to take a second to adjust before she can swipe down the top bar to see her notifications.
A digital receipt for the smoothies. A message from the plumbers about a training course option. A text from Alan, explaining what was happening when she called earlier. So nothing too important.
She quickly opens up Alan’s message and drills away at a response before closing out of the app. Dismissing the other two notifications, she slides her phone back into her pocket, and lets her eyes readjust to the darkness.
“Why didn’t we ever give it a shot?” Ben questions after another moment, giving no context to the question.
“What do you mean?” Helen asks.
“Dating.” He clarifies. “We were talking about it earlier.”
“Wh- huh?” She reacts.
“I’m just saying. We obviously like each other, we just never bothered with it.” Ben says.
Obviously? Yeah, as friends maybe. Any affections beyond that have been pretty far from obvious to her. Where’s this even coming from?
“Well- You were with Julie back then. And I was in the Null Void. And you thought I was with Manny.” She quickly lists off some reasons.
“Huh… yeah, I guess you’re right.” He acknowledges.
Is he serious? Was that one of his joking quips to keep them talking, or was he actually saying he could see them in a relationship together? Could she see them in a relationship together?
She notices how slow the sound of rain is becoming. Not because the rain itself is slowing down, but because she’s automatically speeding up with the excitement.
Not excitement. That would imply she’s excited about the idea of dating Ben. Which she’s not. She’s not getting hopeful. This is out of the blue, and he’s probably tired right now, and they’re just friends. Friends that could probably be romantically compatible, but which aren’t. Because they aren’t in that kind of relationship.
“And what about now?” Ben checks, forcing her back to the speed of the moment.
Oh come on, Ben. You’re killing her, here.
“Well, you were dating Ester, and… we haven’t really hung out much.” Helen rationalizes.
“Helen, I’m asking if you’d want to go out with me some time.” Ben clarifies.
What.
He’s what.
“Oh.” Helen realizes.
Yeah, “oh.” He’s asking what? Since when has Ben been interested in her? How has this never come up before? Since when has Ben been even slightly capable of actually asking girls out? She thought they always just found him.
Well, technically she did find him, she supposes. She called and came all the way out. But he still took the initiative. Which is frankly not something she was prepared for. Like, at all.
“Uhm…” Helen thinks.
Excitement. Yeah, actually, that is what she’s feeling. She didn’t realize it, but the idea of spending more time with Ben does excite her a little. It confuses her a hell of a lot more, but it excites her too.
Really, Ben? He’s not exactly her first pick. He’s not even really in the top three. No, that’s rude. She shouldn’t think like that. It’s true though. But he is the only one of her friends to ever ask her out. Pretty much without hesitation. And without a second thought about how she looks.
Hell, maybe because of how she looks. He would be the only person she knows to openly compliment her body. He’s also one of the only people she’s talked to him about it, though. So he totally could have just been saying it for her sake, and not-
“Helen?” Ben speaks, forcing her out of thought.
She quickly turns to look at him, eyes wide, just frozen in place like a deer caught in headlights.
“I- uhm” She tries to have something to say.
“Hey, it’s okay. I know that look. A million thoughts a second and you’re just stuck in place vibrating.” Ben says.
“Yeah.” Helen breaths.
“I’m just putting it out there. You don’t have to say anything right now.” Ben tells her.
She lets out a breath, relaxing slightly at that fact.
Ugh, and she thought her heart was beating fast when he called her. She can feel it thumping away in her chest, doing anything but helping with her need to calm down.
She’s uncomfortably tense now. Every part of her is on edge. She can feel that her toes have a tight hold of the wheels under them, keeping them braked. She subconsciously grabbed onto the handle of the passenger side door at some point, like she’s ready to bolt. Even her tail is gripping the bottom of her seat, like she might fly off it at any second.
She forces herself to let out a deep breath and relax, letting go of the door and the seat. She has to take another moment to just still her tail from anxiously flicking about.
Ben? That’s who asks her out? She likes him, of course, but Ben? He’s irresponsible, and flippant, and arrogant, and famous! He’s not exactly long-term relationship material.
And he listened to her problems.
Well yeah, but any of her friends would have done that.
Okay, Manny totally wouldn’t have done that. And Alan would not get it. He’s not really old enough to think about it in the same way they do. And Kevin would understand too well. He would have just nodded along to her problems with all the answers like an older brother, like Pierce.
He’s also the guy that gave her and Manny a second chance after they tried to kill him. Who saved the world like a dozen times. Who let them throw him into space so could enlist with the Plumbers. Who gave her her memories back after Servantis… Who’s always tried to be nice to her since they met.
But Ben… Come on, he’s Ben.
“I do like you, Ben.” Helen says after a time.
“Yeah, I know.” Ben states.
“But…” Helen tries to think. Of any reason to say no. Of any reason she’d want to say no. But all she can think of is how much she really does like him.
“But…?” Ben wonders, patiently waiting to hear what she has to say.
They both grew up around and live in Bellwood. They’re both Plumbers. They both know what its like to live in a different body. They get each other. He gets her, and he likes her, and she has no idea why she’s so afraid to say yes.
Why is she so afraid to say yes? Ben is still friends with Julie, and Ester. Even if it they split up, they’ll still be friends.
She just feels like…
“I don’t know.” She says.
“That’s okay.” Ben tells her.
“It’s just… I’m not sure you’ll really like me… if you have to spend more time with me.” Helen decides.
“I like you for the way you are, Hel. Not in spite of it.” Ben states, with a certainty she finds frankly absurd.
“You like the spikes, and claws, and- and helmet? It doesn’t come off, y’know.” She says.
“I know. It’s a calcium, carbon alloy. Part of your skull. Same material as your wheels.” He says.
“You know that’s not my point, Ben. I’m saying it’s part of who I am. I don’t get to turn off the hyperactivity, of the attention deficit, or the speed I overthink things, or the way temperature affects my mood because of my stupid reptile genes.” Helen says, trying not to sound too frustrated.
“You’re a mammal, technically.” Ben corrects her.
“Huh? But- the scales, and-”
“Warm blooded. Belly buttons mean live birth. Nipples mean mammary glands.” Ben explains.
“Oh…” Helen thinks on it.
“And like I said. I like you for who you are. “Flaws” and all.” Ben repeats.
Well now she doesn’t know how to feel. Ben’s being sincere. A state most of his friends don’t seem to think he’s capable of. Something he’s clearly putting a lot of trust in her to express.
He does like her. She has a hard time ignoring that. He really likes her. Not just who he thinks she is. Impatient, irritable, nosy, argumentative, reckless. He doesn’t mind.
“… Just so you know, this is a terrible spot for a first date.” She remarks, getting a laugh out of him.
“What are you talking about? Alone in the woods together, the rain, Mr. Smoothy’s. This is a great date.” Ben argues.
“If this is a date, is has been pretty good. But we’re stuck on stakeout duty right now. I’m only having fun because you’re here.” Helen tells him.
“That’s exactly why it’s a good date. Something that sucks to do alone, but Is fun with someone else. Multitasking.” Ben explains his reasoning.
“…” She sighs. “I do like getting things done.”
“See? This is a great date. Unless we have to fight a giant monster tonight. Then it’ll be a pretty average date.” Ben says.
Helen has a soft laugh at that, then goes quiet with Ben.
“Is this a date?” She checks.
“I don’t know. I’ve been winging it since you got here.” Ben responds, getting another laugh out of both of them.
She has to acknowledge that she really hopes this is a date now. Knowing Ben is interested in her opens a lot of doors. A lot of possibilities she doesn’t want to lose, or reject.
On some level, she’s been hoping for the night to take this turn since Ben called her back. To get to a point where they...
“If it is a date…” she starts.
Wait, no. Shit.
Come on, Helen. You have got to start thinking these things through before you speak. She panics internally as soon as she realizes if might not be the best move to head in that direction.
“Yeah?” Ben prompts her to continue.
“uh… never mind.” She tries to back out of it. She wants to get there eventually, but she doesn’t need to push it. This night has been moving fast enough as it is.
“Helen.” Ben says.
“No, it, uh...” She desperately thinks of what else she can say. How she can get them back to where they were before.
“I’ve got to be here a few more hours. I’m not sure you can outwait me.” Ben points out.
She sighs at the realization he’s probably right. That she’s already committed to the statement.
“I was going to say, if this is a date…” She cringes at herself, but can’t back out at this point. She just has to say it and move on with her life. “I’m no stranger to having things move along quickly.”
Ben can’t help but have a small laugh at the statement. Both the word choice, and the implication.
“Really? Sure you don’t want to stay at the “talking about it coyly” stage for a few more dates?” Ben seems to tease, looking to his right to actually face Helen.
That sounds like he’s open to the idea. That’s promising.
Yeah, so she is hopeful about this. She’ll admit it now. Hopeful, and excited, and-
“I think I expected some action tonight, got ditched for looking like a lizard, and ended up with much better plan B.” Helen says, leaning up and shifting herself to face more towards Ben.
And horny, is what she is.
“Honestly, I was expecting a different kind of action tonight.” Ben says, sitting up as well, and turning to Helen as she leans over the console towards him.
“Is that an objection?” She questions, letting Ben lean over to meet her, feeling one of his arms move under hers and up her back, while the other gently reaches to hold her neck.
He leans his face forward, angling his head to the side slightly to move past the bottom of her helmet, and meet her lips with his own.
This doesn’t feel like an objection to her. She eagerly leans into it, letting him part her lips with his tongue to explore her mouth. She is so glad the night’s turning out this way.
She lets him for a moment, then thinks to try something. She pushes back with her own tongue, leaving her mouth and snaking down his. Further than she expected she could, getting a moan from him before he slowly pulls back, separating them with deep breaths from both of them.
They just stare at one another for a second before Ben lets go, turning to make sure the parking brake is on before looking back to her.
“Move your seat back.” He requests.
She quickly obliges, reaching past her tail to the side of the seat to pull the lever that lets it slide back.
She then watches as he places a hand on the back of his seat, and one on the dashboard, to lift himself over the console and into her foot well. Taking care to let her move her tail out of the way before he lands.
With the chair as far back as it can go, there’s just about enough room for Ben to kneel down in front of the seat, letting him gently take hold of her waistband and pull down her pants.
Helen lets him, just watching as her light blue skin is revealed to the moonlight, and Ben. As the faint shapes of her body are made out in the glow of the night.
Her pants lock at her ankles, unable to move any further down over the spikes. And then she waits for a moment, for any kind of reaction at all. Almost worried when he pauses, but completely put at ease when he lifts her legs up over his shoulders and leans forward to meet her slit with his lips.
She moans very softly at the sensation of his tongue slipping into her, and his hand moving up to find a place over her clitoris, gently stimulating it as he explores her.
Not one to wait while someone else does all the work, Helen slowly shifts her tail down to the floor between Ben’s legs. Then, cautiously, she feels up his pant’s leg until reaching his crotch. She can hear the light breath as he feels her do this, encouraging her to continue. She struggles for a second, but is able to undo the front of his pants, letting her slide her tail into them.
Ben responds with a soft moan into her as she manages to snake around his stiffening length, pulling it and his balls free of his pants with a few tugs.
He reaches up with his other hand and slips his index and middle finger into her below his tongue, gently tugging on her walls. Unreasonably smooth compared to a human, and practically frictionless. Gripping him just enough to get the needed sensation out of every motion.
She wraps the end of her tail around the length of his cock, starting to gently stroke it back and forth. The meaty appendage dexterous enough to keep a firm grasp of him.
Then Ben pulls back, still stroking her with his hands, but leaving his mouth free.
“Too fast?” Helen checks.
“Perfect. I just wanted to see your face for a sec.” He says.
Her eyes narrow slightly with suspicion.
“Did you know kinecelerans have a pretty sensitive nerve cluster right about… here.” Ben abruptly pulls his fingers down, tugging on and vibrating the tissue just below and inside her entrance.
Helen can’t help but gasp, her eyes pinching shut, and her legs bucking and trembling against Ben’s shoulders as the sensation rocks through her. Her hands desperately finding anything to grab onto just to keep her upright, while both her walls and tail squeeze around Ben’s hand and dick respectively. The slick canal is hardly able to get a grip, but it doesn’t stop her from trying, rhythmically clenching down on his fingers as she reels.
Then Ben does it again, and she can only moan and cling onto him as her body quivers, practically drenching his hand as the climax hits her. The euphoria rocking her entire form, tensing every muscle. Keeping her barely able to barely resist the urge to get any louder than she already is.
And then again, pulling back against her and rubbing into the flesh like a deep tissue massage, like setting her on fire. Her head rolls back as another verbose moan escapes her, as her hands desperately grab onto the handle on the ceiling above her, and Ben’s hand on her clitoris. And Ben finally starts easing up.
Not pulling out of her just yet, but slowly and gently releasing the pressure as she comes back down. To let her breathe. Her eyelids slowly open again with deep and labored breaths, and she rolls them down to find Ben meeting the gaze of her white eyes. His face wearing that smug grin is always does as he gradually lets go of her.
“Where’d you learn that?” She has to ask, moving her still trembling legs back down off of Ben’s shoulders to set them on the floor.
“XLR8, actually. I just knew guys had that spot towards the bottom of their sheath. Figured it was worth a try.” He explains.
“It was… and I’ll keep that in mind.” Helen says between breaths.
She glances down, past her own legs and to Ben’s. To his member, still tightly coiled within her tail. She thinks to gently release him and gestures for him to get up.
He stands up as much as he can in the confines of the car, meaning he’s still hunched forwards, with his rear just about able to rest on the dashboard. Still, it’s enough space. It leaves him at just about the right height to let Helen lean forwards and grasp his shaft with her three-fingered hand, guiding him as she moves her head down and down to slowly take him into her mouth.
“Ah, Helen.” He moans as his length slides against her smooth tongue.
His dick sinks deeper into her, hitting the back of her throat in barely a second. Helen has to consciously slow herself down, for his sake if not hers. Then she moves her head farther down, forcing his throbbing helmet into her throat.
Her whole mouth is smooth. Polished and nearly frictionless the same way her other hole is, naturally lubricated to an astonishing degree, letting him glide forward with only as much resistance as her throat clenching around him provides.
And her throat does clench down around him, seizing as his mass pushes against her soft pallet and down into her esophagus. He moans again as her lips comes to rest against his base, and she does the same, the sensation traveling through him.
Then, more quickly, she slides back. He can feel every groove and contour of her mouth slide against him until only her upper lip and tongue still hold his tip.
Her blank eyes glance up to his face, not that even Ben could tell. She then shoves her head back down, forcing all of him into her at once. Ben gasps at the slick warmth enveloping him, her tongue clinging to his underside and pushing him up into the ridged roof of her mouth, massaging his length sinking down into her neck.
Then she shifts back again, not leaving him stationary for nearly as long. Then down, taking in every inch of him through her tensed muscles, then up, feeling the back of his tip pulled through every shape.
She can feel his mass throbbing as she lingers with her lips around his tip again.
Then she has an idea.
She slowly pushes her tongue out of her mouth, letting it glide down the bottom of his length. She can see him notice, watching in wait to see what she’s doing. Carefully, she tries moving her tongue to the side, rolling it up and over him, and back down the other side. She tries to extend her tongue as much as she can, managing to get it back around to his underside, and slightly past it up to his side.
She then moves her head down again, abruptly and all at once, pulling her tongue back into her mouth as she does. His cock slides through the tight coil of her tongue without resistance and slams down her throat. She can feel him moan with the motion, nearly swept off his feet by the sensation. Then she pulls back, keeping only her tongue and lips wrapped around him.
She moves forward slightly, to envelop nearly half of him, and takes a second to push and pull back and forth with her tongue. Essentially jerking him off with the wet spiral before pulling back again shoving her head all the way down.
The pattern is established now, and she doesn’t deviate much. In and out, held and stroked by her tongue and neck. Slid through the clenching hole of her throat, massaged by the muscles and occasional moan. Barely pausing for Helen to even breathe.
And when she does pause to breathe, it’s brief. Without nostrils she simply pulls her head back and lets out the hot breath trapped in her lungs, then takes in a rush of the cool ambient air and sinks down again.
Ben just watches, not wanting or daring to interrupt her. To break the flow of the person sliding themselves up and down his rod. Her blue face blushing a soft pink, and her black lips pulled back and forth around his girth with the rapid motions.
Their moans just barely carry over the beating of the rain on the windshield behind Ben, as do the wet noises of Helen’s mouth taking in and releasing Ben. Again and again, at a pace that might even be slightly uncomfortable for Ben, until finally he can feel himself approaching the end.
“Ah- Helen, I’m gonna-”
As soon as he speaks she slams her head all the way down. Her lips held tight against the base of his shaft, the bottom of her helmet lightly poking his balls, and her tongue and throat doing everything it can to stimulate him.
It’s enough for him, and he can’t help but grab onto the lower edge of her head as he climaxes. She instinctually jerks back slightly, but is held in place as her throat is filled with stream after stream of hot fluid. Ben’s moans and hers intermixing.
He can feel her trying to swallow, but barely being able to with his mass filling her throat, instead only stimulating him further. Rolling her flesh against his. After a second she can’t stop herself from closing her throat, failing to take in any more of the fluid, tensing around him, nearly gagging as the rush of thick slime moves back up and into her mouth.
She and Ben both feel the cum splatter against his groin as she coughs around him. She doesn’t pull back just yet though. She holds herself around him as long as she can, sucking out everything she can until she just can’t anymore.
And then he lets go, and they both feel his mass slide back up her. Her still coiled tongue slides with him until he’s out of her. Then she lets it just fall to the open air, covered in cum, not even bothering to pull in back in as she tries to catch her breath with deep panted breaths.
Then she feels the last strands of cum jet from Ben’s dick hit her face. The first hits her cheek, but her half-visor slides down instinctually fast enough to block the second one from hitting her eye.
She has to stay there for a second. Leaned forward, head just below his dick and practically between her knees. Just so she can catch her breath.
She looks up to Ben again, tilting her whole head so he can tell, and slowly pulls the length of her tongue back into her mouth. She leaves it closed for a second, swallows, and then opens her mouth again to continue breathing. Now able to more easily with a cleared throat.
“Damn, Helen.” Ben voices.
His hand moves down to her head as she leans back up to a regular sitting position, carefully wiping the strand of cum off of her visor with his thumb, letting her slide it back up into her helmet.
“Not bad, right?” She checks.
Her tongue leaves her mouth again, sliding up her face to swipe the gel off her cheek, pulling it down and back through her lips.
“That was incredible.” Ben compliments, pulling his own hand back to his mouth to clean off his thumb.
“Do you need a minute?” Helen checks.
“Yeah, just a sec.” He confirms.
He has to awkwardly lean over to rest one hand on his seat again, while turning his torso to rest the other one on the dashboard, so he can lift himself out of Helen’s side and back into his own seat.
“Do you need a minute? That didn’t look easy.” He asks.
“Just gotta catch my breath.” She tells him.
“Gotcha.” Ben says, turning his attention away from her for a second.
Helen thinks she can see him sliding out of his jacket in her peripheral vision, but she doesn’t focus on it. She’s still just looking down to the seat under her, and the floor of the car past her legs, letting her eyes lazily rest in the middle distance as she breathes.
That’s something she doesn’t get; why doesn’t she have a nose? She has great lungs, but the only way for her to breathe is through her mouth. It just seems like an oversight given the species’ gimmick. It doesn’t come up very often though, she supposed.
And then, for the first time practically ever, she realizes that she actually has someone to talk to about it.
“Why don’t I have a nose?” She asks, sounding just slightly annoyed about it.
It gets a small laugh out of Ben.
“The bottom of the helmet has vents for when the visor is down.” He tells her.
Immediately her eyes go wide as she looks to Ben.
“But- Do they work?” She questions.
Ben carefully reaches over, gently placing his hand against the side of her head. Cold compared to her surface. She keeps still, just letting him run his fingers along the smooth sheet until coming to a set of thin grooves just behind her neck.
“Feel those?” He checks.
“Yeah?” She responds. Of course she feels them. She knows where they are, she just didn’t realize they were vents. Like, for airflow? Like gills?
“Bring down your visor, close your mouth, and try to breath in.” Ben instructs.
The transparent blue structure promptly slides down out of her helmet, stopping about halfway down her face. She then puts her lips together and tries to breath in.
She can immediately feel the sensation of air filling her lungs, and of Ben’s hand against the grooves blocking the flow of air. He pulls his hand away once feeling the cool air rush into her, and just watches as her chest rises and falls with each breath.
Her visor slides back up into her helmet, and immediately she lurches forwards, grabbing her chest. Her mouth immediately opens with a cough, and she leans back up to her usual posture with a bewildered stare at Ben.
“Yeah, it’s harder without the visor being shut, but you can still do it. You’ve probably been doing it for years without noticing. It took me a while to figure it out.” Ben explains.
“Yeah.” Helen says, looking back down at herself again.
This is an eventful night for Helen. She doesn’t know how it could possibly end yet, but she’s enjoying it so far. Sex in a car isn’t ideal, but they’re making it work. She’s certainly learning a lot about her own body.
Her pants and underwear are still locked at her ankles. She abruptly realizes that’s what she’s staring down at. She’s sitting bare-assed on the leather seat, and her pants are wrapped around her lower legs, unable to slide off over the spikes.
She leans down and carefully stretches the pant legs out so she can slide them off of her, one leg at a time, until she’s completely out of them.
Getting out of her pants brings her mind to look over to what Ben’s wearing. She was right about him taking his jacket off before. It’s now resting on the dash behind the wheel.
“Are you… ready?’ Helen checks, sounding slightly more eager than she means to.
Ben turns to face her before responding with a simple “Pretty much.”
He again takes hold of the back of his seat and the dash, but doesn’t move himself over to her half this time. Instead he takes a second to climb over and into the backseat.
Helen gets the idea. She quickly reaches around to the back of her arms, undoing the zippers so she can get her arms out, and then toss it onto the dashboard. She can hear Ben getting out of his clothes in the back as well.
She quickly reaches down to her bag, flipping it open and hurriedly sorting through the pockets to find the one with a few condoms inside. She pulls out one, and turns to look back at Ben on the space behind her. He kept his shirt on, but his pants and underwear are nowhere to be seen now. Probably on the floor. The towel she used to dry off before is now laid across the seat though, presumably to keep it dry from whatever they’re about to do.
She grabs the lever and slides her seat forward again to give them a little more room on the back. She then places her hands on the seat and dash as he did, and lifts herself up to follow after him. She has a slightly easier time balancing herself with her tail as she goes, but needs to tuck her longer legs up more to get them though the same space.
She doesn’t mind Ben taking hold of her torso as she comes through, keeping her from falling forwards until her legs find a place on the ground.
It’s just slightly more roomy than you would expect. It’s still the backseat of a car though, and she still has a considerable tail, meaning they have to get a little creative with placement.
Basically the only position they can take is her resting on her back on the seat, her tail running to the door and then falling off; while Ben leans over her, his left leg on the floor, his right knee on the seat, and Helen’s legs hooked over his hips.
She can feel the coarse texture of the towel under her, but its not as uncomfortable as it would be if she were human. The fine blue scales being more resistant to friction, meaning she only feels the soft aspect of the towel like a blanket.
It’s cozy. His warm skin against hers, his weight pressing into her, his hands feeling their way up her torso.
She can’t stop herself from shallowly gasping as his cold hands run along her sides. Gently tracing the shape of her stomach, and ribs. Pushing up the shirt she didn’t take off. His hands pause at her chest, gently cupping her breasts, rolling his thumbs over her nipples. They only pause there though, then continue up to keep pulling off her shirt. She lets him, moving her arms up so he can slide the fabric over her head.
He even remembers to be careful with the hook of her chin, and reach up her arms to make sure the sides of the tank don’t catch while moving over the spikes extending from her elbows.
He tossed the shirt away with one hand, over to the center console, but keeps his other at her arm. Taking a second to shift around the shape of her left arm, the one toward the back of the seat, before sliding up to take her hand.
He takes a moment just to appreciate the sight. Her soft blue skin, covered in a fine layer of scales, cast in the faint light of the moon through the door window behind her, and the rear window to their right. The light casting the abstract shapes of the ever shifting rain across her.
The slow pace is just killing her, but she appreciates it all the same. The slow gaze Ben casts over her. The way he doesn’t for a moment react to her in a way that would make her ashamed, or even embarrassed.
She appreciates it more when she sees Ben reach to take the condom she took out, letting go over her hand to roll it over his length, hovering over her stomach.
She can’t help the excited smile on her face, watching in wait until letting his member fall back to rest against her exposed pelvis. Before sliding himself back to enter her though, he looks to her face. In a way that causes her to instinctually meet his eyes.
“Any requests? Some of the guys in here are pretty fun.” Ben offers, holding up the arm the Omnitrix is bonded to. The face of it glows slightly, just enough for her to immediately be able to see it, and know what he’s referring to.
She knows for a fact that he has a tetramand unlocked. The thought immediately enters her mind too. Followed quickly by frantic scoldings of herself for even considering asking it of him.
He wouldn’t even fit in the car like that.
“I like you how you are, Ben.” She decides. “Maybe next time.”
“Next time.” Ben comments, carefully shifting his hips back until the tip of his shaft drops down, landing against the base of her tail.
Come on, Ben. Just stick in in already. His slow motions are driving her nuts. He might not even be going that slow, but she’s excited enough for every second to feel like an eternity.
He reaches down to guide himself as he moves forward again.
The moment he comes in contact with her lips her legs tense against his back. It takes all of her self-control not to slam him forwards, but she can’t stop herself from jerking slightly in anticipation. In response he pauses. Waiting at her entrance.
“Ben, please.” She speaks. Nearly whining, really.
In response to this, he dares to move himself back. Away from her. She can’t help but lock her legs in place, keeping him from moving back more than an inch or two.
“Hmm? What was that?” Ben teases. She can hardly believe him right now.
“Ben.” She says, as astonished as she is desperate.
“What’s that?” Ben continues, shifting forward again to press his helmet against her slit.
She whines at the contact, feeling the pressure restrained just enough to keep from entering her. Her legs are still clinging to his back, but he’s pulling back against them enough to even things out. She can’t do anything about the agonizingly slow situation.
“Ben.” She repeats.
“Something wrong?” He questions, playing dumb. She could just about strangle him right now.
“Put it in.” She puts bluntly.
“Put what in?”
She’s actually going to kill him. He really thinks now is the time for this? How could she have possibly thought this was going to go well with his juvenile, irresponsible, annoying-
“Your d-”
That’s all she’s able to get out before he slides himself forwards, slamming his entire length into her all at once. She can’t even finish the statement, or thought, or breath. Her breath hitches, and every part of her body seizes around him. Her legs clamp around his pelvis as tightly as they can, her arms immediately shoot up to rest against his chest, nearly scraping her nails against his skin, and her tail flicks up from off the seat, wrapping over his back to keep herself stuck firmly in place.
She just has to stay there frozen for a second, unable to think of anything beside the object inside of her. The sensation of the obtrusion, and her incomparably smooth walls clamping down around him.
She eventually lets out the breath she was holding at the same time Ben finally slides himself back, eliciting a resounding moan.
“Holy shit…” She breathes as Ben stops just over halfway out of her.
“You okay?” Ben checks.
“Dude, don’t stop.” She says, glancing up to his face for just a second before looking back down to where they meet.
She can’t help but squirm slightly as Ben moves forward again, sliding back into her fully. Vanishing into her deep blue folds, and reaching as deep into her as should really be comfortable, before slipping back out with a sound barely audible over the rain.
The pace is still driving her nuts, but she’s not going to complain now that he’s actually inside of her.
On Ben’s side, it’s hard not to feel the way her insides shift and clamp down around him with every motion. Naturally lubricated and smooth to a degree that almost eliminates friction, but still tight enough to provide resistance. Sensation.
He practically has to hold Helen in place. Keeping his hands firmly pressed down on her shoulders to pin her to the seat.
The strength of her legs isn’t quite what you’d expect from a species known for speed. Since most of the motion comes from her wheels, her legs themselves aren’t much more powerful than a human. Slightly, just not much. Said wheels are currently braked with her toes clenching around them, and her legs are still tightly pressed against Ben’s back. It’s not stopping him from moving back though.
Back and forth, out and in again, slowly building in pace.
Helen’s completely lost track of what she was thinking earlier. She’s having trouble holding onto any thought beyond his dick being shoved into her tunnel. The unpredictable but rhythmic motions, his weight pressing down on her, keeping her in place as he glides back and forth.
She can’t stop herself from softly moaning each time he thrusts into her. Each time his length sinks Into her walls and he slides back out just as quickly.
She can already feel herself approaching the end, in what feels like no time at all. Of course in actuality she has no idea how long they’ve been at this. Any sense of the flow of time went out the window when Ben shoved himself into her and started pounding her brains out.
His width makes its way through her. Not tapering in the same was a kineceleran dick is, it has to force its way in instead of naturally sliding forward. Which means she can feel everything each time his shaft barrels into her. Each time he slams his hips into hers with a meaty slap. Each time her tail has to slide down his back as he pulls out, just so he can move forward again.
Ben can tell that she’s already getting close, and tries to match pace to finish not long after her. Speeding up really only has the effect of driving Helen further.
He can feel her walls fighting him, not meant for the shape, but being too slick to stop him. To even slow him down. The ridged surfaces grind against him, like ice in a frying pan. Gliding as smoothly as anything, and melting against his touch. Ridged at first, but less and less able to fight him each time he shifts himself back and forth.
Helen just can't take it. She can feel her body reeling from the sensation. Not from the speed so much as the duration, the persistence. She's not built to last this long.
“Ben, I’m-” She tries to say through breaths.
“Me too.” He responds.
Thank fuck. She can’t fight it anymore, and gives into it. Rolling her hips against him for the final motions until she finally releases. The sensation hitting her all at once.
She gasps, then moans out as the climax rocks through her. Her blank eyes roll back, and tongue just barely leaves her mouth with the euphoria traveling in waves. Her legs tremble, and her walls quiver around him, both barely able to keep their grip.
Ben’s finally able to speed up just that slight bit more with Helen’s grasp failing, pounding into her as hard as he can. Her claw slide against his chest as her hands move up, holding onto his inner shoulders just to grasp onto something.
She can feel it when the hot fluid pours out of him, contained by the condom, but still flowing out into her.
And with one final thrust he embeds himself as deep into her as he can, just rocking his hips there as the climax travels through both of them. That blinding sensation keeping hold of them for a moment more. Keeping Ben tense, pressing his weigh down onto Helen, while she simply shakes, weakly holding onto him in any way she can until she starts to come back down.
And then she goes limp. Her arms fall back, landing on the seat beside her head. Her tail rolls out from against Ben’s back, plopping down onto the leather cushions and falling off to the floor. Her legs barely remain hooked over his hips, still trembling weakly.
Both of them just have to catch their breath. Helen more so than Ben, somehow. She can’t even lift her head, meaning that she’s powerless to stop Ben when he leans down to press his mouth into hers. Their lips meet first, then their tongues.
She moans into the contact, appreciating it for the moment it lasts before he pulls back again to let them continue gasping for air.
Ben lingers there for a second, just over her face, staring into her eyes. She has to really try to just focus on him, finally starting to come back from the high of the moment.
“You lasted a while.” Ben tells her.
Helen barely even processes what he says, and instead just mumbles a soft “mhm.”
Her mind is much more immediately draw to the sensation of Ben trying to pull back out of her. If she had any strength left in her legs she’d stop him, but instead has to just gasp at the sensation of his meat sliding out of her walls, landing on her tail once it passes out of her completely.
“Fuck…” She just breathes.
Ben continues sliding back, dragging his member off of her as he goes, letting her legs fall now that they don’t have to be around Ben.
“Not bad, right?” Ben repeats her earlier question.
“I’m gonna…” She has to take a breath mid-sentence. “need you to drive me home.”
She hears Ben softly chuckle at that. She then feels it when Ben takes hold of her tail, gently picking it up so he can sit down on the seat. He then just rests it in his lap, and Helen can’t argue. She can reposition and stretch out her legs though, so they’re resting over him as well.
“That was great.” She says.
“I was kinda worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up with you.” Ben reveals.
“No, you… maybe if I was on top. But that was good.” Helen repeats.
She moves her arms back down and carefully pushes herself up, sliding her body back so her legs and tail move off of Ben’s lap. She shudders slightly as she feels the trail of lubricant slide down the side of her tail and to the towel under her, already having cooled in the night air.
Even the rain has started to ease up. No longer that beating pour, but a light shower.
She rests herself against the door, still catching her breath, but otherwise recovered from the experience.
“Did you say I “lasted a while?”” She finally thinks to question, managing to process things now.
“XLR8 never makes it more than like a minute.” Ben tells her.
“Huh… That’s disappointing.” She admits.
“Yeah, but the refractory period’s basically non-existent.” He adds.
“That… sounds like fun.”
“Well, next time.” Ben says.
“Next time.” She repeats.
Yeah, next time. She supposes there’s going to be one of those. She still isn’t sure how this is going to work exactly, but she’s willing to give it a shot.
Tonight has certainly been more fun than if she’d stayed home.
She spots that Ben’s slid the used condom off of himself and put it in the trash receptacle at the back of the center console. A useful thing to have. And that he’s also reached down for his underwear and pants on the floor.
Helen reaches for the towel with one hand, wanting to dry herself off a little before sliding back into her pants, and leans forward to grab her tank top with the other.
It’s when she leans forwards, just enough to grab her shirt resting on the center console, that she sees something moving out in the darkness. A figure slinging though the forest a ways ahead of the car.
Her eyes immediately go wide, and she turns to Ben.
“Ben, someone’s out there.” She says.
There’s not a single second where Ben doesn’t take her seriously. Immediately he turns, grabbing the handle of his door to get it open, and moving his hand towards the Omnitrix the second he’s out.
Helen is out of the car barely a second later, rushing through the steps of cleaning up and pulling her sweatpants and tank top back on so she can follow after him.
He slams his hand down on the Omnitrix right as she gets to him. With a flash of green his body shifts before her eyes, taking on a broader shape. His skin darkens to a deep red and hardens to resemble charcoal before splitting with seams that travel across his whole body, all blazing with living fire. His head most predominantly, taking on a mane of fire that leaves only his face exposed.
Heatblast. So, there goes subtlety, Helen figures.
She kicks off, sending herself rushing forward through the forest in the direction of the figure. Ben dashes after her, but doesn’t actually have to move very far before Helen comes back with exactly who she saw.
Ben holds up a hand, igniting a ball of fire to properly illuminate the scene, letting them see just who Helen grabbed.
“Wh- Argit?” Ben shouts, seeing the rodent-like alien squirming to get free of Helen’s grip, only stopping when he looks up and recognizes the Omnitrix’s dial on Ben’s chest.
“B- Benny boy! Hey! Funny running into you here, huh?” He says.
Ben would roll his eyes if he had any, but instead just scoffs. He turns his head up to Helen, nodding for her to let him go, which he does.
“Hah, thanks. See, your pal here grabbed me out of the blue, totally unprovoked, while I was simply on a hike through these majestic woods.” Argit tries to explain.
Helen vanishes as he says this, taking barely a second to reappear with a sack. Like, a big canvas sack. Quickly revealed to be full of Plumber tech when she sets it down and pulls it open.
“He was carrying this when I found him.” Helen says.
“Woah, Benny, you can’t trust her. I’ve never seen that- uh- any of that before in my life! I swears it!” Argit rather confidently lies.
“Dude, she’s a plumber.” Ben tells him.
“Aw, fiddlesticks.” Argit accepts, snapping his fingers.
“Helen, could you keep an eye on him while I toss that stuff in my trunk?” Ben asks.
“No problem.” Helen promptly responds, watching as Ben reaches down to grab the bag, and turns to head back to his car.
“No chance you’ll just let me go?” Argit hopes, turning to look at Helen.
“What do you think?” Helen responds.
“Not even if I, say, keep finding you two lovebirds out here to myself?’ Argit asks.
Wow. He went to blackmail fast.
“How about you keep your mouth shut and stop hitting plumber bases, and we let you off with a fine for damages.” Helen counters.
“Eh, I’ll take what I can get.” Argit accepts. “You got like a little notepad or something in those- sweatpants? I’m used to the other blue one, what exactly are you wearing right now?”
“We’ll E-mail you.” Helen states.
“Yeah, alright. Well, you have fun with that. I’ll, uh… be on my way now.” Argit says, slowly turning to head back into the woods.
“That better be the direction of your ship, and not the plumber base.” Helen shouts at him as he goes.
“Pff- whaaat?” Argit says, changing direction. “Please, I would never!” He claims, speeding up.
“Mhm.” Helen muses, watching his vague silhouette clamber through the woods.
Its only another moment before the light of Ben’s alien form gets back to her, immediately reducing her field of vision to just what he illuminates.
“Where’s he go?” Ben questions.
“I agreed to just fine him for damages if he’d stop hitting bases and keep quiet about finding us.” Helen tells him.
“Smart. Less work.” Ben says.
Both of them turn to make their way back towards the dirt road Ben’s car is on.
“Worse case, we can always just threaten to make this public.” Ben plans.
“Would he care?” Helen questions.
“Kinda. He’s been trying to pass himself off as a reputable businessperson these past few months. I think he wants to run for mayor.” Ben explains.
“Huh…” Helen noises, heading around the side of the car to get back in the passenger side.
Several beeps proceed the Omnitrix automatically turning Ben back into a human with another flash of green light, letting him get into the driver’s side.
Helen reaches around to under Ben’s seat as he starts the car, grabbing another towel to dry herself off again.
“Could you grab my pants?” He asks
“Oh” Helen reacts, quickly looking over to find Ben in just his underwear, and his cargo pants on the floor behind his seat, like the one place he can’t reach them. She quickly leans over, grabbing them, along with his shoes, and handing them to him.
“Thanks.” He says.
“No problem.” She assures him, still wiping herself down as Ben shuffles himself back into the clothing.
“You live in uptown, right?” Ben checks after a minute, reaching up to grab his jacket off the dash, the one thing he has left to put back on.
“Yeah. I can guide you once we get there.” Helen says.
“Cool.”
The headlights switch on, and Ben carefully backs up the car, turning it to head down the road back the way they came. Once they start moving he flicks the gearstick back to turn on the brights, and lets himself speed up just slightly. Still a safe pace.
“Uhm, Ben?” Helen speaks after a minute.
“Yeah?”
“Did you… mean what you said? About thinking we could really work together?” Helen checks.
“Yeah. I think you’re amazing, Hel.” He assures her.
“Well… thanks.” She accepts.
The car slows to a stop as they come to the main road, Ben taking a second to make sure no one’s coming before he turns right to head back toward the city.
“Are you busy tomorrow? If you don’t have plans, I’ll actually be off-duty.” Ben tells her.
Well the plan was to stay home tomorrow, but she can’t deny that spending time with Ben sounds like it’ll be more fun. Especially if tonight is any indication.
“I’m not busy.” Helen says. “In fact… you could stay over if you want. Plenty of room.” She offers.
“Well, you can’t take it back now. I guess you’re stuck with me.” Ben says.
She laughs at that.
“Oh no! Stuck with my boyfriend Ben! Whatever can I do to get out of this terrible situation?” She dramatically jokes, leaning over to rest her head on his arm, and tossing her arms out to the air.
Ben chuckles at the display, but more importantly, doesn’t contest the title.
This. The jovial moment, just talking. This is exactly how she wanted to spend her day. This is exactly where she wanted to end up tonight. She intends to appreciate every moment she gets.