Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10.

A/N: No, this is not a quarantine induced psychosis, its an actual update! One Nitrogen crisis, a University graduation, three dumpster fires (one of which was literal), two mental disorders, a funeral, job change, and pandemic later, I'm back on this thing.

...look, just, sorry. I honestly didn't mean for this, or any of my stories, to be put on hold as long as they were. Jokes aside, life remains hectic as always and finding the time and energy to actually whip up something that is remotely up to par is hard to come by. Either way, hope you like it.

Hex hissed as he picked himself off the shattered concrete, ignoring the small drizzle that had started, sitting up just in time to see a portal close in the distance. He hummed, popping several limbs and fingers back into position with magic and healing several burns.

His quarry had escaped him and his forces had been scattered. But those forces were still active, if the sounds of distant conflict were anything to go by. He ought to have some time left before the local forces showed up to make matters difficult, what with them being preoccupied. Golems were simple creatures, but easy to power and quite useful for diversion.

Rising to his feet, supporting himself on his staff, he winced a bit at the pain in his ribs. Absorb had been easy enough of an enemy to deal with, but as soon as they had sprung their trap on Ultra, the larger hero had been far more aggressive and dangerous to deal with, as he'd torn straight through Hex's defensive barrier and assaulted him.

Which, he mused, coming up to the remains of the drone his associate had send him in aid, was nothing compared to what Lucky girl had visited on this machine. Vilgax had assured him that it was one of the physically toughest drones he had ever created, just to be certain that it could succeed in its one objective- which it had.

Lucky Girl had repaid its success by vaporizing most of it. Hex did not like admitting it, but he was glad that they had escaped. Lucky was not often on the warpath, and he was not certain he could have survived the combined might of her and Absorb.

The core of the machine was intact, only being the size of his palm and even harder than the exterior of the machine had been. He summoned it to him with a gesture. When it came in contact with his palm, he pushed his mana inwards, deftly pushing past the mechanical hindrances that the machine's very nature tried to put in front of him.

What he had taught Charmcaster so long ago was true- machinery and magic seldom blended well, and trying to do so was folly.

But both she and Lucky Girl, while powerful, were but children when it came to the finer points of magic. Using his telekinesis, he picked up a stray piece of shrapnel from the shattered bullet they had shot Ultra with and rammed it hard into the mechanical core's mainframe, a conduit for his magic to latch onto and enter. It was a strained connection, one that would not hold for long, but he did not require hours, only minutes. He focused his mind on it, and, before long, he felt his consciousness fade out, as if meditating, and he opened his mind's eye to find himself in a pitch black space.

Pitch black, safe for the single glowing green crystal illuminating a small pocket of it. There, he found his associate, hovering. Waiting.

"They escaped." The creature hissed, its squidlike face wriggling in clear agitation, tentacles floundering. Hex hummed, not correcting it. The beast continued. "They are resourceful. He will likely survive." It snarled.

Hex eyed him, gaze narrowing. "His death was not a requirement for our agreement, Vilgax. I set the trap, I supplied the materials. Succes was not asked for. And now I ask you to hold up your end of the bargain."

The beast scoffed, narrowing its red eyes menacingly. "Yes, you desire some exotic materials. But why should I hold up my end when you have been so spectacularly useless in aiding me?"

Hex had anticipated this rebuttal, and smiled at hearing it. "Because," he started. "those materials will allow me to craft a weapon through which I can destroy both our menaces."

The alien warlord eyed him suspiciously for a long moment. Hex continued his persuasion. "We know they are involved- going after one will bring the other into the battle. And when that happens, we can destroy them both. But I will need your help, as you needed mine now."

The beast was silent again, until with poorly disguised interest, it spoke. "I'm listening."

Hope smacked her lips in satisfaction, relaxing into her plush couch with a sigh. Nothing quite like hunkering down with a good book and a glass of wine after a day working the flower shop. Especially when she could do said hunkering down next to her fire stove, surrounded by books and houseplants- some of more magical origin than others.

Gwen had groused that the appartment looked like a witch's cottage when she first saw it. Hope had cheerfully flipped her wayward friend/apprentice/partner-in-mayhem off.

"C'mon Hope, you're literally a cat and a broom away from being a stereotype!"

"That's why I brought you, kitten."

No, Hope had had enough angst and darkness in her teens (and in her wardrobe) for one lifetime, thank you. Her home could be cozy, and it became all the more so as she heard the tell tale pattering of rain starting up outside. She smiled. Yes, cosy was fine.

Or it would have been if a portal hadn't opened in her living room and several people came crashing through it.

She rolled off her couch in one fluid motion, a flash of light gearing her into her suit, mask and most importantly, her charms of Bezel strapped to the back of each hand. She unfolded from her crouch and turned to face the intruders in her house, fire dancing at her fingertips-

"Get off him! Get off him you idiot lug, he's been shot! He doesn't need you to crush him too- get off!"

Gwen, who had seemingly somewhere during her date felt compelled to summon her Lucky Girl outfit and her other charms of Bezel, promptly used the Charm of Telekinesis to fling a large man, that Hope now recognized as Absorb, across the room and into her bookcase.

A move that revealed a bleeding, wheezing Ultra on her floor with several holes in his chest.

"Kitten! What the hell?" She yelped, making her way over. "This is not how you seduce a man!"

"Oh thank you for telling me, I hadn't flipping noticed!" Gwen snapped, looking equal measures of angry and terrified as she quickly zipped the portal shut behind her before turning to Ultra, muttering a quick 'sarcio,' that wreathed her hands in green healing magic, placing them on his chest-

-only for it to dissipate and visible electricity shocking her hands. Gwen grit her teeth, trying to keep them there, but when her gloves started to smoke she took them off.

Before she could try to heal her hands or, just as likely, attempt to heal the wheezing, spasming boy again, Charmcaster knelt beside her, extending one green wreathed hand to heal her more effectively than Gwen ever could do herself while extending the other to hover over Ultra's chest, trying to figure out what was in there.

"I-I can't heal him." Gwen admitted, quietly, miserably. It broke Hope's heart a little. Gwen was nothing if not confident in her 'Lucky Girl' persona, not at all unlike an actor on a stage. But as much as she lived the role, she still doubted herself often.

And when she ran into a brick wall like this, she'd blame herself. Whether that was remotely fair, Hope did not yet know. "What happened?" She asked, quietly, brows furrowing at what her magical probing told her. Little wonder Gwen couldn't get in…

"He was shot by a bullet from Vilgax's drone." Came a gruff voice, underpinned by the same sort of distorter Ultra used. Hope spied Absorb rising from where he was almost buried under books, looking more than a little worse for wear- and that was before Gwen had thrown him. "Hex hit the bullet with magic and it shattered. The shrapnel made the holes." He continued as he knelt on Ultra's other side and extended an open hand to her, presenting a small piece if said shrapnel.

Her uncle's mana radiated off it. Taking it, she prodded at it with her own, finding that it easily sucked it up. Gwen, while no expert on magical metallurgy, perked up.

"Orichalcum!" She noted, sounding confused.

And for good reason, Hope considered as her eyes narrowed under her mask. Native to the deep sea, it was supposed to conduct magic, which was why it was full of Hex's cloying mana. But it wasn't supposed to repel it, so why was it rejecting their attempts at healing…?

Tossing the piece away, Hope hovered both her hands over the boys chest. His squirming had lessened and his breathing had become less shallow, so at least something was happening to keep him alive, but she doubted it'd be enough.

Reaching in with her mana, sharp tendrils where Gwen's was a cloud, she reached deeper, healed what she could, which she could tell helped some, but as she tried to go deeper, get to the actual shrapnel in his chest… "It feels like there's a thousand little creatures trying to wall me out." She grit, trying to push only to have the same electricity that had rebuffed Gwen shoot up her arms, making her wince.

Gwen took the information in with a fierce nod. "That's gotta be the nanoids he keeps going on about." She turned to Absorb across from her. "You know anything? You've gotta know something."

The hero grimaced. "They're usually for maintenance- keep the machine running smoothly, make sure the engine's not overheating, all that stuff. But when we get damaged, they go into defense mode." He trailed off before swearing. "Which also repels magic. Something about Adama-what's it's name?" He grumbled, trying to remember.

"Adamantium." Hope mused, frowning. That would indeed work- when you ran a current through the stuff it repelled magic, shrugging it off like raindrops bouncing off a window. Which meant the bots couldn't touch the magically infused shrapnel, and also kept their healing magic out.

So what they needed to do-

"How do we get rid of the bots?" Gwen asked, sharply.

Hope could answer that. "We do not need to. We only need to break the adamantium in them by putting too much electricity through them. Through him."

"Hold up, that's not so simple-" Absorb was cut off by the charm of electrokinesis on Gwen's thigh lighting up and the girl brought a thunder wreathed hand down on Ultra, which caused him to spasm and grit his teeth, but hope could also feel the resistance to her mana lessening, so she tried to worm her healing magic in and just grab a piece of shrapnel and yank it back out-

Flames erupted as Ultra shifted into what Gwen had once affectionately referred to as 'hot butt', groaning in pain. Gwen recoiled with a hiss, quickly trying to heal her burned hand. Absorb growled, moving to kneel over the boys head and placed his hands on both shoulders, narrowly avoiding the flames… and then he shifted.

Hope was a little impressed. She'd seen transformative mages in action, and she knew that Absorb could theoretically take on attributes of what he absorbed, she just hadn't ever seen it in action and it was way smoother than any mage could pull off.

Flames erupted under the hero's crownlike helmet, wreathing his face like a sort of beard, arms turning a magma like consistency, heat rolling off him as well as the plumes of flame spouting at his shoulders. But that wasn't what had both Gwen and Hope gasp, no, that was when, under the visor, nearly obscured by the crown and the flame beard, two glowing green orbs lit up, an emerald glow that branched out across his face in a vein-like pattern, down his neck, his shoulders, his arms until finally they branched into his fingers and seemingly into Ultra.

The result was instantaneous as an entire network of glowing green veins sprang to life in the smaller hero, and a second later both males shifted back into their human form, though the green veins and glowing eyes remained. Even as he scrunched them partially shut in pain, they were clearly visible through the eye holes in Ultra's mask.

"The Omnitrix..." Gwen mused, leaning forward, curious as always, even if the nervous energy still radiated off her.

Absorb eyed her strangely for the remark, before nodding. "Yes. I mimicked his power." The man took a deep breath. "I'll keep him locked in this form." He winced. "And absorb any surplus lightning you dish out- otherwise you'll kill him."

"Hate to say it," Hope started as she moved to the other side of Ultra, opposite of Gwen, holding her green wreathed hands over him, feeling the charm of Resurrection spring to life as she did. "But focus on keeping him like this. I'll heal the damage, and bring him back."

Gwen nodded, bringing a lightning wreathed hand to bear before she… hesitated. Hope was about to point out that while he was stable enough now, they really couldn't dally on helping the hurting boy on the floor, before the redhead leaned across to peer at the glowing eyes peering back.

"I'm going to zap the bots." She explained. "Absorb's gonna keep you from transforming. I'll pull the shrapnel out as fast as I can," the charm of telekinesis flared, "and Hope is going to heal you up." The girl bit her lip. "It's gonna hurt like hell, we're gonna have to do several passes, and you might… probably will die. Several times-"

"Do," the boy gasped, "it." He grit his teeth before giving her a rare grimacing smile. "Do it."

Whatever shakiness and panic was left in Gwen evaporated before Hope's eyes. Gaze hard, she nodded before turning to the other enhanced humans in the room. They nodded in return.

"Alright, let's do this."

The portal into the Null-Void, apparently the squirt had his base in there, shut behind Gwen. Hope sighed with relief. And exhaustion. From her bookcase, a cautious voice caused her to turn her head.

"You okay?" Absorb asked as he returned some of the books he had knocked loose when Gwen had flung him across the room to their shelves. Or at least an approximation. She'd be ordering them later on, but she appreciated the gesture none-the-less.

She snorted, limbs feeling like jelly. "You try resurrecting someone nine times in the span of half an hour." She answered, grimacing. "And healing him up so I'm not bringing back a pile of charcoal every time Lucky Girl fried him." Honestly, between her depleted mana reserves, Gwen's obviously frazzled nerves and Absorb essentially taking the rebound from both keeping Utlra in check and getting shocked right alongside him-

Well. She suspected that, despite Gwen having to haul the kid out of here over her shoulder, Ultra would be feeling better than all three of them.

The curve of Absorb's lips turned down in a grimace of his own, putting back the last book as he turned back to her. "Still not sure how she even managed that. You'd think magic repelling robots would also shake off her lightning, but no, seemed they only cared about keeping helpful magic out." He extended a hand to her.

She took it, groaning as he hauled her to her feet. "Bezel's charms don't produce magic per se- they magically produce a natural phenomenon. The lightning she used wasn't made of mana like when I do it, it was the real deal." She cracked her neck. "Which is just as well, because I seem to recall you not liking magic all that much."

"It is… yeah, it sucks." He mused, before quirking a smile, turning his head to where the portal had closed. "It's interesting that she mentioned the Omnitrix though."

Hope hadn't really been paying much attention to that, more focused on the problem at hand, but she assumed it was a shorthand for whatever made Ultra… Ultra. She quirked an invisible brow. "Why?"

Absorb chuckled dryly. "Because I've lived with the kid for over two years, and he only ever told me after a rough day when he was drunk of his ass." His voice was a little bitter. "I don't think she had to work all that hard for the info."

Hope snorted. "Jealous? Is she stealing your man out from under you?" She teased.

Absorb scoffed, and Hope was secretly glad she hadn't pissed him off with that tease. The man looked like he could toss her out the window with one arm. "A little, but I'm glad he likes her enough to share. He needs it. And no, he's not my man. Chicks before dicks, thank you."

"How strange. I've got the opposite of that going."

"Damn, Lucky Charm was never gonna fly, was it?" He grumbled, sourly.

Hope snickered as she made her way to the kitchen. She had always found the romantic theories that their fanbase came up with hilarious, and was secretly relishing that fact that Kevin was gonna pay up next time she saw him for losing their bet on the matter. Perhaps she could hustle him into working the shop with her for a week.

Just to get some quality drama in whenever Gwen stopped by to visit. And eye candy.

Plan settled, she pulled out another glass from her cupboard and her bottle of wine from the fridge, making her way over to her abandoned glass near the couch, beckoning Absorb over.

"Have a drink, you look like you need one. I'll kick you out when I've recharged enough to portal you out of here."

The man cocked his head at her, before huffing. "Why am I not surprised that you're as bossy as Lucky Girl." He mused, sitting down on the couch beside her. She smirked, pouring him a glass, which he gratefully took.

"Maybe you just attract bossy people. Complaints?" She murmured.

He laughed, and Hope was already glad that this man was not as much of a sourpuss as Ultra could be. "None, I'd be lost without people like that." He raised his glass, and she clinked it. "To saving pint-sized heroes." He intoned.

She smirked. "Long may they live, tall may they grow."

"Nah, let them stay short. They're cute like this. Like really overpowered, angry hamsters."

"Oh my god, someone finally said it!"

Consciousness returned to Ben in slow burst. The first thing he noticed was that he was sore. All over, but mostly his chest. Past the pain, he started noticing the softness of his tattered suit (dad was going to be sad about that) to the hardness of the cot under him.

From there, he started to slowly regain sense of his limbs, of the potential for movement, of the light blaring down on him even through his closed eyes, of the sterile smell of his home (no brimstone, so he had that going for him) and the sound of-

"Day ninety-three of The Search: still no sign of the hot tub. Rations are running low, and morale is not far behind it. How much longer can this go on until the stubborn squirt who owns the place will wisen up to the luxuries of hot water in a large bowl?"

-the sound of Lucky Girl ribbing him. A part of him was still surprised at how, over the course of just a few months, he'd gone from tolerating her in his space to actively expecting her to be there. A much larger part of him was just happy about it.

...which might be a problem, judging by tonight. Fighting down the urge to laugh and even smile, he sat up on the cot and slowly blinked open his eyes. His mask was still in place, fortunately, not that Lucky Girl seemed to care much about finding out his identity.

Not like it would do her any good; it's not like they knew each other as anything other than superheroes anyway. "Thank you." He said, simply. Keep it short, keep it simple. Keep it professional. "For saving me." He elaborated. He'd have to thank Kevin for helping out in that too. And maybe get a token of thanks for Charmcaster too. Maybe a fruit basket. Everybody loved those.

Lucky girl snorted, flipping her hair with a faint smirk, lounging on his couch across the room. "Don't thank me; you have no idea how much catharsis I got out of deep-frying your killjoy butt."

He fought down a smile again. After years of surviving life and death situations with her, her flippant attitude towards his demise was more insulting than offending. He lifted himself off the cot, standing on shaky legs, not that he let it show. Most people wouldn't have noticed.

Lucky, of course, noticed immediately. "Should you be doing that?"

He shrugged, ignoring the way his muscles pulled and stung at the move. "The show must go on." He made his way over to the part of his base where he kept most of his equipment; where he'd left his suit before going on this ill-conceived date.

Pausing in front of the mirror, he opened his shirt to survey the damage. He almost grimaced at what he saw, because there were eight small, but still clearly visible scars on his chest.

Good thing he just showed up in gym clothes whenever he had the class in school, and never broke enough of a sweat to warrant a shower. Otherwise he'd have some awkward explaining to do. He sighed, moving away from the mirror and started removing his headwear.

Removing his mask, careful to keep his back to her even as he knew she wouldn't try to see anything, he placed his off-duty helmet on his head, locking the visor in place. He immediately felt more like himself.

He was acutely aware of Lucky's burning gaze on him as he started removing the tattered and damaged suit, but regardless of whether he was on duty or not, he was never one for modesty. Besides, he'd be lying if he said that her attention wasn't flattering.

He tossed the blazer and button-up to the side, both too singed and full of holes. No salvaging any of that. He was very aware of the undisguised intake of breath behind him, one that turned into something of a purr when his pants and footwear followed. He almost smirked.

"Didn't think you'd be in the mood after a night like this, but I like where this is going."

"It goes no further than this." He informed her. His underwear attached to his suit anyway, no point in taking it off. And he had some decency in him; Gwen and grandpa had seen to that long ago. Picking up a small adapter, he attached it to the back of his helm and turned it on. He felt his suit spread out, down his neck, over his back, fusing with what little he still carried him, starting blue and shifting to white the further it got out from his chest until it covered him completely. He breathed a sigh of relief as he flexed his fingers. This was good. Familiar.

"Aw, you can't tease a girl like that and not follow through."

That too, was familiar.

"Watch me."

"Don't mind if I do." She purred.

He almost sighed. He almost smiled. He turned to face her where she sat on his couch, legs crossed, arms draped across the back of the furniture like she owned it. Much as he had appreciated seeing her in a dress, and he had very much appreciated it, seeing her back in her superhero suit, all swagger and ease…

It reminded him of all the reasons he fell in love with her in the first place. Which did not make what had to come next any easier.

"We need to talk." He intoned, unable to keep the slight hint of resignation out of his voice. To anyone else, Lucky would've looked perfectly at ease with the statement, but he could all but feel her agitation skyrocket. She nodded, rising from her seat and walking over, crossing her arms when she came to stand in front of him.

"I have a feeling I know what this is going to be about."

Ben's jaw tensed, but he did not comment. She was likely right, anyway. As much as both of them might dismiss danger out of hand, laugh it off even, they both knew that tonight had been far closer than usual. He could not ignore the warning for what it was. "You're probably right." He told her. "You know that because you know me, and what I'm about: the job."

She scoffed. "Yes, I'm aware, captain bore."

He grit his teeth. She was not going to make this easy on either of them. He reigned in his temper, though. He needed to make her understand, and getting angry was a surefire way to fail at that.

And he'd already failed enough tonight. "I… thought I could do this." He admitted. "When I kissed you, I did not think anything would come of it, and if it did, that I could manage it. That Ultra could save the day and get the girl while at it." She did not laugh at the quip. He did not blame her. "But I messed up. I left the city defense weakened by letting it's first and second line of defense go AWOL, I endangered both you and Absorb-"

"I was a willing participant in tonight, Ultra." She cut him off. "I get that you're going to go on about how stupid this date idea was, and honestly, I agree, if only because it is more fun kicking in teeth with you than going out to a masquerade." Her glare hardened behind her mask. "But don't try to pretend like I was some wayward child that you should have exercised some sort of parental authority over- we took a chance. I like to get credit for the messes I make, thank you."

Ben was about to protest on instinct when he stopped himself. As much as his default setting with her was still condescending on account of her irresponsible use of her power, if Lucky had shown him anything over the months that they had spent getting closer, it was that she was far from stupid and far from unaware of the value and responsibility of the power she wielded. That she chose to use it for her own entertainment, and occasionally to aid the city, was something he had learned to respect even if he did not agree fully.

He had to at least do her the courtesy of respecting that. "We took a chance." He conceded. "We lowered our guard, went into a hazardous situation that we should have prevented by doing our job in the first place and patrolling, but to make matter worse, I show up under-equipped and untransformed because, for some reason, I show up in a suit that I don't want to destroy by transforming and get distracted enough gawking at you-"

"I knew that dress would turn you on."

...keep going, don't focus on that satisfied twinkle in her eyes, don't kiss that sexy smirk. "Distracted enough to get shot." He finished, the humor draining out of her in under a second. Seeing he had her attention, he stepped closer, unable to resist. "This wasn't random, Lucky. This was a tailored strike on me, at a time when Vilgax knew I would be vulnerable. I don't know how he got Hex in on this, but he did. And the literal second that I let my guard down, it bites me. We got off lucky-" Her lip quirked at the phrasing and he fought desperately to keep his own amusement in check. "-but that won't last if we keep being this careless. And I can't afford to fail in this duty. I can't afford to slip up, to be distracted." He cut himself off, refusing to think of what he lost when he treated this like a joke, as she so often did. Refused to think about what he feared to lose if he did so again.

"I know you hate it, but I do take this job seriously. I cannot stop. And... tonight showed quite clearly that I can't save the day and get the girl." He admitted, softly, not bothering to hide his own displeasure with the thought.

Silence reigned, tense and oppressive, a thousand expressions flashing across her face, ranging from grim admiration to fevered rage.

Her jaw worked hard, teeth gritting and mouth opening and closing, for a few long seconds, before she spoke. "Sounds to me," she started, lowly, "like you're dumping me because you're scared and your hero complex is out of control. So, dating makes our nights a little more dangerous. We're superheroes, danger is what we do. We can handle that, we just have to be smarter about it than we have been."

His scoff was scathing. "Easy for you to say when you don't have to bear the consequences if we mess up! Or need I remind you who was the one that got shot for this mistake?"

She stepped closer, glaring into his face, mana crackling around her. "Easy for you to say; you didn't have to watch the one you love die eight times over attempting to save his dumb ass!" She seethed.

The silence was deafening, and any attempt at maintaining his composure dropped along with his jaw. Lucky huffed out a frustrated breath, one hand reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose, displacing the mask ever so slightly. He lowered his gaze, mind whirling but still respecting the boundaries between them. Her voice still found him.

"Just, please, don't do that again." She sounded small, vulnerable. "You scared me." Which would have been as close to an admission of affection as she ever got, if she hadn't literally just told him she loved him two breaths ago. His mind was still reeling from that one, and every cell in his body was screaming for him to scoop her up and hold her close. Instead, he stepped a little closer.

"I... I did not think it would affect you this badly." He admitted. "Everything always seems to bounce right off you." She laughed, softly, weakly.

"This didn't. I care, idiot. Probably way more than I should." She told him, fixing her mask and raising her head to look at him properly. She looked so, so very tired, but her smile was rueful. "I guess it's kinda funny- the folks at the bar have been telling me for ages to just jump you and get it out of my system. But one of them suggested I try to actually romance you, take it slow."

Ultra smiled, slowly finding his bearings. "Carly." He guessed, having a passing familiarity with her friends at least. She smiled, punching him lightly in the bicep.

"I knew you totally remembered their names. But yes, she told me to take it slow. See if there was potential. And against all my instincts, I did that." She admitted, eyeing him with naked affection, and he tried desperately to recall how he could even conceive letting this girl go.

He swallowed, angling his body into her space despite his better judgment screaming that this was not at all how this conversation was supposed to go, that this was another stupid mistake-

"And I fell in love with you. All boring, obstinate, self-righteous three feet of you."

Ben sighed, smiling. "Only you could make a love confession insulting." He remarked, dryly. She huffed out a laugh, close enough for him to feel it tickle his face.

"You love me for it, and you know it." She returned, and funnily enough, while he'd have chalked it up to ego months ago, he now saw it for what it was: bluster. He could shoot her down, and she'd pass the statement off as a joke, appearing unshaken. But he could see the slight hint of vulnerability in every inch of her, and he understood now, better than ever, how things did get to her. How he got to her.

So he did not shoot her down, as he knew he should. Instead, he smiled. "I do. I thought that getting closer to you would teach me all the ways in which I couldn't tolerate you. And yet..."

"And yet, here we are, two idiots in love when it's probably the dumbest idea this side of the cosmos." She shrugged her shoulders. "Can't blame you though, I'm just irresistible like that." She smirked, reaching out a hand to clasp his. He adjusted the grip to twine his fingers through hers. Her expression softened and his heart melted just a little more for her. "I get your worries, Ultra, and I understand the consequences of failing as well as you do, and we're gonna have to be more careful about this." She told him, raising her other hand to trace over his chest.

Over his new patchwork of scars beneath it. He grimaced, averting his gaze down before her hand crept up and cupped his cheek, angling him back to meet her gaze.

"But- and this is permission for you to call me a sap till the day I die- I refuse to give this up over that." Lucky said, fiercely, fingers twined securely on his, warm hand cupping his cheek, affection and determination screaming from her every pore.

Ben couldn't refuse her if he tried, and did not want to. So he shoved the screaming part of him that kept repeating that he ought to focus on his job, and instead smiled, telling that part to fuck right off. He was saving the day and getting the girl if it killed him. So long as that girl was this one. "Then neither am I." He agreed, taking secret delight in the sheer relief and happiness that came over her. He shared it. "I guess taking it slow paid off, delinquent."

Lucky tensed for a moment before she relaxed again, her body angling towards him, closing in.

"Yeah, about that." She started, mood shifting abruptly. If she'd looked affectionate before, now she looked hungry. He gulped and her hand moved from his cheek to the back of his neck, pulling him closer. "I like where actually dating got us, but we did kind of cut it a little close tonight. So just in case our next date is somehow even worse..." Her hand hit the small adapter stuck to the bottom of his helmet, running electricity through it.

Most of his suit disappeared and a wave of healing magic washed over him, diminishing his soreness to ignorable levels. He quirked an amused smile back at her smirk. "Subtle as ever, troublemaker."

She closed the distance, kissing him deeply and he moved his free hand to curl around her waist, pulling her flush against him as she fought him tongue and nail. They'd made out plenty of times by now, and every time there was an undertone of 'more' in it, but never had it been quite as potent as it was now.

Maybe that was because he could feel her intent in every line of her body. Maybe it was because he knew he would not refuse her anything right now.

Maybe because he wanted it too.

They pulled back for air and she stepped just out of reach, a flash of light taking her hero suit away and leaving her in the dress she'd worn on their date. The very flattering, easy to remove dress that revealed endless legs and did nothing to hide the excited flush peppering her collarbones in the most endearingly sexy way.

He felt like making a map of that flush with his lips. He wet them in anticipation, struck by the way her eyes tracked the movement, flashing hungrily.

Lucky started walking backwards towards the couch, slowly, invitingly, hair shining beautifully and eyes brimming with mischief. "I'm done taking it slow. You coming?"

As if she needed to ask. Biting back a growl, he all but pounced.

Bliss. Utter, sore, embarrassing, sinful bliss.

That was how Gwen felt as she lay draped across her school desk, smiling like the most satisfied cat on the planet. She was the cause of many of her classmates' snickers, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Sure, it was probably hilarious for them to see calm, collected Gwen Tennyson straggle into class with a limp and a dazed expression peppered with a semi-permanent blush on her face.

They were probably thinking she'd had the night of her life. Well, she had, so there. She'd think of a more coherent way to be offended about their snickering when she wasn't melting into goo at every twitch her body made.

And when she could think passed all the wonderful memories she had dancing behind her eyes.

She was about to lay down her head for just a few more minutes of reliving the moment where Ultra had pulled out handcuffs, of all things, when the snickering picked up around her. Using what little reserves she had left, she cracked open one eye to find that her cousin was walking into class.

Well, not walking per se, she mused with a weak giggle of her own, watching with lidded eyes as her doofus literally dragged himself across the floor until he reached their shared desk. Seemed she wasn't the only one who'd gotten lucky. She'd lend him a hand, really, but she was way too sore to even consider heaving his dumb butt.

And while she really liked the way he calmed down and took things more seriously lately, she still enjoyed watching him struggle to get into his seat.

Somehow he managed to do just that, sagging with sigh that belied the cheek splitting grin that seemed to be fixed to his face. Not that she could give him shit for that one.

When he noticed her, he quirked a brow, eyes alight with a carefree mischief. She shrugged, weakly. He snickered, holding up his fist for her. Salvaging the last of her strength, she bumped it with her own before they both dropped them with satisfied groans.

"Good for you, dweeb."

"Same to you, doofus. Don't ever tell me the details."

"I kinda feel like I should; Kevin never spared any, and if I have to suffer like that, so should you."

"I'd kick your ass for that remark and the fact that you even know those details, but I can't feel my legs."

"Lucky me." He returned, and she almost snickered at the irony of his words. "So, so lucky." He sighed, the little shit actually sighed. Wistfully. Like they do in cheesy romances. This time, she did snicker.

But again, it wasn't like she could give him any grief, because she couldn't stop herself from copying the sound seconds later. "That makes two of us, lame brain."

A/N: Bit talky and heavy, but I'm pretty confident that I can make the tone a little lighter for the next few chapters. I generally prefer that for this one, my other stories are heavy enough.

For anyone who's not sure, this time the fade to black was definitely them having sex. I might write that scene out and post it as a separate oneshot. Don't think I've ever written actual romantic smut so it'd be an interesting challenge. Hope you enjoyed, I hope that my next update for this thing won't take as ungodly long.

Take care folks, don't go outside too much, just stay in and read trash romance.