Life for Benjamin Kirby Tennyson was relatively normal. Dating Julie, hanging out with Kevin and Gwen, Grandpa Max's absence, finishing school… even fighting aliens and occasionally saving the world was normal. But this was not normal, because Ben had been taught better than to experiment with delinquents like Kevin Levin. As a young child, Ben's parents had always corrected his wrongs and applauded his good decisions. But to Ben, this was neither a "bad" decision, nor a good one. It was simply weird. The raven-haired juvenile who had been sitting on his couch was weird. Not because of his gruff demeanor or rude idiosyncrasies, but because Ben himself was freakishly attracted to him.

And to make matters worse, Kevin knew. He took advantage of the hero's crush frequently, kissing him furtively behind a wall on an escapade, or holding hands behind Gwen's back on the couch. Kevin never addressed why he did these things, he just did them and went on about his Neanderthal way. Ben could've guessed that Kevin was an average "wild-and-edgy" type of person, and that maybe he would even fool around with other guys. Ben could believe it—but he would not believe that Kevin Levin, the infamous mutant-criminal, would want to give him little kisses while they were alone together in the Camaro. And yet…the kisses were there, waiting for him whenever there was a moment that Kevin could catch him off guard.

Until one fine sunny day, as Ben climbed into the Camaro after school and Kevin attacked him almost ferociously with the little kisses.

"No! Cut it out!" The words were incredibly simple and extremely harsh, and he look that accompanied them could kill. "What if someone sees you? What if Gwen sees you?" Ben wrinkled his nose and pushed the raven-haired boy off of him roughly. Kevin frowned deeply. So what, Kevin thought, I don't really care if she sees me. Us. But of course, Ben couldn't hear the sweet words in Kevin's mind and he proceeded to buckle his seatbelt and promptly he crossed his arms. "Are we going anytime this year, Kevin?" the brunette cocked an eyebrow snidely. Kevin twisted his lips in an aggravated smile and practically ripped off the shifter as he switched to drive. Ben knew immediately that his 'joke' had cut Kevin pretty deeply. But why? Ben wasn't in the mood to ask, and the truth was he didn't want to know. Months, now, had gone by where Kevin's spontaneous advances had kept him up hours into the night. The truth would damage the two of them far more than it could benefit either of them.

The ride that followed was awkward and solemn, only substantiating Ben's suspicion that Kevin's feelings were hurt. And bad. But what was he supposed to say? Surely the infamously insensitive Benjamin Tennyson wouldn't be able to find an apt way to patch the wound and start anew. Surely, he wouldn't and consequently he didn't. When they reached the Tennyson house, Kevin unlocked the doors with a mechanical 'click' and avoided his eyes altogether, staring down at the floor with no intention of a goodbye or even a 'fuck you'. And Ben, as his nature would imply, only wrote off the situation as a branch of an impossible reality. Something that could never exist.

Disappointment was nothing new to Ben, and he shook off the look he recalled in Kevin's onyx eyes. A look of pure rejection—but how could that be? The daunting truth of it all was just another head-ache that a superhero like him couldn't be bothered with. And so the he cruel dismissal of his affection wouldn't go away—Kevin was left with that resounding 'no' in his head. The scathing guilt of wanting to just forget about Gwen and the wound of Ben's refusal consumed him. It wasn't normal to act this way…to be caught up in this. Swallowing a spoonful of cough syrup and sucking up his depression, Kevin lay down that night and made a decision to just let it all go.