Fics: Ben 10 Alien Force + Supernatural
Blanket Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing Man of Action and Eric Kripke's toys respectively to play with in my sandbox for a while.
Note: These are a couple of looong overdue fics I wrote while studying for psychology. An unorthodox studying technique, yes, but it was ludicrously effective!
Title: Pavlov Was Wrong
Summary: In which Gwen attempts to condition Kevin. The keyword here is 'attempt'.
Pairing(s): Kevin/Ben
Rating: PG
Warning(s): CRACK and shameless references to the stimulus-stimulus theory of conditioning
Word Count: 603
*
It's not that Gwen has a problem with Ben and Kevin dating. Really. It's pretty cute, actually, seeing a 'bad boy' like Kevin acting like a giant teddy bear and her usually loudmouthed cousin getting all flustered whenever Kevin does something ridiculously sweet like kiss him on the forehead (which doesn't happen often because while Kevin may be a teddy bear at heart, he's still a bad boy. Still, whenever he breaks out of his shell long enough for moments like that, it's worth it.).
But all the eye-fucking is really starting to get on her nerves.
Especially the ones coming from Kevin because, ew, she really does not need to see her best guy friend fantasizing about her cousin. It's way too creepy and she's perfectly happy with her life as is without the mental scarring, thank you very much.
She whines about this to Julie one day.
Here's what Julie tells her: "Condition him, then."
"You mean like Pavlov's dog?"
"Yeah." replies Julie, "Classical conditioning."
After thinking it over for a minute, Gwen decides hey, it's not like she's got any better options.
*
Gwen's plan is actually quite simple.
Whenever Kevin's gaze on Ben lingers for more than five seconds, she casts a minor shock spell on him.
Admittedly, she might've gotten more fun out of it than she should've.
*
After about a week, Kevin catches onto her plan. "You have a tell." He's glaring daggers at her.
"A what?" And Gwen isn't even trying to pretend to be innocent. She honestly doesn't know what Kevin means.
"Every time you cast a spell, you right hand twitches. It's actually pretty common among Anodites." Kevin folds his arms. "So, Pikachu, are you gonna tell me why you've been using Thunderbolt on me for the past fucking week and a half for no reason at all or is Team Rocket going to have to take measures into his own hand?"
Gwen folds her arms in response. "It's for your own good, Kevin."
"For my--"
"Kevin, you spend a majority of your time with Ben looking like you're about to jump him." Gwen says dryly as Kevin blushes. "I'm not the kind of person who enjoys prying into people's relationships, especially yours and Ben's, but I'd appreciate it if you'd keep the specifics away from me. Far, far away."
Kevin just huffs indignantly and storms off.
*
Even after figuring out Gwen's plan, Kevin doesn't stop making eyes at Ben. "What?" he would hiss at Gwen every time she shocks him.
"Five seconds." she warns, twitching her right hand for emphasis. Kevin shudders at the sight.
What Gwen doesn't count on, however, is Kevin getting used to the shocks.
This goes on for a month until one day, Gwen casually twitches her right arm (she's taken to doing this whenever Kevin is being an ass in general. She doesn't follow through with a shock, though. It's simply a reminder of what she can do.) and Kevin, instead of jumping like he usually does, stays exactly where he is, lounging on the hood of his car while flinging popcorn at Gwen. He's smirking like a hyena.
"What's wrong, Gwen?" he teases.
"You... You're not freaking out!" Gwen is incredulous. She twitches her hand violently but garners no reaction.
Kevin's smirk, if possible, widens. "Man, I've been waiting for this for days." At that moment, Ben walks into the garage and Kevin's face lights up like it's Christmas and his birthday all rolled into one nice, big package. "Benji, come over here! I wanna celebrate."
"Celebrate what--mfhh!"
Kevin silences Ben by kissing him senseless and Gwen just groans.
Back to square one, dammit.
*
Title: Chromosome Dilemma (or Pure Crack)
Summary: How come you get to carry the dominant genes and I the recessive ones?
Character(s): Sam, Dean, Castiel
Rating: G to PG
Warning(s): C-R-A-C-K
Word Count: 81
*
Dean glares at Sam. "How come you get to carry the dominant genes and I the recessive ones?"
Sam smirks but says nothing.
Castiel attempts to console the older chromosome. "At least your alleles match." he supplies.
"Having non-matching alleles is fine with me." Sam chirps. Dean really wants to wipe that smirk off his face.
But after a moment, he, too, smirks, "It's okay, Cas, you know why? Because at least I'm a heterozygous and not a homozygous like my little brother."
*
Title: Altruism
Summary: You need to start being more selfish. It's for your own good.
Character(s): Dean, Castiel
Rating: G
Warning(s): C-R-A-C-K
Word Count: 94
*
"You want me to what?" Dean stares at Castiel.
"Dean, you're self-destructive and constantly sacrificing yourself for those you care about." explains Castiel. "You need to start being more selfish. It's for your own good." Before Dean can reply, Castiel disappears in a flutter of wings, leaving the elder Winchester with a flyer.
Written on it are the words, in bright, sparkly purple letters, "Altruists Anonymous - For When You Care Too Much".
When Sam finds the crumpled up flyer in the waste basket, it takes Dean fifteen minutes to get him to stop laughing.
*
Title: I Wanna Be The Same As You
Summary: Dean and Ben are playing the "Salt Lines and Monsters" game again.
Character(s): Sam, Dean, Ben
Rating: G
Warning(s): none (oh hai, my first non-Crack fic in my exam hell 'verse)
Word Count: 415
*
Dean and Ben are playing the "Salt Lines and Monsters" game again.
Sam still isn't sure how Ben found them after Lisa's death (demons), but he's glad. It gives Dean something to focus on other than the fucking Apocalypse. Not that the Apocalypse isn't a big deal but sometimes they need all the distractions they can get.
Although Sam can't help but worry about Dean's idea of 'playing' with his new son. He's turned drawing salt lines into a race and shooting tin cans into a game. What's even more disturbing is how easily Ben gets into them.
Then again, it's the fucking Apocalypse.
Sam can see why Dean is doing this, though; it's all to protect Ben, to prepare him for when, one day, he won't be there anymore.
*
Dean is close to hyperventilating when Ben disappears one day.
But when he comes back after a few hours, all bloodied but otherwise unharmed, Dean hugs him so close to his chest Sam's afraid the boy will shatter into a million pieces.
"Where the hell were you?" demands Dean.
"Exploring." answers Ben.
Both Dean and Sam stare at him for a minute. "I heard about some kidnappings in the next town." admits Ben, "So I went to check it out and I found a cult performing human sacrifices." His eyes darken.
"And... ?" Sam prompts, gently but firmly.
"Let's just say those 'Neo-Druids'' god wasn't too happy with them when I interrupted the ceremony." Ben steps by them and makes his way to the bathroom. Dean moves to stop him but Sam catches his arm.
"What the fuck, dude?" Dean hisses. "He just went out all by himself--"
"... To do what you've been teaching him to do for the past five years." Sam finishes. "Dean, Ben's fifteen now. I'm not happy about him going off by himself, either, but you have to trust that he knows what he's doing--mostly--and that he can protect himself now."
Dean doesn't say anything for the rest of the evening.
*
It takes a while, but eventually Sam notices that Ben's eyes are almost always on him or Dean during hunts, observing them like rats in a lab. Soon, he starts hunting like Dean and shares his love of pies. He starts thinking like Sam and shares his knack for research.
Ben's going to become one of the deadliest hunters in the world after he and Dean are gone, Sam realizes.
His heart swells with pride at the thought.
But a small part of him is also fucking terrified.
*
Title: The Three of Us
Summary: (pre-series) Sam can't help but hear General instead of Dad.
Character(s): Sam, Dean, John
Rating: G
Warning(s): none
Word Count: 153
*
For once, it's Dean who comes back from the library (he'd injured his leg on their last hunt so John had banned him from going on this one until he gets better. Dean hadn't objected but they all knew he was far from happy about the decision.). He looks grim as he relays all that he knows about the town's latest disappearances.
He finishes off with "What should we do, Dad?" Sam can't help but hear General instead of Dad. He resolutely pushes that thought from his mind. Now is not the time.
John Winchester looks thoughtful for a minute, then he makes a decision, barking out, "Sam, I need you to... "
"Yeah, I know." Sam mutters, already getting up from the table where he was cleaning his gun.
Be a good little soldier who follows every single order his general gives him without a second thought. Yeah, of course he can do that.
*
Title: The One That Got Away
Summary: (S4, before Castiel's appearance) What makes you so special that you got a free pass out of Hell back to Earth while the rest of us were stuck down there?
Character(s): Dean
Rating: PG
Warning(s): none
Word Count: 157
*
"Dean Winchester," hisses Demon Number One. Demon Number Two gives her vessel's wrist a flick, sending him flying towards the wall. Dean lets out a groan as his back slams painfully against the cold, hard surface.
"Who's asking?" he asks wryly.
Demon Number Three moves closer to him until her nose is only an inch from his. "What makes you so special that you got a free pass out of Hell back to Earth while the rest of us were stuck down there?" she asks, her voice low and dangerous.
Dean is about to reply with a smart-mouthed "Guess I got lucky" but stops when he catches their darker-than-night eyes. Demons don't have souls, but at that moment, Dean finds that hard to believe. There's hurt in them like nothing he'd ever gotten from Alistair and it shakes Dean to the core.
"I'm sorry," he apologizes, to them, to himself, to Sammy, to no one. "I don't know."
*
Note: These are a couple of looong overdue fics I wrote while studying for psychology. An unorthodox studying technique, yes, but it was ludicrously effective!
Title: Pavlov Was Wrong
Summary: In which Gwen attempts to condition Kevin. The keyword here is 'attempt'.
Pairing(s): Kevin/Ben
Rating: PG
Warning(s): CRACK and shameless references to the stimulus-stimulus theory of conditioning
Word Count: 603
*
It's not that Gwen has a problem with Ben and Kevin dating. Really. It's pretty cute, actually, seeing a 'bad boy' like Kevin acting like a giant teddy bear and her usually loudmouthed cousin getting all flustered whenever Kevin does something ridiculously sweet like kiss him on the forehead (which doesn't happen often because while Kevin may be a teddy bear at heart, he's still a bad boy. Still, whenever he breaks out of his shell long enough for moments like that, it's worth it.).
But all the eye-fucking is really starting to get on her nerves.
Especially the ones coming from Kevin because, ew, she really does not need to see her best guy friend fantasizing about her cousin. It's way too creepy and she's perfectly happy with her life as is without the mental scarring, thank you very much.
She whines about this to Julie one day.
Here's what Julie tells her: "Condition him, then."
"You mean like Pavlov's dog?"
"Yeah." replies Julie, "Classical conditioning."
After thinking it over for a minute, Gwen decides hey, it's not like she's got any better options.
*
Gwen's plan is actually quite simple.
Whenever Kevin's gaze on Ben lingers for more than five seconds, she casts a minor shock spell on him.
Admittedly, she might've gotten more fun out of it than she should've.
*
After about a week, Kevin catches onto her plan. "You have a tell." He's glaring daggers at her.
"A what?" And Gwen isn't even trying to pretend to be innocent. She honestly doesn't know what Kevin means.
"Every time you cast a spell, you right hand twitches. It's actually pretty common among Anodites." Kevin folds his arms. "So, Pikachu, are you gonna tell me why you've been using Thunderbolt on me for the past fucking week and a half for no reason at all or is Team Rocket going to have to take measures into his own hand?"
Gwen folds her arms in response. "It's for your own good, Kevin."
"For my--"
"Kevin, you spend a majority of your time with Ben looking like you're about to jump him." Gwen says dryly as Kevin blushes. "I'm not the kind of person who enjoys prying into people's relationships, especially yours and Ben's, but I'd appreciate it if you'd keep the specifics away from me. Far, far away."
Kevin just huffs indignantly and storms off.
*
Even after figuring out Gwen's plan, Kevin doesn't stop making eyes at Ben. "What?" he would hiss at Gwen every time she shocks him.
"Five seconds." she warns, twitching her right hand for emphasis. Kevin shudders at the sight.
What Gwen doesn't count on, however, is Kevin getting used to the shocks.
This goes on for a month until one day, Gwen casually twitches her right arm (she's taken to doing this whenever Kevin is being an ass in general. She doesn't follow through with a shock, though. It's simply a reminder of what she can do.) and Kevin, instead of jumping like he usually does, stays exactly where he is, lounging on the hood of his car while flinging popcorn at Gwen. He's smirking like a hyena.
"What's wrong, Gwen?" he teases.
"You... You're not freaking out!" Gwen is incredulous. She twitches her hand violently but garners no reaction.
Kevin's smirk, if possible, widens. "Man, I've been waiting for this for days." At that moment, Ben walks into the garage and Kevin's face lights up like it's Christmas and his birthday all rolled into one nice, big package. "Benji, come over here! I wanna celebrate."
"Celebrate what--mfhh!"
Kevin silences Ben by kissing him senseless and Gwen just groans.
Back to square one, dammit.
*
Title: Chromosome Dilemma (or Pure Crack)
Summary: How come you get to carry the dominant genes and I the recessive ones?
Character(s): Sam, Dean, Castiel
Rating: G to PG
Warning(s): C-R-A-C-K
Word Count: 81
*
Dean glares at Sam. "How come you get to carry the dominant genes and I the recessive ones?"
Sam smirks but says nothing.
Castiel attempts to console the older chromosome. "At least your alleles match." he supplies.
"Having non-matching alleles is fine with me." Sam chirps. Dean really wants to wipe that smirk off his face.
But after a moment, he, too, smirks, "It's okay, Cas, you know why? Because at least I'm a heterozygous and not a homozygous like my little brother."
*
Title: Altruism
Summary: You need to start being more selfish. It's for your own good.
Character(s): Dean, Castiel
Rating: G
Warning(s): C-R-A-C-K
Word Count: 94
*
"You want me to what?" Dean stares at Castiel.
"Dean, you're self-destructive and constantly sacrificing yourself for those you care about." explains Castiel. "You need to start being more selfish. It's for your own good." Before Dean can reply, Castiel disappears in a flutter of wings, leaving the elder Winchester with a flyer.
Written on it are the words, in bright, sparkly purple letters, "Altruists Anonymous - For When You Care Too Much".
When Sam finds the crumpled up flyer in the waste basket, it takes Dean fifteen minutes to get him to stop laughing.
*
Title: I Wanna Be The Same As You
Summary: Dean and Ben are playing the "Salt Lines and Monsters" game again.
Character(s): Sam, Dean, Ben
Rating: G
Warning(s): none (oh hai, my first non-Crack fic in my exam hell 'verse)
Word Count: 415
*
Dean and Ben are playing the "Salt Lines and Monsters" game again.
Sam still isn't sure how Ben found them after Lisa's death (demons), but he's glad. It gives Dean something to focus on other than the fucking Apocalypse. Not that the Apocalypse isn't a big deal but sometimes they need all the distractions they can get.
Although Sam can't help but worry about Dean's idea of 'playing' with his new son. He's turned drawing salt lines into a race and shooting tin cans into a game. What's even more disturbing is how easily Ben gets into them.
Then again, it's the fucking Apocalypse.
Sam can see why Dean is doing this, though; it's all to protect Ben, to prepare him for when, one day, he won't be there anymore.
*
Dean is close to hyperventilating when Ben disappears one day.
But when he comes back after a few hours, all bloodied but otherwise unharmed, Dean hugs him so close to his chest Sam's afraid the boy will shatter into a million pieces.
"Where the hell were you?" demands Dean.
"Exploring." answers Ben.
Both Dean and Sam stare at him for a minute. "I heard about some kidnappings in the next town." admits Ben, "So I went to check it out and I found a cult performing human sacrifices." His eyes darken.
"And... ?" Sam prompts, gently but firmly.
"Let's just say those 'Neo-Druids'' god wasn't too happy with them when I interrupted the ceremony." Ben steps by them and makes his way to the bathroom. Dean moves to stop him but Sam catches his arm.
"What the fuck, dude?" Dean hisses. "He just went out all by himself--"
"... To do what you've been teaching him to do for the past five years." Sam finishes. "Dean, Ben's fifteen now. I'm not happy about him going off by himself, either, but you have to trust that he knows what he's doing--mostly--and that he can protect himself now."
Dean doesn't say anything for the rest of the evening.
*
It takes a while, but eventually Sam notices that Ben's eyes are almost always on him or Dean during hunts, observing them like rats in a lab. Soon, he starts hunting like Dean and shares his love of pies. He starts thinking like Sam and shares his knack for research.
Ben's going to become one of the deadliest hunters in the world after he and Dean are gone, Sam realizes.
His heart swells with pride at the thought.
But a small part of him is also fucking terrified.
*
Title: The Three of Us
Summary: (pre-series) Sam can't help but hear General instead of Dad.
Character(s): Sam, Dean, John
Rating: G
Warning(s): none
Word Count: 153
*
For once, it's Dean who comes back from the library (he'd injured his leg on their last hunt so John had banned him from going on this one until he gets better. Dean hadn't objected but they all knew he was far from happy about the decision.). He looks grim as he relays all that he knows about the town's latest disappearances.
He finishes off with "What should we do, Dad?" Sam can't help but hear General instead of Dad. He resolutely pushes that thought from his mind. Now is not the time.
John Winchester looks thoughtful for a minute, then he makes a decision, barking out, "Sam, I need you to... "
"Yeah, I know." Sam mutters, already getting up from the table where he was cleaning his gun.
Be a good little soldier who follows every single order his general gives him without a second thought. Yeah, of course he can do that.
*
Title: The One That Got Away
Summary: (S4, before Castiel's appearance) What makes you so special that you got a free pass out of Hell back to Earth while the rest of us were stuck down there?
Character(s): Dean
Rating: PG
Warning(s): none
Word Count: 157
*
"Dean Winchester," hisses Demon Number One. Demon Number Two gives her vessel's wrist a flick, sending him flying towards the wall. Dean lets out a groan as his back slams painfully against the cold, hard surface.
"Who's asking?" he asks wryly.
Demon Number Three moves closer to him until her nose is only an inch from his. "What makes you so special that you got a free pass out of Hell back to Earth while the rest of us were stuck down there?" she asks, her voice low and dangerous.
Dean is about to reply with a smart-mouthed "Guess I got lucky" but stops when he catches their darker-than-night eyes. Demons don't have souls, but at that moment, Dean finds that hard to believe. There's hurt in them like nothing he'd ever gotten from Alistair and it shakes Dean to the core.
"I'm sorry," he apologizes, to them, to himself, to Sammy, to no one. "I don't know."
*