Chapter Text
“Molly, can I talk to you for a moment?”
As promised, Scout returned from Yenaldooshi’s den with Yenaldooshi and Kai in tow as the sun creeped to the highest point in the sky the following morning. Yenaldooshi didn’t let Rook, Ben, or Molly take a look at the ship they were building but they did agree to return to Bellwood with the Plumbers. A promise of a place to live other than a cave, as it turned out, proved to be enticing.
Kai was… Rook didn’t know where Kai was at the moment but Molly was at the spot Rook had parked the Proto-Ship, taking some time to see her friends off. Well, Rook and Ben. She’d only met Scout once before and Yenaldooshi was a total stranger, a stranger with a language barrier. Scout’s request visibly surprised her. “Oh. Um, sure. Just us?”
“Uh…” Scout glanced between Ben and Rook. “All three of you I guess? I don’t really know what the situation was. But Kai came onto me a couple times while we were working. And, uh, Yenaldooshi too, I think. I might just be misinterpreting human behavior but I thought you should know.”
Molly’s expression changed. “Oh. Scout, thank you but I don’t think Kai would-”
“I thought Kai was into me the day we met. I transformed into a Loboan that day,” Ben said suddenly, cutting off whatever Molly was saying. A rare moment of solemnity overtook his posture and Ben suddenly felt much taller than he actually was. “Kai told me she wasn’t interested in me after I turned back. And, uh, when we were dating, she showed- she acted… Kai was different about my aliens than me, especially Blitzwolfer. I- Look, I know I acted out a bit when you and Kai started dating but I don’t, like, want Kai back or anything. You two seem good together. We had a lot of problems when we were together and I was kinda hoping things would be different with you two but it sounds like you have some things to talk about.”
Molly’s lips pursed. “I- okay. Yeah, I’ll talk to her. But only because the stereotype about lesbians and communication is based on reality! I trust Kai but I also trust your judgment, Ben. I’ll talk to her.”
Scout smiled awkwardly. “You do that. And, uh, sorry. I don’t want to cause problems in your relationship.”
Molly waved him off. “You didn’t do anything… You didn’t do anything, right?”
“Um, no.” One of Scout’s ears flopped down to the side. “The first time I thought it was just an accident and played it off. The second time I straight up told her Loboans aren’t really into furless apes.”
“Okay, I know she came onto you and I’m starting to get a little peeved but that still doesn’t mean you can call my girlfriend a furless ape.”
Scout’s other ear fell down. “Sorry? I thought humans were apes. And you don’t have fur.”
“Forgive me, that was how I referred to you when we were dating,” Rook spoke up, feeling bad Scout was taking the blame. “It is an, uh, extranet meme from Apoplexia that species like ours usually are not interested in species like Incurseans or Tetramands.”
Molly sighed. “Incurseans and Tetramands aren’t anything like apes. They’re- Actually, you know what? Forget it. Not a big deal. You four have a nice trip back to Bellwood. And I hope Yenaldooshi makes it back to the Anur System okay.”
Scout gave her a thumbs up. “I’ll try my best.”
“It was good seeing you, Molly,” Rook said and he meant it.
“Yeah,” Ben agreed, opening his arms up for a hug. Humans and their hugs. How strange. “Hope everything goes well with Kai.”
“Me too,” Molly responded and then she was gone, leaving Ben and Rook to take their seats at the front of the Proto-Ship and Scout and Yenaldooshi to climb into the cargo hold in the back.
“Y’know, when Kai and I were dating,” Ben said quietly after they’d been in the air for awhile, once he was sure Scout and Yenaldooshi were too deep in their own conversation to be listening, “I was scared Kai only liked me for Blitzwolfer. Or all my aliens, really. XLR8 got our first kiss. But mostly Blitzwolfer.”
Rook hadn’t picked up on any of that when Ben and Kai were dating. They always seemed like a happy couple, just like the ones he saw in fics. That was the human standard as far as he knew. Then again, he hadn’t spent much time with the two of them before the mission in Dos Santos. Did that make him a bad friend? That he didn’t know his friend’s relationship wasn’t working? Rook’s girlfriend swept Kai off her feet the day they met. Wasn’t that a sign things hadn’t been all that good at that point?
“When Kai started dating Molly, I felt like I’d been pretty silly for thinking that. I mean, she was dating a human. That meant I was just being insecure about the alien thing, right? I’d been scared Julie didn’t like me for my aliens and that ended. I must’ve just been projecting the opposite onto Kai, right? And since Kai left me for Molly, that meant it wasn’t me. I’m a guy, she likes girls. It wasn’t going to happen.”
“And now?” Rook asked, fearing the answer. “What do you think now?”
“That Kai’s got issues,” Ben grumbled. “I mean, I don’t care if people want to date aliens. I dated a couple. And my grandma’s an alien. I can’t really complain about that. But Kai’s attitude about aliens doesn’t really feel… healthy. To me, at least I don’t know a lot about alien dating stuff. But now I feel like she was just stringing me along. Maybe Molly too. I don’t really know what’s going on with her but right now I really feel like she’d only dated me for Blitzwolfer.”
As much as Ben joked, complained, and puffed up his own chest, he could be thoughtful sometimes. Rook knew that, even if he forgot pretty frequently. He wrote a whole fic about how genuine Ben could be yet these moments still surprised him. “If it makes you feel any better, I think Molly only dated me for that long because I was the only man she could put up with. We were never really, uh, romantic. Or sexual. I think she knew she was gay from the start and the only reason we worked was because I didn’t ask her to be straight for me.”
“Oh. Um, yeah. That makes sense.”
Rook swallowed, a rush of adrenaline overtaking him. Before a cloud of doubt rolled in, he blurted out, “And I think that may have been because I didn’t want to be straight for her.”
“Oh!”
Rook would’ve looked away if he didn’t need to keep his eyes ahead to keep them all from crashing and dying a horrible death. That didn’t sound all that unappealing right now though.
“That’s- that’s great!” Ben exclaimed and Rook didn’t know if it sounded authentic or forced. A wave of embarrassment overtook him. He shouldn’t have said that. What was he thinking? “Is- is it?”
“Is it?” What kind of question was that?
“On Earth figuring out your sexuality is a good thing! Nowadays, at least,” Ben told him. “How do your people feel about guys liking guys? Or you liking guys, I guess.”
Liking guys. Someone saying it out loud made it feel all the more real. Rook wasn’t ready for this. What had he been thinking? Oh right, he hadn’t been thinking. “Not… great?”
“Oh. Um, that sucks.”
Rook snorted. “Yes. It does.”
“Got a progressive family at least?”
“Yes, actually, but not that progressive.” Rook sighed. He never thought about this all that carefully. He should have but he always pushed thoughts of his family away when his mind drifted towards- well, men. In this context, that is. All the times he got bored in class and instead occupied his mind by appreciating the solid builds of his male classmates. The softness the corners of men’s eyes had, a depth he could fall into that Rook just couldn’t find in women. Seeing Scout the soft fur on barrel chest bare when he tossed off his shirt to take a shower after a long work out. The way Ben’s voice grew a touch deeper when he was focused, and then peak when he got excited.
Brallada. Rook was gay, wasn’t he? And what were those thoughts about Scout and Ben about? He knew he didn’t have a crush on Scout. He would’ve noticed at some point during their time at the Academy, wouldn’t he? Maybe it was just a lingering attraction. Scout was handsome. He didn’t have to like men to know that. But he didn’t have the same excuse for Ben.
He’d known Ben less than a year. He’d been dating Molly for most of that time, though Rook wasn’t really sure if he could call what they had dating at this point. Was that enough time to get a crush? Rook didn’t know. The only points of reference he had were fanfiction and Rayona and he was starting to realize he shouldn’t be using either of those things to figure out his feelings about real-life relationships. Crushes happened so fast in fanfic. Or so slow. And his relationship with Rayona had come so naturally. Then again, so had his relationship with Molly and he knew exactly why that happened.
Plus, everything he said about furless apes was true. There was a reason there was a popular joke about it. It was relatable. Most furred aliens, anyone from Arachnichimp to Vulpimancers, didn’t go for anything with scales or bare skin. And among mammals, canines, felines, and rodents usually didn’t go for primates. It wasn’t a rule but Rook related to it the first time he heard it mentioned. Fur was attractive. Ape features generally were not.
He hadn’t been through this with Molly but he needed to stop comparing his feelings now to her. And she’d practically asked him out. The idea never would’ve occurred to him if she hadn’t said anything. He liked her for her personality and how well it meshed with his. The again, didn’t he like Ben’s personality? Was it attraction if Rook only liked Ben’s personality? There were different types of attraction, Rook knew, but he didn’t know what they were. Did that matter though? Attraction was attraction, physical or not.
Rook tried to think back to any time he might’ve looked at Ben the way he’d apparently been looking at Scout back at the Academy but his train of thought was interrupted when he realized Ben was talking to him. “Forgive me, could you repeat that?”
“I- uh, nevermind.” Rook felt the seat shudder a bit as Ben shook himself. “Forget it. Thanks for telling me, dude. I know it couldn’t have been easy.”
It wasn’t. It really wasn’t but Ben’s assurance made him feel a bit better.
The next few days were hectic. Returning from a mission usually involved some report writing, and haggling Ben into writing his usually took some effort on Rook’s part, and then there was the usual rest and recuperation. This time, however, they returned with a couple guests in tow. Scout arrived via teleportation, which needed to be logged, and he was going to be at a station half a galaxy away from his usual one. There was a mountain of paperwork involved in that.
Molly had returned about a day into that whole process, eyes dry but rimmed with red. Rook didn’t have to ask that it hadn’t gone well with Kai. He let her sleep over until Jerry cleared her to return to her own quarters, then proceeded to break into her room every morning to make sure she got out of bed. It didn’t matter that they weren’t dating. Rook still cared and he cared a lot. He wouldn’t let Molly go through this alone if he could help it.
They’d also found an alien who’d arrived on Earth with no records long before Plumber presence was firmly established on Earth. Rook knew there had been a number of human Plumbers running things until a few years ago but he didn’t know the implications. Or, he hadn’t. He did now. Sorting things out with Yenaldooshi required Rook, Scout, and Ben to become intimately familiar with Earth’s alien immigrant policy, specifically Earth’s contemporary alien history.
It worked out in the end, Yenaldooshi getting some temporary housing in Undertown and a promise of a stipend to aid with ship repairs, but by that point they were too tired to really be excited about it. At least Rook had Scout back. Even if it was several days before the pair had the chance to spend any time together.
“You didn’t tell me you and Molly broke up,” Scout told him casually as he padded into Rook’s room and threw himself onto his bed before Rook could even invite him in. Rook huffed affectionately and took the chair at his desk. Nothing had changed, it seemed. Or maybe it was more accurate to say some things never changed even when everything else did.
“Forgive me. I suppose we have not been talking as much as we thought we would when we graduated. I feel I am partially to blame for that.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. I think that I thought that we were talking more than we actually do. I mean, I think about you all the time,” Scout said, rolling onto his belly to face Rook. “You were a really big part of my life for a long time and I don’t have anyone like that on Anur Transyl. And I still get notifications whenever you post a fic or like a piece of my art so I guess my brain counts that as interaction when it isn’t.”
“I did write a break up fic after Molly and I ended things,” Rook remembered aloud. “Real world AU. Kenko’s girlfriend left him for Ishiyama’s girlfriend.”
“ Men Don’t Shiver My Timbers ,” Scout recalled. He cocked his head. “Was the title a reference? I don’t get it. And you know I read all your writing but I really have no idea who anyone is in your Sumo Slammer fics. I tried pirating the show once but the extranet copy got corrupted by an overexcited Galvanic Mechamorph four years ago, or at least that’s what all the forums said. I didn’t realize that fic was different from any others. It all went over my head.”
Now that Scout was on Earth, he could watch it if he wanted. Maybe that’d be a good way for Ben and Scout to spend some time together. Ben never said no to Sumo Slammers and Rook would be thrilled to see his two closest friends getting along. “Perhaps we should not rely on fanfiction to communicate with each other.”
“You think?” Scout snorted before pausing. “Wait, did I ever tell you I dated an Apoplexian?”
What? “No? Brallada, how did you-”
“It was long distance,” Scout responded with a shrug, waving his tail behind me. “Didn’t work for obvious reasons. You remember Skraprr Byakko?”
“You dated Skraprr Byakko?” Rook remembered Skraprr. Too brash for Rook’s taste but pretty tame compared to other Apoplexians. And he one of the only felines at the Academy when Rook was enrolled. They bonded over it. Looking back, Rook probably would’ve had a crush on him if his loudness wasn’t so off putting.
But more importantly, in Rook’s mind, Skrappr was textbook masculinity, physically at least. Was Scout gay too? That would make Rook’s life a lot easier.
“What? No. Skraprr and I were in the Xenopology Club together.”
“How does that affect anything?”
“A lot went down in Xenopology Club. What happens in Xenopology Club stays in Xenopology Club but let me tell you-”
“You saw him naked, didn’t you?”
“Ooh, contraction. But yes. I know you’re a feline and you probably think what we canines have going on is crazy but what you guys are rocking is just plain scary.”
“And yet you dated an Apoplexian?”
“Female,” Scout said and Rook mentally slapped himself. He was just thinking about how Scout probably wasn’t gay. “And long distance. Skrappr set us up. I wasn’t really looking but I told him how other Loboans aren’t really cool with the whole Plumber thing and he told me his friend got dumped recently and wasn’t looking for anything close to home at the time.”
“You were a rebound.” Scout had taught him that word. Rook was kind of proud for remembering.
“Pretty much, yeah. Not upset about it though. It just means the hunt’s going to be a little bit longer and Loboans don’t mind a long hunt.”
That was a nice way to look at it. “Any luck?”
Rook was expecting Scout to say no but his friend’s ears twitched and Rook knew that meant something. He grinned and leaned forward, earning himself a scowl from his best friend. “Hey, quit looking at me like that. It’s- it’s nothing yet. Yenaldooshi and I are just- we’re hitting it off well. I don’t want to push anything since I’m the only Loboan they’ve seen in decades, decades they spent running from humans while I drew fictional monsters and tried to get an extranet signal through the Anur Arachnid’s webs. But anytime I spend time with them, I want to spend more time with them and if that’s not a sign there’s something there, I don’t know what is.”
“Wow.” Rook didn’t know what to say.
Scout’s ears flattened and Rook suddenly realized how vulnerable Scout was being. “What? You don’t like Yenaldooshi?”
“No! Well, I do not really know them but they seem nice.” Not really but Rook wasn’t going to say that. Decades spent hunting in the desert didn’t exactly do wonders for someone’s fur and it was hard for Rook to see much else when Yenaldooshi only knew a handful of English phrases so far.
“Then what is it?”
“They are not… female.”
Scout eyes narrowed. “Is that a problem?”
“No!” Brallada, he sounded like a jerk right now, didn’t he. “It is just-”
“Just what?”
“...I do not think I like women. And I may have told Ben I like men even though I am not quite sure yet. I mean, I am fairly certain but I am not completely certain. This is all very new to me.”
“Oh. Okay, wow,” Scout said, demeanor completely changing. He sat up a bit, propping himself up on his elbows. “Sorry for snarling at you. I wasn’t expecting that.”
“You were not snarling.”
“Figuratively, not literally.” Scout’s tail waved behind him. “And sorry if you felt pressured to come out.”
“I wanted to tell you anyway. I miss talking to you, Scout.”
“I do too, Rook,” Scout said, voice growing soft. “So… Ben?”
“What about him?”
“You said you told Ben you like men. Was The Ben 10 Show an awakening for you?”
“What? No. I told you, Deefus Veeblepister is awful.”
“But you like the hero Ben 10?”
“I- maybe?” Did he? Rook didn’t know. “You are making it sound like it is a fan thing.”
“Sorry,” Scout apologized and Rook knew it was genuine. “I haven’t really had a chance to get to know him. I mean, I know he’s not the same Ben 10 as the one in The Ben 10 Show but that’s the only one I’ve known until now. Hard to separate them in my head. It’s different for you?”
“No. Not anymore at least. My Ben is… real. He’s not the pinnacle of heroism and confidence. He’s just someone my age who tries to do the right thing even though his life is busy enough without trying to save the universe.” Rook felt his voice take a wistful tone but he couldn’t help it. “Ben is… We had fun, back when it was just me, Molly, and him. We got smoothies and we played Sumo Slammers on his console when patrol got slow. And then when it was just the two of us, he tried to cheer me up. I think he knew I associated meatballs with Molly so he got me to try burgers and shakes. He shared his favorite food with me when it made me sad to eat mine. And in the desert, he took care of me when I overheated and let me take care of him when he was cold. That was when I realized I have never felt that way about someone before.”
“Woah.” Scout was smiling. There were no teeth in it, just an upward quirk of his lips and an intense look in his eyes that let Rook know he was really listening. “It sounds like you really love him.”
Rook’s fur fluffed up in embarrassment. He made no attempt to hide it. Love was a big word. “I- I would not go that far.”
“You said you love the real Ben 10. The character, that is. You chose this guy over a character you used to get you through two years in military school lightyears from home. That’s gotta mean something.”
“Perhaps. But I do wish you would stop comparing Ben to The Ben 10 Show . They are nothing alike.”
“Sorry. Hey, you ever tell Ben about The Ben 10 Show ?”
“Yes. When we met Deefus Veeblepister.”
“Oh right. Yeah, I forgot he’d been there.”
“I did not tell him how active I am in the fandom or what it means to me. I think I should.”
“Yeah, probably.”
“...”
“...”
“...Do you want to watch Sumo Slammers ?”
“I really don’t think I have the mental capacity to get sucked into another fandom right now but my answer is still yeah, doy. Of course I want to watch Sumo Slammers , Rook. Who do you take me for?”
Rook laughed and got up to search for his laptop. Even as his world was shaken upside down, there were some things he could count on to stay the same.
It wasn’t a big deal, in the greater scheme of things at least. It felt like a big deal to Rook though, even if he didn’t want it to be. He didn’t want Ben to think it was big for him. He had to approach this casually.
“Have you ever watched The Ben 10 Show ?”
Ben glanced over at him from the Proto-Truk passenger seat, looking vaguely surprised. “The show that Deefus guy is in? No, why? Something happen?”
Rook shook his head and hoped his words didn’t sound too rehearsed. “No, but I thought that you may be interested to know how the universe perceives you. There is a rather active space on the extranet that discusses the program.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised aliens have fandom culture,” Ben murmured before speaking up. “That’s not really about me though, right?”
“It is the image of you,” Rook pointed out, “and there is a significant part of the fandom that focuses on you, Ben.”
“Sounds like you're familiar with it,” Ben said, voice taking a teasing tone. Rook remained silent and surprise overtook his features. “Wait, you’re into this stuff?”
“Not really, not anymore.” That wasn’t even really a lie. It was harder to get inspiration now. He wrote a Sumo Slammers oneshot a few weeks ago but that was the only thing he’d written since the break up fic, and even then he’d been kind of slacking. “The radio signal was one of the few I could find on Revonnah. It was a way for me to learn more about life offworld. And at the Academy, the extranet was one of the few distractions any student had from school life.”
“Huh. I guess that makes sense. I’m not really into the whole fandom scene so I guess I was surprised you would be. You think I should check it out?”
Not really but that had been Rook’s gateway into his confession so he sort of had to say yes. “I think you would find it interesting is all. I believe you can find excerpts from Plumber textbooks about you.”
“Wait, you guys had classes about me?”
“No but you came up. There are a few paragraphs about you in one of the general education textbooks.”
“Man, a guy saves the universe and he only gets a few paragraphs? Ungrateful.” Ben leaned against the window. “Well, thanks for telling me, Rook. I haven’t spent that much time checking out the extranet. I guess this might be a good way to get started.”
Rook offered him a smile before looking back to the road. “Anytime, Ben.”
It wasn’t a big deal but at least it was a weight off Rook’s chest. Now maybe he would feel less bad about his little crush on Ben.