Work Text:
Kevin retrieved a can of lime soda from his garage's mini fridge, opened it and took a swig. The sweet flavor and coolness hit the spot on a hot day like this.
Careful not to trip over the tools he'd strewn all over the floor, he approached Gwen on the other side of the room. She sat hunched over a portable table in the corner, tackling a particularly difficult math problem. He waved the can in front of her. "Want some?"
She lifted her head to address him with disapproval. "You should really cut down on those."
He shrugged. "More for me." He sipped some and sighed in relief, almost as if he were taunting her. That, coupled with the fact that she was actually pretty thirsty, made her reconsider. A little wouldn't kill her, she thought. With a faint smirk, she snatched the can from him and, as payback, swiftly drank a quarter of it. In the rush, she accidentally spilled some on her chin, which dripped down to her shirt, causing her to mutter something incomprehensible under her breath in annoyance.
Kevin took the can from her and set it on the table. "Let me." Placing a hand on her cheek, he bent down slightly and ran his thumb over her chin to wipe off the excess soda. Her eyes went wide at his forwardness, making him realize what he'd done. He jerked his hand back, his gaze darting to the ground. "Uh, sorry, I—"
With a warm smile, Gwen reached for his hand and put it on her cheek again, leaning into his palm to dispel any notions that he might have overstepped. Once the initial panic wore off, he smiled too, tracing a finger along her cheek. No words were exchanged; their eye contact indicated their desire for the seconds to drag on.
Eventually, he forced himself to withdraw his hand, slowly this time. "Hold on." He crossed over to the other side of the room and grabbed a clean cloth from a drawer. When he returned, he stretched his hand out toward her shirt but stopped just short of touching it. "Uhhh..." It promptly occurred to him that she might not appreciate having his hands all over her chest, so he stepped back and stiffly dropped the cloth into her palm. "I should get back to work."
"Right." She longingly watched Kevin spin on his heel and escape underneath his car. She shook her head as she wiped her shirt, dejected that their nice moment had ended prematurely. Why did he always pull away?
Soon, the sound of whatever it was Kevin was doing under his car cut through the quietness. As best as she could tell, he was tightening or loosening something or other with a wrench. Already, she missed how his palm—calloused from all his handiwork—felt against her silky-smooth skin. Though they still had some ways to go, she liked how things had changed between them in the last few weeks. At first, they only saw each other on missions. It didn't take long after that for them to start spending some of their free time together as a team (she had Ben to thank for that; he was a big believer in team bonding). One day, when Kevin picked her up from school, she wanted to see where he spent his downtime, so after some pestering, he brought her to his garage. The place had a kind of personality that drew her in, much like Kevin himself. She felt comfortable here.
Visits to the garage became a regular thing. What she cherished most were the moments during his breaks—the little looks they gave each other and the conversations they had about matters big and small. Most of the time, though, there were long stretches of silence while she did homework or caught up on reading as he worked on his car. She didn't mind. Merely by being here, she had access to a whole other part of Kevin's life, and since he had yet to ask her out, their current arrangement was good enough.
She wondered if he saw it the same way. She realized she'd been inviting herself over, and sure, he never said no, but what if he just didn't know how to turn her down? "Kevin?"
"Yeah?" he replied, his voice muffled under his car.
"Are you okay with me coming here so often?" Her voice softened partway through, as if she thought it was a stupid question. He'd obviously tell her if he didn't like having her around, right?
Kevin slid out from under his car and regarded her with a cocked brow. "Why wouldn't I be?"
When she didn't immediately reply, he got up and walked over to her. With how intensely he stared at her, she began to hesitate. On the upside, at least he was taking her seriously. "I— I dunno, doesn't it bother you, having someone else in the room while you work?"
"Nah," he answered, waving his hand side to side to signal 'no'. "Not when it's you."
Delighted, the corners of her mouth lifted. "Oh?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I... um... you know how I feel about you. You're welcome anytime, Gwen, seriously. I'm actually surprised you wanna come over so much."
She crossed her arms, her lips setting in a straight line. It frustrated her that he couldn't come out and say he had feelings for her. Who was he trying to fool? Good thing she had the guts to be straightforward. "Gee, it's almost like I like you," she said with a roll of her eyes, her tone deadpan.
"And I'm flattered, but I figured you'd rather be somewhere else." He gestured around the room. "This place doesn't seem like your style, is all."
She put a hand on her chest and dramatically drew in a sharp breath to play up her mild offense. "What do you think is my style? The library?"
He raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, you said it, not me."
"Well..." she clicked her tongue, internally cursing herself for being predictable. Her voice dropped, reluctant to give in. "Okay, you're not wrong—"
"Ha!" he exclaimed with a smirk.
"Still, I like it here!" she insisted.
"And I like havin' you here!"
Gwen opened her mouth to counter, then quickly closed it. "Wait." It dawned on her that Kevin had already reassured her twice, in no uncertain terms. Suffice it to say, she felt a little stupid for dragging the conversation on this long. "Soooo, there's no problem, then?"
He could barely hold in a laugh. "What made you think there was one in the first place?"
"I was being an idiot." She picked at some lint on her shirt, casting a glance downward. She couldn't bear to look at Kevin after making a complete fool of herself. "We've been spending so much time together, which is great! I really like hanging out with you, but it's almost been too great, you know? I was scared you'd gotten sick of me. Crazy, right? You said it yourself, you like having me here and you've never said or done anything to imply otherwise, so why'd I even bring it up?"
Kevin had never seen her ramble before. She was cute like this; mouth running a mile a minute. He wondered if she did this when she was excited, like when discussing her interests. Oh, how he'd love to hear her babble on about the things that made her happy.
Not wanting to get carried away when she needed him, he pushed the thought aside. Then, he knelt, catching her attention. "What are you...?" she asked softly.
He lifted her hands to his lips to plant a long kiss on the back of each one. "You got nothin' to worry about." To emphasize his point, his grip strengthened with each of his next words. "I. Want. You. Here." He craned his neck so their faces were level, pushing past his timidity as he inched closer and closer until his lips grazed her cheek with a tender peck. He pulled back, studying her to gauge her reaction.
Her mouth hung open. "Um— uh— m—message received," she stumbled through her shock. She cleared her throat, impulsively using it as a segue to change topics. "Aaaaanyway, I should get back to work."
Kevin let go of her hands and stood up. "Don't lemme stop you." He knew homework was the last thing on her mind but wasn't going to comment on it. She probably needed time to process things, like he did. In spite of his suave smile, his heart pounded out of his chest and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He desperately hoped it wasn't obvious that he had the jitters.
Once more, Gwen watched him go. His movements were hesitant, as if he didn't really want to leave her. The garage was small, but with every step he took, the distance between them seemed vast. "Kevin," she called out. He stopped in his tracks and turned to her. "Thank you."
"Anytime." He disappeared under his car, and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Now that he was out of sight, the clouds in her mind parted, and the weight of what had happened sank in. A goofy giggle slipped out, and she covered her mouth to suppress it. He'd kissed her! Sure, it wasn't on the lips, but a kiss was a kiss. More importantly, he wanted her here! Of course, in hindsight, she'd had no reason to doubt it, but it was nice to be reassured.
After her excitement subsided, she picked up her pen and shifted her attention to her homework. She figured she should get around to finishing it. Her mind drifted, however, replaying her earlier conversation with Kevin. Something he'd said about her—or rather, didn't say—stood out. "For the record, just because I like going to the library doesn't mean I don't know how to have fun!"
"I didn't say you don't know how to have fun."
"You were implying it!"
He responded with an unreserved cackle. She grumbled, clicking her pen in irritation. "Kevin Idunnoyourmiddlename Levin, if I didn't have so much homework to do, I'd show you how much fun I can be!" That only made him laugh louder. Out of all the things she could have said to prove her point, she realized she might have chosen poorly. She couldn't let him have the last laugh.
She stuffed her things into her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. She walked in front of Kevin's car and, as revenge for his teasing, yanked him out from under it by wrapping a mana lasso around his ankle. His laughter abruptly morphed into a surprised yelp. "Wh— Hey, what gives?!"
His reaction evoked a chuckle from her. "Let's get outta here."
He sat up and glanced at the table she'd used, only to see it was clean. He now noticed she had her backpack with her. "What about homework?"
She waved her hand dismissively. "I'll get it done over the weekend." She was well ahead the rest of her class. Taking it easy for one day wouldn't set her back too much.
He narrowed his eyes, feigning suspicion. In all fairness, shirking her homework was unusual for her. Maybe he'd rubbed off on her more than he expected. "Ya sure you're not a DNAlien or somethin'?"
Ignoring his question, she crouched and patted his thigh. "C'mon, I know a place."
Seeing the determination on Gwen's face, Kevin started to regret teasing her. She was going to make him eat his words, and he didn't know whether to be thrilled or terrified. What did she have up her sleeve? "Y'know I was kiddin', right?" He stood up, bearing a sheepish smile. "You're plenty of fun."
Upon catching the fear in his voice, she simpered. He wasn't going to weasel out of this so easily. "Oh, I know. Doesn't mean I can't prove myself anyway." She tilted her head at the bathroom. "Now, go freshen up."
He tapped the hood of his car. "Car ain't ready for the road yet."
"Then we'll walk," she decided nonchalantly, strolling to the entrance of the garage to peer outside. "If my bearings are right, it's not too far from here."
"'If'?!" he complained, sagging his shoulders.
She turned back to him with a huff. "I'm sure walking a couple miles is nothing compared to beating up bad guys day in, day out."
"Okay, okay, you win," he relented, fixing his posture. At this point, there was no use in fighting back. Best to go along with whatever she had planned. Besides, spending time with her was always a plus, so he wasn't sure why he'd made a big fuss in the first place. With how hectic their lives were, who knew when else they'd get the chance to go out and do normal teenager things?
Pleased with herself, Gwen replied cheerfully, "Great!" She walked back to Kevin and playfully pushed him to the bathroom, met with no resistance. "This'll be fun, trust me."
He opened the door and suddenly stopped when it was half ajar. "Ethan," he murmured.
"Excuse me?"
He turned around, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "My middle name. Thought you deserved to know."
"Oh." Then it hit her. "Wait, your full name is—" She bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing.
He rolled his hand, having expected such a reaction. "You can see why I don't go around advertising it. Promise you won't tell anyone?" he pleaded. "I got a reputation to keep."
Despite Gwen's best efforts, she burst into a fit of giggles but forced her laughter back down when she saw Kevin pout. "S—Sorry, sorry! Promise." She caressed his chest to reassure him, and an unfamiliar yet oh-so-comforting warmth radiated throughout his body, enough to make his prior concerns fade away. "Though if it's that big of a deal to you, why bother telling me?"
He spread his hands in a 'Why else?' gesture. "I don't gotta pretend around you. Guess that makes you special. Now, if you excuse me..." He entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
Elated that Kevin trusted her so deeply, Gwen grinned widely. "The feeling's mutual."