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Kevin was never alone in the Nest.
The Ravens were never far away - It was a cramped place, and outside of training they had nowhere to congregate but the common areas. So you were never more than a room or two away, even in the quiet, empty hours of the night.
And then there was Riko. Usually a terrifying presence, but also an undeniably familar one. Sometimes, Kevin tried to remember a time before they were partners. It was difficult.
"Hurry up!" Riko snapped. They were on the verge of being late for practice, which was Kevin's fault. He kept stopping to take the pressure off his ankle, twisted during practice yesterday.
"Sorry." He said, taking a breath. He'd just have to suck it up and walk faster.
Riko was clearly itching to get to practice, but for all his anger, he'd never actually leave Kevin behind. For better or worse, they were partners.
Every morning when Kevin woke up, he'd look across the room and find Riko. When one of the coaches was yelling at the team, Riko would be next to him. Whenever the Master decided Kevin needed to hurt, Riko would be there. Sometimes he'd double down as soon as his uncle left, but that wasn't the point.
Ravens weren't made for being alone. If there was ever anything between you and your partner, even just a door, then something had gone wrong. Maybe the Master had taken Kevin or Riko aside for discipline. Maybe one of them was too injured for practice (and you had to be very injured for that). Maybe it was one of the rare occasions where the Master and Riko left Evermore without Kevin.
He really hated those times. When Kevin was younger, living among the older Ravens all on his own was scary. Even when he got taller and snappier and better at exy, it felt wrong to watch all the Ravens and their partners without his own at his side.
"Riko!" Kevin jumped up as the boy entered their room. "You're back-"
Without a word, Riko shoved him into the wall, arm pressed against Kevin's neck hard enough to hurt.
The message was clear: Shut up.
Riko was in a foul mood (not unusual for him). He made himself feel better by making Kevin feel worse, inflicting bruises that would be murder under his protective gear tomorrow. It hurt, but Kevin found the pain almost drowned out by the dizzying relief. Ravens were not supposed to be alone.
Kevin woke up, hand aching, something under him that wasn't his bed. He opened his eyes, looked across the room-
Riko wasn't there. Of course he wasn't. This was David Wymack's living room. Kevin was lying on his sofa, hand in a cast because-
The apartment was quiet. He got up, wandering into the kitchen, where Wymack could usually be found in the mornings. But it was empty. Still in bed, then.
Except his bedroom door was wide open, not a soul to be found inside. The bathroom was empty and he wasn't in his office, either.
Kevin's chest tightened. He wasn't here. It was just Kevin in the apartment. He was alone.
Fuck, that was- It was fine. Of course he was alone, Kevin's partner had, had- And now he was in another state, so yes, of course Kevin was alone. That was expected, that was fine, Kevin's life had to be lived alone now. It was fine, so why-
Kevin pressed his good hand to his chest, contracted like a vice, squeezing his lungs before he could get a breath. He was shaking, fuck, breathe-
Raven's weren't meant to be alone. It was bad, bad, bad. What had Kevin been thinking, running to Palmetto, where he was stuck in an empty apartment, no people, no teammates, no Riko-
Kevin's chest was painful by the time he heard keys in the door, curled into a ball by the sofa as if that would help.
"Day?" Wymack said, shuffling with his coat. "You good?"
Kevin's vision was too blurry to get up. Or respond, even though he wanted to, to beg his- The man to never leave him again, please.
Wymack crouched next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Kevin flinched away but before Wymack could withdraw his hand, Kevin snatched his wrist with his own, gripping it like a lifeline.
"Don't leave." He managed, voice strained. Wymack tried to pull his wrist away, to no success.
"I... Sorry. You're not usually awake by now." Which, sure, in the days since he'd arrived Kevin had been resting a lot, sleeping off his various injuries, but did that statement mean he'd left before?? Had Kevin been alone whilst he was sleeping?
Okay. He'd slept enough for the month.
"Don't leave!" If he were more coherent he would've kicked himself for speaking to a coach like that.
"Alright! I'm sorry." Wymack sighed, seemingly surrendering his arm. "God, kid..."
Kevin didn't know what to make of the tone.
Eventually, Kevin would let Wymack go free, and the man would bring them both a drink before they had a passable conversation about what brought that on. For now, Kevin held on, and tried not to think dark, cramped, crowded hallways.