A/N: This just came to mind while I was watching "Nor Iron Bars a Cage" for 'His Room'. Now this is just… I like the idea. Hope I can write it well enough.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Ben 10, but I'm working on trying to get a job somewhere in the cartoon world…

Don't Save Me

"Gwen?"

The car ride had been quiet for almost the whole ride until Kevin spoke up, his husky voice breaking the silence. The night had fallen like a feather from the wings of a black bird and the girl had nearly been asleep when his voice shattered the gentle hush in the air.

The redhead lifted her head from its position resting against the glass windowpane that kept the cold from penetrating the car's warmth. "What is it?" she asked softly, pulling a few strands of her crimson locks that had stuck to her face.

"Can you promise me something?"

His serious tone kind of set off Gwen's internal radar. She just knew things about him. Even if it was the slightest difference, she could pick it up. He was so readable to her. But that was what she got for loving someone like Kevin Levin. "Depends on what you're asking," she replied softly, knowing not to put on a playful tone with him for this but to still use playful words. He was being serious; Kevin was hardly serious with her and this one sounded important.

"Don't save me," he said, a slightly harsh tone hanging on the edge of his voice.

Gwen thought she had heard him wrong and had to run his husky voice through her head one more time to make sure she knew what he was talking about. The girl just shook her head and her brow furrowed quietly for a short moment as she worked her way through her thoughts to be sure she was right. "What?" came her voice finally, eyes glazed over with confusion.

Kevin let the car's speed pick up as they headed down the highway from shutting down the base at Los Soledad for the night. "Please don't save me."

"Why?" asked the Tennyson girl lightly, blinking at her boyfriend with confusion and pain glittering in her emerald eyes.

He cocked his head to one side and reached one hand up from its position on the wheel to run it through his dark ebony locks that were as black as the night that consumed the sky. "Every time someone tries to save me, they end up dead." A small, sad smile touched the corners of his lips.

"That's ridiculous," breathed the Anodite. Her eyes glimmered with a heartbroken feel that emanated from the deep emerald orbs. "Kevin, I wouldn't let you die just because you made me promise not to save you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I watched you get hurt when I could at least help." She quietly shifted her eyes from her boyfriend to the dark road, trying to prevent looking at him just because his serious gaze usually made her pause what she was doing and actually listen to him. This time, she didn't want to listen to him. She didn't want to make this promise. This one was too hard. She wouldn't make a decision like that unless there was no other alternative; she loved Kevin too much.

"Please, Gwen, don't make me beg." His voice had made her look back to him and she could see the desperation lingering in his obsidian orbs. "I've seen people try to save me a few too many times and I couldn't do anything to stop it." The sad smile stayed upon his usually stoic features. "I'm tired of running away all the time. I don't want you guys to save me. Next time, I lose it-"

Gwen had already taken up the defense against the argument. She wouldn't let him die because she made a stupid promise. "It won't happen again," she said, voice firm and using a sharp edge. "Ben and I won't let it happen again. You're his best friend and the only guy I will ever love. I can promise you one thing and one thing only: we won't let you change again." Her eyes had become steely with determination. She wouldn't let him go this easily.

"Gw-" Kevin was cut off harshly by his girlfriend.

"Kevin, I'll save you no matter what it takes, got that?" She reached over and put her hand over his, giving it a light squeeze. "Ben and I are watching out for you. We love you, okay? We love you and we won't let anything happen to you."

A gentle smile touched Kevin's face, tugging the corners of his lips upwards. "That's what my dad said, too." His gaze wasn't even on her. It was stuck on the black road that stretched out in front of the car, the vehicle eating it up. The lines kept disappearing beneath the hood. "Look at what happened to him."

Gwen felt a cold hand tugging at her heart, one that made her want to cry. She wanted to cry for Kevin. She wanted to let him know she could feel his pain. She wanted to let him know so badly that she could taste it. Tears just wouldn't come. She couldn't manage it. Gwen had to put on a brave face especially for him. She knew he leaned on him more than most people knew. If she broke down, odds were that he would too. "Kevin, I won't let you die."

"And I don't want you to die trying to protect me when I'll just revert to a monster again." His eyes flickered from the road to her for a short moment. Kevin took in the sadness that had swept across her face like a wind over the dry barren wasteland of dunes in the desert. "It's what always happens. Patterns never end. You know that."

"It's not a pattern," defended the redhead, trying so desperately to keep from making this promise when he was making it so much harder to forget what had happened only a few weeks ago. He had nearly killed her. He had nearly drained her of everything… She had been the last thing that had helped him cling to his sanity and once he had tried to get her, it was all lost. "It was an accident."

"And if we run up against someone like Aggregor again and I have to absorb the Ultimatrix again?" His voice was natural as if he could talk this seriously all the time. "And what if you guys can't stop me next time? You'll let me rampage and destroy the universe?"

"Kevin," breathed the girl, trying to calm her boyfriend. She could somewhat sense the rage that was beginning to bubble beneath his skin. His eyes were glowing with a mix of aggression and slight anger. "I know you well enough to know that you'd stop yourself."

"And I know myself well enough to know that you'd die before that happened." His gaze flitted to her horrified face. "I don't want to watch someone else I love die." His features were solemn and dark. Kevin's face was hardly ever that humorless. It made the girl suddenly worry even more despite the horror that seemed to be consuming her mind at the thought of her beloved boyfriend killing her. "Don't save me, Gwen. I'll never be able to forgive myself if you die like Kwarrel and my dad did."

It was at that moment that tears decided to well in Gwen's eyes. She felt her lower lip quivering and sobs making their way up into her throat. She knew he was right and that was what hurt the worst. She didn't want him to be right. She didn't want to have to make that promise.

"Don't save me."

A small, glistening, sapphire tear slid down her cheek. It was the only one that would fall. "I won't."

A/N: Wow. That was… That was hard to write. So anyways, please review. Thank you for reading.

~Sky