The campus grounds of Gwen's university seamlessly transformed into city streets. Kevin hated how there was no open stretch of road in between, no free space for his car to barrel through whenever he visited. When at the wheel of the fastest, most high tech car in the world, front-to-bumper traffic on an hourly basis was infuriatingly frustrating. Thankfully, it wasn't a large town. If it weren't for the abundance of pedestrian crossings that painted the narrow roads with endless rows of stripes, each one marked with a stop sign, he almost considered the place quaint. So, when Gwen suggested that they take a stroll through the town, he didn't have to bite back a single word of protest. For once, going for a slow ride with her was a terrible alternative (although, he did miss the excuse for having a romp in the back seat).

"I don't know if I can keep up."

Her tone, wavering with tears, pushed through the receiver with distress. Kevin hated hearing her like this. It was enough that he was still adjusting to the distance in their relationship, still trying to accept that she still wanted to be together while she went off to succeed in more than he could ever hope to dream for himself. Hearing that what she had chosen, this college life, was actually causing her problems was an entirely new frustration for him to grind his teeth over.

"I always have exams and essays to work on and material to study and I thought I could manage with the downtime that I have but these missions—"

"Okay, listen," he cut her off, setting the socket wrench he'd been putting to work on a customer's car down. She'd called him immediately after her last class of the day let out, which happened to be during one of the busiest hours at the garage. He always made time for her calls, though. He could multitask. "You gotta tell me what's wrong, Gwen. What's really bothering you. All this talk about your schoolwork? That's bull."

He waited, distractedly tinkering again under the hood of the car until she spoke up.

"I— I just don't know if this is right. Me being here, I mean. When I'm out fighting aliens with you and Ben, I don't even have to think twice about whether I really belong there or not. But I feel lost here."

Something in his chest gave a excruciating throb. He maintained a death grip on his phone until the pain finally ebbed.

He wanted to tell her that she should just drop out, leave it all behind and be with him. But he would never encourage her to do what was easy in place of what was right.

"You'll figure it out."

That didn't mean he wasn't bitter about it.

Kissing her out in the open like this probably wasn't the best decision, but as her tongue softly met his, coaxing him even further, he decided it was an excellent decision nonetheless. A gamble, sure, but he'd always enjoyed the danger of a haphazard fling.

Boxes. They were supposed to be carrying out all the damn boxes that had turned her dorm room into a minefield. It seemed like simple task until he peeled the shirt he was wearing off his torso, solid indentions collecting summer sweat, and caught Gwen brazenly staring. With all the playful banter and teasing touches that followed, anticipation and wetted desire eventually overcame both of their solid resolves. Just as he had bent down to pick up a box marked "FRAGILE" in Gwen's precise script, she grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him around, kissing him with a gusto that knocked them both to the floor.

He didn't even care that his arm was hurting from nicking the corner of the box. With her kneeling on top of him, the smooth flesh of her bare thighs lightly brushed against his exposed stomach, causing the pit of it to pool with warmth. Fisting his hair so she could change the angle her mouth against his in a way that always elicited a growl from the back of his throat, it actually became a struggle for him to not lose himself.

Gingerly nudging her face to the side, he moved against her and ducked his head so he could taste the spot just below her jaw. She was sensitive there, a dirty secret he'd learned one day when he had her up against his workbench and she was still in her preppy high school, and he knew he could get her to fidget and keen beneath that deliberate touch. Her pulse fluttered beneath his lips, racing in indication that she was getting carried away. Maybe they both were. Hell, they were feeling each other up with her door wide open, and Ken was supposed to stop by sometime with his clunker of a new truck to collect the rest of Gwen's haul.

With his hand at her hip, Kevin pushed and rolled his body on top of her, praying that they wouldn't be interrupted anytime soon. He was sick of his time with her being cut short.

A/N: It's been far too long. I miss the days when I was able to post these fics regularly, but I especially miss all the fics everyone would write that followed along with each new episode.