many thanks to the lovely Kevin be my life for the request :) hope you enjoy the angst, love!

Nonchalant. Relaxed. Calm.

If only she knew.

Gwen stretched out her legs, crossing her feet against the coffee table. After a long day, yeah, exhaustion numbed any remaining energy amongst her body. A Chemistry exam. A French test. A Calculus quiz. Last night she reached the maximum of her ability to remain awake. Filled with tracking and chasing Forever Knights and that fight with Kevin, she'd fallen asleep spiteful and drained.

Honestly, she struggled now to remember what exactly the fight was about. He'd done something, said something, that she hadn't been in the right mood to assimilate. Because of it, she neglected to answer any of the several calls from him appearing on her phone screen throughout the day.

Besides, if he really cared enough, he would've left a voicemail.

Lifting the cover of her laptop, she swallowed the biting comments she wanted to say to him now.

She loved him like she loved no one else, but he tended to occasionally frustrate the hell out of her. And yesterday, he'd been overdue for a trip to the doghouse.

The front door swung into the doorway, and Gwen's calm demeanor melted into her feet. She glanced up. "Kevin!"
"Sorry," Ben grunted, "your house was closest."

She jumped so quickly her knees almost buckled, examining the blood soaking through his shirt and the various lacerations adorning his skin. "What happened? Is he okay?"

Ben staggered across the floor. Gwen met him before he could move another inch, stealing Kevin's arm from his shoulders. She pulled her boyfriend towards her, releasing Ben the pressure of his body weight.

"Thanks."

Gently, Gwen dragged the unconscious Kevin over to her previous resting place, leaning him into the back of the couch. "Ben, seriously. What happened?"

"Forever Knights came back looking for more."

Normally, she would've asked why. But normally, Kevin wasn't injured. "Why didn't you call me?"

He cocked his head, something neighboring the lines of frustration and fatigue tainting his presence. "Kevin did."

"What?"

"Like five times. And you never answered."

Her mouth started to drop. Why couldn't she just answer? But a groan emerged from Kevin quicker than words did from her.

She plunged to the cushion alongside him.

Gwen's fingers reached for his shoulder, avoiding the areas she assumed to be injured. With her chest constricting, she instructed, "Get some bandages."

"Wha-me?"

Her voice thickened. "Just do it, Ben. You know where they are."

Gwen swallowed as the sound of his footsteps disappeared.

This was her fault.

Gwen lowered her forehead against his shoulder. "Kevin, I'm so sorry."

He wasn't calling to fight with her. He wasn't calling to apologize. He was calling because he needed help. They both needed help.

This was all her fault.

Seeing him injured never failed to pain her. Especially when she could've done something to prevent it.

Kevin shifted, forcing her head to jump back. He stirred. She squeezed his hand.

His eyelids elevated, and he rubbed at the ensuing grogginess with the back of his hand.

"Oh my god. Kevin? Kevin, are you okay?"

Briefly, his gaze flickered, unsure.

"Gwen? Where-where are we?"

Running her hand along his face, she replied, "Ben brought you back to my house. You're safe. It's okay."

And then something she recognized crossed his face. Unsteadily, his hands shot out underneath him, pushing his body away from her. "No. It's not okay."

Gwen's brows knitted. "What do you mean?"

"You're mad at me."

"Kevin," she whispered, "I don't care about that anymore. All that matters to me is that you're safe."

"It's not okay," he repeated with a headshake, sprinkling droplets of sweat wherever they could reach, "I'm not okay. Why didn't you show up?"

Her heart sunk. "I'm sorry. I didn't answer my phone."

"Because you were mad at me."

Gwen leaned forward, mouth going dry. "Well, yeah, but-"

"I mean, I needed you. We needed you. And you were too pissed to even pick up your damn phone to come help." Kevin's tone prickled each of her individual nerves, further widening the pit in her stomach.

"I'm sorry. You know I never meant for you to get hurt."

"Sorry isn't good enough, Gwen." He pointed at the stains of blood on his shirt. "Sorry doesn't fix this."

She gestured between them. "But sorry should at least fix this."

"I needed you. And you weren't there."

"What do you expect me to do?" The pitch of her voice brushed the boundary of irritation. She couldn't help it. "I can't go back in time and prevent that from happening. But I can try to make it better now."

Kevin scowled. "You've already done enough."

She scoffed. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" he shouted.

"Did you not hear me say I want to make it better? I'm not mad at you."

"Yeah, I did. Well and clear. Doesn't make a difference."

She huffed, clenching her jaw. "I can't believe I was worried about you. You seem like your normal, jackass self to me."

"Well at least you're paying attention to me now."

Gwen adjusted the muscles in her fist, keeping her mana at bay. But the aggressive inclination bubbled at her fingertips nonetheless. To avoid launching her pink bursts at him, she reached behind her for anything she could throw. A book. She whipped it at him.

"Ow! What the hell? That hurt."

"Good. It was supposed to."