"Gwen?" She blinked behind her sunglasses, popping up the drooping brim of her hat with a finger at the sound of her name. The sun-drenched beach was hell at this time of the day and even with all the shade she had provided for herself, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. Kevin, amazingly human once again, stood in front of her in his simple swim trunks, a rather large beach ball jammed between one of his muscular arms and his hip. He was frowning at her.
"What?" She set the book she had been reading down on her lap, letting him know she now had his full attention.
"You know, its not very nice to ignore everybody after dragging them out to the beach." He said, his tone laden with irritation. Gwen rolled her eyes and removed her sunglasses, sensing the onset of one of his moods. She placed the book to the side of the lawn chair she had been reclining upon and crawled to her feet. Outside the comfort of her large umbrella, the sun was radiant upon her body and she squinted up at Kevin through the glare. She noticed how he craned his neck to try and get a glimpse of what she had been reading.
"I'm sorry. I guess I just got caught up in my book. Where'd you get that beach ball?" She asked. Kevin, easily distracted, gave her a mischievous smile.
"Let's just say I found it."
"Kevin. Stealing isn't nice you know."
"Yeah, well, Ben and Julie thought it was a good idea. They're putting up a net as we speak. We figured a friendly match would be fun." Without warning, he flung the beach ball at her. Gwen easily caught it, unable to suppress a smile of her own. Indeed a fun game of volleyball might be just what she needed right about now. She had been feeling sore and stressed after the battle with Vilgax. None of her usual techniques had seemed to be working, so when all Kevin and Ben could do was sit and complain about the heat, she used their misery to coerce them into taking a trip to the beach for the afternoon. Julie called only a moment later asking if there was anything they were up to that day, and the quartet made travel arrangements down to the ocean front.
"Boys versus girls?" She asked, reaching up to remove her hat. Kevin scratched her head as if in deep thought, but there was an unmistaken twinkle in his eye.
"I don't know. I don't think me and Ben against you and Julie would be very fair." He said slowly. Gwen raised an eyebrow. She squeezed the beach ball between her hands, testing if it was inflated properly. Then, she launched it as hard as she could at her boyfriend's head.
"If that's a challenge, I accept!"
Ben and Julie had set the net a bit closer to the water where there was plenty of leg room. The majority of the beach goers had laid their towels farther up on the sand, content to work on their tans and their social life rather than swim. Kevin had led her to the spot seemingly in a better mood now that he had her attention. He held her hand as they walked and they chatted easily. It was much better than the last time they had decided to take a bit of a break by the ocean, when Charmcaster had reared her ugly silver head.
"So, um, I've been meaning to ask you something. Or, rather, tell you something I guess." Kevin began uneasily. Gwen, absentmindedly chewing a chipped nail, caught the change in his tone. She stopped walking, allowing him to continue a few more paces before turning and facing her. Their joined hands filled the space between them, neither really wanting to let the other go. Kevin stared down at the area around her feet. She could tell he was trying to keep his face unreadable.
"Alright."
"Things have been pretty normal lately. And I've had some time to think about, you know, us."
"Yeah?" Gwen urged gently.
"And-"
"Hey! Kevin! Throw me the ball!" Ben cried out across the heated expanse. Kevin jumped a little and cursed under his breath at the interruption. She bit her lip at the unexpected loss of contact. He turned to answer her cousin, but before he completely faced away from her, he gave her a pointed look. They would continue the conversation later. Gwen was left wondering what he wanted and she too inwardly cursed Ben for his poor timing.
"You asked for it!" Kevin yelled, cocking the ball back behind his head.
"Hey!" Gwen jumped a bit as a loud voice boomed behind her. She turned and came face to face with a greasy, orange torso and a gleaming gold chain. The bald man before her was tall and bulky with a rather ugly fake tan and an embarrassingly small Speedo. Gwen blushed as he brushed past her, close enough where her nose was filled with an overpowering cologne. "That's MY ball." He growled under his breath. Kevin didn't seem phased.
"I don't see your name on it, cupcake." He bit back. The man shot out and grabbed Kevin's arm, yanking backwards on it hard enough to unsettle Kevin's balance. The ball nearly fell out of his grip.
"Excuse me, are you sure there isn't some mistake?" Gwen interrupted quickly, seeing the black-haired teen's eyes narrow dangerously. The man turned to look at her, pausing slightly to take in her appearance. She frowned, deeply annoyed, when his eyes paused at her chest. That annoyance transferred to her glance at Kevin. He averted her accusatory glare.
"I don't make mistakes baby."
"Baby?" She snorted. Kevin audibly growled. Ben and Julie, sensing a disturbance, had come running.
"What's going on?" Ben asked worriedly. Kevin ripped his wrist from the man's grip, placing the beach ball back against his hip. The man took a quick survey around him, realizing he was surrounded, and then pointed a beefy finger at Kevin.
"Your pal took my beach ball, that's what's going on."
"Prove it!" Kevin shot back. The two stared each other down for a moment or so before Gwen decided to step in. She placed herself evenly between Kevin and the man, putting on her best smile.
"Listen boys, there's no need for things to get heated. I'm sure this is all just one big misunderstanding. Are you sure this is your beach ball? Maybe yours got blown away or something?" She suggested, hoping to satiate the man's ego firstly before offering him back the ball. It was pretty apparent than Kevin had lifted it from wherever this guy had come from, but she had been looking forward to a nice game of volleyball. The man paused for a moment, still openly staring at her bikini top. Ben and Julie stood a few paces back, watching with interest as he began to stroke a small patch of hair growing on his chin.
"Maybe. I could be persuaded that that's what happened." He said in a slick voice. Gwen crossed her arms over herself. She had a feeling that she was not going to like where this was heading. Behind her, she could hear Kevin adjust his grip on the beach ball. Apparently, he could tell as well.
"You keep your slimy hands to yourself, buddy." Kevin threatened. The man looked sharply over Gwen's shoulder.
"Slimy? Look who's talking!" He snapped. Kevin lurched forward quickly and Gwen had to pivot on her heels in order to hold him back.
"Calm down Kevin. He's just being very rude." She said firmly, with a poignant glare aimed in the man's direction. He opened his mouth to retort when Ben decided to join in the fray.
"If it's such a big deal, just take the ball."
"Ben! What the hell are you doing?" Kevin yelled. He promptly pushed the beach ball behind his back. Gwen rolled her eyes and released her hold on him. The man behind her laughed irritatingly.
"Forget the ball. I'll take the view instead." A sharp smack caught Gwen on her backside and she gave a squeak as she realized she had just been spanked. The beach ball in Kevin's hands popped loudly and he lunged past her, landing a solid punch square on the man's jaw. As the stranger stumbled backward, he and Ben placed themselves in front of her.
"You just made the biggest mistake of your life." Kevin warned. He kept his fists raised defensively. Ben didn't seem much happier, but he threw an arm out in front of Kevin regardless.
"Easy Kevin. Let's just send him on his way, alright?" Julie moved over to stand beside Gwen, eyeing the tattered remains of the beach ball as she walked.
"What a creep." She muttered. "We should have just given back his ball and let him go."
"Yeah. And the day had been going so well." Gwen agreed. Her backside still smarted and she felt a familiar flash of anger in the bottom of her stomach as the man stumbled to his feet. He swiped at his swollen jaw, peering at her between the bodies of the two boys.
"You should keep your dog on a tighter leash." He spat. Gwen clenched her fists even as Kevin moved forward to give the guy another blow. He never got the chance. The man yelped as his sunglasses exploded on the bridge of his nose in a puff of white smoke and he once again found himself on his backside. The skin beneath the shades was a rather raw shade of pink and his small, beady eyes darted around in fear.
"Who did that? What the hell was that?" He asked quickly. Kevin and Ben gave each other a bewildered look, turning back to look at Gwen. The redhead's eyes were magenta, but then she blinked, and they were back to the usual green.
"Gwen? " Julie whispered. Gwen simply gave an innocent shrug and bent down to pick up the beach ball. She walked over and placed it on the man's bald head, giving him a merciless smirk as he looked at up her with a mixture of awe and fear.
"The only dog that should be kept on a tighter leash is you. Here's your ball. Now run along." The man didn't need to be told twice. He scurried off, leaving a spray of flying sand in his wake. Ben watched him go and then groaned into his palms.
"Now what we going to do?"
"There's a department store in town. We could take a quick trip and just buy a volleyball." Julie suggested, eyeing Kevin and Gwen. Kevin had been grinning from ear to ear ever since Gwen had sent their visitor on his way and he had reached forward to grab her hand from his position slightly behind her. She had turned and given him a loving look in return.
"I suppose we don't have a choice. Do you guys think you could stay and guard the net?" Ben asked the couple. Kevin smirked.
"For some reason, I don't think that'll be a problem." He nudged Gwen teasingly. She rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth twitched involuntarily. Ben and Julie took off with a knowing look. Kevin and Gwen finished the trek to the swaying net, hand in hand, the way they had begun their journey. Now that the excitement had settled, Gwen turned towards Kevin with a questioning look.
"Kevin, what did you want to tell me earlier?"
"Oh. That." He smiled widely as he pulled her down onto the warm sand. She allowed herself to be brought to her knees, giving a start as he covered her lips with his in a soft but meaningful kiss. Her eyes drifted shut slowly. She relished the feeling of his mouth against hers and the unique taste that was all his own. For a moment, she forgot all about finding out what Kevin had to say, until he pulled away, gently brushing the pads of his fingers over her face. When Gwen opened her eyes, he was smiling at her in a way that made her shiver.
"So...?" She breathily asked.
"I've been thinking about us. And after seeing what you did to that guy back there, I've decided."
"Decided what?"
"That I love you."
"So the fact that I made an obnoxious man's glasses explode on his face has made you decide you love me?" Gwen asked with a slight sneer. That didn't exactly sound as romantic as she had hoped. Kevin laughed and kissed her again.
"Let's just say it was one thing on a long list of things."
"How eloquent."
"So do you love me?" He pressured. There was a familiar glint in his eyes letting her know that he already knew the answer. Her declaration wouldn't be an affirmation, but rather a formality. Gwen hemmed and hawed, bringing her knees up to her chest, and idly picked sand grains from her skin.
"Well...I don't know. I mean, you did defend my honor and all today, but it was such a sucker punch-"
"Hey, did he or did he not touch you in an inappropriate manner?" Kevin inquired roughly. Gwen grumbled as she remembered the sharp sting on her rear end.
"Don't remind me."
"So don't I get something in return for being such a chivalrous, gentlemanly boyfriend?" He asked, leaning forward again. Gwen giggled as they rubbed noses.
"Alright, alright. Point taken. I love you."
"Excellent. Now shut up and kiss me...dear."
a/n: This is my attempt at something a bit less angsty and bit more humorous. I had a couple of different ideas floating around. This was one that I just happened to have mostly finished. I edited it a bit. Not sure if I'm completely happy with it, but I'm always open to updating older things that could be better, so I'm posting it pretty much for the sake of posting something. I am working on more, so stay tuned. Thanks for reading and thanks to all those who have reviewed or added me and this collection to their alerts and favorites. I'm just glad that I can share one of my little obsessions with others. :)
