Note: This story takes place between Ultimate Alien and Omniverse.


Never in a million years did Kevin think he'd be sitting in the corner of the room, keeping to himself, at a party. He loved partying. This party was different from what he was used to, however.

Gwen had recently been accepted into university early. She was going to leave high school- and Bellwood altogether- for one of the most prestigious institutions in the state, Friedkin University, in a matter of days. Naturally, her parents saw it fit to celebrate such a momentous occasion, and invited many extended family members to their house. The bad part in all this was that said family members were from Gwen's mother's side. Aside from Gwen and her parents, there was not a single Tennyson in sight. No Ben, no Max, not even Gwen's brother Ken was here (though Kevin was told Ken was indeed invited). As strange as the Tennysons were, they were a lot easier to get along with than the guests currently in attendance. Kevin didn't know any of these people. He wasn't planning to come to the party at all, fearing that he'd be treated as an outcast (which, to his dismay, he was right about), but Gwen repeatedly told him she wanted him there, and he couldn't say no.

Gwen stuck by his side for the first half hour Hui or so, but eventually, she had to devote her attention to her relatives, some of whom had travelled a long way to see her. He had no choice other than to find an empty seat by the kitchen to sit down, occasionally getting up to refill his paper cup with punch. He kept his head down, hoping no one would bother him. He lost count of how many people had already rudely approached him with intrusive questions, the answers to which he felt were none of their business whatsoever.

"What are your intentions with my niece?"

"Do you really help that Ben Tennyson boy save the world?"

"Why are you dressed like that?"

"Who are you?"

Although a few of them were nice- one even gave him their number in case he was ever in need of help- the vast majority of Gwen's relatives made him feel unwelcome, if not through their questions, then through the constant dirty looks they sent his way. To top it all off, the music playing through the speakers was about as lively as a funeral. Whoever was in charge of that had poor taste. As much as he wanted to leave, he promised himself he'd bite his tongue and wait for the party to end, if only to make Gwen happy.

"There you are!"

Kevin's eyes desperately searched the crowd for the source of the voice, and saw Gwen rushing through the sea of people to get to him. A long-sleeved blue dress hugged her petite figure, stopping just above her ankles, and a minimal amount of makeup adorned her face. She definitely put more effort into her attire than Kevin, who simply donned the first clean T-shirt and pair of jeans he could find.

Gwen grabbed a chair and sat next to Kevin. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yup." That was a blatant lie and he knew she knew it too, but it's not like he could have spoken his mind. Saying something along the lines of "Your relatives are jerks" would have made things more difficult for both of them.

"Hm, yeah, sitting in the corner while drinking punch is super fun." In spite of the sarcasm in her words, Kevin continued to pretend to be oblivious to what she was insinuating. "I mean, the punch is pretty good. This is, like, my fifth cup."

Gwen pushed her chair closer to Kevin's, enough that their elbows touched. "Did someone say something to you?" Kevin didn't know whether to be impressed or creeped out that she already figured out what was going on. Still, he kept up the charade. "Nah."

"Then why are you sitting here instead of partying? You know, the thing you do at parties?", she asked.

"I'm just tired. Really, Gwen, it's nothin'." He took a long, drawn out sip of punch, attempting to stall the conversation. Not keen on playing games any further, Gwen snatched his cup and held it out of his reach. "C'mon, Gwen! Gimme my cup back!", he begged.

She spoke in an authoritative tone. "Nuh-uh. Not until you tell me the truth."

"What makes you think anyone talked to me?"

"Because some of my aunts and uncles asked me about you, so I figured they must've talked to you, too. That, and I saw them come up to you. I don't know what they said exactly, but I know it must've been bad if you felt the need to keep to yourself instead of having fun.", she replied. Somehow, it hadn't occurred to Kevin that Gwen kept an eye on him throughout the party. Oh, well. If he couldn't outright deny something had happened, his next plan was to downplay the situation. "Doesn't matter."

Realizing that Kevin was more affected than he let on, Gwen handed him his cup and spoke at a lower volume. "It matters to me. You and your feelings matter to me, you understand?"

"Thanks." The raven-haired teen managed a quick, faint smile, appreciative of her words of affirmation. "But I don't wanna make a big deal outta this. I'll get over it soon."

"What is 'this'? Kev, what did they say?" She locked eyes with him, indicating she was taking the matter seriously. Kevin glanced around him to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. He was displeased with himself for troubling her, yet relieved that she was supportive enough to hear him out. "Lotsa things, but the gist of it is nobody likes me or wants me here."

She was angry now; at whoever dared mistreat Kevin, and at herself for not being there to defend him. "I want you here. This is my house and this is my party. If anyone has a problem with you being here, they'll just have to deal with it."

As ridiculous as it was, a part of Kevin felt as if Gwen's ire was directed at him. "Sorry for messin' up the mood.", he mumbled.

"No, sweetheart, you did nothing wrong." She brought his hand up to her lips to kiss it. "What can I do to make things right?"

"Promise me you won't bring this up to anyone.", he requested. "You don't need the drama it'll cause."

She couldn't deny that he had a valid point. Nevertheless, she was more than willing to stand up for him. Her family didn't know Kevin the way she did, and therefore had no right whatsoever to judge him, much less imply he wasn't welcome in her own house. "Are you sure? I really wouldn't mind. Whoever hurt you needs to know what they did wasn't okay."

Kevin answered with a nod. "Promise me."

"I promise." She stood up and helped him to his feet, too. "Come on."

He drank the rest of his punch, then chucked the empty cup into a nearby trash can. "Where are we goin'?"

"My room." Gwen moved through the crowd, making her way to the stairs with Kevin.

"You're ditchin' your own party?"

"No, we are.", she responded playfully. Hand in hand, she led him upstairs and into her bedroom, then locked the door once they were both inside. She released his hand from her grasp to turn on the lights while Kevin sat on the edge of her bed. He pulled his shoulders close to his body, casting an empty stare at the ground. "I know it's stupid for me to be so hung up about somethin' so small. I'm not even hurt, just disappointed, I guess. Maybe I'm just havin' an off day, I dunno."

Taking notice of his tense posture, Gwen climbed onto his lap to straddle him, resting her hands on either side of the base of his neck. "Don't feel bad for feeling bad. My family was out of line. I invited you here to get to know them and have a good time, and they ruined that." On one hand, she wished Kevin would tell her precisely what her relatives had said to him so she'd know what was going through his mind. On the other hand, she knew she'd be inclined to break her promise to him if he did tell her, so she decided not to pry.

Kevin trailed his hands down her sides before settling on her hips, rubbing the soft material of her dress between his fingers. "You sure you're okay with bein' up here with me instead of down there with everyone else? You're supposed to be the center of attention tonight."

"That's one of the reasons I wanted to sneak away for a bit. Talking to all those people was draining." Gwen often wondered if her family's interest in her life came from a place of genuine care, or if they were being nosy. With the Tennysons, she was almost always certain that it was the former. With her mother's side, it was far more difficult to tell. "Some of them asked me about the hero stuff they've seen me do on the news. It was fun answering that the first time, not so much the millionth time. Oh, and don't even get me started on all the questions about our relationship, or the comments about how I'm too skinny. I suppose they meant well, but it was still..." She trailed off, realizing that she'd just gone on a tirade. "Sorry, got ahead of myself."

"Don't be. You're cute when you ramble." He pecked her on the nose. "Why'd you put up with all that stuff, anyway? You shoulda given 'em a piece of your mind."

If anyone else were to pester her with incessant questions or observations, Gwen would put her foot down without hesitation. Among family, she was expected to tolerate it. "Believe me, I wanted to, but the last thing I need is family drama."

"Why were you okay with stirrin' up drama for me, then?"

All week, Gwen had been looking forward to having Kevin meet her extended family and hoped they'd take a liking to him. The fact that most of them shunned him instead saddened her greatly. He deserved better than that. "I'm used to my family. You're not. They judged you without getting to know you, and that's not fair."

"Just because you're used to it, doesn't mean you should put up with it. Besides, I was never gonna have a fair chance. Your folks probably told the rest of your family 'bout me, and I'm guessin' they had nothin' nice to say." It was no secret that Gwen's parents had a low in opinion of Kevin, but he counted himself lucky that they still allowed him to set foot in their house after he destroyed it when he was mutated months ago. It took a lot of effort from both him and Gwen to convince them that that monster was not what he was truly like.

"No, Mom and Dad only told them we were dating, that's it.", Gwen insisted. "Try to remember that how they treated you says a lot more about them than it does you. It'll take time, but they'll warm up to you. They just need to see you for the sweet, funny, wonderful person you are." Though Kevin didn't completely believe Gwen's family would come around, he smiled faintly at her compliments.

A sigh escaped the girl's lips. "I shouldn't have left you alone. I could've been there to make sure you were comfortable around everyone. The last thing I wanted was for you to feel like a fish out of water."

"None of that was your fault.", he assured her. "I feel bad for leavin' you alone. I coulda told everyone to show you some respect instead of badgerin' you."

"What if... instead of thinking about what we could've done, we make sure what happened tonight doesn't happen again? How about we promise to stick together and have each other's backs at family gatherings from now on?", Gwen suggested.

"Deal." Bringing his hands up to her cheeks, Kevin's lips passionately collided with hers. Gwen was all too eager to lose herself in the moment, creeping a hand up the back of his head to tug at his black locks.

When he separated from their kiss several seconds later, he was met with a raised eyebrow from her. "You seal all your promises with a kiss, mister?"

"Only the ones I make with you."

"You should make more promises.", she said flirtatiously. She pressed her hands on Kevin's chest, pushing him down to make him lie on the bed. She fell with him, and he took the chance to quickly, albeit not so gracefully, flip her around so he was on top. He lowered his face to give her another kiss; this one shorter than the last but no less ardent.

She brushed a hand against his cheek. "I'd kiss you all night if I could."

Before Kevin could oblige, a series of knocks on the door snapped them both back to reality. "Seriously?", he muttered as he rolled off her. The universe sure had a cruel sense of timing.

"Gwen? Are you in there?"

Upon recognizing the voice, Gwen hurriedly stood up and smoothed out the creases on her dress. She bolted towards the door, unlocking and opening it partway to find her father, Frank Tennyson, on the other side.

"What are you doing up here? Are you alright?", he asked out of concern.

"I'm fine, Dad.", she replied. "Just needed some time alone."

He smiled warmly. "I understand. I love your mother, but her family can be-" Frank's smile disappeared as his eyes wandered to the bed behind Gwen, on which Kevin sat. "Oh, that's what you meant."

"We were just talking.", Gwen clarified. "I wanted to come up here, not him."

The boy waved at Frank rather awkwardly. "Uh, 'sup, Mr. Tennyson?"

Frank gave him a curt nod. "Hello, Kevin. I hope you've been enjoying yourself tonight."

"Uh, y'know, c-could be worse, I guess." Kevin had gone toe-to-toe with some of the most fearsome villains in the galaxy and spent several years in the Null Void, but somehow, talking to his girlfriend's dad was enough to rattle him.

Choosing not to dwell on what Kevin might have meant, Frank turned to his daughter, smiling again. "You'd better head downstairs soon. We're about to bring out the cake."

Gwen raised her voice slightly, excited. "There's cake?! What flavor?"

Frank, of course, was not one to spoil surprises. "Come downstairs and you'll find out."

"We'll be down in a minute."

After giving her a thumbs-up, Frank turned and walked down the stairs. Kevin stood up as Gwen returned to him. "I'm guessin' we're not gonna stay here and make out 'til we lose track of time?"

Gwen shook her head. "Maybe after everyone leaves. I know you got off on the wrong foot with my family, but I'll introduce you to some of the nice ones. If the not-so-nice ones even think of trying to intimidate you, I swear they'll regret it. I've got your back, remember?"

"Thanks. I've got your back, too. Always will." Kevin offered her his elbow, and she hooked her arm around it as they both stepped out the door to rejoin everyone downstairs.


I wrote three quarters of this story pretty quickly but was stumped with what to do with the remaining quarter, hence why it took so long for me to finish it. I hope you guys liked it!