***Hello everybody! This chapter is little more than a fluffy filler, but hope you like it anyway. My Kevin muse tried to escape, but a friend of mine, Kliqgirl, sent me some pretty persuasive inspiration, and this emerged once I had him firmly tied up again! She's new to fanfiction.net, so go over and check her story out. It's called Entwined and if you like the Kliq, you'll love this! I'm already hooked! And now I need a glass of wine...all this talking is making my mouth dry!***

Chapter twenty-five

Just before Lenny reached the fence separating Mark's private property, Kevin gave up the pretence of not being able to catch her and grabbed her around the waist, swinging her in a wide arc before dragging her behind a large tree. "Now I've got you, what are you going to do?" he growled, pressing her into the trunk of the tree with his weight.

"I guess I'd better surrender," she murmured, giggling at his devilish look.

"Well, I guess you'd better," he said, bending to capture her lips in a sweet kiss that made her toes curl.

He took his time exploring her mouth, drawing the kiss out so he had something to keep him going whilst they were among the others. When he finally drew back he couldn't help smiling at the way her eyes remained closed and her head was still tilted upwards as if expecting more. "You want another one, sweetheart?" he whispered, making her open her eyes.

Before she could answer him a voice interrupted them and Kevin groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Sweetheart, hmm?" Page said as he leaned against the fence and cocked his head to one side. "Go fuck yourself Page," Kevin growled mildly, not bothering to turn around and look at him. Instead he kept his eyes on Lenny's flushed face and gave her a soft smile, one hand coming up to stroke her cheek.

"I would if I could, Nash, you know that," he murmured, grinning as he looked from one of them to the other. "Why is your hair damp, Kev?"

"None of your damn business," Kevin grumbled, grabbing Lenny's hand and pulling her away from the tree.

When Page got a good look at Lenny, his grin got even bigger. "Ah, I see your hair is damp too. Now, why would that be?"

"Page," Kevin warned, frowning and clutching Lenny's hand even tighter as she moved closer to him. He looked down at her and was surprised to see her smiling at the older man.

"Would you believe me if I told you we got caught in the rain?" she asked him, still red in the face but not backing down from his teasing.

Page considered that for a moment and then nodded. "Well sure I would, darlin', especially if it was a sudden...shower...shall we say?" He laughed outright at the blast of colour this comment caused.

"Son of a bitch," Kevin grumbled under his breath, hating the way Page always managed to know what was going on without being told.

"That I am, Nash," Page said quietly, staring at the bigger man and giving him a shit eating grin, his eyes deadly serious. "Now that you've finally pulled your head out of your ass, I hope I can trust you to take care of my girl here?"

"She isn't your girl!" Kevin said immediately, and then froze as he tried to analyse the strong jealousy that had filled him with those words.

Page raised an eyebrow, remaining calm. "Do I have to repeat myself?"

Kevin sighed and shook his head, aware that Lenny was watching him strangely. "No, you don't. Of course I'll take care of her."

"Good. That's all I needed to know," Page said, smiling fondly at Lenny and then looking pointedly at their joined hands. "Are you sure you're ready to face the pack?"

"I'm positive," Kevin said, squeezing Lenny's hand as they started moving towards the other guests. Sam was the first to spot them and he gave Kevin a hard look before looking at his sister, not missing the fact that she was holding the big man's hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked her when she got close enough.

"I'm fine," she replied, smiling worriedly at him and wondering if he knew what they'd been doing.

"Good," was all he said, before he looked up at Kevin again and stared at him silently. "I don't really need to say the words, do I?"

"No, you really don't," Kevin said, smiling.

"What words?" Lenny asked, confused.

"Nothing sweetiepie," Kevin said, letting go of her hand so he could drape a big arm around her shoulders and pull her closer to him.

"Just overprotective big brother type of stuff," Page told her, grinning at Sam. "He just wants to make sure this big, ugly old moron treats you right."

"Hey, less of the old," Kevin complained, relaxing a little now.

"Yeah, he's not old," Lenny said, defending him and staring up at him with not a small amount of admiration. Kevin saw the look and felt his chest swell with emotion.

"I'm not?" he asked her, blocking everyone else out for the moment.

She shook her head. "No, you're just the right age."

"For what?"

"For me," she murmured, her eyes dropping to his lips as he gave a sexy smile.

"You know what? I don't have a single problem with being over forty anymore, not if I'm the right age for you," he murmured, lifting her up and holding her close to his chest as he kissed her gently.

"Eww," Page said, screwing his face up. "Get a room!"

Kevin pulled back and laughed. "I would if I didn't think big brother here would have a problem with that."

"No need to get a room," Mark said, walking up behind them and catching their conversation, his eyes crinkling as he saw the way Kevin was holding Lenny. "You have a room here and it's a long way from ours."

"That is true," Kevin said, wiggling his eyebrows as he stared down at Lenny, making her giggle. "But for now I'd like a nice drink and some food. I'm starving!"

"I wonder why that is?" Page said, chuckling and holding his hands up in defence as Kevin glared at him. "Truce, big man. I'll go get you both something to drink, hmm?" He went to walk away and then turned back, a smirk on his mouth. "Sweetiepie?"

Kevin glared at him again and looked slightly uncomfortable. "Why don't you just go..."

"Fuck myself, I know. You'd think after all this time you'd be able to come up with something new," Page said, chuckling and walking away shaking his head.

"Sweetiepie?" Mark echoed, raising an eyebrow at Kevin and then grinning. "Ah, I see."

"Don't you start," Kevin said, getting irritated now.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Mark said, winking at Lenny. "Pet names are nothing to be ashamed of. I have a few that I use on my lovely wife, although I don't think any of them are quite as sugary as sweetiepie."
Kevin shrugged and then gave a small smile. "It fits," he murmured, staring down at Lenny and getting lost in her wide grey eyes for a second. The way she was looking at him....God, he wanted to just drag her off and have her again, something his body definitely shouldn't have been ready for, but was. Lenny couldn't fail to be aware of the changed contours as he was still holding her off the ground, and she blushed.

"Maybe you should put me down?" she ventured, her voice quiet so no-one else could hear.

"Maybe I should keep you right there so no-one can see what you've just done to me," he countered, his eyes crinkling warmly as he smiled.

"I didn't do anything!" she whispered.

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't!"

"Yes...you did," he said again, grinning now. When she went to deny it again he kissed her, making her go silent immediately. "There, that's better. Now I know how to stop you arguing with me, don't I? And yes, you did," he tacked on, chuckling when she gave him a glare.

Amy walked up and ducked under Mark's arm, holding his hand as he drew her close to him and smiling up at him. "What's going on?"

Mark nodded to Kevin and Lenny, a smile tilting his lips. "Looks like idiot brain finally got a bit of sense."

"Hey, I resent that!" Kevin said, looking at his friend and trying to look angry. He failed miserably, because he felt more light-hearted than he had for years.

"Ahh, they look cute together," Amy murmured, pressing against her husband's side as she studied the other couple.

"Not as cute as us," Mark whispered, bending down and flicking the lobe of her ear with his tongue, an action that made her shiver. "And it looks like the party is finally breakin' up, so you wait until I have you alone, I'll show you cute."

Amy giggled and put a hand on his face, staring at him with such love in her eyes that he wanted to drag her off right there and then. He winked at her instead and turned back to Kevin, cocking his head to one side as he looked at his friend's happy face. "What are you two going to do later? The evening is still young and it looks like most everyone is getting set to leave."

Kevin looked at the crowd of people that was slowly diminishing and he frowned. If the party was over, then Sam and Rachel would go home, Mark and Amy would go indoors...there wouldn't be one single place that he could take Lenny and be alone.

Mark saw the wheels turning in his mind, and he grinned. "It looks set to be a beautiful night, perfect for a drive I should imagine," he said, looking up at the darkening sky and the one or two stars that were starting to appear.

"Perfect," Kevin said, a huge smile appearing as he slowly let Lenny slide down his body until her feet touched the ground. "You want to go for a drive with me, sweetheart?"

Lenny nodded slowly, her face warming with pleasure. She would get to spend the evening with him at least, even if it would probably be impossible for her to spend the night with him. The thought of sleeping all night in his big arms took her breath away, even though it had happened before. But the last time had only been because she was upset, this time he would be doing far more than just comforting her.

He watched the expressions chase each other across her face and he smiled again, one hand lifting to smooth over her cheek and curve behind her ear. "What are you thinking about?"

Her eyes darted to the others who were still looking at the two of them curiously, and she shook her head, smiling shyly. "Nothing."

"Hmm, I think you're lying to me, baby. I'll get it out of you later, anyway, perhaps when there's no one else around," he murmured, bending to kiss her soft lips, breathing a sigh as he pulled back. "Come on," he said, taking her hand and walking away without a backwards glance to anyone else, not even seeing Page walk back with two drinks in his hands.

Sam watched them go and couldn't keep the worry from his face, something that Page saw when he looked over at him. "I wouldn't worry Sam. Kevin will take care of her," he said, patting his friend on the shoulder after he had put the two glasses down he was holding.

"I can't help it. You know how he is with women, you know his track record."

Page shrugged. "Yeah, I do. But I can honestly say I have never seen him look at a female the way he looks at Lenny."

"He's right, Sam," Mark interjected, still hugging his wife. "Kevin looks the same way I did when Amy walked into my life. He's in way over his head already, and he's finally starting to admit it to himself. He won't hurt her."

"God I hope you're right," Sam muttered, shaking off his frown and smiling as Rachel handed Danae to him. "You ready to go home?"

Rachel nodded and smiled at the others. "Thanks for a great party."

Amy was about to speak when a huge commotion made them all turn around, and Mark suddenly burst out laughing. "Looks like Rick and his friends have brought the boys back," he said, pointing to where Adam, Jeff, Matt and Shannon were being pushed out of a truck.

Page grinned as he watched them look around and then march over to them, looking furious and embarrassed. "Good evening, boys," he said politely as they all stood there, 3 of them in their bikinis. He noticed that Matt and Adam had lost the tops of their ones, but he didn't bother asking them how.

"You...you son of a bitch!" Matt said, pointing at Mark. "You left us in that place...with those...those....eww!" he growled, wiping a hand over his ear.

"What's the matter Hardy? Didn't you have a good time?"

Shannon Moore tried to stifle a laugh and Matt glared at him. "I can't help finding it funny," Shannon said.

"Well you would, they didn't molest you, did they?" Matt snapped.

"Molest? Rick and the boys wouldn't have hurt you," Mark said, absolutely certain of that fact and wondering what really had happened.

"He sucked my earlobe...my earlobe for chrissake!" Matt wailed, rubbing at it as if he could get rid of the memory. Mark's chuckle only made him angrier and he pointed shakily at Adam. "And look at Adam's neck! He's got a hickey!"

They all turned to look, and Page started laughing at his outraged expression. "It suits you, sweetheart."

"This is not funny! Anything could have happened!" Matt said, almost stomping his foot.

"But it didn't, did it?" Mark pointed out. "And it is funny, Matt, just not to you. So now you know how everyone else feels when they're the butt of your stupid jokes. Turnabout isn't so amusing is it?"

His words made Matt stop and think and he stood there with his mouth open, trying to think up something to defend himself. When he couldn't he just glowered at the older man. "Where's Lenny, anyway? Did she get in trouble too?" he finally asked, looking around and not seeing her anywhere.

"Yeah, Kevin dealt with her," Mark said, smirking.

"Really? What did he do?" Jeff asked, speaking for the first time and looking a little guilty that he had got her in trouble as well. "It wasn't too bad was it?"

"Actually, she seemed to quite enjoy it," Page put in, raising an eyebrow at Mark.

"Enjoy it? How could she have...what did he do to her?" Jeff asked again, confused.

"Let's just say we think it may have involved his tongue," Mark said, chuckling at the younger man's horrified expression.

"Oh God, maybe we got off lightly?" he asked his brother.

Matt and Adam both agreed heartily. "I need a shower," Matt said suddenly, still fiddling with his ear.

"Me too," Adam said, all three men rushing inside Mark's house with Shannon slowly trailing behind them.

Mark watched them go and shook his head. "Hopefully that'll be the last time we have those three playing any jokes."

"The threat of Kevin's tongue anywhere near me would sure stop me," Page said, shuddering and making the others laugh. His eyes were caught by Kevin's truck pulling away from the front of the house, and he smiled to himself. Hopefully everything would work out for his friends, then maybe Kevin could be as happy as Mark was. Page's smile faded slightly and he stared off into the distance. It was a shame he had never found anyone willing to stick by him like that, perhaps then he would have been able to forget what it was like to be lonely. But it was too late, he was too old now to find anyone, and it was far too late for him to father any children. Those thoughts made him wander off towards the house, intending to grab some whisky and make himself feel better. He knew it would work for a few hours, and that was better than nothing.

***That's it for now...until I've beaten my muse back into shape anyway. Hope it was okay! And you know if you need something else to read....go and read entwined....say it to yourself...entwined...it has a certain ring to it...entwined....Mmm, sounds good doesn't it? Check it out! ;-)***