A/N: Short, but I think I got what I wanted into it. I'm happy with it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing at all.
Warning: This one can be rated as a low T or high K+, however you want to look at it.

He always hated to see her upset. There was never a moment in his life that he would ever like seeing tears stream down her face. Never. He had a cruel heart for some things, but watching her cry had a tendency to soften his hard outer shell and make him recall his defenses, the walls of the tough guy act going down. That was when he was exposed.

She was a wreck. Gwendolyn Tennyson was a genuine mess, her eyes bloodshot with hot, stinging tears and her face as red as the lapping flames of a fire. All the crying had gotten the blood to rush into her normally pale cheeks, turning them nearly the same shade of pink as her mana.

The news had been received the hard way. Of course, the girl's careless parents had been heartless enough to tell her that her brother had been in an accident. She had barely walked in the door with her raven-haired boyfriend behind her when her mother was already telling her that Ken had been killed by a drunk driver.

There had been that brief moment of shock and silence before it really settled with the two teenagers.

Kevin had become closer with Kenny than most boyfriends could without getting their faces pounded in. Kevin had nearly gotten to the point where he wanted to call Kenneth Tennyson his own brother, not just that of his beloved redhead.

But he hadn't been hit nearly as hard as Gwen had been.

The news was like taking a bullet to the chest but narrowly missing the heart. The pain was excruciating, the anger and rage flooding through her blood-filled veins. She wasn't just mad. She was upset, devastated, crushed. Ken had been the best brother ever. The Awesomemobile, Ben's first soccer practice, yelling at him all those times to stop playing his guitar so loud. Memories flashed through her mind at the speed of light. She knew all these things about the boy who had raised her alongside of her parents, Kenny, her big brother, her only brother. There were times he had been her only friend.

Kevin had had to pull the black and green muscle car to the side of the road and really look at his Anodite.

She really did look like she had been shot. Her face was scrunched up as she tried to hold back tears that wouldn't stop flowing. Her emerald eyes had become the two colors of Christmas, red and green; the red was provided from the hours of crying. Her shirt was rumpled and parts were soaked with the circles of moisture that had been induced by heavy falling tears. She only wanted her brother back... The pain in her chest was so raw that she was finding it hard to take a breath. It was like she couldn't find a reason to live without her brother there. Her face was puffy, eyes almost looking like they were swollen.

Despite his not wanting to break the car's silence, Kevin spoke up out of concern and love. "Are you gonna be alright?" He tried to keep his voice strong for her. He was feeling a little shaken himself, but he knew he had to put on his bravest face for the Anodite. He had to be strong. For her.

There was a little racking sob that shook her body, and one hand reached up to swipe a wet tear off her cheek. Then her jade gaze shifted from her lap to his face. It only took a moment for Gwen to break down all over again.

Kevin watched her quake and quiver. He hated seeing her so broken and knowing that there was little he could do to help. He watched her as she sat there, body curled into itself and her eyes spilling hot tears of agony. It took him a second or two to figure out how to help her, but eventually he reached out one hand and put it on her shoulder. "Gwen?"

She wouldn't look at him again. She couldn't. Not without losing herself. Gwen was deep enough in her misery that she knew she was drowning, soon to be lost in the sea. There were no ships in sight, no way out of this eternal darkness, no way to recover from this bullet of pain that had pierced her chest. She couldn't see any way out; Gwen could only sink deeper to drown.

Understanding that she wasn't capable of a response without letting more shaking sobs escape, Kevin accepted that they wouldn't be able to talk out the problem like his redhead always wanted to do. If she couldn't speak, how could he expect to help her with words? So Kevin, always one to be more physical with things, wrapped one arm across her shoulders and pulled her tightly to him over the console that kept them separated. There was enough give in her seatbelt that he was able to hold her against his warm, broad chest. Kevin was silent. He would let her cry as long as she wanted to. They didn't have to talk. As long as he could help, he felt useful. Even when she was crying, at least she wasn't alone. That was all he wanted. For her to never be alone.

A/N: Review?

~Sky