A/N: I needed a little pinch of fluff in here. And I think this is only the second or third time a Car Argument has ever taken place in two separate cars… And I don't like having to separate the opening, but it feels better that way. To set it up.

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own.

Gwen was hiding in Ben's car for the night. Why? A number of reasons, actually. She didn't want to go home and face her parents for staying out after curfew, and she didn't want to deal with going inside and having her aunt and uncle be the tattletales that ratted her out. So she'd opted to stay in her cousin's car for the night, blanket wrapped around he'd shoulders, heart raw, and face stained with now-dry tears.

Kevin was staying in his car for the night. Of course, he had the added safety of the garage, but it was still pitiful for him to not be in his own home and asleep on his own bed. He just didn't want to go home so miserable. His mom would pick up on it and start asking questions, then when she didn't get answers, she'd call Harvey and tell him to talk to Kevin and from there it was all pretty messy. He preferred the car. Despite how alone he was.

It felt like she'd only gotten to sleep fifteen minutes ago when the buzzing of her phone on the leather seat next to her brought her to her senses. Instinctively, she reached for it and flipped it open in a heartbeat, breathing her usual "Hello?" in a groggy, tired voice.

There was a pause and a familiar sigh. "Someone once told me to never go to sleep on a fight."

Gwen regretted answering the call. "Kevin..."

"We can't deal with it tomorrow. Besides, it already is tomorrow. It's, like, two in the morning. So if you say we're dealing with it tomorrow, that means today, so we're talking."

She loved him, no doubt, but when he started talking sense, it made her worry for her own sanity. The day Kevin started speaking logically would be the day she'd become as useless as a bag of bricks. "Really, I was just getting to sleep when you woke me up. Can't you call back when the sun's up?"

He didn't want to deal with the guilt any longer. And she taught him to never sleep on a fight because it just makes things worse in the long run. "Sun's up in Bermuda," he said, voice resolute; no way was he backing down from this one. Kevin was determined to make things square. "Now come on, let's talk this out. It can't be much worse than talking out that Charmcaster thing."

The redhead shuddered at the memory. There had been a lot of screaming involved there. It was not something she wanted to repeat any time soon. "Then let's talk." She wasn't starting. No way. He had to say it first. Rules of a relationship, duh. One of her arms wrapped tightly around her body as she shivered against the cold. Gwen made a mental note to remind Ben to keep a warmer blanket in his car.

"I'm sorry I can't say it, Gwen," he said, the mental and emotional strain audible in his tone. He sounded weak, tired, worn. "You need to know that I want to say it, but I can't because it means commitment and I'm terrified of commitment, okay? I'm afraid of three things: crocodiles, going insane, and commitment. Call me crazy, but I'm serious. I think it's a real phobia. Is it?"

She leaned into the leather seats, finally sitting up. The phone was pressed to her ear with one hand. Gwen let a small smile show on her countenance. Kevin had a habit of babbling when he was nervous or just generally didn't know what to say. Kind of like Ben. Another smile graced her features. They'd picked up a lot of bad habits from each other over the years... "Commitmentphobia," she clarified for him, voice showing her amusement. Some of the things he did could just light up her whole day.

"Not a very creative name..." commented Kevin on the other end of the phone, now leaned up against the car door with his head in one hand, black hair all ruffled from hands running through it countless times as he stressed over what to say for the past five hours.

"I know."

There was a long pause. "I guess it all ties back to my dad and Harvey and all of that... I can't really deal with that again and if I say that I love you, then that means I'm part of something that can be broken." Another sigh, this one sharper than the last. "I know you won't hurt me, but I don't know if I can always keep from hurting you, and if I say I love you, then I could hurt you more if something happens again like with Aggre-"

Gwen hated listening to him spill all his sins and all his pain. It just hurt to hear all the bad stuff he'd been through in all those seventeen years. So much bad stuff... She interjected, "Kevin, really-"

"No, Gwen, I need to say it, that's the problem! I need to be able to make a commitment. And have you noticed that we aren't even officially a couple? We just kissed and sealed the deal right there. You saved me from having to make a commitment, yeah, but look at where it's got us now, 'tween a rock and hard place." He ran his hand through those ebony locks once again. There was a long pause. "I just need to tell you," he whispered through the phone even though he was talking mostly to himself.

She thought she was feeling her heart shattering in her chest. Pain seemed to be growing in her chest, raw and deep like a fresh wound. "Kevin?"

There was a long silence from the other end, a long period of soundlessness, the quiet seeming to echo in her ears as she listened for his soft response. She knew where he was, in his car somewhere, hiding, all alone. She was doing the same. They almost always had the same thoughts. It broke her heart to imagine him all alone somewhere, just thinking to himself how much he needed to say that he loved her. She knew it, she didn't need to hear the words, but some part of her longed to hear his husky, gentle voice breathe, "I love you." It was what she was craving to hear, what every ounce of her body was longing for so desperately. She wanted to hear it so badly that she could taste it, but the girl was patient, knowing the Kevin had a few too many issues to be sorted out in a couple of years. He'd need more time to be able to come anywhere near making such a commitment.

And the worst part was, she knew he was right. They weren't officially together. Not by word, anyways. Just by touch, by feel, by emotion. Words were nothing to them; they spared word wars back and forth to each other on a nearly daily basis. Saying that they were in love wasn't necessary. They knew it by touch, feel, and emotion. It was they way they were. They weren't officially together. Nothing would make it official now. It was official in the way that they were.

"Yeah?" he asked back, his voice still soft, still gentle, still weak. It was evident that he was still regretting all of his life's bad decisions, all the reasons why he could never stay with something for very long, all the ways he could've done better. He was always busy hating himself…

"I love you."

That was all he really needed. Words. He needed words. He needed those words. Those three little words that meant the world to him. Kevin ran his fingers through his hair again, looking at the cold black interior of his car and looking at the fogged over windows. He paused and drew in a breath of air.

"I love you too."

A/N: I liked writing this. Review?

~Sky