A/N: Some of you know I have been going through some difficult stuff, as of late. I wanted to get this out as a beacon, letting everyone know that I will keep writing. This makes me happy and my girls (you all know who you are) deserve to get the second part of this as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10 or any of the characters in this story. Man of Action does.

Enjoy!

The sight that greeted Gwen and Kevin upon reaching Ben's high school was ridiculous, even though expected.

Five news vans lingered on the curb opposite the learning institution, flanked by three police cruisers.

Police officers and barricades were corralling two dozen media personnel and cinematographers on the sidewalk.

Apparently, the officers weren't letting anyone from the press enter the building during the ceremony, which had ended less than twenty minutes prior. Judging from the arguments erupting in the small posse, the press was not happy with the arrangement.

The situation would have been amusing, had it not been so terribly sad. The raven-haired teen sent a derisive sneer at the vultures as he pulled up in front of the school and emerged from the vehicle. They wouldn't allow the kid even this!

They didn't deserve him.

He felt tiny fingers interlace with his and turned to find his redhead standing beside him, shooting the same angry daggers with her eyes at the paparazzi. She turned to him, her eyes softening instantly. "Come on, Kevin. Let's go find him."

They walked into the building's auditorium. It was a cacophony of sound and excitement. The graduates wore different color gowns than Gwen currently sported. Hers was a regal red. Theirs were black and all melted together into an indiscernible mesh. They were able, however, to pick out the gold in the mane belonging to the Anodyte's aunt.

They were making their way through the throng of proud parents and excited alumni, when a slightly frazzled Mr. and Mrs. Yamamoto intercepted them. The father addressed them in his thick Japanese accent. "Hello Kevin…Gwen. Have either of you seen our daughter?"

The teens exchanged quick confused glances, the redhead immediately using her lightning-quick intellect to manufacture a response to assuage Julie's parent's misgivings. The girl was intricate to their plan. She turned back to address her father with the most sincere smile she could muster. "We need to take Julie with us on a very important mission, Mr. Yamamoto, but we promise to have her back in time for the graduation party at my parent's."

The older man and his wife seemed to scrutinize them for a moment but their gazes eventually relented. The father leveled a guarded look toward Gwen as he worded a final command, before moving towards the entrance with his wife. "Fine, but I hold you personally responsible for her safety Miss Tennyson. I don't trust your cousin one bit. Not when it comes to my child." He nodded a silent goodbye to them and walked away.

The Anodyte huffed a relieved breath and turned to her softly snickering boyfriend. She raised an inquisitive manicured eyebrow, but couldn't voice her inquiry as she was pulled toward her aunt.

Carl and Sandra were ecstatic to see their niece in her gown. Her aunt immediately pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of her. "Oh, you look precious, Gwen. You should have seen Ben! He looked positively handsome!" The slightly spacey blonde gushed all over her dreamily and hugged her.

Gwen pulled away with a light blush at the compliment. "Aunt Sandra, have you guys seen Ben after the ceremony?"

Her aunt and uncle seemed to consider the question a moment. Then, Carl spoke up. "He jumped off the stage as soon as it was over and gave us both bear hugs. Then he said he had to rush to the bathroom. That was over fifteen minutes ago, though." He turned concerned eyes to his wife. "You don't figure he's not feeling well do you, honey?" Sandra only shrugged, concern also filtering into her demeanor.

Kevin snickered again, drawing the troubled Tennysons' attention. "Yeah. I wouldn't be too worried about Ben's health, Mr.T. I'm pretty sure, right about now, he's feeling better than he's felt all day."

The Osmosian didn't clarify further as he pulled out his Plumbers badge and paged his best friend. He tried to keep the humor of the situation out of his voice as he spoke. "Come in Tennyson! We have a situation! Pick up!"

His girlfriend looked at him questioningly, but he raised a quick index finger to his mouth in a shushing gesture at her, continuing to smile sadistically. At the brunette's lack of response after about thirty second's, he paged him again. This time, he made his voice sound much more urgent. "Come on, Tennyson! Gwen's here! Pick up!" He almost busted into laughter and had to cut off the connection abruptly to let it out.

Gwen was going to comment on her boyfriend's insane behavior, when her cousin's harsh, breathless voice finally came through the badge. "What do you want, Kevin?"

Now, the redhead was more than a little worried. Why did her cousin sound so out of breath?

The Osmosian sucked in a deep calming breath to keep from laughing and responded. "Bring the car around the front. Gwen will keep the hoards at bay."

There was a moment of silence, then, "Give me ten minutes." They heard Julie giggling in the background.

An understanding smile spread across the gingers face. Her boyfriend had known where the other two teenagers were all along.

Kevin was trying to keep from laughing. "No, Tennyson. We're on a schedule. Get your sorry butt out here!"

Another silence and then, "Five minutes. Ouch!" More giggles from the Asian-American girl.

The Osmosian would actually feel guilty for doing this to the kid, had it not been for the surprise he had in store for him. "Tennyson!"

They heard a violent rustling noise and the feed cut-off right after Ben yelled back. "Fine! I'll be there in a second!"

The raven-haired teenager pocketed his badge and turned to the now enraged wielder of the Ultimatrix's parents with an unabashed smirk.

His father looked at him disapprovingly. "You're kidnapping our son, aren't you?" It wasn't really a question. He just stated it for confirmation.

His niece spoke up on behalf of her boyfriend. "We're doing it for his own good, Uncle Carl. Trust us. We'll have him back by the party tonight." She waved goodbye as she started walking away towards the entrance, followed by the Osmosian.

Once they reached the car, they saw the Mark10 swerve out of the school's parking lot violently and screech to a halt, inches from rear-ending Kevin's car.

Okay. Ben was really pissed.

Gwen immediately threw up a manna field to block out the reporters, who now had free reign due to the Savior of the Universe being out of the building.

Kevin came up to the passenger side window as it slid down, ready to give a piece of his mind to the brunette for the near-collision. The words died on his tongue at the vicious sneer his best friend was shooting him. Not to mention, something else caught his attention.

Julie was sitting in the passenger seat in her graduation gown with her legs crossed and her hands on her thighs demurely, smiling politely. Ben was in slacks and an unbuttoned white dress shirt. His graduation gown, tie and jacket lay strewn in the back seat.

It was against the raven-haired teen's very nature not to ask. "Okay, Dude… Why?" He swept his hand in a gesture comparing the differences between the two occupants of the vehicle.

Ben let out a sound that sounded like an aggravated snarl and raked a frustrated hand through his chestnut hair. His girlfriend shot him a condoling look before answering Kevin simply. "I told Ben I wanted to see what Sandra got him for his graduation. She'd told me she'd gotten him a really nice designer suit. So, after the graduation ceremony ended, I snuck out to the car and Ben turned into BigChill and ghosted out to the car to show me." All this was worded in the most logical emotionless intonation Julie could muster.

Kevin wasn't buying it. At least, not if the sadistic grin he sported was any indication. He was going to prolong his best friend's humiliation just a bit longer. "Okay. Why didn't he just lift the gown to show you?"

Ben allowed his head to drop painfully into the steering wheel and shut his eyes with a groan. Julie grimaced painfully at him as she blushed and answered Kevin, pointedly avoiding his eyes. "I really liked the suit. So, I removed the gown to get a better look at it. Then, I took the jacket off to get a better look at the tie. Then, I took the tie off… I don't remember why the tie came off. Everything gets very fuzzy from that point on..."

Ben snickered smugly at this. He had to hand it to Julie. Even when she knew Kevin was ripping into him, she'd figured out a way to stroke his ego. His hand found hers and he intertwined their fingers, squeezing affectionately as he addressed his best friend through the open passenger door window. He pointed at the reporters. "These idiots camped out in front of my folk's house all night, Kev. They followed us here. Is it so unreasonable to want ten minutes alone with my girlfriend on our freaking, graduation day?" His voice sounded drained. Like he was far older than seventeen.

The Osmosian continued to smirk but the mirth no longer reached his eyes. The smile was sinister.

No, what the kid wanted wasn't unreasonable. He would've happily rammed his car through the mass of imbeciles in that instant. In another lifetime, he would have. He settled for sending his friend a meaningful look. "Head for the Rustbucket III. Switch to stealth mode once we're a block out to ditch the tail." He regarded the Asian-American girl, briefly. "You're coming along for this one, Julie. Close the window." Then he backed away from the Mark10 and called for Gwen to get into his car.

The wielder of the Ultimatrix followed the Osmosian with his eyes suspiciously, as he moved away and entered his own vehicle. Was he not summoned here for an emergency?

Why was Julie still here? He knew his best friend wouldn't place her in danger intentionally. Then again, Kevin had a dangerous mind.

His musings were interrupted by Julie's soft anxious voice and he turned to her. She looked apprehensive. "Ben, I don't have Ship and my folks have no idea where I am."

Her boyfriend sent her a comforting smile that didn't reach his emerald eyes. She could tell he wasn't comfortable with this either. His voice was confident when he spoke, though. "Gwen and Kevin were in the auditorium, so I'm sure they came up with an excuse for your parents as to why you're not around." His tone changed drastically as the Osmosian's car took off and the brunette revved his to follow. There was an element of distrust and anxiety to it. "Kevin's planning something."

As Julie analyzed her boyfriend's demeanor, she couldn't help but start giggling.

Ben's bewildered jade eyes locked with hers in question. She smiled lovingly at him and ran a hand through his hair and down the side of his face caressingly. "You look terrified at the prospect of what Kevin might be planning for you."

The brunette's eyes just widened in further horror and disbelief. Was this girl kidding? "Have you met Kevin, Julie? He's warped! Aren't you afraid of what he has planned for us?" He was practically shrieking at her apparent lack of perceptiveness.

Julie giggled again in response and shrugged. She responded honestly, "I'm terrified! Both of what he wants with us and the fact that you've already followed him all the way to the base when you're terrified of what he wants to do to you!"

His girlfriend's words snapped the teen out of his paranoid reverie and he realized that they were, indeed, at the base and following Kevin into the Rustbucket III. He knew they were only a few blocks out, but how did he drive here without paying attention? He face palmed himself aggravated.

Julie giggled again and moved across the gearshift to place a soft kiss on his cheek. "You know, you can turn back."

Before she could move back, Ben leaned sideways, wrapped an arm around her middle and lifted her from her seat, across the center console and into his lap. The Asian-American girl giggled the whole way as she wrapped an arm around his neck. Her free hand drew outlines on the indentations his pectoral muscles made down the middle of his chest. He hadn't bothered re-buttoning his shirt.

They were already in the cargo bay of the ship, so the brunette teen shut off the engine before finally responding to her. He released a defeated sigh. "He knows I'll follow him, Julie. I'm morbidly curious. No matter how terrifying whatever he's going to do to me is- I have to know what it is. Kevin knows this and he's using it against me. He's done it before… many times. What's worse, Gwen's in on this one. We're in trouble." He ended with a sad smile.

Julie gave him a cross between a sympathetic smile and a pout. "At least, you have me along to keep you company." Her hand traveled to the indentations on his abdomen. She felt the muscles twitch at her touch.

Ben knew she was trying to distract him and doing a fine job at it. Was she in on this? Nah, she couldn't be. He'd seen sincere anxiety in her eyes at the thought of going into battle without Ship. She had no idea where they were going. She just trusted him to protect her. She trusted his friends. Poor little naïve pawn.

"More than likely, you're here to witness the humiliation and add to it." When her eyes turned scandalized and her expression disbelieving, he added deadpan, "Kevin's twisted, Julie. It's not beyond the guy."

Julie just rolled her eyes and came forward to peck him on the lips comfortingly. However, the gesture of moving forward inadvertently raked her nails across four of the brunettes abdominal muscles, causing a jolt to shoot through him. He responded by wrapping his arms fiercely around her and deepening the kiss into a hungry exploration of each other's mouths.

While in mid kiss, they became aware of a drop in the level of gravity, as their stomachs seemed to plummet. They broke away breathless. Ben swept a strand of black hair behind her ear and gave her a disappointed look. "I better go see where this maniac is taking us."

She nodded with a sympathetic grin. The brunette was able to open the door an inch before it made contact with a manna field, closed and locked again.

Both the vehicle's occupants turned their heads to the front, where Gwen sat Indian style on the hood of the car, her back turned to them. How long had she been there? Her voice held a no-nonsense quality to it as she vociferated her command so that it could penetrate the bulletproof glass of the windshield. "No exiting the Mark10, Ben. Kevin's orders."

The wielder of the Ultimatrix was boiling over with irritation now. This wasn't funny. He'd actually sent his girlfriend to baby-seat him. This was the last straw. "I can get out of this car whenever I want, Gwen. You can do little to stop me." His voice was an enraged snarl.

The redhead barely turned her head, yet he somehow knew she was smirking. "True… but if you do, you won't get to see where we're going. So, why don't you just sit back, relax and kiss your girlfriend. Didn't you say you wanted ten minutes alone with her today?" The enouncement came in an aggravatingly simple, mocking, singsong voice.

The brunette growled in frustration. They had him. Figures, the Osmosian would blab their conversation to his cousin the first chance he got.

The giggling coming from the girl on his lap interrupted his fuming. She turned mirthful almond-shaped eyes to him. "Oh, they are really good at this!"

He bit his lower lip and tickled her rib cage, causing her to explode into bouts of laughter until she was gasping for air and begging for mercy, tears pooling in her eyes. He chastised her sternly, sounding paternal. "You're on my side! No fraternizing with the enemy! Now, do as the mean Anodyte girl commanded and kiss me!"

Julie wiped at her eyes and kissed his nose. She was still giggling afterwards, since he looked sorely disappointed. "Your cousin is three feet away, Ben. I'm not an exhibitionist." She gave him a slightly apathetic smile.

The chestnut-haired teen slumped in his seat while shouting at the Anodyte on the hood. His voice held renewed aggravation and a whining quality fit for a three-year-old. "Are we there yet?"

Ten minutes later, they had landed and all four occupants of the spacecraft stood at the rear bay door.

Ben was moping. He had his arms crossed adamantly across his chest. Gwen had not let him out of the car until Kevin had emerged from the cockpit to join her in the cargo bay and Julie hadn't made any more advances toward him, due to lack of privacy. He was frustrated, to say the least.

What was even more aggravating was how long the raven-haired teenager was purposely taking to open the hatch. "Seriously, Kevin! Let's get this over with so I can get on with my life!"

Kevin rolled his eyes and smirked evilly. He just allowed the hatch to drop, exposing the outside to everyone onboard.

The sight that met their eyes was anybody's description of tropical paradise.

They were perched on the sandy shore of a tiny island, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. There was a patch of vegetation with palm trees in the center, but it looked to be less than a mile in circumference. The whole island seemed to be less than five miles.

Ben grabbed Julie's hand, pulling her out of the ship and down the ramp. He looked around with eyes the size of saucers. He noticed there were two sets of beach chairs, both with umbrellas, placed near the shoreline. Each set was obviously intentionally, distanced from the other about fifteen yards. As he skimmed back toward the palm trees, he noted a small tiki hut bar with stools and hammocks strewn between the trees.

His amazed and confused emerald eyes came full circle to meet with the obsidian of his best friend's. The Osmosian had his arms wrapped around his cousin from behind and was shooting him a sincere, warm smile. His words were tinged with pride, affection and admiration when he spoke. "Congratulations for graduating, Ben!" Then his smile turned sinister and his tone mocking, "You way exceeded my expectations for your intelligence, Dude. I was shocked to hear you, actually, pulled this off."

Ben barely registered Julie and his cousin giggling at the taunt as he ran up the ramp and encased his best friend in a rib-crushing hug. Gwen was fortunate to duck out in time, or he would have bowled her over.

It took a moment for the Osmosian to realize what the other boy was doing. Then, a deep blush surged up his neck and into his cheeks instantly. He was so uncomfortable sharing emotions with anyone, much less another guy. He found himself returning the hug, though. This was the little brother he never had- one of the few people who believed in him. He was his best friend.

Both Julie and Gwen had tears in their eyes at the rare tender brotherly moment. The read head, however, also had a camera. She quickly brought it up and snapped a photo of her boys embracing. The sound getting their attention and causing them to break apart promptly.

"Aww! You two looked so cute together! Let me see, Gwen." The Japanese-American looked over the redhead's shoulder at the camera as the aforementioned scrolled to the shot. They both swooned when they found it.

Both boys were beet-red. "I swear Gwen, if you ever show that picture to anyone, I'll…"

Kevin's threat died on his lips with a single menacing stare from the ginger. She snapped back defiantly, "You'll do what Kevin?"

He was at a loss for words. He heard the brunette snickering beside him and decided to vent his frustration on him. "Shut up, Tennyson!"

Gwen just rolled her eyes and focused them on Julie who had a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. "Um, Gwen? This is nice and everything, but I'm in heels and a dress even under this gown, here." She swept her hands down her body to emphasize.

The redhead smiled knowingly at her and pulled the duffle bag on her shoulder opened. She pulled out a pair of trunks and handed them to her cousin as she explained. "I passed by my Aunt Sandra's and got Ben's swim trunks. You, however," she gave her friend a pointed look while rummaging through the bag. "I had to buy a suit for, myself. I had to guess your size, so I went with this." She pulled out a hot pink string bikini. "The coverage is minimal but it is completely adjustable, so the fit is pretty much guaranteed."

Julie accepted it, appraising it doubtfully when her boyfriend unpremeditatedly, wrapped her friend in a suffocating bear hug. He gushed exuberantly into the redhead's ear, "I love you so much Gwen! You are the best cousin… EVER!"

He then planted a humongous wet kiss on her cheek as he released her and turned to face his girlfriend excitedly. "Put in on Julie! NOW!"

A flattered smile came to her face at the unvoiced compliment but the Asian American still regarded the garment skeptically. "Ben, this is a little risqué for my taste."

Ben put on his best puppy dog look and whined, "It's my graduation day! Don't I deserve a graduation gift?"

Julie couldn't help but acquiesce to that. She sighed in defeat. "Fine! I'll wear it for you… Today. Because you managed to graduate high school… against all odds." She ignored his mock insulted pout, turning to Gwen. "Where can I change?"

The redhead pointed back at the ship. "We can all change in the cockpit."

Ben immediately grabbed Julie's hand and started running up the ramp. His best friend caught his arm bruisingly, before he could get all the way inside, however.

The Osmosian chortled darkly and shook his head at the confused expression on the brunette's face. "One at a time, genius. Either you or the girl stays outside. No wonder her dad doesn't like you."

Ben gave out an insulted huff as Julie giggled and continued toward the cockpit. He followed her with longing eyes as he directed his comment at Kevin. "Mr. Yamamoto likes me!"

Julie turned quickly to face her boyfriend before disappearing into the flight compartment. She had a mocking smirk on her face, but her tone was dead serious. "No he doesn't, Ben." Then she was gone.

Both couples sat lounging in the chairs at the seashore. Kevin had to make a mental note that they only needed two chairs for the four of them the next time. Gwen was currently using him as a mattress while reading a book and Julie seemed to be taking a nap on top of Ben a few yards a way. The brunette was rubbing rhythmic circles into her back and looking out into the ocean.

She had to be exhausted. They were used to a pretty active lifestyle as Plumbers, but she was simpler. She was a civilian and they'd done everything from swim racing, to playing football, to playing 'King of the Mountain', in the last four hours. She was spent.

"I can't believe you were able to pull this off for him. You're a good friend. How long did this take you to set up?" The Osmosian looked down to find his current 'occupant' craning her neck to look up at him. An adoring smile gracing her alluring features.

He placed a kiss on the bridge of her nose and smiled back. "This is a volcanic island. They don't exactly last very long out in the middle of the ocean, like this. Not to mention, we're in hurricane season. I had to bring all this crap out here yesterday." Her eyes widened in surprise at the revelation. He chuckled at the cuteness of the inverted expression. "I'm just glad everything survived the night."

She flipped herself over on him, so she could have a better angle on his face to talk to him. He loved the way the motion felt against him. As soon as she was set and comfortable, he claimed her mouth in a soft, slow kiss. She sent him a gentle scald with her eyes when they separated. "I was going to tell you something, you know. It's rude to interrupt."

Kevin chuckled lightly and she felt it through the close contact of her bikini-top clad chest to his bare torso. "Stop squirming on me and I'll try to keep the interruptions to a minimum. No promises, though." He traced languid patterns with the pads of his fingers on her back.

She loved having her back rubbed, so she just laid her head in the crook of his neck and sighed contently.

He smiled down at her before his demeanor grew solemn and anxious. He had waited all day to tell her his plans- the sacrifice he was planning to make for her. He wasn't sure how she would take it, or even if she would welcome it. He had to tell her, though. "So what's next for the great Gwendolyn Tennyson?" He tried to keep his voice jovial so she couldn't tell how terrified he was.

The redhead stiffened noticeably. She let out an exasperated sigh. She didn't want to talk about this now. Not today. Not when they still had time. Such precious little time and it had been such a magical day. "Kevin just hold me. I don't want to think about anything but us, now."

She was evading it. He couldn't let her, even if the topic bothered her.

He was going to have to use the dirty ace he had up his sleeve. "I would think you'd be ecstatic to tell everyone you got a full scholarship to Harvard!"

She shot up off him and into a straddling position on his thighs. Her arms crossed defensively over her chest and she sent a shocked recriminating glare at him. "How do you know that, Kevin?"

He leveled the exact sneer back at her. "I saw the acceptance letter on your desk over a year ago, when you where helping me pass my GED test. I figured you'd tell me at some point. You never did. Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye, Gwendolyn?"

Her heart broke at the accusing undertone his question held and shamed tears pooled in her emerald eyes and streaked down her cheeks. Her voice was barely above a whisper and trembled with sobs. "At first, I didn't say anything because I had time. Then it just became harder and harder until I just chose not to go. I can stay here and attend college locally."

Kevin couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was she freaking, joking? It wasn't funny. He could already hear the bitterness in her voice over staying here. She hated the compromise she was making. He grabbed her shoulders and leaned forward so their noses almost touched. He burned her emerald eyes with the onyx in his. "You are not staying here because of me, Gwendolyn Tennyson. I need you to love me more than I need to breathe. If you stay here, you'll begrudge me this for the rest of your life. Not to mention, you certainly, won't want to spend it with me. You're going to Harvard!" The finality in his voice was unquestionable.

Gwen's sobs intensified and she looked away, shutting her eyes. She knew what a long distance relationship would do to them and if she'd just heard him right, he planned on marrying her somewhere down the line. That just didn't seem fathomable if she went away and she wanted that so much. She wanted to be by his side. "I don't want to leave you, Kevin." It was an agonized whisper.

He lifted her chin to lock eyes with him again, searching the depths of emerald for any sign of uncertainty as he confirmed what he'd just heard. He needed her to be completely sure. "What did you just say, Gwen?"

She responded without hesitation. "I love you too much to leave you."

A maniacal smile instantly sprouted on Kevin's face as he exclaimed in a jovial voice. "Great! Then, I'm coming with you!" He immediately followed this with a kiss to her shock-parted lips. Then he leaned back on the lounge chair smirking.

The Anodyte was flummoxed beyond description. Her boyfriend was odd and she was used to it, but going to college where you weren't accepted was insane. "You're coming to Harvard with me?"

Kevin scoffed and looked at her as if she was a lunatic. "Yeah right, Gwen. You'd have to be a freaking, genius to get into Harvard!" Her cheeks colored at his hidden compliment. "I'm going to M.I.T. Same state though, so you get points for that." He said this as if getting into the foremost technical college in the country was nothing.

Gwen was having real trouble processing this. Her expression twisted into confused shock. "Who…? When…? Why…? What…?" She couldn't get anything coherent to come out and she was usually quite eloquent.

The Osmosian chose to mock her by wording his explanation as answers to her questions. "I, Kevin Levin, when you leave to Harvard, because I love you and want to be with you, will attend M.I.T." Gwen instantly gave him a double 'teaty twister' to make him think twice about making fun of her at a time like this.

It backfired. The Osmosian crushed her to him and ravaged her mouth at the excited jolt the gesture had sent through him. When they finally broke for air, she was dizzy. That had been one heck of a kiss!

She looked at him sheepishly. "Okay. So, no fidgeting on top of you and no messing with your nipples, regardless of how painful that's supposed to be, if I don't want to be interrupted."

He smirked and shrugged in return. "I promise nothing." He deadpanned.

She rolled her eyes and giggled. "Seriously though, how'd you manage to get into M.I.T. You didn't even finish high school, technically."

He ran a hand through her red flaming mane lovingly, before responding. "I had to pull some humongous strings, I can assure you… and Ben helped." He nodded towards the brunette who was still holding his dozing girlfriend.

Gwen's eyes widened as she turned to her cousin then back to her boyfriend. "Ben knows? How long?"

Kevin thought about it a moment. "Over a year."

Gwen was a little angry, now. Her voice rose in volume, gaining her cousins attention. "You've known you were coming with me for over a year and you've let me suffer?"

The accusation was affronting and Kevin bit back with equal spite. "I had no idea you were suffering, at all. For all I knew, you were biding your time before taking off without even saying goodbye."

She was right about to remark back on how poor his self-esteem was if he thought she'd ever do that to him, when they both heard a loud shush sound and turned to Ben.

The brunette pointed exasperatedly at his sleeping girlfriend and brought an index finger to his lips. They both said 'sorry' before turning back to each other.

It was obvious there was a miscommunication here. There was no point in arguing about it. It was actually really good news that they were going away together. At least, for Gwen. This brought a frown to her face as she spoke. "You've always said you had to take care of your mother and that's why you came here instead of New York when you were released from the Null Void. Are you sure you want to leave her for four years?"

Kevin thought about this. It was true he had to make amends to his mother for his childhood, but children grew up and left home. He shrugged and gave her a sad smile. "Ma can get along without me for a while. I probably need her more than she needs me now, anyway," His girlfriend bristled at his assertion. It just wasn't true. "And I can come back whenever I want to visit her. I own a jet." He pointed at the Rustbucket III with an obvious expression.

She giggled, snuggling back into the crook of his neck. "It just feels like you're sacrificing so much for us to be together and I'm virtually getting a free ride."

When he spoke again the emotion in his voice brought tears to her eyes. "You saved me, Gwen. I owe you more than I can ever repay. I'm sure I'd be a sociopathic murderer in the Null Void, if it wasn't for you. I know I don't deserve you now, but I'm going to work myself raw to prove to everyone what you mean to me- that you're worth any sacrifice."

She propped herself up again to look in his beautiful endlessly black eyes as she lightly touched the pad of her thumb to his lower lip. Then she eliminated the distance between them and softly ghosted her lips across his before joining their mouths completely in a gesture that communicated everything she felt without a single word. When they broke for air, she pronounced lovingly with a coy smile, "Kevin Ethan Levin, you are the best graduation present ever!"

The raven-haired Osmosian shot a quick glance at Ben who apparently had heard, because he was grinning back at him.

He chuckled softly and gazed lovingly back down at his beautiful redhead. He couldn't keep the mocking sarcasm out of his voice for all he tried. "Jury's still out on that one, Gwen… Daddy's giving you a car.

He drowned out her surprised squeal with a kiss as Ben laughed.

FIN!