[Fic] Shoulder to Cry On
Title: Shoulder to Cry On
Pairing: pre-Kevin/Ben
Rating: G
Summary: Hysterical crying, Kevin would later note, sounded a lot like hysterical laughing.
Notes: I'm having the week from Hell and I just don't feel like I'm doing anything right, so I figured I'd just write it up and get it out of my system. Completely un-beta'd.
Hysterical crying, Kevin would later note, sounded a lot like hysterical laughing.
They sounded similar, which was why he hadn't paid much attention. Ben was laughing. So what? He did a lot of that. He was a pretty happy guy overall, not even the thought that he had a potential universe-destroying bomb stuck to his wrist seemed to bring down his spirits.
Kevin had been prepared to walk on by, just keep going, until he heard Ben seem to choke for a minute and start coughing. He paused, listening to make sure that he was all right. Then he heard the sound again, unintelligible words mixed in with it all. Probably nothing to worry about, but it wouldn't hurt to take a peek.
As he poked his head around the corner, he saw Ben seated in a computer chair and bent over double, arms around his stomach, mouth open to release the increasingly disturbing laughter. The tears washing the younger teen's puffy red cheeks finally made Kevin notice that the sound he heard didn't have one ounce of humor in it.
He hesitated, torn between walking on as if he'd seen nothing, going inside, or just going to get Gwen. He was a guy, Ben was a guy. Guys generally preferred dealing with any issues they were having alone. It was how they did things.
But when Ben started gasping for air, rocking back and forth, Kevin walked over to him. He said nothing, just crouching down in front of the Tennyson boy and wrapping his arms around him. Ben immediately leaned close, continuing to sob into his shoulder. Regardless of the fact that he was already precariously-balanced on the balls of his feet, the larger teen started rocking the young hero back and forth, wishing he could do more.