This is going to be a series of one shots, drabbles and whatever in between, that I end up writing for a challenge I'm doing. I figured keeping them in one place would be less annoying for everyone here. Everything is going to be Kevin/Gwen and romance/love themed, since that's what the challenge is about! :)

The prompt for this one is 'Nightmare'.

They Don't Fade.

Kevin had given up trying to get back to sleep. He peeled Gwen's arm from his chest and gently replaced it on the bed. Then he quietly slid out from underneath the covers and made his way out of the room. Before he left, he took a backwards glance at Gwen. She was so still that he could barely even see her body rise and fall with each breath she took.

Once in the kitchen, Kevin fixed himself a glass of water and didn't drink it. It was the same nightmare as usual. The same one that always left his mind reeling and eyes wide open. It was as if someone had butchered the movie reel of all his worst experiences; like they had cut them up and crudely pasted them together, with no concern for rhyme or reason. He had hoped that the images would have faded as he aged, but they didn't. They still woke him many a night, leaving him testy and tired the next day. Not that he would ever complain, certainly not to her anyway.

He looked out of the window; it was beginning to get light already. Kevin scowled and wondered if it was even worth going back to bed. He doubted he would be able to sleep anyway.

"So this is where you went."

Kevin turned and saw the outline of Gwen's small frame in the doorway. As she stepped a little closer he could see her eyes were tired and the strap of her nightdress had slipped down her arm. As usual her hair was more mussed on one side than it was on the other. It was always her left side.

He could not bear to look at her any longer, and so he turned back towards the window. The last thing he wanted was to introduce images of her to his already swimming head. He liked keeping her separate from his past.

Before he knew it, Gwen was behind him, laying a soft kiss on his bare back. Then she curled into his side, nuzzling into his upper arm and whispering that she loved him. He knew she was suspicious of his sleepless nights, but she never directly said anything, and for that he was thankful. He did not want to explain the blood and torn sinew of his dreams.

If his nightmares represented all that had gone wrong in his life, then she embodied all that was right. Gwen was beauty and love. The crunching of bone and the breaking of limbs paled against her milky skin and full lips. The nightmares were painful old memories, but she helped carve out new sweet ones.

"Let's go sleep." She said, withdrawing from his side slightly.

Kevin looked down at her sleepy face and decided to comply for her sake. She looked like she would appreciate a few more hours of sleep, and it would not kill him to lie in bed and feign slumber. So he kissed her forehead, replaced the thin white strap of her nightdress on her shoulder and followed her to bed.

--

As the couple lay with their bodies entangled, they both knew that the monsters were real, and that they were coming. Nightmares could come true. However, they understood that there was nothing they could do but hold on to one another until the darkness pried them apart.