A/N: I've been wanting to get this done for months. It's similar to "Gwevin & Everything After" because it's set to a Counting Crows album and is a series of unrelated one-shots with one on-going theme. This album is "Recovering the Satellites" and will be set entirely in Kevin's POV and in different settings and time frames through their lives.

The reason I wanted to get this done was because Omniverse has majorly left Gwen and Kevin out, leaving their relationship very open-ended. And here's my contribution so that the fandom can recover the Gwevin and rekindle the love for the pairing even through the new series (:

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Song inspiration ("Daylight Fading") is by Counting Crows.

Daylight Fading

We've been dying for a few years now. I've wasted a lot of time and done a lot of crap. I'm pretty amazed by the fact that she's put up with my baggage for this long.

But tonight, she's packing her bags and heading back to normalcy, not even a second glance at the life she's leaving behind.

"Gwen, c'mon, I'll quit."

"No you won't." Her voice slices through me like a dagger and I want to go and hug her, but the fact that her eyes hold that faint purple hue of mana holds me back from any sudden movements. "You never quit. You can't quit. Dealing is like smoking or something to you, isn't it?"

"I'll swear on my father's grave." I even go the extra mile and cross my heart with one hand and offer up my most charming and innocent smile. "Gwen, just give me more time-"

"You've had years with me, and where are we?" She lifts her hands to the air and indicates to the flat we're living in, sparsely decorated, beaten down furniture, dead flowers outside on the minuscule balcony. Our home is a complete dump. At twenty-five, you'd think we'd be in a better place, not just our living situation but our lives as well. "Kevin, this isn't living."

I'm aware that she's a lesser priority than making cash or protecting the Earth, but she knows where she stands in my life and it's been this way for as long as I can remember. Even when we were teenagers. She's not the number one thing in my life; Gwen's always been aware of that. "Then let me take care of it."

She snorts her obvious annoyance and shoots me a glare filled with fiery hatred. Gwen pushes a few strands of hair behind one ear before saying, "You don't even take care of me, Kevin. Taking care of our home is even less important to you and don't even try to tell me otherwise." She drags open another dilapidated drawer and starts pulling out all of her belongings and even a few of mine, but she doesn't notice and just continues to cram it all into her already-overloaded suitcase. "I know where everything stands in your life, Kevin, and I'm sick of being treated as less."

Okay, so now I can see this is coming from that deeply seeded childhood problem of Ben always getting the glory. Maybe I can bring out the Lucky Girl suit and remind her that she's a lucky girl to have a lucky guy like me.

Such a long shot, but it sounds good in my head. Plan B, I guess.

"Gwen, can we have a civilized conversation? For ten minutes, just sit here and talk to me, face-to-face, human-to-human." I pat the bed beside me and give her the softest look I can manage, begging and pleading her to stay with me, even if just for a few moments longer. "We can talk about what we want to do and where we want to go with ourselves and how we need to change to get there and-"

One hand falls on her hip and all motion of packing ceases; it's a start. "You need to quit dealing. Find a real job with some real pay so we can get rid of my student loans and actually work on getting a semi-decent house with some semi-decent furniture and so that we can eat something that isn't bought illegally!"

"It's all bought legally, just-"

"Just with illegally obtained money." And she hustles right back into packing, shoving everything from panties to sweatshirts deep into that bag and trying to slam it shut. The clothing packed a mile high ruins the effect. "I've heard it before and I'm tired of listening to your excuses and lies."

She's just livid. Pissed beyond all explanation. I can't even describe this fury that's all over her face and body language. Irritation just prickles off her skin and the tension is palpable in the thick air of hot stress. Gwen is fired up and ready to rip the road alive with flames, leaving me in the smoke, dust, and ashes.

And I don't want her to go.

"Gwen, I love you," I tell her for the hundred billionth time. And I mean it. Never has a day gone by when I haven't been in love with Gwendolyn Catherine Tennyson. I married her for a reason. I kept her close for a reason. I've protected her for a reason. I have always loved Gwen, and I will never lie about something that I know is true. I have always loved her and I always will love her.

"No you don't, you lying bastard."

I don't know how to tell her, how to explain it, how to recover what is quickly falling from my grasp, but I know how I feel.

"You're cute when you sneeze," I tell her, spewing out all the things I love about this red-maned beauty that I haven't stopped thinking about since the day I laid eyes on her. "When you come out of the water like James Bond, you look kind of stupid but I think it's funny anyways. And when you get mad, like right now, your nose crinkles up sort of like a bunny."

"Kevin." Gwen shuffles anxiously for a few seconds, looking incredibly uncomfortable and conflicted.

I don't know what else to do but keep talking. I have to look away from her though. Her stare is making me nervous, and I almost feel flighty but suppress it because I'm here to stay and I want her to be too. "Your smile isn't flawless because one of your teeth doesn't quite meet the others, but it's beautiful and I wouldn't want you any other way. When you cry, I only want to hold you and hide you from the world because you hate crying. And your victory dance is stupid. But I love it because it's you."

She's stopped moving. "Stop it, Kevin."

"Back when you were in college, you kept biting the erasers off the pencils and I'd always go out and get you new pencils. And when we watched the sunset that one day on our Honeymoon, it was really cold when we had sex and I only wanted to go hide in the room but I didn't 'cause you wanted to be racy and do it on the lawn. And that hat you got for Christmas? It makes you look adorable and your eyes seem to glow but I'm not sure why. And-"

"You never complained."

I look over my shoulder at her; she's got one hand holding her other arm, and helplessness is scrawled across her perfect features. "What?"

"You never complained about the pencils." Her voice is small but strong. All frustration is gone. "We were flat broke and basically living off of ramen for almost two years and yet you still went out and got me new pencils without complaining about the habit and even without me asking." She swallows hard. "And you still managed to take me out to dinner every week."

I can't really explain love. I don't know what it is or how it works. I just know it is what it is and that what I have with Gwen is love, even if it's in its most chaotic, restless form. I believe this is love. With patience and time, I believe we can restore our faith in what we have. And it can be strong.

I sit there and quietly shrug, allowing my eyes to fall to the floor. "You may not believe me and I may not always treat you right, but I do love you, Gwen. I'd do anything. I'd follow you anywhere." It's my turn to swallow now. "I just want one more chance with you before we send all this up in flames."

There's a lingering silence that hangs between us like a phantom. We can feel it and hear it, but we cannot see it. And that spectre silence hangs in the air, haunting us both and filling us each with the fear and dread of what the next words may bring. And the spectre finally departs for a better place when Gwen finds her voice enough to ask, "What would you do if you saw a shooting star?"

"I'd wish for the world so I could give it to you." My response is instantaneous and I almost feel like the eloquence of it isn't even of my own speech, like maybe the spectre has come back and mimicked my own mouth.

There's that silence again and the spectre hasn't found its way to a better world yet. Maybe there isn't one.

"Look, I don't want to waste another year, Gwen. I want you to have a better life, that's the bottom line." Bile is in my throat, sticky and hot. The realization has dawned. "If having a better life means living without me, I'll leave. I'll keep up with rent on the flat until you're ready to head out on your own. I'll leave you alone and sign divorce papers, no fight. I'll just be gone if that's what you want." My chest is now on fire; I cannot imagine a life without Gwen and her auburn mane and her sweet-lipped kisses and her deliciously cute pout and her jade-hazed eyes and- "I'll take my clothes and leave if that's what you want." My keys are in my pocket and I reach for them and stand up; my legs are shaking. I jingle them as a show of good faith. "I'm going, alright?"

I don't even feel alive. I feel like I should just fall over and die. I'm losing the only thing I have ever truly wanted, the only thing that has never hurt me, the only girl I could ever fall so deeply in love with...

"Don't go," she whispers. Her voice is like the silkiest satin as diamond tears spill down her porcelain cheeks. "Kevin, I don't- I just- You-" And she can't look at me.

And I can't look at her. I know my own eyes are red and as I reach out beyond the pain of my throbbing pulse, I can feel the tears on my skin.

She finds air in her lungs again and through some sort of gasp-like sob, she asks, "Can we talk?"

Outside our window, the sun is just now rising above the purple-hued horizon. Daylight spills in through the window, painting her gorgeous face gold.

"Yeah," I say, recovering my senses and wiping tears from my eyes with the back of my hand. It'll be a few minutes before I recover fully from completely losing my composure. I sniffle loudly; she's still gold. "Yeah, let's talk."

A/N: Leave a review? Let's see if we can't recover the Gwevin, everyone (:

~Sky