The day had gone as usual. Little sleep after a late night of protecting Bellwood, followed by another day of the same. Kevin was even more of a jerk, flirted a bit with some other girls, but once he and Gwen shared an argument, they were okay.
Or so she thought.
Kevin, in a rare moment of vulnerability, looked up at Gwen and mumbled, "I don't deserve you."
Of course, she merely blinked at him, incredulous. "What?"
"I mean I don't…" his fingers ran through his thick hair, "I don't deserve you."
Gwen's brows furrowed, a mixture of concern and confusion. "What are you talking about?"
With a sigh, he slumped down on the hood of his car. "I'm a total jerk and a slob. Sometimes...sometimes it doesn't make sense why you even like me."
"Kevin," she breathed, "that's insane." She shook her head. "I can't believe you would even say that."
"It's true," he replied, "You've always been too good for me."
Gwen's mouth fell, her forehead creasing. His name emerged with the exhale through her lips. "We're equals."
Kevin's head started to lower. "You could have any guy you wanted. But instead you're wasting your time with me."
Him voicing the fears she was terrified to think he had was worse than a sucker punch to the face. Much worse. "The only guy I want is you. This relationship has never been a waste of my time. Not even for a second. I love you."
"But I'm a selfish jerk. You don't deserve a selfish jerk," Kevin replied. Though his voice was soft and vulnerable, it was heavy with self-loathing.
"You're not a selfish jerk." She dropped onto her knees in front of him, hands reaching out to grip his own. Admittedly, he was surprised he didn't pull away. "You're not the same person you used to be. Now, you may put on a rough exterior, but underneath that you're sweet and kind and loving and-"
"No, Gwen, I'm not."
"Yes you are. Because that's the person I fell in love with. You're the person I fell in love with. You save lives, you save the universe, you've helped Ben more times than anyone can count, you caught a movie star when she was falling from a building, you sacrificed yourself to stop Aggregor. A selfish jerk doesn't do those things."
His expression started to look more raw and desperate. Almost like he was struggling to uphold his point in the conversation. "I'm not-"
"You don't have to be a perfect person. You're allowed to make mistakes. We all do. But you don't need to beat yourself up over them." She gave his hands a squeeze.
"What I do wrong shouldn't go unpunished."
"You're only human, Kevin." Gwen nearly quirked the smallest smile. "Well, partially."
Kevin's voice was on the brink of sounding helpless. "I just...I screw up so much, Gwen."
She moved her hands to each of his cheeks, cupping the face making her heart clench. "It's okay. Everybody messes up. If you were perfect, you wouldn't be the man I love."