Face Your Fear
DoubleKK
A/N: Yes, you read it right. I'm going to be attempting –gulp- Kairy. This plot bunny attacked me late at night (as most do) and I couldn't resist writing it. I never thought I'd be writing crack pairings, though.
So get ready for a sappy, romantic, makes-you-wanna-hurl fluffy oneshot. It's also got a few attempts at humour. That's all I seem to be writing these days...fluff or humour. I really should try something serious. Kay, I vow to write a story with some depth to it in the next few...years. Ahem. Well, then you can all watch me fail miserably at that. Onwards to the story!
"Please, Mary?"
"No."
Kai looked pleadingly at the dark haired girl in front of him, who was lounging on a beach towel. "But why, Mary? It's not like you're going to get a sunburn from twenty minutes in the water."
Mary crossed her arms stubbornly over her long-sleeved sundress concealing her conservative one piece. "I already told you Kai. I have ridiculously fair skin that could burn in less than twenty minutes. Why should I risk it just to splash around in the water?"
"Aw, come on. I think you'd look hot with a sunburn. Literally." Kai chuckled at his own joke. She rolled her eyes. "Please? I give you a snow cone." He offered, as if the treat would be too tempting to resist.
"No, I don't want a snow cone. Now you run along and go play in the water by yourself. I'll be fine here." Mary adjusted her sunhat and picked up the novel on the side of the beach blanket. Kai stuck out his bottom lip and sulked away like a kicked puppy. He gave an overly dramatic sigh as he removed his bandana. Mary suppressed a giggle.
Kai... wasn't someone she'd ever expect to be interested in. He was a genuine charmer, and didn't usually focus on which girl he was charming. He was very handsome...she couldn't help but admire his defined muscles and broad shoulders as he removed his shirt...
Yes...definitely not someone she'd end up with.
Mary figured she would fall for someone like Gray; shy and sweet, who loved books just as much as she did. But Gray's heart had been stolen by the blonde farmer, Claire, who's sweet and bubbly personality counteracted his shy and somewhat stubborn one perfectly. They were made for each other.
It was actually Claire who made her notice Kai in the first place. She had dragged her to Beach Day against her will, claiming that time out of the library would be healthy for her. Mary had protested,
arguing that the sun wasn't good for her skin, but Claire refused to hear it. Once at the beach, Kai had approached them with a cheesy pickup line that she still remembered to date:
"I hope one of you knows CPR, because you ladies take my breath away."
Being not used to this kind of attention from the opposite sex, Mary had blushed madly and stared at her feet. Claire simply rolled her eyes at his lame attempts. Noticing Mary's weakness to his flirting, Kai had endlessly poured on the charm. At some point Mary wished that she had the self confidence to come back with something smart alecky, but was too afraid he would be offended. Unlike Karen, who upon his attempts to hit on her, just smirked and said, "Not a chance, pretty boy."
But upon getting to know the traveler, she had discovered that there was more to his ladies man persona and good looks. He was surprisingly kind and gentle, and dropped the cheesy act after a while. He would come to the library most days, genuinely interested in what she was reading, though he never read himself. It wasn't long before she had fallen in love with his softer side, not expecting him to feel the same. But she was wrong.
Lost in her train of thought, Mary didn't notice that Kai had crept up behind her. "Whatcha readin'?" he whispered in her ear.
She jumped at the sound of his voice. "Goddess Kai, you scared me!" He smirked. "My apologies, milady." He said in a fairly decent old English accent. "Now would be kind enough to inform me of the book you are currently reading?"
"Um..." looking at the page she was turned to, she realized that she had just been staring at the words blankly. "Twilight."
"Haven't you already read that one?"
"What's your point?"
He chuckled and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, guess what?"
"What?" she smiled, playing along.
"You're coming in the water with me."
"What?" she asked, horrified. "No, Kai, I already said-" Mary shrieked as he swept her up in to his arms easily and started carrying her towards the dock. She struggled to free herself from him, but he didn't seem to notice nor care.
"Stop squirming." He said, sounding amused as she started thrashing with all her strength.
"No Kai, you don't understand!"
They had reached the end of the dock, and he still had the struggling girl firmly in his arms. "So, are you ready for a swim, Miss Mary?"
"NO!"
"What's the matter? Is wittle Mawry afwraid of the big scawry ocean?" he teased in a baby voice. "Uh oh, it might gobble you up for lunch!" Mary narrowed her eyes menacingly, which look even scarier than normal considering she wasn't wearing her glasses. Kai's smile faded when he noticed how mad she looked. "What? What's wrong?"
"You want to know what's wrong, Kai?" she said loudly, making him wince at the acid in her tone. "Sometimes you need to learn when you keep your oversized mouth shut!"
He stared at her, so shocked that his firm hold on her loosened. She disentangled herself from his arms and stormed back to the blanket, where she put her sunhat back on so it hid her face.
Kai blinked and continued staring at her in surprise. He had never seen Mary so...aggressive before. She was usually so shy and quiet, and he wasn't used to this side of her. And he had to admit...he kind of liked it. The usually conserved librarian looked particularly hot when she was all worked up like that, even if it was because of him...
Focus, Kai, focus! This is no time for dirty thoughts!
He wandered back over to the blanket and sat down next to her cautiously. "Mares?" he asked softly.
"What?" she huffed, not looking at him.
"Are you afraid of water?" he asked carefully, not wanting to set off another outburst.
She didn't answer. "Mares?" he said again.
Mary sighed and finally turned to him. "Yes, I have hydrophobia, fear of water." She said quietly.
Kai frowned. "Well, why didn't you tell me? I never would have tried to force you to swim if you were afraid of water!" he said somewhat exasperatedly. Mary raised her eyebrows dangerously. "I mean, I am so, SO sorry Mary. I had no idea" he said quickly, giving her his best puppy dog face.
She couldn't hold back a small smile. It was hard to stay mad at Kai for too long. "You know, it's not gentleman like to handle a lady the way you did, especially against her will." She said in a posh manner.
"My deepest apologies, madam. I should be hanged for such an act of carelessness." He kissed her hand gently and bowed his head.
"Alright, you're forgiven, you didn't know. It's just I've never liked water...I never even learned how to swim..." she trailed off thoughtfully.
Kai shuddered at the thought of what would have happened had he ignored her pleas and tossed her off the dock...no. He couldn't bear to think of it. He brought his hand to her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. He would never forgive himself if he let something happen to her. "I am SO sorry Mary."
She closed her eyes at his touch. "I've already said, you're forgiven. It's just that it's kind of embarrassing. I sometimes wish that I could swim and get over my stupid fear..."
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, everyone's afraid of something." He wrapped his arm around her waist and paused thoughtfully. "You know, I could teach you."
Mary's eyes fluttered open. "Teach me to swim?" she looked over to the ocean. "I don't know about that..."
"It'll be good for you to get over your fear, Mary. Besides, you wouldn't have to worry; we'd only have to go in about waist height. I would make sure nothing happens to you." He gave her the irresistible puppy dog eyes once again. She refused to look at him.
"Wait! I have an idea!" Kai said excitedly. He got up and practically ran to his sea shack restaurant. Mary watched him go, amused at his enthusiasm.
He returned holding a purple kick board, looking very proud of himself, a childlike grin upon his handsome features. "Look, this will keep you from sinking! I have it just in case anyone was drowning and I needed to save them." He stuck out his chest, trying to look manly.
"Oh, it's purple. How very fitting."
He ignored her smart comment. "Are you going to try it or not?"
"What is it with you and purple anyway? Does it make you feel royal?"
"Stop trying to change the subject."
Mary sighed. "Okay, Mr. Baywatch." Though a genuinely laid back person, Kai could be very persistent when he wanted to. And his big brown eyes staring at her weren't helping either.
"You'll do it?"
"If you want me to so badly, then yes."
"Alright!" Kai said happily. He took her hand and led her to the edge of the water. He paused, and then his face suddenly turned serious. "I promise, I'm not going to let anything happen to you." His gaze was suddenly so intense; she couldn't help but believe him.
"I swear Kai, if I die, I'm going to kill you." Mary growled. He raised his eyebrows.
Yes. He definitely liked this side of her.
Kai tugged on her arm gently, urging her to take a step in the water. She cautiously dipped the top of her foot into the small waves kissing the shore. It was surprisingly warm. Kai slowly helped her, not letting go of her hand the whole time. This isn't so bad... Mary thought, when they had reached about waist-height. Then she took back the thought as her foot touched something slimy. She shrieked.
"What is it?" Kai asked, sounding panicky.
"I stepped on something! I'm okay...I think it was sea weed or something." She said, staring down at her feet suspiciously. "You didn't tell me there was...stuff on the ocean floor!"
He chuckled. "Hey, you're the librarian. You should know this stuff."
"Yes, but still..." Mary grumbled. Kai smiled and handed her the kick board. "So, how you doing so far? Nervous?"
"Yes, very much so. But it's a bit better with you here." She admitted.
"Yes, you should me perfectly safe with me here. There's not even an under toe, the worst that could happen is getting pinched by a crab." He teased. Mary's eyes widened. "I was kidding!" he said quickly.
"You better have been..."
Kai cleared his throat. "Okay, now just grab the kickboard with both hands, it'll keep you floating-"
"But..." Mary eyed the hand that was still intertwined with his. "Could you please?" she asked softly, looking at him hopefully.
"What? Oh..." he looked down, and understood what she wanted. "Of course, Mares." She smiled at him. "Okay, now just grab the board with your other hand and the rest of your body can be leaning on it." She did as he instructed. "Good, now take your feet of the ground and put your weight on the board."
She hesitated, taking a deep breath. "I'm here." He whispered, giving her a reassuring look. Mary mentally prepared herself before taking her feet off the wet sand.
She closed her eyes, waiting to get sucked under by her feet. But they just floated there limply and she remained on the kickboard, with Kai still holding her hand tightly.
"There ya go." He said, with a smile.
"I'm not drowning!"
"Of course not!" he scoffed playfully. "The waters not even above your head. And Mr. Baywatch is here to protect you, of course." He said proudly. "Now, kick to move yourself forward."
Mary did as she was told and used her legs to propel herself towards deeper water slowly. "Don't let go." She warned Kai.
"Not a chance."
When they had reached a depth where the water was up to Kai's elbows, the nerves began to return again. "Can we go back now?" she asked, eyeing the deeper water. He nodded.
"Okay. But do you want to try something without the board now?" She looked even more frightened, so he quickly said, "No, not actual swimming yet. Do you think you could handle floating on your back for a minute or so?"
Mary hesitated before answering. "I guess so...I can't use this stupid purple thing forever, can I?"
They slowly made their way back to where the water was about thigh deep, and Mary surrendered the board to Kai. He tossed it back on to shore. "Are you ready for this?"
"No, but I'm going to do it anyways." Mary said, trying to sound confident. "Okay, so how is this going to work?"
"Well, you're going to have to get your hair wet."
"Oh, what a horrible tragedy."
Kai helped her kneel down into the water, with one hand on the small of her back and the other still wrapped tightly around hers. Mary gave a sharp intake of breath as a small wave swept up and briefly covered her mouth, but didn't say anything. "Alright, now what?"
"You have to lean back so your head is resting on the water, and then spread out your feet. I'll support your back so you don't sink."
"Okay." Mary closed her eyes and leaning back until her head touched the water, her hair spreading out on the surface. She quickly lifted her knees off the ocean floor so she was floating flat on the top. Mary concentrated very hard on not moving, letting the sun warm her face, its brightness leaking through her eyelids.
"It's kind of relaxing, ya know?" Kai said distantly. "I come out here just to think sometimes."
"Mmm."
Kai kept a hand under her back until she was balanced. Mary layed there very still, letting the waves roll her up and down. He admired how beautiful she looked, her raven hair spread out all around her and her glasses off for once. He brushed his free hand over her cheek.
"Don't let go." She said without opening her eyes. He tightened his grip on her hand. "Don't let go..." she repeated, so soft he could barely hear it, and he briefly realized she wasn't just talking about her hand anymore. He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose.
"Never."
--
Mary stood on the edge of the dock dripping wet, staring out at the view. She could finally appreciate the beauty of the ocean, no longer a blue monster waiting to suck her under its rouge waters. She hadn't exactly gotten over her fear... she was still terrified at the thought of drowning. But she could
tolerate wading into the sea once in a while. She had faced her fear. And she wouldn't have been able to do that without Kai.
She was wringing out her hair when he emerged from his restaurant, holding a huge blue towel. He came up to her and flashed his perfect teeth. "Where's mine?" she said indignantly.
He wordlessly took a step toward her and pulled her into his hard chest, wrapping the large towel around both of them. He rested his head on her shoulder and sighed with content. "It's so beautiful, isn't it?" Mary said quietly, staring out at the setting sun.
"Sure is." Kai said into her ear. "But the oceans nice to, don't you think?"
Mary blushed and leaned back her head to rest on his. "Haven't heard that line yet." She said trying to sound annoyed, but was too flattered to really care.
"I've got lots of them. All original, too."
"I highly doubt that."
"Okay, maybe not all of them. But enough of them to charm pretty girls like yourself."
Mary rolled her eyes. "Hey...thanks for helping me today." She whispered.
"No problem. Hey, maybe after a while, you won't make such a fuss next time I throw you off the dock."
"Next time? There's not going to be a next time, Mister. I'd appreciate if you never make me swim against my will."
"Naw, you'll be willing enough. I'll have you swimming like a pro in no time."
Mary said nothing for a minute, listening to the waves against the shore and seagulls in the distance. She felt the happiest in Kai's arms than anywhere else, and she never wanted to leave them. "Hey..."
"Mmm?"
"Don't ever throw me off the dock, okay?"
"Sure, sure." He replied nonchalantly, kissing the edge of her ear gently and brushing his nose along the inner ridges. She shuddered. "Wait, don't I get a kiss for helping you face your fear?" he said hopefully.
Mary smiled deviously and turned to him. "Of course you do, darling." she said. Trying her best to sound seductive. Kai seemed to think so. His eyebrows shot up and he snaked is arms around her waist. She smiled and leaned in until her lips were just barley touching his...
And then she sent him tumbling off the dock.
Wow..that was the longest oneshot I've ever done (3141 words! Holy crap!). And it was so sickenly sweet I almost decided not to post it. Did I seriously write that? Ugh.. I think I'm gonna hurl. Anyways... Kairy isn't as strange as I'd thought it'd be... I like it better than Grary, but not nearly as much as Graire 3. It still cute, for a crack pairing. But it's probably going to be the only crack pairing I use in any of my other stories (though I've already screwed myself for Sibling Rivalry, seeing as I've made Kai a man-whore .) because it's the only one I like. Cliff and Popuri still scares the hell outta me XD
Anyways, I was thinking about making this a twoshot, with Kai's fear in the next chapter. But it's been a real pain in the ass trying to figure out what he would be afraid of, and I still haven't decided. But if you guys think that it's worth writing, I'll give it a shot!
KK