Title: Suddenly
Pairing; A little bit of Steve/Catherine only to prove my point,but you know I'm a faithful McKono shipper.
Disclaimer: Blah whatever. The only one who is completely mine is Maggie, she does show up eventually
Spoilers: None

A/N: This came completely out of the blue. I was finishing the last touches of my last fic and then, while I was lying wide awake in my bed, this story came up (at 3am) I had to wait til next day to type it up, but then next day I uninspired (besides my mother was being like extra desperate for my help) and I had to wait til NEXT day to actually do something with the idea in my head. So now here it is!

This fic was inspired by the song "Suddenly" by Billy Ocean. Beautiful piece of work, I swear. If you haven't heard it, do it. You won't regret it.

Off to read now my lovelies!

I've never seen Steve happier, truth be told. Ever since Catherine came back he has been smiling more, telling jokes even, and laughing with us. He looked chipper and more energetic than I've seen in a very long time. I guess that means he's in love.

And then there's Catherine who everyone seems to adore, including me. She is fun, sweet and she is the type of woman you could talk to for hours and hours and she to seems to be very much in love with Steve. Besides, she understood the complications of being with someone whose job is as complicated as ours so I figure that's why he was so in love.

"Okay, so you owe me lunch," I say to Steve and he frowns, obviously confused, "because I told you the suspect was the real deal? C'mon how could you possibly forget?"

"I didn't. I mean I haven't," he says, "I thought you were joking!"

"I never joke when it comes to making bets, Steve. You should know that by now," I smile at him and he smiles back. We look at each other for a brief second and I feel my cheeks turning a soft shade of pink at the way his eyes shine.

"Yeah, I should have known better. So when do you want to have lunch? Today or tomorrow?"

I look at my watch, it's 2:30 and my stomach rumbles. I guess I should have had breakfast this morning.

"Now it is, I suppose," he says and I nod. "Let's go then…"

He stops midsentence when Catherine walks into the headquarters. He was surprised but happy. They hug and I stand aside not knowing what to do, because I obviously feel like I'm interrupting a love scene from a romantic movie.

Awkward.

"What are you doing here?" he asks and Catherine smiles sweetly.

"I thought I should drop by and ask my boyfriend out for lunch."

"Oh…" he looks at me with an apologetic look. "Well, I was about to have lunch with Kono."

"You were?" she asks, obviously surprised and there's no way to deny the hint of jealousy I see in her eyes.

"It was a bet," I explain, not wanting this whole conversation to be misunderstood, "I told him our suspect was the actual murderer and I was right, so he owes me lunch. But don't worry about it, I'm not even THAT hungry."

I'm starving, but whatever. And yes I was looking forward to having lunch with Steve, just us and not the team.

"Are you sure? 'Cause you could come with us."

I could have said yes, clearly, but the way Catherine was looking at me with pleading eyes made me back away. Clearly she had plans for them and I was obviously not included.

"No, don't worry about it. Have fun."

I turn around towards my office and they walk towards the door holding hands, smiling at each other. I feel like someone has just punched me in my stomach and as much as I don't want to admit it, it's pure envy. I'm sure Catherine has no idea how lucky she is for having such a man by her side. For a brief second I fantasize about being the one holding his hand, but when I snap back to reality I see how ridiculous my wishes are.

I have to stop wishing for someone who will never be mine.

"Where did our super ninja go?" Danny asks; the hours have passed ridiculously fast and I still find myself alone in my office.

"He went out to lunch with Catherine," I answer, not lifting my head from my still unfinished report. I suck at doing this when my brain is someplace else.

"Which explains why you are so heartbroken and sad."

"What?" I snap my head towards him and he smiles amusingly.

"It's okay, Kono, I know. Don't worry"

"You know what exactly?"

"About your feelings for Steven."

"I don't…" I sight heavily "I don't have feelings for him. We're just friends, just like you and I."

"Right," he says not convinced at all.

"Right. So get that thought out of your head."

"I will, except you're a terrible liar."

"Danny…"

"What? There's absolutely nothing wrong with having feelings for someone…"

"Yeah, except that someone is my boss, and he has a girlfriend who is truly fantastic, who also is very much in love."

"I know what you're getting at. Catherine is a great woman. You like her; she's like your new girlfriend now, and you having feelings for Steve makes everything a little bit complicated. I understand it. But that doesn't mean it's wrong. Besides, he doesn't have to know, right?"

"Right." I reply and he nods.

"It will be our little secret."

"I wouldn't call it little."

"Ok, fine. I'll call it our BIG secret, a top secret-secret."

"That's better," I smile and he hugs me, the small sweet gesture bringing tears to my eyes. "Promise me you won't tell him. Please, I need to hear you say you'll promise."

"Of course. Don't worry about it. I promise I won't tell Steve you love him."

TBC

I wanna friend like Danny...just sayin...give me love!