Authors Note: I own nothing, and no one. This story is several chapters long at least, each basically dealing with the unfolding of Dom and Kel's relationship, and reactions of different characters to the news. This chapter is basically Dom and Kel's, plus a little Owen. So far, I'm have mostly written Neal, Peachblossom, Raoul, Wolset and Fulcher, with others planned. Feel free to make suggestions for other characters to include their reactions. in your reviews. Hope you like it!

It was far past midnight, but the celebrations were still in full swing, with people still trickling in and out of the different rooms of the party, some a little unsteadily. The rooms of Fort Steadfast were unusually full, owing to the number of guests present at the joint weddings of Lord Sir Raoul of Golden Lake and Malorie's Peak, Commander of the King's Own to Buriram Tourakom, former Commander of the Queen's Rider, and Sir Nealan of Queenscove, of Tortall, to Lady Yukimi noh Daiomoru, of the Yamani Isles.

It was a bright and festive atmosphere despite the war that was still being fought around them, with pockets of people still standing around or sitting, chatting amiably. In one corner sat Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan, sometimes called the Protector of the Small, more commonly called Kel, discussing centaurs with Harailt of Aili.

For the occasion, she had worn a dress for the first time in a very long time, after being recruited into the position the maid of honour for Neal and Yuki's half of the wedding party. The cream coloured silk was embroidered with griffins in gold and red, and while she had initially protested, Yuki had assured her the colours suited her very well, and that the maid of honour to her wedding would not be wearing a tunic, so she had relented.

She paused for a moment to savour the atmosphere, full of bright candles, music and scented logs burning on the crackling hearth. It was a welcome change from the roughhewn conditions of late, and the fact that she had unbent so far as to indulge in a glass or two of cider helped her appreciation of the festivities, though she normally chose not to indulge in spirits of any kind. It was admittedly a bit loud from all the conversation, but she didn't mind too much.

"Harailt!" A noble Kel didn't recognize called out, walking over. Recognizing an end to the conversation, she took another drink from her glass before putting it down and wandering away, looking around the room. It was probably good to put the glass down. She'd had quite enough for one night. Was that her second glass, or third?

Shaking her head at herself, her eyes fell upon her longtime friend and comrade, Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle, cousin of the groom, and Kel immediately smiled. She liked Dom, with his easy manner and jokes. He was nice to talk to, and someone she normally felt very… comfortable around.

Dom turned towards her and met her eyes. Suddenly, Kel broke the gaze, feeling inexplicably and acutely conscious of the fact that she was wearing a dress that was admittedly somewhat very low in the bodice, was really very well fitted, and… She really had drunk far too much that night, hadn't she? It was definitely good that she put the cider glass down. She wasn't drunk, exactly, but she had certainly had enough. It probably was her third. Spaced over an evening, certainly, but quite enough.

Dom seemed to be taking very purposeful steps toward her when he was waylaid by a limping Captain Flyndan Whiteford, who grabbed his arm and pulled him aside to talk.

Kel noticed a flash of chagrin on Dom's face before a tipsy Owen of Jesslaw greeted her with his usual boisterous enthusiasm, then some.

"Kel! How are you? Sorry I didn't say hello earlier, I had to go run a message for Lord Wyldon and then I had to go to do something else, and then I was talking to Margarry, and she is so nice and has eyes like a forest and she told me that one of m'lord's dogs is going to have pups again and I thought maybe I could go look but I thought it was too early to leave because there were so many people still here and it looked like you were having a good conversation so I didn't really want to …"

Kel interrupted, knowing that if she didn't, he would probably go on all night.

"It's quite alright, Owen, really. I'm well, thank you for asking."

Owen grinned. "Good, Kel. Oh, wait, we received update from Frasrlund you might want to hear about…"

She spent a little while listening to the latest update from the progress of the war. It was somewhat hard to concentrate on the conversation, and it was getting very hot in this room. Kel realized to her infinite embarrassment that she was feeling slightly faint. It was likely the heavy perfume from the braziers. Certainly that would have been it.

"Excuse me for a moment, Owen?" She said politely, before quietly making her way through the groups and slipping out the door.

She walked for a few minutes along the well-lit hallways until she located an arrow slit, and leaned against it for a while, letting the crisp air wash over her, carrying a hint of woodsmoke and fresh snow. Feeling a bit better, she turned to go and very neatly collided with Dom.

As she stumbled slightly, he grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet again, before looking up at her, their eyes meeting for the second time that evening, and he kept holding on to her arm for a few second longer than was absolutely necessary, but it was him that broke the gaze first. His very broad shoulders went down imperceptibly, and he seemed to be about to turn and go back the way he came, as if he had lost his nerve for whatever he had seemed so intent on doing.

"Dom." She said with a nod, her arm tingling where he had touched.

"Kel." He replied in kind, before shifting to let her pass in the hallway. "Sorry about that."

It took a moment for her to realize he meant bumping her. "No… It's fine…." Kel mumbled, feeling uncomfortable.

"How are you, Dom?" She said suddenly. "We haven't really had a chance to talk since… Scanra. Thank you for helping, because I know you didn't have to because Raoul was telling me about asking the squads and he said it was volunteer only and you came after me when I thought it wasn't just going to be me and my dogs and the sparrows and…" Kel trailed off. She was rambling. Why was she rambling? None of the words that were coming out of her mouth made a great deal of sense.

"Kel, you know I would do anything for… I mean, the…" Dom trailed off too, and was silent for a moment. Kel was beginning to feel uncomfortable about the intensity of his gaze, before he continued on.

"Listen. I have something to say to you, something I should have said for quite sometime, so please hear me out, and let me say it. If you don't feel the same way, then I will respect that, and we'll forget we had this conversation, blame it on the wine, or moonlight silliness, but… Please."

He took a deep breath, and Kel blinked. Was Dom saying what she thought she was saying? No, he wouldn't be saying that. Would he be saying that? What was he saying? This was very confusing.

"There was always a reason I shouldn't say anything. I didn't even realize at first, it likely wasn't until at least your second year as a squire, but there was still the age difference, which always make things more… complicated, and the fact that Raoul had made it very clear that he was fully prepared to castrate anyone who even thought of taking any sort of advantage. And then there was… Kennan." He said somewhat bitterly.

Cleon. Why did he have to bring Cleon up? Raoul had said that? That was nice. Nice. Dom was nice. He said nice things.

And he was speaking again, "And anyone with half an eye could tell that you two were, well, and I wasn't going to get in the way. He was more your age and you'd known him longer and he was going to be a knight and I'm just a younger son who couldn't even think of marriage or any sort of honourable relationship that didn't at least have that possibility open without losing my position in the Own because the Own only allows unmarried men and I couldn't say anything then, I just couldn't."

Kel looked at Dom. He looked back. "You're babbling." She said bluntly. Was that rude? Maybe it had been. What was he saying?

"Kel, I'm sorry, I should have said anything, I'll just…" He half-turned as if to go, but she grabbed his arm.

"No, don't… I mean, go on. It's alright. I just sit down right here and listen to you." She mumbled, half-falling onto the bench beside her, still hanging onto his arm and laughing slightly.

"Are you drunk, Kel? I mean, I shouldn't, not if you're…"

"Are you going to talk or not?" Kel demanded. "You've fought and rode with me for how many years and now you're treating me like I'm some sort of weak-kneed female? Dom. Speak."

"What? Oh, right. And then we went up North, and we were in battle, and I couldn't let it distract you because I couldn't bear anything happening to you and there was still Kennan, and then you went off for your Ordeal and I didn't see you for months and then I saw you again and heard about Kennan's engagement and I meant to say something that last night I was at Haven, but I was just leaving and it didn't seem right to do it that way so all I could end up saying wasn't really much."

He finally took another breath, before continuing. "And then we were in Scanra, and we were in enemy territory, and I was under your command, and again, I just couldn't bear the thought that anything I said about…. us…. might distract you and then we got back and we haven't really talked since and just last week Raoul told me he is considering stepping down as active field commander of the Own, because he wants to raise a family with Buri. And he asked him to be his successor, because Flyndan took a bad leg wound in a skirmish and he thinks I'm the best choice."

"The point is, it got me really thinking about the future, and how the Commander of the Own can marry, and I'm not asking you to marry me because Mithros knows I'm not ready to get married yet, but the point is, Kel, I…."

Kel was reasonably certain what he was discussing now. She also realized Dom smelt nice, of armour polish and saddle oil, horses and herbal soap.

Pulling sharply on the arm she was holding, Kel pulled Dom down to a sitting position beside her and put a finger to his lips. "Dom? Stop blathering and kiss me already. Please."

It was a suggestion that Dom was only too happy to oblige, and he began to do so, when a voice sounded from around the corner.

"Kel? Are you alright? Dom was looking for you earlier…" Owen of Jesslaw trailed off, as he turned the corner. He turned beet-red, and mumbled, "Oh, uh… He found you then?" before suddenly grinning and turning around abruptly.

"I knew it!" He crowed.

The knight and sergeant barely noticed.