A/N: This totally did not turn out like I wanted it to. I mean, at all! As so often, no plot and mostly fluff. Please enjoy anyway :)
"They're not going away, are they?" It's Daphne's heartbroken face that gives Niles' pause. He no longer cares what happens to him. He's already made it through one dirty divorce, he knows he can do it again. This time, after all, he knows it's even more worth it. But there's Daphne. His beautiful, brilliant Daphne. Who has just run away, left her fiancé at the altar and he knows her; she doesn't do something like this lightly. So here they are and there's her face and she expects him to make a decision.
And all he can think about is how lucky he is. How much he loves this woman.
"I'll do whatever you want to do." Niles tells her. It is unfair to throw the decision right back at her, but she's so obviously better at this than he is. The phone rings again violently, reminding them that time is working against them. The longer they stay in this driveway, the closer they come to being discovered by someone.
"I can't go back there. Not now." Awkwardly, Daphne smoothes down invisible wrinkles on her wedding dress.
"Then we'll just see where we end up."
As it turns out, the tank is almost empty and they never make it all that far. The blinking red light mocks them, almost dares them to turn around and do the right thing. Except there is no right or wrong here, Niles knows. The whole situation is too tangled and way too complicated to figure out when his brain is high on love.
"There's nothing here." Daphne tells him, looking out the window.
"We need gas." Niles breathes deeply as a means to calm himself. He feels the panic rise in his throat stealing all his breath.
"The good thing is that no one will look for us here." What would he have done without Daphne's smile? This time (and forever from now on, it chimes in his mind) her smile is full of love for him. It's a new shade; a new color and he's only beginning to see it, to understand it.
"You want to stay in here?" He's always known how to destroy a moment.
"I thought – maybe we could just… talk a little?" The blush on her face is accentuated by the white of her dress. And Niles cheeks color in sympathy, because that thought hasn't even crossed his mind. At least not today. Sleeping with Daphne has been a fantasy for so long and he's pictured it in so many ways – never like this, though. Niles wants their first time to be special. Not while she's wearing a wedding dress intended to make another man happy. And not while there's a ring around his finger binding him to another woman.
"I-I-I wasn't thinking of- I wasn't – I really didn't…" He's talking himself into a vicious circle, but to his greatest delight and relief, she smiles at him.
"I know," Daphne says and takes his hand, "I just can't – it's a little embarrassing, but…" She trails off, looks away and then finally her eyes meet his again and Niles forgets words even exist.
"They- everyone says this has been going on for years?" She poses it as the question, because how can she be sure? It seems so unlikely that someone has been in love with her for so many years – and she just didn't see it. It is up to Niles now to tell her the truth. To tell her everything. He can do that. Now. She is here because of him and what she, too, wants them to be.
"Niles?" His name sounds so new when she says it. There's a special ring to it, painted with all she's ever experienced and her very own speech pattern. It's simply beautiful.
"Yes. Yes, of course. We haven't had the time yet to talk about… all of this. I-I understand."
"Then tell me." Daphne nudges him with a soft smile.
"Where do I start?"
"How about at the beginning?"
"That would be the first time I ever saw you. When Frasier introduced us."
"Be serious, Niles." Daphne says but laughs. A beautiful sound; a woman in love.
"I am!" She gently (not really, because she really is stronger than he ever could be) hits his arm and Niles laughs, because he thinks this could be their thing. This is not the first time she does this and now he knows it won't be the last time either. He can't help but grin, despite knowing that this conversation that's about to happen might not be easy. For either of them.
"You're right," he says and takes her hand. They can't do this standing around like two misplaced cardboard boxes. Niles is not a big fan of the Winnebago, but the small sitting area with the window is nice and cozy enough. Daphne's dress rustles as they both sit down.
"You're right," he repeats and when he realizes that he has Daphne's undivided attention, he pauses because this moment feels so heavy, so important that he needs another breath, more air. Before he can tell her. Everything.
"I did not fall in love with you that day. But you were that proverbial breath of fresh air. I wasn't fully aware of it back then, but my life was so empty. Up until that day, I followed all the rules, pretended my life with Maris was next to perfect. Then I saw you and you were so different from everything I knew. And no, I didn't fall in love with you that day. I fell in love with your radiance, that air of hopefulness and your beauty." Niles hardly dares to look at Daphne, afraid he has already said too much. The tears that swim in her eyes would worry him, except there is a smile playing around her lips too.
"I can't tell you what day it was. The day I did fall in love with you. But one day I realized that you… I was constantly thinking about you. I was constantly wondering what you were doing. I couldn't go a day without seeing you. I tried to deny it, I tried to move on," he swallows remembering Mel, who right now is waiting for him somewhere. She has no idea he's already left her emotionally. They're both in their Honeymoon stage; separately.
"No matter what I did, in the end thoughts of you would always sneak up on me."
"But you never said anything. All these years." Her voice is as much tinged with amazement as it is with confusion.
"I couldn't. I mean, I was married to Maris. And then I was always… I was so scared, Daphne," he takes her hands into his because he can do that now and he needs her to understand how much being with her means to him, "the thought of losing you turned me into a coward every time I thought I'd finally found my courage. I never quite dared to risk our friendship out of fear that I'd lose you."
"Oh, Niles," Daphne is a blubbering mess with tears falling from her face and Niles doesn't even realize he's crying until Daphne gently wipes his tears away, "You could have told me. You never would have lost me. We are friends, right?" He nods.
"See? That will never change."
"I'm so sorry, Daphne. I deprived us of so many-" Daphne puts a finger on his lips to stop him. She's smiling through her tears; like the sun breaking through the sky after a rainy morning.
"Let's not dwell on the past. We're here now and we're together now. Think we can make up for all the years we've missed?" There's a twinkle in her eyes he's never seen before. Niles' heart swells knowing there are still so many things to discover, to learn about her. And he knows he still owes her so many explanations. But right now, he can't wait to finally start their future together.
"I-I think we can." He captures her lips with his and nothing has ever felt so right. Except… except there is something that's holding them back. Like strings attached to their backs, trying to separate them. It's the past, it's all the complications they're trying to run away from. Their feelings are not wrong; they way they're doing this, however, is.
"Niles…" It's in Daphne's eyes and it's written there as clearly as anything he's ever read. He keeps holding on to her hands, wait for the words he doesn't want to hear. Despite knowing how right they are.
"We have to go back, don't we?"
"I'm afraid so." Their family will be on their side (Frasier did set this in motion, after all), but they're about break two hearts. In some way, Daphne loved Donny. Maybe still has lingering feelings that Niles knows he can't be jealous about (but he is, anyway). He knows Mel means something to him and he's grateful for their time together, because for a while he thought he could build a life with her (maybe). But she's not Daphne and she's where his heart is rooted. Forever.
"I'm going to call Frasier and tell him to pick us up." Before Niles can pick up his cell phone, Daphne stops him.
"I love you, you know." She tells him.
"I love you too." He replies and he can't wait for the whole world to know it too.
THE END