The Only
by: raile

Summary: It took five knocks before the door of his hotel room opened.
Disclaimer: the ones you don't know are mine, the ones you do aren't.
Rating: K/K+

It took five knocks before the door of his hotel room opened.

She felt a guilty pang as she took him in—eyes heavy, hair sticking out in odd places and his white shirt wrinkled. Kurt McVeigh looked as if she had just yanked him out of a deep sleep and she wouldn't be surprised if she had. It was nearly midnight and he stood there, blinking at her with one eye while keeping the other closed.

To say he was groggy would be an understatement.

His brow furrowed as if his brain only caught up to him, "Diane?"

She shifted on one foot, taking a quick glance down the deserted hall she had just come from and decided running away now would just be incredibly stupid. And possibly warrant his actually shooting her this time.

"I…" she began, facing him as he continued to look at her, this time with both eyes open though he didn't look any less groggy, "Hi."

"Hi," he grunted, "Wh—is something wrong?"

Her eyes widened slightly, "No, I…I was just…"

It occurred to her then she really didn't have a plan other than showing up, which was unlike her. But then again, when it came to him, when was she ever really like herself?

She gave up trying to answer his question and pointed into his room, looking at him as she bit the inside of her cheek.

He glanced behind him then looked back at her almost warily before clearing his throat and nodding. He opened the door wider without another word and she followed, waiting until he closed it behind her with a click. He fumbled for the lights a little before hitting the switch, illuminating the room suddenly and she flinched even though the lights were muted and she hadn't even been in the dark long enough.

Maybe she flinched for an altogether different reason, but her mind was too scattered to concentrate on such a trivial matter at the moment.

Kurt yawned, leaning against the wall and barely able to keep his eyes on her. He blinked at her, undoubtedly wondering what she was doing in his hotel room or where she even came from in the first place.

Diane looked around the room before settling on him, stalling for time and swallowed her before speaking, "I…I'm sorry for barging in like this."

He stared at her before rubbing his face with one hand while the other settled on his hip, "Okay."

She bit the inside of her cheek, "I heard you were in town."

"Okay," he nodded, "And you were in the neighborhood?"

"Uh, no, I…" she stopped, taking a deep breath and slowly let it out through her lips. "I'm sorry, this was stupid, I should go…"

"Diane," he stopped her before she could even head for the door, grabbing her arm gently and steering her further into the room.

She followed, almost dumbly, until they came to the bed and she found herself, balking and halting to a stop. Looking at him with wide eyes she began to stammer, "No, I didn't come for—"

"Do you have work tomorrow?" he asked, keeping his hold on her and her skin practically burned underneath her coat where he held her. He reached up and squeezed the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed, "It's a Saturday."

She shook her head, "What? No, but that's not why I came he—"

"I know," he nodded, exhaling soundly before letting her go and reaching for the buttons of her coat.

"Kurt, wait, I didn't—"

"Diane," he said simply, looking at her as he stopped.

She closed her mouth, biting the inside of her cheek once more as his hand moved towards her purse, pulling it off her shoulder and turned to set it down on the table behind him. Next, he unbuttoned her coat and carefully helped her out of it before draping carefully on a chair. She continued to silently watch him as he headed for his open bag, pulling out a white button-down shirt and turned to face her.

Dressed in purple, the same clothes she'd worn to work that day, she looked at him as he moved towards her, their eyes never wavering from each other until he stood in front of her once more. He pushed the shirt into her hands and slowly bent down to kiss her on the lips.

He pulled back quickly but gently, looking at her with those sleep-laden eyes before wrapping his arms around her. With his mouth next to her ear, he spoke, "You are the only woman I know who can drop in on me like this and I'll never not answer."

"Kurt…"

He pulled back, giving her a peck on the top of her head before steering her towards the bathroom. He opened the door and turned on the lights for her, "Toothbrush and everything, compliments of the hotel. Go."

Diane followed and dare let herself think twice before changing into the shirt he had given her, taking care to slip off her jewelry and set them down somewhere safe. She wiped off her makeup, wishing she had something to remove them with other than water but decided to make do. She brushed her teeth, put her dress aside and kept her shoes somewhere they wouldn't be tripped on.

She gave the briefest glance in the mirror before getting out, dressed in his shirt. It was long enough to cover her down to her upper thighs and she knew he was well aware she was more than fine sleeping dressed that way. She smiled a little, though somewhat nervous, and ran a hand through her hair before opening the door once more.

He was still there, awake and leaning against the wall right next to the door. He looked at her, slowly turning his head before nodding and taking her hand. She let him lead and followed when he sat her down on the edge of the bed and she rubbed her bare knees together. He watched her and he was most likely puzzled as to what she was doing wandering into his hotel at this time of night but she didn't feel like explaining.

Kurt nodded once, heading for the light switch and looked at her. She nodded once and immediately, the room was swallowed up in in darkness once again.

In the dark, he most likely knew the room enough to know where to go and heard the rustle of bedclothes as she moved. She stretched out on to 'her' side of the bed before grabbing a pillow and laid her head upon it, pushing her hair back as she listened to him get in after her.

He pulled the covers back, the little wisps light from the sleeping city outside giving him enough illumination to see she kept her back to him. He shrugged and laid down next to her, looking at the back of her head.

"You can get under the covers, you know," he said after a moment of trying to get back into the sleep she had all but pulled him out of.

"I'm fine."

"I don't bite."

"I know."

He laughed lowly and she smiled.

"Between the two of us, we both know I'm most likely the one with the biting issues," she whispered in the dark, smiling still.

He continued to look at the back of her head, "Would it be alright to ask why you're here?"

"Yes and the answer is…I don't know," she admitted, "I heard you were in town and I managed to find out where you were staying. I don't know, I wasn't thinking, I think."

"Okay, that's honest," he said, "You said you didn't come here for sex. So, I'm going to go right to…you wanted to talk?"

"Yes," she nodded, "I think."

"You think," he echoed, "Alright. Why?"

"I…someone asked me something today," Diane after being silent for a moment, "It was some interview for something and this-this little wisp of a girl asked me something I couldn't get out of my head."

"What?"

"She talked to me about my accomplishments, how I feel about our firm surviving the recession after…" she stopped, shaking her head and he watched the back of her head moving, "Never mind. Anyway, she asked me if there were things in my life I regret."

He raised his eyebrows, looking at her curiously but kept quiet.

"I couldn't think of anything," she shrugged one shoulder, "I mean, there are things I might have done differently, maybe a few things I would have liked to do…but I couldn't think of them in that moment."

She turned over to face him and in the dark, he could see her eyes and they let the silence fall. He didn't speak, watching her closely as he watched the gears turn in her head. Even dressed in just his shirt, she maintained that air of grace that she seemed to carry with her in whatever situation. She laid there, essentially dressed down and vulnerable, but there was something in the way she held herself. She was strong even when she was weak and she was beautiful even while conflicted.

He studied her in silence and decided she was the only person in the world who could interrupt his sleep just to have a conversation that wasn't really a conversation with him and he wouldn't mind.

"The girl…she was patient, I don't know, maybe she was hoping for something earthshattering," she spoke, "She gave me time and I thought about it—more than I should have, actually because I ended up with something."

He waited—he would always wait—and then she looked at him and simply said, "You."

Kurt stopped, staring at her for a moment, taken aback. His brows furrowed and for a moment, he forgot that she might not be able to see him. He was silent for a moment before clearing his throat and finally spoke.

"Sleeping with me?" he asked, "Or saying no?"

The question lingered in the darkness until she said, "Not sleeping with you."

He frowned, "Not sleeping with—"

"I don't regret sleeping with you."

His frown faded and for a moment, she was worried about his silence when, without a word, he reached for her, his palm pressed against the back of her neck and pulled her to him in a soft kiss, pressing his lips to hers with the gentlest of pressure. Her hand slipped upward rest on his chest, breathing him in as much as she breathed in his kiss.

Pulling apart, she looked at him, smiling almost shyly as she said, "Can I stay tonight?"

He nodded slowly, reaching for the hand she had over his heart, "One condition."

"What?"

"You stay," he said gruffly, "You stay—you don't leave in the morning."

He kept his eyes on her even in the dark, bringing her hand to his lips as he held on to her wrist and pressed a kiss into her palm.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

And then she kissed him.