Awkward Moments
Summary: Kel is having trouble getting a boyfriend because she hardly ever shows emotion and seems cold to most guys.
Kel slowly walked through the halls of the Corus palace. She was feeling kind of weird, like she'd never felt before. The best way to describe how she felt was that something was missing from her life. She tried to think of what is was; she couldn't figure it out. Immediately she thought of how all her friends were getting married and going to live at their estates. Her best friend, Neal, was already in Queenscove with his wife, Yukimi noh Daiomoru. Cleon was and had been gone from court for a few years after he married Ermelian of Aminar. Even Seaver was gone, engaged to some Minchi noblewoman. Only Merric and Owen remained. And Dom, she reminded herself, as she suddenly felt giddy. Then she was mad at herself. 'I'm 20 now. I'm too old for crushes. I can't possibly still have a crush on him. And besides he flirts with lots of other dainty and petite ladies of the court. He wouldn't like me because I'm not graceful at all. Or would he?' As if proving the veracity of her statement about her grace, Kel was absently walking through the halls, not watching where she was going, and she bumped into...Dom! "Ow!" she exclaimed. She was so embarassed that she had to summon up her stiffest Yamani mask so she wouldn't let herself blush. She barely managed a polite "Hi" and "Sorry" before she said; "Nice seeing you, Dom. I've got to go. I'm off to the practice courts" And off she went.
Dom unconsciously watched her as she left thinking 'I wonder what she was thinking about back there. At first she had a misty look in her eyes, and then they suddenly became dreamy. I really want to know who or what she was thinking about. I hope she's not still dreaming about Neal.' She had once told him she had had a crush on his cousin, to his disgust. Well, he admitted there was hope, because they were related, but still. At least it was in her page years, before she had even met him. 'She couldn't have been thinking about me, could she've? I mean, she wasn't even very friendly with me. I wonder if I did something that annoyed her.' Dom gave up trying to guess what Kel was thinking about. He willed himself to think about something else, about anything else. But his thoughts kept coming back to Kel. 'She's so beautiful in her own way.' A more sensible voice in his head said: 'Get real, Masbolle. You could have any of the truly beautiful ladies at court, and you'd pick Kel?' At this point Dom gave up thinking because he couldn't stand arguing with himself in his head. Instead he went to hide behind a bush to watch her pattern dances. 'Now isn't that beautiful' he thought as he watched her gracefully swinging her glaive this way and that.
After Kel left the practice courts, Dom stayed, thinking. He wanted to court Kel, but he was afraid she'd just laugh at him if he asked her straight out. He decided to write a letter to Neal, asking for advice. That would be good, he decided, because Neal had a lot of experience in the crush department. Though he didn't want to know what Neal's reaction would be when he found out the lady was Kel.
I should have named this story 'Grace', because it kinda shows up accidentally, and it provides a nice contrast in my opinion between their two views. Or I could have named it 'Lost in Thoughts' because that's pretty much what it is at this point. Originally, when I wrote this, more than two and a half years ago!, there was to be more of a story, but now, unless people really want me to continue and have ideas of where to go next they are willing to share, it will stay as a one-shot. My notes about this story include involving Neal and/or Alanna into this, if anyone thinks that would be a good idea.
I wrote this completely independently of my new story, 'Commander Kel', without ever referencing this one. Apparently I already had a thing for having Dom watch Kel with her glaive when I wrote this. I honestly thought it was a new idea of mine in the last month. I wonder if that would say anything about my personal feelings, that this stalkerish idea of watching someone work out is somehow a turn-on. I really don't think so. I'd be creeped out if anyone did that to me (but first I'd have to be awesome enough to have a glaive). And I wonder why I'm still single. Oh, well. It's fun seeing how much my writing has evolved over time though.