Basically, this is going to be a one-shot unless I finish all the rest of my existing multi-chapter fics. I am aware that my readers will shoot me if I don't get on with the rest of them already (even though I have a few more one shots which are near completion and will likely be up before the others…).
The Adventures of Kai and Amy
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I will never stop trying
I will never stop watching as you leave
I will never stop losing my breath every time I see you looking back at me
I will never stop holding your hand
I will never stop opening your door
I will never stop choosing you, babe
I will never get used to you
"Never Stop (Wedding Version)" – SafetySuit
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How different were they? And yet how similar.
Kai never seemed to understand what it meant to do things in an orderly manner. He spoke and acted as though he was on another planet, from outer space. He made jokes at everything, he wrote Fanfiction about two of his colleagues, and he was fascinated at every organ he examined from a victim. He had the worst comedic timing. When everyone laughed, he never got the joke, and when he went berserk in fits of loud chortles, everyone would just stare at him in disbelief.
Amy was organised and timid. She was considerably upfront with close friends, but otherwise it was hard to get anything out of her. Generally shy, it was difficult to speak to her without finding it slightly awkward, especially when silence ensued. She was however incredibly talented and gifted, a geek and IT expert of an unusual kind. No one was better at her job than she was, and she managed to display a great amount of care for those around her as well.
They were such great friends. He made her annoyed, but he made her smile as well. She was the only one who understood him. He was her only connection back to her past when she left the SFPD. She was the only one who kept him sane throughout all those months when he felt so alone but never told anyone so. He looked forward to her call every week. She would light up at the sound of his voice on the line. He never knew how to describe it, but somehow he needed her. And she knew that more than ever, she needed him.
So when he stormed into her hotel room and shouted at her, she was shell-shocked. She had never seen him so serious and so vulnerable all at the same time. He had always been so free-spirited. Suddenly he had become a man to her, not a crazy friend who made fun of everything and everyone. In the dim light of their surroundings, she could see the fire in his eyes, the determination he had deep inside him. Behind those glasses, his gaze on her reflected every bit of his pain and anger. She was unexpectedly thrown off guard. She didn't know what to think, and all her mind was filled with was that she couldn't try to be anyone else around him except herself, but who she was, was a person who needed him.
In that moment, Kai Kalaba was a man in her eyes. He was not just a man, but a strong and handsome man. He stood firm, even with that longish hair and Hawaiian shirt. His tanned skin reinforced the fact that he could be very appealing if he wanted to be.
That's why when he attempted to carry her out and she screamed in frustration, she knew that she would lose. Inside, she had already given in to him. How could she not? He had become everything to her. And she was running away because she felt so guilty and afraid thinking of how she had grown to feel for him. It was an insult to Ken's memory! It was a phase, there's no way she could depend on him for life! It was better and easier for her to just start a new life and become a new person – dye her hair, get piercings and change the way she looked, rather than try to deal with everything that was on her mind. She was still trying to move on from Ken when Kai had taken a big role in her life. This was the reason why she cried out, saying that maybe a part of her died with him. She was losing it; unable to process anything anymore.
She tried so hard to run away from him. It was too much for her. But he kept trying. He never stopped caring about her, he never stopped wanting to see her. He never stopped asking her to come back to the SFPD. He never stopped looking at her when she left after the wedding.
What she didn't realise was that when she looked back at him after he asked if she would call him, his heart skipped a beat. He jumped in joy whenever he heard that ringtone on his phone, knowing it was her. He couldn't believe how much he missed her when she was gone.
When he put her down and she allowed herself to tell him that she would come back, just for a while, she considered that perhaps she had to face this after all. In that moment, all she could do was hug him tight, squeeze him, and let him hold her as close as close could get. In his arms, she was safe and she was home. She found that as her tears fell into his lab coat, and while he was trying not to cry, she felt more relieved and more secure than she had ever felt since Ken passed. Even when she was drowning in her sorrows after his death, Kai was the one who cared enough to visit her.
When she saw Mal and Natara holding hands, confirming their relationship – and after she spoke to Natara about it, she realised that she shouldn't wait any longer to tell him how much he meant to her, but she didn't know how to do it. She just knew she had to try, somehow. She just hoped he wouldn't laugh, because if he did she would die of embarrassment.
She ran to the lab, glad that he was the only one inside. It was late, after all, and she was due to leave. Mal was safely home and that was the deal.
The door opened and she stepped inside, and he looked up. For once, he didn't make any snarky comment or lame joke. He just looked at her in silence as though he was trying to form words, but oddly none came out.
"Hi," Amy said, finding that it was all she could say, what with all the words choking in her throat.
His expression was quiet and serious. She could see that he was breathing heavily, and it was weird to see him so unlike how he normally was.
"Kai, I–"
"Don't."
She paused, making eye contact with him.
"Don't say that you have to go because that's the deal we made."
She looked down and shook her head.
"You know I have to go. But I have–"
"I have something to say to you first!"
He stood from his chair, animated and much like himself again.
She sighed and laughed softly. "Okay. What?"
"Ames."
"Yes?"
"You know how in those rom coms, and the girl in the movie normally has a best friend who is a guy and they are really close, but the girl usually falls in love with some other guy and her guy best friend actually likes her, but he doesn't tell her and goes into some alcoholic phase, and starts sleeping around with many girls to forget her, and–"
"Kai."
"Yeah?"
"Just get to the point."
"Oh okay! Yeah! Uh, and so, you know, uh, um, Ames, I just wanted to, um, you know, ah…"
Amy smiled at him and went right up to him, and their gazes locked.
"What, Kai?"
Kai started wriggling his legs in nervousness. "I'm not good at this! You know what I'm trying to say don't you!"
Amy laughed and crossed her arms. "No, I don't. What? WHAT?"
"Aargghhhh! COME ON! You're lying, you know what I mean!"
"What? What DO you mean?"
"I mean, that, Ames, you are, ah, a really REALLY awesome person, and I feel, um sorry, I mean, I have been feeling, that, we… and I…"
He looked around everywhere but her, and he was so fidgety that she started to worry about what he was about to say, that maybe it wasn't what she was thinking.
"Kai?"
"AGGHH! OKAY!" he shouted, losing it. "I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU, AMY, AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE!"
He was just as stunned at his words as she was, upon hearing it.
But suddenly a beautiful smile broke out on her face, and she leaped onto him, and he caught her as he fell back into his chair with her on his lap.
"OOF! OW!"
"Oops, sorry," she said, giggling, her face barely inches from his.
"Amy," he said, his expression trying to be serious, a smile was threatening to push its way through.
"What I wanted to say," she slowly said, letting her fingertips brush the edge of his face, "was exactly the same thing."
And he smiled, a full one, his eyes twinkling with excitement.
"I love you, Kai. And I thank you for saying it first because otherwise I wouldn't have the courage to say it to you now."
"WHEEE! OH MY GOSH YESSSS!" he burst out, jumping out of the chair and letting Amy fall onto the ground in front of him.
"KAI!"
"Oh I'M SORRY!"
He reached down and pulled her up, holding her in his arms.
"So, um, can I kiss you now?"
A/N: On a separate note, I can't express how delighted I am that Mal and Natara have had TWO wonderful moments together so far… and this latest one is truly EPIC, one for the books. I won't abandon their stories because they are the most amazing couple in CoD, so don't worry, I will update those ASAP. Until then, ciao!