A/N: A gifset on tumblr sparked the idea for a Daphne/Frasier story. It didn't exactly go as I'd planned, but there's always next time. Enjoy!

Who would have thought that Daphne could actually be that dense? Not Frasier. As he pushed the elevator button angrily, he thought about the moment that had just transpired. Most days he couldn't understand his brother's ridiculous crush on Daphne. To him she seemed almost still a child. And she was way too jejune for his taste. There was just one thing that made him pause; it wasn't her beauty, no, it was her radiance. He cringed even thinking it. However, it was the truth. No matter how much she annoyed him with her New Age behavior, she had a feeling of happiness about her that made him want to be close to her. Not as close as Niles wanted to be. But closer than he liked to admit.

Daphne reappeared with a basket of laundry and one of these smiles that made him question his thoughts. There was no denying that she was attractive in her own way. Frasier shook his head as if he had water stuck in his ears. Daphne laughed softly and did he dream it? It sounded beautiful to him. The next time he saw Niles he would tell him to stop pestering him with his feelings for Daphne. He was beginning to develop a sympathy crush on her. With an exasperated sigh he took the basket from Daphne's hands.

"You know, you don't have to be jealous of your father." She told him when they were in the elevator. For what felt like the first time ever, Frasier smelled her hair as she picked up a sock that had fallen from the basket. It just happened; he hadn't planned it. And he regretted it immediately. All of this was Niles' fault – he would stick to that.

"I'm not jealous." He mumbled.

"Well, I guess I am." Daphne sighed. "Like you said we're so young and here we are – doing laundry on a Saturday night."

"It was your idea to do laundry." Frasier could imagine many things they could have been doing instead. Heat spread through his body and settled where he least needed it at the moment.

"What else should we do? Your father is up there in the apartment and… you know."

"I know," he said through gritted teeth.

"What would you rather be doing?" Frasier thought she was joking, but her deer like eyes were big and stared at him, waiting for an answer. Could anyone be that innocent? Or maybe she was doing it on purpose. This strange new feeling of attraction for her clouded his judgment, he was certain of it.

"You don't want to know." Why was the elevator ride so long anyway?

"You're strange today, Dr. Crane."

"That's saying a lot coming from you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She punched his shoulder and Frasier moaned in pain.

"Nothing. What's with this elevator? Is it still moving?" Daphne and his own thoughts had distracted him, but suddenly it occurred to him that the elevator had in fact stopped.

"It's not. Dr. Crane, it's not moving!" Her outburst came as a surprise to him; what surprised him even more though was her reaction a few seconds later. She threw herself at him. Her scent reached him again as his arms encircled her automatically. Holding her in his arms gave him even more ideas he shouldn't be having. Those were dreams he would have woken up with a start had he dreamed them. This was far too real – and she was far too close.

"Shhh, Daphne. I'm sure they're going to fix it soon."

"It's late, Dr. Crane. Who would fix it? No one cares we're in here. No one KNOWS we're in here!"

"At least we're together?" He tried with a smile. Her breath came rushed for another moment or two, but then she relaxed against him. She loosed the hug and looked up at him.

"You didn't want to do laundry, did you?"

"No, of course not." 'That's your job', he almost said. There was something in her eyes and her voice that stopped him however. Maybe it was a question or a realization. Definitely something he hadn't seen before.

"The things you said I- I know what you meant." His heart fluttered. It had been a moment; a short moment that could have passed unmentioned for the rest of their lives. After all it had been so insignificant. Merely an eye contact that had lasted a moment longer than it could have. An unshared question, an unheard answer.

"You do?" Frasier asked carefully. Her face was so close to his own and it clearly confused him. This was Daphne. She was the strange woman who had pretty much invited herself to live with him. A woman he would refer to as a housekeeper (as long as she couldn't hear him say it). She wasn't someone he could be interested in. Then again, she wasn't the kind of woman he had ever pictured his brother to be interested in. Niles. If his brother could have read his thoughts at that moment… they were just starting to get closer to each other again. And here he was putting it all at risk, because of that look in her eyes.

"It's a bad idea," she said as she seemed to come closer still. Their bodies were pressed against each other and Frasier tried to back away. Only she followed him every step of the way.

"A very bad idea." He finished her sentence.

"But maybe…" Daphne's eyes closed slowly and everything else passed in slow motion. Frasier lowered his head until he felt his lips touch hers. Her warm lips were softer than he ever could have imagined and they opened under his soft pressure. His tongue tentatively licked her lips when a strange noise reached his ears. Daphne was laughing; he was trying to kiss her and she had the audacity to laugh!

"I'm sorry, Dr. Crane. It's just too weird." He wanted to tell her that it was her who was weird, but suddenly the elevator jerked. Daphne held on to him in fear. For a moment everything stood still; neither one breathed. The scared look in her eyes made his anger disappear and when the elevator finally started moving again and relief spread on her face, Frasier was certain that he was falling.

"One more try." He said desperately before he captured her lips again. This time he didn't go slow and to his greatest surprise (and joy) she neither hesitated nor laughed. Their tongues were getting to know each other just as hands roamed over still foreign bodies.

"We can't do this." Frasier said against her lips, but she tasted like sweet wine and he had never been able to resist such a taste. He had left Boston for a taste like this.

"I know," Daphne sighed without ending their kiss, "you're my boss."

'And my little brother thinks you're the woman of his dreams', Frasier thought as he frantically tried to cling to a lucid thought. Her searching hands made it as impossible as her demanding kiss. The elevator stopped with a ping and they almost jumped apart.

"L-laundry." Daphne said out of breath. Frasier just stared at her. Laundry was the last thing on his mind. No matter how wrong it was, no matter what they were risking, at that moment he was certain it was worth it. They wouldn't tell anyone, they would only do it once. Twice, maybe. Frasier opened his mouth unsure what he wanted to say, all the while knowing that he needed to say something.

"Oh finally! I thought I'd be stuck here all night." A man's voice suddenly said. Daphne, who had been facing Frasier, turned around and right there, right then it was over. Frasier felt more than saw the difference in Daphne. The man, who he had never seen before in this building, grinned at Daphne and all he could think of were the words he'd uttered earlier: a man and a woman, in the prime of their lives. Watching these two look at each other, he felt the chemistry. This wasn't something that was going to last long; a fling, a distant, fond memory in the making. Again, he felt a pang of jealousy. Quickly it dissolved as he ushered Daphne out of the elevator.

"What are you doing?" She asked in a dreamy voice. It seemed surreal that jut moments ago they had been kissing. They had almost done more than kissing… and Frasier was no longer sure how he felt about it.

"Well, we're here to do laundry, aren't we?"

"I thought we…"

"Let's just do the laundry." After a moment Daphne smiled at him and nodded. She began chattering away and told him stories about her childhood in Manchester. This was the way it was supposed to be, Frasier thought. Not that he would ever forget that kiss. Or what it could have meant.

A possibility. Just a possibility.

END