For the next few days, Dom tried his best to avoid Kel.
She had found him in the mess the morning after Raoul's wedding to apologize for what had happened the night before. He could tell she was mortified, so he had made some jokes and brushed it off. He assured her that everything between them was fine; that he had helped puking drunk friends before. And he had. However, it wasn't every day that he realized he had been in love with one of his best friends.
No, it was for this reason he was avoiding her. He refused to tell her. He didn't want to put their friendship at risk by changing anything.
But hasn't everything already changed? This thought brought him to a halt. Before he realized he was in love with Kel, they had been able to talk and enjoy each other's company. And now? Now he was avoiding her. And when they did meet, conversation was stilted and awkward. Their friendship would never go back to what it was before.
So he had two options. He could ignore his feelings, refuse to tell her, and let their remaining friendship dissolve. Or he could gather up his courage and tell her.
He was afraid of being rejected, but he knew Kel would be gentle and kind about it. That's just how she was. She would sit him down and tell him she was flattered and that he was great person and that there was somebody out there for him. He wasn't afraid of how she would reject him, he was just afraid of being rejected because she wouldn't be his. He knew that if that were the case he would accept her decision, and try to be happy for her when the day came that she introduced him to the man who held her heart.
It was then that he knew that he'd have to tell her.
His feet started to move again as he tried to form a plan in his head.
He could ask if she would join him for a ride in the country side. No. Romantic yes, but they were at a military fort on the front lines of a war zone.
He could write something, a letter or a poem. He winced. Neal wasn't the only one who had no talent at poetry. And he wasn't good at love letters.
Suddenly a hand grasped his shoulder and spun him around. Dom was surprised to be looking into the green eyes of his cousin. Not exactly the person he wanted to be talking to at the moment. It was then that he noticed that Neal's eyes were hard and his mouth was turned in a frown.
"What did you say to Kel that has her so upset?" Neal demanded from his cousin.
Dom frowned. "I didn't say anything. I didn't even know she was upset," he tried to explain.
"Then why was she crying in her room when I stopped by before lunch?" asked Neal.
"Kel was crying?" Dom was shocked.
"Yes, but don't mention it to anyone. She would hate that I had told you." Neal winced imagining Kel taking him to the practice courts.
"Why was she crying?" Dom wanted to know. A lump was settling in his stomach.
"I don't know. She said to ask you."
Neal's words echoed in his head. So, she had noticed he was avoiding her, and it had made her upset enough to cry. Dom was kicking himself and calling himself idiot in every language he knew. She probably thought that he was avoiding her because of what had happened the night of the wedding, even after his reassurances. Actions speak louder than words. He quickly made his way to Kel's door and knocked.
The moment she opened the door, he could tell that she had been crying. Her red rimmed eyes widened in surprise when she saw him at her door. "Dom, what can I do for you?" she asked as she opened the door to invite him in.
He entered her room and she closed the door behind him. Here she was, crying because he had hurt her, offering to help him. Gods he loved her. He stood at her window, running his hand through his hair. It shouldn't have been so difficult to string two coherent thoughts together.
Kel sat on her bed, knowing he would tell her what he came to tell her when he was ready.
He finally turned to look at her. "Kel, why've you been crying?"
"I wasn't crying," she said.
"I know when you're lying Kel. You may have a Yamani mask, but you're still the worst liar I've ever known."
She was silent as she looked at her hands. "I know you said that everything was fine between us, but I... I couldn't help but notice that something has changed. And I'm so sorry Dom. I didn't mean to embarrass you."
Dom came to kneel in front of her and took her hands in his. He rubbed them in circles, trying to soothe her. "You're right Kel," he told her softly. "Something has changed. But it's not your fault. That night, I realized something that I had been trying to deny to myself for a year now."
She was looking at him curiously.
"Kel, I'll understand if you don't feel the same way, but I really like you. I really like you, and I would like to court you."
