He reached for the newspaper that lay on the coffee table and smiled. It was still folded to reveal the Peanuts comic strip. It had to have been a sign.
"Daphne, do you…Do you like to read the comics?"
"I used to when I was a little girl."
"Which one was your favorite?"
"Oh, I haven't thought about it in so long. I'm not sure-."
"Do you like Peanuts?"
"My...it's been a long time since I've read one of those strips, but I do love them. Poor Charlie Brown. He was always having trouble finding love and friendship, wasn't he?"
"Yes, he was. Daphne, would you do me a favor?"
"Of course."
"Read this." He handed her the folded up newspaper and smiled as her eyes skimmed the panels. Her expression changed from surprise to sadness to happiness and he sensed that the comic strip had touched her as it had touched him. When she looked at him, she had tears in her eyes.
"That's beautiful." She said, brushing the tears from her eyes. "Thank you for sharing that with me."
"Actually you should thank Frasier. He's the one who showed it to me."
"Oh…"
"Daphne, this comic strip…"
"It's very sweet, Charlie Brown giving Snoopy his blessing for Snoopy to marry the girl he loves."
"Yes, it is, but there's something else."
"What is it?"
"Well, we've been going out for a while now and when I talked to Frasier a little while ago, he said-."
"Oh God, Niles, I never meant to tell him, I promise! He… You know how he is! He pulled it out of me! I'm so sorry."
"I'm not. Because if you hadn't done that, I wouldn't be able to do this." He leaned closer to her until their lips touched. The spark ignited a feeling that he simply couldn't believe was real. And to his surprise it was more than a quick kiss; it was more than he could have ever imagined.
She drew back staring at him in surprise for a moment. But then she kissed him again… and again.
He was far above Cloud Nine and he didn't want to come down. This was the best day of his life and he hadn't even said what he'd come to say. Perhaps he didn't need to.
She was staring at him again but then she looked away. "Oh God…"
"What is it?"
"I'm so sorry, Niles, I didn't mean for that to happen! I-."
"Don't apologize, Daphne."
"What?"
"Don't ever apologize for that kiss, all right? I may have initiated it, but it was truly wonderful."
She smiled. "It was nice wasn't it?"
"Um, yes and these past few weeks have been wonderful as well; spending so much time with you. I-I Know that they haven't been really thought of as dates and that's fine but now…."
"Yes?"
He gazed into her chocolate brown eyes, his heart pounding even faster than before. "Daphne, I've fallen in love with you."
"Y-you what?"
"I love you, Daphne. No… more than that. I'm in love with you. And I'm sorry it's taken me so long to tell you. I was just-."
"Nervous?"
"Um, yes… But…now that I've told you, there's something I need to know."
"Are you trying to ask me what I'm feeling?"
Niles mouth fell open at her ability to read his mind. "A-actually yes. H-how do you feel about me?"
Tears streamed down her cheeks and she kissed him again. "I-I think I love you too." She whispered into his ear.
He was so happy that he felt tears in his eyes and he held her closer, kissing her cheek. "Oh Daphne…"
They hugged tightly and kissed a few more times. And as they held each other, Niles looked up to see Frasier watching them from the hallway, smiling.
THE END
