She smiled at him, her eyes bright with tears. But he couldn't hide his worry. "I-I didn't mean to upset you, Daphne. I'm sorry."

She kissed him softly. "You didn't upset me, Niles. I'm touched. I don't mean to get so emotional. I know it's silly because-."

Before she could finish, he was already wiping the tears from her cheeks with his handkerchief. "It's not silly Daphne. And I couldn't agree with you more. I-I can't believe this is happening. I-I mean, I always hoped and dreamed-."

In a moment of fate, she gently took the handkerchief from his hand and began dabbing the tears that had fallen onto his cheeks. At that moment he knew that they were soulmates. There was no other explanation. "You're so sweet." She said for the second time since he'd arrived. They were words that he'd never tire of hearing.

He squeezed her hand and smiled. "Daphne, come sit with me."

"But what about you're coffee or your tea? You never-."

"I know. But that can wait." Still holding onto her hands, he led her to the sofa and sat down beside her. "This can't."

Her sweet smile faded. "Niles, you're scaring me. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Daphne. I-." For a moment he could only stare into her chocolate brown eyes, instinctively reaching to brush a fallen lock of hair from her forehead. "You're so beautiful."

"Niles, that's so sweet." She said again. "And you're very handsome. I've always thought so actually and I suppose I should have told you more often, but-."

"Well, thank you, Daphne. That means a lot to me. Look, about us-."

"Yes?"

"I-I'm not exactly sure what this is… but I know what I want it to be. I've waited for this moment for so many years, but I don't want to jeopardize our friendship in any way. I cherish what we have and I hope you know that. But I think that in time we can have something more. As long as we take it slow. How do you feel about that?"

She smiled and touched his face, resting her hand on his cheek. "I think you're right. We're already friends; good friends. You're my best friend and you mean the world to me. And until that Sunday morning, I never knew that you had any sort of feelings for me; feelings other than friendship."

He felt his cheeks flush. "I-I know. And I should have said something earlier, but I was-."

"Nervous?"

"A coward."

"Niles, no. You're not a coward. You could never be. I can't tell you how flattered I am that you have feelings for me. You're my best friend. I know I said that before but I really and truly mean it. And I think that maybe-."

He leaned closer and kissed her, letting his lips linger on hers for a bit longer than during their previous kisses. And fortunately she didn't seem to mind. "We'll take it slow. I'll give you all the time that you need, okay? And if it doesn't work out-." He shuddered at the thought. He hated saying the words, but he had to be realistic.

Suddenly her fingertips were covering his lips. "Shh… let's not think about that, all right? Now, would you like coffee or tea?"

"Um, actually Daphne there's something else."

"Oh right, of course. Your sherry. Please, help yourself. You know where everything is."

He chuckled softly at her misconception and as she slowly rose from the sofa, he held onto her hand to keep her from leaving. She pulled away for a moment, turning to him in surprise. "Niles, what is it?"

"Sit down, please." He hoped that his words were gentle and didn't come across as an order. But when she smiled and did as he asked, he was confident that he hadn't upset her. But he could tell from her expression that she was clearly confused.

"Niles?"

His heart was thundering in his chest. "Daphne, I have something for you."

She grinned. "Niles, what could you possibly-."

"It's something that I bought not too long ago." He kept his voice steady, trying to remain mysterious. "I saw it advertised and well, I wanted to do something special for you."

"Well, you didn't have to do that, Niles. It's not my birthday, or any-."

He hadn't meant to kiss her at that moment, but once his lips touched hers, any guilt he felt simply washed away. Her hand slid around his back and her fingers were moving across his shoulders. And when he drew back, she was smiling.

"Well, that was a lovely gift, Niles."

He couldn't help it; he laughed out loud. "Well, thank you for the complement, Daphne, but actually there's more."

She moved closer. "More kisses? Well, all right."

It was so difficult not to give into his emotions and kiss her passionately right there on the sofa, but instead he smiled. "Um, yes, but this is different."

"Oh?"

His hand trembled as he reached into his pocket to remove the tiny envelope. And then he handed it to her. "This is for you."

She looked at the envelope in surprise. "What's this?"

"Open it. Please."

She laughed softly. "Oh right. I suppose that's one way to find out what's in here. She smiled as she unsealed the flap on the envelope and removed the tickets. Her eyes widened in surprise as she read the words. "The Emerald City Comicon?

"Yes."

As he'd expected, her smile disappeared and she seemed a bit disappointed. "Oh… Well, Niles, this is… such a surprise. I-I don't know what to say."

"You don't like it." He teased, keeping his expression serious.

"No. I-I mean, yes I do! Th-thank you." She said hastily, giving him an equally hasty kiss. "I-I just… I'm afraid I've never heard of the Emerald City Comicon before, but-."

His grin reappeared and he couldn't help but chuckle as he reached into his pocket and remove the carefully folded newspaper advertisement. "I thought you might be a little confused, so perhaps this will help."

She took the newspaper ad and unfolded it, her eyes scanning the words. He watched intently and suddenly she gasped lightly, her hand flying to her trembling lips.

"Caroline Duffy of Caroline in the City is going to be there? Oh Niles!"

"I'm sorry for the confusion, Daphne, I-."

She engulfed him into the most wonderful series of kisses he'd ever experienced, kissing his cheeks and his lips again and again. The tickets, the envelope and the newspaper advertisement floated to the floor as she continued to kiss him and they fell back against the sofa cushions.

Thank you, Niles." She said, as the kisses she bestowed upon him deepened. "Thank you so much."