Disclaimer: Not mine at all even though i wish it was.

Last Time:

He frowned a little as he watched hoping that for even a brief instant Kel might see him. Eventually the fight finished and as she was bowing she looked his way, but he didn't want to talk to her right then, he was too confused, so he left for the mess hall to get his food.

By doing that he didn't notice the way Kel's eyes followed his back until he was out of sight. One person, however, did.

Relationship Repairs

Yuki had woken that morning before Neal as usual. It normally wasn't until she had finished dressing that he woke. She would offer to stay with him but he would tell her he'd meet her in the mess hall. Yuki suspected that he did this to squeeze in a few extra minutes of sleep.

This particular morning he woke as she sat up. Although not yet officially married they shared rooms and a bed. It seemed this would be one of the rare mornings that her beloved would accompany her to the mess hall.

The couple dressed together and was on their way to get their morning food when they were distracted by a sizeable crowd standing at one of the corners of the fort. Yuki's interest was piqued but Neal was anxious to feel food in his belly. After a short argument that surprisingly ended without any threat by Yuki's fan they joined the crowd, pushing through the mass of bodies until they could see what was happening.

Kel and Jei were in the centre of a ring of people sparring furiously. Yuki sighed wistfully as she watched, they reminded her of the Yamani Isles and her longing to see them grew. It was just as well that she had bullied Neal into going there for a trip after they were wed.

The display put on by Kel and Jei was worthy of royal applause and would have been a spectacular fight to see in the Isles among life trained warriors. Yuki tore her eyes from the fight to see how the Tortallans would react. It was comic really, she thought. Most of them were standing with their mouths hanging open in utter amazement at the show of skill. Yuki traveled her gaze around the circle and soon came to rest on the face of her soon-to-be cousin.

He was angling his way through the crowd, heading towards Neal. She watched them exchange a few words before Dom moved away to a more isolated area and she returned her eyes to the fight.

The fight was just finishing when she turned again to find Neal so that they could continue on to the mess together. She spotted him and waved him over but out of the corner of her eye she saw Dom and something about him made her look closer.

As she peered at him she saw a sadder look on his face than she had ever seen before and he seemed angry as well. He was glaring at something and when Yuki followed his gaze she saw it was focused on some one she least expected.

Kel and Jei were in the centre of the cleared space. They bowed to each other as they finished and were laughing together. She saw Jei bowing at the crowd and Kel throw a glance at Dom. Yuki took her attention back to Dom to see how he reacted but with one last frown he was gone.

Yuki saw the look of disappointment on Kel's face as she watched Dom's retreating back. She'd never seen her friend look so hurt. In that instant Yuki made the decision to follow Dom.

By this time Neal had nearly made his way back to her and as she pushed past his face wore a look of extreme shock and he called out after her.

"Yuki my darling? Yuki?"

Yuki found Dom on the way to the mess trying to get him alone so they could talk.

"Domitan, I think I need to talk to you." Dom kept striding ahead, trying in vain to ignore her.

"Domitan, stop right there or I'll force Neal to sleep in your rooms until the wedding." He stopped; there was nothing he wouldn't put up with to avoid that threat.

"Now Dom, what was all that about just then?" Yuki watched as his face turned from red to white then back again. "Dom, for your sake and I think Kel's too you need to talk to me about this, whatever it is." She could see the emotions flit across his face.

"Okay," he replied, "but not here. I'll tell you in my rooms." Yuki nodded and followed him gracefully to his rooms.

When she entered she sat on a chair and watched him. He busied himself pouring drinks and setting out some food. He couldn't put off talking to her forever though so she sat patiently and was finally rewarded.

"What do you know about this Jei man?"

"He is a good friend of mine from the islands, he has quite recently become a member of the Shang, he is an amazing warrior-"

"No I meant, what does he have to do with Kel?"

"Ah, I see. He and Kel became fast friends almost as soon as she came to the islands. They were best friends for a long time though when he started his Shang training they couldn't spend as much time together. When she left the islands they wrote to each other for a while but then they just became too busy and it faded. I think yesterday was the first time they had seen each other in nearly a decade."

"And that's all? Nothing else happened between them?"

Yuki was a little shocked at what he was implying, a little amused at the fact that Dom was all protective and jealous and suddenly enlightened as to why Dom was acting this way. "You and Kel have finally spoken then?"

"We speak all the time." He said, "And you still haven't answered my question."

"No I mean really spoken about how you feel for each other."

Dom looked surprised. "You knew how I felt? How she felt?" Yuki just nodded. "Then you'll know how I feel now." She urged him to continue. "Well just yesterday we revealed what I thought were our true feelings in relation to each other. But now she can't keep her eyes off Jei. Is there something I don't know about him and Kel?"

"No, they are just good friends Dom, friends who have just met again after years apart. You say she can't keep her eyes off him but you didn't see her watch you as you left the crowd just then. I've known Kel for a long time and that's the closest to crying I've ever seen her do." Dom shifted as she turned her strong gaze on him. He seemed embarrassed and guilty. "You need to trust her Dom; the Kel I know would not reveal her feelings to you if she didn't mean them or if she had already given her heart to someone else."

"I know that Yuki it's just…when I saw her today with him I don't know what came over me."

"I can understand Dom. When I first met Neal I was really jealous of Kel for the close relationship he had with her. It used to make me angry until I realized they were just close friends, best friends."

"I see what you mean, and I think I knew that really but-"

"Dom you need to be saying this to Kel not me." Yuki stood, "I'm going to go and get her and bring her here and you two are not going to leave until you have made up." She left Dom in his room trying to think of what he would say when he saw Kel and set off in search of the Lady Knight.

She found her in her rooms alone. It seemed she had skipped breakfast and had instead opted for report writing. Yuki knew better though, Kel just wanted time alone to think about what had happened to Dom.

"Kel." She said from the doorway. The Lady Knight looked up, slightly startled.

"Ah, yes, Yuki. Good morning, um...do you need my help with something?"

"No Kel I was actually here to help you. Can you come with me?"

"Help me? No I'm fine thanks; I just need to get these reports done." Yuki sighed, she knew Kel was stubborn.

"It's about Dom. I know about you two and I also know why he left this morning."

"You do? How did you find out? And why did he leave?"

"Come with me and you'll find out." Yuki saw Kel struggle with herself but in the end she rose and joined Yuki. Kel almost backed out when she realized where they were heading but Yuki urged her to keep going. She knocked on Dom's door twice before opening it and ushering Kel inside. Once she was in Yuki shut it and left the couple alone. They needed the space and she needed to work out whether to have white roses or red ones in her bouquet.

okay well there it is. another chapter. i'd apologise for it being so long in coming but that would seem lame because i really can't excuse not writing. i do feel very bad that i've been so lax but it's going to happen again coz i'm so busy! I don't think i'll be able to do regular updates for a while so you'll have to put up with me updating whenever i can.

well anyway the inspiration for this part of the story is actually from my own life, you see my boyfriend was hanging out alot with a female friend of his that he's known for years and years and i just didn't even feel like i existed so i got all angry and wouldn't talk to him until my friends intervened and talked to him and me about it. they actually locked us in a room together! we pretty much kissed and made up after a while, and well yeah, we're back together properly now and i've started becoming friends with Lisa (who was the girl my boyfriend kept hanging out with) and she's really nice.

so, after all that i want to say sorry and i know the chapter's not as long as the others or as good but please be patient with me, it's just so hard to find time to write. well review if you want, i probably don't deserve it.

love katie xoxo