Chapter 15: Niles


Niles sat on his couch, staring at the divorce paperwork in front of him. He hadn't done much since he got home, he'd been lost in thought. Just a week ago, he knew he would have been beside himself, doing whatever he could to beg Maris to take him back. But now...

The doorbell rang, breaking Niles out of his thoughts. He glanced around, and looked at the time. It was just after 6pm.

Damn, is it that late already?

Niles stood up, feeling hopelessly unprepared. He walked over to open the door. Daphne stood there, looking a vision in a red dress. Niles stared for a moment, taking her in.

"Hello, Niles. I hope I'm not too early. I realized we never decided on a time." Niles moved to the side to allow Daphne in.
"Sorry, Daphne. I've been a little preoccupied this afternoon, I'm afraid I lost track of time." He gave an apologetic smile, and closed the door.

Daphne put her hand on his shoulder. He melted at her touch, as he always did.

"It's okay, Niles. Dr Crane mentioned what happened this afternoon before I left. I'm sorry."

Niles heart sunk a little. He had hoped to not discuss Maris with Daphne tonight, but it seemed inevitable. He sighed.

"Thank you Daphne. I'd, uh, rather not discuss it too much at the moment if that's okay? I would much rather enjoy my time with you."

Daphne nodded. She glanced around the room.

"So, what did you have in mind tonight? If I recall, you wanted to have dinner." She looked back at Niles expectantly.

Oh, damn.

Niles stared at her, frozen in place. He hadn't started anything for dinner yet.

"Um, yes. Sorry, I really must apologize. I was planning on cooking us something, but..." he trailed off and looked away; not wanting to broach the subject he, not two minutes ago, said he didn't want to discuss.

Daphne was silent for a moment. Niles was visibly nervous - the evening was a disaster already.

"What were you going to cook? I mean, before you... were interrupted by me arriving so early?"

Niles was puzzled.

"Uh, I was going to make spaghetti alla puttanesca with a side salad, but – "
"Perfect. Seeing as I'm here I might as well help you cook. Considering I arrived so early." Daphne gave Niles a pointed look. "You know, before you could finish getting things ready."

Niles suddenly understood what she was doing; giving him an excuse so they could ignore the elephant in the room named Maris (if ever there was a time that Maris could be compared to an elephant, it was now). He loved Daphne all the more for this.

"Oh! Um, I mean, yes please, that would be wonderful. I hope you don't mind. I wouldn't want to put you out..."

He looked at her outfit again. It was a nice evening dress. Red was his favorite color on her. The dress itself was nothing too flashy, or formal, but something that definitely said that she wanted to impress a date. Niles' heart did a little flutter at that thought. Daphne smiled at him.

"Not at all, Niles."

Niles led Daphne to the kitchen. He provided her with an apron to protect her dress, and started getting out the ingredients required for the meal. Daphne started talking about her day in general, clearly to provide a background noise so he wasn't spending any time thinking about Maris. Niles pulled out the recipe, and they went over it, heads bent close together as they read.

"It's got anchovies in it?" Daphne curled her nose at the thought.
"Yes, in the sauce. You see, they cook down and they don't actually leave a fish taste, it just adds an umami flavor to the dish. It's quite unctuous really."

Daphne looked at him, still unsure about it.

"I'll take your word for it."

They started putting the meal together. Niles poured them both some wine, which they sipped on as they cooked. Daphne kept conversation light, steering away from anything that might make him think of Maris. She was talking about her current attempts to get rid of his father's useless junk, mentioning some combined clothes and vegetable steamer, when he looked over at her. Niles found himself lost in her face, which was so bright and focused on her task; the slight exaggerated expressions as she told the story making her look all the more beautiful.

Daphne paused and looked up, noticing him looking at her. He leaned over to her and kissed her. She returned the kiss, and it deepened, getting more passionate as their mouths explored each other. They broke apart. Niles felt himself getting aroused, but he wanted to keep the evening chaste as possible. As difficult as that would be. Daphne stared at him, puzzled that he started tending to the sauce again, instead of taking the kiss further.

"What was that for?" She touched her lips where he had kissed her.

Niles smiled bashfully, glancing at her from the corner of his eye as he tried to focus on cooking.

"I just... couldn't help myself."
"I can see that." Daphne returned to the salad preparation. "I guess I mean, why did you stop?"
"I'm enjoying just spending time with you. Like this. I... don't want to end it too early."

Daphne blushed, focused on the salad. Niles cleared his throat.

"Besides, I'm getting hungry, and don't want to burn the sauce because we let ourselves get too distracted."
"We wouldn't want that, would we?" Daphne chuckled, shaking her head.

They finished cooking, and Niles requested that Daphne go out to the living room and sit at the table while he plated up. Daphne protested a bit, but after Niles insisted that he wanted to at least salvage some semblance of being a host for the evening, she complied.

After she left the kitchen, Niles felt his resolve crumble a little. Originally, his plan for the night was to tell Daphne how he felt - really felt - about her. However, this thing with Maris complicated that somewhat; currently his mind was all over the place. Daphne had helped him relax and put it aside for the moment, but he didn't want to rush things. Especially now, when they seemed to have things going so well. It was almost like having a relationship - a life, with Daphne was actually a possibility, instead of an unattainable dream that he fantasized about to forget his loveless marriage.

Niles finished plating the food and exited the kitchen. He noticed Daphne wasn't at the table. Instead, she was looking at the divorce papers he had left out.

And the letter he had been drafting to Maris.