Chapter 13

Niles was still in a bit of a state after their encounter with Mel's friends, so Daphne offered to go back to his place for the night. Neither of them expected anything to happen between them, but Daphne still felt a pang of nervous excitement.

On the drive back to the Montana, Daphne found herself picturing the two of them in Niles' bedroom. She almost had to stop herself from giggling like an idiot. Only yesterday she was teasing Niles for being a nervous fool about being in her bedroom, and now she was going through the same thing at the thought of his.

Maybe Niles will appreciate the irony.

They arrived at his place, and Niles immediately removed his coat and collapsed on his couch. Daphne took his coat, and glanced around. The last time she'd been over was for her surprise bridal shower. She'd been nervous that night too. For different, yet strangely similar reasons.

Daphne disappeared into the kitchen while Niles tried to reground himself, loosening his tie and collar so he felt a bit less constricted. Whatever panic attack he was on the brink of earlier that evening had since dissipated. Daphne returned and sat down next to him, glass of water in hand. Niles looked at Daphne gratefully as he took the glass.

"Thank you, Daphne." He took a long sip from the glass. "You probably think I'm such a coward. An idiot for getting so worked up about this."

Daphne shook her head.

"I get it. I was a nervous wreck when I had to tell Donny that I was leaving him. And later that night, when I had to tell Holly why I was needing somewhere to sleep at 3am. Then every time since when I've had to explain why the wedding was called off to my family and friends..." She sighed, the memory was still a bit painful. "It's hard."
"Yeah..." Niles leaned against Daphne. "As much as I wish for Mel to be out of my life, I didn't want her to get hurt by my actions." He looked up at Daphne. " You really didn't need to involve yourself tonight. This is my mess."
"It's my mess too. It does take two to tango. We are both in this together. Equally responsible."

They were quiet again for a moment, when Daphne spoke again.

"I didn't know what you were planning to say to them. I thought that if I came over and told them the truth, it would help cut through a lot of the back and forth."

It was true. However, Daphne had another motive for her actions. As Niles tried to escape, Daphne knew he wanted to try and protect her from any fallout from their actions. But there was a pang of jealousy and annoyance that drove her to butt in. A small, selfish part wanted to make sure that their relationship wasn't hidden any longer.

Niles had closed his eyes, and didn't bother opening them as he responded.

"I don't know what I was going to say either. Probably try and put them off with some lie... Delay the inevitable again."
"I'm sorry if you think I overstepped."
"I don't think that at all. If anything, it's better now things have gone this way. I was so tired of dancing around the issue."

He sighed.

"Mel, on the other hand. She is not going to be happy, and she can have quite the temper."
"Are you afraid of her?"

Niles opened his eyes, and sat up.

"Not afraid... intimidated, I guess. Apprehensive. Fear of the unknown. Or knowing I've disappointed people." He smiled, a little abashed. "You may have noticed I'm a bit of a people pleaser."

Daphne had. She'd seen Niles almost break in two trying to bend over backwards trying to make everyone happy, not wanting to disappoint anyone. To the point where it was harmful to his own wellbeing.

"That's putting it mildly."

Niles nodded, agreeing.

"But, I think I'm relieved now. Even if I don't look it right now, a large weight has been lifted. I no longer have this lie, this obligation hanging over me."

Daphne looked at him. Niles looked exhausted, the way he usually did after a panic attack or emotionally charged encounter. So it wasn't easy to see, but there was a certain lightness about him, especially around the eyes. Niles stood suddenly, and stretched.

"I think I might be ready for bed." He looked at Daphne, unsure how to address the elephant in the room. "You're welcome to stay wherever you feel comfortable. I... just want to sleep. For a week, I'm that tired."
"Me too. And I know exactly where I want to stay." Daphne stood up, took his hand, and followed Niles upstairs.

Daphne sat on Niles' bed, feeling a little foolish. She had made light of Niles nervousness the day prior, teasing him over how awkward and flustered he got over something as seemingly mundane as being in her bedroom. But now she was sitting in his room, watching as Niles went through his dresser to see if there was something that she could wear to bed, she suddenly understood exactly where Niles was coming from.

She'd never thought about his room before tonight - never even been in his bedroom - but as they walked down the hall, hand in hand, she found her imagining it, her mind going wild making up for lost time. Picturing how the room itself would look, the bed. The sheets, how it might be decorated.

Pushing him against the mattress, my lips travelling down his body until...

Daphne shook her head, trying to remove that thought. She caught sight of Niles, bent over, and she had to look away, her face turning red. Niles stood up and turned around, a pair of beige silk pajamas in hand.

"I think these should be comfortable enough. Sorry, I don't really have..." He trailed off, noticing her visible nervousness. "Daphne? Are you okay?"

She nodded, still trying not to look at him. Niles was suddenly worried.

Did I do something to make her uncomfortable? Is sleeping in the same room too much? Did I...

Niles noticed the blush on her face, and he slowly realized what was happening. After all, he was very familiar with that exact feeling. He smirked at that. Tired as he was, Niles wasn't going to let this opportunity to tease her slip past him. Niles walked over, and sat on the bed next to her.

"You know, it's just a room in the house." Niles chuckled as she stuttered nervously. "Just think of it like being in, say, the kitchen."
"Just a room." Daphne snorted, as if it was anything but.
"You know, like how your bedroom is just a room." Niles pointed out.

Daphne looked back at Niles, and he could see she was flustered. He had the upper hand for once. He grinned, enjoying the sudden change in dynamic.

"You compared your bedroom to the kitchen. It's not the same." She looked at him pointedly.
"Oh? How is it different?"

Daphne suddenly got a look on her face which worried Niles. The dynamic was about to switch back, with Daphne having the upper hand of this conversation again.

"It's not like we usually spend time naked in the kitchen."

Niles slid off the end of the bed, landing heavily on the floor. Daphne fell backwards against the mattress, laughing loudly at his reaction. Niles didn't care.

Did Daphne- is Daphne- did she just picture me naked!?

"I'm so sorry, Niles. I know I gave you grief yesterday about this very thing. I guess you were right, I am acting the same about your bedroom."

Niles barely heard what she was saying.

She did. Daphne was imagining me naked. In my bedroom. Me. My bedroom. Naked.

"Niles?"

Us. Naked. Together. My bedroom.

He looked up at her, and she saw the shell-shocked expression on his face. Daphne looked puzzled, as if she was trying to work out exactly what happened to cause him to act that way. He knew the minute she realized, as she started turning bright red.

"Oh! I didn't mean it like that! I mean, not that I haven't- of course, I have- but not-"

Niles started laughing at how ridiculous they both were being.

"We make quite the pair, don't we?" Niles stood up, and kissed her, catching her by surprise. He lingered for a moment, before breaking apart. Daphne looked at him, properly flustered now. "These pajamas should fit. You can use the bedroom to change, I'm going to change in the bathroom down the hall."

He brushed her hair out of her face, silencing her protests. If he wasn't so emotionally exhausted, he'd be having a harder time resisting her. Daphne leaned her face into his hand.

"Thank you, Niles. I love you."
"I love you, too."

Dressed and teeth brushed using a spare toothbrush Niles had left out for her, Daphne waited in the bedroom nervously. Niles' pajamas were surprisingly baggy on her, and she half considered ditching the pants completely, to just sleep in the top and her underwear. She might still do that, once the lights were out and Niles was asleep. She'd opened the door to the hallway again once she was done changing so Niles knew to just come straight back in. Not that Daphne minded if he saw her nude. But she knew the awkward gentleman in him would insist on making sure she was decent.

While secretly hoping for a glimpse of something more. Cheeky bugger.

Despite their bagginess, wearing Niles' clothes was strangely comfortable. She caught a slight scent from the clothes every now and then when she moved, and Daphne brought the sleeves up to her face and inhaled. At first she caught just a mix of body washes and colognes, but his own natural scent still laid underneath.

There it is.

An almost earthy scent, dark with a hint of papery lightness, like ground coffee and old books. It seemed to light up all her senses with every inhale. Daphne was still investigating this scent, idly musing on whether Niles would miss this particular pair of pajamas if she took them with her, when she hear Niles enter, and the sharp intake of breath when he spotted her.

Daphne turned to look at Niles, standing up and wrapping her arms around herself as she did.

Niles was changed in a similar pair of pajamas, though these were a dark maroon. He was staring at Daphne as if seeing her for the first time, a look she wasn't overly familiar with. Not recently, at least. Usually it was a lingering gaze, a cow-eyed longing, some fantasy playing out in his mind. Not now. It was a look that was completely open and taken aback, wide eyed, adoration and amazement completely unhidden. The few times Daphne had elicited this type of reaction had been long ago. Like the night of the Snow Ball. Or the first time they met.

Daphne smiled at him, gently poking to find out what he was thinking.

"Have you had many fantasies about me in your room?"
"Yes... but not like this."
"Not like what?" Daphne was puzzled.
"I've never imagined you wearing my pajamas."

Daphne let out a half laugh.

"Not exactly a sexy look, sorry."
"No, no... quite the opposite." He was still looking at her in that same way, as if he realized there are still undiscovered layers to Daphne. Things even he couldn't imagine.

It was a look Daphne could get used to.

"Baggy men's pajamas are sexy?" Daphne was curious about his train of thought.

Niles nodded.

"Yes, when you're wearing them. And when they're my pajamas." He shook his head, as if trying to clear it. "Sorry, I probably sound completely mad."

He moved towards the bed, pulling back the sheets. Daphne watched the meticulous way he did so, and he seemed to be paying way more attention to the task than it warranted. He glanced up at Daphne again as he hopped into bed. Daphne moved to the vacant side, noticing Niles watching her every move as she crossed the room. Daphne felt the waist of the pajama bottoms slide down slightly as she moved, a little too large to stay up completely. That was going to annoy her.

Daphne stopped next to the bed, and looked back at Niles.

"So, you really like seeing me wearing your pajamas?"

He nodded slowly, trying to work out what she was up to.

"They're a little large. The shirt is fine, but the pants..." She slipped the waistband over her hips, and let them fall. As she bent to pick them up the shirt pulled upwards and she heard another sharp intake of air from Niles, and an almost involuntary moan as he caught sight of her underwear and backside as she bent over.

That view was somewhat unintentional, but the reaction was exactly what she wanted. Daphne straightened up, and moved across the room, placing the loosely folded pants on a chair in the corner. The pajama shirt was long enough that when standing it went past her ass, neatly hiding it from view. But Niles had already seen it. And when she turned, she was surprised to see the same look on his face - a scenario he hadn't imagined before.

That surprised her a little, but then again, not really. Daphne realized she couldn't imagine Maris or Mel ever wearing any of Niles pajamas. So the thought of Daphne wearing just his pajama shirt may have never crossed his mind. But it certainly was now.

"Sorry, I hope you don't mind." Daphne slipped into bed next to him.

He shook his head, still looking amazed.

"Are you okay if I turn off the light? I'm about to fall asleep any moment now." Niles rubbed his eyes.

Daphne nodded. She could see how tired he was. Niles' eyes, as much as they were taking in the sight of her in his bed were heavy, drooping. Barely kept open. And Daphne was tired too. It probably worked to their advantage. Who knew how worked up they would be getting about sleeping in the same bed if they were more alert. Sleep seemed to be the only thing they wanted to do. Niles turned off the lamp. They laid there in the darkness side by side, not quite touching. Both unsure exactly how exactly they should be acting, given that they were sleeping together before they slept together, so to speak.

Niles, tired as he was, felt his mind spinning. He couldn't explain exactly what it was about Daphne in his pajamas. It had affected him more than anything else since they started dating. Especially that she was clearly sniffing the shirt she was wearing when he had entered. That was something Niles had never imagined Daphne doing. Why, he didn't know. Niles had taken any and every opportunity over the years to do that very thing. Her hair, her coat when hanging it up for her, the lingering scent in the air when she had passed by... So seeing Daphne do something that seemed so... like him, seemed to really bring home that she wanted him. That she was attracted to him. Found him desirable.

Why that simple gesture, above everything else so far, was a mystery.

But, for whatever reason, it was something Niles had never pictured her doing. And that, combined with the never before imagined sight of Daphne in his pajamas made even his wildest fantasies pale in comparison. Then she had to tip him over the edge when she removed the pajama pants and bent over. A marginally more alert Niles would have died completely at the sight of her long, shapely legs and rear. As it was, it had dialed up what was going on here to 11. He was completely and utterly attracted to Daphne, and wished he wasn't so worn out right now, so he could show her exactly how she made him feel.

Niles rolled over, and found himself looking straight into Daphne's eyes. She leaned forward and kissed him. Long enough to say exactly what she wanted to do, but short enough to say not yet. He understood. Niles didn't think he could even if he wanted to. It was all his energy right now not to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. The kind of sleep that always followed when he had been stretched to the end of his mental tether. Niles let out a long yawn, and smiled at Daphne.

"Niles?"
"Mmm?" He was drifting off as she spoke, her voice almost sounding like a memory more than reality.
"Could you... hold me?"

Niles shifted towards her and opened his arms to her. Daphne rolled over and moved into his embrace, her body conforming comfortably against his. Niles let his top arm drape across her waist as he felt her settle into place. Her backside rubbed pleasantly against his groin, and he let out an audible hum of contented pleasure. Niles nuzzled against her neck, and the smell of her hair was the last thing he remembered as he drifted off, unsure if he managed to say 'Goodnight, I love you', or only thought it.