A/N: Sorry it took soooo long! My Internet was down, and I am incapable of fixing anything, so I had to wait. I'm sorry! Please don't be mad!

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Flashback:

Neal continued to ramble on, and felt his eyes closing. However, before he allowed himself to fall asleep, he looked at Kel one last time. He lightly touched her white cheek, and stroked her hair back. Before he could stop himself, he kissed her gently on her soft lips. It's not as if I'll ever be able to do that again. Then he lay his head down against the bed next to her and went to sleep.

He hadn't seen Kel's eyes flicker open a few moments before. She had woken up just as his lips were caressing hers.

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Kel felt as if she was swimming upwards through a foggy haze, attempting to reach through. She heard mumbling in the distance and strained to hear details. It was Neal's voice! She pulled faster as she heard the incoherent thoughts grow louder, and then felt a touch on her cheek. She finally burst to the surface, her eyes popping open, and she was suddenly gazing at the side of Neal's head. She was shocked when she realized that his odd position was due to the fact that his lips were pressed against hers. His breath warmed her lips for a fleeting second before he lifted his head. He emitted a soft sigh before lying his head down on the bed next to her and appearing to fall into a deep sleep.

Kel stared at him. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Did he really do that? Or did I just imagine it? She pressed a finger to her lips, feeling the warmth he had given her, and knew that that was not a dream. She turned and again looked incredulously at the top of Neal's brown head, brushing his unruly hair with her fingers. So-if that wasn't a dream, what did he mean? What's going on? Could that mean that he feels something for me? Or was he just relieving his stress? She was thoroughly confused, and she felt her eyelids drooping once again. One last thought penetrated her head as she drifted back off to sleep, a thought she would later blame on her exhaustion. I wish he would do that more often.

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Neal awoke to a vision of pure white. After blinking a few times, he noticed the folds of the white, and noticed the ache in his bent back. He groaned and sat up, feeling a slight pressure on the top of his head. He reached up and found a warm hand resting on his hair. After removing it and inspecting it he discovered that it was Kel's hand. She's woken up! She's ok! He couldn't help the relieved grin that lit up his face, anymore than he could stop the yelp he released after sitting up straight. Ouch! Kel's eyes opened at the sound, focusing on Neal.

"Neal? Are you ok?"

Neal smiled happily. "My dear squire, I am absolutely ecstatic! You, my darling, are ok, so the whole word is sunny to my eyes!" He was grinning down at her, and then he noticed the purple circles beneath her eyes. "Kel, you're still tired. Get some more sleep ok? You've been through a lot. I'll come back later." He squeezed her hand gently and then left the room, whistling off key. The next person to see the knight observed him dancing with himself in the hallway.

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Neal knew that he was filthy. He was completely aware of that fact. However, his attention to that idea was limited, as the occurrences of the last few days had left him completely drained. And at the moment his happiness over Kel's well being was prominent in his mind. So he failed to notice the disgusted looks cast his way. He was too busy thinking about Kel. So he started when an arm was thrown around his shoulders.

"It's my darling Meathead!" Neal glared up into the sparkling eyes of his cousin Dom. Dom grinned at him and lowered his voice is a conspiratorial whisper. "You know dear cousin, I've been hearing some uncomplimentary comments about you in the halls. Some of the men have been complaining about your stench in the halls. Now of course, I could never believe that of my obsessively clean relative, so I came to investigate." With that, Dom untangled his arm from Neal's shoulders and picked up one of Neal's dangling hands. He inspected Neal's fingers with a look of utter shock. "Meathead! There is dirt underneath your finger nails."

Neal drew his hand away quickly. "No there isn't," he denied quickly, and then paused to look at the filth himself. "Oh gods, there is." He strode quickly toward his room, preparing to clean off. However, a hand on his arm stopped him.

"Oh cousin, you weren't going to clean off were you? Because I was going to help you with that, me being the generous man that I am." Dom beckoned to a man standing behind Neal, and the next second Neal found himself soaked head to toe in soapy water. He stood there for a second, gasping and mouthing obscenities as Merric came out from the shadows behind him.

"Cruel heartless men, may the gods forgive you for treating a hero so incredibly badly. Here I return from a brave and grand adventure, and you dishonor me with soapy water." Neal threw hand to his forehead dramatically, sending bubbles flying everywhere. "You WILL regret this." He glared at the two mischievous men for a second before striding to his rooms. The jokesters waited until the sopping knight had securely fastened the door before breaking into hysterical laughter.

After the bubble incident, Neal retreated into his room and took full advantage of the cleaning time. He scrubbed everywhere, even between his toes and emerged from his bath pink and shiny. After realizing the extent to which he had been dirty, he felt relieved to watch the filth remain in the tub. He meticulously shaved his face, and then spent a great many minutes picking out the perfect outfit. After settling on forest green pants and a starched white shirt, he slowly pulled the clothes on. He then grabbed a large volume (a gift from his father) and proceeded to the infirmary where he would wait for Kel to wake up.

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Neal had spent a few hours at her side, contentedly reading about knights a hundred years ago before Kel woke up. He didn't notice her awareness right away, being too absorbed in his book. Kel took this opportunity to watch him, to memorize his face. A slight smile curved his lips due to his inexplicable enjoyment of history. Her eyes lit briefly on his messy brown hair and she smiled. He obviously spent time on his dress, and had time to shave. But bother to comb his unruly hair? Well the effort required was obviously too much for our dear knight. From there her eyes traveled quickly to his half-closed emerald eyes, and then came to rest on his mouth.

Again she wondered what the kiss earlier had meant. She was completely confused, and she hated being confused. But she couldn't ask him about it. If he had wanted her to know, then he would have kissed her when she was awake. He obviously wanted whatever his intent was to be kept a secret. So, although Kel was extremely curious, she decided to keep her questions at bay. She loved him enough to respect his privacy.

Her gaze wandered to his large expressive hands, moving to turn a page. She loved how dramatic he was, his laugh, his exterior, but she knew that his inside was as sensitive as his hand. Well, she loved those things like a friend, right?

Kel thought back to when she was a page, when her infatuation with him had begun and ended. (A/N: remember, she had 8 years as a page) She remembered how a smile from him would keep her alive for weeks. She had gotten over him, had been able to concentrate again on her work. But now she remembered that even then she had anticipated his visits. In her mind's eye she saw is face as he spoke to her, funny one moment and tender the next. And suddenly she realized that she never had gotten over him. That she was still very much in love. That her crush had continued, much as her gaze hadn't budged from Neal's palm. Which was now waving in front of her face.

"Kel? Kel? Are you ok?" His grin suddenly made her insides melt. He snapped his fingers and she fell out of her trance.

"Yeah yeah I'm fine." She mentally shook herself for acting so, so, well, so girl-like.

He couldn't seem to stop smiling. "So how do you feel?"

"I'm ok." Stupid answer. Say something, interesting, now! "I guess I wasn't much help for the escape?"

"Not really. But we survived."

"Yeah."

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds before Kel remembered one small detail. "So, is there a kidnapped general floating around this fort somewhere? Or did we ditch him on the way?"

Neal grimaced. "No he's here. He's the reason that Lord Raoul is about to blow up."

"Ah. I'm sorry."

"Yeah me too. I'm actually kind of curious about why you were compelled to bring him along for the end of our little journey"

Kel knew that this would be a long story and sat up cross-legged before she launched into the tale. However, she had only said a few words before she noticed Neal's stare and bright red cheeks. "Is something the matter."

Neal wordlessly gestured, and Kel followed his glance. She looked down, and noticed her previously unseen amount of clothing. Or rather, lack of clothing. Though a breastband was strung across her chest and a loincloth covered her hips, the rest of her was embarrassingly bare. She froze.

Neal was enjoying the scene before him. He knew that it was rude, and uncouth, and that he shouldn't, but he couldn't help himself. Her body was heavily muscled and defined, and incredibly strong. The breatband covered the flesh, but did nothing to hide the curve of her bosom. He tore his eyes away and saw her confusion and humiliation. However she seemed unable to do something about the situation. Finally Neal handed her the sheet and she pulled it up to her chin.

His eyes wide, he slowly stood, closing his book. "Um, yeah, well, Kel, I, um, will, uh, might come back later, some other time, maybe, possibly, I think. I'll, I'll see you later. Uh, bye." Neal awkwardly waved a hand and closed the door behind him, leaving a shocked Kel in his wake.

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A/N: I'm dancing to a tune of fluff, fluff, fluff, fluff, fluff! Did you like it? It was like a cotton ball. Or a bunny rabbit. Nice and soft and fluffy and wonderful! Yay! And please please, be happy about the fluffy content and don't be mad at the time or length or anything! See how great it is?

Ok, replies:

Keladry612: Yay! Thank you!

Justcallmebubba: Now you know!

E.V.P.: Fluff! And here's another chapter!

Cowgirl: thanks so much; all of your reviews were really inspiring. Not 24 hours, but that was my computer's fault!

HyperLittleCat: can I have a plushie too?

Lady Knight 1512: reviews for you on the way I promise! And thank you!

Californiapoppy: I'm glad it's believable. Sometimes it all turns out too fairy-tale-ish.

Arcadia: Thank you! I can't quit school, my parents would murder me. I wish I could!

Elerina: joins hands and skips around singing the fluff song. Yay!

Dreamerdoll: Thank you, you rock, and you owe me an email!

WolfdemonGrl: Thank you! And don't worry, corniness is definitely not a sin.

Chisakami Saiyuki: Aw cliffies are fun! Plus that makes this update even more anticipated!

Pussin Boots: Sorry about the chapter length, but I like the length, so I'm not going to be going longer real soon. Sorry!

Scottish Wish: Neal didn't regain enough magic to really help Kel, and he was exhausted so it wasn't like he could really recover quickly after draining himself. And I guess Merric was out of character. Oh well. Also, thank you for your helpful and encouraging reviews! I really appreciate it!

Stormy Writer: Neal put the general asleep right at the end of chap. 7 and never woke him up, so that he could just tie him up. That way Neal wouldn't be distracted. And the fan thing, it's a deal! Oh and one more idea. Thanks.

FanFictionFantom: fluff!

Okay, well that's all for now! Everyone, go read dreamerdoll's stories. And Lady Knight 1512's fics as well! They're both amazing writers! And I hope that you all enjoyed this update! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW for more fluff, plus plot with the general and maybe even Buri/Raoul!

I love you all!

Princess Peach