The Knight and the Paladin - A series of Oneshots

12 Love hurts

A/N: Somehow I remembered part of this because I was dreaming about the beginning of this one shot just before I woke up. Took me the whole day to finish a depressing, but still happy ending story. Hope you fellas like it :-)

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Her feelings overwhelmed her. She was more than just sad when she left the house they all agreed to sleep in. she walked down the meadow, her knees weak as she made her way down a small slope, and finally she sat down. The ground was wet and the earth beneath her already muddy. Rain began to fall and soon she was completely wet. She didn't care and only sat at the slope, digging her nails into the earth. Something hard interrupted her train of thoughts and she dug out a thing similar to a screwdriver. It had a sharp tip and probably was a weapon. She put it aside in her belt.

Her friend came over searching for her. "What are you doing here?", Piper said. She looked up at the reporter's face, tears rolling down her cheeks. The make up she wore was smeared and black lines of eye liner covered her soft skin. "Oh Kathryn...", the reporter said and sat down next to her friend. "Come here." And Kat crawled over to her, laying her head into Piper's lap and crying bitterly. She softly stroked Kat's wet hair and stayed with her for a while in the rainy night.

"Give him time, Sweetheart. He'll come to you."
"You... you can say that. Since you and Nate are happy with each oth... other."

Kat cried out even more. "Hey, I'm trying to comfort you here! You know, I could spend my time better than being here with you, out in the rain!" Piper's outburst quieted her immediately. "I'm sorry, Pipes.", Kat then whispered. "It's okay. I didn't mean to get loud with you." Kat looked up in Piper's smiling face. "Come on, let's get you inside before we both get sick." Kat nodded and the reporter helped her up. "Thank you.", she said and placed a small kiss on Piper's cheek "You truly are my best friend." The reporter smiled.

They walked into the living room where Nate and Danse were sitting. Nate sat comfortably on the couch, a huge smile appeared across his face when he saw Piper walking into the room. "Hey Pipes, why are you all wet?", he asked smirking. She just shook her head and told him she'd tell him later. Now they all looked at Kat, completely soaked and covering the floor in the dropping rain water from her wet clothes and hair. Silently she walked into the bathroom and getting rid of her cold clothing. She shivered and put on the shower.

Warm water covered her cold skin. It felt like an eternity before she was able to grab a piece of soap to clean herself. The tears still streamed down her face and the trembling of her legs forced her to sit down. She sat there knees under her chin, arms wrapped around her legs as she cried and cried. Someone knocked on the door. "Go away...", she said, voice raspy. "Are you okay?" He ignored her as he asked. Kat froze, eyes wide in horror. "Kathryn?" His voice sounded concerned. Did he really care for her? Or did Piper and Nate tell him to look after her? "Just... just give me a few minutes, will you?", she said through the closed door.

Fifteen minutes later Kat opened the door, now wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black tank top under an also black zip hooded sweater. Her hair was still damp under the hood and her eyes red and puffy. She walked into the living room again to the others and let herself plopp down onto an arm chair next to the couch. She sniffed once and wiped her nose before she grabbed a bottle of beer which stood on the table in front her and emptied it completely in one swig. Then she placed it back onto the table and took the next one, eyeing it carefully.

"Are you going to tell us what's wrong or are we going to guess what the problem is?", Nate said, eyebrows risen after Kat also emptied the second bottle. "No and no.", she just said and took the third beer. She sniffed again. The third bottle soon was empty, too. Kat already felt a little tipsy. She welcomed the quiet in which her three friends looked at her, while she grabbed the fourth bottle in the time span of thirty minutes. Nate let out a loud huff and asked Piper to come with him. Kat was sure he asked his girlfriend about what Kat's problem was.

Danse eyed her from his place on the desk. She sure was aware that he glanced at her, but the alcohol suppressed that she was caring and downed the next beer. A few minutes later Piper and Nate came back arguing. "Why don't you stop her?", he asked angrily. "Because she needs it!", an upset Piper said. "Fine!" "Fine!" They both sat down at the couch again, both at the opposite ends of the furniture and arms crossed. Kat rolled her eyes. She almost fell out of the arm chair while grabbing for beer number five. "Don't you think that you already had enough?", his deep voice trailed from behind her into her ears. "I don't think so.", she slightly slurred and the next bottle was empty. This time she threw it across the room where it shattered against a wall.

"Alright. You had enough!" Danse was pissed, she clearly heard it now. "I don't know what the fuck your problem is, but you can't drink it away!" Nate and Piper jumped as Danse shouted through the room. Now it was her time to get mad. Really, really mad. "My problem? My problem? YOU ARE MY FUCKING PROBLEM!" She screamed and ran out of the living room. The front door slammed into it's hinges. She ran. She didn't know where to, but she needed to get as much space between them as possible.

It stopped raining quite a while ago and the air was cool. She felt a little better now. Her head began to clear the more fresh air she breathed in. Kat's feet walked her to a nearby farm. It was the Finch Farm and she knew the people there. She hugged herself as she walked towards the old building. Mister Finch still was outside working on something. He cursed and put his thumb into his mouth as a droplet of blood appeared at the tip. "Hey Mister Finch, are you okay?", Kat asked him. "Oh, hey Kat. I'm alright, just cut my thumb here. He pointed at a turret he was working on. A sharp piece of metal was covered in a thin line of blood. "Let's get inside and treat that wound of yours properly.", she said. The farmer nodded and walked towards his home and opened the door.

Misses Finch sat at a table and prepared a few cobs of corn. She carefully cut the kernels from the cobs into a bowl. She looked up as her husband and Kat walked in. "Hello Misses Finch.", Kat said, voice hushed. "Hello Kathryn, what brings you to us?", the woman asked. "Can I stay here for a while?", she just asked. Both Mister and Misses Finch looked at her. They both looked into her face and nodded. "Of course you can. Seems like you had some trouble lately.", the woman softly said. Kat sat down next to her and sighed. Her hands began to shake and tears welled in her eyes. A loud sob escaped her and she cried her eyes out.

Misses Finch put the knife away and gently put a hand on Kat's shoulder. "Hey, hey. Wanna tell me what happened?", she softly asked. Kat looked her in the eyes. They were warm and friendly. She nodded and wiped the tears away. Mister Finch gave her a bottle of water which she took gratefully. She took a few swigs and sighed. "There's someone in my life I fell in love with... We spend a lot of time together. I don't know what he feels about me. Because one day he acts all nice and caring and the other days... ugh, he's a huge pain in the ass. I could kill him on those days. Like he's bickering about fucking everything I do. Especially when it comes to risky things. Like I don't know what the hell I'm doing... Or... or he ignores me completely..." Another sigh escaped her. She shook her head as another wave of tears filled her eyes. "I... I fucking don't know what to do..." Her voice cracked and she fidgeted with her fingers in her lap.

"Tell him. Find out what he thinks when you are going to do risky things. I'm sure he has a reason for it." Misses Finch patted her again. It was already very late as the three of them sat at the table, preparing food for the next day as they were startled by a knock at the door. Mister Finch grabbed his rifle. "Who's there?", he asked, voice alarmed. A voice which Kat knew very well answered. "My name is Danse. May I come in?" Kat's eyes widened and she hugged herself and looked away from the door. Misses Finch read her right as she said "He's the one right?" Mister Finch opened the door. "What do you want?", he asked the tall man standing in front of him. "I want to speak with Kathryn. I know she's here." Mister Finch looked at her fearful face. She swallowed.

"Go speak with him sweetheart.", misses Finch whispered. Kat nodded and stood up. "I'm coming...", she said, voice hushed. She still hugged herself as she walked out of the old house past Danse and stopped a few meters away. She didn't look at him but heard that he followed her. After what felt like a safe distance from the farm she stopped again and sat down onto the wet ground. She flinched as the water covering the grass and earth seeped through her jeans. Danse sat next to her, crossing his arms on his knees and looking down. He was awfully quiet. "What do you want?", Kat asked almost too quiet to hear what she was saying.

She looked up at the clearing sky, discovering the stars between scattered clouds. Danse sighed. "I want you to talk to me." He looked at her, his brown eyes glistening under the now visible moon. She looked at him studying his face. He frowned, like he feared what she was about to say. She took a deep breath to calm herself. Her hands were shaking and she looked away. "I don't understand you. One day you're all nice and friendly to me... And on other days..? I wish I could kill you. You annoy the hell out of me, you know?" Her hands balled into fists. He rubbed his neck and let out a breath he was holding. "I feared that you would say this."

Kat narrowed her brows but stayed silent. She waited for Danse to explain himself. "I am well aware on what you're thinking about me. But you're wrong." "How so?", she almost sounded provocative. "I talked to Piper. She told me that you were out for hours, crying in the rain before you came in and screamed at me. That I am the reason you feel so terrible." Again he looked at her, but her face was unreadable since she covered it under her hood. "I wish I could leave so you'd feel better... But it would break me." The following silence fell hard.

Kat though that she saw a single tear escaping his left eye. She wasn't sure because he wiped his hands over his face and through his hair. The thoughts in her head were spinning. Did she really understand what he tried to tell her? "What do you mean?", she asked into the silence. He sighed. "The reason you think that I am annoying you is because I fucking care about you. I'm always afraid when you do risky and stupid things. I don't ignore you, but I am too afraid to speak with you. Because I don't know what to say to you when we are alone... It's easier for me when Nate and Piper are around, because then I feel more safe..." Suddenly Danse stopped talking.

Kat's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe that he opened up that much in front of her. Talking about his feelings for her. Reality hit her hard as her 'as slow like a snail' like mind finally understood that he just confessed that he was in love with her. She swallowed hard on the lump in her throat and slightly shook her head. "What else did Piper say?", she whispered. "As I told you, that I am the reason you're hurting. I wanted to talk with you about this much sooner, but never had enough confidence to even try it. You don't know how much it hurt seeing you drinking away the pain I am causing. And I fully understand if you want me to leave-" A slap at his cheek silenced him.

"Don't.", she said, finally but slowly lifting the hood, revealing her face. She was crying all the time as he spoke. "Don't do this to me! Do you hear me?!" Her voice grew louder. "Don't you dare to leave me!" Anger flared in her chest and her fists connected with his chest as she let herself go. She cried even louder, repeating herself over and over again, hitting him with every word she spoke. "Don't leave me..." Just as fast as the anger rose did it falter and she slammed her fists one last time into his chest before they fell down into the wet grass. His heart broke in millions of pieces seeing her devastated and broken, crying and hitting him. So he did the only thing he could think of. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in a hug, softly holding on her for dear life.

He tried to soothe her as she cried her lungs and soul out. He gently swayed back and forth and drew small circles on her back. "It's all good. I will not leave you." he repeated over and over again. "I love you..." She immediately stopped crying. It was just a whisper but she heard it. She sniffed and looked up. "What?", her voice was hoarse and only a whisper. "I love you." This time he said it louder. "Kathryn, I fucking love you!" His eyes widened as he realized what he said. He looked down at her. She still had tears in her eyes but she smiled. His heart raced. But he could feel something else. He felt light, like the tons weight on his shoulders finally fell off. And he smiled back.

Before he was able to say something else he was gently tackled down onto the ground. Her soft lips were on his chapped ones. When Kat ended the kiss she opened her eyes and smiled wide. She completely laid on him. Only her hands rested at the sides of his head while he held her at her hips. He could feel the heat rise into his face and he knew that his face must have been bright red. Because she laughed a light laugh before she leaned in again, this time her tongue searching his. The taste of her was indescribable but it was oh so good. The butterflies in his stomach created a hurricane of love in him. Only one thing was able to top it. If she was willing to say it..."I love you too.", Kat whispered in Danse's ear.

They walked back hand in hand in a comfortable silence. He held the door open for her. Nate and Piper already went to bed. Without a spoken word they both agreed to do the same. The day's excitement was too much for both and they didn't even care that they both were going to sleep in the same bed. They undressed and almost immediately fell onto the bed, snuggling up to each other under the blanket. Kat was the first to fall asleep. She didn't even say goodnight, but she smiled. "Goodnight my love." Danse whispered as he placed a kiss onto her forehead, before he too closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The next morning came bright and shining. It was a warm and beautiful day. Nate and Piper couldn't believe when Danse and Kat stepped out of the same bedroom laughing and kissing each other. Nate's jaw dropped just as he was about to eat some breakfast, the piece of food on his fork falling back down on his plate. Piper on the other hand smiled and went to hug both of them. "Well, well, well... That took you two long enough now.", she said with a knowing smile. "What? No! PIPER!", Kat said, knowing that Piper meant that Kat and Danse had sex with each other. Therefore she punched her on the arm. "Ouch! KATHRYN! That hurt..."

Kat laughed the lightest laugh they all heard in like for ever. Even Danse and Nate chuckled as Piper rubbed her arm, glaring daggers at Kat, but still smirking. They all sat at the table, eating their breakfasts in comfortable silence. "Hey Danse?", Kat then called out. "Yes?", he answered. They both looked at each other with huge ass smiles on their faces. "I love you." He chuckled. "I love you, too." They both kissed each other. Nate and Piper dropped their forks and jaws while the other pair was laughing at their dumbfounded faces.

Neither Kat nor Danse thought that this trip would take the turn it did. Finally both were happy.
"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you!", Kat said over and over again. "You know, I wanted to say this all the time, since the first day I met you...", she confessed. "The feeling's mutual.", Danse said and squeezed her hand a little. The wind played with her hair as she looked at him. Her blue eyes met his brown ones. He gently put a strain of hair behind her ear. It was a simple gesture but the butterflies in her stomach jumped at it and made her love him even more.

"I love you."
"I love you, too."