Title: The Kitten And Her Doggy Protector
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: The Host novel
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, Smeyer does...
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sunny/Kyle
Genre: Fluff
Warnings: none except maybe if you're not into kinda fluffy fic
Story type: one-shot
Beta: Many thanks to the wonderful xxxlolaxxxstar at LJ who was really helpful and convienced me to post it this story... Thanks again Lola...
Synopsis: On a stormy night, Sunny and Kyle find themselves discussing their relationship to Jodi, and then some…

Sunny couldn't sleep, even though she was cuddled in Kyle's arms. They were laying in the Game Room, as they had been since Kyle had asked Doc to bring her back. Kyle was working on getting them a proper sleeping space, altering Walter's old one. They usually slept alone in the Game Room, but tonight, because of a violent storm, all theit cave fellows minus a few raiders were sleeping there too.

It was not their presence, nor the storm, which was keeping the soul awake: she was feeling depressed, afraid of the future, and she couldn't tell Kyle about her fears to make it worse. He had been working so hard on their new accomodations that he was utterly exhausted and hadn't realized that she was sinking into depression, though she was, and deeply, but she couldn't bring herself to ask anyone for help…. After all, who would be able to understand her inner turmoil?

A particularly violent round of thunder was heard, and Kyle was awoken abruptly. He opened his eyes a little, trying to figure out what was responsible for his rough awaking. Hearing the thunder, he understood and held Sunny a little tighter, idly kissing her hair. He noticed that her eyes were open.

"Hey baby", he said, "Don't worry, it can't harm you. I'll protect you. Jodi was scared of storms too," he explained, obviously still sleepy. He felt Sunny shaking in his arms but didn't get what was happening until he felt moisture roll down his arms: she was crying, hard. That woke him up for good and he tightened his hold on her. "Don't cry, Sunny, I'm here. I'll always keep you safe."

But she kept on sobbing quietly, afraid to wake the others. He felt like his heart was getting stomped on. He had no idea about what was happening, but her distress was more than he could bear. He managed to make her rotate in his arms, so that she was now sobbing against his chest. He caressed her hair gently, waiting for her to calm down a little and for her to tell him what was happening. He tried whispering encouraging words in her ear, in a soothing voice.

He couldn't know, but he was actually making it worse, and Sunny couldn't stop crying. He was being so sweet, so protective of her. It broke her heart, did she really deserve it?

"What's the matter?" he asked. "Please, Sunny, baby, talk to me. It can't be the storm that's scaring you so much."

She tried to calm down, to stop sobbing, and eventually managed to.

"There you are baby," he said, when she finally raised her head to meet his eyes.

"Oh, Kyle", she cried again. "I'm so sorry, please don't leave me!"

"What? Why? What are you talking about? Please Sunny, you're not making any sense. Of course I won't leave you! I promise…" he started to say, but she put a finger on his lips to stop him.

"Don't promise, Kyle, you would only end up breaking it."

The look on his face was one of utter confusion, and she wanted to weep some more but knew she had to explain what was happening.

"I'm so sorry, Kyle. I try. Everyday, I try, really hard, but I can't, I just can't…"

"What can't you do? Are you sick of being with me?" he asked, feeling extreemly insecure. He tried so hard to make her feel like she belonged there, with them, with him.

"I can't find Jodi!" She finally choked out.

At first, Kyle didn't know what to make of her answer. She had already scared him when she started crying… He realized that she was watching him with complete fear in her eyes, waiting for his readtion. The only thing he managed to utter was, "Oh."

She started shaking uncontrollablely, and he knew he couldn't let her start again. "Sh… Sh… It's not a bad "oh", it's a relieved one. You scared me so much baby, I'm just trying to deal with this revelation. I really thought you were gonna ask me to bring you back to Vegas or something along those lines…"

" No! I don't want to leave you. I want to stay with you, always, please don't make me leave!", Sunny exclaimed, putting both her small hands on his face, gently caressing it. "My dreams made me wait for you, and when you came for me, I knew I would follow you anywhere. When you named me, you made me your own, and I couldn't be more happy. I'm yours, Kyle, I would never leave you of my own free will. Only you could send me away. And that thought terrifies me. I can't not be with you."

He didn't say it out loud, but he thought he could be without her either.

"And you thought that I would send you away if you couldn't find Jodi?"

"I can't. I tried, but I can't… She's just… gone," she cried some more. "I'm so sorry Kyle!"

"But you really tried, right? So I can't be mad at you."

"You can't?"

"No. You did as I asked; you kept your promise. And I hope that you will keep on trying to search for her from time to time. But I have to admit… I kinda saw, expected this. You and Jodi, you really have different tempers, and though sometimes, I can see a little of hers in your actions, you have been mostly Sunny to me for the longest time."

He stopped talking for a while, pressing her against his. She pushed her face against his chest and he buried his nose in her hair. Sunny wasn't sure what to think, but she instinctively knew that he would explain, and that she couldn't interrupt whatever he was thinking about. He needed to porcess things, and she respected that.

He did talk again after some time, as if coming back to reality after an intense brainstorming session. "You know," he said, "when Wanda was sharing Mel's body, they both were in love with Jared. I believe I am in the opposite situation. I love both of you, Jodi and Sunny, and not just because you're sharing a body. She was my first love, and when the war begin, we got separated because she couldn't trust me to take care of her. She loved me too, but we were so young, and I hadn't exactly proved myself to be worthy of her trust, she couldn't be sure whether she could do a better job keeping herself safe. When I came for her, it was you I found, and you trusted me with your life instinctively. It felt strange, especially since I had been such a prick to Wanda. But you, you had complete faith in me, and I hadn't done anything to deserve it. You just did… You're this amazing Soul, and I love you. Not because of Jodi, but because of who you are. I need you, and I will never send you away. I love you, you know? More than I have ever loved anyone before."

"I love you too", Sunny said simply, and he felt a warm rush to his heart.

It was the first time thay had ever exchanged those fateful three words and she was amazed at the power a few letters combined together could hold…

Sunny raised her head from his chest, and she started at him with adoration that he didn't think he deserved. He brushed his fingers against her lips, and he could have sworn she purred.

He spoke again, "I need you to still search for Jodi from time to time, for my conscience to be clear. She meant a lot to me, and I owe her that. But if you don't find her, it will just mean that I wasn't betraying her when I fell in love with you."

A particularly rumble of thunder made the cave's wall vibrate, but neither cared. They were both to busy staring at each other, with great intensity. Slowly, Kyle lowered his head, still holding Sunny in his hands, and tenderly, for the very first time, kissed her.

It was a chaste kiss, but like nothing she had ever experiences. It felt like fireworks in their bellies, it felt like being alive for the first time. It bonded them together, forever.

The thunder woke Wanda up abruptly. She sat up a little until she recognised the noise. She wasn't scared, but her heart was beating a little too fast for her to simply go back to sleep. She scanned her surroundings quickly, to check if anybody else had woken-up but didn't see anyone. Ian was sleeping deeply, peacefully, snoring slightly because of a cold he had caught a few days earlier. She smiled down at him lovingly.

Then something else caught her eye. Kyle and Sunny were obviously awake, in a tight embrace. Wanda briefly wondered how her fellow Sould didn't feel crushed by the hold he had on her frail form. Kyle was pecking her lips, a few times, before kissing the girl deeper. Finally, he broke it, and kissed her forehead before closing his eyes as if to go back to sleep. Just a few seconds later, they were both asleep, both snuggled tightly. His arms around her waist were keeping her as close as physically possible.

While lying down again, Wanda was suppressing a yawn, and couldn't help but remember how she had first described them, as a Rottweiler and and a kitten. It really seemed to fit their relationship, but maybe the kitten was the one with the stronger hold, on her doggy protector. Wanda felt happy for the other soul; Sunny's future seemed to get brighter every day.