Reassurance.

"Oh come on." Ash said, giving her a bright smile. "Push you away? You really think I'd do that? Kat, you could stab me with a knife and I still wouldn't abandon you. Not that I'm trying to give you any suggestions for the next time I annoy you, but you get the idea."

"I'm being serious here, Ash!" Katrina said, somewhat distressed.

"And so am I. I'm not going to leave you alone, Kat." Ash's smile died back down to a serious look and his gaze bore through her own eyes into the back of her head. Katrina gulped and realized she had quit breathing and quickly **** herself to resume.

"You will eventually." Katrina said softly. "We can't stay together forever."

"Is that what this is about?" Ash asked. "You're worried about us growing apart?"

"No! Well, maybe a little bit. I mean, I really do have feelings for you...and I think that only compunds my fear. While we're both living here, even if we're not 'together', we're at least close. But you'll eventually move away and get married and live with someone else and I...I..." Katrina started to tear up. "Oh God. I'm sorry, Ash." She put her head in her hands and started to bawl her eyes out.

"Ah, jeez." Ash groaned. He fidgited uncomfortably on the bed. "Kat..."

"No...I'll be fine Ash." She said slowly and shakily between tears. "Just...give me a moment." She sniffed a few more times, then lifted her head, drying her eyes with her shirt sleeve. "I didn't mean to cry Ash. Honest. I just...I don't know. My heart is aching."

"I wish I could stop the hurt, Kat, I really do. But I don't...I don't feel that way." Ash winced at the pain in Katrina's eyes when he said that. He felt like a heel, but lying to her and faking any kind of emotion would hurt her more in the long run. "I am so sorry."

"No, I'm the one that should be sorry Ash." She said softly. "This isn't the right kind of emotions I should be having. I'm not supposed to be in love with my brother, whether it's by blood or not."

"L-love?" Ash asked weakly. He had no idea the feelings were that strong. Lust, sure. Infatuation, why not? But love...that was something entirely different. Did he really have what it takes to crush the heart of the person he cares most about so readily?

"Yes. Yes, Ash. I love you." Katrina said into the carpet. "I've loved you for a while."

"True love?" Ash whispered.

"With all my heart." Katrina whispered back, her words choked with tears again.