Fic: Compulsory (WAT, Danny/Martin, PG)
Title: Compulsory
Fandom: Without A Trace
Pairing: Danny/Martin
Rating: PG
Summary: Transit strikes, carpools, and Christmas. Sort of.
Author's note: This is possibly the cheesiest thing I've ever written. Scratch that. This is the cheesiest thing I've ever written, including Lock and Key, which I wrote two years ago, I think. I didn't write any Christmas fic last year because apparently I was being lame last year. I did write New Year's fic, but it was Veritas and that's one of those fandoms hardly anyone reads. I digress. The point is that this should in no way be taken seriously, and it is not intended to make light in any way of the recent transit strike in NYC. I'm glad for the people on my friends list who live in NYC that the transit system is running again, because I can only imagine how frustrating that was to deal with in real life.
All of which is to say that this is my Christmas offering to my friends list, inspired by recent events and possibly kind of tasteless. I meant well. And I probably don't have to remind anyone that I'm not following the show these days, so chances are this doesn't fit into canon. But hey, if it does, awesome.
*~*
Most days Martin liked living in New York. He knew how his family felt about him living here, but they'd had a couple years to get used to it now, and even his father had given up trying to change his mind about working for Jack.
So he was settled, liked his job and his apartment, liked his coworkers - most of the time - and all in all, he liked his life. He didn't even mind his commute, at least not until the strike.
And it would be one thing if he could afford to live right downtown, but the FBI didn't pay that much and in order to live someplace bearable, he'd signed a lease on a place all the way out in Brooklyn. Which meant taking the subway if he didn't want to spend half his salary on cabs, but once the entire transit system went on strike, he could barely get a cab even if he wanted to spend the money.
Which he didn't, but he didn't have much of a choice, so he fought his way through the rest of New York's stranded commuters and arrived at work only half an hour late. Late and in a lousy mood, caffeine-deprived and wondering if it was really worth fighting his way into the office just to spend the whole day doing paperwork.
When a cup of coffee appeared on top of his stack of reports he decided it wasn't a complete waste after all.
"Thanks," he said before he even looked up, grinning in anticipation of Danny's smile. When he did look Danny was smirking at him, a cup of coffee gripped in his own hand and one hip pressed against the edge of Martin's desk. Lucky desk.
"Don't mention it," Danny answered, the same way he always did, and Martin wasn't sure when they got in the habit of buying each other coffee, but he wasn't going to start complaining now. "I was going anyway. Besides, you look like you could use it."
Martin smiled wryly at that, because he couldn't really argue. In fact, he probably looked like he could use a lot more than coffee, but he wasn't going to start thinking about that at work. Especially not in front of Danny.
"Getting here was an adventure," he said instead, mirroring Danny's smile and reaching for his coffee.
"Tell me about it. You want to share a cab home tonight?"
"Sure," Martin answered without even thinking. And really, it made sense, because they lived in the same direction and if he was sharing with Danny he didn't have to squeeze in with random strangers who smelled vaguely of garlic. But it still took him by surprise, and he was smiling to himself long after Danny went back to his own desk.
~
The day was pretty boring, because they were between cases and there wasn't a lot going on. But Martin had a cab ride home to look forward to, and no matter how many times he told himself he was just happy to have his transportation worked out, he knew that wasn't the reason. Well, not the only reason, because he was a practical guy and he liked to have things worked out ahead of time.
Still, spending more time with Danny was never a bad thing, and Martin couldn't say he was sorry to see five o'clock roll around without anyone going missing. Then again, with the insanity from the transit strikes, it would probably take awhile for anyone to notice if someone did disappear.
He shook off that unsettling thought and slid into the back of the cab next to Danny, not quite shoulder to shoulder, but it was close enough. And it wasn't like they hadn't ridden in cars together countless times, but it was different somehow when they were sitting in the back seat together. Nobody concentrating on driving or whatever case they were working, so all they had to focus on was each other.
And Danny was focusing, leaning back against the seat with his legs just sort of…sprawled, tie just a little crooked and watching Martin like he was expecting something. Only Martin wasn't sure what, exactly, so he just stared out the window at the people hurrying down the street, collars turned up against the bitter cold.
"So you got any plans for Christmas?"
The question took him by surprise, and he turned away from the window to find Danny still watching him. It was that look, the one that always made Martin's skin feel just a little too tight. Like Danny could see right inside him, all the embarrassing secrets and fantasies that he kept so carefully bottled up. Only he hadn't been so careful about it lately, not after getting shot and the unavoidable knowledge that he wasn't getting any younger.
He wasn't even sure he'd make it to middle age, not in their line of work, and the thought of growing old… Well. If he made it that far, he wanted to do it with someone, and it turned out that someone wasn't Samantha after all.
Not that he expected it to be Danny.
Still, he could do worse.
"Besides work?" he answered, finally, because Danny was still staring at him like he was waiting for Martin to say something. And he didn't really want to admit that he didn't have any plans; he could have put in for leave and headed down to D.C. to spend Christmas with his family, but the thought of listening to his father use the transit strike as an argument against living in New York wasn't really appealing. Or he could have gone to his aunt and uncle's, but now that she was gone…well, it just wasn't the same.
Then again, given the current state of public transportation, he wasn't even sure he'd be able to make it out of the city.
"Maybe we'll get lucky," Danny said, and just for a second Martin could have sworn that Danny meant…but he couldn't, because Danny didn't make lame jokes. Besides, he always had that look in his eyes, like he was trying to decide whether to kiss you or just swallow you whole, and Martin had learned not to take it personally.
He was trying, anyway.
The cab pulled up outside his building before he had a chance to answer, and Martin wasn't sure whether he was relieved or sorry to say goodbye. He decided to go with relieved, tossed some money at the driver before Danny could argue and slid out of the cab. Once he was on the sidewalk he just stood there for a minute, ignoring the bitter cold as he lifted his hand to give Danny a stupid little wave. He wasn't even sure Danny was still looking, but he spent the rest of the night regretting it anyway.
~
Day two of the transit strike, and this morning Martin was seriously considering giving up on trying to get to work. The only cabs in sight were already overcrowded, the sidewalks and roads were jammed with carpools and people on bikes and rollerblades, and the surprising number of people crazy enough to try to walk to work. There was no way Martin was walking all the way to Manhattan no matter who went missing, so he gave up and headed back up to his apartment.
He had his coat halfway off when his cell phone rang, and he dug it out of his suit pocket and flipped it open. "Fitzgerald."
"Where are you?"
"Danny? I'm in my apartment. Why?"
"Give me ten minutes, then meet me outside."
Danny hung up before Martin could ask what was going on. He thought about calling back, but he already endured enough teasing from Danny about his unwillingness to take anything at face value, so he glanced at his watch and pulled his coat off. And it turned out ten minutes was a really long time when you were waiting for something.
Eight and a half minutes later he was back outside, coat buttoned as high as it would go and his hands jammed in his pockets. For the millionth time he thanked his own good sense for carrying a backpack instead of a briefcase, because if he had to drag a briefcase into the office every day his hands would be freezing. Or he could buy some gloves, but he wasn't going to argue with himself about semantics.
He was about to give up and head back inside again when a cab pulled up to the curb, and he stepped backwards as the door swung open toward him. "Get in."
A familiar voice, and Martin chose to ignore the warm rush that flooded him in spite of the chill in the air. Because Danny was just being a nice guy, stopping to rescue Martin from his exile in Brooklyn. It didn't mean anything, except that they were…well, sort of friends. They didn't hang out or anything, but they'd been out together once or twice - with the rest of the office, granted - and this was…okay, nothing like that.
"How'd you get a cab?" Martin asked as he pulled the door shut behind him and glanced over at Danny. Danny who was grinning the same way he had been last night, and Martin was glad for the cold so he'd have an excuse for the red in his cheeks.
"Just lucky, I guess," Danny answered, and Martin knew from long experience that that was the only answer he was getting. Not that it really mattered. What mattered was that Danny had stopped to pick him up, and it was only sort of on his way.
~
They'd been in the office for a couple hours before Danny appeared at his desk, leaning close enough for Martin to smell his cologne and really, that wasn't fair. "I got us a ride home tonight."
"Oh?" Martin said, and for once he didn't care how stupid he sounded, because he was too busy worrying that Danny had squeezed them into one of the office carpools. Granted, it would be less annoying than hanging around in the freezing cold trying to hail a cab after work, but it meant he wouldn't be alone - well, mostly alone, anyway - with Danny.
"I got Jack to requisition a car for us. The company's encouraging carpools, so he went for it."
"Oh," Martin said again. "Okay. Great." And he hoped he didn't sound as dumb as he felt, but if Danny thought so he didn't point it out. Instead he smiled and clapped Martin on the shoulder, hand lingering just a little and Martin knew it was stupid, but he spent the rest of the afternoon looking forward to the ride home anyway.
Traffic was more miserable than the day before, but Martin didn't care because Danny was behind the wheel, one hand drumming out a rhythm on his thigh and Martin didn't care if they never made it home.
"You want to get some dinner?" Danny asked, breaking the comfortable silence in the car and Martin didn't have to think before he nodded. Just like that, and suddenly they weren't just two colleagues sharing a ride home from work. They were two colleagues getting dinner, and maybe it wasn't actually a date, but it felt like one.
Or maybe Martin just needed to get out more.
Which was exactly what he was doing, he told himself as Danny found a place to park their borrowed car. Martin didn't ask where they were going, because he really didn't care what they ate. What he cared about was the fact that Danny wanted to spend time with him outside work, something he'd always figured Danny was way too busy even to consider. He'd lived here a long time, after all, probably had lots of friends and a date every weekend they weren't working a case and he didn't have time to take pity on Martin.
But here they were, Danny holding the door to let Martin go ahead of him into a dimly lit Thai place, and when Danny grinned at him it didn't feel like a pity date. It felt…normal, like this was the kind of thing they did all the time. One thing was for sure; Martin could definitely get used to it.
"So you're really not going home for Christmas?" Danny asked once the waitress had taken their orders. She was tiny and exotic, dark eyes and that natural kind of beauty that didn't need any dressing up.
Danny barely even glanced at her. Martin considered that a point in his favor.
"No," Martin answered, grinning indulgently over a cup of coffee. "And even if I wanted to, I'm not sure I could get out of the city."
Danny laughed at that, then he nodded in the direction of the door. "I could've given you a lift. Courtesy of the FBI."
"Thanks, but I think my parents can survive without me this year."
Besides, they couldn't all take vacation, and if any of them deserved Christmas off, it was Vivian. She was the one with a husband and a kid, and she was the one who'd almost died. And okay, he'd had a close call this year too, but it wasn't really the same.
"What about you?" he asked over Gaeng Dang Nuea, blaming the sudden heat in his face on the steam rising from his dinner.
Danny shrugged and set his fork down. "I'm going out to bring my nephew his Christmas present, but not until next week."
Martin wanted to ask why Danny wasn't spending Christmas with his family, but he knew better. They didn't talk about personal stuff - not Danny's personal stuff, anyway, although Danny never had a problem asking about Martin's family. And maybe if he pushed it Martin might get an answer, but he didn't want to risk ruining their first date with awkward questions.
If this was a date, and he still wasn't sure about that.
~
Traffic was even worse when they got back in the car after dinner, and Martin knew he shouldn't be happy about it, but it meant spending more time with Danny, so he wasn't going to complain.
"You mind if we make one more stop before I take you home?" Danny asked, smiling almost apologetically this time and Martin didn't try to stop himself from smiling back. "Truth is I haven't actually bought my nephew's Christmas present yet."
And that was how they ended up in a toy store together, two grown men in suits and ties poring over remote control cars and video games and trying to figure out what a seven-year-old wanted for Christmas. Shopping together, like they did this all the time, and the weird thing was that it felt right. Natural, like the kind of thing that normal people did, and Martin wasn't going to think too hard about that. Instead he was going to wander down the aisles after Danny, weaving his way around kids and their parents and being thankful that he'd sent his nieces' Christmas gifts weeks ago.
Of course, he didn't mention that last part to Danny.
They finally settled on some complicated-looking video game, and Martin waited while Danny paid before they headed out of the store and back to the car. Traffic had started to thin out, and he waited for Danny to make up some other excuse to stretch out the evening, but when they pulled up in front of his building Martin knew that wasn't going to happen.
"Thanks for the lift," he said, smiling so Danny wouldn't take him too seriously. Just in case it really had been a date, because if it had, thanking him for a ride would just be…weird. And Martin really thought he'd left these games behind in high school. "See you in the morning?"
"I'll pick you up at 7:30," Danny answered, grinning one last time for good measure and Martin tried to think of something to say to keep him there, but he couldn't. Instead he mumbled something that probably sounded like 'goodnight' and swung the door shut, and a few seconds later Danny was gone.
It hadn't been a spectacular date; no candlelight or champagne, no violins and definitely no goodnight kisses, but it had been him and Danny, and that was as close to perfect as Martin could expect.
~
Day three of the strike, and Danny showed up right on time. Martin was already outside when he got there, teeth chattering from the cold and maybe picking up a pair of gloves wasn't such a bad idea. But the car was warm, and Danny handed him a cup of coffee as he settled back against the upholstery. And okay, he could get used to this. In fact, he was starting to hope the strike would drag out for awhile, because even though it meant traffic was even worse than usual and a lot of people were stuck out in the cold, he liked carpooling with Danny a lot more than he liked riding the subway alone.
"Thanks," he said, wrapping his hands around the coffee cup to warm them.
"Don't mention it," Danny answered right on cue, knowing grin firmly in place and Martin wasn't sure what he knew exactly, but he was starting to wish Danny would let him in on the secret. Or at least give him a hint.
But he didn't ask, and they spent the rest of the ride to work talking about nothing. It surprised him how easy it was to talk to Danny, how comfortable and Martin knew it shouldn't really be a surprise, because they'd known each other for years. Still, it was easier with Danny than it was with…anyone, really, and maybe that was why Martin had been spending so much time thinking about him lately. Thinking about them, as though there was a them outside of work. Only he was pretty sure there was now, because they'd had dinner together and gone toy shopping, and that counted for something.
He was still thinking about it on the elevator ride up to the office. And pretty much the rest of the day, because they still didn't have a case, which meant he had plenty of time to puzzle out the deeper meaning behind Danny asking Martin to help pick out his nephew's Christmas present.
By mid-afternoon he'd settled on friendship with the possibility of more. If Danny swung that way. Martin was pretty sure he did, but with Danny nothing was ever a safe bet until Martin saw it with his own eyes. And the thought of seeing Danny with another guy was worse than the thought of seeing him with Elena.
With Samantha.
Martin was shaking his head against the disturbing images when Danny himself appeared, arms crossed over his chest and smiling in that way that let Martin know Danny knew something was up, but he wasn't going to ask. "Strike's over."
And sometimes Martin wished he would ask, because maybe then Martin would just come out and say it, and then at least he'd know one way or…wait. "What?"
"Strike's over," Danny repeated, smiling indulgently, like he knew exactly what Martin had been thinking about and he didn't really mind spelling it out for him. "They're still negotiating, but the drivers are going back to work starting with the next shift. They say most of the trains should be running again by morning."
Oh. "Oh."
And that was disappointing, because Martin was really starting to enjoy commuting with Danny. He liked the company and he liked the prospect of a second accidental date, but now everything was going to go back to business as usual, and what if Danny didn't ask him out to dinner again?
"Yeah. We should probably keep the car another day, though," Danny said, sort of half sitting on Martin's desk now and Martin was very carefully not staring at his thighs. "The trains won't be running tonight so even with the buses it'll still be a mess out there."
"Right," Martin agreed immediately. "Good plan."
"You okay, Martin? You've been acting kind of weird all day."
"I'm fine," Martin answered, determinedly not blushing under Danny's amused scrutiny. Because he was fine; he was absolutely perfect, and tomorrow everything would go back to normal. Tomorrow they'd go back to being just two guys who worked together, and Danny wouldn't have any reason to worry that Martin was losing his mind.
~
Danny didn't mention dinner during the drive home. He didn't say much of anything, really, and by the time they pulled up in front of his building Martin was trying hard not to panic. Because he really didn't want this to be the end of…whatever it was they were doing, but Danny wasn't doing anything and that left Martin.
"Do you want to come up?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, sounding just as rushed as he felt but Martin told himself it didn't matter. Either Danny would come up or he wouldn't, and either way they'd still be fine. Because they were just friends, and friends hung out at each other's apartments all the time. "We could order in. If you wanted."
It felt like forever before Danny answered, a slow, easy grin spreading across his face and Martin had never wanted to kiss anyone more in his life. "Sure. Let me just find a place to park."
And just like that, they were on their second date. Or their first, if the first one didn't actually count as a date. But if this one counted, then the first one counted too, so Martin was pretty sure this was the second. Either way, he was getting kind of tired of trying to figure it out.
He wasn't even sure it mattered all that much, not when Danny was sitting on his couch, tie hanging loose around his neck and arms stretched across the back of the couch. And he looked…fuckable, like he was just waiting for Martin to come over there and do something. Not that Danny didn't always look sexy, because it was Danny and he practically oozed sexy. But he looked even better when he was sitting on Martin's couch, hair mussed and tie loose and looking just a little debauched.
Martin suspected that if he crossed the room and dropped to his knees in front of Danny, he wouldn't even look surprised. He'd probably just smile that smile of his and spread his legs a little wider, like he knew he was completely irresistible. But Martin had never been the spontaneous type, and if he started now and it turned out he was completely wrong, he'd have to transfer again. To D.C., maybe, or even better, Siberia.
Instead he picked up the phone and dialed the number printed on the first takeout menu he found, ordered enough food to feed ten people and pretended to be on the line long after the call ended. Because the second he turned around he was going to have to deal with the man sitting in his living room, and if Martin kept thinking about all the things he wanted to do to Danny, they were never going to make it to dinner.
He couldn't pretend to be on the phone with China Palace forever, though, so he hung up and turned reluctantly back to the living room. And yeah, Danny was still there, still sprawled across his couch looking like he belonged. Like this wasn't the first time he'd been in Martin's apartment, like they just hung out together all the time.
And at least if they had a case there would be something to talk about, but they didn't and that meant Martin had to come up with something to say. "Do you…uh…you want some soda or something?"
"Water's good," Danny answered, shifting a little on Martin's upholstery and God, Martin wished he'd stop doing that. Stop looking so good, but that was like asking time to stop crawling forward. And it was definitely crawling, because Martin was dragging out the process of pouring a glass of water as long as he could, and somehow only two minutes passed between his question and the moment when he forced his legs to carry him into the living room.
He set Danny's water down on the coffee table in front of him, then took a seat in a chair as far away from Danny as possible. Thought about reaching up to loosen his tie, just to make it a little easier to breathe, but that felt too much like undressing in front of Danny. And this was stupid, because they'd known each other for years, spent countless hours alone together working cases or staking out suspects, but none of it had ever felt like this.
Or maybe it was just that Martin had never noticed it before, never paid attention to the way Danny looked at him because noticing it meant dealing with it, and he wasn't sure how to deal with this. He knew what he wanted - at least he was pretty sure - but it had taken him a long time just to figure that much out, and if he was wrong...well, there was still Siberia.
"So do you think they'll strike again if the union doesn't get what it wants?" he asked, and wasn't he just a master of conversation. But it was better than the tense silence they'd settled into, and at least Danny didn't laugh at him or anything.
"Doubt it," Danny answered, just a hint of a smirk turning up the corners of his mouth, but Martin pretended not to notice that yeah, okay, Danny was sort of laughing at him. "The city'll cave eventually. They know New York can't function without public transportation."
And he never thought he'd actually enjoy a conversation about the public transit system, but the more Danny talked, the more Martin relaxed, and by the time their dinner arrived he discovered that he was actually enjoying himself.
~
Their second date was even less spectacular than their first; small talk and passable Chinese off the plates Martin's mother bought when he first moved out, but it was small talk and passable Chinese with Danny, and that made all the difference. He'd stopped being nervous awhile ago, and by the time the conversation shifted to why the Mets were the greatest team in baseball and the Yankees were an embarrassment to New York, Martin was pretty sure there might even be a third date.
Not that he was ready for the second date to end, and when Danny stood up and said something about going home Martin had to stop himself from arguing. Instead he followed Danny to the door, keeping his mouth shut about the fact that technically it was still pretty early, and Danny didn't have to go anywhere if he didn't want to. Because there was always the possibility that he did want to leave, and if that was the case Martin was pretty sure he didn't want to know.
He was probably going to obsess about it all night anyway, wondering what exactly Danny was thinking and if he was reading way too much into all of this. If maybe Danny was just trying to be a friend, hanging out with a colleague because there was nothing better to do while most of the city was shut down thanks to the transit strike. And if that was all it was…well, Martin would find out tomorrow, because things would be back to normal and they wouldn't have any more excuses to keep spending time together.
So maybe there wouldn't be a third date after all. Maybe there hadn't even been a first date, and deciding to spend the holidays alone really was affecting him more than he'd expected it to if he was inventing connections with coworkers just to keep himself from getting lonely. Only this was Danny, and it wasn't just about Martin wanting someone to keep him company at Christmas.
Not that he'd mind spending Christmas with Danny, because they had a good time together and they'd always gotten along. In fact, he kind of liked the idea of spending Christmas with Danny, but he knew it was more than just because they were friends. He was friends with Samantha, after all, and he didn't really want to spend Christmas with her. He didn't want to go over to Vivian's, either, not that she'd invited any of the office strays to her place this year.
The truth was that he just wanted to spend more time with Danny period, and after Danny walked out of his apartment he wasn't sure he'd get another chance.
"So I'll pick you up tomorrow morning," Danny said, stopping a foot away from Martin's front door and turning to look at him.
It took a second for his words to sink in, and when they finally did Martin wasn't sure he'd heard right. "I thought the trains would be running again tomorrow."
"Most of them, yeah, but we've still got the car," Danny answered, grinning indulgently and it took everything in Martin not to lean forward and kiss him until he forgot that Martin was an idiot.
"Right. Okay."
And now Danny was just looking at him like he was crazy, but Martin was starting to get used to that. He knew he should say something else, even something lame like 'thanks for the ride', but his mouth didn't want to work and when Danny pulled the door open he knew he was going to miss his chance.
"Danny, wait."
"Yeah?" Danny said, turning back toward him and later Martin would swear it was the look on Danny's face that made him do it. He looked…expectant, like he was waiting for something specific, and Martin didn't like to disappoint people. Well, not Danny, anyway, so he did the only thing he could think of: Martin kissed him.
It started off a little awkward, just a press of lips against lips and for a few terrifying seconds Martin thought maybe he'd read Danny completely wrong. Then hands slid around his back and Danny was pushing him backwards, up against the door and kissing him slow and thorough, like he'd been thinking about this for a long time.
And maybe he had, which meant Martin really was an idiot, because they could have been doing this for months. Maybe longer, and maybe he'd even remember to ask just as soon as he was done kissing Danny. Then again, he wasn't sure he'd ever be done kissing Danny.
As soon as he thought it Danny was pulling away, breathless and grinning and wow, he looked even better up close. "Do you know how long I've been waiting to do that?"
Honesty seemed like the best policy given the circumstances, so Martin shook his head and leaned in again. "No idea."
"Jesus, Martin." The words were breathed against his mouth, Danny's fists clenched around his shirt and just sort of holding him there, but he wasn't kissing Martin again and that couldn't be a good sign. "I was starting to think you were never going to catch on."
There were a lot of ways Martin could answer that. He could laugh and say that yeah, he was a little slow sometimes, or he could just tell Danny that he was sorry and hope it was enough. But he couldn't say anything at all when Danny was kissing him like he needed Martin to breathe, and maybe talking was overrated anyway.
Definitely overrated, and it was stupid to stand here making out when they could be halfway to Martin's bedroom by now. He pushed off the door and reached up to grip the front of Danny's jacket and tug him back into the apartment, but as soon as he moved Danny pulled away again.
"Martin," he murmured, and only Danny could make his name sound like a prayer. "I should go."
"Stay."
For a second he thought Danny was actually going to argue with him, but before he had a chance to panic Danny kicked the door shut and let Martin pull him down the hall. They left a trail of clothes from the living room to Martin's bed, and Martin spent the rest of the night making up for all the time he didn't know they'd lost.
~
On Friday the strike was officially over, New York City was getting back to normal and Martin couldn't help feeling a little let down. And it was stupid, because he'd spent the whole night with Danny, woken up next to him and ridden into work with him after a long, hot shower that almost made them late.
But the car had been turned in when they got to the office, and that meant the end of commuting with Danny. He was pretty sure now that it didn't mean the end of sex with Danny, but still, there had been something kind of nice about riding to and from work together. Kind of like a routine.
So he wasn't looking forward to the end of the day, even though it had been another boring day at work and he hadn't exactly gotten a lot of sleep the night before. It had definitely been worth the lack of sleep, though, and he was smiling to himself at the memory when Danny appeared at his desk.
"You ready to call it a day?" Danny asked, leaning in close and Martin breathed in deep to catch the scent of Danny and expensive cologne. "If we leave now we can catch the 5:20 train."
And yeah, they lived in the same direction, but they'd never caught the train together before. In fact, Martin was pretty sure Danny took a different train than he did, and that meant Danny wasn't planning to go home. Not alone, anyway, and Martin didn't bother trying to check his grin.
"Where are we going?"
"My place," Danny answered. "We just need to make one stop on the way."
Martin was already out of his chair and reaching for his coat before Danny finished talking.
~
It turned out their 'one stop' was a Christmas tree lot a couple blocks from Danny's apartment building. And Martin had never really been that big on Christmas; in his family it usually meant a lot of guilt and pretending they could all get along for one day out of the year. But Danny seemed pretty determined, so Martin didn't point out that it was only two days before Christmas, and that meant all the good trees were long gone.
Instead he followed Danny up and down the rows, pretending to be interested in the shape of each tree and its height in comparison to Danny's ceilings. Which Martin had never actually seen, so he wasn't much help anyway, but Danny didn't seem to care. Besides, the trees smelled good, and it was hard not to be in a good mood when Danny was grinning at him.
"This is it," Danny announced twenty minutes into the search, and Martin refrained from muttering 'finally'. Instead he helped Danny wrestle the tree up to the cashier, watching as Danny handed over a couple bills.
"So what's with the sudden burst of Christmas spirit?" he asked while they waited for Danny's change, rubbing futilely at the tree sap on his fingers and he was definitely buying a pair of gloves.
Danny shrugged, but he was still grinning and suddenly a little tree sap didn't seem so terrible. "I figured since neither one of us is doing anything for Christmas, we could do nothing together."
And if by 'nothing', Danny meant tearing each other's clothes off and spending Christmas in bed, Martin wasn't going to complain.
~
Martin was half asleep when he heard it, the shrill ringing of his cell phone from somewhere in Danny's apartment. He was pretty sure it was in his suit pocket, but he had no idea where his jacket had landed, so he pushed back the covers and started to get up.
"I've got it," Danny muttered before Martin stood up, tossing Martin's cell phone onto the mattress and then reaching for his own jacket. As soon as he did his pocket started ringing, and they both flipped their phones open at the same time.
"Taylor."
"Fitzgerald."
Even the sound of their names in tandem made Martin grin, and he was glad it was still dark so Danny wouldn't see exactly how far gone he was. Then again, he had a feeling Danny wouldn't care.
He only half-listened to the voice on the other end of his phone, muttering a 'yes' in the right places as he stood up and started searching for his clothes. As soon as he hung up Danny did too, and Martin stopped halfway through gathering his suit off Danny's floor to look at him. "So much for spending Christmas doing nothing."
Danny grinned and took a few steps forward, stopping in front of Martin to press a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Could be a quick case. Maybe we'll get lucky."
Martin laughed and turned back to the hunt for his clothes, swallowing the urge to tell Danny that he already had.
Fandom: Without A Trace
Pairing: Danny/Martin
Rating: PG
Summary: Transit strikes, carpools, and Christmas. Sort of.
Author's note: This is possibly the cheesiest thing I've ever written. Scratch that. This is the cheesiest thing I've ever written, including Lock and Key, which I wrote two years ago, I think. I didn't write any Christmas fic last year because apparently I was being lame last year. I did write New Year's fic, but it was Veritas and that's one of those fandoms hardly anyone reads. I digress. The point is that this should in no way be taken seriously, and it is not intended to make light in any way of the recent transit strike in NYC. I'm glad for the people on my friends list who live in NYC that the transit system is running again, because I can only imagine how frustrating that was to deal with in real life.
All of which is to say that this is my Christmas offering to my friends list, inspired by recent events and possibly kind of tasteless. I meant well. And I probably don't have to remind anyone that I'm not following the show these days, so chances are this doesn't fit into canon. But hey, if it does, awesome.
*~*
Most days Martin liked living in New York. He knew how his family felt about him living here, but they'd had a couple years to get used to it now, and even his father had given up trying to change his mind about working for Jack.
So he was settled, liked his job and his apartment, liked his coworkers - most of the time - and all in all, he liked his life. He didn't even mind his commute, at least not until the strike.
And it would be one thing if he could afford to live right downtown, but the FBI didn't pay that much and in order to live someplace bearable, he'd signed a lease on a place all the way out in Brooklyn. Which meant taking the subway if he didn't want to spend half his salary on cabs, but once the entire transit system went on strike, he could barely get a cab even if he wanted to spend the money.
Which he didn't, but he didn't have much of a choice, so he fought his way through the rest of New York's stranded commuters and arrived at work only half an hour late. Late and in a lousy mood, caffeine-deprived and wondering if it was really worth fighting his way into the office just to spend the whole day doing paperwork.
When a cup of coffee appeared on top of his stack of reports he decided it wasn't a complete waste after all.
"Thanks," he said before he even looked up, grinning in anticipation of Danny's smile. When he did look Danny was smirking at him, a cup of coffee gripped in his own hand and one hip pressed against the edge of Martin's desk. Lucky desk.
"Don't mention it," Danny answered, the same way he always did, and Martin wasn't sure when they got in the habit of buying each other coffee, but he wasn't going to start complaining now. "I was going anyway. Besides, you look like you could use it."
Martin smiled wryly at that, because he couldn't really argue. In fact, he probably looked like he could use a lot more than coffee, but he wasn't going to start thinking about that at work. Especially not in front of Danny.
"Getting here was an adventure," he said instead, mirroring Danny's smile and reaching for his coffee.
"Tell me about it. You want to share a cab home tonight?"
"Sure," Martin answered without even thinking. And really, it made sense, because they lived in the same direction and if he was sharing with Danny he didn't have to squeeze in with random strangers who smelled vaguely of garlic. But it still took him by surprise, and he was smiling to himself long after Danny went back to his own desk.
~
The day was pretty boring, because they were between cases and there wasn't a lot going on. But Martin had a cab ride home to look forward to, and no matter how many times he told himself he was just happy to have his transportation worked out, he knew that wasn't the reason. Well, not the only reason, because he was a practical guy and he liked to have things worked out ahead of time.
Still, spending more time with Danny was never a bad thing, and Martin couldn't say he was sorry to see five o'clock roll around without anyone going missing. Then again, with the insanity from the transit strikes, it would probably take awhile for anyone to notice if someone did disappear.
He shook off that unsettling thought and slid into the back of the cab next to Danny, not quite shoulder to shoulder, but it was close enough. And it wasn't like they hadn't ridden in cars together countless times, but it was different somehow when they were sitting in the back seat together. Nobody concentrating on driving or whatever case they were working, so all they had to focus on was each other.
And Danny was focusing, leaning back against the seat with his legs just sort of…sprawled, tie just a little crooked and watching Martin like he was expecting something. Only Martin wasn't sure what, exactly, so he just stared out the window at the people hurrying down the street, collars turned up against the bitter cold.
"So you got any plans for Christmas?"
The question took him by surprise, and he turned away from the window to find Danny still watching him. It was that look, the one that always made Martin's skin feel just a little too tight. Like Danny could see right inside him, all the embarrassing secrets and fantasies that he kept so carefully bottled up. Only he hadn't been so careful about it lately, not after getting shot and the unavoidable knowledge that he wasn't getting any younger.
He wasn't even sure he'd make it to middle age, not in their line of work, and the thought of growing old… Well. If he made it that far, he wanted to do it with someone, and it turned out that someone wasn't Samantha after all.
Not that he expected it to be Danny.
Still, he could do worse.
"Besides work?" he answered, finally, because Danny was still staring at him like he was waiting for Martin to say something. And he didn't really want to admit that he didn't have any plans; he could have put in for leave and headed down to D.C. to spend Christmas with his family, but the thought of listening to his father use the transit strike as an argument against living in New York wasn't really appealing. Or he could have gone to his aunt and uncle's, but now that she was gone…well, it just wasn't the same.
Then again, given the current state of public transportation, he wasn't even sure he'd be able to make it out of the city.
"Maybe we'll get lucky," Danny said, and just for a second Martin could have sworn that Danny meant…but he couldn't, because Danny didn't make lame jokes. Besides, he always had that look in his eyes, like he was trying to decide whether to kiss you or just swallow you whole, and Martin had learned not to take it personally.
He was trying, anyway.
The cab pulled up outside his building before he had a chance to answer, and Martin wasn't sure whether he was relieved or sorry to say goodbye. He decided to go with relieved, tossed some money at the driver before Danny could argue and slid out of the cab. Once he was on the sidewalk he just stood there for a minute, ignoring the bitter cold as he lifted his hand to give Danny a stupid little wave. He wasn't even sure Danny was still looking, but he spent the rest of the night regretting it anyway.
~
Day two of the transit strike, and this morning Martin was seriously considering giving up on trying to get to work. The only cabs in sight were already overcrowded, the sidewalks and roads were jammed with carpools and people on bikes and rollerblades, and the surprising number of people crazy enough to try to walk to work. There was no way Martin was walking all the way to Manhattan no matter who went missing, so he gave up and headed back up to his apartment.
He had his coat halfway off when his cell phone rang, and he dug it out of his suit pocket and flipped it open. "Fitzgerald."
"Where are you?"
"Danny? I'm in my apartment. Why?"
"Give me ten minutes, then meet me outside."
Danny hung up before Martin could ask what was going on. He thought about calling back, but he already endured enough teasing from Danny about his unwillingness to take anything at face value, so he glanced at his watch and pulled his coat off. And it turned out ten minutes was a really long time when you were waiting for something.
Eight and a half minutes later he was back outside, coat buttoned as high as it would go and his hands jammed in his pockets. For the millionth time he thanked his own good sense for carrying a backpack instead of a briefcase, because if he had to drag a briefcase into the office every day his hands would be freezing. Or he could buy some gloves, but he wasn't going to argue with himself about semantics.
He was about to give up and head back inside again when a cab pulled up to the curb, and he stepped backwards as the door swung open toward him. "Get in."
A familiar voice, and Martin chose to ignore the warm rush that flooded him in spite of the chill in the air. Because Danny was just being a nice guy, stopping to rescue Martin from his exile in Brooklyn. It didn't mean anything, except that they were…well, sort of friends. They didn't hang out or anything, but they'd been out together once or twice - with the rest of the office, granted - and this was…okay, nothing like that.
"How'd you get a cab?" Martin asked as he pulled the door shut behind him and glanced over at Danny. Danny who was grinning the same way he had been last night, and Martin was glad for the cold so he'd have an excuse for the red in his cheeks.
"Just lucky, I guess," Danny answered, and Martin knew from long experience that that was the only answer he was getting. Not that it really mattered. What mattered was that Danny had stopped to pick him up, and it was only sort of on his way.
~
They'd been in the office for a couple hours before Danny appeared at his desk, leaning close enough for Martin to smell his cologne and really, that wasn't fair. "I got us a ride home tonight."
"Oh?" Martin said, and for once he didn't care how stupid he sounded, because he was too busy worrying that Danny had squeezed them into one of the office carpools. Granted, it would be less annoying than hanging around in the freezing cold trying to hail a cab after work, but it meant he wouldn't be alone - well, mostly alone, anyway - with Danny.
"I got Jack to requisition a car for us. The company's encouraging carpools, so he went for it."
"Oh," Martin said again. "Okay. Great." And he hoped he didn't sound as dumb as he felt, but if Danny thought so he didn't point it out. Instead he smiled and clapped Martin on the shoulder, hand lingering just a little and Martin knew it was stupid, but he spent the rest of the afternoon looking forward to the ride home anyway.
Traffic was more miserable than the day before, but Martin didn't care because Danny was behind the wheel, one hand drumming out a rhythm on his thigh and Martin didn't care if they never made it home.
"You want to get some dinner?" Danny asked, breaking the comfortable silence in the car and Martin didn't have to think before he nodded. Just like that, and suddenly they weren't just two colleagues sharing a ride home from work. They were two colleagues getting dinner, and maybe it wasn't actually a date, but it felt like one.
Or maybe Martin just needed to get out more.
Which was exactly what he was doing, he told himself as Danny found a place to park their borrowed car. Martin didn't ask where they were going, because he really didn't care what they ate. What he cared about was the fact that Danny wanted to spend time with him outside work, something he'd always figured Danny was way too busy even to consider. He'd lived here a long time, after all, probably had lots of friends and a date every weekend they weren't working a case and he didn't have time to take pity on Martin.
But here they were, Danny holding the door to let Martin go ahead of him into a dimly lit Thai place, and when Danny grinned at him it didn't feel like a pity date. It felt…normal, like this was the kind of thing they did all the time. One thing was for sure; Martin could definitely get used to it.
"So you're really not going home for Christmas?" Danny asked once the waitress had taken their orders. She was tiny and exotic, dark eyes and that natural kind of beauty that didn't need any dressing up.
Danny barely even glanced at her. Martin considered that a point in his favor.
"No," Martin answered, grinning indulgently over a cup of coffee. "And even if I wanted to, I'm not sure I could get out of the city."
Danny laughed at that, then he nodded in the direction of the door. "I could've given you a lift. Courtesy of the FBI."
"Thanks, but I think my parents can survive without me this year."
Besides, they couldn't all take vacation, and if any of them deserved Christmas off, it was Vivian. She was the one with a husband and a kid, and she was the one who'd almost died. And okay, he'd had a close call this year too, but it wasn't really the same.
"What about you?" he asked over Gaeng Dang Nuea, blaming the sudden heat in his face on the steam rising from his dinner.
Danny shrugged and set his fork down. "I'm going out to bring my nephew his Christmas present, but not until next week."
Martin wanted to ask why Danny wasn't spending Christmas with his family, but he knew better. They didn't talk about personal stuff - not Danny's personal stuff, anyway, although Danny never had a problem asking about Martin's family. And maybe if he pushed it Martin might get an answer, but he didn't want to risk ruining their first date with awkward questions.
If this was a date, and he still wasn't sure about that.
~
Traffic was even worse when they got back in the car after dinner, and Martin knew he shouldn't be happy about it, but it meant spending more time with Danny, so he wasn't going to complain.
"You mind if we make one more stop before I take you home?" Danny asked, smiling almost apologetically this time and Martin didn't try to stop himself from smiling back. "Truth is I haven't actually bought my nephew's Christmas present yet."
And that was how they ended up in a toy store together, two grown men in suits and ties poring over remote control cars and video games and trying to figure out what a seven-year-old wanted for Christmas. Shopping together, like they did this all the time, and the weird thing was that it felt right. Natural, like the kind of thing that normal people did, and Martin wasn't going to think too hard about that. Instead he was going to wander down the aisles after Danny, weaving his way around kids and their parents and being thankful that he'd sent his nieces' Christmas gifts weeks ago.
Of course, he didn't mention that last part to Danny.
They finally settled on some complicated-looking video game, and Martin waited while Danny paid before they headed out of the store and back to the car. Traffic had started to thin out, and he waited for Danny to make up some other excuse to stretch out the evening, but when they pulled up in front of his building Martin knew that wasn't going to happen.
"Thanks for the lift," he said, smiling so Danny wouldn't take him too seriously. Just in case it really had been a date, because if it had, thanking him for a ride would just be…weird. And Martin really thought he'd left these games behind in high school. "See you in the morning?"
"I'll pick you up at 7:30," Danny answered, grinning one last time for good measure and Martin tried to think of something to say to keep him there, but he couldn't. Instead he mumbled something that probably sounded like 'goodnight' and swung the door shut, and a few seconds later Danny was gone.
It hadn't been a spectacular date; no candlelight or champagne, no violins and definitely no goodnight kisses, but it had been him and Danny, and that was as close to perfect as Martin could expect.
~
Day three of the strike, and Danny showed up right on time. Martin was already outside when he got there, teeth chattering from the cold and maybe picking up a pair of gloves wasn't such a bad idea. But the car was warm, and Danny handed him a cup of coffee as he settled back against the upholstery. And okay, he could get used to this. In fact, he was starting to hope the strike would drag out for awhile, because even though it meant traffic was even worse than usual and a lot of people were stuck out in the cold, he liked carpooling with Danny a lot more than he liked riding the subway alone.
"Thanks," he said, wrapping his hands around the coffee cup to warm them.
"Don't mention it," Danny answered right on cue, knowing grin firmly in place and Martin wasn't sure what he knew exactly, but he was starting to wish Danny would let him in on the secret. Or at least give him a hint.
But he didn't ask, and they spent the rest of the ride to work talking about nothing. It surprised him how easy it was to talk to Danny, how comfortable and Martin knew it shouldn't really be a surprise, because they'd known each other for years. Still, it was easier with Danny than it was with…anyone, really, and maybe that was why Martin had been spending so much time thinking about him lately. Thinking about them, as though there was a them outside of work. Only he was pretty sure there was now, because they'd had dinner together and gone toy shopping, and that counted for something.
He was still thinking about it on the elevator ride up to the office. And pretty much the rest of the day, because they still didn't have a case, which meant he had plenty of time to puzzle out the deeper meaning behind Danny asking Martin to help pick out his nephew's Christmas present.
By mid-afternoon he'd settled on friendship with the possibility of more. If Danny swung that way. Martin was pretty sure he did, but with Danny nothing was ever a safe bet until Martin saw it with his own eyes. And the thought of seeing Danny with another guy was worse than the thought of seeing him with Elena.
With Samantha.
Martin was shaking his head against the disturbing images when Danny himself appeared, arms crossed over his chest and smiling in that way that let Martin know Danny knew something was up, but he wasn't going to ask. "Strike's over."
And sometimes Martin wished he would ask, because maybe then Martin would just come out and say it, and then at least he'd know one way or…wait. "What?"
"Strike's over," Danny repeated, smiling indulgently, like he knew exactly what Martin had been thinking about and he didn't really mind spelling it out for him. "They're still negotiating, but the drivers are going back to work starting with the next shift. They say most of the trains should be running again by morning."
Oh. "Oh."
And that was disappointing, because Martin was really starting to enjoy commuting with Danny. He liked the company and he liked the prospect of a second accidental date, but now everything was going to go back to business as usual, and what if Danny didn't ask him out to dinner again?
"Yeah. We should probably keep the car another day, though," Danny said, sort of half sitting on Martin's desk now and Martin was very carefully not staring at his thighs. "The trains won't be running tonight so even with the buses it'll still be a mess out there."
"Right," Martin agreed immediately. "Good plan."
"You okay, Martin? You've been acting kind of weird all day."
"I'm fine," Martin answered, determinedly not blushing under Danny's amused scrutiny. Because he was fine; he was absolutely perfect, and tomorrow everything would go back to normal. Tomorrow they'd go back to being just two guys who worked together, and Danny wouldn't have any reason to worry that Martin was losing his mind.
~
Danny didn't mention dinner during the drive home. He didn't say much of anything, really, and by the time they pulled up in front of his building Martin was trying hard not to panic. Because he really didn't want this to be the end of…whatever it was they were doing, but Danny wasn't doing anything and that left Martin.
"Do you want to come up?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, sounding just as rushed as he felt but Martin told himself it didn't matter. Either Danny would come up or he wouldn't, and either way they'd still be fine. Because they were just friends, and friends hung out at each other's apartments all the time. "We could order in. If you wanted."
It felt like forever before Danny answered, a slow, easy grin spreading across his face and Martin had never wanted to kiss anyone more in his life. "Sure. Let me just find a place to park."
And just like that, they were on their second date. Or their first, if the first one didn't actually count as a date. But if this one counted, then the first one counted too, so Martin was pretty sure this was the second. Either way, he was getting kind of tired of trying to figure it out.
He wasn't even sure it mattered all that much, not when Danny was sitting on his couch, tie hanging loose around his neck and arms stretched across the back of the couch. And he looked…fuckable, like he was just waiting for Martin to come over there and do something. Not that Danny didn't always look sexy, because it was Danny and he practically oozed sexy. But he looked even better when he was sitting on Martin's couch, hair mussed and tie loose and looking just a little debauched.
Martin suspected that if he crossed the room and dropped to his knees in front of Danny, he wouldn't even look surprised. He'd probably just smile that smile of his and spread his legs a little wider, like he knew he was completely irresistible. But Martin had never been the spontaneous type, and if he started now and it turned out he was completely wrong, he'd have to transfer again. To D.C., maybe, or even better, Siberia.
Instead he picked up the phone and dialed the number printed on the first takeout menu he found, ordered enough food to feed ten people and pretended to be on the line long after the call ended. Because the second he turned around he was going to have to deal with the man sitting in his living room, and if Martin kept thinking about all the things he wanted to do to Danny, they were never going to make it to dinner.
He couldn't pretend to be on the phone with China Palace forever, though, so he hung up and turned reluctantly back to the living room. And yeah, Danny was still there, still sprawled across his couch looking like he belonged. Like this wasn't the first time he'd been in Martin's apartment, like they just hung out together all the time.
And at least if they had a case there would be something to talk about, but they didn't and that meant Martin had to come up with something to say. "Do you…uh…you want some soda or something?"
"Water's good," Danny answered, shifting a little on Martin's upholstery and God, Martin wished he'd stop doing that. Stop looking so good, but that was like asking time to stop crawling forward. And it was definitely crawling, because Martin was dragging out the process of pouring a glass of water as long as he could, and somehow only two minutes passed between his question and the moment when he forced his legs to carry him into the living room.
He set Danny's water down on the coffee table in front of him, then took a seat in a chair as far away from Danny as possible. Thought about reaching up to loosen his tie, just to make it a little easier to breathe, but that felt too much like undressing in front of Danny. And this was stupid, because they'd known each other for years, spent countless hours alone together working cases or staking out suspects, but none of it had ever felt like this.
Or maybe it was just that Martin had never noticed it before, never paid attention to the way Danny looked at him because noticing it meant dealing with it, and he wasn't sure how to deal with this. He knew what he wanted - at least he was pretty sure - but it had taken him a long time just to figure that much out, and if he was wrong...well, there was still Siberia.
"So do you think they'll strike again if the union doesn't get what it wants?" he asked, and wasn't he just a master of conversation. But it was better than the tense silence they'd settled into, and at least Danny didn't laugh at him or anything.
"Doubt it," Danny answered, just a hint of a smirk turning up the corners of his mouth, but Martin pretended not to notice that yeah, okay, Danny was sort of laughing at him. "The city'll cave eventually. They know New York can't function without public transportation."
And he never thought he'd actually enjoy a conversation about the public transit system, but the more Danny talked, the more Martin relaxed, and by the time their dinner arrived he discovered that he was actually enjoying himself.
~
Their second date was even less spectacular than their first; small talk and passable Chinese off the plates Martin's mother bought when he first moved out, but it was small talk and passable Chinese with Danny, and that made all the difference. He'd stopped being nervous awhile ago, and by the time the conversation shifted to why the Mets were the greatest team in baseball and the Yankees were an embarrassment to New York, Martin was pretty sure there might even be a third date.
Not that he was ready for the second date to end, and when Danny stood up and said something about going home Martin had to stop himself from arguing. Instead he followed Danny to the door, keeping his mouth shut about the fact that technically it was still pretty early, and Danny didn't have to go anywhere if he didn't want to. Because there was always the possibility that he did want to leave, and if that was the case Martin was pretty sure he didn't want to know.
He was probably going to obsess about it all night anyway, wondering what exactly Danny was thinking and if he was reading way too much into all of this. If maybe Danny was just trying to be a friend, hanging out with a colleague because there was nothing better to do while most of the city was shut down thanks to the transit strike. And if that was all it was…well, Martin would find out tomorrow, because things would be back to normal and they wouldn't have any more excuses to keep spending time together.
So maybe there wouldn't be a third date after all. Maybe there hadn't even been a first date, and deciding to spend the holidays alone really was affecting him more than he'd expected it to if he was inventing connections with coworkers just to keep himself from getting lonely. Only this was Danny, and it wasn't just about Martin wanting someone to keep him company at Christmas.
Not that he'd mind spending Christmas with Danny, because they had a good time together and they'd always gotten along. In fact, he kind of liked the idea of spending Christmas with Danny, but he knew it was more than just because they were friends. He was friends with Samantha, after all, and he didn't really want to spend Christmas with her. He didn't want to go over to Vivian's, either, not that she'd invited any of the office strays to her place this year.
The truth was that he just wanted to spend more time with Danny period, and after Danny walked out of his apartment he wasn't sure he'd get another chance.
"So I'll pick you up tomorrow morning," Danny said, stopping a foot away from Martin's front door and turning to look at him.
It took a second for his words to sink in, and when they finally did Martin wasn't sure he'd heard right. "I thought the trains would be running again tomorrow."
"Most of them, yeah, but we've still got the car," Danny answered, grinning indulgently and it took everything in Martin not to lean forward and kiss him until he forgot that Martin was an idiot.
"Right. Okay."
And now Danny was just looking at him like he was crazy, but Martin was starting to get used to that. He knew he should say something else, even something lame like 'thanks for the ride', but his mouth didn't want to work and when Danny pulled the door open he knew he was going to miss his chance.
"Danny, wait."
"Yeah?" Danny said, turning back toward him and later Martin would swear it was the look on Danny's face that made him do it. He looked…expectant, like he was waiting for something specific, and Martin didn't like to disappoint people. Well, not Danny, anyway, so he did the only thing he could think of: Martin kissed him.
It started off a little awkward, just a press of lips against lips and for a few terrifying seconds Martin thought maybe he'd read Danny completely wrong. Then hands slid around his back and Danny was pushing him backwards, up against the door and kissing him slow and thorough, like he'd been thinking about this for a long time.
And maybe he had, which meant Martin really was an idiot, because they could have been doing this for months. Maybe longer, and maybe he'd even remember to ask just as soon as he was done kissing Danny. Then again, he wasn't sure he'd ever be done kissing Danny.
As soon as he thought it Danny was pulling away, breathless and grinning and wow, he looked even better up close. "Do you know how long I've been waiting to do that?"
Honesty seemed like the best policy given the circumstances, so Martin shook his head and leaned in again. "No idea."
"Jesus, Martin." The words were breathed against his mouth, Danny's fists clenched around his shirt and just sort of holding him there, but he wasn't kissing Martin again and that couldn't be a good sign. "I was starting to think you were never going to catch on."
There were a lot of ways Martin could answer that. He could laugh and say that yeah, he was a little slow sometimes, or he could just tell Danny that he was sorry and hope it was enough. But he couldn't say anything at all when Danny was kissing him like he needed Martin to breathe, and maybe talking was overrated anyway.
Definitely overrated, and it was stupid to stand here making out when they could be halfway to Martin's bedroom by now. He pushed off the door and reached up to grip the front of Danny's jacket and tug him back into the apartment, but as soon as he moved Danny pulled away again.
"Martin," he murmured, and only Danny could make his name sound like a prayer. "I should go."
"Stay."
For a second he thought Danny was actually going to argue with him, but before he had a chance to panic Danny kicked the door shut and let Martin pull him down the hall. They left a trail of clothes from the living room to Martin's bed, and Martin spent the rest of the night making up for all the time he didn't know they'd lost.
~
On Friday the strike was officially over, New York City was getting back to normal and Martin couldn't help feeling a little let down. And it was stupid, because he'd spent the whole night with Danny, woken up next to him and ridden into work with him after a long, hot shower that almost made them late.
But the car had been turned in when they got to the office, and that meant the end of commuting with Danny. He was pretty sure now that it didn't mean the end of sex with Danny, but still, there had been something kind of nice about riding to and from work together. Kind of like a routine.
So he wasn't looking forward to the end of the day, even though it had been another boring day at work and he hadn't exactly gotten a lot of sleep the night before. It had definitely been worth the lack of sleep, though, and he was smiling to himself at the memory when Danny appeared at his desk.
"You ready to call it a day?" Danny asked, leaning in close and Martin breathed in deep to catch the scent of Danny and expensive cologne. "If we leave now we can catch the 5:20 train."
And yeah, they lived in the same direction, but they'd never caught the train together before. In fact, Martin was pretty sure Danny took a different train than he did, and that meant Danny wasn't planning to go home. Not alone, anyway, and Martin didn't bother trying to check his grin.
"Where are we going?"
"My place," Danny answered. "We just need to make one stop on the way."
Martin was already out of his chair and reaching for his coat before Danny finished talking.
~
It turned out their 'one stop' was a Christmas tree lot a couple blocks from Danny's apartment building. And Martin had never really been that big on Christmas; in his family it usually meant a lot of guilt and pretending they could all get along for one day out of the year. But Danny seemed pretty determined, so Martin didn't point out that it was only two days before Christmas, and that meant all the good trees were long gone.
Instead he followed Danny up and down the rows, pretending to be interested in the shape of each tree and its height in comparison to Danny's ceilings. Which Martin had never actually seen, so he wasn't much help anyway, but Danny didn't seem to care. Besides, the trees smelled good, and it was hard not to be in a good mood when Danny was grinning at him.
"This is it," Danny announced twenty minutes into the search, and Martin refrained from muttering 'finally'. Instead he helped Danny wrestle the tree up to the cashier, watching as Danny handed over a couple bills.
"So what's with the sudden burst of Christmas spirit?" he asked while they waited for Danny's change, rubbing futilely at the tree sap on his fingers and he was definitely buying a pair of gloves.
Danny shrugged, but he was still grinning and suddenly a little tree sap didn't seem so terrible. "I figured since neither one of us is doing anything for Christmas, we could do nothing together."
And if by 'nothing', Danny meant tearing each other's clothes off and spending Christmas in bed, Martin wasn't going to complain.
~
Martin was half asleep when he heard it, the shrill ringing of his cell phone from somewhere in Danny's apartment. He was pretty sure it was in his suit pocket, but he had no idea where his jacket had landed, so he pushed back the covers and started to get up.
"I've got it," Danny muttered before Martin stood up, tossing Martin's cell phone onto the mattress and then reaching for his own jacket. As soon as he did his pocket started ringing, and they both flipped their phones open at the same time.
"Taylor."
"Fitzgerald."
Even the sound of their names in tandem made Martin grin, and he was glad it was still dark so Danny wouldn't see exactly how far gone he was. Then again, he had a feeling Danny wouldn't care.
He only half-listened to the voice on the other end of his phone, muttering a 'yes' in the right places as he stood up and started searching for his clothes. As soon as he hung up Danny did too, and Martin stopped halfway through gathering his suit off Danny's floor to look at him. "So much for spending Christmas doing nothing."
Danny grinned and took a few steps forward, stopping in front of Martin to press a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Could be a quick case. Maybe we'll get lucky."
Martin laughed and turned back to the hunt for his clothes, swallowing the urge to tell Danny that he already had.