.00036-FanFic : Flower Language
♥ Flower Language ♥
Title: Flower Language
Author: daisay
Rating: T
Pairing: Danny Messer/Lindsay Monroe
Content Warning: Romance/Humor
Summary: Would you like to peep in how Danny and Lindsay spent their first White Day? - DL, oneshot.
A/N 1: This story is a sequel to my story "White Valentine's Day". On March the fourteenth we Japanese celebrate White Day. This time men give small gifts, commonly marshmallows, candies or cookies along with other gifts, not only to their girlfriends or wives, but also to their female colleagues, as a token of their love or good will in return for the gifts on St. Valentine's Day.
I hope you'll like and enjoy their first White Day even just a little. And special thanks to brinchen86 for checking out this story before posting.
After the shift at work Danny was heading at a quick pace for the exit of the nearest subway station a few blocks away from the lab - where he was supposed to meet Lindsay. In return for her hearty gifts and dinner for him on St. Valentine's Day dating back a month, he had asked her out for an Italian dinner for celebrating White Day together.
White Day. It was Japan's unique institution that Lindsay's friend from Japan had taught her, which seemed extraordinarily impressing Lindsay. Following her Japanese friend's instruction, they celebrated their first Valentine's Day in a Japanese style. He decided that this time it was his turn to please her in the same way as she had done for him.
Danny dropped his eyes down at a small bouquet of white daisies in his hand. He chuckled to himself, imagining how she would react when he handed it to his girlfriend. His smile broadened in spite of himself almost instantly when he conjured up visions of his girlfriend's sweetest smile as her chocolate brown irises fell upon his gift; he could easily picture in his mind how delightedly Lindsay beamed as she expressed her heartfelt gratitude to him, a delicate blush rising to the apples of her cheeks. He couldn't have cared less that the pedestrians gave him an discourteously odd look, narrowing their pupils at his grinning like an idiot while they were passing by him down the walkway; he was enthralled by sheer happiness that he had never felt in his life. He knew in his mind where this feeling of happiness was coming from: Lindsay Monroe.
Lindsay Monroe, his girl. Just calling her his girl made his heart overflowed with warmth - made his heart skip a beat. His mind drifted back to the previous month when they had finally articulated their honest feelings for each other to make their relationship exclusive- and they officially went steady.
He was dying to see her any minute now - right this moment - though not a single day passed but they spent time together; he hadn't had enough for it. He missed her gentle face, her sweet voice, her bright smile, sparkles of her shining eyes and all; he couldn't live each passing day without them. He craved just to hold her, tease her, squeeze her - tell her what'd been on his mind. Simply put, he was madly in love with his girl. His heart and mind had already flown over to her as he quickened his pace.
Checking his watch as he hurried on his way to her, he found that there were still ten minutes before the appointed time. He was almost there and he could see her.
When he turned around the corner, he spotted her at once. Yet, what his eyes caught failed to come up to his anticipation. Sure she was there, and in his mind it was supposed to be only her, but in reality not her alone - beside her was there another man that Danny assumed he had never seen before. At first he thought that the man might happen to be there and have nothing to do with Lindsay; he frantically wished for it. Unfortunately, however, the interaction between her and the man spoke volumes; She glanced up at the man and, smiling at him happily, fished something small out of her purse and - handed over it to him. Like a withering flower, his desperate hope was quickly shriving away as a feeling of deep disappointment replaced it, filling him in almost immediately. And the next action the man took made Danny's stomach knot painfully and - froze him. The man's fingertips touching her cheek, stroking it tenderly, he hugged her.
You kiddin' me! he yelled inwardly.
For a moment he couldn't move with horror as if his feet had taken root in the ground. Danny was there studying the two right before his very eyes for quite a while until it started to grate on his nerves. Then he swallowed hard to compose himself before he finally worked up the nerves and made his way over to her.
+++++
"Montana!"
She whipped around and her eyes instantly fell on him as he closed the distance between them. "Danny!"
The misery resulting from affliction and irritation which Danny had been consumed with until a second earlier melted away almost immediately as he saw her radiant smile. "Did you wait long?" he whispered, completely disregarding the guy standing next to her as he pulled her into his arms and secured her close to him. "I thought I 'm earlier than you."
She shook her head silently. "No, I just got here," she whispered smiling her sweetest smile, which mesmerized him in the blink of an eye.
"Good to hear that." He smiled her back. Then pretending to take notice of the man beside her for the first time, "Lindsay, who's this?" he inquired as he snaked one of his arms across her waist and tucked her closer into his side - but his eyes fixed on the guy as he did so.
Seeming to flinch and cower at Danny's piercing gaze inside the glasses, the man awkwardly pulled away his hand from her shoulder - all in a fluster.
Taking no notice of the flare between the two men, she spoke ingenuously. "Danny, this is Leandro Henriquez. We got to know each other in the flamenco class." Then she turned her gaze to the other man. "Leandro, this is Danny Messer. He's my...Uh..." she equivocated, feeling slight guilty about shying away calling Danny her boyfriend in public. As much as she was enchanted by the sweet timbre of the word "boyfriend", she still felt slightly embarrassed with this entirely new word, which made her balk at disclosing their relationship. She cursed her indecision inwardly.
Even though he could completely understand her hesitation which came from sheer embarrassment, he felt quite dissatisfied at her quibble, but he dared not interrogate her right now - at least not in front of this annoying guy.
"Danny Messer, Lindsay's boyfriend," Danny said glumly as he stuck his hand out to shake the man in front of him, though he never forgot to accentuate the part of 'boyfriend'.
"Leandro Henriquez. Nice to meet you, Mr. Messer," Leandro replied accepting Danny's outstretched hand.
Sensing that there was a slight awkward silence between the two men, Lindsay felt a lump in her throat. "You know, Danny. Today is White Day, right? I just reciprocated Leandro for his Valentine's Day gift."
Raising his eyebrows, Danny asked in disbelief, "...What?"
"He gave me a bouquet of roses on St. Valentine's Day, so I..." Her voice trailed off.
What? This man presented my girl with a bouquet of roses? Don't give me a shit! That's the first I've heard about it.
"Uh...but it was as a token of friendship," Leandro added hurriedly.
As a matter of fact, it was! I won't ever have you do anything to my girl other than as a friend.
"Danny?" Her voice brought him back to reality. "What's wrong? You alright?"
Danny could feel his stomach churn as he was running his fingertips through his spiky hair. "Yeah, yeah, nothing. I'm good," Danny replied normally and naturally as best he could. "Uh...Mr...?"
"Henriquez," Leandro pressed.
"Yeah, Mr. Henriquez. Nice to see you, but we gotta go," he rattled off. Then Danny turned his gaze to her. "Babe, let's hurry, or we won't make it."
Before she could even get an opportunity to respond, he walked off from there as his hand sought out hers and enclosed it in a firm grip that he had distinct intentions of not letting her go - leaving Leandro in a daze behind them.
Lindsay, who was looking around a couple of times out of feeling bad for Leandro while she was walking, looked up from where she'd tucked herself into his body as Danny led the way. "Danny! You shouldn't have been so rude to him!" She scowled at him.
He shrugged. "Oh so?"
The insipid and insincere remarks that came out of his mouth really getting to her, Lindsay shook herself free of his hand as she raised her eyebrows and folded her arms over her chest. "You don't seem to have repented at all for what you did. Why did you treat my friend in such a disrespected manner?" she protested.
"...Your friend? He?"
"Yes, he is and also my partner in lessons." she huffed.
He snorted in response. "Oh, yeah?" He airily dismissed her complaint
Before she could even realize it, he turned on his heel and started to walk on with quick steps, leaving her in a daze behind him. Shaking her head in disbelief, Lindsay followed close behind, half running after him. Within seconds, she managed to catch up with him before she took hold of his hand and pinched it tightly.
"Hey! It hurts!" he growled in pain.
"You deserve this. You don't seem to have the slightest scruples about your rudeness, do you? You'd better take a good, hard look at yourself," she said as she shot him a slight glare.
"Whoa! Why the hell do I have to feel guilty? I've not done anythin' wrong to him!" he resorted in mock disgust.
"That you're jealous doesn't mean that you can be rude to my friend. I won't have you do that. That's not fair to him," she admonished.
"Hey! I'm not jealous! I'm just...protective," he said defensively.
Glancing up at him through her beautiful long eyelashes, she looked him straight in the eyes. Then she giggled.
"What's so funny, Montana?"
"Oh, nothing much. I just wanted you to know how cute when you're jealous." She giggled again.
He grinned. "You playing with me, huh?" he asked and in return she winked playfully at him. "Seriously though," he said when their merriment had died down. "This is for you, Montana." He held a bouquet of daisies out to her.
Her smile broadened with a sparkle in her eyes as she received it. "This is beautiful, Danny. Thank you."
"You like it?" he queried.
She nodded. "Rather. I love it." She smiled.
"Great to hear that."
"You know, it was because of our flower that you chose daisies of all the flowers to give me, right?"
"Our flower...?" He titled his head slightly. Then realization dawned on him. "Oh, that's it! Definitely!" She was right. This was actually their flower; it reminded him of their first night along with the luscious memory. At that time it was because he had simply thought this flower was just her that he had put it in a glass of water for her before he headed for the lab in place of her. This time, though, he had another intention.
"...I guess that's not the reason you picked them, huh?" she said bleakly.
Taking notice of a slight hint of despondency in her soft voice, Danny reached out to take her hands in his. "Yes, that's absolutely one of the reasons, but..."
"But what?" she asked skeptically.
"There's another reason I picked them."
Tilting her head ever so slightly, "Another reason?" Lindsay inquired.
"Yeah..." Danny wavered.
"You're gonna tell me? Please?" she implored.
"Sure," he replied before he corrected himself, "but not now."
"Hey! You teasing me?" She pursed up her lips.
He chuckled, his deep blue eyes dancing merrily. "Maybe, a little."
"Danny!" she rebuked, punching him lightly on the upper arm.
Danny was feeling his heart grow fonder of her as he took his girlfriend's hand and led her across the street towards an objective restaurant.
+++++
"Here we are," he said, taking a side glance at her before he opened the door of the restaurant for her. Taking notice of getting no response from her, he said playfully. "Hey, Montana. If you are still in a pout, they won't usher us in."
Lindsay let out a disgruntled sigh. "It can't be! You're really mean!" she gave him a sulky look.
Barely stifling his laughter at his girlfriend's childlike pout, he finally succumbed to her. "All right, all right, Montana. I'm gonna tell you."
"Are you?" she asked happily.
"Yeah." Taking a deep breath, he looked her right in the eyes. "A white daisy's message is 'your affection is true'," he whispered reverently.
Abruptly some intense emotion took hold of her and she got all choked up. "Danny..."
"Lindsay, listen." He squeezed her fingers lightly. "I have never said this to anyone outside my family before, but let me get this straight." Danny's voice took on a more serious tone, and he looked squarely at her. She sat up a little straighter and nodded.
"I love you," he said staring at her with intense loving eyes.
Blinking back the happy moisture from her eyes, she responded a sweet smile gracing her lips. "I love you too, Danny."
Putting his hands on either side of her cheeks, he whispered solemnly. "You're mine, 'k?"
"Yeah...and you're mine."
"Yeah, I am."
They looked at each other for a while before he slowly leaned down to capture her lips, his hands cupping her cheeks. As his lips met hers the kiss became quite heated very quickly.
+++++
It was not long after they finished dinner in a nice Italian restaurant he had reserved for this day in advance. They were sauntering along a street, through Central Park in silence, his arm keeping securely around her waist. No words were needed; they were both feeling quite content to be enveloped in each other's warmth.
Breaking the silence between them, he said abruptly, "Speaking of which, you didn't reciprocate me for my chocolate on Valentine's Day."
Her eyes wide opened. "Your chocolate?" Confusion was written all over her face.
"Why can't I get mine though that guy got his?"
"Huh? You can't! You didn't give me anything, I guess," she protested.
"Whoa! You don't remember? I did give it to you."
Narrowing her pupils, "No, you didn't. You are probably mixing up me with someone else, huh?" she responded with disgust.
A slightly puzzled expression appeared on his features. "What do you mean?"
"You did give chocolate to someone else. I mean another woman," she demanded a little shakily.
"What? There's no way!" Danny hurriedly reassured her before he added. "But someone seemed to be given by another guy."
"You were jealous!"
"No, I wasn't!"
"Whatever," she said in a gloomy tone - not in an angry voice.
Taking notice of a slight hint of gloom in her soft voice, he got upset. "...Lindsay? What's wrong? What's on your mind?" he inquired, his face registering his concern.
Lindsay shook her head. "Nothing."
"Lindsay...tell me. Please?" Danny implored with a worried frown.
She shrugged plaintively. "No."
"Seriously, you don't believe I did give you chocolate, right?"
"Certainly not," she said in a flat tone.
"Absolutely, I did," he informed her importantly.
"But..." she winced.
"No, buts," Danny cut in. "For the record, I didn't give anyone but you. Only you. There's nothin' you're fazed, 'k?" he said sincerely.
"Danny..."
"You know what? You may have forgotten about that, but I really gave it to you." He paused momentarily before he grinned playfully. "Mouth-to-mouth, to be exact."
She tilted her head to one side and considered for a moment in an attempt to go back through her memory. Abruptly the scene flashed across her mind and it gradually built up a vivid picture; he slipped a chocolate with his tongue into her mouth after he popped a piece into his own - the one which she had given him as a Valentine's gift. "Oh!" she said, a burning crimson creeping into her cheeks. Just remembering it melted her heart.
"See, what did I tell you?" he reassured her then shot her a slightly crooked smile.
She swiftly stood up on her tiptoes and, her fingers finding a path through his spiky hair, holding him close, pressed a kiss on his lips before slipping her tongue into his mouth. He groaned. As she pulled away, "This is just a token of my gratitude to your gift." She smirked, hovering over his lips. "Will this do?"
Panting out for air, "That'll..." he said brokenly as he claimed her mouth one more time, his tongue parting her lips and seeking out hers with irrepressible fervidness, "definitely do..."
"Happy White Day, Danny," Lindsay whispered as their mouths parted for another air.
"Happy White Day, Montana."
*The End*
A/N 2: The message that daisies bring are of innocence, purity, and gentleness on behalf of both the giver and the receiver. The daisy's message is, "You have as many virtues as this plant has petals," or, "I will consider your request." A white daisy symbolizes a common feeling of affection. The giving the Daisy flower to someone special is proof that your affection is true due to the fact that this simple flower is also a sign of true love and affection. Daisy flowers have long been given in bouquets to new mothers as a way to celebrate the birth of a child.