Prompt Project: Subtext
Title: Subtext
Prompt: Opening Words: "You really piss me off when you do that".
Characters: Ian, Dani.
Rating: PG
Pairings: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Author’s Notes: This little idea came to me because of this. Ian and Dani at the same party, finally getting the two character in my head a chance to interact with each other and start building that interesting relationship I've hinted at in future fics and had bouncing through my head for awhile. I might have to find a way to keep writing stuff with these two interacting.
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“You really piss me off when you do that.”
Ian leaned against the bar with a smirk. The bartender wasn’t even looking at him but he could tell by her body language she was tense, bracing herself for whatever he was going to do. He didn’t have much of a plan. He should have thought of one before facing down a Pusher. He should have a gun at the very least but he had come to this party expecting a good time. Instead he found one of Division’s psychics of interest tending bar. It was either his lucky night or he was going to walk out of here with a major mind fuck. He was willing to find out which one it was.
“I haven’t been doing anything, princess,” he said, his tone charming. He recognized the Pusher from her file. She called herself Dani and only recently had she started to show up in Watcher visions with Nick Gant and Cassie Holmes. There were no signs of her with Kira yet but Ian figured it was only a matter of time.
Still, they couldn’t exactly discuss secret government agencies and fugitive psychics with a crowd of people around. Ian made it look like he was just chatting up the pretty bartender. More than a few guys had done the same. While he mingled with the other guests he had watched her smoothly turn them all down. There had been one blonde guy hanging around earlier that she seemed warm to. He was going to find him later and see what that was about. Once he was done with the Pusher.
“I could though.”
She glared, looking him straight in the eyes. He thought for just a second “fuck” before he realized it was just a glare. She wasn’t Pushing him. Apparently the crowd offered him a measure of safety. He relaxed a bit but he never let his guard down fully around a Pusher. He was just a Sniff and without a gun, this close to a Pusher he was the weaker psychic.
But she looked away first, focusing on the people asking for drinks.
“You’ve just been watching all night,” she said, eyes on her hands and not him. “Don’t like voyeurs.”
“You’ve been putting on a show.” He pulled out his wallet and dropped a five in the tip jar, still keeping up the act of a guy who was flirting. “If you don’t want me to watch, you shouldn’t draw attention to yourself.”
“Are you going to order something or just make obvious statements all night?”
“Do I look like I drink pink martinis?”
“You look like a cheap date in a fancy suit.”
His smirk became a grin, deeply amused with her assessment. It wasn’t everyday he met a psychic who would stand him down like that. Most of them tried to kill him or bargained with him. Dani was holding her ground. Her file had made it sound like she took off at the first sign of trouble. He hadn’t expected a challenge. Ian loved a challenge.
“How’s that friend of yours, the one who lived in Hong Kong? I haven’t seen him in a while.”
Gant was laying low and doing a damn good job of it. Everyone was on the lookout for them, but no one had seen him or Kira or Holmes. They were chasing their tails and his bosses were pissed. If he could get one little lead tonight, it would give him a pretty good boost and probably keep him safe until his next big screw up.
“Wouldn’t know.” She spun a bottle of gin around her hand, then flipped it over to pour it into a chilled shaker. “We don’t talk.”
“You don’t?” He clucked this tongue. “That’s a shame. I thought you two were close.”
She snorted, “You assumed. That’s the thing about Watching, you can only assume that’s how things look.”
He was the only one who caught the capital letter. Everyone else around the bar that was still bothering to eavesdrop on them were quickly losing interest in their word games. Pretty soon, they would be ignored and Ian was looking forward to it. He couldn’t make a move until people stopped paying attention.
“I thought maybe you could give me his number. I’d love to have a chat with him sometimes.”
“What part of we don’t talk isn’t getting through?”
“You could still have his number. Some way to find him.” He drummed his fingers on the bar, a deliberate reminder of what he was.
It worked. She glanced at his gloves, then at him before starting another drink. Maybe he was getting somewhere after all.
“Why don’t you just let me do my job?”
He was tempted to point out that’s what he was doing but again this wasn’t the place. He just smiled instead, charming, flirty. “You don’t seem to be having any problems chatting and juggling at the same time.”
“I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“So I can tell.” He started to tug off a glove. Their audience had thinned down and the people that remained were busy with their own conversations. No one cared that he was striking out. “I’d like to know more.”
He reached out and brushed his fingers over her bare arm. He got a brief glimpse of earlier in the night, her serving drinks, her setting up the bar, her getting ready. Then he got a chocolate martini to the face. The alcohol and chocolate burned his eyes. He staggered back, cursing under his breath as he scrambled to grab her but he was too slow.
Dani planted her hands on the top of the bar, vaulted over and dove into the crowd. He swiped angrily at his eyes as he tried to keep track of her but now there were guys in his face and he could see the host of the whole thing had noticed. The subtle cover he had was broken.
“What do you think you’re doing man?”
“What the hell?”
“Get out!”
Ian shoved the crowd around him, forcing them to move as he got around behind the bar. He started running his hand over the bottles and cans, eyes fluttering as the noise of the party gave way to visions. He breathed deep, taking in her psychic scent, as he watched her evening. Someone put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around, once again breaking the vision, but he had the scent now.
“You need to,” the man who had interrupted him started but Ian shoulders his way back him.
“Already gone.” He kept his eyes half closed as he breathed through his nose, following the trail he could see in his mind.
Once he was out of the apartment he put his hand against the wall, seeing Dani’s path, and followed it. It led him outside, in a back alley. It got harder to smell once he was in the street. There were so many psychic energies and they confused him. He had to put his glove back on before he got overwhelmed. He stood there for a moment, getting his senses back but he could smell something giving off a strong scent of Dani. Curiosity made him follow his nose.
“Oh, it is my lucky night.” He grinned at the red Porsche left behind in the apartment’s parking garage. Even with his gloves on he could smell Dani’s psychic scent all over the car. She must have had it for a while which was a good thing for him. The longer an item remained in someone’s possession the stronger the scent was. Now he could keep an eye on the little Pusher who got away.
He pulled out his cellphone and called the office. “Leroy. You owe me a new suit.”
Prompt: Opening Words: "You really piss me off when you do that".
Characters: Ian, Dani.
Rating: PG
Pairings: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Author’s Notes: This little idea came to me because of this. Ian and Dani at the same party, finally getting the two character in my head a chance to interact with each other and start building that interesting relationship I've hinted at in future fics and had bouncing through my head for awhile. I might have to find a way to keep writing stuff with these two interacting.
---
“You really piss me off when you do that.”
Ian leaned against the bar with a smirk. The bartender wasn’t even looking at him but he could tell by her body language she was tense, bracing herself for whatever he was going to do. He didn’t have much of a plan. He should have thought of one before facing down a Pusher. He should have a gun at the very least but he had come to this party expecting a good time. Instead he found one of Division’s psychics of interest tending bar. It was either his lucky night or he was going to walk out of here with a major mind fuck. He was willing to find out which one it was.
“I haven’t been doing anything, princess,” he said, his tone charming. He recognized the Pusher from her file. She called herself Dani and only recently had she started to show up in Watcher visions with Nick Gant and Cassie Holmes. There were no signs of her with Kira yet but Ian figured it was only a matter of time.
Still, they couldn’t exactly discuss secret government agencies and fugitive psychics with a crowd of people around. Ian made it look like he was just chatting up the pretty bartender. More than a few guys had done the same. While he mingled with the other guests he had watched her smoothly turn them all down. There had been one blonde guy hanging around earlier that she seemed warm to. He was going to find him later and see what that was about. Once he was done with the Pusher.
“I could though.”
She glared, looking him straight in the eyes. He thought for just a second “fuck” before he realized it was just a glare. She wasn’t Pushing him. Apparently the crowd offered him a measure of safety. He relaxed a bit but he never let his guard down fully around a Pusher. He was just a Sniff and without a gun, this close to a Pusher he was the weaker psychic.
But she looked away first, focusing on the people asking for drinks.
“You’ve just been watching all night,” she said, eyes on her hands and not him. “Don’t like voyeurs.”
“You’ve been putting on a show.” He pulled out his wallet and dropped a five in the tip jar, still keeping up the act of a guy who was flirting. “If you don’t want me to watch, you shouldn’t draw attention to yourself.”
“Are you going to order something or just make obvious statements all night?”
“Do I look like I drink pink martinis?”
“You look like a cheap date in a fancy suit.”
His smirk became a grin, deeply amused with her assessment. It wasn’t everyday he met a psychic who would stand him down like that. Most of them tried to kill him or bargained with him. Dani was holding her ground. Her file had made it sound like she took off at the first sign of trouble. He hadn’t expected a challenge. Ian loved a challenge.
“How’s that friend of yours, the one who lived in Hong Kong? I haven’t seen him in a while.”
Gant was laying low and doing a damn good job of it. Everyone was on the lookout for them, but no one had seen him or Kira or Holmes. They were chasing their tails and his bosses were pissed. If he could get one little lead tonight, it would give him a pretty good boost and probably keep him safe until his next big screw up.
“Wouldn’t know.” She spun a bottle of gin around her hand, then flipped it over to pour it into a chilled shaker. “We don’t talk.”
“You don’t?” He clucked this tongue. “That’s a shame. I thought you two were close.”
She snorted, “You assumed. That’s the thing about Watching, you can only assume that’s how things look.”
He was the only one who caught the capital letter. Everyone else around the bar that was still bothering to eavesdrop on them were quickly losing interest in their word games. Pretty soon, they would be ignored and Ian was looking forward to it. He couldn’t make a move until people stopped paying attention.
“I thought maybe you could give me his number. I’d love to have a chat with him sometimes.”
“What part of we don’t talk isn’t getting through?”
“You could still have his number. Some way to find him.” He drummed his fingers on the bar, a deliberate reminder of what he was.
It worked. She glanced at his gloves, then at him before starting another drink. Maybe he was getting somewhere after all.
“Why don’t you just let me do my job?”
He was tempted to point out that’s what he was doing but again this wasn’t the place. He just smiled instead, charming, flirty. “You don’t seem to be having any problems chatting and juggling at the same time.”
“I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“So I can tell.” He started to tug off a glove. Their audience had thinned down and the people that remained were busy with their own conversations. No one cared that he was striking out. “I’d like to know more.”
He reached out and brushed his fingers over her bare arm. He got a brief glimpse of earlier in the night, her serving drinks, her setting up the bar, her getting ready. Then he got a chocolate martini to the face. The alcohol and chocolate burned his eyes. He staggered back, cursing under his breath as he scrambled to grab her but he was too slow.
Dani planted her hands on the top of the bar, vaulted over and dove into the crowd. He swiped angrily at his eyes as he tried to keep track of her but now there were guys in his face and he could see the host of the whole thing had noticed. The subtle cover he had was broken.
“What do you think you’re doing man?”
“What the hell?”
“Get out!”
Ian shoved the crowd around him, forcing them to move as he got around behind the bar. He started running his hand over the bottles and cans, eyes fluttering as the noise of the party gave way to visions. He breathed deep, taking in her psychic scent, as he watched her evening. Someone put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around, once again breaking the vision, but he had the scent now.
“You need to,” the man who had interrupted him started but Ian shoulders his way back him.
“Already gone.” He kept his eyes half closed as he breathed through his nose, following the trail he could see in his mind.
Once he was out of the apartment he put his hand against the wall, seeing Dani’s path, and followed it. It led him outside, in a back alley. It got harder to smell once he was in the street. There were so many psychic energies and they confused him. He had to put his glove back on before he got overwhelmed. He stood there for a moment, getting his senses back but he could smell something giving off a strong scent of Dani. Curiosity made him follow his nose.
“Oh, it is my lucky night.” He grinned at the red Porsche left behind in the apartment’s parking garage. Even with his gloves on he could smell Dani’s psychic scent all over the car. She must have had it for a while which was a good thing for him. The longer an item remained in someone’s possession the stronger the scent was. Now he could keep an eye on the little Pusher who got away.
He pulled out his cellphone and called the office. “Leroy. You owe me a new suit.”