FIC: Siberian Kiss (For Want of a Kiss)
Title: Siberian Kiss
Series: For Want of a Kiss
Author: Valerie Vancollie (valeriev84 [at] hotmail.com)
Characters: Don, Alan, Charlie
Rating: PG-13
Summary: While waiting for his father and brother, Don gets an offer from a stranger.
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Numb3rs characters, items or situations. I only lay claim to the original aspects of the fic.
"Can I buy you a drink?"
It took Don's overtired mind a minute to realize that the man who'd joined him at the bar had been talking to him.
"Huh?" Don said, facing the tall man who was giving him a friendly smile. "Sorry, were you talking to me?"
"Yes," the man confirmed, his smile growing. "I asked if I could buy you a drink."
"If you could buy me a drink?" Don repeated, lost as he glanced at his nearly empty beer glass.
Did he know this man from somewhere? He didn't recognize him, but why else would he offer to buy him a drink? Oh.
"Uh, no, that's okay, I'm fine," Don stated, eyes widening involuntarily as his brain put the pieces together. "I'm waiting for others and shouldn't drink anymore before dinner."
"Oh, I'm sorry, you just looked like you could use some company," the man explained, wariness entering his eyes as he realized how badly he'd misjudged the situation.
"That's alright," Don replied, hoping to put the man at ease.
Although infrequent, this wasn't the first time he'd been hit on by another guy. His slight shifting on the barstool, however, caused his coat to fall open more, revealing his gun. The man's eyes widened and fear entered them as he swallowed and quickly got to his feet. Don had worked enough hate crimes to have a pretty good idea of what the man was thinking right about now.
"FBI," Don explained calmly, not sure if that was going to help the situation much as relations between LEOs and the gay community weren't exactly known to be peaceful most of the time.
The man, however, seemed to calm somewhat and studied his face closely for a second before nodding.
"Sorry," he stated again.
"No harm done," Don responded. "And I'm not so biased as to take it as anything other than a compliment."
"Good," the man said before he walked away.
Don turned back towards the bar and noticed two things simultaneously. The first was the bartender visibly relaxing where he'd clearly overheard some, if not all, of the exchange and the second was his father and brother approaching.
"Sorry we're late," Alan said. "I had to drag your brother out of the garage."
"I was busy on an important development!" Charlie protested though his eyes were tracking something over Don's shoulder and he had a sinking feeling it was the man who'd just hit on him. "Friend of yours? He can join us if you want."
"No, no," Don said quickly, perhaps too quickly if his father's look was anything to go by, as he finished off his beer and stood up. "No one I know."
"They why were you talking to him?" Alan inquired, frowning as he tried to figure out what his eldest was hiding from them.
"It's nothing," Don replied, wondering why he suddenly felt like a teenager again. "He just offered me a drink is all."
"Why?" Charlie asked, confused. "I mean, if you don't know him."
Don opened his mouth to brush off the entire incident when his father's sudden intake of breath told him it was already too late.
"Was he... flirting with you?" Alan questioned, caught completely off-guard by the sudden revelation.
"Yeah," Don admitted softly, knowing there was no point in denying it.
"Flirting?" Charlie questioned, stunned. "But you're... he's..."
"Has this happened before?" Alan asked.
"Occasionally," Don shrugged uncomfortably. "It's not a big deal."
"Define occasionally," Charlie prompted, looking at him like he'd never seen him before.
"No, we're not going into this," Don countered. "They flirt or ask, I say no, and that's it. End of story."
"But-"
"I don't think your brother wants to talk about it," Alan interrupted. "Besides, we're going to loose our table if we don't hurry."
Don sent his father a grateful look, though the older man's thoughtful expression made him think he'd not heard the last of this yet.