Warning: I don't not own any characters associated with The Mindy Project...and Mindy Kaling is amazing.
"So, you knew?" Mindy Lahiri asked Danny Castellano for the third time, just before tossing one of the last empty beer bottles in the large black garbage bag with a loud clink. She had volunteered to help him clean up after his party and asked for a recount of his night in hopes, he guessed, to distract her from her own awful one. "You knew that your brother was gay? I just don't get how that has never come up in all the time I've known you!"
Danny rolled his eyes from his station in the kitchen as he condensed another pizza box. "For the hundredth time, yes, I knew that my little brother, whom I have a very close relationship with, is gay." He stuffed the folded box in his own garbage bag and returned his attention to his cleaning partner, placing both of his hands on the countertop. "And that fact has never come up because it's not a big deal, nor is it anybody's business."
"Okay, so maybe him being gay is not such a big deal," Mindy conceded as she tied the top of the garbage bag, "but the fact that there is a sweet, easy-going, more stylish version of you? That is a big deal deserving of a lot of attention."
Mindy attempted to carry the heavy bag of bottles to the front door and immediately struggled to move it even slightly. Danny took notice and made his way from the kitchen to the living room in moments, lifting the bag with little effort. "Excuse you, but I can be very sweet and easy-going…and just because I don't go around trying to look like – what's his, uh – Harry Smiles –"
"It's Styles," Mindy corrected knowingly.
"-or any of those other little One Dimension punks – "
Mindy scoffed. "It's DIRECTION, Danny, One Direc- oh, my God; you're, like, verbally aging right in front of me!"
Danny waved his free hand dismissively as he set the bag down. "Whatever, point is, I happen to be very stylish in my own right, and I'm a little offended that you don't identify me as 'sweet' or 'easy-going' as quickly as you do Richie."
He stood across from Mindy with an expression that was a mixture of incensed and amused his hands expectantly on his hips. It was her turn to roll her eyes. "Oh, I doubt that your feelings are actually wounded, but fine. I'm sorry that I doubted your sweetness and easy-going nature that is, apparently, buried very deep, Mr. "Casual Fridays Are Exactly What's Wrong With America.'"
"Professionalism should not get the day off!"
"Okay, easy there, buddy," Mindy laughed lightly as she scooted the couch across the hardwood floor to its original position. Danny met her at the couch and repositioned it about an inch more to the right before coming around and having a seat.
"Alright, enough of that," he sighed with a hint of a smirk. He turned in his seat so that he was facing the dark-haired woman in the glittering floral print dress. With its showy metallic tones and big patterns, Danny marveled at how such a dress would look garish on just about any other woman, and yet could compliment this woman's dark complexion so perfectly. He patted the empty spot next to him. "C'mon. Sit and tell me about your night."
Mindy obliged, parking herself on the free spot and immediately drawing her right leg under her body. "Danny, Josh's wedding was so, so awful." She propped her elbow on the back of the sofa and rested her head on her balled fist. "I'm completely to blame for it, too. That's the worst part."
Danny ran a hand through his thick, dark hair and sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Well, that sucks. What happened? I mean, I guess Peter getting laid is pretty self-explanatory –"
"-he hooked up with the bride," Mindy added remorsefully.
"DAMN," he responded, stunned. "Okaaay, that might explain why the night might not have gone so well…but wait, how did you ruin the wedding? How is that your fault?"
Mindy went on to explain how she and Josh caught Peter with Corrine (not before Josh took the opportunity to pay her a handful of backhanded compliments), which lead to her publicly shouldering the blame for the failed union and ended with her getting pelted with wedding cake by a mob of angry wedding guests led by professional athletes, C.J. Wilson and Shawne Merriman.
Danny leaned forward and took a strand of Mindy's hair in between his thumb and forefinger. "Well, that would explain the frosting in your hair."
Mindy took the hair from Danny's grasp and examined it with a groan. "Despite a really awesome dream I had once, I do not enjoy being covered in cake."
Danny chuckled lightly and rested his arm over the back of the couch. "I still don't get why you're to blame, Mindy. And why did you help that dick out? I would think seeing his bride screwing some guy and ruining his life would be the ultimate retribution, you know?"
"But it wasn't just some guy, Danny, it was Peter. My date. I feel directly responsible, and while I admit that I had more than a few daydreams that included me tripping him down the aisle or Corrine getting a huge rash on her face the night before, I didn't want that. When it comes to Josh's pitfalls I simply want to be a casual observer, not an active participant."
Danny could tell there was more that Mindy wanted to say from the way she bit her bottom lip, so he patiently waited for her to continue.
"And I guess I took the blame as way of redeeming myself to me more than to him."
Danny narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Why? What do you have to prove?"
Mindy sighed painfully, which tugged a little at his heart. Seeing Mindy, who always exuded a confidence that that both (secretly) intimidated and fascinated him, struggle with self-doubt made him want to reach out and comfort her. He held back.
"That I'm still a decent person and not some desperate loser. Seriously, Danny, think about it: I went out of my way to go to a wedding - that I didn't want to go to, mind you – and brought a guy that I knew would be an absolute mess just to perpetrate that I had my life together and avoid any hypothetical judgment from a recovering drug addict. I could have just as easily stayed home, but noooo. I'm pathetic.
"Hey, cut that out," Danny chided. He'd be the first to admit that he was guilty of teasing her about some of the choices she's made in her life, but he truly detested seeing her berate herself. He scooted closer to her so that he was sure that he had her attention. "Look, you've got a lot to be proud of, Min. You're a kind, intelligent, attractive, highly capable doctor. So what if you're not in a serious relationship, huh? Who cares? What's important is that you're a good person with a big heart. You're just trying to figure it out like the rest of us." He paused for a moment, then added aggressively while tilting her chin up with his fingertips, "And Josh is a douche bag, so his opinion on anything and everything doesn't matter."
Mindy smiled and patted Danny's knee in appreciation. "Thanks."
He gave her a crooked smile and gently rubbed her hand for a moment. "So did you at least get to dance? I know your favorite part of weddings is the one slow dance."
Danny was taken aback by just how many little details about Mindy he's managed to retain over time. He wasn't purposefully trying to amass random trivia about her; he just happened to think she was one of the most interesting people he'd ever met. As much as he feigned annoyance, he actually loved that she insisted on sharing so much of herself with him. He couldn't say the same for just anyone.
Mindy gave him a rueful smile. "Ah, yes. There is usually one shining moment when the couple insists on shifting the atmosphere with a forgotten, yet classic, nineties or millennial slow jam. It's romantic and my iTunes library grows a little that day. Alas," she blew out a little sigh, "I didn't get my slow dance. My date was too busy being the life of the party and I was too busy defending myself against a very critical baseball player over a normal-sized plate of meatballs, thankyouverymuch."
Danny had an idea that he felt sure he'd regret at a later time, but in that moment all he recognized was a friend who was sad – a friend he cared very deeply about – and needed to feel better. More importantly, he wanted to be the one responsible for cheering her up. Before he had the chance to talk himself out of it, he stood up from the couch walked over to his entertainment center. Mindy sat up and attempted to see what he was doing while he tinkered around with his iPod speaker system. He stood after a few moments and returned to the couch. Just before reaching Mindy, the swelling sound of a string orchestra filled the room. Instead of sitting down, Danny stood before her and offered his hand to her expectantly.
Mindy narrowed her eyes and though the brilliant smile on her face indicated that she understood what was happening, it didn't stop her from asking Danny what he was doing.
"I'm doing the gentlemanly thing and attempting to salvage your night," he replied softly, returning her smile with one of her own. "C'mon, don't leave me hanging."
Mindy bit her bottom lip again – something that Danny was beginning to really like more than he was prepared to admit – and took his hand so he could pull her to her feet. Danny led her to the middle of the living room floor, turned to face her, and placed his left hand on her waist while his right hand remained conjoined with her left, held aloft in the air. They swayed in time to the music and rotated slowly, maintaining a very comfortable gaze.
Danny cleared his throat slightly. "I know it's not quite a nineties era slow jam, but –"
"It's perfect," Mindy assured him with an awestruck smile.
You wandered down the lane and far away,
Leaving me a song that will not die,
Love is now the stardust of yesterday,
The music of the years gone by…
Mindy ducked her head for a moment. "Funny, though; I never pegged you for the slow dance type, given your crazy awesome dance moves."
Danny chuckled softly. "Well, I like dancing in a club or at a party, when I'm trying to be social. It's inviting, you know…but slow dancing is great, too. It's intimate, obviously, a special moment just between you and your partner. You don't have to be entertaining or prove your worth. Just you and her…enjoying each other."
Mindy looked back up at him, her eyes playful. "What about the all other people around you?"
Danny shrugged. "If you're with the right partner, then those other people kind of stop existing, anyways."
With a tilt of her head and a penetrating stare, Mindy gave Danny's hand a gentle squeeze. "Y'know, I was wrong. You can be incredibly sweet. And if this isn't stylish, then I'm not sure what is anymore."
They continued to smile at each other, now silent. At some point during their exchange they stopped keeping time with the music. They stood a little closer, the hand on Mindy's hip now resting low on the small of her back and the one that held hers now close to his chest, and they rocked slowly, simply absorbing each other. Truthfully, Danny hated slow dancing with his ex-wife. When Christina danced it was always for show, never simply for him. Even at their wedding, their first dance felt like a ridiculous display. At the time he thought it was just the adrenaline of the moment that caused her to be so flashy and needlessly sensual, but he later realized that it was just her personality: everything was for attention. He abhorred that.
Dancing with Mindy, however, was different. Mindy, herself, was so different. Sure, she liked positive attention and some flashy things, but she could also appreciate the beauty of intimacy. She truly appreciated the other person she was with and being that other person, if just for a moment, felt wonderful. The look in her eyes made him want to stay like this for a very long time.
When he heard the familiar introduction of the song once more he thought that might be getting his wish. He realized that he must have accidentally (Or subconsciously, who knows?, he thought to himself) selected the repeat function, but decided not to say anything when Mindy laid her head on his shoulder, appearing not to notice. They continued to rock as he held her close and rested his chin on top of her head, dancing like this for the entirety of the song's second rotation. The feeling of being enveloped by Mindy was surreal. As it commenced for a third time, Mindy lifted her head to catch Danny's eyes once more.
"This totally made up for everything tonight," Mindy confessed with a hushed tone. "You're the best, Danny, seriously."
With a brief quirk of the corner of his lips, Danny leaned forward and gave Mindy a kiss on the cheek that lingered at the corner of her mouth. He heard Mindy inhale deeply and he suddenly had to suppress the urge to wrap his arms around her and kiss her more fully. To be safe, he pulled back slowly to return his full attention to her. He noticed that her eyes were slightly clouded over and her lips were parted in surprise.
His Adam's apple bobbed with a hard swallow. "It's late," he croaked just loud enough to be heard.
Mindy blinked rapidly and nodded as if she were trying very hard to convince herself of something. She began to take extract herself from his hold. "Uh, yeah, you're right. I've cramped your space long enough. I should-"
"NO!" Danny interrupted much louder than he meant to. "No, that's not what I meant. In fact, it's way too late for you to head home by yourself. You should crash here for the night and head back tomorrow during the day when it's much safer. Richie's already commandeered my bed, but I can set up the couch for you." Danny looked down at their still-conjoined hands. "And I have a sleeping bag that I can set up on the floor and keep you company. I'll even let you chose what we watch. No Oxygen Channel, Mindy, I mean it," he warned.
Mindy's expression returned to its original ease. "Will you make French toast in the morning?"
Danny laughed heartily. "French toast and sausage. How does that sound?"
Mindy rewarded him with a toothy grin and nodded enthusiastically. "Great!"
He gave a final pump of her hand before dropping it. "I'll grab you those pajamas you like."
Song Credit: "Stardust" by Nat King Cole
A/N: I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Thank you so much for reading my second Mindy Project one-shot. I appreciate you taking the time to check out my work.
Also, thank you to all those who reviewed Wings! Your kind words inspired me to continue with this idea that I had...which is not even the project that I was originally workshopping! I just happened to be watching Wedding Crushers and this idea kept nagging me. I'm happy that I was able to get words to screen.
Please feel free to leave a review! Hearing from you all brightens my day (but I appreciate any silent readers, as well. :o) ).
Thank you, again, for your time and Hollaatchyagirl,
Phunky