Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Ocean's 11
Set sometime after Ocean's 13. And the film is "La Belle et le Bete" Which is my dad's favourite film of all time.
It was something in the smile, Tess thought. Something in the way Danny smiled, in the way his eyes lit up, in the way...in the way his whole soul shone, if that wasn't being too desperately pretentious for words. Surprise phone calls, unexpected meetings – times when he couldn't hide it. Times when the realisation of love was immediate and overwhelming. Yes. Something in the smile.
In the beginning there had been some part of her that had been...not jealous, certainly. That was the wrong word. Envious, perhaps. Unhappy at the knowledge, the simple, obvious truth that Danny would never, ever smile that way because of her. That smile was all for Rusty.
But even that feeling faded one November evening. She'd had to work late and she'd told Danny that she wouldn't make it for dinner, and he'd been understanding and disappointed all at the same time. Then Linda had offered to take over and she'd been pleased and grateful and she'd headed to the restaurant straight from work, jumping in a taxi and then running the last couple of blocks after the traffic got unimaginably bad. She'd arrived, out-of-breath and exhausted, and her hair had been all over the place and Danny had been sitting at the table, smiling at Rusty. Smiling that smile at Rusty. And then Rusty had seen her and his welcome had been immediate and warm, and Danny had turned round and...she'd never be able to describe it. Not really. It was like falling in love, the first time all over again. There had been no one else in the room – no one else in the world. Danny had smiled at her, surprise and amazement and absolute love and unrelenting joy. And she'd understood that he would never, ever smile that way because of Rusty. That smile was all for her.
The thing was though, she loved Danny completely. And sometimes that meant that she liked to see the other-smile, the Rusty-smile as well. And sometimes, though she would never exactly admit it, she liked being close to the other-world that Danny inhabited, liked, at least, seeing the amusement and the exultation and hearing at least half of the stories she would never understand.
Sometimes, they'd be at home, and Danny's phone would ring and, for whatever reason, she would make an excuse to stay with him. Concentrate on her book and watch the Rusty-smile drift into happiness and affection and entertainment and tolerance.
"What've you been doing?" Danny asked, and Tess would never know the answer but it made Danny laugh.
"A boat? Really?" He sounded amused and incredulous and Tess kept listening.
Danny rolled his eyes. "Okay. A ship then. What - "
Surreptitiously she watched and it wasn't like he was being interrupted. It never was. He'd never planned to finish the sentence in the first place.
"Huh. Wouldn't have thought they'd be waterproof, actually," Danny mused, and she wanted to know what and she wanted to know now.
Danny grimaced. "Oh. That's probably going to affect the price a bit."
There was a long pause and she could see Rusty's annoyance reflected in Danny's smirk. "Never mind. I'm sure Eleanor knows a guy who knows a guy who can work miracles. But really. Ballrooms and - "
He paused again, listening to the other side of his sentence and when it was his turn again, he nodded. " - little glasses of - "
" - yeah," he finished finally with a fond smile. "Take it you insisted on dessert?"
The gap that followed was long and somehow involved, and expressions of entertainment, concern and concentration flitted their way across Danny's face. "Wait," he said at last. "She saw you?"
The frown gave way to amusement. "Never mind that, what did you say?"
He grinned. "Did she believe you?"
There was a long silence and Danny's grin grew wider. "Did she believe you?" he repeated, and there was a change in emphasis, a change in meaning, and the answer made him laugh.
"So what did - " he stopped and the look of sheer, delighted disbelief on his face made Tess smile.
"Hello, sailor?" he repeated incredulously. "Well, I can see why - " Another long pause.
" - oh, you would," he sighed eventually. "Of course you would. Just avoid the cranes this time, will you? And say hi to Basher for me."
He hung up the phone and Tess looked up from her book and caught the smile in full. "How's Rusty," she asked casually.
Danny didn't even think. "Exactly the same as always."
There were other times when the Rusty-smile faded in fear and worry and all Tess could do was watch the horror and hope.
One night, just as they were leaving the restaurant and Danny had been suggesting they could go and catch a movie, and she'd been about to suggest that they could just head straight home, and Danny's phone had rang. She shook her head, watched the smile and been vaguely happy. But she'd been standing close to Danny, close enough to hear Rusty's voice, too loud and too slurred.
"How do you get bloodstains out of carpets?"
Danny stepped away from her immediately. "Where are you?" he demanded, and his voice was controlled, terror nowhere.
He listened for a second, his eyes dark, his face tight. "No, that's for red wine stains. Where are you?"
Tess' hand was on his arm and he spared her a glance, an attempt at reassurance but all his attention was elsewhere. "Leave it alone and tell -."
The interruption was obviously unhelpful and frustration exploded outwards. "Forget about the fucking carpet, Rus'. Where are you?"
That time he must have got an answer because he sagged with relief. "Okay, I can be there soon. Is anyone - "
There was a long pause and Tess could hear the occasional word of what Rusty was saying. Something about a bar and being followed and gradually Danny's expression got more and more blank and she could see the fury in his eyes. "Okay, Rus'. It's going to be okay. Need you to find something to put pressure on, okay? A towel or - "
His lips twitched slightly. " - yeah, guess that should work. Just be careful of the straps."
She blinked and couldn't help but wonder and Danny's face twisted with helpless misery. "Soon, Rus'. I'll be there soon. Just be patient. If you can."
He covered the phone with his hand and looked over at her. "Tess, I - "
" - oh, no." She shook her head, almost unbelieving that he could suggest it. "I'm coming with you. I can drive. You keep talking to him."
She drove for an hour and she listened to nonsense and distraction and memory beside her as Danny talked into the phone and she hoped that she would never be the cause of the haunted look in Danny's eyes.
In Vegas at the beginning of what Danny insisted on referring to as Terry's latest triannual midlife crisis, Rusty was missing and Danny was worried. Not that he was showing it. In fact he was arguing that Rusty wasn't missing as such; he simply wasn't there. Wasn't answering his phone. Hadn't told anyone where he was going. But not missing. It had been half a day before Linus had hesitantly suggested that maybe Terry knew where Rusty was. That maybe Terry being angry and Rusty disappearing weren't completely coincidental after all. Tess had listened to that and bitten her lip hard, remembering Terry and remembering how, once upon a time, she'd liked him. Wondered if she could really have misjudged him that much. No one else seemed to consider the idea that Terry could have...that Terry could have hurt Rusty outlandish. But Danny had shook his head.
"No. Terry's got nothing to do with it. Rus' is probably just - "
" - But how do you know?" Linus had persisted.
Danny had shrugged. "I asked Terry."
"And you believed him?" That had been Virgil and the scepticism had been evident.
Danny smiled. "I asked really, really nicely," he said and somehow that had been an end of the matter.
But she'd been able to see the fear in Danny. Been able to see that it was only the fact that the others – that she – needed him that was keeping Danny tethered here. A duty before his desire – need – to go and find Rusty. His need to know. And he kept it all invisible and far away and planned and strategised and thought and Tess could hardly stand it.
It was while they were all gathered in Livingston's room, looking at schematics and discussing things that Tess didn't understand, beyond the fact that there was a problem with the vents, that Danny's phone rang and, with a deep feeling of relief, she watched the Rusty-smile dawn on Danny's face and an unfathomable tension left him.
He answered and stepped away from the group and the smile was almost blinding. "Was beginning to think that you'd decided to stop talking to me. You okay?"
A pause and Danny visibly relaxed and the smile turned reassuring. "Nah, nothing much. Terry's triannual - " He paused and Tess could almost hear Rusty finishing the sentence.
" - exactly," Danny agreed. "So where have you been the past week?"
The smile disappeared and Danny's voice was slow and measured. "Really? Havana?" There was a pause that she somehow knew was all about silence. "See anyone you know?"
Another long pause and Danny sighed. "Yeah. I know. Doesn't change anything. So what were you - "
He blinked. " - you're kidding. All of it?"
The smile was fondness and surprise and delight and never ever taking even a second for granted and Tess smiled to herself and looked away. "How long do you think before they notice?"
Laughter, bright and happy. "Right, Captain Nemo. Sooner or later someone's bound to notice that the dock is - "
More laughing and somehow Tess didn't think that Danny was winning the argument. "Okay, okay. How soon could you get here?"
He grinned at the answer. "Uh huh. And how long without getting arrested?"
"Right." The smile was bright. "Watch out for pirates," he added and hung up.
He stepped back into the room, still smiling. "Rusty will be here tonight," he told the group at large, and the sheer, happy relief was immediate and heartfelt. "He's just been out of cell phone range the last while."
Maybe it meant something that when Danny turned his attention back to the plans, the problem with the vents seemed to have solved itself.
Old French movies and her protests that not all movies went with popcorn had been completely ignored. The film didn't interest her too much; she'd seen it before. Instead she was watching them. Watching Danny ignore the subtitles in favour of Rusty's translation which had veered past accuracy, through libel and obscurity and she suspected was now hovering somewhere close to some kind of surreal art form. And Danny was entranced, and as he watched Rusty explain how the Beast was secretly building an underground cage fight stadium beneath the rose garden, and the disembodied hands were his first step towards creating the perfect fighter, nodding all the time as if Rusty's words made perfect sense, the smile, the beautiful, uninhibited Rusty-smile was shining.
Tess watched Danny smile at Rusty and she loved him.
Thanks for reading. ;)