Prompt from tmpfanficprompts on tumblr: The beginning of Indian BBW, if instead of the pie-eating and phone-calling Danny and Mindy had actually talked about why she wanted to wait.
We've Got Time
He was kissing her and oh my God, was it perfect.
"Danny. Danny, I don't want to have sex with you"
Yeah, yeah. She likes to be persuaded. He understands her game.
"Yeah, you're very classy. Noted."
"No, no, no, no. I mean it. We should stop."
Her voice was different this time. He pulled back to see her glance away for a second.
"Okay."
Why is she toying with me? Why doesn't she want this?
"I don't want to rush things."
She seemed sincere. But how was this fast? He'd been here for half an hour.
"Rush things? We've been kissing for 20 minutes. That's like a week in guy minutes. C'mon, don't I get credit for that?
"Danny, usually, when I have sex with a guy we've gone on like five dates, or he's spent like two thousand dollars on me. Whichever comes first."
Aha. She had a misperception. He could set her straight.
"We've gone on hundreds of dates. Hundreds. We've gone on doctor's lounge dates. Subway commute dates. Medical conference dates."
"That's a good point."
Yes! Way to go, Castellano! You're back in!
"Okay."
He leaned back in.
"But, Danny- Can we just please wait?"
He pulled back to look at her, and she bit her lip, waiting for his response.
He pulled back even further. He never wanted her to feel pressured if she really didn't want this.
He rolled back to his side of the bed and stared at the ceiling. There was silence in the room for a moment.
This made no sense. She had no problem cozying up to the line of losers she'd dated before. She'd regaled the entire office with tales of the sexcapades. What was so different about him?
He turned back to face her and saw her smoothing her dress with fidgeting hands.
He pushed himself up so he was seated with his back against the headboard.
She seemed to sag with relief, glad he hadn't fled in the awkwardness of the moment, and pushed herself up next to him.
He took a deep breath.
"Why?"
It was out there now. And, God was it awkward. But he needed to know where they stood.
"I mean - what's different about - it seems like you've … Not that you're – I mean, you can … ummm."
She grabbed his hand to stop his stammering.
"Hey!"
He looked up, into her eyes.
"This has nothing to do with you. I mean, you don't know how long I've wanted to have sex with you."
She looked down for a moment, slightly embarrassed, but got over it quickly.
"Like, a really long time, Danny. And patience is generally not listed amongst my many virtues."
She paused, and her thumb stroked the back of his hand.
"But, look. I don't want to scare you off, but this might really be something. Something real…. Something neither of us have had before. Something better than we've had before… You know?"
She looked down, giving him a moment to process what she'd said.
Wow. He hadn't thought this far ahead when he'd kissed her on that plane, or when he'd kissed her every time since. He'd just wanted, in a way he hadn't let himself want in a long time.
But she… she wanted this. In a longer- term situation. He wasn't exactly sure what that meant or how he felt about it, but the thought of an unending time with her brought an unexpected smile to his face.
He squeezed her hand tighter, and she looked back up at him. She saw he was smiling and rewarded him with a dazzling one of her own.
"Yeah, it could definitely be… something."
They sat for a second, soaking up the moment before he burst their bubble again with a question that wouldn't stay in his throat.
"So, if we both want this to be something, then what's the problem?"
She sighed.
"There isn't a problem. Honestly, I'm so so happy right now. It's just I'm happy but at the same time, I'm so scared. This is so fragile. And, I want this with you. Honestly, Danny, I want everything with you. I want it more than I should probably admit this early. And it don't want to mess it up. I just - I want to make sure that we are in a good place with this before we take the next step."
She was scared. Her hesitance suddenly came glaringly into focus. They both had terrible relationship histories. And, now, they were attempting to tackle the best- friends- to- more transition without a second thought. She was thinking about it. And she wanted to take it slow. Okay, he could do slow.
"Okay."
He said it without hesitance or subtext. Just- okay. He would wait as long as he had to.
"Really?'
"Yeah."
He pulled her into his side, and wrapped his arm around her waist.
As her head settled under his chin, he said, "We've got time."