AN's: Set after the second act in New Orleans.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
He sat in the dark, unmoving. The beer he'd opened was where he left it on the counter. His deck of cards sat untouched on the coffee table. His jacket was in a crumpled heap on the floor. He knew he should get up. There were things to do…plans to finish. But he could only sit and stare…and burn.
Daniel Atlas was burning.
His cheek burned from her slap. His lips burned from her kiss. His eyes burned through the door she had slammed behind her.
And as he sat alone in the dark, his heart burned from all of it. From the slap, the kiss…from the tears he saw in her eyes.
It had happened so fast Daniel could only blink before she was gone. Merritt and Jack left without a word. Daniel stood alone in the kitchen, clenching and unclenching his fingers.
He went to the fridge and pulled out a beer, twisting the cap and bringing the bottle to his lips. He stopped before taking a sip- his tongue darting out slightly to taste the cherry lip gloss that still lingered. He put the bottle on the counter and moved into the living room space, avoiding her closed door. He shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it on the table. It slid off, landing in a heap on the floor. He ignored it and sat down in the armchair by the window. His fingers still twitched and he reached for his deck, stopping short as his eye caught the stream of light coming from the crack under her door.
He sat back with a sigh, his fingers now gripping the arms of the chair as he replayed the incident in his head.
"Danny, are you CRAZY? Why did you stop? She could have SHOT you!"
Daniel waved her off as he climbed the steps to their hideout two at a time.
"But she didn't." He opened the door and Jack and Merritt stood quickly, both looking physically relieved. They couldn't have spoken if they wanted to as Henley stormed in behind him.
"But what if she had? What would I… we do if something happened to you?" She stood in front of him, her eyes flashing. "All of this planning and for what? So you could test them? So you could prove you're the one in control?"
He let out a sigh of exasperation and rubbed his eyes. "Henley, she didn't shoot. I knew she wouldn't shoot…" He opened his arms in front of him. "Look…I'm fine. What's the big deal?"
And then she was on him, tearing through the arms-length space he always kept her at.
"WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?!"
The slap took some of his breath away and just as quickly she took the rest as she grabbed his face and pressed her lips to his. It was hard and quick and when he opened his eyes her face was still there…her eyes glistening.
"You're an idiot, Danny," she choked out before shoving him away.
His knuckles were white now. Daniel leaned forward, running his twitching fingers through his hair. He reached for his deck then, closing his eyes as he shuffled and folded and cut. This was what he needed. In the end the deck always brought him back to the center.
But still his thoughts turned to her. Her voice, her hands, her eyes, her lips…
Danny…cut, shuffle, fold…in control…big deal…for what…fold, shuffle, cut…what would I- we do?
He chose a card and opened his eyes to the sight of her silhouette in the door way.
"What would I do if something happened to you?"
It was a whisper, but it burned him more than all the rest. Before he realized it he was in front of her, closing the gap he kept between them himself this time. The cards he'd been holding left a trail behind him but he still held the one he had chosen.
"I am an idiot," He said softly as he handed it to her. "I'm sorry, Henley."
He watched as her eyes widened in surprise, having never heard those words from him. She took the card slowly, and when her eyes found his again it was all he needed.
He kissed her before she could speak. Once…twice…Henley gave a small gasp and he dove in, pulling her towards him. The card fell from her fingers as she gripped his shirt. She was trembling, but he held on tightly as he poured everything he could into it…finally, finally letting go of his fears, his doubts, and even his ego.
The burning inside him intensified as she pulled him into her bedroom, the queen of hearts left forgotten on the floor.
It had always been Henley, anyway.