Title: You Can't Always Get What You Want, Or Sparks (1/?)
Author: Me (aka Sharma aka johnshepppardluv aka S'sLC)
Word Count: ~2,452
Genres: Romance/Angst + a bit of whump
Pairing: Detty, set on the night of their first London dinner (see: the end of "Hello, Goodbye")
Disclaimer:I don't own Ugly Betty, nor do I make money from this. I borrow for fun only.
Summary: What if things don't exactly go quite as planned
during Daniel and Betty's dinner "date" and night on the town?
Warnings: Beware of both high levels of angst & some uncommon sweetness, folks.
Plus, a bit of violence too.
Notes: I don't know where this story came from actually. I think I actually had a dream that
inspired it. Whatever this funny little thing is though, it is told from Daniel's POV. Because,
I think I kinda owe him, after dealing with the inside of Betty's head during my last fic. ;)
And as usual, please DO ENJOY the ride! :D
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"Hey there, pretty lady," I heard someone call up from behind us in line.
It was a brisk spring night in London and I was already feeling chilly. But, I didn't
want Betty to know that. After all, she seemed to be having a good time. In fact,
after our lunchtime heart-to-heart, she hadn't frowned once in my presence. So,
that meant I hadn't screwed up. At least not yet. So, let's hope that streak continues...
You see, Betty's always been very forgiving. And today, with me, despite the initial
surprise, was no exception.
Our dinner date had been a casual and mostly happy, if sedate, affair. Apparently
though, despite being even more polished and refined in outward appearance than
I recall, Betty still had that old Betty Suarez energy hadn't completely vanished.
She was still just as spontaneous and bubbly as ever. Case in point? Where we
were now. In line to take a ride on the London Eye.
I hadn't been on a ferris wheel...of any type...since I was a kid.
"No time like the present then, Daniel. Did you know they say you can see the whole
of London proper from the top?" She was practically giddy with anticipation. I could
tell. She was THIS short of jumping up and down and hugging me at the same time.
I was just about to answer her when that guttural and raspy "pretty lady" call from
before came again.
Only this time it was much closer and its tone registered as more insistent as well.
Subconsciously, I put my arm around Betty's shoulders and pull her just a little bit
closer. Just to shelter her from the worst of the wind whipping around us like a tornado
is what I tell myself, even if I know that isn't exactly the whole truth. Betty doesn't
seem to notice my change in position. She's still staring up at the Eye, positively
beaming with delight. At any rate, the calls soon stop, and our line starts moving
forwards again.
Good.
Whoever it was found who they were looking for or simply went away.
Or so I thought...
"I was talkin' to YOU, dollface."
An older man, with a cap tugged down low over yellowed white hair and a smirk,
was staring and pointing at us from the side. Or rather, staring and pointing at Betty.
Betty, in turn, finally seemed to come back to herself, only to start shifting underneath
my grip. Uncomfortable? Tense? Annoyed?
"Hey, Mister. No offense, but the name's not dollface. Or pretty lady. It's Betty. With two T's."
None of the above then, it seems.
I saw what appeared to be a responding glint of malice in the man's eyes.
Not good.
So, even though I knew very well that Betty could take care of herself, I still shift
so that I'm now standing between them.
Again, just in case.
But, then, instead of coming any closer, the guy frowns at me, turns, and stalks off into the night.
"You showed him," I whisper.
"Yeah, well, I guess he was just looking for love in all the wrong places," Betty answers,
her eyes still roving the path we'd seen the man had taken to. But, he was already gone.
"You both handled that quite well, given the circumstances," a new voice pipes up from
a place next to us in line. A woman of maybe fifty is there smiling at us, but kindly so.
"Well, Betty here was the one doing the heavy lifting, as it were."
Betty blushed.
I grinned.
The woman continues on. "Don't sell yourself short young man. I saw how you kept
switching yourself around. You're very protective of her, without being too obvious
or controlling about it. She's very lucky to have someone like you looking after her."
Now, it was my turn to blush.
And Betty's turn to grin.
"...If you don't mind my saying so, that is."
"No, no, we don't mind, ma'am, do we Daniel?"
Cheshire cats don't have anything on the expression Betty's face is sporting right now.
I'm quick to agree.
Satisfied, the woman turns away, now smiling to herself.
And our line continues on.
And we continue with it.
xxx
"That was awesome!" Betty squeals happily.
"You've been here for a whole month, and you've never gotten on this before?"
I was shocked at the least.
"Well," Betty squelches, as we duck back out onto solid ground about forty
minutes later, "Christina's been on it. And Hilda had no interest in riding it
during her bachelorette trip. So, I had no one to go with. And I wanted to go
with someone I could share it with, rather than alone. Is that lame or what?"
"Nope. Not lame at all. A little touristy maybe, but not lame."
She laughs and lightly thumps me on the chest.
Just like old times.
"Anyway..." she continues, "You're the first person to not mind. And even
though you said it wasn't lame, I still hope it wasn't TOO boring for you."
I reassure her. "Oh, no, it was fun. And now we know that you really CAN
see all of London from the top."
Betty giggled. "Or at least our little corner of it. It got cloudy pretty quickly though."
"Yeah. I kinda hope it doesn't rain though."
"Daniel, you DO know this is London, right?"
Another Betty snort.
Adorable.
"You are so cute when you giggle, Betty."
Damn. Well, that slipped out a bit too easily, didn't it? Awkward.
Blushing, followed up shortly by another radiant smile.
Okay, maybe NOT so awkward then?
There appears to be hope for me yet.
That hope is what bolsters me into asking my next question.
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, however, I feel like I know her answer
already, especially after the bizarre encounter we'd had earlier with that local creep.
She's going to want to call it a night. And now more than ever, I want to be able to
punch that guy out for ruining what had been a pleasant twilight for us.
A particular frosty chill cuts through me then, and I shiver unexpectedly.
"So, where would you like to go next? The sky's the limit," I ask, hoping
she somehow missed my full-body tremble.
Her surprising reply: "Well, we could always get some java."
"Now, I KNOW you've been in my head," I chuckle.
"No, not in your head exactly."
"Huh?"
"I can feel you shivering."
"Through all the layers we've got between us?"
"It's not all that hard to tell with you."
"I was trying to hide it, Betty. I didn't wanna ruin your fun."
"How many times do I have to tell you that you aren't so good at hiding things
from me. I always figure it out eventually. Besides, you didn't ruin my fun.
Now, come on. I don't want you to catch a cold."
Before I knew it, she'd grabbed my hand in hers, and we were off, fairly jogging
back towards the city proper and the nearest local café that we could find.
xxx
"Well, do you have a place yet?"
It was finally really getting late and I was walking Betty home,
our lukewarm lattes still in hand.
Her question caught me off guard.
"Yeah, yeah, I do. Over in Chelsea." Truth was, it was an old Meade
family flat that no one in my family frequented anymore. Until now.
"So, I guess you really ARE starting over then?"
"I meant what I said, Betty. But..."
Now or never, Meade! Does she need to know now though? Couldn't we do this
thing gradually? Do I really want to throw a wrench into our friendship this early
in the game though? My head is so full of what-ifs that I must've stopped talking.
And walking.
Because Betty's stopped too and is looking back at me expectantly.
"What's wrong, Daniel?"
"Um..."
"Daniel, you're scaring me. What is it?"
Admitting to your best friend that you're actually also in love with them is a lot
harder than it sounds. As is the fact that she's been in front of me for all these
years, and I never gave her a second glance. I already gave her mood whiplash
during one of her last days in New York. Right in the middle of MODE, I'd said
that I couldn't live without her. And then I'd just caved in and let her go, while she
was rightfully upset with me. And again, I sense that the timing tonight is horrid.
And to make matters worse...
"Daniel, you're crying."
I ignore her observation and forge ahead. "...You remember what I said to you
when we were back in New York?"
Betty frowns. "It's all a bit of a blur really. Truthfully, I kinda blocked a lot
of those two weeks out."
"And I can completely understand why. I was being immature and juvenile. And I
wasn't being a good friend when you probably really needed one. But, well, one of
the things I said - before I completely clammed up on you, that is - IS true."
"Oh, really. And which thing is that then?" A bit of wary curiosity is all that colors her words.
Good.
Here goes...
"When I told you that I couldn't live without you, Betty."
"Wait. What! I thought you said you came here to start over..."
"That's true too, but I also didn't follow you across a whole ocean just to say goodbye
all over again. I love you, Betty Suarez. I came here for you. To spend time with you.
To maybe be with you. I want you in my life."
There. All my cards are officially out on the table.
And from the look on Betty's face, she is shocked. Aghast. Horrified. All of the above?
"Wow! That's...um...some proclamation, Daniel. Are you sure this isn't just jet lag talking?"
"Never been more sure. And no, it's not jet lag. I've already been here a few days."
"Well, I'm not. Listen, Daniel, I DO love you, but in a plutonic sort of a way.
I'm in a different place in my life than when you last saw me as well. And
romance of any type would be like shoving a monkey wrench into my life
right now where it doesn't belong. You understand, don't you?"
The sting of her gentle rejection leaves a sour taste in my mouth. One that's hard to swallow.
I will not make a scene. I will not make a scene. I will not make a scene...
"Yeah, yeah, I understand," I finally acknowledge, whispering, nodding.
I half-turn away so she won't see the new tears forming in my eyes.
Somehow, I'd missed her coming back over to stand directly in front of me.
"...But, I still do want you in my life," she finishes.
This moment is quickly becoming more and more unbearable.
With more gracefulness than I recall her ever having, Betty reaches up and
guides my face back her way so that we were again meeting eye to eye, even
when all I want to currently do is sink into the ground and pretend this conversation
never happened. I should have kept my mouth shut. I should've enjoyed her company
for what it was. Not forced it into a category it wasn't already naturally suited for.
The kiss on my cheek is what snaps me out of my head. Wait, the Betty I intimately
knew was strictly a hugger, not a kisser. This was new. And then the unexpected light
peck in on the lips comes, and, literally, fireworks go off behind my eyes.
"Wow. Sparks."
That is all the message that my giddy brain can manage to send to my mouth to say out loud.
Betty apparently heard it clearly enough though, because she's grinning up at me again.
Only this time, it's shy.
"What?" I murmur quietly, afraid to break the spell that's been cast on our little corner
of London. Afraid her chaste kisses were just in my imagination. Afraid that I'm actually
already walking back to my flat, dejected and alone. Not standing here being kissed - very
well - by the woman who'd just said she'd rather just stay friends. Afraid to move for fear
that my beautiful bubble will pop and reveal the reality of this situation.
"I know this might sound beyond weird, considering what I just said, Daniel, but, if I'm being
brutally honest with you and myself, I do believe that sparks just went off in my head as well."
"Did you say what I think you just said?"
"Sparks," she repeats.
And I capture her smiling lips with mine passionately, dashed dream or burst bubble be damned.
xxx
It's much later on, although it just as easily might not be - time has lost all meaning
for me - I'm practically floating. Betty had agreed with me that maybe there could
be something there between us after all. So, we'd agreed to take any such possibilities
slowly, but as long as there's a chance, no matter how slim, I'm happy.
I guess that old song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" does ring true after all.
'Cuz I've finally found what I needed all along.
But, right now, I'm walking down the sidewalk of a side street, headed back in the
direction of Trafalgar Square and, beyond that, to Chelsea and my flat. To have
another long phone conversation with my mother, who probably wants to tell me
"I told you so" a hundred times over, once I field the call and tell her what happened.
So far on Cloud Nine am I that I don't notice the shuffling footsteps following me or
hear the dark mutterings of a strangely familiar local cockney accent at first.
And when those noises do finally break through my blissful stupor, I hear the voice
rising in volume, until I can distinctly hear the words themselves, repeated over and
over again: "You should have never let your woman talk to me that way, sissy boy!"
I spin around, intent on stopping the old man – the same one Betty had politely put
in his place what seems like a million and a half years ago – in his tracks once and for
all, by giving him a real good piece of my mind about respecting women in general and
Betty in particular.
But, what I don't count on is the cricket bat screaming its way towards my skull...
...Until it's far, far too late.
And for the second time that night, I see sparks.
Only this time around, they're not the good kind.
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To Be Continued...
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Note: I think I put everyone out there into a diabetic coma or a real one with this one.
But, if you are not yet insensible from reading this story of mine, please let me know
what you think about it, be those thoughts good, bad, or indifferent. *grin* THANKS! :D