A little one-shot for the holiday! It might be a little OOC, but I hope you enjoy! :-)
Mindy sighed deeply from her spot on the large blanket amongst her colleagues, waiting for the fireworks. It had only been 8 days since she returned home, after 6 horrible weeks in Haiti. Morgan took up a huge amount of space by lying across the entire middle of the blanket. Jeremy and Betsy were playing a game of cards up front. Mindy and Danny were positioned toward the back of the blanket, with legs outstretched in front of them, leaning back slightly and using their hands to hold their body weight. They sat mostly in silence except for the occasional comment on the crowd or curiosity about when the fireworks would actually be launched.
Things had been weird between them ever since she returned home. He was clearly glad to see her, but now there was this unspoken tension in the air. She was certain that he would have kissed her that night in the lounge if she hadn't told him about her renewed relationship with Casey and decision to go to Haiti. After many sleepless nights in Haiti, she came to the realization that she had wanted him to kiss her. Although she was miserable there and things with Casey were clearly not meant to be, it was this realization and the related regret that ultimately led to her decision to return home.
She had Gwen pick her up from the airport, of course, though there was a small part of her that thought of calling Danny. However, the self-preservation part of her overruled any urges there. She was pretty sure that he felt something more than friendship for her, but a lot could have happened in 6 weeks. For all she knew, he had moved things forward with Christina. She wanted to talk about what happened, or rather almost happened, but she didn't know how or when or what he felt now...or even then.
She was a little offended that Danny and Jeremy hadn't even bothered to hire a replacement, expecting her to bail out of Haiti within weeks, but was grateful to rather seamlessly move back into her life. She hadn't quite managed to sublet her place either, which was probably a sign that even she was betting on her quick return. She was embarrassed so she arranged a coffee meeting with Betsy before even letting the guys know she was back in town. Betsy was naturally thrilled that she had returned and assured her that her position had not been filled. Mindy sent an e-mail to both men right from the café. Betsy had also been quite useful for acquiring office gossip, including that Danny had ended things with Christina only 4 days after Mindy left town.
And so here they all were, celebrating the 4th of July together by waiting for fireworks. Suddenly they began and the sky filled with bursts of color...red, purple, green, pink, and blue. It was an amazing show and Mindy savored each moment. A few minutes into the show, she realized that another sensation was present for her. She could feel more than see Danny watching her as she watched the fireworks. Each time she smiled at them, she felt him turn his head her way to catch a glimpse of her. Suddenly, as if her mouth had a mind of its own, she realized she had spoken.
"Danny, why do you look at me like that?"
He was surprised, especially given that the show was still going on, but turned to catch her eye. "Like what?"
"I don't know. You do it a lot. It's like a mix of uncertainty, contentment, and longing."
Danny quickly broke eye contact and Mindy was immediately regretful. The word longing was so loaded. She had just taken a bulldozer to their unspoken agreement to ignore the elephant in the room.
Mindy inhaled sharply when she heard Danny's response. "It's probably because those are all the things I feel when I'm with you."
"You were going to kiss me in the lounge when you cleaned my glasses, weren't you?"
There she was doing it again. She didn't know why the words kept coming out of her mouth.
Danny looked into her eyes again. "Yes I was."
A wave of relief coursed through her body. She wasn't wrong. He had planned to kiss her.
"I wanted you to kiss me."
"Then why did you leave?"
"I don't know. I didn't realize what I wanted until I was already gone. I guess it was because I was scared. What would that have meant?"
It was a hypothetical question, so she was surprised when he answered it anyway.
"It would have meant something. It wouldn't have been just some physical thing."
"Yea?"
"To me, anyway…"
"Me too."
Danny smiled the type of smile that made Mindy wish she could spend her whole life saying the things to induce something made of such perfection.
"I lied, you know?"
"You mean just now?", she asked as she looked away, her facial expression crestfallen.
"No!" Danny turned his body toward her and his hand rested on her thigh, startling her into looking into his eyes again. "I lied when I said I never asked to be your friend."
"Oh," she responded as a smile slowly came across her face.
His hand was still on her thigh and she moved her hand to cover his. The touch of her hand to his felt like sparks igniting. He took a deep breath. They could both feel the awkward tension beginning to melt away, but replaced by something new, yet familiar at the same time. It was like coming home.
"Um, how would you feel about being more than friends," she asked quietly.
"I'd feel really good about that."
"You really do hate my hair, don't you?"
Danny laughed. "I did. Well, I sort of still do. But it has grown on me a little."
Mindy smiled. She didn't care if he liked her hair or not. She just appreciated Danny's honesty...proof that some things could still be the same between them.
"Good. I hate it too. My glasses are smudged."
"You're not wearing glasses," Danny said as he leaned closer to her.
"I know. What are you going to do then?"
"I don't need an excuse this time."
"Really, you're so sure about that, huh?"
Danny leaned down, using his free hand to tuck a piece of Mindy's hair behind her ear. He hovered, his mouth inches from hers and smiled at the hitch in her breathing. And there in the middle of the grand finale, Mindy Lahiri and Danny Castellano had their first kiss. And they saw fireworks.