For quite some time now, she waits for him. She keeps on waiting for him, waiting for him to say something.
However, he continued to do the opposite. Subtle glances. Brushing past her while "accidentally" while walking in the field. Bringing her coffee. Taking her out to lunch when the kids or her mom is not around at his favorite diner. Visits to her house despite the lack of any "situation" that needs fixing. Calling her Dani instead of the usual Dr. Santino more often…
He does everything again and again and again.
It went on for three months. After those three months, something has shifted between the two of them and Dani couldn't quite lay a finger on whatever it is.
It started when he had let the other security staff take over that night and sat beside her on the bleachers in the middle of the game against Chicago. A familiar silence has settled between the two of them and they were both focused on the action happening on the field. Suddenly, he laced her fingers with hers. Surprised by the feeling of her hand in his, she turned to him, searching his face for an answer. He kept his eyes on the game. The crowd cheered and cheered behind the two of them, but he remained completely silent with a ghost of a smile dancing on his lips.
She squeezed his hand, and he squeezed hers back, but his eyes refused to meet hers.
And as she expected, he doesn't say anything about it.
He begins to grow close to Lindsay and Ray Jay. In fact, the two were the ones who had thought of the idea of inviting him to dinner at their house. Of course, they had already invited him to come to their house later that day before they actually told her about the wonderful idea of theirs. He buys her the pair of earrings she had been dying to buy for months, simply saying that as an asset to the Hawks, it was part of his job to make her happy.She refused to accept it, but he insisted that it was one of the incentives she is entitled to as a part of the team and that the store had a no-return policy. ("No-return policy my ass." She says to herself.) He asks her to come as his "companion" (He doesn't want to use the term "date" but Dani thought she was technically his "date".) for a charity gala the new owner of the team was hosting. As a sign of his gratitude, he stops by their house the day after, holding a wonderful bouquet of sunflowers in his hand. She can only look at him in disbelief since she could count the number of people who she told that sunflowers are her favorite in one hand. She is definitely sure that she had never mentioned anything about it to him, but he was who he was. He buys her a signed copy of a book she was dying to read but she was too busy to get herself a copy from the bookstore, telling her that the happened to pass by the book signing of the said book so he decided to buy himself two copies. (Dani knew otherwise, of course. One doesn't simply happen to pass by a book signing just like that.) He personally drives her home every time a situation at the stadium causes her to stay there until the wee hours of the morning…
One weekend, when her kids were with their father, he invited her out for brunch in the city and she agreed. After their brunch, he led her to this charming little bookstore which somewhat looked like a café from the outside. Something about the place told her that he has been there numerous times already.
He opens the door and they were greeted by the aroma of old books which she loved a lot. Her eyes scanned the place. Everything had a vintage feel about it – the bookshelves, the books themselves, the framed artworks on the walls, and even the cash register. The bookstore looked beautiful, indeed.
They had started a conversation while walking around the little bookstore. When she reaches for a book in one of the shelves, she didn't expect that he would be doing the same.
Their fingers brush and his eyes lock with hers.
And she found it hard to breathe…but part of her, in that very moment, was dying for him to break the spell and say something.
She doesn't see him again for a week since that day in New York, not even once. No one could tell where he went either. She misses him. Simple as that.
He surprised her with a visit at two in the morning, wearing his usual, and she fought the ridiculous smile that was threatening to appear on her face because of the sight of him at her doorstep. He told her that he had some business to take care of so he had to leave town for quite some time as Dani got two glasses from the kitchen and poured wine for the two of them. They settled on the couch and their conversation started from small talk about the team and her kids and escalates into the casual, witty banter that always happen between the two of them more often since the hand-holding moment they had, but never – not even once – said a single word about.
He decided to head out by 4, joking that it was already past both of their bedtimes; the two of them didn't notice that two whole hours had already gone.
"Another day passed again," She thought. "and still he didn't say anything."
Her mind drifted into three words in particular.
But she doesn't need to say them. She just needs him to say something. Anything.
Moments later, he was already outside and she was leaning against the doorframe. It was cold that night (or morning, rather.), with the wind blowing harder than the usual. Their eyes meet and he smiles, so she does the same. The same sensation she felt in her chest when their finger brushed in the bookstore suddenly came back again. She tries to brush it off, but fails. He finally says goodnight and she just nods.
The strange feeling in her chest disappeared before he even finishes saying goodbye. However, it was replaced by disappointment just as fast as it was gone. She tries hard not to frown and keeps her eyes on the floor as she moved to close the door.
Nico didn't move a single inch. He stood there, silently, staring at her with his hands tucked away in the pockets of his pants.
"Dani." He called out softly. Her eyes move up to his face instantly by the sound of her name. He moved forward, leaving a few inches in between them. He removed his hands from his pockets and one moves to the side of her face and the other finds it way to her waist.
He plants his lips on hers,
And without hesitation, she kisses him back.
He refused to say it with words, yes, but the way he said it with his kiss was more than enough to tell her what she needs to know.
The end.
A/N - A little something that came up while I was supposed to be reviewing. 'Didn't expect it to reach 1,000+ words at all. :D