A/N: Oh, goodness. Addiction might be what you would call this thing I'm doing. I've written yet another one. This one really is a one shot, ok. No more chapters. I'm putting my foot down and telling myself to reign it in (Besides I'm still writing First Kiss... so)... This is a little continuation of CPST. I wanted Danny to have a happy ending, so this is the fluffiest of fluffs in the fluffing fluff world. As always leave comments and reviews if you like. I enjoy reading everything everyone has to say about this pairing.
The office was empty. Whatever Christmas playlist Betsy had turned on was still playing on a loop, echoing across the space. Danny was in his office, alone, tossing his Derek Jeter autographed baseball up in the air and catching it for the hundredth time.
The music changed, and Last Christmas began to play, also for what seemed like the hundredth time. Last Christmas, I gave you my heart. But the very next day, you gave it away. Danny let the baseball drop to the floor and angrily strode out into the office, he stopped at Betsy's desk and stared down at the computer.
He nudged the mouse, getting rid of the Rudolph screen saver currently prancing around the display. The program with the playlist on it was already open, but Danny could only stare at it in confusion. This year, to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special. He tried clicking a few different things, but nothing happened. Heaving a hugely frustrated breath he jerked the chair away from the desk and crawled underneath it, looking for the outlet so he could just unplug the damn thing.
There was a mass of electrical cords plugged into various adapters, tangled enough that a fire marshal would probably give a stern lecture over them. Once bitten, twice shy. I keep my distance, but you still catch my eye. He clenched his jaw and started indiscriminately pulling plugs from their outlets. A few lights went out, but the damn music persisted.
Breathing heavily he twisted an entire adapter from its mount. Finally, all of the plugs he could see were removed, and yet the computer was still on. My God, I thought you were someone to rely on. Me? I guess I was a shoulder to cry on.
Danny gave up. He couldn't move. His head and torso still underneath the desk with his legs jutting out into the open, he just stayed there, the music doggedly continuing to filter out into the air. A face on a lover with a fire in his heart. A man under cover but you tore me apart. Suddenly the wave of embarrassment he'd been fighting for hours washed over him. He felt like an idiot.
Danny covered his face with his hands. There was something indulgent and cathartic about lying in the floor and wallowing in your misery. Mindy was onto something.
The thought brought on another wave of embarrassment. Mindy was definitely onto more than one something. Mindy was onto him now too. There was no way he could play it off as silly flirtation or just some one time Secret Santa induced thing. Nope. She knew now, and she'd even sort of reciprocated it, but she was drunk and a little sad, and more than a little infatuated with someone else. He couldn't have accepted her invitation. He'd known exactly what it meant.
He only hoped she didn't see it as rejection, although it was probably overly optimistic of him to think that she would just assume he was being obtuse. She knew, damn it, and he missed his fucking window.
He groaned, and kicked at the chair still resting beside his feet.
"Danny?"
At the sound of his name he dropped his hands from his face. Fuck. What the hell was she doing here? He sheepishly extracted himself from the shelter of the desk and hauled himself to his feet, peering over the desk at her. "Uh, there was, um, something down there, I, uh…. Do you know how to turn this crap off?"
This particular song was winding down to a close. Maybe next year I'll give it to someone special. Someone special.
Danny found himself staring at her, waiting for an answer to his mundane question. She was looking back at him with a curious expression on her face. He felt like he'd been caught, as though she could read his thoughts.
Without saying anything she shuffled around to the other side of the desk. Standing close beside him she reached forward and hit a button on the keyboard. The music was silenced. Danny immediately regretted his wish to turn it off. Now the silence was overwhelming, and still she stared at him.
He had to say something, break the silence. They were precariously close to the positions they'd been in before Peter and Jeremy had barged into the office. He cleared his throat. "What are you doing back here?"
Damn it. There was a note of hope in his voice. He took a step back from her, looking down at the desk, pretending to be interested in the mess of stuff scattered across it.
She blinked, seeming to come out of a little trance. "Well, I got all the way home before I realized I left my purse here, again. I had to come back. I didn't exactly have an alternative this time." She smiled at him. "What are you still doing here?"
His head snapped back up, looking at her again. His mind raced, searching for a quick lie. He couldn't tell her that he hadn't wanted to go home because sometimes he still got a faint whiff of her perfume while he was sitting on the couch, or that he couldn't stop remembering how she'd looked dressed in his pajamas, reading his book. He swallowed. "Oh, uh, just thought I'd start cleaning up this mess. I kind of feel guilty about making the normal cleaning crew take care of it." He winced a little. Good job, Danny boy, use the same exact lie as before. She totally won't catch on to your pathetic attempts at deceit.
While he was trying to think of a more plausible excuse, the meaning of her answer began to sink in. No other alternative? He looked up at her, openly hopeful this time. "Why aren't you with Cliff?" He hadn't meant to ask, but the question just sprang forth.
A little half smile formed on her face. "Cliff? How exactly did you know that my plan with Cliff actually worked out? No one saw us together."
Danny shrugged. "I saw you, um, from the window, briefly, you know, cause sometimes I like to look out the window and… you two were just.. tonguing." He ended lamely, using her word to describe the sight.
She arched an eyebrow. "Spying, Danny? Wow, didn't think you had it in you."
He frowned, turning toward her, an indignant expression smeared across his face. "Hey, no, not spying, just… I was there, and you two were there, and I saw it, but I didn't know he'd come back. I just... you seemed weird when you left. I didn't want you throwing yourself off the building or something."
He'd closed the space between them again, grateful for the cloak of indignation he could settle over his embarrassment, even if the volume of his protest was a little too high.
She didn't seem convinced. "Sure."
He shook his head. "Whatever, Min. You still haven't answered my question."
It was her turn to be a little bit shy. She bit her bottom lip and averted her gaze. "Well, I was deliriously happy when Cliff showed up, and it was this perfect moment, worthy of any rom/com I've ever seen. We were cute and witty with one another, and we kissed, as you saw. At first it was nice. I mean, kissing is a good thing no matter what, but I think I'd built the moment up too much. I didn't… feel anything." She toyed with one of the buttons on her coat. "I was distracted by something."
She swallowed. "Danny… is there something… you want to maybe tell me?"
He didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything. The ache he'd been feeling since he'd let her walk out without him intensified. He was so close, but he was still apprehensive.
She let out a frustrated huff. "Fine. Don't say anything. I'll do all the talking for now. You are giving me a ton of mixed signals, Castellano, and I can't take it anymore. There was a point when I entertained the notion of me and you being together. It was a long time ago, and you pushed me away so effectively that I gave up on it, shoving it to the back of my mind, where it stayed, until the past year or so. You keep doing these things that remind me of it. These thoughtful little things that make me wonder if maybe you have the same feeling. And then, everyone around me makes these comments about us being together, which at first I didn't understand, because I mean, we only ever fought before." She paused to take a breath then rushed on. "But there are at least three instances in the past year and a half that have left me wondering if there's something going on between us. So, Danny, can you tell me why you wouldn't just go outside with me?"
Danny blinked at her, still unable to find the words to respond. She had felt something? A long time ago? During that time of bitterness, no doubt. He'd pushed her away because he'd started to feel the possibility hanging in the air between them, and the hurt of Christina's betrayal was too fresh. He hadn't wanted anyone to ever get that close again.
"I didn't go outside with you because I didn't want to take advantage of your loneliness, of the fact that you completely drained your wine bra. I didn't want you to kiss me and then regret it." He said the words, and looked away quickly. "I didn't want it to happen that way."
Mindy was astonished. She hadn't expected Danny to admit anything. She'd thought he would look at her incredulously and vehemently deny it all, in that sweaty-lying way he had. His admission took the wind out of her sails. "How do you want it to happen?" The words came out in a hoarse whisper, almost inaudible.
He moved closer to her, leaving his hands at his side, not trusting himself to touch her. "I want your eyes to be full of affection for me. I want you to be happy and alert. I want you to be eager about it, and not thinking about anyone else."
She nodded, swallowing to clear the lump from her throat. "How long have you wanted that?"
Finally trusting himself a little, he raised his hand to her arm, grabbing her at her elbow. "A long time."
She nodded, still looking up at him with wide eyes. "Why do you want it like that, exactly?"
He shivered, moving his body closer to hers, almost afraid to say the next words. "Because, I could so easily fall for you, but I need it to be mutual. Is it mutual?"
She took a shaky breath, finding that there were tears pooled in her eyes. The lump in her throat had returned, making it nearly impossible for her to say anything. She finally croaked out her answer. "Yes, very mutual."
A flood of relief coursed through Danny, leaving him feeling light headed and giddy. In response he pulled Mindy up against him. Cupping her face in his hands, he captured her lips in a firm but probing kiss. She sighed into him.
When they parted she looked up at him, still a little bewildered. "I'm glad you didn't follow me."
He pulled her in for a tight hug, like the one she'd given him earlier. She fit so perfectly, he wanted to pinch himself. It was too surreal. "Me too."