Not even sure if anyone still reads Without a Trace fanfiction, let alone Danny/Martin slash?

Well, either way, here's my best attempt at a humorous, fluffy and domestic-y (sort of?) fic. Established relationship, set sometime post-smarty but pre-showdown, I guess, but I suppose it could slot in anywhere.

Un-betaed, so apologies for any mistakes in grammar, punctuation and/or spelling. Also, in my head this is in-character, but it's been a while since I actually watched the show so my characterization may be a little off.

Review if you want to, would be much appreciated :))

Martin had been acting strange for days now.

At work, he was distracted. At home, he was distant. To begin with, Danny had contributed it to a case they'd had recently- a little girl kidnapped and murdered by her grandfather. It was a horrible, senseless killing, and Martin had been the one to recover the body in the lake where she had been dumped so carelessly- it was only natural for it to affect him the most.

Still, that was almost a week ago and they'd solved several happier cases since then. There wasn't time for grieving in their job; they simply had to pick themselves up and move on. Something Martin struggled with, but could manage. Had managed, multiple times.

Which was why his recent behavior was all the more strange. Danny wanted to ask him what was wrong, but he couldn't find the words. He always had to be careful what he said to Martin. He didn't want to offend him, but he didn't want him to think he didn't care. On the other hand, with the exact nature of their relationship yet-to-be discussed, he didn't want Martin to think he cared too much, in case that scared him off.

Really, Danny supposed, a relationship shouldn't be such hard work.

But at the same time, he never thought of ending things-whatever those 'things' were. Waking up next to Martin every morning; ordering take-out to the flat most nights and play-fighting for the remote control; bickering over who would go grocery shopping. The laughs; the kisses; the sex. All made putting up with Martin's moods and sensitivity worthwhile to Danny.

That didn't make the paranoia any easier to deal with, though. Danny was not an insecure person-at least not usually. But when it came to Martin…Danny felt like everything was out of his control. And right now, he was convinced Martin was planning to break up with him and there was nothing he could do about it.

Yeah, right.

Because if there was one thing Danny Taylor prided himself with being, it was productive. When times got tough, he didn't wallow in self-pity. He picked himself up and he got things done. And tonight, he was going to show Martin just what a catch he was.

Their recent case had finished up early, but Martin was a stickler for paperwork. He'd be at the office for an hour or two longer than the others-to keep up the ridiculous pretense he and Danny were not living together- which bought Danny just enough time to order in Martin's favorite Thai dish and decorate the apartment.

Okay, so maybe 'decorate' was the wrong word.

He bought rose petals-Samantha had assured him they would 'woo anyone,' but she hadn't known it was Martin he was pursuing-and scattered them from the kitchen to the bedroom, then decided it the cheesiest thing he'd ever seen and Martin would hate it, so he picked them all back up again. He decided, in a moment of pure madness, to simply tip the box of petals onto their double bed would be romantic enough.

He cringed again, but quickly left the bedroom before he could waste any more time. He heated the food and poured their drinks (non-alcoholic, of course) and then set the table. Danny turned on the radio to Martin's favorite station-country music, which Danny teased him for but secretly found quite adorable-and moved the volume down low, so it served as an atmosphere creator rather than just background racket.

He was wearing a shirt Martin had bought him for Christmas, despite the fact Martin had terrible fashion taste. Danny had never worn it before, actually, and a ludicrous thought popped into his head that perhaps it was this sort of ungrateful behavior that was the reason Martin was trying to break up with him.

Shaking the thought out of his mind, he unbuttoned the shirt a little more, exposing skin. Whatever it took, he told himself.

It was only a few minutes later when the door opened and Martin walked in, looking confused as his eyes adjusted to the candlelight. "What the-"

"Hey," Danny said smoothly, standing in front of Martin. He put his hand on Martin's shoulders and pushed his coat off. It fell on the floor. Danny leaned closer.

Martin just sort of…blinked at him. "What are you doing? You know that coat wrinkles and-"

Too much talking, Danny thought, and he closed the space between them by placing his lips on Martin's firmly, leaving no room for argument.

Martin kissed him back, his mouth parting to allow access to Danny's tongue. Oh yeah, Danny thought, it's working.

He pulled Martin closer by his tie, felt Martin's erection against his thigh as their heated kissing turned frantic. He broke away for air, laughed out loud at Martin's moan, and only then remembered the food.

In the same moment as Martin, apparently.

The other man sniffed. "Is that Thai?" he asked, the passion of a moment ago long forgotten.

Danny forced a smile. "Your favorite."

Martin grinned back at him and Danny felt his stomach flip. Try and break up with me now, Fitzie, he thought.

"So what's all of this in aid of, anyway?" Martin asked as they sat together on the couch after dinner.

"What's what in aid of?" Danny bluffed, kissing and licking and biting his way up and down Martin's beautiful neck.

"The candles, the Thai, th-ow, Danny, fuck-the shirt?"

Danny smirked. "Oh," he said, sparing a glance at the shirt, now buried under Martin's on the floor. "You noticed."

Martin snorted. "Hard not to. You know you don't have to wear it if you don't like it."

"Who said I didn't like it?"

"Uh, you? You said it was an eye-sore and a blinding shade of blue and-"

"Yeah, yeah, well, I've matured since then."

"That was a month ago…"

"Martin, stop talking." Danny pushed Martin back and captured his mouth in another breath-stealing kiss.

But Martin was done with romance apparently. He pushed Danny off him. "Seriously," he said, still smiling. "Why did you do all of this?"

Danny felt his face darken in color. Oh, hell no. Danny Taylor did not blush. Not even for Martin Fitzgerald, cute as he was.

"Does it matter? Maybe I just wanted to treat you; remind you why we started this in the first place."

Martin stared at him. "You're lying."

"And you're wasting valuable kissing time by interrogating me. Can we please just talk about this in the morning?" Danny reached for the other man again, only for Martin to draw back.

"I have to tell you something," Martin said, frowning. "Something serious, Danny."

Danny forced a laugh. "If you tell me you're pregnant I think we might have bigger issues than-"

"-Danny." Martin interrupted. "Please, just…just let me get this out, okay?"

Danny ducked his head. "Yeah, sure."

He felt anxiety building inside him. All of this: the shirt, the candles, the music, the food. All of this and Martin was still going to break up with him.

"You know how on Monday I didn't go to lunch with you and Vivian because I said I had a dentist appointment?"

Danny nodded.

"I-I lied about that. The truth is… I went to meet someone."

Danny felt like he'd been punched. His mind raced with questions he couldn't will himself to ask: how long? Had they been together here? Was it a woman? Of course it was. Where did they meet? Was she beautiful and smart and everything Martin had ever wanted? Did she love Martin even half as much as Danny did?

Martin couldn't even look at Danny, and this made it a little easier. Danny couldn't handle those blue eyes staring at him, shining with apology.

"I had lunch with my mother."

Wait…

Danny snapped his head up. "What?"

Martin nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry I lied. I just…"

Danny burst out laughing. "You went to meet your Mom?"

Martin looked annoyed, like Danny just wasn't getting it. "Yeah. Look, I'm sorry…"

"Why would you lie about going to lunch with your Mom?"

"I-I thought if I told you I was going to meet her you'd wonder why I wasn't taking you with me. To, you know, introduce you or whatever."

Danny felt a smile tug on the corners of his mouth. In truth, maybe he would have been a little hurt. But he wouldn't have been surprised; the idea of Martin telling either of his parents' about them hadn't even crossed his mind.

"But, I went to lunch with her and we got talking and I sort of…I felt guilty so I…I told her about you. About us. And I-I guess shesortofwantstomeetyou."

The last part was said in one breath, but Danny understood it. "Your mom…wants to meet...me?"

Martin breathed a sigh of relief, now he had finally confessed. "Yes." He blushed shyly. "You don't have to, if you don't want to. I know maybe it isn't your sort of thing…"

Danny couldn't help it-he started to laugh again. "Is that why you've been so hormonal lately?"

Martin looked offended. "I have not been hormonal lately!"

"You have. God Martin, you should have just said! I've gone all this time thinking you were going to break up with me-"

"-wait, you thought I was going to dump you?"

Danny nodded, still laughing.

"That's why you did all of this…" Realization hit Martin. "Oh, Danny, why the hell would I want to break up with you?"

Danny shrugged. "Because I'm ungrateful and inconsiderate and I'm not what you wanted? Because you deserve better? Because I don't always say the right things and we don't really talk about…us, and I thought that maybe, maybe this is just a casual thing to you.."

Martin looked stunned. "Danny," he said softly. "It's not like that to me. You-you're not a casual thing. I-I really like you."

At risk of making the night awkward and serious, Danny moved closer. "Well, that's good," he admitted, kissing Martin's welcoming lips. "Because I think I might love you, Fitz."

He didn't expect Martin to say it back, so he wasn't surprised when Martin just pulled him in for another kiss as a reply. He fully expected it when Martin took him by the hand and pulled him into their bedroom. He fully expected Martin throwing him down on the bed and collapsing on top of him, kisses and bites and licks peppering all of their naked skin.

What he didn't expect was Martin drawing back, taking in the sight of Danny on the bed and pausing, looking confused.

"Danny," Martin said, narrowing his eyes. "Why the hell are there rose petals on our bed?"