A/N: I've given some thought to this, and have decided to continue...let me know what you think, and if it is something that should indeed be continued. If not, well, I think I'm happy with it ending with a tenth drabble and leaving the rest to readers' imaginations.
This is a double drabble because it just needed the extra bit of time. Thank you for reading.
"Leaving on a Jet Plane" by Peter, Paul and Mary
"Kathy's Song" by Paul Simon
Danny felt as giddy as a schoolgirl on her first date and that gave him cause for concern. He wasn't a girl, he wasn't some young teenager hyped up on hormones, itching to get laid. He was a full-blooded American man and he had to set that straight before, well, before…
"I'm not a girl," he blurted out and shook his head, closing his eyes as though in pain. Eloquent, Detective Williams, he thought and took a deep breath in order to clarify his thoughts.
For his part, Steve was looking at him out of the corner of his eye, lips twisted up in some sort of smirk that Danny found difficult to read as he refused to look at him.
"That is," Danny cleared his throat, raising a hand and letting it fall, "that is, I'm not…" why the hell was this so hard for him to say?
"I know Danno," Steve forestalled. "Look, this doesn't have to go anywhere. We'll take it one step at a time."
Danny snorted, shaking his head in relief and amusement. There was still one thing he had to make perfectly clear.
"What I'm trying to say, doofus, if you'll let me get a word in edgewise," Danny ignored Steve's derisive grunt as he continued, "is that I," and he emphasized the next four words, punctuating each with a jab in Steve's direction, "Am. Not. A. girl."
"'Course you're not Danno," Steve attempted incredulous, but it came out somewhere between sincere and mocking. He would have closed his eyes if he hadn't been driving. Groaning, he realized that he had a lot fast talking to do in order to salvage this night.
"My house is in the other direction," Danny's voice had a cutting edge to it and Steve inwardly cursed. His partner's posture was stiff, and he stared straight out of the windshield.
"Look, I understand," Steve said, "you're not a girl, I'm not a girl. Hell, Danno, we're both two grown men. Just…"
"Just what?" Danny turned to look at Steve, uncertain and a little fearful of what he'd see on the other man's face.
"Just, let's give this a chance?" Steve hated how that'd come out as a question and he glanced worriedly at Danny, hoping that he hadn't messed things up too terribly when he hadn't taken his partner seriously. If he had to, he'd whip the car around and head back to Danny's place and drop the other man off, but he really hoped that it wouldn't come to that.