A/N Thanks for the lovely reviews and story favourites, guys. Here's some yummy Nick/Danny smooching as a reward for waiting - sorry it's taken so long!

Chapter 12

Physicality

Twenty four hours later, Nicholas and Danny were sitting together on Danny's sofa, watching the credits from Die Hard 4.0 scroll past.

"That were good, weren't it?" Danny enthused. Nicholas yawned.

"Yes, it was very enjoyable. Time for bed now though, you need your sleep."

"Oh, Nicholas! I ain't tired!"

"That's because you've just been watching a film. You will be once you're in bed."

"S'pose." Danny shrugged. Nicholas stood up and held out his hands to Danny. He took them and Nicholas pulled him up off the sofa.

Then he handed him his crutches and started clearing away the pizza boxes they had been eating from. Danny stood waiting for him.

"You go on, I'll be a few minutes tidying up. Can you manage the stairs by yourself?"

"Yeah. I fink so." Nicholas' back was turned as he headed into the kitchen so he didn't see Danny's wounded expression before he shuffled off up the stairs awkwardly on his crutches. In truth, Nicholas was not entirely sure what should happen next. Should he stay in Danny's room? In Danny's bed? He certainly wanted to. He wanted to be close to him, able to help him if he needed anything and comfort him if he was in pain. He didn't want Danny to spend a single second alone. But he didn't want to smother him either. And he would hate for Danny to feel pressured into making their relationship physical.

Futhermore, as much as he wanted to be intimate with Danny, he was at a loss as to how to go about it. He was afraid of looking like an idiot because he didn't know what he was doing. He had no experience with men. He didn't know if Danny had any experience with men. He didn't know if Danny thought he had any experience with men. And more than anything he knew Danny just needed to rest after his release from hospital. Doctor Flynn had allowed Nicholas to take Danny home on the understanding that he was not left alone and that Nicholas could look after him well enough that he could enjoy complete rest. Nicholas had assured him that he could and had booked three weeks of leave in order to concentrate solely on caring for Danny. He notified Doris that he would not be in work at all during that time and he was not to be contacted under any circumstances. He left Sergeant Fisher in charge and turned off his work mobile phone.

For a man who had not taken a holiday for five years it showed serious commitment, the significance of which was not lost on Danny. He was confused, and a little upset, therefore, that nothing physical had happened between him and Nicholas since the whole declaration of love thing in the hospital the previous morning. Several times, Danny had thought he must have dreamed it after all, as they hadn't spoken about it and Nicholas was acting as if nothing had happened. That was not to say he wasn't looking after Danny, because he was. He was being attentive in the extreme, not letting Danny do anything that Nicholas could do for him. But his manner was the same as it always was, capable and caring, but in a platonic way. Now Danny was alone upstairs, about to get in bed, unsure whether Nick was going to spend the night on the sofa again like last time. All he wanted was to be near Nicholas. He felt safe when he was with him. His presence distracted Danny from the disturbing thoughts about the horrors his father had perpetrated.

Nicholas climbed the stairs to Danny's room and knocked hesitantly on the door, even though it was half open.

"Come in, Nick, you idiot, you don't 'ave to knock." Danny called as he emerged from the bathroom on his crutches. Nicholas stood just inside the doorway, shifting slightly from foot to foot.

"I, er, wasn't sure where I should sleep so I thought I'd better just ask you."

Danny continued his slow progress towards the bed and sat down, not looking at Nicholas.

"Where d'ya wanna sleep?"

"I don't mind. Wherever you want me to, you need to be comfortable." Nicholas was aching to tell Danny he wanted to sleep with him but was not willing to risk putting any pressure on him.

"Comfortable? Is that all that matters to you? You turned into some kinda doctor now an all?"

Nicholas frowned, sometimes Danny's moods were every bit as difficult to decipher as those of the women he had known.

"I'm sorry, I don't follow."

Danny huffed in exasperation.

"I fought we was, you know, together? After the hospital and everythin'."

"We are." Nick insisted earnestly.

"But... well... it's just nuffin's happened since then, 'as it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Jesus, Nicholas! Do I 'ave to spell it out?" Danny rolled his eyes in the pause that followed. "Fine! What I mean is, we 'aven't even kissed!" He said through gritted teeth.

"Oh! I... well, I wasn't sure if you... and I wasn't even really sure if I... I mean, I didn't really understand what was happening... I mean, I still don't exactly. You're a man and I... at least I never thought... you know."

Nicholas stumbled painfully through part sentences, woefully out of practice at expressing himself. He felt even worse when Danny looked offended.

"Right, I get it, you just don't fancy blokes! You can stop going on about it, it's embarrassin'!"

"That is not what I meant!"

"Well, what the 'ell do ya mean, then? And what did you mean by all that love stuff at the 'ospital?"

Nicholas crossed the room and sat on the bed beside Danny. He cautiously placed a hand on Danny's lower back, hoping he wanted physical contact.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm not making any sense, I'm just crap at explaining how I feel. And I didn't want to... pressure you. Listen, you're right, I don't fancy men. I never have. But you're different, somehow. I haven't felt like this before... about a man, I mean. Actually, I haven't felt like this about anyone before. You relax me, Danny. You make me feel calm, which I don't often feel normally. I need that, and I... I like it. I'm not pretending to be something else when I'm with you and all I want to do is be with you."

"That's amazing, Nicholas. But that's all emotional stuff. What about the, you know, physical stuff? You just don't fancy me, do you?"

"I do... fancy you." Nicholas winced and blushed at the choice of words. "I want to kiss you and touch you, believe me, it's physical! I'm just not sure how to... go about it. I don't want to do the wrong thing."

Danny's face softened, seeming to finally understand Nicholas' anxiety. He looked him steadily in the eye.

"Nothin' you'd do to me'd be wrong."

Nicholas swallowed hard under his intense gaze, unable to reply, his mind suddenly reeling with the things he would like to do to Danny. It was Danny who eventually broke the silence.

"Fuck it, just kiss me now then."

"What?"

"You heard! Or don't you want to?"

"Danny!"

"Gotta start somewhere, 'aven't we! So stop fuckin' about and kiss me!"

"All right!" Nicholas half laughed, looking down, burning with embarrassment. He cleared his throat. They both glanced at each other's mouths, breaths held. Nicholas' tongue slipped out to moisten his lower lip as their eyes locked together again. Then he very slowly leaned in towards Danny, tilting his head to the right and letting his gaze slide back down again to judge the distance between them. He shut his eyes as their lips came together. Danny tasted deliciously minty from his toothpaste, and his lips felt surprisingly soft. Even more surprising was the realisation that it didn't feel all that different from kissing a woman. It felt good. Nicholas pulled back slightly to take a breath. He looked back up at Danny.

"All right?"

"Ah hah." Danny nodded, his voice shaky. Nicholas went in again, more confidently this time, and parted his lips, easing open Danny's mouth. He felt him responding, tilting his head and tentatively matching the pressure of Nicholas' lips with his own. The awkwardness was slipping away and Nicholas felt both relaxed and a bit excited at the same time. He could not believe he had waited so long to kiss Danny. Or that he had tied himself in such knots over it. Now he was doing it, it felt exactly right. He shifted closer to him and put a hand up to Danny's face, steadying him as they kissed. The sharpness of Danny's late night stubble was rough against his palm, and he was finding the novelty of the sensation incredibly arousing. Nick repressed a groan, not wanting to show quite how stimulated he was, and kissed Danny harder. Feeling his self control slipping slightly away from him, he pulled back to grab a breath again and slow things down. He knew Danny was not well enough for anything more physical than kissing. If they took things any further tonight, Nicholas would feel as though he had taken advantage of him when he was vulnerable, a feeling he would never be able to live with. Danny, however, was showing no sign of wanting to cool things down, breathing fast, shifting closer to Nick, the exhilation of the situation showing in his eyes.

"You are shit at explainin' how you feel, Nicholas. But you're fuckin' good at showin' it."

Nicholas smiled, a rush of male pride coursing through him.

"Plenty more where that came from."

"Good coz I were worried you was stoppin'."

"No, not stopping. Just slowing down a bit though, you still need to recover." Nicholas said firmly.

"Ok." Danny looked disappointed, but did not argue, automatically accepting Nicholas' authority.

"But we can keep doing this a bit longer if you want."

Danny nodded, smiling shyly again.

"Yes, please."

Nicholas gently pushed him back until he was lying on the bed. He moved to lie half beside him, half on top of his expansive chest. "This mean you're gonna sleep in here wiv me then?" Danny breathed.

"I think that is a safe assumption, yes." Nicholas answered, unable to hide a slight smirk at the deliberate formality of his phrasing. Being careful not to press down on his healing stomach wound, Nicholas leaned across Danny and flicked off the bedside light. In the darkness they kissed some more, calmer now and unhurried, gently exploring what made them feel good. And they talked, until Nicholas sensed Danny was struggling to stay awake, and trying to force himself to do so. He kissed him one last time.

"Go to sleep, Dan." He whispered. "I'm not going anywhere."