Capital Punishment

Chapter 3

Danny

Danny looked at himself in the mirror.

Awesome stylish sandy blonde hair. Check.

Contacts over bright blue eyes (he is so blind without them). Check.

Snazzy yet comfortable brown dress jacket over crisp white shirt. Check.

Navy clean cut pants. Check.

THE BEST CONVERSE EVER (stars and stripes y'all). DOUBLE CHECK. If he's going to be walking this guy around town, than he's going to be comfortable.

I LOOK FABULOUS. Danny kept telling himself. In truth, he was kind of nervous. He was meeting the author that changed his life. Or will possibly change his life. And like any diplomat that he has seen, dressing appropriately when meeting important people is a must. But also dress from the feet up, because he knows that if his feet hurt, than his whole day hurts. Either way, capitol or not, he wanted to have fun. And be serious. This was definitely serious.

Danny put on his serious face. And melted. He had a hard time being serious when he was excited. So he texted Rachel again.

NO FLOWERS RIGHT?

No promises. My lil man gots to make a good impression on his date.

IT'S NOT A DATE!

RACHEL?

She wasn't answering. But it did bring his attention away from himself so he could relax. He checked the time. 12:00. He's meeting at 1:00 or 13:00 as Mr. King put it. There was a congressional vote at 2:00. Hopefully nothing too big, so everything will be fine. But he definitely didn't get enough sleep last night, there was something going on at Capitol Hill until the wee hours of the morning, and he'd been sick a couple of times. Not fun.

Allowing himself a squeal, he grabbed his wallet and leapt out of his bunker.

Landon

Of course I look dashing, I am a bloody beautiful man.

On his way out of the hotel, Landon was ambushed by some American women that asked him where he was from, and they were practical drooling on him when they realized that he was British. After relishing in their compliments, he politely declined any phone numbers and told them that he had a place to be soon so he couldn't possibly stay any longer.

He was wearing a red and gray argyle sweater vest over a white collared shirt, all under tan tweed jacket with a comfortable pair of gray slacks, he looked very appropriate in Washington D.C.

Overall, London looked very much like England. They had the same eyes and brows, but London was actually able to get mild control of his slightly darker hair and cut it shorter.

Now if he could only make it the Starbucks without being attacked by more American women.

Danny

Danny bounced up and down in his seat. He already bought himself a Caramel Macchiato, had the book on the table, and the Brit's cup of tea. English breakfast. He thought that would be appropriate. Even though it is afternoon—oh my GOD! English breakfast in the afternoon!? Danny froze. Is that wrong? What if he doesn't want it? Should he go make another cup of tea—?

"Dan!"

Halfway out of his seat, he looked up to see Rachel looming over him. She grabbed his shoulders and eased him back down, and sat across from him.

"Man Dan, you look like a ticking time bomb, what's got you so nervous about meeting this guy?" Rachel asked.

Danny looked down at the table. "It's kinda complicated and it's kinda important that this turns out well—hey! You knew it was a guy and you still wanted to bring flowers?"

"Look Dan, just be yourself, nobody can get upset with that cute widdle face," she pinched his cheeks, ignoring his question. "Alright, what does he look like? Do you know if he's cute?"

Danny halted from slapping away her hands from his cheeks. Head snapped up, he realized that he had no idea what this guy looked like.

"Oh God, I have no clue. What he looks like, not if he's cute. Not that it matters! He's here cause I liked his book and asked to meet him. Wouldn't you want to meet the author of your favorite book? And what if he's like, 40 years old? I can tell ya right now, I've spent my fair share of time with old men and I do not find them attractive."

"Dan."

"This is not a date. This is an outing for investigative purposes. I cannot be distracted in any way shape or form."

"Dan."

"I have to focus. Put on my serious face. And we are going to sit here and look through this book."

"Dan!"

"WHAT."

"You're rambling again, and you already look tired. Caffeine can only do so much. Just take a few deep breaths, and be yourself. Your friend is here to meet you, not somebody else. Okay?" She spit in her hand and fixed his hair. Then she fixed him with a gaze. "You. Are. Fine."

"Okay." He said quietly. She stood up, pulled out a nice vase that held some deep red Tudor roses as a centerpiece, and gave him a grin. His face met the table.

Landon

Landon walked in the Starbucks and halted. Wait, how is he supposed to recognize this Daniel? He suddenly wished the lad had sent a photograph. He swept his gaze across the shop. What's that kid doing? Sitting alone over there with some nice Tudor roses—What in God's name?!

Landon's jaw dropped. That must be him. He was practically America, just without the glasses and the cowlick, and he had a slightly more modern hairstyle. And it definitely wasn't Canada, or he wouldn't even have seen him there. He started walking over to the table. Now, how should he introduce himself?

Danny

Danny looked up at the approaching footsteps.

HOLY EYEBROWS BATMAN.

Oh okay, some young looking guy, maybe 20 years of age, with big eyebrows, and jeez did eyes even come in that shade of green? And he's looking right at me.

Danny looked out the window to his side. Is there somebody else that he's looking at—oh hi.

The dude was right next to him when he turned back, and the guy smirked at Danny's roses.

"Are those for me?"

Danny sputtered, before collecting himself and casually saying, "That depends. Is your name Mr. Landon King?"

"That has been my name since the 12th century."

Daaaaaaaamn. Thought Danny. That be OLD.

Mr. King must have noticed his expression or read his thoughts, either way he frowned.

"It's not as old as you think." He said lowly. "Now are you going to invite me to sit down or are we going to have this conversation like a pair of old crows."

Danny just squinted at him. What does that even mean?

Mr. King sighed. He took the seat across from him.

"I see that you are having trouble comprehending the situation. I assure you that this is no ordinary approach to go about capitol business. I am really extending myself to meet you in your person. That being said, my name Landon King, but my real name is London. I am the capitol of England."

The situation was just finally sinking in with Danny.

"No way…" He whispered with wide eyes.

Mr. King chuckled. This was adorable. Daniel looked like a puppy seeing snow for the first time.

"And I assume that you are Daniel C. Washington?"

"oh—oh yeah. That's my name. But everybody calls me Danny. You can call me Danny. You're really from England? That's so cool! You sound so British! Hey, I got you the tea that you asked for. It's English breakfast, because I thought that would be appropriate, even though it's now afternoon, but it should still be hot, cause I even made it in the afternoon—is that okay?"

Mr. King sighed and brought his hand to his temple. He's just like America.

"Yes, that's alright."

This was going to be a long day.