A/N: Valentine's Day fic to share. It's 80 percent fluff. The other 20 percent? I don't know. Anyway, this could be a sequel to 'Bottle Poetry'. But it's detached enough to stand alone.
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine.
Change always comes bearing gifts. Change is constant. Change is the shillings you find in the depths of your pocket on laundry day, some shining brightly in the light, some marred and tarnished. Change is essential, yet confusing. It could be so simple it complicates your life in that brief moment of time.
She was sick, and bored, of listening to love songs playing on the radio. What made everything worse were the sickeningly sweet dedications. They only reminded her she had no one special in her life; and no one to make her feel special. Lindsay growled and switched off her radio set. Tomorrow was Valentine's Day and the lab was bound to be filled with cheery, perky people. It was just this one day she wished that she was surrounded by depressed and moping fools. She sighed and picked a DVD to watch, maybe watching The Iron Giant would take her mind off things. Besides, she loved Disney.
When she stepped into the lab the next morning, Lindsay tried desperately to psyche herself up. Hopefully Mac would give her a challenging case so she could throw herself in it, and ignore the happy atmosphere around her.
Danny was seated behind her desk with his legs propped up when she entered the office.
"What are you doing here?"
A smirk grew on his face, "Happy Valentine's Day to you too, Montana. I was waiting for you."
She ignored the Valentine's Day reference and focused on his second sentence. "Why?"
He waved a case file and removed his legs from the desk so she could perch on it.
"Oh, good. Lemme see."
Danny passed the file to her and raised an eyebrow; it was amazing how her face lit up so fast.
"Don't you have plans?" Lindsay asked curiously when shift was over and Danny made no move to leave the lab.
He shook his head, eyes still glued to the microscope barrel. "Can't wait for me to leave?"
"I didn't mean it that way. I just thought…Cindy.."
"It didn't work out." His voice was curt; Danny clenched his jaw in preparation for a sarcastic comment that everyone who found out had made.
Lindsay looked in his direction, "Oh, Danny. You'll find someone better next time."
The surprise made him look up and face her. She mistook his startled expression for hurt and spoke gently, "I'm serious, you will."
"What about you? No plans?" Danny turned the table.
"No." She offered him a tiny smile, however grew wary when the famous Messer smirk appeared.
"Have dinner with me." The words left his mouth before they were fully processed in his brain.
She frowned slightly and narrowed her eyes, half contemplating if she had really heard what he just said.
"Come on, we've worked for the greater good for so long, we deserve a break for Valentine's Day."
Lindsay felt her resolve crumble and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips, "Fine."
They sat in a booth at the back of a homey diner to avoid the crowd of couples. Lindsay was feeling slightly uncomfortable being surrounded by couples who couldn't keep their hands off each other, she bent her head down and rolled her eyes when the waitress commented on how wonderful Valentine's Day was before taking their order. Noticing that, Danny smirked and ordered the 'Lover's Special'.
When the waitress left, Lindsay glared at him playfully. "You just had to order that, didn't you?"
He chuckled and leaned back into his seat, stretching his legs under the table, taking up her space. "Yeah."
Lindsay felt the fabric of his pants brush against hers and crossed her legs. Clasping her hands together and propping her elbows on the table, she rested her chin on her fists and stared at the man before her. She remembered the first day she saw him. Her first impression was that he was a cocky person with good looks and a nice ass. It took her some getting used to, but after weeks passed, Lindsay admired his passion and found his endless teasing cute. Not like she'd ever admit that to him. Her mind wandered to wistful memories of Montana and the Valentine's Days she had spent there.
Locking eyes with her faraway ones, Danny pondered silently why he broke up with Cindy. Apart from her irritating voice which buzzed incessantly in his ear during the entire course of their relationship, he realized Cindy had been a nice girl, just plain silly and superficial. Subconsciously, he had been comparing her to someone else. If only he could find a name for the 'she' in his head. Even though Danny was afraid of commitment, he did want a relationship where it wasn't just about telling each other what happened during the day and sex.
The food arrived with a clatter on the table and both dug in hungrily, the hours they had spent at the crime scene and walking around in the lab catching up on them. In between bites, they spoke of work, how Mac and Stella seemed to fancy each other, argued if alternative rock was better than country or vice versa, bickered over horses stank more than they were adorable. Unexpectedly, they were laughing their heads off over the most random of conversations and quite nearly snorting soda out of their noses.
Seeing the radiant smile on Lindsay's face and the way he felt more comfortable with her than with Cindy, Danny wondered if she was the reason.
"Thanks for dinner." Smiling, Lindsay pulled her coat on. She had a great time; she begrudgingly admitted to herself. Having started the day planning to mope about and bury herself in nothing but work, Lindsay found the twist of events heartwarming and fun.
Danny grinned and slung an arm across her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. "No problem. Come, I'll send you home." She giggled against him and nodded.
He walked her up to her apartment and boxed her in, against the door, with his arms.
"Why did you commiserate?"
"I beg your pardon, what?" Lindsay crinkled her nose, aware that he was well into her personal space.
"Why didn't you throw in one of those sarcastic quips when I told you about Cindy?" He asked, making sure to speak lowly in her ears.
"Is that the normal thing to do in New York? Because that sure isn't what it is in Montana." She trembled slightly at the sound of his voice, but steeled herself in time to stop her legs from giving way.
"I was just expecting it, y'know?"
Lindsay shrugged and stared at the lapels of his coat. She placed her fingertips just under his collarbone, as if to prevent the distance between them from closing in.
"You know why it didn't work out with Cindy?" Danny asked softly, more like he was going to tell a story rather than he was asking a question.
Lindsay looked up and into his eyes, wondering where this conversation was leading, "Cuz she talks a lot and irritated the hell out of you?"
"Yeah. And she really wasn't my type." His eyes traced her arm, from her fingertips which was resting lightly on him, to her shoulder, then up her neck and to her lips.
"Oh? What is your type exactly?"
Danny licked his lips, "Smart, funny, kind, not annoying."
Lindsay laughed and rolled her eyes, "Big boobs, long legs."
"Nope, those aren't important. But she's gotta have the nicest smile and deepest brown eyes I've ever seen." He swooped down, planted a soft kiss on her lips and before she could respond, pulled away and left in a slow jog.
Lindsay, with shaking arms, dug into her purse for her keys and pushed the door open slowly. She paused after taking off her shoes and touched her lips, wondering if that kiss had just made the whole day sparkle like baubles on a Christmas tree, or ruined her first Valentine's in New York while threatening to kill any sleep she could've gotten that night.
Read and Review. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone...