Let's get down to business

[first_rule]

If Daniel had thought the last year had been a whirlwind, it was nothing like all that changed the moment they stood before Dylan in the park. A lifetime of hardwork, a year of risking prison and failure, and now he had come to the pinnacle of all he had ever wanted.

And it wasn't even close to over yet. Packing wasn't hard, and leaving behind his life had already been done. They had no idea where they were going, or what was coming next.

He did know that McKinney didn't stop making whatever sound that was at the ungodly hour of not even four in the morning, and he was about ready to scream if the coffee maker didn't go faster.

Comments

[the_highpriestess]

She hummed, pleased, and leaned into him a little more. While she didn't grace that statement with a response beyond that, however, she was obviously touched by it. And trying very hard not to think about how badly it had gone after that and how quickly.

"I don't know. Offer me something and we can go from there."

[first_rule]

"Well. Let's start here then."

Life was changing, and he wasn't taking the chances he had in the past, letting her go. So he leaned in, kissing her tenderly as his fingers brushed along her cheek, back to card through the soft tendrils of her hair.

[the_highpriestess]

Despite their proximity, despite the fact that Daniel was obviously flirting with her (and she'd be lying if she said she hadn't been flirting back), the kiss still surprised her. That in mind and if only for the briefest of instants, she tensed. When that moment passed, when she relaxed, she let out a breath through her nose and kissed him back gently, one hand coming to rest at the side of his neck almost tentatively.

[first_rule]

He waited for her to shove him away. He was certain she would. Yet she didn't, and then he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. He had forgotten how wonderful this was, how good it felt to have her in his arms. She was beautiful and delightful and he suddenly had no desire to let her go, not after all this time.

[the_highpriestess]

She didn't shove; she did, however, pull away slightly after a long moment, if only to catch her breath. And to ask, "If I tell you that I might have missed this, are you gonna say something shitty and screw it up?"

[first_rule]

He shook his head. "Nope. I'm going to tell you how much I've missed you, Henley," he murmured, pressing his brow to hers. "Every single day. Now, latter I'm going to say something stupid. I can't help that. Not right now though."

[the_highpriestess]

"I'll hold off on slapping you until then, in that case." Whether or not she was joking, it was hard to tell, but either way, she leaned into him again, sighing, content. A moment after that and she was stealing another kiss.

[first_rule]

He held her close, feeling the thrill of the past as well as such a delight in having her in his arms again. It felt new and familiar and right all at the same time.

"I'm glad for that. Besides, it's me. I'll give you a reason to slap me sooner than later," he said, meaning it.

[the_highpriestess]

"Probably," she agreed, flashing him a brief, almost apologetic smile. She was -- kind of sorry? But Daniel did have a propensity towards being a dick at the most inopportune, infuriating of times.

[first_rule]

He knew it would happen. She would never let him get away with shit, and the truth was he didn't want her too. That she cared meant she still cared.

"I missed you," he murmured softly. "You know that, right?"

[the_highpriestess]

"I got that, yeah," she said with a nod. Considering he'd just said it a moment before? Yeah, she definitely got it. "Not that I mind hearing it."

It was -- good to know that it wasn't just her being pathetic.

[first_rule]

It was the same nervousness that he so often showed around her since the break up. Even if they were standing in the kitchen about as close as they could get with clothes on.

"Yeah well... I couldn't suddenly be suave along with my usual sexiness, now could I?"

[the_highpriestess]

"The world would probably implode or something," she said by way of agreement. Despite the teasing, however, she reached up to run a hand through his hair reassuringly. Like she said, she didn't mind hearing it.

[first_rule]

His eyes closed, having missed that touch more than he remembered. Yet feeling it aagin left him sighing, enjoying the sensation.

"Well good. I'm not ready to give up on the world yet," he admitted. "It just started getting good again."

[the_highpriestess]

"Not gonna argue that." A beat. "Though speaking of, we should probably go finish packing." Never mind the fact that she made no motion to pull away just yet.

[first_rule]

"Right. Packing. You know, we should sit in the back of whatever we're traveling in and make out," he said, only partially teasing. "Let the others drive."

Okay so he probably wasn't teasing.

[the_highpriestess]

She rolled her eyes at him again, though as before, he amusement remained. "Well, considering Jack can't drive, since he's supposed to be dead, that means you'd have to trust Merritt not to try to run us off the road every time we got comfortable."

[first_rule]

"Oh come on. I don't want to drive them. They'll backseat drive," he said with a smirk. "And we can get Jack a disguise. Like my moustache."

[the_highpriestess]

She nudged him lightly at the mention of the moustache. "You just want an excuse to put everyone in that disaster, don't you?"

[first_rule]

"You especially," he said, winking at her. "Because you'd look adorable in it. Though it might tickle when I do this," he said, leaning in to kiss her once more. Soft, tender, not pushing for more than those shared moments.

He couldn't help but think of more, though it wasn't now. He wasn't going to rush things. Not just because of risking losing her again, but because he knew there was a need to make sure that the tea stayed together, was still working well together.

[the_highpriestess]

"You are not kissing me while I'm wearing a creepy moustache," she protested after she'd returned this kiss.

[first_rule]

"But why not?" He pushed, smirking and amusing himself more than he should have been. "Come on. We can both wear them," he taunted.

[the_highpriestess]

She couldn't help but laugh at that. Mostly because, "Yeah, and then it'd look like two Pomeranians going at it when we kissed."

[first_rule]

He opened his mouth, closed it. Then he couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, fair enough. Except we don't have to see one another when we're kissing and anyone looking that close can deal with it," he teased.

[the_highpriestess]

"You just want to scar Merritt for life," Henley decided, making a face at him. Her amusement remained, however.