One Trick Pony (Danny)

[Danny Silverman]

“I think most people care about the environment,” Danny said. And he believed that, because he was Danny, and he wouldn’t be Danny if he didn’t believe that it was true. To be fair, though, he had lived in California, where the people from the cities did tend to care about the environment. He’d even driven a hybrid. But when he’d moved out, he hadn’t been able to bring the car with him. Or he had…he just hadn’t wanted to drive all the way across the continent. “But it was amazing. Hopefully a real city like that will come to be one day. I keep hoping.” He grinned. It seemed logical that it would come, though, because there was only so long they could keep up not being environmentally conscious.

Just as Sean brightened when Danny said he built ships, Danny also became a lot more cheery when Sean said that he liked ships and sailed. “I’ve never been sailing! Always wanted to, though. I get to build a few. The Pirates of the Caribbean movies heightened demand a bit, so I’ve been building more model ships lately. I love doing it. What’s your boat like?”

He listened with a great deal of interest to Sean’s description of how he’d gotten to go into his position, then nodded. “I don’t think it sounds schmaltzy at all. I think it’s amazing that you can do that and help people through their problems. And that you like your career even though it was already expected of you.” Mind, had his parents asked for him to pick a more serious career…well, he probably would’ve listened to them. After all, they would’ve had his best interests at heart, and who knows? Maybe he would’ve been happy too. He certainly would’ve been happier than he had been for the first couple of years, when he was first starting out.

It was a part of Danny’s nature that he didn’t at first recognize exactly what Sean was offering. To him, it was just a simple offer of going back to his house and getting drinks. To him, it seemed perfectly natural, which was why, when he finished his drink, he smiled at Sean.

“Sure! That sounds—”

And then he stopped. Oh. Oh. That kind of coming back. Yes, Danny was clueless. But at least the time it took to pick up on it had gone down since he was younger. Danny’s smile became a bit more sheepish, and it was his turn to glance over Sean. Well, it wasn’t what he normally did, but…he liked the older man. And at least he’d had enough alcohol to think this might not be a bad idea.

“Good,” he said, a little quieter. “Nice. Uh…yeah.” And he offered another smile, more hesitant this time. But still friendly.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Although Sean had been accused of being too naïve and idealistic, he considered himself a realist, and the telepathy aided in that. He knew for a fact that while most people would say they cared about the environment if polled, they also were unwilling to make sacrifices of time, money, and energy. Still, since he was green and knew several environmentalists, the idea of a city running in such a way intrigued him. “We can hope. With the push for new forms of energy, it’s at least a possibility.”

“You should come sometime,” Sean suggested sincerely. He enjoyed meeting new people and taking them out sailing, and thus he would be genuinely happy to take the other man out on his boat once the seasons changed and the water warmed a bit. He then shook his head with a smile at the mention of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, as he had a long history with them. His nephew had dragged him out to see the first one during a visit, and then one of his students, an illusionist whose side effects included detachment from reality, became firmly convinced for two weeks that he was a pirate; those two weeks had been exceedingly long, particularly with the food fight and the attempted plundering. “It’s a twenty-nine-footer with a cabin in the bottom, although I don’t use it for that too often.” He smiled at the thought, now engrossed in the topic. “Ten foot beam.”

Sean smiled at the other man’s reassurance, knowing that was genuine. But he then chuckled at Danny’s use of the word amazing to refer to anything he did. “I don’t know if it’s amazing,” he said, although he knew that it wasn’t, particularly given his privileges, “but it’s worked out just fine. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.”

The telepath breathed a soft sigh of relief when the other man accepted his offer, and he returned the smile that the other man gave him. “Great. Do you want to go now? If so, I just need to pay off the tab before we head out.” Sean took the last sip from his glass before setting it down. He also had to address a practical matter. “Did you drive here?” It was warm enough that the other man might not have, and considering his long friendship with Josh and his friendship with Anya, he was acutely aware of how people could function in Pilot Ridge without the use of a car. If Danny had driven, he could try to give directions to his house so the car wasn’t stuck downtown overnight; although since he was new, that might not work well. If he hadn’t driven...well, they could address that at the end of the night.

[Danny Silverman]

“Everything’s a possibility,” Danny agreed, who could definitely be defined as naïve and idealistic without any problem whatsoever and without any sense of shame. Better naïve and unrealistic than rude and cynical. Or, at least, that was always his view on the issue. “But I think some things are going to be harder to implement than others. That’s the tricky part, I guess.” He shrugged and smiled. “Coming up with reforms that work for everyone. But I think it’ll work out for the best. It’ll have to eventually.”

He brightened when Sean said that he should come sailing with him sometime, and grinned and nodded. “I’d like that. And then I’d have more experience on ships, which should help my model building…” And yes, it almost always led back to that. However, his smile became just a little bit sheepish as the man started with the statistics and numbers that related to his boat. “I only kind of know what that means,” he admitted. “And that’s by guessing. But it sounds wonderful. I’d love to see it.” And he would. It would be great to sail on a real sailboat, out on…where, wherever you went sailing. Danny was trying, but the fact was that he HAD lived in LA and sailing was the kind of thing you did on producer’s yachts—and then only if you were lucky. It didn’t matter that he had been close to the beach. It just had never happened.

“No, it is amazing.” Danny disagreed almost instantly—one of the few times he would probably ever do so. “But okay. I’m just glad you enjoy your work. It’s awful when people don’t. There are so many jobs in the world. Why do something you don’t like?”

But now it was back to the unsafe topic of where they were going, and Danny found that he was blushing again. At least the bar was sort of dark, so his reaction was hidden. He was a little old to be acting this way, he reminded himself. “We can go now. I didn’t drive here. I thought it’d be silly to. What about you? I think I saved a cab number in my phone, worst case…” Habit from LA. You didn’t know if you’d be able to get a taxi, so it was better to know how to get one without a problem. And then it occurred to him that Sean probably HAD driven there, and so he stopped, embarrassed again. “But you probably have a car. Oops.”

((sorry for the wait! Feel free to usher him out the door or...whatever.))

[Dr. Sean Neville]

((OOC: I might end up bouncing around, so don't mind me.))

“I have a picture I can show you,” Sean promised him, since the technical descriptions made complete sense when accompanied by a visual. He then realized how that sounded. “Not in my wallet, of course, but I can show you a picture later.” He had a photo of Ryan in his wallet, and that hadn’t been taken near the sailboat. “And then when the weather gets nice, we can go out on the water. It’s idyllic out there in good weather.” The telepath smiled fondly, reminiscing now, although only briefly.

Although the other man was rambling, Sean didn’t pay any attention to it as rambling; instead he pulled the important information from the jumble of words: that Danny didn’t have a car with him but had taxi numbers, and that he wasn’t sure whether Sean had a car either. “I drove here, and I can give you a ride back later, or I’ll pay for your cab.” He tried to be a gentleman, and he was new to this as well. Not new to having relationships, but new to meeting people in bars and inviting them back home with him. Well, there was a first time for everything.

“I’ll be right back,” he promised, before getting up from the table and walking over to the bar. He spent a couple of minutes squaring off the tab for both him and Danny, since his wallet was out and he was filled with good cheer; he also drank a glass of water to flush his system. On his way back to the table, he went through his sobriety ritual, because he wouldn’t do something as foolish as drive when he was too drunk to function. ...There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, Still Crazy After All These Years, Hearts and Bones, Graceland, The Rhythm of the Saints, Songs from the Capeman, You’re the One, Surprise... He was sober enough...just happy.

Arriving back at the table, he smiled at Danny and said, “Let’s go.”

**************************************

The telepath had driven ten miles under the posted speed limit – and considering they lived in a small town in Vermont the speed limit wasn’t very high to begin with – but he liked to play the game of better safe than sorry. When they arrived back at the house, it was empty. L.C. had been spending the night with a friend, which had given him all the more reason to go out tonight; he didn’t have to worry about her curfew or about keeping up appearances. He was her psychiatrist, a respected figure at Hammel, a responsible adult, a father figure to many.

He was also still middle aged, although not in the prime of his life, and he had a life outside of Hammel, one that he was slowly reclaiming in the aftermath of the disaster with M.S.A.D. and rescuing James and Niko. He pushed those thoughts away when they reached the house. He let them in and didn’t remark on the fact that it was disproportionately large and empty for someone who lived alone, and instead showed Danny to the living room, before going over to his liquor cabinet. “Beer? Wine? Scotch? Brownies? I can try to mix you something if you want.”

[Danny Silverman]

Danny listened as the man talked about the ship more, nodding and smiling as he spoke. He liked that idea. He would have loved to see a picture, but was also more than happy to wait. And, to be honest, he’d forgotten people still kept pictures in their wallet. He tended to keep them on his phone—pictures of his models and such, which he really enjoyed making and so was proud to show people. Plus it helped get clients.

He was grateful that Sean didn’t seem to mind his rather embarrassed rambling, and nodded to what the man had said, blushing still as he pushed up his glasses and tried not to feel so embarrassed by this whole thing. He couldn’t believe he was doing this! He really wasn’t the kind of guy who just went home with people after a couple of drinks. He liked to think about things and take time to make sure that everything was okay and make sure he was really, really sure about this. He hadn’t gone through any of his normal steps with Sean. He had just kind of decided to…DO it. And it was both terrifying and kind of thrilling in a strange way. As he was unfamiliar with this, it hadn’t even occurred to him to ask if Sean was sober enough to drive.

“That sounds fine,” he said with a smile. “I guess we’ll…um…” he was blushing again. “See in the morning? But I can pay for my own cab, and it’s not a big deal…” He trailed off and watched, seeming startled as Sean paid for his tab. He hadn’t really been thinking about that. He mumbled a quiet “thank you” as Sean returned, and then followed him out into the room.

Danny didn’t seem particularly worried or amused by the fact that Sean had driven way, way too slowly, and so didn’t even think about it. Part of him was just putting together what was going to happen at Sean’s house and maybe freaking out. But not too much, because the alcohol was also making him pretty pleased about the whole thing. In a nervous sort of way. He looked around the house very curiously when he arrived, noting how large it was in a sort of puzzled way before he realized that Sean may have actually asked a question and turning to look at him.

“Um. Brownies? That sounds nice. And…um…I don’t know, what would you recommend?” he smiled sheepishly. “I don’t drink that much. You have a lovely house.”

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The telepath smiled to himself when the other man accepted the offer of brownies. Any person with a sweet tooth earned automatic points as far as he was concerned. Given Danny’s already demonstrated good nature, gentle spirit, and idealism, Sean liked him quite a bit. “Make yourself comfortable,” he offered to the other man. Gesturing around the house vaguely, he added, “My home is your home.”

With that, he disappeared from the den. He went to the kitchen to fetch the platter of brownies that lived there, while Sean slowly ate his way through them. Several minutes later, reappeared in the den with the platter of brownies and set them down on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Smiling at the other man, he said, “Here we go: brownies. No nuts, no raisins. Just double chocolate. If you don’t like them, I won’t be offended.”

He didn’t settle on the sofa. Instead he crossed the room to the bar in the corner of the room, to pull out drinks for the two of them; that had been his initial proposal when they’d left the bar. And while they had an understanding about other reasons -he had heard that confirmation in Danny’s thoughts for which he was grateful; he didn’t want crossed wires the first time he had ever done this – he still wanted to make good on his promise. Since Danny didn’t have much experience drinking and Sean for better or worse was an expert, he ran through his mental list of possible drinks. “Do you like juice? I could make you a cocktail with juice; you wouldn’t taste as much alcohol that way.”

As he was pulling out the bottles, he smiled at the compliment and he looked over at the other man. “Thank you. I went a little overboard when I bought it, but I’d been so tired of living in apartments, it warped my perspective.” He was fond of it, however.

[Danny Silverman]

Danny nodded to Sean’s statement and murmured another thank you. When Sean left, he wandered around for a time, looking around curiously before he eventually settled down on the sofa. He half-rose when Sean came back into the room and grinned happily as he saw the brownies. “They look delicious,” he said, glancing over at them. He didn’t mind that they didn’t have anything. Brownies were brownies, and Danny did have quite a sweet tooth—especially since he wasn’t much of a cook himself. As Sean crossed the room, he hesitantly settled back on the couch and picked up a brownie to nibble at. He was pretty sure that he wasn’t impressing Sean right now, as he thought he had a pretty dazed expression on his face. But oh well. He was happy to be here, and the alcohol’s pleasant buzz was making him not think about it all too much.

He glanced up as Sean went over to get drinks, and tilted his head to the side as he thought. “That sounds nice,” he admitted. “I think I had something like that before.” It had been a very long time ago, but he’d liked it, so why not give it a try now? It couldn’t do any harm, right? “But I trust you.” He smiled at Sean again and finished the brownie, then leaned back in his seat. “I don’t think you went overboard.” He looked around. It was big, but he still liked it. Especially since he’d only EVER lived in apartments (well, except for when he’d been adopted, and that one disastrous month with one of his boyfriends). “So maybe my perspective’s warped too!” He sounded pretty cheerful about the thought, then looked around again. “Do you have any roommates?” He was trying to think of a topic that wasn’t awkward and was pretty sure that he was largely failing.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“Then that’s what I’ll make,” Sean said, once he received Danny’s agreement with the suggestion. He knew how to make all manner of cocktails, and there was a book in his library with additional recipes. He began pouring the pineapple juice and coconut cream into a shaker, before reaching for the rum.

The telepath shook his head in response to the question of roommates. He hadn’t had a roommate, a real roommate, since living with Josh during medical school. Since then, he’d had long-term relationships where his partner would move in with him, but that was never for financial reasons, or even due to loneliness; it was a matter of convenience. He lived alone. Aside from L.C., but she wasn’t his roommate. “No, I don’t. I have a ward right now, a student of mine, but she’s visiting a friend for the weekend.” At first, it had been a bit peculiar describing L.C.’s living situation with him, but as the weeks turned to months, and the months passed, the telepath grew ever used to it. Now he thought nothing of the explanation, and tonight, he was grateful that he had the house to himself. He would never pull this if she were home, which would be unfortunate, since he liked Danny.

When he finished mixing Danny’s drink, and he had poured himself a glass of scotch, he brought both drinks over to the sofa and sat down beside the shorter man, before handing him his drink. “I hope that isn’t too strong,” he said with a smile, before taking a sip of his scotch.

While he was no stranger to dating and relationships, he was new to pickups. And while he had been successful thus far in keeping Danny’s interest such to bring him to his house, he didn’t want to fall into the trap of using terrible – and unnecessary – lines or tactics. He went with what felt more natural, and he moved closer on the sofa, and put his free arm around the other man’s shoulders.

[Danny Silverman]

Danny watched curiously, head tilted to the side as he studied what Sean was doing. Maybe he’d been missing out on learning how to make alcoholic drinks. This had been a pretty fun evening. And Danny still had that pleasant buzz from those beers he’d had.

Was Danny a lightweight? Oh, totally.

“It looks really good,” he said as he watched the man work. He suddenly had the urge to tell him that he was glad the man had gotten his drink right—shaken, not stirred. And Danny couldn’t help giggling a little bit at the horrible James Bond reference, even if it was in his head. Oh, what Hollywood could do to you. That, and one too many beers.

“That sounds nice, though,” Danny commented, smiling at Sean as he sat down next to him. He accepted his drink with a nod of thanks, then took a little sip of it, blinking once at the flavor, which wasn’t….quite as strong as he’d hoped but still definitely held that hint of alcohol to it. Mostly, however, it was just sweet, and he took another hesitant sip from it before just holding it in his hand. “Having a ward. I don’t have a roommate right now. My apartment is very small. Not a lot of room for roommates. I kind of miss it.” He smiled at him again and, when the man put his arm around his shoulders, leaned against Sean without a lot of thought to it. He wasn’t very experienced with this either, but he liked Sean, felt comfortable with him, and wasn’t extremely shy when it came to these sorts of things. Once it sank in, of course. And once his heart stopped beating so fast, which was kind of silly. He blamed it on the drink. But he decided not to pay attention to that and just turned his head to the side so his cheek rested against the smooth fabric of Sean’s shirt. This…wasn’t so bad.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The telepath heard the other man’s thought: the little James Bond reference and joke, and it caused him to smile. Despite the other man’s protestations that he didn’t get many jokes, he still had a nice sense of humor. A bit off, perhaps, but pleasant nonetheless. However, since Danny hadn’t made the joke aloud, Sean wouldn’t remark on it. He had yet to tell the other man that he was a telepath, and this wasn’t the way to reveal that fact.

Instead, he tightened his arm around the other man’s shoulders, just a bit, just to give additional support and to inch him closer. With his free hand, he brought his drink to his lips and had several sips. “She is nice,” he agreed, because he was fond of L.C. He saw through her harsh exterior to the kind young woman she was at heart.

“Have you met your neighbors yet? Are they interesting people?” The telepath got along with his neighbors; that was crucial for his well-being, the ability to get on with those whose thoughts he would have to deal with on a regular basis. But he was happy with his living situation.

Feeling Danny lean against him and rest his head against his chest, he turned his head and brushed his lips across the top of the shorter man’s head, before rubbing his chin in his hair. Danny was warm and compact and he felt delightful. He set his drink down on the coffee table and then moved his hand to rest on the other man’s thigh. “You’re very attractive, you know.”

[Danny Silverman]

It was probably a better thing that Danny didn’t know that Sean was a telepath. It wasn’t that the man would have minded. Actually, he probably would have thought it was pretty cool. It was just that, in this particular situation, he was already embarrassed about some of the thoughts running through his head, and he’d probably be mortified if he knew that Sean could hear them.

“I haven’t met them, actually,” he admitted, moving closer to Sean as the other man’s arm tucked around him. He was surprisingly comfortable there, actually. “I know I ought to, and I know I will soon, but I just moved in and thought that maybe I would, um, work up the nerve first.” He didn’t want to make a bad impression after all. “But they’re quiet and haven’t gotten mad at me for being up at weird hours, so I like them better than my old neighbors.” He shrugged slightly, sheepish. “It’s a step, right?”

He sighed a little as Sean brushed his lips—and then his chin—in his hair. He liked how solid Sean felt, how relaxed, and how slow he was taking it. It was nice. He did, however, find himself blushing furiously at Sean’s words. “I, u-uh…” He looked up, a bit shyly, then down. “Thanks. Y-you are too. Um…” He could do this, he reminded himself. He wasn’t a teenager anymore. He could do this. So he looked up again, tentatively slid his hand into Sean’s hair, and then leaned up to press his lips against Sean’s. It was a little clumsy, and still a little shy, but he was trying to make a move as best as he could. Have pity on him, Sean.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The telepath was equally comfortable with his arm around the other man; he was enjoying himself quite a bit. “Quiet is always good.” Sean preferred quiet, albeit sociable, neighbors; while he enjoyed a good barbecue as much as the next man, he also didn’t want neighbors throwing parties at all hours of the night or who reacted with suspicion to cars they didn’t recognize. It was a balance. “As is respecting the hours you keep. I don’t have the same situation now, but that had always been a problem when I lived in an apartment.” His insomnia had irritated the people below him.

Sean hadn’t intended to make the other man blush, not from embarrassment. He’d spoken only the truth, since he didn’t believe in idle flattery, since he valued honesty in his interactions with others and they didn’t have the same advantage that he had in determining honesty. When Danny looked up at him, he met the younger man’s eyes and smiled, before Danny looked away. “Thank you,” he said, still smiling.

Then he felt the other man’s fingers in his hair, and he tilted his head downward, just a bit, to better accommodate him. A moment later, he felt Danny’s lips brush his, and he leaned into kiss. He didn’t deepen it at first, instead letting the other man take the initiative, as awkward as it was –albeit endearing. His arm tightened around the other man’s shoulders, drawing him closer during the kiss. And after a moment, he parted his lips as an invitation.

[Danny Silverman]

“Really?” Danny had difficulties picturing Sean not getting along with the neighbors or his sleep schedule bothering them at all. He didn’t seem like a noisy guy, and he certainly seemed kind and gentle. Why would the neighbors have a problem with him at all? While Danny on the other hand would stay up late working to a deadline with a jigsaw and sometimes music running just in an attempt to keep himself awake. The way he managed to justify it to himself was that at least he didn’t sing loudly along to it. But now that he worked to his own schedule, he wasn’t doing that so much anymore. That was good.

And his blush hadn’t been from embarrassment, per se. It was more of a…flattered blush, if such a thing was possible (and Danny, if asked, would have firmly said that it was). A flattered blush because a man as…as…attractive as Sean thought he wasn’t bad on the eyes! It was kind of wonderful in an oh-dear-what-have-I-gotten-myself-into way.

Danny leaned in a little closer as Sean gently pulled him closer, glad that the man hadn’t pushed him away after the awkward kiss and enjoying the contact as his eyes slid shut. But it had been a long time since his last relationship, and when Sean parted his lips, he couldn’t help feeling like the little boy who’d received his first kiss, who had just barely not waved his hands in the air and panicked because it had been his best friend and he had kind of…enjoyed it. Okay, had really enjoyed it. But still. And Sean was…nice. So instead of panicking, as he was halfway to doing, he tentatively sucked on the man’s lip before soothing it with his tongue. This was still…nice. Yes, nice. 

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The telepath nodded in confirmation. “Really, but it was a long time again.” It had been decades since he’d last lived in an apartment building and had had downstairs neighbors to disturb with his walking around in the middle of the night. While he’d tried to be quiet with his movements, he was large and heavy and the floors/ceilings of his apartment building had been thin. That was yet another reason he enjoyed living in a house; he didn’t disturb his neighbors and they didn’t disturb him.

It had been a fairly long while since Sean’s last relationship as well, and since he didn’t normally pick up people in bars, it had been equally long since he had done this. Done so sober, since he couldn’t count what happened with Josh in moments of drunken abandon – uncoordinated and unplanned as they were. This was deliberate, this was unfamiliar (with Danny), and it was desired.

His arm was tight around the other man’s shoulders, and he rubbed his back slowly when Danny deepened the kiss. The shorter man’s lips were soft against his, and his tongue was warm. He brought his other hand up to cup Danny’s cheek and he nudged the other man’s tongue into his mouth.

[Danny Silverman]

He nodded. “Oh, I see.” That made him happy that he was getting along with his neighbors thus far. If Sean couldn’t get along with him, then what if he couldn’t? It was a little bit of a terrifying thought. But he wasn’t going to think about this right now. At least, as best as he could. Instead, he focused on just the feel of Sean and how very nice to was to be held like this. Even though he was nervous, and yes, perhaps even a little bit terrified, he was still enjoying spending time with the man. And yes, even…even what might happen next. It was pretty crazy. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done this, but he was willing to try it anyways.

He was as close to Sean as he could get, and he wasn’t sure it was enough. He hesitantly stroked Sean’s tongue with his own as his hand run gently through the other man’s hair. His other hand pressed against Sean’s chest, and slid down the fabric slowly. The alcohol was still buzzing in his system, making him heady, and he parted from Sean for a moment, hesitated, then moved to straddle the older man and kiss him again.

In the morning, he'd wonder how he got so brave. And so silly.