* just sayin' *

The look Tony gave Lori could have been described as ‘incredulous’ at best. Aliens fell through a portal in the sky. Genetically altered superhumans were an every day reality. Yet for some reason, Lori couldn’t fathom that a weapon with the ability to destabilize matter existed? There was magic - real, actual magic - out in the world and in use but this was apparently too much for her to comprehend. “… No, Lori. These guns don’t have safeties and they don’t need to be reloaded. They’re energy weapons. Think a portable particle beam. They have a power source and use plasma as the delivery system. Look, I asked S.H.I.E.L.D. for a field agent to give me a hand. They sent you. What would you do to stop a weapon that reaches several thousand degrees Celsius internally?” he asked, throwing his hands up. He was tired and he was frustrated and he just needed a drink - “Wait a minute. Ice bomb. How tall are you?”

Lori grabs her food and heads for the couch, and Danny takes a deep breath before he gathers his omelette and coffee and follows her.

He really needs to start thinking before he speaks, but there’s something about Lori that throws his common sense out the window. So instead he’s trying to work out how to remove his foot from his mouth as he settles awkwardly next to his friend.

The couch looks big but feels small, likes he’s too close to Lori even though they’re not even touching. And of course it was this couch they spent time on last night, chatting and drinking and joking and… Yeah, he needs to stop thinking about all that.

They eat and watch some old episode of a sit com and Danny vaguely remembers seeing it the first time around, recognising the jokes, but he’s too constantly aware of Lori’s proximity to him to completely concentrate on the show.

He puts his plate on the coffee table when he’s done and finishes his drink, and figures it’s probably sensible for him to keep quiet before he gets himself into more trouble. That’s more difficult for Danny than most people though, because he’s a natural talker, and just leads to him fidgeting with the throw on the arm of the sofa and picking at the t-shirt he’s wearing.

He wants to make this right but, damn it, he’s clueless as to how he’s going to do that.

A part of Lori is acutely aware that the elephant in the room needed to be addressed. The sensitivity of the subject made her squirm and avoid bringing anything up, but her gut was telling her that it needed to be discussed before they left her apartment. If they let it go past that moment it was likely to fester into something ugly, that’s how affairs like this worked, but if she could work up the nerve to address it then... maybe, they had a chance to salvage something good. 

Really good, if the future held anything like last night had. 

No, she couldn’t think like that. Danny was her coworker and friend, this needed to end for the sake of their professional lives. 

In her peripheral vision, she notices that Danny is fidgeting. To be honest, she’s not sure why he hasn’t spoken yet. He was usually a talker, always quick to address important issues and probe for answers. 

His mug was empty, she noticed, happy for an excuse to get up and away from him. She couldn’t stop sneaking glances at the blonde detective, her eyes always seeming to draw to the stretched blue of her t-shirt over his shoulders and arms. It was a tantalizing feature she didn’t usually notice ( although she had noticed his strong forearms under the rolled up cuff of his shirts before, she wasn’t blind ).

Danni paused and considered Lori for a moment. She’d dropped by to pass on a file for the case Five-0 were currently working on and had only intended on a flying visit, but going home to a bare and empty apartment was hardly tempting. Maybe hanging out with her colleague outside of work and getting to know her would be a good idea?

Lori was a capable woman, smart and damn good at her job, she was just a little awkward and goofy. But Danni kind of liked that about Lori. She was genuine and honest, and that was nice to see in a world full of people who kept others at arm’s reach… like Danni tended to do herself.

Plus they were alike in so many ways; women in a male-dominated like of work, both transplants from the mainland, both recently out of deep, long-term relationships and trying to piece their lives back together.

“Yeah, okay,” she nodded, pressing her lips together in a tight line and looking down at the glass of wine in Lori’s hand. “I guess I could always get a cab home, huh?”

Lori had stocked up on a pile of movies and a few bottles of wine to take advantage of her evening, but she’d gotten bored quickly and had already attempted to restart the movie once. The knock on her door had been a pleasant distraction and she welcomed the company.

Besides, she needed to befriend Danni and Kono, the three girls stood to gain a lot from a friendship. With Lori’s arrival to the team they were now in the majority, a rare occurrence in their line of work. It was something Lori had always dreamed of seeing and now she was a part of it.

Holding the door open a bit wider, she stepped aside to make room for Danni to enter, her mood brightening significantly. 

“ A cab after a cab? ” Lori quipped, walking to the kitchen and holding up a bottle of cabernet with a cheesy grin. “ I’ve got a riesling in the fridge if you prefer whites.”