~~~

The next day, Nicholas woke up warm, happy, and in not his own bed. He opened his eyes, and saw Danny, still asleep. He smiled, remembering everything. He wanted to stay in bed longer, but it was a work day, and he had his routines.

He pulled himself out of bed and away from Danny begrudgingly, making sure that Danny didn't wake up. He took out his running clothes, one of the outfits he'd taken to leaving at Danny's, and went into the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, got dressed, set a few things up in the kitchen, and came back into the bedroom with a glass of water, and two pills that would help with Danny's hangover laid out on a napkin. Danny hadn't moved much, which was good. That meant he hadn't woken up yet.

He went over to Danny's side of the bed, and set the water and napkin on the bedside table.

"Danny," he whispered. "Danny, wake up."

"Mmphr." Nicholas smiled.

"Come on," he gently shook his shoulder, "just for a moment." Danny blearily blinked before opening his eyes all the way, rubbing some of the sleep from them.

"Nicholas?" His voice was thick, and he started to sit up, but Nicholas kept his hand on his shoulder to keep him in place.

"It's alright, you don't have to get up properly yet. I just wanted to tell you that I'm going on my morning run now." Danny's face scrunched up.

"Not gonna ask me to join, are you?" He asked skeptically.

"No no," Nicholas chuckled, "just telling you."

"You... came over here and woke me up to tell me to not get up, just to tell me you were going on your run?" Danny shook his head a little. "I think I'm too tired for this."

"I was actually already over here." He paused meaningfully, smile fading a bit as he considered that Danny might really not remember. "From last night."

Danny's eyes widened, and it looked like it was all coming back to him. He looked up at Nicholas with something like fear in his eyes. Ironically, that eased Nicholas's own fear. Fear that last night hadn't happened, that he'd imagined or dreamed it all, that Danny had just been drunk, and not serious. Of course, Nicholas had been pretty confident, considering the force of Danny's words, and the kissing, but there was still that little doubt.

Until now.

"Oh."

"Well," Nicholas cleared his throat. "I have medicine over here with some water in case you've got a hangover, I left the electric kettle on, in case you decide to get up and have tea." He gestured towards the kitchen, "and I'll be back after I'm done to make some toast, or something else if you're feeling up to it." He smiled again as Danny slowly took it all in. "Also, I wanted to wish you a good morning," and he leaned over, giving Danny a soft kiss before righting himself again.

And that seemed to pop the bubble of uncertainty for Danny right enough. He positively beamed, until he realized that Nicholas actually was ready to leave.

"So it did happen!" Nicholas just smiled wider and nodded in response. "Oh, that's not fair, I want to snog you some more, and-" he yawned.

"Go back to sleep, Danny." Nicholas patted him on the arm. "I'll wake you again later, when it's time to get up for work." Danny nodded, mood dampened slightly. "It's alright. We've off tomorrow." Danny smiled again, and turned over, pulling the covers up around himself again. Nicholas was halfway out the door when he called out.

"Nicholas?" He turned towards Danny. "Tonight, your arse is mine." A blush shot its way through Nicholas's ears to all over his face. He stared for a moment, open mouthed, before he finally nodded once.

"It's a date." And with that he turned around again, and walked out the door. He was unable to keep the stupid grin off of his face his entire jog.

---

The door had just shut behind them as they left Leslie's Garden, when Danny burst out laughing.

"What?" Nicholas asked him as they walked on, already halfway to amused.

"You know she was flirting with you, don't you?" Nicholas stopped in his tracks so suddenly that Danny walked another few steps before he realized that he was walking alone. He turned around to look back at Nicholas. "You didn't!" He grinned something awful. "It weren't like she was being subtle, Nicholas." He gave a guffaw as Nicholas processed the information.

"I thought we were just... talking about how things were going. A conversation about planting seeds, and flowers etcetera."

"Oh, she wants you to plant your seed in her flower, alright," he said, waggling his eyebrows furiously.

"Stop that," Nicholas said with no heat at all, finger on his chin in deep thought. "Excuse me, I'll just be a moment." And he turned, going back into the shop. He heard Danny say

"Oh, I didn't..." just as the door closed, but he didn't really pay it any mind. For now. Later, he would turn it over and over in his mind, trying to figure out what it was, exactly, that Danny didn't. But right now, he had an objective.

"Excuse me," he got the attention of the girl working the store. Considering he was the only other person in there, it wasn't that difficult. "Abigail, I believe I've realized something about what you were asking me, when I was in here before..."

"Yes, Inspector?" She leaned over the counter, expression sultry, and oh, Danny had been right. She smiled at him, but only for as long as it took Nicholas to tell her that, while she was a nice girl, he didn't think he was ready to date someone right now, and he was sorry. She seemed disappointed, but not too much so, and Nicholas left the shop on what he felt were good terms. She gave him a small smile and a wave that he returned, after they said their goodbyes and Nicholas just barely noticed Danny on the other side of the door before he opened it on him.

"Sergeant Butterman?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Danny scrambled out of the way with a completely unabashed grin.

"Could see through the window, but the sound is better near the door." Nicholas repressed a smile. "So," Danny got a little quieter, a bit more serious, "you got a date, then?"

"No, I turned her down."

"You what?!" Danny's jaw dropped as though this information was shocking. He frowned, confused, and they naturally resumed walking their beat. "She asked you out, then?"

"No, I told her no before she could." Danny choked a laugh.

"So you went back in to tell her no to a question she didn't ask?" Nicholas narrowed his eyes. He didn't see what was so funny.

"I don't see what's so funny." He told Danny. "I didn't want to lead her on, and it would have been increasingly awkward every time we saw each other." He shrugged. "This made the most sense, to establish the boundary early." Danny laughed again.

"If you say so." He still seemed amused, but there wasn't anything more for Nicholas to say to that. Danny eventually turned thoughtful, and after a while of silence asked, "so, what was wrong with her?"

"Hm?" Nicholas blinked, momentarily confused before he realized. "Abigail? Nothing." Danny raised an eyebrow.

"So how come you told her no?" Nicholas shrugged, hoping it seemed casual.

"I just wasn't interested in her." Danny scoffed.

"Because there was something wrong with her." Nicholas shot a half-hearted glare at him.

"No. Just because I'm not really interested in going with any girls in Sandford right now." Which was accurate. Very accurate. Exceedingly, embarrassingly accurate. Because while he wasn't interested in Abigail or any other woman, he was, in fact, rather interested in Danny.

"She was cute, though." And that was precisely why Nicholas was stuck. Danny seemed to regard them as best mates. Something that Nicholas cherished, yes, but it meant that he was stuck pining after someone who didn't have any interest in him.

"Yes, she was." Which was true. "And she was a nice conversationalist. I'm just not interested." Danny looked at him like Nicholas had something growing on his face, but after a few moments, he dropped it as they continued on with their day.

"So I was thinking, tonight we start in on the rest of the Die Hard series..."

~~~

"Why won't you tell me where we're going?"

"I have." Nicholas led Danny down the street, trying not to go too fast in his excitement. "Lunch." Nicholas could practically hear Danny's eyeroll.

"I don't know why you think it's going to be a surprise," Danny mused aloud. "I've lived in Sandford all my life, Nicholas, I know all the places there are to get food." Nicholas hummed noncommitally. Well, he supposed that a bit of an explanation wouldn't spoil anything.

"It went up while you were in hospital," he admitted. "Now that the doctor's given you full range of all food, I thought it might be a nice little," he spotted the restaurant in the distance, "celebration." Danny looked at him, and a smile slowly spread on his face.

"Yeah? Any good?"

"I don't know." Danny tilted his head, watching him as they walked. "I, er," Nicholas cleared his throat, "was waiting for you to be able to join me before I tried it." And now Danny was actively staring at him, and Nicholas's ears burned. It had just felt wrong to try it without Danny. Luckily, they'd just arrived, curtailing any time for Danny to pick that apart. "Here we are!" Nicholas put his hands out, as though he were presenting the place to Danny.

"A Taste Of India. Huh." He gave a light smile. "Haven't had much Indian, least not 'round here." His expression dropped into something bitter. "Probably wouldn't have been very welcome, you know." Nicholas nodded, understanding. This had certainly taken a turn. He still wasn't that good at lightening the mood, making people laugh, like Danny.

"Well," he opted for the truth, instead. "It's here now. They must feel safe enough." Danny looked up. "Sandford is different now, in no small part due to you." Danny gave a small, genuine smile.

"Yeah, suppose you're right." His grin grew. "Thanks, Nicholas. You always seem to know just what to say." Nicholas was taken aback, but Danny was already turned away, looking into the restaurant, trying to get a glimpse. "Looks nice!"

"Er, yeah." He tried not to sound flustered, and opened the door to walk in, instead. Danny followed. When they were seated, Nicholas examined the menu, getting excited. It had been too long.

"Hey, no ticka marsala?" Danny was looking over his own menu.

"That's tikka masala. And no, this is more authentic Indian food."

"Oh." Danny looked worried. "I don't think I'm familiar with any of this, then."

"It's alright," Nicholas was mentally going through everything he'd seen Danny eat, categorizing. "I can recommend a few dishes that you'd like." He paused, "how spicy can you handle your food?"

"Not very?" He answered hesitantly. Nicholas nodded. He, himself, couldn't handle it too hot, either. A waitress came over with a basket of bread, placing it on the table as she opened her mouth to greet them.

"Naan!" Nicholas's eyes widened in delight, inadvertently cutting her off.

"... hello, welcome to A Taste of India, may I take your drink orders?" Danny turned a laugh into a cough.

"Sorry," Nicholas apologized. "I got excited. It's, er, been a bit since I've had Indian food."

"Well," the waitress smiled, "that's a good sign for our business, at least."

"This is yours?" Danny asked. The girl nodded.

"It is my mother's and father's," she said, Northern accent slightly peppered with a hint of an Indian one. "I'm working in the front of house so they can concentrate on the cooking." She gestured behind her, presumably towards the direction of the kitchen. "They're very good!"

"Good, good," Nicholas nodded. "This is Sergeant Butterman's first time trying real Indian, so I think I'll order for him."

"You will love it, Sergeant!" The woman said. "My name is Sarasvati, it's nice to meet you, welcome." She inclined her head.

"Nice to meet you, too!" He grinned at her. "And I hope so. But it's Danny," he insisted, pointing at her, mock seriously. Sarasvati smiled brightly and turned towards Nicholas.

"I didn't catch your name?"

"My name is Inspector Nicholas Angel. I'm sure it's delicious." He told her politely.

"What would you like to start with?" She readied her order pad.

"Some tea would be lovely, thank you, and an order of samosas to share. Sauces on the side." Nicholas scanned the menu as he ordered. "Aloo gobhi for me, as well as the vegetarian dosas, and Danny will have the tandoori chicken, and a plate of palak paneer."

"What'd you order for me, then?" Danny was frantically trying to locate the dishes on the menu.

"Chicken kebab, marinated in spices and yoghurt, cooked in a special oven, and spinach with cubes of hard, non-melty cheese." Danny wrinkled his nose.

"What kind of cheese doesn't melt?" He asked, and then turned to Sarasvati. "No offense?" She just laughed lightly.

"You'll see," Nicholas promised. "You'll like it, and if not, we'll probably be sharing anyway," he considered. "Mine is potato-cauliflower, and a type of thin pancake made from rice and legumes," he explained.

"Vegetarian?" Danny blinked, Nicholas's order catching up with him.

"I've had to forgo it in Sandford, but I do quite like a vegetarian lifestyle." He shrugged. "I'll eat it occasionally, but overall I find that I don't miss it."

"Never knew that before..." Danny looked thoughtful.

"It's alright, it never really came up. Cornettos are vegetarian anyway." And at that Danny smiled widely. Nicholas turned back to Sarasvati to try and hide how pleased it made him to make Danny that happy.

"Sorry about that. We'll both have the plain basmati to go with it, and two mango lassis, please," he was careful to pronounce it 'luh-see' as he'd learned from experience.

"Wow," Sarasvati said, pad lowered eyebrows raised. "I'm impressed, you really know your stuff." When he looked over, he saw that Danny had been looking at him, also seeming impressed. He suddenly realized how much a date this felt like. The two of them in a restaurant, him ordering for Danny, getting food for them to share. Nicholas felt his ears start to burn.

"Well, I'm originally from London." He diverted, "and don't be too impressed just yet, I'd like to request everything to be mild." Sarasvati laughed, and Danny took a drink of water.

"You can pronounce the Hindi, but can't take the Indian spice as is, hmm?" She grinned good-naturedly. "Too bad, I'm told that I can be pretty spicy sometimes." Danny choked, some water spraying, which was the only reason that Nicholas cottoned on to the fact that she was flirting with him. Nicholas was definitely blushing now.

"I, er, that is..."

"Maybe while I put in your order, my parents will come out to meet you to see if they approve." Sarasvati grinned wickedly as Nicholas glanced at Danny to see if he'd be of any help. Abigail hadn't been this forward. But Danny just had an odd smile on his face, likely still getting over his choking. Nicholas turned back to Sarasvati and stammered, still taken aback.

"I'm sorry, I, you seem very nice, and I don't mean to make this awkward, but-" she waved the comment away, still laughing.

"Don't worry, I will get over it." Nicholas relaxed. "You can make it up to me by becoming regulars once you taste my parents' cooking." She winked.

Nicholas laughed, and when he glanced at Danny, it looked like he was over his choking, smiling normally again.

Their meals were delicious.

They soon became regulars.

~~~

They'd been called in to The Swan (under new management) to investigate a suspicion of an attempted break-in. There were scratch marks on and around the lock, and the door itself. They had determined that it was safe, and that nobody had gotten in. Everything seemed to be accounted for. The woman in housekeeping that had called them, Victoria, had been chatting with them about the incident, and they'd promised to have more of a presence around the area to prevent it from happening again. Then conversation progressed onto the service, how they were doing, were they holding up well, their plans in Sandford. And then, inexplicably, the conversation had turned to Nicholas.

It had seemed natural, talking about workload, how he was adjusting after the N.W.A....and also quite a lot of how cool it was, what he'd done, and what it had been like in London. Really, she quite reminded him of Danny. All questions, and gushing, and smiles, and jokes, and laughter. Even a horrible pun ("business taking a Swan dive") that had made Danny, who was failing at pretending to check all the locks again, snort a laugh. The likeness only continued.

"Must be a lot of work, you being Inspector and all." She attempted to blink something out of her eyes. Behind her, Danny attempted to peer around the corner.

"Yes, well, without the help from the rest of my team, I wouldn't be able to accomplish anything," Nicholas told her diplomatically, yet honestly.

"Still, that's so much stress on your plate," she leaned in closer to him. "You must be sure and take some time to relax, take in a movie." Nicholas had to stop a smile from breaking out too widely on his face. Yes, she reminded him of Danny, indeed.

"Oh, yes, don't worry. I don't overdo it much anymore." He caught Danny smiling over her shoulder.

"Well, I hope so..." she resumed trying to blink something from her eyes again, "I suppose I could only really be sure if I'm with you when you watch one?" And now he realized that she was batting her eyelashes. And he came to the conclusion, without any help from Danny this time, that she was trying to flirt with him. He glanced at Danny, still behind her in his line of sight, who was waggling his eyebrows, and he had to suppress a laugh.

He did keep encouraging Nicholas to give one of the women a chance. Wondering why he didn't reciprocate, what he found 'wrong' with them. What it would take for him to say yes one of these days. Maybe, with Victoria reminding him so much of Danny, it would be a good opportunity to finally settle it once and for all. Get over Danny, move on, take a night to relax with someone else...

And any thought he had of giving her a chance because of her similarity disappeared, because his way of relaxing with a movie was Danny. It was useless.

"I'm sorry," he told her. And he really was. Especially with Danny furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, and then raising them again, as if he were asking what was wrong with Nicholas. Nicholas couldn't tell Danny the real answer, of course, but Nicholas hoped that he'd accept an excuse of movie nights being theirs and not wanting to mess them up. Honestly, Danny looked almost amused at this point, smile creeping up on him as Nicholas rejected her. It was a weak excuse that he had, and Danny couldn't know how true it was. But for now, he concentrated on letting her down easily.

~~~

The next time it happened, it hadn't involved Nicholas at all. He and Danny had stopped in Somerfield's (under new management) to see if there were any movies he wanted to add to his collection.

Nicholas was content to let Danny peruse at his leisure. He did a quick, yet thorough round about the store to make sure nothing untoward was going on. By the time he finished the perimeter check, there was a woman in the section with Danny, and when Nicholas came into view again, Danny turned to greet him, accidentally bumping into her. He watched as he apologized to her, and as he got nearer to the shelves, they were already chatting rapidly. He heard Danny telling her he was looking for action movies.

"Oh, if you want action, have I got suggestions for you!" She turned, grabbing some movies off the shelf. She held out two. Nicholas couldn't see the titles, but one featured two men in armor, turned towards each other, holding swords. The other one, featured a man in loose clothing, holding an even bigger sword. Danny took them and wrinkled his nose.

"What, no shootouts?"

"Oh, one of those, are you?" She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. Danny grinned back, cheeky.

"Oh, you mean 'one of those' with excellent taste?" He retorted. She laughed, and he turned to grab what would surely be- "Point Break! Now tell me your swordfighting can even come close to the action in this one."

"Oh, sure, anyone can shoot at people," she mimed it, "but just shooting everyone isn't a plotline."

"Isn't a plotline?! You've got to be mad, it's a touching story about..." Nicholas started walking away then, not wanting to hear the rest of Danny gushing about his favourite movies to someone else. It was alright. He'd just make another lap around the store. Maybe outside in the parking lot, too. It looked like they would be conversing for some time.

Which was fine. Danny was always friendly with everybody. Finding a fellow film buff, especially an action film buff, would be sure to spark a deeper conversation. And it was fine. Nicholas was fine.

He just, hadn't wanted to stay there, watching and listening to them. She'd been looking at Danny in a certain way that, thanks to his recent experience, he had begun to recognize. She was clearly rather enjoying their conversation, and it was obvious that she was interested in Danny. He found himself thinking about her physical characteristics even more than he'd thought about all the women that had come onto Nicholas, himself. She was cute. She was, well, bigger, but that didn't take away from her well-groomed hair, her brightly coloured clothes, her pretty face, her personality...

Nicholas sighed as he watched a mother and her children in the cereal section. Yes, she was surely interested in Danny. And Danny had no reason to not be interested right back at her. This was a good thing, though, he argued with himself. And, yes, Nicholas had been slightly hurt at his immediate recommendation of Point Break; he still remembered when they had first watched it together that night back when he'd first come to Sandford. But that didn't mean that Nicholas had a claim on it. It was Danny's favourite movie. Of course he'd recommend it.

But, yes, this was a good thing. If Danny started going with her, he would be unavailable. If he were unavailable, Nicholas could finally move on from these inconvenient feelings that would never be returned anyway.

It just made him feel bad, to see it happening in front of him.

He supposed he'd have to get accustomed to it if they were going to be dating. They'd be flirty and sweet right in front of him all the time.

Except, no, that wasn't right, either. They would be going on dates, having their own, private movie nights. Movie nights without Nicholas. That hurt him more than it should have. It made sense, it was logical. He would just be in the way for the most part, most of the time. Oh, sure, he was certain that Danny wouldn't abandon him completely. At the very least, they were still partners at work, even if that was the only way they were partners. But they were also best mates. He was sure that Danny would still make time for him.

Nicholas slowly made his way back to the movies. He could see that their conversation was wrapping up, Danny still awkwardly holding a few DVDs. When he was only an aisle away, he heard Danny promise the woman, "I'll see you later!" And that had to have been a reference to a date, which twisted his stomach a bit, even as he chastised himself for feeling that way.

Danny attempted to wave, which just made him drop some of the DVDs, which made her laugh as she walked away, and waved in turn. She smiled at Nicholas as she passed. She seemed sweet. He was happy for Danny. He would be happy for Danny if it killed him.

"So," Nicholas said as casually as he could as Danny bent down to pick up the movies, "she seemed nice."

"Nicholas!" Danny beamed up at him. "There you are." Nicholas sighed and bent down to help him gather the rest of the movies, standing up to put them back in their proper spaces. Danny seemed to register what Nicholas said. "Helen? Yeah! She was really nice to talk to. I like her a lot. Oh, don't put that one back." Danny stopped him from shelving the DVD in his hand, as if those simple words hadn't curdled in Nicholas's stomach. I like her a lot. Of course he did. Nicholas watched as Danny went back to looking at the movies. He had no call to be bitter about it, so he tried to push it away by looking at the cover. It was one of the swordfighting movies that the woman, Helen, had picked out.

"Going to watch it with her?" He was able to keep his voice steady, at least.

"What?" Danny asked distracted. "Well, she asked me to. But no, we're going to watch it tonight, and I'm going to tell her what I think," Danny said easily, looking at Nicholas oddly. "It's our movie night, why would I watch it with her?" It was their movie night practically every night. "But we're watching one of mine, after, in case it's shit." Nicholas couldn't help but smile.

"But," he pressed him, "I thought she was flirting with you...?"

"Oh, you actually noticed! Good on ya!" Danny congratulated, turning towards him, then shrugged, "Yeah, she was. Not really sure I'm interested, though." And Nicholas had said those words enough, but Danny had followed up often enough that Nicholas wanted to know more, too.

"Did you tell her that?"

"Nah," Danny shrugged again. "I dunno," he avoided Nicholas's gaze in favor of looking back at the films. "Don't really feel like telling her no." Nicholas frowned.

"But then aren't you going to get her hopes up?" Danny sighed.

"Just leave it, Nicholas," he waved a hand vaguely. "I don't dislike her. Might say yes one day, at that. It'll work out one way or another." Danny pulled himself away from the movies. "Nothing here, I'm ready to go. You?" Nicholas was conflicted. Danny hadn't said no, but he certainly hadn't said yes. That helped the ill feelings that he'd experienced, for certain.

But was that what Nicholas wanted? To keep longing after Danny while he flirted with other girls? Waiting on their success to snatch him up eventually? Keeping him to himself, selfishly, while he clung to any attention and time he got? No. He'd have to get over him, properly. It wasn't fair to Danny or whoever his future girlfriend would be, and it wasn't fair to Nicholas.

"Yeah," Nicholas answered. "I'm ready."

~~~

Nicholas had been determined to get over Danny after the Helen incident. It was difficult. It involved a lot of lecturing himself inside of his own head, such as when Danny smiled at him, or laughed at something he said, or spoke to him or-

Well, it was difficult. It was only a week and a half later that saw him have an opportunity to change that.

They'd been at The Crown (under new management) as usual. They'd been sitting at the bar top. They'd been just talking and drinking, as they always did. All of a sudden, something bumped into Nicholas's non-beer-holding arm. It jostled him, regardless, and a few drops splashed out onto Danny. They both stopped and turned around to see what caused it.

What caused it turned out to be a man.

"I'm so sorry!" He looked distressed, flushed, perhaps in genuine apology, or already drunk. Regardless, it was an accident. Hardly any repercussions from it, so Nicholas glanced at Danny, a look he'd given him so many times before, that asked if he knew the person. Danny gave the shoulder motion and eyebrow position that told Nicholas that this man was new to Sandford. Nicholas turned back to the newcomer.

"Not a problem," Nicholas nodded once. "No damage done." The man seemed to relax.

"No spills or anything? Because I can do a wash if you need it!" He seemed so earnest, young-faced, wanting to help. The flush stayed on his face.

"No, really, everything's fine," Nicholas assured him.

"I'm so glad," the stranger exhaled, hand on his chest. "I can't believe it. Not been here a minute and I cock it up." So, redness in face likely not from alcohol, then, if he'd just arrived. "Trying to make a good impression on you two-" and then he seemed to realize what he was saying and closed his mouth with a sheepish smile. Ah. One of them, then.

They'd had a fair number of people visiting Sandford after The Shootout. They could hardly stop all the newspapers and stations from reporting everything that had happened. Sandford had become rather famous in short time, or rather, it had become infamous. The officers had all had excited fans crowding them at one point or another.

He seemed to compose himself, mostly, stammering "Let me buy you both a beer! I ruined this one for you, and, I mean, it'd be an honour!"

"I wouldn't say no to a free beer," Danny piped up. Nicholas gave Danny another familiar-to-him look. "Oh, come on, it's not because we're officers, or he's trying to get out of trouble." Nicholas sighed and turned back to the stranger.

"Well, as I said, everything's fine, no damage done, so there's no need to recompensate me." Nicholas felt rather than saw Danny's pleading look, "but if you wanted to buy Sergeant Butterman one, I suppose that'd be alright." Danny let out a whoop, the stranger smiled, and grabbed out his wallet. Nicholas couldn't help but glance at his license, and noticed he was fairly near his own age, just had a round, young face. He took out a few pounds and slid them towards Danny.

"Ta!" Danny grabbed the notes and waited for the bartender to make a reappearance. While he was occupied, the man bit his lip a little awkwardly, and stuck his hand out.

"I'm Kenny." He told him.

"Danny. Good on ya, Kenny!" Danny called from behind Nicholas's shoulder. He looked around a bit more, then added, "gonna go look for Joe-say."

"José," Nicholas corrected automatically as Danny made his way around. Danny just gave his shoulder a pat and left to look for someone to help him.

"Inspector Nicholas Angel," he shook Kenny's hand, who grinned.

"I know. Wow," he smiled a particular way, "them pictures in the paper don't half do you justice."

His first thought was Oh, not again. But then Nicholas hesitated. Well, he wanted to get over Danny, didn't he? Who was to say that he had to do it on his own? Maybe he should take someone up on their flirtatious invitations. And, well, while one or two of the women had piqued his interest a bit, maybe a man was the answer. Maybe seeing where this took him would help him through it. It didn't have to be much. Perhaps some kissing with someone interested would be enough to shake his reluctance to let Danny go. Maybe if it were a man, he'd be able to get it out of his system.

"Er, thank you?" It was a shame that Nicholas was so terrible at flirting back. He glanced to the other side of the bar, where Danny was held up by a conversation, laughing with someone. Nicholas was ready to lecture himself for the little thump his heart did at the sight, but instead focused back on Kenny. "You're new in town, aren't you?"

"Yes," Kenny beamed. And from there Nicholas found it was very easy to hold a conversation with him. He learned that he had taken a holiday in Sandford for a long weekend. That he was a teller in a bank. That he was a middle child. And as Nicholas spoke about The Shootout and life after the N.W.A., he thought about how Kenny didn't exactly look like Danny, but he had the same hair colour, and his eyes were almost similar. And he had a nice enough laugh, and smile. And he shared Danny's enthusiasm. And, hell, their names were nearly the same. But as the conversation went on, nothing further happened, and Nicholas wondered if maybe he'd been wrong, and Kenny hadn't been flirting with him after all.

And then Kenny put his hand on Nicholas's knee.

Nicholas looked down. Alright. So this was definitely flirting. He stared at the hand as he thought of how to continue, but Kenny spoke up after four seconds.

"Guess I fucked it again, my mistake," Kenny mumbled, slowly starting to draw his hand away. Oh, no, he was getting the wrong idea. He quickly placed his hand on Kenny's, securing it from moving. Nicholas looked up at Kenny and saw him, hesitant and unsure.

"It wasn't," Nicholas replied. "Your mistake, I mean." Kenny exhaled a relieved breath, smiling, and Nicholas answered with his own small grin in return.

"I'm glad. Thought I'd gotten it wrong," he punctuated this by putting his other hand on top of Nicholas's on top of his own. The bread to a Nicholas hand sandwich. He wasn't sure if he liked it, but, well, he supposed it wasn't too uncomfortable. "Do you want to go somewhere else?" And now Nicholas made a displeased face. Kenny laughed kindly. "No, not like that, I promise," which made Nicholas relax again. "I just meant, I dunno." He shrugged in a way that reminded him of Danny. "A walk, some ice cream?"

"Cornetto," Nicholas replied, smiling and relaxed, half on automatic.

"Yeah?" Kenny's smile was very nice. He was sweet. This could be good for Nicholas. "I've never cared for them much, myself." And just like that, the illusion shattered like glass. Nicholas was sharply reminded of what he'd always known; that Kenny wasn't just someone who could pass for Danny in certain ways. And that he had been planning on using him to get over Danny, that he'd wanted to kiss him, or more, just to make himself feel better.

He felt sick.

He was disgusted with himself. Kenny deserved better than that. Nicholas would have to tell him that he wasn't interested, despite just just telling him that he was interested. He sighed.

"Kenny," he started, and Nicholas's seriousness caught him, and Kenny's smile faded immediately. "I'm very sorry, but I'm actually going to have to decline."

"Because I don't like Cornettos?" Kenny asked, top hand retreating off of Nicholas's, taken aback. Nicholas chuckled.

"No," he assured him. "It's just. I think I'm not ready to do this."

"I said we didn't have to do anything!" Kenny protested, sounding distressed.

"I know," Nicholas smiled sadly. "I'm sorry," he patted his hand before taking it off, Kenny following suit. "It's not that. It's not you at all." Nicholas sighed again, "I'm just not over someone, and I thought that you might help, but I don't think it would work, but more importantly, I don't want to use you."

"I don't mind you using me," Kenny batted his eyelashes. Nicholas laughed, half a choked sound, and they smiled at each other.

"I'm really sorry, Kenny." Nicholas told him.

"Yeah," Kenny nodded once. "Me, too." And then he shrugged. "It's alright, though."

"Thank you. Have fun on the rest of your holiday. Feel free to stop by the station any time." Nicholas stuck out his hand. "It was very nice meeting you, Kenny. Good luck with everything." Kenny pushed his hand aside, stood up, and gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek.

"See you around. Good luck to you, too." They waved goodbye, and after Kenny left through the door, Nicholas suddenly realized it had been nearly an hour, and he hadn't seen Danny since he'd left to get another beer. He got up, and asked around, finding out that he'd had his beer that Kenny had paid for, then another two, before leaving. Well, Nicholas had wanted to get over him; not noticing him for the better part of an hour was surely a step in the right direction. But they were still friends. He should check up on him, or maybe apologize and watch a movie. Nicholas set off for Danny's, keeping the image of Helen in his mind to try and keep himself in check.

~~~

When Danny answered the door to Nicholas's knocking, Nicholas's jaw dropped open. Danny's hair was mussed, his clothing was all disheveled, he was holding a beer (mostly empty), and he was lacking his typical smile. In fact, he looked annoyed.

"'Lo," Danny intoned sullenly. "Finally showed up, then?" Nicholas winced. Danny was definitely annoyed in a way he seldom was. He hadn't heard that tone since the night in the rain after Tim Messenger's murder.

"Listen, Danny, I'm sorry," and Danny rolled his eyes. "I should have realized you hadn't come back, and found you sooner. Before you left." Danny snorted.

"Think that's the reason?" Nicholas furrowed his brows in confusion. As a matter of fact, he did.

"As a matter of fact, I do." He wracked his memory for anything else. Had he said something that Danny had overheard? Danny laughed, a harsh, sharp sound, so unlike his usual laughter.

"Come here alone, have you?" Danny sneered. Or, at least, he might have, had he had less to drink. As it was, it looked more like he was trying to scratch an itch on his nose by using his lip.

"Of course I have." Alright, he'd spoken about leaving with Kenny, but Danny had been long gone by then, hadn't he? "You mean with Kenny?"

"Yeah, I mean Ken-ny." His voice took on a mocking tone, and now Nicholas's confusion was trickling towards annoyance. "Did you leave him at the bar?"

"No," Nicholas kept a firm voice, "he left right before I did." Alright, so definitely about Kenny. Nicholas took a breath, "I'm sorry that I got so caught up talking with him, Danny."

"Talki- He was flirting with you for god's sake!" Danny's anger and volume were slowly increasing.

"He hasn't been the only one." Nicholas crossed his arms. "You didn't have a problem with any of the others."

"You didn't flirt back with any of the others!"

"So?" He couldn't help his defensive tone; Danny was starting to upset him. "You thought I should have." It was a fight to try and keep himself from yelling at Danny. He had a suspicion as to why Kenny in particular was upsetting Danny, but he told himself he was being paranoid. Danny had never shown himself to be a bigot before, and there was no reason he'd have to start now. But Nicholas couldn't fathom another reason why he'd be this upset. Especially after Kenny had bought him a pint. Nicholas had made a promise to himself that that night in the rain would never happen again, but it was difficult to be so calm in the face of who Danny was revealing himself to be right now.

"Oh, yeah, all of them lot you say no to. But you don't reject him." The disgust in Danny's tone when he said 'him' clicked, and Nicholas's stomach clenched.

"Is that what this is about?!" His arms fell to his sides. "Because Kenny is a man?!" He was yelling at him again, failing on his promise to himself, but this wasn't the Danny he knew.

"Of course it is!" Danny confirmed his fears, Nicholas's heart sinking, anger rising in its place.

"I have to say, I didn't expect this of you," Nicholas spat out.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to disappoint you, then, won't I?" Danny swayed a little, and the absurdity of the two of them having a row in Danny's doorway hit him. It would almost be funny if he weren't finding out that Danny, the man he fancied, didn't fancy that he fancied him. Danny downed the rest of his beer, tossing it behind him, not caring where it landed. "Don't know where you get off being angry at me, anyway." Nicholas scoffed with no humour in the noise.

"You can't be serious," he said. "Hearing this from anyone else would be enough to raise anyone's blood pressure. Let alone someone who was supposed to be my friend!" Nicholas shook his head. "In fact; forget this. I'm leaving. I'll see you tomorrow, if you can stand to be near me for chatting it up with a man." Nicholas turned sharply around and began to walk home. There was just no point in talking with Danny any more. He had no idea what he was going to do at work, but quite frankly, he wasn't even thinking of work right now. He rather thought the last time he'd felt this betrayed by Danny was when he'd been stabbing him through the ketchup packet.

Well, he'd wanted to get over Danny. This definitely went a long way in doing that. He was so angry, so furious, so absolutely devastated. How was Nicholas supposed to go on like normal, knowing this about him?

"Oi," Danny called out from behind him. Nicholas ignored him and kept walking. "Oi!" he got more insistent, and he heard his footsteps coming up from behind him.

"Go back home, Danny," Nicholas told him, hard as stone, like he was a schoolteacher chastising an unruly student.

"I ain't done with you yet," Nicholas heard Danny's breathing, and stopped walking and turned around to glare at him. "Where d'you think you get off?" Danny glared right back. "You sat in the pub flirting with Kenny right in front of me like, and I was supposed to just stand there and accept it?" Nicholas was back to fuming, matching Danny's anger note for note, finding solace in the rage, as though it were keeping him together, despite the fact he was falling apart.

"Oh, I'm so sorry that you have to accept that not everyone's the same as you," Nicholas was dripping with sarcasm, which just seemed to set Danny off further, something like hurt flashing in his eyes.

"Where do you get off-"

"Stop asking me that!" Nicholas finally shouted, hands going up in the air from frustration. "You're the one who's being a prat about me and Kenny," Danny did the cruel, short laugh again, "I didn't expect you to be a bigot!"

"What are you on about?" Danny yelled right back at him, frowning, confusion joining his anger, but not lessening it any.

"Treating someone like this because of who they're attracted to." Danny rolled his eyes again.

"Urgh, you just don't get it, do you!" Danny was seething, hands clenched in front of him, shaking like he was a tea kettle about to go off, but Nicholas was having none of it.

"I get it more than you-" Danny groaned.

"IF YOU FANCY BLOKES SO MUCH, WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE FANCIED ME?!"

Nicholas's world stopped for a moment.

"... What?" He felt his anger draining from him as he tried to process that statement. But Danny was too worked up to stop.

"I mean, when it was just women, alright! So I didn't have a chance! I didn't like it, but I thought, well, nothing to be done about it, might as well get used to it, yeah?" He was animated, pacing and gesturing madly while he spoke seemingly to the world in general, not looking at Nicholas at all. Nicholas just watched with his mouth hanging open. "So I thought, y'know, maybe it'd be alright if you just, got it over with." He turned abruptly back his way. "But you kept saying no to them all!" Danny accused him, "and I didn't know what to do about it, I thought it was just gonna be stretched out, and I'd have to silently suffer with my stupid feelings for you about it!"

He couldn't believe it. Here Danny was, angrier than he'd ever seen him, yelling that he liked Nicholas. He wanted to smile, and cheer, and celebrate, but he was in a state of shock. Plus, Danny was still yelling, back to pacing around. "And then all of a sudden, there you are, the first one you don't say no to, and it's him!" He whirled around on Nicholas again. "But I'm your partner! I'm your best mate! Look at all we've been through together! You're into some bloke you've never seen before, just like that?! So why couldn't it have been me?! Why not me?!" Danny was panting, still glaring at Nicholas, who was finally able to close his mouth.

Danny was the one who'd bared his feelings to Nicholas, but Nicholas felt like he was the one cracked open and left on display. But he didn't seem to mind it. Not when the only one looking was Danny.

"I don't fancy blokes, Danny," Nicholas said calmly, despite what felt like a low buzz all throughout his body. Danny slowly started deflating, face slowly untwisting from its anger.

"Oh," Danny replied, much quieter than he'd been for some time. "I guess I'll just," and he turned away to go back inside, but Nicholas grabbed onto his wrist and he looked back, startled.

"It's just you." And, well, honestly, Nicholas wasn't sure whether or not he was attracted to other men, because the only one he'd ever liked, the only one that ever mattered was Danny.

"What?" Danny whispered. "It's just me what?"

"It's just you," he stepped closer, "that I fancy." There was a moment's hesitation.

"Nicholas, if you're having a go at me-"

"I'm not," Nicholas interrupted him, softly but insistent. "That's why I wasn't interested in any of the women. I only wanted you. And Kenny only reminded me of you," Danny's eyes widened, both of them staring at each other now. "Which is why I flirted back, but you left early," Nicholas explained, "so you never saw me reject him, too, because I couldn't use him like that, get some substitute for you, because there is no substitute for you, there's just... you." He finished, still clutching onto Danny's wrist like it was a lifeline. Danny had been red before, from drink and fury, but now his face was taking on a pink hue.

"You're serious, aren't you." Danny stated more than asked him. Nicholas nodded anyway. They stared at each other, frozen, as if moving or speaking would shatter the revelation that had just occurred.

Then, Danny slowly started leaning towards him, and though they'd never had to silently communicate this before, Nicholas knew that Danny wanted to kiss him, but was unsure. So instead, Nicholas careened forward, closing the gap, and sealed their mouths in a kiss. Danny made a happy little noise, and the buzzing under Nicholas's skin increased as he savored the sensation. It was amazing. He never would have pictured a simple kiss to feel like this, never had one in the past like this. He was floating. They parted, staring at each other again, only this time Nicholas saw a hint of happy disbelief on Danny's face. He was sure that he looked much the same.

"You're..." but Danny seemed unable to finish his thought. Instead, Danny turned around, and started to walk, lightly tugging with his arm that he was still attached to, so light that Nicholas knew that he wasn't trying to escape his grip. If he'd done it harder, Nicholas would have released him instantly, but when he dutifully started followed him back into his house, Danny stopped tugging, just letting his hand relax, walking until they were inside, where he closed the door, and walked them over to the couch, sitting down.

They resumed staring at each other, Danny looking painfully hopeful before he took a deep breath. "Nicholas," he started, hesitantly, but that was enough to break the silence, and Nicholas couldn't help the large beaming smile that broke with it. Danny soon followed, growing bit by bit until it bloomed into a gorgeous grin.

And Nicholas couldn't help but kiss him on that grin. They pulled back after a moment, then kissed again, then another one. They were both staring, in what felt like disbelief.

And then the dam broke loose. Both of them fell towards each other. Danny broke Nicholas's hold on his wrist, and they grabbed each other, attacking each other's mouths. He was aware of one hand in Danny's hair, one around Nicholas's chest, an arm on Danny's waist, and one squished between them before he lost track. They were like teenagers, all keyed up, tongues coming together, licking, searching. Danny whimpered, and Nicholas moaned at the sound, only serving to fuel them on even more. They were desperate, needing it like they needed oxygen after going underwater.

And appropriately enough, on the topic of oxygen, they pulled apart with a gasp, panting. Nicholas wasn't ready to let it end, feeling almost drunk with elation, and started kissing Danny's face; his cheeks, the bridge of his nose, his forehead, anywhere and everywhere he could find. Then he began to trail kisses down his jaw and neck.

"Nicholas." Danny breathed. Nicholas hummed in acknowledgement as he made it to Danny's collarbone. "Nicholas," he said more insistently, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. Nicholas stopped, eyes opening to look at Danny from his position. "Nicholas, c'mon." He reluctantly pulled away to be on eye level with Danny. "Listen," he put his hands on Nicholas's shoulders. "I'm really pissed," he said with a small laugh. "It's not that I'm not enjoying this, but," he took a deep breath. "I don't think we should do anything else, for tonight. I don't want to wake up tomorrow having forgotten, or, or thinking I've dreamt it all." Danny looked at him, pleading, and Nicholas could see the slight sway to Danny, even sitting on the couch, the way his eyes couldn't quite focus.

"It's alright," Nicholas smiled, planting another kiss on his nose. "We can wait as long as you want. I'm in no rush, honestly. I wasn't even thinking about anything further, really, I just got caught up in how much I've wanted this. I think" he swallowed, "I got a little carried away." Danny grinned at him.

"It's okay. I'm glad." He managed to figure out his limbs enough to hold Nicholas's hand, giving it a squeeze. "Now I know you really meant it. Was a little worried that, I dunno, you was saying it just because I did or something." Nicholas shook his head.

"Definitely not." He took a moment, relishing Danny's hand in his. Accepting, himself, that this was happening. "I've never, er, been like that before," Nicholas admitted.

"Been like what?" Nicholas let his gaze drift down towards Danny's neck. "Oh!" Danny smiled sheepishly, looking pleased. "Not even with Janine?" Nicholas shook his head.

"I was always more in control then." He looked back into his eyes. "I blame you," he told him, all fond.

"If that's what comes with it, yeah, I'll take the blame," Danny batted his eyes. Nicholas couldn't help but kiss him again, albeit a small one.

"Nicholas!" Danny laughed.

"I suppose you're right," Nicholas sighed. "You should probably go to bed." An idea struck. He wasn't sure how Danny would respond, but he figured asking couldn't hurt, at any rate. "Do you want to sleep together?" Danny frowned. "Oh, no, my apologies. Not like that. I meant," he gestured towards Danny's bedroom. "Sleep. In the same bed," Nicholas clarified, "I mean, half the time we sleep together on your couch anyway," he pointed out the logic in it.

"Yeah, alright." Danny agreed. They untangled themselves and got off the couch. Danny stumbled into his room to get ready for bed, Nicholas following, rummaging around in the drawers.

"You going to brush your teeth first?" Nicholas asked him as he dug past a loose pile of socks.

"Do I have to? 'D rather just get to bed." Nicholas turned on him, frowning, hands on his hips.

"Dental hygiene is critically important to-"

"Alright, alright, I'm going," Danny groused, and rolled his eyes without malice. He made his way to the bathroom, and Nicholas got out Danny's pyjamas for him, and put them on his bed. Nicholas grabbed a pair for himself, then, when Danny came out, went in to brush his teeth and change in the bathroom. Lucky that he had extras of his things at Danny's.

When he got back into the bedroom, he found Danny already under the covers, awake, but barely. Nicholas joined him.

"How do we work this?" Danny asked as they faced each other on the bed. "We usually just get knackered and pass out."

"Come here," Nicholas told him, already scooting closer. He tried to get into a hug, but their arms were awkward, and their shoulders were in the way of sleep. Danny tried rolling over, swinging his leg over Nicholas's, but that just pushed him down into the mattress. Eventually, they figured out a nice position, arms draped across the other's chests.

Danny fell asleep almost immediately, and Nicholas nuzzled his head in closer, sleep following for him not long after.

---

The name Abigail came from Unus Annus's Helium Therapy video, Sarasvati was an Indian name I'd heard once and liked it for her, Victoria was in Hot Fuzz's original script; the love interest who had all her lines given to Danny, Helen a name I once used for an OC (and the movies she likes are vague on purpose, idk shit about them), Kenny was literally just a name close, but not too close, to Danny.