#renluthor

Dani rolls over, eyes still hazy with sleep. "Come on, you can tell me."

Ainsley sighs, props her head up on her arm so she's leaning slightly over Dani. "I'm just worried about my meeting with the head reporter. He said he wants 'more' from my reports." It's easy enough to muster up annoyance about it, because she is annoyed with him.

"Carr?" Dani asks, and Ainsley grumbles, leans into Dani so she's pressed right into the crook of her neck. She could stay here for hours. "Fuck that guy."

Ainsley laughs, teeth scraping at Dani's skin mostly-on accident, and Dani shifts so that Ainsley's half-on top of her. "When do you have to go into work?"

"You're insatiable," Dani says with a little put-upon sigh that's as fake as the innocent expression Ainsley's definitely wearing right now.

"That's not actually an answer to my question," Ainsley says.

Dani doesn't respond for a second, and Ainsley pushes herself up to see a frown on her face. "In...less than an hour and a half, actually."

"Boo," Ainsley says, dramatically flopping back down. Dani's chest rumbles a little with laughter that Ainsley feels more than hears, and it's so fucking nice in a way that Ainsley's not used to yet, even after months of it all.

She hasn't looked at her phone yet. She knows it'll break the morning into something she has to deal with and not just luxuriate in.

"Do you have time for breakfast?" she asks instead, and Dani laughs.

"What, you're gonna cook?"

"Better than you," Ainsley says. "I didn't know you could burn toast that bad unless you were trying."

"You have all these weird 'smart' appliances, how is that my fault," Dani mutters. "I can make pancakes."

Ainsley hasn't had pancakes since she was young enough to still wear a bright pink dress with ruffles to school. "Sure."

--

Ainsley's mom had asked her to move back in, and she had been planning on it before--this, with Dani. She still goes back basically every day--she has a little study space in the basement--but it's nice to have a place that's hers.

And Dani's, in a way.

Dani has her own apartment, a place with chipped paint but plants everywhere, homey in a way that Ainsley hadn't thought was a real thing outside of home and garden magazines. She spends more nights than not here, though, and Ainsley's started to feel like the place is too big without her home.

She doesn't have a key yet. Ainsley has no idea when she should bring it up. If she should, even; there's that whole thing with the murder she got away with and Dani being a homicide detective.

Ainsley glances at her phone to see the text from Malcolm, complete with hidden message. She should check it. Dani's busy at the stove, it's the best time.

Dani hums some oldies song at the stove, the admittedly-weak smell of cooking pancakes wafting towards Ainsley, and she still can't bring herself to break the morning. Instead, she puts the phone facedown on the table, stands up, and wraps her arms around Dani from behind. Dani doesn't start or stiffen like she used to, when they were still figuring each other out.

"Is it supposed to look that lumpy?" Ainsley asks brightly.

"Yes," Dani says. "They're pancakes, it's not gonna be perfectly even."

"As long as they taste good," Ainsley says. She has to push herself up a little to rest her head against Dani's shoulder. It's not exactly comfortable, but she has no intentions of moving. Dani flips the pancakes with an expert little twist of the spatula, and Ainsley makes an impressed noise. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"I worked at a diner in college," Dani says. "I was hired as a waitress, but I was way better behind the scenes." She shudders a little. "I hate customer service."

Ainsley's never had experience with customer service. She's thankful for that, but it does mean she doesn't have anything she can add, so she just hums agreement into Dani's shoulder. They sit and sway sway to the sound of pancakes cooking and their breathing for a little longer.

Dani covers her pancakes in almost as much syrup as Malcolm used to, and at Ainsley's disbelieving look, laughs, and says, "Really, you should try it!"

Ainsley does, if only so she can prove herself right, but it does end up being pretty tasty.

"Don't tell Malcolm," Ainsley says, ignoring all of her etiquette training to talk with her mouth full because she knows it'll make Dani smile. Sure enough, she does, and Ainsley feels this warm glow in her chest she's still not used to. "He'll be so smug."

"Really?" Dani says. "He doesn't seem the type."

Ainsley feels something twist in her stomach, remembering how horrified Malcolm was when he'd figured out that she faked it. She stands by it, of course she does, but yikes. He'd lied to her, why does she feel bad? There's the text she's ignoring, the worry around that...that's probably it.

Still, she can hardly check it with Dani at the table, so she smiles at her and says, "That's just 'cause he always had a soft spot for you."

There's an awkward beat of silence where both of them sit in the reality of that being true in a way that's completely at odds with them sitting across the table for each other, half-dressed and warm.

"I do have to head to work," Dani says after awhile, and Ainsley frowns as if she doesn't want her to go. In reality, she could use the time to check her texts, figure out how she's going to present herself when Dani gets home. Tired, probably, but not too tired, she's still working from home as much as she can. Happy to see her--that part she doesn't even have to fake.

"Aw," Ainsley says. "You coming back here after?"

"Of course," Dani says easily, like it's nothing to just let someone else in her life the way Ainsley's been letting her here.

Ainsley's not sure what tugs at her heart just then, but she's pretty sure it's not a good thing. Dani heads to the bedroom to get dressed while Ainsley finishes her pancakes. The syrup's significantly less enjoyable now that they're cold, sticking to her mouth in a way that makes her want to toss them in the trash.

Dani's not looking. She could.

She stares down at them for awhile too long, chewing on the mush in her mouth until she wants to gag. When Dani walks out of the room again, she looks up, forces herself to swallow, and smiles. "Heading out?"

"Yeah," Dani says, pressing a quick, casual kiss to Ainsley's cheek. Ainsley wants her to linger, but instead she rushes out. Ainsley has to get up and lock the door behind her, and she stands there, staring blankly at the front door of her own apartment for a bit.

Her phone buzzes in her pocket again, and she unlocks it. Something about a private investigator, because of course it's about a fucking private investigator. She just knows Malcolm's gonna lord this over her, talk about how this is proof he didn't overstep when he was trying to protect her. Biting back an annoyed reply--she has to give him the benefit of the doubt, save the rudeness for when he fucks up--she texts back something about meeting tomorrow.

Today she's trying to do something for Dani.

One: her apartment's always neat, but she remembers being told that neatness was onto holiness at her etiquette schools, and the lesson's hard to shake, so she cleans. She's not down on hands and knees scrubbing the floors or anything, but the place looks a little nicer, and she's proud of it.

Two: something Dani will care about a little more. She goes the extra mile--lights candles, gets flowers, is polite (if direct) with the restaurant worker on the phone who'll get something delivered to her door. The candles are warm, smoky scents that are a far cry from the crisp, clear ones Ainsley favors, but Dani had murmured stories about a campfire into her shoulder once, tracing her freckles, and Ainsley hopes she'll like that she remembered. The flowers aren't roses. Dani had a story about some ex who got her roses that Ainsley winced in sympathy at even as her sides hurt from laughing so hard. So she got orchids, as expensive as they are hard to keep happy. (It's a little on the nose, but Ainsley is her parents' daughter, and drama is the easier vice to indulge.)

The food is the part Dani will like the most, Ainsley's guessing. The thoughtful, almost-metaphorical gestures are Ainsley's thing, always unsure with how to give affection without giving too much away. Food, though, is an almost universal love language--Dani making pancakes in her kitchen, Ainsley buying her wines that cost more than Dani's rent. Plus, Dani likes Thai, and Ainsley hasn't had good tom yum in too long.

She gets this all ready by 10am, and finds herself bored by 10:03.

Ainsley would normally go bother Malcolm about a case, but Dani hasn't texted her anything interesting, so it's not worth the effort of dealing with his panic over this investigator guy. She does care about him, and she does worry, but just--God, he'd lied to her for ages. It's hardly like she's incompetent. She'd handled things just fine, hadn't she?

There's a bitter twist in her stomach, and she pauses, considers it for a second before choosing not to look at it too closely.

She goes to lunch with her mother, who talks around Ainsley and Dani as best she can while still prying for information. Ainsley ignores the more back-handed comment about her always wanting her brother's things and says, "We're having dinner tonight, actually."

"Oh, where are you going?" her mother says. "I can get you a reservation if you don't have one. There's that new French place on--"

"We're staying in," Ainsley interrupts, something she'd have gotten a ruler on the knuckles for if she'd tried it back in etiquette school. "Sorry."

"Oh," her mother says. "Well. We are quite different, aren't we?"

Ainsley shifts in her seat, immediately, uncomfortably aware that there's something hidden behind her words that she can't quite make out. "Not that different. You--" She cuts herself off, which is also rude, but she's pretty sure her mother would have slapped her if she'd finished saying you made compromises in your relationship, too. "You, uh, would have a home dinner if Gil asked."

Her mother finishes her drink without looking at Ainsley, cheeks a little pink. "Ainsley..."

"I'm just saying," Ainsley says, turning back to her food with a grin.

--

Working from home--the one thing the pandemic brought that Ainsley's happy to hold onto--is great, but she can't deny the little rush of productivity she gets from being in the office again, even if she's just waiting in a hard plastic chair to talk with a man she hates. He's got to listen to her about this private investigator thing, though; he always listens to her when it comes to crime stories.

She used to get pissed about it, she's more than her father's daughter, but...well. Hoxley's here to investigate a murder she did, so.

Not that she plans to include that in her pitch.

When he finally waves her in, thirty minutes after their meeting was supposed to start, she can feel her smile is a little brittle around the edges. He looks up at her through his glasses, which badly need to be cleaned, and says, "What've you got, Whitly?"

"There's a private investigator here in town," she says quickly. "According to my sources, he's here to figure out who killed Nicholas Endicott."

"Your sources," Carr says, looking at something on his laptop. Ainsley's fingers twitch. "Your brother or your girlfriend?"

"...my brother," she says, knowing better than to tell Carr that her sources are private, even if that's what every ethics in journalism conference tells them. Carr thinks he's above it all.

She wonders who he'd assign her story to, if it ever came out. Leslie doesn't do the crime beat. No one does the crime beat except for her. He'd probably take it himself, try and get a Pulitzer, squander the research completely, and make her look innocent. Hm. It would help in court.

It's not healthy that she's thinking this, she knows, but at least she can talk to her dad about it later.

"Endicott died ages ago, why now?"

"His head surfaced in a lake somewhere," Ainsley says.

"Find out where. You're good, take the camera crew."

Ainsley smiles at him. "Thank you, sir."

He waves her out rather than even do her the courtesy of addressing her.

Dick.

--

Reporting is invigorating, as it always is, and she gets to wave at her brother before the cameras turn on. He looks panicked when he spots her, but whatever, she's literally here to do her job. She goes into autopilot, reporting the facts as she knows them--Simon Hoxley is here, he's researching Endicott, and there's caution tape preventing her crew from getting closer to this boat. When the camera operator turns as if to film the boat, she quickly gestures them back, hands low enough that it shouldn't be broadcasted. Can't he spot the body there? They'll get sued.

Also, she wants to be on camera. It's not like she got her degree in journalism because she dislikes attention.

They're able to chat with Hoxley for just a second, and he looks at her with a polite disinterest that is simultaneously heartening and discouraging. Pros: he doesn't suspect her. Cons: she's not even worth suspecting, the fuck? He's already glaring at Malcolm. Malcolm's everyone's focus.

At least, everyone but Dani, and she shouldn't feel so much vindictive little pride in that. Dani smiles at her when she passes by, rushing after the chaos that is her squad on a case. Ainsley grabs her hand and squeezes it quickly while the cameraman's busy catching Gil passing by. Dani beams at her, and Ainsley's heart thuds a little heavy in her chest.

She drops her hand, switches back to reporter mode, and concludes her broadcast with something about Hoxley getting to the bottom of this, and be sure to tune in for updates on the case.

--

The day drags by after that, giving bland check-ins to the camera while getting bizarre text updates about it all from Malcolm. Dani doesn't text at work unless it's important, and Ainsley finds herself hoping nothing comes up so that their dinner isn't postponed. She just wants to spend some time with her--whatever Dani is.

They should probably work that out.

Carr just grumbles when she checks in with him at the end of the day to see if there's anything else she needs to do, so she takes it as she's free and heads home. The taxi driver makes small talk with her about her broadcasts, and while he doesn't seem to understand that she is not involved in actually solving the murders, it's the most someone other than Dani or her brother has talked with her about the day-to-day of what she does in months. She tips like $600, because who the hell cares, it's her mom's money anyway.

Then she rushes around the apartment getting the few things ready that she couldn't do in the morning--actually lighting the candles, setting the table, restraining herself from setting more than one of each utensil on the table, getting the food where it's left outside her apartment when her phone dings to let her know, remembering to tip the driver right away, and getting the food on the table.

God, she hopes Dani gets here soon. The food smells good and her lunch with her mother wasn't exactly filling. One thing Dani's taught her is how ridiculous rich people portions are. (Dani's words, not hers.)

It's not ten minutes later when Ainsley hears Dani's hand on the handle, and realizes shit, she forgot to light the candles. She scrambles to get at least the one on the table. She turns to grab the lighter and hears Dani say, "Uh."

She whirls around. "Hi."

"Hi," Dani says with a soft smile. "What's all this?"

"You treated me to breakfast, so," Ainsley says.

"You didn't have to do this," Dani says, looking at the Thai on the table, smile not dropping or dimming in the slightest.

"I know," Ainsley says. "I wanted to."

"You're sweet," Dani says, and walks over to pull her into a kiss. "Do you really only have these long lighters?"

"I don't smoke and I don't like the small ones, I'm always worried I'm gonna burn myself," Ainsley says, and Dani laughs and lights the candle on the table for her.

The dinner's perfect, and Ainsley gets to vent about Carr not caring about her reporting beyond profits at all and Dani gets to talk about how ridiculous Hoxley and her brother were acting all day and Ainsley gets to bite down a joke about thumbs that she couldn't explain. Dani sneaks some of Ainsley's food off her plate, Ainsley smacks her hand away, and Dani shakes her hand as if it hurts while failing to suppress a smile.

Normally, this is the part of the night where Ainsley would pull Dani into bed, or into the shower while Dani gripes about the jeans being new. But the night feels warm and soft and Ainsley just wants to hold her.

"You've got me completely messed up," Ainsley says, and when Dani looks up at her, a bit of sauce on her lips, she can see she doesn't understand what she means. "I mean, like." She huffs. "I never felt like this in any of my, uh."

"Relationships?" Dani suggests.

"Are we? In one, I mean," Ainsley says, tapping her foot against the floor, an anxious tic she's had as long as she can remember.

"I'd like to be," Dani says slowly, and Ainsley knows what that cautious expression means. She's pretty sure she has it, too. "Do you?"

"Yeah," Ainsley says, and Dani relaxes. "Also, you've got some sauce on your lips." She wipes it off absent-mindedly, and Dani leans across the table to kiss her. The angle's awkward, but Ainsley's smiling into the kiss too much to mind.

The rest of the night is just idle, easy conversation. Ainsley feels light, giddy. Dani's arm around her shoulders, Ainsley's hand in Dani's, the dim mood of the candlelight. It's all perfect.

Still, at the end of the night Ainsley can't quite sleep, even as Dani snoozes peacefully next to her. She's not sure why. Everything's perfect. Dani's here, Dani's officially her girlfriend, she's getting to do her report on Hoxley, her and Malcolm got away with it. Every piece of her life is fitting together just fine.

"Babe?" Dani says, and Ainsley turns. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ainsley says grumpily. "I just can't sleep. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine," Dani says, already half-asleep again. "Sleep soon."

"I'll try," Ainsley whispers, staring at Dani. The easy acceptance, the give-and-take--it's new, but Ainsley loves it. She feels like she could tell her anything.

Oh. Dammit.

Seriously? she thinks to/at herself. You're upset we can't confess our murder? Fucking ridiculous. That's a normal thing to not tell someone. I mean, Dad--

Ainsley abruptly sits up, goes to take a shower. That's not--she can't think like that. There's unhealthy and there's self-sabotage, and that barrels over the line at lightspeed. Jesus.

Still, she turns back to look at Dani as she closes the bathroom door--slow, so as not to wake her again--and she can't help but think on it for far too long, staring at the tiles of her shower with a bitterness she wishes she could bite back.

She should text Malcolm. But he and Dani--that's still too fresh a wound. It's not like she can talk to her mom about it. And Dad...

The only reason she can think of not to is Dani would be disappointed. But that's enough.

It would be so much easier if Dani had done something wrong. She is literally just doing her job, and Ainsley can't even blame her for being suspicious because her brother is different. He's freaking out about this or he's not. And he's not? He's freaking out about the fact that he's not freaking out as much as he should.

The gist of it is Malcolm covered up a murder--her murder--and Dani's circling.

So Ainsley does what she does best--redirects. She's gotten this far in life not through luck but because every time someone tried to push her about herself or about her mother or about her father, she managed to make it seem like she was sharing while she was actually just gauging their interest, the reason for their interest, and the best way to distract them.

It's manipulative, sure, but it's her mother's brand, not her father's, so it's fine. Something Dani probably won't know how to defend herself against, too.

So when Dani comes to her place to ask her if Malcolm's doing something he shouldn't, Ainsley does something Dani probably won't expect her to.

"You've noticed, too?" Ainsley asks, voice dripping with concern that's not entirely fake. She is worried about him. "I don't think it's anything, like. Criminal, you know? I think it's just with..."

"Endicott," Dani says, cutting her off, and Ainsley nods, frowning. "You think he's worried?"

"He stabbed Gil," Ainsley says, and Dani twitches, a bit, like she'd flinch if she didn't have the self-control not to. "And threatened our mother. And me," she adds as an afterthought. "I mean, I'm--"

"If you're trying to sell me that Malcolm is just scared for you," Dani says, and Ainsley shakes her head, because that's absolutely what she's trying to do and she doesn't want Dani to know that, "Then save it. I've seen Malcolm scared."

"Have you?" Ainsley says, resentful of the implication that Dani knows something about her brother that she doesn't. "Really scared? You know it's not that he's worried for his life, right? He's never been like that." Dani frowns at her, and Ainsley takes a fierce satisfaction in gaining that ground, even if what she's saying is something she wishes to God wasn't true. "People don't normally get to my mom. They almost never get to me. Did he ever tell you about my first 'super-fan'?"

"No," Dani says, voice a little quieter. It could be uncertainty, but Ainsley doesn't think so, so it's time to keep pushing. "He hasn't."

"Someone sent me a letter," Ainsley says, letting her voice sound as blank as she wants it to. "Saying they knew where I lived, and that they wanted to prove they were the one for me. Malcolm called it something technical, I don't know. The gist of it being that he thought I was in love with him, that I was sending him messages."

"Jesus," Dani says. Ainsley nods.

"And I had to move and I had to file a restraining order and all of that, but mostly, I had to keep an eye out for Malcolm, because for the entire time that was going down, Malcolm was completely--"

She exhales.

"Manic," Dani adds.

"No," Ainsley says. "Or not--I don't think so. I'm not a psychologist, but mania is like--joy, right? Like too much joy? Impulsivity? Malcolm was just off. It's like he was looking for something to keep him from thinking about it."

"If he's in danger, he can take focus from you," Dani says. "I noticed he does that."

"If he does that for you," Ainsley says. "Think about what he'll act like when I'm in danger, you know? Me and my mom?"

Dani's just taller than her, by an inch, if that, but Ainsley still feels like someone's looming over her when Dani looks her over. It's not aggressive, just--piercing, like Dani's managing to cut through the layers and layers of falsity to see her.

It's uncomfortable. The last time she felt like this, it was her father.

Or. Maybe it was Endi--

That's a dangerous train of thought, and Ainsley snaps, "So if you're trying to trick me into thinking that my brother's done something he shouldn't, you should leave. I trust my brother more than anyone."

Dani nods. "Okay."

"Okay?" Ainsley says, shoulders dropping a little in relief that she doesn't have to fake at all. "Good. I'm glad we can just focus on Malcolm. He needs it more than I do."

There's that look again, like Dani's seeing right through her, and Ainsley tenses. She's not sure why, or what she'll do if Dani does figure something out. "Ainsley?"

"Yeah?"

"I care about your brother," Dani says.

"Gross," Ainsley interrupts.

"Not like that," Dani says quickly, tucking her hair behind one ear. Ainsley bites her tongue to keep herself from grinning at the obvious tell. "I just mean...I'm not trying to, I don't know, catch him red-handed or anything. I just want to find out what happened. If he's okay. "

And that takes the wind out of her sails.

"Oh," Ainsley says. "Yeah. Me too."

Dani nods, and this is the part where she should turn around and leave, but instead, she says, "So you don't think it's just worry, then?"

If this were a text conversation, Ainsley would take a minute to just yell at herself for being so goddamn stupid. She can't just be honest with people about anything, not even when she's worried about her brother, she knows that. But she doesn't have that luxury, so she says, "What? Of course I do."

"You know, you're a good liar," Dani says conversationally. "Really. If I hadn't spent so much time with your brother, I'd fall for it. Hook, line, and sinker."

"What are you talking about?" Ainsley asks, letting her annoyance bleed through. "I'm worried about my brother, what makes you think I'm lying?"

"Because you make it sound like Malcolm's going through something he hasn't before," Dani says, and Ainsley's not sure if she actually takes a step closer but she seems like she's right in Ainsley's space now. "And I have seen your brother worried about you and your mother before, during the Carousel Killer case. This isn't that. He's been--on-edge, he's been angry, he's been reckless, but this? This is something different."

"You've known him for what, a year?" Ainsley says, venom in her voice that she can't seem to hold back. "You think you know him better than I do?" And that's genuinely infuriating, even if she's trying to redirect, always keeping the topic of conversation away from herself. Anything real about herself, at least. "Really?"

Dani's calculating expression shifts to more of a glare, and something in Ainsley thrills at that, all of a sudden. "I didn't say better. I said I know him."

"No," Ainsley says, taking a step closer. Dani doesn't back away. "You don't. You've seen Malcolm working while our father has his hooks in him. You don't know anything about my brother, so stop pretending you're looking for anything other than your next case."

"That's more your brother's thing than mine," Dani says, more a hiss than anything else, and there's that thrill up her spine again. "What's wrong with you, I just want to help!"

And Ainsley is sure she's telling the truth, or at least a version of it, and that's awful, so Ainsley says, "Then leave my family alone."

Dani reaches up, then, to grab her or to push her or something, and Ainsley reacts on instinct, shoving the other woman away from her. She wishes she had a weapon. Or she wishes that she didn't wish that. She's not sure yet. Dani only staggers a couple steps back, and she raises her hand in a conciliatory gesture.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Dani says.

"You didn't," Ainsley lies.

Dani lowers her hands. "But I don't trust you."

"I don't care," Ainsley says. "I haven't done anything wrong."

She's not even lying. Endicott needed to go. If she feels guilty about whatever Malcolm's going through, that's one thing, but the actual act itself might as well have been self-defense.

Dani rolls her eyes, though. "Save it. You and Malcolm did something, or you did and Malcolm's covering for you."

"My brother stops bad guys, he doesn't help them," Ainsley says. "Did you forget he turned in our dad?"

"No."

Ainsley stalks a step closer, then another, until she's right up in Dani's face, and says, "Get the hell out of my apartment."

"If you don't have anything to hide, then why aren't you being honest?" Dani says.

Ainsley smiles her best, falsest smile and says, "If you make me ask twice, I'll get you fired."

Dani frowns like she wasn't expecting that, which is ridiculous. Ainsley's her mother's daughter, always has been. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Ainsley says calmly, though she's honestly not sure she has enough influence in the department with Gil in the hospital. "I'm not keeping anything from you, so can you please fuck off? The security detail outside might actually have a use for you."

Dani glares, and Ainsley keeps grinning, and when Dani turns to leave, Ainsley wishes she was more excited about it.

"I'll be back," Dani says, one hand on the door handle.

"Don't," Ainsley says, all anger again. "Don't fucking do that."

"What, come back?"

"No, talk like you just have to keep trying and I'll reveal I've been the bad guy the whole time," Ainsley says. "Fuck you. You don't know anything about me."

Dani turns, and Ainsley takes a step closer to throw her out or--something. "That's why I'm asking."

"And I'm asking you to leave me the hell alone," Ainsley says, but somehow her arms are on either side of Dani's head, which presumably would make it a little difficult for her to leave.

Dani looks at her with some sort of surprise on her face, and Ainsley tries to figure it out, staring at her face to see if there's hostility or superiority or anything else that might put Ainsley or Malcolm in danger in her face. But there's just wide eyes, glancing from Ainsley to away to back again.

Oh, wait, that's--hm. That's the look Jin had before they actually spent a night together when Ainsley had him in a corner. That's interesting.

Ainsley steps back and drops her hands, because if she's reading this right, she doesn't actually want her pinned against the door. "What do you want, Dani?"

"Uh," Dani says. "Well, I want answers."

"Is that what you were thinking of just now?" Ainsley asks sweetly, because she's an asshole, and it's one hell of a way to redirect attention away from her.

Dani exhales, and says, "No."

Ainsley could act flustered, or act smooth, or act like this isn't anything unusual for her, but she isn't all that bashful and she isn't exactly a player and this isn't something she's ever, ever done before, and she wants to enjoy it, and she's really enjoying this--not quite fight they have going on, so she grins a smile that always made her mother look away and mutter something about her father, sits down on her couch, and says, "Then do something about it."

Dani swears under her breath and takes a few long steps closer until she can pull Ainsley in, and Ainsley can't help but melt into it, because this is so much better than anytime she did this with Jin or anyone. Dani kisses surprisingly sweetly for someone who's so clearly pissed at her, if the grip she has on Ainsley's face is any indication.

Ainsley gets one leg between Dani's and pushes out, knocking Dani on top of her. Dani pulls away with a little huff of annoyance, but Ainsley kisses her to shut her up before she can say anything that'll ruin this. Dani's so warm and Ainsley's apartment is always freezing, and Ainsley can't help but drag Dani closer to enjoy the feeling of her as close as possible.

Dani shivers in surprise, but relaxes a little. There's still some heat to this, Dani's teeth pulling at Ainsley's bottom lip, Ainsley's nails scratching along the top of Dani's spine, but it feels less like urgency and more like something to luxuriate in. So Ainsley does, arching her back a little to press against Dani everywhere she can, and Dani pulls away to pull in a breath. When she does, Ainsley gently brushes her fingers where Dani's top rides up a little.

Dani doesn't full-body jolt or anything, but when she kisses Ainsley again, it's a little deeper, a little harder. Ainsley takes her time with it, exploring Dani's mouth, tongue running along Dani's teeth, the roof of her mouth, sucking on her tongue. That's enough for Dani to pull back and groan, low and right against Ainsley's ear, and Ainsley had just meant to kiss her but--fuck, that's an offer if Ainsley's ever heard one.

So Ainsley pushes up, rolling them until Dani's pressed into the couch cushions and Ainsley's straddling her lap, Dani's hands coming up to hold Ainsley by her hips. Ainsley makes a pleased sound into Dani's mouth, and Dani grips a little bit harder. Ainsley's not sure if it's in appreciation or annoyance, but she'll take it either way.

They kiss awhile longer, until Ainsley's legs hurt from propping herself up and there's an ache between her legs that she's not sure she's going to take care of, so she pulls back, pulling in a breath, and rests her head against Dani's. When she opens her eyes, Dani's already looking back at her, and Ainsley shivers, the eye contact almost more intimate than anything else they've done.

"So," Dani says.

"So," Ainsley says. "This is probably not what you expected when you came over."

"No," Dani agrees with a little laugh that Ainsley would be pissed about if it wasn't obviously self-deprecating. "It definitely wasn't."

Ainsley pulls back a little, the eye contact just this side of overwhelming, and says, "Were you, um." This feels more difficult than any other time she's done this with someone, but then again, she's certainly never made out with a woman who came to her house to question her about a murder she's committed without realizing the murder had taken place, so. "How far were you thinking this might, uh...go?"

It's not anywhere near the level of charismatic she likes to be, and she winces at it before she's even done talking. When she glances back at Dani, the other woman has her eyes wide, like she hadn't even considered that, and Ainsley puts her hands on Dani's shoulders to push herself up and away.

"It's fine," Ainsley mutters. "Seriously. No pressure, or whatever."

"Oh," Dani says. "I, uh."

Dani stares at her, and Ainsley's lipstick is smeared on her face, so Ainsley clears her throat and looks anywhere else. Ainsley's her father's daughter, after all, and Dani deserves better. Hell, might even deserve Malcolm, someone who cares with all their fucking being, not her.

"Get out," Ainsley says, and this time, Dani listens.

Ainsley spends the rest of the day decidedly not-moping. Moping is unproductive, and stupid, and she didn't care that much, anyway, so she throws herself into work. An article on Dr. Whitly's move to a public facility, an article on some professor's very public divorce with his wife, something about a corrupt CEO (and hasn't she had enough of those, recently?).

The articles aren't nearly as good as they could be, as they should be, but in her defense, she's got a lot on her mind, what with the murder and the interrogation and the makeout with a woman. She should be freaking out about that, she thinks, because she did not know she was interested in women until Dani looked at her and she felt more energized than any time with Jin or any other ex-boyfriend, but...

Well, she just doesn't have the room for anything else to worry about.

Malcolm doesn't respond when she texts him, letting him know that Dani came over with a little ":)" to indicate it was something murder-related (Malcolm's idea, or maybe Dad's). Her mom doesn't answer when she asks to go for dinner or something. Ainsley worries about that, a little, but her mom probably just fell asleep curled into some hospital chair at Gil's bedside. It's what she's done the past few nights, anyway. The one time Ainsley went to see her, her mom said she'd go home as soon as he woke up, and Malcolm had ducked his gaze, refusing to say the all-too-awful reality that he might not.

So she works on her articles until the sun goes down, not bothering to get up and turn on the light. She gets told that her articles "could do with a little more polish! <3 love ya" from Leslie, who she hasn't talked to about anything other than work in months. She finishes the last thing she can get done without actually getting up and leaving the relative stability of her couch.

And then it's the hardest part of post-getting away with murder: not thinking about it.

Ainsley tries to watch TV, but she'd been bored with every show on Hulu before her life went to shit. She tries to read one of her books, but too many of them are about her father or murder or crime in general to actually be a distraction. She plays some stupid game on her phone, and that works, but she feels like an animal in a cage after too long playing it. Pacing around and around and waiting for something to do.

Hm, maybe an article on poor zoo care. A follow up on that Tiger King thing might actually get approved.

Something almost like excitement drives her to get back to her computer to start researching when someone knocks. She frowns; the clock on her computer reads 9:16pm. A little late for a social call, and she didn't order food. Maybe Malcolm got her something from that Thai place? He does that when she freaks out a little too much.

She isn't that surprised when she sees Dani on the other side.

"Hey," she says awkwardly.

"Hey," Dani says. "Uh, I thought you were asleep. 'Cause of the lights."

"I fell asleep on the couch," Ainsley says with a little shake of her head, like she's trying to wake herself up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up, we can talk another time," Dani says, turning to leave.

"No, wait--" Ainsley says, even though by all rights she should want her gone. "Um."

Dani looks tired, like she's the one who's got some big sin weighing on her. Hell, maybe she does. Ainsley doesn't really know anything about her. "We should...probably talk about it, right?"

"Malcolm?" Ainsley says, though the way the corner of Dani's mouth quirks up makes it clear she picks up on the sarcasm. "I...yeah, we probably should."

Belatedly, Ainsley turns to the side so that Dani can walk in. Dani turns on the light as she goes, and Ainsley blinks against the sudden brightness. "So."

"So," Ainsley says. "Uh. I didn't--I wasn't expecting that, either."

"Yeah," Dani says. "Look, I don't--I don't know what I'm looking for with this either. I don't know if this--" She gestures between herself and Ainsley vaguely. "--is something you're even interested in. I don't know if I trust you."

That stings.

"But I think I'd like to try?" The end of it is higher, like a question, like Dani's not sure either. It's so different from every other early relationship Ainsley's ever had, where she allowed herself to be pursued for the thrill of it without ever pushing for it herself.

"Sure," Ainsley says.

"Can you just--" Dani sighs. "I have to ask. Can you just tell me something honestly first?"

"Of course," Ainsley says.

"Endicott," Dani says, and Ainsley knew it was coming but she has to force herself not to tense up anyway. "Do you think Malcolm had something to do with him disappearing?"

Ainsley sighs, pretends to think. "No. I don't think my brother could ever do anything like that to anyone."