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It was a Friday evening and the team had wrapped up the case early. Surprisingly it was nothing too major so no one was seriously stressed out. It was a relief to end the week with something light since they're cases had been so heavy these past few weeks.
“How about...Jackson Tarmel?” Dani hears Bright question JT who shakes his head. Dani had to admit it was quite funny watching him trying to guess JT's actual name. Dani knew it, but she'd never let Malcolm know that. No, it was much better watching him trying to think of every name he could come up with.
“Nice try kid, but you're not gonna get this one. Better luck on Monday.” JT bids a farewell to the rest of them and exits the office.
“Malcolm I want you to go home and get some rest. I'm not taking no for an answer. Two days off is all I'm asking.” Gil chides Malcolm like the son he practically is. But all three of them knew that Malcolm would ultimately do what he wants. Which usually was a bad thing. “And Dani?” Gil starts but Dani already cuts in, waving him off.
“I know, I know, keep an eye on Bright.”
Gil laughs and says, “Actually I was gonna say have a good weekend. What you and Bright do on your free time is your business. See ya Monday!” He makes a quick exit before Dani could yell at him.
Dani misses the blush that creeps on Malcolm's face when she doesn't dare to look at him, too embarrassed as she packs up everything in her bag. But of course Bright doesn't let anything go and he sits on the table next to her, watching her.
“So uh, you have any big plans this weekend?”
Dani shakes her head still avoiding eye contact. “Nope just the usual. Laundry, takeout, and Benny.”
Malcolm quirks an eyebrow. “Benny?”
“My cat.”
He seemed to relax at that and he perks up again. “Ah, our furry companions, what would we do without them?”
Dani politely nods and gets her car keys out before zipping up the bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She senses he has more to add but not letting it slip out of his mouth. This causes a few butterflies to form in her stomach because he always had something to say.
Having enough of his eyes on her, she finally gives him her attention, turning her body towards his. “You got anything else or am I free to leave?”
Malcolm's eyes flicker around then finally land on her face. “Speaking of keeping an eye on me, how about dinner...with me? Tonight?” He asks a bit sheepish. Dani tilts her head to the side a little, eyes squinting. Why was he nervous? This certainly wasn't the first time he's been on a date and probably wouldn't be the last, she knew that.
“Like a date?” Dani asks, an eyebrow raised. The words sound foreign on her tongue but she can't ignore the way her heart slightly skips at the thought. She internally shames herself for being so surprised that he asked her out. She tries to keep her expression unreadable but she's sure he notices the way her cheeks have formed a light shade of pink on them. She couldn't hide that.
“Yes. The last time you were dressed up we were working a case. We've been working hard and it has been a bit much so it wouldn't hurt to actually have some fun and relax.”
Dani pondered the proposition for a moment. Some wine, food, and a bit of company wouldn't be so bad. Much better than spending an evening alone for once. And despite them working together, Dani actually liked having him around.
“Okay, it's a date.” She finds herself saying before she could stop.
~~
The conversation throughout dinner flowed very easily. Dani would be lying to herself if she said that she didn't enjoy spending time with him. Although he had a whole bag of problems, their friendship had bloomed so much it would be hard to imagine not having him apart of her life as crazy as it sounds. She has probably shared more with Bright than she had with anyone else. It was hard to build trust, they both knew that all too well but somehow they managed to make it work.
The lighting was warm in the restaurant. It wasn't too upscale but wasn't some run over hole-in-the-wall type of place either. The tables were illuminated with soft glowing candles in small vases, accompanied with small lilies on the side. Malcolm was sitting across from her, his hair in his usual slick back style, beard trimmed perfectly. She laughed when he had picked her up from her apartment and saw that he somehow read her mind and matched the color of her outfit. The burgundy colored suit seemed to to really set off the blue in his eyes. She had seen him in a suit a thousand times but the way he looked now took her breath away. It was not everyday that she got all dressed up so the mid-length burgundy dress she was wearing was old and surprisingly she still filled it out perfectly but he kept looking at her like he wanted to eat her alive. Dani was usually uncomfortable with the male gaze but she actually liked the attention she got from Malcolm.
She was just finishing off the chocolate mousse she ordered and dabbing her mouth with the napkin when Malcolm asked, “Would you like to dance?” and Dani stammers, setting down her glass of wine.
“Uh no, no way I-I don't dan-hey!”
But Malcolm doesn't take no for an answer because he's already pulling her out of the seat and onto the semi empty dance floor before she could even finish her sentence.
She wasn't a dancer but it's easy to find a rhythm with him. Their bodies swaying side to side to the beat of the song. There's a live band that's playing a song that she hasn't heard in years. It's soothing, smooth sound leaves her feeling light. This singers voice is just as light as that of the original artist. It brings a sense of nostalgia within her with her mother listening to a lot of these old school r&b songs. She lets herself relax and tries to forget all the people there and focus on the music.
But that's impossible because she's just now aware of the grip Malcolm has around her waist. Holding her close to his warm body. She feels her heart skip again inside her chest and she wishes that she could shake this feeling every time she's around him. But instead of focusing on what she was feeling she decides to bring up what's been on her mind since earlier that day.
“Why were you so nervous earlier?” She asks finally breaking the silence.
“Uh, when?” Dani gives him a deadpan expression when he tries to play dumb. Knowing he's caught on his façade, Malcolm loosens up.
“I don't know I...I've gotten used to being your friend and it's great. We laugh we hang out together but most importantly, I can count on you to be there for me. And it has been great getting to know you outside of work and being open with you. I don't trust a lot of people but you're one of the very few that I do. "
He pauses for a moment, looking down and biting the inside of his cheek. Dani knows that he's probably deciding whether to continue further. She knows he has more to say, he always does, so she silently encourages him with a small squeeze to his hand in hers.
His eyes find hers again and the grip on her waist tightens a little. “I can't help but thinking that I'm not crazy and these past few months have been...different between us. Not in an uncomfortable or weird way but just something more that's beyond friendship. But, Dani I like you. You're incredibly smart, caring, beautiful, and can definitely kick my ass when I need it.” She laughs at that. “And I know I'm not supposed to profile you but I noticed you get nervous around me too. I can always tell by the blush in your cheeks when I compliment you and you try so hard not to smile. Or how your lips quirk up when you're happy about something. But I don't need to be a profiler to notice all those things. I guess I'm just wondering if you feel the same.”
They may be swaying but Dani's head is not spinning because of it. Malcolm has her mind racing a mile a minute trying to keep up with everything he's saying to her. On the one hand, she is a little annoyed by the fact that he was able to read her so well with him being a profiler and all I mean how could she not? There was a certain boundary with them being friends that he was slowly learning how not to cross. But on the other? She's glad that he picked up on it so well because it saved her the embarrassment from voicing her feelings out loud.
His gaze was intense as he confessed all of this to her. Her heart thumping loudly in her chest and surely he could feel the sweat on her hands from where they were linked with his. Malcolm keeps watching her and waiting for a response and for the first time since they've known each other, she doesn't have a comeback for him.
He had rendered her temporarily speechless. Now her mind is catching up with her and replaying all those moments they've shared together. Those late night conversations as she locked the restraints on his wrists, vulnerable to each other. Feeling those big blue eyes burning a hole right through her as he stared so intently. Dani never brought herself to ask what had him so transfixed. Was she afraid that his answer was her? Maybe she knew all along that he felt something for her and just kept forcing her own feelings down because she was nervous and scared herself.
“Dani?”
In this moment she didn't have to say much at all. Her thoughts too jumbled to form any type of coherent sentence. But there was one thing she wanted to do, wanted to do since the first time she laid eyes on him.
“If I were to kiss you right now would you stop me?”
Dani knows it's probably not the answer he was looking for but in this moment it was the best she could do. Vocalizing her feelings was always something that never quite reached its peak so she let her actions speak for her.
Dani doesn't stop herself from leaning in with her eyes on his plump lips. She gets the unspoken answer to her question because the moment she slips her eyes close their lips meet in the middle. Incredibly soft and sweet their lips mold together into a deep kiss. Her heart is pounding away in her chest and it feels like her insides are doing somersaults. She hadn't felt this way in...well probably never.
They fit together perfectly like this. His arms around her body, her hands tangling in his hair, their lips against each others. Surely he could feel her heart beating against his chest with how close they were together. Like two puzzle pieces finally coming together to form the whole art work. She almost didn't want it to end. The night, the moment, the kiss? It didn't matter, she didn't want any of it to end. Dani liked being wrapped up in Malcolm like this and apparently he liked it too because when she went to pull away for air, he chased after her lips in another quick kiss.
"I guess that's a yes then?" he asks, his nose brushing softly against hers.
"Yes I like you too, Malcolm." She answers with a bright smile.
She could get into all the fluffy details later but she chooses the better option for now and pulls him back in for another kiss.