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The first time he asks, they're at Sugah's, and they haven't known each other long- a couple months, maybe.
"You ever been kissed, Hunch?"
Hunch Curio chokes on smoke, coughing on it until he almost sees stars. "Sorry, what?" he rasps, reaching forward to put his cigarette out in the ashtray resting on the bar.
Dan Fucks, leaning with his elbows against that same bar, grins. "I asked if you've ever been kissed."
His grin looks lecherous, his voice sounds like a proposition, his shirt is distractingly open, but, Hunch reasons, that's kind of just how Dan always is. "No," he answers, and grinds the cigarette into the tray a little harder than he needs to. "Too busy," he adds, and even to his own ears it sounds like an excuse.
Dan just hums, though, still looking at him, and Hunch wonders if he's waiting for something else, but Hunch doesn't have anything else. So he downs the rest of his drink, slides a few coins across the bar, and walks out. He tries to pretend he's not running away.
The second time he asks, Hunch is exhausted, nursing a black eye and a bloody nose and a few broken ribs, sitting on the front steps outside Sugah's at five in the morning. The bar's closed, but Dan lives around the back, and is prone to wandering the streets at all hours. Hunch isn't sure he ever sleeps.
He whistles as he comes around the corner, taking in Hunch's appearance. "You look like shit," he says, and there's no judgment in it, just casual observation. "More than usual."
"Well aware, thanks," Hunch shoots back. "Guy hired me because he thought his wife was cheating on him. She was, incidentally, and didn't take kindly to my... interruption."
Dan laughs, and sits down on the stoop next to him, stretching out his legs like there's nowhere he'd rather be. "Ah, lust," he sighs, wistful and proud.
Hunch rolls his eyes. "Doesn't seem worth it to me."
"Oh come on, man," Dan says, and he leans in close, throws an arm around Hunch's shoulders. "You ever been kissed? I mean, really, really kissed."
Dan's arm feels heavy on his shoulders, his back, and Hunch shrugs it off. "No," he says, "but I don't think I'd do something like that, even if I had been."
"Nah, you probably wouldn't," Dan sighs, and he lets Hunch push him away, lets Hunch clamber to his feet. "You're too... good."
And Hunch doesn't quite know how to respond to that, to the way Dan says it like he wants it to be an insult, to the way it somehow sounds like a compliment instead. So he just brushes the words away with a hand, turns it into a wave, and goes home to clean off the blood.
The third time he asks, they’re both drunk. Dan is working, technically, but Libby just rolls her eyes and laughs any time she catches Hunch’s eye, so he figures it’s okay.
Hunch takes another sip of his drink, and feels a satisfying shiver run down his spine. “What is this?” he asks, swirling the liquid in the glass, watching the way it seems to shimmer in the lights of the club.
Dan grins, proud. “That one’s a new addition. It’s the sensation you get when you tear a piece of perforated paper, and it comes off perfectly on your first try. Pulled it out special for you.”
Another shiver, unrelated to the drink. “Pulled it out for me?” Hunch repeats, and he doesn’t even try to stop the grin that follows those words.
“Yeah, man,” Dan says, and nudges him with a shoulder. “I know you like trying new shit. And this one felt, I don’t know.” He waves a hand in Hunch’s direction, vaguely. “You.”
“Well, cheers, then,” Hunch says, holding up the glass, and Dan easily obliges.
"To my favorite customer," Dan grins, and Hunch laughs.
The glasses clink together, and both men drink, long and slow. "What's yours?" Hunch asks, watching as Dan's body goes practically liquid with satisfaction.
Dan winks. "Trade secret, this one. Not on the menu yet.”
Hunch leans in, too close, maybe, but they're both too drunk to care. "Not even for your favorite customer?"
"Knew it would drive you crazy, not knowing," Dan says, and this is the Dan Fucks that everyone in Mentopolis knows, with that undercurrent of something in his voice. "Tell me, Hunch," he starts, and then he takes another drink, savoring it, before he finishes, "you ever been kissed?"
Later, much later, Hunch will pin this moment as the first turning point. This moment, where he laughs and pushes Dan away from his face, where he calls Libby over for a refill without looking to see what expression Dan is making. This moment, where he makes it clear that this is, to him, a joke. Only a joke.
The fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh times he asks go much the same. Hunch, drunk on something new, Dan, drunk on something secret. Both of them laughing.
The eighth time he asks, it's raining. Hunch, exhausted, drained, and wet, stumbles up to Sugah's at two in the morning and finds the place quiet. He takes in details distantly, fitting the pieces together without consciously thinking about them- the broken window, the lack of customers, the staff inside righting tipped over chairs.
When he pushes the door open, it squeaks. Dan's in the back, kneeling behind the bar, and Hunch can only see the top of his head as he calls out, "Ah, valued customer, I'm sorry to tell you that we've been raided tonight! But don't worry, we'll be back as soon as-"
It's Joey, sweeping up broken glass, who notices first, who interrupts with a muttered, "Boss, it's Hunch."
Maybe Dan hears something in Joey's voice, or maybe he's just had a bad enough night himself, but he lifts his head from behind the bar with a grin that's clearly plastered on.
Hunch has wandered into Sugah's bloodied and bruised more times than he can count. He's not even bleeding this time, but Dan's grin still falters when he looks over.
"Joey, Hans, Libby, why don't you head home? The rest of this can wait until tomorrow."
All three go easily, murmuring goodbyes to Dan on their way out. Libby pauses and puts a hand on Hunch's shoulder, and it's damp, but it's warm. "Hope you're alright," she says, and Hunch does his best to smile at her.
"Come on," Dan says, once they're gone, gesturing towards one of the tables Hans had already flipped back into its legs.
Hunch wants to apologize, once they're both sitting, but what would he say? Sorry for making a bad night worse. Sorry I don't know how to grin in spite of it, not like you can. Sorry for always barging in like this. Sorry that I didn't know where else to go.
Dan just sighs, when Hunch sits. He doesn't say anything, but… maybe he realizes he doesn't have to.
“My job, technically, is to solve the big guy’s mysteries,” says Hunch, and he’s not quite sure why he says it, but once he starts talking, he can’t seem to stop. “You know, finding his keys. Figuring out why he recognizes the actor in that commercial. And I’m good at that. I’m really good at that.”
“I know,” says Dan, and his voice is so much softer than it usually is, and maybe that means something, but Hunch can’t stop talking long enough to think about it.
“But I get hired here, too. In Mentopolis. For all sorts of things. Cheating spouses, or runaway kids, or… Couple days ago, this guy came in. Young, thin, a little dirty. Said he couldn’t pay me. Didn’t want to tell me his name, even. Told me his boyfriend went missing. Asked if I could help.” Some distant part of Hunch’s mind notices the pinched expression on Dan’s face, the resigned anticipation. He keeps going. “Turns out, they were behind on rent, and the boyfriend thought he could make up the money, surprise his partner with it. Picked up a nice easy job. A runner, for one of the smaller gangs. Found him this morning… or, yesterday, I guess. Lying in an alley, bullet through his skull. Spent today tracking down my client so I could tell him.”
“Shit, Hunch,” Dan breathes, but Hunch isn’t done.
His hands clench into fists, resting on the table in front of him. “They were kids, Dan. Twenty, maybe. I gave my client what I could, told him I’d try to pull a few strings with old contacts, find him a job, but… I won’t blame him if he doesn’t take it. Won’t blame him if he…” At last, the words run out. He can’t finish that sentence, even though both he and Dan know how it ends. Have both heard their share of stories, of angry people going after the gangs who hurt the people they cared about. All those stories end the same.
Even Dan is quiet, after that, and Hunch isn’t sure whether to be grateful or furious. If he wanted silence, he would’ve just gone home.
The silence stretches for a minute, for two, and then Dan asks, "You ever been kissed, Hunch?"
It's so unexpected, so beyond anything he thought would come out of Dan's mouth, that Hunch almost laughs. "Shut up, man," he says, but there's no heat in it. It's the closest he's come to smiling in days.
Dan does smile, and it's small, but it's real, this time. "Gonna be quiet here for a few days," he says, "while we resupply, convince people it's safe to come back. The, uh. The couch in my apartment is a bit lumpy, but it's yours, if you want it. For as long as you need."
"I can't," Hunch says, and the words come out too quick for him to take them back. "I have to- I have other cases."
"So you sleep here, and go to the office in the morning."
"I can't," Hunch says, again, and he stands, pushing the chair back with a loud scrape that echoes in the empty bar. "Dan, you… we…"
"You can," Dan says, and he doesn't snap it. Part of Hunch wishes he would. "You know you can. New experience, right?"
It sounds so simple, when he says it like that, and maybe, for Dan, it is. And Hunch wants to know what would happen- of course he wants to know. But what if something happens? Or, worse, what if nothing does, and he suddenly realizes that he wishes it would? Hunch isn’t accustomed to thinking things through in his line of work, doesn’t spend a lot of time weighing risks and rewards, but right now, he can’t seem to stop himself.
Dan can see Hunch’s mind going, probably, and he sighs. “It’s just a couch, man,” he says, but he sounds resigned already. Like he knows what Hunch is going to say.
And this, right here, is the second turning point. Hunch, standing, Dan, sitting. Their eyes locked in an empty speakeasy, Hunch’s shoulders heavy under the weight of the past few days. “I know,” Hunch says, the fight drained out of him. “Thanks. But I think I’ll just go home.”
He turns to go, and makes it all the way to the door before Dan calls out, “Hunch.”
And Hunch stops, and waits, but Dan doesn’t say anything else. “Good luck with the repairs,” Hunch says, and doesn’t turn around. “I’ll see you later.”
Dan doesn’t ask again, after that. Not for a long time.
The ninth time he asks, they are, potentially, falling to their death. More accurately, of course, the big guy is falling to his death, but it seems reasonable to assume that there’s no true difference between those two things. But they’re trying to fix it- Hunch, and Dan, and this strange group that they have somehow ended up with.
Well. Right now, Hunch and Dan aren’t doing much fixing.
“Absolutely incredible!” Dan calls, his voice carrying over the sound of a cheering crowd, as he ducks under the ropes and rushes to Hunch’s side. “My god, man, I knew you could take a punch, but you gave as good as you got in that one!”
Hunch feels giddy, the adrenaline of a good fight running through his veins. So Dom wasn’t Fight- that’s fine. Conrad is in the crowd somewhere, doing work of his own, and Hunch truly believes that that kid can do a lot, once he starts believing himself. And if Conrad’s failed too, then Hunch will just have to work his way down the line. He feels like he could, right now.
“Take a look over there,” Dan says with a grin, once he reaches Hunch. “Had Justin put as much money as I could on you.”
Hunch turns to look, and- “Holy shit,” he says, watching Justin fit stacks of cash into his mouth. “You really thought I’d win?”
Dan laughs, and slings an arm over his shoulders. “How long have we known each other, Hunch? You’ve always had a fight in you. Course I knew you’d win.”
It’s strange, the way his face flushes here, when he could laugh and roll his eyes at Dan falling all over him in the back of Conrad’s car. “Ah, he got a few good licks in, too,” Hunch grins back, ignoring the heat in his cheeks. “Now come on, let’s see if Conrad has had more luck than us.”
“You know,” Dan says, as they start walking towards the outside of the ring, his arm still around Hunch’s shoulders, “there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, the past day or so, while we’ve been trying to save the big guy, and especially now, after that display of yours.”
“Oh yeah?” Hunch asks, starting to scan the crowd for Conrad. “What’s that?”
Dan grins at him like a shark, all teeth, with an expression like he's just caught him in some kind of trap. "You ever been kissed, Hunch?"
Hunch does shove him away, now. “Come on, man,” he says, ignoring the way his body feels colder, without the weight of Dan’s arm.
Dan lets himself be pushed, but that grin stays on his face. “Hey, I’m just saying, you come back here when we’re a little less busy, do some more of what you did tonight? I guarantee, you’ll finally be able to give me a different answer to that question.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Hunch grimaces, and then, finally, he finds the out he’s been looking for. “Oh, there’s Conrad, looks like he… huh. I think he just punched that old woman.”
“Might be something to that kid after all,” Dan says, one eyebrow going up. “Back to saving lives, then, I guess.”
Hunch snorts, and follows him, on to whatever comes next.
The tenth time comes soon after. They have done what they can, all of them, and the only thing left to do is to wait, and to see if the big guy manages. They’ve given him the push, the resources, the information, but in the end, it’s still his body. It’s still his actions that matter.
They gather, the seven of them, in De’Lux Industrial, waiting to see what the big guy will do. Without needing to speak to each other, they split off to their own quiet conversations- Conrad and Justin are pressed in on either side of The Fix, who has his hulking arms around both of them; Anastasia and Imelda seem deep in some kind of discussion that has Anastasia fiddling with the small key in her hands.
And Hunch and Dan, standing by the door. “What comes next?” Hunch asks, and he’s not sure if he’s looking for an answer or not.
“Well, that depends, doesn’t it?” Dan shrugs. “If the big guy can’t pull this off, then I guess nothing does.”
“He will.”
Dan looks over at him, and then chuckles, low and surprised. “You really believe that, huh. You know, I like you better when you’re being optimistic.”
Hunch shrugs, bumps Dan’s shoulder with his own. “One of us has to be.” He’s quiet, for a moment. In front of them, The Fix starts gesturing with his hands, and Conrad laughs. In the other corner, Imelda leans her head against Anastasia’s shoulder. “I do think he’ll do it,” Hunch says, slowly, “but I’m no fool, either. I know he might not. Even if he doesn’t, I think… I think we did something good here.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Dan follow his gaze. “I don’t think the two of us can take much credit for that,” he says, ruefully, and Hunch huffs out a laugh.
“Maybe not,” he admits, “but still. Something good.”
“Something good,” Dan repeats, soft. Another moment of quiet, and then, “Well, whatever you may say, I think there’s still a chance the big guy goes splat and we lose all of this, so…” He trails off, grins. “I think you know what I’m going to ask.”
Hunch rolls his eyes. “Now, Dan? Really?”
“Really,” Dan says, and then he puts both hands on Hunch’s shoulders and turns him to face him. “Tell me, Hunch Curio. Have you ever been kissed?”
“No, Dan Fucks,” Hunch says, rolling his eyes again. “I haven’t been.”
And that should be the end of it- one last joke between two old friends, before what could be the end. Instead, the tilt of Dan’s smile shifts, just a little, and for the first time, he asks a second question. “Would you like to be?”
There is a chance, Hunch thinks, that I am an idiot. He opens his mouth, and then shuts it, and then opens it once more. “You, uh… huh?”
Dan laughs, bright and pleased. “Simple question, Hunch. Simple answer.”
Hunch’s brain, often, moves too fast for him to keep up with it. At this moment, though, it suddenly doesn’t seem to be moving at all. “Ah, yes?” he tries, but that sounds like a question, and Dan is looking for an answer. “Yes,” he tries again, and that’s better, that’s firmer, that’s-
Thought departs. Dan’s hands have moved from his shoulders to his face, and then he is being kissed, and one of Dan’s hands moves again, to the back of his head, and Hunch’s own hands flounder for a moment before settling on Dan’s hips, and he is not only being kissed but he is kissing , and it is new and it is thrilling and Hunch doesn’t think he wants to do anything else ever again.
Distantly, someone whoops. Imelda, probably, if he had to guess, but he finds that he doesn’t much care. Much too soon, Dan pulls back, though one of his hands stays on Hunch’s cheek. His face is bright, and a little flushed, and his grin is surprised. “You’re better at that than I thought you’d be,” he says, and there’s pride in his voice.
Hunch licks his lips, subconsciously, and watches as Dan’s eyes flit down. “You’ve, uh, you’ve thought about it?” he asks, and can feel his own gaze drifting away from Dan’s eyes.
“You are a brilliant man,” Dan says, “but you are profoundly unaware of some things, aren’t you?”
Hunch thinks about protesting that, but then he thinks about how he could be kissing Dan again instead, and that seems like the much better option.
So he does, and he does, and he does.