dann_0 | PSL: Sentinel AU

Danny shivers a little at Eliot's hand on his belly and he smiles warmly to the other. He loves all of this, the easy flirting the smell of the food cooking, the way Eliot moves comfortably in the kitchen. He thinks he could watch it forever.

"How are things in the private sector? They more accepting of Sentinels or did they not know?" Maybe that is an option for Steve. Danny doubts it though, he knows the man. He picks up his mug and sips it while they talk. Normally he'd be going for wine but it is a little early still. "It's a good restaurant. Seems popular and for good reason if you ask me."

"It's as much of a shit show there as the military. Only reason the military didn't manufacture me a new identity an' drag me back in was because they figured I was burned out for good, an' once I came back online I kept it to myself. Avoided others of our kind... killed 'em when I had to."

He doesn't meet Danny's eyes, keeps his focus--at least visibly--on the multiple pans he has going now. But he's listening to Danny's heartrate and breathing, drawing in his in his scent, alert for any sign that he can't handle what Eliot's telling him.

"We've been doin' good with the restaurant," he agrees. "Better since Hardison figured out the brewin' part an' learned t'stop tryin' t'mess with my menu. It's solid."

Danny frowns, saddened and angry at Eliot's words but not at Eliot. At the people who hurt him in the past and kept hurting others like him. "You did what you had to." He believes that is true, even if he wishes it wasn't. But why would Eliot lie about this?

"I'll admit I didn't get a good look at it, considering you just decided for me, but maybe later? Or maybe I could just have you cook the dishes here. It is a much nicer view watching you work rather than staring at a bar."

"Yeah, something like that." Because he knows he'd done a hell of a lot more than that, but it's not something he can share with Danny. Not yet, maybe not ever.

"No, you should def'nitely come by the restaurant again before you-" The pause is brief, barely noticeable, but it's there- "Leave for home. I don't spend all my time in the kitchen." Which is probably pretty obvious from the amount of time he's spent tailing Danny, and then waiting on him and with him since the incident. "We can actually eat together." And, hell, Hardison and Parker know he's a Sentinel now, not much point in trying to keep it to himself that he's queer anymore either.

"I'd like that. Been a while since I've been on a real date. On one condition though. That you don't tear all my shirts to shreds. I am going to need something to wear if we go out." Or they'd have to go shopping, which Danny doesn't particularly want and he assumes Eliot feels the same way. "Unless you're going to have me wear something of yours." He chuckles and moves to run a hand up Eliot's back, exploring the muscles under his skin.

"Got some shirts that'd look good on you," he answers, turning into the touch and ducking down to kiss Danny again. "An' if you don't want me t'ruin dinner you're gonna hafta not gimme ideas like that." Because damn, apparently the idea of Danny in his clothes does it for him.

"Are they flannel?" Danny raises an eyebrow. He really isn't sure that would be a good look. He is far too much of a city boy to picture himself looking like a lumberjack. "Any other ideas you want me to give you instead?" He smirks. "How about wearing nothing but the marks you've left on me?"

"You'd look good in flannel," Eliot counters, smirking. "But I've got plenty of t-shirts an' dress shirts if flannel offends you that much."

His breath catches at the last question and he forgets about the risotto for a moment in favor of pushing Danny back against the counter and kissing him long and hard and deep. "You keep sayin' shit like that an' you can forget about eating 'fore I drag you t'bed," he rasps when he pulls back.

Danny smirks into the kiss as he nips at Eliot's lip. "I better behave then." He steps back and lets Eliot get back to the cooking but he does still have that smirk on his face. "But I would like to see what happens when I don't."

He shrugs and looks down at himself. "I've just never been into it. It makes me think of camping and I've never been a big fan of that."

"How 'bout you let me feed you up this time, an' next time you can distract me all you want?" he offers. Because he's not exactly opposed to the idea of bending Danny over the counter and fucking him right here, and food sanitation be damned. Just... not this first time.

"Nothin' wrong with camping, city boy," he points out, stepping back and adjusting himself before he gets back to the risotto. Which isn't going to take that much longer, and he makes himself focus on stirring the last of the stock into it, as well as the mushrooms, asparagus and chicken he's had going in separate pans, and finally Danny's cheese.

"That sounds like a plan." He chuckles and moves to set the table for them. He can figure his way around most kitchens and it is only fair that he does some of the work when he'll be eating as well.

"I guess not, but why, when you can go somewhere comfortable? Running water, a proper toilet. No bugs."

"Fresh air, peace an' quiet, no traffic or people or smog. Wakin' up to the sound of birds singing." You're doomed, Danny. Doomed.

It's... amazingly comfortable and easy, how Danny moves around his space, how the table's set and ready with no awkwardness or need to coordinate. Eliot spoons the risotto into a serving dish and brings it to the table along with the rest of the bottle of wine he'd used in cooking, because it's not that early. The pans are already rinsed or soaking, the kitchen remarkably tidy for how much food was just cooked in it. "I like havin' you in my space, sweetheart," he murmurs, leaning in for another kiss as he sets the food and wine down.

"Yeah, you can get that without the sleeping in a tent and bugs and everything." But he sighs. He knows when he is up against someone being far too stubborn for his own good. When Eliot pulls him close and kisses him he melts a little against Eliot's chest and then smiles warmly. "I like being in it. It feels safe."And it does. He trusts Eliot more than he should but that doesn't seem to bother him. "And that smells amazing."

Eliot just smirks in answer. Doomed, Danny.

"Good." He curls a hand around the nape of Danny's neck in a brief, remarkably gentle caress, then slides into the seat across from him. "Make sure you get plenty'a protein, sweetheart, I plan on you needin' your strength."

Danny raises an eyebrow at the smirk, but he doesn't say anything. The comment makes him grin and he settles into his chair and then moves to pour wine into their glasses. "In bed and not out in some forest I hope?" That being said he does pour a glass of water for each of them as well. Hydration is important.

Once the food is served he takes a mouthful and closes his eyes in bliss. Danny's never been one to hide his feelings, especially about food. He makes a soft sigh of pleasure as he swallows and then he looks back at Eliot. "Damn that is good."

"We'll leave the forest for some other trip," he answers, lifting his wine glass in salute before taking a sip.

Eliot has his own fork halfway to his mouth when Danny takes his first bite, and he just stops with it paused in med-air, watching the look on Danny's face, feeling the soft sound of pleasure he makes like a gut punch. Christ, he might not survive this meal at this rate, not with how much he wants this man. This almost complete fucking stranger, and Eliot wants him more than he can ever remembering wanting anyone. More than he'd wanted Aimee... more than he'd wanted Boyd.

By the time Danny opens his eyes again Eliot's recovered himself, takes his own first bite and washes it down with another sip of wine before answering. "Yeah, well, given I get paid t'cook it'd be pretty said if it wasn't," he points out. And at least the fact that Danny's enjoying his cooking this much makes it a bit easier to hold out and be patient for after.

Danny glances up at him, he can feel the want washing of Eliot and honestly it is quite intoxicating. He smiles a little, a warm smile. He likes it. He likes knowing Eliot likes this. "I'd say this is worth more than what you charge. But then again you often find the best food at places you don't expect it based on the prices alone."

He reaches for the wine and sips it, still looking at Eliot. "There are a couple of places in Hawaii I'd like to take you if you ever decide to visit." Eliot is as much of a stranger to Danny as Danny is to him, in some ways more since he doesn't have the same background check on him, but that doesn't bother him. Danny is just as affected by the connection between them as Eliot, and he doesn't have the walls in place that military guides have been trained to build. There is no filter, no safeguard, he just knows he feels safe around his Sentinels.

That smile makes Eliot wish he was close enough to press his thumb to it, or just lean in and taste it, but he makes himself keep eating--because he wasn't lying about planning to expend a lot of energy when they're done here. "We could prob'ly charge more, but we don't need to, an' that's not the kind of vibe we're lookin' for. We're a solid, mid-range neighborhood brew pub; we get a bit of tourist business, but mostly we get by on local business, with a core of good regulars. Don't want t'be some snotty high brow place." No matter how much he enjoys 'cuisine', both cooking and eating it, it's not the atmosphere any of them want to live and work in.

Eliot tips his head a little, his own wine glass in hand. "It prob'ly ain't a good idea for me t'spend much time there, but... maybe a short visit some time." If they can be sure that no one's tailing Danny's friend, keeping tabs on who he interacts with, because falling into the orbit of a supposedly offline Sentinel... well, there are still people in the government and military who know what he was, but supposedly isn't anymore. People who might recognize him and start asking questions.

"Not to mention no way I would have found you had it been an upscale place. I really only go to those places on special occasions." He takes a few bites more. "Will it be a problem if I stop by after I drop by the station tomorrow to look over the paperwork? Maybe I'll try another one of the beers."

"Yeah, a short visit should be fine. Just when I don't have Grace. I don't want to have to keep my hands off you." Come to think of it, he'd really rather not share the Eliot time with anyone. Well, maybe Steve but that is more about letting the two of them meet and get to know each other. "What do you think about meeting Steve again?"

"Guess it's good we're in the price range of a hard workin' cop, then." He's already finding it hard to imagine not knowing Danny, not trusting him, not wanting him in his life in whatever capacity he can have him... which is still terrifying, in its way, but it's also not something he seems to be able to fight.

"You're welcome any time, sweetheart." His secret's out, and there's no point trying to hide much of anything from Hardison. Or Parker. "Just don't tell Hardison you like his beer, it goes to his head." He smirks and works his way through more of his own meal, then chases it with another sip of wine.

He isn't bothered by the idea of Danny not wanting him around his kid, there are plenty of reasons he shouldn't, after all, entirely aside from the most basic one of not wanting to have to keep things G-rated, or explain why Daddy's being visited by some strange man. "I think that's somethin' you're gonna wanna ask Steve," he points out, jaw working a little as he looks away. Because they might not be bonded, or fucking, and Steve might have been supportive of the idea of Danny helping him, but... he'd be willing to lay odds this wasn't what the other Sentinel had in mind. "That's his stompin' grounds, not mine."

"Yeah." Danny can't imagine not having found Eliot. If just one little thing had gone differently he wouldn't be sitting here, eating amazing risotto in the company of a man he feels utterly safe with. He laughs at the comment about the beer. "I'll make sure to find something to comment on. Or maybe I'll rub it in and order something that's not beer."

The grin fades a little. "Of course. I plan on telling him... Well, maybe not every detail but what's going on. It is unfair to ask either of you to trust me if I am not honest with you. And he'll get the final say. Just like you will about him coming here. I know he already did but I mean in the future. I'd like you both to get along, for no other reason than it makes planning things easier, but it's not really something I can ask, it is up to the two of you."

"Well, that might be a little too mean," Eliot concedes. "I just don't wanna get stuck listenin' to him get goin' on how we should set up a bottling plant an' get into competition with Sam Adams an' Redhook again."

Eliot goes quiet, still not quite looking at Danny as he answers, chewing over his words and feeling the honesty in them. Which doesn't mean they'll stay true, but there's no question Danny means what he's saying right now. "I got no problems with your boy, sweetheart. You do what you need t'do an' we'll work things out." Or this will crash and burn and Eliot will figure out how to pick up the pieces of his life, he's pretty much ready for all possibilities. He thinks.

Danny seems happy with that. "I am not sure how he'll take this. I just need to make sure he knows I am not leaving him. You're both stuck with me now." He smiles a little at Eliot and reaches out to take his hand. It is warm and comforting. His Sentinel.

He finishes the food in a few more bites, enjoying them quite a lot. He waits for Eliot to finish before he stands to clean away the dishes. As he takes Eliot's he leans down to kiss him softly. "Stay here, you did the cooking after all." He is thorough with the cleaning, making sure it is well done enough to satisfy a sentinel with military training. Living with steve had trained him in a few ways at least.

Eliot's not sure if he wants the voice in the back of his head saying there's no way this can work--that Danny's going to go back to Hawai'i, to the Sentinel he's known and worked with for years, and that'll be that--to shut the fuck up, or if he should be listening to it and walking away now, before this whole mess fucks him up even more. It's a moot point, though, when Danny reaches for his hand and he can't do anything but reach right back and twine their fingers together in a warm, firm grip. And christ, he can feel the incipient bond right there, pulsing between them like a living thing, and he knows he could reach out and give it a push, slot it into place with barely any effort and use it as a leash to bind this man to him, like it or not... and the fact it even occurs to him as a possibility makes his stomach twist and he gives Danny's hand a squeeze before pulling away to finish his risotto.

He knows just how easy it is to force a bond if there's enough compatibility, he saw it too many times back in the day, and it's not something he's going to be a party to, dammit. So he finishes his food quietly, and tips his head up for Danny's kiss like it's a habit of months or years, not a first as Danny bends to take his plate. "Guess I can do that," he answers, and he's surprisingly comfortable about Danny in his kitchen, handling his things, as he tops off both their wine glasses and leans against the counter to watch. Forget comfortable, he likes the sight of Danny there, and the only thing that'd make it better is if he was barefoot and rumpled and wearing Eliot's clothes. It's a sight he's hoping to see in the morning.

Danny smiles at him. He can feel the something between them as well, but unlike Eliot, he has no idea what it is. So he thinks it is just the way it is supposed to be. He hums a little to himself as he works. It might not be cooking, and he does enjoy that, but there is something about being here that just puts him in a good mood. Soon enough he is done and comes over to lean against Eliot and lean in to kiss him.

"So.. You had some ideas for the night's entertainment?" He smirks and reaches up to run his fingers through Eliot's hair.

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