Relocation - Interlude One (Alternate Scene)

[churbooseanon]

For my rewritten and missing scenes meme to celebrate 900 followers, an anon asked for: “the Metadata date (it’s totally a date) from Relocation, only this time, York DOESN’T interrupt it?”

 

Relocation - Interlude One (Alternate Scene)

Daniel chuckled, and the sound was musical and with it Nate was absolutely certain of what he had only suspected before.

Of course the realization didn’t really help him know just how to handle the simple fact that he was starting to fall in love with someone. Plus the realization went a long way to explaining other things. Like how two hours seemed to pass without him really noticing anything but Daniel’s voice, his eyes, the attractive curve of his cheekbones and the way he stirred his coffee without paying attention to it while he spoke, or sipped when he was clearly looking for time to think. Those tiny sorts of details were things that Nate had never dared to think of before, not in someone else, not even when he was looking for a way to take someone down. So there he was, two hours later, ears long since filled with mindless pleasantries and an amusing debate on coffee versus tea, his cheeks sore from how much he had been smiling.

It was a perfect day, a perfect few hours, with the jumpy young waiter filling and refilling their drinks and Daniel just… beaming.

To bad the other man’s phone chimed.

“What is it?” Nate asked, frowning as Daniel caught his phone up and stared at the screen. His concern faded as Daniel blushed and he put the phone back down.

“My… best friend has been worried about this,” Daniel admitted quietly, slipping back into French. “I’ve never spent so much time with a stranger before.”

“I’m not sure I count considering the fact that I’ve literally told you things like my favorite color and military nickname.”

“Maine is hardly a nickname to be ashamed of,” Daniel laughed cheerfully. “Anyway, I… well, he’s waiting over there to watch out for me, and he’s decided I don’t need a guardian angel or something.”

Even as Daniel spoke a man with dark hair and a tan coat across the cafe rose, threw some money down on a table and called his goodbyes to the employees. For half a moment Nate’s eyes met the one good eye of the man across the cafe, and the smile he found there was a welcoming one. Well… approval from the best friend had to go far, right? He assumed that guy was the best friend. It made the most sense.

When he was gone Nate found himself wanting to reach out. He gently touched Daniel’s hand, and instead of blushing, he found that hand turned over in his, nervously accepting, even welcoming the touch.

“I hate to say it, but I have to get going,” Nate quietly admitted. He didn’t, but what he wanted needed this.

“I’d really rather you didn’t,” Daniel answered, voice just as quiet.

“But I’m going to go out on a limb and ask if you’d join me for dinner tonight. Or tomorrow. Or any day this week. Think… that might be good for you?”

The way Daniel smiled at him was just blindingly beautiful. And all the answer he needed.