Who: Daniel Morgan and Zane Rosen What: A totally platonic movie night and sleepover. Where: Zane’s house in Glastonbury. When: Saturday, February 14th, afternoon to Sunday, February 15th, morning. Warnings: PG-13 for language, alcohol use, and adorable idiots.
It had seemed like a great idea at the time, inviting Daniel over for a movie night. Sure, it had meant convincing Lydia that his place was almost as safe as Camelot, and more of those weird looks from her, but he'd come out of it feeling kind of victorious over not having to drag his inevitably drunk ass home to take care of the dog, or pack all of Duke’s stuff up so he'd be set at the castle for the night. It just made more sense, and kept the two of them from somehow forgetting they weren't working and dragging out some paperwork to do. Hey, they had habits, and those were hard to break.
What he'd forgotten was that his house had turned into a disaster zone since Ban had moved out. Zane hadn't been much for cleaning before he'd ended up with a live-in boyfriend, and once that had ended he had gone right back to bad habits. He was familiar enough with the mess that it didn't inconvenience him, Duke didn't give a shit, and Zach, Dustin, Freddie, and Henry had been over enough times that he'd given up on trying to make them believe he had this responsible adult thing under control. Daniel had never been to Zane’s place before, though, and a first visit rated at least a token attempt at making his house look nice.
Of course, he hadn't realized that until the night before, which meant he was trying to rush through a half-assed cleaning job the morning of Valentine's Day. Duke had decided it was some kind of game, which made it ten times harder until Zane shoved him out into the back yard so he could finish. By about half an hour before Daniel was supposed to show up, he'd managed to make the place look decent, so long as Daniel didn't open any closets, or cabinets, or the washer and dryer, or the dishwasher... Good enough, and it gave him just enough time to let the dog in and then jump in the shower.
His skin was still slightly damp when he dragged on a t-shirt and his oldest, most comfortable pair of jeans, so worn that there were patches where the denim was soft and thin enough that it might as well not be there at all. He'd toweled off his hair as well as he could, but it was still dripping, soaking the neck of his shirt. Yeah, no way of hiding that he'd been running behind. Ah well, at least you could see his floor, and no time for anything better, because Duke was starting to prance and bark, a sure sign he'd heard someone at the door.
Daniel was both amused and puzzled by the pair of sweatpants and copy of the movie Legend he found on his desk the day before, until he read Zane’s note. Then he was just amused, and a little… he wasn’t sure what. He wasn’t exactly used to this. It wasn’t that Daniel didn’t have friends, he did, but he honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually participated in a movie night. Especially one that happened to coincide with Valentine’s Day. That might mean something to some, and while Daniel was half-convinced Zane was just taking pity on him, he also thought that maybe his friend was craving the company as much as he was. This was a terrible day to spend alone, after all. And after everything that had happened… Zach was out of the woods, thankfully, but the traumatic experience of his brother being shot was still very much with Daniel. He could use the distraction. And honestly, apart from his family, Zane was the only one he wanted to be around right now. Daniel didn’t dwell too hard on that one.
So, of course, he accepted Zane’s invitation to participate in a celebration of Singles Awareness Day by coming over that night with movie and sweatpants in hand. He assumed the sweatpants were for him to wear, and it touched Daniel a little that Zane had obviously paid enough attention to notice the leader of Camelot’s affinity for that particular clothing item. Daniel was awfully fond of the things, after all. He probably wore them around the castle more than was appropriate, considering a lot of official Camelot business happened there. Honestly, he didn’t understand why sweatpants weren’t an acceptable choice in attire, Camelot was technically his home, after all. You were allowed to wear sweatpants in your own home. Ah, typical Morgan logic.
Convincing Lydia that letting him leave Camelot grounds for a personal night out proved to be no small difficulty, but her concerns eventually gave way to tacit compliance. Daniel was becoming more and more convinced that the Evans side of the family was more stubborn than even the most bullheaded Morgan, but he didn’t say as much, not wishing to anger her and ruin all the hard work they’d done in convincing. She’d agreed under the conditions that Xander would escort him, which he did, before Daniel very firmly gave him the rest of the night off. Daniel might have been the leader of Camelot, but he was still observant enough to know that Xander would have other places to be and certain people to spend tonight with, and Daniel didn’t need a bodyguard to stay with him at Zane’s. Zane’s place was almost as well protected as Camelot was.
Daniel smiled at the sound of barking coming from inside of the place, knocking once before waiting patiently for Zane to open the door. When he finally did, Daniel held up the movie and sweatpants in one hand with a bottle of good whiskey in the other and a wry smile. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Evee.”
Zane had Duke by the collar to keep him from either jumping on Daniel to greet him, or trying to dart out the door for a walk, so he greeted Daniel hunched over and bracing himself against over a hundred pounds of excited dog. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Badger.” Embarrassing as having declared himself a specific Pokemon was, the nickname still made Zane smile. He gave nicknames, he didn’t get them, so having one was pretty damn cool, really. “Damn it, Duke, wait ‘til Uncle Daniel gets through the damn door, you’re gonna scare him away.” With one more hard tug, he managed to scoot Duke back enough that Daniel could actually squeeze by him. “Shoulda left him in the back until you were here, I guess.”
Once Daniel was in and the door kicked closed behind him, Zane let go of the dog and let him say hello while he locked the door. Then, closing his eyes, he reset the wards, strengthening the protections a little more than he would if it was just him. Once he was satisfied with that, he opened them again. “Right. Stuck with me for the night. Bathroom’s that way, if you wanna get comfortable.” Well, fuck, that sounded like he was inviting Daniel to slip into something more comfortable in the bad seduction line way, but there weren’t many better ways to say it. Good thing Daniel was used to him saying stupid shit while he was drunk. Probably didn’t even think twice about it.
“I got a frozen pizza. Not as good as delivery, but they’re probably gonna be fuckin’ slammed tonight by the rest of the single losers, so fuck that.” And yeah, he was definitely talking too much, but Daniel was in his living room. As much as they’d been hanging out, it had always been at Camelot, and Zane had known the rules there. This was different. This wasn’t work, and Daniel wasn’t his boss here (not that Zane did a great job remembering that half the time, anyway). This was…
Fuck, he was being an idiot. It was Daniel. It wasn’t like this was a date or anything, that was kind of the whole fucking point of it. “I’ll grab some glasses, you go change.” It was just like if any of the other guys had come over to hang out. Daniel didn’t care if he had pretty manners.
Daniel didn’t mind the dog’s insane amount of energy, so when Zane let go of him, Daniel squatted down to let Duke greet him. The dog was so enthusiastic about smelling every inch of him that he almost knocked him over, but Daniel just laughed. It had been many years since he’d had his own dog, so the unconditional affection was something he welcomed with open arms. Literally. He opened his arms and Duke more or less jumped into them. Daniel miraculously managed not to drop anything he was holding, switching it all to one hand so he had a free one to pet Duke with. The dog panted happily and Daniel grinned, still patting Duke on the head as he slowly managed to straighten back up on his feet.
He didn’t think what Zane had said was weird, but then again, for a man who was often eerily sharp when it came to other people, Daniel could be a little bit oblivious. He was also a man who was currently coming to stay at another man’s house on Valentine’s Day, so, you know. Definitely pretty oblivious. Anyone else would probably be giving them some serious side eye (and Lydia actually had), but Daniel was under the impression that this seemed nothing but perfectly innocent. Besides, Zane would never be interested in him that way. They’d spent so much time talking about Daniel’s many failed relationships, he was fairly certain there wasn’t a desirable bone left in his own body. It was probably for the best anyway.
“Nothing wrong with frozen,” Daniel assured him, taking a look around once he wasn’t being actively tackled by a huge dog. He liked Zane’s place already, it was homey. More importantly, it wasn’t Camelot. As much as Daniel loved his family’s home (though it never escaped him how ridiculous it was that his family’s home was a castle), he was never completely at ease there. Even on those after hours drunken nights with Zane, there was still always a little voice in the back of his head reminding him of his responsibilities. He’d been in Zane’s place for two seconds, and he already couldn’t hear that voice quite as loudly. It was nice.
He did as he was told, setting the whiskey and the DVD down before going into the bathroom to change. He reemerged a couple minutes later wearing the sweatpants and a white undershirt. It felt a little ridiculous, like he was twelve and getting ready for a sleepover, but … he kind of was. For security reasons, he wouldn’t be leaving until the next morning. Scratching at the back of his head, he wandered back into the living room where he assumed Zane would be. “Like what you’ve done with the place.”
Zane had mostly gotten over the weirdness of the situation by the time Daniel walked back into the living room. He'd gotten them glasses so they could drink like civilized people, for once, and even poured their first drinks. Not that he actually objected to their usual drinking out of the bottle routine, but change wasn't the enemy, and he knew how to be a good host. Kind of. It was a work in progress.
Along with the drinks, he had snagged a bag of chips... and a jar of peanut butter and a spoon for Daniel, since he'd heard about that particular weakness along with the love of sweatpants. Sure, neither of them really went with the good whiskey, but no one was there to judge them and it was good enough until time to start the pizza. It was all sitting on the scuffed up coffee table he'd gotten at a secondhand store he'd sold the one he and Ban had picked out together to. It had just seemed easier, selling all the new things they had bought together and splitting the money, than trying to negotiate who got what. Besides, Zane liked furniture with a little history better, anyway, even if it wasn't his history.
"Really?" Zane looked around the room, wondering what there really was to like about it, with all the thrown together furniture and eclectic decor that he'd picked out because it looked cool or made him laugh, more than because it actually looked good together. His guitar and lute, in their cases, had taken over one corner of the room, the lute slumping to the side no matter how often he pushed it upright, like a sleepy, fat-bellied child. "I mean. Uh. Thanks. Wasn't sure I was gonna stay, after... but I like it. Yard's big enough for Duke. There’s a fucking hot tub out there, too." Another thing that Ban had been more excited about than him, at first, when they got the tour of the place, but he'd seen the light.
Finally, his gaze returned to Daniel, and he couldn't bite back a grin. He'd never seen the guy looking quite so comfortable before. It was nice, seeing that. Daniel deserved it. "Have a seat. I don't have a special spot I have to sit or anything, and Duke thinks the whole damn couch is his."
Sure, Daniel had never actually been here before, but he still liked the place. It was cozy. He could also tell it had been recently straightened up. He had a sneaking suspicion that it had been for his benefit, which was considerate of Zane, even if he personally wouldn’t have cared if the place was a complete mess. He honestly didn’t think he rated special cleaning treatment, but he wasn’t about to complain. Eying the contents of the coffee table, Daniel first noticed the peanut butter with a raised eyebrow. He was fairly certain his affinity for the food wasn’t a national secret, but it was still a little surprising that Zane had gone to so much trouble to make him feel comfortable here. Perhaps Daniel was just out of practice at this whole friendship thing.
“Really,” Daniel assured him, knowing that no matter how much time passed after a break-up, it was still a little awkward to talk about. Daniel was more or less over the way things with him and Tai had ended by now, but (thankfully) he hadn’t lived with the man. Zane’s story had been slightly different, and while Daniel couldn’t personally relate to the feeling of living in a place you had once shared with someone else, he didn’t want Zane to feel weird about it with him here. Besides, he may not have seen the house while Ban had lived here, but as far as he could tell now, this place had Zane written all over it. “I like it. It’s very… you. Bold and original.”
He took a seat at one end of the couch, leaving enough room for Duke to take over if he wanted to. Daniel stretched out so his legs were extended to almost reach the coffee table. He folded his hands behind his head and glanced over at Zane with a knowing smile before nodding at the jar of peanut butter sitting on the table’s surface. “You know, Rosen, I’m starting to think you might know me a little too well. I might have to have you killed.”
“By bold and original, you mean obviously decorated by someone with no fucking clue what he’s doing, right?” Not that Zane cared much. It was still decorated better than his old apartment had been, because it was a house. When you were in a house, you were supposed to do shit like that. He didn’t exactly have family pictures to put on the walls, but he’d made it work. Very him, that was probably a good description. Lived in and, yeah, comfortable. He hadn’t actually thought about it much, but Daniel’s approval sparked a little pride.
It took Zane a second to figure out that Daniel was talking about the peanut butter, and then he snorted. “Yeah, your love affair with the shit isn’t exactly private.” Okay, so he’d managed to casually get information from Freddie about his and his siblings’ favorite snacks. Considering that he was already friends with half the damn family, it was useful information. That, and he never knew when he was going to need to suck up to Lydia, for work reasons. Convincing her to let him steal Daniel for the night might have been easier if he’d tried a bribe, thinking about it. He’d have to try it next time. If there was a next time. If Daniel didn’t have a horrible time and never want to come over again.
Fuck, he had to stop freaking out about nothing. “‘Sides, if you kill me, who’s gonna play the Sorting Hat game with you when you’re supposed to be working?” Of course, wasn’t like texting each other names and trying to decide what House they’d be in was hard, but that’d mean that Daniel would have to open up to someone else about his hidden geeky side. Zane didn’t really like that idea, for some reason. “Eat your damn peanut butter, I’m gonna put in the movie.” He grabbed it and squatted down to mess with the blu-ray player, eager to get the damn thing started so he could fight Duke for space on the couch.
“You make a compelling point,” Daniel conceded, scratching at the light stubble under his chin like he was actually considering Zane’s rebuttle to be anything but truth. It was at that moment that Duke decided to nose his way underneath the crook of Daniel’s arm and he obligingly began to scratch behind the dog’s big, floppy ears with a soft smile in the corner of his mouth. Everything about this felt comfortable in a way Daniel wasn’t accustomed to, but he didn’t mind it. Actually, he really loved it. The house, the dog, Zane. No matter the situation Daniel was usually predisposed to being guarded, simply out of habit, but not here. For the first time in many weeks, and probably even longer than that, he really felt like himself again.
A part of him did feel a little guilty, considering recent events. But Lydia had told him in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t allowed to sit in Zach’s hospital room every day until he was released, so Daniel had to do something to take his mind off things. And spending time with Zane wasn’t exactly a chore. Duke’s wet nose against his bare arm made him jump a little in surprise, looking down and realizing he’d stopped his scratching and the dog was clearly protesting. WIth a short laugh, he obediently continued while Zane got things set up.
“.... I think I’ve made a terrible mistake.” Daniel looked up from Duke to Zane on the floor with the same resigned sort of smile. “I’ve already played my hand and now he knows I’m a huge sucker.” Which was probably not a shock to anyone involved. Daniel was the man in charge, but he was also a Hufflepuff. Biggest softie in Camelot. “Think he’ll ever let me leave?”
“Nope.” Didn’t even require any thought. Zane’s dog was a dumbass, but he knew how to suck up and make you feel guilty as hell about it when you didn’t spoil him. “Pretty sure you’re stuck here forever now. Never leavin’ my couch again.” Didn’t sound half bad, really, if only they didn’t have too much shit to do. Ah, well, they at least had the night, and enough movies to keep their asses planted on the couch for the whole thing, which should make Duke happy. Zane was pretty sure that he was starting to forget whose dog he was, as fond as he was of Daniel. Maybe that should bother Zane more, but wasn’t like Duke didn’t have plenty of affection to go around. Best thing about him, really.
Movie finally in, Zane grabbed the remote and went to flop on the couch, nudging Duke’s ass out of the way enough that he could wiggle down into a sliver of seat. Didn’t take long for the big idiot to arrange himself so that he was crushing Zane’s legs, too, but it at least gave him a little room to spread out. “Right. Tom Cruise before he got so fuckin’ weird, coming right up.” What? Wasn’t the first time he’d seen the movie. He wasn’t going to give Daniel a movie he hadn’t already watched multiple times and approved of.
Okay, so he’d picked this one especially because he didn’t actually own it, himself. That just made sense. Daniel wanted to watch The Dark Crystal, or The Neverending Story, he could just borrow them. Wasn’t any sense in getting him something Zane already owned. It wasn’t that Zane had wanted to watch it, and counted on Daniel wanting to watch it together, at all…
“At least it’s a fairly comfortable couch, then. I could get used to this.” Actually, Daniel really could get used to this, but he didn’t elaborate. He’d barely been here half an hour and he already felt more at home than he did in places he actually considered his ‘home’. He wasn’t sure why, if that had more to do with this place or Zane. Possibly some combination of this place, Zane, and Duke. Everything seemed to just… fit, here. Including Daniel. And that was no small feat, for a man who constantly felt himself not able to really fit in anywhere.
He immediately readjusted himself when Zane came to flop down on the couch with them, trying to give his friend more room to sit down though the dog still made that exceptionally difficult. Once Zane was settled and Duke had, once again, claimed the entire couch for his (with them on it), Daniel handed Zane his glass before tipping his in the other man’s direction.
“To a good night with good friends.” (Yes, he was counting Duke in that statement.) “And to the actor formerly known as Tom Cruise, before Scientology abducted you and turned your brain to mush.”
A couple hours later, the movie was mostly over, and the bottle of whiskey was mostly gone. Daniel had lost count of how much whiskey he’d had, he only knew now that his head was fuzzy enough that he no longer cared to keep track. He’d actually enjoyed the movie, though it was possible he had enjoyed their growing commentary of the film even more, as they got closer and closer to the end of the bottle. Don’t get him wrong, Daniel enjoyed a good fantasy film as much as the next mage, but there was always something to make fun of. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed this much, though at some point it became obvious that it was dissolving into more whiskey induced laughter than anything funny that had actually happened to cause it.
Once Daniel finally got his laughter reduced down to a low chuckle, he took another drink and looked sideways to where Duke was staring expectantly at him, the dog’s face mere inches from his. He grinned crookedly, immediately complying with some loving behind-the-ear scratches. He was a little more spread out on the couch now, though with the dog still successfully pinning him down, but Daniel was more than comfortable. “I think… Tom Cruise should have just kept doing movies like this. Seriously, this is fantasy gold. Why did he ever do anything else?”
“Aliens.” Zane replied without hesitation. Maybe he’d thought about it a time or two, but who hadn’t? “He got replaced by a pod person and started makin’ crap movies and then his programming malfunctioned and made ‘im jump ‘round on couches.” Watching the movie with Daniel had been comfortable, in a way that attempting to watch anything with Ban never had been. Was he allowed to make that comparison? Fuck it, he wasn’t making it out loud, he didn’t think. Daniel wasn’t looking at him like he was crazy. So, he must not have been. And that meant it was okay to think it. He’d done that whole relationship thing all wrong, he should’ve found someone he could just sit and watch crap eighties fantasy movies with while they made fun of the bad acting and the cheesy plot, and not wanted to be anywhere else or do anything else, or had an argument about whether certain parts were racist, or sexist, or homophobic.
They were almost through the whiskey, but they still had the rest of the night. “Wanna watch another? I got a bunch over…” He waved in the general direction of the small bookcase he kept all his movies in. “I c’n get s’more whiskey.” They’d already made, and devoured, the pizza, but he could probably scrounge up some more snacks, too. He had a teenage boy over to visit a lot. He kept the damn pantry full of snacks. And thinking of the kid… “Fuck, I want grilled cheese. You want grilled cheese?” Zane thought he could probably still make grilled cheese.
Either way, he was getting the second bottle of whiskey he’d gotten because he fucking knew them. They had a problem, but he didn’t mind it so much. It worked for them, and he couldn’t possibly embarrass himself more in front of Daniel than he already had. Smiling, a soft and kind of soppy smile, he shoved Duke until the dog let him up and pushed to his feet with a groan. “Or fuckin’ Cheez-Its. An’ tomato soup.” Comfort food, because he was comfortable, and he liked being comfortable. He liked being comfortable with Daniel.
He just liked Daniel. A lot.
Daniel was plenty used to Zane’s inebriated ramblings, so much that out of habit he usually just waited for Zane to tire himself out of talking before he responded. It was a character trait that he found pretty endearing, even if he didn’t say so out loud. The small smile playing at the corners of Daniel’s lips was the only hint to how he felt about already pretty drunk Zane’s antics. Because Zane was trying to get up off the couch and shoving Duke off of him at the same time, Daniel ended up with the dog practically on his lap, but he didn’t mind, laughing as the dog tried to lick his face clean while Zane finally succeeded in freeing himself.
“At least I can scratch ‘shower’ off my to-do list for tonight.” Daniel smirked over at Zane, managing to get Duke to stop attacking his face by offering belly scratches instead. “You’re drunk.”
It wasn’t said in an accusatory fashion. More like an observation with a healthy dosage of amusement. Zane always seemed pretty happy around him, but with his inhibitions so substantially lowered, it was a little more obvious. Especially over time, the more they spent of it together. Daniel thought back to the charity benefit he’d dragged Zane to, how they’d ended up spending most of the night just talking to each other. Daniel couldn’t really think of anyone else outside of family that he was that comfortable with. Or anyone else outside of family who he would have wanted at the hospital with him. They hadn’t talked about it much since that day, but Daniel still thought about it often. Zane showing up at the hospital and sitting with him outside for awhile, while Daniel pulled himself together. Even holding his hand. Now that Zach was awake and really out of the woods, Daniel was able to actually fully appreciate the gesture without feeling guilty for thinking about anyone other than his brother right then.
He really liked Zane a lot too.
“Definitely whiskey, at least, though everything else sounds pretty good too. Anything with the worse ‘cheese’ in it, really. … I think I might be a little drunk.” He wasn’t slurring or stumbling around, and he definitely wasn’t voicing any of the thoughts that had just crossed his mind, so Daniel at least could be relieved that he wasn’t too drunk yet. “I’ll watch as many movies with you as you want. Can’t think of a better way to spend the night, honestly. Though if I fall asleep in the middle of it, you better not write on my face. I’ll have you exiled.”
As his dog tried to eat Daniel’s face, Zane laughed, leaning against the back of the couch and watching with a smile. Hard to not like a guy who would humor your dumbass dog like that, even if he hadn’t already been pretty damn fond of Daniel before. “Yeah, everyone knows dog drool’s th’best way t’get clean.” And Daniel’s face would smell like dog breath the rest of the night, and Zane was okay with that. Dog breath was kind of a fact of his life, now.
“Maybe a little drunk.” Zane was more than a little drunk. He was pretty damn drunk already, not so drunk that he couldn’t walk to the kitchen, but enough that he couldn’t quite wipe a dumb grin off his face. After all the shit that had happened, and Zach being hurt and still in the hospital, it felt good to just relax. Smile. Daniel was definitely the best company for that, and he could use it just as much. Maybe they’d been spending a lot more time together lately, but… Zane didn’t see anything wrong, or weird, about that. If they made each other happy, what was wrong with that?
Pushing himself away from the back of the couch, Zane stood until he was sure that he was steady on his feet. “Yeah, y’are. An’ I’m gonna get ya more drunk.” Yeah, definitely grilled cheese. Wouldn’t hurt either of them to have more carbs. Or cheese. Those were the two best things in the world. Better drunk food than fucking waffles, like some of the guys he’d known had sworn by. “Promise I won’t draw dicks on y’r face. Pinky promise.” He actually held out a pinky, and waited expectantly for Daniel to link his with it. Pinky promises were a big fucking deal, okay. You didn’t violate a pinky promise. “Now go pick a movie, Badger.” Wasn’t like Zane owned anything that he would mind watching. He’d given all the movies that he and Ban bought together to his ex. They’d never really been to his taste, anyway.
“I suppose I have no choice in the matter,” Daniel sighed dramatically, referring to Zane’s insistent claim that he was going to get Daniel more drunk. As if that was such a terrible fate and something Daniel would protest, considering their current surroundings. He could make plenty of worse decisions, but none of those would be made here where everything felt so safe and comfortable. Daniel had a stupid smile on his face that didn’t disappear when he looked up behind him and noticed Zane’s pinky, which he briefly hooked with his own before letting go. You didn’t just ignore a pinky swear like that. It was rude. And if you didn’t pinky swear, how could you call yourselves friends?
Or something. Yes, Daniel was definitely a little drunk.
“I’m holding you to that promise, though,” Daniel warned, before somewhat successfully pulling himself out from under Duke. There was only a little struggle, in which Daniel almost caved and sat back down because he was a huge sucker. Something Duke had clearly already caught onto, but that was no surprise, most people in Daniel’s life knew that too. He’d come to terms with it a long time ago. But he finally managed to free himself enough to escape the couch and cross the room to where Zane had pointed towards the bookcase that held all the DVDs, giving it a serious study. He found very quickly that he liked Zane’s taste in movies beyond the one they’d just watched. His taste very closely matched his own, as Daniel was also a big fan of things that were cheesy and/or magical. Seemed like Zane had a few of the classics too. One of Daniel’s favorite movies of all-time was The Princess Bride.
His finger grazed over the titles where he stooped closer to the bookshelf, free hand clasping what was left of his whiskey and tilted the glass back to his mouth to drain the rest of the liquid before calling out to Zane, only half-turning his head. “Didn’t realize you were such a sap, Rosen. Played that one a little closer to the chest.”
“Damn right you don’t.” Zane laughed when Daniel actually did return the pinky swear. He’d been pretty sure that he would, but it seemed hilarious, right then. “Dude, we just pinky swore. You don’t break pinky swears. No dicks on your face.” Now, if he ever had any chance of outdrinking Zach until he passed out, there would definitely be dicks drawn. You just didn’t pass up a chance like that, or you’d regret it for the rest of your life. Now that Zach was awake and getting better, Zane could make plans for that kind of shit again. But not Daniel. Drawing on Daniel’s face just seemed wrong. Didn’t know why. Didn’t question, just went with the thought. They were a different kind of friends, that was all.
He shuffled off toward the kitchen, slowly enough that the floor couldn’t trick him, and paused by the fridge to grab the butter and cheese out. When he managed to remember where he’d put the bread, it turned out he had just enough left for each of them to have a sandwich, with one extra piece left over, and it actually wasn’t moldy. Turned out he wasn’t completely failing at this responsible adult thing after all. Go him. One of his cheap replacement skillets was clean, a bigger one than he’d usually have used for grilled cheese but he could claim it was just so he could cook them both at once. Yeah, this was good.
When he heard Daniel calling him a sap, Zane frowned, trying to remember what he had that could make him say that. He didn’t keep any weird chick flicks, mostly just fantasy movies that had come out before he was born, the ones he’d grown up on, and a few more recent fantasy movies that he’d gotten into because having someone from a fantasy world in your head kind of meant you were obligated to like them. The sandwiches would be fine on the sides they’d started on for a few minutes, so he wandered back to peek into the living room and see what Daniel had managed to scare up.
“Fuck you, man, that’s a classic.” Sure, okay, it was a romance, but who didn’t love Princess Bride? People with no taste, that was who.
“I don’t disagree with you,” Daniel laughed, straightening his posture and holding both of his hands up in surrender with a sloppy grin. The grin of a man who had just finished another glass of whiskey, and he wasn’t totally sure what number of drinks that made. He wasn’t too concerned about it though. He could still stand up without wobbling, so Daniel was pretty sure he could handle another shared bottle of whiskey. If not, at least he was in a safe place to pass out unceremoniously. He trusted Zane to keep his word and not draw any dicks on his face if he ended up falling asleep first, which is probably one of the weirder thoughts that’s ever crossed his mind. “On the contrary, it’s one of my favorites. I’m just surprised we haven’t had this conversation already. So good news, we haven’t run out of things to talk about yet.”
Not that Daniel ever imagined there would be a time when they’d run out of things to talk about. He had quickly realized that Zane was just one of those people he could talk about anything with, and they did. There were only ever easy silences between them, never awkward. He honestly couldn’t recall ever having such an easy time talking to anyone who he wasn’t related to. Even with Tai… And Daniel wasn’t a man who liked to make comparisons between people, he found it largely unfair, despite any obvious truths. But even with Tai, who he had known for many years, things had never felt this at ease with someone. Partially because Tai had always pushed a little harder than Daniel was originally comfortable with, though Daniel was now fully aware of the fact that even if he hadn’t, things between them had never really been right. None of it had felt right, which is why Daniel had been so hesitant, and Tai had ultimately left. He could accept it now, because it had been the right thing.
To demonstrate his love for the film, even though Zane hadn’t technically questioned it, Daniel grabbed the DVD case and held it to his heart, preparing to recite. “True love is the greatest thing in the world, except for a nice M-L-T. Mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe… Okay, now I’m really hungry.”
Zane snorted and drifted back into the kitchen. His sandwiches hadn’t burned in the few seconds he’d been away, which he wouldn’t have ruled out, as drunk as he was. “Good t’know, though I might have t’trade you in for a new model with interst’n shit t’say.” Of course they still had shit to talk about. Zane found new things that he wanted to tell Daniel about every day, the random texts he shot the guy through the day should have been proof enough of that. Who else was he going to tell about how the guy he almost ran over with his shopping cart looked like a slightly overweight Dumbledore, with plenty of updates as he kept spotting him through the entire time he was in the grocery store? No one.
Actually, the entire friendship was just really fucking easy. Most of his friendships tended to be, but with Daniel it was… well, it was making grilled cheese when he was drunk off his ass while Daniel quoted Princess Bride at him from the other room. Comfortable. Familiar, like something that he’d maybe been missing and he just had never realized it. Like getting Duke had been. The fact that Daniel could recite parts of the movie from memory lit up something warm in Zane’s chest, and he laughed as he flipped the grilled cheese from the pan to a plate, a little browner than he usually made them but still good. “You giant fuckin’ dork.” He said it affectionately, though; he doubted Daniel would deny it or take it as an insult, anyway.
Since they were being mature adults anyway, Zane sliced both their sandwiches into triangles, the way the melted cheese stretched making his mouth water on sight. He grabbed the bottle of bourbon he’d stashed away, planning to use it before Daniel had decided he was providing. It wasn’t as good as what Daniel had brought, but as drunk as they already were it didn’t matter much. That and paper-towel wrapped sandwiches in hand, walked carefully back to the couch and dropped the sandwiches onto the table before he put the bottle down more gently. “Shit outta luck on the mutton. Eat your damn grilled cheese, I slaved over a hot stove t’make that for you.” Fuck, but bacon sounded… okay. He didn’t have bacon. They had cheese. “Don’t make me want things I can’t have, Dread Pirate Badger.”
Daniel grinned proudly when Zane called him a ‘giant fuckin’ dork’ from the kitchen. He could hear the affection in his friend’s voice, though he wouldn’t have been insulted either way. It wasn’t necessarily an insult when it was just plain true. Daniel was a dork, but he wasn’t like this with most people. Apparently, he had made the decision some time ago that Zane would be the lucky person to be on the receiving end of most of Daniel’s quirky little eccentricities. At least Zane seemed to be taking them all in stride, anyway. It hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“Far be it for me to slight you and your slaved over grilled cheese,” Daniel laughed, turning his full attention to his friend as soon as Zane was back in the living room, carting food and booze in both hands. He’d never seen such a welcoming sight, forgetting all about the movie in favor of the overwhelmingly enticing smell of melted cheese that had come wafting in with Zane. God. He knew he was drunk, but Daniel was pretty sure he’d never seen anything look so good in his life. It was only then that he realized he actually was hungry, feeling his stomach churn and he joined Zane back at the table and made himself useful by opening the new bottle. Not that they needed it, but why not? It was Valentine’s Day. They deserved it, or something. Yeah, that was it. Daniel liked his drunk logic, because it meant drinking more.
“As you wish.” He humored Zane with a small smirk in a well-timed response to his friend’s clever ‘Dread Pirate Badger’ quip, fully intent on eating the grilled cheese Zane had been kind enough to make him. But first he poured two glasses of bourbon, one for each of them, and handed one off to Zane before tilting his forward for an expected ‘clink’. Even drunk, he never forgot himself or an occasion. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Buttercup.”
Feeling even warmer and fuzzier, Zane ducked his head to hide the big smile that Daniel’s next quote put on his face. Of course he went there. Daniel was lucky Zane wasn’t crazy, he decided as he'd accepted his glass, or he might actually believe... wait. "Hey, I ain't Buttercup." He guessed he'd kind of set himself up for that one, though, turning Daniel into the Dread Pirate. He shook his head and clinked glasses dutifully. "Happy Valentine’s Day, farm boy."
That glass went quickly, and so did the next one, as they settled in and watched as the grandfather started reading. Duke didn't take too long to jump back up, worming himself between them to make sure he had the most chance for attention from them both. The rest of the night was bourbon, Rodents Of Unusual Size, and competing with Daniel to see who could quote more of the movie. At least... it was until they got near the bottom of the second bottle and everything got a little blurry.
Zane woke slowly the next morning. He thought he might still be a little drunk, because his head didn't hurt, and his stomach wasn't warning him that he'd better get to a toilet fast. He just felt warm, and content with Duke’s warm body against his back and the arm tucked under his and wrapped around his side...
Wait. What?
A quick glance down confirmed that yes, he still had his clothes on. It was definitely Duke spooned up against his back, too, Zane knew the pattern of his dog's breathing from waking up in exactly the same position every morning. But behind Duke... Zane couldn't turn his head quite far enough to see, but it had to be Daniel holding on to him like a teddy bear. How that had happened, he... wait.
Okay, he remembered, like a dream, finishing the movie and the second bottle of whiskey. He'd let Duke out into the back yard one more time, had the polite argument about who would take the bed with Daniel. Zane remembered laughingly apologizing for the state of his room, sliding between the sheets and calling Duke into the big, empty bed. Then... that was right, they had decided it was big enough to share, and Zane had been too happy to be worried about nightmares.
Totally innocent. Of course it was, they weren't... why wouldn't it be innocent. It felt good, having that arm draped over him, holding him, but they had hugged before. The fact that they were definitely cuddling (had his hand been resting on Daniel’s, fingers interlaced, when he woke up, or had he put it there without realizing?) didn't make it any less innocent at all. So... what was he going to do about it?
Daniel had slept the best sleep of his life that night, and it hadn’t had much to do with the amount of alcohol in his system. Which had been a lot. About halfway through the second bottle of bourbon, Daniel had finally lost all sense of his equilibrium, and after that, he remembered very little. Other than staying sprawled on the couch, laughing with Zane and talking through most of the second movie. Hey, they’d both obviously seen it at least a dozen times each. They weren’t missing anything by talking during it. He had thoroughly enjoyed himself, and at some point, the whiskey was finally gone, and so were they.
When he awoke the next morning, Daniel was initially still trapped in the best sort of sleep daze he’d ever experienced. He felt warm, and safe, and he was pretty sure he’d had some really good dreams. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever had any good dreams, at least ones that he could remember the next morning. That was different. He didn’t mind it.
… His first actual coherent thought was that his front half was extremely warm. More than the rest of his body. That was due, in large part, to the gigantic dog that he was apparently spooning. Daniel realized this before he’d even opened his eyes, because he could smell the dog breath and feel Duke’s soft fur brushing against his arm. His arm, that was… thrown over Zane? Before Daniel could fully process anything, a few memories came rushing back. Stumbling drunkenly around Zane’s house, insisting that he can take the couch but at some point, they’d both decided there was enough room in Zane’s bed for everyone, and Duke wouldn’t have to choose between them. Or something. Daniel was out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, lulled to sleep by the intake of whiskey and Zane’s steady breathing next to him. But he thought he remembered at some point during the night, Zane pulling at his arm and Daniel turning over to him. Or had Daniel turned over to him first? Was that what happened?
Daniel was confused, face still half-buried in a pillow. The euphoria of the perfect sleep and last night’s drunken haze still working its magic on him so he didn’t move right away, or open his eyes. He was now fully aware that his arm was wrapped around Zane’s side, and… were they holding hands? Daniel was a little embarrassed. He hadn’t realized how much of an affectionate drunk sleeper he was, but it wasn’t like he often had sleep overs with people he wasn’t, you know. Sleeping with. Was Zane awake? Did he know that Daniel had spent the entire night spooning him and his dog? Would he think Daniel had crossed a line? Part of him really didn’t want to move, but after a moment, he cleared his throat and shifted. Just a little. So that if Zane was awake, he could move away without having to push Daniel off.
Apparently the moment for deciding was over, and Zane still wasn't sure what he wanted to do. His body made the choice for him, though; once he was fully awake, he realized his bladder wasn’t going to take much more of this laying around in bed shit, and he was surprised Duke wasn’t crossing his legs, too. With a groan, he started wiggling his way out of bed, releasing his grip on Daniel’s hand only when he couldn't go any further without it. His mouth tasted like death, and standing wiped away the golden haze of comfort and replaced it with the pounding headache he had expected.
Zane cleared his throat, but his voice was still away croak. "You up?" He turned and squinted at Daniel, hands going to attempt to smooth the morning rat's nest of his hair. He already missed the bed, and the arm around him. He hadn’t shared a bed all night since he’d broken up with Ban, at least not with anyone with arms to wrap around him. Part of him wanted to say bladder and hangover be damned, and crawl back into bed and not emerge for a few more hours, at least. Most of him recognized that would probably be weird.
Right, he was still staring at Daniel in his bed like he was trying to memorize the sight. He was pretty sure the other man was actually awake, so he grunted. "Bathroom. Let the dog out?" Then, in case Daniel wanted some, he added, "Coffee's in th'kitchen." Hey, some people might keep coffee somewhere weird. Zane had thought about moving his coffee maker to the bedroom a few times.
Satisfied that he had shared all the knowledge Daniel would need, he wandered into the master bathroom, avoiding the piles of crap on the bedroom floor with practiced ease, even in his morning before coffee daze.
As soon as Zane started moving, Daniel shifted a little more, trying to be a little more subtle about it. Like this was totally natural, and he hadn’t already woken up, half aware that he’d just spent the entire night with his arm around his friend like that. He was immediately afraid that Zane would think he’d crossed a line, even if he didn’t miss the fact that he hadn’t let go of Daniel’s hand until he was actually physically off the bed. In the moment, Daniel just chocked that up to Zane still waking up and maybe a little of his own desire to keep holding on. He wasn’t sure why, exactly. Simply because he’d previously gotten used to the comfort and missed it? It had been some time since he’d been in a position to actually enjoy the warmth of someone next to him. He and Tai had never actually gotten to that point, so it was long before that…
Daniel shook his head, immediately abandoning those half-awake thoughts that were threatening to confuse him more and decided it was better to be focusing on the here and now. The here and now being, Zane was now wide awake and standing up, so Daniel turned over onto his back and opened his eyes fully. Or tried to, anyway. He immediately squinted against the light and rubbed at his eyes with his palms. Duke, now awake because both of them were awake, was up on the bed wagging his tail and panting happily in Daniel’s face. He very gently pushed Duke out of the way enough so he could sit up, blinking himself into alertness. “Yeah… yeah, m’awake.”
That was all he could manage, wincing as he began to feel his own impending headache already begin to form. Daniel was usually a morning person, not shockingly enough, but considering the amount of booze they’d had the night before, it was an honest miracle he was functioning at all. Thank god it was Sunday. He nodded at Zane as Zane left for the bathroom, turning to Duke with a sigh and patting the dog’s head with a smile still laced with sleepiness. “Just you and me, buddy. Let’s get you relieved.” Somehow he managed to find his own two feet enough to stumble his way into the rest of the house, letting the dog out into the backyard before finding his way into the kitchen. Coffee. Coffee was definitely needed in the wake of all this morning confusion and sudden, splitting hangover. … But he only made it as far as the kitchen counter before he stopped to lean against it and bury his head in his hands with a groan.
By the time Zane had emptied his bladder, washed his hands, and stuck his head under the shower for a second, he’d realized that he’d basically just ordered Daniel to let the dog out and make coffee, like Daniel was his… roommate. He’d go with roommate. Instead of his guest. Well, fuck, there was a reason that Zane didn’t have overnight guests much. He kind of sucked at the whole host thing when he was mostly asleep, in the mornings. The cold water he’d turned onto his head had helped both wake him up a little and take the edge off his hangover, not enough to make him functional but enough that he was pretty sure he could manage to pretend to be a normal person in front of Daniel. At least drunk him had decided to keep his jeans on; it hurt a little, where they’d dug into him during the night, but it was better than if he’d decided it was a great idea to strip down to his boxers, the way he usually slept.
He didn’t smell any coffee brewing, so he rubbed his forehead and dragged his feet to the kitchen. For a second, he had to resist the impulse to go up behind Daniel and drape himself over him. The fuck was up with that? Cuddling with him and the dog didn’t mean that Daniel wanted Zane pretending to be a fucking blanket. Instead, he grabbed the coffee grounds, stumbled to the coffee maker, and started the familiar, mechanical process of getting his hands on the only thing that made having to get up in the morning okay.
Maybe it would’ve been polite to try to make conversation. After enough coffee, Zane would give it a shot. At the moment, all he managed was a grunt as he grabbed a bottle of painkillers from a cabinet, then found one clean glass still in the kitchen. He filled it up, shoved a couple of pills and the glass at Daniel, letting him have first go at it. Zane would use the same one, when he was done. It wasn’t like they hadn’t drunk from the same bottle before. More than once. The thought of drinking after Daniel didn’t phase him in the slightest. The scent of coffee was starting to hit the air, though, so he just left the glass and pills there for Daniel to take if he wanted, bracing his elbows on top of the counter, the small of his back against it, and closing his eyes. Fucking hangover. Fucking mornings.
Daniel was only mildly aware of Zane’s presence in the room at first. His head was pounding, only having previously briefly broke his current position leaning forward on the counter to make his way to the sink where he splashed cold water on his face a few times. It had helped, mildly. But that was enough, at least for the moment, when he couldn’t bring himself to do anything else. He’d already forgotten about the coffee, which was insane. Who forgot about the coffee? Especially at a time like this. But he was so concentrated on the pounding of his head and his stomach turning that all he wanted to do was melt into the floor and die.
He returned the grunt, because it only seemed polite, since neither of them were obviously capable of exchanging real words with each other yet. This might actually be the worst Daniel had ever felt after drinking, and he’d only started feeling like this as soon as he’d gotten up. Clearly, getting up had been the problem. They really should have just stayed in bed. Then they wouldn’t have to look and feel like road kill. Was it too late to go back? Probably. Even in his current mental state, Daniel was mostly aware of the fact that it would be a little strange. Crashing in the same bed after a night of heavy drinking was one thing. Consciously going back to bed after waking up from a night of heavy drinking and bed sharing? He had already possibly crossed one huge line with his friend, he wasn’t too keen on crossing another. Daniel was trying hard not to dwell on that fact, and it was only working because of the currently more crushing headache that he was dealing with.
The smell of coffee in the air was what started to force him into a more alert state of being first. Then the pills, which Zane had very nicely put right in front of him. Those would definitely help with his head, and Daniel immediately straightened up to pop them in his mouth and quickly chase them with a drink of water. Flashing a grateful look at Zane and turning fully to lean his back against the countertop to hand him the water, Daniel sighed. He wished painkillers were instantaneous. It was 2015, why had someone not managed that yet? Rubbing at one eye, he grimaced and finally opened his mouth. “Thanks. Feel like death. Like maybe I actually died in there and this is my very hungover ghost talking to you right now.”
Zane snorted, at that, managing a fraction of a smile. Hangover out of body experience? Worse ways to have one, he guessed. Closing his hand around the water, he popped more pills into his own mouth, then washed them down fast. His stomach didn’t really appreciate the addition of water, and he made a face and swallowed again, against the nausea. If he hadn’t made the mistake of swallowing the pills first, and if they weren’t going to do him a lot of good, Zane would have just given in and made a dash to the bathroom to puke it up and hope it made him feel better. Fuck, Daniel had seen him in more undignified positions than that; puking his guts up was probably a step up from drunk dialing at two in the morning on the ‘reasons not to be friends with Zane’ scale, and the guy hadn’t run then.
Once he was sure that nothing ugly was going to happen when he opened his mouth, he asked, “Split a piece of toast?” He was pretty sure getting even half a piece to stay down would be a miracle… but, actually, he might have had a can of beans sitting around, too, and beans on toast was one of those stereotypical British things he’d actually embraced, thanks to one of the guys he’d hooked up with when he’d first moved… not because it was good, but because it was decent hangover food. Right, probably should share the rest of that with Daniel. “Got some beans, too.” Yeah, that was clear enough. Daniel knew him. He’d figure it out.
The coffee maker beeped to let him know it was done, and he muttered, “Thank fuck,” then grabbed a couple of mugs - he might be short on most of his dishes, but he’d somehow ended up with a fucking ton of mugs, most of them novelty shit that no sane person would actually buy for himself, but… Zane liked them. He poured into the one that said “there’s a good chance this contains whiskey” first, then nudged it in Daniel’s direction. “Got sugar. No milk.” Sugar, sugar, fuck where was… yeah, there. He pointed at it, then filled up the one with “I ♥ Wieners” on one side, with a silhouette of a Dachshund on the other. That one, he started on immediately, barely blowing on it enough to cool it a little before getting on to the serious business of getting coffee in him so he could function.
Daniel had never grown that accustomed to a lot of what was stereotypically British, food wise, but as soon as Zane said the word ‘toast’ followed by ‘beans’, he felt his own stomach rumble a little. His hunger was apparently doing its best to fight through his nausea, but Daniel was still feeling too sick to push it much farther. A split piece of toast should be enough without overdoing it. As much as he felt like he and Zane had grown fairly close, he wasn’t too keen on the man seeing him throw up this early in the friendship. Daniel still liked to maintain some semblance of dignity, after all. Or at the very least pretend to, he wasn’t feeling all too dignified at the moment. He nodded numbly in response, and probably had the same look of relief on his face as Zane when the coffee maker finally beeped. If there was one thing that could fix them, it was coffee.
“S’fine, I drink mine black anyway,” Daniel assured him, but even if he didn’t drink it that way, right now it hardly would have mattered. He would have taken coffee through an IV if he had to, so long as he got the stuff into his body somehow. What? He didn’t have a problem. He’d just never felt so hungover in his life and he was still half convinced he might die in a minute. Unlike Zane, he took the time to blow on the rim of the mug a little. He was already having some trouble forming words in the english language, but if he burned his tongue, Daniel imagined he would have an even harder time doing that. So he took a careful sip, before his eyes caught sight of the text on the front of his mug and almost choked on the coffee he’d just half way swallowed.
“Really?” He snorted a laugh, pointing at the mug and looking mock accusingly at Zane, but mostly he just came off as amused. Which he was. Also silently appreciating Zane’s obvious taste for novelty mugs, once he saw what the mug Zane was holding said. That was the sort of thing Daniel would do, if he ever bothered to shop for things like dishes. He didn’t really need to though, given the stock of Camelot’s kitchens. “Now you’re just trying to get me to hurl.”
“No whiskey left t’put in it.” Zane’s voice was still hoarse, but even the introduction of coffee to his stomach was helping him feel less like death. Yeah, he knew it was all in his head, and there was no way it was kicking in that quickly. So long as it didn’t ruin his ability to pretend like coffee was a magic fix, way more effective than any actual magic hangover cure he’d ever tried, Zane was willing to ignore common sense in favor of coffee. “If y’r gonna hurl, shoulda done it before you took th’pills.” Again, Zane was regretting not actually just going ahead and getting that out of the way so he could start feeling better. “Nothin’ wrong with my cups.” Zane’s cups were awesome. He made sure to have ones that suited all of his friends, for when they were over. He needed to find a mug for Daniel, one that no one else would use. Except maybe Zane. Like he’d thought with the water… they’d already crossed that boundary a long time ago.
He finished off the first mug of coffee before grabbing that last slice of bread and shoving it in the toaster. While it toasted, he poured himself another mug and started on that. Zane made his coffee strong, and at the moment he wasn’t regretting it at all. It’d be better if being more aware didn’t make him also more aware of his queasiness and headache, the harshness of coffee not a great combination with an already uneasy stomach. The toast couldn’t come fast enough, and Zane leaned against the counter and waited, staring, drink in hand.
It wasn’t until after the thing had popped that Zane remembered he was going to heat up some baked beans for at least his part of it. He grumbled and snagged the can, found a pot that just needed a rinse (fuck if he remembered what he’d cooked in it), and dumped the beans inside. It was a little haphazard and pretty fail at the whole domestic thing, but eventually he managed to get the toast cut in half without taking off a finger, focus completely on the task at hand. Paper towels substituted for plates again, and he handed one half to Daniel. “Breakfast.” Once it was done, it sounded fucking horrible… not the toast specifically, but the idea of eating at all. Fuck. If he didn’t know he should just do it anyway…
“Nothing wrong with them at all,” Daniel agreed, still smirking a little as his mouth closed over the top of the mug and took in another sip of coffee. Though it was really more like an inhale. Once the fumes hit his nose, he didn’t want to stop drinking it in even long enough to take a breath. It smelled so good and hit the pit of his stomach in the kind of way that hurt but felt really good at the same time. He wasn’t sure why he was so hungover this morning, it definitely wasn’t the first time he and Zane had split two bottles of whiskey before. It could just be the fact that Daniel wasn’t yet used to it. Sure, he was no stranger to drinking, but with Zane it tended to be a little excessive. … Okay, more than just a little excessive. Whatever, it was only on their off nights.
He kept feeling like he should bring up the accidental spooning, but every time he started to open his mouth, instead of words coming out he just drank more of his coffee. He wasn’t sure why he was being such a chicken about it, but Zane wasn’t bringing it up and that made Daniel feel like he shouldn’t either. If Zane was avoiding mentioning it, then maybe talking about it would just make things weird(er). Daniel was well practiced in the art of avoiding awkward in a conversation when he had to. Actually, he was so well practiced in it that he’d received many a complaint from former significant others about his habit of avoiding the harder conversations. When it came to making decisions for Camelot, Daniel never shied away from the hard stuff. Apparently the same could not be said for his personal life, but it was just the way he was. Couldn’t change it.
Daniel watched as Zane busied himself with the toast and the beans. It was pretty obvious that Zane wasn’t anymore used to being a host than Daniel was used to being hosted, and he found a strange sort of kinship in that shared difficulty. So he put down his half-finished coffee and took the offered toast, tipping it like you would normally a drink before biting into the corner. That first taste of food sent his stomach lurching, but he managed to hold himself together enough to chew and swallow. It seemed like Zane was having similar problems, and he almost laughed. What a pair they made. Still, he forced himself into a second bite, leaning heavily back against the counter and crossed his free arm over his middle. He wasn’t going to mention it if Zane wasn’t, so instead, he tried for something a little more on neutral ground. Well, if neutral ground also translated into friendly blackmail, but the incorrigible smile on Daniel’s face said it all. “So. What are you gonna give me for not telling everyone what you mumbled in your sleep last night?”