Page 112 of Second Chance

“What am I gonna do with you, huh?” Tony sighs, scratching Worf’s head behind the ears. “What is wrong with you? Why must you steal?”

He tries to pull a hair tie out, but Worf curls a claw around it and purrs harder.

“That’s mine, kitten. Get your own.”

Still, Worf refuses to give it up.

“Why are you like this?”

“You know, I have a theory about that.” Daniel comes up behind him and works the hair tie out of Worf’s claw.

“Oh?” Tony raises an eyebrow as best as he can while putting his hair up.

“Mm.” A secretive half-smile spreads across Daniel’s face. “You know when you put your hair up? It’s when you’re about to leave for the day.”

Tony looks at Worf again, the cat purring away. He’s rolled onto his back, paws curled up by his chest, expecting belly rubs. “Uh-huh. So?”

“So,” Daniel says, hooking his chin over Tony’s shoulder, “I think he doesn’t want you to go.”

Blood rushes in Tony’s ears, excitement pooling in his stomach. “Really.”

“Yeah. We have a lot in common.”

“Huh.” Tony tries to hide his smile, reaching out to rub at Worf’s soft stomach. He squawks but accepts the tummy rubs. “Is he now.”

“Mm-hm. I think he’d feel better if you…lived here.”

“Very sneaky way of showing it.” Tony fingers the two hair ties still in Worf’s lair. Worf refuses to give them up. “What do you think we should do about this…problem of Worf’s?”

Daniel sighs. “Hey. Look at me?”

Tony turns in Daniel’s arms, so they’re nose to nose. Daniel clasps his hands together behind Tony’s neck; Tony’s hands migrate to Daniel’s hips.

“I don’t want to rush you into anything. I get it if you want to stay with your family. It’s not like we never see each other. And I would also get it if you wanted to live alone before jumping right into living with someone. I just think I—and Worf—would be happier if you were here all the time. So maybe it’s something to think about?”

Tony tightens his grip on Daniel’s hips. “I don’t need to think about it.”

“No?”

Tony shakes his head. He leans forward to kiss Daniel, slow and luscious and soft.

Daniel looks a little hazy when they pull apart. “Okay, that’s not an answer.”

“Daniel, sweetheart. I think I already live here.”

A rueful smile spreads across Daniel’s face. “I thought maybe you hadn’t noticed.”

“I was pretending. Badly. But if it will make Worf happy, I can move in properly.”

“It will make Worfsohappy.”

“Anything for the cat.”

They’re both smiling too hard to kiss properly. They give it their best go anyway.

Tony wants to bask in it properly afterwards, but they lack the time. Daniel has to order a new phone off the internet and see about getting his cell phone contract switched to a new number, which involves several emails and a very long phone call with customer service. When Daniel’s not using his phone, Tony texts various people, assuring them Daniel’s okay and they can meet up for Indian in a few hours. Then, Meredith turns up, and she and Daniel abscond to the kitchen to call their parents and fill them in on a heavily edited version of events. In the meantime, Colette and Tony pore over the email from the college president announcing the police have secured a credible lead concerning Amelia Lawrence’s murder, and campus has been declared safe, so classes are continuing as normal.

No further details are given, of course, but given Lily’s room has been searched, and the police are trying to find her boyfriend as an accomplice, it won’t be long before everyone knows. Neither of them says it out loud. Daniel might have gotten some sleep and some perspective, but he’ll still be blaming himself.

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