Page 61 of Lovesick Titan

Arty says all is forgiven if we break that no double date rule. Apparently he’s a Zeus fanboy. I may have made a terrible mistake.

Mal chuckled, but his smile turned sour quickly at the thought of a date with Priestly, Arty, andDanny. He couldn’t dwell on any of that or he’d start to hope, towant, and that was dangerous before he knew whether or not he had it in him to forgive Danny completely.

Be safe, Hart, Mal answered and slid his phone into his pocket.

Entering his bathroom, he assessed himself in the mirror. His cuts and bruises from Danny, Ludgate, and Dunkirk were faded remnants now, some still visible but mostly gone. Now that the coast was clear of potential uniforms on his streets, he wanted to get out. Relax. Shake off the feeling of being imprisoned by his own walls. He’d leave the apartment, get an early dinner, and track down Dom to hit up Haven. He owed her an explanation—and a drink. His old friend might be lenient this time, given she’d gotten to keep her paintings.

Part of Mal considered texting Danny, just to see if he was okay, just to say that he was sorry too. And how unlike him that was made him stare all the harder at his reflection.

He couldn’t stomach the thought of another heist any time soon. He needed a change of pace. His life felt empty with the hollow gap of unknown spread between him and Danny.

Grabbing his leather jacket, Mal considered taking his amplifier before deciding against it. The hallways were quiet as he locked up behind him. He didn’t realize they weren’t empty until he’d gone down the stairs to the second floor and discovered a familiar redhead sitting on the steps to the first. The figure faced away from him, but he’d know that silhouette and fop of hair anywhere.

“Waiting on someone?”

Danny startled, nearly falling off the bottom step as he looked over his shoulder with wide, clear eyes. No tears this time, just his cell phone clutched in his hands that he shoved into his pocket when he stood, shoulder bag swaying across his body. “Hey,” he said, quiet like an exhale. “I wasn’t sure if I was gonna go up.”

They stared for a moment, Danny on the first floor, Mal on the second.

“Something you wanted, Danny?” Mal asked eventually, voice cool and expression neutral. For once in his life, he had no plan, no idea what to do next. It was terrifying and freeing at the same time as he waited to see where instinct might lead him.

Danny’s hand reached for the railing, fingers closing around it tightly like he needed an anchor. Clear or not, dry or not, his eyes held all of his emotions as if they might overflow at any moment.They seemed to answer Mal’s question that the only thing Danny wanted was right in front of him.

Mal flinched when Danny started up the steps. The pain that crossed Danny’s face tore at him because he hadn’t meant to do that, it was just reflex, just what he’d been used to for so long—fearing closeness and touch from anyone, especially when it was offered with a kind exterior because that was never the truth, never real.

But maybe with Danny it could be. Mal wanted it to be real so badly.

“Thank you,” Danny said as he reached the top of the landing. “For the photo. Guess I won’t be spending the next few years behind bars after all. You’ll have to thank Hephaestus for me.”

Mal shifted, remembering not to be too open or trusting. There was a reason he had so many walls. “Don’t know what you mean,” he said with a slight smirk.

Rolling his eyes, Danny didn’t lose his smile. “Few people are as talented as Andre with things like that. Priestly Hartigan is one of them. Pretty sure that was him in Andrews Electronics who ran away from me, right?” He held up a hand before Mal could deny that. “I’m glad he’s staying out of trouble.”

“Thought Iwastrouble,” Mal said.

“Not for me. I’m the trouble, Mal. I’ve been nothing but trouble for you.”

“Danny…”

“Let me just—”

“Will you shut up for a minute?” Mal wasn’t angry, but he had to be firm. Even if Vaughn didn’t think they were toxic, they could be. They so easily could be if Danny kept on like this. “The blame isn’t only on you. Everything isn’t always solely your fault. This doesn’t get better by having you punished for it. I had that picture changed because you don’t need to pay for the mistakes we made together.”

Danny looked at his feet, appearing hunched and small. “I know that. I get that now, I do. I just wanted to say how sorry I am for everything. Not just for what I did but for all the ways I tried to make up for it. Letting Helios punch me and blast me, and the pills…”

“Pills?” Mal repeated with a flare of anxiety. “What pills?”

“Uhh…” Danny met Mal’s gaze with a hooded expression like he wanted to curl in on himself and hide. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

“Whatpills,Danny?”

“I didn’t actually try to take them.”

“What pills did youhave?”

“They were just placebos from Lynn! I thought they were antidepressants and—”

“And you were going to take them all?”

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