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kathierif_ficTitle: Fly Away
Author: Kathie
Fandom: CSI:NY
Characters: CSI:NY general cast
Prompt: 076. Rebirth
Rating: FRAO
Warning: Spoilers for Run Silent, Run Deep, Slash, Threesome, serious AU
Pairing: Don/Danny, Danny/Mac, Mac/Don
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
The uncharacteristic soft knock made Mac look up from his computer and frown at the interruption. But as soon as he saw who his visitor was, his frown disappeared under a smile.
“You’re spending more of your downtime at the lab than at home,” he said.
“Yeah,” Danny held up the file. “Yenta Hawkes sends me.”
“Yenta Hawkes?” Mac repeated bemusedly and leaned back in his chair. “And where did you meet him, when you’re on sick leave and supposed to be home?”
Danny’s wings drooped until the tips almost touched the floor. “I needed fresh air. And they don’t hurt anymore,” he muttered. “If you want me to go…”
“Danny.” Mac interrupted him. He waited until Danny looked up at him before explaining: “I don’t want you to go. I was just surprised to see you, that’s all.”
He had, of course, noticed that Danny had become very skittish around him, ever since he’d made the offer. Mac was the first one to admit that it hadn’t been a very eloquent bonding offer. He’d stumbled over his words and stuttered like he hadn’t in a long time. But Danny had accepted it. Now, after watching him pull more and more back from him, Mac couldn’t help but think that he’d done it just because he felt guilty, or because he thought he owed it to Mac.
Danny shrugged and changed topic. “Hey, are you hungry?”
Mac wanted to decline, but something in Danny’s voice made him reconsider it. Besides, lunch gave him an excuse to talk to Danny, for once.
“I guess I could eat,” he said slowly.
“Great,” Danny smiled. “Let’s go and have lunch.”
“Go where?” Mac asked, but he already had grabbed his jacket and put it on.
“Not the breakroom,” Danny grinned. “Didn’t you know that it’s a Companion’s duty to make sure their partner isn’t being poisoned?”
Mac laughed softly. “In this case – lead the way.” He brushed his open palm possessively over the wing closest to him, feeling the muscles twitch and jump under his caress. He couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed about Danny – he had warned the younger man about his possessiveness, and Danny had known about it beforehand. And yet he’d said yes, had agreed to be Mac’s Companion.
They really needed to talk about this. Maybe they could come to an agreement, and if Danny really was uncomfortable with him, there was only one thing he could do.
They went to a little restaurant, and Mac waited until they had settled down before taking Danny’s hand. “Danny…” He waited until the younger man looked at him. “…if you don’t want to be my Companion…”
“What?” Danny interrupted him, stunned. Mac took a deep breath.
“Are you…are you going to take your offer back?” Danny asked hesitantly.
“No, of course not.” His grip on Danny’s hand tightened a fraction. “But I don’t want you to be uncomfortable with this. With me.”
“I’m not!” Danny protested. “I’m just…” he bit his lip. “worried.”
“Danny, talk to me.”
Mac didn’t care that he was pleading, that he was begging. All that counted now was to follow the evidence, find out the truth, and save what of their friendship could be saved.
“It’s just…Don.” Danny looked up with wide eyes. If he didn’t know Danny better, Mac would say that something akin to fear was on the younger man’s expressive face. “It’s so unfair, Mac. I’m getting all I’ve ever wanted, almost all I’ve ever wanted...and he? Why does he have to leave? Can’t you do anything?”
Mac exhaled slowly. He didn’t know if to feel annoyed at Danny or not. Danny had this ability – he could, without even meaning it, drive him insane. Unfortunately, he thought in amusement, he had come to the realization that he really loved Danny, and that meant that he would do a lot for him, and not strangle him just because Danny had maneuvered himself in a corner and now looked at him for some form of guidance, without really asking for it. Danny was a complex character, but he’d known that beforehand, as well. Maybe he was just annoyed at himself, because obviously he’d ignored some of the facts? The thought was uncomfortable. Was there anything else he’d missed? On the other hand, Danny’s thoughts on this problem were surprisingly simple. He wanted to do what was right, and Mac hated having to disappoint him.
“Unfortunately, not much. NYPD has decided to release a few Inferiors into the care of private keepers, and Don is one of them. There have already been several offers for him. He’s a good cop, and he comes from a good Family.”
Danny chewed his lip. “How much do they want for him?” he asked quietly.
“You aren’t my Companion yet and you already start looking for distraction?” Mac teased.
“No! Of course not!” Danny hastily assured. “It’s not that.” He sighed.
“Danny,” Mac said softly. “Even if you had the money, which you don’t –“
“ – they would see my name and get the hell outta there,” Danny sighed. “I just wish there was something I could do.” He looked up again, eyes filled with anguish. “I really want to be your Companion, Mac. I told you I love you. I meant it. But I can’t stop thinking about Don. Do you know what I did right after accepting your offer?”
Mac shrugged. “Of course I know,” he said gently. “It’s all right.”
“It is?” Danny clearly didn’t believe him.
“Danny.”
Danny sighed and pulled his hands back. For a moment, he just fidgeted, and then he took off his glasses and began to polish them on the sleeve of his shirt. “You should take your offer back, Mac. You deserve so much better than me.”
There was only one possible answer, and he didn’t even have to think about that. He had thought long enough about this, when he’d hired Danny, and when he’d made his offer. He had resigned himself to be Danny’s keeper forever, his friend, and he had told himself firmly that it was enough. He had told himself that he didn’t mind, and for a while, it worked, and then the numbness about Claire’s death had dulled everything he felt, including his attraction and growing love for Danny. And now, that Danny had agreed to be his, and had assured Mac that he really wanted it, there was no way that he would let him go. He hadn’t listened to the people who had told him not to hire Danny before, and he wouldn’t listen to them now.
“No,” he said calmly and captured Danny’s hands in his again. “I love you. I’m not letting you go.”
Danny’s eyes lit up for a moment before his shoulders slumped again. “And what about Don?”
He shook his head before Mac could even open his mouth to answer. “I know you can’t do anything. But it’s still unfair.” He sighed. “And it’s your birthday, and I’m making everything worse. Let’s talk about something else.”
“Okay,” Mac agreed, and they sat in silence for a long time, only interrupted by the arrival of their food. Eventually, they started talking about work, and Danny relaxed gradually until he reached over the table and squeezed Mac’s hand briefly. “I really want to kiss you now.”
Mac raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you do it, then?”
Danny hesitated for a second, but then he leaned in and pressed his lips to Mac’s. Mac’s hand came up and tangled in his hair to hold him in place as he took control of their kiss and deepened it.
When they both pulled back, Danny’s eyes were glazed over. “We should have the ceremony at the lab,” he said breathlessly and lifted a shaky hand to wipe it over his mouth.
“What? Why?” Mac asked and unsuccessfully tried to straighten the folds of his clothes where Danny had clutched the fabric in his fists.
“You made your offer there,” Danny answered. “Our relationship started there, when you offered me a job. Admit it, Mac, it’s perfect.” He shrugged. “And that way, you won’t run off on a case in the middle of it.”
Mac couldn’t help it. He started to laugh. And he laughed even harder when Danny’s cell phone rang and Danny quickly left because Stella had the warrant.
**
“Are you sure that you should be here?” Stella raised an eyebrow at her co-worker. Danny shrugged and pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Why not?”
“You’re still on sick leave,” Stella reminded him with a smile. It seemed as if Danny and Mac were more alike than both men realized, at least when it came to work.
“Yeah yeah, but I’m already here, and I know the case,” Danny absent-mindedly replied and shot her a smile of his own. “Besides, it’s only a few more days I have left, and I don’t think they would make much of a difference.”
Stella didn’t comment on this. She chose to concentrate on the case instead and turned towards the apartment door. “Ready?”
Both Flack and Danny nodded silently, and she raised her hand to knock on the dark wood.
Paul Becker was a small man with nervous eyes and pearly gray wings. Danny and Stella spread out to collect their evidence, while Flack escorted Becker outside, to make sure that the scene wasn’t compromised.
It was Stella who finally found the bloody knife, wrapped in a blood-strained t-shirt.
“Flack!” she called out, and Don nodded affirmatively and pulled his handcuffs out. “Turn around,” he commanded.
Paul did a half-turn, but suddenly, he spread out the sharp edge of a wing and whirled in the other direction.
For someone less attentive that move could have been near fatal, or at least very painful. The bones in the wings were light, but extremely strong, and they could cause a lot of harm. Everyone knew that.
Flack hadn’t anticipated the move, but he was used to abrupt moves – Danny was an exuberant person, and sometimes he simply forgot that he had wings now. After several bruises Don had learned to trust his instincts and quickly move out of the way of any wings coming towards him.
The sharp bone only grazed along his arm, pushing him out-of-balance and making him stumble to his knees. He tasted the coppery tang of blood on his tongue as his teeth cut into his lip, and a small, analytical part of his brain noticed the spreading numbness in his arm.
He didn’t waste time on cataloguing the few bruises Paul had probably caused.
His fall had given Paul the precious seconds he needed, and, thinking he could take advantage of the Inferior’s lack of wings, he took off towards the roof.
Flack shouted a warning to the CSIs before following the fugitive up the stairs.
Up and up it went, their breath coming in short gasps after just a few floors. Flack was always close on Paul’s heels; close enough to rip out a few feathers, but never close enough to trip him or stop him, until they were on the roof, where Flack finally threw himself forwards and tackled Paul to the ground.
Together they rolled towards the edge of the building, and neither cared for the sickening crunch of bones on bones in the heat of their fight, or the scratch of fingernails over Flack’s face, until Don managed to overwhelm Paul and cuff him roughly.
“You are under arrest for the murder of Ellie Peterson and Alexander Hollis, and don’t try something like that again,” he panted and pulled Paul around to get him away from the edge of the roof.
He realized that it had been a mistake when Becker gave a yell of rage and threw himself at Flack, toppling both of them over the edge, not noticing or not caring about his obviously broken wing. Don stopped caring about Paul the second he lost contact with the roof and found himself in free fall. He tried to hold on to something, to prevent it from happening, but his numb arm was unable to do so, and his scrabbling fingers slipped off before he could pull himself back up to the roof.
He knew there was nothing he could do. He was falling like a rock; and he expected every second to crash into the building and break some bones. Maybe he would be dead even before he hit the ground.
And yet – he forced his eyes open against the biting wind that playfully tugged at him, inviting him to spread wings he didn’t have and fly, simply letting himself be carried away. But this was not a dream, and he was fully aware of that. Cold fear gathered at the pit of his stomach as the side of the building raced along his side, at the corner of his eye.
He spent a few precious seconds thinking about Danny and Mac. He had seen what happened to bodies that fell from that height. There was not a chance in hell for him to survive this, and he knew it.
The ground came quickly closer, reminding him of that dream again, and of flying. How ironic that he should die like this, flying for one last time.
It had all happened so fast. But wasn’t that the best way to do it – live fast – die young? Only, he didn’t want to die just yet...
Chapter 13
Author: Kathie
Fandom: CSI:NY
Characters: CSI:NY general cast
Prompt: 076. Rebirth
Rating: FRAO
Warning: Spoilers for Run Silent, Run Deep, Slash, Threesome, serious AU
Pairing: Don/Danny, Danny/Mac, Mac/Don
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
The uncharacteristic soft knock made Mac look up from his computer and frown at the interruption. But as soon as he saw who his visitor was, his frown disappeared under a smile.
“You’re spending more of your downtime at the lab than at home,” he said.
“Yeah,” Danny held up the file. “Yenta Hawkes sends me.”
“Yenta Hawkes?” Mac repeated bemusedly and leaned back in his chair. “And where did you meet him, when you’re on sick leave and supposed to be home?”
Danny’s wings drooped until the tips almost touched the floor. “I needed fresh air. And they don’t hurt anymore,” he muttered. “If you want me to go…”
“Danny.” Mac interrupted him. He waited until Danny looked up at him before explaining: “I don’t want you to go. I was just surprised to see you, that’s all.”
He had, of course, noticed that Danny had become very skittish around him, ever since he’d made the offer. Mac was the first one to admit that it hadn’t been a very eloquent bonding offer. He’d stumbled over his words and stuttered like he hadn’t in a long time. But Danny had accepted it. Now, after watching him pull more and more back from him, Mac couldn’t help but think that he’d done it just because he felt guilty, or because he thought he owed it to Mac.
Danny shrugged and changed topic. “Hey, are you hungry?”
Mac wanted to decline, but something in Danny’s voice made him reconsider it. Besides, lunch gave him an excuse to talk to Danny, for once.
“I guess I could eat,” he said slowly.
“Great,” Danny smiled. “Let’s go and have lunch.”
“Go where?” Mac asked, but he already had grabbed his jacket and put it on.
“Not the breakroom,” Danny grinned. “Didn’t you know that it’s a Companion’s duty to make sure their partner isn’t being poisoned?”
Mac laughed softly. “In this case – lead the way.” He brushed his open palm possessively over the wing closest to him, feeling the muscles twitch and jump under his caress. He couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed about Danny – he had warned the younger man about his possessiveness, and Danny had known about it beforehand. And yet he’d said yes, had agreed to be Mac’s Companion.
They really needed to talk about this. Maybe they could come to an agreement, and if Danny really was uncomfortable with him, there was only one thing he could do.
They went to a little restaurant, and Mac waited until they had settled down before taking Danny’s hand. “Danny…” He waited until the younger man looked at him. “…if you don’t want to be my Companion…”
“What?” Danny interrupted him, stunned. Mac took a deep breath.
“Are you…are you going to take your offer back?” Danny asked hesitantly.
“No, of course not.” His grip on Danny’s hand tightened a fraction. “But I don’t want you to be uncomfortable with this. With me.”
“I’m not!” Danny protested. “I’m just…” he bit his lip. “worried.”
“Danny, talk to me.”
Mac didn’t care that he was pleading, that he was begging. All that counted now was to follow the evidence, find out the truth, and save what of their friendship could be saved.
“It’s just…Don.” Danny looked up with wide eyes. If he didn’t know Danny better, Mac would say that something akin to fear was on the younger man’s expressive face. “It’s so unfair, Mac. I’m getting all I’ve ever wanted, almost all I’ve ever wanted...and he? Why does he have to leave? Can’t you do anything?”
Mac exhaled slowly. He didn’t know if to feel annoyed at Danny or not. Danny had this ability – he could, without even meaning it, drive him insane. Unfortunately, he thought in amusement, he had come to the realization that he really loved Danny, and that meant that he would do a lot for him, and not strangle him just because Danny had maneuvered himself in a corner and now looked at him for some form of guidance, without really asking for it. Danny was a complex character, but he’d known that beforehand, as well. Maybe he was just annoyed at himself, because obviously he’d ignored some of the facts? The thought was uncomfortable. Was there anything else he’d missed? On the other hand, Danny’s thoughts on this problem were surprisingly simple. He wanted to do what was right, and Mac hated having to disappoint him.
“Unfortunately, not much. NYPD has decided to release a few Inferiors into the care of private keepers, and Don is one of them. There have already been several offers for him. He’s a good cop, and he comes from a good Family.”
Danny chewed his lip. “How much do they want for him?” he asked quietly.
“You aren’t my Companion yet and you already start looking for distraction?” Mac teased.
“No! Of course not!” Danny hastily assured. “It’s not that.” He sighed.
“Danny,” Mac said softly. “Even if you had the money, which you don’t –“
“ – they would see my name and get the hell outta there,” Danny sighed. “I just wish there was something I could do.” He looked up again, eyes filled with anguish. “I really want to be your Companion, Mac. I told you I love you. I meant it. But I can’t stop thinking about Don. Do you know what I did right after accepting your offer?”
Mac shrugged. “Of course I know,” he said gently. “It’s all right.”
“It is?” Danny clearly didn’t believe him.
“Danny.”
Danny sighed and pulled his hands back. For a moment, he just fidgeted, and then he took off his glasses and began to polish them on the sleeve of his shirt. “You should take your offer back, Mac. You deserve so much better than me.”
There was only one possible answer, and he didn’t even have to think about that. He had thought long enough about this, when he’d hired Danny, and when he’d made his offer. He had resigned himself to be Danny’s keeper forever, his friend, and he had told himself firmly that it was enough. He had told himself that he didn’t mind, and for a while, it worked, and then the numbness about Claire’s death had dulled everything he felt, including his attraction and growing love for Danny. And now, that Danny had agreed to be his, and had assured Mac that he really wanted it, there was no way that he would let him go. He hadn’t listened to the people who had told him not to hire Danny before, and he wouldn’t listen to them now.
“No,” he said calmly and captured Danny’s hands in his again. “I love you. I’m not letting you go.”
Danny’s eyes lit up for a moment before his shoulders slumped again. “And what about Don?”
He shook his head before Mac could even open his mouth to answer. “I know you can’t do anything. But it’s still unfair.” He sighed. “And it’s your birthday, and I’m making everything worse. Let’s talk about something else.”
“Okay,” Mac agreed, and they sat in silence for a long time, only interrupted by the arrival of their food. Eventually, they started talking about work, and Danny relaxed gradually until he reached over the table and squeezed Mac’s hand briefly. “I really want to kiss you now.”
Mac raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you do it, then?”
Danny hesitated for a second, but then he leaned in and pressed his lips to Mac’s. Mac’s hand came up and tangled in his hair to hold him in place as he took control of their kiss and deepened it.
When they both pulled back, Danny’s eyes were glazed over. “We should have the ceremony at the lab,” he said breathlessly and lifted a shaky hand to wipe it over his mouth.
“What? Why?” Mac asked and unsuccessfully tried to straighten the folds of his clothes where Danny had clutched the fabric in his fists.
“You made your offer there,” Danny answered. “Our relationship started there, when you offered me a job. Admit it, Mac, it’s perfect.” He shrugged. “And that way, you won’t run off on a case in the middle of it.”
Mac couldn’t help it. He started to laugh. And he laughed even harder when Danny’s cell phone rang and Danny quickly left because Stella had the warrant.
**
“Are you sure that you should be here?” Stella raised an eyebrow at her co-worker. Danny shrugged and pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Why not?”
“You’re still on sick leave,” Stella reminded him with a smile. It seemed as if Danny and Mac were more alike than both men realized, at least when it came to work.
“Yeah yeah, but I’m already here, and I know the case,” Danny absent-mindedly replied and shot her a smile of his own. “Besides, it’s only a few more days I have left, and I don’t think they would make much of a difference.”
Stella didn’t comment on this. She chose to concentrate on the case instead and turned towards the apartment door. “Ready?”
Both Flack and Danny nodded silently, and she raised her hand to knock on the dark wood.
Paul Becker was a small man with nervous eyes and pearly gray wings. Danny and Stella spread out to collect their evidence, while Flack escorted Becker outside, to make sure that the scene wasn’t compromised.
It was Stella who finally found the bloody knife, wrapped in a blood-strained t-shirt.
“Flack!” she called out, and Don nodded affirmatively and pulled his handcuffs out. “Turn around,” he commanded.
Paul did a half-turn, but suddenly, he spread out the sharp edge of a wing and whirled in the other direction.
For someone less attentive that move could have been near fatal, or at least very painful. The bones in the wings were light, but extremely strong, and they could cause a lot of harm. Everyone knew that.
Flack hadn’t anticipated the move, but he was used to abrupt moves – Danny was an exuberant person, and sometimes he simply forgot that he had wings now. After several bruises Don had learned to trust his instincts and quickly move out of the way of any wings coming towards him.
The sharp bone only grazed along his arm, pushing him out-of-balance and making him stumble to his knees. He tasted the coppery tang of blood on his tongue as his teeth cut into his lip, and a small, analytical part of his brain noticed the spreading numbness in his arm.
He didn’t waste time on cataloguing the few bruises Paul had probably caused.
His fall had given Paul the precious seconds he needed, and, thinking he could take advantage of the Inferior’s lack of wings, he took off towards the roof.
Flack shouted a warning to the CSIs before following the fugitive up the stairs.
Up and up it went, their breath coming in short gasps after just a few floors. Flack was always close on Paul’s heels; close enough to rip out a few feathers, but never close enough to trip him or stop him, until they were on the roof, where Flack finally threw himself forwards and tackled Paul to the ground.
Together they rolled towards the edge of the building, and neither cared for the sickening crunch of bones on bones in the heat of their fight, or the scratch of fingernails over Flack’s face, until Don managed to overwhelm Paul and cuff him roughly.
“You are under arrest for the murder of Ellie Peterson and Alexander Hollis, and don’t try something like that again,” he panted and pulled Paul around to get him away from the edge of the roof.
He realized that it had been a mistake when Becker gave a yell of rage and threw himself at Flack, toppling both of them over the edge, not noticing or not caring about his obviously broken wing. Don stopped caring about Paul the second he lost contact with the roof and found himself in free fall. He tried to hold on to something, to prevent it from happening, but his numb arm was unable to do so, and his scrabbling fingers slipped off before he could pull himself back up to the roof.
He knew there was nothing he could do. He was falling like a rock; and he expected every second to crash into the building and break some bones. Maybe he would be dead even before he hit the ground.
And yet – he forced his eyes open against the biting wind that playfully tugged at him, inviting him to spread wings he didn’t have and fly, simply letting himself be carried away. But this was not a dream, and he was fully aware of that. Cold fear gathered at the pit of his stomach as the side of the building raced along his side, at the corner of his eye.
He spent a few precious seconds thinking about Danny and Mac. He had seen what happened to bodies that fell from that height. There was not a chance in hell for him to survive this, and he knew it.
The ground came quickly closer, reminding him of that dream again, and of flying. How ironic that he should die like this, flying for one last time.
It had all happened so fast. But wasn’t that the best way to do it – live fast – die young? Only, he didn’t want to die just yet...
Chapter 13