"Fifty Sentences" Challenge
Fandom: Law & Order Criminal Intent
Pairing: Zach Nichols/Danny Ross
Theme set: Alpha
Title: Badges and Bagels
Rating: K-M
Warnings:punctuation abuse, sexual acts, character death.
Notes: Whoah. This was fun.
Comfort
No matter how bad Danny's day has been, he is always comforted when he feels Zach's hand on his back and the familiar words, “Let's go get some bagels, yeah?”
Kiss
The taste of cinnamon and coffee remains with Zach even hours after he'd left Danny's apartment, and as he licks his lips and tastes it again, he smiles lopsidedly.
Soft
The sheets are soft and still smell like him, and Danny's nose twitches unconsciously as he curls into them, trying to recapture the delusion that Zach's still there.
Pain
Zach had never felt anything like this- detached and broken, as though his final tether to reality had been severed with the simple act of pulling a trigger- until he got the call that upended his world and finally saw the brutalized body of Danny Ross.
Potatoes
Something hard and slightly wet hit Danny's cheek, and he glared over at Zach, who whistled innocently as he played with the sliced potatoes that Danny had handed him only seconds before.
Rain
It hits him like ice, and Zach pulls away from Danny to look up at the sky with a sort of mournful pout, before pressing his mouth to Danny's once more, the taste of rain on both their lips.
Chocolate
Danny glances down at the small box in his hand incredulously and then back up at Zach, who is smiling in a sort of smug way that translates into 'you never said I couldn't get chocolate condoms.'
Happiness
Zach sits down, collapsing against the couch with a sigh, and despite the long, almost torturous day he's had, he feels a rush of happiness the minute he feels Danny's body pressed up against his.
Telephone
Danny drops his phone with a shaky hand as falls back against his bed, and as he zips up his jeans, he hears the soft echo of Zach's sleepy voice from the phone, 'Night Danny,' and he smiles.
Ears
Despite the fact that he's been gone from New York for seven years, Zach has eyes and ears everywhere, so Danny isn't surprised when he comes home and discovers the other man sitting on his couch grinning and holding his resume.
Name
Just the way his name rolls off of Zach's tongue- hoarsely, with emotion- is enough to make a shiver run up Danny's spine.
Sensual
Zach loves the way Danny looks at him right before he comes- sensual, in a sort of 'follow-me-over-the-edge' way- and he tries to see that expression as often as possible.
Death
Danny had never thought this would ever happen to him, bleeding out in a dark alley, but if this is how he has to go, he's glad for the small mercy of Zach's hand wrapped around his, and the whispered words of, 'I've got you, Danny, don't let go, come on, Danny!' as his world goes black.
Sex
The first time they had sex, it was anonymous, few words exchanged before falling into the sack for a quick tumble, the last time, while similar, ended with not a silent escape, but with a whispered, ' God, Zach, I'll miss you.'
Touch
Zach presses a shaking hand to a pale wrist -he expects cold, clammy skin- a warm rush of relief floods through him when the beat of a pulse is found and he whispers, 'I've got you, Danny, don't let go, come on, Danny!' as he dials 911 .
Weakness
Danny knew Zach's weakness, so whenever he needs to convince his partner of something, he always picks up a bag of fresh bagels first.
Tears
Zach feels a warm prickle at his eyes as he watches the now-steady rise and fall of Danny's chest and he wipes it away despite the fact that he knows that with the next beep of the machines, the tears will be back.
Speed
Sometimes Danny wishes that he had a pause button when it comes to Zach- his mind went a mile a nanosecond and it took a lot to keep up- but when the other man is able to tell from a spare glance that something is wrong and quickly comes up with a solution they'll both like, Danny doesn't mind the speed at all.
Wind
The wind whips around them, but neither notices as they stand over the small tombstone that reads, ' Jack Douhly', and Danny heaves a sigh of relief whilst Zach feels cheated, angry at having not been able to pull the trigger himself.
Freedom
Zach knows he should feel free as he stands here on a secluded beach in the middle of nowhere, but he just feels lost without Danny.
Life
Zach hadn't left Danny's side the entire time he was unconscious, but the moment he sees that Danny is going to live, he rushes out and buys a bag of bagels which he then sneaks back into the hospital under his coat to celebrate.
Jealousy
Danny can't help the flare of jealousy he feels whenever a suspect bats their eyelashes at Zach in the hopes that it'll help their case, but Zach is always quick to set them straight.
Hands
Danny wakes up to the beeping of life support machines and the warmth of Zach's hand interlocked with his own, and he smiles at the sight of his partner asleep in one of the chairs beside the hospital bed.
Taste
Danny tastes like cinnamon and coffee and Zach likes the taste so much that he starts drinking coffee with cinnamon in it, until Danny laughs at him, tells him that it's stupid, and kisses him.
Devotion
'He hasn't left since you came in three days ago,' the nurse tells him, and Danny can't help but smile at Zach's devotion.
Forever
Zach had always taken for granted Danny's presence in his life, romantically or otherwise, so it throws him for quite a loop when he hears about the shooting and he's still numb when Danny's funeral comes around because he hasn't yet come to realize that forever isn't possible.
Blood
Zach feels sick as the warm sticky fluid stains his hands, but he keeps himself from vomiting and manages to whisper reassurances in Danny's ear despite the fact that the blood won't stop flowing.
Sickness
He always feels like crap after a hard night of drinking, but Zach's solution- black coffee and plain bagels followed by a shared shower- always seems to banish the hangover. (?)
Melody
After the funeral, Zach went home and spent the next six hours at his piano, his fingers tapping the keys, deftly echoing the sorrow that had seemed to stick to his heart like a disease, and as he plays, he thinks of what could have been and how that now impossible future had been stolen away because some stupid idiot had wanted to play 'follow the leader'.
Star
Danny looks out of his apartment window at night and even though he can't see the stars, he is heartened to know that wherever he is, Zach is looking at the same sky.
Home
Two months into his leave, Zach decides to head home one last time, but instead of ending up in his own apartment, he is shocked to find himself standing at Danny's door, and the phrase ,' home is where the heart is,' runs through his mind as he knocks.
Confusion
Danny is thrown by the look of utter confusion on Zach's face for only a second, but then he realizes that Zach is looking at the picture on his wall that he'd never taken down- him, his ex-wife and his son Jeremy- and he chuckles ruefully before taking it down.
Fear
It's like a cold that grips his heart when he hears that Jackie Douhley had been acquitted, and its only Danny's comforting hand on his shoulder that keeps it from overcoming him.
Lightening/Thunder
He hears the shot before he sees it, like a clap of thunder before the lightening strike, but it still doesn't give him any time to move before the bullet pierces skin, and it’s only the slight groan that escapes from Zach’s lips followed by a bubble of red that knocks him out of the shock.
Bonds
Zach tugs experimentally on the cold metal wrapped around Danny's wrists, grinning in anticipation, and he presses a chaste kiss to Danny's lips, ignoring the mumble of protest, before getting down to work.
Market
Danny can't help but smile as he watches Zach getting tugged down the supermarket aisles by his very excited six-year old and he laughs, knowing that Zach's having every bit as much fun as Jeremy is.
Technology
Zach sneaks out of Danny's office, whistling as he pockets a very thin stack of sticky notes and his iPhone, already composing a FaceBook message to send Danny.
Gift
Zach doesn't give him a birthday present, per say, but the warmth of the others man's mouth around his cock is the best gift Danny receives that year, and even though it’s the same thing Zach gave him the year before, he doesn't mind very much.
Smile
Zach's lips twitch into a lopsided smile, and Danny sighs, because he knows that he has already lost.
Innocence
There had always been something innocent about Danny, in the way that he trusted the justice system, trusted his coworkers, trusted him, so there was something horrific in the way he'd been struck down, shot twice and dumped, and Zach can't quite wrap his mind around it.
Completion
Danny drops the last file on his desk and the moment it hits, Zach jumps up grabs his three coats and heads for the elevators, leaving Danny to hurriedly grab all of his belongings and chase his partner so he doesn't miss the elevator.
Clouds
One second, it's as though Zach's stuck in the clouds, but the next moment he'd come out with a startling clear observation and Danny just has to roll with it.
Skies (…)
The sky is bright blue, the light burns at Zach's eyes as he presses his hands to Danny's chest to keep him from bleeding out and he thinks that Mother Nature is playing a cruel trick on them both.
Heaven
Danny sinks into the mattress, his face flush against the cool, white sheets, and he smiles contently as he feels Zach's hand rub against his back in a soothing gesture as he presses into him one last time, his hands convulse involuntarily, twisting into the sheets, and a stray thought trickles through his mind before ecstasy tugs him away, ‘this is what heaven feels like.’
Hell
The anger burns in his chest like fire, and Zach has to grip the edge of his desk tightly to keep from exploding as his new captain- no matter how long she's there she'll always be new- formally tells him that he's suspended and the idea of having nothing to take his mind off Danny makes him think, Hell, this is what hell is.
Sun
Zach yawns as he and Danny walk down the boardwalk in Neponsit, the sun pounding down on them both, and even though they're on their shift, he lightly slaps Danny on the ass and just smiles innocently when Danny yelps and glares at him.
Moon
Moonlight streaks in through the window, the light hits the nightstand and illuminates the contents- two badges, two sidearms, a glass of wine and a half eaten bagel.
Waves
Water crashes upon the shore, and Zach feels a rush of memories as he steps out of his car into the old-school world that was Broad Channel, he can't help the nostalgia that overcomes him, and it's almost as though Danny's standing next to him.
Hair
Danny entangles his hands in Zach's hair, silky against his touch, and he pulls Zach up and into another burning kiss, the taste of himself on Zach's lips is intoxicating.
Supernova
When they first met, it was nothing special, not really, but when Zach thinks about it later, he imagines it was like the calm before both their lives exploded into a supernova, changing them both in ways they could have never imagined.