A New Obsession

Dumbstruck

Danny blinked a couple of times, staring at the plain white door. He attempted to gather his thoughts but they kept dribbling through his fingers and splashing back into a chaotic puddle of flustered giggles at his feet.

"Well that was new," he eventually managed to say, out loud of course, because if he had tried to think it, the sentence wouldn't have formed in the first place. He managed to lock the door again out of habit before going to his seat and flopping down to wait for his brain to calm itself down.

He couldn't even figure out what had happened; Danny had never felt that way before. He had been saying that a lot lately. He was beginning to seriously think it was a mistake to pursue Kennedy in the first place because of all the unfamiliar experiences occurring around him. But the idea of dropping him and moving to someone else made his chest physically hurt. The idea of letting someone else have Leon made his heart pound with jealousy. No, Danny was stuck, he'd have to see this through to the bitter end.

He had flustered Leon a couple of times, so it could happen... Danny decided he would be the one making Leon shrink back into the wall next time. He'd make Leon eat that self satisfied smirk of his, and his face would burn his hair from the heat of his blush, hopefully overpowering his intoxicating scent and allowing Danny to stay in control of himself.

Danny set his jaw and got to work updating his Leon journal, printing out the new picture he got of him and placing it carefully on a blank page. He reviewed his other notes to refocus on why he was doing this in the first place, but only reminded himself even more of how not according to any semblance of a plan this whole situation was going.

He needed to get into Leon's hotel room. Danny wasn't sure what he thought he'd find there but at the very least he would learn more about Leon from a visit. He didn't dare allow himself to hope for any kind of... memorable experiences in there, but he couldn't deny the longing to visit him. And he just realized he had the perfect excuse.

Leon's brown leather jacket hung inconspicuously on Danny's coat rack as if it lived there. He stood quickly and crossed to it just to be sure, and a wobbly grin of silly excitement spread across his mouth. Danny hesitated a second, shocked at his success, then reached out and snatched it from its place.

The coat smelled like heaven. It felt like warmth and security, and everything he had ever wanted. It was almost, almost better than Danny's own bloodsoaked jacket that still sat in a crumbled lump in the bathroom sink. This one belonged to Leon. He wore it. That made it special. Danny buried his face in the garment and breathed deeply, closing his eyes. His mind immediately flooded with the sensation of nearness he had felt mere moments before as Leon was leaving.

Danny realized their hands had touched again, and he actually remembered it this time! This was, without a doubt, the best interaction he'd had with Leon yet. It even topped learning his name, or the first moment he caught sight of the man.

He did a little dance of excitement and hugged the jacket tighter. He tried it on and strutted to the bathroom to pose in the mirror. "What, this? Yes, it's Kennedy's. Why do you ask?" He acted out a cocky conversation to himself, greatly amused. He stuffed his hands in the pockets and dug around a bit, then immediately remembered that Kennedy kept his wallet in his jacket.

Danny looked through it thoroughly now that he had the chance. Previously, he'd only been able to look at the ID card to glean his name, but now that he had a moment alone with it, Danny wanted to dig through it in more depth. Just a few generic credit cards, a membership card to a grocery store, and a bit of cash. It appeared to be your average everyday wallet, besides the badge on one flap and the most attractive driver's license photo in existence.