~Dan~
I left the apartment that morning feeling like I'd finally figured out how to breathe right after years of holding it in too long. Sky was still buried under the covers, one arm flung out where I'd been, mouth half-open, snoring these tiny puffs that should've annoyed me but instead made me want to crawl back in and kiss him stupid. I didn't though. I just stood there for a second watching him, necklace glinting against his skin, then scribbled that dumb note on the back of a takeout receipt because if I woke him up I'd never leave.
I stared at it like it'd bite me. Then I stuck it on his pillow and got the hell out before I turned into a complete sap.
The drive in was too easy. Traffic parted like it knew I was having a good day. The radio played some old song I actually liked instead of the usual garbage. I caught myself humming and humming, for fuck's sake and laughed out loud alone in the car because who the hell was this version of me?
I walked into the bullpen grinning like an idiot who'd just won the lottery instead of the guy who'd spent the last few years looking like someone who had anger depression. Heads turned. Phones lowered. Lena spotted me first, leaning on Jax's desk with a file in her hand, and her eyebrows shot up so fast they almost hit her hairline.
"What the actual fuck," she said, loud enough the whole room heard. "Did someone slip happy pills in the coffee machine or is Dan finally getting his dick sucked on the regular?"
Jax spun his chair around, mouth open. "Holy shit. He's smiling. Like, teeth and everything. I thought that muscle atrophied years ago."
I dropped my bag on my desk, still grinning. "Morning, children. Jealousy doesn't suit you."
Lena circled me like a shark. "Look at you. Glowing. Relaxed shoulders. No permanent scowl. Who are you and what did you do with the miserable prick we work with?"
"Funny," I said, grabbing my coffee mug. "I'm the same guy. Just had a good night. Good morning. Good everything."
Jax leaned forward. "It's your lover , isn't it? The pretty omega."
I shrugged, couldn't help the smirk. "Maybe."
Lena's face changed smile gone, eyes hard. "Maybe my ass. You're walking around like you discovered the meaning of life between his legs. That's not good, Dan. That's dangerous."
"Dangerous?" I laughed. "Come on. It's been one weekend. One really fucking great weekend."
"One weekend that has you humming in the hallway," Jax said. "I heard it. Actual humming. Like a cartoon character on his way to fuck a princess."
"Fuck off," I muttered, but my ears were burning.
Lena stepped right up, voice dropping low. "You remember? Your first real partner? The one who had you so dick-drunk you didn't notice they were leaking classified intel to the other side until three of our people almost got blown up? The one who almost cost you your badge, your life, the whole damn country a national security headache because you couldn't see past your own hard-on?"
My grin died fast. My stomach twisted tight. "That was different."
"Was it?" Jax cut in. "Because this looks exactly the same. You fall fast, you fall hard, you stop thinking with the head on your shoulders, someone gets close enough to use you or worse, you use them and boom. Everything burns again."
I rubbed my jaw hard. "They're not the same person. He's not a spy. I'm keeping him safe."
"Keeping him safe in your bed?" Lena asked. "You even said he? Didn't you swear off men after your last partner did what he did to you. People even think you joined the homophobic real humans. No Dan. That kid is…. That's a liability with legs and big eyes."
"Jesus," I snapped. "You make it sound like I'm the bad guy here."
"You're not the bad guy," Jax said. "You're just compromised. And we can't afford you being compromised right now. The case is too hot. Feds circling. If they find out you're emotionally and physically tied to the some random guy now, they'll pull you. They'll pull him into some black-site safe house you can't touch. Or they'll use it to discredit anything he says on the stand. You want that?"
I opened my mouth. Closed it. Because yeah. That part stung.
Lena sighed, softer now. "We're not saying this because we hate seeing you happy. We're saying it because we remember what happy looked like right before it turned into a fucking nightmare. Forget whoever this is. Send him away. Real detail. Real distance. Before you both get hurt worse."
"Forget him," I repeated, voice flat. "Just like that."
"Yeah," she said. "Just like that."
I stared at my desk. I felt the high from this morning cracking like thin ice.
Lena grabbed my sleeve. "Come here. Let's go talk so you understand better."