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"Nothing wrong with playing it safe," Danny agreed, one finger restlessly toying with the laminated page of the menu. Safe was... well, safe and it didn't bring up stupid comments that would make him want to smother himself with his own pillow or thump his head against the nearest wall... "I may end up getting the turkey club, myself."

The waitress arrived shortly thereafter to take both the menus and their orders, leaving them with their drinks as she turned to deliver their order to the kitchen.

Now stripped of his shield, Danny's hands folded themselves together in front of him as elbows rested on the table. His face had (blessedly) cooled off enough that he felt confident in approaching another subject. Keeping his chin held high, he studied the man sitting across from him for a moment, before he spoke.

"So. I've been asking all the questions this morning and doing most of the talking... what about you? Aren't you curious about anything?"

A dangerous question to leave open-ended, he realized after the fact. What if he wasn't curious about anything? What if Danny was simply too boring to care about?

God, he was going to give himself an anxiety attack by the end of the day, he just knew it.

"Hey, you've answered all of mine so far, so you must not be too bad at it, huh?"

A mischievous smile appeared and he moved to pick up his own straw, twisting off one half of the paper and rolling it up into a small ball before allowing it to drop on the table. Tristan seemed distracted by the question, gaze falling down to stare at his straw, so Danny took the opportunity to blow into his, effectively shooting the remaining paper half against the other man's chest.

Nothing like seizing the moment with a little immaturity.

All it all, it also helped distract from his comment of I like hearing you talk, Danny perplexed at the idea that anyone would care about anything he had to say. He was normal, generic. Everyday run-of-the-mill guy that happened to own a store at the mall - what more was there to say?

"I took a few business courses, over at one of the community colleges." His answer was followed by a simple shoulder shrug. His uncle had been responsible for starting The Sugar Cube and he had taken it over when his uncle had fallen ill. With or without the courses, his fate had been sealed from day one. "No degree or anything, though I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go back."

The straw was dropped into the tea and he took a sip, welcoming in the sweet flavor as he swallowed. "I know it doesn't look it, but I'd like to think I have more common sense than book smarts. What about you? Any education outside of high school?"

His lips pursed, the blonde cafe owner really not liking how the brunette chuckled. It wasn't that he didn't like his laugh - he really did - but paired with the last comment he made, it didn't look like anything but Tristan tearing himself down.

And that just wouldn't do.

"Degrees don't mean anything, I wouldn't think twice about whether or not someone had one whenever I'm hiring." Granted, he worked in a food industry at the local mall, but that was neither here nor there. Mostly. At least it sounded positive. "It looks nice on paper, but you're right - it's just a piece of paper. Anyone can get one, these days."

Fingers glided across the rim of his glass and his eyes wandered around the small cafe. There was a young kid that walked in with his mother, wearing a Spiderman logo shirt and it offered Danny the next topic of conversation to approach. After all, Tristan liked him talking, right?

"So we know what we'd be as mythical creatures... but what about superpowers?"

Green eyes lit up with excitement as he looked back towards his friend. "Which ones would you want? Let's saaaaay... three. You get three."

Three fingers held themselves up for emphasis.

If Danny had been curious about Tristan’s amendment, he didn't reveal his thoughts. Instead, he quietly nursed his tea while listening to the brunette mull over his decision. Overall, Tris was fairly prompt in his response - perhaps he'd dwelled over such imaginative questions before?

As the inquiry turned its way back to him, Danny leaned backwards in his seat, arms folding over his chest as he audibly went “hmmmm.”

“Telekinesis would be neat - didn't do Carrie a lick of good in her movie, but hopefully your mom’s not a religious nut about things.”

One hand moved up to rub against his chin. “I'll give you props - the other two are pretty selfless requests. I'm going to be honest and say that my answers are a bit more uh, selfish than selfless.”

His smile quirked to one side, the blonde looking only slightly sheepish as he admitted his folly. “Flying, for sure. Beats out driving and gas prices any day. Don't think I'd mind having super strength either - can do a lot when you're able to lift pretty much anything, right?”

His head gently tilted from side to side as he debated between powers for his last option. As he mulled, the sandwiches were en route to their table.

Finally: “I'd settle for the ability to talk to animals. All animals, not just fish like Aquaman, that's lame. I want the full deal.”

As their lunch was presented before them, Danny wasted no time in plucking up his sandwich and biting into the toasted bread. He was mindful to swallow his mouthful, enjoying the simple flavor of the sandwich, before presenting his next thought, curiosity spiking.

“So let’s add some consequences to the mix. You get your powers, but there's drawbacks. For every person you heal, there's another inflicted with the same pain. Could be a friend, could be a stranger, could be anybody. You get the power to protect, but it means monsters now show up, giving you a run for your money, Mr. Invulnerable.”

Fingers dove into the potato chips on the side of his plate, drawing up one to crunch into as he contemplated the third repercussion. “And you can move things with your mind, but you don't always get to decide where they land. Still willing to take on these super powers?”

Both the waitress and the young man still at the table watched in surprised alarm at how swiftly the taller brunette fled from the booth. He’d muttered an apology before all but launching himself as far away from Danny as possible.

Green eyes widened as his mouth dropped open - oh god, what had he done? What had he said??

“Tris??”

Danny, Danny, Danny, can't even make it through a day without messing up royally, can you?

He rose from his own seat to follow after his companion, only stopped by the sound of the insistent throat-clearing of the nearby waitress.

What in the world did she want no---oh.

His wallet came out in a flurry, bills falling from his hand onto the table. No longer concerned with Tristan being offended that he'd gone back on his promise to let the other man pay for lunch, he was far more focused on what the man had been offended over.

Gesturing towards the hardly touched food, he gave the waitress a desperate look as he passed her, bee-lining it for the brunette. “Could we get this to-go? Please?”

Out the door the taller man had fled, the blonde doing his best to catch up with his friend (former friend? Acquaintance? Soon-to-be-stranger??).

“Tris, please, stop - I'm sorry, okay?”

His voice was tinged with panic, words pouring out of his mouth like a broken faucet. “I just wanted to throw in a twist with the question. You know, all good stories have a twist, right? I didn't think it was anything bad, I'm so sorry.”

This probably was doing anything but helping the poor man’s amplified anxiety, Danny realized. Maybe he should have given him space? Maybe he should have just shut his trap.

Maybe this had been a stupid idea from the start. Who fumbled this much through conversation anyways? Tristan had clearly agreed out of politeness and now he'd gone and upset the man.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“I'm sorry. I'll take you home, if you want.” He stopped chasing after the brunette, allowing him any exit of his choice, be it with him or without. “I won't even say a word on the way back, I promise. Please. Tell me how I can fix this."

Bottom lipped being anxiously chewed at, hands sunk into pockets as Daniel McKay stared out towards the other man, looking downright miserable with himself.

"Oh, you're...."

His chin rose as he listened to the brunette struggle with his words. He gave him a curious look before he realized what was going on.

He was having a panic attack.


Danny bit the inside of his cheek to cut off the laugh that had started to form in the back of his throat. It was ridiculously inappropriate, but he couldn't help but laugh at the utter insanity of it all. Here he was, scared to absolute death over mucking up the day and his attempt at making a new friend when this entire time, it was clear that Tristan was having his own issues about it!

All at once, it felt as if a giant burden had been lifted from off the tall, blonde's shoulders. He had no utter idea why Tristan really fled the scene - but it didn't matter what had triggered him. Obviously he was having his own concerns and this only further humanized this otherwise perfect, perfect man.

"Breathe, Tris. Just breathe."

His voice was low and slow, but the happiness of his sudden revelation peeked through his tone. "Take your time. Listen to my voice."

Hands fell down to his legs and he went into Manager Mode. There had been an employee at the Sugar Cube, bless her sweet little heart, who would occasionally experience something similar. Thankfully it was a rare instance, but it was a reality that Danny had prepared for.

After all - what sort of manager would he be if he wasn't there for his staff, right?

His mind raced to think of something to talk about, something distracting and peaceful. Happy thoughts, Mackenzie had explained to him, shortly after her first episode at the cafe. Happy thoughts had helped her force out the negative thoughts that were pounding down on her defenses and creating the panic and anxiety.

"Tell you what we're going to do. We're gonna grab the sandwiches, we're gonna head back to the car," Eyes glanced around as he regained his own bearings, "We can go back to my place and chill for a bit, maybe watch some TV? We don't have to be out and about, we don't have to be around anyone else. Just mindless hours of marathoning Netflix. Get some takeout. Have a good evening, don't even have to say a word."

He paused, hesitant for the alternative but it was Tris - he would do anything for his new friend. "Or I can take you straight home to Fiona's. Get some sleep, relax, find some safe space in a place you know."


Mackenzie, Danny was realizing, was a lot easier to babble on to about happy thoughts than Tris, who he was still trying to figure out his likes from. With her, he'd simply have to babble off some celebrity names, maybe describe the new pastries he'd ordered, maybe tell her a funny story to force her to listen to his words as opposed to the negative voices inside her own head.

Still, he wasn't about to give up. Not today - not on Tristan.

"I can even show you the proper way to make tea. And maybe I won't miss my mouth this time, ha."

"You're not okay, you dweeb."

The words spilled out before he could stop himself - but for once, Danny didn't regret the words coming out of his mouth. Instead, he finally audibly laughed, stepping forward to take hold of the other man's shoulder and gripping it firmly, a gesture of assurance. "But we'll get you there, don't worry."

He was apologizing, which was absolutely unnecessary in his mind - how was it his fault that his brain decided to scramble up on him? People didn't get to pick and choose when they had a breakdown like this, for goodness's sake.

It took several minutes for him to return to looking at least fractionally okay, Danny standing by his side the entire time. Once he established that Tris wasn't about to fall out on the ground (or run away, that would have dampened the afternoon as well), he squeezed the shoulder under his hand once more before releasing his hold. "Work on catching your breath, take it easy. I'll be right back."

He spun on his heels and dashed back into the small cafe, reappearing minutes later with a plastic bag secured in one hand, two white Styrofoam containers outlined as they pressed against the bag's siding. The drinks had been sacrificed, but that was no issue - he could whip up some tea in a heartbeat, probably blindfolded even. His concern was on his friend and how Tristan was holding up... which was looking better and better with each passing moment.

He didn't ask him if he needed another minute - Tristan had all of his minutes and could take his time using them as he wished. Instead, Danny patiently propped himself against the side of the wall and waited, his smile never wavering.

"Hey, it's all good." His free hand waved him off as he watched the brunette struggle with his wallet. The last thing he wanted to do was upset his friend over something trivial like paying for lunch. "You can cover next time, I promise."

There. A promise of next time hung out between them, Danny's expression ever-hopeful.

His head tilted as he peered over at the other man curiously, green eyes watching his reaction with earnest. It was wild - almost funny - to be on the other side of the conversation and see someone bewildered and embarrassed at their actions. Is that how he looked like to Tris, every other time they spoke?

Shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, he offered, "That's what friends are for. Helping each other out, right?"

Glancing up towards the parking lot, green eyes flickered back towards his companion.

"What do you say we finish these at my place?" He gently shook the plastic bag, gesturing towards the food as his head motioned back towards the cafe. "I've got a feeling the waitress back there isn't too interested in seeing us around again... at least, any time soon."

He grinned, as if sharing some sort of inside joke with the other man.