Work Text:
When Danny enters her apartment on a Friday evening and sees boxes and bags against the wall of clothes and shoes amongst other miscellaneous items a thought enters his mind for a split second: That she's leaving this home, she's moving upstate far from here and from him. It lasts a split second, leaving his head and goes flying out the window, not only because he can hear her feet against the hardwood floor dancing and humming along to the thumping beat of some hip hop song but because he's secure in the fact that he makes Mindy happy and she returns the favor equally.
He leans in the doorway to their bedroom and takes in the scene, a pile of cloths haphazardly thrown on the edge of the bed with neater piles on the floor; Mindy traipsing between them relaxed yet sexy in her boy shorts and ratty tee. "Hey babe, how did the interviews go, did you like any of the students?" She says walking towards him and enters his space reaching up and kissing him on the corner of his mouth. Her hands grip and tug the thin tie she had helped him with in the morning and Danny smiles before capturing her lips with his own in a soft kiss.
"Yeah they were a spirited bunch to say the least," he replies in a dry tone. "There was one kid though, Rahim from Boston. He actually seemed like a scrapper who I liked. Or maybe I liked him because his accent reminded me of you!" Danny chuckles and smacks her lightly on the ass. "What's with all this? Am I being kicked out to accommodate MORE clothes? Maybe you should go on those hoarder shows Min, I think I'm going to sign you up for Electroconvulsive shock therapy!" He grins like a Cheshire cat at her addiction and gestures around the room as she moves to the bed and begins folding shirts.
"Firstly how dare you? I am not a hoarder I just have a great love of fashion old man!" She shoves him albeit gently and carries on sorting through the colourful garments. "I'll have you know Daniel, I have had a very productive day off sorting through my amazing wardrobe. Fashion week has me all excited I mean did you see those stripes and fringes there's so much to buy Danny! So I am tapping into my generous side and donating to charity!" She presses down on the stack of clothing and places it at the edge of the bed.
He roots through the large set of drawers Mindy allocated for his stuff grabbing sweats and a shirt, recalling how happy he was to discover this piece of territory she gifted him, how she had just casually and slowly moved out and rearranged her own stuff to move in Danny's. For someone who made a big deal out of minor milestones in a relationship he loved how surreptitiously she had opened up her space to him, rather than make a big deal out of it. They had grown he thinks fondly, Mindy accepting the reclusive nature of his personality; sure she pushed and opened him up but she also let him be.
"Let me get changed and I'll help you pack all these up. I could ask Stevie to lend us his van seeing as there's no way these guns can carry all this!" Danny grins and flexes his biceps, giving Mindy a show in his t-shirt. "Har dee har har, Castel-lame-o!"
He notices his various button downs and jeans, certain old t-shirts he wears especially when at Mindy's apartment because she appraises his body when he does. The substantial amount of clothing Danny keeps at her place remain untouched and his heart swells for an instant at how she has learnt to respect his privacy and belongings. He makes a mental note to sort through his clothes later in the weekend and make his own contribution.
Ten minutes later and nine trips back and forth from the bedroom Danny reaches down for the last few items. On the floor strewn away from the rest of the colourful tops is a demure striped shirt and Danny smiles at the memory of when Mindy had worn this, when he reached out the first time on a plane upon realising that she was what he wanted. He runs his fingers across the neckline jewels, recalling how it felt to take a leap of faith, how her lips felt for the first time, and his apprehension and ultimate joy at her reciprocation.
Danny hears her call his name and turns toward the door to watch her enter the room: his other half or rather what he has internalized as the risk that paid off. "I've nearly done all the boxing and bagging up but I think we should drop them off another day, I'm beat...Oh keep that shirt separate I'm gonna give that to little Danni, she really liked it."
Danny stands and places an urgent kiss on her lips, cradling her face and massaging her cheek, "It's what you wore the first time we kissed." Mindy smiles and it lights up her face. "You're a closet romantic Danny, I love that you remember," she says and pushes him back onto the bed, breaking the tender moment. "But do you also remember how we didn't have sex because you flushed my hair down the toilet?" Straddling his hips, she presses against him, "I think you owe me!"
The rest of their night was spent without clothing but with the cover of one another, Danny repaying his debt.