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Danny Castellano dislikes a lot of things. Philosophical graffiti. Flyers written in the second person. Videos of kittens. That photo of Sting playing the lute while his wife does yoga. Contrary to popular belief, however, it does actually take much more for him to actively dislike a human being. Wearing a Mellencamp t-shirt to a Springsteen show, for example, will get you on his list. Not adhering to proper laundry room etiquette, that'll put you right up there too. Treating those he cares about badly? Sure, write your own name at the top.

Being a Mormon? The jury's still out.

"Oh, come on, I said Dan," he gripes, taking his first look at the so-called name scrawled along the side of his takeaway coffee cup. The word MAN peeks out between his fingertips. "How hard is that to get right?" He grabs a hold of the carriage's pole to steady himself as the train rattles past a station. "This could be anybody's."

He might not actively dislike Kevin but he's definitely avoiding eye contact. After Kate's wedding and the almost-plague of locusts, Danny's being extra respectful of God these days.

It's not doing him much good this morning though. When he takes a sip of his drink, it's strawberry frappuccino that assaults his taste buds and the 6'4'' gentleman he's currently pressed up against really doesn't appreciate the way Danny spits it out over him.

"Sir," he holds up his hands, trying not to gag as the guy looms closer. "I apologize. I apologize, that was rude of me. I should have asked first."

Current Mood: aggravated

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

latterdaysaint

Kevin's eyes widen when it happens, and gasps can be heard coming from those in the immediate vicinity. His expression shifts into one that's more perplexed than shocked when Danny apologizes, though. Did he really think asking for permission would have made spitting on the other man okay?

He ponders this for a moment as the man advances forward, snapping to as he remembers something and reached into his pocket. Pulling out a clean, neatly folded handkerchief, Kevin excuses himself as he squeezes by a few people. He offers the large, understandably unhappy looking stranger the handkerchief along with a thousand-watt smile that has only a slight tinge of unease to it.

"It's clean," he assures him, using his free hand to grab onto the rail above.

From:

so_catholic

When Kevin flashes a hell of a smile, Danny takes that as a cue to force one of his own and it's probably only the crazed looks from the pair that makes the man decide it's easier to accept the handkerchief than it is to seek retribution.

"Nutjobs," he mutters, moving down towards the other end of the carriage.

Oh boy. "Thanks, man." Danny actually means it. He can scrap, sure, but only when he can actually reach a guy's jaw to punch it. Clapping Kevin on the shoulder, he offers him the offending frappuccino. "Sorry about your napkin."

From:

latterdaysaint

"It's okay. I can always get another one," Kevin says, politely waving the drink off. If it was bad enough to do a spit take over then he wants no part of it. Besides that, he doesn't want to be holding any evidence if the large man decides to come back. "You, on the other hand, can't buy a new face. Well, yeah, I guess you can, but... you know what I mean."

From:

so_catholic

"They gave me the wrong order," Danny says by way of explanation, pointing at the word on the cup. It's a testament to how distracted he is lately that he hadn't noticed he'd picked up a cold coffee instead of a steaming one. "I wanted a latte and they gave me this abomination. You sure you don't want it? Plenty of caffeine and I'm pretty sure it's pink."

From:

latterdaysaint

"Oh, it's pink alright." It had been hard to miss the color while it was dripping off of that guy's shirt. "The color doesn't make it more appealing after I saw someone wearing it. Kind of how like you didn't want the coffee my nose had been in. Thanks, though."

From:

so_catholic

"Yeah." It's hard to find a place to dump the drink when every which way Danny turns, there's someone blocking him in. "I never thanked you for the gift card. I didn't use it. I made the mistake of leaving it in my wallet in my jacket pocket in my office with the door closed and someone," - Mindy, though she still denies it - "apparently thought it was theirs."

From:

latterdaysaint

"You mean they stole it?" The was Danny said it made it sound like it was an honest mistake, but that doesn't seem like the case.

"Well, I still owe you one, then. Are you sure you're allowed to have coffee? It seems to me like someone is trying to tell you something." First Kevin accidentally took his coffee, then his gift card gets stolen and, now, with the mix up of his most recent purchase that could have resulted in a physical altercation...

Hopefully, the cafe didn't get robbed at gun point whenever they got around to Kevin making good on his offer.

From:

so_catholic

"Yeah, I can have coffee," Danny replies, giving Kevin a quizzical look. He hasn't spotted the pattern himself, so he puts the strange question down to the weird thinking of a Mormon. "I'm Catholic, my guy lets us drink anything."

From:

latterdaysaint

"Not today, He doesn't," Kevin says. Maybe it's a low blow, but Danny doesn't have to brag about the fact that he's not committing a sin every time he takes a sip of a hot beverage. That was just rude.

From:

so_catholic

"Yeah, ha ha, that's a good one," Danny responds humorlessly, crease forming between his eyes. "I'm gonna move over there." He points at a spot about six feet away before following his finger and squeezing in between a rotund older lady and a teenager wearing headphones. A few moments later, Danny can hear the annoying base music thudding behind him and the crease deepens. "My guy's never let a warlord and his buddies kick my ass. Just saying."

From:

latterdaysaint

The only thing that hurts more than the dig is knowing that Danny's not wrong.

Ever since his last day at the training facility, Kevin felt like there had been some horrible mix up, like he'd somehow accidentally wound up stumbling down a path that was meant for someone else entirely. Someone who hadn't worked nearly as hard as he had, and who was probably reaping all of the rewards that were meant for him.

Since arriving in Darrow, though, it finally felt like things were shifting back in his favor, like the universe was righting itself. But it's still hard to look past the fact that things had gotten so screwed up in the first place. And Heavenly Father had allowed it to happen.

Kevin's pulled out of his thoughts when the train pulls into the next stop, doors opening to allow passengers off and a new batch on.

From:

so_catholic

As much as Danny would like to pretend he hasn't noticed, it's obvious from Kevin's face that his words stung. Cursing silently, he side-steps the passengers climbing on and gestures at Kevin with his cup.

"Listen, kid, maybe that was harsh of me, I didn't--"

It's like everything disappears into a vacuum, people, sounds, sight, air even, at least for a second. It's only when the lights flicker back on and Danny feels the cold soaking through the bottom of his jeans that he realizes he's still on the train, only instead of holding his strawberry frappuccino, he's now wearing half of it on his feet. When he looks up in disbelief, Kevin's the only person he can see.

From:

latterdaysaint

Wide-eyed, Kevin's gaze darts around the interior of the carriage before stopping on the spilled drink at Danny's feet.

Oh my gosh...

He has no idea what's happening, but what he does know is that whatever it was kicked off right when he was in the midst of thinking negatively towards and doubting God.

Oh my gosh!, he repeats it over and over in his head. What did a heart attack feel like? He's almost certain that he's having one.

"Wha--what just happened?!" Kevin asks, his voice small. Was he dreaming again? Despite the train car being completely empty and there being an abundance of space now due to the lack of bodies jammed against one another, Kevin decides to move closer to Danny than he'd been forced to be earlier. He doesn't care that he's standing in the puddle of coffee with him, he just hopes he doesn't vanish with everyone else and leave him alone.

From:

so_catholic

"How the hell should I know!" Danny yells, instantly exasperated, and less than appreciative of his lack of personal space. He pushes Kevin away from him, taking a step back himself and performing a slow turn in a circle, catching the rail above when the train rocks him off balance. "We're still moving. We're still moving! There has to be a driver." The sound of screeching metal plants a whole freaking tree of doubt in his mind as soon as Danny says it. "Oh, God..."

From:

latterdaysaint

Kevin's jaw drops, brow knitting as he snaps his attention from the window back to Danny. "Why did you just say that?! It's the reckoning... I know it. Oh, man, I'm going to h-e-double-hockey-sticks."

He drops down into the nearest seat, more or less ready for Satan to come and drag him down to the depths, all the color draining from his face. He brings his hands up to cover his ears, because he really doesn't want to hear that voice again. And that laugh... He still hears it in his sleep sometimes.

From:

so_catholic

Aside from the obvious, Danny hadn't been given much reason to doubt Kevin's sanity up til now. His behavior is less than helpful and he receives a sharp shove to the shoulder to snap him out of it.

"Hey, buck up. It's not the reckoning, okay," Danny says, though he can't be sure himself. First sea bugs, now this? He's said it before and he'll no doubt say it again - this place needs Rudy Giuliani. "If it was, I'd be soaring straight to Heaven right now, not stuck down here with you."

From:

latterdaysaint

"Ow," Kevin says, rubbing at his shoulder dramatically, as if Danny had just managed to dislocate it.

"Thanks, I feel better now." The sarcasm is clear in his tone and he just barely refrains from rolling his eyes. "Maybe you think that's where you're headed, but you could be wrong. You don't know."

From:

so_catholic

"Oh, I know," Danny argues, jaw set and doing a little of his own looming over Kevin while he has the height advantage for once. "I go to Church every Sunday and Father Francis used to come 'round for dinner five times a month and sure, he was a charmer and he only spoke Latin but when I was annulled and I asked him whether St Peter was still gonna let me through those pearly gates, know what he said to me? He said to me Deus te diligit et hoc ius est malum, which I looked up and it basically means God loves you and can I have this recipe for pasta fazool, so." Danny throws up his hands, satisfied his point has been made.

He hasn't even realised that the train has rolled to a safe stop. Between two stations.

From:

latterdaysaint

"Maybe that's not enough. Maybe it's never enough," Kevin laments, shaking his head.

And now they were going to die on a train car.

"Do you think it's just the train... or the whole city?" he asks. "We can't be the only two here, right?"

From:

so_catholic

Danny usually has the monopoly on pessimism but Kevin's managed to take it to a whole new level.

"It's enough," he objects, taking a step back and casting his gaze out the window. When Kevin mentions the rest of the city, something in his stomach screws up tightly and he digs in his pocket for his cellphone, scrolling through his now superfluous contacts until he finds Mindy. Even before he hits dial he knows he has no signal but he has to try.

"Dammit. I don't know. Give me your phone," he demands, wiggling his fingers impatiently at Kevin. His other hand wipes across his forehead where sweat is already beginning to form. "Come on."

From:

latterdaysaint

"Okay, okay!" Kevin says. Shrugging his backpack off his shoulders and swinging it around onto his lap, he feels around inside, pulling out his phone and handing it off to Danny.

He thinks people who say please are a lot more likely to get into Heaven.

From:

so_catholic

Snatching it away, Danny wanders off to the opposite end of the carriage for some privacy, forcing out a 'thank you' when he lifts the phone to his ear. No dial tone. He tries sending Mindy a text, pacing the width of the train. It won't send. He tries his own phone again.

Still nada.

His fist tightens around Kevin's cell and he pulls his arm back as if to throw it against the door in front of him in a fit of frustration. He stops himself just in time, his free hand smacking the glass hard instead.

From:

latterdaysaint

Slinging the bag back onto his shoulders, Kevin watches Danny for a moment before pushing himself to his feet again. He makes his way to the door that leads to the next car, peeking through the window to find that one empty as well.

"Maybe we should check all the other cars. You head forward, I'll head back and we'll come back here." It would have been more productive than throwing phones at doors, anyway.

From:

so_catholic

"No, no, no," Danny dismisses the idea almost immediately. It's not even because he thinks one of them will get murdered without the other. He pockets both phones to free his hands, moving back to the doors to try and pry them open.

"Because if I leave and find a way out, I'm not coming back. No, we stick together, we get out and I don't have to have you on my conscience for the rest of the day."

From:

latterdaysaint

"I would," Kevin says. He's not entirely sold on the idea that he shouldn't have just let that man deck Danny before he vanished into oblivion. "And I'd do it without making you sound like a burden."