Title: Q is for Queenly
Author: stellaluna_
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Mac/Danny
Summary: Danny can't help thinking, even though he knows it's superstitious and stupid and unscientific, that the whole thing is, in some obscure fashion, all his fault.
Disclaimer: None of these are mine. Characters are the property of Anthony Zuiker, Jerry Bruckheimer Television, CBS, and Alliance Atlantis.

***

Thinking back on it later, Danny can't help thinking, even though he knows it's superstitious and stupid and unscientific, that the whole thing is, in some obscure fashion, all his fault. He'd been having a pretty good day up until then; worse, he'd been allowing himself to enjoy the day. He hadn't devoted any time to thinking about all the things that could go wrong, or how it was all bound to go to shit sooner or later, and so, because he let his guard down, let himself go a few hours without being wary, he can't shake the sense that somehow the universe decided to pay him back in kind for his disregard.

But it really had been a good day up until then. He'd gone to Mac's place the night before, and they were up for hours screwing each other's brains out, and afterward they had both fallen asleep. He'd woken up curled against Mac's back, and they'd wasted more time in the shower, then had gone out to breakfast at the little diner down the corner from Mac's apartment. They hadn't talked about anything important, or about anything much at all, really, but Mac had laughed a lot, and they kept looking over at each other and smiling for no reason.

It was a good, ordinary morning, and they'd grabbed lunch on the way back from a scene in the Village -- nothing special, just falafels and Cokes, but...nice. Just like the rest of it. They'd been walking up the hallway talking, and Danny had been feeling pretty goddamn good about everything, and that was when it had all fallen apart.

He'd been talking away, but suddenly Mac wasn't listening any more, and when Danny looked at him, Mac had been staring past him, at his office. He wasn't smiling; his face was set and grim, and he had suddenly taken a step away from Danny, maybe without even realizing it. Danny had followed his gaze.

The woman in Mac's office was tall -- Danny could tell that even though she was sitting down -- and her posture was ramrod straight, and her profile reminded Danny of something he'd usually see in a museum, or on an old coin. Even from a distance, Danny could tell that the clothes she was wearing probably cost more than his entire monthly salary.

"You got an appointment you forgot about?" Danny had asked, but Mac wasn't listening to him, and the look on his face was remote.

"Not now, Danny," he had said, not looking at him, and he walked away up the hallway without a backward glance.

Remembering all of this, Danny sighs, and checks his cell for about the tenth time in a row. No call. Not that he'd been expecting any. The woman in Mac's office had looked like royalty, but she had also looked familiar, and it hadn't taken Danny very long to figure out who she reminded him of.

***