Page 29 of Bad Daddy

He put the food into his fridge, set the paper that he was supposed to fill out with his information on his table to do tomorrow, and pulled the cash out of his pocket to count it up. Astonishingly, it was eighty dollars and some change. That was eighty bucks that he suddenly had. That he could put into savings, or use for a little extra on groceries. Anything he wanted.

And he had the chance to make more now, at a job he was even kind of good at, no real reading or writing required because he just memorized everyone’s orders. He’d had to scribble down approximations for the kitchen as best he could, but there hadn’t been any complaints so maybe it didn’t matter?

It was kind of mind-blowing how easy it had been.

He tucked the cash away and jumped in the shower to try to calm himself down some, getting into his coziest clothes for bed. He’d had a long day and was tired, and he had the luxury of actually going to sleep now, when he wanted to, instead of having to stay up and try to muddle through reading.

He settled into bed with his phone and earbuds to listen to more of his book, when he realized he had gotten a voice message. From Haru. That he must have missed, amid everything else that had happened that evening.

Fuck, the fact that Haru kept sending Danny voice messages instead of texts warmed Danny down to his toes. It was such a simple thing, but so—so nice. Instead of having to struggle through trying to read a message or making do with his phone’s robot recitation, Danny got to have Haru’s voice in his ear.

He licked his lips and set it to play.

“It was really nice to see you again,” Haru’s voice said, as pleasant and smooth as always. “I know you mentioned you have star charts to do for your astronomy class. Would you be interested in hanging out Sunday night? It’s supposed to be cloudless, so perfect for looking at the stars. We could do dinner first, if you wanted. My treat.”

Danny played the message three times to make sure he’d heard it right.

Yeah, he and Haru had talked about astronomy when they were together earlier–Haru had brought up Danny’s class, because Haru was a ‘self-professed astronomy nerd’ and Danny had mentioned that making star charts was part of his homework, but he hadn’t thought Haru had been serious when he’d lit up and suggested they go stargaze together sometime.

Danny stared down at his phone. Apparently Haru had been serious about both the stargazing and wanting to spend more time with Danny.

Danny might not have been able to read words, but he wasn’t half bad at reading intentions. It was a skill he’d picked up trying to survive, and for the most part he wasn’t off with his interpretations.

Haru was giving Danny all the signs that he was interested. In Danny.

For some reason.

Danny could easily explain away their first few meetings as Haru trying to do a good thing. Helping his friend’s little sister’s friend. Sure. That made sense.

But this would be the fifth time he’d invited Danny out, and that was after already helping Danny put all his disability accommodations into place. Danny didn’t technically need Haru anymore, and Haru knew that. Giving Danny a present for no reason, inviting Danny out for dinner with stargazing for dessert… those weren’t things you did because you were doing a favor for your friend’s little sister. You did those things because you were interested in someone and wanted to get to know them better.

Danny couldn't quite tell if he was flattered by someone like Haru wanting to give him the time of day or worried. Haru still didn't set off any alarm bells and he hadn’t made even the slightest insinuation that he wanted something from Danny that Danny didn’t want to give. Danny liked him. Haru was smart and considerate and kind. He had a silly and slightly dramatic sense of humor that never failed to pull Danny out of his shell some. He was so thoughtful, asking Danny about food preferences and then remembering them. Danny was only just getting to know Haru better, but he wanted to keep getting to know him, even though Danny knew he was doomed to disappoint the man when Danny inevitably fucked up.

Not to mention the fact that Danny was already kind of… taken. Kind of. It wasn’t as though Clint considered Danny a boyfriend or vice versa. The very thought was laughable. It had been made quite clear from the start that Danny was a plaything. He was an easy piece of ass who was at Clint’s beck and call, and Clint liked the power trip.

But Danny couldn't afford to lose what Clint was giving him. He needed to pay for school, he needed to pay his rent, and he needed to put food on the table. He couldn't work enough hours at the minimum-wage jobs he was qualified for to pay for all those things. Not with all the time he needed to put into school just to stay afloat.

His train of thought ground to a halt. All the time he had had to put into school… before his accommodations.

Before this evening. He had eighty dollars in cash that he hadn’t had two hours ago. He had a job that he hadn’t had two hours ago. A job that paid eight an hour plus tips, that he could actually conceivably do. Because school would take so much less time.

There was no way he’d be able to be free of Clint this semester though. Maybe not even next semester.

But maybe… maybe there was the possibility of it happening after that.

The thought unfurled a tentative hope inside of him, and had him glancing back down at his phone. What if?

What if he didn’t have Clint to worry about? Could he have seen where things might have gone with Haru?

As it was, there were a million reasons why Haru might decide to stop giving Danny the time of day. He could decide Danny wasn’t worth it, like so many other people already had. He could find out about Clint, and that would be a nightmare all on its own.

Danny should politely say no thank you. Should let Haru become a happy memory. One that was tinged with maybes and what ifs but not colored unhappily with real-world disappointment

He should say no. He had to think of the right now, like always. He had to think of Clint—any time spent with Haru was another chance for Clint to find out about him. He had to think of Haru—the man didn’t deserve to be saddled with Danny’s baggage.

But…

He really didn’t want to.

---