Title: Advent Calendar (December 1): Coffee Break
Author: stellaluna_
Rating: PG
Pairing: Mac/Danny
Summary: The good memories are there, just a little hard to find sometimes.
Disclaimer: None of these are mine. Characters are the property of Anthony Zuiker, Jerry Bruckheimer Television, CBS, and Alliance Atlantis.
Notes: This is my attempt at a fic version of an Advent calendar. There will be 25 of these.

***

Danny swears to Mac that stopping for coffee will only add five minutes to their drive, and he can't help cringing when they get inside and the line is nearly to the door. He gets ready to apologize, sure that Mac is going to tell him to forget it, that they can make do with the break room swill. But all Mac does is survey the line with a raised eyebrow before joining the end of it.

"We could go somewhere less crowded," Danny says, figuring that he should offer even though Mac hasn't complained.

"Where's that?" Mac says. "This time of year there's no place that's not jammed. Unless you feel like going out to Brooklyn, that is."

"Well, I wouldn't mind," Danny says in his blandest voice. Mac looks at him without saying anything, but Danny thinks he's more amused than annoyed. He's the one who brought it up, after all, and the laugh lines around his eyes are crinkled the way they get when he's trying not to let the laughter show on his face. Danny has gotten good at noticing these things.

"I know," he says to Mac. "Not at work."

"Good call," Mac says. The line shuffles forward a few feet, and Danny starts checking out what's for sale. Coffee beans, travel mugs, all the usual shit -- then something catches his eye.

"Hey." He nudges Mac with his shoulder. "Check out the Advent calendar. You remember those?"

"Yeah, I do," Mac says. "I got one every year when I was a kid."

"Me too," Danny says. "Me and Louie used to beat the hell out of each other over who would get to open the window and get the chocolate each day. We were supposed to take turns, but you know how it goes. Then Ma would get mad and threaten to take it away from us if we couldn't share."

"I have to say that's one benefit to being an only child," Mac says. "No one to fight with. Of course, when I was a kid, they didn't have chocolate in them, either. Just a little picture or part of the Nativity story."

Danny smiles. "Yeah, I remember that from when I was real little. We fought over it then, too, but at least by the time the chocolate ones came along, I was big enough to hit hard."

"Nice to see you had the Christmas spirit."

"We did," Danny says. "Honest to God. I loved counting down to Christmas. Didn't you?"

"Oh, I did." Mac picks up one of the calendars and studies it for a moment, then sets it back down. "That and the weekly Advent services in school were how I counted the days."

"Oh, right," Danny says. "You went to nun school. I never even knew there were special services for Advent. We didn't do 'em in CCD class."

"I can't remember much about them," Mac says. "Just that we had them in the hallway outside our classroom, along with everyone else on the floor. They'd light candles and say a prayer, and I think..." He stares off into space for a moment. "The candles were purple and pink. And we'd sing a Christmas carol. I always looked forward to when it would be my turn to light the candles."

Looks like they both have good memories of Advent, Danny thinks. For him, it's a memory of Louie that contains no hidden sting, other than the ever-present one of his knowledge of how things had worked out for them. He doesn't like to get sentimental, but sometimes he feels sorry for his younger self, for how much he doesn't know and how much shit he's going to go through in just a few years. Not that things were perfect back then, either.

Danny shakes himself out of it. It has to be the same for Mac; so many of the bits and pieces of his past, at least the ones he's shared with Danny, seem tangled up with the reasons he left Chicago and the reasons he doesn't like to talk about his family. It's good when they can find the memories that don't hurt. Good for both of them.

"Hey," Danny says. "We could get an Advent calendar today. It'd be fun."

"I don't think so," Mac says.

"Why not? We're adults now. We got the money for it. And I promise, swear to God, I will not punch you in the face and steal the dark chocolates when it's your turn."

Mac actually smiles at that, but he still shakes his head. "I don't even like chocolate that much."

"Now that's not right." The line starts to move again, and Danny snags one of the calendars before they're out of reach. "Fine. I'm getting one all for myself. Maybe I'll share with Flack. Or Hawkes."

"You do that." Mac is quiet then, and Danny is just starting to glance around when he speaks up again. "Danny."

"Yeah."

Mac takes a step closer to him, leaning in toward his ear the way he does when they're at a scene and need to have a private conversation. "Advent calendars are nice, but I'm tired of the past. Maybe we could start some new traditions instead."

"Maybe we could." Danny has to struggle, all of a sudden, to keep his voice level. "Got anything in mind?"

"No," Mac says. "I think that's something we have to do together."

Casual, Danny thinks. Don't show any surprise. "Then that's what we'll do."

"Good." Mac bumps Danny's shoulder as they move to the front of the line. "You know what you want?"

"Yeah," Danny says. "Yeah, I do." He steps up to the counter and hands his Advent calendar to the barista. He doesn't dare look at Mac right now, but as he places the rest of his order, he doesn't even bother trying to hide his smile.

***