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leelany-world · 11 months

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DBH Rarepairsweek: Free Day (Hank x Rose)

@dbhrarepairs DBH rarepairsweek 6, Day 7, prompt: Free Day

Words: 1,987 Relationships: Hank x Rose Additional Tags: No Archive Warnings Apply, First Dates, Falling In Love, Rose knows what she wants, it's Hank, Connor/Fake Mustache, Sixty/Kitchen Knife, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, surprise case, DBH Rarepairs Week Summary: Hank and Rose are on their first date. What could go wrong?

Free Day

Hank promised to buy Sumo only the best treats for the rest of his life as a thank you. And Sixty would get a lifetime supply of his favorite flavored Thirium drink.

If Sixty hadn't tied the big, stupid, adorable animal too loosely, and if Sumo hadn't run off to chase a squirrel, he wouldn't have met the lovely woman he was going out with tonight. Rose.

Maybe he should even bring the squirrel a bag of nuts every day from now on.

Damn, when was the last time he was this happy and nervous? He never thought he would feel like this again. Like an embarrassing teenager in love. Butterflies in his stomach, he couldn't eat and he was nervous as hell.

He thought that after the death of his son Cole and the failure of his marriage, he would never be able to love again.

It was his first day off in months, always busy with his rehab and keeping Detroit safe from raids until the citizens returned after the evacuation.

And he would use this day for his first date in years.

It would be the first real date with Rose, a whole day together, not just phone calls, chats, or fleeting meetings at the market where there was always someone around.

These were Hank's thoughts as he stood in his bedroom, getting ready for the day and looking at himself in the mirror. He scrutinized himself from top to bottom and had to admit that he liked what he saw. He had gotten fitter and didn't look as run down as he had six months ago. His hair had been cut, his beard trimmed and his clothes pressed.

Lost in thoughts of their plans for the day, Hank didn't even notice when someone called his name.

“...nk... Hank!” said Connor with emphasis and Hank was jolted out of his musings.

"Did you say something?"

“Yes, we have to leave soon, I have to assist Nines and Gavin with their investigation and drop you off at the Botanical Gardens first,” Connor explained as he adjusted the collar of Hank's shirt.

“Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, don't stress an old man like that,” Hank laughed and tugged at the collar again when Connor was done.

“Please don't say you're old. Studies say you're in the prime of life! We've improved your diet, you're exercising, and you've been sober for half a year. You are in good shape and will live many more years if you keep this up.”

“I know, Connor, I know,” Hank said, patting him on the shoulder. “And I really appreciate your help. But don't stress me out on this day! I'm stressing myself out enough.”

“Don't worry, Hank. This will be a great night for you and Rose, I promise.”

Hank raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "How can you promise that?"

Connor's LED circled yellow, betraying his confident attitude, “I just... know? It's a... gut feeling, as you would say.”

“Uh-huh, that doesn't sound very reassuring coming from you.”

Connor narrowed his eyes, obviously annoyed by Hank's lack of confidence in him. But he was there for Hank and Hank was absolutely nervous.

“I know you and Rose really like each other. So what could go wrong?” said Connor as he pushed Hank towards the door.

Yeah, what could go wrong, Hank wondered.

***

As luck would have it, Rose and Hank arrived at the Botanical Gardens at the same time and neither had to wait nervously for the other.

She looked beautiful in her floral summer dress and her gorgeous smile when she caught sight of Hank. Her stunning, voluminous natural curls hung loosely over her shoulders, and Hank was mesmerized.

“You look very handsome, Hank,” Rose greeted him as she gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek.

“I should say so about you,” Hank replied in genuine surprise.

“Your eyes told me,” Rose giggled, and Hank joined in her laughter as he rubbed the back of his neck.

He gave her his arm and led her into the building.

As they entered the first large greenhouse, they were greeted by lush tropical trees and plants. The warm, humid tropical air was filled with a multitude of scents. They strolled along the paths, stopping at interesting flowers or when a bird sat near the edge of the path. The conversation never stopped as they walked through the various themed exhibits.

But the real goal for the day was an exhibit on ancient native crops, beekeeping, and butterfly farming for the conservation of endangered species. Rose wanted to make her farm a learning experience for children with the help of Kara and Luther, whom Hank had also met that day at the Farmers Market.

Hank liked gardening.... before. Then he'd let it slide, everything withered and died, like his will to live.

But now? Now it was as if his old passion was blossoming again, like his feelings for Rose.

Hank loved listening to Rose's passion as she shared her knowledge of plants, and she promised to give him some of the plants and trees she grew for his garden.

They were so engrossed in conversation that they were almost late for their dinner reservation at the restaurant. A new French restaurant by a famous chef whose name Hank didn't think was important to remember. But Nines had promised him that the evening of food and drink would be free. Who was Hank to say no?

The restaurant had an elegant interior, the guests talked quietly and a waiter greeted them at the entrance. After taking their coats, he led them to their table by the window with a beautiful view of the city.

“This is nice,” Rose admitted after they sat down and ordered their drinks.

Hank opened the menu and looked at the prices. "You think? A little too extravagant for my taste," he said, laughing nervously.

“But it's free, so we should definitely enjoy it! And any place is nice when you have the perfect company,” Rose replied, wearing a sweet smile on her face as she read the menu.

That automatically made Hank smile, too. She was right, of course. And the company was beyond perfect.

Hank couldn't stop admiring her. Her smile was enchanting, her heart so big that he lost himself in it. Suddenly he knew he had to tell her. It had been so long since he had felt such a strong connection with anyone.

“Rose, I—”

“Bonsoir, I am Claude, I will be your server tonight,” a man with a heavy French accent but a very familiar voice interrupted him as he placed the drinks on the table. Hank's head turned abruptly to face the waiter.

Of course it was Connor. He was wearing the restaurant's waiter uniform, with a white button-down shirt, a dark green vest, black slacks and a bow tie in the same green color. He stood bolt upright beside him, had one scarf draped over his arm in front of him, the other folded behind his back. And he wore a mustache. Hank didn't know what to think.

“Connor, what the hell are you doing, and why the hell are you wearing a mustache?” whispered Hank in a sharp tone. The last thing he wanted to do was to draw attention to his table.

“I am not Connor, you must have me confused with someone else, monsieur,” Connor replied, still with a French accent.

Hank stared dumbfounded at Connor, who smiled innocently down at him.

Rose giggled at the scene that presented itself. “I think we should give him our order, Hank” she suggested amusedly and Connor nodded in agreement.

“Hello Rose,” Connor whispered.

“Hello Co-, hello Claude,” she played along with amusement.

But Hank was still pissed about the situation, especially the interruption. “Why didn't you guys tell me your case was going to be in this restaurant?" he said.

“We wanted you to have a perfect evening, so we combined the two,” Connor whispered, looking around stressed, afraid of blowing his cover.

“And the others?” He asked in resignation.

“Sixty's in the kitchen,” Connor said, and just then the kitchen door opened and Sixty waved at them with a big grin, wearing a white kitchen staff uniform and holding a large kitchen knife in his other hand.

Hank groaned. “You let him near all those knives?”

“He's the only one of us who's interested in cooking,” Connor said with a shrug.

“Please don't tell me Nines and Gavin are waiters, too. They'd scare away every customer,” Hank buried his face in his hand.

“No, they sit in the back corner and play a cheesy couple on their first date.”

That must be a hilarious image. But Hank knew better than to turn around, not wanting to arouse suspicion.

Connor then urged them to place their orders, as he had already spent too much time at that table.

After they had both ordered the three-course meal of the day, Connor grabbed their menus and hurried to the kitchen.

Hank sighed deeply. “I'm sorry about this.”

“Why? They do their job and take care of you at the same time. Don't act like a grumpy old man, I can tell you love them,” Rose laughed.

Hank nearly choked on the water he was drinking. But she was right again.

“Yes, I do,” he admitted. He had already talked to Rose about their history and how they had wormed their way into his life.

They quickly returned to other great conversations. Sumo was always a nice topic, since Rose also liked dogs. But they also talked about the loved ones they had lost. Neither thought they would ever find someone they could talk to so easily about that part of their past. They shared their pain and it brought them closer together.

It took them a while to realize that their food was taking far too long to be served. Hank turned to look for Connor when a loud crash and shouting from the kitchen drew everyone's attention in that direction.

Then the kitchen door burst open and a man in chef's clothing rushed out - followed by Sixty, knife in hand.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Nines and Gavin jump up from their table, but he also saw the path the culprit would take.

At the right moment, he stood up abruptly and pushed his chair back into the attacker's path. Hank took advantage of the surprise and tackled the guy to the ground, pinning him with his body.

“Damn it, Hank, I was just about to throw that knife,” Sixty whined as he joined him. Hank glared at him and Sixty hid it behind his back.

Nines and Gavin joined them and arrested the culprit. All with much praise for Hank's efforts.

Connor joined them last, his vest and white shirt torn and stained blue with thirium.

Before Hank could scold him again for his carelessness, Connor beat him to it.

“I... didn't expect him to react so aggressively,” he explained, feeling a little ashamed for being wrong.

Hank's anger vanished instantly and he put a reassuring hand on Connor's shoulder. “I'm glad you're okay. Now get this checked out,” he ordered.

Connor nodded and left.

“I really wouldn't eat here tonight, Hank,” Sixty advised as he straightened Hank's chair.

“What, why not?”

“We were here to catch him in the act of poisoning the food," Sixty explained. “Unfortunately, we caught him a little too late.” Sixty winked and followed Connor to check on him.

Hank slumped back in his chair and looked at Rose with a resigned expression. But before he could apologize for ruining the evening, Rose put her hand on Hank's.

“How about we skip this and… go straight to dessert?” She suggested. “At your place?”

Hank's effort must have really impressed her, and they left the restaurant as quickly as they could.

#dbhrarepairsweek #dbhrarepairs #dbh #dbh hank anderson #dbh rose chapman #dbh connor #dbh sixty #prompt: Free Day

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