Daniel tugged at his t-shirt. He’d gotten used to wearing nothing but his uniform or the blue button-downs he wore as a "plainclothes" detective that he was fully aware still marked him as what he was. Tonight, he wore a black t-shirt instead. It had been so long since he wore it, he'd put on a little more muscle and it was a little tighter than he was comfortable with. However, it left him looking nothing like a cop, which was the entire point.

He paused just inside the diner door, looking around the diner and seeing that Ethan wasn't there yet. He sighed, hoping he wasn't wasting his time. He took a seat in a booth facing the door, and settled in to wait.

The diner was trying for the 60's aesthetic, all muted greens and bright whites and slick vinyl booths, but it hadn't seened a facelift in the last 20 years or so, and it showed in the slightly grungy linoleum floor and the yellowed ceiling tiles. The food still smelled good, though Daniel had no real intentions of eating here.

A waitress came by after a few minutes, her bright red lipstick curving up as her eyes looked him up and down blatantly. Her shirt was unbuttoned perhaps a tad lower than he might consider appropriate, and her nametag read 'Kara'.

"What can I get you, honey?" Daniel gave a strained smile.

"Just a black coffee, thanks." She raised an eyebrow, but turned and headed back to the counter, swaying her hips perhaps a bit more than necessary.

He didn't have to wait too long; before long, the bell over the door tinkled merrily, causing him to look up to see Ethan entering the diner. He glanced around, and Daniel raised his hand to catch his attention when he looked in his direction.

Ethan headed for his table, and Daniel couldn't help but admire the grace with which he moved. He might not be an athlete anymore, but he still carried himself like one, moving smoothly around the tables to reach Daniel's booth. He slid into the seat across from Daniel, looking nervous.

"Hey," he said, his eyes darting around. "Just you here?"

Daniel nodded slowly. "Just me. What's going on?"

"Did you tell anyone you were coming here?" Ethan's eyes were darting around the cafe, as if looking for anyone he might recognize. It was a little disconcerting; it might have been a while since he and Ethan had been close, but he wasn't one to be overly nervous for no reason.

"Ethan," he said, almost surprising himself at how gentle his tone was. "I didn't tell anyone. I'm here alone. What has you so spooked?" Ethan finally met his eyes, pausing as if to measure his words, and seemed to relax a bit.

"Sorry," he muttered, slouching in his seat. "I had a hell of a night." Ethan rubbed his hands over his face in a move Daniel remembered from the more stressful nights of their college relationship.

Kara came by, setting his coffee down. "Anything for you?" she asked, turning to Ethan.

"Ah… just a Coke for now, thanks," he said, offering her a small smile. She sighed, realizing this wasn't going to result in a great tip or a date for her, and turned to leave. Ethan and Daniel sat in an awkward silence for a moment, both men offering her a tight smile when she dropped off the soda without comment.

"Alright," Daniel said once she had disappeared. "Are you going to tell me why you dragged me out here?" Ethan rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his drink.

"Oh, just thought it'd be nice to reminisce. Lots of memories here, right?" Daniel stared at Ethan impassively, but he wasn't wrong. This diner was a few blocks away from the college they'd attended together. It was where they'd had their first date, and where they'd spent many late nights.

It was also where Ethan had broken up with him.

"A few," he said simply. "You mentioned something happened at work," he prompted. Ethan nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah. I got a visit from an old… friend." His mouth twisted around the word like it tasted bad. "You know who Steve Cullen is?" Daniel frowned. It was so easy, in this setting, to let the years fall away, to imagine he was just sitting here with Ethan on a date, that they would go home together and curl up in bed together. Then he mentioned the name of one of the most well-known criminals in the city, and he came snapping back painfully to the present.

"Yeah," Daniel replied, his voice a big rough. "Yeah, I know who he is. Scum." He half expected Ethan to jump to the man's defense, but instead he nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Scum who knew about my arrest." Daniel frowned, confused.

"That's… I can see how that would be concerning, but you were arrested in broad daylight. It's not too shocking that someone saw and word reached him." Ethan shook his head.

"No, Danny, he knew all about my arrest," he said. "He didn't just know when and how I got arrested -- he knew why. He knew what crimes it was in regard to, he knew why I was suspected."

Ethan watched the information sink in, Daniel's frown of confusion slowly morphing into one of realization.

"They have an informant in the precinct," he said quietly. Ethan nodded grimly.

"So it would seem. So you can understand why I was concerned you'd told someone you were coming here. It was implied that I would meet an unpleasant end if I continued speaking to the cops for any reason," he said, his eyes sliding away from Daniel's searching gaze. There was a long pause while Daniel stared silently at Ethan.

"Then why did you call me?" Ethan avoided his eyes, rubbing his thumb around in the trail of condensation his glass left on the table.

"Because he said something that led me to believe they might be involved in those break-ins that are happening, and I saw that someone died." He glanced up, meeting Daniel's eyes briefly. "Think what you want about me, but I don't want innocent people dead." Daniel sucked in a deep breath, holding Ethan's gaze. Ethan wasn't sure what the other man saw in his face, but something hard in his gaze almost seemed to soften before he spoke again.

"Alright," he said. "Why don't you tell me exactly what happened?"

Over the next half hour, Ethan recounted the conversation in detail, pausing several times to answer clarifying questions for Daniel. He glossed over the part where Steve hit on him, something in him not wanting Daniel to know about that.

The detective listened closely, his eyes intent on Ethan's as he spoke. When Ethan was done, Daniel sat back in the booth, his eyes distant as he chewed on his lower lip. For a moment, Ethan was distracted by the movement; Danny's lips were just as full as he remembered, and the t-shirt he was wearing tonight was sinfully tight. His eyes wandered down across his pecs and muscled upper arms while Daniel was lost in thought.

"So, you think there's a new leader of the crime ring, and they're the ones behind these break-ins," Daniel said. Ethan nodded.

"And I think you have dirty cops -- at least one -- that are helping them from the inside," he added.

"This seems like a lot of organization and effort for some stolen electronics," Daniel said. "What's their real play here?" Ethan shook his head.

"I don't know. But I don't like it. Steve was… I mean, he's the gloating type, always has been, but this was different. He was really proud of whatever they're pulling off." Daniel stared at Ethan, his eyes narrowing.

"Since when do you care about crime?" he asked abruptly. "This is none of your concern. If this was about the innocents dying, you could have called in an anonymous tip. Why reach out to me?" Ethan huffed out a breath, staring down at his drink for a long moment before answering.

"I'm trying to go honest," he said slowly. "I've been working a real job -- a shit job, but a real job -- for a year now. I haven't done anything even remotely illegal in almost as long. I want to get my life together," he said seriously. "You're a cop, and that means I can't really trust you, but… but I could, once, a long time ago. I'm hoping that still means something."

There was a long moment of silence as Daniel took in Ethan's words. His gaze was intense, but there was nothing else Ethan could do or say at this point. Either Danny would believe him or not. Ethan knew he'd messed up in the past, but he hoped their shared history would be enough for Danny to trust him.

"Alright," Daniel replied. "I believe you." Ethan felt his shoulders droop a bit with relief. He hadn't realized how tense he was until he felt some of that tension run out of him.

"I wasn't sure if you would," he admitted. "But I swear to you, I'm not lying." Daniel nodded, meeting Ethan's gaze. Despite their years apart, there was still something there, buried deep, crackling and arcing between them, something Ethan didn't want to think about. He pulled his eyes away with an effort, looking down at his soda.

"If you're really willing to help, your knowledge of how the criminal gang works could be useful," Daniel said. "But I'm not sure how to go about figuring out who the informant is without them potentially catching wind that we're looking for them." Ethan's face was grim when he replied.

"I have an idea," he admitted. "I don't like it, and I don't think you will either, but I'm not sure what else to do."

"Let's hear it," Daniel prompted. Ethan took a deep breath. This was the part of the conversation he'd really been dreading. He glanced around surreptitiously, making sure no one was close enough to be overhearing them, before speaking.

"I think… I have to go back in," he said slowly. His eyes fell closed as he spoke. "They want me back. I'm good with tech, so I'm pretty valuable to them. Getting in wouldn't be a problem." Getting back out, however… he shuddered at the thought, and clenched his jaw in stubbornness. The thought of going back in scared the shit out of him, especially considering the circumstances, but he just wanted to move on with his life, and if the only way to truly escape them was to take them down, so be it.