It was never a good sign when Rusty came in carrying a whole box of Ringdings. Just a package or two, or four, that wasn't a big deal, but when Rusty came in, threw himself down on the couch, and ripped the whole cardboard flap off the flimsy white box, Danny knew it was probably best to head for cover.

"Where are you going?" Rusty demanded as he yanked the first pair of Ringdings out of the box.

"Nowhere." Danny blinked and turned his escape attempt into a reach to scratch his knee. "How's he working out?"

"He's like Saul's fucking lapdog," Rusty spat, yanking the plastic of the Ringding package so hard that one of them shot into the air. Danny caught it smoothly and dropped it back into Rusty's hands; trying to steal one of the confections at this point might actually get him killed. "Do you know he told me I need more vitamin C?"

"Ah," Danny replied neutrally as Rusty ate half the Ringding in one bite.

"Ah muhn," Rusty swallowed hard, tongue darting out to catch the chocolate crumbling across his lips, "these are totally fortified!" He flipped the box over and jabbed a finger at the nutritional information panel. "See! 5% Vitamin C, right there!"

Danny wisely remained silent, and Rusty collapsed onto his back with a sigh, head propped up against Danny's thigh. He bit off half of the remaining Ringding and chewed more slowly.

"Sure you don't want to…" he started.

"Can't." Danny let one shoulder slip down in a shrug. "Too hot for Phoenix."

"Yeah," Rusty sighed. "The Bangham job still?"

"That too," Danny reached down to catch a smudge of chocolate from Rusty's cheek with his thumb, "but also, it's July. Do you know what the daytime high is in Phoenix right now?"

"Bastard." Rusty popped the rest of the Ringding in his mouth, and was thoughtful for a few moments until he swallowed. Danny sucked chocolate off his thumb, then reached for Rusty's wrist and brought his hand up to suck the melted chocolate of his fingers as well, making Rusty's eyes flutter.

Rusty's eyes were still heavy-lidded when he peeled the plastic wrapper off the second Ringding package and bit off just enough of one side that the well of cream inside became visible.

This, of course, was the other problem with the Rusty Ryan Ringding binges, and Danny tried to look away, but it was like a train wreck. Rusty ran his tongue over the opening in the Ringding's shell, collecting some of the cream, then dipped his tongue in deeper and began methodically mining the inside of the Ringding for its sweet interior.

"That should be illegal," Danny grumbled, shifting a little as his pants shrank a size.

"I think it is," Rusty answered, taking a neat bite out of the crumbling mass of chocolate that was left in his hand. "In some of the third world countries I've been to."

"What did I tell you about inciting revolution?" Danny reached down to start flicking Rusty's shirt buttons open, and Rusty gave a soft 'mmm' of appreciation. Danny paused the slide of his hand as a new thought struck him. "Where did you even get Ringdings in a third world country?"

"The black market, obviously." Rusty was probably would have rolled his eyes, but they were closed in bliss as Rusty popped the last of the melting Ringding in his mouth.

He was just opening the second package when there was a hesitant knock on the door. Danny smirked a little as Rusty hoisted himself up to a sitting position with a grunt of irritation.

"Yeah?" he called, yanking his third Ringding free of the plastic and taking a savage bite.

"Hey, it's me," Linus said, sticking his head around the doorway instead of coming the whole way into the room, as if he expected to be sent running at any moment. "Isn't it, uh, you know about time…should we be ready? I mean, are you ready? Because it's almost…time."

Linus finally trailed off as Rusty stared at him, chewing his Ringding slowly. After a moment, Rusty heaved a sigh, quiet enough that probably only Danny heard it, and stood, scooping up his Ringding box.

"I'm ready," he said, tucking the box under one arm and squaring his shoulders. "Let's go."

Linus scuttled back out the door, and Rusty shot a long-suffering look over his shoulder at Danny.

"Oh, you love it." Danny grinned, heaving himself up off the couch as well. He reached up to straighten Rusty's collar and dusted some chocolate crumbs off his shirt, not that they hadn't actually been helping the pattern out, but still. "There, now you're ready."

"Hm." Rusty gave him a look and a slow blink that promised that Phoenix would be no comparison for how hot it was going to be for Danny when Rusty got back, then he held up the Ringding that was still in the second package. He folded the plastic securely back over it and tucked it into Danny's shirt pocket.

"Get out of here, Ryan." Danny gave Rusty a little push towards the door, then flopped back down on the couch as the door clicked shut behind Rusty. After a moment, he tugged the Ringding out of his pocket.

He considered it a moment, letting himself grin just a little, before he stripped the plastic off and bit off one of the sides. He glanced at the door quickly as he swallowed the first bite, then slid his tongue into the center of the Ringding.

The cream really was the best part, after all.