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Danny pocketed his change and turned away from the vendor, already rifling through the paper bag and snagging his first malasada. God, that was good. First batch of the morning. He felt no guilt as he shoved it into his mouth and chewed blissfully; Steve could shake his head and tut all he liked when Danny got back to the office but this first one was all his. It’d been a pretty quiet morning so far. Chin and Kono would now be at the tail end of last night’s quiet and uneventful surveillance on a Person of Interest in the Hitac case and Steve had managed to refrain from jumping off any buildings or conducting any raids or getting into a single car chase.
Of course, it was only 10am, the day was still young.
Danny had decided to step out and grab a cup of the good stuff before it all inevitably went to hell. He waved to Kamekona when he saw the big guy opening up his shave ice shop and tucked the bag of malasadas under his arm as he approached a cheesy looking Tiki hut vendor who just happened to sell the best coffee on the island. And, okay, yes, he stocked that organic green shit that Steve loved to drink. Danny sighed - he had it bad, he could admit it to himself, if to no one else. He was stopping to buy his coffee here because they sold Steve’s green tea. He shook his head and strolled up to the hut, already grinning when he saw the old guy behind the counter look up from his coffee machine and wave.
“Hey Akela, how’s it going, man?”
“Detective Williams, howzit? Lemme guess, you want the biggest Americano I can supply you with and a Mauna Kea – green. Original or strawberry and pineapple today?”
“Original, please. There’s a reason I always come to you, Akela,” Danny grinned.
“That would be to satisfy your hopeless crush. I’ve told you, brah, my charms and good looks are spoken for.”
“Whatever, you delusional, crazy old man; gimme my caffeine. How is your lovely lady? She sick of you yet?”
“Never. Never – we’ve been married thirty years and she’ll be the light of my life ‘til the day I die.”
“Aw, you old sap, you. What, is she hiding down behind the counter or something?” Danny asked, stretching his neck to try and see over the bar.
“Nah. She’s just my Hina’ea.”
“That must be a saint of patience, tolerance and bad taste; am I right?”
Akela laughed, a booming sound that came from his toes and was offensively cheerful for so early in the morning. “A goddess of sunrise and sunset, but I take your point, haole. So, what about you?”
“Me?” Danny asked.
“You buy tea for someone, brah, and I’ve seen the way you can’t even get to the end of the street before downing half of that Americano – so who is it you have hiding away? You find an island princess of your own?”
Danny nearly dropped his bag of malasadas. “Uh, yeah. Maybe. Definitely a princess but I guess only time will tell if the ‘of my own’ stuff will work out.” Shut up, shut up now, Danny’s head helpfully supplied.
“Pretty?” Akela asked.
Oh fucking hell. “Beautiful,” Danny answered, damning himself to hell for his stupidity.
“You hang in there; you’re a catch, my man!”
“Okay, now who’s coveting whose good looks and charm? Hand over my drinks, you’re making me uncomfortable.”
Akela laughed at him and handed over the two cups. He took the bills Danny handed him and gave him his change, far more than he was expecting. Danny frowned, “Hey man, you’ve given me too much.”
“Nah, there’s a special offer on today – free drinks for my most beautiful customers; so I only charged you for the coffee.” Akela’s laugh threatened to knock Danny off his feet.
“You’re hilarious, old man.” Danny grumbled, dumping the change in his pocket and picking up the drinks.
“See you when I see you, Detective,” Akela said, grinning like a madman.
Danny shook his head and laughed. “Thanks, buddy, I appreciate it. See you soon.” He wandered off down the block, back towards the Five-oh offices, determined not to touch a drop of coffee until he was out of sight.
~*~
Danny shoved the top of the paper bag in his mouth, juggled the two cups, and managed to push through the glass doors without losing a drop.
“Tsses ughfp,” he announced, headed for Steve’s desk.
Steve stood up and reached for the bag, taking it out of Danny’s mouth. “One more time?” he asked with a hint of a grin.
“I said ‘tea’s up.’ Here.” He handed Steve the tea and put his coffee down on the desk.
“Thanks, man.”
“It’s original, hope that’s okay. You didn’t look like you were in a strawberry and pineapple green tea kind of mood when I went out.”
“This is perfect. Though I’m a little disturbed that you’re reading my moods and assigning them flavours.”
Danny took the malasadas from Steve and pulled another one out of the bag, wrapped it in a napkin and handed it to Steve. “Yours, because I spoil you. You just seemed ‘all business’ this morning. Didn’t seem strawberry and pineapple-appropriate. Last one’s mine,” he added, digging in the bag for the lonely malasada.
“Looks like the first one was too,” Steve said, his beady eye fixed on Danny’s tie.
“What?” Danny asked, glancing down at his own chest.
“Sugar on your tie. Too many of those things will kill you, Danno.”
Danny raised his eyebrows. “Before your daily shenanigans do? I don’t think so. Besides, I was carrying the bag in my teeth; must have been some transference, that’s all.”
“Transference?” Steve laughed and sat on the edge of his desk and nibbled at the pastry in his hand.
Danny allowed himself just a moment to watch the way the sugar dusted Steve’s lip and the way his tongue flicked out to lick it clean. Danny knew he should step back, knew they were always standing too close and looking for too long but Danny couldn’t bring himself to break the pattern. Seemed Steve couldn’t either. Danny leaned around him to grab his coffee and Steve didn’t move back an inch; he just let Danny lean right into his space, so close they were a breath away from touching. Danny straightened up, coffee clutched securely in his hand.
“So, what’s up with you this morning?” he asked quietly.
Steve shrugged but at least had the decency not to pretend it was nothing.
“I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right, you know? Maybe I’m just tired.”
Danny narrowed his eyes, tilted his head, may have even squinted a bit but whatever he did Steve still looked mulishly sure that he was making sense.
“Not right? In what way?” Danny asked carefully.
“I don’t know...just not right. Forget it, it’s probably nothing. I just slept badly or whatever.”
Danny sighed. “Okay, well, are you sick or something?”
“I’m not sick,” Steve protested.
Danny grinned to break the mood. “Let me take your temperature, grumpy. You’ll probably find this altered world view is due to a cold. SEALs get them too, you know?” Danny stuffed the last of his malasada into his mouth in one go, put down his coffee and reached up to slap his hand against Steve’s forehead.
“You’re disgusting, you know that?” Steve sighed and tried to bat away Danny’s hand.
“Ah ah, cut it out. Let me feel your head.” Danny managed to get one hand on Steve’s shoulder and the other firmly across his forehead. “Nope, no fever. You’re good.”
“Never mind me,” Steve said from under Danny’s hand. “What’s gotten into you this morning?”
Danny laughed. “Nothing – well, a double whammy caffeine-sugar hit, but apart from that, not a lot.”
Steve gave him a rueful half grin and shook his head, taking Danny’s hand with him when he moved.
“You do look a bit tired though,” Danny said after a second. He turned his hand and slid it through Steve’s hair to the side of his head. Steve’s hand immediately came up and grabbed Danny’s wrist, holding it in place as he tilted his head further into Danny’s touch. His other hand snagged Danny’s shirt, just above the hip, and he twisted his fingers into the material.
Danny swallowed. Holy fuck, they were finally done dancing around this thing – this was it, an ordinary, uneventful morning in the office was going to be the thing that tipped them over the edge.
Well, shit.
Danny looked at Steve. He looked wrecked. His eyes were searching Danny’s face, his jaw was set with determination but there was no hiding the feeling of raw need-want-fear that was buzzing beneath his skin. For a second Danny wasn’t sure he was going to be able to breathe around the heat pounding through his chest and into his throat.
“Danny -” Steve said, his voice as rough as the rest of him.
“Oh, babe.” Danny ran his thumb over Steve’s cheekbone, held his gaze to make sure they were on exactly the same page as he leaned forward and brushed his lips against Steve’s.
The hand that was bunched at Danny’s hip immediately spread open and slid around his back, pulling him in closer and closer as Steve opened his mouth and kissed him back.
Danny broke the kiss and pulled Steve in so that they could rest with their heads pressed together. Steve’s hands moved up and down, skimming his sides and his back and Danny had to force himself to focus on something other than the overwhelming want surging through him.
“Is this madness, like, total insanity?” he forced himself to ask.
“Yes,” Steve said immediately.
“Are we doing it anyway?”
“Yes, yes, yes. Danny.” Steve’s hand was in his hair, tight and possessive and Danny smiled into the next kiss when it came. He got his own hands to Steve’s chest, running the pad of his thumb over the soft cotton where it dipped slightly between his pecs. Steve groaned and Danny couldn’t stop himself from grabbing at Steve’s hips and pulling him right to the edge of the desk. Steve got behind the plan immediately, wrapping his arms around Danny and pulling him closer so there wasn’t an inch of space between them.
“Fuck,” Danny wrenched away and stepped clear of Steve’s hands. He pushed the back of his hand against his mouth and breathed raggedly through his fingers. He flung his other hand out to halt Steve as he stood up and moved towards Danny.
“No, wait - ”
“Danny?”
He made the absolutely fatal mistake of looking at Steve at that moment. “Damn you, McGarrett.” He couldn’t stop himself from walking straight back into Steve’s space and grabbing him, kissing him soundly.
“Uh,” Steve said between kisses. “Mixed signals, Danno.”
“No, no mixed signals – I want this. I want this right now except for the part where I don’t.”
“Thanks for clearing that up,” Steve said, holding back until Danny was forced to kiss him again because he was standing there looking so beautifully dishevelled, and Danny couldn’t not kiss him again.
“Wanna tell me what’s going on in there?” Steve asked, pressing a kiss to Danny’s temple in a move that was clearly designed to give him an unfair tactical advantage, taught at SEAL school, no doubt.
“I want – I want – jeezus, you’re so distracting – I don’t want - ”
“Danny?”
“I don’t want this to be some once-over on your desk, you asshole. This has to be more than that or nothing at all and I need you to know that before I - ”
“I know.” Steve kissed him. “Fuck, I know.”
“Okay,” Danny said shakily. “Good, that’s good.”
“Right,” Steve agreed, kissing him again.
Danny moaned. Moaned like a wanton hussy right there into Steve’s mouth.
“Fuck,” Steve whispered and kissed him again.
“I’m going now,” Danny said, stepping back.
“Mmm, you should,” Steve said, taking one step forward for every one Danny took back.
“You can take me to dinner later.” Danny pulled Steve with him another step.
“Yes.”
Danny suspected that the agreement had little to do with the dinner plans and a lot more to do with the fact that Danny’s back had just hit the closed door and his thigh was now wedged between Steve’s.
“Yes. Danny,” Steve murmured and started kissing down his neck.
“That’s not fair, not fair,” Danny said.
Steve snorted, blowing warm breath across Danny’s neck.
“Okay, move it. I’m going. We’re going to finish this work day in one piece and then you’re going to take me to dinner.” Danny pushed him away and Steve pulled his honest-to-god pout at him.
“Okay, fine. Okay,” he said and kissed Danny once more. Danny finished the kiss, added one of his own and then wrenched the door open and fled.
~*~
Danny spent the next three hours pretending to work but actually getting very little done. He did, however, spend roughly one hundred and eighty very happy minutes thinking of all the ways he was going to strip McGarrett naked and make him incoherent and sticky.
Danny was seriously considering hitting the team showers for a cold rinse when Steve poked his stupid, beautiful head around the office door and smiled at him.
“Can I come in?”
“Since when do you – just get your ass in here and shut the door. Chin and Kono make it back okay?”
“They called in about ten minutes ago, they’re staying an extra couple of hours to cover the activity they’re seeing.”
“We’re gonna catch a break on this? Finally?”
“Maybe, depends what the activity is when we analyse it, I guess.” Steve took another step towards him.
“What’s that look?” Danny asked warily.
“What look? I don’t have a look.” Steve sat on the edge of Danny’s desk and rubbed a hand through his hair. Danny desperately wanted to do that for him.
“Oh, wait – is this the freak out? Have you spent the last three hours fighting with yourself?”
“No, I’m not freaking out, I just needed...” Steve’s eyes shifted to something on the floor that was clearly the most fascinating thing in the world, ever.
Danny threw his pen onto the desk and stood up. He walked around the edge of his desk and towards Steve. “What did you need?”
Steve reached out and snagged his shirt as soon as he was within grabbing distance. “Just – this morning was so long ago,” Steve whined.
Danny laughed and stepped into the space between Steve’s knees. “Are you kidding me? You came in because you missed me in the last three hours we’ve spent apart?”
“Yes,” Steve said unashamedly, already nuzzling along the underside of Danny’s jaw. “I think I’d pretty much convinced myself that this morning was a hallucination. I had to come in and check it wasn’t.”
“It definitely wasn’t,” Danny said softly. He cupped Steve’s cheek and tugged him in for a soft sweet kiss.
Danny’s phone buzzed in his pocket. “Hold that thought.”
“Let me get that for you,” Steve grinned and removed one hand from Danny’s ass to reach into his pocket and retrieve the phone before Danny even had the chance to protest. Steve read the name flashing up on the screen and frowned.
“It’s Rachel,” he said and handed Danny the phone. The instant Danny hit the button to accept the call, Steve’s hands dropped away completely. Danny didn’t miss the way he immediately gripped the edge of the desk with enough force to turn his knuckles white.
“Rachel,” Danny said by way of greeting.
“Daniel, hello. Is this a convenient time?”
“Uh.” Danny squeezed his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, yes, go ahead.”
“Ah, good. I need a favour if possible?”
As Rachel spoke, Danny blinked at Steve who was doing his fascinated-with-the-floor routine again, only looking slightly more guarded this time. Danny wedged the phone between his tilted head and his shoulder and grabbed Steve’s hands and wrapped them back around his waist. He was listening to Rachel tell him that she had a very important business meeting this evening and could he take Grace for a couple of hours if at all possible because she’d had an upsetting day at school and Rachel would rather she didn’t have to stay with a baby-sitter.
“Gracie – for a couple of hours tonight?” Danny looked at Steve.
“Yes. Please. I’m sorry for the short notice,” Rachel said, and for once it didn’t sound like it hurt to be civil and patient with him.
Steve was nodding at him, grinning like a loon. “Bring her to the house, we can swim before sundown and grill stuff afterwards,” he whispered.
“Sure?” Danny asked.
“It’ll be fun.”
Danny smiled and dropped a silent kiss on the end of Steve’s nose. “Yeah, okay, Rachel, that’d be great. What time shall I pick her up?”
He listened intently for the key facts while tilting his neck to allow Steve better access to the spot he was dragging his teeth across.
“Uh huh, yeah. Sure. Five thirty, I’ll be there. Great. See you then. Yeah, bye. Oh my god,” he flung the phone down on the desk and shoved Steve further onto the desk so that he could climb on top of him. “You drive me fucking crazy,” he growled as he managed to get his knees either side of Steve and his hands in his hair.
Steve just kissed him, wet and hard and long and completely shameless.
Danny pulled away and sat back on his heels, still trapping Steve’s legs between his own. He swiped a hand over his face, ran his fingers through his hair and focused on breathing for a second.
“Not here?” Steve guessed.
“We can’t. The guys could come back any second – or some poor hapless member of the public could wonder in here needing our help, and see us doing the nasty on the desk. It doesn’t exactly smack of professionalism.”
Steve’s hands crept onto his thighs and squeezed. “You’re right.”
“I know I’m right,” Danny said, frustrated beyond the telling of it. “So, stop groping me.”
“Hey, you’re sitting on me, here; not the other way around.”
“Nyurghh,” Danny said eloquently and fell forward to nuzzle at Steve’s neck. Steve’s hand came up and cupped the side of his head, while he pressed kisses above Danny’s ear.
“Danny,” Steve sighed and pulled him up to kiss him again.
“Hold that thought for later, babe.” Danny knew that if his grin looked half as goofy as it felt, he was in big trouble.
~*~
They picked Grace up from Rachel’s together; Danny went to the door and Steve hovered by the car. Danny heard Rachel calling ‘Grace, Daddy’s here,’ just before the door opened and Rachel’s face appeared. “Daniel,” she said by way of greeting. “Thank you for doing this.”
“No worries, always happy to have my baby for a while. Hey monkey,” he added as she came clattering down the stairs with bags slung over her shoulders and shoes still in her hands.
“Danno.” She dropped all her things at the bottom of the staircase and walked straight into his arms as he bent down. Rachel frowned and mouthed ‘bad day’ over her head.
“Mommy says you had a bad day, monkey. Wanna tell me what’s going on?” Danny asked, wrapping his arms more tightly around her tiny frame.
“Mmm. Just some boys at school were picking on – Uncle Steve!” She wiggled furiously until Danny put her down and then ran out of the front door.
“Grace! Your shoes!” Rachel called after her, scowling at Danny like it was his fault. “Is Commander McGarrett out there? Why didn’t you bring him up to the house?”
“He was checking the seat belts in the back of the car six million times, said he’d be right behind me. You know when we divorced you lost the right to smack me,” Danny complained, rubbing his arm.
“Don’t be ridiculous Daniel,” Rachel said. She picked up Grace’s shoes and bags and stepped out of the front door. Danny pulled a face at her back and followed her out – just in time to see Grace hurl herself at Steve.
“Gracie!” Steve shouted back, like it was the greatest surprise ever to see her and that she wasn’t the entire reason they were there. He was such a dork. Steve caught Gracie and lifted her up, swinging her around so she was flying in a great arc before he placed her gently back on her feet and dropped to his knees in front of her. “Hey you. Have you had a good day?” he asked. Danny winced, he should have said something when he’d finished on the phone with Rachel earlier but was kind of...distracted at the time. Grace shook her head.
“No?” Steve asked, apparently aghast.
“No. It sucked.”
“Grace,” Rachel said, hiding her amusement behind weak disapproval. “There are politer ways of phrasing it. Hello, Commander McGarrett.”
“Hi Rachel,” Steve nodded. “So it was a bad day?” he turned back to Grace. “Can it be fixed with shave ice?”
“Mmm, maybe,” Grace answered. She reached out and put her hand on Steve’s shoulder, twisting her fingers into his tee shirt in that fearless way that kids had. Danny vaguely wondered how bad a day it had been if she didn’t leap at the chance to grab shave ice.
“Maybe? Oh man,” Steve said. “That is a bad day. Come here, princess. Let’s set about fixing it, okay?”
Grace nodded and let Steve pick her up and settle her on his hip like she was still four years old. She put her arms around his neck and leaned into him. Something hot and beautifully painful burned in Danny’s chest as he watched Steve cradle his baby as if she was the only thing that existed in this world.
“Shoes, monkey,” Danny said, taking them from Rachel and stumbling clumsily towards them. Grace didn’t move but poked her feet out so Danny could slide the sandals on for her.
As he buckled her left foot into the soft white leather, Steve’s hand reached out and squeezed at his shoulder.
“Thanks, babe,” Danny said quietly, grinning briefly at Steve. Steve’s brow wrinkled in a way that Danny refused to acknowledge as adorable, but Danny waved him off and turned to get Grace’s bags from Rachel. He pointedly ignored the look on her face as she watched the three of them together. She handed the bags to Danny and went and brushed Grace’s hair back behind her ear. “Goodbye sweetheart. See you later.”
Steve bent his knees slightly so Rachel could reach Grace to give her a kiss.
“Bye,” Grace said. “Love you.”
“Love you too.” Rachel smiled and stepped back to wave them off.
“I see the way this is,” Danny grumbled at them as they approached the car. “You get Gracie and I get the bags – how is that fair?”
For a second Steve looked guilty.
“Kidding,” Danny told him quickly. “I’m just kidding, you great lummox. Okay, where are the car keys?”
“Pocket. Grace’s side,” Steve said with a grin.
Danny rolled his eyes, put down the alarmingly pink rucksack and stuck his hand in Steve’s pocket to retrieve the keys. “How is this my life?!”
~*~
As it turned out, shave ice was the best idea Steve had had all day. Gracie sat on the bench next to Danny, practically tucked under his arm the whole time, and slowly began to cheer up. She spent a good five minutes waxing lyrical about grape flavoured ice being the best because last time Kono had showed her that it turns your tongue purple and tastes great and it did and Kono was awesome and she was always right. That didn’t stop her leaning over and stealing some of Danny’s lemon ice every so often though. When Steve wordlessly pushed his own towards her, she grinned hugely and dug into the strawberry too. So did Danny.
“I’m all cold on the inside now,” Grace announced as she finished her ice, shivering and wriggling in her seat.
“Cold? On this balmy tropical evening?” Danny grinned, reaching over to grab a serviette and pass it to her. “Your lips are successfully purple, monkey.”
“Are they?” she laughed.
“Argh, and your tongue too! You’re like a purple monster child, look at you.”
She pulled a face and curled her fingers into claws – then got completely distracted. “Danno, stick out your tongue,” she demanded.
“Yellow monster man,” Grace laughed delightedly when he did as she’d asked and stuck out his yellow tongue. “Steve? Is yours all pink?” Steve stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes to look down his nose.
“Pink monster!” Grace cried. “Steve’s a giant pink monster. Pink, pinky, pinky!”
“Okay,” Danny laughed. “No more E numbers for you this evening. We should probably feed you some real, wholesome food before you go completely loopy.”
“Pinky, pinky. Show me again?” Grace laughed wildly as Steve stuck out his, admittedly very pink, tongue.
“Pinky,” she announced, pointing at Steve. “And The Brain.” She pointed at Danno.
“Good call,” Danny said and held up his hand for a high-five.
“You’re kidding me right?” Steve said in mock outrage. He got to his feet and stalked round to their side of the bench.
“Argh, Danno! Giant pink monster!” Grace shrieked and scrambled gracelessly into his lap, not even trying to hold on as Steve plucked her from Danny’s grip and bundled her over his shoulder. “Help, Brain, help. He’s probably going to eat me!”
“Well, normally I would devour you whole,” Steve agreed. “But I just had this great strawberry ice, so...”
Grace was still giggling and had her elbows braced against Steve’s back, wriggling happily.
“Danno? I can see a playground on the beach.”
Steve turned his back to Danny so he and Grace could be face to face.
“You see a what, monkey?”
“A playground – look, just there.” She pointed at the climbing frame and swing set a little way down the beach, smiling hopefully at him.
“Oh, yeah. I see it too. Looks fun.”
“It does,” she agreed.
“I tell you what, why don’t you ask your giant pink monster there to take you over to play for a minute while I go and settle up with Kamekona for all the ice you’ve just eaten?”
Grace nodded happily and wiggled until she was sitting up straight in Steve’s arms. He let her slide back down to her feet and put his hand on her head.
“Steve? Please can we go and play on the climbing frame while Danno settles up with Kamekona for all the ice I’ve just eaten?” she asked.
Danny took one look at Steve’s face and knew he was doomed.
“Of course we can, sweetheart. I love playgrounds. Come on.”
Danny spared a moment to roll his eyes when Steve started to steer Gracie with the hand he still had on her head but Grace sorted him out soon enough by reaching up and pulling his hand off her head to hold it in hers.
~*~
By the time Danny made it over to the little beach play park, Steve was dangling upside down with his knees tucked over the monkey bars. He had Gracie held tightly against his chest, her pigtails nearly trailing in the sand, and pink in the face from the blood rushing to her head, giggling madly as Steve swung them to and fro. Danny shook his head and wondered how in the world Steve managed to be this man. How could the guy that saw no issue with keeping a grenade in his partner’s car, or had no problem with jamming a guys own thumb into a bullet wound to get a print - be the same guy that was swinging both himself and Danny’s daughter upside down on a set of monkey bars with a smile on his face like this was the greatest thing he’d ever achieved? Danny watched them both for a long moment and felt his chest swell with the sort of pure and simple happiness he hadn’t felt in years.
Steve was laughing and shouting, “I’m stuck – Gracie, we’re gonna have to stay like this forever. I’m stuck!” Grace just laughed harder and went pinker as she wriggled with mirth. Steve spotted Danny and called out to him.
“Danno! Danno, we’re stuck, we’ve got to stay right here forever!”
“Oh man,” Danny called back, stepping towards them. “Forever? That’s too bad. Well, at least you’re stuck where the view is good and right next to the best coffee on the island.” He gestured over to Akela’s coffee hut where the man himself was wiping down the stools and high tables. Only he wasn’t wiping anything, he was standing watching Danny and Steve and Grace. Akela lifted his hand and waved and Danny waved back. Before Danny had time to panic over this morning’s discussion of Island princesses and ‘finding the one’, Grace was shrieking again and his attention was diverted.
“I was over with Kamekona for, like, five minutes – how did you get into this much trouble? Eh? Monkey, what have I told you about leading Steve astray, huh? You know he’s hopeless when it comes to resisting mischief.”
Grace laughed and Steve’s eyes were on Danny as he whispered loudly in her ear. “It’s true – I can never resist a bit of mischief. Head down and hold on, we’re going up.” He tucked Grace’s head against his shoulder and with a rather impressive display of upper body strength that didn’t leave Danny’s mouth dry at all, thank you very much; he swung up and grabbed the bars.
“You squash my daughter, I won’t be happy,” Danny told him with a pointed finger and an easy grin.
“I’m not squashed, Danno,” Gracie said softly, using Steve like her personal hammock.
Danny went and stood by them, letting Steve prop his head against Danny’s chest to ease the strain in his neck. Oh, Danny knew Steve could hang like that for hours if he needed to but right now he didn’t need to. Danny took full advantage, sliding his arm around Steve so he could ruffle Grace’s hair slightly. Then he pressed a quiet kiss against Steve’s temple.
“Okay?”
“Better than,” Steve answered, tilting his head for Danny to kiss him again before looking down at Grace fidgeting softly on her perch. “She’s so beautiful, you know?” Steve said.
“That, I do know.” Danny smiled.
“No, I mean, I always thought she was but then she was yours so I was bound to think she was a great kid, but she’s just so...perfect.”
“Oh Steven. Steven, Steven, Steven; you’ve got it bad,” Danny pointed out.
“I really do,” Steve said, sounding equal parts thrilled and terrified. Danny stood there under the evening’s fading light, the solid weight of Steve pressed against him, the sun and laughter-warmed silk of Gracie’s hair under his hand and the steady beating of a very happy heart in his chest, and admitted that, yeah, perhaps he had it bad too.
“Danno.” Grace lifted her head and looked at him. “I’m thirsty.”
“Thirsty, huh? After all that ice?”
Grace nodded. “Un huh.”
“Well, okay. Let’s see about getting you some juice or something. I could use a coffee myself – and?” He looked expectantly at Steve.
“Tea. I want strawberry and pineapple tea,” Steve answered. “But right now, Gracie has me trapped on the monkey bars.”
Grace laughed and held out her arms for Danny to slide her out. He pulled her against him, twirled her around for good measure and set her carefully down. Turning just in time to watch the satisfying stretch as Steve dropped his feet to the floor and uncurled. Steve caught his eye and grinned. “Later, Danno.”
“Hell yes, later.”
“Danno. Steve. Come on,” Grace shouted, already half way to Akela’s coffee hut.
Danny paused to swipe a hand across his face. If he went over there with Steve and Grace Akela was going to give him hell. Matters were taken out of his hands when a large, and heavy, Steve shaped limpet attached itself to his back and forced him to walk forward.
“You heard the lady,” Steve said, his voice low and too fucking close to Danny’s ear. Danny shuddered and grabbed ineffectually at the arms clamped around his waist.
“You’re killing me here,” he muttered back and Steve’s arms tightened.
“I can’t let go of you, Danny. What if I let go of you now and then I tripped and fell in the water and got eaten by a shark? You’d feel really bad if that happened. You know how you get when I take those ‘unnecessary risks’ you’re always shouting at me for – you should be relieved that I’m being cautious.”
“Okay, one; you are a crazy, crazy man because we are not anywhere near enough to the water for you to trip, fall in and get eaten by sharks. Two; this is the moment you chose to be cautious – not when we’re surrounded by armed drug runners or trapped in a burning building but here, on the beach. And three; you smell really good so would you get a little distance between us here before I do something that will get us both arrested and possibly scar my daughter for the rest of her life.”
Steve pulled them to a stop. “After we drop Grace home I’m going to need you to make good on that.”
“I will,” Danny promised, giving in and leaning in to the solid warmth of Steve draped across his back. “I definitely will, babe.”
Steve pressed a smile into the crook of Danny’s neck and pulled away, racing towards Grace and leaving a hot and slightly goofy Danny in his wake.
“Oh man – hey Gigantor, wait up! There’s something you should probably be aware of before we purchase coffee from the guy over there. This? This is fantastic,” Danny muttered as he jogged after Steve, who was clearly too busy racing Grace to the coffee hut to stop and listen to Danny now.
“Howzit, little lady? What can I get for you this fine evening?” Danny heard Akela ask Grace, as she hauled herself up onto one of the tall stools surrounding the hut counter.
“Umm, pineapple juice, please,” Grace answered a little shyly.
“No problem at all. So, Detective Williams, over there, he belong to you?” Akela asked as Danny approached at a less than eager pace.
“You know my dad?”
“He comes here every morning for his coffee. He helped me out with some bad men that were causing me some trouble – he’s a fine man, your father.”
“I like him,” Grace agreed matter of factly, making both Akela and Steve laugh.
“Steve McGarrett,” Steve introduced himself, reaching over Grace’s shoulder to shake Akela’s hand. “I’m Danny’s partner.”
Danny swiped his hand over his face.
“You a detective too, Mr McGarrett?”
“Steve, please. And no, not a detective. I run 5-0, the Governor’s Task Force – Danny’s still technically an HPD detective, even though he’s on our team.”
“I see,” Akela nodded wisely and grinned at Danny as he went to stand beside them.
“Hey man,” Danno greeted Akela. “Did these two order without me?”
“Nah, brah. I got one pineapple juice but no further, we were just getting to know each other. I’m guessing you want your Americano – and you,” he grinned at Steve. “You look like a green tea man to me. How about a Muana Kea? I’ve got Strawberry and Pineapple?”
“Uh, yes. Perfect, thank you,” Steve said, clearly charmed by Akela’s tricks.
Danny snorted. “Don’t let him fool you, I come here for coffee every morning and he has an unhealthy obsession with my morning routine. This is where I pick up your tea – this old charlatan has been taking your order every morning for god knows how long.”
“You’re such a sweet talker,” Akela said, smiling at Gracie as he placed her juice in front of her and poked a bright pink umbrella in the top of it. When the green tea and the coffee appeared as well, Steve pulled out his wallet. Akela, the bastard, only charged him for the tea and the coffee. Danny saw the returned change and groaned.
“Wait,” Steve smiled. “You haven’t - ”
“Ah, as I told your partner this morning, there’s a special offer on today – free drinks for my prettiest customers and since you have this little angel with you...” He gestured at Grace, already happily sucking pineapple innards up through her straw.
“Mahalo, brah. That’s very kind,” Steve smiled. “Wait a second – you told him so this morning, huh?” Steve turned to Danny, a look of pure mischievous glee on his face. “Did you wangle a free coffee this morning, Danno?”
“No, no I did not,” Danny protested.
“No, I charged him for the coffee,” Akela laughed. “But I didn’t charge him for the tea after the conversation we had. You should ask him about it,” Akela said, oh so helpfully.
“Thank you – thank you so much, you meddling, interfering, old man. No wonder your wife never wants you at home; you just get into everything, don’t you?”
“This man,” Akela said to Steve, completely ignoring Danny’s jibe. “He needs to worry less about my happiness and pay more attention to his own. You catch my drift? As his partner?”
“I get you.” Steve was looking seriously at Danny. Gracie was between them, swinging on her stool and sipping contentedly at her drink.
“Oh, don’t do that,” Danny said. “Don’t listen to his meddling. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, he’s old and addled and has this hopeless crush on me that I’ve done everything I can to discourage but I think it’s started to affect his mind, you know? Seriously, babe; put away the face. There’s no issue here. Oh my god,” Danny said, recognising a futile argument when he saw one. “You’re not going to stow the face and move on, are you?”
“How about I think about it once you’ve told me about your conversation this morning?” Steve suggested. Danny sighed.
“Hey little lady, I have some fruit and some very cool juices in this fridge, how about you and I create a special drink for your Dad and his partner,” Akela offered.
“Can I, Danno, please?”
“Sure, monkey. That’d be fun, right?”
“Alright, come on then.”
Grace jumped off her stool and behind the counter in no time, helping Akela to pile brightly coloured fruits and juices onto the worktop.
“The conversation was nothing,” Danny said, pulling Steve towards the tables a few feet away. “I asked about his wife, I got to know them both when I helped them out a little when I was still with HPD; they’re good people. He asked about the person I bought tea for most mornings.” Danny paused.
“And?” Steve asked impatiently.
“And – I don’t know, there was this whole stupid sideline to the conversation about beautiful princesses or Island goddesses or something and he tricked me into calling you beautiful, because he’s wily like that. I may also have forgotten to dissuade him of his own notion that you were actually a princess. This is going badly. This is going so spectacularly badly that I wouldn’t blame you for walking away right now.” Danny stopped and took a breath.
“You told him I was a princess?” Steve asked, sounding more bemused than anything.
“Okay, be quiet a sec, could you please? He asked me if I had anyone special in my life, he asked me who I bought the tea for. I told him that maybe I had someone special, that I hoped I did. He asked if you were pretty, I told him you were fucking beautiful. Then he charged me for my coffee and gave me your tea for nothing.”
Steve looked at him for a long moment. Danny couldn’t look away, couldn’t take his eyes from Steve’s face. There was such fondness, such goofy happiness written clear across it that Danny didn’t ever want to look away as long as he lived.
“You do have me, Danno,” Steve said. “I would,” Steve coughed but bravely carried on. “I would give my life to be your ‘someone special,’ I swear to god.”
“There’ll be no giving of lives of any kind, babe. You and me, we’ll make this work. Sure, we’ll get shit wrong, we’ll make mistakes, but I want us to spend the rest of our fucking lives perfecting ‘us’ and I’m counting on that being a very long time.”
“Very long time, got it,” Steve said quietly and leaned forward to kiss him.
“Good,” Danny murmured and closed the gap, gently sliding his lips across Steve’s and kissing him soundly. He pulled away quickly so as not to scar his eight year old daughter if she happened to look this way.
Steve checked Grace was still busy with her fruit cocktail before stealing another kiss, making Danny smile; his heart fit to burst.
~*~
After Danny had pulled into Rachel’s drive and all three of them had walked to the front door and delivered Gracie safely home with her mom - after the hugs, the ‘I love you’s and the painful pull in his chest Danny always felt when walking away from his little girl - they finally made it back home.
Danny followed Steve through the door and back towards the kitchen, sparing a though for how comfortably this house had become ‘home,’ even more so than his own apartment. It wasn’t a thought that Danny had time to analyse; Steve turned around mid-stride and wrapped his arms around Danny as he practically bounced off his chest.
“For god’s sake, a little warning would be nice,” Danny grumbled. He slid his hands over Steve’s chest to wind his fingers into the hint of dark curls at the back of Steve’s neck. He hummed appreciatively as Steve dipped his head and pushed a kiss against his lips.
“Danny,” Steve murmured.
“Right here, babe,” Danny answered, wrapping his arms across Steve’s shoulders and pulling him close to kiss him deeply.
“Danny, Danny,” Steve whispered, as he pulled at the cotton of Danny’s shirt, freeing it from his pants so he could get to the warm skin beneath.
“You said that already,” Danny said, kissing his way along Steve’s jaw.
“Well, that’s because I mean it.”
Danny laughed softly against Steve’s jaw. “You do realise that makes no sense?”
“It does,” Steve argued, walking them both backwards, closer to the stairs.
“It does not, you goof-”
“Danno, get up the damn stairs.”
Danny grinned and turned and ran up the stairs. Steve stood at the bottom looking up at him. “You just...straight up there, with no arguments or bitching or anything,” Steve said.
“Oh believe me, I have a vested interest in being up here as soon as possible. You gonna join me any time soon?” Danny held out his hand. Steve ran up the stairs, stretching his hand out to meet Danny’s as soon as he could reach. He tangled their fingers together and hauled Danny into the bedroom.
“You’re still holding my hand there, Gigantor,” Danny pointed out as Steve pulled him towards the bed.
“You started it.” Steve squeezed his fingers. Danny shook his head and let the man hold his damn hand. In fact, he used it as leverage to pull Steve around for another kiss and then they weren’t holding hands anymore; instead, Steve’s hands were all over him. Danny could feel them at his tie, pulling it loose, then at the buttons of his shirt, and the zipper of his pants. Feeling slightly behind the programme, Danny pushed his hands under Steve’s tee and worked it up and over his head. He couldn’t help but dip his head and taste Steve’s skin the moment his chest was exposed. He ran his lips over every inch he could get to, before skimming his teeth over one nipple, pulling it, rolling it between his lips. Steve hissed and twisted his hand into Danny’s hair, holding him close.
“Danny,” Steve moaned.
Danny laughed and pulled away. “Seriously, is that all I’m gonna get out of you the whole time?”
“Well, probably not all,” Steve pointed out helpfully.
“Mmm, should hope not,” Danny said, pushing Steve until the back of his knees hit the bed and he sat down. Danny moved in between his legs and Steve leaned forward. For a moment he just laid his head against Danny and held on so tightly.
“You okay, babe?” Danny asked quietly.
“Fucking perfect,” Steve said almost desperately.
“Good, good, I’m glad.” Danny curled around him so that he could drop a kiss on the top of Steve’s head. Steve looked up and Danny dropped another against his mouth, deepening it as Steve opened up beneath him.
“You’re still too...dressed,” Steve complained as they broke apart. His fingers tackled Danny’s pants for a second time and this time he got them loose and tossed to the floor.
“You too - never mind,” Danny grinned as Steve shoved his cargo pants onto the carpet quicker than Danny could complain that he was still wearing them. Danny reached for Steve, naked and beautiful, and practically fell into the arms that pulled him in. Steve tipped them backwards and they fell back onto the mattress in a tangle of uncoordinated laughter and limbs.
“Left leg blue,” Steve laughed as he wiggled beneath him before grabbing Danny’s leg and pulling it up so they were perfectly aligned.
“Nnnagh, idiot,” Danny complained as he did a bit of wriggling of his own, making Steve moan and buck up against him. God, Steve had so much skin and every inch of it was perfect where it was pressed against his own. Danny took a deep breath and pushed down against him, loving the thrill of fire that uncurled from his stomach and stretched down every limb, to every point of contact.
“Danny.” Steve rocked up again and Danny felt the bliss of skin on skin, and heard the hiss of want that made his chest feel hot and tight. He leaned down and kissed Steve, hard and filthy and so damn good.
“Danny. Danny. I want to fuck you,” Steve moaned. “I want you to fuck me, I want to feel you. And, fuck,” he writhed, stretching up and creating the sweetest friction that was driving all sane thoughts from Danny’s mind in no time. “I want to taste every inch of you, Danny. I want you so badly.”
“We’ve got time, babe,” Danny said desperately. He wasn’t going to last much longer, Steve was driving him mad. “We’ve got so much time, we can do it all, I swear.”
Steve was looking up at him and Danny didn’t know what to do with that look, that face; there was so much need and joy and Danny just had to kiss him. He slid a hand down between them, his clumsy, faltering grip taking them both in hand and working them as they pushed against each other.
Steve cried out and pushed his head back into the pillow, his eyes screwing closed.
“Open your eyes,” Danny demanded. “Steven, open your eyes and look at me. I wanna – uh – I wanna – please?”
Steve’s eyes were open and locked on his as Danny took them both over the edge.
Danny let Steve roll him onto his back and climb on top of him, let him kiss him and kiss him again and again until he couldn’t think a single coherent thought.
“Danny,” Steve murmured one more time, his breath warm against Danny’s mouth.
“You -” Danny said back, feeling ragged and breathless. “You are so beautiful – I’m serious, so very beautiful.”
Steve actually ducked his head before flopping down on top of Danny and snuggling his face down into his chest.
“But,” Danny sighed the world’s greatest put-upon sigh, “You’re also a complete goof.”
Steve snorted and mumbled a half-hearted ‘whatever’. Danny wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in tighter.
“You know what I love?” Steve asked, his voice weighted with sleepy amusement.
“Apart from leaping on bad guys and blowing stuff up and cold, bottled Longboards, I’m drawing a blank. Tell me what you love, Steven.”
“I love when you call me Gigantor. You should really do that more often,” he said with a wicked, filthy grin.
“Oh my god.” Danny turned his eyes to the heavens. “How is this my life?”
Steve sniggered. “It is your life, Danno. And you love it.”
“I do. Now, I do. I definitely love it,” he said and dropped a kiss into Steve’s stupid hair.
.xx.