Chapter Text
By Thanksgiving, Danny is so concerned about Steve’s state of mind that he invents a story about mold at his house as an excuse to stay at Steve’s place for a while so he can take care of his soulmate, even if the stubborn idiot would never admit that he might need the support. Danny worries about the possibility that his presence might cause more harm than good, but it isn’t enough to deter him, he simply fervently hopes that won’t be the case.
Two weeks later, Danny returns home to discover that his house is now genuinely uninhabitable due to a sewage backup, and thankfully Steve easily agrees that Danny can stay at his place for the next six to eight weeks. This means that Danny and his children are at the McGarrett house for Christmas, which seems to make Steve extraordinarily happy, although occasionally Danny detects some traces of wistfulness, which suggests that his soulmate wishes they were spending the holiday as a family in a slightly different way. Danny is also pained by the realization that by this point they ought to be three years into a romantic relationship and perhaps would even be married by now if Danny wasn't cursed.
Another month flies by and during that time Steve makes no attempt to kiss Danny or profess his love for him. Obviously it’s understandable that romance might be the last thing on his mind while he’s still consumed by grief, but Danny wonders if he has in fact given up on the idea of ever moving beyond friendship. This seems to be confirmed when Rachel finally officially calls off their ridiculous attempt to reconcile and Steve encourages him to pursue the pretty stranger who approached him in the bar while he was drowning his sorrows. When Danny’s subsequent foray into public sex with someone he just met ultimately results in him watching the woman die mere hours later, it feels like a gigantic ‘fuck you’ from the universe.
Once he’s had more time to think about it Danny categorically rejects the idea of a higher power cruel enough to punish an innocent woman for Danny’s mistakes, but nonetheless he finds himself floundering a little in the aftermath of the tragedy and consequently he neglects to move out of Steve’s house once his own is fully repaired. Steve doesn’t say anything when the expected completion date passes, so it’s not even necessary for Danny to lie about the contractor’s progress.
Danny feels immensely conflicted when Steve starts dating again; naturally he wants his soulmate to try to find whatever happiness he can, and given that Danny hasn’t been living like a monk himself his vicious jealously is extremely hypocritical, but nevertheless he’s powerless to prevent the unreasonable emotions. He has no idea how to feel about it when Steve cancels his Valentine’s Day dinner plans with Brooke in favor of a movie night and ends up cuddling both Danny and his date, but Danny means it when he says he could use the affection, so going with it seems like the best option despite the unsettling weirdness of the situation.
A couple of weeks later Steve has a date with Emma, and Danny is starting to believe that Steve truly has abandoned the thought of being with him, but he’s swiftly disabused of that notion the very next day, when Steve helps him out of his chair on the beach at the end of the night then uses the momentum to haul Danny close and kiss him passionately. Danny is frozen by surprise and consternation for a few seconds before giving in and enthusiastically returning the kiss for as long as he can. When they inevitably go their separate ways, it takes a long time for Danny to fall asleep while fighting an internal battle between the idea that it might be best to return to his own home and the intense desire to remain under the same roof with his soulmate, however frustrating that might be for both of them.
Things get a lot more complicated the next morning when Junior wakes Danny and informs him that he witnessed the kiss last night, but not what happened afterward, so therefore he’s justifiably confused and concerned about Steve’s insistence that the event didn’t occur. Their young friend takes Danny’s brief explanation surprisingly well but understandably requests further details. Danny acquiesces on the condition that they talk elsewhere so there’s no danger of Steve interrupting.
Sharing the whole depressing story with someone else is distinctly uncomfortable but strangely cathartic, although it’s unpleasantly sobering when Junior calls him out on his bullshit claim that it’s better not to tell Steve the truth because that way Danny is the only one suffering. Of course Danny knows that Steve is disgruntled by Danny consistently blocking his advances, but Danny has been clinging to the belief that Steve’s current level of distress is considerably lower than the profound and persistent anguish he would experience if he knew about the curse. Danny also feels that the concerns he expresses about Steve obsessing over the curse and potentially wasting his life trying to lift it are eminently valid but nevertheless he agrees to consider the matter some more and asks Junior to keep his newfound knowledge to himself.
As the day goes by, it’s clear that Steve is upset about Danny and Junior ‘going for breakfast’ without him but the guilt Danny feels about that is a drop in the ocean compared to the overwhelming negative emotions stirred up by telling Junior every awful detail of the curse and the questionable decisions Danny has made over the last few years. The unfortunate result is that Danny is having a hard time looking Steve in the eye, which no doubt only adds to his partner’s unhappiness, so Danny takes the drastic measure of calling Rachel and begging to crash on her couch so he can have some therapeutic extra time with Charlie tonight and tomorrow morning. Hopefully that and the temporary distance from Steve will assist him in pulling himself together.
This plan works perfectly and therefore by the time Danny reunites with his soulmate the next day he has no trouble behaving as if everything is fine, although he’s still quietly struggling with indecision as to whether or not it would be prudent to reveal the truth. Surprisingly Junior resolves the dilemma for him as soon as they get a moment alone, by stating that he has revised his position and thinks it would be best to keep Steve in the dark.
Danny becomes absolutely certain that this was the correct choice when he realizes that Steve is having trouble sleeping; clearly his soulmate has enough troubles already without adding another burden of epic proportions. It’s mildly exasperating when Steve refuses to talk about what’s going on with him, but the only thing Danny can do is let him know he’s here and more than willing to listen if his partner changes his mind.
Sadly Steve does not choose to confide in Danny and therefore when it becomes apparent a couple of weeks later that Steve is still not in a good place and possibly at risk of suffering a total breakdown, Danny has no option but to force his partner to talk. It’s oddly comforting to hear Steve acknowledge that he has been protecting everybody except himself for far too long, but when he goes on to say that he can’t just take a break from work but actually needs to get away to put things in perspective, it’s hard to shake the sneaking suspicion that what he really wants is to get away from Danny. But whatever the reason, Danny can’t stand in his soulmate’s way when he’s finally putting himself first for once.
Unfortunately they’re not even done discussing the matter before the past comes back to bite them once again, in the form of an intruder attacking Danny when he steps into the house for another beer. They quickly establish that the guy was after the cipher from Doris and things only get worse from there, because when Steve goes off with Lincoln Cole to try to crack the code, Danny gets captured by Daiyu Mei’s goons and used as leverage to coerce Steve into handing the cipher over.
When Danny ends up being shot while attempting to liberate himself, he can’t help but think that if he dies it will almost certainly break Steve completely and that combined with the intolerable thought of leaving his children behind is all the inspiration Danny needs to fight for his life with everything he has.
A week later, when they’re about to say their goodbyes, Danny makes one last half-hearted effort to dissuade Steve from leaving the island; in reality he has no intention of letting his selfish urge to keep his soulmate close override what’s best for Steve. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt like hell to watch him go.
Danny spends the next twenty-four hours miserably moping around and since he’s not able to go to work his only company for most of that time is a similarly heartbroken Eddie, but when Junior visits him in the evening it’s clear from the young man’s unmistakably sad gaze that Danny’s dismal mood has not gone unnoticed.
After several unsuccessful attempts to cheerfully engage Danny in conversation, Junior suddenly turns serious and announces, “I gotta tell you something… Steve knows about the curse and he’s gone to try to break it.”
“What?!” Danny exclaims in reflexive horror, before rapidly adding, “When? How?”
Junior looks appropriately sheepish as he admits, “I told him the same day you told me.”
“What the hell, man?” Danny splutters indignantly.
“I’m sorry,” Junior replies quietly. “But Steve knew something was up and confronted me about it as soon as we got home. I wasn’t planning on betraying your confidence but he just seemed so defeated when he pleaded with me to tell him the truth because he couldn’t handle any more secrets and lies… so I had to tell him.”
Danny sighs as his righteous fury subsides in the face of their young friend’s earnest compassion. “And he believed you?” he asks incredulously.
Junior shakes his head. “Not immediately, no. But I’d already spoken to Jerry earlier that day, so I had a copy of the video you gave him.”
Danny simply nods his understanding; not even Steve could deny such irrefutable evidence. He takes a deep, shaky breath to compose himself before nervously inquiring, “How did Steve take it?”
“He was hurt and angry. But also totally determined to fix the problem. It turns out Jerry never stopped looking for answers and has in fact spent most of his time since leaving Five-0 searching for the witch. Steve ordered me to ask Jerry to start reporting to him and to not tell you that he knows.”
The part about Jerry is so incredibly touching that Danny can’t manage to utter anything more complex than, “Oh.” Then his brain catches up with the second part and he can’t hold back a slightly manic laugh. “You’re truly terrible at keeping secrets, you know that?”
Junior shrugs, looking decidedly unapologetic. “Somebody needs to protect you two from yourselves. Also Steve asked me to take care of you while he’s away so that’s what I’m doing.”
Danny’s laughter is much softer this time. “Thanks, buddy.” He tries not to let frantic hope get the better of him just yet as he asks, “So where has Steve really gone? Did Jerry somehow find a solid lead?”
“Yeah,” Junior informs him with a jubilant grin. “Jerry recently found the witch’s niece, Olwen, in South Dakota and Steve met with her this morning. She wasn’t able to break the curse, but she did give him a vial of her blood that apparently can be used by a more powerful witch to get the job done. According to Olwen there aren’t many witches of that level, but Steve is on his way to Australia right now to look for one who lives in the rainforest there.”
“Oh my god, seriously?” Danny gasps, fighting back tears at the thought that his living nightmare might actually be over before too much longer.
“Yeah,” Junior repeats gently, moving to offer Danny a hug, which he gratefully accepts.
They don’t talk much after that, although Danny requests and promptly receives a copy of Steve’s itinerary.
Once he’s alone, Danny texts Steve, ‘I know what you’re doing. Call me.’ But it will be a long time before Steve is able to respond, assuming he even wants to, so Danny retires to bed. However he’s so fired up that falling asleep proves to be difficult. The ongoing discomfort of his injuries doesn’t help with that, so in the end he resorts to taking one of the prescription painkillers he usually avoids, which definitely assists him in drifting off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
In the morning, Danny kills some of the remaining time until Steve is due to be back on the ground by calling Jerry to thank him profusely for his extraordinary dedication to helping Danny and Steve. They chat for a while about Jerry’s adventures over the past year and his plans for the future. It’s glaringly obviously that Jerry is completely besotted with Olwen’s daughter, Rhian, which is gratifyingly heartwarming; he certainly deserves a chance to find his own happiness.
After that, there’s nothing to do but try to distract himself with some mindless nonsense on TV while anxiously waiting to hear from his soulmate.
When the phone finally rings, Danny answers quickly, with nothing more than a somewhat strained, “Hey.”
“Hi,” Steve replies with uncharacteristic hesitancy.
Neither of them speak for a short time after that, so the only sound over the line is their erratic breathing. Danny is terrified that Steve might still be justifiably angry with him, but he eventually musters the courage to break the silence by blurting unsteadily, “I’m so sorry. For everything. I don’t know how you could ever forgive me.”
“Danny, no,” Steve responds, with a subtle waver in his voice that betrays his own fraught emotional state. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m not gonna pretend it doesn’t hurt, but I understand why you did what you did. Of course I forgive you.”
Danny has never felt so relieved in his entire life. “Steve… I love you. So much. But I don’t think I deserve you.”
“Shut up. I love you too.”
Danny lets out a delighted chuckle. “So romantic,” he quips, before continuing in a more serious manner, “Just so you know, while I’m extremely grateful that this might be almost over, it doesn’t sit well with me, you running off to clean up my mess.”
“Yeah, well, maybe if you hadn’t been shot because of my family’s mess, you’d be here too,” Steve replies ruefully. “Although, seriously, trekking through a rainforest sounds much more like a me thing than a you thing.”
“That’s a fair point,” Danny concedes. “And while we’re on the subject, please don’t get eaten by a crocodile or bitten by a deadly snake or some other ridiculous thing, okay? I have enough guilt already.”
“I’ll try my best,” Steve says solemnly. “You should just focus on healing your body, I’m gonna work on my mind as well as our other problem, then I’m thinking you and me and a nice relaxing vacation somewhere. What do you say?”
Danny can barely contain his excitement at the prospect. “That sounds fantastic, babe. Count me in.”
“I love you,” Steve declares softly. “More than I can say.”
“I love you too,” Danny swiftly replies, feeling giddy with happiness. “And I know you don’t remember, but just for the record, I have no complaints about your ability to express your feelings non-verbally.”
Steve lets out a startled sounding laugh. “Good to know,” he says somewhat smugly. “Just wait until we can take that a whole lot further.”
Danny can’t suppress a shiver or the impulse to provocatively murmur, “Trust me, I’m gonna be thinking about that constantly.”
There’s a brief pause before Steve mutters in a perceptively breathless way, “I gotta go. And I might not be able to get in touch very often if at all once I’m in the forest.”
“Okay, babe,” Danny responds simply, feeling a tiny bit contrite about possibly pushing too far while Steve is in public, but simultaneously thrilled by the ease of their interaction. He decides to try to make it up to his soulmate by earnestly expressing his feelings; “Thank you for calling, for being so understanding, and for what you’re doing right now. Actually, you know what, thank you for everything you are and everything you do. You’re amazing and I love you.”
Steve’s reply is a bit unsteady but equally heartfelt; “Right back at you Danno. Hopefully I’ll see you soon.”
Steve hangs up immediately after that, probably too overwhelmed to continue. Danny has no idea how he’s going to cope with the incessant restless anticipation for however long it takes for Steve to locate the powerful witch and then, god willing, get the curse removed and come back home so they can finally be together the way they were always meant to be.
Weeks go by with minimal communication from Steve, but the good news is that there’s still hope, it’s just that the rainforest is enormous and the powerful witch, Anna, is a wanderer. It’s comforting to know that Steve has the assistance of an indigenous male witch and is therefore much safer and more likely to succeed than he would have been on his own. Danny misses him desperately and at one point steals a number of his t-shirts, which Danny wears when he’s alone and wants to feel closer to his soulmate.
Finally, one evening fifty-two days after Steve arrived in Australia, Danny is puttering around at home when he experiences a sudden rush of warmth and a strange snapping sensation in his chest, then an abrupt awareness that a niggling pressure he hadn’t even realized was there has disappeared. He’s pretty sure that means the curse has been lifted, but he’s unable to get in touch with Steve to verify it. Danny heads to Steve’s place to share his tentative excitement with Junior and enjoy some sympathetic company while waiting for Steve to become reachable. Danny is so eager to reunite with his soulmate that they start researching flights to Australia.
Eventually one of Danny’s multiple attempts to call actually connects and Steve hastily confirms, “Danny, it’s gone. The curse is broken.”
“Oh, thank god,” Danny murmurs. “I thought I might be imagining things, but I feel different.”
“Yeah, me too.” Steve lets out a short, clearly joyful laugh. “And not just because of the curse being lifted. Anna also helped me deal with everything I’ve been through and removed the radiation poisoning.”
“Seriously?” Danny responds automatically, although he’s having a hard time truly processing the information. “That… sounds too good to be true.”
“Tell me about it. But I promise you, it’s real.”
“Wow.” Danny pauses for a long moment to attempt to wrestle his powerful emotions under control. Given that he still feels responsible for Steve getting irradiated in the first place, this unexpected gift is nothing short of miraculous. “Then I guess I can’t complain anymore about you taking on a task that shoulda been mine. Finally getting the chance to be with you would have been more than enough, but knowing you’re not gonna get sick… I never thought I’d be so happy.”
Despite his best efforts, there’s a noticeable tremor in Danny’s voice and Steve sounds equally affected when he replies, “Me too.” There’s another brief pause before Steve continues, “There’s one more thing you should know; I now remember everything the curse made me forget.”
“Oh.” Danny is a little worried about Steve’s judgment of his actions now that his soulmate knows everything that occurred in intimate detail. “How do you feel about that?”
Apparently Steve is disinclined to tackle any difficult feelings at this time, as his flippant response is, “Mostly, I’m annoyed that I was temporarily unaware that I’ve had the pleasure of getting my hands on your perfect ass.”
Danny laughs somewhat hysterically and belatedly informs Steve, “FYI, babe, Junior is here and you’re on speaker.”
Steve’s answering chuckle reveals mild embarrassment, but he sounds mostly amused when he mutters, “Now you tell me.”
“Don’t mind me!” Junior gleefully interjects. “But I’m very happy to hear you got the curse removed, and apparently a lot more besides.”
“Thanks buddy,” Steve says sincerely.
Danny retrieves his phone from the coffee table and takes it off speaker. Then he tells his soulmate, “It’s just me now, in case you have anything else interesting to say. Where are you right now?”
“Hopefully just a mile or so away from a real bed for the night. It’ll take a couple of hours to get to the airport in the morning.”
“Great. After seven weeks of traipsing around a rainforest I imagine you’re in serious need of a shower and a shave before you try to get on an aircraft.”
“You don’t like me with a beard?” Steve asks glibly.
Danny sighs and gives a less lighthearted response than Steve was probably expecting; “I don’t like that I’ve only ever seen you with one after we’ve been separated for far too long. You want to experiment with facial hair while I’m by your side watching it happen, you go right ahead. You’ll still be ridiculously attractive either way.”
Steve says nothing, which indicates that he is indeed surprised by the direction Danny went with that, so Danny takes pity on him and continues, “If you’re done fishing for compliments, I have a question for you… how do you feel about getting started on that vacation right away? There’s a direct flight from Honolulu to Sydney that would get me there mid afternoon tomorrow. Well, tomorrow for you. I’d lose a day somewhere along the way. Junior is just waiting for approval to book me a ticket.”
“Hell yes,” Steve replies instantly. “Book it. I’ll probably get there just a couple of hours before you do.”
Danny smiles so wide his face hurts. “Okay. Now that that’s decided, I should go. It’s getting late here and it’s an early flight. I also need to pack and notify everyone who needs to know. I love you Steve and I can’t wait to see you.”
“I love you too. See you soon.”
Steve hangs up and then Danny has a bit of a hectic night getting everything squared away for his impromptu vacation, and he’s so wired that he hardly sleeps at all before heading to the airport in the early hours of the morning, but luckily he’s excellent at sleeping on planes, so he arrives in Sydney reasonably well rested.
When he finally lays eyes on Steve, it causes a dramatic spike in Danny’s heart rate, and as they get nearer to each other, Danny can tell that Steve is unquestionably titillated by the sight of Danny wearing one of Steve’s Navy tees.
As soon as they’re close enough, they reach out for each other, immediately indulging in a gentle, loving kiss. However, Danny breaks it off fairly quickly, in the interest of confirming that this one isn’t going to get erased. Danny retreats just far enough that they can gaze into each other’s eyes and when Steve remains intently focused on Danny for longer than he was able to do after their previous kisses, tears of joy spring up in both of their eyes as they exchange tender smiles.
Steve is the one who initiates their first ever follow-up kiss, but Danny can’t say for certain who is to blame for it becoming significantly more heated than is appropriate. When they’re eventually interrupted by a loud wolf whistle and several people yelling at them to get a room, Steve stops and presses their foreheads together. Danny can’t hold back a burst of euphoric laughter and Steve joins in for a minute or so.
When his laughter peters out, Steve murmurs hungrily, “We do have a room, if you’re interested.”
Danny smirks. “I don’t know,” he replies with exaggerated thoughtfulness. “Technically, we’ve never even been on a date. Are you sure you don’t want to wait?”
Steve’s gaze communicates that he knows Danny is just teasing, but nonetheless he answers with exasperation, “Are you kidding me? It’s been almost four years since our first kiss, and we were in love long before that, so I think we’ve waited more than enough. Besides, we’ve been on dozens of dates, even if we didn’t call them that at the time.”
Danny grins delightedly. “Very persuasive, babe, well done.” He ends their ongoing embrace but immediately takes Steve’s hand and requests, “Lead the way.”
Steve promptly tows Danny to their nearby hotel room with all due haste. But once they’re inside they’re content to switch to a more leisurely pace and savor the experience of kissing repeatedly, reverently stripping each other, then expressing their love in the most exquisitely pleasurable way imaginable.
In the aftermath, Danny’s blissfully hazy mind enters a state of stupefied disbelief; he spent so many years despondently believing this could never happen that it now feels astonishingly surreal. But as he happily snuggles closer to Steve with the intent of taking a nap to hopefully recover enough energy to make love again as soon as possible, he feels supremely confident that what just transpired between them is something neither of them will ever forget. Danny falls asleep joyfully picturing a lifetime of creating many more glorious memories together.