Chapter Text
To Be Together (Charlie Williams)
Steve had met Charlie maybe twice, but that was when he was Charlie Edwards. Now he’s Charlie Williams, and that means a lot more. Danny has always meant a lot to Steve, and at some point in the last half decade their lives have become so intertwined that Steve couldn’t pull them apart if he tried. Steve couldn’t possibly begin to untangle the fixtures in his life versus the fixtures in Danny’s life.
That’s why this hurts. Steve can see the hurt, the betrayal, the anger, written so clearly across his partner’s face. Danny is so torn up, pouring his shattered heart out for Steve to stare at the pieces of.
“Do you know how many times I’ve dropped Grace off? You know how many times I’ve picked her up and that kid’s been sitting in the room?” It might only be a rhetorical question, but the hurt is palpable just the same. The idea that part of Danny, quite literally, was so close for so long but he had no idea. Steve, as they both ruminate and stare across the island they’ve sworn to protect, feels something inside of him twinge until it snaps.
At first Steve just states the obvious—how redundant it is for Danny to fight with Rachel at this point—but Danny’s casual acceptance doesn’t feel like enough. Saying out loud that Danny needs to make decisions with Rachel pokes and prods at a part of Steve he avoids analysing. The last five years plays in his mind, like flashes of an old projector.
The moment he met Grace, he wanted to be around for her forever—in a way he’s sure Chin and Kono didn’t, despite their love. When Charlie was born, Danny already felt like a solid force in Steve’s life. After Freddie finally got the funeral he deserved, Steve hugged Danny a bit tighter. Mary showed up on Steve’s doorstep with Joan, and that made him look at Danny and Grace a little differently. The moment Nahele fitted into his life, the first thing Steve wanted to do was make sure Danny was a part of the same circle. Now Charlie Williams is here, and Steve doesn’t want to leave. It’s a concrete feeling weighing him down in a way he hasn’t experienced.
“Danny,” Steve breathes out, gripping the rough edge of the rock wall they’re sitting on.
“What?” Danny sighs exasperatedly, exhausted by everything about today. Steve knows all the little twitches and breaths that giveaway Danny’s emotions to a select few who know him best.
“You know I’m always here for you, for Grace, for Charlie,” Danny looks at Steve expectantly, “I want to be around for more.”
“Do we not spend enough time together already?” Danny snorts, his Jersey sass front and centre.
“No, Danny,” Steve grits, gripping Danny’s hand.
“Babe,” Danny cocks his head in confusion, but he doesn’t move his hand away, “what is it?”
Steve takes a deep breath, allowing only a brief moment of time to think anything over. Staring into the glare of the sun against the ocean is easier than giving Danny more of his attention.
“It’s that, it’s this. It’s what we are, Danny,” Steve sighs, and Danny’s frown of confusion deepens so much Steve can see it in his peripherals. “It’s been five years,” Steve turns to properly face Danny, “of us, of who we are. Jokes about our marriage started the same month we met. I’ve always been someone for Grace, and now you have Charlie, and I want to be someone for him as well. Danny,” he pauses, “I want to be someone for you.”
“You’re everything to me Steve, you know that,” Danny says as if it’s obvious.
“But we’re not together together.”
“How are we not?”
“Wait—what?”
“Steven,” Danny stares at him flatly, “are you trying to say you’d like to be in a romantic relationship? You’re doing a terrible job of it, but if I’m being honest, I thought we already were.”
“You what?”
Danny rolls his eyes, gripping Steve’s shirt and pulling him down 10 inches. The kiss is fast and unnecessarily sloppy, Steve caught by surprise while his brain and heart stutter out of sync.
“That was the only thing missing, so do you believe me now?”
“All this time…” Steve mumbles in disbelief.
“Yeah, you’re a putz.”
“I love you, you know that?” Steve grins, backlit by the golden hour sun.
“Of course I know that, I love you too,” Danny can’t help but say with a teasing lilt. “You’ll need more space for Grace and Charlie when we move in.”
“And Nahele. How did I end up married with three kids?”
“Are you mad about it?”
“Not at all,” Steve smiles softly, leaning down to kiss Danny more gently. They fit together, they always have, and one day Steve will thank Charlie for making him realise what he had to lose.