Chapter Text
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Danny stared at his reflection in the mirror with a critical look as he reached up and ran his hand over the top of his head for the fifteenth time to smooth down any stray hairs which had managed to escape the various hair products he used. All the while wondering what exactly he was going.
It wasn’t as though he had never been out with Steve before when it had been just the two of them there. The guy was his best friend after all so they had been out more times then he could actually remember.
It was more the fact that this time felt different to all those other times.
This time it felt as though they were going on a date and it was a feeling which Danny wasn’t quite sure what to make of or how to deal with it.
He had used every ounce of his inherited Williams stubbornness to ignore what he felt for Steve until he didn’t actually know what he felt anymore, and that led to a place of confusion which he shied away from exploring too deeply.
Danny was bisexual and he could happily admit to himself that he found Steve attractive, though that was hardly surprising as anyone with a pulse and who was still in the land of the living would find Steve attractive. The fact that other man regularly took his shirt off when he was in front of Danny was merely an added bonus for him to quietly enjoy, though he had tried to hide his reaction to the sight behind his usual blusters, rants and snide comments. Fortunately for his sanity Steve seemed to be taken in by the act Danny projected which in turn made his own life that tiny bit easier to cope with on a daily basis.
The simple fact of the matter was that Steve was straight as far as Danny knew. He had certainly never shown any interest in men that Danny had witnessed and there was of course Catherine Rollins, Steve’s sort of girlfriend who Danny had met more times then he cared to count, the most memorable time being when he entered the McGarrett kitchen to pick Steve up for work only to find Catherine in the kitchen, standing by the fridge dressed in nothing but a pair of skimpy knickers. Not only had that episode been one of the most awkward ones of Danny’s life but it had also cemented the fact in his mind that Steve McGarrett liked women; tall, beautiful, brunette women which the last time Danny had checked he was none of.
After that scene in the kitchen when Steve had appeared, shirtless and with a love bite on his neck, Danny had decided for the sake of his own sanity and well being to take a step back and start turning his attention somewhere else.
That had been where Chin and Kono had come in, after they had managed to get out of Danny what had happened that morning in the kitchen they had comforted him while Steve was busy in his office and offered him their help so he could get through it. Danny had been sceptical at first, not used to having anyone in Hawaii actually wanting to help him but he had accepted when he realised that their form of help came in the way of inviting him out with them for dinners which allowed him to actually meet new people and slowly but surely expand his small circle of friends which in turn gave him more people to hang out with.
The new balance it had brought to his life had worked out great for him.
He still got to see Steve on a fairly regular basis and he got to spend a good portion of time with the other people in his life as well. It was a win-win result in his eyes but clearly it hadn’t been in Steve’s eyes if the way he had been acting was anything to go by.
If Danny hadn’t of known better then he would have thought that Steve was actually jealous of the fact that Danny was building a life for himself.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of Steve’s voice coming from near the front door announcing his arrival, indicating that he had used the spare key he had to let himself in rather than ringing the doorbell or knocking like a normal individual would do if they knew the person they were coming to see was in the house.
He rolled his eyes before giving himself one final look in the mirror, taking a quick moment to straighten the bottom of his new light blue t-shirt which Grace had handpicked for him before he turned and moved across the room and out into the hallway where Steve was waiting for him with an impatient look on his face which Danny was more than used to seeing and one which he found strangely cute though he was never going to admit that fact out loud to anyone. His eyebrow quirked up as his eyes dropped down to take in Steve’s outfit, taking a moment to study it before he felt his mouth curl up into an appreciative smile.
“Looking good babe” He complimented in a warm tone. “If I had known that we were dressing up tonight then I would have picked something else to wear.” Danny stated as he moved towards the taller man, his stomach flipping at the sight of the wide goofy smile which came to Steve’s voice at his comment.
“You look good to me Danno.” Steve replied, a tone to his voice which made Danny tilt his head to the side in a puzzled fashion as he tried to place the last time when he had heard Steve sound like that.
“Shall we head out then?” Danny suggested instead when his mind remained determinedly blank of the answer. “I don’t know about you but I’m starving right now.” He added as he moved past where Steve stood so he could slip his feet into a pair of trainers which he kept by the door for his early morning runs.
“Yeah I’m ready, we’ll take my truck there.” Steve agreed as he reached out and opened the door, keeping it open, his eyes fixed on Danny. Danny tried to ignore it as he picked up his wallet and slid it into the pocket of his jeans, running through a mental checklist as he did to ensure he had everything which he needed before he turned and looked back at Steve with a smile.
“The trucks fine with me.” He stated as he picked up his house keys and ushered Steve out of the door and out into the bright sunlight. He closed the door behind him and locked it, taking a moment to take in a deep breath before he turned and headed over to the passenger side of Steve’s truck, surprise to see that Steve had waited for him before climbing into the truck himself.
The journey was surprisingly quiet though Danny noticed Steve looking towards him a few times, his mouth open as though he was about to say something before, he would stop himself and look away instead. There were hundreds of questions Danny could have thrown at Steve to start a conversation but for some reason he found himself not wanting to ask them, caught in a web of insecurity which had began to plague him.
What if he was wrong about the vibe which he was picking up from Steve?
What if for Steve, this really was just him hanging out with his best friends for the day because he happened to miss hanging out with him?
If Danny said the wrong thing or acted in the wrong when then there was a chance that he could lose the relationship he had already built up with the other man and that was something which he didn’t think he could live with.
Steve might not be ready to share whatever it was which was going through his mind and until he was then there was no way in hell that Danny would do or say anything to jeopardise what they had.
He blinked, realising with a start that Steve was bringing the truck of a halt outside of Rainbows. He looked through the window screen at it for a moment, his eyebrow raised before he smiled to himself with the merest shake of his head.
Somehow, he wasn’t surprised that this was one of Steve’s favourite places to eat on the island.
Somehow it just seemed right.
“What’s so funny?” Steve asked him, attracting his attention away from his own thoughts.
“You” Danny answered before waving his hand towards the building in front of them, his eyes flickering over to Steve to see that the other man’s eyebrows had risen at the comment. “I’m just not surprised that you like it here, I mean it’s right up your street isn’t it. I bet they serve eggs with everything, here don’t they?”
He grinned at the sudden bark of laughter that escaped from Steve as the brunette shook his head, making a show of rolling his eyes so Danny could see it.
“You’re a funny guy.” Steve remarked dryly as he took the keys out of the ignition and opened the driver’s door, jumping out onto the pavement.
“Hey, where are you going exactly?” Danny asked, making a move to undo his own seat belt, stopping in surprise when Steve leaned back into the truck and placed his larger hand over Danny’s, halting his attempt to join him.
“I’m going to go and get us some breakfast; you stay here and watch the truck.” Steve instructed him.
“How do I know that you’re not going to come back with some vile concoction that you’re going to try and force me to eat because of some kind of tradition you have?” Danny demanded with a suspicious frown.
“Because I know you Danno and I know what you like. Just trust me here okay” Steve countered, squeezing down on Danny’s hand with an earnest look in his blue eyes that Danny was helpless to resist.
For a moment he simply stared back at him, words caught in his throat as he remembered the first time that Steve had said something similar to him when they had been at Meka’s wake, moments after Steve, Chin and Kono had turned up in their uniforms to offer him silent support. He had known at the one moment that he had found something in the three of them which was worth protecting and fighting for at every step.
“Fine.” He said finally, making a show of sighing and breaking the silence which had fallen between them. “Go and get me some breakfast, but I swear to god Steven if you choose anything for me which has spam in it then you can head straight home because the movie day at mine will be cancelled. You understand me?” Danny demanded, hiding his smile with difficulty when Steve beamed at him, the same goofy smile which was determined to do things to Danny’s heart every time he saw it.
Steve thumb stroked across Danny’s knuckles before he pulled away and leaned out of the car.
“Leave it to me Danny.” Was all he said before he turned, shutting the door behind him and headed in the direction of the building. Danny smiled, watching him until he disappeared from sight and turned his attention to the area around him instead. There was a surprisingly large number of cars, most of the occupants in them in various stages of eating. It was strangely relaxing, reminding him of all the diners back home in New Jersey that he used to frequent when he was still a teenager. He’d always bring his dates to one of them hoping to get lucky. “Here” Steve suddenly said as the door reopened and he shoved a box at Danny, climbing back into the truck and closing the door behind him.
“Charming.” Danny stated even as he reached out and took the box, flipping the lid open and glanced down, a smile coming to his face when he saw the contents. “I thought they wouldn’t have a proper breakfast like this here. I thought it would all be rice based with god knows what else.” He remarked as he took the knife and fork that Steve was offering him with a grin.
“Normally they don’t do shit like that but the owner of the places owes me a favour or two so he made this especially for you so even you can’t bitch about it. Well that’s a lie, this is you after all so you could still bitch about it if you have the inclination to do so. Its one of your talents.” Steve commented thoughtfully, his head tilted to the side.
Danny ignored the comment as he stared down at his sausage, bacon and egg with a side of hash browns, a warm feeling coming over him over the knowledge that Steve had gone to the extra effort to make sure that the breakfast was one which Danny would actually enjoy eating. Apart from his family and Rachel back when they were still together and happy and in love, Danny couldn’t think of anyone else in his life who went to such far extremes to make sure that he was happy and content.
It made him want to shake the man next to him.
Was he interested in Danny or not?
Did he like Danny as more than a friend or was this simple who the real Steve McGarrett was like?
He hadn’t seen Steve interact with someone like he interacted with Danny but then again perhaps that was simply because he considered Danny as his best friend.
Danny closed his eyes for a moment, focusing on his breathing before he opened them again when Steve spoke, sounding concerned.
“Is everything okay Danno? If there something wrong with the breakfast I got you then I can easily go and get you something else?” He offered.
“Try and take this away from me and you’ll find my fork stabbed in the back of your hand Steve. Everything is fine, it’s more than fine in fact. I’m just taking the time to savour a real American breakfast. That’s all.” Danny answered turning to look at Steve for a moment, his eyes moving over his face, a feeling of regret coming over him.
As much as he wanted to, he simply couldn’t risk it.
Not when he wasn’t sure.
He would have to wait and just keep doing things the way he had been, at least if he did that then he got to keep Steve in his life.
He forced a smile on his face as he took a bite of the crispy bacon, nodding at Steve would was still watching him closely with a look in his eyes that told Danny that Steve didn’t quite believe him though he had clearly decided not to push.
“Good?” Steve said instead with a questioning look.
“More than good.” Danny assured him before swiftly changing the subject. “So, what movie to you actually want to watch today, I’m thinking the Godfather trilogy or perhaps some Star Wars instead.” He suggested as he leaned back in his seat, eating his breakfast and watching as Steve began to highlight the good and bad points of each trilogy, making sure that he nodded at the right times.
At least he had Steve this way and maybe one day he’s have him the way he truly wanted.
He just had to keep hoping.