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Danny pulled the Camaro into the driveway. Pressing his forehead at the top of the steering wheel, he closed his eyes and sighed heavily. After about a minute of deep breathing, he dragged himself out of the car and into the house. He dropped his keys on the small table near the door before trudging into the kitchen and straight to the fridge. Beer. He needed beer. Popping the top - setting a record for speed - he gulped down the Longboard until he had to stop for a breath, the slight burn of the alcohol making him hiss.
Dammit, Steve.
Digging his fingertips into his closed eyes, he took another deep breath before heading to the living room and settling on the couch. Placing the half drunk bottle on the coffee table in front of him, Danny sprawled and let his head rest on the cushions so he stared at the ceiling.
He couldn't believe the crazy shit that Steve had pulled lately, and the fact that he hadn't slowed down even after the transplant - How many beatings would it take to make the guy slow the fuck down? Last week, he got shot and just picked the bullet out of his vest like it was a perfectly normal occurrence. All Danny could do back then was shake his head in exasperation. He shook his head again on the couch cushion. When he’d found Steve bloodied and dazed from fighting Lee Campbell, he nearly burst a blood vessel. He had missed the insane fight but saw the collateral damage visible all around that room and on Steve and Campbell’s body. More scars and injuries catalogued on Steve’s battered body.
Focusing on the planks of the ceiling, he just didn't know what to do anymore. Danny had come so close to losing Steve for real. Not to mention how close he’d come to dying himself. Ever since he’d somehow managed to land that plane on the beach, he couldn’t stop worrying about his partner. Worse than before. Despite his joking at the doctor’s office, he was concerned about Steve’s well being and recovery from the transplant. He wanted to tell the doctor everything, but he’d never betray Steve even if it was for his own good. Other people did that to Steve, but Danny wouldn't. Couldn't. He loved him too much to do that to him.
Which was why Danny had pulled Steve aside after yet another ridiculous chase of a drug runner resulted in him dodging a speeding car and rolling before shooting out the tires of the scumbag.
“What the fuck was that, Steven?” He moved him away from the rest of the team cuffing the perp and his men after the car had plowed into a dumpster.
Panting, Steve replied, “I had to stop them!”
“By almost getting run over? Why didn't you wait for me to get the car?”
“Didn't have time,” shrugged Steve.
Danny's blood pressure couldn't get any worse. “That's the problem, Steve! You don't think about your safety enough and just jump headlong into shit and expect me to follow. But sometimes it gets to be too much. I can't handle seeing you hurt. I… fuck this. I can't right now. Catch a ride back with one of the others. I’ll talk to you later before I kill you myself.”
Striding away from his partner, he took off his vest, handing it to Kono. “Take care of him.”
She looked at him with concerned eyes before nodding her head then squeezing his arm briefly as he walked off. Steve stood there with his hands on his hips not understanding what just happened. Danny peeled off in the Camaro.
Thinking back to that emotional moment less than a couple hours ago just made Danny sink further into the couch. Steve didn't realize what he meant to people.To him. Hell, before Steve made him his partner, Hawaii was just a place that his daughter lived. He moved here to be with her. Nothing else. He was good at his job, but there wasn't anything else beyond Grace and work back then. He was so damn torn when it came to Rachel, pissed at her one minute and still yearning for her the next. Danny had shut himself down, and for the first six months, he was miserable. Sure, Meka was amazing, but beyond him, he didn’t have any real friends. He was the odd man out. A transplant who had rejected as much as he could about the pineapple infested sand trap. He hadn’t wanted to learn their ways or even dress like a local.
Then Steve showed up at his crime scene, a complete asshole and control freak. And try as he might, Danny could not hate the man. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Steve woke him up. His head was back in the game. He wasn't merely going through the motions until his next visit with Grace. He’d actually opened his heart to his new ohana of Kono, Chin, and, of course, Steve, and hell, his pushy partner even made Danny like Hawaii. He never looked back. Didn't want to be a shell of a guy who just came alive for Grace. Steve had saved him, and he’d forever be grateful. Which was why it hurt so much seeing Steve accepting these crazy ass risks and not taking care of himself. He needed Steve to care about his own well being. He just needed Steve in his life, healthy and safe.
This was not a new development. Danny had loved Steve for a long time, but only since the plane crash had he allowed himself to acknowledge it. To accept that Steve was more than a brother, but a soulmate. He couldn't do anything about it because of their girlfriends, but as long as Steve was by his side as his friend and partner, he was content.
Danny sat straighter hoping to move past these thoughts for the night and stretched languidly, keeping his eyes closed. Then almost jumped up when he saw Steve sitting on the recliner. Steve leaned forward, hands folded, eyes fixed on Danny.
“Shit, Steve! Warn a guy before you ninja into his house, would ya?” grumbled Danny as he forced his heart to relax at the sight.
A ghost of a grin upturned Steve’s mouth before he spoke. “What's going on, Danny? Why the hell did you freak out at the crime scene?”
Groaning, Danny got up from the couch, walked past Steve and stopped. Hands on his hips, he looked down and chewed his lips briefly before focusing on Steve again. Drawn out of his seat, Steve moved closer but still gave him some breathing room.
Licking his lips, Danny said, “I.. uh.. I just worry about you. And don't want you to do something that you can't take back.”
Inching forward into Danny's personal space, Steve didn't break eye contact with him. “Danny, I’m fine. I know what I’m doing. Why are you taking my safety so personally now?”
Danny's heart rate picked up. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't lie to Steve. But was he ready to admit his feelings aloud?
“Danno? C’mon, talk to me, man,” whispered Steve as he grasped Danny’s forearm.
He couldn't not tell him.
Danny tried to pull away from Steve, but he gripped tighter. So Danny waved his other hand out as he confessed, “Because I love you, alright? I'm in love with you! You do crazy shit, and my heart stops because I can't lose you! My life was such a fucking mess when I first got here.. it was empty, man. All I had going was Grace and work. And sometimes not even work. Then your Neanderthal ass conscripted me into the task force, and as much as I bitched, it was the best thing that happened to me. You are the best thing that has happened to me since Grace. So yeah.. I take it personally when you try to kill yourself.”
Steve was stunned. He cupped Danny’s cheek with his right hand. He pulled Danny closer and firmly kissed him.
Shocked too, all Danny could do was grab Steve by the shoulder and kiss Steve back. As they gasped for a breath, Steve took the opportunity to lick Danny's bottom lip, and he opened for him. The amazing sensations of hot as hell and relief that Steve felt the same raced through Danny. Needing more air, unlike the SEAL, Danny pulled away just enough to breathe. Steve kissed his temple then tucked Danny under his chin.
“Babe, what are you doing?” exhaled Danny as the adrenaline buzzed through him.
“Agreeing with you,” Steve smirked.
“What are you…” started Danny.
Steve tipped Danny’s face up and smacked his lips on Danny’s loudly before continuing. “Shh. You did the same for me. I was pretty fucked up after losing Freddie and Dad in a span of a week. It sounds corny, but you were the oxygen in my tank. You helped me breathe again. To really start living again. To see that there’s more to life than just the mission. That family is the most important thing.”
Danny let Steve’s words soothe him. For a minute, all they did was take comfort in each other’s presence.
Steve gently bracketed Danny’s face and pledged, “I love you, Danny. I promise I'm not trying to kill myself. I can’t promise anything but my love. And I want you by my side for whatever comes next.”
Taking in Steve's earnest expression, Danny nodded. “Okay, babe. Just be more careful. For your sake.. For the team. For me, Grace and Charlie.”
Grinning goofily, Steve kissed Danny again. Wiggling his eyebrows, he said, “So can we have make-up sex, now?”
Danny snorted, “Smooth Dog my ass. You gotta tell me how you got such an unworthy moniker sometime. After the shower and make-up sex.”
Linking their hands, Danny pulled a happily pliant Steve down the hall.
FIN