Work Text:
The trail started at his bedroom door, a reverse telling of last night's events.
Even before he picked them up, Steve could tell that the pants were trashed. The material lay in a crumpled heap, one leg pulled almost entirely inside out and yep, Steve noted with a smirk, the top buttons were completely ripped out and missing. They had been pretty desperate by that point, only moments from endgame, and any thought of patience and decorum had been out the window for at least fifteen minutes.
Steve tossed the pants back into his bedroom and paused for a moment to take in the state of his bed. Pillows scattered, blankets torn from their pristine tucks and dragging on the floor, the mattress itself was even a little off kilter, shifted in its frame. For just a second Steve could hear the echoes of what had caused all that chaos. The harsh gasps and barely bitten back curses and the way deep voices had gone high with unrepressed pleasure. And he could feel it too, as if the warm body that had arched against him has burned his skin for good. Suddenly, like they had been apart for days and not what was likely less than an hour, Steve missed Danny. He had to find Danny.
Moving into the short hallway, Steve gathered up clothes as he followed their tipsy path through his house. A shirt here, two mismatched socks thrown in opposite directions, a glittering gold badge half hidden under the table before his stairs. Steve picked up the badge and slid it onto the end table, also taking a second to push back the glass bowl that had been sitting dangerously close to the edge.
Danny's back had hit that table hard last night, pushed by Steve's frantic hands and overwhelming desire to get them horizontal ASAP. Running a finger along the edge of glass, Steve remembered how Danny's eyes had flashed with lust when he was pushed. How he had come back at Steve with a ferocity that had threatened to drown them both. The bowl was some kind of antique from his grandmother but had it crashed to the ground in the midst of their grappling, Steve figured the sacrifice would have been completely worth it.
Now more eager to find Danny then ever, Steve all but ran down the stairs and walked briskly through the rest of the house. He noted their shoes in a haphazard pile by the door, a shirt tossed over the banister and Danny's tie twisted over the back of the couch. That last one made him pause again. They had spent at least twenty minutes there last night, riling each other up after coming through the front door already buzzing with energy. Steve had kept the tie wrapped tightly in his fist so that any time Danny tried to move away, tried to draw them to a different location, he had been reeled right back in. That is, until Danny had undone the knot with a quick move of his hand and left Steve sitting there with nothing but one last blistering kiss and the memory of Danny swaggering purposefully toward the stairs.
That has been about ten seconds before the fight for dominance that had nearly sent priceless family heirlooms shattering to the ground in his hallway.
Taking the last couple steps through the kitchen and over to the back doors, Steve finally spotted Danny dozing in his customary chair at the edge of the beach. It wasn't often that Danny woke up and made it outside before Steve but on the rare occasion that it happened, this is always where he ended up. Something about letting the sun warm his skin and feeling the first waves of fresh air coming off the ocean. Steve figured that for now at least, that was as close as Danny would get to admitting he didn't completely hate Hawaii.
Steve slid the door open and stepped outside, watched for Danny to acknowledge his approach. It wasn't anything overt, no big loud good morning or startle at Steve's sudden appearance. Danny simply tipped his head to rest against the chair's back, eyes still closed and let a small smile sneak across his face, content to let Steve come to him. Which is exactly what Steve did.
Reaching Danny at last, Steve bent down and rested his arms along the chair's back. Pressed his lips to Danny's upturned mouth. "Morning, Beautiful" he whispered, almost afraid to break the silence. They would have to leave for work soon but for now it seemed like such a shame to lose such a quite sense of peace.
"Beautiful morning" Danny said back, just like always. Steve suspected that taking compliments or affection would never come easy for Danny. He could shower those things on everyone around himself but when it came to being on the receiving end...Danny still didn't quite see his own worth. So he deflected, talked about the sunrise and clear waves and pretended that when Steve said 'beautiful' that those were the things he was talking about too. It wasn't what Steve wanted, Danny walking around with all that doubt. But he was up against a lot of history, a lot of past hurt and so he would take what he had for now, until one day he could convince Danny of the truth.
"We made quite a mess, you know?" he said, still leaning over Danny's shoulder. "My bed a wreck, clothes ripped, furniture nearly ruined...what exactly do you have to say for yourself?" Danny cracked his eyes open, looking over Steve's upside down face and the dark love bite visible on one shoulder.
He gave a soft laugh, reaching a hand up to the back of Steve's neck to pull him closer. A series of quick kisses were pressed to Steve's lips, across the rough stubble of his jaw, and then Danny pressed his face into the crook of Steve's neck, nuzzled against him for just the briefest of moments.
When he pulled back, Danny's blue eyes were lit up with mischief and his own play back of the night before. "I'd say it was all your fault, being only half civilized and all. Pushing people around..." He trailed off as Steve's eyes went comically wide and he began pointing out the various bites and bruises over his body, a clear testament to Danny's own lose of control.
This time when Danny laughed, it was loud and echoed around them, banishing the last of the early morning silence. "C'mon, Beautiful." he said, pushing up an out of the chair. There was a soft affection on Danny's face now, like he knew why Steve so often picked that word. Like a promise. I love you like that too, it said, even if sometimes I stumble over how strong it feels. Danny grabbed Steve's hand and wove their fingers together as he pulled him back toward the house. "I'll make you breakfast while you track down the rest of our clothes."