Work Text:
Steve looked around at the alien landscape, sighed, and trudged after Danny, who was walking merrily up the front walk. As he pulled the thick scarf tighter around his neck and tugged it up over his ears, Steve wondered how Danny had ever talked him into this.
He caught up with Danny just as he pressed the doorbell. "Oh, so you politely request entry at your parents' house?"
Danny just rolled his eyes at him and waited with a huge grin on his face.
Steve shivered. "How can you not be cold? You live in Hawaii, too."
"New Jersey is in my blood, Steve, no matter what the weather."
"Right--"
Anything more Steve might have said was cut off when the door was opened by Danny's dad.
"You're here!" He opened the screen door, stepping through as he called back over his shoulder, "Caroline, Danny and Steve are here!"
Steve watched as Danny was enveloped in a hug. He was happy for his friend, but had to admit to himself that he'd never had that sort of greeting from his own father, no matter how much his father had loved him. When they stepped back from each other, wearing identical happy smiles, Steve moved forward, hand outstretched. "Mr. Williams--"
"Ben! Please call me Ben," Danny's father interrupted as he neatly sidestepped Steve's hand and pulled him into a hug. Steve complimented himself on not tensing up immediately--Danny's influence, no doubt--but hoped he didn't look like a deer caught in the headlights as Ben released him. "I'm so glad to finally meet you. We both are," he added as he looked toward his wife, who had joined them on the porch and was currently exclaiming over how tan Danny had become and how well he looked.
“I do wish Gracie could have come home with you, Danny,” Steve heard Danny’s mom--Caroline--say to him, and Danny reiterated that Rachel and Stan had taken Grace to visit her parents in England. Unfortunately, they had to trade off for holiday trips and it wasn’t Danny’s turn.
Caroline was just as warm as her husband, if a bit less touchy-feely. She held Steve’s outstretched hand between both of hers as she greeted him, then ushered everyone into the house.
Dinner that night was surprisingly quiet--“The calm before the storm, Steven, trust me,” Danny said when Steve mentioned it--with just the four of them. The rest of the family would be there tomorrow, and Steve wasn’t sure whether he was looking forward to it or dreading it. Probably more the latter, if he was honest; he was not used to big family gatherings. Well, unless it was a Kelly/Kalakaua family gathering. But that was familiar, home, HAWAII. This was...something else.
By the time dinner was over, Steve and Danny were both drooping noticeably. The flight from Honolulu had been an all-nighter, followed by the cross-country flight from Los Angeles. They’d now been up for, ugh, more hours than Steve really wanted to know.
They excused themselves--after thanking Caroline for the delicious dinner, of course--and headed to bed. Separate beds, unfortunately, and Steve wasn’t going to admit it to anyone but he was pretty sure he was going to miss Danny stealing all the blankets.
He glanced toward a window, remembering the snow outside. Okay, he probably wouldn’t miss the stealing the blankets part.
Before heading to his room upstairs, though, Steve followed Danny into the den. He closed the door and leaned back against it, watching Danny fuss with the hide-a-bed.
Danny looked up at him and scowled. “Stop standing there like a smirking asshole and come over here and help me.”
Steve laughed and pushed himself away from the door. He went to the opposite side of the bed and helped Danny make it up. “Want me to tuck you in?”
“No, I still need to brush my teeth.” Danny rolled his eyes.
Steve laughed and they both headed for the door. When Danny reached for the doorknob, Steve reached for him. “Wait.” He leaned toward Danny, moving the hand that was on his shoulder around to the back of Danny’s neck, and pulling him in for a kiss. He tasted the dinner they’d just eaten, but mostly he tasted Danny. He would never get enough of this. Steve pulled back reluctantly before they got carried away and pressed his forehead to Danny’s, running a finger along his jaw. “See you in the morning, Danno.”
“Yeah,” Danny replied, whispering. “’Night, babe.”
Steve woke up in the dark, checked the time, and did a quick mental time difference calculation. Still the middle of the night, Hawaii time. I should go back to sleep, he thought.
He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, then sighed and crawled out of bed. Evidently, he was not going to get any more sleep. How early had they gone to bed anyway?
It was early—even on New Jersey time—and the house was quiet. He cautiously opened the door and peered into the hallway, then slipped out and crept down the stairs and into the den where Danny was sleeping.
Steve quietly closed the door behind him and paused to decide on his next move in this dark, unfamiliar room. He froze when he heard Danny stir, but couldn’t help grinning at the squeak of the hide-a-bed when Danny turned over.
“What’s up, McGarrett?” Danny whispered. “Nice, roomy guest room bed too comfortable for you?”
That gave Steve enough information to move toward the bed and slide in next to Danny.
“No,” he said, rolling onto his side and leaning to kiss Danny. “Too empty.” He shifted closer and the bed squeaked again. They both froze at the sound, and then Steve had to laugh, burying his face in Danny’s shoulder to muffle the sound.
Danny’s hand wrapped around the back of Steve’s neck and he could tell by the vibrations under him that Danny was laughing, too.
“What are we, 16 years old?” Danny chuckled. “What the fuck are we doing?”
That just made Steve laugh harder, until Danny pushed him off his shoulder and kissed him quiet.
“As I see it,” Steve said when they finally parted, “we have three options here, Danno. One, squeaky bed that could wake the whole house; two, big, comfy bed upstairs which is also much closer to your parents’ room; or three, you send me back to my bed alone.” At option three, Danny made a noise that managed to convey “Like that’s gonna happen!” with no words.
Steve waited for Danny to weigh the options.
Danny exhaled audibly. “Fuck it. Your bed. We might as well be comfortable while we scandalize my parents.”
Danny quietly backed out of Steve’s room while Steve smirked at him. He glanced both ways down the hallway and then jumped. Steve watched him slowly turn pink as he turned and said, “Um. Good morning, Mom.”
Steve immediately hopped out of bed--What am I doing? Rescuing him?--and moved toward Danny, but Danny waved him back, glancing over his shoulder to say, “I got this.” He moved closer anyway, but stayed inside the room.
He could hear Caroline return Danny’s greeting and he moved to where he could see her through the partially-open door. She’s smiling--can’t be all bad. Then he glanced at Danny again and realized that was he walking around barefoot in pajama pants--and one of Steve’s worn US Navy t-shirts. Oops.
Steve ran a hand through his own hair and noticed it was sticking out every which way. Oops again. He shrank back a little, hoping Caroline hadn’t noticed him yet.
Then Caroline looked straight at him and he knew he couldn’t hide, so he stepped out of the room, next to Danny, thankful that he’d also pulled on a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt.
Caroline looked at him, then back at Danny again. “If you’d just told us you could have both slept in there, you know.” She sailed past them, swatting Danny lightly on the way by. “Breakfast in 20 minutes, boys.”
Danny turned a stunned gaze on Steve. “What just happened here? What? Was that my mother?”
“As far as I know, yes, that was your mother.” Steve grabbed Danny’s hand and dragged him back into the guest room, closing the door quietly behind them. He shoved Danny toward the bed, where he collapsed bonelessly, staring up at the ceiling, mumbling. Then he was laughing.
Steve grinned and sat down on the bed next to Danny.
“Who knew my mom was so, so-- progressive! I certainly did not know this and I’ve known her all my life. What.”
“Danny. She obviously knew all along. You must have a tell, something she can spot a mile away that maybe we don’t even know about. Mom radar.”
“Right, right.” Danny scrubbed a hand over his face and turned his head toward Steve. “I think my whole worldview just tilted. I have a whole new perspective on my parents. Or at least my mom.” His expression turned from wonder to worried in a moment. “What about my dad? Oh boy.”
Steve ran a hand through Danny’s messy morning hair--something Danny usually ducked away from during the day, when his hair was perfectly coiffed--and said, “Well, there’s only one way to find out. Come on, let’s go get cleaned up and get down to breakfast. I’m a naval commander, you’re a police detective, we can face up to one parent, right?”
“Headlong into danger, as usual,” Danny muttered. “Fine. Let’s get this over with. Maybe the fallout will be over before the rest of the family arrives for the holiday festivities.”
Steve and Danny got to the breakfast table just in time. Caroline smiled at both of them. Danny was looking everywhere but at his father, but Steve didn’t see steam coming out of Ben’s ears or anything.
Danny mumbled good morning in the general direction of his dad, and they dug into their breakfast.
Even for Steve--Mr. Avoidance--the breakfast table atmosphere felt awkward and embarrassing. Finally, he put down his fork and looked at Danny.
“Danno,” he said quietly.
Danny looked up at him and Steve looked him in the eyes, then flicked his eyes toward Ben. “Do you want me to bring it up?”
“No. NO.” Danny looked at him wildly. He finally looked directly at his dad, who looked at them curiously.
“Mom didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Ben gave him a puzzled look.
“Okay. Well, this morning, Mom caught me leaving Steve’s room…” He trailed off and Steve shook his head. For someone who could talk SO MUCH under normal circumstances, this was a major failure in communication.
Danny was red and spluttering and clearly not able to arrange his thoughts.
“Danno, I got this.” Steve said, reaching for Danny’s hand on the table.
“Oh God,” he heard Danny whisper and he squeezed his hand.
He smiled at Caroline and turned toward Ben. “Ben, what Danny can’t quite figure out how to tell you is that, well, we’re seeing each other.”
Ben looked at Steve, his eyebrows expressing confusion, and then turned to Danny. “We already knew that, son. We only put you in separate rooms because you didn’t seem comfortable enough to say anything to us yet.”
Danny’s eyes widened and he spluttered even more. “But-- but-- How??”
“Oh, Danny,” Caroline said. “Every time we talk to you--for months now--it’s ‘Steve and I’ this or ‘Steve, Gracie and I’ that. You made it perfectly clear how you felt about him, even if you didn’t say the words.” She paused and looked at Steve and Danny in turn. “And once we saw you, it was obvious how much you both care for each other.”
“So…welcome to the family, son.” Ben reached over and patted Steve on the shoulder. “Now, how about some breakfast?”
Steve looked at Danny, who was grinning happily at him. “Son?” he mouthed.
Danny grinned even wider.
Huh, Steve thought, looking around the table. Just when you think there’s no room left in your heart, someone comes along and opens it up even more. He stared at his plate for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Then he looked at Danny again. “I guess my family just got a bit bigger.”
“Oh,” Danny laughed, “you have NO idea.” He made a show of checking the time. “But in, oh, about two hours…well, hopefully you’ll still want to be part of my family after you’ve met the rest of them.”
Danny gave him such a warm look along with the teasing that all Steve could do was smile back and then dig in to his food. It sounded like he was going to need to fortify himself for the family gathering.
(end)