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On their last night in New Jersey, Danny dragged Steve out to a local bar, a cop hang-out where Danny had spent a lot of time before he met Rachel--and a not-completely-insignificant amount of time AFTER he met Rachel, for that matter. Danny wasn’t sure who they’d run into, but there were bound to be some familiar faces.
Danny was feeling a little jittery, seeing everyone after so long. They all knew he and Rachel had divorced, of course--that'd happened long before he left for Hawaii--but they didn't know about Steve. And how did you introduce your new partner to your old co-workers and somehow make it clear that you're PARTNERS, in all senses, without, well, embarrassing everyone? Danny blustered his way through it, of course, and aside from a few confused looks--and, sadly, more than one tense moment before they moved on to the next table--it went pretty well. After they’d made the rounds, shaken a lot of hands, and done the two-minute catch-up with nearly every table (“Danny! Where ya been??” “Oh you know, I’m slumming in Honolulu these days...this is my partner, Steve..." An affectionate touch to Steve's forearm or shoulder usually accompanied the introduction, and Danny could admit even to himself that when he looked up at Steve, he probably looked about as subtle as a cocker spaniel gazing adoringly at its owner; Steve was handling things perfectly, smooth and friendly, and if he was quaking in his boots a bit, no one who didn't know him would ever see it), they’d settled at the end of the bar.
They ordered a couple of beers and huddled together, shoulders touching as they leaned in, Danny feeling more relaxed now that they'd made the rounds and said hello to everyone. "That went, uh, surprisingly well," Danny said with a pleased smile. "Thanks, babe." He bumped Steve's shoulder gently.
Steve turned toward him, surprised but smiling. "What for?"
"Oh, just. Nothing. Everything." Danny watched Steve's confusion dissipate and his happy smile spread into that goofy, irresistible grin.
Danny reached a hand out, laying it on the back of Steve's neck. He started to pull Steve and his goofy grin closer when they were frozen by a shriek, followed by a woman practically diving between them.
"DANNY! OH MY GOD! Where have you been?"
Danny just managed to ward off the worst of the assault; for a second he'd been sure she was going to climb into his lap. He carefully placed her at a minimum safe distance that did not require touching. "Wow, Gloria, what the hell?" Danny glanced over her head at Steve and saw a frown and upraised eyebrow. "That was, that was extreme. Even for you. I think you might have burst my eardrum. What do you think, Steve? Permanent ear damage?"
Steve huffed out a bit of a laugh, but Danny wasn't fooled. That face was still frowning.
He returned his attention to Gloria. "Okay, let’s try this again." Danny drew himself up--apparently his relaxed posture before had lowered his defenses against the likes of Gloria Fielding--and continued.
"Oh, hello there, Gloria. Long time no see." He politely shook her hand. "May I introduce you to my partner? Steve McGarrett, Gloria Fielding." He paused, glancing at Steve again. "We went to high school together."
Gloria spared a brief look at Steve--then did a double-take, because, Danny thought smugly, who wouldn't?--and gave him a husky, "Well, hello there, sailor." That quick, appreciative look was all she spared for Steve, though, before turning her attention back to Danny.
A few minutes of Gloria exclaiming over how tan Danny was, how great he looked, how much she had missed him (Danny couldn't even get a word in!), blah blah blah, was apparently as much as Steve could take because suddenly Danny found himself swept off his bar stool and standing between Steve's knees with his back to Steve's chest. Steve's arms snaked around Danny's waist and he leaned down to whisper in Danny's ear, "Think this'll get rid of her?" For good measure, he also pressed a kiss to Danny's neck, just below his ear.
That might have caused a bit of a short circuit in his brain--not that he was going to let Steve get away with manhandling him like that, because, what the fuck? I am not a child, Steven--but he didn't miss Gloria's frozen expression, eyes widening as she looked at Danny, then Steve, then Steve's hands (which Danny might have reflexively covered with his own). She stepped back.
"Anyway, really nice to see you, Danny. Uh, I'll see you next time you're in town?"
"Bye, Gloria." Danny watched her walk away for a moment, then took a deep breath and spun around. It did not escape his notice that he was still in the circle of Steve's arms, but he really didn't give a fuck--besides, it'd make it that much easier for him to throttle Steve. "What is wrong with you? You fucking Neanderthal. Do you want to put a collar and leash on me next?"
Something sparked in Steve’s eyes that Danny was not about to address right now, so he narrowed his eyes and stepped back, arms crossed over his chest. Steve’s hands fell, landing lightly at Danny’s waist.
"She was never going to leave. And she kept touching you!"
Danny stared at Steve in consternation. There were warring expressions on Steve's face, one pretty typical caveman face and, oddly, the other looked suspiciously like...a pout.
Huh. Danny's eyes widened. "You're jealous!"
"What? No. She was just--"
"No, you're jealous! JEALOUS! I don't even, what do I do with this? You, my friend," he pointed at Steve. "You are ridiculous." Danny grinned then, and leaned in and kissed Steve. He’d finish yelling at him later.