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"I'm glad Annie's parents signed the emancipation forms." Danny said as he finished drying the plate in his hands and put it back in the cupboard, before picking another one up from the draining board. "How could any parent think that about their own child?"
Steve grunted in agreement as he continued to wash up their dinner things. It was Rachel's weekend to have the kids after Danny had brought Grace back from a surprise recuperation trip to Maui, and Steve knew that he'd be having separation anxiety over not being with her while she was still recovering from the car accident, so he broke out Danny's mom's famous lasagne recipe and had it ready for when he got back.
"I mean, maybe it's because my parents brought me up to not really care about this sort of stuff, but I could never send Grace or Charlie away to somewhere like that because of who they like."
Steve sighed as he continued to scrub at the oven dish. "Lucky you." He muttered under his breath so Danny couldn't hear, focusing his frustration on the burnt on bits of sauce that refused to come off. "Exactly, because you're a great father, Danny. And they know it, too, they know that you'll love them no matter what."
"Damn right, babe." Danny bumped his hip against Steve's and flashed a grin, which the SEAL returned after a couple of seconds. "Hey, you okay? Seem a bit quiet."
"'m fine, Danno," Steve handed Danny the now-clean dish and patted his chest with his soapy hands, smirking at the glare he got in return. "Just glad to have you back. Missed you."
Danny flicked a few suds back at him. "Missed you too, you ridiculous child."
Steve may have said that he was fine, but Danny wasn't convinced. The rest of the evening was mostly spent in silence, save by the noise from the TV and Danny's attempts to start conversations. Eddie kept bringing Steve his toys hoping that his owner would play with him, but Steve would brush them off of his lap as he nestled further into Danny's side. That in itself was a warning flag for Danny, as normally the dog is a welcome distraction for Steve when he's bothered by something or another.
Once the game they'd watched was over Danny set about locking the house up while Steve made sure that Eddie's water bowl was full, but then looked on in amusement as the labrador followed Steve up the stairs, his claws clicking on the wooden steps and the hallway.
"Hey, your bed is downstairs, buddy." Steve frowned down at him after he came out of the bathroom, "Go on, it's bedtime." He pointed to the doorway, but Eddie continued his staring contest. Danny smirked around his toothbrush as stubborn owner and stubborn dog carried on staring at each other, until Steve's shoulders sank and he shook his head. "Fine, whatever. But not on the bed!" He conceded, and watched his dog like a hawk as he sniffed out a suitable spot and curled up on the floor by his side of the bed.
"You say that now, babe, but I bet you $10 I wake up with a dog sandwiched between us." Danny yelled after rinsing his mouth out, doing a mental fist pump when Steve nodded and laughed.
Both men sighed as they got under the bedcovers after shedding their clothes, and Danny instantly pulled Steve so close that the tips of their noses brushed against each other. "I really did miss you in Maui, y'know. So did Grace, she said that shopping wasn't the same without you agreeing with me about age appropriate clothes." Danny toyed with the fine hairs at the back of Steve's neck. "
"It's because we're old and wise," Steve said as he ran a foot up and down Danny's lower legs. "And because in my head she's still that innocent eight year old who I had to get a nightlight for the first time she stayed over here because she couldn't sleep without one."
"That may be true, but get your cold feet off of me!" Danny playfully kicked Steve's feet until he got the message, causing a fit of laughter for both of them.
Once all was quiet again Danny took another look at Steve, and it pained him to see how sad he was. Danny placed a hand on Steve's neck, thumb gently brushing his cheek. "What's wrong, Steve? You've been quiet all evening, and don't give me that 'nothing' crap."
Steve swallowed past a lump in his throat before opening his mouth, but promptly snapped it shut again.
"C'mon babe. Use your words." Danny whispered. "I know you and your faces, and this face tells me that something's on your mind."
"What you, uh, said earlier," Steve wiped his nose with the back of his hand, "about how supportive your parents were for you growing up, letting you know it doesn't matter who you end up liking. I guess it just… it wasn't like that for me, okay?"
Danny felt his heart sink at his partner's words, and moved his hand to rub gentle circles on the tense muscles in the back of his neck. "Steve, you never said, in all these years that they didn't accept you…?
"Stupid thing to be jealous over, but I was. Can I… can I tell you a secret? But you have to promise not to hate me, please Danno."
"I could never hate you, babe. Shoot."
"Back when we first met, and after you told us you were bi and said your folks were cool about it, I… I guess I let my jealousy turn into hatred for you, so I'd say or do stuff to get a rise." Steve closed his eyes and sighed, his whole body filled with shame. "'m sorry, Danno. But that's all it was, looking back. I was jealous that you got to be… to do everything you wanted. And I-I couldn't."
Danny continued to lay there and look at at his boyfriend, hoping that his soothing touch helped as he (for once in his life) didn't know what to say. But then, what was there to say? Nothing could erase the hurt that Steve had suffered growing up.
"What did they do?" Danny eventually asked when he realised that further conversation was not forthcoming, and the fact that Steve's face fell as soon straight away made Danny think that he'd made a terrible mistake. "Hey, it's okay if you don't wanna talk about it, okay?"
Steve nodded, his lips tightly pursed. "I never told anyone, Danny. I think Mary knows, and Deb knew. Joe… maybe. If he knows it wasn't from me." He screwed his face up as he remembered that his mentor was no longer alive. "Knew... damn it."
Danny squeezed his bicep. "'t's alright. Carry on, you're doing good."
"I was around fifteen, I think, when I realised that I liked guys the same way that my friends liked girls. And talk about a cliche, the geeky quarterback turned out to be gay - what the, Eddie c'mon." Steve sighed when the dog jumped up onto the bed and, clearly miffed about the lack of attention he was getting, nudged and licked both himself and Danny until they begrudgingly made room for him in between them. "Anyway… I got the feeling that no-one at school would understand, so I didn't even entertain the idea of coming out. But I thought that my parents would be okay…"
"Doris didn't really say anything, at least I don't remember it. But Dad… he was pissed. Said that… he 'didn't want a faggot for a son'." Danny watched as Steve nuzzled Eddie's soft fur, a hand sliding over the dog to latch onto his own. "Then the next day he… he… said about taking me some place that will 'make me normal, take away the sin'."
"Conversion therapy," Danny uttered, bringing Steve's hand up and kissing each knuckle, "babe, I'm so sorry…"
"I knew how scared Annie was, because that's exactly how I felt back then. I didn't wanna go, didn't wanna be taken to some random place with strangers who were gonna... brainwash me."
Steve's eyes peeked out from under those long lashes. "Aunt Deb… she was awesome when I rung her one day when Dad was at work. Flipped her shit when I told her what Dad said." A faint smile crept onto his face at the memory of the feisty woman. "She promised me that I'd never go there, that there was nothing wrong with me… stuff parents are supposed to do. Then Doris 'died' and she got Mary. She wanted to take me too, and I begged Dad to let me go, but we know how that worked out."
"Yeah," Danny muttered as he shifted to prop himself up on one arm, "but if he did, we wouldn't be in bed together with your dog bashing my knees with his tail while we have this conversation, would we?"
"No, I, uh… I guess not." Steve nuzzled the hand that reached over Eddie and caressed his cheek, subtly thumbing away the wetness around his eyes.
"I still can't believe that your dad wanted to send you to conversion therapy though, babe… that's some next level shit." Danny said. "Wait, is that why you hardly ever came back here?"
Steve nodded, a forlorn look on his face. "We didn't talk about it for a while, then he'd ask if I was seeing a girl and I'd remind him that even if I wasn't surrounded by guys most of the time in the Academy, that I was still gay. He'd get pissed, so I stayed away."
Danny figured as much. "Did you ever, y'know… make amends before he died?"
"I think in the end he gave up and just accepted it, but we never spoke about it. Before he died, on the phone, he said that he was proud of me, and was sorry for how he treated me." Steve focused his gaze on Eddie, unable to look at Danny as he spoke. He didn't know why, but he found it easier.
"Damn right, so he should be. Who wouldn't be proud of their son being a badass Navy SEAL? And so what if you were gay, in fact that's even more of a reason to be proud; I can't imagine what it was like under Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Danny toyed with the shell of Steve's ear. "But I'm proud of you every damn day, babe. Proud to call you my partner, Grace & Charlie's step-dad, and my boyfriend."
Steve finally looked up, his shy smile lighting up his face. "Thanks, Danno. You're the best."
They continued to lay there, Steve finally closing the gap between them when Eddie realised that he couldn't stretch out in his small space and moved to settle at the foot of the bed. Danny readily accepted Steve into his arms as he rolled onto his back and ignored the wet patch that quickly appeared where his face was tucked in the crook of his neck. Normally Danny would be straight in there with soothing words and gentle kisses, telling him that it'll be alright, but he knew that Steve knew this. He knew that it's alright now, it's the fact that it wasn't back then that he was crying over. Danny wished that he could go back in time and shake some sense into Doris and John McGarrett for yet again failing their son, but all he could do was squeeze Steve tighter against him and rub circles on his back.
Eventually the tears died down, and Steve sought Danny's lips out with his own for a passionate kiss. Both men were too tired for anything more, but were happy to lazily trade kisses until Steve broke away to yawn.
"Alright, babe, that's enough," Danny let his hands rest just before the swell of Steve's ass, and a warmth spread through him as the other man's legs tangled with his own. "Love you, you big, gay SEAL." he joked.
Steve chuckled - trust Danny to break the ice with a joke. "Love you too, you small, bi detective."