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“What the hell is this?” Steve demanded as he walked into the backyard.
“What’s it look like?”
“It looks like a bounce house. I thought the kids were with Rachel this weekend.” Steve told Danny in confusion.
“They are. This is for us.”
Steve made a face and scoffed, thinking it was a joke that he just wasn’t getting. But the serious look on Danny’s face told him the blond was not joking. Which only made the SEAL more confused. “Again...what the hell is this?”
Danny sighed. He knew this was a good idea, but the story behind it was more than a bit sad. He’s known his partner for nearly a decade now and through the years he’s gotten glimpses into Steve’s past. The trials that turned him into the very strong person he was now. ‘Kill the boy and let the man be born’ from Game of Thrones came to mind, but Steve’s inner child wasn’t ever given a fair chance to just be a kid.
Sometimes Danny has to take a chance on when a moment is right. Sometimes he has to take a chance even when the moment isn’t right.
This wasn’t one of those therapeutic moments as they try to dive in and talk about things. This was something new that Danny wanted to try with Steve.
“It’s a bounce house, as you stated before. We take off our shoes, we get in, and we bounce.”
“Uh huh...” Steve stated. Like he just wasn’t capting what Danny really wanted. Because...why would Danny want him to bounce in a bounce house? He didn’t see any cameras, and Steve knew that Danny wouldn’t make him do something to embarrass him...not to something serious anyway. So then he had to ask, “Do you...wanna fuck in a bounce house?”
Danny rolled his eyes. “No. We are not going to do that. It’s a rental. Which means we’d have to clean it because I cannot in good conscience return something that kids will play in knowing we...did things.” Danny took a deep breath and said as earnestly as possible, “Babe...I just wanna bounce with ya.”
Steve crossed his arms over his chest, feeling...insecure, for some reason. “Why?”
“When was the last time you ever jumped on a bed?”
“What?”
“You heard me,” Danny told him. “When was the last time you jumped on a bed? Not to get to the other side quicker, not to catch a perp, or even a sex thing. When was the last time you jumped on the bed for the hell of it?”
“Danny that’s-”
“Childish? Yeah. Cos that would be my answer. As a kid. But I’ve gotten to know you...and I know there’s a lot you didn’t do.” Danny told him gently.
Steve’s shoulder’s tensed. His childhood was always a territory that had to be navigated gently. So Danny was quick to calm him down.
“We’re not gonna talk. Not if you don’t wanna. This isn’t about that. This is...about it never being too late.”
“To do what, Danny?” Steve asked helplessly. He felt uncomfortable and he didn’t really know why.
“To do things your parents never let you,” Danny said softly as he reached his hand out for Steve to take. “So come on. Let’s take off our shoes, get in, and jump around like a bunch of idiots.”
“Danny I...”
“Do this, and I’ll lie on the back of the Camaro and let you fuck my throat on any highway road you want.”
That caught Steve’s attention. He’s been wanting to have more car sex but it was hard convincing Danny. He looked tentatively at the bounce house before looking over to Danny and relenting with a small nod.
“Alright fine.”
Danny smirked in triumph before he and Steve removed their shoes and get in. Steve felt a little stupid...he felt too big. Standing in a bounce house was weird. Balance wasn’t easy, and his head nearly hit the top. And when Danny jumped, Steve lost his balance and fell. He frowned at Danny who jumped and landed next to Steve but caused him to jump up. They crashed and rolled around a bit. Danny got up and helped Steve up too. Holding hands, they jumped together.
Steve didn’t get it at first, but there was something about that weightless feeling that he loved to feel when he’s doing extreme things. And seeing Dany’s hair do amazing things with each jump was pretty fun too, but it was Danny’s smile that made Steve smile too. And okay, it was fun!
They jumped around randomly, Danny dared Steve to do a flip and so Steve did, they tried to catch each other, they crashed, they fumbled, they jumped, they flipped...it was so much fun!
When they got tired, they laid down and let the Hawaiian breeze cool them. Steve could feel his blood pumping, the sweat running down his back and the side of his forehead. This was fun. He began to wonder if it would have been more fun as a child...
It made him think of all the things he’s missed out on. Of all the things he didn’t get to do. He suddenly sat up as emotions clogged his throat and his eyes stung with unshed tears.
“Steve?”
But he couldn’t speak. A sob broke through him and he hugged himself as he felt shame and sadness with lingering anger. He hasn’t been a child in so long...but now he knew that he was only one technically, but never a kid like he should have been.
“We can go back inside. Or we could go for a swim.” Danny suggested as he came to hold Steve carefully in his arms.
Steve shook his head. “No...no...this was...this was fun. T-thank you.”
Danny kissed Steve’s neck and whispered sweet nothings into his ear as he continued to comfort him. Once Steve was calm, they laid back down, side by side, but feet at different ends. Their hands interlocked with Steve rubbing circles on Danny’s hand with his thumb. Something he did when he was thinking.
“How long do we have this for?”
“Until five.”
“Good. I wanna keep jumping a little bit longer.” Steve said quietly.
Danny smiled and gave Steve’s hand a squeeze.
“There’s a lot of stuff...”
“Hm?”
“Kid things. That I didn’t do. I...do you...can we...?”
“You bet. It’s never too late.” Danny reminded him.
“Can I...can I pick the next thing?” Steve asked tentatively. He felt small and kinda scared. Being a kid hadn’t been the best time for him. Doing things that he knew would have gotten him in trouble set something off in him. But he was with Danny, he was always safe with Danny.
Danny pulled Steve’s hand to his lips and kissed it. “Of course babe. Whatever you wanna do, you know I’m there with you.”
“Love you, Danno.”
“Love you, Steve.”