Chapter Text
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“Enough with the thousand-yard stare, alright?” Danny said, mirroring the conversation they’d had a few hours before. As soon as the Governor had left, his partner had gone back to sulking about the outcome of their latest case. “What else were we supposed to do, huh? The guy was bleeding all over the place, we had to let Wo Fat go!”
Steve continued to look ahead, showing off his impressive ‘I do not even need to blink’ SEAL abilities.
Heaving a weary sigh, Danny leaned back in his chair.
Despite the grin that he was unable to hide, he felt the exhaustion of a long day in every fiber of his being. A day that had started with a disastrous custody hearing, continued with a helicopter chase and a close-encounter with their nemesis, and thankfully ended with the good news that the judge had ruled in his favor and Grace wasn’t leaving the island.
Danny still couldn’t wrap his head around it. For the first time since the divorce he felt like he was being seen, that his rights and needs as a father weren’t being ignored. There would be no Vegas in his little girl’s future, no move to yet another state. It was such a huge accomplishment that he wanted to celebrate it for the rest of his life.
Beside him, Steve sat rigidly in his own seat, back ramrod-straight as if he was about to pass a military inspection.
His day had been the opposite of good. Danny could see it in the tight set of his jaw and the lines of regret and disappointment clouding his handsome face. He understood the frustration. Wo Fat had eluded them for years, and just recently pulled off a jaw-dropping escape that had left law enforcement baffled. It was hard to accept for everyone with even a modicum sense of justice but especially for Steve, who had devoted all of his efforts to make sure the man paid for his father’s murder.
Part of Danny also felt guilty for being this happy. It had been Steve who had charmed the judge after all. He may not have been granted custody if it wasn’t for his best friend’s heartfelt plea and highly-decorated uniform, so he felt the need to reassure him that this was just a temporary setback, and that Steve would have justice soon.
What came out of his mouth a few moments later was just the opposite of that.
“Did you know that they invented those words during the Second World War?”
Steve blinked, tilting his head to glance at him.
The unexpected sentence had finally got a reaction.
A very slow, yet puzzled reaction.
“See, thousand-yard stare was used to describe a symptom of battlefield exhaustion and stress,” he proceeded to inform him. Out of nowhere, his brain had made a connection he hoped would distract his partner from his dark thoughts. “And I think they had you in mind when they coined that…”
The corners of Steve’s mouth twitched.
Danny counted it as a victory.
“I told you, we’re going to find him, alright?”
Steve inhaled a deep breath and nodded as he slowly let it go.
“Okay.”
He shifted his position so he could face his friend. He didn’t look as wrecked as before, but there was a deep sadness in his gaze and Danny could feel the tension rolling off of him in waves.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, looking like he was trying to swallow his emotions as well. He rubbed a hand over his face, then raked it through his hair.
“I’m sorry, Danny, I didn’t mean to ruin your day. I just…” Steve averted his gaze and blew out a sharp exhale. “Wo Fat killed my dad.”
“I know, babe. And I know it killed you to leave him behind.” The son of a bitch had ordered the death of Steve’s father for the old man’s investigation into the Yakuza, and was responsible for the events that had led to Doris’ disappearance. Danny wanted to hurt him just as much as Steve did. “I promise you we’re gonna get him.”
Their eyes met.
Danny read the gratefulness for always having his back, Steve the reassurance he needed.
There was silence after that, a stretch of quiet that allowed them both to sort out their thoughts and push the unwelcome feelings aside.
Steve averted his gaze, fixing it on the ocean ahead, and blew out a sharp exhale.
“What do you say we grill those steaks you’ve been marinating?” Danny suggested, hoping to tempt him with food. McGarrett loved a good steak, and he loved barbecuing even more.
It worked.
He watched his partner’s eyes brighten and a smile appear on his lips.
“Yeah, man, I’m starving.”