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“I was thinking,” Danny announced loudly as he pushed the door to Steve’s office open, seeming to ignore the way the Navy SEAL’s head was bowed as he focused on the papers scattered across the surface of his desk (though Danny had been observing Steve the last fifteen minutes, and it had not slipped past his notice how the leader of the task force had been pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing at his temples, his tell-tale signs that he was getting tired or working up a headache). Steve uttered a sound at his words – something between a strangled chuckle and a scoff, and if you had asked, neither one of them could quite tell you exactly what it was.

“Thinking?” Steve rolled his eyes, though winced, the headache throbbing against his skull. “I tried that once, didn’t care much for it.”

This time it was Danny’s turn to release a sound, though this was definitely more along the lines of a huff than anything else, as he sank onto the leather couch of Steve’s office, head on one armrest as he kicked his feet up, sprawling as best he could across the furniture. “Of course, I should have known. Somewhere between all the trauma your head’s been through these last few years, and the fact that it’s you , I should have known thinking was not a favoured way of doing things.” Danny tilted his head slightly to look at the Navy SEAL, who had lifted his gaze to look at the detective, seemingly impressed at the shorter man’s ability to make himself look so at ease even on furniture as uncomfortable as the couch of the office. “Now that we’ve discussed that, I would like to ask you for some time off. Specifically like, a week.” 

“What for?” Steve raised an eyebrow slightly, eyes still on Danny, as the detective rolled his head back to stare at the ceiling. “Is something wrong, Danny?”

“What? No, everything’s fine.” Danny replied quickly, waving his hand madly (as if that was going to wave off Steve’s worries). “I’ve been missing Grace, and I know the coming few weeks are a bit more open when it comes to her schedule, so I was thinking I could bring Charlie out to see her.” 

Steve returned his focus to the papers on his desk, once again choosing to ignore the sharp throbbing in his head as the words jumbled together on the papers. He groaned, dropping his hands from where they had been pressing against his temples, failing to notice the worried expression on Danny’s face. “Give me the exact dates you’ll be gone, and it won’t be an issue.” Steve uttered, slowly moving his hands around the surface of the desk, gathering the papers together in one messy heap. “Governor’s out of the office for another three weeks, so I’m the only one who’s got to sign off on the papers.” 

What came next, was silence – this kind of silence that only really worked for the two of them, because had it been with any of the other members of the task force, both Steve and Danny would have sheepishly excused themselves to avoid the awkward mood. Instead, they remained perfectly still – Danny still sprawled across the couch, the leather growing hot and sticking to the bare skin of his forearms, and Steve in the chair behind his desk, fighting the flush that was threatening to colour his ears in a crimson red from Danny’s words.

“What do you mean easy?”

“It’s just-,” Danny sighed, wiggling down to make sure his entire body was resting against the cushions, the top of his head butting against the armrest. “I don’t know. It just feels like you’ve been giving me a whole lot of slack when it comes to time off.”

Steve sighed, the chair creaking underneath him as he leaned back, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling, though his eyes closed the moment his head hit the chair. “Your daughter is attending college in Los Angeles, your sisters, nephews, nieces, parents, aunts and uncles – and probably a whole army of more family members – are all in New Jersey. I don’t blame you if you wish to go see them, and truth be told, you’ve worked up more than enough days to be able to take the time you need with them all. On top of that, I think we all owe you some extra days off with everything that’s gone down, between the liver transplant, being shot and Grace’s accident.” The Navy SEAL shrugged slowly, though he didn’t know if Danny was even looking at him as he spoke. “Therefore, you have a week off from tomorrow, if that’s soon enough for you.”

“Tomorrow-,” Danny started, cut off by his own groan as he abruptly sat up, noticing how Steve had cracked open one eye to keep watch on the detective. “Steven, do you think I have the tickets and hotel bookings ready, and only need your thumbs up to press book ?” 

Steve shrugged again. “You like being prepared, Danno.”

“Not that prepared.” Danny rolled his eyes, feet hitting the floor of Steve’s office with a thud. “Besides, you’re the one that can toss one look at a scene, and come up with eighty-three fucking plans on how to do something. If there’s one of us that likes to be prepared, it’s you.”

This had Steve grinning, avoiding meeting Danny’s eyes as he looked at his own calendar. “When would you be heading out to see Grace?” 

“I was looking at a departure Saturday morning. That way I don’t have to take Charlie out of school, with him having next week off and everything.” Danny explained, bending over double to tie his shoe lace, completely oblivious to what Steve was doing at the desk, and possibly just thinking the Navy SEAL was looking at rotators from the HPD to be back-up in Danny’s absence. “That being said, I don’t want you to use your immunity and means to pull Charlie out of school earlier, just so we could get some more time with Grace.”

“That didn’t even cross my mind.” Steve rolled his eyes, pushing his calendar a little further onto his desk. “I was wondering, uh-,” Steve trailed off as Danny turned to look at him, a pair of bright blue eyes studying him closely as his continuation was awaited upon. “Well, the things is, I have quite a bit of days off that I haven’t used, and you know, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Mary and Joan, so I was thinking – if you don’t mind, of course – that maybe I could come along when you go to Los Angeles?”

Danny simply grinned, a surprised, but wide and goofy grin spreading on his face. “Steve McGarrett, taking time off work? Quick, get the news on the phone, this is a day that’s going down in the history books,” he chuckled, pressing his elbows into his thighs as he leaned forward, gaze still locked on Steve. “You know, Charlie’s going to want to bring you to the zoo, to show you the seals.”

That had a smile tugging on the corners of Steve’s lips. “Yeah? Maybe I’d like that.” He started, fumbling with a pen on his desk. “We could have a field day, you and the kids, me, Mary and Joan. I’m sure Charlie and Joan would get along great.”

“Wait, you’re serious about coming along?” Danny tilted his head a little, because a part of him had just figured Steve was teasing him, testing the waters to see what Danny would respond with if he had been serious. It only now occurred to him that Steve had been serious. “Steve, are you okay? You’re not sick, are you? Is it the radiation poisoning, has it struck out fully? What's the prognosis? Screw that, I’ll just call your doctor myself, because God knows you’ll downplay it, keeping the memory of how you told me about it all fresh in mind-,”

“ Danny .” Steve nearly whined – whined – causing the detective to stop his rambling, phone unlocked in his hand (because he had been serious about phoning Steve’s doctor). “I’m fine, okay? Just shut up for a second.” He lifted a hand to rub tiredly at his face, and Danny scooted further away on the couch, before absentmindedly patting the leather next to him. It had been a long day of meetings and paperwork for Steve, and it was clear to Danny that his headache was still bothering him, even if it was most natural for the former Navy SEAL to let his own pain fall second in line (or third, fourth, fifth – whichever place set his pain last, really). He hesitated for a second, but huffed and caved, leaving his desk in favour of the couch next to Danny, slumping as he sank down. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen them, you know? Sure, Mary comes by O’ahu occasionally, but she’s got a job now, and Joanie’s not too far from starting school, and that means their time to come here is cut down drastically – and I don’t think anyone will disagree if I say I haven’t exactly been the best at taking time off work for anything but … well, the last time I truly took time off I guess, was after the liver-thing. I took out a couple of days after you got shot, in that quarantine, but that’s it.” 

Danny lifted a hand to the back of Steve’s neck, rubbing his thumb and index against the pressure points at the base of the former Navy SEAL’s skull, drawing a contented groan from his lips as he leaned into the touch. “Part of me figured you were joking, the pulling my pigtails kind of joke, you know? I’ve told you I worry about you, your health, your stress levels – and you know I think a few days off occasionally is a good thing for you, even though I also know it might be an added stressor to that thick skull of yours.”

“I refuse to attend any anti-stress therapy sessions in Los Angeles.” Steve groused, though his eyes were shut, and he was sliding further down on the couch, still leaning against Danny’s touch.

“Wouldn’t dream of forcing you into one, babe,” Danny rolled his eyes, shifting his hand to alternate between the pressure points at the base of Steve’s skull and rubbing his fingers along the former Navy SEAL’s neck, loosening knots formed from bad posture at his desk and stress. “I sincerely hope you haven’t been glued to your computer screen all day.”

Steve grunted. “I haven’t, tried catching a nap while the rest of you headed out to get lunch, but couldn’t get things to stop whirring, so I mostly tossed and turned for about fifteen minutes,” he shrugged, tilting his head back against the couch, open his eyes for his gaze to follow Danny as the detective got up from where he was sitting, moving to dim the lights of the ceiling in Steve’s office, although it did nothing but to remove the yellow tint of the lighting, the bright light of day still flooding the office through the windows.

“Sounds like you could do with a week off work, yeah.” Danny sighed, glaring between the windows. “Do you have a lot more to do right now, or should we just go home?” 

“Should we go home?” Steve raised an eyebrow, brain desperately trying to catch up to whatever it was he quite obviously had missed out on. 

“Well, I came to your house with my car, so you could drive us to a crime scene today,” Danny huffed, picking the keys to the Camaro out of his pocket, before dangling them in the air, as if to motivate Steve to get up. “Now someone needs to take you home, or what, were you planning on running home?” Danny cocked an eyebrow, rolling his eyes at the sheepish grin that spread on Steve’s face. The former Navy SEAL didn’t respond however, simply stretched his long legs out across the floor, before working to get up, towering over Danny as he eventually stood to his full length. He was about to speak and reach out for the keys, when Danny shook his head. “Oh no – with that headache, I’m not letting you behind the steering wheel.”

Steve grumbled, but didn’t loudly voice his disagreement, turning off the lights in his office and shutting down his computer for the day, and trailed after Danny out to the parking lot. “You’re planning on leaving Saturday morning?” 

“Yeah, figured that’d be an alright time. We’d be in Los Angeles sometime in the afternoon, and I’d have enough time to feed Charlie something and wear him down a bit before it’s bedtime,” Danny shrugged, though huffed as he had to make the needed adjustments to the positioning of the driver’s seat and the steering wheel, much to Steve’s amusement. “I’ll send you the information so you can book the-,”

“Or you can just, you know,” Steve trailed off, lifting a hand to scratch at the back of his neck. “You could just book it for me. It’s not like you haven’t gotten all my details or anything.” 

Danny nodded. “Yeah, okay, I can do that. I’ll book a ticket for you as well then, when I book mine and Charlie’s later.” He paused, licking his lips. “Will you be checking into a hotel, or staying with Mary and Joan?”

“I haven’t thought about it yet.” Steve replied quietly, eyes locked on the road ahead of them. “If you didn’t notice, I kind of decided I wanted to go like, thirty minutes ago. It’s not like I’ve had the chance to tell Mary I’m coming.”

“Well, regardless of what Mary says, I’ll be booking a family room for myself and Charlie, because there’s no way I’m freely choosing to share a bed with him, the cover-hogger that he is, but that usually also means there’s space for another person,” Danny started, noticing how Steve shifted in the seat next to him as they slowed down for a red light. “Just a suggestion – of course, I completely understand if you don’t want to. Charlie – well, I might have to explain to him that uncle Steve’s a grown man, who wants to stay in his own hotel room, but-,”

“No, I’d like that,” Steve cut in, head turned to look at Danny. “I haven’t seen Charlie that much in a while, I’d like to spend some time with him, with both of you. If you’d let me.”

Danny exhaled, and damn if it wasn’t a little bit of relief in that. “I’d love to. You know I wouldn’t have suggested it if not.”

“Alright,” Steve nodded, turning his focus back on the road as the light switched, red turning into green. “We’re doing this, then.”

Danny should have known that when he told Steve the departure time of their flight, which was at 10.30 am, the former Navy SEAL would be at his doorstep the second the clock struck 7 am. He was far more prepared, far more jazzed up for the trip than Danny, and that seemed just right for them. Charlie, on the other hand, gave Steve’s ready-energy a run for its money where he sprinted across the room, flinging himself at the taller man. “Uncle Steve, you’re coming with us? For real?”

“Yeah buddy,” Steve chuckled, hoisting the boy into his arms. “You think Gracie is going to be surprised when she sees me?”

Charlie grinned sheepishly, ducking to hide his face against Steve’s neck. “I already told her,” he mumbled, breath hot against the skin of Steve’s throat, the former Navy SEAL simply chuckling. “I was so excited when Danno told me, and I just couldn’t keep it in! She is very excited to see you, and told me to tell you that she will-,” and he lifted his head from Steve’s neck, looking thoughtful for a second, before doing his best to recite Grace’s words nearly identical to how she had said them to him. “She wants to talk to you about Danno and if he’s taking care of himself.”

“What’s with you and my kids micromanaging my health?” Danny raised an eyebrow, moving around the living room to pack together Charlie’s backpack, all while Steve stood with the young boy on his arm, feeling rather useless. “Hey, Charlie, can you not cling to your uncle for just a second, and make sure I got all your stuff, yeah?” 

Steve eased the boy back to the floor, watching as he darted over the back of the couch, ploughing into the backpack to make sure his belongings were there, before moving to the kitchen himself, where he could smell coffee brewing. “That for me?” He grinned innocently, reaching for Danny’s cup, hand swatted away by the detective. “Come on, Danno, I’m taking us to the airport, the least you could do is get me some coffee.”

“No, because I don’t have that gross butter of yours,” Danny rolled his eyes, swallowing down a mouthful, praying that the caffeine would kick in sooner rather than later. Especially if he was going to deal with an energised Steve and Charlie all day, cooped up with them on a plane. For a brief moment he thanked himself (and maybe God too) for having booked them seats on the window side, so he could push the over-energetic children to the window.

“Besides,” Danny continued. “I’m surprised you haven’t pushed us out the door yet. What was your policy about airports again?”

“Two hours before estimated take-off,” Steve nodded, repeating it like a mantra, or maybe something ordered down on him from further up the chain of command. He was grinning, though, some of his hard routine-based edges having been worn down over the years, much to Danny’s fascination. “Though, with the pace of your son out there, I don’t think getting around the airport should be difficult. Neither is the airport on the island as big as LAX, so we’ll be fine really.”

“Or what, you’ll pull your badge on them?” Danny snorted, before going still, turning to Steve with a slight panicked look on his face. “Please don’t tell me that’s what you’re planning to do.”

Steve grinned sheepishly in return, using the moment to reach out and snatch Danny’s cup from his hand, swallowing down the last mouthful, though he grimaced at the way his mouth filled with coffee grounds. “I’ve actually left my badge at home, so no, I’m not going to flash my badge at anyone.” He huffed, immediately busying himself with cleaning the cup, not failing to notice how Danny simply observed the domestic act, the way he made himself completely at home in the small kitchen, something he hadn’t had any issues with doing over the near decade they had known each other.

“Can we go now?” 

Charlie’s voice had both turning, Steve leaving the cup to dry as he reached for a tea towel, Danny clapping his own hands together. “Yes, Charlie, I think that’s a good idea. Do you think Steve can drive like a sane-person with you in the backseat?” Danny chuckled, receiving a roll of the eyes from the former Navy SEAL, though it was clear once the car was on the road that he did, in fact, ease up on some of his wilder driving techniques. Instead, he spent the drive sparring facts about the Silverado with Charlie, before they steered the facts onto Steve’s Marquis.

“You know, buddy, when we’re back from Los Angeles, maybe you’d wanna come help me work on the car? If it’s alright with Danno, of course,” Steve tilted his head to look at Danny as they waited at a red light, whatever the detective was answering being completely lost in the loud cheering and pleading from the boy in the backseat. 

“You don’t need to-,”

“I know,” Steve nodded. “I want to.” 

“Steve-,”

“No, Danny, I really do. My dad worked on the car with me, and I guess he wanted to pass that onto me, the chance of working on the car with a kid of my own, but you know,” Steve sighed, lifting a shoulder to shrug. “With everything that’s gone down, I doubt kids of my own are actually in the future for me, but I’ve got a pretty sweet nephew in the backseat here, who I’m sure could be the best mechanic ever.”

Danny was rendered speechless, which he found Steve to do to him more often than not these days, but couldn’t overlook the odd, happy feeling in his chest. The way Steve wanted to share the thing he had grown up with as a father-son bonding thing with Charlie … it felt right, and that was odd. It sure was.

He feared the airport would be a nightmare, that Charlie would go overboard (he had done a few times when Danny had brought him to New Jersey), and that Steve would decide they should go without him, that the island needed him, that the team wasn’t able to do their work without him – something Lou had assured him they would be able to, more than once. Instead, he was proven otherwise, when Steve simply grabbed onto Charlie’s hand, holding it firmly as the boy talked away, the former Navy SEAL nodding seriously and participating with a word here and there. Danny trailed behind, his phone nearly burning in his pocket from wanting to get a picture of the scene. They got breakfast from one of the small cafés near their gate, and it was clear who Charlie’s hero was, Danny being pushed aside for Steve to help him with everything.

“You can tell him no, you know.”

Steve shook his head. “No way, I’m loving this.”

“I give it two days, Steven.”

That had a grin spreading on his lips, because of course he would light up like that at the sound of a challenge. “I’ll prove you wrong, Daniel.”

Danny spent the first two hours on the flight asleep, stuck in the aisle-seat, but he didn’t mind. Not when he had Steve on his left, and Charlie by the window. When he’d fallen asleep, they were talking about planes, and Steve was answering every question Charlie had as best he could, from the more general things about planes, to more technical things that was specific to the exact airliner they were on (which Danny came to learn was a Boeing 737-900, which had been introduced in 1997). When he woke, they were hunched together, Steve sleeping, an arm around Charlie, who was watching a cartoon on a device Danny didn’t recognise right away – because it was Steve’s phone.

The cartoon, and a power-bank fished out from Steve’s carry-on, had Charlie satisfied for the rest of the flight, while the two adults got the chance to chat – though it was mostly meaningless chatter, bordering on bickering, about what they had packed (“You can’t be serious, you didn’t pack anything to get a swim in Danny? Have you not seen the fantastic beaches they have in Los Angeles? I’m going to actively inject myself more into Charlie’s life, because I can’t let him grow up to be like you,” Steve had feigned a gasp).

The flight attendants had, on at least three occasions, sighed almost longingly as they looked at them, the way Charlie was curled into Steve’s side, the way Danny huddled close to Steve on his other side, before coming to give them extra little bonuses – out of the good of their hearts. Danny, who had fully expected Steve to find it embarrassing, was the one who flushed red at the attention himself, while Steve simply grinned widely, accepting any praise and perks they got, like a proud dog (and maybe it shouldn’t have surprised Danny that Steve Cheapskate McGarrett would play the part for free stuff). Though, if Danny had to be honest, he could see where the flight attendants came from.

He had, at some point noticed a slight shift in their relationship, partnership – whatever it was that they had. Maybe it had been around the time Steve had come to terms with kids, perhaps not being in his future, maybe it had been somewhere around his last failed attempts at dating. Danny didn’t know. Not that he was going to complain about it, either. He had long ago come to terms with his own feelings for Steve, feelings he doubted were returned, but if anything, those feelings only grew stronger and made him happier in moments like these, when Steve chose to spend time with him and his family, rather than running around keeping the island safe, or going on another date with a woman he wouldn’t ever call back (if he even got their numbers, that was – Danny wasn’t so sure about that, always).

Their hotel – which was more of a motel based on the layout of it all – was one Danny had stayed at before. Steve uttered as some point, carrying their luggage into the stupidly large family suite (because when Steve had uttered he could just as well share a room with them, Danny had dug around, found some old hotel-bonus points that could still be used, and he got them a two-bedroom family suite), that he had heard about this very hotel before, though it had been years back and that it had been mixed up in some drug-case – though at the look that must have spread on Danny’s face, he flashed a grin. “Relax, Danno – that was years ago, I’m sure they wouldn’t still be up and running if they had bad intentions, right?”

So, when they had gotten their luggage inside, Steve had been ushered into the other room (because there was no way Danny would allow the former Navy SEAL to be staying in the same room as him and Charlie – not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t think it was fair), they had gotten something to eat at a nearby restaurant, Charlie was finally asleep, and Steve had bid Danny goodnight and shuffled into his own room, Danny stifled a groan into the pillow of his bed. Then, as he turned over, face down into the pillow, sprawled across the mattress on his stomach, he slept – a sleep filled with dreams of the man in the adjoined room.

He woke to the smell of coffee. That had been the first thing he noticed.

Next, he noticed that the curtains were still shut, but the door to Steve’s room was ajar, a low chatter coming from the other room. Danny stretched, arching his back on the mattress until his spine popped, and then rolled off the bed, tugging some sweatpants and a t-shirt out of his bag. Nudging the door open, he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe as he looked into Steve’s room, seeing the former Navy SEAL and Charlie on the queen sized bed of the room, happily chatting away, though both of them lit up as they saw Danny.

“You’re awake,” Steve grinned, nodding in the direction of the desk by the window. “I got you coffee, should be just about perfect drinking-temperature.” He continued, shuffling on the bed so it would be space for Danny to sit on the other side of Charlie, who had his back towards the door, legs crossed underneath him and a container of what looked to be – and smelled like – milkshake in his hands. Upon seeing Danny’s raised eyebrow, Steve chuckled. “Don’t worry, he’s eaten breakfast already. He woke early, so we went for a swim in the pool, got showered, and headed down to the café on the corner for some food and drinks. We got back about ten minutes ago, it’s a miracle you didn’t hear us come and go, really.”

It was, actually. Years of being a father had trained him to wake at even the smallest of sounds. Then again, years of being Steve’s partner had also worn down those reflexes, because he could always trust Steve to have his six (because it did, occasionally, feel wrong to speak about the routines of his and Steve’s near decade-long partnership without using military phrases).

He wanted to reply that it’s just how relaxed and comfortable Steve’s made him over the years, stressing about health and decisions in the field aside. He bites it back, though, closing the gap between himself and the bed, a styrofoam cup of coffee now in his hand.

“How could I? I’m sure the both of you were in stealth mode,” he says instead, receiving a triumphant grin from Charlie, who turns to high-five Steve. “That aside, though, a morning swim? I don’t think I can allow your Naval routines to rub off on my son like that, McGarrett. Besides, didn’t we come to figure out yesterday that he doesn’t have any swimwear with him?”

“Yes, we did – and I still think that’s a crime, really,” Steve chuckled as Danny rolled his eyes. “But, as it turns out, the reception, which is open twenty-four-seven, happens to have a little range of swimwear, so we got him some real cool ones-,”

“They have surfing sharks on them,” Charlie adds with a nod and a wide, toothy grin in Danny’s direction, the detective not being able to stop the grin from curling the corners of his lips upwards. “You should come with us tomorrow, Danno, we were the only ones in the entire pool, and Steve taught me some really cool stuff about swimming.”

Danny shot Steve a look, not exactly feeling comforted by the chuckle passing by the other man’s lips. “Just some of the very basic stuff, Danny – keeping afloat, some tricks about breathing when swimming.” 

Truth be told, there was no one else he would trust more with Charlie in the water, whether it be sea or pool, so Danny nodded, and decided to let it slide. Instead, he leaned over to ruffle his son’s still damp hair, grinning slightly. “So, what do you two wanna do today?”

Steve had dressed casual, but it was a nice casual, though he felt the shirt to be a bit constricting where he stood, patiently waiting outside the door to Mary’s apartment. He had a gift for Joan in one hand, a collection of toys and a stuffed animal which Charlie had helped him pick out. In his other hand was a bottle of wine and a bouquet of flowers, for Mary, and he hoped it would work as an apology for dropping by without having let her know he was even in Los Angeles. He was surprised, though, when the door swung open, and it wasn’t Mary who stood on the other side. Instead he was met with a blond, who studied him with curious hazel-coloured eyes, before turning to call over her shoulder.

“Hey Mary, there’s a hunk on your doorstep – thought you told me you weren’t dating anyone right now?” The stranger turned back to Steve, continuing to study him closely as she waited for Mary to respond.

“I’m not dating anyone, Jen,” Mary scoffed in return. “Can you figure out who he is then? I’m sure he’s just lost, LA’s a big city after all, it wouldn’t be the first time some idiot’s come to my door when he should have been somewhere else altogether.”

The stranger – Jen – looked Steve up and down one more time, before looking at the flowers. “So, if she’s not dating anyone, then you’re not dating her at least. Maybe you’d be interested in a drink sometime, yeah?” She grinned widely, seemingly failing to notice how he shifted his stance uncomfortably.

“I, uh, I’m actually seeing someone,” he blurted out instead, ears flushed a bright red at his own blatant lie. “The reason I’m here is because I’m Mary’s brother.” 

“Oh, so you’re Steve?” Jen continued, not quite being able to hide her disappointment about hearing he was seeing someone. She did, however, step to the side and allow him into the apartment. “I’ve heard about you. Mary’s told me everything that’s happened with you guys and your family and stuff, and I just want to offer my condolences.” She continued, reaching out to place a hand on Steve’s arm, still unable to read his discomfort from his expression, when Mary entered the hallway and cleared her throat.

“Jen, I thought we agreed you’d never hit on my brother,” she rolled her eyes, before moving to wrap her arms around Steve’s torso, pressing her face into the fabric of his shirt. “You didn’t call.”

He chuckled softly, handing her the flowers and the wine as she let him go. “Trust me, I would have, but this was all a very spontaneous visit,” he shrugged, placing the bag with Joan’s gift on the floor. He was about to continue, when Mary moved forward to usher her friend out the door, muttering stuff under her breath about having told her not to hit on him, turning to face him again when the door was closed. “I’m sorry, Mare – I really should have called first-,”

“Joanie is going to be over the moon when she sees you,” Mary said instead, completely cutting him off as she pushed past him, heading to the kitchen, Steve trailing behind her, a little unsure of what to do with himself. “She asks about you non-stop, wonders what you do and when we’ll see you next.” 

“She does?”

“Of course she does, you idiot,” Mary rolled her eyes at him, and for a second she reminded him a little too much of Danny. “So, why are you in town? Are you dying? Sick? In the need of something? Getting married?”

Steve choked on his own breath. “What?”

Mary shrugged. “I heard you tell Jen you were seeing someone.”

“Oh, I, uh no, that was-,” Steve trailed off, shaking his head.

“How long are you staying?”

Geez, at this point she didn’t even give him the chance to answer her question before moving onto the next one. He cleared his throat, shifting his stance a little, pretending he felt more confident than he really was at this point. “We’re in town for a week.” He responds, accepting the cup of coffee she hands him, though doesn’t fail to notice the look on her face. “What’s that look for?”

“We’re in town for a week? I just thought you said you weren’t seeing anyone?”

“Oh yeah, I, uh – I’m here with Danny. He’s brought Charlie, they’re off to visit Grace today. I figured I’d come see you,” Steve shrugged innocently, scrunching up his nose in a grimace at the taste of the bitter coffee, and when Mary mumbles something about Navy SEALs not being used to espressos, he placed the small cup on the countertop, finding that he missed the bitter taste of the burnt coffee from Danny’s brewer back on Oahu. “Maybe we should get something done together, all of us. Charlie helped me pick out some stuff for Joan, and he said he’d wanna meet her.” 

“Oh yeah?” Mary chuckled, a hand on her brother’s arm as she led him to the couch. “How old is he now?”

“Seven, almost eight,” Steve sighs, sinking into the soft cushions of Mary’s couch. The apartment is nice, spacious and with traces of Joan all over it – from the colouring books to various toys spread out. “A year older than Joanie.”

She looks thoughtful for a second, before shrugging. “Joanie’s been pestering me about going to the zoo, I just haven’t found the time or energy yet.” 

“Speaking of, where is she?” Steve tilted his head slightly, causing Mary to chuckle.

“You know, when you do that head-tilt thing, you kind of look like a dog, yeah?” She rolled her eyes, grin splitting wider at the sight of Steve’s furrowed brows. “She’s at a friend’s for a sleepover, I’ll be picking her up around eleven in the morning. I doubt she’s up for it then, because as much as she needs sleep, I don’t think she and her friend will be getting any tonight, but if Danny hasn’t made plans with Grace, maybe we could all head to the zoo the next day?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, I’ll check with him,” he confirms, glancing around the apartment. “You’ve got yourself a great place here. You both enjoy the city?”

“We do,” Mary replied in a sigh, though her words were soft, genuine, and it soothed something within Steve. “It’s a good district, not too far from Joanie’s school. We’re just a short walk from the beach – and I know she’s adopted, so she’s not related by blood to us, but you should see her in the water, Steve. It’s like she takes after her superSEAL uncle, though she’s a whole lot better than I think either of us were at her age.”

“Speak for yourself,” Steve scoffed, though the grin curling the corners of his lips upwards betrayed him. “I’m a third generation Navy-veteran, water is my element.”

“You weren’t a third generation Navy-veteran at the age of seven, Steve,” Mary chuckled, grin still wide on her lips, before she schooled her expression. “Maybe you should take her surfing, before you go back to Honolulu.”

He smiles, wide and goofy, at that. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Steve stays for dinner. He texts Danny that he and Charlie should just go ahead and eat without him, that he’ll keep Mary company. They talk until the sky has gone dark, and the alcohol seems to fizz a little extra in his bloodstream. She offers to fetch some sheets, make the couch for him. He lets Danny know he’ll see them in the morning, that he’s spending the night, and for a moment his heart sinks a little. Not because he doesn’t want to spend the night at Mary’s, grateful that he’s had the chance to catch up with his sister throughout the entire day, but because he feels as if he’s letting someone down. He doesn’t know if it’s himself, Danny or Charlie he feels he’s letting down, and for some reason he decides he should dwell after bidding Mary goodnight, stripping down to his boxers and tucking himself in on the couch of Mary’s living room.

He never stays awake long enough to truly dwell on it, starting his trail of thoughts by concluding it would all be easier if he didn’t feel what he was feeling for Danny, and then he dozed off, not waking until hours later, when rays of sun was dancing across the living room, there was a faint humming of the shower in Mary’s en-suite bathroom, and he can hear the faint croaking of seagulls outside. Steve stretches and gets off the couch, rubbing at his face tiredly, scratching over the stubble along his jaw, and tugs on yesterday’s clothes. 

“Good morning,” Mary yawns as she enters the room, watching as Steve folds up the sheets from the couch. “Slept well?”

“About as good as one can expect on a couch ,” Steve snorted, handing her the neat stack of folded fabrics, though rolled his eyes when she simply set it down on the armrest of the furniture, pushing past him as she went to the kitchen. “And before you say it, no I wouldn’t have slept any better in Joanie’s room. Besides, what were you going to say to her, that her idiot uncle came all the way from Hawaii to sleep in her bed? She’d hate me.”

“She could never hate you,” Mary replies quietly. “Neither one of us could.”

His jaw clenches. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around. Especially after … well, after mom.” Steve sighs, lowering his head a little. “It’s just been a lot, and then it was a little rough at work, and Danny came proposing his week off and I kind of just went with it, stuck to him like-,”

“Velcro,” Mary finishes, a small smile tugging on her lips as she moves closer, wrapping herself around him as best she could. “It’s okay, Steve. I mean, it’s been rough on me too, with mom dying and coming back, and now dying for real this time, but I was never in the middle of it , you know? I wasn’t hunted by a criminal over and over for what she had done, I wasn’t tracked down by military and agencies from around the world. I’ve been able to live a relatively peaceful life, right here, with Joanie, and I’m grateful for that, but what I’m even more grateful for is you, okay?” She pauses, tilts her head back to make eye contact with him. “You’ve been standing in the middle of this all, taking each blow for the both of us , and I know I haven’t thanked you enough for that.”

He smiled weakly, allowing himself to melt a little into her embrace. “It’s done now, though, it’s all over. No more running, no more hiding.”

“That sounds like a good plan to me,” Mary chuckled against his chest, patting his shoulder, before letting him go. “How about we get something to eat now, and then I can drop you off at your hotel?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Steve grins, trailing behind her into the kitchen. “Do you need any help? I’ve been known for my scrambled eggs.”

“You’re not cooking eggs in my microwave.” Mary snorted.

“What? Did Danny tell you that?” Steve narrowed his eyes. “I’d like for you to know that it was a one time thing , and we were on a stake-out . Desperate times called for desperate measures.” 

She didn’t respond to his question about whether Danny had told her or not, simply shaking her head a little as she turned to the fridge, getting the ingredients she needed – though Steve couldn’t quite make out what she would be making yet. “So, Danny, huh?” She uttered instead, back facing Steve as she started cooking. “You know, I was convinced you two were dating back when I first met him. Like, absolutely convinced – and you’re little surf-buddy thing didn’t really convince me of anything else.” 

Steve rolled his eyes, sinking down on a stool by the kitchen island. “Danny and I, we’ve never-,”

“Sure,” Mary chuckled. “But you have thought about it, no?”

“What?” Steve squeaked – an honest to God squeak – which had Mary laughing, because quite frankly, the idea of a big and tough Navy SEAL squeaking was a comical one.

Mary grinned as she looked at him. “Come on, I heard your tone and I saw your face yesterday, when you told me you weren’t seeing someone, and then you tell me you’re here with Danny?” She paused, leaning back against the counter. “Besides, you … you had a face, about it all. Not to mention your squeaky-sound.”

Steve lowered his head a little, a sigh escaping his lips, and Mary’s words from before coming back to echo through his head. No more running, no more hiding. He guessed that applied for this as well.

“Would it be bad?”

She grinned, but shrugged. “I don’t know, brother, would it?”

He huffed. “He’s got a family already, two kids and a whole lot of responsibilities. I don’t know what that means, what it all brings with-,”

“Does it scare you?”

“What?”

Mary moved closer, only the kitchen island between them now. “Does it scare you, the thought of taking on the responsibilities that come with the family-aspect of it, of becoming an even bigger and even more important part in the lives of Danny’s kids?”

Steve hated it. He hated when his little sister was the voice of reason. It wasn’t supposed to be like that, yet here they were. He huffed, and looked at her, unsure of what to say – because she was right. He was scared of taking on that role in the lives of Charlie and Grace, but he was equally as scared to be taking the actual step with Danny, to even think about crossing the border between friends and something more.

It seemed as if Mary understood; she reached across the kitchen island and patted at his forearm. “It’s okay, Steve. I didn’t mean to force you into an uncomfortable mood,” she paused, turning back to the ingredients on her counter. “Come on, how about you teach me how to make that omelette of yours before I drive you back to the hotel?”

“It’s scrambled eggs,” Steve groused – and showed her how to anyway.

Danny was sitting in one of the deck chairs by the pool when Steve returned to the hotel, Charlie happily splashing away and practising the techniques for breathing during swimming. “I thought I told you I don’t need any more SEAL pups,” Danny grumbled as he watched Steve sink into the deck chair next to him, shooting a grin and a wave in Charlie’s direction. “I have enough to take care of Junior.”

“You hardly take care of Junior, Tani’s got that all under control,” Steve scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Got any plans for tomorrow?”

“No,” Danny shrugged. “Figured I’d ask if me and Charlie could hang with you, if you’d wanna. Grace’s got some coffee-date with a couple of friends, and you know, when you’re a teenager in college, it’s not so cool to have your dad and little brother hanging around you and your friends.”

Steve hummed, eyes on Charlie, who – still in the shallow end of the pool – decided to extend his breathing techniques to doing a hand-stand underwater, droplets of water splashing around as he waved his feet in the air. “Mary was asking if you two would like to head out to the zoo tomorrow. She’s already roped me in, and well, we figured maybe Joan and Charlie would get along well.” 

“That’d be nice,” Danny nodded, turning his head to look at the former Navy SEAL, taking in the sight of him there, in a deckchair by a poolside in Los Angeles, instead of at the beach by his house in Hawaii. His shirt, the same he’d worn the day before, was slightly wrinkled and rumpled, the top couple of buttons left unbuttoned, and Danny couldn’t quite determine if it was because he hadn’t wanted to button them, or if it was because the tightness of the buttons made him feel constricted. “You should go change, and join him. He’s been bugging me about swimming in the deeper end, but I’m not really feeling the pool-thing today.” He suggested then, not quite able to hide his smile as Steve turned his head a little.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Danny chuckled, and Steve didn’t really need more to find his feet and head for their room, returning shortly after clad in board shorts and a t-shirt that said “Navy” in bold letters, which he stripped out of, tossing it onto Danny as he got into the water – much to Charlie’s joy. He picked up his book as Steve and Charlie played, the two of them roughhousing a little, before Steve slowly brought Charlie to the deeper end of the pool, one hand constantly underneath the boy’s chest as they continued working on breathing techniques and staying afloat.

They stayed in the water for a while – up until Charlie huffed, and complained he was hungry, to which Steve hoisted him onto the poolside, swam a couple of laps, and got up to join them, pouting and mumbling something about Danny “never offering him a towel.” There were a couple of girls, maybe in their mid 20s, who crossed the parking lot when Steve stepped out of the pool-area, his shirt back on and the towel slung around his neck, and though he didn’t notice, it was clear they were checking him out, whispering back and forth about the hot guy at the pool. It all stopped, though, when Danny and Charlie emerged, the boy immediately clinging onto Steve’s hand, and they figured oh, he’s not only taken, but he’s a dad too.

Most of the afternoon was spent in the neighbourhood around the hotel. Danny brought Steve up to speed on the things he was allowed to tell the former Navy SEAL (the second Grace had been told that her uncle was in Los Angeles too, she had demanded to meet him, wanting to hug him and tell her about college-life herself), while Steve sheepishly told him how Mary’s friend had hit on him – and that he might have lied about a relationship to avoid any awkward confrontations.

Danny had barely been able to contain his laughter at that, attracting some attention from passerbyers where they walked down the street. “You’re a wizard with your words, McGarrett,” he managed to utter between laughs. “What did Mary say to it?”

“Honestly? I stumbled my way through it, and think I landed fairly okay, though it should be mentioned that at some point, I’m sure Mary was convinced you and I were dating,” Steve sighed, shifting his hands deeper into his pockets, not once moving his gaze away from Charlie, who was walking about a foot in front of them. “So, if she asks you anything, I’m sure it’s just to pull your pigtails.” 

“Just let her,” Danny shrugged, reaching out for Charlie’s shoulder as they waited for the light to turn green, indicating they could cross the road. “If she does, I’ll tell her how it is, yeah?”

“Sure,” Steve shrugged, turning his head away from Danny, afraid his true feelings would come to display on his face, in his eyes. Maybe they already had in his tone, or maybe Danny thought he was shrugging dismissively. Maybe Steve just really wanted to find a way to tell Danny how he felt, without screwing up everything they had – and maybe that just didn’t seem possible.

The zoo on a day off school, in hindsight, probably a bad idea. Yet, as they stood in the crowded parking lot of the Los Angeles Zoo, the kids were far too excited about seeing all the animals (especially the seals, as Charlie had told Steve, Danny, Mary and Joan, over and over again), and Danny was not at all ready to hear his son’s protests and complaints if they didn’t go. However, well inside the zoo, Steve was dragged along by the kids, while Mary and Danny trailed behind, simply laughing at the sight. The former Navy SEAL had Joan on his shoulders, her legs tucked into his armpits, and her fingers wrapped tightly into his dark hair, and if she was uncareful and accidentally pulled a little too hard on occasion, well, he took it like a champ, and schooled his expression and tone as he told her to ease the grip a little. Charlie, on the other hand, was taking good use of the length of Steve’s arm, as he held tightly onto his hand, but dragged him along, chattering happily away, only stopping whenever the girl on Steve’s shoulder butted in with something of her own.

“He’s enjoying this,” Danny chuckled, observing the amused expression on Steve’s face as he had been instructed to stop, Charlie pointing out the whereabouts of some birds in a tree. “I don’t know if he’s told you about, you know, what he thinks for the future?”

“I know about the radiation poisoning, and how he doesn’t really see a family of his own to be something he’ll ever get, if that’s what you mean,” Mary responded carefully, seeming uncertain if that was really what Danny meant. “He’s lucky to have you and Charlie, though, and Grace too. I have my whole life here in Los Angeles, but there are times I wish we were closer, so Joanie could see him more often.”

Danny chewed a little on his lip. “He’s good with her.”

“He’s good with Charlie too,” Mary said, pointing out her own observation.

“Sometimes he’s a little too good with Charlie, the kid’s got him wrapped around his finger,” Danny rolled his eyes. “On the flight here, more or less the entire flight, Charlie was watching cartoons on Steve’s phone. Not even I’m allowed to touch his phone, unless it’s for emergencies.”

“Maybe that’s his way of telling you.”

“Telling me what?” Danny cocked an eyebrow and turned towards her, just barely missing out on her mumbled nothing , before Charlie came running to him, tugging at his arm. “What’s up, buddy?”

“Steve says that if he’s a seal , you’re a lion ,” Charlie announced, squeezing Danny’s hand once, before returning to Steve’s side, small hand wrapping around the former Navy SEAL’s fingers. Over his shoulder, Steve sent Danny a grin, before having his head forcibly turned back towards the animals in the enclosure ahead, making Mary quip about the girl having to be careful to her uncle. 

“I think he can handle it,” Danny snorted, noticing how Mary rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen him go through worse. Hell, I’ve manhandled him through worse.”

Mary didn’t respond, instead motioning for him to follow along, the children having urged Steve to keep moving. However, as Charlie and Joan cheered for Steve to come with them into the LAIR, wanting to get a closer look at some creepy crawlers (among other things), she held him back, a hand on the Danny's bicep as she held him back. “Are you dating my brother?”

“I – uh,” Danny swallowed nervously. “What?”

“You heard me,” Mary shrugged, leaving Danny to see far too much of Steve in her mannerisms. “Are you dating my brother?”

Danny schooled his expression away from the shocked one. “No, I’m not.”

Mary hummed, studying Danny’s face closely, continuing her copying of Steve’s infuriating mannerisms, those who drew Danny mad on a near daily basis at its worst. “Do you want to date my brother?”

“What?” 

“You know,” Mary shrugged innocently. “I see the way you look at him. I see the way he looks at you – and yeah, I have eyes, and definitely do not need to be a detective to see what’s going on in there,” she jabbed a finger at his chest, causing him to wince. “I see how he is with your kid, I hear how he talks about Charlie, Grace … about you.”

Danny drew in a sharp breath and lowered his head a little, staring at the dirty tips of his Converse. “It’s more complicated than that-,”

“You’re a bad liar, Danny. I hope you know that,” Mary chuckled, shaking her head a little. “Come on, I’m sure they’re waiting for us. You should get your phone out for a picture if they’ve all got a snake tangled around them.”

He trailed behind, seemingly a little off, because Steve shot him a look, which he did his best at waving off, and though he didn’t seem to convince the former Navy SEAL, he was happy for a distraction as Grace texted him, asking if he and Steve (and Charlie) were free for dinner that evening, to which he replied that yes, they were. Sure, he hadn’t checked with Steve first – but then again, he doubted that Steve would actually turn down a chance of giving Grace a hug.

He trailed behind, seemingly a little off, because Steve shot him a look, which he did his best at waving off, and though he didn’t seem to convince the former Navy SEAL, he was happy for a distraction as Grace texted him, asking if he and Steve (and Charlie) were free for dinner that evening, to which he replied that yes, they were. Sure, he hadn’t checked with Steve first – but then again, he doubted that Steve would actually turn down a chance of giving Grace a hug. 

“You okay there, buddy?” Steve spoke to him in a lowered voice, having eased Joan down from his shoulders and let both children wander a few feet ahead with Mary. He had a hand on Danny’s shoulder – and shit, had his hands always been this warm? “You had a face.”

“I don’t have a face ,” Danny scoffed, rolling his eyes, which seemed to ease some of the worry from Steve. “I just – I have a headache , and Grace invited us to dinner tonight.” 

Steve’s hand on his shoulder shifted a little, fingertips brushing soothingly against the base of Danny’s neck, giving a gentle squeeze, before he let it drop. “We don’t have to, you know. We’re not heading back to Hawaii for a couple more days, and don’t you think Charlie would want to come with?” He paused, tilting his head a little, reminding Danny of Eddie. “He’s really hit it off with Joanie – Mary’s open to have him over at her place for a sleepover, if he wants to and you’ll allow it. She said something about it being important to keep family close, but I actually think it was the kids’ idea.” He turned his head back to look forward, making sure they didn’t actually walk into anything or anyone in their way. “Before you worry, Mary’s gone straight, okay? Her place is nice , and it’s a good neighbourhood. Charlie will be safe there for the night.”

“I don’t doubt the place is nice or that the neighbourhood isn’t good I’m worried about; it’s leaving him in the care of a McGarrett,” Danny groused, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, that’s rude, I’ve taken care of him on several occasions.”

Danny reached up to pat at Steve’s chest, chuckling at the pout on the former Navy SEAL’s lips. “Yeah, but that’s you , babe,” he grinned. “It’s the other McGarrett I’m not so sure about.”

“I can vouch for her,” Steve chuckled, an arm placed around Danny’s shoulders to hold him close, just barely pulling him out of the way as a kid came running, clearly fleeing their parents, who followed right behind. “Of course, if you’d rather keep Charlie with us for the night, he did mention a channel that was showing a marathon of the Shrek -movies.” 

Danny had them both halting to a stop, the family walking behind them quickly scattering and just barely dodging the two. “You and my son having a Shrek marathon? Jesus Christ, Steven, why don’t you just go ahead and show him something like Ted, or something like that, right away?”

“What?” Steve grins wide and happily. “I’ll have you know that Shrek holds a lot of jokes that are perfectly decent for a kid his age. It’s not like I’ll be explaining the boner-joke to him.”

Danny places a hand on Steve’s chest, clenches his jaw and looks him right in the eye. “For some reason, I wouldn’t trust you not to, babe.” He chuckles, before giving the muscular chest a couple of gentle taps, enjoying the goofy grin on Steve’s lips, ignoring completely how intimate the whole setting looks, before wandering off to join Mary and the kids, leaving Steve alone to catch his train of thoughts.

Oh boy, did he have something he needed to tell Danny sooner rather than later.

Charlie eventually convinced Danny about the sleepover, which resulted in an erupted cheer from the children. So, Mary came with them back to the hotel, picked up a bag of Charlie’s things, before wishing the boys a “Very good night.” Had you asked either of them, it was like she knew something – something that had them looking somewhat suspiciously at each other, before shrugging it off. Danny was tired, a day of walking around the zoo tiring him out in more ways than one. Steve also looked worn out, but in a good way, and Danny was pleased to see how he sank together at the foot of the bed in Danny and Charlie’s shared part of their hotel room. 

“Dinner with Grace?” He asked, eyes lighting up a little at Danny’s chuckle.

“Only if you’re up for it, babe,” Danny shrugged slightly. “She knows we’ve been at the zoo all day, and she knows you’ve been carrying around both Charlie and Joan all day.”

Steve huffed. “So? I can still eat dinner, Daniel.”

“You know that’s not what I meant, Steven .” Danny countered, watching a tired, goofy grin spread on Steve’s lips, as he raised his hands in surrender. “Anyway, I’m in dire need of a shower before we do anything – I smell like the zoo, and trust me when I say it’s not a very nice smell.”

Steve dozed off – right there on Danny’s bed – while Danny showered, awakened by the presence of a Danny that was still damp, dark blotches against the fabric of his already dark t-shirt signalling he dried off hastily, water dripping from his hair to Steve’s torso. “Bathroom’s all yours,” he grinned, dropping his hand from where it had been on Steve’s shoulder, shaking him awake. “Not too sure I’m pleased about your choice to rub your zoo-stank off on my bed, though.” 

“I’m sure we could do something about that,” Steve grumbled under his breath as he got to his feet, deciding not to stick around within the room for long enough to hear an eventual response to that, instead making his way to his bag, picking out some clean clothes, and while he stood underneath the spray of the water in the shower, washing away layers of dirt, dust and sweat, Danny stood frozen in place in the middle of the room.

Because there was no way he really heard Steve say that.

He didn’t move until he heard the water in the bathroom being turned off, the faint hissing of running water coming to a stop, and he quickly set about to move, combing his hair in place, adjusting the belt on his jeans. If he noticed Steve sending him a curious look as he exited the bathroom, Danny probably ignored it. Or he shrugged it off. Either way, he didn’t give it any more attention that he felt was necessary, which was still a whole lot more than Steve had expected.

They had dinner with Grace, meeting her at a small hole-in-the-wall kind of diner not too far from her dorm. She was ecstatic to see Steve, wrapping herself around his torso the exact same way she had done when she was little, and he enveloped himself around her in return, as if his body could protect her from all the horrors and hurt in the world, and it warmed Danny’s heart seeing her like that – seeing them like that. In fact, he was so caught up in his own thoughts and feelings that he didn’t see how Steve whispered something in Grace’s ear, which resulted in a face-splitting grin as she whispered something back.

“What am I, invisible?” He chuckled as they had let go of each other, and Grace hadn’t immediately turned to hug her father. She rolled her eyes at him, yet wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close nonetheless.

“Hi Danno,” Grace chuckled, giving her father a tight squeeze, before leading the two of them to a booth in the corner.

The waiter opted to tell them what a sweet family they were on not one, but two different occasions, even after Danny had sheepishly told him that they weren’t a family in the sense that people imagined them to be. They ate Italian food, and sure, it was always risky bringing Danny, an Italian food-snob, to a place that claimed they specialised in Italian food. He did, however, surprise both Steve and Grace as he never voiced his opinion about the food, seeming happy to be in the company of the two, in a diner-style restaurant that was quiet , the music a comfortable low level that made it possible for them to actually have a conversation. Instead, it was Steve who made low complaints – or, observations, more like it, his quiet “I bet you could make this better, Danno,” not going unnoticed. Danny could tell that from the wicked grin on Grace’s lips.

The waiter opted to tell them what a sweet family they were on not one, but two different occasions, even after Danny had sheepishly told him that they weren’t a family in the sense that people imagined them to be. They ate Italian food, and sure, it was always risky bringing Danny, an Italian food-snob, to a place that claimed they specialised in Italian food. He did, however, surprise both Steve and Grace as he never voiced his opinion about the food, seeming happy to be in the company of the two, in a diner-style restaurant that was quiet , the music a comfortable low level that made it possible for them to actually have a conversation. Instead, it was Steve who made low complaints – or, observations, more like it, his quiet “I bet you could make this better, Danno,” not going unnoticed. Danny could tell that from the wicked grin on Grace’s lips.

It wasn’t far too late when they bid their farewells, Grace taking her sweet time enjoying Steve’s embrace, face pressed against his shirt, his hand coming to cradle the back of her head as he pressed a kiss to her hair. She mumbled something to him when they parted, something that had Steve grinning widely, but Danny didn’t have the chance to ask about it, because Grace launched herself at him for a tight hug and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

They hung back a bit, standing side by side as they watched her walk back to her dorm, when Steve chuckled softly. “She’s a great girl, Danno. Through and through a fantastic person,” he turned his head to look at Danny, who couldn’t quite hide his smile. “Not that the rest of us should be surprised, she’s your kid, after all.”

“You can be quite sweet sometimes, McGarrett,” Danny grinned, elbowing him in the side, before they both turned, heading back to the rental car. Up until that moment, it had been Danny behind the wheel, with no protests from Steve, but as they reached the vehicle now, Danny stopped, causing Steve to frown. “Here.” He reached into his pocket for the keys, tossing them to Steve. “I trust you to get us back to the hotel with no issue.”

Steve grinned and nodded, before moving around Danny, a hand carefully sliding along Danny’s lower back as he moved past him, causing Danny’s breath to hitch in his throat. If it was intentional, Danny didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know, but he would have to ask about it at some point. 

Their drive back to the hotel was quiet. Steve hummed along to the radio, a station that played classic rock only (he had at some point said he wasn’t changing it because he knew it was the kind of thing Danny liked listening to), while Danny exchanged some text messages with Mary, making sure Charlie was behaving. The parking lot of the hotel was quiet, the only sounds being the faint ones of cheering from the pool mixed with that of the road outside.

“We have two choices now,” Steve grinned as they got out of the car. “There’s a vending machine there, and there’s a grocery store down the road – if you want snacks, of course. Both options end with us watching Shrek, even though I know you’ll complain.” 

“You didn’t get to watch a lot of Shrek on that boat of yours, huh?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to argue about the vessel, Danny, but no, we didn’t exactly have a lot of time to watch Shrek. Besides, if I’m going to get the chance to watch the movies with Charlie, I’m going to need a brush-up on which parts are okay for me to explain to him, and which parts should not be explained to a seven year old kid.” 

Danny grinned. “So you’re using me to check what’s okay and not?”

“I guess, yeah?” Steve tilted his head a little. “But yeah, the movie’s on anyway, so I’m leaving snack-choices to you.” 

Danny chuckled again, but headed for the vending machine, getting them some snacks (though it wasn’t much to brag about), before rejoining Steve at the door to their room. He hesitated for a while, looking between his twin-sized bed and the TV, when Steve cleared his throat. “So, uh, there’s a queen-sized bed in the other half of the room,” he lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck. “Might be a little easier than to make it work here.” He waved his hands absentmindedly around the half of the room which Danny and Charlie shared, before receiving a nod from Danny.

“Yeah, sure,” Danny agreed, following Steve into the other half of the room.

It was a good piece of evidence that, while the years had worn his routines down, Steve still preferred to keep at a certain level of neatness. Danny had to stifle a chuckle as he made himself comfortable on the mattress (which was a whole lot more comfortable than the mattress of the twin-bed Danny was sleeping on for their hotel-stay) next to Steve, who helped prop up pillows against the headboard. The movie had already started, though that didn’t seem to bother either of them – and they didn’t make it more than ten minutes into the movie, when Danny turned to Steve, originally to make him turn on something else, though Steve appeared to have something else in mind.

He didn’t know exactly what prompted it, but Steve’s hand was on Danny’s cheek, warm palm pressed against blond stubble, and Steve’s lips were on his – and it wasn’t beautiful or even elegant , a clash of noses that had Danny wincing a little, before tilting his head, tip of his nose against Steve’s cheek instead. Soon enough the movie was drowned out, the contented hum escaping Steve’s lips being everything Danny wanted to focus on.

“I was going to ask you to turn off the movie,” Danny mumbled against Steve’s lips at some point, drawing a chuckle from him in return, a low rumble from deep in Steve’s chest that nearly tickled where his chest was pressed against Danny. “Now I don’t mind, though, because I think I really like this.”

Eventually they parted, Steve grinning that goofy, lopsided grin of his, and it did something to Danny’s heart. “You know, Mary was on to us, I think – or, onto me, at least.”

“Shit, she asked you too?” Danny rolled his eyes a little, but shuffled closer to Steve anyway, carefully taking his time to arrange Steve’s long arms around himself. “I was cornered at the zoo, and she asked me if I was dating you.”

Steve was quiet, no quick-witted response to that. Instead he lowered his head, resting it against Danny’s as he breathed in the smell of his hair-products. “Would that be bad? You know, if we were dating?”

“I don’t think so,” Danny replied quietly, taking notice of how Steve seemed happy with their more cuddling positions, not having pushed him away. “Do you?”

“No,” Steve replied honestly, and even though it was a short response, Danny could hear the sincerity in his tone. “I’ve wanted this for a long time, Danno, I definitely don’t think this would be bad.”

Danny tilted his head back, allowing his lips to brush against Steve’s again, noticing how his lips parted into a grin as he returned the kiss. “Good,” Danny hummed, nuzzling closer to him. “Can we talk more tomorrow, though? Because I’m kind of tired and I think I would like to figure out how much of a cuddler you are.” 

“Yeah, we can do that,” Steve grinned, only shifting his arms so he was holding Danny closer. “We can talk tomorrow.”

If their sleep that night was better than ever, legs tangled together, and Steve’s face pressed against Danny’s neck, then neither one of them mentioned it. If their talk in the morning consisted of slow-paced kisses, and exploring each other’s bodies, then that was their talk to do. If it at some point became clear that the whispering between Steve and Grace had been Steve asking Grace for her approval when it came to making a move, then maybe Danny’s heart grew a little more. If Charlie used approximately a single day of dropping the ‘uncle’ for Steve altogether, instead starting to work out various ways that fit when it came to calling him dad , maybe Steve realised he had played a role more important in Charlie’s life than he first thought. If Mary rolled her eyes before congratulating them as they told her that they were dating now, then that was her thing – and, if the team started paying up when they came to greet the three of them at the airport when they returned to Oahu, Danny and Steve hand-in-hand, then that was their deal.

After all, now they didn’t seem to be bad liars to the people of Oahu anymore.