Archive of Our Own ^beta

Shafts of late afternoon sunlight crisscross the dim labyrinth. They warm the back of Steve’s neck when he passes through one, but the overall heat and humidity doesn’t relent in the shade. It’s been scorching hot the last few days, and even this close to the water, there’s no relief. The massive storm that Honolulu was expecting over the lunch hour is still hovering off the horizon, not that Steve can see it at the moment. He wipes sweat from his forehead and tightens his grip on his sidearm. His boots scrape against cracked pavement as he turns another corner and clears the aisle. 

Corrugated steel walls rise up in all directions. Danny huffs over Steve’s earpiece, panting lightly in the suffocating heat, and he can hear the blonde's rhythmic footfalls echoing his own. He glances left and right, but sees no sign of either his partner or the thin, rangy mainlander they’d chased into the abandoned shipyard. 

Chin’s voice is grim over the comms, “Looks like he’s our guy. The body is still in the ship's hold. I’m guessing we interrupted him while he was weighing her down.”

“Motherfucker ,” Danny curses, causing a hiss of static. 

“I’ll coordinate with HPD. There’s a lot of exits and entrances to cover." There's a few seconds of feedback as Chin calls for Duke and Steve hears him in stereo over the earpiece and radio. “Steve, Danny, if you two can trap him in the container storage we can close in.”

“I have no visual on the target. This guy is quick, we need that perimeter up ASAP.” Steve hasn’t seen a glimpse since he and Danny split up at the entrance. 

Koko chimes in, breathing slightly elevated with exertion, “I’m nearly in position guys. Midpoint up the bayside crane, I’ll have eyes on you in two minutes.” 

Steve hears a deep inhale over the line as Danny scents the air. “I’ve got enough to track him in close range, but there’s something hinky with it… oh. Hold on. Shit! ” The pace of his footsteps increases. Danny must be sprinting now, his breath coming in harsh exhales that fuzz in Steve’s ear. 

“Danny?” Steve picks up his own pace, clearing corners and dead ends as fast as he can. 

“I think he’s… damn it. I’ve got him, but he’s a Shifter! Canine. Dingo maybe. Fucking scent blockers. Crap, he’s even faster like this, he’ll make it through the HPD blockade. We need Kono on the ground now!”

A thousand plans run through Steve’s head. Kono’s at a significant height to cover the area with her SR-25. Even if she could get to the ground, shift into her ocelot form, and track the suspect, it’s too long a wait. A dingo Shifter is built for running, he’ll be out of the harbor area long before she can get into position. 

He knows Danny has a feline shift too, but after six months of working together, he still has no clue what kind. Even after digging into his NPD records, Danny’s shift is only recorded as “feline, non-service.” No genus, no species; not even a size estimate. 

It chafes at Steve, to have an asset that he doesn’t understand inside and out. Of course, that’s not the only thing about Danny that pushes his buttons. Steve’s got a list. The highlights include: his deliciously broad shoulders, his stellar detective skills, his ability to argue about literally any topic at the drop of a hat, and, most telling of all, his uncompromising devotion to staying in his daughter's life. Steve’s been an orphan for half a year; he can admit to having a complicated relationship with absent parents. 

Danny is trouble. He’s unpredictable, and contradictory. For a guy that talks so much, he’s unfairly good at not saying what’s important. Steve knows he hasn’t shifted in the entire year he’s been on the island, which Kono tells him is not a very comfortable way to live, and probably explains at least some of Danny’s general orneriness. Steve also knows that Danny was very relieved Gracie took after Rachel’s side. He has several pictures of her adorable wolf pup form in his awful apartment. There’s also the fact that Kawika and the rest of the Kapu reacted extremely strangely to Danny, weirder than they’ve ever interacted with any haole or cop. It was almost respectful, but choked with too much bias against everything that Danny represents, with his skin, and his badge, and his ties. And Danny obviously knew that, pushing buttons of his own, and not giving an inch to the native Shifter pack. 

That is the extent of Steve’s recon on Danny’s other form, and his lack of intel about one of his own team members (his partner, in fact) drives him crazy. While they’ve tactlessly barged their way into every other aspect of each other's lives, this is the one holdout. Danny actually pushed back about keeping Steve away from this information, and he was forced to withdraw or risk team cohesion. Danny had begun by shutting down every line of inquiry with rants of epic proportions. At first, Steve had enjoyed winding him up, hiding his smile at the gesturing, yelling, and agitated strutting while Danny bitched about privacy and Steve’s “Type A” personality. But when Steve prodded even harder, threatening to dig into his academy testing, Danny went totally silent for five hours. The quiet was so disturbing Steve changed the subject. 

He knows from personal experience that some Shifters (especially on the mainland) are weird about revealing themselves to humans. And Danny has enough other idiosyncrasies that Steve wasn’t entirely surprised to count being shift-shy among them. He knew they would get there eventually, that one day Danny would trust him enough. On behalf of the excellent partnership they seemed to be building towards, Steve was going to dust off his rarely-used patience. 

The plan he’s about to suggest might drop that trust and partnership back to square one. Taking the suspect down here and now, before the storm rolls in and washes away his scent, is the best option. There’s a number of Shifters on the HPD team he could call for, but they’ll be stretched thin covering the exits. 

“We don’t have time. Danny, you’ve got his scent and a visual. Could you catch him?”

Danny’s not an idiot, so he immediately knows what Steve is asking. “Steve, I cannot shift here.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I’d like to register my protest with this plan.”

“Your protest is noted, acceptance pending.”

“Fuck you. Don’t throw my words back at me, you know I hate that. If this was any other situation I would bet actual, physical money that this was some convoluted plan of yours to remove the last dangling shreds of my privacy.” Danny sounds winded, but Steve spares a second to wonder at him continuing to bitch in full sentences. “I know I’ve expounded on them at length, but really, your control issues are breathtaking.”

They don’t have time for this. 

“Daniel . Can you run that dog down or are we letting the guy that murdered a fifteen year old girl get away?” It’s a low blow, and the snarl that Danny lets out makes the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. 

“Oh, eat shit, Commander.” 

There’s the telltale sound of velcro parting as Danny removes his vest. It’s technically not an answer, and Steve considers pushing him for a millisecond, but he's already going to catch hell for this. He can worry about the fallout with Danny later. Steve pivots, heading east towards the water to get out of the maze of shipping containers; he needs a better visual. 

“Kono, stay in position for now. You’re our eyes.”

“Copy, boss.”

There’s a rush of static and some rustling before Danny sighs over the open channel. “Chin, get Duke to back his people up. At least double the standard Shifter distance.”

“Uhh… copy that Danny.” Chin’s confused and he’s not the only one, but he dutifully relays the instructions. 

What kind of shift is Danny about to reveal that he’s this worried about someone catching his scent? Unfamiliar nerves make Steve’s heart rate increase. There's a soft groan and muted clatter over the comm unit before Danny disconnects. 

“All HPD be advised Detective Williams is in pursuit in shift. Repeat, Detective Williams is in pursuit in shift.” A chorus of acknowledgements answer Duke on the open radio frequency and Steve knows he isn’t imagining the excitement he hears in a few voices. He’s not the only one that wants to know what Danny is. 

There’s a conspicuous silence while everyone waits for either Danny or the dingo to reveal themselves. The shift only takes a moment, so wherever Danny is at in the complex of shipping containers, he’s already in his other form. 

Kono checks in. “I have a good view of the north and east exits to the container storage. Steve, I see you. Make the next right.”

As Steve leaves the containers behind and jogs into the open, he gets a face full of muggy and salt-tinged air. The wind has changed, and the dark clouds that seemed so distant a few hours ago are blowing closer. It’s barely any cooler, and he knows this storm is going to be monstrous. The previously quiet shipyard is filled with the sounds of tattered windsocks whipping against their poles and lifted grit raining against steel. 

A louder sound echoes up from behind him. He spins, checking his six, gun up. The guttural snarl echoes weirdly around the sharp metal angles, and he can’t tell where it’s coming from. He backs away, eyes darting to the aisles facing him. 

“Kono, I’ve got audio down here. Any sign?”

“Nothing, they may be too low to the ground for me to see. Boss, you should get out of there and regroup with HPD. If the guy got past Danny he could come out anywhere.”

The threatening sound cuts off abruptly, replaced by a yelp and the sound of claws on metal. 

“Holy shit! ” Kono’s exclamation makes the earpiece squawk. 

“Sitrep!”

“I saw the perp for a second. Danny is in hot pursuit, he was close to you at an east aisle exit, but now headed northwest.”

“Danny’s status?”

“He’s shifted alright. Couldn’t get a clear read, but he’s light brown and very furry. And real big.”

“Puma? Lion?” Steve starts jogging north. 

“Bigger.”

Chin voice cuts in. “We have another problem. The change in wind direction is causing havoc. Duke just had to clear out two prey Shifters from his team. They reacted to Danny's scent, even from this distance. We’re swapping to only humans and predators within the cordon.”

“Jesus . What is happen— ” 

A shriek and gunshot from the west cuts Steve off. 

“Ceasefire! Ceasefire! That is a friendly! Do not engage… whatever that cat is. Get Five-Oh over here now!” Duke is a consummate professional, but his stress is audible over the radio. Steve breaks into a sprint. The wind picks up, peppering him with dust. He squints his eyes against the sting. He’s almost past the containers.

Chin swears over their comms. “That’s Danny?! Steve, he’s a Prehistoric!”

Steve feels the bottom drop out of his stomach. Prehistoric shifts are very rare. And historically, very dangerous. Most Shifters, predator or prey, have an innate and instinctive fear of them. It’s been theorized to have something to do with the scent of an extinct animal and genetic memory of the extant species that survived them. Steve has always thought that sounded like bullshit, and it probably has more to do with the speciesism that modern Shifter society likes to pretend it’s moved past. Considering the response from HPD to Danny’s scent, maybe it isn't so farfetched. Either way, it makes it hard for Prehistorics to find pack outside of immediate family, and it’s an unfortunately true fact that a bond-sick Shifter is one bad day away from feral. Steve has witnessed that himself. 

Prehistorics are also restricted in the public activities they can attend in their shifted forms. Conservative public opinion seems to put them somewhere between genetic freaks and dangerous liabilities. No wonder Danny fought to keep this private. What kind of hoops did he have to jump through to get certified as a police officer? How much testing did the academy subject him to, to make sure he wouldn’t lose control at an inopportune time? 

Kono’s frantic voice brings him back on task. “They’re already across the yard! Woah, he’s fast. Headed north towards the equipment lockup.”

“Kono, is he hit? Is Danny hit?”

“If he is, it isn’t slowing him down.” She still sounds shocked, but also impressed. “Damn, I lost visual. Danny just followed him into the lockup.”

Chin is working hard to regain his zen. “Duke has the perimeter secured. The shooter was Officer Kepa, a canine and a rookie. He’s being removed from the scene with all other Shifters. Kono, you should hang back too. Danny is still setting everyone’s instincts off. I’m moving in with the remaining available HPD officers.” 

“No way cuz! It’s Danny. I don’t care if he’s a freaking dinosaur, he’s still ohana.”

“At least wait until we have the target secure. That’s an order, Kono. If this wind gets much worse you’ll have to get to ground level anyways.” Steve commands. She is too much like him sometimes. 

Kono begrudgingly acknowledges him as Steve finally rounds the last corner and the gale drops off, blocked partially by a listing cargo ship moored at the closest edge of the pier. The machinery lockup looms in front of him. There’s a variety of equipment in different states of disrepair. Tall crane arms and container movers are lined up in haphazard fashion, creating a forest of metal reaching towards the sky. Smaller machines litter the aisles and block most of his sight lines. A collection of derelict forklifts sit between Steve and the west end of the shipyard. He can see Chin leading half a dozen uniformed officers at a fast clip, hunched against the squalling wind. The glint of a scope reveals Kono’s position to the east. She’s roughly halfway up the largest crane that sits at the docks. He waves a hand in acknowledgment. 

The lockup is quiet compared to the rest of the yard. Steve can hear the wind whistling around the taller equipment, but the air at ground level is still and heavy. A dingo could hide under any of this junk, and Steve is loath to send anyone else in until they have a location on the perp and Danny. He circles, trying to get a visual. 

“Kono, any sign of them?”

“Third crane from the bay, Boss. Maybe 75 feet up. ”

Steve orients himself and can't help a nanosecond of delay when he realizes what he is looking at. Five hundred generations ago early humans fled from this predator, and Steve feels the history of every single one of them pressing down on him. It’s instinctual, making him still, stay downwind, and control his breath. He’s faced down some of the worst that humanity has to offer, and has learned to trust when his gut tells him something. 

The form perching in the twisted metal looks massive, even from this distance. Golden brown fur stretches over thick limbs, a powerful body, and a wide head. It’s shaped more like a lynx than a tiger, with brawny forelimbs attached to muscled shoulders and a gently sloping spine ending in two shorter back legs. The head is broad, a short, flattened muzzle ending in a wide maw that hangs open around a dark pink tongue as it pants. Two gleaming white canine teeth frame the mouth, hanging past the lower jaw. Steve estimates they’re nearly a foot each in length. 

Danny is a saber-toothed tiger, what the fuck.

Steve fights past the freeze response, and keeps moving. It’s Danny. It’s not a threat. Add in the animal instincts and sense of smell of a Shifter, and Steve imagines the flight or fight response could be debilitating. He forces his eyes away from the big cat, scanning the machinery in front of him. His eyes flick up again when he’s about twenty feet from the first dilapidated forklift. 

Tufted black ears angle down toward the ground as Danny listens for his prey. Steve can’t see his eyes clearly from here, but imagines the predatory intelligence in them. He ducks low to scan under a disabled transporter. Goosebumps break out over his arms when he next looks up and catches the tiger facing him. Steve swallows, but doesn’t let himself react in any other way. Danny starts to turn away, but stops to stare intently at a spot among the machines between them. His limbs shift and Steve can see his short bobcat-like tail for a second. 

The feline leaps through the air, landing soundlessly on a huge straddle carrier loaded with a rusted container. He’s closer now, maybe 40 feet away, and Steve ups his size estimate. Danny must be well over three feet tall at the shoulder. He prowls silently to the edge of the container. He turns towards Steve before looking back at the same spot between them. 

Saber-toothed tigers are ambush predators, and Danny has the high ground. If he has a visual, the dingo obviously hasn’t noticed yet. An attack from above by a creature of Danny’s mass would incapacitate nearly any target. And that’s not even involving his teeth and claws.

Steve speaks quietly into his comms. “We have a location on the perp. I’m going to bait him out and Danny will take him down.”

The team acknowledges and Steve knows Chin will keep HPD abreast of the situation. Danny makes another soundless leap into the last gantry crane at the edge of the lockup. Steve makes eye contact with him again. The surrounding shape is foreign, but his irises are the same ocean blue. That feels vitally important, but Steve can't consider why right now. He holds the contact, a silent conversation passing between them. 

Even if he doesn’t look like his usual loud-mouthed, Jersey-self right now, Steve trusts Danny with his life. More than he’s ever trusted anyone else. More than he should trust someone he's only known for six months. He thought that capacity for trust had been trained out of him years ago, but Danny lives to be unpredictable, so maybe Steve shouldn’t be surprised. 

Steve turns around, making sure to scuff his feet as he shows his back to the two predator Shifters. He makes a show of checking his phone and pacing slowly, leaving a wide gap towards the docks. Sweat drips down his neck and he can feel eyes on him again. The softest scrape of sound makes him want to tense, but he resists. The late afternoon sun passes behind the approaching storm clouds and the whole shipyard dims.

The moment hangs. 

A scrabble of claws on asphalt has him spinning around, bringing his gun up. The dingo is tearing towards him from between two broken down pickup trucks. He’s panting wildly and Steve can see the whites of his eyes as he drools crazily. There’s a few sluggishly bleeding scrapes across his haunches. Being hunted by Danny has nearly driven him feral with fear. But he’s still quick, eating up the ground between them almost faster than Steve can react. 

A golden blur impacts, and an enraged roar makes Steve’s ears ring. The two Shifters roll across the pavement in a tangle of fur, and Steve catches a clear image of Danny’s mouth closing over the entirety of the dingo’s head. One shining fang catches, drawing a thin line of blood across the neck. The dog goes completely limp, hanging as dead weight from Danny’s teeth. He gives him one quick shake, snarling through his mouthful. The dingo doesn’t struggle, just whimpers in terror. Danny could crush his skull in an instant; Steve exhales and lowers his gun.

Danny rises to his full height and stalks closer to Steve, dragging the dingo’s back legs along the ground. Steve meets those blue eyes, and feels his heartbeat start to slow back to its normal rhythm. The feline face is not what he’s used to, but those expressive eyes seem to be the same no matter what form Danny takes. Steve can read his irritation, his frustration at Steve for pushing them into this situation, but also his satisfaction at having apprehended the suspect. There’s some obvious relief present too, that Steve will puzzle over later. 

Steve holsters his gun and notifies Chin and Kono. Danny drops the canine at his feet and Steve snaps one cuff around a thin dingo leg. As always, the silver lining in the cuff compels a human shift. He watches impassively as the body contorts and expands, growing back into the sniveling Caucasian man they spent the morning investigating. As many times as he has seen a shift happen in realtime, Steve still can’t really believe when Shifters tell him it doesn’t hurt. He can literally see and hear bones breaking as they reform. 

Steve kneels to wrestle the naked and panting man onto his stomach and snaps the other cuff on. Danny lets out a throaty rumble and the man whines. He still seems beyond words, gone nearly catatonic, and Danny stands over him as a thunderous, growling reminder. Steve reads him his rights, but gets no response at the end. He looks up to see Chin and the HPD team coming around the forklift graveyard. Most of them stutter to a stop at the sight of Danny, and Steve bets a few are regretting their previous words to the blonde detective. 

Duke and Chin approach and Steve hauls the man to his feet. Duke makes eye contact with Danny, gives a short nod, and awkwardly backs away with the naked suspect. Chin comes to a stop beside Steve and looks at Danny. 

“Howzit brah?”

Danny chuffs out a breath in what must be the saber-toothed tiger version of laughter. Kono interjects from the comm line, “Tell Danny I’m bringing him pants, so he’s not allowed to shift back before I get there!”

Now that the adrenaline is fading, Steve can look his fill too. Danny is terrifying. Or he should be. But Steve is getting good at reading his partner in those bright blue eyes, so the horrifying blade-like teeth and bristling mohawk of darker fur lining his spine is more interesting than scary. Steve steps closer and that large head tilts to one side in invitation. He reaches out, resting a hand on the coarse ruff of fur on his neck and scratching lightly at the hard muscle underneath. Danny grumbles, deep enough for Steve to feel it in his stomach. He lightly traces up one of those tufted ears and strokes the tip. The grumbling turns lighter and more rhythmic. 

Danny is purring for him. Steve’s throat clicks when he swallows. He pets the softer fur on Danny’s face, brushing wiry whiskers back, and stroking the wide strip above his black nose. Chin lays a hand on Danny’s shoulder, winding his fingers through the rough fur. The purring volume increases. 

Steve meets Chin's eyes. “And he calls me a Neanderthal animal. Danny, you’re such a hypocrite.” Chin chuckles and Danny snorts, ruffling his shoulders and shaking both their hands off. Those incredible canines gleam in the afternoon sun. This close, Steve can see the subtle serrations on the front and back of each tooth that would make any bite devastatingly effective. 

“Oh my god.” Kono jogs up with an armful of clothing and Danny goes impossibly still and silent. She doesn’t even slow down. Everything she’s holding gets dumped onto the ground in a haphazard pile. Steve is sent reeling when she bodychecks him away and plants herself in his place. Kono already has her hands all over Danny’s head, petting through his fur and stroking over his skull. Danny relaxes and chuffs again as Steve flails a little in surprise. 

Kono presses her face right between Danny’s eyes and inhales. “Wow, your scent. As soon as I got back on the ground I could pick it up; you don’t smell like any Shifter I’ve ever scented before. It’s kind of incredible.” 

Chin starts stroking along the mohawk. He grimaces. “I owe you an apology Danny. When the wind picked up I should have repositioned the HPD perimeter. I’m sorry. The kid that took a shot at you has already been remanded. Duke has gathered a human-only team for the clean up.” A massive shoulder lifts and drops in a big cat shrug. Steve gets the upsetting feeling it’s not the first time he’s had to deal with friendly fire in his feline form. He desperately wants to ask about Danny’s time in the academy.

Kono still has her forehead pressed to Danny's and he is purring even louder. Great, now they’re nuzzling. Steve is not jealous. That would be stupid. He knows Shifters are tactile, he’s experienced it plenty with both feline members of his team. He won’t begrudge Danny and Kono getting closer now that his secret is out. Even if he wants to be the one making Danny purr like that. He picks up Danny’s pants and folds them over an arm so he won’t be tempted to shove Kono away and take her place. When she finally straightens up and steps to the side, following Chin and petting the mohawk of darker fur down the tiger’s back, Danny gives Steve a piercing look. 

“That’s the cutest tail I’ve ever seen on a feline shift.”

Danny whips his head around and bares his teeth at Kono. She just laughs. Chin smiles serenely and Steve rolls his eyes. Danny turns back and stares pointedly at the pants in Steve’s grasp. A silent debate breaks out with Danny tossing his furry head and Steve raising first one eyebrow and then the other in denial. Chin and Kono watch, eyes flicking back and forth like they’re at a tennis match. 

“You know cuz, it’s nice to see that they can still argue even when one of them doesn’t have vocal chords.” Chin quips and Kono sniggers again. 

Danny rolls his eyes and sighs before stretching, leaning down until his chest nearly touches the pavement and then forward, pointing each back leg in turn, just like a house cat getting up from a nap. Sharp claws pop out and click against the asphalt and muscles and tendons ripple under coarse fur. He comes back to standing and releases another huge sigh. The exhale continues, and the saber-toothed tiger before them shrinks as Danny shifts back to human. 

Steve finds it much harder to watch this change impassively. Danny’s skeletal structure rolls and heaves beneath his muscles, all of that golden brown fur sinking into paler skin. His skull reforms, muzzle pulling back and rounding out to a familiar human shape. Those impressive canines shrink and disappear into dull human teeth in an open mouth, gasping for air. 

Danny ends up on his hands and knees, panting heavily. He’s naked, flushed and sweaty under the gray sky, and Steve forces his attention away from the blonde’s perfectly shaped ass. He squats down and lays a hand on Danny’s warm shoulder. 

“All right Danno?”

Danny spits a glob of saliva onto the ground. “Damn, that dog tasted like shit. And what did I say about calling me Danno?”

Steve snorts a laugh. “Come on buddy, up you get. Get these clothes back on and stop giving the whole island a show.”

Danny rises to standing, one hand splayed between his legs in a mostly useless attempt to preserve his modesty, but he wavers and sways. Steve clamps a hand around Danny’s muscled bicep to keep him upright. Chin and Kono both make aborted moves towards him to help. 

“Woah, brah. You sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, m’fine. Been a hot minute since I did that. Gotta remember how to use two legs again.”

He scrubs a hand through his messy hair and it makes all the muscles in his chest and arm flex. Steve feels his mouth go dry. Danny is stunning. He’s compact, but sturdy and well-built from his thick neck down to his lean calves. Steve’s seen him shirtless once or twice after nasty cases, and he always forgets how hairy Danny is when he’s usually so covered up. It’s like his fur didn’t reabsorb, just redistributed over a smaller form. Steve forces his eyes back to Danny’s face. Thankfully, he’s too distracted to notice Steve’s ogling. 

He hands over the slacks he’s been holding hostage. Danny shakes them out before shoving a leg in. He has to give up his modesty cover to get the other leg to cooperate and pull the pants the rest of the way up, so Steve gets an eyeful without entirely meaning to. Danny might be short, but just like his broad shoulders and personality, he’s bigger than average in other ways. Steve feels a blush trying to burn across his cheekbones but wills it away with every ounce of self control he has left. Chin and Kono make extremely pointed eye contact with him over Danny’s head when he bends to fuss with his badge and holster. Steve keeps his grasp on Danny’s arm and pulls him back to vertical when the blonde tilts too far forward. 

Kono hands over his wallet, tie, and phone and Danny struggles to shove them into his pockets. His dress shirt goes on next, but it’s already missing a few buttons and Danny’s so discombobulated he only fastens three right over the middle of his chest. Steve’s gaze keeps flicking to that tempting collarbone and those tantalizing glimpses of Danny’s abs as he rolls up his sleeves and tries to tame his wild hair. He picks up his loafers, but doesn’t even attempt to put them on. Steve watches him wiggle pale toes against the concrete. 

Kono is staring at him with a shit-eating grin on her face and Steve feels a terrible foreboding roll over him. “Didn’t see any boxers with all your stuff, Danny.”

“Hah,” Danny snorts. “Very subtle, Ms. Kalakaua. I didn’t want to waste more time, so they got shredded. I’ll just have to free-ball it till we get back to HQ.” Steve and Chin groan while Kono laughs delightedly. 

“Speaking of HQ, Kono and I can wrap this up and secure the scene on the boat if you want to get some food into Danny, Boss.”

“I have vocal cords again Chin, you don’t have to talk about me like I’m not here.” 

“Sorry brah. I just know how you felines get when you’re hangry.”

“Since I am, in fact, starving, I will forgive you. This time.”

“This time?” Steve tries to keep the note of hope out of his voice. “You’re going to shift again?”

“Well, I can conclusively say the big cat is out of the bag.” Danny gives a shit-eating grin of his own when they all groan. “And honestly, I may have been lying to myself a little bit about how well I was dealing with not shifting. I’m not sure I could lock it down for another year.”

“We’ll figure something out Danny,” Kono promises. “We can rent time in one of the parks, or send out a notice beforehand. I can’t wait to shift with you. I know some of the pack will want to too. They won’t be scared off.”

Danny ducks his head and Steve can see the flush on the back of his neck. “If they’re anything like you, I might actually believe that. Never seen a Shifter so unafraid of me before.”

Kono looks pleased, but Danny is starting to look dead on his feet. He yawns hugely and Steve can just about count his fillings. He presses a hand to Danny’s lower back and is shocked at the heat pouring out of him through his wrinkled dress shirt. Danny always runs hot, but this feels like a fever. Chin taps Kono’s elbow and nods toward the congregation of HPD officers. They both touch Danny on the shoulder as they walk away. Steve picks up Danny’s tactical vest with his free hand before increasing the pressure on Danny’s back to get him moving across the shipyard. 

The second they’re past the cargo ship the wind picks up again. Danny’s shirt tails flap against his belly and he raises an arm to cover his eyes. Steve ducks his head and keeps them moving. The storm clouds have reached the shore, and Steve can see rain sheeting down over the open ocean. 

Danny is weirdly docile as Steve leads the way back through the port and public docks to get back to the truck. He slumps in the passenger seat and tosses his shoes into the footwell just as the first raindrops hit the windshield. He pulls ineffectually at his ruined shirt, trying to get some air movement. Steve obligingly cranks the AC, and Danny sighs in relief. 

“Thanks babe. Extra energy from the shift. Manifests as body heat ‘cause of the overall mass difference. Too tired and hungry to run it off, so I just get to boil alive in my skin for a while.”

“Sounds comfortable. Do you need to eat anything in particular? The Shifters I served with usually went for red meat when they could get it.”

“Hmm, any meat really. This is the one time in my life I won’t complain about your weird Hawaiian food, I promise, just get me something with a lot of protein.”

He sprawls, one arm resting on the console and the other cushioning his head against the window as Steve merges onto the highway. Danny immediately makes a liar out of himself and complains about the island's obsession with Spam, but he’s slurring by the end of the rant. Steve turns down the radio until the rain is the loudest thing in the car. The blonde is asleep when Steve pulls into the drive-thru. He doesn’t wake when Steve leans over and sets several bags of food on the backseat, and he’s snoring by the time Steve parks at the Palace. 

He turns the truck off and looks out into water sleeting down over the parking lot. The Camaro is totally obscured by the rain. Danny really shouldn’t be driving when he’s this tired and the weather is this bad. 

Steve picks up the lax hand resting on the center console and rubs over scarred knuckles. Danny stirs, stretching his legs out and pointing and flexing his filthy feet. He smiles sleepily, and his fingers curl tightly around Steve’s. God, he’s beautiful. Half asleep, flushed, and rumpled, looking well-fucked; Steve gets lost in the blue of his eyes. They’re crinkled up with the force of his smile, and Steve wants to kiss him so bad it hurts. 

Danny scents the air and his smile transforms into a devastating smirk. He tugs on the hand in his grasp and Steve can’t help but lean over the center console. He feels his heart skip a beat when Danny leans closer to meet him, pressing warm lips to Steve’s cheek in a chaste kiss and nuzzling their stubbled cheeks together. 

“You smell so good babe.” Danny's nose moves against his ear, and Steve feels the blush he denied before burst across his face. He swallows and hears Danny inhale greedily against his skin. 

Steve has no plan, no exit strategy, and can already feel his heart beating to Danny’s tune. This could be the start of everything he’s daydreamed about for the last few months, but he knows Danny is exhausted and dumping adrenaline. This can’t be real. This can’t be what Danny actually wants. 

“You sure that’s not the plate lunch on the backseat?” 

“I’m sure.” Typical, Danny throws the offered excuse back in his face. “Rainbow’s food isn’t that good.” He inhales again and Steve shivers when he feels a damp kiss pressed against his neck but doesn’t move. The rain pounds against the truck. Danny sighs. 

“Alright. Listen up Steven, ‘cause I’m tired, but this needs saying, apparently. Lunch is not the only thing I’m hungry for. And I think you’re starving too. You just won’t act on it out of some undoubtedly self-sacrificing reason that I honestly don’t want to get into right now. So here's a sitrep for you, you are not alone in this.”

“Danny— ”

“Shut up.” Danny noses along his jawline and Steve bites his lip to keep a wanton sound behind his teeth. “Y’know I can smell when you want me?” 

Lips press against his pulse point and Steve feels sweat break across his lower back. Someone in the truck gasps quietly for air, and Steve will deny it was him to his dying day. Which, if Danny continues tracing his lips down Steve’s throat, will be today. 

Danny is still fucking talking. 

“I wanted to be pissed at you. I was, for a bit. You pushed for a shift when I thought I made it clear it wasn’t going to happen. I know we had bad intel on the suspect, and you felt we didn’t have another option. But we got lucky today. You know how much I hate getting shot at, so believe me when I say, one stray gunshot was a pretty good result. I'm almost always more trouble than I’m worth in that form.” 

Steve doesn’t want to interrupt, but he makes a protesting noise and squeezes Danny’s hand. 

“But then you had to go and surprise me. You did something no human or Shifter has ever done. You turned around. You showed me your back, and you trusted me to put that dog down. You kneeled in front of me. Fuck.” Teeth press against his carotid for a heart-stopping moment. “And the way you smelled when I purred for you afterwards. You have no idea.” Danny pulls away but doesn’t go far.

“I want you too, Steve.” The hunger in Danny’s voice washes away the last of Steve’s reservations and the last word, his own name, is whispered against his lips as Danny finally brings them together for a real kiss. 

It stays tender for the first few moments. Danny’s lips are kind of dry, but very warm. Steve feels the need to taste every inch of pale skin and blonde stubble build within him. Danny inhales raggedly and lets out a thrumming growl. The vibration is so deep, it’s practically subsonic. Goosebumps race up Steve’s arms and across his shoulders. Danny nips at his lower lip before soothing the sting. A hand around his jaw angles his head lower and the blonde presses closer. Steve opens his mouth and Danny's tongue is instantly there, delving in. Their tongues tangle together as Steve traces sharp incisors and maps out Danny’s mouth. The air between them, or lack thereof, feels molten. Neither of them can seem to get enough, licking thoroughly and biting softly in turns. 

Steve’s other hand settles on Danny’s shoulder. He’s still pumping out heat through his dress shirt and making Steve sweat where their chests are touching over the center console. His fingers itch to undo those three sad buttons and get a hand on Danny’s skin, but he’s stopped when Danny pulls back abruptly and presses a hand to his own belly. 

Steve hears Danny’s stomach growl a second later and starts to laugh. Danny groans and drops his head onto Steve’s shoulder. His nose bumps along Steve’s collarbone. 

“Sorry babe. Like I said, more trouble than it’s worth.”

Steve brushes a kiss against his disheveled hair. “You’re wrong. It's worth everything. It’s part of you.” Danny grunts in disagreement but seems too tired to argue with his usual fervor. 

“Let me take you home Danny. You can eat now, I won't even bitch about crumbs in the truck, and I’ve got a shower and bed with your name on it. This storm is going to keep raging for hours.” Steve licks his lips and lets himself hope. “Stay over. I can drop you off at the Camaro tomorrow morning.”

“Hmm, a shower and a bed. That’s a pretty good offer.” Danny raises his head to look Steve in the eye. 

“I can sweeten the deal.” Steve presses another kiss to Danny’s reddened lips. “You liked me kneeling in front of you and I liked you purring for me. I think we can both get what we want.”

“Jesus Christ Steve. Start the fucking car.”

Fin