Work Text:
Danny and Steve match on Growlr
It was a warm, muggy day in Honolulu. Danny Williams sat, half-asleep, blearily looking at the pile of paperwork in front of him.
It was his own fault. Shouldn't have went out clubbing on a work night.
He drained the last dregs of his coffee cup. Cold, gritty liquid dribbled into his gullet, and he blanched in disgust.
Chin and Kono were working away diligently at the centre desk, Kono passionately arguing a point with her cousin.
Steve was out. Off to follow up on a lead. He'd taken one look at Danny and told him to sit this one out. Danny was overwhelmingly grateful but couldn't help but feel like he'd let his partner down... again.
Danny sighed, deeply.
It had been two weeks since Ryan had split up with him, and he'd been out on a wee bit of a bender since. They hadn't been together very long, a few months tops, not long enough to introduce him to anyone important. But Danny still felt their ending acutely. It was nice, having somebody. Somebody to chill with, go for coffee with, work out with... Work out with...
Danny groaned as his second brain throbbed in anxiety, as images of Ryan's hairy, inked skin flickered through his mind, like lights through a fog.
Danny brushed his hands through his hair and pushed himself away from his desk. Yup, definitely time for some air.
As he reached for his phone, it vibrated. A little bear symbol flashed up on the screen, with the message:
'NavyBoy82 has sent you a message'
Danny had almost forgotten about Growlr, the dating app for 'bearish' men. It seemed full of muscle queens and dick pics, precisely which the aforementioned NavyBoy82 was probably seeking. Danny hastily shoved his phone in his pocket and headed out, ducking his head from Kono's searching eyes.
Once outside in the full heat of the day, Danny realised his mistake. He considered driving, but then changed his mind when he saw the lines of heat waving off the Camaro. Instead, he took off into the afternoon in search of an iced coffee to reanimate his tequila'd brain.
Whoever invented air conditioning deserves a special place in heaven, Danny mused to himself as he pushed open the door to Aloha Coffee, his skin relishing in the refreshing draught of cool. He ordered a Coconut Mocha Crush (no pineapple, thanks) and settled himself in he comfiest chair he could find.
Much better, he thought to himself. His hand reached for his phone involuntarily, and he unlocked it to be greeted with the Growlr homepage. Laid before his eyes were all the gay bears, otters, cubs and daddies in the local area, in order of locality. A few cute ones, too.
Danny's profile was mostly bare (or bear - haha). He had just one picture, of his fuzzy chest and stomach. No face, he'd been careful about that.
It was to protect his professionalism, Danny told himself. But some times that story didn't ring as true as others.
He scrolled through his chats absentmindedly, and there it was, the message from NavyBoy82. A click took Danny to his profile, where he flicked through his pictures - a tattooed shoulder here, a muscled chest there, and a Navy uniform to boot. He was 35, a top and into 'lots of fun things' apparently.
Danny hesitated for a second. Where had this app actually got him? Other than help him expose his genitals, albeit anonymously, to the gay men of Honolulu. He should delete this app, get his ass back to work, focus on his cases instead of this nice, hunky man wanting to see more of him, see where it goes, maybe meet up and...
Danny hurriedly opened his message.
'Hey buddy, like what I see. Any more? A face pic would be nice'
Danny paused momentarily, then replied,
'Hey, not posting my face on here, like to get to know people first then happy to. I like your pics too btw, have you got a face pic, sexy? #doublestandards'
Danny's heart was doing little skips in his chest. Oh, the excitement of online dating and meeting someone new!
Danny triumphantly downed his drink, gave himself a metaphorical pat on the back and a very real brain-freeze, and strode out of the coffee shop.
His pile of paperwork hadn't done him a favour and thrown itself out of the window, it would seem. But Danny felt a little better. Maybe this would lead somewhere. Perhaps it would go somewhere good and Danny would be happy for a time and have somebody...
*buzz*
'NavyBoy82 has unlocked his private pics'
Danny's finger enthusiastically unlocked his screen and he waited on bated breath for the pictures to load.
...
"What--"
Danny's blood froze.
...
"What the... FUCK?" Danny yelped. "Is that Steve?"
Danny was looking at a picture that he recognised as one they'd taken together on their last fishing trip. If he looked hard enough, he could almost make out a few golden tufts of hair in the left of the picture. Steve had clearly cropped him out. A little hurtful, Danny thought... but that was besides the point!
What the hell was Steve... straight, Navy Boy STEVE doing on a gay app like Growlr?
'NavyBoy82'... it clicked into place.
This was going to take a lot of time to process, Danny thought to himself.
Unfortunately, because I am a sadistic writer, just at that second, Steve barrelled through Danny's office doors. He bore a big grin on his face.
"You'll never guess what I've done this afternoon, Danny!" Steve crowed, beaming at Danny with wide, puppy dog eyes.
Danny made a vain attempt at a smile and appreciated Steve in all his handsome glory from a different perspective. Then he stammered,
"I think I might have a few ideas, babe..."
*AND THEN THEY KISS AND FALL IN LOVE AND BE TOGETHER FOREVER MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL!*
Sorry. Wrote this on a plane. You can fill in the rest I hope!
Best wishes from Ireland x