Title: Look at Us Mend (This Doesn't Need to Be the End)
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Story title from the Rob Thomas song "Cradlesong".
Author's Note: Hello, if you're reading. :) It's been ages since I posted for this couple, so if you're reading this because you still can't help but ship them, thanks for clicking. I don't watch the show anymore, so disappointed how CBS handled contract negotiations (so much for ~ohana), but alas... I was re-reading my fic of these two and couldn't help but miss them all over again.
I wrote this story YEARS ago, back when I was still watching the show and writing for this couple. So, yes, the date on the document says it's from 2013 so you'll have to ignore any song/movie/show references that seem outdated now. Thankfully the story was finished so all I had to do was fix some typos. It fits in my AU universe where Steve and Kono become a couple somewhere around s4/s5. You can say it follows my story I Won't Call You My Weakness, But I Will Call You Mine because in this story they are living together.
I'm very proud of this piece and re-read whenever I miss them. I got a few messages from people over the years (thank YOU if you're one of those people who reads fic even years later but leaves a comment, we writers LIVE for people like you!) asking if I had any other stories. I thought I'd post for those who still can't help but think of McKono every now and again, as painful as it is. At least in my universe, they're happy. That's what fic is for, right? :)
** Trigger warning for sexual assault. Glosses over it, but please avoid if you need to.
"Steve, don't you dare answer that phone."
"I'm not, I'm not," he reassures her, even as his phone rings again and he grumbles in annoyance at the noise. He kisses down her neck as he slides down the straps of her tank top, lips returning to hers right after as if he can't stay away for too long.
The phone rings a short melody to signal a new voicemail and Steve groans again at the interruption, lifting his head to glare at the object on the bedside table. Kono takes the opportunity to flip him over quickly, straddling him with ease as she watches his eyes widen slightly at the move. She loves getting the upper hand on him, watching the internal debate in his eyes before he finally decides to let her lead.
"I mean it," Kono warns as she leans down to kiss him, sighing with approval as his hands caress down her back, dragging her further up his body so she's nearly draped across his chest. "It's just Danny asking for details on the new case. We have no details yet."
"What is that?" Steve pauses to ask, his eyebrows joining in confusion at the pop melody filling the room when the phone rings again. It's Danny calling back, no doubt.
"Oh, you like that?" Kono grins proudly as the chorus from Carly Rae's "Call Me Maybe" fills the room. "It was a summer sensation a few years ago. Still just as catchy."
"No." He glares at her for managing to get her hands on his phone yet again and changing his ringtone assigned to Danny, and always to something annoying and inappropriate. "When did you-"
"Stop talking," she orders against his lips, feeling the rumble of his bare chest against hers when he chuckles at the order, the vibration seeping into her skin and warming her insides.
"Right. Sorry." Steve mutters a curse as she trails her hand down his chest, teasing the taut skin of his stomach with her dancing fingertips but refusing to move lower. "Kono," he warns, nearly growling but she ignores his warning. He takes a total of three seconds to enjoy the sensation, and two more seconds to hope her hands will dip lower. But she's having too much fun teasing him, so he flips her onto her back, only grinning when she breaks the kiss and punches him in the shoulder at the move. "You're sexy when you're bossy."
She smirks at his comment, a little breathless at the way he's moving against her. His open smiles and light teasing are some of her favorite parts of morning sex. She'd woken up before her alarm and tried to fall back asleep, but it was so much more tempting to start the day with him in the most delicious of ways. A call from HPD had interrupted them to inform Steve about a case being forwarded as per the Governor's order. Thankfully, Steve ended the call quickly enough so it didn't ruin the mood, texting Chin and Danny to have them meet at headquarters soon.
He didn't have to tell her; she'd been tracing the ink of his tattoos impatiently the whole time he was on the phone. He saves a lot in outgoing texts now that she's moved in.
"If you like it when I'm bossy, then how come you never listen to me?"
"I don't know. Control issues or something."
Kono laughs, throwing her head back to expose the delicate line of her neck. He has no choice but to reach up and kiss her again when he spots those dimples and the flash of white teeth. Her eyes twinkle as she meets his, the last of her giggles fading as he smiles down at her. Sometimes he looks at her with such affection and satisfaction after he makes her laugh, as if she's the one giving him a gift instead.
"Right. At least you admit it."
"Only to you," Steve says and even though he's still joking, she smiles secretively at his words and folds them away in a corner of her heart she saves for the unknowingly perfect things he says before, during, or after sex.
There are other corners for all the unknowingly perfect things he says the rest of the time.
"Well, as long as you know you have a problem."
He shrugs at that as he rocks into her, his nose nuzzling her cheek as he drops a soft kiss near her temple. His hands run through her soft hair to push back strands from her face as he meets her eyes with a cocky smirk. "No problems. I'm fine with it."
"Steve." She moans as he teases her with roaming hands and short kisses, refusing to stay at her lips where she wants him to linger the most. He loves to make her beg, his eyes filling with pride at how easily he can make her give in. Her skin feels on fire everywhere his warm hands touch her, and his mouth leaves a trail of kisses up and down her throat, paying special attention to the curve of her breasts and the hollow of her neck. But he only leans down to kiss the corner of her mouth despite her tugging him closer, grinning at her efforts and the clear frustration in her tone. "Steve, stop it."
He stops immediately, lips fusing against hers so suddenly that she gasps in surprise; then she smiles because even after all this time, he still can't hold back how much he wants her, how quickly he gives in just as easily. His head drops to her shoulder, kissing the soft skin there that covers the hard bone underneath. There's something about her shoulders he loves; he's constantly paying attention to the curves of them with his lips, always smoothing a gentle hand over them when they're exposed.
"You listened," Kono murmurs, wrapping her hands around him tightly and pulling him closer, her heart racing and her breath catching, struggling to speak coherently as her body slowly succumbs to him.
"Only to you," he repeats.
Kono smiles and combs her fingers softly through his hair, tucking away those words in that special section of her heart again. He lifts his head to kiss her, fast and rushed as they cling to each other for every last possible second they can before leaving the house and joining the outside world.
"Where have you been? I called you four times this morning."
"And I called you back," Steve says, looking up from his desk as Danny enters his office, hands flying wildly as he questions his partner's late arrival.
"Well, you were very abrupt and all you said was that you were running late and leaving the house. HPD's sending us the details on the case," Danny informs him.
"I know that, Danny. I already talked to them this morning."
"You could talk to them, but not me, huh?" It shouldn't surprise Steve anymore how easily offended Danny can get, no matter how early it is in the morning, but he still rolls his eyes in amusement at the exaggerated hurt in his tone. "That's real nice. What were you doing for so long that you couldn't properly answer one of my many calls?"
"Nothing," Steve answers too quickly, a small smile gracing his face as he thinks of the morning with Kono, a quick kiss that had turned into something more heated as she grabbed him and wouldn't let him leave.
"What do you mean nothing?" Danny questions again, his eyes narrowing as he observes Steve's face in silence. "Oh, god, you were getting laid, weren't you?"
"No, no," Steve denies quickly but his lips quirk up again and the smile won't leave his face.
"Yes, yes, you were. Why would you tell me that? Don't admit it to me at least!"
"I didn't admit it, you guessed," Steve tells him as he goes back to searching for a folder on his desk. "And where's the file for the Peterson case? Max said I forgot to sign his report."
"You just admitted it right now!" Danny exclaims loudly. "Haven't you guys gotten past the wanting-to-have-sex-all-the-time stage? It's been months since she moved in and has to be with you all day and all night. She must find you repulsive by now."
"Apparently not," Steve says brightly. "Dammit, I could have sworn I left the folder here last night."
"Oh, I have it in my office. I had to print out my interrogation report again."
"You could have told me that five minutes ago," Steve grumbles as he stops looking for the file and goes back to checking his e-mail.
"Maybe I could have if you hadn't been bragging about how you got laid before work like some sixteen-year-old," Danny retorts.
"I wasn't bragging! I don't brag."
"Yeah, you just smirk that smirk of yours," Danny says with a glower.
"What smirk?" Steve asks innocently.
"That smirk that's gonna be on your face all morning and I have to put up with it-"
"Hey, what are we talkin' about?" Kono asks as she comes into the office, her eyes darting from Danny to Steve, her smile brightening by a fraction as she looks at Steve.
"His sex life," Danny answers.
Kono makes a face. "Why are you talking about my sex life?"
"I'm not talking about yours, I'm talking about his," Danny clarifies as he points toward Steve who's busy on the computer and only halfway following their line of conversation.
"Considering we're having the same sex, that means you're talking about me too, Danny," she tells him. "With that and you always calling at the most inopportune times, it's no wonder people make up stories about the three of us."
Danny makes a face. "Calling at the most inopportune times? Oh, excuse me, I'm sorry. It's not like I have a schedule for when your hormones kick in. I didn't know you were gettin' lucky before work-"
"I didn't tell him," Steve says to her quickly as if fearing her anger, but Kono only rolls her eyes at him. It's that stupid smirk on his face for hours afterward that gives him away to Danny each time. Chin at least manages to ignore the look.
"Hey, morning," Chin says as he steps into the office. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Nothing," the three of them chirp in near unison.
"Perfect timing." Steve comes around his desk, flash drive in hand, and heads out of his office with the team following him to the control room. "HPD just sent the details of our new case."
Kono takes command of the computer as she pulls up the images, trying not to grimace at the sight of the young blonde woman with bruises surrounding her slender neck. The dark purple of them stand out on her pale, now lifeless, skin, the horror of her final moments captured on her face and visible to every person in the room.
"Strangulation marks?" Danny questions.
"Yeah," Steve echoes, his voice solemn and his face masked as he holds back emotion while surveying the photos with a trained eye. "It looks frantic, like they didn't mean for her to die."
"I agree," Chin adds. "Looks like they attempted CPR. Her body washed up early this morning, no purse or wallet. HPD IDed her as Kelly Lendola. Twenty-three, single, moved here from Chicago two years ago when she got into Hawaii Pacific. Her major's listed as Environmental Science, but it looks like she dropped out last year. Place of employment is listed as the Caveat Hotel bar."
"That's a nice place to work," Kono comments about the upscale hotel known for its affluent visitors and luxurious menu based on its location on the upper-class beach strip.
"Her family in Chicago is well off and are friends with the hotel owners," Steve explains. "They contacted the Governor for this to be handled with priority. He said the dad's flying in to speak to us tomorrow and take her body back home."
"Shitty way to visit the islands for the first time," Danny comments sadly.
"There's a roommate listed on her lease," Kono says, looking up at them with the new information. "Lahela Wims, twenty-four, and a nursing major at Hawaii Pacific. Probably knew each other from school."
"Okay, good. Chin, Kono, run everything you can first and visit the roommate. Find out what you can about the hotel staff too. Danny and I are gonna see what Max can tell us before we have to release the body to her father."
"Be nice to Max," Kono calls after them as they head for the glass doors. "He has a huge piano recital coming up and he's nervous."
"I'm always nice," Steve says, flashing her a charming smile on his way to the door.
"Then be nicer," she emphasizes.
"Whipped," Danny comments with a grin. "So whipped."
"Shut up, Danny, or I'll start grinning again," Steve mutters out of Chin's earshot.
to be continued ~