Who Do You Think You're Fooling?
AN: This fic came into my head one day and I decided to write it down in my wonderful little black book. It's told mostly from the other members' of the team POV and how they discovered through different ways that Steve and Max were a couple. It's a little different from the way I usually write but I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Le sigh. Stop reminding me that this show is not mine.
Speak Like a Child
Grace was not what you would call pretentious. Precocious? Now that was an entirely different matter. Her father was an outstanding detective after all. So you can imagine how long it took her to figure it out.
It all started when her mother and Stan took a vacation to London that fall break. Grace trailed her father into HQ. She all but begged her mother to permit her to stay with her daddy and not with Old Mrs. Edwards. That old lady was kind of creepy.
"Okay monkey here we are."
She was met by her Uncle Steve, Mr. Kelly, and Kono all with warm smiles on their faces. "Danny are you sure she should be here?"
Danny frowned. "What? I'm not paying some daycare a chunk of cash when I can easily watch her here. Hell no."
"What if we have a case?"
"Then I'll drop her off at Kamekona's. Would you like that Gracie?"
Gracie nodded enthusiastically. She liked Mr. Kamekona. He was a lousy poker player, which meant free ice pops for her.
"See."
Steve rolled his eyes.
Grace followed her daddy into his office. But it wasn't long until a case called for their attention and she was left with the new girl. Agent Weston. Grace found that the new girl was not that much fun. She was all wooden like Uncle Steve but without the sense of humor. The woman barely remembered her existence. So, Grace decided to entertain herself: she went exploring.
Soon, she found herself descending a staircase and then a hallway. Music drifted to her ears. What was that sound? It was a beautiful. She followed the sound, passing through a sterilized room then coming to an open door.
Inside the room she found a man sitting at a piano, his fingers flying over its ivory teeth. She stood as if entranced, listening to the mesmerizing melody he coaxed from the instrument with each stroke. When he finished she uttered one word, "wow."
The man whirled around on the bench. His eyes widened slightly before he scoured the room as if searching for another person and then fixed on her.
She gave her friendliest smile and approached him extending a hand. "Hi, I'm Grace Williams, Danny's daughter."
The man seemed to think for a moment before his eyes lit in recognition. "Ah yes Detective Williams's daughter. It is nice to meet you. I am Max Bergman." He shook her hand, using the other to push up his glasses.
She smiled brightly at him.
"Where is your father? Ah yes on a case."
She gave him a half smile. "I got bored upstairs."
"I see." He strode to his chair and sat down as if getting ready to work—and ignore her like Agent Weston.
She occupied herself by scanning the room, noticing the odds and ends scattered throughout the office. "So what do you do Max?"
"I'm a medical examiner."
She leaned on his desk, propping her chin up with an elbow. She examined the Rubik's Cube before noticing a familiar coffee mug with that green man from the movie about those dudes wielding light sabers on its front. Hm, that was funny because her Uncle Steve had an exact replica of the mug at his house. "What is that?"
Max looked to her abstractly. "I examine dead bodies externally and internally to determine the cause of death."
"Oh." Her eyes drifted to the model skeleton on the wall. "Did you know that there are 206 bones in the adult human body and that most of them are found in the hands and feet?"
Max turned to look her, head tilted to the side as if he had just discovered some newfound gadget. "Would you like to play on the computer with me?"
She beamed at him. "Sure."
They played Angry Birds in Space and Jojo's Fashion Show (Grace's choice). Then they shared Max's bento box for lunch upon which she discovered the heavenly deliciousness of the doctor's sticky buns. After Lori—frantic and panting—found she was with Max they spent the rest of the day undisturbed. Even when her daddy asked if she wanted to go with him she declined.
She was sitting in Max's chair watching the doctor finish sewing up a body with obvious fascination when her Uncle Steve entered. Her gaze instantly went to the numerous amounts of tiny slashes peppering his forearms. Those looked gnarly. But before she could jump up and inquire of his welfare she saw something she hadn't expect to see.
Max—who had just finished washing his hands—strode to Uncle Steve. "Are you okay?" He lifted his hand then let it fall limply to his side.
Steve gave a casual shrug. "I'm fine. Got into a tussle with a suspect, didn't expect to fall into broken glass and scrape up my arms."
Max looked to the cuts with critical eyes. "Did you clean and sanitize them?" He took Steve's wrists into his hands, lifting his arms to check the wounds.
"Yeah."
Grace couldn't help but feel the strange air fluctuating between them. What was going on?
"You should be more careful."
"I will be."
Why was Max rubbing Uncle Steve's wrists with his thumb?
"You say that each time you're injured."
"I know."
"You worry me." He released his wrists.
"Sorry b—Max."
The subsequent pat on the shoulder Steve imparted upon Max did not look friendly. It looked more like when her mom patted Stan, hand lingering a few seconds more than necessary. Curious.
They share a weird look before Uncle Steve's attention fell upon her. "You having fun with Max here?"
She nodded, s grin tugging at her lips. "He's funny." It was the truth. Perhaps he was not intentionally trying to make her laugh, but she found him amusing.
"Really? You must have one heck of a sense of humor Gracie."
She grinned at him. Sagely eyes watched the commander go, the wheels in her head spinning. Uncle Steve and Max behaved different than friends. Why? Grace decided she would put her detecting skills to use. Hey she had to have it in her genes right?
Over the next week Grace watched Max and Uncle Steve together. She noticed the way the usually reserved commander almost seemed nervous around Max—she could tell by the way he would rub the back of his neck when they were alone. She also noted that Max's quirky twitches would be a tad bit pronounced in the sole presence of Steve. The brief glances they shot each other when they thought no one was looking also told many tales.
Now Grace was only nine, but she watched enough teenage dramas to know when two people were secretly together. All of the signs were there pointing with big red blinking signs to anyone that looked. Uncle Steve and Max were a couple. Of course 'accidentally' seeing them kiss only sealed her suspicions.
That afternoon the entire team, including Grace, were at Kamekona's eating dinner. The calm ocean, sunny weather, and good company made up for a spirit-lifting atmosphere. During the day Grace had begun to ask herself questions. She loved her Uncle Steve but what if he hurt Max? She chewed her bottom lip. She would have to talk to him to make sure. So she finished off her French fries—which were swimming in ketchup—and looked up at him. "Uncle Steve."
"Yeah Gracie?" He took a sip of his drink.
"Can I talk to you? In private." She saw her daddy shrug when Uncle Steve looked to him for understanding.
He raised an eyebrow quizzically but agreed nonetheless. "Sure."
They stood and departed the table. She led the way, walking down the beach with a purposeful stride until they were near the surf. She turned to him, demeanor business-like, arms folded. "Uncle Steve, what are your intentions with Max?"
He didn't miss a beat, though he did look thrown off his game. "Gracie, what are you-?"
"I know you two are a couple." Did he have to look so utterly surprised? She was nine not stupid.
"How?"
She shrugged, trying not to sound disrespectful with her next words. "My dad's a detective. I want to know what your intentions are because I heard daddy say you had a lot of one-night stands. I looked it up on the Internet and I don't want Max to be one of those. He doesn't deserve it." Again, she folded her arms, protectiveness screaming in her stance.
"I know that."
"He's a good catch."
"I know that too."
"Good. So what are your intentions?" She looked up at him with serious eyes boring into his.
He knelt in front of her until they were eye level. "Well, I plan on being with him as long as he'll have me."
She narrowed her eyes. "And no more one-night stands?" He seemed to chafe at the fact that she knew such a word.
"I'd never do that to Max."
"And do you promise to make him happy?"
He gave a short nod. "As much as possible."
That was not enough. He had to promise first. "Promise?"
"I promise."
She folded her arms, tapping her bottom lip with a finger while eyeing him critically. "Well, since you're telling the truth…I suppose I could let you two date."
The resultant soft smile surprised even her. "Thanks Gracie. And nobody knows about our relationship, except you, so could you please keep this a secret?"
She beamed at him, recognizing the importance of her agreement. "Sure." She grasped his hand and led him back to the table.
"Do I even want to know what that was about?" Danny asked when they rejoined the group. "Or are you two plotting evil?"
She only giggled at her father. "No daddy. We were just clearing up a few things." With that vague statement she resumed eating.
The couple:
Steve wrapped his arms around the raven-haired man standing over the bathroom sink. "I got the third degree by a nine year old."
Max reached for his dental floss. "Hm?"
"Gracie, she knows about us." He sniffed Max's hair which always seemed to smell like lilacs.
"Interesting." He popped the top on the container.
He glanced down at the other man. "You don't seem surprised."
"She is quite astute," he responded as if were a mere observance. He closed his eyes in contentment when Steve dropped a kiss to his cheek.
Grace sat in the restaurant observing the Five-0 team. None of them were aware that Uncle Steve and Max were a couple. They didn't catch the furtive glances the two passed each other occasionally. They probably did see it but figured it was impossible because the two were nearly polar opposites even if the evidence was obvious. She shook her head, sipping her tea. Sigh. Grown-ups.
And that's it. I love Gracie so much! I just figured she is so smart that she would be the first to figure it out because children just go with what they see and aren't burdened down by the concepts of adults. If you enjoyed it please drop me a line.
Later Taters. ^-*
