AN – Just a little one shot that (sort of) fits in with Ep. 13.
Danny/Lori because all my other muses appear to have died and/or abandoned me.
-Scottie.
"Wow. This – this is high school. This has me feeling very nostalgic." Danny Williams strode down the locker filled hallway at Ala Moana Academy, Lori Weston at his side, easily matching his pace.
"I hated high school." Lori shook her head in an attempt to clear the horrible, horrible memories that she had of high school from her head.
"You? You seem like the smart type, right? Like the president of the student council." Danny seemed genuinely shocked. Again, Lori shook her head.
"What, you think I was Tracey Flick?" She wished she had been a Tracey Flick. Even that would've been better than what she'd gone through in her high school days.
"That was a compliment." Trying to move the conversation from her, she attempted to guess where Danny had once sat in the high school social ladder.
"Well, I'm sure you were like, a jock." There was a small laugh from Danny.
"No, no, but I, er, I did chase all the cheerleaders." Lori watched Danny for a brief moment, the mental picture he had just given her making her smile slightly.
H50
"So, are you going to tell me why you hated high school so much?" Lori had just pulled herself into the passenger seat of Danny's car as they had decided to leave the school for the time being. Lori shrugged, looking out of the window, afraid that the emotions that she had kept bottled for so long after high school would spill over.
"It's alright," Danny immediately said after seeing Lori's reaction. "You don't have to." Lori smiled sadly, still not speaking, and Danny started the car and pulled away from the school.
A few minutes later, Lori began to speak. Danny considered pulling over at first, but decided against it, instead detouring from their original destination.
"I was bullied every single day," Lori began quietly. "No matter what I did, they'd find some reason to pick on me." She paused. "I got beaten up quite a lot, too. Ended up with broken ribs, arms, ankles, the whole lot." Danny gently placed a comforting hand on Lori's shoulder. At his touch, Lori looked up at Danny, tears in her eyes threatening to spill over at any moment.
It was at that point Danny pulled over and got out of the car, marched around to the passenger seat and pulled Lori out, immediately wrapping her in a hug. The tears began to fall from Lori's eyes, and Danny pulled her closer into his chest, enveloping her in his arms. Lori's arms were curled up in front of her, resting on Danny's chest, and she was comforted by his steady heartbeat. After a few minutes, Lori took a deep breath and leant back slightly. Danny released his grip on Lori enough so that he could see her face, and he carefully watched her.
"You alright?" Lori nodded.
"It's just – I haven't really told anyone about this, ever. I just tried to forget it and all." Danny smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry for bringing it up." Lori shook her head.
"No, no, it's ok. It would've come up at some point or another." There was a pause in conversation, as the two stood in silence, unmoving. After a few moments, Danny realised that Lori's forearms were still resting against his chest, and after a few extra seconds of deliberation, he pulled her back into his arms. Lori didn't object, and she buried her head into his chest, allowing the final tears to fall.
Lori would have been content to stay in Danny's embrace for a long time, but unfortunately, Danny's phone (or rather the person on the other end of it) had other ideas. With great reluctance, Danny released Lori and reached for his phone.
"Williams," he paused to listen to the speaker. "We'll be right there." Putting his phone away, Danny offered his hand to Lori who took it. "That was Steve. He said we need to get back to HQ ASAP." Danny led Lori around to the passenger seat and closed the door before returning to drive his car once more before the inevitable moment when McGarrett would steal it, as per usual.
H50
"Go away, McGarrett, we're less than a minute away." Danny turned to Lori as they pulled into a parking bay outside HQ. "You sure you're alright?" Lori nodded, taking a deep breath.
"I'll be fine. Thanks, Danny." Danny reached over and placed a hand on Lori's shoulder for a moment before pushing open his door.
"We should go before McGarrett goes all Super SEAL on our asses." Lori smiled and got out of the car, and Danny reached for her hand as the two began the hurried walk into HQ.
FIN.