Author's Note: My two favorite partnerships come together here. This could fit with my "A Very Good Team" stories for Avengers but is definitely AU for my Five-0 stories. You could consider this an early Veteran's Day story.
Two Pair
In full dress uniform, Navy Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett stood at attention on the edge of the crowd while Captain America laid a wreath at the Honolulu Memorial in the National Memorial Cemetery known as Punchbowl.
McGarrett's Five-0 partner Detective Danny Williams stood beside him wearing his best black suit.
As Cap stepped back, a children's choir began to sing. Spectators dabbed tears from their eyes. Despite the moving ceremony, the men's eyes kept flickering around the crowd. Though Five-0 wasn't officially on duty and there was a superhero present — for heavens sake! — the officers couldn't help being on watch for trouble.
But none came (which amazed Danny, to tell the truth).
The ceremony ended and the band struck up the rousing "Stars and Stripes Forever." The crowd began to break up, chattering excitedly and trying to move closer to get a better look at Captain America. Steve and Danny hung back on the edge of the crowd.
"That is one thing I don't miss about the East Coast," the New Jersey detective commented. "The damned superheroes."
"You don't like Captain America!" Steve was honestly shocked.
"Not him!" Danny answered. "I talked to some of my friends in New York after the battle and they said Cap is a stand-up guy. No, I don't have anything against him. It's his pal that pisses me off. It's …"
A movement in the air behind him and Steve's startled expression caused Danny to turn and see an armor-clad figure hovering inches above the cemetery lawn.
"… Iron Man!" Danny finished his sentence in aggravation.
Iron Man landed and his visor flipped up. Tony's Stark's eyes studied Danny's face.
"I know you!" the superhero said. "Williams, right?"
"You should remember. You threw my patrol car at a giant, mutant, glowing crab!" Danny yelled.
"I paid for the car," the billionaire offered.
"I was in it!"
"Yeah, well." Tony Stark actually looked embarrassed.
"What giant crab?" McGarrett demanded.
Danny took a deep breath and described the scene.
Debris was flying everywhere and Danny ducked behind the dashboard.
"So you admit you were hiding," Stark exclaimed in triumph.
"I was taking cover," Danny countered with dignity. "Like any rational non-superpowered human being!"
Suddenly the police car rose then flew through the air, landing with a crash that didn't seem as jarring as it should have.
The officer looked out of the tilted vehicle and saw the crab had caught the car in one claw. Its creepy eyes spotted the man inside.
The crab lifted the car, ready to pluck Danny out like a clam from its shell. Danny looked into the alien-seeming mouth of the monstrous crab and reacted like any trained police officer in a panic — he emptied his automatic into the monster's maw. It collapsed, dropping the patrol car with a crash that jolted Danny into unconsciousness.
"Wait, wait!" Steve protested. "You mean Danny killed a monster that Iron Man couldn't scratch?"
Tony scratched his head sheepishly. "It was a crab," he said defensively. "I was trying to crack the carapace, but when Williams shot into its mouth, the bullets ricocheted inside its body — instant sashimi, or should I say poke´ here in the islands?"
"How come I never heard of this?" McGarrett demanded of his partner. "It's not in your personnel file."
"Oh no. No, no, no. I was not going to make it public," Danny exclaimed. "Rachel was already getting on me about how dangerous my job was. A giant crab would have been the last straw. As it was, I had two more years before she filed for divorce."
"Didn't anyone realize?"
"I let him have the credit," Danny said, nodding at Iron Man.
Stark shrugged. "They saw Iron Man throw a car at the crab and then it collapsed, so they assumed I killed it. Williams swore he didn't want anyone to know and I owed him at least that much, so I took the heat, or the credit, depending on how you look at it."
"Wow, Danny. I'm impressed," McGarrett said honestly. He glared at Iron Man in much belated protectiveness. "With all that equipment, how come you didn't know someone was in the car?"
"I was a little busy with the giant crab," Stark protested. "And Jarvis didn't notify me until it was too late."
"With all due respect, sir …" Danny and Steve could faintly hear a cultured English voice coming out of Tony's open face plate. "The heat signature was plain to see and I had no reason to anticipate your sudden desire to pitch a patrol car."
"Who's that?" Danny asked blankly.
Tony was surprised that anyone else could hear Jarvis, but the AI had deliberately projected his voice to be heard.
"That's Jarvis, an artificial intelligence," Tony explained. "My guidance computer, if you well."
"And may I say, Detective Williams, I am glad to have this opportunity to apologize for the unfortunate incident," Jarvis said.
Danny was stunned. "Apology accepted, Jarvis, I guess. I'm not sure what all this means," he confessed, scratching his head.
"It means, Stark makes computer programs that are more polite than he is," a new voice offered.
The Five-0 officers turned to see Captain America striding toward them.
McGarrett snapped to attention and saluted crisply, then mentally kicked himself. A Navy lieutenant commander outranked an Army captain. By rights, Cap should have saluted first. Then again, Captain America was a living legend.
Cap returned Steve's salute gravely, with no sign that anything untoward had occurred. "Commander, thank you for coming today. It's good when the servicemen of today remember the sacrifices of the past."
Tony rolled his eyes. He thought Cap had been doing too much of this military PR, but McGarrett took the Super Soldier's words at face value.
"Honored to be here, captain," Steve answered, emphasizing the rank.
It was Danny's turn to roll his eyes. The police officer had seen the rivalry between the services break out into riots. Fortunately, Steve McGarrett and Captain America were mature enough to trade friendly barbs instead of blows. In fact, Cap grinned at the familiar byplay. Few were confident enough to engage him in one-upmanship.
The superhero coughed modestly. "Actually, Captain America is just a … job title." He tugged at his collar and showed the silver oak leaf embroidered on the inside — which meant he was one grade higher than McGarrett.
"Lieutenant Colonel America is such a mouthful," Tony complained. "So we still call him Cap."
"Sir," McGarrett said, saluting to acknowledge Cap's win.
Cap just smiled boyishly and offered a hand to shake, then he shook Danny's, too.
"I know why you're here, Cap," Danny said, relishing the chance to call a superhero by his nickname. "But why's he here?" He aimed a thumb at Iron Man.
"I'm his backup," Tony answered, pointing upward. He'd been on patrol throughout the ceremony, as watchful as the two Five-0 officers had been.
Cap shrugged. "And he's my ride."
"Private jet, beachfront condo. He only loves me for my money," Tony complained with a heavy sigh.
"And your modest, retiring personality," Cap replied.
Tony made a gesture, gracious accepting the tongue-in-cheek compliment.
McGarrett and Williams exchanged an amused glance. The two Avengers' banter reminded them of themselves.
"Chin and Kono should see this," Danny said.
"Yeah," Steve agreed. He addressed Cap. "If it's all right, sir, I have some friends who would like to meet you. Both of you."
"Of course," Cap said graciously. Tony tipped his head in mock regal agreement.
McGarrett moved in the direction he'd last seen Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua. They were escorting several elderly relatives who had lived through the war. As McGarrett moved off, Danny noticed that their teammates had moved to the other side of the crowd.
"Hey, Steve!" he called.
McGarrett and Captain America both turned. "What?" Then Cap smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand.
Stark laughed. "You are so bad at the secret identity business."
"Your name is Steve?" Danny asked curiously. "Like the original Cap? Steve Rogers. The one I read about when I was a kid?"
Something about Cap's shifty agreement set Danny's detective senses tingling. "No. You can't be the original, can you?" His incredulous words were spoken quietly so only the four of them could hear.
Tony chuckled. "That's him. Flash frozen at the peak of freshness."
"Tony," Cap warned.
"Steeeve," Tony answered, drawing out the vowel. "Relax. I know the detective can keep a secret."
Danny thought of a king-size crab, a stolen $10 million and an unsanctioned rescue mission in North Korea. "Yeah, your secret is safe with me, Cap. And thanks for everything you've done, then and now," Danny added sincerely. "You've always been my hero."
Cap shook his hand. Stark cleared his throat ostentatiously.
"Not you," Danny told Iron Man firmly. "You're still a pain in the butt."
"And my work here is done," Tony said cheerfully.
A/N: This basis for this idea originally came from my sister Jelsemium. She never wrote it, so I did.