Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even the virtual paper it's written on. No copyright infringement intended.
H5-0* H5-0* H5-0* H5-0* H5-0* H5-0*
"Well?"
"What do you mean, well?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
"Oh. We're going back there are we? You know you're worse than an ex-wife," Danny groused, brushing past his partner to enter his office.
"Don't think you can just walk away from me… I want an answer," Steve stepped into the doorway and folded his arms across his chest.
Turning to face his partner, hands raised to the heavens, Danny laughed. "He wants an answer. Oh, well excuse me for pointing out that you don't always get what you want, Steven." Danny dropped his hands to his hips, his chin jutting out in defiance. "And don't you think for one minute that I'm intimidated by your antagonistic effort to block my egress…"
"My what?" Steve's face creased in confusion.
"Six letter words too long for you, Steven? My egress – that's an exit to you. You're standing in my doorway like some sort of bipedal monolith," he said, his hand tracing an airy outline of his statuesque partner.
"Where is it, Danny?" Steve ground out, his patience obviously wearing thin.
Dropping into his chair and scooting in behind the desk, Danny scrubbed his hands over his face before resting his chin atop fisted hands. "Some of us have work to do, Steven. Why do you want it, anyway?"
"Why do I… because it's mine, Danny!" Steve strode fully into the room and leaned over the desk, fully into his partner's personal space. Unintimidated, Danny stared up at the man. He watched his jaw clench as he ground his teeth; saw the blush of his anger as it crept round his neck toward his cheeks.
A smirk curled at the edges of the smaller man's mouth as he replied, softly, "You're welcome to borrow mine… all you have to do is ask." Leaning back in his chair, Danny rested his elbows on the arm rests while tenting his fingers in front of his mouth.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Steve stood up to his full height, arms once again crossed in belligerence.
"Enjoying what? The fact that you have no idea where it is? Or that it's driving you nuts?" Danny swiveled his chair and swung his feet up onto the edge of his desk, crossing his legs at the ankle. He faked nonchalance as he reclined further into his chair and inspected his fingernails, silently praying for his teammates to return.
A light rap on the doorframe caught both men's attention. Turning to face the new arrival, Danny sighed in relief. Kono's head tilted like a curious puppy as she spoke.
"You lost something, Boss?" Raising the object into view she nodded almost imperceptibly at the silently mouthed "thank you" from behind the desk.
"Where the hell did you find that?" Steve almost snatched the mug from her grasp; studying the printed words as he inspected his prize, a smile instantly spreading across his face.
"Err… It was in the fridge," she said, entering the office and glaring at Danny's bemused frown.
"Thanks," Steve's satisfied response floated in the air.
"Sorry I accused you, Danny… oh that's okay, Steve," Danny called out after his partner who had already left the office.
"In the fridge? Seriously?" said Danny, turning to face the rookie.
"What? It was the best I could come up with at the time – he's turned the rest of the place upside down so he'd know I was lying… and you owe me eight bucks."
"Yeah, and dinner," Danny pulled out his wallet, handing over $10.
"Not forgetting my routine paperwork for a month, too," Kono grinned.
"Yeah, that too. You're a hard taskmistress, Kono," Danny smiled up at her.
"It's better than being dead, brah," she laughed, pocketing the cash as she left the office.
"You're not wrong, Kono… you're not wrong," Danny muttered, thankful that the local print shop still sold DIY mugs and that he could remember what his daughter had written. He was going to stock up on 'Hau`oli lä Hänau, SuperSEAL!' mugs this weekend, lest he drop it again.
A/N: Hau`oli lä Hänau, SuperSEAL! Translates to: Happy Birthday, SuperSEAL!