Danny will remember that first kiss in frightening, Technicolor clarity for the rest of his life, fueled by the utter clichéd beauty of it. He has the memory tucked snuggly among the scenes labeled Good Things in his head. It keeps company with the day Grace was born, graduating from the police academy, and finally making detective.
He tries to keep it away from the much more bleak Bad Things – the day he was served divorce papers while he was neck deep in a homicide case or when he became aware that Matty was wanted by the FBI. Thankfully it's not too hard these days to push those memories to the brink of forgetfulness, but he knows they'll always be there if he needs a little reality check.
His first kiss with Steve was only a cliché for the way it happened, but if Danny's being honest with himself, sometimes his whole partnership with Steve is a walking cliché. It was New Year's Eve and everyone was celebrating far too hard at Kono's tiny house after the team had successfully cracked a string of high end post-Christmas robberies that had been taking place in downtown Honolulu.
Danny was happy that day, riding the high of being able to spend a few hours with Grace earlier that consisted of several plates of local diner waffles and far too many cups of sparkling grape juice that she'd insisted on. He'd dropped her back off with Rachel too soon, who was preparing for her own New Year's party before picking up Steve and heading to Kono's, more than ready to imbibe a more adult sparkling beverage as soon as possible.
It was a few hours before midnight, but Danny knew it was already a new year in Hoboken after receiving a particularly drunk phone call from his youngest sister, whose high pitched giggling in his ear put him in mind of Grace at her last birthday when she'd eaten far too much cake.
There were so many people in Kono's house that Danny was tempted to make loud statements about fire codes that had been drilled into him from an early age, watching as the place seemed to burst at the seams with what must be all of the Kelly-Kalakaua family that lived in a 50 mile radius. Danny was feeling pretty white by the end of the evening and made a valiant effort to stick close to Steve for help, in case someone asked him something he couldn't understand. Unfortunately, Steve was about as helpful as a hole in the head and left Danny to the sharks when he was cornered by two locals who wanted to know why he was wearing chinos to a party.
"Hey! Two minute warning! Get your asses in here!" Kono's voice rang across the house and the small herd of people out on the lanai began to make their way inside, cutting off the explanation of the finer points of the shaka Danny was currently receiving from someone who probably spoke better English than him, but decided to utilize all of his pidgin skills anyways.
"You should see your face, Danno. C'mon, the ball's about to drop!" Danny was far too close to making some crude comment about balls dropping, but Steve just grabbed his elbow and tugged him inside to the crowded living room, steering them into a corner where they could see a little of the TV, surrounded as it was by so many people.
Danny grabbed them both some champagne from a side table on the way to their corner, where he leaned into Steve's right arm, the warmth sinking through his own t-shirt, sending tendrils of heat through his body. Obviously he was far more drunk than he originally thought if he was thinking about Steve's body heat.
From their vantage point, he peeked over at the TV, watching Dick Clark croak out that the ball was beginning its descent with a minute to go. Danny knew this was pre-recorded, the ball having hit the ground in New York over six hours ago (he'd gotten a drunken voicemail from his oldest sister at that time), but it didn't stop the rush of homesickness that overtook him then, his throat seizing up. He raised his glass to cover it, clinking it with Steve's as they reached ten seconds.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six…Danny raised the glass to his lips, the champagne sliding smoothly down his throat to bubble in his stomach…five, four…he glanced at Steve who was staring at him intently, a look on his face that he'd only ever seen when Steve was working a case, that look of deep concentration etched into the lines of his forehead…three, two…he realized what that look was a second too late…one…
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The amount of noise that filled the room was like being sucked into a funnel cloud, but all Danny could concentrate on then was the feel of Steve's lips pressed against his own, Steve's big hand cupping his stubbly cheek as the cheering continued on around them, as if they'd been thrown into a vacuum.
He felt his mouth opening of its own accord, Steve's tongue sneaking in as if it was intent on fulfilling a super secret SEAL mission. The layers of tastes Danny could identify caused him to moan low in his throat as the kiss deepened, his own free hand coming up to grasp Steve's neck, pulling him closer still.
Steve tasted like the champagne he'd sipped at as the ball dropped, accented with the spicy hops from the Longboards he'd put away over the last few hours and Danny found he almost preferred tasting the beer this way, second hand across Steve's tongue. Under that still was the subtle bite of mango relish from the puka dog he'd found Steve eating earlier, looking only slightly guilty when he didn't have one to give to Danny. And then there was something else that could only belong to Steve, too complex like the man himself and Danny found himself instantly addicted, pushing for more and more.
The kiss went on for a while longer until they were jolted apart by a loud wolf whistle from Kono, who just grinned at their panting faces and told them it'd taken long enough. Danny just hid his embarrassment in his champagne fluke, but Steve looked resplendent and Danny was sure that grin would be there for days to follow.
After that, Danny had to add a whole new sub-category under Good Things that would become known as Steve's Kisses because it turned out that there were almost as many of them as there were layers to an onion.
There's the rough kisses after a shoot-out, when Steve comes out of his stoic, SEAL Commander fugue-like state and his emotions crash down around his ears like waves, because even though Steve's been through so much and seen so many bad things in his time as a Navy man, it doesn't make him any happier to have to go out with the possible intention of shooting someone, even if he would be protecting more people in the long run. His eyes get really big when he's finally close to Danny once more, once they're away from everyone else, and he'll put one large hand on Danny's face, leaving thumb shaped powder smudges across Danny's cheek. And when he kisses him, it tastes like smoke and more gunpowder, the grit of shattered debris rough on both their tongues, but Danny feels more alive in that moment than ever before.
And then there's the special brand of "just because I can" kisses that are usually stolen while the Camaro's parked at a red light, Steve's hand hot on Danny's thigh as he leans over the console, pressing dry lips to the corner of Danny's mouth. Or when they're standing in the grocery store, Danny trying to decide if they need more carrots or broccoli as Steve plops a giant pineapple into the cart with a goofy grin and a kiss for Danny's scowl.
Or there's Danny's personal favorite when they've both just woken up in that early dawn light that always looks best slanting across Steve's floor, when they're still sleep warm and heavy limbed. Steve's arm will wrap around Danny's body, thumb beating an almost nonexistent tattoo down the knobs of his partner's spine and he'll push his face into Danny's neck as he presses scratchy kisses from Adam's Apple up to lips and then all the way up to Danny's hairline, nuzzling into the fly-away strands he finds there.
And Danny will sigh because he has nothing to complain about in that moment as he mulls over all the new memories he has of this weird life he's constructed with Steve, stowed away under Good Things and all he can do is smile as he kisses back.