It was late. The only light in the room came from the moon, and it would come and go as clouds passed in the sky.
The pure white of the moonlight created a peaceful atmosphere in the room, and Danny wished he could absorb that serenity.
His heart was hanging heavily in his chest with each thought that passed through his mind. Questions zoomed in and out, causing him to second-guess every decision he made as to how to go about relaying this newfound information to Steve.
Steve. Steve was right behind Danny, spooned up against him and holding him tightly. The taller man was sound asleep, as Danny should have been, but Danny's life was anything but easy. No, he couldn't be frolicking through his dreams like Steve probably was because he had reality and his overactive mind to keep him awake.
This really shouldn't be that big of a deal, Danny tried to tell himself, but no matter how much he tried to convince himself, it wouldn't stick. If he did this… when he did this, he was going to be putting himself in a vulnerable position, the most vulnerable he could possibly think of.
His fall-out with Rachel left him wary of relationships—something he wasn't aware of, mainly because he hadn't been searching for one, but no, fate had decided to plop Steve McGarrett in his lap and he couldn't help but be captivated by the man's complete disregard of rules and procedures, by the way he did everything so wholeheartedly, whether it was chasing a suspect down or being a friend, and he definitely couldn't get over how head over heels his daughter and Steve were for each other.
It brought a smile to his lips whenever he thought about the two of them together, how happy they were.
Grace had always been a good judge of character.
None of this calmed Danny's nerves, though. It didn't quell any of his doubts, didn't sooth any of his qualms.
He didn't know how Steve felt, if Steve was even looking for something like this. What if he just wanted someone to have around? What if Danny had looked too deep into this relationship? What if he ran as soon as Danny told him?
He didn't want to think of any of those possibilities, but they kept running through his head, circling it to insure the thoughts never died down. They filled his head, and Danny closed his eyes in an effort to clear them out.
"Danny," Steve grunted out in a tired, raspy voice, "You're gunna break your brain if you don't stop thinking."
Danny let out a soft laugh and turned in Steve's arms to look at his still half asleep face. "Sorry," he murmured and reached up to run a hand through Steve's hair, hoping the gesture would sooth him back to sleep.
"What's wrong?" Steve asked, his eyes closing again as he tried to battle sleep.
"Nothing." And Danny wasn't lying, per se.
"Then what's got your gears turning?"
"Just… thinking."
Steve sighed and opened his eyes to meet Danny's. "Get it off your chest so that we can both sleep."
"It's not that easy, Steve. Not everything in this world is as easy as you make it seem, y'know. Life isn't all beaches and pretty sunset—okay, maybe I stand corrected, life on this crazy island seems to be the exception. Anyway, I can't just say what I'm thinking about, then that would just ruin everything… potentially. Besides, this isn't something that can just come out of nowhere. It has to be planned and executed in a manner that leaves both parties unhurt. I know you know all about executions—"
Steve's lips on his own cut Danny's rant off. It was a brief kiss, a short and sweet 'shut up.'
"I love you," Danny blurted out when Steve pulled away.
"I love you, too," Steve replied simply, an amused glint in his eyes. "Now, what's bothering you?"
A warm feeling spread through Danny's veins, his blood carrying it to every end of his body. He smiled and shook his head. "Nothing at all… just, y'know, being self-destructive and all that stuff that's usually saved for you. Go back to sleep, babe."
Steve snorted softly and pressed his lips to Danny's one more time before flipping onto his back, one of his arms under Danny, while the other covered his eyes. Danny watched him for a moment, seeing how each breathe got deeper by the up and down movements of his torso.
Danny stayed like that for a moment, just watching Steve and relishing the warmth that had spread throughout his body. He eventually turned onto his side and rested his head on Steve's shoulder, his body finally able to relax.
"Thank God," Steve muttered under his breath, and Danny laughed.