Disclaimer: As always, I don't own anything Hawaii Five-O. Strictly for entertainment purposes.
Steve leaned his head back against the deck chair and closed his eyes. He was exhausted, yet he knew that if he fell asleep he'd get no rest. It had been that way for a while; any attempt that he'd made to rest had been utterly destroyed by his mind-blowing dreams about his partner. He'd end up so hard that he was hurting and he'd have to wake up just to jerk off to get some relief. At first he hadn't thought too much about it, but since the dreams had continued without any sign of stopping, Steve had begun to feel guilty.
He had no business craving his partner. He knew that nothing would ever come of his desires so Steve began to take steps to avoid the other man. He'd started driving his own vehicle so that they weren't cramped together in a vehicle for a ridiculous number of hours a day. He'd stopped joining the team for drinks after work and eventually began to think about resigning his position and becoming an active SEAL again. Anything he could think of to cure his need, his ache for his partner.
Danny eased the Camaro into Steve's driveway and shut the engine off. He leaned his head against the headrest and sighed. He had hated the last couple of weeks, the distance, the walls that had suddenly appeared between him and Steve. He'd thought that they made great partners at least until Steve's sudden retreat into stoic silence. One day everything was fine and the next….well Steve had begun to avoid him.
Danny loved being a part of the task force, he finally felt as if Hawaii might become home. However, he knew that a freakishly huge portion of his infatuation with the team had to do with a certain Navy SEAL who was far more attractive than any man had a right to be. Without Steve, Danny would be right back where he started and that was simply unacceptable.
So, here he was, sitting in front of Steve's house. Danny dragged his hand tiredly down his face then opened his door to climb out of the Camaro. He tucked his car keys into his pocket and straightened his shoulders. He shoved the door shut then made his way up the drive. He didn't bother to knock, just opened the front door and walked right in. His gaze settled immediately on the open glass door that led to the lanai.
Steve sighed when he heard the fall of Danny's footsteps crossing his floor. He should have known that Danny would make an appearance, which just went to show how exhausted he was. Steve waited quietly while the blond detective settled himself into the empty lounge chair and popped the top off of one of the beers. Steve's gaze automatically settled on Danny's throat as he swallowed the beer.
They both remained silent for long moments in the dark, neither sure where to start the conversation that was coming. Finally the silence became too much and Danny shifted in his seat, his arms resting on his knees as he took in his partner's face. Danny sighed when he saw the dark circles beneath those blue-gray eyes, "Alright, McGarrett what the fuck is going on with you?"
Steve rolled his eyes, "I'm fine, Danny."
"Uh-huh, not buying it Super Seal. First you've been avoiding me, which unless you've done something that you know that I am going to yell about, just doesn't happen. Next I've been driving my own car, for the last two weeks, which also never happens. Finally, you look like hell, so let's try this again. What. The. Fuck. Is. Going. On. With. You?"
Steve closed his eyes as he gathered his thoughts then slowly he moved so that he was sitting on the edge of the lounge chair. Not facing Danny but no longer reclined either, his eyes were trained on the ocean. He let out a deep breath, "I've decided to resign from Five-O."
Danny felt his heart drop and his throat clench with denial and he carefully set the bottle that he was holding on the ground. He clasped his hands together in his effort to keep from grabbing his partner, "What are you talking about, Steve? Why would you do that?"
Steve heard the break in his partner's voice and felt it tearing at his own heart, "I am going back to active status for the SEALS. It's the best thing for everyone involved."
Danny let out a choked sound, a cross somewhere between a laugh and a sob, "Yeah? Who says that it's the best thing for everyone? Huh? Not me, I didn't say that."
When Steve didn't say anything, Danny stood up with a frustrated sigh. He moved so that he was standing at the edge of the lanai staring out into the inky blackness of the ocean. His voice was husky when he spoke again, "I never wanted to come to Hawaii, and even after I lived here I didn't truly want to be here. The only thing that I had was Grace."
"Danny…."
"I'm not finished talking here," the blond detective growled, "Then one day this maniac comes barging into my life and turning everything upside down. So slowly I begin to realize that maybe this place isn't so bad. Now, now," his voice broke just a little and he coughed to clear his throat, "you want to take this all away again."
Steve sighed and stood to join his partner at the railing, he stood close, so close that their arms nearly touched, but not quite. He looked out at the water and spoke so softly that Danny had to strain his ears to hear him, "I'm not doing this to hurt you, Danny. I'm doing this because staying here and not being able to touch you is killing me."
Danny was silent for a moment as he took in Steve's words but he reached out his hand and caught the taller man's wrist before he could walk away, "Bullshit, Steve."
"What?"
"You heard me, I said bullshit. You're running because you're too scared to find out if you can touch me."
"No, I'm not scared. I'm a realist."
"What are you babbling about?"
Steve shook his wrist free from Danny's hand and walked towards the door pausing only briefly, "You, Danny. You're so obviously straight, I'm not about to set myself up for a fall."
Steve walked into the house with Danny hot on his heels. Danny grabbed Steve and pushed him against the wall. "Oh hell no! You are so not walking away from this conversation. Yeah, I get it, I was married and I have a kid. That doesn't mean however, that this," Danny flailed a hand looking for the right word, "…thing between us isn't mutual."
Steve eyed him warily, "What?"
"How the hell someone can be so smart and so dumb at the same time is beyond me," Danny muttered before pressing himself fully against his partner, getting right up into his face, "I want you too, Steve. You don't know how hard it has been for me to drop you off here alone every single night. Especially when all I wanted to do was follow you in and make love to you until neither one of could move."
"Fuck, Danny…." Steve's head dropped heavily against the wall.
Danny smirked, "Yeah, babe, I know." He leaned up as he pulled Steve's head down into a kiss.