Disclaimer: Hawaii 5-0 and all of its characters belong to Peter Lenkov and CBS Studio Productions.
This is coda to "Hookman", so there are slight spoilers for that episode. This is how I think the episode should have ended...
The car ride was silent. Not even the sort of silence that Danny could fully enjoy, which he rarely got. No, it was a deafening silence that made his stomach twist nervously and his palms sweat on the steering wheel. That was another thing that was gnawing at the back of his brain. Steve had willingly let him drive. He'd extended the keys to his partner out of sheer force of habit, but the larger man had batted them away and slipped into the passenger's seat.
He glanced across the seat across out of the corner of his eye, trying his best to gauge Steve's mood, but the stoic way that the other man stared out the window conveyed nothing but stormy clouds. Steve's jaw was set tighter then Danny had ever seen it before.
"So, you going to tell me what's up with you? We got the guy that killed your friends and, may I remind you, tried to kill you. I'm pretty sure that at least warrants a little smile." Danny grumbled, his knuckles white with the intensity of his grip on the wheel.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it, Detective Williams." Steve replied, his voice flat and low.
"Detective...so, I'm 'Detective Williams' now? You know, just 'cause I've asked you not to call me Danno doesn't mean we have to do that. Besides, you never listened to me anyway, so what gives?" He chanced turning his head to fully look at McGarrett a moment before turning his head back to the road.
"Like I said, it's not something that you need to worry about. I know that you have a laundry list of things that I'm sure disrupt your beauty sleep, no need to bother yourself with worrying about my petty little issues." He snapped in repsonse, crossing his arms over his chest defensively while he continued to stare out the window pointedly.
"What...what the hell are you talking about, Steven?"
"Nothing, Williams. We're partners. We work together, no need to push it." When Steve's eyes finally swung to face him, Danny's breath caught in his throat at the sight of the electric storm brewing behind light irises. "Right?" He growled, the man actually growled like some sort of aggitated animal and Danny thought that his heart was going to fall out of his nose.
"Steve, I..." Danny huffed out a sigh and wrenched the wheel to the right, stopping the car on the shoulder of the Pali. "Okay, I, uh, I'm gonna need you to elaborate here, babe. I'm not a mind reader, so I can't just magically poof myself into knowing what you're talking about. So, if you're quite finished pouting, just let me know what the hell I have now done to somehow piss you off."
"You want to know what's wrong with me, Danny? You really want to know?"
"Yes, Steven, I really want to know. If I, in fact, did not want to know, I wouldn't have asked." Danny ranted, his hands flying in true Williams form.
"Okay. Here it is. You don't worry about losing me."
"What...Steve, if I didn't worry about losing you, why in God's name would I bitch and moan about your complete and utter disreguard for the term 'back up'?"
"You said yourself that worrying about whether you lose me in a combat situation isn't something that you worry about." Steve replied, his voice barely loud enough to be heard, even in the silence of the car.
"Steve," Danny breathed, all of the anger rushing out of him faster than he thought possible. "That's not...I didn't mean it like that."
"Then what did you mean, Danny? Because I really don't get it. I thought that we were friends, I mean...I thought that we weren't just...I don't know." Steve ran the flat of his hand over the back of his neck and shook his head, his eyes fixing themselves on the dashboard.
"Steve, I was...I was mad, and I just wanted to get through to you that you can't just go running into the line of fire like that! You're going to get yourself killed one of these days, and I can't..." Danny let out a shuddering breath before dropping his forehead to the steering wheel. "I can't lose you, Steve. I cannot."
"Danny?" Steve's voice was crackling and sounded almost alien to Danny's ears. He lifted his head slowly and turned to look at Steve. The electricity that sparked between the two of them was nearly visible and he was pretty sure that his heart forgot it was supposed to be beating when a gun calloused hand slid over his cheek. He leaned into the warmth of Steve's palm unconciously as Steve's thumb brushed over his cheekbone.
"Steve," He muttered, his gaze falling to watch the tip of Steve's tongue snaking out to wet his lips. "Steve, you can't...um..."
"What happened to the articulate Danno we all know?" Steve chuckled. When the hell had he gotten close enough to nuzzle his nose against Danny's?
"What'd I tell you about calling me Danno?" Danny replied, his voice gruff. The grin that spread across Steve's face was radiant and Danny was sure that the car got a thousand times brighter.
"So, you would worry if I caught a stray bullet?"
"Of course I would worry, you big oaf." Danny replied, his shaking fingers falling to Steve's waist. Steve chuckled low in his throat before tugging Danny's lips to his and kissing him deeply. Danny would deny the whine that he emitted until he was blue in the face, but he no idea that kissing McGarrett would feel like the most natural thing that he'd ever done in his life.
They fit together like they were two pieces of a puzzle, and he was pretty sure that he'd be fine with never coming up for air again, but his brain seemed to think otherwise. When he reluctantly pulled away, he pressed his forehead to Steve's and kept his eyes closed.
"Woah." He muttered.
"You can say that again, partner." Steve laughed, disentangling his fingers from where they had buried themselves in Danny's hair. Danny sat back slowly, catching a sight of himself in the mirror and scowling.
"You bastard, you messed my hair up." He smoothed his hands over the unruly locks until he had them in some semblance of order.
"Hey, you weren't complaining." Steve smirked. Danny couldn't help but think that this Steve, the one with kiss swollen lips, mussed hair, and that self-satisfied smirk on his face, was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. "C'mon, Danno, let's get out of here before we end up getting tagged for indecent exposure." He gave an exagerated eyebrow waggle that had Danny chuckling and shaking his head in response.
"You're incorrigable."
"You love it." Steve responded automatically.
"For some unknown reason." Danny grumbled, shifting the Camaro into drive and pulling back onto the highway. They drove almost a mile in silence before Steve turned to Danny.
"You didn't use your blinker coming off the shoulder. I'm obviously the better driver." Danny's head snapped to look at him, staring for a long moment before extending his index finger and pointing at him.
"Do not, do not even start with me right now, McGarrett. If you think that you shoving your tongue down my throat is going to let you off the hook for all of your insanity, you are sorely mistaken." The words died on his tongue when Steve's warm hand landed on the inside of his thigh, dangerously close to his crotch. His eyes doubled as he stared straight ahead. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Steve's mouth was pressed against his ear as he whispered.
"I'm sure I can find some way to shut that loud mouth of yours, Danno." This time Danny was sure that his heart forgot to beat. Steven J. McGarrett would be the death of him.
But, what a way to go...