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A/N: This is part of a series of four Shovel Talk stories so far: Two Magnum/Katsumoto (on AO3) and two McDanno.
"Howzit, Grace." The teen was waiting for Steve at the door which surprised him; usually, Steve just let himself in. "Where's Danno?"
"In the shower." Grace just stood there not returning Steve's greeting and not letting him by. Her behavior puzzled Steve; usually, Grace greeted him effusively. Sometimes, Steve thought she might be happier to see him than Danny. Not that Grace didn't adore Danny; it was just Steve was the cool uncle and Danny, well, Danny was the dad, so he had to play the heavy sometimes.
"Can I come in?" Steve asked.
Grace stood aside wordlessly and let Steve in. She closed the door behind him and followed him to the kitchen where Steve poured himself a cup of coffee. He took a sip, uncomfortable with the weight of Grace's stare on him. "Do I have something on my face?" he asked.
"No." Grace said.
Steve was getting tired of these terse responses. "Grace, is something wrong? Did I do something? 'Cause if I did, you're going to have to tell me. I have no idea what it could be."
Grace ushered Steve to the table. "Have a seat."
Bemused, Steve sat down. "This sounds serious."
Grace sat down across from him, crossing her arms on the table. "It is. We need to talk."
Steve waited for Grace to continue, but she didn't. He made a "go on" motion with his hand.
Grace took a deep breath, getting her thoughts in order. "It's about Danno."
Steve immediately panicked. "Oh, my god, is something wrong? Is he sick? Is Charlie sick? You? Is Rachel trying to keep Charlie from him?"
"Oh, no, nothing like that," Grace hastened to assure him. "Danno's good. Happy, even. Happier than I've ever seen him."
Steve relaxed. "Okay, good. That's good. So, what's the problem?"
"I want him to stay that way," Grace said.
Steve wasn't following. "So do I, but I'm not sure what I can do about it."
Grace leaned forward, earnestly. "Don't you see, Uncle Steve? You're the reason he's happy. Ever since you two started dating, he's been going around with this big, dopey grin on his face. Frankly, it's adorable, and a little sickening."
Steve's heart fluttered at the thought that he made Danny happy. That was his goal in life; he wanted to see Danny smile as much as possible. He told Grace so.
"Good," she said. "Just make sure you don't ruin it."
Realization dawned. "Oh, my god, you're giving me the shovel talk." Steve couldn't believe he was getting the shovel talk from Danny's teenage daughter.
"You better believe it," Grace said. "Danno's the most important person in the world to me. Hurt him, and I'll get Aunt Kono back from the mainland to kick your ass."
Steve had no doubt Grace—and Kono—would follow through on the threat. "Don't worry, Grace. Danno's the most important person in the world to me. Hurting him's the last thing I want."
"But you might do it unintentionally," Grace said. "What happens if you break up?"
Steve mirrored her position, crossing his arms on the table and leaning towards her. "Grace, I never want to break up with Danny. I want to spend the rest of my life with him."
"Does that mean you want to marry Danno?" Grace asked. Steve nodded. "Oh, my god!" Grace squealed. "You're getting married!"
Steve hushed her. "I haven't asked him, yet."
Grace could barely contain her excitement. "When are you going to ask him?"
"Whoa, Grace, slow down," Steve said. "I thought I'd start with asking him to move in first."
Grace bounced in her seat. "That's a great idea! I can have Mary's room, and Charlie can have your old room."
Steve laughed. "Don't pack your bags yet. I still have to ask him."
"Ask me what?" Danny said, coming up to the table, shirtless and toweling off his hair. Water droplets rolled down his chest. Steve couldn't help following them with his eyes, wanting nothing more to trace the path with his tongue, down past the edge of the towel. . .he was so distracted, he missed answering Danny's question. Grace got there first.
"To move in with him," Grace said, matter-of-factly.
"What!?" Danny shrieked.
"I wasn't going to ask him now," Steve hissed at Grace.
She turned wide, innocent brown eyes on him. "Why not? There's no time like the present."
"I thought it might be a little soon," Steve said. "We haven't actually been dating very long."
"No, we haven't," Danny said. "You can't just go asking someone you've barely started seeing to move in with them out of the blue."
"This isn't out of the blue," Grace insisted.
"Oh, it's not?" Danny said. "So, you mean, it's perfectly normal to come out of the shower on a Saturday morning before your first cup of coffee and have somebody ask you to move in with them?"
"I wasn't. . ." Steve tried to defend himself.
"So, you mean the thought never crossed your mind?" Danny said. Steve flushed. "That's what I thought. Well, at least you're not asking me to marry you." Steve flushed a deeper red. "Oh, my god! Where do you get these ideas?" Danny demanded.
"Come on, Danno, would it be so bad?" Grace asked. "I mean, if you think about it, you've practically been dating since you met. That's nine whole years. You're over at Uncle Steve's practically every day. You spent the night there at least once a week even before you two started dating. Now, you only come home to do laundry."
"She has a point," Steve said.
Danny threw his hands into the air in exasperation. "Oh, my god! You're ganging up on me!"
"So, will you?" Steve asked, hopefully.
"Yes, you Neanderthal, I'll move in with you," Danny said. Steve beamed, and Danny held up his hand in caution. "But, not today."
"No, of course not," Steve said.
"I know you and Grace practically have my bags packed," Danny said, "but these things take time. I have to give my notice, figure out what I'm storing and taking with me, and put everything in boxes. Then, I'll move in with you."
"Or, you could just throw all your clothes in a suitcase and get the rest later," Steve suggested.
"You're not going to give up until I do, are you?" Danny said.
Steve shook his head, adamantly. "Nope."
"Okay, fine," Danny said. "We'll do it your way."
Steve beamed. Grace looked smug.
"Well, that went better than I expected," she said.
Steve wholeheartedly agreed.
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A/N: I'll let you guess what the next one is. ;)