A/N: So as many of you know, this is what I've been working on for the past week, and I'm really excited to finally be posting the first part! I want to thank my amazing beta, cm757, for really motivating me and being a huge help in the process of writing this. Without her, I would be uninspired and not even half done this. Also shout-outs to Tiana-P and aqiran, you've both been very lovely to me as well!
Anyways, enjoy!
"There you are!" Steve grinned widely at Kono as he sauntered into the room where she sat, back against the computer table that stood in the middle of the Five-0 base. The Hawaiian had mysteriously vanished in the middle of the party they had thrown to welcome her back to the force. "What are you doing in here?" he glanced around. "Gonna be honest, it's a little depressing. Let's celebrate!"
"There's not much to celebrate, in my opinion," Kono stared ahead, emotionless, refusing to spare him a glance. His smile faded at her words.
"What do you mean?" Steve slowly sunk down to sit beside her, clinking his beer bottle against hers. "Cheers, right? You're going to be re-instated."
Kono flinched slightly at the sound. "I don't know if I'm going to come back, McGarrett."
He paused, pulling his drink back to himself awkwardly. "What do you mean?"
"To Five-0. I don't think I'm coming back."
"Wha-? Why not?" he sputtered. This made no sense. Wasn't this what she'd been working towards? Wasn't this what they all had been waiting for?
"I just don't think this is the right place for me anymore," was all Kono said, shrugging.
"What brought this on, Kono?" he was completely flabbergasted. All this time he'd just assumed she'd eventually come back to them. "Isn't this what we all wanted?"
"I don't know – is it?" she raised a brow at him curiously. "Because I feel out of place where I should feel completely at home."
"Is this because of what happened today?" he finally asked, covering her small hand with his rough, larger one. She pulled back as though she'd been burned, and he blinked. What was wrong with her?
"Of course this is because of what happened today. God, you're the first one who realized I was missing from my own Welcome Back party."
"Kono, I'm sorry," Steve said earnestly, meaning it. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that in the interrogation room. I was out of line."
"Are you kidding me? It's not just about that!" she hissed indignantly. "It's a lot of things. A lot more than just you losing your cool."
"Like what?" his handsome face twisted up in confusion. What else had he done?
"Can we just start with the fact that you let the new girl cuff me?" Kono scoffed bitterly, shaking her head in disbelief. "Do you know how humiliating that was?"
Steve dropped his head. "I didn't think Danny or I would have been able to do it."
"But you and Danny obviously had no problem holding me at gunpoint. Yeah, whatever, brah," Kono obviously wasn't buying it. "I was trying to save your careers – trying to save Five-0."
"It wasn't your responsibility, Kono – Fryer shouldn't have used you like that," Steve told her frustratedly. He really did not regret punching that guy out.
"Why not?" she raised an eyebrow at him. "He was right, I was an easy sell."
"No, you weren't," McGarrett told her softly. "Kono, you weren't. We would never believe you were dirty," he reiterated.
"If that's true, then where were all of you over the past two months?" tears suddenly sprung to her eyes, her nonchalant facade cracking. "Cause I know where I've been. Alone, dealing with our mistakes by myself," she swiped the back of her hand roughly over her eyes, effectively ridding them of any moisture. "So much for family."
"Kono," his voice came out strangled. God, she looked so sad and it was all his fault.
"Where were you, Steve?" her face was scrunched up in anguish. "Where was Danny? You didn't even call. I gave this team everything in me – I thought we had something."
"We do," he pleaded. "You, me, Danny, Chin – that's all we need. Just the four of us. You know that."
"It's too late for that now," she brushed him off.
"Kono?" Chin, Danny, and Lori entered the room. "What's going on? We've all been wondering where you went."
Noting her red-rimmed eyes and Steve's sullen expression, everyone went quiet, curiosity etched on their faces. "Are you okay?" Danny asked.
"I'm fine," Kono waved them away. "Really – I'll be out in a minute."
"You've been crying, Kono," Danny pointed out softly, worried. "What's up?"
"She doesn't want to re-join the team," Steve finally muttered unhappily. "She's quitting Five-0."
"I'm sorry, what?" Danny leaned forward as if he hadn't heard properly.
"Cuz, is this true?" Chin asked, looking concerned.
"I'll give you guys a minute," Lori said awkwardly, noticing the tension in the air. It was silent for a long time after the blonde left the room, no one really sure what to say.
"I don't understand," Danny finally spoke up. "Come on, Kono. What's not to love here?"
"Me, apparently," Kono replied evenly.
"The rookie thinks we abandoned her," Steve translated, raising an eyebrow. Kono stood to her feet angrily at his words, and began to stalk in the direction of the door.
Chin grabbed her arm gently, causing her to spin around. "Where are you going?"
"Home," she spat. "God, I'm glad you all think this is some sort of joke, but I'm serious. And I don't think you abandoned me, I know you did. Even you, Chin. You visited me twice. Twice."
"Kono, every time I went over, you pushed me away," he said frustratedly, trying to convince her not to leave. "You told me to go, that you didn't feel like talking."
"I was undercover, damnit," she cursed. "It doesn't matter, anyways. Ohana's keep trying," she wrenched out of his grasp. "And I want nothing to do with this one. Not ever again."
And then she was gone.
The next day was a quiet one for everyone at Five-0. True to her word, Kono did not show up. The large banner from the previous night's party that remained hanging like an ominous reminder was quickly ripped down by Danny when he and Steve arrived. The former held it dejectedly in his hands.
"What are we gonna do?" Steve rubbed his face tiredly. He hadn't slept very well last night. He kept replaying Kono's words over in his head, seeing her disappointed face. They had really screwed up.
"The hell if I know," Danny crumpled the sign up and tossed it in the trash, but missed and sighed loudly. "Chin is going to be crushed when he sees she's not here."
"Yeah," McGarrett let out the breath he'd been holding. "Honestly, I'm kinda crushed too. I thought maybe, if she slept on it, then..."
"Me too," Danny admitted. "A part of me was expecting her to be sitting at her desk when we got here."
"Kono was right though; we didn't even try last time. I say we all head over to her place tonight. Sit down, talk it through, you know?"
Danny didn't seem fully on board with the idea. "I don't think she's really up for civil conversation right now, babe. She seemed pretty upset yesterday. More upset than I've ever seen her, at least."
"Well maybe she was trying to tell us something last night," Steve threw up his hands in frustration. "To keep at it, to keep working towards getting her back."
"Oh, what the hell - we've really got nothing to lose, right?" Danny caved in. "Besides, it's not the same without her around. You gotta admit, even with Lori on the team things have seemed off the last couple of months."
"I know, Danny," Steve agreed, sighing. "Let's just hope she doesn't kick us out on our asses."
"Hey," Chin entered, subtly glancing around the room for any hint of his cousin. When he saw none, he massaged his temples tiredly, coming to lean against the wall near where Danny and Steve were talking. "She's not coming, is she?"
"No," Steve answered honestly.
"She was really pissed, brah," Chin groaned. "I'm worried she'll do something stupid."
"Hey, hey," Danny interrupted, trying to take Chin's mind off Kono. "It's gonna be okay. We," he gestured between himself and McGarrett, "have a plan to fix this."
"Yeah?" Chin glanced up, looking intrigued. "What is it?"
"We're going to go over to her place, and-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Chin held up a hand. "That's your plan? Go to her place and I assume try to talk her back to Five-0? Might as well throw in the towel now."
"Oh, thanks, really," Danny said sarcastically. "Glad to see we have your full support."
"Hey, go for it – I'll even come with," Chin shrugged. "But if there's one thing Kono is, it's stubborn."
Danny conceded to the fact. "Yeah, yeah. That's true."
"Come on, she's not that stubborn," Steve scoffed. Danny and Chin both raised their eyebrows at him.
"You say that because you're worse," Danny hit Steve upside the head lightly. "I mean, really. You guys are two peas in a pod."'
"Look," Steve said. "Are we doing this, or not?"
Chin nodded. "If it helps bring Kono back, I'm in."
"She kicked us out on our asses," Danny mused out loud.
"Come on," Steve said. "Not really. She slammed the door in our faces - it's completely different. Just keep knocking, Chin."
Kono's cousin turned around to send them both a dirty look. "Why don't one of you come over here and take a turn?"
Neither of them made a move in his direction. "I can think of plenty of other uses for my knuckles," he warned them.
"I guess it's my turn then," Danny quickly went to take his place.
"You know," McGarrett began cautiously. "We could always just the kick the door do-"
"No," Chin and Danny didn't even let him finish his sentence.
"Or not."
"Kono," Danny called out loudly. "We're not leaving until you let us in. We just want to talk."
"Yeah, well it's two months too late. Go home," she called back.
"We're not going anywhere, cuz," Chin repeated firmly. "The faster you open this door, the faster we go away."
They paused with bated breath waiting for her response. Finally the lock clicked, and the door opened. The three men all peered in to see Kono's retreating form moving into the living room. Taking that as an invitation, they followed her inside.
"What do we do now?" Danny hissed.
Steve allowed a hand to rub the nape of his neck nervously. They hadn't thought this far in to the plan.
When they entered the room Kono had gone into, they found her sitting cross-legged on a chair, looking unimpressed. It was obvious she hadn't been expecting visitors, especially not the three of them.
"What do you want?" she asked dully.
"A chance to explain ourselves," Chin told her honestly. "Please, Kono. You know none of us did this on purpose. It just happened."
"Yeah, well it shouldn't have," she muttered.
"Kono, we're family," Chin pleaded. "I may not have been there for you like you were for me when I was kicked off the force, but you know I love you. I'm here now, okay?"
She looked like she was about to retort, so Steve stepped in.
"Hey, come on, Kono," McGarrett began quietly, standing up for his friend who looked upset. "Don't say anything you'll regret. Chin has really been trying to come through for you here."
"You know what, Steve? You're right," Kono laughed bitterly. "This isn't Chin's fault. He's looked out for me my whole life. Maybe he hasn't been around as much as he should have been lately, but he was still there. Hell, it's not even Danny's fault," she walked up to her boss, staring up into his stoic face.
For some reason that spurred her anger on. He was always so damn calm. "I blame you," she punctuated by roughly poking him in the chest with her finger. She was so furious she was trembling. "It's yourfault. Everything is always your fault. God."
Kono turned around, running her hands through her hair. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so angry.
To Steve, her words felt like a physical blow. How could she put all of this on his shoulders? Nevertheless, he tried to ease her pain, tried to pull her to his chest, but she fought him the entire way, punching and struggling and screaming until they both ended up on opposite sides of the room, breathing heavily as they stared each other down.
"Don't touch me," she hissed. "Just... don't."
"What do you want me to do Kono?" he asked exasperatedly. "I fucked up, I know. You're upset, I get that too, I really do. But I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do about it."
"Nothing!" she gestured wildly. "Don't you get it? There's nothing you can do to fix this!"
"Why not?" he finally shouted back, crossing the line from frustrated to angry.
"Because you're an asshole!" Kono spat. "You act like you care, but the only person you really give a shit about is yourself. If it had been you in my shoes, you probably would have sold us all out."
"Hey," Steve bellowed. "That's not true. That is a lie and you know it!"
"The only lies are the ones that come out of yourmouth!" she accused. "You promised to protect me. You promised to be there for me. And you weren't! You left!"
"And you're making a big deal out of nothing!" he retorted.
She paused, staring at him with so much rage that he wished he could take back what he'd just said.
"Nothing?" she finally shrieked, outraged. "I'm making a big deal out of nothing? I lost my job, my badge, my so-called friends, my family; everything that mattered to me, in a single day, gone! I didn't work my ass off in police academy just to have all my hard work ripped away from me after a single year. So don't you dare tell me it was nothing!"
Danny and Chin watched the exchange awkwardly, unsure of what to do. This was by far the most heated argument that had ever broken out between the team, and they felt trapped in the middle of their two friends.
Kono was obviously out of line, but they didn't want to anger her further by telling her that, so they stayed out of it.
Steve didn't seem to understand that. "It may not be nothing, but I didn't do this to you," he muttered finally. "This was not all me." The brunette was understandably upset with the situation. "Maybe it's partly my fault, but you can't just shift all the blame onto me because you don't know what else to do. I know you felt lost, and that we weren't there for you when you needed us, but we can work this out."
"I want you to get out of my house," Kono said, jaw clenched.
"No," Steve crossed his arms, standing his ground. Danny's eyes widened. This was not going to end well. He hadn't been joking earlier when he had accused Steve and Kono of being the most stubborn people he knew.
In her rage Kono grabbed a vase filled with flowers off her fireplace mantle and threw it at him. Steve quickly dodged it and everyone watched as it smashed against the wall, leaving numerous shards of glass littering the floor. He looked up at Kono in shock, who was standing defiantly, seemingly ready and willing to throw another item. She had a killer arm.
"Maybe we should give you guys some time to talk. Alone," the blonde began, eying the two of them with something akin to fear. Chin quickly nodded in agreement, and together they backed towards the door, exiting before Kono or Steve had the opportunity to protest.
"Get out," Kono repeated furiously as soon as Danny and Chin were gone. Again, he didn't move. "What part of leave don't you understand?"
"You can't stay mad at me forever," he told her.
"Yeah, well, I can try," she tossed back coolly. "Now get out of my house."
"Kono, I'm not going anywhere," Steve shook his head. "Not until we fix what's wrong."
"Don't you see? I don't want to fix things," she turned her back to him. He walked up behind her slowly, not wanting to startle her. Knowing Kono, she'd give him a good right hook in the jaw. Again, killer arm.
"What makes what I did so much more unforgivable than what Danny or Chin did?" he asked, needing to know. "How can you let them off the hook so easily, but continue to stay mad at me?"
"Don't you understand? With you it just hurt more, damnit," she cursed, whipping around. He took a startled step backwards. "You're not only my boss, you're my friend; you're that one guy I always count on to look out for me. You're big, strong, dependable McGarrett. You were supposed to keep the team together. And you didn't – you failed me. I just didn't think you ever would."
"Kono," he grabbed her shoulders, but she wouldn't look at him. He shook her lightly. "Kono, Kono."
The way he said her name got her attention.
"I am sorry," he told her, looking directly into her big, brown eyes and meaning every word of it. "I'm sorry. I can't change what happened, or make sense of what I did or why I did it, but I can promise to change what happens next. Will you let me change what happens next?"
To Steve's surprise, she began to sniffle. He watched, confused, as Kono's eyes welled up with moisture until they overflowed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
"Shit," he watched her uncomfortably, fidgeting. What had he said wrong this time? "Kono, don't... no – please don't cry. You know I hate it when you cry."
"I want to come back. I did the whole time," she finally choked out, and his eyes instinctively closed in relief as he wrapped his arms around her petite frame and planted a kiss on the top of her head affectionately as she shook in his hold. Thank god.
When Kono finally stopped crying and pulled back, they stood for a moment, staring at each other awkwardly. He cleared his throat. "Well, uh, let's go."
She startled, looking at him strangely. Her face was puffy and red, but she still looked pretty, he marveled. "Go? Go where?"
"Five-0," he stated obviously.
"Now?" Kono sniffled.
"No time like the present, right?" he tried to smile at her, though inside he was worrying whether or not she really wanted to return. Maybe she still wasn't sure.
"Okay," she said shyly. "Is it weird that I feel kind of nervous?"
"C'mon," he grinned for real this time, holding his hand out to her. With trepidation she clasped it within her own, looking away so he wouldn't see the hint of a blush on her cheeks. It felt strange. A part of her didn't want him to let go.
When Steve walked through the front doors of the Five-0 base, he tried to keep his face neutral, wanting Kono's return to be a surprise. Chin, Lori, and Danny were gathered around the table, discussing their upcoming case. When the doors clicked shut, they all glanced up at him, surprised.
"Wow," Danny blinked when he entered. "I didn't think we'd get you back in one piece, babe. Kono looked ready to rip you to pieces."
"She go easy on you, brah?" Chin asked.
"Something like that," Steve murmured, before allowing a smirk to grace his lips. Danny narrowed his eyes at him, trying to figure where his good mood was coming from. Time for the shock factor. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"
Noting her cue, Kono came around the corner, waving sheepishly at them. "Hi everyone. I'm back."
Danny and Chin immediately swarmed her, wrapping her in large hugs and repeating apologies.
"You little shit!" Danny allowed himself to clap Steve on the back roughly. "Don't mess around with us like that. How on earth did you get her to come around?"
"I apologized," Steve shrugged, looking over his shoulder at Kono as she introduced herself to Lori. He didn't go into details, because it had been more than that. They had opened up to each other, he thought to himself as he caught her eye.
She smiled at him and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear self-consciously before returning to her conversation.
Danny watched the exchange warily, shaking his head incredulously. "What, are you guys like dating? Am I missing something? Did you kiss her back to Five-0? Lure her over with your six-pack?"
"Shut up, Danno," Steve smacked him upside the head. "It's Kono, for crying out loud."
"Of course I know it's Kono," his partner began to gesture wildly with his hands as he spoke, a sign he was getting riled up. "I think you're the one who needs to understand that."
"I don't know where all this is coming from, but nothing happened, okay?" Steve threw up his hands. "We just talked."
"That better be all you did," Danny pointed at him warningly. "Because I will kick your ass."
"You're overreacting," Steve said – a bad move on his part. Never let Danny know you're not taking him seriously.
"I'm overreacting? Overreacting?" Danny leaned forward in disbelief, cupping a hand to his ear. "Say that again, I dare you. Come on, say it again."
"Danny, Danny," Steve placed his hands on the blonde's shoulders, trying to calm him down. "Listen. Nothing is going on between me and Kono."
"Okay," Danny shrugged him off indifferently. "Okay, if you say so."
"Okay?"
"Okay."
Steve's not sure what, but something has changed between them.
Maybe it had been Danny with his inane idea, but every day when Kono walked through the front doors, he felt himself instinctively relax. Because she was still coming back.
And though a part of him was patiently waiting for the other shoe to drop, he knew it wouldn't happen. Though he could now admit that yes, Kono was stubborn, she wasn't one to hold grudges. He understood her because he was the same way. Their red-hot tempers tended to flare up often, but they found it in themselves to forgive and forget just as quickly.
"Hey boss."
He was startled from his thoughts by a rapping on his office door. Kono stood in the doorway, pulling her thick, dark hair up into a messy bun. She smiled, causing the corners of her eyes to crinkle.
"Hey," he couldn't stop himself from smiling back. He also couldn't stop himself from noticing these tiny little details about her that he'd never picked up on before. Like how one tooth was slightly chipped, and how she licked her lips all the time because they got dry easily, and how-
"Steve?" Kono waved a hand in front of his face, and that's when he realized she'd been speaking the whole time.
He shook it off. "Sorry Kono, what were you saying?"
"We're all going out for drinks and dancing tonight – kind of a second try at welcome back. And I'll be in a much better mood this time, I promise."
"Yeah," he nodded quickly, agreeing. "Of course I'm in. Sounds like fun. Celebratory, even," Steve smirked. She hit his shoulder playfully, before shaking her head and walking out of his office. Hey, since when did she have that birthmark on the back of her leg?
As she'd been walking out, Danny had been walking in. He followed Steve's gaze the entire way but obviously suspected entirely different motives.
"Quit staring," Danny stepped into his line of vision, leaving Steve sputtering.
"I wasn't, I was just-"
"Staring. Creepily," Danny filled in, and McGarrett wondered why he even tried. It was practically impossible to get through to his partner.
"Whatever, what do you got for me?" he sighed, giving in.
As Danny rambled on about case details, he glanced up and caught Kono staring at him through the window. When their eyes met she quickly looked away. Steve wondered if maybe she'd been noticing little things about him, too.
Steve pulled up in front of the club they'd all agreed to meet up at and pulled into an available parking space before getting out and stretching. All the paperwork they'd had to catch up on had kept them behind their desks instead of out catching bad guys. He didn't like it. So he was definitely ready to let loose and down a couple of beers tonight with his friends.
His phone beeped in his pocket, and he immediately knew it was Danny. The man texted him non-stop, it was supposed to be bromantic or something. Sure enough, his partner's name flashed on the screen, followed by where are you?
On my way to the bar, was his response before he set his cell to vibrate and stuffed it back in his jeans.
As soon as he opened the doors, he was hit by a wave of remixed Top 40 songs blaring from speakers littered around the DJ. Girls in miniscule dresses with huge cleavages were either milled around the bar waiting for men to buy them drinks or packed on the dance floor, grinding with the men who already had. A couple were flashing predatory looks at him, but he shrugged it off and sauntered over to where Lori, Chin, Danny, and Kono all stood, chatting and drinking.
"Hey guys," he called out, and they all turned to say hello.
"You made it," Danny clapped him on the back. "We already got you something."
"Well, cheers for real this time," Steve grinned, grabbing the cold beer out of Lori's outstretched hand and clinking it against Kono's. She smiled and rolled her eyes.
All of a sudden a catchy song came on and both girls bounced on their toes excitedly.
"I love this song," Kono's eyes brightened. "Come on, Lori."
The two girls shuffled over to the mob of people already moving their hips to the beat, and a suspicious number of males slunk after them. Chin, Danny and Steve immediately stiffened, their protective sides beginning to show.
"Why did we decide on a club again?" Chin asked, watching with narrowed eyes. "What was wrong with a nice, local dive bar where half the people are related to my cousin?"
"I don't know," Danny knocked back a shot, slamming the tiny glass down on the bar. "But you know what they say: if you can't beat them..."
"No thanks," Chin refused the shot the blonde held out to him. Danny shrugged and didn't hesistate in downing it.
"Suit yourself."
"You go get 'em, Danny," Steve laughed and shoved his friend in the direction of the dance floor.
"You ain't seen nothing yet, I swear," Danny pointed at both of them before disappearing into the crowd.
"I predict Danny going home alone tonight," was all Chin said.
"Yep."
They predicted wrong, because Steve and Chin have spent the last five minutes watching in disbelief as Danny and Lori make out against a grimy wall like a couple of teenagers desperate for some action.
"I'm sorry, is that... is that really happening?" Chin asked, squinting at the pair. "It's not just me, right? I'm not the only one who sees them?"
"Unfortunately, no. No, you are not," Steve took another long swig from his bottle, watching as Danny began to grope lower and lower and – that was something he never really wanted to see.
"Okaaay," Chin raised his eyebrows and turned around. "I am going to need another drink."
"Tell me about it. That will be forever engrained on my retinas," Steve shook off the memory. "So much for keeping things professional in the workplace."
"Hi guys," Kono returned, out of breath, her hair wild. "This was a really good idea," she said as she grabbed Steve's beer out of his hands and quickly finished it off.
"Easy, Kono," Chin watched her warily.
"Come on, Chin," she elbowed his side playfully. "Have a little fun. You too, Steve."
"Hey, we're having a good time," Steve told her.
"Yeah, sure," the look Kono sent them said she wasn't buying it. "You know who's having a good time? Danny."
"Yeah, and you know who's not going to remember a thing about tonight? Danny," Chin laughed.
"Whatever, cuz," she smirked. "At least he's getting some action." Setting the drink back down on the bar she latched onto Steve's arm. "Dance with me."
Steve hesitated, unsure. He sent a quick look in Chin's direction to see how he felt about it. The older man was already staring him down.
"You better watch it, brah," Chin warned, but gave them the go-ahead anyways.
"See? Now you have no excuse," she smiled deviously, tugging his hand once more. "Let's go, boss."
The dance floor was even more packed than he had previously thought. As they threaded through the throng of partiers, Kono began to sway to the beat. Steve watched her with trepidation. They had never been out as a group like this before.
Sure, he and Danny had gone club-hopping many a drunken night, but Kono had never tagged along. And besides, it was different this time. Because he still wasn't sure how he felt about the newfound changes in their relationship, and previous experience taught him that when a girl dragged you out into a massive, sweaty, grinding mass of people, she was probably expecting you to follow the crowd.
And to quote Danny, it was Kono. With Chin Ho maybe twenty feet away, probably waiting for an excuse to come over and knock him straight into next year.
So when she stopped and glanced over her shoulder with a small smirk on her face, he gulped. Because he'd seen that smile before. About half an hour ago, when Danny had left, promising to hit on anything that breathed.
"Don't think, just move," Kono called out, and the music was so loud he had to lean down just to get a vague understanding of what she'd said. Before Steve knew what was happening, she'd backed up into him. His hands instinctively went to her hips as she began to gyrate to the beat. See, this is what he'd been trying to avoid.
Because Kono was a pretty girl. Steve knew that. He knew that very well. And so this? This was bad.
Pretend it's Danny, pretend it's Danny, he closed his eyes and chanted to himself. The only problem was, when he opened them Kono was still there in front of him, pressing herself in places Danny most definitely would not and should not ever press.
"Having a good time tonight?" she leaned back to ask. Steve narrowed his eyes. Of course she'd be the picture of casual as he struggled to contain himself.
"Yeah," he called back. "Are you?"
Kono didn't respond, only nodded, still looking at him over her shoulder. Her eyes flickered down to his lips, and she subconsciously licked her own. Oh god, she was killing him here. She seemed to realize what she was doing though, because when the song ended she claimed exhaustion and made her way back over to the bar to chat with Chin Ho, leaving Steve to wonder what would have happened if, well – if something had happened.
A/N: I'll try and post part two as soon as I can! Please review, it really means a lot to me to hear your feedback.