"Picnic"
Shakespeare's Lemonade
Rating: K+
Genre: Family
Summary: This is how they do their family reunions. No matter how far away they are or who happens to tag along, Steve and Mary Ann always have their picnics.
A/N: based on the one hour challenge from the Underground Fanfictioners facebook group using the word "picnicking."
"'Cause I was thinking it might be nice to have a picnic in between or something."
"A picnic?"
"Yeah, you know, something normal families do."
~Mary Ann and Steve McGarrett, Lanakila
~Picnics~
It started that day in the cemetery. The first time they'd been together like that since their mom died. They had lunch with their father, also something they hadn't done in 18 years. After that, it became a tradition when Mary went back to LA. It worked out nicely when she became a flight attendant. She'd have maybe an hour to herself before her next flight, but she always spent it with Steve, and whatever he was working on could wait.
Sometimes, they had company. Mary and Danny got along a little too well, and Steve began to dread the prospect of his partner and his sister ganging up on him. After a while he got used to it, and sought out reinforcements. He especially liked it when Grace came over because she was an unending source of embarrassing stories about her Danno. It was a lighthearted war every time Mary Ann came to town.
But there were times it was just the two of them. Those times they found it hard to think of what to say because in the silence, hung all the unresolved tensions with their father, their reactions to losing their mother that they never talked about. It made sense why it had taken them so long to get to this point where they could actually talk to each other at all. Why spoil it, was Steve's thinking.
It had to be spoiled eventually. They couldn't just go on like this, picnicking on the beach and never talking about anything.
"One year sober," Mary Ann said one afternoon.
Steve sat beside her with their lunch between them. "That's great," he said. "I knew you could do it."
"Yeah, I guess... I just had to start believing it. You know, I never really thanked you for keeping all that stuff from Dad about rehab and getting arrested."
Steve shook his head. "You don't have to thank me."
"I acted like you were obligated to help me, and you weren't. You had your own life to deal with too. Guess I knew you couldn't resist helping because you're obsessive compulsive about that."
"No I'm not."
"Are too. Remember how much trouble you went to to make sure Dad never found out? I do. And you shouldn't have. I mean, I never had to suffer his disappointment. Even thought I said I wanted it, I really didn't."
"I know. I think there was a time I felt like it was you and me against the world, and that's why I protected you like that."
"It was you and me against the world. Just at some point we forgot about that because... I don't know why."
"Because we got angry at each other for nothing. Because we were angry at Dad and took it out on each other. Because Mom wasn't there to put us back together like she always did."
Mary nodded and fell into silence. She stared out at the tide washing in and out and the lowering sun. She would have to leave soon. She leaned over and kissed Steve's cheek.
"Thanks for lunch," she said. "See you soon."
She left him there at possibly the worst moment. He'd opened up about their mom for nearly the first time. She wanted to stay and talk it out, but an hour here and there, wasn't enough to hash all that out. She knew she'd have to make a longer stay. She wasn't sure when she'd be able to do that.
Once Catherine came to their picnic. Mary had found out she was in town, and insisted on it. She knew Steve liked to keep his relationship with her private from pretty much everyone, but Mary liked Catherine, and she wanted to see her. And fortunately, Catherine decided to make lunch that time. Not that Steve's food was bad, but Catherine put more into it. It became more of a production than a picnic, and that was just fine. A little fanfare never hurt anyone, though Steve acted like it did.
The next few picnics, Danny and Grace were there, so they didn't get a chance to revisit the "mom discussion." Mary was pretty sure it would take a lot to get Steve to talk about it again anyway, but he surprised her as he drove her back to the airport on their latest visit.
"You know," he said, staring at the road ahead. "I think Mom and Dad would be really glad we're doing this."
Mary looked across the seat at her brother as he drove. He had a look on his face she hadn't seen much. The same look he had when they sat in the cemetery or that day she surprised him and Danny on the beach. The look that said he was genuinely happy with her and life in general.
Mary reached over and put her hand on Steve's shoulder. "Hey," she said, calling his eyes away from the road for a nanosecond. "I love you."
He smiled his beautiful smile. "I love you too, Mar."