*Written 26/05/11. Re-posted
PART ONE
After boarding his plane, Dan found his seat and eased himself down. The long flight back to Hawaii would afford him some time to muse. It had been a week since he and Steve had gone on that camping trip...
An innocent camp out beneath the velvet sky surrounded by a billion stars all around. Only, the weather turned out not as they envisioned it to be. Soon after setting up their two one man tents, the clouds rolled in, blanketing the duo and the wind picked up speed. Lightening danced across the darkening sky and thunder rolled on cue. The wind delivered it's unforgiving tastes of nature's fury. It had to have been a miracle that Steve's tent withstood the forces of nature. Dan's tent did not survive the onslaught and brought about the inevitable outcome of sharing the last tent standing. The idea was simple and obvious. The cramped and humid living conditions was however uncomfortable. The closeness could only be described as awkward, yet somehow neither Dan nor Steve could explain their reasons for these feelings. Surely it must've been the fact they were physically too close and the humidity was enough to make anyone feel ill at ease. It was some time and after long drawn out conversations that the storm settled into steadily pouring rain and the cool breeze blew in through the front flap that was left partly open. Sleep came over them at last. And this was the part that had confused and shocked them into a silent trip back home…
Waking up the next morning, Steve felt the warmth of the sun against his face. The weather had cleared. Trying to lift his right arm to wipe the sleep from his eyes, he found he was not able to retract the numb limb. Looking down, he found Dan Williams curled up against his chest fast asleep. Steve tugged at his useless arm but could not free it from beneath Dan's weight and served to further bring Danny's form even tighter against him. Sighing, Steve lay back on the hard makeshift pillows and contemplated whether he should gently wake his best friend or risk never feeling his arm again! He lay for a moment and turned his head watching Dan's steady breathing. He thought about the special bond they shared. The countless times Dan had saved his life. He didn't know what how or why but a sudden unexplainable urge came over him and he felt compelled to brush his fingers affectionately through Dan's blonde curls. Steve found himself smiling, his numb arm forgotten. Dan shifted his body so that his head was now laying on Steve's shoulder, his face nuzzled up against the older detective's neck, breathing in the traces of his cologne from yesterday. Dan threw his arm across Steve's body, his hand rested on his chest. Steve impulsively leaned down and kissed him on the forehead lightly. As he drew back, astonished with what he just did, Dan's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at Steve, his yawn broken by his initial shock to find Steve smiling down at him like he never did before. Dan blinked the fuzziness away to clear his hazy vision. His eyes travelled to where his arm rested across Steve's chest. Horrified, Dan tried to draw back his arm, but Steve placed his hand over Dan's to stop him. Dan felt himself blushing intensely, but he found he was unable to extricate himself from comforting Steve's touch, "Steve?" Dan's voice was husky from sleep as he eyed his friend questioningly.
"I'm sorry Danno, I don't know what came over me!" Shaking his head, Steve took his hand away from Dan's and attempted to rise, but realized his arm was still trapped beneath Dan.
"Whoah I'm sorry. Here," Dan pushed himself up on his elbows and allowed Steve to free his arm which tingled painfully as he flexed his sleeping fingers back to life.
With arms and legs in each other's way, the pair attempted to clamber out of the tent in an almost desperate haste to gain fresh air and to put some distance between them. The poles that held the material in place which had withheld the storm now collapsed. Dan and Steve were caught in a tangled heap and they fell with Steve on top of Dan. They laughed and tried to wrestle their way out. The kiss just happened. Deep blue eyes locked on to the brighter shade below him, Steve leaned in and the moment their lips brushed, it was electric. Dan's eyes widened before he felt himself responding and he wrapped his arms around Steve's neck, bringing him down closer than ever before as they explored each other's mouths in reckless abandon.
Dan leaned his head against the window of the plane, his mind processing the images that flashed by. He remembered after pulling apart from their kiss, they scrambled out of the tangled tent and packed up their gear in silence. The long walk back to civilization was spent talking about irrelevant subjects, anything to avoid coming to terms with their new found needs for each other. Despite the exhaustion, Dan had barely been able sleep that night. The same went for Steve. The next day Dan made his decision. He needed some time off work, to get away and think. The last month he'd spent every weekend with Steve either going sailing, playing hand ball or camping. Work had been slow and they made the most of their weekends while they could. They became close. Too close, Dan thought. He asked Steve for a week off to go to the mainland. He needed to see his old friend, and he'd felt a little guilty he had cancelled his trip to celebrate her birthday just so he could go camping with his boss. Deep in his heart he hoped she would give him the answers he needed. Steve reluctantly agreed, the hurt in his eyes betrayed his feelings. He's leaving me! It's my fault! Why did I kiss him? He's my best friend, my kaikaina. Not my – not my… Steve felt guilty for driving Dan away. But he stopped himself from pleading his case and kept his composure.
The week away had been such a revelation for Dan. His childhood friend had helped him open up the doors to his heart and she had listened to every detail with understanding and compassion. He could never thank her enough. He knew what he had to do. He had to talk to Steve. To tell him the truth. Admitting it to himself was hard enough and he knew it will be even harder to get Steve to accept what they shared and either embrace it together or move on as if nothing happened.
The plane had landed and Dan met Steve at the airport. The lead detective had offered to drive him home. To Steve Dan looked different. He couldn't quite place it but his second in command was positively glowing and perhaps a little nervous.
To Be Continued...
