"Danno?" Steve asked from under Danny's arm. The blonde put the storybook they had finished reading aside and turned his head to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"Nice shirt." Steve brushed his fingers against the crisp button down shirt that Danny was wearing. It was the first time that he'd worn anything other than casual clothes since bringing Steve home nine months ago.

"Thanks, babe. I'm, uh… going out with someone tonight."

"Friend?" Steve asked, a picture of innocence - eyes wide and his other hand holding his stuffed cat toy, which Grace gave him when he was in hospital. Danny reluctantly looked away for a minute as he psyched himself up for what he was about to say.

"No, Steve… I'm going out on a date."

Steve seemed absolutely crushed, and looked at him with watery eyes. "Danno not love Steve anymore?" he asked. Danny felt the breath catch in his chest at the sight in front of him.

"What? Oh, babe… of course Danno loves you." Danny held him closer to his chest and peppered his face with kisses.

"So Danno stays with Steve tonight?" The brunette mumbled into his neck hopefully. Danny bit his lip, thankful that Steve couldn't see his face as he cringed.

"Well, no, babe… I still have a date tonight." Danny felt his heart sink as Steve pulled away enough to look at him, one hand twisted in Danny's shirt and the other clutching his trusty cat. I knew this was a bad idea…

"But… Danno look after Steve." He said quietly. Danny sighed and ran his fingers through Steve's hair, thinking to himself that he'd need a haircut soon. Odell would be pleased to see him again.

"I'll always look after you, buddy. Always. You, Gracie and Charlie will always be the most important people in my life." Danny licked his lips nervously. "But... can't Danno see other people?"

Steve briefly looked up at him with wide eyes, before dropping his gaze back to where his hand still gripped Danny's shirt. "Yeah… I just…" Steve's face started to screw up in frustration so Danny started to gently massage the back of his neck to calm him down. "Sad."

Danny's face fell instantly, and he wrapped his arms around Steve as he crawled onto the smaller mans lap. "Oh, Steve… You need to know I'm not doing it to make you sad." Steve nodded into his neck. "It's just… I want to try this. See if anything happens with him."

"Okay… What if bad man?" Steve whispered.

"What if he's no good? Then I don't see him anymore, babe. Simple." Danny replied. "Same goes for anyone else."

"What if no like Steve?" Danny ran a hand down his side.

"Anyone who's mean to you definitely goes. Straight away." A smile spread across Steve's face and he nodded. Danny returned his smile as he held the other man close to him.

"Thank you, Danno." Steve sighed. "You sh-should be happy." Danny closed his eyes and rested his head atop Steve's, and the two of them sat together quietly for a little while. Danny wondered what must be going on in Steve's head right now, how confusing it must be for him. To hear the man you love tell you that he's going on a date with someone else, because you can't be in that kind of relationship anymore? Danny couldn't begin to imagine. But he was relieved that Steve didn't hate him for it.

"Okay, buddy. I'm gonna finish getting ready and you should be asleep, it's almost 8 o'clock now. Kono is coming over to stay here in case you need anything, alright? And Gracie is back from her sleepover with her friend tomorrow. I probably won't be back before 12." Danny said as he eased Steve off of his lap and under his bed covers before shuffling to the edge of the bed and standing up.

"Yeah, Danno." Steve mumbled into his cat, holding it close to him. Danny knelt by the head of the bed and kissed his forehead, breathing a small sigh of relief when Steve smiled slightly.

"Danno loves you, okay?" He whispered. "I'll pop in and see you when I come back."

"Steve loves Danno." Steve replied, staring after Danny as he left his bedroom.

"Danny? You there?"

"Huh?"

"You zoned out again, man."

"I'm sorry, I was miles away." Danny sighed, and took another sip of his Longboard. He'd only been at the bar for a couple of hours but he'd probably spent a good chunk of it thinking about Steve, wondering if he was okay. Joe was a good enough guy – Chin knew him from when he used to work as a security guard before Five-0 was formed, and set him and Danny up as they had a few similar interests. He was slightly taller than Danny, tanned with black hair. And Danny really wanted to have a nice, relaxing evening with a new person. "What were you saying?"

"That's alright. I asked what job you have?" Joe asked.

"Well I used to be in the Five 0 task force, before that I worked in HPD when I moved here from New Jersey." Danny hoped that he'd leave it there and talk about something else, but he should have known by now that luck wasn't on his side tonight.

"You 'used to'? What do you do now then?" Joe asked curiously. Danny sighed and downed the rest of his beer before signalling to the bartender for another. Joe raised an eyebrow.

"10 months ago my partner in Five 0 suffered a traumatic brain injury. He needs full time care, so I quit my job to look after him." Joe's eyebrows shot up and he took a drink. "I now just do paperwork for Five 0 so that I can be there for him when he'd not at a day-care centre."

"I know it's a lot to take in." Danny added after the other man hadn't said anything for a minute.

"So you, what, live with him? Feed and dress him, stuff like that?"

Danny's eye twitched, and he started to feel uneasy. "Yeah, I live in his house; had it adapted for him. I only help him with stuff like that, he can do most of it himself." Something about Joe's tone made him wary about talking about Steve.

"You don't have to wash and… change him, do you?" Joe asked, a strange look on his face.

"No." Danny bit out through gritted teeth. "He doesn't need any help with that. Not that it matters, or really is any of your business if I did have to help him."

"It's a bit weird though, isn't it?" Joe asked, and Danny simply shrugged and took another sip of beer. "You quit your job, uprooted your life to look after a big baby?"

Danny felt the blood rush in his ears at hearing those last two words, and his mind instantly went back to a conversation with Steve he had months ago, when he explained that they were no longer together.

"Me… baby? St-stupid?" Steve said, tears rolling down his face.

"What?! He is NOT a 'big baby'!" Danny shouted, getting out of his chair. "He may be brain damaged, but he's still the smartest, kindest, and bravest person I know. He didn't spend half a year in hospitals and rehabs learning how to walk and talk again, how to hold things and how to function, to be badmouthed by a stranger. You don't know him. Or me." And with that, Danny stormed out of the bar without looking back.

Danny walked through the front door with a sigh, and fought the urge to slam it shut lest he wake Steve up. Looking at his watch he saw it was almost eleven o'clock – he'd only been out for almost three hours. He thanked Kono for coming over, and promised to explain what happened another day, only shaking his head to her questions about if it had gone well. Right now he just wanted one thing as he walked down the corridor.

Carefully opening Steve's bedroom door, he paused in the doorway and gazed at the man who was asleep in bed. The sight of Steve illuminated by his nightlight, his face smashed into his pillow and still clutching his soft toy to his chest made Danny smile instantly. He slipped his shoes off before going to sit on the edge of the bed. The added weight roused Steve from sleep and he slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Danno!" Steve exclaimed with his trademark smile that always came from seeing Danny, and wrapped his arms around Danny's waist as he buried his face in his neck. Danny returned the hug, his anger from the evening fading away as he held Steve's sleep-warm body close to him.

"Hey, baby." He whispered. Steve pulled back to gaze sleepily at his bedside clock.

"Danno home early? Little hand not at twelve." Danny smiled at him; the staff at his day centre were trying to help him remember how to tell the time and so far it was going well.

"Yeah I'm home. It, uh… wasn't a good time."

Steve frowned at him. "Bad man?"

"Yeah he was. So I left." Danny said. How dare he make fun of Steve.

"Danno sad?" Steve asked.

"Not now I'm back home with you, babe." Danny cupped the side of his face. "I missed you."

"Steve missed Danno too. Danno stay here tonight?" Steve said as he lay back down under the covers.

"Do you want me to?" Danny bit back a laugh at Steve's eager nod, and stripped down to his boxers before climbing into Steve's bed. Steve instantly burrowed into his arms as Danny got comfortable on his back.

"Danno home with Steve." Steve whispered into Danny's shoulder. "Happy."

Danny didn't know if he'd try again some other time. But right now, he was perfectly content to be alone.

Well – not totally alone.

"Yeah, babe." He softly kissed the top of Steve's head. "Happy."