Disclaimer: I do not own anyone/anything you recognize.
A/N: The title to this story is derived from the song "Wake Up Call" by Maroon 5. Much mahalos to Tiana-P for coming up with the title and for proofreading.
This story is related to my other story, 'What Should Have Been', but it can also be read separately. If you were wondering who Mary's "mystery man" was, then you'll be happy to know that I've revealed him in this story! Let me know what you think!
I also wanted to take this opportunity to apologize for discontinuing 'What Should Have Been' without warning—it started to feel like a chore to update and it was beginning to stress me out. I may pick it up again someday, but I can't make any promises. I hope you all understand.
This has been written for quisinart4 as a very belated holiday present. Thanks for being a great friend and supporter! I hope you like this!
"You know he's gonna kill you, right?" Kono argued before waving her finger at James and Mary in a scolding manner. "Both of you."
Kono had woken up just moments before to voices coming from Mary's room—she had pulled her gun out before making her way to the room, where she found James and Mary rushing to get their clothes on. "Kono, please don't tell Steve..." Mary began to plead, her eyes scrunched and her hands tangled together.
"Mary..." Kono said almost disappointingly as she crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side.
"Kono, please..." Mary continued to plead.
"I can't keep a secret from your brother," Kono reasoned. "And it doesn't help that he's a cop. He'll know I'm lying."
"Come on! You and I, we were friends first," Mary complained, stomping her foot in frustration.
"Don't pull the 'Best Friend Card' on me, Mary Ann!" Kono almost yelled, her finger pointing angrily across the room at Mary. "That's unfair and you know it."
"Kono?" Steve called out from downstairs as he shut the front door, earning panicked faces from all three of them.
Mary looked at James before turning back to Kono. "BFF," Mary murmured with gritted teeth, her face still panic-stricken. "Please?"
"Fine, sneak out quietly," Kono grunted as she rolled her eyes, the volume of her voice matching Mary's. She then pointed her finger back up at Mary. "I'll expect you to come back home later today to tell him everything." Just as she reached the doorframe, Mary grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Sneak out? Seriously?" Mary asked in dismay. "How the hell do you expect us to sneak past my bat-eared brother?"
"I don't know, jump off the balcony," Kono huffed impatiently and without thought, causing James and Mary to look at her bewilderedly with jaws dropped open. Kono just rolled her eyes, flapping her hands in exasperation. "Oh, come on, he's a SEAL, for God's sake. And don't act like you don't know how to sneak out. You're an expert at it."
Just as Mary was about to protest, Steve's voice echoed once more through the house. "Kono?" Steve repeated, his voice almost frantic. He sounded like he was either in the dining room or in the kitchen—Kono was sure that he had a gun out by now.
"Hey, baby! Sorry, I'll be right down!" Kono called out as calmly as she could. Before turning to once again leave the room, she waved her hands at James and Mary dismissively, gesturing them to walk back toward the balcony door. "Did you think I was kidding? Start jumping!"
"What's going on up there?" Steve asked, his feet dragging as he walked up the stairs.
Kono bit her lower lip as she quickly but quietly shut the door behind her. She then sped down the hall toward the staircase. Steve was already halfway up the stairs as she climbed down the first few steps. "Hey," she said coolly as she stopped in front of him in the middle of the staircase, smiling to hide her guilt.
"You look flushed," Steve pointed out as he lowered his gun and tucked it behind his back (What do you know?), his eyebrows raised in suspicion. "What were you doing?"
"I was in the bathroom," she said, leading him to nod his head in understanding. She then placed her hands on her hips, her tone now amused. "And is that how you greet your girlfriend in the morning?"
"I'm sorry, you're right. How's this?" he muttered seductively as he placed his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to kiss her passionately.
She wrapped her arms around his neck as their kiss deepened. "Mmm, that's better," she spoke against his lips as soon as she was able to catch her breath, a grin growing on her own lips.
"Yeah?" he smiled back, his tone still seductive.
"Yeah," she nodded before kissing him again. She then pulled away slightly to look at him, her fingers combing through his disheveled hair. "How was your run, baby?"
"Good, ran a good six miles," he said, his hands rubbing down and up her back. "I'm famished, though. I was thinking of taking you out for breakfast."
"Sounds good to me," she smiled again as she tilted her head slightly to the side.
"Alright, good. Let me just shower real quick." He kissed her forehead before attempting to walk around her to get to the bathroom. He made it past one step before she stopped him.
"No!" she snapped as she reached out for the bare flesh of his arm, causing him to turn around in surprise. She tried to keep her voice from shaking. "I mean, I was thinking we should go surfing after. We have nothing to do today, right? We can just shower later, together, when we get back."
"Okay..." he said hesitantly and slowly.
"Okay," Kono's face broke into a smile as she began to pull him down the steps. "Let's go."
As they climbed down the stairs, a loud thud came from upstairs, causing him to look up. "What was that?"
"I have no idea," she said collectedly, doing her best to look as puzzled as he was.
He wasn't buying it. "Someone in the house?"
"I'm a cop, remember? I think I'd know if someone broke into the house." She's got a point, he thought inwardly, nodding in agreement on the outside. Just as he was about to shrug it off as his imagination, he heard the trash cans at the side of his house being knocked over. "Someone's definitely here, Kono."
He pulled his gun back out then began to inch down the stairs to the front door. "Wait! Steve!" she called out as she followed him, a harsh gleam of panic back in her expression and tone.
As soon as she got outside, she noticed his stoic figure—she could only imagine the expression on his face as he met eyes with James, whose face was bright red and terrified. "James?" Steve yelped shockingly with a hint of anger, his gun still raised.
"Hey, buddy," James smiled nervously as he covered his boxers up with his clothes in his hands. "How's it going?"
"What the fuck is going on here?" he snapped in a loud tone, his eyes widened and his gun finally lowered.
"Steve, buddy, we can explain," James held his hand up in defense.
"Explain what, exactly?" Steve's voice was even angrier now. "That my best friend is sneaking around in my house with my girlfriend?"
"What? I would never do that to you!" Kono shrieked in a fury, her face scrunched in disbelief.
"Wait, wait, that's not what's going on here!" James overlapped Kono speaking, his hand still up in the air and his head nodding frantically.
"It's not?" Steve asked sarcastically, a laugh almost coming to his lips. "Then why are you sneaking out of here—half naked, if I may add?"
"See, this is the part where you let me explain," James smiled again to hide his now extreme discomfort.
"Wait," Steve raised his hand up to stop James from talking any further. He then turned around to Kono, his face still furious. "Tell me your side first," he griped her in a dangerous voice.
"Are you gonna drop the attitude?" Kono matched Steve's facial expression and tone of voice.
His mouth opened slightly in shock. "You're the one at fault and you still have the nerve to get mad at me?"
Her voice was defensive and stern. "Okay, I may have lied to you, but I am not cheating on you."
He gave her the benefit of the doubt. "Okay, then what is this?"
Just as she was about to respond, she noticed his eyes shift over her to focus on the front door. She turned around to see what he was looking at.
It was Mary, standing in the doorway.
Kono quickly bit her lower lip before turning back around, only to see Steve's face more furious than before.
"Hey, bro," Mary said hesitantly as she walked toward Steve.
"What the fuck?" Steve yelled. "Have you been home this whole time?"
"Yeah, I, uh, snuck in last night," Mary stammered.
Steve shook his head in disbelief, his voice slightly lower but no less angry. "Wait a minute, Kono and I dropped you off at the airport yesterday. I thought you were going back to LA for a week?"
"Yeah, I never left," Mary said with regret.
He trailed off in thought before speaking again. He then turned his body slightly, enough so that he could see both James and Mary. He wagged a finger back and forth between them, his voice back to sounding shocked. "Oh, my God. Are you two–"
Mary clasped her hands together over her chest—she silently begged Steve to not be mad at what she was about to say, even though she knew he was clearly already mad to begin with. "We have been for two months now."
"What?"
"I'm sorry, Steve!" Mary halted abruptly, her hands letting go of one another as she held them apart and up in defense. "I was gonna tell you. I didn't mean for you to find out this way."
"You thought you could get away with sneaking my best friend into my house? I live here, Mary, me."
"Okay, okay. We all know you're ninja. Calm down," Mary rolled her eyes, her hands still up defensively. "We were going to stay at his place, but there were people over last night. We figured we could sneak out once you left for your morning run and Kono was still fast asleep, but she woke up hours earlier than normal."
"Mary, I'm a cop. Don't you think I'd wake up from your loud ass?" Kono retaliated flatly, her patience growing thinner by the second.
"Hey!" Mary snarled indignantly. "I am not that loud!"
"Are we really going to get into this again? We all know how loud you are."
"Okay, okay, okay, can we get back on track here?" Steve put up his hands before averting his attention to Kono. "So, you're not cheating on me, right?"
"You're joking, right? Your sister just confessed to you–"
Steve cut her sentence short. "Kono, just answer the question."
"No, I'm not cheating on you!"
Steve then wagged his finger again at James and Mary, his tone of voice still disdainful. "Okay, now, you two–" He cut himself off mid-sentence as he caught sight of Kono walking away to the lanai. He was pretty sure he saw a look of disappointment flash across her face.
James and Mary simultaneously clamped their fists to their mouths in order to stifle their amusement. "Yikes," James snickered. "I think you pissed her off, buddy."
Steve glared at them forebodingly. "You two, inside, now," he snapped his fingers then pointed to the house. He continued to glare as they walked off. "Don't even think of leaving until I talk to you."
Steve walked around the house to the lanai, only to find Kono sitting on the sand with her arms wrapped around her knees, her face downcast and her mind a million miles away. "Kono?" he called out as he approached her.
Her eyes remained fixed at the water, her tone cold and sharp. "Don't talk to me, Steve."
"Kono..." he murmured, sadness apparent in his voice.
"Don't you have victims to abuse?"
He chuckled as he sat down beside her. "I'd rather apologize to you first."
Her expression and tone suddenly softened as her flash of anger was replaced with sadness, her shoulders sagging slightly. She turned her head toward him to meet his eyes. "Wait. Me first. I'm sorry I lied to you. I made her promise to tell you, but it was wrong of me to help her hide this from you."
"It's okay. I understand. She's your best friend," he said sincerely, a warm smile on his face.
"If it's any consolation, I didn't feel good about it at all. I hate keeping things from you."
"It's okay," he kissed her bare shoulder ardently.
"Good." Anger then returned to her face, her voice back to its harsh, unyielding tone. "I'm going to go back to being mad now."
"Okay," he chuckled once more before cupping her chin to force her gaze to meet his. "Baby, I'm sorry. I know you wouldn't cheat on me. I just, I don't know...I was scared. You know I'm new at this."
"Come on, Steve," she said with a hint of frustration. "You know how in love I am with you. I wouldn't do that to you."
"I know. I really do believe you, Kono," he told her, his hand now brushing her cheek. "You forgive me, right?"
She thought for a moment before smiling. "It depends. Are you cooking me an apology dinner?"
His hands were now on her hips—he pulled her closer as he hovered his lips above hers. "Anything you want."
She wrapped her arms around his neck instinctively. "Anything I want?" she smiled as she gently kissed his lips.
"Anything," he smiled back. As they continued to kiss, she pushed him back against the sand, straddling him effectively. "Mmm, what–" he began to muffle against her lips.
She pulled away from his lips slightly then grinned. "You said I could have anything."
His lips twitched as he fought a smile and shook his head. He then got up and picked her up with little effort, causing her to giggle and squeal. He carried her back into the house, their lips not once leaving each other's.
As soon as they reached the staircase, they heard Mary clear her throat loudly to get their attention. "Uh, hello?"
"Oh," Kono and Steve laughed gently to each other. They literally forgot that James and Mary had been waiting for them.
Mary raised an eyebrow, her voice full of attitude. "I thought you wanted to talk to us?"
"Yeah, no, I'd rather talk to Kono right now," Steve said in a playful tone as he turned his head back to Kono, his nose brushing hers before veering off to lay a trail of kisses toward her ear.
"Oh, gross." Mary turned her head away in disgust.
"Seriously?" James huffed flatly, his face and tone unamused. "We have lunch reservations."
"Who said I'm letting you take my sister out?" Steve's tone was serious as he pointed a finger at James and Mary. "I want you both to stay put. I'll just be 30 minutes."
"30 minutes?" Kono asked Steve, amazed.
"I like to give thorough apologies," he shrugged before kissing her softly, causing her to giggle into his mouth.
"Seriously, gross," Mary called out as Kono and Steve made their way upstairs. "Keep it down, will you? I'm already scarred for life!"