Title : Third Time's the Charm

Fandom: McKono / Kove

Disclaimer : Hawaii Five-0 and its characters are the property of CBS et al. Just borrowing them for a spell.

Rating : M for suggestive theme

AN: My first attempt at a Hawaii Five-0 fic, so if they're a little OoC, do forgive me. Unbeta'ed so all mistakes are mine. Inspired by the Dair teaser for Gossip Girl - I don't know, I just thought of these two when I saw that. Anyway, thanks for reading (and feedback is very much appreciated).

The first time it happens he blames it on alcohol. He's had a few (too many as it turns out) and she's looking so hot it's criminal. He's been fighting this want (need) for so long, ever since he'd drawn that proverbial 'do NOT cross (EVER!)' line in the sand between them when his body reacted so strongly at her bikini-clad form when they first meet, and not even his daily effort to remind himself - that (a) she's Chin Ho's cousin and he has way too much respect for (and maybe fear of) his father's former partner to mess around with someone he's obviously overly protective of, and (b) there's Catherine still (even if their 'not-quite-relationship' is more a matter of convenience and habit rather than love and commitment) and that (c) he's her Boss, as she is so fond of calling him - is working (much) anymore.

How could it when she keeps smiling at / laughing with him and showing off those dimples that gets to him each time. Not to mention that she's a crack shot (which impresses even the trained sniper in him) or that she's such a bad-ass fighter to boot, she's a like a walking wet-dream for soldiers like him.

So when she drives him home (since you know, he's swaying where he stands) and they're on his front porch fumbling with his keys and his much vaunted self-control is a little (a lot) shot - he finally breaks and bites the bullet.

Though he's hoping she'll say yes, he really isn't expecting it and so when she agrees he can't believe it.

"What?" Did he just hear her agree to his proposition?

"What do you mean what? You're the one who asked." A smile hovers on her lips.

"Well yes, but…" Maybe the alcohol is making him hear things.

"But?"

"So you're saying yes?".

"Yes."

"Just like that?" He needs to make sure before he makes another move.

"Just like that."

"You don't want to think about it first?" He knows he's beings stupid because really, why does he keep asking when she already said yes?

She looks at him solemnly before asking. "Would you like me to think about it first?"

"Well, I don't want you to feel like you have to agree…" So yeah, he guesses he's not as drunk as he originally thinks he is.

She just stares at him silently.

"I mean, I'll understand if you want to say no…"

"Do you want me to say no?" She finally asks.

"No!" It's embarrassing how quickly he denies this.

"Well then…" She turns to open his front door and steps inside, clearly expecting him to follow.

"I mean, not if you really want to say yes…" He wonders why the heck he was even trying to make her rethink her decision because you know, he so wants this to happen it's not even funny.

She stops, turns around and asks, with an eyebrow raised. "Are you sure you really want me to say yes? Because you know, you're trying awfully hard to get me to change my answer…"

And he couldn't help but laugh at this. "I am being stupid aren't I?"

"Your words, Boss…" She smiles, showing him her dimples.

And he's toast.

"Steve..." he corrects her softly.

"Only if you come in…"

He doesn't need to be told twice.

It's embarrassingly quick. And they're still (almost) fully dressed. His head throbs and they stare at each other not quite knowing what to say.

"So…"

"That was…"

"Yeah…"

…

…

"Uhm…"

"I…"

She pulls the hem of her dress down and adjusts the straps on her shoulders when he's finally able to make his legs move long enough to give her room to push off the wall. Yes, the f*cking wall! He knows he's blushing so he adjusts his clothing and turns away so he doesn't have to look at her. There are no more words said and it's only the audible click of his front door closing that tells him she's already made her escape.

He's not quite sure what to expect when they see each other again at HQ the following day but there's a case and there isn't time to be awkward around each other. Besides, he's a Navy SEAL for crying out loud so yes, he can compartmentalize (else he'd have already been shipped home in a body bag a long time ago), and apparently, so can she. He knows they should talk but decides to wait until the case is over. But when it finally is, he second-guesses himself because she doesn't give any indication that she wants to talk and he figures, it's the least he can do – you know, wait until she's ready to do so.

So that's what he does. He waits. And waits…and waits.

And before he knows it, it's been three weeks and it seems pointless to even have it by then because they're still able to work alongside each other without Danny and Chin Ho noticing anything amiss. He supposes he should be grateful that aside from the ability to compartmentalize, his training also included risk assessment (and avoidance). So he does a good imitation of an ostrich and conveniently buries his head in the sand.

The second time it happens she blames her injuries. She gets (a little) banged up during an undercover sting and has to be driven back to her apartment from the hospital. Normally, it would be Chin who'd do this but Malia is having a difficult pregnancy so he needs to be home early and Danny has Grace, which leaves him as her only choice. They don't talk during the drive and she tries not to wince too much when pain shoots up her side with each movement so he won't insist on looking after her (because she knows he has an overly developed sense of responsibility) and well, despite her success at appearing normal, she has yet to get over that little incident a couple of weeks back when he was too drunk and she was stupid enough to not let it matter.

She tries to get into her apartment on her own steam, she really does, but the haste with which she gets out of his car jars her so bad she's unable to prevent a gasp from escaping. And then she finds herself being lifted off her feet and carried inside her house and onto the sofa before she can even get a word in. And then they are staring at each other and the silence just lengthens between them.

She thinks maybe the pain meds have messed with her brain because she finds herself wanting to kiss him (again) and thinking that it's been way too long. That's her excuse anyway and she doesn't know what his is because she sees the same thing reflected in his gaze. And it really doesn't surprise her that when he asks, "Do you think we should…" she knows exactly what he means even if he doesn't complete the question.

"Do you want to?"

"Well…I mean…since we've already…"

"Yeah…guess we owe it to ourselves to… you know…"

"Just to make sure…"

"It's only fair…"

This time it takes them a little longer than before and even manage to make it horizontally. And more clothes are actually shed.

"Hmmm…"

"I don't want to hurt you…"

"You're not…lower…"

"Here?"

"Just…oh…"

"What? Should I stop?"

"No…it's, it's…."

"Better?"

"Just…just let me…"

"Ouch!"

"Sorry…here, let me…"

…

…

And then his phone starts to ring and they freeze. They try to ignore it but it keeps on ringing.

…

"I should…"

"Yeah…"

And then he is pulling his boxers and cargo pants on as he fishes for his cellphone from his pocket. "Yes?" He answers while buttoning his shirt. She thinks things couldn't be more awkward than it already is and finds that she's wrong. Because when she sees him stiffen, she realizes that it's her on the line. She tells herself she's not hurt but she knows she's lying to herself. So she closes her eyes and tries to shut him out and wills him to just leave her with her dignity (what's left of it anyway).

His answers are monosyllabic and when he finally hangs up, she feels him stare at her and she just knows that he's trying to figure out what to say but is failing miserably.

So she lays unmoving on the sofa and keeps her eyes closed, all the while trying to control the blush she knows is spreading on her face and body. She clears her throat and starts, "It's probably a good idea if we…"

"I know. I mean, I understand…"

…

"So I guess…" He falters.

So she swallows slowly and continues to avoid his gaze. "…I'll see you..." And she hates that it comes out like a question instead of a statement.

"Okay." He agrees.

So she answers "Okay," as well, because really, what else could she say? She feels him hesitate and after a while she knows that he's finally left.

She decides she's way too tired and in too much physical pain anyway to try to make sense of what she feels at the moment. So she keeps her eyes closed and sleeps.

"Seriously Kelly, what is wrong with me?" She asks her friend wishing she has the luxury of drinking something alcoholic right now.

"What do you mean?" Her friend asks as she sits next to her on the sofa, having dropped by to check up on her after hearing she'd been hurt.

"I must be a sucker for punishment you know…"

"Seriously, you're confusing me right now. What the hell are you talking about?"

"I slept with Steve."

"What! Steve? As in your boss? That Steve?"

She groans as she covers her face with a pillow. "I know! I'm so stupid!"

"What's up with that aneurysm face McSEAL?" Danny asks as they drive towards the docks to interview the latest person-of-interest in the case they're working on.

Steve gives his partner a 'you-think-you're-so-funny-but-you're-not' look.

It doesn't faze Danny. "What?"

He just shakes his head and continues driving.

"You know, for someone who had just spent the night with the girl of his dreams, you don't look too chipper…"

Steve freezes. "What the hell are you talking about?" He asks, seriously freaked out how Danny could possibly know.

"I accidentally saw the call log on your cell earlier…" his partner explains. "I know that Catherine called you last night."

"The fuck Danny?"

"What? Tell me I'm off base here!"

"You are. Cath and I broke up months ago."

"Huh? But didn't you spend Valentine's together?"

"Yeah, it was after that actually…"

"I see…"

"I doubt it…"

"So?"

"What do you mean, so?"

"How was it?"

"It was…"

"Bad?"

"Yes." He avoids looking at his friend as he answers.

"What do you mean by bad?"

He sighs loudly. "Bad! As in, not good."

"Seriously?"

She nods.

"But…"

"I know, right?" If her friend is surprised, she is more so.

"But I thought you said you wanted him…"

"I did…that's why I said yes in the first place…"

"Let me get this straight…you finally get it on with this mystery lady, for whom you broke things off with Catherine, and it was bad?"

He wishes fervently he never opened his mouth about the whole thing. Too late! "Yes!" His frustration over the whole situation comes out in a growl.

"Serious?"

"As a heart attack…" His attempt at levity fails spectacularly.

Danny laughs.

He knows he should feel insulted but the dismay he feels over what should have been a spectacular experience just overwhelms him.

The blonde shakes his head in disbelief. "Uhm...because Catherine called?"

"Maybe you were both just too excited?"

She gives her friend a 'duh' look.

"Too drunk?"

"He was, but I was stone cold sober. The first time anyway…"

"Wait…the first time? You mean there was a second time?"

She nods.

"Okay, let me get this straight. It sucked the first time, and still, there was a second time?"

"I know…"

"And?"

"It was worse than the first time…"

She would laugh at her friend's comical reaction if she isn't so mortified.

"Maybe third time's the charm?"

"Frankly, I 'm not even sure I can look her in the eye again, let alone attempt a third one at this point."

"I know I should feel sorry for you but…"

"But, what?"

"But I'm glad to know there's actually something you're not good at." Danny snickers.

He would strangle Danny but it's too late to break in a new partner at this point.

"Well, I guess it's good that you never got around to introducing her to us then?"

"Oh you have no idea just how grateful I am of that too…" Steve thinks to himself.

So yeah, because the first two times sucked, he figures, surely, when she's finally back to work (after a week of recuperation from her undercover injuries), that whatever it was (is) he felt (feels) would surely disappear. It's a perfectly logical assumption, right? Of course the minute she walks in he realizes just how wrong that assumption is, because like before, the attraction is still there. And it still takes him all he has not to touch her or you know, stand close to her because he still feels that overwhelming urge to jump her bones whenever their eyes meet or when their skins (accidentally) touch.

It's confusing because technically, the itch has been scratched (twice!) and badly at that. So why in heaven's name is he still obsessing about her?

He is still wondering about this when he finds himself knocking on her front door at three in the morning the next day. He thinks it's probably (likely) a bad idea but he can't sleep and he's been thinking about her anyway so he might as well see her. He's half expecting her not to open the door, because it's three f*cking AM and she's most likely asleep already and he's about to turn around and leave when it opens.

They stare at each other and he can't bring himself to ask to be let in. She moves aside anyway and he finds himself stepping in and locking the door behind him.

She's wearing a tank top and sleep shorts and she's so damned sexy and beautiful it almost brings him to his knees. But he doesn't move from where he stands and they just stare at each other waiting, for what he doesn't really know.

Finally, she asks, "What are you doing here, Boss?"

"I don't know." He answers because he truly doesn't know and tries not to cringe at her refusal to say his name.

She gives a snort of frustration but does not say anything.

"What the hell was that about?" He asks sharply.

"What the f*ck do you think?" Her heated response throws him for a loop.

"Kono…"

"Boss…" her response comes out sarcastically.

He tries to control the irritation he feels at her moniker for him. "I thought we already agreed you can call me Steve."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"You are my Boss, why should I call you any different?"

"Because we had sex!" He surprises himself at how angry the words come out. "Twice, I might add!"

"Yeah? So what? It's not like our minds were blown you know."

Fuck if that isn't the truth, he thinks. "And yet, here we are again."

"What do you want from me?" She cries out to him in frustration.

"I still want you." So there.

She laughs without humor. "Are you crazy?"

He nods because it is crazy. How can he still want her when the sex isn't even good? "I still want you." He tells her again because it is the truth.

"Why?"

There it is. The million-dollar-question he's been asking himself all this time.

"I just do."

"We can't keep having spectacularly bad sex...I mean, what's the point?"

"Tell me you don't want this and I'll leave…" He challenges her.

"I…"

He braces himself when she begins to speak and heaves a sigh of relief when she's unable to continue. He takes a step closer to her.

"Look, just because Catherine is not here…"

He cuts her off. "Don't. She has nothing to do with this."

"Then tell me it's not better with her." She shouts at him.

"I don't care."

"What do you mean you don't care? Of course you do. You left when she called!"

"She called to get her stuff back. And for the record, I only left because you wouldn't even look at me!"

"What?"

"We were over long before that first night between us."

"Why?"

There's that word again.

"Why the hell do you think, Kono? You can't be that clueless."

She doesn't say anything.

"Look, if all I wanted was sex, I wouldn't have broken up with Catherine."

"So why did you?"

"Because it's you I want."

"Steve…" Her confusion is evident in the way she finally says his name.

"You think I didn't tell myself this is a bad idea? You think I haven't spent these last couple of weeks second-guessing myself? Because you know, I did. I have! And yet, here I am. Do you know why that is?"

She shakes her head.

"Because I realized that I'd rather be having bad sex with you than have good sex with her…" And even though it sounds incomprehensible, it is nevertheless the truth. "What we have…it's not just physical."

"It isn't?"

He shakes his head. "If it was, we'd have acted on it a long time ago."

"So what are you saying?"

"What I'm saying, you daft woman, is that I fucking love you!"

He doesn't know who is more surprised at what finally comes out of his mouth. As epiphanies go, that one is a doozy. Strangely enough, it doesn't freak him out.

"You do?"

He nods and waits for her declaration. When it doesn't come, he frowns. "Kono, I'm dying here…"

"Just…Can you say that again?" She whispers as she steps closer to him.

"I love you?"

"Again…" She's in front of him when she demands this and that familiar grin is hovering on her lips.

He pulls her into his arms and whispers in her ear, "I love you."

She moans at this. "Again…"

"I..." He drops a kiss on her jaw. "Love..." He moves closer to her lips. "You…"

"Again." She wraps her arms around him this time.

"Tell me you want this, Kono." He demands gruffly as she presses herself more fully against him.

"I want this. I want you."

Her answer causes all his blood to pool down south. "Even if we keep making bad love?" he whispers against her lips. Just cause you know, he's a Navy SEAL and he wants to dot all his I's and cross all his Ts.

She doesn't bother answering him with words.

And he finds, he really doesn't mind.

So, how's the third time?

The memory still makes him grin. Because you know, there is truth in that old adage after all.

Third time really is the charm.

He thinks he's figured out why that is. It's because of one word - four letters - that begins with an L and ends with an E (not a T). It's a fucking cliche but there you have it.

…

How else can you explain why the fourth is even better (when she finally says 'I love you' back)?

Or the 9th - black eye (his - courtesy of Chin Ho) notwithstanding (when they finally come out and she's sporting that rock on her left hand).

And don't get him started with the 41st through 44th (it's their wedding night – don't judge) ? Cause you know, they were out of this world! Seriously!

And are all the other times in between and beyond?

Duh!

And you know what?

They lived happily (having spectacular sex) ever after.