Disclaimer: Hawaii 5-0 and all of its characters belong to Peter Lenkov and the CBS Network.
This was begging to be written after last night's episode, which means that there are BRIEF SPOILERS FOR LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE. My entire heart threatened to explode from McDanno, and it made me a happy little fangirl.
Steve was pretty sure that Danny was going to burn a hole through the floor if he continued pacing the way that he was. He was staring at the crumpled paper in his hand and repeating the speech to himself under his breath, again, as if he were trying to commit it to memory, and Steve couldn't help but smile at him. Danny stopped in his tracks and flicked his gaze over where Steve was watching him.
"What, pray tell, are you smirking at, Steven?" Danny questioned, his hands extending out in a questioning gesture. Steve chuckled and picked his leather belt up from the back of the couch.
"You." He replied simply, a large smile still plastered to his face. A cool breeze wafted in the open lanai doors and brushed over his bare chest and feet, causing him to shiver. The goosebumps that rippled across his skin were his own fault, really, for standing in front of the open door in nothing but his cargo pants.
"Me? You're smirking at me? Wh-why are you smirking at me?" He squinted at Steve, his brow furrowing in that way that McGarrett couldn't help but find adorable. "And put your damned clothes on, we've got to get to the court house! We're going to be late!"
"Danno, you've got to relax or you're going to give yourself a coronary. Can't have that, can we?" Steve shook his head and crossed the room, reaching out to loop his arms around Danny's lower back and crushing the smaller man to his chest. Danny glared up at him, but his arms snaking around Steve's neck negated any malice that the look held.
"You don't worry enough, Steve. We're going to be late for my custody hearing, do you know what that says about my character? Rachel would have a field day with that, and the next thing you know I'll be working the door at some sleazy casino and wearing a red velvet sports coat. I can't pull off red! I'll look like a raspberry!" Steve leaned down and dropped a kiss on Danny's lips a bit more forcefully then was completely necassary, but it served to shut him up. Danny hummed softly into the kiss, his calloused fingers falling on the nape of Steve's neck before he pulled away and stared up at his partner. "What was that for?"
"Because," Steve smiled, brushed his thumb over Danny's cheekbone lightly. "You're going to go to the court house, I'm going to get dressed and meet you there, and then we're going to win this court case. Gracie isn't going anywhere, and we're going to take her to the aquarium to see the penguins next weekend, just like we planned. Okay? Trust me, Danno, the judge is going to see what an amazing father you are and there will be no question about a verdict." Steve dropped another kiss to Danny's lips before placing his hand on his chest and pushing him back.
"You know, you're a pretty good father, too." Danny whispered, reaching up to brush his hair back into place where Steve had ruffled it during their kiss.
"I...I'm what?" Steve stammered, looking genuinely confused for the first time since Danny had met him. Danny chuckled and shook his finger at him.
"Don't play dumb with me, McGarrett. You know that you're as much Gracie's dad as I am, oh-great-Uncle-Steve." Steve smirked, a blush forcing it's way up his face at the term of endearment.
"Danno, you know that it's Hawai'ian custom for younger people to refer to their elders as Aunt or Uncle. That doesn't mean that Gracie considers me a second dad." He whispered, his voice gravelly.
"Oh? Well, then what about the fact that she likes 'Step Steve' better than 'Step Stan' because you teach her Aloha Girls troop survival skills, and you pay for her to swim with dolphins, and you take her surfing in the private beach, and you know that she likes blueberries and coconut in her pancakes instead of the chocolate ones I make her? Does that mean that you're her father?" Steve stared at him for a moment, his mouth hanging agape and tears biting at the back of his throat.
"She...she said all of that?" Danny tilted his head and smiled fondly at Steve before nodding.
"Yes, she said all of that. And, as painful as it is for me to admit, she said that you're almost as much fun as I am. Steve, I don't know where you've been for the past three years, but you've got a family now." Danny whispered, reaching his hand out to place his palm against Steve's freshly shaven cheek. Steve leaned into the warm touch and hummed softly in the back of his throat. "You've got me, and Gracie. Not to mention Chin, and Kono. For some unknown reason, we all love you, you big goof, and there's nothing that we wouldn't do for you. That's what this ohana thing you've been going on about is, isn't it?" Danny shot him a wink, and Steve nodded sheepishly at him. "Good. Now, get your damned clothes on, something respectable, please, and meet me at the courthouse. 'Kay, babe?" He smirked at the yelp that Steve emitted when his palm connected solidly with the flat plane of Steve's ass.
"Danny." He growled, his neck flushed as he attempted a glare. "Go. If you don't leave now, we really will be late." Danny smirked and backpeddled toward the door, waggling his fingers playfully at the hulk of smouldering SEAL that stared back at him. "Love you, Steven." He blew an overly dramatic kiss as he reached behind him to open the door.
"Yeah, yeah, I love you too, don't make a thing of it." Steve chuckled, reaching his hand up to pantamime catching the air kiss and bringing that hand directly over his heart. Danny shot him a flash of a blue-eyed wink before he disappeared out the door.
Steve chuckled to himself, wondering exactly when it was that he had gotten himself stuck with the pint sized detective as a 'wife' (because there was no way in hell that Steven J. McGarrett, Navy SEAL extraordinare, was the woman in their relationship. No, sir. Not even if he preferred to be the little spoon, and loved it when Danny made candle-lit dinners for them on the lanai overlooking the ocean, and...nevermind. He wasn't the woman, damn it.).
He went about slipping out of his cargoes and into his dress blues (which were surprisingly lacking in the 'blue' department...), and taming his wild bed-hair into something that resembled regulations. As his deft fingers went about tying the tie into a knot just below his Adam's apple he couldn't help but imagine what Danny's reaction to him wearing a tie was going to be. Sure, he'd seen him in his dress blues before, but this was different. This wasn't a funeral, and they were no where near the same place in their realtionship as they were then.
He doubled checked his reflection in the mirror, adjusting his belt with the gold SEAL emblem buckle again, before grabbing his cover off of the table and moving out to slide into his truck. The uniform was comforting, and he sure as hell needed the comfort that day. Sure, he'd told Danny that there was no way they were going to lose this case, but deep down, he knew that the possibility was there. He didn't want to lose Gracie, she had become such an important part of his life. He knew that Danny was right, she was as much his daughter as anyone else's, and he didn't think that he'd be able to go through losing her and Danny.
He was at the court house before he even realized it, and he practically sprinted up the stairs. Taking a moment to compose himself, he sucked in a deep breath, allowed his stubborn, strong as hell SEAL facade to fall back into place, and strode towards where Danny was sitting on the bench. Every doubt that he'd had faded away when Danny looked up at him and let out a breathy 'wow'.
"You, uh, look, uh, very nice." Danny stammered, waving his hand toward Steve's attire. "Suit, tie. It's good." He made an 'okay' symbol and gave him a faint smile.
"It's for you. I wore it for you." He replied with a nervous smile of his own before settling onto the bench next to Danny, keeping a respectable distance from him. They weren't ashamed of what they had between them, but Steve also knew that there were still some...ignorant people who would find some way to use that against Danny, and Steve wasn't about to give them any ammunition.
"Is, uh, is that a clip on?" Danny scowled, gesturing toward the tie. Steve furrowed his brow and shook his head.
"It's not a clip on." He scoffed, pulling his head back when Danny reached for him. "What'd I just say?"
"Your tie is all jacked up, can I fix it?" Danny sighed and Steve relaxed minutely, still acutely aware of every person that passed and tossed them a knowing glance. "C'mere." Danny beckoned, though Steve was already sitting impossibly close.
"I'm here, I'm here." He muttered, his eyes roaming over Danny's face. What seemed like an eternity later, Danny let his hands drop, apparently content with the placement of Steve's tie.
"Okay. Let's go get our Gracie." Danny muttered, his pinky brushing over Steve's hand gently. Steve nodded, sucked in a deep breath, and they headed into the Family Court room. Together.