Disclaimer: Hawaii 5-0 and all of its characters belong to Peter Lenkov and CBS Studio Productions. Burn Notice and all of its characters belong to Matt Nix and the USA Network.
"So, raise your glass if you are wrong in all the right ways,
All my underdogs, we will never be, never be anything but loud,
And, nitty, gritty, dirty little freaks.
Won't you come on and, come on and raise your glass for me."
-"Raise Your Glass" P!nk
"I'm telling you, Steve, the Devils are the best team in the NHL." Danny huffed, crossing his arms over his chest petulantly. Steve smirked around the neck of his beer bottle and shook his head.
"Biased bastard." He muttered, earning him a Williams-esque scowl. He just stretched in response, his feet digging into Danny's thigh as he tried to work the tightness out of his muscles. They had ended up chasing their suspects into the crashing surf and Steve had gotten caught in a strong undertow.
Despite him being, quite possibly, the best swimmer on the island, he had been a bit shaken up when the edges of his vision had begun to blur just before Danny's hands closed over his biceps and drug him to shore. His smaller partner had given him a half-hearted glare as he tried to catch his breath with a mumbled 'told you I could swim'.
They both knew it had been a close call, which was why they were both sprawled out across Steve's couch with Steve's long legs kicked across the cushions so that his feet were pillowed in Danny's lap.
Danny had scowled at the appendages when Steve had first done it because two heterosexual police officers do not, do not, sit like that. But, then again, they don't cuddle and watched 'The Notebook' either, so he'd let it slide. Two hours later, they were still in the exact same position, with empty beer bottles scattered on the coffee table as they watched Sports Center and argued which hockey teams were the best.
"Long day." Steve muttered, off-handedly, causing Danny to quirk an eyebrow at him curiously.
"That's all you have to say about it? You take off after those morons, almost get yourself killed, I have to save your ass again, and all you can say is 'long day'?" He scoffed, flicking Steve's big toe and shaking his head. "God, you're an insufferable ass."
"You seem to do a pretty good job of suffering through it, Danno." Steve replied with a broad smirk as he watched the other man through half-lidded eyes. Danny pointedly stared straight ahead, his eyes locked on the screen, but it would have been impossible to miss the subtle quirking of his lips as he fought off a grin.
Steve was muffling a large yawn into the crook of his elbow when the knock on the door came. His brow furrowed as he stared at the door, popping to his feet and moving cautiously toward it. He wasn't used to people knocking on his door after the sun had sunk below the ocean; Catherine always called first, and Danny, were he not curled into the corner of the couch already, would have just walked in.
His hand gripped his service weapon tightly as he turned the door knob and opened the door slowly. A sigh of relief escaped him as he took in the figure that was leaning against his door frame and he set the weapon on the side table gently.
"I see you're still a paranoid freak these days?" Came the deep rumble from the man who was staring back at him through cool blue eyes.
"Hey, you're one to talk, man. I believe the last time I showed up on your doorstep I had to dodge a booby trap and a shoe that Fiona hurled at me." Steve chuckled, reaching out and pulling the man into a brief hug.
"Good to see you, Lieutenant Commander."
"Good to see you too, Westen." Steve moved on to hugging the petite woman behind him. "Fi, always a pleasure."
"Steve, you're looking dapper as ever, though, I must say that I prefer the dress uniform to the cargo pants." The woman replied, smiling at Steve in a way that Danny found, frankly, a bit irking. He stood from the couch cautiously and walked up behind Steve, watching as his partner hugged an older looking man in an...extravegant Tommy Bahama shirt.
"Sam, you son of a bitch, how the hell you been?"
"Hey, Miami has been good to me, what can I say?" Steve reached out and tapped the man's protruding beer gut fondly.
"I see that you're still fond of those mojitos?" He questioned on a laugh.
"They told me you were a detective, but I didn't believe them until just now." The older man replied, smiling fondly. The first man clapped his hand on Steve's shoulder.
"Oh, Steve, this is Jesse Porter. He's...in about the same predicament I'm in. He's a good guy." Steve extened his hand to the hispanic man, who shook it solidly.
"Steve McGarrett, nice to meet you, Jesse." Jesse nodded in response. It was only after it seemed that Steve had gotten all of his 'hello's out of the way that Danny cleared his throat and waved to make sure that his partner remembered his exsistance. But he was not feeling the least bit jealous or neglected. He was not. "Guys, this is my partner, Danny Williams. Danno, this is Michael Westen, his girlfriend Fiona Glenanne, and Sam Axe. And, of course, Jesse Porter."
"Hello." Danny said as a blanket statement, giving a short wave and a tight lipped smile. Michael nodded shortly and Steve stepped to the side, gesturing for them all to come in. The group filed into the living room, leaving a curious silence lingering in the air that Danny seemed to be the only one noticing...
"So, not that I'm not happy to see you guys, but what's the occasion, Westen? The last time I saw you was...well," Steve glanced around nervously and pulled a shurg before continuing. "The last time you 'dropped by'."
"No need to worry, McGarrett, we're just in town because I owed Fiona a vacation." Michael chuckled, carding his fingers through his dark hair.
"He's only been promising to 'get away' together for three years. I didn't know our 'romantic getaway' was going to be a team affair." Fiona mumbled, rolling her eyes 'covertly'. Danny couldn't help but chuckle, which earned him a death stare from Michael that put Steve's to shame. He instantly swallowed the laugh and began fiddling with the board shorts that Steve had leant him when they'd left HQ. They were a few sizes too big and hung on his hips, and looked ridiculous with his dress shirt and tie (which had dried by the time they reached Steve's house, thankfully), but at least they weren't drenched in sea water.
"Anyway, we wanted to stop by, see how things are going with you. I heard about your dad. I'm sorry for your loss." Michael stated sincerely, his face stoic and betraying no emotion. Danny's eyes flicked back and forth between the two men quickly, his jaw hanging slightly agape and his brow furrowed.
"Okay, I'm obviously out of some loop here, you guys mind filling me in on just what the hell is happening?" He finally questioned, throwing his hands up. Steve chuckled and Danny on the shoulder.
"Michael and I met in the Middle East years ago. We," Steve swallowed and glanced at Michael, who shrugged almost imperceptibly. "We know each other from a few ops in the Middle East. When I got back stateside, Michael needed a place to crash when he got home from one of his own ops, and he stayed with me for a week. Ever since then, when either one of us is in a jam, we help each other out."
"So, basically, you guys are friends?" Steve shrugged and nodded.
"Yeah, pretty much."
"See? Isn't that much easier, Steven? I swear, you SEALs have to make everything more complicated."
"Hey now!" Sam interjected, shooting a half-playful glare at Danny. "Jesus, how long have you two been married? You still have to explain everything to the Misses here, Smooth Dog?" Sam jested, nuding Steve in the ribs with his elbow. Danny looked on passively, but just under the surface he was seething. Who the hell did that guy think he was?
"Sam and I were on different SEAL teams, but we also had a few ops that we ran together in country. That's actually how I met Michael." Steve explained, answering his unasked question.
"Okay, so that explains those two, what about her?" Danny gestured to Fiona.
"Excuse me, I have a name you know!" She stated. "I met Steve when he came to stay with Michael once on a trip to Miami. He helped us out with a few jobs that we had while he was sleeping on the cot."
"Jobs?"
"Trust me, Danno, it's best if you don't ask." Steve gave Danny a look that had the younger detective holding up his hands in surrender.
"Let's just say that Fiona and Steve have very similar personalities." Sam chuckled, earning himself a pretty fair glare from Fiona, who had tucked herself under Michael's arm.
"Non-exsistant?" Danny questioned before his brain had the chance to stop his mouth from moving. Michael gave a laugh that seemed to eminate from the bottoms of his feet and shook his head.
"No. Explosive. Speaking of which, from what I've read, you've toned it down quite a bit since you came home, huh?" Michael directed the question to Steve and Danny couldn't help his jaw dropping to the floor.
"Toned it down?!" He huffed. "This is the 'toned down' version?"
"Yeah, he used to have half a town blown up before lunch." Michael laughed. The blush that crept up Steve's neck was, frankly, adorable.
"Well, he hasn't blown anything up today, but the night is still young." Danny replied, smirking at his partner.
"Why, uh, why don't we move this little get together to the lanai?" Steve gestured to the back door, and they all moved out to the lanai, snagging beers from the fridge on their way and collapsing into Steve's deck chairs.
x
It was nearly three hours, and many beers, later that Steve, Michael, and Fiona had decided that a swim sounded nice. The three of them had raced down the beach as fast as their feet could carry them and dove until the calm ocean surface. Danny watched nervously from his chair, his knuckles white as he gripped the chair and watched Steve's long, powerful strokes slicing the water. He couldn't believe that big lug was in the water again already.
"You don't swim?" Jesse questioned, shaking him from his thoughts. Danny kept his gaze straight ahead when he answered.
"I can swim, I choose not to."
"Yeah, I hear you, man. I only swim if I have to. It's a survival skill, not a hobby." Jesse chuckled, sipping the beer that hung loosely in his grasp. Danny's head snapped over to look at the younger man. He briefly took a moment to really look at him, the flickering light of flames of the bon fire they'd started licking at the man's tanned skin. He was a handsome guy, Danny could admit that, he'd never had a problem being honest about such things...until he met Steve.
"Exactly. Maybe you guys should stick around for longer than a week. Knock some sense into these aquaholics on this damned island." Danny reached up and loosened his tie marginally, the heat from the bon fire starting to seep in and mixing with the humidity that accompanied the Hawaiian night air.
"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Jesse asked a few moments later.
"Shoot."
"What's with the tie? Aren't you Hawaiian people supposed to be chill or something like that? A tie doesn't exactly scream relaxation." Danny scowled at him before loosening the tie and tossing it on the floor beside his chair.
"I was thinking the same thing. It must be hard living life with that stick up your ass, huh, little guy?" Sam questioned, his lips curling into a sly smile under his grey speckled beard.
"I like to look professional. I am a detective, it's what detectives wear." He muttered as he began to dig at the label on his beer bottle with his thumbnail. Jesse gave a deep, hearty laugh.
"Well, yeah, in every other state, I just assumed that Hawaii would be a little different."
"Generally it is. SuperSEAL out there insists on wearing t-shirts and cargo pants to work everyday. But, I'm from Jersey, and I wasn't raised by...I don't know, jellyfish or...sharks...or whatever." He grumbled, kicking his feet up onto the foot stool and crossing his legs at the ankles.
Danny, Sam and Jesse had fallen into a comfortable conversation about everything from Gracie to Jesse's high school football career and Sam's 'lady friends' when the other three made their way up the beach.
"Hey, babe." Danny greeted with a slightly drunken smile, ignoring the way that Michael's eyebrows quirked skyward at the term of endearment. Steve didn't even skip a beat as he crossed the lanai and stood in front of Danny, his arms crossed over his chest.
"You have your phone on you, Danno?" He questioned, his voice low. Danny quirked an eyebrow before gesturing widely with his arms.
"Where, pray tell, would I be hiding my phone, Steven?" Steve smirked down at him and Danny got that tingling feeling in the bottom of his gut that he had started calling his 'Steve Sense'. "Steve...I swear to God...do not do whatever it is that you're planning. I know that face. Put me down, you neaderthal! STEVE!" Danny yelped, his voice boardering on prepubescent, as Steve hooked his arms under Danny and tossed him over his shoulder.
Danny kicked and pounded his hands half-heartedly against the small of Steve's back as Steve moved down the sand quickly. He couldn't really complain, because he had a rather pleasant view of Steve's ass. It was only when he felt his world tilt on its axis as Steve hurled him into the surf that he felt ample ability to bitch and moan. His ass his the soft sand under the waves with a gentle thump before he propelled himself upward, coughing and sputtering when he broke the surface.
He glared daggers at Steve as he stood and made his way towards the shore, shaking his head like a dog when he finally hit dry land. Steve's amused chuckles followed him as the SEAL jogged up the beach behind him.
"C'mon, Danno, wait up! I was just kidding!" Steve called, laughter evident in his voice. Danny wheeled around and poked him in the chest solidly.
"Look, I don't like to swim. You know that. And after today? After today, I'll be lucky if I ever let Gracie go near so much as a kiddie pool ever again." He snapped, keeping his voice low enough that the group on lanai wouldn't hear them. "I...you almost died today, Steve."
"You think that I don't know that?" Steve questioned, his hands going to his hips.
"No, I know you know that, and yet you seem to not give a damn. You scared the shit out of the rest of us. Do you know what losing you would do to Kono? To Chin? To Gracie?"
"What about you, Danny?"
"What about me?"
"What would it do to you, Danno? Huh?" Steve growled, his eyes flicking over Danny's face.
"Of course I would be upset, you moron! You're my partner. My best friend. You're...God, you can be so stupid sometimes." He threw his hands up in the air and moved to pass Steve, but a large, ocean chilled hand closed over his bicep, stopping his forward motion. "Let. Go." He snarled, his eyes flaming as he glanced at Steve's hand.
"Not a chance. Tell me what's been going on with you."
"Forget it, Steve. It's not important, just...just let me go. Please?"
"Not until you talk to me. Come on, you're my partner, you can tell me anything, you know?" Danny sighed and ran his free hand through his wet hair roughly before wrapping it around the back of Steve's head and pressing his lips against Steve's. The surprised gasp was muffled as Steve sank into the kiss, his hand loosening on Danny's bicep and falling to his hip instead. When they pulled away a few moments later, he simply smirked down at Danno. "See? Was that so hard?"
"God, I hate you." Danny replied, shaking his head as he jogged the rest of the way up onto the porch and collapsed into a chair once again. "So, which one of you two wants to tell me what Steven was like when he was the young, spry little thing back in the day?" Michael and Sam looked at one another before bursting out laughing and launching into a list of war stories (the declassified aspects at least) that lasted until the sky was tinged pink with the sunrise.
x
When Danny stumbled sleepily into the kitchen somewhere around noon the next day, Fiona was the only one awake. She sat at the breakfast bar, her feet swinging back and forth as she sipped the coffee in front of her. Danny raised a hand in greeting, wary of the smaller woman since he'd seen a sparring match between her and Michael in the wee hours of the morning. She'd had no trouble holding her own against the much larger man when she swiped his feet from under him and pinned him in the sand. Michael was bigger than Danny, granted he wasn't more muscular, but he damned sure had more training, so Danny wasn't about to take his chances.
"Morning." He mumbled, pouring himself a cup of coffee and leaning against the counter, watching her through sleep blurred eyes. He was sure that he looked just as bad as felt. Hell, he hadn't had a hang over that bad since that party senior year of high school.
"Morning yourself, Jersey boy." She smirked into the coffee mug. "You really should learn to hold your liquor better, you know?" Danny scowled at her, his brow furrowing deeply. "And if you keep doing that, your face will stick that way." She pointed at his facial expression. Danny chose to change the subject before he allowed himself to fall victim to the word trap.
"So, you and Michael..." He started, choosing his next words carefully for fear of bodily harm, though he didn't know if he was more afraid of Michael or Fiona. "You guys are...dysfunctional."
"Says the man who was dry humping his partner on the lanai in front of everyone." She retorts easily, not even allowing the slightest crack in her smile.
"Point well made." He held a hand up in surrender. "But, seriously, what's up with you two?" Fiona paused, inhaling the steam that swirled out of her coffee mug before setting it down on the counter and leaning forward on her forearms.
"Michael and I met when I was living in Ireland still. I was working with the IRA and Michael had...some business to attend to there. I fell in love with him, but he left." Danny felt a twinge in his heart for the strong woman in front of him. He'd been there for sure, he knew what losing the person you loved felt like. It was painful for someone close to you to leave you because they'd died. It was a million times worse for it to be of their own volition. "Then Michael got...fired and I got a phone call to come to Miami. I needed an out of the city that I was in, and I figured Miami would be a good change of pace." She pulled a shrug. "The rest, as they say, is history."
"That's quite the story. Though, I wouldn't use it as the 'how we met' at the wedding." He chuckled. Fiona's face paled at the mentioned of marriage and he quickly back tracked. "I mean, if you guys ever got married."
"Michael isn't exactly the marrying type." She chuckled. Danny nodded for a moment before shifting the focus, once again, and reaching into the fridge to grab the box of Coco Puffs he'd stashed in their the night before. He extended it to Fiona and she took one, thanking him quietly. He had just fished one out of the box himself when Michael and Steve both made their way into the kitchen. Neither of the men even looked like there was a hair out of place on their heads and they looked like they were ready to go ten rounds with a mutant alligator. Bastards...
"Morning, gentlemen." Danny smirked, extending the box to them. Both men wrinkled their noses in response. "Oh, I forgot. SuperSEAL and his entourage don't engage in the finer things in life." He rolled his eyes and tossed the box onto the counter.
"Did you two see what is going on in the other room?" Michael questioned, his lips curling into a smile as he kissed Fi softly. Danny quirked an eyebrow and poked his head around the corner, laughing out loud when he saw what the other man was talking about.
Jesse and Sam were curled against each other, drool hanging from both of their chins and their arms wrapped around one another. Danny chuckled and turned back to face the others.
"This is one of those 'don't ask, don't tell' moments, isn't it?"
"Maybe to you. I'm telling everyone." Fiona mused, snapping a photo on her cellphone. Danny couldn't help but laugh at the amused look on her face as she looked at the tiny screen. Steve smiled at him and leaned down to place a soft, uncoordinated kiss to the corner of his mouth with a quiet 'morning, Danno' before moving to get his own coffee.
Danny couldn't say that he liked there being people who knew more about Steve and his past then he did, but the rest of the group was definitely growing on him. Maybe having them sticking around for a week wouldn't be so bad. Who knew, maybe they would even shake some of the instanity out of Steve's daily life. He highly doubted that...
x
The week passed relatively quickly and with little to no incident. Surprisingly, by the time Fiona, Sam and Jesse had piled into the rental car, leaving Michael to say his good byes, the island was, more or less, still intact.
"Well, thanks for letting us stay here for the week, Steve. We really appreciate it. It was good to see you." Michael smiled, patting Steve on the shoulder while he shook his hand.
"Hey, it's no trouble. Any time you guys want to stop by, the door is always open." Steve replied, just as cheerfully. Michael turned to walk down the steps, but stopped himself, pointing at Danny.
"Oh, it was good to meet you, Danny. Take care of Steve, huh?"
"It would take an entire army of nannies to do that, but I'll do my best." Danny smiled, waving with one hand while the other remained stuffed in his pocket.
"Good luck with this," Michael waved his hand between Danny and Steve in lieu of explination, smiling knowingly at them. "You two are good together. Don't fuck it up."
"Get outta here, your car is waiting." Steve chuckled, reaching out and wrapping his arm around Danny's waist gently, pulling the smaller man to him. Michael nodded and slipped his sunglasses on (Danny still thought those were some badass shades. He seriously needed to find a pair...).
"If you're ever in Miami." Michael stated, not feeling the need to finish the sentence with more than that.
"Definitely." Steve nodded. They watched the other man stride gracefully down the driveway and slip into the driver's seat before pulling away and leaving them standing there.
Shutting the door, Steve turned and hooked his other arm around Danny's waist as well, pulling him so that they were flush against each other. Danny smiled and linked his arms around Steve's neck.
"So, empty house for the first time in a week." Steve muttered, leaning down and brushing his nose against Danny's.
"Mhmm. They're crazy." He stated fondly, drawing a chuckle from Steve.
"Yes, but they're my friends."
"Maybe you don't have good judgement when it comes to friends. I believe we covered that fact, though."
"I still chose you, didn't I?"
"Yeah. Yeah you did." Danny whispered, leaning in and kissing Steve softly. Not for the first time that week, he threw up a silent thanks to whoever was listening that Steve had the balls to throw him in the water that night. Who knows, if the other man hadn't pissed him off, he may have never gotten the courage up to tell him how he felt. And, if he hadn't done that, he wouldn't have gotten to spend a week sleeping in Steve's arms and watching the way he interacted with his friends. It was then that he realized that he didn't care if Michael and Sam knew Steve before he did.
They knew the past. That was over and done with. What he knew was their future, and that? That was what really mattered.