The following morning Kono woke up feeling very warm and safe. She immediately knew she wasn't in her bedroom though because it was a very solid warmth she was snuggled into instead of the soft comfort of her bed. Opening her eyes she blushed heavily when she realised it was Steve's chest she'd been lying against. The television was still on so she realised they must have fallen asleep after the game finished last night. Kono shrugged off her embarrassment, though when she realised that Steve was still asleep. She took a moment to study her sleeping boss.
Steve was always so focused, so intense that sometimes it was hard to remember her cousin Chin was actually the oldest, most experienced member of their team. His face relaxed in sleep, though Kono thought Steve looked much younger and much calmer than he usually did. For once he had a reprieve from the demons that haunted him and it showed. To Kono, asleep, Steve looked like he did on the rare occasion he smiled; full of boyish charm and innocence. Kono really wished that Steve would smile more. It looked good on him.
Probably alerted by the change in Kono's breathing Steve woke up as well. He was momentarily startled to find himself on the couch instead of in bed but he quickly shook it off and fumbled for the remote to turn the television off. Kono gave him a quick hug. "Good morning."
"Is it?" Steve smirked. "You're not going to throw things at me if I choose to disagree?"
Kono had surprised even herself last night by really getting into the game, supporting the opposition of Steve's favourite team. Their rivalry had been….colourful. "Shut up," she laughed, smacking him in the chest.
"Or what?" Steve joked. "You gonna scream at me some more?"
"No, but I will inflict untold amounts of misery on you during working hours."
Steve laughed, knowing that she was only teasing. "Well that sounds positively awful. Why don't you let me make it up to you?"
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
Steve pulled himself up from the couch and stretched. "Pancakes?" he offered, quirking an eyebrow at her.
Kono grinned. "Sounds good."
Steve went to the kitchen and started pulling things out of the cupboard. As he was mostly on his own in the mornings and usually in a rush to get to work he almost always just ate oatmeal for breakfast but he did treat himself occasionally so he had all the ingredients on hand.
Kono watched what he was doing with interest. Not only could Steve apparently cook, he could cook well. She commented on this.
"Believe me, when you live on MREs for months at a time when you're at home between ops or on leave you want good food," Steve said.
"They're that bad?" Kono asked.
Steve made a so-so motion. "You get by. Some of them, though it shouldn't even be legal to call them food. I stayed pretty tight with the guys I went through BUDs with even after most of us got put on separate teams. One of the guys, Matt Lange, had grandparents who were awesome chefs. Once they heard about the MREs, one week when we were all on leave, they made us come around and wouldn't let us leave until we could manage a few dishes."
"That sounds nice," Kono said. She had known Steve for over a year now and in all that time she didn't think he'd ever said so much about the years he'd spent in the Navy. Their job with 5-0 was so hectic that it was hard to fit anything else into their world but it suddenly occurred to Kono that Steve had this whole other life. "Do you see much of your Navy team mates anymore?"
"Some," Steve said. "A lot of the guys who, like me, left active service and transferred into the Reserves have young families now so it's kind of hard for them to travel but some do and at the very least we all keep in touch via email. The ones who are still on the teams drop by whenever they're on leave or stationed in Hawaii. Plus there's a couple of functions at the base we all had to attend."
"It's good that you all keep in touch," Kono said, even as she cringed inwardly.
A disturbing thought occurred to her. Their job at 5-0 was extremely full on and they were a close team but sometimes you needed the support of someone completely unattached to the job, especially after a tough case. She and Chin had their large, extended family and Danny had Gracie. Who did Steve have? Both his parents were dead, his sister lived far away in Los Angeles and, apparently, his friends were all over the world and they only got to see each other whenever the Navy stationed themselves in the same place. Kono's heart broke for Steve. Occasionally they went out for dinner or drinks as a team and they all spent time with Danny's daughter Grace but Kono now realised that Steve was spending the majority of his free time on his own. He was such a good guy and he deserved way better than that.
Steve put a plate of pancakes and bowls of sliced pineapple and yogurt on the table. "Food's up," he said.
"This looks good," Kono complemented.
Steve blushed slightly. "Thanks."
For a while the two friends ate in silence, both thinking about different things, but then part way through the meal an idea began to take shape in Kono's mind. "Hey, do you have plans for today?"
"Not really," Steve said curiously. "Why?"
"My parents are hosting a cook-out. Do you want to come?" she asked.
Steve shifted uncomfortably. Kono had really brightened up what he'd thought was going to be a super depressing weekend and he liked the thought of spending more time with her but he wasn't sure it was such a good idea. "Well, I don't want to intrude."
"Don't be an idiot," Kono said. "You won't be intruding. Friends of ours come all the time. Besides, daddy and mama really want to meet you."
"To kick my ass for putting their precious princess in so much danger?" Steve enquired dryly.
Kono rolled her eyes. "Now you're just being stupid. We're a cop family so even if they don't like it they understand and accept the danger I face. Seriously, though I think they want to thank you for the massive chance you took hiring me and Chin."
"So your parents support Chin?" Steve asked, aware of the bad blood that existed in the Kelly/Kalakawa clan regarding Chin's innocence or guilt in the theft of several hundred thousand dollars from the HPD forfeiture locker.
"Yeah," Kono said. "He was always their favourite nephew and he helped them take care of me when I was younger. When he was accused they knew right away that he wouldn't do anything like that. It's kind of pathetic, really. Daddy and mama believe him but Chin's own parents still won't speak to him. Needless to say they have not been invited this afternoon."
"Well sooner or later the truth will come out," Steve said confidently. "And they'll have to make it up to Chin then. Personally I hope he doesn't accept anybody's, be it HPD or your family, apologies too easily."
"Me too," Kono said slightly resentfully. "Anyway, back to the subject at hand. The cook-out. Will you come with me?"
Steve knew he would be an idiot to refuse. After all hadn't he, just the previous night, been regretting all the time he'd spent alone since he'd come back to Hawaii? He ginned. "I'd really like that, Kono."
"Good," Kono said, pleased. "You're so not going to regret this."
