Title: Look at Us Mend (This Doesn't Need to Be the End)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updating! It's a busy time of the year for me, but I promise to get myself on a routine and get updates out since the story is written. Thanks to those who commented - I understand people have probably lost interest in this couple, but it's nice to know a few of you are still interested. :) Just a short chapter now following up on last chapter's case. Longer updates to come!
"Hey, Kono, anything from the roommate?" Steve asks later that afternoon as he puts her on speaker in the car. "She have an alibi for last night's time of death Max gave us?"
"Yeah. She was at a nursing seminar at the college. We got the attendance sheet from the university, and they can verify she was there whole night."
"Damn," Steve mutters as he hits the steering wheel in frustration. It's never that easy, but they can always hope it will be.
"Well, sucks for us, but good for her that she's not being charged for murder," Danny comments from the passenger's seat.
"Right," Kono chuckles. "I got that. Also, I called the hotel and got information on the bar staff and this one guy is sorta creepy. His name's Antonio Malawai."
"Creepy how? Too many tattoos and likes armed conflict like Steve sort of creepy?" Danny suggests as Steve merely shakes his head at the comment.
"No, like two girls filed harassment charges in the last year because he was stalking them after a one night stand, that kind of creepy."
"Oh, a real Romeo."
"Exactly. Maybe Kelly slept with him? He wanted more and killed her? The reports say he was very insistent about how the girls were sending mixed signals and it wasn't his fault." The disgust is clear in her voice as she recalls her conversation with the officer at HPD who'd filed the reports.
"Well, he sounds like he'll spook easy so we'll have to be careful about how we approach him," Steve says. "Guys like that are such cowards when it comes to law enforcement."
"Maybe because they know you work in law enforcement," Kono teases and Steve can hear her smiling over the line.
"That's sweet, thanks, babe," Steve says, his tone light with humor as he finds himself unconsciously pressing the accelerator, speeding up the car which is already traveling over the speed limit.
"Okay, stop," Danny declares loudly in frustration.
"What?" Kono asks, her voice echoing in the confined space and Steve turns to his partner for an explanation of his outburst.
"Don't do your stupid phone flirting. He's already started speeding in an effort to get to back to the office faster and then he'll speed home, all because he thinks that'll save him time before he can see your stupid face again."
"You're crazy," Steve tells him. "I don't do that, and I'm not speeding," he argues even as his eyes flicker to the speedometer and he inches his foot off the gas.
"How fast are you going?" Kono questions.
"Um, normal," Steve answers unconvincingly and she chuckles. "I don't do that."
"Yes, you do. I have been your partner for too long, and over the course of your relationship, certain fundamentals have been established, and one of them is that phone flirting revs up your Neanderthal hormones and is going to get me killed! Hang up, Kono," Danny orders. "Tell him not to kill me and hang up."
"Steve, if you kill Danny, I won't sleep with you again," Kono taunts before she hangs up.
He slowly eases his foot back on the gas as Danny suggests to him he should take Drivers' Ed alongside Grace next month.
"Hey. How'd it go with Max?" Kono asks, greeting him with a smile as he enters the kitchen a few hours later.
"Okay, I guess. Danny's gonna pick up the blood results tomorrow morning. What are you making?" he asks as he makes his way to her side at the stove, dropping a light kiss on her head as he towers over her, adding another inch in height difference when she's barefoot at home.
"Spaghetti. I can boil water at least so thought I'd have dinner ready since I got home first." She drains the water and peeks into the pot, smiling at her success. "See?"
"Good work." He washes his hands and grabs two plates and forks, following her to the table. "And the sauce?"
"That's what I buy in those nice, neat jars ready from the grocery store." She turns to him, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him softly. His hands automatically fall to her waist as he pulls her closer, kissing her again with more pressure, his lips firm as his tongue meets hers over and over again. They pull back for air and she smiles at him, her cheeks flushed and her lips red as he stares at her in silence.
It's been months since she moved in, almost a year since they took the chance and decided to be together, but it still takes him by surprise when he comes home to find someone waiting for him.
"Were you nice to Max?"
"I'm nice to everyone," he retorts.
"No, you're not."
"I'm nice to you," he says as he plants a wet kiss on the side of her neck, watching with fondness as she squirms in his arms.
"True. You are very nice to me," she replies back as she kisses his cheek, her fingers smoothing over his light afternoon stubble. "Hopefully you're not that nice to everyone."
Steve makes a face at that and she laughs as she takes him by the hand and pushes him into the chair. "Come on, eat. You didn't have lunch either."
He smiles as he watches her heat up the spaghetti sauce, not even teasing her about it being store-bought and from a jar like most of her so-called "cooking" is.
Because she's right - he didn't have lunch and the truth is, no one's bothered to care about those details in his life until she came along. He's used to working all day and being on the go, maybe grabbing something when stopping for coffee. Remembering to eat an actual meal was never something of importance. But then she became a part of his life and cared about things like that. About the little things, like making sure he's eaten and taking care of his injuries on the job, of knowing where he is and that he'll make it home safe that night; those things hit him square in the chest as he stares at her in wonder.
"Hey," he says before he even takes a bite. "Thanks."
"Wait until you've tasted it," she warns from the seat next to him as she takes her first bite and chews with careful consideration. "Hmm, not bad if I do say so myself."
Steve smiles at her as he digs in. "It tastes great, Kono."
to be continued ~