Title: Little Sisters Can Be Wise Too
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who commented on the first part. Happy holidays if you're celebrating this time of year, and happy day if you're not!
Danny whistles as the two women step into the living room.
"And where are you lovely ladies headed, may I ask?"
"Out," Mary answers with a grin.
Mary Ann's wearing a white dress, her long blonde hair curled down her back and her eye make-up dark enough to bring out her sparkling blue eyes. Kono, on the other hand, opted for a splash of color with her outfit. Her short, sky blue dress leaves most of her long legs bare and the halter top shows off the structure and skin of her collarbone, the dips and hollows of it attracting Steve's attention immediately.
"Out where?" Steve asks as he stares at them from the couch.
"Should we give you our GPS coordinates so you can track our every move?" Mary asks her brother sarcastically.
"Mary," Kono softly chides before she turns to Steve to elaborate. "I'm taking Mary Ann out to meet some friends before she leaves."
"Fine. Can I talk to you, please?" Steve says, nodding toward the kitchen for her to follow behind him.
"It's like I'm seven, and not even in the room," Mary complains to Danny as Kono leaves them alone to join Steve beyond the swinging door.
"Where are you really going?" Steve asks suspiciously, staring down at his girlfriend through narrowed eyes as he waits for an answer.
Kono laughs quietly as she shakes her head at him. "We really are going to meet some of my friends, I promise."
Steve stares at her for a second before nodding once he seems sure that this isn't some elaborate cover-up. "Just... be careful, okay?"
"Should I take my gun? I'm not sure where I'd put it," Kono teases, and his eyes give her a quick once-over, the blaze of blue scorching her skin as he follows the dip of her neckline.
"Don't let her do anything crazy. Or get too drunk. Or god forbid, bring anybody home," Steve says in a half-whisper.
Kono fights back a smile and nods as she reassuringly wraps her arms around his neck, giving him a short kiss. "Steve, we're going to be fine, okay? It's not a mission, it's just girls' night."
"That's even worse," he mutters but his body relaxes as soon as she touches him, the stress from his muscles loosening as her fingers rub the soft skin at the nape of his neck. "Is this the dress Mary told you to try on?" he asks, commenting on her outfit for the first time.
"Yes, it is. Do you like it?" She teasingly presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth, stepping closer to him as his fingers trace random patterns on the exposed skin of her shoulders.
"No, I hate it." He pulls her closer to him as he presses a kiss to that spot underneath her ear she loves, and his hands slide under the thin straps of her dress to touch bare skin. The feel of his warm breath against her ear, coupled with the touch of his warm fingertips makes her shiver.
"Liar," Kono says, sighing as she tilts her head up and finds his mouth again. "It's blue. You like blue."
"I like you," Steve murmurs against her mouth, feeling her lips curve into a smile at his words.
"I like you too," she admits, her hands slowly pushing him away even as she leans in for one more kiss. "I have to go."
"No, you don't," he argues, pulling her closer to him, his hands brushing the swells of her breasts as he peers down to meet her eyes. "Stay."
"I have to go," Kono repeats but she steps closer and wraps her arms around him again, moaning as his tongue flicks against her lips, the pressure and feel of it taking her by surprise. It still makes her heart race a little faster, even after all this time.
"Kono, are you coming?" Mary asks as she takes a step into the kitchen then quickly covers her eyes. "Oh, gross! Seriously?"
"Steve was just um, going over safety procedures with me for our night out," Kono says, flushing slightly as she steps out of his arms. She smiles at him over her shoulder, and takes his hand to head back into the living room where Danny's waiting for them all to reappear.
"Let me guess. They were making out again," Danny announces.
"Yes. I caught them in here on the couch the other night too," Mary Ann declares with a grimace.
"That's why I don't sit on the couch anymore," Danny explains, pointing at the offending object as if it's the furniture's fault that Steve and Kono can't keep their hands off each other. "They're like animals in mating season. Or horny teenagers in all the seasons."
"We'll be back," Kono says, giving Steve a quick kiss on the cheek and ignoring Danny altogether. "Call me if you need me, but Charlie said the tree sap needs to be tested longer so it'll probably be morning."
"Yeah, it'll be a while," Steve agrees with a nod. "Wait. He's not gonna be there, is he? Charlie?"
"No," Kono answers slowly in confusion as she makes her way to the front door. "Why?"
Danny snorts from his seat in the room and Steve throws him a dirty look.
"Nothing, nothing. Bye."
Steve finds himself staring off into space as he loads clothes into the dryer. The day had been a long one and even though they'd caught the son of a bitch at the end, two parents were dead and a little girl had no one to go home to that night. Knowing there will be justice under the legal system helps Steve sleep a little better, but it won't provide that poor girl any comfort as she misses her parents for the rest of her life.
"You have to actually press the buttons to make it start, you know."
He's startled out of his thoughts as Mary Ann comes up next to him from where she'd been tanning on the lanai.
"Right. Yeah."
"Where's Kono?" she asks.
"She's having dinner with her mom."
"You guys were gone all night it seemed," Mary comments. "Long day?"
"Yeah," Steve admits with a sigh. "Tough day."
She grew up the daughter of a cop so she knows what that means. The tired eyes, the haunted face, the weary set of his usually strong shoulders. She knows what it all means and she doesn't press for further details. "I'm sorry."
"It's part of the job."
"Hey." She pokes him lightly in the shoulder to get his attention. "I'm really proud of you. And I know Mom and Dad would be too."
Before he can say anything, she hugs him, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, and he lets himself hold her back, the little sister who used to tease him for being a geography nerd, and steal all the Milky Ways from his Halloween candy every year.
"Thanks, Mary," he says, blinking back the rush of emotions that envelop him. It hits him again how tiny she is, how she'll always be his baby sister no matter how old they get.
"But you really should shower. You stink."
"Oh my god, they're so cute," Mary exclaims as she watches Chin and Malia carry their boys out of the office, the little ones waving until they disappear down the glass hallway.
"They are," Danny agrees, smiling fondly as he watches the family go. "They love me. I'm Tyler's favorite."
"I'm their favorite," Steve brags from his seat behind his desk. "I'm their godfather."
"Hey, Chin looked toward both of us, and wouldn't clarify. He said we can divide the responsibilities. I'm their godfather too!"
"He meant me."
"Only because you trump me in having a personal connection to him since before I even got to this island. That shouldn't count," Danny argues passionately.
"You can't even pronounce their Hawaiian middle names correctly, Danno," Steve taunts and even Mary laughs at that.
"Don't be a jackass, Steven, that's just mean. And I don't need to use their middle names because, God bless Chin and Malia, they gave them perfectly fine first names that I can pronounce. Plus, there's two of them! We can share," Danny suggests.
"I don't wanna share," Steve says with a smirk.
"That I believe. You want to keep all the guns and grenades for yourself. You probably never shared anything in your life. Back me up here, Mary," Danny says, waving for her to chime in with proof she has from a very special arsenal: Steve McGarrett, the early years.
"When are you and Kono gonna have kids?"
There's a second of silence before Steve sputters. "What? We're not- she's not-"
"They haven't really had the kids talk yet," Danny fills in for Mary Ann and his partner nods along. "They live day to day, their troubles floating away on the ocean breeze. Real rebels like that."
"But you want kids with her, right? I want to be an aunt," Mary says, her eyes still bright from the matching smiles the young Kelly twins had bestowed upon her.
"Oh, well, if it's what you want, I'll get right on it," Steve mutters sarcastically and even Danny chuckles at that.
"Is it what you want?" Mary Ann questions her brother, and watches his eyes widen at her direct approach. He turns to Danny for help, as if his best friend holds the answer and can give it to him nicely packed and with a bow on top so he doesn't have to examine his feelings in a moment of deep introspection, but Danny only regards him quietly and waits for him to speak too.
"I don't know. I mean, maybe later. We're not even thinking about it right now," Steve says quietly, avoiding his sister's eyes as he plays with his keys
"Okay. That's true," Mary says. "You have plenty of time. Just don't die before then, got it?" she warns, and Steve smiles at her softly, equal parts humor and reassurance in response to her words. "But I'd totally be the godmother, right?"
"Yeah, of course," Steve says with a nod, his eyes dazed and his tone filled with awe as if he's only just now realizing the magnitude of what he's agreeing to, of what the future could hold for him, a future with her.
"Okay, I'm back. Tyler didn't want me to leave, you should have seen him! He started crying as soon as I put him in his booster seat because he knew it meant they'd be driving away."
They look up as Kono enters the room, her eyes twinkling and her smile wide as she speaks about her nephew. She takes in the silence of the room as they all stare at her, then shakes her head in confusion when they say nothing in response.
"What? I thought we were gonna pick up Grace and go eat..."
"Right, we are. Let's go," Steve orders as he gets out of his seat and takes her by the hand, leading her out the door. He throws Mary Ann and Danny a furtive look over his shoulder regarding the conversation Kono's missed, accompanied by a quick nod to follow his lead.
"He'll be a great dad," Mary Ann says quietly as she watches her brother and his girlfriend walk down the hall, Steve's hand resting protectively on the small of her back, their bodies close to one another as Kono talks to him animatedly and he nods while he listens.
"Yeah, he will. They'll be great together," Danny agrees. "And we will be kickass godparents." They grin at each other widely, then startle when they hear Steve call their names from down the hall, his voice echoing in the empty control room as it reaches inside to his office they're still in. "Come on, let's eat."
"Doesn't it get boring?" Mary Ann asks.
"What? Being at the beach?" Kono asks in surprise as she turns on her beach towel to look at the blonde next to her. "Never."
Mary Ann was flying out Sunday morning and Kono had told her she couldn't leave the island without catching a few last rays of authentic Hawaiian sunshine. Steve was at HPD with Danny to consult with some officers about a case they were in the middle of, so Kono took Mary Ann to the beach for a few hours, or as long as they could enjoy themselves before she got called in to work.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, you're like a human mermaid," Mary Ann comments with an eyeroll. "But I meant being with my brother."
Kono stares at her for a moment, her eyes narrowing in suspicion at the question. "Is this you trying to get intel for him? Cause you suck at being subtle."
"What? No, of course not. I meant, generally. Being with somebody for so long," Mary Ann elaborates with a shrug. "It's not boring by now?"
"Your brother definitely keeps things interesting," Kono comments with a small smile.
"Okay, ew. I was not talking about in the bedroom, that's gross." Mary makes a face as she shakes her head in disgust.
Kono laughs. "I wasn't either, actually, but there too. I get what you're saying though. But I think we're not boring enough people to get bored."
"I guess," Mary says, not sounding convinced as she flips through a magazine idly.
Kono takes her sunglasses off as she looks at the other woman, struggling to explain something that's caught her by surprise over the course of her relationship with Steve. "I don't know how to explain it. It's like I don't notice how long it's been because there's nothing making me feel like I want out, you know?"
"Not really. It's not like I've ever had a real relationship," Mary admits with a sigh. "Guys are assholes. Well, besides my brother and a select few."
"It'll happen when it's meant to happen," Kono says encouragingly as she slips on her tank top. "I mean, do you really think I was ready for this thing with your brother to happen? No way."
"So, you two are good, right?" Mary asks casually, her magazine forgotten now that she has Kono's full attention.
"Yeah," Kono answers brightly before her tone turns suspicious again. "Why? Did he say we're not good?"
"No, no, nothing like that. I just... I wanna make sure you'll be here when I visit again."
Kono smiles at the woman's comment as she understands what she's trying to ask. Mary is more like Steve than she will care to admit. In fact, they're both alike in a big way - both struggling to find a place and a home, people to call their own after their lives changed so young at the loss of their parents. Steve had found a resemblance of that in the Navy with his men, and with his SEAL team, the order and discipline keeping him focused.
But Mary? Mary was still searching for that stability. She doesn't mean if Kono will still be in Hawaii, or will still be at Five-0 the next time she comes to visit her brother. She wants to know if Kono will still be a part of the McGarrett home, if she'll still be in their lives like she has been over the course of Mary's visit, over the course of the last year. She wants a reassurance of stability because it's something she hasn't had in so long, something she's silently ached for even if she'll never admit it, like Steve never has. But Kono sees it in his eyes every time he smiles when she walks through the front door of their home, every time she comes home to him.
"I'm not planning on going anywhere," Kono replies just as casually and watches Mary smile and nod at the powerful meaning behind her words. "Want to flirt with Kamekona for free shave ice on the way home?"
"Hell yeah," Mary says with a grin.