I'm back! I already had this chapter written and I simply couldn't wait to post it. The support I've gotten for this story is simply overwhelming and I want to thank everyone. I don't really know when I was planning on posting this, but I decided to do it early. See what positive feedback does? :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-O or any of it's characters. If I did, this would've been an actual episode because BROMANCE reasons. :)
ENJOY!
Steve stared at Danny, who had remained silent through the whole ordeal. The Five-O leader simply couldn't take his eyes off the card hanging around his partner's neck. It taunted him, told him that his partner was going to be beaten to death while he watched, and he wanted to rip it away and tear it to pieces, put those pieces in the dirt, and burn them so he wouldn't even have to look at the shreds. "Danny . . . Danny, say something."
Blue eyes looked up and met hazel ones and all he saw was fear. "Danny . . . you're going to be okay."
The fear was touched with anger now. "It's not me I'm worried about, Steve!" Something clicked then and Danny finally started speaking. "Xander, he . . . he told me that if I didn't fight, he'd . . . he'd kill you. He'd shoot you before throwing me in the ring anyway. I can't let him do that, Steve. I have to co-operate."
"But Danny, these fighters are bigger than I am! They use every dirty trick in the book. I bet you that every single one of these fighters uses steroids." Steve said, concerned when his partner didn't react like he thought he would.
Instead, he smiled. "Then I guess I'll just have to depend on my experience and my raw talent."
Steve could've punched him. Once again, Danny was at peace with the results of whatever reckless action he was about to take as long as Steve got out of it. And he yells at me for being reckless. Takes one to know one.
The truck came to a stop then, and the back doors opened up, revealing two men waiting to drag them out. Danny and Steve didn't try to fight this time, going voluntarily into the sunlight. A compound was what greeted them. Steve could only guess, by the amount of time that had passed, that they were somewhere in the mountains, an old forgotten place that no one had bothered to check.
This compound was obviously a more permanent place of crime by the way that all the men responded to it. There were cars strewn about and lawn chairs in front of a gray slab building. Danny even noticed a grill in the corner. Everyone has to have a place to call home.
"Guys, are the handcuffs really necessary? These are our guests! This is a new fighter! He can't hurt his hands with handcuffs. He needs those later! Besides," Xander said, coming from, seemingly, out of nowhere and standing before the two detectives. His voice dropped dangerously low as he looked at Danny, a small smile playing across his lips as a look of simple cruelty came into his eyes for the first time. "I don't think we'll have any trouble in making these two do what we want."
Steve saw the fear flash in Danny's eyes for a moment before cold resolution settled in. The handcuffs were removed then and they were led deeper into the compound. It looked like something straight out of The Walking Dead. Rows of rooms lined the way in and they were finally exposed to the center of the building, which was an open space with a dirt floor. A tall, metal, fence circle sat in the center and Danny eyed it like it was the opponent. Steve unconsciously stepped closer to his partner as he looked at it, too, feeling vulnerable and like it, as well as the badge, were staring at him.
Xander came up from behind them and circled around, arms wide and enthusiastic. "This is your new office, Williams! It doesn't have the best view, but you'll never be bored. Follow me!"
He continued to lead them through until they were at, what seemed to be, the very back of the building. A green door with rusted edges opened before them into what looked like a simple locker room. Matching green lockers lined the walls and brown benches sat in the middle of each row of lockers. A sink and fridge sat off to one side as well as what looked like a fully stocked first-aid cabinet. That did not give Steve a warm and fuzzy feeling. "Welcome to your new home, gentlemen."
The tag was removed from around Danny's neck before they were roughly shoved into the room, the door slamming behind them as a locking mechanism sounded. Danny sat down as Steve paced, searching every single corner for a way out. He even tried the solidity of the door, ramming his shoulder against the metal a few times just for good measure.
"Damn. This door won't budge," he said, looking it up and down. After receiving no response, he turned around and frowned at Danny simply sitting on the bench.
"Danny, what are you doing? Don't you want a way out!? We need to get out of here or their going to force you to fight." Steve felt bad when he realized that he was letting his frustration out at his partner and softened when he saw Danny wince at his last statement. "Danny? Hey, buddy. Come on, babe. Talk to me."
Danny shook his head, placing his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Silence was his only response.
Steve chuckled. "I don't know what's freakier, that psycho out there or your silence in here."
Danny chuffed and then looked up, revealing frightened blue eyes to his partner. This kind of fright was different from the previous one. Sure, the previous one was still there, gnawing away at the edges, but this one was new. "I'm scared, Steve. I'm really scared. I wanna see Grace again. And as far as it goes about them forcing me to fight, they've already done that. If I don't fight, you die." He looked up at his partner and smiled a sad, haunted smile. "I can't let that happen. If it means taking a few punches, I can do that, but I am going to do everything in my power to keep you alive."
Steve knelt down in front of his partner, ensconcing Danny's trembling hands in his own. "The road runs both ways, buddy. I don't know how I'm simply going to stand there, on the sidelines, and watch the ever living crap get beaten out of you."
"Give me some credit, Steve."
"It's not your fighting I doubt. It's their honor. These are going to be brutal fights, Danny. I don't know if I can just stand there and watch you."
"I'm sorry to say this, babe," Danny began, looking up into the face of the man he trusted with his life every single day. The man that he would, and was going to, do everything in his power to keep safe. When he had first moved to Hawaii, he had nothing except his occasional visits with his daughter. Steve had given him a purpose, a family, a home. He could never return that favor, and a simple thank you wasn't enough. It wasn't that he wanted to go into that ring and possibly die. He loved his daughter and the thought of losing her was unimaginable. But, if he didn't fight, they would kill Steve and then they would kill him. Grace would have no one. At least this way, Steve could be there to walk Grace down the aisle. "I need you there. I can't do it without you. I need you there for me. Please."
Steve looked at his partner, feeling like he was the one sentenced to fight. His every instinct was to protect the Jersey native, and, yet, here he was, letting him go into that sick fight ring. "Danny . . ." He was about to come back with something when everything suddenly fell into place. If he couldn't go instead of Danny, then he sure as hell wasn't going to leave him alone to fight. He would be there, to cheer him on, to warn him, or, if need be, to hold his hand if the unthinkable happened. "Okay. I'll be there. But if you start fighting dumb, I'm gonna let you know."
They shared a smile, fondness showing in both of their faces as they made a silent and invisible pact. The pact had always been there, but now it had been practically said. "Thanks, babe. This is why I love you."
"Because I let you go into danger?" Steve asked, the smile never leaving his face.
"No, because you always go with me."
Steve's eyes creased with a smile, loving who his partner was and thanking God that he had him. But the moment had to end, and Steve did that when he checked his watch, seeing that it was 7 o'clock. They'd been talking for the better part of an hour and the ride over had taken at least that. Now, the sun was getting ready to set and that meant that the fight was drawing closer. Danny knew this too and neither of them was surprised when the door opened and a burly man with a gun stepped through.
"It's time to fight, small-fry."
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