A/N: A huge thank you to everyone who has left a review. It's lovely to hear that people are liking this so far, and I hope to continue to hear from you as well as those who have not yet reviewed. Next chap will be up in a couple of days :)
2.
The journey to Hawaii is alright. Bearable. Matty holds onto Olivia, and Danny holds onto Lucy, both of the girls doing the best they can to help with the transportation of luggage. In the end, they carry the backpacks while Danny and Matty struggle along with two suitcases each, keeping an eye out in order that they try not to lose anyone as they go.
The flight is a good fifteen hours or so if you include the stop along the way. Danny looks to the tickets as they walk out into the airport at San Francisco, letting out a sigh of relief as he realizes that, thank God, the flight numbers on their two sets of tickets are the same. It saves them having to collect and re-check their baggage, both of which they could really do without right now.
Danny's age has just about meant that with the airline already short staffed, they've been able to duck the insistence of a babysitter for the journey, told simply to ask if they need help at any time. Which they don't.
Danny still hasn't even talked to this guy they're supposed to be living with yet, but he's been advised to check in at some point, and the stop in San Francisco seems as good a time as any.
"Matty," he pulls a ten-dollar bill out of his pocket and hands it over. "Try and find a bottle of water and something to eat, okay. I'll meet you at gate four in a bit, I'm gonna call Jake Murray." Matty nods and tugs at Olivia's hand, and Lucy - still refusing to let more than a couple of feet come between them - takes hold of Danny's hand and goes with him.
They head for a pay phone, and Danny's really fucking glad that he had the good sense to search the house for cash before they left. He's got a good wad of bills in his pocket and a fair bit more in the case, some of which had come from the social worker.
Danny loads the machine with some change, picks up the phone and dials the number he's been given, relieved when the phone is answered on the third ring. "Mr. Murray? It's Danny Williams."
"Oh, Danny! Hi, hello. How are you? Reached San Fran yet?"
"Yes, sir. Just touched down, waiting for the connection. I'm at a payphone so I can't talk for long, but we were told to check in with you at some point."
"Yeah, of course. No problem. We'll talk some more when you get here, but I'll be waiting at arrivals for you." Danny listens to the gentle hum on the other end of the line. "Uhh, I'll wear something conspicuous. Oh, I know, look for the tall guy in the grey overalls, okay?"
Danny smiles, the guy sounds nice enough. He's gonna assume the overalls are something to do with his occupation rather than a deteriorating mental state. He's pretty sure that would have caused some problems with social services. The guy can only be forty, the same age as his mother was. "Okay, great. Thanks very much."
"Look forward to seeing you." Danny hangs up the phone and lifts Lucy - who's been tugging at his shirt - into his arms.
"Lucy, babe. You don't need to hold on quite so tight, alright? I'm not going anywhere, and you're gonna have to start first grade at a new school soon. I won't be able to stay with you." Lucy scowls like she thinks it's the stupidest thing in the entire world, and they head off to find Matty and Livvy again.
The second leg of the journey is better than the first. They're in less of a rush to board the plane in time with luggage already sorted, and all four of them refuse the offer of food because they'd whole-heartedly regretted it during the last flight about four seconds after the sickness had settled in.
Only Danny has ever flown before though, so it's still down to him to calm the others and do his best to keep calm himself. It may be one of the statistically safest modes of transport, but it certainly doesn't feel like it when you hit a bout of turbulence.
They touch down on time after hours of uncomfortable confinement and wait patiently for baggage in the busy terminal. Olivia pitches in and goes to grab a luggage cart, and they get three of the cases just about balanced by the time the last bag comes through on the carousel. Olivia walks alongside Matty, who pushes it in silence, and Danny holds the other as well as Lucy's hand, and admittedly, something seems to have changed.
With their arrival in what feels like a new country, the silence has turned from loaded to something more comfortable. The sadness is still there, and Danny can see in her eyes that Olivia is suffering more than she'll admit, but they're all looking more like their usual selves.
They turn the corner, and though Jake probably doesn't have any idea of who he's looking for, a group of four sullen kids is pretty hard to miss. As is a man waving from the barrier, clad in the aforementioned jumpsuit and a pair of combat boots.
None of them have ever been particularly good at meeting new people, and Danny would claim to be the worst, considering he manages to find something to hate in just about every person he meets. The other three stand, silent and tense, at his side as they approach though, and Danny drops his suitcase to the floor in order to reach out with his right arm.
"Mr. Murray? Hi, I'm Danny." The man - probably a little under six foot - shakes his hand and looks at him with something Danny thinks he must be mistaken in identifying as respect, because if the three kids he's been looking after next to him are anything to go by, he doesn't deserve an ounce of it.
"Please, call me Jake. Nice to meet you all." He lifts a hand to point to the others. "You must be Matty, Olivia, and little Lucy." They each nod a greeting as he points them out, and then picks up the bag from Danny's feet. The simple fact that he's just called Matt Matty goes some way to easing Danny's nerves. It's a family nickname more than anything, and Jake must have talked to their mother about them if he's picked up the familiar touch this quickly.
Danny pushes the cart, pained to find as they walk out to the parking lot that the damn island is hotter outside than in. Reluctantly, he shrugs out of a leather jacket and throws it on the luggage cart atop the suitcases. They follow Jake as he leads the way to the car, which turns out to be a truck.
Matty and Danny help to secure the bags in the bay while Livvy and Lucy climb onto the backseat, and the three of them join them in the cab a couple of minutes later, Jake seemingly sensing the fatigue. It's only eight o'clock in Hawaii, but that makes it two AM in Jersey and the day of travel is fast catching up with them. Lucy is beginning to doze against Matty's arm.
Jake begins to talk in a hushed voice. "So, was the flight okay, Danny?"
"Yeah, thanks. Not too bad." A silence settles over them for a minute, and Danny figures he should probably ask while he still has the excuse. "So, you knew Ma from high school?"
He nods with a reminiscent smile. "Oh yeah, we were best friends back in the day. We didn't speak as much as we'd have liked after I moved out here, but I loved her a lot."
Danny's not sure whether there's the hint of something else there, that maybe their mother had shared more than just friendship with the guy, but Jake says nothing, and Danny doesn't ask.
The car ride is no more than ten minutes, and the house is big, bigger than the place at home. "Wow," Danny says as they get out, and Lucy looks up, a little bit in awe, lack of energy preventing anything more outrageous.
Between the five of them, they get the cases upstairs and onto the landing. "Okay kids, I've got four free rooms in this place, so unless any of you have the desire to share, you can fight amongst yourselves."
Lucy takes the smallest room because she says it's cosy, Danny takes the one next door because it overlooks the front of the house rather than the beach at the back, Matty takes the one opposite with the argument that the biggest person should have the biggest room, and Olivia seems content enough with the room that backs onto the beach, happy to have the sound of the waves lull her to sleep.
No one's really in the mood to chat, and they all turn in for the night almost immediately, Danny offering a thanks on behalf of all of them as he slips into the bedroom.
H
5
0
Danny opens his eyes to check the clock on the nightstand - eight o'clock - already fully expecting the glaring light shining through the glass of the window whose curtains he hadn't had the energy to shut last night.
He takes a better look at the bedroom for the first time in the light, and it's obvious, even from the faint smell of paint fumes, that Jake - the man is too kind - has repainted all of the rooms in preparation for their arrival. His has three off-white walls and one solid blue, furniture all relatively new and the bed as comfy as the one back home.
He listens in silence for the sound of voices, and then Lucy's laughter travels up the stairs, followed by Matty's shout.
Danny gets out of bed and lazily pulls on a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, making his way down the stairs bare foot as he navigates his way to the kitchen.
The situation has apparently moved on since yesterday and Olivia - though arguably too old for it - sits in Matty's lap, Lucy seemingly leaning over the table in what must be an absolutely abysmal attempt to help Mr- Jake, with the morning crossword.
"You could have woken me," Danny says, rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes as he does.
Jake swipes a hand through the air as he brushes Danny's concerns away. "Danny, you've been taking care of all four of you for, what? Two weeks now? We all agreed you could do with the rest."
Lucy beams up at Jake for a moment before he just smiles at her in amusement. "Can I get you some breakfast?"
Danny shakes his head. "Uh, no, this is fine," he says, picking up whatever sugary sweet cereal Lucy has chosen from the bunch on the counter.
Danny pours it into Lucy's used bowl and looks around the table at the faces of each of his siblings. They all look well rested today, happier and more cheerful. Jake catches his gaze as he looks away from Olivia, and Danny's eyes flash away as he realizes it's that same look of respect, probably something to do with his mother's rose-tinted glasses.
Jake clears his throat and folds away the newspaper, face all business but for the open smile he's still wearing. "Okay, listen up. I've enrolled you lot into school already. We can make changes if we need to but Danny and Matty, you guys will be at Kukui High. At the moment Danny's down for Physics, Calc, English Lit, and AP History; Matty you've got Calc, Geography, Economics and French. You guys will have to make your own way to school I'm afraid, but it's only a fifteen minute walk and you'll find people to give you a lift around here no problem."
He pauses for breath and points to Olivia and Lucy. "Livvy," - it's a good sign that he's calling her that, Danny thinks - "you're booked into Kalakaua Middle School, having elected to take some advanced Math and Spanish as your language. And Lucy, you my darling will be at Kahala Elementary, where, no doubt, you will have a bundle of fun." Danny appreciates the enthusiasm; Lucy's first day of school is going to be hard enough as it is.
"Girls, I open shop at nine, so I can drop you off on my way. Olivia, Kalakaua ends at half past three so I've booked Lucy into the after school club at Kahala where she can hang around for an hour or so. So if Olivia could pick Lucy up and you guys walk back alone, that would be great. The evenings won't get dark nearly as early as they do in Jersey, and the route back is busy and safe. Kahala and Kalakaua are only a few minutes apart, I'll show you in the morning. I should be back by six every night, so I'll get dinner."
"I'll introduce all of you to the McGarrett kids sometime soon as well. Pretty sure the girl is in Livvy's year so you two could walk back with her. If we get around to it then I think John's partner has a cousin around the same age as Lucy, then there's Steve who's the same age as Danny - that's the McGarrett boy - and Matty, if I'm not mistaken, Steve also hangs around with a younger football player, your age or the year below."
All four of them just stare back at him with something between absolute bewilderment and affection for the man that seems intent on making sure that every one of them knows somebody on their first day.
Jake swipes a hand through the air. "Don't worry about it; we'll get around to it." Danny is seriously starting to like this guy.
"Thanks, for everything," Matty says, and the other three just nod, a little overwhelmed by all of this.
"No problem. It's Saturday, so I have the day off today. I was thinking we should probably go shopping, make sure you guys have everything you need. I have a list of books that you boys need, but only Lucy has to wear a uniform, so we can get that taken care of easy enough."
Danny takes this one. "Yeah, that sounds good. I have some money from back at the house tha-"
Jake cuts them off, shaking his head. "Not a chance. It's no problem, honestly. I'll just be glad to get you all settled in here. The house has been way too quiet since my sister moved off the island."
Danny wants to force the money on him, but there's a line between being polite and being rude, and he thinks that probably crosses it. "We'll leave in a couple of hours. I just have to go out for a bit to take a look at someone's pool, so I'll leave you kids to unpack and take a proper look around the place. Feel free to go outside and sit on the beach, though I'd rather the girls weren't out there alone."
"Thank you," Lucy says with a shy smile, and though she's admittedly the most timid of all four of them, once she feels comfortable with someone - which Jake is making easy - she's okay. She reaches out to pat his hand, and he smiles and gives her a playful tweak of the nose to which she giggles, the door to the house shutting just a couple of minutes later.
All four of them are still sat at the table, watching Danny eat as he drains the last of the milk from the bowl. "Okay, so what does everyone think?"
"He seems nice," Olivia offers, and Lucy gives a fierce nod of agreement. Matty's still smiling, which speaks volumes.
"Yeah, he does," Danny concurs. "We're gonna be fine here. But please people," - he's looking at Olivia as he says it, because he knows what she can be like, however much he may love her - "let's try and make some friends. I know none of us really got close to anyone back home, but it's gonna be easier if we know some people, so, brave faces and all that."
Pep talk over, Danny gets up and rinses out his bowl, leaving it to dry on the draining board. "You heard Jake. I already unpacked some stuff last night, so I'll help Lucy out." She beams at him, and Danny lifts her high off the chair as they make the walk upstairs.
He starts out in her room, notices in the light that her room is decorated similarly to his, his wall of blue replaced by her wall of lilac. No wonder she chose this one. He runs through the mundane task of piling clothes into the wardrobe/drawers while she deals with replenishing the room with drawings she's brought from back home.
Danny stuffs the bag underneath her bed and enlists Lucy to help finish unpacking in his own room, and then they both wander downstairs to find Matty and Olivia out on the beach. They're paddling close to shore, and Danny realizes with regret that he's gonna have to teach Lucy to swim sometime soon. Matty doesn't have the patience for it, and Danny is sure it won't be long before she's pestering them about it.
She splashes around with Olivia close to shore though, and Danny keeps a close eye and stays well away, never having been particularly fond of the water. He's content to lie back and soak up the sun. His complexion isn't as dark as the island natives, but it's dark enough that he doesn't really burn, so he remains put with the hope of building his tan a little, allowing him to look less like the new kid on his first day of school.
Brave-faced though he may be - or trying to be - Danny is just as nervous as the others about fitting in here. It's not that he particularly cares what others think of him - unless we're talking about Matty, Olivia, or Lucy - but blending in with the crowds, maybe making a couple of friends, would certainly make life here easier.
As promised, two hours before lunch, Jake calls them in, herds the four of them towards the truck after Danny asks one last time if he's sure he can't give him any money.
The truck roars to life in an instant, and they drive straight to what Jake describes as 'the closest to a shopping mall that you'll get on the island.'
"Lucy, you okay for me to send your brothers off to get some books while we get your school dress sorted out?" She gives a tentative nod, and Jake smiles, clearly having noticed her tendency never to leave Danny's side.
He takes the list and some money from Jake with a thanks and lets go of Lucy's hand as he and Matty walk across the way to a book shop. They give up looking after just a few minutes, instead handing the list to the woman behind the counter. She sorts them out without any problems, instructing them to "have a nice day" as they leave the shop, wind chime tinkling as they do.
The shopping centre here is relatively big, perhaps bigger than Jake would have you believe, but with all of them used to the malls of Jersey and New York, it is a little on the small side, comparatively speaking. Navigating their way back to the uniform shop that the others had been seeking out doesn't take long, and the place is quiet once they get there.
Lucy is just walking out of the changing room with what sounds like the second size she's tried when they walk through to the back of the shop. "You get all of them?" Jake asks.
"Yeah, thanks." Danny hands the rest of the money back to Jake along with as much of their own as he thinks he can get away with, and turns to Lucy with a smile.
"Luce, babe, that looks great." She smiles, looking down at herself in the white and purple checked dress. They add a purple cardigan to the purchase before walking out in the direction of a department store that's been newly built to keep up with the increasing amount of tourism.
Olivia's eyes are drawn to their left as they walk in, and Jake's gaze follows her as he leans into Danny and Matty with a lowered voice. "She a skateboarder?"
Danny nods. Her board had been one of the few things they'd had to leave behind back home. "Yeah, she loves it. Damn good too," Matty says, watching Olivia who's still quietly distracted.
Danny can already see Jake eyeing her curiously, and he knows exactly what he's thinking. "No, Jake. Seriously, this is too much. You can't buy her a skateboard…" He trails off.
Jake turns to look at him properly. "Danny, I told you. I've had an inheritance, I'm mortgage free, never going to have any kids of my own," - Danny stops himself asking further questions about that; none of his business. "You all will be here a few years, and I've got the money. Besides, I'm not gonna be able to entertain you guys all day, and she's been quiet so far." Danny doesn't say anything, but he's pretty sure the face he gives is one of resignation, because Jake moves in Olivia's direction. "Take a look around the place and we'll catch you up in a minute."
Two sets of textbooks, one school uniform, one skateboard, four pairs of sunglasses and a few other things later, they head back home.
Olivia turns around as soon as they get through the door, throwing herself at Jake and hugging him for a few seconds. Danny watches, smiling when Jake wraps his arms around her. "You're welcome, Livvy."
She says thank you again, and Danny tries to offer Jake money…again, and then their purchases are dropped off in their rooms before lunch.
Danny lowers his voice and talks to Matty when Jake is distracted by the girls. "Thanks for helping keep the costs down this morning. Pretty sure this new climate is gonna require some new clothes though, so do you wanna go back this afternoon, take care of it." Matty nods, straight faced, as Jake glances at him before they're called back into the conversation.
H
5
0
"We're just gonna head out for a bit if that's alright, we won't be more than a couple of hours." It's four when Danny heads out onto the balcony slash deck - lanai, Jake has helpfully advised him - calling to Jake who is sitting on the beach making sandcastles with Lucy.
"Yeah, take a look around town for a while. You need any money?"
"Nah, we're alright. Thanks." Even from a hundred yards away, the look on Jake's face tells Danny that the man knows exactly what they're up to. He and Matty grab their new sunglasses though, and make for the front door.
In the sweltering heat, the walk to the same mall as this morning takes them half an hour, but they make the journey happily, chatting away as they walk. He and Matty split up when they get through the door of the department store, and they don't meet until three quarters of an hour later, bumping into each other outside of the changing rooms.
"You ready?" Danny asks. They take a look at each other's choices and discard a couple of things they disagree on before paying and walking out the door.
They've kept it even, each picking up a couple of pairs of denim shorts at varying lengths, a couple of tank tops, one pair of flip-flops - Danny refuses to call them 'slippahs' , whatever the label may say - and one pair of board shorts which Danny only takes figuring he'll probably have to wear them at some point.
They've also got a pair of shorts each for the girls, purposefully bought a little big with room for growth.
Living up to Danny's suspicions, Jake is waiting for them in the living room when they get back shortly before six PM, glaring at them in something not even remotely hostile. "Sorry we're late," Danny offers, in a vain attempt to detract attention from the bags they're holding.
"Don't even try it boys," Jake says, and he looks vaguely amused by their attempts to keep their shopping from him.
He pulls a wallet from his back pocket. "Look, at least let me pay half. If you needed stuff, you could have said. I get money for looking after you for exactly this kind of thing."
Matty looks to Danny and he just shrugs. Danny winces, because they've spent a lot. "Uhh, one fifty. Something like that." It was closer to two hundred, but Danny's using some convoluted method of rounding, he reasons.
Jake peels off a few bills as he walks over, putting them into Danny's hand as he walks into the kitchen. "Dinner's in half an hour boys."
H
5
0
By eight o'clock, Lucy is fast asleep, Olivia is upstairs still getting her room organized, Matty is out on the lanai reading a French textbook in an effort to polish up his skills for term time, and Danny is sitting with Jake, eyes on the TV, knees bouncing up and down because he's feeling the need to hit something. It's not anything to do with moving to Hawaii, just a natural urge that comes over him every now and then, made worse now by the lack of sports.
Danny's still watching the screen when it goes blank without warning, and he turns to see that he's been distracted enough to have attracted Jake's attention and not have noticed. "Go get changed, we're going for a run."
Danny doesn't even question it. He needs the exercise badly, and so he meets Jake at the bottom of the stairs five minutes later, having a good look at him for the first time without anyone else around. Jake has the body of a teenaged athlete that's padded out a bit since. By no stretch of the imagination is he fat, and he still looks fit, but the muscles are less defined than they probably used to be, his almost six foot stature still giving him presence.
"Hey, Matty, Danny and I are going out for bit. Hold down the fort for an hour."
"Sure."
They make the journey to wherever it is that they're going at a light jog, silence the whole way. The sign that they pass reads Honolulu Athletic Track and Jake gives a simple nod to the security guard as they wander on through. The place is absolutely deserted despite the sign indicating that it's open twenty-four hours a day, and it consists of a large, unmarked sports field surrounded by a running track, the occasional stand of seats dotted at varying points around the course. A building marked 'refreshments,' stands to the side, water fountain attached to the side of the building.
Jake notices Danny looking around. "It's a lot busier during the day, but any time after six and it's virtually deserted. Most kids come down straight from school."
They run a couple of laps together, before Jake peels off. "Keep going, kid. You don't need me slowing you down." Following that, Danny steps up the pace. Unable to keep himself to a jog anymore, he runs the circuit a few times at full tilt, slowing to a jog when he gets dangerously close to hyperventilating.
His eyes don't stray from the track, and he pushes forwards with each stride, thankful that he's running on rubber with some give rather than asphalt, because his knee would be absolutely fucked if he weren't. The ACL which Danny had torn a year and a half ago still gives him some problems, but with some care it's nothing detrimental.
So he keeps going, feeling only a slight twinge every now and then, walking in to the bench Jake is sitting at half an hour later, chest heaving as his breathing slowly begins to return to normal.
Danny tries to ignore the impressed glance Jake is giving him, but he takes the bottle of water offered, taking a few long sips before he leans back. They're silent for a few minutes before Jake turns to him. "Danny, I'm too old for this, I can't keep up with you. But listen, I'll introduce you to someone who can tomorrow, that Steve kid I was talking about. He's an awesome football player, best Kukui has ever seen, and I'd say you match each other on fitness…" Danny gives a nod, prays to God that the guy isn't as arrogant as the stereotype would suggest. "Look, I can see you need this, need the exertion. So just don't let it get like this, to the point you can barely stop moving."
Danny nods, turns with a smile as he rubs the sweat from his forehead. Hawaii is far too humid for his liking. "Thanks, Jake. I'll try not to."
Danny gets up, his full intention being to make the walk back to the house, but Jake catches his hand as he does, and Danny turns to find the man running a calloused thumb over Danny's knuckle, where there's still bruising and scabbing from his last run-in with a heavy bag, his recent aversion to wearing gloves or any kind of protection strikingly obvious, and in hindsight, foolish.
"I noticed these yesterday," Jake murmurs, no accusation in his tone. Danny pulls his hand away. "First I assumed you were a rough kid, but I can see you try not to be." He narrows his eyes as he meets Danny's gaze and gets up to start walking with him. "You do boxing back home or something? You look like a boxer." Danny knows he's referring to the typical physique, and he nods as he runs a hand through his sweaty head of hair.
"Yeah, I got into it just before Dad died."
Jake just smiles as Danny looks back to him. "In which case, I've got something else to show you tomorrow."
H
5
0
Danny wakes last, again, this time by a smiling Lucy bundling into the bed, gushing about Jake's pancakes and reminding him that it's only a few days until his birthday. Honestly, he'd forgotten about it, but he grins with her all the same, because it's nice to see Lucy get excited to balance out those moments he finds her upset or blank.
Matty spends the majority of the morning at the front of the house with Olivia, reading a book as she gets to grips with her new skateboard while Danny looks over the schedule for his school year. Physics is almost certainly going to be a struggle again, so he opens a book in front of him as he keeps an eye on Lucy who's playing on the beach, attempting to revise a whole year of work in a few hours so that he's not completely out of his depth by the time it gets to their first day.
Jake is in and out of the house all morning and he whisks Lucy away with him for an hour or so before lunch, turning to Danny once they're finally sat down.
"Danny, I'm gonna go out for a bit. I'll be round at the McGarrett's place, not too long. But with a bit of luck I'll catch Steve, bring him back so that I can show you what I was talking about yesterday."
He leaves shortly after, and Lucy - bless her - does her very best to help Danny with the washing up, which comprises of somehow getting more of the water on her than on the dishes, while Olivia and Matty go swimming out back. A heavy shower forces them inside an hour or so later though, and Jake catches Danny on his way to the living room.
"Come with me."
Danny follows him into the garage - the only room of the house he's yet to visit - and is pointed over to the heavy bag hanging in the middle of the room, mats covering the floor beneath them. Jake's preference to use the driveway for the car means that the room is mostly empty, and he chucks a pair of lightweight training gloves and stands behind the bag, holding it still as he gestures for Danny to get going. "Steve was out, but I told his mom to send him over when he gets back. She said he wouldn't be long."
Danny hesitates for a moment, eyes narrowed before he falls into it effortlessly, and taking out the recurring frustration of the best part of a year as he pounds into the bag with as much force as possible. His footwork is light, his movements nimble, and he can feel the good it's doing him to finally be able to hit something again.
He zones out for a while, and a glance to the clock says that he's been at it for twenty minutes before he hears a sound behind him. Jake's face breaks into a smile, and Danny turns to follow his gaze as a boy walks in through the door that leads directly to the front of the house.
"Steve," Jake says, "good to see you, son." Danny can't help the way his head drops a little as he takes in the sight, because shit, he thought he had gotten over this. Danny averts his gaze, mindful of the fact that this isn't the first time he's found a guy attractive, though he's pretty sure there isn't a person on the entire planet who wouldn't find 'Steve' attractive.
Danny's not surprised at Jake's earlier claim that the guy is the best football player to have graced the biggest high school on the island. He looks like a mainlander, though he's got a healthy tan. Steve is tall - probably closing in on six foot already - and lean, giving him an air of athleticism to rival even the professionals. Remembering Jake's suggestion that this guy is in the same year as Danny - which would probably make him sixteen unless he has a birthday as late as Danny's - Danny thinks he looks a little older than his years, though he's been told the same.
The presence of stubble is just about the only thing they have in common though, because where Danny is short, this guy is tall; where Danny is bulky, Steve is muscled but lean; where Danny's hair is blond, Steve's is dark. The guy is dressed casual in sweatpants and a t-shirt, yet Danny is pretty sure he's never felt physical attraction quite like this. He's going to make the manful effort to try and attribute it to attraction feeling different with the different genders, but…shit.
Steve steps forward with confidence, allowing Jake to initiate introductions as he holds out a hand for Danny, dropping it when the blond holds up the gloved hand with an apologetic smile.
"Danny, this is Steve McGarrett, he lives just down the road. Steve, Danny Williams, the eldest of the kids staying with me." Danny has no idea whatsoever how much this kid knows about him, how much Jake's friends know beyond the new presence of four kids. "I'll leave you boys to it then." With that and a final smile, Jake walks out of the room, calling Olivia's name as he goes.
"Nice to meet you."
Really, Danny should offer some kind of polite response to that, but the guy blindsides him by pulling off his t-shirt, leaving him in nothing but a white tank top which really isn't helping the situation in Danny's shorts. "Yeah, you too. Look, you mind if we get going quick. I'm kind of pumped."
Steve gives him an odd look, whether a reaction to Danny's bad manners or the lovesick stare Danny must be giving off right now, Danny's not sure. He answers after a couple of seconds. "Yeah, you up for sparring, or do you want to stick to the bag?"
"Spar sounds good." Steve must have been here before, because he walks past Danny, chucks some headgear over as he pulls on his own set of gloves.
They get moving quickly, and Danny knows as soon as he lands the first punch that this is going to help him more than anything else. Steve is good. By a non-verbal mutual agreement, the fighting doesn't get too heavy, but they match each other hit for hit. Danny just about has a footwork advantage, probably due to baseball and practice more than anything, but they equal each other in strength, Steve's height sometimes giving him the slight advantage.
Danny keeps his eyes objective as far as possible, avoiding Steve's gaze and aborting any lingering glances in order to maintain his game, because apparently his body doesn't give a damn that Danny hasn't even had a conversation with the guy yet. For all Danny knows, Steve McGarrett could be an arrogant jackass, so caught up in his status as 'the best football player Kukui has ever seen' that he's here for nothing more than to show off his physical prowess. If that's the case, then he's failed. Because though Danny is far from arrogant, he's not an idiot, and he knows that he's giving as good as he gets.
Danny lifts his hands, giving the signal to stop after half an hour of non-stop sparring, pulling off the boxing gear as he grabs the bottle of water that Jake had no doubt snuck in to drop off at some point in the last thirty minutes.
He chucks the bottle to Steve as he drops to the mat against the wall, leaning back and stretching his arms out in front of him as he looks up. They're both now clad in material that is entirely soaked through with sweat, and Steve is wearing a ridiculously charming grin as he sits down opposite Danny, apparently not having held a grudge from Danny's impolite conversation from before.
"You wanna talk about it?" he says, the smile turning into a smirk as he gives Danny the once over.
"Huh?" And for that Danny doesn't even have the excuse of bad manners, because that was simply him getting caught checking the guy out.
"You seem a little…wound up. You wanna talk about it?" Danny notices the change in tone this time, making the question a more genuine one. And yeah, maybe he has been working himself a little hard this past couple of days.
"Oh, right, no, thanks." Danny waves one hand through the air and runs the other over his hair before wiping his sweaty face against the equally sweaty t-shirt. "Just the last…well, year or so. I'm fine."
Steve looks unconvinced, but he nods anyway, and Danny is aware of the second appraising look of the day.
It's stuffy inside, and even Danny is willing to admit that a spot on the beach might be better than this. "You wanna go out back?"
Steve gets to his feet in response, and Danny winces at a slight twinge in his leg as he gets to his feet, a reminder that maybe he had been a little too vigorous in his exercise last night, especially if he'd been planning on doing this today. He intends to ignore it, but as soon as he walks he realizes it's not going away, so receiving only a curious look from Steve as he does, Danny searches through the freezer before his hand emerges with an ice bag.
"You alright?" Steve asks, and Danny just waves away the concern and grabs a tea towel before they continue out to the area of private beach.
They sit on a patch of grass beneath a palm tree - Danny's choice because he doesn't want the sand sticking to him all over, and with the amount he's sweating that's a sure thing.
Danny eases himself down slowly, and Steve is still staring at his knee as he joins him down there. Danny wraps the ice and presses it to his knee, wincing at the contrast of the cold against his hot skin. "Tore my ACL eighteen months ago, but it's fine now. I've just been…over-exerting myself the last couple of days." Danny cringes at the innuendo his mind conjures up there, but if Steve notices, well, then he doesn't say anything.
It's three o'clock and the sun is shining bright against the ocean, testament to what Danny thinks must be a schizophrenic climate here in Hawaii. "So how long have you been here? You like it?"
Danny shrugs, studiously avoiding Steve's face again because it's all he can do not to blush right now. "Only a couple of days. Do I like it? I like Jake, he's great. Not a massive fan of the weather, but yeah, it's okay."
"Better than Jersey?"
"Not a chance in hell." Steve gives him a look as though deciding whether to have him committed to a psychiatric ward, or just laugh, and Danny makes the mistake of looking back to his face. The guy looks something between constipated and amused by Danny's attitude. "Jersey's nice. You know, it's got big buildings, roads with asphalt…"
"We have asphalt-" Steve says, and Danny gives him a look which shuts him right up because that is so not the point.
Lucy comes running up just a couple of seconds later, ruffling a hand in Danny's hair before recoiling with a face of disgust at the sweat coating it. "Sorry, Luce, been getting back to some boxing." Lucy's hiding behind the tree now, and Danny reaches out to grab her hand, gently tugging until she comes in to view. "C'mere, babe, come meet Steve."
Steve smiles, reaches out a hand that he offers in a fist bump. On Danny's nod, she reaches out tentatively, bumping her tiny fist with Steve's before running back in the direction of the house. "Sorry, she's shy."
"Yeah, my sister used to be just as bad." He shakes his head with a laugh, and Danny bites his lip to stop himself from smiling stupidly at just that sound. "Not anymore though." They're silent for a few seconds, and Steve breaks it before it runs into something awkward. "So, is boxing your sport, or do you play something else? You're pretty damn good."
Danny turns the ice and exposes his leg to a colder patch of the cool. "Uh, no. Baseball's my sport, that's how I did the knee."
"Position?"
"Shortstop."
Steve opens his mouth to make the joke, but either the ease of it or Danny's face puts him off, because he shuts his mouth with a pop. "So you're going to Kukui for the new year? What subjects are you taking?"
"Yeah, me and Matty are enrolled at Kukui. I'm doing Physics, Calculus, History and AP English. You?" And Danny finds with a smirk that he's asking out of genuine curiosity rather than social etiquette. Shit, I'm screwed.
"I'll be with you for Physics and Calc, and I got Chemistry and Chinese."
"Chinese?"
Steve shrugs, and he runs through some more stuff about the school for the next half an hour or so before getting up. "I need to get back, but it was nice meeting you."
"Yeah, you too." Too nice. "I'll walk you out." Steve takes one look at his knee and offers him a hand up. Danny takes it only because he knows that if he doesn't, he'll probably end up flat on his ass.
He's relieved to find as he walks that it hasn't worsened, so he can walk fine. As they walk up onto the lanai and through to the kitchen, Jake makes an appearance. He looks to Danny first. "Better?"
"Yeah, thanks. We should do it again."
"Yeah, I could use someone to work out with." Danny fights the blush as he hears yet another innuendo, and Steve fist bumps Jake as he picks up the discarded t-shirt from the back of the chair.
"Jake, Mom said we'll be serving any time after six-thirty tomorrow, but we've got people arriving from four so any time after that is cool."
"Okay, I'll close up shop early. We'll be around at five. Pass the message on, kid."
"Will do." With that, Steve leaves the house, and Jake turns to Danny with a smile.
"Barbeque at the McGarretts' tomorrow evening; a chance for the others to meet some people before school starts." His eyes travel to the ice pack still held in Danny's hand. "You okay?"
Danny swipes a hand through the air, moves to wash it off and put it back in the freezer. "Fine. Tore my ACL a while back, I should have put a support on it but it'll be okay by tomorrow.
"Okay, there's Motrin or Tylenol in the drawer if you need anyway. Take a bath; you look like you could use one."
H
5
0
Jake leaves early for work the next morning to make up for the fact that he'll be heading home early, and Danny wakes just before he leaves, knee feeling better if a little stiff after taking Jake's advice last night. He pulls on denim shorts and a t-shirt before making his way down to breakfast, and Lucy calls him in on his way to help her with her hair. Danny gets her sorted, sleek blond locks arranged into two long braids, framing her smiling face as he chases her down the stairs.
Danny and Olivia wander into town before lunch to take a look around, largely because Olivia still looks like she could do with some convincing about their new home, but also because she's been quiet.
Olivia still hasn't said much regarding her opinion of the new living arrangements, or the island, or school. "You like it here?" Danny asks on the walk into town. Danny's just about got the route memorized from the two visits they've already made.
"Yeah."
"But…"
"Nothing. I do like it. I just don't want to forget about Ma and Dad, y'know."
Danny nods because he gets it. He slings an arm around her shoulder because he hasn't had much time alone with her since Lucy got clingy. "Yeah I know. I've got something back at the house that you might want; a locket." They're silent for a good few minutes more before Danny shoots her a smile. "You nervous about school?"
She nods, looking more vulnerable than Danny's seen her since they arrived on Oahu.
"Don't be, Livvy. You were popular back home. I know you didn't have many people you were close to, but that's only because you pushed them away. Just…be open to the new possibilities, 'kay? At least until you've found a couple of people you like." He grins. "Then you can chase away the rest of them."
He quizzes her on aspects of the island as they continue into Honolulu, and she's in higher spirits by the time they get there. They aren't here for any reason other than to take a look around, so they weave in and out of the minimal Monday morning crowds, visiting shops pretty much at random and picking up nothing more than a couple of drinks to keep hydrated.
When they get back to the house, Matty and Lucy have got lunch on the table, but Danny stalls and drags Livvy up the stairs with him, ducking to look inside the drawer of the nightstand. He pulls out a locket and holds it up to the light. It wasn't included in the will, and it's not of enough financial worth for anyone to have gone looking for it, but he takes Olivia's hand and drops it into her palm, gesturing for her to go ahead and open it up.
She smiles at the two photos opposite each other, both relatively recent. One is of their parents, just a couple of months before the fire that killed their father; on the other side is a picture of the four surviving members of the family, huddled together after a fun-filled afternoon in the back yard, all smiling and flushed from chasing each other after a game of tag still memorable to this day because of Matt's stumble which sent him face first into the pond.
True to his word, Jake gets back from work at half past four with a call to get ready. Danny changes into a fresh tank top and pulls on a pair of Chucky T's before ushering Lucy out the door, wrapping an arm around Olivia's back and giving her a quick squeeze and a smile as he notices the gold chain that peeks out from beneath her dungarees and t-shirt. She looks happier for having the locket, and Jake comes up behind them having locked up the house, cheerfully asking how their day was as they make the ten minute walk down the road.
Danny can feel the nerves of his siblings around him as Jake knocks on the door, and he takes Lucy's hand in his own as Matty notices and rests a hand on Olivia's shoulder.
The woman that opens the door to them is still calling back to someone inside the house, but she quickly envelopes Jake in a hug, smiling as she pulls away and lets Jake press a kiss to her cheek. Something about it seems intimate, but Danny isn't given more than a second to contemplate whether there's more to Jake than meets the eye before the woman is introducing herself.
"Hi kids, nice to meet you. I'm Doris McGarrett; Dory." She pauses for a moment to look at them all one by one, pointing as she mentions them. "You two must be Danny and Lucy from what Steve said last night. That leaves…Matthew and Olivia." Danny bites the inside of his mouth to suppress the smile which threatens to make an appearance at the thought of Steve mentioning him last night, pushing the idea away with the reasoning that his mother was bound to have asked after being dragged to Jake's place. And besides, what's to say he was even mentioning them in a conversation that was remotely positive?
"Matty and Livvy," Matty corrects with a reciprocated smile.
"Great. Come on in. You can go straight out to the back. You're the last to arrive - though John, my husband is still down at the station - but I'm sure Jake'll get to introducing you to everyone." Danny vaguely remembers some mention of John McGarrett working for the Honolulu Police Department, and he decides that he likes this woman, Doris McGarrett, with her open smile and bubbly personality. What he'll make of her husband, Danny has no idea.
Jake sporadically puts a hand on Danny's back, guiding them all through the house - which is fairly similar to his own place if a little smaller - out past the lanai and onto the grass where there's a barbeque and furniture setup. Almost everyone turns around to look at them, nearly all of them with smiles, and Steve gets up, greeting Danny with something between a hug and a high five before kneeling down to give another fist bump to Lucy.
"Hey."
The others have gone back to their conversations for the moment, taking eyes off them as Jake turns to Steve. "Hey, kid. You mind giving me a hand with the introductions?"
Steve nods, and Danny points to Lucy first, then Olivia and Matty. "Hi, you met Lucy last night, and these are Livvy and Matty, twelve and fourteen."
"Great, nice to meet you guys. Come on over, and Jake can introduce you to the group before you get acquainted with the rest of us."
Jake bumbles forwards and is met with an array of waves, Hawaiian phrases, and slaps on the back. The group isn't huge, only ten or so adults. Most of the names go in one ear and out the other, but Danny tries his best to remember the ones who are introduced as parents to the kids. There's a Hawaiian couple that he forgets immediately purely because they're names he can barely pronounce, and they're the parents of the boy in Matty's year. Then there's a guy called Chin that looks like he can only be a few of years out of high school and is apparently John McGarrett's partner, the cousin of the girl that will be at Kahala with Lucy.
Next comes a welcome reminder of Doris's name, and lastly an introduction to Malia who graduated last year, and by the proximity at which they're sitting, Danny would say she and Chin - the partner - are most definitely dating.
When they're done, Steve leads all four of them a little further down the beach to where there's a small group of kids, sat in a miniature circle. "Okay," - first he points to a small, skinny girl with blonde hair and a big smile with a husky voice as she finishes a conversation with the girl next to her - "that's my sister, Mary-Ann. She's going into seventh grade with Livvy." Mary-Ann smiles and the next person Steve points to is the girl next to her, a tanned island native, only a little bit taller than Lucy. "That's Chin's cousin Kono, and her friend, Charlie Fong. They'll be with Lucy at Kahala Elementary." Next he points to another islander with a short crop of black hair, big smile gracing his features. "And this is Meka. He'll be a freshman with Matty."
Steve goes on to introduce another kid, a Sophomore at Kukui, a guy called Kai who seems to be closest to the only unnamed kid finally introduced as another Sophomore, Greyson, who judging by the name and the face, is also a mainlander.
Danny nods to Matty as he steers both he and Olivia towards Mary-Ann, Kai, and Meka. Greyson drifts off to do his own thing, and Steve seems to sense that Danny would rather not leave Lucy alone yet, and waves the girl called Kono over to where he stands next to them.
Steve was right about his sister. Danny watches as she immediately engulfs a bewildered Olivia in a hug and gives her a wide, dimpled smile. Danny only hangs around for a couple of minutes with Lucy, and Kono has gotten Danny's little sister relaxed and chatty by the time Steve suggests leaving them to it.
"You wanna play some soccer?"
Danny leans down to whisper in Lucy's ear. "I'm just gonna go along the beach, leave you with Kono and Charlie, okay?"
He pulls away and she gives a nervous nod. "Call if you need anything, Luce."
Steve points to everyone else. "You guys want to play some beach soccer?"
They all nod, and Danny smiles at Olivia because besides skateboarding, this is her sport.
And so begins a soccer match, which starts out as an even battle, and ends an hour later with Danny, Steve and Olivia - the three best players - trying desperately to dodge out of the way of the others, keeping the ball from the other four as much as they possibly can whilst getting shoved to the floor and breaking almost every rule in the handbook.
Steve looks at Danny a little strangely every now and then, but the Jersey boy puts it down to gauging a first - second, really - impression of him as Danny works under the same pretence, eyes lingering again as he runs around in shorts and a tank top, laughing so hard that Danny worries his face will split in two if the smile gets any wider.
It's quarter to seven and the light it dimming when they're called up to where the adults sit. There isn't room for all of them, so the kids disperse after collecting plates of food. Lucy seems content enough to sit with Kono, away from Danny as Matty, Olivia, Meka and Mary-Ann sit close by, and Steve pulls Danny by the arm over to where the two sophomores, Greyson and Kai, sit.
"So, Steve. We finally got ourselves another haole, huh?"
Steve smiles and nods, taking a big bite of burger as he struggles to talk around it. "Yeah, somethin' like that." He chews for a few seconds, swallows, and looks back to Danny.
"Get used to it. It basically means mainlander, and you'll hear it a lot at Kukui. I've been here seven years, and I'm still getting it most days."
Danny nods, tucks into the chicken on his plate as he passively listens to the other three discuss going back to school. It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes of listening to the conversation for Danny to decide that he doesn't like Greyson - he can't even put his finger on why - but he keeps quiet, answering the odd question until he and Kai leave, having been given strict instructions from parents to get home after they've eaten.
Steve gets up to see them out, and then he's back by Danny's side, watching the ocean. "You wanna sit further down?" Danny really wants to say no, because he fucking hates the sand, but dammit, Steve's looking back at him through wide eyes framed by long eye lashes, and he just…can't.
"Yeah, sure."
Danny keeps watching the ocean for a bit, decides that whilst the idea of swimming in it may be preposterous to him, just having it close is okay, relaxing even. Steve must notice his gaze, though it's not the first topic he broaches. "Your knee alright after yesterday?"
"Hmm, oh yeah. Fine thanks; nothing a hot bath couldn't handle."
There's another few moments of silence before Steve turns to Danny with a curious smile. "You swim, Danny?"
Danny just laughs for a second and shifts in the spot where he sits. "Do I swim, he asks. Uhh, no. No, Steve, no I do not swim." He looks over to Steve, and the guy looks ridiculously attractive with that damn smirk of his.
"You don't swim, or you can't swim?"
That gets another laugh, this one humourless. "I can swim, Steven. I swim for survival, not for fun." Danny swipes a hand through the air to punctuate his point, an action that only serves to widen the grin on Steve's face.
"So…Not a fan then?"
Danny lets out a loud sigh. "No, not a fan."
"I think I might know why you get so angry, why you box, y'know."
"Really?"
He looks across to Steve again, and he can't even summon the energy to be truly irritated with the guy for not letting this one drop. "Yeah, you're very sensitive."
"I'm sensitive, huh?" It's not the first time it's been said. Doesn't mean Danny's happy about it though, and he can already feel the irrational rant coming over him.
"Yeah."
"You think I'm sensitive," he clarifies, like it isn't already obvious.
"A little bit."
And okay, maybe Danny was a little wrong on this front, it seems he can get irritated. Very irritated. Though he's still not convinced it's Steve that he's irritated with; the emotion is more accurately directed at the 'powers that be' that have, frankly, dealt him a pretty shitty hand this past year.
"When did you come to the conclusion that I was sensitive, huh? Was it when my dad was burned alive trying to protect people he didn't even know, or maybe when my mom suffered through three months of pain only to die at the end of it all. Is that when I seemed sensitive to you, huh?" The hand gestures are flying, but Danny can't help it. He should probably work on that…and these ridiculous outbursts that have him taking out his frustration on people who are entirely not to blame for the underlying feelings. "I am really happy that life is great for you, okay Steven? I'm glad that you have your annoyingly charming mom, and your cheerful little sister, and your brave old man, okay? But sometimes life deals us a shitty hand, something to differentiate us all from each other, alright? It's the unspoken glue that separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom, the relationships we can build with other human beings, you got that?"
Danny risks another look at Steve's face, and shit, he had not meant for all of that to come out. Steve splutters for a second or two before finally forming anything coherent, and Danny just buries his face in his hands until it comes. "Jeez, Danny I'm sorry."
"Don't." Danny forces his eyes away for a moment, because Steve's eyes - this guy he's known for all of a day - is looking at him with more honesty and sympathy than anyone they've come across since all of the tragedy, and it's so, so, so, wrong that Danny is still thinking of kissing him just to get rid of all of it.
"I didn't know- I mean, I didn't know details or-" So Jake had kept quiet on that front, not that Danny could have blamed him either way.
"Shit. I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I mean, man, I'm sorry."
They're silent for almost a minute, and Danny runs a hand through his hair, silently wondering whether he may have just ruined something which could have developed into a perfectly decent-looking friendship just as Steve speaks again. "I can see why you're on the AP English. You're a good speaker, varied vocabulary."
And with that, the tension drains from this little bubble they're enclosed in, pierced by the laughter, first from Danny, and then Steve as he joins in.
They don't say another word about it all evening. Lucy comes over at about eight o'clock, planting herself straight into Danny's lap as she gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "We're going home with Jake." Danny notes how she's already calling it home with a smile. "He says you can stay for a bit longer, but curf- cuffew" - Danny assumes she means curfew, tweaks her playfully on the nose for her efforts - "is ten."
"Okay Luce. I'll see you later then, yeah."
"Can I come wake you up in the mornin'?"
"Yeah, sure babe. Not too early though."
"Night Danny, night Steve." She nods innocently, runs back towards Matty who's waiting to scoop her into his arms.
"She's cute." Danny turns to Steve with a smile because yeah, she really is. "You're her favourite, right?"
"Yeah, she clung to me after Dad died. Barely left my side since Ma. Tonight is the longest I've been able to get her to let go of me."
"Kono will look after her. She's smart."
They stay there for about another hour, chatting about everything and anything, before Danny gets up. "I should go," he says, and he can't think of any reason other than he's hoping to get a word in with Matty before he's asleep, so he leaves it open.
"Yeah okay. I'll introduce you to Dad quick then give you a lift back." Danny opens his mouth to protest, but doesn't even bother.
They walk up to the lanai, where the three remaining adults sit; Meka's father and the McGarrett parents. "Here they are," Dory smiles, as though they've been the recent topic of conversation.
"Hey, son. Good day?" Steve nods and claps a hand to Danny's back, and Danny gets another smile from Doris before he turns his gaze to Steve's father.
John McGarrett is a little shorter than his son - probably two or three inches shy of six foot - with a more rounded face. He looks like a police officer. The eyes are a similar colour, but that's pretty much where the father-son similarities end. Steve has a closer resemblance to his mother, with her angular face and straight nose. "Yeah, great. Dad, this is Danny Williams, the eldest of the kids staying with Jake."
John gets to his feet and stretches an arm towards Danny over the table. "Hi, Danny, nice to meet you."
"You too, sir."
McGarrett Sr. cuts a hand through the air as he sits back in his seat. "Please, call me John. Steve, you giving him a lift home?"
"Yeah, I'll be back in ten."
With that, they walk around the side of the house, and Danny slides into the truck as indicated, a cop car sat in front of the house and a Marquis just about visible through the half-open garage.
"This your car?"
"Oh, yeah. Dad bought it cheap, Jake helped us fix it up after I passed my test back in April." That probably makes Steve sixteen in March-ish; five or six months older than Danny. Why Danny thinks that matters, he doesn't even know.
They're both content to make the short journey in quiet, and by the time they pull up outside of Jake's place, Danny feels the need to apologize again for the outburst, if nothing else then to try and make sure this guy doesn't think he's a loon, which Danny thinks is probably a lost cause anyway; that ship has sailed.
He makes the mistake of turning to him as the car slows to a halt, and Steve has got his bottom lip caught beneath his teeth, nibbling at it as he pulls on the handbrake. Danny stalls for a second. "Uhh, thanks for the lift. And listen, I'm sorry…about, unloading my proverbial shit on you earlier."
Steve just nods and smiles like the most charming fucking guy on the planet. "No worries. If you ever need to…unload your proverbial shit on someone again, you know where I am." Danny turns to leave, attention called back to the truck by Steve's low voice. "Oh and, hey, D, I'll pick you up on the first day back if you want, show you around the place. Matty too."
Danny forces a smile. "Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks." His ears take a moment to catch up with him, and he snaps back to the car to find Steve looking up expectantly. "Did you just call me D?"
Steve just shrugs as he leans out of the open window. "Maybe…I'll swing around at eight-ish."
All of that sounds far too enticing, and Danny doesn't even try to come up with some kind of response. He just turns with what he hopes is a casual wave and walks up the drive, refusing to look back as he lets himself into the house.
Danny sends a wave and a thanks in Jake's direction before he heads straight upstairs and into Matty's room. He has the new Walkman that Ma bought for him a couple of months ago in his lap, eyes open and staring at the wall as Danny sits down next to him on the bed.
"Hey, you and the girls get on okay? Steve offered us a lift on the first day."
"Oh, don't worry about it. I said I'd walk with Meka. He seems pretty cool, nice guy. Livvy seems to like Mary, and Lucy can't stop talking about Kono, said that other guy was nice too."
"Cool." Matty asks Danny a bit about Steve, and Danny tries to reign in his gushing as far as possible before ending the game of twenty questions and heading for the shower.
By the time he gets into bed that night, he's still smiling like an idiot. And for the first time since they arrived, Danny has absolutely no doubt that life here on Oahu is going to turn out okay.