After work, Steve and Danny went to look for Steve's ring. Danny was at a complete loss where to go, not having bought jewelry for anyone since he'd been in Hawaii. Steve, however, knew exactly where to go.
Danny gave a low whistle as they walked in. "Nice," he said.
The place was clearly high end. There were only a few display cases, mostly with empty settings, indicating that most of their work was custom. Danny was actually a little uncomfortable. "I'm not sure I can afford this place," he whispered to Steve.
Steve squeezed his hand. "Don't worry; their prices are actually quite reasonable. And I can help you out."
"Steven!" Danny exclaimed, shocked. "You cannot buy your own wedding ring!"
"Why not?" Steve asked.
"Because. . .because. . .because it's just not done!" Danny said.
Steve shrugged. "Whatever you say."
A well-dressed Asian man appeared from the back room. "Commander McGarrett! Good to see you again! How may I be of assistance?"
"Good to see you, too," Steve said. "Actually, you can help my partner here."
The man turned his attention to Danny. "I assume you're here looking at wedding rings?"
"Um, yeah," Danny said nervously.
"What kind of ring are you looking for?"
Danny turned to Steve. "What do you want?"
Steve shrugged. "I don't care."
"You don't care?!" Danny asked in amazement. "You're only going to be wearing this the rest of your life! You have to have some kind of preference!"
"Surprise me," Steve said and wandered off to look at one of the displays.
"Stupid Neanderthal," Danny muttered under his breath.
"May I offer some advice?" the salesperson asked.
"Yeah, that'd be good," Danny said.
"You could go with matching rings."
Danny looked at his ring. He loved it. It was brushed gold with three small diamonds in the center. It didn't seem like Steve, though.
"No, I want something different," he said.
"Okay, then let's start with the basics. What price range are you looking at?"
"Um, I don't know. What do rings usually go for?"
"The rings can run anywhere from several hundred to several thousand," the man said. "Silver is less, but I don't recommend it because it's less durable. Platinum is going to be on the higher end. In the middle, you're looking at gold."
"Definitely towards the lower end," Danny said.
"That still leaves an excellent selection," the man said. "Now, white gold or yellow gold?"
Danny thought a minute. "Yellow gold."
"Plain or with decoration?"
"Definitely with decoration," Danny said. His first wedding ring had been a plain gold band, and there was nothing wrong with it, but he felt Steve deserved better. Something flashy, but discreet.
"Okay, with stones or without?"
"I'm on a budget," Danny said, "so without I guess." He'd love to get one with stones, but he had to be realistic—that was probably out of his price range.
"Nonsense," the sales person said. "We have some lovely rings with small diamonds that are very reasonably priced, like yours."
"Okay, then, with stones," Danny said. "What do you have?"
"Well, besides the one you have, we have a wide selection." The sales person brought out a tray and showed Danny several meeting his specifications. Danny was baffled by the dizzying array.
He called Steve over. "Which one do you like, babe?"
"I told you, I don't care," Steve said.
"C'mon," Danny urged, "there must be one you like."
"They're all nice."
"You're no help," Danny grumbled. He studied the rings carefully. So what did he want? What looked like Steve? Definitely something wider—Steve was no delicate flower. Danny loved the brushed gold on his, but he wanted something different for Steve. They had a lot with a twisted design, like entwined strands. Danny really liked those, but most of them didn't seem to have stones, and he really wanted stones. Finally, he saw it. It was mostly plain, but had a diagonal entwined design cutting a swath down the middle with three small stones in the center. "That one," he said.
"Excellent choice." The sales person held it out for Danny to examine more closely. The first thing Danny did was check the price—he'd be devastated if it was out of his range. It wasn't, though, he was relieved to see. "Now, what size does Commander McGarrett where?"
Steve had wandered off again, so Danny called to him again. "C'mere, we need your ring size."
"Did you find one?"
"Yeah, I think so." Danny had been confident of his choice a moment ago, but now he was uncertain. What if Steve didn't like it? He held the ring out to Steve. "This one."
Steve was silent as he examined it, and Danny was starting to worry he'd made the wrong decision. Then Steve grinned. "I love it! I think I should have gotten that one instead."
Danny held his left hand protectively to his chest. "Oh, no, babe, you're not taking it back. This is mine."
Now Steve looked uncertain. "You don't like this one better?"
"For you, yes. For me, no way. This is perfect. Now let's get it ordered and go home."
"Yeah, then I can say thank you properly."
Danny couldn't get out of there fast enough.
