Despite his best efforts, Steve McGarrett wasn't a man who could sit around with no stimulation. When he left the room Danny was still sleeping, and Steve figured he had at least a few hours before Danny woke up. He made use of their access pass to the gym which was complete with a pool, and jogging track. Granted, he lost track of time, Steve didn't think he stayed too long but when he returned to suite 302 Danny was gone with no calls or texts left on Steve's phone. Steve could only assume he'd managed to upset Danny already with his absence. He shot a few texts but they were all unanswered. That left Steve to wander the resort, amusing himself with various activities until about mid-day when he found Danny at the public poolside bar.
The man sat on a barstool, leaning towards a brunette who twirled a straw between ice chips and lime. Steve walked over, he raised his hand hello to the woman who smiled in response. The way Danny met him wasn't so friendly. Steve looked himself over, to see what was amiss. Maybe Danny could smell the workout earlier in the day, considering Steve hadn't bothered to change tank tops. Maybe it was the tattoo's on display, but that never bothered him before.
"What, I finally find you, after you leave me with no indication of where you're going and this is the greeting I get?" Steve asked.
Danny shook his head. He held his chin in one hand and motioned between Steve and the stranger before saying, "Steve, Leia, Leia, Steve."
"Hi," Steve held out a hand to Leia. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Danny's partner."
"No, you," Danny sighed. "outside of work you don't need to say that."
"Oh, right." Steve laughed patting his waistband as if he'd find a badge that usually hung there.
He motioned for Danny to move over one seat, and Steve sat between the two of them. He sat with his back to the bar, squinting into the sun, facing the pool. It allowed him to see both Leia and Danny as he spoke.
"So this is where you've been all day?"
"No, I had this trip planned out which you would know if you paid attention." Danny replied. "Leia just stopped to chat on her way back to her friends."
Danny held up his glass towards a group of men and women in the pool together. They cheered and waved, to which Leia lifted her glass as well. She took another drink, catching one of the ice chips in her teeth while she slid off the barstool. The ties in her bikini tugged up with that motion, leaving her hips framed in a V. Steve watched Danny watch that motion with a raised brow.
"I'd better get back, but we're having a party later. You should come." Leia said placing a warm hand on Steve's arm. Her eyes flicked to Danny with a fleeting smile. "Both of you."
Then she was jumping into the pool with her friends. Danny laughed, he tossed back the rest of his drink, which if Steve had to guess was something musky.
"How do you do that, huh?" Danny asked.
He spun around in the barstool, facing the same direction as Steve. Those blue eyes were a mix of bemused and annoyed, similar to his smile.
Steve asked. "Do what?"
"Walk in here and steal my girl."
"Your girl?" Steve laughed. "I didn't steal anything, besides it wasn't her you invited on this trip. You invite someone on a trip doesn't that imply spending time with them?"
"I've been spending the last three days with you." Danny replied. "Forgive me if I wanted to look at somethin' prettier."
It was a joke of course, Steve haggling Danny about who he should be spending time with. Still, the way Danny watched Leia, Steve knew what he was thinking and it didn't sit well in his gut. There were multiple potential remedies to that feeling Steve flipped through in his brain as he ordered something from the man behind the bar. He could distract Danny away from the girl, blatantly express the discomfort he felt which was a ridiculous idea considering he couldn't explain why he felt it, or do as Danny suggested he already did and steal the girl.
"I think I'll go to that party later, mix it up a bit, bring her to a place where you are not." Danny said.
Steve wasn't interested in Leia. She was beautiful, no doubt, seemed nice enough, but he didn't care to monopolize her attention, let alone date her. The need to disrupt the tether between her and Danny overrode that, no matter how thin that tether was and if it was only in Danny's head.
"Is that so?" Steve said.
"It is."
Steve kicked off his shoes and left his tank in a pile on top of them. Then he dove into the water after Leia. From the bar he heard Danny gripe about being splashed, shaking out his hands. It would've been enough to leave it at that, climb back out of the chilly water his body hadn't yet adjusted to and tease Danny about disheveling his otherwise orderly look. But Leia grabbed Steve's hand, and tugged him through the water towards their game. It was too late to back out unless he wanted to treat this girl like an arse. The lightweight woman clambered onto Steve's shoulders, and as his hands locked on her thighs to hold her there, he caught Danny's face again. That look Danny wore wasn't satisfying as it should've been. If this was any indication, Steve would be walking a thin line to avoid coming off as an arse, and hurting his best friend in this charade.
It wasn't until Danny passed under the low hanging lights that night at the party Steve managed to catch sight of him again. He wore a blue stripe button down. Steve smirked, watching the man walk through the small crowd. It took a while, but Danny gave in to the beauty of Hawaii, even learned some of the languages, just like he gave up those ridiculous ties. Steve hadn't quite been able to ease him completely out of semi-formal attire on their days off, but if he was honest he enjoyed the aesthetic.
"Steve?" Leia said.
His attention snapped back to the woman he was talking to. Supposed to be talking to anyway. Her hand twisted in the bottom her hair, making it draw circles over a scarlet dress. Her posture said she was nervous.
"Yeah, you alright?" he asked.
Leia smiled. "Sure. I'm used to men not being interested in me."
"Wait a minute-"
She put a finger over his lips, stopping him. Steve allowed it and kept quiet.
Leia continued. "I'm used to men not being interested in me. They might be interested in my body, or how jealous it will make an ex-girlfriend to have me on their arm. I'm so used to it, I can see it coming a mile away. Pono e hukiʻia ka iʻa i ke kaula."
"You have to pull in the fish?" Steve questioned when she dropped her hand.
Leia nodded, long hair slipping down over one shoulder. "For this to work, you have to reel him in. You can't let jealousy become anger."
Embarrassment, hot, and strong burned up Steve's neck. He rubbed his jaw, laughing weakly. "You know?"
Leia nodded again. And if she knew what he was doing, how was it that Danny didn't? With a blessing, Steve supposed. He wasn't ready to be laughed at and rejected. Seeing as Danny showed no interest in men, and wasn't known to keep his affections quiet, Steve had a feeling his reasoning behind all of this wouldn't go over well. Embarrassment mellowed out to disappointment, and the red dissipated leaving his face more acceptably flushed. He leaned over the same bar he found Danny at with Leia earlier in the day, elbows braced on the counter.
He said, "He's jealous because I'm with you, not 'cause you're with me."
"You know that a hundred percent?"
"Yeah." Steve promised emphatically. Then he motioned out towards Danny who got caught up in a conversation across the deck. "Well, no."
"Then go."
He didn't know if it was her fishing analogy that got to him, or the drinks, or the fact he was actually here to spend time with Danny and this was counterintuitive, but Steve left Leia with a kiss on the cheek. He joined the group of people who seemed to be discussing a style of music Danny believed originated from his home state he held on a pedestal. Steve chuckled and took Danny by the shoulder.
"I'm going to borrow my friend here."
"Oh, no you're not." Danny said, letting himself be pulled aside anyway.
They were tucked away from the loud chatter, water games, and hanging lights. Behind them stood a band with soft instruments, and a section of fence with flowers weaving in and out of its faucets. Steve felt like he watched a movie, and they switched scenes. Was this what people called an out of body experience? He didn't have those. He wasn't afraid, wasn't unnerved at a simple task. Danny swayed on the balls of his feet, arms crossed.
"Was there somethin' you wanted?" he asked. "Come to take the date I don't have?"
"Yeah, there was something I wanted. To talk to you." Steve replied.
"So talk."
"I didn't go off with Leia because I was interested in her."
Danny tossed his hands in the air laughing. "You think that makes it better?"
"Listen, alright?" Steve insisted.
Danny sobered up. He let his arms down, tucking his thumbs into his pockets. The air between them seemed to still, waiting for someone to take the next breath, release the tension.
Steve said, eyes more on the ground than Danny's. "I did all this to get your attention."
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
Steve's eyes locked onto Danny's, which shone brightly in the company of his blue button down. "It's like I said before. We're here to spend time together, right? I was a little hurt you went off with a woman, and ignored me all day, so-" he motioned in the general direction of the party.
Danny sighed and patted the taller man's chest. "Classic Steve, doesn't know how to handle emotions or talk like a regular person. I forgive you, babe."
There was that name again.
Danny's hand rose to pat Steve's cheek in the same fashion, then he turned towards the gathering of people. "Come on, you can make it up to me by being my wingman. I'll finish off the night if you know what I mean, and we'll start tomorrow together, you and me."
That wasn't the outcome Steve was looking for, not in the slightest, but he laughed and followed Danny back out into the mess of people. He mustered up some quip about how he never played wingman but didn't go as far as to say Danny should back him instead, in case that plan backfired and he wound up with someone again. Steve would make it through this party until Danny left, then he'd take some laps at the gym until he wore himself out and could sleep this day off.