After Steve preceded Kono up the rope ladder carrying the large plate of food he settled his rather large frame on the back "deck" area where she and Chin used to sit and watch the sun set on those rare quiet nights at his house when they weren't needed here or there to do this or that. Kono settled in beside him and he handed her the extra fork. They ate in silence for a while which Steve seemed perfectly comfortable with. Kono was not. Everything about him put her on edge. When they were working a case this was okay because her sharper senses and adrenaline could be put to good use but here in the confines of a tree house with nothing but two inches of Hawaiian sea breeze between them it just felt awkward.

"Sooo, Chin invited you?" It sounded a little ruder than she intended. "I mean I hadn't realized you were coming. I didn't know you were back."

"I landed last night. Chin texted me this morning about something else and then mentioned the cookout. I was free. So here I am."

"How was your time away?" Kono didn't even know how to refer to it. Had it been a training, a mission, a deployment?

"Nothing I can really talk about."

"Oh sorry." More awkward by the minute.

"That's okay. You didn't know."

Bite. Bite. Chew. Chew.

"This is some tree house." Steve said at last.

"Yeah Chin and I used to spend a lot of time out here. We helped his Dad build it."

"Impressive."

"It's hard work for a little three foot tall kid hauling 2x4s from the truck all the way across the lawn and handing them up this tree. Then I had to scurry up the ladder and help nail them too. I worked hard, but it was worth it. This place was the best fort, the best playhouse, the best place for all our games!

"Really? What games did you two like to play? Cops and robbers?"

"Mostly. Can you blame us given our family."

"No I suppose not. I have the best tree house at my place it's twice as big as this. You'll be super impressed when you see it."

Kono wasn't sure what to say. Why, how and under what circumstances would she ever see a tree house at Steve's house? That was just a weird thought.

"I wonder why I didn't see Malia here." Kono wondered out loud as she spotted a lone Chin watching the surf.

"They broke up." Steve said matter-of-factly as he shoveled the last of the food from their shared plate into his mouth.

"When, why? How do you know that and I don't?"

"Chin and I talked about it this morning. He probably didn't have a chance to tell you. I think he told me because we had talked about it before I left."

"You talked about him and Malia breaking up before you left?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why were you talking to him about a break up that hadn't happened?"

"Well he was asking me for advice about Malia."

Kono choked, laughed and gagged at the same time.

"I'm sorry what?"

"He was asking me for advice."

"About a romantic relationship."

"About a tactical issue."

"A tactical issue?"

"He wasn't certain about he and Malia – as a team. He felt they had comparability issues. I assessed them as any commander would a team. How would they fare on the likely missions they would face going forward given the issues they have already encountered?"

"Sounds romantic."

"Anyway after my assessment Chin decided that it didn't make sense for them to go forward and so he terminated their involvement."

"Wait you told Chin to break up with Malia so he did?" Kono summed up with barely concealed angry incredulity.

"I didn't tell him to do anything. I gave him my analysis and he acted the way he chose."

"How could you presume to offer anyone relationship advice?"

"I didn't presume, Chin asked."

"Why would he?"

"Relationships aren't rocket science, Kono." Steve said condescendingly. "I'm a smart guy who could look at Chin's situation without any ulterior motives or emotional attachments and see the reality."

"The reality is those two are perfect for each other and the fact that you can't see that just goes to show that . . nevermind it doesn't matter but I just don't understand why he would listen to you."

"Thanks."

"Anyway, we should probably talk about something else before I start yelling at you some more."

"I don't mind you yelling at me so much." Steve said with his signature smirk.

"No?" Kono asked in surprise.

"No, you look pretty cute when you get all worked up."

Kono did register that Steve had just called her cute and honestly Steve's physical attributes were not entirely lost on her, but all Kono really heard in that moment was Steve's condescending voice talking about her getting "all worked up." If he thought he had seen her worked up before Steve was in for quite a surprise.

"Steve McGarrett . . . " Kono began rising. Steve seemed startled by her tone but he stood as well and somehow the space between them became even smaller. Before she could continue Steve's phone rang and he raised a finger to pause the progress of her rant – Kono's anger rose another notch.

"McGarrett"

"Yes"

"We'll be right there."

He replaced the phone, lowered his fingered and gave Kono one of his more devastating smiles. Which would have had some effect had her irritation level been anywhere below double red.

"As much as I would have loved to hear the lecture I was about to receive our fake case just became real. Lori is going to meet us downtown."

They began to descend the ladder. Steve went first.

"I didn't drive here. I'll get Chin and we can ride together. Just text me the address" Kono said when they hit solid ground.

"No need, you can ride with me. We can assess the scene and see if we need Chin." Steve said as if that settled that and headed toward his truck.

"Fine." Kono mumbled. "But why not get Chin?"

"He's hosting a party. If we can handle things on this for the first few hours we may as well let him stay here."

"That's surprisingly human of you." Kono said in a low voice as she hoisted herself into the passenger seat of Steve's truck.

"Thanks." Steve smiled at her as he turned the key and they drove off.