The Prompts

Authors note: Hey guys! I'm back! This time with one of your prompts! Okay, so this one I owe it to lynnrxgal, who gave me the prompt 3:00 a.m. thanks so much! And a BIG thank you to both aqiran and Badhairdays for proof reading this for me and for giving me such good advice on all my stories. So thank you!

So basically, this is a series of events, all different, all happening in different days. They only have one thing in common.

They all happen at 3:00 a.m.

3:00a.m.

Steve woke up to the sound of his phone buzzing on the bedside table, throwing a pillow over his head.

"Oh c'mon!" he said with an exasperated sigh. What? You try being interrupted in the middle of sleep after a whole week without it. He groaned into the pillow and reached blindly over to his right side, finding the phone, putting the pillow aside and taking a look at the caller ID.

He frowned, chancing a glance at his alarm clock.

Why exactly was Kono calling him at three a.m. on a Saturday?

He lifted the phone up to his ear with a confused expression. "McGarrett."

He could hear a loud beat on the background, followed by excited screams and giggles. "Boss?" came Kono's voice from the other end of the line.

"Kono?" he asked, sitting up straight. "Where are you?"

"I'm uh… somewhere…" she said, her speech slurred, and sounding a bit puzzled.

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Kono, are you by any chance… drunk, or something?"

She made a disregarding noise on the phone. "Phhhh, what would make you say that? No, of course not…" she said, her words coming out incomprehensible.

Okay. So definitely drunk.

"Do you need a ride home?" Steve asked, anticipating what was coming.

"Who, me? No, I'm good, Carla and I are taking a cab." She said, and he faintly heard someone talking in the background.

"Anyway, I just called to say… shhh, would you just stay quiet girls? Yes, yes, it's him!"

Steve tilted his head. "Uh, Kono?"

"Uh? Oh, right, right. Anyway, I called to say… I think you're reeeeeally hot."

Steve's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"You heard me. I think you're like the hottest guy that ever walked this earth, and oh, by the way, every time you act all badass and blow up doors and throw people off buildings and stuff like that, you look even hoooootter."

Steve laughed a little. "Just how many drinks did you have?"

"Just… five, or six. Something like that. Maybe seven. And three shots."

Steve chuckled. "Kono, go home. You'll regret those tomorrow."

"No way, I can hold my liquor very well."

Steve smirked. "Yeah, I can see that. Try telling me that again when you see me at headquarters tomorrow."

…

Kono woke up, covered in sweat, her breathing ragged, her lungs burning with the sharp intakes of air. Her eyes were wide and her chest fell up and down fast, heavy. Her eyes locked at the center of the wall in front of her, trying to keep her focus there, trying to calm down, trying to control her mind. She brought her hand up to her chest, slowing her heartbeat, or at least trying to, and took a deep long breath. She closed her eyes, inhaled loudly again, and felt her tense muscles slumping down, her shoulders relaxing the tiniest bit.

She felt her mouth completely dry, probably because when she had dreams like this, she had learnt the hard way, she tended to sleep with her mouth open. She threw the covers aside and got up, shakily, her legs threatening to give out at any second. Her feet hit the cold ground, a shiver running through her body, but she didn't think she had the effort to even register it.

Another night. Another case. Another nightmare.

But never before had it been like this. She usually just had the regular ones - if you can even call them regulars – where her life was in danger, or when she would wake up just before someone shot her. There were even the ones where she wouldn't know where she was, lost somewhere, and no one was around, leaving her alone, surrounded by darkness. But never, ever, had she had one like this. Never one this terrifying. Never one this close to home.

She stole a quick glance at the clock on her nightstand.

3:00 a.m.

She sighed, unsteadily, and took a few steps towards her bedroom door. Times like this, she thanked God her place didn't have stairs. She wobbled a bit through the hallway, a supporting hand on the wall for balance. She walked through the expanse of carpeted floor and got to her small kitchen, looking around as if she was expecting something to pop out.

Nightmares were something she got used to. Ever since joining the force, and even before that, she had known that things like this came with the circumstances, and the only thing they taught her, to help her deal with it, was that it was just a dream, it couldn't affect you, it couldn't hurt you.

And the one thing they taught her was an absolute lie. Because if there was one thing nightmares could do, was hurt you. Not physically, but emotionally, mentally… it broke you. For good. Wounds that would never heal, just patched up quickly so that they couldn't be noticed. But the point was, she knew how to deal with it. It might not be the best thing to do, but bottling it all up inside always worked for her.

Until this one night. When she had the nightmare that scared her more than anything else. When she had the nightmare… about Steve.

In her mind's eye, she could see him, lying on the ground, bleeding, gasping, hurting… suffering.

She tried to reach for him, but it seemed that the more she advanced toward him, the more she was pulled back, whether by someone or something, she didn't know. All she knew was that she had actually felt the dread, the panic, the fear. She remembered screaming, trying to move forward, and shouting in frustration as she was just kept back, having to watch with terrified eyes as he bled out on the dirty floor, blood running from the side of his mouth.

She grabbed a glass and filled it with water, bringing it up to her dry lips. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying not to think of anything but the relief of being able to breathe again without the panic flooding her mind. She turned around, quietly, and leaned against the counter.

She tried to ignore that still tightening knot on her stomach as the picture of him appeared in front her, and she tried to ignore the real reason why this nightmare had shaken her up so much. Because the real reason… was to be kept secret.

….

"This better be a life or death situation." Kono deadpanned through the phone.

"Well good morning to you too, sunshine." Was Steve's comeback.

"Good morning? Good morning?" Kono repeated disbelievingly. "It's freaking three! A.M.! The sun is not even up yet!"

Steve chuckled. "Apparently the Governor doesn't really care about what position the sun's in." He said dryly. "And we just got called in."

Kono repressed a yawn. "Please tell me the 'we' part only involves you, Danny and Chin."

Steve laughed then. How the hell was he in such a good mood at three in the morning? "I hate to break it to you, but you're part of the team too."

Kono rolled her eyes. "There better be a serial killer on the loose."

"Careful with what you wish for." Steve said.

"Well, it's the only way I'm getting my ass out of bed." Kono announced.

"Tsk-tsk. Don't even bother. I already got that speech from Danny."

Kono closed her eyes. "I hope he gave you a headache with all the ranting."

Steve smirked. "I hung up before he even started. I'm gonna have to call him back though, I'm pretty sure he fell asleep after that."

Kono grunted, throwing the covers back with one hand, the other holding the phone up to her ear. "You're terrible."

Steve grinned. "So do I need to pick you up or can you promise me there won't be any car crashes?"

"Well, that depends, Are you still driving? Because if you are, there's still a very good chance you're gonna crash, you know, talking on the phone and all."

"Right. And you say I'M terrible." Steve threw back.

Kono smiled. "Fine, fine. I'll be there in ten."

"Make it five." Was Steve's reply.

Kono frowned, already rummaging through her drawer. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Steve quipped. "I'm gonna need help with the Danny rambling."

"Oh, no way brah." She said, repressing yet again another yawn. "You got yourself into this mess, now you get yourself out. I'm already gonna have to deal with Chin."

"Well, if it makes things easier, I'll trade you Chin for Danny." He said with a hint of hope.

Kono laughed. "Yeah, nice try boss. You're the certifiably insane one, so you are the only one qualified to deal with Danny."

Steve groaned. "Not really helping, here."

"You woke me at three in the morning." Kono reminded him. "If you're expecting me to help you with anything, you can sit tight."

Steve rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, whatever. Just don't be too late, kay?"

Kono shrugged. "Uh, we'll see." She smirked. "Bye boss."

….

"Danny, you better have a damn good excuse for waking me at this hour." Steve snapped on the phone.

Fucking three a.m. and he was getting a call from Danny. Oh yeah, that is just fucking perfect.

Silence on the other end of the line. Disturbing silence.

"Danny?" Steve asked, a little louder. "Hello? Are you there? Danno?"

"Steve…" Danny's voice was heard on the other end of the line, and suddenly Steve was wide awake and sitting straight in bed from his partner's tone.

"What happened?" he asked immediately, almost a reflex.

He heard Danny huff frustratingly. "I'll tell you when you get here."

"Here where, Danny?" Steve snapped again.

Danny closed his eyes for a moment. "At the hospital."

Steve froze, his hand clutching the phone tightly. He rubbed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "What happened?" he asked again.

Danny shook his head. "Steve, just get here as soon-"

"Danny, what the hell happened?" Steve all but shouted into the phone. So he wasn't such a patient man. No surprise there.

Danny took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. I'm here with Chin. Kono's been shot."

Steve's eyes widened, his jaw set, and he jumped out of bed instantly. "What are you talking about Danny?" he got out through gritted teeth as he grabbed his pants and put them on.

"AK-47s." was all Danny said.

Steve's mouth dropped open, and he felt an overpowering wave of anger wash through him. "What?" he yelled. "A gang war?"

"Yeah." Danny said, his voice unsteady. "She got caught in the crossfire."

Steve gritted his teeth, grabbing a shirt from his closet and putting it on with abrupt movements, fury sipping out of him. "How many?"

Danny sighed. "Bullets?" he asked, but it really wasn't necessary. "Two. One ripped through her Kevlar."

"How long as she been in surgery?" Steve asked, searching around in his room frantically.

"Three hours." Danny answered. "And we don't know how long it will take."

Steve shook his head. "How the hell did she get caught in crossfire like that, Danny? You don't just run into it on a casual walk!"

Danny took a deep breath. "We were on our way to interview a suspect. And don't ask me how, but they just showed up Steve, out of nowhere, and they started shooting at us, and then all I remember was asking her if she was okay and… she never answered me."

Steve stopped then, bringing a hand up to rub across his face. "Danny?"

"Yeah." Danny answered with a thin voice.

"What did the doctor say?" Steve asked, not quite sure what to expect. But from his partner's reluctance, he was sure it was nothing good.

"Just… just get here." Danny said, and hung up.

….

Kono woke up, for no apparent reason, because, stealing a quick look through the semi-closed blinds, the sun wasn't even up yet. She yawned, looking at her alarm clock, registering three a.m. in bright red numbers. She squinted her eyes, suddenly realizing that didn't look exactly like her alarm clock. She moved to the side, stretching her sore muscles.

Uh… sore?

She frowned. Why was her bed so soft? She didn't remember buying anything even close to these sheets. She put those thoughts aside, probably the concussion talking. She smirked as she closed her eyes again, resting in peace and feeling like she was floating somewhere. This was much better than those uncomfortable hospital beds. She was glad Steve…

Steve…

Oh shit.

Her eyes snapped open, and she would have screamed if her words hadn't seemed to get stuck in her throat. Because yeah, you tell her what she should do when you wake up to SETVE MCGARRETT in bed with you!

"Morning sleepy-head." was his groggy greeting.

Kono's eyes almost popped out of her head and she suddenly felt very self-conscious because, yeah, taking a second look at herself…. she was naked.

She slumped forward, her face colliding with the pillow, and wrapped the sheets tight around her body. "Oh my God."

Steve smirked but remained silent.

She made a whining noise. "Please, please tell me I didn't do half the things I now remember doing last night."

He tried really hard not to laugh. "Well, are you referring to when you su-"

"No, no!" Kono said, lifting her head and placing a hand in the air as a way of shutting him the hell up. "You are not finishing that sentence."

He snickered. "Don't make such a big deal out of it."

Kono's jaw dropped. Her eyebrows shot up, and she just gave him an 'Are you seriously kidding me?' look. "A big deal? Oh yeah, sleeping with the boss isn't a big deal at all!" Kono exclaimed sarcastically.

Steve shook his head. "Kono…" he started.

He saw her bury her face in the pillow again. "Hey." He said softly, getting her to look at him.

"Just listen to me, okay?" he asked, seeing her nod slightly. "You almost died, less than a week ago, Kono." He saw her eyes sadden just the tiniest bit. "This…" he said, gesturing between the two of them. "… this was just a normal way to cope with it."

"A normal way to cope with it?" Kono repeated, staring at him.

"Yeah." Steve said nonchalantly. "If you would have stayed at Danny's place this would have probably happened as well. With him, I mean."

Kono laughed a little. "Oh, no way."

Steve tilted his head, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "No way… what?"

She smirked. "This would have never happened with Danny."

Steve laughed. "Because I'm better looking than him, right?"

Kono giggled. "No, because I would have never let him drive me to that excuse for an apartment and keep me there for four days."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Oh, whatever."

Kono smiled then, looking at him. "This was just… this was just a thing, right? I mean, a night in the heat of the moment that we'll never talk about again, right?"

"Well…" Steve said with a pensative look. "… I don't know about the never talking about this again part, because this sounds way too good not to torment Danny with-"

She slapped him playfully on the arm. "Shut up." She muttered.

"But seriously, this was just… a way of releasing tension." he said.

She quirked a brow. "Releasing tension? Really? Wow, smooth."

He just laughed, looking at her face.

"So this, won't be weird or anything, right?" Kono asked, making sure,

"No, of course not. I mean, unless you start bringing up the way I li-

"OKAY!" Kono said, a little louder than usual, grabbing her t-shirt from the floor. "You really have to learn to keep your mouth shut."

…

Steve was just wrapping up the final paperwork when he heard a soft noise coming from the hallway. He frowned, who the hell was still in the office at three in the morning? Well, he was, but that wasn't really a surprise, they had already proved he was crazy.

He got up, signing his last report, because hey, he had to get them done at some point, and stepped foot in the hallway. He heard it again, it was almost like a soft snore… Danny had already left, hadn't he? Unless he was planning on making the office his new temporary apartment. Steve walked down the hall and stopped when he was facing Kono's office.

He grinned, having the immediate urge to laugh, and shook his head. Silently, he headed towards her office, opening the door with no noise whatsoever and standing in the middle of the room.

It was actually really cute from his point of view. A file was wide open on top of her desk, a pen in her hand, and her head lying probably very uncomfortably on top of the stack of papers. She had fallen asleep while filling out a report. Nah, he couldn't blame her, those were pretty boring, and he guessed Danny had slipped a couple of his on her stack. He laughed quietly and reached her desk, placing a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Kono." He whispered softly, shaking her a little. "Kono."

"Hmmmm…." She replied, apparently taking no interest on what he was trying to do.

He laughed. "C'mon, spiderwoman, it's time to wake up." He whispered again.

She made another incomprehensible sound before lifting her head gently, and rubbing the sleep off her eyes. "What?"

He smirked. "Time to wake up. It's three in the morning."

Her eyes snapped open at this. "WHAT?"

Jesus, for such a heavy sleeper, she really had good reflexes right after waking up. "It's three a.m., Kono, you fell asleep."

Her eyes widened. "Shit. Oh crap, I was supposed to finish these!" she exclaimed, looking at the reports.

He took one skeptical glance at them. "Don't worry. I'll slip them in Danny's pile in the morning."

She glared at him. "And then he'll slip them back in mine. So no, thank you very much." She huffed. "I'm just gonna finish them real quick."

Steve rolled his eyes. "No, you're not." Steve announced, going around her desk. "You're going home even if I have to drive your ass up there myself."

She shot him a look. "My ass is perfectly fine on itself, thank you."

Steve chuckled. "Oh, don't I know it."

Kono dropped her head to the desk. "Shut up." She muttered. "I'll finish this in fifteen, and I'll go home after that, so don't worry."

Steve nodded. "Right, in fifteen minutes I'll find you sleeping again. And snoring."

Her head snapped back. "I do not snore!"

Steve laughed. "Don't worry, it's nothing compared to Danny's."

She glared at him for a few seconds before just giving the hell up. Why did she even bother? "Whatever."

Steve shook his head. "Ok, so no more reports for today, and I'll drive you home and you show up here bright and early to finish them. How's that?" he asked.

She didn't respond.

"Kono?" he asked, leaning in.

She still didn't respond.

And he would have burst out laughing if she hadn't just fallen asleep again.

….

She woke up to the sound of knocking on her door. She frowned, what the fuck? It was three! Who the hell was knocking on her door at three in the morning? Well, certainly someone without any brains, because she was gonna shoot whoever it was that was on the other side of the door. Lazily, she got up, yawning as she made her way across the bedroom and into to small hallway, and swearing with every step.

She got to the door in a few seconds and opened it abruptly, ready to kick some serious ass even in her pajamas. Which weren't really pajamas at all, more like a tank top and some shorts, and technically that was what she wore when she practiced roundhouse kicking someone, so yeah, she was ready for some ass kicking.

Except it wouldn't be necessary that night.

"Steve?" Kono asked, surprised to see him, his tall figure leaning against the door frame and a strange look on his eyes.

"Hey." He answered, his voice low and gravy.

"What… what are you doing here?" she asked, eyeing him and crossing her arms on her chest.

He looked at her for a bit, drinking her in, before walking past her and entering her apartment.

She shot him a confused look before shutting the door and locking it, coming to stand near the wall and following his every movement.

"Steve?" she asked, cautiously. "Is there something wrong?"

He lifted his head to meet her eyes, and his looked broken, that deep blue sparkle no longer there. "Yeah. There's something wrong."

She looked at him curiously, leaning her back against the wall behind her, and squinting her eyes almost imperceptibly. "What is it?"

He continued to look at her through heavy lidded eyes before slumping his shoulders and inhaling a sharp breath.

"Steve…" she said, taking a step closer to him. "… what is it?"

He looked into her eyes again and rubbed a hand across his tired face. "I've been driving around for hours."

She frowned at him. "Since when?"

He looked at the ceiling. "Probably midnight."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Midnight? You've been driving for three hours?" she asked, caught off guard. "Why?"

He ducked his head. "I don't know."

She tilted her head. "Okay… why did you come here, then?"

He chuckled a bit. "I tried not to."

She frowned more deeply. "Ok, you're not making any sense here. What's going on?"

His eyes flew up to meet hers then, and he took a decisive step towards her. "I can't stop thinking about that night."

Kono closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Steve, we've been over this. I was shot, it happens to cops all the time, and I'm OKAY now-"

"No." he interrupted sharply. "Not that night."

She eyed him with confused eyes. Not that night? Then what night?

Oh.

Shit.

Crap.

Fuck.

That night.

She rubbed the remaining sleep off her eyes. "Oh." Was all she said.

She stared at the floor for a little while. "What happened to just a way of releasing tension?

Steve nodded. "Yeah. That didn't work so well for me."

She shot him a look. "And you think it worked for me?"

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Well, you never said anything, I just guessed-"

"Yeah." She interrupted. "You guessed wrong."

"Right." Steve conceded. "So, what do you wanna do now?"

Considering they weren't exactly talking about choosing between watching TV and playing baseball, she crossed her arms on her chest again. "Chin's gonna kill you."

Steve smirked a little. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure Danny's gonna help him with that too."

She laughed. "That's Danny alright." She lifted her eyes to meet his. "Why?" she asked. The rest of it, the why ME, was left unsaid. Not that she needed to say it.

Steve shrugged. "I don't know. But can you blame me for wanting to find out?"

She looked intently at him then, hazel eyes against sky blue ones, looking for anything that would tell her if this was just some kind of game to him, if he just wanted to do it again because he liked it so much or something stupid like that.

She found none.

"No." she said, never breaking eye contact. "I can't."

"Will you blame me?" he asked, taking the remaining steps towards her, leaving them inches apart.

She shook her head. "No. I won't."

And that was pretty much the last thing she remembered before his lips crashed with hers again.

Authors note: Hey, hey guys! So? Did you like his one? It was different from my other ones, but I hope I did it justice. Make sure you drop a prompt and let me know if you liked this one in a review, okay?

Hope to see you in my next one-shot!