He'd kissed Grace goodbye and listened to her try to act much older than her age and tell him not to do anything she wouldn't do while the party continued in her absence and before he knew it, he was closing the door and listening for the sound of a car engine leaving the driveway.

"They gone?" Steve asked, rubbing his hands together as he came out of the bathroom to find Danny leaning against the door.

"Yeah," Danny straightened up.

"I can't find my mom but the guys are changing everything out back. I've heard whispers of dancing." Steve sidled up to Danny and wrapped around him, swaying them both.

"I don't dance."

"According to you, you do, you just choose not to sometimes."

"This might be one of those times."

Steve's arms dropped. "Danny," he said exasperatedly. "Come on, man, we got married. They're celebrating with us. Can't you cheer up a little? I know you're parents aren't here and I know Rachel wanted to get Grace home but you've still got me, right?"

"Are you really going to stand there and act like that's the reason I've not been all jovial today?"

"Jovial?"

"Shut up! Just… shut up, Steven," Danny paced over to the couch and threw himself down on it, grabbing a cushion to his chest like a security blanket.

"Danny, you're doing it again, you're flipping out like a… like a…"

"Hothead? Well, you know what, Steve, sometimes there's good reason to be a hothead. Sometimes you just have to be louder to make yourself heard!"

Steve towered over him. "I'm listening, Danny! I'm right here!"

"Are you? Because I've been trying to get through to you all day and you just shoot me down, every single time. Even when I thought I was making myself pretty damn clear by running out!"

Steve paced away and turned back, a hand to his head. "This is about our deal again? Danny, it's done. Why are you worrying about it? Nothing's going to change now, it's too late and frankly, I don't want to, I'm fine with it as is."

"It's lopsided, Steve. That doesn't worry you?"

"I know it's lopsided! That's how you wanted it, I told you I'd give you more but you said no!"

"What?" Danny asked, incredulous, flinging the cushion aside and pulling himself forward to perch on the end of the couch cushion. "What the hell are you on about? You're the one in control of the contract, not me, you hold the power. It's lopsided in your direction!"

"Danny, what you put in is worth so much more than what I did," Steve sunk down to sit opposite Danny on the coffee table.

"I put myself in," Danny moaned.

"That's my point," Steve reached forward for Danny's face. "You're more important to me than anything else and you signed to let me keep you. Do you know how that makes me feel? That you did that? That you put that much trust in me? It's amazing and I promise you, I promise you, I'm not going to take that for granted."

"Steve," Danny's eyes dropped, catching sight of Steve's hands out of the corner of his eyes and he clutched onto them with his own. "It's not about that. Well, a little, I mean we've got the rest of our lives and you can't promise you won't fuck up but my point is this… it's making me uncomfortable."

Steve pulled back a little. "Because you don't trust me?"

"I trust you, Steve, I always have. It's just… I've always believed in making marriage contracts even. Ours isn't."

"I told you.."

"I know," Danny interrupted, not wanting to hear Steve's platitudes again, he wanted results and he was beginning to sense that Steve maybe was listening to him more now and he didn't want to waste this moment, even if he was tired and not feeling like he was firing on all cylinders. "It's… think of it this way," he shuffled forward again in his seat. "I went through the ceremony in the traditional way even though it's not how we do things in Jersey. Frankly, we don't have a ceremony tradition that I care about but because you and all these other people do, I figured it was a concession I could make."

"You complained the whole time."

"Not the point. My point is, think of the tradition thing instead."

"But you don't have a tradition."

"Exactly!" Danny waved a hand in the air. "My tradition is not having a tradition! My tradition is my family history of loose and even contracts. Do you see what I'm asking for here? I just want you to make some concessions for me now."

Steve rubbed his hands on his legs then stood enough to move over to the couch beside Danny and sat close enough for their legs to brush together, the warmth of his body sliding against Danny's. He threw an arm around Danny's shoulder and pulled him in. "We can take a look at things tomorrow."

"Thank you," Danny laid his head on Steve's shoulder and relaxed. He was getting somewhere. He didn't have anything in place but there was promise, there was possibility and that was the important thing to him right now. Maybe Steve wouldn't be quite so pig-headed come morning.

"Just to be clear though, no divorce."

"No divorce," Danny repeated and Steve pulled him even closer, if that were possible, as he dragged Danny back with him as he collapsed against into the couch. "Like you said," Danny continued. "Not exactly very easy for us to do."

"You bet your ass," Steve's voice was almost a growl as his hand moved from Danny's shoulder to his head, pulling him in closer to drop a kiss into his hair. He then moved down to his temple and then his ear. In the next moment he was on his knees and pulling on Danny's hips to turn him and he closed in on Danny, forcing him back to lie on the couch, his head propped on the arm.

Steve hovered over him, one hand propping him up, muscles defined with the strain of his own weight, while the other skirted over Danny's body appreciatively. "Us getting married was the right thing, Danno."

Danny looked up into Steve's sincere eyes. They were piercing, they were doing everything they could to let Danny see his feelings. He could do little else other than nod in response, not trusting himself to say anything useful.

"After everything with Grace's custody again, almost moving off island… Danny, I can't lose you."

"You're not losing me. I'm right here."

"Last night we admitted everything, it all came out, we were open and honest and I know we haven't done much more than fumble yet but it wasn't just spur of the moment. We've been leading up to this since we met and I've been ready for this."

"Steve, there are people outside."

"I know," Steve nodded, his eyes more intent on Danny's lips and neck than anything else. "I know, I just…" he nuzzled his nose to Danny's, his tongue darted out to lick along Danny's bottom lip and after those testing touches he claimed Danny's mouth in a searing kiss. He pulled Danny's legs into place on the couch without breaking their connection, and moved to settle himself more comfortably on the smaller man. His free hand hooked under Danny's knee and pulled his leg around Steve's hip so he could settle between Danny's thighs and nudge closer.

His lips drifted after so many passion fueled and messy kisses and his teeth grazed against Danny's jaw and into his neck where they latched on, sucking and biting low on his collarbone. Danny hissed at the dart of pain and clutched his hand into Steve's hair, throwing his head back further, the arm of the couch digging into his scalp.

"Ohmygod, seriously?!" The high pitched voice came from the door to the kitchen, surprise evident as Danny and Steve's heads both whipped round to see Kono's hand over her mouth. "Save it for later, guys, everyone's waiting outside for you."

She made her way to the bathroom, leaving them in silence pierced only by heavy breathing. Steve rolled his hips into Danny's but then dropped his head to lean on Danny's shoulder in frustration.

"Now I really want to send them all home," he said, muffled by the material of Danny's shirt.

"No," Danny tried to straighten himself, despite being hindered by Steve's weight. "No, we shouldn't… couch, no. Just… people, let's go." He shoved at Steve to get him up again.

Truth be told, he was glad of the interruption. He hadn't meant to get carried away and he couldn't let Steve seduce him with a smile. Sure, he was a guy, and an offer of sex with someone hot wasn't going to be turned down in a hurry, but despite the progress they'd made in the last half an hour, it wasn't a done deal yet. He was softening, they both were, but he needed to stay focused and realistic. He shouldn't let himself be distracted by a pretty face, nor the fulfillment of fantasies he'd had for what must be going on over a year now.