2.11 (bit of fluff)
Danny finally found himself relaxing when he could watch the kids be reunited with their parents and turned to check for Steve. His partner was watching the kids too, and he was grinning that wide, lovely grin he had. Danny had missed that, had thought he was never going to see that again when he had heard Jenna's frantic call a couple of weeks ago. He had done everything he could to make that not happen, finding Steve alive in the back of that truck was virtually the same feeling he had when he saw Grace, and he had had difficulty since they had returned in letting him out of his sight. If Steve had noticed Danny was almost attached to him by the hip he hadn't said anything, and even as Danny thought about it his partner turned round and sought him out with his eyes. His grin turned softer when he spotted his friend, and Steve walked back over to him and stood close enough so he could drape his arm over Danny's strong shoulders. "We found them," he said softly to him under the noise of the crowd. "They're all fine."
Danny nodded and embraced his friend's waist, holding him tightly against him, scared to let him go in case he lost him in the melee of grateful people. "We did, they are," he agreed and looked up at him. "Are you all right, Steve?" he asked after a few moments. "Really? You were far too close to the explosion. You didn't get hurt?"
Steve shook his head and looked down at him with a smile. "I'm fine, Danno," he assured him. "You made sure of that. I think you checked me over thoroughly," he added, amused. Danny had, virtually stripped him there then and checked over every inch of him for more injuries. Steve had let him, even though he had assured him he wasn't hurt in the blast, he knew what he was feeling and why, he had felt the same thing every time Danny had coughed or pressed a hand to his chest for weeks after the Sarin incident. Steve was pleased it was Danny though, Lori had been sniffing around him and he had thought she was going to do the same thing, or try, but his partner had put paid to that by simply grabbing him by the arm and pulled him away from her.
Steve hugged him tight as the crowd milled around them, people were now coming over and thanking them, some were laying hands on Danny, and he hated that, Danny was his, no-one else's, and he didn't want anyone else touching him. At all.
Before he had gone to Korea he had thought he was actually in love with Cat but, when he had thought he was going to die, all he could think of was Danny; his eyes, his laugh, his temper, his wide, strong shoulders, his tiny hands and feet, his huge, huge heart. And he knew then he had been lying to himself, it wasn't Cat he was in love with, it was this guy here, and he slipped his other arm around him and rested his chin on his partner's temple, just pleased to be able to hold him like this. Danny hugged him back, pleased he could do this, that he could feel his partner's strength returning, that he could do it. Seeing him in that truck, battered, bleeding, had petrified him, more so than anything else, and some times he woke from nightmares where it had been his dead body in the back, or with Jenna in that bunker. So he would take anything he could get, and he didn't care if they were in the middle of a mass of people.
"I could do this all day," Steve murmured and buried his smile in Danny's soft hair.
"Uh huh," Danno agreed, opened one eye and shifted just a touch so he could see what was going on around them over Steve's shoulder. Lori was glaring at them from some metres away, and he frowned at her. "Someone's not too impressed though," he commented, and pulled away only enough so he could look up at his partner. "Has Lori tried it on with you?" he questioned.
Steve frowned at him and shook his head. "No," he replied, and then thought about it. "Well, I suppose, but I've been ignoring it. Why?"
"She's giving me the evil eye," Danny responded, and laid his head back where it had been. "Not that I care, but it could become a bit difficult after a while."
Steve looked up and around them to see her, but since he was loathe to move much he couldn't spot her, just Kono smiling softly in their direction. He winked at Kono who grinned in reply, and turned back to Danny. "Where is she?" he asked him, thinking quickly. "I need to do something about it."
"Behind us, by the bus," Danny replied and squeezed him tightly before he let him go with one arm. "Leave it for a while," he suggested and used his free arm to indicate the rest of the group around them. "We've got to do some more important things first, I think the reporters have got an eyeful of us," He had spotted them, and a rogue photographer smirking at him from where the kids were being reunited. But he didn't care as much as he thought he might, he wasn't embarrassed to be seen with his partner, no way in hell.
Steve shrugged, his arm still round his shoulders as he looked around the area as well. "You're mine," he stated and grinned down at him when Danny huffed in a half-hearted protest. "The more people know that, the better."
"Hmm," Danny murmured and looked around them. What he really wanted to say was 'about time you did something about it then' but he stayed silent and just revelled in their closeness for the time he could use have it. It wouldn't be long before people pulled his SEAL away for interviews and such like, and he himself could imagine the mountain of paperwork this latest stunt would generate, but for the time being, he just stood there, leaning against the big sailor, and revelled in it while he could.
End
