Finally Happy Again

(A/N)
Wow... Nearly half a year later this story is finished.

I'm sorry it took me so long but life wasn't easy for me and I had a big 'writers block' (like you would call it). I had so many ideas, I already knew how the story should have looked like but I couldn't write it down.

But now it's done and I hope you'll enjoy reading it. Thank you for your patience 3
PS: Please remember - I'm not a native speaker and I don't have a beta reader. So if you find a mistake or something isn't understandable, please let me know.

It was quiet for a while. Only Eddie's panting and the ticking of the kitchen clock could be heard. Steve and Danny looked at each other.
It had been five years since Steve had left. And he hadn't changed, Danny had to admit. Okay, maybe Steve had gotten a little older, but otherwise... He was wearing the same outfit he'd worn when he'd left. And Danny? Tears came to his eyes when he saw his best friend and former colleague standing in the doorway.

"You're here?" asked Danny, unsure if it was real or if he was just dreaming. "When did you -? Why did you -?"
"Danny?"
"Mmm." Danny saw Steve open his folded arms and look questioningly at Danny. He smiled at him and Danny walked over to him. Steve wrapped him in his arms and at the same time rested his chin on Danny's shoulder. "Just like back then," he thought with a smile. "I guess some things never change."

Danny didn't seem to want to let go of Steve at all, he clung to him so tightly. He shivered a little, but when Steve stroked him lightly on the shoulder, he calmed down again. They stood like that in the doorway for a while, Eddie had meanwhile moved into the living room. At some point Steve broke away from Danny and pushed him a little away from him to get a better look at him.

"Long time no see, huh?" asked Steve quietly, smiling.
"Pfft. You're such an a-"
"Well, don't be." Steve patted Danny once on the shoulder, then turned around. "So... where's Eddie?" Then a little louder. "Eddie?!" And already the tap could be heard. As soon as he was in sight, Steve crouched down and Eddie trotted the last bit to him.

"Well, big guy." Eddie sat in front of Steve and had his head resting on Steve's leg. Steve took Eddie's head in his hands and rested his forehead against Eddie's. "I missed you," he said softly. "But I see they took good care of you." Steve gave him a kiss on the forehead, stroked Eddie's back and patted him once on the shoulder, too. Then he stood up and let go of Eddie. Eddie looked at Steve again and then ran back into the living room. Steve turned back to Danny.

"What do you think-"
"Marshmallow. That's all I'm saying." Danny smirked.
"Yeah, yeah," Steve muttered, then started again. "What do you say we tell the others I'm back and then invite them over for a barbecue? If they have time, of course?!"

"You know Steve, I'm actually quite happy about the current situation. You, Eddie and me. The three of us are perfectly all right to have a barbecue, I've got stuff there, but the others don't have to be there," Danny said as neutrally as he could. Eddie barked, almost as if to agree with Danny.
"But I'm the marshmallow..." Steve let that statement stand, but he smiled.
Yes, nothing had changed. They understood how to communicate, even if the other hadn't said it.

So they sat in the backyard and ate burgers and steak and all the stuff that had been left in the fridge that could be grilled. They each drank a couple of beers and Eddie, who had been frolicking in the garden and in the water at the beginning, was now lying between their chairs looking out into the setting sun with Danny and Steve.

Steve kept looking at Danny, but he was just holding his bottle and not moving at all otherwise. It wasn't an awkward silence, but it was still loaded. They both had questions, and even though Steve made several attempts to speak, he didn't.
It was Eddie who broke that silence. He nudged Danny.

"Well Eddie, do you want to get inside?" Eddie barked once, put his head on Danny's leg and looked at him. Danny put both hands around Eddie's head and smiled at the dog. Then he stroked Eddie's head and looked to his left. Steve almost laughed, but Danny looked like he was seriously startled. Frowning, the two men looked at each other. Steve cleared his throat.

"Yeah, well... Shall we go in, then?"
"Go ahead. You can take Eddie with you. I want to stay outside for a while." Danny sounded almost a little dismissive, and Steve eyed him. But Danny had turned away and Steve understood that he wanted to be alone.
"Come on, Eddie." The dog joined Steve and they both went into the house.

Steve took the dishes he had brought into the kitchen and refilled Eddie's drink right there, too. Then he went upstairs to take a shower. It felt strange for him to be back here right now. In his house, which somehow wasn't his anymore. Just out of interest he went to his bedroom. He assumed Danny had moved into it, but was surprised to find that this room didn't seem to have been used in years. It looked exactly as he had left it. Except that now there was dust everywhere.
He went to the closet and again almost found that nothing had been touched or changed. Thoughtfully, he took a set of new clothes and went into the bathroom.

When he went downstairs twenty minutes later, he saw that Danny was still sitting outside. He debated whether to go to him, but then decided against it. He trusted that Danny would come to him when he was ready. Steve turned on the television.

It lasted about half an hour, then Danny came in, went into the kitchen and washed his hands. Then he came into the living room and sat with Steve on the sofa. For a while they watched the screen together. Steve had his arm half on the backrest and half around Danny's shoulders. At some point Danny moved closer and let himself sink against Steve. He in turn now put his arm all the way around Danny's shoulders.

At some point Steve noticed that Danny was shaking slightly. Since it was rather rare to feel cold in Hawaii, he glanced at the other man from the side.
"Danny?" Danny froze and Steve could now see that Danny had silent tears running down his face. "Oh Danny...", Steve said softly and now put his other arm around Danny as well. Danny nestled his face against Steve's neck and sank a little further against him.

"Shhh," Steve made, holding the back of Danny's head with one hand and stroking Danny's back soothingly with the other. Danny cried softly and for a long time. Eventually, though, the tears dried up and Danny tried to get a little distance, but Steve wouldn't let him out of the hug. He turned off the television.

"Steve, I-," Danny began, but then broke off and swallowed. Steve had rested his chin on Danny's head, and Danny's head rested against Steve's sternum. Danny had one arm across Steve's stomach, and the other was around Steve from behind. "Steve, I'm just so glad you're back. I've felt so alone."

"But Danny, the others. Your family. You weren't alone."
"Yeah Steve, but they're all not you, okay?!" To this Steve replied nothing.
"The team did well. Chin and Abby are back, Kono comes to visit regularly too, but you were missing. All these years you've been missing." Danny swallowed again and Steve strengthened the hug. "Everyone had someone he or she could go to. Grace was in college and now she and Will live together. Tani and Junior have each other, as do Adam and Tamiko. Lou is with his family, Lincoln and Quinn have their partners too. Rachel and I get along better than ever, but she has her own life too. Yes and Charlie... Charlie has grown up and now wants to spend more time with his friends than with his father. So it was just Eddie and me. And believe me, as much as I love that dog, he doesn't replace what you and I had."

Now it was Steve who gulped. Danny was talking about them in the past tense. He needed to try to assure Danny that he wasn't leaving this time.
"Danny, I'm so sorry. I wish I had realized it, because then I would have come back. Even though it might sound strange right now, I missed you. The distance was good and necessary, but I missed you."
"I missed you, too," Danny murmured. Silently, they sat together for a while. Then Steve asked.
"Danny... I was upstairs earlier and also in my bedroom. It was all untouched." Steve hadn't asked a question, yet he was now waiting for Danny's answer.

"I had hoped every day since you left that you would come back. I had left the room like that for you because of that. But at some point I gave up and tried to forget it was there."
"Oh god," Steve whispered. They were silent again for a moment. "And where did you sleep?"
"Here. On the sofa. The way it's always been - you upstairs and me down here."
"Danny-" Steve was stunned, and he closed his eyes.

How long they sat there like that, indulging their thoughts, they couldn't say. But at one point, it felt to Danny as if Steve had given him a barely-there kiss on the forehead. Irritated, he sat up straight and looked at Steve. Steve smiled and stood up.
"Come on," he said quietly. A little unsteadily, Danny stood up and followed Steve, who had gone ahead, upstairs. "What's happening now?" wondered Danny.

Upstairs, Steve opened the door to his bedroom and gestured for Danny to follow him.
"Steve, I don't know-"
"Danny. Relax, it's not going to be what it might look like." Steve chuckled. "Who do you think I am?! Just help me get the bed made up, please, and then we'll go to sleep."
He came a little way toward Danny, put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. "You're tired, I'm tired, and I'm sure as hell not going to let you sleep on the couch, okay?!"
"Okay," Danny said after a while, "but we'll put pillows between us." Steve smiled.

They covered the bed, separated their halves with pillows, and got ready to sleep. One by one they crawled into bed and under the covers.
"We'll talk more tomorrow and then I want to see the team again. Okay?"
"Yeah, okay. Good night, Steve."
"Night, Danno."

It was eight-thirty when Danny woke up the next morning. He thought he had overslept, but then he remembered it was Sunday and snuggled back into the pillow. Wait a minute! Pillow? Danny's eyes snapped open. Not only had he snuggled into the pillow, but he was snuggled up against Steve. He held his breath. Where had all the pillows gone that they had put down the night before to separate them?

He tried to sit up, but Steve had his arm around Danny's middle and was holding him pressed against his body. Danny wasn't entirely comfortable with that, but he didn't want to wake Steve for that either. And if Danny was being completely honest, it didn't feel that uncomfortable either. He put his head back on the pillow, moved a little closer to Steve and smiled. What he didn't notice was that Steve opened his eyes briefly, closed them again, and smiled as well.

"He came back. Whatever that means in the end," Danny thought. For the first time in a long time, he felt genuine happiness and relief return. "He came back."

(A/N)
I hope you liked it?! If you want to let me know, please leave a comment...