Try To Make It Work

Steve was kissing him. Months and months of on and off, hot and cold, does he or doesn't he love him - and now it's happening, he was kissing Danny.

It wasn't that the blonde wasn't enjoying it, at least on some level. It was up there among the best kisses of Danny's life, but this was Steve. And why was the SEAL kissing him? Because Danny had decided that enough was enough and that he needed to get out and go on dates again. Because he had decided he was done waiting for Steve to decide that the time was right for them. Because he'd actually met a woman in a coffee shop who seemed nice and funny and intelligent. Susan had asked him to dinner, and he had agreed.

And, in the Five-0 headquarters, on the afternoon before his date, when he had told Steve that he had plans for the evening, his reaction was - well, Danny couldn't say it was surprising, exactly; the blonde wasn't blind to how Steve responded to him. But that the SEAL decided to express his response to the blonde's news by kissing him was unexpected.

When Danny had imagined his response, he'd pictured him bottling it up, gritting his teeth, and maybe making a few snide remarks in the following week. Instead, the SEAL tilted his head and frowned, his brow furrowed. Danny had turned away, unwilling to deal with him at that moment. Had Steve really expected him to just wait forever?

Steve's hand landed on the blonde's shoulder, and Danny turned with a slight roll of his eyes, accepting that he'd have to hear him out and then tell him to mind his own business, if necessary. And then the SEAL was kissing him. It was amazing, breathtaking… but it was too much, too far, too fast. Danny pulled back, pulled away - and then turned back, looking stern.

"No, Steve. That's not how this is going to work. You don't get to suddenly decide to kiss me, to - what, stake a claim on me - just because someone else showed interest. I'm not a toy you can pick up off the shelf whenever you see someone else reaching for it."

"That's not what I-" Steve started. At Danny's frown, however, he had sense enough to stop, to look ashamed, to look down and backtrack. After a moment, he sighed and said, "It's too late for us, then?" He sounded miserable, but resigned.

At that, Danny softened and took a step back toward the SEAL. "No. Steve, it's not too late. But you can't just decide to kiss me in order to keep me from dating. Either you have feelings for me and we need to talk, or you don't, and you need to let me do my own thing, without any interference."

Steve took a deep breath. "I do have feelings for you… but…"

"But it's complicated. I get it. And that's fine. The question is, though, whether you want to try to make it work, or whether you want to keep yourself at arm's length for some indeterminate period until you think the time is right. Because if it's the latter, then I'm going to go on dates, and you're just going to have to deal with it."

At that, Steve's eyes met his with an intensity that made Danny's heart skip a beat. "I want to try to make it work."

The blonde looked at the SEAL for a moment, without moving or responding - and then nodded and reached for his phone, turning away again. "Hi, Susan. I'm so sorry; something's come up at work, and I'm going to have to cancel… Yes, another time, maybe. Okay; thanks!"

As Danny hung up and turned around, the blonde found himself wrapped in Steve's arms again, and this time, he didn't pull away.