Retirement?
After Steve has been shot again, Danny gives him an ultimatum.
"We have to end this."
"What?" Steve's chest tightened. He frowned at Danny's back.
The blonde turned to face him. "Not us." He pointed back and forth between them. "Not this. The job." Danny drew in an unsteady breath like this was the hardest thing for him to admit. "We can't work on this job any longer. We have to leave Five-O."
Steve's jaw dropped. He instinctively stormed forward two steps, then jerked to a stop the desk now between them. "What the heck? We've worked together for years."
"I know. But it's different now. It's been getting more and more complicated. All I cared about in that warehouse was getting to you, making sure you were okay." Danny shifted on his feet as if he wanted to move farther away from Steve. The blonde closed his eyes instead. "It took everything I had just to stay focused for the minute the team needed to secure the scene. A minute where I didn't give a fuck about my job. Danny opened his eyes and smacked his own chest. "Me! I didn't care if the criminals got away."
"So." Steve shrugged. "It was one damn moment. A lapse. It would suck to see anyone on the team take a hit like that."
"It's different for us. And it's not just going to be that one moment. Not any longer. It's going to be every damn time we head out on a mission, and you know it."
Steve crossed his arms over his chest and held firm. But one look at Danny, and he understood that the man he knew better than anyone wasn't going to back down.
It was the job. Or it was them.
"Screw this." Steve rounded the desk to Danny. He grabbed him by the back of the neck and yanked him forward until they were eye to eye, their foreheads almost touching. "Don't do this, Danno. Neither one of us is walking away from Five-O."
"We have to." Danny shoved him back a step. "And you have to make a choice. You get me in your bed. Or you get me at work. It's that simple."
Simple? Steve spun away and ran a hand through his hair as he doubled back across the office. "That's it?" He heard the blonde approach behind him. There was a long pause like Danny was waiting for something more from him, but Steve couldn't force himself to face him or say another word.
Then quietly Danny added, "I know which one I want you to choose, but it has to be something we both want, something we decide together." The blonde waited once more, but when Steve said nothing in response, he spoke again. "You think it over and let me know." Danny got moving, going past Steve and out of the office.
ooOoo
The team was suited up to attend an onsite field-training course with a man from Homeland Security. Danny didn't acknowledge Steve, didn't even look his way as they stood not more than twenty feet apart, the rest of the Five-O team positioned between them, awaiting instructions in the abandoned building the department used for training. The man from Homeland entered the room. His plan was to give them an overview of three new recommendations on hostage situations during mass shootings, and then the team would go through the scenarios real-time in full tactical gear.
He asked for a volunteer to help with the demonstrations. Danny stepped up. "You'll be a hostage." He took the blonde aside and gave Danny some instructions, and then they turned to the group. Standing beside Danny, the man held on to him with one hand and pointed a semiautomatic handgun at his side as he said, "As we all know, when a gunman takes a hostage as a shield, there are several ways it can end. One being they'll use the hostage to commit suicide by cop." Without warning, he shoved Danny away and aimed the weapon at him. "Bang." The blonde went down.
He hit the ground flat on his back, like he'd really taken a bullet to the chest. The man from Homeland continued talking, but Steve didn't hear a word. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. He stared at Danny lying motionless on the ground, and in that moment everything was clear. It hit him with immediacy and an intensity Steve couldn't have predicted despite all he'd seen in his career. The breath caught in his chest. "Jesus."
The man from Homeland turned to glare back at him. "What?"
Steve could barely find his voice. He forced the word out. "Nothing."
During the rest of the training, Steve did his best to focus on the demonstrations and the training drills, all the while avoiding direct contact with Danny. His partner who'd been right about everything.
ooOoo
Steve made his way to Danny's office and the blonde's eyes widened at the intrusion, but he said nothing. The SEAL didn't hesitate. He approached and pressed his lips to Danny's. It was a sweet, chaste kiss unlike any they'd shared before.
The blonde studied him with uncertainty. "What was that for?"
"You were right." Steve took a step back. "If…" He swallowed, drew in a deep breath, and forged on. "If it had been you in that warehouse, if you had taken a bullet that day, I would've done anything to get to you, to make sure you were okay. I would've put everyone in jeopardy to save you."
Danny shook his head. "You'd never have done that. You'd have finished the job first. You'd give your life for any member of the team." With an uncharacteristic uncertainty to his expression, Danny bit his bottom lip. "But we can't pretend that this thing between us isn't going to affect our work."
"No, we can't. So…" Steve moved closer. "Here's my answer." He ran the pad of his thumb over Danny's lower lip and the indentations left behind by his teeth. "I choose you. Us. Not the job." He repeated the action with his thumb. "Whatever it takes, we'll figure the rest out."
A quick breath passed through Danny's parted lips. "Are you sure?"
"I'm more than sure. You're not just my best friend anymore, and I can't keep pretending you don't mean everything to me."
When the last word left Steve's lips, the blonde came at him. The SEAL returned the kiss with as much intensity as Danny was giving him.