Set sometime in Season 1
It was becoming increasingly common for Gracie to sweet-talk her way into spending at least part of her weekends with Danny at Steve's. And while Danny wasn't prepared to examine it too closely, the fact that Grace's measure of delight was surpassed only by Steve's did something very warm to his heart.
It kept him from feeling like he was taking advantage, okay? That's all it was. Probably.
There was also the fact that while Danny was a very strong and competent swimmer, and Grace was solemnly obedient to all safety-related instructions from her Danno - his childhood experience of losing Billy to a riptide meant that he really felt safest letting Grace enjoy the water with not just himself, but his SEAL partner.
It had absolutely nothing to do with the way said SEAL was currently walking toward them, megawatt smile on his face, water dripping down his chiseled abs and deepening the swirls of color on his biceps.
"Uncle Steve!"
Gracie dropped his hand and took off toward Steve, launching herself into his arms. He caught her easily, balancing her on his hip while he grabbed his towel from the chair with his other hand.
"Oh, no, now you're all wet," he said in mock dismay, blotting absently at his face and rubbing the towel over his hair.
It wasn't fair, Danny thought, that the stick-up-every-which-way result was damnably attractive.
Gracie giggled. She and Steve had perfected this routine. "Guess it's a good thing I already have on my swim suit!"
"You're kidding!"
"AND my sunscreen! It has to be applied thirty minutes before essposure, so Danno helped me put it on at his 'partment, before we left, so I wouldn't have to wait once we got here!"
"No way! How'd he think of that? Your Danno must be really smart, and a great dad," Steve said. He was completely focused on Grace, but Danny couldn't help but feel warmed by the comment. Rachel's estimation of his intelligence and parenting skills had not been as flattering.
"So," Grace chattered on, "can we get in the water right away? Right now?"
"Grace," Danny said softly, smiling at her so she knew she wasn't being scolded, "looks like Uncle Steve just had a swim; he might have something else he needs to do right now."
"Something else?!" Steve rolled his eyes extra dramatically for Grace's benefit. "Something better to do than swim with my best girl and my best friend? Did you feed Danno the crazy puffs for breakfast?"
Grace dissolved in a fit of giggles.
"That was my training swim, I got that out of the way so I could have my fun swim with you. Look, I already have your towels and a cooler set up." Steve pointed to the chairs for emphasis. A stack of neatly folded beach towels, soft and faded, sat neatly on the chair that Danny thought of as his. An equally faded quilt hung over the back of the chair, the corner of it resting against a cooler with a basket of crackers and popcorn on top. Danny wondered if Steve was recreating precious scenes from his own childhood . . . probably with the very same towels and quilt, given the frayed edges which danced gently in the ocean breeze.
"So we can swim right away?" Grace started to wriggle out of Steve's arms. He deposited her gently on the ground, where she proceeded to yank off her shorts, t-shirt, and flipflops in a whirl of tiny limbs.
"Only if Danno joins us," Steve said, grinning at Danny. "Did you help him with his sunscreen, or do I need to do that?"
Danny shoved aside the image as well as any far-fetched, alternate universe version of that question. "Sunscreen is now available in aerosol, you neanderthal animal, and I'm perfectly capable of it myself, thank you."
Steve and Grace were already running toward the water, whooping with joy. Danny followed them, smiling. This universe was pretty damn great, as it was.
#*#*#*#*#
Danny was floating contentedly on his back, relaxing on the gentle swells under the late afternoon sun. He could hear Steve and Grace's yells of "Marco!" and "Polo!", and he knew with absolutely no doubt that Steve's undivided attention was on Grace, so he allowed himself the luxury of drifting and enjoying the water.
Grace's bloodcurdling scream startled him, making him lose his balance and dip under the surface, only to pop up immediately, already turning his body and stroking toward the sound.
He saw a flash of brown hair, caught in a hot pink elastic, before a furious white churning replaced the spot where his precious daughter had been.
"Grace!" Steve shouted, as he spared a split-second glance toward Danny as he pointed emphatically to a space about two feet in front of him, then disappeared beneath the surface.
Danny dove as well, both of them aiming for Grace. His heart was in his throat, half expecting to see Steve in hand-to-hand combat, fighting a shark away. Instead, he saw just Grace, writhing and flailing. It made no sense - the water wasn't even deep enough to be over Grace's head.
Right?
Even Steve's closer proximity and longer reach was no match for Danny's fear-fueled dive. Their hands reached Grace at the same time, the unspoken communication and coordination that served them so well in the field taking over effortlessly now. Steve had one big hand cradling Grace's neck and head as he lifted her out of the water, the other automatically going to rest against her spine, while Danny tried to capture her flailing limbs. She broke the surface with a choking, gagging scream.
"You're okay, Grace," Steve said, turning her head to the side. "Get the water out, that's a good girl." A gush of sea water spewed out of her mouth, leaving her gasping for a breath, which she released in another heart-wrenching scream.
Danny had never heard his baby make that sound, not even the time she'd stepped too close to a swing, and ended up with a gash in her chin that had required stitches. He looked around wildly, terrified that he would see her blood filling the water.
"Gracie, what happened, baby?" he said, trying to keep his voice calm.
"It hurts!" she cried. She was alternating between short shrieks of agony and deep sobs.
"Hold her," Steve said. "She didn't dive, I didn't see anything hit her - spine and airway seem fine -" he gently handed her over to
Danny, sparing a moment to squeeze Danny's shoulder, before resuming his inventory of Grace - "did you step on something, sweetheart? I don't see what - shit."
"What, Steve?" Danny asked, trying to keep his voice calm. Grace had tucked her head into the crook of his neck and she was trying, bless her, to stop crying, but every few seconds she would cry out in pain.
"Don't touch her legs if you can help it," Steve said. "The tentacles are still attached."
"The - WHAT?"
"Grace, we're going to get you inside, take care of you, okay? You just hang on to your daddy, let me have your ankles -" he wrapped his hands around her feet and ankles. "Ready, Danny? Concentrate on Grace, let me guide us back to the house, just follow my lead."
Grace was squirming and writhing, making it difficult for both Steve and Danny to maintain a grip on her tiny, slippery body.
"Grace," Danny said, quietly but firmly. "Remember we've discussed what happens in a water emergency? How it's important for you to stay calm, so people can help you?"
"I know Danno, but it h-h-hurts," she sobbed. She stilled however, at least a bit.
"That's good, Gracie, you're doing so great," Steve said. "I'm so proud of you for listening to your daddy. We're almost back to the chairs already, hold on."
Danny had to move swiftly to keep up with Steve, whose long strides were quickly moving them up the sandy beach toward the grassy lawn of the house. He watched as Steve turned so that he could walk forwards, instead of backwards, shifting both of Grace's ankles easily into one hand. Danny could see strands of what looked like fishing line wrapped around both of Grace's calves, one extending further, above her knee.
"Steve!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, Danny, I know," Steve said, glancing back over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, brother, if I'd spotted one when I was swimming this morning I'd never have let her in the water, I swear it."
Grace was sobbing hysterically again, and while Danny was able to hold her upper body securely in his arms, he had no idea how Steve was managing to keep hold of her skinny little ankles so firmly, yet so gently, as she kicked and jerked involuntarily.
"Grab a towel; we're headed for the kitchen," Steve said, pausing just long enough for Danny to snag a towel to drape over Grace. They made their way, an awkward trio, to the kitchen door, and Steve entered first, pushing the door open with enough force that it stayed open with plenty of time to spare for Danny to get through. "Okay, Grace, you're going to sit on the counter with your feet in the sink for us, and we're going to have you feeling a lot better really fast, I promise."
Danny wrapped his arms tight around Grace's shaking body as she clung to him, still sobbing. Her feet scrabbled against the bottom of the sink, and her back arched against Danny in pain, but she stayed put. Steve squeezed his shoulder as he rushed past him to the pantry.
"I'm sorry, Danno," she sobbed. "I'm trying to be st-still, but it hurts!"
"You're doing great, baby," Danny said.
Steve was back, with a gallon container of white vinegar and a small first aid kit. "Grace, you just sit there with your Danno, and I'm going to pour this over your legs, okay?"
Grace caught her lower lip between her teeth and nodded, then turned and tucked her face into Danny's neck. He cradled her head against him in his hand and nodded to Steve.
"This isn't going to sting or anything," Steve murmured, "I swear; it's going to feel a lot better than what she's feeling now." He slowly began pouring the vinegar over her legs. She startled at first, but stayed still.
Danny watched as Steve turned his complete focus to the slow stream of liquid, one hand holding the bottle, the other carefully, gently turning Grace's leg, avoiding what had now become a distinct, fiery red welt on each leg. Steve was dripping wet, mindless of the saltwater tracking into his eyes, oblivious to everything but his care of Grace.
"There we go, Grace," he murmured, "is that starting to feel better?"
"Ummhmm," Grace whimpered, nodding against Danny's shoulder.
"You tangled with a jellyfish," Steve said, still pouring a gentle stream over the angry looking welt. Grace shivered. "In fact, one that we don't see very often around here, especially not in the shallow water. My guess is that it might have been a little bit sick, and drifted closer than usual."
"What kind?"
Steve grinned up at Danny, then, and Danny let out a sigh of relief. If Grace was exhibiting her usual curiosity, then she was going to be just fine.
"A Portugese man-of-war," Steve said. He replaced the cap on the vinegar and set it aside. Grace took a shuddering breath and picked her head up to look down at her legs. Her eyes widened.
"Yeah, see," Steve pointed to the red marks, "when it bumped into you, it's tentacles went around your legs, and stung you."
"Why didn't it look where it was going?"
"Well, sweetie, it doesn't have eyes," Steve said. "It just drifts where the current takes it. It definitely wasn't on purpose."
Danny humphed. "We need to get her to the emergency room, or to urgent care?" He was already dreading the conversation with Rachel.
"No," Steve said, shaking his head. "I can spray her legs with an over-the-counter lidocaine, like you'd use for sunburn or poison ivy. The pain will fade in about an hour anyway, so by the time we got everything together and got there -" he stopped and looked at Danny earnestly. "But if you'd be more comfortable, then of course, I'll go get -"
"Steve," Danny said, interrupting the rush of words. "Seems to me Grace is already feeling better, right, honey?" Grace nodded and took a shuddering breath. "I trust your judgment, and . . . thank you. So what do we do next? You got the spray stuff?"
"Yeah, right here." Steve brushed some dripping water out of his face and pulled a larger kit out from under the sink. He pulled out an aerosol can and handed it to Danny.
"Thanks," Danny murmured, his attention already on Grace. He glanced at the directions on the can, and shook it accordingly before popping the cap and reaching one arm over Grace's shoulder to aim and spray. He was vaguely aware of his wet, completely disheveled hair falling into his face, but ignored it, focused on his task, until a big hand gently smoothed it back. He looked up, startled, into Steve's face. Water still beaded on the long lashes framing Steve's hazel eyes, the expression of familiar concern mixed with something . . . less familiar.
Steve pulled his hand back. "You must be freezing," he said. The moment was broken as he rushed to the hall, and returned with a soft, thick bath towel, which he draped over Danny's shoulders. He stacked two more on the counter. "We will need to check and see if there are any barbs," he murmured in Danny's ear, quietly, so that Grace didn't hear. Danny could hear remorse threaded through his voice.
"Like with a bee sting?" he mouthed over Grace's head. Steve nodded.
"If you'd rather go . . ." Steve offered hesitantly.
"Gracie, we need to get you into some dry clothes, and then Danno and Uncle Steve need to check and be sure that jelly fish didn't leave any stickers behind, okay?" He picked up a dry towel and replaced the one around her shoulders.
"Will it hurt?" Grace asked, brushing tears out of her eyes. She looked up at Steve.
"It might pinch just a little, but absolutely nothing like the sting did," Steve said. "And we can spray more of that spray on, right away, if it does."
"We can take you to the doctor's office, and get your mommy, if you'd rather," Danny said. "Or we can get Uncle Steve to help us here. Whichever you're the most comfortable with."
"I want you and Uncle Steve," Grace said immediately.
Danny dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "Ok baby. Let's go get you washed up and put your mermaid t-shirt on, how about that? That'd be comfy, yeah?"
Grace nodded and twined her arms around Danny's neck. He picked her up, carefully avoiding the welts on her legs, and carried her down the hall.
#*#*#*#
By the time he returned to the kitchen, Steve had obviously managed to fit in one of his Navy showers and had neatly assembled a few sets of tweezers, alcohol swabs, and the lidocaine spray on a small stack of white hand towels. He was shoulders deep into the refrigerator and emerged with two bottled ginger ales in one hand and an apple juice in another. Seeing Grace standing next to Danny, his face lit up in a smile.
"Hey, Grace," he said softly. He crouched in front of her and offered her the juice. "How's our girl holding up?"
She sniffled a bit. "It still hurts, but not as bad."
"Tell you what," Steve said, cupping her face in his hand, "why don't we give your legs another spray and pick out a movie to watch while we wait for the pizza to get here?"
Grace perked up, and Danny couldn't help but chuckle.
Steve was looking up at him, his face filled with such a mixture of pride and hope that he looked far more like a kid earning his first merit badge than a combat-decorated spec ops naval commander. "Hope that's okay," he said.
Normally Danny would have snarked at him about his benevolent dictatorship, but watching Grace slip her tiny hand dissolved the thought before it even formed.
"It's great," Danny said. He was suddenly aware of his still damp, gritty shorts, and the salt drying all over his skin. "D'ya mind if I -" he gestured toward the bathroom.
"Yeah, yeah," Steve waved him off with the unopened bottles. "Grace and I are fine for a few minutes, right?"
Grace nodded her head.
"Although, I gotta say, the hair, man - it's a look." Steve grinned impishly at Danny. "It's what I imagined it would be."
With that, Steve gently steered Grace toward the growing collection of children's movies in the living room.
#*#*#*#*#
Grace was fast asleep, snuggled securely in Danny's arms with her feet propped on Steve's lap. While she was distracted with her very own smiley-face pepperoni pizza and the latest iteration of princess du jour, Steve had pulled out the few barbs left behind in her skin. He'd been full SEAL on a Mission Face, oblivious to everything around him, and Danny had indulged in the opportunity to watch, fascinated, as his long fingers gripped the tiny tweezers and carefully, so carefully, slid the sharp barbs out and then quickly dabbed on antiseptic. Grace had barely noticed.
"She's out cold," Danny murmured, looking over at Steve, who was finally eating.
Steve grinned around chipmunk-full cheeks. "Shkkyyffnnn."
Danny tilted his head at him. Steve held up the universal finger of let-me-swallow.
"She should be totally fine. They're not venomous or poisonous, just highly irritant."
"You tangled with 'em as a kid?" Danny asked, reaching for another slice.
"Yeah, not a lot, but me or Mary one, at least once a summer."
"We didn't have these in Jersey; I'm guessing the water was too cold. We had little moon jellies, you know those?"
Steve nodded. "They're harmless. Their tentacles fall off, they wash up on the beach. Had those on the coast in Maryland."
"Yeah, we'd play around with those," Danny said. "Bridge says, now, there's something called clinging jellyfish moving in. Global warming, bringing other species. So, she's gotta deal with this now, with her kids. I guess she stocks big jugs of vinegar in the station wagon when she drives to the shore, like your parents kept for you and Mary, hunh."
Steve fell silent for a moment, fidgeting with the label on his beer before he spoke.
"I'm really sorry I let this happen to Grace, Danny. I swear, when I was swimming earlier, there was no indication of any -"
"No. No, we've been over that, don't - what, Steve, your parents, that's how you knew what to do for Grace, right? I mean . . . when that happened to you, to Mary, that's . . ."
"Mrs. Keani. The neighbor who watched us when we got home from school."
"Babe."
"It's okay, Danny. If I was old enough to be in the water by myself, I should have been old enough to take care of myself, and I was responsible for Mary, I was -"
"Bullshit."
"Danny -"
"No. I call bullshit. What if I had been the one to get stung -"
"You know, it's not technically a sting -"
"Shut up. What if it had been me, today, instead of Grace? What, you woulda let me take care of myself?"
"Of course not, Danny," Steve said immediately. "I would have taken care of you. It's different."
"Jesus Christ," Danny said. Grace stirred, and Steve shot him a warning glance. "I'll grab us a couple more beers," he said, standing up carefully so as not to disturb her.
#*#*#*#*#
Steve turned around and slammed into Danny, bottles clanging gently together. He was reminded yet again, that despite Danny tucked perfectly under his arm - so perfectly, too perfectly - the man was a wall of solid muscle.
"Shit, Danny, you should know better than to sneak up on me," he complained half-heartedly. "Grace okay? Did she wake up, does she need more -"
"Grace is down for the count, out cold, I tucked her in Mary's bed," Danny said. "Put down the bottles."
"What the -" Steve protested, even as he placed the bottles on the kitchen island. In his shock, he was compliant when Danny nudged him to sit on a stool.
"You were amazing with Grace today," Danny said, standing close and looking Steve in the eyes. "Thank you. Thank you for knowing what to do, for being so kind and gentle with her . . . I would not have known, and I was freaking out, so thank you."
Steve felt his cheeks warm, and ducked his head down. "Of course, Danny, and you would have been fine. You would have Googled it, or called Kono - you're an amazing dad. You'd do anything for Grace."
Danny looked at him for a long moment. "Yeah. Yeah, I would. And so would you. Sit still, I'm making you an Irish coffee." Steve watched as he moved confidently around the kitchen, pulling out what he needed. In moments, the soft gurgle and aroma of coffee brewing filled the kitchen. "Most parents would, you know. Do anything for their children," Danny said, before he turned back to face Steve.
"Danny," Steve protested, moving to stand up.
Danny was in his space, crowding into him, standing between his knees. This proximity could be a real problem, but Danny had him pinned with those intense blue eyes, level with his.
"You deserved to be taken care of the way you took care of Grace today. You and Mary. Not by a neighbor, although I'm very thankful that you had her, but by your parents. Both of them. The fact that you weren't, it . . . it makes me furious, Steve. And it makes me amazed at how incredibly sweet and tender you are with Grace . . . at how big your goofy heart must be, for that to be there."
Steve shrugged uncomfortably. "You're a good dad, Danno, I guess I learn from you."
Danny's hand landed on the side of his face, cupping his jaw, and he couldn't help but lean into its calloused warmth, closing his eyes briefly. He was giving too much away, he knew it, but damn it if Danny didn't do that to him - lower his defenses, leave him unbalanced and off-footed. The hand disappeared, and Steve opened his eyes to see Danny expertly mixing two coffees with a conservative splash of good whiskey and a spoonful of dessert topping.
"Real whipped is better, of course, but this isn't half bad," Danny observed, sliding one gently to Steve and sitting down with his. Steve decided to tell him much later that it was non-dairy coconut. It would be fun to watch.
"You don't. Didn't. Learn from me," Danny said. "Maybe a little bit, about kids. But I think . . . I think you look for every opportunity to give to other people the care that you never had. Because you take care of everyone, Steve. Me, Chin, Kono . . ."
"Well, that's leadership, Danny. What do you think they teach at Annapolis?"
"I'm terrified to consider what they teach at Annapolis."
"Besides, we're a team. We take care of each other. You're always the first one to get to me when I get hurt. And then you're over here with soup. Chin, if he thinks I'm lonely or whatever, you know, he gets his cousin's boat and we go out. Kono, she's always fussing over all of us to eat, and when we pull a muscle, she brings us a hot pack and does that amazing massage thing, like the other day when I -"
"Oh, yeah, I remember," Danny said, turning his gaze back to Steve. His eyes seemed strangely intense, determined. "God, I was so jealous."
Steve choked on a mouthful of coffee. Where was this going?
"Where is this going, Danny?" It came out far more breathless than he had planned.
"I thought it was just my fraternal instincts at first," Danny said. "I have siblings, we grew up rough in Jersey. And Chin, yeah, he gets threatened, he gets hurt, it's the same feeling I had when Matty took a hit on the playground."
Steve nodded. He'd seen it plenty and felt the same.
"Kono, too. Now, she'd have my balls in a sling for saying it, because we all know she's more badass than the three of us together, but she gets hurt? I feel more protective, like with Stella or Bridget. Can't help it."
"I know," Steve agreed.
"But you . . . you get hurt, someone threatens you . . . I feel something stronger. I'm thinking at first, maybe it's my paternal instincts, because you're such an idiot, with absolutely zero sense of self-preservation."
Steve shrugged. Danny had said it often enough, he was starting to think it might be true.
"And then, as time went on, I realized . . . Kono, right? Kono has, God help us, chosen you as her role model, with the adrenaline and the risk-taking, and the free visit punch card at Queens. And while I'm happy to see her home and have, on occasion, taken her soup, I have not wanted to follow her into her house and take care of her the way I want to take care of you. And I've had to work my brain around that, okay, because Kono is a beautiful woman and you are - you are you."
Danny was not making any sense unless he was saying what Steve was hoping he was saying, but no, that was crazy. Danny had been married, he had a kid.
"And I thought, okay, the next time Steve throws himself off a roof or in front of a bullet, I'll get up the nerve, I'll test out my theory," Danny said, taking another sip of his coffee. "But then today, today caught me off guard, watching you with Grace, and I . . . God, do you have any idea, how much you deserve - how long I've wanted to - how much I want to -"
Steve blinked, not daring to breathe. That wouldn't be a problem, not for a few minutes yet.
"And then you, with the eyes, and the looks, and the faces. And I started to think maybe I wasn't losing my mind, not completely, because every now and then . . . like today, just for a minute, you go and do something like . . ." Danny paused and took another fortifying sip of coffee before plunging back in. "Like while we're taking care of Grace, okay, you - you reach up and push my hair out of my face -"
"Sorry," Steve muttered, hiding his face in his own mug. Damn, it was good. Warm, and comforting.
"No, that's the thing, that's what I'm saying, I - don't want you to be sorry. I want to think maybe it means that you'd be on board with me wanting to . . . reciprocate."
"Reciprocate," Steve repeated cautiously.
"Taking care of you, well, for starters . . . the way you take care of everyone -"
"You do, Danny," Steve started earnestly.
"Wasn't finished. For starters - the way you take care of everyone. And then, the way I'd like to take care of you, the way I don't think anyone does, or has, for a long time."
"More than soup," Steve said. He needed clarification, before his stupid heart got any more hopeful. Or maybe there was more Irish in his coffee than he'd realized, but something was making him feel warmer on the inside than he'd felt in ages.
"Much more than soup," Danny confirmed. "Soup goes on the stove while you're in the shower, then when you get out, I'm right there with a warm towel. And I'll wrap it around you, and change whatever dressings on whatever you've gone and busted open." Danny picked up Steve's left arm and bent it gently, exposing the still healing scar from where Steve's quick reflexes had intercepted a blade meant for Kono. Danny pressed his lips against it, and Steve shivered.
"Then after I've fed you properly," Danny continued, as if he wasn't turning Steve's world sideways, "I make sure you take your damn meds, including the ones for pain that I know you never take."
Steve pressed his lips into a thin line. Of course he didn't take them. He couldn't let himself be compromised like that.
"Because if I'm right here next to you," Danny was saying, and what, he was reading minds now? "- maybe you could let yourself stand the hell down for a change."
"You'd be next to me?"
"Yeah, babe. I'd get you tucked in, curl around you, rub your head until you fell asleep."
Steve looked into Danny's eyes, searching, and finding nothing but complete sincerity - maybe some hope.
"You know those stupid pain pills give me nightmares, Danny."
"Then I'd hold you until you understood you were safe," Danny said softly. "If I'm not crazy. If you'd let me."
Steve turned so that he was facing Danny. "You are crazy. And I'd absolutely let you."
"Idiot," Danny said, but he smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
"What if I wasn't hurt?" Steve asked quietly. "All bets off, then?"
"Babe. You have no idea. All my best ideas for taking care of you involve you being very, very healthy."
The warmth in Steve turned incendiary. He yanked Danny's stool closer so that their knees bumped and then slotted neatly together.
"Tell me," he said, his voice suddenly hoarse.
"Well, first, it would depend on how much of an idiot you'd been that day."
"Naturally."
"If you'd scared the absolute shit out of me, I might have to rant at you a little bit."
Steve felt giddy. He'd suspected, he'd even dared, on occasion, to hope. "Because that's how Danny Williams says I love you."
"God help us if this is the best Naval Intelligence has to offer," Danny said.
"After you were done yelling at me," Steve prompted.
"We'd pick up some of that loco moco you like. We'd come home, sit out by the water, eat and enjoy a few beers. You'd be twitching to get in the water - you always are if you haven't had an excuse to blow anything up or hang someone off the side of a building during the workday. So we'd swim for a while."
"You'd swim with me?" Steve was surprised.
"Hmm. Water has one certain advantage," Danny said. He slipped off his stool, stepping even further into Steve's space. "Equalizes height." He looped his arms, heavy and strong, around Steve's shoulders, and pulled him close. Steve felt his arms go automatically around Danny's waist, one hand sliding up the center of that broad back, and then they were kissing, and it was perfect.
"That is an advantage," Steve said, breathless. "I like it."
"Mmmm, thought you might." Danny leaned in and kissed Steve again, slow and unhurried. Someone made an undignified noise in the back of their throat. Steve thought it was probably him, but couldn't bring himself to care. Danny nipped at his lower lip and then grinned at him, silent, teasing.
Steve took a long, steadying breath. "Tell me what comes next," he said, tucking his face into the space between Danny's neck and shoulder, tracing the strong tendon there with the tip of his tongue, satisfied when he felt Danny's breath hitch.
Danny's arms tightened around him, and Steve leaned into the solid warmth. He couldn't remember having ever been held like this. Maybe, for a brief moment, the first time he saw Joe after his father died but - okay, Joe definitely didn't slide one hand into his hair and one hand down the small of his back, fingers dipping into the gap at his waistband, gun callouses caressing bare skin. He felt a sudden rush of emotion and started to pull away.
"No, babe," Danny murmured. "I've got you. I'm plenty strong for you to lean on. Besides . . . I haven't finished telling you what comes next."
Danny's clever fingers were rubbing circles on his scalp, and he could feel the week's tension and the worry over Gracie fading away. It did feel good. And he was curious.
"What comes next?" he whispered. He was tempted to just stand up and push Danny against the counter, suggest that actions could speak louder than words, but Danny had apparently set the rules here, and Steve was nothing if not good at following rules.
"Next, we come inside and shower the sand off. Not one of your three minute Army showers either," and Steve was so far gone he didn't even bother. "And I cover every inch of you in a coconut oil shower gel, which smells amazing, and feels even better. Then I lay you down on the bed, and I rub your back, and your arms, and your legs, until your muscles feel like warm taffy."
Steve sighed as Danny's hands slid to his shoulders to give a brief demonstration. His eyes slid closed and he tilted his head to give
Danny better access as he kissed his way up the column of his neck.
"And then, well, then . . . one of two things is gonna happen. I'll gonna roll you over, nice and easy. One, you might have fallen asleep, in which case, I tuck you in, turn off the light, and get my turn as the big spoon. Or two . . ."
"Two?" Steve breathed out. Danny's hand was moving down his ribcage; firm enough not to tickle, thank God.
"Two, you are relaxed but definitely not sleepy, and we go from there," Danny said. "I have ideas, Steven, so many ideas."
Steve felt himself grinning. "Seems like a few of them involve sex."
Danny was grinning back. "Yep." He cupped Steve's face in his hands. "But all of them involve you on the receiving end of feeling cared for. When you're hurt, or in pain, cared for and looked after as carefully and gently as you did Grace today. When you're just tired, or stressed, then pampered, given time to recharge. And just because you're you, and you deserve it, spoiled a little."
Steve turned his head to kiss Danny's palm. "As long as you'll still let me do the same for you."
"You've ever known me to turn down an indulgence? I don't think so."
"You're an indulgence," Steve murmured, kissing those plush lips again. God, he was already addicted - which gave him pause. How would he ever give Danny up? "Danny, if we - I can't - I only play for keeps."
"I'm not playing, and this is definitely for keeps."
Height difference be damned, Steve thought, and he stood up, almost knocking the both of them over.
"Two," he said, his voice sounding strangled.
"Hunh?"
"Two. I'm relaxed. Definitely," he kissed Danny for emphasis, "definitely not sleepy."
Danny smiled up at him, that devilish smile - that one that he'd hoped so many times might have meant something more than friendship - took him firmly by the hand, and led him to the stairs. It felt a bit strange, to have someone lead you around in your own house, Steve thought, before the advantage of following Danny up the stairs presented itself - namely, an eye level view of Danny's perfect ass.
#*#*#*#*#
Hours later, Steve traced absent patterns through the soft golden hair on Danny's ribs. Danny chuckled.
"Tickles," he protested half-heartedly.
"I'm sorry Grace got hurt today," Steve said. "Do you think we would have ended up here, if she hadn't?"
"Oh yeah," Danny said, without a moment's hesitation. "We've been headed here since we drew down on each other in the garage. You make me so crazy, you self-sacrificing nincompoop. I was on the verge of making a huge scene, declaring my undying affection in the middle of a shootout, or using kissing and groping to distract you from a bad idea while we were standing around the smart table."
"Don't tell Kono," Steve warned, "she'll demand a reenactment."
"I'll reenact you right now."
"That doesn't make any sense at all, Danny."
"Do you care?"
"No, go right ahead."
#*#*#*#*#
"Yo, Steven, make the coffee to go" Danny yelled down the stairs. "We gotta pick up Grace."
"Okay. On a Monday morning?" Steve yelled back. He heard Danny's footfalls on the stairs.
"Rachel forgot - it's a school holiday, and Rachel has some stupid board of director's retreat for her charity thingy all day. She'll have to come to work with me, there's no time to find someone."
Steve's eyes lit up. "That's great, Danno."
"You are not putting her in the armory cleaning guns."
Steve held his hands up in surrender.
#*#*#*#*#
"Hey, guys, nice of you to join us," Kono said, grinning at them over her shoulder as she pulled up a case file on the big screen. She stopped and turned, facing them. "Wait. Danny, you were outside over the weekend. Steve, you looked - relaxed, brah. Woah."
"Hi, Auntie Kono!" Grace pushed between Steve and Danny to get to Kono.
"Gracie!" Kono exclaimed, reaching down and gathering her up into a hug, settling her on her hip. "Oh, keiki, what happened to your leg?"
"We spent the weekend at Uncle Steve's, and I was swimming, and there was a jellyfish," Grace explained, her hands gesturing as expressively as Danny's.
"Oh, no," Kono said. "Did it hurt?"
"A whole lot, at first," Grace said. "Uncle Steve took care of it though." She beamed up at Kono. "And then Danno spent the rest of the weekend taking care of Uncle Steve. Do you still have coloring books in your office?"
"I sure do, you go right ahead," Kono said, depositing Grace gently, then folded her arms and pinned Steve and Danny to the spot with an arched eyebrow.
They started talking over each other.
"What she means is, I used vinegar, and then Danny made coffees -"
"I mean, she fell asleep and we stayed, so I made pancakes -"
Chin came out of his office, a curious expression on his face. "What's going on?"
"I owe you fifty bucks, is going on," Kono grumbled. "It was Gracie."
"I told you," Chin said, smiling magnanimously. "I've seen Danny, watching Steve with Grace, and Steve watching Danny with Grace. I knew that was eventually going to do it."
"Yeah, but I've seen Steve watching Danny in a gunfight, and I've seen Danny watching Steve in the hospital, and that could just have easily done it." Kono paused. She turned and pointed at Steve. "That's why you look so relaxed. Oh my god, you've actually done it! They've totally done it."
Steve felt a headache coming on, and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and middle finger.
"If I pay Chin the fifty bucks you owe him, will you stop talking now?"
Kono considered the offer, and then looked at Danny thoughtfully.
"Ah, ah, extortion is a crime, young lady," Danny said.
"Damn it. Okay, fine, pay the man, boss." Kono headed to her office. She paused as she passed close by Danny. "True love by way of jellyfish. This never would have happened to you in Jersey," she murmured. "Details later, my office, bring coffee."
