Guardian

A/N: This feels like it has been a long time coming. All I can say is this chapter is full of nothing but the boys.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them.

Chapter 15

Rolling over, Steve cracked his eyes open and noticed it was barely light yet. Unless he'd completely missed something, Grace had slept through the night, a fact that pleased him immensely.

Sitting up, he stretched before finally rising from the bed. Looking out the window, the waves seemed to beckon to him and he decided to heed Mom's advice.

Quickly changing into his trunks, he slipped out of the room. Quietly crossing the hall, he peaked into Grace's room and saw she was still sleeping before trotting down the stairs.

Grabbing one of his refillable water bottles from the kitchen and a towel, he slipped out the door and toward the water. It was a beautiful morning for a swim. Tossing the items in one of the chairs, he jogged the short distance to the water and dove in.

Much like the day before, his mind raced as his body sliced through the water. Mom's words from the evening before echoed in his head. "One of you is going to have to make the first move." He could hear her voice on repeat.

Pushing himself harder, trying to decide what he should do, his mind replayed all the moments with Danny. All the moments that he wished for more, all the ones where he thought he saw some glimpse of possibility.

Reconciling the idea that he was going to have to take a leap of faith, he began to relax slightly. Allowing his mind to wander to the visions of what life could be like; the Seal slowed his pace to allow his body to cool down some before he headed back to dry land.

/

Hearing his partner's quiet footsteps in the hall, Danny rolled over and looked at the clock. Only the Seal would be up and moving willingly at this hour, but he was relieved that he was following Mom's advice.

Staying in bed for a few moments longer, he considered her advice last night. She'd pushed him to give them a chance, made it sound like everyone around them was just waiting for them both to get a clue.

Part of him wondered if she was right. He still couldn't pinpoint the moment in time where he actually fell in love with his crazy partner, the moment where he started wishing for more. All he knew was that somewhere along the line he'd realized that Steve was so much more than his best friend.

Having made up his mind, but still unsure of exactly how he was going to broach the subject, Danny decided there was no time like the present. Getting out of bed with far more energy than he usually had in the morning, he took a moment to stop and look at the window.

The vision of Steve's lithe form cutting through the water filled him with longing. Taking a deep breath, willing his body to behave, he quickly turned to get dressed.

/

Emerging from the water nearly forty-five minutes after he'd entered, the Seal saw his partner waiting for him. Droplets of water rolled down his body and into his eyes as he took the final steps out of the ocean. Danny rose from the chair, towel in hand, and sauntered toward him.

He loved seeing the shorter man in the more relaxed attire he tended to where when home here. There were no slacks and dress shirts, definitely no ties. Danny was dressed simply in cargo shorts that hung low on his waist and a pale blue t-shirt that clung to his chest. Taking a deep breath, Steve struggled to control his rather visceral reaction before the need arose to retreat to the water he'd just left.

"Mornin' babe. Good swim?" The detective's voice was huskier than usual, as he was unable to take his eyes off his bare chested partner. The struggle to control himself from the bedroom window now seemed like a walk in the park. He gave himself a mental shake. He had to figure out how to approach this without ruining their friendship in the process if Mom was wrong.

"Felt good to start the morning in the water. Mom was right."

"Of course Mom was right. She usually is." Steve noted a more serious tone to Danny's response than he'd expected. For his part, Williams was hoping Mom truly was always right.

Without saying another word, the shorter man took a step toward the Seal, closing the gap between them. Planning simply to hand him the towel, he found himself reaching up and carefully beginning to dry Steve's hair.

Startled by this unexpected closeness and contact, the taller man looked down at his partner, searching for an answer he wasn't sure he was ready to see. What he saw there was an intensity that mirrored his own.

In that instant, all logic escaped him as he brought his hand to the back of Danny's neck, pulling him closer as he lowered head. A bolt of searing heat shot through him the instant their lips met, but he quickly realized Danny wasn't returning the kiss. His partner remained frozen in place.

Thinking he'd drastically misjudged the situation; that perhaps Mom wasn't always right, Steve released his hold and fled back to the water.

Left standing frozen in place, Danny's mind hadn't caught up with what had just happened, but he knew he'd just missed a perfect opportunity. He'd been so busy trying to figure out what to say, what to do next that his mind had completely shut down when Steve kissed him.

"Steven, come back here!" He yelled too late, the Seal was already underwater. Not even bothering to return to the chairs, he sat in the sand where they'd stood, where only a second before Steve had kissed him. The Seal couldn't stay in the ocean forever.

Running his hands through his hair, Danny didn't even try to check the tears that fell. He didn't know what he'd do if he'd managed to lose McGarrett before he'd ever really had him.

Staring out at the water, vision blurred by tears, he waited. Licking his lips, he could taste the saltwater on them from the all too brief kiss. The taste brought him back to the feel of it all, Steve's lips on his, his hand pulling Danny closer.

He was an idiot. He should have pulled the crazy Seal closer, wrapped him in his arms, not frozen like an inexperienced schoolgirl. Seeing that Steve was swimming back toward shore, he decided he was going to have to suck it up and go stand in the water if he had any hopes of catching his wayward partner.

Not caring if his shorts ended up wet, the detective ventured forward into the water and toward the man he loved.

Steve wasn't sure how far he'd made it from shore before he convinced himself to turn around. He was a trained Navy Seal, trained to stand his ground and fight not flee at the first sign of trouble. But this wasn't just any fight. He hadn't planned to kiss Danny. He wasn't sure exactly what he had planned, but it involved speaking first. He needed to know where they stood and yet in that moment, with Danny so close, touching him, he'd simply needed to feel him.

Taking a breath as he swam, he spotted the Jersey native wading into the ocean. Danny clearly didn't plan to let him escape the coming confrontation. Pulling up a few feet from the other man, Steve rose to his feet, the water continuing to lap around his waist.

"I'm sorry." Both men spoke at the same time.

Danny held up his hands in an effort to silence his partner. "No, Steven. You do not get to apologize this time. Unless you are apologizing for running off to hide in the ocean. Then yes, you may apologize." The shorter man was so keyed up he couldn't stop himself once the rant began. "I am the one that's sorry. I came out here to talk to you. To explain how I feel, how much I love you. Instead, when you did exactly what I've wanted you to do for I don't know how long, I froze. I panicked. And then you ran, disappeared into the water right when I realized just how much I didn't want you to stop." His voice broke and he had to stop.

Steve stared at his partner. "You love me?" His mind had stopped working at those words.

"Yes, my crazy Neanderthal, super Seal. I love you!" He gestured wildly with his arms as if somehow they could convey just how much he meant those words.

"You love me?" Steve still looked completely stunned.

"Steven, you're repeating yourself. We've established that I love you. Pick a new question." He wanted to close the distance between them, but his partner looked so overwhelmed that he was afraid any movement might send him back into the waves.

"When? How? Why?" He couldn't seem to figure out which question to settle on.

"That, Steven, was three questions not one, but I'll play nice since you seem to be a little slow this morning. I don't know exactly when I fell in love with you, because I was too far-gone before I even realized it. If you mean when I realized it that's easier; it was the day I almost died from the Sarin gas. Thinking I would never see you again. Seeing the look in your eyes when you realized something was wrong."

The Seal took a haggard breath, that day was so clearly etched in his memory. Thinking back, that was the day he'd admitted to himself just how much his partner meant to him. Just how much he couldn't imagine his life without him.

"It's hard to separate the how and why of it all." Danny continued answering the questions. "Now I see a new reason to love you every day. I think early on it was because of Grace. Steven, you are the only person on the planet that loves Grace as much as I do. Rachel loved her, but always loved herself a bit more. You put her before everything. After Rachel, I swore that I would only ever let someone close if they could do that. You have no idea how much I wanted to admit this yesterday at the beach, but I couldn't. I was to scared. To afraid that you wouldn't want me the way I wanted you and I couldn't put my happiness ahead of Gracie's. I want you; hell, I need you, but I knew she needs you more."

Danny's eyes glistened as he looked up at Steve. This was not how he'd envisioned this conversation, this confession of his innermost feelings, but he didn't care. He had said it and Steve hadn't run, hadn't yelled, hadn't sent him away.

Hearing his partner's admission, knowing now that all his fears had meant wasted moments, wasted days, that could have been spent together, Steve closed the gap between them.

Before Danny could open his mouth to speak another word, he was wrapped in McGarrett's arms. "I love you, Danno." The taller man whispered in his ear. "I love you so much. I've wanted to tell you, to show you, so many times. Yesterday, I was so afraid I'd lose you both."

Pulling away just enough that he could see Steve's eyes he shook his head. "You won't lose us. We're here. We're staying. We're family."

Those words pushed the taller man over the edge. For the second time that morning, his hand found its way into Danny's hair, pulling him closer. This time, when his lips captured the shorter man's there was no hesitation, no resistance. Every emotion pent up within the men poured into that kiss.

When they finally broke apart, both gasping for breath, Danny looked up at him and smiled. "If you don't mind, I think I'll remember that as our first kiss."

/

From the kitchen window, Mama Williams looked on at the men she loved so dearly. Perhaps she shouldn't have watch, perhaps she should have given them more privacy, but it was such a beautiful scene to behold that she just couldn't look away.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned to see Grace.

"I think it's time to make some celebratory breakfast." She glanced out the window to see the pair walking up the beach, hand in hand. "I think they finally sorted things out."

/

A/N: I'm going to go hide now and hope I didn't just ruin this for all of you. Please take pity and leave a review to let me know.