Disclaimer: I do not own anyone/anything you recognize.

A/N: 70+ reviews? Wow! Mahalo nui loa! I'm so touched that you take the time to read what I write and tell me how much you enjoy it.

Hope you enjoy this chapter! I really liked Ben, so I hope I did his character justice. If I didn't ship Kono/Steve so hard, I would seriously ship the fuck out of Ben/Kono, regardless that their ship is sunk.

As always, mahalo nui loa to Tiana-P for reasons she already knows.


Most of the world's most talented surfers, both past and present, had converged for the annual Coral Prince Surf Competition. For the first time since her injury, Kono had been invited to appear at the event, so she and Steve drove up the island to world famous Pipeline for the day to partake in the festivities.

Since she still had a few minutes before she had to go out into the water, they decided to kill time and make out inside a private cabana on the shore. The voice of the event's host, Carlton Bass, was faintly heard in the distance among the cheers and excitement of the fans.

"I have to go back out there soon," she said in-between slow kisses, her arms wrapped around his neck.

Steve, who was clad in swimming trunks, had his groin pushed against her waist. "Mmm, but I haven't wished you luck yet," he muttered against her lips as his hands fiddled with the ties of her bikini bottom.

She moaned softly as he tugged her closer, his lips now on her neck as he teasingly undid one of her ties. "You know we don't have time for that," she laughed.

"Mmm, come on, baby," he grinned seductively. "You know I can be quick." His lips went back to hers for a hard, hungry kiss, sending her into ecstasy. She breathlessly pulled away, her eyes now desperate with want. "Okay, you have two minutes," she nodded. He smiled as he abruptly crashed his lips onto hers again and undid the rest of her bikini.

She adjusted her bikini top as she came out of the cabana, her breath still hitching. He then followed suit, stopping just outside of the cabana to tie his swimming trunks in place.

"Hey, come here," he said softly, causing her to turn around. She smiled as he pulled her arm gently toward him. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his went around her waist. "Good luck, for real this time," he smiled as he kissed her nose.

"What are you talking about? You already wished me luck," she kissed him chastely before heading toward the registration tent to grab her surfboard. He just smiled smugly to himself as he started toward the shoreline for a good viewing spot.

As Ian and Kono paddled out side-by-side into waist-high peaks, he asked her, "Who is that young man with you? Is he your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, he's something like that," she proclaimed teasingly.

"Well, I'm glad to see you happy," he smiled back sincerely. "It's good to see that you bounced back from your accident and that someone is contributing to your happiness."

"Thanks, Ian. I'm as happy as I can be."

He smiled at her again as he stopped paddling to sit on his surfboard, her following suit on her own surfboard. He breathed in the salty ocean air before continuing to speak. "I've missed this, Kono, being out here with the people that mean the most to me. This is where I want to be."

She looked back toward the shore where the fans were on their feet, cheering and clapping in anticipation. "I think the fans couldn't agree more."

Ian smiled and turned his surfboard around to face the beach as Carlton announced his name over the microphone. "Let's give them a show," he said as he began paddling to catch a forming wave.

The heat of the morning sun soaked into him as he rode the first set, his turns fluid and smooth. However, he jolted as soon as he finished his first turn, falling backwards into the wave. His board flew up in the air, right over the top of the wave.

She began paddling toward him as she continuously called out his name, a stinging panic spreading through her body.

"Kono!" Steve yelled worriedly from his place in the audience before running across the beach toward a lifeguard station. He, along with a lifeguard, pushed the first personal watercraft within reach across the sand and right into the water. Steve then hopped onto it, riding full speed toward them as the lifeguard rode atop a rescue board that was attached to the PWC.

As soon as Steve brought the PWC to a halt beside Ian and Kono, he jumped into the water to assist Kono and the lifeguard in pulling Ian's unconscious body onto the rescue board. "Got him!" the lifeguard claimed as he climbed next to Ian on the rescue board and wrapped his arm around him for support.

"Go," Steve demanded at Kono as he started swimming toward where her surfboard was idly floating. "I'll ride your board back."

Without protest, Kono quickly hopped onto the PWC to ride Ian and the lifeguard back to shore while bystanders huddled in a mass, watching in fear and worry.

As soon as they reached shore, Kono knelt down alongside the lifeguard as he stoically hovered over him, cupping his hands around a bullet that lodged in his chest. "He's been shot. He's dead," he announced.

Kono's mouth hung in shock as she stared at Ian's now deceased body, her eyes quickly flooding anew with tears. Steve, who was now standing behind her, just closed his eyes and sighed before placing his hands on her shoulders and squeezing them sympathetically.

"I want this entire beach on lockdown," Steve addressed a HPD officer who arrived at the scene. "Nobody leaves until we give the order, okay?"

As soon as the officer walked away, Steve immediately averted his eyes back toward Kono, who was kneeling beside Ian's zipped body bag on the sand. Just as he was about to walk up to her, Danny approached him, stopping him in his tracks. "Please tell me you brought extra clothes," he said as he waved his hand at his swimming trunks.

"They're in my truck. Why?" Steve asked in a confused tone.

"Unless you want Chin to suspect something, I suggest you go change," Danny suggested sarcastically, a smile appearing on his lips.

"Shit," Steve muttered under his breath as he quickly glanced down at his swimming trunks.

"Better hurry before he comes," Danny laughed as he saw Chin looking like he was about done interviewing a couple of fans in the crowd.

Steve was in the process of turning around to head to his truck when he noticed Chin walking toward them, laughing and shaking his head with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, too late," Danny said with no concern.

"Fuck you for finding this funny," Steve said sourly as he glared at Danny with anger.

"You're a bit overdressed for the beach," Chin snickered at Danny.

"Hey, I always dress like this," Danny said as he smoothed his tie flat. He then pointed his thumb at Steve. "You should be asking him why he's underdressed for work."

Steve tried his hardest to maintain his composure while restraining himself from punching Danny in the face. Chin scrunched his eyebrows at Steve with bemusement. "Whyare you so underdressed? Have you been here this whole time?" Chin questioned.

"Yeah, where have you been?" Danny asked with amusement in his tone.

Steve gritted his jaw before replying. "What? Am I not allowed to be here? Kono's not the only one who loves surfing."

"Right. Sure you do," Danny smiled.

"I'm from Hawaii, Danny. Everyone here loves surfing," he said in a defensive tone.

Chin just tilted his head in suspicion, a smile trying to break out at the corners of his lips. "Did you come here with Kono?"

"Yeah, she invited me," Steve said nonchalantly.

"Huh. Interesting," Chin smiled, crossing his arms over his chest. "And where was my invite?"

Instead of answering Chin's question, Steve just cleared his throat before changing the subject completely. "Uh, can we focus, please? We have a case to solve. Besides, we shouldn't be joking around like this." His attention then turned to Kono, who was now standing with her head down, obviously crying as her shoulders shook. His voice turned concerned and soft. "We should be making sure Kono's okay." He wanted to go up to her and kiss her right then, but he knew he couldn't and it was killing him.

Chin and Danny looked at each other with similar thoughts running through their minds. They then turned around to see Kono approaching them slowly, swiftly wiping her tears from her eyes. She met Steve's eyes first, and he just nodded and smiled.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked softly, trying his hardest to keep his hands to himself.

"Yeah, I want to go to the Coral Prince House. Talk to the team, get statements," Kono said, swallowing her anger.

"Kono, we can cover this one for you," Danny insisted, his voice sympathetic.

"No, I want this one," Kono said calmly yet coldly before walking away and toward the surf house.

Steve closed his eyes and sighed deeply, pain obvious in his face. Chin looked at him with understanding. "Go comfort her. She needs it."

Steve just looked at him with an unconvincingly casual tone. "What? No, you should go. You're her cousin. I'm just a friend, is all."

"We both know that's not true," Chin smiled softly as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Go."

Steve took a moment to fathom what he had just said. When he finally found his voice again, he murmured with a smile, "Thanks, Chin." Chin just nodded and smiled another smile.

Steve ran through clusters of people to catch up with Kono, who was almost at the staircase of the house.

"Kono!" Steve called, causing her to turn around. Kono's eyes were still full of pain as she turned around to look at him. Steve's eyes squinted in sympathy as he gently grabbed a hold of her arm. He then began to slowly pull her into his arms. "Come here," he basically whispered.

He buried his nose in her hair as he hugged her tightly. Her eyes began to water immediately and she couldn't help but sob in his arms.

Chin and Danny stood stoically with arms crossed loosely over their chests as they watched Kono and Steve embrace. "So you do know about them," Danny grinned without taking his eyes off of them.

"Oh, yeah," Chin nodded. "I was just waiting for them to admit it."

Danny chuckled. "Yeah, I figured as much." He then finally turned his head to look at him. "Do you approve?"

Chin smiled genuinely as he looked back at him. "Yeah, I actually do." His face then twisted in confusion and disappointment. "Wait a minute, you knew about them? And you didn't tell me?"

"I, uh," Danny stammered, his face panic-stricken. He then pointed toward the surf house, his voice wavering. "I have to go interview people."

Chin just laughed and scoffed as he quickly walked away from him.

Kono overheard Chin, Danny and Steve reviewing the ballistics analysis on one of the monitors on the wall as she walked into the briefing room.

"The ME said the angle of entry was about 30 degrees," she called out, causing them to turn around.

"Cuz," Chin said as he closed the video window by tapping a command on the touchscreen table computer. "I didn't see you there."

Steve swallowed as he saw the pain still in her eyes. He slowly walked over to where she was standing. "Hey," he said softly as he grazed his fingertips over her arm. "Why do you sit this one out? Take the day."

"No. I'm fine," she nodded, her voice cracking and soft.

Chin then walked over to them, a sympathetic smile on his features. "Cuz, take the day."

Kono tried her hardest not to burst out into tears as she held her composure. "You know I can't do that," she said as she looked at both Chin and Steve.

"Cuz," Chin began softly. "Part of doing the job is knowing when you're not the one to do the job."

Kono's eyes then averted to Steve as he took his turn to speak. "Go on," Steve nodded and whispered as he gently pinched her chin, his eyes pleading. "Get some rest."

Kono just sighed as she nodded at his request, her lips in a firm line. Steve watched her walk away with a heavy heart, fighting the urge to run after her. "She'll be okay, Steve," Chin said to him reassuringly.

Steve turned to nod at him. He then smiled a little. "Can we talk over drinks later?"

"Sure," Chin chuckled.

Danny tapped on Kono's office door before grasping the handle to let himself in. "Hey," Danny greeted as he walked into her office, stopping just right in front of her desk. "What are you still doing here? Your almost-boyfriend told you to beat it."

She let out a small chuckle as she closed her laptop shut and sat back in her chair, her eyes shining as she held her tears back. "I like how you called him my 'almost-boyfriend'."

"That's what he is, isn't he?"

"No, I'm pretty sure he's my boyfriend now."

He shot her a challenging look as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You sure about that?"

"Yeah. I mean, he's always wanting to be with me. I figured it's implied without saying."

He just shook his head, his lips pursed. "You two suck at communicating."

"We live in Democratic America, Danny. There is no such thing as traditional dating rules anymore," she defended with a chuckle.

"You two really do spend too much time together. It's scary how alike you sound now." His tone then turned placating, his eyes full of plead but a smile still on his face. "Look, you really should scram. I really don't want to see that face he makes when we don't do what he tells us to do."

"His 'constipated look'?" she smiled.

His smile disappeared instantly as his expression turned worried. "Shit, do I say that out loud?"

She chuckled and sat up straight. "I was just about to leave," she said as she held up a sticky note that she had wrote on. "I was just looking up an address."

"You're not supposed to be working," he said disappointingly, his facial expression matching his tone.

"I'm just going to see someone," she said as she got up out of her chair and grabbed her keys off of her desk.

He raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "And who's this someone?"

"An old friend who I haven't seen or talked to in years," she said as she walked around her desk to stand in front of him. "He was very close to Ian, so I figured I could ask him some questions while we catch up."

He bobbed his head, taken aback. "Your friend is a he?"

She rolled her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips. "He's no one you should worry about."

"Oh, I'm not the one who should be worried," he chuckled. He then pointed his hand toward Steve's office. "That would be your boss-slash-lover. Your 'friend' won't be seeing the light of day."

"Excuse me," Kono called out to a man who was taking water samples along Waimea Bay. She kept walking toward him as she continued speaking. "The guy at Giovanni's said Ben Bass was down here. Have you seen him?"

"I don't know," the man said as he got up from bending down and turned around to look at her. The man had a smile on his face. "Have you?"

Her eyes widened as a smile appeared on her face. "Ben?" she asked in shock as she laughed.

"Kono," Ben laughed back as he wrapped his arms around her for a hug. She hugged him back as she continued to laugh in joy.

As she pulled away from his embrace, she swiped her hand through his hair, messing it up. "Where's your hair?"

He bent to stare at her mouth, his eyes squinting in confusion. "Where's your retainer?"

"Fair enough," she laughed. "Well, look at you, Mr. Environmentalist. You work for Ocean Protectors now?"

"Yeah, yeah, I do," he said proudly. "How you been, Kono?" He tilted his head slightly as he cocked an eyebrow at her. "Are you with that Navy guy yet?"

Her mouth opened as she smiled. "I can't believe you remember Steve."

"How could I forget?" he asked as if taken aback, a smile still on his features. "You were so obsessed with him for the longest time. Tristan and I made bets on when you'd make the first move. I still owe him to this day."

"Wow, some great friends you guys are," she chuckled and scoffed. "I finally made the first move a couple of months ago."

"Finally!" he exclaimed with a slight slur in his voice. "Not that it matters, I still owe Tristan."

She just laughed as she punched him lightly on his bicep. "Oww," he said playfully as he rubbed his bicep, faking a pained face. He stopped scrunching his face as he continued to speak. "How that's going?"

"It's going great," she nodded confidently and smiled. "We're dating now."

"Good for you," he said softly, his tone genuine. "How's life otherwise?"

"Good. I'm a cop now actually."

"Of course, it's your family business." His face then turned serious. "Are you here as a cop?"

Her face turned sympathetic, her lips now a firm line as she sighed softly. "And as a friend. I want to talk to you about Ian."

"Baby, I'm okay. Stop worrying about me," Kono said to Steve over the phone sincerely and softly as she walked alongside Ben on the densely packed sand, the sun slowly sinking over the distant horizon. "I'll come over later tonight, okay? I'll call you when I'm headed over."

She smiled as she hung up and slid her phone into one of the back pockets of her jeans. Ben looked at her and smiled, his tone genuine and sincere. "It's refreshing to know that you're in good hands. He seems to really care about you."

"I'm really happy with him," she nodded.

"Good, I like when you're happy." He then nudged her arm with his elbow. "Tell him I'll kick his ass if he hurts you."

"I'd like to see you try," she laughed.

"Hey! I can fight, too!" he claimed defensively.

"Yeah, right! I always used to beat you when we sparred!"

He squinted his eyes in playful anger, pointing at her. "Shut up. Don't remind me," he mumbled, causing her to smile. She then looked at her surroundings in amazement as they stepped off the sand into a tented community next to Kawela Bay. "You live here? On the beach?" she asked.

"Over a year now," he smiled.

"I've driven past this place so many times but have never stopped to check it out," she spoke with regret.

He sighed in disappointment and disgust. "People speed past it. They think we're a bunch of homeless meth addicts."

A young boy then ran right in front of them, causing them to halt to avoid colliding with him. "Ben's got a girlfriend!" the young boy teased without stopping in his tracks.

"Ex," Ben called out and laughed as he and Kono continued to walk.

She opened her mouth in shock and laughed. "Why do you have to be so bitter?"

"I'm not. You know we're cool," he laughed back as he stopped walking and turned to face her. "You know, most of these people have got jobs and cars and families. It costs millions of dollars to buy a house here. Instead of moving off the land of their ancestors, they choose to live this way."

"Who owns the land? The State?"

"Yeah," he said, his voice saddened. "The neighbors are trying to get rid of us."

"I can't imagine they love a tent city in the middle of 'Mansionville'," she shrugged.

"There's been a lot of threats, some damage," he said as he pointed to graffiti on a tree stump. "It's getting worse."

"What can we do about it?"

He was taken aback by her question. "We?"

"Yes, we," she smiled, rolling her eyes.

"I like that," he said teasingly. "Just like old times."

She swatted his chest lightly with one hand. "Hey, I can still be in your life if you want me to be."

"Why do you always have to hit me?" he laughed. "Of course I want you in my life. You talk as if I don't miss you."

Ben and Kono sat at a picnic table as they finished eating their dinner. They had begun reminiscing on their days with the Coral Prince surf team and talking about their lives after their short-lived surfing careers. Ben took a sip of his drink before continuing to speak. "I lived in Bali for a year, and then I got a call one day saying that my mom was sick, so I came back."

"And you stayed," Kono smiled warmly.

He nodded as he looked up at the sky. "This place," he muttered as a smile spread across his features. He then looked back down at her. "Kama'aina. It's always been my home."

She just smiled at him as she watched him get up off the picnic bench. "Come on, I want to show you something," he said as he extended his hand out to her. She took his hand, letting him pull her off the bench. "Come on," he laughed he led her to his test house.

She admired and looked around his tent house as he grabbed a stack of photographs. He found the photograph that he was looking for, and he smiled as he showed it to her. "Hey, you recognize those two kids?"

She looked at the photograph with much interest, a big smile on her face. "That was the day you won the championship," she recalled fondly.

"You blew out your knee. After that, everything changed," he said with much sadness in his voice. He then recovered his smile, his voice full of bliss as he pointed at the photograph. "But this moment right here, man, life was good."

She suddenly felt a rush of guilt spread over her. "You know I don't regret us, right?"

"I know you don't," he said as he looked back at her, her eyes now saddened as she looked down at the ground.

He pinched her chin, forcing her gaze to meet his. "Hey. I told you, I am not bitter at all, okay? I know what we had was special. I was lucky to have my chance with you," he said sincerely.

She took in what he said before nodding, a smile now on her face. He placed a kiss on her cheek before flashing her a soft smile. "I'm seriously so happy for you," he smiled back before placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Thanks, Benbo," she expressed gratefully as she rested a hand along his jawline, her eyes now meeting his. "I still care about you, you know?"

"I know. Your Navy man should be jealous of me," he said teasingly with a straight face. She just laughed and shook her head.

All of a sudden, they heard chaos and screams from his friends and neighbors. They ran outside and saw masked individuals torching and vandalizing their goods and properties.

Steve rested his arm against the doorframe to Chin's office as he impatiently watched for Kono to arrive, worry written all over his face. "Steven, stop worrying. She's fine, alright? You already talked to her," Danny assured as he leaned his back against the other end of the doorframe.

As she entered through the double doors of the main office entrance, Steve straightened up and walked up to her. "Are you okay?" he asked tensely, placing his hands on both sides of her face.

She placed her hands on both sides of his waist as she looked into his eyes softly. "Yeah, I'm okay," she nodded in assurance.

He sighed deeply in relief as he kept his hands in place and kissed her chastely but with a desperate edge. As he pulled away from their kiss, she hugged him with her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer as he hugged her back. "I'm sorry I worried you," she muttered against his neck.

"I'm just glad you're okay," he nodded as he spoke against her temple, placing a light kiss on it.

As Kono walked toward the parking lot, she noticed Steve sitting on the bed of his pickup truck, waiting patiently for her. He hopped off the truck bed and slammed the tailgate shut when he noticed her approaching him, a smile spreading quickly across his face. She smiled back as she stopped just inches from him.

"Hey there, sailor," she greeted cheerfully.

"Hey, beautiful," he greeted back softly as he placed a kiss on her cheek. "Let me get that for you." He then grabbed her surfboard under her arm and set it into the truck bed.

Just as he was about to secure it into place with tie-down straps, she grabbed his arm, causing him to turn his body to her. "Hey, come here," she smiled as she pulled him close for a kiss. "Thank you," she muttered into his mouth before kissing him again.

He moaned into her kiss. "Whatever I did, I want to do it again. I like the reward I get."

She giggled as she pulled away slightly, her arms around his neck. "I'm thanking you for everything, especially being here with me."

He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, his fingers threading into her hair. "Of course. You know there's nowhere I'd rather be than with you." She smiled as she kissed him again.

As soon as they broke away from their kiss, Ben approached them, raising his hand apologetically. "Excuse me, sorry for interrupting."

"It's okay," Kono smiled as she and Steve let each other go. She shook her head after a sudden realization that she hasn't yet introduced Steve to Ben. "You know, I don't think you two have been introduced yet."

Ben tilted his head to the side after his own realization, his eyes now locked on Steve. "No, uh, I saw him earlier when he arrested Carlton, but I didn't talk to him. My apologies." He then extended his hand out for him to shake. "Name's Ben Bass."

Steve gave him a small smile and shook his hand. "Steve McGarrett, her boyfriend." Kono couldn't help her look of surprise as he referred to himself as her boyfriend for the first time.

"It's nice to finally meet you. She doesn't shut up about you."

Steve was taken aback with what he said. "She doesn't shut up about me, huh?" he smiled, grabbing a hold of her waist and placing a quick kiss on her temple. Kono just rolled her eyes and smiled, embarrassment creeping into her cheeks.

Ben smiled at their fondness for one another. He then locked eyes with Steve once more, his finger now pointing in warning. "You take care of her, you hear me?"

"I will," Steve drawled as he looked at her, his eyes filled with promise and sincerity. Kono smiled at him warmly in response.

"Look, I don't want to keep you two from anything." Ben then moved his eyes toward Kono. "I just wanted to make sure we were still on for lunch next week."

"Yeah, of course," Kono said to Ben as she hugged him. She then looked at him as she pulled away. "I'll see you then."

Ben smiled before turning to walk away. "See ya, Steve."

As soon as Ben walked away, Steve walked in front of her with his arms crossed. "You're gonna have lunch with your ex?"

"It's not like it's a date," she said, rolling her eyes before giving him a kiss. "You can come with us if you want."

"You bet your ass I will," he scoffed, his eyebrow raised almost comically.

She just smiled, causing him confusion. "What?" he asked, trying to fight a smile.

"You called yourself my boyfriend," she pointed out with a big smile, her arms now back around his neck.

He smiled as he wrapped his arms back around her waist. "Isn't that what I am?"

"It was just nice to hear you say it," she shrugged nonchalantly.

They kissed chastely but fervently as he slid one of his hands up to where her jaw met her neck. He then placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before getting back to securing her surfboard.

Right as he was done securing it, he noticed her looking at the ocean, remnants of hurt still in her eyes. He wrapped his arm around her waist as he hugged her from the side, his lips lingering on her temple. "You okay?"

She smiled softly as she leaned into him, her eyes trained on the ground. "Did you ever have a teacher that turned you around? Someone that made you look at everything in a whole new way?"

"Yeah, actually," he said thoughtfully. "Mrs. Stojak."

She pulled her head back to look at him, her eyes squinting in disbelief. "Really? Out of all people?"

"Hey," he snapped defensively yet playfully as his eyebrows rose. "'Till I met her, I thought that the Cold War was fought in Alaska."

"You're so smart," she laughed flatly.

"Hush, woman," he said between gritted teeth, rolling his eyes as he playfully bit her nose. "Why were you asking, anyway?"

She paused in thought before responding. "Well, Ian was my Mrs. Stojak, and surfing was more than just a sport to him. It was the Earth and the sun and the sky and the water and the heart. It was everything, and he passed that on to his surfers, and it made us better people. I'm glad I was able to pay him back and bring justice to his death."

He smiled as he brought his head down for another kiss. "You have an amazing heart, you know that?"

"Thanks," she smiled back.

"You're welcome, girlfriend." He brushed his nose against hers, earning him another smile from her.

Chin was already sitting at a table with a Blue Hawaii cocktail drink in front of him when Steve walked into the Tropics Bar & Grill with a nervous face. "You need to catch up," he called out with a smile as he lifted his drink. "I'm already on my second one."

Steve pulled out a chair across from him to sit down on. After ordering his drink, Steve looked at Chin reluctantly, his heart thumping fast in his chest. "I don't know why I'm so nervous to talk to you."

"You're the one who asked to talk, brah," Chin said nonchalantly before taking a sip of his drink.

"I know," Steve said, chuckling lightly to himself. "Look, we were going to tell you sooner, but we wanted to find the right time. I just hope you know that I care for Kono very much, and that I'm not going to hurt her."

"I know," Chin said as he took another sip.

Steve was taken aback, obviously expecting a different response. "Wait, say again?"

Chin chuckled and shook his head in amusement as he put his drink down on the table. "I know. I trust you with her. Just don't defile her in front of me."

Steve scoffed, clearly still confused. "You're okay with me being with her?"

"Look, Kono has had a crush on you since she was a child. I'm sure she's happy now that she's finally with you. I'm not going to deny her happiness. Besides, I've always been fond of you. You really are a good guy. You took care of her a lot, and you still do. I'm indebted to you."

Steve sighed inwardly as he smiled at him. "Thanks, Chin. It really means a lot to me that you approve."

"You're welcome," Chin smiled.

After Steve received his drink, Chin spoke up again. "Now, stop being nervous. Drink up."

Steve just laughed as he held up his drink to toast him.


kama'aina – one who has lived in Hawaii for a long time