On Love and Other Things
Summary: Kono's put into a situation that causes Steve to deal with his feelings towards her.
Disclaimer: I do not own H50.
My lovelies, thank you dear readers, reviewers/commenters and fellow KoVe writers, your constant inspiration, support and encouragement keep me going. Thank you so, so much for reading. Now, on with the torture!
Six.
# # #
Aiea, Oahu
Present
Great. Another roof. Danny sighed.
The last time they were on a roof together, Steve dangled the suspect over the edge in order to get him to confess to who had hired him to abduct Lowry, the former Security Agent for the NSA.
Now, they were chasing a young, burly, Hawaiian kid named Keoki Olama across their current rooftop. They were hoping to get him to confess to who had hired him to deliver the large cache of H&K 417 guns HPD had discovered in his car. Their chase led them here, to the top of another building in another warehouse district.
At the other end of the rooftop, an access door swung open and Chin stepped out with his gun drawn yelling for Keoki, who was running straight for him, to stop. But as Kono stepped out after Chin, Keoki grabbed her, knocking her gun to the ground.
"Back off brah!" Keoki yelled as shoved his gun into Kono's side. His other arm was around her neck, tight, grabbing at her roughly.
Steve and Danny caught up to them and the three men stood momentarily frozen. "Let her go," Steve gritted out.
Keoki moved backwards, towards the edge of the roof. He grunted. "An den what?" he asked arrogantly. "Or bettah yet, mebbe I just take her off the roof wit me?"
"Brah, stop," Chin said, trying to hide the concern in his voice, his eyes darting to the ledge that they were near. He and Steve and Danny had moved closer to Keoki only to have him back-up even more. Now he was just inches from the edge of the roof. His gun still aimed at Kono's side, jabbing at her under the hem of her vest.
She looked from Chin, to Danny and then finally Steve. Shit. "Guys?" she asked, as her footing balanced dangerously on the loose graveled edge.
Chin knew what she was thinking, glancing at Steve and Danny he shook his head slightly. Danny, gestured 'what?' then as her plan dawned on him, he adamantly shook his head in response. Steve's eyes widened, "Kono," he said. "We've got this," he warned.
Keoki may have looked dumb, but there was no way that he missed the exchange among the team-members and he was quickly losing patience. "Eh! Five-O, you let me go, I let her go," he ordered.
"C'mon Keoki, you know that it ain't gonna happen," Steve said coolly. He motioned to himself and the guys, all three of them had their guns pointed at the kid. "You let Officer Kalakaua go, and we won't kill you," he said taking a small step forward. He noted that Danny and Chin had done the same.
The large Hawaiian laughed menacingly. "Drop your guns and mebbe I'll consider it," he said jostling Kono and shoving the gun deeper into her side. He glared at all three of them. "Cop or not, I not scared of killing her, okay? I not scared of dying either."
Glancing at Chin and Danny, Steve swallowed before speaking, "either way then, we'll still, shoot you though."
"Okay den, mebbe you won't mind den," Keoki said airily.
"Mind?" questioned Steve.
Keoki sneered. "If I do dis! Arggh!" At that moment Kono elbowed him, grabbed his arm and bit down hard.
He shoved her off the roof.
"No!" "Kono!" "No, no, no!"
In the eruption of gunfire, the men couldn't be sure if they even heard Kono scream.
# # #
Liholiho Fighting Gym
Honolulu, Oahu
Two days before
Steve rubbed and worked his shoulder as he watched Kono talk to the gym director. He stretched his neck and resisted the urge to run a hand over it to work out the kinks because he noticed Chin eyeing him with an amused expression.
He didn't take a beating, admittedly the macho side of him wanted to believe that he went a little easy on Kono. But truthfully, that wasn't the case.
Kono really, really, could hold her own.
So in actuality, not only was she a pro-surfer turned cop, but she was an intelligent, strong minded, young, woman who knew how to fight and handle herself. She was a complete badass... an extremely attractive, no... hot... badass. Steve shook his head slightly to redirect his thoughts into taking a different route.
He thought back to their sparring earlier. Kono was landing and blocking blows that she almost seemed to anticipate at lightning speed. Her lanky, but muscular frame carried more strength than appeared and when she swept his legs out from under him that last time, he struggled to not turn his inadvertent grunt into a groan.
He smirked at Chin.
"Where'd your cousin learn to take care of herself Chin? Academy?" he asked, genuinely curious.
Chin snorted back. "Nah, brah. Seriously, she was always getting into all kinds of trouble when she was still small. Starting fights in first and second grade!" The older man shook his head. "You couldn't calm her down unless you threw her in the water and then when she found the board and started to surf, it was almost as if she was born for it."
Sitting on a side bench of the gym, Chin chuckled some at Steve's appearance, he was sweaty and his hair was a bit disheveled. He looked not completely ragged, but a little worse for wear. He handed him a small towel. "The idea of a pro-surfing career was a way to keep her out of trouble," Chin explained.
Steve nodded in understanding before scrubbing his face with the towel.
Then Chin's eye's crinkled. "Especially, because as soon as she was old enough, she would head out to Kahe Point to practice her surfing," he added.
"Ooh, rough side of the island," Steve said, looking in amazement from Kono to Chin.
Chuckling again, "you talking about the water or the people?" asked Chin.
"Both, I guess," Steve said, laughing now. "All the way on the west-side?" He shook his head. "I don't even go there if I can help it."
"Yeah, now you know where she learned to hone her fighting skills," Chin replied with a heartfelt smile. "What you saw, with that guy that dropped in on her wave on that first day I introduced you guys? That was nothing, brah," he said, pride about his cousin's behavior evident. "Lucky she went pro, though. Could have turned out differently for the kid," he added with a semi-serious nod.
Steve looked over to Kono again and openly admired her in front of her cousin. He turned to Chin and was surprised to see that the older man was now looking at him approvingly. He smiled a little. "Yeah." Leaning back, he rested his now aching back against the wall. "I have to say Chin, I'm constantly impressed." He was being completely honest and his sore muscles were not going to let him forget it anytime soon.
"Me too," Chin said, a faint smile on his lips. He looked at Steve seriously then. "Except... maybe I'm just being over protective, but, sometimes I worry."
Steve stretched his neck before turning his full frame to face his father's former partner. His eyes mirrored Chin's seriousness. "Don't be. She's got us, remember? All of us, Danny included," promised Steve.
Chin nodded, as if accepting and appreciating how much Steve had come to care for his cousin. He'd guessed that in the end, there would be no one better to do the job. But then he snorted loudly. "Yeah, but sometimes I think maybe she thinks she doesn't need us."
Steve turned to observe the subject of their talk. Kono was now headed their way, a triumphant smile on her face. "We all need somebody Chin," Steve said.
Chin snorted softly. "I agree, which is why I'm headed out of here for coffee with Malia," he said as he got up and gave Kono a high-five.
"Cuz?" Kono asked. "Leaving so soon? Don't you want a chance to get your ass kicked too?" she smirked, her eyes crinkling.
Her cousin shook his head and chuckled. "Nah, Cuz, I'm good," he said as he walked past and playfully punched her in the arm. "Eh, Steve, I'd advise against a round two, this girl's got some skills," he said as he flashed him a smile and a wink.
Steve chuckled in return as he watched Chin go. "You don't have to tell me twice," he said after him. He smiled fully at Kono.
"I told you I would kick your ass," she said, arching a brow, her arms now crossing in front of her.
"Yeah. But, would you believe me if I said that I went easy on you?" he asked smirking.
Kono smiled ruefully and extended a hand towards him. "You didn't though." Steve took her hand and she pulled him up to stand before her. Dropping his hand, she gently nudged him in the chest, "thanks, Boss."
Steve allowed himself to take a good, long look at her, honestly enjoying the beauty of her. Standing less than a few feet away, neither moved from each other's personal space that they shared. Kono met Steve's gaze and smiled a brilliant, dimpled smile. "You're welcome, Kono," he said, matching her smile with one of his own.
# # #
Aiea, Oahu
Present
In the volley of gunfire that followed, only one man lay dead on the rooftop. Keoki Olama.
Kono on the other hand, had been thrown off of the roof. All three men shook off with paralyzingly sobriety the thought that one of their partners had fallen to her death.
Moving slowly as if suspended in molasses, Danny looked down at the gun runner's body, his gun hand limp at his side. Steve stood rooted to his spot, a few feet away from Danny. Chin somehow made his way to the edge of the roof, where Kono was thrown off. They watched as he looked over the ledge, then as he kneeled and started shaking in what Steve and Danny could only assume was sobbing... except, it now sounded like... laughing?
Steve and Danny shared a concerned but confused look.
"What's so funny Cuz? A little help, please?"
At Kono's disembodied voice, Steve and Danny rushed to where Chin was and peered over the ledge too.
Kono stood on the roof of a side addition to the warehouse approximately one story down. Looking up to her partners and rubbing the side of her head, she said, "a little help please?"
Steve jumped into action immediately, motioning for the other men to hold on to him as he reached down to pull Kono up onto the roof again.
When he finally pulled her up to join them, Danny rushed off to alert the EMTs. Steve's hands held onto Kono's upper arms, holding onto her firm but not tight. He looked at her completely, as if burning her image into his mind. Letting his eyes flicker over her face he noticed the blood around her mouth and reaching a hand up, he brushed a thumb gently across her lips. He felt Kono's intake of breath.
She's alive.
He knew the blood was most likely Keoki's, but that didn't stop him. Steve wanted to shake her and tell her that under no condition, was she allowed ever, ever, to get hurt, get kidnapped, disappear, or worse, die. Fuck. And as he continued to hold her, he just looked at her, as if he was silently telling her all those thoughts before it finally registered to him that she said she was fine.
Then almost as if waking from a dream, Steve stepped away quickly, eventually allowing her cousin to give her a brief hug as the EMTs rushed in.
Finally registering that his phone was ringing, he walked a few feet away. "McGarrett," he answered.
# # #
Five-0 HQ
Honolulu, Oahu
2 hours later
Steve walked directly into his office and sat down heavily, turning his chair to face the window. He was so lost in his thoughts that he failed to notice that Danny was right on his heels and that the blonde detective took seat on the corner of his desk.
"What the hell was that, huh?" Danny asked, purposefully trying to keep the aggression out of his voice. It was already an extremely tense day, he didn't need to get into an argument with Steve. Especially not with the way he'd been acting around Kono lately.
Steve whirled around and looked at Danny in momentary surprise. "What?"
"You haven't said a word to Kono since we've gotten back here. You need to say something, alright?" he said with a trademark gesture.
Steve sighed and ran a hand across his face. "I thought she was dead, Danny."
"Hey, genius, I got news for you. We all thought she was dead, okay?" Danny sighed. "You weren't alone, Steve. The thought of it happening to her, hurt all of us."
Steve shook his head. "I don't know what to say though," he said, his blue eyes full of confusion and pain.
"How about you start with, 'hey Kono, I'm glad you're not dead'," Danny offered. "It's simple, but it's a start," he said as he stood and crossed his arms across his chest. "You need to talk to her, Steven. She's beginning to think you're pissed at her or something," he added.
Steve snorted to himself. In truth he was. A little. Her boldness almost cost her, her life.
"Wait a minute, are you?" Danny asked, jutting out a hand. At Steve's silence, he had no choice but accept his silence as a 'yes'. He used the same hand to pinch his bottom lip together. "How, Steven? How, do you even go there?" Standing suddenly, Danny started pacing with his hands on hips. "Wait, I got it. You're pissed about how she just fearlessly and... oh, I don't know... brazenly tried to take charge of the situation with Keoki on her own. I wonder where she would have gotten an idea to do something like that, Steve?" he asked sarcastically.
Steve rolled his eyes and stood up. He mirrored Danny's posture. "Look, I would never encourage anyone to handle those types of situations like I do. You know my SEAL training put me into all types of instances that required me to handle them in particular ways."
"Particular ways? Particular ways? What is that exactly, Steve? Shoot first, ask later?" Danny asked.
Shaking his head, Steve sighed, then said, "Danno... what do you want me say?" His eyes were clearly remorseful.
Danny pursed his lips and gestured, "look, I'm sorry. It's been an long, emotional day, alright? I just wanna... go pick-up Grace and hug the shit out of her right now."
Snorting softly, Steve waved a hand at Danny. "Fine, go," he said. "Tell Kono to come see me on your way out."
Danny nodded and walked away. A few minutes later, as Steve was looking out his window, there was a soft, tentative knock on his door. He took a deep breath and motioned Kono in.
"Boss, before you say anything, I took a stupid risk, up there," she said as she came to stand before his desk. "I really shouldn't have chanced it like that." Kono averted her gaze and stared at an apparently really interesting spot of dust at the edge of Steve's desk.
Steve watched her and felt his chest tighten.
He'd almost lost her.
"You know, Danny said that you think I'm pissed at you because of the risks you took." She nodded slowly, meeting his gaze. "And I am." He was taken aback at how her eyes became instantly sad. "Kono... all those months ago, when we held your own personal graduation ceremony, right outside my office doors, we said we would do everything we could to protect you."
Kono sighed heavily, "I know Boss, I'm sorry."
"No Kono, you don't understand. I got a call from Agent Kaye after we pulled you up, back onto the roof. Keoki Olama was a small time gun runner for none other than Wo Fat," he said as he moved sit on the edge of his desk so that he was next to her now.
As the realization hit Kono, she felt instantly worse. She shook her head and closed her eyes briefly, "Shit."
"If anything happened to you Kono, directly or indirectly because of Wo Fat... it would mean that a fourth member of my family, someone that I lo – cared about, was a taken from me all together, or was attempted to be taken from me. I... can't... " Steve stopped talking as he felt Kono's little hand cover his as it rested on the desk next to him. He stared at her.
"Steve, I'll be careful. But I can't and won't promise I won't get hurt. And I won't promise that I may end up making snap decisions that could either be very bad or good, I won't live like that. I'm not that kind of cop, you know that already. I'm hard headed like you are," she said, watching him carefully.
Steve nodded, a faint smile on his lips. He turned his hand over so that he could take her hand in his. It was a complete contradiction to her. Her hand was small and felt fragile, but the woman before him seemed stronger and tougher than him at the moment.
"I can promise however, that I'll try my hardest to not put myself in those situations," she said as she squeezed his hand. Smirking, Kono shook her head. "If that's any consolation?" she asked, ducking her head slightly.
"It is. Thank you," he said as he exhaled. "Look, I know you can handle yourself Kono. No one knows it more than I do... I just... never expected to care so much. About someone..." Steve swallowed as he looked up into her eyes, "about... you."
Kono's eyes widened slightly and she stepped away, pulling her hand out of his grasp. She took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut breifly.
"Kono," Steve started. "You have to know -"
"Stop," she said cutting him off. Shaking her head slightly, "not... now. Not yet," she said taking another deep breath as she looked at him.
Steve stood, he was at a loss. "I'm sorry, Kono. Forget, it."
Now, he really was kinda pissed. At himself.
Kono put her hands out in front of her. "It's cool... Boss," she said the last part purposefully. "It's no big deal right?" She reached up and rubbed her temple lightly. "I should uhm, go. I am after all, concussed," she said as she pointed to her head. "Headache," she added, sheepishly.
"Right," replied Steve, a little too quickly. "Chin's gonna check on you, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. No worries Boss, I'm good." Kono turned to walk out. "We're okay, Boss?" she asked as she grabbed the door handle.
Steve hadn't moved, he nodded. "Yeah, we're okay," he said, attempting to hide the disappointment in his voice.
Kono stopped suddenly and turned to Steve. "I'm not going to 'forget it,' okay Steve?"
He watched the smile that spread across her face and the dimples that came along with it and smiled in return. "Okay," he said as he watched her leave.
End.
# # #
A/N: My deepest apologies for taking so long to update, RL as it seems, is quite busy right now. And I regret to inform you all that I will be traveling for the next 3 weeks, so, I'm not sure how or when additional chapters will be up. In any case, I hope to resolve soon after my return, for Steve and Kono's sakes. Oh and of course for all of the KoVe fans out there. Three hours till I board a plane for London! Woot!
P.S. (UPDATED) This version is reformatted and corrected for any mistakes I may have inadvertently included before my vacation.