On Love and Other Things

Summary: The cousins have a talk about mistakes and Kono and Steve get closer.
Disclaimer: I do not own H50.

Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing, commenting and inspiring. Oh, and thank you all especially for your patience, which is so very much appreciated.

Eight.

# # #

Makiki, Honolulu
Oahu

Kono woke up to the acrid smell of burning toast.

Her head popped up over the backrest of her fold-out sofa to spy her cousin, Chin, shaking her toaster violently.

She groaned and he looked over at her.

"What. The. Hell. Cuz?" she asked groggily, forcing herself to focus on the man currently dwarfing her kitchenette even more. Unfortunately, it was just technically a wall with a few cupboards, a counter, a burner, a microwave and a mini fridge. But somehow, she managed to make it work.

Chin stood there comically wrestling a slice of what looked like bread at one point, from her toaster. It was now completely charred black. "What? Sorry, Cuz, but why did it burn? I just pushed the lever down a few seconds ago," he said confused.

Kono grunted and untwisted herself from her blankets to pad over to him. She didn't have to go far, it took only a few steps in her tiny apartment. "It's uh, still plugged in," she said sleepily. "You might wanna... yeah, unplug it," she advised, pointing her finger towards the outlet.

Chin looked at her and smirked. He dropped the toaster back onto the counter and pulled the plug and watched as Kono leaned onto the counter to rest her head against a cupboard door.

"It's a nuclear toaster. One second is even too long," she said as she yawned, sounding too tired to be annoyed. "Cheapo Cousin Dwight gave me that, shoulda known. 'King Street Discount Electronics,' my ass."

Shaking his head, Chin chuckled lightly and took in the fact that she was still wearing her street clothes instead of her pajamas. He quirked a brow and also noticed the empty red wine bottle and wine glass in her sink. "Kono," he started, "I thought I'd find you out surfing already, but it looks like you had a rough night?"

The younger cousin yawned again and straightened. "Why are you here, Chin?" she grunted, avoiding his question.

"Toast," he answered simply, gesturing to the charcoal colored square on his plate.

Kono reached around him a propped a window open, allowing fresh air in. She glared at him. "Why, Chin?"

He shrugged. "I thought I'd find you out at Lanikai Beach, surfing and when I didn't, I came here. I was hoping you'd come get coffee." He shook his head as he glanced towards her toaster, "but, well, I guess we could get breakfast now."

Kono studied Chin. It was a Sunday. They were off. Yes, they were family. But... sometimes, it wasn't necessary to see family so much. At least not as much as they'd seen each other recently. "Breakfast?"

Chin looked back at Kono and nodded. "With Malia too," he added, trying to be nonchalant.

Kono rolled her eyes then, wetting her lips a little before tilting her head towards him. "Malia? Ah... I get it."

Her cousin quirked another brow and snorted. "What?"

"It ain't going to happen, brah. No matter how hard you try, I don't like her. Anymore." She shook her head. "She abandoned you when you needed her," Kono reminded. She had yet to forgive Malia for what she had done to him.

Chin sighed heavily. "It's past Kono. Look, she's open to having breakfast with me since I've actually built up the courage to ask her. We had coffee, just the other week and it went well."

"Coffee?" Kono asked. She looked skeptical but couldn't help but acknowledge the hopeful look she saw in her older cousin's eyes.

"Plus, you don't know everything that went on back then, I wasn't fair to her," he added sadly. He met Kono's gaze and asked, "please?"

"Why should I, Cuz?" Kono asked, appearing to be relenting.

"Because," Chin started to explain. He took a deep breath. "Because, I left her. It was my choice, not hers."

"You?" Kono asked, not bothering to hide her confusion. "Wait, all this time, the family thought she left you."

"Yeah," he answered softly.

Kono huffed and crossed her arms across her front. "Let me get his straight... it was all you? You ended your engagement, not her?"

He nodded solemnly.

"What kind of bullshit, noble, hero crap were you pulling, Cuz?" Kono's temper was starting to flare.

"Excuse me?" Chin asked back, not liking the direction Kono's tone was heading.

"I get it, it's our culture. We can't help it, we don't think selfishly. We think of the big picture, always, and it's impact on everyone where ohana is concerned. But seriously? Chin, fo' real? You didn't have to suffer on your own when you left HPD. She would have stuck by you like I did, even if the rest of the family didn't." She was trying desperately to not appear angry, but she found herself heading there fast. "I can't believe this whole time I thought she broke it off with you. Why do I feel like, I should have known better?" Kono snorted softly and shook her head. "How could you, Cuz?"

"I know Kono, I know. Believe me, I've been trying to atone ever since we asked for her help in identifying Duncan's head," Chin said sadly, shaking his head in frustration. "Which is why I wanted you to join us. I did what I did because I was just trying to protect her," he continued, trying to explain.

"And you figured, what? I would come to breakfast with you two and there would be no tension? Everything would just get fixed?" Kono asked. "Last time I ran into her, I wasn't nice at all," she said. "How is that going to help?"

"I just," Chin started, "I want to mend things Cuz. Not with just me and her, but you two too. She really liked you, you know? She still asks about you."

Kono bit her lip and rolled her eyes. "I don't know, Cuz," she said sighing. "But, I know it would be the right thing to do."

Chin nodded. "But..."

"But, I can't do that. Not right now. It's just too much to absorb, and... I can't believe you kept that from me," Kono said. "I have to get over my embarrassment."

"I'm sorry, Cuz. I hope you know just how much I really am," Chin said softly, looking at her.

Kono held his gaze and nodded. She really couldn't be mad at him for too long.

"Now, are you going to tell me about this?" Chin asked, picking up the empty wine bottle.

Kono smirked. "Not as exciting as you think, Cuz. I was SKYPE-ing Leilani."

"Cousin Lei? In New Zealand?" Chin asked.

"The one and only," she said, winking.

Chin shook his head and closed his eyes briefly. He laughed. "Please, don't tell me," he said.

"What?" Kono asked innocently.

"It involved, wine and Leilani. That's all I need, no, want to know," Chin amended, moving towards the door. "I better get going."

Kono giggled softly. "Okay, see you tomorrow, Cuz," she said. Chin stopped and turned to hug her.

"Thanks, Kono," he said.

# # #

Five-0 Headquarters
Honolulu, Hawaii

When Kono got back to the offices from picking up lunch, she found Steve waiting at the conference table for her. "Hey, where'd everybody go?" she asked. "Chin and Danny texted me and told me to not get them anything, so I didn't."

"You got me," Steve replied. "Danny said something about a 'parent-teacher' day at Grace's school and Chin's running background on some files that we've been sitting on, told us to go ahead I guess."

Kono placed their lunch onto the conference table and smirked. She shook her head. "Wow, how apropos," she said arching an eyebrow.

Steve smiled at her. "What? You think I arranged for them to be gone?" he asked moving around the table to stand in front of her.

"Hmm, didn't you?" she asked, now fully smiling as she unpacked their lunch. Kono picked up a set of chopsticks and a napkin and gently shoved them at Steve's chest. He reached up and trapped her hand against himself.

"It's not such a bad thing, is it? Some alone time?" Steve asked as he caressed the back of her hand before taking the utensils and napkin from her.

Kono pulled her hand slowly away, smiling shyly.

"What?" he asked. "We're just having lunch, Kono."

"Okay," she agreed, nodding her head. "Nothing awkward here, right?"

"Right," said Steve. Clapping his hands together, he asked, "where'd you go and what'd you get me?"

Kono chuckled at his eagerness. "Kaka'ako Kitchen. You've got a choice between, Mochiko Chicken or Chicken Katsu Curry," she said as she pulled out the styrofoam containers and popped them open.

Steve groaned in appreciation. "Curry, please," pulling up a chair, he took his container and dove in.

Kono chuckled as she watched him. "Don't forget to breathe, Boss," she reminded.

He stopped chewing and looked at her.

She was just taking a seat across from him when she noticed his intense look and gulped. "What? It's not good? I thought they were pretty good when I'd eaten there before -"

He cut her off with a shake of the head. "No, it's delicious. I just realized something," Steve said, mouth full of food. He took his time swallowing as he watched her.

Kono fidgeted under his gaze.

"You do it to protect yourself, don't you?" he asked, finally.

She shrugged. "I don't get what you mean, Boss."

"That," Steve said, pointing at the air with his chopsticks.

"What?" Kono asked, waving about her chopsticks in response as she did so.

"You use 'Boss' as a way of protecting yourself," he stated. "You use it so you can keep things professional between us."

"I'm supposed to do that," Kono stated back. "I'm the rookie, remember? And besides, last I checked, I work for you."

Damn, there it was. "Yes, yeah. But... we're alone now, I just thought... look, since I haven't exactly been that successful at hiding how I feel about you..." Steve trailed off, becoming quiet. He was still watching her.

Kono, put her chopsticks down and sat back. "Boss... " she said softly, not quite making eye contact.

"What? You're going to ask me not to say anything, right?" he asked, suddenly uncomfortable. This time, Steve fidgeted.

She sighed and looked across the table at him. They gazed at each other for a few seconds before Steve visibly relaxed and cracked a smirk, undoing Kono easily. She smirked back. "Okay, I'm not. But can we finish our lunch please? I'd like to at least start eating mine because I'm starving," Kono said quickly.

Steve couldn't help but chuckle at her. "You really like to eat," he said as he returned to his lunch. Kono just glared at him playfully.

After some time of eating in comfortable silence and possibly fueled by food, Kono said, "you don't understand." She stared at him.

Steve looked up to meet her eyes.

Kono smirked slightly and ducked her head. She looked down into her lap, as if to summon the strength before looking up again. "Like I said, I work for you, Boss, it wouldn't be right. And I know I shouldn't care what anyone else thinks, but I do. Less than a year out of the Academy..." Kono put down her chopsticks. "Oh so that's how she got to be on the Governor's special task force. You know that's what they'll be saying," she added, grunting slightly.

"Who the fuck cares Kono," Steve said. He exhaled loudly and leaned back into his chair, seemingly losing his appetite. He shoved his chopsticks deliberately into the remainder of his white rice.

"Look, I care. Alright? It's my freakin' career on the line, not yours. You'll probably get a pat on the back for 'banging the rookie,'" Kono said making quote marks in mid air with her fingers. "And me?" she pointed to herself. "I'll get what? On top of the fact that everyone can't look past the fact that I'm related to Chin, no one, no one, will take me seriously when they find out that I have the hots for my Boss."

Rubbing a hand across his face, Steve suddenly sat up. "You just said you had the hots for me."

"Oh, shut up! That's why I call you Boss alright? Did you even hear what I said?"

He raised his hands apologetically. "Look I get it," Steve said, looking away briefly to compose his thoughts before turning his gaze back to her. "You're still a rookie, you're still building your reputation. Not to mention you're also probably related to half the island and half of them are in the family business of law enforcement. I get it Kono," he repeated sincerely. "But you have to remember something, you're already on your way to becoming a great cop and an awesome partner here at Five-0, and you'll only get better."

Kono sighed and leaned into her chair. "Thanks," she said looking down at her hands. "That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome and... I'm sorry that I didn't see it from your side of things Kono," Steve said. "Hey," he ducked his head from across the table so that she would bring her eyes back up to look at him again. "The last thing I want you to think, is that I'm insensitive."

Kono smiled. "No, Boss, I know you aren't."

He smirked. "Look..." he began, glancing around the room before continuing. "I have to admit, part of the reason why I'm glad we're having this conversation is... frankly, I'm having a hard time compartmentalizing my feelings for you and it's driving me a little crazy."

She rolled her eyes and snorted softly. "What?"

"You heard me."

Kono chuckled. "The SEAL found something he couldn't do?"

"Matters of the heart are a different thing all together, Kono," he said quietly, getting up to move around the table towards her. He sat down on the edge of the table to face her.

She nodded and smiled up at him. "Steve... I'm having the same problem you are, you know that, right?"

"Yeah," Steve answered, smiling at her finally using his name. "But, I know what I want to do about it," he said, his blue eyes twinkling.

Arching a brow, Kono sensed a challenge that she wasn't yet willing to accept. She chewed on her bottom lip.

"I just don't think you know yet," he said with a soft chuckle as he watched her suddenly stand to start collecting their food containers.

"Oh... believe me, I know," she said smirking flirtatiously... boldly. She found herself eventually succumbing to her conflicted feelings.

Steve was taken aback but quickly recovered. He laughed as he crossed his arms across his chest and allowed a smile to spread over his handsome face.

Kono reached out to playfully punch his arm. Instead, Steve's lightning reflexes kicked in and after effectively blocking her blow, he now had her in a close embrace. Their faces were now only inches apart, Kono's a bit higher as she stood over him, her hair, falling in a curtain around her face. Steve's hands wrapped firmly around Kono's slim waist as she rested her hands on his shoulders.

"So Kono, what are we going to do then?" Steve asked, his voice low as his mouth tilted up towards hers.

Feeling intoxicated by the combination of his embrace and nearness, Kono felt herself spiraling recklessly out of control.

And then Steve's iPhone rang.

Kono's eyes shut as she took a deep, collecting breath, feeling Steve's hands on her waist tighten as one disappeared. "McGarrett..." she heard him answer.

Opening her eyes, she found him staring at her, his frustration evident as he listened to his caller. Kono shook her head and smirked. Placing her hands on either side of his face, she tilted his face up to kiss him on his cheek, near the corner of his mouth as he mumbled something into his phone, clearly surprised, but happy at her actions. And then she gently moved away from him to continue bagging up their lunch containers. His blue eyes shiny as they followed her movements around the table.

When Danny and Chin appeared, coming through the doors to their offices, Steve and Kono knew the moment had passed.

Steve continued to talk on his phone, nodding at Danny and Chin as he made a move to head into his office. But, not before catching a smile from Kono that spoke volumes and had his core filling with a warmth that he'd not felt in some time.

End.

# # #

A/N: This took soooo long. I apologize profusely and hope that you all enjoyed the latest addition to the series. I have to admit, I got the wind knocked out of my sails after all the buzz about a character, maybe even one of the main four, leaving the series. But, I soldiered on, remembering that fan-fiction is out there to fix what the series just can't get right.

P.S. I just want the Universe to know, Cousin Dwight, I do not think you're cheap. Really. The toaster works fine.