Steve stared out of the window for the entire ride home and refused to engage in conversation. It made Danny even more worried, that Steve refused to speak save for those few words hours earlier.

Chin carried their stuff into the house while Danny helped Steve up the path, and both men noticed the slight relief in Steve's face when he finally walked through the front door to his home. He made to draw Steve into a bro-hug but decided against it at the last second after a worried look from Danny.

"Aloha, Steve. Danny," Chin whispered as he pulled Danny into a hug. "Seriously, if you need anything, you know where we are. We're ohana."

"Thanks, bruh." Danny patted him on the back as he left, and the sound of the door clicking shut seemed to echo throughout the silent house.

He turned around and realised that, for the first time that day, he and Steve were alone together. Steve seemed to notice that too after looking around and seeing nobody else but Danny.

"Babe," Danny approached him slowly, not wanting to suddenly crowd his personal space. "Wanna have something to eat? Sleep? Or shower?"

Danny fully expected Steve to ignore him, like he's done since they left the hospital.

He did not expect a strange expression to quickly pass over Steve's face before he burst into tears.

"Hey hey, come on now!" Danny scrambled to comfort him, giving up on personal space when Steve attached himself to him by wrapping his arms around him.

"Sshh, we're home now, babe. Home and safe." He whispered, rocking Steve from side to side.

"Danno," Steve mumbled. "Just want you." Danny pulled back enough to gaze at his face.

"I'm here, Steve. Okay? I'm here." He shifted so their foreheads were touching, Steve's massive eyelashes brushed against his face as they fluttered open. "I'm here. We can do whatever you want."

"I want…" Steve shuddered out a breath. "Shower. I wanna shower."

Danny nodded. With a hesitant smile on his face he helped Steve, whose legs were far less wobbly now he was in his own house, up the stairs and into his bathroom.

"Right, that's everything out for you, babe." Danny said as he laid fresh clothes for Steve on his bed and handed him a clean towel. "Do you, uh… want any help in there? Or maybe you want your privacy-"

"Come with me, Danno." Steve whispered, even though Danny was standing right next to him. Danny wondered if Steve though that, if he said it so quietly, that nobody else would hear him and they didn't have to know about his weakness. "Please, I can't…"

"Ssh, of course I'll come in with you." Danny reassured him as he quickly shucked his clothes before helping Steve out of his ripped pants and shirt, leaving him in just his boxers.

"What do you want me to do with-"

"Burn them." Steve finished Danny's question for him as he stared at his soiled clothes that were in a pile on the bathroom floor.

Danny nodded in understanding. "Alright. Come on, babe, let's go."

Steve squeezed Danny's hand in thanks, before taking off his boxers and following him into the shower.

Danny winced as Steve's skin started to turn red from the vigorous scrubbing the brunette was doing, not to mention the hot water that was pounding down on them. It was much hotter than Danny was used to, and any other day he'd fight Steve for the 'correct temperature' of the shower. But right now, Steve wanted a scalding shower, so Danny bit his tongue.

He pretended not to notice the way Steve grimaced as he soaped up a washcloth and brought it down between his legs, before bringing it back up between his ass cheeks. But he couldn't ignore the dry flakes of blood that were on the cloth, and even Steve froze when he saw them.

Steve swallowed past the lump in his throat before shaking his head. He held the cloth under the spray and rung the material out, taking some small satisfaction at watching the blood mix with the dirt ( and God only knows what else, he thought ) and swirl down the drain.

Sensing that Steve had had enough, Danny switched the shower spray off and opened the door. The breeze of fresh air hit both men like a ton of bricks as they stepped onto the cool bathroom tiles and grabbed their towels.

Danny made quick work of drying himself off and throwing on a pair of Steve's old gym shorts and a t shirt, deliberately avoiding looking at Steve - again, for dignity. The man had been through enough without another person staring at his body, even him.

But when he turned around after hanging the damp towel on the radiator, he realised that Steve was still standing in the same spot, hugging the towel tightly around his body.

"Babe? Steve, what's wrong?" Danny asked, his voice tainted with worry. Steve screwed his face up.

"Everything hurts, Danno," He admitted through gritted teeth, hanging his head. "Muscles… gone stiff."

Danny sighed, smiling sadly at Steve as he gently ran his hands down his arms until he could tangle their fingers together. "Hey, it's okay. Look at me." Steve raised his eyes to meet his, and Danny felt a sudden pang in his chest at the defeated look in those blue orbs. "Want me to help you?"

Steve nodded, cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, and relinquished his grip on the towel. Danny gently dried his body, being extra careful with his heavily bruised torso. When he got to his groin he looked at Steve again, who nodded, allowing Danny to finish off before he lowered himself to perch on the closed toilet lid.

Getting Steve's fresh clothes on him was no easy task, his muscles and bruises screamed at him when he raised his arms for Danny to slip a t-shirt over him. Even his legs felt ten times heavier than normal when he got them into a pair of loose-fitting sweat pants. He swayed as he stood up, suddenly depleted of all energy, and would have fallen flat on his face if Danny hadn't caught him by the elbow.

"Come on, Steve. It's waayyy past your bedtime." Danny said as he helped Steve limp over to his bed, before watching as the man all-but collapsed onto it. Danny wrestled a not-very-helpful Steve under the covers, but paused as he was about to follow suit.

Did Steve want him to share his bed? Sure, he'd just helped the man shower and put some clothes on, but after what those guys did…

Being with someone while they slept was a very private affair, and Danny knew that their captors had enjoyed ambushing and assaulting Steve during the night. He was most definitely not going to be sleeping well any time soon, but still.

"Danno?" Steve's quiet voice broke through Danny's thoughts. "Please…"

You idiot, Williams, Danny thought, shaking his head as he joined Steve under the covers. Of course he wants you with him for this. He doesn't want to be alone.

"I'm sorry, babe," Danny said as he turned his head to face Steve after turning on the bedside lamp. "I wasn't sure if, y'know, you wanted some space."

Steve shook his head. He reached across the gap between them and twisted his hand in Danny's shirt. "Don't wanna be alone." He muttered, before yawning into his pillow.

Danny reached back for his phone that was on the bedside table, and smiled as he scrolled through the dozens of messages from Grace that had piled up over the past few days.

"Whuzzup?" Steve mumbled, even though his eyes were almost closed.

Danny squeezed Steve's hand that was still on his chest. "Grace has clogged up my inbox. Guess I should ring her now that we're back in civilisation." He said, pressing the 'call' button and putting the phone up to his ear, not surprised when his daughter answered on the first ring. "Hey, monkey!"

Steve shuffled closed until he could nestle his face in the crook of Danny's neck, and listened quietly as Danny answered all of Grace's questions. He took several deep breaths, filling his nose with Danny's unique smell, which worked wonders on calming his mind.

"Uncle Steve? Yeah, he's…" Danny glanced down and saw that Steve was gazing up at him with bleary eyes. "He'll be alright, Grace. Battered and bruised, but I'm gonna stay with him until he's better." He said, both men smiling.

"Can you come and see us this weekend?" Danny repeated her question while looking at Steve. He wasn't sure if Steve would be up to it, but his sleepy nod into his chest answered his question.

"Of course you can, monkey. I'll speak to your mom tomorrow and sort it out, okay? We need to catch up on sleep. Danno loves you." Danny said, hanging up and putting his phone back on the table.

"We." Steve mumbled.

"Huh?" Danny shuffled onto his side, being careful not to jostle Steve too much.

"You said 'we' ." Steve had a hopeful look on his face, hand still twisted in Danny's shirt. "So… you're staying with me? You're not leaving?"

"Why would I-" The penny dropped for Danny before he could finish his question. Oh, shit…

Danny placed a gentle hand on Steve's cheek, being mindful of his bruises and split lip. "Listen to me. I'm not going anywhere, okay? What they did…" Danny paused as Steve looked away, face flushed with shame. When it was clear that Steve wasn't going to look back Danny continued, "What they did? It doesn't change how I feel about you. I still love you, so much ."

Steve choked out a sob as he all but sank into Danny's arms, hiding his face in his collarbone as he let out a fresh wave of emotions. Danny pulled the covers over them both and hugged him tightly, whispering soothing words into Steve's ear as he cried.

"It's not… I mean… it was so horrible, awful, " Steve whispered, "But, that's not why I'm..." At Danny's confused expression, Steve explained. "So… scared."

Danny reassuringly rubbed circles on his back. "Hey, you know that you can tell me anything, okay?"

"We've never got to… sex," Steve said, and Danny nodded.

"Yeah…?"

Steve swallowed, his Adam's apple visibly bobbing in his throat. "I wanted you to be my first time, wanted it so badly, but now… it's gone. " He admitted.

Danny frowned, before his eyes widen as the full realisation of what Steve was saying hit his brain. "Oh, no…"

"And I thought," Steve swallowed. He was on a roll now, boldened by his confession. "I thought that once you knew what happened, you might leave. I mean, I know you won't, you never leave. That's why I was… so happy when you told Grace that 'we' were gonna sleep."

Danny blinked, not caring that he was crying now. He placed a trail of featherlight kisses behind Steve's ear, before moving to carry on until he could finally press their lips together. He reluctantly pulled away after only a few seconds, remembering that Steve's lip was split and it probably hurt to play smash-face with someone.

"No, I'll never leave you, 'kay?" Danny said against Steve's lips. Steve nodded, still clinging to Danny's shirt, and Danny waited until he opened his eyes again before continuing. "I promise you. No matter how bad things get, I'll always be here for you."

Steve shuddered in relief against Danny. "Love you, Danny."

"Love you too, babe." Danny pressed another gentle kiss to Steve's lips. "Now come on, let's try and sleep."