Chapter 3
Danny slowly pulled the bedroom door closed, not wanting to wake Grace from the much worked for sleep. He smiled thinking about her, she was such a good kid. It was a shame their mom had missed so much, not that she could help it, someone had to pay the bills after all. And so what if most of his childhood was spent raising his sister, she was worth it.
Danny made his way down to the kitchen, grabbing a soda out of the fridge before making his way out to the porch. He held his drink up in greeting as Steve joined him, "Hey." Steve sat down next to Danny, his face serious, "No offense, but, does your mom ever do any actual parenting? Because I've been observing and from what I can tell, you do everything. Grace runs to you if's she's hungry or hurts or wants to do anything. If she was younger or you were older, I'd swear she was your daughter." Danny laughed, surprisingly Steve, "You wouldn't be the first, her teacher back in Jersey certainly thought so." Steve looked curious, "It doesn't bother you?" Danny sighed, "No. I would certainly prefer that my dad hadn't died, he was really good at this stuff. My mom used to work a couple hours a week, just enough to keep herself from getting bored. Then my dad passed away and Ma found out she was expecting Grace. She had to get a full time job to cover the bills and she frequently worked overtime so I filled in where I could. I made dinner, did laundry, made sure Grace did her homework, and got to sleep on time. But I wouldn't trade her for anything." Steve smiled, "{You're amazing Danno. I don't think I could have done what you did. When my mom died, well, my dad just immersed himself, more than he already was, in his work, trying to find the person who killed her. It was a hit and run." he explained at Danny's concerned look. Danny paused, feeling he should share, "My dad, my dad was a firefighter, a pretty good one too. He died saving a little girl. God, this is depressing. Let's talk about something else."
Steve reached down and pulled out a couple of beers from a pocket in his cargo pants. Handing one to Danny, he popped the tab on his own. Danny took the offered can, "Aren't you worried about our parents?" Steve grimaced, "Nothing short of an emergency is going to pull them out of their bedroom." Disgust colored Danny's face, "Yeah, I could have done without that image."
*H50*H50*H50*H50*H50*
Steve laughed so hard he fell out of his chair as Danny ranted about pineapple, waving his hands crazily. Danny stopped and rushed over to make sure Steve was okay. Steve was laying on the ground, still laughing, he stopped when Danny's face came into view, "You know, you're really hot. Way hotter than Catherine." Danny kneeled down and tried to pry Steve up off the ground, "Who's Catherine? Hey, come on, help me get you up." Steve sat up, leaning on his arms for support, "She's my ex. But she never made me feel like you do." he said before sitting up a little more, closing the distance between them, and kissed Danny. Danny's mouth parted in surprise, allowing Steve's tongue to enter his mouth. He could taste the liquor on his lips, groaning, Danny gave in. He plundered Steve's mouth, knocking him back onto the ground. After a couple minutes of tonsil hockey, Danny rolled over onto his back, panting, "Well, that was fun." Steve grinned, "Yeah. We should do it again sometime."