Chapter 9:
Over the course of the next week, Danny and Steve had genuinely tried to make an effort to give some sort of affection towards each other. Hugging each other when they got home. . .kissing each other randomly around the house. . .holding hands in the car. . .
They even took a few chances with grabbing each other. On a drive home from a quick errand run, with Steve driving his old car, Danny had slyly placed his hand on Steve's thigh and traced it slowly to his groin, giving it a small squeeze. He received the reaction he was looking for. Danny grinned as he looked up at Steve's face. The man had a huge grin on his face as looked forward to the road. "You serious right now, Danno?"
Danny suppressed a laugh. "Yep."
Steve took in a breath and gripped the steering wheel tightly as Danny rubbed him. "Fuck, Danno. That's good." He murmured. "Driving me crazy till we get home?"
"Who says we have to wait till we get home?" Danny asked.
Steve looked at him, back to the road, back to him, and back to the road. "Are-Are you seriously up for-"
"Yes, Steven. I am seriously up for it." Danny grinned.
Danny had kept up with his teasing all the drive until Steve found a secluded space to pull in at. Steve raced through yellow lights and whizzed through stops. He pulled onto a dirt road, drove down it for about a mile a turned down another smaller dirt road. Steve took a few turns before arriving at the top of a hill with a few trees. He cranked the gear to park, turned off the car, pulled off his seatbelt, and turned to Danny, who was looking incredulously at him. Steve undid the man's seatbelt and climbed closer to him, crowding him as Danny let out a laugh and laid on his back on the seat. Steve grinned as he kissed the man that had been playing with him all the way on the drive.
Other times of grabbing each other included times inside the house. While Danny would be doing the dishes, Steve would creep up on him and wrap his arms around Danny's waist slowly and kiss his neck. Danny would grin and chuckle as he rinsed off whatever plate he was cleaning and place it in the dishwasher.
"Steve, I have to finish this. Don't make it like last time where I couldn't remember if I had been in the middle of putting in dishes or putting away dishes."
"But your neck is so good." Steve whispered as he let his lower lip drag along the soft skin. "And it's not my fault that you can't remember anything after we. . ." Steve kissed his neck again. "Make love."
Danny grinned as he brought another dish under the stream of water. "It is your fault and you know it. You do things to me that just. . ." Danny let out a sigh as he placed the glass plate in the dish washer.
Steve grinned against his neck before kissing it again. "You do the same things to me. I mean look. Here I am, kissing your neck. . .and I can't help it."
Danny grinned as he took a dry towel from the ring that sat next to the sink. He dried his hands.
Steve turned him around to face him. Danny placed his hands behind him on the counter and leaned against the sink. Steve stepped closer to him and wrapped his arms around Danny's waist again.
"You've got me under your spell." Steve sang and Danny laughed.
Danny placed his arms around Steve's neck and pulled him in. Their lips meet and they held each other close under the sink light.
They had even started wearing their wedding rings again. They had a discussion about wearing them to work. Maybe no one would notice and if they did. . .what was the big deal really? It wasn't a big secret that Steve and Danny loved each other. It never changed anything at work, even when they first got married. How bad would it really be if they did start showing affection at work?
"Maybe not. . .kissing or holding hands right away." Danny suggested one night as they snuggled up next to each other on the bed.
"Yeah. Let's just start with wearing our rings to work, and see how it goes." Steve murmured. He kissed Danny's head, which rested on top of his chest. He stroked the blond hair in the moonlight.
Danny shifted his head to face Steve. "You know what Grace said to me the other day?"
"What?" Steve inquired as he rested his hand on Danny's shoulder.
"She said that she's glad we're figuring things out. I never told her about us. . .not being at a hundred percent. Did you?"
Steve shook his head. "No. I didn't want to upset her. And. . .I didn't want her thinking poorly of you or me."
Danny sighed out. "She's a smart one."
Steve grinned. "That she is."
Danny grinned and scooted forward slightly. "Goodnight." He whispered.
"Goodnight, love." Steve whispered back. His lips met Danny's in a soft embrace.
Things were going well between them. The original, unsure glances turned into passion filled, loving looks. The tentative taps on each others arms turned into confident clutches, rubs, and led to longing grasps.
Things simmered so lovely between them. They were content, happy, and satisfied.
Presently.
Work deterred them from these affections. At work, they were strictly 'Steve and Danny: partners in crime' as opposed to 'Steve and Danny: husbands, sweethearts, and partners in love.'
Lately, the case at work had them staying late and arriving early to work. The team, especially Steve and Danny, were lucky if they got 6 hours of sleep.
Stuck at the office late one night, Steve and Danny were arguing once again. Kono and Chin had gone home, and all that was heard were the shouts echoing in the bullpen.
"You are such a hard head! The evidence and the witness stories point to this man being the killer." Danny could feel himself become more and more frustrated with the situation as he flipped things over the tech table. The evidence points to Matt Bauer. So why can't Steve see that?!
"That's the easy answer. There's something else to this case, I know it." Steve tried to keep his tone even. Why couldn't Danny see it wasn't something so easily figured out?
"Like what?" Danny asked aggressively.
"The security guard was telling us that the figure he saw had more of a woman's shape to it. Not a man's."
"That's one testimony! Out of, what. . .5?!" Danny's voice rose in volume. "Plus, you know eye witnesses are the worst type of evidences you could have!"
Steve took in a breath. He looked down and the silver band that was wrapped around his finger caught his eye. Things were starting to get bad between them again. The case was really wearing on them. They hadn't had time to themselves in 4 long days.
Steve's eyes widened at the realization.
"Why can't we just settle this case? Bauer did it! That's it!" Danny yelled to him.
He thumbed the ring before he looked up at Danny. He's frustrated. I'm frustrated. This isn't about the case. "Danny." Steve watched as Danny rolled his eyes and turned to him.
"What?"
His annoyed expression and arms folded across his chest were enough for Steve to understand that he was right.
Steve stepped closer. "Kiss me."
Danny was shocked at his words. Heat and color rose to his cheeks. He immediately got defensive. "Steve, we have a case we need to solve and all you can think about is kissing? What is wrong with you?!"
Steve grinned at his frustration and fluster. "Kiss me, Danno."
Danny gritted his teeth. Using Danno on me? Who the hell does he think he is?
"Danny, I just realized we haven't had. . .anything in 4 days." Steve said simply.
Danny was taken aback. He thought about it for a split second. Steve was right. But like usual, he never wanted to admit it. "What does that matter?" He asked softly.
Steve smiled softly at him. "No touching, holding hands, kissing, 'I love yous'. . .we're fighting. And we weren't when we were making time to show our affections."
Danny knew he was right but he didn't want to admit it. "Steve, are you insane?! We have a case and all you're thinking about is. . ."
"Us. Because. . .that's all that matters." Steve murmured as he stepped closer, grabbing Danny's waist.
"Steve-"
"Danny, stop." Steve stared into his eyes as he stared back at him. "Just stop." He whispered.
Danny breathed out heavily and shook his head, looking away. "Steve-"
Steve brought Danny's face up to look at him. Steve leaned in steadily and pressed his lips to Danny's, silencing him.
Danny rose his fists in anger, aiming to unclasp them and grab Steve's shirt to push him away.
Instead, an elation and blissful wave washed over him, making him stop. Exasperated, he forced his clenched fists to his sides and gave a little stomp before bringing his hands to Steve's neck and cheeks. Danny knew they couldn't keep doing this. Why did he get so annoyed?
Danny held Steve close, making Steve chuckle against his lips. Steve stayed close as well.
"Steve, what are we doing?" Danny asked against his lips.
Steve furrowed his brows. "What?"
Danny broke, breathing hard, staying close, his forehead against Steve's. "What are we fighting about? Why do we do this to each other?" He felt lost as he asked the questions.
Steve looked up and down at Danny's face. "I don't know." He answered. "All I do know is that I want it to stop. We can't keep doing this to each other. I-I don't want to fight anymore."
Danny shook his head. "I don't either."
Steve smiled softly as their foreheads touched.
Danny took in heavy breaths and shook his head again. "Let's go get something to eat. . .and. . .go eat it on the beach or take it home and eat it out back. Sound okay?"
Steve nodded. "Sounds. . .fantastic." Steve grinned and kissed Danny again. He closed down the office, shutting off the main lights and secure the tech table. "Let's go." Steve murmured as he kissed Danny's cheek and took his hand, pulling him to the doors.
Danny chuckled and followed after him. They weren't going to get anywhere that night, especially if they didn't eat or try to have a civil discussion about it.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Danny giggled as he laid on his back on a blanket looking up at the stars as Steve was leaning over his body, kissing and sucking at his neck. "Steve, you are so unbelievable."
"Why? Because I'm sucking on your neck?" Steve chuckled as he went back to Danny's neck.
"That among other things." Danny grinned as he pushed Steve's chest gently. "Come on, you need to eat. And something besides my neck."
"Mmm, I can't help it when you taste so good." Steve replied as his tongue danced along the sensitive skin before lipping at his neck, making Danny giggle again.
"Come on, babe." Danny smiled as he gently pushed Steve away to sit next to him as he sat up.
"Alright, alright. Here." Steve handed him a box of Italian food. Danny took it and settled next to Steve. Steve took his box and opened it. They began to eat as they watched the waves lap up on shore.
"So. I was thinking. . ." Steve started.
"What's up?" Danny asked as he took his fork and lifted some pasta to his mouth.
"About the case." Steve looked at Danny to see his reaction.
Danny sighed as he chewed on his food.
"Just hear me out, okay?" Steve said as he set his box to the side.
Danny looked at him before bringing more pasta to his parted lips.
"The other night, in the kitchen, when the microwave popped, we were discussing the possibility of the killer being a person of the public, and not just an employee."
"Right."
"Well, my thinking was that it is possible that the body was dumped in the northern harbor and currents dragged the body south."
Danny rose his eyebrows. Oh, wow, that could be very plausible. "I didn't even think of that. The currents do run that way this time of year." Danny murmured as he looked to the sand. His thoughts now reeled back to the facts of the case.
"Yeah. And I was thinking about our argument earlier. With who the suspect is, concerning gender. We never ruled out the possibility of two killers."
"Two killers. . ." Danny said slowly. "That would explain the different patterns we saw between the first victim and the second."
"Yeah, as well as the third and the fourth." Steve added. "The first and the third were similar to each other, but different from the second and the fourth. But they seemed to be more similar to each other than the first and the third."
Danny swallowed. He wondered how long these thoughts had been on Steve's mind. Had he been so hell bent on finishing the case that he wasn't taking the time to listen to Steve's ideas? "How long have you been thinking about this?"
Steve stopped what he was doing and looked at Danny. Danny looked upset and troubled. Steve shrugged and looked away. "A while. . .a couple days after we first got the case. I wanted to be sure the facts added up."
Danny was shocked. Had he seriously not been listening to his dear love since then? Since before then? He hadn't been. An overwhelming sense of guilt and heartache overcame him.
"Babe-" Danny began as he set his dinner aside and turned to him, squaring his shoulders to Steve.
Steve looked up at Danny. He looked dazed, shocked, and. . .what else. . .
Heartbroken.
"Have-have I. . .not been listening to you?"
Steve shrugged once more. "Doesn't matter, really." He mumbled.
"Babe, it does." Danny paused as he took Steve's hand.
"Danny, it really doesn't." Steve looked at him. "My whole life that's how it's been. My mom when I was younger and even now she still doesn't. . .my dad, when he sent my sister and myself away for school. . .my supervisors during training. . .and then after training. . .the governor. . ." He paused. "I just figure. . ." He shrugged. "What's one more person?" He looked down at the sand.
Danny felt a blow to the chest as Steve said the words. Holy crap, I haven't listened to him. . .at all. And I'm supposed to be his supporter, his biggest supporter. . .the number one person he goes to. . .I've fucked up royally. Danny licked his lower lip. "Babe-"
Steve looked at him.
"I'm really sorry for not listening to you." He said with as much sincerity as he could.
Steve looked at him and gave him a weak smile.
"And-" Danny paused. "I'll try to do better. Honest."
Steve's weak smile faded. Everyone said that. Everyone always said they'd do better, but they never did. They'd always slip back to their original ways.
"Hey."
Steve looked to Danny.
"I'm serious. I'm sure you've heard it before, but. . .this time it's different."
"It is?" Steve asked as he looked down.
Danny nodded with a soft smile. "Yeah, because it's me. And I want to work on ways to improve myself. Especially if it's myself in this relationship. If that means shutting up and listening, then. . ." Danny shrugged and chuckled. "I'll do it."
Steve smiled at him.
Danny smiled back at him. He rolled onto his knees and leaned forward. "Come here." He whispered. His hands met Steve's cheeks and he placed a gentle kiss to Steve's lips.
"Mmm." Steve hummed against Danny's lips.
"What?" Danny chuckled as he placed his lips back to Steve's.
"I taste garlic." Steve murmured, his lips brushing against Danny's.
Danny laughed. "That'd be the pasta."
Steve laughed with him.
"Come on, please eat." Danny urged as settled back and picked up his box.
Steve looked at his food. He didn't want to eat, but he felt the need to satisfy Danny's pleas. Steve took a deep breath as he spun the pasta with his fork and lifted it into his mouth.
Danny watched as Steve fiddled with his food. He took 3 bites and that was it. That slightly worried Danny. Maybe he's just full from lunch. Wait. . .we had sandwiches. But he only had about half of his. Why isn't he eating? Danny dismissed the thoughts. Maybe he's just not hungry. I'll make him something good for breakfast. He took a bite of his own food before looking back up at Steve, gazing at him as he stared down at his food. He then glanced at the sea before meeting Danny's gaze. He gave him a small smile and Danny smiled back at him. Danny couldn't express the way he felt for the man who sat near him. He didn't want to fight anymore. He was truly done.
No more.
Danny felt the need to show Steve exactly how much he admired and loved him. While kisses, hot sex, and the 'I love you's were nice, Danny felt like he needed to show Steve in a different way.
Danny grinned as his thoughts raced through the possibilities and landed on a series of events.
He knew exactly how he'd do it.