In These Arms

Steve was nervous. There was no other way to describe what he was feeling. He'd never felt nervous before, at least, not like this. Not like he was going to puke, or maybe pass out. He refused to have a panic attack about this. There was no reason to have a fucking panic attack over this. He scowled at himself, then stopped when he noticed a mother steer her child farther away from his table.

He sighed. Took a deep breath. Tried to relax.

It wasn't like he and Danny had never taken Grace out for supper before.

It was, however, the first time they were going to tell Grace that her father and her uncle – which Steve realized, with a grimace, sounded really inappropriate now – were dating. Which also did not sound right to Steve.

'Dating' was what he'd done with Catherine, and with Lynn. Calling what he and Danny were doing 'dating' seemed like an oddity. Dating was just a socially acceptable way to pay for sex, if you wanted to get crass about it.

Steve loved Danny like nothing else; like a black hole could swallow everything else around him and Steve wouldn't care as long as Danny still loved him. Steve and Danny didn't need dates to connect. They did that just by looking at each other, by sitting together on the couch bitching about a two-day old baseball game they were only just getting around to watching because they'd been too exhausted after getting home from work to do anything other than drop straight into bed and fall asleep wrapped up in each other. When they had sex, it was a physical expression of everything they felt for each other, not just a fun way to get off, though it was certainly that as well.

Besides, they hadn't actually been on a date yet. At least, not since they'd started 'dating', and he wasn't sure tonight would count. Sure they were at a nice restaurant and he was in a nice suit, but was it a date if your lover brings his daughter with him?

Because tonight they were telling Grace that they were... whatever. And he was nervous as fuck. Sure, he loved Grace like she was his own, and she loved him, but what would she say now that he was more than just her Danno's friend? Would she approve more than she had of Gabby and Melissa?

"Earth to Steve." He jumped in his seat. "You're ignoring my Monkey again."

"Hey guys." He stood up and pulled Grace into a hug. It was the first time he'd seen her since the dance. He hugged her a little tighter than normal, but he was pretty sure she did, too. "How you doin', kiddo?"

"Good. I'm good Uncle Steve."

"Good." He kissed her hair. He looked at Danny behind her, a wide grin on his face as he watched them. Steve winked at him, then asked, "and how's Will?"

Danny scowled at him, though there was no heat to it. Grace burrowed into his shoulder and he imagined her blushing.

"Uncle Steve!"

He chuckled, kissed her head again, happy that she still allowed it, and released her. He felt empty when she left his arms and he wondered how it made Danny feel if she made Steve feel like this.

"Hey," Steve finally said to Danny, as he pulled Grace's chair out for her.

"Hey yourself. You clean up nice, babe," even if this wasn't the first time he'd seen Steve in a suit. Steve shrugged the compliment off, but couldn't stop the small smile.

They sat down across from each other with Grace, in her pretty sun dress, sitting against the wall of the booth next to Danny. Their waiter came and took their drink orders, then left them to decide on their food. Steve, in his nervousness, which was already dissolving now that his favourite people were with him, had arrived early and distracted himself by looking over the choices and choosing what he wanted. He picked the menu up and looked over it anyway, for show, watching Grace and Danny out of the corner of his eye.

She kept looking at both of them, pretending to read her menu but failing miserably. She would bite her lip like she wanted to ask a question, but didn't. Danny must have been watching her as well because, without looking away from his menu, he said "Monkey, stop fidgeting and decide what you want to eat."

She huffed and looked at her choices, but Steve was sure she still wasn't reading it. He caught her eye and winked at her.

"I'm having lasagna," he told her. She grinned, closed the folder and dropped it on the table.

"Me too." They turned to watch Danny.

After a moment, he looked up, scowling again... or still.

"What? Why? Why are you look at me like that, huh? How am I supposed to make this very important decision – shut up, Steven, Italian food decisions are very important! – with you two looking at me like that? You're rushing me!"

"We didn't say anything!" Grace said, laughing.

Steve smirked. "You got a little performance anxiety there, Danno?"

His eyes narrowed even more, then he smirked and raised an eyebrow, like he would have challenged Steve if innocent ears hadn't been so close.

He closed his own menu and dropped it on top of Grace's. The waiter was on them immediately.

"Three lasagnas please, and some bruschetta to start."

"Yes, sir," the waiter said, taking their menus away.

By some silent agreement, Danny and Steve sat back in their seats, sipping their waters, like it was any other meal and not the most nerve wracking day of Steve's life.

"How was school this week, Monkey?"

She cracked in thirty seconds.

"Stop it! Stop torturing me! What is going on?" She looked from Steve to Danny and back to Steve again and her eyes were twinkling. Steve started to think maybe she might have an idea what they were going to tell her – she was a smart young lady, after all – and from her expression, he didn't think she'd be upset about it. He felt the last bit of nerves disappear. Why had he ever worried about this in the first place? He smirked at her.

"No idea what you're talking about, Gracie."

"Yeah babe, your dad and your Uncle Steve here can't take our favourite girl," and Steve's breathing stopped for a moment at that and he couldn't suppress his grin, "out for a nice post-hostage taking dinner?"

She narrowed her eyes, just like Danny did, while still smiling, also just like Danny whenever he was not-annoyed with him. She pointed at Steve.

"You can't be 'Uncle Steve' anymore."

Steve's face fell. Did he get this wrong? But no, she still seemed too happy to be angry enough to demote him.

"Grace!" Her father said, perhaps wondering the same thing.

"Well? My dad can't date my uncle! That's just gross!" But her eyes were getting wider and her smile larger and her words louder and higher and started to run together, like Danny when he got going. "Like, if Steve is my uncle, he's like your brother and you can't date your brother because that's what this is right? We're on a date! You'll have to just be Steve or... Step-Steve!" she wrinkled her nose at that, and so did Danny. "Or maybe d—"

"Way to ruin a surprise, Monkey," Danny said, laughing, trying to reign her in before she announced it to the entire block, and not just the restaurant.

She squealed. "I'm right!"

"Uh yeah," Steve finally said. "You're right. Is that a problem, Gracie?"

"Are you kidding me?" Steve thought she would be in only-dogs-can-hear-her range shortly. "Get out! Get out!" She said, slightly more quiet, pushing at Danny to make him get out of the booth. Then she came over to Steve, tugging on his arm. "Get out! Get out!" Of course, he followed her order.

She pulled the them into a group hug and Steve's heart melted as he tightened his around...

"Family selfie!"

His family.