He was trapped. It was dark. His hands were tied behind his back and he was in a tiny, cramped space. The trunk of his own god damned car. How could he have let this happen? How could he have been so stupid? Now Steve would be in danger with Danny unable to back him up, and it was all his fault.
His body ached all over from the beating he'd received at the hands of Wo Fat's men, his right lung crackling a little when he breathed in, and he tried desperately to focus on that pain rather than on the restrictive metal coffin he was in.
He could feel the panic rising in his gut, his bruised chest feeling tighter and breathing more hampered than just his injuries would cause.
Fuck, he was going to die. They were going to kill him and he was never going to see Steve again. They might kill Steve, his team, and he wouldn't be there to stop it.
He strained against his bonds and tried to slow his pulse with deep breaths, but his ribs protested and it only made it that bit worse.
The shadows closed in on him, suffocated him with their inky darkness, and he knew in that moment that he was going to die.
Danny gasped awake, pulse jumping in his neck and chest, sweat damp on his skin and blood pumping in his ears.
He had to take several moments to centre himself and realise he wasn't in the Camaro's trunk, but was in fact at home, in bed, safe. And Steve – beautiful, heavenly Steve – was there sleeping by his side.
Luckily he hadn't woken the mechanic, and Danny was glad for that because the last thing he wanted was for his insomnia and nightmares to affect his lover. He slipped out from under the covers and grabbed his robe from the back of the bedroom door before making his way through to the kitchen. He rubbed at his face and leaned his elbows on the counter top until he calmed himself enough to think straight.
The dreams about being locked in his trunk had been getting worse, and he hated that they kept coming back to haunt him. The claustrophobic episode seemed to have done more emotional damage to him than being shot in the head shortly afterwards and nearly dying, and he wondered what that said about his mental state.
He hated his claustrophobia. It was a weakness he despised and just couldn't understand. There was no rhyme or reason to it, no incident that had lead him to fear small spaces that would explain why it was an issue. It just was. And now it was being set off by stress and imagined scenarios, which sucked beyond belief.
He was quiet as a mouse, opening the cupboard for a glass and filling it with water. Steve was asleep in their room, and Nahele was in the guest bedroom, and he couldn't risk waking either of them.
The boy Steve had brought home was jumpy to begin with and was probably getting his first good night's slumber in a long while, and Steve simply didn't deserve to get dragged into the sleepless purgatory his fiancé currently resided in.
Danny had managed to get in a few hours, going to bed at five and finally dropping off to sleep around two hours later, but what rest he'd had was broken and riddled with bad dreams and long periods of staring at the ceiling while he tried to drift off again.
He gulped down the water and gazed groggily at the glass in his hand before giving in and refilling it – this time with whiskey. To hell with it, if he could self medicate into a scotch-induced coma, it was going to be a better option than his current state of being.
He opened the small cupboard next to the television and pulled put the wireless headphones Steve had bought for him the last time he'd suffered from insomnia. It hadn't been anywhere near this bad on that particular occasion, but it was a thoughtful gift from his lover who knew Danny liked to find refuge in late night garbage television, and it was now coming in useful again.
He switched the smart TV on, paired up the headphones to it using the Bluetooth like Steve had shown him, and flicked through the channels until he hit some horrendous infomercials. They always helped him zone out. According to the clock on the wall, it was half past one in the morning, so he resigned himself to a night of waking hell and flopped down on the couch with a huff.
The sip of whiskey was sharp on his throat, and it felt good even as it burned on the way down. He listened to the droning of some shopping channel sales pitch and let his head drop back on the couch.
It didn't help that tonight he was frustrated as hell. All he'd wanted to do was come home, find Steve, and let himself get lost in the heat and passion that was his lover. If he'd just been able to feel that hand on his throat, have bruises dug into his skin, been laid out bare to be reminded he belonged to someone who wanted every inch of him, someone who could take their fill each night and still crave him...
He had so needed that release, but it just didn't feel right with Nahele in the house. Jeez, he didn't want to emotionally scar the kid with the sounds he might hear through the walls, and there was no way Danny could be quiet right now with his insides twisted the way they were... Even he had noticed he'd been a bit louder these past few days; sex with Steve seemed to be the only thing that let him unwind and disconnect.
The commercials on the television began to bleed through into Danny's consciousness as he stared at a cobweb in the corner of the room and sleepily considered getting rid of it somehow. Some sleazy ambulance-chasing solicitor was boasting about his 'low cost rates' and 'high rate of success' when it came to suing the pants off others on his clients' behalf.
"If I don't win your case for you, then my name's not Jack Lawman!"
No, Danny thought, it's probably not, actually. The likelihood that a gimmicky name like 'Jack Lawman' was on that's slime ball's birth certificate was pretty slim.
"Call Lawman Solicitors now, you can trust us!"
The blonde rolled his eyes. God damn lawyers, they were all scumbag gold diggers.
But something caught in the back of his mind; a vague shadow of an idea that clung on to a brain cell for dear life and screamed at him for attention. He lifted his head and looked at the image on the screen, Jack flashing this awful, cheesy grin at the camera and winking before it hopped to the next infomercial. Danny creased his brow and stared at the TV, no longer even registering the images on it or the sounds coming through the headphones as he processed the notion that was now clawing its way to the forefront.
You can trust me.
He thought long and hard about Nahele. Steve had told Danny that it had taken all morning to get the boy to come around – a morning of constant conversation and reassurance, of reciprocated sharing and bare, open honesty – even now Nahele was still wary of them both, and rightly so. He was more hesitant with Danny because he was a cop, and the kid had learned to fear cops...
But a girl like Maggie, with parents who trusted in the system and knew she was vulnerable with her medical problems, would have been taught the exact opposite from day one. You can always trust doctors and nurses and cops; they're your friends, they're there to help you.
One of the images he'd stared at a thousand times during this case jumped through his mind's eye, but it was blurred around the edges in his sleep-deprived memory, and he needed to check, to make sure he was remembering it right.
Danny shot up from the couch, about to grab his laptop bag from where he usually left it, and cursed loudly.
It was at work, of course it was. Kono and Meka had made him leave it behind... Fucking typical! He'd only had one sip of the whisky, thank god.
He grabbed his keys from the bowl and his badge from the kitchen counter, flung his headphones onto the couch without even bothering to turn anything off, and headed out the door. It wasn't until he was halfway to the Palace that he realised he was barefoot and wearing only his boxers, a faded t-shirt and his robe, and his hair was sticking up in all directions from being in bed.
But it didn't matter, not right now, not when he had grasped onto an idea and needed to follow it through.
He had spare clothes at HQ. The guys on the security desk would get a very confusing eyeful tonight, and he might never live it down, but fuck that because if he caught a lead tonight then that was all he cared about. He could bear being teased over his nightwear if it meant they caught their perp.
As it turned out, there was only one guy on the front desk when Danny ran through the foyer, waving his badge without stopping. The guard was too stunned to really react, and hopefully he'd just assume it was a strange nightshift dream and his mind was playing tricks, because no cop would be running through Iolani Palace at 2am in his pyjamas, right?
Danny snapped on the lights in the bullpen and skidded to a halt at the tech table, jabbing the power switch. The computer, which always seemed so quick and efficient, took what felt like a year to boot up while the detective tapped the edge impatiently.
As soon as it was ready, he was bringing up the case folders, delving into the CCTV images of the road from the time period when Maggie went missing, and skipping through them.
The footage was taken from an ATM security camera, so the angle was low and the quality wasn't amazing, but he flicked along the frames until he saw the little girl walking past on the opposite side of the road, and then further until a truck and then a car went past.
The team had interviewed every single driver that had appeared on the video, catching their license plates and tracking them down to see if they remembered seeing Maggie, or anyone acting suspiciously, and each one had appeared to be a dead end. But it was the blue Sedan he was interested in, that was the one that had crept into his brain and sat there, screaming for attention.
He brought the frame up full screen and zoomed in, and there it was. Something his subconscious mind had obviously registered and filed away for later reference.
The female driver had her hair up in a bun, and was wearing a dark blue shirt; a very similar colour to that of the Hawaiian police force.
Danny brought up the database which gave them access to local traffic footage, and came to a grinding halt because it was the most complicated system he'd ever seen. Damn it, this was why he left these parts to Kono or Chin; he was useless with the tech.
He ran to his office and took the wireless phone from its base, having left his cell on his bedside table. He jabbed in a phone number from memory and tucked it in between his ear and his shoulder, praying his colleague would forgive him for the early wake up call.
"Mmf... hello?" came the sleepy answer.
"Chin, I'm so sorry buddy," he said quickly, "But I need your help. How the hell do you find stuff in this traffic cam system?"
There was a short pause as the Hawaiian man took a second to process what was going on. "Didn't my cousin send you home with strict instructions-"
"Not to work, yes yes I know," Danny waved his hand at nothing, "But I've got something Chin, I just... please, I need your help!"
"Okay, what are you working with? Did you sneak a laptop home?" Chin sounded more awake now, keying into the desperate energy in his boss's voice.
"No, I'm on the tech table at the Palace," he jabbed a button again, hoping things would magically start working for him.
"Right, I'm gonna talk you through it, but I'm on my way there," the older cop told him, and it sounded like he was moving around and probably getting dressed like Danny should have.
He put the blonde on hands free while he hopped on his motorcycle, and gave him instructions on how to pull up the footage for that area on the right day, how to track backwards to follow a particular vehicle, and by the time Danny had it all on screen Chin was walking through the bullpen doors.
He dropped his phone on the table, apparently decided against commenting on his friend's bedraggled appearance, and looked up at the screens. "What have you got?"
"The driver of the Sedan, Helen Cantera, you interviewed her right?" Danny confirmed.
"Yeah, Kono and I went together," he nodded, "She said she didn't remember seeing Maggie, not particularly useful. No record. Why?"
"There was something about what she was wearing..." Danny got the video in the right place and thumped the edge of the table victoriously. His hunch had paid off in spades.
The woman had stopped at the front of a queue at a red light, and it was an intersection close to the likely abduction site, ten minutes before the victim disappeared.
The camera was up high and had a perfect view of her face and, most importantly, her clothing.
"Holy fuck," Chin murmured.
"She's wearing an HPD uniform," Danny enlarged the image, zooming in to see the badge on the right side of her dark shirt.
"There was no record of her being an officer," the Hawaiian man shook his head, pulling up her stored information on the table, "She works... Fuck, she works at the Australian consulate..."
"There's our link," Danny felt lightheaded with relief and head to steady himself against the table, "Call Kono, I'll call Meka. We need to track this bitch down..."
Danny's alarm was beeping on his bedside table, dragging Steve from the pleasant dream he'd been having.
"Danno, turn that fucking thing off..." he grouched and pulled a pillow over his head.
When it continued to cut through the goose down, he growled and rolled over to find the other side of the bed empty again.
"For fuck sake..." Steve smacked the phone into submission and staggered out of bed, rubbing his eyes.
He went to find his fiancé, who couldn't be working because his friends had sensibly divested him of his laptop, and he guessed he'd be on the couch watching ridiculous early morning TV. He passed both bathrooms with no sign of the Jersey man.
Instead he found the television on, predictably on the shopping channel, a virtually untouched glass of scotch on the coffee table, but no Danny. His headphones sat on the cushions, playing sales pitches to no one in particular, and Steve grabbed them up and turned everything off, puzzled by his lover's absence.
He looked around the living room and kitchen as if Danny might be hiding somewhere, and even went to check Grace's room, the garage and the garden.
On his way back to the bedroom, Nahele emerged from the spare room in the sweatpants and shirt they'd provided him with.
"Mornin'," the boy scrubbed at his face.
"Hey, I don't suppose you've seen Danny this morning?" Steve tried.
Nahele shook his head. "Naw, only just woken up. Your spare bed is comfy as fuck, man..."
Steve sighed and looked through his open bedroom door at his fiancé's phone on the nightstand. Where the hell had Danny gone?
"Okay," he said absently, snatching up the clothes he'd put to one side last night that looked like they would fit his new ward, "Well get yourself dressed, you're coming to the garage with me. And don't swear, young man."
He handed the outfit to the surprised teen and wandered back into the living room, looking around for clues. Danny's badge wasn't on the counter where he'd thrown it the night before, and his keys were missing from the bowl.
Wherever he'd gone, it had been in a hurry.
They ate a quick breakfast while Steve texted Kono to see if he could track down his errant lover.
- Hey hun, seen Danno?
He wouldn't normally worry quite so much, but with no way of contacting Danny and knowing his recent deteriorating state of mind, Steve didn't think it was an overreaction to be concerned. He was aware his fiancé hadn't slept well last night, the fact that he'd drowned his sorrows in whiskey and infomercials attested to that, and Steve knew the lack of sex probably hadn't helped matters. It had been Danny's pressure release value, a way for him to escape, and he hadn't had the benefit it provided due to Nahele being around.
Steve couldn't be sure how much Danny had drunk, and wondered why he hadn't said goodbye. He picked up the detective's phone to take with him to work.
When they'd left the house, he'd still received no reply, and an anxious feeling sat in the pit of his stomach like a lead weight. Danny had been hurt before, it could happen again... and he'd never seen his lover this way. So this was how Rachel used to feel...
He spent the next hour making Nahele put the engine part he'd tried to steal back in the Marquis, and while the boy worked he observed his skills. He seemed to know what he was doing, and had a talent for handling the machinery.
While Steve tugged his cell out of his pocket to send yet another message to Meka, he leaned against the hood and spoke to the teen.
"How long have you liked cars?"
Nahele looked up, grease smeared on his face, and shrugged. "I dunno, I guess I always have. My dad had a nice car, a Dodge Viper. He wasn't really into the mechanical stuff. He didn't like it so much when I messed with the car, but I always wanted to know what made it tick, ya know?"
Steve nodded, finishing the message. "Yeah, I used to work on this car with my dad before he died. I was upset to see it get sold off... Danny got hold of her for me a few days ago, so I get to continue where we left off..." He cocked his head to one side, and made a decision on something he'd been considering all night. "Do you uh... Do you wanna help me with that?"
Nahele straightened up suddenly and almost banged his head on the raised lid of the hood. "Really? Are you kidding me?" His eyes and voice were full of excitement. "You'd let me? But it was your dad's!"
Steve smiled. "Well if I'm honest, it's kind of a two-man job, and I can't see Danno working on it with me... he's more of an 'if it won't work, buy a new one' type of guy."
It was true, and Danny wouldn't mind him saying it. He had freely admitted on several occasions that he thought tinkering around with 'old junk' was pointless, although when Steve had mentioned that his beloved Camaro would be considered 'old junk' one day, the blonde had quickly retorted by flipping him the bird.
"That would be... that would be amazing, Steve. I'd love it." The boy looked so happy, but a cloud passed over his face and he looked down at the engine and bit his lip.
The ex-con knew exactly why; the kid wasn't sure what his future held right now, and offers of working on a classic car with some guy were great, but provided no stability. But this was what Steve did; he took on ex-convicts to help them get back on their feet with a decent paying job, give them a skill and a grounding in work outside the prison walls so they could rebuild their confidence and their CVs. All he was doing here was skipping a step, and not waiting for the boy to end up getting into trouble on the path he was heading down.
"I was looking at taking on an apprentice, Nahele," Steve crossed his arms over his chest, "Someone who is good with cars and is keen to learn. You know someone who fits that description?"
Nahele's wide eyes met his, and he gripped the edge of the Marquis and bounced on his toes. "Do you... Do you mean that?"
"Well you're gonna be staying with us for at least another night or two until we find you an alternative. May as well make use of you," Steve chuckled.
The boy threw himself at the mechanic, taking the older man by surprise, and wrapped his arms around his neck to hug him. Steve hesitantly put his arms around Nahele and gave him a quick squeeze.
The kid backed off and looked a little embarrassed. "Uh, sorry..."
Steve laughed. "It's no problem, but I am gonna make you work hard. This isn't a free ride, you get me?"
Nahele nodded furiously. "Yessir, I get you."
He watched as Steve once again pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked his complete lack of messages.
"You're worried about him, huh?"
The brunette sighed. "Danny has a dangerous job. He can look after himself but... he's not been in a good place with this case..."
It felt good to share with Nahele. He was a kindred soul.
"Danny seems pretty tough. And you love each other, I can see that," the boy grinned, "The way you are together, I mean... it's cool how you just bounce off one another, like you banter and you laugh and that's really nice. My mom and dad used to be like that."
Steve allowed himself a soft smile. "Yeah... I know he was a bit grumpy yesterday, but you should see his smile, y'know? It's like... I dunno, it's hard to explain, but when he's happy it's like sunshine is nothing in comparison..." He shook his head, self-conscious at his soppy words.
Nahele chuckled at the blush which crept across the older man's cheeks. "How did you two meet? I mean, you're a con and he's a cop. What's with that?"
"Was a con," Steve corrected him, "And that, my friend, is a long story..." And there was no way his young ears were hearing all of it.
Danny stared at the mess they'd made of Cantera's front door and stomped back down the wooden steps.
He had changed into his spare work clothes – slacks, a grey button-down shirt and loafers, although he didn't have a spare tie available so he'd gone open collar – while waiting for the rest of the team to show up in the early hours, and after coordinating with HPD they had organised a morning raid on Helen Cantera's home hoping to find evidence. They had kicked down the door and rushed the place, but the woman was nowhere to be seen, and Danny was beginning to feel the heavy weight of sleep deprivation creep up on him again.
"Is it just me, or are we always five minutes too late?" he growled and rubbed his eyes.
Kono and Chin gave him a sympathetic look. Meka was nearby on his cell, pacing the front yard. They all looked so tired and downtrodden, and Danny couldn't help but feel responsible for that. They were his team, and he knew he'd pushed them and asked a lot of them, especially with 2am wake up calls and putting up with his moods in the office.
"I'm sorry, guys," he sighed.
"We did our best, boss. We'll get her," the sniper reached out and squeezed his arm.
"HPD have put an alert out on the airports and docks with her description, if she's trying to run then she won't get far, but she doesn't know we're onto her yet," Chin attempted to reassure his leader, but Danny wasn't in the positive kind of mood right now.
He was sinking back into the doom and gloom frame of mind he usually wallowed in, the one that told him everything was going to hell and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Suddenly Meka arrived at his side, waving his phone.
"That was Duke, he says that alert we put out paid off! The one to feed us any info about missing kids, even before they're officially classed as missing?"
"What? What's happened?" Danny pressed him, feeling the adrenaline kick up his heart beat.
"He said a girl has been reported by her mother as wondering off on their way to school less than an hour ago. They stopped in a convenience store and the mom turned around, and the girl was gone. Danny, she's nine years old, and apparently very similar to Maggie's description."
Danny cursed. "That's why Cantera isn't here, she's picking up a god damn replacement!" He pointed at his partner. "Put out a MAILE AMBER alert with her details; inform any harbours, ports, docks, airports, god damn flying schools, everywhere. They're not leaving this island!"
"On it, bud," Meka nodded and went to make the calls, glancing at the phone screen, "Oh, and you might want to call your fiancé because I have two texts from him..."
Danny bit his lip as he watched his friend walk off to call HPD. Shit, he'd forgotten to pick up his cell earlier when he left, and in all the hustle this morning he hadn't thought to let Steve know he was okay.
The other two cops pulled their own phones out.
"Um... I've got a text too, bruh," Chin flashed his phone screen at Danny where one of Steve's messages showed.
-Have you seen Danno? I'm worried.
They had all been busy that morning with the raid, and no one had checked their phones until now.
"Two texts and a missed call..." Kono passed her cell to Danny, "Put him out of his misery, yeah?"
He hit the call button and stepped away so he could talk in private. Steve would have been up for a few hours now and Danny felt like an idiot for being so involved in this case that he hadn't considered his lover.
Steve's worried voice came on the line after two rings, the sound of the garage in the background. "Kono? Are you guys okay? Where's Danny?"
"Babe it's me, I'm fine. I'm so sorry-"
"Danny? For fuck sake, you had me so worried!" The metal clanging and engine noise faded, and Danny guessed his fiancé had gone outside to avoid anyone overhearing him. "What happened this morning? Where'd you go?"
The cop scratched at his two-day stubble. "I'm so sorry, babe. We got a break in the case and I had to get to the office, I didn't want to wake you... I should have left a note or something, I wasn't thinking."
"There was whiskey out, you didn't... you didn't drink and drive, did you?" Steve had lowered his voice right down, but still managed to sound stern when he was practically whispering.
"No!" Danny snapped, and then brought his own volume down when the cousins looked up at him from across the yard, "No, I most certainly did not, Steven, thank you. I wouldn't."
"I know, I know, I'm sorry," the other man let out a deep sigh and Danny felt a stab of guilt in his stomach. He'd put Steve through a lot that morning, over the past few days in fact, and it was so unfair on his lover. God, this is what he'd done to Rachel. He just kept hurting people.
"No, I'm sorry Steve, it's my fault. Listen, I'm gonna make it up to you, I promise. When this is all over-"
"I understand, Danno," Steve's firm voice held so much sincerity, it made Danny's heart ache. "I get it, I mean it. I know how important this case is to you."
"You are always my number one priority, Steve. You and Grace, you know that, right?" He had to make Steve understand that, it was so important. "I've let this take over, but it's only temporary, and I'm sorry about this morning, it's not right... god, I'm so sorry, I love you."
He faced away from all the cops swarming the perp's front yard so they couldn't see him wiping the tears of frustration out of his eyes with his free hand.
"Danny, I love you too. And you know what? I love that your throw your heart and soul into your work, it's who you are and I wouldn't ask for anything different."
"I didn't think it was possible to love you anymore than I already did, Steven. And then you go and fucking prove me wrong..." Danny sniffed and he heard his lover chuckle on the other end of the phone.
"That's why I'm here, Danno," he murmured, "To constantly prove you wrong."
"Danny!" The blonde looked up to see Meka and Chin waving at him, and he took off in a run towards them.
"I'm sorry babe, I've got to go. I will make this up to you, I swear it. I love you." He tossed Meka his keys and jumped into the passenger side of the Camaro.
"Be safe, Danno. I'll hold you to that. Love you too."
Danny hung up and looked over at his partner.
"What's going on?"
"A woman matching Cantera's description has been seen at the Honolulu marina with a young girl, that's where we're headed," Meka was already tearing out onto the freeway at speed, "Everything okay with you and lover boy?" he teased.
Danny just grinned. "Mek, I am marrying probably the most perfect man in the world. Everything is perfect... Now let's go take this bitch down!"
Steve stood next to the road bike Nahele was tinkering with and watched him with interest. Now he'd spoken with Danny and knew he was okay, he felt a lot calmer. He'd also meant every word he'd said, because yes this case was affecting Danny profoundly, but it was because he cared so deeply and intensely about people, and that was what made him Danny.
It was one of the things that pulled Steve in; the way the detective wore his heart on his sleeve, just wanted to protect the ones he loved with all his heart, and everyone else along the way. Even people he didn't know. It was why he was a cop, after all.
So Rachel was right in one aspect; Danny was built to be a father and he was built to be a cop. Where she was wrong, in Steve's opinion, was her perception of her ex-husband's priorities. Steve had known it deep down before he'd even heard it come from his lover's lips, but it had made it all the better to listen to the words in that Jersey accent.
You are always my number one priority, Steve. You and Grace, you know that, right?
He had known he was more important than the job, of course. But to be classed alongside Grace, not second like he's assumed, but joint first? That was a little piece of heaven, right there.
After Danny had rung off, he had dedicated the morning to Nahele, instructing the kid in the mechanics of some of the motorcycles they had in and setting him to work right away after lunch. He was a quick learner, and Steve was glad to have him around.
He liked Nahele a lot, wanted to give him the opportunities that Steve hadn't benefitted from. He was a good kid, he could see that, and Danny wouldn't have let him stay if he'd seen anything to the contrary in Nahele.
Steve had never had any sort of fatherly feelings over any kids until he met Gracie, but now he was feeling oddly protective over this young boy and he realised that he was a very different man today than the one Danny had met in Halawa over two years ago.
He had grown, developed, evolved, and so had his lover; but they had done so together, hand in hand, and that made him love the blonde even more than he believed he ever could.
"Do you talk to your sister much?"
The question wasn't totally out of the blue, as the ex-con had discussed family with Nahele and told him about Grace and Danny, and their ohana, but he'd only briefly mentioned his own blood family up until now.
"Mary-Ann? No, not seen her in years… I was thinking about her just the other day actually, that maybe I should give her a call."
"You should," Nahele stood and wiped the grease off his hands, an earnest expression on his young face, "Family's important, I should know… And I know you think the stuff you've done might have made her hate you, but I bet she'd be happy to hear from you."
Steve gave him a considering look. "How old are you again, kid?" he laughed. It was amazing to hear such wise words coming from a young boy like that. He nodded and crossed his arms, hugging himself a little. "You're right though. Problem is, I don't have her number… she changed it after I left the mainland. Maybe Danny could-"
"Wow," Nahele interrupted him, and he glanced up to see the kid gazing past his shoulder with a look of wonderment, "I see what you mean about that smile…"
Steve turned to see what he was staring at, and his eyes landed on Danny, strolling across the lot from his Camaro with Meka not far behind him, grinning from ear to ear. He honestly looked like he'd never been happier in his life. His smile was utterly beautiful, and Steve couldn't believe how much he'd missed it the past few days.
They'd solved the case; that had to be it, because the relief and utter delight radiating off the man was tangible, making him glow. His shoulders were loose, head held high, and he was headed straight for Steve.
"I know why I'm happy, but why are you smirking?" Danny chuckled as he approached, waving at Nehele.
"No tie," Steve replied and pointed to the blonde's open collar which revealed a peak of sandy chest hair, "I like it."
"Don't get used to it," the shorter man arrived in front of him, and Steve slid his arms around Danny's waist to draw him into a kiss.
"How did this afternoon go?" He figured it was safe to ask about the case now, judging by Danny and Meka's cheerful demeanours.
"We got the bitch, hoaloha," Meka bounced on the balls of his feet.
"It's a long story babe, but we've got a big clean up operation now," Danny added, taking a small step back but still remaining in the ex-con's orbit, "We need to track down all the kids this woman has sold on and see if we can reunite them with their families."
The Hawaiian man crossed his arms over his chest and beamed proudly. "We've already done one. This girl who was taken from her parents like nine years ago and passed on to some couple on the island. They were keeping her locked up and taking the child support money for themselves. Makes you sick, bruh."
"Yeah, she was almost eighteen and would have been no use to them then, god knows what would have happened to her... but we found an email from them asking this woman to find 'a replacement' so it couldn't have been good." Danny's shoulders had stiffened a little and he flexed his hands, and Steve noticed the bruising across both sets of knuckles now.
"What's this?" he asked, sliding his fingers into his fiancé's hand.
"The guy wasn't being... particularly helpful, right D?" Meka smirked and cocked his head to one side, looking proudly at his partner.
Danny bit his lip. "Uh, no... He needed some persuading before he would tell us where Amanda was hidden..." He met Steve's eyes and winced. "He was gonna kill her, Steve, I just know it."
"Hey, you don't have to explain anything to me, Danno," the mechanic smiled, "I'd probably have cheered you on from the side lines."
Danny gazed at him for a few moments, letting a slow smile creep onto his lips, just basking in the way Steve understood him so well. He'd been through so much in his life, had been so hard and cut off when they'd first met for so many completely valid reasons, and yet this beautiful, caring, sexy man knew him like he was a part of his soul.
The fact that he had supported Danny through each minute of this case, allowed him to find solace in their own special kind of intimacy, just give and not mind the take. He was a gift, whether he knew it or not. And he was going to be his husband.
He remembered they had an audience, and he was probably looking like a lovestruck idiot right now, so he looked away and cleared his throat.
"What have you been subjecting this poor boy to today?" he teased, offering Nahele a smile.
"Oh, are we talking about my new apprentice?" Steve grinned.
"Oh, wow," Danny winked at the teen, "Look at you now with a job and everything, you'll be owning this place within the year!"
Nahele's cheeks flushed pink from the praise, and he shuffled his feet while he stared at them. "Yeah, it's exciting," he mumbled.
Steve laughed. "We'll see about that. I've been showing him the bikes."
"And he's been telling me about how you guys met," the boy added, looking back up at the blonde.
Meka choked on air behind Danny, and the Jersey man smacked him hard on the arm without even looking.
"Oh yeah?" He side-eyed his lover. Please god, let it have been the PG-rated version because he couldn't cope with a traumatised teenager right now.
"Yes, about how we were cell mates and we hated each other, but then we became friends when you defended me, and then you helped me get out early once you were proved innocent. The rest is history." Steve raised his eyebrows and gave Danny a look as if to say 'What, you really think I'd tell him about that? Are you kidding me?'
Danny shook his head. "Yeah, well someone had to take this big goof on, he can't look after himself for toffee," he snickered, and then looked up at Steve with an apologetic smile, "Oh, which by the way, you are gonna have to do... we need to head over to Australia for a few days to try and track some of these kids... tonight. I gotta go pack."
Steve sagged. "Really?" He sounded like a whiny kid, he knew it, but he'd just got the real Danny back and now he was going away. He had pulled Danny's cell phone from his pocket and now he handed it to him, knowing he'd need it for when he flew out.
"Just a couple of days, babe," Danny slid the phone into his pocket while his free hand crept onto Steve's back and fisted into his t-shirt, "But I just need to get something from upstairs first?"
Steve's brow creased, wondering what on earth Danny needed from his office, and then he felt the hint of a tug on his clothing. "Oh... Oh! Yes, that! I'll help you..."
He grasped the cop's wrist and lead him away a little too quickly.
"Jesus Christ..." Meka rolled his eyes at their lack of subtlety, "I'll just wait here, huh partner?" he called after them, a sly smile tugging at his mouth.
"Uh, Meka, Nahele. Nahele, Meka," Danny waved his hand at them in a vague attempt at an introduction, but he was already disappearing through the doors.
His partner was a grown man, he could handle himself.
He had to try not to stumble as he was yanked up the steps at speed, and before he knew it he was through Steve's office door and it was locked behind them. Then he was crushed against the desk which they had abused only the other day, and Steve's soft lips were on his.
"I missed you so much," the brunette murmured against his lips, nipping and kissing along his jaw as his fingers tackled the buttons of his shirt.
Danny was already wrestling with his lover's cargo pants flies. "I haven't gone anywhere yet," he laughed.
Steve straightened back up to kiss him again. "You kinda did though, Danny," he said softly.
The Jersey man paused. "I... I'm sorry, Steve. I didn't mean to-"
"No, no. I meant what I said, Danno," Steve reaffirmed with another kiss, "I understand, I really do. This was so important... but as long as you always come back to me, I will always be waiting."
Danny swallowed past the lump in his throat. "You know I will," he whispered.
"I know you will," the mechanic smiled softly, and the little crinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes that made Danny's heart explode every time.
He grabbed Steve's hair and mashed their lips together, and the ex-con pushed his tongue into Danny's mouth and owned the kiss.
Danny whimpered into his mouth when his shirt was pulled from his shoulders, and Steve was quickly stripping his own shirt over his head before they tore at one another's pants and kicked their shoes and socks off along with the clothing.
They were just in their boxers by the time they slowed the frenzy back down, panting against one another's cheeks while kneading flesh under their fingers.
Steve bit at his fiancé's throat and worked his way slowly down along his collarbone, tracing his favourite scar. He grabbed Danny's wrists and held his hands against the desk so he could grip the edge.
"Don't move them," he commanded, squeezing to enforce his words and dropping to his knees.
Danny nodded and gulped hard. "Yes sir," he breathed.
Steve's sharp hazel eyes flicked up to meet his gaze. "Oh, I like that..." he purred.
Before Danny could reply, Steve's hot mouth was on his cock through the cotton of his underwear, and all words immediately became lost to him. He groaned and closed his eyes, so grateful to just be back under his lover's hands.
The brunette let go of him and hooked all of his fingers into the waistband of Danny's boxers, but he didn't bother pulling them down. The detective jolted at the sound of ripping fabric, and the sight of his man literally rendering the clothing from his body almost made him come then and there.
"Holy shit, Ste- oh god!"
Steve took his lover's hard cock into his mouth, sucking and licking and taking him back into his throat with practiced speed and efficiency. He let the boxers drop to hang useless around one muscled thigh, and skated his fingers up the backs of Danny's legs to cup his ass cheeks and grip hard.
Danny's knuckles were white where he was clutching at the furniture, trying desperately to follow the orders he'd been given and not reach out for his lover. He gasped in oxygen and leaned his head back, closing his eyes again while Steve made him moan with his talented tongue.
Steve hummed around Danny's cock, revelling in the silky smooth skin against his lips and torturing him with slow, precise bobs of his head. He tasted like heaven, and the mechanic knew he was addicted to that flavour. Danny was his fix, his weakness, and the sounds he made had him coming back for more every time.
He took his fiancé right to the edge, until he was desperately trying to behave himself and not jerk his hips forward. His breath was coming in little gasps and whimpers, and the pained groan he released when Steve pulled off him and stood up made the ex-con grin wolfishly.
"Fuck, Steve!" The blonde growled, his restraint collapsing with the sudden denied orgasm. He let go of the desk and grabbed Steve's hips to bring their bodies together and grind against his erection, needing something, anything, to take him over the edge.
His wrists were seized, he was spun around and forced against the desk, yelping when the wooden edge bruised his thighs.
"I told you to keep your hands where they were," Steve hissed in his ear and ground his own erection against his lover's ass through his own boxers.
"Steve, please..." Danny pushed back against him and shouted out when teeth sank into his shoulder. His cock twitched, but even that still wasn't enough to finish him. "God, please!"
"I love it when you beg," the taller man whispered against the back of his neck, and goosebumps spilled across his skin.
Danny made a needy, pathetic noise and stopped straining against the brunette, realising he was getting nowhere fast.
Steve nipped a line across his back, waiting a moment longer before lessening his grip on one wrist and letting the other go completely so he could shirk his own underwear. "Good boy. Now get me the lube, you know where it is..."
The detective groaned and leaned down over the desk, pulling the draw open and stretching for the bottle. The second he handed it to Steve he was pushed down onto the wooden surface, and he just had time to move some pens out from under his chest before both of his hands were brought around to the small of his back.
"You said you were going to make things up to me earlier, baby," Steve said in a low, gruff tone, "Well this is how it's gonna happen. I'm gonna fuck you hard, and you'll take it like a good boy... and you're not gonna come until I say you can. You hear me?"
Danny pressed his forehead into the desk and whined. He loved the way Steve controlled him, but he needed to come so badly and he didn't know if he'd be able to hold back.
Steve placed the lube on the desk and brought his free hand down on his lover's ass cheek sharply, enjoying the squeak it elicited.
"Answer me!"
"God, yes! Yes, Steve," Danny moaned wantonly, "Yes..."
Steve let go of his prize for a moment so he could squeeze lube onto his hand and coat his dick in the slippery liquid, and this time Danny behaved himself and kept his arms in place.
He was rewarded by his fiancé taking his wrists again, gently sliding one finger inside him and immediately massaging his prostate once he was deep enough. Danny gritted his teeth and moaned into the desk, wondering how on earth he was going to resist his body's most natural reactions.
Steve took the pressure off by pulling back a little and slowly working him open, adding another finger and getting him ready. Danny could feel his body relaxing, his building orgasm receding a little and leaving an aching, unfulfilled void in its wake.
His lover kissed down his spine; light, delicate presses of his lips that contrasted so intensely with the harsh grip on his wrists and the way he was crushed into the office furniture.
Steve backed off enough so that he could press the tip of his throbbing cock to his lover's hole. He was as desperate for this as Danny and, although he wasn't quite as vocal about it, he knew the cop was well aware of that fact. Despite the roles they took on with one another, they were one and the same; just as needy as the other and just as in love.
He pushed into him slowly, grunting as the head of his dick slipped past the tight ring and into Danny's slick, velvet heat.
"Fuck... you feel so good, baby," he whispered, letting the hand that wasn't holding on to Danny's wrists wander over his trembling muscles as the man fought against the pleasure.
He had withheld orgasms from Danny only a couple of times before, and each time had been a punishment for his man misbehaving in the bedroom. But the punishments Steve doled out were their own kind of rewards, and Danny loved every second of it. There would be no real fun in it otherwise, not for the brunette. His lover wasn't there to be used and abused just for his own benefit, but for both of their enjoyment.
He buried himself deep inside his fiancé, taking a long breath before withdrawing almost all the way and beginning a steady, hard rhythm that built gradually. Soon he was hammering into Danny with a punishing force, and the blonde was letting out a broken moan with each thrust.
Danny knew he was going to have lines of bruising across his thighs and hips tomorrow, and he couldn't wait to trace them with his fingers and remember this moment again.
Steve reached down to curl his fingers around Danny's throat, pulling him upright so his back was flush to Steve's chest. He brought the blonde's head right back and scraped his teeth up Danny's pulse line to his ear, where he sucked the lobe into his mouth.
Electricity zipped down Danny spine and added to the increasing tension in his belly, his orgasm building once more with the new position. Steve was hitting his prostate with every drive, and he whined out loud.
"Fuck... Steve..."
There was no way he could hold on for much longer, not like this.
Danny's voice was raw and breathy, and Steve would always be weak for his name said in that way.
He nibbled on his fiancé's earlobe, his hot breath skating over his cheek, and pushed in deep and slow while whispering in his ear.
"Come for me."
Danny's orgasm took his body like wildfire raging through a forest, and he arched his back and bucked against Steve, shouting wordlessly as he came hard. He lost focus on the world and practically collapsed in his lover's arms as fireworks went off in his brain.
Spurts of pearly cum landed on Steve's desk, and seeing Danny come so intensely combined with the feeling of him clenching around his cock in waves brought the mechanic over the edge of his own climax.
He had to lean Danny into the desk to keep them standing, his own release depleting his strength, and he let go of his wrists to grab the desk edge.
"Oh fuck," he gasped, breathing hard into Danny's sweat-slick back and moving his grip from the detective's throat to his chest, hugging him close.
Danny put his own hands on the desk and tried to relearn how to breathe, endorphins swimming through his veins and loosening his muscles.
"Holy shit," he gasped eventually when Steve pulled out of him and staggered backward, "That was... Fuck..."
He turned and leaned back against the desk, and Steve stepped into him again and kissed him passionately. They had to break apart sooner than they'd have liked, both still desperate for oxygen.
"God Danny, I love you so much," Steve planted little short kisses on his lips, and the cop grinned against him, "I mean it, I love you and I can't wait to marry you..."
Danny gave him the smile that weakened him at the knees and gazed into his eyes. "Babe, the day I call you my husband will be the happiest day of my life... Especially if we get to do that again afterwards," he chuckled.
Steve laughed and bent to pick up his clothes. "Come on, you've got to go pack for your mission," he said reluctantly.
"Yeah, I need to go say goodbye to Grace, too. Damn it, we were gonna go with her to get the rings this weekend..." Danny remembered.
Steve's suggestion that Grace choose their wedding rings had warmed his heart to the core, and they had decided to forgo engagement rings so that slipping them on to one another's fingers on the day would feel that bit more special.
"Hey, it can wait. She'll understand," Steve passed him his clothes while he kicked the ruined underwear off himself.
"Oh great, now I gotta go commando while I sit in the car with my partner... that's not weird," he groused.
They dressed and shared another kiss, more delicate this time.
"Let's go save Nahele from Meka's horrendous jokes," the blonde grinned.
"I think that boy's got a little crush on you, Danno," Steve raised an eyebrow at his fiancé. He hadn't missed Nahele's expression earlier when he'd seen that sunshine smile, or his blush when he'd received approval from the cop, and who could blame the kid? Certainly not Steve.
Danny shook his head as he opened the office door. "Well if that's the case, I'll have to let him down gently," he leaned in for another kiss and spoke against Steve's lips, "I'm taken..."