Work Text:
Steve was in a state of confusion as he thought back on the last two days. He had come to the Island to bury his father then take the next assignment away from the Island. He had now agreed to stay in Hawaii indefinitely by heading the Governor’s special task force and admitting that he had fallen irrevocably, completely and undeniably in love with his new partner Danny Williams. He wasn’t sure how that had happened, so here he was sitting on a deck chair outside his house staring at the ocean and drinking a beer. The sun had set hours ago but the sound of the ocean calmed him as he thought back on what had happened.
Steve had never met anyone like Danny before. When Danny had walked into the garage yesterday morning he had also walked into Steve’s heart and wrapped a warm Jersey toned blanket around it, no one who had buried their father a few hours before had the right to feel like this a few hours later, like grief and sorrow could leave his heart and give way to hope and love at a moment’s notice. Steve had told himself there was no such thing as love at first sight; lust maybe; he could think of a few things he’d like to do with Danny but love, no. Then the days had gone on and he found himself surprised by Danny over and over again and with each surprise the blanket wrapped tighter.
Steve had no association with the Island; now that his father had died he had no reason to stay. He had wanted to leave after his father’s funeral and that’s what his plan had been until he ran into Chin, an officer who had worked under his father. Chin told him that a haole from the mainland was working his father’s case. Steve wanted to catch Victor Hesse and if this haole didn’t know his job then Hesse would get away. Steve couldn’t let that happen, he was already responsible for his father’s death the least he could do was catch his killer. So Steve had gone to his father’s house moved back the yellow police tape that surrounded the property and stepped inside. He intended to survey the place, pick up any clues that Hesse had left behind, but from the moment he entered the house he was overwhelmed by memories of the past, of his mother, of him and his sister when they were still children, the house had stopped being a home to him the moment his mother died, when he and his sister were shipped to the mainland to different schools, that’s when he lost touch with his father, his sister and Hawaii. Now the house was a mess, his father’s blood was still on the floor, the killers footprints were still on the floor boards.
Steve had continued his surveillance into the garage and that’s where he had found his father’s old tool box, it was red with the word champ written upon it, the name his father had called him just before he died, Steve knew the box had to mean something so he had a quick look inside. It was as he was closing the box that Danny showed up. From the moment he walked in he held Steve’s attention, how could he not, blonde hair, blue eyes and 5”5, he’d have to bend down a little to kiss him though thought Steve, that’s when Steve knew he was in trouble, the man was waving a gun and shouting very loudly in a thick Jersey accent and all Steve could think of was kissing. Steve forced himself to focus and to study the detective. He did look like a haole with his tight shirt, trousers and patent leather loafers, he’s going out of his way not to fit in thought Steve, then why come here at all?
Drop down your gun they cried at each other, Danny wasn’t going to back down so Steve suggested that they show each other their badges on the count of three, the count of three, what detective talking down a potential burglar would agree to that, Detective Danny Williams, that’s who, Steve had smiled inside. Steve had to leave before he did something stupid like asking the straight detective out, Steve knew he was straight he had already checked out Danny’s wedding finger, no ring but pale skin where the ring had once been, the man had been recently married. Steve picked up the box and walked out, but Danny didn’t allow that, “Put the box down” he said in his thick Jersey accent.
“I came with this” replied Steve.
“No you didn’t, I see the dust void it left right here on the counter” replied Danny.
Danny didn’t make it easy for Steve to leave, even when Steve questioned him about his detective skills and the empty crime scene Danny argued back and threatened to arrest him if he didn’t leave the box behind, despite his height and the fact that he was up against a Navy seal he suggested Steve would need an ambulance if he tried to leave with the box. So he’s cute, observant and feisty noted Steve; smiling inside. He was also panicking he didn’t know anything about Danny, he didn’t know if he could trust him with the contents of his father’s box so he didn’t want to leave the box behind. Get to know him better said the little voice in his head, what’s the harm continued the voice, say you’ll head the Governor’s task force, this will give you enough time to look into your father’s murder and get to know Danny, hopefully he’ll have some off putting habits, then after finding Victor Hesse you can leave Hawaii and leave Danny. So that’s exactly what Steve had done, he had stood in his garage and phoned the Governor who insisted that he be sworn in to head the special task force there and then. When the Governor had questioned him about his change of heart, he had replied, “Let’s just say I found something that changed my mind”. He had then given Danny what he hoped was a forceful stare and said “Now it’s my crime scene” as he walked out.
After leaving the garage Steve had gone to the HPD to retrieve his father’s file and to check on Danny’s credentials. Damn he was a good detective; Steve could tell he was making progress into his father’s murder and if he wanted Hesse, he would need Danny’s help to find him. This had given Steve the perfect excuse to make Danny his partner. Well he did want to get to know Danny better and besides making Danny his partner would give him a chance to keep an eye on Danny, he really shouldn’t be walking in anywhere without back up.
So later that morning he had stood in the pouring rain knocking on Danny’s apartment door, the moment the door opened Steve had barged in. The place was a dump. Not only did Danny dress like he was from the mainland, like he was wearing a sign that screamed” I don’t want to fit in, I don’t belong here”, he lived like that too. The apartment screamed, “This is not my home, I have no intention of settling in”. Then he saw the photo of a gorgeous little girl in a frame and a part of Danny made sense. Danny was a doting father, his ex wife must have come to Hawaii and Danny had followed, Steve had smiled inside and then scolded himself for smiling, he was meant to find reasons to be put off by Danny, not fall for him further.
Steve had discussed Danny’s lead with him and then informed him that he had been reassigned to his task force and that Danny’s objections didn’t count, Steve was a Seal, he was a Commander, he was used to giving orders and people following his orders, Danny wasn’t people.
Steve’s jaw had stung from the right hook that he received from Danny. After leaving Danny’s apartment he and Danny had followed up Danny’s lead. Steve had been pleased when Danny followed him into the suspect’s house, concerned when Danny was shot, relieved that it was only a graze, impressed with Danny’s sharp shooting and stunned by his right hook. The man wasn’t joking when he had said that Steve would need an ambulance. Danny would follow Steve into danger like a good police officer, a man Steve could trust, but he wouldn’t be intimidated by him, Steve smiled inside.
They had found a connection to Victor Hesse, but to find Hesse they would need help. Steve knew he needed a bigger task force and the first person he thought of was Chin. If his father could trust Chin then so could he, so Danny and Steve had driven to Chin’s workplace.
Steve had hoped that being stuck in car with Danny might be off putting, but all he did was stare every time the man opened his mouth. Danny was a ball of energy, thick accent, arms flying everywhere, his energy encompassed the car taking Steve with him. Steve had made the mistake of suggesting Danny was sensitive, Steve should have kept his mouth shut, but he enjoying watching Danny talk, with his mouth, with his hands, with his body, he knew he would be using every opportunity to rile Danny, damn Steve had smiled inside for the entire car journey and he had known that the blanket was wrapping tighter around his heart. That morning when they first left Danny’s apartment Danny’s phone rang to a psycho ring tune, Steve had suspected that the phone call was from his ex wife, but he wasn’t prepared for the soft tone in Danny’s voice when he answered the phone to his daughter. Danny’s whole attention had been focused on the call while Steve had shamelessly eaves dropped, well he couldn’t not he was in the same car with him. Steve had wondered then if he would have a ringtone if he knew Danny long enough, he had also wondered if he would have a tone. During the conversation it transpired that Danny’s nickname from his daughter was Danno, Steve liked nicknames, Steve liked Danno.
Once Steve and Danny found Chin, it didn’t take Steve long to persuade Chin to join the task force, Steve needed a man he could trust who had connections to the Island, Chin needed to work in the police force again, the man was born to live and die as an officer, it was in his blood.
It hadn’t taken Chin long to prove useful, he had an informant who gave him the name of a suspect who could have bought Hesse to the Island. While Chin had been talking to the informant, Steve and Danny had stood outside wearing oversized t-shirts and carrying shake ices, Steve had made a mental note that blue was Danny’s colour. It was while he was standing here that Steve faced a problem that the Navy Seal manual had no instructions on how to handle, inquisitive little girls, Danny however was a pro. The girl had approached Steve and asked if he was a cop, he had no idea how she knew that and for want of a better word he floundered. Danny however had produced a giant purple bunny rabbit from the backseat of the Camaro and gave it to the girl, who had happily run away. Was the back seat of the Camora filled with toys for potential inquisitive children, Steve didn’t know, with Danny’s ability to surprise him that was a possibility, he did remember that he had smiled inside and that the blanket double wrapped around his heart.
Before chasing up Chin’s suspect, Chin had suggested a fourth member of the team, his cousin Kono. Steve’s first impression of Kono was that she would be another member of the team with a strong right hook. Steve saw himself in Kono, she was feisty and ready to talk with her fists if the situation required it. Kono may have been a rookie, but being a police officer was in her blood, just like her cousin.
Kono proved how capable she was in the warehouse the next day; she could think on her feet and damn could she fight. Steve had hunted Hesse down before but now in two days with Danny, Chin and Kono’s help he had found Hesse’s location on the freighter ship and shot him, twice. HPD were trawling the water for the body. Steve wouldn’t be happy until Hesse’s body was found, but he had felt a sense of relief that the case was over so that he could move on with his life. But move on to where?
In the immediate aftermath of finding Hesse he had occupied himself with mundane tasks such as ensuring that the task force was fitted with the equipment that they needed for future cases, that was just the way he worked, he needed order and structure, a to do list, a what to do next list. He had also bought Danny 3 nights at the Kahala hotel for him and his daughter, he knew Danny was having Grace that weekend and it was a peace offer for getting off on the wrong foot in case he had offended Danny, Steve knew he wasn’t easy to work with, it was also an empathy offer, he knew what it was like to be raised by a single father and how hard that had been, both him and Mary had unresolved parental issues, it was also something else, was he trying to woo Danny Williams, maybe, just a little.
Steve was in a state of confusion as he thought back on the last two days. He had come to the Island to bury his father then take the next assignment away from the Island. He had now agreed to stay in Hawaii indefinitely by heading the Governor’s special task force and admitting that he had fallen irrevocably, completely and undeniably in love with his new partner Danny Williams. He still wasn’t sure how that had happened as he sat there staring at the ocean and listening to the waves crash gently to the shore. Now he had found Hesse he could leave the task force, the Governor wouldn’t be too happy, but she wouldn’t be able to stop him. But that would mean leaving Chin and Kono in the lurch, Steve wasn’t the type of man who made friends easily and he certainly wasn’t the type who would abandon them or use them for his own personal use. Then there was Danny, Steve wasn’t quite ready to say good bye to Danny, you don’t know him well enough said the little voice in his head, do a few more cases, you can go back to the Navy at any time. Steve sighed; he knew would be staying in Hawaii for a little while longer, and Danny well he was going to be stuck with the task force for as long as Steve could keep him there. Steve had noticed that Danny wasn’t Hawaii’s biggest fan, so Steve did what Steve did best, started making a mental plan of action to show Danny how good Hawaii could be.