Lost at the Edge of the Sun, 5/5
Feb. 9th, 2011 03:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gilascaveContinued from part four
Standing near the shore, Danny watched as Grace shot up out of the water. Her laughter rang through the air, making Danny grin so hard he thought he might literally bust open. As Grace came back down with a splash, Steve came barreling up out of the water right behind her, drawing a loud, high-pitched shriek as Grace tried, somewhat, to escape. But Steve got a hold of her again and lifted her up, tossing her into the water once more. She fell with a huge splash and popped up almost right away, arms up as she laughed and shouted, "One more time!"
Danny had tried to warn Steve yesterday when they'd been doing this exact same thing about not drowning his daughter, but both Steve and Grace had gleefully ignored him. He'd reminded them again over breakfast as he served up pancakes and made sure Grace wasn't pouring the entire bottle of syrup over hers and was, in fact, eating at least two pieces of bacon to help balance out the sugar. As soon as they'd eaten Grace had raced outside, followed closely by Steve, both of them calling for Danny the slowpoke to hurry up.
He hadn't minded leaving the dirty dishes behind; if he didn't get to them at all, he knew Steve would only bitch a little about cleaning up after them after they'd gone. Danny secretly thought Steve left the mess for a day or two as a reminder -- but he didn't need to call Steve a giant mushy sap to his face, at least not until he needed the upper hand over something important, like whether or not to drop a suspect off the top of a cliff.
Now he was standing where the ocean could just lap at his ankles, watching and shouting encouragement to Grace, warning her when the sea monster was about to catch her. Later they were going out for Grace's third snorkeling lesson and Danny wasn't completely sure why they were in the ocean now, if they were just going to be here again later. But he couldn't deny that both Steve and Grace would gladly spend the entire day in the water and he didn't honestly have it in himself to deny the pair of them much of anything.
For two months they'd been staying with Steve on Danny's custody weekends and Grace had started leaving stuff in what was rapidly becoming known as her room. It wasn't Danny fault -- he'd tried to clean everything up and haul it off with him, but Steve had physically taken his hands away, set Grace's dolls back down on the dresser, and pulled Danny out of the room.
Danny had teased Steve for the rest of the week about his eloquent way with words, until he'd been forced to take a perp's legs out from under him because the guy couldn't wait to make a break for it until Danny was through with his discussion with Steve. The perp had ended up with a broken nose and Danny had had to listen to Steve describe, with a completely straight face, the proper procedure for subduing a suspect.
He'd practiced his take-down technique the following weekend, when Danny didn't have Grace but invited himself over anyhow to spend the night at Steve's place. He still felt uncomfortable imposing himself on Chin, even though Chin was almost the perfect sort of roommate. He was quiet, and made it very clear when there was something he wanted left alone and when he expected Danny to share. At first Danny had tried to keep to himself and make sure he didn't use anything of Chin's, from eggs out of the fridge to shampoo in the bathroom. That had lasted nearly a week, then Chin had simply handed over the receipt from the grocery store and asked for half and told him to just write it on the list when they ran out of something.
Danny felt a little like Chin was taking orders from Steve, forcing him to let them help him out. But he'd stopped trying to complain because every once in a while, when he tried to remind them he didn't need as much as they were trying to offer, Chin or Kono mentioned how much they might like to own a house in Jersey.
He felt very put upon, and made sure Steve knew just how much so when Steve tried to wake him up before seven on what was supposed to be lazy Sunday mornings. Even if Steve's method involved mouths in interesting places, Danny felt obligated to protest the early hour. The first time he'd stayed in Steve's room when Grace was with him, Steve hadn't been able to hide his pleased surprise. Danny had had to explain that it was for sleeping, quietly, and Steve had more or less kept to the quiet part of the rule.
As Danny watched Steve wrestle Grace out of the water again and listened to her yelling 'higher,' he knew he'd probably been just a little bit stupid. He waded further into the water, waiting as Steve launched his daughter into the air like she was a bag of potatoes. A slippery, squealing bag of potatoes, granted. Danny gave Steve a scowl when he turned, grinning, to him.
"You break her, McGarrett, and you have to explain it to her mother."
"She won't break, Danno," Steve said, laughing and lurching towards him through the waist-high water he'd been standing in. Danny met him partway, water up near his thighs by the time Steve grabbed him and yanked him forward into a kiss. Danny heard Grace splashing as she came out of the water. He didn't quite let go of Steve -- she'd caught them kissing long before now and all she'd had to say about it was that she liked Steve, too.
Danny slipped a hand around Steve's waist and felt water swirling around his legs and the heat of the sun on his back, and thought about the look on Steve's face the first time Danny had suggested Steve take them snorkeling. He'd lit up with what Danny could only describe as sheer joy -- dumbfounded, surprised, and a tiny bit suspicious, but joy nonetheless. He'd realized that seeing that look on Steve's face was rapidly becoming addicting, so he gave Steve another kiss and thought again about something that he'd been trying to work out how to say for the last several days.
He grinned and watched as Steve grinned back, looking slightly confused but willing to be happy about whatever was making Danny smile. Danny laughed, then, nervous and knowing he wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it, and said, "I think maybe I'm ready."
Steve cocked his head -- and Danny was seriously going to start calling him Rex or Fido or something. His eyebrows furled as he looked as though he was replaying every recent conversation they'd had. Then suddenly his eyes went wide. He stared at Danny and Danny just waited as the penny dropped all the way. Danny could feel the tension in Steve's entire body as Steve asked, "You're sure?"
Danny hoped Steve couldn't actually feel how fast his heart was beating. But he'd realized a few days ago that he'd made his point, proven it to himself. Whether he'd stayed with Chin, or lived on the beach, he knew that he'd done everything he could. Now all he was doing was annoying himself as well as Steve by waiting. Pride was one thing, but there was also waking up with Steve wrapped around him, and arguing about how fast you had to drive during a high speed chase while getting undressed for bed and trading kisses along with the insults about someone's ability to use the brake pedal, and watching him play with Grace in the ocean and seeing how careful he was, despite the casual way he picked her up and flung her into the water.
She'd scraped her knee just yesterday, and Steve had cleaned it out and placed the bandage on with all the focus normally reserved for storming buildings held by terrorists. It had been adorable, and just a little heart-melting, and Danny had realized that, really, there was no place he'd rather be. He still had months to go to get his bills paid off, and he couldn't comfortably afford to take everyone out for beers and steak dinners. But it was under control, and every day things got just a little bit better.
He gave Steve a nod and a smile, and he glanced over to see Grace diving up and down into the ocean like a dolphin. Behind her the ocean stretched out, clear and blue, and in the distance he could just make out the crest of a small wave. He thought about walking into the water with a spear in his hand as Min Kyung had tried to teach him how to fish. He thought about Maddie, playing in the sand, and Richard with his stories of the past and his contentment with his present.
He'd gotten a dark tan, which Steve had gleefully discovered stopped right below Danny's hipbones. His hair was sunburnt blonde, and his skin still felt never completely free of salt and sand. He still ate way more fish than he was comfortable with, and he'd taught his daughter how to cook rice inside a shaft of bamboo over an open flame. Steve had watched them with a dark look on his face, but one he'd hidden quickly away behind a smile whenever Grace had looked up at him, delighted with the new game.
Steve still looked at him like that from time to time and Danny had never called him on it, knowing perfectly well what was behind it. Now, though, he put one hand behind Steve's neck and tugged him down, close.
"I'm sure," he said quietly, and Steve moved easily to him as Danny pulled him the rest of the way into another kiss, standing in the ocean and the sound of his daughter's laughter mixing with the cries of the seabirds and the roaring of his heartbeat in Danny's ears.
the end
Standing near the shore, Danny watched as Grace shot up out of the water. Her laughter rang through the air, making Danny grin so hard he thought he might literally bust open. As Grace came back down with a splash, Steve came barreling up out of the water right behind her, drawing a loud, high-pitched shriek as Grace tried, somewhat, to escape. But Steve got a hold of her again and lifted her up, tossing her into the water once more. She fell with a huge splash and popped up almost right away, arms up as she laughed and shouted, "One more time!"
Danny had tried to warn Steve yesterday when they'd been doing this exact same thing about not drowning his daughter, but both Steve and Grace had gleefully ignored him. He'd reminded them again over breakfast as he served up pancakes and made sure Grace wasn't pouring the entire bottle of syrup over hers and was, in fact, eating at least two pieces of bacon to help balance out the sugar. As soon as they'd eaten Grace had raced outside, followed closely by Steve, both of them calling for Danny the slowpoke to hurry up.
He hadn't minded leaving the dirty dishes behind; if he didn't get to them at all, he knew Steve would only bitch a little about cleaning up after them after they'd gone. Danny secretly thought Steve left the mess for a day or two as a reminder -- but he didn't need to call Steve a giant mushy sap to his face, at least not until he needed the upper hand over something important, like whether or not to drop a suspect off the top of a cliff.
Now he was standing where the ocean could just lap at his ankles, watching and shouting encouragement to Grace, warning her when the sea monster was about to catch her. Later they were going out for Grace's third snorkeling lesson and Danny wasn't completely sure why they were in the ocean now, if they were just going to be here again later. But he couldn't deny that both Steve and Grace would gladly spend the entire day in the water and he didn't honestly have it in himself to deny the pair of them much of anything.
For two months they'd been staying with Steve on Danny's custody weekends and Grace had started leaving stuff in what was rapidly becoming known as her room. It wasn't Danny fault -- he'd tried to clean everything up and haul it off with him, but Steve had physically taken his hands away, set Grace's dolls back down on the dresser, and pulled Danny out of the room.
Danny had teased Steve for the rest of the week about his eloquent way with words, until he'd been forced to take a perp's legs out from under him because the guy couldn't wait to make a break for it until Danny was through with his discussion with Steve. The perp had ended up with a broken nose and Danny had had to listen to Steve describe, with a completely straight face, the proper procedure for subduing a suspect.
He'd practiced his take-down technique the following weekend, when Danny didn't have Grace but invited himself over anyhow to spend the night at Steve's place. He still felt uncomfortable imposing himself on Chin, even though Chin was almost the perfect sort of roommate. He was quiet, and made it very clear when there was something he wanted left alone and when he expected Danny to share. At first Danny had tried to keep to himself and make sure he didn't use anything of Chin's, from eggs out of the fridge to shampoo in the bathroom. That had lasted nearly a week, then Chin had simply handed over the receipt from the grocery store and asked for half and told him to just write it on the list when they ran out of something.
Danny felt a little like Chin was taking orders from Steve, forcing him to let them help him out. But he'd stopped trying to complain because every once in a while, when he tried to remind them he didn't need as much as they were trying to offer, Chin or Kono mentioned how much they might like to own a house in Jersey.
He felt very put upon, and made sure Steve knew just how much so when Steve tried to wake him up before seven on what was supposed to be lazy Sunday mornings. Even if Steve's method involved mouths in interesting places, Danny felt obligated to protest the early hour. The first time he'd stayed in Steve's room when Grace was with him, Steve hadn't been able to hide his pleased surprise. Danny had had to explain that it was for sleeping, quietly, and Steve had more or less kept to the quiet part of the rule.
As Danny watched Steve wrestle Grace out of the water again and listened to her yelling 'higher,' he knew he'd probably been just a little bit stupid. He waded further into the water, waiting as Steve launched his daughter into the air like she was a bag of potatoes. A slippery, squealing bag of potatoes, granted. Danny gave Steve a scowl when he turned, grinning, to him.
"You break her, McGarrett, and you have to explain it to her mother."
"She won't break, Danno," Steve said, laughing and lurching towards him through the waist-high water he'd been standing in. Danny met him partway, water up near his thighs by the time Steve grabbed him and yanked him forward into a kiss. Danny heard Grace splashing as she came out of the water. He didn't quite let go of Steve -- she'd caught them kissing long before now and all she'd had to say about it was that she liked Steve, too.
Danny slipped a hand around Steve's waist and felt water swirling around his legs and the heat of the sun on his back, and thought about the look on Steve's face the first time Danny had suggested Steve take them snorkeling. He'd lit up with what Danny could only describe as sheer joy -- dumbfounded, surprised, and a tiny bit suspicious, but joy nonetheless. He'd realized that seeing that look on Steve's face was rapidly becoming addicting, so he gave Steve another kiss and thought again about something that he'd been trying to work out how to say for the last several days.
He grinned and watched as Steve grinned back, looking slightly confused but willing to be happy about whatever was making Danny smile. Danny laughed, then, nervous and knowing he wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it, and said, "I think maybe I'm ready."
Steve cocked his head -- and Danny was seriously going to start calling him Rex or Fido or something. His eyebrows furled as he looked as though he was replaying every recent conversation they'd had. Then suddenly his eyes went wide. He stared at Danny and Danny just waited as the penny dropped all the way. Danny could feel the tension in Steve's entire body as Steve asked, "You're sure?"
Danny hoped Steve couldn't actually feel how fast his heart was beating. But he'd realized a few days ago that he'd made his point, proven it to himself. Whether he'd stayed with Chin, or lived on the beach, he knew that he'd done everything he could. Now all he was doing was annoying himself as well as Steve by waiting. Pride was one thing, but there was also waking up with Steve wrapped around him, and arguing about how fast you had to drive during a high speed chase while getting undressed for bed and trading kisses along with the insults about someone's ability to use the brake pedal, and watching him play with Grace in the ocean and seeing how careful he was, despite the casual way he picked her up and flung her into the water.
She'd scraped her knee just yesterday, and Steve had cleaned it out and placed the bandage on with all the focus normally reserved for storming buildings held by terrorists. It had been adorable, and just a little heart-melting, and Danny had realized that, really, there was no place he'd rather be. He still had months to go to get his bills paid off, and he couldn't comfortably afford to take everyone out for beers and steak dinners. But it was under control, and every day things got just a little bit better.
He gave Steve a nod and a smile, and he glanced over to see Grace diving up and down into the ocean like a dolphin. Behind her the ocean stretched out, clear and blue, and in the distance he could just make out the crest of a small wave. He thought about walking into the water with a spear in his hand as Min Kyung had tried to teach him how to fish. He thought about Maddie, playing in the sand, and Richard with his stories of the past and his contentment with his present.
He'd gotten a dark tan, which Steve had gleefully discovered stopped right below Danny's hipbones. His hair was sunburnt blonde, and his skin still felt never completely free of salt and sand. He still ate way more fish than he was comfortable with, and he'd taught his daughter how to cook rice inside a shaft of bamboo over an open flame. Steve had watched them with a dark look on his face, but one he'd hidden quickly away behind a smile whenever Grace had looked up at him, delighted with the new game.
Steve still looked at him like that from time to time and Danny had never called him on it, knowing perfectly well what was behind it. Now, though, he put one hand behind Steve's neck and tugged him down, close.
"I'm sure," he said quietly, and Steve moved easily to him as Danny pulled him the rest of the way into another kiss, standing in the ocean and the sound of his daughter's laughter mixing with the cries of the seabirds and the roaring of his heartbeat in Danny's ears.
the end