#Just to make sure his Danno is okay and happy

[britcision]

Hey guys

I have present for you

Not sure if there will be a WIP Wednesday this week since I’m con crunching and we leave on Thursday, soooo… this will tide you over I’m sure! The completed chapter 15!

Previous Chapter:

First chapter and AO3 link:

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I’ll Take The Highway

Time was almost slipping away too quickly in the milkshake bar, and Danny wished he didn’t have to keep an eye on it.

(Well. Seriously hoped. Even in the privacy of his head, he couldn’t make it a wish.)

He had to get Tucker back to MIT though, and back to Gotham in a reasonable time frame to get to bed before class tomorrow.

If he got to bed before midnight, there might be a chance for he and Jason to run to the Far Frozen in the morning. Or after, Danny’s classes didn’t run late. Or…

He was missing out on the fun today, trying to plan tomorrow. Much as Jazz would love him being more organised, he pushed it to the back of his mind.

They’d visit Frostbite soon. And find out how Jason’s core was, though Danny was beginning to think he knew. Here, when Jason was happy and relaxed? Not tensed, shut down, or angry?

Danny could definitely feel something he hadn’t before. Not exactly the same as another ghost, or any of the other halfas, not yet.

But it was almost like Box Lunch’s fresh core seen through a house of mirrors.

Maybe that was what had him so close to the edge today? It was taking some pretty serious effort not to react to even the mention of an old threat to Jason.

Jason, the sweet baby ghost.

And if his smile was a little sappy at that thought, well, that was no one’s business but his own. At least he had something to sit on for when his rogues started embarrassing baby stories.

Finally he couldn’t put it off anymore. Too much to do, friends to fly across country, and he still hadn’t found a good way to ask Waylon his question. He just… well.

He’d given Jason all the server info, the stuff about who his rogues were, how he beat them, the things they’d learned about the Infinite Realms. They’d even shared some stories around different bits.

That didn’t exactly explain what he wanted to ask Waylon about. And it really wasn’t something he was comfortable sharing just yet, even if he already knew it was dumb.

Jason was a good guy. Who hung out with Batman, who was apparently an asshole. He wouldn’t judge Danny for having some dark and fucked up stories in all the zany ones.

Fuck, maybe Waylon could tell him how Jason would react. It was gonna come up, it’d have to, and Danny really would feel better having someone else’s opinion.

He was reluctant to interrupt their good time, another story devolving into laughter, but it was getting into the afternoon and… well, he also had no idea how long this would take.

“Hey, uh, by the way. I’ve gotta head out in a bit, dropping Tuck back off in Massachusetts, I just wanted to talk to Waylon for a minute first? In private?” Because if Danny had learned one thing?

Direct worked best.

It worked now, Harley nodding along and hopping up, cartwheeling her way along the table and out of the booth.

“Say no more, Danno! C’mon, Jayjay, I wanted ta catch up with you on somethin’ too, so this works perfectly!” She declared cheerfully, giving Jason a fond tug to his fluffy white streak of hair.

Jason shot Danny a look that was half commiserating, half curious as he slid out of the both after her, but Danny was too busy staring into an imagined hellscape where Harley met Jack Fenton.

Fuck Dan, the world couldn’t handle that.

By the time he came back to himself, he and Waylon were alone in the booth, the big man watching him curiously.

“So, what’s on yer mind, kid?” He asked in a low voice, folding his arms on the edge of the table and leaning in.

Secret villain hideaway or not, this wasn’t something Danny wanted just anyone overhearing, so he beckoned Waylon closer to his end of the booth first, tucked into the wall.

The big guy slid his way surprisingly delicately down the seat, then leaned in again, watching Danny expectantly.

Which was when Danny realised he shoulda probably thought about a good way to put this.

Blunt it was gonna have to be.

“So… you… Harley said people called you Killer Croc before you ever hurt anyone?” He said in a rush, flinching at how bad it actually sounded said aloud.

Waylon… did not have eyebrows to raise, and it was really fucking weird that he was noticing that now, but it was definitely what he’d been doing, and Danny was distracting himself again.

“They did,” Waylon agreed a moment later, his voice low and even. Guard up, but not defensive. Not closing the topic off.

Danny huffed out a sigh, and found he couldn’t quite meet the man’s eyes. Found himself intently examining the diamond pattern on the formica tables. His own hands, twisting in front of him over that pattern.

“You… you became what they said you were. A monster.” The words caught in his throat, hard to spit out and shit he thought he was past this.

It had been years.

A scaled green hand covered his, and Danny found himself surprised by how smooth the scales were. Far from soft, but not rough. Almost smoother than the table.

“Who called you a monster, kid?” Waylon asked softly, his voice gruff with something too close to understanding.

Danny’s head snapped up and he shook it quickly, sucking in a deep breath.

“Oh, no one. Not for like, a really long time now. And they said sorry and everything, it’s not that. It’s… you gave into it. Let them make you something wrong and dangerous, and you stopped. How did you stop?” He asked quietly, finally finding it easier to look at Waylon’s face.

He looked surprised.

**

Finding Jason had been harder than usual. He’d never turned his phone back on after last night, and Bruce was still wrestling with one of his least favourite (and most common) side effect of a concussion; light sensitive headaches.

Even with the screen brightness all the way down, it was hard to even look at the batcomputer while he waited for Constantine to arrive.

None of his usual tricks were helping, spikes of pain jabbing behind his eyes every time he tried to scan the cameras for Jason’s presence.

It was Babs who found him in the end, taking her lunch at the library late to help him out. She had whole programs to scan the security cameras of Gotham for her, trained to recognise any bat or rogue from any angle.

False positives happened, but usually didn’t take more than a look to confirm or deny. They were extremely accurate.

Bruce would know.

He had copies of the same programs.

They just weren’t running properly.

He was probably still tired. He’d been pushing himself while injured, as usual, and as usual Alfred would be eager to tell him he’d been overtaxing himself too hard to work efficiently.

And then Constantine was late.

By the time the magician arrived, Bruce was regretting having taken a break to sleep at all. He should have sorted this out last night, before ever calling Jason.

They could have picked a time to meet, and while Bruce was fully aware Jason might have just told him to fuck off, he might not have. Especially if Bruce had promised to leave him alone.

He knew better than to ask Jason to introduce Danny to Constantine.

Barbara had generously kept an eye on Jason in the interim, and by the time Batman and Constantine were ready to go he seemed to have settled in Freeze’s place.

The Frozen Fields. Named for his wife, who Bruce’s top scientists still wouldn’t be able to save.

Along with Harley, Waylon Jones, and Danny.

Of course he was with Danny.

Half the city seemed to be intent on frustrating him today. They’d taken the Batmobile, and while he tended to only drive it in emergencies (and after dark), it still barely sped the journey through the city traffic.

It always felt wrong, sitting and waiting with the rest of the cars in the Batmobile. Didn’t match the “lurking justice in the shadows”. Which Constantine was quick to remind him.

Bruce just gripped the steering wheel tighter, sucked in a deep breath, and nearly bit his tongue when they finally edged up to an intersection only for the light to turn red.

**

Waylon sat back in his seat, back scraping against the wall of the booth as he surveyed the kid in front of him.

Little squirt was tougher ‘n he looked, that much was definitely true. Harley had given him the short run down on their way to the milkshake bar, all the powers she knew he had.

And that he’d been hunted by his folks for a while. Waylon knew how that kinda shit could mess ya up.

He appreciated the heads up too, cuz this kinda shit coming up outta nowhere? Also pretty damn rough. He’d wondered if the kid just wanted to come along for another fight.

If he just wanted another chance to say he’d looked Killer Croc in the eye.

But there was no real bravado there, not even when he challenged Waylon to a rematch. Shit, the kid treated him more normal than most of his henchmen had ever managed to.

Made sense, knowing he was part a ghost an’ fought ghost rogues, but it left Waylon wondering. Apparently he was getting his answer.

Same damn question he’d asked himself a thousand times, ‘specially around the kind of young vigilantes who’d taken a turn to the bad.

Didn’t mean he had a good answer.

He regarded the kid for a long minute, watching the fidgeting, the sudden shyness from a boy who’d literally tackled him from behind on a whim.

This wasn’t just an idle question. Something made him sure of that, and he’d never been involved in all that much of the really weird shit. You heard stories, especially in Arkham.

So he decided to give the kid the best answer he had.

“Cuz I was the worst version of myself. I let myself be the monster they thought I was, got pretty good at it. But it never made me happy.” He paused, mulling it over.

Chuckled softly and looked down into his half drunk milkshake. It was kinda funny how obvious it seemed, in hindsight.

“Shit, there was never even anythin’ I wanted. Not like Penguin, Freeze, or the others. People treated me like a monster so I tried to be one, cuz why the hell not? Couldn’t be worse, could it?”

His gaze shifted back to Danny’s face, watching the kid’s expression. No judgement, which was nice. But he did look confused.

“So you just… got sick of it?” Danny asked, his brows furrowed as he played with his fingers.

Waylon chuckled and shook his head.

“Kinda. Spent a while thinkin’ if people couldn’t treat me with respect, fear’d do. But it ain’t the same. An’ I never had the drive or creative cruelty to stand out in Gotham.”

Danny looked a little incredulous at that, eyebrows rising, but he caught himself before commenting. Snickered and shook his head.

“Yeah, I guess being in a city that’s used to people like Scarecrow and the Joker puts “big and green” into perspective,” he agreed dryly, and Waylon laughed.

It felt good to laugh.

“Oh yeah. City’s got more than its share of low level thugs anyway. I spent a while as extra muscle for the big boys, but I ain’t the takin’ orders sort,” he explained with a modest shrug.

Danny grinned, folding his arms on the table and leaning forward.

“What, a shy and retiring guy like you?” He asked, clearly teasing, and Waylon waved a hand dismissively.

“I’m lucky it was Gotham,” he added after a moment, reflection sobering his mood. “Got sent t’ Arkham. Met Harley. An’ the Bat’s not all that bad. He tried gettin’ me outta the life a couple times.”

Danny cocked his head, a slight frown returning to his face. Following Waylon’s lead.

“How did Batman try and get you out?” There was a little too much intensity for it to be a casual question, and Waylon noted it. Not that he’d figure it out on his own.

Just tryin’ to make sure he didn’t damage the kid.

“Oh, there were a couple ways. Got me moved down to Florida once. Out in the green, away from people. I figured bein’ a wild animal might be more my speed, but it wasn’t. An’ it got messy when I left. Like that whatever he tried, really. There’s lines you can’t uncross.”

Lines like being a cannibal.

Not that he was sobbin’ on a preacher’s shoulder about it. Most of the people he’d eaten were assholes who’d deserved it, and it’d been a preference, not a need.

For all people loved to go on about him eatin’ kids and babies, he’d never actually done it. A guy had to have standards.

Made it easy to stop, once he was in a better head space. He and Harley had talked a lotta old shit out.

Kid didn’t need to know those grisly details though, at least not from his own mouth. Watching Danny a moment longer, Waylon came to a decision.

“Look, kid. There’s a lotta reasons people go bad. Some of ‘em can’t be helped. But if they’re not gettin’ anything out of it, if there’s no goal? The appeal runs out. And sometimes all it takes is someone willin’ to reach down an’ haul yer back up to the light.”

He wouldn’t ask if that was the case with whoever the kid wanted to help. Everyone heard stories, ‘specially about heroes meeting their evil selves.

The fear looked personal, but the asking coulda been for anyone. Waylon was in no rush to judge.

Danny mulled over his words for a while, lips moving soundlessly as he frowned down at the table. This time when he looked up, there was a peace in his eyes.

He’d come to a decision. Good for him.

“Thanks, Waylon. You seem like a pretty great guy to me,” he said simply, and Waylon definitely did not feel a lump in his throat.

“This is after years o’ Harley workin’ on me,” he grumbled gruffly. Shaking his head, he slurped down the last of his milkshake quickly.

Nothing like brain freeze to explain being a little misty eyed.

**

Jason didn’t exactly object to being led out of the bar by Harley; Danny wanted to talk to Waylon in private.

Jason had figured Danny had something to ask the guy about. He hadn’t exactly expected not to be part of the conversation, but that was fine.

He’d know if Danny got into trouble. Fuck, Danny could handle any trouble Gotham could dish out, probably. And the rogues had some basic manners; not starting shit in Freeze’s place was one of them.

Penguin might put the squeeze on and make your life uncomfortable if you lit up the Iceberg Lounge. Dr Freeze’s cold shoulder was a lot more literal, and he didn’t do “proportional response”.

So yeah, he could be cool and give Danny some space.

It wasn’t exactly a surprise that Harley wanted to talk to him either, although he still didn’t see the point. But he let her guide him around the side of the building to a back alley anyway.

“Still fine, Harley,” he said before she could get started, both hands raised in front of him.

She gave him an all too knowing look and hopped up to sit on the dumpster. Put her about a head taller than him. Not that he cared.

“Sure, kid. You’ve been goin’ through a lot though, so I gotta ask; is there anythin’ ya wanna talk to Auntie Harley about?” She asked in her sweetest voice, interlacing her fingers under her chin and batting her lashes.

Jason snickered and leaned against the other side of the alley.

Shit, he wasn’t even annoyed with her play acting. The pit was a happy little puddle in his chest, all sunshine and roses.

A week ago he’d have walked away. Been pissed at wasting his time, getting in his way. How much of that had been because of the Lazarus pits, the problems with the ectoplasm he’d apparently been supposed to be solving?

Was that why nothing had ever been enough? Why he always had to keep pushing? Carve himself a patch of Gotham, keep going. Cut the crime out of Crime Alley, not enough.

Take up with the Outsiders, keep himself busy, rushed off his feet so that when he fell into bed for a couple hours a day he didn’t even dream?

When was the last time he’d taken a breath and just… relaxed? It all felt so long ago, but it had barely been a week.

It just. His whole life had unclenched, like it was a muscle he’d finally stopped using.

Fuck, maybe he should talk to Harley about it.

He got the feeling she knew though, those eagle eyes tracking his every move. They’d never really hung out, but he was uncomfortably aware of how well she’d known him.

How much of him was still the boy she’d known?

She was waiting for an answer, and all of a sudden Jason wasn’t sure what he’d say. Knew that if anyone in the world understood, it just might be Dr Harleen Quinzel.

He sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck, unable to meet her eyes. Fuck, he was getting as bad as Bruce.

And if that thought didn’t kick him up the ass…

“You ever wake up one day and realise your whole life’s been going wrong?” He finally asked, glancing up from the corner of his eye.

She’d dropped the cutesy act, leaning forward with her arms braced on the edge of the dumpster, her face professionally calm. Open. Sympathetic.

“Think I might know just a lil about what that’s like,” she agreed softly, and Jason snorted.

“Yeah. Well. Turns out ever since I came back from the dead I’ve been haunted. Literally. And no one ever noticed.”

He hadn’t even come all the way back, but he couldn’t say that. Not yet. But maybe he could share some of the rest.

Harley nodded slowly, giving him her full attention. Just waiting for him to go on.

It kinda felt like being under a microscope, but not in the cold, analytical way Bruce did that always pissed him off. Like she really cared, and was looking for all his broken parts so she could help him fit them back together.

Fuck, if his kid self had ever known he’d one day trust Harley Quinn over the whole Justice League…

Shit, he didn’t even know how much she already knew.

“The pit rage… it’s a psychosis people get, coming out of the Lazarus pit. Makes you angry, violent, stronger, like a blind rage. For most people it goes away. Mine didn’t.”

He almost wanted to laugh, bitter and sharp.

“Because it wasn’t just the psychosis. I’m not fucking weak, I’m not fucking broken, there’s something else living inside me and it made me so fucking angry all the time…”

The frustration was building again, but this time it was his. All his, not a bubble, not a stir, and part of Jason thrilled with it. He could feel however he wanted, just him.

He cut it off though, forcing himself to relax before Danny could notice. Could worry about whatever he was projecting in his aura.

He could kinda still feel Danny’s, which was new. Not brushing against his, not touching like they were close, but he was aware in a way he hadn’t been before.

Like if he shut his eyes he could point in exactly the direction Danny was standing.

“Danny’s the only one who noticed. Well, really, he’s the only one who could. It’s a ghost thing, and he… he got me help. I feel like myself for the first time since… since I came back.”

He hadn’t even noticed how much the background rage burnt through him until it stopped. Until he could look at his family and see their prodding for what it was; concern.

It was still surprising him, and maybe would for a while. Kinda hoped not though. It wasn’t the most cheerful train of thought.

Seeing that he’d run out of words, Harley gave him a moment to find more, then reached over and ruffled his hair. It was barely a strain in the cramped alley.

“Kid, anyone with two eyeballs t’ rub together can see Danny’s real good for ya. So why’s Bruce tryin’ so hard to keep ya apart?” She asked gently, and Jason snorted.

Rolled his eyes and folded his arms, caught himself doing it, and forced them back to his sides.

“Not rubbing his eyeballs together?” He asked dryly. Harley just snickered.

“Please, if we could get ‘im ta stop overanalysing everything that’d be the miracle. So what’s got ‘im on edge?”

Jason hesitated for a long moment, thinking about it. Finally he shrugged; as always, Bruce was a mystery to him. The man who’d taught him all the tricks to pick apart any mystery. Except himself.

“No idea. We played a prank on him and the Mansons at the gala like we told you last night?” He offered, already aware it wasn’t likely to be the answer.

Harley shook her head in agreement, which almost threw him off.

“Nah, you’re right. The whole making-out-in-a-closet shtick is classic, even if he didn’t see through it yet he’s never cared about you boys smoochin’ before,” she agreed, then sighed and tugged him in to press a kiss to his forehead.

“Whatever his problem is though, it is his problem Jason, an’ what he pulled at the gala has nothin’ t’ do with you or Danny. I already told ‘im off about not talkin’ to ya and I’m gonna do it again when I catch him. Right now I just wanna hear you say you know it ain’t your fault,” she told him firmly, cheeks held between both hands.

Jason fought the urge to roll his eyes. And the rising lump in his throat.

“I know Bruce’s bullshit isn’t my fault, Harley,” he grumbled through smushed lips. Harley squeezed his cheeks a little tighter.

“Then say it anyway. It ain’t your fault Brucie has a bug in his ass, and ya ain’t done anything wrong to deserve it.” She was firm as the wall behind him, utterly unrelenting.

And she could go on for hours, if memory served. Long enough for Danny to come out and see. That was why Jason told himself he gave in.

Nothing at all to do with the way her words ached and bled a gentle warmth into the icy void in his gut where the anger still roiled.

“It’s not my fault B’s got the emotional capacity of a wet newspaper. I don’t deserve his helicopter bullshit any more than anyone else,” he told her obediently, doing his best not to be too sarcastic.

Harley placed a kiss on his nose and released him.

“That’s my good boy. Now, more about this haunted thing. You boys got a plan?” She asked sharply, head cocked as she watched his face.

Cheeks red, Jason leaned back against his wall and pretended it made him out of reach.

“We do,” he said curtly, looking down at the trash strewn ground. Trying to explain it now would take too long, Danny would be out soon.

Of course Harley noticed, nodding thoughtfully and leaning back, kicking her legs.

“Well, if ya ever want to tell me more, you’ve got my number. An’ I’ll get Brucie off ya back for a while, even if I’ve gotta call in the Boy Scout. Whatever you aren’t tellin’ ‘im, don’t let ‘im rush ya,” she told him firmly. Jason had to smile.

“Aren’t you the one always telling us to communicate?” He asked half rhetorically. Harley grinned and hopped off her dumpster, making her way to the front of the alley.

“It only works if ya wait til you’re ready. Pushin’ an’ rushin’ only makes it worse,” she explained airily, stepping out into the street.

Turning, and freezing like a hound on a scent. Eyes narrowed, she patted Jason on the chest as he stepped out after her, not turning her head.

“Jason darlin’, be a dear an’ run get Auntie Harley her bat. The bike’s parked ‘round the back,” she said ever so sweetly, and that tone combined with the narrow eyed glare meant Jason knew exactly who she was looking at before he turned.

He did it anyway, eyes widening as he caught sight of Batman, in full gear, coming down the street towards them. Accompanied by John Fucking Constantine.

Had he seriously come to chase him away from Danny in person? In fucking costume?

The anger surged, his and the pit’s, held back only by the small woman in front of him. The dainty hand on her chest, that’d turn into an iron bar if he pushed it.

Sure, she couldn’t actually hold him back, but she didn’t need to. Whatever Jason wanted to say or do to Bruce, Harley could do a whole lot worse.

Anger melding into a vicious satisfaction, he turned straight back down the alley with a spring in his step.

**

Bruce was a little relieved to arrive outside the bar and see Jason already there. Batman walking in wouldn’t have been out of the question, but he’d rather avoid the theatrics.

Danny not being in sight didn’t come into the decision one bit.

But then Harley said something to Jason and he turned away, leaving immediately. Bruce sped up, planning to follow Jason down the alley-

“Hold ya horses, Batsy,” Harley snapped, stepping directly into his path. He could have gone around her, certainly, but he stopped.

If there was even a chance he could get her on side, that would help immensely.

“I just need to talk to Jason,” he said in Batman’s low growl. Constantine had stopped too, well back of whatever was going to happen.

At least he wasn’t a complete fool.

Harley folded her arms, giving him her very least impressed look.

“An’ if the words you’re sayin’ ain’t “I’m so sorry please forgive me I’ll never do it again”, ya don’t actually need to. Ya need ta speak to me.”

Bruce almost frowned at her words. Why now? They’d spoken before, but she’d seemed satisfied. What had changed between now and their last conversation?

Batman’s face remained impassive as ever.

“Harley. It’s important.”

“He wants me to give the kid a magic checkup,” Constantine put in from behind him, still well back. He waved at Harley when she glanced his way.

Harley’s eyes narrowed for a moment and then Jason was jogging back down the alley, holding her bat.

What the hell had changed since their last conversation?

Pinning Constantine with a piercing glare, she held it for a minute before turning her attention back to Bruce. Snapping her fingers in front of his mask before he could even open his mouth.

“Uh uh! Johnny needs ta talk to him fer that, not you. YOU need to come talk ta me. Now.” She held out her other hand without looking, and Jason slipped the bat into it.

Had he really upset Jason that much at the gala? He’d thought he understood about the public apology, but this felt… well, worse than he’d expected.

More urgent. More vehement. She was more angry than she had been.

He’d gone wrong again, some time between now and then, and he had a Justice League meeting in an hour. Less, counting in the travel time back to the nearest zeta terminal.

Did he have time for this?

Jason was glaring at him, flat and unfriendly, but with a decided undercurrent of anticipation. Bruce’s presence would only make Constantine’s job harder.

Ignoring the part of him that thought the magician deserved to have it a lot harder, he nodded and refocused his attention on Harley.

“Fine. Here?” Better to get this over with. He could put aside all of his personal thoughts and feelings for the meeting, but at least he’d have answers.

Harley gave the surrounding street another sharp look, then shook her head, crooked her fingers, and led him into the alleyway.

“We’ll go ‘round the back. You’re bad for business,” she told him archly, and Bruce followed without a word.

He didn’t tell Jason to stay and speak to Constantine; he was self aware enough to know that would have the opposite effect. The magician would just have to sort himself out.

Part of him almost hoped she would actually use the bat this time. It served its purpose as a visual symbol, but everything made much more sense when people just wanted to beat him up.

Navigating their emotions and separate interior lives and expectations was… messy.

**

Constantine and Jason stared at each other for a long moment after Harley and the Bat disappeared down the alley.

Then Constantine sighed and nodded after them.

“If they’re goin’ round back, we can take this off the main street. If you don’t mind?” Not that the boy had much choice.

They’d caught him unmasked, which raised again the fuckin’ question of why Batt-o was so intent on being masked up for this one.

Maybe he just didn’t want to change. It looked like a lot of kohl on under that mask. Probably took a while to switch in and out.

Jason narrowed his eyes back for a moment, then shrugged. His whole posture still screamed annoyance and aggression, but moved back into the side alley anyway.

“Whatever. Not too far though. I need to hear if my friends leave.” There was something about the agreement that didn’t quite sit right for John.

Too easy. He didn’t have much (any) experience with the kid, never having willingly gotten near a revenant, but… well, this? This was weirdly passive.

When he’d seen the kid coming back with a weapon, that had made sense. He’d half expected Jason to take a swing personally; the dead-or-dead-aligned tended to have a different understanding of acceptable violence.

Handing it off to Harley was basically trading a gun for a nuke, but he didn’t seem at all upset that it hadn’t been used. Hadn’t gone for Batman’s throat, no matter how much Harley seemed to think he’d be justified.

What the hell did the Bat do now?

Something was off with Jason, something that made Constantine almost rethink his earlier guess.

Kid dies, shows back up a couple years later in a storm of blood and violence, demanding revenge? Yeah, that was classic revenant. Physical body, jacked beyond anything the kid shoulda grown into? Ditto.

Even the rage the Leaguers reported checked the boxes, but a revenant shouldn’t be this calm. Not in the face of any kind of threat.

Good news, really; he probably wouldn’t go for Constantine’s throat. John was more than happy with that, though he did regret getting the Bat all worked up.

Not that there was another version of the story Batman might take better, mind. Whatever the hell Jason Todd was, the kid wasn’t human anymore, and for ol’ Batsy the rest of the details didn’t much matter.

They got out of sight of the main thoroughfare, Jason leaning back against a wall with his arms folded and a smirk on his face that was just all challenge.

Constantine didn’t rise to it, brows furrowing as he raised a hand and murmured the beginnings of a spell.

Felt it instantly crash around him, smacked down by a power so titanic he’d have fallen if the side of a dumpster hadn’t caught him. A power so old, so wrought with death, so fucking familiar that it blacked out every sense.

No way in fucking hell any kind of fucking revenant, wraith, zombie, ghost, anything could leave that taste in his mouth. No, that? That was a personal signature.

And not something that could be done lightly either. A power like that… no, this power, Constantine knew exactly whose it was.

This kind of power, reacting this strongly? This instantly, even here on Earth? That was the full force of the Infinite Realms, which had to mean…

Eyes wide and shaken, John scrabbled at the lid for support, staring at Jason. Who actually looked more than a little surprised himself.

It took him a moment to find the words, longer to steady the shake in his voice.

“You… you… holy fucking hells, Jason, do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve bound your fuckin’ soul to-”

“The same guy you sold yours to?” Jason drawled, raising an eyebrow.

And alright, fair, that was a pretty good fuckin’ point, but Constantine was well aware he was a dire warning, not a good example.

Damn hard to argue that to a smugly reclining something-or-other that had bound himself so tightly to that same king that John couldn’t even do a gentle magical probe.

He’d been planning on being polite and everything. Noninvasive, Jason wouldn’t even feel it.

Shit, had he felt the spell shut down too? Constantine was about to ask, but Jason wasn’t done talking. Or smirking, looking distinctly amused that he’d shut the mouthy magician up.

“Did you know he owns your soul eleven times by now? That seems a little low to me, surely you’re down to hocking scraps,” Jason noted with a dry chuckle.

Constantine shrugged defensively, well aware that his battered soul was nothing to write home about. Still mostly trying to work out what the fuck was going on.

What use would the Ghost King have for a bat? A use important enough to fold Jason, who’d only be risen six years, into the high court?

Sure, the kid was good, he’d proved that in Gotham’s underworld, but to the Realms? He was barely an infant, and cuttin’ off heads would not impress there.

“No one buys just a piece of a soul. Every deal’s for the whole thing, which is why they keep me alive rather’n letting me kick it and tearin’ up the bits,” he explained distractedly, giving Jason another slow once over.

The good news was, nothing about the guy smelled like a revenant. There was power there, sure, a hint of a magical signature just on the borders of recognizable, but he couldn’t quite pin it down.

Jason hummed in acknowledgement, or maybe interest, but Constantine needed him to keep talking. Needed more clues to work out what the fuck this guy was.

“Pretty sure I haven’t had anyone make the same deal eleven times though,” he commented cautiously, trying to appear as casual as Jason while watching him closely, wishing he’d accepted some bat-training, “most people only make that mistake once.”

“Yeah, I asked about that,” Jason agreed with a dry chuckle, and the bottom fell out of Constantine’s stomach.

A position that let him backtalk the king of the Infinite Realms? Triple not good, not least because that lot were volatile and fuckin’ possessive, but not more so than goddamn Batman.

“Apparently people handed you over for some kind of tax season. You’re a low value trading card over there at this point.”

And that knocked every other thought out of Constantine’s head as he straightened, unreasonably affronted.

It’d be fucking nice to be low value. People might ignore him.

And since when did the Infinite Realms collect taxes?

“Low value? Princes of Hell are fightin’ over my damn soul, it’s the only thing keeping me kickin’,” he protested, and Jason snickered.

Gave John a smug, superior smile.

“And ten entities gave your soul up for tax breaks. Let’s face it, it’s not like you have rarity on your side,” he pointed out smugly.

“It’s still only one soul,” Constantine pouted idly, his mind suddenly spinning mile a minute with the implications.

The kid couldn’t have had this much presence last night, whatever else was true. John would have noticed.

It might just have been now that he knew to look for it, but Jason practically glowed with the essence of the Realms. He’d also somehow not just gotten himself bound to the Ghost King, he had a position where he could question them.

And have his questions answered, if not hugely coherently. Maybe that was just the translation through Jason, though.

That could be a good thing. A good sign at least, for the temperament of the new king. Pariah Dark never listened to questions by all accounts; people never got the opportunity to ask. He just conquered.

Of course, John knew enough magical entities to know that “willing to talk” did not mean, friendly, helpful, safe, or even “not prone to constant and complex lies”.

Thing was, he could handle liars. Tricksters. Anything of the sort, usually, cuz if nothing else? Being willing to talk before shooting meant Constantine had a chance to confuse them.

He was bloody good at that, all else notwithstanding. Almost his most useful talent.

It might be worth trying to find a little more about the Ghost King. Doubly if Jason was willing to help, but that’d have to be careful. No way to know what the kid had accidentally sworn to on that soul bond.

Hell, how was he gonna work out what the kid even was with magic off the table? It’d be back to the fuckin’ books and Undead 101.

At least he was still in his own body. That put a limit on the possibilities, but there were still a lot of options. Bats was going to be unbearable.

Because worse yet… the one thing John did know, with absolute certainty, was that the kid was getting stronger. If he hadn’t manifested any powers yet, it was just a matter of time.

Whatever Jason was, whatever deal he’d managed to pull, the damn halfa wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg. Something was feeding the power in him, whatever had yanked him back to the land of the living to start with.

Plus side? Batty could get off his ass about the kids hanging out. Jason had already taken a fuckin’ jet across whatever influence hanging out with a ghost could do, and pushed right the way to the other side.

He might as well be fuckin’ drinking ectoplasm at this point. Kid could carry Danny around on his back and not make a lick of difference.

Course, if it was the halfa who got the kid to make his deal… well, Batman would have another reason to worry about them hangin’ out together, but the damage was already done.

It wasn’t a soul buy, not to John’s experienced eye. Not a leash around the kid’s neck, not a claim stamped into his being. If anything, this was worse.

Somehow Jason had gotten himself so tightly wrapped to the Ghost King that the other’s power all but flowed in his veins. Even from here, far from the Realms, Constantine didn’t even finish the spell before it was smacked down.

That… that was new. Nothing he’d ever seen before, and he was well used to possessive metaphysical assholes who didn’t like anyone else touchin’ their shit.

Fuck, did Jason even know?

Constantine sucked in a breath and gave damn near instantly on even trying to form a tactful question a bat would understand. Kid was playing in his kiddy pool now, like it or not, and John had to know how deep he’d gone.

“So what deal did you make?” He asked bluntly. Not that Jason apparently minded in the least, still smirking as he gave the magician a cool once over.

“Y’know, I’m pretty sure it’s rude to ask. Not discussing paychecks and all that,” he drawled casually, eyes still dark with that barely covered aggression.

Constantine rolled his eyes.

“I had three princes of Hell gettin’ a little too cozy and a cursed rock lookin’ to turn the world to pink tourmaline. The Ghost King was big enough to shut ‘em up and let me push the rock to a different dimension where it’s never gonna be our problem again. Now quit bein’ an ass, I know a lot more about this kinda shit and I can tell ya if they hid any clauses.”

That did shut Jason up, the kid’s eyes widening for a moment like he hadn’t expected Constantine to share.

Tough titties for him, John already knew Batman was gonna be a bitch about this so doing the due diligence early? Pretty much their only hope.

He considered it longer than John thought was justified, since it was inarguable. John Constantine, soul selling expert. He should have business cards made.

Finally the kid shrugged. He still looked prickly, defensive, but he was listening.

“Well I didn’t sell him my fucking soul.” Which.

John stared at him, mouth agape. Snapped shut and narrowed his eyes.

“Kid, you could not be more marked if you wore a neon sign. You signed something over, the Ghost King ain’t the sort to give prizes for free.”

A Ghost King Jason seemed to think was a he, so that was a useful little piece of intel. He’d definitely know better than John if they were already on ask-questions stage.

Jason scowled and shrugged, arms still crossed.

“Lucky me. Protection from big scary human wizards, for the low low price of my service. And some help with my Lazarus problem,” he added, as if the last was the only part he though worth mentioning.

Constantine sagged back against the wall, sinking down to sit on the alley floor. Bracing his elbows on his knees he ran both hands through his hair, holding his head up.

“Great… just fucking great,” he muttered, voice muffled by his new position. Part of him wanted to laugh, but he was pretty sure it’d come out a sob.

Hysteria beckoned.

Jason made another noise that might almost have been concern, and Constantine forced himself to suck in a breath. To keep it together.

Forced his head up so he could glare at the kid who now looked just way too confused.

“You get that that’s worse, right?” He snapped, eyes narrowing. “You get that selling yourself into service is fucking worse?”

Jason glared back down at him, drawing himself up like size and muscle was gonna impress a magician.

(It might have if Jason was a decade or two older, but not the way the kid intended.)

“What the fuck d’you think will happen when he takes your soul?” He snapped back, aggression rising fast enough that Constantine forced himself to stop again.

Deep breath in. Hold. Out.

One more in. Hold. Out.

He got to ten, the kid watching him with visible confusion, deflating the longer John went without pushing back. Yippee for him.

When he thought he had his voice under control again, John forced himself to his feet.

“I sell my soul, and if anyone ever actually claims the damn thing they can do whatever they want to it for eternity. It’ll fuckin’ suck, kid, but the one thing they can’t do, no matter who it is?”

He just sounded tired now, which only wrong footed Jason even more. Why had he even gotten out of bed at all?

Maybe if he left now he could just go back. Tuck himself up in the House of Mystery, feed his League communicator to something pandimensional, and just hide for a while.

The Bat would probably come after him.

Taking another bolstering breath, John did his best to sound calm. Not patronising. Because the kid damn near definitely had no idea.

Which was why people should leave magic to the fuckin’ professionals.

Catching Jason’s eye, he held it, hoping to impress the seriousness of what he was about to say into the kid’s soul.

“They cannot compel me to action. They can try all sorts of force, all sorts of fucked up shit, but I get the last say. They say jump, I say fuck off, no jump. But selling service?”

Jason’s eyes had widened now, and John could just see all those little wheels turning. Well, set the little fuckers spinnin’ faster.

“They say jump, you’re on the way up before you can ask “how high?”. I dunno what you think you signed up for, kid, I dunno what deals with the new king are like cuz I didn’t fuckin’ ask. But you get a copy of the damn contract and bring it back to me. I’ll see if there’s anything we can do about it.”

It was the only logical option, especially with an entity this powerful. Constantine was betting the kid’s hatred of being used, being controlled, would make him agree even if he hated it.

He probably could have been nicer, though.

Jason’s eyes flashed, actually flashed a bright, ecto green as he shot John a glare that promised bloody dismemberment.

There was something else too, something that definitely wasn’t there a second ago but filled the alley now. Something hot and angry and powerfully vicious, something that wanted his blood.

If there were space to back up, he would have. As it was, he let his hand slip behind his back, ready to teleport. He had no doubt that any kind of binding would meet exactly the same fate his inquiry had.

Even in civvies, Jason Todd cut a menacing figure as he stalked the two steps across the alley to put himself directly in Constantine’s face.

“For fuck’s sake, I am not a fucking child! I don’t need you to hold my hand, I don’t need your fucking help, and I don’t need your fucking permission to live my fucking life!”

Constantine actually leaned back, his head brushing the wall behind him as Jason shoved a finger into his face, his every muscle taut with barely restrained violence.

“Like you just fucking said, you don’t know shit! So maybe, just fucking once, the whole fucking lot of you sit the fuck down, shut the fuck up, and stay out of my fucking way!”

This close, Constantine could feel Jason’s hot breath on his face. This close… something clicked.

He could feel Jason’s anger, projecting out of him in a way that definitely wasn’t human. Choking and visceral and absolutely nothing like the pulsating bloody rage that forced itself down his throat.

There was something fucking else inside Jason. Something that tasted of the Infinite Realms and wanted his head on a stick.

Something that wasn’t the Ghost King. Didn’t carry the touch of his claim.

John was about to teleport away, fuck Batman and all of Gotham, when Jason turned around sharply and marched out of the alley. Almost like the kid was running.

Slumping back against the wall, John Constantine closed his eyes and breathed in the city smogs, only happy that none of it actively wanted his blood.

**

Harley let Batman precede her around the milkshake bar to the parking lot at the back, a quick glance confirming that they were alone.

For the best, really; anyone present might get entirely the wrong idea.

Taking a casual roll of the wrist for added momentum, Harley took a quick shot at the back of Batty’s knee, stepping up quickly beside him to use the return swing to catch him in the gut.

Caught off guard, he crumpled, landing on one knee and glaring up at her.

“Harley…” he growled, and her eyes narrowed.

She’d done this the nice way last night. He hadn’t listened, so now they were doing it his way.

“Batsy,” she shot back, cutting him off quick and direct. Tapped her bedazzled bat gently off her other hand. “We had us a talk already this week.”

No specific times; not in an unsecured location. He’d know anyway.

From his silence, he wasn’t quite ready to admit it. But he didn’t try to rise. Conflicted, then.

Like that was new.

Harley pressed the bat gently under his chin, tipping his head up to face her.

“And yet somehow, despite you assurin’ me you’d listened real close, a mister Jason Todd is out here tellin’ me you tried to ban him from hangin’ out with his new boyfriend?” She asked sugar-sweet, her expression all danger.

She could just about see the moment it sank into his head. Even with his actual eyes covered, that cowl was still plenty expressive.

Kinda freakishly expressive. Not ideal for the crime fighting to her mind, but what would she know? She much preferred committing the crimes.

He tried to argue, frown so deep he’d have wrinkles within the day.

“This has nothing to do with that, the Fenton boy is dangerous to his condition-”

Harley cut him off by poking the end of her bat almost into his mouth, her eyes narrowed. And sure, she was bein’ delicate with his head outta concern for that concussion, but there were limits.

“An’ what d’you think ya know about Jason’s condition that a half dead kid don’t?” She asked sceptically.

Batman hesitated. If he pushed the bat away, they’d have an actual fight on their hands. One he might let her win, if he just needed the tussle.

She’d never known a man so eager to have someone put him on his ass, and so incapable of ever lettin’ it actually happen. Well, other than Jason.

Musta run in the family.

Bruce sagged back, sat on the cracked asphalt of the parking lot.

“Constantine believes that Danny’s energy may strengthen something inside Jason. Something dangerous,” he explained, still in Batman’s rough growl.

She was gonna get him a vocoder. Just for shits and giggles.

Fuck, was that why Jason wore the whole helmet for Hoody? Now that she thought of it, there was a voice changer in there.

Two cranky little peas in matching muscly pods.

She dropped to sit cross legged on the ground across from him, bat laying in front of her. Talkin’ again, take two. Time to make it stick.

“Have you actually talked to Jason about this?” She asked sceptically.

The eye slits in the cowl narrowed. Harley was not impressed.

“Have you talked to him at all, since he an’ Danny have been hangin’ out?”

Bruce glared at her for a moment longer. Did not fold his arms or pout, but she could tell he wanted to.

“I spoke with him last night. He’s irrational, angry, unwilling to listen to reason…”

“He’s sick of ya tellin’ him you know what’s best and not listenin’ ta what’s wrong,” Harley corrected flatly.

Watched his shoulders sink just a little. As much as he could deflate in the suit. Even his growl lost most of its sandpaper.

“He said Danny was taking him to a doctor. More exposure to the realms could make things worse. Kill him, or give the pit another chance to take over. I can’t…” he cut himself off, voice tight and garbled around the forced gravel.

Harley watched him for a long moment.

He’d come out in the suit. It had to be for a reason.

She couldn’t ask the questions that would break him apart in the suit. Couldn’t guide him through the revelations and the grief. Not if there was somethin’ else he had ta be doing.

Another damn time then. She’d get ‘im here again.

“Batsy.” Her voice was gentler this time, and drew his face back to hers. She made sure to catch his eye. “He already died. Seems ta me somethin’ in there never really let him go.”

She didn’t know much about the Infinite Realms… or anything at all, really. All this magic and mayhem and ghosts was fun an’ all, and she always liked to play, but it wasn’t her wheelhouse.

Didn’t have ta be. She knew how to listen to the professionals.

Bruce had stiffened, the mask of Batman pulling back, and she cut him off with a raised hand.

“An’ you only have ta look at Danny ta know that whatever all that is? Jason ain’t the first. Won’t be the last. Someone’s gonna know what went wrong, and Jason believes they’re helping him. You need to believe Jason.”

“But he could be wrong.” It was barely more than a whisper. Low and grinding and completely devoid of Batman growl, like it’d been pulled right out of his soul.

Harley gave him a gentle bop on the head with her bat.

“Then we deal with that then. But all ya doin’ by bossin’ him around an’ not listenin’ is pissing him off and makin’ him more likely ta run right off to these Realms. He’s not the sweet kid followin’ ya shadow anymore, Batsy. He’s a man, and he gets to make choices. And mistakes.”

This sure as hell wasn’t one of ‘em, but Bruce had never been good at taking that on faith. He had to be shown, and he’d never stop waiting for the tables to turn.

Which was how he usually made things worse. But he did at least know that.

He still looked mutinous, scowling across at her, so she gave him a slightly harder bop on the shoulder.

“Batman, listen ta me. I know you mean well, but Danny makes him happy. All Jason’s seein’ right now is that he’s happy, an’ you wanna take it away.”

That hit harder than any of her blows, though she wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t known him so long. His whole body stiffened, sudden hesitation in even his breathing.

Harley stared him down through it, then nodded in satisfaction as his shoulders lowered, just a fraction.

“I can’t lose him again, Harley,” he whispered, barely audible even less than a foot away.

She gave him an even harder bop on the other shoulder.

“Then stop driving him away. You ain’t even said sorry for the other night yet an’ now you owe him another apology. There’s always that things might go wrong; he might get hit by a car crossing the street. The only sure thing is that if you keep treating him like this?”

She leaned forwards, grabbing his chin and forcing him to face her. To look at her, and see how serious she was.

He was reluctant to meet her eyes, but even under the white outs Harley knew when she had someone’s attention. Good. He probably knew what came next.

“You will lose him, Batsy. And it’ll be no one’s fault but your own.”

**

Danny couldn’t have missed Constantine making his way up the street blindfolded and with his ears plugged. It might have been the whole “owned his soul” thing.

It also might have been the vortex of swirling magical attention that followed him like a cloud. The guy clearly wasn’t trying to advertise his presence, but to something like Danny…

Well, trying to hide that hard always caught his attention. A magical “nothing to see here” tasted like liquorice in the back of his throat.

Maybe the trench coat was actually cursed, in more than just the unfortunate fashion sense.

Part of him wondered if this had anything to do with them. The rest, well aware what his luck was like, wondered if he’d come barging into the restaurant.

It wasn’t like he shouldn’t be getting ready to go anyway, but he just… well, he was having a surprising amount of fun just hanging out with Waylon.

The guy was old enough to be his dad, but he was a great listener. Really encouraging, and he’d told Danny another couple of stories too, some from his darker times but all with happy endings.

He was probably trying to make Danny feel better after their talk, and it was definitely working. It just… well, he didn’t even really like thinking about Dan.

He’d asked Nocturn to put him to sleep not long after becoming king, to give the guy something to do other than stew in a thermos and plot vengeance.

Part of him still kinda expected that to bite him in the ass, but even if Dan broke out of Nocturn’s dreams, he couldn’t break out of Soup Time. For whatever reason he’d never learned Danny’s portal trick.

All the people who kept souping Danny were dead in Dan’s timeline.

Danny had almost been ready to wrap things up with Waylon (as little as he wanted to; they’d already exchanged numbers) when he felt Jason’s rage bubble.

He didn’t realise he’d blanked out until Waylon tapped the table in front of him with a claw, concern on his scaly face.

“Somethin’ th’ matter, kid?” He asked in a low growl.

Danny shook his head, staring down at the mostly empty milkshake and chugging the rest.

“Probably nothing… just got a bad feeling about Jason,” he explained with a shrug.

Reached out just a little, extending his senses but not aura. If Jason was already mad, that might send him over the edge.

Just as he reached out a sudden flare of fury made his hand clench, the glass he was still grasping shattering. Great, he had a hand full of milkshake and shards.

Shaking both free, Danny shoved his way out of the booth at the same time as Waylon, the big man going from concerned to battle ready in an instant.

For the first time, he almost looked dangerous. Danny was glad to have him at his back for the visual component at least; anyone who didn’t think twice about pissing off a tank like Jason wouldn’t even blink at Danny.

Killer Croc though? He got that name on his looks alone, long before he earned it.

They didn’t even make it across the bar, wait staff scattering to what were clearly well established positions in case trouble came in.

Trouble didn’t; barely.

Jason Todd did, all but vibrating with rage and steaming green with Pitty’s contribution.

Wait; steaming? Jason had mentioned the Lazarus pits did that, but Danny had never seen ectoplasm steam before. Could everyone see it?

Whether Waylon could or not, it didn’t stop him from hurrying forward, attention fully focused behind Jason for anyone following.

It was maybe the teeniest bit cute that even so angry he had a personal heat haze, Jason didn’t even think Waylon was going for him. His attention was fixed somewhere else; somewhere internal and probably bloody.

Instinct pulled Danny forward, Jason slipping easily into his aura and for a moment Danny felt like he’d drown in Jason’s rage. Answered it himself a moment later, stroking across the anger with worry-protect-safe now.

Jason twitched just a little as the aura washed around him, looking around on automatic until he faced Danny.

The rage softened just a little as he caught Danny’s eye, shoulders sagging. His jaw unclenched enough to talk; visibly enough that it must have been painful.

“Just fucking B again, treating me like a fucking child,” he spat, fists still clenched tight at his sides.

The effort it was clearly taking not to go out and start swinging kept Danny on edge, even as Waylon relaxed.

“Yer a long way from that, kid,” the big guy agreed with a low chuckle, still between Jason and the door, and rested a large hand lightly on Jason’s shoulder. “Want me to go have a word?”

Jason shook his head sharply, the smallest of smiles flicking across his face before the anger replaced it. Yeah, definitely cute.

“No thanks. You’ve only just got out, you don’t need bat trouble again already,” he said through gritted teeth, then nodded to Danny. “I just wanna get out of here.”

Danny nodded immediately, going from maybe-fight to flight. Which was kinda literally an option. Ghosts knew how to make an exit.

“Do you wanna take your bike or just disappear?” He asked simply.

Jason gave him a tight smile, barely layered over anger he was still struggling to control. Fuck, if this was what he’d been dealing with every day before Danny came along…

“Harley’s out back with Batman. I just want to fucking go,” he growled, shaking his head.

Danny nodded again, turning and crouching a little for Jason to hop onto his back.

“Phantom Express it is then.”

And yeah, he knew it looked stupid without Waylon’s confirming snort of laughter.

So did Jason, and the tinge of mirth that coloured his rage-burning-break in his head was more than worth looking silly.

Seemed like Jason was finally starting to trust his strength too as he hopped up without question, Danny not reacting in the slightest to his added weight.

And definitely not the way Jason now towered over him, or having those thighs wrapped around his waist. Nope. No horny in the aura today.

Giving a last nod to Waylon, he turned them both invisible and flew up through the roof, intangibility phasing them through at the last second.

Once they were high enough to be beyond any eavesdropping, he slowed to a stop, not quite looking back at his passenger.

“So, where do you wanna go?”

As Danny had kinda hoped, the sudden exhilaration of flight had tamped Jason’s anger back down until it was less a physical presence. It still seethed and boiled inside him, but it was losing steam.

About half of what he could feel from Jason now was just tired, and honestly? Couldn’t blame him.

Danny had been told how bad his pit rages had been, a visceral wrath that almost possessed Jason and made him lash out in all directions. And by all accounts? He still hadn’t seen the half of it.

It made his core ache just thinking about living with that much rage stuck inside. Feeling like that all the time… Danny had always respected Jason, but this? This demanded a whole new level.

And a little bit made him want to put Jason in a nice ectoplasm hamster ball so he could roll around the streets and nothing would ever hurt him again.

Gonna have to keep that under wraps too, since apparently Danny was losing his fucking mind all up in Gotham.

(Not that he’d never hamster balled anyone before. It was just usually a punishment for Tucker, or Wes if they were being assholes. Derogatory hamster balls were totally fine and not evidence of losing anything at all.)

The man himself was quiet for a long moment, struggling with just everything that was going on inside him.

Danny waited, turning them both intangible again just in case Jason could still be affected by the cold. At this height, it wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Made him side eye all those pictures of witches in dresses and long socks on broomsticks. Good way for the living to get pneumonia, in Danny’s opinion.

Jason didn’t even seem to notice, letting out a frustrated huff of air.

“We’ve gotta get Tucker home. If B is off being an asshole we can at least go to the manor,” he grumbled.

Danny paused for a long moment himself, considering another solution. After all, for ghosts it was simply unthinkable that they hadn’t even had an introductory brawl yet.

Whenever he got that pissed, getting the shit kicked out of him had always helped burn off the energy. But maybe Jason’s was different.

Danny was pretty sure he’d never been that pissed, not even at Pariah. Not even at Agent K.

Danny wouldn’t judge. For now, he nodded, turning to head towards the manor.

“We can go to Frostbite after we’ve dropped Tuck off. It’s been long enough, and you definitely feel stronger?” He offered, kinda hoping it might help Jason feel better.

The grunt he got in return didn’t sound convinced, but Jason also didn’t argue.

Neither of them were expecting to run into traffic in the Gotham airways though, at least not below airline level. Or to be interrupted.

With a sudden loud gust of wind, another black haired young man in a black leather jacket pulled up in front of them, looking around with a frown.

“Hey, I heard someone up here? Jason? Where are you?” He asked loudly, brows furrowing like he was still listening.

Danny’s confusion was better than words as Jason gave his shoulder a quick squeeze.

“Superboy the first. Tim’s boyfriend,” he explained quietly, and Kon’s head whipped around to follow the sound.

“Okay Jason, I know you’re up here, what the fuck?” He asked impatiently, which was when Danny remembered.

Still invisible. Hiding from the Bat and also concerned citizens. He popped them back into visibility with a sheepish grin, waving at… Connor? Or Con? No, kinda sharper. Kon.

It might have been a secret third level of alias, but Danny was pretty sure the bats had called him by a couple names over the various stories.

“Hey… sorry, forgot we were invisible,” he explained, trying not to laugh. Mostly at himself, but best not give the wrong impression.

Superboy’s eyes locked on them for a moment, narrowed briefly, and then his face broke into a grin.

“So, I’m gonna guess you’re Danny, Tucker’s friend that Tim has been gushing about?” He asked eagerly, reclining comfortably in the air. Then paused. “Well, gushing about Tucker. You were mentioned, though.”

That sounded about right.

Danny snickered and nodded, giving Jason a careful reshuffle. If they weren’t gonna be travelling for the moment, they could get a little more comfortable.

Thick thighs tightened around his hips and Danny very specifically did not melt into a puddle of goo. Not even a little bit.

“Yeah, we were just gonna go get Tucker and head out. Are you coming to see Tim?” He asked, kinda half wanting to wait around long enough and see what Tucker and Connor made of each other.

Kon if he was here in official capacity? But he wasn’t exactly wearing a super uniform, or logo. But Jason hadn’t mentioned a name, because Jason wasn’t a helper.

There was one easy way around that though. Bouncing Jason just a little more roughly than strictly necessary, Danny stuck out his hand.

“Danny Fenton, by the way. Since we haven’t been fully introduced.” He gave his best cheerful-but-totally-human grin. No point unnerving the first official alien he met, even if he was only half alien.

The boy reached out easily, giving him a firm handshake back.

“Kon El. Connor when we’re on street level. And yeah, I was just heading the same way when I heard you guys. Tim asked if I’d bring Tucker home though, he wasn’t sure what you guys’ plans were so if you had anything else to do?” He glanced from one to the other, so clearly not asking that he might as well have.

Could Kryptonians see the heat haze of Jason’s anger too? Or did he just know the family well enough, know Jason well enough, to know the signs?

Danny hesitated, glancing over his shoulder at the other halfa. He could almost taste Jason’s indecision, holding each other this close. Bitter and tight in the back of his throat.

How much did he want to deal with his family, with that rage still burning inside him? Hell, they hadn’t even worked out what Jason would do while Danny took Tucker home.

Danny kept quiet though, leaving the choice up to Jason.

It didn’t take long.

Sucking in a deep breath, Jason let out a heavy sigh, a wave of pure relief washing over him.

The anger was still there, a hot little coal right between the dual cores, but it couldn’t drown out the gratitude-sorry-safe. Barely tempered it anymore.

His voice was still gruff when he spoke, still stiff with emotion, but Kon seemed to understand.

“Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks Kon.”

The younger man tipped them both a sarcastic salute, straightening in the air and turning towards Wayne manor.

“You’ve probably got like, a text from Tim about the change of plan, if he even bothered to mention it, but I’ll let him know I saw you. Seems like you’re sticking around, so I’ll probably run into you again, Danny.” He gave them both a cheery nod and flew away.

A tiny part of Danny was sorry that they wouldn’t be around to watch Tucker spiral when confronted with Tim’s boyfriend.

Tim Drake Wayne was a hottie, no point denying it, and he was easily Tucker’s second biggest tech crush beside the mysterious Oracle. With all that hero worship though?

Tucker probably hadn’t actually noticed he was also hot yet. He’d have been in love with him if he’d looked like a snail.

Kon El though? Kon El had exactly the kind of leather jacket, too cool for school, sculpted good looks that Tucker fell head over heels for on any gender.

(Danny absolutely was not a hypocrite, he’d be the very first to admit that he and Tucker had very similar taste in partners, at least as far as appearances. Tucker just preferred a little more “step on me” energy.)

In all the reminders that Tim had a boyfriend, no one had said his boyfriend was hot.

Danny didn’t mention it. It wasn’t like he’d have been able to fully enjoy things anyway; the night before had proved that, and Jason’s mood had been rosy by comparison.

He did offer just one comment though, watching Kon fly away thoughtfully.

“Should we have warned him that Tucker is going to spontaneously combust if Kon tells him to ride him?” He asked mostly hypothetically, fading them out of visibility and tangibility again.

It startled Jason into letting out a snort of laughter which became a cough with his last rasp of thinner air.

“You just did, with Kon’s hearing,” he managed once he could talk normally again, and Danny considered feeling bad about it.

That sizzling coal of rage was almost buried under amused-anticipation-relief.

Nah. No matter what form Tucker’s next wave of vengeance took, this was worth it.

“So, where to next?” He asked, again… kinda hypothetically. From Jason’s sigh the older man was just as aware of what the answer had to be.

“Let’s just fucking go see Frostbite. If I keep looking at the city something’s gonna piss me off again.” He sounded reluctant, resigned, but a slow creeping glow of amazement spread through his aura.

About to pop open another portal, Danny tipped his head up as far as he could and made them visible again, looking for his face.

“What’s up?” He asked, willing to put dimensional travel on hold if there was anything they might be able to do to actually help.

Jason shook his head to focus himself, glancing down at Danny and quickly looking away. Was Danny imagining that sweet pink blush in his cheeks?

“It’s nothing.”

Danny waited, secure in the actual empathic sensation of Jason warring with himself on his back. Finally he won (and also lost, as all civil wars end) and sighed.

“Just. I’ve never come out of the pit rage this fast before,” he admitted gruffly, glaring down at the sparkling lights of the city below. Like this wasn’t something to celebrate.

Danny let them fade back to invisibility, since Jason pretty clearly didn’t want to be looked at.

“Hey, that’s great news! We’ll just have to short circuit Tucker’s gay ass every time you need a boost,” he chirped brightly, and popped the portal open to Jason’s laughter.

**

In his heart of hearts, Bruce knew why Harley was taking him to the parking lot.

If there was any chance of witnesses, any possibility of being overheard, he couldn’t listen to her. Not in the suit. Couldn’t show what any of his rogues (who hadn’t met Harley) might misconstrue as weakness.

If there was a single place in the city which could be trusted to be unsurveiled, it was the parking lots to his rogues’ side businesses. They had their own professional courtesies.

He appreciated it, in his own way. The closest thing to privacy they could have outside the Batmobile at the moment (and even then his children could listen in).

The baseball bat had been… well, not a total surprise, she’d had Jason fetch it in front of him and it wasn’t likely to be an empty prop twice in a row.

Still, he wasn’t as prepared as he could have been, and the first two blows hurt. His fold to the ground was mostly genuine, though part of him was definitely leaning in.

Concussion be damned, he’d been taking an emotional beating this week. At least exterior bruises would show him when they were healing.

But he hadn’t had time after her warning to do anything but head to the meeting.

Had he?

All he remembered was the seriousness of her face, the weight of absolute certainty in her words.

He would lose Jason, because he himself had pushed him away. Because Jason didn’t think Bruce trusted him. Thought Bruce would take away his chance at happiness.

Maybe Danny had been right. Maybe Jason didn’t even know Bruce loved him.

Things were so much worse than he’d made himself believe.

He knew he’d risen when his alarm went off, giving him ten minutes to head to the zeta tubes. Found Constantine again in the alley, since the man was with him now.

Couldn’t remember talking to him. But that wasn’t unlike himself anyway.

There was a hidden zeta tube downtown, only just far enough to justify the Batmobile, but Bruce would rather not leave it to drive home from Freeze’s place anyway.

He set it to return to the cave as he climbed out, at the end of another dark alley. The sun was already beginning to sink, painting the city in yellow and gold.

Constantine tapped carefully on the hood of the Batmobile between them, then jumped back as the car drove itself away, swearing. By the time he finished dusting himself off, Bruce was watching him again.

“Are yer back in there?” The magician asked cautiously, his own voice rough.

Bruce took a moment to assess his colleague. Never exactly tidy, Constantine looked more dishevelled than he had before Bruce and Harley left him.

Jason’s checkup likely hadn’t gone well.

Of course it hadn’t. Not if Jason felt the way Harley said… no. The way he’d told Harley he felt. Because Harley asked.

Something deep and weary in him tried to pull his shoulders down to sag, but he ignored it with the aid of long practice. Just gave Constantine a stiff jerk of the head.

“Hn.”

The man rolled his eyes, turning and heading for the defunct phone booth disguising the zeta tube.

“Great, monosyllables. Well, since yer back, listen up.”

The results of his examination, if Jason even let him perform it. Still, maybe the man would have something? It wasn’t like he couldn’t have cast a few spells without Jason knowing.

“First of all, yer boy ain’t a revenant.”

That jerked Bruce to a stop, his brows furrowing as he turned to face Constantine head on again. The magician had pulled a cigarette from somewhere, likely because they were heading for the Watchtower.

Bruce didn’t bother trying to stop him. He was too busy trying to process.

Constantine didn’t look happy either, so this probably wasn’t actually good news?

“What do you mean?” He growled, stepping closer and lowering his voice to avoid eavesdroppers.

Constantine rolled his eyes, waved his free hand, and the smoke from his cigarette crackled briefly in the air.

“None o’ that cloak and dagger shit, Bats. No one’s gonna hear us. But the kid, Jason? He’s not a revenant. Not sure what he is, actually, an’ not too keen on lookin’ deeper.”

It might have been the longest Bruce had heard him speak without saying “fuck” since the Amity Park question came up. The fact that he looked distinctly uneasy made that less reassuring.

“Why not?” Bruce growled, a little grateful to be able to step back and away from the smoke. Harley had left his head be for the most part, but it was already pounding again.

Constantine fixed him with a slow, speculative look.

“See, here’s my issue,” he began, raising a hand to cut off a growled protest and pointing directly at Bruce. “You? You’re Mr Worst Case Scenario. Can’t stop pokin’ at shit til it gives you an answer, or bites yer head off.”

That was certainly true. It was something that Alfred… Selina… Clark… Dick… Diana… almost everyone close to him had complained of.

Bruce wasn’t convinced it was a shortcoming, but he knew it about himself. It had been an underlying theme this whole investigation; Constantine telling him things because otherwise he’d go poking.

So what changed?

“You’re not gonna like whatever I tell you. An’ I could try an’ temper that by lyin’, or I could treat you like a fuckin’ adult on yer promise the you don’t go punchin’ inter shit yer don’t understand.”

Constantine stared expectantly at him, taking another long drag on his cigarette.

Ah. Waiting for Bruce to choose an option. As if there was any doubt?

“I swore your oath,” Bruce reminded him gruffly, and Constantine rolled his eyes again.

“An’ I’m fully aware you’re a tricky piece of shit that’ll try and work around it the second it comes up. That’s why it’s generic. You hear about the Ghost King, you back the fuck off, shut the fuck up, and run. That’ll include any of yer precious reports.”

He took another slow drag of his cigarette, watching Bruce the whole while. Bruce stared back, unsure what he was looking for but determined that he’d find nothing.

Shit. So much for having Red Robin and Oracle prod around for him. Though he had been planning to warn them to be delicate.

It barely occurred to him that showing nothing might tell Constantine more than anything else before the magician sighed and shook his head.

“Listen, B. The shit you need to know? Actually, really need to know? Jason’s… safe. There’s not a damn thing in the Infinite Realms that can hurt him now, whatever he is. I’d even put money on him bein’ demon proof, with the wards on him now.”

And wouldn’t it be so, so nice to believe that Constantine had put those wards on him? Bruce could feel the wish for it, a flight of fancy he rarely allowed himself.

Bruce let himself indulge in the want to believe for about the same length of time as that ominous pause.

“What wards?” He asked flatly, the low rumble not exactly hiding how he felt about the situation, but since he’d almost rather yell, he considered it fair.

Constantine, again, was not impressed. He folded his arms and prodded at Bruce with his still smoking cigarette.

“See, there’s that prodding. I’m trying to do this the nice way, B. Give you answers instead of just shutting you down, but you aren’t gonna know everything without a couple decades of practice, and you need to get over that.”

The magician took another drag, closing his eyes tightly for a second. When he opened them again, he looked entirely uncompromising.

The stern professional Bruce had only seen previously in life and death situations, and ones getting worse at that. Was this situation that dire?

“I could speak a word and make you forget this whole damn thing. Four more, and you’d have no choice about droppin’ it,” Constantine growled, clearly bitterly regretting not choosing that option. Bruce’s eyes narrowed in response.

He’d clearly ruled it out, but he hadn’t wanted to. Whatever he didn’t want to tell Bruce, Constantine expected him to have a powerful response.

Which meant that is was very bad, but also that Bruce’s natural response would make things worse. He could work around that.

He chose not to address the remark at all, just waiting for Constantine to continue. The man stayed silent just long enough that Bruce wondered if he was changing his mind on trying to make him forget.

This was why he hated magic. But he’d broken through it before. No spell could stand up to intense, detailed scrutiny, and he would surely have plenty of clues to remind himself when the problem was with his own son.

Finally Constantine sighed, flicked the butt of his cigarette to the ground, and crushed it under one heel. He seemed to have come to a decision, new purpose under the fear he’d been hiding since he first arrived.

“Let’s just get this over with,” he sighed, heading for the zeta tube. There was just a little more spring in his step.

Bruce frowned and moved to block him.

“The wards,” he pressed, a hint of irritation creeping into his voice. This conversation was important.

Constantine looked surprisingly chipper actually, raising his chin to give Bruce a sudden and almost startling smirk.

“Oh no, big guy. You had your chance to promise to behave like an adult, so we’re going with option three.”

He’d noticed Bruce’s lack of comment. Obviously, but Bruce hadn’t really thought he’d need to say anything.

Investigating was what Batman did. He knew how to do it tactfully, and without stepping on toes. He just wouldn’t promise not to do it.

None of which explained Constantine’s suddenly improved mood. It was almost the same satisfaction he’d show when he’d worked out how to pawn an unpleasant job off on someone else.

“And that is?” Bruce asked warily, suspecting he wouldn’t like whatever made this not Constantine’s problem. Constantine waggled a finger at him, like he was nothing more than a naughty child.

“I let you ask questions, after Wonder Woman promises to keep yer in line.” He said it with the finality of a lead weight, and it dropped through Bruce’s chest like one.

Shit.

Diana… Diana knew him far too well. If Constantine convinced her of whatever gave him this level of caution, she would camp in the bat cave to stop him if necessary.

Diana didn’t tolerate what she considered risk. If Bruce could convince her he was right instead… she could be a very useful ally. And she had always liked Jason.

Jason adored her. Wonder Woman had always been his favourite hero, even as a child. If Diana asked him, he might even agree to a consultation.

Bruce still didn’t know what had happened with today’s consultation, and apparently he wouldn’t even find out until they spoke to Wonder Woman.

He could extrapolate from that alone, frankly, even if Constantine wasn’t visibly rattled.

Bruce stepped aside somewhat reluctantly, letting Constantine step into the zeta tube first. They could technically fit in together, but he wasn’t exactly in the mood to play sardines.

The magician’s vehemence was troubling him, as was his conviction that Wonder Woman would be the answer. It was possible that Bruce had miscalculated the scale of the threat they were facing.

Whatever had warded Jason must be touchy enough to dislike any form of questions, and powerful enough to have its displeasure matter. And if it would be able to detect the questions being asked…

Contrary to popular opinions, Bruce did know how to temper his investigative instincts when called for. People only had to ask.

And.

Impress on him. A few times. That they meant it.

Honestly if they just told him why and what to expect, set some limitations and boundaries, it wasn’t like he was unreasonable. He just liked to verify data through his own sources.

Justice League Dark were a perfectly reputable source when he had to involve himself with magic. He could cross reference things between other members if he needed to check Constantine’s intel.

The unfortunate fact of the matter seemed to be that however little Bruce liked it, he did now need to learn more about magic. He’d been content to leave it to the experts for as long as he could, but…

But it now concerned one of his children. His second son, the one he’d lost.

At the very least, he needed to understand enough about the Infinite Realms to know how to keep Jason safe. What he would need, if there was anything they should be doing for him.

Not that the JL Dark had bothered to let him know when they thought Jason was a revenant. That might have been nice, even if apparently he wasn’t.

He’d already planned to start with Constantine’s attached reading on the Infinite Realms, and the Ghost King in particular for his new researches.

(Just the thought sent a shiver down his spine, and Bruce stepped into the zeta tube a little faster than necessary. Was that his oath? On just the thought?)

He could get information on these specific wards too. Cross reference with Zatanna when she was available. Perhaps contact Dr Fate.

The Justice League Dark had their own sections of both reference materials and secured artefacts in various bases around the world.

Studying those should be a sufficient compromise; he wouldn’t reach out to the Infinite Realms directly, not until the Anti-Ecto Acts had been dealt with.

Then they could get in touch with Jason’s mysterious doctor, provided he was willing. Have the dismantling of the acts as a show of good faith.

He’d have to ask Constantine about a sufficient apology too. And mention the acts themselves; somehow there just hadn’t been time today.

Stepping out into the Watchtower, Bruce was maybe just possibly anticipating the magician’s reaction, in a dark way. Let someone else have a bad day for a change.

The poor man had been so upset with the idea that Bruce might ask questions about the realms. The fact that the United States had declared a kill order on all its occupants was not going to go over well.

And all that sass and defensive aggression could be pointed at someone other than Bruce for a while.

Actually? He should wait until Constantine was sitting down. He could add it to his meeting notes, bring it up to the whole League at once.

There would be someone on site if the magician actually fainted.

Or if Bruce’s head actually exploded.

Bruce made a mental note to check their medical supplies and defences, in case there were any unpredictable reactions. He could swing by the infirmary before they got started.

Giving Constantine a quick parting nod, he turned away from the hall and walked quickly towards the infirmary. Just to check in.

Today’s meeting was just the Justice League, with Constantine as the sole representative of JL Dark; Dark’s members all seemed to know about the Infinite Realms and Amity Park already. They didn’t need the briefing.

They’d have to read Bruce’s meeting notes now though. The same ones he was fully aware most members of the League just ignored, considered wasteful paperwork.

They expected to be told directly if something was important. As if he had all the time in the world, and they had no personal responsibility.

The lights thrummed softly as he walked, all the little noises of the satellite’s systems ticking over in perfect order helping Bruce settle into his purpose.

Jason’s report had been thorough, and though Bruce could easily see the bias around his son’s words… in this case it was more than justified.

The wording used to describe Jason and others like him in the acts contained less expletives, but were no better. The veneer of detachment only made the disdain shine through more clearly.

As if his son were beneath contempt. If Jason were to be believed (and Bruce would confirm with Constantine and Shazam) then most of his family were ecto-contaminated.

It was almost nice to have a tangible problem to solve. An enemy he could face and defeat in simple, easy manoeuvres. It was unlikely to be a physical fight, but that hardly mattered.

The delicate machinations of politics were better left to Wonder Woman, Aquaman, damn near anyone but Batman. No, Bruce Wayne was far more influential in that arena.

A little money in the right places, press coverage, a big “himbo with a heart of gold” performance. They weren’t his preferred weapons, but he knew they were effective.

And for Jason, there was nothing at all he wouldn’t do.

Purpose and the time limit combined hastened his step, his cloak billowing around him as he stalked the halls of the Watchtower. The infirmary was empty; always good.

Their stocks were full, and there were three nurses on duty that Bruce had personally selected. He trusted all of them, and none looked worried at his visit.

Batman was well known for overpreparing. It always came in useful.

He was just making his way back towards the meeting hall, feeling markedly better himself with a firm goal in mind, when Superman rounded the corner ahead of him.

The man of steel was heading his way, worry writ large on his face. If he’d heard Bruce’s talk with Harley… actually, if he’d been able to overhear Constantine’s talk with Jason, that would be very useful.

Bruce prepared a few brief words to reassure his friend as succinctly as possible, and get them both moving back towards the meeting. They could actually talk afterwards.

He never got to say them. Superman ignored his little nod of greeting and hurried up to him, standing close enough that they couldn’t be overheard. Blocking Bruce’s path.

A thrum of dread wormed its way back into Bruce’s heart as he looked up into his friend’s earnest, deep blue eyes.

Clark kept his voice low, urgent and concerned as he whispered five words that shattered the world.

“Bruce? I can’t hear Jason’s heart.”

—————————

😈

Now quick, for extra bonus points, who can name what was supposed to happen at some point in the last two chapters and didn’t? This is your chance for a treat from the beginning of the next chapter

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Next chapter!

[five-rivers]

Three Twilights

Can be considered a loose sequel to Deep Sea Diver (same vibes).

Warnings: Soft body horror, Danny totally ignoring objectively horrifying things

.

.

.

“I was thinking,” started Maddie over breakfast, “we could start observations of that island that came into view last week, the blue one.”

Danny shook his head. “You’ll have to use the Speeder, then,” he said. “I’ve got an errand to run.”

There was a pause as both of Danny’s parents looked at him, confused. He didn’t blame them. Danny rarely went out as a human anymore, and certainly not for anything like errands. Looking like he was still fourteen after all this time made doing anything even remotely official difficult.

But this wasn’t a human errand. “Yeah,” said Danny. “In the Ghost Zone. I’ve got to go to Three Twilights.”

“Where?” asked Jack.

“It’s, um, a city,” said Danny. “Well, three cities, I suppose, depending on how you want to group them. One Realm. On the shores of the Celestial Sea. I’m sure I’ve put it in your files.” Probably a direct copy from his files from before he came clean to them, but still. He stirred his cereal counterclockwise, letting his ice powers chill the milk.

“Yes,” said Maddie, “but there are a lot of places in there. I’m not sure we’ve had a chance to properly look at them all, much less memorize them.”

“Okay, yeah,” said Danny. “I guess that makes sense.”

“What kind of errand are you running, Danno?”

“I’m picking something up for a friend. A book,” he clarified. “They lent it to someone there, but they need it back.”

“A book,” said Maddie. “For the Library of Tongues?”

“No, they’ve got a contract service for overdue loans.”

“Contract service?” asked Jack.

“Yeah. Moonlighting bounty hunters mostly.”

“For a library?”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” said Danny, shrugging. “They’re really serious about their work.”

“If it isn’t for them, who is it for?” asked Maddie. “The princess? Wulf?” Wulf had actually been over a few times, and his parents had… Well, saying they got along would be an overstatement, they didn’t really have anything in common beyond ripping portals in the fabric of the universe, but everyone had been civil. “The boy at the school?”

“No,” said Danny. “Wulf would just get it himself.”

“Who, then?” pressed Maddie.

Danny put a spoonful of cereal in his mouth, delaying. Maddie hadn’t eaten anything since Danny had mentioned the errand. The errand was, in fact, for Clockwork. Danny was always more than happy to do anything for Clockwork. The older ghost had saved him too many times for him to be otherwise. But Jack and Maddie were wary of Clockwork. Danny didn’t get it, but talking about it hadn’t been productive so far.

He didn’t want to lie to his parents. Not ever again.

“It’s for Clockwork,” he said.

Ah, yes, there were those suspicious looks. The ones Danny could have interpreted even without being able to almost literally taste emotions.

“I see,” said Maddie.

“Anyway,” said Danny, quickly, “if I haven’t shown you Three Twilights yet, it’s really cool. I don’t want to take the full rig, but maybe the little ectocam would be okay? The one that I can clip on.”

“Why not the normal camera with an ectofilter?” asked Jack. “That has more features, and it’s easier for us to get data from.”

“Three Twilights. It’s dark there,” said Danny. “It might work in Civila, but not so much in Naŭtika and Astronomia, and I sort of want to go down to the beach and see if I can find any star pearls, and that’s really dark, so if you want to see anything properly, it’ll have to be the sonar setup, which I’m not doing, the noises that thing makes are offensive, or the ectocam.”

“And the Fenton Phones?” asked Maddie.

“Sure,” said Danny. “But I always bring those.”

“Yes,” said Maddie, after a moment. “You do.”

“Great. It’s settled, then.”

.

Most of the journey to Three Twilights could be made by air. Or, rather, what passed for air in the Infinite Realms. But when the rocky edge of an island came into view, Danny touched down. Further in was a blue wood, and Danny walked under its inviting branches.

The atmosphere started sunny, summery. The leaves and needles of the trees were the color of a clear blue sky. But as he got deeper, the leaves were touched with sunset colors: golds, reds, oranges, purples, and pinks. They fell to the ground, crunching beneath Danny’s feet. The sunset grew longer, deeper. The leaves on the trees grew sparser, revealing patches of sky.

By the time only bare branches framed the sky, it was a dusky, dim, purple. A few lonely stars twinkled in the sky.

He passed out of the forest. The city of Civila rose above him. Windows glowed in the near dark like eyes.

Danny had changed, too. His aura had dimmed. The whites of his suit were now dark gray, and patterns swirled on its surface like camouflage, like wind-twisted clouds, like nebulae.

Shadows bled around the corners of the city buildings like ink in water. Will-o-the-wisps bobbed, casting pools of illumination in lieu of streetlamps. Ghosts walked up and down the streets, or floated only a few meters up.

The buildings glittered. Everything was dark, vibrant, colors. A sharp, sweet scent filled the air, something dark and rich beneath it.

The canals in the center of the street were filled with flashing fish. Or perhaps serpents. Or perhaps worms. Between how fast they moved and the dimness of the light, it was difficult to tell.

Danny could feel his irises contracting, shrinking down to needle-thin rings. His teeth were sharp. He matched the other ghosts around him. This was how the Civila liked it, how things were in this part of Three Twilights.

Everything in order. Everything peaceful. Everything civil.

Danny walked through the market square, and bought some charcoal-colored cherry pastries from a vendor who looked like someone’s nightmare demon with a chip of ghost ice.

Much to his parents’ protests. They didn’t care for him eating ghost food.

There were seven bridges to Naŭtika, which was built half underwater and half on boats that floated both on the water and in the air. As the dark waters of the inlet lapped at his feet, Danny felt the changes ripple across his skin. To a human, he would look pure black, except for the faintest glimmer of rim lighting and the stars of his eyes. He and the other ghosts moved silently, cutting through the waters like shadows.

To Danny’s ghostly senses, the place was alive with emotion and force, energy loud and crackling against his senses.

“We’re solely on the ectocam, now,” said Maddie. “You were right about that.”

“Mhm,” said Danny, half distracted by a whispered sea-shanty backed by a choir of not-voices and not-sound that wove together with the mastery of a hundred years of practice.

He glided up a rope net, and began to navigate the ropes to the taller ships. The very tallest, the ones that scraped the ever-darkening sky and blotted out uneven sections of stars, moored the glass-like ships that floated above. He’d need to reach them, to get to Astronomia.

“What’s that?” asked Maddie, breaking his concentration on his path.

“What’s what?” asked Danny, whisper soft, drawing some looks. He turned, slowly, on the spot, planks barely creaking under his steps. A gentle wind ruffled his hair.

“There,” said Maddie. “By the ghost that’s registering red.”

It had taken Danny a long time to learn what color on the ectocam’s artificial sensor signified what, but he had, if only to reduce the guessing when they played this game.

“Star pearls,” said Danny, eyeing the ropes of stone that glimmered brighter than his eyes currently did. They were one of the only reliable forms of light, out on the Celestial Sea, although they were valued for other things, too.

“They’re putting out a massive amount of energy,” said Maddie.

“You mentioned them before,” said Jack. “You wanted to look for some?”

“On the shore,” said Danny. “Out past Astronomia.” He wanted to find his own, rather than buy them.

Partially because they were expensive. He didn’t really want to think about how much unmelting ice he’d have to conjure up to equal one of them. They were usually bartered in exchange for… more significant things.

The ghost by the pearls beckoned him closer, clearly hoping to make a sale. Danny shook his head, broadcasting regret and admiration for his wares. Speech might be faster but, under these circumstances, it would not be polite.

When Danny left, the social rules of Three Twilights would only leave the faintest impression on his mind. But, for now, they were a heavy, but not uncomfortable weight. One he could shrug off if necessary, but which was currently useful.

“What are they?” asked Maddie, as Danny turned away.

“They happen when big enough things fall into stars,” said Danny. “They’re all the memories of what they used to be… and the imagination of what they could become, when the star dies. Well, that’s what they’re supposed to be. I don’t think anyone really knows for sure.”

“And you can just… find these? Lying around?”

“Not… not really,” said Danny, slowly drifting towards a crow’s nest. “It’s like that one national park. That one where you can collect diamonds? You never really find anything good, but you can look.”

“I see,” said Maddie. “So, you don’t expect to find one?”

“Yes and no,” said Danny. “If I don’t expect to find one, I probably won’t. Unless the sea is feeling ironic, which it usually is, apparently. I mean, it’s an ocean and the stars. And prophecy is, like, ninety percent irony, but mostly for an outside observer. Which honestly makes sense, I think. An observer, not an Observant. Those are different things.”

The kind of silence on the other side of the line was the one that emerged when Danny used too much ghost logic.

“Anyway,” he continued as he scaled the crow’s nest and started traversing the glass ropes and chains to the all-but-invisible glass ships, “no, I don’t really expect to.”

The path to Astronomia was a staircase carved from moonstone harvested in October, when the moon was full and orange-red. It burned Danny’s eyes to look at and feet to walk upon. Like many ghosts who fixated on things like astronomy, he adapted quickly and thoroughly to the spiritual dark.

This darkest twilight was built of delicate bubbles, whorls, and arches of glass, any of which could cradle a ghost, all of which could be phased through with impunity. There were no true roads here, but certain places were easier to travel through. Addresses were carved in the glass in glimmering, holographic sigils made from glass-caught starlight that humans would never be able to read, but Danny could understand with a glance. It was not silent in Astronomia, the high wind sung through the glass like the immense instrument it was, playing ethereal and eternal music that mirrored heaven.

As always, Danny was enraptured. Perhaps the stars here were not true stars, only their memory and imagination (or simulacra made from stripped ghost cores, he remembered with a shudder), but he felt so close here.

“Danny? Are you still with us?”

Danny started to reply, but realized he had forgotten, once again, that he had no mouth here.

A phantabulist played a story for a group of not-quite-children, characters made of carefully constructed light chasing each other about with vigour. Danny stopped for a while to watch the story, a parable about spiders and fish. They were common here, storytellers who plied their craft this way. The stories could be pressed into glass prisms and orbs that served as books and viewed even in other environs of the Ghost Zone.

He moved on, passing through a glass bubble full of ghosts that snatched at and stroked him as he passed by, leaving stars and dark clouds to swirl across his skin. His suit had long since smoothed over and sunk in. His skin was a thin surface, a membrane holding in liquid night. He was like smoke, like vapour, thin and easily overlooked.

The places he passed were homes, places of business, warehouses, and hotels, organized without any apparent reason. A phantabularium glowed like a struck match, snatches of story visible inside its walls. He walked by.

Eventually, he reached the palace at the city center.

The ghost who lived there was old. Older, perhaps, than Pandora. She filled the vessels of her palace in placid pools connected by crystalized threads and looping tubes. Seven round-bottom flasks, radiating outward, like the spheres of heaven. The music here was almost deafening.

This was Urania, Muse of Astronomy. Astronomia was her city, and subordinate to her will before all else.

Danny resisted the urge to kneel. He was not here as a supplicant, and they both knew it.

The lowest pool bubbled, and slowly a glass prism, a dodecahedron, floated to the top. Danny took it with careful hands and left Urania’s direct presence as quickly as possible.

Being near her was always difficult. She was the Muse of Astronomy, and she felt he did not indulge his second Obsession as much as was proper.

Indeed, she thought it should be his first.

(The starlight inside him pulsed. He was never sure how much influence Urania could exert on him when he visited Three Twilights, never sure how much the relationship between his passions shifted when he was here. He loved it here too much to stay away forever.)

Astronomia did not end all at once. Instead, as one walked farther from the palace, the delicate, clear glass was replaced by black sand. When Danny had feet again, and could feel the grains beneath them, he knew he was no longer in Astronomia, but on the Shores of Night. The Isles of the Moon were faintly visible in the distance, sea-spray framing them in silvery halos.

He felt human here. His breath moved in his lungs, and his skin rose in goosebumps, the sleeves of his t-shirt fluttering in the wind. The sea and the sky were the same, and twice as beautiful for it.

“Sorry for going silent on you there,” said Danny. “I keep forgetting I don’t have a mouth there.”

“How do you forget that?” asked Jack.

“I don’t know.” Danny shrugged, even though he knew Jack couldn’t see him. “Do you think the ectocam might be able to spot buried star pearls?”

[dekalko-mania]

Hello! A bit late, but here's my @phandomholidaytruce gift for @charmingcritter ! I followed their prompt based on outsider POV of Amity/Danny, and a bit on Danno's obsession. Hope you enjoy and happy holidays!

....

Tourist Attraction (Ao3)

“I don’t like this.” 

“Danny, c’mon. It’s not a big deal.” 

He shook his head, arms remaining crossed. 

“I’m on your side for this one.” Sam flipped a page in her book, voice monotone as she addressed Tucker. Her legs were thrown over the armrest of her La-Z-Boy, looking completely relaxed now that she’d finished her allotted Team Phantom work. “Why don’t we just figure out a way to go around the obsession?” 

“See! Even Sam agrees!” Tucker pushed his laptop to the side, ghost files still taking up the screen. “You can’t go around mad dogging every new person that comes into Amity.” 

“Wanna bet?” Danny raised a challenging brow, shutting his own laptop closed. 

“Don’t.” Sam raised a finger before Tucker could so much as utter another word. “Or he’ll actually go out and do it.”

Tucker sputtered. “He’s gonna do it anyway! The guy’s got no sense, and that’s coming from me!” 

“I take offense to that.” Danny flopped back onto the dark hardwood floor. “What else do you want me to do? Sit back and let all these people we don’t know cause trouble in Amity?”

“We live in a semi-big city,” Sam stated. “People come by all the time.”

“Yeah, but not this many at once. Usually they’re here for like two hours and then leave. And it’s always the same people checking out a restaurant they like or something. These are…” Danny’s expression soured. “Tourists.”

Tucker shoved Danny’s shoulder. “You’re saying that like you’re talking about the plague.” 

“Might as well be.” Danny smacked his hand away. “These are strangers. Worse, they’re all curious about our lore. They’re all gonna be poking around where they shouldn’t and bothering the locals. Remember last year when some guy broke into Boxy’s warehouse and the entire city had a box shortage for a week?”

“That was some meltdown.” Tucker whistled. “Poor guy.”

“He set his most prized boxes on fire.” Danny glared. 

“Relax.” Tucker raised his hands in reassurance. “I’m talking about the Box Ghost. The other guy can suck it.”

Danny relaxed and sighed. “Yeah well, I don’t think he’ll be the last person to mess around where they shouldn’t.” 

“Okay, we understand. You wanna protect Amity, but you can’t stalk the tourists,” Sam reasoned. “We’ve barely gotten your approval ratings up to seventy.”

“I’m not going to stalk anyone.”

“Sure, you’re just going to go up to them and very kindly ask them to fuck off, right?” Sam tossed her book to the side, throwing him an unamused look. “Maybe scare them off with those spooky eyes of yours.” 

“Exactly,” Danny grinned, crossing his arms behind his head. “Glad we’re on the same page.” 

“Danny, I swear-”

“Wait.” Tucker shot up, conspiratory gleam crossing his eye. “We can’t stop all these tourists from coming in, but what if we use this to our advantage?” 

“How are we supposed to do that?” Danny frowned. “Don’t know if you missed it, but my obsession wants absolutely nothing to do with them.” 

“Because you don’t know who they are, and they’re not educated on Amity etiquette,” Tucker pointed out. “But, what if we could solve the issue and make a big buck out of it?” 

Danny focused somewhere on the ceiling and scoffed. “You want to try your hand at giving tours again?”

“Exactly! With some improvements, of course.” 

“Tucker, the last time we did that it was you and me lugging a group of ghost hunters on a bike.” Sam seemed very much not interested. “What could we even use that’s big enough to hold all these people?”

“Danny’s been legally driving the GAV for two years now. Illegally, since he was like twelve.” Tucker glanced at him for support. “How many can we fit in there?” 

“If I clean it up and adjust the seats, like ten probably. Not including me and whoever wants to be in the passenger seat.” Begrudgingly, Danny was starting to see the pros to Tucker’s plan. “We can also detract the back walls so the entire thing is one big window on either side.”

“See? Sam, you’re really good at keeping crowd control. You can man the line and all the finances. Meanwhile, Danny drives and we both give the tour.” Tucker waved a hand in one long flourish. “Easy peasy.” 

Sam eyed them both and then groaned. “Okay, whatever. As long as I do less of the talking.” 

“Yes!” Tucker fist bumped the air. “What about you Danny? Just think about it. We’ll be able to keep track of who comes in, and make sure we lay out some ground rules. Covering all the bases without you spazzing out on ‘em.”

Danny shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”

“Great!” Tucker clapped his hands together. “Now, about the ticket prices….”

…. 

They had settled on calling their side job the most basic name possible. “Amity Park Tours” was as uncreative as it got, but at least their point went across fairly well. Most of their brainstorming had been Tucker trying to convince Sam and Danny that “A Nice Place to Die” would not make for a good slogan. In the end, he’d just barely gotten them to settle for “A Nice Place to Haunt” instead. 

Danny still thought their original idea was better, but whatever. At least their calculated funds would come back pretty good, with ticket prices starting at twenty-five for adults, and fifteen for kids. 

He was beginning to mentally applaud Tucker for his genius, until the final blow came just minutes before the tourists were set to arrive. 

“You did what!?” Danny didn’t have to guess what color his eyes were flashing. 

“Okay, it’s not as bad as it sounds,” Tucker attempted to reassure. “Think about how high the tips are gonna be!” 

“I don’t care about that! What’ll I do if my parents find out?” 

“They haven’t shot at you in months!” 

“Yeah, cause the city’s on their case about it, not because they don’t want to!” It took everything in Danny’s being not to go ghost on Tucker then and there. “How am I ever going to explain this?” 

“Okay, wait.” Sam stepped in between them, clearly displeased at the turn of events herself, but calmer than either of them. “You promised them a tour led by Phantom, right?”

Tucker nodded. 

She sighed. “Then we’ll give them one.” 

“Sam-”

“No, wait.” She placed a placating hand on Danny’s shoulder, meeting him eye to eye. “If we change it now, we’re going to get into trouble and you won’t be able to put a lid on your obsession. If we go through with it, well…how often have we done something like this without your parents noticing?” 

“Many times,” Danny acquiesced. “But Sam, if they find out I supposedly let Phantom lead a tour in their assault vehicle….” 

“They won’t find out. We’ll make sure of it.” Sam said it with conviction. “Worst comes to worst, we’ll say that they can’t mention it to the Fentons or they’ll get…I don’t know. Cursed or something.”

“Cursed?” Danny frowned. “Really?”

“People will believe anything in Amity,” Tucker agreed. He began to fidget as voices started nearing the vehicle from outside. “C’mon Danny. Have a sense of adventure.”

Danny tsked, picking up the voices more clearly. He was able to distinguish distinct words in conversation, hearing a few people say they were excited to meet Phantom. He knew with a sinking feeling that he couldn’t say no. 

“Fine,” he decided. “But I’m getting a higher cut of the tips.”

“Deal!” Tucker grinned, preparing to open the GAV doors. “Now, do your thing, ghost boy.”

…. 

Danny was grateful that Sam had convinced the owner of the Skulk and Lurk to let them use their parking space. They had a pretty huge lot that was left mostly empty during the day, when their usual customers weren’t about. 

It had taken them about twenty minutes to get through all the autographs and pictures, all taken against the backdrop of the building so they could avoid evidence of him using the GAV. It was a familiar routine for Danny, and he very easily settled into his Phantom persona for all the enthusiastic customers. 

There was only really one incident that struck him as odd, where a ginger-haired girl similar to Jazz in height and build had used a flash for her first photo. Danny had thought to ask her why, but shrugged it off when another girl took her place. 

Once they had gotten through it, the first ten tourists settled into place, while Sam wished them luck on their drive from outside. The air inside the GAV was filled with excited chattering, crowd of people oddly full of energy for 9 AM on a chilly Wednesday. 

Danny’s core hummed as he looked over them, pleased that none of them radiated any sort of dangerous energy. More than half of them were teens or young adults in their early twenties, while the two outliers were part of a family. The red-headed girl from earlier, now identified as Jackie, was part of it, sitting next to an identical-looking mom. 

He nodded to himself, before pulling out a handheld mic for himself and handing the other to Tucker. 

“Alright,” Danny tried out. “Does this sound clear to everyone?”

“Whoa.” A bright eyed, sandy-haired guy in the back peeked his head behind a seat. If Danny remembered correctly, his name was Adrien. “An announcement I can actually understand?”

Danny snorted. “That’s Fenton tech for you. Now, before we start the tour, Tucker here and I wanted to make some, uh, announcements. Tucker?”

“Right!” Tucker’s mic blared for a little, and he winced. “Sorry. So, basically you all probably know about the Fentons, and you might be wondering, ‘why would they ever let a ghost borrow a car made to destroy ghosts?’ Short answer is, they didn’t. Their son Danny did, and he’s currently distracting them while we use the killer SUV.” 

“Then why isn’t he here if it’s his family car?” Jackie spoke up. “Why couldn't someone else distract them?”

“He, well…” Danny blanched.

“I have to be here cause I’m ghostly moral support. Danny can’t do math so Sam’s handling the tickets. And, um…” Tucker tried for a shaky grin. “Danny can’t drive?”

Said ghost boy glared. 

“Huh.” Jackie settled down, satisfied for now. “Valid.”

“Right, so. Don’t snitch or you’ll be cursed with….really warm pillows.” Tucker coughed. “And short battery lives on your phone. Yeah.”

“Anyway,” Danny interrupted. “We’re starting out at the Skulk and Lurk. Which ironically, is one of the few places in Amity not haunted by ghosts. They were nice enough to give all of you a Phantom discount for today, so stop by for some coffee after or some goth merch. Maybe stay for the poetry slam.”

Adrien’s hand shot up. “Do they serve coffee with ectoplasm?”

“That would be a hazard,” Danny answered. “So no.”

“Then what do the ghosts drink?”

“They don’t.”

Jackie frowned. “But I saw a video of you holding a venti frap from Starbucks the other day. If ghosts can’t drink anything, then why were you?”

“I didn’t say they couldn’t,” Danny backtracked. “Just that they don’t. Usually. You get the taste but it doesn’t do much in terms of sustenance.” He pointed at Adrien. “Though that ectoplasm coffee idea would probably do the trick.”

“So you eat ectoplasm?” The girl looked majorly grossed out. 

“Ghosts thrive off a lot of crazy things.” Tucker smirked. “Ambient ectoplasm, pure ectoplasm, emotions, their obsession, the souls of the innocent.” 

“You’re going to eat our souls?!” Adrien’s face went white as he pressed against the boy next to him. 

Danny smacked Tucker hard enough to dislodge his glasses. “No, I’m not the type of ghost to eat souls.” 

“But they exist?” Jackie pressed. 

“Sorry, can’t answer that. Gotta focus on the road now.” He did not want to get on the topic of the ghosts of the barren lands. “Speaking of, care to introduce our local botany?”

Tucker got the hint. “Absolutely! So right there is a really haunted bush. See the black one with the smoke coming off it? Looks like it's barely surviving a fire? Yeah if you ever see something like that during your time in Amity, stay away.” 

“What happens if I eat it?” The boy Adrien had been clutching asked, still patting the back of his friend’s back. 

“What was your name again?”

“Nick.”

“Okay, well Nick.” Tucker clapped his hands. “Someone did actually try that out last fall and they landed a permanent stay in the Ghost Zone.” 

“Word?” He was oddly unphased for someone not from Amity.

“No, he’s alive.” Danny cut in. “He just had a really unhealthy obsession with Ember and ended up nearly setting the nearby high school on fire ‘cause of the shrine in his locker. It took a whole day of Khan Academy lessons to snap him out of it.” He gestured out the window. “She’s the one that planted these with another ghost’s help. If you try to blast them, two more grow in their place. For now everyone’s just trying to avoid them until we can figure out what to do. As long as you don’t touch them, you’ll be fine.” 

“Ember?” Nick frowned.

Before Danny could explain, Jackie cut in excitedly. “She’s a ghost in her late teens whose obsession is having others chant her name. Or that’s the simplified version at least. It's said that what she really wants is to be remembered. Since ghost deaths are tied to their obsession, you only have to do a little digging into her background to realize why. The other day I checked out the Amity archives at the library and found out there was a girl named Amber McClean who died mysteriously in a house fire. She was alive during the mid eighties, and no one knows much about her except that she wanted to be a musician. I was hoping to maybe see her and ask-”

Jackie stopped suddenly, eyes meeting Danny’s in the rearview mirror.

“First lesson here.” Danny tried hard to keep his voice from shaking, but he couldn’t resist his harsh grip on the wheel. “Never, ever seek out a ghost to ask them about their death. Don’t think about it, don’t approach them, and don’t even ask about their obsession. Those two things are off limits, understand?” 

“But, I’m just curious….” 

Danny could see that he’d shaken her up somehow. Her eyes were downcast, and a part of him felt bad, but he knew this was important. It was the whole reason they’d planned this out in the first place. 

More gently, he tried to explain. “Aside from it being a touchy, painful subject to the ghost, their reaction is unpredictable. They could haunt you, or lash out if they’re less sympathetic to humans. Ember would definitely not take it well.” 

“But you’re supposed to be a good ghost, right?” Jackie’s mom ventured to ask. “Would you react the same way?”

Danny knew that tourists were bound to be curious, but he honestly hadn’t been expecting it to get so personal. With a sigh, he nodded. “I’d like to think so. I mean, I don’t want to hurt anyone, and I try my best to stop the ghosts that like to cause trouble. But I might act a bit more hostile, and I’ll ask you to stop.” 

“Phantom here doesn’t pick fights with regular people,” Tucker added. “But he will scare the absolute shit out of you if you get him mad. What he means by ‘hostile’ is ‘you’re gonna wanna cry for your mom.’” 

“Language,” Jackie’s mom warned. 

“Sorry ma’am.” 

“Oh c’mon, don’t exaggerate.” Danny rolled his eyes, turning a corner over to a seemingly innocuous brick building. “On a level of scariness, I’m probably a six on a good day.”

“Oh my god.” Adrien gasped, crawling over Nick to get a view outside the window. “Is that Casper High? I saw all the fight compilations on YouTube! It’s like, super super haunted!”

The rest of those in the GAV broke into heavy chatter, pulling out their phones to snap pictures of the school from multiple angles. Some were gushing over the scorch marks on the side of the building, while others craned their heads to try and catch a glimpse of a ghost. 

Meanwhile Danny and Tucker shared an equally amused look, the former shaking his head in wonder. It was times like this that reminded Danny that while a place like Casper High could be lame to him, it was practically a national monument to others.

“Like Adrien said, this is Casper High.” Tucker motioned for Danny to drive closer. “Land of expired lunch meat and weekly ghost attacks. We’re on winter break so don’t expect much action. The ghosts here only like to attack when the building’s actually full.” 

“And before you ask, no we’re not exactly sure why. Closest theory is that a lot of obsessions rely on the presence of humans. It’s empty right now for the most part, except for, well…” Danny paused for dramatic effect. To his delight, everyone leaned closer. “Sidney Poindexter.” 

“Sidney’s here?!” Adrien and Nick both shouted in unison, eyes gleaming.

“I follow one of his fan accounts, he’s so cool!” Nick pulled up a Twitter page and showed it to those around him. “We’re his biggest fans, but we didn’t expect to see him. Ever since Phantom declared him an ally, he’s been going around interacting with everyone.” 

“I thought he would only be there when school was in session,” Adrien agreed. “The last video I saw of him was posted before winter break. Some guy was stuffing a kid in a locker and Sidney shoved him into it instead.” 

“You know, he’s got some of the most interesting powers among Amity’s ghosts,” Jackie chipped in. “While a lot of them get most of their strength from their defensive powers, Poindexter’s telekinesis and overshadowing abilities are tougher than most. I’d say he practices possession if anything. His control and the length of time he can hold it out for is pretty impressive.”

Danny raised a brow in her direction. “You know a lot for someone not from Amity. How’d you even figure all that out? It’s not exactly common information.”

Jackie grinned. “Conspiracies and the supernatural are really popular in my family. Me and my mom are both super into Amity lore.”

“I think she beats me in that one, I’d say I have more of a passing interest,” her mom chuckled.

“Okay, maybe I’m more into it. One of my favorite cousins lives here and he tells me all the details, he’s super smart.” Jackie shrugged. “As for how I know, I don’t. It was all just my guess based on videos I’ve compiled. But your reaction confirmed it!”

It was quickly becoming apparent to Danny that the girl had much more than a slight similarity to his sister. The way she rambled about ghost lore reminded him of Jazz when she spoke about psychology. Though, she also reminded him of someone else. He just couldn’t figure out who. 

“Well, I wish I could call out Sidney for you guys to meet him, but he can’t stray much from school grounds. Even the sidewalk is pretty far for him, unless he’s got a host.” Danny frowned at Nick, prompting him to put his hand back down. “And no, we’re not taking any volunteers for that. But I’ll see if maybe I can get another video of him for you online.”

“Worth a try,” Nick shrugged. 

“Don’t worry, the next stop is way more interesting,” Tucker promised. “Skulker blew a hole into the ground there the size of a small car. Maybe we could even get down for a group picture!”

…. 

They did eventually end up taking multiple group pictures. The route they had mapped out for the tourists ended up including the Skulk and Lurk, Casper High, Amity Central Park, the Nasty Burger, the abandoned houses on the edge of the city, Axion Labs, the observatory, and North Mercy Hospital. There were a few other stops along the way that were lesser known, but not any less haunted in Danny’s experience, that they had given the tourists backstory on. 

Some of them had asked why they hadn’t stopped by the GIW Headquarters or Fentonworks, until Danny very dryly reminded them that he was what they got their funding to get rid of. Some seemed genuinely shocked, making Danny wonder if they really did forget he was supposed to be dead, despite his glow and neon eyes. 

By the time they had finished the tours, it was nearing five o’clock, taking about an hour for all five groups of ten. They didn’t cover nearly all the visitors, but Danny at least felt better now knowing that the majority of people that came were either fans or simply curious to get to know Amity. None so far had been actual ghost hunters intending to do harm. 

Even with all of them, he had a soft spot for their first group, which left with a promise to greet him when they saw Danny on patrol. 

He was so lost in thought about his day, that it took him longer than usual to realize the dinner table had gone quiet. 

“Sorry, did you say something?” He looked at both his parents, practically vibrating in their seats with anticipation. 

“We were saying that we forgot to tell you some very important news,” his mom exchanged a smile with his dad. “Your father and I got a very generous grant in exchange for a small tour of the lab.”

“A what!” Danny dropped his spoon, hoping he hadn’t heard correctly.

“I know, isn’t that great? We get to blab about our tech, and get paid for it!” His tone was completely lost on his dad. “The only downside is that they were only able to come in tomorrow. And you see, we already had a conference planned a few cities over with some fellow ghost hunters.” 

“Which means?” Danny wasn’t liking where this was going. 

“You get to do it!” His dad pointed a potato-filled spoon at him. “My own son, taking up the helm of Fentonworks!” He wiped away a stray tear. “Feels like just yesterday when we grounded you for missing curfew.”

“That was yesterday,” Danny groaned. “And I can’t. I’ve, uh, got a fear of public speaking?”

“Even better, you get to face your fears! Too bad we never found that hazmat of yours, it would’ve been perfect.” His dad frowned. “Or not, you’ve had a pretty big growth spurt.”

“Mom, you can’t be serious too, right?” Danny tried for the more reasonable parent. “I’ve never given a tour.”

That they know of.

“Oh sweetie, I’m sure you’ll do great. You’ve grown up on our tech since you were born!” His mom seemed to have already made up her mind about it. “Who better to do it?” 

“Will you unground me?”

“Is that a yes?” 

Danny sighed. “I guess.”

His mom grinned from ear to ear. “Good! Now, we’ve decided to stow away the more dangerous-”

Danny listened halfheartedly, keeping mental note of his own plans. If he was going to do this again, then he had to make sure it was completely safe. He’d have to put the portal to sleep temporarily so it wouldn’t open, but it would be best if he wanted to avoid any accidents. 

He momentarily considered calling Sam and Tucker for help, but pushed it away when he realized it would look suspicious if anyone from the day before saw him with them again in human form. 

It was just him, a group of strangers, and Fenton tech. What could go wrong?

….

Jackie had gathered a series of notes since her stay at Amity. For one, the population was quite nonchalant for being under constant attack. For another, their resident ghost hero was not like the rest. 

Putting it simply, Phantom was fucking weird.

She wasn’t one to wholeheartedly believe everything the Fentons said, one of those claims being that ghosts were unfeeling and mindless. She knew that was false based on the multiple eyewitness accounts and video evidence she had gathered of the Amity Park ghosts. They definitely had their own thoughts, feelings, values, and passions. 

They weren’t inhuman monsters, but they also weren’t entirely human either. They didn’t need human functions, they had supernatural abilities, and they had their own society. They were also fixed on the time period at which they died. 

Sydney Poindexter still talked like someone from the sixties, and the more ancient ghosts stayed rooted to their own cultures. It made sense, that’s how it should be. They were trapped in time while the world kept going. 

Except for one. That’s where Phantom came in. 

Though there was some flimsy evidence of him having existed for centuries, Jackie suspected he died around the time Amity became ghost central. That was two years ago. He should’ve stuck to the slang and the trends of the time, but he didn’t. 

Everything he did contradicted his kind. He evolved, he knew current trends and jokes. Phantom didn’t struggle to keep up with modern society like the others did. He didn’t awkwardly stick new words into phrases like Technus, or struggle to remember words like Yungblud. 

She’d gathered it all and compared it while he had given them the tour. It was the entire reason she had gone in the first place, when she could honestly have just asked her cousins to show her around. Jackie wanted to observe and make discoveries.

And she did, many of them. 

Phantom acted as naturally as a human did when he was around them. He sat firmly in the driver's seat, he blinked, and most importantly, he breathed. He hadn’t at first, she was sure of it. But after a while, she noticed his chest rising and falling, as if he’d forgotten he wasn’t supposed to do it. 

His explanation about the coffee made no sense either. He said it had no function, that he only drank it for the taste. But unlike the other ghosts, Phantom could look tired. He hid it under a veneer of cockiness during the fights, but closer up, she could see the eye bags. 

He drank coffee like someone who was running on little sleep, when again, ghosts weren’t supposed to sleep. In the videos she’d gathered, he would have multiple different caffeinated drinks throughout the day. It wasn’t just coffee. He drank Red Bull and Monster, both of which were absolutely not satisfying in taste at all. At least not to her.

Most damning of all was his picture. She’d read somewhere that flash photography often revealed strange things in supernatural environments. Jackie hadn’t thought much of it, but tried the trick anyway out of habit. 

What she ended up with was a photo where Phantom’s eyes looked closer to icy blue than his typical neon green. She could attribute it to his ice powers, but these looked duller and more humane. 

Phantom was an enigma. He was friendly, and somewhat snarky. He had the charm his hero persona warranted, but he was also entirely too human. It was unnerving.

It was wrong. 

Something was off with Phantom, and the part of her that loved a mystery wanted this one solved. There had to be a reason why her cousin scowled whenever the ghost was brought up, why he talked to her about so many other aspects of Amity Park, but not about Phantom. 

It was what led her to convincing her dad, an avid supporter of the Fentons’ inventions, to call in a favor. She rarely liked to use her family’s wealth to her advantage, but she needed more information, and there was only one group of researchers in this town who were willing to give it. The GIW was out of the question. 

It was meant to be simple and relaxing. She’d even invited the two guys from the Amity Park Tours, Nick and Adrien, after they hit it off. Jackie would go in, ask her questions, and leave. That was it. 

Except, she had made a new discovery, and it was that Danny Fenton was fucking weird too. 

Somehow, he managed to be more unnerving than Phantom. He really shouldn’t have been, not when he was so lanky and seemed pretty harmless overall. Although he was giving them the tour in place of his parents, he had opted to stay in casual wear, donning an oversized black hoodie, some loose jeans, and some red converse. 

He looked more like he belonged in a skate park if she was being honest. She tried telling herself that to push away the discomfort, but it hardly made a difference. 

The same went for his personality. He was pretty funny, and somewhat dorky, but he also always seemed on edge. She’d always thought that your own home is where you should feel the safest, but he very much contradicted that. He was the type to check his corners when he entered a room, and held a tightness to his posture even when he seemed slack. 

Danny was currently leading them down to his basement, where most of the magic apparently took place. He did the same thing as before when they crossed the threshold, looking side to side, then up and down. 

When the coast was clear, he nodded to himself and turned to them with a grin. “Right, so we’ve introduced ourselves upstairs. Anything else you want me to know? Specifically, are any of you scared of needles, sharp tools, otherworldly fluids, or anything along those lines?”

“Um, all of the above?” Adrien answered. “But I’ll put it aside for science and cry later.”

“Disassociation, love that.” Danny nodded. “Well, my parents didn’t exactly tell me what you were most interested in seeing, so I decided we would just do a general sweep. Maybe check out the Ops Center if that’s what you’re into.”

He pointed his finger upwards and Jackie balked. “That’s what that giant UFO thing attached to the roof is? How’d you even convince the city to let you install it?”

“Convince is a strong word,” he grimaced. “More like, we just kept ignoring their warnings and eventually they gave up once it actually ended up being useful.” Danny shrugged. “I honestly don’t know how my parents manage to get away with half of the things they do, but I do know how their tech works, so-”

He led them over to the first item lined up for them, a giant dream catcher with a green and black color scheme. 

“This,” Danny started. “Is the Fenton Ghost Catcher.” 

He proceeded to explain its function, answering their questions with ease. All the while, Jackie noticed how he seemed to keep his distance from the contraption. Sure, she understood why caution was necessary in a lab, but from the sound of it, the Ghost Catcher was relatively harmless. 

All it was meant to do was pull out a ghost from an overshadowed human, or target any ecto-contamination that one might have. It wouldn’t hurt a person who accidentally stuck their hand inside. The worst it would do was nothing at all. 

Yet, it might as well be a loaded gun with the way Danny was treating it. The behavior continued when they moved onto the next item, which sounded just as harmless as the last. It looked intimidating, easily being the biggest machine in the room, but it ended up being more of a disruptor than an actual weapon. 

“The name’s honestly not all that great. Dad said he would get around to changing it, but, well, it hasn't happened yet.” Danny grimaced. “It’s called the Ecto-Stoppo-Power-Erfier. And can you guess what it does?”

“Blasts ghosts into a million pieces?” Nick suggested.

Danny blanched. “Um, no but….good guess? It temporarily stops a ghost from accessing their powers. My parents meant for it to work on all of them, but after trial and error, they found out that it’s more unpredictable. It might cut off their ectoblasts, but they can still fly. Or vice versa.” He shrugged. “Honestly, a lot of their inventions are a surprise. They don’t always do exactly what was intended, but they’re still more advanced than nearly every other ghost hunting organization you’ll come across.” 

“Why do you think your parents are so much more ahead of everyone else?” Jackie hadn’t meant to let the question slip out, but she was genuinely curious. In her own research she’d realized that despite how silly the Fentons seemed, they were legitimate geniuses. No one did it quite like them.

Danny seemed to agree, a fond smile crossing his features. It was the first time since being around him that the slight chill in his eyes seemed to clear away completely. 

“I think they’re not afraid to go places others don’t even try going into,” Danny confessed. “They don’t care about looking silly or being wrong. They know they can just try again, that it’s better to be wrong than to not have tried at all. They’re pretty creative with their stuff honestly.”

Jackie nodded. “Makes sense.”

“I’ve got one!” Adrien smiled when he got called on. “You said this one doesn’t completely remove the ghost powers like it was intended to. How come it doesn’t? And why do some of the others not work either?”

“Oof, getting deeper here.” Danny paused. “Okay, keeping in mind I’m definitely not smart like my parents, and this is all just me guessing. One thing my parents have is that they know a lot about ghosts physically, but not mentally. What goes on up here-” He tapped the side of his head. “Is super important. Their obsession, how death has affected their psychology, or just how their mental state affects their powers in general. You have to take it all into account.” He waved at the power blocking machine. “Like this here. I don’t think it actually physically gets rid of a ghost’s powers.”

Jackie’s eyes widened. “It’s a mental block.”

He nodded. “Exactly. They’re still there, they just can’t access them. It’s why I think it doesn’t cancel them out completely. Some powers are just like muscle memory and you don’t really have to think about them once you know. Others require a lot more mindfulness.” 

“So if the Fentons knew this, they could improve their inventions so they would be more accurate,” Nick observed.

“Exactly.”

“Then how come you know and they don’t?” Jackie couldn’t help but think Danny sounded like he was speaking from personal experience.

That odd glint was back in his eye again. Wariness. 

“My parents don’t exactly believe in theories like this. They’re things you’d have to figure out by talking to a ghost,” Danny said. “And they wouldn’t be exactly thrilled if they realized I talked to the one they hate the most.”

“Phantom,” Adrien whispered. “I totally forgot you’re the one that lent him your parents’ SUV.”

“Yup.” Danny didn’t seem too thrilled to elaborate. “Anyway, this next thing is called the anti-creep stick. Any guesses what it does?”

It looked like a regular bat to Jackie.

“Does it electrocute ghosts? Rip their souls out of their body?” Nick gasped. “Turn them into Jell-o?”

“Okay, maybe you’re creative too.” Danny snorted. “It’s just a bat with the word Fenton on it, I was just messing with you.”

While the other boys laughed, Jackie wondered how they didn’t notice the obvious avoidance tactic Danny was using. There was something there, something they were getting close to that made Danny uncomfortable. She figured she’d poked around enough for now, but she kept her guard up as they walked.

Danny led them over to the rest of the inventions he had laid out for them, all pretty interesting if Jackie was being honest. But more interesting to her were his mannerisms. He was extremely expressive, his whole face an open book and his arms moving in wide arches. 

There was also a tendency there to downgrade himself slightly. Every intelligent remark would be quickly followed by a ridiculous joke or pun, and his otherwise tall height was hidden away by the heavy slouch of his shoulders. They were things that could be easily attributed to shyness, but Jackie didn’t think that was the case.

It was like he was doing it on purpose, like he had all these brittle attempts laid out to try and hide anything out of place. It made it tough for her to pinpoint it, but she knew some things were off. She didn’t know what, couldn’t place her finger on it…

“Look Jackie, I think this is the ghost portal.” Adrien’s whisper caught her off guard. She was so lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t even realized her feet were following behind the group. 

When she looked up, she saw what he was talking about. It was a large metallic doorway with black and yellow stripes going across it diagonally. It loomed above them, and even closed, she could feel heavy energy emanating from behind it. The boy’s beside her stared at it in awe, and she couldn’t help doing the same.

“Can we see what’s on the other side?” She blurted out. 

When she looked, she saw Danny shake his head. “No can do, sorry. I put it on sleep mode specifically for the tour of the lab. The moment I open it, some ghost is bound to come in.”

“What if we turned it off?” Nick suggested. “Just to take a look inside.”

Danny stiffened, expression taking on a darker quality. Jackie swore she felt the temperature drop a few degrees. 

Adrien’s shivering form beside her confirmed it. 

“Doing that would be a huge hazard,” Danny responded, sounding like he was forcing the words out through clenched teeth. “I can’t do that. I can’t…” He sighed and tried again. “It’s dangerous. But I can show you a 3D model of what it looks like when it’s on? It’s over on this computer.”

None of them denied the offer, Adrien specifically seeming all too eager to get rid of the tense air. From her position, Jackie was able to inspect Danny’s side profile, body going numb when she finally found what exactly had made her tick.

Danny was a very expressive person, from head to toe. But looking back on it, and seeing him now, she noticed there was an odd pattern. In between all those gestures and nervous habits, he had moments where he was completely still. Unnaturally still. 

Subtly eyeing his chest from her peripheral vision, Jackie realized he wasn’t breathing. He couldn’t be, not when he was making such a great effort to resemble a marble statue. The only thing moving was his hand on the computer mouse, and his eyes as they flitted across the screen.

Even that didn’t match though. Everything joint down was turning, but the rest of his arm was completely still. And his eyes, they were moving, but something was missing.

They weren’t blinking. 

Feeling a sense of deja vu, Jackie itched to ask the one question she hadn’t been able to the previous day. “Yesterday, Phantom told us that it’s rude to ask a ghost about how they died.”

Danny hummed, clicking open a folder and pulling up a multi dimensional model of the portal, but with a churning mass of green where it was now metal. 

“And see, I’m really curious about something.” Jackie could feel both Adrien and Nick’s eyes pinning her from either side. “There’s no ghosts around, and with the portal disabled, there won’t be any time soon. So, I’ve been meaning to ask you…”

Nick made a neck slicing gesture beside her but she ignored it. 

“How did Phantom die?” She blurted out. 

This time, she was certain she wasn’t imagining the rapid chill. Her breath fogged in front of her, goosebumps crawling all along her arms. Danny stopped moving altogether, and had she blinked, she would’ve missed the moment when his eyes flashed a colder blue. 

It wasn’t in her head. The eyes in the picture, they were the exact ones that were facing her now. 

Wait, when had he turned to face her? 

Jackie’s lungs suddenly felt like they had filled with water, and she stepped back. Still, Danny’s eyes bore into hers, pupils shrunken so intensely that his iris almost seemed made up entirely of blue. She didn’t know how to react, what to say to make him seem less like he was going to rip into her any minute. 

Nick’s hand abruptly shot over to grasp onto her arm, as if he were ready to jump in front of her any second. The movement seemed enough to snap Danny out of whatever trance he was in, body slowly relaxing from its stock straight position. 

“I don’t know. He’s a ghost, he doesn’t exactly advertise that information.” Danny’s form seemed to blur for a moment, forcing Jackie to squint just to look at him. “But I’d prefer it if you didn’t ask me a question like that again.” 

“Why?” Adrien chuckled nervously beside her. “It’s not like there’s a ghost here, right?” 

“We’re in Amity.” Danny reverted back to looking more normal, shoulders slouched as they were before. At least, it was what Jackie thought, up until his lips curled back in a grin. “Always assume there’s a ghost around.” 

There was no denying that his canines could tear through skin. 

….

“Thank you, I’ll leave a five star on Yelp!” Adrien laughed hysterically at his own joke, waving frantically back at Danny as all three of them rushed down the front steps of Fentonworks. 

Jackie threw her own polite thank you and goodbye as a precaution, snapping her head forward as they quickly walked away. She could sense that Nick was bursting with the urge to say something, but she sent him a warning glare, daring him to open his mouth before they were completely out of earshot. 

It wasn’t until they had rounded the block corner that she led them both onto the steps of a stranger’s house and groaned. “I wasn’t the only one that thought that was freaky, right?” 

“It wasn’t just you.” Nick was leaning forward, hands on his knees. “That was so confusing. Like one second he was really nice and chill, and the next I felt like I was being targeted. What the fuck?” He frowned, shooting her a glare of his own. “And what was that? Were you trying to get us killed?”

“It was only a question!” She crossed her arms defensively. “We didn’t go there to not ask questions.” 

“Holy shit.” Adrien seemed to be in his own world. “Does this mean we got two tours with a ghost?”

“Is that why he was so defensive about Phantom?” Nick’s eyes widened. “They’re afterlife friends or something? But that doesn’t make sense. He can’t be.”

“No, you’re right.” Adrien shook his head, chuckling in little puffs of air. “‘Cause that would be insane. A ghost can’t live with ghost hunters.”

“Yeah, what were we even thinking?” Nick huffed, standing up straight. “And walking into a lab like that so casually? Doesn’t make sense.”

Jackie bit her lip, not quite sure about that. 

Something was beginning to take shape in her head. It was a thought so ridiculous, so out there, that she didn’t feel bold enough to say aloud. It wouldn’t make sense, would make her seem like the crazy one. It just wasn’t possible.

Even as she tried convincing herself, another part whispered, “But what if it is?”

“Shit, my mom’s here to pick us up.” Nick stopped wherever he was in the conversation to look behind him, where a honking sound had rung. “You want a ride with us, Jackie?”

“No, no I’m good. My mom’s picking me up too.” She smiled, trying her best to appear more put together. “Thank you though.”

“Hey, no problem. Thanks for inviting us over with you today.” Nick looked over again at another honk. “Just text us whenever okay? It was cool meeting you.” 

“Same here.” Jackie waved to both of them, noting that Adrien still seemed the most out of it. 

Whatever conclusion he decided on, she hoped he would be okay. Perhaps she could check in on him later, make sure that he wasn’t losing his mind nearly as much as she felt she was losing hers. 

Jackie waited for the pair of friends to get into the car before pulling out her own phone. She was only there for another few days, destined to leave the crazy city of Amity behind eventually. She could forget her past few days there had ever even happened, that it was just a regular tourist visit to any regular city. 

Jackie could, but it wasn’t in her nature. She was a Weston after all.

Determined despite her shaking fingers, she dialed a familiar number and waited for the voice on the other line to answer. 

After a few rings, she heard a monotone “hi” and the shuffling of papers. 

“Hey Wes.” Jackie checked around her, making sure she was completely alone. “Can we sneak out of your place today? I need you to help me investigate something.” 

“Depends.” He sighed. “Is it worth me getting grounded over?”

“Maybe. Yes.” She took a deep breath. “I need you to help me figure out the connection between Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom. I have an idea but…I want to make sure before saying it.”

The shuffling on the other end went completely still. “You figured it out?”

“That they’re….” She didn’t need to finish the statement. 

“Yeah. You did!” There was the screeching of a chair and choked out laughter. “Forget that. I have all the proof compiled here. I never thought I would see the day when someone-shit.” More laughter. “Come straight to my room once you and Aunt Maddie get back.”

“What’re you gonna show me?” She fidgeted, catching her mom’s car approaching.

“Everything.” Wes’ voice grew conspiratory. “All the proof you’ll ever need to prove Phantom and Fenton are one and the same.”

[apinklion01]

Trailing Along the Dark

Day One: Treat

A03 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34214308/chapters/85128058

Next ->

No warnings for this chapter!

“Hey Elle, do you mind grabbing the vinegar? I think it's in the cabinet behind you.” Mr. Fenton was busy stirring the large pot as Jazz poured some sugar into the water.

Elle turned around and gave a quick search before locating the bottle. “Found it! But why do we need vinegar? I thought we were making candy apples, not sour apples.”

“It’s a key ingredient to prevent the sugar from crystallizing while we dip the apples in the pot,” He explained.

“Plus vinegar’s doesn’t have high fructose levels like corn syrup, and it’ll balance out against the sugar,” Jazz added.

“Ohh.” Elle’s brows furled in curiosity. “What’s fructose?”

“It’s a science term you’ll learn when you’re older. Don’t worry about it.”

Bored from waiting around, Elle turned to look at Sam and Tucker, who were busy making pumpkin flavored sugar cookies. Both were busy making the dough earlier, and the kitchen practically smelled of pumpkin spice for about an hour.

“I was getting tired of waiting, what’s next?” Tucker asked as both of them took out the bowls of dough.

Sam looked at the printed recipe. “Hmm, looks like we’re rolling them until they’re 1/4th of an inch thick, then cookie cutting time!”

The doorbell rang, but Elle already had an idea who was there. “I’ll get it!” She told everyone before racing over. She opened the door, letting Mrs. Fenton, Danny, and Valerie inside.

“Thank you Elle,” Mrs. Fenton commented. “Is everything going alright?”

“Yep, me and the kids haven’t had a problem!” Mr. Fenton answered with a grin. “You’re just in time too, did you bring the food dye?”

“Got it,” Danny answered, quickly grabbing the package from one of the bags full of apples and giving it to his dad. “We’re really going all out with the Halloween treats this year.”

“You better believe it Danno! After all, we'll be making sure that no ghosts give Amity Park too much of a scare, so we might as well toss in these treats as a bonus!”

“Me and Valerie get to take some treats as well after we’re done, right?” Elle asked, peering into the ton of apples inside the bags.

“Absolutely! You two can help wash the apples right now since we’re almost done with the mixture.”

Elle helped carry a bag near the sink while Valerie found a few bowls to put the apples once they were rinsed.

“I’m so excited, this is going to be like my second Halloween ever!” She whispered to her sister, a huge grin stuck on her face.

“Is it better than your first?” Valerie asked.

“Well yeah, since I don’t have to move like a bunch of miles away the next day. If we’re lucky, Wulf’s going to show up by sundown, and then soon afterwards Flynn and Danny’s aunt!"

“Are you excited to see them?”

“Yeah, it’s been like forever! I bet they’ll be so happy to see me too!”

They hurried along with washing the remaining apples. Elle couldn’t wait to show her costume to Wulf or Flynn. She knew that the werewolf ghost would be wearing a costume to pass along as a human.

‘I wonder if Flynn will dress up as something too. Maybe a scarecrow, or a knight, or a ninja… There’s so many things he could dress up as! Wulf's definitely going to dress up as something giant though, he could just say he's wearing huge boots for the costume.'

“All done on our end!” Valerie announced.

“Great, the mixture’s done too!” Jazz replied.

“Valerie, bring a bowl over. Jazz, you get the skewers,” Mr. Fenton told both as he carefully reached to lower down the heat. Elle could hear the sound of the mixture bubbling. “Elle, why don’t you go help Danny and his friends with the cookies? We don’t want too many cooks in the kitchen.”

“Hey Elle, do you mind grabbing some cookie cutters?” Danny called from the kitchen table.

“Okay, where are they?”

“Oh they’re right over here,” Mrs. Fenton called her from across the kitchen counter, pointing at a nearby cabinet. She was busy preparing for the route that she and Mr. Fenton would take while they patrolled Amity Park during Halloween. Though Elle was pretty certain that Danny and his friends would find their own way to make sure no ghosts did anything too scary or threatening.

‘Guess it’s a good thing that he made a truce with them earlier,’ She thought as she brought the cookie cutters over. There were a ton of them in the cabinet, but she picked out the ones in the shape of a bat, a cat, a pumpkin, a skull, a witch hat, and of course a ghost.

“Dibs on this one,” Danny said, picking the ghost shaped cookie cutter.

“Hey, I wanted that one,” Elle complained. “Oh well, guess I’m taking the cat.”

“This one’s mine,” Sam chimed in, snatching the bat shaped cookie cutter.

Sweet, that means I get the skull!” Tucker cheered. “Which way are we going trick-or-treating this year?”

“We’re definitely going along Flower Street, that whole road’s packed with Halloween decorations, which undoubtedly means the owners are going to pass out candy,” Sam replied as she stamped out the shapes.

“Can we all agree to skip the street where Dash lives?” Danny asked.

“Yeah I’d say so,” Tucker said, Sam nodding in agreement. “I overheard a rumor that his street isn’t planning anything for Halloween.”

Elle let their conversation drag on. It was a nice break from everything that had been going on like schoolwork and secretly helping Valerie with ghost patrols. Other days had their problems for sure, like dealing with wounds from fights, hiding the truth away from the adults, or putting up with people around Amity Park who still didn’t like Danny and her.

‘But some days like these are sweeter than any candy I’ve tasted.’

[ikleesfiction]

Miss Americana

Fandom : Crossover Hawaii Five-0 x Chicago PD TV Word count : 5,610 words Pairing : Steve McGarrett x Danny Williams; Jay Halstead x reader

Summary :  You met Williams-McGarrett family in Los Angeles and they introduced you to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Your boyfriend, Jay Halstead, doesn't know anything about this. Yet.

Author's note :

This is the fourth one shot of "Will you follow through if I fall for you" fic continuation. It would be better if you read it first. But if you don't, here's the quick summary.

This happened after I listened to a few podcasts (1  🞂  2  🞂 3) of Scott Caan and Alex O'Loughlin, passionately talking about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. 

This fic does not comply to the canon of Hawaii Five-0 or Chicago PD. So if you don't follow one of the other, it should not be a hindrance, I think. Here's hoping that I'm right.

Disclaimer

◢◤

"Would you like another cup of coffee?

You look up from the book in your hand to the waiter addressing you.

"Oh, I would love to. But it's already my fourth cup of the day," You grimace at him. "Maybe I'll take a bottle of water, please? Cold, if you have one."

The waiter grins at you, "Sure thing," then leave with your empty cup of coffee.

You are supposed to meet your friend, Tim, at his house on The Bird Streets to work on a song. However, he got a sudden appointment and asked you to wait for his call to reschedule. So here you are, sitting at a Cafe/Bistro somewhere in Los Angeles, drinking too much coffee.

You check your watch and your phone. It's almost lunchtime, but your phone is still showing nothing. Alright then, you thought to yourself, back to the book. Your eyes immediately find the last paragraph you read on Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.

Five pages later, the waiter puts a bottle of water on your table, "Here it is. You sure you don't want another cup of coffee?" He jokes with you.

You laugh in response, "No, really, thank you."

The waiter leaves with a smile and turns to the table across from yours. That's when you notice somebody's sitting there.

"Good afternoon. Only for two?" The waiter lays two menu cards on the table.

"Four. My husband and daughter are parking the car." The man answers him with a smile. He has a little boy sitting next to him. His son, you guess, since both of them have blond hair. Their noses look similar too.

"Danno, can I have ice cream for lunch?" The boy begs his father, pointing at one of the delightful pictures on the card.

"Hmm, maybe." The father hums his reply. He exchanges a knowing glance with the waiter.

"Do you want anything to drink while you're waiting?"

"Soda!" The boy yells from his chair, who laughs at his father's glare.

"How about two glasses of orange juice?" The father checks to his son before confirming it with the waitress.

"Okay, be right back with your drinks."

After the waiter leaves, the boy begins to prattle about everything to his father. About giraffes at the zoo ("They are so tall like Dad!"), about his favorite ice cream flavors ("Cookie Dough. But I like Kame's shave ice better, Danno"), about swimming at Venice Beach ("There's a lot of people there, Danno. I like our beach more")

The boy doesn't even look like he needs to breathe. You can't help but let out a chuckle. His father looks up at you and shares a grin. "That's great, Charlie," He comments to his son.

You let their conversation become a white noise while you read your book.

At your periphery, you see someone passes by. However, you don't expect a hand to suddenly sneak your phone from the table. Your hand instantly grabs that wrist, trying to stop it from stealing your phone. But the thief forcefully pulls his hand out of your reach and moves away.

Unfortunately for the thief, he runs straight to the father at your neighboring table. The man has no problem flipping the thief over and pushes him to their table. When the thief squirms away from his clutch, the man lifts the thief's elbow high up and turns it behind his back in a very painful lock. The unpleasant sound coming out of the thief's mouth proves how excruciating it is.

The man's eyes wander. Many shocked faces are staring at him, including yours. "It's okay, I'm a cop," He explains.

In contrast to the crowd, the boy looks at his father in awe, gleefully clapping his hands.

"Charlie, why are you clapping? You're not supposed to clap at this. Oh my god, you are just like your father! Happy to see any aggression," The man rants as he takes out a cable tie from his trousers' pocket. You don't even know why he got cable ties in his pocket. He efficiently ties the perp's hands behind his back and forces him to sit.

Only then, the man addresses the crowd again, "Has anyone called 9-1-1?"

"I did. The police are on the way," One of the cafe's staff squeaks from the door, with a phone still in her hand.

"Excellent! Did you hear that? Your ride would be here soon," The man tightly squeezes the thief's shoulders. The thief could only reply with an agonized grunt.

Everybody else resumes their activities with a sporadic look to their table.

The boy picks up the stolen phone from the floor. It fell near his foot during the short scuffle. "Danno," He hands your phone over to his father.

"Ah, thanks, Charlie," The man ruffles the kid's hair and kisses the top of his head.

"I believe this is yours?" The man returns the phone to you. "Hope it's still working?" He cringes at the spiderweb marks on the phone screen.

"Thanks. Probably not. But it's alright." You smile at the man and offer to shake his hand, "Y/N Y/LN, thanks again for helping me,"

The man takes your hand, "Hey, no big deal. Danny Williams. And this is my son, Charlie," Danny brings Charlie in front of him. You extend your hand to Charlie as well.

All of a sudden, you hear voices yelling from behind you. "Danno! Charlie!"

You look back to see a tall, dark, imposing man and a beautiful teenage girl rushing in your direction. Charlie shouts back at them, "Daddy! Gracie!"

So you guess they must be Danny's husband and daughter.

This new man drops down to Charlie's level and checks on him, trying to see if he's injured. "Are you okay? Charlie?"

"Dad! Dad! Danno was soooo cool! He pushing and then flipping and then that man went aaargh!" Charlie re-tells the scene to his father, holding his elbow behind his back to show him.

Couldn't really understand his son's story, the man asks his husband to elaborate, "Danny, what's happening here? Why are you arresting this man?"

"I'm not arresting anybody, Steve. We don't have jurisdiction to make an arrest, you know? Since we are in LA, not Hawaii? I'm just holding this man until LAPD shows up," Danny clarifies to his husband, Steve.

"But why?" Steve is still confused.

"This guy here, what's your name?" Danny barks at the thief. But his mouth stays glued. "Really? Would you prefer my ex-SEAL here asking you the question?" Danny gestures in Steve's direction.

Steve stands tall. His hands are folded in front of his chest. His biceps bulge in his tight t-shirt. The thief's face turns green, looking fearful. Steve's scowl was probably not helping either.

"Danny?? What's going on here?" Steve begins to lose his patience.

"What?? It's no big deal, babe!" Danny yells back at Steve. "This guy here tried to nick this woman's phone. I'm just helping her," Danny motions in your direction.

"Y/N, here's my husband, Steve McGarrett, and our daughter, Grace," Danny continues to introduce you to his family. You shake their hands and exchanging simple pleasantries.

"As I said, I just helped Y/N to get her phone back. Now we are waiting for LAPD," Danny ends his explanation.

Shortly a police car comes, and two officers quickly take their statements. Initially, the police officers are bemused to find the thief already sat with his hands tied behind his back. After Danny explains that he is a Detective from Honolulu PD and how he prevented the attempted theft, the police officers understand the situation. They ask if you'd like to press charges on Tom Norris, that's the thief's name according to his ID. Considering you're not hurt, you decline on pressing charges. The police are gone with the thief sooner than you expected.

"Can I treat you lunch for your trouble? Shoot! A super late lunch?" You corrected after checking your watch.

"Hey, don't worry, it's no trouble at all," Danny says to you with a big smile.

"No, no, seriously. You guys were on holiday, I guess. But still bothered to help me. Lunch is the least I can do."

Before long, they arrange to get a table for five and talk a lot during the meal.

◢◤

"So you guys are from Hawaii? That's nice!" You tell the family.

"See, Danno? That's what you're supposed to say about Hawaii. You're the only one who describes Hawaii as a pineapple-infested hell hole," laments Steve to his husband.

"I'm just telling the truth, babe. How about you, Y/N? Where are you from?" Danny tries to find out.

"Originally from The Netherlands, Amsterdam. But I moved to Chicago last year," You reply.

"Now that, Steve, is a city that would appreciate seasonal changes," Danny nods his approval of Chicago.

"Only you, Danno, who whines about constant sunshine." Steve grumbles.

Grace and Charlie don't react much to their parents' bickering. Too used to their silliness. But you still find it quite funny.

"So you guys are here for vacation?" You ask the family.

"Kind of. We are on holiday. Also, we are visiting the colleges here for Grace, who will graduate high school next year," Steve throws his right arm around Grace's shoulder.

"Yes, we are on an excursion to prove to Grace that LA universities are not better than the University of Hawaii," Danny quips from Steve's left.

Grace whines at his father, "Danno..."

"Danny here doesn't want his children to be far away from him," Steve enlightens you. "But I think going to school in LA would be better than The Netherlands. Wouldn't it, babe?" Steve winks at Grace.

"Do not joke about that, Steven!" Danny elbows his husband hard.

Grace looks thoughtful for a moment, "Y/N, did you go to college in the Netherlands? What do you think my chance to study there?"

"Gracie, can I come with you to This Otherlands?" Charlie innocently chirps to his sister.

Steve is laughing so loud, even after Danny punches his arm.

"What about you, Y/N? What are you doing in LA? Are you on vacation too?" Danny questions you after the laughter receded.

"I'm here for work. Most of the time, I'd do it remotely from Chicago. But sometimes I have to make the trip here or to Amsterdam," You tell them.

"What do you do?"

"I'm a music producer," You give a simple answer.

"What instruments do you play?" Steve is curious. "Guitar?"

"Mostly piano and synthesizer. I do play guitar, but I'm just an okay guitar player. I wish I could play better,"

"Dad plays guitar too!" Charlie happily declares as he points at Steve.

You cheer at Charlie's enthusiasm, "Does he? That's great!"

"Yeah, he plays very well. Maybe Dad can teach you to play better," Charlie directs you.

"Oh, yes, that would be awesome," You wholeheartedly agree with Charlie, as the rest of the table laughing at the idea of Steve teaches music.

◢◤

"Danny, I was wondering if you could explain something to me," You turn to the man.

"Shoot," Danny nods as he puts down his juice glass.

"The arm lock that you did to the thief. Where did you learn that? Did Steve teach you that?" You ask him, genuinely want to know.

"Well, even though Steve here was the Navy SEAL," Danny glares at his husband, who replies with a smirk, "I have been working as a cop for more than 20 years now. I know some moves too,"

"But that's not a cop's move," You contradict him.

"How do you know any cop's moves?" Danny confronts you back.

"My boyfriend is a cop in Chicago," You give Danny a sheepish smile.

"Ah, I see. Did your boyfriend teach you self-defense?"

"He did. I'm nowhere near good as Jay. But it's a start," You answer Danny.

"Of course. If he's not good at it, then he's not a good cop," Danny comments without sounding too arrogant.

"Jay also taught me about guns. Personally, I don't like it, but he needs me to know about it, especially gun safety. So..." You shrug.

Danny nods his understanding, "Yeah. Be glad that he doesn't bring home grenades or other explosives," Danny gives Steve a stink eye. "Unlike some Super!SEAL here,"

Steve is immune to that look. It doesn't seem to affect him anymore.

You smile at their interaction, "Jay was an Army Ranger. After he came back, he went to Police Academy,"

"Really?" Steve looks interested.

"Oh, here we go," Danny sighs at his husband.

Steve grins but decides not to comment on it any further. He goes praising Danny instead.

"But Danny is being too modest here. He is a great fighter. Sometimes he's even better than me. Which lots of people find it surprising, considering I was a SEAL,"

"and don't you forget it, babe," Danny smirks at Steve, who returns it with a chaste kiss.

You sigh internally. Looking at the lovely couple made you miss your boyfriend, Jay.

"In all seriousness," Danny begins, "I practiced Jiu-Jitsu since high school. That's where the moves come from," He pauses to sip on his drink.

"I got my Blue Belt when I entered The Police Academy. For me, I think, I learned how to fight better in Jiu-Jitsu than what they taught us there," Danny continues.

"Do you also teach it to Grace and Charlie?" You ask the parents.

"Yeah. Danny taught them both as early as possible. Grace already got her Yellow Belt when we first met. Now she is working for her Purple Belt," Steve brags. Danny also looks so proud. Grace, though, tries so hard not to roll her eyes at her parents.

"Me too! I will get my Yellow Belt soon! Right, Danno?" Charlie exclaims.

"Of course you are kiddo. After that, you surely can beat your Dad here," Danny ruffles Charlie's hair. Steve offers his palm for a high five, but Charlie punches it instead. He giggles when Steve is faking to be hurt by Charlie's tiny fist.

"Do you think I could learn it too?" You inquire to Danny.

Danny and Steve look at each other. You're waiting for their answer, hoping that they will agree.

Before they decide anything, Grace interrupts, "We can go check out the place that Sensei Egan told us, Danno."

"Yeah, that's a great idea," Steve agrees to his daughter's suggestion. "We can check that dojo for Grace, meeting the instructor. Maybe could show some moves too for y/n,"

"Okay then. Grace, share the dojo address with y/n. We can meet you there tomorrow morning, what do you say, y/n?" Danny asks you.

You're supposed to fly back to Chicago next afternoon, but what the hell, you are very interested in this offer. "Yes, sure. If you don't mind me crashing your holiday plan again?"

"No, not at all. We need to check out that place anyway." Steve waves off your worry.

Grace passes her phone to you. "You can puy your number there. I will forward you the address,"

You tap your number to Grace's phone before groaning when you remember that your phone is dead. "Could you e-mail me instead? I don't think I could replace my phone soon,"

Danny doesn't even try to hold his laugh at your poor luck.

◢◤

The next day, you take an Uber to the gym. No, it's The Dojo. You correct yourself. When you step in, Charlie is shouting at you from across the room. "Y/N!" Standing next to his sister, Charlie crazily waves at you, worried that you could not see him.

You remove your shoes, placed them accordingly at the remarked spot. Walking towards Charlie and Grace, you see the Williams-McGarrett clan wear similar outfits with other people in The Dojo. The only differences between them are their belts. Danny wears a Black Belt with a red stripe, while Steve wears a Brown Belt. Grace has Blue Belt, and Charlie has a White one. Knowing that you will do some workout, you wear a black t-shirt and training pants. Definitely a contrast in a room full of jiu-jitsu outfits.

Danny and Steve are talking to a guy on the other side of the room. This guy has a Black Belt with more stripes than Danny's, indicating that he is the instructor here.

"Hey, guys. Good morning," You greet Grace and Charlie. They reply with a big smile.

"Just out of interest, do you guys always bring your uniform on your holiday?" You gesture to Grace's clothes.

Grace laughs at your question, "It is called Gi. Yes, we are always bringing them along on holiday," She laughs again at your shocked face. "No, I'm joking. It's because we know we will visit this dojo, so we have our Gi with us,"

Soon Danny and Steve come over to your side. "Hi, y/n. So I talked to Sensei Marcus there," Danny gestures to the guy he spoke to. "We are going to follow their training for today. You can watch from the side if you're not sure you want to do it. The first hour would be the class for Kids and Teens,"

You see Grace and Charlie lining up in the center of the room with other children. They seem to be divided by belts instead of age.

"The next hour would be the adult class," Danny pauses for a moment. "If you want my suggestion, I encourage you to join the Teens class. I hope you don't feel insulted by that."

You chuckle at his words, "Not at all. I understand,"

"If it's too much, don't hesitate to stop and move aside. Everyone will understand," Steve adds.

You exhale softly, readying yourself, "Okay," before joining the line.

The first fifteen minutes, they start with stretching. So far, you have no problems with it. You practice Yoga for the last few years. You know how to stretch.

The next one, they teach you how to fall correctly. Which turns out to be a hard thing to do. At first, an instructor's assistant helps you. After a few moments, she moves away to help others. But you're still not doing it right. So Danny pulls you aside and teaches you privately for the rest of the hour.

You fall so many times until it tired you out. You cannot even get up from the mat. Your shoulders would have been bruised with so many times you landed incorrectly.

"Still interested to learn this?" Danny grabs your hand to help you get up.

Even though the lesson exhausts you, you feel great. You learn a lot, even from doing the same thing over and over again. "Hell yeah!" You grin at Danny.

"Crazy woman!" Danny pats your shoulders. Right where it hurts the most. You can't help but flinch away.

"Hurt, wasn't it? Why don't you go sit down on the outside of the mat with Charlie?"

Charlie sits on one side of the mat, a bottle of water in his hand. He is watching Grace, who has her hands on Steve's Gi, trying to throw Steve down.

Danny silently pays attention to his husband and daughter on the mat. But you can see his hands slightly move as if he's the one sparring.

Shortly, Grace has a chance to push Steve. Steve lost his balance for a moment before countering her attack. Grace would've fallen down hard if Steve didn't hanging to Grace's Gi so tight to slow her fall.

"That's great, Grace," Steve says to his daughter as he helps her up. They bow to each other to end the spar. Danny is clapping from outside the mat, "Good job, Monkey,"

Of course, you and Charlie follow Danny's example to cheer for Grace.

You still sit on the side of the mat, now also accompanied by Grace. You watch the next class practice, where Danny and Steve spar with other students for about an hour.

After the class is done, Steve taps on Danny's shoulder, "Danny, could you help me with this move?" He nods in the direction of the mat.

Danny responds with rolling eyes at his husband's antics.

Grace runs commentary in the background, "Dad didn't actually need help from Danno. However, you're not allowed to ask a higher belt to spar with. It's a sign of disrespect. But Dad and Danno often work differently between each other,"

You see Danny and Steve taking place at a ready position. It takes time before anybody falls, or one locks each other. They move fluidly. When one throws the other, they quickly bring them down along then keep them in a lock. The locks are soon countered, and they back up again. The great thing is they look like they enjoy sparring with each other. They share a laugh whenever someone throws the other or someone holds the other in a lock. You find that very interesting.

The sparring ends when Danny makes a grappling move that Steve cannot counter, so he has to tap out.

After the sparring, Steve sits back with you and his kids while Danny goes over to Sensei Marcus. Steve asks your opinion about Jiu-Jitsu, whether you're still interested to learn it.

"Very much, yeah. The first thing I will do once I'm back in Chicago is to find a Dojo," You excitedly tell Steve.

"Well, lucky for you, Sensei Marcus here knows a lot of Jiu-Jitsu instructors," All of a sudden, Danny joins your conversation. Sensei Marcus stands beside him.

"Sure, if you want to keep learning Jiu-Jitsu, I will give you some references of my fellows in Chicago," Marcus informs you.

"That would be awesome!"

Marcus shakes your hand, "Good luck!" and moves to shake hands with the rest of the Williams-McGarrett family. "Thanks for visiting our dojo. Please come again whenever you're in LA,"

They all look tired, but their smiles beam as bright as Hawaiian sunshine.

◢◤

Two weeks later, in Chicago,

You see your boyfriend's truck parked in front of your house as you walk home from the bus stop. You walk much slower than you used to. Your body is hurting all over the place, but you feel elated.

The day after you came home from Los Angeles, Jay was caught in a hard case. He had to fly out to New York and liaised with NYPD SVU to solve it.

You missed him a lot, for sure. Jay called you whenever he could for these past two weeks. Texted you every day too. But you have not got the chance to tell Jay about your new interest in Jiu-Jitsu.

After your last trip to LA, you promptly checked out the Dojo that Sensei Marcus referred to you. You were thrilled to find out that it's only fifteen minutes bus ride from your house.

You met with one of the instructors there and asked for a private class. Because that's what Danny advised you to do. "After you have a better understanding of the lessons, then I want you to go train with other people at the dojo. But for the first five or six months, you might've been better with one-on-one lessons,"

The instructor, Professor Louisa, is delighted to provide. You work on a schedule three to four times a week. The professor initially suggested only two meets in a week. But considering your occasional trip abroad for work, you prefer to do more lessons when you're in town.

This is the third week you've been learning jiu-jitsu in Chicago. Scraps and bruises are inevitable. Jay would freak out if he saw them before you could explain to him.

Jay's flight back from New York landed about two hours ago. He must've been coming directly to your place from the O'Hare. The house smells amazing when you enter the room. Following your nose leads you to the kitchen. You find your boyfriend pulling out what seems to be garlic bread from the oven, "Hey, babe. You're back!"

"Hey, you! Perfect timing!" Jay secures the tray aside before stepping closer to you. He puts one hand on your waist, the other one on your back. Moving even closer to kiss you.

His passion makes you forget your bruises for a moment. When Jay pushes you playfully, your shoulder hits the nearest wall. You instantly cry out in pain. "Argh!"

"What's wrong?" Jay stops everything he's doing to you right away.

"Nothing, I just got some bruises," You rub the pain from your shoulder.

"How come?" Jay begins to take off your t-shirt to check on the bruises, but you move away from his grasp.

"Hold on. Let me take a shower. I must've been rank from sweat. Then I'll tell you everything," You kiss Jay one more time before going to the bedroom.

As you eat the pasta primavera that Jay made, you ask him about his case in New York, "How was it?"

"It's done. We did what we have to do,"

Not interested in talking about his case, Jay interrogates you instead, "So, where did you get the bruise? I swear, I only left the city for two weeks, and you're already in trouble," Jay shakes his head.

"I'm not! I just joined this gym. Dojo, I meant. I'm taking Jiu-Jitsu lessons!" You cheerfully tell Jay.

"You what?" Jay pauses from drinking his wine.

So you told Jay the whole story. About how someone tried to snatch your phone when you're in LA. How you met the Williams-McGarrett family from Hawaii. How they got you into jiu-jitsu.

"It's so fun, Jay. Yeah, sure, I got bruises and scraps. But whenever I got stuck with my work, I go have a practice at the dojo, and then I come home feeling energized," You confess to your boyfriend.

"Really?" Jay looks at you, disbelieving.

"Uhuh," You nod as you swallow your spaghetti. "You know what, you should come and see the dojo. It might interest you too,"

"I know about martial arts, babe. I taught you how to punch, remember?" Jay reminds you.

"Yes, you did," You say in giggles, "Professor Louisa said she won't teach me how to punch,"

"Of course, Jiu-jitsu has a different approach than other martial art, say karate. Or boxing," Jay puts down his fork on the empty plate. "You sure you enjoy it?"

You hold Jay's hand and look into his eyes, "I am. This is something I want to do seriously, Jay. I admit part of it comes from you and your job. Like you always said, I need to be able to defend myself. Because you think I could get drag into your case one day,"

Jay puts his other hand on top of yours, looking somehow regretful, "Babe..."

"No, no. But I also do this for myself. Even though my body hurts, I feel great about myself. I feel more confident. It's really inspiring,"

Jay brings your hand to his lips, "Okay then, as long as you're happy with it. But I'm still going to take you to the gun range,"

You roll your eyes in response, "Of course, you will,"

◢◤

A week later, Jay walks up to The Dojo on the second floor. Someone greets him at the entrance, "Hey, man. Can I help you?"

"I suppose to pick up my girlfriend. She is training with..." Jay tries to remember the instructor's name. "Louisa?"

"Ah, yes, Professor Louisa. You must be y/n's boyfriend. I'm Professor Andy, the head of this dojo," The man offers his hand.

"Jay Halstead," Jay shakes Andy's hand.

"I think she will finish in ten minutes. You wanna see her practice?"

"Sure. If it would not be disturbing?" Jay hesitates.

"Not at all. Y/n is the only one in there right now," Andy directs Jay inside the dojo. He asks Jay to remove his shoes before stepping into the room.

Jay watches his girlfriend silently. He winces a couple times when you fall down. But he is amazed to see you immediately stand up again.

"She's resilient, your woman is,"

Jay chuckles at Andy's remark, "Yes, she is,"

Shortly after you bow to your instructor, you see Jay standing on the side with Professor Andy.

You walk towards them with a smile, "I see you met my boyfriend, Prof,"

"I did, yeah," Andy nods. "I don't think Jay would be interested in jiu-jitsu, though," He comments.

"Correction, I'm not interested to see you got thrown down repeatedly," Jay points out.

"Hey!" You hit Jay's arms as both Professors laugh at you.

"But that's how we are supposed to learn. If you don't know how to fall, you won't get back up again," Louisa says serenely.

Andy hums his agreement before ushering you out. "Alright, get out of here, you lovebird,"

When you're in the locker room, changing your Gi, Jay approaches Andy again. But before Jay could say anything, Andy hands a leaflet to him.

"Y/N told me you're a police officer. You might be interested in these classes,"

Jay takes it with a laugh, "Thanks, man. I'll check it out," He puts the leaflet on his jacket pocket and pulls out his card.

"If anything happens when Y/N is here. Or if you need anything I can help with, please give me a call," Jay sounds solemn.

Andy takes the card, "Don't worry, man. We take good care of our students here,"

"I know," Jay nods.

Soon you come out with a gym bag on your shoulder. "See you next week, Prof!"

Andy waves to the couple, "Bye, y/n. See you again, Jay!"

◢◤

Two years later,

You step out of the record store in Pilsen empty-handed, failing to find the vinyl you're looking for. You start walking west to the bus stop when you hear a commotion ahead.

You see a guy pushing people out of his way. He keeps looking behind his back like he's running from something.

"Police! Get out of the way!" You hear other voices shouting.

So this guy seems to be running from the police, you thought to yourself.

The man tries to shove you aside, but your reflex is much better. Your hands instantly grab the front of his shirt. When he tries to push you away, your right foot finds his inner left calf and sweeps him down.

When he tries to move away from your grasp, you lean down and grip his right wrist tightly with your right hand. You put your right elbow beside his right ear while your left elbow is placed underneath his elbow. Your left-hand moves to hold your right wrist from below his right hand. His arm is essentially locked when your left bicep snugs against his right tricep. You raise your elbow slightly from the surface. The more he wiggles his way out, the higher you raise his elbow from the surface, the more painful the lock is.

You hear an impressed whistle from above. When you look up, you find Jay and Hailey standing in front of you. Jay gets a huge grin on his face while Hailey is sporting a shocked look.

"Nice takedown, babe," Jay compliments you.

"Thanks. You might wanna take over from here, though," You say to your boyfriend as you hear few more steps rushing towards you.

You loosen the lock after you are sure Jay gets his hand on the perp. He grabs the suspect up from the floor and pushes him towards the wall.

You find a hand extends in front of your face, offering to help you stand up. You look up to see it was Hailey. You take her hand with a soft thanks.

Once you're back on your feet, you look around to see the other members of the Intelligence Unit staring at you. Adam, Kim, and Kevin are mirroring Hailey's initial look of surprise. Jay's boss, Hank Voight, looks impassive as always. But you catch an amused twitch at one corner of his lips.

"Man, at least give me time to feel my hand again! That bitch could break my arm, you know!" you hear the perp complaining when Jay prepares to cuff him.

Without saying anything in response, Jay folds the perp's wrist inside. The perp yells even louder because of the wristlock.

Kevin moves to take the man away from Jay before any further damage could happen. He ushers the perp right away to a nearby cop car.

Jay turns to check on his girlfriend, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." You nod back at him.

"I didn't know you could do that, Y/N," Hailey tells you. "You never tell me that your girlfriend practiced any martial arts," She continues to slap Jay's shoulder.

You answer with a sheepish smile, "It's kinda new,"

"Blue Belt in Jiu-Jitsu is not "kinda new" babe," Jay elbows you playfully.

The team boss pats your shoulder once before walking back to his car, "Good job, Y/LN,"

Kim, who's partnered up with Voight today, quickly follows. But not before inviting you for drinks, "You have to tell me all about this over drinks!"

"See? Even Voight agrees. We'll make a cop-out of you soon, Y/N," Adam offers his fistbump to you.

You meet his with your fistbump but shake your head, laughing, "Not in a million years, Ruzek,"

He only replies with his laugh and walks towards Kevin and the perp.

Jay puts his arm around your shoulders with a huge smile, "C'mon, Kev and Ruz can take care of the perp for a while. Hailey and I will drop you home."

[merlin-wolfgang-trades-hale]

Look...maybe it’s just me catching up with 9-1-1(TV) and seeing how close they are as a family and with the family of the members but like....so hear me out. 

Danny becomes involved with one of the Hawaiian firehouses. It starts off small. Him showing up when they’re hosting a blood drive. (This could be as early as season one and it’s something he saw they were doing and it reminded him of home and his dad and his dad’s squad.) 

Keeping updated on fire fighter stuff becomes a bit of a hobby outside of Five-Oh and for when he doesn’t have Grace with him. ( It’s hard, but he knows he should have more in his life other than work and his kid and a romantic relationship isn’t happening if it’s really early on then DADT is in effect and even if Steve isn’t straight he’s not saying anything.) He donates his time and maybe some baked goods that turn into actual meals that are healthy because Grace become concerned about the cholesterol of her dad and the firemen who are like her grandpa Eddie!

When Steve has to leave Hawaii for Navy reasons, Danny becomes in charge of Five-Oh and wants to appear strong for his team. He knows they can talk to them but Danny feels like he has to fill in Steve’s shoes so he doesn’t want to share his concerns and fears with them, knowing they probably feel similarly. So he befriends the fire squad even more and they become his second family away from Five-Oh. 

Some...department disputes that’s normal between branches pops up and so maybe they’re not as in awed by the McGarrett name as those of the HPD. So when Steve comes back they’re not jumping over themselves to convince Danny to include Steve as well. Steve takes it a bit personally at first. It’s really just his jealousy, and fear, of maybe losing Danny. He doesn’t accept it easily, but it becomes a fact...Danny has friends out side of him. Danny has friends outside of people he knows. He’s cool with it. He’s really really REALLY not.

When Danny’s in the hospital after giving Steve part of his liver, the squad shows up with so many balloons, plushie giraffes, snuck in food that’s Danny’s favorites and they also throw him a ‘welcome back’ party at the station after he’s released(that whole arc still hurts my soul. Watching it just leaves a whole bad taste in your mouth and the favoritism for Steve was so damn clear in that scene Steve got so much and Danny got basically nothing. Like honestly...just put him in another room and don’t torture the man who just gave part of his organ to safe his best friend watch as the room reads ‘We’re estatic Steve’s alive! lol guess we’re okay with Danny making it too. and this is not about the characters or actors btw, this is me pissed at PL and the writers still >.> )

Jealous Steve always fighting for Danny’s free time and being blocked by the fire squad is also my jam. The lengths Steve would go to also be included in something Danny’s doing despite not being invited and his usual charm isn’t working?  Jealous Steve recreating or commenting that the stunt he just pulled was basically the firefighter’s final physical exam and he aced it/would ace it! 

Jealous Steve showing off to Danny so much he’s like a freaking peacock at this point, in fact that’s what he’s known as at the fire station. It was hilarious at first. Kinda sad after a while and the squad had to have a talk with Danny and that lead to Danny having a talk with Steve, which ends with Steve kissing him. 

McDanno happens. 

Steve’s jealousy does NOT go away. 

He drops off Danny at firefighter events, as well as picks him up. Makes shows of kissing him to make sure any hot fire fighter doesn’t even fucking try to make a move on his Danno! 

Protective Steve makes an appearance when while somewhere and that TV Magic/Unlucky Luck strikes and Danny’s near by the station when disaster strikes....it’s a rough call breaking a lot of protocol, but Danny grew up in a fire house with a fire fighter for a dad(maybe even for a while was a volunteer firefighter) and the cap lets him help, gets him geared up, and Danny’s in a burning building that’s structure isn’t secure AND HE’S IN DANGER AND STEVE’S NOT WITH HIM! 

When Five-Oh gets there, Steve’s frantically looking for his Danno, heart in his throat, until he spots him. Doesn’t give a fuck about lines just get out of my way get out of my GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY LT COMMANDER MCGARRETT NEEDS TO CHECK HIS DANNO, DAMN IT! 

He finds him and kisses him deeply, Danny’s gotta get stop by the hospital, he’s hurt but it’s not lethal.

Being asked to wait for something that wasn’t lethal made him think back to all the times he needed to use his badge to see his Danno. He’s thankful for that but it’s almost not enough. 

He plans his proposal and secures his future with his source of happiness. 

[clynnra]

Strongest Together

After that disappointing last ten minutes of the series finale, I didn't think I would ever write for my beloved boys again. But, thanks to binging lots of episodes of the show on ion since it started airing there (happy to post this story on one of ion's Five-O Fridays) and reading many fix-it fics, I had to do this for Danny. I will be forever bitter that our last glimpse of him ever was hurt (physically and emotionally) and alone on Steve's beach. So this is my way of fixing that sad image. There's background (literally, just a few minor mentions) Steve/Catherine and Danny/others, but this is a McDanno story. I didn't want to vilify Steve, since he should take care of himself and find peace, so I hope that comes across. Finally, eternal thanks to my beta PhoebeMiller for making my story way better than it was with her fantastic feedback about story line, diction, and all the grammar. She's an awesome writer in her own right - go read her wonderful stories! And always thanks to SheppardMcKay for inspiring me to post fic.

Steve and Danny. Danny and Steve. Steve left Danny. Danny was alone.

Sighing, Danny knew he had his kids, his family and the team. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt so fucking much. Days like today, it still hurt to breathe.

Danny didn’t begrudge Steve finding his peace. Or his taking care of himself. Hell, he tried to instill self preservation in his Neanderthal time and again. But when Steve finally took his advice and put himself first, it had ripped Danny’s heart to shreds.

It still hurt so damn much because of the way Steve left. The timing sucked. Just out of the hospital, Danny could barely walk even with his cane. This proved Steve was hiding the depth of his own suffering. Normally, he'd never leave Danny when he was injured. Danny smiled and remembered Steve raiding his house for cookies after he'd been shot in quarantine. The fondness bubbling up just about killed him.

More memories of this year from hell came back, and Danny had to sit down. He'd moved himself into Steve's house after Doris died because he sensed Steve needed him. The loss was just too much after Joe's death. When Joanna had died, Steve was there for him, cooking him eggs most mornings, claiming routine was good. Danny knew Steve was talking about himself, too.

They'd fallen into something Danny dared call a relationship when he was awake late at night, insomnia raging. He and Steve lived together. They ate meals together most nights. They walked Eddie, locked up the house and said good night like a couple.

A couple of idiots, Danny grumbled now. Or was he the biggest idiot? He'd made this huge leap into what proved to be a lonely abyss.

What hurt the most was Steve pretty much rejecting the idea of the two of them growing old together on that beach. Danny didn't know for sure when his best friend would return from his Kung Fu adventures. He'd only counted on Steve coming home at some point. Now, when he replayed their last conversation, the dagger twisted in his chest even more.

The sad fact was - Danny loved Steve. Not just like a friend. He loved him like I want to spend the rest of my life with you even though you drive me crazy, you caveman. He never told Steve he was in love with him. Danny was scared and convinced such an admission would be suicide. Because he feared their friendship would be over, was so sure of it, in fact, that he kept all of his feelings locked away. He didn't want to fuck up the best friendship he'd ever had.

Not to mention, Steve was straight. He'd never given Danny any hint that he was interested. Unless you counted Steve's octopus arms and his total disregard for Danny's personal space. Which Danny did not dwell on. No way could he let himself go there. That's why he'd pushed Steve into dating. First Brooke and then the vet. Neither had really worked out, and Danny did not allow himself to question why. He would have kept on searching for the perfect mate for Steve, too, if he hadn't left. Even though Danny wanted it to be him.

No one knew Danny's secret. Although he mostly dated women, he had a few relationships with men while at Seton Hall. He kept his attraction to men close to the vest. He'd thought his college experiments were in the rearview mirror until the giant goof stole his crime scene.

To distract himself from the heartbreak over Steve’s dating, he’d focused on reconciling with Rachel in a vain attempt to stitch his family back together. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, it just didn’t work since he was in love with Steve. When they finally figured out they were better as friends, Rachel shocked him with advice to stop dithering and tell Steve. He was so taken aback by Rachel’s accurate insight into his heart, past all his bullshit, he’d gone to that bar and met Joanna. Like so many other things in his life, hooking up with her to forget Rachel and Steve had ended all kinds of bad. Spectacular didn't even cut it. Joanna's death wasn't his fault. This he knew. But he couldn't stop feeling guilty. She was with him in the car because of how he'd chosen to mend himself, and she'd died after everything he'd done to try to save her.

And of course, there was Catherine. He envied her for having Steve the way he wanted. She knew every inch of him. She knew so many more secrets.  Steve had opened his heart to her - and what had she done? She'd pulled a Doris. More than once. And the idiot took her back.

Weren't they a pair? Danny knew he was a hypocrite for being angry with Steve about getting back with an ex time and again. He didn't care. He couldn't help feeling upset that Steve was with Catherine (probably this very minute) and not him.

+++++++

Three months had passed since Steve left, and Danny’s PT was coming along well. He texted Steve a few times a week to check in, while Steve returned his texts within a couple hours. They’d spoken on the phone a few times, and Danny lost himself in the comforting cadence of Steve’s voice. Their calls ranged from about 20 minutes to almost an hour, and their talks were nice. But during one of their conversations, as he listened to Steve chatter on about what he did in whatever destination he was currently staying, Danny realized that Steve’s journey to find himself didn’t include him. Steve didn’t need him like Danny needed him. And that revelation punched the breath out of him. He tried to cover it, but Steve, with his keen SEAL senses, heard it.

“Danno, you okay?” Steve interrupted his story about what he saw in Scotland.

“Yeah, babe, I’m ok. Just still get tired sometimes. Had PT this morning and energy kinda zapped. You mind if we pick this up some other time? I’m gonna have a lie down.” Danny chewed his lips as he lied. It was a white lie, but still.

“Ok… you take care buddy. I love you.” Steve said with a note of concern.

“You too.” replied Danny. He couldn’t tell Steve he loved him on their calls because he didn’t want Steve to hear how in love with him he was. Texting “love you, too” was fine, but when he said it, he felt his heart in his throat.

Putting his phone down, Danny glanced around himself. He was still at Steve’s house sitting on his couch. Eddie was laying on the floor nearby. And Danny came to a decision. Steve was out finding himself, and Danny really needed to do the same. He had spent so much of the past ten years being part of Steve and Danny that outside of being a father to Grace and Charlie and being on the task force, he‘d kinda lost himself. He felt like his life wasn’t making sense after deciding to just be friends with Rachel and then the tragedy with Joanna. He knew that in order to move on with his life, he had to make a change. He would always be there for Steve, but it was time he was there for himself.

A few days later, Steve called again. This time he was in Ireland. He told Danny about the beautiful scenery there, and after he was done, he asked, “So, what are you up to now, Danno? PT almost done right?”

Danny took a deep breath and started. “Funny you should ask that. I, um, I’m gonna move back to my place, Steve.”

There was a moment of stunned silence.

“Why? Danny, is something wrong?” Steve replied, trying to keep a lock on his emotions.

“No, babe.” Danny grimaced and continued. “I just, uh, think it’s time to move back. You know, you’re out there trying to find yourself and your peace without me…”

Steve gasped, “Danny…”

Shaking his head, Danny kept going. “and that’s fine, Steve. I’m not trying to make you feel bad. You deserve to find the peace and happiness you need. I just need to find myself again a bit. After Joanna died, I felt sorta lost. And I was starting to make sense of my life again before Daiyu Mei swooped in…” He didn’t mention and when you left me. Danny shook that thought from his head.

“So, I need to do this. To remember who I was before I was part of Steve and Danny…” he finished with a fake chuckle.

“Danno, are you sure?” Steve asked, a note of sadness in his voice.

Danny nodded even though Steve couldn’t see him. “Yes.”

There was another moment of charged silence.

“Ok, Danno, I got it. You need this, so I got your back. Whatever you need. Hey, I gotta head out, but I’ll call again, alright?” Steve sounded like he was happy for Danny but wasn’t quite believing it.

Danny replied, “Sure. Bye, babe.”

Steve said clearly, “I love you, Danny.”

“You too.” Danny croaked out. When the call ended, he dropped his phone next to him and covered his face with his hands taking in a few deep breaths.

It was time to find who he was again without Steve.

+++++++

Danny finally completed his eight weeks of PT, and his doctor okayed his return to light work aka paperwork. He still had to check in each month since it was his second gunshot wound in his chest in two years. As part of his process to return to Five-O, the governor mandated Danny to complete visits with his therapist since he survived such a traumatic experience. At first, he was annoyed he had to go to therapy again; he’d rather eat pineapple on his pizza. But during the couple of months of sessions about his kidnapping and near death at the hands of Daiyu Mei, he found himself working through various issues including the death of his partner Grace, his guilt over Matty, his complicated relationship with Rachel, Grace’s kidnapping and almost fatal car accident, Charlie’s paternity and medical condition, as well as other work related stresses and traumas. The governor’s directive for Danny’s therapy was once a week for two months, but he continued past that, and for a few weeks, he was going twice a week. He just unloaded whatever was burdening his mind and heart. He felt stronger for it. He even told the therapist about his feelings for Steve, and she suggested that to find closure or peace about it, he should consider discussing his feelings with Steve. Danny knew she was right but wasn’t ready yet. However, talking things out gave him the perspective he needed.

With the end of PT and his ongoing therapy doing well, he told the kids first he was moving out of Steve’s house. They were shocked, Tani near tears while Junior took the news stoically. But once Danny told them why, they were very supportive and helped Danny move to his now renovated place over two weekends. Lou, Quinn, and Adam also chipped in their time to help with Danny’s move. Since Junior moved in with Tani, they figured out a schedule of who would check on Steve’s place and when including the upkeep of the grounds. Junior and Tani told Danny once he was cleared for regular work, he could share some of the maintenance duties. They'd take care of it for now. Tani joked that maybe they could get Kamekona to hire some of his family. Danny rolled his eyes and smacked her. None of them had enough money for that enterprise.

Eddie was another story. Poor guy was just adapting to his master being gone. Now they were relocating him. Danny decided Eddie would live with him, and Junior would take him as time allowed since he loved Eddie, too. It was a good arrangement, as the loyal dog loved each of them. And he enjoyed the extra attention he was getting.

Danny felt like things were starting to get back to the new normal without Steve while he was at work doing paperwork and running point for any cases from HQ if needed. He surprised himself that he got the hang of the HQ computer table after getting lots of help from the team. Quinn was especially patient, and he appreciated it.

While Danny settled back at work, he still kept in contact with Steve. His best friend would mostly text him to check in with how things were going and send some pictures of gorgeous landscapes and appetizing food. When they did talk on the phone here and there, Steve would catch Danny up on things with him. Danny winced when Steve spoke about Catherine, but tried to sound as supportive as possible. He had to keep reminding himself that if Steve was happy with her, he would just have to accept it. And during one of these phone calls, Danny promised himself that he needed to start dating again. He may be in love with Steve, but he also owed it to himself to move forward and not spend the rest of his life pining after his best friend who was happy with the love of his life.

In a bold move, he asked Adam to be his wingman, explaining he needed to shake things up. He wanted to reclaim who he was before Daiyu Mei and even before his last disastrous attempt to get back with Rachel. What he left unspoken was his need to reinvent himself without Steve.

Adam didn’t even raise an eyebrow and had replied, “You got it, brother. You were there for me when I was lost without Kono, so I’m here for you.”

Danny was so grateful. They went to nice bars, the types professionals patronize. Danny did score dates with some doctors, lawyers, and accountants. He surprised Adam by dating both men and women, but after that initial shock, Adam supported his choices, even offering to set Danny up with friends. He even went on a few double dates with Adam and Tamiko. The companionship was nice, and the sex even nicer, but Danny didn’t feel like any of these people would help him get over Steve. At least he felt like his life was more balanced and not just focused on Steve all the time.

When he first mentioned to Steve that he was dating again, there was a silence long enough that Danny thought the call dropped. He could easily FaceTime Steve but just could not find the courage to see his beloved face again. The phone calls offered distance, a buffer. And Danny needed it so he could continue to support Steve and survive his updates when they included Catherine.

Just when Danny was ready to ask his best friend if he could hear him, an exaggeratedly upbeat Steve jumped back in.

“Hey, buddy, I’m glad you’re getting out there again. You deserve to be happy, too.” His voice cracked on the last bit.

After that last odd tone from Steve, they continued like normal when Danny filled him in on the latest with Grace and Charlie. The rest of the call was pleasant with some of their usual teasing.

But on the next call when Danny mentioned how he and Keith went on a double date with Adam and Tamiko, Steve choked and started coughing on the phone.

“Hey, babe, you ok? Don’t choke on the butter in your coffee, alright?” Danny joked.

Steve got his breath back and said, “Sorry, went down the wrong tube. Wait, so you’re dating guys now, Danny?”

Danny didn’t care for Steve’s tone, but answered, “Well, I did date a few guys back in college, but just stopped once I met Rachel.” He didn’t mention and once I met you. “Is that gonna be a problem for you, Steven?”

Steve quickly responded, “Of course not, Danny. I’m just shocked you never told me this in the over ten years we’ve known each other. And for the record, it’d be hypocritical of me if it was.”

Now it was Danny’s turn to gasp. “Wait, when the hell were you dating guys, Steve? In all the years we’ve been together, you’ve only talked about women.”

Sighing, Steve said, “Well, I didn’t really date guys, Danny. When I was deployed, I helped my teammates out like they helped me. So to be more specific, I’ve had sex with guys, but not actually dated them. I enjoyed the sex and was even attracted to some of the guys, but DADT kept me from being open about being sexually attracted to men.”

Danny couldn’t help himself. “Did Cath know?”

Steve chuckled briefly. “Of course, man. I told her I slept with several men and was attracted to some. She was cool with it since she had some bi friends and family.”

Danny admired Steve’s honesty, and he wanted to be honest, too.

“Steve, dating these men and women - it’s nothing serious. Don’t get me wrong, the company and sex are great, but they don’t compare to you.”

It sounded like Steve sniffled on the other end of the line. His voice was slightly hoarse. “And just so you know, partner, no one will ever replace you. No one can. Hey, we gotta grab some food…”

Danny teased, “Try not to ruin your food with pineapple, you animal. Enjoy your meal.”

Snickering, Steve added, “Copy that.”

Steve’s voice became sincere again. “I’ll call you again soon, Danno. I love you.”

Automatically, Danny replied, “You, too.”

Steve’s breath hitched before saying, “I miss you, Danny. Talk to you soon. Bye.”

Danny exhaled, “I miss you, too. Bye, babe.”

Once Danny placed his phone down, he was like, good going Williams. You almost told him you’re in love with him while Cath was right there. Don’t be an idiot next time.

+++++++

It had been a week since that eye-opening phone call and about six months since Steve left, Danny had been back to regular responsibilities at work for about a month. His therapy sessions were twice a month now. He was still seeing people but didn’t feel the desperation to date like when he first started a few months ago. He felt confident in his own skin again, feeling better both professionally and personally. But he was still in love with Steve. Danny finally decided. Fuck it. I’ll always love the maniac, I just have to live with it.

And it came to a head during one of their phone calls almost two months later.

Danny couldn’t keep himself from asking, “You happy with Cath, Steve?”

There was a pause before Steve said, “I wouldn’t know. She left about two months ago on another CIA assignment. She offered to come back when her job was over, but I told her that I need stability and consistency and her work didn’t provide that. I said I was proud that she found her way and happy for her that she loved her job. I told her that I would always love her, but she deserved someone who was in love with her.”

Danny’s heart sped up with hope. “So, what are you saying, Steve?”

Steve pushed air through his nose. “I’m saying that I couldn’t commit to her because I’m in love with you.”

“Steve…?” Danny’s voice shook with emotion.

“Danny, every time I told you I love you when we ended our calls, I meant it as I’m in love with you. You never repeated it to me so I assumed you didn’t feel the same way. But once you told me you dated guys, I got hopeful again. And after that phone call, I stopped sleeping with Cath. And she knew something was up with the no sex but never called me on it. That’s just not what we do. Things are easy for us, and when they’re not, we still pretend that they are. But my heart couldn’t just be satisfied with what was easy and familiar anymore. I needed the challenge and passion. I need you.”

Danny confessed, “Babe, I’m in love with you, too. I just couldn’t tell you since I thought you had your happily ever after with Catherine. When I figured you guys were permanent, I dated to move on without you. But it’s no use, Steve. I want you. I want everything with you.”

Choked with emotion, Steve whispered, “Danny.. I’m coming home.”

“I’m so glad, babe. I love you.”

+++++++

Two days later, Danny was at baggage claim. He spotted Steve immediately, tall and gorgeous with a full beard and short but longer than military regulation hair. Steve saw him too, and his face lit up with a huge smile that crinkled his eyes. They moved quickly through the crowd to each other. As he got closer, Danny spotted the specks of white in Steve’s hair and thought it just made his big goof even more handsome. Finally, they were in front of each other. Dropping his duffel, Steve wrapped his arms around Danny hugging him tightly. He tucked his face into Danny’s hair and inhaled deeply.

“Danno, I missed you so much.”

Danny just squeaked out a “me too” while he hugged Steve. He was too busy inhaling the travel worn scent of Steve. He couldn’t get enough of the man he loved. He rubbed his face into Steve’s chest, reveling in the physical presence he had wanted so much all these months and at long last had.

They moved so their foreheads were resting against each other. Breathing the same air, not aware of the bustle of the people around them.

Danny broke their peaceful bubble by moving his face away so he could look into Steve’s eyes. “Did you find the peace you needed, babe?”

Huffing and licking his lips, Steve shook his head. His left hand held Danny’s face as his gaze never wavered. “Not yet, but I’m working on it. I know I’ll get there with therapy and what I need most.”

Danny tilted his head questioningly at Steve.

“You.”

Then Steve kissed Danny. Eyes fluttering closed, Danny returned the kiss. Like this thing they were doing happened every day.

Feeling a surge of joy, Danny broke the kiss with a smile. Smiling himself, Steve opened his eyes.

“I think I need you to repeat yourself, I didn’t quite hear you,” Danny said with a smirk as he pulled Steve down again. This time, the kiss was firmer. Danny nipped Steve's bottom lip and he opened his mouth. Always the control freak, Steve cupped Danny's face so he could move him where he wanted. He hummed contentedly as he tasted Danny. A couple times, their teeth clacked, but their tongues soothed the minor mishaps. The frantic exploration continued until they needed air.

Eyes opening and panting a bit as their lips parted, they grinned at each other goofily.

“I think we gave the airport enough of a show, babe.” Danny joked.

Steve chuckled. He sobered a bit and said, “Danny, I love you.”

Danny smiled brightly as his heart thudded happily. “I love you, too, Steve. Let’s go home.”

“And where is that exactly?” Steve asked mischievously.

“Wherever you and I are together.” Danny replied quickly.

Appeased, Steve grabbed his bag and slung it on his left shoulder. He pulled Danny under his right arm as they walked to the car.

Danny with Steve. Strong on their own. Strongest together.

FIN.

[datawyrms]

Ectober Day 1: Hunter I’m doin the calendar kindly shown to me, though I might check out the weekly one too! ok time for your regularly scheduled mess.

“So how’d it go Danno?”

“Uhh, okay I guess. Beam’s kinda narrow though.” The half ghost gave a shrug, reaching back and grabbing the ‘improved’ thermos off his back. “Might be easier to keep on me, but I keep thinking I’m gonna drop it or something.”

“Ah, you’re like your old man! The extra helft just feels right, doesn’t it son?” For a large man in a bright orange jumpsuit, Jack certainly nailed the general feeling of an excited puppy.

It still threw Danny a little, having his dad talk to him about ghost hunting. Or at least talk to him about hunting ghosts that weren’t him, anyway. “Maybe? I just have more practice with the old one.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to your mom about the size! Can’t have our son hampered with shoddy equipment!” He took the smaller thermos, eying it for a moment before placing it on the table. “Any time to chat family business, kiddo?”

The teenager’s face twisted as he considered those words. Ghost hunting was a ‘family’ thing now. Oh no. He totally was turning into his dad. Wasn’t he meant to be in college before that happened? “I’ve still got work from Lancer…maybe later?” Later when he wasn’t internally shrieking at the horrors of being dad.

“Sure thing! Just call if you need any help kiddo.”

Amazing how much more time they had to help out with schoolwork when they weren’t obsessed with trying to rip him apart molecule by molecule. He should be happy about it, but it still made the back of his neck tingle with barely suppressed irritation. Was it really they had more time because they felt guilty and were more careful about the stuff they started building without a care in the world? Or was he worth paying attention to now that he hunted ghosts? That he was one, sometimes? He groaned, glaring at his desk and opened homework. Why Hamlet thought talking to a skull about pencil types wasn’t really grabbing his attention. But Mr. Lancer probably wouldn’t be thrilled if he tried submitting a paper on why Hamlet’s dad wasn’t a ghost, since he should just go avenge himself instead of shoving it on his kid.

Really, the best thing was being able to talk about ghost stuff and actually have them listen, instead of constantly hearing he was wrong for thinking he had feelings. Which was much more interesting than the lamest ghost to even ghost. At least the Box Ghost put in an effort.

Which is why he ended up back downstairs helping his parents try categorizing ghosts, since their previous assessment of ‘all are the same horrible mindless monsters’ was obviously false.

“Skulker’s weird. He’s actually really tiny, all that robot stuff he just added on.” He bit his lip, tapping at a photo of said ghost. “And he needs a hobby. One that isn’t trying to skin me!”

“A ghost that hunts other ghosts! I wonder if that’s more common than we think.” Maddie looked pensive, glancing between the boy and the photograph.

“Well Danny’s got ghost hunting in his blood! Doesn’t look anything like that ghost either.”

“I dunno. It isn’t like I actually go to the ghost zone very often.” Though being categorized as similar to Skulker certainly pinched a nerve.

“Maybe Jack, but I don’t think that’s quite right. Danny, you’ve had your ghost sense as long as you’ve been a half ghost, right?”

“Yeeeeah? So?” He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to push away how weird and wrong it felt to be asked that.

“Well you never seemed very interested in ghosts until you got your powers, sweetie.”

“It wasn’t like there were any ghosts to be interested in before that.” He shot back, blinking a bit at his own prickliness at the observation. It wasn’t a big deal, why did he care? “Not any we’d seen anyway.”

“Oh, oh! How do you feel when it goes off kiddo?”

He leaned back a little at the question. “Cold? Annoyed? I don’t really think about it?”

“You just try and find somewhere to transform so you can go face whatever’s setting it off, right?” Her voice was warm, but the intensity in her eyes was making him feel even more on edge.

“I guess. Someone has to deal with it.”

“Hmmm. I wonder if it’s really your human half that prompts the ghost fighting, or if it’s something on your ghost side…”

“Hey mom? You’re doing the thing. That we talked about. With Jazz.” Danny clutched at his arm, wondering if it’d be more rude to just vanish and leave the conversation that way. Yet Jazz insisted he should speak up instead.

“Oh wow Maddie, you’re a genius! Why would a newly formed ghost waste energy having a way to track other ghosts if they didn’t intend to hunt?” Jack’s excited chattering was probably loud enough to make Danny’s muttering inaudible.

“So that’d be an aggressive, territorial type of ghost.”

“Mom.”

“They might gain strength by defeating others and stealing their energy, or simply be powerful enough that scaring some humans isn’t nearly enough-”

“Can you stop talking about me like I’m a test subject? Please?” He cut in, trying to focus more on the pressure he was putting on his  arm rather than his words.

“Oh! I’m sorry sweetie. I really didn’t mean just you, just in general. It’s a fascinating subject.” 

Yup. That was him. A fascinating subject. It made his stomach churn, but he fought the feeling off. They didn’t mean anything by it. He was just being silly. He wasn’t really worried that the thing his parents were most proud of in him would end up being some weird, creepy ghost instinct he got when he fried himself. Of course not. That’d be silly.

The Fentons were ghost hunters. It was just a coincidence. His ghost half had nothing to do with the guilt that made him feel like he had to protect the town. 

He took back the worry about turning into his dad. He’d prefer that feeling right now, honestly.

[aedelia]

Seven Lives (DannyMay2020- Favorite AU)

Warning, angst ahead.  You have been warned. (Many thanks to @lexosaurus for putting up with my comma abuse and various grammatical mistakes)

Danny May 2020

Favorite AU

Seven Lives

There was a friendly ghost cat that liked to hang out a few streets over from Fentonworks.  Danny saw her almost every day, whether he was trudging to school, or when he was patrolling.  She would come out and wind around his legs, purring and meowing for his attention.  

The residents of the street didn’t seem to mind her presence. She was very sweet, affectionate, and she helped keep the minor ghost pests down. 

Danny didn’t think much of it when she didn’t come to greet him Wednesday morning, he didn’t see her every time he walked by. Sometimes she was busy napping in the sun, chasing shadows, or demanding affection from other people on the street.  When he didn’t see her at all Thursday, he was concerned.  By Friday morning, he was worried.

The walk home was uneventful and devoid of friendly tail or whisker.  He kicked the door open with his foot, dumped his bag by the door, and headed down the basement stairs.

“Hey Mom, Dad, I’m gonna go hang out with Tucker and Sam,” he said while descending to the basement.

“Hey Sweetie!” his mother called back. “Since it’s the weekend that’ll be alright, just make sure you get something to eat before you go.”

As Danny hit the bottom step, his nose was assaulted by the electric-lime tang of ectoplasm.  He took a hesitant step forward into the lab, not really wanting to see whatever experiment his parents had managed to cook up.

His mother smiled at him, ectoplasm splattered across her hood and hazmat suit.  “How was school today, Danny?”

“Danno!” His father boomed, also covered in ectoplasm. “Do you have a lot of homework?  Maybe you can come help us in the lab after you’re done hanging out with your friends!”

Danny’s eyes slid from his exuberant parents, to the lab table in between them. Dread filled him as they then followed the slow drip, drip of ectoplasm from the floor back up to the table surface.  His muscles froze and his stomach dropped to his feet. An icy feeling crept up his throat.  He felt the temperature drop around him and further chill the air of the lab.  His heartbeat, normally very slow and steady, jumped in his chest like a panicked rabbit.

Danny couldn’t catch his breath.  Every shallow inhale brought the sickening scent of lime fizz and chemicals into his lungs.  His head pounded and a static tingling crawled from his shoulders to his fingertips.  A roaring noise keened in his ears but over it all he could still clearly hear the slow dripping of ectoplasm rolling off the table and platting on the floor.

‘Oh no, oh no, no no no no...’ His hands trembled as they clenched into fists at his sides and he swayed slightly as he saw just where the friendly cat ghost had been.

He stumbled closer to the table.

His mother turned to him, the light reflecting off the red lens of her goggles at odds with her concerned tone. “Honey, are you feeling alright? You’re looking a little green.” She reached for his forehead with an ectoplasm stained glove.

He dodged out of her reach, barely avoiding the puddle of green at the base of the lab table. 

He peered down at the table. “Ms. Chonkers?” he whispered faintly, just below the threshold of human hearing.

The partially dissected ghost lifted her head fractions of an inch and gave a pathetic wheezing, “Mew.”  She then sagged back down to the table.

Danny’s eyes darted between his parents before settling back on the unfortunate ghost in front of him.  Her core was exposed, the golf ball sized light quivering in the sterile air of the lab.

He swallowed down bile as he desperately tried to think of a way to get his parents away from the cat before they managed to hurt her any more.

“Danny?” his mother said.

Danny swallowed again. “Just wanted to check in.” He flicked his eyes to the cat and back, he had a ghost of a plan, but would need to hurry.

He quickly turned heel and fled back upstairs, trying to keep his revulsion and nausea down. As his foot hit the uppermost step, he heard his mother—no, Maddie say, “Careful Jack. Don’t disturb the core. We don’t want this one disintegrating before we’re done studying it.  Just think of all the technological and scientific advancements we can make if we figure out how it works!”

He got to the kitchen and paced back and forth for a moment. He needed to get his parents out of the house immediately and without question.  He stopped and yanked his phone out, nearly fumbling it in his haste, and called his sister.

She picked up on the second ring. “Hello?  Danny?” 

“Jazz.  You need to call Mom and Dad and get them out of the house.  Tell them you saw Skulker terrorizing some kids or something, but it has to be as fast as you can!”

“Okay, little brother. But please, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

“Jazz, they have Chonkers.  Please hurry and get them out of the lab, it’s…really bad.”

Danny heard Jazz breathe in sharply.

“Alright, I’ll get them out. Do your best to save her!” 

Danny resumed his pacing as he waited.

After the longest 20 seconds of Danny’s half-life, his parents came thundering up the stairs.

“We’re coming, Jazzy-pants!” his dad cried.

“No putrid ghost hunter will lay a hand on our daughter!” shouted his mother.

The second he heard the door slam, Danny raced back down to the lab.  He jammed his thumb into the DNA scanner to open the portal before rushing back to the ghost.

“Ms. Chonkers!”  He quickly unstrapped the ecto-resistant restraints. His hands hovered over the cat, trembling.

“Mew,” she whimpered, sides heaving in distress.

Danny gingerly unpinned the peeled strips of green flesh and gently pushed them back in place, protecting the fragile core.  He carefully phased his arms through the table to gently lift her.  

Once safe in his arms, she began a rasping, purr.  

He turned to the swirling portal and hovered above the ground.  He winced and tried to ignore the soft splats of ectoplasm dripping off of his arms to the lab floor. 

She was melting in his arms.  

Once through the portal and into the ambient energy of the Infinite Realms, Chonkers began to revive somewhat.  Her tail twitched, and the dripping slowed.  

Danny touched down on a piece of floating rock near the portal and tenderly laid her down.  He rubbed around her ears and chin, being careful to avoid the incisions.  The cat’s purrs rumbled slightly louder.

“Still not stable,” he muttered.  Watching as steam rose off from the ectoplasm pooling around her body, he grasped at the loose soil covering their tiny island in frustration.  He shuddered, gasping as he tried to keep the sobs in.  

He couldn't fall to pieces right now, Chonkers already had that covered.  He opened his eyes after a few seconds, faintly luminous tears falling and cleaning tiny dots on his gloves.  

“What can stabilize a ghost that’s falling apart...melting?” he asked himself.

She was melting in his arms just like Dani.  Wait.  The Ecto-dejecto had saved Dani.  Maybe it could save Chonkers as well.  Clarity rushed over him now that he had a plan.

Danny gently stroked the side of Chonkers’ face. “I’ll be right back. It’ll be ok.”  

He flew back through the portal and scanned the failed experiment shelf. 

There it was. “Aha!” He snatched it and once again launched himself through the portal.

Once he was back at her side, he spritzed her with the ecto-dejecto.

‘Please work.’ 

Several agonizing seconds passed as Danny watched her sides heave, still sublimating and mixing into the ambient ectoplasm.

A ripple passed through her body. Then another, and another.  The puddle under her receded as her body slowly reformed.  

Danny let out a deep sigh as the minutes passed.  The tight feeling in his chest finally easing as Chonkers took a few unsteady steps to him, butting her head against his leg where he knelt. 

  “That was way too close,” Danny said as he obeyed her demands for affection and petted her.  His body sagged to the ground, unbelievably weary now that the crisis had passed. 

 Chonkers climbed onto his lap and purred. 

 “I know how cats usually feel about dogs, but maybe you could learn a few things from Cujo.  If you could change size like him, this won’t happen again.”  He hugged the cat in his arms, feeling the tension slowly bleed out of him. “It can’t happen again.”  

 Danny lifted the chunky cat up and held her at face level.  “You have to stay in here for now, it won’t be safe in the human world for you for a while.”  

 She mewed at him inquisitively.

 “I know you’re happy around people and doing cat things, but you have to stay here where it’s safe. At least until I can figure out how to keep this from happening again.”

 The cat meowed again and butted her head against his chin. 

 “I sure hope you understand me. I know ghost animals are usually a lot more intelligent than their living counterparts,” Danny said, petting the cat.

 Feeling slightly bad that he was about to trick her, Danny formed up a tiny glittering ball of ectoplasm in his hand and waved it in front of her whiskers.  Once he was sure she had locked onto the temporary toy and had entered dumb baby mode, he threw it as hard as he could away from the portal.  

 With the cat distracted, Danny slipped back into the normal world. He sighed in relief—his parents were still out.  Jazz must have set up a good distraction.  

 He slipped off a green stained glove and closed the portal.  Hopefully, that would keep Chonkers out of trouble for a few days.

 With one last glance around the gruesome lab, Danny fled to the bright sky and fresh air of the park.  He flew past the common areas to a secluded picnic area that was overgrown and forgotten by casual visitors.  He touched down at the table, slumping over and resting his face on his arms. 

 Now that he wasn’t just living in the moment, the full horror of what he had seen was starting to sink in.  His parents had caught an innocent and friendly ghost, and instead of studying her intact, had proceeded to cut her open.  And because when a ghost ends, they dissolve completely into base ectoplasm, she was aware and conscious the whole time.  

 Shudders wracked his body as he finally let himself sob, every breath bringing a sharp reminder from the persistent lime scent clinging to him.  They knew what her core was when they saw it.  His mother had warned his dad against disturbing it.  They had done this before.  How many ghosts had they ended on that table?  How many had he failed to save?

 He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he heard the whistles and chirps of the pod of blob ghosts that lived in the park.  It had been long enough that most of the ectoplasm staining his suit had steamed away, leaving it deceptively clean.

 He felt feathery, gentle touches against his arms, shoulders, and head.  A few persistent nudges later, and he lifted his head from his arms.  He still had glowing tears running down to his chin, but he couldn’t help the weak smile that crossed his face when the blob ghosts cuddled all around him.  

 They nudged him to his feet and swarmed him, snuggling into his arms and resting on his head and shoulders.  Danny held himself with one arm, the other holding a particularly insistent large blob ghost.  The roiling nausea started to fade as the little ghosts cleaned away his tears and the rest of the stains on his outfit.  He couldn’t help a giggle when one nibbled his ear, making him squirm away.

 “I have to do something.  I can’t let this happen again,” Danny told the little ghosts, his gaze focused in the direction of his house.  He could see the top of the Ops Center above the tree line of the park.  Even way out here, he couldn’t escape reminders of what his parents had done.

 Determination filled him as the little ghosts continued to try to comfort him in their own way. “I can’t let any more innocent ghosts be harmed by them.  It’s time I did something.”

[hawaii5-0gurl]

It’s Nothing

Characters: Steve X Williams!Reader, BrotherDanny, Chin Go Kelly

Word Count: 1612

Warnings: Angst, Language, Hurt Reader, Fluff ending

A/N: Sorry it took so long. I kept changing my mind on A lot of the details.

Feedback is always welcome, the good and bad. It helps me as a newbie writer. Requests are open, I do take a little while to write so keep that in mind. Tags are also open for future fics.

Masterlist

You knew taking a job with your brother was a bad idea, but add your boyfriend into the mix. You were just about to go insane. You love both of them but you were just happy that you were partnered with Chin for this case. 

You and Chin were currently doing a house search. While Danny and Steve checked the guest house. 

Chin was in the kitchen, when you moved to the stairs.

"Chin I'm going upstairs"

"Kitchens clear. I'm right behind you."

"Guys the guest house is clear. We are on our way." Danny came over your headsets.

"Got it." Both you and Chin said as you got to the top of the stairs.

You and Chin split up to check the rooms faster. As you reached your last room, Chin was still checking his. You opened the door to see someone taking a bag from under the desk.

"5-O hands up."you said as you aimed your gun at the man, he complied.

"Move around the desk slowly, then get down on the ground."  You reached up to your headset, "Chin, I got him in the office."

"I'm coming."

The man slowly moved around the desk but booked it for the open balcony door. You instantly ran after him. As you got to the door, you saw him jump over the railing. Without thinking you jumped off after him. You were able to make the landing.

"Chin, he jumped off the balcony. He's heading towards Main Street. Grab the car."

"Got it."

"Y/N, did we just see you jump off the balcony?" Steve chimed in.

"Yes you did, and kinda chasing the bad guy at the moment."

After this the only talking was location updates.

When you finally caught up to the suspect, he was trying to catch his breath and trying to hide behind a tree. You slowed down to sneak up behind him. You reached up and grabbed his shoulder. He sipped around to punch you. You ducked just in time, his hand kept going and he punched the tree. You kick his feet out from underneath him, instantly dropping him.

You pulled your gun from your thigh holster.

"Put your hands behind your back. If you try anything I will shoot you."

Chin came up from behind you, "that was awesome."

You kneel down to cuff him when you had a surge of pain go through your ankle.

"Son of a Bitch." You cuffed him and handed him over to Chin.

"Are you alright?" He asked you out of concern 

"Yeah, sorry I'm just tired and a little out of breath." You smiled and played it off like it was nothing.

After you guys got him to HQ and interrogated, you were able to leave but you waited until everyone else left before you did.

Steve came to your office when he was ready to leave.

"Are you ready to go?"

"No, you go ahead. I have a few things I need to wrap up before I leave."

"Like what?" he stepped into your office.

"Just some paperwork. " fully knowing you had finished your paperwork hours ago.

" You can leave it till tomorrow."

"I have never done that, and I'm not about to start."

" Okay, I'll see you at home." He came over and gave you a quick kiss before he left.

You waited another half hour to make sure Steve was really gone. You got up to leave, trying to keep pressure off your right ankle. You move slowly as you go around to  lock up and leave.

When you got out to your truck, you had to lean on it to rest your ankle. You had to do this a few times on the way to your truck.

"Why did I park so far away?" You said to yourself as you pushed yourself off your truck to leave.

Once in your truck, you realize that you are going to have to drive with your left foot. Which you have never tried before.

"Well this should be interesting." You slowly drove yourself to the hospital. It didn't go as bad as you thought.

After getting checked into Urgent Care, you didn't have to fill out any paperwork only because you had been in there so much all of the staff knew who you were. Not that you wanted to be in there as much as you were, but with the job you do and the people you work with, it's inevitable.

After you were taken back to wait for the doctor, your nurse Leah, was giving you an indecisive look.

"What is it Leah? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, umm it's just they aren't going to let you leave without someone to take you home. So do you want me to call Steve or Danny?"

"Oh, I completely forgot about that." You sighed and your head dropped.

After your exam, you were taken for x-rays just to make sure nothing was broken. The doctor ended up putting you in a boot. Leah came back to  take you to the waiting room. You had to wait for him to show up.

About 10 minutes later you see Danny come through the doors. He instantly ran over to you.

"Y/N, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, can we go now I'm tired."

"Umm…" before he could finish Steve came through the doors

"Oh crap."

He did just as Danny did and ran over to you.

"Y/N, why didn't you tell me? I came to your office before I left. I could have brought you here." He had a hurt expression on his face.

"It's not as bad as it looks."

"Not that bad?! Look around, we are in a hospital. You're wearing a boot. Don't tell me it's not that bad." He sighed and dragged his hands down his face. Before he could say anything else Danny stepped in.

"Hey, how about we get you guys home. Steve takes y/n's truck. I will take her home in my car so it's not as hard for her to get in."

You handed your keys over. Steve took them and left. He has never been this upset with you before. Danny helped you to his car. Neither of you said the word until you got on the road.

"Danny why did you call him?"

"What do you mean? He's your boyfriend."

" I had Leah call you for a reason." You put your head down. "I knew he would be upset. I just didn't want him to worry about me."

"This is Steve we are talking about. No matter what you do, he's going to worry about you. How do you think walking into the house with a boot on would have gone?"

"I would have handled it." You looked back at Danny and sighed. "I really messed up didn't I."

"No, I don't think so. You need to talk to him. Also don't keep things from him. Or me for that matter."

Soon after that Danny was pulling up outside your house. Steve was waiting in the front lawn ready to help you inside.

"Goodnight Y/nn."

"Goodnight Danno."

Steve came around to help you out of the car and inside. As he was locking the door, you attempted the stairs. You made it up two steps before you felt a hand on your back and the other behind your knees. Steve carried you up the stairs to the bedroom. He placed you on the bed, went to his dresser and pulled out one of his shirts for you. He knows it makes you feel better after a bad day.

You carefully take the boot off so you can change into a pair of sleep shorts. After changing he went and grabbed an extra pillow for your ankle. After he was done getting himself ready, he climbed into bed next to you.

"Steve, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't want you to worry."

"It doesn't matter if we are out in the field or in the office. I'm going to worry about you."

"And I love you for that, but you shouldn't have to."

"Well when you pull a stunt like you did today, I feel like I need too."

"I shouldn't have kept it from you. I promise the next time i get hurt I will let you know."

"Just promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"You won't jump off balconies anymore."

"Oh… I don't know about that. I'm not going to make a promise I can't keep."

"Fair enough. Just try then."

"Okay. Now we need to try to get some sleep. We have to go to work in like 4 hours."

"No I have to go to work in 4 hours. You're staying home for a few days."

" What! No way. I will go crazy."

"Too bad, you can't even walk normally. You're staying here."

"I can stay in my office and work for my desk."

"You and I both know, if you come to work you're going to try to do a hell of a lot more than just stay at your desk."

"Come on, if you leave me here I will just get in my truck and drive myself." You gave him a smirk and an eyebrow raised. 

"Ugh… Fine, but if you leave your desk for anything other than the bathroom or lunch break, I will drag your ass back to bed. And I will take your keys and leave. Deal?"

"Fine."

He gave you a kiss on the forehead before moving closer and wrapping his arms around you.

"I love you Y/n"

"I love you too."

Tags:

@littlewhiterose

@hollymac79

[flowerfan2]

Love Is The Seventh Wave

McDanno, A03, 2400 words

Written for the H50 Writers Club Discord “Danny Deserves Better” challenge

“Are you serious?”  she says, and all eyes in the writer’s room turn towards her. “That’s just cruel.  And it makes no sense.”

 “It’s dramatic, Lola.”

 “Lilla,” she corrects, surprised that the douchebag even came close, given that he hasn’t spoken more than those three words to her since she started working for him a month ago. “Just hear me out.  What if instead of having totally out of character bathroom sex with Joanna....”

 *****

 Danny’s sipping idly at his drink when he notices the woman sitting nearby.  She’s pretty, her dark hair a contrast to her light silky blouse, and she’s about as out of place at this bar at ten o’clock in the morning as Danny is.

 She looks up at him, and Danny cracks a smile.  “You looking at me?”

 The woman shakes her head.  “The television’s behind you.  And I desperately need a distraction.”

 Same here, Danny thinks.  “Well, if you’d rather have a live distraction than whatever’s on the news, I’m happy to oblige.”

 The woman smiles and moves over to the seat next to him, bringing her coffee with her.  “At this point I’m willing to try anything.”

 “Buy you a drink?  Wine, beer, scotch on the rocks?”

 “Nah, I’m good.  Not quite desperate enough to drink the hard stuff before noon.”  She glances at Danny’s glass.

 “Club soda,” he admits, and she grins.

 “We’re practically twins.”  She sticks out her hand.  “I’m Joanna.”

 “Danny.”  Her hand is soft, but her grip is firm and doesn’t linger.  “It’s nice to meet you.  So, what do you want to talk about?”

 “Oh, anything but my love life.”

 A laugh bursts out of Danny. “Get right to the point, do you?”

 “No sense wasting time.  For all I know, you’re a reporter doing a story on bars that open before noon and you’ll have to dash off to the next one any minute now.”

 “No chance.  I’m a detective, actually.  But I’m taking a personal day.”

 She gives him an appraising look. “A cop?  But you seem so nice.”

 “Ha, ha, ha.  Very funny.”

 “So,” Joanna says, “why a personal day?”

 Danny takes a moment wondering how to answer this – he’s not really sure himself – when his phone rings. It’s Steve, of course, and the fact that hearing his voice makes his whole body light up just adds fuel to the giant dumpster fire that is his life.  He hangs up after a few minutes and turns back to Joanna.

 “Who was that?”

 “My partner.”

 Joanna looks at him appraisingly, and then nods.  “Yeah, I’ve got one of those.”

 “You’re a cop too?”

 She snorts.  “Um, no, that’s not what I meant.  I’m a lawyer, actually.”

 Danny’s confused.  “So you have, what, law partners?”

 Joanna takes a packet of sugar and adds it to the fresh coffee the bartender has set down in front of her. “You’re a little oblivious, aren’t you?”

 It’s said with such amusement that Danny isn’t mad, and he’s happy to play along.  “Oblivious about what?”

 Joanna sighs and takes a careful sip of her drink, then stirs it some more.  “You’re telling me that guy you just spoke to is your work partner?”

 “Yes, who else would he be?” Danny has his own answer for this, but it’s a fantasy he hasn’t entertained in, oh, at least an hour or so.

 Joanna shrugs noncommittally.

 They slip into a more or less comfortable silence, and Danny contemplates his club soda.  It’s just as boring as it was when he started it. He’s not even sure why he’s here, at a random bar on the north shore.  When he woke up this morning, knowing he had a day free to do anything he wanted, a day off from work and all of its headaches, the first thing he thought of was checking the weather report to see what the waves would be like – because surfing with Steve is one of his favorite things to do to de-stress.  But then he realized that Steve didn’t have the day off too, and it all seemed pointless.

 A day without obligations is hard to come by for a single working dad, and Danny knows in theory he should be enjoying it.  But he’s not.

 “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push.”

 Danny is drawn out of his thoughts by Joanna’s comment.  “No, you’re fine, it’s not you.”

 Joanna leans back a little and runs a hand through her hair.  “Want to know what I’m doing here?”

 Danny takes in her flattering outfit, her carefully done make-up.  “Waiting for a client meeting?”

 She laughs.  “Nope.  One with my partner.”

 “Your law partner,” Danny clarifies.

 Joanna laughs again.  “Yes.  Except that’s the problem.”

 “What’s the problem?”

 Joanna takes a deep breath.  “The truth is, I’d like it if my law partner were a little more than that.”

 Danny feels a rush of shame, and looks quickly around the bar – still empty, except for the bartender.  “Is this some kind of joke?”

 She reaches out and puts a hand on his arm.  “Relax. I’m really not pulling your chain. I’m telling the god’s honest truth.” She takes her hand back and swipes at her phone.  “Here, see? We go out for drinks every Thursday night, everyone in the office.  Thirsty Thursday kind of thing.  Last night went on a little longer than usual, since we just got some really good news on a case.”

 Joanna shows him a photograph of a tall, blond woman with her arm around Joanna, both of them in business suits and holding glasses of champagne.  Several other people are crowded around them.  All of them are making happy faces at the camera, except for Joanna, who has eyes only for the woman at her side.  

 “Oh,” says Danny.

 “Yeah,” says Joanna.  “And I’m pretty sure Jasper – he took the picture – sent it and about twenty other equally embarrassing ones to everyone who was there, including my partner.”

 “Is that good or bad?”  Danny asks.

 “I’m not sure.  But I’m going to find out.”

 “What do you mean?”

 Joanna taps her fingers on the bar, clearly a little nervous.  “Okay, you’re probably going to thing I’m nuts.  I went for my usual run this morning, through my neighborhood and down to the beach.  It’s the same route I’ve run hundreds of times, and there isn’t much beach there, just some scrubby trees by the water’s edge, but you know any bit of beach is beautiful here, so it’s all good.  And this morning, for the first time ever, I saw a honu on that little beach.

 “A turtle?”

 “Yeah.  I’ve never seen one there before, but today there was a honu right there, a really big one.”

 “Okay…”

 “Honu are a symbol of good luck, right? I’ve realized that if I don’t say something to my partner soon, I’m going to lose my mind, or have to quit my job, or both – and once I saw that honu, I knew I could tell her how I feel. I’m going to do it today.”

 “Wow,” Danny said, feeling buoyed by Joanna’s excitement.  “You really are?”

 “I really am.”  Joanna stands up from her chair and straightens her skirt. “I finally realized it’s too important to keep hiding from.  The way I feel about her… I think I love her, you know?  And I can’t believe I’m telling you all this, maybe it’s easier because I don’t know you…”

 “No, I get it,” Danny says, and he does.  Sitting in this random, sunny bar, with a woman he’s never met before, with no preconceived assumptions, no rules or requirements, Danny suddenly feels like he’s opening up, too.  

 “I just don’t want to let a chance for love pass me by, not any more,” Joanna continues.  “Not if we could really be something, and I think maybe we can. So I asked her to meet me at one of our favorite restaurants for lunch, in Haleiwa.  Away from the office, somewhere private… and I better go, I don’t want to be late.”

 “Of course not,” Danny says, standing too.

 Joanna regards him for a long moment, and Danny squirms a little.  “I think today is your lucky day, too,” Joanna says.

 “Why’s that?”

 “Because you met me,” Joanna says, grinning as she leaves.  Danny thinks she’s right.

 ****

Joanna’s excitement is infectious, and Danny feels himself standing a little straighter as he leaves the bar. Maybe her plan would work for him, too. He hasn’t wanted to say anything to Steve for all the obvious reasons – he doesn’t know if Steve feels the same way despite how close they are, he’s never heard Steve express any interest in men at all, and he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship.  But this constant pining is wearing away at him, and he isn’t getting any younger.  What if he waits another ten years and then it turns out Steve was up for something more after all – what a waste that would be.  Or what if he doesn’t have ten years to make up his mind – what if Steve’s conversation with Eddie’s veterinarian this morning turns into asking her out for a date, and they hit it off and live happily ever after?

 There are millions of ways that Danny can miss his chance with Steve, and only one way to find out if he’s still got one.

 Danny makes a few stops on his way back to Steve’s place.  He texts Tani a few times to keep tabs on the team and make sure he knows when Steve’s heading home.  He’s got a caprese salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar on the table and wine opened and breathing on the counter when he hears the front door open.

 Steve appears in the doorway to the kitchen, and Danny’s jaw falls open.  Steve’s wearing a dark gray button-up shirt, collar open at the neck, and black slacks that hug his ass like his cargoes never quite manage.  He even looks freshly shaved.

 “Hey, Danno,” Steve says, voice low, and Danny shivers.  He takes a step towards Steve but somehow trips over his own feet and the carving knife in his hand goes flying to the ground.

 Steve sucks in a breath, and they both stare at the knife, stuck in the floorboards about an inch away from Danny’s bare right toe.  “Huh,” says Steve.  “Lucky.”

 Danny sucks in a breath and shakes his head, trying to grab on to anything at all that makes sense. “Why’re you dressed up?”  he finally comes up with, which isn’t particularly witty but is somewhat better than oh my fucking god what is going on here, which is a close second.

 Steve smirks.  “I’ve got a date.”

 Danny’s heart sinks.  He’s too late, he’s just one goddamn day too late, this is his life every single time.  He was a fool for thinking otherwise.

 “With that vet?”

 Steve looks determined.  “No, not with the vet.”  Steve crouches down at his feet and retrieves the knife, then places it in the sink.  He’s right up in Danny’s space.  “You look nice too,” Steve says, and at first Danny think’s it’s a non sequitur, but then he takes in Steve’s expression, that cocky confidence with an undercurrent of uncertainty, and the way Steve is lining up his own very nicely clad shoulder with Danny’s, and suddenly the clouds part and all is clear.

 “Wait,” Danny says.  “What do you think… How did you…?”

 Steve’s face does something that seems to be a cross between a smirk and a hopeful grin.  “Tani said you texted her a few times today.”

 “So?”

 “She said you were buying wine.”

 Danny bites his lip.  “Again, so?”

 “You never buy wine, unless you’re cooking a fancy meal.”

 “I buy wine all the time.”

 “When was the last time?”

 Danny has to think pretty hard about it, and that’s when he knows he’s losing this particular argument.  He still has hope for winning the war, however, so he stops talking about wine.

 “Can we go back to the part where you said you had a date?  Because you’re not acting like you have a date.”

 “No?”  Steve asks.  “How should I be acting?”  Steve somehow moves even closer to Danny, tilting his head, waiting for Danny’s answer.

 Danny can feel his heart pounding in his chest, and he thinks he might be getting light headed.  

 “Come on, Danny,” Steve says, his breath puffing against Danny’s skin.  “How should I be acting?”

 Danny just blinks up at him, and then he’s saved from having to come up with an answer by Steve’s lips pressing against his own.  Danny thinks he lets out something like a moan as his mouth opens under Steve’s, and he slides his hands up Steve’s back under his ridiculous shirt and pulls him close.

 ****

 “You can’t possibly have known what I was going to do just from Tani telling you I was buying wine.”

 Steve flops over onto his back. The sheet is pulled up just over his stupidly attractive hip bones, and Danny sneakily reaches out a finger to slide it back down again.

 “Honestly, all I knew was that it seemed like you were getting ready for a date,” Steve says.  “And it made me realize that I could lose my chance with you, anytime.  You could meet someone, maybe even that woman you were talking to at the bar this morning, and it would be too late for us.  So I changed into the spare clothes I keep at the office, and figured I’d give it my best shot.”

 Danny pushes up on an elbow. “Have you eaten a radioactive spider lately?  Drank some kind of serum?”

 “No…”

 “Because the mindreading shit is frankly disturbing…  I literally – and I mean the actual meaning of literally, not the one the kids are using these days – I literally had that same thought today.  That you’d finally get up the nerve to ask out that vet again, or fall in love while buying ammunition, or save some gorgeous lady’s pet parakeet from terrorists, and I’d lose my chance with you.”

 Steve turns towards Danny, his face brimming with affection.  “I guess today really was our lucky day, then.”

 Danny grins into Steve’s kiss. He’s gonna send Joanna a fruit basket. And maybe give a great big donation to whatever organization looks out for the honu, because he owes them, too.

[benka79]

Saying 'I Love You' never felt so good

McDanno meta. Season 4 meta.

Okay, I'm here again because I couldn't put these thoughts in my previous meta!

You can find my previous meta here.

I need to scream about the foreshadow and subtext of the Beautiful first, real, I Love You in the show, episode 4x18.

Let's start

After choosing you

Okay, I said in my previous meta Danny chooses Steve and Grace instead Gaby.

But, before that happens, we had a conversation between Steve and Danny at the beginning of the season 4.

Remember when they were hostages of terrorist that belonged to a drugs cartel in the Palace? There was a wounded person and Steve was kneeling by his side, and Danny came and said he was about to say the three words to Gaby? Remember Steve's reaction to that?

I had to ask for help to my friend @mrsaquaman187 , I don't have the gifs but I do remember when Danny started saying it, Steve closed his eyes and scratched his left eyebrow.

This is sign of uncomfortable, and nervousness.

Why he reacted like that? Oh well, just because he knows Danny said 'I love you' to him in their first date, and then he began to date Gaby, so... That wasn't serious for sure, and he thinks he is gonna do the same to her. So... Steve gave an advice, he said Danny needed to know well if he was about to say those words, because is a big deal.

We know Danny didn't say it to Gaby, but to someone else...

Then we have Amber... But she is not the one

Okay, pay attention to this... Because the episode in which Amber appears, starts with this scene...

Gif credit @wildandwild

Grace says this after Danno confess she's the number one in his list.

And look at what she says, NUMBER TWO ISN'T EVEN CLOSE.

Because when Danny meets Amber, Amber says they're neighbors, because Danny is from Jersey and she's from New York.

So, the second one in Danny's list IS NOT CLOSE TO DANNY. Is not Amber. (Even if I love her, because she's badass and fabulous).

The writers made it wilders, because we will have Steve talking to Grover, saying Danny is IN THE NORTH COAST, WHICH MEANS, HE IS NOT CLOSE TO HIM, DANNY IS FAR AWAY FROM STEVE, AND VICEVERSA, SO, STEVE IS SETTLED HERE AS DANNY SECOND IMPORTANT PERSON IN HIS LIST.

Then we have Danny doubting if he should give this cute woman a chance, because, okay, he's not getting enough attention from his Seal and Gaby is gone. He decides to give it a shot.

Jealousy and Acceptance

Okay, what I'm about to say here is very sad.

When Danny arrives to Steve's house, he asked for Amber, and Danny had this sad expression in his face, but then Steve said Danny was perked up, and Danny mocks saying he doesn't perk up. And there's this exchange of looks, and Danny is smiling, but he's hiding what he is feeling right now. And then... This... (Thanks Trisha)

The following gif set credit belongs to @peggyswilliams

Fine, we have Danny naming situations, these situations are the same that brought Danny and Steve to work together and then to become great partners and best friend's, so, the face is screaming jealousy, but also, sadness. Because Danny is saying here YOU ARE SO KIND WITH YOUR NEW FRIEND, PEOPLE WILL THINK YOU TWO LIKE EACH OTHE.

And this, my friends, is huge!!!!

Danny is recriminating Steve about the way he treated him when they first met, and they way they flirted, and all those golden days full of dates and silliness, PEOPLE THOUGHT WE LIKED EACH OTHER. So, he is saying YOU CONFUSED ME, I THOUGHT WE HAD SOMETHING THERE. And his face is full of sadness and longing.

Danny sees Steve being kind with Grover, and getting close to him, and he is Jealous, and he knows Steve is like this with everyone.

But this one, Danny is sad, and jealous, and disappointed, he is mourning that time when they were something else than friends.

Then Steve's tunes around and Danny face is pure longing. Is amazing, the performance is perfect, and you can read it all over his face and his eyes. His longing for Steve. For those days in which people thought they liked each other.

The I love you, and how Danny perked up after that

Episode 4x19 in which Danny and Steve were trapped when that building crashed, it was very pivotal in the show.

First of all, because Steve attention was again focused on Danny.

Steve thought Danny had died, so when he hears his voice, he runs to him, and holds his hand, with the biggest smile, showing his happiness and relief.

Steve was practically taking care of him, offering him water and trying to take care of the wound. In the middle of the horrible situation, they were bonding again.

Then... When Steve was about to explode that bomb to get them out from there, Danny tried to deliver a message to him, thinking that could be their last hours. But he couldn't, so he said it like a joke, because joking I their defense mechanism to say how they really feel for each other, is their safe place.

So this happened... Danny says, playing around, that he hates Steve, and Steve got the message, he turns around to the bomb, and says I LOVE YOU TOO, BUDDY.

His body language here was showing honesty, but at the same time, he said it natural.

But for Danny, it meant A LOT. Because Steve said before YOU SHOULD BE SURE TO SAY IT, BECAUSE IT CAN'T BE UNSAID.

And this scene showed us it meant more to Danny that to Steve in that moment.

The following gif set belongs to @flipse

Danny looks away, rants, makes circles about the idea he wants to express, because he feels embarrassed. But Steve, Steve is trying to recall what is Danny talking about.

Steve waits... "Come one, you are gonna make me say it?" Steve keeps waiting for him, because he already recalled what Danny is talking about.

The it comes, "I lOVE YOU."

In this moment of the season, it meant a lot to Danny, more than it meant to Steve, because Danny is the one pining for him. Steve is focused on Cath and his problems.

This entire Sun and Moon story will keep going until something huge will happen: THE LIVER TRANSPLANT.

There's a huge change attitude in Danny after 4x19, in 4x20 Danny mocks Steve (with a wink to the mcdanno shipper in their anniversary) but he mocks him about Cath, saying she wants to be away from him. Steve remains speechless for a moment, this is the old Danny there, the Danny that just perked up after a love confession, and is happy, and when Danny is happy, he flirts and plays around with Steve. After this Danny describes Steve like a black cloud that never goes away. Again using the joke to express how he feels about Steve. Their girlfriends are far away from them, but Steve is always there, by his side. Is like if Danny were saying "YOU DON'T WANT TO BE AWAY FROM ME", pointing at the previous joke he made about Cath and Steve.

Then, the I Love You comes again, freely, and comfortable.

There's another HUGE example of Danny playing around with Steve, this time trying to make him jealous, and enjoying his face with please, when he decides to bet for Lou, instead Steve.

Please go check this gifset here.

Look how Danny is deliberately trying to make Steve jealous, and he has immediately success on that.

And this face here...

Gif credit @indiguus

It says everything, Danny is so happy they're back in the game, he is enjoying Steve reaction with such a heart eyes on his boy. He loves him, deeply, and he enjoys to play around with him like this. Is definitely an attitude a lover would take just to watch a pretty mad/jealous face.

Infinitely priceless.

The season ends with Steve saying I LOVE YOU, with romantic meaning to Catherine, pointing us the love triangle, and the current unrequited love in wich Danny is pining for Steve, but at this moment, he is in order be with Catherine.

This was the I LOVE YOU season. Check this post from @five-wow , they also picked up the same analogy to show how important these three words were in season 4.

To Conclude:

Season 4 was the one in which Danny was planning ning for Steve, he even chooses him and Grace instead Gaby. He finds a new love interest, but he doubts I'm initiate something with her at first, because his feelings for Steve, which are unrequited in this season.

The story of the Sun and the Moon, two lovers separated by the day and the night, will end at the end of season 6, when Steve and Danny lives will connect again into a deeper meaning.

Hope you like my rants. See you in the next ones!

If you want to be tagged on these McDanno thoughts, just let me know.

Buenos Aires, October 17th 2020, 6:39 PM

[ohsofoxyclocks]

‪So, I have many thoughts about the finale ending that I haven’t even sorted out my feelings about yet BUT posts on here have helped me see the positives in the ending...Yes I’m still bothered by some of the beach conversation and the TIMING of Steve’s temporary leave and the fact of what we see last on the screen despite knowing Steve will of course return, but I’m going to put that aside to focus on OMG WE JUST GOT AN ALMOST WHOLE EPISODE STRAIGHT FROM A FANFIC THAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVED. I know much of this has been discussed so I apologize if it’s repetitive, but a bunch of my favorite McDanno fanfiction tropes just actually happened in canon and I just...still can’t believe we actually got all of it? So I wanted to make my own list, and feel free to add on or expand or share your thoughts about any of these!! Let’s take stock (warning, this is long!): ‬

‪-Danny calling Steve in distress, Steve immediately leaving his important cipher mystery meeting to get to him. Can already see Steve starting to freak out before the gunshots ring out when he looks out the window and stutters. ‬

‪-Gunshots ringing out OVER THE LINE, and Steve very obviously starting to panic. Drives like a maniac (still confused on how going INTO oncoming traffic was supposed to help but I digress). Steve yelling Danny’s name repeatedly desperate to hear his voice‬

‪-arriving at a burning camaro, screaming Danny’s name (fun tip: play this bit in slow motion!), and STICKING HIS ARM IN A BURNING CAR/catching himself on fire when he thinks Danny could be inside‬

‪-You can hear the creeping desperation/emotion in Steve’s voice as he’s giving orders to HPD (“Detective Danny Williams-MY PARTNER-you know who he is”)‬

-Steve actually mobilizing the whole island to find his Danno. (Again, something I never really expected to see outside of a fanfic). “I want every person on this island with a badge looking for Danny Williams”‬

-Steve’s face when he walks into HQ with Cole and the tears in his eyes when Tani is showing him the kidnapping footage ‬

‪-Just the whole “An enemy of Steve’s uses Danny to get to him”!!!! I always wanted it but never expected it so explicitly ‬

‪-“I HAVE THE PERSON YOU CARE ABOUT MOST IN THE WORLD.” GUYS—IT DOESNT MATTER WHATEVER ELSE HAPPENS BECAUSE THIS IS CANON BABY. We knew it, everybody knows it, but now it’s confirmed. When rewatching the series, remember this<3 also part of me is like, will all the other criminals hear about this and try to do the same when Steve comes back since Steve put up no fight in giving in to Dayui Mei’s demands? Isthiswhyheleftsoquickly‬.

-video footage of Danny strung up and bloodied...fanfic come to life. Steve’s face when he sees this....‬

‪-Steve looking like he’s gonna simultaneously collapse, panic, and murder someone when Dayiu Mei is asking him what he will do‬

‪-Steve not hesitating to give into Mrs. Wo Fat’s demands bc any risk is too risky when Danno is involved‬

‪-The team trying to get Steve to give a flying fart about the cipher when Danny’s life is on the line and Steve still not giving a flying fart. ‬

-Steve finding Danny lying helpless on the floor. His whispered “Danny” when he first sees him (you have to listen close for this because the dramatic background music is super loud at this point).‬

‪-His little stream of soft, comforting reassurances as he’s getting Danno to the car. Danny holding onto him‬

‪-CRADLING BLOODIED, STRUGGLING TO-BREATHE-DANNO TO HIS CHEST IN HIS ARMS. My mom, who doesn’t ship McDanno romantically but loves their friendship, when this happened: “whoa! That’s a little much (gay), don’t you think?” Hehe, no, it’s perfect. ‬

-More tears from Steve as he’s holding Danny on the way to the hospital.‬

-Steve’s comforting reassurances and refusing to let go of Danny on the gurney until he’s absolutely forced to. DANNY REACHING FOR HIM, Steve’s reassuring pat. Steve’s face as he looks down at him fearing how dire this is.‬

‪-Steve’s face as he collapses against the wall when they roll Danny through the double doors, closing his eyes, trying to calm his breathing as he tries to avoid thinking about the unthinkable.‬

-STEVE BARGAINING WITH GOD FOR DANNY’S LIFE. After not seeing him pray before I don’t think? His face...that emotion...omg. He very obviously can’t imagine living in a world without Danny in it, and would rather die than do so. ‬

-Side note: Imo, Steve seemed closed off to the team—physically and emotionally—when he wasn’t sure Danny would make it. Almost as if we got a glimpse of the Steve he’d be without his Danno, if that makes sense. Notice how he’s turned away from them in the waiting room/chapel, how he didn’t even look at them when Danny was wheeled away through the double doors. How he didn’t give an eff about the cipher they were trying to get him to care about. Not that he doesn’t have beautiful Ohana bonds with the other team members because of course he does, but...it’s just different with Danny and I don’t know how he would’ve made it through this one, especially considering his already struggling state at the time. I think we kind of saw a glimpse of that, is my point. They both helped each other grow since first meeting, and it was almost like that part Danny helped bring out in Steve went away with Danny when Steve thought he might lose him. If that makes sense? More on this later? ‪

‪-Steve holding unconscious Danny’s hand❤️❤️❤️ Closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath right after taking his hand (anyone want to gif this moment? ;) )-side camera view of this moment so was hard to see but it’s there. Seeming to look at the machines for reassurances that Danny is alive, healthy. Scanning him over and likely feeling guilty for the marks on his body. Holding his head in his hands by Danny’s bedside.‬

‪-the whole conversation when Danny wakes up! Danny, probably a little doped up, all sweet and reassuring and cuddly and funny. “Why’d you stop holding my hand?” and Steve immediately taking his hand back and rubbing his forearm I think (this was out of the camera angle tho so idk for sure). Steve’s voice tinged with so much emotion when he says “Buddy.” And, Steve being emotionally vulnerable/open again bc his Danno is back!! This whole scene I just fhdisksml. ‬

‪-Steve’s smiling and squeezing and wrapping his arms around Danno like an octopus when he hugs him (I wish we had some additional slightly different camera angles of this hug-as was shown in the promo for example-but I digress again). Danny closing his eyes for a moment, seeming to savor it. Steve getting Danny to look him in the eyes to tell him he loves him. To me, this scene had a very “see you again soon” rather than “goodbye” vibe even though I wish there were parts of the dialogue that were different. ‬

‪-Steve slowing down, looking unsure, and turning back to look at Danny before he leaves. Anyone wanna analyze this? Maybe just a “I know I need to do this so I can come back and be the person I need to be for both of us but fuqqit imma miss you while I’m gone” or “I need to leave so no one can use/hurt him to get to me again right now.” Or just “hey maybe this isn’t the most genius plan.” Idk, but I would LOVE to hear Scott and Alex’s take on this scene. Also they filmed this scene before the show was ended by CBS so who knows how that factored into it. If they thought there would be a possible reunion later?

‪-Telling Eddie to look after Danno, which definitely means Danny will be keeping his house/bed warm til his hubby returns.‬

‪-fleeting thought I have that I might expore later: possible acting choices in the difference in hand holding/smiles between with Danny vs. Catherine?Notthepointofthispostthosoweskipfornow‬

‪-I might post thoughts on other things later but I mainly just wanted to compile this list of straight-out-of-fanfic moments that 100% confirms Danny IS the most important person in Steve’s life and OF COURSE he will return and text/call him everyday til then. Regardless of the end, which is really so open that we can do so many beautiful things with now, most of the episode served as a beautiful culmination of what Steve and Danny have come to mean to each other throughout the last 10 years, and we can rest peaceful and happy in that. ❤️‬ (this is also me still trying to convince myself to be okay with the way things were left on the beach/the conversation, etc)

I would love to hear y’all’s thoughts about any of this!!‬ if you made it this far—I apologize again for the length but lovey boys call for lovey rambles

[imalifegen89]

A Legacy Left Behind - Chapter - 7 - When the Past Unfurls - Part I

Rating: Mature

Category: M/M

Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, Hawaii Five-0 (2010)

Relationship: Steve McGarrett/John Sheppard

Characters: Steve McGarrett, John Sheppard, Danny "Danno" Williams, Evan Lorne, Bates (Stargate), Laura Cadman, Alicia Vega, Kono Kalakaua, Adam Noshimuri, PO Higgins (OC), Samantha "Sam" Carter, Jack O'Neill, John McGarrett, Dr. Lam, Catherine Rollins, Wo Fat, Original Goa'uld Character(s), Original Characters

Additional Tags: Action/Adventure, Action & Romance, Military, Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Violence, Character Bashing, Not Catherine Rollins Friendly, No DADT, Swearing

Summary :

"Sure John, I'll call," He promised as the SUV came to a stop in front of them. He and Danny both got in and seated themselves. He then gave a short wave to John who was still standing there by the exit watching them leave. Steve hoped what John had told him would be true, that his dad would be able to make it through. He was not ready to lose his only remaining parent. ‘God please, not again! Not so soon ...' His mind was repeating the mantra as Steve let out a weary sigh and closed his eyes."

Steve will find out about what happened to his father, who was involved in it, why it happened and so much more than he ever bargained for...

Hello All, Here's the next part of the series, and it's a two-parter. There are some plot twists on the way and hope you all will enjoy it.

Aethir - Thank you so much for your hard work and for finding some time to help me with editing, commenting, and giving out very helpful tips and suggestions. Idea bouncing and snark is always so much fun with you!!!

Part 1 - Honolulu General

Honolulu General Hospital

Hawaii

The six-hour-long flight in the old and noisy Globemaster had left both SEALs travel-weary and sleep-deprived. Neither had talked much during the flight, trying to catch a few hours of shut-eye, but among the jarring engine noise, the comms chatter, the endless shuddering, and the training maneuvers, that had been impossible. At the end of the flight, they had thanked the crew and disembarked with relief, each carrying their single duffel.

They were both on leave and therefore in civilian clothes, and instead of the usual armory they carried around, they only had their handguns and with extra clips in their bags. Although they were only making a visit to the hospital, neither of them was willing to go completely unarmed.

A short taxi ride brought them to the hospital from Hickam closer to the midday visiting hours. They figured if needed, they could wait in the hospital until they could see John McGarrett.

……….

"Hello, My name’s Steve McGarrett, I got a call last night about my father. Somebody named Curtis called me," said Steve, presenting his credentials to the male nurse manning the reception area of the Outdoor-Patient-Department. The nurse - L. Rider, according to his name tag - gave Steve and his ID a once over and started accessing his system.

"Yes, Mr. McGarrett, your father's been moved from the ICU. He’s in room 308. You can take that elevator to the left," he informed.

“Thanks.”

Steve and Danny both took off towards the given directions.

The room Steve's father was in wasn't hard to find. It was located on the third floor and the room had the number and the name 'John McGarrett' on a plaque clearly displayed. It also had 'Dr. Leonard T. Lester - Cardiologist' listed as his primary care physician.

"I'm going to go look around and find some coffee. Do you need anything?" Danny asked. He was going to give his friend some time with his dad before going in.

"Yeah sure, I could use some coffee.”

……….

During the six long hours he’d had to think about what happened, Steve’s mind had been busy contemplating some horrible scenarios. He hadn’t realized that he had been subconsciously bracing himself for the worst. Nobody in his family had any history of heart attacks and he didn't know what to expect, what to do or how to prepare. Being the trained planner that he was, Steve found the lack of knowledge rather unsettling.

What the nurse at the reception told him, gave him hope though. He theorized that since his dad's already been moved from the ICU to a regular room, his condition shouldn't be that bad.

Steve took a moment to compose himself, watching Danny as he walked away. Then he took a deep breath and knocked on the door before entering room 308.

……….

He stood still by the door to take the scene in.

His dad was lying on the bed and a white and blue hospital gown was peeking out from underneath the white blanket. There was a monitor attached to his chest and Steve could see the leads disappear through the opening of his gown. The apparatus was quiet and its screen indicated a steady rhythm while John McGarrett slept. Steve noticed there was an IV connected to his dad's left hand as well. He scrunched up his nose when the strong odor of antiseptics hit him in the face, contrasting starkly with the smell of gun oil and Old Spice aftershave he usually associated with his dad.

McGarrett senior was sleeping peacefully and didn't seem to be in any pain. Steve was content to let his dad be, preferring to let him wake up on his own. As he stepped further into the room, he saw a chair by the bed and lowered himself to it slowly, mindful not to make a sound. Then he placed his duffel bag on the floor and settled in to wait.

Maybe it was his instincts of being an active duty police officer - John McGarrett surfaced from his slumber knowing that there was somebody in the room with him, within a few minutes of Steve’s entrance. The slight change in the rhythm of the heart monitor alerted Steve to the fact. Not wanting to startle him, Steve leaned forward and addressed his father softly.

"Hey dad," he reached to touch his hand, the one without the IV needle.

"Steve!" His dad's eyes went wide, realizing his son was sitting by the bed. "What are you doing here?" John knew Steve was deployed and he was the last person he expected to see in the hospital this early. He hadn’t even been in here for 24 hours.

"The hospital called me and told me you had a heart attack," Steve explained. He was relieved to see that his dad was speaking clearly and wasn't showing any signs of disorientation or pain. In fact, he looked quite normal. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright," John smiled at the raised eyebrow he received from his son at that. So he elaborated. "Just a little tightness in my chest area. But the doctor says it's normal after an attack. Other than that, I really am feeling fine. To be honest, I didn't even know what it was. I only knew I had a heart attack when Dr. Lester told me this morning," He was more curious as to how his son got here so quickly. "Where were you when they called you?"

"Colorado Springs." Steve smiled. He couldn't really get into details about his deployment or his whereabouts other than that, but he was glad that he was in the States to make this trip.

"Hah, and you’re here already. That was quick,"

"Yeah, I got lucky and caught a transport.”

Steve was more than happy to just sit there and exchange pleasantries all day long. But he needed to know what happened first. He got up to go and fetch a glass of water for his father from the bedside table. "Dad, what happened?"

His dad took it and drank some water before handing it back to Steve. Then he turned on his bed to fully settle on his back. Steve put the glass away and leaned towards his dad, giving him his full, undivided attention.

"It was the weirdest thing, kid," said the senior McGarrett, frowning as he cast his mind back to the chain of events that led to his sudden health failure. “I was in that small grocery shop by the filling station near home. I had just finished filling up the tank on the truck and was getting some stuff for the weekend. I remember walking towards the counter to pay and that’s it - for the life of me, I can't remember having any pain or calling for help or anything. I was standing there one moment and was waking up on this bed the next.” He paused to take a deep breath and then exhale slowly. “Then there’s this fellow - Dr. Lester - is telling me how lucky I was to come back from a severe myocardial infarction with no visible damage to my heart,” he made a face, remembering his earlier conversation with the overly cheerful doctor who described the incident in vivid medical detail.

“How’d you get here?”

“He said that the shop owner called for emergency services and sent me here. Apparently, I coded on the way, but they managed to get my heart started again without much fuss. And now, here I am.” John finished recounting the incident.

Steve rubbed a hand across his face, trying to take it all in.

“I wouldn’t obviously know what to expect, it’s not like I’ve had a heart attack before - but I'd have thought that at least you get some kind of a warning sign, you know? Like breathing difficulties, chest pain or something,” McGarrett senior continued after a moment. “Not this going about your normal day-to-day business, and then a complete blackout, followed by waking up in a damn hospital bed - it just doesn't feel normal,” his frown deepened.

Steve didn’t say anything for a long while. He just took his time to sit there and watch his dad who seemed to be doing pretty much okay after going through such an experience. He was immensely relieved and was happy to take his time to enjoy the feeling, letting go of the worry and stress that had built up since the moment he’d received the call.

A knock on the door interrupted the comfortable silence in the room and Danny Williams entered carrying two styrofoam cups of coffee.

“Ah there you are, Cap, how are you feeling?” He asked, handing over a coffee to Steve and coming closer to stand near the bed railing.

“I’m feeling alright, considering,” John smiled crookedly. “Where’s my coffee, Williams?”

“Hey, I don't think coffee is on the approved list for you,” Danny grinned. He was glad to see the man looked healthy enough for someone who had just had a serious health scare, fit to be up and making demands. “Besides, this hospital swill is so bad it might just give you a different problem or three,” he sipped his coffee and grimaced theatrically to prove the point. “So when are they letting you out?”

“Don't know yet, my doctor is supposed to drop by any time now. I don't think I need to stay here any longer at all.” John stated confidently. He was not accustomed to sitting around on a bed all day, especially when he wasn’t feeling different from any other day.

“Let’s let the doctor decide that, yeah dad? As you said, this is the first time something like this has happened to you and they just might need to keep you under observation for a bit - just saying,” Steve cautioned.

He knew his dad and he could see the stubborn man was already planning on going home, to start acting as if nothing happened. He might even insist on going to work unless the doctor gave him strict orders to rest and take it easy for a while.

“Which reminds me, do they know at the station that you are here?” Steve asked his dad before he could start protesting about staying put in the hospital. “I tried calling Kelly before I left, but it went to voicemail,”

“No, I’m on leave - only due back the day after tomorrow,” his dad replied somewhat petulantly.

The room door opened again, this time granting entry to a short, balding Hawaiian native. The name tag embroidered over the chest area of his white coat identified him as Dr. L.T. Lester. He smiled cheerfully at all of them and went to the nearest monitor connected to McGarrett senior.

“So how are you feeling today, John?” the doctor inquired while studying the monitor.

“I’m fine doc, when do I get to go home?” John got straight to the point.

The doctor continued taking readings and making notes with an amused smile on his face. Then he went to unclip the chart hanging on the bed railing and made a few notes on it. After that, instead of answering his reluctant patient, the doctor turned to Steve and Danny to introduce himself. At the end of exchanging pleasantries, he finally turned to address John.

“Well, Mr. McGarrett, I can see you’re doing quite well and your readings are good. But, as I explained to you earlier, what you went through is quite serious and you might have damage to your heart muscle.”

Then sensing the alarm from the visitors of his patient, the doctor hurried to explain. “It’s what happens during a heart attack. The blood flow into the heart gets interrupted and it goes into a sort of overdrive trying to restore the flow. This overactivity can cause damage. Your dad was quite lucky that people near him reacted quickly and sent him to the hospital on time.” The doctor smiled again.

“So, what’s next, doc?” Steve asked.

“We do need to assess the possibility of damage and the cause of the infraction. The most common reason is usually coronary artery disease, which means cholesterol clogging the arteries. There are some instances this could happen if you were experiencing a seizure with severe spasms and contractions. We’ll need to run some tests to determine the cause and then plan steps for the recovery,”

“And how long will all this take?” The McGarrett senior looked crestfallen, resigned to the fact that he wasn’t going to get out soon.

“I actually have you scheduled for some of the tests now. Some blood work, an EKG, and a scan. An attendant should be here shortly to take you for those,” Then the doctor turned to Steve and Danny. “The tests will take about an hour or so. If you need to step out and have a meal or something, now would be the time.”

An elderly female attendant entered the room quietly, pushing a wheelchair as the doctor finished, and started unhooking Steve's dad from his various monitors. Steve took the doctor's advice and took his leave with Danny, after letting his dad know that they’ll be back once the tests were done.

……….

“Well, I’ve gotta admit man, your dad’s right. That does sound weird.” Danny said after listening to Steve about what happened.

“Why?” Steve frowned.

“My uncle Mario had a heart attack a couple of years ago. The man was moving some heavy boxes around. He’d been sweating buckets and breathing through his mouth for about an hour when my aunt found him and made him take a break. Then he felt pain in his chest and aunt Rea took him to a doctor. The doctor took one look at him and sent him to an ER. He’s been suffering from a heart attack for hours by then,” Danny paused and tried to remember the exact details his mother told him about what happened to his uncle. “He is fine now. He had to have a bypass and has to stay away from all the greasy food and the alcohol, but he made it,” he said inspecting the sandwich he took from the vending machine. They were both seated in the hospital cafeteria with bottles of water and sandwiches.

It was crowded and almost all the tables were full with families huddling together having lunch - most probably waiting for news about their loved ones. It wasn’t that noisy, despite being crowded to capacity - and nowhere near cozy or inviting - as one would expect from a busy dining area. It felt as though the sense of expectation, the sense of happiness, and the overpowering sense of grief had all tangled up together to create a very subdued atmosphere. Even the smell of food mixed with the underlying odors of disinfectant contributed to the gloom that pervaded over the souls lost in their own private worlds.

“Wow, I’ve forgotten how crappy the hospital food is. This doesn't look like a roast beef sandwich man,” Danny sniffed at it. “Sure doesn’t smell like it either.” Then he shrugged and started eating. It didn’t taste much better either, but he was hungry after the long flight.

Steve didn’t say anything as he nibbled on his food. He wasn’t really hungry but knew he had to have something to keep his energy up. He was thinking about his dad’s recounting of the incident. He hadn’t said anything to his dad earlier, but the more he thought about it, the less it made sense. What Danny was telling him also made it clear how unusual the whole thing was. He made up his mind to pop into the shop his dad was in, later when they left the hospital. Maybe he could talk to the shopkeeper and even have a look at their security footage if they had any. He might even find something that could explain his dad suddenly suffering a heart attack. Maybe there was something that his dad had forgotten to mention.

He needed to get in touch with Sheppard as well, to let him know his dad’s condition. He knew that John would worry until he heard from him. Taking the last bite of his sandwich, he decided now would be the best time to make that call.

“Listen, I need to call Shep and let him know dad’s alright. I’m just gonna be over there by that balcony,” he told Danny as he stood up, fishing his phone out of his jacket pocket. Then he walked to the area he pointed, dialing Sheppard. “Be right back.”

………..

The sweet and subtle smell of her perfume reached Danny first, as he realized the lady who was wearing it was standing right in front of him. He looked up and saw the familiar, smiling face of Lieutenant Catherine Rollins looking down at him.

“Well, hello!” He grinned. “Fancy running into you here, of all places,” he gestured at the seat Steve had just vacated. “Take a seat,”

“Thanks,” Rollins smiled charmingly as she sat. “I’m just here visiting a friend of mine. She just had her second baby - a cute little baby boy,” her face took on the same expression all women wore when talking about babies. “I popped in here to get a drink and then I saw you,” she said. “I thought you guys were in Colorado? Is everything ok?” Her expression turned into one tinged with concern.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m here with Steve, actually. We got a call about his dad, but he’s alright. We just saw him,” Danny explained without going into much detail. He noticed the Lieutenant perking up at the mention of McGarrett junior.

“He’s over there, on a call.” he pointed with his head.

Steve was leaning over the balcony with his elbows resting on the railing and busy talking to Sheppard. He didn’t see the new arrival as he had his back to them.

Danny saw the wattage of Cathrine’s smile go up as her eyes ran over the view the oblivious SEAL presented. He hid the grin and blinked at her innocently when she turned back to face him.

“So, will you guys be here for a few days then?” She inquired, her gaze snapping back to where Steve was, almost unintentionally.

Danny knew she was mostly interested in finding out whether Steve was going to be around for a while.

“Well, that depends.” He hedged. “We have to see his dad’s doctor and see how it goes,”

He didn’t want to give any definite answers or any other details without Steve’s say so. He opened his bottle and drank some water, wishing Steve would soon return. So that he could decide what to tell this infatuated Lieutenant who was back to staring at Steve’s ass with a dreamy look on her face. Then something started to nag at Danny about what she said earlier, but he couldn’t place it. He pushed it away to sort out later as he saw Steve finishing his call.

……….

“Yeah, so that’s what happened. He seems alright and man, that’s a relief. Depending on what his tests and scans show, it’ll be a day or two more. But I’ll message you when I find out,” Steve said to John, who was quite relieved at the fact that Steve’s dad was fine. He insisted that Steve take as much time as needed to make sure his dad got all the support he needed. He also made Steve promise to message him with updates and implored him to take care of himself before finally ending the call.

Steve put his phone back inside his jacket with a smile. He very much appreciated the time he was given to take care of his dad. Moreover, he was deeply touched by the way Sheppard sounded over the phone. He had been really worried and the relief that poured over from his lover through the call was almost a tangible thing. Steve made a mental note to send regular updates as promised. It wasn’t something he would have done for anyone else, but he knew Sheppard would stress otherwise. It felt nice to know that he had somebody who cared that much about him.

He felt the good feeling wilt away when he turned back to see the penetrating gaze of Catherine Rollins directed at him. He was pretty sure he caught her in the act of staring at his ass. She smiled brilliantly at him and waved. Steve was somewhat reluctant to wave back and tried his best to summon a smile for her. He was sure it looked more like a grimace instead.

Steve didn’t have anything against beautiful women. He was definitely not opposed to being the subject of desire of one, either. He had gone out with many pretty women and Catherine Rollins, with her long black hair, soulful brown eyes, and radiant smile was exactly his type. But he was very much invested in another hazel-eyed brunet and he didn’t see himself veering off anytime soon - if ever at all. Even if he wasn’t, Steve knew that he still wouldn’t be interested in this particular woman. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something off about Lieutenant Rollins - something that rubbed him the wrong way - that made him want to be on his guard whenever she was nearby.

“Hi, Steve,” Rollins greeted cheerfully as he walked towards them.

Again, he was instantly put off by the overly friendly greeting. They had only known each other for about 48 hours, hadn’t they? He had to make a conscious effort to return the greeting without letting his true feelings show.

“Hello, Lieutenant,” He asked, more or less politely. “What brings you here?”

Danny cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes, picking up on Steve’s discomfort instantly.

Rollins either didn’t notice or didn’t let it bother her because she launched into the story of her friend and her cute little babies with great enthusiasm.

Steve kept the smile plastered on his face as she talked. Then he made a show of checking time and gestured to Danny. “Hey, listen, it’s nice bumping into you here. But Danny and I’ve gotta run. My dad should be done with his tests now,” he said to the woman as Danny got up from the chair to go with him. Steve didn’t want to give her any details about their visit here and hoped Danny hadn’t run his mouth either.

With that somewhat curt parting, he turned and walked out of the cafeteria, with Danny following closely behind.

“So, it isn’t just me, hah? She gives off weird vibes to you too?” Danny asked, turning his walk into a half jog to keep up with Steve’s longer strides. Steve was eager to put as much distance as possible between them and Rollins.

“Yeah, you didn’t tell her why we’re here, did you?” Steve asked while stabbing the buttons on the elevator.

“Nah, not really. Just told her that we’re here for your dad. That’s it.”

“Is she following us?” Steve was staring at the shiny surface of the elevator door.

The reflections on it were slightly distorted. But Danny could discern the shapely figure of Rollins in tight-fitting jeans and green sleeveless top, slowly making her way towards them.

“Forget this,” Steve spat, pressing a few more buttons for various floors on the keypad. Then he swiftly walked away to the nearest staircase and started climbing two steps at a time. He knew his behavior was a bit irrational; she was just a colleague after all, not another enemy combatant gaining on him. Nevertheless, he wanted to get away from her as soon as possible.

When they finally reached Steve’s dad’s room, the man was already there, enjoying his lunch. It didn’t look much better than what they had either. John McGarrett insisted that there was no need for them to hang around since he was just going to take his pills and take a long nap anyway. He could see the boys were tired and wanted them to go home and catch a few hours of sleep for themselves. Steve relented and promised his dad that they’d drop by later around dinner time. He made him promise to call them if he needed anything before that and then finally hugged him fiercely, before taking their leave.

[fk12b]

Mr and Mrs Mcgarrett

Steve McGarrett x Williams!Reader

Plot: The chilling adventures of the McGarretts

Main Characters: Task Force

Prompts:

318 - “Why can’t you appreciate my sense of humor?”

319 - “I’m trying, okay?”

340 - “I didn’t think you could get any less romantic”

360 - “You’re a nerd”

Warnings: Nothing, just a usual day in Hawaii. A bad joke that had to be done, and several bad jokes that needed to be done or else I would have exploded. Sorry, not sorry.

Word Count: 7397 Words

A/N: Hello friends! seeing that the world needs more Steve McGarrett, I decided to give this man some love. Hope you enjoy some Hawaii Five-0.

Based on this song -> What I Like About You - The Romantics

Steve wrapped his arms tighter around you, bringing you closer to his chest. He had heard a strange noise coming from downstairs. Surely it was just his mind playing tricks on him. After all, it was… he slightly turned his head to look at the clock in the nightstand, 6:15 AM? He shook off the silly thoughts and laid his head back down on the pillow, thinking Eddie might have dropped something, snuggling closer to you. When he got comfortable enough, he heard the noise again, almost jumping out of bed but already having an idea of what might have caused the noise.

“Stevie?” you mumbled stirring slightly “Was that you?”

“No, I’m right here babe” Steve sat up leaning his weight on one elbow to kiss your cheek “Go back to sleep” you hummed in acknowledgment.

Steve held his breath to concentrate and listen to any noise, closing his eyes and pursing his lips for a second. That’s when he heard it, a faint curse, that would have missed if he wasn’t focusing that intently. With an angry huff, he shot out of bed, not bothering to put on a shirt, and taking a broom from the corridor’s cabinet.

Once he reached the stairs, he descended them carefully, yet quickly, avoiding the parts that creaked. While Steve neared the kitchen, where he was sure the noise came from, he wondered why Eddie didn’t bark if it was a stranger who broke in. His frown deepened when he heard happy hums coming from the room. Now that is weird. Rising the broom higher and adjusting his grip, he stepped into the kitchen.

“Danny?” Steve’s brow deepened, once he saw his partner standing in his kitchen wearing his apron “What are you doing here at this unholy hour?!”

“Good morning, brother in law! Nice to see you too” Danny Williams cheered once he turned around to place a plate of pancakes in the table and saw him standing there “You neanderthal animal, do a favor to the humanity and put on a tank top at least. What are you doing with a broom, by the way?” he frowned he noticed the object in his hands

“I’m the Neanderthal?!” Steve shouted flipping out and then remembering that you were sleeping upstairs and lowered his voice to a whisper “I thought someone broke in!” He whisper-shouted smacking his brother in law in the head with the broom repeatedly “It’s my day off and it’s too early to put up with you, I thought I wouldn’t have to see your face today” Steve smacked him one more time before Danny grabbed it and started hitting him back with the broom.

“You could at least thank me” the short blonde man huffed smacking Steve in the face “I made you breakfast” Steve let out an angry groan before retrieving the broom but he wasn’t fast enough and Danny rounded the table bumping into a chair in the process.

“Hey, hey!” you stepped into the kitchen rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, messy hair and wearing one of your husband’s t-shirts. Steve smiled at the sight of you, thinking you looked adorable, even more so than usual, at this hour of the day “What is all this havoc about?”

“Tell your husband to show some gratitude when someone cooks breakfast for him” You instantly woke up at the sound of your brother’s voice. Apparently, you didn’t notice that he was here until he spoke, not expecting him today at all since it was his and Steve’s day off.

“Danno!” you squealed walking up to him to greet him with a tight hug and a kiss to his cheek “I didn’t expect you today, isn’t today your day off?”

“Hey! Do me a favor and don’t call me Danno, uhum? I thought it was forgotten. Well, at least my baby sister is happy to see me, so I’ll let that go” he returned the kiss and went to serve the pancakes “I felt lonely at home, the kids went on a school trip and I decided to visit my other two kids” the joke made Steve groan and roll his eyes while he moved to the fridge to take out the juice.

“I can’t have one day to myself and sleep in with my gorgeous wife next to me, without anyone bothering me?” Steve mumbled placing the bottle at the table and kissed your pouty lips when he walked past you on his way to the cabinet to pick three glasses.

“I heard that!” Danny pointed the spatula at him “No buttered pancakes for you”

You couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, shaking your head at their antics, which soon turned into a laugh when Steve mumbled something around the lines of being too soon to put up with your brother and that he didn’t want buttered pancakes anyway, while he took a seat next to you. Once he was settled and took a blueberry from the bowl in front of you, you placed your hand at the nape of his neck to bring him closer to you for a loving kiss, to kiss his deep frown away.

“Guys, come on! PDA!” Your brother groaned making Steve break the kiss in annoyance.

“My house, my kitchen, my wife, my rules” He replied kissing you again, deeply this time, making your brother roll his eyes in annoyance.

“Oh, come on! It's my sister, you SEAL. And there are kids around” your brother pointed to the kitchen door, and you both turned your heads to see Eddie happily wagging his tail and happily barked. Then he laid down and placed his paws in front of his eyes as if to hide from you two kissing. “Good boy!” Danny chuckled throwing a berry at Eddie who cached it in the air and trotted away.

“Are you turning my dog against me?” Steve squinted his eyes at your brother.

“I swear you behave like an old married couple” you mumbled letting out a full laugh and taking a bite of your pancakes before they cooled down. You moaned savoring the buttered goodie “Danno, you’re the best at making pancakes” your brother smirked at you and flipping the spatula in his hand with a victorious grin before he returned to the task of cooking. “Hey! Give them back!” you squealed when Steve stole your plate.

“Nope” Your husband denied turning away from you when you grabbed his arm too pull him towards you, and stuffed his face with an excessive amount of your pancakes. He said something but you couldn’t understand him.

“Swallow first, then talk” you softly slapped his cheek and tried to take his pancakes instead, but he grabbed them away from you too. “Steve!” you whined crossing your arms over your chest.

“You’re not having pancakes until you admit I’m the best,” he said after swallowing the bite and having some juice.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Danny said placing another plate of the buttered goodies in front of you “King of pancakes to the rescue” he joked kissing your head and taking a seat in front of you, after he finished serving the breakfast, and taking your previous plate of pancakes. He slapped Steve’s hand away with the spatula when he tried to reach back for it.

“Not fair” he mumbled into his coffee “he never butters my pancakes” you laughed at your pouty husband.

“Y/N/N, can you tell your husband to put on a shirt? He can cut the pancakes with his nipples” Danny groaned into his coffee.

“I could, but someone keeps stealing my clothes” Steve turned in his chair to glare at Eddie, who was sprawled on the floor and pointed a finger to him “Eddie stop stealing my clothes!” you laughed at his antics while your brother rolled his eyes.

“Seriously, make him put on a shirt or something”

“Wait” you rolled your eyes and stood up walking up to the fridge to retrieve some sticky notes from the block you kept there to write down reminders or shopping items or, in Steve’s case, just silly love notes and bad puns to make you smile. You took two of them, one green and the other orange, and walked back to your husband, who raised an eyebrow at you, to place them over his nipples with a pat on each one, making him chuckle and kissed his cheek before sitting back in your chair “There, PEGI 12” you all laughed and went back to your breakfast, the commander making sure the stickies stayed in place every each second.

The peace didn’t last long, though. Your phone started to ring, making you groan, since you were the one out of the three, who didn’t have a day off today, which means that you’ll have to go earlier than usual to the palace. You quickly apologized and stood from the table to retrieve your phone which was on your bag in the living room. “Williams-McGarrett” You answered once you noticed it was a call from Jerry.

Five-0 years ag-0…

“If you keep frowning, your face will get stuck like that” You cheered knocking on your brother’s, Danny Williams, office “How’s my favorite bro doing?” you smiled once he looked up from the papers he was looking at.

Since Grace and Charlie were at school and you haven’t yet visited your brother at work since you landed three days ago, and he probably was neglecting his diet, you decided to visit him and have lunch with him, even though he might be swamped with work.

“Y/N/N!” He cheered once he saw you standing there and stood up with a smile, engulfing you in a bear hug “What’s my favorite Williams doing here?”

“Taking care of my bro, of course. Since the kids are at school, I had nothing to do. And please,” you rolled your eyes breaking away from the hug and taking a seat at his desk before placing the take-away on it, careful not to dirt anything, while he closed the door after you to have more privacy “Everyone in Hawaii knows Grace and Charlie are your favorite Williams”

“Not true” He sat back and started opening the bags.

“Yes true,” Grabbing your bag which contained a taco bowl, you leaned into your seat. “How’s the case going?”

“Well,” he reclined in his chair, letting a long huff of breath widening his eyes and propping his feet on the table. “Not well, but we found a lead that hopefully will clarify things, we’ve gone from a dead-end to another” you nodded taking a bite from your food “By the way” you hummed in acknowledgment “Why can’t you eat tacos like normal people?” you squinted your eyes at him and threw a used napkin at him, making him protest.

While you ate, you and your brother made plans for the week suggesting activities that the kids might like, and once the trash was discarded and the desk was clean again, you both relaxed a bit while exchanging all the stories that happened these past months, trying to take his mind out of this stressful case. Even though they only have been six months to Danny they felt like six long centuries, he missed having his youngest sister, who he felt the closest to around. You were about to tell him another one of your college stories when someone knocked on the door.

“Oh, sorry I didn’t know you had company,” Kono said as she opened the door “Oh my god, Y/N? It’s been a long time!” she cheered when you turned around to face the familiar voice and stood up to hug her “How have you been?”

“Kono!” you gave her a tight hug “I’ve been good, but every day I felt homesick, how have you been?”

“I’ve been great thanks for asking, but did you miss your brother that much?” She joked making you chuckle and Danny roll his eyes to the back of his head.

“Nah, I just missed the Hawaiian nice weather” you joked back making your brother gasp while you two laughed. But you instantly pouted hugging him when he said he wouldn’t make any more buttered goodies for you.

“By the way Danny, that industrial ship was another dead end” the officer commented making your brother groan throwing himself to his chair facepalming. “McGarrett went to talk to Chin to see if he could get something from those drives”

“I see you guys are still busy with this case” you commented frowning.

“You have no idea” Kono sighed “This is the longest case so far” she groaned grabbing her hair in frustration. “And the weirdest” she added after letting a huff of air

“If it wasn’t for those drives, we would have solved this case long ago” Danny groaned.

“I see,” you trailed off considering your options “well, then, I won’t be distracting you anymore, you’ve got a lot of work”

“Oh no, you can stay as much as you want” Your brother quickly reassured you, standing up from his chair and walking up to you to place an arm around your shoulders “It’s fun having you around, and besides, I’ve missed you. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do”

“I don’t want to interfere with anything” you quickly commented.

“Don’t even say it” Kono quickly stopped you “It’s been a while since we’ve seen you around”

“Wanna join us for the rest of day?” your brother suggested, almost pleadingly, squeezing your arm “We need a lot of moral support right now”

“Okay, that sounds funnier than binging some crappy show alone” your mood quickly lightened at the prospect of spending some more time with your ohana and seeing how things worked around.

“Amazing!” Kono cheered walking up to the door “let’s see if Kelly discovered something” She said leading the way.

It was a short walk from your brother’s office to the briefing room. You were so engrossed in a conversation, catching up and talking nonstop with the both of them, that you failed to notice a pair of eyes looking intently at you, following your moves along the corridor. Steve had an idea of who you were, given that his partner never shut up about you.

“Hey, are you even listening to me?” Chin frowned waving a hand in front of the commander’s face and snapped his fingers grabbing his attention. He turned around to discover the cause of the distraction but saw nothing.

“Yeah” Steve cleared his throat “You were talking about” he trailed off waiting for a revelation and waving his hand around before crossing his arms over his chest, looking apologetically and trying to smile sweetly at his colleague to no avail.

“As I was saying” Kelly started again when Jerry’s outburst interrupted him once again, placing his hands on his hips exasperated, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Y/N/N!” He stood up from his chair and walked up to you to greet you properly.

“Jerry!” you cheered giving him a big hug “long time no see, big guy. What you’ve been up to?”

“Nothing much, the usual” Jerry shrugged. “With my theories and helping these guys”

“Good to see nothing's changed then” you smiled at him and jumped when someone slapped your arm.

“You never cease to interrupt me or what?” Chin gave you a rather serious, yet playful look that soon turned into a grin.

“Chin!” you hugged him tightly too “Do you ever age? You haven’t changed a thing!”

“You should come here more often” Chin joked patting your head.

“Steve, this my baby sister” Danny introduced you to the rather attractive tall man “I don’t know if you have ever met her”

“Commander Steve McGarrett” the young man introduced himself extending a hand towards you, which you gladly took and shook it “And you must be the infamous Y/N, it’s like I already know you, Danno never shuts up talking about you, Y/N this, Y/N that. I’m happy to finally put a face to the name” he continued still shaking your hand.

Now, your relationship with the team was curious, to say the least, you knew everyone and considered them your ohana. Commander Steve McGarrett was the exception. Even though he was one of your brother’s best friend, you were pretty sure were joined at the hip, you never had the occasion to meet him in person, or spend some time with him yet. You knew perfectly who he was because Danny always told you everything that happened during the day when he called you or went to visit him, to keep you updated. But due to your busy schedule with your work and studies and his duties you never had spare time to spend together. And, of course, every time you came back home to spend some time in Hawaii, Danny preferred to spend that time with you alone and the kids.

“Likewise, commander” you nodded giving him a smile, that he thought was brighter than the sun, and before releasing your hand he brought it to his lips to kiss it.

“Ahem, Y/N/N?” Your brother grabbed your attention and hastily turning around to face him making your hair flow. “Why don’t you take a seat over here?” he said patting the chair next to him. You nodded with a smile and quickly moved to that spot, failing to notice how your brother sent daggers to a rather distracted Steve.

“So” Steve cleared his throat, ignoring Danno’s glares, grabbing back the team's attention “apart from the empty industrial ship, do we have any advances on the drives” He wondered turning to Jerry and Chin.

“Nothing. Not a clue” the Lieutenant shook his head defeated “The laptop is too damaged to take anything from it, and despite having tried everything, we can’t manage to get the drives back to work. They are damaged or empty”

“So basically what you’re saying is that we are back to the start again?” Kono stated as everyone grew frustrated.

“Well not really form the start” Jerry chimed in “I might think that the drives might be encrypted, being “empty” and “not working” a way of disguise. But it will take probably days to decrypt them” that grabbed your focus, being encryption your field of work amongst other areas, and raised your hand.

“Yes, Y/N/N?” Your brother nudged you.

“I don’t want to interfere because I know you are a thousand times better qualified than me, but” now you had everyone listening intently at you. “Have you tried combining the hard disk and the memories of the laptop with the drives?”

“What?” Chin raised an eyebrow “How?”

“Maybe the motherboard is not that damaged and doing a ‘quick fix’ you can get the drives to work again” you suggested pointing to the damaged laptop.

“Suggested the nerd” Danny joked earning a slap on the head from Kono.

“Can I take a look?” you looked at everyone eager to help until your eyes landed on the commander who was in charge.

“Honestly, a fresh pair of experts hands would be welcomed” Jerry requested to Steve who motioned for you with his hand, accepting your offer.

“What’s your plan?” Chin stood next to you while Jerry passed the laptop to you.

“First we open what’s left of this device” you suggested grabbing the small screwdriver Ortega offered you. “Thanks” Once the screws were off the cover you opened it, frowning at what you found “Amazing! I've never seen such a fried circuit. Someone took time doing this to make sure it wouldn’t work”

“Great news” Kono complained “Our only clue gone trash”

“Oh don’t worry, everything can be saved. There’s always a way in” you reassured continuing to unclasp things and disconnecting wires, not noticing how everyone shared a look, except Jerry who was carefully and intently watching your every move.

“Even when the laptop is burned and beaten to smithereens?” Steve wondered really curious resting his arms at the right end of the table very curious about your methods, while Kono and your brother stood opposite him.

“It’s the software that counts, not the hardware” you joked giving the commander a thousand watts smile.

“You’re a nerd” your brother picked on you making Kono slap his arm again, and earning a glare from you.

“Thanks, Kono. And you’re an idiot” you retorted placing on the table the fans you disconnected.

“Still, that doesn’t change the fact that you are a computer nerd” you rolled your eyes

“IT engineer, Danno” you let out a breath through your nose disconnecting carefully another part.

“What’s the difference?” Danny kept on joking “still a nerd and a computer nerd”

“I didn’t think you could get any less romantic” Everyone wholeheartedly laughed at that.

“Why can’t you appreciate my sense of humor like that?” Danny playfully complained.

“Because you’re ugly” you quickly replied putting down the last part and smiling at your brother.

“I wouldn’t have summarized it better, sweetheart” Steve joined the banter with a laugh earning a glare from your brother before going back to examine the important parts, mainly the drives and disks.

“I love you, too” Danny grimaced throwing a piece of wire at him.

“Very bad news and very good news” you cheered, once the laptop was dismounted, placing on the table the last piece of the laptop. “Bad news first?”

“Shot” Steve said straitening himself and placing his hand on his hips. “We’re immune to them by now”

“The hard disk is damaged, but I think it can be saved with a bit of love” you explained while giving Jerry said part and looked at the boss.

“And the good news?” Kono spoke “We really need to hear very good news”

“The cache memory and the solid-state drive are intact” you passed them to Chin while your brother gave you a deeply confused frown.

“In Christian, for the ones that aren’t nerds like you,” your brother asked for an explanation with a sweet smile.

“The cache memory stores data so that future requests for that data can be served faster. The data stored in a cache might be the result of an earlier computation or a copy of data stored elsewhere. So whatever the owner did last, this sneak will tell us” You tried to explain as best as you could, making sure everyone followed.

“That’s what I said but they didn’t listen” you chuckled at your brother's childish behavior.

“Okay, that’s great” Steve cheered pointing at you “That’s amazing, what else?”

“It’s actually very simple and common,” you said shrugging of his comment and continued with your explanation “And as the hard disk” you pointed to the part Jerry was holding, which he showed everyone “Is mostly used for mass storage, the solid-state drive, commonly known as SSD” you pointed to the long and rectangular piece Chin was holding, which he also showed “Is used for boosting, the operative system, Windows for example, and most used applications.”

“We have the pieces of the puzzle. We only need to connect them” Jerry agreed having understood what was your point “How do you plan on doing that?” he questioned looking at you curiously.

“Well, I need a motherboard, and wires” you requested biting your lip looking to the discarded pieces and then at Jerry “And a computer of course”

“This way my lady” Jerry motioned for you to follow him.

"Danno?" you called from the back of the room "Can you please bring me a black small box from the bag that I left on your office?"

"Of course!" he answered dropping the screw he was playing with to go retrieve the item you asked for in a hurry.

You went back to the desk holding too many things and yellow wires around your neck. Everyone was in awe at how fast you mounted the parts together, sharing with Jerry and Chin every now and then

the different options you had. Danny came back to the room moments later, waving a small box in his hand.

“Yes!” you squealed when your brother passed you the small box “you’re the best” you added fist-bumping your brother.

“What’s that?” Steve said picking the small black box in his hands to examine it.

“It’s a crafted CPU” you explained while you linked the yellow wires to motherboard “It can work as a computer if you connect a screen to it”

“Cool,” he nodded giving a pout of approval placing it back on the table.

“Great” you smiled once you made sure every wire was well linked “Next step, connect this baby to a computer”

Steve already pulled the chair from the computer for you. Giving him a curt nod and a smile, that he gladly returned, you plugged on of the yellow wires from the motherboard to the CPU of the computer and another to your black box, before you took a seat. Once you were comfortable and settled Chin passed you the drivers that were driving the team crazy, plugging them to the box and proceeded to work away on them typing very fast.

Chin, Kono and your brother had wandered away and scattered around the room giving you space for you to work properly, while Jerry grabbed a chair and took a seat to your left sharing his theories with you. Steve genuinely curious about what you were doing and eager to learn more from you, even though he had no idea about what you were doing, grabbed another chair and sat to your right. In a couple of minutes, you had managed to prepare everything and hesitated your hands hovering over the keyboard.

“What’s wrong?” Steve worried genuinely concerned while Jerry placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder.

“I’m about to break a handful of dozens of rules,” You said frowning to the screen and looking intently to the enter key you index finger hovering over it, touching but not pressing “The full weight of the law can drop on whoever presses this button. Like an anvil”

Before you even get to finish your speech, Steve had leaned forward and with no hesitation whatsoever, pressed the enter key and leaned back on his chair crossing his arms over his chest with a satisfied look, making you turn in your seat to look at him with your eyes wide open and your mouth slightly ajar. He simply raised an eyebrow and shrugged one shoulder back. Could someone make the carefreeness look hot and rock some bicep tattoos? Apparently, it’s big hot damn yes from Commander McGarrett.

Those thoughts stopped right there when a ding rang around the room that something happened with the drives. Suddenly, Jerry laughed grabbing your attention and looking back to the screen as well as the rest around the room, all of them gathering around you.

“Did it work?” Lieutenant Kelly wondered hopefully, standing behind Jerry “If it worked you have beer supply for life”

“I don’t know if it worked” You frowned reading the screen that asked for a password to be entered.

“Yes, it did” Jerry nodded eagerly

“It asks for some credentials” You frowned trying to look for patrons “They look like some GPS coordinates” you suggested making Steve lean forward resting an arm over the back of your chair, to take a better look at the screen.

“Try the industrial ship location” The commander suggested passing you a piece of paper with messy scribbled numbers which you quickly typed them.

“We’re in” You cheered high fiving Jerry “It worked!”

“Good job, kid” Chin smirked affectionately patting your head “She’s good” he stated the obvious whispering to your brother.

“She’s amazing” he confirmed looking down at you with a proud smile, placing both of his hands on your shoulders and giving them a squeeze

Meanwhile, you continued analyzing the estrange documents in the devices. Someone took time making sure no one could read them. Almost anyone. They didn’t take you into account. The level of encryption was something you have never seen before. This person was very good but not as good as you. No one was better than you.

“Guys” you suddenly exclaimed instantly grabbing the commander’s attention, who leaned forward and rested his arm over the back of your chair. “These are not simple drives. They are part of a fallen military satellite.”

“How do you know that,” Steve asked growing curious every second and not licking a single bit where this case was heading.

“The company I worked before for worked with putting into orbit satellites, mostly for defense. Of course, they never stay up long, they have a certain period of life. Some months ago one of the old ones came back down and the location where it was supposed to land was empty, so the company assumed that it disintegrated and was destroyed in the process, not taking into account that someone might have stolen it. At least we made sure to retrieve any important data from them. It’s mostly scrapped material, but some parts can be reused” You quickly explained to everyone “Now someone here reused these drivers and they are hiding footprints, amongst other things that are encrypted” you displayed a footprint causing Steve to frown in thought before he widened his eyes in realization.

“Of course we couldn’t find anything” the blue-eyed man groaned running a hand down his face “We didn’t look where we needed to. Their headquarter is located underground” He stood up giving instructions to Kono, Chin and your brother who quickly got into action. “Y/N do you have anything else to do today?” you turned to look at him but he stopped “Change of plans you’ll be working with us. Can you take this with you?”

“Yes, but most of it is still encrypted and I need to work on it. Give me a second, though” you quickly got into action transferring everything to your black box.

“Good, you’ll be our eyes. Jerry, Danno already went to warn Lou, can you go to him and explain everything?”

“Coming right up” Jerry nodded patting you on the shoulder.

Once everything was transferred to the box you disconnected everything and switched off the computer and disarming the parts from the motherboard and McGarrett helped you secure the parts, given they were important proofs in the case.

The walk to the silver Camaro RS, where your brother was waiting for you, leaning in the car and holding your purse, was filled with small chitchat, that consisted of you talking about your work these past months, and jokes. The conversation flowed easily between the two of you. It felt like you knew each other from a long time ago. Danny, noticing the happy smiles his partner sent you, he couldn’t help but sent a warning glare to Steve, who simply rolled his eyes and got in the driver seat, like the overprotective big brother he was while he opened the passenger door for you.

You, of course, didn’t notice that exchange between them, too worried about the discovery wanting to get back to it as soon as possible. Once you were settled and heard the reassuring click of the seatbelt, you started drumming away with fast taps on the keyboard, tuning out any other noise except the soft hum of the radio playing some station. Steve glanced at you amazed at how fast you focused on your work what made share a look with cranky man at the back seat throw the rearview mirror, who shrugged back at him clearly very used to that.

“Y/N/N?” Danny called from the back seat, leaning forward between the two seats when you hummed in acknowledgment not taking your focus from the screen “Aren’t your fingers sore?”

“Nah” you replied pouting your lips pressing enter harsher than normal to make your point “I’m used to it”

“You caveman, tell me again why we need to bring her with us?” Danny questioned his partner with steam almost coming out of his ears.

You turned to your brother with a curious look “Danny, this is a really coarse tracker, even though the hardware is not. Amazing work but raw, it can’t work properly if it’s too far away from the area” you tried to reassure your brother in your sweet voice. “Besides someone needs to take care of you, so you won’t do anything stupid. Don’t be a whiner”

“I’m trying, okay?” he was clearly irritated, At what you didn’t know.

Danno?”

You knew your voice had a way of calming your brother down “Yes, kiddo?” His voice immediately softened.

“If this is your car, why is Commander McGarrett driving it?” Clearly, you couldn’t wait to tease him back.

Danny’s smile dropped from his face and turned into a frown as soon as Steve snorted “Because this animal has control issues” he slapped Steve’s arm.

“What?” Steve, exclaimed very offended “Control issues? Why do you have to make up such lies now?”

“What,” Danny turned to Steve annoyed and voice rising “Lies? What lies? If not lying, then why do you always have to drive my car? How do you explain that, hm?”

The commander’s hands left the steering wheel, “Is it wrong for me to spoil a friend, I’m chauffeuring you around. I want you to feel special”

“Well, that’s just hogwash,” Danny said to Steve “Keep your hands on the wheel, you idiot”

“Neat” you whispered in awe tuning out their banter looking back to your laptop when the screen flashed showing a map of the local area.

“What?” The men turned to look at you but Danny force Steve’s face forward with his hand

“I reprogrammed the software of they used in the satellite, that was used as a tracker, and now have access too” you laughed in happiness.

“She’s a genius” Your brother shook his head in bewilderment.

“Thank god you took all the stupid with you then” Steve joked whispering stifling a laugh, what sent the two men into another round of bantering.

After some turns, maneuvers and car overtaking, the three of you finally arrived in no time to the area where the SWAT team was deployed and getting ready for the action, and followed the pair to the van, laptop under your arm.

“Commander McGarrett, Detective Williams” Lou Groover greeted as soon as he saw you. “I see you brought great company with you,” He said smiling at you.

“Captain Groover is good to see you again” you smiled back shaking his hand in greeting.

“Little Williams will be our eyes once we’re inside the building” Steve explained while Lou led you three to the control point where he indicated a place for you to settle where two men were getting ready some devices.

“Ready for some action, Little Williams?” Lou teased playfully raising an eyebrow at you.

“Ready as ever I will be” You confidently nodded and walked up to the SWAT agents who helped you get everything ready after greeting each other, while you explained your plan to the captain and the chaotic duo.

“My men are at your service” Lou patted you on the shoulder once you were properly seated “Marshal, Rogers, she’s in charge”

“Yes, sir” they replied with a nod and handed you an earpiece which you quickly placed in your ear.

“Be careful” you turned to the pair and with a salute, they went to meet the rest of the team “Radio check” you said into the intercom to make sure everyone heard you.

“Read you loud and clear” McGarrett was the first one to reply receiving a series of confirmation of the rest of the team.

“Perfect” you acknowledged typing away on your laptop “I have accessed the building security to have more control of the area” you informed signaling to the man on your left to control the cameras on the inside while you commanded the other SWAT to control the cameras on the outside and perimeter.

The mission flowed smoothly from there with your coordination and skills. The building was evacuated in no time and bad guys were on their way to be interrogated. After high fiving and congratulating the two SWATs that worked along with you for a successful operation, you thanked them and exited the van to meet the rest of the Five-O team.

McGarrett was talking to a SWAT when you came into view and caught his attention, once he noticed you approaching them. He bid goodbye to the agent in a hurry and parted ways to walk up to you. Usually, you were wary of any uniformed man, but you had acknowledged the fact that the tactic gear looked especially good on him

“Danny never told me you were an expert tactician” The tall blue-eyed man smiled at you.

“Even though I’ve worked with military, I can assure you, I’m very far from being an expert” you couldn’t contain the shy smile of your own you looked at your shows.

“You did a great job today, even more so than your brother” the commander chuckled really amazed at what he had witnessed today “We would have been lost if you hadn’t helped us today”

“Is my duty as a civilian to help the authorities as much as I can” You gave him a curt nod, not believing a word he was saying. “The Five-O and SWAT teams are the real heroes. I’m just a mere IT girl”

“A great one in your job” McGarrett complimented crossing his arms over his chest “There’s a vacant in the team for you if you want it”

You pondered his offer for a moment, were you really ready to get back into action? “Thanks for the offer, Steve” this was the first time you called him by his first name and his heart skipped a bit “but, even though I love my job and technology, I’m not one of those people that want to spend the rest of their life sitting in a chair typing away until their fingerprints are gone” declined his offer with a sad smile looking into his beautiful eyes.

“Tell me you’ll think about it at least”

“Of course” you nodded at him looking to where your brother was talking to an officer “I’ll think about it. It was a pleasure working with you, Lieutenant Commander McGarrett” You saluted him with a happy smile.

“It was my pleasure” Steve returned the salute and watched you walk up to your brother with content yet forlorn look.

Dinner was almost ready when the oven dinged signaling that the pumpkin pie was fully cooked. All it needed now was cool down.

“Is that pumpkin pie I smell?” Danny startled you making you hastily turn around and almost dropping the pie.

“No pie for you” squinting your eyes at him you placed the pie in the windowsill so none of the kids, nor Danno could eat it.

“Now you’re just being mean” He walked up to the fridge to pick a water bottle “You did amazing today. And you really must have impressed Steve with your hacking skills, because he doesn’t offer a place to everybody”

“Oh, you heard that?” You wondered wiping the counter with a clean rag.

“Steve told me” Danny clarified after taking a gulp from the water bottle “He’s my partner. We don’t have secrets with each other” you laughed but your brother could tell something was off. “What’s wrong?” he wondered placing an arm around your shoulders.

“I got a call from ACID today” You placed your arm around his middle without looking at him. “They offered me a job”

“Whoah!” Your brother cheered placing his hands on your shoulders and turning you to face him “That’s the company you wanted to work for since you started your degree. That’s amazing. Wait, a second why aren’t you smiling, and jumping?” he frowned upon seeing your expression.

“It’s in the Mainland” you simply said shrugging one shoulder.

“And?” his frown deepened, “I thought it was your dream. It seemed like a good opportunity for you. That’s why you never stopped talking about it”

“I don’t know” you sighed “I’m not so sure anymore. I don’t want to be sat all day in front of a screen” you hugged your brother “Even though, I love it. It’s a big company and I don’t what to be treated like a number”

“Then, are you going to accept Steve’s offer?” Danny hugged you back kissing your cheek.

“I don’t know, Danno” you started swaying “Office work is not my thing”

“You’re a genius” your brother reassured you “You’ll find the answer. Besides you still have a lot of time to think over the situation. And whatever you decide” he paused to cradle your face with his hands “I’ll support you”

“Thanks, Danno” You smiled brightly and hugging him tight until the doorbell rang.

“Always” he kissed your head and went to answer the door “Do me a favor and check on that pie!”

“Aunty Y/N?” Grace called for you from the backyard, where she and Charlie were playing “Aunty Y/N!” Charlie repeated.

“Yes, monkeys!” you shouted walking through the corridor making them laugh. In a second they were running towards you and when you noticed them they had already tackled you to the ground, making you tickle them in return.

“You can have my bed tonight” Grace suddenly squealed “No, no. You can sleep with me!” Charlie offered.

You chuckled at your niece and nephew's behavior “What are you talking about? Where are you going to sleep, then Grace?”

“We don’t want you to go” Charlie pleaded with puppy eyes while his sister copied him.

“You nosy little things” you softly said tickling them and earning a laugh from them “Guys, I’m not going anywhere, yet” you reassured them hugging them to you “We still got a week to do plenty of things” you started kissing their cheeks a million times making them giggle like crazy. “But for now let’s eat some pumpkin pie with vanilla ice and cream cheese frosting”

You three stood up and when you saw they weren’t ready yet you ran to the kitchen to grab the first piece of the pie. However, when you arrived there the pie was nowhere to be seen.

“Danno!” you shouted grabbing walking to the door “Did you stole my pie?” you asked irritated.

What you didn’t expect was two full-grown men fighting over a half-eaten pie. More like commander McGarrett, holding the pie over his head with a hand and holding your brother back with the other, while struggling to masticate a big bite of food. Grabbing a chair, you placed it next to the door, to steal back your pie. The commander didn’t notice that, and you managed to reach the kitchen to serve the rest of the pie for your niece, nephew and you.

“Did Uncle Steve, steal the pie again?” Grace asked you watching how you placed a big ball of ice cream on top of the pie. “He’s on a donut diet” Charlie eagerly placed his plate next to you so you could place the ice cream on top of his piece too

Definitely, you didn’t know what that meant, nor wanted to know “Yes, Uncle Steve was being a pie thief”

Later on, after you five had dinner, you were sure you hadn’t ever seen a mean eat like that and be that fit, Steve was enjoying the sun, sitting on a chair in your brother’s backyard and you quietly approached him holding two beers.

“Hey there, Little Williams” Steve smiled upon seeing you, offering you a seat next to him.

“Hey there, Commander McGarrett” You returned the smile offering him a beer that gladly accepted.

“Steve” he interrupted taking the beer from you “My name is Steve”

“My name is Y/N, though” You tilted your head to the side to look at him.

“I like Little Williams better” The man smirked when you rolled your eyes but chuckling you took a seat next to him. “So, did you make a decision?” He wondered taking a gulp from his beer bottle.

The sun was starting to set and you watched how Charlie and Grace played with the Nerfs you bought them with a content smile, and then turned to look at him who was already looking at you expectantly “I think I already made a decision”

@beccollie18

to be continued?

I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at writing a crime show fic. Let me know your thoughts on it and if you want more of this chilling adventures. My ask is always open. I love y’all <3000

[cowandcalf]

Writer’s Month 2020 - To Find A Way

Epilog Ohana

Chapters 1 -13

Chapter 14

Three months later

Danny peels an orange and watches with amusement and a warm fuzzy feeling in this stomach how Aunt Deb conquers the kitchen at the McGarrett's house.

"Danny, be so kind as to hand me the spatula over there?"

"Where have you learned to cook for a whole crew?" Danny reaches over to hand her the cookware. He darts a quick look out the window. The backyard is crowded with all their friends and family who gathered today to celebrate a special ceremony for little Kalea. He hauls himself up to sit on the countertop neatly nestled in the corner out of Aunt Deb's way but still in the middle of things. He eats the luscious orange with delight, licking the juice off his fingers.

Also on AO3

She lifts her head and stretches to her full height, wiping a hand at the white apron. She smiles wisely with so much love, it warms Danny from head to toe. "I've spent years in the show business. Do you have any idea how starved we were after a performance on stage?" Aunt Deb's laugh comes deep from within her gut. It's so strange and unexpected Danny freezes, intrigued by this dazzling personality in front of him. Steve has the most fascinating relatives.

"You performed? On stage?" Danny askes with wonder in his voice. "As in dancer? Singer?"

"A singer and the dancing just happened. Hell, yeah, those were the good ol' days. Crazy, sometimes no money in the pocket but, God, did we love it. We had fire in our hearts and were ready to conquer the world. We had so much fun!" Aunt Deb's voice was filled with a hint of wistfulness. "But family is the most important thing in the world. I came home after my sister-in-law died. I wanted to be there for Steve and Mary. But – " She nods firmly over where Danny hangs on her lips not to miss a single moment, "yes, I and my crew often ended up hungry in the bar's kitchen where we had our gig. The best parties were celebrated in various kitchens. We knew some of the owners. They enjoyed a private concert while I made a late-night dinner for the whole team. Those were great and fun times. We could eat and entertain like no one else." She tells in a sparkling, enticing way that charms Danny on the spot.

Danny forgets to eat his orange and kind of jerks from the spell he's under when Mary floats into the kitchen. Her cheeks are pink and her eyes shine like stars. She looks beautiful and motherhood suits her well. She spreads happiness into the air like a new brand of air freshener.

"Aunt Deb's stories as a singer captivates everyone, right Danny?" She pats Danny's knee and flashes him one of those famous McGarrett smiles before she walks up to her aunt to hug her around the waist. "Aunt Deb is the queen of homemade food. She's famous for her roast and for the best stuffed turkey at Thanksgiving." Mary steals a sweet potato slice freshly out of the oven. "Mmm, God, it's pure manna! Tastes good, Aunt Deb." Mary pants to cool the hot vegetable in her mouth.

Aunt Deb chides her about eating with her fingers and makes her take a plate. Mary kisses her cheek and comes closer to lean into Danny.

"Where's your baby girl, Mary?" Danny snatches a piece from her plate.

"Steve's carrying her around. She's hungry and whiny. I need to feed her." Mary pricks Danny's finger with the fork to make him back off. "Those are mine. Have some of your own. You haven't even finished your orange. I'm hungry. I need to produce milk."

Danny chuckles and shoves the slice of warm, spicy-sweet potato in his mouth. It mixes with the taste of orange. "Whoa, these are madly tasty. You have to teach me how to get it that delicious, Aunt Deb."

Aunt Deb smiles knowingly and hums a melody. She turns when Steve walks in.

Danny's eyes are glued to how Steve gently cradles the youngest offspring of the McGarrett family in his arms – baby Kalea. Danny can't get enough of the soft and tender expression on Steve's face whenever he carries his niece. He's the proudest uncle Danny has ever seen, overprotective over both, mother and child. Kalea is embedded in a warm-hearted, wonderful family of which Danny and Grace and even Rachel and Stan are now a part of it too. It's overwhelmingly wonderful.

"Hey, Danny, here you are. I've been looking for you everywhere." Steve steers right into the corner where Danny still sits on the kitchen counter.

"Did you miss me?" Danny asks and strokes with a finger featherlight over Kalea's tiny head, wrapped protectively in a tiny cotton cap. "The best stories you always get waiting for the food in the kitchen."

"Aunt Deb rocks," Steve answers with a laugh. "I still love to listen to all her stories." Steve rocks his niece gently. She complains about how she feels with a small voice and lets everyone know she's upset. "Is she okay, Mary? I couldn't calm her." Steve sounds worried. "Kawika said she's just hungry."

"Yes, my sweet girl needs her milk. Look she searches with her mouth to find the food station but your dry as a desert, dear brother. Come, let's go upstairs. I need somewhere to sit comfortably and away from loud voices. She gets startled easily. I need her to drink quietly and afterward, she'll sleep peacefully."

Danny watches how Steve's cheeks flush adorably when Mary tells him how useless he's to a hungry baby with no milk to provide. "Go upstairs, Steve. Help Mary to get comfortable with cushions. Take Grace's and Nahele's pillows too. She needs to be all propped up with all kinds of support to relax.

"Okay, come on Mary," Steve signals with his head to head upstairs. "You can sit on our bed. It's big and it's quiet. No one will disturb you. I'll carry her. Eat up." Steve rubs soothingly over Kalea's back. She whimpers and pumps with her small legs. She's getting agitated.

Mary shoves the plate with the rest of her veggies into Danny's hand. "Let's go, Punk. She's working herself up into a mood. She's hungry. I don't want her to start crying. She would be too upset to drink. Come on, Steve. Let's go." Mary almost rushes outside.

Steve kisses the baby's head. "Sit tight, Danno. I'll be back."

Danny watches Steve leave the kitchen. He forces himself to slowly finish the rest of Mary's vegetables. He saves the three last slices of orange for Steve. Aunt Deb sings a wonderful, slow tune, immersed in getting the main course ready for the crowd. Danny knows she gives him the space he needs. No talking. He blinks furiously to clear his vision. Danny smells the grilled meat while he chews almost meditatively on a potato slice to make his chest unclench. Kamekona is the proud barbecue chef of today's family celebration. The animated chatter and the occasional outburst of laughter filters through the back door. It's the happiness that constricts Danny's throat and makes his chest uncomfortably tight. He's glad Aunt Deb doesn't want to pick a conversation.

Danny waits for Steve at the bottom of the stairs. He balances the three orange pieces on his palm. Everyone is somewhere else. He's alone for precious five minutes. He debates in his head if he should sneak upstairs to call for Steve to tell him he's about to go looking for the kids. He knows it takes time to feed a baby. Grace had trouble to suck properly and she was a slow drinker. Rachel never minded. She loved those bonding times with Grace. They were precious. She wanted them to last. Danny envied her for those moments, those most intimate moments when a mother breastfed her baby. It hurt him that he would never know how this might feel. It must be incredible and soul-altering beautiful.

He lifts his head. Steve silently comes down the stairs. His eyes find Danny's and Danny feels how Steve sinks into him, touching him on the inside like he always does in the same insane way.

"Hey, babe," Danny gets greeted with a soft press of lips, "how's it going? Is she drinking?"

"Yes, they're fine. I made sure Mary feels comfortable. I haven't checked but the sucking sound told me she soon will fall asleep with her little belly full of milk." Steve's cheeks are still colored pink.

"You didn't stay?" Danny leans into Steve's touch and welcomes Steve's tender, consuming kisses.

"I – no, I don't know. It didn't seem appropriate."

"Appropriate? Why? It's a mother breastfeeding her baby. The most natural and most wonderful thing in the world." Danny pulls back a little and sees how Steve's face is flushed.

"It's my sister, Danny. It's – I don't know, kind of too intimate to sit and to watch the baby suckle at Mary's nipple. Kawika is allowed to see this, not me, not her brother. I – " Steve gazes sheepishly at Danny, holding his face between his large, rough hands. "Did you watch Rachel and Grace?" He asks a bit breathless.

Danny's face lit up in a warm smile. "Yes, I did. It was beautiful, full of love and peace. It hit me every time how powerful this simple act of deep love is. A mother nurtures her baby like women have done over centuries."

Steve's eyes take him in, wander over his face. "You're so special. Do you know this, Danny?"

Danny breathes in Steve's scent when Steve drags his lips along his cheek to get to his eyes, giving him butterfly-light kisses on his closed eyelids. Steve pulls him into a hug. "I kinda felt excluded, too." Danny adds, "and sometimes I was jealous of not having this deep bond with my daughter.  As a man, you miss out on so much intimacy but I loved to sit there and be a part of something bigger."

Steve rests his chin on Danny's head. "Mary said it was okay if I wanted to stay. She's such a great mother. I'm so happy for her and Kawika. But still. I guess it was too much. I felt a bit overwhelmed, to be honest." Steve mumbles into Danny's hair.

"Eat a slice of orange. It helps to deal with the overload." Danny brings his hand up and Steve turns his head.

Danny sighs when Steve doesn't let go but signals him to bring his hand to his lips. He pulls his abs taut when Steve's lips graze over his palm to catch the orange pieces. He chews and swallows and smiles at him. Steve's tongue licks the juice from Danny's palm. "Steve, you gotta stop this – "

"Why? No one's here. Just us." Steve sucks Danny's digit into his mouth and runs his tongue alongside with a glint in his eyes.

"Hold this thought," Danny tries to free his captured finger. He feels the heat spread into his groin. Steve gets this heated look. He smiles lasciviously when he grabs Danny's wrist and holds it firmly. "Steve," Danny tries a stern tone and fails completely. "Give me back my finger. Don't be a dick. The backyard is full of guests. Aunt Deb is cooking in the kitchen." Danny hisses but laughs and maybe he also moans.

"Make me," Steve says with a smoky voice.

"Make you what?" Danny's hips push forward. Not good.

"Make me give you back your finger." Steve mumbles. His mouth sucks at Danny's finger, running his tongue like velvet over the finger buried in his mouth.

"Jesus, Steve! I can't sport a hard-on at a family gathering. Your father is outside. Maybe he's already looking for us." Danny grasps at straws. He laughs at Steve's expression and how that magical word sobers him up instantly. He gives Danny his finger back.

"That was a mean one," Steve says with a gruff voice.

Danny's amused and flattens Steve's already flat shirt with his other hand. "Don't challenge me, big guy," he grins. "Have you seen the kids recently?"

Steve wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand. "Not since I've stepped into the kitchen with Kalea. I told Kamekona to keep an eye on them. I mean, Rachel and Stan are still outside. So are Kono, Chin, Kawika – everyone keeps an eye on Grace and Nahele and they're with Jeanne. They don't go far."

"Come, I need to wash my hands. I wanna know what they've been plotting. They've become so wild." Danny grabs at Steve's shirt and pulls him in for another kiss. "And then we spent some time with your father."

Danny calls out to the crowd gathered around the colorfully decorated tables. "Hey everyone, have someone spotted the kids and Jeanne? I haven't seen them in a while."

Kamekona points with the burger spatula in the direction where the beach is. "Don't worry, Danny, the keikis are with gramps at the beach."

"Gramps?" Steve snorts walking behind Danny.

"Your father, grandpa McGarrett, Steve," Kawika comes up to stand beside Steve. He throws an arm around his shoulder and heartedly pats his chest. He grins like a loon.

"You worry too much, Danny," Kono calls over where she's invested in a conversation with Rachel.

"I worry too much?" Danny mocks indignation. "They always turn up without their shirts or shorts. Wet and sandy, although they know they aren't allowed to be even near the ocean. And there are sharks out there!" Danny complains, pointing with his outstretched arm to the wild sea that sloshes against their doorstep.

"Danny, you're overdramatic. They're never alone near the water. They're not that silly to walk into the surf." Rachel answers with a soft voice and a laugh.

Danny's eyes are wide. Rachel sits relaxed in a comfortable chair with a pillow stuck behind her back. She has a flower tucked behind her ear and Stan watches her with a stupidly happy smile. Pregnancy suits her well. Grace is going to have a sibling soon. Danny inhales deeply. "You're not allowed to do that, Rachel. She's your daughter, too. You have to be on my side. "

"I'm on your side, Daniel and as I said, don't be so dramatic. John is with them. They're alright."

"There are no sharks out there, Danny. I'd feel them. Your keikis are safe." Mamo's soothing voice comes from the other side of the table.

"I don't even want to know how you would sense if there were sharks swimming around." Danny's brows are furrowed. He's not yet used to all the Hawaiian mambo jambo about 'the sea speaks to me' and 'the wind tells me when to hang my laundry to the west' and 'when it's the right time to plant the seeds because the earth is ready to embrace her children'. Steve has told him that once and he still can't wrap his mind around how someone could feel that.

"Wait until you see the surfboards I've made for Grace and Nahele," Kawika informs everyone.

Danny sputters and turns around. He points with a fierce finger at Kawika and jabs his left pec hard. "Don't. You. Talk. About. Freaking. Surfboards.!" Jab, jab, jab. "What is wrong with you?" Danny calls Rachel for help. "Rachel! Tell me you haven't agreed to that crazy plan?"

"Kono and Mamo are with them. Kawika surfs since he's a child. We're in Hawaii, Danny. Surfing is the way of life here." Rachel smiles gorgeously and leans back against her fluffy pillow.

"Who are you?" Danny stammers.

"Danno," Steve's beloved rumble makes Danny keep his balance. "No shark will eat one of our kids. They will see the dolphins, as I have promised. And we will start in the shallow water. Mamo knows the sea like no one else. Trust the locals. Grace and Nahele will be fine."

Danny kind of deflates and leans into the invisible support Steve provides. "Okay, okay. One step at the time."

Kawika has still his arm around Steve's shoulder. He looks like he's completely drunk on happiness. "How's Mary and my baby. They okay?"

Steve's moved easily these days. Danny gets all the mushy vibes Steve gives off. He tries to keep a solid frame but it suits him well to be all gooey on the inside while the outer shell is a rock-hard and muscled and fierce as always. "Yes, Mary's fine. Your little one drinks as if there's no tomorrow." He squeezes Kawika's hand. His gaze drifts off to the beach. "So, you're telling me my dad is at the beach with Grace and Nahele?"

"Oh look, here they come!" Danny shouts and waves back when Grace calls his name. "And here we go. What have I told you? No shirts, sandy and wet."

They walk closer. Nahele and Grace hold on to John's hands. He leads the kids up to where everyone waits. Grace bounces excitedly and Nahele giggles his sweet laugh with his head thrown back.

"What – " Danny can't hide his smile either. The kids are so loose and content, "what happened to your shirts?" Danny's hand makes a complicated move. He also stares at John McGarrett. His pants are rolled up to his knees and the rim of his pants is wet. They have been in the water. "Hey, John, thanks a lot for taking care of them."

"No worries, Danny, it's a joy to be with them. We had fun, right kids?"

"Yesss!" Nahele shouts and shoves the shells he has found at the beach into Danny's hands. "Keep them for me."

"Where's your shirt, young man?" Danny tries to give him a stern look. But God, he's so irresistible with his smile and he's Grace's best friend.

"I gave it to Grace."

"Why?

"She likes it. Jeanne needed a shirt too." Nahele sighs dramatically as if Danny asks to most boring questions. "I'm hungry." He whines.

"Go wash your hands, put on a new shirt. You know where they are. In your dresser, bottom drawer. And you too, Grace. You know, I could buy you a spiderman shirt any day if you wanted one." He has tried so many times but her answer stays the same.

"I like wearing Nahele's shirts. He doesn't mind." She peeps and pulls at her pigtails before she runs after Nahele.

"And why needs the dog to wear your shirt?" Danny calls after his daughter. He darts over to watch Jeanne panting with Grace's pink glitter shirt and the lettering 'be a princess'. Sometimes, Danny can't get rid of the feeling that this sweet dog grins at him.

"Jeanne likes pink!" Grace screams back. Nahele almost topples over when the fit of giggle tears through his sun-kissed body. Grace laughs along with him and together they bounce into the living room. Wild and carefree.

Danny shakes his head and smiles. Steve steps up behind him and pulls him close. Steve can't form words when too many emotions constrict his throat. "Let's eat. Come on, dad. You look hungry too. Thanks for hanging out with them."

"We had fun," John repeats before he awkwardly but affectionately pats Steve's shoulder to stroll off to sit beside his wife.

"Let's eat, folks!" Aunt Deb shouts and claps her hands to get everyone's attention. "Lunch is served!"

Steve sneaks stealthily out of bed not to wake Danny. Grace is with Rachel and Nahele sleeps at his sister's house. It's only Danny and him. Steve doesn't need much sleep. The nightmares aren't tearing that often through his mind anymore. He can rest while he sleeps but the uneasy feeling when he lies awake in bed stays. Healing can't be rushed he has learned the hard way. It's better to get up, drink some water, watch the ocean, and waits until his limbs get heavy again to crawl back under the cover to be with Danny for a few more hours.

The beaten, old chest of his grandfather is heavy. He pulls it carefully from under the bench where it's stashed close to the window. The lid opens soundlessly. He holds the simple wooden box for a moment before he flips the lid open. The dog tags with his name rest there in the same heap of a coiled up chain. Two small plates with his name stamped in lie on top, just the way he has left them the last time he held them. His grandfather's dog tags are in the second, identical wood box right there where he has put them.

Steve strokes the metal with his fingers before he takes it out to hold it, to run it through his fingers, to refresh the sense that ripples through him whenever his fingertips make contact with his past. He gets lost in thoughts. He still misses it, the team, the thrill, and the purpose. The drill, the way of life that leaves no gap to think about anything else but about the next step in the mission, the training. Being a SEAL will forever be carved in his bones no matter the damage it has brought being part of missions, doing the job of an elite soldier.

Plants and seedlings have been his lifeline back to life, have held him upright when he didn't know how to make it through the day, how to make a life out of the Navy. Until Danny came along to buy one of his plants. And he sold it to the guy he hasn't known back then but to whom his heart has answered without his consent. Everything has changed after that.

It's time to move on. Kamekona and Mary have taken over his flower shop. They have plans to develop a business but are serious about how they want to run it with economical sustainability. And Steve – Steve has finally accepted the Governor's offer to run a task force. He has needed time to think about it but he's ready now. The support group helps to understand his issues and to deal with them. That's the reason he took the dog tags from the wall to keep them safe, out of sight because he doesn't need to look at them to drag him through the day. He's ready for action and stress and pressure. He needs it like air to breathe.

He carefully and slowly puts the dog tags back into the wooden box. He closes the lid and hides the boxes where they belong. It's a ritual. It's important. Each movement is accurate, dedicated, and executed with humbleness.

Steve drinks the glass of water in complete silence and gazes out to the black mass of water. He doesn't make a sound. Kono and Chin will come by for breakfast. Danny got a bit antsy when Steve didn't come out with the truth about that meeting. He got suspicious but Steve made him shut up and made him moan instead. Thoroughly fucked and tired Danny was out cold without the change to pepper him with questions.

They are going to be a team and as a team, Steve wants to inform all of them at once. HPD won't be happy to lose three good cops in one day. Hawaii needs their best and Steve and his team will be the best. The smile that spreads his lips feels damn good.

Steve climbs back into bed and curls around Danny's warm body. He's excited and the well-known, much-missed vibration of strength makes it difficult the fall asleep. He's finally back. Steve kisses Danny's neck and buries his face in the soft curve of Danny's strong shoulders.

THE END