Well, This is a Surprise (2/?)

[float_on_alright]

Title: Well, This is a Surprise (2/?)
Paring/s: Danny/Steve
Genre: sort of Pre-Slash, just over 1,200 words
Rating: PG/PG-13 (some "strong language" and pre-slash-y type thoughts)
Warnings/Spoilers: Some references to Mana'o 1.08, Po'ipu 1.09, and Heihei 1.10
Summary: Steve discovers his new mission. 
Disclaimer:  Just letting my imagination have a bit of fun with someone else's characters, plot and hard work - no harm intended and no monetary gain involved. 

A/N: While this is the "second" in "Well, This is a Surprise", it's actually more of a prequel. The other part is here. 

 
If Steven was going to continue to head up a task force of detectives, then he had better be able to solve the mystery of what was going on with him these last few weeks. Maybe it had started earlier, but he had first noticed something was off when he had not liked when Danny had been mad at him. By “not liked” he meant that he had been miserable the night Danny walked out of the office during the Meka’s case. Danny was perpetually annoyed with Steve, but this hadn’t been the same thing. Nor was it like when they first met when Danny had been angry all the time. Considering the tension with his ex-wife over their daughter, who was the reason behind Danny’s relocation, Steven never blamed Danny. Danny was angry with the majority of the people on the island, including people he didn’t know, so Steve hadn’t taken his anger personally. Steve recognized that Danny had embraced his “haole” status to use as a shield against anyone who could burn him; it didn’t help him make many friends on the island, but it kept him from getting close to most people, with very few exceptions. Truthfully, Steve hadn’t realized that Danny had made any friends before he and the team got together, but clearly, Danny and his former partner, Meka, had been close. Danny had ended up storming out of Steve’s office during his case. Every part of him had been screaming to run after him, but Danny had been running hot especially concerning because (for all his loud speeches and agitated gestures) Danny was the grounded one. Steve had known he would have to allow Danny cool down before he approached the issue again. Everything about this case had been upside down, but when Danny walked, everything felt wrong and Steve couldn’t find which was way up.

“If my word is not good enough for you, then I do not know what I am doing here.”

Steve had never meant to suggest that he didn’t trust Danny. It had finally been Danny’s argument that no matter what the evidence, Steve would never believe Danny was a dirty cop, and this had finally made him realize that Danny wasn’t ignoring evidence out of misplaced stubbornness. Steve had been relieved beyond words when he and Danny were on good terms again. At the end of the case, Steve had been a little nervous about going to the funeral of a man he’d never met, regardless of the wife’s invitation, especially since he was uncertain whether Danny had forgiven him for not believe Meka was innocent. As with the military, losing friends was an unfortunate part of the job; most soldiers and cops became masters at dealing with grief, but that didn’t mean that Danny wasn’t hurting. Danny had just lost one of the few friends he had on the island, and he would need his friends. When he considered that he contributed to Danny’s pain, he felt a twinge. He decided to go to the funeral and offer what support Danny would allow him to give and do his best to make up for causing Danny further pain. It turned out Steve needn’t have worried, Danny was no longer angry and he thanked Steve (twice no less) for coming. Danny’s warm welcome chased all the cold nerves out of his body and set him glowing.

A short time later when Danny had instantly hated Taylor, Steve’s former Seal teammate, Steven had playfully accused Danny of jealously and in that moment, he’d allowed the pieces to make the picture they’d wanted to complete for ages. Steve wanted Danny green as the Grinch with jealousy. Speaking of surprises, meeting Rachel was a bit of one and Steve found there was a curious sensation forming in his gut. He’d wanted to hate her as immediately as Danny had hated Taylor. He would really have liked to claim he hated Rachel because of everything she had put Danny through, especially about their daughter, but the truth was that he was envious of this woman who had not only captured Danny, but crushed him as well. Steve had always pictured her as one of those kids who caught insects in order to tear off one of their wings and then free them without the ability to fly properly. After watching Danny and Rachel for a few minutes though, he had to admit that she was not quite the Wicked Witch from the Other Side of the Pond. In an attempt to lighten Danny’s mood and mask his own inner demons, Steve asked Danny how he’d caught her.

“How did I get her? Hey, I am a great catch.” The words “I know” nearly sprung out of his mouth, but instead he’d insisted on hearing the story. Steve was thankful for the task of assembling the surveillance equipment and that Danny could not see the discomfort on his face. He could claim condolences for the eventual disintegration of Danny’s marriage if it need be, but with detectives, one answer to a question usually led to more questions and Steve preferred to avoid that cycle if he could manage.
“She woke up married to a cop.”

“That’s not so bad,” Steve said, but his brain had had suddenly connected standing alone in a bedroom with Danny with the words “woke up” and the resulting images dancing in his mind caused his blood pressure to spike significantly. Only a second later Danny brought him back down to earth when he inferred that Rachel had left him for Stan at least in part because of the standard of living Stan could offer that Danny couldn’t. It wasn’t as simple as money, and Steven later heard it from Rachel. If Steve had to guess, he would say he stopped himself from berating Rachel for hurting Danny the way that she had about four hundred and sixty-seven times in the course of their conversation, wanting to say something, but he could tell she was almost as injured as Danny. There was no honor in kicking an injured woman, no matter how protective he wanted to be over Danny and it so happened the case called for protecting Danny physically more so than emotionally.

Steve was relieved when the case was finally over and they were leaving Rachel’s house because he was starting to see that Danny’s loathing towards his ex was in large part due to still loving her and it hurt to see that pain in Danny’s eyes. Even as Steve drove away, he could see Danny watch the house recede in the side mirror. Steve hadn’t yet given himself the chance to think about his feelings for Danny, part of him wanted to keep things professional between them, Steve didn’t dare believe that Danny returned his affection; it was too much to hope. Even if he did by some ridiculously improbable miracle, their partnership was important and Steve had to consider the fact that romantic involvement between coworkers had a tendency to make police work even more dangerous. Danny would say, “And when has danger ever dissuaded you?” Steve smiled at the thought. Danny knew (and who knew better?) bad odds and likely catastrophe would not derail Steve’s tenacity to complete a mission; in fact, Danny would claim Steve went looking for the edge of disaster just to prove he could survive it. He admitted to himself that Danny might be right because Steve had just decided that it was his mission to make Danny his partner in every sense of the word.

(To the Master List)

Comments

[kitmerlot1213.livejournal.com]

I liked getting Steve's POV on his feelings for Danny and for his reactions to Rachel.

You might want to change this line: As with the army--Steve was in the Navy.

Great work on this :)

[illfindmyway.livejournal.com]

I was sort of thinking broader than Steven at the time, but you're right, so I changed it to military. Thanks!

[purple-spock.livejournal.com]

Yay! So good! I'm glad I could help. It turned out wonderfully! I'm really looking forward to the next part. This turned out beautifully. : D

[cedara]

That was a good one. Nice work.

May I suggest something? Since you're not posting daily (I think), it would make it easier to catch up/remind your readers of previous parts if you add links to them at the top of the new part, or at the entry you use in the communities to link here.

[americandirrty.livejournal.com]

I really like this story. I can't wait to read more!!

[princesslanie.livejournal.com]

great first 2 chapters, can't wait for more.

[illfindmyway.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much!