Rapunzel, Hawaii 5-0 Style by BymagaJones 26/26 - Epilogue
Chapter 26 (Epilogue)
After being away from home for two weeks, all Steve’s men wanted to do was bathe, bed their mates, and sleep, and not necessarily in that order. He’d recognized the glints in Chin and Kono’s eyes as they left to return to their home by the ocean. Sure, they’d been together the entire trip, but bunking down around men away from their own loved ones and fighting a hydra didn’t really allow for a lot of intimacy. Steve knew he’d spent every night away missing Danny with an ache that had almost felt physical.
Which was why, instead of bathing or reporting to his father, he found himself leaning against a pillar in the largest garden behind the city walls, right next to the castle, watching Danny hold court. He didn’t bother trying to mask the smile spreading over his face as Danny ranted, arms waving, at the two men standing in front of him. Seated on the huge throne, his feet dangling, Danny should’ve looked ridiculous. Instead his personality and sweeping gestures seemed to take up whatever space his body left.
“…willing to destroy a lifelong friendship for what? True love? World peace? No, for that!” Danny pointed in front of him, and Steve had to push away from the pillar to catch a glimpse of the offending object. He grinned once he saw it. “You should be ashamed. In fact, I’m ashamed for both of you. You’ve wasted my time and the attention of these fine folks.” Ignoring the chuckles of the crowd in front of him, Danny leaned forward. “This is what? A boy?” The men nodded. “You both have females?” Again, the nods. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. He’s going to be a temporary guest at the castle, and each of you will bring along one of your females for a conjugal visit. You get to keep any babies.”
One of the men gathered the courage to ask, “Who gets him?”
“Are we back to that?” Danny’s annoyance quickly turned thoughtful. “I’ll give him to the person who will treat him best and who deserves him the most.”
Steve looked around as the townspeople muttered to each other, flashes of coins catching his eye as they made wagers.
“Where’s Meka?”
The murmur became louder as an older man, led by a boy, walked up to Danny. It quickly became obvious to Steve that the boy was acting as the man’s eyes and cane.
“Here, Your Highness,” the boy said.
Danny climbed off the throne and knelt by the boy. “What’d I say about that?”
The boy grinned. “Danny.”
“There you go,” Danny said, and Steve could just picture how the king was going to react to hearing about that. “So, I have this one - ” he pointed in front of him “ - who’s become a pain in my behind. You think you could do me a favor and take him off my hands?”
The boy’s smile grew larger as he nodded so hard that his little hat almost fell off his head.
“He’ll have to stay here at the castle for a little while, but after that, he’s all yours.”
The boy led the old man over to the goat, rubbing the man’s hands over the animal’s back. “What’s his name?”
Danny looked expectantly at the two men who shuffled nervously and looked away. “Seriously?” Disgusted, he turned back to the boy. “This just proves that you deserve him. You can name him whatever you want.”
The murmur of the crowd turned from surprise to approval quickly, and Steve marveled proudly at how quickly Danny had managed to make the town fall in love with him by just being himself.
Outward appearances to the contrary, Steve had been worried when he and his men had arrived home after dealing with the dragon. Instead of returning with a princess and the promise of children, he’d come home with an ailing commoner and the promise of sporadic visitation from that man’s child with a princess from another kingdom. As soon as he’d gotten Danny settled with the royal physician, he’d requested an immediate audience with the king and queen. Unsurprisingly, neither had been very enthusiastic.
What had been surprising was finding the king at Danny’s bedside the next day, laughing uproariously to one of Danny’s stories. As he’d left, he’d touched Steve - actually clapped him on his shoulder - and said that Danny seemed to have a good head on his shoulders and a strong sword arm.
It was Grace who’d won over the queen. Riding up on her horse, hugging Steve and Danny before curtsying before the king and queen, Grace had smiled, and his mother was lost. Unfortunately, Grace had brought out a never before seen mischievous side to his mother, one that had gotten so out of hand that Danny’d requested an audience with the woman and disappeared with her for almost an hour. Steve had waited outside the chamber doors, pacing with Kono and Chin the entire time. Eventually, Danny had emerged, completely intact, refusing to discuss the conversation. All Steve knew was that the tricks dialed down a bit, and his partner still had his head. And that was good enough for him.
Danny looked over the crowd and noticed Steve, a huge, goofy grin spreading over his face for everyone to see. Before meeting Danny, that kind of open emotion in public would’ve made Steve uncomfortable, but he’d not only gotten used to it, he threw a sappy grin of his own right back.
“Okay, we’re done for the day.” Quite a few of the townspeople groaned, causing Danny to stand tall in front of them, arms held out. “For Pete’s sake. Don’t you people have chores to do, people to feed, animals to fight over?” The crowd laughed at Danny’s smile and eye roll. Placing his hand on the boy Meka’s head, he gave it a gentle shake before getting ready to step down into the crowd.
The king’s emissary, who had leached himself on to Danny practically the moment the king had accepted him as Steve’s partner, held out a hand, stopping Danny from descending. He shouted out some formal speech about this concluding the day’s trials, but everyone milled around talking, ignoring him as usual. Danny just shook his head and smiled wryly, rubbing a hand over his hair while he waited.
Steve still couldn’t stand the emissary, who seemed determined to mold Danny into some semblance of royalty - or at least get him to live and act royally. He was the only one still hoping for that miracle to occur. Danny seemed to take the man in stride, gently teasing him but letting him have his way in small things. Steve had once suggested that the man might be a little in love with Danny himself, to which Danny had replied with a smirk, “it just proves the man has good taste.” They both knew that whatever the emissary’s feelings about Danny, he would never reveal them to anyone, especially Danny. It just wasn’t proper.
Smiling distractedly at the people who clamored to put their hands on his shoulders or touch his arm, Danny’s eyes were for Steve alone. He walked straight to the prince and pressed a hand against Steve’s chest. “None of the hydra’s fifty heads took a bite out of you?” The question was posed lightly, but Steve saw the concern.
“There were only seven heads, and none of them got me,” Steve confirmed with a grin, his hand pressing against Danny’s briefly before he laced their fingers and pulled him in for a quick kiss.
“Kono and Chin?” Danny led the way into the castle.
“Went straight back to their place.”
Chuckling, Danny said, “I’m sure they did.”
“What did you do while we were gone, besides continue your long history with goats?”
“You just had to bring that up, didn’t you?” Danny groaned.
“I suppose I should be thankful that you didn’t just kill him.”
“It was dead when I found it!”
Steve couldn’t help but laugh.
“How about this, funny guy? I’ll stop holding court and will leave it all for you next time.”
Steve’s laughter stopped abruptly. He was pretty sure Danny was teasing him, but he absolutely couldn’t stand holding courty, even after Kono’d figured out a way to keep it outside no matter the weather. “C’mon, Danny. You’re so good at it, and the people obviously love you.”
Danny snorted, pulling Steve toward the kitchens.
“You have such a gift for being fair and just - and you’re highly entertaining.” He pulled his arm back, knocking Danny off balance enough so he could wrap his arms around the shorter man and push him against the wall. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered in Danny’s ear, nuzzling at his neck and reveling in Danny’s unique smell.
Danny’s free arm wrapped around Steve, pulling him closer. “I missed you too, Babe,” the puffs of his breath tickling Steve’s neck.
Closing his eyes, Steve allowed himself to continue to smell until that wasn’t enough. He pressed his lips against Danny’s neck, enjoying the faint salty taste, pressing his tongue against flesh.
“Are you… are you licking me?” Danny pulled back but only far enough so their foreheads touched. “You’re a disgusting goof, you know that, right?”
Steve laughed, a silent puff of air. “But I’m your goof.”
Danny grinned back. “Damn straight. C’mon. Monkey’s here.”
Steve brightened at the thought of seeing Grace. The queen herself had called everyone together after Grace’s first visit had her leaving a day early due to some royal event. Steve sat there, watching her command a table filled with advisors, scribes, mages, and lieutenants, setting up a plan of attack that had even impressed his father. The scribes spent most of the time either taking notes or drafting official correspondence to Grace’s grandfather. Kono had been tasked to liaise with Kamekona, since they’d corresponded recently. The lieutenants poured over maps and came up with potential invasion strategies. Eventually, the king departed, and Steve only lasted another half an hour before finding his father in the middle of a card game in Danny’s suite, a game that Danny swore to Steve later that he had let the king cheat so the man could win.
It had turned out that most of the queen’s machinations hadn’t been needed. Once he found out that Danny was betrothed to the prince of Hawaii, Grace’s grandfather had apparently agreed to a more generous custody arrangement. According to the advisors who had made the trip to Jersey, he had been grudgingly amenable to the document the queen had approved and had made few changes. According to Grace, her grandfather had waited until the advisors had left before turning purple and scattering his servants with his bellows.
So now Grace spent two weeks with them, two weeks with her mother. If, for some reason, either kingdom needed her for an official event, a request for her time had to be sent, in writing, at least two weeks in advance. The only down side to the whole arrangement was that Danny would always slip out of Steve’s bed in the middle of the night to return to his own in case Grace needed him.
“Where is she?”
“In the kitchen.”
Steve groaned. Grace in the kitchen meant that there’d be tons of tasty, unhealthy, homemade treats around the castle. After the last few times, he’d had to institute mandatory calisthenics for all of his military branches. The queen had been so impressed, she’d had a revised exercise regime created for the castle servants, citing the exorbitant cost of new, larger uniforms needed for the entire staff.
Steve could hear the commotion long before the kitchen came into view. Grace stood on her stool, stirring a large wooden spoon in a big pot over a fire. Danny’s hands folded into fists, and Steve put a hand on his wrist. Danny hated Grace’s standing over open flame, but he knew that the she was protected by a multitude of spells cast by Kamekona, Kono, and JennaKaye. Steve suspected that some of the other royal mages had cast spells themselves to make sure that nothing happened to Grace. It was just Danny’s inherent protective nature that made his heart beat so fast underneath Steve’s comforting grip.
Grace looked up, her face brightening. “Steve!”
Danny stood aside so Grace could run directly to Steve, raising her arms so he could swing her up on his hip. She was getting too old and to big for this sort of thing, but Steve wasn’t ready for it to end. Not yet. Thankfully, Grace seemed to feel the same way. “What’re you making?”
“Brownies!” She said. “We’re doing two batches, one with nuts and the other one without so everyone can have some.”
“Great,” Steve muttered with a small smile, mentally cataloguing how much additional exercise he was going to have to give to his men.
“I think Steve wishes you’d maybe cook something a little healthier sometimes,” Danny said, eyes connecting with Steve’s.
Grace’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know how to make brownies any healthier.” She wiggled, and Steve gently slid her to the floor.
“I don’t think that’s what he means, Monkey,” Danny said mildly, returning to Steve’s side and casually linking fingers.
Steve tried to pretend that he still didn’t get a little thrill out of how often Danny and Grace touched him. He’d rarely given thought to how little he’d been touched his entire life, but now… now he craved it when those two were around. He found himself initiating contact, taking Danny’s hand or wrist, laying his hand on Danny’s shoulder. When they were alone, he reveled in discovering new ways and places to touch Danny.
“We could make apple pie,” the queen suggested, dusting flour off her hands. The fact that she’d even gotten anything on her hands still shocked Steve. The first time he’d seen her in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, he’d turned around and gotten the king to come downstairs.
“Don’t be so shocked,” the queen had said blithely, “I’ve cooked before.”
Steve and the king had shared a look but remained silent, survival instincts still intact.
Now she, JennaKaye, and Grace had become this dangerous triumvirate, and heaven help any man who stood between them and any of their missions. Any man, that is, except for Danny, who seemed to have been given some leeway due to his biological connection to Grace.
One of Grace’s first visits, she’d balked at going to bed at her bedtime. Being her father’s daughter, she didn’t just sulk but threw one hell of a hissy fit, finally turning large, beseeching eyes toward the queen.
“Perhaps this one time,” the queen started. Danny shot her a look more powerful than his daughter’s, and the queen had immediately backtracked. “Actually, I thought we’d have a picnic tomorrow, but we couldn’t possibly if the guest of honor is too tired because she didn’t go to sleep at her bedtime.” Danny had shot her a grateful look, and as far as Steve knew, that was the last time she’d tried usurp his fatherly bounds.
“We’ll have to come up with some healthy recipes for their wedding, won’t we, Grace?” The queen slid an evil glance toward Steve and Danny.
Grace grinned excitedly. “You finally set a date?”
Steve was a grown man. A prince. He shouldn’t have to fight so hard not to cringe in front of a little girl.
Danny scratched at his cheek, glaring a bit at the queen. “We didn’t, actually.” He shifted. “We’ve been busy…”
Steve couldn’t leave him out there on his own. “I just got back from dealing with the hydra,” he said, helpfully pointing toward the entrance.
“We could always help, since you’re both so busy,” Kono said, brushing past them to walk into the kitchen.
“What are you doing here?” Steve asked.
“Where else would we be?” Chin asked from behind.
“Home doing -” Danny’s clearing his voice reminded Steve of the little ears in the room. “home… stuff,” he finished lamely.
Kono grinned at him, dimples flashing. “Don’t worry; we took care of all the urgent items on the to do list.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the table. “So back to the wedding. How about we - ” she waved an arm to encompass Grace, the queen, JennaKaye, and herself “ - take care of the details, and we’ll just come to you with the important questions.”
Steve looked at Danny, who shrugged and squeezed his hand. They hadn’t really talked about it, but Steve knew they were both in it for the long haul. “At least we’ll get to share the same suite.” Steve raised his eyebrows and smiled. No more sneaking around for proprietary’s sake when everyone knew that while he kept his few clothes and even fewer belongings in his own suite, Danny slept every night Grace was at her mother’s in Steve’s bed.
“And then we can get started on babies!” Grace shouted, her face flushed from the heat and her exertions. She stepped down from her stool and let JennaKaye take over.
“Monkey, I thought you’d already covered this with your tutors,” Danny said. “Steve and I -” he waved his free arm between the two of them - “are both guys.”
“But Kono could do something, right?” Grace asked, her voice filled with hope.
Kono looked thoughtful.
For the first time since he’d watched Danny collapse in front of him months before, Steve felt true fear.
“Oh, no,” Danny protested, pointing at Kono. “Don’t even go there, Mage!”
Kono acted like she hadn’t heard him.
“I mean it, Kono. Keep your weird baby making magic away from Steve!”
It took Steve a moment to process what Danny’d said. “What?”
“If we have to have a baby, you’re the one who’s gonna carry it.”
“Why me? I have a dangerous life -”
“You think I don’t?”
“You don’t have to lead the army like I do.”
“You think I’m perfectly safe up there holding court?” Danny had pulled his hand away from Steve’s in order to gesture, and Steve felt the loss.
“Danno, everyone loves you.”
“Not everyone,” the queen said.
Steve caught the look Danny shot his mother, and his heart started to pound in his ears. “Tell me.”
Danny sighed, running a hand over his hair. “First of all, I’m fine. I’m fine.”
Steve waved it aside. That wasn’t the point. “Give.”
Danny sighed. “So, in a trial, someone’s gonna win, someone’s gonna lose. People get pissed off.”
Steve just stared, his arms crossed.
“Two men came at Danno with knives,” Grace said.
Danny’s head whipped around to his daughter. “Who told you?”
Grace shrugged, licking some dough from her fingers. “People talk.”
“People…what? People talk? What people have been talking to you?” Danny turned a disbelieving look toward Steve before returning his focus to Grace.
Ignoring that conversation, Steve began running his hands over Danny’s shoulders, down his arms, turning over his hands.
“Stop mauling me in front of people!” Danny said, trying to pull back his arms.
“Where’d they stab you?” Steve only needed two things at that point: he needed to see where Danny was hurt, and he needed to know the names of the bastards whose blood would be dripping from his knife in less than ten minutes.
“What? You think I can’t take care of myself?” Danny said, slapping at Steve’s probing hands. “Stop that!”
Steve tried to let go, but he remembered seeing Danny in pain, fingers broken and ribs cracked, and he couldn’t shake that fear. He felt two hands on his face. Danny’s hands.
“Babe, I’m right here, and I’m fine. Didn’t you hear me say I was fine?” Blue eyes filled with love and concern bore into his, and he felt himself relaxing.
“So, you’re fine then?” He tried to make it sound funny and whimsical, but he knew it came out forced and weak.
Danny laughed, going along with him even though it was obvious that Danny knew what he was up to. “I’ve been a lawman for quite a few years. I might be rusty, but I can still kick some serious a - ” a glance at Gracie “ - butt when I feel the need.”
Steve looked at Chin, who nodded. Their sparring sessions were now going to have a third member. The trick was going to be convincing Danny to get out of bed at dawn for them.
“What was that?”
Steve brought out his innocent look. “Hmm?”
“That look between you and Chin. What was that?”
“Nothing,” Steve said the same time Chin asked, “how early do you have to get up when you hold court?”
Danny’s head whipped between the two men. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but the answer is no. Just. No.”
Steve hazarded another look at Chin, thankful that their long friendship enabled them to understand each other quickly. Chin shook his head a little, letting Steve know that he and Kono had looked into Danny’s past and hadn’t been able to learn anything about his parents. They’d agreed to say nothing to Danny until they’d gotten hold of substantial information. Even then, Steve had decided to only share what they’d found if the information wouldn’t cause Danny any additional pain. After all, he had a new family now, one who’d chosen and accepted him and loved him.
“Those plans can wait until after the wedding,” the queen said, oblivious to the silent conversation. “We’ll come up with a few possible dates, and you can just pick one of them.”
“See? Easy.” Kono smirked, and Steve knew she was making him pay for only letting her cut off one of the hydra’s heads.
He started to open his mouth in what he knew was going to be another futile attempt to stop plans that were already gathering steam, but Danny nudged him silent.
“Babe, let’s just leave them to it,” Danny suggested, bowing low as he backed out of the kitchen, making Grace giggle. He pulled Steve around the corner, his turn to press Steve against the wall. “I hate it when you leave without me.”
They’d decided that Danny would travel with him when Grace was at her mother’s, staying at the kingdom when Grace visited them. The nights could be lonely, but those were the times when Steve found himself focused on getting home rather than dawdling along the way. Chin had informed him in his own dry tone that the men appreciated the change.
“You’ll have to tell me all about your trip,” Danny said between featherlike kisses.
Leaning forward to try to deepen the kisses, Steve sighed, “I have to report to the king.”
Danny stopped and leaned back, staring at Steve.
Uncomfortable at the scrutiny, Steve tried not to squirm. “What?”
“You came to see me before reporting to your father?” A large smile spread over Danny’s face as he chuckled. “He’s gonna be pissed.”
“I’ll just blame you,” Steve said. “He’ll already be simmering because you told that child to call you by your first name.”
“Who, Meka? He’s a buddy of mine,” Danny said, shrugging. “Besides, fiancés don’t have titles.”
Steve knew that Danny wasn’t worried about the king. Against all expectations, the king had somehow formed a bond with Danny that Steve hadn’t seen happen with anyone else. In fact, the king had once confided to Steve that he knew Danny knew the correct protocols and that the man used them when he thought necessary - he just usually chose to ignore them. What stunned Steve was that his father had said it with a fond smile. He supposed he should be jealous of that bond, but he was all for anything that further cemented Danny’s place in his life and proved that Danny was happy and felt at home with them. With him.
“Come with me. The king’s much nicer when you’re around.”
Danny chuckled, walking with Steve towards the king’s chambers. “You managed all those years without me. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” They stopped in front of the chamber doors. “Hurry up. I’ll be waiting.”
“Fine.” Steve sighed, kissing Danny once more and pressing their foreheads together, never tiring of looking into the eyes of his future.
***************
Final note:
I know I'm supposed to send this out tomorrow, but I'm having power cord issues (think a small crackling sound and a wisp of smoke), and I don't know that I'll be able to do it then. So, you get the finale early!
Thanks for taking this ride with me. I hope you're leaning back, sighing, feeling like you ate the perfect desert and just want to take a moment enjoying the feeling.
I also want to take the time to thank everyone who took the time to comment. I had fun chatting with every one of you.
Master post with chapter breakdown and links to other sites
After being away from home for two weeks, all Steve’s men wanted to do was bathe, bed their mates, and sleep, and not necessarily in that order. He’d recognized the glints in Chin and Kono’s eyes as they left to return to their home by the ocean. Sure, they’d been together the entire trip, but bunking down around men away from their own loved ones and fighting a hydra didn’t really allow for a lot of intimacy. Steve knew he’d spent every night away missing Danny with an ache that had almost felt physical.
Which was why, instead of bathing or reporting to his father, he found himself leaning against a pillar in the largest garden behind the city walls, right next to the castle, watching Danny hold court. He didn’t bother trying to mask the smile spreading over his face as Danny ranted, arms waving, at the two men standing in front of him. Seated on the huge throne, his feet dangling, Danny should’ve looked ridiculous. Instead his personality and sweeping gestures seemed to take up whatever space his body left.
“…willing to destroy a lifelong friendship for what? True love? World peace? No, for that!” Danny pointed in front of him, and Steve had to push away from the pillar to catch a glimpse of the offending object. He grinned once he saw it. “You should be ashamed. In fact, I’m ashamed for both of you. You’ve wasted my time and the attention of these fine folks.” Ignoring the chuckles of the crowd in front of him, Danny leaned forward. “This is what? A boy?” The men nodded. “You both have females?” Again, the nods. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. He’s going to be a temporary guest at the castle, and each of you will bring along one of your females for a conjugal visit. You get to keep any babies.”
One of the men gathered the courage to ask, “Who gets him?”
“Are we back to that?” Danny’s annoyance quickly turned thoughtful. “I’ll give him to the person who will treat him best and who deserves him the most.”
Steve looked around as the townspeople muttered to each other, flashes of coins catching his eye as they made wagers.
“Where’s Meka?”
The murmur became louder as an older man, led by a boy, walked up to Danny. It quickly became obvious to Steve that the boy was acting as the man’s eyes and cane.
“Here, Your Highness,” the boy said.
Danny climbed off the throne and knelt by the boy. “What’d I say about that?”
The boy grinned. “Danny.”
“There you go,” Danny said, and Steve could just picture how the king was going to react to hearing about that. “So, I have this one - ” he pointed in front of him “ - who’s become a pain in my behind. You think you could do me a favor and take him off my hands?”
The boy’s smile grew larger as he nodded so hard that his little hat almost fell off his head.
“He’ll have to stay here at the castle for a little while, but after that, he’s all yours.”
The boy led the old man over to the goat, rubbing the man’s hands over the animal’s back. “What’s his name?”
Danny looked expectantly at the two men who shuffled nervously and looked away. “Seriously?” Disgusted, he turned back to the boy. “This just proves that you deserve him. You can name him whatever you want.”
The murmur of the crowd turned from surprise to approval quickly, and Steve marveled proudly at how quickly Danny had managed to make the town fall in love with him by just being himself.
Outward appearances to the contrary, Steve had been worried when he and his men had arrived home after dealing with the dragon. Instead of returning with a princess and the promise of children, he’d come home with an ailing commoner and the promise of sporadic visitation from that man’s child with a princess from another kingdom. As soon as he’d gotten Danny settled with the royal physician, he’d requested an immediate audience with the king and queen. Unsurprisingly, neither had been very enthusiastic.
What had been surprising was finding the king at Danny’s bedside the next day, laughing uproariously to one of Danny’s stories. As he’d left, he’d touched Steve - actually clapped him on his shoulder - and said that Danny seemed to have a good head on his shoulders and a strong sword arm.
It was Grace who’d won over the queen. Riding up on her horse, hugging Steve and Danny before curtsying before the king and queen, Grace had smiled, and his mother was lost. Unfortunately, Grace had brought out a never before seen mischievous side to his mother, one that had gotten so out of hand that Danny’d requested an audience with the woman and disappeared with her for almost an hour. Steve had waited outside the chamber doors, pacing with Kono and Chin the entire time. Eventually, Danny had emerged, completely intact, refusing to discuss the conversation. All Steve knew was that the tricks dialed down a bit, and his partner still had his head. And that was good enough for him.
Danny looked over the crowd and noticed Steve, a huge, goofy grin spreading over his face for everyone to see. Before meeting Danny, that kind of open emotion in public would’ve made Steve uncomfortable, but he’d not only gotten used to it, he threw a sappy grin of his own right back.
“Okay, we’re done for the day.” Quite a few of the townspeople groaned, causing Danny to stand tall in front of them, arms held out. “For Pete’s sake. Don’t you people have chores to do, people to feed, animals to fight over?” The crowd laughed at Danny’s smile and eye roll. Placing his hand on the boy Meka’s head, he gave it a gentle shake before getting ready to step down into the crowd.
The king’s emissary, who had leached himself on to Danny practically the moment the king had accepted him as Steve’s partner, held out a hand, stopping Danny from descending. He shouted out some formal speech about this concluding the day’s trials, but everyone milled around talking, ignoring him as usual. Danny just shook his head and smiled wryly, rubbing a hand over his hair while he waited.
Steve still couldn’t stand the emissary, who seemed determined to mold Danny into some semblance of royalty - or at least get him to live and act royally. He was the only one still hoping for that miracle to occur. Danny seemed to take the man in stride, gently teasing him but letting him have his way in small things. Steve had once suggested that the man might be a little in love with Danny himself, to which Danny had replied with a smirk, “it just proves the man has good taste.” They both knew that whatever the emissary’s feelings about Danny, he would never reveal them to anyone, especially Danny. It just wasn’t proper.
Smiling distractedly at the people who clamored to put their hands on his shoulders or touch his arm, Danny’s eyes were for Steve alone. He walked straight to the prince and pressed a hand against Steve’s chest. “None of the hydra’s fifty heads took a bite out of you?” The question was posed lightly, but Steve saw the concern.
“There were only seven heads, and none of them got me,” Steve confirmed with a grin, his hand pressing against Danny’s briefly before he laced their fingers and pulled him in for a quick kiss.
“Kono and Chin?” Danny led the way into the castle.
“Went straight back to their place.”
Chuckling, Danny said, “I’m sure they did.”
“What did you do while we were gone, besides continue your long history with goats?”
“You just had to bring that up, didn’t you?” Danny groaned.
“I suppose I should be thankful that you didn’t just kill him.”
“It was dead when I found it!”
Steve couldn’t help but laugh.
“How about this, funny guy? I’ll stop holding court and will leave it all for you next time.”
Steve’s laughter stopped abruptly. He was pretty sure Danny was teasing him, but he absolutely couldn’t stand holding courty, even after Kono’d figured out a way to keep it outside no matter the weather. “C’mon, Danny. You’re so good at it, and the people obviously love you.”
Danny snorted, pulling Steve toward the kitchens.
“You have such a gift for being fair and just - and you’re highly entertaining.” He pulled his arm back, knocking Danny off balance enough so he could wrap his arms around the shorter man and push him against the wall. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered in Danny’s ear, nuzzling at his neck and reveling in Danny’s unique smell.
Danny’s free arm wrapped around Steve, pulling him closer. “I missed you too, Babe,” the puffs of his breath tickling Steve’s neck.
Closing his eyes, Steve allowed himself to continue to smell until that wasn’t enough. He pressed his lips against Danny’s neck, enjoying the faint salty taste, pressing his tongue against flesh.
“Are you… are you licking me?” Danny pulled back but only far enough so their foreheads touched. “You’re a disgusting goof, you know that, right?”
Steve laughed, a silent puff of air. “But I’m your goof.”
Danny grinned back. “Damn straight. C’mon. Monkey’s here.”
Steve brightened at the thought of seeing Grace. The queen herself had called everyone together after Grace’s first visit had her leaving a day early due to some royal event. Steve sat there, watching her command a table filled with advisors, scribes, mages, and lieutenants, setting up a plan of attack that had even impressed his father. The scribes spent most of the time either taking notes or drafting official correspondence to Grace’s grandfather. Kono had been tasked to liaise with Kamekona, since they’d corresponded recently. The lieutenants poured over maps and came up with potential invasion strategies. Eventually, the king departed, and Steve only lasted another half an hour before finding his father in the middle of a card game in Danny’s suite, a game that Danny swore to Steve later that he had let the king cheat so the man could win.
It had turned out that most of the queen’s machinations hadn’t been needed. Once he found out that Danny was betrothed to the prince of Hawaii, Grace’s grandfather had apparently agreed to a more generous custody arrangement. According to the advisors who had made the trip to Jersey, he had been grudgingly amenable to the document the queen had approved and had made few changes. According to Grace, her grandfather had waited until the advisors had left before turning purple and scattering his servants with his bellows.
So now Grace spent two weeks with them, two weeks with her mother. If, for some reason, either kingdom needed her for an official event, a request for her time had to be sent, in writing, at least two weeks in advance. The only down side to the whole arrangement was that Danny would always slip out of Steve’s bed in the middle of the night to return to his own in case Grace needed him.
“Where is she?”
“In the kitchen.”
Steve groaned. Grace in the kitchen meant that there’d be tons of tasty, unhealthy, homemade treats around the castle. After the last few times, he’d had to institute mandatory calisthenics for all of his military branches. The queen had been so impressed, she’d had a revised exercise regime created for the castle servants, citing the exorbitant cost of new, larger uniforms needed for the entire staff.
Steve could hear the commotion long before the kitchen came into view. Grace stood on her stool, stirring a large wooden spoon in a big pot over a fire. Danny’s hands folded into fists, and Steve put a hand on his wrist. Danny hated Grace’s standing over open flame, but he knew that the she was protected by a multitude of spells cast by Kamekona, Kono, and JennaKaye. Steve suspected that some of the other royal mages had cast spells themselves to make sure that nothing happened to Grace. It was just Danny’s inherent protective nature that made his heart beat so fast underneath Steve’s comforting grip.
Grace looked up, her face brightening. “Steve!”
Danny stood aside so Grace could run directly to Steve, raising her arms so he could swing her up on his hip. She was getting too old and to big for this sort of thing, but Steve wasn’t ready for it to end. Not yet. Thankfully, Grace seemed to feel the same way. “What’re you making?”
“Brownies!” She said. “We’re doing two batches, one with nuts and the other one without so everyone can have some.”
“Great,” Steve muttered with a small smile, mentally cataloguing how much additional exercise he was going to have to give to his men.
“I think Steve wishes you’d maybe cook something a little healthier sometimes,” Danny said, eyes connecting with Steve’s.
Grace’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know how to make brownies any healthier.” She wiggled, and Steve gently slid her to the floor.
“I don’t think that’s what he means, Monkey,” Danny said mildly, returning to Steve’s side and casually linking fingers.
Steve tried to pretend that he still didn’t get a little thrill out of how often Danny and Grace touched him. He’d rarely given thought to how little he’d been touched his entire life, but now… now he craved it when those two were around. He found himself initiating contact, taking Danny’s hand or wrist, laying his hand on Danny’s shoulder. When they were alone, he reveled in discovering new ways and places to touch Danny.
“We could make apple pie,” the queen suggested, dusting flour off her hands. The fact that she’d even gotten anything on her hands still shocked Steve. The first time he’d seen her in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, he’d turned around and gotten the king to come downstairs.
“Don’t be so shocked,” the queen had said blithely, “I’ve cooked before.”
Steve and the king had shared a look but remained silent, survival instincts still intact.
Now she, JennaKaye, and Grace had become this dangerous triumvirate, and heaven help any man who stood between them and any of their missions. Any man, that is, except for Danny, who seemed to have been given some leeway due to his biological connection to Grace.
One of Grace’s first visits, she’d balked at going to bed at her bedtime. Being her father’s daughter, she didn’t just sulk but threw one hell of a hissy fit, finally turning large, beseeching eyes toward the queen.
“Perhaps this one time,” the queen started. Danny shot her a look more powerful than his daughter’s, and the queen had immediately backtracked. “Actually, I thought we’d have a picnic tomorrow, but we couldn’t possibly if the guest of honor is too tired because she didn’t go to sleep at her bedtime.” Danny had shot her a grateful look, and as far as Steve knew, that was the last time she’d tried usurp his fatherly bounds.
“We’ll have to come up with some healthy recipes for their wedding, won’t we, Grace?” The queen slid an evil glance toward Steve and Danny.
Grace grinned excitedly. “You finally set a date?”
Steve was a grown man. A prince. He shouldn’t have to fight so hard not to cringe in front of a little girl.
Danny scratched at his cheek, glaring a bit at the queen. “We didn’t, actually.” He shifted. “We’ve been busy…”
Steve couldn’t leave him out there on his own. “I just got back from dealing with the hydra,” he said, helpfully pointing toward the entrance.
“We could always help, since you’re both so busy,” Kono said, brushing past them to walk into the kitchen.
“What are you doing here?” Steve asked.
“Where else would we be?” Chin asked from behind.
“Home doing -” Danny’s clearing his voice reminded Steve of the little ears in the room. “home… stuff,” he finished lamely.
Kono grinned at him, dimples flashing. “Don’t worry; we took care of all the urgent items on the to do list.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the table. “So back to the wedding. How about we - ” she waved an arm to encompass Grace, the queen, JennaKaye, and herself “ - take care of the details, and we’ll just come to you with the important questions.”
Steve looked at Danny, who shrugged and squeezed his hand. They hadn’t really talked about it, but Steve knew they were both in it for the long haul. “At least we’ll get to share the same suite.” Steve raised his eyebrows and smiled. No more sneaking around for proprietary’s sake when everyone knew that while he kept his few clothes and even fewer belongings in his own suite, Danny slept every night Grace was at her mother’s in Steve’s bed.
“And then we can get started on babies!” Grace shouted, her face flushed from the heat and her exertions. She stepped down from her stool and let JennaKaye take over.
“Monkey, I thought you’d already covered this with your tutors,” Danny said. “Steve and I -” he waved his free arm between the two of them - “are both guys.”
“But Kono could do something, right?” Grace asked, her voice filled with hope.
Kono looked thoughtful.
For the first time since he’d watched Danny collapse in front of him months before, Steve felt true fear.
“Oh, no,” Danny protested, pointing at Kono. “Don’t even go there, Mage!”
Kono acted like she hadn’t heard him.
“I mean it, Kono. Keep your weird baby making magic away from Steve!”
It took Steve a moment to process what Danny’d said. “What?”
“If we have to have a baby, you’re the one who’s gonna carry it.”
“Why me? I have a dangerous life -”
“You think I don’t?”
“You don’t have to lead the army like I do.”
“You think I’m perfectly safe up there holding court?” Danny had pulled his hand away from Steve’s in order to gesture, and Steve felt the loss.
“Danno, everyone loves you.”
“Not everyone,” the queen said.
Steve caught the look Danny shot his mother, and his heart started to pound in his ears. “Tell me.”
Danny sighed, running a hand over his hair. “First of all, I’m fine. I’m fine.”
Steve waved it aside. That wasn’t the point. “Give.”
Danny sighed. “So, in a trial, someone’s gonna win, someone’s gonna lose. People get pissed off.”
Steve just stared, his arms crossed.
“Two men came at Danno with knives,” Grace said.
Danny’s head whipped around to his daughter. “Who told you?”
Grace shrugged, licking some dough from her fingers. “People talk.”
“People…what? People talk? What people have been talking to you?” Danny turned a disbelieving look toward Steve before returning his focus to Grace.
Ignoring that conversation, Steve began running his hands over Danny’s shoulders, down his arms, turning over his hands.
“Stop mauling me in front of people!” Danny said, trying to pull back his arms.
“Where’d they stab you?” Steve only needed two things at that point: he needed to see where Danny was hurt, and he needed to know the names of the bastards whose blood would be dripping from his knife in less than ten minutes.
“What? You think I can’t take care of myself?” Danny said, slapping at Steve’s probing hands. “Stop that!”
Steve tried to let go, but he remembered seeing Danny in pain, fingers broken and ribs cracked, and he couldn’t shake that fear. He felt two hands on his face. Danny’s hands.
“Babe, I’m right here, and I’m fine. Didn’t you hear me say I was fine?” Blue eyes filled with love and concern bore into his, and he felt himself relaxing.
“So, you’re fine then?” He tried to make it sound funny and whimsical, but he knew it came out forced and weak.
Danny laughed, going along with him even though it was obvious that Danny knew what he was up to. “I’ve been a lawman for quite a few years. I might be rusty, but I can still kick some serious a - ” a glance at Gracie “ - butt when I feel the need.”
Steve looked at Chin, who nodded. Their sparring sessions were now going to have a third member. The trick was going to be convincing Danny to get out of bed at dawn for them.
“What was that?”
Steve brought out his innocent look. “Hmm?”
“That look between you and Chin. What was that?”
“Nothing,” Steve said the same time Chin asked, “how early do you have to get up when you hold court?”
Danny’s head whipped between the two men. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but the answer is no. Just. No.”
Steve hazarded another look at Chin, thankful that their long friendship enabled them to understand each other quickly. Chin shook his head a little, letting Steve know that he and Kono had looked into Danny’s past and hadn’t been able to learn anything about his parents. They’d agreed to say nothing to Danny until they’d gotten hold of substantial information. Even then, Steve had decided to only share what they’d found if the information wouldn’t cause Danny any additional pain. After all, he had a new family now, one who’d chosen and accepted him and loved him.
“Those plans can wait until after the wedding,” the queen said, oblivious to the silent conversation. “We’ll come up with a few possible dates, and you can just pick one of them.”
“See? Easy.” Kono smirked, and Steve knew she was making him pay for only letting her cut off one of the hydra’s heads.
He started to open his mouth in what he knew was going to be another futile attempt to stop plans that were already gathering steam, but Danny nudged him silent.
“Babe, let’s just leave them to it,” Danny suggested, bowing low as he backed out of the kitchen, making Grace giggle. He pulled Steve around the corner, his turn to press Steve against the wall. “I hate it when you leave without me.”
They’d decided that Danny would travel with him when Grace was at her mother’s, staying at the kingdom when Grace visited them. The nights could be lonely, but those were the times when Steve found himself focused on getting home rather than dawdling along the way. Chin had informed him in his own dry tone that the men appreciated the change.
“You’ll have to tell me all about your trip,” Danny said between featherlike kisses.
Leaning forward to try to deepen the kisses, Steve sighed, “I have to report to the king.”
Danny stopped and leaned back, staring at Steve.
Uncomfortable at the scrutiny, Steve tried not to squirm. “What?”
“You came to see me before reporting to your father?” A large smile spread over Danny’s face as he chuckled. “He’s gonna be pissed.”
“I’ll just blame you,” Steve said. “He’ll already be simmering because you told that child to call you by your first name.”
“Who, Meka? He’s a buddy of mine,” Danny said, shrugging. “Besides, fiancés don’t have titles.”
Steve knew that Danny wasn’t worried about the king. Against all expectations, the king had somehow formed a bond with Danny that Steve hadn’t seen happen with anyone else. In fact, the king had once confided to Steve that he knew Danny knew the correct protocols and that the man used them when he thought necessary - he just usually chose to ignore them. What stunned Steve was that his father had said it with a fond smile. He supposed he should be jealous of that bond, but he was all for anything that further cemented Danny’s place in his life and proved that Danny was happy and felt at home with them. With him.
“Come with me. The king’s much nicer when you’re around.”
Danny chuckled, walking with Steve towards the king’s chambers. “You managed all those years without me. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” They stopped in front of the chamber doors. “Hurry up. I’ll be waiting.”
“Fine.” Steve sighed, kissing Danny once more and pressing their foreheads together, never tiring of looking into the eyes of his future.
***************
Final note:
I know I'm supposed to send this out tomorrow, but I'm having power cord issues (think a small crackling sound and a wisp of smoke), and I don't know that I'll be able to do it then. So, you get the finale early!
Thanks for taking this ride with me. I hope you're leaning back, sighing, feeling like you ate the perfect desert and just want to take a moment enjoying the feeling.
I also want to take the time to thank everyone who took the time to comment. I had fun chatting with every one of you.
Master post with chapter breakdown and links to other sites