Five-0 frolic: extension
Title: Stealth Nanny McPhee
Author: ariadne83
Prompt(s) Used: They prove Steve innocent, Kono too, the task force is back together. But now Danny has custody of both Grace and his new child (for some reason other than Rachel dying/being a bad person) and needs somewhere else to live because his place isn't suited for more than one person.
Pairing/Characters: Danny/Steve
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~2400
Summary: Getting Steve out of jail turned out to be the easy part
Warnings/Content Notes: None
Author's Notes: I strayed from the prompt a little. Hope you like it! Props as always to my beta extraordinaire, lunabee34, who isn't even in this fandom but always makes my stories better when I inflict them on her ♥
PROLOGUE
All up, Steve was in jail for two months, one week and four days awaiting trial before the evidence against him mysteriously disappeared from HPD lock-up and the DA reluctantly dropped all charges. Kono was cleared, too, in an about-face turn that left them all on edge and facing the very real possibility that 5-0 might be done for good.
Danny’d eaten humble pie a week after Chin rejoined HPD, when his rent had come due and he’d accepted the fact that being homeless and unemployed wouldn’t be the best way to welcome his two favourite girls back to the island. Then Rachel had called, and Danny’s life had fallen apart again and fit itself back together all crooked: plus Grace but minus Rachel. New York called, and she’d put herself last one too many times, apparently. Not that Danny could blame her; the split from Stan would probably be ugly and expensive, and Danny sure wasn’t in a position to help pay for it. And then there was the new baby to think about, diapers and clothes and food and insurance and daycare to cover in the near future, so yeah, Rachel needed to re-focus on her career if they were all going to make it. All fair points, and Danny tried to believe they were going to be a family all under one roof some day. But honestly he’d known it was over - really and truly done this time - the moment Grace stepped off the plane without her Mom. There was something so final in the transfer of custody, in that first uncashed child support cheque still sitting in Danny’s wallet, and in Rachel’s short, business-like emails.
Danny was a mess that first week, is the thing, and he had no idea what he would’ve done if his baby sister hadn’t decided to tag along with Grace to check up on things. She kept his shitty little apartment from turning into too much of an obstacle course, she took over the school runs with Grace, got him out the door in the morning so HPD wouldn’t fire him... Basically Ruth saved his ass for the few days Danny let himself mope, and when she offered to stay on (“provided we find a better place than this dump”), he’d hugged her so tight she’d squeaked in protest and smacked him on the back.
And then he’d let slip to Steve that he was apartment-hunting. Steve who’d stoic-ed his way through the anniversary of his Mom’s death and his Dad’s, narrowly avoided being shanked by Victor Hesse, and who’d offered up his house to a Williams invasion just like that. He’d gotten a look of unholy glee at the idea of Gracie taking over his space, and Danny hadn’t been able to tell him no. He was helpless against those eyes and that smile, and oy vey how fucked up was it that Danny hadn’t figured this out months ago? Oh right, he’d been busy being stupid and impulsive with Rachel, kidding himself they could make it work this time without putting in a whole lot of effort to play things differently, play things smart. Too busy to figure out why he’d let Steve elbow his way into his life, or why he’d returned the favor. Too busy stop and think why it bothered him so much that Steve thought Danny and Grace were cute and sweet - that he actually meant it and wasn’t busting Danny’s chops about being whipped by a little girl. Way too busy for Danny to realize that Steve was exactly the type of guy he’d always gone for, and that at least half of Danny’s annoyance at Steve running around like he was trying out for track was because it got him hot under the collar in a good way. Damnit.
~~~
So here Danny was, sitting outside the prison with his hands sweating like he was waiting for his prom date. Perfect.
Steve looked good, better than anybody who just spent months in prison should. He smiled at Danny nice and easy, just a slight tug at the corners of his mouth, which instantly put him on guard.
“Why are you smiling at me?”
“You’re not wearing a tie. It suits you.”
“I’m not... Of course I’m not wearing a tie. I knew you’d come out here dressed like a ninja; I didn’t want you to strangle me with it when you saw the house and then just melt into the foliage.”
Steve frowned. “What’s wrong with the house?”
“Nothing except that there’s a nine-year-old girl living in it. And I may have done a little shopping after Rachel sent me the twenty-week scan.”
“Man, she’s that far along already?” Steve shook his head and smiled like the dopey idiot nobody seemed to notice he was except for Danny. “How’s she doing?”
“Fine. Excellent, from what I can tell. The baby’s good, ticking along just fine, and her work’s, uh, good.” Oh, nice one, Daniel, very articulate. “ Busy.”
Steve’s face fell, and he took a step closer. “I’m sorry, Danny.”
“I’m fine. I think she made the right call for both of us. I...” Danny choked off; damned Hawaiian air, making him dizzy.
“You what?” Steve prompted, laying a hand on Danny’s shoulder and squeezing slightly.
It was distracting as hell, especially since Danny’d already been struggling to find the right words before Steve got so close. Fuck it anyway; since when had he been tongue-tied around Steve McGarrett?
“It should’ve been worse when she told me she wasn’t coming back. I should’ve been a wreck like I was the first time she left, but I think I knew it wasn’t gonna work. I let her get on that plane without me. I let my daughter leave without me because...” Because - honesty time, Danny - Steve had needed him, and Danny couldn’t let him down for reasons he’d thought long and hard about over the last two months. “OK, look, I’m just gonna lay my cards on the table, and let me preface this by saying I know you didn’t ask me for anything. This is not a guilt thing, and I’m not laying my... my Issues on you, alright? I just... You’re a part of me, and I wanted- I want to be where you are. I know it’s messed up, it’s too much, but...”
Danny was cut off mid-ramble when Steve crowded him back against the car and kissed him hard, his hands wavering at Danny’s hips and then sliding up to grasp the front of his shirt. As if Danny was going to disappear if he didn’t hold on just right, which, OK, to be fair, that had been part of the original plan when he first found out Rachel was pregnant. But Danny’s sure now that it would’ve been a mistake because he could’ve missed out on this: Steve’s weight against him, Steve’s knee pressing between his and pinning him in place, Steve’s beautiful, devilish mouth taking him apart. How stupid was he not figuring out it was an option a year ago? Unless... unless nine weeks of solitary had given Steve plenty of time to reprioritize, too. Danny wasn’t sure which was the lesser of two evils: either he was alone in his idiocy and he’d come this close to breaking Steve’s heart or they’d both been obtuse, which didn’t exactly bode well for the long term.
And Danny was officially thinking too much, evidently, because Steve eased up and started to pull away. Danny got his hands on the broad expanse of Steve’s back and held him in place, kissed him back, shifted the angle a little and went for broke. No more damn ambiguity.
Steve broke off the kiss and leaned his forehead against Danny’s, breathing hard, his hands still clenched tight in Danny’s shirt. “Danny... Me too.”
“That’s all you have to say? ‘Me too’? Come on, give me something.”
“If I hadn’t been in jail, I would’ve found you.”
That... sounded vaguely creepy. In an endearing ‘What the fuck, Steve?’ kind of way. “What, like, you would’ve stalked me all the way across the world? Listen to me; who’m I talking to? Of course, you would.”
Steve grinned. “In a caring, legal way.”
“Yeah, sure. Hey, you want to get out of here before they haul us both inside for public indecency?”
~~~
The car ride was interminable. Danny hadn’t felt this antsy since he was seventeen and the designated sober driver for the entire baseball team, carefully planning his route so Jimmy Harmon’s place - his blissfully empty place because his Mom worked nights - was the last stop. With a little luck Steve’s house would be blissfully empty for another couple of hours, Grace happy at the beach with her favorite aunt; in fact, Danny should text Ruth and call for an IOU.
Steve grinned at him when he pulled out the little electronic wand and started pecking at buttons on his phone.
“What? So I still have goofy thumbs; did you expect my hands to shrink while you weren’t looking?”
“Not exactly what I was thinking, Danny, no.” Steve slid his hand over onto Danny’s thigh and squeezed. “I like your hands the way they are.”
Danny rolled his eyes and tried to squirm out of Steve’s grip. “Big hands, big gloves, huh? I still have no idea why anyone in the world thinks you’re smooth.”
“I have my moments.”
“Not that I’ve seen.”
Steve just raised an eyebrow and smirked; Danny covered his face with his hands. “Do not say it. I know I walked right into it, but I do not want to hear any cheesy pick-up lines about you showing me your ‘moves’; not if you want to get laid any time this week.”
“My lips are sealed. Metaphorically.”
“Now who’s all polysyllabic?”
“That would still be you, D.”
The back-and-forth was easy, familiar, and Danny felt the knot of apprehension in his chest ease. If this was still the same then maybe everything else would be, too; maybe this thing with Steve would be one of those rare cases where sex didn’t add much that wasn’t already there. Maybe Danny could have a chance to be in the moment instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop.
And of course, as soon as that thought popped into his head they pulled up into the driveway. Of course.
“Just remember, I did warn you.”
“Yeah, OK.” Steve shook his head as he got out of the car, and Danny took a minute to wish for mercy before he followed.
Steve turned the key in the lock; so far so good, and Danny pressed a kiss to the back of his neck to remind Steve why he didn’t want to kill him. Then the door swung inward, hit something solid, and bounced back.
“What the hell?”
Danny winced. “That was probably the crib. It doesn’t fit in the garage.”
Steve turned and stared at him. “You put it together already?”
“No.” But it’d been the last thing delivered, and Danny hadn’t wanted to crush the boxes of bottles and formula, and then Grace had wanted to use it to fortify her blanket fort...
“OK.” Steve squared his shoulders, plastered on his mission-ready face, and opened the door again, carefully this time. And then he stopped in the doorway. “Danny, how many babies is Rachel having?”
“I know. I know it looks bad. I just ran out of places to put everything. Can you just, I don’t know, close your eyes until we get to the stairs?”
“Sure, if I want to break my neck. What the hell...?”
“Kids, Steve. They need stuff. I tried to tell you.” Danny placed his hands on Steve’s shoulders, steering him forward until there was room to get past him. Just like he’d thought, Steve was wide-eyed with... maybe fury, maybe panic; Danny couldn’t quite tell. “Don’t worry; I’ll get a storage locker, I’ll look for a new place...”
Steve blinked rapidly and shook his head slightly. “No, it’s... Jesus, Danny, you’re having a baby.”
“Yeah.” And? This face was a new face - pale, wide-eyed, kinda gormless - and Danny didn’t know if he liked it. That was, until Steve swept him into a crushing hug.
“It’s awesome, man.”
Danny grinned against Steve’s neck, said “I think so,” and then pulled him down into a kiss. Or he would've if Steve hadn't ducked away at the last second.
“You sure you want to stay here? With me?” Steve murmured, breath huffing over Danny’s cheek. “I don’t want to make you a target.”
Danny ran a hand through Steve’s hair, still growing back from the severe buzz cut he’d opted for - in a fit of pique, most likely, knowing Steve - and so damn soft the man would be doomed if Grace ever got her hands on it.
“You say that like I’m not already on Wo Fat’s radar. Besides, I think right now the guy’s more interested in fading from memory; he exposed himself too much coming after you directly, especially so soon after the raid. Trust me, there are plenty of guys at HPD who thought the timing of you supposedly going off the reservation was suspicious. We’ll get the slippery son of a bitch and until then you can just let him think he’s got you where he wants you: out of work, out of fire. Stealth Nanny McPhee.”
Danny didn’t know how it was going to work. He didn’t know how Rachel would react to him finding someone else so fast, he didn’t know how Steve would handle being a sort-of stepdad, he didn’t know how they were going to manage looking after two kids and making it work between them and still find time to clear Steve’s name. He didn’t know what they’d do about Wo Fat, who hadn’t showed his face since Governor Jameson’s funeral, or HPD, who had Kono working Vice to earn her way back from being labelled dirty, or Chin, who’d shut down since Uncle had a heart attack in jail.
There were a lot of what-ifs to think about. But at the end of the day, did he want to give it a shot? Hell yes.
“Yeah, babe, I’m sure.” Sure enough to take him upstairs and re-introduce Steve to his own bed, sure enough to take a chance on letting him in, at least a little. Sure enough that Steve would be here tomorrow and the next day and the next, unless Danny told him otherwise, because he was a stubborn ass and because he saw redemption in Danny’s family, just like Danny did. And that was more than enough to start with.
Author: ariadne83
Prompt(s) Used: They prove Steve innocent, Kono too, the task force is back together. But now Danny has custody of both Grace and his new child (for some reason other than Rachel dying/being a bad person) and needs somewhere else to live because his place isn't suited for more than one person.
Pairing/Characters: Danny/Steve
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~2400
Summary: Getting Steve out of jail turned out to be the easy part
Warnings/Content Notes: None
Author's Notes: I strayed from the prompt a little. Hope you like it! Props as always to my beta extraordinaire, lunabee34, who isn't even in this fandom but always makes my stories better when I inflict them on her ♥
PROLOGUE
All up, Steve was in jail for two months, one week and four days awaiting trial before the evidence against him mysteriously disappeared from HPD lock-up and the DA reluctantly dropped all charges. Kono was cleared, too, in an about-face turn that left them all on edge and facing the very real possibility that 5-0 might be done for good.
Danny’d eaten humble pie a week after Chin rejoined HPD, when his rent had come due and he’d accepted the fact that being homeless and unemployed wouldn’t be the best way to welcome his two favourite girls back to the island. Then Rachel had called, and Danny’s life had fallen apart again and fit itself back together all crooked: plus Grace but minus Rachel. New York called, and she’d put herself last one too many times, apparently. Not that Danny could blame her; the split from Stan would probably be ugly and expensive, and Danny sure wasn’t in a position to help pay for it. And then there was the new baby to think about, diapers and clothes and food and insurance and daycare to cover in the near future, so yeah, Rachel needed to re-focus on her career if they were all going to make it. All fair points, and Danny tried to believe they were going to be a family all under one roof some day. But honestly he’d known it was over - really and truly done this time - the moment Grace stepped off the plane without her Mom. There was something so final in the transfer of custody, in that first uncashed child support cheque still sitting in Danny’s wallet, and in Rachel’s short, business-like emails.
Danny was a mess that first week, is the thing, and he had no idea what he would’ve done if his baby sister hadn’t decided to tag along with Grace to check up on things. She kept his shitty little apartment from turning into too much of an obstacle course, she took over the school runs with Grace, got him out the door in the morning so HPD wouldn’t fire him... Basically Ruth saved his ass for the few days Danny let himself mope, and when she offered to stay on (“provided we find a better place than this dump”), he’d hugged her so tight she’d squeaked in protest and smacked him on the back.
And then he’d let slip to Steve that he was apartment-hunting. Steve who’d stoic-ed his way through the anniversary of his Mom’s death and his Dad’s, narrowly avoided being shanked by Victor Hesse, and who’d offered up his house to a Williams invasion just like that. He’d gotten a look of unholy glee at the idea of Gracie taking over his space, and Danny hadn’t been able to tell him no. He was helpless against those eyes and that smile, and oy vey how fucked up was it that Danny hadn’t figured this out months ago? Oh right, he’d been busy being stupid and impulsive with Rachel, kidding himself they could make it work this time without putting in a whole lot of effort to play things differently, play things smart. Too busy to figure out why he’d let Steve elbow his way into his life, or why he’d returned the favor. Too busy stop and think why it bothered him so much that Steve thought Danny and Grace were cute and sweet - that he actually meant it and wasn’t busting Danny’s chops about being whipped by a little girl. Way too busy for Danny to realize that Steve was exactly the type of guy he’d always gone for, and that at least half of Danny’s annoyance at Steve running around like he was trying out for track was because it got him hot under the collar in a good way. Damnit.
~~~
So here Danny was, sitting outside the prison with his hands sweating like he was waiting for his prom date. Perfect.
Steve looked good, better than anybody who just spent months in prison should. He smiled at Danny nice and easy, just a slight tug at the corners of his mouth, which instantly put him on guard.
“Why are you smiling at me?”
“You’re not wearing a tie. It suits you.”
“I’m not... Of course I’m not wearing a tie. I knew you’d come out here dressed like a ninja; I didn’t want you to strangle me with it when you saw the house and then just melt into the foliage.”
Steve frowned. “What’s wrong with the house?”
“Nothing except that there’s a nine-year-old girl living in it. And I may have done a little shopping after Rachel sent me the twenty-week scan.”
“Man, she’s that far along already?” Steve shook his head and smiled like the dopey idiot nobody seemed to notice he was except for Danny. “How’s she doing?”
“Fine. Excellent, from what I can tell. The baby’s good, ticking along just fine, and her work’s, uh, good.” Oh, nice one, Daniel, very articulate. “ Busy.”
Steve’s face fell, and he took a step closer. “I’m sorry, Danny.”
“I’m fine. I think she made the right call for both of us. I...” Danny choked off; damned Hawaiian air, making him dizzy.
“You what?” Steve prompted, laying a hand on Danny’s shoulder and squeezing slightly.
It was distracting as hell, especially since Danny’d already been struggling to find the right words before Steve got so close. Fuck it anyway; since when had he been tongue-tied around Steve McGarrett?
“It should’ve been worse when she told me she wasn’t coming back. I should’ve been a wreck like I was the first time she left, but I think I knew it wasn’t gonna work. I let her get on that plane without me. I let my daughter leave without me because...” Because - honesty time, Danny - Steve had needed him, and Danny couldn’t let him down for reasons he’d thought long and hard about over the last two months. “OK, look, I’m just gonna lay my cards on the table, and let me preface this by saying I know you didn’t ask me for anything. This is not a guilt thing, and I’m not laying my... my Issues on you, alright? I just... You’re a part of me, and I wanted- I want to be where you are. I know it’s messed up, it’s too much, but...”
Danny was cut off mid-ramble when Steve crowded him back against the car and kissed him hard, his hands wavering at Danny’s hips and then sliding up to grasp the front of his shirt. As if Danny was going to disappear if he didn’t hold on just right, which, OK, to be fair, that had been part of the original plan when he first found out Rachel was pregnant. But Danny’s sure now that it would’ve been a mistake because he could’ve missed out on this: Steve’s weight against him, Steve’s knee pressing between his and pinning him in place, Steve’s beautiful, devilish mouth taking him apart. How stupid was he not figuring out it was an option a year ago? Unless... unless nine weeks of solitary had given Steve plenty of time to reprioritize, too. Danny wasn’t sure which was the lesser of two evils: either he was alone in his idiocy and he’d come this close to breaking Steve’s heart or they’d both been obtuse, which didn’t exactly bode well for the long term.
And Danny was officially thinking too much, evidently, because Steve eased up and started to pull away. Danny got his hands on the broad expanse of Steve’s back and held him in place, kissed him back, shifted the angle a little and went for broke. No more damn ambiguity.
Steve broke off the kiss and leaned his forehead against Danny’s, breathing hard, his hands still clenched tight in Danny’s shirt. “Danny... Me too.”
“That’s all you have to say? ‘Me too’? Come on, give me something.”
“If I hadn’t been in jail, I would’ve found you.”
That... sounded vaguely creepy. In an endearing ‘What the fuck, Steve?’ kind of way. “What, like, you would’ve stalked me all the way across the world? Listen to me; who’m I talking to? Of course, you would.”
Steve grinned. “In a caring, legal way.”
“Yeah, sure. Hey, you want to get out of here before they haul us both inside for public indecency?”
~~~
The car ride was interminable. Danny hadn’t felt this antsy since he was seventeen and the designated sober driver for the entire baseball team, carefully planning his route so Jimmy Harmon’s place - his blissfully empty place because his Mom worked nights - was the last stop. With a little luck Steve’s house would be blissfully empty for another couple of hours, Grace happy at the beach with her favorite aunt; in fact, Danny should text Ruth and call for an IOU.
Steve grinned at him when he pulled out the little electronic wand and started pecking at buttons on his phone.
“What? So I still have goofy thumbs; did you expect my hands to shrink while you weren’t looking?”
“Not exactly what I was thinking, Danny, no.” Steve slid his hand over onto Danny’s thigh and squeezed. “I like your hands the way they are.”
Danny rolled his eyes and tried to squirm out of Steve’s grip. “Big hands, big gloves, huh? I still have no idea why anyone in the world thinks you’re smooth.”
“I have my moments.”
“Not that I’ve seen.”
Steve just raised an eyebrow and smirked; Danny covered his face with his hands. “Do not say it. I know I walked right into it, but I do not want to hear any cheesy pick-up lines about you showing me your ‘moves’; not if you want to get laid any time this week.”
“My lips are sealed. Metaphorically.”
“Now who’s all polysyllabic?”
“That would still be you, D.”
The back-and-forth was easy, familiar, and Danny felt the knot of apprehension in his chest ease. If this was still the same then maybe everything else would be, too; maybe this thing with Steve would be one of those rare cases where sex didn’t add much that wasn’t already there. Maybe Danny could have a chance to be in the moment instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop.
And of course, as soon as that thought popped into his head they pulled up into the driveway. Of course.
“Just remember, I did warn you.”
“Yeah, OK.” Steve shook his head as he got out of the car, and Danny took a minute to wish for mercy before he followed.
Steve turned the key in the lock; so far so good, and Danny pressed a kiss to the back of his neck to remind Steve why he didn’t want to kill him. Then the door swung inward, hit something solid, and bounced back.
“What the hell?”
Danny winced. “That was probably the crib. It doesn’t fit in the garage.”
Steve turned and stared at him. “You put it together already?”
“No.” But it’d been the last thing delivered, and Danny hadn’t wanted to crush the boxes of bottles and formula, and then Grace had wanted to use it to fortify her blanket fort...
“OK.” Steve squared his shoulders, plastered on his mission-ready face, and opened the door again, carefully this time. And then he stopped in the doorway. “Danny, how many babies is Rachel having?”
“I know. I know it looks bad. I just ran out of places to put everything. Can you just, I don’t know, close your eyes until we get to the stairs?”
“Sure, if I want to break my neck. What the hell...?”
“Kids, Steve. They need stuff. I tried to tell you.” Danny placed his hands on Steve’s shoulders, steering him forward until there was room to get past him. Just like he’d thought, Steve was wide-eyed with... maybe fury, maybe panic; Danny couldn’t quite tell. “Don’t worry; I’ll get a storage locker, I’ll look for a new place...”
Steve blinked rapidly and shook his head slightly. “No, it’s... Jesus, Danny, you’re having a baby.”
“Yeah.” And? This face was a new face - pale, wide-eyed, kinda gormless - and Danny didn’t know if he liked it. That was, until Steve swept him into a crushing hug.
“It’s awesome, man.”
Danny grinned against Steve’s neck, said “I think so,” and then pulled him down into a kiss. Or he would've if Steve hadn't ducked away at the last second.
“You sure you want to stay here? With me?” Steve murmured, breath huffing over Danny’s cheek. “I don’t want to make you a target.”
Danny ran a hand through Steve’s hair, still growing back from the severe buzz cut he’d opted for - in a fit of pique, most likely, knowing Steve - and so damn soft the man would be doomed if Grace ever got her hands on it.
“You say that like I’m not already on Wo Fat’s radar. Besides, I think right now the guy’s more interested in fading from memory; he exposed himself too much coming after you directly, especially so soon after the raid. Trust me, there are plenty of guys at HPD who thought the timing of you supposedly going off the reservation was suspicious. We’ll get the slippery son of a bitch and until then you can just let him think he’s got you where he wants you: out of work, out of fire. Stealth Nanny McPhee.”
Danny didn’t know how it was going to work. He didn’t know how Rachel would react to him finding someone else so fast, he didn’t know how Steve would handle being a sort-of stepdad, he didn’t know how they were going to manage looking after two kids and making it work between them and still find time to clear Steve’s name. He didn’t know what they’d do about Wo Fat, who hadn’t showed his face since Governor Jameson’s funeral, or HPD, who had Kono working Vice to earn her way back from being labelled dirty, or Chin, who’d shut down since Uncle had a heart attack in jail.
There were a lot of what-ifs to think about. But at the end of the day, did he want to give it a shot? Hell yes.
“Yeah, babe, I’m sure.” Sure enough to take him upstairs and re-introduce Steve to his own bed, sure enough to take a chance on letting him in, at least a little. Sure enough that Steve would be here tomorrow and the next day and the next, unless Danny told him otherwise, because he was a stubborn ass and because he saw redemption in Danny’s family, just like Danny did. And that was more than enough to start with.