H50 fic: Heat, Part 7/8
Title: Heat, Chapter 7 of 8
Characters: Steve McGarrett/Danny Williams and Grace Williams (in this chapter)
Word Count: 2317 of approximately 17K in full story
Rating: PG-13 in this chapter ;-)
Warnings: There is some adult material in some chapters; AU, no spoilers for the show
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters named in this fic; the setting is entirely of my own imagining and in no way reflects the show's premises or ideas. I make no money from my wild imaginings
Beta: the always generous siluria made time to correct and offer suggestions; any remaining mistakes are entirely my own fault
Summary: Hawaii 5-0 Rock Star AU in which Steve is a rock singer with a backing band featuring Chin, Kono and other characters you've seen on the show, and Danny is a Rolling Stone reporter writing an article on Steve
Author’s Notes: I started writing this as some time ago as either a reward for something or from a prompt at 1_million_words (I forget which). The first couple of parts have already been posted at the comm, but now it's completely written, I am finally posting it in AO3 and my own fic LJ. Unfortunately, it's going to be posted chapter by chapter over several days due to other commitments, but I promise that the story is complete and it will all be posted in due course; please bear with me
This chapter: Steve and Danny are supposed to be taking things slowly until Danny has a chance to explain things to Grace
This story can also be found here at AO3
"You were right, Danno."
"I was?" Danny looks down fondly at his daughter, tucked under his arm as they sit on Steve's couch together, Steve on the armchair next to them. They've just watched 'E.T.' together.
"Yeah, it was a classic," Grace says with the sweetest smile.
"Yeah," Danny says with a quick glance at Steve that he can't quite read. "Time for bed, though, Monkey."
"Aww, Danno, please?" Grace begs from close to Danny's chest. "Just five more minutes?"
Danny pulls away and looks down at Grace sternly, but with an underlying message of love that's perfectly clear to Steve. "You are already up past your bedtime, Monkey, and Steve's been kind enough to set up a room for you that looks very comfy. We'll have plenty of time together - with Steve too - tomorrow. Come on - off you go!"
Grace gets up reluctantly, a sad look on her face, but obediently kisses Danny when he presents his cheek for her to do so. Then she gives Steve a shy smile. "Thank you for the movie, Steve. Good night."
"It was my pleasure. Night, Gracie," he smiles back at her, and then watches her head for his sister's old room that he's already set up for her.
Danny's smiling too when Steve looks back in his direction. "What?"
"I'm pleasantly surprised," Danny says.
"About what?" Steve wonders.
"Grace adores you already, and with good reason."
"Thank you. I adore her too."
"Now that," Danny says invitingly, "is music to my ears."
Steve takes it as the offer it appears to be and moves from the armchair he'd been sitting in to the position Grace has just vacated next to Danny on the couch. He doesn't say anything more - he's been waiting since Danny arrived to be alone with him - he leans in and kisses Danny softly, careful not to push too far too fast, although now he's where he wants to be, he's finding that difficult.
Danny looks at him in a way he can't quite decipher, and then moves closer to kiss him back with more passion than Steve's expected. It's almost more than he can bear, and Steve wraps one hand around the side of Danny's head, angling him to deepen the kiss, his other hand on Danny's thigh.
Danny's into it too, his hands moving on Steve, and they're both reaching for clothes, trying to push them away while still keeping the kiss going. Suddenly Danny pulls away, like he's been interrupted more than because he wants to stop, and as Steve turns to see what's distracting him, he's gulping air, breathless as he realizes that Grace is standing at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes wide. He didn't hear her there - it's not like she's making any noise - but clearly a father's ears are more attuned.
Standing up, Danny reaches out a hand. "Grace. I'm sorry, baby. You weren't…"
A part of Steve is disappointed that Danny's first reaction is to apologize for them, but the sensible part of his brain realizes that Danny hasn't told Grace about them and it'd be natural for him to want to do that before she gets to witness her father playing tonsil-hockey with some guy she barely knows.
A rational part tells him Danny would be apologizing even if it was a woman instead of Steve, and he gulps back the frustration, and stands up too, his desire completely killed by the awkwardness of the situation.
Grace takes a halting breath, and then gives Steve an odd look before taking Danny's hand, letting him draw her nearer.
Steve realizes this is probably where he should leave Danny and Grace to talk alone. "I'll go put some coffee on," he says, backing towards the kitchen.
Danny nods, his expression grateful, and then focuses back on Grace. He's leading her towards the couch as Steve exits the room fully, his heart thudding. He knows it must have been a shock for Grace, but he has no idea if her silence is a good or bad thing. There's no way to tell; he can only wait to see how Danny's conversation with her goes.
He leans on the counter, eyes closed and takes a deep breath. There's no use panicking until he knows how bad it is. After a moment, he moves to put the coffee on, conscious of the low murmuring in the other room, but doing his best not to listen in.
~//~
Afraid to do more than pace around the kitchen as he tries not to think of the worst-case scenario, half an hour passes and Steve realizes that it's so quiet in the other room that Danny must have gone upstairs with Grace to tuck her in for the night - if she manages to go to sleep. He moves closer to the door to listen intently, practically holding his breath to be sure he isn't just imagining they've gone.
Quietly, he opens the door a fraction, peeking around it to a silent and empty room. Straightening up, he frowns as he opens it wider, a sudden frightening thought in his head: Danny's called a taxi and they've left. His heart is ratcheting faster as he strides towards the front door, and he's about to open it, scared he's going to see the cab's taillights as it speeds Danny and his daughter back to the airport and out of his life forever, when Danny slowly thuds down the stairs, coming to a stop behind Steve.
As Steve turns, Danny says, "What are you… don't tell me. You actually thought I might have taken Grace and run out on you, didn't you?”
Steve feels his face heating up. "No, no, of course not." Danny's look is so sceptical that he immediately recants. "Yes. I wouldn't have blamed you if you did."
"Do you really think I would? Jesus, Steve, what kind of man do you think I am?"
"I'm sorry," Steve tells him with genuine feeling. It's hard to admit the fear, let alone give it a reason, but the fact that Danny didn't actually leave has reduced Steve to a relieved gratefulness.
"I can't imagine what would have caused such trust issues in someone who practically has the world at his feet," Danny says with a certain amount of exasperation, "but I'm gonna forget it for now and focus on the fact that Grace took things better than I thought she might. Come here." Danny gestures for Steve to come closer as he moves in his direction.
Steve meets him halfway, finally allowing himself to breathe a proper sigh of relief. They embrace, and Steve holds on maybe just a little tighter than he might have done if he hadn't had the minor freak-out just now.
Danny pulls away first and leads Steve to the couch, pulling him to sit down beside him. "We do need to talk about your trust issues, babe, but that can wait. Grace… she figured out that what she saw was exactly what she thought it was. She's a smart kid, and there was pretty much no other way to explain what we were doing."
"I get that," Steve says to his own knees, feeling embarrassed about the whole situation, and more than a little disappointed about the way things have gone.
"Babe."
Steve finally looks up at the solidity of this one word.
"I don't want you to think I'm ashamed of what's between us," Danny tells him earnestly. "Grace likes you, so she's not as upset about it as you may be thinking. Of course she's always hoped I'd get back together with her mom, but she knows that isn't going to happen. And that you and I are… more than just something casual."
Steve's still waiting for the other shoe to drop, and he's afraid to say anything right now. He just looks at Danny, taking in the crinkles at the corner of his eyes and the little group of freckles he hadn't noticed before on the side of his nose.
"Steve? I'm trying to tell you that Grace is okay about me seeing you. She knows that Rachel and Stan are married and that I'm free to choose who I want to be with."
"Really?" Steve can't help his doubts; he's never really had anyone choose to stay with him, and a tiny part of him can't help thinking there must be something wrong with him, despite how successful his music career has been.
"I choose you," Danny says, smiling fondly.
Steve's heart surges and he leans forward, close to kissing Danny once more when he stops, looking over Danny's shoulder in case Grace has reappeared.
"She's gone to sleep, babe. One more kiss isn't going to bother her anyway; not after what she's already seen."
Relieved, Steve offers him a small smile, and he puts a hand on Danny's neck, fingertips stroking his pulse as they finally kiss again. It's not as lust-filled or urgent as the last one, but there's so much more feeling - reassuring and comforting - in it this time.
"I think…" Danny starts.
"We better not sleep together this time around?" Steve says, smiling just a little tightly.
Danny nods, but pulls him back in for one last kiss before Steve gets up to go check the spare room has enough bedding.
"It'll be worth it," Danny says as he follows him upstairs, and Steve knows deep in his heart that he's right.
~//~
By the end of the week, Steve's feeling pretty good about things, and he, Danny and Grace have had a great time seeing the sights and enjoying all that Hawaii has to offer. It's like Steve's seen it through new eyes, and he loves how easily Grace slots into things, though Danny seems to have issues with everything from the sand to pineapple on pizza. It doesn't stop Steve's feelings from growing though; in fact if anything it endears him even more to the man. And despite the moaning - which is mostly bluster anyway - Danny seems to have enjoyed being here with Steve.
They're all a little subdued as they head for the airport when it's time for Danny and Grace to fly home. Steve's going into the studio in LA in a couple of weeks, Grace has to be back in Jersey for school, and after Danny's seen her home, he has a new assignment interviewing some hot young artist in Florida. It would have been nice to have had longer, but Steve knew they were lucky to have had this long.
"So…" Danny says, one hand on Grace's shoulder and the other reaching out as if to shake hands with Steve, "I guess this is goodbye. For now, anyway."
Steve can't believe what he's seeing; Danny appears straight-faced and he wants to shake Steve's hand?
"Seriously?" Steve gets out, a lump forming in his throat. The week's been more than good, and he thought that Danny would at least hug him goodbye. It's true they're in very public view here at the airport, but Steve has his baseball cap and glasses on and is dressed very low-key in commandos and a t-shirt - he doubts anyone has recognized him or they'd have approached for autographs or something - and he's having trouble enough with this goodbye.
He somehow thought Danny would find it hard too.
"Seriously what?" Danny asks, his hand still stuck out.
Steve swallows hard, meeting Danny's eyes with difficulty. "You're really saying goodbye to me with a handshake?"
Grace looks from Danny to Steve and back again. "Yeah, Danno. You should at least hug." Danny frowns at her and she sighs dramatically. "Well, I'm gonna hug him, anyway." She proceeds to do exactly that, tugging Steve's hand so he bends down and into the most reassuring hug ever. "He's just embarrassed," Grace whispers into Steve's ear as she lets him go.
As Steve straightens up, he realizes she's right. Danny is looking slightly flustered now and the penny drops. Danny's probably acutely aware of making any moves that might out Steve in public before he's ready. He takes a deep breath and steps closer. Danny's hand has dropped away while Steve and Grace are hugging, but it doesn't matter anyway. Steve reaches for Danny and enfolds him in his arms, squeezing him tight and savoring the feeling.
They've embraced a few times over the week, but there hasn't been any sex in deference to allowing Grace to get used to them being more than friends a little more slowly than that first night almost became. It's been surprisingly okay with both of them, and Steve's glad in a way that they've worked on being friends like this, although now they're this close, he feels a stirring of that heat that has him wishing they'd done it just once; he has no idea when they'll get together for real to indulge that side of things again.
"Gonna miss you," Steve whispers hoarsely, his voice so low that Danny might not even hear, but as they let go, Danny says, "Me too, babe."
Steve can't believe how hard this is hitting him, and he desperately wants to ask Danny to stay, but he knows he can't; he has obligations to fullfill and so does Danny.
"Safe journey home," Steve manages to get out as Danny and a sad-looking Grace both give him one last look and move off through the gates. Danny glances back only once, but Grace keeps turning back to wave, and Steve tries to smile and wave back until they are completely gone from view.
He continues to stand there for a few minutes after they're gone, swallowing hard and trying to believe he and Danny will be able to see each other soon. They have to make this work, because Steve knows he's not going to survive the emotional rollercoaster if they crash and burn.
~//~
Chapter 8
Characters: Steve McGarrett/Danny Williams and Grace Williams (in this chapter)
Word Count: 2317 of approximately 17K in full story
Rating: PG-13 in this chapter ;-)
Warnings: There is some adult material in some chapters; AU, no spoilers for the show
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters named in this fic; the setting is entirely of my own imagining and in no way reflects the show's premises or ideas. I make no money from my wild imaginings
Beta: the always generous siluria made time to correct and offer suggestions; any remaining mistakes are entirely my own fault
Summary: Hawaii 5-0 Rock Star AU in which Steve is a rock singer with a backing band featuring Chin, Kono and other characters you've seen on the show, and Danny is a Rolling Stone reporter writing an article on Steve
Author’s Notes: I started writing this as some time ago as either a reward for something or from a prompt at 1_million_words (I forget which). The first couple of parts have already been posted at the comm, but now it's completely written, I am finally posting it in AO3 and my own fic LJ. Unfortunately, it's going to be posted chapter by chapter over several days due to other commitments, but I promise that the story is complete and it will all be posted in due course; please bear with me
This chapter: Steve and Danny are supposed to be taking things slowly until Danny has a chance to explain things to Grace
This story can also be found here at AO3
"You were right, Danno."
"I was?" Danny looks down fondly at his daughter, tucked under his arm as they sit on Steve's couch together, Steve on the armchair next to them. They've just watched 'E.T.' together.
"Yeah, it was a classic," Grace says with the sweetest smile.
"Yeah," Danny says with a quick glance at Steve that he can't quite read. "Time for bed, though, Monkey."
"Aww, Danno, please?" Grace begs from close to Danny's chest. "Just five more minutes?"
Danny pulls away and looks down at Grace sternly, but with an underlying message of love that's perfectly clear to Steve. "You are already up past your bedtime, Monkey, and Steve's been kind enough to set up a room for you that looks very comfy. We'll have plenty of time together - with Steve too - tomorrow. Come on - off you go!"
Grace gets up reluctantly, a sad look on her face, but obediently kisses Danny when he presents his cheek for her to do so. Then she gives Steve a shy smile. "Thank you for the movie, Steve. Good night."
"It was my pleasure. Night, Gracie," he smiles back at her, and then watches her head for his sister's old room that he's already set up for her.
Danny's smiling too when Steve looks back in his direction. "What?"
"I'm pleasantly surprised," Danny says.
"About what?" Steve wonders.
"Grace adores you already, and with good reason."
"Thank you. I adore her too."
"Now that," Danny says invitingly, "is music to my ears."
Steve takes it as the offer it appears to be and moves from the armchair he'd been sitting in to the position Grace has just vacated next to Danny on the couch. He doesn't say anything more - he's been waiting since Danny arrived to be alone with him - he leans in and kisses Danny softly, careful not to push too far too fast, although now he's where he wants to be, he's finding that difficult.
Danny looks at him in a way he can't quite decipher, and then moves closer to kiss him back with more passion than Steve's expected. It's almost more than he can bear, and Steve wraps one hand around the side of Danny's head, angling him to deepen the kiss, his other hand on Danny's thigh.
Danny's into it too, his hands moving on Steve, and they're both reaching for clothes, trying to push them away while still keeping the kiss going. Suddenly Danny pulls away, like he's been interrupted more than because he wants to stop, and as Steve turns to see what's distracting him, he's gulping air, breathless as he realizes that Grace is standing at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes wide. He didn't hear her there - it's not like she's making any noise - but clearly a father's ears are more attuned.
Standing up, Danny reaches out a hand. "Grace. I'm sorry, baby. You weren't…"
A part of Steve is disappointed that Danny's first reaction is to apologize for them, but the sensible part of his brain realizes that Danny hasn't told Grace about them and it'd be natural for him to want to do that before she gets to witness her father playing tonsil-hockey with some guy she barely knows.
A rational part tells him Danny would be apologizing even if it was a woman instead of Steve, and he gulps back the frustration, and stands up too, his desire completely killed by the awkwardness of the situation.
Grace takes a halting breath, and then gives Steve an odd look before taking Danny's hand, letting him draw her nearer.
Steve realizes this is probably where he should leave Danny and Grace to talk alone. "I'll go put some coffee on," he says, backing towards the kitchen.
Danny nods, his expression grateful, and then focuses back on Grace. He's leading her towards the couch as Steve exits the room fully, his heart thudding. He knows it must have been a shock for Grace, but he has no idea if her silence is a good or bad thing. There's no way to tell; he can only wait to see how Danny's conversation with her goes.
He leans on the counter, eyes closed and takes a deep breath. There's no use panicking until he knows how bad it is. After a moment, he moves to put the coffee on, conscious of the low murmuring in the other room, but doing his best not to listen in.
~//~
Afraid to do more than pace around the kitchen as he tries not to think of the worst-case scenario, half an hour passes and Steve realizes that it's so quiet in the other room that Danny must have gone upstairs with Grace to tuck her in for the night - if she manages to go to sleep. He moves closer to the door to listen intently, practically holding his breath to be sure he isn't just imagining they've gone.
Quietly, he opens the door a fraction, peeking around it to a silent and empty room. Straightening up, he frowns as he opens it wider, a sudden frightening thought in his head: Danny's called a taxi and they've left. His heart is ratcheting faster as he strides towards the front door, and he's about to open it, scared he's going to see the cab's taillights as it speeds Danny and his daughter back to the airport and out of his life forever, when Danny slowly thuds down the stairs, coming to a stop behind Steve.
As Steve turns, Danny says, "What are you… don't tell me. You actually thought I might have taken Grace and run out on you, didn't you?”
Steve feels his face heating up. "No, no, of course not." Danny's look is so sceptical that he immediately recants. "Yes. I wouldn't have blamed you if you did."
"Do you really think I would? Jesus, Steve, what kind of man do you think I am?"
"I'm sorry," Steve tells him with genuine feeling. It's hard to admit the fear, let alone give it a reason, but the fact that Danny didn't actually leave has reduced Steve to a relieved gratefulness.
"I can't imagine what would have caused such trust issues in someone who practically has the world at his feet," Danny says with a certain amount of exasperation, "but I'm gonna forget it for now and focus on the fact that Grace took things better than I thought she might. Come here." Danny gestures for Steve to come closer as he moves in his direction.
Steve meets him halfway, finally allowing himself to breathe a proper sigh of relief. They embrace, and Steve holds on maybe just a little tighter than he might have done if he hadn't had the minor freak-out just now.
Danny pulls away first and leads Steve to the couch, pulling him to sit down beside him. "We do need to talk about your trust issues, babe, but that can wait. Grace… she figured out that what she saw was exactly what she thought it was. She's a smart kid, and there was pretty much no other way to explain what we were doing."
"I get that," Steve says to his own knees, feeling embarrassed about the whole situation, and more than a little disappointed about the way things have gone.
"Babe."
Steve finally looks up at the solidity of this one word.
"I don't want you to think I'm ashamed of what's between us," Danny tells him earnestly. "Grace likes you, so she's not as upset about it as you may be thinking. Of course she's always hoped I'd get back together with her mom, but she knows that isn't going to happen. And that you and I are… more than just something casual."
Steve's still waiting for the other shoe to drop, and he's afraid to say anything right now. He just looks at Danny, taking in the crinkles at the corner of his eyes and the little group of freckles he hadn't noticed before on the side of his nose.
"Steve? I'm trying to tell you that Grace is okay about me seeing you. She knows that Rachel and Stan are married and that I'm free to choose who I want to be with."
"Really?" Steve can't help his doubts; he's never really had anyone choose to stay with him, and a tiny part of him can't help thinking there must be something wrong with him, despite how successful his music career has been.
"I choose you," Danny says, smiling fondly.
Steve's heart surges and he leans forward, close to kissing Danny once more when he stops, looking over Danny's shoulder in case Grace has reappeared.
"She's gone to sleep, babe. One more kiss isn't going to bother her anyway; not after what she's already seen."
Relieved, Steve offers him a small smile, and he puts a hand on Danny's neck, fingertips stroking his pulse as they finally kiss again. It's not as lust-filled or urgent as the last one, but there's so much more feeling - reassuring and comforting - in it this time.
"I think…" Danny starts.
"We better not sleep together this time around?" Steve says, smiling just a little tightly.
Danny nods, but pulls him back in for one last kiss before Steve gets up to go check the spare room has enough bedding.
"It'll be worth it," Danny says as he follows him upstairs, and Steve knows deep in his heart that he's right.
~//~
By the end of the week, Steve's feeling pretty good about things, and he, Danny and Grace have had a great time seeing the sights and enjoying all that Hawaii has to offer. It's like Steve's seen it through new eyes, and he loves how easily Grace slots into things, though Danny seems to have issues with everything from the sand to pineapple on pizza. It doesn't stop Steve's feelings from growing though; in fact if anything it endears him even more to the man. And despite the moaning - which is mostly bluster anyway - Danny seems to have enjoyed being here with Steve.
They're all a little subdued as they head for the airport when it's time for Danny and Grace to fly home. Steve's going into the studio in LA in a couple of weeks, Grace has to be back in Jersey for school, and after Danny's seen her home, he has a new assignment interviewing some hot young artist in Florida. It would have been nice to have had longer, but Steve knew they were lucky to have had this long.
"So…" Danny says, one hand on Grace's shoulder and the other reaching out as if to shake hands with Steve, "I guess this is goodbye. For now, anyway."
Steve can't believe what he's seeing; Danny appears straight-faced and he wants to shake Steve's hand?
"Seriously?" Steve gets out, a lump forming in his throat. The week's been more than good, and he thought that Danny would at least hug him goodbye. It's true they're in very public view here at the airport, but Steve has his baseball cap and glasses on and is dressed very low-key in commandos and a t-shirt - he doubts anyone has recognized him or they'd have approached for autographs or something - and he's having trouble enough with this goodbye.
He somehow thought Danny would find it hard too.
"Seriously what?" Danny asks, his hand still stuck out.
Steve swallows hard, meeting Danny's eyes with difficulty. "You're really saying goodbye to me with a handshake?"
Grace looks from Danny to Steve and back again. "Yeah, Danno. You should at least hug." Danny frowns at her and she sighs dramatically. "Well, I'm gonna hug him, anyway." She proceeds to do exactly that, tugging Steve's hand so he bends down and into the most reassuring hug ever. "He's just embarrassed," Grace whispers into Steve's ear as she lets him go.
As Steve straightens up, he realizes she's right. Danny is looking slightly flustered now and the penny drops. Danny's probably acutely aware of making any moves that might out Steve in public before he's ready. He takes a deep breath and steps closer. Danny's hand has dropped away while Steve and Grace are hugging, but it doesn't matter anyway. Steve reaches for Danny and enfolds him in his arms, squeezing him tight and savoring the feeling.
They've embraced a few times over the week, but there hasn't been any sex in deference to allowing Grace to get used to them being more than friends a little more slowly than that first night almost became. It's been surprisingly okay with both of them, and Steve's glad in a way that they've worked on being friends like this, although now they're this close, he feels a stirring of that heat that has him wishing they'd done it just once; he has no idea when they'll get together for real to indulge that side of things again.
"Gonna miss you," Steve whispers hoarsely, his voice so low that Danny might not even hear, but as they let go, Danny says, "Me too, babe."
Steve can't believe how hard this is hitting him, and he desperately wants to ask Danny to stay, but he knows he can't; he has obligations to fullfill and so does Danny.
"Safe journey home," Steve manages to get out as Danny and a sad-looking Grace both give him one last look and move off through the gates. Danny glances back only once, but Grace keeps turning back to wave, and Steve tries to smile and wave back until they are completely gone from view.
He continues to stand there for a few minutes after they're gone, swallowing hard and trying to believe he and Danny will be able to see each other soon. They have to make this work, because Steve knows he's not going to survive the emotional rollercoaster if they crash and burn.
~//~
Chapter 8