Fic: City Boy (Steve/Danny, H50)
City Boy - A Steve/Danny fic, written for picfor1000, rated G. 1000 words. Picture is here.
City Boy
Danny wipes the sweat from his forehead as he follows directly behind Grace. Her pink Hello Kitty knapsack stares blankly at him as Grace stomps almost gleefully along the muddy trail, her boots already filthy, her sparkly purple kneesocks spattered with mud.
"Be careful, monkey, it's slippery," Danny calls out. "Whoa--" He's so busy watching Grace that his foot slides in the mud and he almost loses his own balance.
Grace sings out, "I'm okay, Danno", as she steps onto a dry a rock, then takes Steve's hand and allows him to guide her through the worst of it. She leaps nimbly from rock to rock, giggling as Steve lifts her up over a large puddle, her pigtails swinging with the movement.
"Good. Good. I'm glad you are okay." Danny shifts his backpack, adjusting the straps. Underneath it his shirt is wet and clammy against his skin. "You're like a little mountain goat, you know that? My daughter, the mountain goat, climbing around."
Grace laughs again.
"Did you just call your daughter a goat?" Steve asks.
"Mountain goats are very cute," Danny insists. "As is my little monkey."
Despite copious amount of insect repellent, another bug lands on Danny's arm and he flicks it away impatiently. He's tired of marching through jungle, with its endless trees and bushes and creepy little creatures scurrying about. He's sweaty and tired and wants to ask how much further to the waterfalls. This is not his idea of a good time--he can see water falling from his facet in the comfort of his own home, for god's sake.
But Grace is skipping her way up the path, listening raptly to Steve as he talks about the birds flitting about in the tree branches and Danny knows exactly how he got talked into going on this hike. Two happy, eager faces that he couldn't possibly say 'no' to.
"Oh, oh, there it goes--" Grace points up at a branch.
Danny catches a glimpse of a bright red bird. It disappears behind a leaf and Danny circles to one side, curious now. There it is, a cute little red bird, with a bright red beak, hopping toward some flowers. Trying to get a better look, Danny takes a step back and--
Something grabs his neck.
With a yelp he jumps away, grabbing at whatever it is that is attacking him and he knew there would be snakes in this jungle, big, ugly deadly snakes--
Only there's leaves in his hand. No snakes. Just leaves from a dangling vine.
"Everything okay back there, Danno?" Steve asks with a poorly concealed grin.
Danny scowls, his heart still racing. "You had to see that, didn't you?"
"It's okay," Steve says. "I won't let anything hurt you here in the big scary jungle."
"I'll have you know that vine went for me." Danny rubs his neck and shudders. The jungle makes him so damn twitchy.
"But vines can't attack," Grace tells him.
"Oh yes, yes they can. I have proof--one just did, didn't it?"
Steve approaches the vine, eyeing it carefully.
"That's not poisonous, is it?" Danny asks, and oh shit, the back of his neck is itchy now.
"No, Danny, it's not poisonous." Steve's looking past the vine now, at the leaves near the base of the tree. He drops into a crouch. "Gracie, look at this--"
"What?" Grace hurries to his side and crouches down beside him. Then recoils. "Ew, yuck, it's a spider."
Steve places a steadying hand on her shoulder. "It won't hurt you, it's only a banana spider. Look at the colors, with the yellow stripes on its legs."
Grace leans forward, her expression thoughtful. "That's kind of neat."
Danny peers over Steve's shoulder. It's an enormous, hideous spider, with black and yellow markings and more legs than any living creature should ever have. Definitely not 'kind of neat'.
"See how the web it shaped?" Steve traces a circle in the air with a finger. "It's an orb web. Pretty cool, huh? It must have taken him all morning to spin it. That silk is strong stuff. You could weave a parachute out of it and it would never rip."
Grace wrinkles her nose, but looks intrigued. "That would take a really big web. What are those big zig zag lines coming out of the middle?"
"Those lines keep the web stable--oh oh, look, a bug just flew into it."
The spider scurries across the web towards it prey and Danny jumps back. This is the stuff of nightmares and he doesn't need to see it.
"Gross," Grace exclaims, but she's still watching. "Is he going to eat it?"
"Yup," Steve says.
They both continue watching, and finally Danny can't take it anymore.
"All right, all right," Danny says. "Since when does my baby girl love the jungle so much? What happened to the dainty daughter who would rather get a mani-pedi than stomp around in the dirt?"
Grace thinks it over. "Jungles are fun, Danno, especially with Uncle Steve. He knows all about the trees and bugs and the birds and if a wild boar tries to attack us, he can kill it and roast it for dinner!" She beams up at Steve.
Steve rises up from the web, looks as proud as can be. "That's right, Gracie."
"Yeah, yeah," Danny says with a wave of his hand. "Okay, I get it. Uncle Steve is a life-changer."
Steve catches Danny's eye and smiles a soft, private smile, meant only for Danny.
"Oh, shut up." Warmth fills Danny's chest and he reaches up to kiss Steve, sweet and quick. "Let's go find this waterfall."
Steve rests a warm hand on Danny's shoulder. "We can all go for a mani-pedi tomorrow, if that will make you feel better."
"Oooh, could we?" Grace asks.
"Sure, Monkey." Danny tweaks a pigtail. "We can all go together, right, Uncle Steve? Brunch and a mani-pedi?"
Steve nods. "I'm game."
Danny shakes his head and laughs. Yeah, definitely a life changer.
City Boy
Danny wipes the sweat from his forehead as he follows directly behind Grace. Her pink Hello Kitty knapsack stares blankly at him as Grace stomps almost gleefully along the muddy trail, her boots already filthy, her sparkly purple kneesocks spattered with mud.
"Be careful, monkey, it's slippery," Danny calls out. "Whoa--" He's so busy watching Grace that his foot slides in the mud and he almost loses his own balance.
Grace sings out, "I'm okay, Danno", as she steps onto a dry a rock, then takes Steve's hand and allows him to guide her through the worst of it. She leaps nimbly from rock to rock, giggling as Steve lifts her up over a large puddle, her pigtails swinging with the movement.
"Good. Good. I'm glad you are okay." Danny shifts his backpack, adjusting the straps. Underneath it his shirt is wet and clammy against his skin. "You're like a little mountain goat, you know that? My daughter, the mountain goat, climbing around."
Grace laughs again.
"Did you just call your daughter a goat?" Steve asks.
"Mountain goats are very cute," Danny insists. "As is my little monkey."
Despite copious amount of insect repellent, another bug lands on Danny's arm and he flicks it away impatiently. He's tired of marching through jungle, with its endless trees and bushes and creepy little creatures scurrying about. He's sweaty and tired and wants to ask how much further to the waterfalls. This is not his idea of a good time--he can see water falling from his facet in the comfort of his own home, for god's sake.
But Grace is skipping her way up the path, listening raptly to Steve as he talks about the birds flitting about in the tree branches and Danny knows exactly how he got talked into going on this hike. Two happy, eager faces that he couldn't possibly say 'no' to.
"Oh, oh, there it goes--" Grace points up at a branch.
Danny catches a glimpse of a bright red bird. It disappears behind a leaf and Danny circles to one side, curious now. There it is, a cute little red bird, with a bright red beak, hopping toward some flowers. Trying to get a better look, Danny takes a step back and--
Something grabs his neck.
With a yelp he jumps away, grabbing at whatever it is that is attacking him and he knew there would be snakes in this jungle, big, ugly deadly snakes--
Only there's leaves in his hand. No snakes. Just leaves from a dangling vine.
"Everything okay back there, Danno?" Steve asks with a poorly concealed grin.
Danny scowls, his heart still racing. "You had to see that, didn't you?"
"It's okay," Steve says. "I won't let anything hurt you here in the big scary jungle."
"I'll have you know that vine went for me." Danny rubs his neck and shudders. The jungle makes him so damn twitchy.
"But vines can't attack," Grace tells him.
"Oh yes, yes they can. I have proof--one just did, didn't it?"
Steve approaches the vine, eyeing it carefully.
"That's not poisonous, is it?" Danny asks, and oh shit, the back of his neck is itchy now.
"No, Danny, it's not poisonous." Steve's looking past the vine now, at the leaves near the base of the tree. He drops into a crouch. "Gracie, look at this--"
"What?" Grace hurries to his side and crouches down beside him. Then recoils. "Ew, yuck, it's a spider."
Steve places a steadying hand on her shoulder. "It won't hurt you, it's only a banana spider. Look at the colors, with the yellow stripes on its legs."
Grace leans forward, her expression thoughtful. "That's kind of neat."
Danny peers over Steve's shoulder. It's an enormous, hideous spider, with black and yellow markings and more legs than any living creature should ever have. Definitely not 'kind of neat'.
"See how the web it shaped?" Steve traces a circle in the air with a finger. "It's an orb web. Pretty cool, huh? It must have taken him all morning to spin it. That silk is strong stuff. You could weave a parachute out of it and it would never rip."
Grace wrinkles her nose, but looks intrigued. "That would take a really big web. What are those big zig zag lines coming out of the middle?"
"Those lines keep the web stable--oh oh, look, a bug just flew into it."
The spider scurries across the web towards it prey and Danny jumps back. This is the stuff of nightmares and he doesn't need to see it.
"Gross," Grace exclaims, but she's still watching. "Is he going to eat it?"
"Yup," Steve says.
They both continue watching, and finally Danny can't take it anymore.
"All right, all right," Danny says. "Since when does my baby girl love the jungle so much? What happened to the dainty daughter who would rather get a mani-pedi than stomp around in the dirt?"
Grace thinks it over. "Jungles are fun, Danno, especially with Uncle Steve. He knows all about the trees and bugs and the birds and if a wild boar tries to attack us, he can kill it and roast it for dinner!" She beams up at Steve.
Steve rises up from the web, looks as proud as can be. "That's right, Gracie."
"Yeah, yeah," Danny says with a wave of his hand. "Okay, I get it. Uncle Steve is a life-changer."
Steve catches Danny's eye and smiles a soft, private smile, meant only for Danny.
"Oh, shut up." Warmth fills Danny's chest and he reaches up to kiss Steve, sweet and quick. "Let's go find this waterfall."
Steve rests a warm hand on Danny's shoulder. "We can all go for a mani-pedi tomorrow, if that will make you feel better."
"Oooh, could we?" Grace asks.
"Sure, Monkey." Danny tweaks a pigtail. "We can all go together, right, Uncle Steve? Brunch and a mani-pedi?"
Steve nods. "I'm game."
Danny shakes his head and laughs. Yeah, definitely a life changer.