FIC Picture Perfect
29/3/11 00:08![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shanachie_quillTitle: Picture Perfect
Characters: Steve McGarrett, Danny Williams, Grace Williams, Deborah Beckett
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0 AU
Series: Honolulu 96731 'verse
Written For: none
Prompt: none
Summary: Steve finally wore Danny down and got his date. Hopefully it’s everything the boys want.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: just for the rest of the verse
Warnings: Boys being stupid and dorky, swearing, boys kissing
Disclaimer: Hawaii Five-O doesn’t belong to me, but the High School verse does. And the dorky things the characters got up to as teenagers (also Danny moving to the Islands as a teenager) totally do too. “Picture Perfect” doesn’t belong to me either, but to Angela Via.
Author's Note: Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
illfindmyway for her assistance with the end of this. Thanks also to weakmoments for help with what the boys eat on their date, even if I didn’t mention all of it. And of course to whogeek who also hand-held during this. Thus ends Arc One of the series…I’ll start Arc Two sometime in the next few weeks.
Danny came down the stairs to find Grace in the middle of a tantrum. He’d heard her yelling while he was upstairs, but since he’d also heard their mom’s voice, he’d finished dressing rather than rushing to her which was what she’d been calling for. As he reached the living room, Grace threw herself at him, sobbing hysterically. Scooping her up, he settled her on his hip, swiping a thumb across her cheek to wipe her tears away. “What’s wrong, Monkey Doodle?”
“You’re my Danno!” she exclaimed. “You don’t need to go out with that boy!”
Danny looked at their mother in confusion, who shrugged in response. “I thought you liked Steve,” he started and was subjected to a glare. “Ooookay.” He turned back to their mother. “Ma, any ideas what brought this on?”
“I told her that you were going out with your friend tonight and probably wouldn’t be back before she went to bed,” Deborah answered. “This was the response.”
“Grace,” Danny said, but was stopped by a knock on the door. “Okay. Hang on.” He tried to hand Grace to their mom. “Go to Mom, please, sweetie.”
She gripped his shirt, digging into the fabric. “No!”
A second knock sounded and Danny stopped trying to pry her loose, instead carrying her with him as he went to answer the door. He glanced back to see his mom had made herself scarce, although he was sure she was within yelling distance. He opened the door and almost swallowed his tongue at the sight of Steve in dark wash jeans and a maroon polo, standing hipshot and ready to go. Steve opened his mouth to say something in greeting, then caught sight of Grace and quite obviously changed it. “Um. Hi?”
Danny swallowed down his first reaction which would boost Steve’s ego, but was not something Grace needed to hear, and replied, “Hi. Come on in. Havin’ a bit of an issue.”
“Hey, Grace,” Steve added as he followed Danny into the house.
Grace raised her head from Danny’s shoulder and glared at Steve. “Go away.”
“Grace! That was rude. Apologize to Steve right now!” Danny scolded her.
“You’re my Danno!” she responded.
“Of course I am, Monkey,” Danny replied. “But what does that have to do with me going somewhere with Steve?”
“You can’t be my Danno and his, too!” she insisted.
“Oh, baby,” Danny said, meeting Steve’s hazel eyes over her head. “No matter who I’m friends with or who I date, I will always love you.” He jiggled her until she picked her head up and looked at him. “Even if I go out with Steve, you’re still my girl.”
Steve stepped forward warily. “Grace, I don’t want to take Danny away from you. But sometimes we might do things that are for older people. I think you’d be pretty bored with what we have planned for today.” He glanced at Danny to see how the other boy was taking his words. “But maybe next weekend the three of us can do something.”
“Does that sound good, Gracie?” Danny asked. She eyed him for a minute, clearly considering. “I’m going out tonight whether you agree or not. Because you can’t act like a brat to get your way.”
“I don’t want you to go,” she responded.
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, but you aren’t getting your way,” Danny replied. “Ma!” he called.
Deborah came out of the kitchen where she’d retreated to. “Yes, Danny?” She smiled at Steve. “Hi, Steve. You look nice.”
Steve shifted awkwardly. “Thanks, Mrs. Beckett.”
Danny began to peel Grace off his neck, although she kept reattaching herself. “Ma, could you take Grace, please? She’s disinclined to listen to reason and we’re gonna be late.”
“Come on, Gracie,” Deborah said, stepping forward and taking Grace from her son. “You need to let Danny go.”
“Dan-ny,” she whined.
“No, Grace,” he responded firmly. He ducked close enough to her to kiss her on the cheek, but avoided her grasping hands. “I don’t know what brought this on, but it’s not acceptable.” Grasping Steve’s arm, he pulled the other boy towards the door. “Let’s go.”
Once they were outside, Steve turned Danny to face him. “Are you okay? We don’t have to go...”
Danny ran a hand through his mohawk, disrupting the careful arrangement. “No. I mean yes. Hell I don’t know what I mean. No, I don’t want to cancel. I want to go with you. I’m sorry about that.”
Steve smirked at him. “You want to go with me.”
Danny rolled his eyes. “Don’t let it go to your head. Either one. I really want to see this show.”
“Yeah, but you could have gone with Kono. And I know that was probably hard for you. I get that your family’s important to you so I meant what I said about taking Grace out next weekend.” He stepped closer to Danny, running a finger down the skin bared by his rolled up sleeve. He smiled at the shiver his touch invoked. “I think you’d better wear something else though because you look fucking hot like this. And I really wanna... No, I need to...” He leaned towards Danny, only to be stopped by a hand on his chest. “What?” he asked in confusion.
“Steven.” Danny sighed. “No.” When he saw the downcast look on Steve’s face, he sighed again. “We’re on my front porch. In daylight. No.”
Steve’s look turned to one of mulish stubbornness. “I don’t care.”
“I do!”
“Sooo. It’s not that you object to me kissing you. It’s the location.”
“I didn’t say that,” Danny protested.
“You did! You did!” Steve crowed. “You said it was the location!”
“Come on, Duckling, let’s go look at pictures,” Danny replied, starting down the steps.
Steve hurried after him. “So maybe I can kiss you later?”
“Maybe,” Danny allowed. “If you’re a good boy.”
Steve grinned as he followed Danny to his Jeep. “Oh, I’m a very good boy,” he replied as they got in and buckled up.
“With an ego the size of the big Island,” Danny replied and was rewarded with another happy grin. “Oh, just drive. Jesus.”
H50 AU H50 AU H50 AU H50 AU H50 AU H50 AU H50 AU H50 AU
“So what’s this all about?” Steve asked as they strolled up the street towards the gallery.
“You don’t know?” Danny replied.
Steve shrugged easily. “It’s not really my thing. But Kono said you’d been talking about it and that you wanted to see it so I figure it can’t be all bad. I figure next time we can do something I like or we can discuss it.”
“Next time? You’re already planning next time?”
“I’m hoping,” Steve answered with a grin as he pulled the door open, ushering Danny inside.
“Really? It’s called an ego, Steven. E. Go. And it’s not that attractive,” Danny replied.
Steve turned back, crowding up near him, and looking down at him with a smirk. “It’s not? Cause it seems to me that you agreed to go out with me. And you seem to like me.”
“I agreed so you’d stop bugging the shit out of me. And stop stalking me,” Danny pointed out.
Steve stopped walking as the smile fell off his face and a hurt look replaced it. “I…I…I was just. I was trying…”
Danny sighed and turned to look back at Steve, who’d ducked his head and was scuffing his shoe on the runner. He’d stuffed his hands in his jeans’ pockets and looked like nothing less than a chastised little boy; complete with apologetic look. Danny sighed again and stepped back towards him, tugging one of his hands out of his pocket. “What am I gonna do with you?”
Somehow Steve managed to look up at him, through his lashes, even though he was taller. “I might have some ideas?”
Danny rolled his eyes, not quite amused by the blatant innuendo coming from the other boy. “Come on. Let me educate you on the fine art of photography.” He tugged him into the gallery. “And we’ll work on the art of subtlety too.”
“I’m subtle!” Steve protested as he allowed Danny to lead him into the first room.
“Steve, a payload of bricks is more subtle than you are.”
Steve trailed after Danny as the other boy strolled through the gallery. He let the mainlander’s voice wash over him as Danny rambled on. He was impressed at how much the other boy knew; not just about the artists, but about the angles and light. The knowledge drew him in, made him want to bask in the light that, to him, was brighter than the Hawaiian sun. As they walked, he drew closer to Danny; smiling as the other boy began to point out specific points of interest.
Despite not really having a clue what Danny was going on about, the enthusiasm that infected the other boy as he lectured made it interesting. Steve trailed after him, trying to figure out what exactly he was talking about. As they moved into yet another room, he crowded up against the shorter boy and reached over his shoulder towards one of the pictures, almost touching the picture.
Danny smacked his hand just before he made contact. “Steven, what are you doing?”
Steve cradled his hand against his chest, giving Danny a wounded look. “I just wanted to see it.”
“You see with your eyes, not your fingers.” He rolled his eyes at the look Steve gave him. “I didn’t hit you that hard.”
“It hurts,” Steve whined.
Danny rolled his eyes, but motioned for Steve to hold his hand out. “Lemme see.” He examined the back of Steve’s hand where he’d hit it and didn’t even see a red spot. “I’ve smacked Grace’s butt harder than that when she’s bad. There’s not even a red mark.”
“But you hit me,” Steve protested.
“And you’re milking it,” Danny pointed out. “What do you want?”
Steve stepped in; carefully crowding Danny against the wall they were standing by. “I think you should kiss it better.”
“I think you shouldn’t be a creepy stalker, but that didn’t stop you,” Danny replied, even as he brought the other boy’s hand up towards his mouth. He brushed his lips across the back of Steve’s hand and watched as the dark haired boy’s eyes fluttered shut. Looking up at Steve, he realized he wanted this. Steve’s hazel eyes had remained shut and Danny decided to take advantage. He leaned towards the other boy. Just before he was about to kiss Steve, he realized he wasn’t thinking clearly and he pulled away. “No,” he whispered just loudly enough for Steve to hear. “I can’t.” He ducked away from the wall and almost fled from the room.
Steve looked after him in confusion. “What just happened?” he asked the empty room. The only thing he was thankful for was that somehow they’d ended up in the room all by themselves.
He fully expected to find Danny long gone when he got out to his Jeep so he was rather surprised to find the blonde sitting in the passenger seat of the Jeep, obviously beating himself up for running away. “Danny?” he asked, cautiously approaching the vehicle.
Danny jerked his head up at the sound of Steve’s voice and turned to look at him. “Steve! I’m…” He almost tumbled out of the Jeep and Steve reached out to catch him, pulling his hand back as Danny righted himself. Danny ran a hand through his Mohawk as he tried to gather his words. “I…I…” He took a deep breath. “I don’t think I can do this. Would you. Please. Would you please just take me home?”
Motioning to the back of the Jeep, Steve replied, “I packed a dinner for us. Just. Can we go up to the lookout and eat? And then I’ll take you home. Just eat and nothing else. Maybe talk. I promise I’ll keep my hands and everything else to myself.”
For a few minutes, Danny considered the proposal. “All right. Just dinner though. And then we’re done. You take me home. And I’ll figure out what to tell Grace about next weekend.”
“I have all of dinner to convince you to change your mind!” Steve called as he went around the front of the Jeep. Danny just shook his head as he climb back into the passenger seat.
H50 AU H50 AU H50 AU H50 AU H50 AU H50 AU H50 AU H50 AU
Steve pulled the basket he’d stored in the back free and gathered up the blanket he kept in the Jeep before following Danny out onto the grass. He nudged the shorter boy, handing him the basket. “Here, hold this for a minute.”
Danny grabbed the basket automatically, watching as Steve spread the blanket on the grass. “Seriously? Did you read a book on how to be romantic?”
Steve stopped in the act of smoothing the wrinkles out of the blanket and looked up at Danny. His brow wrinkled in confusion. “Is there something wrong with this? I just figured it would be easier to sit on the blanket…”
“You do know I’m not a girl, right?”
Steve leered at him, which made Danny grin. “I am very aware of that. Are you gonna sit down?”
“Yeah, okay. As long as we’re clear on me not being a girl. And, Steve? Don’t make that face. It’s not sexy.”
Steve took the basket as Danny started to lower himself down to the blanket, pouting in response. “No one else has ever complained.”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but everyone else falls at your feet, babe. And I don’t.” Danny reached for the basket. “What did you pack for dinner? Is it edible?”
Steve knocked his hands away from the basket. “Look at the view or something. Let me do this.” He mock-glared at Danny until the other boy held up his hands and turned away, hanging his hands over the legs he’d drawn up and looking out over the ocean. “I’ll tell you when it’s ready,” Steve added.
For a few minutes the only sound was the noise Steve made as he moved things around in the basket, the pop of Tupperware as he opened containers and laid things out, the clink of silverware against plates that he’d obviously packed carefully because that wasn’t paper or plastic Danny was hearing. Finally Danny needed another sound other than that or the noise of the water or he’d turn to see what the other boy was doing. “So how many other people have you brought up here, hoping to get lucky?”
There was a clank from beside him and Danny had to look and see what catastrophe had occurred. Steve was attempting to grab a bottle that was about to roll down the side of the hill. Danny grabbed it and handed it back to him. “No one,” Steve answered. “Well, I mean Cat and I have come up here during the day a couple of times, but I’ve never brought anyone up here at night.” He shrugged as he turned back to the bottle. “It never seemed right.” He finally got the bottle open and handed a glass to Danny, motioning for him to hold it so Steve could pour. “We can’t drink, but I figure the sparkling cider is a lot nicer anyway.”
Danny smiled, taking a sip as Steve poured his own glass. “You’re right, it is nice.” He shook his head and swallowed a laugh. “A bit silly, but sweet. It’s nice. Not what I would have expected.” He glanced at the spread Steve had laid out. “What do we have?”
Steve pointed to each container, explaining what he’d packed before handing Danny a plate. Quickly the two boys made up selections of cold chicken, veggie fries, and fruit. Steve flipped open his knife, handing it over to Danny to cut the French bread and spread cheese on it. For a few minutes, they concentrated on the food, but once they were settled, Steve asked, “So you really like that stuff we looked at tonight?”
Danny nodded his mouth too full to answer verbally. Once he swallowed, he said, “Yeah. It’s just a hobby though. I don’t have any plans to do anything with it.”
“Do you have a favorite?” Steve asked curiously. “That Margaret Adams was pretty good.”
Danny snorted. “Ansel Adams, Steve. It was Mary McCartney…how did you get Margaret Adams from that?”
Steve shrugged. “I don’t know.” He toyed with his food for a minute. “But the shadows were angled to show the best…angle.”
Danny gave up and started laughing. “Oh, babe, stop please. You’re killing me.”
Steve pouted at him. “What? That wasn’t right?”
“No. It…was…” Danny tried to catch his breath. “I appreciate you trying, but that was almost pathetic.”
“You don’t need to make fun of me,” Steve replied.
“I’m not,” Danny said. He knocked his knee against Steve’s. “Just because I like something doesn’t mean you have to. But I do like that you tried.”
Steve turned his attention back to his food picking it over for a few minutes before asking, “Have you always known?”
“Known what?” Danny looked away from his contemplation of the ocean and turned his attention to Steve.
“That you…” Steve made a motion and for a second Danny couldn’t follow it, but Steve managed to get some sort of words out. “That you like guys…like…this…and not girls.”
Danny bit his tongue, because laughing at Steve at this moment would be oh so bad, but the other boy looked completely serious and awkward all at the same time. “You are like ridiculously bad at this, you know that right?” he started and when Steve got an offended look on his face, Danny reached over and grabbed his shoulder. “Come here. I didn’t mean that in a bad way. It’s kinda adorable.”
“Somehow I don’t think that’s a good thing,” Steve muttered.
“Actually it is.” Danny kept tugging and Steve finally gave in, letting the shorter boy pull him over until he was sprawled against his side. “It’s nice when you aren’t trying to be the BMOC.” He brushed his hand across the top of Steve’s hair, smiling down at him, even though Steve couldn’t see him. “And to answer your question, I don’t know if I can pinpoint an exact age. I don’t ever remember liking girls like that.”
“So your parents know? And they’re okay with it?” Steve pressed.
“Greg could care less what the fuck I do as long as I don’t create a scandal. My mom’s issues aren’t with me being gay…they’re with the dumbass things I’ve done in the past.”
Steve tipped his head up. “What types of dumbass things?”
“Oh, no. No. No. No. You do not get to know that,” Danny protested, shoving at Steve. “Not at this point in our relationship.”
A grin spread across Steve’s face. “Our relationship.”
“Shut up,” Danny mumbled. “It’s just a phrasing.” He sighed as Steve settled back against him again. “What about your parents? Your ex-girlfriend obviously knows. And how exactly did that come about?”
Steve gave a shrug that rubbed his shoulder against Danny’s stomach. “I’ve known Cat since we were five. It was just kind of a given that we dated. And then she tells me I don’t love her and she’s not gonna hold me back. That one day I’ll find the person I love.” He shrugged again. “Maybe I finally have.”
Danny tensed at Steve’s words and forced himself not to roll away from the other boy. “But what about your parents?”
Steve ignored the change in Danny’s muscles. He had known his words would probably freak the mainlander out, but he wanted Danny to know how he felt. “I don’t know how my mom would have felt. I hope she would have been happy. My dad…he only pays attention to me when I do something he wants to berate me about. So…I don’t think I’ll tell him yet.”
Unable to resist the pain Danny heard in Steve’s voice, he contorted himself, unwilling to release the hold he had on the other boy, and pressed his lips against Steve’s. Steve stiffened under his touch before melting against Danny as the other boy lifted his hand, cupping Steve’s cheek and holding him. Tentatively Steve brought his own hands up, resting them on Danny’s hips.
Danny pulled back slightly, smiling at the whimper Steve made, before rubbing his thumb against the edge of Steve’s lips. He kissed the spot he’d just rubbed when he moved his thumb, encouraging Steve to nip at his lips in exchange. For a few minutes, they traded lazy kisses like that, never pushing the issue; neither of them trying to go deeper than light, tentative tastes across the lips.
Finally Steve pulled back, his thumb still rubbing absently at Danny’s hip. “I think…” he cleared his throat. “I think we’d better go home. I need to take you home. Or I’m gonna do something really stupid.”
“Maybe I wouldn’t mind,” Danny replied.
Steve shook his head. “No. I don’t want this…well, I mean I do want this, but not like this.”
Danny leaned in, holding Steve in place when he tried to pull away, and pressed a firm kiss against his lips. “Thank you,” Danny said when he moved back. “Thank you for that.”
“Jesus Christ, Danny, you are making it really hard to be the good guy right now,” Steve responded. He leaned in again as if he was going to kiss Danny, but said, “Let’s get out of here before I change my mind about not being stupid.”
The entire ride home, Steve kept sneaking looks at Danny whenever he had a chance. He wasn’t sure what his chances were about getting a kiss before he left Danny at his house, especially considering the other boy’s reaction when he’d tried to kiss him earlier. As he pulled to a stop in front of the house, he decided he was going to chance it. He put the Jeep into park and turned to face Danny, who’d unbuckled and was angling to swing out of the open side. Reaching out, he snagged Danny’s shirt sleeve. “Hang on a second,” he started and when Danny turned back to look at him, Steve lunged towards him, mashing their lips together.
Danny squeaked in surprise, bringing his hands up and re-angling Steve’s head, gentling the kiss. “Are you trying to break my nose?!” he demanded when Steve moved away.
“No, I’m sorry,” Steve started. “I just…”
Still holding his head, Danny leaned in and kissed him gently. “Try not to kill me next time. I had a good time. Surprisingly.”
“You had a surprisingly good time or surprisingly you had a good time?” Steve replied.
“Don’t push it, Steve. I’ll see you at school.” Danny swung out of the Jeep, shoving his hands in his pocket as he hurried across the street. A minute later, he let himself into the house and Steve realized he had no reason to sit in the street. He put the Jeep into gear and pulled away. Danny had a good time and he'd promised to see him at school. It was a promising start.
Characters: Steve McGarrett, Danny Williams, Grace Williams, Deborah Beckett
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0 AU
Series: Honolulu 96731 'verse
Written For: none
Prompt: none
Summary: Steve finally wore Danny down and got his date. Hopefully it’s everything the boys want.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: just for the rest of the verse
Warnings: Boys being stupid and dorky, swearing, boys kissing
Disclaimer: Hawaii Five-O doesn’t belong to me, but the High School verse does. And the dorky things the characters got up to as teenagers (also Danny moving to the Islands as a teenager) totally do too. “Picture Perfect” doesn’t belong to me either, but to Angela Via.
Author's Note: Thanks to
illfindmyway for her assistance with the end of this. Thanks also to weakmoments for help with what the boys eat on their date, even if I didn’t mention all of it. And of course to whogeek who also hand-held during this. Thus ends Arc One of the series…I’ll start Arc Two sometime in the next few weeks.Danny came down the stairs to find Grace in the middle of a tantrum. He’d heard her yelling while he was upstairs, but since he’d also heard their mom’s voice, he’d finished dressing rather than rushing to her which was what she’d been calling for. As he reached the living room, Grace threw herself at him, sobbing hysterically. Scooping her up, he settled her on his hip, swiping a thumb across her cheek to wipe her tears away. “What’s wrong, Monkey Doodle?”
“You’re my Danno!” she exclaimed. “You don’t need to go out with that boy!”
Danny looked at their mother in confusion, who shrugged in response. “I thought you liked Steve,” he started and was subjected to a glare. “Ooookay.” He turned back to their mother. “Ma, any ideas what brought this on?”
“I told her that you were going out with your friend tonight and probably wouldn’t be back before she went to bed,” Deborah answered. “This was the response.”
“Grace,” Danny said, but was stopped by a knock on the door. “Okay. Hang on.” He tried to hand Grace to their mom. “Go to Mom, please, sweetie.”
She gripped his shirt, digging into the fabric. “No!”
A second knock sounded and Danny stopped trying to pry her loose, instead carrying her with him as he went to answer the door. He glanced back to see his mom had made herself scarce, although he was sure she was within yelling distance. He opened the door and almost swallowed his tongue at the sight of Steve in dark wash jeans and a maroon polo, standing hipshot and ready to go. Steve opened his mouth to say something in greeting, then caught sight of Grace and quite obviously changed it. “Um. Hi?”
Danny swallowed down his first reaction which would boost Steve’s ego, but was not something Grace needed to hear, and replied, “Hi. Come on in. Havin’ a bit of an issue.”
“Hey, Grace,” Steve added as he followed Danny into the house.
Grace raised her head from Danny’s shoulder and glared at Steve. “Go away.”
“Grace! That was rude. Apologize to Steve right now!” Danny scolded her.
“You’re my Danno!” she responded.
“Of course I am, Monkey,” Danny replied. “But what does that have to do with me going somewhere with Steve?”
“You can’t be my Danno and his, too!” she insisted.
“Oh, baby,” Danny said, meeting Steve’s hazel eyes over her head. “No matter who I’m friends with or who I date, I will always love you.” He jiggled her until she picked her head up and looked at him. “Even if I go out with Steve, you’re still my girl.”
Steve stepped forward warily. “Grace, I don’t want to take Danny away from you. But sometimes we might do things that are for older people. I think you’d be pretty bored with what we have planned for today.” He glanced at Danny to see how the other boy was taking his words. “But maybe next weekend the three of us can do something.”
“Does that sound good, Gracie?” Danny asked. She eyed him for a minute, clearly considering. “I’m going out tonight whether you agree or not. Because you can’t act like a brat to get your way.”
“I don’t want you to go,” she responded.
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, but you aren’t getting your way,” Danny replied. “Ma!” he called.
Deborah came out of the kitchen where she’d retreated to. “Yes, Danny?” She smiled at Steve. “Hi, Steve. You look nice.”
Steve shifted awkwardly. “Thanks, Mrs. Beckett.”
Danny began to peel Grace off his neck, although she kept reattaching herself. “Ma, could you take Grace, please? She’s disinclined to listen to reason and we’re gonna be late.”
“Come on, Gracie,” Deborah said, stepping forward and taking Grace from her son. “You need to let Danny go.”
“Dan-ny,” she whined.
“No, Grace,” he responded firmly. He ducked close enough to her to kiss her on the cheek, but avoided her grasping hands. “I don’t know what brought this on, but it’s not acceptable.” Grasping Steve’s arm, he pulled the other boy towards the door. “Let’s go.”
Once they were outside, Steve turned Danny to face him. “Are you okay? We don’t have to go...”
Danny ran a hand through his mohawk, disrupting the careful arrangement. “No. I mean yes. Hell I don’t know what I mean. No, I don’t want to cancel. I want to go with you. I’m sorry about that.”
Steve smirked at him. “You want to go with me.”
Danny rolled his eyes. “Don’t let it go to your head. Either one. I really want to see this show.”
“Yeah, but you could have gone with Kono. And I know that was probably hard for you. I get that your family’s important to you so I meant what I said about taking Grace out next weekend.” He stepped closer to Danny, running a finger down the skin bared by his rolled up sleeve. He smiled at the shiver his touch invoked. “I think you’d better wear something else though because you look fucking hot like this. And I really wanna... No, I need to...” He leaned towards Danny, only to be stopped by a hand on his chest. “What?” he asked in confusion.
“Steven.” Danny sighed. “No.” When he saw the downcast look on Steve’s face, he sighed again. “We’re on my front porch. In daylight. No.”
Steve’s look turned to one of mulish stubbornness. “I don’t care.”
“I do!”
“Sooo. It’s not that you object to me kissing you. It’s the location.”
“I didn’t say that,” Danny protested.
“You did! You did!” Steve crowed. “You said it was the location!”
“Come on, Duckling, let’s go look at pictures,” Danny replied, starting down the steps.
Steve hurried after him. “So maybe I can kiss you later?”
“Maybe,” Danny allowed. “If you’re a good boy.”
Steve grinned as he followed Danny to his Jeep. “Oh, I’m a very good boy,” he replied as they got in and buckled up.
“With an ego the size of the big Island,” Danny replied and was rewarded with another happy grin. “Oh, just drive. Jesus.”
“So what’s this all about?” Steve asked as they strolled up the street towards the gallery.
“You don’t know?” Danny replied.
Steve shrugged easily. “It’s not really my thing. But Kono said you’d been talking about it and that you wanted to see it so I figure it can’t be all bad. I figure next time we can do something I like or we can discuss it.”
“Next time? You’re already planning next time?”
“I’m hoping,” Steve answered with a grin as he pulled the door open, ushering Danny inside.
“Really? It’s called an ego, Steven. E. Go. And it’s not that attractive,” Danny replied.
Steve turned back, crowding up near him, and looking down at him with a smirk. “It’s not? Cause it seems to me that you agreed to go out with me. And you seem to like me.”
“I agreed so you’d stop bugging the shit out of me. And stop stalking me,” Danny pointed out.
Steve stopped walking as the smile fell off his face and a hurt look replaced it. “I…I…I was just. I was trying…”
Danny sighed and turned to look back at Steve, who’d ducked his head and was scuffing his shoe on the runner. He’d stuffed his hands in his jeans’ pockets and looked like nothing less than a chastised little boy; complete with apologetic look. Danny sighed again and stepped back towards him, tugging one of his hands out of his pocket. “What am I gonna do with you?”
Somehow Steve managed to look up at him, through his lashes, even though he was taller. “I might have some ideas?”
Danny rolled his eyes, not quite amused by the blatant innuendo coming from the other boy. “Come on. Let me educate you on the fine art of photography.” He tugged him into the gallery. “And we’ll work on the art of subtlety too.”
“I’m subtle!” Steve protested as he allowed Danny to lead him into the first room.
“Steve, a payload of bricks is more subtle than you are.”
Steve trailed after Danny as the other boy strolled through the gallery. He let the mainlander’s voice wash over him as Danny rambled on. He was impressed at how much the other boy knew; not just about the artists, but about the angles and light. The knowledge drew him in, made him want to bask in the light that, to him, was brighter than the Hawaiian sun. As they walked, he drew closer to Danny; smiling as the other boy began to point out specific points of interest.
Despite not really having a clue what Danny was going on about, the enthusiasm that infected the other boy as he lectured made it interesting. Steve trailed after him, trying to figure out what exactly he was talking about. As they moved into yet another room, he crowded up against the shorter boy and reached over his shoulder towards one of the pictures, almost touching the picture.
Danny smacked his hand just before he made contact. “Steven, what are you doing?”
Steve cradled his hand against his chest, giving Danny a wounded look. “I just wanted to see it.”
“You see with your eyes, not your fingers.” He rolled his eyes at the look Steve gave him. “I didn’t hit you that hard.”
“It hurts,” Steve whined.
Danny rolled his eyes, but motioned for Steve to hold his hand out. “Lemme see.” He examined the back of Steve’s hand where he’d hit it and didn’t even see a red spot. “I’ve smacked Grace’s butt harder than that when she’s bad. There’s not even a red mark.”
“But you hit me,” Steve protested.
“And you’re milking it,” Danny pointed out. “What do you want?”
Steve stepped in; carefully crowding Danny against the wall they were standing by. “I think you should kiss it better.”
“I think you shouldn’t be a creepy stalker, but that didn’t stop you,” Danny replied, even as he brought the other boy’s hand up towards his mouth. He brushed his lips across the back of Steve’s hand and watched as the dark haired boy’s eyes fluttered shut. Looking up at Steve, he realized he wanted this. Steve’s hazel eyes had remained shut and Danny decided to take advantage. He leaned towards the other boy. Just before he was about to kiss Steve, he realized he wasn’t thinking clearly and he pulled away. “No,” he whispered just loudly enough for Steve to hear. “I can’t.” He ducked away from the wall and almost fled from the room.
Steve looked after him in confusion. “What just happened?” he asked the empty room. The only thing he was thankful for was that somehow they’d ended up in the room all by themselves.
He fully expected to find Danny long gone when he got out to his Jeep so he was rather surprised to find the blonde sitting in the passenger seat of the Jeep, obviously beating himself up for running away. “Danny?” he asked, cautiously approaching the vehicle.
Danny jerked his head up at the sound of Steve’s voice and turned to look at him. “Steve! I’m…” He almost tumbled out of the Jeep and Steve reached out to catch him, pulling his hand back as Danny righted himself. Danny ran a hand through his Mohawk as he tried to gather his words. “I…I…” He took a deep breath. “I don’t think I can do this. Would you. Please. Would you please just take me home?”
Motioning to the back of the Jeep, Steve replied, “I packed a dinner for us. Just. Can we go up to the lookout and eat? And then I’ll take you home. Just eat and nothing else. Maybe talk. I promise I’ll keep my hands and everything else to myself.”
For a few minutes, Danny considered the proposal. “All right. Just dinner though. And then we’re done. You take me home. And I’ll figure out what to tell Grace about next weekend.”
“I have all of dinner to convince you to change your mind!” Steve called as he went around the front of the Jeep. Danny just shook his head as he climb back into the passenger seat.
Steve pulled the basket he’d stored in the back free and gathered up the blanket he kept in the Jeep before following Danny out onto the grass. He nudged the shorter boy, handing him the basket. “Here, hold this for a minute.”
Danny grabbed the basket automatically, watching as Steve spread the blanket on the grass. “Seriously? Did you read a book on how to be romantic?”
Steve stopped in the act of smoothing the wrinkles out of the blanket and looked up at Danny. His brow wrinkled in confusion. “Is there something wrong with this? I just figured it would be easier to sit on the blanket…”
“You do know I’m not a girl, right?”
Steve leered at him, which made Danny grin. “I am very aware of that. Are you gonna sit down?”
“Yeah, okay. As long as we’re clear on me not being a girl. And, Steve? Don’t make that face. It’s not sexy.”
Steve took the basket as Danny started to lower himself down to the blanket, pouting in response. “No one else has ever complained.”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but everyone else falls at your feet, babe. And I don’t.” Danny reached for the basket. “What did you pack for dinner? Is it edible?”
Steve knocked his hands away from the basket. “Look at the view or something. Let me do this.” He mock-glared at Danny until the other boy held up his hands and turned away, hanging his hands over the legs he’d drawn up and looking out over the ocean. “I’ll tell you when it’s ready,” Steve added.
For a few minutes the only sound was the noise Steve made as he moved things around in the basket, the pop of Tupperware as he opened containers and laid things out, the clink of silverware against plates that he’d obviously packed carefully because that wasn’t paper or plastic Danny was hearing. Finally Danny needed another sound other than that or the noise of the water or he’d turn to see what the other boy was doing. “So how many other people have you brought up here, hoping to get lucky?”
There was a clank from beside him and Danny had to look and see what catastrophe had occurred. Steve was attempting to grab a bottle that was about to roll down the side of the hill. Danny grabbed it and handed it back to him. “No one,” Steve answered. “Well, I mean Cat and I have come up here during the day a couple of times, but I’ve never brought anyone up here at night.” He shrugged as he turned back to the bottle. “It never seemed right.” He finally got the bottle open and handed a glass to Danny, motioning for him to hold it so Steve could pour. “We can’t drink, but I figure the sparkling cider is a lot nicer anyway.”
Danny smiled, taking a sip as Steve poured his own glass. “You’re right, it is nice.” He shook his head and swallowed a laugh. “A bit silly, but sweet. It’s nice. Not what I would have expected.” He glanced at the spread Steve had laid out. “What do we have?”
Steve pointed to each container, explaining what he’d packed before handing Danny a plate. Quickly the two boys made up selections of cold chicken, veggie fries, and fruit. Steve flipped open his knife, handing it over to Danny to cut the French bread and spread cheese on it. For a few minutes, they concentrated on the food, but once they were settled, Steve asked, “So you really like that stuff we looked at tonight?”
Danny nodded his mouth too full to answer verbally. Once he swallowed, he said, “Yeah. It’s just a hobby though. I don’t have any plans to do anything with it.”
“Do you have a favorite?” Steve asked curiously. “That Margaret Adams was pretty good.”
Danny snorted. “Ansel Adams, Steve. It was Mary McCartney…how did you get Margaret Adams from that?”
Steve shrugged. “I don’t know.” He toyed with his food for a minute. “But the shadows were angled to show the best…angle.”
Danny gave up and started laughing. “Oh, babe, stop please. You’re killing me.”
Steve pouted at him. “What? That wasn’t right?”
“No. It…was…” Danny tried to catch his breath. “I appreciate you trying, but that was almost pathetic.”
“You don’t need to make fun of me,” Steve replied.
“I’m not,” Danny said. He knocked his knee against Steve’s. “Just because I like something doesn’t mean you have to. But I do like that you tried.”
Steve turned his attention back to his food picking it over for a few minutes before asking, “Have you always known?”
“Known what?” Danny looked away from his contemplation of the ocean and turned his attention to Steve.
“That you…” Steve made a motion and for a second Danny couldn’t follow it, but Steve managed to get some sort of words out. “That you like guys…like…this…and not girls.”
Danny bit his tongue, because laughing at Steve at this moment would be oh so bad, but the other boy looked completely serious and awkward all at the same time. “You are like ridiculously bad at this, you know that right?” he started and when Steve got an offended look on his face, Danny reached over and grabbed his shoulder. “Come here. I didn’t mean that in a bad way. It’s kinda adorable.”
“Somehow I don’t think that’s a good thing,” Steve muttered.
“Actually it is.” Danny kept tugging and Steve finally gave in, letting the shorter boy pull him over until he was sprawled against his side. “It’s nice when you aren’t trying to be the BMOC.” He brushed his hand across the top of Steve’s hair, smiling down at him, even though Steve couldn’t see him. “And to answer your question, I don’t know if I can pinpoint an exact age. I don’t ever remember liking girls like that.”
“So your parents know? And they’re okay with it?” Steve pressed.
“Greg could care less what the fuck I do as long as I don’t create a scandal. My mom’s issues aren’t with me being gay…they’re with the dumbass things I’ve done in the past.”
Steve tipped his head up. “What types of dumbass things?”
“Oh, no. No. No. No. You do not get to know that,” Danny protested, shoving at Steve. “Not at this point in our relationship.”
A grin spread across Steve’s face. “Our relationship.”
“Shut up,” Danny mumbled. “It’s just a phrasing.” He sighed as Steve settled back against him again. “What about your parents? Your ex-girlfriend obviously knows. And how exactly did that come about?”
Steve gave a shrug that rubbed his shoulder against Danny’s stomach. “I’ve known Cat since we were five. It was just kind of a given that we dated. And then she tells me I don’t love her and she’s not gonna hold me back. That one day I’ll find the person I love.” He shrugged again. “Maybe I finally have.”
Danny tensed at Steve’s words and forced himself not to roll away from the other boy. “But what about your parents?”
Steve ignored the change in Danny’s muscles. He had known his words would probably freak the mainlander out, but he wanted Danny to know how he felt. “I don’t know how my mom would have felt. I hope she would have been happy. My dad…he only pays attention to me when I do something he wants to berate me about. So…I don’t think I’ll tell him yet.”
Unable to resist the pain Danny heard in Steve’s voice, he contorted himself, unwilling to release the hold he had on the other boy, and pressed his lips against Steve’s. Steve stiffened under his touch before melting against Danny as the other boy lifted his hand, cupping Steve’s cheek and holding him. Tentatively Steve brought his own hands up, resting them on Danny’s hips.
Danny pulled back slightly, smiling at the whimper Steve made, before rubbing his thumb against the edge of Steve’s lips. He kissed the spot he’d just rubbed when he moved his thumb, encouraging Steve to nip at his lips in exchange. For a few minutes, they traded lazy kisses like that, never pushing the issue; neither of them trying to go deeper than light, tentative tastes across the lips.
Finally Steve pulled back, his thumb still rubbing absently at Danny’s hip. “I think…” he cleared his throat. “I think we’d better go home. I need to take you home. Or I’m gonna do something really stupid.”
“Maybe I wouldn’t mind,” Danny replied.
Steve shook his head. “No. I don’t want this…well, I mean I do want this, but not like this.”
Danny leaned in, holding Steve in place when he tried to pull away, and pressed a firm kiss against his lips. “Thank you,” Danny said when he moved back. “Thank you for that.”
“Jesus Christ, Danny, you are making it really hard to be the good guy right now,” Steve responded. He leaned in again as if he was going to kiss Danny, but said, “Let’s get out of here before I change my mind about not being stupid.”
The entire ride home, Steve kept sneaking looks at Danny whenever he had a chance. He wasn’t sure what his chances were about getting a kiss before he left Danny at his house, especially considering the other boy’s reaction when he’d tried to kiss him earlier. As he pulled to a stop in front of the house, he decided he was going to chance it. He put the Jeep into park and turned to face Danny, who’d unbuckled and was angling to swing out of the open side. Reaching out, he snagged Danny’s shirt sleeve. “Hang on a second,” he started and when Danny turned back to look at him, Steve lunged towards him, mashing their lips together.
Danny squeaked in surprise, bringing his hands up and re-angling Steve’s head, gentling the kiss. “Are you trying to break my nose?!” he demanded when Steve moved away.
“No, I’m sorry,” Steve started. “I just…”
Still holding his head, Danny leaned in and kissed him gently. “Try not to kill me next time. I had a good time. Surprisingly.”
“You had a surprisingly good time or surprisingly you had a good time?” Steve replied.
“Don’t push it, Steve. I’ll see you at school.” Danny swung out of the Jeep, shoving his hands in his pocket as he hurried across the street. A minute later, he let himself into the house and Steve realized he had no reason to sit in the street. He put the Jeep into gear and pulled away. Danny had a good time and he'd promised to see him at school. It was a promising start.
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