Chapter Text
Danny lazed in the hammock on the lanai, basking in the sounds of his family around him. No one had actually planned the gathering on the beach behind Steve’s house, but it wasn’t the sort of thing that even required planning anymore. After rough cases, they all instinctively drifted toward each other.
How ever it had come to develop, Danny appreciated the habit. It soothed his anxiety to have visual proof that his chosen people were safe and whole.
The entire day had been given over to that indulgence. Steve had let him sleep until the early afternoon, waking Danny up with coffee and breakfast, and an utterly unrepentant Grace and Steve. Danny glanced at the clock and then back to the pair; Steve had cracked like an egg, confessing that he’d already called Grace out sick. Grace’s indignance over her co-conspirator’s collapse was a memory Danny would cherish for a long time.
Steve had herded him out to the lanai and done his best to keep him there for the rest of the day, fetching and carrying and generally being such an adorable nuisance that Danny had honestly felt a little overwhelmed by emotion. That didn’t mean he didn’t put up at least a token protest about the hovering. Steve probably would have panicked if he hadn’t, and anyway, Danny didn’t want to set a precedent. (The protest was very token; it was tough to argue that he didn’t need the help when he struggled to manage an entire hour awake.)
He felt a little guilty as Steve attempted to wrap up the investigation remotely, but not enough to suggest that Steve go into the office. Chatham was dead, but Piotr was still out there, and Danny couldn’t let go of the idea that Grace was in danger. If anything happened, the way he currently felt, Danny would be worse than useless.
Chin and Malia turned up around two with a full cookout spread; Kono was about a quarter-hour behind them. Grace had been delighted to see Malia again, dragging the bemused woman over to the makeshift nest Steve had set up for Mr. Hoppy. Danny had chuckled at the sappy look on Chin’s face.
Grace spent the day alternating between playing in the surf with Kono and sticking close to Danny. She seemed quiet and thoughtful. Danny could see the dozens of questions forming in her dark eyes. Still, for now, she seemed content to just keep checking in on him—dragging up treasures from the shore to share and taking the occasional break to clamber up into the hammock alongside him for a cuddle.
Afternoon turned into evening, and hard as she tried to fight it, Grace was clearly exhausted. When she finally lost the battle, Steve scooped her up and carried her into the house, waving off Danny’s attempt to climb out of the hammock. Danny’s heart was ridiculously full.
Chin handed Danny a cold drink. “You alright?”
Danny nodded his thanks. “Eh. Ask me again when I’ve slept for about fifty hours.”
Chin laughed.
“Malia seems great.”
“She is,” Chin agreed.
Danny followed his gaze to where Malia and Kono had what appeared to be an emotional conversation on the beach. They were too far for Danny to hear anything, but when Malia pulled Kono into a tight hug, he figured he got the gist. When the pair walked back up to the lanai, he and Chin both pretended not to notice Kono surreptitiously swiping at her eyes.
Chin met them both with a hug and a quiet “all good?”.
Danny must have dozed again because when he next blinked, Chin and Malia had gathered up their belongings and were making their farewells. He rallied enough to say goodbye to them, and Kono, who attempted to give Danny a hug, which it turned out was hilariously complicated when the huggee was sprawled in a hammock.
Steve saw them out and then came back out on the lanai. Danny sat up and turned sideways to let Steve sit next to him on the hammock. They sat there for a long time in the growing dark. Steve kicked one foot against the ground to rock them gently.
“We need to talk about what happened this morning?” Danny asked.
“If I say no, will you let it go?”
“What happened? I didn’t know you could cast like that.”
Steve’s posture had gone rigid like he wanted to stand at attention—which Danny knew was Steve’s version of a defensive hunch. “I didn’t either. I’ve never been good at off the cuff magic. That was… I don’t know what that was. Danny, I portalled. Just—just needed to be back in that basement, and there I was.”
“Okay,” Danny said, leaning harder into Steve’s side until he relented and wrapped an arm around Danny. “Something to keep an eye on, but I’m glad you had it when we needed it.”
“Yeah. How about you? How do you feel?”
Danny shrugged. “Hollow. My will is… there’s barely a flicker there. What if it doesn’t come back?”
“Please,” Steve scoffed, but Danny could see worry in the lines of his face, “you are the stubbornest human being I’ve ever met. Like you’ll ever run out of will.”
He felt justified in digging his elbow into Steve’s side. “Grace go down okay?”
“Yeah. I had to check the closet twice and leave the bathroom light on, but she was pretty wiped. It was a long night for all of us.”
Danny nodded. “She’ll probably have nightmares tonight. I’m sure I’ll have a few myself.”
Steve squeezed him tightly. “I thought maybe tomorrow we go get some paint, let her make the room her own. Pick up a night light too.”
Danny twisted so he could look at Steve. “That’s… a very sweet offer, but babe, we’ve been together less than a month. I love you, but there’s fast, and then there’s insanity.”
“Well you can’t go back to the apartment.”
“What? Why not?” Danny tried to fully sit up, but Steve tugged him back into the half embrace. “Steven, what happened to my apartment?”
“Grace,” Steve cut him off before Danny could work himself up to a full head of steam. “When you were attacked, she lashed out. There’s some structural damage. The place is going to be condemned.”
“Monkey?”
“Yeah. And she’s already worried that you’ll be upset that she ran away. I told her you were proud of her for trying to protect you—”
“I am!”
“So, don’t be too upset about the apartment. If you really think it’s too fast, I’ll help you apartment hunt, and we’ll find you something better. But I want you to consider moving in here. I want you both were I can protect you.”
Danny huffed a half-laugh. “We’re moving in, aren’t we?”
“It’s a beachfront house, you could try to sound a little happier about it.”
“I’d be happier if it wasn’t because my eight-year-old had engaged in her first combat.”
“She did good.”
“She shouldn’t have to have done good,” Danny groused. “Piotr is Caskuri, what if he—”
“That’s the other thing I need to tell you about,” Steve said, digging out his cell phone. He tapped on the text messages, turning the phone for Danny to look. “Duke sent me that while I was putting Grace down.”
The picture was taken in what looked like a generic alleyway, nothing that stood out. Piotr looked as though he had sat down against the building and fallen asleep, legs kicked out in front of him carelessly. His shirt front was saturated in dark blood that Danny could tell had already mostly dried by the time the photo had been taken. On the tan wall behind him, written in what appeared to be more dried blood, were the words “no hounds in Hawaii.”
“Who—?”
“Hey,” Steve held him tight again, hand running up and down Danny’s arm. “Breathe. We’ll tackle that tomorrow. For tonight, it’s enough that you and Grace are here and safe.”
Danny forced himself to take the suggested breath. “Won’t have to hear him call me ‘little mouse’ again,” he finally said.
Steve chuckled and pulled Danny tight against his side, pressing a kiss to his temple.
Danny let him.
They stayed that way, entwined and rocking, long into the darkness.