Chapter Text
Steve woke Danny with kisses to his neck and teeth tugging at his earlobe while his hand explored over Danny’s chest, fingers circling and lightly pinching a nipple.
“Morning, sunshine,” Steve said with a content smile as Danny made unhappy noises about being woken so early.
“What time is it?” Danny asked, not feeling like he’d slept at all even if the sun was clearly up. Steve must have really worn him out after their second round. He shifted in the bed, trying to determine if they’d gone too hard and he’d pulled anything...
“Six, and I’m going for a swim,’ Steve said as he rolled himself away from Danny and out of the bed.
“Who goes swimming at six in the morning? Sane people are barely crawling out of bed desperate for coffee.”
“Hawaiians are early risers, mostly to catch some waves but I always start my day with a swim. Gets the blood flowing.”
“I can think of better ways to do that,” Danny smirked as he rolled over to watch as Steve pulled on a pair of swim trunks.
“Those ways are very tempting, but if we do that I know I’ll be late for work… if I even show up at all,” Steve leaned down and pressed a confident kiss on Danny’s lips, and then another before pulling back before the temptation really did get him. He licked his lips as he looked at Danny, eyes raking down his body even though it was covered by a sheet. “Feel free to go down and make coffee. I won’t be long.”
Once Steve had left the room, Danny rolled onto his back and looked at the ceiling while tapping his fingers on his chest and taking a deep, relaxing breath. He felt good. He felt very good. He felt like things were different now, like moving to Hawaii maybe wasn’t so bad. He could be his authentic self here. Whether that meant romantically or in how he could combine his ‘normal’ life with his ability. Steve talked a good game, the question was if he could really live up to his promise.
He hoped so. And not just because the sex was amazing but because he craved the kind of thing Steve was offering - someone in his life who accepted him. All of him.
He finally dragged himself out of the bed and found his discarded clothes from the night before, pulling on underwear, socks, and pants then putting on his shirt and buttoning it halfway, smelling to see just how bad he might be after the exertion of the night before and deciding he wasn’t too bad as his cologne could still be detected.
He didn’t bother with his shoes yet, instead just padded along the top landing and as his hand landed on the banister to go down the stairs, he had an inkling that something wasn’t entirely right. He warily stepped down the stairs until he reached about five from the bottom, his eyes taking in the sight.
Blood across the walls, a feeling of panic, of anger, at hopelessness… no resignation… bravery but still petrified, knowing the end was coming. It made Danny clutch at his heart with one hand while the other kept a tight hold of the banister.
A chair. Ropes. The impression of someone sitting there, shadowed, head down, unmoving. Like a DVD skipping, the shadow flickered and disappeared as a man stood between Danny and the chair, looking up at him.
He was in a cop’s uniform. The HPD crest visible on his sleeves that Danny recognized from seeing people wearing it at Meka’s funeral. He was an older man, probably in his late fifties or early sixties and he looked at Danny with hope.
“It’s true, you can see us,” the ghost said as he looked at Danny in some amount of awe. Being attached to Steve or the house would have meant he’d know about Danny through Steve. It might have awoken the ghost but Danny didn’t think so. He got the impression this one was aware of his death, maybe at peace with it, but he had some form of unfinished business. He tilted his head in curiosity as he contemplated this ghost.
“Who are you?” Danny asked though he had an inkling.
“My name is John McGarrett.”
“Steve’s father,” Danny said. “You died here.” And he thought of his conversation with Steve the night before about knowing whether or not someone had crossed over. Now he knew John McGarrett had a reason to stay.
“I was killed here,” he said, making the point about how unnatural his death was.
Like father, like son, the ghostly figure didn’t say much… but he nodded and looked at Danny appraisingly, like he was being checked out to see if he was good enough to be dating John’s son. Or able enough to help him. But whatever reason John had to still be earthbound, Danny doubted it had to do with meeting Steve’s new boyfriend.
“You shouldn’t be here. You’re supposed to cross over. Do you see a light?” he asked, in a vague hope.
“I can’t do that yet. I need your help.”
Danny had recognized the sound of a door opening at the back of the house and could tell Steve had heard him speaking. He glanced over to the door frame where the living room led into the kitchen and saw a wet and puzzled Steve standing there in his trunks with a towel around his shoulders. John also looked over at Steve and then back at Danny.
“He’s in danger. There’s something far worse out there than one mole in one precinct.”
Something big’? Already? Couldn't they be eased into this kind of thing?!
Danny put his hands on his hips. “Oh, crap.”