Present Day 1998

Danny stood at the luggage carousel, patiently waiting for his suitcase. He felt anxious and nervous as to what the coming days would bring. He hadn't been back to Hawaii since he was eighteen, yet not a day went by where he didn't think about that place.

10 years before 1988 (See Collide)

It had been about year since Danny's mother went to California with his Aunt, leaving him in bliss, living with the love of his life and his new family. Danny was so happy, he was in love, had great friends, and living on a beautiful island. He had even grown to like the beach.

He loved the summers the most, he and Steve would go camping in the middle of nowhere for weeks on end, and swim, fish, sleep, and fuck until the sun went down. Literally.

He and Steve would spend all their time together, because they could. Danny did well in school and for the first time, he felt like he had direction in his life. He spent a lot of time with a Chin and Steve's Dad, and soon came to realise that he wanted to be a cop.

Though, apparently, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Around that same time, Doris, Steve's mother was tragically killed in a car accident. Steve wasn't very close to her, but her passing changed him drastically. He didn't trust anyone anymore, especially since his Dad was always so vague about the car accident and how it all came about. His Dad, Mary-Ann, and Steve, all tried to stay strong together, but too much had changed for Steve, and he started drifting away from his family.

Danny and Steve's relationship didn't fair too well either. Danny tried his best to comfort Steve, which usually helped, but Steve was different, he always had a blank, distant state and just wasn't himself. Only after a few months after Doris had died, Danny and Steve were barely speaking. Danny felt their love slowly dissolving away, and had tried everything to get Steve back to his old ways.

In the months when Steve and Danny weren't together, back in the beginning of their relationship, Steve and Catherine had applied for the Navy, as for back then, Steve just wanted to escape.

Both Steve and Catherine had received acceptance letters a few months before Doris passed away, but Steve wasn't sure to accept it. Catherine did straight away, as she was looking for a challenge and an adventure, not an escape. At that time, Steve didn't want to escape; he was so in love with Danny, in which he never wanted to leave the island without him.

Though, in those months after Doris' passing, all Steve could think about was to escape, so he accepted, and didn't tell Danny.

It wasn't until Catherine revealed to Danny that Steve was shipping out in few days, that all came to an haltering end.

Danny had trouble finding Steve, he was always hiding himself from everyone. He looked everywhere, until he realised he knew where Steve was. The spot where they had their first date, the over-point that looked out to the ocean: the spot where they would both go to think or be alone.

"When the hell were you going to tell me that you were leaving? As you got on the ship?" Danny said, trying to contain himself. He had barely shut off the car, as he stormed over to Steve.

Steve didn't have to turn around to know it was Danny; he just kept looking on the horizon. Steve tried to manage a smile, as he loved when Danny got mad. Somehow, he got even cuter.

"I don't know, I..." Steve tried to say back, before being cut off by Danny.

"You don't know? You've been drifting away from me the past couple of months, and now you are doing it literally. I just can't believe it. We can work it out babe, trust me", Danny said sincerely, as he sat down next to Steve.

Steve didn't really know what to say, and Danny knew it. His anger quickly disappeared as he saw the defeated look in Steve's eyes.

Danny sighed, and held onto Steve's hand, and looked out to the horizon.

They both sat there in silence, just listening to crashes of the waves and the wind.

"I am so mad at you, you know that don't you?" Danny said, with no tone of anger in his voice.

They had been fighting so much, that Danny had lost the will to keep yelling. And he knew deep down that this time it was different.

"Yeah I know, I'm sorry babe," Steve replied.

"Why didn't you tell me? You don't tell me anything anymore"

"I don't know, I just need to get out of here," Steve said honestly.

"We could have gotten out of here together, we are graduating soon, and we could have gone anywhere"

"I think I need to get away from you too," Steve said, with a pause in his voice.

Danny immediately took his hand away from Steve and looked at him directly.

"What? Are you serious? I love you Steve. I thought you loved me too"

"I do. I just need some time by myself for a while. I feel like my life is upside down at the moment and need to flip it back over"

Danny thought of million different things to say, to get Steve to change his mind, but he knew Steve inside and out, and knew that nothing he said would change his mind. Steve was stubborn, and always would be, he loved that about him. Though now, he wished he hadn't.

"How long will you be away?"

"A while, I guess. We can still be together though"

"And how do you think that's going to work? It's not Steven, and you know it"

Steve looked down at the ground, he knew, he just didn't want to admit it, not yet anyway.

He sighed and turned back to Danny. He put his hands on Danny's cheeks and looked him in the eye.

"I love you, always have and always will," Steve whispered and pressed his forehead against Danny's, taking in each other's breath.

Danny quickly kissed Steve, putting in all his passion, love and anger into that kiss.

Steve slowly pulled away, and retained his breath.

And that felt like it, the end of being together, of being the definition of soul mates. Steve went into the Navy, and without Steve on the island, Danny moved back to New Jersey, and left that part of his life behind.

Present Day 1998

Danny finally got his luggage and trundelled to the exit doors. He sighed, while trying to remain calm and relaxed.

Danny had hired a car for the week he was staying, it was a standard economy car, not really his style but within his price range. Chin had offered to pick Danny up from the airport, but Danny wanted the freedom of driving, he wanted to visit all the places he had memories.

He swore to himself that he would never come back to Hawaii, but he made a great exception for when Chin invited him to his wedding. Danny had kept in touch with everyone, especially Chin, and was so happy for him when he proposed to his girlfriend Malia. He, Chin, and Malia would talk on the phone all the time, so Danny was actually looking forward to coming back to the island after all. Though only on one condition - Steve wasn't going to be there. Even though it had been ten years since they had broken up and seen each other, Danny didn't want to see him; somehow it still felt too raw. Luckily for Danny, Steve couldn't make it, he tried to get leave but his commander wouldn't allow it. Once Chin confirmed this, Danny booked his flight.

Danny drove from the airport to Chin and Malia's house. He drove slow to take in the surroundings and remember all the good times he did have here.

The wedding wasn't for another three days but Danny and planes didn't get on well, and the minimal jetlag from flying from New Jersey would always get the best of him.

Danny finally arrived at Chin's, a little after sunset, as Danny drove and explored places of his past. Except the McGarrett home. Not yet anyway.