"So, you wanna dance?" Danny leaned against the bar and grinned at the woman he'd been talking to for the last ten minutes.

She was cute and friendly, and he figured it wouldn't hurt his cover to be seen flirting with the other patrons of the prestigious yacht club they were staking out. He had arrived with Steve to the members-only shmooze fest, both of them dressed to the nines in smart tuxedos, and whereas he normally felt he looked more like a waiter than a high roller, tonight he was actually feeling more like he should be drinking the martinis rather than serving them.

"I would," the red head smiled at him coyly, "But don't you think you should be dancing with your husband instead?"

Danny almost choked on his non-alcoholic drink – he was on duty, after all – and opened his mouth to argue her assumption, but she was already moving away towards a friend she'd spotted across the room.

"You boys have a nice night," she winked back at him with a knowing smile.

God damn it, she must have seen them arrive together. Possibly she'd even witnessed their little argument in the parking lot where Danny had criticised his partner's parking of the Camaro, and he knew how their bickering looked to some people from the outside.

He groaned quietly to himself, watching her walk away, and he heard a snicker behind him. Steve had crept up on him like a ninja, and Danny didn't even know how long he'd been there.

"How's your evening going, sweetie?" the brunette teased, receiving a withering glare in response.

"It was going really well up until Alicia over there assumed I was gay," he muttered, nodding towards the woman he'd been chatting with before looking back at his friend, "Any sign of Dimitri yet?"

Steve shook his head. Their target hadn't arrived yet, and they would just have to keep cover until then.

"Come on," Steve's hand was suddenly in Danny's, tugging him towards the dance floor where a local band was playing a slow tune.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, trying to tug his fingers from Steve's grip, but still somehow being dragged along by the SEAL.

"Just taking the lady's advice, Danno," Steve chuckled, "If people are going to assume we're here together, we may as well use it as part of our cover. Plus, the dance floor has a great view of the rest of the room for recon."

Danny tried to argue again, but he was pulled into an intimate dance position with Steve and suddenly the taller man was leading. He pushed back a little from his chest, putting a couple of inches of space between them, but eventually gave in and just went with it. He didn't even bother arguing that Steve was automatically taking the lead in the dancing, he was so used to his partner taking charge at work anyway.

"Oh for god sakes, you're not helping matters," Danny grouched, keeping his voice low so the other dancers wouldn't overhear, "Why is it that people always assume we're married, anyway? I don't get it..."

Steve just shrugged as they swayed together, each scoping the room subtly.

"Probably because we're such a good match," he said, like it was a simply fact.

"Excuse me?" Danny snorted in a vaguely entertained manner, pulling back to look him in the face, "And what makes us such a perfect couple, huh?"

It was a joke, and he hadn't really expected an answer.

"Just look at us, D," Steve went back to scanning the faces in the crowd again, his voice neutral like he was reciting his shopping list or football facts, "We argue like a married couple but we always resolve it, we're constantly challenging one another, in a good way, and we have no real sense of personal space-"

Danny raised an eyebrow and looked down between them. He couldn't deny they were currently very close, maybe an inch apart, and he had barely noticed it or thought it might be odd. They did seem to touch a lot now he thought about it; leaning on one another, hands on arms and shoulders and backs, just checking in with one another. It seemed so normal with Steve, but yeah maybe he did it more so with his partner than others, like Chin or Kono.

Steve was continuing. "-Plus you're the yin to my yang, y'know?"

"I'm not the anything to your yang, thank you," Danny whispered almost defensively, and then berated himself for the reaction. Steve didn't seem to care, though.

"You know what I mean, Danny. You're honest and open, I'm a bit... I dunno, closed off I guess." He still wasn't making eye contact with the detective, watching the room while they danced, "And you hold me back when I'm taking things too far. At the same time, I push you to take risks you wouldn't normally, put you out of your comfort zone, and that helps people grow. We balance each other out."

Wow, it actually sounded like Steve had been really thinking hard about this. They did make a good team though, brilliant partners now they had taken a year or so to really settle into their roles in Five-0, and Danny couldn't deny they made one another better in many ways.

"Okay, that's all well and good, Steven," he said, "We're the epitome of the perfect married couple except for one thing. We're both straight."

The taller man snorted, changing their position so he could watch the bar and bringing Danny in a little closer.

"You sure about that, Danno?" he chuckled. The way he said it sounded like he wasn't necessarily referencing himself.

Danny creased his brow and frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" he whispered in Steve's ear. It felt strange, being in such an intimate position and using a hushed voice when they were suddenly on the subject of sexuality.

He wasn't angry at Steve's suggestion, just curious. Why would his friend assume he was anything but straight? He had an ex-wife and a kid, he'd only looked at women since he'd arrived on this god forsaken island. He'd always only looked at women, right?

"Nothing, I just... I got a different vibe from you is all," Steve shrugged nonchalantly again.

Danny leaned back again, wanting to look him in the eyes. "A vibe? What?" he frowned, confused, "I'm straight, babe..."

"You sure?"

Now the cop was really confused. "Yeah, I'm... Yeah." He looked away, suddenly a little unsure of himself. He'd never really had that side of him questioned before, so he'd never even thought about it. He was starting to sound less confident, even to himself, and he hoped Steve wasn't picking up on it in his voice.

"You've never looked at another man and thought he was cute? Never admired another guy's body?" Steve's questions had no accusation to them, he just sounded interested.

"Well I mean, I can see how a man might he attractive to someone who was inclined that way," Danny muttered, "But that doesn't mean anything."

He tried not to think about the number of times he'd looked at Steve's body when the man stripped off in front of him... and god, now he looked back on it that had happened a lot since they'd met. Steve was toned and tan, all lean muscle and tattoos and impressive physique. Yes, he'd looked and he'd seen, even acknowledged that people would find that body a turn on. But had he stopped to really think? Was the attraction he acknowledged that of society's standards, or was it coming from within himself?

What the hell was this? Was there a difference between seeing how someone could be sexy, and actually finding them sexy? And if so, where was that line? And how was he supposed to know which side of that line he was personally on?

His chest was starting to feel a little tight. Why was this conversation getting to him?

"So you've been with a guy, like messed around, and you didn't like it, right?" Steve's voice was so calm, like they were discussing what flavours of ice cream Danny preferred rather than what genders.

"No..." he replied, "No, I've never messed around with a guy."

It was Steve's turn to look him in the eyes, seemingly surprised. "Not even in college?"

"What? Some of us actually went to college to learn, Steve. I didn't have time for relationships..."

The brunette laughed. "I didn't saying anything about relationships, did I? I just mean fooling around. Did you never get drunk and kiss a guy for the hell of it? Get hazed? Nothing?"

Danny shook his head, feeling a blush heating up on his chest and travelling up his neck when his eyes reactively flicked to his friend's mouth at the mention of the word 'kiss'. He turned his head away and tried to watch the front door for signs of Dimitri. Wow, this was a really weird conversation to be having with his colleague.

"No, none of that," he muttered. His heart rate was speeding up, confusion bubbling in his stomach, and he tried to focus on the job at hand.

"Does the idea of kissing a guy disgust you?" Steve asked, "Does it freak you out?"

"No, not at all, I just..." Danny stuttered over his words defensively, "I just never wanted to, okay?"

"Can you honestly say you don't like something if you've never tried it? I mean, have you ever tried water-skiing?" Steve pressed.

"No, I've never water-skied," Danny grouched, feeling under pressure and not entirely sure why, "But I can guarantee you I wouldn't like it. Sometimes you just know."

"Okay, bad example, you hate the water," his friend conceded, "But are you telling me, one hundred per cent without ever experiencing it, you know you would hate kissing a guy?"

Danny stumbled over his answer. He wanted to say yes, that he knew without a doubt he was straight, knew he wouldn't enjoy locking lips with another man... but now he was a little dizzy with all the feelings this conversation had raised; feelings he hadn't known he had locked away.

No, he was straight, surely, because he'd only ever been with women, and he'd never looked at a man like that... had he?

He raised his chin defiantly, feeling like he needed to step up to his partner's challenge.

"Yeah, I know I'm straight," he said as confidently as he could.

"But you've never been kissed by a guy, so how can you know for sure?" Steve metaphorically raised his bet, Danny could almost see him pushing his chips into the middle of the table.

He squared his shoulders as much as he could while they danced. "Go on then," he said, pulse in his ears.

"Go on, what?" Steve gave him a strange look, but his eyes sparkled with amusement.

"If you honestly think I can't know I'm straight before I kiss a guy, then kiss me. We're friends, we can handle one kiss. Then I'll tell you afterwards, I'm straight." He didn't know why it was suddenly so important for him to prove Steve wrong.

Danny was in no way homophobic – that stuff didn't matter to him, and it pissed him off that some people felt they could tell others who they could and couldn't love – but this wasn't about his sexuality being challenged so much as about his own self awareness being poked at. He knew who he was, and he didn't like anyone inferring he didn't know himself and his own inclinations, making him feel so unsure. It was an uncomfortable experience, and maybe he felt he needed to reassure himself of his ability to know his own mind.

The SEAL barely paused. "Okay."

Danny only had a second to regret his challenge before Steve's lips pressed to his, and he closed his eyes automatically.

The world stopped, his mind blanked, and he exhaled sharply through his nose out of shock. When his brain rebooted seconds later, he began to take in the flood of sensations thrown his way, creasing his brow.

Steve's lips were soft and warm, and Danny's nose was pressed to his cheek. Although the other man was clean shaven that morning, Danny could feel the vague suggestion of stubble against his skin, and that was definitely a new sensation. With his eyes shut this wasn't too unlike kissing a woman, and he put all of his concentration into exploring the feeling while his skin buzzed like static electricity.

Steve's mouth tentatively opened against his, the movement parting his own lips, and his partner's tongue slid into his mouth to wind over his. There was the tiniest hint of pressure to elicit a response, and he actively returned the gesture. He couldn't stop the small moan escaping his chest as he pushed his own tongue into his best friend's mouth, and his hands moved without asking his brain's permission, dipping under Steve's tuxedo jacket to grip at his shirt. The SEAL's fingers brushed up his neck and into his hair, Steve's other hand cupping his jaw and tilting his face further upward.

He pulled the taller man closer to him, crushing their chests together and opening his mouth wider, letting the kiss envelop him. It felt glorious, like a powerful charge was flowing through his body and warming him from the inside. He shivered despite the heat, and Steve hummed against him, hot air tickling his cheek as the man took control of the kiss and began to devour him from the inside out as it intensified.

They had stopped swaying to the music, the dancing long since forgotten, along with the people around them.

Hairs raised on the back of his neck, his hands moved further up Steve's back to dig fingertip bruises into his skin, and Danny lost himself to the instinctual feelings of lust and need that rose up in his chest. He felt his blood rushing southward, his skin prickling with energy, and he whimpered into the other man's mouth.

Then Steve was pulling back, and Danny was chasing the loss of his lips for a moment, gasping in the oxygen he hadn't realised he needed.

He kept his eyes closed, mind still processing the mass of information his body was presenting to him. That had felt amazing, sensual, erotic; better than any kiss he could remember having... and it had been with a man.

Moreover, it had been with Steve.

He concentrated on just breathing for a few seconds, thoughts racing through his mind too fast to compute, and then Steve was speaking to him and focusing his attention. His voice was a low purr, and it tickled somewhere low on Danny's body, making him bite his lower lip.

"So, I'm gathering from the silence that maybe you're not as straight as you thought, huh Danno?"

Danny opened his eyes slowly, meeting Steve's hazel gaze which was now full of heat and something unreadable. He didn't know how to reply, couldn't comprehend the English language enough to form a response.

"I, uh..." He swallowed hard. He knew full well he had intended to say something after that kiss, he just couldn't for the life of him think what it might have been.

Someone cleared their throat in Danny's ear, and it made Steve jump as he heard it through his own earpiece. Kono's voice came over the line.

"Uh... well, that was educational, guys," the rookie mumbled, sounding a little huskier than usual, "Really sorry to interrupt, but our guy is here..."

Danny squeezed his eyes shut, face heating up as he realised Kono had heard everything they'd been saying over the comms channel.

"Oh fuck..." he whispered.

Steve was already moving away, one firm hand now on Danny's bicep and tugging him in the direction of the bar.

He opened his eyes, and pushed everything else out of his mind to focus on the task, spotting their target across the room as he also headed towards the counter to order a drink. The Russian man saw them at the last second and rabbited, but the Five-0 members were too quick for him. He was in cuffs just minutes later.

With no time to process the night's events, Steve's "book 'em, Danno," still felt like it always did, and Danny rolled his eyes as he hauled the perp to his feet, even though he was beginning to enjoy the familiarity of the phrase.

It wasn't until they were outside in the cool night air ten minutes later, handing Dimitri over to an HPD officer to put in their squad car, that Danny had a second to reflect. His breath caught in his throat as he remembered the feeling of Steve's lips on his, and actually began to consider the consequences. He squeezed his eyes shut and leaned against the cruiser.

"You okay, Danno?" Steve's warm hand came to rest on his back, and he flinched and stepped to the side, whirling to face the taller man.

"Uh yeah, I uh," he made eye contact and then had to immediately look away, unable to deal with his tempestuous feelings and the adrenaline that was surging through his body. "I'm um, not feeling well. I'll do the paperwork for this tomorrow, I'm going home."

He turned on his heel, knowing his excuse was weak and his exit was way too fast, but right now he didn't care. He had to be out of Steve's orbit so he could breathe again.

All he could think was that he needed to get home, find that bottle of scotch he'd put in the back of his cupboard, and stop thinking about everything.

He heard the SEAL call out his name, but it only made him walk faster.