Steve took a deep breath as he walked out of the club's bathroom and made his way back through the crowd to where Danny was waiting at the bar. He gratefully accepted the offered beer, and Danny raised an eyebrow when Steve necked half of it in one go before setting it next to the two he'd not long finished.

"Steady on, babe. What you trying to do, block this place out from your memory?" Danny muttered in his ear when Steve leant against the bar next to him and joined him in surveying the swarm of people, keeping an eye out for anyone who looked like their perpetrator. Steve sighed in response, not willing to give his partner the satisfaction of being right.

There'd been several reports of guys having their drinks spiked at the club, then taken elsewhere to be sexually assaulted, during the last few weeks. It took a while, but their latest victim managed to give them a good description of their attacker.

Steve needed to focus. This was a dangerous man and he needed to be caught. But the music was thumping, the smoke machines by the dance floor was making the air feel thick, and all around him various same-sex couples were kissing and groping and dry humping. Steve was finding it hard to concentrate on looking for one specific man when all he really wanted to do was stare in awe at everything and everyone around him.

If he was being honest with himself, Steve had figured out that that he was gay during high school - while most of his friends had a crush on their Science teacher with the DD breasts, he was busy jerking off to thoughts of their football coach. He'd told Mary, but then he had no choice after she caught him stealing her Playgirl magazines. And just when he was about to tell his parents, Doris 'died' and then his father sent him away.

Almost two decades in military life with DADT looming over him taught Steve to to hide his sexuality well. He wasn't ashamed of who he was by any means, but just as he'd fully come to terms with it himself he was thrust into a world where being gay was frowned up, and could easily get you dishonourably discharged.

Many of his friends and team-mates enjoying hitting the local bars and clubs when they were on leave in the hopes of picking up women, and often invited Steve along with them. They'd often point out women to him, but he'd shrug them off and say that he wasn't interested, that they weren't his type. It wasn't a lie, but he didn't reveal that the man behind the bar was more his type than any of those women.

People sometimes thought that he and Catherine were together, when in actual fact she was happy to play along whenever he needed a cover, as the only person that he'd confided in.

Steve never dared to visit any gay bars or clubs during shore leave in case he was found out, and as a result this was the first time he'd ever set foot inside one.

Are they all like this? he wondered as he saw yet another man wearing a leather harness across his chest and very tight pants, but his eyes widened as he noticed that the man was leading another guy - though this one had even less clothes on - around on a leash.

Suddenly his mouth became very dry, and Steve struggled to swallow past it.

"Hey," Danny noticed his partner's discomfort and moved closer to slide an arm around his waist, hooking his hand in the back pocket of Steve's dark jeans. "What's up? Beer finally hit you? I told you-"

"No, I don't…" Steve shook his head, not sure where to look. "Sorry. Can't focus."

"Yeah, it's… something, isn't it. Feel like my head's gonna explode if the music gets any louder."

Steve averted his gaze as he noticed that one couple in the corner were grinding against each other, and looked about 30 seconds away from having sex right then and there. Fortunately his attention was quickly diverted when Danny squeezed his ass.

"Dance with me, babe?" He whispered. "Chin and Kono are parked outside, they'll let us know if our guy comes in."

Steve hoped that Danny couldn't see the faint blush that was creeping up his neck as he nodded before he let himself be led onto the packed dance floor. Once they managed to find a space amidst the rabble of people Danny quickly slipped his arms around Steve's neck and pressed his body against the taller man's. Steve shivered as he held his partner close, arms wrapped around Danny's waist, before clumsily moving them to the pulsing bass track that the DJ was playing. Their relationship had only recently progressed from partners to something more, consisting of many shared kisses and a few quick fumbles in their offices. They had yet to go beyond that, however, and it was all still new territory for the SEAL.

Steve knew that Danny wanted to take things further, but a combination of this time-consuming case and his own nerves - it had been so long since he'd had sex with another guy - had gotten in the way. He loved his job, but he loved Danny more, and until now had never wished to be unemployed, but if it meant he could stay in bed with that man all day then he wouldn't say no.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Danny whispered, his face not far from the taller man's. "And think before you say 'nothing', because in the last ten minutes you've looked like you want to run a mile."

"I…" Steve momentarily tightened his grip around Danny's waist as he found himself unable to look away from his surroundings, until finally he found the courage to look down at his partner. "I've never been to a gay club before, okay? Never."

"Not even when you were on leave?" Danny frowned when Steve shook his head quickly, and when a strobe light passed their way he saw the blush that Steve had tried to hide earlier.

Danny gently ran his fingers across the back of Steve's head before coaxing him to duck down, rewarding him for his admission with a quick but passionate kiss. Steve was briefly aware that they were in public, and he wasn't even sure he'd ever kissed another man out in the open before, but the feel of Danny flush against him, warm and solid and there, pushed everything else out of his head. Sensing that this was clearly a sensitive subject, Danny broke away from the kiss to rest his head on Steve's collarbone, hoping that he'd take the hint and explain without having to face him.

"When I was in the Navy..." Steve began, licking his lips, and Danny smiled, proud of his boyfriend and silently congratulating him.

"When I was in the Navy, only Cath knew. DADT made me scared to tell anyone, to do anything. I knew who I was and what I was, but it was the one thing that you weren't allowed to be back then."

Steve sighed into Danny's hair as he continued to move them to the thumping music, before clearing his throat. "My friends tried to set me up with tonnes of girls, but obviously it never lasted."

Danny pressed a soft kiss to his neck. "So… you never did anything with anyone?"

"Fooled around a few times, but I had to be real careful. If the wrong person found out, that'd be it for my career. Once I became a SEAL, I didn't do anything. Far too risky."

"I'm so sorry, babe."

Steve pulled away slightly to look down at Danny, a puzzled look on his face. "For what?"

"You didn't get to… live your life, I guess. Not in the way you should have." Danny smiled sadly as he rubbed Steve's shoulders, trying hard not to be distracted by his tight button down shirt. "Nobody should ever have to feel like they aren't allowed to be who they are."

Steve hooked his fingers through Danny's belt loops, keeping his body pressed against him as the music got more intense and everyone around them started jumping around. "Hard when the majority of the people that you work with have their own opinion about gays. Made me feel…" Steve trailed off and shook his head again, choosing instead to focus on the feel of the man in his arms.

"You're perfect, Steve, just as you are." Danny whispered, hands rubbing Steve's chest. Steve beamed down at the blond man before claiming his lips in a passionate kiss, loving the feeling of Danny against pretty much his entire body. In that moment, he felt like he was on cloud nine.

But then the smoke machines went off again, and as he turned away so as not to cough in Danny's face he spotted that same couple who were grinding against each other in the corner earlier were now definitely having sex up against the wall.

Steve glanced around and saw that while some people had noticed and seemed interested, the majority didn't seem bothered. His pulse quickened as his eyes were drawn back to the two men. Steve was having an internal crisis as he wanted to look away, felt like he should look away, but found himself in awe of what he was seeing and unable to stop watching. He wasn't stupid, he knew how two guys had sex. But seeing it happen in front of you was very different to reading about it and hearsay, and even the porn websites he'd visited once he came back to Hawaii.

Meanwhile Danny, curious as to what had caught his boyfriend's attention, had followed his line of sight. His eyebrows shot up, but people having sex in packed clubs wasn't something he hadn't seen before during his numerous nights out in Jersey. But it was a different story for Steve, and realisation soon hit Danny.

"Hey, look at me," Danny cupped the side of Steve's face and gently coaxed his head down. "You alright?"

Steve swallowed, willing his mouth to stop drying up. "Uh… yeah. Yeah? I think so."

"Wanna leave? I'm exhausted already, and there's been no sighting of our guy all evening." Danny asked. Steve sighed and gripped the blonde man's shirt even tighter, a strange expression on his face that Danny knew all too well. "It doesn't mean that you failed just because you're nervous about being here, you big goof. If he was hiding out in some small underground cave do you think I'd go and wait for him there?"

A small smile graced Steve's face as he shook his head.

"Exactly. I'll message Chin, tell him to scrap the stakeout. Now come on, let's go."