This irrational behaviour was so unlike her. She was not the kind of person who got tied in knots over matters like this. She didn't snap at people, and she certainly didn't go out of her way to steer clear of someone in an attempt to avoid talking to them. Kono Kalakaua faced her problems head on, yet here she was, acting like a school girl. It angered her that she let herself become this affected.

It had been almost six months now since she did the one thing you are not supposed to do, the one thing that immensely complicated your life, and fell into bed with her very attractive boss. The memory was still very much fresh in her mind, everything is crystal clear, and she can remember every single moment in perfect detail.

The entire team had been out drinking one night after wrapping up a case and before she knew it, Chin and Danny had left, and it had only been her and Steve left at the bar. As they talked, Kono had caught herself looking at Steve more than once. He was attractive, he had always been, but at that moment it was the first time it had actually affected her this badly, and she had not been able to stop looking at him. All of that would have been fine, if her very attractive boss hadn't started to flirt with her as well.

"Hey!" he shook her out of her stupor. "What is going on in that beautiful head of yours?" beautiful? Did he just call her beautiful?

Kono bit her lip and pondered on whether she should let him in on what she was thinking but decided against it. She was drunk, but she wasn't so far gone that she couldn't phantom that she would make a complete fool out of herself if she did admit her attraction towards him. It was better to keep it light and friendly, so Kono deflected it with humour like she usually did.

"Did you just call me beautiful?" she raised one of her eyebrows.

"I did." he smirked from the other side of the table and took another swig of his beer.

"Steve…" he was actually serious? The possibility that she was not the only one feeling this, made her heart beat a little bit faster.

"What?!" he asked incredulously. "is it really so hard to believe that I find you attractive?"

To be honest it was a little hard to believe because the man was a navy SEAL, who is trained to keep a straight face and not give away what he is thinking or feeling. Plus, he was her boss who had never given any indication that he saw her as anything other than another member of his team. At most he mentioned sometimes that he considered the team as family. So yeah, that Steve saw her as anything but, was quite hard for her to believe.

"No… yes, I don't know! I just figured that you didn't see me like that, you guys have always treated me like I'm just one of the guys."

"Trust me. I noticed you!" Steve said softly and looked at her with a gentle glint in her eyes that made her forget all about the outside of the world of their table.

Twenty minutes later they found themselves at Steve's place where they stumbled through his front door. Steve had then proceeded to lead her up the stairs to his bedroom, where they had stayed for the reminder of the night.

When she woke up the next morning she had tried to save face by sneaking out before Steve had woke up, as she did not see the need to make things worse or more complicated than they had already begun. Steve had woken up before she had finished dressing though and pulled her back into the bed. She did not leave that bed until the very next morning when they had to go into work.

Kono doubted that there was any detail about those 24 hours that she would ever forget. Because they were not only etched into her brain with permanent ink, things also didn't stop there. She just had to be an overachiever and take things one step further by falling in love with the guy she should not have slept with in the first place.

After that night Kono had thought that they would leave it to that one night and not bring it up again. But Steve apparently had other ideas because he would not let it go. Every day he would subtly touch her whenever he passed her by or do some little thing that would open up her eyes to him just a little bit more. He would grab her a coffee when he went out to get one for himself or he would ask her to go with him to Kamekona's and pick up the daily lunch order instead of Danny. And every night he would drive her home or back to his place.

For over four months they did not spend one single night apart, but still whatever they had remained undefined. Kono hadn't minded that fact, but then she returned back home from a two-month sabbatical to find that Steve's very attractive ex-girlfriend had joined the team and they seemed very close. This was a fact Steve had failed to mention during their daily conversations, but Kono could read the signs. Nothing said, "we're over", no matter the status of your relationship, like getting cosy with your ex that you should really let go off.

The worst part of it was not that Steve was no longer interested in her, but the fact that the both of them acted like nothing had or was going on. And now she had to watch Catherine act all hysterical as Steve and Danny were buried under a multi-storey building.

Kono stood off to the side with Amber, Danny's new lady-love, and watched as Catherine hovered over the computer as she talked to Steve. Everyone in the team had had the opportunity to talk to the guys except for her, because every single time they called Kono managed to find herself on the other side of the island doing one thing or another. It irked her slightly and woke up the ugly green-eyed monster.

Then again, she didn't really know what she would say if she did get the opportunity to talk to Steve. She had kind of ignored him to best of her ability ever since she got back and found out that Catherine had returned as well. When they eventually did speak, their conversation was limited to work only. That's why she was so surprised to hear what he said next as she listened in to the couple's conversation. Yes, she had sunk so low that she was not above eavesdropping.

"Hey Cath, is Kono around?"

"Yeah, she's here."

"Can you put her on for a minute, please?"

"Sure." Catherine turned around from the screen and smiled at her gently. "Kono!"

She made her excuses to Amber and walked slowly past the rubble that entrapped the man she loved and one of her best friends. Catherine moved away from the screen and left her to it. Then she could finally see him. He looked a little roughed up, but he was still smiling. Even in a dire situation like this he still didn't lose his undying optimism.

"What's up boss?" she asked in what she thought was a cool and professional tone.

"I thought we were past that stage already." Steve quirked an eyebrow at her and grinned like he knew all of her secrets, which he actually did. But his smile quickly turned into a frown as he looked at her. "That's quite the nasty cut you have there on your forehead beautiful, have you had that looked at?"

"I'm fine." she had a light headache, but that was to be expected after the ordeal they have been through today. "Now what do you need me to do?"

"You know that new sushi place you love so much over on King Street?" Kono held her breath. The man had just revealed to everyone present on the sight that he knew her on an intimate level, way more intimate than co-workers. This could blow the last bit of dignity she still clung onto straight out the window. "Give them a call and make a reservation for us tonight. I just need to grab a quick shower first."

"Steve, I don't think-"

"Don't argue with me! I would do I myself but I'm a little tied up here at the moment. Now go. Go get your head checked out, book out table and as soon as I get out of here I'm going to pamper you, and we are going to talk." Kono only nodded, slightly embarrassed. She could literally feel Catherine's stares at the back of her head.

"Can you put Danny on? There's someone here who wants to talk to him." she waved Amber over just in time for Danny to show up on the screen. She needed to get away for a bit.

Kono stepped down from the pile of rubble and tried to slink away unseen as she contemplated what to do. It was now out in the world. Everyone knew or at least had an indication of what had transpired between the two of them. It felt strange and she felt like the biggest idiot on the planet. Falling for her boss who gave her a job on his task-force before she even graduated from the academy. Kono could only imagine what the others at HPD were saying behind her back. And what was with this dinner tonight? What was his endgame?

She could hear footsteps slowly approaching the car she was hiding behind, and she cursed. All she really wanted right now was to be left alone and to have a moment to collect herself before she had to face everyone again. And the headache was really starting to get to her.

"Kono?" came Catherine's soft voice and Kono had to hold back the scream of frustration she wanted to let out. She pinched to bridge of her nose, a trait she had managed to pick up from Steve and took a deep breath before turning around.

"Yeah?"

"You do know that you have nothing at all to be ashamed or embarrassed about, right?" Catherine inquired softly. The soft way she spoke and the friendly expression on her face told Kono that Catherine was not here for any kind of confrontation.

"I'm a walking cliché." she said and threw her arms out for dramatic effect. "I slept with my older and unavailable boss. It's the oldest story in history."

"But it was a lot more than that, wasn't it?" Catherine smirked and quirked an eyebrow at her. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you are an idiot! Steve has not been able to talk about anything but you for months and he couldn't wait for you to come home. I know what it must have looked like to you, to come home and find me here. But there is nothing going on between me and Steve, and there never will be. He is one of my closest friends, just that. Friends. And I would like to think that maybe one day you and I can become friends as well. I would love to get to know the girl that my friend has fallen head over heels for."

To say that Kono was stunned, would be an understatement. It was all a lot to take in. But Catherine's every word was everything Kono wanted to hear. Steve was not involved with Catherine and she was not the only one who had been affected by their time together. It was hard to phantom.

"We are going to get them out and when we do, don't hold back. It hurt him to be away from you, just like I imagine it hurt you as well. You both obviously like each other so don't complicate things too much." Catherine gave her one last smile before walking off to where someone called her name.

Ten minutes later Kono heard an excited shout coming from over by the rubble and she made her way over. There was smoke coming out from a small hole and people were starting to bring equipment to start digging.

Kono bit her lip and tried not to get too excited. They had met dead ends and setbacks all day, there was nothing to say that this was not going to be another one. But as the workers stepped back and sent down a line, Kono dared to get her hopes up. When the familiar blonde mop could be spotted she didn't know what to do with herself. She hugged Danny tight before Chin helped him down to get checked out.

Now it was Steve's turn. They threw down the line again and Kono held her breath until she saw his head come above ground. He was covered in dust residue but otherwise he seemed unharmed. She breathed a sigh of relief and it didn't bother her too much that Catherine got to him first, because before it really registered Steve had pulled out of Catherine's embrace and taken Kono into his arms. Her face got buried in his chest and she took a deep breath. It felt way too good to be back in his arms.

She stayed in his arms for a few minutes and let him sooth her, but when she finally did try to pull away, Steve wouldn't let her. He kept a firm hold on her and started to lead them down from the rubble.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"I am now." Kono smiled.

"Are you going to let me go any time soon?"

"Not very likely." she could literally hear the smirk in the man's voice and she couldn't help but laugh at his confidence. "Now, have you gotten that wound looked at yet?" he asked and brushed the gash on her forehead gently with his fingers.

"I'm fine Steve, I'm not the one who has been trapped under a building all day." Steve just shrugged his shoulders.

He led them over to where Danny stood talking to Amber and Grace, and when the little girl spotted her uncle she broke away from her father and ran up to greet them. Steve embraced the girl with the one arm he did not have wrapped around Kono.

"Uncle Steve!"

"Hey sweetheart." Grace let him press a kiss to her forehead before she ran back to her father's embrace.

"Do you guys think I can talk to Steve for a while?" Danny asked and looked at all the girls to make themselves scares for the moment.

Amber took Grace and led her away to one of the cars that were going to drive them home, while Steve turned her towards one of the ambulances and she groaned. She had no other choice but let the ambostaff to check her out. He wouldn't let it go until she did. So Kono watched from her seat on the rig how the guys embraced and exchanged a few last teasing words before they parted ways. The guy that was patching up her head placed the final gauze on her wound and told her that she was good to go. Steve met her halfway and took her into his arms again.

"All good?"

"Just a scrape." she played off. It hurt a bit more than that.

"Good. Now we have a restaurant to get to."

The night was good. It was beyond good. After Steve got cleaned up and they arrived at the restaurant, they talked non-stop as they ate. It felt like no time passed and it wasn't as hard as she thought it would be to talk about the big elephant in the room. At the end of the night they were in a good place and Steve didn't have to do much convincing for her to agree to come back to his place afterwards.

Steve now lay on his stomach on the couch and she was straddling his legs as she kneaded his sore muscles with her hands as the game played softly in the background. After a day of pushing rubble and a lot of tension, his body was sore and tired. Today had taken its toll on him. Kono in turn relished in the feel of his bare skin again. She loved touching him and this was the first time in months.

"Oh, right there Nani!" he groaned when she hit a particularly sore spot. Kono smiled at the Hawaiian nickname, she loved when he called her that.

When she had worked through his entire back, she stroked him softly up to his neck before she climbed off him and let him sit up. She found herself immediately in his arms, head resting against his bare chest as his hand trailed up and down her arm.

"I've miss this!" he sighed. "It's been way too long."

"Mhm." she hummed in agreement. It really had.

"Is there any way I can persuade you into staying the night and not go home?"

"I don't think you will have to try too hard." she moaned as he placed a kiss in the crook of her neck and he laughed, his chest rumbling under her ear.

"Good, because I really wasn't going to let you go, baby. Not now that I've got you back!"

Every feeling of jealousy and insecurity were long since forgotten and she was perfectly content right where she was. There was no way she could have predicted that this would happen when she woke up this morning, but she was really happy that it had happened. Who knew it would take a falling building for them to get their act together.