A/N: Hello, once more! I am back with the much promised [and delayed] sequel to 'Annoying Steve'. I am sorry it took a while, but real life [boo!] got in the way, and this fic kinda got away from me. It's longer than any of my other one shots, but I hope that doesn't deter anyone! Also, as great and stoic as he is, writing from Steve's POV is really hard! But I think I managed ok in the end. I pray it's not too OOC. Anyway, thank you to everyone who had read, favourite'ed and/or reviewed my fics. You guys are simply brilliant! Hope you enjoy this fic as well! Please R&R!
Thanks, as always, to the awesome cm757. You simply rock. 'Nuff said =) Also to qirjanran, who got me writing whenever cm757 wasn't around. And to Sidalee, for keeping me writing by getting me excited by her ideas, and letting me know that I'm not alone in my weirdness =) This is dedicated to you guys!
1. Forget an important day
Steve had no idea what he was doing sitting in his pickup truck outside of her house. He knew she was home because he had gone to his place first and she hadn't been there, leaving this to be the only logical choice at near 10 in the evening after a long day at work. Also, her car was parked in the driveway.
Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and pulled the keys out of the ignition. If he was going to apologize, he was going to do it tonight. Otherwise it would just fester and build up, and who knew, maybe they'd have another case tomorrow which could last a week and- Yeah, he really needed to get out of the car and simply talk to her.
The walk up to the front door seemed longer with the added weight of guilt to his shoulders, and he wondered if he should have bought her something to show her how bad he felt; flowers or chocolate or some other disgustingly sweet dessert that she loved. It might have helped. God knows he was better with actions than words.
Sighing, he pushed back the thought with a reminder to treat her the next day as he approached the porch, the feeling of guilt and nerves intensifying. Kono had left HQ an hour and a half ago; an hour before he had, after simply dropping a couple of files onto his desk and wishing him a goodnight. He had tried to stop her, but he had had the inkling that she had chosen the moment that he had been on the phone to walk into his office and then leave.
The worst part of it was the fact that she hadn't even said anything about him forgetting or even ignored him out of spite. Sure, she hadn't been her normal self, but it had been nothing too out of the ordinary; behaviour akin to when she was tired or was acting super-professional for some reason. She had even offered him a smile, albeit smaller than usual, when they had managed to finally wrap up the case.
Unfortunately for him, it had been that smile which had made him think about her actions throughout the day before realizing that something had been wrong. He might be great at solving murders and kidnappings, with a meticulous eye for detail, yet somehow he had missed this. And only then had he realised why the smile hadn't been as bright as it should have been, or why everything she had said that day had seemed slightly toned down. But before he could even talk to her about it, they were back on the job and dealing with HPD, the Governor and paperwork.
Which was why Steve was there now. To show that even though he was an idiot, and he really did think of himself as one right then and not just because of Danny's accusations with words worse than that when Steve had driven them back towards HQ after they had caught their suspect, he had remembered that it was their anniversary and that he was sorry it had taken him so long to do so. Even after the various and numerous reminders from his phone. Actually, he might leave that last part out, just for the sake of his ego.
Knocking on the door without a second thought, he waited on her porch until he heard the familiar fall of footsteps on the other side. They were light and soft, clearly barefoot, and they paused briefly before the lock turned and Kono opened the door. If nothing else, Steve was glad that she checked the peephole to see who it was before opening the door. The only security system her place had was herself, her gun and, on occasion, him. He hated it, and she knew it.
She leant against the doorframe and eyed him carefully with crossed arms, so he waited for her to speak first. "You have a key."
"I didn't know if I'd be welcome to use it," he replied honestly, because he truly had no idea what her mood was going to be like. Or really, what it was now. She didn't look angry, but then again, Kono was sometimes as good as he was at hiding emotions. And releasing it with a roundhouse kick or two. But he liked to think he knew her well enough to be able to gauge her feelings, barring the obvious recent failure in that department.
"Like that's stopped you before," she scoffed, rolling her eyes and Steve nodded once with a sheepish smile because that was admittedly true.
His smile faded as they lapsed into silence and neither one of them made a move to go inside. "I'm sorry, Kono. I really am. If it hadn't been for this case, I swear I would have remembered," he apologized, trying to sound as earnest as he could whilst holding back the nerves. "I know it's a pathetic excuse but... I'm sorry."
Standing up straighter, she raised an eyebrow at his words. "Even Danny knew it was our anniversary," she replied nonchalantly, eyeing him as if waiting for a reaction. Unfortunately for Steve, he froze momentarily.
His partner had known? Why hadn't he mentioned it? The guy had no problem telling him about his most inner feelings and deep thoughts, but when it came to something relatively important, he finally decided to keep quiet? What an asshole. "Danny is way too involved in our relationship," he muttered indignantly.
Kono's wry chuckle broke him out of his thoughts on how he would make his partner pay. A ghost of a smile tugged at her lips and he sighed inaudibly in relief. Seriously, only this woman could make him feel nerves and fear in a way that no CO could ever train him against in the Navy.
She pushed away from the doorjamb to walk back into the house; a clear invitation if there was any for him to follow. He did, making sure to lock the door behind him before turning back at her.
"It's ok. I'm not upset that you forgot," Kono said over her shoulder as she walked around the front room. Her demeanour had seemed more relaxed as she turned off the TV that she must have been watching, or left on for some background noise, before perching on the armrest of the lounger. "You forget your own birthday. It's fine. I was just in a bitchy mood." A smirk had appeared on her face before dying down into nothing but a small shrug.
Steve wasn't too sure what to do or say. He was thankful that her tone was as light and teasing as her words, but the guilt still ate at him from inside. This was a situation he hadn't been in before so he had no idea where to go next; something he wasn't use to it.
Pausing halfway towards her he decided to give them both a little space in case he overstepped some boundaries or she tried to hurt him. The chances of both were probably correlated. "We could still do something now. Remember last year? All we did was stay at home and do nothing."
Kono looked at him in amused incredulity. "We stayed in bed, and we didn't do 'nothing'. And that was also because you had forgotten then as well." Steve cringed inwardly. He hadn't thought she knew that. Sometimes he had to wonder why she was still with him.
The memory of that day, where admittedly he had forgotten but made up for it by remembering before she had woken up with quick thinking rescuing him from having to apologize like today, was the reason why had had 5 reminders leading up to his day on his phone. He had promised himself that he would remember this year, because making it a year with the same woman had been an unknown concept for him previously. Making it to two was nothing short of a miracle and meant he had to marry her.
Oh wait, he was. At least something was going right.
"I'll make it up to you," he promised softly, hoping it portrayed how bad he was feeling. From the way Kono shook her head lightly and stood up, he assumed it did. "If you'd like, we can go out tomorrow night."
Rolling her eyes at his suggestion, she smiled as she took a step towards him. "No, it's ok. Save it for next year. God knows by then we'll have to have at least one proper date." Steve nodded slowly, because even though he was sure she didn't mean for her last comment to be aimed at him, it sort of felt like it was. He was pretty sure the nonchalance that he was trying to show wasn't coming across as well as he hoped when Kono exhaled deeply and laughed dryly. "Sorry. Damn, this bitchy mood is hard to get rid of. Let's just go to bed, yeah?"
He nodded again, knowing exactly when to take a peace offering and run with it. The air seemed clearer between them, and when Kono smiled before turning to head towards her bedroom, the weight on his shoulders became much lighter. "Yeah. Sounds good," Steve replied, finally realizing just how tired he was as he followed.
"Don't think this means you're off the hook though, alright? I still expect something as part of the apology," she told him strictly over her shoulder. Opening his mouth to retort that he planned on taking lessons from the previous year to make it up to her starting from right then as they crossed the threshold into her room, he wasn't even able to form the first word before Kono held up a hand to stop him. "And no, sex does not count," she retorted, not even bothering to look at him as she turned down her bedcovers.
Steve pursed his lips to hold back the smile that threaten to break out. How did she do that? It's not like he did it that often. Women might think that all men thought about was sex, but in reality, he had a feeling that they weren't so far behind. It sure explained how she had caught onto his plans so quickly.
"I'll make you breakfast tomorrow," he offered instead, standing at the foot of the bed as she climbed in and sat by the headboard.
Narrowing her eyes at him, she raised an eyebrow. "Breakfast in bed," Kono countered.
"Alright," he agreed whilst turning away and pulling off his shirt before moving towards her. She might have said that sex wouldn't count as part of his apology, but she hadn't said anything about it not happening anyway.
"For a week," she added with a smile playing on her lips that told him that she knew exactly what he was doing. He was glad. After messing up a lot that day, he had to do something right.
Steve paused with a hand on the bed, hovering over her as he contemplated her words. Of course, there could have been a better time to bring this up, like maybe the next day or anytime apart from right then, but he couldn't resist the urge to tease her. "Consecutively or-" Before he could even finish off his question, Kono tugged him towards her with a hand on his neck and pressed their lips together, breaking only when it became necessary. "Ok, a week. Done."
...
2. Not look after himself
Having handed off their runaway suspect to HPD, Steve made his way back to where Danny and Chin were by their cars. They were in the middle of a conversation and if his partner's actions were anything to go by, he was most probably recollecting the events that had just transpired, but with the addition of Danny-view. In other words, exaggerating to the point where if a random member of the public heard, they would most probably request Steve to be institutionalised.
They turned towards him as he joined them, a clear look of relief on Chin's face. Yeah, he felt like that almost every day so he was more than happy to pass it off sometimes.
Danny squinted towards him as he caught sight of him. "You should really get that checked out, Steve. It looks bad," he commented, nodding towards the cut on his forehead. Steve rolled his eyes as he took off his bulletproof vest.
"Its fine," he assured him, even as he accidently brushed it with his hand whilst lifting off his vest. Ok, so maybe it wasn't 'fine', but there was no way he was going to sit around and let an EMT look at it when he could do in half the time.
"He's right, brah," Chin commented. Steve ignored the urge to throw him a glare, because agreeing with Danny only brought about one of his rants. Even if it was him agreeing. There was no pleasing the man. Not that they ever agreed on a lot.
Steve slammed shut the trunk after dropping his vest into it only to see a look of near glee on Danny's face. "See? You can't argue when Chin agrees, babe. Get it checked out."
"I'm not arguing. I'm saying; it's fine," Steve sighed, watching with envy as Chin laughed and left them to it to head to his own car.
"No, you not agreeing means you're arguing." Opening his mouth to point out that he wasn't the one turning this into an argument, he was cut off before he could even form the first word by Danny. "Arguing a fact, because that's what it is; a fact which both Chin and I agree on. See, that's not arguing."
What Steve wanted to say was that just because two people agreed on something didn't make it a fact, because if that was a case, then he truly was insane. Which he wasn't, despite what his partner, fiancée and, on occasion, the Governor thought. Instead, he took in a breath and reminded himself how he had survived this partnership for so long so far; by picking his fights.
"I'll do it myself, alright? Let's just head back," he told him calmly, before making his way back to where Danny still stood by the driver's side of the car.
Danny scoffed incredulously, and Steve crossed his arms in preparation of another rant. "Do it yours- Do it yourself. Huh. What, so now you're a nurse? A doctor, maybe? They teach you how to stitch yourself up in the-" It was the hand actions imitating sewing that made Steve interrupt him.
"Navy? Yes, they do, ok?" he said in a tone that, with any other person, would leave the whole conversation alone.
"I was going to say the Navy!" the blonde exclaimed indignantly. Steve wasn't sure whether he was telling the truth or not, because even after so many years of knowing each other, Danny still managed to get the Army and the Navy mixed up. Though he had began to suspect that it was mostly on purpose just to wind him up. Smiling tightly, he nodded once before walking past him and towards the driver's door. "What are you doing? You're not driving with a head injury."
Ignoring him, Steve opened the door and climbed in as he spoke. "It's not a head injury! It's a minor cut and-" He broke off before he shut the door, sighing exasperatedly when he noticed the look of disbelief on Danny's face. "Quit looking at me like that. Either get in or find your own way back."
::
The need for a shower and a change of clothes came before the want to even get started on any of the paperwork for the case they had just closed. Not that he ever had the want to start paperwork. But this time, he had had a valid reason to put it off after all the running whilst chasing their perp in near 100 degrees weather.
He was pulling on a new t-shirt when the sound of the door opening and shutting echoed through the otherwise empty locker room. The light fall of footsteps told him who it was before she even appeared in his line of sight.
Kono stopped at the end of the row of lockers with hands tucked casually into the back pockets of her jeans. Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as he shut his locker, he had to push back the urge to grab her and- Well, he hadn't thought that far ahead because there was a chance that if he did, he might end up acting on it. Which as great as it was in theory, would not be in reality. Privacy was almost non-existent around the Five-0 HQ.
"Hey, so Danny said that I needed to see you for some reason?" she said, tilting her head slightly to the right as she turned the sentence into a question. Her eyes roamed his face when he finally looked at her. Steve could tell the exact moment she saw the gnash on his forehead. "I'm guessing it's that."
Silently cursing Danny, he let out a sigh of frustration. Weren't partners supposed to be trustworthy? "It's fine," he repeated once again.
Kono nodded, chuckling wryly as she stepped closer to him. "I'm sure it is. But to stop your, uh, brain from maybe falling out, lemme see," she told him sardonically. Rolling his eyes, he let her tug him by the arm towards the sinks. He assumed it was for the better lighting, which he blamed for probably making the cut seem worse when she winced as she took a closer look at it. "So was it a fist or a brick that did this?"
"It's not that bad," he scoffed, seriously not understanding the need to make such a big fuss over his injury. It's not like he didn't get injured frequently, and sometimes, it was worse than a small cut. He kept that quiet with the knowledge that it wasn't something that she would want to hear. Instead, Steve leant back against the counter and crossed his arms when she went over to the cupboard and pulled out a first aid kit.
"You're right. Looks more like metal pipe," she replied, busying herself with the opening the kit and rifling through it. Her tone was serious and so matter-of-fact that he had to wonder just how much his partner had told her exactly. They really needed to have a talk about the limits of disclosure. Soon. "You're lucky you have a thick head,"
"Thanks, Kono," he said drily, watching as she stepped up next to him with an antiseptic wipe packet in her hand.
"This is gonna sting," she told him, ripping the packet open to retrieve the cloth inside. Despite his insisting and arguing, he had taken a look at the cut himself and realised just how bad it really was. Which was why he had cleaned it up himself with water, because the idea of anything containing alcohol touching it was almost as painful as the actual act would be.
Pursing his lips, he glanced at her hands before looking up at her. "Just put a band aid over it. It's stopped bleeding already," Steve shrugged, hoping he sounded as nonchalant as he had hoped for. He had gone through BUD/S training; heck, he had graduated top of his class. He had experienced torture in its most ugliest form, as well as been shot, stabbed and tasered. A little pain was not something he feared. Well, should fear.
Kono let out a wry laugh, breaking him out of his thoughts. "No, I'm gonna clean it out like any other normal person would when they get hit in the face with a rusty metal pipe," she said slowly, as if she was talking to a child. He let this one go to focus on not reacting to the sharp stinging pain when she dabbed lightly at his forehead, her other hand on his opposite cheek to keep him from moving his head away.
Closing his eyes, Steve let out a deep breath before getting back to the topic on hand. "What makes you think it was rusty?"
"It's you," she retorted as if it explained everything. It didn't. What was that supposed to mean? It's not like he tried to get into situations that required him to jump from a wall before rounding a corner, where their suspect was ready for him. Luckily for Steve, he had good reflexes and managed to get him down before the perp got another hit in.
The frown on her face made him glad that she had been at the HQ, tracking the guy for them and getting in touch with HPD. Danny and Chin, he could easily fend off. Kono; not so much.
The coolness that the alcohol created as she blew gently on the injury soothed away the pain much quicker than he had thought possible. Though it might have had something to do with the fact that, simply, it was her. "God, Steve, this is pretty deep. You're lucky you don't need stitches. But you will need to use some antiseptic cream on it until it heals. It looks clean, but you never know."
"Whatever you say, nurse," he smirked, opening his eyes once she moved away. The glare she shot him told him that the annoyed undertone that had lined her previous words wasn't yet forgotten.
"Please. As if I'll be the nurse you're imagining," Kono muttered, peeling a strip of butterfly bandages and laying it onto the counter next to him when she walked back up to him. Without any warning, she pushed at his jaw a bit rougher than he thought was necessary to get him to turn his head once again so she could get the best angle to work at. "Especially after this. You always push us lot to get checked out, even when it really is a tiny scratch. Try using it on yourself. Just once."
There was a look of pure concentration on her face as she laid the first two bandages on his forehead, and Steve could feel her carefully controlled breathing against his cheek. A smile played on his lips at the thought of how nice being cared for by her felt. Huh. Maybe he should have exploited this more often instead of always brushing off her worry with a simple 'I'm fine', and sometimes a kiss to prove his point.
"But then we wouldn't get moments like these," he finally said as she pulled away to get another Steri-strip.
"You keep it up, and you won't get anything." The meaning to her words were clearer than day, so he kept his mouth shut before he said something to add to his actions. It didn't take long before she was done, at which she patted his cheek. "And don't think I'll marry you if you mess up this pretty face with scars."
He raised an eyebrow at her statement, slightly dumbstruck, as she casually walked away to throw the rubbish into the trash can and wash her hands. "That's- That's kinda vain, Kono."
Heading for the door, she turned and shrugged at his reply. "What can I say? I'm a vain kinda person."
...
3. Distract her whilst working
The corner in the nightclub where they were sat was dark and secluded, and if it wasn't for the fact that they were working, Steve would have been very aware of the awkwardness of sharing the said corner table with his partner. However, thankfully, he had a beer in his hand and his eyes fixated on their only female partner as she began to entice their person of interest.
"So, this is fun," Danny muttered, sipping his own drink before placing it down onto the table and staring at him from where he sat on his right so that they could both see the rest of the club.
"It's an undercover job, Danny. What did you expect?" Steve replied, not bothering to avert his eyes from where Kono had finally begun a conversation with the man they were interested in. They were on the opposite side of the floor and at a table which was graced with only dim lighting. It was enough for him to watch the two of them.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Kono to do her job, or doubted her skills to get it done, because let's face it; if anyone knew about the abilities she had to captivate someone on first hand basis, it was him. He was just edgy because they were running out of time, and for some reason, Kono had taken to actually talking-to his man when all they needed was his security pass to the storage rooms.
Danny had seemed to have had the same thought, groaning as he slammed down his bottle again and tilted his head back. "Why doesn't she just kiss him already? I can tell you; it'd work."
This time, Steve did turn to glare at him, unimpressed by his words. Danny never passed up an opportunity to bring up their kiss from their undercover stint back when Five-0 was simply named 'the Governor's task force'. And each and every time, it took everything in him to remind himself that it had just been a distraction method, and shooting his partner would entail in a lot of paperwork.
Chin's voice via their earpieces stopped him from retorting. "Guys, we have just over 20 minutes before our window closes," he informed them from where he was waiting outside in their surveillance van, monitoring the cameras and the area around them, as well as what they were saying. Steve couldn't say he blamed him for choosing the job. It couldn't be easy to watch your little cousin try to seduce a man whilst dressed in the tightest dark purple mini-dress with strappy heels.
The same woman who was now practically sitting on the man's lap, arms hidden somewhere between their two bodies with her face right up to his. Steve rolled his eyes, hoping that the move was to make it easier to slip her hand into his pocket and snatch what they wanted.
Raising his wrist to his mouth, he smirked as he spoke into the microphone on his cuff, especially as she stiffened at his words. "You're meant to be grabbing his ID card, not giving him a lapdance, sweetheart," he told her, only half-joking. Kono turned to look over her shoulder when the man she was with looked the other way and aiming a look of pure irritation in their general direction.
"Wow," Danny commented dryly, earning him his attention as Steve looked at him, curious. "You really have a death wish, don't you?"
Ignoring him, he went back to keeping an eye on the situation, which is what he was telling himself he was doing, only to find that Kono had disappeared. The man, however, was still there, and he didn't look too upset. If anything, he looked rather smug. Yeah, Kono seemed to have that effect on a lot of guys she had to play nice with. She must have excused herself to go to the ladies room; the hallway to which was just behind them.
Following the path from that table to theirs with his eyes, he saw her approaching them slowly, weaving in and out of other people so to hide her destination from any suspecting eyes. She didn't look too happy; a blank face and pursed lips graced her features as she got closer.
Steve had to suppress a groan as she dug her stiletto heel into the top of his shoe when she reached them. For a woman who barely weighed anything, she could really cause some pain. "If that's what you call a lapdance, then clearly, I'm not doing something right, boss," she whispered harshly yet teasingly in his ear, barely stopping and passing them without another look or word; just slipping him the ID card and a leaving a small throbbing sensation in his left foot.
"What did she say?" Danny asked eagerly as they watched her walk away towards the back of the club, but Steve merely shook his head and picking up the pass that they needed.
Clearing his throat to get rid of her words, he downed the rest of his beer and stood up. "Nothing. Let's go."
...
4. Bring explosives into the house
Patience was not a virtue that he did well, as many people who knew him, and some who didn't, would probably attest to. Which was why he managed to amaze himself with the fact that he was still working on his father's car. It wasn't the easiest job in the world, nor the most fun or relaxing, but there was something about it that kept pushing him to finish it.
And he did try his best to do so until he got interrupted, usually by a phone call informing him of another case. Or people. This time, Kono. It wasn't the most unpleasant distraction. Well, it usually wasn't, but if the way she was yelling for him was anything to go by, he guessed it wasn't going to be anything good.
He wiped his hands roughly on a cloth, trying to get as much of the sticky and slippery oil off of them as he made his way back into the main part of the house. Footsteps sounded on the upstairs hallway as she called out his name once again, this time more urgent, and by the time he reached the front room, he wasn't too surprised to find her approaching the upstairs railings overlooking the room.
She paused when she spotted him, a look of shock, confusion, and was that exasperation that was on her face? Steve merely raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms as he leant against the back of the recliner so that he could see her, wondering what was going on. If he was being honest with himself, he knew deep down what it would be. But he would like to hear it from her first.
"There is a box of grenades in the bedroom," she told him, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder to where she had just come from. Steve nodded once, but kept quiet. He knew this. He was the one who had put it there the night before. Kono hadn't seemed too impressed by his lack of reaction, though. "Why is there a box of grenades in the bedroom?"
Shrugging, he gave her the most basic reason. "Because Danny made me move it." It was the truth. He left out the fact that he had to listen to an almost 30 minute rant about it, even after he had agreed to move it. It might have been a record had Steve actually cared or listened.
"Where was it before?" she asked him, curiosity clearly getting the better of her.
The agitation was still visible in the way she tapped her fingers against the wood of the railings as she rested her hands against them, making a repetitive sound that was slowly starting to get to him. But she looked irritated enough, and he knew better than to push her at times, because, contrary to popular belief, he did learn from past mistakes.
"In the car," Steve informed her nonchalantly. "He said he didn't want it around Grace."
Scoffing, Kono stopped her tapping, much to his relief, to throw a hand out in disbelief. "Do you blame him? I don't want it around me!" Her exclamation was punctuated by using her free hand to point at herself, making him briefly wonder just how much time she had been spending with his partner.
"I thought I taught you how to use them?" he turned it into a question, because even though he vividly remembered teaching her, he was pretty sure it would do nothing to diffuse the situation. In his opinion, this whole conversation was rather pointless. If he had known she'd be so bothered about it, he would have hid it better in the first place.
Though, now that he thought about it, the fact that he had hid it in one of the cupboards that he thought she would never look into, should have been an obvious clue that she would care. Ok, maybe he should have talked this through with her first. Or at least have thought it through better.
Steve was snapped from his thoughts at Kono's sharp response. "Besides the point, Steve!" The only thing he could do in response was to keep quiet as he contemplated her words.
On the one hand, she had never really specified her feelings about having weapons in the house considering how much he had already. On the other hand, though, as lenient as she was with the crazy things he did, he guessed she did have to draw the line somewhere.
There was a small groan as she dropped her face into her hands, elbows now resting on the railings. "Sorry?" he apologized, trying his luck even though he sort of already knew that he wasn't going to get out of this one with an easy utterance of one word.
Kono chuckled dryly as she removed her hands and tilted her head up towards the ceiling. "God. Why couldn't I date someone normal?" she muttered loud enough for him to hear.
"Where's the fun in normal?" Steve rolled his eyes as he tried to bite back the smirk that threatened to break out as she looked down at him with narrowed eyes, unimpressed.
"Normal people don't have to worry about explosives in the bedroom," she retorted, leaning forwards on her arms and quirking an eyebrow as if challenging him to argue. He had been in this relationship long enough to learn when not to take the bait. "Find somewhere else to put them. You do have a whole house," she told him with a sigh, waving a hand around the place.
He shifted on his feet and unfolded his arms, standing up straight. "You also have a house. You can always sleep there," he reminded her, because it was true, despite the fact that they spent most of their time at his place. He had asked her to move in several times before simply telling her to do so, but she had always refused, saying that she liked having her own place. Though when he thought about it, he couldn't remember the last time they had spent a night apart. Yeah, he didn't get it either, but he had given up on arguing it. She was practically living with him as it was. That's all that mattered to him.
"Don't tempt me, Steven," Kono told him warningly. Her tone might have seemed serious, but he knew as much as she did that there was nothing behind her threat. If there had been, then he wouldn't have suggested it in the first place.
"I'll move them, ok?" he assured her, smiling softly and holding his hands up in the universal sign of surrender.
"Now?" It might have been a question, but Steve knew there was only one way to answer it correctly.
"Yes," he said before pushing himself off of the recliner and making his way back towards the garage.
"Where are you going?" Kono asked him as soon as he started moving, probably realizing immediately that he was heading in the wrong direction. Well, she was a cop, and a pretty damn good one at that, even if he did say so himself. He didn't hire just anyone.
Pausing, he turned back to face her and held up his hands once again, this time to show her his palms. "To wash my hands. They're oily. Is that ok with you?" he explained, before adding with a teasing smirk. "Wouldn't wanna drop the box of explosives."
He watched as she pursed her lips, trying to bite back a smile that was tugging at the corners of her lips. "You're not funny." Steve grinned at her curt reply. "Just go!"
...
5. Talk about inappropriate things at work
"How about that place from this morning?" Steve asked, breaking the silence that they were in. It wasn't that he was bored, because they were actually working and he did have good company. Only, sitting in the car for the past 30 minutes without seeing anything and with no sign of anything happening anytime soon just wasn't enough to keep him from getting restless. He was a man of action. Not this.
Kono turned her head to look at him from the passenger's seat, keeping her head rested against her hand that was propped up on the door. "What about it?" she asked back in confusion.
"For the wedding. It was nice," he told her, glancing over from where he was peering out of the window. Knowing their luck with this case so far, the moment they took their eye off of things, something would happen. "Even Danny agreed it would be a nice place to get married."
"You two talk about wedding plans?" Amusement and disbelief lined her words even as she smirked at him. Rolling his eyes, he looked back out of the windscreen at the house they were babysitting.
"I'm just saying, alright. It had a great view," Steve shrugged, feeling slightly self-conscious at her words. Ok, so they had been at there because of a crime, but it had been his partner who had noticed the sign stating the names of a couple who were getting married there probably right then, before adding that it wasn't such a bad place. For Hawaii, that was.
Silence stretched between them once again before he heard her sigh. "Maybe. Can we talk about this later? We're on a stakeout in case you've forgotten." Oh yeah, like he could have forgotten. Sure, he was glad that he was there with Kono, but it didn't change the fact that they were there.
"Got nothing better to do," he stated, to which he was glad to hear no argument against but rather a murmured reply of 'true'. "Well, if not that place, then how about the beach or something?"
"Not too keen on getting sand on my dress," she replied, furrowing her brow as if even the thought of it made her angry. Steve nodded and moved on, averting his eyes back towards her.
"A hotel?" he suggested.
Kono scoffed and smirked. "Yeah, 'cause that's romantic," she commented with a small shove on his arm, to which he held up his hands in compliance.
Laughing softly, he carried on with any other ideas that he could think of, glad that she was going along with the conversation. Not only did it pass time, but it also took care of the important discussion that they hardly never managed to have. Or rather, took the time to have. Somehow they always found other things to do in their spare time.
"Ok, ok. How about up on a one of the hills somewhere? Near a lookout point," Steve asked, recalling the few hiking trips they had been on and the beautiful views that she had seemed to love so much.
"I don't even wanna think about what could go wrong there," she told him with a tone of annoyance, shaking her head and instantly vetoing his idea.
Steve exhaled deeply, doing his best to keep his exasperation in check. "C'mon Kono. At least I'm trying. We've been engaged for over a year. You don't wanna get married yet?" It wasn't that he was impatient- Ok, maybe it did have something to do with that, but more to the point, the longer they put it off, the more he started to worry that perhaps something would happen and they just won't get married. So yeah, he had some insecurities but he was only human.
Shifting in her seat to sit up straight, Kono faltered before she answered, earnestly. "Of course I do." The hesitation was very small, and almost unrecognisable, except to someone who knew her well.
Looking over at her instantly, he eyed her with what he assumed would be his laser focused glare. To him, it was the one that he used to stare down people until they broke. It didn't usually work with her.
"You paused," he finally said, matter-of-factly. Pausing was bad. People didn't pause when they honestly meant something. They paused when they were hiding something.
She rolled her eyes at him condescendingly. "I didn't. Look, I want it to be simple. No hassle, no fuss, and oh my God, no Danny whining about everything like he did at Chin's wedding."
Chuckling lightly at the memory, he nodded in accordance. It had been pretty funny to hear all the complaining, mainly because it wasn't aimed at him for once. "And how do you propose we do that?" Steve asked, genuinely intrigued. Because unless he was mistaken, which he highly doubted he was, her tone, coupled with the apprehensive look on her face as she turned in her seat towards him, she had already planned something.
"By eloping," Kono stated without missing a beat. Steve snapped his head back to look at her from where he had just began watching the house once again, wondering if he had heard her correctly.
He eyed her carefully to try and detect any traces of teasing to see if she was just attempting to get a rise out of him. However, there was no tell-tale twinkle in her eye, or smile tugging at her lips. Instead, she looked the picture of sincerity. "Eloping? I- Are you serious?" he asked, faltering slightly as he did so. It didn't help that she seemed to find it all amusing suddenly.
"Yeah. What, it's not that much of a surprise. I've been dropping hints for months now. I even said, 'Steve, let's elope' that other week when we were having lunch," she replied slowly, indicating that she couldn't believe he hadn't picked up on it.
Inhaling deeply, he ran a hand over his face before letting it fall back to the door armrest. "I thought you were kidding," Steve said defensively.
"I wasn't," she retorted. Well, obviously, he realised that now. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realised that eloping did not really sound like a bad idea. It would definitely take care of the whole venue issue, and it would be easier to fit in with their busy lives.
"Eloping. Huh, ok," he finally said, agreeing easily. Kono bit her bottom lip as she grinned unabashedly at his reply, and he knew he had said the right thing. "You do realize your whole family will kill you though, right? Or rather, me. And they don't like me enough as it is."
That was an understatement, but saying that her family really didn't like him, or rather hated him, would just get them off topic. For some reason, they didn't really approve of her dating, and now marrying, a man who broke laws, got into gunfights on a daily basis, drove worse than her and on a motorcycle, and put her undercover with dangerous criminals a lot. Go figure.
Smile still gracing her features, she rolled her eyes at him once again before glancing back out of the window. "They wouldn't."
"You sure about this? A small courthouse wedding?" Steve asked cautiously, so not to make her think that he wanted her to change her mind.
Her eyes flickered to his before going back to watch the house. The action worried him, especially when he saw her left thumb slowly rotate her engagement ring around her finger; a small nervous tick of hers. "Actually I was thinking city hall." Oh. Maybe he had read that wrong this time.
"What about Chin and Danny?" he questioned. "We can avoid your family but we gotta work with them." Also, he would sort of like to have them there. He wasn't a sentimental person, but they were the only family he had on the island.
"They can be our witnesses. Besides, I think you promised a certain 11 year old that they could be a flower girl and I know you don't break your promises," Kono reminded him, teasing him with an affectionate tone.
He smiled softly at the memory of Grace asking him one day not long after they had gotten engaged if she could be a flower girl because she had had practice from her mother's wedding, and found it fun. Of course, Steve couldn't say no to her more than he could to the woman next to him, and so the little girl had managed to get a promise out of him without even trying.
Looking over at her, he waited until she did the same before speaking. "Ok. If you're sure, then just say when and where, and we'll go."
"We'll need a marriage license, but as soon as that comes through, it's just the matter of rings and a dress." Arching an eyebrow at the last statement, he smirked as she narrowed her eyes at him. "I need a wedding dress, Steve. I'm not skipping out on that."
He decided not to comment at her insistent words, because honestly, he was glad. It would be a great sight to see. "I can get us a license by tomorrow." This time, it was his turn to be on the receiving end of a raised eyebrow and an incredulous look. "What? I have pull." Which he did. Being in charge of the Governor's special task force had more than its fair share of perks.
"Then whenever we get the rest sorted," Kono said and he could feel her eyes on him as he turned back to do their job. Thankfully, nothing had happened in the short time where neither one of them had been paying attention to it. "Are you fine with this? You barely thought it over."
"I don't need to." Because he really didn't. This was a scenario where they were actually getting married. Him and Kono. Married. And soon. Why would he need to think about that? "I'm more than fine with it," he reassured her nonetheless.
"We can get Mary to fly over, too. We can wait until then." Shame flooded him when it occurred that during this whole discussion, he hasn't really spared a thought to his sister. Though he reasoned with himself that it was because chances were she would find out anyway, what with the way her and Kono kept in contact more than she did with him. "I don't want you not to have her there. I mean, I'll have Chin. And I guess we can both share Danny."
Steve smirked, resting his head back against the seat and glanced at her. "We'll see. I'll call her when things are set in stone and we'll see if she can make it." Kono smiled softly back at him even as her eyes strayed out of the window.
"Ok. Now, are we done? 'Cause I think I saw some movement in the upstairs window," she informed him, going back into professional mode quicker than he could blink. Impressed, he turned to watch said window and house, pushing aside their talk for the moment and got back to work as well.
A/N: Thanks for reading! =D Lemme know what you think, please?