The adults head off to lunch soon after, and it's just Isaac, Danny, Malea, and their cousins. They've barely been alone for five minutes before Kai comes out of the kitchen, a mouthful of leftover cut fruit Danny knows he got out of the fridge with his bare fingers. Heathen.

Meka's right behind him, as per usual. Seriously, Danny's not sure if it's just some sort of hero complex or something, but Meka's never more than a few steps behind his brother. And it's always behind. Because God forbid someone other than Kai take the lead.

He really doesn't hate hit cousins; he feels like he needs to clarify that sometimes. He doesn't hate them. He actually loves them. They just have the amazing ability to annoy the living hell out of him without even trying.

"Storm brought in some kickass waves," he says. "Whaddya say we go catch a few?" Which Danny knows is Kai for 'we're going out surfing, and if you don't come, we're gonna give you crap for it for the rest of the week.'

Normally, Danny doesn't mind. He likes surfing, and even though there are beaches in California, there's nothing quite like hitting the waves of Hawaii after a storm's churned everything up.

There's just one problem, though, and Danny's about to bring it up—

But Meka beats him to the punch.

"Can you even surf, haole?" he asks. It's not so much a genuine question as a challenge, though, and Danny has half a mind to warn him about that – Isaac might be the sweetest guy Danny's ever met, but it also doesn't pay to challenge him. He does have that asshole side of him that he whips out and dusts off from time to time.

He stops himself, though, this time. For two reasons. For one, he thinks it's probably a good thing Isaac go ahead and put his foot down, get it out of the way. And if he can put Meka in his place in the process, well then that's just two birds with one gloriously quick-witted werewolf stone.

For two, and somewhat related to the subject of werewolves and stones, as much as Danny loves sweet Isaac, asshole Isaac is also definitely a turn-on. And he's not really an asshole. He just stands up for himself. He's confident. He always is, but it's like there's sort of this shift from that unspoken sort of confidence to the 'piss me off, I dare you' confidence. He seems to stand a little taller, still in that relaxed semi-slouch of his, but there's something a little more…predatory about it. One side of his lips curls up into a smirk, showing off just enough teeth, and his eyes flash and—

God, it shouldn't be as hot as it is.

"What'd you call me?" Isaac asks, and just like Meka, it's not so much a question as a challenge. There's a genuine curiosity there, but it's a small part of a larger, more intimidating whole.

It's not until that moment that Danny understands what the confusion is all about. He's just so used to hearing 'haole' that he doesn't even register how it sounds anymore. Except now he does, and he's torn between laughing and cringing. Because, as it turns out, 'haole' sounds an awful lot like 'howlie,' and he wonders vaguely if Isaac things his cousin just made some sort of anti-werewolf slur. Which would explain the little bit of a strain he sees in his shoulders. The tension.

Danny thinks that's a good time to step in.

"Haole," he says, careful to enunciate so that it doesn't quite sound like that. "It means—"

"It means white boy," Kai interrupts.

Danny shoots him a look, but sighs. He knows by now there's really no sense getting mad at them. It's not their fault; they are who they are – plural, because Danny can't remember a time he ever saw the two apart.

Who they are just happens to be obnoxious asses sometimes.

"You remember when I was telling you about 'ha,' right?" Danny says, aiming for a slightly less offensive explanation. Isaac nods, and Danny's relieved to see at least a little bit of the tension ebbing from his shoulders. "Well, 'ole' means without. It's because, when white people first came to the island, they greeted with handshakes instead of the honi, so they didn't exchange ha. Ergo, ha-ole. Without ha."

"Huh." There's a little flash of Isaac's usual sweetness – his badass is reserved for Danny's cousins, apparently, which is good – as he does that things with his lips where he pulls the corners down.

"We done with this little island history lesson?" Kai cuts in, and Isaac doesn't turn back towards him, but Danny knows he's got his attention. "'Cause I kinda wanna get out before the waves go down." He raises his eyebrow at Isaac. "That is if your boyfriend here can surf."

And that is what Danny was trying to ask Isaac before his cousins cut in. Because he actually doesn't know. It occurs to him now that he probably should've asked before all this, but in the chaos of trying to get everything worked out, it just never crossed his mind.

There's an out on his lips, a way for Isaac to back down and not look bad in front of Danny's cousins – Danny doesn't really care if he can't surf, but he doesn't want Isaac's pride to take a hit – but this time, of all people in the room, it's Isaac that interrupts him.

"I think I can figure it out," he says, voice steady and casual, and somehow, Danny gets the feeling he more than thinks it. And as his cousins grin and head out to the boathouse to get some boards, Danny catches Isaac by the arm.

"You surf?" he says. "I mean, I don't doubt that you can; I just didn't know that you…" he trails off, waving vaguely for Isaac to fill in the blanks himself. Great, he thinks, now he's going all awkward.

But Isaac just grins like he thinks it's cute – of course he does – and leans in to steal a kiss. "I've lived in California almost my whole life, and I like extreme sports," he says. "Yeah, Danny. I surf."

"Oh. Okay then." Danny's not going to question it any more than that. If Isaac says he can, then he believes him. Instead, his lips pull up into a smirk of their own, and he quirks his eyebrow. "Let's see you put your money where your mouth is, then." And then he sprints off, knowing full well Isaac can catch him if he wants to.

He doesn't, though. They get out to the boathouse – essentially a cinderblock shack out between the beach and the house, where they keep their boards and their skis and all the stuff that's not actually the boat which they keep at the harbor – where Danny's cousins are already rifling through the boards to pick their favorites. They all have favorites, and then there are a few they keep for visitors. They're all good quality boards, though, so Danny doesn't feel bad about letting Isaac pick one of the leftovers. Hell, some of them are probably better than Danny's.

He smiles as Isaac comes up behind him, slipping an arm around his waist. Any concerns Danny had about Isaac being standoffish around his cousins are gone; if anything, he's more touchy. Danny wonders if it's a wolf-territorial thing, but then decides he really doesn't mind. He just wants to enjoy it.

"I beat you," he says.

Isaac gives a one-sided shrug. "Maybe I was just enjoying the view." And he's about to lean in to steal a kiss when the sound of gagging from the boathouse stops them. Danny see's Isaac's lip twitch into something that looks an awful lot like a snarl, and there's a quiet rumble Danny feels against his chest. He knows Isaac's genuine growl enough to know that that's not it; he thinks it's mostly just for his sake. Letting Danny know he's annoyed.

Danny bites back an apology – if only because he knows that's not what Isaac's trying to get out of him so much as a 'I really wanted to kiss you, too' – and shoots his cousins a glare.

"What are you? Ten?" he shoots back, slipping out from Isaac's arm to go grab his board. He assumes Isaac's gonna follow, and he's not disappointed.

Unfortunately, his cousins don't know when to leave well enough alone.

"Damn, Danny," says Meka. "It's bad enough you're bringing dudes home; you gotta bring home a haole." He shakes his head, like he's actually ashamed of him. Danny admits; it would probably hurt.

If he didn't know his cousin was just doing it to be an asshole.

He ignores him, summoning Isaac with a nod towards the board rack. He picks his own out, and watches as Isaac sifts through the others. Part of him wants to suggest which ones are good, but if Isaac surfs, then he's pretty sure he'll know which ones are the best.

He doesn't disappoint. Of course he doesn't. He picks the second best board, and Danny thinks the only reason he doesn't go for the best is because it hasn't been waxed, judging by the way he runs his thumb over the edge and frowns before going to the next board. So far, so good. Now, Danny's starting to worry about making a fool out of himself. Which he probably shouldn't. He's got a box full of medals that say he's damn good on a board. He just never had to do those competitions with the guy of his dreams watching in the wings or sharing the waves. That could add a level of difficulty.

But it's one he'll gratefully embrace. He loves having Isaac there, and if the little bit of joy he sees in his eyes when he picks up the board is anything to go by, Isaac's pretty happy about this, too. It makes him wonder, with all the stuff he had to do back when his dad…well, between work and school and everything,

"How long's it been since you got to go surfing?"

There's a flash of sadness as Isaac tucks the board under his arm. "A while," is what he says, and Danny knows better than to press. When it comes to anything involving his father, the things he had to suffer living with him, the things he had to give up, Danny knows better than to press. What he offers is what Danny takes, and he'll wait for when Isaac is ready to say more.

"Well then," he says instead, tucking his own board under his arm and leading him out of the board house. "let's hope you aren't too rusty."

That earns him a chuckle and that crooked smile – not a smirk, and Danny's kind of glad, because as hot as the confident asshole side of Isaac is, it's the quiet, sweet side of him that Danny's really in love with – as they head out of the boathouse and jog back up to the house. "Yeah, let's hope."