AU PLOT

[haolehothead]

Danny is not accustomed to: Hawaii heat, spam on restaurant menus, pidgin English, and waking up with too much hair, less height, and distinctly different body parts. He's too goddamn tired to put much thought to it beyond 'really wacked-out dream' and so he grunts and shifts in order to clamber on top of Steve a little more, working half his torso -- what the fuck, how is he so short, how is there so little of him? -- on top of Steve and wrapping his arms around him to get more comfortable.

"Steve," Danny mutters, voice low but clearly a bit different. "If you freak when you wake up, I'm kneeing you in the balls." And after a year of waking up next to Steve, Danny's got a pretty good read on how to do it half-asleep.

Comments

[newkindofcop]

Steve starts to move but Danny's already there, somehow crowding into his space with those impressive high heels on, slender wrist turning to slip a smaller, softer hand down the front of his pants, and his hips jerk as he grits his teeth, hissing quietly. "You sure it's rage you're trying to get out, Danno?"

[haolehothead]

Danny's just angry right now, angry at the implication that some more sex is gonna solve this, so he withdraws his hand and because he loves Steve, he does, because he loves him and his face, Danny punches for the gut using all his weight behind him, aware that Navy-Boy can take it.

[newkindofcop]

It's a smaller fist but it packs almost as much punch, and Steve half-doubles, catching Danny's arm in his wrist as he recoils and spinning him around, pinning his arm behind his back and slinging his own arm across Danny's shoulders, breathing ragged against his ear. "I'm not mad only because I know you didn't mean it."

[haolehothead]

Danny curses and bends half-over, the pain radiating through his arm -- just like old times -- and he stomps on Steve's toe with a heel while muttering a, "Fuck you, McGarrett, and lemme go beat up a suspect instead of my husband, okay?"

[newkindofcop]

Steve winces, and silently thanks the powers that be for steel-toed combat boots, but he still kisses the top of Danny's head just the same. "Go to the gym and pound on one of the punching bags, okay? Nothing that can hit back."

[haolehothead]

Danny settles, just long enough to yank his arm out of Steve's grip, turning and glaring at him. "Right now, I wanna just hit you so bad," he says. "Right in the face, I just wanna punch you," Danny says, shaking his head and bending down to yank off the shoes. "Kono!" he shouts. "I'm borrowing your gym clothes!"

She sends back a, "don't stretch them!" and Danny gives her the finger as he heads downstairs to go to the gym and change, not even able to put into words how annoyed he is.

[newkindofcop]

Steve follows Danny as far as the door to his office, standing against the doorframe and frowning after him in the wake of high heels pounding against the floor and the slight scent of shampoo.

"Boss?" Kono tentatively prompts.

Steve sighs.

"I wish I knew."

[haolehothead]

Danny strips off the clothes in a hurry, putting on Kono's gym shorts which are too small by half, and the tank top over the bra, trying to avoid staring in the mirror because holy fuck, this is actually making him want to punch things, makes him want to scream and maybe cry just a little, but he doesn't need to tell that to anyone.

Nothing that can hit back. Danny's nostrils flare as he draws in a fast breath and stares at the punching bag, wrapping up his hands with tape instead of gloves, flexing his fingers and just letting loose with one-two combos and upper cuts.

[newkindofcop]

He follows after a while. It's going to nag at him all day if he doesn't, and so far Chin hasn't come up with any leads to tie Danny's - well, transformation is the only word that springs to mind - to anything they've tackled recently.

"I'll keep looking," he promises, giving Steve the kind of look that says, don't you have somewhere else to be?

It's how Steve finds himself in the gym later, resting his hands on either side of the punching bag and holding it steady for Danny's hits, not saying anything to announce his presence. Just being there, standing firm, while Danny releases all of his frustration.

[haolehothead]

Danny notices when the bag stops swaying. He doesn't know how long it's been, just that he's sweating and it's pouring down in rivulets from hair through his whole body. He's barefoot and he's short and Kono's shorts and shirt are just a little too tight and Danny wants his clothes back. He wants his body back.

He lets out a growl of frustration and clubs at the bag, wrapping both hands around it and pressing his forehead to the fabric, breathing out raggedly and wanting something that can hit back.

[newkindofcop]

Steve stays quiet for a few more moments as Danny's arms encircle the bag, grazing his fingertips, and he frowns in thought, looking down at the floor mats.

He only moves to reach for a pair of hand pads, strapping them onto his fingers, and holds his hands up, palms out towards Danny, offering him a more realistic target on which to vent.

[haolehothead]

Danny pries himself tiredly away from the bag. He brushes at his cheek with the back of a hand, sweat and just the slightest of tears there from the hopeless feeling he gets down in his very stomach. He retapes his hands and still doesn't go for the gloves, just stepping forward as aggressively as possible, wailing on the pads with each fist, like he's back in training and he has to do this to make up for his height.

[newkindofcop]

"Sure you don't need the gloves?" Steve quietly suggests. It's not that he thinks Danny's fragile, but the bones in his hand are smaller than the ones he's normally used to, and given the way he's going all out on the pads, Steve's starting to get concerned about potential stress fractures.

[haolehothead]

Danny abandons the hits for a minute, palms flat and out, and he shoves at the pads instead, shoves and shoves until he's got Steve back up against the wall and his chest feels so hot and tight that he wonders if this is what a heart attack feels like. He swings for the face, trusting that Steve's gonna block it.

[newkindofcop]

Steve does, especially when Danny pulls back and leads with his shoulder, clueing him in that the hit's coming higher to begin with, his forearm blocking the hand when his back hits the wall, brow knit with confusion as Danny pushes his way into his space. The sound of the velcro is almost deafening in the empty gym when he rips the pads off his hands, pressing his own way forward, looking down at Danny, almost silently challenging.

[haolehothead]

Danny can feel that white hot burning by his eyes now, a sign that it's not a heart attack and that he's just upset -- so upset. His breaths are ragged and he tears desperately at the tape on his hands, ripping it off before clasping Steve's cheeks with both hands and kissing him desperately, jumping up into his arms and trusting, this time, that Steve'll catch him.

[newkindofcop]

He's almost about to open his mouth to ask Danny exactly what the hell is going on when he finds it occupied, instead. Danny's lips are hot, salty from a combination of sweat and tears, and Steve's arms slide around him, hoisting him up to eye level and turning, nudging him back up against the wall to use it for leverage as he kisses back - not aggressively, not overtly rough, but slow, almost longingly.

[haolehothead]

It's a different kind of sparring, but one that uses up every inch of Danny to keep alert and attentive. He wraps his arms tightly around Steve's neck and just loses himself in this for a second. He kisses Steve back the way they do not all the time, but when it means something. It's the way Danny kisses Steve when he wants to, without words, show how much he loves him.

Danny presses his tongue to his lower lip when he eases away, looking at Steve through half-lidded eyes. "I'm sorry I'm a hotheaded jackass," he says quietly.

[newkindofcop]

Steve rests his forehead against Danny's, hitching him up a little when he feels him start to slip, sliding a knee up underneath to keep him steady against the wall, and shakes his head.

"No. You have every right to be pissed off about this. God knows I would be."

[haolehothead]

Danny clambers to help, tightening his legs' grasp around Steve's body and holding on tight. "I just want things back to normal. I wanna wake up with you in bed and the puppy outside the door and I wanna be short, but not crazy short, and as much as I enjoy driving you crazy like this, I wanna. I wanna just..." he trails off and sighs, sliding his legs down until his bare feet touch the ground. "Let's go home. I'm gonna go soak in the ocean and pray maybe there's some kind of sea-god who can help me out."

[newkindofcop]

He finally nods, letting Danny slide his way down, leaning in to brush lips against his forehead and tasting the salt of sweat again. "You do whatever you need to, okay?" he murmurs, warm breath ghosting over his skin while he talks. "Whatever helps. Just as long as it's nothing I'd need to book you for."

[haolehothead]

Danny takes a step back and twines his fingers in with Steve's to pull him along. "I think I remember distinctly something about me making you crazy. I was gonna suggest you screw me up against the wall..."

[newkindofcop]

"Really," Steve says, squeezing Danny's hand in his, using his grip to spin his partner back into him, swaying with him slightly while his free hand starts to wander. "Well, if it would help."

[haolehothead]

Danny can't help the laugh that escapes him when Steve tugs him back. He pushes right back against Steve and shakes his head. "Oh, no, no, no, no babe. I'm in Kono's clothes. Do you know how many times she's gonna kill me if we mess 'em up with sex?"

[newkindofcop]

"You just got them all sweaty anyway, Danny," Steve points out. "Either way, they're getting washed. But you're right. She'd be pissed if we returned them to her ripped in half."