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Danny's curious about whether the island has ever actually been kind without a healthy serving of cruelty dished alongside it. Today's one of those days. It's been a long day and he's not really expecting to be out as long as he is. By the time he gets home, he hopes that Steve isn't too pissed off. He'd talked to the Council, then a couple of IPD people, and then he'd swung by the new-and-(so not)improved clothes box for more professional wear, including some ties and jackets.

By the time he gets back to their home, he's too tired to even talk, let alone do anything else. He heads straight for the couch, grabbing Zulu to yank up alongside him so that when he sprawls face-down, the dog is right there alongside to offer whatever fuzzy support an animal of his age can. He gives a soft grunt when he hears footsteps approaching. "Steve, if that's you, I will marry you again if you rub the gargantuan knots out of my shoulders," he mumbles.

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Steve's standing in the middle of the kitchen, sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he puts the finishing touches on dinner, a half-damp dish towel thrown over one shoulder as he peers into the living room at what appears to be a collapsed Danny-shaped lump. He temporarily abandons the food, covering it to keep it from going lukewarm as he walks in, tossing the towel over the back of a chair.

"Key word being 'again'," he points out, leaning over to gently tousle Danny's hair before his fingers slide to the back of his neck in a pinching knead.

Danny lets out a hissing sound when Steve goes right for the monster. His whole body feels like it relaxes instantaneously and he lets out a contented sigh, taking in the relaxation as it comes since soon, Steve is going to notice the ties and the jacket and they're going to have to talk. "I get it, you want me to waggle your ring in your face?" Danny mumbles into the pillow, doing exactly that with an uncoordinated push of his arm in Steve's face.

"Put your arm down," Steve murmurs, gently pressing Danny's hand away before he resumes his massage, fingers flexing a little.

"Unnecessary tension." He has noticed the suit jacket, and he's willing to bet there's a tie hiding underneath Danny's chest. He's just waiting for Danny to fess up about it first.

"You're my unnecessary tension," Danny mumbles, but he shifts slightly so Steve can still get at his back. He lazily gestures to his temples. "Right here. Right here, in my head, that little migraine I get whenever proper police procedure isn't followed, his name is Steven, he is my unnecessary tension."

"I'm sorry, did you say you would marry me again earlier? I must've not heard you right," Steve replies, the fingers of one hand raking through Danny's hair in a deep scalp massage before he gives the growing strands a brief tug.

"Proper, huh?"

"I said I'd marry you again if you got the knots out," Danny lazily mumbles, which Steve seems to be doing with great ease, so yeah, Danny will consider handing over heart and soul to the big goof all over again. "And yes, proper," he says, shifting so that he's on his side. "Hey, stop for a second," he says. "We have to talk."

Steve eases off, bending his knees to share the couch with Danny, sitting next to him as one hand notches gently against his shoulder, still loosely kneading. "Something up?" he asks, doing his best to keep his expression neutral.

Danny inhales sharply as he sits up, running his fingers through his hair. It's nearly back to where it was before, blonder this time given the sun's constant assault. "So, I went to work today and turns out that Archie isn't there anymore." And it hurts, it hurts because Danny liked Archie and he was a friend and it's really unfuckingfair. "It took us a while, but we talked and uh, if you're good with it, I'm taking over."

"You're taking over. Taking over IPD?" Steve asks, trying to make it clear that this is what Danny's assuming control over and not another of Archie's island-related pursuits. His hand stills on Danny's back, resting firm between his shoulderblades before dropping to rest against the back of the couch. "I'm guessing that's what the suit was for today," he replies, nudging Danny's knee with his.

"The first of many to come, babe," Danny ruefully informs Steve, given that he's not about to accept a position like this if he can't do it while looking like a professional. He sighs and leans back against the couch, subconsciously seeking out Steve's fingers again. "And yes, taking over IPD. No," he drawls sarcastically. "I'm taking over his place as a star yacht-sailing Lieutenant."

Steve leans over, gently snaking fingers around the silk of Danny's tie, giving it a small tug as he finds his eyes. "You know I think you're the best at what you do, even if I've taken more of a non-procedural route in the past. I wouldn't have picked you for my team back home if that wasn't the case. I know you can do this, so I don't have anything to worry about. End of story."

"I'm going to have to give something up," he says, pained because it's the best thing to do, but he doesn't want to. He likes what he's been doing, he does. "And probably enact a couple changes. Hermione and I have been working on a program long enough that we could probably put it into action at this point."

"Of course you have," Steve says, with a chuckle, because between Hermione and Danny, there's enough foresight there to have something up and running right about now, if not yesterday. His fingers slip into Danny's hair from the nape of his neck, smoothing slowly. He likes the suit-and-tie look, he does. The only reason he'd teased Danny about it so much back home was because he knew it'd label him as a haole within seconds of stepping onto a crime scene.

Danny makes the smallest of noises, wondering if he's extra-weak because Steve knows where to get him or if he's just tired. "I'm thinking maybe less hours at the bakery," he reasons aloud, mostly so he can work through it. "And then, I don't know, I can't give up on Rach right now, not when she's so pregnant. Ditto Marie," he says, sucking in his lower lip. He doesn't want to shortchange any of his friends. "Maybe one less day at the children's office and I can work the IPD schedule around so that I'm on fewer patrols until I get settled in? And, probably, minimal classes next semester."

That still leaves him with the training program with Hermione, Kate's progress, and keeping an eye on Coraline, Jack, and making sure he swings by every once in a while to make sure Ed eats. "Jesus," he hisses. "When the hell did the day get so few hours?"

"Right around the time you started taking care of so many people," Steve murmurs, giving Danny's shoulder another squeeze.

"'Long as you remember to take time for yourself once in a while, I've got no problem with you wanting to rearrange your schedule."

Danny peers over at Steve with a half-bleary look, exhausted, as tired as he'd ever been when Grace was an infant. "And, of course, I have my budding marriage to worry about," he says, considering that he'd never forgotten about it, it just brings up the worst memories when he thinks about it in conjunction with a busy schedule. "Last time I got so involved in my work, my wife cheated on me and look where that got me."

Steve looks at him, just looks at him. "It's the IPD, Danno," he replies, smiling slow and fond. "You're going to have more responsibility, but I don't think it's going to be enough to throw a wrench into what we have, okay? We're stronger than all of that."

"Yeah, it's the IPD, but it's a lot more work." Danny wants this to be clear so they don't run into some misunderstandings down the line. "It means I might not always make it back for dinner. It means we might have different schedules and I won't get to wake up with you. It means...it means..." he struggles to figure out what it really means.

Namely that the honeymoon is over, he suspects.

"I got that, Danny," Steve replies, his hand gently resting, unmoving, against the back of Danny's neck, feeling the heat of his skin where it meets the collar of his shirt.

"So you're going to be a little busier during the week. Just means I'll have to make the most of the time when I have you to myself."

Danny can't help his wry grin as he turns slightly towards Steve, angling his body so that his knee touches Steve's lightly. He feigns confusion, a hint of ignorance there. "So," he drawls, "if we were going to pretend that this is one of those nights where I haven't seen you in a while. What would we be doing?"

"Well, I did make you dinner," Steve points out, his thumb gently kneading along the base of Danny's neck, finding the angle to massage deeper. "If this was one of those nights, I'd let you at least get in a few bites before I attempted to carry you off to bed."

"It's sweet, really, honestly, that you think that you could just carry me off to bed," Danny mumbles with a faintly teasing grin on his lips, laughing softly as he leans into that touch. "Am I exhausted in this scenario or something?"

"Completely beat," Steve replies, nodding solemnly. It doesn't seem that difficult to imagine, considering how much more responsibility Danny will have at the end of the day. "Maybe it'd be more of a leading, but being the new head of IPD should come with a perk or two, you think?"

Danny smirks and gives Steve a dubious look. "...in this hypothetical scenario, is me getting led to the bedroom the perk or you carrying me? I mean, I may introduce myself as Daniel McGarrett-Williams, but there are still some boundaries I refuse to cross and one of them is accepting that people see me as the little wife."

"It's what happens after I get you in there," Steve answers, his fingers dipping under the collar of Danny's shirt and giving it a small tug, feeling the warmth of skin before he reaches over to pop open that first button. "Detective McGarrett-Williams."

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