Sugar Never Was So Sweet, H5-0, Danny/Kono, NC-17

[topaz119]

Title: Sugar Never Was So Sweet
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0
Pairing: Kono/Danny
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Not mine
Notes/Warnings: I'm clear this time--no spoilers, no warnings other than, yes, sex.
Summary: "I'm beginning to rethink my stance on your idiocy," Kono snaps. Danny takes both hands off the wheel, a clear Do whatcha gotta, babe, and Kono can't help laughing. "Oh my God, you're going to make me say this, aren't you?"

Also posted to AO3, here




For all that he can be stubborn and obnoxious, Danny Williams is the sweetest, most gentlemanly guy Kono's ever met. Yeah, he'll needle her about being the rookie, and he'll send her off to do the crappy rookie work, but he'd do that to any guy he worked with, too, and Kono appreciates not being handled with kid gloves just because she has tits instead of a dick.

After the stunt they'd pulled to get up close to Sid, any other guy would have at least given her a hard time about her technique or something--hell, most guys, she'd have had to have threatened to break their wrists for copping an extra feel or two--but Danny's never once even mentioned it. The one time she tries to thank him--Sid's her family, after all--he waves her off with a faint blush and a mumble about how he's nothing special; any cop would have done the same thing. Kono would like to think he's right, but she knows he's not.

All of which is why she has absolutely no qualms about offering to be his date for some dinner he can't get out of, one where he's bitching about how the guy--a captain or lieutenant or something on the force back in Jersey--will spend the whole night making insinuations about how Danny's still hung up on the ex, and how it's pathetic when guys can't let go.

"Come on," Kono says. "I'll go home and change and we'll make them forget you've even been married."

"Honey," Danny says, boggling at her. "No. I mean, Jesus, that's really awesome of you, thank you for offering, but trust me, you do not want to subject yourself to this guy. Or his wife. She's, uh, how should I put this--" He waves his hands around, then snaps his fingers and says, "A frigid bitch with an axe to grind against the world, and the only reason they're still married is because she hasn't caught him dipping his wick extracurricularly yet."

"Dipping his wick?" Kono sputters with laughter. "Oh, my God, I had no idea people actually said that."

"Really not the point," Danny mutters.

"It'll be like going in undercover," Kono says. "It's a couple of hours, come on. At least make him work to insult you."

Danny's wavering, she can tell, so she goes in for the kill. "I've got that dress I wore clubbing when we had to bust the coke dealer." It's a fucking spectacular dress, as dresses go--Kono knows this even though she doesn't really even care what she's wearing most of the time. "Your guy can't be any sleazier than that crowd."

"You'd be surprised," Danny mutters, still on the fence. "You're really okay with this?"

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't," Kono says. Danny should know her well enough to know that's true, but it never hurts to say it out loud. Danny covers his eyes with one hand, but nods, and Kono laughs at the tragedy of it all.

"This such a bad idea," Danny sighs.

"Seriously?" Kono smacks him on the shoulder. "Before you've even picked me up for the night, you're already telling me how I'm a bad date?"

"Swear to me you'll still talk to me tomorrow," Danny says, shaking his head.

Kono crosses her heart, and then promptly starts the next argument, when she insists they should arrive in one car and Danny looks alarmed.

"Hey, you're the one who's always bitching about dotting i's and crossing t's on an undercover op," Kono says. "This is supposed to fool a cop, and if it's going to be as awful as you say it is, let's not blow it over something stupid."

Danny grumbles and mutters, but agrees--finally, the stubborn idiot--and Kono leaves to deal with all the crap that's required when you're supposed to be arm candy. The dress is fine; she'd gotten it dry-cleaned after the last op, but she stops by her cousin Lailie's shop and lets her do a mani-pedi. It won't last past her next trip out to Ehukai, especially her toes, but it'll look good with the sandals that go with the dress.

"And what are we going to do with this?" Lailie asks, gathering Kono's hair in a ponytail and tugging on it, none too gently.

"It's fine," Kono says. "It's not a date; it's just a thing for work." Lailie gives her the arched eyebrow and long-suffering expression that says she's refraining from calling Kono's hairstyle a ratsnest only because she's a good person and she feels sorry for Kono's affliction, but that she's not going to let Kono walk out of the shop without something being done. "Fine," Kono sighs, and pulls out her phone.

"Listen," she says when Danny picks up the call. "Do you want me to wear my hair up or down?"

"I, uh, that's, your decision. Completely. All yours," Danny says, sounding panicked, like this is some kind of a trick question. "I have no favorites; I'm good with whatever you want."

"Up or down, Danny?" Kono says. "I promise I won't file a harassment claim just because you express a preference."

"Uh, well, if I had to pick, then, uh, like you had it at the casino?" Danny mumbles. "Up, but with parts that aren't? That looked nice."

"You got it," Kono says, breaking the connection and relaying the request.

"Bedhead," Lailie says, with satisfaction. "But classier."

"If my mother hears you say that, she will pinch you so hard you won't be able to move your arm for a week," Kono says, as Lailie starts combing out her hair.

"But she'll have hysterics on you and get your dad in on it, and I'll forget about the pain in my arm while I watch you try to convince them that you're still their sweet little girl," Lailie answers, laughing.

"Bitch," Kono mutters, but very, very quietly, because not only does Lailie know where all Kono's metaphorical bodies are buried, she's got her hands on the curling iron and Kono wouldn't put it past her to burn off a patch or two of Kono's hair just to prove who's really in charge. She knows her stuff, though, and she's fast--mostly because she knows Kono has the patience of a gnat for all the girly crap--so at least Kono's done and on her way to her apartment in a fairly reasonable amount of time. She still has no idea why people do this on a regular basis or for fun, but whatever. She can do it when she needs to.

The dress won't take any time to put on, so once Kono gets her make-up set and her spare gun and badge transferred over to a purse that works with the outfit (not that she's expecting trouble, but she's in the habit now; and one day, she's going to ask Steve how he knew that the Kel-Tek 9mm would work so well with an evening bag, just to watch him choke a little) she just hangs out until Danny calls to tell her he's on his way to pick her up.

"Try to sound like it's not a death sentence," Kono says, which triggers another Danny-tirade. She slaps her phone on speaker and gets into her dress and sandals while he's going on about how bad of an idea this is, how he never should have agreed to it, how she's going to hate him. She sees the Camaro pulling in while he's still going, so she just grabs her earrings and purse and meets him at the car.

"Are you done?" she asks, sliding into the passenger seat and starting in on her earrings before she loses yet another half of a pair.

"No," Danny groans, putting his head down hard on the steering wheel. "Sorry; I'll shut up now," he adds, his voice a little muffled. He sits up and smooths his hair back into place and puts the car in reverse with only a sigh. "You, uh, look very nice."

"Thank you," Kono says. "So do you." He does, too--black suit and tie and a crisp white shirt that sets off the faint tan he's acquired. However much sunblock he's slathering on every day, the Hawaiian sun is winning. He waves one hand at her, like she's just running her mouth, and she insists, "No, really… You look very handsome tonight. Wait, are you blushing?"

"I don't know whatever gave you the idea I was smooth enough not to blush when a drop-dead gorgeous woman tells me I look good, but now you know for sure." Danny has both hands on the steering wheel, ten and two, like he's hanging on for dear life. He sneaks a quick glance at Kono, and okay, maybe it's her turn to get a little red at the drop-dead gorgeous part.

"Would it help if I told you you were going the wrong way and we're going to get stuck in Honolulu traffic for sure if you don't get creative here in the next mile?" Kono asks.

"Yes," Danny says, quickly. "It would."

Kono obliges with directions that cut across a couple of obscure neighborhoods and get them to Ala Moana with time enough to sit in the bar and make up a story for how their supposed relationship blossomed (Danny's word, but it makes Kono laugh) out of working together.

"Here we go," Danny mutters, as he nods in the direction of a couple who Kono would have dismissed as not their people strictly because they are so stereotypically mainlanders she would have thought they couldn't be real. "She's going to grill you; just go with it and I'll back you up on anything."

"Anything?" Kono says, smiling for real when Danny rolls his eyes at her and mutters something about rookies and wiseasses. She lets him tuck her hand into the crook of his arm and start off across the restaurant, settling in for an evening of playing make-believe.

*

'Frigid bitch' is probably too nice of a description for Mrs-Lieutenant-Whoever, Kono thinks after an hour of nasty comments about Hawaii in general, Waikiki in particular, and whatever hotel has the misfortune of hosting these two in the granular. She'd feel sorry for the husband if it wasn't so clear that he was as much of an ass as his wife, never once shutting up about how important his cases were and what a joke law enforcement was in the islands.

Danny catches her eye and orders her another drink; Kono wills herself not to show any more of her aggravation, because it's not his fault she's sitting here listening to some haole couple diss every single thing about her life. No, this one is all on her, and she can't even be all that annoyed with the decision, because otherwise, Danny would be here alone. Kono knows she likes helping a friend out, especially one like Danny who'd be right there if she needed him, but some mercy missions are a little more tedious than others.

The drink is frothy and frozen and crowned with fruit and umbrellas, not something she'd ordinarily be caught dead drinking, but it goes with the dress and it turns out to be a perfect cover for the double shot of rum Danny must have asked them to add. She takes another sip and smiles at him, and goes back in for another round, answering one question after another about how she and Danny could possibly be having a relationship when they have so little in common. It's actually pretty fun to say that yes, she's met Rachel, and yes, she's quite a lovely woman; and no, Grace is not having any trouble at all adjusting to the move; and yes, she and Grace do get along well. It's even better because it's the truth.

When Danny shifts around and ends up with his arm across the back of her chair, Kono smiles as sweetly as she can--which is actually a lot and easier than she expects if only because it makes the frigid bitch want to choke when she tries to return it--and leans into him a little. When she absolutely has to take a break, invoking the standard powder-room option before their entrees are served and Danny stands up to let her get by, she doesn't think anything of brushing a kiss across his cheek while she promises to be back soon.

It's quiet in the ladies room; Kono gives herself exactly three minutes to breathe deep and get centered, and then heads back to the battlefield. It's three minutes too long, though, because Danny's on his feet and dropping some cash on the table as she weaves her way through the too-tightly packed tables.

"We're done here," Danny bites out before Kono can even ask if he's gotten a call about work. He catches her by the arm and tows her back toward the front, not stopping until they're outside and he's flagged down the valet to go get the car.

"Okay," Kono says, rubbing at where his fingers have bitten into skin. "What just happened?"

"I'll put up with a lot of shit, but there are lines you do not cross--" Danny closes his mouth with a snap, and rakes his hand through his hair, pacing in short, agitated strides. Kono watches him with a little worry; she's seen Danny pissed off before--it's hard not to, not when Steve seems programmed to punch every button Danny has and to like doing it--but he generally only reaches levels like this when somebody he cares about is in the line of fire--

"Wait, is this about me?" Kono catches him and makes him stop and look at her. He doesn't have to say anything, not when every single emotion he ever has flows across his face the way it does. "It is, isn't it?"

"And me," Danny says, shrugging.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't have left if it was just about you," Kono says, with narrowed eyes. "I can handle myself, you know."

"Honey," Danny says. "You have gone way above and beyond the call of friendship and partners and every other thing just sitting there tonight. There's no way I'm going to let some blowhard tell me how--" He shuts his mouth again. "You know what? I'm not even going to repeat it. I made up a call coming in and got the hell out before I punched him."

He steps back away from her, pacing up and back in the narrow space between the door and the valet stand, and it hits Kono all of a sudden, what an awesome guy he is. She's known that, of course, but there he is, upset and angry and worried about her, and she gets it on a level she hadn't before, all the way down to the little voice in the back of her head telling her she needs to hold on tight.

"You are the sweetest man." Kono puts her hand on his arm as he goes by, leaning in impulsively. The idea is that she can start with a kiss on his cheek; the reality is her overbalanced and almost flat on her face when he jerks away.

"No. No, I'm really not," Danny says, stiff and tense and so not-Danny Kono has to fight back the entirely childish urge to rub her eyes to make sure she's seeing straight. Then she has to bite back the entirely not-childish urge to tell him not to act like an ass, because it's been a while since somebody's treated her like she has the cooties.

"What is your problem?" she snaps, mostly to cover how much that hurt. And maybe a little to cover how surprised she is that it did hurt.

"A sweet man would have decked that jerk. A sweet man would not be thinking about--" Danny looks away from her for a second, and then everything, all the tension and stress, goes rushing out of him, taking everything else, too, so he just looks tired. "No, okay?"

The valet pulls up in the the car, and Danny spins on his heel to go around to the driver's side. Nice timing, Kono wants to say. Could you run away any faster?. A second kid rushes up to open the passenger-side door for Kono, but she doesn't get in immediately, just stands there debating whether she should grab a cab instead. Danny pops back up on his side of the car, not saying anything. Then again, she's not talking either, and she's not exactly hiding how mad she is.

It's Danny, though--no matter how weird he's suddenly acting--and he's never not been there for Kono.

When she finally decides to get in the car, she doesn't know who's more relieved, Danny or the kid holding the door, who clearly does not want to be anywhere near whatever this is that's going down between her and Danny. She wonders how much more freaked the poor kid would have been if he'd known that both of them are carrying.

"What was the point of all that?" Traffic around Ala Moana is a mess, as usual; if they're going to spend an extended time in the car, she's not going to sit there in silence the entire time and hell if she's going to talk about whatever didn't just happen between them. "The whole night--why do you even care about them?"

Danny's quiet for a while, but then he sighs and says, "Because when Grace is done with school, and goes off to college, and I don't have a reason to be here anymore, that is the guy I'm going to have to deal with to get my job back in Jersey."

Or you could just stay, Kono thinks, as the light finally changes and they get through the intersection. She doesn't say it, though. Maybe she should, but she thinks they have some other things they need to work out first.

"I'm sorry," Danny says, after another couple of miles of silence. "For the rest of it. Can we just chalk it up to me being an idiot and go with a clean slate in the morning?"

Kono wants to say yes--she can't imagine not being on good terms with Danny, who's listened to her and helped her and welcomed her into his life like she's always been a part of it. It would be easy and simple and they could make it work, but it's not what she wants.

"You're not an idiot." Kono shifts a little in the seat, tucks one leg up under her and turns so she can watch him. That's key--Danny's emotions are all right there. Sometimes he's good at misdirection, but if you know where to look, you can see everything. "You get a little loud, but--"

Danny's mouth quirks up in a half-smile, and he interrupts to say, "A little loud? Please feel free to share your opinion with the lieutenant commander the next time he's bitching about how I never shut up. And I don't want to argue with you, but yes, I am an idiot."

"Danny," Kono sighs. He shrugs and it gets quiet again. There are a couple of things she could say, but she finally goes with, "I like men who are sweet--"

"Of course you do," Danny mutters. "Who's actually going to say they don't?"

"I'm beginning to rethink my stance on your idiocy," Kono snaps. He takes both hands off the wheel, a clear Do whatcha gotta, babe, and Kono can't help laughing. "Oh my God, you're going to make me say this, aren't you?"

"Since I have no idea what's going on, I'm gonna have to answer that one in the affirmative," Danny says, pulling up to a stop sign.

"You are the sweetest man," Kono says again, but this time when she leans in, he can't get away, and she presses a slow, careful kiss against his mouth.

"You," Danny says, his voice hoarse and his eyes shocked. "You said that already."

"I like sweet men." Kono kisses him again, a little less carefully, and then adds a quick, sharp bite on his bottom lip.

"You said that, too." Danny eyes her with something close to understanding, which she notices only in the brief second she can make herself look away from how his tongue keeps sweeping across where she bit him.

"Did you listen this time?" Kono kisses him one more time, humming in satisfaction when he kisses her back, slow at first, but sure and real and very, very thorough.

"Yes," he murmurs against her mouth, getting one hand up behind her head, his fingers sliding into Lailie's perfect, "classy" bedhead and teasing it apart. He catches her bottom lip between his teeth, returns the bite she'd given him before. "This is me, listening."

"Good," Kono answers, breathlessly, and meets him halfway for another kiss, deeper and harder, and not that she'd had any doubts, but talking definitely isn't the only thing Danny knows how to do with his mouth. A car pulls up behind them, the headlights throwing the interior of the car into harsh light and shadows, and a polite tap on the horn follows.

"Yeah, yeah," Danny says, pulling away from Kono slowly and glancing in the rearview mirror. "We're moving, buddy; keep your aloha shirt on."

Kono settles back in her seat and resists the urge to press her fingers to her mouth. Danny keeps shooting quick looks at her, like he's sizing up a situation that has the potential to blow up on him, so she reaches over and lays her hand on top of his where it's resting on the gear shift. He tangles their fingers together; when she looks up, he's got this little smile on his face, a cross between a half-pleased smirk and a half-stunned grin.

"You're blushing again," Kono tells him.

"Yeah, well, it's been a while since I've gotten surprised like that." Danny squeezes her hand. "And, may I just add, I'm not the only person in this car who's a little redder than usual. Again."

"It's been a while on my end, too." Kono feels her face heat up even more when he takes his eyes off the road long enough to look her up and down, like he's making mental notes or working out his plan of attack. Two can play that game, though, so she does a little recon of her own, and adds some field work at the next few stoplights. By the time Danny's turning into her apartment complex she knows that licking right behind his left ear makes him whine, and he's figured out that she'll almost jump out of her skin if he scrapes his teeth along her throat.

Danny brakes in front of the steps that lead to her front door, putting the car in park and then just holding her hand. "I swear, this is not me being an idiot again," he says, taking a deep breath. "Just, are you sur--"

"Park the car, Danny," Kono says.

"Oooo, bossy," Danny says, shifting back into Drive. "That's always fun."

Kono would tell him exactly how much fun she's planning on having, but he whips the car into an open space and pulls her across the console and into a kiss that is wicked and she has much, much better things to do than talk.

Breathing, on the other hand, is necessary, which is the only reason Kono finally tears herself away. The gearshift is digging into her hip, and she's probably going to end up with a cranky back from how she's contorted herself around the steering wheel, but if she hadn't desperately needed the air she's sucking in, she wouldn't have stopped.

Danny's pretty breathless, too, and he smiles at her, his hand under her dress and halfway up her thigh, warm and a little rough against her. He's petting her slowly, lighting up the nerves with every brush of his fingers over her skin.

"Nice," Kono murmurs, pressing kisses along the curve of his ear, smiling at how that makes him shiver. "But I can think of more places I want your hand."

"You have excellent ideas, gorgeous," Danny says. "I'm just not sure how we undo this … situation--" he shimmies a little under her--"we've gotten ourselves into."

"Very, very carefully," Kono says, wincing as the steering wheel digs in a little deeper. Slowly--her spine is going to be permanently indented if she's not careful--she gets one hand braced on the driver's side door, and then manages to squirm her hips back toward the other seat, to get her center of gravity back far enough that she can maybe get herself vertical again.

"Oh, sweetjesus," Danny mutters, which, yes, Kono realizes that every time she moves, she's basically giving him a lap dance, but him just sitting there biting his lip and looking all hot and bothered is really not helping at all, especially not with how his hand keeps sliding higher up her thigh.

"Danny," she warns, in her best Do not fuck with me voice. It'd probably sound more serious if she wasn't all but spreading her legs for him at the same time, but he gets it together enough that they manage to get out of the car with no injuries and a minimum of Wait, no, put your hand here; no, not there, *here*; God, quit teasing, or so help me threats.

Danny keeps his hands to himself until they're inside her apartment, but then they're all over her, cupping her face, tangled in her hair, sliding down her back, over her hips, holding her close. He's all about the kissing, too--quick and playful turning into hard and deep and back again--but lets her steer them into the bedroom, a long, staggering path that he stops at the foot of her bed.

"You know what's really crazy?" Danny murmurs, sliding his hands down her bare arms to hold her hands in his. "I've seen you at the beach, in those little scraps you call a bathing suit--you're a goddess, by the way--" He turns her hands over and drops a quick, sweet kiss in each palm. "I know what you look like under that dress, but I'm standing here, waiting to get it off, and the suspense is killing me."

"No dying," Kono says. "We can take care of the suspense any time."

"You know, that might be the best thing ever," Danny says, with a slow, brilliant smile that twists something hard inside her. She tells herself that it's only that it's been a long time since she's done anything with anyone who's not just somebody random, but even the yay, we're getting laid part of her brain knows that's not really true.

"I'm just trying to decide whether I want to watch you take this off for me, or whether I want to do it myself," Danny says as he runs the tip of one finger along the line of tiny pearl buttons that hold the bodice closed. Kono grits her teeth to keep from whimpering. She's not at all surprised that he's a tease, but he's not even touching her and she's still half-crazy.

"Decisions, decisions," she manages to say. She's trying for light and breezy, and it doesn't come out too badly, not given how hard her heart is pounding. If it's a little more breathless than casual, she doesn't think Danny's the type to gloat.

"Indeed," Danny says, his finger starting back up the line of buttons. "Do you have a preference you'd care to share with the class?" He pauses at the top button, waiting until Kono shakes her head. "In that case, I think I'm going to go with me doing the honors."

"Sure," Kono murmurs, taking a deep breath as he gets the first one open. "I can take care of it next time."

"Even better," Danny says, fingers moving quickly now, three buttons, five, and then back up to her shoulders to slide everything back and down and off, so that she's standing in front of him in nothing but a thong and her sandals. "You know, I was always the kid who liked the unwrapping almost as much as the presents, but this is really above and beyond your basic birthday--"

"Oh, my God, Danny," Kono says, grabbing him by his tie and hauling him in close. "Shut up." He's laughing as she kisses him, but that's fine. More than fine, actually--it's been a long time since she's been this turned on and having this much fun. She gets his tie undone, and his coat off his shoulders before he tumbles them down onto the bed, and then it's a jumbled mess of her pulling haphazardly at his shirt, getting it out of his pants and half undone while he kisses her mouth and her neck and sucks a bruise into her collarbone that's going to kill any possibility of a v-neck at the office for a week.

Danny stops to help her, sitting up long enough to strip out of his button-down and throw it off somewhere to the side--which is an awesome step toward equality in the lack-of-clothes department--but then completely derails any further progress when he leans down and licks a light, quick path over and around her nipples. Tease that he is, that's just the start, just the preview. It's him figuring out what gets her going before he goes back in with serious intent, working her with callused fingers, paying attention to every time her breath catches, every time she arches into him, until he's got it how she likes it best, until he's rolling and pinching each nipple a tiny bit too hard to be pure pleasure, pushing her until she's almost crying, backing off right before it's too much and soothing her with his mouth, and then starting the whole thing over again.

Kono stops him before he can get started on a fourth round, pulling hard on his hair and dragging his head up so she can bite his mouth as swollen as she's bitten her own.

"You really, really need to fuck me now," Kono says, mesmerized by how blue his eyes are, how intense.

"Yeah," Danny breathes, kneeling up beside her, his eyes moving slowly over her. Kono can only imagine what she looks like, Lainie's careful updo totally gone and her hair a wild mess, her mouth and nipples swollen and throbbing, still wearing her thong and sandals for all that she's sprawled out on her bed, but she doesn't see anything but good things in Danny's eyes. "I really, really do."

Danny wrestles with his pants, fumbling with his belt; when Kono reaches over to help, his hands are shaking.

"Let me," Kono says, the words getting stuck somewhere in her throat and coming out as nothing but whispers. He hears her, though, and nods, lets her take care of the buckle and button and zipper, lets her touch and stroke him through it all.

"Silk," she murmurs, smiling up at him while she slides his boxers off his hips. "Who knew you were such a hedonist?"

"I am all about feeling good--Jesus," Danny hisses, as she strokes him carefully, once, and then again. He's hard and ready even before she leans in and licks along the same path, adding in a quick swirl across the head at the end. She goes to start again, but he grabs at her, tangling his fingers in her hair. "Not that I am at all averse to your mouth and what it's doing right this minute, honey, but if you want to get fucked, you need to stop that. Now," he adds, as she takes one more taste.

"Fine," Kono sighs, mock-dramatically. She leans up to lick a path up his body, navel and abs and nipples, and a kiss-bruise on his collarbone to match the one he put on her. When she looks up, he's smiling at her, reaching out to cup her face and draw her into a kiss that's lazy and unhurried and ends with her pressed against him, his thigh between hers, his erection riding the groove next to her hip, his hands sliding down to cup her ass.

"Come on," Kono says, breaking the kiss and reaching past him, half-crawling across the bed and feeling for the drawer in her nightstand and the condoms left from her last trip down the rocky road to coupledom. He drops his head and nuzzles at the back of her neck, and then when she shivers, brushes her hair out of the way so he can work his way lower along her back.

"Oh," Kono gasps, flailing at the drawer and arching up into Danny's mouth. He smiles against her, the scrape of his beard playing counterpoint to the softness of his lips.

"You like this?" Danny keeps going, his mouth moving lower and lower while she shudders and holds on desperately to the bedside table. "Look at you, sweetheart," he says, working the elastic of her thong off her hips and biting gently at the top of her thighs. "Look at you; you're shaking."

Kono nods blindly, spreading her legs for him and biting back a moan as he slides two fingers inside her. He rocks them in and out and drops kisses back up her spine. She drags her free hand, the one that's not keeping her upright, searching through the drawer until she finds the strip of condoms and pushes them back at him.

"Like this," she says, dropping her head down to the mattress and trying not to whine. "God, Danny, do it like this." She pushes her hips back, fucking herself on his hand, choking out a harsh, wordless noise when he meets her with a rough stroke forward that pushes a third finger inside her. Three more strokes, then four, and she doesn't care what kind of noises she's making, how desperate she sounds when he slides his hand out of her to deal with the condom.

He's quick about it, no more than a few seconds passing before his hands are back on her hips and his thighs are between hers, spreading her wider, and he's finally pushing into her, quick, shallow thrusts that are nothing but a tease. When she tries to push back and take him deeper, his fingers bite into her hips hard enough to bruise, and fuck, she's going to be surfing in board shorts for weeks.

"Danny," Kono says, through gritted teeth, but he just laughs and bends down low to scrape his teeth across the back of her neck. He goes in deep the next time, but it's slow and controlled and not enough, not nearly enough.

"God, I can't believe I thought you were sweet," Kono rages, as he does it again, and again, taking his time, holding her exactly like he wants her and fucking her steady and endless. "You're evil, you know that?"

"Evil?" Danny sounds delighted, but breathless and shaky, too, so Kono might not kill him when he lets go of her. Then he stops with the control and the finesse and starts with the real thing, and it's all she can do to stay upright, especially when he slides one hand around her hip and down to her clit. He's not careful or gentle or teasing at all, every touch dragging sounds out of her that barely sound human. It's good and it's raw, overwhelming and intense, and she comes in a crashing roll that leaves her shaking and limp.

"Come here, sweetheart," Danny murmurs, sitting back on his heels and pulling her back with him, until she's in his lap and he's deep in her. Neither one of them can move much, but he cradles her against him, one strong arm holding her steady while he touches her with his other hand, strokes her, breasts and belly and thighs, fingers brushing her nipples, moving lightly between her legs, until she lays her head back on his shoulder and whispers to him, more and harder and don't stop.

"Not stopping," Danny tells her, holding her close. "Want to feel you."

"You, too." Kono reaches back and wraps her arm around his neck, turning her head so she can kiss his temple, the corner of his eye. "Want you, too."

"Yeah," Danny whispers, shivering as she bites softly at him. "So close. So close."

Kono rocks on him, tiny movements that he matches, each one pushing him nearer to losing the control he's kept the whole night. Kono wants to feel him lose it, wants to know what it's like when he lets go, but he gets her there first.

"Come on," Kono moans as he draws another orgasm out of her, one wave after another, long and slow and endless. "Danny, come with me; I want you with me.

Her words are jumbled mix of Korean and Hawaiian and English that she knows he can't understand, but he holds her, clinging to her like he's drowning, every breath a choked-off gasp as he arches up into her, once, and again, and he's coming, fast and hard and shaking.

Afterward, she makes sure to stay curled around him, an arm and leg thrown over him and one hand stroking along his ribs and side, so he doesn't start thinking he needs to go. It's been a long time since she's slept in the same bed with someone, but it's easier than she remembers.

*

Kono keeps her alarm set for a half-hour before sunrise so she can check the surf reports and have a go-out before she has to be at the office. Danny groans when it goes off, but drags himself up.

"I,uh," he says, wavering a little in faint, pre-dawn light. "'M gonna go. Shower. Change."

Kono should probably get herself up, too--it's the least she can do, especially after Round Two had ended with her riding Danny slowly enough that she'd come twice more while he panted and cursed and swore--but as soon as she sits up, Danny's petting her back down, tucking her under the sheets and dropping a kiss on her shoulder.

"I know my way out," he tells her. "I'll see you later."

He sounds so normal, so completely not thrown by everything that she tells the part of her brain that's yelling at her about fucking somebody she works with to stow it and just rolls back over and pulls the pillow over her head. It might be the first morning she's missed out on the waves in nearly a year, but coming four times in a couple of hours will take a lot out of you.

*

Danny's waiting for her outside the office, Kamehameha's statue throwing shadows in the early morning light. He has a coffee for her, and a worried crease right between his eyes that she wants to smooth away.

"Thanks," Kono says, taking the coffee, not at all surprised that it's exactly how she likes it best, even though she doesn't think she's ever mentioned it to him. "See? It's morning and I'm still talking to you."

It's a little corny, but totally worth it when he smiles at her.

"So, how do you want to handle this?" Danny asks, and she doesn't know how he does it, but he makes it be not awkward.

"I guess that depends on what 'this' is," Kono says, slowly.

"Your call, hon," Danny says. "It's either one fantastic night that I, personally, am going to remain smug about for the next thirty years, at least, or--I don't know, the start of something." He smiles and adds, "I'll still be smug about it for the next thirty years, I'd just like to get that on the record."

Kono studies him seriously. "Why is it my call? You don't have a preference?"

"Oh, I do. I just--" Danny shrugs and shoves his hands in his pockets. "I'm the one with the the kid who has to come first and the ex-wife and the lawyer on speed dial. I don't come free and easy, I know that."

"We don't have to be the romance of the century--"

"Yeah, we kinda do," Danny says, shrugging again. This one's a little helpless, a little Whatcha gonna do? "I, uh, can pretty much tell you already I'm not gonna be any good at the friends-with-benefits thing. Not this time."

"Oh," Kono says, feeling the start of a blush in her face and throat. She doesn't have any doubts that if she says it's a one-night thing that Danny won't be cool with it. There won't be any issues or snide comments or problems at all, if that's what she wants. The beauty of it all is that she doesn't actually have to think at all to know that's not what she wants. "Then… I guess it's the start of something."

"Yeah?" Danny ducks his head and looks up at her through his lashes, like he's waiting for the punch line.

"Oh, yeah," Kono answers easily.

Danny smiles a lot--it's one of the things that Kono likes best about him--but there are smiles and then there are smiles, and Kono doesn't care if it makes her a complete sap, but the one Danny is aiming at her now is leaving her breathless. She beams back at him, and they stand there in front of King Kamehameha like a couple of idiots until reality intrudes, in the form of her phone chiming with an incoming text from the ME's office about lab results that are ready to be picked up.

Danny walks in with her, guides her with little touches to her elbow, her back, just like always, except, you know, the part where her brain keeps supplying little sense memories of how it feels when he's touching her without clothes in the way, so not so much like always. It's going to be entertaining until she can figure out how to compartmentalize things, but given the payoff, she's up for the challenge.

"Okay," Danny's saying as they turn into the Five-0 offices. "I'm just gonna go have a word or two with Chin--"

"Wait," Kono says. "Now? Already?"

"What? Yeah, of course. I'm not talking putting out a bulletin to HPD, but yeah, we need to talk to Chin. And Steve."

Kono knows he's right--they're way too close of a team to be hiding things, but she also knows she's got this Are you kidding me? look on her face..

"Chin and me--we're friends," Danny says, seriously. "And you're--well, he's pretty protective."

"No, really?" Kono mutters. "I hadn't noticed."

"I'm just saying, you don't start something with a friend's sister or cousin or whatever and not be upfront about it."

"You sure you don't want me to talk to him?" Kono offers.

"No, I'm good," Danny answers, heading off. "God help the sorry son of a bitch who sends Grace in to break the news to me…"

"Men," Kono says, on a sigh that turns into a groan when she realizes that if Danny's talking to Chin, she's going to be the one breaking the news to Steve. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." She thinks hard about knocking her head against the wall, except Steve's coming around the corner toward her and she might as well get this over with.

"Hey, boss," she says, falling into step with him. "Got a minute?"

"Of course," he says, his head coming up from the file he's reading with a snap that says he knows something's up. "My office?"

"Yeah, that's probably best," Kono says. The last thing she needs is for someone to overhear. "It's kind of personal."

"Personal?" Steve says, closing the door and tossing the file on his desk. "Is anyone at HPD giving you shit? I know I'm supposed to encourage you to take that kind of thing to HR, but say the word and I'll go bust some heads--"

"No," Kono says, smiling at him fondly. He really does like it when he can smack people around. "No, nothing like that."

"Okay," Steve says. "So?"

"So," Kono echoes, and sighs. "So, I kindoftookDannyhomewithmelastnight, and it looks like it's gonna be a thing, so we figured we'd give you the heads up."

"Took Danny home," Steve repeats slowly. "You mean in the, uh..."

"Biblical sense?" Kono asks. "Yep." For all that telling your boss you're fucking his partner isn't exactly a conversation you look forward to having, it's actually pretty awesome to have Steve gaping at her like he is. She would have gotten less of a reaction if she'd told him they were being invaded by aliens. Then he could have just gone for the heavy ordinance and had some fun. "I mean, obviously, you have a right to be concerned that this is going to affect the team and all, but I think you can trust--"

"Yeah; no, of course," Steve says. "I'm just--you and Danny? For real?"

"It kind of just… flowed."

"Really?"

"What?" Kono snaps. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"It's--" Steve takes a breath and scrubs his hand over his head. Kono crosses her arms over her chest and glares at him. "Look, Kono, it's just that Danny is a really sweet guy and--"

"Oh, my God, he so isn't," Kono says, her mouth running away from her brain. "He looks like it, and he acts a really good game, but seriously, Steve, he is fucking evil when you get him na--"

"Whoa, whoa," Steve groans. "Heading down a path that leads to things I do not ever need to know."

"Sorry," Kono mutters. She's definitely blaming Danny for this; clearly he fucked her stupid.

"Okay." Steve takes a deep breath. "Leaving specific details out of it, I'm just saying that you're an incredibly attractive, intelligent, competent woman and Danny is… well, not vulnerable, but he's alone here and--"

"Wait," Kono says, trying not to laugh and failing pretty spectacularly. "Are you trying to warn me off breaking his heart?" It's Steve's turn to cross his arms and glare, which only makes Kono laugh harder. "Oh, God, you are."

Steve's still glaring and Kono's afraid he might break his jaw, it's so tight, so she makes a huge effort and gets herself under control. "Sorry," she manages to say. "Sorry, sorry. Not to freak you out with the details again, but I really didn't get much sleep last night and I'm a little punchy."

Steve glares at her a little bit longer; she almost feels sorry for him, having to deal with half his team fucking, but, hey, that's why he gets paid the big bucks.

"Where is Danny anyway?"

"He's breaking the news to Chin--I offered to, but he said something about friends and sisters and having to tell Chin himself."

"Well, yeah," Steve says. "Of course." And okay, fine, it's a guy code thing. Whatever.

"So," Kono says, brightly. "That's all I wanted to tell you. Thanks for, you know, thinking I'm an amoral slut who's going to stomp Danny's heart, and I'll let you get back to whatever it was that you were reading."

"Kono, wait, shit, " Steve says, with this horrified expression. "That wasn't--I didn't mean to imply you--"

"Kidding, boss," Kono says, rolling her eyes. "Though, really, thanks for not leaping to my defense. I get enough of that already."

"Well," Steve says. "If you hear anything about me having a long talk with Danny that takes place while I'm cleaning a bayonet, it's nothing but lies."

"Of course," Kono deadpans, opening the door and almost tripping over Danny and Chin on their way in. Danny looks fine; Chin looks fine. Kono doesn't trust either one of them to have behaved in any kind of a non-macho, pigheaded manner, but as long as no one's bleeding, she guesses she'll just roll with it.

"Are we cool?" she asks. Chin gives her one of those oh, we are so having a chat eyebrow arches, but that's it.

"Frosty, babe," Danny says, with another one of the smiles that reach his eyes. Kono absolutely can't help grinning back at him, no matter how unprofessional it might be. He winks at her, and then calls, "McGarrett--what's this I hear about the staff at the Hilton Hawaiian finding the equivalent of a meth lab in one of the bungalows?"

"Oh, right," Steve says, tossing the file to Danny. "We've got potential evidence scattered everywhere. It didn't get called in until after the cleaning staff went through, so nobody knows what did or didn't get trashed."

"Oh, oh, oh, looks like the rookie gets to do a little dumpster-diving today," Danny says, with that gleeful smirk of his. Kono flips him off and goes to get her spare coveralls and a cap to get her hair up and out of the way. He's waiting for her on the way out to the cars, though. Steve and Chin are already deep in calls coordinating with ATF and DEA, so they don't hear him murmur, "Dibs on helping you get clean after it all."

"Promises, promises," Kono answers, smiling, and the day kicks into high gear.