Fic: It's Called Cuddling
Nov. 8th, 2010 07:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
disturbinglynicTitle: It's Called Cuddling
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0
Pairing: Steve/Danny
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3143
Warnings: schmoop
Summary: Steve blames it on the cold medicine.
Disclaimer: If I owned them then I wouldn't have to play with them in stories.
A/N: Fourth in the adventures of cupcake and princess. Again, thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kelly_girl for that series title ♥
Written for this prompt at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
kinkme_h50
Written for the minor illness (cold, allergies) prompt on my bingo card forhc_bingo
“Come on, Danno. I want to go swimming.”
“No, Gracie. It’s getting late. I don’t want you wet for the ride home.”
“Aw, Danno.”
“Yeah, Danno. What’s the matter with you? We want to go swimming.”
Steve tried his hardest to give Danny his best innocent face when Danny glared at him. Danny pointed his finger at him. “You stay out of this.”
“What did I do?” he asked, throwing his hand up in mock surprise and innocence, enjoying the laughter their antics got out of Grace.
“I can’t take you anywhere. You’re like a big child.”
“Oh, I’m the child?”
“That’s what I said, isn’t it? Or are you hard of hearing too?”
“Nailed it in one, Princess.”
A shriek of laughter reminded him that he and Danny had an audience, and he had just called Danny ‘Princess’ in front of her.
Steve tried to look at Danny, but he had rolled over on the huge blanket they were laying on, not looking at anyone, shaking his head and muttering. Steve was actually a bit surprised, even with Danny’s wariness of the sand, that he didn’t just bury his head beneath it.
He felt bad because he knew that Danny didn’t need this getting back to Rachel and Step Stan, but he had no idea what to say to Grace. He just wasn’t good with kids.
“Come on, Grace. Why don’t we take a walk along the water and you can just put your feet in. How does that sound?”
“Okay, Steve. Can I go, Danno?”
Danny lifted his head to look at the two of them. “Yeah, go ahead, Monkey. Just don’t leave Steve’s side.”
“I won’t” She jumped up and grabbed Steve’s hand.
“Come on, Steve. Let’s go.”
Steve didn’t look at Danny as he got up. He wanted to fix this, needed to fix this, before they dropped Grace back off with Rachel and Step Stan in a little while. Besides, he needed to learn how to talk to Grace and be around her. He wasn’t terrible at it, but it was clear that children weren’t his forte, and if this thing with him and Danny was going somewhere, and he was pretty sure it was, then he really needed to learn.
He took Grace’s hand and they headed down the beach to walk along the edge of the water. Steve was trying to figure out something to say, but Grace spoke up first.
“Why did you call my daddy a princess?”
Steve had to hold back a groan. Leave it to a kid to get right to the point.
“Okay. Grace. Listen, you know how your dad calls you names like ‘monkey’?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, ‘princess’ is kind of a silly name that I have for your father. It’s what I use when we’re joking around with each other, but it’s kind of something that’s just between me and him…”
“So it’s like a secret name.”
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“So I shouldn’t tell Mommy about it.”
“Grace, I don’t think your mother would understand it since it’s a joke between me and Danno.”
“Okay, Steve.” Grace looked up at him and smiled and Steve found himself falling for the little girl that at times could be just as stubborn as her father, but just as loveable.
They walked along the water until Grace decided it was a good idea to start splashing him. He figured that Danny wouldn’t like that so he led Grace back to their blanket. Danny was sitting up waiting for them.
“Come on, Grace. We have to get you back to your mother and Step Stan.”
Grace pouted, and man could that kid pout. “I don’t wanna go. I want to stay here with you and Steve.”
“I know, baby, I wish you could stay too.”
Grace ran into Danny’s arms to give him a hug, and it broke Steve’s heart to see. He wished there was a way that Danny could have Grace all of the time, a way that he could have full custody of Grace, but he knew that would never happen. He began packing up their belongings, letting Danny and Grace make the most of the last of their father-daughter time.
*******
He was so glad it was Friday. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been sick. It almost never happened and he couldn’t figure out how it had happened this time. All he knew was that what had started off as just “feeling a little of” that morning, had turned into full-fledged “feeling like hell” by the end of the day.
It wasn’t until Danny called him that evening to finalize their plans that he figured out how he had gotten sick. Danny was telling him about how Grace had missed school today and yesterday because she was sick.
“That’s how this happened?” Steve bellowed into the phone, interrupting Danny.
“Wait, what?” was Danny’s confused reply.
“I’m sick and I couldn’t figure out how the hell it happened. I haven’t been sick in longer than I can remember.” There was silence on the other end of the phone. “You still there, Danno?”
“Yeah, I’m just… I’m on my way over.” The line went dead before Steve could respond.
Danny had a key to the house, so he just stripped to his boxers and crawled under the covers. He was freezing and his head hurt and his throat was raw and his nose kept running. He felt like death. He hadn’t been sick in so long he’d forgotten just how much it takes out of you.
He heard Danny come in the front door and could tell when he entered the bedroom, but he felt too lousy to bother rolling over to look at him, so he just waited for Danny to come around to this side of the bed.
Danny kneeled by the side of the bed and looked at Steve. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“I’m sorry Grace got you sick.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“How do you feel?”
“Awful. I think I’m dying.”
Danny rolled his eyes. “You know, I think you’re the one who is actually the princess.”
“You wish. Now either shut up and get in bed or get lost.”
“Oh good. Grouchy Steve. My favorite. This weekend is gonna be a blast.”
“No one is making you stay, Princess.”
“Sorry, Cupcake. You’re stuck with me for the weekend.”
He watched Danny get undressed and walk around to the other side of the bed to crawl in with him. Danny stayed on his side of the bed. It was just what they did. There was no cuddling in their relationship, they never even used that word. This was probably mostly Steve’s fault. He had a feeling Danny wouldn’t mind, and Steve felt lousy enough that even he wouldn’t mind right now, but he kept his mouth shut.
He slept fitfully that night and didn’t really drift off until the sun had already risen. When he woke up, he was alone in bed and could hear movement in the kitchen.
He dragged himself from the bed to hit the head, and when he was done, he found Danny sitting on the bed waiting for him with a glass of juice, some toast, and a grin on his face.
“Juice and toast. The breakfast of champions.”
“I hate you.”
“Sure you do, Cupcake.”
Steve sat on the bed and took the food and juice that Danny offered him. He tried to eat the toast, but he really wasn’t that hungry. He did finish off the juice though, and when he was done, he settled himself back under the covers. Danny was still sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Are you feeling any better today?”
“Worse.”
“Oh.”
“What’s with all of this?”
“All of what?”
“This taking care of me.”
“Maybe I just don’t want you terrorizing everyone at work next week.”
“So nice to know that you care.”
Steve found himself getting sleepy. Really sleepy. He was also feeling decent.
“You drugged me.”
“Would you have taken the medicine if I hadn’t?”
Steve glared at him, but the medicine was starting to take full effect and he didn’t have the energy to argue with Danny.
“I hate you,” he told Danny for the second time that morning.
“I know. You already told me that.”
Danny got up and started walking out of the bedroom when Steve spoke up. He blamed it entirely on the drugs because there is no way he would have done this otherwise.
“Stay.” The word was spoken barely above a whisper and he wasn’t sure that Danny had even heard him, but he wasn’t going to repeat himself.
He let out a breath he hadn’t even been aware that he was holding when he felt the mattress dip down beside him.
Danny, as usual, was staying on his side of the bed, even though Steve had asked him to stay. Even with the influence of the drugs he couldn’t bring himself to ask Danny to move closer, so he just scooted back until he bumped into him. He heard Danny snort, but felt him shift his position to spoon him, and then the weight of an arm wrapped around him.
“I’m not the little spoon.”
“Sure you aren’t, Cupcake.”
Steve found himself smiling as he drifted off to sleep. Yes, this was definitely the fault of the cold medicine.
******
A hacking cough woke him from a deep sleep. It was darker in the room so he figured he had managed to sleep through most of the day, which wasn’t a bad thing. There was no warmth beside him and he figured that Danny must have been up and about for a while now.
He groaned and got up to hit the head again. He still felt lousy, but he had to admit that the sleep had done him some good. When he finished, Danny was sitting on the bed waiting for him like he had done that morning. Steve snorted.
“Are you going to drug me again?”
“I figured you’d do it on your own this time,” Danny replied, holding up a packet of cold medicine. Steve nodded his head in consent and reached for the medicine and the juice that Danny was holding out for him.
“Steve, I need to run back to my place to pick up a few things. Will you be all right for a few hours?”
“Yeah sure. No problem.” He didn’t really want Danny to leave though because it was nice having someone taking care of him. Especially Danny. This whole thing was nicer than Steve cared to admit, and the thought of going back to sleep without Danny right next to him did not make him feel any better.
He crawled into bed and watched as Danny got dressed and headed out. The cold medicine was fast acting and he felt himself already being pulled under.
********
The sound of someone shuffling around the bedroom woke him up. Only years of training had him going for his gun before his brain could even begin to wake up.
“Hey, it’s just me,” he heard Danny say as he felt the mattress sink down next to him. The sound of Danny’s voice had relaxed him, but the feel of strong arms wrapping around him caused him to sigh. He blamed it on the cold medicine, but even he knew that excuse was wearing thin.
********
Another hacking cough woke him from another deep sleep. Had he mentioned how much he hated being sick? It was light out and Danny wasn’t in bed with him, which must mean that it was now Sunday morning.
He couldn’t believe how much he had slept since Friday night. He wasn’t sure he had ever slept an entire day away.
He made another trip to the head and included a shower this time. He was beginning to feel better, but he’d be willing to bet that Danny wouldn’t let him go into work tomorrow. He finished his shower and made his way out to the kitchen where Danny was leaning against the counter, also in just his boxers, his hair still slightly damp. He’d apparently managed to take a shower without Steven even realizing it.
“Hey, welcome back from the dead, Steve.”
“Ha. Ha. What’s for breakfast?”
“What do I look like, your personal chef?”
“You’re the one that’s been taking care of me.”
“Yeah, but you look so much better now.”
“No I’m not. I’m still sick.” He let out a couple of fake coughs. “See.”
Danny snorted. “You’re going to have to do a lot better than that if you want breakfast from me, Cupcake.”
Steve started coughing for real this time, a nice long cough that had him gasping for breath before the end of it.
“Was that good enough for you, Princess.” He spat out that last word, taking his frustration out on Danny, but Danny just smiled at him and handed him a glass of water.
“Are you sure you want something to eat?”
“You know what? I really don’t. Just give me some medicine.” He sat down at the table with his water, and Danny handed him some more medicine and another glass of juice. He was cold and cranky, but the little bit of energy he had this morning was already gone and he really didn’t feel like moving. So he just sat at the table, elbows resting on it and head cradled in his hands, watching Danny eat.
He felt his eyelids growing heavy, and he may have even dozed, because he started when Danny poked him.
“You should get back to bed.”
And again, Steve blamed this entirely on the drugs. “Are you coming with me?”
“I’m gonna clean up in here first. I’ll be in in a minute.”
Steve managed to make it back to the bedroom and collapse onto the bed, but he didn’t bother moving to pull the covers over himself. He felt Danny get into bed next to him, pulling the covers over Steve as he did. Steve was surprised when there wasn’t an arm being wrapped around him, and instead there was the sound of the television being turned on.
He rolled over onto his back and saw that Danny was sitting up against the headboard. Still under the influence of the drugs, and thus blaming them for this decision, he rolled onto his side and plastered himself against Danny’s leg, head resting on his lap.
He let out a sigh when Danny began running his fingers through Steve’s hair. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so content, if it had ever even happened. He fell asleep to the feel of Danny’s fingers in his hair and some cheesy horror movie playing on the television.
********
It was the sound of soft laughter that woke him up this time. He was in the same position he had fallen asleep in, pressed against Danny with his head in his lap. Danny’s fingers were even still running through his hair.
He heard laughter again and looked up to see Danny on the phone with a huge smile on his face. He must be on the phone with Grace. He listened to Danny’s end of the conversation, not wanting to move away from the warmth of Danny’s body.
“Gracie says hi and that she hopes you feel better,” Danny told him when he was off of the phone.
“How is she feeling?
“She’ll be back in school tomorrow.”
“I don’t suppose you’ll let me go to work tomorrow.”
“It won’t kill you to take a day off.”
“You should take the day off with me.”
“Are you telling me that you want me to lounge around in bed with you all day tomorrow?”
That was exactly what he had meant, but he hadn’t meant to say it, and this time he couldn’t blame it on the drugs. Steve didn’t say anything and the hand in his hair stopped moving.
Danny scooted down the bed until he was face to face with Steve, and curled a hand around Steve’s neck. Then Danny’s lips were on his. He had been prepared for a demanding kiss, the kind of kiss that he was used to, but was surprised by the tenderness of it.
He had definitely never been kissed so sweetly in his life, and it was intoxicating. His head was swimming, and it wasn’t from the cold or from any medicine.
Steve actually whimpered when Danny pulled away, and when he opened his eyes, Danny was smiling at him. Steve swallowed hard as the sudden jolt of realization washed over him.
Somehow, he had gone and fallen in love with Danny Williams.
And he knew, with certain clarity, that it had been there all along. Ever since the first day they met, guns aimed at each other. It was something that he had been denying all this time. And with the sudden knowledge of this, he realized the possibility of everything that he could have, including allowing himself to want and enjoy cuddling.
“What do you want, Steve?”
He could see the emotions, the same ones he was feeling, in Danny’s eyes, and really there was only one answer he could give.
“I want you to stay with me tomorrow, and I want to do exactly this.”
Danny’s sweet smile turned into a smirk in an instant.
“And what exactly do you call what we’re doing?”
“Don’t push your luck.”
“Aw come one. It’s just one word. I’ll even help you. It starts with the letter ‘c’.”
‘It’s not gonna happen.”
“You know, if you can’t say it then maybe we shouldn’t be doing it.”
“You just got me to admit that I want to do it, and now you’re just not going to?”
“Not my fault you’re so damn stubborn, Cupcake.”
“I have a better idea.”
“It’s not going to get us almost killed, is it?”
Danny just laughed when Steve glared at him.
“How about we forget that that word even exists, and as soon as I’m over this cold, you can fuck me.”
He watched as the smirk turned back to a genuine smile, and then he was being kissed again. Steve had admitted at the beginning of this that he had limited experience with guys, and that included never having bottomed before.
Danny had been patient with Steve, waiting until Steve was ready to give that part of himself up, and maybe if Steve hadn’t been such an idiot, Danny wouldn’t have had to wait. Not that it had been terribly long. It had been only around two months since they had started sleeping together.
“You know,” Danny said in between kisses,” I think I can live with that arrangement.”
Attire / Cupcake and Princess
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0
Pairing: Steve/Danny
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3143
Warnings: schmoop
Summary: Steve blames it on the cold medicine.
Disclaimer: If I owned them then I wouldn't have to play with them in stories.
A/N: Fourth in the adventures of cupcake and princess. Again, thanks to
kelly_girl for that series title ♥Written for this prompt at
kinkme_h50Written for the minor illness (cold, allergies) prompt on my bingo card for
hc_bingo “Come on, Danno. I want to go swimming.”
“No, Gracie. It’s getting late. I don’t want you wet for the ride home.”
“Aw, Danno.”
“Yeah, Danno. What’s the matter with you? We want to go swimming.”
Steve tried his hardest to give Danny his best innocent face when Danny glared at him. Danny pointed his finger at him. “You stay out of this.”
“What did I do?” he asked, throwing his hand up in mock surprise and innocence, enjoying the laughter their antics got out of Grace.
“I can’t take you anywhere. You’re like a big child.”
“Oh, I’m the child?”
“That’s what I said, isn’t it? Or are you hard of hearing too?”
“Nailed it in one, Princess.”
A shriek of laughter reminded him that he and Danny had an audience, and he had just called Danny ‘Princess’ in front of her.
Steve tried to look at Danny, but he had rolled over on the huge blanket they were laying on, not looking at anyone, shaking his head and muttering. Steve was actually a bit surprised, even with Danny’s wariness of the sand, that he didn’t just bury his head beneath it.
He felt bad because he knew that Danny didn’t need this getting back to Rachel and Step Stan, but he had no idea what to say to Grace. He just wasn’t good with kids.
“Come on, Grace. Why don’t we take a walk along the water and you can just put your feet in. How does that sound?”
“Okay, Steve. Can I go, Danno?”
Danny lifted his head to look at the two of them. “Yeah, go ahead, Monkey. Just don’t leave Steve’s side.”
“I won’t” She jumped up and grabbed Steve’s hand.
“Come on, Steve. Let’s go.”
Steve didn’t look at Danny as he got up. He wanted to fix this, needed to fix this, before they dropped Grace back off with Rachel and Step Stan in a little while. Besides, he needed to learn how to talk to Grace and be around her. He wasn’t terrible at it, but it was clear that children weren’t his forte, and if this thing with him and Danny was going somewhere, and he was pretty sure it was, then he really needed to learn.
He took Grace’s hand and they headed down the beach to walk along the edge of the water. Steve was trying to figure out something to say, but Grace spoke up first.
“Why did you call my daddy a princess?”
Steve had to hold back a groan. Leave it to a kid to get right to the point.
“Okay. Grace. Listen, you know how your dad calls you names like ‘monkey’?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, ‘princess’ is kind of a silly name that I have for your father. It’s what I use when we’re joking around with each other, but it’s kind of something that’s just between me and him…”
“So it’s like a secret name.”
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“So I shouldn’t tell Mommy about it.”
“Grace, I don’t think your mother would understand it since it’s a joke between me and Danno.”
“Okay, Steve.” Grace looked up at him and smiled and Steve found himself falling for the little girl that at times could be just as stubborn as her father, but just as loveable.
They walked along the water until Grace decided it was a good idea to start splashing him. He figured that Danny wouldn’t like that so he led Grace back to their blanket. Danny was sitting up waiting for them.
“Come on, Grace. We have to get you back to your mother and Step Stan.”
Grace pouted, and man could that kid pout. “I don’t wanna go. I want to stay here with you and Steve.”
“I know, baby, I wish you could stay too.”
Grace ran into Danny’s arms to give him a hug, and it broke Steve’s heart to see. He wished there was a way that Danny could have Grace all of the time, a way that he could have full custody of Grace, but he knew that would never happen. He began packing up their belongings, letting Danny and Grace make the most of the last of their father-daughter time.
*******
He was so glad it was Friday. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been sick. It almost never happened and he couldn’t figure out how it had happened this time. All he knew was that what had started off as just “feeling a little of” that morning, had turned into full-fledged “feeling like hell” by the end of the day.
It wasn’t until Danny called him that evening to finalize their plans that he figured out how he had gotten sick. Danny was telling him about how Grace had missed school today and yesterday because she was sick.
“That’s how this happened?” Steve bellowed into the phone, interrupting Danny.
“Wait, what?” was Danny’s confused reply.
“I’m sick and I couldn’t figure out how the hell it happened. I haven’t been sick in longer than I can remember.” There was silence on the other end of the phone. “You still there, Danno?”
“Yeah, I’m just… I’m on my way over.” The line went dead before Steve could respond.
Danny had a key to the house, so he just stripped to his boxers and crawled under the covers. He was freezing and his head hurt and his throat was raw and his nose kept running. He felt like death. He hadn’t been sick in so long he’d forgotten just how much it takes out of you.
He heard Danny come in the front door and could tell when he entered the bedroom, but he felt too lousy to bother rolling over to look at him, so he just waited for Danny to come around to this side of the bed.
Danny kneeled by the side of the bed and looked at Steve. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“I’m sorry Grace got you sick.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“How do you feel?”
“Awful. I think I’m dying.”
Danny rolled his eyes. “You know, I think you’re the one who is actually the princess.”
“You wish. Now either shut up and get in bed or get lost.”
“Oh good. Grouchy Steve. My favorite. This weekend is gonna be a blast.”
“No one is making you stay, Princess.”
“Sorry, Cupcake. You’re stuck with me for the weekend.”
He watched Danny get undressed and walk around to the other side of the bed to crawl in with him. Danny stayed on his side of the bed. It was just what they did. There was no cuddling in their relationship, they never even used that word. This was probably mostly Steve’s fault. He had a feeling Danny wouldn’t mind, and Steve felt lousy enough that even he wouldn’t mind right now, but he kept his mouth shut.
He slept fitfully that night and didn’t really drift off until the sun had already risen. When he woke up, he was alone in bed and could hear movement in the kitchen.
He dragged himself from the bed to hit the head, and when he was done, he found Danny sitting on the bed waiting for him with a glass of juice, some toast, and a grin on his face.
“Juice and toast. The breakfast of champions.”
“I hate you.”
“Sure you do, Cupcake.”
Steve sat on the bed and took the food and juice that Danny offered him. He tried to eat the toast, but he really wasn’t that hungry. He did finish off the juice though, and when he was done, he settled himself back under the covers. Danny was still sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Are you feeling any better today?”
“Worse.”
“Oh.”
“What’s with all of this?”
“All of what?”
“This taking care of me.”
“Maybe I just don’t want you terrorizing everyone at work next week.”
“So nice to know that you care.”
Steve found himself getting sleepy. Really sleepy. He was also feeling decent.
“You drugged me.”
“Would you have taken the medicine if I hadn’t?”
Steve glared at him, but the medicine was starting to take full effect and he didn’t have the energy to argue with Danny.
“I hate you,” he told Danny for the second time that morning.
“I know. You already told me that.”
Danny got up and started walking out of the bedroom when Steve spoke up. He blamed it entirely on the drugs because there is no way he would have done this otherwise.
“Stay.” The word was spoken barely above a whisper and he wasn’t sure that Danny had even heard him, but he wasn’t going to repeat himself.
He let out a breath he hadn’t even been aware that he was holding when he felt the mattress dip down beside him.
Danny, as usual, was staying on his side of the bed, even though Steve had asked him to stay. Even with the influence of the drugs he couldn’t bring himself to ask Danny to move closer, so he just scooted back until he bumped into him. He heard Danny snort, but felt him shift his position to spoon him, and then the weight of an arm wrapped around him.
“I’m not the little spoon.”
“Sure you aren’t, Cupcake.”
Steve found himself smiling as he drifted off to sleep. Yes, this was definitely the fault of the cold medicine.
******
A hacking cough woke him from a deep sleep. It was darker in the room so he figured he had managed to sleep through most of the day, which wasn’t a bad thing. There was no warmth beside him and he figured that Danny must have been up and about for a while now.
He groaned and got up to hit the head again. He still felt lousy, but he had to admit that the sleep had done him some good. When he finished, Danny was sitting on the bed waiting for him like he had done that morning. Steve snorted.
“Are you going to drug me again?”
“I figured you’d do it on your own this time,” Danny replied, holding up a packet of cold medicine. Steve nodded his head in consent and reached for the medicine and the juice that Danny was holding out for him.
“Steve, I need to run back to my place to pick up a few things. Will you be all right for a few hours?”
“Yeah sure. No problem.” He didn’t really want Danny to leave though because it was nice having someone taking care of him. Especially Danny. This whole thing was nicer than Steve cared to admit, and the thought of going back to sleep without Danny right next to him did not make him feel any better.
He crawled into bed and watched as Danny got dressed and headed out. The cold medicine was fast acting and he felt himself already being pulled under.
********
The sound of someone shuffling around the bedroom woke him up. Only years of training had him going for his gun before his brain could even begin to wake up.
“Hey, it’s just me,” he heard Danny say as he felt the mattress sink down next to him. The sound of Danny’s voice had relaxed him, but the feel of strong arms wrapping around him caused him to sigh. He blamed it on the cold medicine, but even he knew that excuse was wearing thin.
********
Another hacking cough woke him from another deep sleep. Had he mentioned how much he hated being sick? It was light out and Danny wasn’t in bed with him, which must mean that it was now Sunday morning.
He couldn’t believe how much he had slept since Friday night. He wasn’t sure he had ever slept an entire day away.
He made another trip to the head and included a shower this time. He was beginning to feel better, but he’d be willing to bet that Danny wouldn’t let him go into work tomorrow. He finished his shower and made his way out to the kitchen where Danny was leaning against the counter, also in just his boxers, his hair still slightly damp. He’d apparently managed to take a shower without Steven even realizing it.
“Hey, welcome back from the dead, Steve.”
“Ha. Ha. What’s for breakfast?”
“What do I look like, your personal chef?”
“You’re the one that’s been taking care of me.”
“Yeah, but you look so much better now.”
“No I’m not. I’m still sick.” He let out a couple of fake coughs. “See.”
Danny snorted. “You’re going to have to do a lot better than that if you want breakfast from me, Cupcake.”
Steve started coughing for real this time, a nice long cough that had him gasping for breath before the end of it.
“Was that good enough for you, Princess.” He spat out that last word, taking his frustration out on Danny, but Danny just smiled at him and handed him a glass of water.
“Are you sure you want something to eat?”
“You know what? I really don’t. Just give me some medicine.” He sat down at the table with his water, and Danny handed him some more medicine and another glass of juice. He was cold and cranky, but the little bit of energy he had this morning was already gone and he really didn’t feel like moving. So he just sat at the table, elbows resting on it and head cradled in his hands, watching Danny eat.
He felt his eyelids growing heavy, and he may have even dozed, because he started when Danny poked him.
“You should get back to bed.”
And again, Steve blamed this entirely on the drugs. “Are you coming with me?”
“I’m gonna clean up in here first. I’ll be in in a minute.”
Steve managed to make it back to the bedroom and collapse onto the bed, but he didn’t bother moving to pull the covers over himself. He felt Danny get into bed next to him, pulling the covers over Steve as he did. Steve was surprised when there wasn’t an arm being wrapped around him, and instead there was the sound of the television being turned on.
He rolled over onto his back and saw that Danny was sitting up against the headboard. Still under the influence of the drugs, and thus blaming them for this decision, he rolled onto his side and plastered himself against Danny’s leg, head resting on his lap.
He let out a sigh when Danny began running his fingers through Steve’s hair. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so content, if it had ever even happened. He fell asleep to the feel of Danny’s fingers in his hair and some cheesy horror movie playing on the television.
********
It was the sound of soft laughter that woke him up this time. He was in the same position he had fallen asleep in, pressed against Danny with his head in his lap. Danny’s fingers were even still running through his hair.
He heard laughter again and looked up to see Danny on the phone with a huge smile on his face. He must be on the phone with Grace. He listened to Danny’s end of the conversation, not wanting to move away from the warmth of Danny’s body.
“Gracie says hi and that she hopes you feel better,” Danny told him when he was off of the phone.
“How is she feeling?
“She’ll be back in school tomorrow.”
“I don’t suppose you’ll let me go to work tomorrow.”
“It won’t kill you to take a day off.”
“You should take the day off with me.”
“Are you telling me that you want me to lounge around in bed with you all day tomorrow?”
That was exactly what he had meant, but he hadn’t meant to say it, and this time he couldn’t blame it on the drugs. Steve didn’t say anything and the hand in his hair stopped moving.
Danny scooted down the bed until he was face to face with Steve, and curled a hand around Steve’s neck. Then Danny’s lips were on his. He had been prepared for a demanding kiss, the kind of kiss that he was used to, but was surprised by the tenderness of it.
He had definitely never been kissed so sweetly in his life, and it was intoxicating. His head was swimming, and it wasn’t from the cold or from any medicine.
Steve actually whimpered when Danny pulled away, and when he opened his eyes, Danny was smiling at him. Steve swallowed hard as the sudden jolt of realization washed over him.
Somehow, he had gone and fallen in love with Danny Williams.
And he knew, with certain clarity, that it had been there all along. Ever since the first day they met, guns aimed at each other. It was something that he had been denying all this time. And with the sudden knowledge of this, he realized the possibility of everything that he could have, including allowing himself to want and enjoy cuddling.
“What do you want, Steve?”
He could see the emotions, the same ones he was feeling, in Danny’s eyes, and really there was only one answer he could give.
“I want you to stay with me tomorrow, and I want to do exactly this.”
Danny’s sweet smile turned into a smirk in an instant.
“And what exactly do you call what we’re doing?”
“Don’t push your luck.”
“Aw come one. It’s just one word. I’ll even help you. It starts with the letter ‘c’.”
‘It’s not gonna happen.”
“You know, if you can’t say it then maybe we shouldn’t be doing it.”
“You just got me to admit that I want to do it, and now you’re just not going to?”
“Not my fault you’re so damn stubborn, Cupcake.”
“I have a better idea.”
“It’s not going to get us almost killed, is it?”
Danny just laughed when Steve glared at him.
“How about we forget that that word even exists, and as soon as I’m over this cold, you can fuck me.”
He watched as the smirk turned back to a genuine smile, and then he was being kissed again. Steve had admitted at the beginning of this that he had limited experience with guys, and that included never having bottomed before.
Danny had been patient with Steve, waiting until Steve was ready to give that part of himself up, and maybe if Steve hadn’t been such an idiot, Danny wouldn’t have had to wait. Not that it had been terribly long. It had been only around two months since they had started sleeping together.
“You know,” Danny said in between kisses,” I think I can live with that arrangement.”
Attire / Cupcake and Princess
