dann_0 | PSL: Sentinel AU

Danny's relief is like a physical thing, and Steve feels the wave of it washing away some of his lingering unease at the situation as well. He returns the smile as he gets out the eggs and the bread to make toast. "It was... Good. Uneventful."

They work and move well around each other. Steve adds the butter to his coffee and then returns it and the milk to the fridge once Danny is done doctoring his own. He knows he needs to say something. That they need to finish the conversation so that it won't be hanging in between them, but he'd hadn't gotten that far yet.

"Danny, I'm sorry." He starts and then stops. That was the easy part but no where near the only. "Finding out if things had been different, that we could have... Had more... That you found more with another sentinel... It... Messed me up a bit. I'm not trying to excuse anything, just... I'm sorry I made this difficult for you. More than it has to be. That wasn't my intention."

Danny stops, watching him. He is about to say something when Steve starts again and his jaw drops a little. "You wanted more?" He licks his lips unsure what to say to that. "Steve. I... I didn't think you'd be interested in that. Didn't want to risk what we had... have, on that chance. Lose you just because..." He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I'm the one who's made it difficult. I am sorry, I should have been honest with you, with myself. About that and about change."

"With the Navy... With the way things are with Catherine showing up regularly. How could I ask for more with that hanging over my head. You deserve better Danny." And truth be told, Steve was scared of messing up and losing Danny too. He offers Danny a weak smile. "With any luck you've found something good with Eliot. I'll support you in that the best I can. I uh... It may take a bit to get used to seeing you with someone else but I'll get there, Danny." He is determined.

Danny gives him a weak smile. "And you'll still be my partner? And my Sentinel?" Even now he is terrified of losing Steve. Losing the only thing that makes this place home. He'd stay for Grace, but without Steve he'd be miserable.

"I hope I've found something good with him. But I don't want to lose the good thing I have with you."

"You're my backup, Partner. The only one I trust to always have my back, I'm not giving that up." He gives Danny a smile then looks away. "I still can't reconcile how you can have two sentinels. Especially one that's only a friend and the other that's a lover." Steve swallows and stills his hands from breakfast preparations. "But truth be told I've never really been without a guide. Even when my abilities came back, before we knew, you'd been guiding me. I'll work on being more independent, but I'm still going to be reliant on you... I'm sorry for that too."

Finding another guide just leaves him in this same situation. He realized last night that the Navy was banking on this. That his abilities would come back and he'd need Catherine to keep balanced. Who else would he have?! They didn't figure on Danny and that's given him some time.

Danny nods and then moves close, placing a hand on Steve's back. "I think that would be good. Not because I don't want you close but because I want you to be as strong and capable as you can be. If something happens to me I need you to take care of Grace for me. I am not going to stop being your guide though."

He moves to help Steve, getting a pan out and adding the bacon to it.

Steve tenses when Danny's hand lands on his back and he prevents himself from pushing into it as he normally would. Being more independent means less of accepting comfort every time it's offered. He can't help the shiver that runs down his spine though when Danny moves away again. He has no doubt this is going to be difficult. With Grace coming this weekend though, that should help. Danny will be in his own room just by having her here, that should make the adjustment easier. Idly he wonders if he can talk Rachel into letting Grace stay for a week - not likely. "Happy to hear you agree. I'm sure with a bit of discipline we can get it back to where it was, before." Holding up an egg, he asks, "Scrambled or sunny side up?"

"Nothing better happen to you!" There's almost a growl to his voice. "But I'll always be there for Grace." Even when he gets called back to active duty or if Rachel moves her or tries to prevent him from contacting her, he'd find a way to keep in touch.

Edited 2017-06-01 18:51 (UTC)

"Before I found out you mean?" Danny does his best to hide the disappointment in his voice. He's grown used to being close to Steve, to touch and be touched in return. He's pretty sure it's been a crush for a long time now. "I'll have whatever you want."

He smiles at the little almost growl and then the promise. "I know, but sometimes accidents happen, Steve. We don't exactly have a safe job. And I need to be sure she's taken care of should anything happen."

Steve frowns at that and shakes his head. "This isn't what I want, Danny, but it's how things need to be. You have another partner now, a romantic one and that takes precedence over friends, even best friends." Without having an answer he starts cracking eggs to mix in a bowl. "We shouldn't have let things get this far between us. I wasn't thinking long term. I'm sorry for that. I really am."

"I'll just have to keep making sure it doesn't!" Losing Danny in the line of duty is not an option if he can do anything to prevent it.

"You know, I used to think that way with Rachel. Let her be everything in my life apart from work. And you know how that ended up. I want to make room for him in my life yes, but I also want to make sure there is room for you there." He runs his hand through his hair. He doesn't really buy how them being close was bad in the long term. But he doesn't want to argue with Steve. They had enough of that last night.

"I know you will. You're a good man, even if you are an idiot." He is happy to fall into their old little pretend fights.

"As a friend. I'll still be part of your life as that and your work partner, but what we were doing... That's not what friends do." Says the man who's never had a friend like Danny before, or close friendships at all for that matter. "Grace, your partner back east, you can't tell me you guys snuggled. And if you did, Rachel was okay with that." Part of the problem is Steve wants to fight. He doesn't want to let Danny go or distance himself in any way. He's not only fighting with Danny, but also with himself. He knows he has to back off but dammit he doesn't want to.

"No, but Grace wasn't a sentinel. Or if she was it was long before I was a guide. We're a bit different, you need the touch. Didn't you touch your previous guides?" He shakes his head. "As my friend and my Sentinel"

He reaches out to give Steve's shoulder a squeeze before he returns to the bacon.

"Just because I'm a sentinel and your friend doesn't give me the right to be in the way with your romantic relationships. If you had still been dating Gabby when this all started we wouldn't have gotten so... Intimate. She would have been upset finding out that we sleep and cuddle together. It's understandable that Eliot would too." Steve sighs and drops his head. "If anything, being a sentinel makes it all the more important to have well defined boundaries. We're possessive by nature and are known to go feral when our boundaries are challenged." Steve was more prone to zone than to go feral but he knew others were the opposite. Whichever way Eliot leaned towards he didn't know but he knew the chances were high he was one of the two. Seeing the hickeys all over Danny had almost been enough to send him into a zone. His smell that integrated into Danny's along with the knowledge of how intimate they were would certainly trigger the other man. While Danny wanted to claim both of them as his, Eliot and Steve meant nothing to each other. It was going to be difficult to allow the other to be that close to their guide.

Steve shakes his head at Danny's question. "Not really, no." Touch is Steve's most sensitive sense and he considers it to be very intimate. At first he was too withdrawn with everything that happened in such a short time that others touching him was too overwhelming. It pushed at his barriers and crowded the space that he needed to have around himself. Once guides started being regularly reassigned he needed a certain level of detachment that was too difficult to maintain if he let them get to close. Training with touch had been the one he hated the most and it was the one they used to zone him when he was being disciplined. When Steve had met Danny, he was touch starved by choice. It had amazed and quite frankly scared him at first how much Danny liked to touch, but then Steve started finding he didn't mind being touched by Danny, and then he even came to like it. Now touch along with Danny scent is what Steve finds centers him the most and keeps his senses balanced.

"You've seen me with Catherine." There's barely any contact there and Steve naturally gravitates to Danny even in her presence. "That's pretty much as much as it gets." Even when they slept in the same bed, snuggling did not happen. Steve had his side, she had hers.

"He said the same thing about you being possessive. You Sentinels I mean." He sighs a little, he wishes this was easier but he knows he can force it. From what they've said he knows they have already been through enough of other people forcing things on them. "But alright. We'll dial it dow. Alright."

He frowns at that. He knows how much Steve enjoys being touched and the idea of losing that aspect of his friendship is not something he is happy about. "But with me you ... You never had that?" He hates what they have done to Steve and to Eliot. Using them like this and not letting them have what they need. He frowns and looks away. "I wish I'd know about it sooner. I could have helped you."

Steve nods both relieved to hear Danny agree with him and hurt that he did. It's a fucked up situation no matter which way he looks at it. Danny is conceding now because Steve has asked him to. Steve is asking him in order to give Danny a better chance at his relationship with Eliot. A relationship that he supports because it will be better for Danny in the end. It's his own doing, putting this distance between them, but that doesn't mean it hurts any less.

"Not before you, no. Touch was... Uncomfortable. Even overwhelming at times. With you..." Steve shrugged. "A lot of things changed, I don't know why. You touching me doesn't feel like it does with others." That was putting it mildly but Danny was well aware of how much his touch did for him. "And your scent and your voice have stronger effects on me than in the past with other guides." The corner of his lips twitched up in a smile. "Without sounding sappy, you're easier on the eyes and taste better too." Dropping his eyes, the twitching stops and the smile fades. "I think you've been helping since we met, partner. We just didn't realize it." Looking up at Danny there's sadness in his eyes, but Steve forces a smile before looking back at the now scrambled egg mix to add to the pan. "And you'll continue to. It'll just be as friends instead of the old married couple routine we've fallen into."

This was for the better. He had to keep telling himself that. It was hard now, but in the long term, it would be better.

Edited 2017-06-04 21:20 (UTC)

Danny had conceded because Steve was so insistent, not because he wants to. He wants to continue fighting for this, for them being close. But maybe Steve knew best, he did have a lot more experience after all. And Danny had to respect Steve's wishes. From Steve and Eliot, he has the feeling that that is rather rare for Sentinels, but he refuses to take advantage of them.

Being told he is easier on the eyes takes him by surprise. "You serious?" He hadn't thought of that. He somehow always figured Steve wanted someone more like him. The comment about the taste makes him lick his lips. Eliot had said something like that too. He wonders if the two of them have any idea of how much they sound alike?

"But we haven't met our quota of married couple jokes this month yet."

Steve blinks at Danny. "Of course I'm serious." While he does find Danny physically attractive, and has since before his abilities returned, he actually had meant physically Danny is easier on his eyes.

When it comes to attraction though, Steve has always felt a stronger pull from those who connect with him emotionally - which granted for Steve has been very few. He's too accustomed to being used and discarded, when someone values him for him and not for how they can use him, he finds that attractive. It's never mattered to him if that person is male or female.

Keeping his eyes on the pan, he shrugs. "Once people know you're dating Eliot I expect those to stop." And if they don't he will put a stop to them. "You know though, people are going to need to see him. If not meet him a picture with you or something. Otherwise they are likely to think you're making up a cover."

He knows Danny meant his comment as a joke, but those jokes have been happening since the beginning. When he thought about going back to the way they were before, that hadn't been a factor he considered. Putting a stop to the comments would be easy enough, but if others thought they were married by their actions, how was Eliot going to handle seeing them together? How was he going to handle seeing Eliot and Danny together? Then again, if Eliot didn't come to Hawaii, that could solve that issue for them both.

He frowns. "What should I be making a cover for. And I doubt Eliot wants to come here so it will have to be a picture." Danny frowns. "I am not sure what Rachel is going to say about it. I never told her I like guys too. It didn't seem to matter back then because I was only ever going to be with her and afterward... Well, don't want to give her more stuff to be angry about."

He looks over at Steve. "Did you tell Kono and Chin about Eliot? I don't think he wants anyone to know what he is. Apparently his own friends didn't even know until I walked into the picture. Quite litterally."

"It's none of Rachel's business. If Eliot isn't coming here... If Grace won't be seeing you both together is there a reason to tell her at all?" Not that he wants Danny to keep secrets from Grace, but if Grace won't be exposed it might be better to tell her when she's older when Rachel doesn't have as much control.

Steve shook his head. "It's not mine to share." Not that Danny had met someone or that the someone was a sentinel as well. Really there may be no reason for them ever to know the latter. If they ever found it that was up to Danny and Eliot. The only reason he'd agreed to tell them about himself was they needed to know considering their line of work. When Danny wasn't available or if he was injured he may need them to step in to help or avoid detection.

"Iguess not, but I would not have mineded that much about the being with a guy part. I don't think they should know about him being a sentinel. I don't know what to do about Grace, I don't want to hide him but ... I'll have to explain it all eventually. I just haven't figured out how yet. Don't think I will this weekend though. I'll ask him how he want to be introduced to her. Maybe she can come to Portland sometime."

"I doubt Eliot is any more interested in people knowing that he's a sentinel than I am. That really is on a strict need to know basis. For our protection and everyone else's." Listening to Danny, Steve hears the wistful tone more than the words. Turning he puts his hand on his partners bicep and offers a supportive squeeze. "There's no reason for you to hide that part of yourself, Danny, if you don't want to. If you want Grace to know, when you're ready, you should tell her. If Rachel doesn't like it, that's her problem. If she tries to stop you from seeing Grace because of it, then we'll deal with that bridge when we come to it."

"It's a bit different. I've done a lot worse than being quiet about who I like for Grace." he takes a breath. "But I'd like for Eliot to be a part of her life too. I ... I really like knowing that if something happens to me you two will take care of her."

He smiles at Steve. "Not yet, maybe when she is older. It'll be easier to explain to her then"

"I'm sure he knows how important she is to you." You can't spend quality time with Danny and not know his little girl means everything to him, so Steve is fairly confident that Eliot is aware. "I'm also certain that you guys will work something out. Like we did." Accommodating the way they normally lived for when Grace was here had never been a hardship for Steve. He loved having Grace in the house and the small changes were more than worth having her presence in their home. Having Danny that much happier and whole played a huge part into that as well.

Giving Danny's bicep a final squeeze, he nods and focuses back on the eggs. They're almost done. "You'll find the right time. And, when you do, she'll understand and be accepting of it. You raised her right, Danny."

PSL: Sentinel AU

Picking Danny up at the Airport

Picking Danny up at the Airport

Picking Danny up at the Airport

Re: Picking Danny up at the Airport

Picking Danny up at the Airport

Re: Picking Danny up at the Airport

Picking Danny up at the Airport

Re: Picking Danny up at the Airport

Re: Picking Danny up at the Airport

Re: Picking Danny up at the Airport

Re: Picking Danny up at the Airport

Re: Picking Danny up at the Airport

Picking Danny up at the Airport

Re: Picking Danny up at the Airport

Picking Danny up at the Airport

Re: Picking Danny up at the Airport

Picking Danny up at the Airport

Re: Picking Danny up at the Airport

Picking Danny up at the Airport

Re: Picking Danny up at the Airport

Picking Danny up at the Airport

Re: Picking Danny up at the Airport

Picking Danny up at the Airport