PSL: Sentinel AU
Danny is Steve's guide. He is still pretty new at it and working with a Sentinel who has some bad experiences. To top if off, while working a case in Portland he finds out that a guide can have more than one Sentinel who is their perfect match.
Steve Call to Eliot
He pads quietly into Danny's office behind Steve, inhaling deeply as he turns to hang his garment bag up on the back of the door. "Yeah, he talked about her a lot this week. Pretty clear bein' a dad's the most important thing in his life." Which... Eliot had found remarkably endearing, and is one of the reasons he hadn't hesitated to hop on a plane and come help Steve sort this out.
He turns back to Steve, planning to drop onto the couch, bask in Danny's scent a bit, and talk through just how they're going to go about breaking the news to Danny once they have the rest results, but he stops at the sight of the other man just standing there, unmoving. "Hey, Steve."
Eliot walks around so he can see his face, careful to stay out of arm's reach just in case, and grimaces as he sees the blank look on Steve's face. "Fuck." It comes out as a growl and his eyes dart to the open bag on top of his duffel. It might not be the culprit, but he figures it can't be helping under the circumstances. "Hey, man. I'm just gonna close this up, okay." He keeps his voice low, warm, soothing. Trying to be something to focus on, though he doubts it'll do much good coming from him. But it's better than leaving Steve in silence, even if he doesn't really have any idea what the other Sentinel might be hearing, locked inside his own head. "Then we're gonna sit you down on the couch... an' then I'm gonna call Danny, okay?"
He's moving as he talks, basically narrating his actions as he seals the ziplock and shoves it back in his bag, then approaches Steve slowly and from the front. "Just gonna put a hand on your arm and help you to the couch," he tells Steve, and reaches out to match action to words.
Steve Call to Eliot
In Danny's office, Eliot's words fade till he doesn't hear them at all. There's no noise where he's at. It's peaceful and quiet. Visually he has no sense of either. Touch and smell are there but in a far distant sort of way. The scent he's chasing has a taste, a flavor but it's the only flavor on his radar. It's familiar and comfortable. The smell makes him feel relaxed and at ease. He knows he should be able to figure out what it is but... Then, in a sudden change, it intensifies then nearly vanishes. He's chasing those hard to find particles. He needs more. He can have more he just needs to focus.
In the outside world, Steve's face is blank. His breathing is deep and once the baggy closes it becomes longer on the inhale, using his full lung capacity. When Eliot touches his arm he doesn't flinch or react. He is pliable to Eliot's manipulations however and easily moves to the couch and sits when the back of his knees hit the edge and Eliot pushes him into a seated position. There's no indication he's tracking anything at all.
Steve Call to Eliot
"Okay, darlin', just sit tight an' I'm gonna get you some help," he murmurs, rubbing his left hand lightly up and down Steve's forearm as he reaches for his cell phone with his right. Physical contact has always been one of the easiest ways to help him out of a zone, and while he doesn't expect to have any real success with it he can't not try.
He's already got Danny in his speed dial, so it's only a moment before the phone's ringing. He just hopes like hell he's somewhere that he can answer. And that he can drop whatever he's doing with Grace and come.
Re: Steve Call to Eliot
"Hi babe, missed me already?"
Steve Call to Eliot
"You know it, sweetheart, but... that's not why I'm callin'." His voice is rough and a little strained, and he's rubbing his thumb gently over the pulse at Steve's wrist as he speaks, even as he listens for Danny's pulse and the sound of his breathing on the other end of the line. "I need you... I need you t'come to your office. I'll explain why I'm here later, but right now... Steve's gone an' zoned out on me, and you need t'come pull him out of it."
Re: Steve Call to Eliot
"Hi Kono. I need to drop by the office, Steve's having a rough day." Kono knows enough to know what that means. "Mind watching Gracie for a bit?" At Kono's affermative he crouches down to Grace. "Hi monkey. Danno's gotta go see uncle Steve for a bit, but Auntie Kono will take you to Kamekona's for some shaved ice, alright? And then when we get home you can have anything you want for dinner. Deal?" There is an excited "Yes!" from someone who can only be Grace.
Then Danny grab his stuff and his keys, well the keys to Steve's truck and heads towards it. He pulls a shirt over his boardshorts. "You and I are going to have a serious talk, Eliot. You know that right? Steve's in the office?"
Re: Steve Call to Eliot
He does as Danny suggests, lifting Steve's hand and settling it over his heart, making sure to keep his own breathing deep and even as he listens to Danny's conversation. His breath catches a little at the sound of what must be Grace's voice, frustrated at the idea of ruining Danny's afternoon with his daughter, but even moreso at the knowledge of what he's missing with his son.
"Yeah, well, that was gonna be happenin' anyway," he points out quietly, sounding resigned as he glances up at Steve's face to see if there's any indication that hearing Danny's voice through the phone is helping him at all. "Yeah. He's safe, I just doubt I'll have much luck trying t'pull him out of this. I'm gonna put this on speaker, in case hearin' your voice helps him."
Steve Call to Eliot
Internally he has no conscious awareness of what's happening externally. Unconsciously however he can feel the heat from Eliot's body under his hand, causing his fingers to gently twitch. The heartbeat is felt underneath those fingers, along with the rhythm of Eliot's breathing and slowly Steve's breathing starts to change to fall into sync with it. It's not an instant transition, but that takes place over several minutes. Once his breathing adjusts his heartbeat follow suit.
Re: Steve Call to Eliot
The truck's engine roars as Danny turns to drive out. "Hey Steve, babe, can you hear me? I'll be there in a second alright, don't do anything stupid. Eliot will take care of you." He drives fast and more than a little dangerously to get there, Steve's bee a bad influence. But it is only seven or so minutes when he runs up the stairs to their offices. Once he is inside he glances around, at first going for Steve's office and then frowning when he sees them in his. He ducks inside and places a hand on Eliot's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. He might be curious and frustrated, but he is also glad to see the Sentinel.
Then he turns his attention to Steve, moving to sit on the couch next to him and reaching out to pull him close, to pull his head onto his shoulders. He knows Steve likes the scent of him. "Hey babe, I'm here, I got you. You're safe." He strokes Steve's neck with one hand and with the other reaches out to place it on Eliot's shoulder again, making sure he knows he is not forgotten.
Steve Call to Eliot
Eliot switches the phone over to speaker and sets it on the arm of the couch, then focuses on Steve as well. Uses one hand to hold Steve's pressed over his heart and curls the other back around Steve's wrist, gently stroking over his pulse. He takes some comfort from the fact he can feel Steve's breathing slowly syncing with his, and then his heart rate following. He doesn't say anything else, though, knowing Danny's voice is infinitely more likely to help than his own.
He considers going to find something in the office that smells particularly strongly of Danny, but he doesn't want to lose what progress he's made in Steve seeming at least subconsciously aware of his presence, so he's still crouched on the floor at the other Sentinel's feet when he hears Danny's footsteps approaching, familiar already, and then his heartbeat once he reaches the hall to 5-0's office. He draws in a slightly shuddering breath as Danny opens the outer office door and he can catch his scent, fresh and sharp... and frustrated, worried, and confused.
He glances up when Danny enters, working hard to keep the sudden, vibrating tension at bay. The need to get up and go to him. To touch. To taste. He stays where he is, though, breathing still careful and steady and deep, Steve's hand pressed to his heart which hasn't so much as skipped because he won't let it. His eyes drop half-shut, though, and he leans almost imperceptibly into the touch for the fraction of a second that Danny squeezes his shoulder... and then he sits back on his haunches and looks away as Danny sits on the couch and pulls Steve against him, settles the taller man's head on his shoulder and strokes his neck.
Eliot called Danny here, he knows he needs to be here, needs to help Steve, but that doesn't make it easy. He's about to take Steve's hand from his own chest and press it to Danny's, to stand up and move away and give the pair of them privacy for this, when Danny's free hand drops onto his shoulder again and he freezes in place, chin dropping to his chest and breath shuddering out raggedly. He should stand up, should leave, but he can't make himself move away from that touch, and what he finds himself doing instead, without conscious volition, is shifting to lean against Danny's legs, Steve's hand still pressed lightly over his heart.
Steve Call to Eliot
The change in position doesn't register for him, now leaning into Danny, but the strength of scent does. Guide. His guide. And his breath deepens momentarily but when that takes him out of sync with what he's feeling under his hand, it's corrected on the next breath. It's not until the feeling of skin on skin, as Danny strokes his neck though, that he starts to show signs of coming out of the zone. He whimpers lightly, turning his head into Danny's neck so that each inhale pulls in more of his scent, but his breathing stays in sync with Eliot's. His hand, over Eliot's heart twitches, falling into time with the sensation.
That scent he was chasing is here in this room. A combination of the equally strong smell of the two men along with the scent of something else. A musk, heady and rich. He wants that. Wants this and with that thought he's able to let go of the intense focus he had on that foreign scent. Leaning more into Danny, pushing his nose under his neck while exposing his own neck more for further caress, and flattening his hand against Eliot's chest, he sighs out a content hum on an exhale. He's still not with them, but his breathing and heart beat are still matched with Eliot's, and he's responding to Danny's scent and sound of his voice. The touch of both men are providing him an anchor, beckoning him to come back to the present.
Re: Steve Call to Eliot
He knows he's head over heels for both of them, he knows he needs both of them. But he also knows this isn't about what he wants or needs. They have to figure out what they are comfortable with, how much they are willing to share. But that doesn't mean he can't enjoy this.
Re: Steve Call to Eliot
Steve Call to Eliot
The scent, it smells like his guide, but it's not like it's supposed to be. Was this a trick? Did the military figure it out? Was he back with them? Growling at just the instinctual worry he tries to fight his way back to the surface. This was no time for zoning. If he or his guide was in danger, he didn't have time to be zoned. He knows this feeling. He's been indirectly trained to fight his own way back when things didn't make sense. The Navy would force him into a zone and attempt to leave him there. Sometimes it worked and sometimes he didn't drop down far enough, only made it to where he is now and he'd be with it enough that instinct would kick in.
He's not thinking. There's still no conscious thought. He's operating completely on instinct, emotion and feelings, but they're not making sense. The peace bubble he'd found himself in is collapsing.
Re: Steve Call to Eliot
Steve Call to Eliot
Steve Call to Eliot
Awareness does not clear up his confusion. He has Danny, becoming more and more under him with his head over the other man's heart. The scent and the heartbeat are both recognized, but his senses all feel muddy, sluggish and off. Like he's underwater or his brain has been stuffed with cotton. He feels the tension and he's ready to attack but he has no idea what the threat is. His training has him holding off from just lashing out but he's tense and ready should he need to. Danny just needs to give him a direction.
The headache pounding behind his eyes make it hard for him to think. Memories are distant and he's not fully certain where he is or why they are in this situation. He feels Danny's stroke down his spine and he presses into it but he wants and needs more. There has to be a reason why Danny isn't giving it to him like he usually would and in his current state assumes it's the situation. Danny's tone register more than his words, the uneasiness clearly received where meaning is not yet taking hold. Once he recovers from the zone he's going to need to recalibrate his senses.
"Danny?" His voice comes out on a whisper, cautious and uncertain. He wants to ask what's going on but if they aren't in a 'safe' location he doesn't want to give his vulnerability away.
Re: Steve Call to Eliot
So he closes his eyes briefly, trying to slow down his breathing and relax. "Easy easy, both of you. There is only the two of you here. No danger nothing is going on. Come on Steve, easy now," Once Steve's hand is over his chest he reaches out to Eliot to take his hand. "Easy Eliot. He's not dangerous, and I know you don't want to hurt him."
Steve Call to Eliot
It's only Danny's voice that's keeping him in check in the first strained moments, steady and calm and reassuring even if his heart rate gives it the lie. His gaze flicks from Danny's hand smoothing down Steve's back to Danny's face to Steve's head resting against Danny's chest, though, and his teeth stay bared, his body vibrating with tension, ready to move. To fight. He's already lost one Guide, so close to a bond, he's not going to risk this one.
But Steve doesn't move, and when his voice comes it's quiet and uncertain, and when Danny reaches for his hand Eliot lets him take it, grip almost painfully tight as he continues to watch Steve. He knows Danny's right, knows Steve's not a threat to him, that he doesn't want to hurt the other Sentinel, but it's hard to remember that in the face of the deep, visceral fear of losing Danny.
He squeezes Danny's hand tighter for a fraction of a second, grip almost crushing, and then yanks his hand abruptly away, backing up a few steps at the same time. He needs to be in control, dammit. "I'll be-" He waves a hand vaguely towards the door, voice a harsh rasp and gaze focused with feral intensity on Danny's face. Just Danny. No threat. He doesn't need Eliot's protection. He needs Eliot to get the hell away like he should have from the start. "Call me. If you need me." And then he spins and stalks from the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
Steve Call to Eliot
When Eliot speaks the sound of his voice registers and twinges a memory. Hoping that will clear things up he reaches for that and when things fall back into place he groans. Eliot. Charlie. They're in the office. He doesn't remember Danny being there but knowing he zoned he can guess that Eliot called Danny. It explains the tension and why he can't get the relief that he needs.
Taking a shaky breath he tries to push away from Danny. "S-sorry." Every instinct is screaming at him to curl into his guide, to overwhelm himself with Danny's touch, smell, taste and sound, but Danny isn't his guide and he can't have what he needs. Nausea rolls in his stomach and this time when he pushes away he's successful in getting himself back into a seated position. He's pasty pale and he keeps his eyes closed as he takes deep breaths trying to calm his stomach.
His senses are a mess, he's still not hearing right and the only smell that doesn't seem overwhelming is Danny, but the sound of the door slamming is impossible to misinterpret and with one of the unidentified scents suddenly not as strong he realizes that Eliot has left the room. Swallowing he tilts his head in Danny's direction, keeping his eyes closed - he doesn't need to add more confusion to his already scrambled senses, and slurs out, "You shou go aftr 'em."
Re: Steve Call to Eliot
Hearing Steve's words Danny shakes his head. "He needs some space and you need me." He isn't entirely sure space is what Eliot needs but he knows Steve needs him to be here. He reaches out to pull Steve close again. "You feeling better babe? I got you right here. When you feel alright, I'll grab you some water." He moves to continue stroking Steve's back.
Steve Call to Eliot
This isn't working, isn't going to work for him. He let them get to close, that was his fault, backing off with Danny still being right there... He doesn't think he's strong enough to do it, but he doesn't have a choice.
His voice gains a bit of steal that he doesn't actually feel and makes it into a command. "Go, Danny. You need to go!"
Re: Steve Call to Eliot
"Grace is with Kono. She's been asking about you, told her we'd have dinner together tonight all of us. I'll see you then."
Then he heads out of the office and into the rest of the building. "Eliot. Your phone." His voice doesn't carry the warmth it usually does, now it is just tired and defeated and hurt. "I am sorry."
Re: Steve Call to Eliot
It would be easier if he couldn't hear the conversation in the other room, couldn't smell Danny and Steve's scents twined and layered together so many times, so completely, in this space, that it's almost impossible to pick them apart from each other. But he doesn't have a choice, functioning isn't optional, and he's about to leave the office entirely, head for the street outside and try to get his shit together by walking and distracting himself when he hears Steve's voice.
"God dammit." It's under his breath, frustrated and angry and worried as he hears Danny get up. Answer. Move to leave. And for all Eliot wants Danny, wants him out here, with him, where he can see and touch and taste him, catch his scent without it twined inexorably with another Sentinel's, he doesn't want it like this. Because he hasn't known Danny long, but he knows him well enough to be sure that there's no way this scenario ends well for him. Steve's part of Danny's life--hell, he lives with the man, seems to essentially co-parent with him--and Eliot's a virtual stranger who lives twenty-five hundred miles away. If it comes down to a choice between them there's no way in hell that Eliot wins.
He's already turned to the door by the time Danny opens it, face set in grim lines. He doesn't take the phone when Danny holds it out, he does take Danny's arm in a solid but remarkably gentle grip and turn him back towards his office. He's not taking no for an answer. "Don't be a fucking jackass, McGarrett," Eliot snarls at the open door, glaring at the other Sentinel. "You're not even close t'good, you need his god damn help!"
Steve Call to Eliot
When the door opens he raises his head and opens his eyes. The pupils are pin-sized and all he really sees is two humanoid shadows in the light. He doesn't need to see them though, he knows exactly who they are. For a moment he just glares at them.
He's tired, he's hurting in every which way and he doesn't have the energy to fight this. It allows him to be more forthcoming than he normally would. Maybe once he tells them they'll understand and leave him the hell alone to start figuring this shit out for himself.
"I can't do it. I can't go back." Lower his eyes to the floor he shakes his head. When he speaks it's directed at Eliot. He's already tried to explain this to Danny and the other man just couldn't seem to understand, maybe Eliot being a sentinel he'll have better luck. "I thought if we were equals... That it'd be doable. That we could manage it. But we're not. You're the boyfriend. I need to be the friend but... I can't..." He can't go back to just being just friends. He had too much of Danny, more than he had a right too, and he hadn't thought about the future, now, when he allowed them to get closer. And now he needs that closeness, craves it with all of his being. Maybe if he had time, a chance to distance himself a little bit. A chance to get over Danny. But this, trying to do it like this, he just couldn't do it. "If I need to figure this out on my own he can't be at arm's reach."
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