#mcdanno are soulmates

[sunnoah]

THEY ARE SO FUNNY ICBBBBBB JSJSJSDJ "you neanderthal animal" lmaooo

[teruel-a-witch]

they really are *that* couple, the one whose flame never burns out, bubble never bursts, honeymoon period never ends, warmth shining through the years, only growing closer and fonder. As crazy about each other as when they met but somehow more in love.

[erandri]

Steve glances at his arm again, the fifth time in as many minutes, and is dismayed to see that the only thing written there is his own scrawling 'Hi'. It's not the most elegant way to introduce yourself to your soulmate but 'Do you prefer spring or summer weddings?' seemed like a bit much. His friends suggestions hadn't been much better, all of them younger than him and not able to communicate through their soul connection yet.

It had taken him weeks to muster up the courage to do it and still after an hour there was no response, but Steve wasn't going to let it get to him. His soulmate could live on the other side of the world and be asleep. Or maybe they just didn't know what to say. Or maybe they don't speak English.

Or maybe they were ignoring him.

There were a lot of people who ignored their connection, buying arm bands or getting tattoos to cover any writing from their soulmate. There was a small, but growing, movement of people who believed that the idea of soulmates was an antiquated idea. That some mysterious, cosmic link between two people should not automatically mean that they are the only ones for each other.

Steve had always been the opposite. When he was young and they were first learning about connection in school he had gone home and asked him mom question after question about soulmates. He loved the idea that somewhere out there in the world there was one person that would be perfect for him. He wants that, to have someone that he could know so intimately, to have someone he could share every part of himself with. Soulmates always seemed to happy together that even at his young age he envied their connection.

It seems that his soulmate doesn’t feel the same way. At the end of the day, after waiting seven hours and still no response from his soulmate, Steve washes the ink off of his arm.

---

It was another month before he dared to write to his soulmate again. He had thought about doing it dozens of times, making up reasons as to why his soulmate didn't reply last time and why they would have to respond this time, until finally he mustered up the courage to do it again.

Steve left the message on his arm for two days. Still, there was no response.

---

Despite the fact that his soulmate doesn't want to talk with him, it doesn't stop Steve from writing. It's just little things, like the fact that he made captain of the football team, or what movie he happened to be watching. Sometimes he just draws pictures of what he's looking at. There's never a response but by now he's accepted that there never will be. He still likes the possibility that somewhere out there in the world, his soulmate is reading what he writes.

---

A few days after his mother dies Steve can't stop writing. He writes a novel on his arm of everything that he can't say out loud. Memories of his mother, things that she used to say, how they don't seem like a family with her gone. He writes until his pen runs out of ink, until there's so much of it on him that it will take weeks for it all to wash off of his skin. When he's done he sits on his bedroom floor exhausted.

He's almost fallen asleep when there's a warmth on his arm, like the sun is shining on it even though it's past 9pm. The warmth disappears almost as soon as it starts and he immediately misses the sensation. When he looks down, for the first time there's writing on his arm that isn't his own. Scrawled messily in blue ink is 'I'm sorry' and for the first time since the funeral he cries for what’s he’s lost.

---

When he joins the Naval Academy they give him a standard issue arm band and tell him, as a security measure for both him and his soulmate, that he needs to cease all contact. That if he's in contact with his soulmate that this is his last chance to say goodbye because as soon as he walks out of the room he is officially a naval cadet.

He doesn't write anything.

---

Years go by and Steve almost forgets about his soulmate. The black sleeve around his arm becomes so familiar to him that he no longer sees it, just like he no longer sees the matching sleeves on the twenty-four men that he's stationed with. They're in the middle of the desert, sweating their ass off for weeks on end waiting for intelligence to come through on a terrorist cell hiding out in the mountains somewhere, and the only thing reminding him that the sleeve is there is the pesky sand that always seems to find a way underneath it.

He’s on the night watch, hunkered down behind a rock outcrop for cover and watching the moon slowly rise above the sand dunes. It’s nearing midnight and he’s waiting for Martinez to relieve him when he feels it. His arm feels warm under the band, like someone’s holding onto him and he knows that if he looks down he’ll see words appearing on his skin. He knows that it’s against regulation, but he’s all alone in the middle of the desert and the temptation is too much.

Slowly, he peels of the band, revealing pale skin and three words written in blue pen. He holds his arm in the moonlight and his stomach drops when he reads I’m getting married. He should have followed protocol.

He slides the band back into place, covering his skin once again, but the words feel like a brand on his arm. His soulmate is getting married. His stomach twists, an acidic feeling churning in him quickly before he tamps it down, shoves that feeling into a neat little box. He had assumed that whoever was on the other end of his soul connection didn’t want to be soulmates. That they were one of the ones who wanted to find a love connection regardless of the universe or some higher power had is mind. The idea still hurts though. The person that the universe selected as perfect for him doesn’t want him.

---

His fathers house is unnaturally quiet. It had never been a lively home, at least not since his mothers death, but to see if so utterly devoid of life feels wrong. the remains of the crime scene don’t do anything to help lighten the atmosphere. Still, he has a job to focus on and he can’t do anything mourning over the emptiness of his fathers- his- home. Every moment he wastes is another opportunity for Victor Hesse to get away.

He treats the house like he would any other op, detaching himself from the personal aspect of the case as he examines the spot where his father was shot. It’s easy to tell that Victor didn’t work alone, the foot print, the space for the laptop start to tell him what happened here before he got that phone call.

There’s no evidence of Victor going upstairs so the next place for him to inspect is the garage. It looks the same as it did the last time he was here. Cluttered, smelling of motor oil and must. His fathers old Marquis is still stored under the tarp, looking exactly the same as it did the last time Steve saw it. Then the toolbox catches his eye.

It looks innocuous, which is exactly what Steve would want if he were looking to hide something. When he sees the end of the label is destroyed, leaving just Champ, he knows that this is important. His father calling him Champ probably wasn’t enough to alert Hesse but it set off alarm bells in his head. Sure enough, it’s not just tools inside the toolbox. The photos and pieces inside don’t mean anything to him, another mystery for him to solve.

“Freeze,“ a voice calls out and Steve pulls his gun without thinking, turning to stare down a blond cop with a gun pointed at him.

---

There’s something about Danny that Steve can’t put his finger on. He’s only known him a couple of hours now but he can tell that Danny is a competent detective. He can also tell that Danny is a giant pain in the ass. Still, there’s something else there, something that Steve finds himself drawn to, and the more time that they spend together the more Danny feels like a puzzle that Steve wants to solve.

There’s the obvious things that Steve could find in Danny’s file. He’s a main-lander from New Jersey, he rose quickly through the ranks there until he became a detective, and then he moved to Hawaii where his career has been stagnating. Steve is not overly familiar with the inner workings of HPD, or any police department, but with Danny's record and accolades it seems like he should be doing more than babysitting cases the HPD could never solve.

Then there’s the less obvious things like his love for his daughter, his determination to do the right thing, and his arm band. When they first met Steve has just assumed Danny was wearing the arm band as part of his uniform, but as they spend more and more time together outside of work Steve realizes that he never sees Danny take the band off.

The question starts to burn in him, why? Does Danny not believe in soulmates? Was Rachel his soulmate? Does Danny know who his soulmate is? For some reason the last question feels important. It runs through his mind on the nights that he can’t sleep. Who is Danny’s soulmate?

---

It doesn’t take long for Steve to realize what his feelings towards Danny are. It’s an unfamiliar feeling to know that he likes Danny but can’t do anything about it. He’d only ever felt this way before about Freddie but even that had been different. Freddie has already been in a relationship so there would have no point in telling him how he felt.

Danny though, is different. On paper there’s nothing holding Steve back from telling him how he feels but still he can’t bring himself to actually say anything.

A voice in the back of him mind tells him that the issue is the arm bands. It’s been a long time since Steve has thought about his soulmate, but he does still believe in them. Still wants to have that perfect love that so many soulmates talk about. The understanding an acceptance for every facet of himself. When he was younger it felt like a craving, desperately gnawing away at his insides. Now it’s just an ache, a pang of hurt inside him knowing that something is missing. Something he can’t quite put his finger on. Something that he’s never been able to find with anyone else.

But when he’s with Danny that pang dulls.

He’s gotten used to Danny’s touches, the taps on his chest to get his attention, the steady hand on his shoulder as they head into combat, the hugs that last just a moment too long. He savors every one, promising himself that he won’t ask for more but still he wonders, what if he did ask?

The band around his arm starts to feel like a weight he’s dragging around as the months go on. Instead of a means of protection, it starts to feel like a barrier. What is Danny is his soulmate? What if he’ll never know because of these damned sleeves? 

---

Breaking into the governors mansion, his arrest, and escape, all feel like a background noise as Danny tells him about his relationship with Rachel. That they’ve been having an affair for weeks, that she’s pregnant again and it’s Danny’s, that they were going to run away together. Blood rushes through Steve’s head as he tries to shut it all down, the emotions bubbling up within him at the news. Anger, confusion, doubt. Jealousy.

He knows he says something to Danny, hopefully something comforting, but he doesn’t know what. His body is working on autopilot while his mind tries to seal shut all of the compartments inside of him that are threatening to burst open. It feels like too much. Too much to know all of this and know, finally, that Danny is not his. Danny has never been his.

---

Weeks later, Danny is knocking on his door saying Rachel has gone back to Stan, her soulmate, and that the baby isn’t his. Rachel got her math wrong and they’re going to fix their relationship for the sake of the baby.

“I’m so sorry Danny,“ he says because what else can he say? He knew exactly how excited Danny was to have Rachel back, to have his family back, and a baby on the way. Now he has none of that.

“Don’t be,“ Danny says, his voice raw, and Steve pauses, “the entire time, from the moment the affair started. No, from the moment i met Rachel, i always felt like there was something missing.“

Danny’s gaze is piercing, holding him to the spot he stands.

“I never believed in soulmates. My parents aren’t soulmates, i know that it can work. I always told myself that I was going to marry someone that i chose to love, not someone that the universe told me to love. But,“ Danny pauses and takes a deep, bracing breath before continuing, “but there was always something that felt off. I told myself that it was okay, that it wasn’t a big deal. Then i met you, and every time that i’m with you things just feel right.“

Steve can’t breathe. He’s pretty sure he hasn’t breathed since Danny first started talking. The air fills filled with anticipation, his skin feel tight, like he’s bracing on a knife’s edge wondering which way he’s going to fall.

“I just need to try something,“ Danny says when Steve fails to fill the silence.

Danny raises his arm and it’s only now that he realizes that Danny is not wearing his arm band. Seeing the exposed skin of Danny’s arm almost feels wrong, wicked even, to look at this part of Danny that he’s kept hidden for so long. In his other hand Danny hold a pen and Steve watches Danny writes something on his arm.

No sooner has Danny finished than Steve’s arm starts to feel warm under his band. The same kind of warmth like when Danny touches him. His eyes shoot down to his covered arm and finally, he remembers to breathe. It’s been so long since he felt that warmth that he had forgotten how it felt.

“Take your band off,“ Danny says and it almost sounds pleading.

Steve does what Danny says, hooking his thumb under the fabric and pushing it down to his wrist. On the exposed skin ‘Is it you?’ is written in Danny’s handwriting.

“I knew it had to be you,“ Danny says, holding out his own arm with the exact same writing on it. Steve can see tears in his eyes, he knows that his own eyes are misty, but he doesn’t know what to do next. He’d thought about this moment a thousand times, wondering how it would go, but now that it’s here. Now that it’s Danny standing in front of him. He doesn’t know what to do.

Danny reads him like a book, he’s always been able to read Steve so well, and he takes the first step forward instead. “Come here,“ Danny tells him and they fall into each other, lips crashing together in a kiss. It’s not perfect but Steve never wants it to end.

He’s found his soulmate. He’s found Danny. And finally everything feels right.

[writtenbygracewilliams]

Alignment (McDanno fic)

The Steve/Danny soulmate fic only I wanted, because I refuse to let y’all perpetuate the myth that Steve McGarrett wouldn’t love being a submissive. I have a submissive Steve and dominant Danny agenda that I won’t apologise for and I’m making it everyone’s problem.

Whole thing is 6 chapters and already written, I imagine I’ll post 1–2 times a week for the next month or so until it’s all live.

[ellena-asg]

#uniromantic!Steve and uniromantic!Danny

[lolli-says-stuff]

Good soulmate au fic Recs?

[itsallpanicnodisco]

This is one of the things that made me a McDanno crazy bitch in the first place.

The way Steve is instantly fond of the parental side of Danny is so cute but also so sad (like everything involving Steve lmao) and also one of the first things that made Steve actually trust and respect Danno.

Love them so much ugh

Wait I just realised Danny moving to Hawaii to be with Grace is literally the polar opposite of what John did to Steve and Mary. Like no wonder Danny’s parenting is one of the things Steve instantly latches onto as ‘I am going to love you forever for this specifically’ - John sent his kids an ocean away from him while Danny moved himself across an ocean so that his kid wouldn’t be taken away from him

[teruel-a-witch]

1.03/1.18/5.06 Danny's Family Problems Are Steve's Problems

'I'd be alone on this island', from the first scene that touches on how deeply lonely Danny feels in Hawai'i, it's clear Steve vows that it will never be the case, that Danny won't have to solve his personal problems alone. Danny is bracing himself to brave the unruly waters on his own but Steve shows up for him every time.

When Danny is looking into an uncertain future, Steve is always looking at Danny in his quiet intensity, firm and certain that he will be there for him, they are each other's Sure Thing. 'I may not carry your burden, but I will carry you'. Danny once told Steve that there's no 'my own' in their relationship so that 'your problems become my problems', Steve shows him that it goes both ways.

[trickster-archangel]

No but listen to me for a moment. Humour me. Obviously, in this fundamental exchange here, we tend to focus mainly on Steve’s heartbroken face: Danny is speculating a different ending for his marriage, and Steve immediately jumps to the conclusion that he would've never come to Oahu in the first place thus never meeting Steve. And saving him from himself.

(Funny how this lucid, awake Steve, who probably has imagined lots of these scenarios in the best homage to Danny Williams’s negative thinking, can only see a world where happily married Danny never had a reason to come to Hawai'i....while just a year before, tortured, drugged, hallucinating, not lucidly reasoning anymore, he imagined a whole different world, a parallel universe, where Danny and Rachel were a beautifully in love couple yet Danny HAD CHOSEN to move to Hawai'i, sort of like Lou had done, because what kind of idiot wouldn't grab the chance to live and work in paradise?! Hm...hot stuff for your therapist, Steven....)

But what I tend to focus more onto, here, is Danny’s attitude. We all know very well that Danny’s trademark coping mechanism, when forced to confront his REAL feelings (see the aborted confession in 8x09), is snark and sarcasm. It's inexorable, it's almost uncontrollable, his need to deflect, defuse, disarm, and he does it in a way that most of the times will irritate people, or at least exasperate them, to the point of starting a whole new argument and sneakily move away from thorny topics and dangerous answers.

It's exactly what's happening here, and not just because of his tiny smile and almost bashful eyes, so very not in tune with his sassy words, but especially because they're both still brittle and vulnerable after the night they've spent fighting and accusing and crying and breaking into pieces, because of their fucking inability to communicate instead of biting each other to chase the pain away. They're still raw and exposed, enjoying this sweet truce they signed and trying to build their intimacy back.

If Danny just gives into Steve’s coaxing, if he surrenders to the puppy eyes, there's no way he won't end up spilling six years of pent-up longing and yearning and loving and wanting. And he can’t allow this. They're too ruined and mangled, now, and they'd ruin everything.

Or at least, this is what Danny Williams’s trademark negativity is whispering him.

Idiots in love.

[ellena-asg]

[teruel-a-witch]

this little moment gets lost in a sea of big ones in this episode, but i can't get over that the FIRST word out of danny's mouth as soon as they get him out is steve's name.

steve, who of course insisted that danny is rescued first, who had saved both of their lives and kept danny alive long enough to be rescued, and with whom danny just spent hours alone with, steve is danny's first and only concern.

it's not like they were just gonna leave steve down there after getting danny out, but danny still had to desperately plead with their team to please get steve out. the exhaustion and blood loss probably getting to him and making him less than rational. it was that important to him to get the message across. many a time they said 'i love you' with their actions long before the words left their lips.

[trickster-archangel]

This is my cue to gently remind you to immediately go treat yourself by reading the amazing How to... Series by Liketheriver, also featuring an in-depth interpretation of this episode.

You certainly didn’t say it with any sort of affection towards me.

[writtenbygracewilliams]

Final chapter of Alignment is posted!!!

I hope you enjoy. I love this world building and their dynamic, so will very happily resurrect this story/universe if anyone shoots me a question, idea, request etcetera etcetera

–GW xo

[teruel-a-witch]

7.13/6.10 when you look at him and he's already staring 🤝🤝🤝 Temperance 'Bones' Brennan's Wedding Vows

[writtenbygracewilliams]

Hi gay people I posted chapter four of alignment go read it

[ellena-asg]

♥️♥️♥️

A McDanno drabble #1

It's not about the way Danny's fingers feel on his skin, rather the way the sensation lingers even when the touch has ended. In fact, the tingling warmth left behind after a feather-light touch to his elbow can get him through several hours, especially if he presses his own fingers to the same spot much later. But those moments when Danny's attention is undivided, is solely on Steve as he lies still and patient, those sensations ripple through Steve with such intensity he can't stop them and so they overwhelm him. And, he's finally come to realise, he deserves it.