Hawaii Five-0 is property of CBS and its creators.
A/N: So back in December, Stellarmeadow posted a 30 Day McDanno Challenge over on AO3, which got me thinking about how my dragon stories slotted into various prompts. After much intermittent pondering, this one was born for day 1: Shopping (no, I'm probably not going to do the whole challenge. This one just popped out at me.)
"Okay, here's the plan." Steve McGarrett stopped just inside the mall doors and pulled out his list, but before he could say anything, his family scattered.
Steve's partner, husband, and soulmate Danny Williams grabbed their six-year-old son Matt by the hand. "Come on, Matt. I think there's some new Disney movies out."
Danny's 17-year-old daughter Grace grabbed the stroller from Steve. "Steffie and I are going to go check out necklaces to go with my prom dress. We'll catch you later."
Just like that, they were all gone. Steve sighed. That's what happened when you went shopping with a bunch of dragons—they were gone at the first hint of something shiny. Steve was a dragon, too, but he just didn't see it, and thankfully Matt showed no more than a six-year-old's usual acquisitiveness, although he could rake in a pretty good haul under Danny's influence. Danny and Grace were incorrigible, and Steffie, even though she was only a few months old, was showing signs of being just as bad.
Steve checked his list. Nope, movies and necklaces were nowhere on it. It had perfectly mundane things—a new coffee maker (Danny was hell on them with his caffeine dependency), school supplies (although with both Danny and Steffie's penchant for hoarding them, Steve couldn't understand why there never seemed to be any pencils or crayons in the house), diapers, and shoes for the whole family. Okay, the last one included shoes for Grace for prom, so keeping her from buying every pair of fancy shoes in the store was going to be a trick, but everything else was pretty straightforward and should offer no temptation (although Steffie, Grace, and Danny always wanted the box of 152 crayons. Steve didn't even know that many colors existed).
But first he had to gather his family. Or should he just pick up everything except shoes and get his family later? Steve debated for a minute. Grace he probably didn't have to worry about. Danny had given her a budget for prom, and while she might be tempted by every shiny piece of jewelry, Steve knew she wouldn't spend more than she had. That was one thing about golden dragons—they were excellent money managers.
Danny, on the other hand, loved to spoil Matt (and Grace, and Steffie, and even Steve. . .), and could easily go wild. Steve could think of at least four children's movies that Matt (and Danny) would like that had just come out, and at least a couple more action movies Danny would like (and okay, Steve, too, but Steve didn't feel a need to run out and buy every one the second it came out. He was perfectly happy with Netflix, but Danny had a whole bookcase stuffed just with movies he liked, never mind the second bookcase of family-friendly movies). And movies generally led to video games (another two shelves), and any shopping trip inevitably led to toys, which generally ended up with a least one new stuffed animal each for Matt and Steffie (Steve wasn't sure the last time he'd seen either of their mattresses under the stuffed toys). Steve was definitely tracking down Danny first.
He caught up with his husband and son just as the second movie was going into the cart. "Okay, Danny, that's enough," Steve said sternly.
Danny reached for another movie. "Oh, but we have to get this one."
Steve removed it from Danny's hands and put it back on the shelf. "No, we don't. You've already seen it."
"But it's one of Matt's favorites, right Matt?"
"I like Pete's Dragon better," Matt said, naming his favorite movie (and really, if he watched it one more time, Steve was going to scream—Matt had been watching it every chance he could get since he was two). However, Steve was very grateful for Matt's support.
"The movie stays," Steve said.
"Okay, fine," Danny said grudgingly.
"Good. Now let's get the rest of the stuff on our list and find Grace and Steffie."
Steve managed to keep Danny under control long enough to get what they needed and head for the shoe store. They found Grace and Steffie already there. Grace had several shoes already in a pile beside her. "What do you think of these?" she asked excitedly.
"Which ones?" Steve asked.
"All of them!"
"They're all nice," Danny said. "Why don't you get them all."
"Good idea," Grace said.
"No," Steve said. "No, not a good idea."
"Why not?" Grace asked.
"Because you're not going to wear all of them."
"I might," Grace argued.
"There's only one prom, and you can only wear one pair, unless you're going to keep swapping shoes all evening." Steve regretted that as soon as he said it. She'd probably take him seriously.
Fortunately, Grace seemed to let his comment go. "But there's graduation."
"Next year," Steve said.
"And. . ."
"Just get one pair that will go with everything," Steve suggested.
"But Uncle Steve, that's no fun!"
Steve stared her down and she finally relented, selecting one pair from the pile, a nice, white, open-toed pair with a modest heel. Steve approved, not that he'd ever admit it.
"Great," Danny said. "Now that that's done, I think you all deserve something special. What do you want?"
"I want some nail polish!" Grace said.
"I want a stuffed animal!" Matt said.
"Ga-ga-ga!" Steffie said.
"No!" Steve roared.
Matt and Steffie burst into tears, and Grace and Danny pouted.
Steve picked up one child in each arm and soothed them. "I know, let's get ice cream. How does that sound?" It'd make a mess, but at least Steve wouldn't have to find a place to keep it.
Matt perked up. "Mint chocolate chip?"
"Sure, buddy, anything you want."
"Okay," Matt said. Steffie burbled agreement.
Steve looked at the two (arguable) adults. "How about you?"
"Sure, that works," Danny said.
"I could go for that," Grace agreed.
"Great." Steve let out a relieved sigh and herded his family towards the food court. That was the last time he was going shopping with this crew. Until the next time.