"Steve, what the hell is this?" Danny help up the mysterious object and waved it at his boss.

The Commander leaned back in his desk chair and made a face. "It seems pretty self-explanatory to me, Danno."

Danny rolled his eyes. "I know exactly what it is, Steven. What I don't know is why you left a balloon dolphin with the words 'I'm sorry' written on it in my office this morning." He set the animal down in front of Steve, placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward to level a menacing glare at his friend. "What did you do this time?"

Steve crossed his arms and blinked up at Danny innocently. "I haven't done anything."

"Oh, really? Then why the apology present?"

Steve shrugged. "Call it a preemptive strike."

"Okay… I'll rephrase the question. What insane scheme are you planning that warrants an apology beforehand?"

The SEAL sighed, looking highly put out. "Why must you assume it's insane?"

"Because everything always is with you, McGarrett. Now stop evading and answer the damn question!"

"Which one?"

Danny threw up his hands. Steve was being difficult on purpose, and it was very aggravating. "All of them!"

Steve sat forward to prop his arms up on the desk, grinning like a maniac and giving Danny that expression that was at once both infuriating and endearing. "It's a surprise," he said at last.

"What kind of surprise?"

Steve picked up the dolphin and touched its rubber nose to Danny's. "It wouldn't be one if I told you, now would it Daniel?"

The detective snatched the balloon from his partner's hand and allowed some of his anxiety to bleed through his next threat. "You better not be planning to take off on some sort of classified mission again."

The playfulness in Steve's attitude vanished instantly. "No. Danny, it's nothing like that, I swear." He got up and circled the desk to pull the short man into a hug. "Those days are behind me. I'm not going anywhere."

Danny exhaled and felt some of the tension leave his body as he relaxed into his lover's embrace. "Okay. So tell me what's going on."

Steve chuckled and pulled back enough to give him a quick kiss. "It's nothing bad. In fact, it's a very good thing, I hope." He widened his eyes to give him the wounded puppy look he'd stolen from Grace. "Let me have my fun. It'll be worth it, I promise."

Danny scowled, knowing he couldn't resist that face, or get McGarrett to talk when he didn't want to. "Alright, fine! But if this does turn out to be some ridiculous stunt, all the balloon animals in the world won't save your ass. You feel me?"

"I most certainly do," Steve whispered, his fingers drifting lower and lower on Danny's backside.

"Woah, hey!" He untangled himself from Steve's roaming hands. "What have I told you about behaving at work? There's a time and a place for that, and the office isn't it!" he scolded.

"You didn't complain last week, when I had you up on this desk, with my…"

"Shut up!" Danny hissed. "It was a rough couple of days, we were both pent up… and I'm not having this discussion with you again!" He stalked out of the room, tuning out the sound of his partner's laughter.

It didn't occur to him until later that he never got a straight answer out of Steve.

Over the years, Steve had gotten much better at apologizing and admitting his mistakes. He still had some difficulty, but he'd certainly come a long way from the man Danny had to read the riot act in order to get an "I'm sorry" for the gunshot wound in his arm.

Danny liked to think that much of the improvement came when they finally put an end to their shared misery and admitted that there was more than camaraderie between them. The leap from friends to lovers had been a big one, and they both needed to be all in to make it work. There were arguments and misunderstandings, that was hardly unusual, but little by little, communication became easier.

Steve might have trouble vocalizing his thoughts and feelings, but he always managed to find a way to express himself; apologizes were no exception. Whether it was surprising him with coffee and malasadas at the office or the hottest make-up sex Danny had ever had, they always managed to work things out.

But apologizing when he hadn't done anything wrong was not part of his M.O., and balloon animals had never entered the equation before. He had no idea what Steve was planning, and it was frustrating as hell.

And apparently, it was not a one-off incident. The very next morning, Danny found a purple squid waiting for him, revealing that there was much more to this fiasco. Once again, there was something written across the squid's broad head, and it had been placed on his desk right next to the dolphin. The combination of the two now read, "I'm sorry I was so blind."

"Steven!" he bellowed.

The man came running, a hand on the gun at his side and prepared to draw. "What? What's wrong?"

Danny picked up the new addition. "What's this supposed to mean?"

"Once again – it seems clear enough. What's NOT clear is why you screamed like there was a bomb or something."

"No bomb, but I may very well explode if you don't tell me what this is."

Steve schooled his features and said, "Well Daniel, I thought the dolphin looked a little lonely, so I made her a friend."

"Ignoring the fact that inanimate objects do not have feelings, and therefore cannot get lonely, I was referring to what you wrote on it."

"What do you mean, 'they don't have feelings'?" Steve asked, aghast. He took the squid from Danny and wiggled it in a little dance. "Just look at this adorable face!"

Danny frowned at the two black spots painted on the round, white balloons that formed the eyes. And dammit if it didn't look hurt! Furthermore, it was an odd combination – the statement about blindness on a creature with huge optical organs that, were they real, would surely have no trouble with sight.

But instead of the explosion he'd threatened, he shook off the irritation and took his friend gently by the wrist. "Seriously babe… what is this about?"

Before Steve could respond, Kono burst through the door, a tablet clutched in her hands. "Boss, we just got a break in the case. Eric got a match in AFIS and…" She stopped when she saw them, lips twitching against the "you-are-too-adorable" grin she reserved for them. "I'm sorry; am I interrupting something?"

Steve backed away and said "no" at the same time that Danny said "yes."

Their leader returned the squid to his place next to the dolphin. "Let's see what you got."

They followed her out to the comm table, but along the way, Danny muttered, "This isn't over, McGarrett!"

The following afternoon, Danny came back to the office after dropping off the kids at Rachel's to discover another little friend – a white cat. He'd relocated the first two gifts onto one of the side tables in his office, but Steve had moved them back to the desk and arranged them in a neat little row, the words on each prominently displayed.

Like the dolphin, the cat was inscribed with "I'm sorry."

Danny plopped down in his chair and stared at his growing menagerie of balloon animals. He wondered if he should be worried about this. Other than being his typical annoying self, Steve truly hadn't done anything to warrant even an offhand apology, let alone this elaborate exhibition. And it must have taken some careful planning and work. Since they were usually together, he couldn't figure out when Steve found the time to make them. He also couldn't find any deflated balloons laying around the house, car or Steve's office (which, yes – he did search without authorization).

And why did Steve decide to wait until he was away from his desk to leave them instead of giving them directly? It's not as if anyone other than him could possibly be responsible.

Danny shook his head and moved the creatures aside. Unfortunately, he had a double homicide to investigate. The mystery of his partner's strange behavior would have to wait.

Steve had barely made it through the front doors before Danny pounced, pulled him into a hug, and started talking a mile a minute.

"Steve, thank god! Are you okay? Are you injured? You didn't get shot again, did you? Or stabbed? Or otherwise maimed in some way?" He let go and took Steve's face in his hands. "Don't you dare lie to me, babe! Look at me! Did they hurt you in any way?"

He neglected Grover, who side stepped around the couple, muttering that he was fine too, thanks for asking.

"I'm okay, Danny. It was a routine search; absolutely nothing happened." Steve took hold of his wrists and pried his shaking fingers loose. "Not that I don't appreciate your concern, but why are you freaking out? You were perfectly calm before we left."

"That was before I found this!" Danny grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into his office, ignoring the worried looks from the rest of the team. He picked up the jellyfish constructed of clear balloons, where the statement "I was so afraid" was printed on one of the curvy rubber tentacles. He shoved it in his lover's face.

Steve groaned and scratched the back of his head. "Ah – yeah. I guess I could see you'd misread that."

Danny tried to slam it on the ground, but the air within slowed its descent. He clenched his teeth and rubbed his forehead, trying to contain his temper. "Steven John McGarrett, you better have one hell of an explanation for this."

"I'm so sorry, Danny," Steve mumbled. He picked up the jellyfish and set it next to its predecessors on the side table. Then he returned to the enraged Jersey detective to rub his arms in a soothing gesture.

"Listen, I know you're upset. And yes – it was a stupid idea to leave you that one right before Lou and I went to raid a meth lab. But I swear to you that everything will make sense in a few days if you'll just be patient."

He leaned in and pressed his lips to Danny's wrinkled forehead, followed by both cheeks, and finally capturing the blond's mouth in a searing, possessive kiss.

When they broke apart, Steve continued, "Besides, when have you ever known me to be afraid of doing my job? I thought you'd know I wasn't talking about work."

"Yeah, yeah. Just remember, you're not invincible, Super SEAL. It's okay to be afraid."

Steve kissed him again. "I know. Thanks, Danny."

"Is Uncle Steve in trouble?" Grace asked.

Danny glanced over at his daughter in the passenger side of the Camaro; she was examining a pink and white unicorn. Like the dolphin and the cat, it proclaimed "I'm sorry" in Steve's military script. Unlike the others, he'd left it in the driver's seat of the car, an obvious reference that actually made Danny laugh out loud when he saw it.

"You mean in general or just with me?"

"It's the same thing, isn't it?" Grace pointed out, giggling.

Danny chuckled with her and conceded her point. "Yeah, I suppose." He inhaled and exhaled a huff. "Truth is – I don't know. He'd been giving me these balloon animals all week, but he won't tell me why, or explain what the messages mean. Every time I ask, he either distracts me or says it's a surprise."

Grace released an excited shriek, and then clapped her hand over her mouth.

"Ow! What was that for?" Danny griped, rubbing his ear.

"Nothing!"

He didn't buy that for a second. "Wait – you know what this is about, don't you?" It wasn't really a question.

"Danno…"

"Grace…"

She wasn't fazed by the "impatient father" tone; if anything, it caused her mischievous grin to widen. "I… I'm not a hundred percent certain, but I think I do know what he's planning. And before you ask, I must inform you that I've been sworn to secrecy."

"He bribed you, didn't he?" He would have thrown his arms up in lament if he hadn't been driving. "I can't believe my own daughter would conspire against me!"

Danny's dad senses told him she was rolling her eyes about now.

"Chill out, Dad. If I'm right about what this is, you'll be very happy with the surprise." She reached over and set the unicorn on the dashboard, close enough for him to see but not enough to block his view of the road.

"I could always take away your phone until you tell me," he mused, just as she pulled out the very object he referenced.

Horror crossed her face for a second. "You wouldn't!"

"Try me."

Grace appeared to give it some thought. When she didn't say anything for a while, he glanced over and found her watching him, an odd, thoughtful expression on her face.

"What?"

She looked down at her phone, then back up at him. "I think it'd be worth it – losing my phone for a bit," she decided.

Danny almost slammed on the brakes in shock. "Alright. Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?"

"I'm being serious, Dad," she insisted, her tone matching her words. "I want you to be happy, and I know you will be when the time comes. So if I have to lose my phone just so no one spoils the surprise, then I'm okay with it." To demonstrate her resolve, she offered him the device.

Danny refused to look at her for fear he might shed a few tears. "Forget it," he mumbled. "I'm just gonna have to come up with a revenge plan later."

His little monkey withdrew the hand and started to text someone. "Sure, Dad. Whatever you say."

The break in the original pattern continued as Charlie found the next gift later that same day – an adorable black and brown puppy – waiting on the doorstep of Steve's front entrance. The little guy squealed with delight when he saw it and ran to pick it up instead of helping Danny and Grace unload groceries.

"Whatcha got there, pal?" Danny called, arms laden with bags.

"Doggie!" he proclaimed.

"Charlie, I think that's meant for Danno," Grace said.

The door burst open and Steve swung the boy up into his arms. "Hey there, buddy! I missed you!"

Charlie giggled when Steven began to tickle him. "I missed you too Uncle Steve!"

Danny felt his heart swell with affection at the interaction. Steve could be such a pushover when it came to the kids, but he loved seeing them together and knowing there was so much love there.

"Hi Uncle Steve," Grace greeted. She hugged him as best as she could with shopping bags in her hands, and he bent to kiss her on the forehead.

"Hi, Gracie." He let her pass him to take the food to the kitchen.

Danny followed behind his daughter. "Don't I get a kiss too?" he pouted.

"Well… I suppose, since you asked."

Steve ducked his head to comply with the request, though it was just a light "Welcome Home" smack.

"Eww! Kissing!" Charlie complained. He was currently in his "kisses are yucky" phase. He would object all the time, whether it was while watching a Disney movie or from the real life observation of either set of parents. (Grace reported that Step Stan didn't find it nearly as cute as they did.)

"Don't think I forgot you, little guy!" Steve resumed tickling Charlie while peppering his cheeks and forehead with kisses.

Danny stepped around them and into the house, grinning stupidly at his family's antics.

He and Grace had put everything away by the time Steve and Charlie caught up the them.

"Hey pal – do you mind giving that to Danno?" Steve asked, pointing to the balloon. "It's part of his present."

"Okay." The SEAL put him down and Charlie reluctantly handed it to his father. "Uncle Steve, can I have one too?"

Steve knelt to be at eye level with him. "You know how we're going to the park tomorrow?" When Charlie nodded, he said, "Well, I'm gonna be making all kinds of balloon animals and decorations for it, and I'll make an extra special one just for you. How does that sound?"

"Kay. Thanks Uncle Steve," Charlie agreed.

The Commander rubbed the boy's head. "Come on. I need you and Gracie to help me with a project." He winked at Danny and led the children into the living room.

Once they were out of sight, Danny examined the canine. Written along its back where the words "For making you wait."

Danny stifled a groan when Steve's shifting forced him from the last dregs of sleep. He felt soft lips on the back of his neck, and then a whoosh of cold air as the blanket was thrown aside.

"One of these days, I'm going to convince you to stay in bed later than six a.m.," he grumbled. It was an old argument, but since his partner's habits interfered with his ability to sleep in, it bared repeating.

"I like my morning workouts, Danno," retorted Steve without missing a beat.

The bed dipped back down behind Danny, and a wandering hand found its way to his hip. "But I might be persuaded to stay, if I could get a different kind of workout."

Danny refused to open his eyes or moan in response to that hand, which was now skimming along the band of his pajama bottoms. A series of slow kisses trailed along his neck and bare shoulder. "What, you didn't get enough of me in the shower last night?"

"I'll never get enough," Steve whispered, his voice strangely somber.

Danny didn't really know what to say to that, so he rolled to lie on his back and pulled Steve down into a needy, hungry kiss, his arms coming up around him to coax him closer.

Steve's own long limbs circled around his waist as he settled to lie more fully on top of Danny.

Eventually, they had to take a break for air, but neither moved far.

"So… is that a yes to the alternative workout?" Steve inquired, waggling his eyebrows.

Danny smirked and shifted to reach down between them. "What do you think, Super SEAL?"

Later, after Danny had successfully reduced his partner to a panting, trembling mess, he closed his eyes again, preparing to go back to sleep. He was quite content to remain where he was, with Steve sprawled across him, head pillowed on his chest.

He was almost out again, but evidently Steve wasn't worn out enough to forgo his usual swim. He raised himself up and kissed Danny over his heart. "Hey… I love you, Danny."

"I love you too," he sighed. "Go splash around in the water if you must, but I'm going back to sleep."

A huff of laughter accompanied another kiss to his chest. "Okay. But before I do, I have something for you."

The furnace that was Steve's body vanished. Danny shivered and burrowed back beneath the quilt.

A moment later, Steve came back and ran his fingers through Danny's mussed hair. "Open your eyes, babe."

Danny did as he was asked and came face to face with a yellow giraffe, its long neck proclaiming "I love you, Danno."

"Aww… would you look at that!" He sat up and took the balloon. "My favorite animal – made by my other favorite animal."

"Do you like it?"

"Obviously. Come 'ere." They hugged, and Danny whispered. "Thank you. But… are you EVER gonna tell me what this whole thing is about?"

Steve moved to get dressed, his lips sealed in a smug smile.

That afternoon, the Five-0 team, along with many of their friends and family, gathered together at a local park for food and fun. The last time they'd hung out like this, they were saying goodbye to their friend, Max Bergman. It had been a bittersweet occasion, and since then, there had been no special reason to arrange any kind of similar event.

Danny had been surprised, but not unopposed when Steve approached them all a few weeks ago about organizing a big get-together. At the time, he assumed it was nothing more than a chance to forget about work and blow off some steam, but he now knew that Steve was up to something. He still hadn't figured out what it was, but he was sure that at some point, the picnic would prove to be the culmination of the balloon messages.

The team chose a nice, secluded area where there were trees for shade, a grill pit, and several picnic tables they could use for food, drinks, and low-key activities like card games (for when they needed breaks from playing sports).

Most everyone spread out to toss around a football or engage in other lawn games, but Steve commandeered a table to himself, and spent most of the time sharing his balloon art with the kids. Charlie had been delighted to receive a puppy of his very own, while Chin's niece Sara got a dinosaur. Grace and Samantha Grover were given ornate flower bracelets.

Will Grover and Nahele were fascinated with the process, and were attempting to copy Steve's work. But more often than not, their balloons popped when they twisted them into shape. They discarded the fragments into a black garbage bag at Steve's feet.

Flippa entertained everyone by playing the ukulele, and Kamekona prepared shave ice to keep everyone cool.

Danny kept a watchful eye on his partner and his children, but he also used the time to pass the football back and forth with Chin, traded city stories with Lou, and caught up with Adam and Kono. All in all, everyone was having an enjoyable day, and even he was hard pressed to find something to complain about. His entire Ohana were there, safe and happy; he couldn't think of anything that could make the day any better.

"Hey! Ah – could I have everyone's attention please?" Steve jumped up on a bench and called to everyone when Flippa finished a song.

The team paused their game and conversations, and complied with their leader's request. The kids took a little more corralling, but Steve was patient. He gestured for everyone to gather in front of his picnic table.

"So…" he began, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "Um… all week, I've been torturing my partner," he waved at Danny, "with these balloon animals and secret messages."

"Danny wasn't the only one being tortured, boss," Kono interrupted.

"Yeah," Chin agreed. "We've been just as curious as him about what you were up to."

Lou threw a glare at Steve. "And he was sure we were in on it. He kept trying to get us to spill."

Danny had assumed at one point that the rest of Five-0 has somehow involved in the conspiracy, but after the jellyfish scare, he let them off the hook. Surely one of them would have helped Steve time that one better.

"You finally gonna clue us all in?" Chin asked.

"I will if everyone shuts up!" Steve replied. He jumped off the bench and picked up his garbage bag. "Danny, could you come here please?"

The detective stepped forward from the line-up. Steve's agitation was beginning to transfer to him; his palms were sweaty and he felt a little embarrassed for being singled out.

But then Steve took his hand and gazed into his eyes. "This morning, when you went back to sleep, I ran back to the office to grab the balloons I gave you earlier in the week. And I made one more before we came here to complete the set. It should all make sense when you see them all together."

He let go of Danny and reached into the bag, which everyone assumed only held the broken or popped balloons. One by one, he pulled out the creatures he'd given Danny thus far and set them on the picnic table: first the dolphin, then the squid, followed by the cat, the jellyfish, the unicorn, the puppy, the giraffe from that morning, and ending with the newest one – a seal. He arranged them in a perfect, Navy-approved row and turned them so the words he'd written were facing forward.

When he was satisfied, he stepped back and urged Danny closer to read the full message. The crowd behind him grew quiet.

"I'm sorry I was so blind."

"I'm sorry I was so afraid."

"I'm sorry for making you wait."

"I love you, Danno."

"Will you marry me?"

The seal posed the final question, and perched atop its nose was a ring.

All around him, gasps and shouts and coos of delight sliced through the silence, but he barely registered them. His heart had jumped up in tempo, its beat pounding in his ears. The rest of his body was still.

Danny glanced between the ring and Steve. "Babe?" he murmured.

Steve detached the ring from the seal and took Danny's left hand.

"Danny, I've been drawn to you since the moment we first met, but I was too stupid to understand what it meant, and I was too blind to see what was right in front of me from the very beginning. Then, when I did realize it, I was too afraid of damaging our friendship to tell you how I felt. I was in denial, and I forced you to wait a long time while I sorted myself out."

His grip tightened around Danny's fingers. "I know we've only been officially dating for a few months, but we've been best friends for years now. We wasted a lot of time dancing around one another, and I don't want to waste any more. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." His eyes flickered to the others and sought out Grace's. "Just so you know, I already asked your daughter for permission, so now I'm asking you."

Steve got down on one knee. "Danny Williams, will you marry me?"

Danny closed his eyes and swallowed. Of all the ideas he'd had about what Steve was scheming, this didn't come remotely close. They'd discussed the possibility of marriage once before, but given Steve's last disastrous attempt, Danny had assumed that such a thing would happen far down the road, if ever.

Not that he'd ever doubted Steve's love or his devotion; they'd weathered some of the worst storms life had to offer, and always came out stronger and closer because of it. Seasons passed, and the tides changed, but the one thing that remained constant was the two of them, side-by-side as equal partners, in every way that one can be. No matter what his anxiety-ridden brain told him in the past, his heart knew and believed that they would always be together. The ring just made it official, and proclaimed to the world that they belonged to each other.

It was the easiest decision he ever had to make.

He opened his eyes and let the happiness he felt inside show for all to see. "Yes, you animal. I'll marry you."

The crowd erupted in cheers as Steve grinned and slid the ring onto Danny's finger. He stood and hauled Danny into a kiss, which elicited even more applause (and one objection from Charlie).

"You know, you could have just asked, instead of going through all the trouble to tease me with all the balloons," Danny said.

"What would have been the fun in that? Besides, I needed to practice my fallback career for we're old and retired," Steve insisted.

"Oh, really? You're already planning that far ahead?"

"Of course. It's you and me – together forever baby!"

Danny rolled his eyes, debating whether he should slap his new fiancé or kiss him again. But then their Ohana gathered around to offer congratulations, and his kids – their kids – hugged them and re-christened "Uncle Steve" as "Step-Steve".

And when their eyes met again, he felt his heart inflate like one of Steve's balloons, and he marveled that it didn't pop from overwhelming joy.