Disclaimer: I own nothing. I play with Steve and Danny because they plague my fantasies and I love the bromance.

Author's note: This is by far the most mature piece of writing I've ever done. It will probably be the only one, actually. But I seriously dreamt this whole scene, and even though it's not my style, I had to share it. I hope you like it!

Tribute

No sooner the car was parked Danny stormed out and into his apartment. He didn't wait for Steve to give him the keys of the Camaro, didn't say good-night, didn't even glance back to look his partner in the eye. He closed the door to his apartment quickly and rested his head against it, closing his eyes.

He didn't move when he heard Steve's not-so-gentle knocking. He sighed cursing his luck. Of course Steven wouldn't let it go. When did he ever let anything go, especially when it had to do with Danny? He hadn't let it go in the car while escaping from the police, when he'd overheard him talking to his daughter, telling her the most beautiful things, with a voice that clearly expressed that he wanted to die. And because he hadn't let it go, Danny had had to explain how Rachel had miscalculated how far along she was in her pregnancy and everything that it conveyed. Steve also had not let it go when he saw that Danny was into Gaby. No, sir, he had to push Danny into asking her out, something he really didn't want to do. But he'd done it anyway, just to prove that he could.

And now, he wasn't going to let it go either. No matter how much Danny begged him to stop, to leave him alone, he wasn't going to. Because he knew Danny too well. Almost as well as Danny knew him.

"Come on, Danno. You know I'm not going anywhere until we talk this out"

Steve's voice was so firm, so sure, that Danny had to relent. He sighed one more time, maybe to give himself the courage to face this. To face him. It took him longer than necessary to put his hand around the doorknob, and even more of an effort to turn it. It was like fighting with himself, the way his brain told his body to do something, but his soul was virtually screaming that once he did, there was no turning back.

Steve was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed when he came into view, the position showing off the tattoos on his arms. Danny's breath caught in his throat and he had to turn away before Steve caught him licking his lips.

"So, is this how it's going to be, Danno?" Steve asked, closing the door behind him. The blond had walked all the way across the room, and was sitting at the kitchen counter, eyes fixed on the floor. "Danno"

"What?" Danny's voice was louder than he'd intended but he couldn't help it. The fact that Steve was so calm was actually setting him off "You can't just do whatever you want, Steven. I am entitled to a little privacy, aren't I?"

In spite of the volume, Danny's voice sounded defeated and Steve had to do a double take to realize he wasn't even moving his hands.

"Stop doing this, Danno. Don't just close off like that"

By the look the blond sent him, Steve was grateful he'd decided to stay closer to the door, lest he pushed too far and ended up with a black eye. Still, it was worth the risk. Loud Danny he could handle, with all the gesturing and the signature Jersey fast talk. Quiet Danny, however, was scary. There was no telling where this might go or how he could react. There was no precedent of an argument with this side of Danny. The only time he'd been this quiet, he hadn't been angry, just broken-hearted. And Steven had been in the backseat trying to stay unnoticed to the police.

Taking a deep breath, Steve decided to take a step forward and test the waters. "Danno"

"Don't!" Danny's voice was low and dangerous enough to make him halt. He raised his head first, but it took him another second to lift his eyes to Steve's and that sent a jolt directly to the SEAL's groin. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Steve should have felt intimidated by the hurt and anger in his partner's eyes. He should have avoided that gaze, retreated further back to avert the scrutiny. Instead, he felt that electric jolt again and had to fight with his body to keep still and appear calm. It was very clear to him right then, that his usual 'Smooth dog' attitude – as Danny liked to call it – was only going to make things worse. So he opted for a more guided approach and settled for simply asking "Why are you so upset?"

"You fucking kissed me, Steven!" he shouted, and this time his hands did go off in the air as if they had a life of their own "You kissed me. What the hell is wrong with you? I'm your partner! Where I come from, you don't go around kissing your work partners, dammit!"

"Somehow I don't think it has to do with inappropriate behavior in the work place" Steve stated.

"Of course it does! What the fuck were you thinking?" Danny stood up abruptly and started pacing "You fucking asshole, I should be kicking your ass right now! I don't give a fuck that you're a super ninja SEAL! You fucking moron!"

Steve actually snorted at the chain of insults, which earned him another glare from the detective. He immediately wiped the smirk off his face and tried to look understanding.

"So what, Danny? I kissed you. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal" Danny said, bending forward and resting his hands on his knees, finding the strength to continue raising his voice "is that you don't fucking kiss your coworkers for no apparent reason, Steven! Why the fuck did you kiss me? And in my car, dammit!"

OK, the time's arrived, Steve thought, to push some buttons. He kicked himself off the wall and stood directly in front of the blond, close enough to get his attention but not so close that he might get hit during a gesture-fit.

"I kissed you, Danny, because you needed it" he started. He ignored the incredulous look he got in response "You are uptight, stressed out, intolerant and just plain unbearable! You. Need. To. Get. Laid! And since you're not with Gaby anymore, and you don't want to go out to a bar with me, I figured it was time to take matters into my own hands!"

"I can't fucking believe this" Danny's tone went back to defeated and he turned away, running a hand through his hair.

"Are you pissed because I crossed the line, Danny, or because you liked it?" He knew he was going too far, but he had to get him to react again. He couldn't let him close off.

"Of course I fucking liked it, Steven! That's the whole point!"

As soon as he heard himself saying it, Danny let out a bark of laughter and rested his hands against the window frame, head lowered and shoulders slumped.

"I can't do this with you, Steve" he whispered, mostly to himself "I can't really do it with anyone. But you? This is a nightmare"

And it all made sense. After almost two years of working together, after all the arguments in the car and the evenings out in the lanai, after Catherine and Gabby, after Rachel and Gracie, it all made perfect sense to Steve. He knew what he was dealing with now. He understood why Danny wasn't reacting. And he knew what he had to do. So he walked up to his partner, his friend, slowly and stood behind him without touching him. He mimicked his pose and rested his hands a few inches above Danny's, and lowered his head so that his breath ghosted across Danny's neck.

"You need to stop fighting this, Danny. Stop trying to deny what you so obviously need" He kept his voice low but firm, smiling slightly when Danny shuddered "What do you think is gonna happen, Danno? You think I'm gonna leave you, if you just let go? I'm not going anywhere, Danno. I'm here for you. Stop holding yourself back. There's nothing you can do that'll scare me away. I'm not Rachel. I'm definitely not Gaby. I got you. Whatever you do, whatever you want to do, I'll take it, Danno. I can take it… for you"

At the last word, Danny lifted his eyes again and locked his gaze with Steve through the reflection in the window. What he saw there, he liked.

Steve noticed the change in Danny's demeanor and knew he'd won. Without breaking eye contact, he backed up against the door again. He needed to give the blond his space. He needed to let the detective come and stalk his prey. He needed to let the lion do what he did best, now that it was out of that self-imposed cage.

Danny turned around so slowly that the mere motion was extremely erotic to Steve. For his part, he waited against the door, running his hands through his jeans, trying desperately to calm the rush of blood cursing through his body and directly to his cock.

With every step Danny took, Steve shifted a little. Watching the blond get closer at such a slow pace, never taking his eyes away from his target, made Steve feel a little like a gazelle. He liked it. He felt desired. And he felt Danny's desire as well.

When the Jersey man stopped walking, only a few steps away from the SEAL, he started unbuttoning his shirt, top to bottom. Steve undid his jeans and licked his lips, not even caring what he looked like anymore.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Steve?" he asked, letting his shirt fall to the ground.

By way of answer, Steve dropped to his knees in front of him and placed his hands on Danny's waist. He looked up and smirked at the pleased look on the other man's face.

"Oh, yeah"

He was ready to pay tribute to the king of the jungle.