His pain is evident in every line of his lean body . Danny.

The soft, haunting sounds of a guitar drift on the breeze as Danny slides out from the Camaro's low-slung bucket seats, but he dismisses them out of hand. He has more important things to worry about, like Steve.

The case they'd wrapped up today had hit the Commander pretty hard. The body of an older man in his mid forties had washed up on the beach early in the morning yesterday, and Five-O had gotten mixed up in it because when the autopsy was all said and done with, it linked back to the massive drug case they'd been working for the past month. The slugs Max pulled from the body had been a dead perfect match for those of the other deaths involved with the cartel crime, and it frustrated Steve and the team. So much so that once they'd ID'd the stiff, they'd immediately dived into looking at all of his connections, all of his possible reasons for death at the cartel's hands, and forgotten to check out the family or let them know.

The man, while completely unaffiliated with the cartel in any way and just an unlucky guy caught in the crossfire, had surprisingly helped Five-O to make the connections they needed, and this morning they'd gone in typical McGarrett style. Meaning he'd charged in head first while Danny ran after watching his back, and Chin and Kono were their typical badass selves. The leader of the drug ring had escaped, but the rest of the motley crew had gone down hard. Several with a perfect double tap to the chest, courtesy of SuperSEAL.

It was only after when they came back to HQ and found the deceased's file still up on the screen did Steve and Danny remember they'd never made the house call. The next of kin and only living relative of their departed puzzle piece was his sixteen-year-old son. And that was when Danny knew shit was about to hit the fan. He'd watched McGarrett swallow hard and look away, and seen the familiar look of pain ghost across his boss's face before he could smooth it back into a mask of impassivity. He'd roughly urged Danny out the door and slid into the driver's seat, Danny handing him the Camaro's keys without a fight.

Usually the tension bled out of the taller man as he drove with reckless abandon down the Hawaiian roads, but not today. It had struck a cord within McGarrett, this poor orphaned son, and it was not going to let him go. For the first time since Danny had met Steve, the blond was genuinely worried for the other man's safety. He'd long since learned to trust Steve when it came to firefights and combat, despite his penchant for rushing off half-cocked, but the man was emotionally stunted. He didn't know how to work off this frustration and anger and angst and pain without guns and fists and blood.

And then the broken look on the vulnerable teenager's face had sealed the deal.

Steve had disappeared once they'd taken care of the last loose ends and the orphan, and Danny and the team hadn't seen him since. Hadn't had a chance to offer to drive him home or to get him a beer. The SEAL had just simply vanished. That was four hours ago.

After those four hours of fruitless searching, Danny had finally asked Chin to track Steve's cell phone, and it had placed him at his home. His father's home. Oh geez. Danny prayed he wouldn't have to deal with a broken, figuratively or literally, boss when he got there.

Danny picks his way across the front lawn and then up to the house, letting himself in with the key he'd gotten from Steve a long time ago, so long ago he couldn't even remember. The door wasn't locked, but then, SuperSEALs didn't really need to lock their doors. As Danny makes his way from room to room, the soft strands of music became gradually louder. The detective pauses for a minute, cocking his head to listen.

The musician has some serious talent, that was to be noted, but it was the music itself that catches Danny's attention. It has a melancholy feel to it, a haunting chord that reverberates in his very bones. The composer's agony is palpable in each note that hangs in the air.

After ascertaining that Steve was not in fact in any room of the house, Danny moves out towards the back door, but pauses as he caught sight of his boss tucked in the corner of the lanai, facing out to the ocean. He cradles a worn guitar on his lap, hunching over it like a man trying to hide from something. His pain is evident in every line of his lean body, but his hands are graceful as they sweep up and down the strings of the guitar. Danny swallows hard.

He knows that the dark haired man had heard the screen door slam quietly behind him, but Steve gives no indication that he's heard, not even glancing up from where he stares out into the sea. Danny sighs, and crosses the last few feet between him and his partner, sliding down to sit beside the taller man.

"Life sucks sometimes." Danny says quietly after a moment, sensing that Steve really doesn't need to hear a rant about lunatic SEALs and crazy partners who went haring off on their own without so much as a by your leave. He just needs to know that Danny is there. And he is. And he always will be, for Steve. Gun toting, grenade carrying, self-preservation lacking Steve McGarrett. He's not really sure when he became so attached to the big SEAL, but somewhere along the line he did. And Danny now can't ever imagine his life without Steve in it, right by his side, explosives and all.

That's what you do, when you're partners.

The music peters out after a few more minutes, before Steve sighs and carefully, oh so carefully, lays the beaten and battered instrument down on the lanai behind him. "What're you doing here Danny?" He asks quietly. Danny just blinks at him, and doesn't say a word. A small half smile creases the bigger man's face, and he cautiously lays his hand down on top of Danny's looking up to meet widening blue eyes, and then ducks his head, embarrassed.

Danny says nothing, just turns his palm up to touch Steve's, giving a gentle squeeze of reassurance before turning back to face the sun setting over the sea.

Note: I entirely blame the movie August Rush, and this picture. http: / images2 . fanpop . com/images/photos/2900000/Alex-O-Loughlin-August-Rush-alex-oloughlin-2984629-350-600. jpg