Title: Hurry Home (I'm Waiting For You)

Author's Note: Happy September! I've been missing these two lately so I thought I'd post something from my collection. This falls in my AU McKono universe after Kono's moved in with him. And if you're a visual person like me and want to see a picture of Kono's dress, feel free to message me. (I wish FF allowed links, grr.)

Thanks in advance to those who take the time to comment. It's the surprise e-mails I get that make me want to keep sharing my work here, so this is for you!

"You sure you don't want me to drive you?" Steve asks as he puts the suitcase in the trunk of her car and turns to face her.

"No, no. I'm gonna pick my mom up at the house and let her talk non-stop all the way to the airport," Kono says. "My dad will drive in complete silence and it'll be quality Kalakaua family time."

"Right." He stands next to her in the driveway, hands in his pockets and unsure of how to say goodbye. "You have your badge to carry a weapon on the plane?" Kono nods at him. "Good. Be safe."

She smiles slightly at his warning because she's only flying to Maui for a weekend to attend her cousin's wedding, but she knows how important safety is to him, especially her safety, so she nods at his instructions and holds back a laugh out of respect. "You be safe too. No getting shot or blown up while I'm gone. Be good."

He smirks at that as he tugs on her arm to pull her close, his lips fusing with hers as he kisses her fiercely. Kono wraps her arms around his neck, holding him close for a moment as she kisses him back, inhaling the scent of him deep into her lungs since she'll be away for days. He smells like a mix of aftershave and sweat, of seawater and gunpowder; he smells like home.

He breaks the kiss and they finally part for air, his hands still wrapped around her waist while Kono leans up to brush her lips against his one last time.

"I'll see you Monday morning, okay?" He nods and she forces herself to step away from him, already missing the warmth of his hands on her skin.

This is getting ridiculous. It's only for a weekend.

She gets into her car and gives him a smile and a wave through the open window as she drives away.

Steve goes back into the house and closes the door behind him, heading to his downstairs office to finish paperwork. He gets busy for a good few hours, and it's only when Danny calls to ask if Kono called and if he ate dinner that he looks up and realizes the time.

The house suddenly feels so quiet without her. He's lived here for years before she moved in, years alone when he first moved back to Hawaii and settled back into the house that was once his childhood home. He's lived alone with all the space to himself, and he didn't mind at all.

But with Kono around, there was always movement. Wherever she was, she was making noise - in the kitchen puttering around and claiming she was cooking, on the lanai as she chatted on the phone while tanning, in the living room with the TV on saying she was working on paperwork. Even in the bathroom, she'd have music on while shaving her legs. There was a constant hum of energy when she was home and Steve could sense it the minute he walked into the house, hear it as soon as he walked down the hall and followed it to whichever room she was in.

The house doesn't feel like a mausoleum to his broken family anymore; it feels like a home.

He steps back onto the lanai from swimming laps when his phone rings. It's her and he answers it without even realizing he's smiling.

"Hey, you told me to call when I got settled."

"Hotel okay?" Steve asks.

"Yeah, it's nice. The beach is too far away though," Kono complains, and Steve chuckles. Not room service, not the water pressure in the shower, but the distance to the nearest beach is top on her list of priorities. "Bachelorette party tonight. Don't expect me to call you tomorrow before noon, I'll be too hungover."

"Good to know," Steve comments. "Wait, is your mom going too?"

"No way. She's gonna have a nice dinner at my aunt's house and probably knit with all the other old ladies or something. She tried to teach me once, it didn't work."

Steve chuckles at that, trying to wrap his head around the idea of Kono with knitting needles. The image of her using them as a weapon comes to mind more easily than her sitting complacently with colored yarn. "You knit?"

"I think I've been working on the same sweater since I was eighteen and stuck in the hospital because of my knee. It's in one of the junk boxes in your attic. I have to get ready, Naomi's picking me up in twenty minutes."

"Okay," Steve says, yet he remains on the line, not sure how to hang up, not wanting to just yet.

Apparently she doesn't want to either.

"Did you eat?"

"Yes," he says automatically then remembers he didn't and should go back downstairs and have something before bed. Kono always drags him away from the computer, away from the garage, away from his workout to make sure he eats dinner. He never remembers until he finally realizes his stomach is growling with hunger.

"Good." She says nothing for a long moment and he can hear her moving around the room, probably pulling out her toiletries and picking her outfit before she hits the shower. Finally, she says, "I gotta go, sorry."

"I know. Be safe."

"I will. Don't worry, I won't give any of the male strippers my home address."

"What?"

"Nothing," she says through a laugh. "Night, Steve."

They catch a case the next morning and Steve's out of the house before six. Rich investment banker murdered in a rich neighborhood, and all signs seem to point to a typical "he was having an affair and his wife and/or lover killed him" case. But there's still a lengthy process involved before they can officially call it a wrap and go out for celebratory drinks.

"Okay, here's what I want. Danny, there's no way he'd have that much insulin in him as a diabetic, no way. Call his doctor and I want any info on his visits for the last, say, six months. Chin, financials. Kono-" He stops abruptly.

Danny chuckles. "Oh, that's funny, you see, cause she's not here. You miss your girlfriend, aw, how cute."

"I don't miss her," Steve argues back then gives Chin a half-apologetic and half-scared look when he realizes what he said. "I mean, I don't not miss her. I just forgot that she- never mind. I'll look up history on the wife and kids. And how many employees did the wife say he had at the firm?"

"Three, including the accountant," Chin comments.

"That's how many Steve has," Danny remarks to Chin, who chuckles at the coincidence.

"He could have been sleeping with one of them," Steve muses out loud.

"Hey, Steve's doing the same thing," Danny comments again to their other teammate.

"Hey, didn't I give you stuff to do?" Steve asks him with a glare.

"Right, right, I'm going. How many hours until Kono's back?" Danny asks Chin as they head to their offices, not even bothering to keep their voices down.

"Too many, brah. I take it he knows about the bachelorette party with strippers she went to last night."

Danny whistles, tossing Steve a look of glee as he turns down the hall. "Oh, that explains it."

He resists the urge to call her all day. It's stupid, to want to hear her voice in the middle of a busy day. He's got stuff to do and so does she. What would he even talk to her about? How the secretary totally did it, how death by insulin overdose is lame but it's still murder so it's under their jurisdiction?

She sends him a picture of the Maui sunset later that night with a text saying she can't talk because she's at the reception dinner but she hopes he had a good day.

Steve looks at picture of the sun setting beautifully in an array of red and gold hues, and wishes it was a picture of her.

Then he snaps out of it when Danny tells him he better not be sexting while behind the wheel, and definitely not when he's in the vicinity.

Steve's at HPD with Danny early on a Sunday because his weekend with Grace was switched. Not that he really has set weekends anymore since she can drive now and has her own car to visit whenever she wants. Danny and Rachel's relationship has evolved to a mature point where the strict lines regarding visitation have blurred.

Yes, Grace drives. It surprises Steve every time he sees her with the keys too.

Chin and Malia had planned to take the boys to the zoo so Steve let him have the day off. It's Sunday, the man has a family, the case isn't all that exciting, and it's not like Steve has anyone waiting for him at home. But he wasn't going to be stuck doing the work alone either, so he picked up Danny to tag along.

"So sweet of you to let the cousins have time off. You're becoming almost nice as you age. Be careful now, Super SEAL," Danny comments as he goes through yet another bank statement of the secretary they're looking into. Kono taught him the keyboard shortcut to isolate specific payment amounts but he forgot to write it down, and he's too proud to text Chin for help. The twins would probably laugh at their Uncle Danny.

"I had to. Kono asked for the weekend off when she got the invitation like, six months ago from her cousin. Who even books a wedding that far in advance?" Steve muses. "What if you change your mind?"

"Why, you gonna change your mind about Kono tomorrow?" Danny questions.

"What? No, I meant-"

"Gonna change it next week?"

"No, I just-" Steve tries to explain, but he's rudely interrupted by his partner again before he can finish.

"Then there's your answer," Danny concludes. "When you know, you know. Okay, I think I found it. There's a monthly deposit of five grand on all of these statements, but the account is undisclosed."

"Blackmail it is," Steve concludes as he heads to the printer to grab the printed statements. "Let's go, Danno."

"Did you find the secretary?" Kono asks him over the phone later that night. "Was she blackmailing him?"

"Yeah. Danny and I went over there but she was gone, place was clear. Put out a BOLO and a trace on all her credit cards so she can't get far."

"Hopefully," Kono says. "I'll let you know if I spy her in Maui."

He can hear the sounds of music in the background, the chatter of voices, the clinking of silverware.

"You're at the wedding?" he asks in surprise.

"Yeah. Well, you were busy all day and I had to help with wedding stuff," she explains. "I can talk a few minutes before my mom tells me I'm being rude and to get off the phone."

"What are you wearing?"

"What?" she squeaks, her tone full of surprise and amusement. "I'm in public, Steve."

"I mean, I didn't mean-" Steve quickly backtracks, shaking his head at himself as he stares at the evening news. "I meant-"

She chuckles before she answers him. It's low and seductive, the sound coming from the back of her throat and Steve can imagine the way her eyes are crinkled and the flash of her dimples, can almost see the way her lips must be curved in amusement. "A dress. It's green."

"Oh. It's a night wedding?" Steve questions curiously, because most Hawaiian families prefer to have the ceremony in the late morning or afternoon, or by sunset at the latest, to celebrate with family well into the night. That's what Chin and Malia had done, at least.

"Well, Naomi and Sean met at night, so they thought it'd be romantic."

"We met during the day."

He realizes what he said and how it sounds in the context of this particular conversation and considers hanging up, but that would be the cowardly thing to do and Steve McGarrett is no coward. Even while making huge blunders and frantic leaps, even while not having any damn idea how to navigate this relationship, he will not resort to such a cowardly, chicken-shit move as to hang up. That's basically the same as retreating from the battle. She says nothing for a moment and he thinks maybe she hung up during the awkward pause, but his phone is still counting the seconds of the call and he can hear the low hum of voices in the background from her end.

"That's right. It was a very professional meeting. I believe I was half-naked at the time," Kono says casually.

"I don't remember," Steve lies. She laughs again and he finds himself smiling like an idiot alone in his living room. His hands itch to touch her, to smooth away the stray strands of hair from her forehead, to watch her laugh lines grow. He wonders how golden her skin is now from the few days under the Maui sun.

"Liar. You totally looked," she teases.

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did. The sunglasses were just a cover-up."

"No, they weren't." He denies it but they both know the truth because, yes, they had been a cover-up as he'd eyed her form and right cross quite appreciatively. He'll never admit it though. They may be together, but he still has Chin to watch out for; he might not like that Steve had been eyeing his baby cousin during what was basically her job interview. But she knows the truth.

The doorbell rings, but before he can get up to answer it, Danny's bursting in with a pizza box in one hand and Grace trailing behind him. "Yo, Uncle Steve. Dinner. Pay up."

"I didn't order that," Steve says even as he smiles at Grace who slides next to him on the couch.

"We didn't want you to be lonely while Kono was gone," she says with a smile. "Is that her?"

"Yeah. Here, Grace wants to talk to you," Steve says and reluctantly hands the phone over to the eager teenager. Plus, he has to argue with Danny about how he won't pay for half of dinner when he didn't order anything to begin with, and he certainly won't consider paying a delivery charge.

The case gets a little more interesting the next morning when they get a hit on one of the credit cards. But they pick up a guy at the motel, not the blonde secretary they expected. He says he just "found" the wallet in a dumpster, the cell he's carrying is a burner phone, and to add some more suspicion along the way, turns out he used to work for the dead investment banker a year ago before he was fired for stealing from the company account.

Steve answers the incoming call on speakerphone in the car, expecting it to be Chin from the lab with a report on the man's clothing and if anything can be traced to where he may have dumped a murder weapon or the secretary's body.

"Hey, it's me."

"Kono?" he questions in surprise as Danny looks up from the report he's reading at the sound of her voice echoing in the car. "Did you get home already? Where are you?"

"No, not yet. My uncle was in the hospital so my mom and I missed our flight. Trying to book another one now."

"Is he okay?" Danny asks from the passenger's side, inviting himself into the conversation without an official invitation. But that's how he is with their lives so Steve makes no comment. "Is it serious?"

"No, just chest pains. Go figure. He smokes like, three packs a day- yes, he does, Mom, you know it," Kono says to her mother while on the line, and Danny chuckles. "Just wanted to let you know."

"Good luck, Kalakaua," Danny says as he turns back to his file, pretending to give Steve privacy to finish his conversation while he continues to listen to every word.

"How's the case going?" Kono asks above the busy background noise of the airport she's in. "Did the traces from his clothes come back yet?"

"How do you know that?" Steve wonders, looking at Danny in surprise. "You're in Maui."

"I have my ways," she teases over the line. "Yes, Mom, I washed my hands, just give me the sandwich- I did!" She growls to herself, or maybe at her mother who clearly doesn't believe her, and Steve grins at the noise. "Sorry, I have to go. I'll see you soon, hopefully."

Steve chuckles as he ends the call and finds Danny staring at him fondly. "What?"

"Nothing," Danny says, a proud and happy smile on his face as he looks at his partner. "Okay, so, he most probably killed her and dumped the body on his way out of town. The only thing we need to figure out is where."

Steve takes one step through the front door and knows she's home. Actually, now that he looks back, that is her car in the driveway but he completely missed it because it wasn't there all weekend.

His COs would be ashamed of his declining observation skills. But it's been a long day, a murderer is behind bars, and she's home.

"Kono?" he calls as he goes down the hall to the kitchen, peering out into the backyard.

"I'm upstairs!"

He takes the stairs two at time, then forces himself to slow down as he reaches the bedroom door because he is not a teenage girl and this would be considered embarrassing on some levels if his SEAL team were to ever find out. Okay, on many levels.

He's in love, that's his only defense.

He finds Kono sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her suitcase, sorting through the clothes she packed. She's in shorts and a tank top, fresh from a shower as her hair curls around her shoulders in that way she hates but he secretly likes.

"Hi," she greets him with a bright smile, which quickly turns into a frown when she sees his face. "What happened to your face?"

Steve drinks in the sight of her for a good two seconds before he remembers the injury she's referring to. "We found her and the weapon dumped at one of the trails. I slipped. Wasn't wearing the right shoes."

She shakes her head at him and gets up to bring the first aid kit from the master bathroom. "I told you not to get hurt while I was away."

He takes a seat on the bed and looks up at her, observing her quietly as she quickly takes the anti-bacterial cloth and wipes at the scratches along his temple. She notices the same abrasions on his forearm and cleans those too, finally tossing the wipe into the trash to meet his eyes.

Her lips quirk up in a smile, eyes lighting up with genuine happiness as she wraps her arms around his neck, leaning into him so their faces are close. "Hi."

"Hey," he says with a smile, blue eyes twinkling as his hands rest at her hips to keep her in place between his knees.

"I thought about coming in, but Chin said you were already wrapping things up so I figured-"

Steve kisses her in the middle of her reasoning as to why she didn't show up at work. It should be something he actually listens to, considering she is his employee and he is her boss, but there are more important things to worry about right now. His lips work over hers frantically as if to memorize her all over again, to check that she is the same as when she left. His hands run up her back to pull her into his lap, his lips pressing into hers for greater access as she moans at the pressure. Finally, she breaks the kiss, gasping for air as she rests her forehead against his.

"I told you not to get hurt," she scolds, her eyes tracing over the scrapes along his hairline.

"Actually, I think you said don't get shot or blown up," Steve clarifies.

Kono punches his shoulder when he only smirks at her. "Don't be a smartass. And don't crush my dress," she says when he turns them to lay sideways on the bed, their feet dangling over the edge.

Steve glances at the garment bag his hand lands on, a green dress with a beaded neckline hanging inside. "That it?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd wear it for you, then you can take it off me," she adds with a wicked smile, and watches the way his eyes darken at the mere mention of clothes coming off and the promise of undressing her.

"I can get us reservations for tonight," Steve promises. "I work for the Governor, I have some pull."

"Do you now?" Kono drops a quick kiss on his lips as she gets up and gestures at the bathroom behind her. "Go shower. I'll meet you downstairs in twenty minutes."

With his three minute shower rule, he manages to get ready under fifteen.

"Door," Kono gasps.

"Mhmm," Steve mumbles into the skin of her neckline.

"Door, Steve. Now. We are not doing this outside. Keys," she orders as she searches through her purse.

But he's quicker and pulls his out to unlock the door, picking her up easily as he slams the door behind them. Her heels drop to the floor as she whimpers in surprise at the move. He kisses her hungrily, and Kono knows that teasing him at dinner had been the wrong move; or well, the right one, depending on how you look at it. His hands go to her bare legs, smoothing up her knees to her thighs and she arches her body against his, hands frantically trying to unbutton his shirt at the same time. The task has been made easier since she started on it during the ride home from the restaurant.

"Don't rip my dress," she tells him as his hand goes to push aside the single strap of fabric at her shoulder to reveal the skin underneath. "I paid three hundred dollars for it."

"For a dress?" That gets his attention. He stares at her in confusion, as if he must have heard the number wrong.

"Yeah. It comes with a great built-in bra to make it look like I actually have boobs."

"You do have boobs," he murmurs, his hands fondling them gently as he tugs at the zipper he's found, kissing the hollow of her neckline with focused attention.

"That's so sweet, honey. But you don't have to lie, I'm already gonna sleep with you," Kono teases as they finally reach the bedroom and he sets her down on the bed, his hands making quick work of the dress. He pauses to admire the view of her clad only in silk underwear before his body covers hers and his hands entangle with her own. "Somebody missed me," she murmurs against his lips, nearly purring as his body rocks into hers even with the layers of clothing in between.

"Maybe," he says, nuzzling her neck as his hands trail down her side, adjusting her legs to just the way he wants them, their bodies aligned in all the right places. "The house seemed quiet. You make a lot of noise."

"I do not," Kono argues. Her fingertips trace his tattoos before finally peeling off his white undershirt to touch bare skin.

"I like your noise though."

"Yeah?" She smiles at him, a quick flash of dimples, and he smiles back, his nose nudging hers as their gazes meet. She wraps her arms around his neck to pull him closer, her mouth returning to his as she kisses him until she's breathless.

"Who was your source?" Steve asks as he places sloppy kisses down her chest. She looks at him in puzzlement. He hurries to explain while he still has some coherence, which he's slowly losing as her hand struggles with the zipper of his dress pants. "For the case. You were getting your intel from someone."

She giggles and shakes her head at him, and he grins as he stares down at those laugh lines he missed so much over the past few days. It's his biggest accomplishment when he gets her to laugh; people say he doesn't have a sense of humor, but Kono seems to appreciate whatever he does have.

"Maybe I bugged the office," Kono says haughtily with a shrug, the curve of her golden shoulders begging to be kissed so he does just that.

"No, you didn't," Steve argues as his hands skim up her thighs, the move making her shiver and clutch his shoulders tighter.

"Maybe I bugged your phone."

"Or bribed Danny, more like," he murmurs against her lips. She pauses in between kisses and he knows he guessed correctly, and smirks in success. "I knew it."

"I just wanted him to take care of you while I was gone. But you got hurt anyway." Kono frowns slightly as her hand traces the scrapes at his forehead again, her touch gentle compared to the lust roaring through his veins.

"Well, no one takes care of me like you do," Steve says simply, not realizing the statement he's making as he anxiously waited for her to arrive home, not realizing how powerful the meaning behind his words are as they echo out loud in the sanctuary of their bedroom, of their home.

But she realizes it.

Kono smiles to herself as she wraps her legs around him tighter, her hands pulling him close so she can kiss his cheek and look into his solemn blue eyes. "That is incredibly sexist, you know that?" she teases and watches his eyes widen with panic at her comment.

"I didn't mean it like that- I meant-"

This time she kisses him, her hands making quick work of his boxers as he groans at her fleeting touch. Her hands travel back up to his broad chest as he angles his body into hers. She whimpers as he kisses down her neck, his lips wet and forceful on her sensitive skin as she runs her fingers through his hair.

"I'll let it go if you take care of me right now," Kono murmurs suggestively, the tilt of her hips and her wandering hands making it very clear what need she's referring to.

He grins down at her, and she takes in the view of the dimples she missed while she was away too. "I can do that."

the end ~