Archive of Our Own

“Are you certain, Kono? Because if that’s not them we could be losing valuable time trying to locate them!”

Chin hissed this in his cousin’s ear as she stared raptly into the huge aquarium.

Kono rolled her eyes and elbowed him sharply in the side, making him wince. Kono had very sharp elbows and no compunction whatsoever about using them to get a point across.

“Yes! Listen to what the perp is telling Sgt. Harris.”

She angled her chin in the direction of the wild-eyed, sopping wet burglary suspect that Harris and his partner had just revived from a soggy, insensible heap on the floor and handcuffed.

“It was the goddamned octopus, brah! I reached into the tank, man, to grab the starfish and that fucker popped up and cold-cocked me! I’m telling you, that thing came out of the tank after me! It bounced me off the wall, then it tried to drown me!”

Chin stepped over, ignoring the broad grins on the amused faces of the arresting officers at the man’s wild story and smoothly interjected his own query into the interrogation.

“Why did you try and steal the starfish?” he asked curiously, taking note of the would-be burglar’s battered appearance.

The man had a black eye, a bloody nose and a purple knot the size of a goose egg on his forehead and he was more than a bit shaky on his feet. The guy sniffed and tried to wipe his nose on his own shoulder as he shrugged.

“I was gonna take it home for my kid’s salt water aquarium. It’s a rare color for that type of sea star, ya know?”

He glared across the room at the wall of the aquarium, where a large Pacific octopus was glaring right back, then flinched when the octopus curled the end of a tentacle into a fist sized coil and shook it at him in an unmistakable warning, while two other arms extended into rude gestures that Chin could only surmise were either the cephalopod version of flipping the man off, or ‘bring it on’.

Chin couldn’t help but notice that the octopus was also clutching a small rosy pink and gold sea star close, despite the little starfish’s violently waving arms.

Sgt. Harris grinned. “We caught him red-handed. Yan here was apparently stealing some of the more exotic specimens to fence to collectors. Then we found McGarrett and Williams’ IDs and weapons as well. That’s when we called 5-0.”

He pointed to a small mound of objects on a nearby table. Chin walked over and saw that along with several saltwater filled containers holding a tiny octopus with vivid blue rings on its skin, several vibrantly colorful sea slugs, and a odd looking fish, there was a pile of clothing and both Steve and Danny’s wallets, badges and weapons. He turned back to the shivering perp.

“How is it that you happen to have the personal belongings of two missing task force officers?”

Yan shivered and sneezed violently before answering.

“Man, I found that stuff in the back storeroom along with that weird old carved box. I figured I could get a few bucks for the guns at least. I don’t know nothing about any missing cops.”

He nodded to where the corner of a small, elaborately carved ebony box protruded from under a fold of Steve’s cargo pants.

Chin flipped the cloth back and swore softly under his breath at the sight of the very familiar box. The last time he had seen it, it had been in an occult shop and McGarrett had ended up transformed into a cephalopod for 24 nerve-wracking hours.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could already feel a headache coming on. He turned back to the amused officers and their shivering prisoner.

“Go ahead and read him his rights and take him in and book him on burglary charges. Take photos of the marine specimens for evidence. I’ll call the director of the aquarium to return them to their respective tanks and I’ll take care of these and see that they are returned to their rightful owners.”

He set the box, clothes and weapons aside and watched as the officers obeyed and escorted their prisoner out of the building. The man was still muttering about psychotic octopuses under his breath. Chin turned back to where Kono was standing, beaming benevolently at the occupants of the tank.

The starfish’s little arms were now pushing angrily at the tentacles coiled gently but firmly around its small, stocky body. Chin really couldn’t recall seeing such a lively starfish before. The ones he was more accustomed to moved much more slowly. This one looked really pissed off. He squinted into the tank and felt a smile start to twitch at the corner of his mouth. There was a tiny ribbon of green kelp around the sea star’s middle that really looked like a tiny tie. He turned to his cousin.

“Are you sure…”

At that moment, a small hammerhead shark made the mistake of swimming over and investigating the odd pair a bit too closely. Immediately a tentacle whipped out, coiled around the shark’s tail, whirled the unfortunate creature over the octopus’s head like a bolo for a few seconds and then flung it violently across the tank, where it bounced off the wall and swam rather shakily off to hide behind some rocks.

Kono raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, that’s Steve alright.” Chin said.

He hoped the other denizens of the tank survived Commander Octopus’ hopefully short visit. He eyed the little starfish in amusement. The little arms were knifing angrily through the water now at triple speed, and a steady stream of tiny angry bubbles rose to pop at the surface of the water, even as the octopus cuddled it closer. It figured that Danny would find a way to bitch, even underwater as a starfish. Chin gave a much put upon sigh. Some things even Zen couldn’t explain.

“Kono, take a look at the aquarium security tapes and see if we can figure out how long they’ve been this way. In the meanwhile I’ll call Professor Takimoto and see if he realizes he’s lost track of that hex box again. Hopefully they’ll be back to themselves before the aquarium opens in the morning.”

At Kono’s snicker, he turned his attention back to the glass wall of the tank. The starfish had glommed onto the octopus’s head, suctioned himself firmly right between its eyes and was currently beating the tar out of its head with two tiny arms. Steve octopus was looking more than a bit bemused, eyes nearly crossing as he tried to tug his tiny, irate partner off his head. He wasn’t having much luck.

The cousins looked at each other and burst into laughter before heading off to finish their tasks. Chin made a mental note to take photos with his cell before the pair changed back. An opportunity like this for future blackmail was priceless. It was only fair that Steve took a turn paying the team beer tab for the next six months or so in payment for the shit he put them through.

**********************************

Two hours later, they had consulted the tapes, tentatively calculated the approximate time the aquatic duo was due to transform back (if the transformation timeframe was the same), and returned the hex box to a very much chagrined Professor Takimoto, who promised to secure it more carefully in the future. Apparently the occult artifact had once been crafted by an old Ainu shaman with a warped sense of humor, and was given to wandering about over the island as it had acquired a tsukumogami, a mischievous spirit of its own, with age.

Chin leaned against the table and frowned meditatively into the tank. Danny, he noticed, had finally let go of Steve’s head and had stuck himself to a large chunk of coral and Steve was determinedly trying to pry him off, his normal bronze color pulsing brick red with frustration, the cephalopod version of Aneurism Face. No doubt Danny was in a snit about being transformed into an echinoderm and currently not ‘speaking’ to Steve. Kono was busily taking incriminating pictures and video with her phone.

“Hey, Cuz, did either Steve or Danny mention why they were coming to the aquarium today?”

“No.” She turned to face him, a thoughtful look on her pretty face. “The video only shows them as showing up in mid-afternoon and meeting and talking with a security guard.”

Chin tapped his jaw thoughtfully.

“I wonder why they were here at all, the burglaries were small potatoes compared to what we usually deal with.”

Kono shrugged. “Maybe they were investigating something besides the burglaries?”

“Yes. But it’s not like them not to leave word with us if they were following a lead.”

Kono bit her lip thoughtfully, eyes still on the tank.

Danny had squished himself into a crevice between corals and only the tip of one furiously waving arm was visible as he no doubt made many rude starfish gestures at Steve, who was trying to coax him out, hovering anxiously over the rocks, the tip of one tentacle delicately grasping at the little arm. As they watched, charmed despite themselves, Steve finally managed to insert two tentacles into the crevice and gently scoop the starfish out.

Steve immediately cuddled his small partner close, several limbs carefully cradling the rosy starfish and forming a protective barrier against any other creature inhabiting the tank that might venture close enough to harm Danny. A fourth tentacle slithered searching, over the sandy floor of the aquarium and came up with a miniscule clam, which he instantly offered to the little sea star. After a moment, the tiny arms curled hesitantly around the presented food and accepted it. Steve octopus settled happily on the tank floor, his partner held close while Danno starfish ate his snack.

Chin folded his arms and gazed around the room.

There had to be another reason for Steve and Danny to be here. This wasn’t one of the aquarium’s main exhibition areas; it was more of a storage and holding tank zone. There was the huge tank containing the sea life that had not yet been integrated into the main exhibits where Steve and Danny had taken up residence, several small holding aquariums for specimens in quarantine, a janitor’s closet and the storeroom.

He had searched them all thoroughly earlier after he had had the director come down and return the stolen marine specimens to their various tanks and come up with nothing except for Steve’s desert boots and Danny’s shoes discarded in the storage room.

“I can’t figure out why Steve and Danny came here in the first place, “ he admitted.

“I believe I can answer that question for you, Detective Kelly.” an oily voice behind him smoothly interrupted his musing. “If you and the charming young lady would be so kind as to raise your hands? I really don’t want to have my associate here shoot you.”

Slowly Chin and Kono turned to face the intruders.

“Wo Fat!” Kono snarled, her gun hand twitching even as she reluctantly raised it.

“And his flunky, Sang Min,” Chin added grimly.

He couldn’t help but notice as he turned, that Steve had gone instantly still and camouflaged himself to match the mottled gray stones in the tank while Danny was inching closer to the aquarium wall. What the hell they thought they could do, he had no idea.

Wo Fat gave them a toothy smile, very pleased with himself at the moment. He was a bit annoyed to find the wrong members of the task force here, but he could work with that. He enjoyed toying with McGarrett anyway; he had taken great pleasure in doing so for years. He spared a moment to wonder where the former SEAL and his short haole partner had disappeared to before turning his attention back to Chin and Kono.

“Actually, I came for the contents of that box.” He indicated the hex box on the table, and gestured for Sang Min to secure it. He didn’t notice the puzzled, incredulous look Chin and Kono shared, because they had just seen Professor Takimoto leave with that very same box not twenty minutes before. Apparently the hex box got around the island quite well despite its advanced age and lack of limbs.

The Chinese gunrunner obediently picked it up, still keeping an eye and his gun on Chin and Kono. He noticed that both police officers tensed up and flinched visibly as he picked the box up, and looked questioningly at his boss.

Wo Fat frowned suspiciously at both the officer’s reactions. Not only had they gone from relatively relaxed (even with guns aimed at them) to tense, but they both looked downright uneasy as well, as Sang Min gingerly handled the ebony box. With his attention on Chin and Kono, Wo Fat never noticed the large octopus and small, stocky starfish that crept quietly up as close to the tank wall as they could get.

Wo Fat nodded curtly at Sang Min.

“Open it. Make sure the pearls are there.”

He was counting on the stolen shipment of valuable black Tahitian pearls to use as security in a business deal with the Yakuza. He had gone to a great deal of trouble to get the pearls smuggled into Hawaii and the fact that they had been mislaid in shipment was an annoyance that several underlings had already suffered for. However, the chance to dispose of McGarrett’s team members more than made up for the inconvenience. He watched as Sang Min lowered his gun and tried to open the box. It refused to open.

“It’s stuck.”

Sang Min put his gun down on the table so he could get a better grip on the recalcitrant box and pry it open.

Wo Fat watched with growing annoyance. It was so difficult to get competent minions these days. He gestured impatiently with his free hand.

“Bring it here, fool.”

His eyes narrowed with suspicion as Kelly and Kalakaua both visibly flinched and took a step back. Before he could comment, there was an audible pop of displaced air in the room and his jaw dropped as Sang Min abruptly vanished and a large, very surprised land crab appeared in his place, huddled in Min’s clothes, the open box still clutched in its claws.

Still in control, despite his astonishment, Wo Fat stepped quickly away from the creature, moving so his back was to the large tank, gun still held on Kelly and Kalakaua.

“What the hell is going on?” he asked tightly, stepping back closer to the tank, trying to keep his gaze focused on both cops instead of gaping at the crab, which had dropped the box, clacked its claws in distress and scuttled under the table to hide.

Before they could reply there was a splash from the tank behind Wo Fat and a tiny clamshell bounced off the top of his head. He turned just in time to have a small starfish fling itself from the top of the tank and plant itself right on his kisser with a wet splat. Snarling with baffled rage, Wo Fat batted the little sea star off his face and flung it hard against the wall. It fell limply to the floor, one small limb twitching feebly before going still. He had about two seconds to see the horrified looks on both Kelly and Kalakaua’s faces before two angry tentacles whipped tightly around his throat and he was yanked backwards into the tank by an extremely pissed off octopus.

“Wha...gak! Glug !”

He flailed wildly, sending several wild shots into the ceiling before another tentacle firmly relieved him of his gun and began to pistol whip him with it, even as he was dragged kicking and choking under the water of the tank, where flailing human limbs and tentacles churned the water and sand into a murky froth. Clearly, in the epic battle between Man versus Giant Pacific Octopus in said cephalopod’s natural habitat, Man was doomed to be the (extremely sore) loser.

Chin and Kono sprang into action, ignoring the Sang Min crab for the time being –-it wasn’t like he could get very far fleeing the scene as a crustacean—and concentrated on retrieving Wo Fat from the aquarium before Steve committed cephalopod homicide and drowned his ass. They both climbed into the tank and tugged fruitlessly at Steve’s slippery tentacles, he was using at least six of them to simultaneously strangle and beat the hell out of Wo Fat and would not be persuaded to stop until Kono remembered Danny and yelled at him.

“Boss! Boss, stop! We need you to make sure Danny is all right! Let go of this creep! We’ll take care of him!”

There was a pause, then the water churned angrily and Wo Fat was scooped up in a swirl of tentacles and hurled bodily from the tank to land with a loud thud on the cement floor in an unconscious, wheezing heap. Steve’s tentacles reached pleadingly over the tank wall towards where the little starfish lay quietly in a corner.

Kono and Chin climbed soggily out of the tank and she hurried over to carefully pick the Danny starfish up, while Chin gave Wo Fat’s limp body a disgusted prod with his foot before rolling him on his side so he could cough up the salt water. Frankly, Chin didn’t give a shit if the bastard died. He had caused nothing but grief for the McGarrett family for years. He turned back to his teammates.

Kono turned frightened eyes to him, holding the limp sea star carefully in both hands.

“He’s not moving! I can’t tell if he’s still alive or not!”

There was an anguished splash from the aquarium as Steve attempted to haul himself out of the tank and reach his partner. At least half his limbs were reaching imploringly for Danny.

Chin made a snap decision.

“Give him to Steve. His best chance for recovery in this form right now is in the water. We can’t do anything else for him like this.”

Quite frankly while Chin Ho Kelly was adept at human first aid, he had no clue how to treat a traumatized echinoderm. He just prayed that Danny was merely concussed.

Tenderly Kono carried Danny over to the tank to an anxious Steve, who carefully scooped the little sea star from her hands and sank slowly back underwater, cradling Danny close to his body. Danny still wasn’t moving. The cousins watched helplessly for a few minutes before reluctantly resuming clean up.

Kono sniffled and wiped an angry tear off her face before grabbing a broom and a metal garbage can and heading off in determined pursuit of Sang Min, who had scuttled off into the storage room, while Chin called an ambulance and a back-up unit to pick up Wo Fat.

The open tsukumogami box lay under the table spilling a velvet bag of fat black pearls onto the floor. Chin used a mop handle to carefully close the lid of the box, then snagged the pouch and dragged it over so he could safely pick it up to bag it for evidence. The box he left under the table. Professor Takimoto could pick it up later. There was no way he was going to touch the damned thing with his bare hands. He really had no desire to be changed into a sea turtle, a lobster, or something worse.

There was a curse and clatter from the storage room and he went to lend a hand to Kono, who had Sang Min backed in a corner and was determinedly prodding him, viciously snapping claws and all, into the garbage can. After they corralled the angry crustacean, they went to meet the EMTs and HPD officers, peering worriedly into the aquarium as they passed, where Steve huddled quietly in a sheltered niche of coral, an unmoving sea star still held close, cradled in his multiple arms.

*************************

Several hours later, Chin stood silently beside the aquarium. He had sent Kono on to the hospital to ensure that Wo Fat remained in custody, stashed the garbage can containing Sang Min in the locked interrogation room at headquarters to deal with later, overseen the pick-up of the hex box (this time Professor Takimoto had placed it in yet another box, this one warded with protective symbols to keep it from wandering) and personally signed the pearls into a secure evidence room at HPD. He suspected they would be hearing from Interpol about their theft soon. It had been a very long day.

Now he watched helplessly as his friend huddled in the tank, still holding his partner close, his tentacles coiled and drooping listlessly around him.

“Steve, I think you guys are due to change back around three o’clock tomorrow afternoon. Kono and I will be back then to…drive you and Danny home. I have to go relieve Kono and make damned sure Wo Fat stays in custody. Not that he’s going anywhere out of intensive care soon, the doctors say he has a skull fracture.” He paused and placed a palm against the glass wall of the tank. “I’ll be back soon, brah.”

He left reluctantly, hoping that everything would be alright when he returned and wishing that he knew of an echinoderm specialist in aquatic medicine who could examine Danny. Maybe he could call some marine animal veterinarians in the morning and get more information. The trick was to ask pertinent questions without coming across as totally insane. He really didn’t think any marine biologist would take him seriously if he explained that a cop had been turned into a starfish and then bounced off a wall, before he asked for a diagnosis.

********************************

In the dim light of early morning, it was silent in the aquarium except for the hum of the air filters and the burble of recycling water in the tanks. A forlorn octopus sat on the tank bottom, one tentacle tip gently stroking the little sea star he held. As the sun peeked over the horizon on another perfect island day, and the light started to flood the room, the little starfish’s arms sleepily began to wriggle. Steve octopus hugged his partner close and jetted and swayed and twirled happily in the water, ignoring the hammerhead shark that fled in alarm at the first sight of him. The other denizens of the tank were stoically oblivious to the dancing cephalopod in their midst and his tiny, cranky partner.

************************************

Steve breached the surface of the tank with a gasp and anxiously pushed his hair out of his eyes as he sought his partner. Danny was nowhere in sight, either as a sea star or a human being. McGarrett heaved himself over the side of the tank, eyes scanning the room and even spun around on shaky limbs, frantically looking back inside the tank.

“Danny! Danny, where are you?”

He remembered everything, including the sight of his partner’s small body hitting the wall and falling limply to the floor. Danny had been hurt on his watch and he would never forgive himself for that. He shook off the tingle of transformation as he searched for his lover.

“Danno! Where…ouch! Son of a bitch!”

Steve yelped in pain and reached around to peel off the sea star currently clinging to his left ass cheek and biting the hell out of it. A wide, silly smile covered his face as he cupped the little starfish carefully in his hands. It was now angrily waving its tiny arms at him. Steve could almost see the wagging finger. His smile grew. Danno always woke up grumpy if awakened too early.

“There you are! Oof!” This last was wheezed out as he suddenly found his arms full of wet, naked, cranky Danno, whose weight brought them both crashing to the wet floor. Steve rolled instinctively, using his own body to cushion his partner from the hard floor, arms wrapping tight around Danny’s sturdy form.

“Ow, ow, ow, motherfucker! Ow, my head fucking hurts!”

Danny sat up dazedly and squinted down at his idiot partner who was grinning up at him, well, like an idiot. He had the mother of all headaches, it felt like the worst hangover he had ever had in his life. He squinted around in confusion, then peered down at himself and Steve, scandalized.

“Stephen? Why are we naked in public?”

Steve threw back his head and laughed aloud, so fucking happy and grateful that he couldn’t speak at the moment. Instead, he sat up and pulled his confused partner close and kissed his soft mouth, relishing the scrape of Danno’s morning whiskers against his skin. He ignored Danny’s mumbled protests and continued to kiss him, holding him close in his lap, warm and alive and undeniably Danno, until Danny stopped protesting and began to kiss him back.

It was quite some time before either of them bothered to worry about finding their clothing, and some time after that before Steve thought to call Chin and tell him they were back and that Danny was okay.

**********************************************

Several hours later, Chin knocked on the door of McGarrett’s house, a bag of fresh malasadas in hand. Steve answered the door with a big smile, still toweling his hair from his morning swim.

“Hey, brother, come on in.” He led the way into the sunny kitchen where a fresh pot of coffee was burbling on the counter. Steve poured them cups and they seated themselves at the kitchen table while Chin brought him up to date.

“The pearls were stolen last month from a pearl farm on Tahaa in French Polynesia. Wo Fat apparently planned to use them as security in a drug deal with the Yakuza. He leaked the information to you, in hopes that he could capture you and Danny at the aquarium. He won’t be any trouble to us anymore. The doctors say that about all he is going to be capable of for some time is drooling. Apparently when he ‘slipped’ and fell into the tank while attempting to escape custody last night, he gave himself a severe head injury.”

Steve and Chin exchanged pleased smirks. Chin sat back and took a sip of his coffee.

“How’s Danny?” he asked casually, noting the slight blush across Steve’s cheekbones and hiding his amusement behind his cup. He and Kono both found it hilarious that their boss innocently assumed they were oblivious to his new relationship with his partner. Chin was still a bit miffed that Kono had won the office betting pool, though.

Steve ran a palm over the nape of his neck and gave him a thin smile.

“He’s upstairs sleeping. The doctor said he has a moderate concussion.” His expression sobered and he stared solemnly at Chin. “He doesn’t remember anything beyond our arriving at the aquarium.”

Steve stared down at his hands and his smile faded.

“It’s a good thing that sea stars have a sturdy endoskeleton.”

He didn’t think he would ever forget the shock of the sight of that small body thudding hard against the wall.

Chin gave him a comforting smile.

“They make them tough in Jersey, brah” he said gently. He stood and consulted his watch.

“I’m going to head into headquarters and see if Sang Min has changed back yet. Professor Takimoto believes that the length of the curse weakens the more often the box is opened within a set period of time. That garbage can Kono locked him in won’t be very comfortable when he does. I should at least go and take off the lid.”

They laughed together at the thought of Sang Min stuck inside the sturdy metal can. They really didn’t think they would have much trouble with him from now on; the threat of being suddenly turned into a crustacean anytime he caused trouble would probably be more than enough to keep him in line.

Steve walked Chin out to his bike.

“Tell Kono to take the rest of the day, too. You guys did good” he ordered.

Chin grinned at him.

“We had a little help from Commander Octopus and Detective Starfish,” he joked.

Steve groaned at the new nicknames and watched fondly as his friend climbed on his bike and left, before heading back inside. Still smiling to himself he bounded up the stairs to his bedroom. He quietly pushed the door open and slipped inside the dim room and made his way to the window, where he opened the curtains allowing the morning light to flood the room.

Danny was burrowed under the thin cotton sheet, only a tuft of blond hair and one sturdy foot visible. Steve slid onto the bed and carefully peeled the sheet back to check on his lover. He bit back a grin at the sight of the wild hair and the sleeping face. Danno was drooling a bit on the pillow, still deeply asleep, hands curled against his chest as he lay on his side. Steve slipped out of his board shorts and gently pulled the sheet up and slid under it into bed next to his partner. He lay on his side and just stared appreciatively.

It wasn’t often that Danny wound down enough that Steve could just look his fill. He reached over and delicately smoothed a strand of bright hair out of Danny’s eyes, watching as the sun gilded golden lashes. Lazily Steve began to run his fingers though the unruly locks, enjoying the silky texture, eyes on the beloved sleeping face. Danny was like the sun, filling all of Steve’s silent, dark, empty spaces with love and laughter and light.

After a few minutes, Danny yawned and without opening his eyes, mumbled: “Perv.”

His voice was husky with sleep and that throaty rumble made something twist deliciously inside Steve. Steve edged closer and began to press tiny kisses to the corners of those stubbornly closed eyes, darting his tongue out to taste the tender, salt sweet skin. He nudged his nose and cheek against Danny’s and their lashes tangled together like tiny kisses. Danny hummed and tilted his head back, and Steve took advantage to nuzzle under his jaw, their morning whiskers rasping delightfully together and Steve breathed Danny’s musky male scent in deep.

Slowly Steve edged into Danny’s space, gradually entangling his limbs with Danny’s—sliding one arm under his head and easing it onto his own shoulder, wrapping the other around the trim waist—slyly sliding a thigh between Danny’s and hooking his ankle firmly around his sturdy, fuzzy calf as he tangled their legs together.

He tucked the bright head under his chin and sighed happily at the familiar feel of sleep warm skin over strong muscle, the textured crinkle of blond body hair against his own skin, the damp puff of breath against his chest. Gently he smoothed a calloused hand down the broad back to happily grope a peach-fuzzed ass cheek, fingers trailing teasingly over the spot where a tiny tattoo of a octopus sat low on Danny’s back where the perfect curve of his ass began. Steve smiled as he nudged his hips against Danny’s and felt something thick and velvet smooth nudge back.

“Octopus,” Danny mumbled, already sliding back into sleep, even as he turned into the curve of Steve’s lean body, slid his arms around Steve’s waist and buried his face in the crook of his neck.

Steve’s smile widened and he pressed a soft kiss into bright, tangled hair.

“Starfish,” he whispered back.

He pressed another kiss into Danny’s hair, tucked the blond head closer and briefly pondered where he was going to place that new sea star tattoo before the tiny bite mark on his ass tingled a reminder for the perfect spot. Steve smiled again and curled around his partner and followed him down into sleep.