newkindofcop | (no subject)

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danny williams

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There is a seal.

There is a seal sitting - or laying, more accurately - on the beach in front of the hut, and Steve isn't the only one who isn't exactly sure what to make of it. Zulu is pacing anxiously on the front porch, trying to decide if it's worth it to go and investigate more closely. Steve finally stays him with a hand and hops down the steps to walk closer, but he can hear the dog whining from the porch behind him.

"Stay," he murmurs, giving Zulu an urgent look, and then returns his attention to the seal - the seal that looks like it's wearing a - bow?

He tries not to scare the animal away, slowly sinking down to a crouching position until he's almost at eye-level - and then just stares.

He might still be in a staring contest with a seal if anyone happens to pass by.

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Danny heard barking a little earlier that didn't sound like either Steve or the dog, but he'd dismissed it. Now, jogging down the front steps to see where Steve's got to, he sees that maybe he shouldn't have written it off so quickly. "Babe, that's a..." He blinks and doesn't even stifle his laugh.

"Are you having a staring contest with a seal?"

Steve holds a finger to his lips to shush, unsure if he should take his eyes off the seal for a second. It seems relatively calm in his presence despite the nervously pacing dog on the front porch and Danny's entrance.

"He just showed up," he explains. "I didn't want to scare him off and send him in the wrong direction if we can get him back to the water."

If Danny hadn't seen this behavior before, he might be concerned. Except that he's seen Steve stare down animals, crooks, and kids with that look alone. "For..." he sighs, exasperated as he closes the distance between the two to pluck the red bow off of the seal, grinning in amusement when he discovers a tag.

"He's mine. He is my seal, there's a tag on him."

"What?" Steve snatches the tag out of Danny's hand, flipping it over to read it, and then looks back and forth between the seal and Danny, more confused than ever.

"How can he be your seal? That's absolutely ridiculous."

There are a dozen inappropriate thoughts in Danny's mind right now and maybe if he and Steve didn't know each other, he'd hold back on them, but as it is? Yeah, he's going to enjoy this. "What, like getting a dog out of nowhere wasn't ridiculous?"

"I think I'm gonna name him Steve," he says with a smirk.

Steve just gives him a look - a long, hard look. The kind of look that all but says he hopes to God that Danny is bullshitting him on this.

"That's not funny," he says, waiting for the second that Danny will crack and admit it's a joke. "Danny - Danno, no."

"Why, what's there to be serious about, huh?" he asks, but he's grinning like an idiot the whole time. "It's a seal, he's collared, he lives on a beach. His name is Steve," he announces, reaching down to pat the little guy's head. "And don't get jealous, but I'll make him a little home out there," he says, pointing at the ocean. "A little dock to a rock outcropping or something."

Edited 2013-01-16 03:58 (UTC)

Steve just sighs, long and quiet, realizing there's never going to be an end to the jokes that arise from this happening - and the seal, as if siding with Danny, barks noisily, drawing Zulu's attention once again from his lounging spot on the porch.

"You're going to build it, huh?"

"Well, maybe I'll persuade the guy teaching Oceanography to help," he cracks, smirking up at Steve as he slides his fingers over the bow to unknot it, giving Seal-Steve a little bit of freedom. "I mean, I'm not saying this is apology enough for getting rid of the city, but it's a start."

"Didn't you spend enough of Christmas listing off all the ways in which New Jersey was superior to New York?" Steve points out, idly crossing his arms over his front as the seal scoots across the sand on his belly, rolling over in the cool shade.

"I'm amazed you even ate any food at all."

"It's a fact. New York City is great and all, but it's got Jersey beside it, which is better," he says, grinning fondly at the seal as it starts looking for something a bit chillier. "See? This guy agrees with me," Danny says. "Maybe I'll run up to the house and change so I can wade into the water with him, see if I can't get him more comfortable."

"You're going to go swimming with the seal?" Steve asks, looking back and forth between man and animal like he still can't believe what's happening. "Now this I have to see." He eases his arms down to his sides, and the seal watches the two of them relatively quietly, dark eyes blinking.

"He's cuter than you," Danny mocks with a smirk, heading back to the hut and coming back out when he's got swim trunks on and a towel slung over his shoulder. He gives Zulu a comforting pat on the head when he passes, heading over to the seal and giving him a tiny poke. "Okay, Steve-o, let's head into the water."

"Oh, well, by all means, go on and tell the seal how good he looks," Steve replies, waving Danny in the direction of the water. Zulu's starting to follow, but at a reserved pace. He's not feeling very inclined to get up close and personal with the new addition. "This is just weird," Steve mutters, but even he can't resist the urge to tag along.

Danny wades into the water, getting knee-deep before he hesitates and looks back to Steve. "Well? Come on, I gotta introduce a seal to a SEAL, you both belong in the water and you're seriously going to just stand there and overlook me swimming of my own free will."

"I didn't exactly - " Steve starts, but he's not going to get into an argument with Danny about whether or not he's wearing the proper attire for this. Instead, with an audible sigh, he strips off his t-shirt and then moves to pry off his work boots, peeling socks off and jamming them inside before he starts to wade in with his cargo shorts on.

Danny takes a good moment to really appreciate Steve without his shirt on. He gives a fond little exhalation and reaches out so he can wind one arm around Steve's back, pulling him in. "So," he says, nodding to the seal. "What ah, what do these things eat?"

"I don't know, fish?" Steve suggests out loud. He smiles briefly, leaning in to give Danny a quick kiss before combing wet fingers through his hair, keeping it slicked back. "We could probably just let him go to town out here."

"You teach this class, I kind of thought maybe you'd have a real answer," Danny says, trying to hide his stupid grin at the light touch. It's ridiculous, but after the whole Esther situation, Danny takes great pride in whatever he can get from Steve. "I mean, if he's anything like you, I know not to feed him spam."

"That would be blasphemous," Steve insists, wading a little deeper into the water and absently splashing some water on his shoulders to cool off further. "He'll be fine with fish or squid, but if you really want something more comprehensive I can look into it."

"Nah, let's make sure he's not about to bolt. I kind of like the guy," he says. "Reminds me of someone with those big innocent eyes he's got," Danny comments, reaching out to nudge a scratch under the seal's chin.

"Can he do that? There's limits to the island. He'd only be able to swim so far in one direction," Steve points out, as the seal barks again and submerges, disappearing under the water to swim around them.

"This is like a really freakish Disney movie right now," Danny feels compelled to point out. The only thing missing is some ridiculous curse, except that they're on a freakish cursed island, so maybe it's not so off the mark at all. "I hope he doesn't run away," he admits. "If Grace ever did get here, she'd love a pet seal."

"Why would he run away?" Steve asks, frowning slightly at the thought. It would be just like the island to give Danny a gift and then take it away in the same beat, although he doesn't think that's going to be the case in this particular instance. "We have a seal," he mutters, shaking his head slowly, droplets of water quivering on his jawline.

"Actually, we already had a seal," Danny points out, smirking given his need to be pedantic on this particular topic. "Now, we have two," he points out, holding up two fingers and tapping them on Steve's shoulder, just to reinforce the words.

"Uh huh," Steve mutters, reaching out to grab hold of those offending fingers before pretending to bend them back slightly, all without actually doing so. "How long are you going to hold onto that joke, Danno?"

"I don't know, we only found the seal today. I think I've got another month or so in me," he says, grinning even though there's a slight amount of pain with the way Steve's holding his fingers. "Come on, like you wouldn't tease me if the situation was reversed."

Steve relents, releasing Danny's fingers after giving them a brief squeeze and then lays back in the water, letting himself drift a little with the ocean waves. "I might have to indulge a little. Turnabout's fair play."

Danny follows, but not entirely tight. He squares up to Steve and cocks a brow upwards, not sure what's about to happen, here. "Okay," he says suspiciously. "In Steve-language, what does turnabout get defined as, huh?"

"Meaning I'm going to seize the first opportunity I have to turn the tables once I get it," Steve replies, tilting back into the water, his face tipped up to the sun as he closes his eyes.

"So I should be sleeping with one eye open," Danny says, pushing after Steve and wrapping one arm around Steve's waist to splay his hand at the small of Steve's back, grinning as he does.

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