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too mana problems

Summary:

Danny and Steve become soul bonded after taking a case on the ridge of the Haleakala volcano.

Notes:

Wow. This was over two years of work on and off and I'm honestly just glad it's finished. I pictured this taking place around seasons 5-6 but I never really mention the show that much. Also FYI I think I aged Grace a bit. In the fic she's probably in 8th or 9th grade, not canon-compliant whatsoever.

Also I seem to have a thing with writing for shows that have completely wrapped up.

Please keep in mind that this is a work of fiction. I pieced together some real Hawaiian beliefs as well as what bare minimum research i did and google maps and lots of fiction to fill in the gaps along the way.

Comments and Kudos are much appreciated!

#blacklivesmatter

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Chapter Text

When he hears the ringing start on a Monday at 8:30 am he knows it’s going to be a long week. Danny scarfs down his toast and coffee when the McGarrett ringtone goes off. Too early to be just a check in, especially since Danny saw Steve less than ten hours ago.

“Hello?”

“Hey Danny, we got a case. I just got a call that a body was found on the Haleakala volcano.”

“Who found it?”

“I’m not sure, I got a vague call from the Governor and was asked to come see him right away. I guess I’ll be debriefed there but I’m assuming we’re gonna be heading out to the volcano within the hour.”

“Please tell me this volcano is out of order.”

“Out of Order? Danny it’s not a machine and the correct phrase is inactive and it’s cooled off for about 400 years so you don’t have to worry about melting alive today. Just come get me and we can go catch the heli and fly out there.”

“You’re not gonna be flying it right?

“No Daniel,” Steve says with the same tone that Grace uses when Danno has said something for the 25th time.

“Okay, I’ll be waiting for you on the helipad in fifteen minutes.”
+++
The helicopter ride is fortunately uneventful. The crime scene however, is not. The body rests about midway down from the top of the volcano and it seems to have rolled for several yards. Danny studies the surroundings. No obvious trail markings from a vehicle, the only way in was hiking or maybe the way the team came.

On the flight over Steve mentioned the body was found on one of the Hawaiian homelands. “It’s just a reservation, protected by the government. They’re allowing us access for the time being but we’re gonna be short staffed. The five of us,” Steve motions to himself, Danny, Kono, Chin, and Max, “and that’s it.”

“Are we allowed to talk to the Native Hawaiians?” Chin asks.

“We can’t make them, we technically don’t have jurisdiction here. But I think they will be cooperative. They did report the body and if it wasn’t us here, the FBI would have to come in and I don’t think the Natives would like that.”

Now standing on the volcano, Danny, Steve, and Max are the only ones that surround the body. Danny can see Chin and Kono are talking with only one member of the tribe at the base.

“Are outsiders even allowed to hike through this?” Danny asks, trying to piece this together.

Steve looks down at the folder of documents the Governor handed him that morning. “They’re probably not welcomed but on the map, the homeland only has part of the volcano, National Parks has another and the government controls the rest for science and research I guess. Hikers probably trespass without realizing it.”

“Well gentlemen, my preliminary thoughts are that this man was not killed here, but rather dropped and rolled down a bit” Max offers.

Looking up to where the body might have rolled from, Danny sees a figure almost at the top of the mouth. Danny nudges Steve.

“Hey buddy, you see that person at your 2 o’clock?” for the split second that that left Danny’s mouth, Steve went into SEAL mode, ready to attack at a moment's notice, but he relaxes soon after seeing the figure near the mouth of the volcano.

“That’s probably a member of the homeland, they can do whatever they want.”

Danny doesn’t respond to his comment.

“We don’t have jurisdiction over them. We are guests on this land right now and they have the right to move freely. They didn’t even have to call us to alert us that they found a body.”

“Hmm, maybe I’ll go talk to them, see if they saw something?”

“Are you sure about that Danny? You’re not always the greatest with the locals.”

“I promise I’ll be polite Steven.”
+++
The walk is farther than it looks but it has an appealing view. Even though Danny would never say that out loud. As he approaches, he realises that it had been a woman, older than his mom and he can’t believe she walked up here all by herself. Her gray hair is pulled back into a braid and her long faded green dress is loose fitting.

“Ma’am?”

She appears to be praying but glances up when Danny approaches.

“Excuse me for interrupting you, my name is Danny Williams, I’m with Five-O police task force, I’m a detective. We were alerted that a body had been found here,” he turns and points to Steve and Max that are clustered together around the body and in the distance, Danny could see Kono and Chin are walking up to them. “And we were wondering if you had seen anything or know of anything.”

“No, I’m sorry Detective Williams. I did not see it happen but I can tell you that it wasn’t here yesterday.”

“Okay, thank you. Um, as you can see I’m not from around here so I’m not too familiar with your traditions. If you don’t mind, may I ask you why you’re up here?”

“This area has a strong Mana so I came up just to meditate a bit dear.”

“Mana?”

“Yes dear, the balance of life,” she responds, about to go back to praying but spins abruptly back to Danny.

“May I take your hand?” And before Danny can respond, she has her hands sandwiching his.

“Oh honey, your Mana is all one sided. You have too much violence in your life and the gods won’t like that.”

“Too much violence? I think so too but my partner down there likes it and I gotta have his back.”

“Take this advice from me, you need more love in your life-“

“I have lots actually, I have a daughter who I love very much.”

“No, no sweetie. That’s a different kind of love. You need the love that can only come from the one person you can’t live without. The person that makes you feel complete.”

“Huh, Okay well I’ll try to work on that.”

“You better, you hear me Mr. Williams? You need to find the person you’re meant to be with, you need a balance.”

“Okay, well, thank you very much for your help,” Danny says, walking away from the old crazy lady as fast as he can.

Half way down the volcano Danny starts feeling dizzy. His eyesight goes blurry for a few seconds and then his head is spinning; maybe from the height or lack of oxygen Danny thinks. Or maybe he did not eat enough breakfast. As soon as he gets back to Steve the dizziness fades away. Steve is talking to Max but Danny’s head still feels like cotton. Like a heavy fog that won’t clear. He shakes his head for clarity but loses his balance again. Steve catches Danny’s forearm to help but everything stops as soon as Steve touches Danny.

The world stops spinning and everything around them slows down. Their eyes focus on each other, their breath caught in their throat and it’s like … the last piece shifts into place. Danny knows every fiber of Steve’s soul and Steve knows every single atom of Danny’s. Their souls twist around each other, caught together, circling each other. They cry out to each other as if to say, we meet again, finally. They spin so tight they crash into each other and their bodies light up, nerves severing and joining again, welcoming each other home. Steve lets go and everything begins to move again.

Danny can still hear Max talking but he still watches Steve in awe and Steve hasn’t looked away yet either.

“Did you feel that?” they ask simultaneously.

Then just as fast as that moment was, Danny doubles over in pain. His head aches from a sudden migraine with pain so sharp he could throw up. Danny faintly hears Chin and Kono call out for both of them before he collapses in the dirt.
+++
Kono has been sitting by her bosses’ sides for about half an hour once all of the tests come back inconclusive. It is almost peaceful since the previous three hours were nothing but chaos. Seeing Danny and Steve drop, Kono could feel her heart drop with them. At first thought, Kono assumed that they were shot but they were almost in isolation and no gunshot was heard. Running toward them and kneeling down, there was no blood, no wound but there was a pulse. The medevac was called in and Chin ordered Kono to fly back with them. He and Max would finish up and he would call once themselves and the body was back on Oahu.

Once the medevac landed the men were whisked away for tests, leaving Kono to pray in solitude that everything was going to be okay. She told the doctors everything she could remember but it wasn’t enough. She replayed that scene over and over in her head but nothing about it makes sense. It feels surreal, like a dream. The dirt from the volcano, staining her jeans from where she kneeled, is her only evidence of it happening.

Her phone vibrates in her pocket, the sound jarring, as the only other noise, besides the hospital machines beeping in rhythm.

Chin’s name appears on her screen. “Hey Cuz, before you even ask, I honestly don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Chin asks, baffled.

“No one knows what was wrong with them or if there is still something wrong with them. The doctors did a bunch of scans and tests, they’re not dehydrated, they don’t appear to be in a coma, from what the doctors can tell their bodies are perfectly fine but both of their brain scans show heightened activity.”

“That’s weird.”

“I know, I’m looking at them right now.” Both of the men are lying in their hospital beds three feet apart. “They just look like they’re sleeping.”

Chin starts to say something but Kono loses his words. Her eyes flicker from Steve’s heart and breath monitor to Danny’s. Every time Steve’s heart jumps so does Danny’s. They are exactly the same, like they themselves are in rhythm. They even take a deep breath while sleeping at the same time. Weird.

“Cuz?”

“Yeah? Sorry I spaced there for a minute.”

“Well you just keep watch over them. I haven’t heard back from Max yet, but I can’t ID the guy and found nothing on his clothes.”

Kono just sighs. She notices a commotion out of her peripheral vision and sees Catherine walking her way. “Alright Chin, I’ll keep you updated on Steve and Danny.”

“Hey Kono.” When Cath enters the room she looks at Danny first but then settles on Steve and sighs. “When are you not in the hospital,” she mutters under her breath at Steve.

Another half hour goes by and Steve and Danny finally start to come to.

Danny feels groggy but can make out Kono looking down on him. He starts to rub his eyes but freezes when he senses a pressure on his lips. His heart panics for a second, wondering why Kono would kiss him, but when he opens his eyes she’s still leaning over him asking him a question.

“Hey Danny, you’re in the hospital,” her soft voice says and he looks over to see Steve in the bed next to him with Catherine pulling back from a kiss.

“What happened?”

“We were on the volcano this morning remember? And you both collapsed, the doctors don’t know why.”

This spikes Steve’s interest. “What do you mean the doctors don’t know?”

“They did a bunch of tests and scans of the both of you. The only thing out of place is both of your brain scans show increased activity but the doctors don’t know what to make of it.” Danny can see Kono is worried.

“Are you sure the doctors didn’t just see my perfect brain next to Steve’s brain and get confused?”

Danny can practically hear Steve roll his eyes. But it makes Kono smile before turning back into concern.

“Are you sure you guys are okay? Max said you were both acting weird before you dropped.”

“Woah, hold up, Max, the guy who cuts people open, dresses like Keanu Reeves on Halloween, and had a fallout with a friend over a doll thinks we were acting weird?”

Kono nods her head.

Danny knows what he felt out there on the volcano. No way he could deny it. Not if he can still feel it. Like a deep, nagging presence under his skin. He peers over at Steve and he knows his boss feels it too. He remembers the look in Steve’s eyes, the slight panic and amazement at what had just happened. “I don’t remember anything special,” Steve says and Danny feels a blow to his chest. Leave it to McGarrett to not want to talk about something that could show weakness. Fine then.

“Yeah I don’t remember anything either. When can we get out of here? I’d like to pick up my daughter today and not have to explain to her that Danno was in the hospital again.”
+++