(Season 1 AU with Danny working at a bakery/coffee shop. Chin is Steve's partner, and the story is from Chin's POV.)

Accepting the job Steve McGarrett offered him as his partner in a new task force was a no-brainer for Chin. Chin had known the McGarrett family for years, and Steve’s father had been a mentor to him as a police officer before his untimely demise. Serving in a new task force with Steve was definitely better than selling trinkets to tourists, and he was grateful that Steve, much like his father, took Chin at his word and believed in his innocence despite the rumors swirling around him.

Steve had his quirks, but Chin was adjusting fairly easily to working with his new partner. This new task force had “full immunity and means,” and Steve was more familiar with the Navy SEAL mode of dealing with suspects than typical law enforcement procedure. Chin tried to gently coach Steve whenever possible and also attempted to rationally dissuade Steve when he wanted to do something that would be out of bounds (like dangling a suspect off a roof). Steve also drove his car like a crazy person, but that didn't bother Chin. He had long since gotten used to recklesss drivers thanks to his cousin Kono.

On the more positive end of the spectrum, Chin noticed that Steve often arrived at work at least fifteen minutes before the work day actually started. That punctuality had probably been instilled by years of military service. Most mornings, Chin would come into work and find Steve filling out paperwork or working at his computer in his office. He always left out cups of coffee for him and Kono from this place Chin had never been to before called “Williams Family Bakery.” Donuts or other pastries were often included as well. At first, Chin didn’t think that Steve’s choice of bakery was particularly remarkable. After all, the coffee and pastries were incredibly delicious. But one day, while they were driving out to the North Shore, Chin spotted the bakery about a block before they arrived at the crime scene and became confused. The bakery was nowhere near the Palace or Steve’s house, and Chin didn’t understand why Steve would drive so far out of his way every morning just to get coffee and donuts.

Chin mentioned his puzzlement to Kono the next morning, who laughed and picked up a malasada from the box Steve had brought in about twenty minutes earlier.

“Who knows? Maybe he’s got a crush on the owner.”

Chin shook his head with a grin. “I think you’ve been watching too many rom-coms, cuz.”

Kono shrugged. “Maybe. But why else would he go out of his way like that?”

For a couple of weeks, the mystery of the bakery remained unsolved, until one Friday morning after a long and grueling overnight stakeout. The case had been solved, and Chin and Steve were on their way back to the office when Steve spotted the bakery down the road.

Steve smiled over at Chin, appearing a lot more alert than he had just a few seconds ago. “Hey, you want to stop for some coffee before we head back to the office?”

Chin yawned and nodded. “Sure.” He was exhausted, and some coffee would probably be a good idea since the team still had a lot of paper work to deal with after their case. Plus, he was still kind of curious about why this was Steve’s favorite place to get breakfast.

Steve pulled into one of the empty parking spots in front of the store and parked the car. Chin followed Steve as he quickly exited the car and practically bounded towards the entrance of the shop and chuckled under his breath at how his partner was acting like an eager puppy. Maybe Kono hadn’t been too far off the mark after all.

Edited at 2017-08-30 10:48 pm (UTC)

Hughes is dead.

A lot of people have died in his life but none of them had been Maes Hughes, who'd figured out what the military, what the Fuhrer, what the homunculi wanted.

And now, one of those homunculi, Hughes' murderer, squalls and howls, trying all the possible tricks to keep breathing.

Roy isn't going to let it live. It tried impersonating Hawkeye. It tried impersonating him. It even tried to impersonate Hughes - but he was dead and Roy furiously reminded the creature of its part in Hughes' death.

Finally, the creature returns to its true form, that of a tiny lizard thing. Fullmetal and the Ishbalan try to stop him but the rage burns too hot. Even Hawkeye's shout is lost in the flames consuming him. Roy raises his hand - right for precision - and snaps his fingers.

The homunculus fries under Roy's flame and for a second, the stink of burning flesh reminds him of Ishbal - the war these creatures instigated - and then, there's nothing left but ash.

"You killed it." Fullmetal's voice is hushed, quieter than Roy's ever heard the boy speak before.

The sharp metallic click of a safety being flipped makes Roy's head jerk. He doesn't turn. He doesn't want to distract her. Fullmetal lets out a yelp and the deep, rough voice of the Ishbalan creates an undercurrent to the boy's higher pitched cries.

"Sir," Hawkeye says. There is a tremor in her voice. "You killed it. It was helpless."

Roy isn't going to argue. He knows what he's ordered Hawkeye to do.

Fullmetal screams as Hawkeye pulls the trigger.