Scott hadn’t ever been on a plane before. After eleven hours and ten minutes of sitting in a loud metal tube, Scott would be perfectly happy to never get on another plane as long as he lived. He didn’t care if he had to live under a bridge and never do anything fun or interesting, he would just stay in Honolulu and like it.

The producers of Make It Work had done their best to make the trip tolerable. They’d sprung for seats in the premium cabin when they could have entertained themselves by making them fly coach. Scott knew most people didn’t get to lie flat on the way to Hawaii, and they didn’t get the upscale meals he and Danny were getting either.

Scott just couldn’t get past the fact that they were basically hurtling through the air inside what amounted to a bullet, hoping it would land where it was supposed to without hitting anything in between New York and Honolulu. Sure, millions of people did this every day. They survived. It worked for them. That wasn’t the point. It wasn’t working for him, and it was loud, and he wanted it to stop sooner rather than later thank you.

Danny wasn’t bothered, but Danny flew all the time. Well, maybe not every day, but he did it often enough that it wouldn’t be a problem for him. He did it often enough that he could be described as a frequent traveler. He’d advised Scott on exactly what to pack and how to pack it to make sure he could get through security with a minimum of fuss. He’d shown Scott how to work everything on the plane, and he’d been incredibly patient about the whole thing too. Then he plugged in his laptop and got to work. “That’s what flight time is for,” he told Scott with a little smile.

Scott’s job was martial arts. If he tried to go doing his job on the plane, he’d be arrested.

He tried to nap for a while, but the roar of the engines kept him from sleeping too deeply. He watched a few movies, but he was too nervous to really get into them. Books were right out, considering his mental state.

When the pilot told them they were preparing for their final descent into Honolulu, he didn’t know whether to clap for joy or cry. “Final descent” sounded terrifying, but at least the ride would be over.

They landed, finally, and deplaned. They pulled their luggage down from the overhead bins and made their way over to the ground transportation part of the airport, where they caught their limo and headed over to the hotel.

Make It Work hadn’t spared any expense when it came to this honeymoon. Scott wasn’t an expert, but he didn’t think an all-inclusive resort in Hawaii would be cheap. An oceanfront suite with a balcony in that resort? For three weeks? Yeah, they were almost certainly paying through the nose for it. Where were they getting that kind of money, anyway?

He asked Danny, who shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m sure the sponsors are kicking in for it, but you know what? They might have gotten a deal with the chain that owns the hotel. I don’t know for sure that’s what happened, but wouldn’t it make sense for them to get some free advertising by putting their hotel and their brand on TV?”

Scott looked away. That took a little bit of the shine off the honeymoon, for sure. Still, the fact that the gorgeous suite with its two balconies, luxurious shower, complimentary champagne, and incredible bedding was free or even provided as advertising didn’t change the way it felt on his skin. “There’s only one bed, though,” he whispered, staring at it.

“It’s okay. There’s usually a sleeper bed in the sofa in these suites. I can sleep on that.” Danny put a hand on his shoulder.

Scott bit his lip and shook his head. He didn’t want to ask Danny to do that. Sofa beds were a misery and Danny was a wonderful man. “I can’t ask that. It’s okay, Danny. We can share.”

Danny met his eyes. “This is supposed to be a relaxing trip for us. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“We fell asleep in one bed in Newport and I didn’t freak out at all, remember? And honestly, Danny, I trust you.” He made himself smile, and then he realized he didn’t have to force it. He did trust Danny. He loved Danny. He’d been in therapy for a while now, and while he might not be sure he was ready for anything more than sharing the bed, he did want to have that closeness with his husband. He genuinely wanted it. He rubbed his hand on Danny’s forearm, just to show his affection. “I mean it. I trust you.” As his stomach fluttered, he brushed his lips quickly across Danny’s lips.

Danny stared. He might well stare. It had been their first real kiss, not like the times Danny had kissed his head or his cheek. Scott knew his cheeks were blazing, and his insides felt like someone had gone after them with a blender, but he didn’t necessarily feel bad. He kind of liked it.

He’d seen more impressive kisses on television, of course. He knew that kiss wasn’t how it was supposed to go, and he was sure Danny’d received much more exciting kisses from his previous lovers. Scott still figured he could be proud of this one. He’d taken the initiative. He’d pushed himself a little bit past what he thought he was capable of and he’d done what he wanted.

Danny smiled at him then. “Okay,” he said, a little breathless. “Okay. That’s… that’s pretty awesome, right there.” He inhaled deeply. “What do you think about going down to the hotel bar and getting something to eat?”

Scott was glad to get out of the room and cool off a little. A little flush of heat had lanced through him when Danny smiled at him. He didn’t understand it, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. He was going to focus on the fact that he’d done something he’d very much wanted to do for a while, but had let his fears keep him back from. It was enough for him.

They decided to go for a light and early dinner, given the time. The time difference between New York and Honolulu was significant, and snoozing on the flight only went so far in easing their bodies’ confusion. They would probably go to bed early tonight, or at least early for Honolulu, and then get to work enjoying the area tomorrow. Right now, they would just settle in.

Naturally, Amos Yates joined them. He couldn’t just leave them alone. It was a scientific impossibility. He brought them both cocktails too, from the bar’s signature cocktail menu. “Well, that was quite a pleasant flight, wasn’t it?”

Scott tried to hide his disappointment. He didn’t want to have to spend time with the wretched game show host. He especially didn’t want to spend time with Yates while on his honeymoon. “I’m sure it could have been worse.” He swirled his drink in his glass. “We didn’t crash.”

“No, we didn’t.” Yates chuckled, as though Scott had said something exceptionally clever. “That’s an excellent point. Have you had a chance to get out and see the island at all?”

Danny had been glowering at Yates, but he dialed it back a little. Now he just looked pissy. Everything had been going well, they’d both been in a good mood, and now they were both cranky and irritable. What a great start to the honeymoon! “No. We got here, unpacked, and came downstairs. Did you think we were going to get a chance to run laps around Waikiki Beach?”

Running might be a good plan, if it would get Scott away from Yates. It might improve his mood, anyway.

Yates tittered. “Well, it wouldn’t surprise me, but I suppose it’s a little early for that. I wanted to run through the plans for the next week with the two of you. Tomorrow we’ll let you relax and explore a bit. Then on Tuesday you’ll go cliff jumping.”

Danny paled. “Cliff jumping? Hard pass.”

Yates’ eyes gleamed. “I’m afraid that’s not an option. You can negotiate your level of participation, but you will be at the cliffs, in your trunks, at the appointed time. On Wednesday there’s snorkeling, and on Thursday you’ll do the Crater Rim Drive. You’ll have the weekend to yourselves, and then next week we’ll have plenty of new adventures for you. Any questions so far?”

Scott took Danny’s hand. “Is there anything we can substitute for this whole jumping off cliffs thing? I have to say it’s never been on my bucket list, and it’s obviously not on Danny’s either. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of other things to do here in Hawaii without that, right?”

Yates narrowed his eyes. “There are plenty of other things to do. However, our viewers want to see you cliff jumping, and the visitors’ bureau has included cliff jumping in your package as part of the delights of the island they want to advertise. So you’ll be jumping, and that’s simply all there is to it.” He plastered another ridiculous and fake smile over his face again. “Now, enjoy your meal and your drinks.”

Yates left, and Scott and Danny were left to try to find a way to recover their good mood on their own. Scott would have resented that, if it weren’t for the fact that it would be twice as hard to get his good mood back with Yates’ involvement. “So,” he said, in an effort to lighten things up a bit. “That was exciting.”

Danny made a face. “You know what they say. If someone’s giving you something for free, you’re probably the product they’re selling.” He took a gulp of his drink. “This kind of sucks.”

Scott gave Danny’s hand a squeeze. “It does. I won’t pretend it doesn’t. But you know what?”

“What?”

“We’re here. We’re in the middle of a beautiful island. There’s a lot for us to see here, and plenty for us to do. And outside of the stuff we have to do for the show, which we agreed was work and stuff we’re getting paid for, we get to spend three weeks enjoying each other’s company in a beautiful setting. Right?”

Danny bowed his head, and then his shoulders relaxed. “You know what? You’re right. I’m sitting here and complaining because I’m afraid of heights, but you’re right. I shouldn’t sit here and let one thing keep me from enjoying something that should really be a lot of fun and bring me a lot of pleasure, right?” He turned back to his dinner. “How about if we go for a little walk after dinner? We can just take in the scenery and enjoy the fresh air and all that, stretch our legs after the long flight.”

“That would be nice.” Scott turned back to his meal too. He might have eaten a little faster. If he did, no one needed to know.

Their hotel was right on the beach, and they could just kick off their shoes and walk on the warm sand. Scott dug his toes into the soft dirt and smiled. “I’m going to come down here and run tomorrow morning. I’ve never run on sand before.”

“I’m going to come down here and watch you.” Danny grinned at him. “I’m not a runner myself, but I think I could enjoy myself for a good long time watching you run.” He stopped himself. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Scott ducked his head and let his long hair hide his face. He was blushing, and he knew it. He wasn’t sure why he was blushing. “I - Danny,” he tried, “it’s okay. Like I said before, I trust you.”

“I know, but you’re not going to trust me if I keep saying things like that.” Danny took his hand and rubbed his thumb against the back of it. “I know better.”

Scott managed to smile. “Danny, you don’t have to walk on eggshells. It’s… nice, I think, to know you find me attractive. I’m getting help so I can be better for you. I’m not unattracted to you. It’s complicated. But it does make me feel a little weird to think you like to look at me - in a good way.” He dropped Danny’s hand. “I’m sorry, I’m not saying any of this very well.”

“You are happy that I find you attractive,” Danny translated. “Even if you don’t feel quite so comfortable acting on it yet, it makes you feel good.”

“Yes.” Relief flowed through Scott’s muscles. “Exactly.”

Danny hugged him and they kept walking. “It really is pretty out here.” Danny looked over the beach. “Maybe we should make this something we do every night, at least while we’re here.”

“What, not keen to go wandering in the middle of the night back in Manhattan?” Scott snickered. “Yeah, I’d like that. We can make our own tradition back home, too. Something just for us.”

“Do you know what I really like about this?” Danny stopped in the middle of the beach and looked around.

“What’s that?”

“There aren’t any cameras. There’s no room for them on the beach. If you were to, say, let me kiss you, it would just be for us. Not for the cameras, not for the viewers at home, just you and me.”

Scott gasped. A pleasant kind of warmth enveloped his body at the very thought, even though he’d never been kissed before. Not the way Danny was talking about, anyway. “Would you?”

“If it’s okay.” Danny stepped even closer, so close that Scott could feel the heat from his body.

“Please.”

Danny touched his lips to Scott’s, and Scott wrapped his arms around Danny’s narrow waist. He tasted like that bourbon cocktail he’d had with dinner, and it was heavenly. Here in Danny’s arms, Scott was safe and secure. Nothing could touch him here. He was as comfortable and happy as he could possibly be.

Danny pulled back, and Scott rested his head against Danny’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Danny stroked Scott’s hair. “I know this whole… thing… is challenging for you. But I want you to know, Scott, that I’ve never had a kiss that meant more to me. You amaze me. You delight me. And you make me happier than I ever thought possible.”

Scott smiled into the soft fabric of Danny’s polo shirt. “I always used to wonder why people liked kissing. It looked kind of gross to me. Now I get it.” He looked up at Danny. “I still think the whole show is kind of stupid, but I wouldn’t have met you any other way. And I’m so happy I did, I can’t be anything but grateful.”

* * *

Danny enjoyed the day they spent just wandering around the resort. He even took advantage of the hotel’s luxurious spa, mostly at Scott’s insistence. “They have a massage service, and it’s covered by the show. You might as well use it. It might help you to relax,” he said, in that kind of totally reasonable tone that suggested he was having doubts about Danny’s mental state.

Danny supposed it was reasonable to have doubts about his mental state. He couldn’t say exactly what kind of signals he was giving off, but he knew there had to be some. His jaw ached from grinding his teeth, for one thing. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the cliffs he would be forced to jump from tomorrow. The relaxing massage didn’t help. The hot stone… thing, ritual, whatever it was they did, that didn’t help either. He considered trying to wash the cliffs away in a flood of bourbon, but he didn’t want to lower his inhibitions so much that he wound up pushing Scott too far.

He tried to sleep that night, but he couldn’t. All he could do was lie back in the dark and think about the cliffs. He finally got up and went to sit in the suite’s other room, watching reruns of legal dramas that all took place on flat and level ground with no sudden drop-offs. He knew the cameras were watching him, and he hated it, but he couldn’t do anything about them.

The next morning, when the alarm went off, Scott shuffled out of the bedroom and looked Danny over. “Wow.” He bit his lip. “Okay. Did you sleep at all?”

“No.” Danny rubbed at his face. “I can’t do this, Scott.”

Scott kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry, love. It’s all going to be okay.” He headed out for a morning run and returned with breakfast and coffee.

They showered and got ready. “Ready,” according to the information Yates had sent them, consisted of swim trunks. They could wear shirts in the van to get to the cliffs, but had to take them off once they got there. “The audience wants to see the goods, boys,” Yates told them with a little sneer.

Danny couldn’t get out of this little expedition without breach of contract. If he was going to die, he was going to take Yates with him. It would be his final kindness to the world in general.

They milled around while the camera crews set up, and then Yates introduced their instructor. Keahi Mahoe was a local, a handsome guy with a ready smile who sat with them to explain how some of the other guys were doing it first. Danny listened attentively, and he tried to make some sense out of Keahi’s words. The only problem was that they involved “voluntarily” jumping off a cliff.

Once Keahi finished his lecture, he was ready to demonstrate. He led them up to the side of what he called the “beginner cliff,” which locals clearly used to sacrifice mainlanders to some kind of island god, and reiterated exactly how they were supposed to do this.

Well, he tried. Danny turned his head and threw up after one sentence about jumping out to avoid rocks, which put a stop to the whole thing.

Yates scowled, and Keahi stepped forward to offer stomach remedies. Scott stepped in with a serene smile. “Look, Keahi, my husband ate something last night that really didn’t agree with him. He showed up, and he made a good faith effort, but I think it’s pretty clear he’s not going to be able to go through with the jump today. Do you think it might be okay to let him sit by and watch? He was up sick all night with this food poisoning thing, and I’m a little concerned about his safety.”

“Of course! Of course!” Keahi relaxed completely. “I’m not letting anyone jump if they’re not in physical condition to do it, you know?”

“Your contract calls for jumps from two people.” Yates barely avoided stepping into the puddle of vomit as he inserted himself into the conversation. “Magee has to jump.”

“If Mr. Mahoe needs to have a minimum number of jumps I’ll do Danny’s share.” Scott smiled with a saccharine kind of sweetness. “I’m not comfortable sacrificing Danny’s safety. I’m sure you understand.”

“Sure, dude. No problem. I don’t want to sacrifice his safety either. I wouldn’t - that’s not me.” Keahi shuddered. “Do you feel like you’re ready to get this show on the road?”

Yates turned to Danny, who was still gaping at Scott. “Are you seriously letting Scott take the fall for you?”

“Can you maybe not use the word ‘fall?’” Danny cringed, and he didn’t care that he was on camera doing it. “First of all, there’s no ‘let.’ He’s my husband, not a trained dog. Secondly, I’m not okay with it. But he’s got a good point about safety. I’m even sicker at the thought of him doing this than I was at the thought of doing it myself.”

He turned to Scott and took his hands. “Scott, are you sure this is something you want to do? Because I’ll tell them to go to hell. I will.”

Scott blushed. “I’ll do it. I’m okay with it. I think it’ll be kind of fun.” He squeezed Danny’s hands. “Just - don’t watch, okay?”

Danny shuddered. “I have to. You’re my husband.”

Keahi walked up to the cliff edge and showed Scott how to jump. Scott then mimicked Keahi’s stance, composed his face, and leaped out of sight.

Danny hurled again. The sound of his retching covered up any splash Scott’s body might have made as it hit the water, but Keahi cheered and whooped loud enough for Danny to hear him. “Your husband’s good at this,” he said, when Danny picked his head up. “He did it perfectly, no splash at all. You should be totally proud of him.”

“I’d be prouder if he wasn’t jumping off cliffs, but I am. He’s a brave guy.” Danny wiped his mouth. Now the shame was starting to set in. He wasn’t ashamed of his fear. Phobias were a thing, even alphas had them and he wasn’t about to feel humiliated by it. Puking on television was a different matter. Scott had covered for him, but he shouldn’t have had to.

Scott returned, a huge grin on his face. He took his next jump without any hesitation. Danny managed to avoid puking, although that wasn’t the result of any special virtue on his part. He didn’t think he had anything left to bring up. How could he honestly be so weak as to let Scott take his place for him?

When Scott came back, Yates gave him a look that dripped slime. “Oh, Scott dear, I’m terribly sorry, but would you mind terribly taking another jump? It seems that the underwater cameraman was expecting Danny and didn’t get the shot quite right.”

Scott rolled his eyes and shrugged, but then he smiled brightly. “Of course I don’t mind, Yates, but why don’t you take a plunge too? I mean I shouldn’t be the only one to understand just how exhilarating this is. And you’re just as much part of the show as Danny and I - more so, really. We change out from season to season. You’re always right there - the one constant.”

Yates paled. “Trust me, Scott. No one wants to see an old man like me jump off a cliff.”

“I don’t know about that,” Keahi murmured. Danny wasn’t sure if Yates could hear him, or if he was supposed to.

“Ah, come on, Yates. You’re really missing out. And you’re depriving your fans.” Scott’s eyes were wide and completely free of guile. He couldn’t have been guilty of anything like venom.

“Thanks, but if you could just give him the shot it would be fantastic.” Yates backed away from the cliff edge, and from Scott.

Scott looked over at Danny and winked. Danny hadn’t imagined it. He winked, and then he made his third jump. Danny didn’t stop shaking, of course, but he grinned at the same time. Scott had done that just for Danny’s benefit. He’d known, somehow, that Danny had felt bad about letting Scott do his jump for him, and he wanted to let him know he was okay. Danny was probably the luckiest man in the world.

This time, Scott dried himself off when he got back to the top of the cliff. He put his shirt on, and then his flip flops, and he and Danny were ready to head back to the hotel. They said goodbye to Keahi, who took time to tell Scott just how impressed he was. Danny knew he was talking about more than just his enthusiasm with the jumps. Then they all joined the caravan back to the hotel, where they washed up and changed for more “relaxation and lounging.”

The beach had the advantage of being nice and level, and at sea level. It was impossible to fall off the beach.

They settled in down on the sand, and Danny turned to Scott. “Thank you for today.”

Scott slid his sunglasses down his nose. “What do you mean? I had all the fun.”

Danny shuddered. He couldn’t help it. “Dude. It’s not fun to go jumping to your doom, okay? But you took that on for me, and I appreciate it. Even if you had fun doing it, you were nervous at first, and I’m grateful that you were willing to take that on for me.” He took a deep breath and pushed the rest of the words out as fast as he could. “But also thanks for teasing Yates like that for me. I know you were trying to make me feel better.”

Scott blushed, just a little, and he reached over to squeeze Danny’s hand. He did that a lot, Danny had noticed. It was kind of endearing. “I did,” he confessed. “I know it can be kind of hard, when you’ve got a deep-seated fear like that. And the guy was wrong to give you grief about it. He just was. I wanted to make sure he knew that.”

“You’re the best, you know that?” Danny beamed at him.

“It’s kind of a problem,” Scott laughed. “Look, you’ve been amazing. You’ve taken fantastic care of me, even though you’ve had no real reason to. It’s okay for me to do the same, sometimes, when I can. We love each other. We can take care of each other, and have each other’s backs.”

They spent some more time on the beach, enjoying the sun and even playing in the surf. Danny felt a little ridiculous doing that, like some kind of little kid, but that was why they were here, right? It wasn’t easy for him to just let go and frolic, but he made the effort.

And after a little while, it wasn’t such an effort anymore. He didn’t have to build sand castles or anything. He could just sit on the edge of the water and enjoy the rhythm of the waves as they washed over his legs. Scott seemed to be more open to risk, floating on his back as the swells surged in. They rarely swept him under on this part of the beach, though, and Danny got almost as much enjoyment out of watching Scott laugh when he did get dunked as he got from just enjoying the water.

He forgot about the cameras.

It was easy to do. The crews used smaller, more discrete cameras out here. Some of them weren’t any bigger than a cell phone, so other beachgoers wouldn’t be uncomfortable with their presence. And neither Danny nor Scott was doing anything all that exciting, just lounging or hanging around in the surf.

It was a good afternoon for them. The viewers would probably all go and make cocktails or whatever, but that wasn’t Danny’s problem.

They headed in to get changed for dinner when the air started to cool off. They considered heading out to check out some of the Honolulu nightlife, but Danny was already exhausted after not sleeping. He decided he would rather stay in and sleep, and Scott was more than willing to go along with that.

At least, he said he was willing, and he hadn’t had any suggestions. In New York he wasn’t exactly Mr. Party Animal either. He and Grant sometimes went out and hit bars or whatever, but they didn’t get wild about it. Danny was mostly sure he wasn’t dominating their relationship too badly, but he worried.

He knew many alphas tended to run roughshod over their omegas. It wasn’t exactly their fault, not entirely. They were just alphas - alphas who hadn’t been taught to restrain their more dominant impulses. Danny himself wasn’t much better, and when he thought about the inequality between his and Scott’s positions in the world he worried about taking advantage.

He didn’t want to say anything to Scott. On the rare occasions he had mentioned the problem to his husband, Scott had waved it away, or else he’d just pointed out that if he had a strong opinion about something he’d let him know. Instead, Danny just worried. He tried to pay attention to his own behavior, in the hopes that knowing was half the battle like they said on the old classic cartoon.

It would have to be enough.

Back up in their suite, he checked his messages before bed. It was all well and good to say I’m on vacation, but a CEO couldn’t just disappear for three weeks. He had to stay in touch with the company and make sure everything was running smoothly, at least as much for his own sake as for the firm’s. The CFO had a report on the matter of their defense contracts, proving that the product manager was skimming. She’d also found six other anomalies in that area that would bear more scrutiny, to which he gave his enthusiastic blessing. There were some operational messages, and some questions about governance, which he could answer in a moment.

He had a couple of personal messages too. One of them came from Keegan Cunningham, who sat on the Hellion Club’s finance committee and held the title of World’s Worst Dresser. He was also Scott’s lawyer’s older brother, which had little bearing on his wardrobe or duties at the Hellion Club but explained why Ty was copied on the message.

Danny,

Some guy showed up at the Hellion Club with fake credentials trying to get information about you. I don’t know who he was, or what he was about. He asked questions about your whereabouts ten years ago before the bartender realized his membership card was fake and flagged him for me. We bounced him, but he wouldn’t give us his real ID or contact info. So now you know.

Keegan

Danny frowned at the message, and thanked Keegan for letting him know before he called Scott over to look at it. “Ten years ago…” Danny mused, scratching at the stubble on his chin. “That’s a weird time frame, don’t you think?”

“I know where I was.” Scott shuddered. “This sounds like something my dad would pull, and if your friend cc’ed Ty on it he’s probably thinking the same thing. But I don’t think it’s got anything to do with that.”

“You don’t?”

“He knows you weren’t involved with that. We all know you weren’t involved with that. What else could you have possibly gotten up to ten years ago that would have people poking around at the Hellion Club?”

“I have no idea.” Danny shrugged. “It’s not like my life hasn’t been a pretty open book. Whatever it is, I’m sure this guy will find it, and we’ll all find out then.”