“-And to wrap up our first month of training," Kai said as he stood on the stage. He was happy Danny had made it in time for the announcements. His eyes were focused on him in the crowd. "Today we fly!”

Danny didn’t share the immediate reaction the rest of the counselors had. They whooped and clapped around him as he looked suspiciously up at the sky.

No way am I jumping out of a plane. Danny thought as he narrowed his eyes at the fluffy clouds.

“And no, Danny,” Kai said, pulling Danny’s attention as he signaled him out in the crowd, pointing him out with his hand, “we are not skydiving today, though… we definitely should...”

Those around Danny turned to glance at him, he grinned politely and said, “over his dead body, I’m not skydiving, ever.”

“Someday,” Kai said, though he was too far away to hear what Danny was saying he had a good guess, “we’ll go some day.”

He almost added Danno at the end but he was pretty certain Danny would have killed him if he said that up on the stage in front of everyone.

“You good Danno?” Kai asked as they climbed the stairs built around the tree.

“Yup,” Danny gritted out. He held on tightly to the railing and tried to not look so obviously nervous.

Ziplining.

He’d never gone ziplining before. 

Never had the urge to either. 

So he couldn’t wrap his head around why he was willingly marching to go do it now.

Some of the other new trainees chatted with him on their way up.

He had gotten friendly with the trainees of Gao and Malia, he couldn't help but compare it in his head to how kids hang out because their parents are friends.

Winston, Gao’s trainee, and Alana, Malia’s trainee, were also single parents.

Danny had been happy to learn that about them. His mom had always wanted him to join a single parents group but he never had. Now he realized how good it felt to have people in his life who shared similar experiences to him.

“I’m excited!” Alana said with a bounce in her step as the trekked up.

“I wish I could share your sentiments,” Danny said.

He looked up at Kai, only a few steps ahead of him chatting with Malia and Gao.

Danny watched as Malia laughed and poked Kai’s cheek.

He could see Kai blushing as he swatted Malia’s hand away, then he glanced down at Danny.

Danny’s jaw tensed, feeling like he’d just been caught glancing at another student’s test, he grinned awkwardly and waved at Kai.

Kai pressed his lips together, a small smile appearing on his face, he glanced at Malia then back at Danny and grinned a little wider.

At the top, the trainees teamed up with their main counselors again, who walked them through the process of ziplining.

One by one, the trainees and their counselors jumped off the platform.

Then it was Kai’s and Danny’s turn...

"Danny,” Kai said for the third time, he sighed as he looked back at the line of counselors still waiting to go, they were all staring at them, “they're waiting for us."

"So let them wait," Danny replied tersely.

Kai sighed, nodding as he crossed his arms.

Danny looked back at the counselors for a moment before looking back out at the zipline. He was already strapped in the harness and wearing the helmet. 

Kai had explained all the steps four times— at Danny’s repeated request.

All that was left to do was jump, leap off the platform.

He’d tried doing it three times already but kept tensing up at the last moment.

"C'mon, just go, man." Winston chided from behind them.

Danny looked at him indignantly, "I thought you'd be on my side Winston!" 

Winston and him had also bonded over both being transplants from the mainland, though like Joey, Winston had been a resident of Hawaii for several years.

"I've been to Vegas man," Winston shrugged, "I've ziplined on the strip. C'mon haven't you ever ziplined?"

"Indoors, yes." Danny said, waving around at their surroundings, "Not high up in the trees in the wilderness!"

"Look Danny," Kai said walking up to Danny, "If you're scared of heights that's okay, I just wish you would've told me before we climbed all the way up here."

"I'm not scared of heights!" Danny scoffed back. "Sears Towers is one of the tallest buildings in the world! And, I've gone on the tilt!"

"Okay... then?" Kai furrowed his brows, "What's the problem here?"

Danny pointed at the trees once more. Then he pointed at the ground far below them.

"Boss," Malia spoke up, "just… go with him."

She met Kai’s glare with an innocent grin.

"What?" Danny asked. "Go where with me?"

“Actually,” Gao said, with a much more logical voice, “that’s not a bad idea.”

“What’s not a bad idea?” Danny asked.

Kai nodded slowly, "yeah, okay," he said, then turned and grabbed another helmet and harness.

Danny held up his hand as Kai walked over to him again. "What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna strap in with you. If, in the very unlikely event that anything happens, I've got you."

"You've got me?" Danny scoffed, making a face.

"Yeah." Kai shrugged like it was no big deal as he strapped in his harness to the line above them.

Danny looked skeptical. "Can this thing hold both of our weights?"

"Yes, Danny."

"And what's the purpose of you going with me?"

"Cause I've done this a thousand times and you're nervous and I get that and I've got you."

“You’ve got me?” Danny said again, this time without the crease between his brows and the scowl on his face.

“Yeah.”

Danny took a second to process that as Kai finished strapping the harnesses.

"Woah, what are you-" Danny said as Kai pulled on the harness around Danny’s waist.

"It's how we'll go together," Kai explained as he hooked up their harnesses together.

"You're basically gonna be sitting on his lap," Malia cheerfully explained.

Kai threw Malia a glare.

"It's," Kai said at Danny's confused face, "we'll both be floating in the air, but yes, it’s so that I’ll be right behind you."

Danny stepped onto the ledge again, his back pressed to Kai's chest.

He felt his heartbeat quicken as Kai placed his hands on his waist.

"It's gonna be okay Danno,” Kai whispered in Danny’s ear.

Danny felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, his chest tighten, and breathing slow.

“I've got you.” Kai continued. “I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise. Trust me, okay? I've got you."

And then they jumped.

It was the most exhilarating thing Danny had ever experienced. 

He was still high off the rush as he drove home.

When he slept that night, he dreamt he was flying, soaring above the trees. 

The wind lifted him higher and he zoomed through fluffy clouds. He could see the camp from a birds-eye view.

But suddenly he started descending.

Too fast.

The ground below him seemed to be rising up to meet him as fast as he was falling to it.

He tried to pull up, to fly amongst the trees again but when he looked up he saw he was wearing a ripped parachute, he looked down and realized the harness he was wearing had been severed from the zipline rope.

He tensed, closed his eyes, and waited for the inevitable crash. 

But instead, he felt himself being yanked up.

He opened his eyes and looked around, he was hovering above the cold hard ground. 

A tree, he thought, he must have gotten stuck on a tree branch.

He looked up and found Kai, smiling at him, holding on to the tattered parachute.

"I've got you," the dream version of Kai said. 

He pulled Danny up to the tree branch with him and helped Danny take off the parachute and harness.

Kai grinned again, and nodded toward the sky. Then he lifted off and gently started flying up.

Danny grinned, pushed off the branch and flew up with him.