#I want danny to be there as they plan his funeral | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

too-much-tma-stuff · 11 months

Text

Neither Gone Nor Forgotten

sequel to No Body to Bury. This isn’t edited, if you find any errors feel free to let me nice, just be nice about it.

------

Planning a funeral for Danny turned out both easier, and harder, then Batman had anticipated. Easier because he wasn’t deep in grief the way he had been when planning previous funerals, and harder because, well, the person the funeral was for was still around to have opinions. Not that Danny was hard to please, he seemed happy with just about everything, but he was struggling with whether he should tell his human family and friends. He really wanted to, but he was scared.

“I don’t think they’ll understand,” Danny said, his legs dangling over the edge of the tall building he and Batman were currently sitting on, holding a milkshake Bruce had bought for him. “Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all supported me while I was still only half dead and knew. I haven’t kept entirely out of the news since starting to work with you guys and I know they’re upset I abandoned them, I’ve seen it when I check on them. There’s no way they can understand how much changes when you die, I watch over them, but Ic an never go back.

“I can’t be what they want me to be, I’m not really Danny anymore at all, and they’d want me to be what I was. They’d want me to be human, and I’m just not anymore. I would want them to think I was completely dead and gone, but they’ve seen me in the news so there’s no chance of that.”

“Hm,” Batman said helpfully. “Write them a letter, I’ll make sure it’s delivered and then they can come on your terms, or not,” He suggested, he’d found writing letters to be a lot easier. “Like a will?”

Danny cocked his head to the side as he thought about that and then nodded slowly. “That’s a good idea, thanks Batman. You’re not nearly as bad at emotions as everyone says,” The young ghost said, bumping his shoulder against Bruce’s. It made the older hero smile. He wasn’t surprised to find that Phantom was gone when he turned back towards where the boy was sitting, his small smile remained as he threw out the abandoned milkshake and went on with his patrol.

It was two days later when the letter appeared on his desk, not yet folded or in an envelope which Bruce knew was permission to read it. He appreciated that because he would have had a hard time resisting the curiosity even if it was already sealed.

Dear Sam, Jazz, and Tucker

First of all, I want to say I’m sorry. I loved you all and I didn’t run away, I didn’t want to leave you. It was the GIW, remember when I said I was a ‘who’s who of who can’t catch ghosts’? I guess I underestimated at least one of them because they finally got me. Of course it was Phantom they were trying to kill, but is anyone surprised that they failed? It was Danny who they ended up killing, and now I can’t go back.

I didn’t realize what a big difference there would be between being half dead and all dead, a little humanity goes a long way I guess. Don’t worry I’m not going to become Dan, but I can’t be Danny anymore either, just Phantom left now and while I still love you and watch over you as I am, it’s not like I can just ‘live my life’ anymore. It hurts too much to try and pretend to be alive now, and ghosts are creatures of instinct, I can’t go against the natural order of life and death and come back to you, no matter how much I love you or how much you miss me.

Batman and some of the other heroes have offered to arrange a funeral for Danny, this time there’s actually a corpse to bury after all. I won’t be there, but it’s important for both the living and the dead that the dead have a grave, a place to grieve lost life. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, if it’s too hard or you’re too mad at me still. But if you do come or ever visit I’ll feel you there and it’ll make me happy, and maybe it’ll be some closure for you? I never meant to hurt you.

I’ll still be around to protect you, I’ll protect everyone I can. That’s been my obsession since the start hasn’t it? And Jazz don’t you start, ghost’s obsessions are what keeps us here and in one piece, I don’t need therapy. And I guess that’s the heart of it isn’t it? I’m not human anymore, and I can’t pretend to be, and we wouldn’t understand each other anymore. Not really. Ghosts don’t change much though so I’ll always love you and when you die maybe we can be friends again, if you can forgive me for this.

Forever young and yours,

Phantom

Batman read the letter and sat quietly with it for a few long minutes, thinking about it and also questioning some parts, like who Dan was. It was sad of course, but it was sweet too, and he didn’t think that Phantom’s friends would be nearly as upset with him as he thought they would be. Finally he sighed and folded it up, finding a envelope and address it to Danny’s sister since she seemed like the best one to make sure they were all there when it was opened and read. He put it in the folder to be sent out and then leaned against his desk.

“Are you really not going to come?” He asked the empty room, and after waiting for a moment wasn’t surprised when Danny stepped out from nowhere. He’d started to get a sense of when Phantom was there, untouchable and unseen.

“No, I’ll be there, but only the way spirits usually are. I won’t be there physically, just in spirit,” He said, smiling at his own pun. Batman chuckled a little and nodded.

“I understand why you don’t want them to know that, I won’t let on,” He assured. “I think you’ve done the right thing letting them know.”

Danny nodded and then vanished again, this time out through the window, properly leaving the office and Batman alone again.

Batman had the discussion with the rest of the Justice League without Phantom present so they could avoid accidental offense. Not everyone would come, not everyone could come, Batman banned a few of the more literal heroes who would not understand why they were having a funeral when Phantom was still here, even though he had actually died. But a decent amount did come, and Batman had a feeling that the ones Phantom would care about most was Bruce himself, and Diana, who was coming.

-----

When the day of the funeral came Batman and Diana stood outside the little chapel to welcome people. They weren’t technically family of course, apparently Diana was distantly through an ancestor of hers and adoption, and Bruce thought of himself as a paternal figure to Danny, besides they’d been here early setting everything up. The nice coffin was already at the front of the room, closed since it was empty with while lilies placed on top and decorating the little building along with some roses and candles.

He wasn’t particularly surprised when the first person who showed up was Danny’s big sister Jasmine Fenton driving Danny’s two friends. His parents weren’t there but Phantom had mentioned it might not be a good idea for them to come because they would probably be disruptive. Both Jazz and Tucker’s eyes were rimmed red like they’d been crying and Sam’s jaw had a stubborn set to it like clenching it was the only thing keeping her lips from trembling.

They reached the steps, Batman nodded to them and Diana gave them a sad smile. Jazz looked through the open doors, her breath hitching. “Is he in there?” She asked, pointing to the coffin.

Batman shook his head, voice soft and rough as he responded. “Phantom said he’d bring the body later, Less chance for something to go wrong and… I don’t know if it would hurt him, but I think it’s easy to see why he’d be protective of it.”

Jazz’s lip trembled and she took a deep breath, behind her Sam had wrapped an arm around Tucker who had started to cry again, turning to hide against her shoulder. “When you see him again tell him we’re not mad at him, please?” Sam said, her voice hard with repressed emotions, it almost sounded angry but there was a subtle difference.

“He’s right that we can’t understand everything,” Jazz said, biting her lip for a moment before continuing. “But after something like this he needs space, and we won’t rush him. If he needs to start a new life, we get it, everything must remind him of trauma right now, but if he ever wants to get back in touch with us. Well, I’ll love him forever too. But also tell him that he should have been more careful in that letter he wrote if any of us had been feeling suicidal his comment about being friends again after death might have been the last push we needed over the metaphorical edge-”

She was taking a deep breath to continue her lecture when Sam wrapped her other arm around Jazz’ shoulder and pulled her away. “Well we’re not, it’s fine, let’s go sit down before Tucker collapses from dehydration from all these tears.”

“I’m not going to collapse! I’m not even crying that much!” Tucker insisted, his voice audibly wet.

Batman and Diane kept their faces straight while Sam dragged them all into the little building and to seats in the front row. Then Batman’s lips twitched up in a slight smile and Diana gave a weak laugh. “I knew they wouldn’t be as angry with Phantom as he feared,” Batman said, trying to keep his amusement under control.

“What a precocious girl, a big sister through and through,” Diana agreed and sniffled a little, it seemed their grief had gotten to her a little. He understood.

Slowly more people filtered in, just other heroes now, and one young woman called Val. Sam said to let her in even though there was clearly tension there, the heroes didn’t ask.

The scheduled time of the funeral Diana and Batman went inside, closing the door after them and, since Danny hadn’t wanted a priest so Batman started to make his way to the front to start things off.

“We’re here today in remembrance of Danny Phantom, a brave young man lost to soon in the line of duty. He never should have had to join the fight so young,” Batman stumbled a little when he saw Jason slip in at the back of the chapel. He had sort of though Jason wasn’t coming, but there he was, dressed in his Red Hood get up, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Batman could tell that he was on edge, but he was here, and it would make Danny happy. He took a deep breath and carried on with his planned remarks.

When he was done he stepped down off the little podium and Jazz stepped up, pulling some queue cards out of her pocket, taking a deep breath and launching into a planned speech. She was a good public speaker, she managed to keep it together through her speech but her words were clearly very heartfelt.

It went well, a few more people spoke, by the end Batman was actually having a hard time keeping his feeling under control, he maybe should have came as Bruce Wayne so he could have cried. He kept it under control though and eventually it was time to bring the coffin out to the prepared grave. They hadn’t fully planned who would carry it because they hadn’t known if Danny’s friends and sister were going to come, but now that they were here of course they were invited to help carry the coffin.

Batman and Diana took the majority of the weight of course, but all three of them took the offer to help carry the coffin the prepared grave. They lowered it in and Superman placed the specially made vault over top that would protect Danny’s body from, well, the usual stuff super heroes had to deal with, bodies being stolen for experimentation, attempted cloning’s, resurrection but wrong, all that jazz.

Jasmin through in the first handful of dirt, then Sam, then Tucker and then the heroes joined in. When the grave started to be filled properly a lot of the heroes started to wander away, Batman approached Jason who was hanging back.

“Please stay,” He murmured to his estranged son, seeing Jason’s shoulders tense, his arms were still crossed defensively. “Phantom will be bringing his body one most of the people clear out and he’d really like to meet you. If you don’t mind, he just died, and it’s been hard on him, I think meeting you would be a comfort.” He watched with bated breath as Jason’s fingers twitched and tightened on his own arms before he nodded. Bruce breathed a subtle sigh of relief and nodded, turning back towards the grave.

Once the grave was filled and basically everyone else had either left or gone back to the little chapel to socialize, Danny finally arrived. He faded into view, seemingly almost shy, watching them both closely for their reaction. Bruce understood why, he had to carefully school his expression when he saw the state that Danny’s body was in. It wasn’t that he was dead obviously, ashen and limp, passed the stage of rigger it seemed, it was the visible injuries. He was littered with cuts and bruises, there were stull cuffs around his ankles and wrists which had clearly burned into his skin. The wound that had killed him was, well, it looked like an autopsy had been done, his chest was fully open, but Batman knew it had been done while he was still alive. It was horrific.

Batman managed to keep himself under control though his breathing sped up, Hood’s mask completely hid his face but he rocked back like he’d been struck. Danny hesitated, licked his lips a little and stepped forward.

“I can’t touch the cuffs, but I don’t want too bury him with them still on. Will you take them off for me? They shouldn’t burn you,” Danny asked Bruce.

He was about to say yes when Jason cut in, “I’m better at picking locks then him, I’ll do it.” He practically growled, stalking forward and pulling his lock picking kit out of one of the pockets on his suit. “Who did this to him,- You?” He asked softly as Danny knelt, cradling his own corps close to his chest, letting Jason kneel in front of him and take one of the limp arms to start on the cuffs. Jason hissed when he touched it, it burned a little but he breathed through it and started to pick the lock.

“It was the GIW, the ghost investigation ward. I killed the ones who did it, and the justice league helped me disband the rest of the organization and overturn the laws that enabled it,” Danny responded, his green eyes locked unblinkingly on Jason, watching him as he watched Jason work on the locks.

“Good, I’m glad their dead. That must have felt good,” He chuckled vindictively.

“I am too, but I’m more glad they won’t get to hurt anyone else. They might have gone for you if they were still able.”

“Me? Why?” Jason asked, his fingers twitching, he cursed softly when the lock pick slipped, he grumbled and started again.

“Because you died before didn’t you? The cuffs burn you because you’re not… completely alive anymore I won’t ask anything about it, I know that’s private but if you ever want to talk about it, or if you need help with the… side affects, I’d be happy to help you,” Phantom offered softly. Jason only hummed in response, he needed to process and consider that.

When the final cuff fell to the ground Danny took a deep breath and curled around himself, resting his forehead against his body’s hair. From the way his shoulders were shaking they could tell he was crying, Jason rested a hand on Danny’s shoulder, just being there for him until Phantom was ready and finally sunk into the ground. He was down there for a long time before he surfaced again, flying over to hug batman, burrowing against his chest a little while Batman patted his back gently, Jason standing by awkwardly.

“Thank you so much for doing this, and thank you both so much for coming. This really means so much to me.”

“Of course kid,” Jason said, reaching out to ruffle the boy’s soft white hair.

Batman nodded, giving Danny a gentle squeeze, “No one deserves to be forgotten.”

Tag list: @kikkobara @phlebocuffs @spikethecrazycat @spookytragedyshark @thatonegaybitch68 @stargazer-luna @fangirlnerd001 @seraphinedemort @yjfk @rosieparker1856 @battlebunnyteardropsinthesun and thank you too @your-local-idiot-savant for giving me feedback on some parts

#Danny Phantom #Jason todd #batman #wonderwoman #jazz fenton #sam manson #tucker foley #Danny 'crashes his own funeral' fenton #full dead AU #dc x dp #dc #Danny gets a funeral #I have an extra little bit of the doctors Fenton crashing the funeral that I cut out #I'll probably post it separately #danny fenton #Danny got vivisected

810 notes · View notes

starry-bi-sky · 4 months

Note

ive been hesitating to ask this bc youve been on a roll with the clone^2au (which i am frothing over) but could i poke you for some childhood friend au? bc GOD i wanna see how danny reacts to reuniting w jason or how the rest of the batfam react to learning jason never told danny of his resurrection or wondering if dannys gonna put jokers dead body on a display/offering to jasons grave. i havent been normal about this since i first read it and was wondering. thank you for your writing.

RAAAAHHHH DON'T BE HESITANT I AM JUST AS FERAL OVER MY CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AU AS I AM WITH CLONE^2 I AM DELIGHTED BY THIS. Like.,,,, i literally love them,,, so much. I can't listen to The Crane Wives without thinking of them.

(which is my fault - the ao3 fic of them has literally only crane wives lyrics for each chapter title and summary (posted AND the ones not written) so of course im gonna associate with them.)

(if you wanna listen to some of their songs while thinking of cfau here are my recommendations: "Once & for All", "Here I Am", "Hollow Moon" is a Danny AND Jason song to me, this would be my go-to song for an animatic of CFAU if i had the skills for it. "Tongues and Teeth", "Curses" and "take me to war" is a heavy cfau danny song to me, and of course, "the moon will sing")

Like they're BEST friends dude, they're two sides of the same coin and when they were kids they would do this thing where their 'fingers crossed'/'double-crossed' was them hooking their index fingers in the fingers crossed gesture.

and i'm actually currently rewriting my original post into a more fic-like format, and when I'm done I'll post it on here under the cfau tag - with the original post still in tact. But its,,, gonna be so long dude,,,, the original behemoth was just over 9000 words,,, and I've written 3k words already of the new one and we haven't even reached Jason and Danny reuniting at the gala yet,,, i need to get back to that,,,

and then to answer your questions!! god im almost hesitant to answer because i dont wanna spoil the little fic i had planned for it but also like,, its not like im gonna spoil everything, right? and answering the questions isnt the same as writing the scene down so!!

i love danny and jason's reuniting, like i've thought about it SO much and I've thought about it happening after Danny kills the Joker. I know the reveal could have been before that, and it could have been equally just as dramatic but like??? Thematically, doing it after danny kills the joker is SO good. To me at least.

Because like?? Jason's been in somewhat denial about danny's plan to kill the joker for months. ever since danny told him that he wanted to at the gala. And from Jason's pov its not even technically a plan. He sees his best friend for the first time after five years and his best friend still isn't over his death. He hasn't stepped foot in Gotham since his funeral and now suddenly he's here.

And he's still so full of grief over his death that he tells a masked vigilante that he's going to kill the guy that did it, who lives in said masked vigilante's city. And danny's got that look in his eyes that Jason knows so well that means he's being serious. And yet he still doesn't know if he should believe him or not.

And then he does. Danny kills him. And Jason can't fucking believe it. And when he goes and sees Danny, Danny's hands are still covered in blood. And that reunion? God like a fucking firework show. Danny's so fucking angry, and pissed, and hurt, and so goddamn overjoyed that he's alive and here that he sends them both to the ground, and if he doesn't calm down he's gonna take out the power in a five block radius.

there's just so, so much yelling on Danny's end. And then so much crying, first from Danny and then them both. because god, you're alive. you're here. i've missed you so much. i'm never letting you out of my sights again.

and Joker's death! God I don't want to actually say too much about that, but the way I have it set up thematically makes me actually not want danny to take any part of the joker with him as an offering. and he may actually forego that particular ghost etiquette and offer something else as an offering to Jason in substitute to not bringing him the Joker's heart/head/ritualistic body part.

Because you know what the last thing a man whose been spending the last two decades of his life building himself up to be larger than life would want? A death that's unremarkable. :) and that's all i'll put on the matter for now.

and the batfam!! they technically already know that jason hasn't told danny he was resurrected, and plenty of them have mixed feelings on them. largely bruce and dick i think, considering they saw firsthand how close jason and danny were when they were kids.

Dick was honestly surprised at first when he found out that Jason hadn't told Danny he was alive - and on one hand he understands the reasoning for it, and on the other hand he isn't sure if it was such a good idea. Especially after he sees Danny again after he arrives back in Gotham and sees just how badly Jason's death was still affecting him. But it's not like he's going to try and convince Jason to tell him - he can make his own choices, even if Dick has questions about them.

Bruce has much the same thoughts as Dick, so there's not really much to add here other than he might bring it up once or twice to Jason like, vaguely. And then immediately drops it when Jason shuts him down. He might actually somewhat...?? prefer that Jason hasn't told Danny because that raises a lot of questions and could jeopardize their identities. However, again, Jason can make his own choices and there's not much Bruce can do about it other than disapprove from afar.

Tim who knew of Danny from stalking the Wayne family shares similars sentiments of being surprised that Jason didn't tell Danny, but again, yeah, understands the thought process to some extent. Doesn't bring it up ever.

Everyone else who hadn't seen firsthand how close Danny and Jason are don't really have much opinion on it -- Jason didn't tell his best friend he was alive, great, he also didn't tell them either so it's not like its that much of a surprise. It would've been more of a surprise to them if Jason had told Danny before he told Bruce and co. Damian may make a comment or two about Jason not telling Danny, but its not about how he can't believe he didn't tell him or anything like it.

#dpxdc #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #danny fenton is not the ghost king #cfau #childhood friends au #danny and jason are such best friends i love them so much #BUT YEAH ASK ME MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT CFAU I'LL SCREAM #AND THEN TRY AND ANSWER THEM TO MY BEST ABILITY #like i could go on RANTS almost SPECIFICALLY about rath (dan) and then about jason and danny #and their friendship like i've thought about this au with a combined soulmate au and immediately hated the idea because no!#no! i can't call them soulmates. i can't it doesnt fit. their bond goes DEEPER than that. its *better* than that #this wasn't written in the stars it was forged in the back alley streets of gotham with all the broken glass under their feet #and the smell of nicotine weaving itself into the fabrics of their shirts. their souls aren't intertwined because the universe said so #they're two balls of yarn tangled together because they batted it at each other and decided to play cats cradle. and then never bothered #to untangle the string from one another. you'll never know where one ends and the other begins #i actually have a cfau miscellaneous facts post in my drafts that i need to finish too and i might do that today because of this ask <33 #the fastest way to starry's heart is through her ask box #asking me questions about my aus is the fastest way to make me make more content about them ajshld #see: clone^2 (i've been coasting off the fanart i got from them for the last two days) and now this #i need to stop more before i start waxing more poetic about jason and danny's bond with one another.#also also jason is equally as feral about danny as danny is about him (see: him plotting joker's demise since he was 14) its just not #showing as much since a lot of this is from danny's pov. like dw this isn't one-sided obsession its mutual.#see: jason seeing danny's scars and immediately wanting to find out who caused it and getting murderously angry about it #its not a starry post unless its long #idk maybe im just obsessed with the idea that relationships are chosen and forged with time and that the bonds we have arent because they #were predetermined but because we made them to be. Like how clone^2 said 'i choose to be brothers' and how danny and jason said #'i choose you. i will always choose you. you're my other half. the one who watches my back. i choose you.'

81 notes · View notes

alexandthensome · 1 year

Text

Who You Gonna Call?

Chapter 1: Something Strange DC x DP Fic based off this post

Warnings: Major Character Death, Strong Language, Depictions of Violence

Rating: Mature

Author’s Note: For those who have been waiting for forever I apologize for how long it took me to crank out this one chapter this is my first time writing a Fic so any constructive criticism helps, also thank you soo much for the support ❤️. Update On Chapter 2 of “Who You Gonna Call?” It’s knots done jut need to finish a few final touches should be posted by Friday of Next Week

When you think about it, peace will never be the outcome. Not for him, not anymore.

Not while his Parents lay dead at his feet, not while his sister sobbed helplessly; never again will Danny Fenton ever know a peaceful life.

But he’s okay with that; he’s come to terms with how things stood and knew there wasn’t much left to figure out besides where he will go now.

He never thought he’d have to plan a life without his parents, never suspected that this family vacation would be the last.

Nor did he expect his sister to go from “Annoying Older Sibling.” To “My Only Living Family Member.” in less than a day.

This was inevitable with his line of work, but he never expected his life to be this crazy, at least not so soon.

For him, being half ghost used to feel like a gift, something he could use to help the people he cared about the most. Now it was a curse, a cancerous infection slowly seeping into everything he held close.

Because of his “gift.” everyone and everything he knew was gone, replaced by this empty confusing nothingness, all their hopes and dreams for him nothing more than lost memories.

His parents were gone, taken from him in some brutal twist of fate by some psychopathic clown they call “The Joker.” to be completely honest, Danny was feeling anger beyond rational thought every time he thought about him.

And the worst part about this was that everything everything that happened was all a ploy, some sort of elaborate trick to lure Batman to his hideout, and The Fenton’s were nothing more than pawns in The Joker’s scheme to kill him.

Not only did he kill his parents, but he did it with a smile as he made Danny watch, laughing at his suffering until he got what he wanted.

Danny was taken to the police station and asked to state what he experienced while begging held hostage by the Joker, but all he could do was stare blankly at the wall.

As he got interviewed by the police, news anchors, and other journalists, all he could think about was how he everyone down. His frustration was building up under the surface, and he felt sick.

“How could I let this happen.” he thought.

His mind raced, his fingers felt numb, his chest heaved as if something was blocking his airway, and he felt like everything around him was closing in. The walls began to spin, and he could feel his throat closing up, tears welling in his eyes.

Jazz noticed his strange behaviour and tried her best to get him to calm him down, but the panic had already set in.

They were alone, he let this happen, and there was nothing he could do to fix this. Nothing at all

Dozens of forced statements later, Danny was drained.

Despite being the “Hero.” he was, he couldn’t help but feel so incredibly useless. They kept asking him the same questions repeatedly until the words melted into nothingness, his brain felt like swiss cheese, and he thought he would pass out at any second.

Jazz had to handle all of the legal proceedings, taking her parent’s estate, medical bills, funeral expenses, and everything else; She was overwhelmed, to say the least.

She had no idea what to do once they were done with the police, they had nowhere to go, and beyond that, they had nobody to help them.

Her head was swimming, and for a split second, she broke; Danny noticed his sister sobbing and went in to hug her.

“I’m sorry this happened, Jazz, really I am. I wish I could trade my life for theirs; I would,” he said, tears streaming down his face.

“Hey, I know this everything is so crazy, but don’t blame yourself for what happened. There’s nothing more you could’ve done, okay?” she replied, rubbing his head to soothe him.

“but I let everyone down. I’m the reason they’re dead; if I don’t do something to avenge them, then-” he said rapidly, beginning to panic again.

“Enough, no more vengeance, no more self-blame. You’re just a kid. Nobody should’ve put that responsibility on you-.” she tried to explain, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

“That doesn’t matter anymore, Jazz. I’m not a kid anymore; I think I need to go for a walk and clear my head,” he said, pushing her off his and heading towards the door.

Jazz called out for him, but he was gone before she could get a word out.

As he walked the streets of Gotham City, he felt angry; at the world and at himself; he even felt anger towards his parents for suggesting this stupid trip. He wanted nothing more than to change the way things are right now, be somewhere different, and do something right for once.

He didn’t know what to do with himself; he walked around aimlessly for what felt like hours, looking for something, anything to do. He needed someone save; he wanted something to fight, anything in the world that would take his mind off things for a second.

all of a sudden, a blue mist leaves his mouth

“Finally.” he thought to himself

He changed into his ghost form quickly, and he waited. The tension in the air is thick, and he slowly looks around, hoping to see whatever is watching him.

“Don’t you know this place isn’t safe after dark?”

Danny looked around, trying to see where the voice came from,

“If I were you, I’d just turn around and head back home.”

“And why should I listen to you, wise and powerful shadow man?” Danny replied sarcastically

suddenly, he saw something jump from the fire escape down to the ground in front of him. He didn’t expect him to make that fall, let alone get up that easily.

He stood there frozen as the figure approached him, wearing a red helmet, a leather jacket, black pants, and a shirt with a red bat.

“I’ve heard of you before; you’re Red Hood, right?” Danny asked nonchalantly, trying to cut the tension of the situation

“In the flesh, and you’re that ghost kid “Phantom.” right?” he replied as he stepped closer to Danny, cornering him into a wall.

“Uh, Yep, in the flesh.” He said with a nervous chuckle

Danny was terrified; after the last couple of days he’s had, he didn’t want to take any chances with any more of the heroes or villains in Gotham.

Red Hood had him backed to a wall, his hand on the right side of Danny’s face.

“What’s your deal anyways, ghost boy? You want to run around being a vigilante, too?” he said, leaning in.

“I-I’ve been a vigilante since the 9th grade,” he stuttered. “And for the record, I don’t need your permission to do anything, so why would you expect me to ask for it?.”

“Because if you don’t, I get to kick your ass and have you arrested for breaking curfew.” He replied

Danny chucked, “finally.”, he thought, “a reason to punch someone in the face.”

“respectfully, I’d like to see you try,” he said, cockiness radiating from his voice.

“fine, it is your funeral.”

@blackrabbitt3t @nedwec @blackstar-gazer @baykitthings @real-danny-phantom @hungrymentor @the-lokes @dizzydreamerzzz @phantom-phrases @sheep567 @lenoryt13 @theauthorandtheartist

@phantomskeep @arc-777 @dreamingasters @betinaplayingwriter @zeldomnyo @jaguarthecat @the-gay-florist @reinluna @gabrielandjackthenephilim @icepopstar5105us @skulld3mort-1fan

@batbootie @that-random-fangirl@cyber-geist@dat1angel@undead-essence@distractedducky@oddessy@dreamingasters@jarlyd@

691 notes · View notes

disillusioneddanny · 1 year

Text

Okay okay DPXDC idea!!!

Danny has been acting strange for weeks. Damian, being the attentive and loving boyfriend that he is has decided that it’s up to him to find out what’s wrong with the half ghost. For weeks he spends his time stalking his boyfriend, taking him as best as he can when he can. When he isn’t following Danny behind his back, Damian is doing everything to spoil his boyfriend and make sure that he’s happy.

It’s not working tho! He doesn’t know what he’s doing wrong. Usually he’s an amazing boyfriend but no matter what he does, it just seems as though the ghost king is restless. Danny isn’t sleeping, he’s floating through the halls of their house at all hours of the night. It’s as though the halfa is looking for something. But what? What the hell is Danny looking for? Why isn’t he happy?

One night on patrol, Damian mentions it to his brothers, not sure what else he could do to take care of his boyfriend. He’s usually so good at this. Why isn’t it working?

“His death day is coming up, right?” Todd questions.

“Yes. It will have been ten years since his accident. We have already made plans for what we are going to do to commemorate the event. Why?”

“When it’s my death day I always like to go to my gravestone. I know I’m not there anymore. But it soothes the pits and I dunno the weeks before my death day I get restless.”

“We’ve been together for five years now, Todd. He has never behaved like this in his death day before.”

“I don’t fucking know dude. Maybe since it’s the ten year anniversary it’s striking something in him. Does he have a grave he can visit?”

“No. He never fully died. And he was never buried.”

“Why don’t we hold him a funeral and give him a grave?”

So that’s what the BatFam does! They decide to hold a funeral on Danny’s death day. It’s really more like a memorial service and it’s pretty morbid. But the grin on Danny’s face as his friends and family all take the time to tell their favorite Danny stories makes Damian feel as though he’s the best boyfriend in the world. Manson and Foley both give tear jerking speeches about the day Danny died and how it had hurt them. But that they had also were so proud of the halfa and how far he had come since then.

After the eulogies Damian’s brothers all decide to throw Danny into a casket and bury him, just so the guy can get the full experience. Danny finds it absolutely hilarious and also cathartic as hell. Danny floats out of the casket to find a headstone with his birthday and death day on it. He immediately bursts into tears and pulled Damian into his arms.

“I didn’t realize how empty I felt for so long,” he whispered, face pressed against Damian’s chest. “As fucked up and morbid as this was, it was what I needed. No one ever grieved my death except me. My parents didn’t even grieve, they just wanted to experiment on me.”

“Danny, I grieve your death every single day,” Damian said, running fingers through his beloveds hair. “Every day I think about what you missed out on in life, I grieve the childhood that you lost. I grieve the parents who disowned you. I know for a fact that Manson and Foley grieved, you heard their speeches. Watching you die did a number on them and is something that still effects them. Just remember, though, you are still here and with us.”

Danny pulled back and kisses Damian, effectively embarrassing his boyfriend in front of his friends and family. The vigilante absolutely hated any kind of public displays of affection. “Thank you.”

Every death day after that, Danny and Damian find themselves in the cemetery in front of his gravestone. After a few years, Danny finally finds the courage to tell Damian the full story of how he died. Damian had a rough idea but no one had ever mentioned the full story as to how it happened. It may be fucked up and morbid, but the peace that Danny feels is more important to Damian than any kind of discomfort that he would ever feel.

#Damian Wayne x Danny Fenton #Damian Wayne #danny fenton #danny phantom #batfam #batpham #batman #dc x dp au #dp x dc crossover #Popswriting #popwrites #dis writes #diswrites #pop writes

569 notes · View notes

hearts-hunger · 1 year

Text

four weddings and a funeral — part two

Read on AO3 | Masterlist | Series Playlist ♫

⮡ part one

Series Summary:You and Danny haven’t spoken in years. When the two of you stumble upon a week of weddings, funerals, and the hotel rooms in between, will fate rekindle your friendship or put the old flames out altogether?

Chapter Summary: Seeing him at a funeral was strange enough. Running into him again at a wedding the next day... no, you don't believe in fate. Do you?

Pairings: Danny Wagner x Reader | Genres: friends to lovers, slow burn, fluff, mutual pining | Word Count: 4.2k | Chapter Warnings: drinking, one (1) icky coworker

A/N: Two chapters in two days? On my blog? More likely than you think, apparently. This chapter is 99% fluff, I'm not sorry. I hope you like it! ♡

Danny didn’t text you again that night, and you didn’t see a text from him when you woke up the next morning. You reminded yourself that he was busy and he’d done you the courtesy of telling you he would be, but it didn’t stop you from catastrophizing and thinking that his interest in meeting again was all some sort of elaborate joke he was playing on you. You didn’t think he would do that, but then again, what did you really know of him now?

You hadn’t said so, embarrassingly willing to change your plans at a moment's notice, but you had a busy few days ahead of you too. The day after the funeral, one of your coworkers was getting married; the next day, you’d been invited to your cousin’s destination wedding in North Carolina. If you were honest with yourself, you knew you would have skipped both weddings to be with Danny, but you decided to go ahead with your plans until you heard from him. What sort of self-respecting woman would you be if you waited around the house for a man to text you back, even if he was the prettiest man you’d ever laid eyes on?

Still, you couldn’t help yourself; you put on Anthem of the Peaceful Army as you got ready for your coworker's wedding, paying special attention to the drums in each song.

When you felt you were sufficiently dolled up in your floral green tea dress, you took one last glance in the mirror and headed out. It was a morning wedding with a brunch reception afterwards, and you figured you’d probably take your leave after congratulating the happy couple and having a mimosa or two.

At the church, you were ushered into an aisle near the back on the bride’s side. The old wooden pew creaked with every movement, and muted voices filled up the quiet of the stone building.

“Well. Fancy seeing you here, sunshine.”

You whirled around and found yourself greeted by Danny’s familiar, heart-tilting smile.

“What are you doing here?” you demanded in a whisper. You tried not to get too distracted by his half-up, half-down hairstyle that gave him a very sweet look in his smart tweed blazer.

“You want me to leave?” he teased.

“No, I...” You followed him with your gaze as he came to sit with you, feeling a blush rise to your face as you felt his warmth and became aware of just how broad he was next to you.

“You’re not stalking me, are you?” you said, only half joking.

He smiled. “Maybe you’re stalking me.” He fiddled with the wedding program. “Who gets married at ten in the morning?”

You agreed that it was a little early for your tastes, especially while you were on school break, but you were too busy figuring out how you could have coincidentally run into him twice in as many days at the weirdest possible events.

“Are you here for the bride or the groom?” you asked.

“The groom. I knew him in high school before he moved here.”

“You mean to tell me that a guy you knew in high school is getting married to one of my coworkers?” you asked.

Danny grinned. “Small world, isn’t it?”

It was crazy. It was unbelievable. It was... fate, maybe, just like he’d said yesterday.

You shook your head, clearing it of that particular fanciful thought.

He leaned back, propping his ankle on his knee, stretching his arm out behind you on the back of the pew. You pressed a surreptitious hand to your cheek, feeling a red-hot blush at his closeness, his arm bracketing you against him, his knee brushing yours. Against your better judgment, you felt a kind of schoolgirl thrill at his display.

“Shouldn’t you be sitting on the groom’s side?” you asked. The groom and his party were getting set up at the front of the church, each of them dapper to the man.

“I don’t think so,” Danny said seriously. “Somebody else might sit next to you, and then I’d have to punch his lights out, and then I’d get us both kicked out of your coworker’s wedding. You’d never live that one down.”

You laughed, covering your mouth with your hand to try and keep quiet. Danny only smiled at you.

“Are you staying for the reception?” he asked.

“I think so,” you said. “It’s supposed to be brunch, and there’s very little that could get me to pass up free brunch.”

He hummed in agreement. “Wise lady.”

He handed you the program when you held your hand out for it. “Did you bring my jacket?”

“Why would I have brought your jacket, Danny?” you asked with a smile. “I would have thought it more likely to get killed by a meteor on the way here than to see you at this wedding.”

He laughed. “Where do you come up with this stuff, sunshine?”

You liked that you’d made him laugh, perhaps a bit too much. You bit your lip and tried to tear your gaze away from his smile.

Thankfully, everyone’s attention was pulled to the back of the church when the pianist started to play. You stood, Danny steadying you with a gentlemanly hand to your arm.

“Oh, she looks beautiful,” you said in a hushed voice when you saw the bride coming down the aisle. You’d never seen your fellow teacher look so lovely and so radiant.

Danny nudged you gently. “Look at him.”

You turned to see the groom, and you couldn’t help but smile when you saw how happy and very near tears he was at seeing his bride.

“He loves her,” Danny said quietly, and his voice was warm with affection. “It’s plain as day on his face. That’s the look of his best and longest love.”

You looked up at Danny, endeared and wondering at such a plainly romantic thought from a man.

“What do you know about best and longest loves?” you asked.

He smiled over at you. “I don’t know, sunshine. What do you know about them?”

You looked away then, too drawn to him for your own good. Something in you didn’t want him to know that the idea of a best and longest love was completely foreign to you, something you’d long since given up on having.

When the bride joined the groom at the front, the pastor asked the congregation to join in singing a hymn. There was only one hymnal in your pew, and Danny stooped a little and looked over your shoulder so you could share.

Morning has broken, the first verse read, like the first morning.

“Isn’t this... a Cat Stevens song?” you asked quietly, feeling a little foolish for thinking so.

Danny chuckled, his breath warm against your skin.

“It was originally a hymn,” he said. “But yes, you’re correct. Cat Stevens did cover it on his album Teaser and the Firecat.”

You turned to meet his eyes and found he was closer than you’d thought. Your noses bumped together, and he scrunched his in a playful wince.

“Sorry,” you whispered, trying not to giggle while everybody else was singing.

He smiled. “That’s okay,” he whispered back.

Both of you looked back to the hymnal, and you were determined to focus on singing like everybody else. How hard could it be?

Danny started to sing, and you were helpless not to look back at him, drawn to his voice like a flower opening to the sun. Every note was beautiful, smooth and warm like maple syrup and twice as sweet. You felt something ache in your chest as you listened to him and watched his expression.

He didn’t take his eyes off the hymnal. “Sing with me, sunshine.”

You thought you might be able to hear your heart break if you listened close enough.

“Okay,” you said, very soft.

His mouth tipped up in a gentle smile when you started to sing, and he skillfully eased his voice up until he was singing harmony with you. For a moment, there was nobody else in the world but you two, and there was nothing else you’d rather do than sing with him.

Then, before you were ready, the song came to an end. You and Danny sat together, closer to each other than you needed to be, and you tried to keep your attention on the ceremony.

“Sunny.”

You looked over at the whispered nickname. Your breath caught in your chest at the sight of him; rosy light from the stained glass window shone all around him, shades of pink and blue and gold dancing in his curls and catching in his eyes.

He pressed a small piece of paper into your hand, one of those pew cards people filled out to get in touch with the church.

I like your dress, it read in his slightly messy handwriting. It’s very pretty.

You blushed, not quite able to meet his eyes. You mouthed a thank you.

He smiled and nudged you a little, wanting you to write him back. He handed you the golf pencil he’d taken from the back of the pew.

Thank you, you wrote back. I think you look rather dapper.

He read it and gave an amused roll of his eyes. He scrawled another message back to you.

Thank you - I didn’t mean to guilt you into complimenting me, LOL. I just wanted you to be my pen pal.

You breathed a laugh and drew a smiley face next to his note. Then, tell me a good Cat Stevens song.

He nodded sagely and took the pencil back from you.

The boy with a moon and star on his head, he wrote. That's a great one.

You drew a stick figure with a moon and star on its forehead. Danny drew another stick figure holding hands with yours, this one with the swirly hair usually indicative of a girl.

You pointed to the one he’d drawn, then to him, then to you. With his long, pretty curls, who could tell whether he’d meant it to be him or you?

He smiled. He drew big cartoony muscles on the boy with the moon and star on his head, and it made you laugh.

You didn’t know how long you’d expected the ceremony to be, but it felt no longer than a few minutes with Danny beside you scrawling notes to amuse you. He flipped the paper over and drew something with more focus than a doodle needed, the tip of his tongue held between his teeth; you barely heard the vows being exchanged at the front of the church, so intent were you on simply looking at the boy next to you.

He showed you his drawing when he was done: it was the stick figure couple in three scenes, one with a coffin in the background, one with champagne flutes in hand, one with both of them shrugging and a giant question mark looming in the background.

You drew the girl giving a jacket back to the boy. Danny smiled and drew the boy with a thumbs up.

When the bride and groom were pronounced man and wife, you and Danny stood as they came down the aisle hand in hand. You saw Danny slip the paper into his inside jacket pocket, close to his heart, and you tried not to overthink it very much.

“Shall we get some brunch?” he asked, offering you his arm as the rest of the guests started to file out.

You felt a little bashful as you looped your arm with his. “We shall, my good sir.”

The reception was a short walk away in the old, beautifully preserved hall adjacent to the church. Danny found a table for the two of you and excused himself to get mimosas for both of you, clinking his glass against yours when he returned.

“To the happy couple,” he said. “May they live in a beautiful stick house and have lots of stick figure children.”

You laughed, feeling as bubbly as the champagne in your drink.

You and Danny talked as the rest of the guests milled around during the cocktail hour, and you joined in the toast when the bride and groom came in from taking pictures. You both went straight for the waffle bar when brunch started, like-minded in the swirls of whipped cream on both your plates.

“We’re going for blueberries, of course,” he said, reaching across you to get to the fruit.

“Blueberries?” you protested. You reached across his arm. “No way. Raspberries are the obvious answer here.”

“Just try some with your waffle,” he said, spooning some blueberries onto your plate. “Trust me.”

“Fine,” you said, giving him a scoop of raspberries. “Trust me, too.”

“You’re a handful, you know that?” he teased.

You hummed in agreement. “A handful of raspberries, maybe.”

He grinned, and you decided that if given the chance, you’d probably, unfortunately, enjoy spending the rest of your life making him smile like that.

Back at your table, you both grudgingly agreed that the other’s choice in fruit wasn’t so bad. Every so often, one of Danny’s old friends or one of your coworkers would come over and say hello; you told each other the details of your relationships with each person as they left your table.

“That’s Mrs. Kline,” you said, leaning close to Danny to keep from being overheard as the second grade teacher walked off. “She’s a basket case.”

Danny almost choked on his coffee. He recovered with slightly strained laughter.

“You don’t pull your punches, do you, sunny?”

You smirked. “I’m right, though. Work one day with her and you’ll agree with me.”

You were about to tell him one of your more entertaining stories about Mrs. Kline when you caught sight of someone coming towards you with eager, undivided focus.

“Oh, shit,” you whispered. “Uh, Danny? I need you to be my boyfriend.”

“Okay,” he agreed easily. You would have blushed if you hadn’t been dreading the arrival of your awful coworker so much, trying to think of how to make the interaction as quick and painless as possible.

“Scott!” you said, unable to help the way you pitched your voice up to sound more feminine and cheerful. Danny glanced at you with a bemused frown, but he caught on when Scott came up to your table.

“I’m glad to see you’re here,” Scott said, all but ignoring Danny in favor of looking at you with an avid interest. “I’ve been wanting to spend some time together outside of school.”

Danny put his arm over the back of your chair. “You two work together, is that right?” he asked.

Scott seemed surprised that Danny had spoken.

“That’s right,” he said. “We work closely together.”

You cringed inwardly. “Scott’s the technical aide in the office,” you explained.

“I keep everything running smoothly around there,” Scott said importantly.

Danny gave him a cool smile. “I’m sure you do.”

Scott gave Danny a look of poorly concealed disdain.

“And who are you?” he asked. “You’re not a new hire, are you?”

“Oh, no,” Danny assured him. You almost wished he’d tell Scott he was a world-famous, fabulously wealthy rockstar, but you knew he was too humble even in a situation like this to do so.

“Well, I’d love to talk to her for a while,” Scott said, obviously dismissing Danny and speaking about you like you had no choice in the matter. “Work things, you know.”

Danny gave your shoulder a gentle squeeze, assuring you he wasn’t going to leave. You hadn’t worried he would leave you at the mercy of your arrogant coworker, but the reassurance was a welcome comfort all the same.

“You’re on spring break, aren’t you?” Danny asked, pointed but just polite enough to leave Scott fuming. “Gotta be nice to have a week or so where you don't have to worry about work stuff, right?”

“I suppose,” he ground out.

Danny smiled. “Great.” He looked to you. “You wanted to get some pictures under the flower arch, right, honey?”

You managed a feeble smile and tried to play along. “I did. Thank you for remembering.”

Danny stood and offered you a hand up.

“Good talking to you, Scott,” he said, effectively cutting off any further conversation and letting you go ahead of him to make your escape outside. You glanced over your shoulder to see Scott looking stunned that anyone had dared to interrupt the time he felt he was owed with you, but you were grounded with the touch of Danny’s hand at the small of your back.

“Come on, sunshine,” he said.

He led you outside to where a beautiful flower arch had been set up for picture-taking. You breathed a sigh of relief to be free of Scott and turned to thank Danny for his help.

“I’m sorry if I handled that stupidly,” Danny said, before you’d even had the chance to start speaking. The cool, confident mask he’d worn when talking to Scott was now gentled by concern and remorse.

“I didn’t mean to take over and talk for you,” he said. “I was just trying to help, but maybe I made it worse.”

You softened and came closer to him.

“I was glad you talked to him for me,” you admitted. “I wouldn’t have known what to say. I always end up being more polite and agreeable than I ought to be with him, even when he gets pushy.”

The breeze pushed a lock of hair across your face; he reached and gently tucked it behind your ear.

“You shouldn’t let him or anybody else treat you like that,” he said. “But I understand that it might be intimidating to stand up to him. I’m sorry he’s disrespectful to you.”

You gave him a weak smile. “Thank you. And thank you for your help. You’re a very good actor.”

He smiled. “The best acting comes from the heart, you know.”

You felt your cheeks warm. “So I’ve heard.”

Pulling your phone out of your bag, you turned towards the flower arch. “We might as well get some pictures while we’re out here, don’t you think?”

“Sure, sunny.”

You gestured for him to stand in front of it and pulled up your camera.

Danny’s brow raised. “Me?”

You smiled. “Yes, you. Surely you’re familiar with getting your picture taken, mister big-time.”

He gave you a dry smile and went to stand in front of the arch like you directed. His expression relaxed into a handsome smile as he stood with the ease of someone who was, in fact, very comfortable in front of a camera.

“You like doing photoshoots, don’t you?” you teased. It was a great picture, Danny all dressed up in front of the gorgeous arch of peach roses and silver dollar eucalyptus. “I feel like some rock stars do and some don’t, and you’re one of the ones who do.”

He shrugged, a telling smile tipping the corner of his mouth. “Maybe.”

You couldn’t exactly blame him; if you were as photogenic as Danny, you’d probably like getting your picture taken too.

“Do another pose,” you said. “Let’s get a good one for the secret instagram you post all your dorky pictures on.”

He didn’t have the chance to deliver a witty comeback before he buried his face against the crook of his arm and sneezed once, twice, three times.

“‘Scuse me,” he said when he’d recovered, his voice a little hoarse.

“Bless you,” you said. “Times three. That’s not a very good pose, though.”

He chuckled. “No, probably not.” He stepped out from under the arch and came to your side again.

“You okay?” you asked, noticing his eyes were a little glassy.

He hummed in agreement. “The roses,” he said. “No big deal.”

“Danny!” you scolded. “You should have said something! I wouldn’t have tortured you by making you take pictures under a gigantic bunch of roses if I’d known you were deathly allergic to them.”

He smiled, already starting to look better now that he was a few paces away from the arch.

“You’re awfully dramatic, sunshine. You know that, right?”

You waved him off. “Fine,” you said airily. “Keel over dead if you want.”

He took your phone from you. “Go. Your turn.”

You stood in front of the arch and fluffed out the bell of your dress. “So, you’re saying I shouldn’t bring you roses as a thank you for letting me borrow your jacket?”

“You mean for letting you steal my jacket?” he teased. “No, you shouldn’t get me roses. Not unless you’ve got some Benadryl hidden in that dress of yours.”

You laughed, and he took a picture right as you did. “Keep laughing like that, sunny.”

“Keep amusing me, Daniel,” you said tartly.

He grinned as he took another picture. “Actually, I take it back. I like this sassy look. You’re like a scary flower goddess or something.”

You couldn’t help but laugh again. “That’s the most interesting compliment I think I’ve ever gotten, Danny.”

“My pleasure,” he said. He took a few last pictures. “Here. Come see if you like them.”

You stood on your tiptoes and hung on his arm to see. “Oh, those are wonderful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said sweetly. “Though I admit, it’s not very hard to take a good picture when what you’re photographing is so lovely.”

Your smile was wry. “I bet you say that to all the ladies.”

“Only for you,” he said. He traced an x over his heart. “Cross my heart, sunshine.”

You enjoyed the breezy spring day for a little while longer before you went back inside, getting to your seats again just in time to see the bride and groom share a donut from their tiered donut “cake”. You got one for you and Danny to share too, and you spent way too long fantasizing about kissing the sugar off his fingertips.

“So, sunshine.” Danny cradled his coffee cup in one big hand. “I have a proposition for you.”

You waggled your brows. “Oh, is that so?”

He laughed. “Not that kind of proposition,” he corrected. “A proposition about our coffee date.”

Despite the fun you’d had with him today, you still felt the tiniest sting of embarrassment at the reminder that you’d asked him out and not gotten a wholehearted “yes”.

“Did we decide we were having a coffee date?” you asked, trying for nonchalance.

His smile was gentle and a little apologetic.

“I know I didn’t give you the answer you wanted,” he said. “It wasn’t the answer I wanted, either.”

He leaned his elbows on the table. “This wedding was one of the things I was trying to cram in this week,” he said. “And I would have invited you, but I was worried you might have thought it was weird to have a date at a wedding. Luckily, you were here anyway, and we did have a date at a wedding, and you still want to go out with me again. Maybe.”

You smiled. “Maybe.”

He grinned back. “So, if that’s the case, I’d like to propose another wedding date this week.”

No way, you thought. “Is it tomorrow?” There was no way you could both unknowingly be invited to the same wedding again.

He shook his head. “It’s the day after,” he said, and you were a little relieved to know the two of you hadn’t stumbled into a glitch in the matrix.

“Why?” he asked. “Are you only free tomorrow?”

You laughed a little. “No, I actually have another wedding too. I’m flying out tonight.”

You met his eyes, an insane idea occurring to you. He watched your face with a growing smile.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I have kind of a crazy idea,” you said.

He nodded. “Hit me.”

“Well...” You toyed with the handle of your coffee cup. You wanted to invite him, but airfare wouldn’t be cheap the day of.

“It might be expensive,” you admitted.

“That’s not a problem,” he said. He pinked a little. “I mean, I’m not trying to be crass or arrogant, but... you don’t have to be worried about that.”

You found his bashfulness endearing, even if the thought of how much money he made had your head spinning a little.

“Well, in that case,” you said, trying to play it cool and not let on how much you wanted him to come, “I’d like to invite you to be my plus one for this wedding tomorrow. If... if you’d like to come.”

He beamed.

“I’d love to,” he said sincerely. “If you’ll come to the other wedding the day after as my plus one.”

“My flight back from the first wedding isn’t until the afternoon,” you warned.

He considered that. “The second wedding starts at 6:30,” he said. “And it’s about half an hour from here. When does your flight land?”

“Three,” you said.

He shrugged. “Up to you. I’m game if you are.”

You couldn’t believe you were even considering this. Yesterday morning, you'd been worried that most of your spring break would be spent being home alone; now, here you were, about to agree to a whirlwind couple of days of weddings, late-night partying, and Danny.

You gave him a helpless smile. “Okay.”

He grinned. “Yeah? You want to do this?”

Oh, but with his contagious excitement and that beaming smile, it was far too easy to say yes to him.

“Yeah,” you agreed. “Let’s do this.”

Read part three!

danny taglist: @tearsofbri @busybeingtrash @myway-late @gotavansleep @gretavanbri

fic taglist: @mydarlingdanny @streamsofstardust

gvf taglist: @malany-gvf @spark-my-nature

@gvfrry @ohhey1293 @the-chaotic-cow @mountain-in-springtime @xserenax-13 @stardustjtk @brooke-gvf @weightofdreams-gvf @jakeydoesit @gretasmokerising @hayley1623 @doodle417 @finestoflines @brokenbellz @bowievanfleet @s0livagant @strugglingtodoshit @s-u-t @kay-jordan @gretavanfleas @jakeyboiiiiiii @gretavansteph @gretavanbitches @myownparadise96 @luverleaver @weightofdreamz @greatervanfleet @maedesculpaeusoubi @jakekiszkasbestie @pineapple-photographer @baguettejuliette @alexxavicry @levi-wants-ur-bones @carlybubs @cowboysamkiszka @dannyandthekiszkas @jordierama @slutforsteve @starshine-wagner

sorry if tumblr didn’t tag you — it’s stupid sometimes. but i’m real thankful for you, sweet peaches! and if you’re a new bestie and would like to be added to my taglist, check out the form right here!

#danny wagner x reader #danny wagner fluff #danny wagner fanfiction #greta van fleet fluff #gvf fanfiction #gvf fluff #danny wagner #greta van fleet #maddie writes stuff!#four weddings and a funeral fic

187 notes · View notes

phantomskeep · 1 year

Text

Odd question for the Tumblr void, but I'm currently writing a dead on main fic and was wondering if I might be able to find either a beta reader or someone to help me with it? Im not the best with anything besides descriptions and I am on the struggle bus for how to play out fight scenes.

Basically the concept of the fic is Danny gets crowned king of the GZ and some of his first royal actions are to go into a different dimension to take back ghostly artifacts and stop leaks of ectoplasm from the GZ. He gains the title of "Ghost Thief" from the heros of the DCU and he ends up meeting a certain someone along the way.

The title for the fic? Putting the "Fun" Back in "Funeral"

I don't want to spoil too much but I have a lot of plans for this and have been doing a bunch of research into various DC rabbit holes for this. Im so excited to finish writing the first chapter and post it!! But, like I said, I struggle with writing sometimes due to only being really good at descriptions.

Have a cool link to lil bits of the fic uwu

I've also heard about a DP x DC discord server?? And I was wondering how one goes about joining it ;w; hahahah I found the page that runs the discord. let's go for googling things >:)

#dp x dc #dead on main #dc x dp #phanfiction #idea for dead on main #im really doing my best here #however #im very bad at plot #its kind of funny actually #i need help lol #batpham discord

135 notes · View notes

coffeeheartaddict2 · 2 months

Text

When Life has other plans 13/16

Begin Again

Book: Open Heart (AU)

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC Casey Valentine

Category: angsty fluff with a side of smut

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Language, sexual content, mentions of bio attack and mental illness

Word count: 3511

Summary: The fallout from the attack. Ethan and Casey start exploring what could be, funeral for Bobby and Danny. Ethan and Tobias open a dialogue and both have hopes of reconciliation. June starts to evaluate her position at Edenbrook and the team.

Disclaimer: characters belong to Pixelberry

Authors note: We are post attack now, there is still some angsty moments but nowhere near as intense as the attack. And that also means a strong smell of the happy ending.

🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

It was the day after the attack. The hospital was slowly coming back to normal function after being shut down after the attack. It all looked normal but there was an air of sadness, shock and anguish that could not be ignored. Those directly involved with the discovery of the cure and the staff who provided support to Danny and Raf whilst they were in the coma were encouraged to have the day off and were offered counselling to work through any grief and any mental anguish that they have endured. This would also be offered to the hospital as a whole but the priority was those who were exposed the most.

Ethan knew he should not have been there. He went home and fell into a deep and exhausted sleep but he awoke with a nightmare of Casey dying in his arms. He could not get back to sleep so he went and sat in her room, watching her to reaffirm to himself that she did make it. Casey woke up and was surprised to see Ethan. He breathed a sigh of relief when she woke up. He asked how she slept and informed her that Rafael was improving.

He moved closer to her and squeezed her hand. Casey smiled weakly.

“Did you sleep well?”

“No, yes, I did fall into a sleep as I was exhausted from then I had a nightmare…” he takes another breath before continuing. “After that I ha hi d to come and see you, to see for myself that you did make it.”

“I made it Ethan, I am alive, yes it was traumatic, but I am here.” Adamantly stated Casey. Ethan leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

“As much as I am liking the visit, head home, rest, I am not going anywhere.” Ethan reluctantly left. He knew Casey was right but he could not help but worry. He stopped off at Derry’s to buy a coffee and went home. He emailed Naveen. Even though he and Casey had not discussed being in the open and how that would look but he felt it imperative that he get the ball rolling.

To Naveen,

I am emailing you to advise that I am in a relationship with Dr Casey Valentine. I have made her aware of my intent of being open about this and we will of course discuss in due course but I wanted to let you know so that we can get the ball rolling.

Regards

Dr Ethan Ramsey.

When Naveen had read the email he could not help but feel happy for his mentee. He knew that both him and Casey were more than capable of working well together, no matter what their relationship circumstances happened to be so he was happy if reporting lines stayed the same but at the end of the day he knew that call would be made by HR but he was hopeful that there would be a solution.

Casey’s physical condition improved over the following week. Her discharge day was the day of the funeral for Bobby and Danny. It was bittersweet. Casey was thankful that a cure was found and that she survived but there was the questions of why me, how is it fair? Going around in her head. Medical leave from work was approved and any counselling she knew would be taken care of however a part of her wanted to seek some type of normalcy. She went to the funeral, hoping it would give closure. In a way it did but she was unable to feel. She felt numb, cut off, the feeling was disconcerting. She felt so disconnected that she barely noticed that the wake was nearly over. Ethan came over to Casey and gave her a hug. “Come on, let’s go.”

He walked her to his car and they drove off.

“How does the weather know?”

“How does the weather know what Casey?”

“How did it know that today was a day of grey and misery?”

Ethan did not know what to say. He had intended to drive her home but at this point changed his mind, he was going to bring her to his.

It was not until they pulled up at Ethan’s building that she realized. They made their way to his apartment. He poured himself a glass of scotch and offered one to Casey which she accepted.

“I know that you must be going through so much. You seem, almost distant..”

“I am numb, numb and disconnected. I thought the funeral would give me a sense of closure, but I have felt so disconnected from anything…”

He kisses her, it was emotion charged. It caught Casey off guard but she returned the kiss. The kisses got more emotionally charged and heated. Ethan pulled away slightly, he rubbed his thumb along her jawbone.

“We don’t need to go any further tonight”

“I know Ethan, but I want to.”

She kisses him. Hungrily. He ran his hands down her side, reacquainting himself with her curves. He unzips her dress and discards it. He looks at her underwear. He kisses her gently on the lips before kissing the column of her neck. He tweaks her hardened nipples through her bra, eliciting a moan from Casey. He unhooks her bra and lavishes attention on her breasts. Casey feels even more aroused. She knew she was drenched. His hand made its way between her legs. He could feel how wet she was. He let out a groan and laid waist to her underwear. He ran a finger around her clit. Casey moaned as she bucked her hips. As much as Ethan wanted to fuck her pain away, he also wanted to savour this night. He positioned himself between her legs. He kissed the inside of her thigh, slowly. Casey quivered in anticipation and he ran his tongue around her clit. Again she moaned and bucked her hips. Ethan then ran his tongue through her folds before entering. He continued to eat her out, being guided by her moans and screams. He worked his way back up to her clit and inserted two fingers.

“Fuck…” she screamed, as he hit that spot from the get go. He moved his other hand up to her breast and massaged it. Casey could not recall when she last felt so much sensory overload. She was fast hurtling towards the precipice of what felt like an intense orgasm. She clenched his fingers and he knew she was close. He pumped her harder and sucked a little harder. Casey fell, screaming. He helped her ride it out. Casey felt like she was floating. He kissed her, the taste of her in his mouth was intoxicating. He got up and picked her up, he took her to his bedroom. He placed her down and she kissed him again, this time removing his clothing. She ran her hands along his hardened cock. He hissed. She then walked backwards towards his bed. They kiss again and Casey moves so that she is straddling him. He leans over to his top drawer and grabs a condom. He puts it on and then Casey slowly works her way down. It did not take long for her body to readjust to his size. Once he was fully sheathed she started to rock her hips. He thrust up causing her to moan. She rode him, harder than what she would have liked to have started with but the intensity of the previous orgasm is what she was chasing. Ethan kept pace, enjoying being fully inside her for real and not just in his lust fueled thoughts. He sucked her nipples which caused her to yell “fuck”. Before long Casey could feel she was getting close. Ethan could feel it too and with his thumb, massaged her clit. The sensation had Casey hurtling to again another intense orgasm. She fell and her climax triggered Ethan’s. After a few minutes she eased herself off and cuddled into Ethan. Casey then started to cry. She had wanted to all day, all week even but she could not, no matter how hard she tried. Ethan let her cry, assuring her that she was ok, and to let it all out. She cried herself to sleep. Ethan fell asleep not long after. He was relieved that Casey was able to let her emotions out and that she was in his arms.

Ethan awoke first the next morning. He tried to gently get out of bed but Casey started to stir.

“I did not mean to wake you” he said gently.

“I was waking up, it’s fine, I had no nightmare last night, plus with our activities, I actually feel rested.

Ethan smiled.

“I have a late start today but did you want to stay here, however long you feel you need?”

Casey stretched whilst she thought about it. Either staying here or at her apartment would mean long hours alone but decided here. After last night she knew she would not be treated like a fragile object and that is what she needed.

“I would like to stay here, but I will need some clothes.”

Ethan squeezed her hand.

“I can drop you to yours on my way to work.” He leaves the room and comes back with a key ring. This is so you can get back into the apartment and come and go as needed.”

Casey smiled. “Thank you Ethan.”

Ethan went to make breakfast while Casey had a shower. She joined Ethan for breakfast and he dropped her at her apartment. She made her way to her room and got changed first. She then packed a bag of clothes to take with her. She then went back to Ethan’s. She used the time alone to research the therapists she had the details of and booked one and had her first appointment a few days later.

She had a nap and woke with a start. It took her awhile to gain her bearings as to where she was. Just then there was a sound of a door opening. Casey got scared until she heard Ethan call out. She made her way to the living area. He could see she was scared.

“I had a nap and I woke with a start and I had only just got my bearings when you came back.”

He gave her a hug and kissed the top of his head.

“Everything is ok, Casey” he whispered. She went to pour them both some drinks whilst Ethan cooked dinner.

They enjoyed their meal and sat on the couch after dinner.

Casey told him how she was going to start therapy. Ethan was relieved she was going to seek professional help. He wanted to start a discussion around what a relationship would look like when she returned to work but he also wanted to savour this time also. Casey was relieved that she knew where she stood in relation to Ethan but she did not want to think too much on it right now. If she was being honest, she wanted to be fucked into oblivion again. The pleasant memories of last night came flooding back and she felt the familiar sensation at her core. She kissed Ethan, gently at first then more passionately. She then moved his hand to her centre.

“I know there are better coping mechanisms but I need you to fuck me.” She whispered in his ear. As much as Casey was right, there were more healthier ways to cope, he could not help but feel aroused so he obliged, as in a way he felt it would help make up for lost time.

They went several intense rounds, Casey fell into a blissful sleep and Ethan followed not long after. For nearly a fortnight it was a pattern that would be followed, work, dinner and mind blowing sex. After a couple of therapy sessions, Casey was given some more coping strategies which helped her not needing to use sex as a crutch. Casey was also starting to miss her friends also. Ethan understood but told Casey she was welcome to come over any time.

After nearly three weeks Casey returned to her apartment. She was used to the alone time whilst she was at Ethan’s but here it felt eerie. She knew that anyone on the night shift would be sleeping and that she was not alone but it was disconcerting.

Meanwhile back at Edenbrook Ethan was missing Casey, not only personally but professionally. He hoped she would be back at work soon, even if it was only part time. He was making his way back to the office when a familiar voice called out.

“Ethan, wait up” called out Tobias.

Ethan looked at his former friend perplexed.

“What are you doing here?”

“Meeting with the board, we will be doing research into the cure for the toxin and publishing it.”

“Congratulations” said Ethan. “Maybe even other toxins could be treated with this cure too.”

“Yeah? Maybe, hey listen, did you want to grab a coffee and catch up?”

Ethan looked at his watch, he had nothing on so he agreed. He suggested Derry Roasters.” Tobias agreed. They had coffee there before, a long time ago, an olive branch had been offered but it was declined and the memories of that haunted Tobias still but they were both older now and he hoped that they could put away the ghosts of their past.

They ordered their coffees and snacks and sat down. Tobias enquired as to how Casey and Raf were going, the team, and how Ethan was going with everything. Ethan was surprised when Tobias was not surprised when he stated that he was seeing Casey.

“You had been the talk of the post hospital grapevine, June for awhile was possessed on finding out the deal with you both but there was some interactions and dare I say an over protective posture that I had never seen from you that made me question the more scandalous rumours but seeing you with Casey that night solidified that any feelings were genuine.” Said Tobias.

“Well there’s truth to the rumours in that we did sleep together whilst she was in her intern year but it had nothing to do with the competition.”

“I figured that much, you have never been one for sexual favours, let alone entering into a relationship easily so she must be someone special.”

“She is, she helped me with Naveen, hell, she even did not give up on him when I did, we have had a rough patch but I feel we have come out the other side.”

Tobias was happy to hear this. He saw first hand how a reluctance in romantic relationships not only affected what was a good relationship but also his and Ethan’s friendship. Tobias wanted to chat further but he had to get back to work and so did Ethan.

“Well it was good to catch up bu…I mean Ethan. We must do so again.”

“I would very much like that, Tobias.”

Tobias could not believe how easy it was to slip back at calling Ethan buddy like he did for nearly three quarters of medical school and he was hopeful they could reconcile. Ethan too was optimistic, he had missed Tobias’s friendship a lot over the past 13 or so years and he hoped they could be friends again now.

A few days later Casey was again home alone, therapy had been going well and she was now eager to go back to work but the memories of what happened and who the hospital lost was haunting her. She had not even brought herself to meet Ethan at the hospital but little did she know that she was going to push herself out of her comfort zone. There was a knock at the door. It was Farley, their landlord. He had come with a sweet smelling bunch of flowers. She was mid thanking him when she noticed a mark on his wrist that he kept scratching. She asked him what was up, he said not much, the mark had been there for a bit but he was over his eyes seeing his gaming screen too bright. When questioned as to why he had not seen anyone about it, he stated that the deductible was too low. Casey stated that she worked as apart of a team that could do it pro bono. Farley was intrigued and she said “go get a coat, I will take you to the free clinic at Edenbrook and go from there.” Casey was now terrified but she knew that if she did nothing, neither would Farley. She found her new pink and grey sweater dress that Ethan had purchased and her leggings and met Farley. They made their way to Edenbrook and the free clinic.

“So far so good” Casey thinks to herself. They are met by Jackie and she takes them both in and immediately she notices Farley’s reaction to the light. Casey shows Jackie the rash and they agree he needs to be admitted. Casey took over from there stating that she would put him under the team.

Casey and Farley made their way to the team office. She was nervous for multiple reasons but ensuring something was done to get Farley healthy again was helping her keep it together.

They came to the office. Ethan looks up and is surprised to see Casey. He recognised the outfit he bought for her, and it looked better on her than what he thought. He decided to stay seated while acassy told him about what was going on. Ethan agreed to take Farley on and he paiged Sarah to take him to the patient room.

“Thanks Ethan, if I did not bring him he would have done nothing.”

He noted the fear in her voice.

“And how are you Casey, this is the first time you have been here since the attack.”

Casey took a breath. “I am keeping it together, ensuring Farley got some care has helped me keep it together. I am grateful for the push.”

Ethan nodded. They had not yet spoken how their relationship would look like at work so he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Casey smiled weakly and could see the conflicted desire swirling in Ethan’s eyes.

“I’ll come over later” she said and Ethan stated

“Don’t you dare change that outfit.”

Casey blushed and took her leave.

Meanwhile, June was having her session with a therapist. Ever since the attack she had questioned if her thirst for knowledge had impacted on her missing the red flags that lead to the attack. Even before the attack she could see that Casey was a good doctor who kept on improving, her contributions were always more than token and yet she still had the desire to only care about how her relationship with Ethan affected the team, for which she clearly saw that it did not. She had always wanted to know what made people tick and would use whatever means necessary to do so but this obsession killed two people needlessly. It was difficult to come to terms with, even the team as a whole missed the flags, explaining it away as over concern but Travis’s actions was text book revenge and she missed it. Today June decided that she needed a new work challenge. Sure Edenbrook had the best diagnostics team that she had enjoyed working on but maybe a change is what she needed. She knew Ethan was not going anywhere anytime soon and if she was been honest with herself, she could see Casey running the team one day. She needed to plan and would submit her resignation further down the line. It was scary starting somewhere new but she felt she needed to.

Later that day Casey was still at the hospital. The more she was there, the easier being there was. She also wanted to keep informed of what was happening with Farley. She bumped into Ethan and continued with him towards the emergency department. They arrived just as an ambulance pulled up and opened the doors. Ethan took charge and they paramedic went through the particulars.

Female, mid 50’s, found on the street, collapsed and in and out of consciousness. The gurney was brought in and Ethan froze. The woman that the paramedic was describing was Louise Ramsey. Casey looked at the arms and noted the needle marks.

“Ethan, this woman has overdosed, she needs naloxone.”

Ethan jolted back to reality and got the drug and administered it. The nurses took over from there.

Casey wanted to talk to Ethan about it.

“I know you want to talk but I need to be alone for a little bit. I’m sorry” he says, with a pained expression before walking off to an on call room.

He is awash with all sorts of emotion and he kicks a bin.

He lets out a groan of frustration and ponders what to do next.

—-

Authors note: and I will end it there. The next chapter will deal with Louise, and some more Tobias and Ethan reconciliation action and chapter 15 will be the last of the angstish moments with 16 being the happy ending. Thank you all for ending this far

Tagging: @jerzwriter @genevievemd @messrprongs @cariantha @tessa-liam @zealouscanonindeer @alj4890 @potionsprefect @liaromancewriter @youlookappropriate @trappedinfanfiction @a-crepusculo @bex-la-get @crazy-loca-blog @schnitzelbutterfingers @lucy-268

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics @binny1985

#open heart #ethan ramsey #choices fanfic writers creations #casey valentine #choices #tobias carrick #fic of the week #au #open heart choices #ethan ramsey x mc #post attack

12 notes · View notes

wolfiemcwolferson · 1 year

Text

I’m in my feels about Charles’ having a Seb helmet and also in my Maxiel feels because of a conversation with a friend so here is a thing.

Maxiel: The Helmet

Most of Daniel’s friends aren’t here and that’s ok. There’s a party waiting for him in 6 different countries and he plans on hitting them all like some kind of fan service retirement thing so no one worries too much.

But he’s looking forward to Christmas - where he plans on turning off his phone and forgetting about everyone and everything.

He’s currently staring at the Lance DTS meme that another acquaintance has sent him because they think it’s funny. “You love the sport but it just don’t love ya back.” Sure, Danny had made that joke himself, but he was allowed to do that. It hurt coming from other people.

There was no F1 fanfare for him either - the sport he bled for, the one that kept him from his family for two years, the one he’s missed birthdays and funerals and weddings and time for.

Of course, Seb was getting a proper fucking send-off. Daniel was getting a reserve seat and he knew he’d never see the inside of a car at lights out again unless something bad happened, and no matter what, he couldn’t wish that on anyone - not any of these guys.

It’s Charles’ helmet that breaks him though. The helmet for Seb. You love the sport and sometimes it just don’t love ya back.

And the worst part is he had told them all not to do anything. He was a reserve driver. He’d still be around. Don’t worry about making a big deal about it, I’ll be back.

He didn’t expect anyone to actually take him seriously…he expected something.

Danny is tired now, counting the hours until he can bolt. Ready to drink a bottle of wine on a flight and not have Michael glare at him passive aggressively.

Danny’s helmet isn’t special - the same design he’s had all season - because he didn’t want to remember this. But maybe he did and maybe he’s bitter and maybe he doesn’t deserve a full time seat ever and -

He’s tugged sideways suddenly and he nearly loses his balance but then Max is righting him with that gentle smile on his face that he gets for people he actually considers friends. Danny hadn’t seen it this week after everything, but there it is.

“Hiya, Maxy. What’s up?”

Max beams and whispers, “come with me.” And then he’s waving at people in the RBR garage as they walk past them and towards Max’s driver room.

Daniel feels like he should leave. Even if he has a contract with these guys that technically starts in two days - he’s in McLaren Orange and he sticks out, but Max doesn’t let go and they keep walking.

“I, of course, did not change anything. It is still gold, and my lion is the same as always, but -“ Max pulls Daniel through the door of his driver’s room and slams it shut behind him. Daniel has flashbacks of - well, not the time for that.

“Max, what?” Daniel asks, confused and a little tired.

“I know it is not your last race ever, but it felt important to me,” Max is still rambling - quick and nervous like he does when he’s unsure if he did something wrong, and then he picks up his helmet, the gold one with two stars on the back. “You will have a seat in 24, but I wanted to -“

Max turns the helmet around and taps on the place underneath the two gold stars. The number 3.

Max put a - a 3 on his helmet for Daniel.

For Daniel’s last race.

“I know things have been hard for us, since-“ Max waves a hand between them, and it’s met to encompass everything between them. “But you are still one of my best friends and you helped make me the driver I am today and -“

He shrugs and Daniel pulls the helmet from his hands with shaky fingers, placing it back down on the table.

“Thank you,” Daniel says, before he hugs Max, winding his arms around his waist and squeezing him close. “Thank you.”

Max puts his chin directly on top of Daniel’s head somehow and says, “Yes, well you are important to me. And I am glad you are coming home.”

Daniel squeezes Max tighter. Maybe he was right. Maybe he was coming home in more than one way.

#tiredtiredsharl #maxiel #max verstappen #mv33 #dr3 #daniel ricciardo #I am in my feelings #leave me here to die

139 notes · View notes

gretavanfleetposts · 1 year

Text

Valence: Epilogue

Author's Note: I just wanted to say, thank you all for going on this journey with me! Thank you for all of the love and support you've shown me and this fic. It means so much and I'm so happy so many of you enjoyed it! Summary: The daughter of a drug lord, you're ready to take over the family business. Your father's only stipulation? You must marry the man he has picked out for you instead of the man you love in order to claim your kingdom.

TW: slight sexual content (18+ minors do not interact), talk of drugs

Word Count: 2k

Chapter Ten Masterlist

It was Danny that stood before you in your office in the Kiszka’s home, the fireplace raging at your back as summer had turned to fall and fall had turned to winter.

Josh was taking a much-needed break from the business and was letting you handle things for the time-being, even though you planned to run it alongside one another when he was ready to return, you as the head, him as your right-hand man. But for now, the desk that sat across from yours sat empty, waiting for Josh to fill it.

It gave you a better view of the snow falling though, unobstructed by the mess of curls piled atop his head.

It was a different mess of curls that stood in front of you now though, looking much less bubbly than the Kiszka boy in comparison. You hadn't seen him in months and his presence there was certainly unexpected, though you didn't find yourself upset over the opportunity to speak with him. He had been on your mind as of late.

He had entered silently but purposefully and you knew you only had one chance to say to him what you'd been thinking lately, what had been haunting you ever since the day of your father's funeral that felt much more distant after Jake's rescue not long after. But still, you remembered clearly the way Danny's arms had wrapped around Lily to hold her up in her grief, a kindness he had not afforded to you when you needed it most. When you might have needed him most. And as you looked at him, watched him stand there before you on the other side of the desk, you hardly even recognized him.

Maybe he hardly recognized you too.

“I could have needed you, you know," you started before he had a chance to break the silence himself.

You breathed a light sound into the quiet, not moving to meet him but choosing to sit there in your rightful place as he faced you. "I could have needed the friend I once had.”

He didn't look far hurt enough by it. Actually, he looked certain. He looked certain that that wasn't what he had wanted.

“I don’t want to be your friend. It’s not enough. Not after what we had.”

You watched as he shook his head, fiddling with his hands nervously at the admission. He wasn't ashamed of it, no. Just afraid to tell you, knowing it would hurt you.

You knew he meant it. And you understood then why you had never been right for one another. But even still, reminiscence hurt, and you would mourn for the friend you had lost, there practically since birth to guide you through life.

“It was enough for you once,” you whispered as the memories of him as a small boy flooded your mind, memories of him with his then-frizzy curls wandering the gardens with you, playing and laughing, reading books under the covers in the sheath of night.

"We lose things so we can gain things," your mother had said. But she hadn't said we couldn't miss the things we had lost.

He was silent under your stoicism, saying nothing for a long moment before he finally changed the subject.

"We're leaving, Lily and I. If you'll allow it."

He met your eyes with thinly veiled emotion, trying to hide the pain he felt as he said it, even despite the fact that you could tell it was what he wanted.

But still, it would be dangerous for them to leave. You knew now that there were Antony's still out there, a single remaining son who had been visiting a smaller family in the countryside, preparing to buy out their product. You expected him to make a peace deal with you but there was no guarantee he wasn't plotting his revenge as you and Danny spoke. And you'd prepared for it many months ago, sure. But it was a risk nonetheless.

With them gone, you couldn't keep him safe, couldn't keep your sister safe. And you hated the idea that your decision would bring their swift end. Not that you had regretted that decision. But still, it was a consequence nonetheless.

"You should know that if you choose to leave, I cannot protect you. There are people out there who may come for you because of what I started. I will not be there to save you."

He only clenched and unclenched his teeth with a singular nod.

"I understand."

It would hurt you to see him leave. But maybe it was for the best. At least he could protect Lily. At least neither of them would be alone. At least he would no longer look at you with the sad wet dog look he had, looking small under your eyes knowing he didn't want to be around you any longer.

Maybe it would bring him peace.

"Then I will allow it."

He nodded as if to thank you and finally, his eyes turned upward and he looked a little less forlorn, standing there with almost a smile on his lips. Not quite, but almost.

"You'll be good here. I see it now. Your father would be proud. Your mother would be proud."

You didn't know if he was right. You weren't really convinced you'd done what your father would have done, after all. But you weren't your father. You no longer wanted to be your father. You weren't your mother either. You were a product of them, sure, but you weren't them. You made your own decisions, made your own mistakes, loved in a way that was entirely you, lost in a similar way, and at the end of it all, you were proud of yourself for doing what needed to be done.

"Are you happy?" he spoke again over the silence as you lost yourself in thought.

And with his question, you met his eyes again with certainty.

"Yes. I'm happy."

You were, immeasurably so. Even without the business, without the kingdom at your fingertips, you were the happiest you had ever been. You had your Jake, back there was nothing to be unhappy about.

There was nothing left to dwell on.

But Danny only nodded.

"Are you?" you asked back.

He was silent for a long moment, perhaps debating his answer. It seemed like a no if it wasn't an immediate yes. But you only watched a moment longer before a light smile finally found his lips.

"I'll find it."

It might have broken your heart.

"I'll find it."

As he turned to leave, you knew it was the last time you'd see him. And you hoped that he would find it, the happiness he deserved.

—

Jake had grown stronger with each passing day. The nightmares had almost stopped entirely, the bruises had faded, stitches had come out and his fingers had healed, allowing him to play guitar once more.

He was himself again, your Jake, seemingly more now than he ever had been, like a second chance at life had made him a little less serious and a little more handsy, unable and unwilling to deny himself any of the pleasures of life. Really, it warmed your soul to see him that way. The sight alone had pieced you back together.

"There you are," he chirped as you met him in your now shared bedroom, moving to ready yourself for a meeting with a much smaller family that wanted to sell out their farms.

"Sorry, I got…held up," you murmured, letting him catch you for a quick kiss as you headed to your vanity in search of particular diamond earrings that always made you feel powerful. Not that you didn't feel powerful now without them because you certainly did.

"Anything I need to know about?" he asked as he watched you flit about the room in search for them, smiling as he produced them easily having known where they were and handing them to you with an outstretched palm.

"Nothing important," you assured him as you took the jewelry from his hand absentmindedly, still thinking about the friend you had once had.

Danny had found his path forward. And as much as it had hurt you to see him go, it brought you peace thinking about him moving on, thinking about him being okay. Suddenly you weren't angry, you didn't feel guilty. You knew then that you couldn't have ever given him what he really wanted. You were never meant to be with him and though it hurt to lose him, it had brought you to Jake.

And Jake was where you really belonged.

Jake's smile widened, his eyes sparkling with that knowing that he always had, always seeing you a little deeper than you showed yourself. But he let the 'nothing' slide.

“I'm choosing to believe that," he smiled easily. "Now, can we talk about this security detail? Is that really necessary?”

You'd increased Jake's security detail, quite a bit at that, just until you felt certain there was no one after him. He hardly went a moment without security in the room with him, just as they were now, lining the walls like statues adorning the home. They were there from the moment he woke until the moment his head hit the pillow for a good night's rest. It was the only comfort you could find in the silence of enemy movements. Or lack thereof.

“Yes, it is," you answered with a sigh, finally letting yourself turn to him as the earrings found their place in your ears. "And if you argue with me about it, I'll increase it even more.”

You gave him a quick peck on the cheek as he answered you with a smirk and a, "Yes, ma'am," catching you by the wrist before you had a chance to step too far away from him and pulling you into an immediately heated kiss.

"Guess I'll just have to get creative," he mumbled against your lips as he reached both hands up into your hair to tilt your head back and slide his tongue into your mouth, which you accepted with a hum before you remembered your surroundings.

“Jake, we have company,” you huffed in a near breathless voice as you pulled back, eyes already hooded with lust for the man you happily called your husband.

“Dismiss them if they don’t want to watch, then. It'll be hard to look away from though," he smiled, utterly pleased with himself, as he usually was.

He was just as irresistible now as he was when you had met him, the tension never thinning, so much so that the housekeepers maintaining the home had taken to wearing earplugs. And Josh and Sam just suffered, apparently.

You dismissed the relieved guards with a flick of your wrist as Jake's lips dropped down to your neck, knowing you wouldn't put up a fight for long.

“J-Jake, are you forgetting we have somewhere to be?” you breathed as his hands busied themselves smoothing up your thighs under your dress and hooking into your panties to pull them down, all as his body backed yours up to your vanity where your hips met the wood with a thud.

“You can’t be late to your own meeting? he asked, his lips still working against the crook of your neck to elicit those sounds he loved so much, the ones you were desperately trying to stifle as you thought about how late you already were, how much later you were going to be. "What kind of job is this?”

“I have to set an example,” you answered breathlessly as he continued his attack.

And even though your words challenged him, your body didn't. Your body pressed into him with need, without shame. He was the man you wanted day and night. You couldn't be kept from him. You never could be.

You let him lift you onto the vanity, knowing he'd swiftly replace whatever objects were falling and breaking against the hard wood beneath you as he did so.

“I’m just a faithful subject trying to show you my devotion since I missed your swearing in,” he gave you another sweet smile as he halted his attack on your skin to look up at you as he sank down onto his knees.

"There was no sw-swearing in," you whispered with a gulp as you watched his sweet look turn mischievous.

"All the more reason then," he grinned before turning his lips to the inside of your knee, his hands holding the fronts of your ankles as he kissed along the skin of your leg.

“Mmm is that so?” you asked, letting your head fall back against the mirror and your eyes flutter closed as he kissed up and up and up the inside of your leg.

He only hummed against your skin as his lips worked their way up the inside of your thigh, just before he pulled back one last time.

“Now spread your legs for me, Mrs. Kiszka, so I can show you just how loyal I am to you.”

Taglist: @lvnterninthenight @gretasmokerising @jordierama @allthatyouneedisinyoursoul @myownparadise96 @samkooszka @gretavanfran @gretavanbitches @moralmorbid @seventieswhore @positivegvfthings @dig0930 @lauramarshmello @whitesuitjake @shesawomaninadream @starshine-wagner @jakeytkiszka @stardustchxrds @sweetybre @bxthxny01 @llightmyllovee @antipitiparty @gretavanslut @jakewhorecore @tearsofstardustchords @tearsofbri @jakevanfleet @stardust-jake @gabbie1000 @alyssawatson2003

#jake kiszka #josh kiszka #sam kiszka #danny wagner #greta van fleet #gretavanfleet #gvf #greta van fic #fic #greta van fleet fic #jake kiszka fic #josh kiszka fic #sam kiszka fic #danny wagner fic #jake kiszka smut #danny wagner smut #valence

65 notes · View notes

twoidiotwriters1 · 6 months

Text

Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Ara cannot stop thinking it's exhausting to write someone sedate her 😩-Danny Words: 2,519 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Dancing After Death' -by Matt Maeson

XXVI: Leo Survives the Vibe Check

After Lee died, Michael took his place as senior counselor. During the funerals, Lily and I stay with our friend, and a weakened Nico follows us around quietly. I decide to share my plan with them.

Lily shakes her head miserably. "Achilles passed and Heracles turned into a God, they can't help."

"I wasn't talking about them."

"You said a child of Olympus might be our solution," Mike frowns.

"Yeah, what if we make a new one?"

They stare at me like I've gone mad. "Ara, to be considered at all, you'd have to—"

"Be a jack of all trades," I nod. "And as sturdy as a radioactive roach."

"Sounds fun," Nico mumbles. He's half-asleep, and I'm not sure he's truly listening.

Lily gazes at my brother and her sister. "Percy has a prophecy to fulfill, and Annabeth—"

"I want to try it."

Silence. The kind that comes after someone says something so nuts you don't even process it. I continue before they can stomp all over my idea.

"You've trained me well, at a higher level than most demigods and I... I think I know from where Almighty comes from."

"I'm not getting it," Mike says.

"I've been dreaming about this," I explain. "The children of Olympus."

"Make amends with your past", Pan had said. I've been given an opportunity to succeed where others didn't. I don't understand why me, when so many skilled demigods could take the title, but Aphrodite's words come to mind: Love is at the core of everything... Even war.

Someone knocks on the trapdoor and pushes it open. Ara knows who it is just by the sound of the footsteps.

Annabeth enters the attic fully. "I don't understand why you like it here. You remember this is where we used to keep a mummy, right?"

"The mummy wasn't the creepiest thing in our collection," Ara points over her shoulder before returning to the laurel crown. "The horrors are endless."

Annabeth sits next to her, now both are staring at the gold crown. "That doesn't explain why you come here."

"I come here because it's packed with stuff some demigods considered meaningful—but now all those memories and people are gone. One day, someone will look at these laurels and they won't know anything about me, except that I once wore them."

"And that makes you feel... good?"

"It's not about feeling good," the girl looks back at her. "The prophecy of the seven... I'm not part of it. I'm trying to understand why."

Annabeth sighs and rubs her eyes. "I don't know, Ara. You look after the Olympians, you won't get a greater honor than that."

"And that stresses me out," she frowns. "You're telling me I reached my peak at fourteen? This is all I'll ever get?"

"Ara, I've known you since we were little girls," Annabeth raises a brow. "Your life right now is good, what's the problem with that? You got clues about Percy, you're keeping our home safe, and you got us a new guardian..."

"New guardian?"

"Yeah," Annabeth grins. "Pollo."

Ara chuckles. "You talked to Leo?"

"He's crazy, but nice," the older girl hums. "You two make sense as partners."

She clears her throat. "I... I'm not his partner, not really."

"We both know you won't resist the temptation to work in the Argo II," Annabeth teases her. "Soon enough you'll be all over Leo."

Ara blushes at her wording, she looks away and hugs her knees. "Dunno, he's pretty controlling about his creations..."

"He likes you, though," the girl says casually. "And he gets you, doesn't he? The part of you that always weirded us out."

Ara tries to see if Annabeth's insinuating something, but her voice sounds forthcoming, so the girl guesses Annabeth has no idea what she's doing to Ara with that sort of statement.

"I haven't called my mother," she comments, trying to change the subject. "To tell her I'm still alive."

"Did she know you left?"

Ara stares at her. "You didn't tell her?"

Annabeth shakes her head. "Two kids in life-threatening situations can't be good for her heart, didn't think it'd be a good idea."

"But... It's protocol."

"Only when it's a difficult quest," Annabeth's eyes with pride. "We knew you'd come back alive."

Ara's eyes get teary, but she tries to shrug it off. "Well, I'll call her tomorrow anyway. I miss her."

"You should visit during Christmas."

She clears her throat. "Yeah, maybe."

"Can't promise it'll be fun, but..."

"No yeah, I miss my dad too."

Annabeth places one hand on her shoulder. "Hey, since Rachel is also staying, we should do a girls' night like old times."

"Old times," Ara snorts. "We started doing those four months ago."

"That means we haven't had one in like three months," she smirks. "Is that a yes?"

Ara looks at Annabeth intently, she realizes the girl hasn't said anything about their prophecies. "You're not angry that I hid my prophecy from you all?"

Annabeth shrugs, but she looks tense. "I think you're allowed to hide stuff if you think that's the right move, and it wouldn't be the first time, right?" she stares back at her. "You wanna talk about it?"

Ara feels her mouth run dry. "No."

Annabeth gets up to leave. "Don't stay here for too long, it stinks of mummy."

"If I become a child of Olympus, I can stop others from destroying our home in the years to come."

"Ara, you're thirteen," Lily reminds me.

"So what? Heracles and Achilles weren't adults when they started," I pout.

She shakes her head. "Percy's prophecy is very clear—"

"And it bounds him to one purpose only," I'm knee-deep in the conversation, so I say exactly what's on my mind. "I could do more."

"Ara, I don't think—"

"I'm in."

"What?" Lily scowls at Mike. "Are you crazy?"

Michael keeps his gaze down. "Ara wanted a family and got one. She woke up one day, decided to start training, and broke a record. She said a sword would come to her, and Hephaestus gave her Almighty. She makes things happen."

"Yeah, she worked to get all of that," Lily rolls her eyes. "But a child of Olympus? There hasn't been one in centuries! Least of all a girl!"

"She'll change that." A leaf-green glow envelops Mike's body. As heartbroken as he is, he means business. "You'll be our child of Olympus, Ara. I swear it on the Styx."

Just like that, it's done. Mike sealed our fates, and now I've got no choice. Lily swears in Italian and falls back on her seat, staring at the funeral pyre as if we're the ones burning. Nico is fast asleep, he didn't hear anything from the last few minutes of our conversation.

"Mike..." I hug him and my voice cracks. "You're not supposed to be stupid!"

"I know," his voice sounds just like mine, and his arms wrap around me weakly. "Blame it on the grief..."

Lily throws her stygian dagger between our feet. "Idiots," she sulks. "Just when I think you don't have any tricks left to make me follow you on another wild goose chase..."

"Wouldn't be a good role model if I didn't make you slightly crazy," Michael shows a tiny smile.

Lily scoffs. "More like an annoying brother that wants to ridicule us..."

"I don't know what I did to deserve you," I cry.

"Bug," Mike's gaze softens and he cups my face. "You know damn well you don't deserve us."

I laugh and look at Lily, gathering up some confidence before I talk. "I brought Nico back. I'll work hard every day to earn your trust, even after I get the title."

I lift my right wrist, the scar in full view.She raises hers and touches mine, sealing the deal. She can't do anything but make sure I don't lose any limbs before time.

I see Janus out of the corner of my eye, but they vanish when I look their way.

Ara reads her to-do list during breakfast, muttering things to herself. When she's done eating, she gets up and goes back to the Big House. Halfway there someone calls after her.

It's the second time Leo approaches her unprompted, which is not strange but feels weird. Or maybe she's just tense around him out of habit. "Nyssa and Jake told me you're not coming to the bunker today, why is that?"

She tilts her head in confusion. "You need my help with something?"

"No, I just want you near me at all times," he replies sarcastically. "Of course I need you! How am I supposed to supervise fifty people all by myself?"

"Annabeth's taking her siblings to the bunker, you can explain everything to them," Ara shrugs. "They don't need you to tell them what to do all the time, it'll be okay."

"You're Cabin Nine's right-hand lady, I'm summoning my right-hand lady to the bunker before I make a fool of myself in front of the Einstein cabin."

She snorts. "Why do I feel like you're just trying to annoy me?"

"Honestly, I'm trying to tell you that I'm nervous and I need moral support," he clasps his hands together. "Would flattery seal the deal? What if I slip in a pet name? Mamacita or—"

Ara turns around knowing Leo will follow her. "I am not your mother, so don't ever call me that. Also, it was wrong of you to eavesdrop, but still... thank you for not asking about my prophecy the other day."

Leo shrugs, catching up to her as they walk to the Big House. "I don't really get prophecies, but yours sounded tough, so if you don't want to talk about it..."

"Maybe one day," she replies. "Anyway, you've got stuff to do. Which reminds me," she waves at the girl waiting for them on the porch. "It's time for introductions."

Leo has seen Lily Saggio once or twice around camp but never paid attention to her until now. "Leo Valdez," Ara says as soon as they're close enough. "This is my best friend and second in command, Lily Saggio."

"Hi," he waves briefly. "You look much scarier from up close."

"Did you talk to Annabeth?" Ara asks the girl.

"Yeah, she said I should come find you," she gives Leo a nod to let him know she's not ignoring him, but she's clearly got more important things to attend right now.

Leo can't help but notice all of Ara's close friendships are serious or grumpy, maybe that's the reason she's in such a bad mood all the time.

"I'll be back in a minute, gotta give my mother a call," Ara excuses herself from the conversation and rushes into the Big House, leaving Leo alone with the dark-haired girl.

"So," he smiles. "Athena, right?"

"Hephaestus," Lily sizes him up. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure! Unless is my haircare routine, that one's—"

"Ara has a soft spot for your cabin," Lily interrupts him. "She can't say no to you, but I'm here to say it for her," she steps forward. "So be mindful of what you ask her."

Leo's not entirely sure she's talking about the Argo II, but he tries to act chill. "Ara trusts you, so I'll do the same. What about you?"

Lily raises a brow. "As long as you do your job, I don't have a reason not to... but I'll keep an eye on you."

"You don't have to worry about me, I'm a workaholic. I work so hard I forget to eat. And sleep. I love my job!"

Lily frowns. "I hope that's a joke."

"Only in the ways that matter."

Ara comes back out after a minute and Leo can finally breathe again. When they get to the bunker, Leo realizes he's been so anxious he hasn't spoken since they left the Big House.

Pretty girls have always made him nervous, but right now he's straight-up pressed. Saggio gives off strict parent vibes, and he doesn't want to mess things up with Ara now that they're friends.

Annabeth is at the bunker's entrance with her brother Malcolm, Ara introduces the boy to Leo and Leo gives him a formal greeting, there's a buzzing in his ear like something's out of place in his inner mechanisms, it's filling his mind with thick smoke.

Ara takes them to the Argo II's blueprint. "That's what we'll be working on."

Malcolm stares at it with wide eyes. "That's huge!"

"And ancient," Annabeth studies it carefully. "This came to you when you were little, Leo?"

"Hmm?" He gives a start. "Oh, yeah! When Tía Callida babysat me she made sure to ingrain it into my brain, along with the nightmares."

"He means Hera," Ara clarifies.

Annabeth looks at Leo and tries to smile. "Well, you fixed Festus. I trust you can build this. Malcolm and Lily are here to help you, so whatever you need, feel free to ask them."

"Thanks! But if I get stuck I can just ask Ara, right?" Annabeth, Malcolm, and Lily laugh, which is crazy because he isn't trying to be funny.

Ara blushes and changes the subject. "I've got a chariot to fix, so..." she gestures at Lily to follow her out. "Malcolm, you stay with Leo. If you need anything, send Harley."

"Have you contacted Nico yet?" Annabeth asks. "He asked us to let him know when you returned."

Leo listens intently, trying to figure out Nico's role just by examining Ara's face. All he knows is that the boy lent her his jacket so she could stay warm during the quest. He's also the son of Hades, which is... challenging. Leo can't fight for Ara's heart with a guy who's the prince of the underworld!

"I'll call him later," Ara wrinkles her nose and waves a hand dismissively. "And I'll come tomorrow before I leave for..." The girl notices Leo's staring and frowns. "What?"

"Huh? Oh! I was..." he points to the old blueprint, then pauses. "Hang on, before you what?"

"Before I leave," Ara looks slightly uncomfortable. "I'm going home for the holidays."

"Not for long, right?" He asks anxiously.

"I'll come back after a few days," she says, not meeting his eyes.

"Oh."

Wow, he's killing it today with the witty talk. Way to go, Leo. Malcolm stands beside him and watches the girls leave, the blond boy crosses his arms and glances at Leo. "You nervous?"

"Pfft. Why would I be? I'm the man," he says, desperate to sound normal.

Malcolm smirks. "Well, Ara's a crazy scientist, and my sisters can be bossy—"

"Wait, are we talking about the same Ara here?" Leo raises a brow.

"'Course, man. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you haven't paid enough attention. Lily and Ara are chronic overachievers," Malcolm walks away without explaining further.

"What does that—hey! Malcom, wait up! What does that mean?"

Leo tries to follow him, but Nyssa gets in his way.

"Alright, Counselor, stand still a minute!" She grabs him by the shoulders and places him on the platform where Festus's head is.

Leo spots Jake in front of them, holding a professional camera. "What the—"

"It's for the record," his sister explains. "Chiron hangs 'em in his office, and we'll hang one in our cabin's wall. This project should be remembered by the generations to come."

Leo's cheeks burn. "And you want me to be in the picture?"

"Well, you're the guy with the vision," Nyssa pats his back roughly. "But we'll take one with the whole crew once the Argo II's done, don't worry."

Leo's mind goes to Ara, the idea of having a picture where both of them appear side by side makes him stupidly happy. He needs to calm the heck down.

"Okay, make sure to capture my good side!" He muses.

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @ash-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris

#twoidiots writing #pjo fanfic #pjo hoo toa #pjo fandom #percy jackson and the olympians #leo valdez x oc #leo valdez fanfic #doo

10 notes · View notes

evita-shelby · 7 months

Note

Hello you two! (Evvie and July 😅❤️)

Ok. I was thinking while writing the reblog and an idea crossed my mind. Three words: "cemetery at midnight" people: Luca, Eva and Tommy 👀. Choose the ship, if there's a ship, or just let Eva do the magic 😌❤️.

No pressure!! And thanks in advance!!

No one even looked at the corpse

Some Tommy x Eva, Eva x Luca and Polly x Luca

The witch smiles shyly when Luca placed his coat over her shoulders and is as interested in him as he is with her.

They’d make a handsome couple with him being tall enough for her wear heels without causing ridicule.

Sure the stupid mustache makes Luca look a little queer, but Eva doesn’t seem to care.

“If you like her, you should talk to her.” Polly whispers as they pretend to listen to the priests eulogy.

He’s at Danny Owen’s real funeral and he can’t even be bothered to pay attention for the man who died for him.

No, Tommy’s to busy pretending it doesn’t hurt him to watch another man woo the witch who won’t leave his mind since he saw her.

Last night he’d dreamt of her again. Instead of letting her kiss him on the cheek and keep things proper. He had taken her face in his hands and kissed like he has been dying to since that day in the rain.

“I will, on my own time.” He reminds Polly to mind her business. After the mess with Grace he wanted to take things slow, something Eva seemed to want as she kept him at bay.

“Hurry up, then. Luca had me in his bed before my husband’s body was cold, something about him gets young ladies forgetting the word no.” his aunt says and he sighed at her lack of boundaries. “Might be the eyes or those pianist hands of his.”

“Elizabeth Pollyanna Gray, there are children present,” Tommy chided her, shocked she’d say that so close to Finn and John’s horde of brats near them.

When he dreams that night, he dreams Luca fucking Eva in that same cemetery at midnight.

The next morning, Tommy goes to call on his witch for an important matter: her plans for Friday night.

A/n i imagine 1920 Luca had the look he has in Grand Budapest Hotel

Looks like this:

#tommy shelby x oc #eva smith shelby #luca changretta x eva smith #polly gray x luca changretta #3va's party

12 notes · View notes

avaritia-apotheosis · 9 months

Text

Phantom Children: Redux | I. In Lieu of Flowers

Starting off my crossposting journey with PC:R <3

There is no Clockwork there to rewind time after the Nasty Burger explosion. Danny Fenton, having witnessed his friends and family die a fiery death, struggles to cope with his loss and the looming future that awaits him. So when an unlikely source offers a hand to help, he takes it. Three years later, Batman is called upon to help solve a string of impossible murders in Gotham that end up entangling him to the mysteries of Amity Park. -- A Rewrite of Phantom Children ft. A shiny new plot, longer chapters, and stronger prose!

A DPxDC crossover // Read on [AO3} or [FFN.net]

MASTERPOST // Next Chapter →

Three Years Ago…

Danny Fenton was fourteen when his world ended for the third time.

And no, this wasn’t the product of teenage melodrama. Rather it’s the result of the universe’s spirited efforts in making Danny’s life a veritable punching bag for any deity to come over and fuck it up .

He certainly didn’t ask to half-die not once, but twice , and be responsible for this godforsaken town. That’s a thing heroes do. Or sidekicks that train under heroes. Not some dumb kid barely halfway through his first semester of high school and who was incapable of keeping his grades higher than a C .

But, well, this was what he got for playing hero, right? Dead parents, dead sister, and dead friends, all because he was too goddamn slow .

(The prerequisite to every hero: a tragic backstory. Guess it was finally his turn.)

The weather went from a light mist to a drizzle, raindrops falling in uneven staccato on the cluster of black umbrellas. He could barely hear the ceremony— not that he was able to pay much attention anyway. Danny tried to. He did. But his mind was a blue screen— had been for the past few weeks—and the preacher’s words were just going in one ear and out the other in loud static.

His fingers curled around the velvet pouch in his pocket, grounding himself. He’d dug it out from its lockbox in the depths of his closet for this exact reason.

In front of Danny was a single plot reserved for the Fenton family, the grass undisturbed except for the muddy dirt and drooping flowers around the erected marble obelisk that stood atop the plot. (Undisturbed because there wasn’t any need to dig up the ground for a coffin. You’d need bodies for that, and there were hardly any left after—) At the obelisk’s base was a bronze placard engraved with the names of three of the people who once comprised Danny's whole world, and an epitaph: Gone but Never Forgotten.

Vlad must have chosen it. The obelisk was his decision too; excessive and grand because he would provide nothing less for his greatest enemy, his greatest love, and their wonderful, genius, perfect daughter.

Danny looked away from the monument, his hair a damp curtain that shadowed his eyes. No mom left to brush it out of the way. No dad to ruffle it into something even messier. There’s a— a pressure at the back of his throat that nauseated him to the point of discomfort but not enough to actually vomit in the nearest shrubbery. He rubbed his scratchy throat with his free hand, letting it rest by his clavicle. Right above where his heart was being mercilessly squeezed by his own guilty conscience.

He should have been the one to plan his family’s funeral. The one to write their obituary. The one to choose the headstone. The flowers. The date. Everything. It was his responsibility. His duty to make all these decisions as the—

Danny bit the inside of his lip.

He should have been more responsible. Should have been— oh he didn't know— there when all the decisions were made instead of holing up in a corner of the Zone and letting Vlad take care of it all. God, what kind of son was he to have the audacity to get his family killed and foist off arranging the funeral to the guy who wanted to kill his dad .

But maybe that was better. Leaving the decision-making to someone else, that is. God knows that Danny makes all the wrong choices.

(If only he was faster he was stronger he saved his family before going after his evil future selfhe gave back the test answers sooner that boiler never overheated.)

The hand on his shoulder nearly made Danny jump out of his skin.

He shifted his umbrella to see his aunt Alicia looking down at him, concern and pity softening her usually stoic features. Vlad flew her in from Spittoon. When? Danny didn’t know, though somewhere in his foggy memories he might have recalled Vlad asking how to reach Danny’s relatives. It was only aunt Alicia who came in the end, though. His mom and aunt Alicia never liked to talk about their parents, and his dad was an only child who was far too estranged from his own.

“Ceremony’s over, kid. You okay?”

He’d scoff, but he didn’t want to tempt his nausea.

“I’ll live.” He winced, the words bitter on his tongue. “I’m fine, I mean.”

Aunt Alicia pressed her lips into a thin, flat line. “The rain’s getting a little worse. Do you want to head back home?”

Home? Where even was that anymore?

“I think I wanna stay out here for now.”

“Do you want me to stay with you?”

“No— I just…I want to be alone, I think.”

She sighed, giving a comforting squeeze to his shoulder before dropping her hand. “Alright. I’ll just be waiting for you in the car then.”

Danny nodded absentmindedly, gaze trained on the drooping white lilies by the placard. At the corner of his eye, he saw Vlad approach aunt Alicia, somber-faced but calculating as they headed to the car.

The future he tried to escape was already playing out. Pieces slotting into place like some jigsaw puzzle of doom.

In his quiet moments, holed up in the corner of his parents’ room, he’d ponder the what-ifs. The should-have, could-have, would-have-beens. He’d think of the future in all its terrible glory and wonder where else it could have all gone wrong. The trigger was—surprise, surprise— Vlad. Or, living with him, that is. If he wanted to put an ounce of trust in that sob story future-Vlad spun, then it was Danny’s own grief coupled with Vlad’s invention that sent the world spinning into its destruction.

(Future-Vlad might have helped him. Might have turned over a new leaf. But there was an entire decade that separated Future-Vlad from the present- Vlad. And Danny would rather cut off his own arm than trust present-Vlad with anything related to Danny’s well-being.)

Danny knew jack shit about the adoption process, but he was 80% sure most social workers would place Danny with his aunt as opposed to his parents’ old college buddy that they recently connected with. That Danny ended up living with Vlad meant that either Aunt Alicia didn’t pass whatever assessment the state required, or Vlad used his influence to tip the scales in his favor. Probably both.

So the law would never let him live with anyone but Vlad— the fruit loop would make sure of that. Danny’s only option left was to run away, then.

Hm. How long could one half-dead fourteen-year-old realistically outrun a half-dead crazy billionaire with enough connections in both the human world and the Ghost Zone?

Survey says—

Fuck .

“Our condolences, Daniel.”

Danny startled. Who the—

He tilted his head the other way, shifting his focus to the woman who just appeared next to him. Sure Danny found his own attention slipping into darker places more often than not these days, but he should have noticed if someone came near him.

No, wait. Aunt Alicia managed to sneak up on him earlier. Maybe Danny really was just out of it.

“The doctors Fenton did brilliant work, and your sister had such a bright future ahead of her. Their loss will be felt.”

“Thank you,” Danny answered. The words are still ash on his tongue but he didn’t stumble over them anymore. “I…appreciate your support.”

The woman was tall, with a wiry physique and cool tawny skin. She had an oval face, a straight nose, and sharp features, though much of it was slightly obscured by her hat, the black netting ending just past her nose. Her hands were tucked into the pockets of her long black coat.

The man—and Danny knew he’d seen him somewhere before, it was on the tip of his tongue—shared in the similar sharp characteristics, but his coloring was a lot lighter. He had long white hair that extended past his shoulders and a long horseshoe mustache that should have looked stupid, but somehow he managed to make it work. He held a single umbrella for both himself and the woman.

His mind clicked. Recognition alight on his face.

“Mr. Dusan?”

Dusan smiled. “I am pleased that you still remember me, Daniel.”

Mr. Dusan, if Danny remembered correctly, was his parents’ liaison with their benefactor. The CEO of some sort of big research company whose name Danny never really bothered to pay attention to. They had been funding his parents’ research since their university days, and it was because of them that the Fentons managed to get their hands on enough samples of ectoplasm to experiment and research on. Mr. Dusan would be sent every once in a while to observe his parents’ studies, much to the Fenton family’s stress and delight. His visits would be preceded with days of cleaning the house from top to bottom and Danny’s parents frantically getting their stuff organized. But a good visit from Mr. Dusan always ended with the family going out for a nice dinner the day after.

It was one of Danny’s favorite times, really.

“Just Danny, please.”

“Danny, then,” Dusan said. “May I introduce you to my sister, Talia al Ghul?”

Sister? Danny raised his hand for a handshake, deciding not to comment on the age difference. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m, uh, sorry it’s not during better circumstances.”

Talia shook his hand with a closed-lipped, but somber smile. “Our employer—your parents’ benefactor—actually sent us to give his condolences, and to extend a helping hand if you should ever need it.”

“What?”

“Your parents were pioneers, Danny. Their research changed the face of the world as we know it despite how much they were ridiculed for it. It would be remiss of their benefactor to simply leave their legacy, their only son, alone to the wolves.” Her voice was smooth and honey-sweet, and Danny felt compelled to listen. “If you need anything, anything at all, feel free to reach out to us.”

She handed him a business card. It was crisp, made from thick card stock. Blank except for a single number in the middle.

Danny turned it over in his hand. “Anything?”

“Anything.”

He tucked it into his pocket. “Thank you for your offer. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“We will be in town for the next few days,” Dusan said. “We hope to hear from you soon.”

◆◆◆

Later, aunt Alicia asked if Danny would rather stay with her at the hotel. She’d ask this every time they parted ways, and each time Danny would say no, thank you.

She didn’t push too much. Knew, probably, that it was only a matter of time that Danny would have to leave his house to live…wherever it was his social worker decided to stick him in.

Danny appreciated her concern— even if he would rather do without it.

He slipped off his black suit jacket, throwing it over the back of the couch as he walked past the living room. His mom would throw a fit at that. He scrambled down to the lab, taking the steps two at a time, hands wrenching the tie from around his neck—and god fuck why did his skin feel so hot. The tie ended up somewhere on the steps, the velvet bag safely stowed away in a drawer full of blueprints. He kicked off his stupid dress shoes. A safety hazard, his dad would say. The lab floor needed to be clear at all times to prevent an accident.

Too fucking late for that.

White rings passed through him with blinding fury as Danny burst through the portal between dimensions and into the silence of the Ghost Zone.

He floated. Aimless.

And breathed.

◆◆◆

Danny picked a direction. Eenie-meenie-minie-moe . It’s no use trying to logic out directions in the Ghost Zone. Not when the islands thought of physics as nothing more than a joke. He set off north-north-west of the portal and tried his luck there.

Tucker and Sam would call him stupid. There were probably a billion-and-one better ways to find Clockwork’s stupid tower than this.

Jazz would say he’s still stuck on the bargaining stage—

Jazz can’t say anything anymore.

None of them can.

◆◆◆

Jessica Andrews, his social worker, took him out to a quiet cafe to talk. She was a tall woman with a stocky frame, brown skin, and a soft rounded face. Her nails were painted a light green; it was to match her plants, she’d say. Once, she’d told him about how her husband would complain about all the plants she bought because he couldn’t figure out where the jungle stopped and the house began.

The cafe was far enough away from most schools and built below some bible store, its facade made from faded red brick with a charcoal gray awning. A few circular tables and chairs were laid out front, though they sat empty. The weather had been everything but gloomy for the past few days.

Jessica clasped her hands over the table, green nails tap-tap-tapping against her knuckles. “How have you been holding up, Danny?”

They’re seated by the giant window, though there wasn’t much to look at on the other side. Just the road and more old buildings on the other side.

“‘M fine.”

“That’s wonderful.” She could tell that he was lying; he’d bet on it. “How has your sleep been?”

Danny pointedly drank his coffee— brewed as dark as he could with as many espresso shots he could manage to order without the barista giving him a strange look. “Fine.”

She raised an eyebrow. “The black holes under your eyes beg to differ.”

“I’d rather skip all this small talk if that’s ok.”

“Alright, if that’s what you want.” She brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. “I promised you early on that I’d keep you informed of how the courts are handling your case.”

He huffed, sinking into his chair. He already knew the outcome. “They decide where to stick me yet?”

“They’re still doing their due diligence and contacting as many of your adult relatives as possible in order to find a suitable guardian.”

“I’m sensing some sort of catch here.”

“The people looking over your case have considered your request to be placed with your aunt Alicia.”

“They said no.”

“They had some…concerns,” she said. “Your aunt’s residence is very isolated, which might prevent you from getting the proper help you need. There were also some concerns about how you would handle a sudden dramatic shift in lifestyles, what with being moved away from your school, your community, your peers, into someplace extremely unfamiliar.”

Danny leveled a look at her. “There’s something else, too, isn’t there.”

Jessica gave him a look of pity. “Your aunt also expressed some…hesitancy in taking you in when we talked with her.”

His breath caught. Teeth gnawed at the inside of his lip. Fuck. He rubbed the back of his neck, slowly inching it up to tug at the back of his hair, the other hand curling into a fist beneath the table. Fuck—

He knew he knew this would happen but he still—

—Can’t believe that he held onto that—

—What was he thinking?

“Danny?”

Fingernails dug crescents into the inside of his palm. He takes a deep breath. “Yeah, no, I’m fine. Don’t— I’m fine. It’s fine.”

He shivered.

Dan’s laughter echoed from the back of his skull, mocking him. It’s inevitable, Dan crowed. I am inevitable. You can’t stop the future any more than you could stop the sun from rising.

◆◆◆

Clockwork’s tower was nowhere to be found. Danny didn’t know why he kept on searching. Sheer stubbornness, maybe. Some foolish hope beyond all hope that if he begged hard enough, Clockwork would be willing to do him a favor and rewind time back to when everything made sense.

Sometimes Danny doesn’t even go to the Ghost Zone to find him.

Sometimes he’ll just find some patch of the Zone with enough floating rocks and scream. Scream until his voice is hoarse and he could no longer sustain his ghost form. Until the rocks are nothing but pebbles floating in the green void. Until all that’s left is the freezing cold inside of him.

The ghosts had been staying away from Amity Park.

Good.

He didn’t know what he would do if any of them showed up now.

Danny woke up with his skin freezing-on-fire-cold-too-cold-he-can’t-stop-sweating. He didn’t remember calling anyone, but he must have, considering that someone showed up in his room with a bowl of chicken soup and a glass of Gatorade.

He should’ve been more alarmed at this— there was a stranger in his house. But right now his head was begging to be smashed in with a hammer and he’s just glad that he was not alone.

“Do you think you could sit up and eat, Danny?” The figure sat down at the edge of his bed, one hand on top of the blanket cocoon he made for himself. A woman. An accent that was definitely not American. British, maybe? Either way, not aunt Alicia.

His stomach rumbled. At least this time it didn’t feel like throwing up everything. Danny pushed himself up with aching slowness, leaning back against the headboard. Bleariness blinked away from his eyes, he saw his caretaker’s features more clearly. It was—it started with a T. Tania? Tasnia? No, Talia was the name. Mr. Dusan’s sister.

“Ms. al Ghul? What are you doing here?”

“You don’t remember?” She sets the bowl down on his bedside table, in easy reach, and hands him the glass. “You called the number Dusan and I gave to you sounding delirious. We were worried but Dusan had some pressing business to attend to, so I came on my own.”

“Oh.” The drink was heaven to his parched throat. “How did you get inside?”

Her eyes—a unique shade of green—sparkled with mirth. “I have my ways.”

“Oh-kay .” He rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. “Thank you. For coming all this way, I mean. You really shouldn’t have to come and take care of some kid you just met.”

“Nonsense, Danny. I could hardly leave you alone in such conditions, it would be against my instincts as a mother.”

“You have kids?”

“I have one,” she said, then paused as if contemplating something. “No, I had two.”

Danny bit the inside of his cheek, thumb wiping away the condensation on the surface of his now empty glass. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Talia let out a sad sort of chuckle. “Thank you, though it’s not needed. He’s— my eldest son—isn’t dead. Certain circumstances forced me into the position to give him up for adoption. He’s alive and well, hopefully, though he probably doesn’t know that I exist.”

Oh. Danny didn’t know what to say to that.

“You didn’t try to get into contact with him?”

“What would be the point? He has his own parents now, a life free of complications. The best I could hope for was that he kept the memento I gave him.”

“A memento?”

“A necklace.”

Danny stilled.

It was stupid. Foolish even, to think about it. There are like over seven billion people in the world.

“What kind of necklace, if you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

Talia smiled, eyes glazed as if in memory. “It was a present from his father. A beautiful work of art, it was. It was a sapphire necklace— with two rows of sapphires, to be exact, cut in perfect circles and polished to a shine.”

The velvet bag Danny had tucked beneath his pillow burned at the back of Danny’s mind. It can’t be. That was too much of a coincidence.

“Each sapphire was surrounded by gold, though there were small diamonds that surrounded the larger sapphires.”

Oh god, oh god. What was his life?

“Though beautiful, my favorite part of it had to be what was within the middle sapphire. It was possible to open it, you see. And engraved inside were the words—”

“‘ For the greatest happiness you have given me.’”

Talia looked at him, green eyes wide. “How did you know?”

Danny found himself unable to look at her. Gingerly, he set his glass bedside table, next to his cooling bowl of chicken soup, and retrieved the velvet pouch beneath his pillow. He held the bag to her, almost reluctantly, but relinquished it once it was in her grip.

Talia opened the bag and drew out a necklace. Two rows of sapphires inlaid in gold, with the largest ones surrounded by tiny diamonds. It was beautiful, though perhaps it no longer shone as it once did.

She beheld it in silence, fingers tracing the exquisite craftsmanship as if, at first, in disbelief, then in reverence. She stopped at the large sapphire on the bottom row.

After a moment, she opened it.

“My parents told me I was adopted when I was six,” Danny said, unable to take the silence any longer. He tangled his fingers together, clasping and unclasping them. “They gave me that necklace— said it was from my birth mother. They never knew who she was, and the orphanage they got me from had no information either.”

Tucker and Sam once asked him if he ever wanted to know who his birth mother was. Danny wasn’t sure what he wanted, really. Sometimes he wondered about it, but he was content with not knowing for the most part. His parents were his parents, blood relation or no, and he looked similar enough to Jack Fenton in coloring that most people didn’t question why his skin wasn’t as light as theirs, or why his features were a lot sharper than theirs.

(Tucker and Sam never knew about the necklace. It was hard to explain why he never told them considering he’d tell them just about anything else— but it was different. It was…something just for him. A cold comfort in knowing that, at one point, he was someone’s ‘greatest happiness.’)

He coughed into his elbow, a shiver racking his spine.

Warm arms enveloped him into a hug.

“ It’s you, ” Talia whispered. “ It’s you.”

Something inside Danny seemed to click back into place. His core thrummed gently, humming a litany of feelings and words he couldn’t translate. Some are apprehensive. Others are confused. But most of all it felt…happy.

Warm.

◆◆◆

“You know that I’m adopted, right?” Danny said to Mrs. Andrews when they met up again. It was a park this time; she was really adamant about getting him out of his house.

“I am aware, yes.”

“When you mentioned that all my relatives would be identified and informed… does my biological mother count too?”

Mrs. Andrews exhaled between her teeth. “I know what you’re asking about, but I’m afraid it isn’t an option. In adoption cases like yours, the biological parents usually relinquish all parental rights over the child. Even if we did find your biological mother, the court would never let her have custody over you again.”

He shivered, pulling his jacket closer around him, and wondered why he still put so much faith in the legal system.

◆◆◆

It was only a matter of time before Vlad came to visit him once again.

“What do you want, Vlad .”

The black bags beneath Vlad’s eyes were the only thing unkempt about his otherwise neat appearance. Mourning or not, his smile still made Danny’s fist itch to punch it. “Why, little badger, can I not see how the son of my oldest friends is doing?”

“I’m not living with you, you fruit loop.”

Vlad rolled his eyes. “Really, Daniel, this disinclination of yours is getting tiring. Just accept it and the moving process will be much, much easier.”

Danny glared at him, green eyes livid. His teeth bared and gnashing. “I’d rather die than live with you.”

“Well, you’re already halfway there. Need help finishing the job?”

He swung his fist at him, but Vlad caught it with ease. “Get out of my house!”

“There’s no use in being difficult, now. You know as well as I do that the courts will inevitably choose me .”

( Inevitable, Dan had said. Inevitable inevitable inevitable.)

“Shut up.” Danny seethed. “Shut up, shut up, shut up!”

As he tore his hand away from Vlad’s grip, a spark of power burst in between them in a blinding white light and bitter cold. Vlad threw up a shield, but Danny was too caught off guard. He was blasted back, knees hitting the armrest on the couch and nearly making him stumble. When the light cleared, Danny could see swathes of crystalline ice and frost embedded in the middle of the living room.

Frost had crept up Vlad’s shield, coating it in a thin wall of ice which broke the second Vlad released the barrier. Vlad looked down at the ice, face flashing between surprise, confusion, awe, before settling into a patronizing smile.

“Do you see now?” Vlad said, gesturing to the ice. “This is why I’m the only one suitable to be your guardian. I am the only one that can understand you. That knows your needs as a young half-ghost. That can guide you and teach you.”

A bitter cold shook Danny’s body to the core, frost seeping into his bones and the bite of winter in his lungs. A thin layer of frost coated his palms and fingertips. His face is flushed. He feels hot but the shivers won’t stop.

Vlad approached, arms opened wide like he’s approaching some scared animal. Like a little badger.

Danny hissed at him, scrambling to his feet to place the couch between them.

“Come on, Daniel, just let me take care of you.”

“Go to hell, Vlad!”

“Tch.” Vlad dropped his hands, fingers dragging through his hair in exasperation. “Fine. You know what, fine. Have it your way. Perhaps some time experiencing the mania will help you understand my meaning.” He went to the door with a frustrating degree of calm. His suit cleanly pressed, not a strand misplaced in his hair, a total contrast to Danny who felt seconds away from collapsing on the floor.

“Do try to keep a hold of yourself, though,” Vlad said over his shoulder. “Your parents might be dead, but they are hardly the only ghost hunters around.”

He slammed the door shut.

Danny sank to his knees, arms wrapped around himself as he vigorously tried to rub his skin warm. What was wrong with him?

Was his sickness a few days ago related to this? He thought he just caught some sort of bug, or, or it was the stress of it all affecting his body, but the ice—

This wasn’t a normal sickness.

Vlad called it a mania. What did that mean?

He shook his head, arm reaching for the back of the couch and hauling himself up. Figuring out Vlad’s words wasn’t his biggest concern; right now, Danny needed a way to get rid of this ice. Talia and Mr. Dusan were coming over soon to go over his parents’ research, he needed to—

They can’t figure out that he’s—

Danny stumbled down to the lab, frantically looking for any of his parents’ inventions that could help get rid of the ice.

No. No. Not that. Not that either.

His arm suddenly went intangible, slipping through the lab bench. The sudden momentum made him lose balance and he hit his head on the side of the bench. He staggered upright, rubbing his pounding head. What was wrong with his powers? They hadn’t been this out of whack since he’d first gotten them in the accident.

A violent shiver ran through him, his breath coming out in a cold mist. Frost had begun to creep outwards from the soles of his shoes.

Danny stepped back. The frost followed.

His eyes darted around the room, mind racing for a solution. His frenzied gaze landed on the ghost portal, the entrance sealed shut by the heavy metal doors. Tucker once said that he noticed that Danny seemed to recover energy faster when he was in the Ghost Zone. They’d tested it at one point by letting the Box Ghost loose on the town and seeing how much energy Danny could recover if he rested in the material world versus the Ghost Zone.

It was still a working theory. Tucker and Sam wanted to test it out some more later.

They never got a chance.

It was a long shot but it was better than nothing.

He ran to the front of the portal where the genetic locking mechanism lay. But as Danny went to push the button, ice sparked from his fingers, freezing the lock solid.

“What? No!” He slammed his fist onto the ice but the ice wouldn’t break. “Nononono, this can’t be happening right now.”

He shivered, eyes holding a manic glint as he looked at the portal. “I’m going ghost!” Bright rings of light enveloped him, and suddenly it became impossibly colder.

Floating in the air, Danny curled in on himself, teeth chattering as he tried to regain his composure. He flew to the portal, willing himself intangible as he tried to go through the doors, but slammed into cold metal instead. Either whatever materials his parents made the door out of completely negated his intangibility or his powers were in really bad shape.

He got up, hands pressed against the portal doors. He willed himself intangible once more, but instead of his arms passing through the doors, a thick sheet of ice sprouted from his hands and started crawling up the portal. “No!”

Danny tore his hands away from the door but the ice kept growing and growing and growing. Stretched across the doors until it covered the entire entrance to the portal. Its jagged ends stopped past the octagonal metal frame and clung to the walls.

Oh god, This can’t get any worse.

“Danny?”

And then it did.

He took a deep breath. Like a deer in headlights, he turned around to see Talia and Mr. Dusan at the foot of the basement stairs. Talia was in front, a hand braced against the wall, one foot on the floor and one still on the step. Dusan, ever the statuesque figure, was right behind, hands still clasped behind his back. Their eyes were, mouth slightly agape at the sight of him.

It was then that Danny registered what Talia said.

The words tumbled out of him, “You recognized me?”

He clamped his mouth shut. Idiot.

Talia took her hand off the wall and stepped completely into the lab. “Of course, I would. You’re my son.”

The words sent a brief spark of warmth through his core. Not even his own parents recognized him when he was Phantom.

“I wasn’t aware that you were a meta, Danny.” She gracefully stepped around the patches of ice on the ground. “How long has this been going on?”

“Um, uh. A few months.” At this point, there really was no point in lying. “Since the start of the semester.”

“A lab accident, I presume.”

“Yeah….uh, how did you know?”

The corners of her mouth quirked up. “No one on my side of the family has the meta gene, and while your father is quite impressive, I’m very certain he does not have it either. An accident of some sort would be the only other option.”

He felt himself start to relax, muscles starting to relax at the sound of Talia’s calm voice. The shivers were still present, but somehow they were a little more bearable.

“Now why don’t you explain to us what happened?”

“I don’t—” Danny swallowed a lump in his throat. “I don’t even know what’s going on, much less where to begin. All I know is that I’ve been feeling out of sorts for the past few weeks. I thought I was just sick but apparently, it’s way more than that, and I don’t know what to do, I barely even know what I am, much less what’s wrong with me and that fever must have done something because ever since then my powers have been on the fritz and there’s this stupid ice that won’t melt and I can’t keep it under control and if I can’t keep my powers under control how am I supposed to hide the fact that I’m a fucking ghost —”

“Slow down, slow down. You’re starting to panic. Now, I need you to take a few deep breaths for me,” she said, now a few feet away from Danny. “In for four…hold for seven…yes that’s it, you’re doing well…and out for eight.”

Calm began to seep back into Danny with each breath, his mind no longer racing a million miles an hour. “Thank you— thanks, I, um, I feel much better now.”

“That’s good. Now, what was that about ghosts?”

“Uh, that I am one? Sort of? It’s complicated.”

“I guess we can get the full story later. Does anyone else know about this?”

“No, no one.” He paused, then grimaced. “Well, there’s one other person. He’s sort of like me and, before you ask, I can’t tell you who he is. The only other people who knew about me are the other ghosts and…Sam and Tucker.”

“Not your parents?” Dusan, who had been a silent observer till now, stepped closer.

Danny shook his head. “No, I— I never got the chance to tell them. At first, I wanted to keep it a secret because I didn’t want them to know about the accident, but afterward, it just became harder and harder, what with their research and ghosts and the government and I just…” He sank back down to the floor, despondent. “I just didn’t want them to feel…guilty, I guess.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a self-deprecating laugh. “It doesn’t matter now, though. It’s too late to tell them either way.”

“Oh, Danny, habibi. My poor child.” Talia extended her arms out to embrace him, but Danny stepped back.

“I don’t— my powers they’re— I don’t want to hurt you.”

She smiled. “You won’t. Trust me.”

Danny…Danny found himself trusting her. He let the transformation fall, taking one step closer to Talia, his hand stretched out. Their hands touched, and Talia’s words rang true. The ice did not touch her, nor did the frost, and Danny breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Well, this would certainly complicate the matters of your guardianship,” Dusan said, now a few feet away from them. “If I am of the correct assumption that you have no wish for anyone to know of your status. What of the man you mentioned—the one who is like you—could he take you in?”

“No. Never. That man is not an option.”

Talia carded her fingers through Danny’s hair in a soothing motion. “It is a shame we could not make a strong enough case to take custody of you.” She paused, humming pensively. “Although…” Turning to Dusan, she continued. “Do you think father would…?”

Dusan considered it. “Well, he would certainly be delighted at the prospect of another grandchild, especially one like Danny. But you know how he is.”

Danny looked at them inquisitively. Talia turned her attention back to him. “Our father—your grandfather—is a very powerful man. But he is a very secretive man, and much of his influence is in secrets and shadows. Much of his machinations he prefers to keep in the dark. But if you were willing to prove yourself to him, then it is not beyond his power to craft you a new life.”

“You—you’re talking about a new identity.”

“Daniel Fenton could never be with us,” Dusan said. “But Danyal al Ghul on the other hand….”

“I…” Danny lowered his gaze to the floor. Well, he was prepared, on some level, to give up his name. He had plans to run away, and going by ‘Danny Fenton’ would just be putting a target on his back if Vlad decided to look for him.

“We could be a family, Danny,” Talia whispered. “Like we always should have been.”

Family. The words felt warm inside his chest. At the back of his mind, his core hummed eagerly at the prospect. Family-family-a-place-to-belong.

But to give up his name…to give up his life …would he really be willing to do that? But if he wasn’t, then being handed over to Vlad might as well be—

( Red eyes. A looming shadow. Screams unheard because of the explosion. A world in ruin. Inevitable. Inevitable.)

“ I’ll do it.” He steeled his resolve. There was no other choice. “I’ll go with you. What do I have to do?”

Talia grinned wide. Dusan’s eyes gleamed with approval.

“Simple,” he said. “We must kill Danny Fenton.”

#dpxdc #phantom children: redux #my writing

19 notes · View notes