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“Un viaje a París” 5

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Capítulo: 5/12 Anterior Siguiente (Primero). Version on English

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Capítulo 5: “De Amity a París”

Esa noche, Sam ofreció ayudar a los Fentons con sus reservaciones de hotel, o mejor dicho, insistió que ella ayudará con la reserva del hotel. Ella quería sólo lo mejor para su enamorado después de todo, incluso si no lo decía en voz alta. Después de varias búsquedas y comparando precios aquí y ahí, ellos finalmente decidieron en el hotel ‘Le Grand Paris’. Era un poco más elegante de lo que los Fentons estaban acostumbrados, y quizás un poco más caro… o, bueno, muy caro, pero eso no molestaba a Sam, era la mejor opción para la familia.

El hotel contaba con dos opciones de alojamiento: suites y habitaciones tipo apartamento. Las suites tienen capacidad para cuatro personas, mientras las habitaciones tipo apartamento tiene capacidad hasta seis. Como familia de cuatro, la suite sonaba perfecta para los Fentons, eso es, hasta que leyeron algunas opiniones. Todos decían que el primer cuarto de la suite estaba bien, pero el segundo era tan pequeño y apretado que tú apenas podías abrir el ropero y no había espacio para poner tus maletas. La opción del cuarto tipo apartamento debería ser la mejor para ellos, incluso cuando era una extraña opción para cuatro. Consideraba de un cuarto principal con una cama tamaño king y dos cuartos pequeños que cada uno venía con una cama tamaño queen o dos camas individuales. De esa manera Jazz y Danny podrían tener sus propios cuartos, en vez de que ellos tengan que compartir como cuando eran muy, muy pequeños.

Sam tomó esta oportunidad una vez más sugirió que ella también vaya con ellos desde que habría más que suficiente espacio para ella también. Ella propuso que ella podría compartir un cuarto con Danny, uno de los cuales con camas pequeñas, en vez de una de tamaño queen.

Jack y Maddie estuvieron dudando de decir “sí,” a ellos obviamente no les molestaba los dos adolescentes compartiendo una habitación desde que ellos la habían invitado a quedarse la noche, pero ellos ya habían comprado sus boletos de avión. E incluso aunque ellos han aceptado la ayuda de Sam con su hotel -por su insistencia en vez de algo más- ellos no estaban seguros si ellos podían conseguir un boleto para ella en el mismo avión.

A eso, Sam sacó su teléfono, preguntó a los Fentons por la información de vuelo, y manejo usar el poder que viene con ser un Manson no sólo obtener un boleto en el mismo vuelo, sino sentándose junto a ellos. Ella ofreció mejorar todos sus boletos a primera clase mientras estaba en ello, pero los Fentons negaron, ellos habían ahorrado suficiente dinero para sus gastos del viaje y no querían que ella gastara más- o mejor dicho, mucho más- de lo necesario.

Después de eso, los Fentons simplemente permitieron a Sam terminar reservando el hotel por dos semanas que habían planeado estar en París. Ella respetó sus deseos y como pidieron, sólo compró el boleto para ella y se aseguró que la familia y ella misma estuvieran confortable en uno de los hoteles más bonitos en París. Después de todo, la idea era para ellos de tener una relajada y sin preocupaciones vacaciones, y eso incluía no estresarse sobre detalles que ella estaría más que feliz de ayudar.

Los Fentons y Sam tenían todo arreglado para su viaje a París, y Dani y Valerie estaban preparadas para quedarse atrás y proteger Amity Park. Todos están excitados por el inicio de las vacaciones de verano, todos menos Tucker.

Él amaba su trabajo como alcalde de Amity Park, ¡Realmente lo hace! Era como esa vez que se lanzó como representante de clase, ¡sólo mejor! Pero extrañaba pasar tiempo con sus amigos. Él entendía porque tenía un tutor privado en vez de ir al colegio, pero realmente, ¡él seguía siendo un adolecente! Él nunca pensó que extrañaría Casper High, pero estaba trabajando en una manera de atender clases ahí de nuevo el próximo año, incluso si era sólo medio tiempo. No planeaba correr por la posición nuevamente, así que apenas alguien más fuera elegido, él sería libre de regresar a ser estudiante a tiempo completo.

Era muy difícil liderar, o incluso vivir en, un pueblo invadido con fantasmas, así que Tucker y los ciudadanos de Amity estaban más que aliviados cuando las noticias esparcieron de que el portal de los Fentons estaría cerrado por dos semanas. Ellos estaban aún más aliviados cuando escucharon que Jack Fenton estaría fuera del país y tomarían un descanso de constantemente chequear sus espejos retrovisores por esa motricidad que llaman una caravana. Será bonito tener un descanso del caos diario, incluso si fuese sólo temporalmente. Después de todo, cerrar el portal por siempre no hará ningún bien a la larga. Los fantasmas de portales naturales aún necesitan una manera de regresar a la Zona Fantasma. Esa fue la parte principal del caso de los Fentons presentaron al FBI del porqué deberían de ser permitidos reparar su portal.

Los estudiantes van a estar fuera del colegio pronto, pero el trabajo de alcalde nunca termina. Tucker necesitaba un descanso también. Cuando escuchó las noticias que sus amigos estaban planeando un viaje a París, él comenzó a pensar una manera de viajar allá también. Si pudiera crear una buena razón suficiente, él podría usar dinero del presupuesto para pagar por ello… Incluso aunque era mayormente una excusa para tener unas vacaciones, él tenía que pensar en realidad hacer algo oficial mientras está allá, así que no sería visto como un completo abuso de poder. Él tenía responsabilidades después de todo.

El resto del año escolar vino y fue. El plan de Danny de gestión del tiempo estaba en pleno funcionamiento, y, aunque aquí había muchas cosas que necesitaban ser mejoradas, parecía que estaba funcionando. Él tenía ayuda peleando los fantasmas, y el sr. Lancer haciendo su parte también, Danny se las arregló en pasar todas sus clases. Ahora todo lo que quedaba era empacar.

El día de su salida finalmente llegó, y el sr. Gray y Dani condujeron a los Fentons al aeropuerto.

Cuando Damon aprendió sobre la niña pequeña y que es exactamente, él casi no podía creerlo hasta que la conoció y vio que tanto se parece a Danny. Fue invitado a FentonWorks un par de días atrás así Jack y Maddie podían explicarle qué hacer si el portal accidentalmente se activa o algo más pasaba, así como conocer a Dani un poco más.

Los Fentons se aseguraron que el filtro esté cambiado antes de salir, así eso no estaría en riesgo, pero Dani sabía qué hacer si ese fuese el caso de todas formas. Todo estaba arreglado, ahora la aventura estaba por comenzar.

Ellos estaban en el aeropuerto, jalando las maletas del carro. Danny se aseguró de sacar las más pesadas, ya que sus poderes les ayudaba más que los iban a aceptar, al menos en voz alta.

–No puedo creer que realmente estemos aquí,– dijo Danny. –Ustedes realmente cerraron el portal… N- N- No sé qué decir…

–Bueno, créelo hermanito. En verdad vas a recibir algo de descanso ahora, como lo necesitas,– dijo Jazz. Era hora para Danny de dejar de usar sus poderes, incluso si era su super fuerza que estaba usado casi sin notarlo estos días. Jazz había notado como él había tomado las maletas más pesadas por sí mismo.

El grupo de viajantes dijeron sus adioses a Dani y Damon, saludando hasta que manejaron fuera de vista, de ahí se dirigieron adentro. Jack y Maddie siguieron bien cerca a los tres adolescentes mientras se dirigían adentro. Era extraño verlos usar ropas “normales”, dejando sus trajes de una pieza atrás, pero ellos habían prometido unas buenas, no-cazaría-de-fantasmas vacaciones. E incluso aunque era un gran cambio para ellos, ellos estaban fieles a su palabra.

–¡Exactamente Danny-boy! Estamos aquí, ¡y todo está arreglado! ¡Es hora de relajarse!– explotó Jack.

–Tu padre tiene razón, Danny.– Maddie pausó, –Jack cariño, ¿recordamos agradecer al Sr. Gray por manejarnos aquí?– preguntó. Incluso aunque lo han hecho, ella tenía el presentimiento que se estaban olvidando algo.

–Espero que recuerden que Dani y Valerie le hicieron prometer que nos recogerían del aeropuerto cuando regresemos, también…– dijo Sam sabiendo que como que le obligaron a hacer la oferta, incluso aunque ellos iban a estar llegando bien tarde en la noche.

–Como que me siento algo mal sobre preguntarle de hacer tanto por nosotros, Dani y Valerie no debieron hacerlo… digo, podría haber volar nos hacia y desde el aeropuerto al menos,– dijo Danny. Él sabía muy bien que era más que capaz de cargar la familia y su equipaje sin tanto problema.

Ellos rápidamente dejaron sus maletas en el mostrador de registro y se dirigieron a seguridad.

Jazz pinchó el puente de su nariz en frustración, –por última vez, Danny, estás son unas vacaciones. Eso significa que no debes esforzarte, no deberías de estar haciendo nada de peso pesado. Y antes que digas nada, sólo porque tú puedes no significa que debas.– Ella mantuvo su voz baja y se aseguró de no mencionar los poderes de Danny ya que estaban en público, pero su tono firme de voz le hizo saber que ella no toleraría ningún argumento.

–Yeah, lo sé, lo sé,– dijo Danny con un gesto de su mano, –pero-–

–No. No peros, Danny.– Sam interrumpió. –Ya hemos hablado al respecto, ¿verdad?– Ella estaba tan cansada de tratar de hacer que Danny dejará de usar sus poderes todo el tiempo tanto como Jazz.

–Sí, lo sé…– Danny suspiró, –Tienes razón.– Él miró alrededor por el número de la puerta que necesitaban ir. No había muchas puertas, pero era la primera vez ahí.

–¡Por aquí!– Jazz apuntó hacia su puerta. No le tomó mucho encontrar el número que coincidía con su tarjeta de embarque, era un pequeño aeropuerto, después de todo. “Amity Park Airport” era relativamente nuevo, y posiblemente una de las únicas cosas buenas que Vlad ha hecho como alcalde.

–Buen ojo, Jazz, querida,– dijo Maddie, dirigiéndose en la dirección que Jazz había apuntado.

En la zona de espera cerca de la puerta, había una ventana larga que miraba sobre la pista y estaban sorprendidos por cuantos aviones podían ver y que tan ocupado y bullicioso todo era. Incluso aunque el aeropuerto de Amity Park era pequeño, era lo suficientemente grande para que hubiera varios aviones volando a la vez a diferentes partes del país. Era su primera vez viajando así. Sí, ellos han volado antes, pero nunca en aviones grandes como este, menos internacionalmente.

Los asientos en el primer avión estaban divididos en dos secciones de tres asientos por fila en cada lado del pasillo. Danny, Sam y Jazz se sentaron juntos en una fila mientras que Jack y Maddie se sentaron detrás de ellos junto a un buen, joven señor de negocios. Era un vuelo corto a Chicago y fácil escala en O’Hare antes de despegar de vuelta. Su segundo avión, el internacional, era mucho más grande que el primero. Este estaba dividido en tres secciones, dos en los costados con tres asientos cada uno, y una en el medio con cuatro. Tal como en su primer vuelo, los tres adolescentes se sentaron juntos con sus padres en la fila de atrás de ellos.

Un poco más de diez horas después, la familia Fenton, más Sam, aterrizaron en París en el “Charles de Gaulle Airport.” Ellos recogieron sus maletas e intercambiaron algunos de sus dólares por euros, por si acaso, aunque tenían planeado usar sus tarjetas de crédito principalmente desde que era más fácil. Con suerte para ellos, el agente en el intercambio de moneda hablaba inglés lo suficientemente bien. Ellos también estaban agradecidos que habían reservado el transporte del aeropuerto al hotel en avanzado, porque francés no era fácil, especialmente después de tan largo viaje.

Cuando llegaron al hotel, ellos se registraron y de ahí fueron guiados a sus habitaciones por un botones servicial. Una vez adentro, ellos rápidamente se pusieron a explorar la suite estilo departamento, admirando tan sólo que tan grande y lujoso realmente era. De ahí reclamaron sus cuartos y sus camas, y desempacaron un poco para acomodarse. Jack y Maddie obviamente tomaron el cuarto principal, mientras Danny y Sam tomaron el cuarto con dos camas pequeñas y Jazz tomó el que tenía una queen. Tal como habían acordado en casa.

–Está bien chicos, vamos a dormir,– Maddie miró a su reloj, era bien pasado la media noche en París, aunque incluso no se sentía.

–Pero no estoy cansado,– Danny se quejó, –¿podemos quedarnos un poco más?

Maddie le lanzó una mirada materna. –Vas a desear haber ido a la cama cuando por la mañana llegué y la descompensación horaria te golpeé,– les recordó a ellos.

–Ella tiene razón, ya sabes,– Jazz dijo. –Se siente como si sólo son las cinco o seis de la tarde porque esa es la hora en Amity Park. Pero no estamos en Amity Park, y si queremos disfrutar todas las cosas que París tiene para ofrecer, necesitamos ajustar nuestro horario de dormir tan pronto como sea posible.

Ellos gemieron y gimieron y arrastraron sus pies, incluso los adultos, pero eventualmente todos estaban en la cama. Les tomó tiempo quedarse dormidos de verdad, pero la noche vino y fue y antes que realizarán, era el día siguiente.

Se despertaron temprano y brillando, más a la consternación de los adolescentes y la familia bostezando, arrastrando los pies bajó las escaleras para desayunar. El restaurante estaba en el primer piso, o planta baja, como era llamado aquí. Ellos no tenían mucho planeado para el día otro que acostumbrarse a estar aquí y acostumbrarse a escuchar todo en francés en vez de inglés.

Una vez que se estaban sentando en la mesa de desayuno, Sam admitió aprender algo de francés gracias a sus padres insistencia en tener una “íntegra y culta hija.” Por supuesto, a Sam nunca le gustó la imagen que sus padres trataron de forzar en ella, ella sólo quería ser ella misma. Pero a pesar de sus mejores esfuerzos, aún así ella había cogido un poquito del lenguaje.

–Bueno esto va a ser interesante…– Danny dijo mientras cogía el menú de desayuno, parecía como si estuviera escrito en Latin o algo.

–Aquí, Danny, intenta este,– Sam le entregó el menú internacional. Aunque incluso este estaba en inglés, tenía varias páginas de comida que no él no puede pronunciar, porque, por supuesto, cualquiera que pudiera permitírselo comía allí y necesitaba un menú elegante lleno de comida elegante para satisfacer todos sus gustos sofisticados.

–Debí haber sabido,– Maddie susurró, más para ella, mientras miraba el menú, –El precio era decente para la habitación pero no para la comida…– Ella y Jack estaban pensando en ordenar unas bandejas de desayuno grandes para la familia para compartir.

Habían encontrado una buena oferta en el hotel, que estaba dentro de su presupuesto, pero Sam aún seguía insistiendo en pagar por eso y bueno, ¿cómo podían negarse?

–Hey, Sam, ¿Crees que obtuvimos una buena oferta por la Semana de la Amistad Franco-Americana que pasó recientemente?– preguntó Jazz. Ella había escuchado en alguna parte que estaba pasado, quizás ha leído algo sobre aquello… sonaba divertido, pero su familia nunca era de celebraciones. Ni siquiera la navidad era celebrada correctamente en su casa, tristemente.

–¿Qué?– Danny preguntó en confusión. –¿El qué-qué, ahora?– Él pensó sobre eso por un momento, y quizás le sonaba un poquito familiar, pero hey, las celebraciones no eran su fuerte.

–Estoy segura que lo aprendiste en el colegio, Danny. La Semana de la Amistad Franco-Americana es una celebración de nuestra historia compartida, yendo atrás a la Guerra Revolucionaria cuando Francia fue uno de nuestros primeros aliados como una nación jovén. Pasó hace unas semanas atrás, si lo recuerdo correctamente. Sólo antes, bueno, todo…– dijo Jazz, pensado atrás a lo que vio cuando reservaban el hotel con sus padres. El sitio en línea decía “reservar ahora” antes de que la “oferta” termine. –creo que este bonito hotel ofreció descuentos especiales sólo para americanos… o algo, durante el resto del mes…– Ellos tuvieron suerte que la reserva les dejó tener los precios baratos por ese tiempo extendido.

–Eso creo,– respondió Sam. –Me olvidé completamente sobre la Semana de la Amistad, no es como si ellos dijeran nada sobre ello en Casper. Vivimos en Amity Park, y si no es sobre fantasmas, es como si a nadie le imparta. ¡Como si la historia no importase! Pero todos deberían de aprender sobre historia así cosas como guerras no se repiten de vuelta, ¿saben?– ella despotricó, pero sin ningún enojo real. Ella sabía que todos ellos compartían ideas similares sobre la educación en Amity Park.

Jazz tarareó su acuerdo. Educación era importante, pero bueno ellos son de Amity… ¿Qué puedes hacer, verdad? Es por eso que ella hacía lo mejor para enseñarles algunas cosas importantes que ellos no aprendían en el colegio. Ella también hacía lo mejor para mantenerse al tanto con la última tecnología. Nadia decía que su educación era mala, sólo que ahí habían definitivamente huecos. Al menos cumplía con el estándar del gobierno, pero no por mucho.

–¡Está bien chicos, creo que lo tengo!– Jack interrumpió después que él y Maddie habían pasado un rato leyendo sobre las opciones del menú en silencio. Las pequeñas explicaciones junto a los nombres de cada plato eran muy útiles. Los nombres en francés era una reto, pero no iban a detener a Jack Fenton.

–¿Tener qué?– preguntó Danny. –¡Oh verdad, desayuno! Um, ¿qué tal, uh, tostada francesa?– Él ni siquiera sabía que tener aún, o por qué sugirió eso cuando ni siquiera le gustan las tostadas. Él quizás había olvidado que se supone que estaban decidiendo qué tener. Era la hora del desayuno después de todo, y, por primera vez en mucho tiempo, iba realmente a tener algo de comer que no le ataque.

–Realmente, ¿Danny?– Jazz se cruzó de brazos, no impresionada. –¿tostada francesa?

Danny simplemente se encogió de hombros en respuesta. Era la única cosa que podía pensar en ese segundo.

–Tu padre y yo hemos estado mirando el menú… y, bueno, hay un especial familiar que incluye variedad de comida,– Maddie explicó, tocando ligeramente el menú por énfasis mientras hablaba. –Estamos pensando en tener algo de eso. Viene con tostadas, Danny, así que todos deberían…

Sam volteó a mirarla, alzando una ceja. Hasta ahora ella no estaba segura si ofrecían opciones veganas, así que no todos podrían ser capaces de comer, o eso es lo que Sam estaba pensando.

Maddie parpadeó un par de veces hacía esa expresión. –No te preocupes, Sam querida, por lo que veo, podemos ordenarlo con una parte vegana y otra no, y está incluye opciones veganas,– ella terminó diciendo. Ella estaba muy segura que los símbolos “V” en el menú deberían de ser por opciones veganas, ¿verdad?

–Oh…– dijo Sam, quién chequeó esa sección del menú por sí misma para encontrar que Maddie estaba correcta. Restaurantes de lujo tienen tendencia de ser así de todas formas. Ya sea aquí o en Amity, de lujo también significa “hacer lo que sea que el cliente pregunte.” Ella nunca ha tenido un problema con eso de vuelta en casa, así ¿por qué debería tenerlo aquí? Y era claro que el símbolo “V” era de hecho para las opciones veganas, y también que la bandeja tenía la opción de hacerla mitad vegana.

Después que miraron el menú por unos pocos minutos, un mayordomo que se introdujo a sí mismo como ‘Armand’ apareció a tomar la orden.

Incluso aunque él estaba normalmente en llamada para la Srta Chloe, atendiendo a todos sus caprichos, ser un mayordomo para la familia Bourgeois significaba que básicamente era un empleado para todo. Él trabajaba para Le Grand Paris, registrando a las personas en la recepción, entregando servicio de habitación, y a veces intervenía para ayudar a los meseros en el restaurante o el bar del hotel.

Los Fentons terminaron teniendo el especial familiar, así como algunas otras opciones veganas para acomodar a Sam.

Después del desayuno, Jack y Maddie anunciaron que iban a explorar el hotel, sólo para asegurarse de que no estaba encantado. Uno no podría ser muy cuidadoso, ellos siempre decían. Los chicos rápidamente dijeron que preferirían caminar y explorar la ciudad. Y después que Danny prometió no transformarse y volarlos alrededor, invisible o no, ellos les dejaron ir.

Danny entendía el porqué sus padres preguntaron eso de él, tenía sentido. Incluso si se suponía que debería de estar tomándose las cosas con calma, no podían arriesgar a alguien que viera a Phantom en París y lo conectara con el viaje de la familia Fenton. Él entendía, pero eso no hizo que fuera una regla fácil de seguir. Durante el vuelo para allá, había estado muy tentado de volar debajo del avión por un momento, sólo porqué estaba desesperado por un poco de tiempo para sí mismo. Estando hacinados en espacios reducidos por varias horas con un montón de extraños era estresante, especialmente cuando uno de esos extraños era un bebé muy infeliz. Sus poderes de fantasmas nunca han parecido ser tan atractivos.

Los chicos se dirigieron a la puerta, llamando de que ellos se mantendrían en contacto mientras se despidieron.

Los Fentons nunca habían viajado fuera del país, y por ello no habían considerado que estarían dejando su red telefónica atrás. Afortunadamente para ellos, París tenía una buena red wifi. Ellos también tenían sus teléfonos Fentons como respaldo. Danny había confesado tímidamente traer el suyo en el avión, y de ahí uno tras otro, el resto del equipo admitió hacer lo mismo también. Aunque estos estaban diseñados para funcionar específicamente en la Zona Fantasma, en el mundo humano técnicamente funcionan como teléfonos sin la necesidad de una red o data para comunicación básica. Ellos tenían el inconveniente de que sólo funcionaba para llamadas, no mensajes; para eso necesitaban wifi. Este viaje iba a ser tan impredecible como pensaron que sería. Pero incluso aunque no lo habían planeado, al menos con los teléfonos Fenton podrían comunicarse con los otros si algo pasaba.

No tan lejos del hotel, los tres adolescentes encontraron un pequeño parque. Fueron atraídos por el hermoso paisaje y curiosidad sobre la estatua que podían ver en el medio de este. Mientras seguían uno de los muchos senderos sinuosos hacia el centro del parque, se sintieron extrañamente como en casa. La ciudad no se llamaba Amity Park por nada, e incluso aunque habían sólo estado por un día, ya la extrañaban.

Una caminata corta después y estaban examinando la estatua cercanamente. Era obviamente importante para la ciudad o no estaría ahí, pero se veía bastante nueva. Parecía representar un par de superhéroes, o al menos es lo lucía para los tres, con esos disfraces y todo. Mientras se preguntaban quiénes serían los héroes misteriosos, Jazz apuntó a la placa en la base de la estatua. Se acercaron para leer la inscripción en ella, y con la ayuda del limitado francés de Sam, aprendieron que el par eran héroes locales llamados “Ladybug” y “Chat Noir.”

–¿Son reales?– Danny preguntó con una risa. –Es un poco obvio, ¿no es así?

Sus disfraces parecían como una mariquita y un gato negro. Al menos, él estaba bien seguro que “Chat” significaba “gato” y “noir” significa “negro” pero no se acordaba donde lo había aprendido. y “Ladybug” es obvio, eso era sólo inglés.

–Hey, no puedes decir nada, Señor…– Jazz rápidamente miró alrededor para ver si alguien estaba cerca a ellos, –Señor soy-un-fantasma-llamado-Phantom,– ella susurró con una sonrisa burlona.

–¿Y sólo que hay de malo con mi nombre?– fingió ofenderse. –Es mucho mejor que el que la media me dió, podría haber sido “Inviso-Bill” ¡por llorar a gritos! ¡Phantom es mucho más genial!

–Tú fuiste de un juego de palabras sin vergüenza por otro, Danny,– su hermana respondió con una expresión inexpresiva. –digo, podrías haber elegido cualquier cosa, pero ¿es eso por lo que fuiste?

–¡Hey! ¡Eso es un gran juego de palabras! ¡Me tomó semanas venir con eso!– cruzó sus brazos con un resoplido, –quien sabe, quizás encontraré a alguien alrededor de aquí quien en realidad tenga buen gusto. Eso te enseñara.

Le sacó la lengua a ella, después de un momento, todos los tres adolescentes reventaron en risa.

Una vez que se calmaron de vuelta, Danny se preguntó en voz alta si habría una estatua de él en París. Era una ciudad capital, después de todo.

–Espero no estes pensando lo que creo que estás pensado.– Sam advirtió. Sería muy fácil para Danny explorar la ciudad como Phantom sin que nadie sepa, al menos ningún Parisino, e intentar encontrar qué es lo que los locales piensan de él. –sabes que si te vas por tu cuenta y te pierdes, no serás capaz de preguntar por direcciones. Incluso ahora no podemos hacer eso, cuando estamos juntos. Lo cual es exactamente porque no vamos muy lejos del hotel.– Incluso si ella hablase algo de francés, no quiere decir que sea fluida.

–Es por eso que traje un cuaderno,– dijo Jazz, apuntando a lo que era, en sí, un cuaderno, en su mano. –Y estoy escribiendo los nombres de todas las calles que veo, así al menos podemos apuntar e intentar preguntar por direcciones si necesitamos.

Danny suspiró, –No, no estaba pensando sobre eso, en verdad. Le prometí a Dany, y, bueno, a ustedes chicos y mis padres, también… e incluso a Valerie. Para este viaje sólo soy el simple viejo Danny Fenton. No hay superhéroes. No poderes de fantasmas en ningún momento.– Había sido difícil de aceptar sus términos, pero unas reales vacaciones estaban sonando más y más tentadoras cada vez que alguien lo mencionaba.

–Bien,– Sam tomó la mano de Danny con una sonrisa y sonrojándose, –Estamos aquí para relajarnos, ¿recuerdas?– Incluso después de todo este tiempo saliendo, ellos aún se dan mariposas.

–Está bien, ¿ahora donde?– dijo Jazz, aclarando su garganta. Incluso aunque ella estaba feliz por Danny, era un poco incómodo ver a su hermanito aún sonrojándose sobre algo tan simple. Les ha tomado tanto tiempo finalmente admitir sus sentimientos uno al otro, y ella estaba feliz por ellos, en verdad lo está, pero estaba empezando a sentir como tercera rueda.

–No lo sé… ¿el río?– él sugirió, mirando alrededor y notando que no estaban tan lejos de eso. –Esperen, ¿es eso un colegio? ¿Al frente de una panadería?– preguntó, confundido. Era un poco extraño, si le preguntas, tener un colegio, panadería, y un parque tan cerca de lo que asumió que era una zona turística, su hotel no estaba tan lejos después de todo.

Sam se encogió de hombros después de notar el colegio al que se estaba refiriendo, –quien sabe, quizás toda esta área no es tan turística como pensamos. Digo aún estamos muy lejos de la torre eiffel o cualquiera de los museos.

–Ella tiene razón, sabes,– añadió Jazz. Ella había mirado todas las atracciones turísticas en el mapa antes de dejar el hotel, y nada estaba a poca distancia.

–Supongo… así que, ¿el río?– Danny preguntó. Él no lo iba a sobrepensar. Estaba ahí para ser un turista, y turistas visitaban el río.

–El Sena.– Jazz intervino automáticamente.

–Lo que sea.– Danny giró sus ojos.

–Supongo que el río podría ser bonito…– respondió Sam, sólo feliz de estar pasando tiempo con Danny. Ella hubiera preferido si eran sólo los dos, pero no le importaba que Jazz les acompañara.

Se despidieron de la estatua y cruzaron el parque en dirección de la panadería. De ahí, ellos deberían de hacer camino hacia las escaleras que les llevaban a lo largo del río.

Justo cuando llegaron a la panadería, la puerta principal se abrió de golpe y una chica con cabello negro azulado puesto en dos colitas corrió fuera de esta. Estaba cargando una torre de cajas tan alta que no podía ver dónde estaba yendo y casi se topó con Jazz. Afortunadamente, Danny reaccionó rápidamente, poniéndola fuera del camino justo a tiempo.

La chica casi se tropezó con el aire cuando notó a los tres de ellos, tartamudeó algo rápido en francés.

Ellos simplemente la miraron con caras confundidas.

–Uh, lo siento, no somos franceses,– Danny ofreció mientras ayudaba su balance de las cajas que estaba cargando.

–¡Oh!– la cara de la chica se iluminó mientras reconoció el lenguaje, repitiendo su disculpa en inglés. –¡Y gracias por tu ayuda!

Danny le dio una sonrisa amigable. –Está bien, feliz de asistir.

–Soy Marinette,– la chica se introdujo. –Y mi familia es dueña de esta panadería. Me encantaría quedarme y hablar, pero estoy muy tarde con está orden, así que, um, ¡adiós!– Se volteó para correr en la dirección del parque e inmediatamente tropezó con sus propios pies, casi cayéndose otra vez.

–Woah, ¡cuidado!– Sam llamó, ayudando a Marinette con las cajas esta vez. Ella no había pensado que era posible para nadie ser tan torpe.

–¿Quieres, uh, te gustaría algo de ayuda?– ofreció Danny. Él cogió las cajas de encima antes que se deslizaran de la torre. Era la tercera vez en tan pocos minutos que la han ayudado con esas y se preguntaba si esto era algo que ella podía normalmente hacer por sí sola.

–¡Oh!– dijo Marinette, notando que más fácil era moverse ahora que no tenía tantas. –¡Gracias! Debería de esperar por mi amiga para que me ayude con estas… pero ella tenía que cuidar a las niñas y en verdad necesitan las cajas ser entregadas en este momento…– suspiró, –siento molestarte, pero lo apreciaría si pudieras… digo, ya me estás ayudando… así que, gracias.

Marinette sonrió a los extraños amables. Ella en verdad necesitaba ayuda. Su amiga le había ofrecido ayudarla el día anterior, pero tuvo que cancelar en el último minuto porque sus padres la necesitaban para mirar a las gemelas.

–Soy Danny,– dijo Danny, sonriéndole de regreso. Si Marinette se ha introducido a ellos, sería sólo educado que él regrese el gesto, ¿verdad?

–Sam,– dijo la chica junto a él, inclinando su cabeza cuando Marinette la miró.

–Y mi nombre es Jasmine, pero tú me puedes llamar “Jazz,”– dijo Jazz, cuando fue su turno.

–Lo siento de vuelta por todo esto. Normalmente tomó turnos cuando hago esta cantidad de cajas, o le preguntó a mi amiga Alya que me ayude,– comenzó a caminar y los tres americanos la siguieron, –pero como dije… bueno, es en realidad mi culpa, me distraje, y, bueno, no salí cuando debí y bueno…

Ellos no deberían saber ya que el ataque pasó antes que llegaran, pero Ladybug y Chat Noir estuvieron afuera hasta tarde peleando una akuma. Porque ella se quedó hasta tarde, Marinette se quedó dormida esta mañana.

–Hey, esta bien, no tienes que explicarte a ti misma a nosotros, ya sabes. Y estoy segura que quien sea que está esperando por estos entenderá que te estás demorando un poco más, ¿verdad?– Jazz dijo gentilmente, tratando de calmar a Marinette. La pobre chica obviamente tenía un montón en su cabeza y la distracción certamente no estaba ayudando su coordinación. Ella era ya muy torpe, y cuando no estaba prestando atención, las cajas empezaban a inclinarse y caer porque no las estaba cojiendo derechas.

–Yeah, está bien Marinette, no nos molesta darte una mano. No es como si tuviéramos nada más que hacer,– dijo Danny, aún siguiendo Marinette con las cajas. Sus únicos planes por el día eran acostumbrarse a París y ajustarse al cambio de horario. No habían planeado visitar la torre Eiffel o ningún museo hasta después en la semana. Todo bien en ese departamento.

–¡Oh dios! ¡Lo siento mucho!– Marinette comenzó de vuelta. –ni siquiera pregunté… sólo asume que-

–No, no, ¡estás bien aquí! No nos importa,– Sam interrumpió. –Tal como dijo Danny, no tenemos realmente nada planeado para hoy. Por ahora sólo nos estamos acostumbrando a todo, ¿sabes?– Se apresuró en asegurar la Parisina, ella no estaba apunto de escuchar otra perorata de disculpas de una chica que acaban de conocer. Sabía que eso podría ser fastidioso rápido.

–¡Ah!– dijo Marinette, realizando que ellos posiblemente acaban de llegar a París. –¿De dónde son? si no les molesta que les pregunté. Quizás después de dejar estas,– ella levantó las cajas como si fuera apuntar el favor que le están haciendo, –podría ayudarlos a encontrar un guía o ¿algo? Es lo menos que puedo hacer para agradecerles por ayudar a un completo extraño durante lo que asumo son sus vacaciones.– Se sentía algo culpable por estar fastidiando a los turistas.

–Bueno, parecía que necesitabas una mano, y estamos aquí mismo, así que ¿por qué no colaborar, ya sabes?– Danny encogió sus hombros, las cajas en sus manos balanceándose hacia arriba y hacia abajo. –Somos de Amity Park, Illinois. Probablemente no has escuchado de-

–¡Oh! ¡Conozco el lugar!– Marinette interrumpió animosamente, reconociendo el nombre, –Ustedes son de esa ciudad fantasma, ¿verdad?–

Danny se había olvidado de que aunque Amity no es considerado grande, era una gran noticia ahora.

–Bueno, no una “ciudad fantasma” ciudad fantasma, pero es donde ese nuevo héroe es, ¿verdad? ¿Es realmente un fantasma? Lo siento, posiblemente una pregunta tonta de preguntar…– Marinette murmuró, sintiéndose un poco tonta ahora que lo decía en voz alta, pero ella y Chat Noir han sido curiosos sobre él desde que pusieron la nueva estatua.

–No seas tan dura contigo misma Marinette, es sólo natural que seas curiosa. Cuando los fantasmas empezaron a aparecer, un montón de gente en Amity no creía que eran reales tampoco. Le dije a mi hermanito aquí, que ahora que Amity Park ha estado en las noticias, gente de todas partes del mundo se podrían estar preguntado las mismas cosas que hicimos al comienzo,– dijo Jazz. Aunque ella no estaba realmente esperando encontrar a alguien que realmente estuviera preguntando… O incluso alguien que reconociera el nombre de Amity Park tan rápido.

–Gracias,– dijo Marinette. Las palabras de Jazz la hicieron sentir un poco mejor, pero sus cachetes seguían quemando en vergüenza. Agradecidamente ellos acaban de llegar a su destino. –Bueno, ¡estamos aquí!

Notando que habían caminado todo el camino de vuelta al hotel, Danny tuvo una realización repentina, –Espera, ¿los productos horneados de aquí son de la panadería de tu familia?– preguntó.

–¿Se están quedando aquí?– preguntó Marinette, haciendo una cara. Sólo la gente muy rica y famosa se quedaba en ‘Le Grand Paris,’ así que Marinette estaba un poco sorprendida de que sus nuevos amigos se estaban quedando ahí. Ellos son buenos, pero no parecían particularmente ricos o famosos.

–Ellos tenían un descuento corriendo por la Semana de la Amistad franco-estadounidense, así que…– Sam encogió los hombros como si eso fuera obvio. Ella no sabía que fue con su actitud de repente.

–Oh, verdad…– Marinette respondió. Se había olvidado que por todo un mes el hotel había reservado a cualquiera de los Estados Unidos por muy, muy baratos precios. Ella había estado sorprendida cuando escuchó sobre ello, ya que no parecía como una muy buena decisión de negocios, pero de ahí cuando vio la extra publicidad que le daba al hotel, entendió. –Esperen, pensé que esa promoción terminó antes de las vacaciones de verano…– añadió.

–Hicimos nuestras reservaciones durante el periodo promocional, y la oferta se transfirió,– Jazz explicó. Ella sabía los precios normales, y parecía que Marinette sabía, también, así que su reacción era entendible. Era un hotel muy caro, después de todo.

–E incluso si no lo hubiera, Sam podría haber pagado de todas formas,– Danny se encogió de hombros, no dando más que pensar.

–¡Danny!– amonestó Jazz. Era malcriado asumir que Sam podría simplemente pagar por todo. Ella había ofrecido, pero igual.

–Digo, yeah, yo podría hacerlo de todas formas. Pero aún fue bueno obtener la oferta, sólo así tus padres no se sentirían mal sobre mí gastando dinero en ustedes, ¿sabes? No creas que no los noté mirando por alternativas. Y no les culpo, digo que los precios normales en este lugar son ridículamente caros,– Sam giró sus ojos.

–Dimelo,– murmuró Marinette. Aunque ella personalmente no había chequeado sus precios normales, sabía que la familia Bourgeois normalmente no permitirían tales precios baratos. Es por eso que sólo gente internacionalmente famosa venía aquí. Gente como Jagged Stone o su tío abuelo.

–Ah, ¿qué fue lo que dijiste?– preguntó Danny. Él pensó que la escuchó decir algo, pero no estaba seguro.

–¡Oh!– ella exclamó, sorprendida de ser escuchada. –Bueno deberíamos de entrar…– rápidamente cambió el tema y movió las cajas en sus brazos. Corrió adentro e hizo una línea recta hacia el área de recepción, era una buena cosa que la estaban esperando.

–Oh, verdad,– dijo Danny, siguiéndola dentro del hotel. Se encogió de hombros, se debe de tan sólo imaginarse cosas. Ellos aún se estaban acostumbrado a todo.

Jazz y Sam compartieron una mirada, giraron sus ojos a las payasadas de los otros dos.

Después de que Marinette y Danny dejaron las cajas, todos ellos se dirigieron de vuelta a la panadería. Ella les agradeció de vuelta por su ayuda, incluso cuando había sido sólo Danny, y él le cortó con la mano su gracias diciendo que no era nada y que estaba feliz de hacerlo.

En su camino de regreso Jazz comenzó a invadir a Marinette con preguntas sobre todos los típicos, y no tan típicos, lugares que pueden visitar mientras están en París. Marinette estaba más que feliz de ayudarlos a movilizarse y se lanzó en una explicación detallada de las menos conocidas atracciones y como hay una línea directa del bus que va desde el hotel a la Torre Eiffel si están interesados. Ella de ahí incluso les habló sobre Ladybug y Chat Noir, los dos héroes locales, así como también su mejor amiga posiblemente sabía más porque ella maneja el “Ladyblog,” un blog totalmente dedicado a los héroes locales.

Danny estaba sorprendido de que estaba correcto cuando estaban adivinando de qué se trataba la estatua, especialmente la parte de los nombres obvios.

Marinette acordó que los nombres eran muy obvios si lo pensabas al respecto, pero esos eran los nombres que los héroes dieron al público. Ella personalmente nunca lo había pensado, ella quizás le pregunte a Chat que piensa sobre eso cuando lo vea como Ladybug.

Cuando regresaron a la panadería, Marinette les ofreció algunos pastelitos como gracias por ayudarla. Los tres adolescentes rechazaron la oferta, diciendo que su consejo sobre qué visitar y cómo navegar la ciudad era más que suficiente. Jazz por supuesto había escrito todo lo que Marinette les dijo. Ella se aseguró de anotar cada uno de los detalles, después de todo ella estaba en cargo ya que era su idea.

Justo cuando estaban por decir sus adioses, los padres de Marinette se les unieron al frente de la panadería. Se introdujeron cómo Sabine y Tom, y agradecieron por la ayuda también. Ellos habían notado que cuando su hija estaba luchando con las cajas y estaban por tomar turnos ayudando cuando vieron a los tres de ellos interviniendo. Normalmente ellos hubieran necesitado empezar a hacer una segundo lote de productos horneados por si acaso el primero no llegará al hotel, pero parecían ser como un grupo de responsables jóvenes con decente balance y así ellos regresaron a atender la tienda, seguros que su hija estaba en buenas manos.

Los cachetes de Marinette se volvieron rosados brillante mientras sus padres explicaban que tan torpe era. ¡Ahora estás personas buenas nunca van a querer ser sus amigos! Ella gimió y enterró su caliente cara en sus manos.

Jazz la palmeó confortablemente en la espalda y Danny dijo que ellos entendían su dolor todo muy bien. Después de todo, los padres Fenton eran tan sutiles como una señal de neón intermitente. Incluso Sam podía relacionarse, había una razón por la cual a ella no le gustaban sus padres tanto.

Los Dupain-Chengs se disculparon con su hija y repitieron la oferta de cosas horneadas como agradecimiento y no tomarían un no como respuesta. El esfuerzo de la familia finalmente los convenció de aceptar la caja de dulces, no es como si tuvieran mucha opción. El sr. Dupain justo les había empujado la caja de dulces en las manos de Danny cuando una explosión cercana sacudió la panadería.

Continuará… :D :D

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hannahmanderr · 8 months

Note

DANNY AND DAMON 👁️ (sorry i just love me the protective dad)

(affectionately calling this one Protective Detail)

part 1 ~ part 2 ~ part 3

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Of all things Damon Gray wasn't expecting on the night of the biggest snowstorm in a decade, a snow-covered Danny Fenton in his t-shirt and jeans standing outside his apartment door certainly had to be at the top of the list.

"Hi Mr. Gray!" Danny said brightly. "Mind if I come in?"

Damon gawked at the boy for a moment longer before seeming to come around. "Ah... yes, yes! Come on in! I can... grab a towel for you to dry off..."

Danny blinked before looking down at himself. "Oh!" Before Damon could say anything else, Danny's body flickered into a hazy mist, and the snow fell harmlessly through him and onto the floor. "Sorry about that," he said with a sheepish green as he flickered back into a solid form.

Damon couldn't help but gawk again. Sure, he'd known of Danny's status for years now (supposedly, Valerie had made Danny tell him after they'd graduated), but it wasn't often that he witnessed the boy he'd known as having the worst phobia of ghosts in Amity Park use such ghostly powers so easily. To witness him doing so now, after appearing on his doorstep in such a strange state, unannounced, was odd to say the least.

It wasn't until he realized that Danny was still watching him expectantly and he himself was still blocking the doorway that he noticed the silence stretching into discomfort. Muttering an apology, he stepped aside and ushered Danny in.

The door closed behind them with a heavy click. Now inside, Danny seemed to lose some of his bright demeanor as he shuffled on the entryway rug.

"Valerie's still at work," Damon said as he walked past Danny and into the kitchen area. "I'm hoping she gets off soon. I'm not sure I want her trying to get home in this storm. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, no, that's alright, thanks!" Danny edged closer to the window in the living area. Outside, snow fell wildly, blowing in all sorts of directions, blocking any view there might have been. Really, he'd seen worse snowstorms in the Far Frozen, but the human world wasn't quite as adapted to it as the yetis were. Weather like this could spell serious trouble for humans.

Damon reemerged from the kitchen with a mug of something steaming. He stood next to Danny, and the two of them watched out the window. For a long, quiet moment, they simply stood, Danny with his arms wrapped around himself and Damon sipping quietly at his drink.

It was Danny who broke the silence first. "I still feel bad she has to come all the way from here in Elmerton to work in Amity Park," he said quietly.

"She does it to herself," Damon replied with an air of humor. "I keep telling her to just find a place there in town. That's where everything important is, that's where she should be."

"Not you." Danny barely realized the response had popped out on its own. "She's still really worried about you. I mean, I know things are better than they were, of course, but... y'know..."

"What, with this thing?" Damon raised his left arm with a tiny whirr, and Danny couldn't help but stare at the metal hand that waved back at him. "It's been working like a dream. I was just telling her the other day that sometimes, it feels like it works better than the one I lost!" Damon laughed quietly to himself.

Danny joined in, but it was half-hearted. Memories flashed through his mind - a brutal fight at Axion, a toppling metal supply closet, lights and sirens and frantic screams - and he physically winced. That accident had been nearly two years ago, but the memories lived fresh in his head, just like the memories of his own accident from almost a decade ago.

"I... I think she still blames herself sometimes," he said quietly. "For letting Spectra distract her. I keep trying to tell her it wasn't her fault; I was closer, I - I should've been fast enough to get to you, but..."

Damon nodded soberly. "She's a stubborn one. Gets it from her mother. Once she gets something in her head, she just doesn't let it go."

"Yeah."

The two fell back into an uneasy silence. Snow howled away outside, and a gust of wind blew a wall of flakes toward the window, nearly making Danny jump.

"She wants to live there," Damon finally said. "In Amity Park."

Danny almost gave himself whiplash turning to look at Damon. "She does?"

"Mhmm. Not that she'll ever admit it to me out loud -" - again, Damon laughed quietly to himself - "- but she's always talking about wanting to be closer to the FentonWorks. That way she can be closer to work and closer to the portal. Heaven knows how many times she's left to go fight a ghost only to come storming back in ten minutes later because you've already been able to handle it."

Danny couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. "Yeah, she's definitely given me an earful about that before."

"I'm sure she has! But you know, Danny, the thing she really talks about being closer to is you."

Danny's heart pounded in his chest. "Really?"

Damon glanced at him, something Danny couldn't decipher twinkling in his dark eyes. "Is it really that surprising?" he teased.

"Yeah? I mean, no! No! Er, maybe? Ish?"

Damon's laugh was much heartier this time. "Well, if it is a surprise to you, then she's doing a good job of hiding it from you. I can see it in her face when she talks about you. Just the way she lights up and starts talking faster and faster, like she just can't seem to contain whatever she's feeling. Even when she's mad at you, you can still tell she thinks the world of you."

He paused to sniff and wipe at his nose. "She's always worrying that she's not doing enough for me, especially since I lost my arm. I keep trying to tell her she's doing more than enough. Just seeing my baby girl so happy... that's all I need." He turned to look at Danny head on. "And I have you to thank for that."

Danny's heart swelled. The love was too overwhelming. It shouldn't have felt like such a surprise to hear Damon's praises, but just hearing the words come from his mouth...

Without thinking, he took a deep breath, and, in one rush of words, said, "I want to ask Valerie to marry me!"

Damon, who had taken a sip of his drink, proceeded to spit all over the window.

Danny winced. "I - I mean, only if that's okay with you, of course! I'm not... I would never just go behind your back or anything, no, but you know, it's just something I've been thinking about for a long time now and - and I mean it just feels like the right time, although maybe it's not, but I just... I love her so much, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her, if - if that's okay?"

Damon blinked once, then twice in an attempt to process Danny's frantic speech. "You... want to marry Valerie?"

"I - uh..." If Danny's face had still been covered in snow, the heat coming from his cheeks would have melted it instantly. "I - yeah. I mean yes. Yes, I do. If... you'll let me."

For a long while, the two stared at each other. The longer the silence stretched on, the more Danny shrunk back into himself. This was such a bad idea, bad idea...

"Wait right there," Damon said before setting down his mug and jogging into the back hallway.

Danny could only watch him disappear, dumbfounded. The urge to just transform on the spot and high-tail it out of there grew stronger and stronger by the second. Such a bad idea.

His and Damon's relationship had started on rockier terms, sure, but it was only because he had been worried her hanging around Danny would end up with her swept into his parents' shenanigans, especially because he still hadn't been a big fan of her side job hunting ghosts back then. And okay, maybe there had been some hiccups back when Valerie had forced - er, persuaded him to tell the truth to her dad, but those had all been smoothed over by now, he'd thought.

Right?

When Damon returned, he held a tiny box in his hands and tears in his eyes. "Come here," he said, sitting down on the couch. Danny obeyed.

"I was a little younger than you and Valerie when I first met my Sherrie." Damon ran an absent thumb over the tiny box. "She was the TA for my stats class my junior year of college. I'm telling you, I walked into class on that first day and got the rug pulled straight out from under me the moment I saw her. The most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on..."

Danny's leg bounced anxiously, but he stayed quiet. Valerie had mentioned her mother a few times, but she'd died before Valerie could really remember. Hearing Damon talk about her now was unexpected, but he got the distinct feeling this story was important.

"I sat right next to her. Introduced myself, tried to act all suave and smooth by asking her out, then got my butt handed right back to me when the professor introduced her as the TA. Still didn't stop me from asking her out again, as soon as the class ended. And again, and again, and again. I just knew it was meant to be with her. The day she finally said yes, I felt like I was truly living again." The smile on Damon's face carried the wistfulness and nostalgia of years long past, and Danny couldn't help but smile himself.

Damon looked at Danny again. "What you and Valerie have... it reminds me of what me and Sherrie had. I see so much of her in Valerie. She's got the same spark, the same stubbornness in her blood. Both of them just have this drive and intensity, and it's one of the things I admire most in them."

"I love that about her," Danny said instinctively. His voice had taken on its own dreamy quality as memories of Valerie's tenacity flashed across his mind.

"And that's part of the reason I see so much of myself in you."

Danny nearly fell off of the couch as Damon's words struck him. "Wait, what?"

Damon laughed. "You're a bright young man, Danny. You take a lot of pride in what you do, and you always look out for the people you care about. Even that right there tells me you and I are a lot alike.

"Not to mention that for as much as I see how Valerie looks when she talks about you, I also see how you look when you talk about her. I see the same joy and wonder in you that Sherrie brought out in me. I don't need to ask to know you'd go to the end of the world and back for my baby girl. You'd do anything to keep her safe."

"I would," Danny agreed earnestly. "She's my whole world, Mr. Gray. I-I know it sounds really cheesy but... I need her. I don't know what I'd do without her in my life."

"I know," Damon said, offering a warm smile. "Which is why I'd like to give you this."

He offered Danny the tiny box. Danny took it gingerly, cradling it in his palm. "What is it?"

Tears pooled in the corner's of Damon's eyes again. "The ring I gave Sherrie when I proposed to her. When she got sick and... and we got the prognosis," he said, his voice becoming thicker as he spoke, "one of the things she made sure she made clear before she... passed on was that I could do whatever I wanted with it, but she wanted her wedding ring to go to Valerie."

The box suddenly felt much heavier in Danny's hand. "I thought you said this was the engagement ring?"

"It is. I couldn't help myself. I was selfish." Damon reached up to his neck and, from under his sweater, pulled out a chain. Hanging from it was a simple silver band, studded with tiny little diamonds and twinkling like a star. "I've worn this every day since she passed. I couldn't let her go. Valerie was too young to understand. I swore to myself that when she got old enough, I'd give this to her, but... I'm a weak man." He sniffled again and wiped a tear off of his cheek. "I love my Sherrie so much. I'll never let her go. Not even death can keep me from her."

Danny wiped a tear from his own eye. "I've come face to face with death. It was... the worst thing I've ever had to go through," he said in a near whisper. "For Valerie, I'd face it down a hundred times over."

"And that's exactly why I know I can trust you with that ring." Damon took his prosthetic arm and gently closed Danny's fingers over the box. "It's not the wedding ring Sherrie wanted to give her... but hopefully it's the next best thing."

"She'll love it."

Damon cracked a smile. "And just how do you know that? You haven't even seen it."

"I don't have to. I know for a fact this will mean more to her than any ring I could buy."

Tears falling from both of their faces, the two men leaned forward and wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders. Damon squeezed Danny tighter and tighter to him. "Take care of her for me," he whispered into his ear.

Danny shut his eyes tight and hugged Damon even tighter. "I promise."

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part 3 here

#danny phantom #danny fenton #damon gray #valerie gray #gray ghost #dooshek #ask hannah #ask game #hannah writes #hannah stop getting emotional over her own writing challenge #this one was so much harder to write than val and the fentons #probably why this one ended up twice as long asfhdklsadf #thanks for the ask!!

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wastefulreverie · 2 years

Text

Damon wasn't used to working at Town Hall It was a different environment from the quiet halls of Axion Labs, bustling with local board members and other administration. But Mayor Masters had offered a great sum of money for him to leave his position at Axion and come to work in his private security detail at Town Hall. He thought Valerie might have had something to do with it, but when he told her about the promotion she'd clammed up—just surprised as he'd been.

He wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, though. It seemed that he was beginning to bounce back from his demotion.

Damon was posted outside of Mayor Masters' office. He had a straight shot view of foot-traffic through the building and had the mayor's schedule memorized to the minute. That's when he heard a second voice in the office behind him, it was strange. Mayor Masters was supposed to be alone and no one had made it past Damon. No one was scheduled to be meeting with the mayor now and that was far too loud to be from a phone or computer.

"—pleasure to see you, little badger. Now, what is it this time?"

"You could have warned me." The other voice, a familiar young man Damon couldn't place, said. "How do I stop this? I can't show my face to anyone! Not my parents, not anyone at school. I'm done for."

Despite the young man's urgent tone, the mayor laughed. "Please, Daniel. You're being melodramatic. After all, what's a few extra teeth?"

"Don't you fucking dare."

"I thought you wanted my help? Or did you come here to gripe?"

"You don't get to tell me I'm being dramatic. You know a way to hide this. Just tell me."

"What's in it for me?"

"Me not using these stupid new teeth on your neck."

"Oh, I'm just shaking in my boots!" His voice was nothing short of facetious. "That'll get me, for sure."

"I'm not kidding around, Plasmius. Tell me how to hide this. I don't have time to waste here."

"Mm, yes. But as you can see, I also don't have the time to waste. You've caught me at a bad time at my job." The mayor rustled some papers. "I have to earn a living like everyone else, you know."

"All your money is stolen!"

Damon almost choked.

"You see, it's those sort of accusations that get you in trouble, Daniel." He paused. "Maybe if you were a little wiser with your words, I'd be able to help you with that little problem of yours. A shame."

Something fell and there was a sudden THUMP.

"I haven't gotten my wisdom teeth yet. But then again, I wasn't aware I had to worry about this set first. So I'll ask one more time before I blast it out of you." His voice was slow and articulated. "How do I hide this?"

Damon didn't like the sound of that.

He turned around and threw open the door.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

Danny Fenton—son of the town's ghost hunters and Valerie's friend from school—had the mayor pressed against the wall in a choke-hold. Mayor Masters didn't seem any bit worried about it, and seemed rather amused until he spotted Damon. Danny was wearing a blue sweater and was noticeably a good two feet shorter than the mayor. Physically, it should be impossible for someone of his size to get the upper-hand on a man like Mayor Masters, yet he maintained his hold on him even as he turned to see who was at the door.

When Danny's striking blue eyes met Damon's own, he dropped Mayor Masters. The Mayor steadied himself well, feet landing even on the floor.

"Mr. Gray." Danny was a shade paler than he had a moment ago and when he spoke two prominent canines jutted out from his upper lip. "I swear it isn't what it looks like."

Mayor Masters clapped a hand on Danny's shoulder with a smile.

"Ah, Damon! I was just teaching Daniel here some self-defense." Here, Danny recoiled from the mayor's touch like he'd been burned. "With that bumbling father of his, heaven knows he needs it."

"What did you just say," Danny growled.

The mayor's smile widened. "Your services won't be needed for the rest of the day, I'm afraid. You can go ahead on home."

"But," he did the math in his head, "there's still three more hours left on my shift."

"You'll still be compensated for the full time," Mayor Masters assured. "Enjoy the afternoon. And please do shut the door on your way out. Daniel and I need some time alone."

Damon didn't like the way he said that at all.

But, this was his boss.

And if Danny Fenton had shown anything, it was that he could handle his own.

(That didn't make it not weird.)

If Damon turned his two weeks notice in at the end of the week, it had nothing to do with the conversation he'd interrupted at all. After all, he did prefer the quiet halls of Axion Labs.

#thinking that after val learns vlad's secret vlad tries to move damon closer to him as leverage #but obv damon realizes something is fucking weird about vlad and nopes tf out of there #Danny Phantom #Vlad Masters #Danny Fenton #Vlad Plasmius #Damon Gray #Danny Phantom Fanfiction #Fanfiction #Phic #Phicc #wrwritings

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scarletsaphire · 8 months

Note

OOO SOMETHING WITH VALERIE AND HER DAD WE NEED THAT FATHER DAUGHTER BONDING TOO

"Valerie?" Damon asked as he knocked on her bedroom door. It was one of the rare days where she left for school the same time he left for work. He had been planning to offer to drive her to school, instead of her having to take the bus, but he hadn't seen her all morning. If she wasn't up soon, she'd end up missing her morning classes at least. He didn't get any answer when he knocked, so he pushed the door open slowly.

The door creaked when it open just like it always did, and the light from the hallway illuminated Valerie's room. Her curtains fluttered in the breeze of her open window, despite it being mid November. Her bed was made just like it was every morning. "Val?" he called again, pushing the door open further and peeking his head inside.

Valerie hadn't slept in her bed last night, it appeared. She had instead fallen asleep at her desk, the Red Huntress suit still on, and what appeared to be an English paper half finished and drooled on beneath her head. Damon smiled, soft and sad, at her. After Phantom had revealed her identity to him, he'd tried to talk her out of it. It never worked; she was too much like her mother. Headstrong, confident, determined, and a bleeding heart that would never let anyone else hurt. There had been many anxious nights spent agonizing over her extracurricular activities, but they had found a precarious balance.

Damon made his way into her room, leaving the door open behind him. "I wish you didn't have to work so hard," he whispered, brushing the hair out of her face. She twitched at the contact, but didn't wake up. "Come on, sweetie. Up we go." Damon wasn't the strongest man, but he was stronger than he looked, so with a practiced heave, he lifted Valerie, still sleeping peacefully, into his arms. Carrying her to her bed was a bit more difficult, but every wobbly, strained, step was worth it.

Damon pulled the blanket up and over Valerie, and left a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep well," he said. "You deserve it." He closed the window and walked back into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. He had to call the school before work today; Valerie would be out sick.

#danny phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #ask game #valerie gray #damon gray

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dp-dark-gray · 8 months

Text

Chapter 9 Posted for Dark Gray Fic, The Exchange

Summary: The new King of the Ghost Zone, Dan Phantom, makes a deal with the Red Huntress, Valerie Gray, to secure his reign. If she bears him an heir, then he will never attack a human city again. But the deal is far more than a simple exchange. And both of them know it.

Rating: E

Genre: Romance / Drama

Available on AO3:

Start from Chapter 1

Go to Newest Chapter

#Danny Phantom #Dan Phantom #Valerie Gray #Dark Gray #DanVal #Frostbite #Damon Gray #Princess Dorathea #Paulina Sanchez #Clockwork #More family drama here we goooo #Dark Gray is a dumpster fire that demands to be written guh

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fangirlwriting-stories · 4 months

Text

Newbie Frustrations

Summary: Valerie meets Vlad for the first time when he asks her for a favor.

...

Valerie Gray does not need sidekicks, thank you very much.

She hasn’t had any kind of contact with the Vlad who sent her the suit before now, but if this is going to be what their meetings are like, she’s pretty sure she could do without.

But no, for the first time the person who gifted her ghost hunting equipment actually makes himself known, and Valerie is finding herself nothing but irritated by the interaction.

It’s more than a little disappointing. She’d thought before about potentially learning about and meeting who sent her equipment, and how she’d thank him. But when Vlad approached her, introduced himself, and took her to a training area he’d apparently had made for someone else, she found herself feeling a tad offended.

“You said they just started learning how to use the suits a couple weeks ago?” Valerie asks, putting her hands on her hips in an outward display of her irritation.

“Yes, but Miss Gray, please understand—”

“I don’t have time to babysit a couple of newbies!”

“Miss Gray, please,” Vlad says, holding up his hands. “Allow me to explain.”

Valerie crosses her arms, but doesn’t say anything else.

“These are two individuals who have been hurt by Danny Phantom just like you have,” Vlad says, which is… not what Valerie expected him to say.

“Really?” Valerie asks despite herself. She can relate to that, at least. “Who are they?”

“They ah, wish to remain anonymous,” Vlad says. “Surely you can understand that.”

Valerie gives a huff, but nods. She can’t imagine anyone learning about her identity as a ghost hunter. If these two want to keep their secrets, that’s fine.

“Fine,” she says. “But that doesn’t mean I have time to show them the ropes. I’ve got my own problems.”

“I understand, Miss Gray, but please,” Vlad says. He gestures towards the two small chairs sitting on the other side of the room. Valerie sighs and follows him over, then takes a seat across from him.

“I’m working with these two after a difficult time,” Vlad says. “Surely you remember what it was like to lose everything in your life to Phantom and his ghost dog.”

Valerie nods. It’s not a time she likes to think back on. She’d spent the week watching her life fall apart around her, with nothing she could do about it until Vlad sent her the ghost hunting gear. She’s adjusted better to it now, but there are still nights she goes to bed hungry and cursing Phantom’s name.

“These two are going through something very similar,” Vlad says. “I understand that it’s a lot to ask, but could you please be there to help them work through it?”

Valerie sighs. That’s a lot harder to say no to. If Phantom is ruining other people’s lives, and she really wants to stop him and the harm he’s doing, how can she not be there to support other victims of his?

Finally, Valerie nods, looking back at Vlad. “Alright,” she says. “When am I supposed to meet these two?”

“If you can come back here tomorrow, about an hour after school, you can meet them then,” Vlad says. “They’re eager to not put it off too long, I’m sure you can imagine.”

She can, though she doesn’t like it. She does, however, agree to it, even if she heads home trying not to think about it too much.

Vlad made a training ground for these two, and not for her. He met them first, and not her.

She supposes it was a bit much to assume Vlad would help her because he thought she was special. He’s just trying to take out Phantom like she is. She should just be grateful to have an ally who helped her become capable of joining the fight herself. Of course he reached out to others, especially if they’ve been victims of Phantom too. If he’d told her about them and then asked her opinion, she probably would have recommended they do the same thing.

…But he hadn’t asked her about it.

He’d met them first.

…

Today is a better one than most, because Dad’s work schedule lines up with Valerie’s, and he can pick her up and take her home instead of her adding an extra hour and a half by having to walk or take the bus. Valerie’s pretty exhausted from her own shift, and more than a little sweaty from staying in the Nasty Burger mascot the whole time. At least it’s getting colder, and she doesn’t have to wear the thing with the summer sun beating down on her.

Still, she stays awake on the drive home and listens to Dad talk about his day in favor of napping. It’s a lot of boring science talk she doesn’t really understand, but she listens anyway. If there’s one thing she can say the money troubles have done for her, she does like feeling closer with Dad.

Then, however, he finishes talking about his day and follows it up with “And how was your day, sweetheart?”

And obviously Valerie can’t tell him about the meeting with the Vlad or the coming meeting with Phantom’s latest victims tomorrow, so instead she talks about the math test that’s coming up that she’s not excited for, and how that’s definitely the biggest stressor in her life right now and it’s what she’s spending all her time thinking about.

…Okay, so maybe she doesn’t say all of that.

And maybe she doesn’t feel that much closer with Dad.

“I can help you study if it’s worrying you,” Dad says as they pull into their apartment complex. “You have tomorrow off from work, don’t you? You want to come by the lab after school and we can work on studying there?”

“Oh, uh, sorry Dad,” Valerie says with a wince. “I have to meet with Mr. Lancer tomorrow to ask for an extension on my English essay. I’ve been pulling too many shifts to have time to get it done.”

Which is… also true, actually. She’s going to have to head there right after in order to kill just enough time to match up with Vlad’s schedule.

Dad pulls them into a parking space, then puts the car in park and turns to face her. “Valerie, you know that your schoolwork needs to come before your job. If you need more time to get things done I can pull some extra hours—”

“No,” Valerie says instantly, maybe a little too quickly. But her Dad is too tired already, he can’t start pulling extra hours. “Really Dad, I’m okay. This is just a flukey thing, I normally have plenty of time.”

Though she’ll probably have plenty less of it if she has to start teaching two newbies how to ghost hunt—

“Alright,” Dad says, shutting off the car. “Just let me know if I can help in any way. And let me know when you want to study for that math test.”

“I will Dad,” Valerie says, thinking in her head about when in the world she’s going to find time for it.

She shakes the thought off as they both climb out of the car. She grabs her backpack that has her schoolwork and hidden ghost hunting equipment in it, and Dad grabs his briefcase and the projects he has from work. Dad locks the car behind them as they head up towards the building, and turns to Valerie as he uses his key to open the door.

“What are you thinking for dinner, sweetheart?” he asks, holding the door open behind him for Valerie as he walks inside.

“Do we have any ravioli?” Valerie asks. “The kind with the meat inside?” She needs filling food after an emotionally intense first meeting with Vlad followed by a long shift.

“I think we have a bit left,” Dad says with a smile as they both head for the stairs. The complex’s elevator is still under repairs for another week (read: month), but thankfully they’re only on the second floor, and it’s not long before they’re inside the apartment and heading towards the kitchen.

“I’ll make some lemonade while you start on the ravioli?” Valerie offers.

“Sounds perfect,” Dad says with a nod, so Valerie pulls the lemonade packets out of the cabinet and the pitcher off the top of the fridge.

She dumps the lemonade packet in the pitcher first, then fills it with water, and starts stirring it with a wooden spoon as Dad sits down at the table, done setting the water to boil on the stove. Valerie stirs for a little while longer, then sets the pitcher down on the table and goes back to the cabinet for cups.

She pours some lemonade in the two cups, then gets ice like Dad likes, and takes them both back to the table, handing the one with ice to Dad and sitting in the chair across from him.

“So hey,” Dad says as Valerie takes a sip. “Do you wanna watch the next episode of Scalpels and Secrets while we eat tonight?”

“Oh hell yes!”

“Valerie.”

“Heck yes!”

Scalpels and Secrets is a medical drama her and Dad have gotten hooked on. They decided pretty early on that they needed something to look forward to, since their life was likely about to get much harder than they were used to, and so they picked a cheesy medical drama to watch and get way too invested in. It’s sort of a joke, but also Valerie isn’t sure what she’s going to do if Kelly actually forgives Kevin for cheating on her again.

But after the day she’s had, an escape with her Dad to the world of overdramatic doctors dealing with stupid problems sounds like exactly what she needs.

So while her Dad boils the ravioli, Valerie takes their cups into the living room and turns on the TV. They knew they wouldn’t make the episode yesterday— Dad had a late shift and Valerie had ghosts to fight— so they recorded it, and by the time Dad walks in with two plates of ravioli for each of them, it’s cued up and ready to watch.

“Thanks Dad,” Valerie says with a smile at him as he hands over her plate. He sits on the recliner, since they only have one and, like he always argues, his back definitely hurts worse at 45 than whatever Valerie’s done to hers. (There are definitely some days after a long hard ghost fight when Valerie wants to disagree with him.)

But tonight she lets him with no argument and sits down on the ground next to the chair. And with that, Dad starts the show, and Valerie feels her long day drain out of her shoulders as she leans back against the chair.

But seriously, if Kelly takes Kevin back again, she’s going to scream.

…

Valerie goes through the next day slightly dreading the meeting with Vlad and whoever Phantom’s latest victims are. She’s not going to let any of them down, but she honestly wishes more than anything that there was someone else who could do this. She has enough going on in her life without adding on taking care of two ghost-fighting newbies.

She’s going to do it anyway, though. It would be a betrayal of everything she stood for otherwise.

So, after school, and after hanging around a little longer and successfully getting her extension from Lancer, she walks towards the building she met Vlad in yesterday.

She hears voices as she approaches, and stops outside before going in. She looks around for a second, confirming no one else is there, before activating her suit and walking quickly through the door.

Vlad is talking with two people, who are also wearing suits, one that’s red like hers, and one that’s purple.

Great, she doesn’t even have an originally colored suit—

Valerie shakes the thought off and clears her throat.

All three of them turn to face her, a little too quickly for them to have known she’s there beforehand.

“I’m told there’s some people who want to meet with me?” Valerie asks, looking back and forth between the two people in suits like hers.

The one in the red suit almost seems to shrink back slightly, and the one in the purple suit immediately stands up taller.

“Yeah,” they say, and Valerie is pretty sure she picks out a girl’s voice from under the suit, though there’s clearly some kind of voice modulator going on there. “You’re Valerie then?”

Valerie jerks backwards, then turns a glare at Vlad, even though he can’t see it from under the suit. For a minute she wishes he could. “So I can’t know who they are, but you told them who I am?”

“I’m sorry my dear,” Vlad says, looking genuinely remorseful. “I figured they would have guessed eventually. It’s not exactly private knowledge, what happened to you.”

Valerie feels her cheeks warm in anger and a little bit in shame underneath her suit, and is once again glad he can’t see her expression. She keeps her hood on, the fact that they know who she is be damned.

“Fine,” she groans, turning back to purple suit. “Yeah, that’s me. Vlad said you two are the newbies I’m supposed to help?”

“I’m not a newbie,” purple suit snaps. “We’ve been training for like a month and a half.”

Valerie raises an eyebrow, though still no one can see it, and looks around. “In here?” she asks.

“Yeah, so?” purple suit asks.

Valerie doesn’t say anything, just turns her gaze back to them.

“I thought you might appreciate having some allies,” purple suit says. “Since, you know, you’ve been doing this all alone?”

Valerie laughs a little, unable to stop herself.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” purple suit snaps.

Valerie doesn’t say anything, and glances back at red suit, who still hasn’t said anything and is now looking at the ground.

Oh, the ghosts are going to eat that one alive.

“Alright,” Valerie says, glancing back at purple suit, who she dubs “Thing 1” in her head. “Yeah, I’ll help you. But come with me, we’re not training here today.”

“You want to just fly out there in the open?” Thing 1 asks.

“Well, you’re gonna have to get used to that anyway,” Valerie says, crossing her arms. “We’re going a bit outside of town. Come on.”

She turns and walks back out the door, pulling her board up so she can fly as she does. She doesn’t look back, but eventually hears the sound of two other boards following her.

“Hey,” snaps Thing 1, flying up next to her. Thing 2 stays thoroughly behind her, and Valerie doesn’t pay them much mind. “You want to explain why you’re dragging us out to the middle of nowhere?”

Valerie glances over at her. “You’ve spent all your time training in there, have you?” she asks.

“Yeah, so? What, are you just jealous you never had someplace like that?”

Valerie laughs to cover the spark of anger at Thing 1 having guessed a little bit right. “As if,” she says. “That place is calm and stationary. Practically peaceful. Good for learning basic controls, but not much else. Ghost fights aren’t like that. They’re fast-paced, and they regularly change with no warning. You can’t be prepared for them if you spend your whole time practicing indoors.”

“Vlad never mentioned that,” says a new voice, and Valerie turns in slight surprise at the first time Thing 2 has spoken. Sounds like a boy, still with voice modulation.

She narrows her eyes a second later, turns in midair and crosses her arms. “Well it’s not his job to teach you everything,” she says.

Thing 2 doesn’t say anything in response, and after a second Valerie turns back to Thing 1. “We’re going out to the woods so you can weave in and out of trees. You need unfamiliar terrain to practice in.”

“Fine,” Thing 1 says, though she doesn’t sound happy about it. Valerie smirks a little under her hood.

She leads them all towards the outside of town, going on until they meet the woods, which takes them about half an hour. Valerie slows to a stop in midair and turns to Thing 1 and Thing 2, who have stopped behind her.

“So we’re just flying around the trees?” Thing 1 asks, glancing around.

Valerie smirks again. “Sure. But oh, one more thing.”

“What’s that?”

Valerie raises her blaster and fires it at the same moment, aiming for the space right in between Thing 1 and Thing 2. Both of them cry out in surprise and dart to the side.

“Hey, what the hell?” Thing 1 snaps. “A little warning would be nice!”

Valerie laughs. “You think ghosts are particularly inclined to give you a heads up? If you’re so qualified after your indoor training, prove it!”

This time she aims and fires right at Thing 1, who dives out of the way with an angry growl, then behind a tree for cover. Valerie aims for Thing 2, who hasn’t moved, like an idiot. But the second she fires at him, Thing 1 dives out from behind the tree and shoves Thing 2 to the side, putting herself right in the line of fire with just enough time to dive out of the way again herself.

Valerie laughs again. “Aww, that’s adorable, you like each other,” she says. “That’ll get you killed, you know.”

“You know, you could stand to be a little nicer,” Thing 1 snaps, whirling to face Valerie and firing her own blaster at her.

“There you go! You’re finally getting it,” Valerie says with a grin that Thing 1 can’t see. She dives easily to the side and fires again, once at Thing 1 and twice at Thing 2, who clearly needs a little more practice. Thankfully Thing 2 finally starts to get his head in the game, and dodges the blasts instead of waiting for Thing 1 to shove him out of the way again.

Thing 1 fires at her, and Valerie flies over in between the leaves of two trees, staying just low enough that she can dodge larger branches while still being able to use the leaves of cover. She weaves back and forth, as well as doubles back around a couple times, and while the leaves do make it a little harder to see Thing 1 and Thing 2, she still gets four shots in, which is four more shots than Thing 1 and Thing 2 get at her. In fact, most of the time after she fires a shot at them they whirl around from having been facing the complete opposite direction from her, meaning they clearly hadn’t had a clue where she was.

After a couple more minutes of this, Valerie takes pity on them both and flies up above the trees entirely. “Alright, truce!” she calls.

With a frustrated huff, Thing 1 flies up after her. Thing 2 follows a moment later, panting, and rests with his hands on his knees.

“Do you see my point yet?” Valerie asks, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, alright,” Thing 1 snaps. “You don’t have to be a bitch about it.”

“Excuse me?” Valerie raises her arm and fires another blast at Thing 1, this time not at all trying to miss her. She’s not aiming to hurt her, though, so Thing 1 just gets blasted back a few feet.

That doesn’t stop Thing 2 from leaping in front of her to prevent further blasts, though. So they’re both idiots.

“Hey!” Thing 2 snaps. “We’re on the same side here!”

“I am finding time in my life, which is always incredibly busy, to help you two not die,” Valerie snaps. “I don’t really have the time or desire to babysit, but I’m doing it anyway. And now you’re yelling at me because I don’t have the right attitude? Who’s the bitch exactly?”

“We don’t need babysitting—” Thing 1 starts.

“You’re right,” Thing 2 says, shoving his arm in front of Thing 1’s face. “I’m sorry. We clearly do need your help, we should be nicer about you offering it. Thank you.”

Thing 1 huffs and crosses her arms, but doesn’t say anything else.

Valerie looks at them both for a minute, then sighs. “It’s alright,” she says. “Look, Phantom messed up my life too, so I get it. That doesn’t mean I’m gonna go easy on you, but… I know what you’re going through.”

“Doubt it,” Thing 1 mutters, and Thing 2 elbows her in the side.

Valerie narrows her eyes at Thing 1. “Just don’t expect me to have time to help you every day,” she says, glaring at Thing 1, then Thing 2, even though they can’t see it. “I do have my own problems.”

“I understand,” Thing 2 says with a nod. “We wouldn’t ask you to anyway.”

“Good,” Valerie says. She looks around them with a sigh. “For now, I’d say you two should get outside more and practice in less familiar environments. And be prepared for things in an actual fight to change very quickly. I can’t always be there to watch your back.”

Thing 2 nods again. “Thanks.”

“I have to go now,” Valerie says with a nod back. “I have things to do. I’m guessing I’ll see you at the next ghost fight.”

She flies off before she can get an answer, heading for the Nasty Burger. She’s going to have to find some way to get enough energy to work as a customer service mascot for the next six hours.

…She’s doomed.

#danny phantom #valerie gray #vlad plasmius #damon gray #sam manson #tucker foley #tw emotional manipulation #everyone knows au #my fic

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nightwanderers12081 · 10 months

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ive seen alot of dp phics about Danny apologing to Valarie, but never any where he apologizes to Damon

I think it would be really interesting to see tbh, since Damon doesn't seem really spiteful towards Phantom ~ Ender/Whisper

#danny phantom #damon gray #valarie gray #pls someone write this #i want to see damon and danny interact more for the funnies

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numomuo · 9 months

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I LOVE DAMON GRAY OMG

I'm feeling this is before D-Stablized..

Things to add- I got lazy at the end sorry, and you noticed how I gave Mommy Valerie Valerie jewelry it was totally passed down and she wears it all the time

#let Valerie cry #it dosen't make her any less stronger #danny phantom #phandom #valerie #valerie gray #valerie grey #damon gray

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daily-dose-of-danno · 4 months

Note

TUE future Val?

Season 2, Episode 5 - The Ultimate Enemy

#!! her !!#the ultimate enemy #danny phantom #tucker foley #sam manson #damon gray #valerie gray #red huntress #daily dose of danno #request

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sykloni · 6 months

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#danny phantom #valerie gray #damon gray

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majorcharacterundeath · 1 year

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concept: post D-Stabilized Valerie's dad unofficially adopts team phantom + Dani cuz hes the only parent they can trust w this. their apartment becomes a regular hangout/base of operations/emergency hideout. he reminds them to be careful on patrols and that they can call him if they need help. he drops them off at the movies or the mall when he's free. he's such a good dad and he puts effort into being supportive of his daughter u cant tell me he wouldnt be a good dad to the rest of them.

#danny phantom #damon gray #valerie gray #ripley posts

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arisu-artnfics · 7 days

Text

“A trip to Paris” 5

Notes:

Chapter: 5/12 Previous Next (First). Versión en Español

Also on: A03 || FF || DeviantArt || Facebook.

Chapter 5: “From Amity to Paris”

That evening, Sam offered to help the Fentons with their hotel reservations, or rather, insisted she help them with the hotel booking. She wanted only the best for her boyfriend after all, even if she didn’t say it out loud. After several searches and comparing prices here and there, they finally decided on the ‘Le Grand Paris’ hotel. It was a bit fancier than the Fentons were used to, and maybe a bit overpriced… or, well, very overpriced, but that didn’t bother Sam, it was the best option for the family.

The hotel had two boarding options: suits and apartment-style rooms. The suits slept four people, while the apartment-style rooms could have up to six. As a family of four, the suit sounded perfect to the Fentons, that is, until they read some reviews. Everyone said the suit’s first bedroom was fine, but the second was so small and cramped that you could barely open the dresser and there was no place to put your suitcase. The apartment-style option would be better for them, even though it was an odd choice for four. It consisted of a main bedroom with a king-size bed and two smaller rooms that each came with either a queen-sized bed or two twins. That way Jazz and Danny could have their own rooms, rather than them having to share like when they were very, very little.

Sam took this as an opportunity to once again suggest that she go with them since there would be more than enough space for her too. She proposed that she could share a room with Danny, one of the ones with two twins, rather than a queen.

Jack and Maddie were hesitant to say ‘yes,’ they obviously didn’t mind the two teens sharing a room since they had invited her to stay the night, but they had already bought their plane tickets. And even though they had accepted Sam’s help with their hotel –for her insistence rather than something else– they weren’t sure if they could get a ticket for her on the same plane.

At that, Sam whipped out her phone, asked the Fentons for the flight information, and managed to use the power that came with being a Manson to not only get a ticket on the same flight, but sitting right next to them. She offered to upgrade all of their tickets to first class while she was at it, but the Fentons declined, they had saved up enough money for their travel expenses and didn’t want her to spend more –or rather, much more– than necessary.

After that, the Fentons simply allowed Sam to finish booking their hotel for the two weeks they planned to be in Paris. She respected their wishes and did as requested, only buying herself the plane ticket and making sure the family and herself were comfortable in one of the nicest hotels in Paris. After all, the idea was for them to have a relaxing and worry-free vacation, and that included not stressing over details that she would be more than happy to help with.

The Fentons and Sam had everything arranged for their trip to Paris, and Dani and Valerie were prepared to stay behind and protect Amity Park. Everyone was excited for the start of summer vacation, everyone except Tucker.

He loved his job as the Mayor of Amity Park, he really did! It was like that time he’d run for class representative, only better! But he missed spending time with his friends. He understood why he had a private tutor instead of going to school, but seriously, he was still a teenager! He never thought he would miss Casper High, but he was working on a way to attend classes there again next year, even if it was just part time. He wasn’t planning on running for the position again, so as soon as someone else was elected, he would be free to go back to being a full time student.

It was way too hard to lead, or even live in, a town overrun with ghosts, so both Tucker and the citizens of Amity were more than relieved when the news spread that the Fentons’ portal would be closed for two weeks. They were even more relieved when they heard that Jack Fenton would be out of the country and they could take a break from constantly checking their rear-view mirrors for that monstrosity they called an RV. It would be nice to have a break from the daily chaos, even if it was just temporary. After all, closing the portal forever wouldn't do any good in the long run. Ghosts from natural portals would still need a way to get back into the Ghost Zone. That was a main part of the case the Fentons presented to the FBI for why they should be allowed to repair their portal.

Students would be out of school soon, but a Mayor’s job was never done. Tucker needed a break too. When he heard the news that his friends were planning a trip to Paris, he started thinking of a way to travel there too. If he could come up with a good enough reason, he could use money from the budget to pay for it… Even though it was mainly an excuse to have a vacation, he had thought of actually doing something official while there, so it wouldn’t be seen as a complete abuse of power. He did have responsibilities after all.

The rest of the school year came and went. Danny’s time management plan was in full swing, and, although there were plenty of things that needed to be improved, it seemed to be working. He had help fighting the ghosts, and with Mr. Lancer doing his part as well, Danny managed to pass all of his classes. Now all that was left was the packing.

The day of their departure finally came, and Mr. Gray and Dani drove the Fentons to the airport.

When Damon learned about the little girl and what she was exactly, he almost couldn’t believe it until he met her and saw just how much like Danny she was. He was invited over to FentonWorks a couple of days before so Jack and Maddie could explain what to do if the portal accidently got activated or something else happened, as well as to get to know Dani a bit more.

The Fentons made sure that the filter got changed before they left, so that wouldn’t be a risk, but Dani knew what to do if that was the case anyway. Everything was taken care of, now the adventure was about to begin.

They were at the airport, pulling their suitcases out of the car. Danny made sure he unloaded the heaviest ones, as his powers helped them more than the others were going to accept, at least out loud.

“I can’t believe we’re actually here,” he said. ”You guys really closed the portal… I– I don’t know what to say… ”

“Well, believe it little brother. You’re actually going to get some rest now, like you need to,” said Jazz. It was time for Danny to take a break from using his powers, even if it was just the super strength that he used almost without even realising it these days. Jazz had noticed how he had taken the heaviest suitcases himself.

The group of travellers said their goodbyes to Dani and Damon, waving until they drove out of sight, then they headed inside. Jack and Maddie followed closely behind the three teenagers. It was strange to see them wearing ‘normal’ clothes, having left their jumpsuits behind, but they had promised a nice, non-ghost-hunting holiday. And even though it was a big change for them, they were true to their word.

“Exactly Danny–boy! We’re here, and everything is taken care of! It’s time to relax!” boomed Jack.

“Your father is right, Danny.” Maddie paused, “Jack dear, did we remember to thank Mr. Gray for driving us here? ” she asked. Even though they had, she had the feeling that they were forgetting something.

“I hope they remembered that Dani and Valerie made him promise to pick us up from the airport when we get back, too...” said Sam knowing that they had kind of forced him to make the offer, even though they would be arriving very late in the evening.

“I feel kinda bad about asking him to do so much for us, Dani and Valerie shouldn’t have… I mean, I could've flown us to and from the airport at least,” said Danny. He knew well enough that he was more than capable of carrying the family and their luggage without much of a problem.

They quickly dropped their suitcases off at the check-in counter and headed for security.

Jazz pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, “For the last time, Danny, this is a holiday. That means you shouldn't be exerting yourself, you shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting. And before you say anything, just because you can doesn't mean you should.” She kept her voice low and made sure not to mention Danny’s powers as they were in public, but her firm tone of voice let him know that she would brook no argument.

“Yeah, I know, I know,” said Danny with a wave of his hand, “but— ”

“No. No buts, Danny.” Sam interrupted. “We already talked about it, didn’t we?” She was just as tired of trying to get Danny to stop using his powers all the time as Jazz was.

“Yes, I know...” Danny sighed, “You’re right.” He looked around for the number of the gate that they needed to go. There weren’t that many gates, but it was their first time there.

“This way!” Jazz pointed out their gate. It hadn’t taken her long to find the number that matched her boarding pass, it was a small airport, after all. ‘Amity Park Airport’ was fairly new, and probably one of the only good things that Vlad had done as mayor.

“Good eye, Jazz, dear,” said Maddie, heading in the direction Jazz had pointed.

In the waiting area by their gate, there was a large window that looked out over the runway and they were amazed by how many planes they could see and how busy and bustling it all was. Even though the Amity Park airport was small, it was still big enough for there to be several planes flying at the same time to different parts of the country. It was their first time travelling like this. Yes, they had flown before, but never in planes this big, let alone internationally. The seating on their first plane was divided into two sections of three seat rows on each side of the walkway. Danny, Sam, and Jazz sat together on a row while Jack and Maddie sat behind them next to a nice, young businessman. It was a short flight to Chicago and an easy layover at O’Hare before they were off again. Their second plane, the international one, was much bigger than the first. This one was divided into three sections, two on the sides with three seats to a row, and one in the middle with four. Just as with their first flight, the three teens sat together with their parents in the row behind them.

A bit longer than ten hours later, the Fenton family, plus Sam, landed in Paris at the ‘Charles de Gaulle Airport.’ They picked up their suitcases and exchanged some of their dollars for euros, just in case, though they planned to use their credit cards mostly since it was easier. Luckily for them, the currency exchange post employee did speak English well enough. They were also grateful that they had booked transport from the airport to the hotel in advance, because French wasn’t easy, especially after such a long flight.

When they arrived at the hotel, they checked in and then were guided to their rooms by a helpful bellhop. Once inside, they quickly set about exploring their apartment style suite, admiring just how big and luxurious it really was. Then they claimed their rooms and their beds, and did some light unpacking to settle in. Jack and Maddie obviously took the master bedroom, while Danny and Sam got the room with two twin beds and Jazz took the one with the queen. Just as they had agreed back home.

“Alright kids, let’s try to get some sleep,” Maddie looked at her watch, it was well past midnight in Paris, even though it didn’t feel like it.

“But I’m not tired,” Danny complained. “Can’t we stay up a little longer?”

Maddie levelled a motherly glare at him. “You’ll wish you’d gone to bed when morning comes and the jet lag hits,” she reminded them.

“She’s right, you know,” Jazz said. “It feels like it’s only five or six in the afternoon because that’s what time it is in Amity Park. But we aren’t in Amity Park anymore, and if we want to enjoy all the things Paris has to offer, we need to adjust our sleep schedules as soon as possible.”

They moaned and groaned and dragged their feet, even the adults, but eventually everyone was in bed. It took them some time to actually fall asleep, but the night came and went and before they realised it, it was the next day.

They woke up bright and early, much to the dismay of the teenagers and the family made their yawning, shuffling way downstairs for breakfast. The restaurant part of the hotel was on the first floor, or ground floor, as it was called here. They didn’t have much planned for the day other than getting used to being here and getting used to hearing everything in French rather than English.

Once they were sitting at the breakfast table, Sam admitted to learning some French thanks to her parents' insistence on having a “well-rounded and cultured daughter.” Of course, Sam had never liked the image that her parents tried to force on her, she just wanted to be herself. But despite her best efforts, she had still picked up a little bit of the language.

“Well this is going to be interesting...” Danny said as he picked up the breakfast menu, it looked like it was written in Latin or something.

“Here, Danny, try this one,” Sam handed him the international menu. Even though this one was in English, it was still several pages of food he could not pronounce, because, of course, anyone who could afford it ate there and they needed a fancy menu full of fancy food to satisfy all their fancy tastes.

“I should have known,” Maddie muttered, mostly to herself, as she looked at the menu, “The price was decent for the room but not the food...” She and Jack were thinking about ordering some large breakfast platters for the family to share.

They had found a pretty good deal on the hotel, it was well within their budget, but Sam still insisted on paying for it and well, how could they refuse?

“Hey, Sam, do you think we got such a good deal because of the French–American Friendship Week that happened recently?” asked Jazz. She had heard somewhere that it was going on, maybe she had read something about it… It sounded fun, but her family was never one for celebrations. Not even Christmas was correctly celebrated at her house, sadly.

“What?” Danny asked in confusion. “The what–what, now?” He thought about it for a moment, and maybe it sounded a little familiar, but hey, holidays weren't his forte.

“I’m sure you learned about it in school, Danny. The French–American Friendship Week is a celebration of our shared history, going back to the Revolutionary War when France was one of our first allies as a young nation. It happened just a couple of weeks ago, if I remember correctly. Just before, well, everything…” said Jazz, thinking back to what she saw when booking the hotel with her parents. The website had said to ‘book now’ before the ‘offer’ ended. “I think that this pretty hotel offered special discounts for Americans only… or something, lasting for the rest of the month...” They got lucky that the booking allowed them to have the cheaper prices for that extended time.

“I think so,” replied Sam. “I completely forgot about Friendship Week, it's not like they said anything about it at Casper. We live in Amity Park, and if it’s not about ghosts, it’s like nobody cares. As if history doesn’t even matter! But everyone should learn from history so things like wars won’t repeat again, you know?” she ranted, but without any real anger. She knew that they all shared similar ideas about the education in Amity Park.

Jazz hummed her agreement. Education was important, but well they were from Amity… What can you do, right? That’s why she did her best to help teach them some of the important things that they didn’t learn in school. She also did her best to keep up with the latest technology. Nobody said that their education was bad, just that there were definitely gaps. At least it met the government standard, but not by much. “All right kids, I think I got it!” Jack exclaimed after he and Maddie had spent a while reading over the menu options in silence. The small explanations beside the names of each dish were very helpful. French names were a challenge, but that wasn’t going to stop Jack Fenton.

“Got what?” asked Danny. “Oh right, breakfast! Um, how about, uh, French toast?” He didn’t even know what to get yet, or why he suggested that when he doesn’t even like toast. He may have forgotten that they were supposed to be deciding what to get. It was breakfast time after all, and, for the first time in a very long time, he was actually going to get to eat something that wouldn’t attack him.

“Really, Danny?” Jazz crossed her arms, unimpressed. “French toast?”

Danny simply shrugged in response. It was the only thing that he could think of at that second.

“Your father and I have been looking over the menu… and, well, there’s a family special that includes a variety of food,” Maddie explained, tapping the menu for emphasis as she spoke. “We were thinking of getting that. It comes with toast, Danny, so everyone should…”

Sam turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. So far she wasn’t sure that they offer vegan options, so not everyone would be able to eat that, or that was what Sam was thinking.

Maddie blinked a couple of times at that expression, “Don’t worry, Sam dear, from what I can see, we can order it with part of it vegan and the other part not, and this one includes vegan options,” she finished saying. She was pretty sure the ‘V’ symbols on the menu must be for vegan options, right?

“Oh...” said Sam, who checked that section of the menu for herself to find that Maddie was correct. Fancy restaurants did have a tendency to be like that anyway. Whether here or in Amity, fancy also means ‘do whatever the client asks for.’ She’d never had a problem with that back home, so why should she here? And it was clear that the ‘V’ symbol was indeed for vegan options, and also that the platter had the option to make half of it vegan.

After they looked over the menu for a few minutes, a butler that introduced himself as ‘Armand’ appeared to take their order.

Even though he was usually on call for Miss Chloe, attending to her every whim, being a butler for the Bourgeois family meant that he was basically an employee for everything. He worked for Le Grand Paris, checking people in at the front desk, delivering room service, and sometimes he stepped in to help out the waiters in the restaurant or the hotel bar.

The Fentons did end up getting the family special, as well as some other vegan options to accommodate Sam. After breakfast, Jack and Maddie announced that they were going to explore the hotel, just to make sure it wasn’t haunted. One can never be too careful, they always said. The kids quickly piped up that they would rather walk around and explore the city. And after Danny promised not to transform and fly them around, invisible or not, they let them go.

Danny understood why his parents asked that of him, it made sense. Even if he wasn’t supposed to be taking it easy, they couldn’t risk anybody seeing Phantom in Paris and connecting it to the Fenton Family’s trip. He understood it, but that didn’t make it an easy rule to follow. During the flight here, he had been very tempted to fly below the plane for a while, just because he was desperate for a little bit of time to himself. Being crammed together in close quarters for several hours with a bunch of strangers was stressful, especially when one of those strangers was a very unhappy baby. His ghost powers had never seemed so appealing.

The kids headed for the door, calling out that they would keep in touch as they waved goodbye.

The Fentons had never travelled out of the country, and so they hadn’t considered that they would be leaving their cell phone network behind. Luckily for them, Paris had a pretty good wifi grid. They also had their Fenton Phones as backup. Danny had sheepishly confessed to bringing his on the plane, and then one after the other, the rest of the team admitted to doing so as well. Although they were designed specifically to work inside the Ghost Zone, in the human world they technically worked as phones without the need for a network or data for basic communication. They did have the drawback of only being able to be used for calls, not texting; for that they would need wifi. This trip was going as unexpectedly as they thought it could be. But even though it hadn't been planned, at least with the Fenton Phones they could communicate with each other if something happened.

Not far from their hotel, the three teens found a small park. They were drawn in by the beautiful landscaping and curiosity about the statue they could see in the middle of it. As they followed one of the many winding paths to the centre of the park, they felt oddly at home. Their city wasn’t named Amity Park for nothing, and even though they had only been gone a day, they already missed it.

A short walk later and they were examining the statue up close. It was obviously important for the city or it wouldn’t be here, but looked fairly new. It seemed to depict a pair of superheroes, or at least that's what it looked like to the three of them, what with the costumes and all. As they were wondering who the mystery heroes could be, Jazz pointed out a plaque at the base of the statue. They moved closer to read the inscription on it, and with the help of Sam’s limited French, they learned the pair were local heroes called 'Ladybug' and 'Chat Noir.'

"Are they for real?" Danny asked with a laugh. “That’s a bit on the nose, isn't it?”

Their costumes did look like a ladybug and a black cat. At least, he was pretty sure ‘chat’ meant ‘cat’ and ‘noir’ meant ‘black’ but he couldn't remember where he'd learned that. And ‘Ladybug’ was obvious, that was just English.

"Hey, you can't say anything, Mister…” Jazz quickly looked to see if anyone was near them, “Mister I'm-a-ghost-named-Phantom,” she whispered with a teasing smile.

"And just what's wrong with my name?" he feigned offence. “It's way better than the one the media gave me, I could have been 'Inviso-Bill’ for crying out loud! Phantom is so much cooler!”

"You went from one shameless pun to another, Danny,” his sister replied with a deadpan expression. “I mean, you could have picked anything, but that’s what you went with?”

"Hey! That’s a great pun! Took me weeks to come up with!” He crossed his arms with a sniff, “Who knows, maybe I'll find someone around here who actually has good taste. That'll show you.”

He stuck his tongue out at her and, after a moment, all three teens burst into laughter.

Once they calmed down again, Danny wondered aloud if there was a statue of him in Paris. It was a capital city, after all.

"You better not be thinking what I think you’re thinking." Sam warned. It would be easy for Danny to explore the city as Phantom without anybody knowing, at least not any Parisian, and try to find out what the locals thought about him. "You know if you go off by yourself and get lost, you won't be able to just ask for directions. We can't even do that now, when we're together. Which is exactly why we're not going too far from the hotel." Even if she did speak some French, that didn’t mean she was fluent.

"That's why I brought a notebook,” said Jazz, pointing to what was, indeed, a notebook in her hand. “And I'm writing down the names of all the roads we see, so at least we could point and try to ask for directions if we need to."

Danny sighed, "No, I wasn't thinking about that, really. I promised Dani, and, well, you guys and my parents, too… and even Valerie. For this trip I'm just plain old Danny Fenton. No superheroing. No ghost powers at any time." It had been hard to accept their terms, but a real holiday was sounding more and more tempting each time someone mentioned it.

"Good,” Sam took Danny’s hand with a smile and a blush, “We’re here to relax, remember?" Even after all this time dating, they still gave each other butterflies.

"All right, now where?" said Jazz, clearing her throat. Even though she was happy for Danny, it was a bit awkward seeing her little brother still blushing over something so simple. It had taken them such a long time to finally admit their feelings for each other, and she was happy for them, she really was, but she was starting to feel a bit like a third wheel.

"I don't know… the river?" he suggested, looking around and noticing that they weren't that far from it. "Wait, is that a school? Across from that bakery?" he asked, confused. It was a bit odd, if you asked him, to have a school, a bakery, and a park so close to what he assumed was the tourist area, their hotel wasn't that far after all.

Sam shrugged after noticing the school he was referring to, "Who knows, maybe this whole area isn't as touristy as we thought. I mean we’re still pretty far away from the eiffel tower or any of the museums."

“She’s right, you know,” added Jazz. She had looked up all the big tourist attractions on a map before they left the hotel, and nothing was in walking distance.

“I guess… so, the river?” Danny asked. He wasn’t going to overthink it. He was here to be a tourist, and tourists visited the river.

“The Seine.” Jazz interjected automatically.

“Whatever.” Danny rolled his eyes.

"I suppose the river could be nice…" replied Sam, just happy to be spending time with Danny. She would have preferred if it was just the two of them, but she didn’t mind Jazz tagging along.

They bid farewell to the statue and crossed the park in the direction of the bakery. From there, they would make their way to the stairs that went down along the river.

Just as they reached the bakery, the main door flew open and a girl with blue-black hair pulled into twin pigtails ran out of it. She was carrying a tower of boxes so tall she couldn’t see where she was going and nearly ran into Jazz. Thankfully, Danny reacted quickly, pulling her out of the girl's way just in time.

The girl nearly tripped over thin air when she noticed the three of them, stuttering something in rapid French.

They simply stared at her with confused faces.

“Uh, sorry, we’re not French,” Danny offered as he helped her balance the boxes that she was carrying.

“Oh!” the girl’s face lit up as she recognized the language, repeating her apology in English. “And thank you for your help!”

Danny gave her a friendly smile. “It’s okay, happy to be of assistance.”

“I’m Marinette,” the girl introduced herself. “And my family owns this bakery. I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m running really late with this order, so, um, goodbye!” She turned to run in the direction of the park and immediately tripped over her own feet, almost falling again.

“Woah, careful!” Sam called, helping Marinette with the boxes this time. She hadn’t thought it was possible for anyone to be this clumsy.

“Would you, uh, like some help?” offered Danny. He caught the topmost boxes before they could slide off their precarious tower. That was the third time in as many minutes they had helped her with them and he wondered if this was something she could normally do by herself.

“Oh!” said Marinette, noticing how much easier it was to move now that she didn't have so many. “Thank you! I should have waited for my friend to help me with these… but she had to babysit and they really do need to be delivered right away...” She sighed, “I’m so sorry to trouble you, but I would appreciate it if you could…I mean, you are helping me already… so, thank you.”

Marinette smiled at the kind strangers. She really did need the help. Her friend had offered to help her the day before, but had to cancel at the last minute because her parents needed her to watch the twins.

“I'm Danny,” said Danny, smiling back at her. If Marinette had introduced herself to them, it was only polite that he return the gesture, right?

“Sam,” said the girl next to him, inclining her head when Marinette looked at her.

“And my name is Jasmine, but you can call me ‘Jazz,’” said Jazz, when it was her turn.

“Sorry again for all of this. I normally take turns to do this many boxes, or ask my friend Alya to help,” she started walking and the three Americans followed her, “but like I said… well, it’s my fault really. I got distracted, and, well, I didn’t leave when I should and well…”

They wouldn’t know as the attack had happened before they arrived, but Ladybug and Chat Noir were out until late last night fighting an akuma. Because she had stayed up so late, Marinette had overslept this morning.

“Hey, it’s all right, you don’t have to explain yourself to us, you know. And I’m sure that whoever is waiting for these will understand you taking a bit longer, won’t they?” Jazz said gently, trying to calm Marinette down. The poor girl obviously had a lot on her mind and her distraction certainly wasn’t helping her coordination. She was already very clumsy, and when she wasn’t paying attention, the boxes began to tilt and fall because she wasn’t holding them up straight.

“Yeah, it’s okay Marinette, we don’t mind lending a hand. It’s not like we had anything else to do,” said Danny, still following Marinette with the boxes. Their only plans for the day were to get used to Paris and adjust to the time difference. They weren’t planning to visit the Eiffel Tower or any museums until later in the week. So all good in that department.

“Oh god! I’m so, so sorry!” Marinette started again. “I didn’t even ask… I just assumed that–”

“No, no, you’re okay there! We don’t mind,” Sam interrupted. “Just like Danny said, we don’t really have anything planned for today. For now we’re just getting used to everything, you know?” She rushed to reassure the Parisian, she was not about to hear another rant of apologies from a girl that they just met. She knew that would get annoying fast.

“Ah!” said Marinette, realising that they had probably just arrived in Paris. “Where are you from? If you don’t mind me asking. Maybe after dropping these off,” she hefted the boxes as if to point out the favour they were doing her, “I could help you guys find a guide or something? It’s the least I can do to thank you for helping out a complete stranger during what I assume are your holidays.” She felt a bit guilty for bothering tourists.

“Well, it looked like you needed a hand, and we were right there, so why not pitch in, you know?” Danny shrugged, the boxes in his hands bobbing up and down. “We’re from Amity Park, Illinois. You probably haven’t heard of–”

“Oh! I know that place!” Marinette interrupted excitedly, recognizing the name, “You are from that ghost town, right?”

Danny had forgotten that even though Amity isn’t really considered big, it was big news now.

“Well, not a ‘ghost town’ ghost town, but that is where that new hero is from, isn’t it? Is he really a ghost? Sorry, probably a silly question to ask...” Marinette murmured, feeling a bit dumb now that she had said it out loud, but she and Chat Noir had been very curious about him since they had put up the new statue.

“Don't be so hard on yourself Marinette, it’s only natural that you would be curious. When the ghosts started appearing, a lot of people in Amity didn't believe they were real either. I told my little brother here, that now that Amity Park has been in the news, people all over the world would be wondering the same things we did in the beginning,” said Jazz. Although she hadn’t really expected to find someone actually asking… Or even anyone who recognized the name of Amity Park so quickly.

“Thank you,” said Marinette. Jazz's words made her feel a bit better, but her cheeks still burned in embarrassment. Thankfully they had just arrived at their destination. “Well, we are here!”

Noticing that they had walked all the way back to their hotel, Danny had a sudden realisation, “Wait, are the baked goods here from your family's bakery?” he asked.

“Are you staying here?” asked Marinette, making a face. Only very rich and famous people stayed at ‘Le Grand Paris,’ so Marinette was a bit surprised that her new friends were staying there. They were nice, but didn't look particularly rich or famous.

“They had a deal running for French–American Friendship Week, so…” Sam shrugged as if that was very obvious. She didn’t know what was with her attitude all of a sudden.

“Oh, right...” Marinette replied. She had forgotten that for a whole month the hotel booked anyone from the United States for very, very cheap prices. She had been surprised when she heard about it, as it didn’t seem like a very good business decision, but then when she saw the extra publicity it gave the hotel, she understood. “Wait, I thought that promotion ended before the summer break… ” she added.

“We made our reservations during the promotional period, and the deal carried over,” Jazz explained. She knew the normal prices, and it seemed like Marinette did, too, so her reaction was understandable. It was a very expensive hotel, after all.

“And even if it hadn’t, Sam would have paid anyway,” Danny shrugged, not giving it any further thought.

“Danny!” admonished Jazz. It was rude to assume that Sam would simply pay for everything. She had offered, but still.

“I mean, yeah, I would have anyway. But it was still good to get the offer, just so your parents wouldn’t feel so bad about me spending money on you guys, you know? Don’t think that I didn’t notice them looking for alternatives. And I don’t blame them, I mean the normal prices at this place are ridiculously expensive,” Sam rolled her eyes.

“Tell me about it,” murmured Marinette. Although she personally hadn't checked their usual prices, she knew that the Bourgeois family wouldn’t normally allow such cheap prices. That’s why only internationally famous people came here. People like Jagged Stone or her great-uncle.

“Ah, what did you just say?” asked Danny. He thought he heard her say something, but wasn’t sure.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, surprised at being heard. “Well we should get inside...” she quickly changed the topic and shifted the boxes in her arms. She ran inside and made a beeline for the reception area, it was a good thing she was expected.

“Oh, right,” said Danny, following her into the hotel. He shrugged, he must have just been imagining things. They were still getting used to it all.

Jazz and Sam shared a look, rolling their eyes at the antics of the other two.

After Marinette and Danny dropped off the boxes, they all headed back to the bakery. She thanked them again for their help, even though it had mostly been Danny, and he waved off her thanks saying that it was nothing and he was happy to do it.

On their way back Jazz began plying Marinette with questions about all the typical, and not so typical, places that they could visit while they were in Paris. Marinette was more than happy to help them get around and launched into a detailed explanation of lesser known attractions and also how there is a direct bus line that goes from their hotel to the Eiffel Tower if they were interested in it. She then even talked about Ladybug and Chat Noir, the two local heroes, as well as how her best friend probably knew more because she runs the ‘Ladyblog,’ an online blog totally dedicated to the local heroes.

Danny was surprised that he was right when they were guessing what the statue was about, especially the part about obvious names.

Marinette agreed that the names were pretty obvious if you thought about it, but those were the names that the heroes gave to the public. She personally never thought about it, she may ask Chat what he thought about when she saw him as Ladybug.

When they got back to the bakery, Marinette offered them some pastries as a thank you for helping her. The three teens declined her offer, saying that her advice about what to visit and how to navigate the city was more than enough. Jazz of course had written down everything that Marinette told them. She had made sure to note down every single detail, after all she was in charge of it since it was her idea.

Just when they were about to say their goodbyes, Marinette’s parents joined them in the front of the bakery. They introduced themselves as Sabine and Tom, and thanked them for their help as well. They had noticed that their daughter was struggling with all the boxes and were about to take turns helping her when they saw the three of them step in. Normally they would need to start preparing a second batch of baked goods just in case the first one didn’t make it to the hotel, but they seemed like a responsible group of young people with decent balance and so they had gone back to tending the shop, sure that their daughter was in good hands.

Marinette’s cheeks turned a bright shade of pink as her parents explained how clumsy she was. Now these nice people would never want to be her friends! She groaned and buried her burning face in her hands.

Jazz patted her comfortingly on the back and Danny said that they understood her pain all too well. After all, the Fenton parents were about as subtle as a flashing neon sign. Even Sam could relate, there was a reason she didn’t like her parents very much.

The Dupain–Chengs apologised to their daughter and repeated Marinette’s offer of baked goods as a thank you and wouldn’t take no for an answer. The family’s combined efforts finally convinced them to accept a box of treats, not like they had much of a choice. Mr. Dupain had just shoved the box of baked goods into Danny’s hands when a nearby explosion rattled the bakery.

To be continued :D :D

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