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nabtime · 4 months

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Better Watch Out

Danny had just started to feel like he was settling in with the Waynes. It had been... not ideal circumstances that brought him to the family in the first place, so getting used to not having to deal with all that mess was the first hurdle. The second being getting used to dealing with an entirely new- if more pleasant, mess. The Waynes, and Gotham by extension, were- to put it lightly- fucking crazy. He wasn't in Amity anymore and however much he'd thought it was the weirdest place on the planet before- he was absolutely rethinking that now. Where he had been one hero against a handful of villains, Gotham had a whole brigade of vigilantes against an army of villains. And they were... Bat-themed. For the most part. He'd yet to meet any of them, so he hadn't gotten the chance to ask what all that was about.

None of that was the point though. The point was that Danny had only recently stopped feeling like a fish out of water around his new foster family, and now the Holidays were coming. The Holidays that always served to put him in a sour mood. The Holidays that made him more prone to lash out and snap at those that didn't deserve it. The Holidays that, despite being Jewish by heritage, Bruce seemed oddly enthusiastic about celebrating.

(It reminded him, painfully, of Sam. He'd yet to be able to see here since everything went down and he missed her and Tucker something fierce. Which was maybe also putting him in a bad mood.)

So you really couldn't blame him for feeling a little tense about the whole situation. Not only were the Christmas decorations that smothered the Manor making him grouchy, but his grouchiness was also making a guilty pit form in his stomach. He was a moody teenager and adding trauma on top of that didn't help how caustic he could be- and adding fear on top of that made it all the worse. What if he saw Dick in his Santa hat, grinning and innocent, and he snapped? What if he saw Damian, stoic but loving, give Titus a shiny red bow-tie collar for the season and he made a caustic comment that went too far? What if he saw Bruce so much as smile at him while standing near the giant tree in the foyer and he saw green?

What if he ruined Christmas? Again? For people that didn't deserve it? Again? What if he hurt the people he cared about that had only ever shown him care and consideration? Again?

So Danny was just a bit tense. A bit on edge. And he was trying. Oh Ancients was he trying. To not be such a little bitch about all the Christmas stuff. But he had a limit. Bruce, being the rich socialite that seemed far too enthusiastic about family-centered holidays, did not have a limit. Every inch of the manor was covered in tinsel and holly and blinking lights and fake snow. Every spare moment was filled with different siblings being coerced into doing cheesy holiday activities, with Danny being the only one to attend every single one of them. (Cutting down a Christmas tree with Jason. Buying presents at the mall with Tim. Decorating while hanging from the chandelier with Dick. Caroling very badly with Stephanie. Making snow angels with Cass. Watching Christmas movies with Duke.) And he attended them all with a barely restrained snarl and a badly bitten tongue. The one time, one time, he'd told Bruce no- the guilt had eaten him alive (and dead) at seeing the man melt into the most pathetic kicked-puppy look he'd ever seen.

No grown man should ever be able to do that with his face. Danny never wanted to see that again.

In return, though, he had to face the Horrors.

The latest Horror being the worst he'd ever faced to date. A Horror that he thought he'd never have to face. He thought he'd slipped past this particular one by aging out. He was too old for this. He shouldn't be there. Damian, scowling and eyes filled with murderous intent, shouldn't be there. Dick and Bruce seemed to both be having the time of their lives. It was far too disturbing- and the continuous blasting of Christmas music and the overheated crush of a restless crowd only made it worse.

They were in line to see Santa at the mall.

It made his skin crawl. He was fifteen! Damian, the poor bastard, was also fifteen!

He could practically feel Ghostwriter laughing his ass off at his predicament. This was worse than getting stuck in a rhyming Christmas cautionary tale. He would 100% rather be stuck in one of Ghostwriter's cheesy poems than be stuck in the stupidly long line to see the fake mall Santa that probably didn't want to be there just as much as Danny.

But Bruce looked so fucking happy. Genuinely happy.

It was something he'd noticed early on about his foster dad. He smiled a lot and smiled big, but he rarely ever meant it. Now, Danny wasn't usually one to notice things like that. He got pretty wrapped up in his own problems and just- didn't have the skill to notice these things. Usually. But, well, being ghostly gave him a bit of an advantage. He could get a pretty good read on a person's emotions, regardless of what expression they wore. If he felt close enough to them. Frostbite had compared it to, like, family pack bonding. And he really, really didn't want to think about that further (why had it never worked for his parents? why did he feel so close to Bruce so quickly? why?) But, more importantly, he could tell that while Bruce smiled a lot, he rarely meant it.

But whenever Danny or his foster sibling begrudgingly participated in "family holiday activities" he smiled and he meant it. Bruce, fundamentally, was a sad man. Always grieving something. But here and now? In line to see his teenage children visit fucking Santa in the mall? He was smiling from ear to ear and his emotions, for once, matched. Yeah, there was a hint of mischief there, but it was overwhelmed by the giddy joy and excitement.

A suspicious amount of excitement... Like he was expecting something.

And then Bruce was leaning down between him and Damian and with a bright grin, he muttered, "I have a surprise for the both of you."

And even Dick, who had not stopped taking a stupid amount of pictures the entire time, paused to look at Bruce curiously.

"As I've told you both before," he said, looking over at Dick and back to Damian, "I know the real Santa. Met him a few times, saved Christmas with him a few others, and he owed me a favor for the last misadventure we had. So, I asked him to be here, for this one afternoon, for you guys."

Danny barely caught a glimpse of Dick rolling his eyes in the background. Oh, okay, so this was bullshit that has long been established. Nothing new on his account. That was something at least.

"Father," Damian interrupted with scorn and a promise of violence in his voice, "you are aware that this- Santa Claus creature- is fictitious, are you not?"

"Damian, chum," Bruce responded carefully, sincerely saddened, "why would you say that about an old family friend?"

And, poor Damian, looked two parts baffled and three parts murderous. Nonplussed and unable to even fathom a response to his father. He just stared the man down.

Dick huffed in exasperation behind them. "C'mon, B. Will you let that go already?"

Bruce furrowed his brows, eyes already taking on that faint sheen of kicked-puppiness, and looked back up at his eldest. "You don't believe me, Dickie? After all these years?"

Dick responded with a flat stare. Danny kind of wished he had popcorn for this moment. It was like witnessing a mild car crash. Nobody got hurt and it was still wicked to see parts flying everywhere. There was even a chance of things catching fire. Man was he glad he could just watch.

"Danny?" Bruce pleaded, turning to him with those sad, sad eyes. "Do you believe me, chum?"

And fuck how was he supposed to respond to that?

"I have it on good authority," he said, thinking of yearly fight, after fight, after fight, "that his existence is very hotly debated in the scientific community."

He could feel the questioning stares from Damian and Dick but he refused to look away from the innocently tilted head of his unfortunate foster father.

"Is that a yes?" and he sounded so sincerely hopeful. He couldn't crush the man's spirit. He couldn't.

But he also refused to lie and say he believed in Santa. At fifteen.

He clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth, but eventually replied. "It's a hotly debated topic."

And Bruce just smiled that empty smile and patted his shoulder. "Thanks, chum."

He, again, ignored Damian and Dick's stares. If he looked at them, he'd break. If he so much as made partial eye-contact, he was gonna fucking lose it.

"Oh look! We're almost at the front!"

Danny was living his worst life. Officially. This was the bad time-line. Dan's future didn't even come close. He was going to go mega evil any second now and kill everyone in the vicinity and then himself. This wasn't happening and it wasn't real and Santa Claus can't hurt him because he isn't real.

But Bruce, the saddest man in history, utterly and sincerely believed that he was.

So Danny was going to sit on some random old dude's lap and pretend to care about what he wanted for Christmas and whether or not he'd been a good boy this year and he was going to force a smile the entire time and his soul might shrivel up and die all the way inside, but at least Bruce would be happy.

What the fuck kind of afterlife was he living.

And then it was their turn and Danny was forced to go up first because the alternative was Damian committing homicide in the middle of the mall while Dick and Bruce cheerily took pictures.

Okay. Just sit down. Spit out answers to any inane questions. Pose for picture. And leave. Simple and easy and completely unbearable. But- for Bruce- he would bear it.

But, damn it all, a chill went down his spine as he approached.

No. Absolutely not.

There was no way. But he examined the man sitting in the chair and the more he saw the more the sinking pit in his stomach grew. Full thick beard of snow white hair. Brown eyes filled with smug mischief and magnanimity. Thick red velvet jacket made for trapping in heat in extreme cold weather, lined with white fur that looked suspiciously close to trim on cloaks he'd seen in the Far Frozen. A not-quite-ghostly-not-quite-magic-but-something-in-between aura he often got around Gods and Ancients.

Fuck, but Bruce actually knew the real bonafide Santa Fucking Claus.

What, and he means this with a great amount of emotion, the fuck.

He sat down in a stupor and the man just placidly smiled at him, a twinkle in his eye letting him know that he knew Danny was currently experiencing new stages of grief not yet known to man and was just gonna let him ride it out. How nice of him. Because of course he was being nice. He was Santa.

Fuck.

He looked up at the man. Ghost. God. Whatever. And for a good moment that's all either of them did. Just. Stared.

Sorry, Santa, Danny's brain has suddenly gone on vacation. 404 not found. Please leave a message after the tone. Error. Sorry, there's nothing there. Please try again.

After a few agonizing moments he asked, "how? Do you know Bruce?"

And Santa laughed at him, the sound working its way into his bones and filling him with a warmth he hadn't felt in a long time. It tasted just a bit like egg nog. Gross.

"Well," the man started, voice deep and rich like a good cup of hot chocolate, (whatthefuckwhathtefuck). "Why wouldn't I know a man like Bruce? Honorable, righteous, and very skilled. One of the best the Justice League has, if I'm being honest."

And then Danny's brain stopped completely. Because there was no fucking way Santa (FUCK) was implying what he thought he was implying.

But it all made so much sense now. His ears were ringing suddenly and the world was greying out but he was Seeing the Light.

"-nny?" Santa (FUCK!!) was saying. "Are you alright? Want to tell me what you want for Christmas now?"

"Hm," he said airily, still not all the way there, "I'm good, thanks."

And then he slid off the man's lap and walked back to his foster family in a daze. And he looked at Bruce (BATMAN!! FUCK!!!) and he slid a slow hand down his face, attempting to take the skin off it in the process.

"You alright, Danny man?" Dick asked, only half paying attention while he gleefully snapped pictures of a sullen Damian barely restraining himself from committing violence while stubbornly standing next to Santa instead of sitting on his lap.

"That's the real Santa, Bruce is Batman, and I'm half-dead," he replied bluntly.

Dick fumbled his phone in response and Bruce merely raised his eyebrows.

"That's an odd start to a 'three guys walk into a bar' joke there, chum," he said amiably. And Danny wouldn't have noticed the tension in his voice if he weren't ghostly. But he was and unfortunately for them all, it was now everyone's problem.

"Not a joke," he said. "I'll explain the dead part later but Santa outed you on accident."

"Okay, no," Dick interrupted, "we are not leaving the dead part for later, Danny, what the fuck."

"Listen," he said flatly, slapping his hands on either side of Dick's face and smooshing it to convey his seriousness while he spoke. "Santa is real, he's a God, and he's sitting right there." He emphasized with a sweeping wave of his arm in the direction Damian was stomping back towards them from. "We're leaving the dead part for later."

"What is all this about? Dead part? What is going on?" Damian demanded in rapid succession, growing more aggressive and persistent with each question.

Danny, already on his last fucking nerve, was gonna lose it. For real.

"Apparently," Dick drawled, disbelief and an unfair amount of derision in his tone, "that's the real Santa, he told Danny B was Batman, and Danny's now saying he's dead."

"What-"

Damian did not get to finish his sentence because that was the exact moment Danny finally snapped. Every bit of pent up tension and hostility, every bit of restrained Holiday fueled fury he'd been bottling up. Unleashed all at once because Dick decided to be an asshole about not believing him.

Danny snatched one of the giant plastic candy canes that lined the aisle of the queue to see Mall (but actually Real) Santa and gave a good swing in Dick's direction. Dick who had unfairly good reflexes and was able to dodge by jumping over the swing and landing back neatly on his feat.

"Danny?!" he cried, incredulous.

But Danny was no longer listening. Only reveling in the wild swinging of the candy cane and attempting to land a hit on Dick for being an absolute dick and finally unleashing hell upon the world and specifically his asshole foster brother. And maybe he put a little bit more ghostly strength in his last swing than he meant to, because when he finally made contact- he heard a pained off as Dick went down hard.

"Danny, please," he wheezed from the soft bank of fake snow he'd fallen into, "it's Christmas."

He screeched and continued his assault. "It's December 10th!"

And then, promptly; Bruce wrangled the candy cane from Danny's grasp, Damian pulled Dick from the floor, and they were all calmly escorted from the mall and asked politely to never return.

Danny really, truly, hated Christmas. And it looked like that wasn't going to change any time soon.

#naps fics #nap shitposts in the afterlife #danny phantom #dp x dc #dpxdc #dp x dc fanfic #sorry we need to make use of bruce knowing actual fucking santa more often #and pair it lovingly with dannys hatred for christmas #its SO funny #this was supposed to be a funny little shitpost and then evolved sorry #trying to get back in the habit of writing before working on OEG again #anyway hiiii

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artemismoorea03 · 8 months

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DPxDC Prompt: Who's Child Is This?

Inspired by an ICarly Clip. "Mr. Wayne, we have your son here."

Bruce blinked, then checked the number on the phone. It was from the police station. He then looked around the table which had fallen silent when Alfred had brought him the phone.

Dick, Jason, Tim, Duke, and Damian were all accounted for. Even Jon was there so they couldn't have misidentified him as his kid.

"Which one?" Bruce chose to ask.

"Tim Drake."

Bruce looked at Tim specifically as he tilted his head confused. "Are you sure?"

"Oh yeah, Mr. Wayne, we know your boys by now."

"Right... alright, I'll be there in a couple of minutes. Can I ask on why Tim has been taken into custody?"

Tim tilted his head even further while some of the others around the table started chuckling.

"He was found trespassing near the new Axion Labs at the edge of the city. The owner chose not to press charges so we're sending him home in your custody."

"I see, I'll be there soon. Thank you for the call."

"Of course, Mr. Wayne, we'll see you soon."

Bruce ended the call then looked at his kids. "Apparently, Tim has been arrested for trespassing near the Axion Labs construction site."

"And you didn't even invite me?" Dick chuckled at Tim, "We could have had so much fun together."

Tim scrunched his nose at the idea. "No way, that whole area is an OSHA violation. If I went there it wouldn't be out of costume, whoever that kid is was risking his life just walking within a block of it."

"Well, I'm going to go down there and see what 'Tim' was thinking." Bruce got out of his seat, "I'll be back soon."

"New brother?" Cass asked as Damian growled.

"We're going to assume no for now, but we may have another for dinner depending on what's going on."

"I will prepare another seat while you are gone, Master Bruce."

"Thanks, Alfred. I'll be back soon."

When Bruce walked into the police station he immediately noticed 'Tim' sitting in front of one of the officers desks. It was a newer officer and it was clear that neither Detective Montoya or Commissioner Gordon were in or somebody would have noticed that this kid definitely wasn't Tim.

Yes, the kid had black hair which was on the shorter side but his hair fell in front of his face more than Tim would wear it, and his eyes were unnaturally blue. He was pale in an old hoodie, blue jeans, and red shoes. The biggest difference though was that this kid looked like he was only pushing 15, not 17. Yes, he looked quite a bit like Tim but anybody who had spent more than five minutes with Tim Drake would know they weren't the same person.

"Mr. Wayne." The officer called as Bruce walked over, looking at the kid.

He was thin and pale, which a tired look on his face. He also shrunk away from Bruce when he walked over.

Bruce knew what a kid in trouble looked like. So he smiled down at the kid. "You know, Tim, when I said you could go to the lab to do your science homework I didn't expect you to go all the way to Axion Labs."

The kid looked at him, surprised then seemed to quickly catch on. "What can I say, I had to see what terrible science looked like. Sorry for making you come down here."

"It's fine, but are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, totally." He said, his hand subconsciously moving to his ribs as though he was hurt.

"Alright then you are grounded."

"What?!" 'Tim' squeaked, "Come on-"

"Nope. You are ground... for... 'til... college."

"FOR 'TIL COLLEGE?!"

"For 'til college!"

The officer cleared his throat then held out a clipboard. "If you sign the red x's you can take your son and leave, Mr. Wayne."

Bruce took the papers, quickly looking over it and signing it. It was strange to see that all of the handwriting on the paperwork was adult writing. Had they even asked this kid his name? Once everything was signed he passed it back over to the officer who nodded.

"Looks good. Thanks Mr. Wayne and you stay out of trouble. The whole city knows your face. You're just lucky Mr. Masters didn't want to press charges."

"Yeah, so lucky." The kid rolled his eyes, then stood up and looked up at Bruce. "Can we go now?"

"Sure thing, chum. Come on." Bruce said, leading the kid out of the station and to the car. The kid seemed hesitant as he looked around, his eyes narrowing when they landed on a gentlemen with silver hair in a ponytail, only when the man smiled at 'Tim' did the kid speak up again.

"Come on, Dad, let's get out of here before the stalkers find us." He said, climbing in the front seat and closing the door, much to the annoyance of the silver haired man.

Bruce climbed in the front seat, buckling in and driving away from the station. "So... 'not Tim' what's your name?"

"Danny. Just Danny... sorry about all of that Mr. Wayne. That guy took one look at me and started calling me 'Tim' and when I tried to explain that I wasn't 'Tim' hey called me a liar. But if I gave them my real name then... somebody else was going to come collect me and I didn't want that. So... I let them call me Tim. I'm sorry, I hope it didn't put you out..."

"Not at all. But... are you okay? Why were you at Axion Labs?"

Danny seemed hesitant, "I... it sounds crazy."

"It's Gotham, kid. Crazy things happen all the time..."

"Right... well um... I-I was kidnapped from my home and taken to Axion Labs. I-I escaped and when I was trying to leave the grounds the police saw me and thought I was trespassing. Since the cops were I decided to play along with it..."

Bruce frowned, "Kidnapped? Is... is there somebody I can call?"

Danny shook his head. "I have an older sister who is probably going crazy looking for me but other than her and a couple of friends there wouldn't be anybody. My parents... they were kind of involved. They... they found out something about me and tried to hurt me, I ran to somebody I knew I couldn't trust because I thought maybe he would get his head out of his ass but I was just being an idiot." Danny hugged himself. "You can drop me off anywhere though, you don't have to bother yourself with me or my shit."

Bruce pulled to a stoplight and reached over to the kid who flinched, Bruce waited until he relaxed before Bruce patted his head. "I'm not going to just leave you on the street. Besides, it's late and by now my butler has already dished you some dinner. So at least for tonight you're welcome to stay with me and my kids. We'll get some food in your belly, make sure you're not wounded, let you call your sister, and find a way to get you home. Sound good?" He asked, moving his hand away.

Danny looked at Bruce, seeming a bit untrusting for a moment before he glanced at something near Bruce and relaxed. There was nothing with Bruce, he wasn't carrying anything, but whatever Danny was seeing was enough to put his mind at ease. "Okay... but if anybody tries anything be warned, I bite."

Bruce chuckled, "So do most of the others. You'll fit right in."

'But just what the hell is going on with this kid? Does it have anything to do with that man outside the police station? I've got to get to the bottom of this before this kid leaves, especially if he's still a target.'

#dp x dc prompt #my prompts #maddie and jack didn't take the news well #Vlad got controlling when Danny showed up #Danny just needs a nap #he's just a lil guy #he's never done nothing wrong his entire life

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flamingpudding · 5 months

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Cats are liquide, so is Daniel

... that's what Damian decided after having watched the other for a while and noticed behavior similarites to Alfred, the cat.

Daniel comes and go like he wants unless you made a set plan with him, the only times he appears for sure where the meals Alfred made sure he attended. Otherwise, good luck finding the other if he doesn't want to be found.

That had irked Damian a lot at first but he had learned to accept it, if not completely willingly but Richard insisted that it was good brotherly behavior of him to not demand to Daniel's location when he doesn't want to be found.

Another thing was that his newly acquired brother purred. Like a cat. Damian would never admit it towards his other siblings. But his efforts in getting along with Daniel tripled when he learned this fact. For one, the switch from calling him Fenton to Daniel gained him a pleased purring. He was not calling him by nickname yet, that was something he would refuse longer until he ran out of tactics to make the other comfortable enough to purr.

But the most common fact that Daniel appeared to have with Alfred, the cat, was that his body must be made of liquid or at least as flexible like a cats. While Alfred, again the cat, found tight spaces like vases, bags, bowls and other things comfortable to rest in, Daniel appeared to show something similar.

Tight spaces, like a cupboard, the nocks between to shelves, the little space between a shelve and the ceilings. If Daniel disappeared he could be found in spaces like that. But what him appear even more liquid like was the was Daniel also tented to rest in more common spaces.

Damian had blinked in disbelieve the first time he found Danial in the common room. One leg on the couch, the other on a side table his back laying on the floor a book in his hands he was reading while his head was under the coffee table. And he though is elder siblings were bad with the way the collapsed couches or other seating spaces at times. How was that comfortable?

Another time Damian had found him sleeping, hanging upside down from a bookshelf in the library with his knees hooked on the top of the shelve. The book he appeared to have been reading like that laid fallen on the floor Daniel's arms hanging down above it and his face was getting a rather red coloring with all the blood gravity was pulling down towards it.

Then, there was also that time he found Daniel curled up in a spare tire of the Batmobile after patrol. How did he even manage to fit in there?

So Damian decided Daniel was a human cat. Because as weird as his family was, this was in no shape or form normal behavior. The fact that he was now finding Daniel napping in the chandelier of the foyer like it was a bed proved it. Not even Richard did that.

Really Damian wouldn't even have noticed it if he hadn't happened to look up. He was going to have a talk with Daniel about this even Alfred, the cat, knew to behave better than this. And if that didn't work, then he would allert his other siblings or maybe he should go directly to Pennyworth with this.

#dp x dc #danny fenton #danny phantom #dpxdc #dcxdp #damian wayne #Damian keeps finding Danny napping or resting in weirds spaces #but only Damian #random ideas #non of the other batkids have found him like that before #they will demand photos of all the spaces he keeps finding him in #Damian doesnt think that the way Danny rests is healthy #it needs to be fixed in his opinion #little does Damian know....#Danny is doing it on purpose just for him #to make Damian call him Danny faster #its not working so far

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puppetmaster13u · 3 months

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Prompt 194

Bart is frozen. He’s terrified- his heart is beating faster in his chest than it’s ever done before yet he couldn’t even start to force himself to run, his body practically vibrating in place as he shook.

There was a familiar feeling in the air, one he’d never thought he’d ever feel again once he’d slipped back in time. He couldn’t breathe, everything felt like it was falling away except for that horrifying fiery aura-

“Kid, are you okay?” There was a hand on his shoulder, light as a feather (he’d learned that from gramps!) yet grounding.

He finally managed to suck in a breath, however wheezy, and looked up to answer, the words dying in his throat before they even began.

“Kid? Holy shit-” Bart didn’t hear anything else as his poor brain fizzled and he fainted.

Danny blinks down at the barely-teenager who seemed to just have some sort of attack before fainting practically in his arms. He’d say diabetes or something, but he has no way to be sure and is maybe panicking himself.

“Wow Mum, wha’ you do?” a toddler Dan- he knew what he did but honestly his baby lisp was adorable- snarked from next to him, chewing on his kid leash. Which he wasn’t getting out of until he could both stop floating whenever he saw the stars (yes he knew he used to do the same thing, shush) and walk out into traffic.

#Dcxdp #Dpxdc #Prompts #De Aged Dan #Bart came from Dan’s timeline and is maybe slightly traumatized about it #Jordan has forgotten most things about it #Danny just picked up Dan from daycare & saw Bart freaking out & went to check on him #Dan just wants to go home so he can try to convince Tucker he doesn’t need a nap #Why yes Tucker & Danny are roommates in Central #They video call Sam (who is in college in Gotham) thrice a week #Dan: This isn’t fair- Ellie got to travel the world when she was my age and I’m stuck with a leash #Danny: Ellie never ate anyone sunshine #Dan: She ate her brothers this isn’t fair #Danny: Those were emergency situations they were already dead and she panicked #Bart is in civilian clothes

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luxaofhesperides · 4 months

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For ghostlights: baby Ellie + tired Danny + Duke the baby whisperer?

He has no idea how his parents did it.

Babies are exhausting. Toddlers more so. Any infants in the strange stage in-between? Doubly so.

Ellie is wonderful and sweet and cute and such a terror that Danny genuinely has no idea how his parents managed to raise not one, but two kids. For all their eccentricities and absent-mindedness, he and Jazz turned out pretty well. Ignoring the whole halfa thing because that’s more his fault than theirs even if Jazz says they shouldn’t have created the dangerous environment in the first place.

That environment is exactly why Danny refuses to let Ellie go to his house in Amity Park. His parents say they’ve disabled all the weapons and ecto-sensors since he’s had to reveal himself as Phantom, but he knows that things slip their minds and if they can’t guarantee that the house is safe, then Ellie isn’t going in there. Simple as that.

This means that they live somewhere else now. Danny had thought about it, during the hours Ellie was asleep and he was awake, exhausted and worn down to his bones, and took Jazz’s advice to accept Vlad’s offer of buying a house for him. Except he argued Vlad down to an apartment in a city of his choosing where he wouldn’t stand out too much and he would be safe, or as safe as he can be, from anyone trying to hunt down ghosts.

So here they are. Standing in the empty living room of their new apartment in Gotham.

Gotham may not be very safe as a city, but it’s good for two ghosts trying to pass as normal.

Danny sighs yet again, and looks at the space he’ll need to fill. At least Vlad is footing the bill. It’s the least he can do for creating Ellie. Frostbite was the one who was able to stabilize her, though it was almost too late and resulted in her reforming as a baby, just one and a half years old. Jazz is the one who’s choosing most of the furniture, thankfully, so it’s something that Danny doesn’t need to worry about it.

It’s a new start to their lives and it feels so empty. So overwhelming. How did his parents do it? How do any parents do it?

Ellie smacks a small palm against his cheek and babbles lightly.

“I know, Ellie,” Danny says, giving her a tired smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll have this place looking good in no time.”

He adjusts her in his arms, then heads towards the bedroom. It’s the only room that has any furniture, and all that’s there is a bed, a crib, and a bookcase. There are a few boxes on the floor, labeled ‘bedroom’ and ‘clothing’ and ‘books’. Most of it came from his bedroom in Amity Park, but he’s pretty sure he caught Jazz sneaking a few things in before they closed the boxes and loaded them up into the car.

“Can you be good for five minutes?” he asks Ellie.

She babbles again and smacks his shoulder.

“I’m taking that as an agreement. Just let me open these boxes and start unpacking before you start causing trouble, okay?”

Ellie makes another sound, but it seems agreeable so Danny carefully lays her down in the crib and gets to peeling off the tape on the boxes. The opens the one labeled ‘bedroom’ first, finding blankets and sheets folded and stacked in vacuum sealed bags. One of them is his old childhood blanket, the one he carried around everywhere that was faded with age, barely blue, with white bunnies decorating it.

He was so small when he had this. It makes him oddly emotional to unpack it and pass it on to Ellie, draping it over her so her pudgy little hands can grab at it.

This is no time to cry, though! He forces himself to focus and makes his own bed, shaking out the sheets and fluffing up the pillows. He’ll worry about washing everything later; Vlad made sure to get an apartment with an in-unit washer and dryer, which means he was actually sensible while apartment hunting for Danny.

He doesn’t mean to flop onto the bed once it’s made, but he ends up there anyways. He’s barely gotten a full six hours of uninterrupted sleep since Frostbite deemed Ellie healthy enough to leave his care. The drive up to Gotham was long and wore him down to his bones.

He doesn’t mean to fall asleep, but he does, drifting off as he wonders, distantly, when Jazz will be back from getting them dinner.

Ellie wakes him up at dawn with a loud cry. Danny jolts awake, heart pounding in his chest as he panics because Ellie isn’t here, she’s supposed to be in his arms, where is she? And then he sees the crib, where Ellie is staring at him through the bars, and he nearly collapses with relief.

“Morning, El,” he says, voice rough from sleep, as he picks her up. She just stares up at him, then leans forward and rests her head against his shoulder.

It’s quiet moments like these that make his heart melt. Ellie’s had a hard life already; he wants to give her a better one, this time around.

A quick check of the time on his nearly dead phone shows that it’s barely past six in the morning, and Jazz texted him a few times. All about furniture, saying that she didn’t want to wake them and that food is in the fridge.

It’s only the mention of food that makes him realize how ravenous he’s feeling. Danny makes a beeline for the kitchen, ignoring everything else, and pulls out the boxes of take-out Jazz left stacked in the fridge. He devours it like he’s been starving for weeks, then gives Ellie her Ecto-Jello, the only food she’s allowed to eat until Frostbite gives the okay for solid, human food.

Once he’s got her burped and cleaned up, Danny looks out of the kitchen and realizes that Jazz was very productive while he was asleep. The living room isn’t empty anymore; a dark green couch is against the wall, a low, rectangular coffee table made of dark wood in front of it. Two armchairs are on both sides of the couch, and a television has been installed, fixed into the wall.

Jazz is asleep on the couch. Her legs hang off an armrest and she’s drooling slightly.

Her phone is charging on the floor, so Danny takes it and snaps a picture of her for later teasing, then sends it to himself and writes a note to her that he’s going out with Ellie to explore the neighborhood.

He’s finally feeling more settled, energized from sleep and food.

In the warm dawn light spilling in through the windows, Danny looks down at Ellie and thinks that they’ll be just fine after all.

. . .

Four months ago, Danny had hope. He was optimistic.

Gotham was a fresh start, a new lease of life for Ellie. It is Danny’s attempt to be a single parent, sacrificing college for Ellie, and he’s planning to go out and beat the gangs black and blue if they start anymore shootouts in the next year.

He had just gotten Ellie to sleep. She was actually peacefully taking a nap.

And then a drive by shooter raced down the street, gunshots echoing down the road, and Ellie work up crying. She still hasn’t stopped, despite how Danny rocked her, soothing her as best he could.

They had been outside when Ellie fell asleep, her head on his shoulder. He had been catching up with Sam and Tucker when the car drove by, people ducking and crying out to avoid the bullets. Danny instinctively covered Ellie and made them both intangible, saving them from any stray bullets, but they ruined her nap and he needs to make them pay for that.

“Shh,” he soothes, “You’re okay. We’re both fine. It’s okay, El, it’s okay.”

Her little hands clutch at his back, twisting the fabric of his shirt, and she lets out a heartbreaking wail. He pats her back, hurrying down the street to get back to his apartment building, ignoring the looks people were giving them as they passed by.

“I know it was scary, but you’re alright. You’re always safe with me, El.”

Ellie’s cries down down a little, but they don’t stop. She whimpers, burying her face against his shoulder as he finally reaches their apartment building.

The door’s locked, which wouldn’t be a problem except Danny can’t get his keys from his pocket. He knows he has them! But his pocket refuses to relinquish them and he has to stop every few seconds to pat Ellie’s back, trying in vain to calm her down.

“We’ll be inside in a second,” he tells her, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice, “as soon as I can get these freaking keys!”

“Hey, you alright?”

Danny startles, whirling around so fast it makes Ellie go quiet, clinging to him so she doesn’t get flung into the air. There’s a guy standing before him in a gray hoodie, looking at him with clear concern. It speaks to Danny’s level of constant exhaustion that he hadn’t clocked someone sneaking up behind him.

The guy offers an awkward smile. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you or anything. Um, do you need me to open to door? I live here too.”

Danny wonders for a moment if this someone dangerous, someone hoping to hurt Ellie, but she starts to cry again and he steps to the side. “Please. I can’t get my keys.”

“I’m Duke, by the way. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”

“Danny,” he replies, watching as Duke pulls out a large key ring, jangling with the amount of keychains on it, and easily opens the door. “I’ve been here a few months, but I’m usually inside. Or walking around in the mornings with this little monster.”

“That would explain it,” Duke says as he holds the door open, letting Danny in first. “I’m usually in classes at GCU, but I decided to take a mental health day after my lab, so here I am.”

Danny walks in and waits for Duke to follow, making sure the door closes properly behind them. “Thanks. How is GCU? What do you study? I was thinking of going there myself once she gets a little older and can go to school.”

“Oh, I’m majoring in English and Human Services.” He goes to say more, but Ellie wails again and Danny winces.

“I’m so sorry. That drive by woke her up and it’s really rattled her.”

“Hey, no need to apologize. I get it, Gotham is rough to kids.”

Danny tries rocking her back and forth, but it doesn’t help. He resigns himself to another hour of her crying before she exhausts herself, and makes for the stairs, going up to the fourth floor. Duke holds open the door again, then follows after them. It makes Danny wonder if Duke is planning to do something to them, then decides he can beat Duke in a fight, so it’s fine.

Duke doesn’t try to hurt them or steal Ellie away. He opens the door to their floor and stops before they do. “I’m in here,” he says, “If you ever need me to open more doors.”

“Thanks. Um, actually, I might need help opening mine?”

Duke just smiles and makes his way back to them, following them farther into the hall until Danny stops in front of his apartment.

“If I could just get my keys,” he starts.

“Here, let me hold her for a second so you can get them,” Duke offers. Danny wants to insist that it’s fine, but Ellie cries directly into his ear and Danny, at the end of his rope, passes her over.

Like magic, Ellie settles as soon as she’s in Duke’s arms. She sniffles and hides her face away, clutching to Duke’s hoodie, but she stops crying. They both go still, surprised, and stare down at her.

“Seriously?” Danny says as he finally pulls out his keys, “Are you trying to say that I’m the problem?”

Ellie babbles lightly, and Duke turns his head to futilely hide his grin.

He grumbles as he unlocks the door and pushes it open. Ellie is acting as if she’s never been upset before a day in her life, making herself at home in Duke’s arms.

“I can’t believe this. Betrayed by my own blood.”

Duke laughs as he follows Danny into his apartment, lightly patting Ellie’s back. “It’s always the smallest, cutest ones that do this.”

“Yeah? Do you work with a lot of kids or something? Used to being betrayed by the little ones?”

“I don’t work with kids per se,” Duke says, “But my foster family is a hot mess and the youngest of them likes to keep us all on our toes.”

“Family,” Danny says in a tired, fond tone.

“Family,” Duke agrees.

With his door open and Ellie calm, Danny’s ready to just lay face down on the floor for the rest of the day and not deal with anything else. He moves to take Ellie back, holding his arms out, and Duke tries to pass her over.

The key word being tries.

Ellie tightens her grip and kicks at Danny. She refuses to be taken away from Duke, making him awkwardly try to pry her off his hoodie. Danny really hopes Duke doesn’t notice how she goes slightly intangible to make his hands fall through her arms and legs. It shouldn’t be noticeable, but it’s hard to focus on anything but a kid that clings to you, so Danny holds out for Duke’s goodwill and silence.

“As nice as it is to meet you, you need to go back to your… parent?” Danny nods when Duke looks at him in askance. “You need to go back to your parent. Okay? Come on, kid, he’s waiting for you.”

Ellie shakes her head, makes a frustrated noise, and then turns and reaches out a grabby hand towards Danny.

She still refuses to be taken from Duke when Danny tries to pick her up again, so he settles with just letting her hold two of his fingers.

“I’m so sorry about this,” he says to Duke, face burning. This is why he hasn’t been going out and being social since he moved in; Ellie is a handful even on the best days, and Danny doesn’t want someone to judge him as unfit to parent her and have her taken away.

Duke shakes his head, stepping closer. “It’s all good, man. I don’t mind. It’s not like I had any plans today. I’m already skipping my classes, might as well spend it with you two than sleep all day.”

“Are you sure? I’d be happy to invite you in, but I know Ellie can be a lot and not everyone wants to spend their day off with a baby.”

“I’m sure. Besides, I’d just be down the hall anyways. It’s no skin off my back, man.”

“Well,” Danny says, stepping to the side to give Duke full access to his open doorway, “Come on in, then.”

Ellie keeps them connected, one hand in Duke’s hoodie and the other holding Danny’s fingers, and though her cheeks are still red from how hard she had been crying, she’s calm now with her eyes shining with mischief.

As the door closes behind them, Danny realizes that this is the first time someone he’s not related to has been inside his apartment. Not even Vlad has come in, always choosing to invite Danny and Ellie out for lunch instead.

It should make him nervous, but Duke is calm and easy going and kind.

He’s making silly faces at Ellie to make her laugh, completely at ease with her in his arms, as if he’s done this a thousand times before.

Gotham is a second chance at life for Ellie. It’s a sacrifice for Danny, to be alone and without friends or family around. He’d been ready to give up everything for Ellie, to focus solely on raising her, but with Duke filling his apartment with laughter, he thinks that he can make a life here too.

All he needs to do is take that first step, reach his hand out, ask Duke to stick around.

He can do this.

#ghostlights #dc x dp #dp x dc #dcxdp #dpxdc #dc x dp fic #prompt fill #my writing #i really love writing about characters struggling to be parents v suddenly and thru unconventional means #so here's danny a year out of high school living on his own for the first time w baby ellie #and duke who needed some space and independence while he's in college. bruce pays for the apartment while duke works part time for grocerie #and ellie who had been fully developed but unstable is now a halfa baby who remembers stuff but is also. yknow. a baby.#she absolutely latched onto duke to force danny to have a life outside of her. but also she can sense that hes kind and calm #which danny needs bc he is Stressed (tm)#this leads to duke bringing over food for them and looking after ellie while danny goes shopping or naps #both of them ignoring how duke has to leave suddenly for Hero Related Reasons and how danny and ellie have Powers #it's a v delicate balance they keep for the sake of keeping ellie safe #yeah they're gonna co-parent and realize they're basically dating after MONTHS of pining #the bats have bets on who gives bruce a grandkid first and literally no one bet on duke but here he is lol :)#thanks for the prompt!!

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thebubblesareevil · 1 year

Text

Slowing down and Speeding up...

Part 1

The next night, as he prepared for sleep, Barry planned. He had a list of questions and was determined to get them answered. So he kissed his wife and laid down to sleep, determined. He would get answers out of Danny even if it killed him!... Though ideally it wouldn't... hopefully.

Barry laid there for what felt like hours trying to sleep, trying his best not to fidget too much and disturb Iris. Slowly, ever so slowly, Barry began to doze off when...

BEEP...BEEP...BEEP!

Barry jumped out of bed at the sound of his communicator. Grabbing the device he read the message. He sighed as he gave Iris a quick peck on the cheek, telling her to go back to sleep, knowing neither of them would be getting any rest as her own phone began blaring.

Questions would have to wait, for now he had work to do.

--------

Three days and an Alien invasion later, Barry collapsed into his bed. Iris chuckled at her husbands antics.

"Is the big, strong, superhero tired?" She asked, sitting next to him as she gently rubbed his back.

"Hngh" came the muffled reply. Iris chuckled.

"I know, I know, it's been a long few days. That doesn't change the fact that even speedsters need to brush their teeth." Barry groaned. "And no superspeed! As tired as you are you're more than likely to crash into the wall." Slowly Barry dragged himself from the sweet comfort of his pillow to brush his teeth.

Once done, he blearily trudged back to the bed, collapsing once more. Iris chuckled before draping the covers over his prone form. She turned off the lights before joining him in bed.

Barry barely processed anything as she ran her fingers through his hair before wrapping an arm around him.

"You did such a good job sweetie, you saved so many lives, and I'm proud of you." Barry barely managed a smile as she kissed him. "Now get some sleep, you've earned it."

"Yr suu prrft, I lrve u Rs." Barry mumbled as he drifted off to sleep, as his wife giggled.

"I love you too."

---------

When Barry's eyes flew open, he was almost as tired as when he shut them. He was surrounded by a tunnel of rushing light, his first instinct was to run of course, before his last dream came to mind. He took deep calming breaths as he let go of his tight grip on the speed force. Exhaustion flowed through him, but (at the risk of sounding like a certain bat) he had questions that needed to be answered, so he walked.

And Walked...

And Walked......

And-

"What are you doing?"

Barry's eyes flew open, though when they closed he couldn't say, only for him to jump back from Danny's face that was a mere 2 inches from his own. The teen burst out laughing.

"Where the heck did you come from!?!" This only seemed to make the teen laugh more.

"Dude, you've been walking around with your eyes closed for about an hour!" Barry turned red from embarrassment. Doing his best to salvage the situation Barry cleared his throat.

"Yes, well, it's been a long week. That's not important! I have some questions for you!" Danny tilted his head to the side while pointing a single clawed finger at his chest. "Yes you!" He shouted. Danny grinned.

"Okay, shoot! What do you want to know?" Barry was nearly taken by surprise but quickly recovered.

"Okay, first things first, why are we here?" Danny looked at him like he was crazy.

"You went right for the difficult questions, huh. I mean I'd like to say we all have a purpose, although I learned that sometimes that purpose is to help someone else's purpose. I mean... there's no real set answer I don't think, however-" Barry just stared at him blankly before shaking his head.

"I meant in the Speed Force! I mean if you happen to know the meaning of life we can talk about that later, but for now I just want to know why we are in the Speed Force." he interrupted, too tired to run in circles. "I've talked to other speedsters about this dream before and none of them have ever been here, so why are we here?"

"Oh! Well that's a much easier question!" Danny gave him a fanged grin. "I'm here because I was wandering around the Infinite Realms and stumbled upon this little piece of heaven. As I've said before, prime napping real estate, or anything really. You and Speedy Gonzales are the only other people I've ever run into here, and he never really bothers me anyway." he shrugged at Barry's look of shock and annoyance.

"As for you, that's a whole other can of worms. After the last time we ran into each other, I asked around some of the older circles of ghosts. It was actually one of the Observants that had the answer, or at least a vague explanation." Danny put his hands behind his head as he got himself comfortable, floating mid-air. Barry was not jealous, thank-you-very-much.

"And?" He pushed.

"And for some reason you've got a stronger connection with the speed force than the others. Something about how you generate energy when you run. They wouldn't explain more than that, they're pretty annoying like that." he shrugged. "Sorry if it's not the answer you were looking for." Barry sighed.

"It was less than I'd like, and more than I expected. Okay, next question. Who is that other guy? Why was he after me?" The half-ghost cringed with a hiss.

"I was afraid you would ask that... he's kinda complicated." Danny sat cross-legged as well as crossing his arms. "So from what I can tell is he's kinda your grim reaper." Barry jolted in shock.

"He's what?!?!"

"Hey, calm down, no need to freak out!" Danny replied trying his best to calm the panicking speedster.

"You just told me the grim reaper is after me and you want me to calm down?!?!?" he shouted.

"He's not after you, for Ancient's sake! Sit Down!" he commanded and to his own surprise, Barry sat down.

"He is the grim reaper of speedsters, but the only reason he was chasing you is because you were running around in the Speed Force. That's how you mess with things that shouldn't be messed with, and it's his unending job to stop/punish people who mess with those things."

"And exactly would I be messing with?" He asked, doing his best to calm down.

"Space-Time. Now next question, I came here to get my homework done. I may have more time here but it's not infinite." Barry took a deep breath, nodding.

"Okay, well I guess the biggest question I have is about you." Danny raised his eyebrow, curious. "You said you died, can I ask how?" Danny froze, possibly literally as Barry started to feel a chill in the air.

"That's...That's not really something you should ask ghosts. It's considered extremely insensitive and rude, honestly most ghosts would attack you for asking something like that." Barry nodded.

"Hey, it's okay, you don't have to answer if you don't want to." Danny took a deep breath and nodded.

"My sister thinks I need to talk about it, she's probably right as usual."

"If you want to talk about it, you can do so at your own pace. No pressure." Danny smiled softly.

"Thanks, I might take you up on it sometime. Now it's my turn to ask a question." Barry grinned.

"Fair is fair, hit me."

"Why are you so tired? You haven't been here in about a week so I gotta admit I'm curious about what you've been up to." Danny shrugged. Barry laughed.

"My Earth got hit by an alien invasion, the whole league was fighting them back for the last three days. We managed to stop the invasion and Superman (Danny snorted) managed to broker a peace treaty to prevent future conflict." Danny was grinning through the whole explanation. "What's with that face?" Danny chuckled (no it wasn't creepy, calm down Barry)

"So let me get this straight. You have ALIENS, ALIENS in your world, and they invaded." His grin got bigger, showing off his jagged teeth, as Barry nodded. "We are going to unpack the fact that you have a guy on your team that calls himself Superman later. Right now I need you to tell me EVERYTHING! What did they look like? Were they green? Did they fly? Were they able to breath oxygen or did they use gas masks? Why did they invade? What planet were they from?!?!" Barry was honestly impressed by how much the ghost was vibrating as he shot off question after question. Barry cleared his throat.

"Well, I'm gonna be honest I don't have all the answers about those particular aliens. I was more concerned with stopping the invasion more that anything." Danny visibly deflated as he started to droop from where he was floating. "But! I have a teammate that's from Mars." The ghost immediately perked up, his form glowing brighter than before.

"SERIOUSLY?!?!?!" He shrieked. Barry chuckled, happy to see him excited about something normal.

"Oh yeah, Superman is actually from the planet Krypton and Hawk man and Hawk woman are both from Thanagar. Hell if you wanna reach a bit, Green Lantern may be from Earth but he's a space cop." Danny could light up a room with how much he was glowing at this point.

"Tell me all about the Martian! You can tell me about the others later, but you gotta tell me about the Martian."

"Okay, okay, but not for long. You already said you needed to do homework." Danny groaned but conceded, giving Barry his full attention. "Okay so in the League he goes by the name Martian Manhunter, but his real name is J'onn J'onzz. He was pulled from his planet in the middle of a war...on accident. The poor scientist had a heart attack when he saw J'onn show up outta nowhere. He kept himself hidden for years to keep the government off his back, but when the world needed him he joined the league." He grinned.

"He's a pretty chill dude, honestly, once you get passed the telepathy. I won't tell you everything about him, cus superhero bro code and all that, but he is in fact green, he can shapeshift, as well as density shift through most solid objects, oh and he can fly too." He finished with a yawn. Danny practically squealed in excitement.

"That's so awesome! I'm so jealous, I wi-" Danny froze looking around, much to Barry's confusion. "I very much would love it if I could meet him." Barry squinted at the strange pause but shook his head, too tired to question it. Danny however started to give him a smug look.

"You look like you're about to collapse." Barry yawned.

"You're not wrong." he remarked.

"Why don't you lay down and get some sleep? I've gotta do my homework anyway."

"But...I am asleep?"

"You might be asleep physically, but mentally you are talking to me. I'm guessing this is honestly a weird astral projecting kind of thing. Trust me, lay down, take a nap. You'll thank me for it later." Barry sighed, too tired to argue as he laid down on the, surprisingly comfy, ground.

Danny floated close by, the soft scratched of pencil against paper lulling him to sleep.

-----

Barry woke with a start, jumping from the ground, startling the floating teen. He quickly looked around surveying the area.

"Feel better?" He looked at the teen in surprise, because yes he did, he felt much more awake.

"How long was I asleep?" Danny shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe 20-30"

"Not bad for a 30 min nap." He said as he stretched.

"Yeah, no, sorry. You slept for 20-30 HOURS. Minimum." Barry froze.

"What?"

"Oh yeah, I actually just got back from school. You must have been really tired!" Danny grinned.

"How? Why am I still here? Why am I not home?!?" Barry began to shake as Danny raced up to the speedster.

"Hey, Barry, I need you to calm down. Time works differently, remember? Everything is okay." Danny grabbed hold of Barry's arm only to be thrown of as lightning started to surround him. "Barry, if you don't calm down Zippy is gonna come after you again. I need you to BREATHE!" It was too late, Barry could see him.

The black speedster.

He was coming for him.

Barry backed away from Danny and ran, he ran as fast as he possibly could he ran until-

-----

Barry jumped out of bed, running for his life and straight into a wall.

Iris jumped out of bed at the crash, racing over to her husband's side.

"Are you alright!?!" She asked as Barry groaned.

"Yeah, all good. Can't say the same for the wall." Iris turned to look at the cracked wall with a sigh.

"Barry, I love you. This is the third time this month. We have got to put some kind of cushioning on this wall if we wanna keep it."

Barry sighed, taking in his surroundings.

He felt better rested than he had in years. He grinned.

"You're probably right, I'll get right on that. But first, breakfast!" He smiled at his beautiful wife.

"I'm making waffles!" Iris laughed.

"Well you certainly got a good nights rest, huh. I think I'll get a little more shut eye while you cook." Barry laughed

"Sounds like a plan!." 'Today was going to be a good day', Barry thought with a smile 'a good day, indeed.'

@hypewinter@daemonlogical@crystalqueertea

#dc x dp au #barry allen #barry x iris #danny phantom #Barry needs a nap #I love barry and iris but I genuinely hate them together in the cw #ghost king danny #space #Danny is a martian manhunter fanboy

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sinners-go-to-drink-the-wine · 11 months

Text

lifes hard for a working mother of 3

#mama dan needs a drink and a nap #danny wagner #gvf #greta van fleet

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zeestarfishalien · 11 months

Text

go to work

[spotify link]

The beginning of it was subtle. Danny just started talking less. Tucker and Sam attributed it to lack of sleep, which was true to a certain extent. He seemed to attack things with a peculiar single mindedness. Slowly his time spent relaxing with Sam and Tucker, just messing around and being a kid, became less and less. They assumed he was catching up on sleep or stuck in yet another ghost fight. By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late to stop him.

Got a feelin’ creepin’ under my skin

It began with a bad week. Sleep was something Danny could only daydream about in the brief moments he had to think. It’s ghost after ghost after ghost and then it’s assignment after test after quiz and in that time Danny managed to slip into sleep long enough to reach REM stage twice. With his mind shutting down he kept only two things in mind. Schoolwork and Hero work. All else fell to the side as his mind latched onto those things with a singleminded focus. He doesn’t remember much from that week, only the knowledge that if he stopped he’d breakdown right then and there and be of no use to anyone.

My mind hits a new trauma every rest of my head

The dreams are the worst part of sleeping. Not dreams…nightmares. Most days Danny is more tired after sleeping than before. He just smiles and gets back to work. Words fall from his mouth with most of them forgotten before they finish leaving his lips.

Kind lips get twisted dipped in poison

He knows he’s flinching anytime his parents come near but Danny can’t quite bring himself out of the fog in his mind long enough to control his instincts. Is it words of love or hate coming from them? He can’t stay focused on the conversation long enough to know. Is he “beloved Danno” or “ghostly menace?” Does it matter? They’re both him. He deserves it right? If he can’t protect everyone he’s useless. He can’t let himself become an annoyance so he has to go to work work.

Don’t care if I’m really ready

Go to work work

And my everything is unsteady

The fear of becoming Dan presses at the edges of his consciousness and so Danny throws himself harder into work. He can’t be idle. If he stops, then he has time to think and if he has time to think then the panic will set in.

My sanity slips and all the straws runnin’ thin

At some point school falls off his priority list. He retreats. He’s either in Amity fighting ghosts or in the Zone fighting ghosts. He barely remembers his name sometimes, but names don’t matter when you’re working. He doesn’t deserve a name if he can’t protect the town. He can’t fail, he can’t fail, he can’t fail…

Go to work work

If they hadn’t been assured that this was the same ghost, the heroes present would swear that this was something entirely different.

The spirit before them barely resembles the young boy he once was in life and early death. Teeth sharp for ripping and tearing flesh from anything too close to that wide jaw. Skin an eerie opalescent blue that seems almost translucent in the sun. The symbol on his chest is nearly obscured by the long white hair that hangs in lank strands over his face and chest. His limbs are either more of a suggestion or things too long and with one too many joints. Or even worse a joint that moves the wrong way.

The thing before them can barely be called human adjacent, but the kids who dragged them in insist that he’s still alive and human even if only half.

They watch as those needle sharp teeth rip another ghost’s arm off and they find themselves struggling to reconcile the image.

[Edit:] Feel free to add onto this or change it and take it in a whole different direction

#dpxdc #justice league #danny phantom crossover #dcxdp #danny kinda loses it #a special type of mental breakdown #boi needs a nap #for a week #songfic #the song is go to work by kiwifrooot

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