Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Martha nodded her thanks to the two men who stood at the front doors, scanning the empty room, only to see Agatha descending the stairs. As their eyes met, the younger woman asked with a sharp glare, “Did you bring it?” 

Martha smiled back, “Yes, ma’am, the ghost is still inside. Though be careful how you handle it. We had a minor incident during the car ride over here. Joey barely bumped it, and it activated; we nearly lost the ghost. I managed to recapture it, but this device is very finicky.” Martha presented the thermos to Agatha, who studied it carefully before jutting a hip and glancing up at her, before her eyes flicked to the two large men behind her. 

“Good to know. You two, take off those ridiculous costumes. Everyone is still eating dinner; I’ve asked Oliver to start the awards ceremony on Vlad’s behalf…we need to have everything ready. Do the guns work?” 

“Yes, the Fentons are…odd…but their technology is no laughing matter. These weapons will work on both of them, the thermos too.” 

“Excellent. And…the files?” 

“....we… were not able to recover them, ma’am. The ghost that escaped must still have them.” Martha admitted with a slightly bitter tone. She really didn’t like it when she couldn’t deliver. Agatha was a hard boss to please, but Martha had made it her mission to be the one employee who always succeeded. She was old, but she wasn’t nearly done living, and Agatha never hesitated to give her the challenges she craved.  

“Damn it. Very well, it can’t be helped now. We’ll just have to hope the nasty spook hasn’t been able to deliver them to his boss.” 

Martha sighed softly at her own mistake, “Should I have the men hunt for–” 

Agatha shook her head gently, placing a hand on Martha’s shoulder, “No, it’s pointless. That thing could be halfway around the world or in this room, and we wouldn’t even know. Damn things can turn invisible.” 

Martha nodded her understanding as Agatha asked, “The Fenton’s ghost files?” 

Martha made a curious face, honestly not sure what to make of some of the information they’d collected from the Fentons’ computer system. “They are…very informative.” 

Agatha met her eye, a slender brow raising, and so Martha offered quickly, “Well, the guns seem to have tracking capabilities….it alerted us to the ones in your office.” 

“Oh, that is interesting…alright then–” Agatha seemed to consider the situation for a long moment before she said in a quiet but satisfied tone, “Dear Maddie, has the pair distracted, so have the men check the castle, but make sure they meet me outside of the study in twenty minutes; this all needs to run like clockwork, no mistakes, understand?” 

Martha nodded before saying in a confident voice, “Yes, ma’am. You two, search the house, but be at position in twenty, understand?” 

“Yes, Ma’am!” the two men barked as they straightened and stared straight ahead. 

Agatha smiled at Martha as she turned away, “Alright, good work, Martha. I’ll see you soon.” 

“Good luck.” Martha offered, and Agatha chuckled, “As if I need it.” The pair of women parted ways, Martha keeping her eyes peeled for anything that could make her the Ace in the hole. If there was one thing she loved more than working for Agatha, it was being the person who delivered the brutal woman the weapon needed for a swift and decisive final blow. 

Page Break 

Agatha walked quietly down the upper hall. The two men behind her were holding standard-issue handguns, scanning their surroundings as they moved. “Martha should still be in the house. We need to find her, then try to locate those ghost guns. We’re going to need them.” 

The guards nodded silently, Agatha’s rage-filled eyes standing out against her neutral expression. She no longer had a plan, no longer cared what happened, as long as she could teach both her son and Vlad a lesson. It was going to be a hard lesson, one that the pair would never forget. You didn’t cross Agatha Nord, and she was going to make sure both of them knew it. 

They’d beelined upstairs once they’d managed to free themselves, taking the thermos with them, not stopping until they were in the far back of the house, wanting to distance themselves from the group that had managed to subdue them the night before. 

As they moved, Agatha tried the doorknobs, poking her head into the open rooms and grunting when a door was locked. She was looking for a good base of operations, one that looked disused, and Vlad most likely didn’t check. They wouldn’t have long, as the group would soon notice they had escaped. All she needed to do was buy some time until they could get their hands on the Fenton’s guns, take back control of the situation, and rectify the problem with her son and Nord Enterprises. 

It was near the end of the hall when she tried a door, found it locked, and had moved on that she heard it crack open. She ducked behind a large potted plant, her men ducking behind more suits of armour. 

She peered around to see an old woman peaking through the crack, “Martha?” she whispered out, and the door opened wider, “Oh! Mistress, yes, hurry, come quick!” 

Agatha motioned for her men to follow, and the three darted back down the hall and into the room, Martha locking the door behind them. Agatha’s eyes went wide as she looked at the handful of mini monitors, showing feeds all over the house, including Vlad’s office. 

“Martha… did you–” 

“No, Ma’am, I think it was the brat's mother. Most of the tech says Fenton on it, and I don’t think her husband is bright enough to–” 

Agatha held up a hand, walking towards the monitors and speaking softly to herself, “The foyer, the Ballroom, the main stage, Vlad’s office, and his… his study… oh my oh my, looks like we’ve been given another opportunity. Thank you, Maddie. Martha, hurry, bring me a thumb drive–” 

“Already done, ma’am. I watched all night and this morning. I’ve got enough evidence and proof that no one will ever doubt us.” 

Agatha looked at her, smiling wickedly, “I can always count on you.” 

“Yes, ma’am, and… there is something you should know about that man your husband married.” 

Agatha gave her an interested look, realizing the old woman must have watched what happened in Vlad’s study, “What is it? Anything we can use against him?” 

Martha gave a mischievous smile, “During the party, someone bumped into me, and it happened to be your son and his lover. They were subduing one of the brat's little friends, and I happened to overhear a conversation. Jacob’s lover is a ghost. He’s dead. Which means–” 

Agatha’s eyes went wide, “If I prove it, his marriage will be null and void, you can’t marry a dead man. Which means Nord Enterprises will revert to me… and with Vlad exposed–” Agatha looked back to the screens, cruelty written with slick amusement across her face, “I’ll get everything I want, and those two morons will be left with nothing.” 

“If we can figure out how they managed to force the marriage and paperwork through in the first place, you might even be able to get him for conspiracy and forgery and–” 

“That would definitely teach my son a lesson. Lovely. Come on, next stop is the Fenton’s bedroom, I’m sure the guns are in there, if we can get to them before the others leave the kitchen… We’ll be right as rain. And you–” she turned to the guard nearest the door, his eyes meeting hers as she said, “If this fails, your only job is to enact Plan B. I don’t care if I’m dead, you make sure to finish this if I can’t. Understand?” 

He nodded once before opening the door, peering out quietly, and then giving the all clear. He took the lead, followed by Agatha, then Martha, and the second guard bringing up the rear. 

Page Break 

Lunch had progressed, Jack not returning, but Maddie waved away Danny’s concerns, saying that she could relay all the relevant information to him later. Sam had been piling up all the empty pizza boxes and moving them to a different counter to get them out of the way. Tucker and Jazz had been focusing on removing any lingering traces of breakfast, wiping the island down, and picking up the pile of papers, pens, pencils, and other items used to educate Maddie and Jack about ghosts and their halfa son. 

It was mostly busy work. While things weren’t as tense as they had been, there was still an air of awkward discomfort that filled the kitchen, and so the three young adults, who knew at any moment that they could be subject to Maddie Fenton’s critical eye, tried to keep busy and out of the way. 

Maddie was still sitting at the island, running through her notes, marking down more questions, organizing and filing, and studying to her heart's content. Danny was speaking softly with Vlad and Eros while Jacob browsed on his phone with a bored expression. 

“So, Danny–” Maddie started, not looking up from her pages of notes but using a red pen to make a mark. Danny, Vlad, and Eros looked nervously at her. 

“Uh, yeah, Mom?” he asked, swallowing thickly as he really had no clue what she could be about to ask. It could be any number of things, and at the moment, he was a little nervous as to what it might be. 

“Why don’t we all head over to the sitting room, and you can finally fill me in on this business with the Pheromone. You do have a sitting room somewhere in this house, don’t you, Vlad?” 

Maddie’s eyes had slowly strayed up from the page, a brow raising as she waited, and all three men, Vlad, Danny, and Eros, swallowed in tandem, realizing that she had not forgotten and in fact was going to make sure they spoke about everything that had happened over the last month. 

Vlad met her gaze and said much too lightly, “I… yes, I do. Three, actually.” Maddie made a face reminiscent of being both annoyed and unimpressed, and Danny elbowed him softly, “Uh, Samantha, my dear, I know you’re not the help, but could you perhaps… put together a… tea tray… so that we may–” 

“Yeah, sure,” the woman agreed quickly, understanding without prompting that Vlad was hoping to prolong having this conversation as long as possible. It was more out of pity that she decided to do it, and Jazz and Tucker helped her get everything together. 

Maddie stood, leaving her pile of well-organized notes on the island and letting Vlad lead the way. Jacob had caught up with Eros, and as Vlad led them through the house towards the sitting room, dread swelled in his chest. 

Jack was already on the cusp of thinking Vlad had somehow groomed his son into being his partner. After this story, he was sure Maddie would think their relationship was a sham. Either way, Vlad saw it: there was no approval or acceptance in his future for a relationship with Daniel. 

As they walked, Vlad felt anxiety start to creep in, a feeling he had not felt in a very long time. Some part of him knew this was going to end horribly, even after Daniel’s display in the kitchen; he had some innate feeling that down the road, the young man would eventually want to end their relationship and let all of this go. He wanted to believe that, despite how this whole situation had started, it had ended with both he and Daniel reaching a level of understanding and acceptance that would allow them to continue towards a distant future where they could both be happy. 

Yet, each step made his feet feel heavier, his heart seemed to tremble, his gut churning from the idea that the last month, both the good, the bad, and the ugly of it, would all be in vain. That he would get so much time and attention from Daniel, only to have it somehow ripped away. It was clear from Daniel’s reaction to Vlad’s suggestion that they reconvene when Daniel was older was not something the younger man was willing to entertain. 

Daniel’s unexpected temper tantrum had happened in front of his parents, which should, in some way or another, show both Maddie and Jack that Daniel was with Vlad willingly, and that even if Vlad did try to do the right thing… Daniel would refuse. 

Then, to find out that Daniel’s core had not gone through the Final Shift, and that Vlad needed to be ready to help him transition from an infant core to an adult one, and even possibly have to work to help Daniel control his core once it was fully developed… It felt like the universe was trying to push them together, that even if Vlad or Daniel wanted to call it off, they would not be permitted. 

Still, the dread filled his stomach, Vlad was more than ready for the life-long streak of bad luck he’d always dealt with to come charging over the horizon and deny him his wants. He was also waiting for some semblance of fire to ignite in his chest. He’d felt it when he’d been talking to Jack on the balcony. At least, he’d felt it before Jack had implied Vlad was an abuser and groomer. 

He’d felt the fire as he debated on twisting the metaphoric knife that was in the man’s back and only inches from his heart. Yet, he’d been unable to do it. Years of anger, rage, desire to hurt, to destroy, and in thirty seconds and a few choice words, Vlad’s drive, the essence of what had made him so manic and unhinged, (He could admit he was disturbed), had been snuffed out. 

He’d felt something shift inside of him when he’d been on the balcony, as if his core had simply taken his obsession and flicked a switch.  His ghostly obsession had always been balanced between three very specific desires. The desire for revenge, the desire for power, and the desire for control. His core had been ping-ponged between these three very specific desires for most of his life. 

Now, it felt like his core was waiting, suspended in his center, with nothing to bounce off of, as if Vlad’s obsessions had been ripped from him and nothing had been given to replace them. Then Eros had made a comment about ghostly cores that had shocked him. Vlad had been surprised when Eros had mentioned to Maddie that a ghost's obsession could change, that just like humans, ghosts could evolve.  

Vlad hadn’t known that. He’d been studying ghosts and the Ghost Zone for years while he was a halfa, and he had never come across any evidence that would challenge the theory of a ghost's obsession being anything other than singular and finite. 

Did this mean that Vlad had finally overcome a part of himself he’d been fighting with for years? Danny had entered Vlad’s dreams, had dived deep into the man’s psyche, had told Vlad what he’d experienced and what he’d done… could it be that… somehow… Vlad had not only made peace with his demons but had also been able to let go of his obsession with power, control, and revenge. 

He’d let this month play out without interfering or trying to control the outcome; he’d had the opportunity to get revenge on Jack and seriously hurt him, but he didn’t, and while he realized he could very easily have complete power and control over Daniel via the use of the drug he’d made, Vlad had refused the idea and had instead planned to use it on himself. 

Vlad’s feet stopped, his back ram-rod straight, eyes narrowing slightly as he mused over all the decisions he had made, everything that had happened the last month, all the things he’d chosen to do while under the influence of the Pheromone, and also as he had started to come down from its influence. He’d begun to focus less on making everyone around him bend to his wants and needs, and had begun to look at himself, admitting more than once that HE was the problem… that HE needed to change… taking accountability for things he’d never considered his own fault… his once half-empty glass somehow now appearing half-full. 

Confusion swirled, half-formed realizations pelting against his brain like tiny pebbles against a car’s window, a bright and fluttery feeling pushing to fill his stomach as a small shot of adrenaline hit his brain. 

I’ve… changed. I’ve been doing all of this… making all these decisions…  not for myself… but for Daniel. I’m actually… thinking of someone else. Considering what would make HIM happy, what HE might need or want… I’m actually… being selfless. 

“Hey, Vlad? You okay?” Vlad’s dark blue eyes glanced down, meeting the concerned face of Daniel, who had reached out and taken his hand. He glanced up just as Maddie and the others had entered the sitting room. 

“I… realized–” but he trailed off, because now was not the time, and his saying it outloud would sound unbelievably stupid and self-serving. But, part of him wanted to tell Daniel his thoughts and feelings; he wanted to share this revelation, share with Daniel the relief he suddenly felt at having bested a monster he’d been fighting most of his life, because suddenly, sharing his accomplishments with Daniel and no one else… was enough.  

Oh. My. God. 

Vlad’s eyes watered, a reaction to the stormy emotions inside of himself, but he shook his head, as if to shoo away a fly, before he ran a hand slowly through Daniel’s hair and said softly, “I’m fine, Daniel, just had a momentary lapse in–” 

“You’re not okay. I can tell. I know you, Fruitloop, but we can talk about it later. I promise. All we have to do is make it through this last little hump, then everything can go back to normal, and you and I… well, it won’t be totally normal, cause you and I will be…” 

Their eyes met, the pair staring for a long, silent moment before Danny asked, much too softly, his gaze fading to a gentle one, “What will we be?” 

Vlad continued to stare at him, his eyes softening as he ran a thumb under Danny’s eye before resting his hand on the young man’s shoulder, “We will be whatever we want to be. Whatever you want us to be. Mentor and student, human and ghost, lovers or husbands, I don’t care, as long as you’re beside me… perhaps… I can finally become the person you always wanted me to be… the man I never thought I could be. Maybe… we will just… be happy.” 

Danny’s eyes had widened at Vlad’s slightly nonsensical musings, the younger man suddenly aware Vlad had had some deep thought strike him, and he was trying to express it. They would definitely talk about it later; all they had to do was make it past this last hurdle, and then they could finally experience being together without anyone else’s interference. 

“Come on, you psycho. Let’s get this over with.” Vlad seemed to consider something else before he made a face and said, “In a moment, go on ahead, I’ll be right there. I need to grab something from the bedroom.” Vlad suddenly transported, leaving Danny alone in the hall, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz rounding the corner, the darkly clad woman carrying a large tea tray. 

“Oh, thanks, Sam. Come on, Vlad had to go grab something. Let’s go wait in the sitting room with Mom and the others.” 

Page Break 

Vlad teleported into the bedroom and located the rings he had hidden earlier, looking at the bands that shone softly in his palm: one pale blue, reminiscent of frost, the other a glassy pink and green. Ice and lightning now bound together in an eternal union, and Vlad realized he never wanted to see Daniel without his ring again. 

He tossed them in the air and then caught them, his mind growing more comfortable and assured as the seconds ticked by that perhaps, for once, something good could actually happen to him, and maybe for once, in his entire life, he’d actually get to have something he really, truly wanted. 

His bedroom door was flung open, his head jerked up, there was a bright flash, and then everything went dark. 

Page Break 

Danny, Sam, Jazz, and Tucker sat on the couches on either side of the large coffee table, talking softly amongst themselves as they waited for the last member to arrive. Maddie watched Danny talk, seemingly happy and relaxed, though his hands clenched and unclenched, which told her he was anxious about the conversation about to happen. 

She glanced over at Eros and Jacob, the pair sitting in the window seat and laughing quietly as they held hands and smiled at each other. She wasn’t worried about Jack, knowing her husband was going to need a very long time to both cool off and wrap his mind around what had happened between his son and his once-best friend. 

Approaching the pair in the window seat, she cleared her throat gently, and they looked up at her with curious eyes, Eros swallowing thickly as he remained silent, “So, you’re Eros, and you’re the one who did something to Vlad, right?” 

The pale man nodded, “Yes, I… that’s me.” 

Maddie studied him for a long moment, the pair suddenly tense as they waited for her to say something else, and Maddie didn’t mince words: “So, this whole mess… is your fault.” 

Eros looked like he was three seconds from breaking into a sweat as he stammered out softly, “Well, actually, you see… it’s not quite all me… Clockwork also, I mean, he called me… well, more like… he summoned me, and he’s a pretty high-up ghost, an ancient, actually, and you don’t say no to an ancient. Plus, Vlad and Danny were kind of being assholes and messing up the Ghost Zone so–” 

The ghostly God of love didn’t get a chance to finish as his eyes caught movement, and he glanced at Danny, who had gotten up and was heading to the door, giving a soft, “I’m gonna go check on Vlad–” 

The doors to the sitting room were suddenly shoved open, and before anyone could react, Danny was hit point-blank in the chest by a blast of pale blue energy. He went flying, slamming into one of the bookshelves across the room and lying still on the ground. 

“Danny!” Sam yelled as she stood, Jazz and Tucker rounding the couch to try and get to him. Maddie moved quickly and came to kneel next to her son, “Ugh! Finally, we’re making progress.”  Everyone looked to the door to see Agatha with her two goons, one with a silent Vlad in his human form slung over his shoulder, the other with a tied-up Jack who looked absolutely pissed. 

Agatha looked unhinged, her hair a mess, her clothes ruffled, her eyes crazed, a cruel yet gleeful smile slithering across her face. 

“What!? I thought Skulker and Technus had those three on lockdown!” Tucker said angrily, only for Agatha to scoff, “They did, until they got a little too cocky and… well, the thermos did the rest of the work,” she said with amused confidence.

Jack grumbled something angrily behind the gag in his mouth, but the large man holding him shoved him hard against the doorframe. 

“Jack! Get your hands off him!” Maddie barked, not leaving her son’s side but glaring daggers at the three standing much too smugly in the doorway. 

“I don’t think so, dear. It’s time for me to set things right. So, let’s start from the top.” 

“Ugh, do we have to?” Sam asked, looking thoroughly put out by the woman’s antics. 

Agatha glared, “Yes, we do, and I’d watch that attitude unless you want my boys to fire another shot at Danny’s head.” 

“Try it bitch!” Maddie barked only for Jazz to look at her in surprise, “Whoa, Mom, that was super hardcore.” 

“Thanks, honey!” Maddie said sweetly, only for Agatha to yell, “Will you all shut up! I have the guns, both ghostly and the kind made for humans, so let me do the damn talking.”

Everyone fell silent, and Agatha finally smiled, “Good, now, where was I… oh, right, thanks to Maddie’s lovely little spyware setup, I have everything I need, all the video and audio evidence to blow both Vlad and Danny’s secrets wide open.” Maddie’s eyes widened as she realized the woman was talking about her cameras. 

Danny groaned, and Maddie looked at him, “Danny, are you alright?” 

“Nghk, m-mom? Is that true? Did you set up cameras?” he asked weakly, Maddie shifting him from the ground to rest against the wall as she winced. 

“I might have–” she said with regret. 

Agatha chuckled before continuing, “I have also been informed that you, Jacob, tried to marry a ghost. Your marriage is a sham, and however you forced it through the system, and whatever little tricks you planned to pull to get your alibis and the like, are now a no-go. You can’t marry a dead man, darling, no matter how desperate you are.” 

Jacob stood then and glared at her, “Mom, seriously, you need to stop! This is nuts! It’s over, you lost, and I am sick of you trying to interfere with my life! You’ve gone off the deep end. This is all so unnecessary! Why can’t you just STOP!” 

Agatha walked back to Vlad, grabbed him by the ponytail, and raised his head, Vlad still unconscious. “It’s not in my nature. Unlike you, I don’t curl up in a ball when things get hard, Jacob. I persevere. I brought Nord Enterprises back from the brink; I raised you on my own after your father died; I taught you everything you needed to know to take it to the next level; and I set up a future for you with Vlad Masters–” she released the man’s hair and his head plopped back down, Agatha giving a soft scoff, “-but you could never follow through. So now, it’s up to me, once again, to fix the problem.” 

“You’re insane.” Jacob bit, Eros now standing beside him, and his eyes jumped between Agatha, Danny, and Vlad. Danny was injured, and Vlad was knocked out cold. Jack was tied down, Maddie’s hands were full with her son, and the remaining four people were only human. 

Jacob was facing off with his mom, while Sam, Tucker, and Jazz waited for any possible opportunity to help get the upper hand. However, it was clear that Agatha had the advantage at the moment. 

Eros realized he had to act, though he wasn’t sure what to do; he hoped something would come to him. He was about to summon his wings and fly at the two goons holding onto Vlad and Jack when there was a loud yell and a bright light, and everyone looked at the man holding Vlad, who was lit up like a Christmas tree. 

Vlad was awake, electrifying the man holding him, his massive body jerking and shaking as his eyes bulged and he frothed at the mouth. 

“Idiot! Shoot him!” Agatha yelled. The man holding Jack turned to raise his ghost gun, finding his aim and readying to fire when Jack lurched back, slamming into him and pushing the man into his buddy, both of them now screaming and jerking as the electricity arced between them. 

They had both dropped their ghost guns, and Agatha darted forward, grabbing one up and preparing to fire directly at Vlad, who had managed to raise his head and was giving a death glare. 

Before Agatha could fire, a burst of frost froze the end of her gun, and she looked at Danny irritably. 

“V-Vlad–” Danny winced out, but his mother placed a hand on his shoulder, “Danny, don’t move. You’re hurt.” 

Vlad’s eyes snapped to Danny, and the electricity instantly disappeared, both large men dropping. Agatha leered at him as she slammed the gun against a wall and knocked the ice free, holding the ghost gun on Vlad and saying desperately, “Don’t move!” Vlad ignored her, slowly pushing himself up and off the man who had been holding him. 

“You can’t stop all of us–” Jacob started and Agatha spun, eyes jumping between her son and Vlad, both men converging on her and she took several steps back, clearing the group and retreating to the far wall, the whole room in her sight but now Maddie stood, withdrawing her bowstaff and joining Jacob and Vlad as they slowly converged on her. 

“Stay back, you come one step closer, and I’ll have Martha send the video logs from Maddie’s spy cams to every news station across the country. There won’t be a single place to hide; your lives will be over.” Eros’s eyes went wide, and he very slowly started to edge towards the door before fading out of sight and disappearing entirely. 

Maddie and Jacob stopped their advance, but Vlad continued, even footsteps sparking as he raised his hands and electricity began to crackle in his palms, “You have caused me enough trouble, devil woman. You come into my home, try to take away the only family I have, try to hurt Daniel, ruin your son’s life…” 

“Vlad–” Maddie called softly, and the man finally stopped, his head turning to look at her, eyes hard, frown firmly in place, his expression reminiscent of a man on the verge of doing something wicked. 

“If she releases those tapes, Danny will get hurt too,” Maddie said softly, her lavender eyes softening as she continued to hold his gaze, silently urging him not to act rashly against Agatha. 

Vlad’s eyes narrowed, studying her for a long moment before he finally let the electricity from his hands fade, and they dropped to his side. The tension in the room seemed to ease for a moment. Agatha was poised with the ghost gun, ready to fire, Maddie, Vlad, and Jacob ready to lunge forward if she fired or tried to order Martha to do anything that would compromise them. 

“Well, look at that, the monster is trainable.” Agatha jeered, and Vlad growled, about to throw an ectoball at her, as he bellowed, “I’m NOT a monster!” His movement was halted by Danny, who had wrapped his arms around Vlad’s, meeting the man’s eyes as he said with authority, “Don’t, Vlad. You know she’s trying to get a rise out of you, but you don’t want to hurt her. You’re just pissed off. So am I, think it through, Fruitloop.” 

Vlad’s acidic gaze softened near instantly, the pink ball of ecto energy disappearing as he let out a long, slow breath, “Daniel, are you alright?” he asked. 

“I’m fine. Just… don’t let her taunt you into making a mistake we’ll both regret. You can’t take it back, Vlad. Don’t… become my enemy again.” Danny was being very specific with his word choices, not wanting to lay it out in front of his parents, but being absolutely clear that if Vlad killed Agatha, they would be done as a couple. 

Vlad scoffed and looked away, shoulder slumping, “Fiiiine,” he groused softly, crossing his arms and jutting a hip, “Whatever makes you happy.” 

“Thanks,” Danny said, smiling up at the man with amusement, “As for you, why don’t you have your weird-o old lady spy bring us the video evidence, and in return we’ll let you go.” Danny offered, taking a step towards Agatha, who raised her gun, “Nope. She’s my ticket out of here, and those videos will keep Vlad under my thumb for a long time. You too. And Jacob will do whatever I say if it means protecting Vlad and his new ghostly boy toy.” 

“Husband.” Jacob bit angrily, fists clenching, “Darling, you can call him whatever you want, but given he’s dead, he won’t ever be able to truly be your husband or share your life. He’s good for now, but he isn’t good enough.” 

Jacob growled angrily, taking a step forward, only for Danny to touch his shoulder, “Stop. Don’t let her bait you either.” Jacob glanced at him and let out a frustrated sigh before Danny faced Agatha and said calmly, “What are you hoping to achieve here? You’ve gotta realize that even if you get out of here with the evidence, we’ll just get it back. You wanna use it to keep us under your thumb, but how are you going to hold on to it? We’re ghosts, remember? As in, phasing through walls?” 

Agatha’s smile grew slightly, her confidence making Danny worry, as from his perspective, she didn’t have much ground to stand on. Sure, she might be able to blackmail them for a while, but eventually, they’d get their hands on it one way or another. She’d never be able to trust Jacob again, either. She really didn’t have– 

“I guess now’s the time to tell you that I’ve been able to get my hands on a few of your parent’s lovely schematics, including ghost shields, deflectors, and some other very useful anti-ghost technology.” 

Jack let out an angry noise from behind his gag as Maddie barked angrily, “Did you break into our home? Our lab?” 

“Of course, I’m always thorough when dealing with enemies. And all of you are my enemies. As soon as I realized who Danny was, I had my best go to work. I have enough information and evidence to put your whole family down, and to protect myself and my investments.” 

Danny glared, “Clever, sure, but building ghost tech takes time, we’ll get the damn evidence before you could ever–” 

“Tut tut, to get the evidence, you need to know where it is, and I’ve already sent Martha off with it. I just need to hold you here long enough for her to get away. Of course, I can’t have you coming after me, which is why I have this.” 

Agatha motioned to the thermos hanging off her hips as she smiled cruelly, “I’ll just keep you two tucked away until everything’s ready, Jacob can run Vladco, and once the evidence is safe and in a thoroughly ghost-proof vault, with the truth of what you are one button press away from being televised, I’ll let you out, and then both of you, will work for me. We’ll take Nord Enterprises right to the top. Perhaps, down the road, I’ll let you go… but only after I get everything I want. Keeping you two in the thermos for a while will also keep your parents in line, isn’t that right, Maddie?”

“You touch my son and I’ll–” 

“Do. Nothing.” Agatha said with a much-too-pleased smirk, “And now that I think about it, having your folks under my thumb as well could be really useful. Imagine it, Nord Enterprises, the one and only place to get your ghost gear. Weapons, shields, all these clever devices, we’ll have so many damn contracts, we’ll break through the billion-dollar bracket in less than a year.”   

Danny scoffed, “You are one seriously unhinged old lady.” 

Agatha’s wicked smile intensified, “Just wait, you have no idea–” Agatha was cut off by a very sudden, very long, and very loud sound. 

Everyone in the room froze, every single set of eyes turning to Vlad, who looked incredibly uncomfortable as he released the mother of all belches. 

“What the fuck?” Danny asked slowly, eyes widening in shock as the burp continued and Vlad winced, a hand coming to rest over his core, everyone’s expressions resting somewhere between confused, shocked, and disgusted. 

The belch rose in clarity for one more very long moment before it faded out, and Vlad sagged, “Oh good Lord, that was intense,” he murmured, and Danny asked in a rather confused voice, “Uh… Vlad… what the hell was–” 

Vlad cut him off, “I do believe, Little Badger, that the bun in the oven is ready.” 

Danny had to think about what in the hell the man could mean, only for his eyes to go wide, “Are you fucking kidding me!? Right now!? All this time and THIS is when the kid wants to come out?!” 

Vlad looked exhausted, as if that burp had been much more than just a release of pressure from his stomach, “I don’t think I’ve much say in it–” he murmured in a light and breathy voice. 

“You two, stop whispering! What the hell is going on! That was disgusting, Vladimir. I do hope you plan to apologize for being so incredibly rude!” Agatha bit, but Vlad ignored her and dropped to his knees, a hand still over his core as he winced, “Daniel, she’s coming whether I want her to or not. This isn’t something I can stop. Her core is fully recharged, and if I don’t let her out–” 

“I SAID STOP TALKING!” Agatha yelled, but once again she was cut off as Vlad's body began to glow and he let out a small cry, as if he were being forcibly transformed into Plasmius. The air began to spark and fizz, a wind coming out of nowhere, papers fluttering through the air as everyone looked around in confusion. 

“Vlad!” Danny dropped to the ground next to him, a hand on his back as Maddie and Jacob moved closer and asked in tandem, “What’s wrong?” They glanced at each other and then back at Vlad, “No time, just give him room–” Danny ordered, having no clue what was going to happen. 

Vlad was breathing heavy, sweat rolling down his face, before he winced and groaned, “Stand him up! Get up! Both of you!” Agatha barked, but neither listened as Vlad suddenly jerked hard, his back arching and exposing his chest; from it, light emerged: “Dan-Daniel, I am beginning to believe she wasn’t fully formed when we found her!” Vlad called over the sound of energy popping and the air swirling swiftly around them. 

“What the hell does that mean!?” He yelled, noticing how the room was suddenly heating up, the glass in the windows shattering from vibrations, wind, and sound, though the sound was nearly imperceptible; he could hear it, an incredibly high-pitched scream that made his head explode in pain. 

Everyone dropped to the ground, hands coming to their ears, eyes clenching closed, Agatha dropping the gun, but no one went for it, and then a flash of light, the screaming stopped, and slowly everyone looked around. 

There, on the floor before Vlad, rested a beautiful, ghostly little girl with incredibly pale blue skin, hair white as snow, red freckles dusting her rosy cheeks, and a beautiful black and white dress with blue lace. 

“Hoooooly shit, Vlad, you just popped out a kid–” Jacob said, his voice airy and light, confusion prevalent as Vlad groaned, “I did no such thing, the child is nothing more than a ghost that was resting in my own core.” 

“A ghost….kid?” Maddie asked, looking utterly shocked, but before anyone else could speak, the little girl’s bowed head rose, her eyes popping open to reveal pink irises as she smiled and looked at Vlad, “Bonjour, papa!” 

She rushed forward, wrapping little arms around him before gushing happily, “Look, papa! Look, my dress is so lovely!” She turned her head, smiling at Danny, “Daddy, do you like my dress!” 

Danny stumbled back, “Daddy!? Uh, wha– no, I… mom, I SWEAR, this isn’t what it looks like, she’s not mine… or Vlad’s, we found her and she needed to be–” 

“Everyone, shut the hell up!” Agatha bellowed, her face looking twice as unhinged as it did before, more hair falling from her messy bun as spit formed at the corners of her mouth, as she grabbed the gun off the floor, “I don’t care who the hell she is, or where the hell she came from, this is MY moment! I’m in control! You all need to shut up and take me seriously, or I swear to God I’m going to blast you all into tiny bits of nothing!” 

Everyone was looking at Agatha, though Vlad’s red eyes dropped to the little girl whose head slowly turned like an owl's to look at her, eyes massive, pupils tiny as she asked softly, “Did you…. Just threaten my daddies?” 

Agatha’s rage-filled face fell, the woman now looking utterly confused and exhausted, “I… well… I… yes?” 

Colette’s body then rotated to face the same way as her head before she rose into the air, took a massive breath in, and screamed so violently and in such a high-pitched tone that any remaining glass or crystal in the room shattered, electricity traveling along the sound waves and smashing into Agatha, who was roasted near instantly. When the ear-shattering scream ended, Agatha was left with fluffy hair, singed clothes, and was out cold, falling over onto the ground in a heap. 

Colette landed on the ground, bringing a hand to her mouth as she burped softly, “Oh, excuse moi! Don’t threaten my daddies mean lady!” Colette floated over to Agatha, gave a rather weak kick to the woman’s heel-clad foot, and then turned to Vlad, who flinched back slightly. 

Colette slowly floated up to him and smiled, “Papa, may I go play outside?” Her face was so innocent and sweet, and Vlad, who was totally shocked and looking nearly traumatized, gave a light, breathy, “Uhm… yes?” 

“Thank you!” Colette floated up, pressing a kiss to Vlad’s cheek before flying over to Danny and swirling around him, making the young man chuckle, “Thank you, Colette, we owe you big time.”

A slightly haunting giggle escaped her before she floated down and rubbed her little nose against Danny’s, “Don’t worry, Daddy, I’ll keep the mean old ladies away from here.” 

“I have no doubt, now go have some fun.” Danny said, and Colette giggled again as she began to fade from sight, Vlad giving a rather weak and wobbly, “Do be back inside before dark, hm?” 

“Yes, papa.” She vanished from sight, and the room fell into an incredibly stunned silence. Several seconds ticked by before Jazz, of all people, asked with frustrated confusion, “What the actual fuck just happened?”

All of them were staring off, their hair nearly standing on end, static clinging from Colette’s electrified wail affecting them all, the windows completely busted open, and several items around the room smoking. “That’s the second room in this house to be totally destroyed.” 

Everyone looked up towards the ceiling, every face filled with dread to see what was coming next. Eros was floating with Martha, who was tied up and wiggling, the ghostly god tossing a thumb drive down to Vlad as he said, “I caught her just off the highway, she was going near ninety, if I didn’t pull her over, the cops would have.” 

A soft snort left Jacob, people glancing at the man before he slowly started to chuckle, and soon enough, others followed, tentative laughs filling the space, their bodies relaxing as they realized the threat had finally passed, though a sharp edge of uncertainty lingered as everyone slowly began to regroup.

Vlad transformed back into his human self and sighed as Danny helped him stand, noticing that releasing Colette from his core had drained him considerably. 

“My core hasn’t felt this weak in years–” Vlad murmured. Danny nodded as he felt Vlad lean on him heavily, “Yeah, it’s like her leaving sucked up all your power and energy.” 

Vlad nodded, “Indeed. She wasn’t fully formed when we found her. I hadn’t even considered that as a possability given how long she’s been a ghost. But it seems that she finished forming in my core… apparently, she inherited some of my electrical powers… and some lesser form of your wail.” Vlad mused. 

“How the hell would she have inherited my wail? She wasn’t in my core,” Danny said, his confusion evident. 

“No, but YOU were in mine, repeatedly. Whenever we shared our cores, she would have had access to them; it’s also most likely why she calls you daddy and me papa. She recognizes our cores as the ones who helped her core mature.” 

Danny’s eyes widened as Vlad leaned closer, saying much too softly, “She isn’t ours in the human sense, but… she is ours… in every otherway that matters to a ghost.” 

“We… helped give her her final ghostly form,” Danny whispered back, the younger man locking eyes with Vlad as reality hit him much too hard. 

“Ghosts can procreate… just not the same way as humans.” Vlad said, their gaze steady, their hearts calm, and Danny pressed their foreheads together as he said, “Shit, Vlad, why does everything with you have to be so damn complicated?” 

Vlad gave a weak chuckle, “I will remind you that it was you who asked me to help regarding caring for the half-formed ghost child. I wouldn’t have intervened were it not to make you happy.” 

Danny chuckled, “Whatever. You’re so full of it.” 

Vlad only chuckled once more as he plopped down into the nearest armchair and said in an exhausted voice, “Jacob, would you be a dear and please remove your mother, her faithful elder spy, and those two oddly loyal bodyguards from my house now, lest we repeat this same situation again.” 

“Gladly, though I’ve no clue what I’m gonna do with them. I can’t just lock mom up. Martha is a handful on her own, and I don’t know if I can reintegrate those two into our security force. Clearly, they are way too loyal to mom.” 

Maddie was untying Jack, murmuring something to him softly. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were once again securing Agatha, and Danny was keeping an eye on Vlad while Eros landed near Jacob and smiled happily. 

Vlad sighed, “Well, figure it out. I’ve had quite enough of this ridiculous nonsense; it's felt never-ending. I’m utterly spent. Delivering Colette back to this plain of existence was… exhausting, I don’t know how women do it.” Danny knelt in front of Vlad on the ground, a hand raising to cup his face as Vlad gave a tired smile at him. 

“Because women are awesome,” Sam said, crossing her arms as Jazz smirked. Maddie said with a little too much force, “Except, most women usually PLAN to have a kid and not just pop one out in the middle of a battle.” 

Danny and Vlad winced as they looked at her but Jacob saved the day as he asked Tucker, “This shit is so awkward, think you could help me get these two massive dick heads out, they’re still unconcious, but I want out of this room and the conversation–” Jacob started, only for Jack to stand and say angrily, “I will–” yanking and dragging the man that had been holding him out of the door as he muttered, “Point a gun at MY family, steal MY inventions, I’ll show you–” 

Tucker joined Eros and Jacob in trying to shift the other guy, who groaned painfully, his head shaking as they managed to get him up. He raised his face, groggy eyes taking in the scene and locking onto Agatha, who was unconscious and tied up with Martha, the old woman still thrashing, managing to use a shoulder to pull at the gag in her mouth, yelling angrily as Sam tried to subdue her, “Plan B!” 

It all happened so fast, everyone turning to look at the man who suddenly jerked hard, shoving Tucker and Jacob off before yanking a regular handgun from the back of his waistband and pointing it right at Vlad. The only problem was that Danny’s head was in the way. Danny had turned in shock, but he didn’t have a second to respond. As soon as the gun was pointed, the man fired, the loud bangs making everyone jump. 

Vlad shoved Danny’s head hard to the right, three bullets missing him by inches and slamming nearly one right after the other into Vlad’s chest and left shoulder. He’d been too drained to turn intangible, and as each bullet hit him, his body jerked. 

Danny’s eyes landed on the three holes, his pupils the size of pin heads, pink and red blood seeping across Vlad’s white shirt, warm blood spatter from the shots hitting Danny’s face, and everything went silent. Danny saw the holes, saw Vlad’s expression, felt the man’s hand fall away from his head, and in the few seconds it took him to register, he lost himself to a demon of rage. 

They’d spent an entire month walking through this pheromone hell, built bridges out of dust, had finally learned to properly communicate, to listen to each other, they’d finally reached each other, found some semblance of happiness, and Danny had finally connected with someone who could fully understand him. All the pressure of keeping this hidden, all the dread and worry about what his parents would say or do when they found out, ALL the bullshit Vlad had been through, the pain and suffering, Danny desperately trying to keep his head above water… and in milliseconds… it was taken away. Three shots fired by some asshole with a gun had ripped to shreds everything, and Danny’s heart tore, just as his core ignited in what felt like a potent ghostly vengeance. 

He reacted instantly, pivoting out of Vlad’s shove, turning hard, and transforming so quickly no one could follow. The man who had fired was suddenly gone, a yell ripping through the house as Sam and Tucker rushed to the door and watched Danny slam the man straight through a stone pillar. 

Jack had been halfway across the foyer when it had occurred, dragging the 1st guard across the floor angrily, so all he’d heard was a yell, gunshots, and then the second gunman being flown out of the room at extreme speeds and dropped to the ground. 

Letting go of the unconscious man’s hand, Jack’s eyes went wide as his son suddenly flew down, smashing his feet into the man’s back, grinding into him hard, “Danny! Stop!” Sam called from the doorway, Tucker grabbing her, “No! Not when he’s this pissed off! Don’t get in his way!”

Jack looked back at Danny, whose face was filled with rage, “You shot him!” Danny screamed, a smaller version of his ghostly wail smashing down onto the man’s back and creating cracks around his body on the floor.  

“He was innocent! He was mine! And you shot him!” Danny bellowed, the air dropping so swiftly it felt like they’d been plunged into a mountain lake. 

“We have to stop him, Tucker! He’s gonna kill him! Danny! Stop, please!” Sam yelled as Phantom shot up to the ceiling, hands igniting into toxic green balls of ecto energy, ice slowly creeping across the ceiling and floor. The energy in the room was unnerving, the power emanating from his son something even Jack could feel.

Phantom fired, but suddenly there was a flash of pink, and Vlad appeared in his ghost form, falling to his knees but holding up a pink ecto-shield and stopping the blast from connecting with the man on the ground, “Daniel! Look at me! I’m fine! Stop this now!” 

“Vlad?” Danny asked, seeming to come down for a moment, only for Vlad to grunt as his arm fell limp, the pink shield disappearing as he bent forward and pressed a hand to his shoulder. 

Vlad’s pain seemed to spark Phantom’s anger, his glowing eyes returning to the man on the ground who had shot Vlad, “Look what you did to him!” 

Jack moved quickly, coming to stand over the man on the ground and next to Vlad, holding his arms wide. 

Phantom froze, hesitating though his glare was chilling, “Move.” Danny warned, but Jack didn’t move an inch as Vlad let out a soft grunt. Jack realized Vlad was barely holding himself up due to the pain and his exhaustion. “Jack, do not move.” Vlad murmured, and so Jack remained planted, speaking firmly, “Daniel James Fenton, you calm down right now, mister, or so help me, I’ll swat your butt good!” Sam and Tucker’s faces fell to ones of utter shock at such a ridiculous threat. 

Maddie moved past them, coming to Vlad’s side and easing him onto the ground, “Daniel, stand down! I’m fine! I nghk, promise!” Vlad called before he winced and pressed a hand to his shoulder, transforming back into his human form and seeming to fade out a little.  

Phantom’s glare eased, the ecto balls fading a little, “He shot Vlad!” Danny yelled, addressing his father directly, but Jack didn’t move, standing his ground and preventing his son from doing something reckless, “I know you’re upset, but there are better ways to deal with men like him, and it’s not by ending up in jail for murder. So, how about you calm down, and we can talk this through.” Jack said, his tone easing as Phantom’s ecto balls dissipated and he slowly floated down, landing in front of his father and changing back into his human form, hot, angry tears running down his face, “He shot Vlad. He doesn’t deserve–” 

Jack cut him off, grabbing Danny by the shoulders and saying firmly, “That’s not your decision! Vladdie told me you always practice restraint and don’t use your powers to hurt people. Does this look like restraint!?” Jack said, motioning to the man he was currently protecting. 

Danny’s rage faded, his expression shifting from anger to intense regret and anxiety as he wiped at an eye and hung his head. “No. But.. I didn’t mean to hit him that hard… I was just… angry. I really didn’t mean to, Dad. I swear!” 

Jack glanced at Vlad, Maddie tending to him, the woman giving a subtle bloody thumbs up to show she was on it, and Vlad was going to be okay, so Jack looked back at his son, “I… know you didn’t. But your mother and I raised you better than this. Two wrongs don’t make a right, and you hurting this man won’t make you feel better; it won’t help Vlad, or solve your problems.” 

Danny sagged further, stepping closer to his father and pressing his face into the man’s chest, “I know… I just couldn’t control…. I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean it… I’ve never felt that mad before… I just… lost control. I’m sorry.” 

Jack let out a slow breath, trying to center himself as he gave Danny a tight hug and said softly, “Go help your mother and make sure Vladdie’s okay. I’ll deal with these two.” 

Danny looked at him for a moment before he swallowed and nodded, “Yes, sir.” He moved to Vlad’s side, “Sam, Tuck, can you help me and Mom move Vlad to the couch?” 

Sam and Tucker came over to help Maddie and Danny lift Vlad and carry him back into the sitting room. Jazz watched from a distance as her father dug fingers into his eyes, a hand in his hip as he tried to process what had just happened. 

Approaching her father, Jazz placed a hand on his arm, “Dad…are you alright?” 

Jack didn’t look at her as he said, “No, Jazzypants, I’m not. Your brother was about to kill that man, and I couldn’t do anything to stop him.” 

Jazz was shocked, “Dad, no. Please believe me, that was just… a mistake. I’ve seen Danny fight; he protects people. He’s a good guy, a hero. This… was just… a fluke. Please, trust me, what you just saw isn’t who Danny is… it isn’t… it wasn’t… Danny wouldn’t–” 

“He was going to fire Jasmine. If Vlad hadn’t intervened–”

Jazz shook her head, “No, Danny would never, he was just scared and angry. He saw Vlad get shot and just… lost it. Imagine if that had been mom… how would you have reacted?” 

Jack glanced at her, considering her words but looking doubtful, “I know all of this is crazy, and overwhelming, and I know… this thing between Vlad and Danny is really messing with you…but… even so… Danny’s never really loved someone before… not like this… not like he loves Vlad. I know it’s not easy to hear, but… he loves Vlad like you love mom. I can tell. Just give him time, he’ll figure it out, I promise. He always does.”  

Jack looked at her, eyes somber before glancing back to the man on the floor, “Right. I’m sure he will.” 

Jazz’s expression faded from nervous to worried before she decided to give her father a few minutes to process, and she walked back into the sitting room, Jacob and Eros watching the tense interaction in silence. 

Jack watched after his son for a long moment, with determined yet worried eyes, looking back at the man on the floor, who was still alive but clearly injured. Memories from earlier in the day came back to him. 

“Yeah, so what does that mean? If Danny’s core hasn’t done this weird Final Shift thing, is that bad?” 

“It means… he’s… going to get much more powerful, Samantha. Incredibly Powerful.” 

Jack considered what Vlad had done to subdue the two men at his feet, shocking them just enough to knock them out, a quick and bloodless attack, both men able to easily recover, efficient and just enough to accomplish his goal of freeing himself and leaving Agatha to stand alone. Jack wondered if Vlad had been conscious the whole time, just biding his time for a good opportunity to attack.

 He recalled how Danny had also stilled Vlad’s hand from doing anything worse to the crazy lady who had jumped him in his and Maddie’s bedroom. Danny had shown calm during stressful situations, his reasoning skills fully intact during what was essentially a very serious and dangerous moment. 

But… his son had nearly killed one of them when Vlad had been injured.

“Well, look at that, the monster is trainable.”

“I’m NOT a monster!”

“Don’t, Vlad. You know she’s trying to get a rise out of you, and you know you don’t want to actually hurt her. You’re just pissed off. So am I, think it through, Fruitloop.” 

How had his son gone from so calm and in control of the situation to… so out of control and reckless… 

“Dad, no. Please believe me, that was just… a mistake. I’ve seen Danny fight; he protects people. He’s a good guy, a hero. This… was just… a fluke. Please, trust me, what you just said… it isn’t… it wasn’t… Danny wouldn’t–” 

His eyes turned back, watching from a distance as Vlad leaned up from the couch with a pained wince, his face slick with sweat as he turned intangible and the bullets fell out of him. The wounds were still present, but Danny placed a glowing hand over Vlad’s chest, doing some weird ghost core stuff to try and help stabilize him. 

“You can’t leave him, Vlad. I don’t care how pissed off his parents are, I don’t care if you want to do the right thing and let him grow up a little more, if he’s this powerful now, before his core has shifted into adulthood, he will need you when the shift happens, you need to be there to train him, to help him control it–” 

“Will he… be in danger?” 

“Not necessarily. But if he hasn’t gone through his shift yet, and his core is still in its infancy, then when it does shift, the raw power he has now will triple, maybe even quadruple.” 

His cores not even fully grown– Jack’s eyes returned to the man on the ground, hearing a very pained whimper from him, his mind flashing back to how quickly Vlad had responded to Danny’s sudden attack. Shielding the man and ordering Danny to stand down.

Jack knew, in that moment, as much as he hated it, as much as it upset him, he needed to have another conversation with Vlad about his son, and what was truly best for him. 

Page Break 

They’d managed to get Vlad stabilized, putting him back into the tank in his lab to rest and speed up the healing process. While Vlad was out, Danny had taken charge, at least to the best of his abilities. He’d asked Jacob to remove Agatha, Martha, and her two goons, and Jacob had gotten to work on it, seemingly pleased at the prospect of getting to go home. It had required the biggest limo Jacob had, and three extra security guards from Nord Enterprises to get Agatha, Martha, and their two “henchmen” out of Vlad’s house and on their way. 

Aside from bitching about having to write up a NDA for the three guards and the limo driver specifically regarding this sudden and odd situation, Jacob had promised he’d figure it out, both what to do with the four troublemakers and how to gather all the information his mother had acquired on Vlad, the Fentons, their tech, and the employees Agatha had tried to poach. 

Danny had freed Technus and Skulker, asking the tech ghost to download all the information he’d collected from Agatha’s computer into Vlad’s as well as sending it to Jacob so the man could see what kind of dark web his mother had built with all the information she had gathered. They would need to do some serious damage control, come up with several good stories, and talk their way out of quite a few business proposals that Agatha had already started in regard to Fenton's ghost tech. 

Jacob had nearly seemed giddy at the challenge that lay before him, commenting on how THIS was an area in which he was a professional and would return when it was all sorted, Eros, assuring Danny that he would help Jacob however he could, and that they would call if they needed anything further. When Jacob and Eros left, all of them crammed into the limo, Danny had breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize his family and friends were next.  

They had all stayed one more night, softly chatting in the kitchen over food about the previous day's events, hashing out some of the less well-known details about Agatha contacting Maddie, Sam, and Tucker’s involvement near the beginning of this month’s crazy adventure, as well as their involvement over the last few years in helping Danny fight ghosts. 

Jazz was not spared her mother and father’s questions, and she got quite an earful from both about not telling them, as well as allowing her younger brother to do such dangerous and secretive things. 

They didn’t touch on Danny’s relation to Vlad prior to this month, nor did they dig too deeply into their current relationship, but Danny did get grilled on Clockwork as well as some of the other more common ghosts he fought regularly. The group also worked to tidy up the rooms damaged in the fallout from Agatha’s master plan, Danny knowing Vlad would most likely hire professionals to rehab both rooms once things were finally settled. 

Eventually, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz needed to return to Amity, and after several conversations about their reluctance to leave and Danny’s promise that both he and Vlad would be back in Amity soon, packed up their things and climbed into the RV, Danny’s mother preparing to drive them home. 

His goodbye to his friends and sister had been their usual, as the four young adults had gotten so used to crazy shit happening that this whole thing had felt like a freaking Tuesday. Jazz had urged him to call if he needed to talk about anything and had also followed up to have Vlad reach out to a mental health professional. 

Sam and Tucker had given much too tight hugs, reminding him to call them as often as he could and assuring him they would be in Amity when he came back, ready to talk and, if needed, help him fight some ghosts. Honestly, after this last month, fighting some regular ghosts sounded really good. 

His mother had taken all her gear, the massive pile of notes, her ballgown, the tech Agatha had stolen, and the thermos, mentioning how she wanted to talk to Vlad as soon as he was awake about his lab. She’d been shocked when she had seen it, Danny sighing heavily when he realized there would be even more questions added to her already growing list. He wondered if it would be easier to just make a slideshow of the last four years of his life; at least then, he could use pictures for context. Anyway he looked at it, telling them about all his adventures and the things he’d done since he became a halfa would only upset them more, though at this point, not filling them in completely would be even worse. 

What had surprised Danny the most was the fact that his Dad had chosen to stay behind. 

His mom hadn’t argued about it, and Jack had assured his wife that he would get a taxi to the train station and head back to Amity when he was ready. Danny didn’t know how to feel about it because, at the moment, there was a tension between him and his father that he had never felt before, and it made him both incredibly anxious and unspeakably uncomfortable. 

He’d never truly been at odds with either of his parents before, and while some small part of him knew it was inevitable that, as he grew up, he’d eventually have disagreements with them about how he lived his life, this wasn’t something small, like getting a tattoo or wanting to move to Europe. 

He’d realized as his dad had shut his mother’s door on the RV and leaned in to give her a kiss that none of the remaining conversations about the Pheromone, or how this all started, had occurred, and his father was going to be the one to stay behind and sort the rest of this out. 

That meant when the time came, Danny would have to look his father in the eye and tell him everything, including exactly how his Dad’s best friend had ended up in bed with his son. Danny had felt like he might throw up, but he was also determined to prove to his father that this thing with Vlad was real, and not some one-off fling.  

Vlad hadn’t remained in the tank long, and when Danny pulled him out, he got him up to speed, the older man no less comfortable with Jack staying behind than Danny was. The wounds he’d sustained were healing fast, given his halfa nature, though, since the bullets had penetrated his human body, it would still take some time. Thankfully, Jack didn’t hover, though Danny swore he could feel his father’s presence permeating the entirety of the mansion.

Jack had given them space, avoiding them most days and only coming to grab food before disappearing again. Danny had a suspicion that his dad was snooping around Vlad’s lab, but given their current situation, Danny was not going to split hairs about what the man did. It was clear his father was waiting for Vlad to get better before they all spoke, and Danny could only hope the conversation would go well.  

In the wake of his father’s silence, Danny found himself going over and over the memory of what happened with the security guard. Finding himself looking at his hands much too often and thinking about how both Vlad and his father had saved him from making the biggest mistake of his life. 

On more than one occasion, Danny had argued with himself about how he wouldn’t have actually killed the guy, yet he still couldn’t justify the amount of force he’d used. His father’s voice followed him, echoing in his head as he moved through the large, quiet mansion or lay next to Vlad at night when they slept.

“Vladdie told me you always practice restraint and don’t use your powers to hurt people. Does this look like restraint!?

His shame was immense, his guilt weighing him down, and he couldn’t quite understand how this had come to be the ending to his month-long affair with Vlad. 

I almost killed someone… I thought when this was all over… we’d get to be happy, but… I just feel… horrible.

On more than one occasion, he’d curled up with Vlad, crying silently as the man slept, trying desperately to convince himself that he hadn’t almost ended someone’s life. Anxiety spiking as he was finally able to settle into the fact that both his mother and father knew the truth of it all, both that he was half ghost and that he was in a sexual, long-term relationship with Vlad. 

He tried to process it, tried to come to terms with the fact that the month of hell was over, that Vlad was back to his regular self, and that Danny had chosen to stay. Saying good-bye to his mother as she left had been tense as well because there was no way to hide why he was choosing to stay with Vlad. It was all out in the open, everyone knew, and now, he had to live with it. 

She’d asked when he’d be coming back home, to which Danny gave a non-committal response. They would return to Amity as soon as Vlad was healed, and Vlad would finish out his last term as mayor before returning to Wisconsin permanently. He didn’t specify where he would end up when that occurred, and she didn’t ask. There wasn’t resentment in her gaze, so much as a knowing discomfort, and he didn’t correct her about it. 

His mother had seemed so resolute, supporting Danny’s relationship only because she didn’t want to lose him or their own relationship as mother and son. Danny knew that if his mother wasn’t worried about losing him, she wouldn’t support what was happening between him and Vlad, and it hurt, but at least he knew his mother’s love was absolute.   

After a month-long adventure of sex, travel, and randomly horrible events, the pair were officially able to relax, yet it seemed neither of them could. Danny’s dread grew, for while their relationship seemed to be settling into something resembling normal, their near-daily intimacy, which had been occurring for the last month, had withered into nothing. They didn’t have sex; didn’t touch excessively, barely kissed, and even holding hands felt… awkward. 

Neither of them addressed the sudden dry spell; they mostly talked about the events of the last month and tried to come to terms with how spectacularly it had all gone to hell and everything that had happened. The sudden knowledge that they had come to know each other, physically, mentally, and emotionally through what most would consider a form of coercion, was glaring at them, and it occurred to both of them, though not at the same time, how they had gone from fighting and wanting to rip each other apart to never wanting to be without the other. So intertwined and connected were they now that it was suddenly overwhelming. They had been flying by the seat of their pants all month, never truly stopping to consider how the pheromones fade, and his parents' learning the truth would be like a bucket of ice water to their too-hot fire. 

Vlad was no longer being driven by the Pheromone, and Danny noticed that the older halfa was keeping his hands mostly to himself. Danny suddenly felt too timid to initiate, and with his dad hanging around and Vlad’s injuries, they’d come to be in a sort of sexual stalemate. 

Suddenly, Danny was cripplingly shy again, and Vlad was behaving as if touching Danny was morally wrong. 

Danny didn’t know what to do save for to give it some time, and Vlad clearly, but silently, seemed to agree. So, they talked, going through the month they had spent together, rehashing certain moments, looking through the pictures, and some of the less-than-pure videos Vlad had taken. 

They laughed, joked, teased, and taunted, and even returned to the darker waters of the closet incident, the bathroom incident, Danny’s dive into the man’s dreams. They talked about Clockwork’s odd behavior towards Danny and Vlad’s sudden loss of his obsessions. It was probably the most they had ever talked in one sitting. They even dared to make several smaller plans for the future, though both seemed hesitant to truly commit to them. 

It wasn’t even that it felt uncomfortable, so much as it no longer felt like something they had to do. They’d spent a whole month planning things, working around the issues with the Pheromone, trying to hide what was happening and figure out how to keep people from noticing, making sure Vlad and Danny could both make it through without hurting the other, so now, it all felt… 

Danny sighed as he leaned back against the headboard of the bed, “I don’t know, it feels like we’re jumping the gun, is it too soon to be making plans for us when it’s only been a few days since everything went to hell?”
Vlad hummed at that, adjusting the glasses on his face as he thumbed through his schedule book, “Did it go to hell? I’m not so sure now that we can say it did.” 

“Vlad, you were shot.” Danny countered, and Vlad soffed, “As if that’s never happened before. You’d think goons and henchmen would come up with something more interesting to do when in the throes of losing.”

Danny pressed his hand to the pages of the book, stopping Vlad’s scanning, which made the older man sigh before he reached up to remove his glasses and look at Danny with a raised brow, “What would you like me to say, Little Badger? Hm? I was shot; it’s over and done. Considering everything that happened over the last month, including your parents finding out all your secrets, I really don’t think we could have done much better. Everything turned out wonderful if you think about it.”
 Danny scoffed, “What the hell do you mean? It looks like a massive disaster to me. My Dad is probably traumatized, my Mom is about to form her own version of the Spanish Inquisition, you and I… are…” he trailed off, cheeks tinging the barest red as he realized he wasn’t ready to discuss their sudden lack of sex and looked away, “Never mind.”  

Vlad leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before murmuring, “Well, you’re still here with me, aren’t you? We’re still together, and the world didn’t end when your parents learned the truth. I’d call that a win. Not to mention I heroically saved you from being shot in the back of the head, I don’t often get to play the selfless hero, it was… very satisfying despite the fact my shoulder aches… this month has been the most exciting I’ve had in ages.” 

Vlad had gone back to reading, leaving Danny shocked. He had thanked Vlad numerous times for shoving him out of the way, for essentially saving his life, as he wouldn’t have reacted fast enough to dodge or turn intangible. But Vlad had continued to brush it off, citing the fact that he’d been shot several times before, and he’d do it again if needed. Danny had ordered him to never take a bullet for him again, to which Vlad gave a calm and profunct, “No.” 

Two more days passed before Vlad decided he needed to get out of bed and actually do something useful. So, with a reluctant and worried Danny in tow, the pair had gone out back behind the mansion and spent several hours in their ghost forms. They flew, trained, and tested to see whether Vlad’s core was back to full strength and how his shoulder and chest would handle both his attacks and his movement and transformation. 

Neither noticed Danny’s Dad watching from a distance, silent and contemplative, experiencing the pair together without either of them knowing they were being watched. 

Danny found some semblance of peace in this moment, letting his ghostly tail form and flying playfully around Vlad, teasing him and taunting him into playing. There was something so soothing to finally being able to just exist, Phantom and Plasmius finally joining and no longer waging their private war. Danny and Vlad were seeing eye to eye in a way they never could before. And though the overwhelm of what their future might look like was ever-present in the back of his mind, these moments of calm before the chaos were enough to pacify the anxiety that ate at him. 

It took two full weeks for Vlad to fully recover, his ghostly side speeding up his healing exponentially, though Vlad now had three new scars to add to his collection, and Danny more than once saw the way Vlad ran fingers over them in the mirror. 

It was at the beginning of the third week that things came to a head, his father’s silent presence finally solidifying into the moment both Vlad and Danny had been both waiting for and dreading. 

Vlad had spent the entire day in his office, desperately working to get caught up on all the things he’d missed. Calling his mayoral staff and assuring them he would be back soon, only to turn around and call his employees at Vladco to touch base. He signed piles of paperwork, had several conference calls, and had even spoken to several repair companies about coming to fix both his study and sitting room. He’d spoken with Jacob numerous times, reached out to his PR, HR, and law offices, and put his creepy businessman feelers to the ground to see what he could find out about how the Gala had been received by his fellow creepy businessmen. 

Danny was focused on applying to colleges and sorting out his financial aid while working at the nearby coffee table. Vlad stood up, stretching carefully so as not to aggravate his shoulder. 

“How is the application process going?” He asked, walking over and standing above Danny, looking down at his laptop curiously. 

“Applications, as in five, and fine. Just have one left, UW is my go to, but if I don’t get in, I have four different back-ups.” 

“I’d be surprised if you didn’t, Little Badger. Your grades were acceptable when you graduated from Casper High, and your parents' previous attendance technically makes you a legacy student. You should be a shoo-in, not to mention your association with me and the summer internship.” 

Danny glanced up at him knowingly as he said, “We both know that internship was bogus. Don’t do any of your bullshit funny business. If I’m gonna make it into UW, I want to do it on my own. Not because you pulled some strings.” 

Vlad chuckled softly, “On my honor. No funny business. You’ll get into UW on your own merit; I have no need to try to push the outcome.” 

“Yeah? And if I don’t get in, are you gonna behave and not get all stalkery on me while I’m away at school?” Danny challenged, and Vlad smirked. 

“Of course-,” Vlad said, now looking out the window calmly as he said much too casually, “I’ll have no need to stalk you if I simply move with you. My time as mayor is over next year, and I don’t plan to run for office again. I can do my work for Vladco from just about anywhere in the world.” 

Danny looked up at him in surprise, “Wait, did you just say you’re gonna follow me?” 

Vlad gave him a rather satisfied smile, “Mm, why not? Wouldn’t you prefer to stay in a nice condo with me rather than in the dorms? Or did you wish to experience dorm life? I can promise you it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.” 

Danny chuckled as he returned his attention to the laptop, “Says you, but I bet for me, it will be awesome. I’ll come stay with you on weekends, but having a dorm room will be nice, especially if you piss me off. Then I can storm out and actually have a place to go.” Danny was joking, of course, but Vlad turned to him, his face annoyed, “Honestly, Daniel, you haven’t even been accepted yet, and you’re already planning for us to have fights?” 

Danny scoffed, “You and me living together long term, while I’m trying to make my way through college and you being a grouchy old fuck, yeah, we’re gonna fight. Don’t act like we’re perfect.” 

Vlad returned to the coffee table, crossing his arms and jutting a hip as he said snidely, “We are perfect, Little Badger.” 

Danny looked up at him, seeing the crossed arms, annoyed expression, and jutting hip, “You’re being so gay right now.” Danny mused, and Vlad’s brows popped up high before he scowled, “Utter nonsense.” 

He turned on a heel and headed back to his desk, only to stop mid-sit when a knock sounded. Both of them glanced between each other and the stained oak door, both knowing exactly who it was and realizing that this was it. 

The last shred of their current discomfort was behind that door, and once this conversation was over, it would officially just be Vlad and Danny. They hadn’t talked about what would happen when they returned to Amity, as Vlad would be back at the mayoral mansion and Danny would have to choose between his parents’ house and Vlad’s. 

The possibility of him staying at both was high, but Danny hadn’t been able to bring himself to confront the awkwardness of letting his parents know when he’d be crashing at Vlad’s.  

“Come in,” Danny called, hands fisting over the keys of his computer as Vlad finished sitting down and brought his hands together before him on a pile of papers. 

Jack Fenton popped his head in, looking between the two for a moment before entering and rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. For the first time since he found out the truth, Jack didn’t look angry; in fact, he looked a little bit uncertain. 

The silence was deafening, as neither Danny nor Vlad had asked him why he had stayed behind, and while Danny had tried to initiate a conversation with him multiple times, it had always fallen flat, not really going anywhere or resolving any issues between them. 

Vlad had given the man a wide berth, Jack doing the same in return; the only connection left for these two men was Danny, and he sat awkwardly between them, the last strained string holding the two men together. Once Jack left, the string would snap, and any future run-ins would be nothing more than two strangers meeting in passing. 

“Uhm, well… I was walking by and–” Jack trailed off, blue eyes glancing to his son who smiled softly at him, “Whatcha need, dad?” 

A soft smile came to his father’s lips, though it fell away when he glanced at Vlad, who remained unassuming and kept his expression neutral. No scowl, but no smile, eyes open and clear, brows neither up nor down. 

Jack’s expression as he looked at Vlad didn’t change either. Danny watched as two blank slates stared at each other, no expressions, no emotions, just empty faces, eyes locking, and Danny raised a brow, “Uh, Dad?” 

Jack seemed to snap out of it, letting out a sigh as he said in a rather defeated tone, “I called a taxi, but… I want to speak with Vladdie before I leave. Mind staying here while we old fogies have a chat?” 

Danny glanced at Vlad, whose dark blue eyes had glanced at him while he gave a very subtle nod of being willing to talk. Danny’s expression was surprised, but he looked back to his dad, “Uh, sure, okay.” 

“Right. Okay, uh, Vladdie? Maybe the balcony? Or, someplace more private?” Jack requested awkwardly, and Vlad stood, keeping his voice light and calm, “Of course. This way, Jack. I know just the place. Daniel, do be a good lad and refrain from eavesdropping.” 

Danny snorted, “Fiiiiine, but don’t call me ‘lad,' I’m a freaking adult, Fruitloop.” 

Vlad chuckled, “Mm, yes, well, be that as it may, you have a tendency to try and listen to conversations when you’ve been strictly told to buzz off.”

Danny rolled his eyes, “Whatever, like you’ve never done it.” 

“Of course, but I don’t get caught.” 

Danny flipped him the bird, and Vlad chuckled, Jack remaining silent through the exchange, Danny wincing when he remembered his dad was there and offering a soft, “Oops, sorry dad. Have fun… uh… talking and stuff.”   

Vlad took Jack through the house, past the balcony, and to a large spiral stone staircase that led all the way up to the roof of the castle-like mansion. Once outside, Vlad led Jack around the uppermost tower, crossing the main battlement to reveal a lovely sitting area that overlooked the farm and woodland surrounding them. Vlad leaned calmly against the stone wall, crossed his arms, and waited. 

Jack eyed the wrought-iron table and chairs before looking at the two large cement benches nearby, then back at Vlad, the man continuing to stare at him much too calmly. 

Birds flew overhead, a gentle breeze left the leaves hissing softly on their branches, and puffy white clouds moved across the blue sky towards parts unknown. Silence passed between the two men, some bitter-sweet taste forming on Vlad’s tongue, yet he couldn’t bring himself to be acerbic.

“Jack?” His tone was calm; his entire demeanor was as well, his voice remaining light and nonbothered, as if the two men were going to have a conversation about something mundane and unimportant. Still, Jack stood silently, eyes scanning, thoughts churning as his arms crossed and his expression remained empty of anything that might reveal his mood. 

This was the moment that Danny and Vlad had been waiting for. This conversation and its long-awaited arrival had kept the pair from moving forward because if Jack was still here, it meant he had more to say, and until they knew what it was, neither felt like they could continue. 

Vlad had elected to handle this moment with as much calm and careful consideration as was possible. Ever since their previous conversation on the balcony, Vlad had felt like his entire ghostly obsession had changed; he didn’t want to risk something equally life-altering happening again, especially when he felt calmer and more stable than he had in a very long time. 

Jack approached slowly, standing before him and meeting Vlad’s eye with something close to regret. Vlad returned his gaze, expression open and honest, and finally Jack spoke, “I’ve decided… that Danny… needs to stay with you.” 

That was not what Vlad had expected the man to say, though he wouldn’t have been able to posit a single guess as to why Jack had lingered behind after everyone else had left; apparently, he’d been ruminating over not what had happened but what would happen. 

Vlad’s brows were high, eyes wide, lips parting softly as he asked in a much too soft voice, “I… what?” 

Jack looked at the ground and said resolutely, “Danny… needs to stay with you. I… don’t like it. And if the situation were even remotely different, I would have made him leave with Maddie and me two weeks ago. After what happened…” Jack’s voice faded away, expression turning towards sadness, arms dropping as his hands fisted. 

Vlad still said nothing, studying the large man before him with a perplexed expression, not quite sure what to say, though it seemed Jack wasn’t done, as he asked, “Are you… stronger than Danny, in your ghost half, I mean.” 

Vlad considered what Jack was asking him, thinking back on all of Plasmius’s and Phantom’s run-ins and fights through the years, and something inside of him urged him to be completely honest, “In raw physical strength, yes. Mentally… no. Your son has always had more conviction than I, and most of the time, he’s beaten me because he was able to sufficiently outthink or outmaneuver me. I like to attribute that to Maddie’s genetics, but… I’m beginning to accept that… he gets both his intelligence and conviction from Maddie… and you.”

That admittance finally seemed to crack some of Jack’s stoic demeanor, and a very faint smile came to the man’s lips, only for it to fade again as he asked, “So… after the shift thingy… when his core grows up… will you still be stronger than him?” 

Vlad’s mask of calm finally broke, the man looking away as he gave a soft, “No.”

Jack gave a worried nod, but Vlad continued, “However, while he will be stronger, he won’t be much of a threat.” Jack looked up at him, some whisp of hope filling his eyes, “Daniel lacks discipline, Jack. Something he also inherited from you. If his core becomes as powerful as I expect it will, he will need to spend several years strengthening his human body before he can truly utilize his powers.” 

“What do you mean?” Jack asked, brows furrowing as Vlad sighed, “It’s a little too complicated to explain quickly, but essentially, his human body needs to be able to handle the power his ghostly core puts out. We may shift from human to ghost, but we are essentially hybrids, which means we cannot ignore one part of ourselves in favor of the other. His core might eventually be stronger than mine, but my human body, despite my age, is in far better shape. I’ve taken care of it, trained, built my body up to the point that it can stand the strain. Danny is… an excellent fighter, strategist, and incredibly clever in a tight spot, but he’s always relied too heavily on his ghost half to get him through the worst of it. He mostly ignores his human half, and so… even when his powers grow, if his human half can’t support it, he’ll still be stuck using the level of power he has now.” 

Jack considered Vlad’s words, his eyes looking tired as he asked, “Does Danny know?” 

Vlad met his eye, trying to figure out where Jack was going with this before answering honestly, “I don’t know for sure, but judging by his human body–” Jack’s eye twitched a little, and Vlad frowned, “I would say no. I’ve mentioned it in passing, but… let’s just say he hasn’t had cause to believe what I tell him. I assume that if he did, he would have spent more time trying to improve his human half. Why do you ask?” 

Jack hesitated, a hand coming to cup the back of his neck as he considered what to say. 

Vlad decided to press, “Jack?” The man glanced up at him, “Why are you asking me this?” 

“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I understand the situation. So, he needs to stay here, with you. I… will give you my blessing, but only on one condition.” 

Vlad had no clue why the man had suddenly pulled a one-eighty on the subject, and he didn’t like that Jack wasn’t being forthcoming, given Vlad had elected to be honest for once in his life. Vlad found himself saying calmly, if not matter-of-factly, “While we’d appreciate your blessing, you do realize that since Daniel is over eighteen, we don’t need it.” 

Jack nodded, though it was clear that the comment irked him as he said, “But Danny wants it, and you can’t make me believe he doesn’t.” 

Jack had him there, as Vlad knew very well that having his parents' “blessing” would go a long way in making Daniel more comfortable in their relationship. The entire time Jack had been here, Daniel had been reluctant to do anything but kiss or cuddle. Vlad could only guess that it had to do with Daniel feeling like it would be disrespectful to do anything more while his father was in the house. The young man had suddenly become timid, reluctant, and shy. He was mimicking the same behaviors he’d had in High School, that awkward teenage phase when you’re curious but too scared to take the leap. 

Vlad himself had been reluctant to engage in anything sexual because now the sex was not needed; it was wanted. Danny was under no obligation to allow Vlad access to his body, and Vlad wasn’t sure he had reached a headspace where a “no” wouldn’t make him panic. He wanted to trust himself, but he didn’t, and Daniel denying him intimacy, while it was his right to do so, would hurt him, and he didn’t want to go down any road that might awaken some wicked nature that Vlad didn’t trust to be gone. 

Insecurity, jealousy, annoyance, anger… he didn’t want to risk feeling any of it at the moment. Not until he had a therapist on call and proper medications for his mood swings and mental imbalance. 

Vlad swore he would never force himself on Daniel again; their conversation about what had happened in the closet of the bathroom at Vlad’s work was a dark memory Vlad desperately wanted to forget. But Vlad also knew that in the past, when he’d allowed his more sadistic side to take hold of him, he hadn’t been above trying to guilt or shame a partner into giving him what he wanted. He didn’t want to find out if he still had such horrific traits, and so, didn’t push Daniel in regards to sex. 

“Why the change of heart?” Vlad asked, and Jack looked up at him, saying in a rather frustrated voice, “He nearly killed a man, Vladdie; he was going to end someone’s life!” 

Vlad said nothing, eyes narrowing as he recalled what Daniel had told him about that moment, the feeling of total loss of control, the anger and rage roaring to life, the desire to hurt the man who had shot Vlad and make him suffer, and how much it had scared him. 

Danny had never felt such a severe and acidic pain before, had never felt a rage so potent and strong that it had led him towards cruelty without pause. Vlad had, and Daniel admitting having such feelings to him had made Vlad feel less… inhuman. But unlike Vlad, who had embraced those cruel and hard-to-control urges, Daniel had been terrified by them. Daniel had said it had felt like he was no longer in control, that the part of himself he usually trusted to know when to stop or when to exercise restraint had simply let go, and he hadn’t been able to rein himself in like he normally could. 

Jack’s sudden desire to allow Danny to remain with Vlad came in to clerity, the questions Jack had asked him suddenly making sense. 

“You’re leaving him in my care because you realize if he loses control… I might be the only one who could stop him.” Vlad acknowledged. 

Jack’s glare was soft, his face determined, “Could you?” 

Vlad studied Jack a moment, trying to determine the right answer, as honesty seemed to be working, but the truth was, in a one-on-one between them, with Daniel losing control, it wouldn’t be Vlad’s strength that would stop Daniel, but his words, the trust they’ve built, their love for each other, and their core connection. 

Saying something so cliché and sappy wasn’t Vlad’s style, and he sure as hell knew it wouldn’t make Jack feel any better, so he decided to be honest but in a roundabout way, “My core and Daniel’s core are bonded, so even if my strength was not enough to bring him down… my hold over his core would be. It’s hard to explain, but… in essence, if I needed to… I could shut Phantom’s core down with my own. And no, Daniel does not know we can use our cores to cancel each other out. There is still a lot about ghostly cores, both bonded and singular, that he doesn’t know.” 

Jack’s resolve seemed to firm up, “Maybe… don’t tell him. Not yet.” 

Vlade’s eyes near buldged, arms dropping as he stood up from his position on the wall, “Are you requesting I keep that information from your own son? That’s a bit… underhanded for you, isn’t it?” 

“It would only be for a little while,” Jack said, trying to justify his rather out-of-character request, but Vlad realized that when it came to his children, Jack would bend his own morals if he felt like it was necessary. At least in regard to life and death.

Still, Vlad wanted Jack to understand what he was requesting and so admitted darkly, “It goes both ways, you know. If I were to suddenly lose all sense and randomly attack someone, Daniel could use it to subdue me as well. It gives me leverage over him if he doesn’t know the truth, something I could use to control him on a whim or to my own advantage.” 

“Would you?” Jack challenged, “Or do you truly love my son?” 

Vlad’s dark expression faded, emotions swirling as he realized Jack was actually asking him. Vlad bowed his head, his cheeks suddenly turning red as his hands fisted, and he said in an incredibly quiet voice, “I do.” 

“Then you won’t do anything to hurt him. Because your love for him won’t let you.” Jack assured, crossing his arms and waiting. 

Vlad let out a sigh, asking softly, “What’s the condition?” 

Jack suddenly placed a hand on Vlad’s shoulder, “I’ll give my blessing, turn my head on you two staying together, I’ll be supportive and keep my opinions to myself… in return… I want you to do what is necessary to make sure my son has full control of himself, his abilities, and his emotions. Train him, teach him, make sure that what he almost did to that guard never happens again. And when his core does the whole hookey-dookey shifty thing, you're there to guide him through it and make sure he doesn’t hurt himself or anyone else. If he is going to be as strong and powerful as you claim, he needs more discipline and… someone who… actually understands what he is going through. Maddie and I… we can’t help him through all this, no matter how much we want to. But you can.” 

Vlad studied Jack for a long moment, realizing in this moment that somehow, he was suddenly getting everything he ever wanted. Daniel was at his side, Jack was letting go, Maddie was staying well out of it, and once this conversation ended, Daniel… would be his. Jack was asking Vlad to take care of Daniel, and Daniel was ready and willing to leave his father’s side and stand next to him. 

Four years ago, this would have been a fever dream; now… it was a very solid reality. 

Vlad’s eyes narrowed, not entirely trusting that this was actually happening, “Just a favor between old friends, is it?” 

Jack shook his head, “I’m not asking you as a friend, that ship is still sailed, I’m asking as the father of the man you claim to love. Jazzy pants and you have both told me that my son is a good man, that he defends those who can’t defend themselves, that he is a hero… I believe both of you, and I believe Danny when he told me he lost control and didn’t mean for it to go that far. Even heroes can make mistakes, and I believe my son is a good man. I am asking you to help him… and make sure he stays that way. So… will you do it?” 

Vlad stared at Jack before saying calmly, “Daniel… scared you, didn’t he. His powers, his abilities, they terrify you.” 

Jack’s jaw tightened, “No. I am not scared of my son; I am scared for him. You have no children, Vladdie, so you’ll never understand the fear that comes from seeing your child in so much pain that he would take it out on others. I never want to see Danny in that amount of pain again. Can you promise me?” 

To say Vlad was shocked was an understatement. Still, Vlad spoke, his voice honest, “Of course I will, Jack. All I care about is Daniel’s happiness. I promise to do everything you’ve asked and more.” 

Slowly, Jack held out his hand, waiting for Vlad to do the same, and when Vlad reached out, Jack pulled back a little, “Don’t shake, unless you mean it, Vladdie. When it comes to my children, I don’t pull my punches. No matter how old they get.” 

Vlad sighed, realizing he was going to have to do something to prove his sincerity, so he moved forward and bypassed the man’s hand so they could embrace, “I swear, on all that is holy, and the nudy mag under your bed, plus all the sodas in my fridge, you have my word, I will do right by your son and take the very best of care in his future.” 

Jack actually froze, seemingly stunned by what Vlad had said, and Vlad waited to see how the large man would respond, only to hear a faint sniff before Jack hugged him back and murmured, “You actually remember that?” 

Vlad rolled his eyes and smirked, “Honestly, it was the stupidest pledge of loyalty I’ve ever had to make. I couldn’t forget something so utterly ridiculous if I tried.” 

“What was it for, again?” Jack asked softly, Vlad feeling the man squeeze him just a little tighter, “I do believe it was a promise that if one of us got lucky, and the other didn’t, we’d clear out of the dorm and not be… I believe the phrase you used was butt-hurt.” 

“Oh, right, that was from before we started hanging out with Maddie.” 

“Yes, before… everything. We’d only just met, but you were my first real friend, so I will begrudgingly admit I was a little desperate to gain your approval, even if it meant making an embarrassing pledge of loyalty with you about getting laid.” 

The faintest chuckle escaped Jack before a nearly silent whisper met Vlad’s ear, “I miss you so much, V-man. Why… didn’t you come back?” 

Vlad glanced at the side of Jack’s head, the man letting out a trembling sigh, “Don’t let me down. Take care of my son, Vlad.” Suddenly, Jack was pulling away and clearing his throat, “I’ll say goodbye to Danny and head home. The taxi should be here by now. Make sure… he’s going to be alright.” 

Jack walked away, leaving Vlad standing on the roof with outstretched arms that fell limp to his sides, his expression somewhere between lost and confused, his heart suddenly aching as he watched his once-and-only friend walk away from him for good. 

Page Break 

Danny had just shut his laptop when his father poked his head back in, “Danny-boy, I’m heading out. Walk me to the taxi, would ya?”

“Oh, sure, Dad,” Danny said, standing from the coffee table and joining his father out in the hall. 

“How did your conversation with Vlad go?” Danny asked as he took his father’s bag and walked next to him, the silence calm but oddly tense. Not the tense Danny had expected, feeling more like his father wanted to say a million things but could only manage a sad expression and a hand on his shoulder. 

“It went,” was the only reply Jack gave, and Danny’s worried expression followed his father all the way out the door. 

The taxi was waiting, his father walking up to it but not opening the door. Danny set his father’s bag down next to the tire as he asked, “Dad… are you sure you’re okay? You seem–” 

“I’m fine, kiddo. You just make sure to come spend a few days with us when you and Vlad get back into town, alright? It’ll make your mother happy.” 

“Sure, no problem. I already planned to.” Danny said with a smile. 

“Good, that’s… good.” The pair stood before each other, Jack rubbing at the back of his neck before glancing at his son, and Danny swore he saw his father’s eyes water before Jack placed a hand on his shoulder and said somberly, “Be good and listen to Vlad, he’ll make sure you’re alright.” 

That sentence sounded so final, it made Danny’s heart twist, and he reached for his Dad as the man stepped away and opened the taxi door, “Wait, uh, Dad? What… why are you–what’s going on? Are you sure you’re okay?” 

His father grabbed his bag and slid it over himself to the other side of the back seat as he smiled softly, “Don’t worry, son, I’ll see you when you’re back in town, make sure to do your very best… and… uh… make sure you get in to UW, you’re a legacy student, it’ll be fun!” 

His dad shut the door quickly, ignoring Danny’s calls to wait, the taxi driving off as Danny took several steps after it. He came to a stop as it turned onto the main road and drove away, leaving Danny standing on the gravel drive with his shoulders slumped and his face filled with confusion and sadness. “What just happened?” he asked softly. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder, looked up to see Vlad standing behind him, one arm behind his back and a soft smile on his face, “What happened? Why was Dad acting so weird? Why did he look so sad?” 

Vlad’s eyes softened, an honest empathy coming to his face that surprised Danny, “I can’t imagine it’s easy to watch your child grow up. It must be even harder to let them live their lives how they wish.” 

“W-What?” Danny asked, stress and anxiety filling his eyes as Vlad smiled, “He’s given us his blessing, Daniel. He won’t stand in the way of our relationship. We can be together without you having to choose; you can have both, your parents and me.” 

Danny’s eyes grew wide, lips parting in shock, “Wait, really?” 

Vlad nodded, giving a soft smile and a gentle, “Really.” 

Danny’s smile brightened before he lunged into Vlad’s arms, wrapping himself around the man and giving a long, deep kiss, soft tears leaking from his eyes as two weeks' worth of anxiety, dread, and doubt was suddenly washed away. 

Page Break 

Vlad phased them up through the floor, both becoming solid as soon as they were in their bedroom, hands yanking and tugging, seams ripping a little before Vlad simply phased out of his clothes, and Danny followed suit. They tumbled to the bed, sloppy, desperate kisses leaving traces of wet behind as teeth clacked and tongues danced with excitement. 

Smaller hands rubbed sensually along Vlad’s broad chest, their skin flush as white hair came loose and cascaded over a scarred shoulder. 

“Vlad–” Danny whispered, the afternoon sun splashing across the floor as the room held a quiet often reserved for summer naps and good books. 

“Yes, Daniel?” the man murmured, his lips sliding down to Danny’s neck and pressing a long kiss. 

“Can we… just take our time? Maybe, go slow, just this once?” Danny’s voice stuck between tender love and hungry want. Vlad calmed, raising up to meet the young man’s baby blues before he smiled, “Mm, we can do whatever you want, my love.”

Danny blushed, an affectionate smile coming to his lips as he nestled closer and whispered into Vlad’s ear, “I love you, Fruitloop.” 

Vlad’s arms held Danny tightly, the man murmuring softly into Danny’s raven hair, “And I you, Little Badger. Always.” 

It was silent after that, save for soft gasps and gentle moans. Neither said much else, no witty banter, no snide or teasing comments. This moment was one of disappearance, both in each other and into the water of love and sex.  

Every touch and every kiss was purposeful, given in devotion and love for the other, their desire to reach the end falling to the wayside as their focus solidified on simply being close and connected. Danny supposed this was what most people meant when they claimed to make love, but this wasn’t making love, so much as embracing it.

Their cores pressed together, humming brightly as they joined, their bodies sliding against each other, breaths mingling as gently earned sweat grew and dripped. 

But it was all Danny wanted, nothing complicated, nothing hard; it didn’t have to be now that the crazy was all over. Vlad was in his right mind, and Danny was sure of his decisions, which meant this was the purest form of their true desires. 

“Vlad, deeper–” Danny whispered, his hands sliding down Vlad’s back and gripping the man’s ass cheeks softly, giving gentle pulls to try and urge Vlad on. 

Vlad moaned, a sound that drove Danny wild, his head turning as a kiss was pushed to his temple, “I love you–” Vlad whispered, seemingly lost in the moment as it hadn’t been said with an expectation of a response. 

Danny widened his legs, giving Vlad better access as he moaned softly, “Don’t stop–” 

Each move of Vlad’s hips was slow and focused, allowing Danny to feel every inch, to memorize the sensation of Vlad’s length stroking his insides, to never forget how heavy Vlad felt on top of him, his body too warm, skin too soft, the man’s scent washing across him like a layer of comfort, solid arms squeezing him. 

Danny wrapped his arms around Vlad’s neck, pulling the man in, Vlad resting his face against the side of Danny’s head as any remaining tension in Vlad’s muscles slid away and he fully relaxed. More soft moans escaped, lips kissing at Danny’s throat as the young man’s eyes fluttered closed, and in this singular moment, the pair were finally alone with no eyes watching; they simply existed, nothing from the outside able to touch them or summon them away from each other. 

A perfect little bubble of a quiet summer afternoon in the rolling hills of Wisconsin, the sun slowly falling, the blue sky fading to a pale gold, and nothing left to do but fully accept each other. 

Page Break 

Danny lay sweaty and exhausted in Vlad’s arms, the man snoring softly, his white hair hanging around his face in a mess, and Danny smiled softly as he slowly began to move the strange hair away from Vlad’s brow. 

Seconds went by as Danny worked in silence, dark blue eyes slowly opening, looking tired but satisfied as Vlad hummed sleepily, “You know, I haven’t done that in a long time.” 

“What? Have sex?” Danny teased, both due to their two-week-long dry spell and the fact that Vlad hadn’t had a partner for a long time prior to Danny. 

“Haha, very funny, Little Badger. But no, I meant, I haven’t just… taken my time.” 

Danny considered that before saying, “Well, that’s not entirely true, you definitely take your time when you have me tied up.” 

That got the older man chuckling before Vlad pressed a kiss to Danny’s forehead, “That, my dear boy, is fourplay. I meant in regard to sex. I have a rather bad habit of sprinting towards the finish line. Once fourplay is over, I head straight into the main event. This was… impressive.”

Vlad shifted onto his back, Danny sliding closer to his side and resting his head on the man’s chest, a hand gently running light fingers over Vlad’s stomach as he smiled, “Four hours is pretty good. I mean, we took a couple sort rests, but generally speaking, that's a pretty good length of time.” 

Danny felt Vlad squeeze him reassuringly as he said, “Yes, and I was inside of you for nearly all of it, that’s some staying power.” 

That got Danny laughing, Vlad giving a soft chuckle as they settled back down together. Danny nipped at Vlad’s shoulder and asked, “Dinner?”  

“Mm, whatever you want, I can’t say I’m hungry, so it’s your choice.” 

“Don’t you ever eat?” 

“Yes, just not as much as you. Just wait until you hit your thirties, your metabolism will slow down, and suddenly two slices of pizza is plenty compared to the whole one you ate before.” 

Danny shook his head, “That’s never happening.” 

“No? Well, I'd best wrap my mind around the fact you’ll have a belly to rival your father’s.” 

Danny made a face, “No way in hell.” 

“Then you'd better start wrapping your mind around watching what you eat now, so it’s less painful later.” 

“Nag,” Danny murmured, and Vlad hummed, “Brat.” 

They lay in silence for a long while, hands rubbing and touching soothingly, only for Danny to eventually ask, “So… what did you and my dad talk about?” 

Vlad hadn’t come up with a good answer to that, having been much too distracted by Daniel’s sudden desire for him to consider how he would answer the questions his partner was sure to ask about the conversation he and Jack had had. 

He stared at the ceiling, debating on what he should do, only to come up empty, and so asked honestly, “Will you give me some time to think about how to answer that? I need… more time to process.” 

Danny was surprised by that answer, raising his head and looking at Vlad with shock, “I mean, yeah, sure, but… will you at least let me know if it was bad? Cause Dad definitely looked sad when he left earlier, and it’s been bugging me. 

“It… wasn’t bad. But… I do believe, despite your father’s blessing, he and I are… no longer friends. So, Christmas will be awkward.” 

Danny thought about what Vlad had said for a long moment before offering an apology, “I’m sorry, Vlad. It sucks to lose a friend.” 

Vlad shrugged, “I can’t say I am surprised, but I also can’t really call him my friend. By the time Jack called it quits, we were honestly strangers to each other. He remembers me as I was before the accident; he knows nothing about what happened to me after, or the life I’ve lived. Honestly, I am not the same man he went to school with, so if you think about it philosophically, did I really betray his trust by sleeping with you if I am not the man he once knew as his friend? If anything, I am no better than any other older man you could have met while you were in college.” 

Danny had to really think about that, because while it was a much more complex question, he knew his father would never put that much thought into it. His father was pretty straightforward, Vlad was his friend, and his friend had slept with his very young son. While technically legal, it was fucking weird, creepy, and gross. 

Jack would have had issues with Danny dating anyone that much older than him, so the fact that it was Vlad just added more layers to the fucked up cake they had metaphorically baked. 

“I think he would have reacted this way no matter who it was, if they were as old as you, no offense, but I think the fact that you shattered whatever image he had of you and pretty much torched your history together, I kind of understand why this fucked him up.” Danny looked away, expression sad and filled with guilt. Vlad sighed softly, his own face awash in gentle concern, “I will endeavour to be respectful of Jack and your mother when we are in the same spaces; however, when we are alone… and I no longer have to share you…” 

“Understood.” Danny agreed, raising his face to kiss Vlad softly, the paid hugging tightly for a long moment before Danny yawned, “I’m gonna go shower and get something to eat, you want anything, maybe join me in rinsing off?” 

Vlad just nodded, and Danny smirked, sitting up and turning to get out of the bed, only to jump back and yank the blanket up his body as a pair of pretty pink eyes stared back at him from the side of the bed. 

“Holy shit! Colette! What are you… Doing here? How much did you see?” Danny fumbled as he felt Vlad sit up behind him, and the little ghost girl gave her haunting giggle as she said, “Are you two making me a baby sister?” She asked, and Danny’s face exploded in red before he fell back and groaned, “Great, we traumatized her and confused the heck out of her.” 

Vlad let out a belly laugh, the bed shaking from his mirth, Danny looking at him with annoyance, “Don’t laugh! I remember walking in on my parents when I was a kid, and it messed me up bad!” 

That made Vlad laugh harder, wiping at his eyes as Danny sat up and shoved him playfully, “Shut up.” 

Eventually, Vlad calmed down and held out a hand, “Colette, come to me.” Vlad breathed, and the little girl smiled happily as she floated up and over the side of the bed and came to Vlad’s arms, the man leaning back in the bed and holding her, “What is it you need, mon fluer?” 

Colette flushed and looked away a moment before reaching into the pocket of her dress and pulling out what looked to be a clipping she had taken from a magazine. “Papa, there is a pretty bear with a bright red bow at the shops. May I have it?” 

Danny took the clipping, realizing it was actually an ad for bowties that just happened to be using several stuffed animals as the model, his eyes glancing to Vlad as he smiled knowingly, “Mm, well, I suppose so, though finding this particular bear may be a little difficult. Would any bear do? Or must you have this one?” 

Colette thought about it before taking the clipping back from Danny and studying the picture, “This one, please.”

“Why that one?” Danny asked with a smirk. Colette looked slightly worked up as she said, “Because I already thought of a name, and it won’t do for any old bear, it’s perfect for him.” 

“Ah, I see, what’s the name then?” Vlad asked, and Colette said proudly, “Mr. Bear Bear the Third.”  

“That’s a pretty excellent name, Vlad. Do you think your PR people could track down the model? I mean, the ad agency had to buy it from somewhere.” 

“I’m certain they could. Will you allow me a few days to procure you the bear, mon fluer?” 

“Yes. Thank you papa. May I go play in the dungeon?” 

Danny’s eyes bulged as Vlad snorted, “It’s called a lab, my dear, and yes, you may, but do be good and don’t touch anything. And please do not go into the Ghost Zone until Daniel or I can come with you, yes?” 

“Oui!” Colette popped out of sight, and Vlad looked at the magazine clipping, “I’ll be,” he murmured. 

Danny popped a brow as he said with surprise, “You know, you’re actually pretty good with kids. I’m kind of shocked, never pegged you as a guy who would like kids.” 

Vlad scoffed, “Oh, no, ew, I detest children. Dirty, smelly, and covered in germs. They do not like me, and I do not like them.” 

Danny’s brow furrowed, “Then what the heck was that? Cause what I just saw literally had you feeling like Mr. Rogers.” 

Vlad glanced at Daniel shyly, only to clear his throat, “Well, ahem, Colette is a ghost, no germs on her, and she is quite polite and well behaved… and… well, I did have a hand in forming her, so… she is technically mine even if she isn’t–” 

Danny gave Vlad a very unimpressed look, “Oh, I get it, you’re that type of parent.” 

“What type? What are you blathering on about?” Vlad asked devensivly, “You know what I’m talking about. You’re the type of parent who only likes your own kid and can’t stand anyone else's. Your kids are perfect and can do no wrong, but everyone else's kids are rude, gross, and horribly raised. Tell me I’m wrong.” 

Vlad eyed Danny a moment before he looked away, “You’re… not wrong.” 

Danny laughed, “You’re kind of ridiculous. I guess it’s good she’s a ghost because I can’t imagine the kind of panic attack you’d have the first time she brought a boy home.” 

“Yes, I suppose, given I have electrical abilities, it’s good she’ll never date.” Vlad mused much too seriously, and Danny’s amusement faded before he added, “I suppose it also helps that since she’s a ghost, she mostly does her own thing. She definitely isn’t as clingy as a human child.” 

“No. She’ll tend to keep to herself; most ghosts are singular entities unless they bond their core with a mate.” Vlad agreed, and Danny studied him a moment before he placed a kiss on Vlad’s shoulder, “Come on, Fruitloop, let’s go shower.” 

The pair rose from the bed, entered the bathroom, and closed the door. Leaving the bed a mess and the magazine clipping on Vlad’s nightstand under his cellphone, the older man planned to call his PR team about tracking down the bear as soon as they were done showering.