Disclaimer: I don't own Hocus Pocus, Dani is just my favorite character and I thought she deserved a little happiness.
Thackery would never be called a liar. When he had promised Dani that he would always be with her, he fully intended to keep that promise. Granted it was a bit hard to do from the spirit realm, but her dreams made it possible. And through the years he had watched her mature both in figure and mannerisms through those dreams.
It was the only time he was able to spend with Dani and because of that limited contact he was never quite sure if she remembered him in her waking state. He knew that when her eyes closed and she dropped off into slumber she would remember both her waking activities and the discussions they would have had the night before. He never asked if she did remember him outside her dreams, preferring to pretend that she would always remember him. He tried not to let these thoughts bother him too much, but there was little else to do when he waited for her.
Waiting, even in death, was not one of Thackery's fortes and if you asked him Dani should have fallen asleep hours ago. But he was dead and therefore forced to wait for the mortal girl to come to him. He lamented, once again, that he had been at peace when he died and therefore unable to become a ghost. If he had done that he would have been able to see her in her own environment, interact with her. She would remember him for sure. He stopped pacing. This train of thought was getting him nowhere and he forced his mind to concentrate on something else.
She was about to pass into the dream world, Thackery could feel it in the pit of his stomach. He could always tell when she was near to him. He felt the sensation swell in his gut until she materialized in front of him and the setting changed from a stark white empty space to a deep blue bedroom. She sat herself delicately on the bed, hiding her face behind a dark curtain of auburn hair. Thackery immediately knew that something was wrong and went to sit beside her.
When he touched her shoulder, Dani turned to him. Thackery inhaled sharply when he saw her already tear stained face, which meant she had fallen asleep crying. Her clear blue eyes were tortured. "Oh Dani," He pulled her into his arms and let her cry into his shoulder. When her tears were finally spent he pulled her away to look into her face.
"Now tell me, what has you in such a state?" The soft note of concern in his voice almost brought tears to her eyes again. Seeing this Thackery placed her head between his palms, offering her the strength to tell him what had happened.
She sniffed, "My party was today. Thackery you told me it was going to be wonderful, but it wasn't."
"Oh my dear, I thought it would be wonderful, that's why I told you that. How could it not be when you're surrounded by friends and family." He saw her flinch as he spoke his last three words. He was beginning to understand. "Max wasn't able to come, was he?"
When she shook her head the tears started falling again. "It isn't even that. The other people there, the ones that my parents assumed were my friends, spent the entire time whispering behind my back." Thackery brushed the tears away with the pad of his thumbs. "They talk about the fact that I'm a 'witch' and they say that I'm too weird for any normal boy to like me." The tears abruptly stopped and she pulled her face from his hands. "It's not my fault that Max is a dumbass and scarred me for life." She was starting to get irate and it sent a flush to her pale cheeks. "It's not my fault that the Sanderson Sisters showed me that there's more to life than what the Christians of the world would believe. It's not my fault that I'm not normal."
She deflated as she spoke her last sentence and refused to meet his eyes. "Dani," Thackery placed his hand on her thigh in a gesture of comfort. "You are not weird, as you put it. But you are right in a way, you aren't normal." With her shocked intake of breath he continued. "You could never be anything as mundane as normal, you Danielle Dennison are amazing. It doesn't matter what anyone else says about you, I know the truth."
Dani still refused to look at him, but a smile tugged at her lips. He was the only person she allowed to call her by her full name; most people didn't even realize what it was. "It's not that I don't appreciate what you're saying Thackery, but it does matter what those people think. Because of the way they see me I don't have any friends, I've never had a boyfriend. I mean Goddess, I'm 18 and I've never been kissed."
She didn't even try to meet his gaze instead she started to shift her body away from him. Thackery stopped her as soon as her intentions became clear. "Danielle." He was firm, but careful not to be too harsh. "Look at me." She shook her head resolutely. He was forced to tilt her chin up to face him. Every ounce of sadness and vulnerability was clear in her eyes and for the first time, with true intent, Thackery scanned her body.
Dani watched him as his hazel eyes roved over her. Her brows rose when the color of those eyes shifted to an intense green and his pupils dilated. He had never looked at her like that before, hell; no one had looked at her like that before. "Thackery, you don't have to do this." She was gaining some strength as his appraisal of her form fanned a fire burning in her chest. "You don't have to pretend that I'm attractive."
That quickly brought his eyes to meet hers. "Beautiful, magnificent, wonderful, those are words that I'd use to describe you. Not anything as commonplace as attractive." His hand moved to cup her neck gently and he leaned toward her slowly. "If they don't see what I see…then it's their loss." He closed the distance between their lips and claimed the kiss he had been craving.
Dani could feel her temperature skyrocket when their lips finally met. If she was truly honest with herself, she knew she had pushed everyone else away (especially boys) in favor of hoping for Thackery Binx. And he was finally kissing her. Skimming his sides her hands moved to grip at his shoulders, feeling the lean muscle under her fingers she moaned.
Thackery could easily have slipped his tongue into her mouth at that moment, but he didn't want to move to fast for Dani. Instead he started trailing kisses down the side of her neck nipping several times at the sensitive skin below her ear. Pulling the lobe into his mouth he whispered. "And it's my gain." His lips began moving back towards hers, chastely kissing her once more before pulling away.
The only thing that Dani was able to do when he pulled away from her was pant and stare into his eyes. "Thackery…" Her eyes darted to his lips as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.
He groaned at the sight. "Don't worry Dani, I understand." Now her teeth were worrying the flesh. "I don't deserve you at all and I know that this could never work, I just wanted you to know that you can be loved for who you are."
"Do you really love me Thackery Binx?"
Her lip was swollen and he couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze. "I always have Dani. It's changed over the years, but yes, I am hopelessly in love with you." He stood and walked away from her.
Dani looked down at her lap, processing this new bit of information. She knew she loved Thackery, but was she in love with him. He was always there for her and he had helped her through so much. Every time he was with her she felt safe. When she wasn't with him she was thinking about him. But he was right, they really had no chance of being together with him dead and her still living. It was the type of thing that only happened in the romance novels that she liked to read. Even with all her knowledge of the supernatural…she stopped toying with the hem of her t-shirt.
That was the answer. She stood and walked to Thackery, pulling at the cotton shorts that covered part of her thigh. When she placed a hand on his shoulder he nearly jumped out of her grasp. "I love you too." She whispered, stepping closer to him and catching the kiss that he graced her lips with when he whirled to face her. This kiss was more demanding than the last. His entire body was pressed against hers and his lips were insistent. Soon her own mouth was parting to tentatively roll her tongue along his.
When Thackery felt her tongue slip into his mouth he lost all pretense of control. He pulled her body even closer and let his hands wander under her shirt to softly stroke the soft skin of her back. Propelling them back toward the bed he laid her across the blue sheets and covered her body with his own. Only when he found himself grinding against her core and Dani moaning softly into his ear did reality start to invade his thoughts. Her hands were inside his shirt and nails making red welts down his sides. "Dani," He moaned.
"Mmmm," She bit the juncture of his neck and shoulder.
He leaped back from the bed. "Dani…we can't." He watched as disheveled, Dani sat up from the bed. He could tell that she was upset, but she was hiding her annoyance well.
Dani took a deep breath before speaking. "And why can't we? I thought that it had been established that we love each other." She stood and walked closer to him.
Smiling sadly he replied, "I could never offer you anything more than what I gave you here. I could never ask you to give up a life in the living world for me, but I couldn't stand to know about you loving someone else either. I need to stop this before I can't turn away any longer." He gave a soft kiss to the palm of her hand then took a step back. "I think I may have to make a liar out of myself right now. Dani, I'm not going to see you again after tonight."
She knew he was getting ready to leave, he tried to smile at her but it was more of a grimace. "Wait!" His concentration broke and Dani didn't feel his energy dissipating anymore. The look he shot her way was one of annoyance mixed with curiosity. "What if I could bring you into my world again? Would you be willing to give up heaven and your sister to be with me there?" She couldn't get her hopes up right now, or at least that's what she kept telling herself as she waited for his reply.
Thackery took his time answering. He told himself it was to consider the question, but really he already knew the answer, it's not like he really spent a lot of time with Emily anymore. She had her own friends and the novelty of an older brother had worn off quickly. "I would give up everything just for one day in the mortal world with you."
Jokingly Dani gave his body a once over and said, "Of course you would have to give up the breeches and poet's shirts." Her face dropped into seriousness. "I'm going to try my best Thackery, but I don't know if it will work. I need you to know that right now."
His arms enveloped her in a hug. "I know you'll try your best, but if it doesn't work…what then?" She could hear the hope and fear in his voice.
"If I can't do it, then I guess we'll have to go with your plan. But I want to let you know right now that I don't like your plan at all. And if I had my way you would accept that I would never be able to love anyone who wasn't you. And that would mean we could be a couple that no one knew about here and in my world I would become a spinster." She pulled away from Thackery's embrace and turned from his confused face.
"I'm going to be waking up in a minute. I will perform the spell today and if, when I fall asleep you're here I'll know you want to go with my plan. If not, then I guess this is goodbye."
Thackery didn't say anything as she faded from the room. Harsh white walls surrounded him as he finally left the dream realm.