Even Superman Has His Bad Days
Sam was currently working a particular hard equation from her calculus 252 class. Well, more like struggling. She was pretty sure her professor took personal joy in torturing them. She thought about asking Danny when he got home from his class but knew he was more hopeless than she was when it came to math. Danny was usually the one she went to for anything science related.
The door opened and banged shut; Sam looked up to see a disgruntled looking Danny walking into the living room area of their apartment, dropping his things with more force than needed near the counter of the kitchen that looked over the small living room.
She noticed he had a gash on his cheek, the blood smeared downward as if he carelessly wiped it. His hair was messier than usual.
She raised an eyebrow at this but opted not to say anything, but that didn't stop her from looking at him more closely. He looked completely out of sorts and plain annoyed.
She figured this was a by product of a very bad day. Normally, she would just wait for him to come to her. She knew him well enough to know he didn't like to talk these sorts of things out unless it was bothering him to the point where he might explode. But, today she saw this wasn't the case. Sam was used to seeing a mildly stressed Danny every once in a while (who could really blame him, he was juggling college, a job, and his ghost hero work that was practically another life of its own), but this was a seriously stressed out Danny she was seeing, something that rarely ever happened.
She unfolded herself, leaving her books and notebook behind, the impossible equation all but forgotten.
She extended her hands out in an empty gesture mimicking a hug. "Come here," her tone was warm and knowing.
He didn't even hesitate. He walked over slowly and plopped down next her.
She enveloped him into her arms, his head resting on her shoulder. "Rough day?" Sam prompted.
She heard him huff a scoff.
She smiled at this, starting to work the tension out of his shoulder with her free hand. "Want to vent?"
He was silent for a while. She could practically hear him battling with himself on whether or not to tell her. Before, in the past, Sam always told him to just hurry up and spit it out, demanding to know, but now, she knew that wouldn't help things. Danny was different from her in this way. While she exploded and said everything on her mind, Danny was more reclusive, picking and choosing what he let out. It wasn't that he didn't trust her. It was just that he felt like it would burden her, and as much as it annoyed Sam, it really couldn't be helped. She just had to wait.
Danny groaned, shifting his position until he was laying down, sprawled out on the couch with his head resting on her lap. He peered up at her in exhaustion. "I'm just glad this day is over."
He only needed to say that one sentence. Then, it began to pour out, the sentence causing a chain reaction. "I mean, come on? When was the last time there were frick'in five ghost attacks! During the day! And, they just had to happen on the day I have three classes, two of them I had exams in. Oh, and I'm not even counting the Box Ghost. I don't even know how many times I caught him. I don't know how he keeps getting out of that damn portal. Oh, and can't forget that I literally can't remember the time when I actually had more than five hours of sleep. Either I'm up studying my ass off, trying to catch up because of all the ghosts or I'm catching ghosts. Seriously, do they ever sleep? Because I sure has hell don't."
Danny gave a huff, then dragged his hands up his face until gripping his hair in a tired gesture.
Sam noticed the dark bags under his eyes for the first time. "Hey," she said, getting his attention. "Just breathe. I know it seems overwhelming now, but just breathe. You're stressed, and I totally get why but you're okay."
She smiled down at him for good measure.
Danny took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He looked much calmer than before, simmering down. He even allowed his lips to quiver into a tentative smile.
He let out a frustrated exhale, sending his bangs flying upward in a cute way before flopping down on his forehead in their normal disheveled position. "I just don't understand why it has to be so hard sometimes."
"Hey," Sam said smiling at him, admiring the boy looking up at her. "Even superman has his bad days."
A/N: Just thought it would be cute to write a little future Danny/Sam oneshot. :)
