"What are you doing, Daniel?"
Danny grumbled loudly, irritation bubbling into his mind in response to the offending silky, snide voice. His hope for a decent day flew right out the window. Sighing, he turned to glare at Vlad, "Oh god, you. Of coarse you're here; I can't rely on you to not meddle with my life just once."
Vlad snorted, studying the light reflecting off his glass before smirking at the younger halfa, "Your father invited me, If you must know. And while I don't really care about any of this party, I felt like I needed to check up my Little Badger."
"Yeah, he really quite enjoys your company. It's kinda sad how you can't say the same." Danny retorted, not even bothering to turn around as he ignored Vlad's condescending jab, tossing the oven mitts onto the counter, "He showed me his collage albums the other day, you know. It was kinda depressing, since I know how you really feel."
Vlad scoffed. He swirled the water at the bottom of his glass, waving a hand absently towards the back door, "Oh please, Daniel, you know my aggression is justified."
"Justified." Danny paused, bracing against the counter. Anger joined his irritation and his entire body tensed. Vlad looked at him, raising a brow at his peculiar behavior. Before he could question the teen, Danny turned abruptly on his heel, his expression stone and his eyes glowing toxic green, "Justified by what, exactly? By the fact that what my dad did you was a pure accident, a mistake that he's tried to atone for repeatedly? Justified in the fact that he knows he badly hurt you and he's still fucking sorry for it but you can't get over it?"
Vlad opened his mouth to argue, his own eyes turning a shade violet, but Danny ignored him, "You can try to justify it in any number of your twisted little ways, but the truth is, it was an accident, an unintentional mistake. By your logic, I should be trying to throw Sam off a roof or stab her because she indirectly caused my accident. By your logic, a mistake warrants death. And I just don't understand that."
"I understand that what you went through was horrible, I can't even fathom how much you suffered; honestly I can't and I've experienced being electrocuted." Danny said, stalking over to another cabinet and rummaging through it, "But its over, it's been over for years. That doesn't make your pain any less real and or undo your hurt, but the fact that you still insist that you were back stabbed and abandoned, that your life was ripped from your hands, that your desire for angry revenge goes against everything you had been when you were 'normal' and happy is just...prolonging your suffering." he slammed the cabinet shut with a little more force than necessary then leaned on the counter again, head bowed slightly into his shoulders. He stared at the tiled wall, the counter top, the dirt next to the saltshakers, anywhere but Vlad. He ran his tongue over his teeth, shaking his head distantly.
"Your always so busy being angry over what happened to you, what you feel was taken from you. Why can't you stop and see what you've accomplished instead? You have money and power that most everyone in the world can only dream about seeing, let alone having, and you don't even bat an eye to it. Its nothing to you, because its not exactly what you wanted in life, and that's really kinda sad." Danny continued, ignoring the heated glare on his back. He dropped onto his elbows, further shrinking into himself as his ire drained out of him. All that was left was sympathy and pity. He couldn't even hate Vlad anymore. He turned back to the older hybrid, meeting his glowing vermillion eyes, "Your going to wake up tomorrow, ten years from now, twenty years, thirty, on your deathbed, and your always going to question why your still alone, why you still aren't happy. And the worst part is, you won't have an answer for yourself."
And all at once, Vlad deflated, looking like he'd been kicked in the stomach.
"Look I'm sorry that you feel wronged when you weren't. When are you going to realize that your alone because you pushed your friends away, not because they never wanted to be at your side? They're still here, They still care; they always have." Danny wiped his eyes, but he missed several tears already running down his cheek, completely stunning Vlad further, "Let it go, Vlad. Let it go before you waste another twenty years trying to heal a wound you've been picking the scab off of. I don't want to watch that anymore."
Silence reigned as Danny continued to try to wipe his tears away discretely. Vlad opened his mouth, but no words came out so he shut it. He didn't know what to say. What could he say to that? He was speechless, reeling. The floor felt like it was swaying and rocking and he gripped the edge of the table to try to find steadiness. It didn't work as well as he oped. Danny sighed and his shoulders dropped as he gave up hope of getting a response. He felt like he was talking to a brick wall and Vlad responded by being as stubborn and hardheaded as one. That's how all of their encounters went, from fights to stupid idle chats. Why did he think this time would be any different?
He got to his feet and shuffled dejectedly towards the back door when Vlad called his name. He turned, silently questioning. Vlad hesitated, refusing to meet the teen's eyes.
"It's not that simple or easy, Daniel-"
"I know it isn't." Danny interrupted, "But that's the point of doing whats right: it's not supposed to be easy or simple, especially not when it comes to ourselves."
Vlad said nothing in return, only silently grinding his teeth together.
Danny nodded, taking the few steps towards the back door and opening it, revealing the boisterous party in the back yard. The loud laughter rang through the air, accompanied by the scent of freshly cut grass and delicious grilled burgers. He could see his family, his friends, everyone he cared for, everyone who mattered the world to him. He paused before stepping out, the turned back to Vlad.
"You have a choice Vlad, and it's yours only to make." he called, gesturing to the doorway, "The door's open, and it's gonna stay open. Are you gonna take it, or are you gonna slam it shut?"