Traditions - Christmas Truce 2018
"Am I tying this right?"
Danny peeked out from his bathroom door to see Dani standing in front of his dresser mirror, her tongue sticking out from between her lips as she adjusted the ends of her red bowtie. She let go and smiled hopefully as she inspected her handiwork, only to frown when she saw how crooked it was.
"You got ready quickly," Danny noted as he stepped back into the bathroom to put his comb down. He was only half-dressed at this point in his tuxedo pants and a white tank top. "And no, you aren't," he answered, coming back into his bedroom. He took her shoulders and turned her towards him, then started undoing the knot she'd created.
Dani groaned. "I guess bolo ties and bowties aren't quite the same."
Hiding a smirk, Danny asked, "Vlad seriously taught you how to tie a bolo tie?"
"One of the few, apparently useless, things he actually tried to share with me."
Danny paused just as he was about to start retying her tie. The idea of Vlad teaching his daughter how to tie any kind of tie seemed a little farfetched for the old man, and it made Danny's core twitch in anger. It was just another reminder that Vlad hadn't seen her as a daughter, but rather as a failed attempt of a son.
He dropped the tie and stood up straight. "Hang on. Let me put on my shirt, and I'll teach you how to tie a bowtie."
Dani blushed in gratitude and smiled as she thanked him. "But hurry up!" she added. "I don't want to be late in picking up Valerie!"
"Relax," he laughed, slipping on his own dress shirt. "We've got plenty of time."
"I know, I know. I just want her to have the perfect senior prom." Dani had been going over the night's game plan all week to ensure it would be, something that sometimes annoyed, but usually amused her older brother. It was understandable, though. She really liked Valerie, plus it was her own first school dance. Double the fun, but double the anticipation.
Danny was about halfway through buttoning his shirt. "And she will. And in two years' time, she'll want the same for you for your senior prom."
When he finished with his shirt and put on his vest, Danny picked up his purple bowtie and stood in front of the mirror next to Dani. He carefully guided her through each fold and each loop, and a little trick for perfectly adjusting the knot at the end, just like Jack had taught him a few years ago. After getting it right the first time around, Dani insisted on going through the process once more on her own, beaming once she, and Danny, deemed it perfect.
After slipping on their jackets and checking the mirror for any last-minute adjustments, Danny grabbed his wallet and asked, "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Dani answered with a deep breath.
They left his room together and headed for the staircase. Only Danny was aware of the true fuss that awaited them at the bottom of the stairs; this would be Dani's first experience with "Parents Before Dances."
As they took the first step, the first thing that greeted them was a bright, blinding flash, followed by a chorus of "aww" and "my, don't you two look stunning!" Danny blinked back the spots and saw Jazz armed with a Fenton Camera, smirking up at them, followed by his parents smiling proudly, Jack's arm wrapped around Maddie as she leaned into him.
"I can't believe it: Danny's last dance. And your first!" Maddie exclaimed, pulling Dani, then Danny, into a hug when they reached the landing. Danny rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. He could only imagine what they would be like at his graduation in a few weeks.
"Smile, everyone!" Jazz directed, propping up her camera.
Jack and Maddie shuffled behind their two kids, wrapping their arms around their shoulders. After a few shots, everyone settled into taking care of final preparations. As Dani showed off her perfect bowtie to her parents, Danny approached Jazz, who immediately pulled him into a hug of her own.
"You know, you didn't need to come back this weekend just for this," Danny whispered near her ear. "You'd be back for graduation anyway."
Jazz rolled her eyes. "What, and miss my little brother's last high school dance? Not on your half-life."
He chuckled as he pulled away. "Did you pick up Sam and Val's corsages at least?"
"Yes I did," she said, turning towards the coffee table where two little plastic containers sat, each holding a corsage wrapped in ribbons that matched the couples' dress and tie colors. "They're right over-"
Jazz didn't get to finish her sentence as an obnoxious laugh filled the air. The containers floated up high in the air out of reach, and only then did their captor appear.
"I am the Box Ghost!" came the ghost's signature cry.
At this point, all the Fenton children were rolling their eyes, but the parents were pulling out ecto-blasters, leveling them at the Box Ghost.
"Oh, you're not messing up this night, spook!" Jack declared with authority.
Before they could get a shot off, Danny stopped them with, "Don't. Dani and I got this." The last thing they needed was a singed ceiling on prom night.
The two Phantoms quickly turned ghost and floated up to the Box Ghost's height. Words first, then pummeling, then powers only if necessary. That was Danny's plan of negotiation for the flowers.
"You know, man, this could've waited until tomorrow," Danny informed. "We've got bigger, better, real boxes to haunt anyway. Why do you want these?"
"I have been exploring with different designs! And these-" He brought the boxes close to his face, grinning sinisterly. "-are one of a kind!"
"Not really, buddy."
Dani offered, "We can help you get more, if you just give us those ones back."
The Box Ghost shook his head indignantly, making the half-ghosts sigh in exasperation.
"At least give us their contents back!" Danny pleaded.
"Oh, what?" the Box Ghost snorted. "You mean these contents?"
A green glow appeared around the containers, signifying that he was about to use telekinesis on the corsages, much to Danny and Dani's horror. But after the lids opened, instead of raising the corsages as expected, the Box Ghost yelped in pain as a shock ran through him. He recoiled, dropping his hold on the containers, which began to free-fall.
No time to be confused or surprised, the Phantoms sprang into action. Dani zoomed below to catch the corsages just before they reached the ground, while Danny made quick work of the pummeling phase of negotiation. With the Box Ghost defeated in his grip, Danny looked down and, much to his relief, saw Jazz waiting with an open Fenton Thermos. He tossed the ghost towards her, and the tractor beam of the thermos pulled him in.
Jazz sealed off the device and as Danny landed on the ground, he muttered, "Well, at least it wasn't a dragon this time." He and Dani turned human again, and she handed him Sam's corsage, which seemed to be intact in its box.
Jack and Maddie, meanwhile, were clapping proudly and snapping away photos on the Fenton Camera, which Jack must've taken after Jazz had gotten the thermos.
"Aww, your guys' first and last dances, and with a ghost fight to boot!" Maddie cooed.
But instead of feeling embarrassed or confused, Danny, Dani, and Jazz stared suspiciously at their parents.
"What was that about?" Danny asked. He was relieved that the flowers were okay, but that shouldn't have happened to the Box Ghost, no matter how much he deserved it.
"What about?" Maddie asked obliviously.
"You know, the corsages zapping the Box Ghost?"
Her facade dropped with a sigh while Jack perked up proudly. "Oh that? We sprayed them with some anti-ghost repellent before you kiddos came downstairs. Y'know, to keep with tradition!" he answered.
Jazz facepalmed and Dani immediately held Val's box at arm's length, grimacing. Danny merely tilted his head and asked, "Tradition?"
"Indeed! The ancient Greeks used corsages to ward off evil spirits!" explained Jack. "I believe the great Fentonius was the first to use them!"
Jazz was now groaning into both hands in secondhand embarrassment, but the Phantoms' jaws were dropped in disbelief.
"Did you ever consider that we'll be the ones handling these tonight?" Danny gestured with his box.
Jack's cheerfulness faltered a bit as he noticed his kids' expressions, and his voice dropped. "Oh...of course we did. We factored in your guys' ecto-signatures into the formula so they won't harm you."
Maddie rubbed the back of his shoulder comfortingly as she continued, "We just wanted you two to have something to give your dates that's both stylish and functional."
"Oh..." Danny and Dani looked away in shame in the ensuing silence.
"Sorry we didn't tell you before. We wanted to surprise you..." Jack added, his own head dropping. After a few seconds, however, he let out an "oof!" and looked down to see the two of them wrapping him and Maddie up in a grateful hug. He smiled and returned the gesture.
They all heard the sound of a camera clicking away, and Maddie reached an arm out to pull Jazz into the family hug as well.
As the dust from the scene settled and they all pulled apart, Danny heard sniffling and glanced up when Maddie placed a hand on his shoulder, the other on Dani's. It seemed like the emotions of prom night were finally hitting the Fenton parents.
"Look at how you two have grown into such a responsible young man and woman!"
"And ghost hunters!" Jack added over her shoulder.
Maddie nodded with a small laugh. "That too." She paused, taking in the sight of them, then pulled them into another hug, giving each of them a kiss on the cheek. "We're so proud of you two. Have fun tonight."
"Oh, we will," Dani ensured, a hint of mischief in her voice.
After fixing their hair and taking more pictures with everyone, the two Phantoms picked up their dates' corsages and went ghost for the second time that night. They were flying to Sam's to meet up with her, Tucker, and Valerie, before they all took a limo to the dance together.
"Be sure the Mansons get lots of pictures of all of you, too!" Jazz reminded them as she opened the front door.
Danny reassured her that they would, and together, he and Dani took off into the sky. As they flew, a sense of relief washed over him, and he started laughing.
"What?" Dani asked curiously. "You happy you don't have to do that ever again?"
Danny shook his head. "No, it's not that."
"Then what?"
He gave Sam's corsage a little shake and said, "I'm just happy they didn't replace these with Blood Blossoms."
Merry Christmas Truce to fantasma-exspiravit! And welcome to the phandom, by the way! You wanted something involving Danny and his family, so I hope this meets your expectations, friend! (And I hope you don't mind I included Dani as an adopted Fenton.) I had a lot of fun with this, so thank you for the awesome request!