A/N: Just a short little oneshot I've had in my mind for days. Enjoy. (EDIT: Fixed that little mess up. All good now)
"I am the Box Gho-" Predictably, the self-proclaimed 'Box Ghost' didn't get to finish before he was sucked straight into the thermos, held by a very bored - and rather irritated - Danny Phantom.
"Yeah," he muttered, "I know. You've said that more times than I've breathed."
More than once, Danny had considered keeping this particular thermos, containing the box-obsessed nuisance, in a safe somewhere where no one could release him. He'd never have to deal with him then. Danny sighed and slung the thermos over his shoulder, his lower half fading and forming into wispy spectral tail characteristic of the ghosts of Amity Park. Turning in such a way that would allow him to take off, Danny would be gone by now had it not been for two small, squeaking shouts of 'hello' from below.
He looked down, only to see two children roughly the age of nine or ten, a boy and a girl staring up at him in wonder. His luminous green eyes lit up exponentially at the sight, and he smiled down at them. Greeting to two wouldn't hurt, right?
The first, the boy, waved and spoke up, bouncing in his excitement. "Danny Phantom! You're Danny Phantom! I've always wanted to meet you!" The little girl shoved him.
"Tommy and I want to know, um… can we ask you a question, pleeease?"
Danny wanted to leave, right then just to avoid any personal questions. But then he realized just how silly that would seem, running away from the inquiries of nine year olds. He shrugged, then nodded his consent. He'd answer a question.
"Okay, okay um… Tommy and I wanted to know why you, uh, why you have a... tail-thingy? Isn't that for…" the girl paused here, as if searching for her words. "Um, bad ghosts?"
At first, he'd wondered about their question, what had brought it up, until he looked down to see the still formed spectral tail in place of his legs. He blinked. Oh. So that's what they meant.
"Well, I guess it's a ghost thing. It helps me to… fly better!" He nodded vigorously, "That's it. Boots, you know, clunky and getting in the way, and all." Danny laughed awkwardly. A good question, he thought.
The two children looked satisfied, but still curious. "Oh. So that's why you don't have any legs?"
"Legs? Oh! Yeah, yeah I have legs but I don't need them." He said. "Now if I were walking I'd need them, but not now." Danny had no explanation, truly. It just happened, it was part of him and he was fine with that. Though he supposed the explanation he gave would have to be good enough.
"Before you go, can Tommy and I have an… an autograph? Pleeease?" Danny huffed, not out of irritation, but exhaustion. How do parents deal with this? He 'floated' down to the ground, where the two of them handed him two grubby looking notebooks and a single dull pencil.
"So Tommy and…?"
"Samantha, but everyone calls me Sammy." The little girl grinned widely.
Danny smiled softly at the name, and signed both notebooks addressed to the two of them. "Uh, stay out of trouble, all that good stuff." He handed back their notebooks, saluted, then took off into the air, leaving the children behind to fawn over his signature.
He had an urge to go visit Sam.