Disclaimer: Not mine
Notes: AU again. Also, this part hints at themes that would be probably be considered for the Power Rangers show, although the rating is no worse than T. And I am really, really sorry for the lag between updates. This will teach me to start a series at the beginning of Fall Semester. --
--
"Are we still on for that game tonight, Max?" Ana Delgado grinned at him expectedly as she put the milk back in the fridge."Of course not." Elise glared at her younger sister through round-rimmed glasses. "He's coming to the library to help me with some research."
"Max has better things to do with his time than play helpmate to you two," Carmen retorted as she helped herself to dessert. "Especially since he's going to go over my homework."
"Ladies, ladies!" Max held up his hands. "There's only so much of me to go around. Even less than usual since I have an exam this week." He turned to Ana. "We'll go to the alley this weekend, I promise." He then turned to Elise. "We can hit the library after school tomorrow. And as for you," he continued as he faced Carmen, "I'll check your answers before the bus comes for ya, okay kid?"
"You're the only kid I see around here."
"Hey, I'm not a kid!"
Duncan smiled over his drink as the now familiar scene played out in front of him. Danny had been right; the girls had grown fond of him. It had been roughly a month since his son had convinced Max Cooper to live with them instead of running from… whatever it was Max had to run from. And a month later, it was hard to imagine the Delgado household without Max. Duncan had no doubt that was primarily because of Danny's effort… and his feelings for Max.
Duncan knew some fathers would be upset with upset with the idea of their only son falling for another boy, and those fathers were idiots. As long as Danny was happy, that was all that mattered. And while he doubted Danny even realized what he felt, he was still handling himself around Max better than that girl at the floral shop he'd had a crush on last year. And Max… Max was harder to read than Danny (partly because he'd only know him for a little while, partly because underneath Max's jokes and bravado lurked a young man with a past he didn't want to talk about), but something was there. And they'd be good for each other: Max could get Danny to come out of his shell when even his blood relatives couldn't, and Danny made sure Max didn't get himself killed.
He only hoped that Max was aware of all this, because Danny certainly wasn't. He'd probably have to resort to something along the lines of grabbing him and kissing him-- and even then, Danny might still be confused…
"Are you all right, Papa? You're awfully quiet tonight."
He waved a hand at his son. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about how I was wrong earlier."
"Papa?"
Duncan didn't want to attract attention, so he merely nodded in Max's direction.
Danny caught on quickly. "Oh, yeah. That."
And as he watched a smile slowly spread across Danny's face, Duncan wondered if maybe he did have an idea after all.
--
Danny knew that it probably wasn't a good idea.
Max was a light sleeper, after all. There was a very real chance that he would wake up and then Danny would have a lot of explaining to do, but… this was the only time he had this chance. Their days were filled with school, work, and sisters. It was only when everyone was safely tucked into bed that he could do this.
He wasn't doing anything too bad, though. Staring at someone could be annoying, unnerving, but it wasn't necessarily bad.
What he thought about while he stared at Max, however, was an entirely different story.
When he had first seen him (small, weak, still), he'd only been thinking about how to help him. And in a lot of ways, that was still true. But somewhere along the way, it had… become more. It'd become new, almost scary. And of course there was Max to consider: even now, there was a part of Danny that was terrified that Max would suddenly decide that the events of the past month had happened solely out of pity, tell him he hated him for that, and then Danny would never see him again. If he ever found out about this… Danny didn't even want to think about it.
Suddenly, Max stirred a little. "Dad…"
Danny relaxed. Max was just having a dream.
"Dad, come back…"
Maybe it was a nightmare instead. Danny crept from his bed and knelt by Max's cot. Carefully, his fingertips traced the sides of Max's face. "Hey… it's just a dream. Don't worry, I'm here for you. Try to pull yourself out of it."
Max's eyelids twitched, but it was obvious he was still stuck somewhere between dreams and reality. "Just give me another chance… please, we're family…"
Danny let his hand fall. He… he only knew what Max had told him, but he was aware that something had happened between Max and his father-- and that whatever it was, it still haunted him.
And that something had to be done about it.
--
If what Danny had been up to a little while earlier had been a bad idea, this made it look like nothing.
After a few minutes of very quietly rifling through Max's things, he had found a slip of paper in his backpack that had scribbled on it what Danny hoped was his old address. And now here he was, driving in his father's car in a part of town he'd never been in before, on the hope that he could find someone he had never met (and absurdly enough, already hated because of what he'd put Max through).
… And if things went the way he wanted them to, there was a chance he'd never see Max again.
But he wasn't the important one here; Danny forced himself to remember as he kept his eyes fixed on the road. Max was. As independent as Max was, he was still young. He needed his father.
And even if it killed Danny, he would make sure he had one.
--
Danny felt more than a little out of his element as he approached a house that had obviously seen better days. Still, he gathered his nerve and hoped whoever was inside the house wouldn't mind a visitor this late at night.
He knocked once-- and then again, when no one answered. He was about to try a third time when the door swung open and revealed a middle-aged man that might've bore a passing resemblance to Max if Danny took off his glasses and squinted.
He tried to take a breath. "I-I'm sorry to bother you, but are you Mister Cooper?"
The man glared at him darkly. "Yeah. So?"
Now Danny tried to smile. "My name's Danny Delgado. I'm a friend of your son, Max."
Danny felt something cold go through him when the man gave him a disdainful look. "I thought I made it clear to the brat that I was through with him."
"But you don't-- you don't understand, Max--"
"Sucked you in with his sob story." Max's father held an arm out theatrically. "Oh, my daddy beats me! He doesn't feed me! It's so horrible!" He sneered at Danny. "If you want him, you can have him. I'm done having him mooching off of my hard-earned money.
The door slammed in Danny's face.
--
Max worked out the crick in his neck as he sat up. After a quick glance at the alarm, he realized that he'd gotten up twenty minutes earlier than usual. No point in going back to bed now. Still, it was a little weird, since usually Danny had to shake him awake…
Where was Danny, anyways?
As if on cue, his roommate was in the doorway, looking as if he'd been up all night.
"You feeling okay--"
Danny cut him off mid-sentence by wrapping his arms around him and burying his face in his neck. "I'm sorry--- I'm so sorry-- I'm sorry for everything--"
Okay, now he was officially worried. "Did something happen?"
"… No. Nothing happened." Danny pulled away, taking off his glasses just long enough to rub at his eyes. He smiled sadly. "I just finally figured something out, that's all."
Max suddenly felt awkward. "Oh. So, um, you still feel up to giving me a ride to school, or should I ask Mister Delgado?"
"No, I want to. Just let me get some coffee first." With that, Danny was gone.
Max stared at where Danny had been… and then shook his head as he got ready for his day. Danny was his best friend (and while he wasn't ready to admit it out just yet, probably a little more). Whatever was wrong, he'd tell him at some point.
