Chapter 9:
Danny stepped into the police station with Aaron's hand in his and June and Henry tailing behind them. The little family stayed close together, matching Danny's footfalls as he led them farther into the APD. It was an early Saturday morning when they'd started their short treck down town, but Danny was prepared for this, and he knew the Carter's were there for him no matter what.
A stalky man with blonde hair sat behind the receptionist's desk, his eyes a neutral shade of green and bored looking as he met Danny's icy gaze. "Can I help you?" He inquired.
Henry stepped forward then, and the recognition lit the mans face. "Henry! What a surprise!" He smiled. "What can I do you for?"
Henry exchanged a quick hello before introducing each person around him. "Bill, this is my wife, June, my son, Aaron, and his-" Henry's green eyes flashed to Aaron's suddenly red face as he squeezed Danny's fingers tighter. "Danny." The man cleared his throat. "We need a room, and Jim, if he's available."
Bill nodded, tapping a few sticky buttons on the telephone before murmuring some quick words and hanging up. Bill nodded to Henry, and the black haired man led everyone forward and through the precinct.
The room was crowded with bustling men and women in crisp button downs and pantsuits. Danny and Aaron waited at one of the officers desk, with Aaron gripping the others hand and shoulder. Danny bent into Aaron's warmth, trying to stop the buzz and sting of the room from swimming in his already full head. He felt like there was slosh already bubbling in his stomach, and the foggy, coffee scented room wasn't helping much.
Henry stepped forward with a white haired man, Jim he guessed. Henry put both his hands on Danny's shoulder, turning the boy to face him. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, Danny. We could wait if its still too soon for you."
But Danny only shook his head. "I've done my waiting, Henry. An entire lifetime of it."
Then he hugged him, full around the middle. Henry returned his embrace before patting him on the back and giving him a pure smile. June wrapped her arms around the boys neck, kissing him on the cheek and wiping his bangs from his forehead.
Aaron stepped in front of him when June had gotten her full of the boy. "Danny, are you going to be alright in there?" he nearly whispered, and Danny bent to cup the boys face with one hand, tugging his shoulder with the other.
"Hey, this is a happy day." Danny countered, and he found all eyes on him. "This is where everything is going to get evened out, alright? No more being afraid." And with that he left a small, tender kiss on Aaron's forehead. "I'll be back." He said smiling, stepping away with Jim.
And so began the telling of his childhood.
~~~._,_._
Aaron didn't know he was allowed to watch the recording of Danny's statement, but a few minutes later, he found himself seated next to his mother behind a one way mirror with his father standing dutifully behind them. Danny was seated at a metal table, with a microphone and recording device placed in front of him. Jim sat across from him, taking a tablet and ink pen from his pocket.
"Alright, Danny." He said, his thick voice calming. "Just take this at your pace, and when you're ready, we'll begin."
Danny nodded, and he breathed in several deep breaths before assuring Jim that he was as ready as he'd ever be. Jim flipped a switch on the device, and a small red light flicked on.
"Alright, Danny. For the record, please state your full name."
Danny cleared his throat. "Daniel James Fenton."
Jim nodded. "And please give your reason's for coming to the Amity Police Department today."
"To report child abuse."
Jim nodded, flipping through his little notebook. "At your own pace, please tell your side of what occurred, and I'll ask any questions that need to be asked, alright?"
Danny nodded, saying a quick, "yeah," and sat up straighter in his chair.
Aaron watched with tense shoulders as Danny started playing with his long pale fingers. The red head couldn't imagine just how much this must be hurting Danny, to have to revisit this pain.
"It started when I was five," he said, blue eyes traveling the roof as he tried to remember. "I remember that Dad and his college buddies were always in the basement at our old house (at the time it had been a kind of man cave). They would, uh... Watch football games, and mom would bring them snacks and drinks all the time. My sister, Jazz, and I always wanted to go down there to hang out with them; we always loved it when we had company over."
"I remember this one man that Dad had known for a long time. His name was Jared Holbrook, and he always had this silver pocket watch dangling out of his jean pockets. I was curious, so one day I asked him about it when he came up the stairs to use the bathroom. He said that if I followed him and kept quiet, then he'd tell me all about it... So I did." Jim scribbled something down on the notepad, and Danny could only shrug at the memory. "I was five, and I still had that innocent feeling where every adult you meet is supposed to be kind and trustworthy." He pursed his lips, eyes narrowing.
"In the end, he took me up to the bathroom while mom was busy in the kitchen cooking with Jazz. He... Stripped me down and touched me." His breathing caught and Aaron watched as Danny clenched his fists above the table.
There was a few seconds of silence before Jim asked, "what happened next?"
Danny shook his head, and for a second, Aaron thought that Danny was going to give up and walk out of the room. But Danny looked up, his gaze even as he thrummed his fingers against the table.
"Dad came up after a while and walked in on Jared fondling me. He was angry at first, but Jared said that he'd pay good money for some 'special' time with me. Dad didn't think about it for more than two seconds before he nodded and shut the door. He left me alone with Holbrook for a little more than an hour, but I swear it felt like days."
Aaron felt himself quivering with anger, and he wanted nothing more than to punch the dirty man who had hurt Danny.
"After that, Dad started renting me out to his buddies all the time, sometimes everyday." His eyes searched the table top. "Mom started noticing that I would have these bruises on me every time Dad would take me 'out to the park' but he would just answer with, 'boys will be boys,' and that would be that."
"After a few years, Dad would start coming after me himself. He'd lock me up in the lab with him and tell mom that he was teaching me fighting techniques. I guess that solved the bruising problem, and when his friends started getting riskier, he'd blame the cuts and scars on my bad form with weaponry."
June tightened her hands around her son's, and Aaron was certain he would have cried out in pain from her strength if he could feel anything besides his throbbing heart.
Jim stopped Danny then, telling him he was doing splendidly, and asked him if he could write down any of the names he remembered. Jim got up and paced around the room slowly as Danny wrote, and from where Aaron was sitting, he could see two names turn to five, five turn to ten... Until there were nearly two dozen names listed. Danny looked up at Jim apologetically. "I can't remember many more than that, and some of them might be spelled wrong."
Jim just nodded, assuring Danny that he was fine. "Is there anything that happened after your father began molesting you?"
Danny leaned back in his chair, sighing. "Theywent on like that for a few years, and it gradually got worse. They got needier, and took what they wanted. They had stopped raping me some time after my tenth birthday, and I thought I was fine. Dad would hit me, or smack me, or beat me senseless sometimes, just to remind me that if I told anyone that he was still the one with power." He trailed off... His eyes wondering to the far wall. He clenched his fist on the table's surface, eyes like frost as they glared hazily at the wall paper.
"There was this one weekend when I was thirteen, and we had just moved into the house we have now, since we needed more space for all their inventions. Jazz was in her senior year of highschool and was always busy with final exams and such, so I was trying to get out of the house more and more-"Aaron saw something flicker in Danny's eyes, like regret or uneasiness, and... Was that the lighting or had his eyes just turned green?- "and I would come home late sometimes after my parents had gone to sleep. One day, on one of those late nights, I came home and tried being all quiet..." Danny's eyes flicked up to Jim's. "I'm not sure if you know my family, sir, but they're ghost hunters, and have all these guns and rays, and that night, when I stepped in, I heard one fire off. It hit me on my stomach, and I went down."
He lifted his shirt, showing the outskirts of a scar that was just barely visible below his waistband. "When I opened my eyes again, there were six men standing over me, my father included. They all attacked me, and I tried yelling and screaming for my mother, but my dad told me that she and Jazz were visiting my grandmother, and all I could think was how absolutely happy I was that they couldn't get to Jazz."
He shook his head, running a hand up through his hair. "So they kept me in the lab and had their ways with me." He said passively, and Jim's pen stilled. "It must have been days before they stopped, one after another, over and over..." He took a few more deep breathes, his foot tapping against the floor. "And they didn't stop there. They took my dads weapons and started firing; tazing, blasting, ripping, puncturing..." The room was still, and it wasn't until Danny's eyes looked back up from the table that Aaron realized there were tears in his eyes to blur his vision of his Danny.
"They beat me until my heart stopped."
Danny gazed at the glass then, and Aaron could have sworn that his frost blue eyes connected with his, but his gaze shifted back to Jim.
"Now, what do you mean by that, Danny?" Jim's back stiffened as he said this, as if he didn't really want to know the answer.
Danny sighed. "I guess you could say they got tired of me." he said quietly. "They took the final blowout, left me in the lab bleeding out. Dad hadn't agreed to that part, but the others didn't want me out after that... So, they killed me."
Henry grabbed Aaron as he shot up from his seat, both his hands balled into fists. June had both her shaking hands on her sons sleeve, trying to yank him back down into her seat, but he wasn't moving from that spot.
"Can you explain that, son?" Jim asked patiently.
"My heart stopped." Danny said into the mic. "My mom came home soon after all Dad's guys left, and she found me laying in bed covered in cuts and bruises, and Dad gave her some excuse about me going down too hard on my skateboard. I think he thought I was done for when he put me there, and just needed something put away from me... But I woke up and went along with whatever Dad said... And that was left at that. Dad and his friends haven't touched me in that way since."
There was a long span of silence where no one really did much of anything. Jim had his head bowed with a hand massaging his temple. Danny sat with his eyes roaming every nook and cranny of the room, trying not to look at the speechless officer sitting before him. Aaron couldn't feel anything through the absolute terror flooding through his veins.
Danny had been hurt in a way that was ten times worse then Aaron's worst nightmare, and Danny seemed to relieved, sitting in there with his shoulders relaxing and a small smile creeping onto his face.
Jim stood rigidly and let Henry, June, and Aaron into the room as Danny let out a small laugh, tears running down both cheeks. Aaron rushed to the coal haired boy still seated at the table.
"Danny?" He asked carefully.
Danny smiled up at him, eyes bright yet tired. "Twelve years, I waited to get that all out... To tell someone. Twelve years I spent waiting to stop them... But I never had the strength. Not until you gave me the strength, Aaron." Danny's eyes met his, and Aaron felt his face flush as those wide blue eyes looked at him with such adoration. "Thank you."
"Danny, where are we going?" Aaron called from behind him, and the coal haired boy turned to look watch the boys black boots slipping on snow. His green eyes were wide and filled with curiosity, watching the taller boys every movement. Danny steadied him with his arms, keeping Aaron close to him in the lightly falling snow. Aaron kept asking questions, as was his nature, and stopping to try to identify where they were.
But Danny only led him farther into the park.
It was just a few days ago that Aaron had followed Danny into the police department, bundled in jackets against the dry, crisp air. Now, it was snowing white ice that coated everything like a mask, but the energy radiating from Danny was enough to keep Aaron from shivering in the cold.
The ground crunched and shifted beneath their feet as Danny guided his little nerd further into the park than the boy had ever been. This was Danny's favorite part of Winter, and he was bursting with excitement at being able to share it with the boy striding along the path beside him. The was directly above them, casting spidery shadows over the hilltops of bare tree limbs, spilling lines over the boys. Their boots crunched beneath them, and Aaron couldn't help but let a wide smile spread across his face.
This is his date with Danny. They're out on a date, holding hands and sneaking frosted kisses. Aaron was giddy with excitement, and he found more and more reasons to grin. Danny's hand squeezed his, and his eyes kept looking back with excitement. The air was clear and rang like a bell as the wind blew past the couple. It's a beautiful day, and Aaron can't help but feel himself melting into it.
"Here we are..." Danny murmured, clearing a thin line of trees and into a small clearing. The branches opened up to a small clearing, and the snow covered ground was unblemished by anything more than shadows. It was shaded, and beautiful, and their combined breathes were mixing in the air like lovers.
Aaron snapped his gaze down to steam blurring his vision, and he found a hot cup of cocoa lingering under his nose. It was heated and rich, and was covered with a thick layer of whipped cream. The red head took it gratefully, and with a gentle tug of his taken hand, Danny led him over to a blanket free of any snow. Gazing up then, Aaron realized that the entire sky was blacked out by a canopy, giving the pond a feel of privacy that made Aaron's cheeks sizzle with heat.
Danny pulled him down onto his lap, and Aaron watched him with wide, happy eyes. His drink was held cautiously in his hand, and Aaron took a quick sip to stop the longing feeling from building in his chest. Danny was so close to him, and he could see the perfect, fine skin trailing down his neck and under a brand new jacket that hugged his thin, muscular form like a glove. Aaron trailed his chest with green eyes, wanting, yearning for-
A whipped-cream-covered finger slid ceremoniously across his cheek, and looking up, he saw a wicked grin coating Danny's lips. Aaron set his mug down, his own finger holding a weapon of sweet indulgence. He went to swipe at Danny's nose, but was met by his chin instead as the raven haired boy laughed joyously and leaned away. Aaron felt the cream on his cheek sliding on his skin, and he went to wipe it, but was stopped by two strong hands on either of his wrists.
Danny's lips were on his, and Aaron leaned into the kiss. He'd yearned for more all these weeks; more that the quick kisses and light brushing of skin. He wanted this to magnify, like a flame on kindling.
Their mouths moved against each other, and breathlessly, Aaron found his hands free of their gentle restraints. He melded them against Danny's neck, pulling him closer. The boy followed, and his hands found Aaron's hips, feeling the tender skin that peaked out from under his jacket. Aaron's head swam, and he tried moving to face Danny full on, but the other had a different idea.
Danny pushed his knees under them and tipped Aaron backwords, their lips staying together as Aaron was layed on his back. Aaron bit at Danny's lips, and the boy returned the want with icy fingers trailing up his stomach. Danny could feel Aaron's heart beat ricocheting against his hand as Danny pulled at him, nipping, kissing, licking skin that he'd wanted for so long.
Danny trailed the boys face with light kisses, sucking on pale skin where whipped cream still trailed. His neck had a bit of the sweetness dripping down it, and Danny took little time in following the sensitive skin with his tongue. Aaron slid his head back, exposing his neck to the boy straddling him, and for the first time in his life, there was no thoughts or worries or equations running through his head. There was Danny; Danny everywhere.
Aaron gasped when Danny bit his neck, his tongue snaking across the skin in a sweet apology, and Aaron found hisself breathing heavily, his hands stroking Danny's hair and hip.
Their lips met again, the air heated by heavy breathing. Their cheeks were tinted with blush, and lust seeped into both boys eyes when their gazes locked. Aaron pulled Danny farther down, lips leaving kisses from his mouth down his chin to where whipped cream sweetened his flavor ever more. Aaron was loosing a fight with his head about being in public and displaying this kind of raw affection, but his very next thought was fuck it. I'm kissing my boyfriend.
Danny's neck was scolding under Aaron's lips, and the ravenette found himself succumbing to the shorter boys quick lips. His mouth left goosebumps trailing up his spin, and Danny could only push their hips and legs closer together.
Aaron felt Danny still above him, his eyes closed with his air rushing out against his collar. Aaron found that he, too, was gasping from the encounter, and he laced his fingers through Danny's locks lovingly. This is his Danny, his boy.
When Danny's eyes finally met Aaron's, there was a breathless smile plastered on his face, and his tongue darted across his lips. "That's not entirely what I expected, but hey, I'll take it." He sighed, pecking Aaron on the nose.
After the last few minutes of biting and tongue, that peck seemed more like a punishment than a reward.
When both boys had regained the right colors of their cheeks and were able to tocuh without springing on one another, Danny guided Aaron to the pond where he showed him the mirror-like ice on top of it.
He held Aaron from behind, staring at their clear reflection in the pond. Aaron was smiling, as was he, and he saw a bit of fog playing along the rims of his thick glasses. Danny felt bliss, standing there with a shared thermos in Aaron's warming fingers. They stayed like that for a long time, with Danny's lips occasionally brushing the others ear. They hugged and swayed and took turns leaning into each other. It was calming and serene, and god, did it feel good to hold him.
Then suddenly, Danny felt his fingers around Aaron slipping, and gazing down, he found the boys boots slipping beneath him.
Aaron stumbled about in the thick snow before them, then realization dawned on Danny's face. The ice had cracked beneath them.
Aaron slipped hip-deep beneath a layer of ice that neither could see, but geez, could the redhead feel it. The cold seeped through his pants like knives penetrating his skin, killing any "warmth" that may have seeped in "down there."
Danny tugged on Aaron's arms, trying to haul him out of the ice, and was met by a yelp of pain.
"My boot is caught on something!" Aaron cried, his form already shaking and his eyes squeezed shut in fear.
It was one of those moments where Danny thanked the freaking lord that he had died his freshman year.
He transformed, his gloved hands scooping up Aaron with strong arms. Aaron fit against his torso like he belonged there- because he does- and phased with Aaron through the ice. Danny hauled the boy up, hugging him to his chest bridal style as he zoomed off towards Aaron's house. It was close by, and clear to see, and it wasn't until they were zooming past the street leading to his house that he heard Aaron yelp and open his eyes.
Danny went tangible, falling through the front door, through the kitchen, through June who was walking down the hallway and into the bathroom. Aaron shrugged off his jacket with shaking fingers, his lips blue from the ice squeezing his muscles. But Danny stopped him from stripping anymore, knowing if he didn't hurry, then Aaron might get hyperthermia.
Aaron followed the gloved hands to Danny's face, and it was then that the white hair and green eyes registered in his mind. "Pha-Pha... N-"
The shower was turned all the way on, and it took mere seconds for the hot water to blast at high speed. Danny stepped into the shower, fully clothed, and dragged Aaron in after him. He hugged the boy to his chest as the water fell on them in bucketful's, and after 10 minutes of Danny's soothing hands rubbing feeling back into Aaron's torso and back, Aaron stopped shivering. Danny trailed lond, even strokes down Aaron's back, and he kissed the boys temple as he leaned against Danny's chest where he'd guided him to the floor.
Their was a quick tapping on the door, and it opened after a few moments of silence.
"Aaron-?" June started, but she stopped dead in her tracks at the quick blast of light that filled the bathroom.
She ran forward and yanked the curtain back, eyes falling to Danny and Aaron laying together on the shower floor, their entire bodies soaked under the blast. Aaron looked tired and worn, but looking up at his mother, he smiled.
Danny's chest pounded, and his head swam. This was an interesting predicament he'd landed himself in, indeed.
~~~~._._._
With Aaron warmed and dried off, the commotion soon settled. June didn't dare question how the boys had gotten back into the house without her realizing, not with the surprise of finding her son and Danny fully clothed in the shower together (something that she teased them about later, saying that they were much closer than she could have ever dreamed.)
Danny was sitting in the recliner, waiting for Aaron to get dressed after June was done fussing over him. The red head showed no fear as he walked to Danny in his snoopy pajama pants and one of Danny's favorite tshirts, a blanket draped around his shoulders as he sat right down on Danny's lap. A quick giggle was heard from the doorway where June hurriedly turned to busy herself in the kitchen.
Aaron pressed his forehead to the base of Danny's neck, and he sighed when Danny tightened his long arms around him. They sat like that for a while, soft piano melodies filling the air from the radio in the kitchen. Danny could feel every breath the other took; every pulse that flooded his veins.
Danny couldn't help but feel relief wash through his when Aaron had walked back into his arms, and thanked every lord out their that was alive that the redhead hasn't run in terror. He'd seen Danny phase there, on the tile of the shower floor, and still decided that cuddling into him was worth his while.
"You wanna talk about it?" Aaron asked, his words playing across the surface of Danny's neck.
"Talk about what?"
Aaron looked up at him, eyes half lidded and tired looking. "What ever has you so tense. You can tell me anything, Danny... You know that, right?"
There was a pause where Aaron bit his lip and buried himself farther into the ball he'd made of himself. The blanket he'd brought draped across both their bodies, and Aaron was so very thankful that he had Danny's warmth to keep his blood flowing.
Danny sighed, leaning his head against Aaron's. "I know babe, I know. I can tell you anything, and you won't react in anyway I might've predicted..." He let out an airy chuckle. "I changed right in front of you... And you haven't even asked about it."
Aaron only shrugged, lining Danny's collard with butterfly kisses. "You'll tell me if its important. I trust you to do that."
Danny sighed, brushing Aaron's hair with one of his hands.
"I know you saw the confession... How you got in their, I don't know, and I'm pinning that one on Henry." Aarom gave a nervous smile, and Danny returned it. "The part at the end, when I said that my heart stopped..." Aaron's form stiffened, and Danny paused. He ran his hands over every piece of Aaron that he could reach. "I did die, and I did wake up after that." His eyes watched Aaron's fingers playing with his own shirt, kneading little patterns into the fabric. "I came back half dead; they'd thrown me into the busted ghost portal my parents have, to get rid of me, I suppose. But when they turned the portal off again, my body was in their, and it had... Changed."
Danny held his hand up in front of Aaron's. It took no effort to summon a ball of ectoplasm, and he watched with a steady gaze as Aaron studied it.
"You truly are a unique specimen, Danny Fenton." Aaron murmured, his green eyes intensified by the ray.
"Don't you mean, 'Phantom'?"He asked innocently, making the ectoplasm disappear.
"No," Aaron replied simply. "Fenton is much more interesting, in my eyes." the boy placed a kiss onto Danny's thin fingertip, and Danny could honestly say that he has ever loved the boy more.
Hello darlings! I must say, I loved the ideas for Danny and Aaron's first date :) From supaherolena02 and Morning-Star57, I got the idea for a park date, and from vampireacademygirls, I was given the idea of ice-cream being at a lake or pond, and a quick rescue with Danny's ghost powers. Supaherolena also hinted at some fun with smeared icecream, but I went with whipped cream since it was already cold outside xP
(If I got any of that wrong, please tell me and I'll fix it. I have a head cold and have slept most of the day away)
Do I need to redo the rating because of the smut put in it now? If so, then I'm going to be in trouble on my other fic xP
Reviews:
Morning-star57:
You do this and I shall love you to no end :DAnd what's this about a challenge?
I accept! :D
I pmed you about it ^^
Silver-hearted-girl; Well first off i am honoured that i influenced such an amazing chapter! It was so beautiful that i started getting teary. I have never wanted to read a chapter so much. That would be so wonderful for a full confession and when Danny said date i got so excited. But it wasn't til Junes happy screaming that i burst into laughter, so funny. I will continue to support and motivate you as long as you continue to write.
Well, here's your confession! :D (If there's anything you feel needs to be changed or altered, do not be afraid to say so) :) I feel that this could have been written better, and I tried pumping it full of cuteness and sadness and understanding... And... Yeah, a bunch ^^;
I'm really happy you enjoyed it :D
TearsDrippingDown:
Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Yes! Danny asked him out! Wooooohooooo! Finally! PLEASE, you must UPDATE SOON! I'm dying here! :)
I'm really very sorry that I take so long to update, but here it is! And its super long! Plus some squishyness!
Supaherolena02:
Jgbfvtdyrddff my reaction was exactly like June's XD this was adorable and happy and fluffy and... u;I have no idea about a good nerdy date :/ the first thing that comes to mind is going to the park and having some ice cream and getting ice cream in random places of their faces and cleaning kissing it like dorks with blushing and laughs uwu but that's not really creative e3e
Haha, thats awesome! You and June can be the official cheerleaders for Danny and Aaron xD
And thanks so much for the idea! I abused the hell out of it and made chewy, yummy, kissy parts :3
Midnight:
yay Danny is safe now, happy day! hopefully it's all uphill from here.
I think it may be, though its always a surprise writing each chapter
Vampireacademygirls:
This is cute. I started reading this one after I strumbled across your other one. I think an ice skating date would be cute for them, either at a place or on a lake. Aaron could fall in and Danny could have him with his powers. ) just a thought
I really really really loved this idea, and after writing the scene and putting them there, I started to truly like the idea of them iceskating, but I just couldn't write it in xC I've never been ice skating, and wouldn't know a single thing on how to word it. (in all actuality, I've never been in weather under 30 degrees, and I could only write about the snow because of other books and fics I've read.)
But I thank you so very very much for the review! :D
And thats it for now, lovelies! :) review for the last few chapters,, maybe?
