Summary: After being woken up by a call, Dan pays a visit to an old friend.
Characters: Dan and Lancer
Written: July 2015
Note: This is set during chapter 60 of Spectacular Specter.

Chapter 60.5

Dan leaned over, glancing through the window by the front door to get a peek inside the average two story home, but he couldn't see much with only a small slit parting the curtains. With a sigh, he pulled back to stand up straight and rang the doorbell. Two women walked past the house, one pushing a baby stroller as they chatted. Dan tugged the hood of his sweatshirt down as he bowed his head, hoping to keep from being seen.

"It's been a while." The door opened to reveal the middle aged man with balding hair and a gut hanging over his belt.

Dan smiled despite the stern glare the man gave him. "Only a couple of years." He shrugged easily but felt anxious about getting inside and out of sight of the mundane neighbors. When the man stepped aside, Dan hastily entered his house. "Nice place you got here." He peeked into the front room, noting the nice furniture, antiques from the look of them.

"I guess I've done some fixing up since you were last here." The man closed the door then led the way into the front room.

Dan dropped onto the couch and nearly got his feet onto the coffee table before the man smacked his leg. He settled for keeping his feet on the floor. "You don't usually call me over. What's this about, Lancer?" He leaned back on the couch, throwing his arms over the back of it as he gazed around the front room. It was far better than he could do with interior design, especially with the mismatch of antiques from various eras and cultures. But Lancer always had a knack for this kind of thing.

Sighing like the weight of the world rested on this shoulders, Lancer sat opposite him on a cozy chair with a floral pattern. "Do you think I don't take notice of your activities?"

Dan gulped when he saw the teacher giving him the disapproving glare. It made him far more self conscious then he cared to admit. "What activities are you referring to?" He shrugged like he didn't have the faintest idea what the man meant.

Lancer tilted his head forward a touch with a severe frown. It was his "don't insult my intelligence" glare. "You think I haven't realized you've stopped killing while in town? Or that you seem to have taken interest in our new town hero?"

"The media seems to want everyone thinking otherwise about Phantom."

"Don't they always?" Lancer's mouth quirked, a sly smirk curling on his face. "But I also know how you are." His expression turned stony. "You idolize-"

"Hey, no!" Dan sat up, shaking a hand before him to stop the man from continuing. "Okay. Maybe I do idolize him as a hero. He's got that good sense of morality and all that that I could never have. And he's quite sexy in his costume." He grinned. "But I'm not rushing things. And I'm being careful not to scare him off."

"Dan." Lancer sighed, leaning his head into his hand as he rubbed at his forehead. "You may be overlooking one big point here."

"His age." Dan nodded as he folded his arms. "I haven't been ignoring that. You know I wouldn't." He glared from under his hood. After a tense moment, he leaned back against the couch. "Anyway, I'm leaving it up to him. See? Not being pushy. If he's interested, he can make the first move, and we can figure things out from there."

Lancer lifted his eyebrows. "You really like him, don't you?"

Dan frowned as he shifted awkwardly. "You don't have to sound so surprised."

"I know you've liked people in the past. But this is the first time I've seen you this serious about someone." Lancer swiped a hand over his bald head. "I suppose I was worrying over nothing then."

A fond smile spread over Dan's face as he lowered his gaze. "It's nice having someone worrying about you though." He scratched at his cheek, which was warm with embarrassment. "So," he said slowly, glancing back to the teacher, "I don't suppose you have any insight on clearing Phantom's name after that whole thing at the precinct, hm?"

"I will leave that kind of work to you, so long as you keep up this no killing streak you've been on."

Dan sighed, disappointed he wouldn't get any advice from the man, but he hesitated to stand. "Was that all? You just wanted to be a busybody and talk about my love life?"

"I know how you get when things go sour." Lancer frowned, but his gaze filled with concern.

"I think I'll be all right this time." Dan slapped his thighs before standing. "I guess I should get out of you-" He paused, gaze drifting to the man's balding head. "Well," he cracked a grin, "you know the saying."

"Yes, I'm aware of it." Lancer didn't look remotely amused.

"Right. Well." Dan bobbed his head as he took a step to leave. His leg bumped the corner of the table, jostling the items on it. He reacted quickly, snatching up the blue bottle that nearly fell and crashed to the floor. Holding it up, he gave the bottle a closer look. It had a rounded base and a long thin neck and marked with pink accents. "This seems kind of out of place." He glanced questioningly to the teacher. The bottle was... odd to him, and not just in design.

"Ah, my sister." Lancer smiled fondly as he took the bottle from Dan. "She's off on another one of her trips abroad. She sent this to me as a Christmas gift. I thought it might look nice in my office."

"Sure," Dan agreed, though if it was given to him, he thought he probably would throw it out. Or lock it up someplace where no one would ever find it. "Your sister always did have a pretty unique sense of style." He never had the pleasure of meeting Lancer's sister, though he had seen pictures of the two siblings. They looked remarkably alike. "Well then." He slapped a hand to the teacher's shoulder. "Take care."

"Dan." Lancer's voice made the mercenary stop. "You know you can always come to me to talk, about anything."

Dan frowned, staring off to the side, then turned his gaze back to Lancer. "I know." He offered a small smile before he opened the front door and left the house. Even though Lancer offered to listen to his problems, Dan rarely took him up on it. He could count the number of people who truly cared for him on one hand, though he hoped Phantom and that teen with the dog could be included. Shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked away from the house, he frowned. Eventually, he would have to tell them more about himself, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that.


xXRainbowCleoXx: XD Well, sometimes, Danny can be a little shit. But I think they could have been friends if not for labels and stereotypes. Though I guess having the "weirdo" parents who believe in ghosts didn't help. XD;;; Dash is a fanboy through and through. XD Sometimes that's hard to see because of the whole popularity thing, but yeah, real friends! So much is going on! XD

Tetractys: Well, I look at Kwan more as tech support. He can fight, but he'd rather not unless absolutely necessary. As for where, he probably scavenges through junk yards. XD;; But unlike the Fentons, his stuff isn't ecto based.

YumiStar: My own head canon is that Kwan's rather tech savvy. XD;; I wouldn't call him a ghost expert though. He's very good at researching though. He, uh, may need to crash for a bit after a few sleepless nights of researching and tinkering with stuff though. XD;;;;;