Chapter 10

Danny woke to a noise. Reluctantly, his eyes cracked open and glanced around the gray morning light streaming into his bedroom. Exhaustion tugged at him to return to sleep. It was a Sunday and nowhere near eleven yet, which meant it was far too early for him to wake up and actually rejoin the world of the living. With a sigh, he shifted on the bed when it occurred to him that he wasn't the only one sleeping in it. His blue eyes dropped to his sides, and he reached up to scratch his head.

One, he counted the familiar blond head to his left. Two, he noted the raven haired boy to his right. His confusion mounted as he stared at the second boy. He was one hundred percent positive that he only had one child with Sam. After several baffling moments, it finally struck him, the memory of yesterday smacking him in face as he recalled Dash bringing over his son for a sleepover. Danny breathed out in relief to have that mystery cleared up because he didn't need any more trouble with children randomly appearing.

Noise from below reminded him of why he was awake this early in the morning. Danny frowned down at the two boys, dead to the world as they continued to sleep. After a quick glance around his room, he thankfully noted Dash wasn't anywhere around, although that offered another confusing mystery because he couldn't recall the man actually leaving the house. Wait. Did Dash sleep over? he wondered, shock at the thought making him sit up straighter. A trickle of panic crept through him until another sound snapped his attention away from thoughts of Dash. Frowning, he turned invisible then intangible as he slowly sank through bed and floor. He appeared downstairs, landing in the front room. His expression grew sourer when he spied the three people lounging on the couch.

"Are you seriously just now getting in?" Danny demanded, folding his arms as he became visible again.

"This is my time off," Valerie answered with her arms tucked behind her head. She smiled, looking far more relaxed about her life than she did back when they were freshmen in high school. "I deserve to have a few nights off to party."

"Besides, we wanted to give you plenty of time to get reacquainted with your favorite bully." Elle grinned mischievously, and Danny worried she was starting to take after Dan far too much whenever that look crossed her face.

Dan's dark blue eyes swept around the room, and Danny was surprised to see his evil future still masquerading as a human, though if Dash was still in the house, he was relieved that Dan wasn't walking around in his natural ghost appearance with the flaming hair. Danny had no explanation that he could give Dash for that.

"I'm surprised the house is still intact," Dan commented before turning a twisted smirk onto Danny. "I expected to come back to find the place in ruins." He chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm surprised you didn't explode the moment you saw that boy's shirt. Man, that must have been hard for you not to give anything away."

Danny pulled a face, halfway tempted to revert to a child and stick out his tongue at Dan. Or just blast the ghost in the face. "Ha ha," he muttered sarcastically, though he did suffer a panic attack the moment he spotted the black shirt with his familiar logo displayed across the boy's chest. He sighed as he raked a hand through his raven hair. He forgot that Dash was a huge fan boy of Phantom back in high school, and he felt like an imbecile for not remembering that.

The shirt wasn't his only moment of panic. Danny expected some sort of cartoon or children's movie when Dash asked if it was all right for them to watch the movie his son so eagerly requested. Seeing the old clips from his teen years as he fought ghosts brought back a sense of nostalgia, but he kept waiting for Dash to glance between him and the screen and suddenly make the connection between Fenton and Phantom. He always took Dash for an idiot in high school, but the man the jock grew into didn't seem quite as dumb. Chewing on his lip, Danny wondered how long it would be before Dash actually figured out the truth.

His teen years were definitely not something that he wanted Lex seeing. He expected to get questions about his past experiences fighting ghosts, and even how he came by his powers, but he didn't actually want Lex seeing all of his past mistakes displayed on the television screen. Especially not under that awful name of Inviso-Bill. He frowned dryly as he recalled the title sequence that flashed across the screen before the clips started showing.

"We're adults now," Danny explained to Dan, sneering at his evil future. "We know how to behave. And if nothing else, our sons like each other, I'm not about to ruin their friendship because my past with Xan's father wasn't exactly sunshine and puppy dog tails." He rubbed his hands over his tired face. It was far too early for something like this. "I'm going to go make breakfast." He exited the front room, heading for the kitchen.

"I vote for pancakes," Elle called after him.

Danny paused and snapped back around, pinning a glare on her. "The children are still sleeping," he hissed. "So please don't shout."

"I think he was more fun before he became such a dad."

Danny heard Valerie's comment as he walked down the hall to the kitchen. Getting out the things he would need, he shook his head. Elle sounded too much like Lex when they both demanded pancakes for breakfast, and Danny wondered if Elle constantly asked Valerie to make her pancakes in the morning. His mind wandered as he mixed ingredients in a large bowl. Last night went, surprisingly, well. After graduating from Casper High, he didn't give much thought to the people that used to bully him. But the thought that he could actually spend an enjoyable night with the man that enjoyed using him like a punching bag never would have entered his mind. It was strange to talk with the former jock and not have it resort to cruel remarks, name calling, and blows.

A smile came to him when he remembered Xan's enthusiasm when it came to stars and space. Lex didn't have much interest in space unless it involved his father flying him up into the clouds. Danny liked having someone around that actually enjoyed hearing him ramble off all the factoids he knew. His son usually passed out in his lap whenever he got started, but Xan was eager to ask questions and claimed he wanted to become an "aspronaut" so that he could fly through space looking for the dinonauts. Danny chuckled at that, amused by the child's wild imagination. Pausing when an idea struck him, he grinned and got to work on it.

"Pancakes!"

"Oh no! It's the Tyrannosaurus Lex!" Dan cried out in mock terror, and Lex gave a playful roar. "Come here, you little monster." Shrieks of laughter filled the air when, Danny assumed, Dan caught the boy and started tickling him mercilessly.

"Breakfast will be ready soon," Danny called to them as he served some of the finished pancakes onto a large plate. He was in the middle of pouring another pancake into the pan when he felt a tug on his pants. Dropping his gaze, he blinked at the ravened haired boy with his head bowed and his hand still wrapped around the fabric of the man's pants. "What's wrong, Xan? Don't you want to go play with Lex?" Xan pressed his head against Danny, wrapping his arms around the leg.

"So this is where the other little munchkin went," Valerie commented as he entered the kitchen. "Hey there, little guy." Smiling, she crouched down behind Danny.

"I think you're scaring him," Danny said when Xan tightened his arms around his leg and tried to squeeze between the man and the counter to escape from Valerie.

"I'm not Dan," Valerie responded dryly. "I'm great with kids."

"Are you trying to say I'm not good with kids?" Dan demanded as he entered the kitchen, carrying Lex upside down while the boy giggled. Elle trotted in with them, stretching her arms over her head.

"You're great with Lex," Valerie returned. "That's about it."

"Xan likes me. Don't you?" Dan grinned at the boy still trying to hide.

Xan peeked around Danny's leg to stare at the other man as Dan set Lex down on his feet. The blond boy laughed and stumbled before regaining his balance. "You're," Xan said slowly, "okay."

"Okay?" Dan gasped, slapping a hand to his chest like the comment actually stung. "Only okay? I seem to recall you liked all my stories about dinosaurs." He put his hands on his hips as he frowned down at the boy, and Xan actually chuckled in response.

"Everyone go sit at the table, and I'll bring the pancakes over," Danny announced. "Oh, Elle, can you get out plates and stuff?" He turned off the heat on the stove then tossed the last pancake onto the large pile he already had, hoping that would be enough to feed all of them.

"I'll get the syrup!" Lex shouted, already on his way to grab it from where it was kept. Xan reluctantly came out from his hiding spot to climb onto one of the chairs at the table.

Danny picked up the plate and carried it over to the table, setting it in the center so that everyone could reach it. Lex climbed onto his usual chair, which happened to be right next to the one that Xan chose. Danny dropped into his usual seat at the head of the table and frowned when he spotted Dan sitting opposite him. After passing out plates and silverware, Valerie and Elle took the remaining seats across from the two boys.

"Aw," Lex complained as he picked up one of the pancakes to drop onto his plate. "I like when you make the Cujo pancakes." He pouted, poking at the half moon shaped pancake with a fork.

"I do those all the time for you. I thought since Xan is your guest, I'd do something that he liked." Danny grinned proudly at his mix of half moon and star shaped pancakes as everyone took some, except Dan who leaned back in his seat with his arms folded behind his head.

"Someone woke up on the grumpy side of the bed." Dan smirked at the pout Lex sent his way.

Dash stumbled into the kitchen a moment later, hiding a large yawn behind his hand. He paused when he took note of all the people gathered around the kitchen table. His dark blue eyes narrowed when they circled around to Dan. "Do you have any coffee?" he asked as he turned his attention onto the raven haired man sitting closest to him.

Danny tried to respond around his mouthful of syrupy pancake goodness. After swallowing, he stood up as he said, "Yeah, let me get that." He walked over to the counter and searched for his coffee supplies. "Uh, do you want regular or decaf? Probably regular, right? Black?"

"Yeah, or whatever you have is fine." Dash leaned against the counter, standing next to Danny as he got the coffee ready. "Do your cousins and Val always hang out with you?" He stared at the table for a moment before turning to Danny as he lifted an eyebrow curiously.

"Sometimes," Danny answered, rubbing at the back of his neck as he thought about how weird it was for them to be having civil conversations like this. "Elle and Val are just here for the weekend. Val has to get back to work, and she lives out of town. Dan, well, he just likes to tease me at every opportunity."He poured two mugs when the coffee was ready and handed one over to Dash. "Dan, move it. Dash needs to sit and have some breakfast."

Dan rolled his eyes as he vacated the chair and moved to lean against the wall behind where Valerie and Elle sat.

Dash took the empty chair and sipped at his coffee. He blinked when he picked up a pancake. "You made it look like a star?" His gaze turned onto Danny, sitting across from him.

"One of my specialties," Danny answered with a bit of pride in his voice.

"You should see his Cujo ones," Lex said with his mouth half full of food, and he grinned widely.

"Cujo?" Dash repeated as he stared at the blond boy.

Lex swallowed his food before responding. "Yeah! He's a dog, and he can," his bright blue eyes darted toward his father, "um, do dog stuff." He shrank down in his seat as his father frowned at him for mentioning the ghost dog.

"Oh!" Valerie shouted, drawing attention away from that awkward moment. "Guess who we ran into last night."

Danny pondered as he stared at her grinning face. "I'm going to have to guess Kwan."

"What?" The huntress pouted at having it guessed so easily. "You got it just like that?"

"Well, other than Dash, he's the only one I know here." Danny shrugged. "And it obviously had to be someone we both knew, so he was the logical choice."

"Speaking of him though, what's the deal with him?" Dan turned a curious look onto Dash, and Danny was fairly certain that he didn't like it.

"I'm going to need a little more than that." Dash frowned skeptically at the man before shoving a forkful of pancake into his mouth.

"Why's a guy like him teaching them?" Dan tossed a thumb toward the two boys, who were making a mess of their pancakes and getting sticky syrup over their hands and faces.

"What's wrong with him being a teacher?" Dash demanded defensively. "He likes children, and he's smart. Why is it shocking that he would become a teacher?"

"I think we'll take the boys to wash up," Elle suggested, seeing that the boys were mostly playing with their food at that point. The boys groaned before Lex grabbed hold of Xan's hand and dragged the boy out of the kitchen with him, leading the two women are a chase for the boys.

"I just think it's odd when he's smart enough to get a much more satisfying job, with better pay too." Dan dropped into one of the chairs freed up by the two women.

Dash's eyes narrowed at the man. "Why are you so interested in Kwan anyway?"

Dan shrugged, a sneaky smirk tugging at his mouth. "He seems pretty amusing, I guess."

"You," Dash growled, pointing a finger at the irritating man. Then he snapped his glare toward Danny, who jumped at the anger in that gaze. "Tell your cousin to keep away from Kwan."

Danny forced out half a laugh at that demand. "You say that like I have any control over him. Dan doesn't listen to anything I say."

"Of course not." Dan smirked smugly as he leaned back in the chair. "And why should I? I am older than you."

"Huh?" Dash's brow pinched in confusion, and he turned his gaze back onto Dan.

"I'm so getting you a muzzle one of these days." Danny dropped his face into his hands and wished he could get his evil future to shut up every once and a while.

"Okay. But I gotta ask about something," Dan continued, ignoring the former jock's bafflement, and Danny suspected a large part of that was because the ghost saw it as more entertaining to leave Dash out of the loop than to protect their secret, "because he acted kind of weird when I approached him at the bar."

Dash's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And how did you approach him exactly?"

Dan shrugged with a grin that would make the Cheshire cat jealous. "Oh, nothing out of the ordinary really. There was some floozy trying to flirt with him, so I just scared her off a bit."

"Dan, what did you do?" His mouth pressed thin as Danny narrowed his blue eyes at his evil future, struggling to keep them from flashing green.

"Nothing big. I only kissed him. You act like that's a sin." Dan rolled his eyes, clearly not seeing why anyone would make a big fuss about it. "But then he got all weird and grouchy like something crawled up his butt and died." He turned back to Dash. "So want to fill me in on that?"

"No!" Dash shouted as he shot to his feet. His hands were clenched tight enough that Danny could see them turning white. "And you better keep away from him from now on. I mean it! I don't want to see you anywhere around Kwan. He doesn't need some weirdo like you messing up his life."

"Uh, Dan, maybe you should go," Danny suggested, shaken by the rage Dash displayed, "like now."

"I'm the weirdo?" Dan snorted as he stood to leave the room. "You're the one getting all grouchy over a simple question." His footsteps faded as he headed down the hall.

"I'm sorry about that." Danny lowered his gaze, guilt gnawing at his sides. "Dan kind of lacks that whole morality thing that normal people have, so he can act like an insensitive dick a lot of the time." He lifted his head and frowned at the anger still etched into Dash's expression. "Is everything okay though? I mean," he bit his lip, "you got pretty upset there."

Dash huffed out a breath as he collapsed back into the chair. He leaned forward on his elbows, running his hands through his hair. "It's-" He shook his head. "Kwan wouldn't want me to tell you. It's... private."

Danny nodded as he swallowed. There was definitely something that happened with Kwan, but it really wasn't his place to pry into the other man's affairs. "Sorry. I'll try to talk some sense into Dan." He sighed tiredly. "But I can't guarantee that he won't still act like a dick."

"It would be a lot better for everyone if he just stays away from Kwan." Dash shot a dark, meaningful look at Danny, who felt a shiver run down his spine as it was turned on him.

Danny really didn't want to pry into something that wasn't any of his business, but from Dash's reaction, he guessed that it was something bad that happened to Kwan. He struggled to think of something to say. Everything was going so well until Dan had to open his big mouth and ruin everything. Danny sighed tiredly, leaning his head on one hand as he doubted Dan would listen to him if he told the ghost to stop harassing Kwan.

Dash pulled a phone out of his pocket and stared at it. "Ah, I forgot all about that." He scratched a hand through his blond locks. "I should get going." Taking a large gulp from the coffee, he stood up and crammed his phone back into his pocket.

"Oh, uh," Danny said, stunned by the suddenness of that announcement as he sat up straight. "If you want, you can leave Xan here. I mean, I'm sure Lex would enjoy getting to spend some more time playing with him. And I don't mind watching him."

"Oh, uh, thanks, but we've got some stuff to do today," Dash answered awkwardly.

"There you are. All cleaned up," Valerie said as she carried the raven haired boy into the kitchen, balancing him on one hip. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Dad, Dad!" Lex darted into the room and tugged at Danny's arm. "Can Xan stay?" Danny frowned, lifting his gaze toward the former jock.

"Sorry, little man," Dash said as he took Xan from Valerie's arms. "We got to hit the road now."

"Aw," both boys whined, pouting at the blond man, and Danny bit back a smile at their reaction.

"Sorry, but the pouting won't work on me." Dash stared down firmly at Lex, falling right into the trap of a staring contest with the boy.

"Lex, why don't you go grab Xan's things for him?" Danny suggested as he got up, half stepping in the way to block the line of sight for the two of them. Lex sighed dramatically before he sluggishly left the kitchen.

"Now I'm going to have to visit you more often, Danny," Valerie said as they all walked toward the front of the house. "It was great getting to hang out with Kwan again, and maybe next time, we'll have more time to catch up with each other, Dash." She turned a smile on the blond man, and Danny could almost believe that she was never cut from the A list in their freshmen year.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Dash agreed as Lex returned, reluctantly offering the bag to the man. With a roll of his eyes, Dash took the bag from the boy. "You'll get to see each other tomorrow at school."

Xan squirmed in his father's arms until Dash finally set him down on the ground. Once his feet touched the floor, the boy jumped at Lex, hugging his friend tightly. He lifted his head up to Danny before bright blue eyes drifted shyly to the side. "Thanks for letting me sleep over, Mr. Lex's Daddy." A light flush grew across his cheeks at his words. "I had a lot of fun."

"You're welcome over any time you like," Danny told the boy as a smile tugged at his mouth.

Xan grinned happily, gave Lex another quick squeeze, then returned to his father's side, his little hand curling around two of Dash's fingers.

"I guess we'll have to make plans to do this again," Dash said as he walked toward the door. "You've got my number, so," he shrugged a shoulder, "give me a call whenever you want to arrange a play date for them." Xan waved a sad goodbye as Dash opened the door. "Time to go show off some of your art, Picasso." He lifted the boy into his arms as he headed down the walkway to his car.

"Bye!" Lex shouted as he stood in the doorway, waving an arm wildly at the departing pair. Danny didn't miss the frown on his son's face at having his friend leave.

"You are terrible at getting information out of people," Dan grumbled in his ear.

Danny sighed as he closed the door. "I'm not going to force Dash to tell me something about Kwan simply because you're nosy." He glared at his evil future who appeared beside him in his natural ghost form.

"I don't know. I think it's more than nosiness with Dan." Valerie smirked knowingly at the ghost, who made a face at her.

"Dan, I'm serious," Danny said firmly, glaring at the ghost. "I don't want to have to move because you pissed off my son's doctor and his teacher."

"I'm just trying to have some fun," Dan grumped.

"That's what I'm worried about," Danny returned with a frown.

Black-Ookami-san: Thanks~ 8D *pinches their adorable little cheeks* Danny was groaning when he heard/saw that name again. XD;; He thought it was gone for good.

jeanette9a: He might~ 8D At some point.

Spongebob Swagpants: It was such a cute image that I couldn't resist. 8D Haha, maybe just a tiny bit. Lex will deny for all he's worth though.

midnight: Thanks~ =D I think Lex and Dash will always have that. XD;;; Lex will constantly claim he doesn't like Dash but deep down he does. XD;;;

Lil Badass Kaulitz: Haha~ And that time, Danny will be awake for it. XD;;

Snowleopard0: I was tempted to write something touching on that topic for one of the themes in Phanniemay. XD;; But I decided not to spoil that just yet. XD;; Thanks~ 8) I'm glad you like it! There will be more Dan and Kwan in the future. Yes~ 8D

Just Will: Breaking down into a crazy mad depression? Haha, I think that's part of my head canon for him. The whole destruction done in his timeline was from falling into the crazy mad depression after losing everyone he cared about like that and destruction was his way of letting out his pain and grief. Except, you know, that didn't solve anything. It may have taken the pain away for a moment, but it didn't erase it. So he kept destroying things, kept hurting people, but nothing got fixed for him. Then Danny gives him this second chance, allows him to be a part of his life, gives him the chance to be among friends and family again. And I think that and meeting Lex really helped Dan to finally move past his pain and depression. Yeah, haha, Dash had a much happier life here. XD;; Cooking and sewing came from his parents who believed those to be good skills for anyone to have. Good body, cause you know, football so he's kept with that. Being good with kids was probably a result from Kwan. XD;;; Cause Kwan had a big family in this story so Dash probably had experience from hanging out with Kwan and having to help take care of the kids sometimes. I wouldn't be surprised if the women that usually bring their kids to him think he's the most eligible bachelor. XD;; But Dash just isn't looking at the moment. *cough* Well, Danny's also really great with kids, and he enjoys baking. I wouldn't be surprised if he can do some sort of crafts. Probably picked up needlepoint from Jack at least. XD;; Danny does work on inventions, but he's not about to show that to Dash since it's mostly ghost related stuff. He's probably become a pretty decent handy man though. I hadn't thought about it, but I wouldn't be surprised if Danny did take Sam and Lex into space sometimes. You know, with like the Specter Speeder, or some other space capable thing. I just kind of pulled Michael Barnes out of the air. orz Haha, I don't think Dash has read any of Danny's non-children books. XD;; Well, Dash figured he looked so tired that it was probably best just to let Danny keep sleeping. I can imagine Danny wanting a big family. XD;; Or at least two or three kids. I'm glad it brings a smile to you. 8D

NikaStarlight: Thanks! X3 Bonding is always great to see. Little Lex might have to be careful or he'll have to admit he doesn't hate Dash as much as he claims to. XD;;

Yaoi Loving Neko: I'm glad you liked it! =)

Guest: Thanks! =D And I think he would be too. =)

Author's Note: A while ago, I made an account on tumblr and finally set it up as an ask blog for this story. XD;; You can find it at asklexandxan on tumblr. So feel free to send any asks to them (not limited to only the boys. You can ask anyone in the story a question).