Chapter 11

Kwan ignored the looks that he received during his walk from Masters' mansion to his apartment building. People stared at the red splattered across the white shirt and gave him a wide berth as they passed him. Masters offered him a clean shirt when Kwan and Danny were washing the blood off their bodies, but Kwan declined. He doubted any of the clothes Masters owned would actually fit him since the older man was much narrower in the shoulders than Kwan. He didn't get the chance to finish his discussion with Masters. After the whole event with Danny, the two half ghosts launched into planning out a training schedule, and Masters wanted to get to work building up a supply of that antidote. When he left the mansion, Kwan doubted they even heard him saying that he was leaving.

He huffed a sigh as he climbed the stairs toward his apartment. His theory about what was happening to Danny probably sounded rather convoluted, but maybe Masters would be able to make some sense of it, even if Kwan didn't get to finish telling him all his thoughts on the matter. As he walked down the hallway, Kwan drew to a stop. His mouth dropped open when his wide eyes landed on the man loitering outside his apartment's door. Closing the distance between them, Kwan yanked the man into a tight hug, squeezing his arms around the man.

"Are you trying to crush me to death?" the man croaked out, though his voice held a subtle hint of amusement.

Kwan hugged him for a moment longer before he finally released his death grip on the man. "After disappearing on us like that, I think I deserve to crush you to death, Dash." The grin on his face probably made him look like an idiot, but Kwan couldn't care less about how he looked at that moment because Dash was finally here, in front of him, in the flesh. He unlocked the door to his apartment and allowed Dash to enter first. "Seriously, dude, you could have at least said something at some point during all this time." He closed the door after them.

Dash narrowed his blue eyes as he folded his arms. "Maybe I would have if you had promised to stop talking about Fenton sooner. You're like a freaking dog with a bone. You never let anything drop." His eyes lowered to Kwan's shirt, and he frowned. "Dude, seriously, what happened?" He waved his hand in the general direction of Kwan's stained shirt.

"Sorry for thinking you're being a complete idiot," Kwan grumbled, not missing the way Dash scowled after catching that statement. He grabbed the hem of his shirt then yanked it off, tossing it away into the trashcan in the apartment. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing you want to hear about."

Turning back to Dash, Kwan frowned as he glanced over his best friend. Dash didn't look much different, still as buff as back in high school, maybe even a little more so. He still kept to his slicked back hair style. His skin still tanned like he spent plenty of time in the sun.

"Where exactly did you go?" Kwan walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a couple of sodas. He tossed one to Dash, who caught it.

"College, duh." Dash rolled his eyes. "Where the hell did you think I went?"

"How should I know? You didn't tell me anything. You never even told me what colleges you were thinking of attending. Do you know how much it hurt me and Paulina when you just left?" Kwan popped open his can of soda then took a sip from it. Half of him wanted to just chuck the can at his friend's head, but that would only make a mess now that it was open and Dash would likely catch it before it hit him.

"I thought you promised to drop the topic of Fenton." Dash scowled, dropping onto the couch and throwing open arm over the back of it.

"This isn't about him." Kwan joined his friend on the couch. "This is about us. I've always thought of you like a brother, and then you just abandon me, cut me completely out of your life. It hurt, Dash."

"Sorry, man," Dash mumbled into his soda can as he took a sip. When he lowered his arm again, he glanced around the apartment. "Okay, dude. What's with this place? I expected to find you at your parents' house. Then you sent the address to this place. You're only off for, like, three months before college starts up again. Why do you have an apartment?"

Kwan opened his mouth to answer when the door opened. Both of them turned their heads, following the short, dusty blond man stagger into the apartment. The door slammed closed after him as he headed toward his bedroom without giving the two men sitting on the couch even a single glance. Once the door to the bedroom shut, Dash snapped his wide eyed gaze back around to Kwan.

"You got an apartment for him?" Dash's mouth thinned as his eyes narrowed.

"First off," Kwan growled, returning the glare with his own heated fury, "there's nothing going on between us. We both needed a place to live, so it made sense for us to just share a place." Dash's expression didn't change at that announcement, and Kwan sighed, resting on the armrest of the couch. "Look. I didn't go to medical school." He raised a hand to stop Dash from cutting into his explanation. "You already know I never wanted to go there."

"So you stayed here?" Dash shook his head in disbelief. "Why?" He pointed toward the closed bedroom door. "Because of him?"

"It has nothing to do with him." Kwan reached and punched Dash in the arm. "I don't know why you're acting so butt hurt over it anyway. It's not like my being gay is a shocking revelation to you. As I recall, you spent most of that night at the club getting hit on by some guy in drag."

"Dude!" Dash shoved him hard while Kwan tried not to laugh. "You promised you would never mention that ever again. That night," his finger wagged in front of Kwan's face, "never happened."

Green eyes rolling, Kwan sighed. "Maybe not for you, but it did for me." He folded his arms and glared at Dash. "You planning on beating the shit out of me now for being gay like some homophobic dick?"

With a snort, Dash looked away and sipped from his soda. "Of course not," he muttered, jaw clenching. "So you like that kid?" He pointed a thumb over his shoulder toward the closed bedroom door.

"Doesn't matter," Kwan mumbled as he leaned forward, scrubbing his hands over his face. "I don't think anything will ever come of it. He already won't accept living here for free, insists on paying his portion of the rent so he's not some freeloader. If I tried to hook up with him, he might think I'm trying to get sex in exchange for letting him live here."

"Now who's being the idiot?" Dash patted Kwan on the shoulder before he climbed to his feet.

Hearing his friend walking toward the bedrooms, panic surged through Kwan. He scrambled over the back of the couch, nearly falling to the floor in his attempt to grab at Dash and stop him. At the closed door, he caught his friend's hand before he could open it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kwan demanded in a hushed whispered, fearing the man on the other side of the door would overhear them.

"You're being an idiot." Dash wrestled his wrist free from Kwan's hold. "Are you really satisfied being just his roommate?"

"That's not-" Kwan closed his eyes briefly to hold back the outburst. "Why do you get to interfere with my love life, but when I even try to talk to you about your love life, you shut me out?" He glared darkly at his friend, frustrated that there was such a double standard between them.

"I'm not gay," Dash whispered heatedly. "And if you even think about mention Fenton, I'm going to punch you."

"Fine. Punch me then. Because it's hilarious to me that the person you fell completely head over heels in love with happened to Danny in drag, and you kept yourself so blind to that fact." Kwan waited, body tensing in preparation for his friend to throw a punch at him. When Dash raised his fist, Kwan flinched away, knowing exactly how hard his friend could punch. Not feeling the fist connect with his face, he cracked open his eyes as Dash knocked on the bedroom door. His mouth gaped open wide, his heart stopping, as Dash merely smirked in satisfaction. When the door opened, Kwan felt the strong urge to run away and hide, but his feet seemed rooted into the floorboards.

"What is it?" Abner rubbed at his tired hazel eyes, looking exhausted as usual after long hours of working. "I have about an hour and half before my next shift, and I was really hoping to get some sleep."

"Well, Kwan here," Dash slapped a hand on his friend's shoulder, completely ignoring the way Abner's eyes snapped wide open. Kwan, though, didn't miss the way his roommate shook at the sight of the taller blond man. "Has something to tell you."

"What are you doing here?" Abner hid behind the door to his room, ready to slam it shut at a moment's notice if it was necessary.

Dash lifted an eyebrow at that reaction. "I'm not allowed to visit my best friend?"

"Dash, you're scaring the crap out of him." Kwan glared, resisting the desire to throttle his friend. He couldn't believe this was happening. Dash, who got so freaked out by his own feelings toward another man that he fled, was now trying to force Kwan to confess his feelings to the man, who was the source of his attraction for well over a year now. It was strange and bizarre, and Kwan didn't think he could handle it right now. He wanted to break through that thick skull that Dash had and make his friend admit to the feelings he had for Danny, even if he did promise not to talk about it again. Dash was the one bringing it up! Dash was the one that mentioned Danny first!

Dash eyed the man still hiding behind the door. "All right. I'll just be over there. You two, talk." He shot a look at Kwan that said he would know if his friend tried to get out of it. Then he walked over toward the couch and threw himself down upon it, disappearing from sight.

"Sorry about that," Kwan mumbled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Abner glanced fearfully toward the couch. Grabbing hold of Kwan's arm, he dragged the bigger man into his bedroom, and the door slammed shut behind them. "Why is Dash here?" His slender body trembled, eyes darting toward the door, like he expected it to burst open any moment with Dash charging into the room.

"He came by for a visit." Kwan frowned as he observed his roommate's reaction. "He's not going to hurt you."

Abner snapped his hazel eyes back to Kwan. "How can you be sure? I saw him that night he was at a gay club. My friend actually hit on him. He has all the reason in the world to kick my ass."

Kwan stared, the words processing slowly in his mind. Then he laughed, unable to hold it back as Abner stared frightfully at him. "I can't believe we were there at the same time. I never saw you." He shook his head in amusement.

Abner gaped at him. "You-" He raked a hand through his dusty blond hair. "I didn't even see you there. Then again, I was completely freaking about Dash being there."

"Yeah, well, I did kind of force him into coming with me. The idea of going there alone kind of freaked me out." Kwan laughed as he leaned back against the door.

"Well, you probably wouldn't have noticed me if you did see me since I was all decked out in drag." Abner shrugged, looking away. His brow creased before he turned back to Kwan. "Why were you there anyway?"

"Uh," Kwan scratched at his cheek, heat coloring his face. "I was kind of in a questioning my sexuality phase, and well, going to that club seemed like a good anonymous way to go about it without everyone in the whole school finding out about it." He hunched his shoulders in a shrug.

"I certainly never heard any rumors about you not being straight." Abner shifted nervously, bowing his head as he twisted at the hem of his shirt.

"I'm not straight." Kwan leaned toward the other man. When Abner jerked his head upward again, their faces were inches from each other. A blush spread over Abner's face while Kwan's heart beat a touch faster. Abner's mouth worked open and close, but he couldn't seem to think of anything to say in response to that confession. Kwan sighed. "Actually, the whole reason Dash knocked on your door was because he wanted me to tell you I like you."

"What?" Abner spluttered, eyes growing impossibly wide.

Kwan licked his lips, tempted to lean forward those final few inches and kiss the other man. Instead he pulled away, running a hand through his dark locks. "But I don't want you to feel pressured into anything. I like how we have things now. It's been great this past year. I don't want to ruin it."

"There must be something wrong with our little group," Abner muttered, shaking his head as the blush remained dark on his face. "None of us seem to be able to confess how we really feel to each other."

"Yeah, well, if Dash would give-" Kwan cut off when his head was suddenly yanked downward and lips sealed his mouth. His mind shut off at the soft contact, dimly able to piece together that Abner was kissing him. Relaxing into the kiss, Kwan placed his hands tentatively on Abner's hips. When the other man didn't jerk away, he pulled him flush against his body, savoring the kiss for as long as he could. Even after a year of wanting to do this, it was better than anything his mind could have supplied.

When he pulled out of the kiss, Abner chewed nervously on his lip as his gaze drifted briefly to Kwan's bare chest pressed against him. "So what's the plan to get Dash to stop being an idiot?"

Kwan sighed as he leaned his forehead down to press against Abner's forehead. "I honestly don't know. He shuts me down whenever Danny gets mentioned. He spent the last year cutting me out of his life because of Danny." Shaking his head, he disentangled himself from Abner. "But figuring out how to help Danny should be more important right now."

"What do you mean? What's going on with Danny?"

"This is exactly why you need to stop pretending like you're still off at fashion school. I already told Danny that I didn't go to medical school."

"Can we focus on the problem with Danny?" Abner frowned.

Kwan sighed. They really did seem to have problems with communicating to one another, and not just when it came to their feelings. He explained about the whole incident at the party and what happened earlier that day when Danny turned up at Vlad's mansion after being poisoned. The fact that Valerie was seriously trying to kill Danny still seemed completely unbelievable to him. He remember Valerie's fall from popularity and the whole thing about her father nearly losing his job and that they had to move into a cheap, pretty crappy apartment. But her anger toward Danny seemed horribly exaggerated. Kwan didn't know the whole story behind what happened, but he couldn't see Danny doing something to purposely foul up Valerie's life. From what he said earlier, it sounded like Danny did make an effort to apologize to her.

"So Danny not only lives with a pair of ghost hunters, but one of his classmates was a ghost hunter too? I don't envy his life." Abner frowned, sadness in his eyes. He blinked, a spark of an idea flashing in his expression. "You said the whole thing with the shadow ghost was weird?" He continued after Kwan nodded. "What if Valerie used it purposely to lure Danny out?

"I wouldn't have thought she would go to such lengths to target Danny, but then I never imagined she was a ghost hunter or that she would come so close to actually killing Danny." The idea that Valerie was drawing Danny Phantom out for the sole purpose of trying to eliminate him chilled Kwan. The Valerie he remembered was nice, mostly. She did suffer from that bloated ego that most of the popular crowd had, thinking themselves better and picking on the less popular. But he never thought she would be so cruel. She wasn't exactly cut out completely from their group. They still invited her along when they would hang out after school, like when they did their bowling nights.

"I don't suppose there's any way to convince Danny not to do any ghost hunting." Abner gave a hopeful look, but it was ruined by his doubt.

Kwan shook his head. "He's too much the hero to just step down if he knows something's up. I think the only reason he managed the rest of senior year and this last year at college without any interruptions from ghosts is because Masters kept any ghost activity away from him."

They stood there, each pondering what to do about Danny and how to keep him safe from Valerie. Kwan couldn't think of anything beyond making sure someone was always around Danny, but that wouldn't stop him from running off the moment a ghost appeared. It would at least allow them to get the antidote to him quickly if Valerie used that poison on him again. If Valerie assumed that attack succeeded in killing Danny Phantom, maybe they wouldn't have to worry about her trying to attack him again. When a knock sounded at the door, both men jumped in surprise.

"I know I'm tolerant of your homosexuality and all," Dash called through the door, "but I really hope the two of you aren't in there getting it on while I'm sitting right outside the bedroom."

Kwan flushed at that announcement. Glancing toward Abner, he found his roommate blushing cutely though fear danced in his eyes. "I don't think he even knew you were there that night. He was too distracted fending off the guy in drag," Kwan told Abner quietly. "And if he tries anything, I'll kick his ass."

The blush darkened a little as Abner dropped his gaze. "I should probably catch some sleep though. Work soon and all, you know." He turned toward his bed then paused. Leaning up, he left a lingering kiss on Kwan's lips. "But if you're free tonight, maybe we can do something." He looked away in embarrassment. "Maybe like a date."

"I think I can get some time off tonight." Kwan grinned as Abner backed up toward his bed, his face redder than a tomato. A knock on the door reminded him of an impatient Dash on the other side. "See you tonight then," he said, receiving a bob of Abner's head. Kwan left the room, closing the door so that Abner could rest in peace.

"So?" Dash smirked wickedly, like he knew exactly what went on behind the closed door.

"You're an ass." Kwan scowled as he walked back over to the couch.

"Someone had to knock some sense into your head." Dash leaned over the back of the couch and flicked Kwan on the ear. He grinned when his friend slapped a hand over his ear and glared. "Up for some pizza or something?"

"Yeah, sure." Kwan disappeared into his bedroom to grab a clean, not bloody, shirt to wear. Dash continued to grin madly as they left the apartment.