Well believe it or not, tomorrow is Christmas. I'll leave this here for everyone. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank anyone and everyone who has read this and stuck around, and to wish you and yours a happy whatever it is you choose to celebrate.

The two week timespan that preceded the return of Sam, Tucker and Kwan passed in a very consistent manner. Danny would go over to Dash's house just about every day, leaving Jazz to cover for her brother's absence. She was less than thrilled about it, but realized she had no choice at this point; a promise was a promise, although she did intend to talk to Danny about the situation eventually. The couple, still at the point where they weren't ready for their relationship to go public, spent much of the time together at Dash's house. His mother had no objection, and the fact that she worked a full-time job made her exposure to the two of them more reasonable. Danny attempted to stay at Dash's house any chance he got, but his parents' increasing suspicion and Jazz's inability to constantly cover her brother's ass made it more of a hassle to spend the night away from home. Dash had managed to make it into Danny's house once or twice in conjunction with the random disappearance of his parents on their ghost hunting escapades. Both occasions involved Jazz trying to avoid the pair while still maintaining a minimum level of surveillance on Dash, whom she still did not completely trust. The day before their trio of friends was set to return Danny had begged Dash to go somewhere less private, which involved waiting until the wee hours of the morning to goof around in the park. It was enjoyable, to an extent, but Dash couldn't help but feel paranoid, worried that an unsavory character might spot them and spill the beans prematurely.

The sun broke through the early morning twilight, covering the town with orange tendrils of warmth. Danny rolled over in his bed, a beam of light hitting him in the face head-on. Squeezing one eye shut, opening the other, he sat up slowly. He had agreed to meet Sam and Tucker at Sam's house in a few hours. Dash was meeting up with Kwan, so they agreed to talk later in the day. A quick glance at his clock showed the time, 8:45 AM, giving him about 2 hours to putz around. He took his time getting out of bed and getting dressed, hampered by the heat that the day had already amounted to. Fortunately it wasn't humid, not currently, so Danny didn't have that sticky, sluggish feeling to him as he pulled the shirt over his head. Danny was about to open the door when it slowly became increasingly ajar, a small knock coming before it.

"Danny?" Jazz called into the room, already halfway inside.

"Can't you knock first?"

"I did."

"Technically you knocked and opened the door at the same time, it doesn't count."

"Whatever, anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Shocker." Danny mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"N-nothing, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well it's about you and Dash."

"Oh no, I think I know where this is going."

"Look, I'm not saying he's ALL bad," She got going, putting emphasize on the word 'all' as she spoke, "But I just don't trust him given his past."

"Look, Jazz, I know you're hung up on the past and can't let things go, but people change."

"I'm not hung up on the past, I just can't accept the fact that someone could change so drastically in so little time."

"Jazz, we aren't having this discussion again."

"Danny, just here me out."

"No, I'm done listening to you, all you do is bash on my boyfriend, who is a great guy in case you hadn't noticed, which from the sound of it you hadn't, and I would really appreciate it if you stopped."

"But Danny, I…"

"SHUT UP!" Danny shrieked, pushing his sister backwards out of his room. He quickly slammed the door shut, locking it. A pounding immediately followed, Jazz's voice accompanying it. Danny grimaced as he phased himself through the floor of his bedroom and into the living room. The faint sound of Jazz could still be heard as he stormed out the door, mood soured by his sister. His walk to Sam's house was more of an aggravated trek, and by the time he got there he wished he could just go home. He checked the time; he had about 10 minutes before he was supposed to show up, but he could hear Sam's voice from inside, so he decided now was as good a time as ever. As he knocked on the door, the sound of footsteps could be made out.

"Danny, hey-whoa, what's with the face?" Tucker asked as he greeted his friend.

"Jazz has been increasingly opinionated and overly concerned about things lately, but that's a story for later."

"O-okay, so anyway-Hey, come on in, Sam said she'd be right down."

Danny followed his friend inside, closing the door as he entered. The house was eerily quiet considering they had just come back from vacation, but knowing Sam and her family Danny wasn't surprised.

"Danny, man did I miss you." Sam exclaimed as she came down the stairs.

"I missed you guys too."

"Danny, what's up, you look upset."

"Jazz has just been on my case more than usual, you know how she gets."

"Haha, yeah, your sister can be a bit unbearable."

"Enough about her," Danny put an end to the discussion, "What do you guys wanna do?"

"I was hoping we could just hang around here."

"I agree with Sam, I'm beat. Who knew taking a vacation could be this exhausting?"

"Tucker you didn't do a thing for a whole month."

"Hey, lazing takes a lot of effort."

"Pfft, whatever, so what do you think Danny?"

"I guess I'm alright with just hanging out. Truth be told this whole Jazz thing put me in a sour mood, so I could do with a bit of quality bullshit time."

"Great."

The trio made their way up to Sam's bedroom, their usual hangout spot, with no particular activity in mind.

Dash sat on his front steps, aimlessly watching the clouds, when his cellphone began to ring. He checked the caller ID and smirked.

"'Bout time you called, Kwan." Dash answered enthusiastically.

"Shut up, I had to get home first." The voice on the other end chuckled.

"Well you better get yourself settled quick, 'cause I'm just about to head over to your house."

"Man I don't need to get myself all dolled up for you; we've been friends long enough that you don't deserve it anymore."

"Whatever man, I'll be over in a few."

"Alright man, I'll see you soon."

Dash hung up the phone and stood up, slipping the device in his pocket as he did. Naturally he intended to tell Kwan about him and Danny, not that it would faze Kwan, but his mind kept drifting back to Sam and Tucker. He knew Danny would tell them eventually, but he didn't know when. He also didn't know how well they would react, and what part would be harder, the coming out part, or hearing that their best friend was dating the person who tormented him in the past. Danny had assured Dash that no matter how they reacted, no matter how upset they got, it wouldn't change a thing about their relationship, but Dash couldn't help but fret. The walk to Kwan's house was second nature for him, so he managed to get there with little thought, which left more of his mind available to agonize over Danny's friends. He stood deep in thought, giving an absentminded knock on Kwan's door. When his friend answered, he didn't register it right away, causing Kwan to make an ass out of himself, waving his hands in front of Dash's face and making noises to get his attention. Eventually Dash found himself back on Earth, much to Kwan's relief.

"For a minute I was worried you weren't in there anymore."

"I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Well be careful, you don't want to hurt yourself."

"Knock it off, man."

"I'm just messing with you, Dash, calm down."

"Sorry, I just-nevermind, let's just go do something."

"Well I kinda just wanted to chill out."

"Works for me, it's too hot to go anywhere anyways."

"I'm surprised you made it here without dehydrating."

Kwan let out a giggle as Dash raised his eyebrows agitatedly. They both made their way to Kwan's room, the owner of said room flopping onto his bed in an undignified manner that resembled a flailing motion. Dash grabbed the desk chair and sat down in it.

"So, how was your trip?"

"You know, it actually wasn't that bad. South Korea is a pretty cool place, even if my family is a bit unbearable. I mean they're okay, especially because I don't have to deal with them too often, but at the same time it's like visiting with complete strangers."

"Bummer."

"Nah, I had a good time. I think I may go again next summer. So," Kwan paused, devilish grin slowly creeping on his face, "What have you been up to for the past month?"

"Not much really."

"What about you and Fenton?"

"Well…"Dash hesitated. Kwan had sat up, literally on the edge of his seat, face eager for more information.

"Dude, don't leave me hanging, did you get with him or not?"

"Yeah."

"Seriously? Aw man, it's like my…"

"If you say 'it's like my OTP's become canon' I'm going to break your jaw."

"I'm sorry, Dash, but this is just too good. I knew you'd man up eventually. So how'd your mom take it?"

"What do you think?"

"You literally have the best mom."

"Yeah, she's super cool and really accepting, and she really likes him too."

"What about his parents?"

"He hasn't built up the courage to tell them, not yet, but Jazz knows."

"His sister knows?"

"Yeah, but she promised not to tell anyone, and hopefully she meant it."

"But wait, is Danny gonna tell his two friends?"

"I think so, I mean if he doesn't they'll find out eventually, but I don't know if he's ready."

"Well don't rush him."

"I know that, I'm just worried about what'll happen after they find out."

"I'm sure they'll be cool with it."

"So Danny, what did you do while we were gone?"

"Did you take my advice and make some internet friends?"

"No Tucker, I didn't."

"Shame."

"So what did you do?"

"I bet you had an action packed month of ghost fighting."

"No Tucker, I didn't"

"Then what DID you do?"

"Well…"

Danny stopped midsentence. He knew eventually that he'd have to tell them about him and Dash; he just wasn't sure when the right time would be. He wanted to tell them now, get it over with and deal with it as soon as he could, but he just couldn't get the words out. He was worried, how would they react, not just to him coming out, but about Dash. He had to stop being such a pessimist, he was sure Kwan already knew, hell he was pretty sure Kwan encouraged Dash to make a move in the first place, why couldn't he come clean to his friends. He exhaled, mustering up all the courage he could.

"Guys," He eyed his friends, "I have something to tell you."