Quiet Night

Summary: Patrolling alone can sometimes be dull, so Danny welcomes the chance to talk with his best friend while being on guard for ghost attacks.
Characters: Danny and Tucker
Originally Written: March 2014

"So Jazz is in full wedding planning mode?" Tucker asked with a chuckle as they walked along the edge of Amity Park.

Danny liked to keep an eye on what was happening beyond the boarder of their town. It was risky business to venture into neighboring towns when the Guys in White were present there too, but Danny hated sitting back and doing nothing if a ghost was stirring up trouble. Sometimes, he even took the risk to help peaceful ghosts escape from the Guys in White before they were captured. Vlad hated when he did that because Danny put himself in danger of being captured himself by the Guys in White. Tonight, however, things were silent. He hadn't picked up any ghost activity.

"For about the past two months," Danny said and resisted the small urge to groan. "They're still planning to have the wedding next month, and she has a lot of stuff to do by then." He rubbed at his face, feeling drained just thinking about it. "I still haven't even gotten fitted for the tux I have to wear since Dash wants me to be a groomsman." He glanced at his friend. "I think they're planning on having me and Sam walk down the aisle together."

"Hey, you don't have to ask me for permission there." Tucker laughed. "It's not like I have to worry about it suddenly sparking up past feelings or anything. And anyway," he shrugged with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his coat, "Sam would probably kick my butt if I started acting like some possessive idiot telling her she can't do something."

Danny chuckled. "Yeah, she probably would. And considering she's taken lessons from her mom, she could probably kill you and leave no trace of evidence."

"Gee, thanks for that thought." Tucker shuddered at the idea of Sam taking after her mother, who worked as an assassin before giving it up to raise a family with the man with whom she fell in love. Then he shook his head with a small smile tugging across his face. "I guess it's good then that I know her well enough to know how to stay on her good side."

Danny grinned as he nudged his friend in the ribs. "Are wedding bells going to be ringing for the two of you anytime soon?"

Tucker bowed his head as he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, funny you should ask." He pulled out his other hand from his other coat pocket, and in that hand, he held a small dark purple felt box. When he popped it open, there was a small silver band with a diamond set into it and bat wing spreading out from the jewel. "Do you think she'll like it?"

Danny stared, his mouth hanging slightly open. When he asked about a wedding, he had only been joking. He didn't actually think that Tucker was close to asking Sam to marry him. "Dude!" Danny jerked out of his surprise and slapped Tucker on the back with a bright grin. "This is awesome! When are you going to ask her?"

Tucker snapped the box shut and safely stashed it back in his pocket. "Well, I didn't want to take away from Jazz's wedding. It's going to be her special day, so I thought I'd wait until after the wedding was over. Plus, if I give it two months afterward, the anniversary of my first date with Sam will be around then. How much more romantic can I make it then setting everything up perfectly for proposing to her?"

"Just don't try too hard to make it perfect," Danny suggested, and he couldn't stop grinning. His sister was marrying a good man that loved her and treated her well. His best friends were on their way to becoming engaged. "And if you really want to surprise her, you can't act all stiff and nervous. She'll know something's up then."

"You make it seem like you've been plotting your own proposal plan." Tucker laughed, but after a moment, it hit him and the humor ran away from his face. "Oh, hey. Sorry. I didn't mean-"

Danny shook his head. "It's okay." He shrugged. "So what if it's not legal for two men to get married here? Vlad and I are happy together. We don't need to be married."

"I bet you Sam would try her hardest to make it so that you could marry him though." Tucker tried to grin, but he seemed to realize he should simply drop the topic. "Anyway, since you know now, I wanted to ask you to be my best man. You know, if Sam actually says yes."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Of course she's going to say yes. And you didn't even need to ask. I would love to be your best man." He patted his friend on the back. Then he chuckled. "At least this night had some excitement. Who knew patrolling could be so boring?" He stretched his arms over his head. Despite any complaints of boredom, it was nice having some patrol nights that were quiet.

"Have your parents considered reaching out to other towns to push back the Guys in White's influence?"

Danny scratched behind his ear as they continued walking the boarder of Amity Park. "My parents have arranged meetings with mayors of neighboring towns, but most of them are pretty much in the palm of the Guys in White's hands. We were hoping that maybe some of them would look at how things are here and start thinking that maybe they could do the same. Building better relations with ghosts so that their towns can be safe for both humans and ghosts. It feels like the Guys in White have the rest of the world brainwashed to think like them."

Tucker shook his head, frowning with a mix of disappointment and anger in his eyes. "I can't believe those guys. I get people being scared of ghosts. After you-" He hesitated with a glance toward his friend.

"It's okay to say I died." Danny reached over and slapped Tucker on the arm with a laugh. "Come on! That was years ago. I don't think you need to tiptoe around me anymore."

"O-Okay." Tucker didn't look too certain about that. "Anyway, after that, there were ghosts popping up a lot because you opened the Portal. It was a scary time because we thought the ghosts were trying to hurt us. I think all the heart attacks I had back then might have cut my life short a few years." He laughed. "But now I look back and I feel silly for being so scared. Sure. Some of them really were bad and out to hurt people, but a lot of them were just having fun, playing pranks that wouldn't actually seriously hurt anyone. If we could just get them to interact with some of the nice ghosts, maybe they would be more understanding and willing start up something like your parents have done."

"We can't force it." Danny sighed. "Maybe one day in the future. I just hope the Guys in White never get a foot hold here again after we're all gone."

"Ugh! Don't talk like that. We're still young! I don't want to think about dying." Tucker groaned.

"Sorry. I guess I just worry about the future when we're not here to protect the town and keep the Guys in White out." Danny stopped and turned to his friend. "I guess we can call it a night on patrolling. I don't think any ghosts are going to come out to stir up trouble. Let's go celebrate your future proposal."

"Best man buying?" Tucker grinned.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He threw an arm around Tucker's shoulder as they headed off to a local bar for a couple drinks.

midnight: Marriage everywhere! *throws confetti* XD;; Well, I guess not everywhere. D: *pats Vlad and Danny*