Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and Ideas.

A/N: So, this one was fun to do. Danny's such a sweet and gentle character and I've been working on how he admits to himself that he might have feelings for Aiko. And how would he go about it? I'm debating if this needs another chapter, but I think I have other plans for something a little two similar to this to do another chapter. But I'm not saying anything about a new official story or anything. Everything is in the planning stage. Plus, the end of the school year! I have no time!

Reviews:

ArtemisBAMF1218 – Ah yes, I can't wait to write Ryu's book. Although, it will likely end up like Neon, and I will make it into two books. There's just so much I can do with her. Anyway, I think I'll start her book when I finish Anna. Which might be later summer. I've been stumbling through it. Although I might see a final plot. I wanted to do at least one more Next Generation, maybe Piper, but I have another idea of what to do instead. Which brings me back to my point in the A/N. NOTHING OFFICIAL YET!
Yes, who doesn't have a weakness of fluff? Actually… I know some people… But I know you would be head over heels about this. And all the hinting about new stories above, I guess I might have gotten you a little excited.
Anyway, I'm going to keep this short. I don't want to say anything to spoil this. So just… enjoy this fluff filled chapter and cuteness! And, if I may lay down a little hint, a flustered/embarrassed Danny!
That's enough! I've said too much! Enjoy!

Title: Acknowledgement (Part Two)

POV: Danny

"You look stupid sitting in that wheelchair," Ryu muttered the minute that Aiko closed the door.

"I told you not to talk." I smile at her. I push her hair out of her face.

"Eh…" Ryu shrugs. "What's wrong with you?"

"Shoulder dislocation," I lean back in the wheelchair. "About six weeks of wearing a sling. Three weeks of keeping it as immobilized as possible… I'm a little uncoordinated, so the hospital staff would prefer it if I say seated in a wheelchair as opposed to walking around."

Ryu just nods her head sleepily. "Yeah, you'll be fine. What's the total recovery?"

"Four to six months," I reply gently.

"That's going to put a cramp in your training." Ryu jokes.

"What's wrong with you?" I ask.

"Oh, malnutrition, weight loss, blood loss, couple stab wounds, couple cuts, tons of bruising, more burns than you can count." Ryu lists. "In total, my recovery time is about four to six weeks of being pampered and I should be alright."

I can't help but smile at her. "If that's the kind of life you want in K'un-Lun, we can make it happen."

"Dragon Lords, no!" Ryu laughs. "I can't be seen as a lazy wimp. I'm going to get apprenticed to your master the minute you make it legal. I am going to be the best fighter I can be trained into… I'm going to be as good as you are one day."

"Master Kung?" I ask.

"Yeah, Aiko's dad. I hear only good things about him," Ryu paused for a minute. "I guess my sources might be a little biased." She laughs and smiles at me.

"You are beautiful," I whisper to her. "I don't know why it took so long to get you in my life."

"You mean Aiko, right?" Ryu gave me a toothy grin.

"Ryu…" I correct.

"Danny, you should have seen her! When you collapsed, she was right next to you." Ryu sighed, it almost sounded dreamy. "If you weren't my brother, I would have just stood back and enjoyed the OTP moment of tragedy."

"What are you talking about?" I ask her with a heavy sigh.

"Forget it." Ryu shakes her head.

I sigh. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I mean you nearly died for me. If that's not love, I don't know what is." Ryu sighed as she weakly sat up some and leaned on the plastic barricade on the side of the hospital bed.

I just watch her and she watches me with her multicolored eyes.

"I love you too, Danny." Ryu sighs after a minute laying back down.

"I know you do," I laugh. "You're pretty great."

"Thank you." Ryu smiles.

"You're a pain in the butt," I go on.

"Hey!" Ryu's smile changes in an instant.

"But I love you," I finish.

Ryu lies back down, she watches the ceiling with tired eyes, her energy level clearly dropped. "Tell me about K'un-Lun. Whatever you want to tell me about. Just tell me something about home. I want you to tell me a story."

Meditating is very hard like this. Drugged on pain medication, one arm strapped to my side.

It's difficult to enter a calm enough state of mind to dream walk.

Which is only putting more doubt on me. I have the chance to turn back and not do this. I have the ability now, I have not yet contacted Master Kung.

If I get there and back out, he will contact me while I sleep. He will wait until my mind has slipped into the dream world, and I will be unable to wake up.

"Daniel, it's been a long time since I've felt Iron Fist chi in such a state."

Too late to turn back.

"Master Kung." I address turning around in the dark to face him.

"Daniel, are you hurt?" Master Kung asks me instantly.

"Yes, Master. But I am recovering. I've been taken care of." I smile at him.

"Your chi is very uneasy." He takes a step forward and puts a hand on each shoulder.

I cry out in pain and instantly fall to my knees clutching my arm close to me. "Dragon Lords… why does it hurt here too?"

Master Kung instantly dropped down to kneeling next to me. "Daniel, explain everything. Now."

"Master, I'm quite alright. Please, trust me." The words are strained.

"Daniel, I want you to tell me what happened to you." Master Kung says helping my sit up.

I take a deep breath. "In short; Scorpion kidnapped Ryu, now she has safely been returned to my care." I begin.

Master Kung sits down and crosses his legs as he waits for me to explain more.

"I was a part of her rescue. And Scorpion knew I would come for her. It was a trap. From what Aiko told me…"

"You let Aiko walk into a trap like that?" Master Kung's body language instantly tensed, he was mad.

"She would not let me leave her behind. She went in as second to only me on this mission." I explain. "She reported to me afterward that Scorpion and I had just about been out for blood. He severely dislocated my shoulder. Which was surgically corrected."

Master Kung nodded. "Was Aiko injured?"

I smile to myself. "She is alright. I believe that her wrist might have been sprained just a little bit. Other than that, I am unaware of any injuries. When I woke up from surgery, she was sitting in my room next to me, she looked unharmed besides the bandaged hand."

Master Kung nods. "Good. I did not wish to cut you off…"

"Aiko is your daughter," I smile at him. "I understand that you worry about her, I hope to experience having a family one day. It is something I have been thinking much about since Ryu and I made amends."

Master Kung gave me a gentle nod. "I know you have many amazing qualities that will translate well in your adult life as king, and when you do get married and have your own family."

I feel my face get a little red in embarrassment. "Thank you very much, Master."

"Why have you come here to see me?" Master Kung asks, his voice as calm as ever.

"I have two things I wish to speak with you about." I look down at my hands. "The first would be my injuries and Ryu's injuries."

"Go right ahead." Master Kung's nod.

"Ryu is going to be fine. She is malnourished, underweight, has blood loss, bruises, stabs wounds, and burns. She is going to recover just fine before we ever return to K'un-Lun." I explain. "The healers of this world will be able to take care of her injuries and help her gain enough weight to get back to a healthy size."

"And your own injuries?" Master Kung asks.

I look down at my hands. "I will be out of commission as Iron Fist for the rest of my time in New York City."

Master Kung says nothing. I don't expect him too.

"I have to keep my shoulder immobilized for about two to three weeks and I have to keep it in a sling anywhere from four to six weeks. I will not be able to do much training, let alone fighting." I finish.

"I am sorry to hear this news." Master Kung speaks calmly. "How long should a full recovery take?"

"Four to six moons," I reply with a shaky breath.

"Daniel, you will heal. And this time that you are unable to train will give you time to settle into being king, it will give you time to get married, and sort things out. This will come out benefitting you when it is over. Training will not be easy to get back into from such a long time away from it, I will do what I can to help you with this." Master Kung offers.

"Thank you, Master." I nod my head.

"What else do you wish to speak about?" Master Kung asks.

My stomach drops in fear. I haven't been scared like this is a long time. It almost feels good inside of me. Almost like a good type of fear.

"The Council," I begin. "I want to know what their plan for me is, what is the time line that I am going to be given upon return."

"There is a set date for your coronation as King. And they hope you will be able to announce publicly about three weeks later who you wish to marry." Master Kung said easily.

"Three weeks?" I can feel my voice is small.

Master Kung has a smirk on his face, I must look dumbstruck. "Yes, you might be able to push that date back if you need the time."

"How are they planning on pulling that off?" I ask in almost a rush. "This is my future, I don't want to be forced into this."

"Trust me, Daniel, I will back you up. The Council can be bargained with." Master Kung gave me a reassuring nod. "You do not need to be worrying about this just yet."

I take a deep breath and look up at the void we are sitting in. "Ok."

"Is there anything else I can help you with, Daniel?" Master Kung asks gently.

"There is another reason I came to speak with you…" I trail off. "I'm sick at the thought of how to start this…" I can feel my face heat up.

I avoid looking at Master Kung. Anywhere else.

"What is it, Daniel?" Master Kung final asks after the long and uncomfortable silence.

I sigh and look him in the eyes, I must grow up and do this.

"It's about your daughter, Aiko…" I state as calmly as I can. I can feel my face glowing.

Master Kung's expression changes a little bit. It almost changed to being smug. "Why might your face be so red?"

"Dragon Lords…" I mutter.

"Go ahead and say it." Master Kung says easily. "I can't do much to physically harm you here."

"Then you already know…" I feel so small right now. He can read me like a book.

"I am still making you say it aloud. I think you need to hear yourself say it." He suggests.

"Master…" I begin slowly. "I think I love your daughter, Lady Aiko Kung."

It's quiet for a minute.

"You think?" Master Kung asks.

"Ugh…" I can't help myself from letting that slip my throat.

"Master, I love your daughter, Aiko. I wanted to talk to you about the possibility of marrying her." I close my eyes and bow my head.

"Is that all?" Master Kung asks.

"Yes, Master. Aiko has been… she means a lot to me… I don't want to see her fade out of my life when we get home. I want to have her in my life." I explain myself.

It's quiet one more. Neither of us speak, and I don't look at Master Kung.

"Daniel…" Master Kung finally breaks the uncomfortable silence. "Look up."

I don't know why I feel my body anticipating an attack from him.

I look up at him, I can feel the blood burning in my face.

"That took a great deal of courage on your behalf." He comments. "Have you mentioned this to anyone besides myself?"

"No, and I could never bring myself to say anything about it to Aiko." I stumble over my words. "I'm scared for her reaction. Much as I am for yours."

Master Kung chuckles to himself. "You are within your right mind to be scared. Fear will help keep you alive. I trust you with her safety, as much as she does not need protection."

I nod in agreement.

"You will not say a word to Aiko about what has happened here, you may tell her with were in touch if you wish, but you are not going to mention anything about her marriage to her." Master Kung starts. "I trust you very much Daniel, I want to know where this comes from."

I smile and laugh to myself. "When we were young, I used to have the biggest crushes on Aiko. She was just so amazing. I would feel myself getting so nervous around her. As time went on, and I got busy sometimes I would forget about it after not seeing her for a long time. At one point, I cast it off as a disillusion, I had so much to do I just kept telling myself I had to forget about it, she was my closest friend. And I didn't want to ruin our friendship."

"Do you think it all this ever went away?" Master Kung asks.

"No, Master." I smile at him. "I don't think it ever truly left me. I think it's always been there."

I feel some warmth inside of me, pulling me back to reality.

"We will be in touch, Daniel, and we will discuss this, about you and Aiko, at a later date, perhaps in person." Master Kung said easily, his image was fading. "Not a word to Aiko."

"Understood, Master." I agree. "I would not dare."

"Hey, Danny?" A voice asks.

I open my eyes to see Ryu sitting on my bed next to me.

"What are you doing in here?" I ask her easily. Sitting up she was so thin and her blue skin looked paler than normal. Her long hair was hanging down over her shoulders, falling onto her knees.

Ryu looks down at the sheets. "I'm not feeling good."

My good hand reaches out and touches her forehead. "You feel a little warm. What's wrong?"

"I can't sleep," Ryu admits.

I look down at my watch that had been moved to my right wrist. It's only a little after noon.

"Why can't you sleep?" I ask her gently.

"Mnn…" Ryu sighs. "I don't know."

I pick up the remote to the bed and slowly start to lay myself down. My back aches at the movement.

Once I'm fully laying down I move to the left a little and pat the bed next to me.

Ryu's body starts to morph right in front of my as she shrinks down to her smallest dragon from.

She pads over and I stretch my legs out to where she had been sitting.

Ryu easily curls up into a ball and rests her head on my stomach.

My hand carelessly starts to run down her back. Starting at her head and traveling down her neck to right between her wings.

Ryu lets out a groan that could not be mistaken for anything else but pleasure as she snuggles into my side.

After a little while, she is fast asleep. I continue to pet her, my mind thinking about my conversation with Master Kung.

I love Aiko.

I feel my face get warm at the thought. I know I love her.

But what was Master Kung's response? He had not flat out told me that he would not allow it. But he had not given me any indication that he was alright with it.

I let out a sigh. He only commended me on my bravery in admitting my feelings toward her to him. He had questioned me some but gave me no clear answer.

"Danny? Sorry to disturb you, but there's a problem." Aiko had walked into my room without me even noticing.

"What is it?" I ask easily.

Aiko sighs as she steps in. "It's the middle of the day and the doctors can't find…" She stops as she approaches my bed and notices the small blue and green dragon using me as a pillow.

Aiko smiles to herself. "Never mind."

I laugh some as I rub Ryu's head.

Aiko walks over and attempts to pick up Ryu, who woke up instantly and scrambled under my blankets.

Aiko sighed. "I'll just go tell the doctor she is in here with you." She turns and starts to walk out. "Sorry to bother you."

Once the door shuts Ryu comes out and lays pressed into my side. Slowly morphing back to her more human form. She rests her head on my good shoulder and I wrap my arm around her side.

"Good afternoon, Danny," Ryu mutters.

"Sleep well, Ryu," I reply giving her a gentle squeeze.

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