Hope you all are having a nice winter season and enjoying the upcoming holidays! Please leave a review~

~CWA


CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT


Danny Fenton

After Tadashi's call last night, I have to go to the cafe to make sure he's okay. Ellie walks with me, holding my hand tightly as we walk across the street toward the cafe. Because I'm not sure if Hiro will have the ghost hunting stuff I gave him active and out or not, I've ordered Cujo to wait outside the cafe in case I need him, which I doubt that I will. Still, he stands at attention just outside the cafe door with his ears turned up, ready for trouble. I roll my eyes slightly at his over protective behavior, knowing full well there's not that many, if any, threats. Even if there are, I am here to protect Ellie.

The second I walk through the cafe with Ellie, Aunt Cass greets me as she prepares some food behind the counter.

"Good morning, Danny, Tadashi and Hiro are out right now but-"

She stops mid-sentence as she looks up at me. Her eyes go straight to Ellie before a large grin stretches across her face. Ellie ducks behind my leg, shyly gazing at Aunt Cass with caution.

"And whose that cutie," Aunt Cass crinkles her nose with a cooing tone in her voice, "Don't tell me that's the cute daughter you've mentioned? Ellie, isn't it?"

"Hmm-hmm," I nod a bit and carefully remove Ellie from my leg, "Ellie, this is Cass. She's a friend of daddy's."

Ellie doesn't want to move. If anything, she's actually become more cautious as she latches herself onto my leg. I give Aunt Cass a sheepish expression and a small shrug, causing Aunt Cass to laugh as I walk carefully to the counter, taking large high steps that swing Ellie around. She giggles and holds on tightly, refusing to be shaken off. Aunt Cass eyes Ellie with a very fond expression and a wistful gaze in her eyes.

"Hiro was like that too- he would latch onto my leg and refused to let go for anything… But there was always one thing that could get him off."

She gets a small devious grin on her face as she leans down to face Ellie a bit better,

"What do you say, honey? Do you want some hot chocolate and cookies?"

Ellie's eyes light up before she nods slowly, licking her lips cutely as a sign that she really wants those cookies and hot chocolate. Aunt Cass winks at her before disappearing into the kitchen, presumably to get the things she's promised. Ellie slowly comes out from my behind my leg and with care, I set her up on of the tall chairs at the counter, causing her to squeal and giggle.

"Aww, she's cute as button," Aunt Cass coos as she returns with what she promised.

Ellie lights up at the sight of the mug and plate of cookies, hopping around in her seat. Aunt Cass chuckles a bit at the girl's antics and gently sets down the mug and cookies with a soft, be careful it's hot, and hands me a mug of my special coffee. My face brightens up considerably at the coffee.

"-Because I know how much you love your coffee," Aunt Cass winks, causing me to laugh.

"Yeah, well I need my energy if I want to keep up with thus bundle of energy," I playfully use my free hand to ruffle Ellie's hair.

My little girl swats at my hands for distracting her when she's eating. She already looks like a small chipmunk- her cheeks are full of cookies and she shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. I can see Aunt Cass eye her with amusement twinkling in her eyes as she smiles a bit fondly.

"Hmm-hmm, she can sure eat her weight in cookies, can't she? Hiro used to that. Tadashi too, even when he was thirteen, he could still find ways of sneaking cookies into his room to snack on for later. But whenever I went up there, I found out that he was just stealing them for Hiro. It was the cutest thing."

She sighs a bit wistfully and there's a far-away look in her eyes as she remembers the past. It takes a moment, but eventually she shakes her head and brings herself back to the present with a smile.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you said that she was with your sister in New York."

"She was," I agree, "But then Jazz had a conference to go to and the next thing I know, I'm watching over the little munchkin for the next week or so. The college is cool with her staying over there with me but..."

I trail off slightly, not vocalizing my request yet Aunt Cass seems to understand as she continues to smile and put a hand on my shoulder.

"You and her are more than welcome to stay here with us while she's here, Danny. You should know that you're always welcome here- you're practically family! Though, I'm taking you haven't told Tadashi yet?"

I shrug a bit sheepishly causing her to make a face at me.

"I'll tell him," I reassure her quickly, "That's actually kind of why I'm here-"

I stop speaking suddenly as I head the door to the cafe open and two very familiar voices reach my ears. I turn on my heels to see Tadashi and Hiro entering the cafe, grinning and laughing in a brotherly manner with Tadashi going as far as ruffing Hiro's hair fondly. The sight of Tadashi causes me to freeze and for a moment, panic washes over me as I forget everything I was going to tell him about Ellie. I lose my nerve. I don't snap back to reality until Aunt Cass smacks me upside the head with a there he is, go do it expression as she nods toward Tadashi.

I gulp down half of the coffee in one shot, probably a bad idea, but I really need it if I want to get through with this. I leave Ellie at the counter- as she's still pretty occupied by the cookies- and head toward Tadashi and Hiro with shaking knees and faltering confidence.

"Hey Danny," Hiro is the first to notice me as he gives me a big grin.

At Hiro's greeting, Tadashi's eyes snap to me. His eyes light up and with a faint blush, he grins at me. From the way he looks at me, you'd think I'm some sort of miracle. I try to speak up, but my voice dies in my throat. I can't seem to even get out a simple hello or hey. Just absolutely nothing. Hiro furrows his brows at my silence as Tadashi focuses on my face, eying me with concern.

"Danny," Tadashi speaks up, "...Are you okay?"

Once again, my voice dies in my throat. Yet at this point, Ellie has apparently finished her cookies. From the corner of my eyes, I see her attention go straight to me, Hiro and Tadashi. Before Aunt Cass can stop her, Ellie's burst into a run and heads straight for me. She slows down as she nears us, cautious of Hiro and Tadashi as she ducks behind my leg, looking up at them curiously.

"Daddy," Ellie speaks up, "Who they?"

My attention goes straight to her at the sound of her voice. Though from the corners of my eyes, I can see Hiro and Tadashi looking as if they've just been shot. Tadashi, in particular, looks rather hurt and upset. I lift Ellie up and hold her in my arms as she peers curiously at them.

"Ellie, these are some of Daddy's friends," I say gently, my voice cracking slightly.

I eye them both cautiously, gauging their reactions carefully. Tadashi seems so tense it's a miracle he hasn't broken his jaw from how tight he's clenching his teeth together. His shoulders are stiff as he stands at attention and his eyes seem guarded and cold- so cold that it almost throws me off for a moment. Hiro seems a bit angry as well, tensing up just like his brother as he eyes my daughter with caution. Oblivious to the anger and tension in the air, Ellie gives Hiro a shy wave and giggle, causing Hiro's anger to quickly wash away.

"You're daughter," Hiro turns to me questionably, "...She's your daughter, right? I… You didn't tell me- us- that you have a daughter."

I just shrug and, avoiding his unspoken question about me not telling them, I set Ellie on the ground,

"This is Ellie, she's my precious little girl and I promise that she's not going to bite you unless you get in the way of her and her cookies."

I give a forced smile at them, but Hiro is the only one that sees the humor in my words. Tadashi still hasn't spoken a word. He just glares at me in such a broken manner that I can feel my stomach turning. Then, without a word, he just walks past me and Ellie up the stairs, straight to the bedroom. Hiro watches with a confused, slightly hurt expression before he turns to me. But my eyes are still on the stairs.

"...Hiro, keep an eye on Ellie, I'll be right back."

I gently reassure my daughter that she'll be fine with Hiro and after convinced that she'll be okay, I head straight up the stairs to go after Tadashi, awaiting for whatever hell that is going to be unleashed.


I find Tadashi in his bedroom. He sits on the bed with his head in his hands, running his fingers lightly through his hair. His expression is so hurt, so broken, that it physically pains me and I can't ignore the hints of tears in his eyes as he struggles to control his breathing. A pang of guilt and shame stings me before I cautiously make my way to him, slowly, until I'm standing by the bed. It takes a moment for him to notice my presence before he looks up at me, a bit harsh and cold, but mostly just hurt.

"Oh God, you're a father," his voice cracks, "….I… what… why didn't you tell me?"

I run my fingers through my hair, in an effort to shake off my nerves.

"...It's hard to explain."

It's beyond hard to explain why I didn't tell him. How I didn't want him to reject me, or worse, reject Ellie. How I was terrified of what he may say, and how I'm still terrified about what's going to happen as a result of this. But Tadashi just snorts, unamused by my answer,

"What's hard to explain," his voice turns a bit bitter, "That you're already with someone? That you lied to all of us- lied to me? That you actually got me to care about you and you-"

He stops suddenly as his voice cracks and with brings a fist to his mouth. I tense up a bit at his words and can't help but feel a bit defensive. How dare he think that. How dare he think that I don't care about him or his feelings or so much as think that I could have manipulated him because nothing could be farther from the truth.

"-No you idiot," I snap, "It's hard to explain because I actually want to go steady with you, that is actually date you and God, you're hopelessly clueless and annoying and stubborn and jealous but I like that, I like you. But I wanted you to meet Ellie first because it's a package deal. I just can't seriously date anyone because I can't do that to her so I just- God, I just really, really care about you, okay? I like you, Tadashi."

Tadashi's eyes watch him closely with stormy, mixed emotions. He mouths the words I, you, what, to himself as he struggles to speak up. I can see the gears processing in his head as he tries to understand what I've said. I feel so drained that I can't help but just plop on the bed beside him and for a moment, we sit there in a tense, emotional silence on the bed as we both struggle to find the words.

"….And her mother," Tadashi finally whispers, "…. Is she- I mean are you two-"

"Her mom was Sam," I answer softly, "Ya know, the ex-girlfriend I mentioned that… died…. I guess it doesn't matter anyway, she wasn't that much of a mom even before she-"

I choke up for a moment before continuing,

"-the point is, Ellie is my daughter. She is my precious little girl..."

He gulps thickly, understanding briefly crossing his features. He takes a few deep breaths, still processing everything as he muses it all over before he finally looks to me again. His expression is still slightly hurt, but soft and forgiving. Understanding. Loving. Caring. God, I love that look on him.

"...So you really like me, huh," Tadashi whispers, "I mean, really like me?"

"Yes, 'Dashi," I snort, "I really, really like you. As in- not as a friend, as in I really want to date you and kiss your stupid lips type of like."

He takes a few more deep, processing breaths, opening and closing his mouth before he swallows thickly. A blush spreads across his cheeks and when it becomes clear he's not going to say something, I move a bit closer to him. My breathing turns a bit shallow as my heart pounds erratically in my chest. I lick my lips slightly and for a moment, nothing else exists. It's just us. Just me. Just him.

"...Tadashi," my voice is low and soft, "….Can I kiss you?"

It takes a second, but he nods slowly, cautiously, and I take that as the sign to continue. It seems like forever before our lips finally press together. He tenses under the sensation before he relaxes and my hands go his face as the kiss momentarily deepens. I can feel our auras mixing and fading together in such an intimate way that I shiver slightly. It's nothing fancy. There's no tongue. There's no touching aside from my hands on his cheeks and his on my arms.

But it's intense.

It's electric.

It is… He is… something else.