Summary: Life has changed a lot for him over the years since his defeat, and some changes still surprise him.
Characters: Dan and Kwan
Written: November 2013
Prompt: Character A finds Character B hiding behind the dumpster while taking out trash and Character B has recently become an aunt/uncle, requested by iamalmostbear on tumblr

Opportunity Knocks

Dan sighed tiredly as he dragged the bag of trash into the back alley behind the apartment building. He hated all the little chores that came with having to appear human. Sometimes, it made him long for the Ghost Zone, but then he remembered how dreadfully boring and gloomy it could be there. It was certainly far better to be given the chance to roam freely among the real world, under the condition of course that he didn't use his powers unless necessary. He glowered as he lifted the lid of the dumpster to toss in the bag of trash. Danny promised to visit him frequently to check up and make sure that he was honoring the condition. Dan rolled the dark blue eyes of his human disguise. Clockwork would know immediately if he was using his powers unnecessarily, so Danny didn't really need to bother himself with keeping tabs on his evil future.

If he was honest about it all though, Dan would have to admit that he rather liked being able to talk on friendly terms with Danny. Five years ago, he never would have imagined it possible, but after Danny defeated him for a second time, he offered Dan the chance to let go of the anger and anguish built up in him over the years. The start of which involved his younger half dragging him right back to Fenton Works, and not caring about himself, Danny told his parents everything about himself and who exactly Dan was. Everyone was in shock, Danny's friends and his sister worrying over him and how his parents would react to learning that he was half ghost. Dan shook his head. His anger would have reignited right then over the fact that, of course, Danny's parents would accept him no matter what, if they hadn't also accepted him with open arms into their lives.

Okay. Maybe not quite open arms. After hearing about the evil he had done, they were hesitant about approaching him. But after spending a few months with him, they were much more accepting of him. Regaining his family went a long way to helping him put away his anger. They weren't really his parents anymore, but they still accepted him like a son. They set him up with a false identity, with some help from Vlad of all people, and they helped him with getting a job and finding an apartment, as he refused to burden them by sticking around their house all the time. They visited him as well, and he was always happy to see them. It was better like this. Much better. He didn't feel quite as angry at the world anymore.

He was closing the lid of the dumpster when a sound caught his ear. It was an annoying little jingle like a ringtone of a cell phone. His brow creased as he stepped toward the other end of the dumpster and craned around the side, preparing himself for a fight if some crazy person tried to jump out at him. But his mouth tugged downward as he stared at the man sitting on the ground, leaning his back up against the dumpster and simply staring at the phone ringing in his hands.

"You gonna answer that?" Dan questioned, and the man jumped, spooked by the sudden presence of another person. Dan's brow creased even more. The man was so zoned out that he didn't even notice someone else approached him, and Dan hadn't exactly been quiet about throwing away his trash. That could be dangerous if some lunatic did show up, which Dan sort of still was, but he wasn't about to go on a killing spree again anytime soon.

"Uh, no, yes, maybe, no." The man shook his head, seeming rather conflicted. "It's my sister," he explained, turning his head up to stare at Dan, who was taken aback by those familiar aqua green eyes.

"Sh-" Dan caught himself before saying anything more as the man's face scrunched up with his confusion at the near outburst. Kwan certainly wouldn't know who he was, and Dan couldn't really explain how he knew the former jock without some really awkward questions that he wasn't prepared to answer yet. "Uh, you're not going to answer a call from your sister?" He raised a brow, hoping the question would distract the man.

"Yeah," Kwan answered, flushing lightly as he turned his gaze away. "She's up in my apartment right now. Visiting. With her baby." He bent his head down and pressed the cell phone against his forehead. "She wants me to babysit for her tonight, but I really don't think I can do it. I held the baby for, like, two seconds, and he started screaming his head off! I'm so not meant to do the baby thing."

Dan would have laughed at the situation, but he could see the panic and worry on Kwan's face. He was really stressing over this. "Hey, tell you what," he said, offering a hand to the other man. "After your sister shuffles off to do whatever she's gonna do, I come over to your place and help you out. It's got to be easier taking care of a baby with a second person around than doing it by yourself, right?"

Kwan stared hesitantly at him before taking the hand offered to him. "You don't - I mean, we don't even know each other." He frowned, and at standing height, he just a fraction shorter than Dan. He might be older now, but he hadn't let his body go to waste, which made Dan wonder if the man still kept up playing football.

Dan smirked somewhat at the comment. If Kwan only knew, but Dan wasn't going to tell him about their past. He remembered his life as Danny, as much as he remembered life from Vlad, but it no longer really felt like he existed as either of them. The memories felt like they were merely implanted into his head rather than memories that he actually lived.

"Dan Masters," he said, leading the way back into the apartment building. They decided having him use Vlad's name would avoid confusion with Danny. It was hard to ignore the resemblance between him and Danny, but maybe people wouldn't suspect anything when he used the name Masters.

"Kwan Long." The awkwardness in the former jock's movements as he followed after the other man almost made Dan laugh. He couldn't recall seeing the jock being that awkward during freshmen year.

"So did you think that hiding out behind the dumpster was going to save you from babysitting duty?" Dan chuckled that time as an embarrassed flush came over Kwan's face.

"No," Kwan mumbled, looking away. "I came down to throw out some trash, but after tossing it in the dumpster, I just," he reached up to rub at the back of his neck, "couldn't get myself to go back up to my apartment. That probably sounds silly." He wouldn't look at Dan as they climbed the stairs, and Dan allowed the other man to lead the way to his apartment.

"Because you ran away from something?" Dan snorted, his eyes turning distant. "If we're thinking people are silly for that, you have more reason to think I'm silly than I do you."

"What?" Kwan turned to blink at him, stopping outside the door of one apartment on the fourth floor.

Dan shook his head. "Forget about it. This is your apartment?" He nodded his head toward the door, reading the number of four C on it.

"Uh, yeah," Kwan answered, shifting his weight as his gaze darted to the door then to Dan then away.

"Right. Then I'll come back in a little while. Let your sister have the chance to leave and all." Dan turned back down the hall and walked down the stairs. He shook his head, not understanding this at all himself. Why was he even offering to help Kwan? His mouth thinned and his nose wrinkled. It was just how Danny would act, always swooping in to be a hero. Five years ago, heck maybe even two or three years ago, he never would have considered lending a hand to help someone. Now he was doing it without even thinking about it. Maybe he had changed more than he thought over the years.

Kwan was a decent sort though. From his memories of freshmen year, Dan knew Kwan wasn't a big bully like some, well most, of the other jocks. The guy wrote fluffy poetry from what Sam told him. Dan chuckled to himself, wondering if Kwan still kept up with writing poetry. Maybe he would have to ask about that.

"Trust me," said a woman as she came down the stairs behind him. "My brother will be just fine watching over Drew for a few hours. No, you don't have to worry about anything. After six months, I think we both deserve a night to ourselves to relax." She kept talking on her phone as she passed by Dan on her way to the ground floor of the apartment building. She was obviously Kwan's sister, sharing that same bronzy skin and the same dark hair as her brother. She was older by at least four years, and that might explain why Dan had no memories from Danny about Kwan having a sister. She was pretty, tying up her long hair into a neat bun.

Dan waited until she was well past him before he turned around and headed back up to the fourth floor. After a short stroll down the hall, he stood in front of the door of apartment four C. He stared at the worn coppery number and letter. He could easily just walk away and not bother with helping the man, but he had promised. Promises apparently meant something to him now, and he blamed his younger half for that. He knocked on the door and waited for Kwan to answer.


midnight: No, no, Danny is still Jack's son. XD So he's not the prince.

simplegay me: Why thank you! =D I shall definitely be writing more to it in the future!