I've had this chapter sitting for a little while because I needed to tweak some dialogue to make it a tad less monotonous, and I was terrified that I would have to rewrite it. But alas, I didn't have to, dialogue got tweaked, and here we are.
Good news! The wattsonwraith blog got picked up by #thesquad, and the blog phabulousdantom has also been made! Both blogs will still revolve around the fic, but please know that interactions with #thesquad will be considered noncanon. WW-related posts will be tagged accordingly.
Tuesday was a fairly ordinary day. Wes attended his classes like normal, got a decent but lackluster test score in his math class, and watched Danny get roped into fighting a ghost or three. All in all, it was a rather bland day.
But Wes couldn't get yesterday's incident out of his head. Danny had been really upset. Not angry, he had made that very clear. But he was definitely more shaken than he'd let on. And Wes wasn't sure whether that was because Danny knew it had been an unintentional event, or because he just didn't want to hurt Wes's feelings. Either way, he didn't want to scare Danny like that again.
He needed to make things right. And to do that, he needed to figure out what had bothered Danny so much.
Wes sat at his usual table for lunch that day. But the second the bell ending it rang, he got up and made his way over to Danny's table, catching him as he was dumping his trash. The Halfa nodded in greeting, smiling. "Hey, I didn't see you at lunch. What's up?"
Wes frowned at his empty tray, swaying from foot to foot. "...Can we talk? After school?"
Danny furrowed his brows. "...Um, yeah. About what?"
"About yesterday." Danny pursed his lips, putting his tray away as an excuse to avert his eyes. "...Please. I have practice today, but after that I think it's really important that we talk about what happened."
"It won't happen again," Danny said with a nonchalance that Wes could see right through.
"...I won't make you talk about it if you really don't want to," Wes conceded. "But... But I hurt you, and I don't want to hurt you like that again. I know that there was more to it than making you look different, so I don't know that... whatever it was that had you so rattled won't happen again if you don't tell me."
Danny chewed on his lip, his eyes glued to the tray he had set down. He was quiet for a long time, long enough that Wes was sure that he would refuse. But then he sighed, his shoulders raising to his ears before slumping. "...Okay. After practice. Meet me behind the school."
Wes nodded, finally remembering to discard his own tray. "Behind the school. Okay."
The last few classes of the day crawled by at an agonizing pace. Danny was more reserved than usual in their shared classes, and was nowhere to be found during practice. Wes was almost certain that he had changed his mind and headed home. And yet, when he walked around to the back of the school, there Danny was, leaning against the wall with his hands shoved in his pockets. He looked over, and Wes joined him, sliding down the wall until he was sitting. After a moment of hesitation, Danny did the same.
Several minutes went by without a word. Wes wasn't sure where to start. Danny looked like he could get up at any moment. But he didn't, and he was the one to break the silence. "...So. About yesterday."
"...Yeah."
Another moment of silence. Danny's jaw shifted side to side as he mulled over his words. "...Do you believe in time travel?"
Wes looked over, caught off-guard by the question. "Huh? Well... I mean, yeah. Even if we can't do it now, I'm sure we'll figure it out. If the government doesn't already have the tech to do it."
Danny snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised. It's definitely possible, and it's been done before. They wouldn't be the first."
Wes stared. "...No. You have not time travelled."
"Actually, I have. A couple times, even." Danny grinned, his lopsided smile showing the barest hint of teeth.
"Hm... I guess you wouldn't lie about that..." Wes admitted. "But what does that have to do with yesterday?"
Danny's smile fell, and he tucked up his legs, wrapping his arms around them. "...I've seen the future. Nine years from now. Do you know what's there?" He didn't, but Danny wasn't finished. "...Nothing. Everything is ruined, and almost everyone is dead. Even the Ghost Zone is in shambles. There's just nothing left." He stared straight ahead, where the sun was starting to set. "...Because I destroyed it all."
"...What?" Wes didn't understand. It was hard enough to wrap his head around the idea that Danny had somehow travelled through time. But he was a hero. And here he was, saying he had committed interdimensional genocide. Danny wasn't evil, it didn't make any sense.
"Well, part of me, anyway," Danny went on, his voice in a near-monotone. "In another timeline, I lost just about everyone I was ever close to. I ended up giving up my humanity, and my ghost half fused with another ghost in the process. Ended up destroying everything. I managed to stop the incident that killed everyone in this timeline, but..." He paused, taking in a shaky breath. "...But I could still become that version of myself. And that scares me. A lot."
Danny had a point, Wes was sure of it. What he'd said was beyond horrifying, and something about being overshadowed was connected to that, had left Danny so terrified that he had been clambering to escape. Wes recounted his words, trying to find the detail that the two incidents shared. "...You fused with a ghost. Is that anything like overshadowing?"
"...Kind of, I think," Danny replied quietly. "I think it started with my ghost half possessing the other ghost. One took over the other, and they became something new. Something terrible."
"...It was the changing," Wes realized. "You weren't scared of me overshadowing you. You were scared of me taking over and changing you."
"Which is stupid, because looking different is normal," Danny cut in. "And I knew you wouldn't have done anything bad. But... yeah. I was scared."
"Danny..." Wes breathed. "...I had no idea..."
Danny huffed and smirked, but there was no humor behind the action. "Of course not. Why would you ever even suspect something like that?"
"...If you knew I could make you look different," Wes began, "then why would you let me overshadow you? Why would you offer?"
Danny shrugged. "Someone had to teach you. You needed to learn."
Wes frowned and wrung his hands, struggling to understand the justification. "...But I didn't. I have no reason to use a power like that. You didn't have to teach me. But you did it anyway, even though you knew it could hurt you."
Danny scowled. "...Fine, I didn't technically have to teach you. But I'm responsible for you, in a way. Even if you never end up overshadowing anybody, I need to make sure you know how to use your powers."
"...Is that what this is about?" asked Wes. "You put yourself through that because you feel like you owe it to me?" Danny didn't reply, and Wes shook his head. "You don't owe me anything."
"But it's my fault you almost died," Danny said shortly, "and it's my fault you got wrapped up in my ghost business."
"Okay, first of all, me almost dying was Skulker's fault, not yours," Wes snipped back. "And second, I've always been wrapped up in your ghost business. That's not a new thing, and it definitely isn't your fault."
Danny paused, briefly startled by the sudden brash tone. After a moment, he smiled, some of his amusement shining through. "...Okay, maybe that part is kind of your fault."
Wes chuckled, and then sobered. His gaze focused on nothing in particular as he picked out his next words. "...For real, though. Just because I have powers now, doesn't mean I want you to stress yourself out teaching me how to use them. I mean, if you were able to get your powers figured out by yourself, then I can figure mine out on my own too, right?"
"But I-"
"Would you just shut up that hero complex of yours for a minute?" Wes cut him off. "I mean it. I know I can count on you if I need help, but you need to think about yourself sometimes too. I just... I don't want you hurting yourself for me, alright?" Danny adamantly stared at the ground, and didn't say a word. Wes chose to interpret that as him considering it. It wasn't an outright no, at least.
"...And hey. I'm not gonna tell you to just not be scared, because you probably will be no matter what I say. But if it means anything, I won't ever overshadow you without asking first. And I'll pay attention, and back off if you need me to. And I definitely won't turn you into some evil future ghost maniac."
That pulled a more genuine snort out of Danny. "I know you won't, but I guess it does make me feel a bit better to hear you say it... And thanks."
Wes smiled. "Well, yeah. I don't want you to be scared like that again. So I can at least try to make it a little less scary, right?"
Danny looked at him, then, really looked at him. Never in a million years would he have expected such earnestness from Wes. He wasn't unaccustomed to such assurances, not really. He had confided in Sam, Tucker, and Jazz about his alternate self on more than one occasion. He was used to being told "it's okay," or "that won't ever happen." But in another timeline, it had, and in his it almost did. All those reassurances were empty, when they promised something they could never truly uphold.
But this was new. Wes's promises weren't empty. He might not have had more than an abridged version of the story, but still, he had offered actual solutions. Solutions with Danny's comfort in mind. There were none of those sympathetic platitudes that couldn't mean much of anything. Instead, he'd suggested a boundary intended to address the problem, so that it hopefully wouldn't become one at all. It wasn't a lot, but Wes's words put Danny at ease in a way that his friends just couldn't. And to think they were coming from the guy who was hounding him for photographs and DNA samples less than a month ago.
"...Thanks for telling me," Wes said. "I know you didn't really want to, but I'm still glad you did."
"Pfft, you would have kept asking if I didn't," Danny snarked.
"I would not have," Wes pouted. "I already said you didn't have to tell me anything."
"Oh, so you would have just tried to study it out of me instead."
"Hey!" Wes squawked indignantly. He opened his mouth to refute the statement, but then he realized Danny was laughing. Laughing at his expense. Though he was definitely making fun, Wes couldn't find it in himself to be upset. It was good to hear Danny chuckle, after the conversation they'd just had.
Eventually Danny settled down, wiping a stray tear from his eye. "Well, I'd better get home before Jazz starts worrying about me."
Wes nodded. "Yeah, and I've got some homework I need to catch up on." He got up, and then as an afterthought added, "My next game is on Friday. You can come watch, if you want."
Danny got to his feet as well, an easy smile on his face. "Sure, as long as no ghosts show up I should be able to make it."
Wes grinned. "And I'm gonna make the winning shot this time, you'll see."
Danny snickered. "I sure hope you do, otherwise I might start thinking you secretly suck at basketball." Wes swatted his arm, but his smile was still plastered on his face.
The sun dipped below the skyline, and Wes shivered, saying a quick farewell before hurrying home. Danny was in no rush. He took his time heading to FentonWorks, smiling to himself all the while, and feeling more content than he had all day.
Next time, will we have one last bonding chapter, or will we jump right into that chapter I've been REALLY waiting to write? Probably the fun one, but who knows? Stick around and find out!
