If there were a color Danny that loved most, it was grey.

Soft grey tones that put his mind at ease, and if he were so lucky, rain, too, and just happened to be one of those days. It was even better if there weren't any ghosts to watch out for, his senses delightfully still as he and Sam shared an umbrella, beneath a hazy sky.

Most of the streets of Amity, on days like this, would be delightfully, blissfully empty, most inhabitants in this town, at least, from his knowledge, usually preferring the sunnier days to murky ones such as these, but there weren't many of thos of the fall. Where some places would have their fair share of sunsets and bright days to be adored, Amity held the rain and misty air, something that just didn't mesh well with some.

Well, most.

Sam sighed, holding his arm in her own as she rested her head on his shoulder, smiling as he reciprocated it in kind, checking his watch and through his clenched teeth, he stifled a groan.

"Whatever it was that Tucker wanted to show us better be good. This would have been the perfect time you and I to, you know, spend some time together." Under the umbrella, Danny pulled her closer, pecking her cheek softly as they continued on, passing an older man on the street that tipped his hat to Sam, the girl nodding back in return, making no mention of it the rest of the way.

Danny was curious, however, sneaking one last glance to him before looking to Sam, his face inquisitive.

"Do you know that guy, Sam?" The girl shrugged, pushing a strand of her hair out of her face and behind her ear before a spoke, not answering for a long moment before she spoke, looking to him.

"Well, I mean, I don't him personally, but like, my parents have a lot of, I guess, connections. So people work with my family and I see them sometimes. Like him, I don't know his name, but..." Looking back over her shoulder, the girl pondered something before turning back around and gazing forward.

"...they sometimes speak to me on the streets if they remember me, I guess. I don't remember his name, personally, but I do remember him being really nice and everything. It's like that." She'd finished and tapped Danny's shoulder, motioning that they had come closer to his house in the last few minutes or so, climbing up the stairs to the front door and just as the rain began to pour hair, pelting their small umbrella with tiny, cold knives during the quiet breadths of time that passed until an older women, Tucker's Mom, Angela, opened the door. She smiled warmly, hurrying to usher them as she took their things and set them in closet, items a bit damp, but she didn't seem to mind too much as she brought them in for a hug.

"Goodness, you guys are freezing! Would you like some hot chocolate? I was just making some, and Tucker just went upstairs with his, actually..." Angela padded over to the kitchen, and the two followed suit, minding the many boxes and ornaments that laid strewn about the place, a large tree holding the corner adjacent to the couch.

Though Danny couldn't say he cared too much for the holidays, he had to admit: that was an impressive tree.

Coming into the kitchen, they noticed her at the counter and came up beside her where she handed them too mugs, already filled to the brim with warm, sweet milk and hot chocolate, a few tiny marshmallows on top that, from the corner of his eye as he sipped on some of his drink, he noticed Sam reluctant to do herself. Looking up to Angela, she cleared her throat and as if reading her mind, the older woman placed a delicate hand upon her shoulder, and with the other, held up a bag of vegan-safe marshmallows, much to the relief of the teen as she heartily took a sip her own hot chocolate, practically melting at the taste of it.

Angela chuckled, placing them back upon the counter and picked up a small towel, wiping up the residue that had been left over on the counter from her making the drink, mostly cocoa power and sugar that had been too fine to sweep with her hand.

"Oh, no. I couldn't forget you, not after the little incident last time, now could I, Sam? Nope, these are made with vanilla, not unless you're a vanilla-tarian, then, uh, sorry in advance." To this, she gave her a little smile as she lips parted in laughter, the two teens doing the same. Shaking her head, Sam took another sip, this time catching one of the marshmallows and chewing it, eyes beaming at the soft, sweet taste and texture.

For Danny, it was different from regular marshmallows, but he thought they were pretty good, too, doing the same.

"No, these are perfect, Mrs. Foley. I'd hate to have to refuse something so good, so thank you for this. And the milk,-" Angela had just walked over to the refrigerator when she grabbed the almond milk for her own hot chocolate, pouring such a generous amount in to her cup that Danny, if he hadn't known that it was supposed to be hot chocolate, he surely would have mistaken if for just milk. Taking a few spoonfuls of sugar, she stirred in her marshmallows, rimming the mug, as she had done for theirs, with crushed chocolate and even a few sprinkles, walking them to the living room where they sat, sipping on them with quiet delight as the fireplace crackled and glowed with warmth.

Pleasant conversation ensured, the three discussing recent events and how their schooling had been going so far, and when the topic of decorating the tree came up, Danny declined, exclaiming that he wasn't a fan of doing that sort of thing.

"...Though, if I may ask...why do you get your tree ready so early, Mrs. Foley? It's, what, September? December and the holidays are still a couple of months away." Beside her, Sam didn't stop decorating, though he could tell that she was interested, too, putting up a few ornaments though as the woman righted herself, taking one last swig of her hot chocolate before speaking.

"Well, honestly, there isn't really a "special" reason, per se, but between the three of us..." The woman leaned in close to the two, her voice hushed as if she had begun to covet them.

"The entire neighborhood is the same way, you know. Each and every year, we all try to get the jump on each other, and that just means doing it as soon as possible to get a lead on the rest of those chumps." To this, she stood up, going to the window and pulling back the curtain just enough to see out of them, peeking their heads just beyond the fabric to see two other ladies outside, one on a ladder as they hung stockings on the awning of their porch, making use of several notches that were installed just overhead to do so. Angela scoffed, rummaging in the drawer to find a pair of binoculars, bringing them to her face as she scanned the yard.

"See, the Smiths are tricky because you'd think," Switching her voice, the woman put on a high, shrill tone, "...'oh, it's fine. They don't have as much outside so I shouldn't worry about it too much'. Wrong!" Beside Sam, the two of them resisted the urge to laugh, feeling in their minds that what she was saying may have been a bit personal, but they didn't try to ask, allowing her to continue without disruption.

"Just last year, when I thought that I would be the only one to put out reindeer on the front lawn with a Santa inclusion and a gift package LED image to the left of the fixture for that extra touch of charm because, you know, who doesn't love a good ornament, here they come with their own version of the same exact thing, but with not just the gift package, but..." Hanging her head in shame, she spoke just barely above a whisper as the confession tumbled from her lips.

"...they had Rudolph. Oh, if you could have seen the looks on their faces as they not only had him, but theirs was bigger, too. The smug as-," Catching herself just before she could say it, she closed the blinds, smiling sheepishly as she trekked back over to the living room, feeling envigorated as she rushed a desk, taking out paper and pen and going back to the window, all the while muttering to herself, most of it concerning the Smiths and various unsavory names that she'd like to call them. In the same breath, Tucker showed his face, rushing downstairs to meet the two, the excitement practically coiling in the air around him as he came up to them.

"Guys! You know, you could have come upstairs, and hey, Mom. Fixing up the tree, huh? You need some help with-," The woman cut him off in the middle of it, holding up a hand as she shooed the three away.

"Oh, no, I'm fine, dear. I have some...research, to do. Maybe later! You all have, uh, fun and things..." Quickly, she scrawled done notes, using her binoculars to scan their yard just as before, and three of them pretty much knew they'd be better off coming back later. Going back to the kitchen to place their cups in the dishwasher, Tucker, Danny, and Sam waltzed back up the stairs, careful of the noise that they made as the woman tore out a sheet of paper and tossed it over her shoulder, shouting quiet curses under her breath as they departed.

She'd be there a while.

Upstairs, they all funneled into Tucker's room, with the youth shutting the door and walking over to his desk as the two got comfortable, pulling out his PDA and walking over the two of them, presenting it to them with a look of pride.

"Okay, so, I know it's been awhile since we've done this, but I really wanted to show you...this!" Once the PDA had booted up, both Danny and Sam could both tell that the screen display was different, the former taking notice of a strange sort of clip-on in the corner of the device, glowing a strange, but familiar, red, but the teen made no mention of it.

He could only hope that this "invention" wouldn't end up like the last, noting the odd scorch mark that bordered the wall around the trash bin in Tucker's room, recalling with some degree of both amusement and exhaustion just how long it had taken to put out the fire.

Tucker began to speak again, taking out his stylus and tapping the screen quickly as he dashed away the additional programs, closing out and opening one up.

"I call this the 'Specter Detector'! Patent Pending." An icon of a green ghost with a red "No" sign in front of, posed with his hands up in surrender. Raising an eyebrow, Sam lead in first.

"...Are you sure this is legal?" Gesturing to the symbol of a green ghost contained within a no sign, looking...startled? It had the appearance of another ghost icon, it's familiar tune playing idly in Danny's mind before his eyes flickered over the Tucker who'd, appearing to have been mildly offended, scoffed at the two them.

"Legal?! Uh, yeah...probably. That part doesn't matter; it's just a little decoration, but what you should really be looking at is this." Pointing to the screen, Danny and Sam felt an itch of confusion as they gazed at what appeared to be many blips on a screen, dotted by a scan line that looked like more a radar than anything, the little dots disappearing and reappearing in different spots along the screen until they looked back up, faces quizzical.

"Uh...what is it that we're looking at, exactly?" Sam was the first to speak, smoothing back a dark lock of hair as she peered back down, squinting at the screen as if trying understand it better, Danny doing the same. Rolling his eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, Tucker pointed to it again and exclaimed,

"Guys, it's a ghost detecter! I'm thinking about calling it 'The Specter Detector', patent pending." The boy added in post, winking at the two of them, awaiting their response as the two beamed with realization.

"Dude, are you serious?! That's wicked cool! This'll make hunting ghost way easier, right, Sam?" Looking over at her, Danny noticed her wary smile, the girl flashing hints of conflict before she spoke again, this time at him in particular.

"I mean...yeah, I guess, but...," Wringing her hands, she stopped herself midway, and smiled again, nodding. Danny began to reach toward her, concerned, when she broke the silence.

"...never-mind, it is pretty cool! So, uh, how does it work exactly?" She began, turning her attention back to Tucker who had, in the midst of his excitement, seemed to have forgotten about her expression just moments ago, but the halfa wasn't so moved.

What was with that look?

In a single, excited breath, the youth began to explain it, practically shouting with fervor.

"Okay, so basically, it can detect local ecto-signatures using a sort of long-range radar that picks it up. There's a sort of chip in the PDA that lets it do that, but I can't really tell you, like, the nitty gritty details because Valerie didn't have enough time to tell me exactly how it works, but-," With just a name, Danny felt his breath hitch, looking dead-on to Tucker as he lurched forward.

"Valerie? What...what does she have to do with this?" Of course, the two of them were aware of the two and their...special relationship, with the former being more akin to a relentless hunter (though that is literally what she is) and him her tired, disillusioned prey, Tucker put his hands up in a pacifistic gesture, though the halfa could feel his agitation grow as the implications began to play around in his head.

"Well, you know, we've been studying together a lot or whatever, and she sort of helped me outfit my PDA to detect ghosts, no biggie. She said she wanted to make sure I was okay even if she wasn't there since we're dat-," Slapping a hand over his mouth, Tucker couldn't shake the cold feeling that settled in the air around him, and neither could Sam as she watched Danny get up, beginning to walk over the Tucker.

"What did you say? You...you two are-," Tucker stopped him midway, but he didn't have it in him to lie.

"Okay, yes! We're dating, but I promise this was to help me, and when it helps me, it helps us! Seriously, dude. I mean, it practically tells use where the ghosts are, and that's cool, right?" Sam could tell what he was trying to do, and it looked like it was working, to an extent. She could still feel the cold, she could still feel the tension, but it seemed to be falling away, wilting into mild agitation as the halfa sat back down and appeared to calm down again, but he didn't take his eyes off of the PDA, even as he continued to speak.

"You could have told us, you know. You know how I - we - feel about her. She and I aren't exactly buddies." Clenching his side, appearing to rub at something, Danny breathed a sigh, with Tucker mirroring him as if he had been holding in a breath.

Sam couldn't blame him.

She had been, too.

"Yeah, but...I didn't want you to react like, well, this, you know? I wasn't sure how to say it and isn't like I meant for it to happen. We sort of just...clicked." The boy exclaimed, trying his best to look as earnest and genuine as possible as his dark eyes scanned the half-ghost before Danny looked away, appearing ashamed.

"...I know the feeling." He whispered, though the two couldn't really gauge what he meant, but didn't make mention of it, choosing to remain silent as the halfa appeared to battle with something in his head until suddenly his mood appeared to flip like a light switch, a beaming grin spreading across his features so jarring that the two felt themselves waver between confusion and unease.

"So, when would you guys be up for a little more ghost-hunting? I'm feeling lucky tonight-," Sam was the one to stop him this time, easing her hand over his own as she look softly at him, but a sternness rested in her lavender eyes.

"Actually, I think...I think it would probably be best that you took a little break from ghost-fighting, don't you think?" Her voice was low and soft, as if trying to tiptoe around mines as she carefully read the kaleidoscope of emotions that seemed to pass over the boy's face in an instant.

And immediately, she could tell he didn't like it.

"Take a break? What are you talking about? I feel fine! Actually, I feel better than fine, I feel great! I could totally kick some ghost ass right about now!" Standing up, he prepared to shift when Sam grasped his hand as if trying to pull him back toward the bed where he had been sitting.

"And that...might be the problem. See, we're...a little worried, Danny. Okay...more like super worried. You've...you've been acting super..." As if trying to find the words, she stopped, looking to Tucker for help that his expression practically screamed he couldn't give, but nonetheless, he breathed shakily, and picked up where she left off.

"It's just that, you've been working really hard lately, and we just think that you could use a much needed break from, you know, fighting and flying and stuff. Right, Sam?" Urging her, she nodded quickly, still grasping his hand. The halfa didn't look convinced, but he hadn't shifted yet, looking to both of them before he sat back down, appearing annoyed but reasonably subdued as he closed his eyes and flopped back onto Tucker's bed, breathing heavily as if trying to relax.

And yet, he still looked so tense.

"...Maybe you guys have a point. We have been putting in the work with ghosts and everything, especially with the one the other day. Remember that?" Humming with satisfaction, he closed his eyes as if the recall a pleasant memory, yet all Sam could see was the ghost begging, the ghost fighting for its life in a futile effort, and the ghost having its ended so suddenly, so abruptly under the sole of Danny's boot, splattered upon the ground in an amorphous puddle.

Yep, good times.

Nodding to each other, Tucker decided to put the PDA away.

No use inticing him with it.

Just then, Danny's phone rang, and on the other end, when he picked it up, the two could hear Maddie's voice, sounding excited, though over the course of the conversation, Danny seemed much less overjoyed. A few moments later, they hung up, with Danny tossing the phone back on the bed, rubbing a hand through his hair as he closed his eyes, agitation settling on his features.

The two raised a brow, and despite their hesitation, they inquired, Tucker sitting on the bed next to him, his expression laced with concern and curiosity, Sam's matching his own.

"Dude, you okay? You don't look so good." For a moment, the half didn't answer, looking at his hands as if considering something before he spoke, his tone low.

"My parents...want to foster. They just got cleared for the inspection and everything, so they'll probably start, you know, picking up kids pretty soon." With what he said, the two were equally matched with surprise.

"Wait, they want to be foster parents?! That's so freaking cool! Why are you upset about that?" Sam asked, practically hopping up from the bed at the thought of having a little brother or sister of her own, but she figured that was a pipe dream where her parents were concerned. Tucker, too, looking more curious than anything about the prospect of them taking in kids, but it was pretty cool, he couldn't help but think, knowing that there were kids in need of that sort of thing.

A good home until they could find a permanent one.

"Yeah, I can't see that as anything but a plus. What's wrong?" The two waited, watching intently, but the boy didn't give, face stony as he sat for a long moment, but then, his voice broke the air.

"I mean, it's not the fact that they want to do it that's the problem, it...it's more of an inconvenience." Huffing, he dragged a hand through his hair again.

He was frustrated, the girl murmured to herself.

"An...inconvenience? How?" Scratching her head, she tried to come up with her own reasons, but could come up with none, and apparently, if the confused, ponderous look on Tucker's face could say anything, he was just as baffled, but Danny clicked his teeth with annoyance, as if explaining sunlight to two apes.

"Guys, having someone else to look out for when ghost-hunting could totally blow my cover! I was sort of hoping that being ghost hunters would deter the agency from allowing them to take anyone in, but I guess the imminent threat of death wasn't quite enough for them to decline them. This is gonna make things way harder, especially with some random kid walking around and poking their head where they shouldn't." Placing his head in his hands, they couldn't deny that he had a really a good point. They couldn't keep him from ghost-hunting forever, so it was only a matter of time before he would have to shift, and it only took one badly timed moment to blow their entire operation sky-high.

They couldn't help but agree with him.

"That's...a fair point, actually...how soon are they supposed to start fostering, you think? Within the next week or so, or...," Tucker asked, putting his hand in his chin as he tried to make sense of the situation, awaiting Danny's answer. Tensing and un-tensing his hands, the halfa answered, voice lower now.

"I'm not sure. I know they still have paperwork and stuff to fill out, so it could be at least months before they start, but I'm still nervous about it, though. I just...it's already enough trying to hide it from three other people (though frankly, he thought, Jazz probably already knows, but still), not to mention an entire town, so one more person in my personal space to add on stress was a little more than I'd bargained for." The two couldn't argue, fully understanding his point of view.

But it was a little too late to stop it now.

"Well, I mean, I'm pretty sure that if you could hide it from, like, hundreds of people, you could probably handle one more kid, right?" Holding his hand tighter, she tried to be reassuring, but he didn't look convinced, but he relented, sighing once more.

"Yeah, I guess so, but I really have a bad feeling about this. Like, I don't know how to explain it. Something just feels...off." Holding her hand back, he looked to the two of them, trying his best to shed his fears, but something seemed to cling on, but he forced it down, smiling broadly as he spoke.

"So, wanna watch a movie?"