Danny answered the door to his parent's home on Valentine's Day to an egregious sight.

Vlad stood at the doorstep in his best suit and signature ponytail, armed with the biggest bouquet of roses Danny has ever seen. A shiny black limo waited on the side of the street, its engine humming restlessly. The whole thing looked absolutely ridiculous. Too pretentious. Too many flowers. Too Vlad.

It was everything Danny hated.

"Oh, hell no."

"Daniel," Vlad greeted curtly. "Not the face I wanted to see, unfortunately. If you don't mind letting me in, I've come to-"

"Danny, honey, who's at the door?" Maddie peaked into the front hall. "Vlad? What are you doing here?"

"Ah, Maddie, my love," Vlad said in a syrupy voice. "I have come today to-"

"Bring me these flowers!" Danny jumped in, his mouth moving faster than his brain.

Vlad stared him down. "What," he spat out. If only looks could kill.

Maddie just looked confused. "Vlad came here to...bring you flowers?"

"Uh," Think, Fenton, think! "Actually, Vlad came here to take me out for the day to, uh, give you guys some space! Yup." Danny quickly maneuvered himself in front of Vlad and started shoving the man out the door with his butt.

"And to...bring you flowers," Maddie said doubtfully.

"Oh, you know him, always such a prankster," Danny laughed nervously, wrestling the flowers out of the man's hands to pretend to smell them. "Mm, roses! Smells...just as good as it costs!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Daniel," Vlad scoffed, fighting back. "I've come here today to woo-nngh!"

"Shut up, fruitloop," Danny hissed lowly. "I'll elbow you again if you don't leave right now!"

Vlad narrowed his eyes. "Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise!"

Maddie watched as the two men scuffled, arguing and grunting as they both retreated out the door and onto the street.

Danny pushed and shoved a reluctant Vlad Masters into his limo. "Bye, mom! Have fun with dad on your date! Keep that flame alive!" He yelled over his shoulder, waving hastily before disappearing into the car after her old college friend. The limo then pulled away from the curb and drove off into town.

"How odd."

"Go home."

"No."

"Go home."

"No."

Danny inhaled a sharp breath and bit back a curse. "Fruitloop, I don't have time for this. Today's a big deal for my parents so just make yourself scarce and go away."

"You think you can shoo me away like a scared kitchen mouse," Vlad smirked. "You obviously don't know me at all, little badger."

"I know you well enough to know that you're not my mom's type."

"Well, now you're just being spiteful," Vlad said with mock offense. "Cynicism doesn't complement you very well."

Daniel rolled his eyes. This wasn't how he wanted to spend today of all days. "You've been after this woman since I was fourteen. It didn't happen then, so what makes you think it's gonna happen now?"

"I am nothing if not persistent for a reason, my boy. One way or another, the chips always fall in my favor."

"Don't bet on it," Danny muttered to himself. "Look, I'm not leaving you unsupervised today since you're clearly just gonna go back and screw things up."

"Obviously."

"Then what's it gonna take?"

Vlad actually looked shocked for a moment. "Pardon?" He said.

Danny was so going to regret this. "What's it going to take to keep you occupied and away from mom then?" He asked, picturing himself walking to his death.

"Well, for starters you could take her place for today," he said thoughtfully, his fingers gently tapping his lips.

It was Danny's turn to look at him in disbelief. "What."

"Well, I did put a considerable amount of energy into planning a good Valentine's date, you know. My plan may have been foiled, but the reservations are still valid. It'd be a shame if they went to waste."

"I'm not doing that."

"Interesting, openly defying your boss's orders."

"I'm not on company time, Vlad. You don't have a case here."

"True, but I've been told that personal and professional lives have an annoying habit of mixing. Seeing as how I'm known to have a rather difficult personality, it'd be unwise to test that at the workplace by being defiant right now, wouldn't it?" Vlad said innocently, his smile promising chaos.

If only looks could kill! "Why am I not surprised that you'll resort to blackmail to get your way," Danny said, gaze withering. He leaned back against the seat, sagging in defeat.

"So that's a yes then."

"No, but it's not exactly within my control now, is it?"

Vlad's smile got bigger, showing off his pointy teeth. "It's so refreshing when we can be on the same page, little badger. I always knew you had it in you," he simpered.

Fuck you, Danny thought. Not that he would ever say it out loud, of course.

They rode in what Danny perceived to be uncomfortable silence as the car took them to the fancier part of town. High end boutique shops and expensive restaurants flew by as he took in the scenery. Of course, Vlad would take him here to stuff him with fancy caviar. Show-off.

Vlad broke the silence first. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"It's Valentine's Day. I provided a handpicked bouquet of roses and a romantic date night. Shouldn't you meet me halfway and return my efforts with a gift?" Vlad said. He even had the nerve to look offended.

Danny put on the fakest smile he could muster. "You get to take me out, and I won't sue you for what is essentially workplace harassment," he said.

Vlad looked taken aback before bursting into amused chuckles. "Touchy, touchy. With a sparkling personality like that, it's a wonder why you're still single."

"Shut up, fruitloop."

To be continued...