"What are you doing?" Vlad asked.

Danny looked uncomfortable. "I'm contemplating."

"On what?"

"I'm contemplating which fork I want to kill myself with," Danny said seriously. He eyed the array of fancy cutlery spread out on the dining table before him. Forks and knives and spoons of various sizes sat on the table, mocking him for his lack of sophistication.

Vlad rolled his eyes and unfolded his napkin. "It's not that difficult, Daniel. You just work from the outside in," he said. "Stop being so small-minded."

Danny picked up a small salad fork to inspect it with suspicion. "Can't we just grab something from the food trucks outside?" He asked.

"I know you enjoy being creative with your palate, little badger, but I'm not interested in contracting food poisoning tonight."

"You'd be surprised at how good the food is from those small vendors," Danny defended. "Look who's being small-minded now."

"Forgive me for wanting to have my food indoors," Vlad sniffed. "This wouldn't be a problem if your mother was here instead of you."

To his surprise, Danny busted out laughing.

"Vlad," Danny said, amused at the thought. "My mom doesn't like any of this stuff."

"What do you mean?" Vlad asked. He was getting mildly annoyed by this conversation already.

Danny wasn't stupid. He could sense Vlad's defensiveness from a mile away. "Okay, all jokes aside," he said kindly, smoothing out his napkin on his lap. "Forget that she's my mom for a moment. Tell me, how well do you know Madeline Fenton?"

Vlad scoffed. "I hardly think I have to justify my affections for a woman I've known since my college years. My friendship with Maddie has a longer life span than even you, Daniel."

"C'mon, Vlad," Danny coaxed. "Just humor me. What do you really know about her?"

"Well, she's brilliant."

"And?"

"Beautiful, sophisticated, kind-"

Danny nodded. "Go on."

"And..." Vlad stalled, realizing he was running out of adjectives. And what else, he thought. He loved this woman, did he not? But twenty years of his unrequited devotion suddenly had left him drawing a blank. What did he really know about Maddie? "And... she is everything I want in a person," he finished, feeling rather unsatisfied with his answers.

If Danny felt pity, he hid it well. "You're not wrong," he said. "You did know my mom before me. But I know my mom too, and she's many things, but sophisticated is definitely not one of them."

"Why not?" Vlad questioned. He couldn't help but feel overprotective over the image of Maddie he had in his head. She was perfect in every way. Not even Danny could put a dent in that.

Danny looked around. "Well, to start, restaurants like this actually make her really uncomfortable. She's more of a... hotdog on a stick while sitting on a sidewalk kind of gal."

Vlad blinked. He had trouble consolidating that his Maddie had the palate of a young twenty-something who thought the Nasty Burger was still an acceptable place to dine.

"And as brilliant as she is, she does tend to get lost in her work and forget about...everything else. Like eating, and whether or not her kids are even at home at one in the morning," Danny winked. "Don't tell her that though."

"And she is kind. Until she starts arguing with dad, that is, because she wants to win," Danny laughed. "She always wants to win, and sometimes dad just lets her. You get used to it after a while, but you'll never love it."

Vlad leaned back and sipped on his wine. "What are you implying?"

"I'm saying that while I love my mom, she is just a person," Danny said. "It sounds like you idolize her, but she will sometimes disappoint you. Like all people do."

Vlad looked contemplative. "If this is your attempt at dissuading me from pursuing her, Daniel, then I must say it's quite the clever move," he said, staring into his wine.

Danny shrugged. "I'm just saying, Vlad. It's difficult to live up to the image you built up in your head. You're kind of high maintenance."

"I've always known I have high standards," Vlad said defensively. "Why should I compromise that now?"

"Because no one can live up to those standards, probably not even my mother."

When the appetizers arrived, Vlad was quiet. It was the sort of quiet that needed space and reflection, and Danny knew better than to interrupt the man's train of thought. He felt really bad. After all, he went through the same thing with his own crushes back in high school, so he was familiar with how much it could sting. But that was high school, and someone like Vlad was just too old to keep wasting his own time and clinging onto fantasies.

Needless to say, there wasn't much talking after that.

"I am severely overdressed."

"Haha," Danny teased. "How the tables have turned."

"Well, I wasn't exactly anticipating on being here tonight, am I?" Vlad said, agitated.

"Hey, you said to take you somewhere that's more my mom's style, so I'm just following through on what you want," Danny said nonchalantly. "If you hate it, then you're just proving my point."

Vlad glared down at him. "As if I'll give you that satisfaction."

"You're just a sore grumpy loser, fruitloop."

The carnival in February was quite a sight. Game booths and lights lined the street as people walked about, their excited chatter adding to the bustling atmosphere. To Danny, this was familiar territory. His family came every year without fail, and his mom especially loved getting on the Ferris wheel to the tippy-top, where she could enjoy the beautiful view of Amity Park.

Except there was one tiny problem.

"Well, well," Vlad snickered. "This must be embarrassing for you."

"Oh, shut up, Vlad," Danny scowled and crossed his arms. It was just his luck, really, to get stuck in the Tunnel of Love with his sadist of a boss/ex-archnemesis/tax evader.

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, the carnival opened up a few new rides for their fellow patrons. Unfortunately, they all shared a common theme: love. It was an emotion that Danny was definitely not feeling at the moment.

"Quite frankly, I'd be more inclined to get into the mood if you had taken me to the movies, badger," Vlad chuckled, his laugh reverberating through the dim plastic tunnel.

Danny shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the little vehicle carried them both through a man-made river. "Look, I forgot that they do this every year, okay?" He snapped. "And note taken, fruitloop. Not that I asked."

It also didn't help that the rollercoaster and the spinning teacups closed down due to maintenance, so his hopes of making Vlad throw up went completely out the window.

One embarrassing ride later, Danny decided to play it safe and stick close to the game booths instead. He dragged Vlad over to the dart board, knowing that the man's innate competitiveness would take over and make this fun.

"Bet you five bucks and a purple slinky that I pop more balloons than you," Danny smirked and held up his four darts.

"Well, then I hope you can spare the cash," Vlad retorted sarcastically and shrugged off his coat.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Mr. Millionaire."

"It's Mr. Billionaire to you, Daniel. But thank you for the demotion."

They each took turns throwing their darts, with Vlad growing increasingly more frustrated as every one of his darts bounced off their target uselessly. Danny hid his chuckles behind his hand as the furrow in the man's brow got deeper. It was too easy.

"This game is clearly rigged!" Vlad shouted when he ran out of darts (and luck). He excelled in physics back in college, damn it! There was just no way those darts couldn't hit a single balloon.

Danny stepped up to the plate and casually aimed at the blue balloon in the middle. "Oh yeah?" He said and threw his dart at it.

Pop!

"You're clearly cheating," Vlad accused. "I don't know how, but you are."

"Calm down. It's all in the wrist action." Danny rolled his eyes. "You just gotta know how to finesse it."

"What are you talking about? I did the same thing you did!" Vlad snatched a nearby dart to try again. It bounced off lifelessly and rolled onto the ground. "See? Speed, angle, torque. The math doesn't lie!"

"I can't believe you're losing it right now."

"Math is math."

"There are five-year-olds who can hold it together better than you."

"Math is math!"

In the end, Danny pocketed the purple slinky and had to drag the man-child away from the booths before he made (another) child cry with all his petulant screaming. They walked around some more, with Danny coddling Vlad with some two-dollar cotton candy that the older man surprisingly enjoyed. Even more proof that he was dealing with a child, Danny thought. But it was amusing, nonetheless.

The night gradually started winding down when Danny held up his last two tickets as they stood in front of the Ferris wheel. It was pretty empty by then, as most people felt it was getting too cold and decided to hurry home. There was practically no line left, and Danny gave Vlad an imploring look.

Vlad looked at him skeptically. "You're serious."

"I don't want to waste the tickets!"

The man operating the ride gave them a funny look as he brought the bar down onto their laps. They sure made a funny couple, and wasn't the boy a little too young for someone like that?

"Enjoy the ride," he said gruffly before hitting the button. Whatever, it wasn't any of his business anyway.

As the wheel jerked into motion and brought them closer and closer to the top, Vlad realized that he may have judged a bit too soon.

"Oh," he muttered softly at the view before him. At his age, Vlad was no stranger to expensive and beautiful landscapes. His mansion had an open view to the well-groomed acres of his estate. His Paris apartment overlooked the Eiffel Tower. The living room window of his NYC penthouse framed a beautiful view of the city skyline.

But there was something about the charming warm lights illuminating Amity Park at night, twinkling among the trees like they had urgent secrets to share, that made Vlad feel a sudden wistful affection for this small suburban town.

"Pretty, right?" Danny said softly. His breath fogging in the crisp air. "It's not much, but it's home."

"Sometimes that's enough," Vlad responded. There was an emotion behind those words that made Danny's heart clench.

"About what I said back at the restaurant," he started carefully. "I'm sorry if I overstepped. I didn't mean it like that."

Vlad was quiet for a long while as he gazed at the trees. The air was a bit colder now, the bite of winter lingering in the air. The furrow in his brow was back as he sat there, contemplating on something. He sighed after a moment and closed his eyes.

"It's funny," he said. "I should be furious. I should have told you that you don't know what you're talking about, but my mind keeps going back to football."

Danny looked confused. "I'm not following."

"Packers' playoffs, 1989. I had gotten tickets. They were hard to come by and the seats were terrible, but I managed to get two. I was supposed to be there with your mother, but Jack insisted on coming along, you see," Vlad recalled. "I have no idea how he managed to worm his way in, but the man can be a sly one when he wants to be."

Danny nodded understandingly. "You were trying to take my mom on a date."

Vlad smiled, but it held a tinge of melancholy. "It's strange. I remembered the score and every play-by-play perfectly to this day. It wasn't often that the Packers won a game. Thirty-one to twenty-six against the Saints," he said and glanced at Danny. "I wager if you ask your parents about it, they wouldn't remember a damn thing."

"They're not really sports people, Vlad," Danny said.

"I thought so," Vlad said. "I probably should've guessed. The only time I remembered her laughing that day was when Jack tried shoving a dozen hotdogs into his mouth at once."

Danny felt a rush of empathy for the man. "Sorry, didn't mean to ruin your night."

Vlad huffed a laugh. "Nothing like a healthy dose of reality to bring me some closure," he said. "You always do give the most surprising gifts, Daniel."

Danny's hand was warm as he laid it tentatively over Vlad's gloved one. He was pretty awkward when it came to comforting people, but Danny still wanted to try nonetheless. There was this distinctive feeling that Vlad needed it right now.

"It's gonna be okay, fruitloop," he said gently. "You'll find your person one day."

Vlad stared at him, his gaze unreadable. There was a small trace of an upward tilt on his lips as he reassuringly squeezed the boy's hand before letting go. There was still hope in those eyes. Danny felt happy to see it.

"Hn. I'm not giving you the five dollars, by the way. I refuse to accept that my defeat was just and fair."

"Jesus Christ, Vlad."

"They're not back yet, so there's no point for you to come in," Danny blurted out as they arrived back at his home.

"Oh, unclench, will you? It's not as if I have all the free time in the world to be dawdling around your home," Vlad retorted.

Danny breathed a sigh of relief and shuffled himself toward the car door. He suddenly paused to rummage through his pockets, feeling for that familiar plastic. "Before I forget. Here," he said and held out his hand.

It was the plastic slinky from the carnival. A cheap bauble from one of the game booths that they fought so hard over like literal children. "It's not like I could afford anything at that auction. I'm not made of diamonds," Danny said defensively.

Vlad stared at cheap toy blankly. "What's this?"

"A slinky."

"I know. I meant, why are you giving this to me?"

"It's a gift."

"You didn't get me a gift. You trapped me in a non-optional social convention."

"Even when you're not scheming, you're still such a jackass," Daniel hissed and threw the little bauble at him, leaving Vlad laughing in the backseat. He stomped up the front steps toward his house, feeling irritated. God, why does Vlad always have to be so difficult?!

"Daniel." Vlad had climbed out of the car, casually leaning against the open door of his vehicle. His eyes were mischievous as he played with the slinky in his hands. In the back of Danny's mind, he thought the man looked quite handsome. But his pride immediately shut that thought down.

"I had fun today." And then Vlad smiled. Not the one he usually gave to the cameras or the one he used with politicians. A genuine one that softened his lips and made the corners of his eyes crinkle, bringing out his age in a charming way.

Unwillingly, Danny felt his heart skip a beat.

"You're kidding me."

Vlad stood on the doorstep of Fenton Works in his casual slacks, looking very dashing with a single white rose in his hand. It was Valentine's day, again, and the fruitloop didn't fail to show up exactly on time just like last year.

"Vlad, we've talked about this," Danny said. He could feel a headache coming on. "C'mon, man. At some point this just looks sad."

"Actually, I'm here for you," Vlad said indignantly. "But thank you for the harsh reminder."

Danny felt blindsided. "W-Why?" He spluttered. He was definitely blushing. Damn it.

"I thought about what you said." Vlad shrugged. "How I build people up in my head and make it impossible for them to prove me right. Beautiful, sophisticated, brilliant, whatever it is. I decided, at the end of the day, none of it really matters."

"Oh?"

"Yes," Vlad grinned and bit his lip. Danny was ashamed to admit that it was sexy. "Because, after a while, you just want to be with someone who makes you laugh."

The man was too good at charming the pants off people, Danny thought as he slowly closed the door behind him and stepped outside. He met Vlad's gaze steadily and made a decision right then and there. "So, where are we going?" He asked, heart pounding, and watched as the man beamed with delight.

"You know where," Vlad teased and walked towards his car. He took a less conspicuous one this time and drove himself. Vlad held the door open like a gentleman. "But, this time, I'm beating you at darts."

"Give me your best shot, fruitloop."