Sorceress here, with a quick word before we start! I'd like to thank Eva for the positive feedback for this story, and I understand it can be a little confusing on the first read, but I'm glad you like my story! I also know that Spanish and Italian are similar, I just wanted to try something different then just Spanish. I have always loved multilingual stories, and I hope that one day I'll be able to learn both Spanish and Italian as well as other languages!
Oh, and I looked up the songs that you mentioned, and I have to agree, they fit very well with the relationships. I wish I had thought of them, and I thank you for peeking my curiosity enough to look!
With that said, let's get this show on the road!
Warnings: Nothing worth mentioning.
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Chapter fifteen: My Parents wanted a wife, and I got a boyfriend.
Daniel Baritoni doesn't know what the point was with him being here.
His parents just dragged him on this ship, hoping that he'd turn away from his 'sinful' ways and find a good woman. Even if he was into women, there was no woman here that would be considered 'good'. He already had five women hit on him in the span of a couple of hours, to which he'd just smile, say something that would make the girl laugh and would politely excuse himself.
There was one girl who was persistent though, a princess by the name of Paulina, who went on and on about how beautiful she was, how important her father was, ("I'm mean, how could he not be? He is the King of Spain!" She proudly boasted.) and how two beautiful people like themselves were just meant for each other. Daniel feels his eye twitch with just the memory of that woman's horrendous voice.
He is leaning up against the back wall of the dining room, arms crossed and scowling at anyone who thought to speak with him, when he overhears talk about the ship's musicians.
"Sure their violinist is grand," He hears one woman say, "but he pales in comparison to the pianist. He's so young, but his music is so moving!"
"Please," Daniel cringes at Paulina's voice, "His music's good, but he's not that much to look at. Not surprising if he works on a ship full time."
Daniel raises a brow as the women chatted on. The Heir isn't the type to believe the gossip of the upper crust, but he finds himself curious about these supposed musicians. The people suddenly go quiet causing the white haired male to look around. His eyes land on the stage where a black haired boy with blue eyes is standing, glancing around the room nervously.
Daniel raised a brow. Was this the piano player they were talking about? If he is, Daniel completely disagreed with Paulina's assessment. This guy wasn't bad looking at all. In fact, with his wide blue eyes and the way he shuffled in place at the attention he is getting he is actually pretty cute. Daniel watches as the boy glances around at the guests again before quickly bowing and sitting at the piano.
The boy cracks his fingers and begins playing a quick and complicated melody and Daniel's heart skips a beat as the music washes over him. That boy was better than good, he was brilliant! It almost seems like the raven is pouring his heart and soul into the music. The crowd is fittingly silent as the musician plays, all watching in amazement as this boy, who can't be any older than Daniel himself, played like a master.
The boy suddenly looks right at him and his heart skips another beat, breath catching in his throat as they lock eyes. The music hitches a little, hardly noticeable to anyone who isn't looking for it. The boy ends his piece and stands, bowing again before quickly moving off stage.
'Oh no,' Daniel thinks as he follows after, 'You're not getting away that easily.'
He skirts around the the dining room as quick as possible without drawing attention to himself, a few people give him a confused look, but Daniel paid them no mind. He gets to a hallway near the stage and looks down it, catching a flash of black and gray. He hurries after it and sure enough, it is the teen from before. Before the raven haired boy can get away, Daniel spoke.
"That was beautiful. I don't think I've ever heard a song more beautiful in my lifetime."
The boy tenses, whipping around like he was expecting to be attacked before he relaxes. Daniel wonders for a moment why this boy would be so on edge before said teen rubs the back of his neck, smiling shyly.
"I'm not that good. I just play whatever comes to my head. There's always someone out there that's better."
Daniel chuckles, walking a little closer, "Perhaps, but you're the best I've seen so far. You don't play what others expect, I'm sure you'd become quite famous one day." Says Daniel sincerely, though he isn't expecting the boy to laugh and say almost bitterly, "Yeah, and maybe one day I'll marry a Marchioness."
Daniel can't understand why this boy would think so low of himself, "You don't give yourself enough credit for your talents." He replies seriously before he remembered, "Oh, where are my manners!" He bows low, surprising the other boy, "I am Daniel Baritoni. What might your name be beon signore?"
The boy's eyes widen slightly, probably recognizing the green eyed boy's name, before he laughs, throwing Daniel off. He holds out his hand and says, "Daniel Jameson, but everyone calls me Danny."
The snow head grins, his humor bubbling up, "We have the same first name? Well the world is small after all." He takes the raven's hand and kisses it, bitting his lip discreetly when the teen blushes. He is just so adorable! "I hope to see more of your preformance, Mr. Jameson."
Danny mumbles 'sure' as he pulls his hand away, causing Daniel to laugh. He walks away feeling good about what had transpired, not aware of what the other boy went through after he was gone.
One from nothing, the other from everything, both meet and find comfort from each other in the smallest things...
Daniel actually went back on that ship several times after, eager to see the blue eyed boy again. He always told his parents that he wanted to hunt for a wife by himself, since he was sixteen and didn't need looking after. They let him go under the assumption that he was meeting Paulina or some other woman and wanted to be alone, not realizing what was really going on.
Danny is a character, if the he did say so himself. He is honest, brash at times, and never held anything back. He was also kindhearted and easy to talk to, Daniel had told him things even his best friend Randy didn't know, though, Danny didn't really talk about himself until later on in their friendship.
He also has quiet moments. Daniel would often find the boy in the dining room, playing the piano as softly as he could. It was at these moments that Daniel has to work to get more than a couple of sentences out if him, which Daniel doesn't mind, since it feels weird to have the teen who normally joked around with him and who blushed so cutely act so sullen. It is one of these moments that Daniel thinks of the perfect way to get Danny out of his funk, or at least he hoped so.
"Nicknames?"
Daniel nods as he leans against the piano, "It would be a way to talk about each other in front of others without them being the wiser, and a way to differentiate between us. I mean, neither of us like to be called Daniel, and we can't go by last names forever."
Danny tilts his head to the side a bit, thinking on what the white haired boy said, "But everybody already calls me Danny, so I already have a nickname. I could call you Dan?"
Daniel scrunches his nose. Randy's brother had taken to calling him that whenever he called him Andy.
"I don't really like that name either, otherwise I would have told you to call me that a while back. We need names that only we would call each other, a secret code if you will," Daniel smirks, suddenly thinking of something, "What about Nightingale for you?"
Daniel has to hold back a snicker at the look on Danny's face, "Nightingale? Why Nightingale?" He asks incredulously.
Daniel feels his grin widen at the incredulous tone, it is just too fun to tease him sometimes. "Because you make beautiful music, therefore, you shall be Nightingale."
Danny blinks in bemusement before a twinkle enters his eye, making the heir slightly nervous, "Fine, but I get to call you Phantom."
Now Daniel is confused, "Why?"
Danny snickers, "Cause whenever I play I always see you out of the corner of my eye, and when I get swarmed by people you disappear without a trace, your hair is white and your eyes seem to glow at times, if it wasn't for the fact that you're warm and I can touch you I would think you were a ghost haunting me."
Daniel, or now Phantom, thinks it over before he decides he likes the name and it's analogy. He raises his shoulders and nods, accepting the new nickname and before he can stop himself he feels a wicked grin stretch on his face and, "Oh, so you think I'm warm? And my eyes seem to glow, huh?"
Danny chokes on his spit and Phantom watches in amusement as the raven turned a cute shade of red, looking away and scratching the back of his head before he snaps in embarrassment, "I didn't mean it like that, I'm just stating facts!"
With the grin still on his face, Phantom steps closer to the blushing boy, probably enjoying this a bit too much, "Oh? Well if we're just stating facts, then what if I say that your eyes rival the ocean in their beauty? Or that your temperament can give anybody whiplash and your smile could outdo the sun?" He remarked, flirting a little without realizing.
Phantom doesn't know why he is saying all this, but he feels it to be true. And it got the reaction he wanted when Danny's face became redder and redder.
Though, he wasn't quite expecting the raven to shoot back, "Then I'd say that you're full of shit and that if you don't get away from me your going to lose the two things that make most women want you: your face, and your ability to produce children."
Phantom cringes as Danny huffs and walked away, hands clenched at his sides. Okay, that was low on Danny's part, but at least topic got the guy out of his funk for a few minutes. And now they could talk about each other in front of others without anyone being the wiser. Phantom grins as he proceeds to walk back to his cabin, in a good mood despite Danny's threat to his manhood. In the back of his mind though, he really hoped the threat wasn't serious.
Though they were unaware, the feelings they had for each other blossomed into something more...
When Nightingale asked him to teach him his Italian, Phantom felt ecstatic.
When Nightingale told him he couldn't speak any language but English and he wasn't aloud to talk to the passengers, Phantom felt determined.
When Danny threw out the challenge of speaking Italian as well as his people, Phantom took it without need of a second thought.
And, when his Nightingale finally told the white haired male about his life, Phantom's heart ached for him.
But, when Danny said that Vlad wanted him for things other than odd jobs and piano playing, Phantom felt suspicious.
And when his Nightingale asked him if it was wrong that he liked what Vlad did sometimes, even though it was obvious that he didn't want it...well...pissed didn't even begin to describe what Phantom was feeling.
Phantom already holds extreme dislike for Captain Vlad Masters, but this made him absolutely loathe the man. How long was this going on? Is this why Danny flinched when the man called him? If it is, Phantom was going to make him pay in the most painful ways.
Danny looks to be on the verge of tears, making Phantom's heart hurt at the desperation in those beautiful blue eyes. Phantom tries to reel his anger in,and looks the raven square in the eyes, "Danny, as long as I'm here I won't let him hurt you like that, you have my word."
Danny seems surprised at the vow, but Phantom meant every word that he said. He puts his hand on the raven's shoulder as he adds, "And to answer your question, yes, what he's doing is very wrong. He doesn't let you leave the boat, he makes you play piano, he only taught you one language and now this. You shouldn't let him do that."
Danny glares at him, "He's not making me play piano, I asked him to let me play it. I wouldn't have known of my talent if it wasn't for him." Phantom resists the urge to roll his eyes, of course Danny would focus on the lesser point in all this. Danny sighs as he goes on, "I would have nothing if it wasn't for him. Even if what he does is wrong, even if I'm not happy, I owe him so much." He shakes his head and gives the green eyed teen a hard look, "And you can't stay on this ship forever, you'll have to get off sometimes. And your an heir! You can't focus on someone like me, it would ruin your reputation!"
Phantom would have been touched at this if it was a different situation. But right now, he feels his anger get the better of him and shakes Danny slightly, "I don't care! I'll protect you as long as I can and you can't stay here forever either! He might not be forcing you to play piano, but he should have helped you out of the kindness of his heart!" He shakes his head, grinding his teeth in frustration, "He shouldn't have helped you because of some...some kind of attraction he has for you! You aren't some whore he can play with!"
He immediately regrets saying this as Danny flinches. But then he surprises Phantom when he stands, blue eyes snapping dangerously.
"I never said I was a-that I was that! I fight him, I avoid him the best I can! But as I told my friend, he could make us disappear and no one would wonder about us!" He deflates, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes as he hides his face in his hands, "Even if I could leave, where would I go? There's no where I could go that he can't find me. He has connections everywhere, he tells me this all the time."
His voice is cracking as he visibly fought off the desire to cry. Phantom felt his own anger leave him, a dull ache remaining in his chest at the hopelessness in his Nightingale's voice and words . He stands and pulls Danny into a hug, feeling the boy tense before he relaxes and returns the gesture. Phantom thinks about the situation for a bit before an idea comes to him. Sure it would cause a scandal, but Phantom would do anything to get his little sea bird out of this and happy.
"You can come with me, if you want." He says, "I have connections as well. Trust me, he'd never be able to get to us."
He feels Danny rest his chin on his shoulder, actually thinking about the offer before he shakes his head, "I don't want him to hurt you Phantom. You're...you're too important to me, you are the first friend I have ever had that wasn't part of the ship crew."
Phantom's hold on him tightens even as a bitter sweet pain shoots through his heart, "Don't worry about me my Nightingale, that cazzo stronzo won't be able to hurt me," He pulls back a little and gazes down at the other boy, just now noticing that he was a couple inches shorter than himself before he pushes the observation aside and smiles, "I'm an heir, remember?"
Danny considers this and finally smiled back at him, making the white haired boy's heart skip a beat at how beautiful he looked, "Yeah, I g-"
"DANIEL! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Both men jump at the booming voice, Danny pulls away abruptly and Phantom viciously starts to cuss in his head, from cursing Vlad for ruining the moment to his mother for giving life to the man.
"I gotta go." The raven says sadly. He walks to the door, but pauses when he put his hand on the knob, "You said you'd take me to your home...Florance right?"
Phantom tries to make light of the mood by saying, "Yes, if you can speak as good as any native," but seeing the look on Danny's face he replies in a much more serious tone, "If you want me to get you out of here I will, and I'll take you to Florence."
Danny chuckles, making Phantom cringe at the bitterness laced into it, "Heh, maybe one day huh?" He opens the door and leaves, leaving Phantom alone with his thoughts.
As they grow closer, the bond between them becomes inseparable and they finally accept the feelings they have...
Tonight, Phantom has to shuffle through dinner with the captain, acting like he doesn't have any extra plans. He sits quietly, only speaking when someone asks him something, as Vlad went on and on about this and that and forcing down the urge to stab the man with the knife in his hand as he ate. He manages to do it (barely), but his knuckles are white as he holds the utensil and he cuts his meat with a little more force than necessary.
He is still pissed at what Vlad was doing to his Nightingale, but he tries not to show it. If anyone asks, he would chalk it up to stress and, if he was really in a bad mood, he would wiggle his brow suggestively and say with a wicked half grin that it's because he hadn't had a willing partner in a while, which never fails to make women blush and cause men to tug on their collars and clear their throats. His mother would probably kill him for saying something so outrageous, but he'd done worse back home so he didn't worry about it.
Speaking of his Nightingale, Danny is up on stage with the violinist (Tucker wasn't it?) playing a duet. Phantom's smile becomes more genuine as Danny once again plays his heart out. Phantom had overheard the passengers talk about how Danny's music seems different than usual, more uplifting and less sullen and erratic. Phantom likes to think that he is the cause of the change and always shows his appreciation for his secret love's music.
Danny is also getting better at Italian and can now hold almost a complete conversation with Phantom in the language. Though, there was one word that Phantom refused to tell Danny the meaning of no matter how many times the boy asked, that was the white haired man's secret. That is, it was until tonight.
Phantom planned to reveal what the word was to Danny on this night, and the heir is determined to reveal his feelings as well. Phantom could tell that Danny returned his affections, so he is sure of success.
When the music ends and the boys onstage bow, Phantom politely excuses himself and makes his way to the usual wall he leans on to grab Danny's attention. He is halfway across the room when he is stopped by a certain someone.
"Daniel! Mi ángel de pelo blanco(1)! It's so good to see you again!"
Phantom cringes as Paulina runs up to him and literally throws herself at him, arms around his own with a vice like grip. He composes himself and forces a smile, hoping that if he acted nice she would go away sooner.
"Principessa(2), I told you not to call me that." He says trying to remove her from his person. He can see Danny out of the corner of his eye watching the interaction and panics slightly, not wanting the raven to get the wrong idea. However, Paulina refuses to let go and continues to hang onto him like a freaking koala, squealing as she stepped in time to him.
"But mi amor, you said that you would marry me!" She screeches, getting the attention of everyone in the dining room, Phantom's eyes become huge in horror as he says in a rush, "I never said that sei donna pazza(3)! Quit making things up!"
She doesn't seem to hear him through as she went on with, "I'll bet you are fantastico in bed mi amor! We could make so many beautiful babies together!"
Phantom feels like he would burst into flames at that remark. He finally manages to throw her off of him and exclaims in a loud squeak, "Madre di Dio, non avete alcun maledetta vergogna! Non ho mai detto vorrei sposare voi psico cagna(4)!"
The room goes quiet, everyone staring at the Spanish princess with her mouth open in shock, and the Italian marques' heir who glared at her with his face bright red in embarrassment.
"P-perra..." Paulina mutters before she snaps, "How dare you call me that usted hijo de puta(5)!"
"Don't you dare bring my mother into this you mucca(6)!" Phantom retorts through clenched teeth.
"Ugh!" Paulina turns and stomps away, though not before saying, "Just wait until my papa hears about this!"
The people start muttering amongst each other at the scene between the two. Phantom rakes his fingers through his hair and sighs, things obviously weren't going to go his way tonight. He is about to walk back to his cabin when the piano starts playing again, the passengers becoming quiet at the tune that to the heir was so full of love and longing, he couldn't move from his spot. He turns back to the stage to see Danny, his Nightingale, standing there with his eyes closed, not even needing to look at the piano to see what he was doing. Phantom, finally getting his feet to move, carefully makes his way to his usual spot and leans there to listen.
Danny opens his eyes and looks right at the snow head, making the man's breath hitch in his throat at blue eyes that shined with nothing but peace. The spotlight focuses on Danny where is standing and makes him seem like a raven haired angel to the white haired male. Phantom feels the tension in his shoulders melt away and he smiles; maybe the night wouldn't be so bad after all.
Later on in the evening, Phantom hears knocking on his door. He puts the book he was reading down and goes to answered it, feeling like he might know who it was.
His assumption is correct, for there in the hallway stands Danny Jameson, looking nervously around the area before his sea blue eyes land on him.
"Nightingale? What brings you to my doorstep?" He says, pretending to be surprised. It isn't like he was unhappy that the musician is here.
Danny takes another quick glance around, ringing his hands and giving Phantom the impression of a small child who was afraid of being yelled at, "C-can I come in?" he says very quietly. Phantom chuckles and stepped out of the way, Danny coming into the room before anyone could see him.
"That was quite the performance you did tonight, that song was very moving." Phantom comments offhandly as he sits on the bed, patting the spot next to him for Danny to sit down as well.
The raven snickers before he obliges, "I should say the same for you, though you didn't have to go so far as to call the Princess of Spain a psycho bitch and a cow did you?" He says with eyes shining in amusement.
Phantom scoffs, cheeks stained a light pink as he replies, "Not one of my best moments, but you can't fault me for speaking the truth," He switches to Italian in his aggravation, saying bitterly, "E lei ha chiamato mia madre una cagna che nel mio libro fa di lei una vacca(7)."
Danny laughs, "Yeah, I guess." They sit in comfortable silence for a moment, before Danny says in a low voice, "You know that song was for you right? I mean, for both of us."
The white haired boy nods, "I figured as such, though I will say that it did calm the passengers down after all the commotion. What's it called?"
Danny squirms in his spot, suddenly shy, "It depends, if you sang it, it would be called 'My Nightingale' and if I sang it, it'd be called..." He trails off, but Phantom understands the jist and grins, feeling warmth swell in his chest.
"My Phantom?" He says softly.
Danny nods, "Would you sing it to me?" Phantom prods. Danny bites his lip looking unsure.
"I've never sang in front of anybody before, I don't think I'm good at it." He evades, Phantom however isn't deterred.
"Come on, I'll tell you what amore means if you do," He haggles, knowing that Danny still wanted to know what it meant. Danny chews the inside of his cheek as he thinks it over before he gives a nod and begins to sing.
Phantom listens in amazement to the blue eyed boy's song. He can see another reason why Nightingale was such a good name for this teen; he sang beautifully, and the song was just as beautiful. He just can't understand why Danny thought so little of himself when he has so much talent and such a wonderful personality. The way Phantom saw it, the world was a dark place and Danny was one of the few lights that shined in it. When Danny finishes singing Phantom smiles and claps with great enthusiasm, making the blue eyed male next to him blush.
Danny clears his throat before glaring playfully at Phantom, "Are you going to tell me now?"
Phantom has to actually think for a minute before he remembers, he smirks as he leans toward the other boy, "Do you really want to know what it means?" He says softly. Danny shakes his head yes, eager to finally hear what it is. Phantom braces himself, it was all or nothing with this next move, but judging by the song he figured that luck might be on his side tonight. He closes the gap between them and kisses the raven haired man.
Danny tenses up for a moment and Phantom almost draws back, thinking he'd made a mistake before Danny hesitantly returns the kiss. There is no lust behind it, just sweetness, but that kiss is everything to the two.
The boys stop, resting their foreheads together and smiling, Phantom whispers, "My love."
Danny blinks, murmuring "Huh?" As he is still out of it a little.
The white haired male chuckles, green eyes gazing lovingly into blue, "Amore. It means love. Here's one I know you understand," He puts his arms around Danny, "Ti amo, my Nightingale(7)."
Danny smiles, hugging back as he whispers, "Ti amo anche, il mio Spirito(8)."
Translations for this chapter
(1) Mi ángel de pelo blanco! Spanish for My White haired angel.
(2) Principessa means princess.
(3) Sei donna pazza, you crazy woman.
(4)"Madre di Dio, non avete alcun maledetta vergogna! Non ho mai detto vorrei sposare voi psico cagna!" Translated is, "Mother of god, have you no damn shame! I never said I would marry you you psycho bitch!"
(5) Usted hijo de puta is Spanish for son of a bitch,for those who didn't already know.
(6) mucca, Phantom basically called Paulina a cow, which she is.
(7) "E lei ha chiamato mia madre una cagna che nel mio libro fa di lei una vacca." And she called my mother a bitch, that in my book makes her a cow.
(8) Ti amo means I love you, for those who didn't know.
(9) Ti amo anche, il mio Spirito." I love you too my spirit.