Author's Note: Six chapters in. Six! Part of me can hardly believe it, since sometimes, inspiration comes few and far between for me. Sad, really, since I do have ideas… It's just hard sometimes to piece it all together. Case in point, some of my other fics that now seem to be "on hiatus"… Damn… I should get back to those. Seriously…

Anyways, my poll didn't get too much of a result, based on the fact that I didn't know that there was an option for putting it on my profile. I just assumed that it would appear there. Didn't help that the option for that is so easy to just plain not see it at all… Rookie mistake, then! Anyways, I did get a couple of votes! So here's your winning plotline!

Disclaimer: How many times must I reiterate this in a multi-chapter fanfic anyway? Either way, I don't own anything I use here.

Part 6: A Real 'Danniversary'

Some time had passed since Danny Fenton had introduced his wild girlfriend to his parents. Needless to say, it was awkward going for the first couple of weeks. First and foremost was her tendency to phase through walls and just appear out of nowhere around the house whenever Danny was home and she felt like visiting. If it wasn't the lack of communication about when she was coming over that bugged Jack and Maddie Fenton, it was the blatant use of ghost powers, seeing as they were always battle-ready whenever a ghostly presence manifested itself. This led to a couple of close calls where Ember almost got her head shot off by a Fenton weapon.

After the second close call, Danny and Ember had a particularly heated conversation about her random sudden appearances around the house. Ember clearly believed that his parents would get used to it eventually, since they did eventually get used to Danny being a ghost-powered superhero. Danny agreed with her logic, but countered by saying that he didn't regularly use his powers at home. Eventually, after some bickering that reminded a passing-by Jazz of how Sam and Tucker got about their "meat vs vegetables" debates, they came to a compromise.

"Alright! Alright. I get it. I can hover around but no teleporting and phasing through walls when they're around. Fine, Dipstick…" Ember had said, feeling pretty dejected. Her ghostly abilities were second nature to her and were pretty fun to use. Resorting to (somewhat) mortal means of moving about a human residence almost seemed…pedestrian (almost literally).

"Em… Aww, come on. You know I didn't mean to upset you, flame. You know my parents are always working on new weapons. Some of them just send you back to the Ghost Zone, but they've come up with a few tricks to completely get rid of any major threats, especially after the Pariah Dark incident… Last thing I want is for you to get sent to oblivion permanently." Danny said, scooching over toward her on the couch and putting an arm around her. Ember remained sullen, but after a moment, leaned into his shoulder.

"Sigh… I know, Baby-Pop. If I'm going down again, I'd rather go out rockin'. Alright, we'll do this your way around here. I'll just come out of the Portal and float up from the basement, ok?" she asked, coming to terms with the limitations. After all, it's only just for Danny's house and it wasn't like she couldn't be with him or anything.

"You can phase through the lab door if it's locked. They usually do that anyway when they're not down there. Security, you know." Danny said. Ember cuddled into his side, moving herself in such a way that she caused Danny's hand to brush against her breast.

"Speaking of security… Your folks aren't around at the moment." Ember purred into his ear. Clearly she wasn't very upset over Danny's imposed restrictions after all. His eyes went wide.

"Here!? In the living room? Ember…!" Danny said in a hushed tone, knowing how she tended to get when she insisted on getting intimate. Rock divas never took 'No' for an answer, unsurprisingly.

"Why not, Baby-Pop? Whatever happened to the 'thrill of the game'? Doesn't the risk turn you on?" she cooed, gently nibbling at his ear. Danny blushed hard. He couldn't deny that Ember's actions had quite an effect on him. But still, it would be mortifying to have any of his family members walk in on them… Then there would be problems.

"You turn me on… Not this risk." he simply replied, the hand that was on Ember beginning to rub the bare part of her back between her tank top and her tight shorts, practically on its own volition. He gulped. She was hard to refuse, he knew that.

"Lower."

"Huh?

"Rub lower." And so his hand went a little southward down her back. "Lower, dipstick." His hand was at the small of her back, right at the top of her shorts. "Almost there. Lower." Her voice sounded amused, as if in on a joke. His hand landed on her firm ass, her form-fitting shorts not hiding the feel of its shape whatsoever. "There we go. Rub that for a while." she huskily whispered. He almost didn't want to. Almost. After all, it was a very public area of the house…

Ember turned his head toward her and proceeded to kiss him. Within seconds, there was plenty of tongue involved. As Danny started to lose himself in the act, he noticed the familiar surrounding blue glow of her fiery hair surrounding them for a moment and then fading back. Without breaking the kiss, he realized that they were on his bed in his bedroom, the door already shut. They had teleported.

The sly devil. She knew what she was doing the whole time! With that in mind, he wasted no time in finding a use for his one free hand…

But that's another story. Or perhaps one that could be left for the imaginations. After all, it doesn't take a ghost hunter to figure out what had happened. The real puzzle was how they managed to keep relatively quiet! The point was that soon enough, the Fentons got used to Ember's often appearances and her brazen personality, even though she did manage to keep her crass humor to a minimum around Mr. and Mrs. Fenton.

The superhero/vigilante life also seemed to be business as usual as of late. The carnival-gimmicked string of odd crimes had diminished, which left Amity's resident guardians puzzled. Who the hell was conducting all this? Valerie and Danny both felt like this was only a mere prelude to something bigger. But a few months went by and not a peep from the mysterious carnies. Even so, it was best not to let the guard down by forgetting about it.

But life had resumed. Between city-wide patrols and going to school, Team Phantom seemed to have things well in hand. Well, almost. After all, Danny was still a bit of a struggling student, grades-wise. Sure, a B- was better than the grades he was racking up before, but he still had his trouble spots. Who among the Team could forget the time that Ember did one of Danny's essay assignments in History for him as a prank and ended up giving him a C- as a result? Mr. Lancer had deemed the essay to be "interesting, at least", as the essay seemed to have tried to compare World War 2 to the struggle between independent rock bands and the 'apparent invasion of the soulless Corporate-sellout bands'. Danny could still remember the first words he had said to her when he came home after discovering the swapped essays: "Gee, Nirvana much, Ms. Cobain?"

Then came the holidays, which were the first in a long time for Ember, aside from the Ghost Zone's Annual Christmas Truce, of course. Having not celebrated Thanksgiving or Christmas (the normal ay of Christmas, anyway) since she was alive, Ember didn't really care about being invited to the celebrations. At first… As Danny pleaded with her with near-sappy words about "family" and "togetherness" and "good cheer" (which caused her to bop him upside the head again for "being unoriginal as usual"), she couldn't help but think momentarily of the relatively-short time that was her life. Her family had been one of wholesome values, or so it seemed during her early childhood. But when she turned 12 and discovered her love of rock music, that's when things changed.

Being as wholesome and "family-friendly" as they were, her parents were disgusted with her newfound taste, claiming it to be "devil music" and "tools of a cult". But they hadn't done anything particularly extreme to dissuade her. However, the Holidays had never went well for her after that initial argument. Nobody talking with her more than necessary, the parents saying subtle negative remarks about her to visiting family members, Ember being served noticeably smaller portions than everyone else at Thanksgiving, lame gifts at Christmas… That old chestnut about being "the ignored child at the Holidays".

The rest Ember didn't want to remember as she focused her attention to her surroundings. Her brief memory lapse made her realize that while the past was the past, it seemed Danny's family actually DID want her to celebrate with them. Or at least Danny wanted her to. Then again, she was fairly certain that he had okayed this with his family beforehand, being the regular 'boy scout' he tended to be at times…

"…and I know Jazz might be a pain with her fangirling, but she's getting better with that. She's starting to see you as more of a regular visitor and she probably won't get so clingy… And I promise that—"

"Alright, Baby-Pop… I'll come." she said, a smile on her face. Danny barely noticed that it was that certain smile that she saved for him.

"Really? Awesome! Umm… What persuaded you?" he asked, curious as he suddenly ducked down to the ground, dodging an incoming ecto-blast from one of Walker's rent-a-cops.

"Well, it's certainly touching that you decided to make a passionate plea like that in the middle of a ghoul gang war like this, that's for sure!" Ember snarked as she simultaneously smashed one minion over the head with her guitar while side-kicking another one in the gut. The kicked minion flew backward and smashed into the side of a dumpster. The duo of vigilantes had interrupted a brazen kidnapping (or "arresting", as the enemies would call it) attempt of a couple hundred people at a crowded movie theater. It wasn't long before the fight was taken outside.

"Why not? It's not like Walker's ever been a real big-time threat anyway." Danny said, double-karate-chopping the last minion across his neck with palms glowing with ecto-power, the chops coming in from both left and right so that the ghostly pawn's neck was sandwiched from the force. Which was unfortunate for Bullet, Walker's second-in-command, because that was the only guard standing in between him and Danny. The others were either too busy with Ember or too far away to intercept Danny.

"Speaking of the ol' warden, what's he up to, Bullet? Last I checked, this isn't his jurisdiction." Danny calmly asked as he floated right up to him, standing face to face. Bullet couldn't help sweating a little. He wasn't as tough as Walker or Danny and he knew it. Still, he wasn't Captain of the Guard for nothing.

"It is now! Warden Walker has been pushing for new regulations to expand our watch to the mortal realm. You mortals are beginning to be a real threat to yourselves and even us. The law has to be—" the chief pig was interrupted by Danny's hand grasping him by the neck.

"Upheld, for your views of justice, blah blah blah, heard it the last ten times." Danny finished for him, clearly bored. Couldn't villains just give up the monologues for something else? At least the ghostly ones? Their routine gimmicks and specific obsessions leave little to creativity for devious speeches if you fight one often enough… Case in point…

"Assaulting an officer…!" gasped Bullet, wriggling out of Danny's grasp. "That's 500 to 1000 years, jagoff!" Danny sighed. He could always count on Warden Walker to do everything by-the-book. So very much by-the-book that if there was a drop of ink misplaced in said book during printing, he would sentence the book itself to prison. Danny once saw the pale warden actually do that. It ranked right up there with the Box Ghost trying to recreate the Pyramids with nothing but crates.

"Funny, that seems to be how much time it would take for you to become strong enough to take on Walker, much less me." Danny replied, easily sidestepping Bullet's fist and then catching his other fist in the palm of his hand. Despite some of his nemeses constantly growing more powerful, there was bound to be a few that would be left in everybody else's dust. Bullet was turning out to be one such case, as Danny smoothly pulled in Bullet's caught fist and used the momentum to Judo-toss him down to the ground.

Meanwhile, the ever-agile Ember was making short work of the squad of undead 'bacon factories', moving from one cop to another with the grace and speed of a cat. Well, if the cat also had a cocky attitude and a musical 'battle-axe'. For a moment, she noted how much stronger she seemed to be ever since she started crime-fighting with Danny. Either that, or Walker's prison guards were becoming sorely lax in their training… Probably the latter. It wasn't as though Danny put her on some sort of very strict daily training regimen or anything like that (although the duo did train). Ending her string of punches, kicks, and guitar-swings, she played one loud, solid riff on her guitar, sending a blast of power at the last remaining ghoul-cop.

The rest was history, as Walker had evidently deigned to remain in the Ghost Zone, confident that Bullet would handle the current mission. His temper would sour by the end of that particular evening.

Christmas turned out to be a real special occasion for Ember especially. As she thought, it turned out to be the first actual Christmas she was truly happy from. As much as Ember turned out to love the pleasant company of the Fenton family, it was the gifts that were quite memorable. Jazz's gift, although not a material one (due to her being unsure of what to get an undead rocker), was nice nonetheless. The oldest Fenton child had come up to her and apologized for her actions from being the stereotypical super-fan. Ember still tried to forget the times where Jazz was practically attached to Ember's hip, asking her inane question after inane question and wearing Ember-related clothes.

"I even got you a little something to make up for my trouble. I couldn't decide on much, so I got you a gift card…" Jazz sputtered, shyly handing the little card over.

"Jazz, no… You keep it. Target, right? You should get yourself some nice things." Ember replied, clapping a hand on Jazz's shoulder in a show of forgiving comradery. Jazz nodded, feeling the urge to hug her, but keeping herself in check. Ember loved attention, but she was glad that Danny's sister decided to actually act like a sane human around her. Everyone's heard the stories about creepy super-fans…

A little later, the family gathered around the tree in the living room for the gift exchange. Maddie's gift was just as sentimental, but it was an actual item. "Here you go, Ember dear. I made this down in the lab. First time I actually made something that actually helps a ghost, but I appreciate a good challenge sometimes! I do hope it works." she said as she handed over what looked like a miniature guitar amp. Ember took it and gave it a curious once-over, turning the little gadget around and over.

"I already have plenty of amps, Mrs. Fenton. What's up with this one?" Ember asked, knowing that there had to be some sort of special ability or function involved. After all, what amp would produce great sound if it's small enough to fit in your hand?

"This one should attach right to your belt there. If I'm right, this should increase your guitar's power as long as it's plugged to the amp. Kind of like a battery pack. I know it's not much, since you're powerful as it is, but… well, it's something, right?" the matron explained, proud of her potential accomplishment.

"Wow! That might help sometimes, actually. I didn't expect you to actually invent something just for me… I mean, me being what I am… I just…. Thanks!" Ember stammered, touched at how much she was accepted as a family member. Maddie immediately pulled her into a crushing hug. Ember squirmed as her head was smothered by Maddie's chest.

"Anytime, Ember dear!" Maddie said, releasing her from the hug. Ember's fiery hair even looked like it was mussed up from the encounter, despite not being hair at all. Danny and Jazz chuckled at her dazed look.

Jack, being Jack, gifted everyone with fudge. What else, right? However, the special part was that he actually made it himself and, despite his usual luck with anything, the fudge actually turned out to be quite delicious (and not strangely animated, like some of the Fentons' past meals). Ember could barely remember the last time she actually ate good fudge from when she was alive.

Danny's gift was, of course, the one she was waiting for the most. And despite her criticisms about how goody-two-shoes he tended to be, he didn't disappoint. She suspected that he had his two human friends help set this up with their power, money, and possible connections. But she didn't mind. Danny had managed to set up a huge concert for Amity, scheduled for New Year's Eve. Ember was slated as the concert's main event, naturally, but she was scheduled to perform with some of her favorite rock bands, a couple of modern bands and a couple of classic rock bands that still had their members together. Her boyfriend had given her a chance to interact with some of her fellow rockers, ones that had made it to world fame status.

Her gift for Danny paled in comparison to this opportunity he presented her. All she got for him was a copy of the new Doomed reboot for his Xbox and a nice framed picture of herself wearing something skimpy, black, and lacy (as something to remember her by whenever she was away). It would seem that she would have to replace the picture with the real deal herself for such a huge surprise…

"Wow… To think that so much happened in a year." Danny remarked as he and Ember sat together in a nice diner, having dinner together as part of a nice evening out. After all, it was their 1-year anniversary and both lovers wanted to do something nice. Ember wanted to do something huge and spectacular, but Danny already pointed out that her ongoing world tour (having been created as a result of her successful New Year's concert) provided plenty of spectacle for the both of them. The couple was lucky that their anniversary landed on a small stretch of time where Ember could come back home for a little while. Of course, Danny would have loved to have gone with her to see the world (and to watch Ember do her thing, over and over and over…), but certain responsibilities like schoolwork and city protection overshadowed his desire to join the tour.

"Well, you got me convinced, Dipstick. The afterlife definitely is better when I'm not obsessed with conquering the planet. Of course, the perks of that are a plus. People actually talk to you… Friends… Fun… Oh, and maybe some guy that hangs around all the time, trying to get in my pants!" Ember said as she nibbled on her steak.

"Hey! You come on to me!" Danny jokingly defended, grinning ear-to-ear.

"I never see you refuse me, Baby-Pop." Ember countered. "See? You men all think the same." She passively waved off the statement as if it was a confirmed fact that didn't need to be said.

"You know I like more than just your body, Em." Danny smirked. He knew where this was going and hoped that what he was about to do would go off without a hitch.

"Oh yeah? Really? Prove it. It's our anniversary and all we're doing is going out to eat?" Ember said, a challenging smirk on her face. "Yeah, you proved you know the kind of place I like to eat, but that's it? Pretty lousy, Danny." Uh oh. His real name. She was serious.

"As if I'm that cheap." Danny muttered as he pulled out a small box from his shirt-jacket pocket and presented it to her. "Happy Anniversary, love."

Ember accepted the box, already guessing that it was some sort of jewelry. It had to be. It's so cliché that it would fit Danny's m.o. to a T. She unwrapped the gift and opened the box. She was right, but what exactly it was still made her gasp lightly in awe.

It was a necklace of somewhat-thick silver chain, centered with a custom-made emblem, somehow putting an emerald-colored Danny Phantom insignia together next to her own insignia, which was turquoise, all on top of a heart-shaped piece of silver.

"Danny…! Is… Is all this real?" she asked. Again, she wondered if his friends covered financial expenses, like with the New Year's concert. If so, how the hell was he paying them back?

"The silver and the jewels? Yeah. It took some research and quite a bit of time for a jeweler to get it just right without messing up something so precise, but they're real alright. Solid too. Had to have a decent-sized chain in case you happen to have it on while crime-fighting… I hope you like it."

Ember's first response was to take the necklace out of the case and throw the case at Danny, which bopped him in the face. "Ow!"

"That was for unoriginality, Baby-Pop." she giggled. "You know how this goes. But I do love it… Thank you so much…Danny." The teenage superhero would never forget how she said his name at that moment, with so much joy in her eyes… That girl certainly had a way with her voice. But what else did he expect from a singer?

"Umm, Mr. Fenton?" a waiter had come up to them, carrying some sort of package.

"Yes?" he said, wondering if this package was Ember's anniversary gift. Judging from the loving look she was giving him, it just might be. Either that or she was still thrilled with her new necklace…

"This just arrived for you, sir. I must say, some of these delivery people are quite strange nowadays…" the waiter remarked as he handed the box to the raven-haired boy. Danny took it and placed it on his lap. "Wow, Ember. Wonder what's in your gift." he said as he began tearing the tape off the box top.

Ember then frowned. "That? Oh, no. That's not my gift…" Danny's hands stopped just as he was starting to lift one of the box flaps.

"Really? Who sent this, then?"

Just as he said that, something pushed through the top of the box and smashed Danny right in the face, blinding him. Ember shrieked. An uncomfortably cold sensation chilled his face and slowly crawled down his front as his hands felt around his face, feeling some sort of light, pliable metal around it. "Oh my God, are you alright, Baby-Pop?!" she asked. Was it just Danny or did she seem a little amused?

He felt around more, eventually finding the ends of whatever covered his face and pulled it off. He was still blind by whatever slimy material was in there. He gasped for breath…and some of the substance fell into his mouth. Lemon-meringue… He had been hit with a pie from a spring-loaded box! Ember couldn't help but laugh, her lover looking ridiculous with white whipped cream, lemon-yellow pie filling, and pie crust oozing all over his face and down his front.

"A pie jack-in-the-box! Wow! That's a new twist on an old comedy gag. Sorry, Baby-Pop, but it's just funny!" she giggled. Danny swiped off the majority of the pie with his hands, carelessly letting the globs of used pie hit the floor (much to the still-present waiter's chagrin). He grumbled as he started using some napkins to wipe off the rest of it.

"Yeah, real funny… Who the hell would prank me now of all times?" Danny groaned. He wanted this anniversary date to go without a hitch. But he should've known that some dose of Murphy's Law would eventually apply. Has there been any superhero that actually had one successful meaningful date with his/her true love without some sort of shenanigans? Well, maybe "off-panel" in the comic-verse…

Still snickering, Ember grabbed the package and looked it over, seeing if there's any indication of who could've done this. The wild rock-n-roller knew that most pranksters can't go without letting their targets know just who had defeated them. Looking inside, she had found something alright.

"Unfortunately, this won't be the only incident, Dipstick…" she said cryptically as she passed the box over, gesturing that he should look inside. The teenage superhero, flecks of pie still clinging to him here and there, took a look. It didn't seem like much to look at, aside from the sizable spring and the mechanism used to unleash the spring upon the box being opened. However, he did notice what Ember was talking about. A message written in red ink along the inside of one of the box top flaps…

"A 'Taste' of things to come…"

Danny couldn't help but roll his eyes. This potentially could be a problem if whoever sent this 'message' was planning anything particularly harmful. Unfortunately, with the kind of criminal assholes within his cabal of enemies and rivals, the threat of harm was indeed likely. For all he knew, the pie itself could have been poisoned.

Ember saw his dismissive eye roll. She had to turn this date around quick. It was supposed to be a good day, dammit. For the love of rock and roll, she didn't even steal anything today! No way was she going to let some sophomore prank ruin her anniversary.

The rest of the dinner finished without incident and Danny seemed to have cheered up again, despite still being a little apprehensive about the mystery of the pie prank. At first, they were heading toward a movie theater to go with the admittedly-cliché 'dinner and a movie' motif. However, the two couldn't decide on a movie. Ember had wanted to check out the new Ninja Turtles, but ended up getting a long-winded explanation about the "world's worst director" and lots of scenes containing explosions…

Not sure what movie to choose for the night, Ember suddenly had an idea. She grabbed her halfa by his hand and flew off, Danny protested in shock but soon went with it. After all, anything would be better than just mulling over movie choices. Ember soon led him to a quite secluded part of town, a small group of warehouses that weren't particularly heavily guarded. Danny noticed that his fiery lover had a familiar mischievous smirk on her face.

"Ember? What're you planning?" Danny cautiously asked. He definitely wasn't worried about himself, but he knew that smirk usually led to trouble when she was in a good mood for it.

"Oh, this? Not much, really… Just you and me, all alone, together… Almost like we're the only two people in the world…" she said, pretending to be in awe of the situation as she drew closer and closer to her Phantom. "Well, the only two that matter at the moment, anyway… As for the choice of scenery, well… I have gone to a rave or two back in my living days. Those always took place in areas like these and I had fun. Never actually hooked up with anyone at any of them, though… So I thought…" she trailed off, her cheeks slowly glowing a light red. Danny's eyes widened a bit.

"You have a… "doing it at a warehouse" fantasy?" he asked. He couldn't believe how stupid he sounded by asking that, but even Ember couldn't blame him. Warehouses weren't exactly the most romantic of settings…

"I guess so. I just thought we'd pick a warehouse, set my guitar to auto-play something low like there's party music in the distance to make it seem like we snuck away for some alone time during a rave, and just do it." Ember had to admit that her idea sounded a lot stranger when it was said aloud. Danny scratched his head, as if unsure. But he was thinking about it.

"Wow… Wasn't expecting this plan. I would've brought… umm…."

"Protection? Hello, I'm a ghost. Besides, if it somehow happened because of your halfa genes, I gotta tell ya… I certainly wouldn't mind." Ember said as matter-of-factly as possible. Ember McLain, always the epitome of 'Screw Consequences'… Danny wondered if Ember would've become a young mother if she hadn't had her unfortunate turn of events in life.

"Sigh… Well, I don't see how bad this could be. I'll go with it. If some guard overhears, we'll just shut up and go invisible." Danny said, reasoning it aloud. Ember grinned.

"There you go, Baby-Pop! Now you're starting to think my way. Damn, that's sexy when you do that." she purred, putting her arms around him and starting things with a quick kiss on the lips. Danny smiled, his hands landing on the small of her back as he returned the embrace.

"Glad to know that, my flame. But we got to pick a warehouse first." the halfa said as he floated upward, Ember hovering with him in his arms. "Let's see… Well, let's pick the closest one, since we're right in front of it." With that, he phased through the nearest wall. Ember chuckled lightly at the very elementary logic.

"Careful about choosing what's readily available." quipped the diva, her mind imagining several wacky scenarios. Unfortunately, she would never had guessed how right her warning turned out to be…

The warehouse in question seemed to be adequate for Ember's little scenario, even if the warehouse was packed with piles and piles of boxes and crates of every sort. The light number of guards that usually patrolled this place indicated that the boxes definitely didn't contain any rare treasures or anything of that sort. Even so…

"So what, do we just find some storage closet or perhaps some sort of office?" Danny asked. It was Ember's fantasy, after all. Who was he to immediately know all the specifics of such a unique idea?

"That sounds good. Gives the impression that we're hiding from other ravers. Let's look for an office!" she practically chirped. Danny could tell she was excited. Ember didn't 'chirp', after all. Although there was that one time that Danny playfully teased her by referring to her as 'his precious songbird'… That earned him a good glue-and-feathering as payback! Mostly for being too sappy, of course.

The two started hovering about, tending to stay close to the walls to look for a telltale doorway that might lead them to some sort of office. However, the search didn't last too long before both started hearing noises. It sounded like rustling and… was that groaning? The duo wasn't sure. Turning invisible in case of guards or anybody unwanted, they floated toward the source of the noises, weaving in and out of the piles of boxes.

'Hmm… If I didn't know any better, I'd say this would be a perfect hideaway for—' Danny's thoughts were immediately cut off when he turned a corner and the worst sight imaginable was instantly ingrained into both of their brains…

The Box Ghost seemed to be a bit busy with some "pie", provided by the Lunch Lady…

Before Ember could scream out her immediate disgust (as Danny knew she would), he grabbed her and flew straight away, phasing them through the nearest wall, stopping when they got outside. As Danny's feet hit the ground, so did his impending vomit as his dinner was forcibly evacuated from the sheer brutality of how wrong that scene is. Nothing shuts down a libido faster than seeing two not-so-attractive beings explore each other…

"Holy beef curtains, Batman! That has got to be the second worst thing I've ever seen in my afterlife! Dammit, couldn't those two stay in the Ghost Zone for that?! God, I need to bleach my brain…" Ember moaned, taking a nearby metal trash can lid and proceeding to smack herself on the head repeatedly with it, desperate to forget the last 30 seconds.

"Ugh! Please, babe, do NOT say 'beef curtains' ever again…" Danny said, his face going green again from remembering Lunch Lady's penchant for meat-based weaponry… He didn't want to ever imagine how she would interpret that particular innuendo. "Second worst? What was the first?" Danny couldn't help but ask, his stomach lurching once again. What could be worse than the living piece of hell-scape they just witnessed?

Ember stopped her barrage and gave him a challenging look. "You sure you want to find out, Dipstick? It took 10 whole bottles of hard liquor in one sitting to help me get over that. Just a warning." With that, she gave him a blow to the head with the trash can lid to 'help him forget'.

"Ow! Alright, forget I asked…" grumbled the halfa, rubbing his head as he spat out the last of the bile and vomit that lingered in his mouth. He was going to need mouthwash or at least a drink of water if Ember hoped for her little fantasy to continue…

After a few moments, Danny felt well enough to stand back up. He immediately yanked the bent and battered trash can lid from his love and tossed it away. "That's enough, flame. Hitting yourself isn't the answer."

"Actually, it is. I feel a bit better now. I can hardly think about that thing back there with this awful migraine I got." Ember said in a dazed tone. Danny groaned. Was this really going to be one of those nights? He focused some of his cryo-power into his right hand and lightly pressed it on Ember's forehead, earning a feminine "Ow, that's cold!" from her. He hoped that his makeshift 'ice pack' would help end her headache sooner.

"Thanks, Dipstick…" she mumbled, closing her eyes. What an evening this was turning out to be. Who knows how long it would be before their minds recovered enough to regain the romantic mood. She put her negative thoughts aside and just focused on the nice feeling of Danny's chilled hand on her forehead. Rest, relaxation, and remembering that things could only get better from here. The three 'R's she needed right now.

"You alright, Em?" he softly asked. Ember simply nodded, her ache indeed going away. Next time she decided to use a trash can lid, she was definitely not using it on herself.

"Good. I'd kiss you right now, but… well… my breath probably reeks right now" he explained, feeling put off. It seemed Ember misjudged the recovery time of Danny's lust. But then again, he is male... There was that rumor she heard about guys thinking about sex 'every 7 seconds' or something. She wasn't surprised to find some truth to that, if not an exact truth.

"Yeah, who'd want to kiss you now, barf-breath?" Ember joked, trying to lighten the overall mood. Danny pouted, crossing his arms in a silent challenge as if daring her to keep taunting. Ember turned and started floating away. "Let's just look in another warehouse. Hopefully, somebody left some mouthwash lying around. Otherwise, you're gargling some water." she explained before phasing through the nearby wall of the warehouse next to the one they hastily exited from.

Danny had to admire how stubborn she was. A piece of bad luck and bad timing like that and she still wants to indulge her fantasy on their anniversary. He had to believe that a lot of lovers would just call it a night after seeing something like that. Hell, a small part of him wouldn't have minded a rain-check based on the idea that the incident might spoil the mood or perhaps be forever part of the memory of the whole attempt. But he was no perfectionist, after all. And he was horny, no doubt about that.

The halfa phased through the spot where his lover phased through only to bump right into a floating Ember right as he came out the other side. It was made more embarrassing by the fact that when he made contact with her, he had went face first right into Ember's ass. What a seemingly klutzy scenario!

"Oof! Baby-Pop! Problem now, ass-worship later!" Ember said, blushing red as a rose.

"Phantom's here too? Wow, that's cool." Danny heard a new feminine voice exclaim in an amused tone. A familiar one, although he couldn't place where. Dislodging himself from Ember's firm-yet-soft backside, he straightened himself out and looked at what had Ember's attention.

Apparently, this warehouse district was a popular ghostly hangout, at least it was on this particular night. In front of the couple was Johnny 13 and his ever-present girlfriend, Kitty. Johnny's motorcycle was parked nearby and it was quite evident that the two were only starting to get intimate. Johnny smirked at his old rival.

"Bad luck, Danny boy?" the biker chortled, not bothering with the modest action of removing his hands from Kitty's ample chest.

"Well, at least this isn't like the last warehouse…" the hero muttered, hoping he didn't have a fight on his hands right now of all times.

"Dare I ask?" Kitty asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Box Ghost and Lunch Lady." At Ember's curt reply, all four ghosts shuddered.

"Don't tell me you actually…?" Johnny's question trailed off in obvious discomfort.

"We saw… We saw everything…" Danny said, his stomach turning on him lightly as if bothered by the mere mention of it.

"Holy shit, dude… Not even my powers can cause that kind of bad luck. Man, I'm sorry." Johnny said, knowing how ugly the two spirits in question were. He may have a gruff attitude toward things, but he wouldn't wish that on anybody. Well, except maybe Fright Knight.

Kitty squirmed her way out from under Johnny and went to Ember, pulling her into a tight hug, forgetting the fact that she was currently topless. "I can't believe you had to see such a thing! I remember accidentally walking in on my parents when I was alive… I couldn't eat for a couple of days after that."

'Kitty…! Air!"

Kitty looked down to find that her best friend's face had gotten smothered in her bare chest. She blushed and let her go. "Oops! Sorry, Ember…" Kitty said, chuckling. Ember's hair flickered and grew in annoyance.

"Whatever, Kitty…" the diva merely sighed passively.

"So, you two looking to get cozy with each other?" the green-haired girl asked. Danny blushed while Ember nodded.

"Trying to. It's our anniversary today." Ember replied, not feeling talkative but not wanting to disrespect her friend either.

Kitty squealed. "Oh, how romantic! One year, right? Gosh, it seems like only a couple of months ago when you told me that you defected to Team Phantom."

"You make it sound like a war's going on. Defected? Come on, Kitty… I just simply got a better boyfriend…" Ember said, knowing the start to some 'girl talk' when she hears it. How much longer did the two have until midnight? At this rate, lovemaking would have to be postponed… Or at least, a late-late-late night activity where they could still say that they did it during their anniversary date out.

"Are you nuts? It kinda is a war. Danny has you and his allies and on the other side, we got assholes like Walker and SkulkTech and Undergrowth and Spectra and all of them." Kitty replied, as if that explained everything.

"And you two?" Ember countered, smirking. An occasional bone of contention between Ember and Kitty since Ember's relationship started was which "side of the law" that Kitty and Johnny fell on.

Kitty's smirk vanished. "I told you, we just do our own thing. Neutral. We haven't done anything to Amity since the Disasteroid incident. We just hang around town and do crap like this." Kitty put her hands on her hips.

"What? Getting laid all day? Must be nice." Ember grinned, giggling. Kitty's arms dropped, slumping in astonishment as she realized that she had walked right into that snappy remark. Then, she grinned right back and both women shared a hearty laugh about it.

Danny and Johnny both felt like only spectators to what's going on, as both ladies seemed to have taken over the whole conversation. The halfa was at least glad that Johnny wasn't exactly in a fighting mood. His sentient shadow was always a formidable force to deal with. As for Johnny, he's relieved that the pesky hero was actually giving him some leeway, now that he was dating Kitty's best friend. Then again, not causing general havoc also seemed to keep Danny off of his case.

Kitty smirked at Ember, as if having a sudden thought. "So… you're looking for a place to get down and we're just getting down ourselves… Hmm… Wanna join in?"

Both Ember and Danny's eyes popped wide open. Even Johnny raised his eyebrows. "Uhh… Did you just suggest a foursome?" his voice sounded as if he was struck dumb. Sure, Kitty probably knew how attractive she was and she did live on the wild biker mentality, but… was she really that wild?

The biker girl floated over toward them. "Well, I was thinking that you two could go at it here in this room with us. This area's pretty spacious. Besides, it's just us four here and it's not like any of us have things we haven't seen before. But if you DO want a foursome, I probably wouldn't object. Your 'baby-pop' is pretty hunky, Ember." Kitty purred seductively, cupping Danny's chin with her hand and staring into his (still quite wide) eyes, giggling at how red his face is.

"What? Hey? What're you thinking, Kitty?" Johnny asked, seemingly thrown off by his girlfriend's sudden flirting. She had never done that before unless it was directed toward him.

"Just thinking of something new, baby. Nothing wrong with experimenting, right? Besides, remember those times you flirted with other chicks?" Kitty said, her gaze toward Johnny suddenly turning sharp. Johnny remembered alright. "Well, if they accept, you can get that out of your system with Ember if you'd like."

"Uhh, Kitty? I like you guys, but… a foursome?" Ember asked, also floored. Was this one of those tests from God that she heard about? All her talk about being a wild woman and a rebellious rock star (not to mention, her typical brash behavior) and she's suddenly has a situation thrown at her that makes her 'put her money where her mouth was'? She was a musician, not a whore! Parties, booze, and rocking out, right? Then again, didn't a lot of rockers fool around with groupies? In the span of 5 seconds, she seemed to consider it as a major fork in the road of afterlife. Does she indulge her wild side and have a fling with her boyfriend, her best friend, and another man? Or does she prefer remaining exclusive to just her Baby-Pop, appearing to 'mellow out' in the face of kinky ideas?

Danny answered before Ember could. "Umm… Well, I guess we'll see what happens…" he shyly said, the biker girl playfully pinching one of his cheeks while he was barely able to keep from staring at her breasts. Ember's head snapped toward him, surprised. Did her 'little boy scout' actually just consider their scandalous offer? "Danny?" she asked, not realizing that she used his name.

"Well… You always wanted me to 'liven up my act a little', right?" Danny said, remembering the few times she joked at him about his goody-goody tendencies. His reply struck Ember's train of thought like a thunderbolt. He was considering it… for her? But why? He didn't need her approval. She was already his. Was she actually influencing him? She needn't have asked that one. She knew some things were different now than at the beginning of their time together, like the fact that he let her keep her stolen goods whenever she went on the prowl for music stuff.

For the first time ever, Ember McLain wondered the question 'How wild is too wild?'…

Kitty placed both hands on the sides of Danny's head and slowly pulled his head in. Danny gulped, guessing what was coming. Was he really up to this? Making out with another woman, right in front of Ember? It was his own fault for pretty much agreeing to Kitty's idea, even if he said it in a roundabout way. Kitty's lips came closer to his own, then…. went to his ear?

"By the way… Gotcha!" she said, before quickly floating away, laughing. The three others gaped, not sure what to make of this at all. Danny felt left hanging, immediately followed by guilt for briefly wanting Kitty. Johnny grew annoyed as his girlfriend kept laughing. Ember realized that Kitty was pulling a big joke and, as standard Ember protocol dictated, promptly got furious.

"What the blue hell was THAT, Katherine?!" Ember growled, flying over and grabbing Kitty by the shoulders, spinning her around to make her face him. Kitty stopped laughing, for there were only a handful of times that Ember resorted to using her old living name. All of those times were when Kitty had pushed her too far.

"Ember? Come on, surely you could tell that I was kidding with you two. I mean, even though Phantom's turned out to be quite a stud, you know I wouldn't steal your man, especially after all you told me about you two…" the topless Kitty said calmly, hoping that her logic would ring true in Ember's mind. Throughout their friendship, Kitty was indeed one to pull a practical joke here and there when the mood struck her, as witnessed by Ember. The rocker should've known better too, since Kitty was also one for loyalty in relationships, having had to put up with a lot from her biker boyfriend who tended to have roaming eyes when other women were around, seemingly like instinct. During their occasional girl-talks, Kitty had never really said much about 'demanding loyalty' or 'specifically wanting commitment', but Ember could tell it was there. She really should have known… Nonetheless, she still glared at her.

"That… wasn't funny." Ember replied, fists clenched. Kitty backed up a little. Perhaps she had gone too far this time? Ember's hair flickered a little more violently. "You think it's cute, suggesting an orgy like it's no big deal?"

"Well, Johnny-boy had it coming anyway. If he thinks he can just gawk at any woman that floats on by, why can't I do the same to show him what it's like?" Kitty countered. Ember paused. She did have a point there. The rocker lost count of how many times she felt the bad-luck-powered biker's eyes on her body during the times she visited Kitty's realm. Then again, that was partially her own fault since she stubbornly preferred her usual form-fitting attire of a tank-top and tight pants… Ember sighed. She couldn't punish her friend for that reason. She still wanted to, though. Maybe later… 'Yes' her mind decided. 'You'll get yours some other time… Katherine…'

Johnny simply looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Wha? Baby, come on. I haven't looked at another woman for a couple of months now. I'm getting better, I swear!"

Ember smirked. She knew one way to vent after being pranked the way she did… "That's not what Desiree told me… And Spectra… And that hot waitress ghost down at the Diner… And that clique of high-school girls… Not to mention, that lesbian ghost that haunts that porn store somewhere in Amity's slums."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Really? There's a ghost there? I always thought somebody was always getting lucky every night."

Ember glanced at him. "And how would you know that?" A suspicious look appeared on her face, her eyes seemingly amused. Maybe she was indeed influencing her noble hero… Perhaps he has a little stash of 'viewing material' hidden away? Perhaps be bought a 'toy' to try out on her sometime?

"Late night patrol. Every time I check that area of the slums, I'm always hearing these loud moans. Sounded sexual, though. So who am I to judge? Right?" Ember's amusement fell. Of course. A logical innocent explanation, since she could attest to hearing how loud those moans where late at night, having perused the area once or twice before at night… That girl never knew when to shut up!

"Ah, whatever. Anyways, you're busted, Johnny." Ember said, turning her mischief back on the poor biker. Johnny squirmed where he stood, suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable. To his credit, he had been trying to stop being such a perv around other women. But, ghostly instincts being what they were sometimes, it was a hard thing to do, seeing as it was a part of his personality when he was alive, sort of like Ember's need of music. Didn't Kitty understand? She's a ghost too…

"Danny's loyal, Johnny. I could tell when I was right in his face, the way he fought so hard not to blatantly stare at my tits. Oh, he looked. Naturally. But he knows his place." Kitty simply explained. "Learn something from that and we'll be fine."

"But you just said that he looked, 'naturally'. That's what I just do! I just look! It's instinct, just like you said." Johnny countered, stupidly not realizing that she wasn't yelling at him (like she tended to do when she caught him sometimes).

"Men look, boys stare!" Kitty snapped back. "Now are we clear? Or are the four of us going to have to just go our own way for tonight?"

Johnny slumped. "Alright! I got it. Lesson learned. So…" he then sighed. "Where were we?"

Ember grabbed Danny by the wrist and started floating toward a wall. "We were just leaving. This got too weird. I really wasn't expecting to help teach Johnny a lesson." She said, mockingly ending her statement by sticking her nose up in the air in an indignant huff, like a rich person being dismissive of someone lower class. Danny just shrugged as he passed by the bikers. Yeah, Kitty shouldn't have done that, but he was sure Ember would eventually forgive the green-haired girl. Maybe. After a few months, at least.

Outside the warehouse, Ember slumped against a wall, feeling worn out. Kitty may have just been joking around (although she was quite convincing), but Ember didn't like how easily such a suggestion played with her mind and made her practically reexamine her afterlife. Perhaps some soul-searching would be appropriate, as ironic as that sounds.

"Baby-Pop?" Ember asked. Danny, who leaned against the wall next to her, softly grunted in acknowledgement, seemingly in thought himself. "What would you say to calling it a night tonight? We had a great anniversary and I'm certain we won't forget tonight after the 'fun' encounters. But I'm just not feeling it anymore tonight…"

Danny sighed. He had a feeling that the joke threw a wrench in their plans. "Yeah, it's alright. It's not like we had a sucky anniversary."

"Nah, this was good, trust me." she replied, leaning her head back until the back of her head meets the wall, gazing up at the evening sky. A moment of silence passed between the lovers, neither one exactly wanting to part ways just yet. Then, Danny chuckled to himself.

"What now?" Ember asked, having had enough of jokes. Danny put an arm around her.

"It's just kinda funny. We run into Box Ghost and Lunch Lady and you're still up for doing it, but one gag from Kitty and the mood's ruined. How crazy is that?"

Her face scrunched up in annoyance. "Don't push it, Dipstick…"

"I'm not. I just thought it was amusing. Are you alright, Em?" Danny started to wonder if there was more to this than just Kitty's prank being successful.

"Yeah, I'm ok…"

"You sure?" Danny's question made Ember turn her head toward him, supposedly to glare at him for being pushy. However, when her eyes met his, she knew that he was being pushy because he cared. His glowing green eyes were full of concern with a hint of affection. At least, she believed it was that. She wasn't an expert at reading people. That kind of thing was more for people like Danny's shrink-wannabe sister. However, she has had good luck getting a decent read on Danny's expressions, having been with him for so long.

She sighed. "No… It's just…. Well… Do you think I'm wild?" she asked, her voice softening in shy embarrassment.

"Huh?"

"Am I wild? Like I'm always talking about…?" Her mouth couldn't help but pout. Danny gently pulled her in close so she was leaning against him.

"What are you talking about? Of course you are. You're loud, you're blunt, you do unexpected things, you kick random criminal ass right before turning around and stealing things anyway, you go out of your way to let me know the hard way when you're horny... I'd say you're far from tame." Danny said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

"Thanks, Dipstick… It's just that… when Kitty invited us to a foursome, I… I was torn. A part of me was interested, but…another part of me wanted to just punch her out and take you away. But… doesn't that mean I'm… mellowing out? All the crazy rock stars tend to have plenty of random sex and I remember a couple of flings I had when I was alive… but now, I'm suddenly thinking this and… Dammit, I'm wussing out…" Ember finished with a whimper, feeling dumber as she kept talking. Danny's grip on her tightened slightly, the halfa trying to be as comforting as possible.

"Ember, I don't think you're 'wussing out'. Far from it. Personally, it sounds like you're just… hmm… developing your personality, I think?" he questioned in an uncertain tone. "Hmm, sounds about right? Jazz would probably have some brainer way of saying it. Anyways, I doubt it's a problem. I mean, maybe you're changing because of the good thing we have going here. Have you had a relationship that lasted this long?"

"Hmm… No… There was one… when I was alive, but… well… things happened. You wanna know the details, you can figure it out from my main jam… You know, 'Remember'?" Ember said, her tone hardening as she said the last part, driving home the point that she didn't feel like discussing specifics yet.

"And… Did you always like the idea of being in a relationship?" he asked.

"…Yeah, guess so. Nothing wrong with a girl being pampered by some hunk, right?" she couldn't resist adding in a small smirk, her humor ever-so-present.

"Hah… I wouldn't know, babe. I don't swing that way." Danny countered, showing a smirk of his own.

"That's not what some people on the internet would say." she snickered, remembering some of the crazier stuff she had seen on some of the Danny Phantom "Phan Sites". Some people could really draw. If only they could use their fan-art talents for something other than putting her boyfriend in situations reminiscent of gay porn videos… And of course, that was nothing compared to some of the fan-fiction some of the Amity Park locals have posted. She would be lying if she said that she didn't get a little turned on from some of them…

Danny facepalmed, blushing. "Emberrrr…" he groaned. The diva laughed, playfully poking Danny's shoulder as he kept his face buried in the palm of his hand. The things some fans come up with… He just couldn't understand why some fans like creating stuff like that. In any case, the halfa was relieved that she seemed to be cheering up…but why did it always have to be at his own expense? Ah well, as long as it helps…

"Dammit… Well, anyway…" he said, trying to change the subject. "Perhaps a part of you feels like you don't need to be as… umm… sexually open? I think that's the right phrase… I should've listened more to Jazz's psycho-babble…. Sigh… But yeah, don't need to be as 'sexually open' because you finally have what you wanted: a relationship that actually seems to be working. I mean, look, one year!" he said, clearly stumbling through that explanation. No wonder Ember smacked him around for using unoriginal references. Not everyone was a natural wordsmith…

Ember looked thoughtful as she mulled over his words. He did have a point. Perhaps she was adapting to the idea that she's now in a seemingly-stable relationship, the first one she ever had that actually lasted an entire year. Nothing wrong with wanting to have a regular, exclusive relationship. She could still 'bring the noise' in other ways.

"Sounds logical… even for you." she said, lightly slapping him upside the head. Danny flinched, but grinned. Ember smiled that rarely-used sincere smile. He may be a dork sometimes, but he was HER dork. Her smile faltered as she just realized that she had just thought an unoriginal cliché line. Dammit, he was rubbing off on her!

"Glad you feel better, Ember. I'd hate for this date to end on a sour note." Danny said, leaning in for a kiss which she gladly gave him. The first one was a nice, quick kiss. Rare from Ember… Usually, she starts off soft when she's feeling particularly grateful for something.

"Well, as usual, you had to go and be 'the big hero'. I feel so 'saved'. Thank you." she said, jabbing at his 'day job'. With that, she practically latched her lips to his in her usual flare for passionate making out. Danny fell over as Ember leaned into him, soon finding himself beneath Ember as she practically wrestled his tongue with hers. Perhaps she would get some sort of satisfaction of her "rave party warehouse" fantasy after all, even if they didn't take it all the way. Perhaps another night, they would try again…

If they did decide to try it again some other night, both of them hoped that the warehouses would be less 'populated' next time… Then again, it was a new year for the lovers, so to speak. After all, anything could happen.

Even particularly corny happy endings.

"Ow!" Danny cried as Ember had pinched his ass mid-kiss. "What was that for?"

"You were thinking something cliché, weren't you?" Ember said, smirking down at him. Danny became very turned on by the sight of Ember on her hands and knees right above him with that troublesome smirk on her face.

"I… um… No." Danny said. When caught off-guard, he was a terrible liar. Not that he was an expert at it when he had time to prepare a lie either…

"You so were. Besides, I bet you liked me pinching you there. Don't you?" she said, her voice taking on a sultry vibe, leaning down as her hand reached under him and roamed down his back again. Danny couldn't help but smile stupidly. Yeah, she was 'pressing his buttons' alright.

Needless to say, the anniversary went out with a 'bang' after all…

Author's Note: Holy crap! I think this is the longest story in Comical Relations yet. I mean, I thought it was going to be just a couple of antics and boom, done. But idea after idea after idea kept coming as I kept writing this and this is the result. Hopefully, this patchwork story of a bundle of ideas is good, not some sort of weird literary Frankenstein that people would want to torch and pitchfork.

On a side note about a certain joke toward the end there: I mean absolutely NO offense to those that prefer to draw/write fan-things that are slash/yaoi/homosexual. I don't mind what people tend to write or draw. It goes to people's preference, really. I'm no censor. I hate censorship. I just thought that a good joke here would be how a superhero character (or any other type of character that would be well-known in his town/country/planet) that is definitively straight might react to the existence of homosexual fanart/fanfiction that features him. Sort of a Deadpool-esque "breaking the 4th wall" gag without using Deadpool's insanity. I would imagine that a current-day superhero's girlfriend might rib him on it at least once at some point in the relationship (with notable exceptions such as Batman (Catwoman knows better!) and perhaps Aquaman and Green Lantern (Does Atlantis and Space have internet? Lol.)). So I do hope that nobody takes the joke the wrong way.

I will keep my Poll up, perhaps with a new option included to vote on. So please vote! I'd like to see what you would like to see happen, not having done this Poll thing before for a story. Good thing somebody let me know about that whole "put the Poll on the Profile" option. As always, please review! Review and vote! Thank you in advance.