Chapter 4: The Ghost Elephant in the Room

As soon as they entered the threshold, Tim was ready for something hostile or uncanny. Maybe a ghost popping up from the floor and blasting him for invading their town (Danny did say they could get territorial).

But the Fenton household looked nothing like Tim had imagined after seeing the monstrous structure outside of the building. For starters, there were no signs of the house protection systems Danny had mentioned earlier. There were also no weapons or ghost tech he could identify. It looked like a normal home, with tall, blue walls, a modest living room, and family pictures hanging by the straight staircase in front of him. He allowed his shoulders to relax a little.

"Where's dad?" Danny asked as he dropped the bags he was holding next to the stairs, which was probably the direction they would be going to find the rooms where they'd be staying.

Maddie stopped in front of Danny and turned. "Oh, he's working in the shed," she said.

That confused Danny for some reason. "You mean he's outside? Not, you know, downstairs?" he asked with an emphatic glance to the floor.

Right, the basement. The portal they built in the basement, which was probably where his parents usually worked.

Maddie chuckled. "He's trying to find other hobbies while you two kids are here," she replied. "Would you be a dear and tell him to come inside? I'll show Tim the room upstairs."

Danny hesitated for a moment, looking between Tim and Maddie, before his companion gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "Don't worry," Tim said with a teasing grin, "we probably won't have enough time to pull out your embarrassing baby pictures."

There was a glimmer of mischief in Mrs. Fenton's violet eyes that was almost reminiscent of Danny's troll ways. "Don't underestimate my photo album availability," she added.

With one last sigh in defeat, Danny turned around to leave through the front door. "At least hold the worst ones until we're back inside?"

"No promises, sweetie," Maddie said almost in a sing-song tone, making her son roll his eyes and groan.

Once the front door was closed, the mother of three turned to pick up a bag and faced Tim. "Shall we?" She turned on her heel and started going up the stairs.

As he climbed each step, the sight of pictures hanging along the wall made him smile. There was a cute one of Danny as a little kid at a picnic with his mom, and another from his high school graduation, posing next to his parents and two sisters. He also recognized Jazz in a few pictures, like the one of her as a child hugging a plush bear while Mr. Fenton embraced her.

Huh. Only Elle's childhood pictures were missing, and the few that were there only showed her as a teen or older. Of course, there could be many explanations. Tim didn't have baby pictures with his family, for instance. It was maybe something to keep in mind and ask about later.

"Did you have any trouble getting here?" Maddie asked a few steps ahead of him, interrupting the flow of adoption theories in his head.

"With Danny driving? Not really," Tim replied, keeping his answers short and sweet while complimenting her son. "But we did take a last-minute detour and had brunch."

The woman smiled fondly over her shoulder. "I hope he didn't drive too recklessly. He tends to forget he's not flying the Specter Speeder," the woman stopped abruptly and chuckled. "Oh, one of our old inventions."

Tim stared at her for a moment. Out of all the vehicles Danny mentioned, the Specter Speeder wasn't one of them. Was it related to their ghost hunting or was the name just meant to sound cool? Had Danny been more involved in the family business than he let on?

"I'm very curious about your work, by the way," he said, hoping to get Mrs. Fenton to willingly share any ghost information. "I just love tinkering with tech and could definitely use some inspiration. Could I maybe see some of the things you do someday?" he asked in the charming, business-casual tone he used to woo new potential partners.

Maddie smiled with some hesitation. "Of course, Tim. It's just Tim, right?"

Tim had a tight smile and he was glad his mother-in-law had her back turned as he led him to the top of the stairs. "Yeah, like a rockstar," he lied, and something in him cried softly at that mention of the lazy fake story, but it wasn't like he could really forge a fake ID to meet his boyfriend's family.

Maddie hummed in response. "But yes, we can clean up a bit of our workspace in the la—" the mother suddenly cut herself from finishing the sentence. " Laundry room," she corrected forcibly.

Huh…

Did she blatantly avoid talking about the lab in the basement? Had Danny asked his family to keep the ghostly craziness to the minimum? So far there hadn't been any real mentions of ghosts yet, which was odd considering how overzealous Danny had made them sound. Unless his boyfriend had just been exaggerating. Either way, why avoid talking about something so common in their daily routines?

"We sometimes work in the most random of places at home," Maddie continued with a forced chuckle. The tension from Mrs. Fenton's slip remained like a dark cloud above them. "Anyway, here's the guest room. The bathroom is the door to the left, and the door across the hall is Danny's."

Tim entered the room to leave his bags on the bed and turned to face his mother-in-law. "It's okay if you want to talk about the lab, Maddie," Tim spoke, going for smooth confidence. "Danny told me about the whole ghost thing."

Maddie's stare was piercing, assessing, but Tim could also notice the way a part of her felt relieved at the confession. "He… did ? He finally told you?" The young man nodded and received an exasperated sigh in response while Maddie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Of all the things to not tell us."

That threw him out of the loop. Maybe that was not the right thing to say, since it probably got Danny in trouble. But it's not like they were keeping their work private, anyway, considering the choice of clothing and the billboards on the road. And even if Danny hadn't mentioned they were ghost hunters, they still had a huge neon sign outside to announce it. He almost felt offended; Tim would have figured it out eventually on his own.

"I think it was a spur of the moment thing. He was probably scared about my reaction," he tried to amend. "I love your son, I really, really do. And no matter what kind of weird things are going on, or whatever he went through in Amity Park, I don't mind. He's kinda stuck with me. So, I don't want this to be awkward. We can talk about ghosts or your work, or anything you want," he finished with a soft smile.

That had been the right thing to say by the looks of Maddie's teary expression. She stared at Tim fondly and hugged him. "You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear that. It's so reassuring to know Danny found someone so understanding, so caring like you. I'm glad you kids got that secret out of the way."

From the way Mrs. Fenton talked about it, Tim had to wonder if having ghost hunters as parents had been harder for Danny than he thought. He could imagine the bullying and the fear of no one believing him. But was that weighing so much on his boyfriend? Had that sparked his trust issues in the past? He hadn't thought too deeply about that, but he needed to find a way to be more supportive and reassuring from now on.

"Yeah, Danny kinda tries to keep things close to the chest," Tim replied in a lighter tone, trying to dispel the previous tension. "And besides, ghosts are totally not something you would expect, right?"

Maddie laughed. "Trust me, we had a hard time processing that as well."

Oh, good. At least they were aware their profession wasn't an easy topic to believe. How strong did the Fenton parents have to be of their convictions when they fought to prove the existence of something almost impossible? Maybe that determination also explains why Danny can be so bullheaded at times.

"It was weird, though," he continued. "I feel stupid for not piecing things together before, you know? I mean, he sometimes talked about everything so openly and I just thought he was joking."

Maddie's eyes widened in recognition and gestured with both hands at Tim. "Exactly! It drove us crazy, too! But, you'll find a way to adjust to all of it." She then placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Just let us know if you ever have any questions we can help you with, though I'm sure Danny will have most of that covered."

Tim saw the perfect opening to ask what had been bothering him. "Speaking of which…did Danny ask you to keep things quiet while I'm here? Like, did he tell you to avoid talking about ghosts?" he asked as Maddie turned to open the closet door.

"Oh, yes," she replied with a small chuckle while taking out some extra pillows and towels with a green "F" embroidered on them. "But since ghost attacks have drastically decreased once Danny went to Gotham, avoiding ghost talk is not as hard as you would think." Her brows creased and she paused. "He also told us he would tell you everything when you got here. I'm sure you're still trying to process and I don't want to overwhelm you. So, if you don't mind, I won't tell Jack that you know, for now."

Tim raised a wary eyebrow. "How come?"

"My husband can get extremely enthusiastic when he meets new people to share his views and theories on ectoplasmic entities," she admitted with a small grimace. "I wouldn't be surprised if he offers you to go on a test trial to join the family business."

"What, do none of your kids want to follow in your footsteps?" Tim asked. With how hesitant Danny was to get here, he sure wouldn't be interested in trading space for ghosts. Did he even know how to "hunt" ghosts?

Maddie put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not going to pry about how much Danny has told you about his plans for the future, but yes, he gave part of that up to live his dreams, have a normal life, maybe fall in love."

Tim felt heat rising to his cheeks. He also made a mental note: don't drag Danny into the ghost-hunting madness if he can help it. "Not a pip to Mr. Fenton, then."

"Good sport," Maddie smiled.

"Shiver me Timbers! Where's the other lovebird?" a masculine voice boomed from the room below and Tim could only laugh at the sheer absurdity of the situation.

"I think that's my cue to meet your husband," he said.

Maddie put an arm around his shoulders with such familiarity it struck Tim as odd. Had they already bonded that far? He knew the Fenton parents were caring, but he suddenly remembered something in Danny's last revelation that put Tim on edge. Where were the neglectful parents who installed malfunctioning weaponry in the house? Who focused so much on their work they didn't always pay attention to their kids? Was this a mask? Was this genuine fondness?

"Remember, Jack can get a little carried away, but he has a huge heart of gold and always tries to keep things lighthearted," she said as she led him out to the hallway.

Tim tried to push his concerns away. This had really been a long day. How did he end up building a case about Danny and Amity Park during his summer vacation?

When they descended the stairs, a huge man in an orange jumpsuit, dark hair with graying areas, and a bubbling presence, was talking with Danny. He turned to look at Tim, and it was like a light had sparked with joy behind his eyes.

"Ah, there you are!" the man greeted Tim with an extended hand. "I'm Jack Fenton, inventor, fudge-lover, and your embarrassing dad-in-law."

"Tim, your not-yet-embarrassed son-in-law," he replied while accepting the handshake and ignoring Danny's snort. "Glad to finally meet you, sir."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Got any last name, Timbo? If not, I'm sure Danny will be happy to lend you his."

The beet-red color on both Tim's and Danny's faces was instantaneous. " Daaaad ," his boyfriend whined. "Whyyy?"

The obnoxious father laughed, his wife joining him. "I'm fixing the not-yet-embarrassed part, son."

Tim recovered enough to give the man a deadpan look. "Officially fixed, Mr. Fenton."

"Don't worry, Tim. I'm sure you'll get used to it by dinner," Maddie said. "Speaking of which, why don't you kids settle in and we'll call you down when the food's ready?"

Danny wasted no time in grabbing Tim's hand to drag him somewhere. "Great, awesome, we'll stay far away from this brand of torture." He pulled gently at Tim and a second later they were both gone up the stairs.

"Mind if I take a break in my room?" Tim asked on the way up, making Danny turn with concern. "I just need to process all of this."

The two stopped at the top of the stairs, with Danny giving him a searching look. "Sorry, I didn't mean for this to be so overwhelming," he replied with guilt heavy in the slump of his shoulders.

Tim lifted a hand to Danny's cheek, feeling an eerie cold sensation under his fingers. "It's okay. I still haven't seen a ghost, so it's not as bad as I had pictured it."

Danny stared at him in the most incredulous way, a hint of annoyance rising in his eyes. "Oh, great. Thanks. You jinxed it."

"What?" Tim replied with a chuckle that definitely didn't sound nervous.

The cheek under his hand turned to place a chaste kiss on the palm of his hand. "Don't worry, birdie, I'll keep you safe."

With one last kiss, Danny sighed dramatically and went to his room, making Tim shake his head as he left to lie down for a minute behind the guest room's closed doors. While he had questioned not staying in Danny's room at first, now he was thankful for the time alone to process…whatever the hell Amity Park was.

When it was time for dinner, Tim had already gotten most of the information he gathered written down in a neat report he wasn't sure yet if he would send to B. He had later been given a small tour by Danny, minus the obvious ghost-related workspaces: the Ops Center and the Lab. He was definitely curious about seeing either, to see what kind of technology was used with beings from a different plane of existence.

But, as agreed with Mrs. Fenton— Maddie—, he wouldn't provoke Danny's dad with ghost talk of any kind. He did notice the man had to practice a lot of restraint, but there were still so many things to ask without the mention of anything spooky to last them the whole visit.

Case in point…

"So, Timbo," Jack, as he preferred to be called, began after finishing a bite of his lasagna. The not glowing kind, thankfully. "Danny here says you work at an office. What kind of stuff do you get to do there?"

Ah, a pretty tame question. Of course, none that could get a truthful answer, seeing how Danny had advised him not to mention his connection to Bruce Wayne for his own good. Tim had reminded Danny that Bruce had projects and investments all over Gotham, so it was easy to end up working at some place he partially owned. Neither agreed on the story, so Tim kept the information under wraps unless he was directly asked.

"I just check the mail and keep things organized," he replied vaguely. That didn't immediately point to being the CEO, right?

Jack laughed and gave a playful elbow shove in Danny's direction. "Ah, I'm betting you keep Danny-boy in check with how distracted he can get, huh?"

"Oh, c'mon, I'm plenty organized," Danny defended himself with a scoff, attacking the meal with his fork using a little more force than necessary.

"You've always been a little bit of a mess, sweetie," Maddie added unhelpfully.

"Leave it to my parents to attack me like this," Danny told Tim with a deadpan look. "I would say it's progress, though."

At that, both parents gasped in shock, the mixture of embarrassment and guilt evident in their eyes. "We can pick other topics to discuss."

The tension in the room was so strange, but Tim tried to piece together what it all meant. Did this have to do with the way their defense systems attacked Danny? Great, more questions to add to the list.

"Oh, for sure," Jack said in agreement with his wife. When his eyes landed on Tim he braced himself for another question. "Say, how's the vigilante scene going in Gotham? You guys got plenty of heroes over there, don't you?"

Tim smiled. All those years as Robin and Red Robin gave him a practiced calm when talking about their alter egos. "Yeah, a few," he replied with ease.

Jack grinned back and turned between the two boys. "Any new heroes? I'm sure there's always someone popping up, am I right?"

That gave Tim pause. What was the man implying? "Not that I've heard of. Do you follow any heroes closely?"

"Why of course!" Jack replied loudly, his chest puffing. "We're proud of our local heroes. It's not easy fighting—"

"Dad," Danny cut him short. "I'm sure we can talk about other things? Like, how long will Jazz take to get here?"

Tim eyed his boyfriend curiously and decided to ask him later what was that all about. "No, no," he said instead, much to Danny's dismay. "You got my interest piqued. You have local heroes?" Tim asked despite the previous warnings to avoid this topic with the Fentons.

But, hey, he wasn't the one bringing it up, was he?

Maddie froze and hesitated for a moment. "Yes! There was the, uh, Red Huntress." There was a silent conversation between her and Danny that Tim couldn't yet decipher. If anything it looked like he was begging her to stop.

"Ah, good ol' Red," Jack wistfully said, oblivious to the others. "I still remember when Danno had a huge crush on her," he teased, making Danny slump in his seat, his face full of disbelief.

Oh.

Guess that explained Danny's initial reaction.

Tim didn't know how to handle this new piece of information. It kinda stung, in a way, to learn Danny apparently had a thing for Red-named vigilantes. Hopefully not all of them.

Right, ask in private later. Be normal Gotham boyfriend Tim No-Last-Name, now.

Tim chuckled nervously and turned to face Danny, who was still trying to disappear into the floor. "Oh, did you? Didn't think you liked to flirt with danger, hun."

Danny covered his eyes with his hands and groaned. "I'm not having this embarrassing conversation."

Maddie's lips curled into an almost feral smile and she winked at Tim for some reason. "Well, we could always talk about Phan—"

Danny sat up straight and gave a bewildered look at his mom. "Nope, all good. We're done with Amity Park's brand of odd, thanks. Next topic?"

There was something there, Tim was sure. An elephant in the room he hadn't known was present. A ghostly elephant maybe. Sure, he could wait for Danny to tell him, but the need to know what he was missing (now that he knew he was missing something) begged him to dig deeper.

"Starlight, we can't tiptoe the ghost talk all day, you know?" Tim said as he rubbed Danny's hand. "What if there's a ghost drill and I'm not prepared? How would I even get help from this Red girl?"

Before his boyfriend could offer some kind of retort, Jack beat him to it. "Red's no longer working, Timbo. She went off to college."

Tim furrowed his brows. "Wait, you know who she is?"

Jack beamed at that. "Of course, they dated in high school!"

The questions that now rose to Tim's head were concerning. There were so many implications from Danny dating a vigilante and knowing their identity before. Was that why he was so accommodating to his life as Red Robin? Or why he knew how to patch him up when they met?

Danny's forehead hit the table before Tim could even process what was going on. He groaned into his hands and tried to collect himself a second later, staring at everyone at the table. "All right, ground rules for everyone. Previous dating life, identity issues, or anything that has nothing to do with who I am now, is off the table," he said in such a decisive way, Tim almost didn't recognize it. It almost made him feel afraid of the consequences if he didn't heed his word.

"Oh, honey, we didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," Maddie said with a frown. "We just wanted to prepare you for when the conversation got more awkward. We still haven't talked to Tim about our warnings if he ever hurts you."

"Of course," Jack added with renewed enthusiasm. "Nothing says bonding like a good ol' shovel talk."

Danny was about to protest when Tim cut in the conversation. "Not something to worry about, seriously," he pressed his hand on top of Danny's, tracing small circles with his thumb. "We're figuring things out as we go and I'm sure you mean well, but we can handle our issues on our own."

There was a moment of silence and Tim knew he had done the right thing when Danny shot him a small smile in return. He also noticed Maddie putting her hands over her heart, an "aww" escaping her lips softly.

Right, they would talk about this later. They didn't need the audience nor the pressure. They'll be fine, even if he was sure he would get some sort of threat from the parents (would they threaten him to haunt his afterlife as well?)

Jack shook his head. "We can definitely respect not wanting nosy in-laws," he said with a warmth and calm he hadn't seen yet in the man. "There's always time for that in the future. So how about you tell us more about how you met or what you want to do in Amity Park? You pick the topics, kiddo."

An invisible weight was lifted from Danny's shoulders and Tim realized it had been the same for him.

Maybe that's why he hated the next question he was going to ask… "So, how did you get the idea of studying ghosts for a living?" Tim wondered out loud.

Jack and Maddie turned to look at each other with some hesitation before staring at Danny. Tim shrugged at his boyfriend's blank expression, which shifted to a nod to his parents to continue.

The cold sensation under Tim's fingers grew. He turned to look at Danny's hand and had to wonder what else was inside this can of ghostly worms.

Notes:

- Elle is Dani 'Danielle', who in this story is part of Danny's family after the reveal (whether she stays in one single place or not will be addressed later).

- Red Huntress is Valerie Gray

Also, finally! This is up to date with the AO3 version.