The Little Things

Conclusion: Dreammaker, Heartbreaker, Part I

~0*0~

…..

….

….yes, Lauren is an awful person. *Facepalms*

*Sighs* Okay. Before I am stoned to my doom, (As I know I should be) I just wanted to apologize. This story wound up giving me more trouble than I realized it would when I had to rethink the ending. Nothing really seemed right. I worked on other stories, hoping that it might help, but it just increased the pool of guilt in my stomach and the nagging sense that I wasn't working on my requests, as I knew I should be. xEchoheartx gave me an absolutely amazing art piece; (Check out her gallery on DeviantArt; her work beith awesomesauce!) I don't think this is half as special, but I needed to give something in return, and fulfill my end of the bargain. Part II is pretty much finished, but it needs some more editing.

Um…again: I am a stranger to writing actual sex scenes. *Blushing* Did my best. Can you guess who the "other" in the beginning is? ;) I'd be so deliciously entertained if you would offer your guesses!

xEchoheartx, again, I'm sorry I took so long to complete your storyline. I truly hope you enjoy it, and a thousand words of thanks for your wonderful comic. *Triple hugs* Respect and admiration always.

Yes, all the chapter names are from the old song "Moon River." Don't ask me why I thought it was a perfect fit…

Very much hope you all enjoy. No, I do not own Danny Phantom. I think this should be fairly obvious by now….^^

~0*0~

"Moon River, wider than a mile,

I'm crossing you in style someday.

Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,

Wherever you're going, I'm going your way.

Two drifters off to see the world.

There's such a lot of world to see.

We're after the same rainbow's end-

Waiting 'round the bend,

My huckleberry friend,

Moon River and me."

~0*0~

Prologue

There were still stars dancing in his eyes when he came after the former ghost boy again.

Danny let out a soft grunt as his back rammed into the wall, momentarily knocking the wind out of him. And immediately he was reaching for the teen with a groan, impatiently hoisting up Danny's t-shirt in the darkness. Petrified, Danny heard a quiet growl in front of him as his companion seized him by the shoulder blades, and immediately began kissing and biting his neck, hot tongue tracing sensual circles on his skin. Struck dumb, Danny just stood there, though piercing alarms were echoing throughout his mind.

He couldn't do this. But if he didn't, Danny might as well dig a grave now; his desperate paramour had made it quite clear that someone was going to die if Danny didn't let him hold him. And the death would be on his hands.

But it was growing into something else entirely, and if he didn't stop now, there was no way he could later on. He wriggled under the other's strong hands, longing to call out for help but knew it was useless; they were completely and entirely alone. There would be no one to hear him scream.

The skin belonging to the one who was now nuzzling his ears was sweaty; he could feel it. The conflicted boy's eyes lidded as the other began to bury itself into every crook of his ear, stroking softly.

Oh, God…..

He was despicable if he let this continue, doomed if he pulled away now. The dark-haired teen knew that this had gone on long enough; he needed to get help. What he was doing now would only destroy them both sooner or later.

But what could he do if the alternative was a death on his hands? He didn't want anyone to suffer-had never wanted anyone to suffer, became Amity Park's self-appointed deputy for years.

Then, the one time he'd tried to be a regular human and pursue his own happiness and first love, he'd been punished. The irony made Danny choke on a laugh as well as a slight sob.

His blue eyes burned with tears in the darkness as his lips were again accosted. The kisses were warm and rough and ragged, and he could feel fingers reverently tugging his face closer. Miserable, Danny nonetheless moaned as the other began frantically waylaying him with his hands and lips and body and scent. He seized Danny in an open-mouthed kiss, which Danny sank into, his eyes rolling back into his head as he wrapped a leg around the other's waist, shivering at the friction. Reluctantly, Danny's fingertips brushed against the other's six pack, and traveled upwards, trailing up the other's firm bicep.

A pause, than a ragged laugh, and a purr:

"See something you like, Danny?"

Danny bit his lip as the other again kissed him, this time so passionately the entire room was spinning, and the one leg he had supporting himself was wobbling fiercely underneath him. Oh, God. Oh, God, this was not good, this was not good; he needed to detach himself now before this went any further.

The former hybrid pulled his wet and swollen lips out of the hot kiss, blushing fiercely in the dark. He tried to unwind his leg from the other, tried to speak. But the other certainly wasn't having it; the teen was abruptly slammed against the wall again, and his other leg was seized. Danny gasped sharply as his companion proceeded to kiss and suckle at his bare knee, making him shift uncomfortably under the other's grip. Soon enough, the other simply wrapped Danny's other knee around his waist so that the raven-headed boy had no choice but to straddle the other.

"Please," said Danny anxiously, his voice rising with fear. "I don't-aagggh!"

His shirt was torn off, and now there was a pair of warm lips suckling at his collarbone, trailing down to his right nipple. Shuddering, Danny tried to push the other away, but the attempt was weak; he unconsciously threw an arm around the other's neck as the other swirled a tongue over the delicate skin, withdrawing from the pink skin only to blow slightly on it. Then, the other's tongue trailed lazily across Danny's alabaster chest to the other, and Danny stiffened as he bit back another moan, vision spasming. Then, the other pulled away, but that was only to shed his own shirt. Immediately afterward, the two were chest to chest, heat to heat. Danny's heart started pounding as a finger reached his jeans, and lightly stroked his hip bone. Then, it slid further down into his jeans, and Danny threw his head back with a startled cry as the hand seized his hot, hard length. The hand was shaking, but it was caressing him in such a way that had him shaking again, his brow growing sweaty, moans falling freely from his mouth.

A hand at his pants. Danny's hand went to the other man's, but he didn't even try to prevent him from peeling his jeans off of him. A hitched breath from the other. Then-

"Feel me."

Danny was pressed against the other man's bulge, and he wrapped his other arm around the other man's shoulders, and he pressed his forehead against the toned chest, shuddering as he felt the other one's hot pulse against his own, straining against his pants. Pleasure was blooming in his stomach, momentarily overtaking his guilt. Ohhhh. He ground against the other, luxuriating in the friction bursting from their flesh. Another shaky laugh from the other, and he shelled himself of his own pants, leaving the both completely naked. Still holding onto him, Danny's nervousness slowly trickled back to him as the other's tongue returned to his chest, trailing sensually down the petite form, stopping at his navel. Danny let out another moan of appreciation, and the other's lips trailed down, down, down….

Oh!

Danny's hands trembled like jello, and he wanted to thrust deeper into the other's mouth, but was afraid of choking the other, monster he was. A hot tongue kept tenderly stroking across his pulsing head, swallowing around the trembling muscle. Before he reached his peak however, the other withdrew, chest heaving, eyes gleaming in the darkness, glossed with lust.

Then, without another word, the other man carried Danny across the room, to the bed. Danny fell against the soft sheets, far past caring what happened now. The toned body eagerly slithered over his, and his mouth was engaged in a kiss, hot tongues sensually sliding against one another as the other predatorily drew his supple body towards him. Danny had blindly wrapped his arms around the other's shoulder as he felt the other's throbbing length touch against his entrance.

This was going to hurt.

This was going to hurt badly, and he didn't care. He could wonder whether or not he were an emotional cutter later on. Now, his head was swimming with desire, and his body was aching for the other to be inside.

There would be more than enough time to regret this later.

~(*0*)~

"Nooooooooo!"

Fentina's scream was a hollow sort of ringing in his own ears, meaning little to the stunned bully. Considering, however, that he now had more stars racing around his eyes than that time he'd been kicked in the head by a little pony at one of his mother's polo tournaments, it was forgivable. Still, Baxter would be lying if he didn't feel a dim sense of appreciation for the kid's shouting, although it was masked by his irritation that Fentina had not gotten the hint and run for his life.

Or….at the very least, he wasn't sure if he had. The only thing he could really see swimming in and out of his vision was Phantom's furious eyes boring holes into his own, and an absolutely wicked smile blooming on his face. The ghost was still standing over him, still flexing his silver hands, even though Dash knew that his old crush could probably send a bolt of energy at his head, which would probably have the same effect of a speeding bullet.

Phantom bent down, seized Dash by the scruff of his dark shirt, and heaved him upwards, his Peridot eyes still flashing dangerously as his hands curled around Dash's neck. Like a dying little animal, the jock struggled and flailed and kicked hopelessly in midair, gasping as the ghost boy's grip began to grow tighter, and his lungs began to burn for air. Spots flashed before his vision, and even as he viciously attacked and clawed at the ghost's unrelenting, steel-like silver hands, he knew one thing:

He was dying.

Beautiful, classic strangulation. Clean, yet normally effective, giving your victim a chance to struggle and be humiliated before they slowly yet rapidly fell into darkness, and died. Phantom had taste.

Struggling to gasp and to breathe, Dash choked, wincing as the ghost's grip tightened.

If Phantom really had been a part of Danny once, he was probably craven for revenge on his tormentor after all these years. Could Dash really blame him? He was surprised to find that he was not especially angry at his attacker, even if he still felt the rush of hot fury and resentment when his dying mind flickered back to Phantom's desperate attempt to steal a kiss from Fentina.

Gosh, it was a wonder he had time to think about all this. Phantom could have easily broken him in two, but the ghost was really trying to make him suffer, even if he could dimly see that his teeth were grit and the specter's face was melted with fury. With any luck, it wouldn't be much longer, and the snap would come, so that he could drop to the ground like an unwanted marionette.

He couldn't say it was his top choice in terms of ways to go-he'd always figured it would have been a football injury or driving drunk or a bullet to the head when his secret ruined him.

But I got ta see Fentina one last time. That's gotta count for somethin'. I rescued him. And he probably won't end up as Phantina's screwtoy. Dat's…..dat's good, too.

His vision went red, and it loomed ominously into darkness. He hoped it would be quick, because the agony was building up and becoming unbearable; he wondered if his eyes would truly roll back into their sockets and-

And suddenly, Phantom's grip loosened. He did not let Dash go, but instead of holding him by the neck, the bully found himself being harshly clutched by the shoulders. It hurt, and his neck throbbed horribly, but he was greedily gulping in air, his mind still swimming, vision still foggy. After a moment, Phantom spoke.
"Danny. Put that down. Right now."

He sounded as uneasy as the time Dash and his father had gone hunting, and the seven year old had jokingly pointed the rifle at his dad, not truly realizing what he'd been doing. Rolling his head around, trying to groan, but shuddering as his throat started throbbing in protest, Dash waited until his vision had refocused somewhat, and he was faintly aware of a silhouette standing before them, crouched.

He moaned inwardly. Damn you, Fenton, why didn't you run?

His vision slowly trickled back into focus, and he found himself once again at the receiving end of Danny Fenton's glower, blue eyes shot with fire. Dash almost shivered.

And he was clutching what was Phantom's trademark: The silver and green metallic spectral thermos.
Phantom was now glaring back at his acclaimed lover, but he warningly held Dash up in front of him, as if to use him a human shield.

"Danny," the ghostly counterpart of Daniel Fenton said quietly. "Drop that thing immediately."

"Drop yours first."

Did Fentina refer him as a thing? Oh, that was nice. But to his surprise, Phantom only closed his eyes, shrugged, and dropped him the bully like a bag of bricks. Dash let out a cry of pain that was abruptly choked off into a silent gasp by the exploding discomfort in his throat and his ribcage. Phantom's silver hand rushed for the bully's blond hair and seized it, holding it warningly as Dash lay on the ground, panting, the scent of grass and blood permeating his senses again.

"Let go of him," muttered Danny warningly, never once dipping his weapon. Phantom surveyed him apprehensively.

"You let go of that device. Danny, don't start something we'll both regret later on," said Phantom imploringly, and Dash shot the ghost a dirty look as Phantom gazed at his living self with the selfsame loving and devoted look he'd had on earlier. "What would you do? Hurl me into the Ghost Zone? I'd just come back, kill this brat-" Here, he tugged carelessly at the roots of the bully's head, making Dash's eyes water-"And come back for you."

Danny stared at him warily, quipping an eyebrow.

"'Come back for me?' You love me so much, you're going to take me against my will-probably kill me? Gee, you're such a saint, dude. Thanks for looking out for me."

Now the ghost just looked worried.

"Of course not, darling-I would never hurt you. But I DO want you to acknowledge that there's no one whom could love you the way that I do-not Sam, not Valerie, not even this little prick," he said, with no small disgust as he tugged at Dash again, like one would do a disobedient dog.

Danny's face paled as he looked at Dash, now just looking sick. "You're insane."

"For you, my darling."

Dash tried to snort from his position, but the movement only made him hitch his breath sharply as his chest tripled its painful throbbing. He grit his teeth, feeling something warm dripping from behind them. Phantina's grip on his scalp tightened slightly, and Dash bit the inside of his mouth to stop himself from making a sound.

In the distance, he heard Danny's soft voice again, tinged with urgency:

"Phantom. Just….just let him go, okay? He needs medical attention."

Vision still foggy, Dash could not make out Phantom's smirk, though he knew it was there. His sore hands slowly curled into trembling fists, hot liquid pouring from the side of his face and from his mouth onto them. He heard himself groan softly, even as rage bristled inside of him.

"What do you care?" Phantom asked sardonically, giving the bully's head a little shake, ignoring Dash's quiet grunt of pain. "Admit it, love-this is slightly appealing for you. This wretched little Nazi-boy has been tormenting you for years now. You want him to hurt. And I'll hurt him for you."

With that, the ghost cruelly sent Dash tumbling to the ground with a well-aimed kick to the ribs. Dash heard someone let out a piercing roar, wildly recognized that he was the one screaming, and collapsed onto the ground, writhing as more of the hot liquid trickling from his forehead poured into his eyes, making him see red. Never, in all the football injuries he had ever sustained, had he been in such excruciating pain. If he could think coherently, he would have realized that all of his injuries combined could not amount to this terrible agony. It was a miracle he stayed conscious.

He keeled over from where he lay on the ground like a helpless maggot, longing to scream, but completely paralyzed, unable to make a sound. Above the explosive sound of blood pounding in his ears, he could still make out the faint sound of Fentina's beautiful voice.

He'd heard a vehement exclamation, and faintly listened to the grass rustle as someone rushed towards the two of them. But then, he felt the light pressure of a boot upon his neck, and the rustling sounds died quite abruptly.

Okay, forget strangulation; seemed Phantom preferred classic execution style.

Near whimpering, and longing to be asleep when it happened, Dash wearily and happily surrendered the battle to keep his eyes open, and tumbled headfirst into darkness.

(~*0*~)

Phantom's sadistic smile faded somewhat when Danny's angry sobs again broke out in the clearing.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE! God, Phantom, if you don't-if any part of you is still-I'll go with you," Danny begged, his voice breaking twice. "Please. Just leave him alone. I'm begging you, here!"

The beautiful ghost considered the boy he loved unconditionally, a sad look in his green eyes.

"I wonder if you would plead the same for my sake. Danny, I've been inside your soul for years. You can't possibly have changed your mind about this brat in the weeks I've been gone."

Hysterical, the teen drove his pale hands through his midnight black hair, and clutched at the strands.

"Uh, duh no, Phantom! Of course Dash is a jerk! He's one of the biggest jerks I know, and that's saying a lot, considering that we've tangled with ghosts like Spectra and Walker on a daily basis! But that doesn't give you the right to step on human life and treat it like scum on your shoes! Let him go. He's hurt. Please."

The wind rustled through the clearing, rustling the motionless jock's straw gold hair from where he lay bleeding on the ground. Danny's face was buried in his hands. His ghost self never took his eyes off of him.

The former suspicion and unmistakable hatred in his eyes had faded. Again, there was gentleness. He took a tentative step forward, still leaving one foot cautiously on the back of Dash's skull.

"….I see. I forget what it's like, having a human heart covered in chains. I try to forget. At least," Phantom added, his silky voice lilting slightly, becoming dark and seductive, "I try to forget the boring parts, and focus on what I miss the most. Your warm body, for example…your warm, soft little hands that kept pawing at my shoulders…."

Danny would not look at him, though he shivered. Staring at him hungrily, Phantom went on:

"My hands in comparison must have been freezing, however. But they warmed up quite nicely that beautiful night I finally got to hold you in my arms and hear you moan for me. Your face was so red, Danny-I thought you were going to overheat. But you kept up rather nicely, rocking against me as I thrust into your warm, supple body-"

Danny took a hasty step backwards, face flaming.

"That's enough. Knock it off, you sick-"

"It was nice seeing you so helpless and vulnerable for a change. Exotic, even. I don't remember you ever shaking that much during one of our battles, even when the two of us went head to head with Pariah Dark. You completely forgot Vlad was there, or maybe just didn't care, judging from the way you screamed when you buried your face into my sweaty shoulder when I started suckling on your-"

"S-Stop!"

For a moment, a smirking Phantom held his gaze, and then, promptly disappeared into thin air. Shocked, Danny stumbled back another step, eyes whirling wildly around the thicket. Every hair on the back of his neck was standing up, and his forehead glistened with sweat in the cool air. He instinctually waited for his ghost sense to appear, for the prickling sense of the ghost's presence to pick up on his weird, internal radar.

But nothing. He inwardly cursed as he immediately remembered, sick with dread. He swallowed heavily, and then, after a moment's tense hesitation, took a step forward towards the still-motionless Dash. Stricken, he waited, breathing heavily.

Silence. A bird chirped absentmindedly from above him in the treetops. Bewildered, Danny took another step forward, and then another. He was now close enough to see strips of Dash's hair made ruby with blood, plastered to the bully's face.

After a few seconds, Danny's frantic heart rate began to drop, though not out of lack of concern for his old-time rival. Phantom had disappeared, and while this retreat wasn't remotely like the ghost in any shape or form, he did not seem to be coming back. Exhaling heavily, Danny shot across the clearing towards Dash's side, wincing at the vast amount of blo-

Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of his lungs, and his mind was wiped blank as an icy terror immediately blew into it; the boy was sent flying backwards, slammed back into an old oak tree. He tasted rust; his wrists were throbbing with excruciating pain.

As he was dazed, it took him a second to realize that a pair of silver-gloved hands was practically squeezing the life out of them, pinning them above his head. And that he no longer felt the cold metal of the Fenton thermos in his failing hands.

He immediately noticed a sparkle on the edge of his vision, and he immediately glanced down to see that the Fenton thermos was lying on the ground a few feet away. But his attention was soon captured by someone else.

Grinning widely, bright green eyes inflamed by the heat of insanity, Danny Phantom smiled down at his terrified, struggling counterpart, not seeming to notice Danny's frantic kicks to his waist, or the teen's screams for help. Dash remained motionless on the ground behind Phantom, and the ghost only kept calmly staring at his prey, hands twitching with greed. After a moment of enduring Danny's cries, the ghost leaned his forehead against his old counterpart's, and said cheerfully:

"Dear one, I hate to hear you so upset. Please stop fussing, else I'd have to remedy that problem by smashing out that idiot's insides. He is the one who made you upset, right darling? Interrupting us like that…."

Phantom turned back to give Dash a derisive look, and promptly spat in the boy's direction. But his attention had immediately gone back to Danny, who had by now stopped struggling, still wincing in pain, motionless by fright. The ghost didn't seem to notice Danny's discomfort, because his lips trailed to the dark-haired boy's ear, and whispered hotly:

"If it really matters that much to you, I'll let him live. But in either case, you'd do well to consign your heart to mine. Your heart belongs to me, Danny-it always has, as mine has always been yours."

Hot tears began flooding down Danny's pale face again, and the ghost thumbed them away, his expression becoming deathly serious.

"Either way, as I said, that bully's fate changes nothing of your own design. You will go to New Zealand, only I will accompany you, to the university and observatory and anywhere else you go. You'll know no other companionship but mine, because no one could come close to the love I have for you."

"You're insane! You're insane, you're insane, you're insane! LET ME GO!"

"No," said Phantom, in another purr. "I won't. Ever. And if you think you can love or want anyone else, whether it be your ridiculous family, that ridiculous boy-" He gestured impatiently in Dash's direction-"Your annoying friends, or that disgusting, disgusting girl you KNOW I loathe and yet you write to so very often….!"

At the mention of the last name, Phantom's face became almost feral with rage. He took a deep breath before he continued, because Danny looked near hysterics:

"Then I'll snap off one of their limbs for every time you communicate to them without my consent. What will it be, Danny? A finger joint ripped off for a secret phone call you forgot to tell me about? Or maybe an ankle sliced off when you tried to write your so-called sweetheart a letter?"

Danny had never once been so overcome by fear that he'd been ready to faint, but it took every effort the trembling boy could muster to avoid toppling into darkness. Phantom sadistically continued:

"I could never, would never hurt you, my love," he said, not noticing how the boy's wrists shook with agony, "But someone will have to suffer very deeply for taking my time away from you. So, in every fitting and poetic sense of justice, I suppose I'll simply have to cut parts of them away. And they will be things they will miss….like their necks."

Voice long-gone, Danny wept, struggling anew, eyes imploring and despairing. Phantom sighed, and tenderly tucked a strand of hair behind Danny's ear.

"But you know, I'm really not so bad, darling one. I might be lenient now and again because you're such a treasure, but you must know I want your love. Now. Your word to me. Now. And I want your body. NOW."

Phantom released Danny, arms gently wrapping around him in an embrace. Danny just stood there, still paralyzed. The silver-haired boy brought his lips to Danny's forehead, letting out a soft moan of pleasure as he did so. Danny shook with horror and disgust as the ghost boy swept him close, and the teen felt him…

Phantom dropped to one knee, cradling Danny's hand against his face. Danny knew it would be useless to run. The ghost boy looked up at him with a soft look, looking every bit like a cherubim instead of a horrible monster.

"Danny, I will give you everything you want, everything you deserve. I will take you around the world, around the Ghost World-anywhere you could ever want to go. You don't have to work hard for the exams to get you into the space program; you know more than 80% of the applicants, anyway. I'll bring you the answers, and then we can be together amongst the stars.

You will never want for nothing, and every night and every day, I'll be your adoring servant, and cut down anyone who's foolish or suicidal enough to get in the way of your career. I'll protect you. I'll keep you warm. You never need fear loneliness, and I'll never grow weary in your society. You will never get even a remote idea of how much I adore you, but that's fine."

Phantom stood, and looked at him. Danny stared back at him with red eyes.

In the silence, he noticed that Phantom's eye kept darting back to Dash in his monologue. The fanatical bloodlust in his eyes had not faded, and Danny knew that if he did not answer in the affirmative soon, it would mean Dash's swift and terrible demise.

Though he continued weeping silently, he nonetheless slowly wrapped his arms around the beaming ghost's shoulders, and drew him into a fervent kiss, just as Dash Baxter began to stir.

~(*0*)~

Every muscle of him throbbed with pain, and he dimly wondered whether or not he had a concussion. His dreams had been dark and disturbing, and full of screams….

Dash dazedly stared at the scene before him for a moment or so, unable to process what was happening. The sweet smell of grass was still making his mind swim….

And then, a surge electrocuted his mind, and he immediately sat up, too shocked to notice the staggering amount of pain that raced through his torso. His mouth dropped, and blood trickled from it, but he couldn't make a sound.

Fentina and Phantina were locked in a passionate embrace, although Fentina seemed to relish it as much as if he'd been kissing some sick toad. His face was drained completely of color and there were two waterfalls pouring out from his pained, frightened eyes. Phantina noticed none of this however, phasing Danny's shirt free so that he could ravenously attack the pale skin he found there. He saw Danny flinch, but did not make a sound, even as Phantina was covering the kid in bite marks.

Dash and Danny's eyes met. Danny's cerulean eyes widened, and he screwed them shut as Phantina moved back up to the boy's neck. He whispered something inaudible, and yet even Dash could lip-read what the boy was saying:

"Please..."

Quickly drawing a smug Phantom into another kiss to distract him, Danny reached out as far as he could and kicked the thermos away, towards Dash. The thing silently rolled to the bully, who numbly took it, staring dumbfounded at the weird little device as Phantom and Fentina kept going at it. Phantina's hands were at the boy's pant button, ignoring Danny's frantic attempts to paw him away.

Dash's face went scarlet with fury.

With the biggest effort he had ever made in his life, he slowly stood up. Phantom took no notice of him, too busy delighting himself with the crying Danny Fenton. Imagining that he was clutching a football, Dash's bleeding fingers immediately went to the cylinder, knowing instinctively that this was the way to work this thing. He'd seen Phantom-Fenton do it plenty of times.

He had one chance. If he missed, he was dead, and Danny's fate was set. He took a deep breath, ignoring the sharp little pangs he felt around his aching and bruised body as he imagined hurling an endgame touchdown.

He aimed the device at an unsuspecting Phantom's back, his eyes glittering with hatred for his former hero.

And the boy swiftly fired.