AN: So here's another chapter. I hope you guys enjoy. Your reviews really touch my heart, you have no idea. I always smile when I see 'em, even when I'm having a shitty day. So thank you for letting me know you're enjoying my fic. I hope you continue to enjoy.

When Vlad woke up in the morning, it was to a stiff neck and hand. Although he found it odd his hand felt as if all the blood had stopped flowing to it. He opened his eyes and turned, surprised to see Danny's face only inches away from his. He was also surprised to see his hand pillowed underneath the younger halfa's cheek. He thought about pulling his hand away, he sincerely did, but found it hard to. Instead, he stared at the young man, greedily drinking in the sight of him. After a while, he couldn't take the lack of circulation in his hand and was therefore unable to enjoy the younger man's warmth. Reluctantly, he pulled his hand away.

The younger halfa yawned before stretching. Vlad smiled at the sight. Danny groggily opened one eye to look at the silver haired man. "Morning." Danny murmured, looking around for his watch to glance at the time. 7 AM. Sighing, he put his watch down and got ready to sleep more before he remembered the night before.

"Does anything hurt?"

Vlad, surprised by Danny's question, answered, "Just a stiff neck."

Without another word, Danny groggily placed his hand on Vlad's neck and began to massage it.

Vlad groaned. "That's really not necessary, Daniel."

"S'no' pro'lem." Danny said sleepily. The next moment, Danny was snoring, his hand resting on Vlad's neck. Vlad chuckled in amusement. He had no idea why Danny was being so kind to him and he didn't care. As long as he played his cards right, Danny wouldn't attack him. He found himself craving the affection Danny now openly gave him. He lay in bed until Danny woke up again about an hour later. eHe realized his hand was still placed on the older halfa's neck and resumed massaging.

"Ah, geez, sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Vlad closed his eyes and let out a blissful sigh. "Think nothing of it."

Danny massaged his neck until Vlad thanked him and stood up. He quickly got dressed and left the tent, surprised his parents were already up and making pancakes. His stomach rumbled as he inhaled the pleasant smell.

"Good morning Danny!" His mother greeted with a smile. "Breakfast is almost ready! Go wake up your sister."

Danny went to his sister's tent and got her up. Vlad came out the same time as she did. "What's the agenda for today?" Jazz asked, helping herself to some pancakes.

"Hiking!" Jack responded happily.

Jazz sighed. "Can't we stay here and you know, relax? Catch up on reading…"

Danny made a face. "Don't you get enough of that at home?"

"Very funny, little brother. Shouldn't you be doing some home work anyway?"

"Nah, I did it all before I came on the trip." Danny responded proudly.

"Really?" Jazz asked in disbelief.

"Well, I did most of it. Tucker owed me a favor."

"Danny!"

"What? Hey, a favor's a favor." He chuckled. He then out right laughed when his sister glared. He didn't care. Tucker owed him from when Danny had to do one of his assignments just so he and Sam could go on a date.

After breakfast and getting ready, they headed towards a mountain to walk. They had to take the RV to get to the mountain which was a 15 minute drive. As they began to hike, Danny and Vlad stayed ahead of the rest of the family, considering they were in better shape. Maddie could have been with them, but she wanted to be beside her husband. Vlad sighed as he walked beside Danny.

"I don't know what possessed me to agree to this." He muttered lowly, knowing Danny heard him.

"It's not that bad." Danny grunted as his foot slipped on a mossy rock. Because he was on a rather steep hill, he began to fall backwards. Without a thought, Vlad caught Danny by wrapping an arm around his waist.

Vlad smirked. "No, it certainly isn't." he purred lowly, making Danny blush.

"T-thanks." Danny noticed Vlad kept an arm around his waist as they continued their hike. "Dude, you can let go now. I won't fall again."

"And how do you know? Better safe than sorry, my boy."

Danny glared at him but it was half-hearted. Honestly, he didn't seem to mind having the older man's arm around his waist. It was comforting. Luckily they were ahead enough so they couldn't be seen. They had to separate when it required them to climb a rather large rock. Danny offered his hand to help Vlad up, who didn't hesitate to take it. Danny felt a jolt spark when he touched Vlad's hand and had to bite his lower lip to distract himself.

"You know, I'm glad you came." Danny said all of a sudden.

Vlad looked at Danny in surprise. "Are you?" he asked casually, a pleased smirk gracing his face.

"Don't look so smug."

"And why are you glad I came?"

Danny chewed at his lower lip, wondering how much he should reveal. "It's uh, well, I might have, you know. That." He gestured

"Pardon?"

Danny mentally slapped himself. "I uh,…" He trailed off.

"You…?" Vlad pushed, having fun watching Danny squirm in discomfort.

Danny let out a frustrated huff and glared at the man. "I missed you." He blurted out, face flaming.

Vlad looked just as surprised as Danny at the confession. His heart suddenly felt warm and his stomach began to flutter. Vlad tried to deny the response his body was giving to Danny's words, but knew it was pointless to. Danny looked away. He started to regret his impulsive decision to tell Vlad how he felt when Vlad said something that caused his heart to skip a beat.

"I missed you too, little badger."

Danny smiled. "Fruit loop." He murmured affectionately.

He was relieved Vlad responded in kind. It shocked him that he even told Vlad he had missed the older halfa when he had vehemently sworn he wouldn't let the man know. Surprisingly though, Vlad hadn't mocked or teased him for saying so and Danny's chest felt lighter. Meanwhile, Vlad was wondering how he could get Danny to smile again.

After hiking for about two hours, Danny took a seat on the floor, panting slightly. His shirt was drenched slightly in sweat. He swiped the back of his hand on his forehead. He glanced back behind them and noticed his family was very far behind them. Vlad joined him, sitting uncomfortably on a large rock beside the young man.

"Need a break, little badger?"

"Yeah." Danny took out his bottle of water and took a long swig of it and then handed it to Vlad. Vlad stared at the bottle in surprise for a moment before taking it and drinking from it. He had his own water bottle, but Vlad saw no need to take it out. He glanced up at the mountain they were hiking.

"We're not too far from the top now."

"That's a relief." He took the water bottle back from Vlad and placed it back in his pocket before looking down at the ground. He watched some spiders make their way towards him. He swatted at them and then at some mosquitoes that tried to buzz near him. He scowled at them, wishing he hadn't forgotten his repellent.

Without thinking about it, Danny rested his head against Vlad's leg. Vlad was caught off guard but said nothing. He didn't dare move, afraid he would wake some sense in the younger halfa. Danny inwardly cheered. He was afraid Vlad was going to shove him off. When no reaction came from the older halfa, Danny relaxed. It gave him a moment to think. When had their relationship changed? Had the massage he had given Vlad last night cross some line? Danny never thought he would give his arch nemesis a massage. Yet, he had never seen Vlad so vulnerable—so trusting. He wondered if the man really had changed in the past three years or was planning something.

Danny spent some time in college dating. He dated men and women, and soon realized he liked his men older. The oldest he had gone was 10 years difference; and that would have worked out but Danny always felt like something was off. It's not like they would ever understand him. Not completely, at least. That was when his thoughts would drift off to Vlad. Often, he found himself half way towards Wisconsin to visit the man, but would chicken out the last second. He then tried to subtly find the man; by checking in on Amity Park to be sure the ghosts weren't harming the living. He often kept his senses open for Vlad, but he never heard much from the man. When he would ask ghosts about Plasmius, they would say 'He's been around,' and that was it. He would always return to his home, feeling a bit disappointed.

Now that he was near Vlad, he felt a huge sense of relief and happiness. He almost gasped when the realization that he was attracted to the man hit him. He could already hear his friends scolding him and sighed at the thought. He didn't care. It's not like his life was normal; of course he'd be attracted to a man who was old enough to be his father and was his arch enemy for about four years.

A warm hand made its way through Danny's hair. He looked up in surprise to see Vlad petting his soft hair. "Are you alright, Daniel?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He closed his eyes as Vlad massaged his scalp. He didn't appear to mind that it was damp. "What do you care, fruit loop?"

"I'm simply asking. You've been quiet."

"Just lost in my thoughts." He answered honestly.

Vlad hummed in response. He continued massaging Danny's head, lightly tugging at the hairs. Danny sighed happily. "Feels nice."

"Consider it a returned favor."

Danny had flash backs of when Vlad would tug at Danny's hair to cause harm. He didn't feel that fear anymore. After enjoying the massage for another few minutes, he stood up. Vlad followed suit and they continued their hike. When they got to the top, they waited patiently for about twenty minutes for the rest of the family to catch up. Jack was panting, but then excited to get set up for the picnic. Danny sat next to Vlad on the blanket. Vlad was brought into the conversation when the topic of ghosts came up. Whenever he looked away, Danny would pick at his plate, stealing a grape or chip. Vlad found it too endearing to be truly annoyed.

They spent a good two hours at the top of the mountain. They enjoyed the view from the top and spent most of it just talking. Vlad had never felt so at ease and relaxed. Maddie finally stopped glaring at him like he was a scum bag. Well, partially, but that didn't bother him. Danny had stayed close to Vlad's side and that made the hike worth it. When they finally decided to climb down, they found themselves ahead of the family once more, this time on purpose.

Now, hiking down a mountain, although faster, is more dangerous since you have to fight gravity. Vlad slipped and almost fell a few times. Danny, concerned, insisted he walk ahead so Vlad would know where to step. Vlad was touched by Danny's concern. However, when the younger halfa tripped, Vlad's hand shot out and he yanked the young man towards him, slamming their chests together. Vlad's breath caught in his throat at how close they were. His brain told him to push Danny away; to not hold the beautiful young man so close to him, but Danny had looked up at him, their faces barely apart. Vlad was lost.

Danny's heart pounded in his chest as he stared into Vlad's eyes. The words of thanks never made it past his lips. He felt paralyzed. A deep blush stained his cheeks as he slowly, painfully slowly, inched closer towards Vlad's when he saw the man moving closer to him. It felt as if a strong magnetic pull was on and Danny did not want to fight it. However, the second their lips brushed, they heard a loud sound that snapped them apart. They turned around to find the source of the sound. Turns out a chipmunk was climbing up a hill and occasionally tumbling, falling out to small pieces of wood that emitted the sound that had snapped them back to painful reality.

Danny and Vlad glanced awkwardly at each other before resuming their trip towards the bottom of the mountain. Danny mentally scolded himself for being so stupid. He almost kissed Vlad! Sure he was attracted to the man but that didn't mean he had to delude himself into thinking Vlad felt the same way. Danny let out a quiet sigh. He felt like such an idiot.

Vlad was fretting. Danny wouldn't look at him and had slowed down his pace, giving his family the chance to catch up to them. He was worried Danny no longer wanted to be near him. He had ruined everything. He hadn't expected to want to kiss Danny; it just happened. One minute he was rescuing the boy from getting hurt, the next, he was leaning in to kiss those tempting lips. Vlad felt like a complete pervert; he wanted Maddie's and Jack's son. How awful was that? To be fair, Danny was an adult now and a very handsome one no less. It was hard to deny the attraction he felt to the younger man. Still, it didn't excuse him for having such lack of control around him.

When they got to the bottom of the mountain with the rest of the Fenton's, they went back into the RV. Vlad noticed Danny kept his distance. Vlad frowned. He knew it was his fault, but it still hurt to have his little badger away from him. When they got back to their site, they quickly showered. Danny started the fire.

"I'm making smores!" he announced. "Anyone want?"

"I love smores!" Jack said. "I'd love some."

Maddie shook her head. "No thank you sweetie."

Jazz helped her brother get the chocolate and gram crackers while he fetched the marshmallows. "Actually, I think I'd like one." She said, reaching for the sticks.

Vlad raised an eye brow. He heard of smores, of course, but never indulged. He stayed silent as Danny excitedly began to heat up the marshmallows. Jazz and him each made a smore for their father. Jazz made her own and Danny made one. Vlad was surprised when Danny handed him the smore he made. He stared at it for a moment before hesitantly taking it.

"It's good, I promise!" Danny said cheerfully.

Vlad didn't care if it tasted good or not. Danny was still talking to him, and that was a treat in itself. "Thank you, little badger."

Grinning, Danny made himself one and sat down next to Vlad. Vlad munched on his smore. It was too sweet for his tastes, but not bad. Danny quickly finished his and made another one for himself and his dad. He asked Vlad if he would like another.

"No thank you. I'm afraid it's too sweet for my taste."

Danny snorted and resumed his seat next to him, brushing off his sister's suspicious glance. "You're just too old to enjoy sweets."

Vlad flicked the back of Danny's head, who just laughed. He thought about the almost kiss with Danny. He found himself wondering if he wouldn't mind the sweetness of the treat coming from Daniel's lips. He smiled wistfully at the thought.

Sooo..what'cha think? Haha.