Vlad stood before the mirror in his mansion's entrance hall. It was oval-shaped, trimmed in gold with a polished face that shined a perfect reflection. Vlad ran a hand over his carefully tied back hair, raised his chin and squared his shoulders as he adjusted his red cravat, and then rubbed a hand over his neatly trimmed beard. Perfect.

The mirror's face fogged over, as though covered in steam from a hot shower. Beyond the fog, Vlad could see solid blue eyes in a smooth oval face framed by wispy white hair that faded into the fog around. Vlad narrowed his eyes at the mirror.

"You're sure this is going to work?"

"Your relationship currently with the boy is far from ideal," the spirit said, her voice quiet in the large entrance hall. Vlad rolled his eyes at the statement. Try 'non-existent'. "So the first step towards what you desire is to change that through kindness."

"Kindness? Right." Vlad's voice was filled with skepticism and annoyance, cringing at the very idea of having to 'play nice'. "So basically, after the grand act of kindness I did for Daniel, he should realize I'm not a bad guy and come banging on my door to be with me."

"It's not just a simple act of niceness Vlad. You must stop the fighting. You must show the boy you've changed. Appeased him. He will begin to take notice of the changes you're going through," the spirit clarified.

"Right, I'm supposed to assume a sixteen year old is going to notice the delicate art of subtly," Vlad muttered with a roll of his eyes, mentally wondering how he'd gone from chasing after a mature, smart, age-appropriate woman, to some hormonal, angsty ignorant teen boy. Vlad ignored it with a shake of his head and made the final adjustment to his collar before heading for the door. He looked over his shoulder once more at the mirror and said, "You better hope this works, mirror."

…

Vlad was completing paperwork in his mayoral office when the young teen hero finally made his appearance, flanked by his trusty Goth and tech-nerd sidekicks. Vlad looked up with a smile, positively radiating with excitement. He'd been waiting for this ever since he'd set up the "nice" gifts to the boy earlier in the day.

"Ah, Daniel. Pleasure to see you here, though I don't believe we've scheduled an appointment."

"Can it Plasmius, whatever you're up to, you need to stop it right now," Danny demanded, stopping in front of Vlad's desk and crossing his arms, a serious expression on his young face.

Vlad paused a moment, his throat suddenly dry. It was unnerving in a sense, seeing Danny live in front of him after seeing those images of his heart's desire in the Espil Mirror, after flipping all his goals and plans to focus on this one boy. He'd seen the boy smile at him, laugh with him, blush in front of him…he wanted to see it all in person, now, but the Danny before him wasn't the same Danny as he'd seen in the mirror. Not quite. Not yet.

Vlad coughed briefly into his fist and then leaned back in his chair with a casual smile, forcing down the strange feelings and longings clawing at his chest. "My boy, you didn't like my gifts to you?"

"Gifts? I'm a social pariah now at school!" Danny exclaimed. "You hired bodyguards to make Dash leave me alone? You had the cafeteria people make specialized meals for me during lunch? And you had gift baskets on my desk during every class!? How did you even manage that!?"

"Yeah man, that's kind of a new level of creepy," Tucker pointed out.

"I was merely being nice," Vlad said with a nonchalant shrug. "Everyone likes a nice gift basket."

"Please Vlad, we all know you're not nice. You're trying to screw with Danny somehow, and we just want you to know that whatever you're planning, we'll find out," Sam said, glaring at Vlad who simple stated dryly:

"Right, because I'm supposed to be afraid of three teenagers, one of which has mediocre fighting powers while the other two use obsolete fighting gear a dimwit created in a lab."

At the insult towards his father, Danny's eyes glowed green and he growled threateningly. Vlad's heart sped up just the tiniest bit faster at the display of raw emotion and the uncontrollable power surging within the boy, so similar to his own.

"Easy Daniel, no need for the scary eyes. Honestly, and I'm giving you scouts honor," Vlad said, putting his hand to his chest and his other hand up in a mock pledge. "I am not planning anything. Simply being nice."

"Well I don't want it, so take it all back," Danny said firmly, turning to leave the office. Sam and Tucker followed close behind, Sam sending one final glare over her shoulder before they were gone.

Vlad leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. "I suppose that could have gone worse," he muttered. Sighing again, he leaned forward and picked up his phone. A moment later his secretary answered. "I need to cancel a few hired hands I had employed at Casper High School."

So the boy hadn't liked his gifts. Vlad honestly couldn't understand why. Danny was always complaining about the bullies and the nasty food. And it was true what Vlad said-everyone likes gift baskets!- especially since Vlad filled them with Danny's favorite candy, CD's, concert tickets, NASA posters…

Vlad stroked his beard thoughtfully. Maybe this situation was going to be more complicated than he thought. Vlad hadn't expected it to be easy. He hadn't expected a few gifts to make the boy come crawling to him, the man wasn't stupid. But he had expected…something. Progress of some sort. He just wasn't good at this sort of thing, he supposed. And perhaps years of failure at wooing a certain red-head should have taught him that he needed a new approach. A more subtle, long-term one.

Well if Vlad had any sort of virtue inside him, it was patience. He would continue to follow what the mirror spirit told him, and wait for the desired results.

…

It was late in the evening, and Vlad tilted his head to the side till his neck popped. He hated days like this, where he actually had to sit at a desk and do mundane human work. Paperwork, meetings, phone calls, all day, with barely any break for a cup of coffee. The man desperately wanted a cigarette, but instead picked up his cup in the corner. The liquid inside had long cooled, but Vlad simply ignited a small hum of energy to his hand, which quickly warmed the coffee. He took an appreciative sip, humming pleasantly just as a current shot up his spine, making the hairs on his neck stand on end.

Vlad smiled. A perfect way to end a dull day. Putting down his cup, Vlad quickly transformed and phased out of the building, floating high and invisible to try and spot the certain ghost presence he had felt.

"Ah there he is, doing that hero thing again," Vlad said with a smirk, floating closer but not enough that the boy would sense him near.

Danny was currently engaged in battle with a green ecto-plasmic octopus. He was holding his own very well and Vlad was content to float back and watch.

The young teen hero had grown considerably in the year and a half since they'd first met. Back then, the boy had been a joke, his powers wild and erratic, completely weak and out of his control. Vlad had only bothered with the boy back then because A. he was Jack and Maddie's son, and B. he was a half ghost like Vlad. That in itself made Vlad intensely interested in Danny.

But now, as Danny was nearing the age of sixteen and barreling from boy to man, Vlad was impressed with what he saw. Not only had the boy mastered some moves that had taken Vlad years, like duplication and the Ghostly Wail (which Vlad still hadn't quite figured out, regrettably), but he also had a pretty decent handle on his core element powers. His body was filling out nicely, his personality had matured slightly…Vlad smirked at the incredible boy Danny had turned into.

And soon enough, he shall be all mine, Vlad thought with a smirk as Danny managed to subdue the ghost long enough for his friends, who had been standing on the sidelines until the right moment, to suck the specter into the Fenton Thermos.

Vlad took that opportunity to lower towards the street, turning visible and clapping slowly. It would definitely be a "nice" thing to do to compliment the boy and tell him exactly how impressed Vlad was with him.

"Very good, boy. Very good. It seems you're finally growing into your powers."

Danny and his friends' head snapped up to Vlad. Danny's eyes flashed as he glared up at the older halfa. "Plasmius. I should have known, you'd be sticking your nose around again."

The boy's hand glowed a neon green and Vlad barely raised his hand before he was shot into the nearest building by a strong blast. The boy's reflexes were always quick, Vlad thought bitterly as he rubbed his head, pushing away from the crumbling brick of the wall.

Danny advanced and Vlad quickly put up his hands in peace. "Calm down, Daniel. I'm not here to fight."

"Right, you just showed up to exchange witty banter and make fun of my dad before flying back home to watch football," Danny said with a roll of his eyes, floating by Vlad, his tense stance showing that he was ready for any attacks.

"You know me by now my boy, if I had some nefarious plot, I would be bragging about it while you're tiny teen mind tries to understand it," Vlad said with a shrug, causing the present teens to intensify their glares. Vlad briefly flinched inwardly. Nice. Remember to be nice. Step one. Vlad quickly cleared his throat and said, "I'm not planning anything. In fact, I've given up on nefarious plots all together."

"Ha, we'll believe that when we see it," Sam stated, crossing her arms. "You're up to something Vlad, and we're gonna find out what. We always do."

Vlad scowled down at the Goth as he floated up to Danny's level. He turned his gaze to the teen ghost and smiled, his fangs glistening. "I'm merely being nice."

"Nice doesn't exactly suit you, Plasimus," Danny said with a tilt of his head, suddenly zooming forward and punching Vlad, sending the older man crashing back into the wall in an explosion of brick and dust. "In fact, I don't actually think you're capable of nice." Vlad narrowly dodged another ghost blast, tumbling through the air and out of the way. He turned to face the boy, glaring angrily and hand blazing with energy, but Vlad quickly caught himself. He couldn't fight Danny.

Before he could say another thing to defend himself though, he felt something coil around his ankle and tug. Sam had the Jack-o-ninetails, and flung Vlad down to the street below, electricity shooting up and down his body. He landed on his back, cracking the cement below him and gasped, phantom pain shooting up his back and threw his limps.

He opened his eyes to see Danny race down towards him, his fists charging up for another blast. Vlad quickly put up a pink electric shield around himself just as the blast hit.

"Enough!" Vlad shouted, standing and releasing his shield in a gust of energy, knocking the human teens to their backsides, and sending the ghost teen tumbling back through the air.

Vlad rose high into the air, glaring down at the young group of ghost hunters. He bared his fangs, his body itching to fight back, to attack and show them who the stronger fighter was. The only thing holding him back…the only thing calming his rising anger…were those images in the mirror, those three words uttered so sincerely from the boy before him. The spirit had said it was possible. Currently, Vlad seriously doubted it. But he had to at least try. What else did he have left to lose?

Sighing deeply, Vlad lowered to the ground, his feet landing softly. Black rings hooped around his waist and separated up and down, transforming him soundly back to Vlad Masters.

Danny, blinked and looked down to Vlad, confusion and apprehension clear in his green eyes. All this time, always fighting each other, considering each other the other's greatest enemy. Even if Vlad didn't really want to acknowledge the boy's strength and progress that was quickly rising to rival his own, even though he wanted to mock the boy's need to be a hero, Vlad respected Danny. And though the boy would never say it out loud, Vlad knew Danny respected Vlad.

But now, Vlad wanted more. He had glimpsed a life he could only dream of. One with happiness and understanding, but it was a life with his enemy, with a boy who saw Vlad as some villain, an entity of evil and cruelty that could only be fought, never loved.

Vlad was determined though, and he would keep pushing, pushing until the boy was forced to see things his was, was forced to change and turn from everything else to only face Vlad. And if that took years and some pain and humility, then so be it. Vlad was ready.

"I'm not here to fight you," Vlad repeated, staring seriously up at the boy. "I'm done fighting you."

Vlad turned to leave, walking silently down the street, back towards city hall where his car would be waiting. He didn't turn back, but he felt the teens' eyes on his back, thought he could especially feel Danny's, all the boy's confusion and uncertainty boring into his back.

Back in his mansion an hour later, Vlad took off his coat in the entryway, hanging it up. He glanced into the mirror in the hall, which fogged over as he said, "This all better be worth it."

"You shall have it all, in time." Vlad scoffed and glaring at the object where the spirit communicated through. "This is merely the first step towards it, Vlad Masters. There will be many trials, maybe obstacles you must face that you will hate, that will seem more difficult than the last but this is the key to gaining the boy's love."

Vlad sighed in irritation. "Well, for the sake of my sanity, the next step better be something easier and less harmful to my pride." The silence that followed didn't assuage Vlad's fears in the slightest.

Hey, so first off thanks so much for all the comments, favorites and follows I received for this story, it was really great! ^^ the chapter before this was supposed to be a stand alone piece, just a oneshot, but due to popular demand for more, I thought about it, wondering "How would I even continue this?" I pondered this question during class and ended up filling five notebook pages of chapter ideas until i had more than ten chapters relatively planned out...sooo, yeah, I'm really excited about it too!

I know it kind of starts off slow here, but this is just the beginning! Trust me, it's gonna get good! So leave a comment please, telling me what you thought, what you're thoughts are and what you think might happen ^^ ideas are always welcome to help fill in some of those empty spots xD

Thanks so much for reading, hope you have a great rest of your day! ~