Firstly, thanks so much for all the reviews and follows! Its so great to know people like this story and I'm excited to keep writing for you guys! ^^

WARNING: The beginning of this chapter is SLASHY and kinda weird haha. Its nothing too bad, really, but I just want to make sure I prepare you guys! Just in case!

Vlad smiled, happy to see Maddie standing beside him. Her back was to him, her short orange hair looking as soft as her womanly curves. He reached out for her, but when she turned to face him, Danny was suddenly standing there, smiling up at Vlad.

Maddie's son…

Vlad smiled and rubbed his thumb softly on the boy's cheek. "Hello son," he whispered and bent down to kiss the teen softly on the lips.

Danny reached up, wrapping his arms around Vlad's neck, deepening the kiss. Vlad smiled as he heard Danny humming happily. Vlad pressed his hands to Danny's back and then lower, rubbing rhythmically as their bodies pressed together, warm and soft. He never wanted to let go.

I can't lose him…this boy who is like me…this boy…

Vlad panted into the warm mouth, tongues and lips melding and caressing, expressing love without forming words. Danny moaned quietly, moving shyly against Vlad's larger body, rubbing his hand on the back of the man's neck. "I love you Vlad," the boy whispered breathily, but the boy's voice was so hushed and Vlad's mind was so high, Vlad wasn't sure if the boy hadn't actually said "dad".

So sweet…so young…too young, like a child…like a son…

All Vlad cared about was this, those words, the heat and the press of their bodies, as Danny connected their lips together again, deeply and intensely, slowly and desperately as the boy clung to him, holding him as though wanting to faze right into his body, forming them together into one complete being. The warmth and the need Danny was displaying, to touch Vlad and love him and please him, it was driving Vlad absolutely mad.

Danny…my son…or someone's son…I love him… I want him…

"My boy, my boy," Vlad murmured, kissing Danny's lips and cheek and neck, and rubbing his hands up and down Danny's back and sides and then finally between his legs. "My Danny…"

Just like me…I love her…I love HIM…I want…I need…

"Vlad!" Danny moaned loudly, throwing his head back in bliss. "Vlad…I…I hate you."

Vlad shot up from bed, his heart hammered, sweat coating him like a second skin. He panted and looked around him. He was alone. He raised a shaking hand to his face but paused when he noticed the bandages. Danny…

Vlad shivered, the remnants of the dream lingering in his mind, leaving him unsure. He shifted slightly to check the clock on the nightstand but paused when he noticed a small—or not so small—problem the dream had caused. Groaning and feeling suddenly very disgusted, Vlad threw off the covers and hurried to the bathroom, quickly disrobing and hopping into the shower. He turned the water to cold and shivered at the sharp contrast of freezing water on his burning skin, but at least it got rid of his problem quickly enough.

After cleaning and washing his hair, Vlad turned off the water and got out, wrapping a clean towel around himself.

He hadn't taken a hot shower, but a mist covered the mirror. Sighing, Vlad wiped the fog away to reveal two gleaming solid blue eyes staring back at him. He glared at the spirit in the mirror.

"I'm done," Vlad declared. "I don't want this anymore. I want you to show me what I really want, what I've known I wanted all this time! Revenge on Jack, Maddie's love and the world in the palm of my hand!"

"That's not your true desire—"

"That's nonsense!" Vlad yelled angrily, slamming his fist on the rim of the sink. "I hate Jack! I'm in love with Madeleine! And I deserve to rule, to rule everyone, it's what I'm destined for!"

"You're forgetting what you saw," the spirit said, her voice holding a note of disappointment. "This is why souls fail to reach their truest desires…fear, and doubt and disappointments cloud their goals. It gets too hard, too frustrating, and they fear—"

"I'm not afraid!" Vlad exclaimed angrily. "I'm simply—"

"You love the boy," the spirit interrupted, her voice firm and definite. "Didn't your dream make you realize the way in which you care for him?"

"I don't want to have sex with a child!"

"It's not about sex, Vlad Masters," the spirit said. "You're not grasping the core purpose here. You're not aiming to simply have intercourse with the boy."

Vlad ran in hand through his damp hair, his thoughts running wildly through his mind, the spirit's voice ringing in his ears. That dream had chilled him. To his core. Seeing Danny with him like that in the mirror had been a shock at first, even a bit disturbing, but the love he had seen behind those sultry looks, the kind words spoken to him…that's what Vlad wanted. But that dream…he had felt it, the touches, the heat, it had seemed too real, and it left Vlad confused. He had liked the dream! He had liked holding Danny, had liked hearing Danny's faint pants and his whispered words of affection. He had felt complete, had felt loved. But shouldn't it be wrong? He had aimed to be the father of Danny, not a lover! He was supposed to love Maddie, not her son! It was all just a big spinning jumble in Vlad's head, leaving him confused and conflicted.

Could this work? Could Vlad possibly love the boy this way and get him to love him this way…?

"No," Vlad exclaimed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Daniel is a boy! A stubborn, reckless, petty teenager who isn't mature enough to understand a single thing about life, who thinks he can play hero and save the world when all the world is ever going to do and has done is shut him out and tear him down for being different, for being too kind and naïve!"

The spirit remained silent a moment longer, staring out of the mirror at the near crazed man. "You care for the boy Vlad Masters; that much is evident. You need to hold onto that, remember that and know that it is possible for Danny Fenton to care for you back, to love you one day as you love him."

"Not as father and son…"

"No. As something more."

Vlad squeezed his eyes shut as the images and feelings of the dream entered his mind again. He shivered. This was the first time in his life that he felt so…confused. As though he were falling and falling, unsure of how far or for how long he'd fall or what would happen once he landed. He had no plan, no definite answers other than a few images he'd seen in a mirror and the words of a guardian spirit. He needed to cling to this spirit, and let her guide him, because he felt so lost but Vlad wasn't exactly used to taking orders.

Vlad kept his eyes closed, breathing deeply once, twice, and on the third long exhale, his shoulders untensed and the furrow between his eyebrows disappeared. He conjured up the image of Daniel in the mirror, smiling at him and talking with him. A strange flutter filled his chest, but he wasn't entirely sure what it meant.

Vlad opened his eyes and sighed, rubbing his face with his uninjured hand. "So then…what do I do now?" he mumbled into his palm before glancing into the mirror.

"You still need to—"

"I'm not apologizing," Vlad said firmly. "If I'm going to do this at all, then I'm skipping to step three. Come on already, out with it!"

"Step three," the mirror spirit said, her voice a bit more tense than usual. "involves the other people in the boy's life who are most important to him. In order to get to young Danny, you must first get to those around him."

"Meaning? Can we skip the vague explanations and skip to the part where you tell me what I have to do?"

"You have to gain the acceptance of his friends," the spirit said. "If they still distrust you and hate you, Danny is going to take their feelings into consideration. If you're rude to his friends, he won't appreciate it."

"Great," Vlad said, throwing up his hands in aggravation. "I have to befriend two teenagers to win the heart of another teenager!" Vlad rubbed at his forehead, a heavy headache forming between his eyes. "I'm too old for this…"

"Daniel's family and his friends are the most important people to him. You must get on their good sides."

"Right right," Vlad sighed. He buried his face in his good hand and shook his head. "And I know exactly how to do it."

…

Over his usual pristine suit, Vlad wore a long peacoat with a white scarf around his neck. He rubbed his hands together as he leaned against the fence outside Casper high School. It was getting colder and colder out as it neared winter.

Vlad checked his watch briefly, glancing towards the school's main doors. Almost time.

A few minutes later, he heard a muffled ringing. There was a moment of silence and then the doors burst open and teens of all shapes and sizes poured from the school. Vlad turned away, staring at his black car parked on the curb and waited. He seriously hoped Danny hadn't gotten himself thrown in after-school detention today. He didn't feel like waiting any longer.

Vlad needn't worry as the teenaged trio appeared from the high school and started walking down the sidewalk.

"Whoa, that's a Bentley!" Tucker exclaimed as they noticed the parked car, but not the man by the fence. A lot of other teens had stopped to appreciate the car as well, carefully blocking Danny's view of Vlad. "Who's the rich kid whose parent's bought them this for their sixteenth birthday?" He pointedly looked to Sam.

"Hey hey, my parents bought me that purple Camry, remember?" Sam said with a nonchalant wave of her hand. "I wouldn't want something as noticeable as this anyway, I mean the kid's parents have got to be loaded, and the kid's obvious just flaunting his cash." Sam rolled her eyes with obvious distaste.

"Actually, I think I know a certain billionaire who owns a car like this," Danny said to himself and Vlad smirked.

"Glad you appreciate it so much," Vlad said loud enough for the group to hear. Danny and his friends turned to see Vlad, who simply smiled in greeting.

"Other than to prove that you're this 'high and mighty' mayor with way more money than you deserve, what are you doing here?" Danny asked, walking over to the older man.

"I've actually come for you three," Vlad said, trying for a friendly smile but more likely flashing an awkward smirk.

"Come to tempt us underage teens into your car with promises of candy?" Tucker asked, with an unimpressed air.

"Try the promise of a trip to the Amity Park Mall," Vlad said, dryly. He stood up straight and smiled down at the teens. "A day long shopping spree, no limits. What do you kids say?"

"We're not kids," Sam said defiantly. Vlad grimaced. "And we don't need you to buy us things, it's not going to get us to trust you."

"Yeah Vlad, so just can the nice act already," Danny said with frustration. He and his friends turned and started walking away down the hall. Vlad blinked, his face carefully blank.

He pulled something out of his pocket it and held it up casually, staring at his own reflection in his gleaming Black Bentley. "I've got a gold Masterscard."

The three teens all paused and Vlad smirked. Tucker was the one who turned first and Vlad could only imagine the geek's eyes shining behind his glasses as he stared at the credit card. Vlad glanced over to see the nerdy teen elbowing Danny. Vlad's hyper-sensitive hearing picked up their whispers.

"Come on, Danny! Let's just go! We could get that new game we've been dying to—"

"No, Tucker," Sam interjected. "We're not taking bribes from Vlad Plasmius!"

"It's not a bribe," Tucker insisted. "He's not asking us for anything, simply offering to take us shopping. And even if he was trying to buy our trust or something, he's not gonna get it. But what's a little shopping gonna hurt. We take the card, go to the mall and go nuts, all on Vlad's credit! He's being very generous, I think."

Danny glanced at the billionaire and Vlad looked back. Danny smirked and walked over, snatching up the gold card. "Unlimited, you say?"

…

They had been at the mall for a little over an hour and Vlad was seriously wondering if the teens were actually going to buy the whole place out.

The goth girl of course had been against it in the beginning, but when Danny and Tucker continued making crazy purchases of whatever happened to catch their eye, and then the two boys dragged Sam to some dark store with brick around the entrance, shoving the card into Sam's hand, it was like her maturity switch turned off and she was just another rebellious teen with a parents' credit card.

Vlad rearranged the parcels in his arms; bags dangled from his elbows and pinkies, his hands balancing heavy boxes one on top of the other until he could barely see where he was going. The purchases piled up, the kids handing Vlad more and more stuff as they passed each store, Vlad haphazardly swerving away from strangers as he tried to keep up with the younger shoppers.

As the teens raced into yet another store, this one seeming to sell music CD's and DVD's mostly, Vlad threw all the bags and boxes to the floor in a relatively secluded corner, pulling out his cellphone and making a quick call.

In a few moments, three old green vultures complaining in thick Russian accents fazed through the wall before Vlad. He pointed to the bags and boxes on the floor. "Take these back to the house."

…

Vlad sat at a small round table outside an ice cream shop in the mall, his chin resting in his palm as he gazed at all the random passing shoppers. Children dragging their parents' to get ice cream or toys. Teens in herds, sauntering around with no money in their pockets (Vlad glared at his group of teens with plenty of money in their pockets). Grandparents hauling way too many bags for their precious grandchildren. Couples old and young, holding hands.

Vlad chanced a glance at Danny, who was trying to convince Tucker that the ice cream stand did not and could not put like pieces of bacon on a chocolate sundae with sausage instead of a banana. Even if Vlad succeeded in all this, if he actually managed to get Danny's love and everything he'd seen in the mirror, they wouldn't have what these couples have. Not only would they be a same-sex couple, which was still a touchy subject in most of the country, but Vlad was obviously much older than Danny. He would get in serious trouble for pursuing Danny at this age, but even once the boy turned eighteen in a few years, people would still send them nasty looks should they ever try to walk the mall holding hands.

Vlad sighed. Was it even worth the trouble? Danny hated him now anyway, maybe it wasn't worth all this just to have to hide it away anyway if it did happen. Danny wouldn't be able to tell his parents…maybe not even his friends…

Danny wouldn't be happy. How could he be? Being in a relationship with Vlad would just be another added secret to Danny's already secret-filled life. It would cause more trouble than it was worth. Danny couldn't stand Vlad now, and the trust between them would always be strained.

What do I care? Vlad suddenly thought bitterly. If I want something, I'm damn well going to get it! Danny is the perfect companion, the perfect person to share my life with, I already established that a long time ago. What do I care if he has to lie to his friends and family, what do I care if people don't like our relationship!?

But would it even work…is it even worth it?

A shadow passed over Vlad's shoulder, making him look up. Nobody was there, but he noticed the goth girl laughing about something, leaning against Danny as she tried to catch her breath. Vlad clenched his teeth and glared down at the table, not wanting to see Danny like that, happy with someone else. He didn't want to see a potential romance forming right in front of his eyes, right before he even had a chance!

I can never win! It isn't fair! Vlad felt a nasty burn fill his chest and his hands vibrate with energy, a faint pink glow emitting from inside his clenched fists. It's always like this! I try and try, I find someone to care for and I mess it up!

No…someone always take it from me. Someone always messes everything up and I'm left alone, left abandoned and angry and—

"Here." Vlad looked up, so lost in thought he hadn't notice Danny had bought his ice cream and was now holding out a cone with chocolate ice-cream and chocolate sprinkles. Vlad blinked, and looked from the cone to Danny as though Danny were trying to offer him a pink dress to wear. "I wasn't sure what kind you liked so I got chocolate. Everyone likes chocolate."

Vlad took the ice cream carefully, still slightly confused by the situation. "You couldn't have just come over and asked me?" Vlad inquired, twisting his cone around, staring at it.

"Well I was already in line and it just occurred to me to get you one," Danny said with a shrug, sitting down briefly. He licked at his own ice-cream, strawberry with chocolate sprinkles. He looked to Vlad, who was still staring at his ice cream as though he thought it would sprout wings and fly away.

Danny scoffed lightly. "You can eat it, it's not poisoned."

Vlad scoffed as well, as though the very idea that he was scared to ice cream was laughable, and he ate off the swirled top of the ice cream cone. He couldn't hold back the quiet hum of pleasure, biting into the chocolate sprinkles. It had been a long time since he'd had ice cream.

"So, I know this is somehow involved in some kind of nefarious plot you have," Danny began, leaning back in his chair calmly, keeping a level gaze with Vlad. "But thanks for the shopping spree." Danny fished in his pocket and pulled out the little golden card, sliding it across the table towards Vlad.

Vlad took the card and Danny stood. "Daniel," Vlad said before the boy could leave and walk over to his friends. He stood, grabbing the boy's arm so Danny would stay and look at him. He looked into Danny's blue eyes, trying to get the boy to understand, even though he didn't understand a single thing himself. "I'm not planning anything nefarious. I'm not scheming, Daniel. I…I've changed."

Danny looked at Vlad, eyes searching. Vlad stared at him, face blank but heart pounding. He didn't know what to expect, or what to hope for. He didn't know if he wanted Danny to give him a chance, to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay and that they'd try… Or if he wanted Danny to yell at him, remain angry at him and attack him so Vlad could attack back, so Vlad could stop all this and make everything normal again, so he could go back to everything he knew, back to things that made sense.

Danny merely shook his head and pulled his arm from Vlad's grip. "I don't believe you. Not after everything you've done. And no amount of shopping sprees is ever going to change that." Danny turned and walked over to his friends.

Vlad stared after him, wanting to pull Danny back and hug him, wanting to tackle him to the ground and shake him until he listened, wanting to talk to him, and yell at him and hit something and run away; wanting to understand what he was thinking and feeling but knowing that trying to grasp the emotions and thoughts running through his mind to try and sort them out was like trying to be Masters and Plasmius at the same time.

He looked down at the ice cream in his hand, at the bandages wrapped around his palm, and then towards the teens conversing animatedly, pointedly ignoring him in their own separate joy. He licked at the chocolate dessert, shivering from the icy feel on his tongue, deciding the only thing to do was move forward.

So...I'm not sure if any of this made any kind of sense to anyone but me, but I'm just trying to show Vlad's extremely conflicting feelings right now. Sorry if its confusing or weird or anything, I promise things are going to get better! In like..two or three more chapters, promise! x3 This wasn't where I wanted to cut off the chapter but it ended up longer than I thought, and its late so I decided to separate it into two parts.

Finals are coming up (help me!) so I might be a bit slow on the updates but I will try my hardest to at least get one chapter out for next week! Please tell me what you liked, didn't like, any issues, grammatical things, prediction, questions. Even if you just wanna say hi, PM me! xD I'm friendly, I swear! Thanks for reading, and have a great day( even though it is currently 3am for me ^^")!