Vlad sat at his desk, fighting off a burning headache from all the routine, tedious paperwork that had to be done for this town. He needed to sign papers, plan meetings, read papers, attend meetings, make phone calls, ignore phone calls, run around town, make announcements…sometimes Vlad wondered why he'd thought world domination was a good idea; trying to run a city was time-consuming and boring, imagine running the whole earth!
Besides this, Vlad also had multiple companies he owned that he needed to take care of on a daily basis. That left absolutely no room for the main thing Vlad wanted to focus all his time and energy on: the Danny problem.
He called it a problem and not a goal or plan because currently, it was a problem. A big problem, and a real pain in the ass. Every time he thought he was making even a small step forward, he seemed to do something wrong. Danny's quick temper and unpredictable teen emotions made reasoning with the boy impossible.
Maybe I should wait another ten years, and try this whole thing again when he's 26…Vlad thought, rubbing his forehead. But then that she-bat will already have swooped in and sunk her plastic fangs into him! I'll have already lost him!
Vlad scowled, knowing he had to grab the boy now. Ugh, I sound like some creep on the children's playground…
It's not like Danny's a child though, he's sixteen. And despite his emotions, he has mellowed out and matured in the few short years I've known him. Given time, he'll become a fine young man, capable and responsible and incredibly powerful.
Vlad's headache dulled some at the idea, of watching Danny age and mature by his side, being there during it all, spending his life with such a person. It wasn't such a bad thought, and it made this whole dilemma that much easier, knowing what awaited him at the end.
I just wish the end would come sooner…or easier.
Vlad sat back, staring at all the unfinished paperwork he had yet to touch. He glanced at his watch. It was late enough that he could cut out, head home and perhaps take a long bath, make a hot meal and catch the game. He sighed…yet another bachelor night. No one to return home to. Well except Maddie.
Vlad glanced guiltily to the corner of his desk, where a framed photo of the human Maddie sat. He leaned forward and grabbed it, resting his elbows on the desk as he gazed down at the smiling face. He hadn't gotten rid of this old thing yet, despite knowing he should. There was no point in keeping it, he had given up on her, hadn't he? It felt wrong to keep it now, like if Danny came in and saw it, Vlad would feel like he was caught cheating or something. Vlad chuckled without humor.
He looked at the picture one last time and then stood. He walked around to the side of his desk and held the framed photo over the waste basket. He hesitated though.
"Butter brickle," Vlad muttered, rubbing his face wearily. He stepped back and opened the desk drawer, quickly shoving the picture frame inside face down, grabbing his car keys and exiting the building in a hurry.
As he pulled out into the street, he glanced into the rearview mirror and nearly had a heart attack at what—or who—was staring back at him, causing him to swerve slightly and earning a few honks his way.
"Could you please refrain from just appearing in my rearview mirror while I'm driving!?" Vlad exclaimed as his heart rate slowed back to normal. The man sighed. "Well what is it? Here to reprimand me for not going out to find my similarities with young Daniel?"
"Finding similarities takes time, time that needs to be spent getting to know the boy," the blue eyed spirit in his mirror said calmly. "The next step is to go hand in hand with that one. As you spend time with him, finding common ground, you must also continue to gain his trust and respect along the way, through opening up."
Vlad glanced to the mirror, arching an eyebrow. "Opening up? You mean like telling him my feelings, and all the awful horrors of my childhood?"
"Opening up simply means being honest with the boy, willing to confess feelings or experiences you'd rather keep to yourself. If you are to have this child as a main part of your life, you need to be comfortable with talking to him," explained the guardian specter.
Vlad nodded as he continued to drive, his mind reeling. The very idea of talking to Danny about his feelings was almost laughable, and quite frankly a bit humiliating. But he supposed it made sense.
"Alright. But I'm not going to hold his hands, gaze into his eyes and confess my undying love for him or anything. The boy will be lucky to get an "I'm feeling hungry" out of me at this point. That is, if he'll even bother talking with me."
…
Vlad quietly stood in the kitchen, his hair loose and still damp on his shoulders from his relaxing shower. He wore his embroidered gray robe without a shirt under it and soft black pajama bottoms. Fuzzy cat slippers covered his feet as he chopped vegetables on the counter. It was quiet, so a soft meow made Vlad look up in surprise.
"Hello Maddie," Vlad said with a soft smile. "Come to keep a solitary old man company?" Vlad asked as he pet the affectionate cat who had jumped onto the counter. Vlad smiled fondly and put down the knife so he could properly hold the cat. "I should really thank Daniel for suggesting I get a cat in the first place. I know he said it to mock me, but I like to believe he said it because he was truly concerned. I suppose that would count as opening up."
"Meow!" Maddie nuzzled Vlad and purred as the man stroked her back. Vlad smiled; knowing Maddie was always happy to see him made the loneliness go down significantly. He had never had a pet before, had always seen them as a nuisance instead of a pleasure, but when Danny had offhandedly suggested it, for some reason it had stuck in his head.
"Aw, who's a good girl?" Vlad cooed, happily nuzzling the only creature who ever cared for him in the past twenty years. "Who loves her daddy?"
A sharp knock at the door startled the pair, Maddie meowing angrily and jumping from Vlad's arms. "Oh butter biscuits, who is it at this time?" Vlad demanded, storming over to the front door. He pulled the door open, his expression annoyed as he prepared to reprimand whoever was disturbing the mayor at this time. He paused though when he noticed the shadowed figure of Danny Fenton before him.
"Mind if I use your TV?" Danny asked with an odd expression, just before turning intangible and walking straight through Vlad and into the house.
Vlad blinked, and quickly closed the door, following the teen to the living room. Said sixteen year old plopped onto the couch, grabbing the remote off the cushion.
"Daniel?" Vlad asked, not sure how to properly respond to the situation before him. "Not that this isn't…I mean what are—"
"Do you have any food here, Plasmius? I'm starved," Danny asked as he flicked through the channels boredly. Danny glanced to Vlad and suddenly seemed to notice the man was in a robe. He cringed. "And could you put your normal suit on, this is a bit gross to look at."
Vlad's eyes narrowed as his very thin nerves broke. He took the TV remote from the boy and clicked off the television. "I don't appreciate this rude interrupting of my night, Daniel. You're welcome to stay here but you're not going to act like some miscreant, barging in here, demanding food like I'm some kind of servant, and insulting me!"
Danny glared up at Vlad like the man was some pestering parent, but then his expression turned to embarrassment and he looked down at his feet. "Sorry," Danny muttered and the tone sounded heart felt enough that Vlad unwillingly let his annoyance go with a sigh. "Can I have the remote back? I just want to watch TV." Danny reached for it, but just as his fingers were about to close around the controller in Vlad's hand, the boy's hand and arm turned intangible, passing right through his target. Danny scowled.
Vlad raised an eyebrow. "No. I think it'd be best if you told me why you're barging into my house in the first place, instead of watching TV in your own home, or the home of your friends. I do recall you saying we were enemies, remember, and I'm pretty sure enemies don't go to each other's houses just to watch the newest episode of Glee."
"I don't watch Glee," Danny said with a wrinkle between his eyebrows. Vlad gave him a steady glare and Danny sighed. He didn't say anything for a moment, seemingly debating about something in his mind from the conflicted look in his eyes. Finally he looked up at Vlad, and said, "That machine my dad had aimed at us the other day…since he believes it's got bugs, he's been tinkering with it. It started sending off strong ecto-currents that made my powers short out." As if to further prove his point, Danny slowly starting rising from the couch, floating until his head hit the ceiling. Vlad quickly covered his mouth with his head to stifle the laugh that was just about to tumble out.
"It's not funny! This sucks! I feel like I'm fourteen again, and just got my powers. It's annoying," Danny grumbled as he tried to push off from the ceiling. He only managed to move so his back was pressed to the ceiling instead of his chest. He glared down at Vlad, who smiled smugly up at him.
"So why are you here then?" Vlad inquired. "I mean even with control of your powers, you are barely a threat to me, so why do you think that in this state it was a good idea to come to the house of your arch-enemy?"
Danny scowled. "Yeah I know." He fidgeted uncomfortably in the air. "But…I can't stay home, being like this. It was bad enough before, but look at me! How would I explain this!?"
"And you couldn't go to a trusted friend's house…?"
"Same reasons," Danny said with a scowl. "Sam's family is doing their Hanukah thing this week so I didn't want to interrupt and Tucker's busy with his IT job that he's got down at the mall. And besides, it's not exactly like I could just float to the ceiling like this in front of their parents!" Danny seemed to pout, glaring at the wall. "I just hate to be a bother…"
Vlad looked up at the boy, who had felt alone and afraid and had decided to come here, to Vlad at such a vulnerable time! This was definitely some kind of progress! Vlad smiled and raised his hand, offering it to Danny. The ghost boy stared at it suspiciously a moment, as though expecting a pink ecto-blast to shoot out. Finally Danny reached and grabbed the man's hand, allowing Vlad to pull him down.
Vlad smiled and wrapped an arm around the boy's waist to pull him so his feet were hovering just above the ground. The boy was flush to his chest, and Vlad felt a tingle run through his body. Vlad stared down at the young face and asked, "So then you decided to come here until the effects of that stupid device passes?"
"Well not at first," Danny admitted with a slight smirk when he noticed Vlad's disappointment. "I originally went to the park and just hung around there. It's already dark so I figured no one would see if my powers shorted out."
"That was still very dangerous," Vlad chastised. "If you floated like you did now, you could have floated a hundred feet into the air and then suddenly dropped. And what if a ghost came around, like Skulker and you're powers weren't working?"
Danny rolled his eyes. "I know, thanks for the concern Mom." Vlad flinched slightly. Despite knowing that Danny was just kidding, the joke reminded Vlad that he couldn't act the parent around Danny anymore. But it just seemed to come naturally to Vlad, wanting to protect the boy, to guide him and teach him.
"It got cold…and I got hungry," Danny muttered, his cheeks turning a light pink. Vlad's heart fluttered slightly at the adorable picture Danny made and his own cheeks heated up when he realized how close they were standing. "You've been acting…well weird lately, but I figured I could at least come here for a bit since you're the only other person in Amity Park who wouldn't freak out if I suddenly started floating to the ceiling or walking through walls."
Vlad laughed. "I'm the only one in Amity Park who could do those things with you, Little Badger." Vlad floated a few inches off the ground, smirking down at Danny.
A weird expression crossed the boy's face. He stared at Vlad and then looked over his shoulder at the ground. When he looked back to the man, he seemed to suddenly notice Vlad holding him so close—and how exposed Vlad's chest was in just a robe!— and struggled away.
"Uh r-right," Danny muttered, managing to get out of Vlad's grip and falling gracelessly to his feet on solid ground, his hold on gravity restored. For now. "So uh…it's okay for me to stay here then right? It's not like this is the first time a Fenton kid ran to you when home wasn't exactly the best place."
Vlad laughed and Danny smiled uneasily as they both remembered when Jaz had ran away to Vlad's house after fighting with Danny, only to later realize she was trying to do undercover work on Plasmius.
"Of course Daniel, make yourself at home."
Danny glanced at the television. "All they're giving is Christmas specials," the boy complained with a scowl. "I hate December."
"Really?" Vlad said with a quirked eyebrow. "I thought you'd love Christmas like everyone else. You're normally so peppy and family-oriented."
"Yeah well, Christmas isn't always the happy, joyous holiday at my house like it is for everyone else. Never has been," Danny said with a dark look, averting his eyes.
Vlad was taken aback for a moment at the comment. Danny had just…opened up to Vlad! It made a warm spark fill Vlad's chest, knowing the boy was comfortable enough to talk to the man about something so personal, even if he hadn't gone into detail.
But Vlad also felt a pang of sadness. Danny always seemed so happy with his family, defending them to the near-death, and despite the boys moods, he seemed like a relatively normal, happy teenager. But with this one comment, Vlad could tell not everything in Danny's family life was ideal. And it had nothing to do with his powers; this was something that had haunted Danny for a very long time it seemed.
Vlad wanted to reach out, and comfort the boy somehow. With the responsibility of Daniel's feelings, Vlad needed to be able to react properly. He needed to know the right words to say, the best action to take. A pat on the shoulder? A hug? A kiss?
Okay definitely not that last one. Vlad shook his head with an awkward cough.
"You can put some music on if you want then, instead of TV. I'm making dinner right now, it should be done in a little bit," Vlad suggested lamely, realizing how rusty he was with entertaining guests. It was different if it was an associate or a ghost worker, but this was Danny. Someone he actually cared about, and a teenager at that! He wasn't sure what these "hip young kids" liked to do or eat, or how they liked to be comforted.
Vlad figured he'd done something right when Danny simply nodded and headed to the compartments under the TV to look for the stereo and some CDs.
Vlad went back to the kitchen, finishing up with the vegetables and putting the meat in the oven to bake. He had just closed the oven door when he heard Danny exclaim, "No way!"
"The CD's are in the back, just—" Vlad cut off as a god awful guitar riff blared loudly through the rooms. The familiar sound formed a rock in his stomach and he hurried into the living room. "No no no! Not that!"
Danny was laying on the carpeted floor, his laughter overpowered by the harsh grunge sound coming from the speakers. Danny finally sat up, wiping his eyes. He held up the small cassette box that had the name of the band he was playing. The Skunk Punks.
"Dad told me you guys had a band but I didn't think you'd have a recording of it," Danny laughed. "Who's singing? Please tell me this wasn't you."
"No," Vlad ground out between clenched teeth. He hated being humiliated and he was breaths away from strangling the brat. He should have destroyed that cassette years ago. "This was the other member of the band, named Nick. He didn't stick around long once the band started getting…picked on."
"You were bullied?" Danny asked, lowering the volume on the stereo. He looked pensive for a moment. "You guys aren't that bad."
Vlad smirked. "Thanks for the comforting lie, Daniel."
Danny laughed and pressed the stop button on the stereo, throwing the room into blissful silence. "What else do you have?" He looked through the other cassettes and CD's as Vlad rounded the couch and sat down. "All of this is from the 80s."
"Well that is the decade I grew up in, Daniel," Vlad said deadpanned. "Sorry it's not Keisha and Ashton Timberlake."
"That's Justin Timberlake," Danny said with a laugh. "He's kinda like the current Michael Jackson. Speaking of which…" Danny put in a cassette and Billie Jean started playing over the speakers. "I've come to appreciate the classics of the 80s thanks to my parents, so it's not a big deal."
Vlad nodded, not really wanting to talk about the giant age gap between him and Danny, but happy Danny at least liked this kind of music. That's a huge leap in the similarities department anyway.
"Meow!" Vlad looked over at the irritated mewling, knowing Maddie was probably upset about being ignored for a stranger.
Danny looked over and smirked. "So. You did get that cat, then." The boy laughed and Vlad scowled as Maddie curled affectionately at his thigh, begging to be pet.
"Yes well, I suppose I must thank you," Vlad said, a bit unwillingly due to the boy's smug attitude, but remembering to heed the guardian spirit's words. "Maddie here has been great company. Haven't you, girl?" Vlad cooed, scratching the purring cat behind her ear.
"Maddie?" Vlad flinched at the terse, cold tone of Danny's voice.
Damn! I forgot, so stupid! Vlad smacked himself mentally. That's what I get for trying to open up! "Yes, Daniel. It's short for my hometown." Vlad gave Danny a blank, bored look, thankful he was a practiced liar and a fast thinker. "Madison, Wisconsin. Maddie."
"Smooth save, Plasmius," Danny said with a roll of his eyes. He scooted back away from the stereo to leaning his back against the couch, sitting on the ground just a few feet away from Vlad. Vlad wanted to move closer, running his fingers through the boy's hair like he was doing with Maddie. The urge was sudden and strong, and it frightened Vlad slightly. It was a new sensation, this need for affectionate human contact.
"So you were actually born in Wisconsin?" Danny asked, glancing up at Vlad. Vlad's brows scrunched curiously. Was this Danny's idea of starting a conversation? Vlad supposed this was a good way to open up to the boy.
"Yes I was," Vlad said carefully, still not completely sure where Danny was going with this topic.
Danny smiled a bit. "So like, did you live on a cheese farm?" Vlad could tell the boy was holding back laughter. Ah, so that's it.
"Actually I did, up until college."
"Wait for real?" Danny asked, surprised written on his face, his smile widening. "Like, with cows and chickens and waking up at 5 in the morning?"
Vlad chuckled but nodded.
Danny burst out laughing. "You're a farm boy!?"
"Hey watch it young man. If you remember, your mother is also a country girl."
"Sorry, sorry!" Danny said between laughs, shaking his head. "It's just hard to imagine this—" Danny moved his hand up and down, vaguely gesturing to Vlad. "—wearing overalls and milking a cow! You're all stuffy and proper, a total rich boy!"
Vlad scoffed, not sure what was so funny about living on a farm in his youth while currently being successful and wealthy. "Yes well, people change."
Danny's laughter died down and he looked at Vlad, the words Vlad had just uttered sinking in. "I guess so."
There was a pause in the conversation, stretching out awkwardly. Vlad didn't want the talking to stop though. Despite the embarrassing topics so far, it was good. "Daniel, I know you don't want to believe that I've changed but—"
"You haven't," Danny said with a shrug, his tone casual. "I know you're up to something, V-man; you always are." Danny laughed and stood and suddenly something in Vlad's mind clicked. "Tucker and Sam and I have been talking about it and we think—"
Vlad stood suddenly, walking over to where Danny had wandered. "Stop," Vlad said simply. "You're making excuses. We're sitting and having a decent conversation for once and you start getting uncomfortable."
"What are you talking about?" Danny asked defensively, averting his eyes from the ever approaching Vlad. The back of Danny's knees caught on the coffee table when he tried to step back and he tripped, suddenly turning intangible and falling through. He stumbled back and Vlad fazed through the coffee table to grab Danny's wrist before the boy fell. The two stumbled into the wall, Vlad pinning the boy by his wrist.
Danny's eyes widened and he pushed at Vlad. "Let me go!"
"No," Vlad said firmly, putting his other hand on the wall by Danny's head, effectively caging the boy in. Danny's eyes flashed green angrily and the white rings appeared around his waist. Unfortunately for the little half ghost, his powers were still on the fritz and the white rings merely fizzled away, leaving behind a miffed Danny Fenton.
"So you are going to take advantage of the fact that my powers are down. I knew it; you haven't changed at all," Danny sneered, glaring up at the older halfa. Vlad stared at the boy, dark blue eyes narrowed. Their faces were close together, and Vlad could feel the boy's heart beat racing in the wrist he had pinned to the wall. They were almost chest to chest, and Vlad felt that same charge run through him.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Daniel. But you're acting like a child. I'm not The Joker, or Lord Voldemort, or the Boogeyman! I'm not some evil entity, I'm just a man. We can sit and talk like adults, but you, with your childish black and white views, can't grasp that concept and so at the first sign of actual civility between us, you reject it and start acting suspicious of me when I've done absolutely nothing to warrant it!"
Danny's eyes widened but he looked away, like the stubborn teenager he was. Instead of facing his mistakes and accepting his way of thinking was wrong, he fought it. He clung to what he knew, to what he believed was right despite all the evidence against it. Vlad thought Danny was better than that, more mature. The self-righteousness of the heroes.
"You were able to relax some without noticing it when you were here with your friends, because they are a comfortable safe world for you. But with just you and me…" Vlad sighed as Danny started squirming in his grip, obviously no longer listening. Vlad released the boy and stepped back.
"I'm not afraid of you," Danny said, his heated glare aimed at his enemy.
"I never said you were."
"And I'm not a child! I know what you're capable of, it's not like I'm imagining all the evil things you've done."
"But like an ego-centric hero, you ignore the good I've done, because you're not comfortable with it."
"Never mind, this was a mistake," Danny muttered, shaking his head and heading towards the exit. In a panic, Vlad grabbed at Danny's hand. He couldn't let things end like this with the boy again. He needed to make some kind of progress, anything! He couldn't let the boy storm out when he had finally trusted Vlad, opened up to him. He couldn't lose this!
"Wait," Vlad said softly. Danny paused and stiffened but he didn't wrench his hand from Vlad's. Vlad wasn't good with emotions. What man really is? Vlad had never had a real family, had been alone so long that he really didn't know how to act around people he cared for. He squeezed Danny's hand and said, "At least stay for dinner."
The two of them sat at the table for dinner and Vlad just couldn't wrap his mind around the situation. Danny still seemed tense and uncomfortable, so there was no dinner conversation, just the monotonous click and scrap of forks and plates as they ate, and every now and then the sudden crash and hushed swear if Danny's powers acted up, making him drop his fork.
Vlad glanced up from his plate every now and then, watching the boy eat for a few moments across from him. A few weeks ago, Vlad would have been thrilled! Daniel in his home, acting relatively civil and sharing a dinner with him. A domestic scene really, a father and son living peacefully together.
But Vlad just…couldn't see the boy that way anymore. He wanted so badly to run his fingers through the boy's hair again, to reach out and take his hand, hold it and smile, and to be smiled back at. He didn't want to raise this boy who was already almost a man, he wanted to share his life with this boy!
Geez… Vlad thought, slightly shocked by the thought. I sound head over heels, like I want to propose to the little brat! Vlad knew he hadn't progressed too far in his quest to win Daniel, and it was mainly due to Danny's stubbornness, his black and white views and his damn hero's pride.
This kid, I swear! That heart of gold of his needs some tainting…
"You and my dad really were close, huh?" Danny suddenly asked, surprising Vlad out of his thoughts.
"Hm?" Vlad muttered unintelligibly, his fork clicking against his plate as he set it down to look at Danny.
The boy had finished his food and was giving Vlad a strange look. "Well that thing the other day with the pizza, and then the band…you guys were roommates for two years," Danny began, glancing down to his cup briefly. "You're his best friend, Vlad. Well he considers you his best friend anyway. How could you possibly hate him so much after being so close? And while you still remember both of your favorite pizza toppings and kept your old recording?"
Vlad sighed, pushing his plate away and folding his hands in front of him. He wasn't sure where this line of topic came from, but he was willing to indulge for the sake for conversation. "Daniel, it was your idiot father's fault—"
"How can you sit there and call him an idiot!" Danny exclaimed angrily, slamming his hands on the table. "How can you talk about how much you changed when the one thing I've known about you from the beginning is the same? I know he caused the accident, but he apologized! I know my father married the woman you loved, but she never loved you back—"
"That's not true!" Vlad exclaimed without thinking, glaring at the boy and slamming his hands on the table as well. "Jack stole her from me, as well as my life!"
"Is your life really all that terrible!? You're a billionaire for God's sake, with incredible ghost powers—"
"I never asked for any of this!" Vlad yelled, rising from his seat. "I never asked for powers, I never wanted them! All I wanted after college was to marry a woman I loved, have kids, have a family, and live a peaceful live! I didn't care about money or power then, I didn't want to be anything special! Jack Fenton stole that all from me, he ruined my life!"
Danny and Vlad stood on either ends of the table, glaring at one another stubbornly. After a few moments, Danny's shoulders lowered and his gaze softened slightly. "I…"
"Don't bother with any kind of pity, please," Vlad huffed with a wave of his hand, sitting back down. He rubbed his forehead tiredly. This was not at all how he wanted this dinner to go and he was pretty sure that was not what the specter had meant when she told him to "open up".
"I wasn't…Vlad, he didn't do it on purpose. Please, if you just talked to—"
"No, Daniel. The fact of the matter is is that it was his fault. He got distracted, it was his invention, and I will never be able to forgive him for it."
Danny just stared at Vlad, his eyes searching for something, which he didn't find. The boy sighed and dropped his gaze to the table. "I know." Danny sat back down but fell straight through his seat, falling harshly to the floor. "Damn it!"
Vlad hurried over, extending his hand to help Danny up. Danny brushed off the hand and pushed himself to his feet, dusting off the seat of his pants in an irritated huff.
Vlad sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I thought those annoying side effects would have worn off by now," Vlad muttered, gripping Danny's shoulder and steering him into the living room and pushing him to sit on the couch. "Your father's an even worse inventor than I thought."
"He's not! And you know it!" Danny defended angrily, his eyes flashing green. Vlad didn't know if it was because of his glitchy powers or if Danny was just that ticked off right now. "You know he's a good inventor and a good man, you just act like he's an idiot so you have even more of a reason to hate him!"
"Like I really need to explain myself to a teenager!" Vlad muttered. "Just stay here! I have an extract in my lab that should help with the ghostly power glitches. I created it once my ecto-acne resurfaced a few years ago, just in case it should ever come back."
"It shouldn't," Danny said dismissively with a bored yawn. He leaned back into the couch. "Trust me."
Vlad raised an eyebrow, wondering how Danny had even figured out the problem all those years ago. Despite how he seemed, Vlad knew the boy was just as intelligent as his parents. Well, his mother anyway, Vlad thought bitterly.
"How come I didn't get ecto-acne when I gained my ghost powers?" Danny asked suddenly.
Vlad looked to Danny a moment, pondering how to answer that question. He then transformed into Plasmius. Danny flinched and looked ready to jump up and fight but Vlad put a hand up to stop the boy. "Calm down, Daniel, I'm just explaining your question." Danny eyed the ghost before him cautiously, but slowly relaxed, leaning back into the couch and keeping his eyes trained on Plasmius.
"When your idiot father created the first ghost portal, it was simply a prototype, that I knew wouldn't work, and it was fueled with impure ectoplasm." Danny nodded hesitantly, apparently following along well enough so far. "Similar to grease on the skin, the impurities of the ectoplasm caused the ecto-acne to break out on my human skin. The impurities caused my skin to turn blue in my ghost form—" Vlad indicated his current face. "—unlike your ghost form which looks basically human. That's because the ghost portal you now have actually works, so it's connected to the real ghost zone which has pure ectoplasm."
Danny nodded, now staring at Vlad with open fascination. "Because of all those impurities, my body was wracked with diseases and heavily damaged. As I'm sure you've heard, I had to spend years in the hospital with all kinds of weird illnesses and symptoms, from throwing up ectoplasm, to rashes, and the basic ghostly glitches." Vlad indicated Danny, who unknowingly, had turned invisible.
There was silence, and Vlad held his breath, unsure what was going on in the boy's head currently, especially since the temporary invisibility made it so Vlad could see his expression.
"That must have been…" Danny's quiet voice said in the air, and suddenly the boy appeared on the couch. Vlad was surprised to see Danny gripping his knees tightly, his face scrunched in distress. His eyes were shining. Vlad's eyes widened at the figure before him, stunning him into silence. "…awful. When I first turned into Danny Phantom, I thought I'd died. It was terrifying and I didn't even have all those crazy side effects, well except not really being able to control my powers. I sometimes forget you went through all this too…the fear and uncertainty. Except you were alone."
Danny blinked and shook his head, the wetness in his eyes fading. Vlad blinked and stared at the boy, suddenly able to breathe again. "Yes well. After a certain amount of practice, one gets use to it." Vlad wasn't sure if he was referring to the ghost powers or loneliness. "I'll be right back."
Vlad turned intangible and disappeared into the floor. Once down in the lab, he quickly found the vial he held in an anti-freeze chamber, to keep it fresh through the years. He knew this would help Danny's glitches subside enough for the boy to go home tonight safely.
"At least I can do this much for him," Vlad muttered. "Since I'm no good at anything else." Vlad glared at the vial a moment, thinking to just a few minutes ago. Had Danny almost…cried…for me?
Vlad shook his head. No it must have been some kind of trick. Danny hated Vlad, he said so himself plenty of times! Hadn't he?
Now that Vlad thought about it, Danny had never actually said the words, "I hate you." That was something he supposed, but Danny's actions definitely shouted I hate you.
Well Danny has been acting more civil lately…he even came to me when he was in trouble. That shows he trusts me, Vlad thought, grasping at straws.
Vlad clutched the vial. "Who knew getting into the heart of a teenager would be so complicated? Well, teens are known for their melodrama."
Vlad noticed a shift out of the corner of his eye and look up from the vial in his palm, noticing a shadow before him on the wall. Plasmius turned quickly but nothing was there. He looked all around, but he was alone in the lab.
Shaking his head, Vlad fazed up into the ceiling and back into the living room. It was empty.
"Daniel?" Vlad called. He looked left and right but didn't see anything. Vlad glanced over to the front door. "Guess he left. Didn't want to stick around with some lonely old specter anymore." Vlad scowled, clutching the vial in his hand tightly.
He transformed back into Masters just as a figure appeared in the living room.
Danny was lying on the couch, his arm pillowing his head, his sneakers still on his feet as he breathed deeply. Vlad's eyes widened slightly. "He…fell asleep here?" Vlad took a step closer. "Danny?" The boy didn't move, his mouth parted slightly as he slept. Vlad blushed slightly and looked away.
"He must have turned invisible in his sleep," Vlad muttered, placing the vial on the coffee table by the couch. He floated and fazed into the ceiling, to the second floor, where he grabbed a clean blanket from the hallway cabinet. He floated back down into the living room and, after carefully taking off the young halfa's shoes, draped the soft blanket on the thin boy.
Vlad sighed. "I just don't get you, Daniel," Vlad whispered, gazing at the exhausted teen. All those power malfunctions must have taken a bigger toll on the boy's body than Vlad thought. He reached out, running his fingers slightly into the boy's hair. Danny sighed softly in his sleep and relaxed more into the couch.
"Goodnight, Little Badger."
Thank you all so much for all the favorites, follows and reviews! I love knowing you guys are reading my crazy ramblings of these two dorky halfas! x3
Sorry this is late but here it is! xD its a long one too so I hope you all enjoy! Alot a emotions and junk between these two, and its great because we are reaching the breaking point! HAZAH!
Anyway, please review with any questions, comments, complaints (though please be nice ^^" if its about my grammar or any mistakes, just know I am un-beta-ed xD) or just to say how much you love me (Jk, but that'd be nice because I love all of you!) Have a great night!