Prompt 4 – On a Date: I tried really hard to think of a perfect date but all I could come up with were the usual sets of dinner and a movie, maybe a walk through the park, or a picnic. Then I remembered one of my favorite aspects about Danny that a lot of people forge; if you watched the show with as much attention as I did you'll know what I mean by the end of this chapter. I hope you guys like it because I really do.

Rating: T

4. Diamonds

Date

Dates

Dated

Dating

There were so many different definitions and ways to use the offending word and he was stuck on one in particular.

It was roughly five or six months before Danny's twentieth birthday and it certainly wasn't Christmas or any of those other holidays where gift giving or formal outings were essential. Was it Vlad's birthday? Oh god, had he forgotten Vlad's birthday? Since he was seventeen Danny had always tried to get the elder Halfa just a little something, sometimes just a pack of his favorite sweets. No, Vlad wouldn't take him to the Planetarium on his birthday it wasn't his thing.

This had to be…

"Uh…"

Vlad's midnight eyes turned to look down at the slightly shorter teen. "Your insistence on keeping your mouth open like that is starting to attract attention."

Immediately, Danny closed his mouth and followed the typically well dressed man passed the giant solar system model that hung in the entrance hall of this particular exhibit. Earlier that morning Danny had received a call at his apartment just off campus of the Wisconsin-Madison College –the very one his parents and Vlad Masters had once attended – from the man beside him. Vlad had simply asked if he would like to come to the grand opening of VladCo's new observatory and since there was no classes and his parents weren't expecting him back home this break he accepted.

The morning consisted of breakfast, home cooked by Vlad, and a brief detailing about what the event would include. Danny was a little surprised to hear that it wouldn't start till about four, when kids were out of school and he vocalized his displeasure about being woken up so early for an event that wouldn't take place until later, but Vlad smiled and kept on talking as if the other hadn't interrupted. It wasn't unusual, Vlad did this a lot.

Danny would get a call or text saying the other was outside his apartment or class and they would go for dinner or see a movie. Sometimes the other would show up and just keep company while he ran errands. At first Danny was reluctant to take the offers but he chalked it up to Vlad following through on his promise to watch him if he moved to Wisconsin and went to a real college instead of Amity Park Community. It took a while before Danny started to question it.

Vlad insisted on culturing the younger Halfa and took the boy to see a play. It turned out not to be all that bad. Together they sat in a private booth and every now and then Vlad would lean over to crack a joke about the plot to which Danny would wittingly respond with another. It was comfortable and despite the fact that Danny had to leave early due to a breach in the ghost portal back at Amity Park, he would have liked to do it again. That night had been about the seventh time they'd done something that didn't involve fighting or ghosts; tonight would be the eighth.

"So the planetarium was already here, right?" Danny stopped for a brief moment to look over a virtual representation about black holes before hurrying to catch up with the slightly taller man. He pulled at his sleeves a little, adjusting the suit jacket he'd been coerced into. He'd grown accustomed to wearing them with Vlad but this one was new and it didn't have the same feeling as his previous one. This one, Vlad said, suited him better its deep gray color bringing out the flecks in his lighter blue eyes.

"It used to be a research facility before it became a museum." Vlad started as he led them beneath an arch of stars. "I've had my eye on this place for a while to see if they would make any good use of it. Unfortunately, a museum was not what I had in mind but it wasn't really a necessity to buy out the building at the time."

Danny snapped his attention to the man and quirked a brow. "Now it is? I think it's a great place."

A smirk appeared on the elder man's lips. "I'm glad you think so."

Finally they seemed to reach their destination. A crowd of people lingered around a podium where a man was talking animatedly about something or other and pointing at a large glass hallway that was sectioned off by a showy red ribbon. Danny was willing to be that was observatory. A couple of kids were carrying plastic telescopes and looking up at the domed ceiling where cartoon like constellations were painted. Across the way was a group of men in lab coats looking anxious, smiles on their faces. In fact there was hardly a frown in the whole crowd.

"Shall we?" Vlad asked, gesturing to the podium. Of course he'd have to make a speech.

Out of habit Danny looked down at his phone, it was set to alert him if there was a ghost attack outside his senses range; nothing. "Let's get this over with." The younger Halfa flashed a smile and followed the elder man as the crowd parted and cheered as Vlad Masters was introduced.

It was interesting to watch Vlad work a crowd without contempt clouding his vision. Danny could clearly see what made the elder man so charismatic. Not only was he attractive in an older, debonair kind of way but he spoke with such confidence he probably could have convinced you that he lifted mountains on weekends for fun. It was these little skills that Danny knew made Vlad a formidable foe and at times when Vlad was having a bad day, it did. However, in settings like this when he was just trying to insure that the fortune he'd stolen (Danny rarely had a chance to get over that) stayed intact he was just a man, a very smart and determined man.

The speech carried on a little ways before Vlad moved forward and accepted the traditional giant scissors and snapped the ribbon in two. Danny clapped with the rest of the crowd before he felt the familiar warmth of a hand take his and slide to his elbow allowing the elder one to lean in close enough for just long enough to whisper something, "I have something to show you."

Danny turned wide eyes to the crowd who barely seemed to be paying any attention as they walked through the glass hallway and then turned back to Vlad. His trademark smirk was in place and as he led Danny in another direction from the hallway Danny started to wonder if maybe this was a bad idea. All the thoughts about dating and its definitions buzzed around in his mind like angry bumblebees stinging his senses until all Danny could do to stop the spew of questions was bite his tongue –literally. He looked up at the ever confident man and wondered: Did Vlad know they were dating? Did he think they were dating? And now he's back on square one.

Vlad led them to a door that looked to be only accessible of the right card was swept through the reader. Of course, Vlad had the card. The door opened with barely a squeak and they continued down another more spacious hallway lined in doors and one way glass windows. Danny soaked in the sight of men and women in lab coats through the glass, a couple of them turning and waving before returning to their work.

It would have felt almost unwelcoming with all the high end research that seemed to be going on but the atmosphere was everything but. Walls were painted a pale blue to be almost white and while the floors were tiled they were in a darker blue veined in silver. The rooms that the scientists looked to be working in were painted in colors as well, they were still muted so as not to distract their work but Vlad seemed to have put some thought into the design of the place. It was rare for Vlad to ever go past the modern basics in most of his buildings; Danny had been in enough of them to know. But just like his home proved, Vlad had an eye for décor to some extent –not that the elder one would ever admit to it.

They turned down a few more hallways without entering any of the doors or running into anyone else. When the scenery changed it was to look up a staircase that was painted in a gradient blue that only got darker the higher it went. "Just a bit further," Vlad said, his hand having slid down to grasp Danny's tugged lightly until the boy was following the other into the darkness.

"Are we still in the observatory?"

"Of course, we're just a little higher than everyone else is allowed to be."

Danny snorted. "Sounds like you."

A low chuckle sounded in the air between them before Vlad flashed his card again through a reader at the end of the stairway.

When Danny walked in he knew two things. The first that this room was incredibly large, it more than likely stretched across the entire roof of the circular observatory; they were in the dome. The second thing was that it was designed completely with the thought of comfort unlike the research facility beneath their feet hidden from the public eye. The room was carpeted in a deep blue except for a smaller circle at the far end that was dark wood. Along the glass walls were panels that looked like they could be moved to allow for what Danny could only assume were the telescopes positioned in front of them. There were a couple of desks, one was positioned over the hardwood portion of the floor in all its sleek gunmetal and black glory, the other was a heavy wooden one that curved into a C and looked to hold the largest computer in the room, the screen having to be positioned against the wall.

Bringing his gaze to what was beside him Danny placed his hand on one of the black leather couches that sat in a circle in the sunken center of the room. On the surface of the present coffee table were a tablet, a folded white lab coat, and a keycard like the one Vlad had used to get them up to the dome. Danny walked over to the table and lifted the keycard to look at the image. It was the same one as his college ID. He wasn't surprised Vlad was able to get a hold of it.

"What is this?" Danny couldn't stop the question before it came out. Surprisingly enough when he turned to the man who had suddenly taken up residence on one of the couches he looked very faintly embarrassed.

"It's for your studies, sort of." Vlad answered, trying his best to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Sort of? Vlad, I don't even study… this. I went into engineering-"

"Because you're used to the technology, I know." Vlad leaned forward and grasped Danny's arm once more pulling the boy to sit beside him. "Don't deny that you wouldn't rather be learning aeronautics, astrophysics, or even astrology."

He couldn't.

"So this is for me?" Danny flushed, turning away from the man and taking in the room in one more long sweep. There were a few more things that more suited toward his actual degree as well as what his once dream had been.

"Well, not entirely. You're already busy with your school as it is. Don't misunderstand, my boy, I am glad you chose to go to a true university but the time you have allotted to spend any amount of time with me is sparse." Danny felt his cheeks grow redder but Vlad looked still as calm as ever as he continued. "So, to be entirely selfish, I built the observatory as a way to coax you into doing something you like where I can also get some of my work done. Think of them as study dates."

There was the word.

That word hung in the air between them and Danny opened his mouth to talk but stopped himself afraid that he'd say something stupid.

Then again, when has that not happened?

"Are we dating?" Danny blurted and immediately he regretted it. His face paled while simultaneously Vlad's burned. It was one of the more awkward silences since they made their truce some years ago.

Quickly Vlad tried to cover himself by sitting straighter and clearing his through. As composed as the man attempted to look his cheeks still flared in embarrassment or perhaps nervousness. "I-I had hoped so. "He cursed inwardly for the stutter. "This," he pulled the boy close to him, "this would be our ninth date, no?"

He'd been counting too, Danny noticed. So they both had been counting these moments together. Sure there had been quite a few days where they shared company but they'd counted the times since it became more than just finding the other out of boredom. Both were just too stubborn to admit it.

"Yeah," Danny started, "I mean, it's not like I've been keeping track or anything, it could be our fiftieth but w-" Danny was stopped when he found himself very suddenly tugged into the elder man's lap. "Vlad?"

It wasn't the first time they kissed, actually if Danny counted correctly, and he definitely did. This was their third, or rather the third one that really mattered. It felt the same but there was something sweeter about it. Vlad's lips covered the others almost possessively, as if the truth had quite literally set him free. Danny's hands found standing on the elder's shoulders as he shivered at the teeth that traced his bottom lip and the hand that ran down the front of his suit jack to rest against his hip. A gasp emitted from the elder man as Danny turned the tables, repositioning his body to straddle the other. They fought for dominance, quite unsuccessfully as neither was any less stubborn than their opponent.

When Vlad finally pulled himself away from the boy he took note of the boy's fingers playing with the hairs at the back of his neck, it was comforting. He took in the sight of Danny's kiss swollen lips and felt pleased in the fact that it was he who could silence them.

"I have to ask," Danny smirked as he spoke. "What if I'd said no?"

Vlad laughed, it was so rare that it were a true mirthful laugh and it made Danny want to see more of it. "Why I still would have done exactly what I just did, Little Badger. Then I would have declared that today be the first date."

"Well this isn't a bouquet of roses," the teen smiled, "but this'll do."

"Why would you want roses when I can give you diamonds?" Vlad asked as he motioned for Danny to grab the tablet off the table. Leaning over from his perch Danny grabbed the device and handed over to the millionaire. He watched as Vlad played with the screen for a moment before the room began to darken and the ceiling above became transparent.

Danny looked up and took in the sight of the coming night. Sure enough sewn into the midnight blue velvet above were the first few diamonds in the tapestry that he felt was especially for him.