Prompt 16 - Morning Ritual: I didn't know what I would write for this. Not for lack of ideas, oh no, I had WAY too many ideas for this one. I was really looking forward to writing this one. In the end I went for the simpler one and the one that felt the most natural to me when it came to Danny and Vlad being domestic.

Rating: K

16. A Common Occurrence

5:00 am

Vlad turns in the large bed dragging the comforter to his chin for a brief moment before letting out a yawn. His eyes are immediately drawn to the pillow next to him where the briefest of frowns befalls his lips. It's nothing but an empty pillow, not even a trace of warmth. Instead of lingering on it the man moves to sit up and heads for the conjoined bathroom of the master suite. The sink and shower are dry when he walks in; this irritates him.

Slipping a light blue towel off the rack and throwing it around his neck he turns on his heel and leaves the room. Once in the hallway he almost expects someone to run into him and say, "Sorry." No such thing happens. This actually isn't so uncommon. Waking up alone in bed, or in the house. He just wishes it weren't so. Vlad turns down another hallway and comes to a large door that slides open once it senses his proximity. The estate has two gyms, one for human use and one for…not. In the mornings he is just a human.

Finding a punching bag he sheds the dark shirt he slept in and tosses it into a bin. He doesn't bother wrapping his fists because in the real world there is no time for that. Instead he takes a breath and slides a foot back raising both of his hands to his eye level and promptly goes into a quick succession of hits at the large punching bag.

—oOo—

"You would think after getting your ass handed to you by a teenager for so many years you'd have given up by now." Danny weaves his way around the flag poles hanging from the city hall building. The one in pursuit has half a mind to disregard the annoying obstacle.

"Some people slow with age," the sound came from in front of Danny, he didn't have enough time before he was wrapped in a very cold coil of metal belonging to an equally cold Technus. "It seems you've done just that."

Wriggling around in his binds the hybrid drew a deep breath before the entrapment squished him to death and then let it out. Ice coated the coils and any electricity coursing through them was immediately melting the ice and causing the ghost to malfunction. Once the binds were lax Danny fell to the ground shielding his eyes as the other went up in a blinding light. Reaching for the thermos Danny held it out and quickly absorbed Technus.

"And with age also comes wisdom. You've gotta be a lot older then me, man, and you're still ending up in thermoses." Danny chuckled and took flight once more heading for home. Sleep was going to be amazing after being up all night.

6:00 am

Wiping the last bit of sweat off his brow Vlad jumped down from the elevated track. There was a water bottle waiting for him, cool and crisp. He took it and shivered at the way it felt settling into his heated stomach.

He retraced his steps from earlier and with one passing glance at the still empty bed he made his way to the bathroom. Shutting the door behind him he turned the water on and didn't even bother looking for the right temperature before he went in. Like everything else in his life he bathed quick and efficiently, spending no more time than necessary in the small cubicle. When he did step out it was only to come face, uhm, face with a head of black hair.

"Daniel?" Vlad looked down at his boyfriend and nearly mothered the bruise evident around his arms but the last time he did that Danny had made it pretty clear he wasn't a kid anymore.

There was no reply from the younger one, just a yawn and a peck of the lips on Vlad's shoulder before he took residence in the small cubicle.

Danny vaguely registered anything once the water hit him wiping away the entire night and telling him that he was home and ready to just rest. Vlad was saying something. Board meetings maybe? Kissing babies and winning votes? Whatever.

Soap was already in his hair and making it's way down the contours of his body. It felt amazing!

Vlad finished flossing his teeth and chuckled at the groan he heard come from Daniel's lips. "Just be sure you come straight down to the kitchen, we'll eat and head out from there. Wear the cobalt suit, it's very casual on you."

There was another groan almost a sigh and Vlad was pretty sure the younger hybrid had heard him. So he left the bathroom and walked into the closet searching out his classic attire, black suit, red tie.

6:30 am

Finally turning the water off Danny reached out and grabbed a dark blue towel, frowning because his usual lighter blue one was nowhere to be seen. Bringing it to his face his breathed in the scent and every muscle in his body that hadn't loosened up immediately did. Vlad had an almost chemical scent with the tinge of something like a bookstore. He wrapped himself up in the towel and stumbled over to the sink making the motions to brush his teeth. The mint should have woken him up a little more but it only served to make his stomach rumble.

Eventually he trudged out of the warm bathroom and just in time to watch the bedroom door close behind a dashing silver haired man. Danny paid very little attention though and fell into the closet to find his clothes.

Vlad busied himself the moment he walked into the kitchen. There was a woman who typically did most of the cooking but one look said for her to go back to cleaning out the oven. None of his employees were in the habit of fearing him anymore. Danny made sure of that the moment they started making it official between them. Except for his, ahem, otherworldly employees. Danny tried to make Vlad see reason but to the older halfa it was like extra insurance to make sure that none would go awry.

Pulling a pan from the rack Vlad expertly moved. Spatula, oil, bacon, eggs, toast, and a variety of spices. Eggs in a basket perhaps? Or he could whip up some quick hollandaise sauce and have eggs Benedict. What would his lovely boy like for breakfast…

French toast, he supposed. Danny was one for the very basic of tastes. Vlad retrieved the milk and poured the creamy liquid into a wide bowl. It wasn't until he'd made at least four pieces of toast and the eggs were done that he'd realized Danny was nowhere in sight.

7:00 am

"Daniel, the food is ready. I hope you are dressed." Vlad walked into the bedroom carrying a spatula still and almost missed the small lump on the bed. The closet door was still open and the light inside was still on. There was a towel on the floor between the closet and the bed. And in the bed, under the dark green covers was Daniel, his head buried underneath a pillow. "Didn't you hear me in the shower? It's time to wake up."

Danny stirred but didn't come out from under the pillow.

Vlad sighed and walked over, resisting the urge to tap the spatula against the boy's rear. It would put oil on the sheets. "Danny, my love, there is so much work to be done today."

This time Danny lifted the edge of the pillow looking up at the man and eyeing the spatula before slamming the pillow back down. Vlad had just enough time to see the tired eyes and frown across Danny's lips. "Go away." Danny muffled from beneath the pillow.

There was nothing left for Vlad to do but worry about a mess later. "You leave me no choice." As Vlad had thought before, this was not an uncommon occurrence. Placing both hands under the mattress and leaning over to kiss the pillow once he says, "This pains me more then you, little badger." With that Vlad flips the mattress and Danny falls none to quietly onto the floor, his shirtless form sprawled on the ground.

Around the Estate the help are laughing about the antics of Master Masters and Master Fenton. It is ever a most pleasurable event to see Daniel chasing the older man about the estate with pillows and a spatula.