Thank you to Turtledude83, Lightning Streak, MsFrizzle, LexyMaree, and Zanza Flux for reviewing! I hope you continue to enjoy my story. Also, an in advance note, I based drunk Danny and Valerie on my own drunken experiences, and there seems to be a consistent thing where drunk people get VERY affectionate. So whatever they do at the end of this chapter shouldn't be taken as some kind of exponential growth in the relationship. I'd love to hear what you think of it actually. Does it seem like too much, even drunk? Does it make sense? I also realize I've gotten a lot of interest in my less evil GiW. This chapter does a lot to further explain the relationship between Danny and the GiW, and I'm hoping it doesn't seem like I'm doubling back. I'm attempting to establish a grey area when it comes to them. Again, let me know what you think!
"So on a scale of one to ten, how willing are you to tell me exactly what he said in there?" Danny asked as Valerie walked outside the building. He was leaning against the wall, stance casual. Even so, Valerie could see the tension in his frame.
She turned towards him, cocking her hip and crossing her arms as she squinted against the sun. "Maybe a two." She answered. He sighed and pushed off the wall, making his way towards his car. Valerie followed.
"How about the gist?" He asked as they came upon his car.
Valerie hummed in thought as he unlocked it and they both settled into their respective seats.
"How about this," Valerie said, turning slightly to rest her elbows on the middle console and lacing her fingers together, "I'm going to be staying in Amity for some time, so the least you could do is hang out with me every once in a while."
Danny snorted at that. "Are you telling me he brought you here for what is essentially a long playdate?"
Valerie grinned and shrugged, straightening up in her seat. "I have my own business here Danny. And I'll always be on your side." She looked him in his eyes, trying to convey how serious she was about this in a look. "Don't you forget that."
He glanced out the windshield, bottom lip held between his teeth. His gaze returned to Valerie. "I'm going to drop it because I trust you Val." He said finally. He started the car, and right before he pulled out of the spot, he fixed her with an intense stare of his own. "Don't you forget that."
His eyes didn't glow green. He didn't look dangerous in any way. His muscles weren't tensed as though he were ready for a fight. Despite all of this, Valerie could feel the threat humming in the air. It was fair, she supposed. Their game had always been a little dangerous, even after she stopped physically fighting him.
There was an underlying power struggle in every interaction they had. It was exhilarating. Valerie smirked out the window at the passing scenery. She knew already that she was about to have more fun than she's had in a long time.
Fenton Works was delightfully familiar in a town that had grown so much since Valerie had last been there. It appeared as it always had, and Valerie couldn't stifle a chuckle when she noticed the Fenton RV in the driveway.
"I figured you still had that thing." She said, grin stretching across her face. Danny parked and smirked at her.
"Actually, it's not mine. Mom and Dad still drive it."
Valerie's smile disappeared in an instant. "Wait… So?"
Danny's smile was mischievous. "You didn't really think you were going to get away with not seeing them today, did you?"
Valerie groaned. Almost as if on cue, Jack and Maddie Fenton burst from the front door, clad in their usual jumpsuits.
"VALERIE!" They called in unison. She spared one more glance at Danny, who was positively basking in her misery, before fixing a smile to her face.
She got out of the car. "Hey!" She called back. They rushed up to her, both pulling her in for a hug. She returned it, smile growing a little more genuine. Really, it was kind of inspiring, the way they acted as something of a single entity, perfectly in tune.
"Oh Valerie," Maddie started, pulling away, "It's wonderful to see you! We've kept up with the Red Huntress' work, of course! You're doing big things." She said, positively beaming.
"I'll say!" Jack added. He put his hands on his hips and puffed out his massive chest. "You've taken to our tech well. It's been selling like hot cakes, thanks to you!"
After Danny's reveal, the Fenton's decided that they could be a greater help to Danny by doing something other than trying to join the fight. They started putting far more time and effort into their inventing, and if the world didn't know they were truly brilliant before, they did after Fenton Works began producing more and more in the area of ghost containment.
They were practically a household name, and it wasn't strange for those living in larger cities to own some manner of ghost protection, from shields to thermoses. They had apparently surprised Danny when he was 22, deciding to go build a bigger and better Fenton Works on the edge of the town and leaving the original for him, so he would continue to be close to the portal.
Valerie smiled. "I'm glad, but hey, you guys kept sending me great stuff, so it really was no problem."
"Alright mom, dad. Valerie is exhausted and kind of smells." He joked. "She's moving to Amity, so you have plenty of time to bother her later." Danny reminded as he pulled Valerie's luggage from the trunk.
"Oh come on Danny!" Jack said, placing a hand on Maddie's shoulder. "We've got so many ghost hunting stories to catch up on!"
Maddie placed a hand over her husband's. "Which we can do later, Jack. Danny wants some time to catch up with her too." She began pulling him gently towards the Fenton RV. "I left some cookies on the counter for you!" She called. Jack huffed in disappointment, but otherwise complied.
"Thanks mom!"
"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Fenton." Valerie said, waving as they drove off, tires squealing slightly as Jack took a turn too quickly. "That wasn't so bad." She said to Danny as she grabbed her carry on from the front seat and followed him inside.
"Only because I begged mom to go easy on you." He replied, closing the front door behind them. "Everything's pretty much the same." He said as he carried her luggage to the guest room. She followed him.
He set her suitcase on the bed in the room. "Alright, here it is." He moved to the doorway. "I sleep right across the hall," He pointed to the door to his room, "And you remember where the downstairs bathroom is, right?"
Valerie nodded.
"Awesome. Shower up, we have some trouble to get into." He said. With a parting grin, he turned and walked downstairs to the basement.
Freshly showered and clothed in some jeans and a T-shirt, Valerie made her way down to the basement, plate of cookies in hand. Danny was sitting on a stool next to a workshop table, bent over a pile of wires and various gun parts Valerie almost recognized.
"Hey," She said, announcing her presence, "I didn't know that you knew how to do stuff like this." She nodded towards the parts on the table. "Or that you mom could bake." She bit into her second cookie, placing the plate on an empty space on the table.
Danny sat up, groaning slightly as he straightened out his spine. "Yeah," He said, glancing down at his work as he grabbed a cookie, "Mom and Dad started teaching me in high school. Said it might be useful to understand the kind of stuff that can hurt me." He shrugged, biting into his snack.
Valerie hummed. "You know, you could probably get a mechanic's degree in a couple years if you go in with that kind of knowledge." She hopped up onto the other stool across the table from him.
"Why do you want me to go to school so bad?" Danny asked, tone light and genuine. Valerie shrugged and picked up a nearby wire.
"I don't know. It's not fair that the rest of us got to have kind of a normal college experience." She answered, fiddling with the wire in her hand.
Danny snorted. "Maybe to you. It doesn't bother me so much, honestly. I never liked school anyway." He answered as he went back to his previous work.
Valerie bit her lip. "Still… Do you ever resent it?"
"Hmm?" Danny asked, slightly distracted.
"The ghost thing. All of it."
Danny stopped what he was doing and looked up at her, then past her at the swirling green of the portal. "Sometimes." He replied. Then he looked back at Valerie, smile on his face. "But most of the time I'm happy. Especially when I'm flying."
She smiled back. "I understand."
They were quiet for a moment, the only sounds coming from Danny's continued tinkering and the gentle whirring of several machines in the lab. Valerie stood, exploring a little. She peered at the readouts of a couple of the machines, though she had no idea what they meant.
Her hands skimmed over some of the devices on one of the unoccupied worktables, coming to rest on an ectogun. She picked it up, recognizing it as one of the models that the Fentons had sent her. She made sure the safety was on before playing around with it a little, feeling the cold weight in her palms, resting her finger on the trigger and peering down the barrel.
She aimed at one of the rivets on the portal. Her gaze traveled downwards towards the opening, and she found herself entranced by the lazy swirl. She placed the weapon down and walked around the table, moving closer to the only stable entrance to the Ghost Zone.
It was strangely cold, right near the entrance. It made sense, she supposed as she moved closer and closer to the portal. She stopped when Danny made a noise of frustration.
"Alright," He said, standing and tossing the screwdriver in his hand onto the work table, "I'm over this." He looked towards Valerie, who had turned when he began speaking. "You up for some flying?" He asked.
Valerie nodded, and with a parting glance to the rift behind her, she followed him upstairs.
Danny had a point, she thought. There truly wasn't anything quite like soaring high above the town, hands gently skimming the clouds and wind blowing the hair from her face. She certainly never regretted the situations that led her to becoming the Red Huntress, and this was one of the main reasons.
Danny had gotten faster, she noticed. He didn't bother asking for a race he knew he would win. He would shoot ahead of her, almost out of her line of sight in an instant, then pause for a moment, allowing her to catch up slightly before twisting up through the air and literally flying circles around her.
She found herself laughing along with him, mesmerized by his grace and energized by his enthusiasm. Occasionally she would dip suddenly or crouch so she could grab onto her board before performing dizzying rolls and loops.
Most of the time though, Valerie just watched. While she was glad for Danny's jovial spirit, she couldn't help the wariness that crept within her. Hayes hadn't at all been exaggerating when he said Danny's powers had expanded.
Speed aside, he absolutely radiated power, his glow extending further than she ever remembered. His eyes were piercing before, but they burned a special kind of fire now. They were light, when he glanced at her, full of trust and joy, but Valerie refused to ignore the silent threat within them, the promise that his core was bright and rippling with strength.
It was intoxicating. There was a human instinct, somewhere deep inside that told her she should be afraid. She acknowledged it. Then she decided she wasn't going to be intimidated by him.
Valerie Gray could handle Danny Fenton. It's why she was here.
"C'mon," Danny called over the wind that whipped past them, "I know the perfect place." His words would have been lost if not for Valerie's special "hearing aids"; designed by the Fentons to dilute wind noise and enhance everything else, giving her the ability to keep an ear out for danger even at high speeds.
She nodded in response, and angled her body to push her sled forward even faster. Danny made sure not to get too far ahead of her, managing to more or less match her pace. Finally he slowed down, and the duo stopped at the peak of the large hill that overlooked Amity. Valerie hovered a few feet off the ground before disengaging her suit.
The nanoparticles slid over her skin at the command, and rearranged themselves back into the soles of her shoes, shrinking down to one-fifth their size to fit. She absorbed the impact with the grace of someone who's done it a million times.
Danny powered down as well, he too landing easily. They stood next to each other, silent as they observed the town they had spent so much of their lives protecting.
"Perspective." He mumbled as he plopped down onto the grass. He pulled a silver flask from his pocket, looking at Valerie and waving it gently, grin plastered across his face. She laughed and joined him on the ground.
"What?" She asked, hoping for clarification. Danny took a sip from the flask before passing it to Valerie. It felt heavy, in her hands. When he was back at the house, first pouring it, she had asked him if it was such a good idea, seeing as ghosts could attack at any time. He had laughed and told her his human half handled alcohol pretty normally, but his ghost half burned through it almost instantaneously. He thought it had something to do with the ectoplasm reacting, but in the end, what mattered is he could sober up instantly, as the effect of his change remained when he returned to human form.
Of course, she didn't have such luxury. She could tell him she wanted to stay sober, should Amity be attacked, but that would have ended with a nonchalant "I can handle it", she was sure. Of course, she had no argument against that, as he had been left to protect Amity alone for about six years.
"Looking at Amity like this. It gives what we do perspective, don't you think?" He answered, bringing her attention back to the present. He eyed the flask in her hands, probably wondering why she wasn't drinking. Valerie could have sighed. Trust was a two way street. She couldn't expect him to trust her if she could trust him to not destroy the town the one night she chooses to drink. With that settled in her mind, she drank from the flask, pleasantly surprised by the smooth whiskey. She hummed in agreement.
"I get it." She passed the flask back. "All the lights. There's a lot of people there. Trying to make a life."
"And we have to make sure they get the chance." He finished, taking another sip. He leaned back onto his elbows, long legs stretching out before him. "What an honor." He said, tone light and joking.
Valerie took the flask and drank again, grinning when she began to feel the warmth pooling in her chest. "What's with all the superhero talk?" She asked.
Danny shrugged, eyes still on the skyline. "You asked earlier if I regret it. I really don't, usually. Something about being out here though… It makes me proud."
Valerie hummed, taking another sip. "Are you happy here?" She asked. The question was dangerously double – edged, in her opinion. Danny thought of her as a friend, and he'd likely think nothing much of it. And really, Valerie wanted to know in the friendly way.
But she also wanted to know in the "threat – neutralizer" way. She'd deal with her guilt over that later, she supposed.
Danny looked at her. "Yeah." He answered after a moment. He took a long drink from the flask. "I'm lonely, though." He admitted.
She hummed before lying down. "You're not alone now." She said, smiling at him. "And I don't doubt that Sam and Tucker talk to you often."
Danny looked down at her, returning the smile. "Of course. I'm glad you're here." His gaze became hard. "Even though the circumstances could have been less annoying."
"What did he do to you? It's obvious you don't like Hayes at all."
Danny huffed, allowing himself to fall flat onto his back. "I just don't like that I was backed against a wall when it comes to him. I mean, he knows my secret, and he knows I was in over my head when everyone moved away. It didn't really feel like I had a choice."
Guilt stabbed at Valerie again, though she knew she really had no reason to feel bad. No one had told Danny he had to forgo college and stay behind to continue fighting. She huffed.
"You know what? No more mopey talk." She said, sitting up and looking down at her companion. "I think we need to have some good, old – fashioned, college level stupid fun."
Danny laughed at that, sitting up as well. "Alright," He agreed, "And how do we go about doing that?"
Danny was drunk. More drunk than he had ever been in his life. And it was all thanks to one Valerie Gray, who was currently in her pajamas, handle of vodka in one hand. She had introduced him to all manner of drinking game, including a few he was almost sure was intended for more than two people.
Eventually, she had decided to take him up on his offer for an exclusive tour of what was the official Fenton Works, consisting of the large metal addition to the top of his building. She gasped when she noticed the thick black mats on the ground upon entering.
"No way!" She exclaimed. Danny laughed when she set the bottle on the ground next to the mat before stepping onto, already bouncing on her toes. He knew she'd appreciate seeing the upper lab of Fenton Works.
"Yup. 'S mom's." He slurred, moving towards her and joining her on the mat. She dropped into a stance, only a little wobbly, though he knew she was about as far gone as he was.
"Let's fight!" She said, eyes bright despite being very glassy. He laughed at that, taking in her appearance. Her shirt was a couple sizes too big and her sleep pants were pink with little sheep on them. Despite that, she glared at him, clearly making an effort to seem intimidating.
With a slight shrug and only a mild stagger, he too adopted a stance. His mom had taught him the basics of the basics, jumping between a few different styles of martial arts to make sure she was only teaching him moves would be useful for him.
Something in the back of his mind reminded him that Valerie was a black belt in at least two martial arts, and he doubted alcohol would do much to protect him from her ability. They stared for a moment before Valerie, fast as ever, struck.
Danny barely dodged her punch, stumbling heavily with the movement. Valerie laughed at that, and he joined in before half-heartedly crouching down and attempting to trip her by sweeping his leg under hers. She jumped over successfully, but stumbled hard on the landing before falling gently onto the mat.
They burst into laughter again, and Danny dropped the rest of the way onto the ground so they were lying side by side. They adjusted after a moment until they were both on their backs, looking up at the skylight. They were breathing heavily, from both the mild exertion and the laughter.
Danny sighed, eyes never leaving the stars above. "Thank you for coming home." He whispered.
Valerie shook her head rapidly, though it mad her incredibly dizzy to do so. "Don't thank me." She said, turning to look at him.
He met her gaze. "Why not?" He asked. His mouth stretched into a lazy smile. "I think you saved my life." He whispered, as if someone else might have been there to hear him.
Valerie's brows furrowed. "Because I didn't want to come here. And what do you mean saved your life?"
Danny frowned at that. "You didn't want to see me?" He asked. Valerie winced at his words. The strange greenish lighting of the room casting odd shadows on his face.
"Of course I wanted to see you Danny." She said, reaching over to place a hand on his cheek. He felt clammy, and his eyes held a very complete sadness. It made her heart break. "How did I save your life?" She asked again.
Were Danny not emboldened by the liquor in his system, she doubted he would have told her. "I think Hayes was going to kill me." He said. After a moment he snorted, moving his face away from Valerie's hand to look back up at the stars. "Have me killed."
"Danny…" Valerie breathed in shock.
He shook his head before staring at her. "He's so afraid of me Val," He swallowed thickly, "I don't know why. It's not like I've done anything to him." He mumbled.
"Oh Danny." She said, opening her arms. He responded immediately, flipping over and falling into her embrace. He rested his head on her chest, hands reaching around and underneath to rest on her shoulder blades and pull her closer to him.
She wrapped her arms around him, fingers gently running through his dark hair. "I won't let them." She promised, voice steely as she looked up through the skylight. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe."
Danny shook softly with dark laughter. "Valerie," He mumbled, gently raising himself so he could look down at her, "I'm not scared of them. They can't kill me." His eyes flashed green. "But I don't want to have to stop them." He lowered himself back down. "I can feel it Val. I'm strong."
Valerie bit her lip at that. She relaxed quickly, however. He had just told her he had no desire to use his power maliciously. "We'll figure this out Danny." She promised, squeezing him gently. "I know you're not dangerous. I'll get them to back off, tell them I can handle you."
He rolled over at that, sitting up and staring down at her. "I knew that's why they made you come here. To keep an eye on me."
Valerie frowned. "I didn't know until I got here Danny, I swear." Nervousness crept up on her as she waited for his reaction. He sighed heavily.
"I know, Valerie. It's ok." He looked away, eyes focusing on one of the consoles. "Don't hate me but… I'm glad."
She sat up, not too surprised to hear it. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I don't." She whispered. "We'll figure this out." She repeated.
Danny didn't respond, but did seem to relax under her touch.