I'd like to give a shoutout to The 13th Unlucky Jinx for her shoutout to me in her story "Restless", which is a FANTASTIC dark read, so READ IT! I COMMAND YOU! Much love, Jinxie!
Danny had obviously stayed up late reading 'The Lord of the Rings', so it was to no surprise that he slept in. Vlad and Andrew had breakfast without him, and Vlad left for work with a few instructions regarding the younger halfa.
"He's grounded, so no going outside, no TV, no phone," he said. "He can read or work on schoolwork, but that's it." And of course the need-to-be-reminded, "And DO try not to rile him up, Andrew."
The Ghostwriter looked up at the clock in the library; it was nearly ten-thirty. He sighed and carried his book with him as he went to go get himself some coffee and nearly ran into Danny, who had just come down from his bedroom, looking like he woke up literally a minute ago. The boy's hair was unkempt, his hoodie wasnt zipped up all the way, and he looked like a zombie. The 'Writer gave the boy a once-over.
"Do you want some coffee?" he asked. Danny made a noncommital sound and ran a hand through his hair, but followed the 'Writer into the kitchen and sat down on the barstool. "Up late?" he asked, giving Danny a friendly smile.
"Tolkien kept me up," Danny replied drowsily. "Then I was kept up by you two screwing in Vlad's room." The 'Writer barely kept his grip on the coffee pot and turned to gape at Danny, who didnt even bother to restrain his smile. "...So," he asked, brushing the hair on the left side of his face back behind his ear, revealing one green-and-blue-swirled eye. "Who tops?"
The Ghostwriter blinked slowly, then turned back to the coffee cups, pushing one over to Danny. "...Your godfather," he replied, not embarrassed at all, just shocked that Danny would just out and SAY it like that. "He's also a screamer."
"...Nice to know. He never shuts up during fighting, why stop in the bedroom?" He downed the coffee straight down in one go.
"...Doesnt that burn?" the 'Writer asked. Danny brought the cup down and shook his head.
"Ice powers," he replied.
"Ah. So, why the sudden interest in Vlad's and my sex lives?" the 'Writer asked, leaning against the counter. Danny put the cup on the counter and blinked.
"...I really have NO idea," he muttered, brushing his fingers along the fringe in front of his eyes. "...Call it this stupid ghost puberty crap...I dont know. I just know that I'm more...interested in ghosts than I am humans."
"A side-effect from Vlad's ghost puberty I am VERY satisfied with," the 'Writer replied, sipping his coffee.
"Mh. I just never really figured Vlad to be the gay type," Danny shrugged. Andrew snorted.
"Me neither, but I think I get why the ghost puberty has something to do with it," he said, turning to face Danny. "Unlike humans, ghosts arent bound by the 'propriety' of sexuality. Love is love, lust is lust, and beauty is beauty, regardless of gender, for ghosts. He may have been sexually attracted to your mother BEFORE he became a halfa, but AFTER, he began living by our natural laws. I could be male or female, for all he cared; he just loves intelligence and a nice dose of healthy sanity, and those are two qualities I am proud to have."
Danny nodded. "Makes sense," he replied. He suddenly made a grossed-out face. "...Ugh...explains why I got all hot and bothered last time I faught Skulker, though..."
The 'Writer snorted into his coffee cup. "You go for the strong, obsessive, nut jobs, huh?" he smirked. Danny scowled and flipped him off. "No thanks, I'm taken."
"Asshole."
"So I've been called. More coffee?"
"Please." Danny held out his coffee cup for the Ghostwriter to refill, then sipped it slowly this time. "...How the hell did you meet Vlad, anyway?" he asked. The 'Writer smiled and stared into space nostalgically.
"Really funny story," he replied. "He was in the Ghost Zone, taking care of some business, apparently, and it obviously wasnt going so well. So he was flying back to his Portal, and was passing my library, and he lost his temper and shouted, 'ISNT THERE ANYONE IN THIS GOD-FORSAKEN PLACE WITH A SHRED OF INTELLIGENCE?'. So naturally, I stuck my head outside my window and yelled at him to keep it down, he was in my library vicinity."
Danny snorted and leaned his head on his hand attentively, obviously entertained.
"He apologized, like the gentleman he was, and asked if he could have a look around. I was in a generous mood that day, so I told him to go ahead. The next thing I know, we're discussing literature, politics, and the such, and a few weeks later, we became lovers. End of story."
"...Wow. So romantic," Danny deadpanned, though his eyes held a touch of mirth.
"Say all you want, the man IS a romantic at heart," the 'Writer replied, grinning pervertedly. "We're not just fuck-buddies, Danny-boy, we ARE friends with benefits, as you so nicely put it yesterday. VERY good friends with VERY generous benefits. He cares for me, and I care for him. I know that his love for your mother comes before me, and he knows that I would set HIM on fire before any of the books in my library in a proverbial heartbeat. It's a mutual agreement, you might say."
"Gotcha." He downed the rest of his coffee and put the cup in the sink. "I'll be in the library."
"Allow me to accompany you."
Okay, so Vlad was right; he and the boy DID get along, come to find out. During the next four hours, he and Danny read books, discussed the boy's schoolwork, and Andrew even got his apology from Danny for the Christmas poem. After they both had lunch, Vlad called to say that he would be running a little late, but he mostly called to see if his house was still standing.
The rest of the afternoon came and gone, and Danny was wondering what was for dinner. "I can make pretty good pasta," the 'Writer said. He looked at his watch to see that it read four-o-clock. "I'll make it now, if you're hungry. Danny nodded, and the 'Writer stood up to put his book away, and the phone then rang from Vlad's study. "...After I get that call." He parted ways with the boy and went into the study to pick up the phone. "Masters residence."
"Hey, is Danny there?"
The 'Writer blinked. "...Who is this?" he asked. "And how did you get this number?"
"This is Sam, Danny's girlfriend, and I got the number from a phone book. I need to talk to Danny."
Andrew scowled. He did NOT like this girl's tone. "Danny is grounded, and not allowed to use the phone," he replied. "Can I take a message?"
"Listen, I NEED to talk to him!" she said, sounding urgent. "It's REALLY important, so PLEASE! It'll take just five minutes, PLEASE!"
The Ghostwriter rubbed at his eyes under his glasses. Yes, Danny was grounded, but this DID sound important. "...Five minutes," he said, taking the phone with him to the library, where Danny was up on the ladder picking out a book. "Danny, phone for you."
"...I'm grounded," Danny replied.
"If you dont tell, I wont," the 'Writer replied. "But five minutes." Danny hopped off of the ladder and took the phone, mouthing 'thank you' to the 'Writer.
"Hello?...Oh, hi, Sam!"
Andrew left the library to give Danny some privacy and went back into the kitchen to see if there were any of those tasty ecolier cookies Vlad kept stashed in the pantry. After a few moments of searching, he felt a strong pulse of ghostly energy coming from the library, and just a second later, he heard Danny shout, "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME, SAM?"
Forgetting the sweets, the 'Writer bolted from the kitchen back to the library, barely having time to duck as the phone was chucked out of the library and into the wall, where it smashed to pieces. Danny was aglow with violent green energy, and the room felt about fifty degrees cooler. Before the 'Writer could ask what was wrong, Danny went intangible and flew up to his room, where the 'Writer heard a wordless scream of rage before everything went silent.
Standing still just in case of an aftershock, Andrew waited a few minutes before quietly going up to the boy's room. Danny was lying on his side on his bed, his fists clenched hard and the temperature dropping softly. The Ghostwriter ignored it and tentatively walked up to Danny's bed. "...What happened?" he asked, hoping like hell not to get blasted into the next zip code.
Danny didnt look at him, but the 'Writer saw the boy's eyes flash red. "...Sam," he replied, his voice as cold as the air in the room. "...She...she broke up with me..."
"...I'm...sorry...?" the 'Writer offered a little lamely.
"Not only THAT," Danny continued, "but she told me that she had already found someone else, someone who 'wasnt so moody all the damn time, and who actually pays attention to her'!" Danny gritted his teeth and let out a harsh scoff of rage. "She's been seeing him for over a week now. Found today to be a FUCKING good time to tell me, instead of waiting to tell me to my face!" He growled to himself before turning onto his stomach and burying his face in his pillow. "...Fuck..." he muttered, his voice muffled.
Andrew sighed, then sat down on the edge of the bed next to Danny. "She doesnt even understand what's going on with you," he said, putting his hand on the boy's back. "If she knew, I'm willing to bet that she would feel guilty about what she's done."
"...I'm finding it hard to care anymore," Danny said, turning his head so his face was in the 'Writer's direction. "...Does that make me...a bad person? That I dont really care?"
"...You speak idiocy, boy, and I know you're no idiot," the Ghostwriter replied firmly. "Has Vlad not had this conversation with you? Damn it, Danny, HE'S your archnemesis and he assured you of your goodness. You're just going through some violent changes, and once they're over, you'll be back to normal with stronger, better powers and a body both humans and ghosts will drool over. You'll find someone better than her."
"...Still feels like a kick to my nuts, though," Danny muttered, turning over to his side. "...We were best friends before we started dating...you'd THINK she'd have more respect for me than that..."
"I know." The 'Writer let his fingers slide through the halfa's long locks. "...You still want some of that pasta?" Danny sighed and sat up, absently putting his hair in his face again.
"...I'm not so hungry anymore," he replied sullenly. "...I mean...I feel like I want to HIT something..." To illustrate his point, his hands clenched hard into fists. The 'Writer sighed and brushed the boy's hair from out in front of his face.
"Vlad sometimes feels that way, too," he said. "All ghosts do. Even mild-mannered ones get a little tempered sometimes, myself included. You just need a positive outlet for your anger."
"...How many psychotherapy books have YOU read in your afterlifetime?" Danny muttered.
"Fifty-three, but that's not the point." He slid his fingers under Danny's chin and lifted the boy's head so they were eye-to-eye. "You know what makes me and Vlad feel better, when we're feeling stressed?"
"No, what?"
The Ghostwriter kissed him.
The Ghostwriter. Kissed him.
The. Ghostwriter. KISSED. HIM.
It took Danny a few moments to completely register that fact, and when he did he pulled his head back, his face flushed and eyes a maelstrom of glowing blue and green. "Wh...what are you doing?" he asked, leaning back from the 'Writer.
"Did you like it?" Andrew asked, grinning so his sharp teeth were showing. Danny flushed a little darker, his heart beating a mile a minute.
"What?" he said, his back pressed against the headboard.
"I asked if you liked it," the 'Writer replied, leaning into Danny's personal space. "It's meant to make you feel better, Danny." He reached up and brushed Danny's hair from his face. "Did you like it?"
Danny unconsciously licked his lips; ...truth be told, he DID kind of...like it. "...I...guess...?" he said, still trying to lean back from the 'Writer.
"Good." The Ghostwriter leaned into Danny's lips again, stroking his hand down the boy's face. Danny shuddered and leaned into the kiss for a moment before suddenly pushing the 'Writer away.
"But what about Vlad?" Danny said, almost sounding panicked. Andrew sighed and took Danny's wrists and gently pulled them down.
"Vlad and I agreed that if we wished to get involved with other people, we could," he replied. "We're not monogamous, very few ghosts are; if Vlad decided to, shall we say, entertain a lady, what with his billionaire bachelor personna, shall we say; I would have no problem with it. It's an open relationship, Danny." He kissed the boy's forehead. "If you liked it, we can keep going. There's no problem."
Danny weighed his options for a quick moment; on the one hand, his human half was quite disturbed by this fact. On the other, his dominate ghost half found sense and comfort in it. He DID like the 'Writer's kisses. They were deeper and much more experienced than Sam's. And besides, what did he care about her at the moment, anyway? SHE had found someone else. Why not him?
"...Can you kiss me again?" Danny asked. A split second later, as though the 'Writer had been anticipating that very answer, Andrew pressed into Danny's lips again, shifting around so he was straddling the younger halfa. He slipped one hand around Danny's body and the other into Danny's hair, pulling the boy closer to him. Danny seemed a little unsure as to what to do with his hands for a moment, then he put them on the 'Writer's shoulders and leaned into the ghost's body.
The 'Writer remembered to pull away after a few moments to let the boy breathe, and slid his hands around to Danny's front to unzip the boy's hoodie. He kept eye contact with Danny, watching for any sign of refusal. None. Not that it was surprising; Danny WAS, after all, a seventeen-year-old boy. He pulled the hoodie off and stared with immense appreciation at the boy's figure, then pulled his own scarf off and then his long-sleeved grey shirt. He wasnt built like Danny, but he WAS lithely toned; years of carrying his own weight in books didnt count for nothing.
He shifted them both around so Danny was reclining comfortably against his pillows and the 'Writer was kneeling over him, kissing the boy's neck and shoulders while stroking his chest. Danny's own hands were buried in the 'Writer's hair, keeping his head in place as he nipped the boy's skin with his sharp teeth.
"Enjoying yourself, Danny?" the 'Writer purred, looking over the rims of his glasses at the boy. Danny's face was flushed and his eyes were shifting between green and blue with brief flashes of red; he nodded and pulled the 'Writer up for another kiss. Andrew pressed into it enthusiascially, his hands sliding up Danny's thighs...
"WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE?"
Ahhh, don'cha just HATE me right now? *giggles like a loon*