Today was a special day. Everything had to be absolutely perfect.
He led Dash down a trail through the woods in the park, dragging him by the hand. He had spent all morning setting everything up and getting it all ready.
"What are we doing?" Dash laughed. "You haven't told me yet."
Danny smiled at him. "That's because it's a surprise. You don't want me to spoil the surprise, do you?"
"Why surprise me? You could tell me and then I'd know and be excited for it!"
Danny rolled his eyes. "That's not how it works. It won't be as cool if you know what it is before getting there."
"But why-"
Dash stopped talking when they rounded a bend in the trail and came to an empty clearing. In the middle of it sat a picnic table with flowers, an assortment of foods and desserts, and a pillow that had a cross stitching of Danny and Dash's faces on it with hearts surrounding them. On the ground laid a blanket with a pile of pillows on top of it.
Dash smiled. "What's all this for?"
"I just wanted to let you know how special you are." Danny said nonchalantly.
"Awe." Dash looked back at Danny. "That's corny."
"Says the guy who watches romcoms. You love it."
"Yeah, I do."
They sat down and started eating. It was a nice, warm spring day. Perfect weather to spend time outside.
Once they had finished eating, they laid down on the blanket on the ground and leaned against the pillows. They watched the clouds trail across the sky, pointing out some that looked cool or ones that reminded them of other objects.
Dash stood up to grab them both some more juice. Now was his chance. He nervously sat up and positioned himself on one knee behind Dash, waiting for him to turn around. He pulled a ring box out of his pocket and held it in his hand.
Danny watched as Dash turned around. His eyes widened when he saw Danny kneeling behind him.
"Danny…"
"Dash, I love you so much." Danny started. "We've been through a lot together, but it's all led us here. I couldn't imagine my life without you anymore."
Danny could see Dash's eyes getting wet with tears as he smiled at him.
"Will you marry me… Phil?"
Danny looked over Dash's shoulder at where Phil had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He frowned at him.
"Phil?" Dash said, confused.
"I'm sorry, your majesty." Dash jumped when Phil started talking behind him, turning his head to look at the ghost. "But there's a very important matter that requires your attention immediately."
"I told everyone not to bother me today! What's the issue?"
"Pariah Dark is loose, your majesty. He wishes to reclaim his throne."
Danny stared at Phil with wide eyes. The last time he fought Pariah Dark he barely made it out alive.
"Oh shit." Dash whispered. "That's the ghost that teleported Amity Park to the ghost zone that one time, right?"
"Yeah." Danny said. "How did he get out of the sarcophagus of forever sleep? Isn't he asleep when he's in there?"
"Yes, your majesty." Phil said. "It appears that someone freed him again.
Danny growled. Who would free him a second time? It better not have been Vlad. He'd have a few choice words for the older halfa if he made the same mistake twice.
"Do you know who would do something like that? Or why?"
Phil shrugged. "The only ghost that's still around that had strong relations with Pariah Dark was Clockwork, your majesty. Him and the Fright Knight are the only ones who would have any reason to intervene."
Danny groaned. "I don't think the Fright Knight would free him. He doesn't seem to care about that much of anything anymore. He's turning into the grandpa of ghosts."
"Why would Clockwork free him though?" Dash asked.
Danny threw his hands up into the air. "I don't know! To ruin my proposal!"
"He keeps a close eye on you, your majesty." Phil shrugged again. "Maybe your proposal reminded him of his own lost love."
Danny's eyes widened and his head slowly turned to look at Phil. "What?"
"They used to be lovers, your majesty."
"Yeah, I got that part!" Danny shouted. "Why didn't I know that? That's wild!"
"Clockwork is very reserved about his personal life, your majesty."
"Obviously." Danny rolled his eyes.
"Where is this guy?" Dash asked nervously, he looked back and forth around them. "He's not just hanging out in Amity Park right now, is he?"
"No, Mr. Baxter. He is sitting on the throne in the castle at the moment."
"He can take the throne." Danny mumbled. "It's too big for me. My feet don't touch the ground when I sit on it."
"We can order a new throne after this is done, your majesty." Phil said. "First we need to go take care of this."
"Why would Clockwork let him out if Pariah was going to try to reclaim the ghost king title anyways? Clockwork says me being king is the best outcome of all the timelines he's seen." Danny grumbled as he transformed.
"Clockwork works in mysterious ways, your majesty. It is likely he saw a timeline that benefited from Pariah Dark's release. That's what he did with you, after all."
"Yeah, but why didn't he-"
Danny was interrupted when Phil grabbed onto both his and Dash's arms and teleported them. He groaned when they appeared in the throne room but he didn't say anything about it this time. Phil wasn't going to remember.
"Ugh." Dash groaned as he went to his knees and laid his forehead against the ground. "I'll never get used to that."
"My apologies, Mr. Baxter."
"It's good, all good. I'm just going to sit here for a minute.
Danny turned towards the throne and there he sat. Pariah Dark. He was just as giant as he was the last time. And he actually fit on the throne.
"What do you want, Pariah?"
"I believe your royal advisor here, Phil, already told you. I'm here to reclaim my throne." He growled.
"It's not up for reclamation." Danny shouted at him. "Go talk to your clocky boyfriend, he said that me being king is the best outcome."
Pariah fumed and shot a look at Phil. "I see he is not any better at keeping secrets than he was during my reign."
"I am not, sir. I revealed Phantom's identity to his entire English class on my first day meeting him."
Danny sighed. "It was more like within the first five minutes."
"Enough of this pointless squabbling!" Pariah shouted as he stood up from the throne. "I will be taking back my rightful place as the ghost king! There is nothing you can do to stop me!"
"I stopped you the last time, didn't I?" Danny pointed out and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"You had help that time. From both your ghostly allies and from whatever suit of armor you had been wearing. That will not happen again without the assistance from those."
"You never know." Danny squatted down into a fighting stance. "It's been ten years since I last fought you. I've gotten a lot stronger."
"You'll never be as powerful as me. That is why I must reclaim the throne."
Danny scoffed. "All you'll use the throne for is power. You don't care about anyone."
"I did." Pariah bent down to look at Danny. "But it got me locked up for thousands of years. Power is the only way to keep people in check."
Danny's hands glowed green as he prepared some ectoblasts but his brows furrowed. "From what I heard you used your power to control people. They feared you. You were destroying the ghost zone."
"None of your allies were there!" Pariah roared. He summoned his own pair of ectoblasts and threw them at Danny. "What would they know?"
Danny dodged them and threw his own blasts back at him. "I don't know! More than me! Do you know how hard it is to brush up on ghost zone history?"
"I've really been meaning to schedule those tutoring sessions with one of our castle historians, your majesty."
"Not not, Phil!"
Danny dodged another couple blasts that were sent his way. He flew up to Pariah Dark and punched him in the face.
"Woo! You get him, babe!" Dash shouted from where he stood by Phil.
Pariah growled again and hit Danny, sending him careening across the throne room. He hit the wall and slid down it. Rubbing his head, he stood back up.
"You know what, I'm over this." Danny planted his feet on the ground, spread apart. "You've ruined my night and my proposal, I'd like to get back to that now."
Danny took a deep breath and let out his ghostly wail. Pariah Dark tried to keep his footing, but his expression shifted from enraged to surprised when Danny's wail knocked him over.
Danny smirked as he watched Pariah fall on his ass. While it didn't knock him out, Pariah definitely looked fatigued. Danny formed a sword out of ice and held it up to Pariah's throat.
"The throne is mine." Danny said, looking down at him. "You can accept that, or you can go back into the sarcophagus of forever sleep. But Clockwork let you out for a reason so I'm willing to take my chances."
Pariah Dark glowered at him for a moment before his expression shifted.
"You certainly have grown since the last time we battled. Your exercise of power is noble as well." He stood up. "Perhaps I should go have a chat with my old friend and see what he has in store."
"Yeah, go see Clocky. Ask him what the hell is going on."
Pariah Dark walked towards the throne and grabbed it, heaving the heavy thing into his arms. "I will be taking this, though. It's the only chair I fit in."
Danny waved an arm at him. "Take it. I can't reach the ground in it."
Pariah Dark floated into the air without another word and flew away.
"Phil, we really gotta start getting me those history lessons. Some of the things he was saying doesn't line up with what everyone's told me. We need someone trustworthy too."
"I will start working that out, your majesty. I know lot's of ghosts who are still around from that era. I will have to look in my phonebook and contact some of them."
"If Phil was also Pariah Dark's advisor, why can't he just tell you?" Dash whispered to Danny.
"I don't know. Phil forgets everything so I'm not sure he'd be well suited to teaching me things." Danny said. "Now come on, let's get back to our picnic."
Dash smiled at him. "Okay!"
"I will see you at our next council meeting, your majesty."
"Yeah, yeah. See you later, Phil."
Danny picked Dash up and flew out of the castle and through the zone until they reached his parent's ghost portal. They flew intangibly through the house until they hit the open sky and soon they were landing back on the grass in the forest by their picnic area. Danny set Dash on the ground and transformed back into his human form.
"Now that we're finally done with that." Danny pulled the ring box out of his pocket and knelt down on one knee. "Will you marry me, Dash?"
Dash smiled at him, tears in his eyes. Without speaking, he pulled another ring box out of his own pocket and opened it. Inside was a dazzling ring.
Danny laughed and stood up. "I guess that means it's a yes?"
"Of course, you idiot." Dash looked at him warmly. "It'll always be yes."
Danny took the ring out of the ring box he was holding and slid it onto Dash's finger. Dash did the same to Danny. He wrapped his arms around Dash's neck and pulled him in close for a kiss.
"I love you."
"I love you too."