Title: Evil Puberty

Characters: Danny, Jazz

Rating: K

Genre: Family

Word Count: 1,308

Jazz's car came to a rickety stop outside the towering contraption that was her home. No sooner had it shut off then Maddie was running out the front door, a plush jacket on against the snow and cold. She caught Jazz up in a tight hug and Jazz could've sworn her spine popped a little. It was more her dad's hugs she had to worry about but she'd deal with that when it came. As it was, Jack and Danny were still out. Maddie explained that they were planning on a welcome-back party for her – after all, it was the first time Jazz had come back home since her first semester away at college. However, heavy snow and a ghost attack nearby had kept Jack and Danny out for longer than it took her to drive from the airport to Fentonworks.

Maddie pulled the handle of Jazz's single, practical suitcase out and wheeled it behind her. "I want you to come back for Thanksgiving every other year, you hear me?" Maddie scolded her teasingly.

Jazz shrugged. "So long as every other year I don't have two essays."

"I'll have to talk to your professors very sternly if that's ever the case again," Maddie replied with a smile. Sternly probably meant 'by threat of bodily harm', so Jazz laughed uneasily. No, she didn't doubt her parents would actually do that. But still, it was great to be home.

They had rearranged the living room a little bit – nothing drastic, just to accommodate a new TV. Other than that, everything was still the same. Disassembled gadgets adorned the kitchen counters, ectoplasm stains on the rug, the tools Maddie had used for cooking now in the sink. She could smell the shepherd's pie in the oven, her favorite dinner. Jazz fondly glanced over the family pictures on the wall outside the kitchen while Maddie hauled Jazz's suitcase up to her room.

"Just you wait 'till you see Danny!" Maddie called down from the top of the stairs. "He's shot up like a weed. His voice has been changing too, he's like a whole different person!"

Ah, if only she knew the half of it, Jazz thought with amusement. But truthfully, Jazz was grateful Danny's alter ego hadn't gotten him killed while she'd been away. Not like she had ever been that much help to him, especially not when she was trying, but her interventions at home generally kept her parents from finding out that their son was the same cheeky ghost boy they were trying to deep fry and cut open. Jazz shivered a bit and tore her gaze away from the photos, ducking into the kitchen to pour some orange juice for herself.

She put a glass down on the counter just as the door clattered open. Her father spilled into the living room, a few grocery bags in his arms. "Jazzypants!" he exclaimed, bustling over to the kitchen and dumping the bags on the table. He swept Jazz up in the spine-popping hug she had been expecting. "Do us a favor and act surprised in the three minutes it takes to set all this up," Jack laughed, gesturing to the bags on the kitchen table. Jazz giggled and covered her eyes partially, tipping her father a wink before exiting the kitchen. There, in the doorway, stood a boy who could only be Danny, tapping snow off his boots. But boy was a stretch – he really had shot up like a weed. She was used to her father's impressive height but seeing Danny's face now towering over her was dizzying.

When their eyes met his face broke out into a huge smile and he said, "Jazz!"

And Jazz's heart stopped. She didn't hear Danny's voice at all. She heard-

But Danny had pulled her into a hug before she could mull it over. Only when he pulled away asking how her drive was did he see the expression on her face, and his smile fell. Maddie came down the stairs before either of them could say anything, though, and they were both pulled into the kitchen.

—-

Dinner was loud and boisterous and fun, as usual. Much livelier than the lonely nights in her dorm eating reheated macaroni while she poured over her textbooks and played white noise on her laptop. Maddie and Jack began tending to the plates while Jazz went to unpack. Danny was sent up to his room to study, as his break didn't begin until a week later and he still had midterms. Junior year was important for colleges so he had to apply himself extra hard. From what Maddie told Jazz on their occasional phone calls, that year had been increasingly hard on his grades. It wasn't the year that had been hard on him, though. Danny texted her all the time about the ghosts he had been dealing with, and it sounded like things had only been getting worse.

As she was stuffing clothes into her dresser from her suitcase Jazz heard a sound behind her. Danny had phased through the wall, his reading glasses still on from studying. Jazz only hoped tonight would be quiet enough on the ghost front to let him study.

"How have things been?" Jazz asked seriously, and here alone in her room it meant something a lot different than seated at a table with their ghost-hunting parents.

Danny's smile was incredibly tired. "Kinda sucky. I mean, it's nothing me, Tuck, and Sam can't handle. Val's even been more helpful, but she's just as much been going after me as she has the other ghosts. But we talk about that on the phone enough." Danny sat down on her bed, and Jazz realized she had been holding her breath. It had been the way Danny was looming over her that set her on edge. "Something's up with you. You look like you've seen-"

"Danny so help me if you say "seen a ghost"-" Jazz began jokingly, making Danny laugh. She sighed and tugged at a pair of pants still in her suitcase. "No, nothing's wrong. It's just… weird how much you've changed."

"What, you mean my growth spurt?" Danny said with a smirk. "You upset you're not taller than me anymore?"

Jazz considered her words before speaking quietly. "Not just that. You just… sound a lot like… um…."

But she could see the resignation on Danny's face. "Yeah, I know. Tucker and Sam pointed it out a while ago." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the floor awkwardly. "I'm starting to sound like my douchey older self. It really is evil puberty this time, I guess. Um… it's probably kinda… creepy for you, since you weren't around when my voice was-"

"No, Danny, I'm sorry if you got that impression," Jazz interrupted, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He turned his faintly glowing blue eyes up at her and she smiled. "Not at all. It was a little shocking at first, but I promise you, it doesn't bother me. You're my brother, and I know that. I know you'd never hurt me, or anyone."

A relieved smile stole over Danny's face. "Thanks Jazz," he said softly. Jazz leaned over to kiss him on the forehead as she always did, but he phased out of her way and appeared behind her. "Ooooh no you don't," he teased. "Now that I'm taller than you, you bet I'm gonna abuse it. You can't kiss me unless you can reach."

Jazz smirked. "Daniel James Fenton you get down here-"

"Nope, sorry, gotta study!" he laughed, jumping back as she grabbed for his arm and phasing back through the wall.

"Do you need any help studying?" she asked, and paused for a moment.

Sure enough, Danny's head popped sheepishly back through the wall. "From you? With psychology? Of course."