Author: loosedefense

Title: Weak

Pairing: Danny/Dash

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom is the property of Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. This story implies nothing about the characters nor does the plot of the story have any effect on the show itself. This story is pure fiction and fantasy

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When they had finally sat down at their usual table, Tucker began his round of questions for Danny. "Any news from Walker yet?"

"No," Danny frowned, suddenly remembering the supernatural problems that had presented themselves in his life. He hadn't realized it until now, but he hadn't really bothered to think about many things beyond Paulina's party last Saturday. It was as if everything that had happened before then mattered significantly less, so much so that he had stopped caring so much. "Actually, I almost forgot about that whole thing," he admitted.

To be fair, he had had to deal with a lot since the party, and every issue that arose since then seemed far more pressing.

"I can't believe he hasn't gotten back to you yet," Sam said. "I think you should go back into the Ghost Zone and check up on what's going on. It's definitely been too long."

Danny shrugged. "Walker said not to disturb him; he said he'd come to me when he has something."

"Whenever that is," Sam argued. "You don't find it suspicious at all? He might be your closest thing to a friend there, but ghosts aren't exactly the most trustworthy guys around."

"He's not my friend," Danny sounded as though he thought Sam was crazy for proposing such an idea. "He's really more an ally-slash-acquaintance."

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"It's only been a week," Danny took a bite of his sandwich. "Walker said he's not very good at handling delicate cases, and apparently trying to beat the truth out of the prisoner isn't going to cut it this time."

"Sam's got a point though," Tucker replied. "They've really got it out for you over there. You should be careful. Who knows what you're getting into?"

"I guess," Danny didn't really have the energy to continue the same line of conversation anymore. He had spent the night up with Dash, both of them trying out various ways of entertaining themselves and each other and trying to stifle their giggles so as not to wake up Danny's parents. Having slept the day away, they had woken up near midnight again, and now after whittled away his energy all night and getting through school, he felt exhausted once again.

"You know, we haven't gone ghost-hunting in a while," Sam pointed out just then, as if on cue.

Danny's eyes shot up to look at her. "Oh, yeah, sorry about that," he said, hoping they wouldn't push the matter.

"Have you been going out on your own?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah," Danny lied. "I guess." He hadn't gone patrolling since the night before Paulina's party, a fact that he caught himself guiltily reflecting on at night while he and Dash stayed up. He wouldn't be able to anyway – Dash came over after school, unless he had football practice, in which case he would come over afterwards anyway, and with their new sleeping schedule, he now spent more time at Danny's house than he did his own. Most ghosts didn't come out until night time, and with Dash around now he couldn't exactly ask him to leave in the middle of the night when they woke up. 'Which is why I have to get back to a regular sleeping schedule fast,' Danny told himself.

Easier said than done. Though they were seniors on their way to graduating soon, school kept them both so busy that they couldn't change their sleeping patterns completely around now and risk falling asleep in class all day. He probably wouldn't be able to get back to a regular pattern until the weekend.

"It's not really a big deal anyway," he went on. "Like you guys said, ghosts don't really come around here as often as they used to."

Sam and Tucker shared a look with each other and then gave him identical stares of utter confusion.

"What?"

"Um, Danny," Sam said, "I don't know if you've ever noticed, but you're kind of obsessed with ghost hunting. Especially patrolling."

"What?" Danny's pitch rose. "That's ridiculous."

"No, it's kind of true," Tucker replied. "We've been telling you for months that the number of ghost attacks have really slowed down, but you still insist on patrolling every night. In fact, I think they started declining over a year ago."

"Really," Danny said skeptically, "then why does it feel like I've been trying to hold them off with a Fenton stick?"

"Because they're after Vlad's ghost half," Sam reminded him. "Before he gave it up and handed it to you, the ghosts were basically staying away."

Danny snorted. "So, what, you think I have an obsession?"

"No," Sam shook her head.

Danny smiled triumphantly.

"I think you have obsessions," she continued. At Danny's stony look, she said, "Since I've known you, you've pretty much had a fixation on at least one thing at any given point in time. In fourth grade, it was wrestling—"

"Find me one fourth grader who isn't obsessed with wrestling," Danny rolled his eyes.

"In fifth grade, it was Paulina—"

"She'd just moved into town! It was a healthy curiosity."

"In sixth grade it was Paulina; in seventh grade it was Paulina; in eighth grade it was Paulina—" Sam began counting off her fingers.

"And the popular crowd," Tucker added.

"And writing 'the scathing expose that would shake the middle school to its very foundation'," Sam grinned. "And in ninth grade, it was pretty much Paulina, the popular crowd, and after you got your powers, ghosts."

"I never did get to write a very scathing expose," Danny ignored her point. "The closest I got was reporting that rumor that all the meat selections were actually made of tofu."

"I started that," Sam said. "Well, I didn't start it, I said that they should replace all the meat with tofu, and some pigtailed gossip queen wannabe got it twisted."

"No wonder you gave up writing for the school paper," Tucker said.

"Mister Connor said that I should pick it up again," Danny said. "He thought it would give me purpose. But I'm pretty sure he cared more about the fact that it would let me say that I did something in my high school career on college applications."

"Is there really a point?" Sam asked. "School's going to be out in less than three months."

Danny shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea. Better late than never right? Besides, Dash has football practice sometimes and this will help me fill up my—" he stopped short suddenly, catching himself, and glanced sheepishly at the two of them. They both had confused looks on their faces.

"What was that?" Tucker asked.

"Nothing," Danny shook his head, keeping it low, grabbed the plastic spoon on his tray, ripped open the lid on his pudding and began wolfing it down. Over him, Tucker and Sam shared a perplexed look.

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Dash didn't waste any time breaking his news on the ride back to Danny's house. "Paulina's having a party this Saturday."

Danny turned to him in alarm. "What?"

"And you have to be there."

"Why?" Danny asked. "Did she ask for me personally?" He grinned.

Dash rolled his eyes. "No, you dork. It's to make up for last week's party. She refuses to let a ghost leave one of her parties ruined, so she's throwing one this week to make up for it. And she insists that everyone who was there last time be here for this one. That includes you."

"Oh, great," Danny said weakly. He wasn't sure if he was glad to be invited for another one of the popular crowd's parties so soon again or not. He had barely caught his breath from the last one. But then again, what were the odds of a ghost attack this time, right? Paulina certainly didn't seem to think it was possible. In any case, it didn't sound like he had much of a choice, and Danny resolved to be on the lookout for any oncoming ghosts so that the same thing didn't happen again.

"I think I'm going to try out for the school newspaper," he told Dash.

Dash turned to him, a look of mild curiosity on his face. "Really. What brought this on?"

Danny gave a small shrug, keeping his hand on the wheel. "Connor told me it would be a good way to add to my applications; and I figured, with you at practice, I might as well try out for the paper as well. You know, so I can kill some time."

"Truly admirable determination," Dash teased. Danny grinned sardonically.

"Is Kwan coming over today?"

"Yes. And he told me not to go to sleep, because he was standing outside yesterday for like twenty minutes trying to call my cell and get in," Dash informed.

Danny let out a little snort of laughter. A few seconds later, he swerved the car into his usual parking space across the street from his house and cut the ignition. As they got out of the car, he caught sight of the new fire hydrant that had replaced the one Kwan had somehow knocked over. "Did you ever ask Kwan about that thing with the hydrant?"

Dash turned look at where Danny was staring. "No," he replied. "I was just glad nothing happened to my car."

"Hmm," Danny murmured as they made their way to the threshold, "you really should."

Inside, they plopped down on one of the sofas sighing heavily. "Did he say when he'd be coming over?"

"Should be soon," Dash muttered. "There's no practice today."

And so, they spent the time until Kwan arrived watching television – more precisely, they spent the time until Kwan arrived looking at the images on the television screen and acknowledging the fact that noise was blaring from the program while trying their best to stave off sleep.

Finally, Kwan opened the door and walked in. "Guys?" he asked tentatively, noting the glazed look in their eyes and stupefied expressions on their faces.

Dash seemed to come out of a waking coma. "Kwan!" he got to his feet. Danny, too, seemed to be awakening from some sort of open-eyed slumber, shaking his head to wipe away bleariness.

"What were you doing?" Kwan chuckled. "I wasn't sure if it was safe to talk to you or not."

"We were waiting for you," Danny told him, yawning and stretching, his arms shaking as they reached their limit during the stretch. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, I was going over some strategies," Kwan reported.

Dash frowned. "What? I didn't know we were going over strategies. Why didn't anyone call me?"

Kwan glanced at him briefly. "It was just a private thing. Coach wanted me to improve my game."

Dash blinked, a strange look on his face.

Danny made his way to the kitchen. Kwan followed him, but Dash sat back down on the couch. "So, Sam tells me you helped out with the ghost last Saturday," Danny said conversationally.

"Oh, yeah," Kwan grinned.

"You didn't have to," Danny said. "I mean, this is pretty dangerous stuff, and you're still pretty new to it. Tucker and Sam could have handled it."

"It was nothing," Kwan shook his head, reaching for a bottle of water in the fridge and pouring himself a drink. He handed the bottle to Danny, who took it and poured his own drink. "I hope you don't mind. I just went to see what caused the shaking, and when I saw it, I just started helping out. I thought it would earn me some points with you guys, you know." He gave Danny an intense look. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm not going to tell anyone; I just want to help out."

Danny shifted on to his other foot uncomfortably. "I just think you may be jumping off the deep end, that's all," he offered.

"I can handle myself, Danny. Like I said, you don't have to worry about me."

'I'll bet I don't' Danny thought viciously. He gave Kwan an awkward smile.

As Kwan started for the living room again, stepping around him, Danny said, "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you – how did you get your hands on an ecto-gun?"

Kwan turned to him again, a guilty smile on his face. "I took it from your basement," he said. "Sorry. I know I should have told you, I just didn't know how. And I thought since I was getting into this whole ghost fighting stuff I should arm myself."

Danny nodded. "It's okay," he assured the boy. "I just wanted to know."

Inside, he told himself, 'Mental note: Kwan steals.'

By the time he returned to the living room, Dash was stumbling to the staircase. "I'm going to bed," he told Danny as he passed him.

Kwan stared. "Is he going to your bed?"

Danny nodded silently. "Our sleep pattern got kind of messed up after the party," he explained. "We haven't had time to go back to a regular pattern."

Kwan nodded. "Well … should I stay?"

Danny shrugged. "You can do whatever you want. I'm going to sleep too though."

Kwan's eyes followed the route Dash had just taken up the stairs. "Well," he said, "if you guys are going to be sleeping, I might as well go. You don't need me for anything right?"

"No," Danny shook his head. "Where are you going to go?"

"Probably get a little workout," Kwan said. "There wasn't any practice today. Gotta keep the body in shape, you know."

Danny was too tired to make any sort of internal comment on Kwan's exercise routines. He vaguely recalled his plan to follow the boy until he found out what was going on with him, but his sleep-addled brain couldn't handle it right now, so he nodded tiredly and bade goodbye as the other boy left.

Lumbering into his room, he saw that Dash was already under the blankets letting out a soft snore. Danny crawled onto the bed, and landed his head carelessly on to the pillow beneath. Dash, perhaps unconsciously or not, seemed to sense that he was there, probably because of the added heat his body brought to the bed, and wrapped his arms around Danny like he did the day before. Danny snuggled in closer, burying his face in the smooth skin of Dash's chest.

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Kwan only stopped walking when he heard the familiar voice next to him again.

"I don't know why you bother to check in," he said. "You know everything's going according to plan."

"Sometimes it helps to be hands-on," the creature next to him smiled. Out of habit more than anything, Kwan checked around to see if there was anyone about his immediate vicinity. "Don't worry, it's safe."

"Everything is going so slowly," he sighed. "Can't we move things along?"

"Timing is of the essence," it replied. "I've already told you, I've got this plan down to the minute. You are not to deviate from it. Might I remind you that your life is at stake here?"

"I know," Kwan growled. "That's the part that gets me anxious the most."

The figure smiled. "Don't worry. I only want what's best. Nothing is going to happen to you."

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That night when they woke up from their sleep, Dash reached for his backpack. "Get out your laptop," he instructed Danny.

"Why?" Danny asked.

"I brought a movie for us to watch," Dash replied, tossing the DVD case to him after having fished it out. Danny caught it with the back facing toward him, so he decided to read the plotline and reviews first.

"The bitter recount of a boy who is given his heart's desire to succeed in life and how his life spirals out into descent when on his eighteenth birthday, when he is legally no longer considered a child, it all vanishes as if by magic," he read. Flipping it over, the title The Horrible, Horrible Legend Of Timmy Turner glared out at him.

"It's a football movie," Dash said. "And it has some pretty dark themes, so I figured you'd be happy too." Danny smirked at him and retrieved his laptop.

"Speaking of football, why would Kwan need to go over strategies in private?" Danny asked, turning the machine on. "Is that like tutoring for football idiots?"

He looked up and was taken aback to see the look on Dash's face. He couldn't quite place all the emotions that seemed to be expressed at that point. "Kwan wasn't going over strategies in private," he said quietly.

"No?" Danny frowned. "What makes you say that?"

"Because," Dash settled down on the bed in order to get a good view of the laptop's screen, "the reason practice was cancelled this week is because the coach is out of town for the entire week."

Danny froze. "The coach is out this week?"

Dash nodded. "And there's no game until next week, which is why I decided to cancel practice for the time being. Believe me, I know because I haven't been able to stop thinking about how he's going to kill me when he gets back and finds out that I haven't called for practice because I was too tired."

Danny gaped in shock at the blonde, but his mind was running through various thoughts and possibilities too fast for him to be able to concentrate on the fact that he was now staring at Dash with his mouth hanging open like an imbecile. Kwan had lied about what he had been doing this afternoon, and what was even more strange, he had lied to the team captain who knew that there was no possible way that his alibi was true.

Dash snapped his fingers in an annoyed fashion in front of him. "Yo! Fenton! What's up with you?"

Danny was abruptly brought back into the present. "Sorry," he got out. "I was just … thinking."

"Yeah, well, pop the DVD in," Dash nodded to the disc Danny was holding in his hand.

"Right," Danny said in an empty sort of tone. He placed the disc into the laptop's DVD player, and started the program, but all through the process, his mind only kept going over one though.

What the hell was going on?