The sound of rain pattering on the window was the first noise Danny heard as he was roused from his miserable slumber. His entire body ached, his head was throbbing, and his heart was still sore. Eyes slowly cracked open, and the grey morning sky filled the room with light. Danny let out a groggy moan, a soft tapping filling his ears. He groaned, rubbing his eyes. He thought the noise was just part of his headache, but as time passed it grew increasingly louder. Danny tried to listen for the noise's source, and determined it was a knock on the door. He uncurled his sore body and stood up, pushing himself off of the couch. He barely managed to pick up his feet, dragging them along as he made the trek over to the door. The tapping had slowly evolved into pounding by the time he had reached the room's entrance. He looked through the small window to the outside, and jerked his body back in surprise. He felt himself start to shake a little, eyes wide in shock. The figure was persistent, and the knocking refused to cease. It wasn't a threatening knock, it was more of a concerned on, urgent even. Danny took a few nervous breaths, easing his shaking body. He grabbed the door handle and turned it.

Dash had fallen asleep on the basement couch. He woke up in the middle of the night, a terrible dream plaguing him. He took in the dark basement, its once familiar floor plan now shrouded by the mysteries that the nighttime hours brought. He groped the cushion next to him, finding his cellphone. He pressed a button, lighting the screen up, and used it to light the room. The light acted as a guide, and Dash made his way upstairs, slowing guiding himself up the staircase with his free arm. He found the door to his bedroom opened it quietly, being careful not to wake up his mother down the hall. The bed welcomed him, and he crawled into it readily. The advice from his best friend still reverberated in his mind, and the more he thought it over, the more he agreed that Kwan was right. Dash had to do something, or he would end up regretting it.

Danny opened the door, trying not to feel overwhelmed. Blonde hair matted down by rain, oceanic eyes staring steadily, clothes weighed down by water and sweat. Dash leaned against the door frame, out of breath, precipitation dripping down his face. He panted, trying to get out his thoughts, but he was unable, and Danny stood there, dumbstruck. Dash coughed, droplets flying from his hair and hitting Danny's chest. Danny's reflexes took over, and he extended an arm towards Dash, who grabbed it and pulled the raven haired boy towards him. The rain hit Danny, waking him up, bringing him into complete consciousness of his surroundings.

"Dash? W…what are you doing here?" Danny finally spoke, courage newly found.

"I… yesterday, in the park, we… what happened?"

"I don't, I mean, I, we… I don't know."

"Well something happened, Danny."

"I know, I just, I don't know why it happened."

The next thing happened seemingly out of nowhere. Dash, still holding onto Danny's arm, pulled him closer, their chests making contact. The rain intensified, soaking through fabric, plastering now wet hair to Danny's forehead. Dash tilted his head down, hand pushing on Danny's chin, the other's head rising up in response. Eyes made contact; Danny felt the blood rush to his cheeks, and he had had enough. He loosened Dash's grip on his hand, and both hands flew to Dash's face, pulling it down. Their lips made contact, an awkward collision of flesh that to any passerby would seem completely unromantic. This connection, both literal and mental, had finally been formed. Dash pulled their lips apart, pulling Danny into his arms.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that." Dash chuckled.

"Do you realize how clichéd that line is?"

"Shut up, Fenton, clichés work in situations like these."

Danny couldn't help but laugh. He felt an unbridled joy that had been missing from him for so long. He tipped his head back, rain hitting his face. His mouth was curled into a smile, and the laughter spilled out. He grabbed onto Dash wrapping his arms around the taller male's waist.

"What's so funny?"

"This."

"What?"

"This, Dash, this whole situation."

"I don't think I follow."

"Lemme see if I can explain it to you. I have had this ridiculous crush on you for years."

"What about Sam, or the fact that throughout the first year of high school you melted when you were in the same room as Paulina?"

"Sam is great, but I knew my relationship with her was perfect being completely platonic. And as far as Paulina goes, I think that was me trying to convince myself to be normal, a cover-up if you will. After we spent three weeks studying I figured out that I didn't have to like Paulina to feel normal, or any girl."

"What about the fact that I made your life miserable for two years?"

"That I cannot explain, but deep down you always seemed like a nice guy, and once you stopped the bullying act it turns out you really are a sweetheart."

Dash felt his cheeks heat up, Danny's words touching his heart in the sincerest way possible.

"What about you? Why does the most popular guy in school want to date the nerdy loser?"

"You aren't a loser, Danny."

"That's not what you said freshman year."

"You know how sometimes you have a crush on someone, and you don't know how to admit it, so you just sort of pick on them instead?"

"Yeah?"

"I think that's what it was."

"Wow, must be one hell of a crush that you have on me to make me endure all that torture."

"Okay, maybe part of it was the peer pressure. Look, I want to apologize, I was such an ass to you, your friends, everyone, and I feel so bad about it."

Danny placed a kiss on the blonde's cheek, silencing him.

"I can't speak for the others, but I forgive you. You really are a nice guy, but you need to stop listening to those popular assholes."

"In case you haven't noticed, they don't bother with me much anymore. They're all fake; they only bother with me to keep the image together, not like it works."

"Well at least you have Kwan, he seems cool."

"Yeah, Kwan's a cool guy. He's the reason I'm here right now actually."

"What?"

"He's known about my crush on you for a while now, like the few weeks ago at the Nasty Burger."

"That's why he called us over?"

"Yeah, I told him not to, I was embarrassed."

"You, Dash Baxter, embarrassed by me?" Danny teased. Dash blushed again.

"Shut up, you didn't look too comfortable around me either. I seem to recall you jumping every time I so much as breathed on you during the last month of school."

Danny was about to speak when the sky turned black, sending lighting crackling across the sky. The clouds opened up, the rain becoming painful on contact.

"Danny, get… oh!"

"Jazz?"

"Your sister?"

"Danny, as much as I want to speak my mind, we have to get inside."

"What's going on?"

"The weather service has declared a tornado warning for the entire county."

There was no need to question the validity of Jazz's statement, as the proof was all around them. The wind had picked up exponentially, and combined with the dark clouds and heavy rain, even standing on the front steps felt like suicide. Danny pulled Dash inside and locked the door.

"We should get down to the basement." Danny suggested.

"Danny, can I, uh, speak to you for a second?" Jazz motioned for her brother to follow her into the kitchen. The siblings left Dash standing there, confused.

"Danny, we can't just bring him down there."

"Jazz, the whole town knows our parents hunt ghosts, what's he going to see that he doesn't know?"

"I don't know, but we can't just bring him down there, regardless of your little crush on him."

"Jazz, it's not just a silly little crush, it's a mutual love."

"So you pick now to act like a love-struck teenage girl?"

"Jazz, now's not the time, if a tornado hits I want to survive so we can argue later, in the meantime we are going down to the basement, and if he sees things he didn't think were there, so be it."

Jazz was taken back; she had never seen her brother so forceful before. If she wasn't furious with him, she would've told him how impressed she was. She knew he was right, however, and put her hands up in defeat. She left the kitchen, heading for the basement, while Danny went to get Dash.

"Dash?"

"Danny, what's going on? If there's a chance for tornados, shouldn't we get somewhere safe?"

"We will, but first I need to tell you something. You remember Danny Phantom?"

"How could I forget him? He's a hero. I wonder where he is now."

"Well," Danny paused, taking in air, "Danny Phantom is actually closer than you think."

"Really? Where?"

There was a blinding white flash as a pair of rings surrounded Danny. The once blue eyes Dash stared into now peered back at him with a green hue, the wet, black hair was stark white, and the loose fitting t shirt and shorts were replaced by the iconic black spandex.

"D…Danny Phantom? You're Danny Phantom?"

"Yeah."

"So this whole time you've been him, and he's been you?"

"Yes."

"How long?"

"Since the start of freshman year."

"How?"

Danny floated over to the larger male, grabbing onto his hand. He focused, turning them both intangible, and glided through the floor. Both males landed in the lab, Jazz stood there impatiently. As they returned to their material forms, Danny could make out the shock on his sister's face.

"You told him?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Yes it is, Danny. Do you realize what kind of choice you just made?"

"Yes, and it was my choice to make."

"How do you know he can be trusted?"

"Hey guys, I'm standing right here." Dash interrupted.

"Danny I can't believe this, you haven't told mom and dad, but you told him?"

"This is completely different, mom and dad HUNT ghosts for a living."

"But they're your family."

"Um, I won't tell anyone."

"And besides, what makes you think he won't just tell everyone? He's the guy who made you miserable for the first half of your high school career."

"Dash is different now, Jazz."

"Both of you, stop," Dash shouted, getting the bickering relatives' attention "Look, Jazz, I know that Danny's relationship with me in the past has been, well it was abusive, and horrible, and I was an ass, but that's all different now."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because," Dash swallowed, summoning all his courage, "Because I love him."

Danny floated down from his place in the air and hovered next to Dash, who grabbed onto the ghost boy's hand.

"I know this may seem out of the blue, but I've had a crush on Danny for years, I just never knew how to express those feelings. If Danny being Danny Phantom is a secret that needs to be protected, then you bet your ass I will do my best to protect it."

Danny used his free hand to turn Dash's head. He placed a kiss on the blonde's lips, the contact sending shivers down Dash's spine.

"Sorry about that, ghosts are naturally colder than humans."

"It was nice, different, refreshing."

Danny and Dash were about to kiss again, but Jazz interrupted them with a loud 'Ahem'.

"I may not be ready to accept this, not yet, but you do seem genuine. But I am watching you."

"Jazz relax, Dash isn't going to tell anyone. I trust him, and that's all that matters."

"Alright, we'll just have to see how this works." Jazz replied, trying to be reasonable. She turned to go check on the weather situation upstairs, leaving the two teens alone.

"So does this mean we're a couple?" Danny mused, floating to the other side of Dash.

"Well," Dash grabbed the white gloved hand, "Maybe after a few dates to make it official."

"Well then let's not waste time." Danny said as he flew above Dash. He slipped his hands under Dash's arms and lifted him up. He phased them through the ceiling, the floor and the wall, until they were outside.

"This is incredible." Dash managed to let slip out through the astonishment and terror.

"Flying is one of my favourite things about being part ghost. The feeling is incredible."

Dash looked down at the ground, growing increasingly far away. Danny felt him cringe, tightening his grip on the larger boy. Dash looked up at Danny, the wind blowing the white hair around his face, the sunlight shining through the thinning clouds lit up his features. Dash closed his eyes, trying to let the experience of flying sink in.

"You ready to land?" He heard Danny ask. He nodded, missing the feel of solid ground. He always idolized Danny Phantom, but the thought of the love of his life being Danny Phantom was unfathomable.

"You know I still love you for you, not because you're Danny Phantom, right?"

"Well technically Danny Phantom is part of who I am, but thanks."

Dash could barely tell when they had landed, it was extremely gentle, which wasn't what he had expected.

"Not that bad of a first date, huh?" Danny said as he released his grip on the other's arms.

"Not much of a first date, either." Dash rolled his eyes. Danny's eyes sunk, but Dash chuckled and placed a kiss on the boy's cheek. Danny flew behind a tree and came out human.

"Try not to do that, people will start to get suspicious if you kiss Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom."

"Well Danny Fenton is more than enough boyfriend for me."

"So we're boyfriends now?" Danny asked, blushing. Dash's cheeks reddened as well, and his mouth formed a smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, maybe just a little."