Bonjour, mes chers! It's been almost a month since the last update and while I have a great deal to say and excuses to make, all I will say is that I love you all for supporting me when I'm feeling hopeless and hope you enjoy the chapter. (7.7k!)

As always remember I have a Patr(e)on at mjanderson, a tumblr with updates at ibelieveinahappilyeverafter, and that I love you all!

Warnings for: Sex scenes, domestic fluff, and mentions of death and graveyards

Chapter Fifty Four

::

Danny had been quite happy to sleep in for as long as his half-human body was capable of until the sunlight on his face finally became too much for even him. He gave in to waking up with a grumble of complaint, a sigh of defeat, and a few mumbled swears thrown in. It took a bit of a fight to finally sit up, Danny blinking and fuzzily looking down to where two familiar figures were on either side of him and oh, right. They were in France.

That was nice. A little spring trip vacation to France was so sweet of them. They were the best mates and boyfriends Danny could ever wish for- No, they were really the best. Heh. They were so good to him. Mm, that had been a fun last night… Danny should make breakfast to thank them. Mm, breakfast sounded nice. It was probably lunch or dinner back over in Amity Park.

Aah, it would be nice to be away from Amity Park for a while. Everything was just so complicated and tangled in Amity Park, and, really, taking a break after what had just happened- Yeah. He needed the week off from everything. He hoped his friends and family would understand. Heh. Ha! His friends and family who were still worried about him and here he had just been kidnapped by ghosts off the front steps of the school. He, the son of ghost hunters, had been kidnapped by ghosts. Ha. That was kind of-

"Fuck." Danny was off the bed in a flash and scrambling for his pants, digging through pockets until he managed to pull out his phone and dial up his mom's phone number as quick as he could. As soon as it answered he was speaking as quick as he could. "It's a lie I wasn't kidnapped by ghosts!"

There was a painfully long silence before Maddie was finally making a noise that was close to a grunt, and, what? "It's not kidnapping when they had our permission." Wha- Those traitors!

"Mom! I can't believe you! You sold out your only male heir and child to ghosts-"

"If we're being technical, Jazz is heir since she's our firstborn." Betrayers! "Thank you for calling us hours later at four in the morning, however. It's nice to know you're safe."

"That's a very dark tone, mother dearest- Four? Like, four in the morning it's still dark out four?" Danny took the stony silence as a yes and, right. Spotting a clock he saw it was about eleven in the morning and… Danny had no idea what the time difference was, actually. "Are we ahead or behind you- Wait, of course we're ahead, otherwise it'd be four in the morning of the day I left, which wouldn't make sense. Unless we time travelled. That'd be- That'd be interesting. Oh, that would explain-"

There was a click that echoed in his ear for a moment, Danny pulling his phone away and staring down at where it had said the call had ended. It took a minute for the image to really sink in, Danny finally huffing. "She hung up on me. What kind of mother hangs up on her own son, I ask you. It's just- That's so rude!"

"Probably a mother who wants more sleep." Ah, Randy was up. Turning back, Danny shuddered at the warmth that coated his back, Randy pressed up against him with arms wrapped around his shoulders. "Mm, bonjour."

"Bonjour," Danny giggled - giggled - as he cuddled back into the warmth and, okay, fuck it. He would have another breakdown later, but he was in France and just got ghost married last night- Just had his honeymoon last night and heh- Heh… He was seventeen and had defeated a king, it was legal! Wait. "What's the age to have sex in France?"

"Age of consent is fifteen," Randy yawned, nuzzling behind Danny's ear with a quiet little purr. "We're seven hours ahead of Amity Park, by the way."

"I knew you were listening in on my phone calls. You always listen in on my phone calls- Breakfast. I was gonna make breakfast. Hey, what should we make for breakfast- Oh! You should make those little heart-shaped pancakes. Those were really, really good. Like, stupidly good- Are you laughing?"

Randy was laughing at him. Why was Randy laughing at him? It felt like Randy should not be- Hello that was certainly a nice first kiss to have in the morning. Danny felt no shame in pressing back and squirming around so he was properly sitting in Randy's lap and pressed up against him. When they finally parted after what was probably an eternity, Randy gave him such a soft, lovestruck smile. It was beautiful.

"Mm, so, if you want to kiss me more instead of making breakfast with me I'm like, I'm totally fine with that. Just to let you know."

"I'm sure," Randy said, smile warm on his face as he cupped Danny's cheek, thumb rubbing against the skin. "It's nice to have you back."

"Huh?" Oh, okay, he was being distracted with another kiss, that- That was fine. Great- Oh, maybe Randy meant back like he felt like himself? Danny felt more like himself now. At least, more than he had- Ooh, that was a really nice kiss.

"Mm, would you like to guess what we're going to do next?" Well, all three of them were still naked and Danny was really liking those kisses, so… "Me and you are going to curl up over by that window seat over there, in full view of everyone, and… I'm going to change your bandages-"

"You're so mean." Danny pouted as Randy laughed himself sick and honestly. "I think this is where I say that you're not good for my heart."

"As if you're any better for mine." Yeah, well. Danny wasn't going to admit to that. "I'll take your silence for agreement. Pants?"

"Mm… Yes." Danny scrambled to the end of the bed to reach his pants, laughing at Randy's panicked yelp when the man caught him from falling. "Merci."

"You are a terror. Come on, to the window seat over there. I'll get the first aid kit." Randy brought a first aid kit on their trip- Yeah, no, actually, that made a hell of a lot of sense.

"Hey, you know what we should be getting back to? My parents betraying me and letting me be kidnapped by ghosts- Not even that, they practically handed me over to your guys." Oh, Randy wasn't putting any clothes on. Yeah, okay. That was good.

"We weren't going to take you for a week without letting your parents know. Besides, it helps that they love Andrew more than they love you." That-! Dammit, that was probably true. "Are you going to be moving your gaze up any time soon?"

"Didn't plan on it- Aw." Danny pouted as Randy slipped a pair of boxers on, the man rolling his eyes as he flew over to sit by Danny and start snipping off the bandages. "How bad is it?"

"Not very. I'm still going to wrap it, just to be sure, but you should probably be back to a hundred by the end of this week," Randy explained, pausing and pressing a kiss to one of the claw marks. "We killed her too quickly."

"Dragging it out wouldn't have done any of us any good." Shivering at another kiss, Danny rested his hand lightly on Randy's head, playing with a few strands of hair. "That's how she started making me go crazy, I think. When she touched me like that, she infected me with some of her own energy."

"I was hoping I was wrong with that one." Wrong? He knew? "I didn't know for sure, but it always felt like a part of her shadow had crossed into your own- Her darkness infecting yours." Okay, that was just-

"Why do you always make it sound like you can feel my emotions?" It was a little bit weird, equal parts cool, and mostly irritating because Randy always seemed to know.

"That's because I can." ...Huh. "Did you not know I was an empath? It's one of my powers. I've always had a talent for figuring out what someone was feeling. It got amplified when I died, so I can feel the emotions of ghost and humans, now. Ghosts are easier to sense, though, and you two I can always feel."

"Oh my god. That makes so much sense." That made so much sense. "I thought it was just some super secret awesome assassin power." Hm. Danny took it as a victory that Randy was laughing. Him laughing was good. It… It was good.

"Don't you two ever shut up?" Any heat in the words were completely taken out when Randy and Danny both had coffee cups pressed into their hands, Andrew curling up against Randy's back and yawning.

"This seat is not big enough for three people." Randy had a point. Danny would fix it. "That doesn't mean sit in my lap."

"Well, you still need to change my bandages, so I thought this was the better option." Jeez, the wound had even bled into his human form and lasted this long, but Danny was certain Randy would get him back to rights. "Where should we go first after this?"

"Back to bed," Andrew yawned, Danny grinning as he looked to Randy and, right. He could feel emotions, huh?

"I think I'd be okay with that." Ooh, that was quite the bright shade of white on Randy's cheeks. Danny loved it- Them. He loved them. He…

It was getting better.

::

"Yeah, okay, I guess that one is pretty good, but get back to me when you've drawn a sketching of the Louvre and half the works inside."

"Wha- Hey, no fair! Landmarks don't count when you've grow up here- Randy, I grew up in Amity, that's not fair."

"Technically, I was there for a mission," Randy hummed, trying to hold in a laugh as Danny wriggled around like the demented little thing he was, pressing up against his side and- Oh, what a sneaky thing. "No peeking until it's finished, that was the rule."

"Since when do I ever follow rules?" Danny raised an eyebrow, grinning when Andrew snorted from where he was marking up a stack of papers "See? Andy thinks I'm funny."

"Andy has a shit sense of humor. He fell in love with us, after all." Smudging some of the lines for a more washed out effect, Randy glanced up at Danny's prickling emotions.

"Did you just insult all three of us at the same time?" Hm. Yes, he had, hadn't he? Danny squirmed closer, clutching at Randy's arm, voice awed, "Teach me."

"Do not- No. Don't teach him. He's bad enough as it is," Andrew huffed, Randy hiding a laugh against Danny's hair. "What happened to trading stories on places you've been?"

"It's places we've drawn, Andy, jeez." The look Danny was given was hilarious. "Randy wins. Randy always wins. He's been everywhere!"

"I haven't been everywhere, just most places." Ah, his sweet halfa was so interesting. As always, Danny's emotions swirled and ebbed and changed quicker than he could keep tabs on them. He was so emotional and so quick to leap onto a new topic- Oh, right, yes. Scientist parents. Maybe that was why-

"Why is sex dangerous?" Staring at Danny, Randy slowly looked to Andrew, and oh, good. Andrew looked just as baffled.

"That is a very complicated question, mon cher." Baffled and now vindictive. "Let's start with the basics of sexually transmitted diseases-"

"No, no, no, no! That's not-" Danny's panic was filled with amusement and Randy couldn't stop his echoing laughter. "I meant why is ghost sex dangerous!"

"I wasn't aware that it could be inherently dangerous," Andrew said, gaze flicking to Randy in a sharp motion that had him quickly snapping his mouth shut. "What have you been corrupting him with this time?"

"Andy." Randy held a hand to his chest, lips twitching into a smile. "Do you honestly think that I would corrupt our precious mate-"

"Yes."

"Hell yeah you would."

"Alright, yes, I would, but I was telling him the truth."

"The truth of what?" Yes, well, Randy would actually like to know- Oh. Oh. Danny was talking about that. "If someone would be kind enough to explain just what is going on."

"You haven't been cautious enough," Randy snickered and oh, he very clearly remembered that conversation now - as well as the moments before. "Fucking our sweet little mate when he has that much energy being let loose? Ghostly energy?"

Watching in delight, Randy saw Andrew's face pale a worrying amount before it was rapidly filling back up with color. Randy couldn't help but tease even more, voice dropping to naught but a croon, "Unless that's something you would want, sweet one."

"Go fuck yourself!" How cute. Although, it was cuter when Danny grabbed his own sketchbook and squirmed his way into Andrew's lap, scattering the papers and lying on half of them as he kissed Andrew's cheek. "I'm still going to kill him."

"I wouldn't blame you if you did," Randy chuckled, nodding along to Andrew's complaints and threats and sighing softly. Danny's fear and self-hatred were still there, but in moments like these… It lessened. That had to count for something, right?

For now, with all three of them curled together, it was just how it should be.

::

"Hey, Andy?" The three were taking a break from all the sightseeing they were doing - because Danny got his way far too often - and sitting on a bench tucked out of the way of foot traffic. It had been peacefully quiet before Danny's question, Andrew giving a quiet hum to show he had heard. "How did you know it was me? When we met, how did you know that I was the one who killed you?"

Oh, now that was certainly a question, wasn't it? Seeing Danny begin to flinch, Andrew was quick to wrap his hand around Danny's, bringing the younger's up to press a reassuring kiss to the knuckles. It was sweet to see his growing blush. "I didn't know right away," Andrew finally said, voice quiet. "It was the little things."

"Little things that kept building?" Mm. It had been easy near the end, especially. He was a writer, he was meant to see the connections between things. "When'd you figure it out?"

"When I learned your full name." The utterly baffled face Danny gave him had Andrew laughing and oh, this sweet thing.

"Andy! You can't just leave me hanging like this! C'mon, what did learning my full name have to do? Was it some super secret ghost secret? Like, you can look up my whole life story-"

"Daniel James Fenton." The emotions Andrew could see in Danny's eyes had his smile softening. "Oh, Danny." Andrew pulled him closer, kissing at his cheek and speaking even softer. "You wanted to take my hand so badly that night, didn't you?"

"You have no idea. I just- I was so scared when you looked at me with fear and I ran and- Here was this cute, young version of you who had no idea who I was and was so bad at flirting and was offering a safe space and god, Andy, you were always everything I wanted."

"I'm glad that you didn't take my hand that night." Andrew kissed at his cheek, rubbing at the other one to just feel his skin - to feel him alive. "I'm so glad I got to meet you properly. I got to fall in love with you, I was able to see Randy again, you were able to meet Randy- We're all three here right now because of that night, Danny. I wouldn't change that for anything.

"I'm so glad things happened the way they did. Because of that night look where we are. We're here, together, as mates. We're in France, you're safe, Randy's happy again, and I have a family. It's- Oh, mon cher, it's everything I ever prayed for."

"I'm back!" Ah, Randy was back with their drinks. "So they were out of- What… What did I miss?" Oh, Danny was crying that much, then. "You made him cry in the few minutes I was gone to get drinks?"

"I was reassuring him." Andrew kissed at Danny's cheek again and the younger let out a laugh that sounded watery.

"'M fine, Randy. You Riters just like to destroy my emotions, is all." Danny perked up at the coffee he was given, but he perked up even more at the sweet kiss Randy pulled him into. Andrew tried to suppress a snort at seeing how Danny very obviously enjoyed it. "So, sightseeing?"

"Coffee first. I have some water if you get dehydrated, but then we're gonna grab a bite to eat. Then sightseeing, yes."

"You mother hen him," Andrew snorted, accepting his own kiss and cup of coffee. "Mm, it is nice to be taken care of by you, however."

"You know," Danny said, trying to act nonchalant as he blew on the drink, "If you want to drag him to a back alleway and screw his brains out I'll keep watch." Oh. Oh, he so dearly loved his mates.

"Mm." Andrew took an extra long sip of his coffee just to watch Randy flush and squirm, "Let's wait until after the Louvre, at least."

"Wha- Hey!" Randy looked so good when he was blushing like that. Hmph, the alleyway would be filthy, but they could always go back to their room… "Do I not get a say on you screwing me in the back of an alleyway?"

"Why bother," Danny snorted. "You'll say yes."

"Hey now, petit mec, there's no need to go throwing the truth about." As the two laughed and grinned and fell into such an easy routine, Andrew sighed and took another sip of his coffee. Things were getting better.

::

It was bound to happen, really. It made sense. Everything was going so well, Danny was seeing all of France, their room was gorgeous, they were all well and truly mates, and he was finally starting to heal and stop smelling ash and smoke. So, really, it made sense that he was now shaking from his most recent nightmare and covering up his hitching breaths as best he could.

It made sense- He should have expected it. That's how this worked. Things got better and then they went back to how they should be- Spectra hadn't be right about all of it, but some of it… Some of it was too truthful to ever ignore. Jesus, he just-

"Nightmare?" Flinching at the voice, Danny snapped his head over and stared at Randy and his open arms before curling up to him so fast he might have flown. Warm arms wrapped around him and Danny buried himself as close as he could possibly get. Randy was safe- Randy would keep him safe. Randy- Randy was Randy, but Andy… Andrew smelled too much like smoke and ash. "That bad of one, huh?"

Danny didn't respond - what could he even say? Yeah, no, he was fine, it wasn't that bad, he just dreamt of the bridge again was all. He dreamt of Spectra's words and the truth of them digging into his skin, of him falling and falling and falling and falling- He wasn't caught in his dream. He remembered. Weeks and weeks before he had a dream in Andrew's class and he had fallen from the bridge and…

It wasn't a dream. Back in Andrew's class, that hadn't been a dream. Spectra hadn't pushed him, then. Randy hadn't caught him, then. It had just been Danny taking a single step forward and falling- "What do you say we make some hot chocolate?"

Apparently, Danny didn't get any say in whether or not he wanted hot chocolate because he soon ended up sitting in Randy's lap with a cup and a cartoon show in French playing on the tv in front of them. Andrew had somehow been woken up during then and while Danny had expected to flinch and hide at every word, the sound of Andrew's voice - thick and rough with sleep - was a balm to his soul more than anything else could ever be.

It should have- It shouldn't have worked as well as it did. They were in a hotel room and Danny was listening to tv in French. He was pretty sure Andrew had slipped back into the language and Danny only understood every other word where he was so tired, yet… It felt right. It felt like home.

The hot chocolate was familiar, Andrew's voice was grounding him as the man swore about something or other while waving a brownie about like he would a dry erase marker, and Randy was drooling on Danny's shoulder from where he had fallen back asleep. God, the fact Randy had fallen asleep with them talking and the tv going on was amazing. Danny wasn't the only one getting better. There was even still a half-eaten cookie in his hand.

"Hey, Andy." Danny's voice was hardly louder than a whisper, but it attracted the man's attention at once, Andrew looking at him with the brownie halfway to his mouth. "What's your favorite color?"

"I- Oh." Whatever meaning Andrew got from that question Danny didn't know, but the man laughed and shifted closer to them. "I have two." Oh? "White and blue." Oh.

Draining the rest of his cup, Danny carefully set it down before holding his hand out towards Andrew. He was given the brownie. Before Danny could argue that, no, that was not what he wanted, Andrew was carefully pulling him out of Randy's lap and into his own.

Settling down - and smiling as Randy woke up only long enough to burrow his way under the covers - Danny leaned back to kiss at Andrew's jaw. "Love you."

"Je t'aime aussi, mon cher." Yeah, it probably shouldn't feel like home so much, but, well. He supposed 'home' wasn't just Vidya anymore.

::

"Bonjour, Mama." Randy sat down in front of the tombstone that lay before him, his human illusion shifted to leave him with a splattering of sun freckles and brown curls that kept getting caught in and behind his glasses. "It's been a while."

A cool breeze with the promise of rain ruffled Randy's hair, the man laughing as he relaxed as much as he could. Further across the quaint, countryside graveyard he could see Andrew and Danny kneeling in front of another tombstone, Danny looking utterly starstruck. "You've most likely been keeping a close eye on me so you already know, but I finally brought Danny to visit you today. He's seeing Sylvia right now."

For as much as he feared the dead (how ironic), he could never find himself to be afraid in this place. Maybe it was because of her. "I hope you two were able to meet again. I don't remember any of your stories about her, but I'm glad that if anyone found me it was your dear friend." Sylvia Riter had been taken, too, when she was young. Randy had been so lucky.

"Andrew's still teaching at the school- He's so good at it, Mama! I hope he's able to stay there for a long time. He's clearly better than any other teacher there. Honestly, the school got lucky to have him." A sharp breeze ruffled his hair again, Randy huffing a laugh. "Alright, I'm bragging a little, I'm allowed to. You bragged about Papa all the time."

Ah, he could imagine his mother's sly look - or perhaps it was Sylvia's sly look he remembered? He had been so young when he was taken, but, well. The spirit of the memories were the same, whether true or not. "Hush, Mama. That might not be for a while yet, but… It's good. Things are good where they are, now."

Looking back, Andrew seemed to be in the middle of some story or another, Danny looking like an entertained child as he nodded and laughed along. Sylvia's grave had beautifully glowing ice orchids scattered across, along with a cookie and sleek dagger. "I know, I know, I tried to talk them out of leaving a weapon of all things, but, well. Andrew was insistent that Sylvia would need a way to protect herself, and you know Danny. He'll agree with whatever gets him a cookie."

Looking up, the sky was filled with clouds that were full and heavy, the sky holding a gray tint that hid the world. The wind was picking up in spurts and bursts, that promise of rain beginning to feel like a threat. It shouldn't feel as nice as it did. "It's been a long journey, Mama, but I think things are finally turning out okay again."

It felt… It felt like things were going to be okay. Danny was healing - albeit slowly. Still. It was healing, and it was good. Andrew was starting to fall more into peace with himself. He had always been too on the fringes, but now he acted- He acted like he used to when it was just him and Randy.

He caught the man smiling down at Danny as Danny enthusiastically talked to Sylvia. The smile on Andrew's face was nothing but fond and loving, and oh, Randy was so glad Danny had come crashing into their lives. It was- Ah.

A prickling of emotions and action of Danny rubbing at his chest let Randy know that the teen was getting closer to one of his overloads. The buildup had been happening for the last few days, and he supposed he couldn't be all that surprised. Now that Danny was well and truly safe, this was the ideal time for his body to release everything to try and get back to a state of balance. This one was going to bad, though…

The smell of grass and flowers and freshly turned dirt had him turning his attention back to Annabell Beaumont, Randy giving a smile. "Sorry, Mama. You know how I worry about them- Ah, that was right. I had something for you." Digging through his pockets, Randy frowned before a set of papers were being held out to him.

"I slipped them in Andrew's bag before you could fold them up and wrinkle them," Danny said, kissing at Randy's cheek and then flying back over to Andrew with a laugh.

"My better halves, truly," Randy smiled, setting down the set of drawings on top of Annabell's grave and weighing each one down with a rock or pebble. "Here, Mama. I had a few more designs I wanted to show you- Yes, alright, I pulled inspiration from one of your lines, but it's not cheating. I was merely using the references available to me."

Spreading out the drawings and fussing with them longer than he should have, Randy finally sighed and shifted to stand. "I don't know when I'll be back, Mama, but I hope you're happy wherever you ended up. I'm sorry I can't be with you just yet." No… No, Annabell had been too happy and too fulfilled to ever be forced to stay behind like he and Andrew and even Danny. Wherever she was, he knew it was somewhere where she would be happy. Hopefully.

Brushing his fingertips over the top of the tombstone, Randy gave it a fond pat. "Don't worry, Mama, I'll keep an eye on these two. Family before anything else, oui?" He may be Randy Riter, yes, but a part of him would always be Randall Nicolas Beaumont. "I'll keep them safe." He would sacrifice everything, if need be.

"What's her favorite flower?" Startling - because Danny could be very sneaky when he wanted to be - Randy looked down at the grinning teen.

"Ah, I… I don't really remember, mon douce." Randy cupped the teen's cheek and brushed a kiss against his forehead. "She was fond of lilies, I suppose."

"He's going to make it a habit." Andrew was wrapping Randy up in a hug as soon as Danny laughed and sped over to Annabell's grave, conjuring ice lily after ice lily. "I can tell now, every time we come here we're going to find those flowers of his."

"Doesn't sound too bad." Randy returned the hug at once, running a hand through Andrew's hair and hiding a smile against the man's shoulder. How amazing they could smile while being here. The first time… "Where shall we go next, then?"

"I- Well, I, ah…" Andrew cleared his throat roughly, Randy raising an eyebrow at the swirl of guilt, hesitation, and bitter humor. "I rather promised Danny-"

"He said you two were going to show me the Sanctum." Adjusting to the new weight on his shoulders, Randy gave Andrew a very judging look. Andrew very pointedly didn't look at him. "The place closed down, right? The one here in France?"

"Well, yes." Randy chewed at the inside of his cheek, turning in a circle and recalling the map in his head. "I suppose…" The direction the Sanctum was in looked dull and lifeless, the clouds over it dark and stormy and merciless. Randy didn't bother feeling shame as he reached for Andrew's hand. "Yes. The Sect of the Crow as we knew it is dead, anyways."

That line had Andrew explaining a very detailed story to Danny about sabotage, political affairs, and a ten-year-long job by a few select people to shut the Sect down from the inside. The Sect had been disbanded quite ruthlessly, but Randy was certain there were groups of those who carried on the training and teachings.

As Andrew talked, Randy led them towards the building, each step measured and carefully taken. Thriving walkways turned into crumbled sidewalks while numerous cars trailed off until there was nothing but the sharp, loud caws of the crows that called this part of the city their home. The Sect had been aptly named.

Each step closer had Randy falling more and more into those memories, however. It was only Andrew's voice and Danny's weight on his back that kept him grounded. That kept him sane- Ah… He didn't even realize he was humming until he heard the distorted sound echoed back to him from empty buildings. White Fang had a song, too. The difference- The difference was that White Fang didn't allow for survivors to tell his story like the Priest had.

"The Sanctum." Andrew's voice was hushed and small. Randy could so clearly imagine it was them as they had been years ago, returning from another mission and weapons heavy with the weight of the dead- Ah, except.

"Looks ugly." Except that wasn't then. It was now. "I mean- I mean, I know it was supposed to be this big thing, but it's like- Guys, it's really ugly."

"It's not like we had a say in it's design," Andrew sniffed, turning his head away and looking like he was trying not to smile or cry. Randy laughed, watching Danny shift seamlessly into his ghost form and hover in front of them.

"'S empty, right?" At the question, Rand glanced to Andrew, the man looking just as confused. "The building. It's empty, right? No one alive in there?"

"Not a soul," Randy promised. If there was, he would feel a current of an emotion of some kind. All there was, however, was dead space.

Heh. How fucking ironic.

"Good." With that, Danny was gone from in front of them. It only took a second before an explosion cracked the air and shook the ground, Randy moving to catch Andrew before he could lose his balance.

"Well, then." Andrew stared at the Sanctum begun to catch on fire. His grin was wide and reckless. "This seems familiar."

"If you'll recall, it was the base in England I set on fire, not this one," Randy scolded, watching as the world that had took everything began to burn. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Oh, I'm just fine where I am." Andrew had always been nervous around fires after his death. It made sense, now that Randy knew the truth, but watching Andrew now… There was no fear in those eyes.

Looking back to the Sanctum, Randy watched as it Danny single-handedly crushed it to nothing. It- It was almost hilarious. They had only just come out to visit their mothers and now, without even trying, Danny was destroying everything that had kept them chained. All the memories, all the fears, all the worry that everything ever said about them was right. Yet… Yet here was this kid who was too good with a heart that was too big destroying their fears.

"Hey, Andy." Each breath in and he could feel Danny's bitter vindication and feel Andrew's wicked joy. "I'm gonna be pretty disappointed in us if we don't propose to him after he finishes school."

"Mm." Oh? Andrew was blushing and looking away, but he wasn't throwing up any crazy denials like he usually did. "I think I've had enough of wondering about the future. Day by day seems like a much better plan."

The Sanctum crumbled to nothing and Randy couldn't help but feel like the next breath of air he took was clean and pure. Heh… To think Danny was always going on about how they had saved him.

::

Finishing up the last document with a flourish, Andrew grinned smugly. Not only had he spent as much time with his mates as he could, but he also managed to finish up all his work that needed to be done before school reconvened. He bet half the teachers in that school couldn't say the same. Ah, it was so nice to be superior.

Closing his laptop and standing up with a stretch, Andrew brushed himself off from where he had been curled up in the in-ground bathtub with a blanket around his shoulders. He then stared at where he was standing because, what?

How on earth had he- Oh, yes, that was right. Randy and Danny had started being flirty and Andrew had work to do so he had hid in the bathroom to get it done- Ah, right, one of them had brought him a blanket. What sweet mates. Perhaps he should check on them.

Making sure his laptop was safe on the edge of a counter and not in any danger of falling into something wet, Andrew carefully left the bathroom and folded up the blanket as he went. It would be time for lunch, soon. Maybe they could go downstairs to that nice-

Ah. Alright, then. They were doing quite fine on their own, now weren't they? Well, Andrew didn't want to interrupt… He would just sit on that nice little window seat with this blanket and watch as Randy fucked quiet gasps and whines out of their sweet little halfa.

It was quite the delightful show, really. Randy had Danny pinned to the bed (really, he was so fond of keeping them unable to move) and was rocking into him in long, smooth thrusts. Randy had long ago dropped his illusion, it seemed, fangs glinting as he whispered what was no doubt utter filth into Danny's ear.

Danny seemed to respond quite positively to it, at least. He was pushing himself into each and every thrust and panting heavily, ghostly features bleeding through with each second and overall he was looking utterly gone. Judging by how they didn't even notice his arrival, Andrew assumed they had been at it for quite some time.

Shifting back on the seat, Andrew raised an eyebrow as Randy's gaze flickered over to him. He was given a sharp smile in response and, damn. Never could sneak by Randy- Oh, Andrew now had a very clear view of what Randy was doing to Danny. Well, then, that was nice, now wasn't it?

With each thrust Randy was palming at Danny's cock and driving him even further into pleasure. A particular thrust and twist had Danny arching off the bed, loud keening cry echoing in the room. That seemed to be the last straw, Randy pounding into Danny fast and fierce and working the teen up more and more and more-

Standing up, Andrew set the blanket down before he calmly walked over, almost laughing as he saw the bed moving with the two. They really were too precious. Looking down at Danny, Andrew saw that the teen's eyes were completely glazed over with swirls of ectoplasmic energy, breath coming out in puffs of supercooled air and energy sparking along his human form. Andrew was utterly enchanted.

Mm, it looked like Randy had teased Danny for long enough. Brushing Randy's bangs out of the way, Andrew trailed the tips of his fingers down the man's spine. "Bite him." As soon as Randy's fangs pierced Danny's neck, Andrew was pressing his fingers over Danny's core and sending in a burst of pure, raw energy.

Danny let out a scream as he completely shattered, Andrew smiling as he trailed the energy into Randy - along with a good dose of love and care and adoration and obsession and want- Ah, it was so easy to ruin these two. Andrew sat down on the edge of the bed, watching the two pant and shake and shiver and recover after being completely wrecked.

"Fuuuck, you two need to stop tag teaming on me," Danny groaned, long and low and so satisfied as he wiggled from under Randy. The flinch and growl it earned him from Randy was delightful. "'S not fair."

"When did we ever say that we would play fair?" Andrew trailed his fingertips against Danny's cheek, smiling at the chill that sunk inside of him from that contact alone. "I rather believe there's a saying about love being a battlefield?"

"Oh? I think there's another saying about war not having any winners." With that, Andrew was yelping at Randy having jerked him roughly onto the bed, Andrew wincing as he fell across them in a tangle of limbs and elbows. He couldn't even fight before Randy (who had moved so carefully that sneak) was biting him sharply right along the edges of his ear. Danny, at the same time, was nipping at his jaw and sending a dose of ectoplasmic energy right into his neck- The back of his neck where-

"Jesus fuck." One of the damn brats laughed, but Andrew didn't pay it much mind as they were doing remarkably well in making him want to be fucked within an inch of his life. "My clothes had better be off and a dick had better be inside of me within the next minute or I swear-"

His clothes fell away and Andrew felt slick fingers start to rub at his entrance, hands and lips and warmth coating him everywhere and oh, yes, he very much loved spring break right now.

::

It wasn't fair. It was the last day of their trip in France and not only had the clouds from the last few days finally burst and caused a torrential downpour, but Danny had woken up right in the middle of one of his sensory overloads. It only took a groggy filled minute or two to realize that this one was going to be bad, too. He could barely handle the feeling of his clothes scratching at his skin and the sheets were so rough and he was already starting to cry and he hadn't even been awake for ten minutes yet-

Danny whined pitifully when he was lifted up, breaths hitching as he squirmed against the hold. There was a mumbling of voices over him, Danny covering his ears and slamming his eyes shut at the light that came in from one of the lamps. He wasn't sure what was going on until he felt his clothes drop away from his skin and then warm water wrapping around him. Startled enough to open his eyes, Danny looked around to see he had been placed in the large, in-ground bath, Randy kneeling down beside him with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his hands in the water.

"Ran- Randy?" Danny couldn't stop a wince as the sound from that single, hushed word sounded like it was ringing in his ears. Instead of answering, Randy only gave a soft, understanding smile, resting his chin on the edge of the tub.

Opening his mouth, Danny closed it with a huff, feeling a little better at Randy's silly smile. Patting at Randy's tangled mess of curls, he found it amusing that the man didn't even mind he was getting wet, only leaning his head into the touch and closing his eyes. "I always wanted a puppy," Danny teased, voice quiet as he could make it as he slowly relaxed in the water, everything starting to hurt less - at least, sounds were. "Sorry."

"You, mon cher, don't have anything to be sorry for." Andrew came into the bathroom with towels, a bundle of glowing flowers, and a ball of softly shining purple light that rested above and behind his head. Danny rather thought he was in his right to look at his mate like he was utterly insane. "Hush."

"Didn't know I was dating a wizard," Danny shot back, grinning as Andrew moved to sit on the edge of the tub.

"Here I thought a lover of science such as yourself would denounce magic," Andrew huffed, setting the towels aside and plucking at the petals of one of the flowers.

"I mean, I routinely transform into a magical girl, so, there's that." There was a stifled snort of laughter from Randy, Danny grinning before it faded again. "I- Sorry. It's our last day-"

"And we'll spend it together just as we have all the rest." Andrew held one of the petals out against his lips, Danny raising both eyebrows as he opened his mouth anyways. "Chew and swallow. They're some of Randy's plants."

"Don't make it sound like I keep them as pets," Randy frowned, shifting to cup handfuls of water and run it over Danny's head and neck. It felt wonderful.

"Don't you?" Andrew fed Danny another petal. They were sweet, he supposed, but Danny didn't exactly understand what it was for. "They're stabilizers. Typically you can use them to stave off core exhaustion, or at least lessen the effects."

"Well, technically they're meant to equally distribute your ectoplasmic energy to all parts of your body," Randy put in, sitting back on his heels. "That's what core exhaustion is. You lack the energy to spread it to other parts of your body and it makes your core overwork itself to try and fix the problem. These help the energy spread more easily without spreading it so thinly.

"Your sensory overloads are similar to where your energy builds up from blockage rather than having too much, like with your other attacks. Blockage can happen to all ghosts, but it's more common to you because you're balancing both your human and ghost halfs and you'll change back after a fight, which can cause your energy to get blocked at certain points in your body. These flowers should encourage the energy to spread without breaking down the blocks so violently, which is what causes your hyper senses - it's from where the block breaks and the energy suddenly rebounds and amplifies everything."

Danny wasn't sure how long he was staring at Randy, but he knew it wasn't for very long because he soon had Randy half submerged in the bath and was kissing him quite happily. Randy didn't seem to mind all that much, judging by how much he was kissing back. "Andy, I'm keeping him."

"I rather think he won't mind that." Just- Randy! Science Randy! Danny really, really loved his mates- It wasn't just- They had thought this all out and had it ready to go the second Danny had woken up in such pain. They had planned it all out to help make him comfortable as possible and had gone above and beyond and-

"I love you." Danny might have been crying, but it was just… "I really, really love you two." He was still alive. He was alive and he had these two and how could he ever think he was a substitute when it had always been them - the three of them.

Spectra had been right, but she had also been wrong. Danny would never kill himself because he had his family helping him. He would never turn into Dan because he knew that he would always protect people - even when he had nothing. He was never going to lose these two because it was them. It was the three of them, in love and struggling to make it all work and oh, god, there were some days it was ready to all fall apart but in the end it was them.

It was Danny angry and upset and so mad and Andrew quiet beside him and writing to where Danny could see every word.

It was Andrew irritable and lost in memories and unable to say anything and it just kept building, but Danny sat right there and rambled about everything and anything, giving Andrew the words he didn't have.

It was Randy lost and confused and unable to find a place that was his, but that was just fine because his place had become the place right between Danny and Andrew.

It was the three of them, lost and broken and beaten and utterly hopeless, but… That was what made it perfect. Perfection from the imperfection, Andrew would say- Or maybe Randy? It was just-

It was them, learning, and struggling, and surviving, and making it better each and every day and oh, god, Danny couldn't wait- Except, he didn't have to. His happily ever after was finally here, in a way.

And it was perfect.