Chapter Fifty Eight

::

"I can't believe we're already halfway through April." Pausing from where he was trying to time Andrew's arrival by 'accidentally' running into him, Danny looked to Sam with wide eyes and, wait, what? "Danny, you can't be that surprised."

"I- I mean, no, but- Actually, yeah, I'm really surprised. It was the start of winter, like, ten seconds ago." Had it really passed by that quickly? On one hand it felt like the start of the new school year and Andrew coming to teach had been years ago, but on the other hand it all felt as if it had passed so quickly.

"You know what they say, bro. Time flies the older you get." Tucker paused from where he was trying to pry off the back of his phone with a screwdriver. "No, that's not it. Uh, time flies when you throw a clock out the window?"

"Hopeless," Sam sighed, throwing an arm around Danny's shoulders and bringing him in for a tight hug that had him squashed up against her. He would have been more annoyed if he hadn't noticed some of the dramatics were genuine. "Doing good?"

"For the millionth time, I'm okay." Not good or perfect, but okay. Better. "C'mon, Sammy, where's my heartless best friend that used to criticize my life choices?"

"Oh, like the fact you don't use condoms?" Danny felt the blush that erupted over his face, but he immediately forgave Sam when he saw Andrew, having been walking past them, looked even worse before jerking back and staring at Sam with wide eyes. Sam winked. "Morning, Mr. Riter."

"This is why you're disallowed from visiting Vidya," Andrew finally muttered, still blushing as he turned and retreated as quickly as he could, Danny moving to hug Sam back.

"I love you." Because that? That had been beautiful and well worth his own embarrassment. "You're my best friend."

"Excuse you." Blindly reaching an arm out, Danny snagged Tucker by the shirt and pulled him in for the forming group hug. "Hey, come on, don't stretch the shirt!"

"You come on, you know you're my best brother." That had Tucker pausing from his struggles to escape, looking surprised and jeez. Danny really hadn't been spending much time with them the last few months, had he? "Do we need to have emotional bonding talks? Because if we have to we will. I'll even hold your hand-"

"Oh, shut up." Danny laughed even as his cheek was smooshed by Tucker's hand and he was roughly pushed away, Sam snapping.

"Hey! When I said don't put me in the middle of your fights, I meant literally, too." Instead of letting them get away, Danny only hugged them closer, feeling more peaceful than he had in a long while. This was just… It was-

The warning bell rang and the three shared a look before rushing off, Sam bursting into giggles as Tucker slipped and almost hit the floor, Danny saving him with a quick burst of flight before continuing on his way and hoping no one saw.

Jeez, things were in no way perfect in his messed up life, but… He couldn't say he disliked it. Then again, maybe a perfect day or two wouldn't go amiss since now that he was actually caring about his grades again he was realizing just how far behind he was on his homework. He didn't remember studying this many things over the last few weeks… Fuck, Randy was going to give him the disappointed look while Andrew complained in French about 'where he went wrong.'

Some part of his struggling must've shown since Tucker sighed as they walked into French, Danny glancing to where Andrew was- Oh, right, Andrew said he was subbing because of a sick baby. "You can use my notes if you need them, you know."

"See? Best brother." The last few months really had been hell, and those weeks between Spectra's death and Spring Break might as well have been a black hole. "Okay, so, what rumors have I missed?"

Tucker, gem that he was, didn't even have to ask for clarification. "Well, Paulina thinks you two broke up."

"Pity for her."

"Uh huh." Tucker failed in hiding his laugh. "Dash thinks that one of you realized you weren't that gay, I think Kwan, romantic he is, suggested that you were so quiet because he proposed, and someone suggested that Phantom finally found out about the 'affair' and 'set you straight.'"

"Damn, those are some good ones." Which one would be the most fun to play with, though? "Hm…" Shame he didn't have a ring he could borrow.

"I don't like that look, Danny. I know that look, and I really don't like it."

"All's fair in love and war, oui?" Ah, ghost hearing. Andrew was already looking up at him from where he was writing on the board, very suspicious. Danny fell into his role at once, trying to remember how he first felt when Andrew and him had confessed. "H-Hi, Mr. Riter."

"Danny," Andrew greeted, Danny pretty sure he was the only one who could hear the undercurrent of a warning in his tone. "Did you have a nice break?"

"Yeah… Yeah, I really did." It really wasn't hard to think of that time. God, Danny had been so scared of having his feelings found out, but Andrew had just smiled and laughed and it had been so right. "It was perfect, Mr. Riter."

Instead of answering, Andrew merely cleared his throat and looked back to the board, Danny grinning at seeing the tinges of purple that spread out over gray skin. 'Casually' getting closer, Danny lowered his voice, trying not to laugh, "Having fun?"

"You're a terrible human being," Andrew complained, not even looking at him. Danny knew the other would crack if he did. "Honestly, of all the things that happened your sudden lack of flirting was a blessing."

"Randy already told me how much you enjoyed it." Good thing Andrew was writing in dry erase marker. Chalk would've broken in a second. "I think it's sweet-"

"Oh, shut up," Andrew huffed, Danny seeing the hidden smile on his face. "What story are you playing to today, then? I've heard quite a few."

"Mm, I'll let you guess." Danny fearlessly leaned into Andrew's side for a few moments before he was clearing his throat. "Looking forward to today's lesson, Mr. Riter." With that, he was quickly heading to his desk. Tucker was wheezing in laughter and Paulina was muttering a 'holy shit' under her breath. Beautiful, truly.

'So it's possible I just tortured Andy a teeny tiny bit.' As usual, it didn't take long for Randy to text back a response, a slew of question marks appearing. 'Long story short? Rumors of a surprise proposal. My behavior may have given the impression I confirmed it. I mean I didn't say anything so really they're just reading into what they want to see right?'

'I love you.' Yeah, Danny thought that might be Randy's answer. 'Let me know if you need a fake ring.'

Danny was halfway through typing his response of not minding if it was real before he quickly backspaced and nope, no, not brave enough to go that far. Simple thumbs up would do.

'You almost asked for a real one, didn't you?'

'Fuck off'

"I think Randy just got Andy's revenge for him," Danny grumbled, turning his phone off to ignore the slew of smiling faces sent his way. "Why am I in love with assholes?"

"Because they make you seem like less of an asshole?" Ah, good ole Tucker. The only one he could trust. "Oh, I stole your French homework, by the way." Then again…

"Dude, Tuck, I've told you this, ghost hearing."

"He knows I just use your homework to check my accent marks."

"Good excuse."

"Good morning, class." Quieting, Danny tried not to laugh as the class tried to respond in French. Tried. It seemed spring break had wiped away all knowledge of French. "Yes, there was a reason I greeted you in English. Before you ask, no, Mrs. Flores was not fired. Her newborn had a small fever so she took the day off. She'll be back tomorrow and expecting your homework to be complete. For those of you who didn't do it, thank whatever god you believe in. You've been given a day long reprieve."

Danny tried not to laugh as everyone in the class slumped in relief. "Now, I know you all have missed me so dearly, so I'm sure you'll indulge me in telling me what you've learned. No English, today. French only." Just like that, the relief turned to terror.

"So mean," Danny tsked quietly, beaming at Andrew's smirk. And people thought Randy was the mischievous one.

"Now, let's begin."

::

"Really? Is Elle okay?" Hearing his parents ask about Elle, Danny snuck his way towards the kitchen, hiding behind the wall and listening.

"Oh, she's fine." Vlad. Okay, Vlad was here. Strange, but not so uncommon anymore. "She actually enjoyed the thought of a fight before I threatened to call the authorities on them. She was still sulking about missing out when I left."

"What good would calling the police do? They're the dogs of the government." Oh, wow, Danny hadn't ever heard his mother that bitter - or at least, not for a while.

"You didn't hear?" Ooh, Danny did so not like that tone. "They've broken off from the government and are now working under their own jurisdiction." There was a rather nasty swear, Danny shocked to his very core to hear it had come from Jack. Now he was really curious as to who- "The Guys-in-White, Daniel."

"Hey! I don't give away your hiding spots when you need to be creepy and lurk around corners!" Danny shuffled his way into the kitchen anyways, dropping his bag over the back of a chair and looking between the three of them. "What's going on?"

"It seems the Guys-in-White have been getting more persistent," Maddie sighed, rubbing at her eyes. Jack was quick to push her favorite cup towards her, Danny frowning at the coffee inside. That bad, then. "They've been visiting Vlad frequently."

"I find it odd that they haven't been visiting you," Vlad muttered into his own cup, shaking his head. Danny had to take a moment to stare because Vlad was still wearing his glasses, which, yeah, that made him look much less evil supervillain. Now if they could just get him to cut his hair… "Daniel? Any more visits to the school?"

"Not since the last one." He wasn't even going to ask how Vlad knew about that visit. Vlad knew everything. "Not sure if it's because it's a school or if they're just trying to find the best way to capture me and Andy both."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter," Vlad snorted. "They never had much of a sense of 'right and wrong.'" Wasn't that the truth.

"What do you think it means for us that they're no longer government funded?" Because that sounded like a good thing, maybe? Less money meant less weapons and less chance of hurting them, right?

"It means very, very dark things for us, little badger." Vlad was serious enough that Danny wasn't even annoyed by the nickname, only focused on the tendril of dread he felt curl low inside him. Vlad seemed to notice, shaking his head and huffing, "I'm giving Elle a curfew."

"She'd break it just to try and get a chance at being a rebellious teeanger." Danny pushed a chair up over to Jack, sitting down and cautiously stealing the man's coffee. When Jack made no attempts to steal it back, Danny quickly downed the contents. Ah, sweet as Randy's lies. "Hey, have you heard anything about Walker?"

"Walker?" Vlad frowned, looking to be thinking for a moment. "Last I heard he was in Observant custody, but…"

"But?" Danny hated buts. Buts never turned out to be good news in his life.

"There are rumors." Groaning, Danny got up and went to the coffee maker. He would need it to deal with this. "Oh, no need to be that dramatic. I've just heard that the Observants released him."

"Meaning he escaped. The Observants only say they release someone when they escape." He'd have to ask Clockwork, then. "And 'there are rumors' means not good things, Vlad." Staring at the empty coffee pot, Danny groaned even louder.

"You're worse than your father during finals," Maddie said, sounding fond as Danny continued his crusade to find more coffee. He was distracted by Jack's embarrassed expression and Vlad's shudder.

"What… What happened during finals?" The men were quiet and Maddie's smile got wider. "You know what? No. Forget I asked. I'm going to visit a friend, but I'll be back in time for dinner."

"An hour after dinner, then?" Oh, that was harsh. Danny couldn't help his laugh, though.

"Hey, trust me, Mom, tonight I'll definitely be on time."

::

"You're my favorite." Danny had only just gotten to the tower in the Clock Citadel and now he had a full cup of warm coffee that was just cooled off enough to drink. He was so glad his ghost half dulled the effects of coffee. He didn't want to be addicted to caffeine highs like Andrew was quite yet. "Hi, by the way."

"Good afternoon, Daniel," Clockwork chuckled, ruffling Danny's hair fondly. Danny could tell the other was checking him over for any wounds or scars as he did so. Considering how things had ended the last time he had seen him…

Chugging down the coffee as quick as he could, Danny set the emptied cup on the table next to the couch Jazz was sleeping on before launching himself at Clockwork, pleased when the other caught him in surprise. "Thank you." Clockwork went still and Danny knew he had been right. "For giving me the time I needed." Curling close, Danny let his tail form as he smiled up at Clockwork. "Thanks for being a great dad."

Aw. Clockwork blushed! It was actually the same blue as Danny's, he was pretty sure. Maybe a bit lighter. "Here I thought you were trying to avoid that line of thinking due to Jasmine-"

"Don't ruin the moment!" Danny paused, slowly looking back to his empty cup and looking slightly to the right where, yes, Jazz was indeed curled up on the couch there asleep. "Uh, Clockwork?"

"She's been sacrificing three hours of sleep each night to catch up on her 'neglected studies.'" Ah. "I convinced her to take a few timeless naps here."

"I'd be willing to bet my limited allowance that it was all a plan to spend more time with you." That seemed Jazz enough. Besides, Danny would do the same if it meant spending time with his mates- Ah, Jazz and Clockwork mates, don't think about it! "Walker."

"I assume there was a question in there, but as I have not yet gained the ability to read minds, I might have need of you to elaborate."

"Right, sorry." Focus, Fenton. "Vlad was talking about the Dicks-in-White and how they split off from the government and it got me thinking about Walker. Vlad said he was 'released,' but I thought it probably wasn't that simple."

"Indeed," Clockwork said, smile wry as he flicked his hand towards the time mirrors. Danny saw nothing but static before- Nope, still static. "After your rather eventful Christmas-" Jesus, that whole mess had been Christmas? It felt so much longer than that- Randy hadn't even been together with them yet, then! Actually, that hadn't been until Valentine's Day. It had felt far earlier, though… "Your perception of time might still be a little unbalanced."

"Ah, sorry. Yeah, though. Everything feels all jumbled up." Spectra's tormenting had felt like it had taken place over a single month before the bridge, Andrew's death felt like it was still only a week or so ago, Valentine's Day felt like it had been back in the fall, and Walker's mess felt like it had been last year. "Is that normal?"

"With major life events, yes." Mm… "It's a lingering side effect from spending so long in the Citadel, Daniel. It will settle down by May."

"Oh, yeah, I was meaning to ask that, but how long was I in Citadel? It felt pretty long." Danny wasn't expecting to see Clockwork look so tired. "Clock- Clockwork?"

"How many times do you think you've asked me that question?" For some reason, Danny felt as if he was treading into very dangerous territory. "Mortal beings weren't meant to stay so long in timeless places."

"Ri- Right." Feeling a little better as Clockwork ran a hand through his hair, Danny sighed quietly. "Um, sorry. Walker?" Danny tucked all the information away to mull over later. The shaky mental calender he could handle for a while, but those absent memories from staying in Citadel? That was weird.

"As I was saying." Danny flashed an apologetic smile. "After Christmas, Walker had his status as Warden stripped away and was kept in custody for seven weeks." Oddly specific number. "He escaped." Ah. "While they have deemed him a minor threat and dropped major charges, I haven't been able to keep an eye on him."

"Wait- Seriously?" Danny looked back to the screens and static. Static. "He's hiding himself?"

"And doing a very good job of it." Ah, that was bitter. Danny hadn't ever really heard Clockwork that bitter before. Angry and scared, yeah, but not bitter. "I see him occasionally, but it feels as if that's only when he wishes for me to see him."

"Clever." Walker knew about the Observants, so he knew about Clockwork and had found a way to hide from all of them. Clever was dangerous. "Is it the same as when you try to look at that Section 13 thing?"

"Remarkably. Although I managed to find one thing." Oh? "Your white-suited problems go by a new name now that they've broken off government ties."

"Section 13," Danny muttered, pausing as he looked back to Clockwork. "Do you just actively find ways to avoid saying 'Guys-in-White'?" At the lack of an answer, Danny choked on a laugh, "Oh my god. You're more pretentious than Andy."

The laughter was good. It kept him distracted from thinking on just what all of this meant. It kept him from thinking on what they were missing. The Guys-in-White had started to become a threat, but from what he was hearing, things had just gotten even more dangerous. He had a feeling this Section 13 was a bigger threat than they had ever imagined.