Chapter Forty-Six: Passing Flame
Dan arrived to the lunch table and was surprised to see Plasmius at the table with them. "This is new."
"Well, I felt guilty just de-summoning him so he's going to stick around." Vlad explained. "And so, I asked him to eat with us."
Dan shrugged and sat in his seat. "Makes sense, I guess. So, how have you guys been…reconnecting?"
"Well enough, considering my twin brother is a sadistic crab-cake." Vlad muttered.
"He's taking the news pretty hard himself." Plasmius smirked. "Did you go to talk to Danny?"
Dan nodded. "He's not too shaken up about it, but then again he's not the one who has to keep himself from telling his sister she's his sister." He sighed heavily. "Lucky bastard."
Vlad sighed, then held up a hand to silence further conversation as the cooks came out with the food. "We'll discuss this further in the den, away from prying ears."
The other two nodded silently. Later in the den, Plasmius was looking at the bracelet on Dan's wrist thoughtfully, the teen once again sitting in his lap. "I wonder if I could get something like this?" He mused.
"Ohhh no." Dan pulled his wrist away. "You'd look like a creeper vampire for sure, what with the fangs and hairstyle. Besides, you'd hate not having your powers."
"And anyways, the only reason I made Dan one is because he wanted to live the life as a human because of the loss of Daniel." Vlad got up and walked over, taking Dan off Plasmius' lap. "And let the poor boy have his own seat, geez!"
"He wasn't complaining." Plasmius hummed, smirking as Vlad put him in a seat across the room from him.
"Why do I put up with you?" Vlad sighed.
"You've been putting up with him for twenty years, why complain now?" Dan asked.
"I didn't know he was my brother then. That makes him all the more annoying and I feel guilty de-summoning him to shut him up." Vlad sat back in his own seat.
Dan chuckled. "Well, try to get along. I have to live with both of you and your bickering will get old fast."
Vlad was about to reply when he heard the phone ring and picked it up. "Yes? Oh, Miss Gray." Dan felt his heart skip a beat. "Yes, he's here." He gestured for Dan to come over and grab the phone.
Dan got up and walked over, taking the phone. "Hey, Valerie." He smiled, his cheeks tinged a bit pink. "What's up?"
"I was calling to ask if it was okay to visit this weekend?" Valerie asked. "Do you have any plans?"
"Hold on." He covered the receiver and looked at the two men. "She wants to visit this weekend. Do I have plans?"
"Obviously not anymore." Plasmius remarked with a sweep of the hand.
"You didn't have any in the first place." Vlad assured him, shooting Plasmius a look.
"No, no plans." Dan assured her. "I'll see you this weekend, then? I could have Vlad send his private plan, if you want."
"No need, I've got transportation." Valerie assured him. "I'll see you this weekend! Love you!"
Dan blushed even redder and Plasmius chuckled a bit seeing it. He didn't even have to hear to know what must've been said. "Yeah, love you too." He said quietly, clearly embarrassed. Then Valerie hung up and he put the phone on the hook. "Uhm…I'm gonna go talk to Danny."
"Take your time. " Vlad nodded.
"Have fun." Plasmius grinned as Dan passed him by."
"And then Plasmius started laughing at me." Dan huffed, sitting on the floor cross-legged in front of the mirror. Danny was in the same position, listening intently.
"He can laugh all he wants, but he's the one who's gonna have to hide away the entire time she's visiting." Danny remarked. "Unlike me, Plasmius can be seen by anyone unless he goes invisible. And let me tell you, going invisible for a long period of time is exhausting."
"I know that." Dan grinned. "I was the one doing it, remember?"
"Yeah, I know." Danny shrugged. "So, you and Valerie, huh? Take good care of her, she's a good girl."
"As good as I can, considering it'll all fall apart when the bracelet comes off in front of her." Dan shrugged.
"So, make sure not to take it off. Isn't that why you changed the form, so you didn't have to worry about that?" Danny asked.
Dan nodded. "True, that is why we did it. Tucker was a big help." He grinned.
"Tucker's always been my best friend." Danny smiled. "I bet you could tell him and Sam about the twin thing and they would keep it from Jazz."
"Yeah, but how would they react?" Dan shrugged.
"Tucker might say something teasing about it and Sam would swat him for it." Danny laughed.
"So, you think I should tell them?" Dan asked.
"Wait a little while first. I mean, you're still shaken up about it." Danny suggested. "Next time they visit, you'll tell them. Uhm, but leave out the part about me being in the mirror. Just mention the twin thing."
"Good idea." Dan nodded, then looked up when he heard a knock on the door. "Yeah?"
"Tell Daniel further discussion will have to wait, it's time for dinner." Vlad said calmly.
"He says that like I can't hear him." Danny remarked.
"Maybe he thinks you can't." Dan shrugged and got up. "I'm coming, Vlad."
He headed for the door, then paused. "Wait, if you've been here the whole time…" He looked towards the mirror. "You know what Vlad, Plasmius and I have been doing in this room? And-And other places? And—"
"I haven't seen you with both at the same time yet; stop making it sound like you did." Danny made a grimace. "Yeah, I would've said something sooner, but I didn't have enough power to even show myself to you."
"That's just awkward." Dan groaned, placing his palm on his face.
"Deal with it, I'm not going to close my eyes and cover my ears every time you have sex." Danny said firmly.
"So awkward…" Dan left the room, closing it behind him.
"Says the one who wants to corrupt himself to pull off his revenge scheme." He heard Danny comment as he passed a window, following Vlad to the dining room.
Dan honestly had nothing to say to that. Danny had a point, and he wasn't going to reply while Vlad was there to hear it. He gave a small nod, glancing at another window that he could see Danny in.
That weekend, Dan watched out the window for any sign of Valerie. Plasmius had retreated to his lair in the Ghost Zone, leaving only the "humans" to greet the girl when she arrived. Dan went out into the grounds when he thought he saw something red and smiled as she kicked at her hoverboard, dropping to the ground. Another button push and her red outfit retracted into her pack.
"Told you I had it covered." She smiled, walking over and kissing him. "Did you miss me?"
"Yeah, I did." Dan smiled, taking her hand gently.
"No cloak." Valerie remarked.
"Vlad wanted me to stop skulking about like the Grim Reaper." Dan grinned. "The cloak is in my room."
Valerie nodded. "Well, can I come in?"
"Sure." Dan nodded, leading her inside.
"Good afternoon, Miss Gray." Vlad said, smiling as she entered. "Dan's been quite jumpy since your phone-call, you should've seen him messing about with his clothes to find something nice. He finally gave up and wore what you got him, as you can see."
"Well, it suits him better than the suit anyway." Valerie smiled, nudging him affectionately as she hooked her arm with his. "Thanks for letting me come over, Mr. Masters."
"It's not a problem at all, Miss Gray." Vlad turned to go. "I'll be in the den if you need me, Dan. I'll leave you two alone." He walked up the stairs.
Dan smiled at her. "Wanna go walk around the grounds? It's really pretty."
"Sure, if you wanna." She nodded, walking out the door again with her.
Vlad watched them from the window of the den. Dan seemed really happy with Valerie Gray, but Vlad knew that the moment she found out who he really was it would all fall apart, no matter how much she professed to love him. 'Oh well.' He thought. 'He'll find out the hard way that women have fickle hearts.'
He walked over to the mantelpiece and lowered a picture of Maddie he had coveted for twenty years. He didn't need her, not anymore. Her unborn son was enough for him now, and she was just an old flame that was passing, just as Valerie would surely pass for Phantom.
He almost regretted sending Plasmius away – at least if he had stuck around then Vlad would have someone to talk to while Valerie kept Dan's attention. He was patient, though. As soon as she was gone, Dan would be all his again and he would only have to worry about her when she next visited. But Valerie was still in school, so she could only visit at certain times.
School. He needed to think of how to continue Dan's education. While he could hire a human to teach him, that would mean that Dan would be unable to use his ghost powers for even less time during the day. He would have to teach the boy himself, or see if he had any ideas.