I'm sorry for turning up late to my own fic. (Actually a pretty good metaphor for my life). Generic excuse at the end of the chapter for those interested. Have fun.
And remember: There is a special kind of miracles reserved for people leaving comments under fanfictions~

The rest of the way they walked in silence, with Vlad looking at his reflection in every window they passed with a pained expression on his face, which in return improved Danny's own mood immensely.
He was already starting to think up more ways of getting some fun out of this arrangement.
It was only when they already stood in front of the Fentons' house that Danny turned around to adress Vlad again.

„Okay, so I talked to my parents on the phone earlier and already told them we're coming. They know you're looking for a place to stay. So, before we go in: what is your name and how do we know each other?"

Apparently Vlad had already given this some thought, because when he tore his gaze away from his reflection in the car window next to them, he replied wihout hesitation:
„My name is Viktor. We met through a mutual friend and kept in contact due to our shared interest in space. Since I'm from another state we didn't have a chance to meet up again, but now I took up an internship here in town and will go to school with you for a while." Danny furrowed his brow.

„Sounds...fair enough, I guess? Wait, 'our shared interest in space'?"

Vlad raised an eyebrow.
„You have expressed interest in becoming an astronaut in the past, haven't you?"

„Yes. The question is, how do you know about that?" He glared at him.
„Actually, never mind, I really don't wanna know. Creepy."

Vlad didn't respond and so Danny just marched up to the door.
„Remember the list," he hissed as he turned the key in the lock to let them inside.

They found Maddie and Jack talking in the kitchen, with the former leaning against the counter, a cup of tea in her hands, and the latter leaning the table, over which several blueprints were spread, talking enthusiastically about – well, whatever it was they were talking about. Vlad's body visibly tensed.

„So, you see, Maddie, if we just remove this part here, and replace it with the one I got out of the other gun, we won't have to build a new one and might even improve the range!"

„But Jack, you haven't thought about- oh, hello Daniel." Maddie was the first to notice their visitors standing in the doorway and shifted her attention towards them.
„This must be the young man you told us about on the phone. It's nice to meet you."

She had put her cup down and walked towards them with her hand outstretched and Jack got up to greet them as well.
When Vlad made no move to take the offered hand, though, Danny stabbed him in the side with his elbow, and threw him a warning glare.
For a moment he thought Vlad would still not comply, but then the man visibly unclenched his jaw and put on a big, friendly smile while giving Maddie a firm handshake. Danny was actually impressed by how genuine his expression of friendliness looked.

„I am delighted to make your acquaintance, as well, Mrs Fenton. My name is Viktor and I am really grateful for your hospitality. And of course I will be making sure to fully compensate you for all your efforts."
Maddie smiled back at him.

„Don't worry, it really is no trouble at all for us. I mean, we weren't using this room for anything, so might as well give it to someone who actually needs it. Right, Jack?"

„Right you are, Maddie. Any friend of Danny is always welcome at our home. Even if it is one we have never heard anything about before..." Jack, who had come up behind Maddie grabbed „Viktor's" hand and subjected it to a bone-crushing squeze as he said this, becoming slightly more pensive towards the end of the sentence, but he soon discarded the thought again, and was back to his usual beaming face.
„Nice haircut, by the way. Very 'fresh', as you young people would say."

Vlad had trouble keeping his disgust out of his voice, and his „Thank you very much, Mr. Fenton" came out a bit strained, but Danny's parents did not notice.

„So that's settled then? He can stay with us?", Danny asked his mother, surprised at how well this was going.
„Of course, darling. We couldn't turn away a young man in need, now, could we. But we'll have to work the details out later, your father and I really need to finish this little project.
You two just go on upstairs and Viktor can go make himself at home." She pointed at the bags the two of them were carrying.
„We moved the guest bed from the storage to the room and we dusted off the wardrobe that was already in there, so you can get settled for now. Jasmine is upstairs as well, if you need anything."

Danny gave her a quick hug. „Thanks mum, you're the best."
Then he shoved Vlad, who was currently holding the hand he had somehow gotten back from Jack close to his chest, out of the room and towards the stairs...

As it turned out, Danny's parents had tried to make their guest feel at home as much as they could, since the door sported a brand-new sign saying „This room belongs to _. Adult-free Zone!" in what was obviously Jack's handwriting. He had left a blank where the name was supposed to be filled in and the sign perfectly matched the identical ones on Danny's and Jazz's own doors.

„Oh look," Danny said grumpily, „seems like they're already preparing to adopt you in case they have to. Great."
He opened the door and put the bag he was carrying on the bed. Vlad did the same with his.
The room was not very big, and empty aside from the bed and the wardrobe Maddie had mentioned earlier.
It also looked kind of depressing in Danny's opinion, with its one small window and stark white walls.
But it was definitely enough for someone like the fruitloop.
Speaking of which...

„You know, judging by your performance downstairs you should have become an actor instead of an evil ghost scientist. Then we probably wouldn't be in this mess to begin with."
Vlad looked unimpressed, as he answered: „Yes, but I probably also would not be rich, so where would the fun be in that?"
He turned around to inspect the wardrobe, as he continued,
„Aside from the fact that I would not be a ghost at all if it weren't for your father's incompetence, but I am sure you already are aware of this fact..."

Danny really wanted to get angry at blast the guy through a wall for all his ungratefulness and attitude and just because he hated his guts in general, but he forced himself to stay calm.

„Listen, cheesehead, nobody forces you to stay. This is an offer and it's a damn generous one, so if you choose to take it, which, by the way, you already did, you gotta stick to the rules or the deal's off, and I'm not telling you again. This is your last warning, so just behave and maybe keep your nasty thoughts to yourself. In fact, I think I'm gonna put this on the list as well and make it an official rule."

Vlad had turned around at the insult and already taken a breath for an angry retort, right index finger raised in the air, but Danny cut him right off, not allowing for any debate on that matter.
„Back to your acting skills. You might have successfully fooled my parents, but if you want this to really work you gotta work on your language. They way it is you won't last a day without people being suspicious."

Vlad glowered at him, crossing his arms, eyebrow twitching in annoyance.
„And what in the blazes is supposed to be wrong with the way I talk, hmm? I have years of experience when it comes to speaking in public and I am fairly certain that I am much more qualified to determine what proper language is than you are."

How could someone who was supposed to be so clever be so stupid when it came to himself?
Danny was pretty sure that simply subjecting anyyone to one day's worth of listening to Vlad's illusions of grandeur would immediately cure them from their own exaggerated opinions of themselves.
„Look, man, that's exactly the problem. Your way of talking is too proper. You're supposed to be a teenager now, we don't talk like that. Heck, even most adults don't talk like that."

„What, you mean to tell me you want me to use- slang?"
Vlad spat the word out more than saying it. And had he gotten a bit paler?
First the haircut, now this. If Danny gave him any more bad news he might just faint. Although that could also be due to a loss of sleep. He did look tired, but since mild irritation was basically the guy's natural state of being, who could ever tell for sure?

Danny opted for a nicer answer this time and held up a hand placatingly:
„Well, we don't have to go that far just yet. Just try using words that actually belong into this century and keep your sentences a tad shorter and you'll be good to go, I guess.

„Ugh, I just don't-"
But whatever Vlad was going to say, he was, once again, interrupted, this time by a gentle knock on the still open door, accompanied by a cheerful
„Hey, sorry to interrupt. I heard your voices so I thought I'd come to see the guy who'd be living with us from now on. I'm Jazz, by the way. Danny's sister."

So... I said I would update regularly - and then vanished. What's up with that?

I seriously don't know, to be honest, December was just very busy.
Apart from that, I've had the start of this chapter sitting in drafts for a few weeks now, but I kept procrastinating because I find Danny's parents kinda hard to get right, especially Jack. Plus, the peeps who got me all fired up for writing this are suddenly only talking about Lazy Town anymore, so poor Vladdie doesn't get much attention at the moment.

Cookies for everyone who immediately guessed I wrote the start of this chapter on a wednesday evening, directly after watching an episode of Yuri on Ice. Yes, I just named him Viktor because of that. On a whim. YOI was pure and beautiful and you cannot stop me.

Anyways, tl;dr: I hope you still enjoyed this (yes, all 3 or so of my readers, I am talking to YOU) even with the delay and I'll try to stick to my schedule from now on. Keep being cool and I'll see you in my ramblings under the next chapter.
Ta~