Chapter 8

Vlad eventually made it to the living room with three uncomfortable people that dogged his steps. Not that he paid them much mind.

He wasn't ashamed of how he looked and if it served as a way to get them to leave the mansion sooner rather than later…well…it wasn't him who thought that breaking into a known villain's home in the middle of a night was a good idea.

Danny was the only one who had the privilege to do that, he decided, and the young man wouldn't be leaving his sights for the foreseeable future.

The thought of having Danny stay at the mansion made a genuine smile cross his face, but it was gone before he led the trio into the living room after making a stop at his office to fetch a certain envelope.

He didn't allow them to speak as he removed the envelope's contents and spread it out on the table, "I don't have the time nor the patience to deal with you right now, so pay attention."

The three looked at each other before turning back to him and nodding slightly in worry before casting their eyes down at the pictures and information.

It was a file, pictures, and papers much like the one Sam and Tucker had shown Danny, though it seemed to be a lot more extensive due to even having information on when and where the labs started.

When they stayed quiet, Vlad glanced over and removed one particular picture of Phantom that he'd found in one of the labs before placing it in front of them, causing their eyes to widen when they noticed the words 'Subject: Phantom' scrawled over it.

Vlad pointed at another, similar photo as he explained, "I'm not going to reveal everything, seeing as I still need to talk to Danny about it. But the short version is that they discovered his identity and almost caught him, I interfered, and you can rest assured that they won't be coming after him anytime soon."

The trio seemed to deflate in relief at that, but Jasmine seemed a bit more reluctant to simply let things go, "Will you be able to fully protect him?"

Vlad regarded her for a moment before he nodded, "With my life if need be."

The trio didn't seem to fully believe him, but that wasn't really his problem and they didn't have any way to deny the fact, seeing as none of them had powers and, as previously stated, the Fenton weapons didn't always work as intended.

They didn't stay long after that, much to Vlad's relief as he made his way back upstairs.

He'd even managed to talk Jasmine into telling their parents that Danny was visiting Vlad for some extra-credit experiment and Vlad made a mental note to contact the school principal first thing in the morning.

For now, he took advantage of the fact that Danny was currently in his bed and there was no way that Vlad was going to sleep in the guest room of his own mansion.

Knowing Danny, the young man would probably suggest that Vlad could have carried him to the guest room instead, and the thought of the young man's expression, once he realized what he'd said, would be priceless.

Or so he thought.

Instead, it opened up a whole different can of worms that Vlad had cautiously been trying to avoid ever since the day he'd picked up on the dangerous direction that his thoughts had taken.

Something he'd been trying to squash without removing the guilty party from his life.

$$$$Danny Fenton & Vlad Masters$$$$

The first thing his mind registered was pain…

A deep ache that didn't seem like it was going to go away any time soon, and he almost gave in to the need to fall asleep once more, but snippets of memories and a strange sense of urgency forced him awake, only to feel a band wrapped around his waist.

For a moment he panicked inwardly as he tried to figure out where he was while also taking stock of his injuries, but then the hard band around his waist tightened slightly and he realized, with a sense of dread, that someone was in bed with him and they were holding him.

A quick glance at the room revealed Vlad's bedroom, and Danny closed his eyes in relief as the previous events returned to the forefront of his mind and he realized that he was still alive, and safe.

Then he realized that it meant that Vlad was the one holding onto him and his eyes snapped open once more before widening in shock.

He suddenly found himself in the middle of a fight between his brain and his body as his brain urged him to get up and fly home while his body seemed content and simply wanted to cuddle further into the body behind him while acting as if he were still asleep.

That way he was sure Vlad wouldn't be able to blame him for it.

Danny noticed the direction his thoughts had taken and quickly tried to squash them as his cheeks heated at the thought.

'What the hell is wrong with me? Vlad is my arch-enemy! Well…maybe he is more of my nemesis now? No, that also doesn't seem right either. What the hell are we anyway?'

His thoughts kept circling around in his head, trying to find a label for whatever they were so that he could know how to act around the other man.

The decision was taken from him, however, when he felt more than heard a sleepy rumble escape from Vlad's chest and he was pulled back tightly, yet gently against the man, causing his eyes to widen as he felt the older man's toned body line up perfectly with his.

It sent a shiver down his spine, and it was definitely not because of fear.

Danny held his breath as he waited to see what the other man would do next, but nothing happened for a few moments before a sleepy chuckle caressed his ear as Vlad moved to whisper into his ear, "If I didn't know any better, I would almost believe that you are afraid that I am going to eat you…Relax Danny…and don't move too much. You may be a fast healer, but those ghosts really did a number on you."

The younger halfa let out a deep breath, half in frustration and half in embarrassment.

'Of course, Vlad wouldn't do something like that, you moron! He still wants you as his son…there's no way he would look at you in that way.'

The younger man didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed by that fact and it finally hit him that he had a crush on Vlad.

The thought made him want to jump out of bed in embarrassment to try and avoid the older halfa, but the grip the older man had on him, while still gentle due to his wounds, refused to even let up an inch to let him go as he tried to struggle.

He soon gave up with a huff as he felt the pain flare up to a new height, "Let go, Fruitloop! It hurts!"

Vlad didn't immediately release him though, "If you calm down and stay in bed then I will release you. Your body needs rest and I need to change those bandages again anyway, but I have already arranged for you to stay here for a while to recover."

Danny froze and a quiver of worry crept into his voice, "W-what do you mean?"

Vlad was quiet for a moment as he made sure that Danny wouldn't simply jump out of bed and try to escape before he slowly released him and got out of bed.

The man then turned back to make sure that Danny was still covered with a blanket and Danny couldn't help but get distracted as he noticed Vlad's half-naked state.

He knew he'd been in too much pain to notice it in the Ghost Zone, but he was definitely noticing it now as the man spoke, "Your sister and two minions showed up earlier and although I didn't tell them everything, it was enough for them to agree to leave you in my care. Now, are you willing to actually listen to what I have to say? Or are we going for a repeat of what happened earlier?"

Danny couldn't keep his face from becoming even redder as he realized that he may have overreacted quite a bit. What else did he expect a villain to do if not break into his house in the middle of the night?