Chapter 9

Despite Vlad's insistence that they needed to talk, the man also insisted on having his undivided attention so he first had Danny take a bath laced with calming and healing herbs to ensure that his body didn't cramp up or feel stiff due to his injuries.

The older man even placed Danny's clothes next to the bath to ensure that he could easily reach them while Vlad made dinner and Danny finally admitted to himself that he could get used to being spoiled in such a way.

'I refuse to reveal that to Vlad though, he'd definitely take the idea and run with it, and the next thing I know I'd probably find myself receiving a Space Station or a trip to Mars as a birthday present.'

Danny froze as he pondered that thought for a moment before adamantly shaking his head, then wincing and sinking back into the water as the motion pulled at some of his wounds.

His fingers trailed through herbs in the water and he momentarily debated on adding in more hot water to extend the bath, but then sighed instead before allowing the water to drain away as he reached for a towel to carefully dry himself off once he decided he'd mostly succeeded in his mission to stay long enough to half-resemble a prune.

'I guess I am curious to learn what caused Vlad to come to my house in the middle of the night…what if it was truly important? But then again, he really could have told me earlier if that was the case.'

The younger halfa slowly got dressed, although he left his shirt off as Vlad instructed so that the bandages could be replaced.

The thought had him glancing back as the last of the water drained away and the tell-tale shimmer of red told him that it would be better to do so now rather than later.

He carefully watched the man as he finally exited the bathroom and he was sure that anyone else would have missed the subtle way the man suddenly shifted or the way his eyes quickly scanned over his body before doing it once more, slower this time.

Luckily Danny had the privilege of getting to know Vlad's subtle reactions through their weekly skirmishes and as the older halfa's eyes darkened slightly, Danny was hit with the realization that Vlad might not be viewing him as the son he could've had if he'd married Danny's mom, at least, not anymore.

The thought sent a giddy sense of excitement through him, but he forced it down.

'Now is not the time…"

The feeling intensified and he winced as it caused his muscles to tense, which had Vlad moving over to his side immediately before guiding him toward the closest seat.

The man then turned to pick up some sort of salve and Danny had to force his body not to shiver, both at the cold and at the touch, as Vlad spread it evenly over his wounds, causing Danny to wince now and again.

New bandages were unwrapped from their packaging and Danny allowed himself a mischievous grin as Vlad became preoccupied with wrapping the new bandages around his upper body,

Neither of them spoke, but Danny couldn't help but repeat his earlier thought as he corrected it, 'Now is not the time…but that doesn't mean that I can't try and gauge his reactions later to see whether I was right or simply imagining it.'

Vlad must have sensed the shift in his thoughts because the man paused and gave him a strange searching look before he subtly shook his head and carried on with his self-appointed task.

Once that was done, Vlad managed to convince him to stay in bed and that was where he found himself moments later as Vlad turned to the covered tray that Danny hadn't even noticed before placing it in between them.

His eyes widened as he took in the various foods once the cover was removed, "How did you manage to make all of this so fast?"

The man raised a brow and Danny realized that he must have used clones to prepare everything while he'd been in the bath.

The tray contained a bit of everything, but it wasn't hard to notice that the man had prepared most of his favorite foods, or that there was only one tray of food and that they were apparently going to share it.

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

Vlad watched Danny carefully as he entered the bathroom, before turning into Plasmius and setting a few clones to work.

He knew most, if not all, of Danny's favorite foods so it was easy to decide what to make for dinner, but he decided to only make the more informal foods, seeing as he intended for Danny to lay down and rest while they spoke.

The sound of the bathroom door opening had him turning toward Danny to make sure that he was alright, but he froze as he noticed that the younger halfa had left off his shirt as he'd requested.

He couldn't stop the feeling that flared through his body before traveling south as he took in the sight that Danny made as he stood there in only the sleep pants that Vlad had borrowed him.

It was clear that some of the wounds had started bleeding again while Danny had been in the bath, but they didn't seem to be as inflamed as they appeared previously and he felt Plasmius' displeased growl in the back of his mind at the thought that another ghost had touched what was theirs.

Vlad almost wanted to roll his eyes at his alter-ego's possessive need to mark Danny with their own marks instead, but he himself wasn't immune to the need.

Seeing Danny wear his clothes, even if it was just sleep pants, made him yearn for something he hadn't known he needed in his life.

'Liar. You've always needed him. Blindness, nostalgia, and social norms simply kept you from seeing what was right in front of your face.'

It was true, even if Vlad was only admitting it to himself and the only thing that stopped either him or Plasmius from acting on it was the way that Danny would probably react to such possessive behavior and the fact that they weren't sure whether the other halfa even saw them in such a way.

Vlad fully doubted it, seeing as Danny had often taken the time in the past to tell him how much he'd hated him whenever they fought.

They had all the time in the world to wait though, being practically immortal, and Vlad was sure that it would be worth it no matter how they ended up.

As long as they ended up living their lives in each other's presence, it would be enough.

'Besides, anyone that tried to touch him will…'

Vlad quickly curbed his thoughts and focused on Danny instead, though that was a mistake as he noticed how right the younger man looked in his bed so he turned his attention to the envelope he now held in his hands instead.

But he didn't want to show Danny anything while he ate, so he simply decided to start at the beginning.

"You remember the few weeks after the eh-cloning incident…?" Vlad was hesitant to bring it up, seeing as it hadn't been his finest hour so to speak and he truly regretted allowing his obsession with Danny to reach such a degree that he'd actually harmed the teen.

All he remembered before that was battling the teen to try and make him stronger, only for Danny to once more declare that he hated him.

The day hadn't truly been a good day, seeing as it had been his birthday and, as always, no one remembered.

He refused to use it as an excuse for what he'd done, and he was certainly never going to reveal how hard Danny's words had hit him, but something in him had snapped, and the desire to at least have someone to spend time with had driven him to try and make a clone of the only being he could see himself spending time with for the rest of his life.

The weeks after the incident had been agonizing to the point that he'd wandered the Ghost Zone in search of answers, only to stumble upon something different entirely.

He saw the way Danny's form stiffened and he hesitantly laid a hand on the younger man's arm, "I truly am sorry for what I did…and it drove me to the Ghost Zone where I spent weeks trying to find a way to explain why I'd reacted in that way."

He ignored the slightly skeptical yet hopeful look that crossed Danny's face as he continued, "It was during that time that I stumbled upon Clockwork…"

Vlad ignored the way Danny immediately perked up, knowing that the ghost was one of Danny's close friends, "He'd been trapped inside a strange tower that looked to be a mockery of his own and he gave me a warning before chains enveloped him and he disappeared."

The older man quickly stood to lay his hands on Danny's shoulders as he predictably tried to get up and rush to Clockwork's aid, "It wouldn't help even if you did try to free him. They aren't hurting him, they are simply trying to stop him from interfering and helping you again."

Danny frowned but slowly laid back down again, "Interfering? Why would he need to interfere with something?"

Vlad motioned toward the envelope, "Originally, you were supposed to be captured by the scientists months ago, and I got there just in time after Clockwork's warning to stop that from happening…"

Vlad wasn't going to reveal that, according to Clockwork, he would have saved Danny after searching for him for two weeks after realizing that he'd gone missing, and the result of the experiments would have been that Danny would become traumatized whenever he used his powers, causing him to completely lock that part of him away and then eventually dying because Phantom essentially starved to death from having no contact with the Ghost Zone.

This eventually also led to Plasmius' own death, seeing that he hadn't realized up until that point how essential the other's existence was to his very being.

Danny's eyes widened, "Wait…you were the one that blasted away half of our house?! Is that why my parents suddenly received a contract to work for a company they'd never even heard about?"

Vlad nodded, "After the other incident, you wouldn't have believed me if I said I was trying to protect you from them, so I did what I had to. There are still labs popping up all over the place, and somehow quite a few of them have information about you. That is why I would like for you to stay here for the time being and it would also keep your parents and sister safe."

The younger man seemed to think for a bit before he nodded, and Vlad noticed, much to his relief, that Danny didn't seem to be too reluctant to do so.

They spent a few moments in silence, each caught in their own thoughts before Danny turned his gaze back to Vlad, "So, I get why the scientists would be after me, but why are there so many ghosts after me as well?"

Vlad froze for a moment before he sighed, "That…is going to be much harder for me to explain."