"Alright, Alright." Danny heaved, resting against the grassy flooring. His muscles ached from exertion, and even if he didn't need to quite breathe in his ghostly form, it was still cathartic to do so. "Time out." Danny formed a 'T' with his hands before dropping them to rest across his chest. A deep laugh bellowed from above him off in the distance.
"I thought there was more in you, whelp." Danny pulled himself into a sit, glaring at the mechanical ghost. Skulker stood with a cocky grin in his features.
"I nearly died again, I'm sure there's a pass somewhere in there." Danny shook his head, running a hand through his hair. Eyes dropping to focus on boots on his feet. Not long into college, Danny couldn't stand to see the jumpsuit every time he transformed. It took him hold off doing it until he really had to before Kitty essentially kidnapped him and gave him a makeover.
"It's been six months." Skulker reminded, his boots thumping as he walked over. Danny stared at the hand offered before taking it.
"Yea, and Pandora just said I can finally go top-side for a few hours." Danny grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. Training has been a big part of his recovery, even if his core was essentially back to tiptop shape, Pandora wanted to make sure he was mentally as recovered as possible. After everything that happened in his life up until this point, the emotional damage of it all has been already slipping his mind.
And at risk of sounding like a creepy stalker, the only thing on his mind that wasn't responsibilities is the Winchesters.
"You gonna find lover-boy?" Skulker asked, as the two made their way back towards Skulker's camp.
"Not yet, I want to... but..." Danny sighed, focusing on the trees around them. "It's been six months, won't I do more damage walking back into his life?"
"Listen whelp, with your history of trouble, one way or another your going to find yourself back in the middle of that boy's life." Skulker answered, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder. "There's no doubt about it, so will it be on your terms, or will you let the hunt bring you together. Ready, or not."
Danny sighed, falling silent. Skulker wasn't wrong, with his luck he just knows it. With all of his training, new fears have been arising. For example, summoning's. Clockwork had been strong on the fact that Danny had to get used to what it felt like to be summoned, mostly because being half-human meant it wasn't going to be as smooth as it was for other entities.
Which, of course, the all-seeing deity was correct. The first time had Danny flat on his ass gasping for air. It felt like being shoved and compressed into a all too small tube, before being shot out of the other end. It took seven tries before Danny was able to land on his feet, not as sturdy as he'd like but it was a good start. After the thirteenth time he was able to do land like he's done it hundreds of times before.
Pandora droved into his mind that he can never know what awaits him at the end of it, what he'd find himself shoved into. As hard as he's tried-as they all tried-to keep this side of ghosts hidden from hunter eyes, you can never be too safe. In the living realm, it was never easy to go completely unnoticed. The smallest thing could trip a hunter into a deep research pit, so it was always better to be safe.
"I think I missed when you were shouting about my 'pelt', instead of suddenly being wise." Danny spoke, glancing over to the older specter.
"The hunt has never ended." Skulker replied, a grin on his face that made Danny smile.
Danny exhaled, taking a seat on an empty bench. After flying around the zone for a bit, he found a natural portal that just seemed to call to him. That's how his small travel to the living began. He doesn't transform to his living form often in the zone, mostly because when surrounded by all the ectoplasm it made his skin feel two sizes too small. It felt natural to spend most, if not all, that time in his ghostly form.
Dora insisted he needed to spend a few hours completely in human form to make sure his core took care of the damages just as well. That's how he found himself as Fenton, sitting on a bench in the late afternoon top-side. It felt weird, he got so used to not feeling his heartbeat, not needing to breathe, but it also felt good. He forgot how good it felt to have blood run through his system instead of ectoplasm.
It also made it feel real that his living life was gone. He was dead. Everyone thought he was dead and all he could do is try and live with it. He partly liked the knowledge, the attempt to track him down his parents did very early on of him leaving was definitely over. There was no way he's parents didn't hear about his death, especially since word would have gotten around to Jazz.
Thinking about his family, and everything he left behind just hurt. It was different from thinking about Sam. Danny knew he could show up to Manson, or Tucker, or Jazz, and they would all immediately believe and accept him. The problem was, he knew them. Inside and out. All of them would have accepted and moved on after six months. Yes, they can still mourn, but after that long and not a sound from Danny they would assume he fully died this time and he moved on.
God, he hated this. All of it. He missed what he used to have, and that's the problem. Life moved on, and he can't go back. Now he has to actually figure out how to handle the future going forward.
"Hey, is this seat taken?" Danny jolted, snapping his gaze from the grassy floor beneath his feet to the woman who spoke. Her gaze was hesitant but read as pure. A quick pulse of energy and Danny could read her soul. Just as pure as he expected. That was still a power he was adjusting to, but having it as a safety net against the living was really nice. "I'm sorry, I'm just a teacher and every time I seem someone going through a crisis, I feel like I should offer an ear or shoulder, or anything you need."
"Yea, feel free to sit." Danny offered- what he hoped was a pleasant smile-and nodded towards the empty seat. "I'm Danny."
"Diane!" The woman, Diane, grinned. Danny nodded, accepting her fist bump. "Sorry if that's weird I do that with all my students." She laughed, running a hand through her braids.
"No, no, I think it's nice." Danny comforted, appreciating the grateful smile he received.
"So, like I said, I have a really good sensor when someone's in a crisis, and you can turn me away." Diane explained. "But I'm happy to help in anyway I can."
"I appreciate it, but it's kind of stupid." Danny let out an awkward laugh, a hand automatically reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Nothing is stupid if it's bothering you." Diane responded, offering a kind smile which Danny thought was oddly motherly. "It helps a lot to talk to someone who isn't in the middle of it all."
"It's just..." Danny paused, mind racing through the different ways to explain it to a human. "It's about a boy, which honestly after so much time, I feel like I should be over him."
"Honey, why don't you start from the beginning?" Diane asked. Danny hesitated for a moment, he knew what he was from the glance of her aura, but the idea was still odd to do. It motherly feel of the older woman still drew him in. Danny hated it, hated the reminder of his mommy-issues.
"To make it short, I met him in high school, but he moved. I figured it'll end there, as well as my crush, ya know?" Danny spoke, and found the words flowing out of him a lot easier than he expected. The calm and listening look on Diane's face, paired with the smile just helped urge him to unload. "Then I ran into him in college, and things just spiraled from there. Hell, we even ended up moving in! I was even thinking about proposing... then an accident happen..."
"Oh no, are both of you okay?" Diane asked after Danny paused, concern painting her face.
"I was the one hurt in it, at least physically. I was in a coma, not a long one, but long enough that my family hadn't contacted him. It was like I ghosted him." Danny offered a sad smile, shaking his head at his own joke. "It's been six months, and I'm just about to be finally medically approved to do what I want... and I feel like it might have been to long for me to reach out to him." Diane paused, watching him for a moment before responding.
"Ignoring what I don't know, do you love him?" Diane asked, placing a comforting hand on Danny's knee. "Don't think about it, first thing to come to mind. Do you love him?"
"I do." Danny sighed.
"Considering this spanned from high school into college, I can bet your bosom he loves you just as much." Diane stated, no room for argument in her tone. Danny laughed slightly.
"Yea, I know he does... It's just after all this time." Danny shrugged.
"Listen, I'm going to tell you want my sister told me when I was on the fence about fixing my relationship with my now-husband." Diane spoked, pointing a finger towards the man. "But you need to listen, really listen."
"I'm listening." Danny confirmed. Diane's face was grim for a moment, staring into his eyes. Which made him feel a little too in the spotlight but stuck through it. Danny maintained eye contact, even with a grin slipped onto Diane's lips and eyes filled with warmth again.
"Go get your man."