#Danny is just looking for a cool place to crash in

[dcxdpdabbles]

Bruce: Who are you?

Danny, thinking the manor was abandoned and freaking out that, someone found him: Um, I'm your conscience.

Bruce: A physical conscience?

Danny: Yup! I showed up because you were struggling with.....family?

Bruce sighing: It's true my eldest is mad at me and taking it out on my youngest. I don't know why

Danny "hey this is working" Fenton: I think you know why.

Bruce: I do. I fired him when I should have talk it through

Danny: I think you know what to do

Bruce:....I'm going to call him and explain. But what if....he doesn't answer?

Danny: Don't you have voice mail?

Bruce: Yeah.....Yeah! You're right! Thank you, concussion-induce conscience ghost! I'm calling Dick!

Danny: Happy to help! *watches Bruce leave* He's calling who?????

[tanglepelt]

Dc x dp idea i think 175

Jack and Maddie find out about Ellie and Danny being phantom all at once.

They didn’t take it well.

They couldn’t accept it. They could never experiment on something that looked so much like their son. They couldn’t even bring themselves to hurt the “clone” she too looked just like Danny when he was younger.

Clearly the no good spook had to leave. They kick him out with nothing. Not even his phone.

With jazz in a summer program, sam and tucker out of town he has no where to go. He has to leave before they literally chase him out.

Ellie in her ever so helpful way just pats his shoulders. She has the perfect place to crash until he can get in contact with jazz or his friends.

She tells him all about the clone she met and how they bonded. About how she’d dropped by many times unannounced at his adoptive parents house. About how cool they were. They didn’t even care if she used her parents around them!

Out of all the ways the reveal could have happened he never expected to be sitting in a farmhouse with a plate of pie. He guesses the Kent’s are too bad.

They were even okay to let him stay there until he could figure out what to do next.

[jotaroslooseeyebrowhair]

I’ve had this idea in my head for days now and it just won’t LEAVE so here have scraps

So we know those de-aged au’s with Danny right, and the ones where Jason adopts him? YESSSSSS so anyways the thing that’s been ravaging my brain like an anteater on crystal meth is:

So all night has been pretty shit for Jason. Drug dealers, a couple muggings (who even goes out anymore in crime alley, at this time of night???????) and some human traffickers. You know, the usual. So anyways he’s pissed. Not to mention when he comes across some bastard who’s beating his family, jason promptly broke his legs in a couple new ways he liked. Later, deep into the night he’s already seeing a bit of green around the edges and he’s already called in dick to cover some areas while he cools off, so, naturally, as it is in crime alley, something goes horribly wrong that gets him pissed. Beyond pissed. He sees green and only when dick drags him away does he see some red too. A lot of red.

Fuck.

Well, he knows exactly what he has to do, so he pushed dick off of him and starts roof-hopping over to his apartment (where did his bike go?) and dick calls in the others thinking Jason’s going for more weapons/ammo or smthn, and Jason gets to his lil place and carefully opens a window, trying to be quiet because even though he’s in a killing mood he doesn’t want to wake Danny up, what kind of monster would do that?

Anyways Jason’s taking a moment with his helmet off, leaning his arms against the counter to calm himself down taking deep breaths he learned from Danny yes okay he learned from his son when Tim and dick crash through and Jason gets a little more pissed because those assholes probably just woke up Danny!

So here’s Tim and dick wrestling with Jason to get his weapons off of him and calm him down when all of a sudden the lights flick on and there’s a little boy, around 6, with a messy mop black hair and loose space-themed pajamas, rubbing his eyes as he clearly just woke up. everyone freezes in place and Danny looks around, his eyes adjusting to the light before he looks at Jason and–

“Dad? What’s going on?” He asks so innocently with a tilt of his head. While his brothers are stunned to silence Jason shrugs them off as hard as he can (they woke up his son) and walks over to Danny. Dick and tim lurch foreward but Jason just picks up Danny and places him on his hip. Danny reaches forward and carefully pulls off his dads domino and holds it in his hand while he frowns. “Green monsters are being angry again?” And Jason just sighs with his son (his son!!) in his arms and looks at danny; dick and Tim now seeing the green almost completely gone from his eyes.

“Yeah bud. No big deal though, alright? The green monsters are all gone now. So come on, it’s past your bedtime Danny.” To which Danny groans and he turns to look at the two others in the room who are bewildered as fuck because does Jason have a kid????? W h e n?? H o w??? Okay they know how they really don’t but that’s not the point

Anyways they stand there for a minute while Jason puts Danny to bed and when Jason comes back out he stares at them in silence. Then he just *sighs* and stares them dead in the eyes “yes, I have a kid. Yes, he quiets the pit. Yes, it’s past his bedtime. And yes,” Jason cocks his gun, “you both will be getting out of my apartment. right now. Silently.”

Yeah, they guess questions can wait till tomorrow

Link to the fic :)

[glitter-gummy-bears]

New idea for a Danny Phantom DC crossover fic!

Danny always knew that he was adopted. His parent's had always been open with this fact and always made sure he knew they loved him just as much as Jazz. What they failed to mention was that they found him in a crashed spaceship while camping!

"You were so small and scared," his mom told him with a sigh, "We couldn't understand anything you were saying, the only thing we understood was your name."

"Sooooo you're saying Daniel is my alien name?" Danny asked in complete disbelief.

"Yep! But you said it kinda weird for a while," his dad chuckled like this whole situation was completely normal, which admittedly calmed Danny's nerves a bit. "You would point to yourself and say Dan El! Dan El! Gosh, it was adorable."

Danny felt his face heat up. His dad ruffled his hair and laughed, "I miss those days, now my kids are both moody teenagers! I'm starting to feel old!"

Danny found himself laughing lightly. Honestly, this whole thing would be pretty cool if he wasn't still freaking out. He was an alien. A freakin alien. As if being half ghost wasn't strange enough!

Danny could only pray that his life wasn't about to get even more complicated.

900 miles away Clark Kent sat at his desk at the daily planet.

As he typed about local long-lost sisters reuniting after years apart, he couldn't help the depressed, bitter feeling swirling around his stomach. Growing up Clark had always wanted a sibling, someone to play with and help him with chores on the farm. Someone who understood him.

So you can imagine his shock and delight when he learned he actually had a sibling! An older brother!

They were sent to earth in separate ships but should have landed at around the same time!

Clark did what anyone would do and searched for his brother. Then he started college but would still look. Then he got a job but would still look. Then he became a superhero, he didn't have much time to look. Then he joined the Justice League... he didn't look much anymore, and when he did he wasn't hopeful.

Clark was just about done with the article when a beep let him know someone from the league was trying to get ahold of him.

He quickly left his desk and headed for the hallway. Pressing the button on his earpiece, Clark couldn't even get a word out before a familiar brooding voice echoed in his ear.

"I looked."

Clark felt a chill go down his spine, "Did you find anything?" he demanded, sounding more like Superman.

There was a pause.

"You're gonna want to see this."

Clockwork watched as all the pieces finally fell into place. He waved his staff and saw the event that started it all play across his screen. Two Kryptonian ships heading to earth when a portal opens up, a portal Clockwork himself created, and swallows one of the ships.

The portal opens up again over a decade later, spitting out the same ship.

"Yes, everything is how it should be."

[faeriekit]

Health and Hybrids 👽👻💚

[I can't remember the original prompt posters for the life of me but here's a mashup between a cryptid!Danny, presumed-alien!Danny, dp x dc, and whatever prompt made the one body horror meat grinder fic.]

[Here's part one or whatever. If I feel like making more I'll make more and/or post it to ao333333.]

💚👻👽👻💚

The world is on fire, and Danny is burning.

The GAV is in shreds; wherever he’s crashed, there’s no way to determine up or down. He’s entombed in wreckage. Everything is on fire and everything burns, and it takes Danny all his strength to peel himself from where he’s contorted around the driver’s seat chair, to drag himself through the twisted metal and shards of glass with nothing but his hands and his tears.

He hurts.

It hurts so badly.

He crawls, because he can’t tell if he has legs or a tail right now, and is too afraid to find out he can’t walk by injuring one of his legs permanently. It’s hard to see through the smoke and the tears. He can’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe even if he wanted to.

There are instincts unique to being dead. Danny can’t tell up or down, and he can’t tell where he is or remember how he got here, but his core tugs him towards somewhere dark. Somewhere cool. Somewhere enclosed, even—even better, so Danny can curl up and sob in peace.

Danny wedges himself into a dark corner, curls himself up as much as he can, and lets himself drop into his core.

*

Something is touching him somethingistouchinghimsomethingistouchinghim—

Danny pops out of his core with a scream. No words. No coherency. Everything hurts, and all he can do is scream.

Someone is touching him. The thing touching him is body-shaped. Human-shaped. Danny screams higher, louder—some part of his hindbrain knows that if he screams for real then there won’t be a human but there will be guts and gore and blood, but Danny’s too tired to scream for real, and too weak. His scream is only enough to send the human sprawling back instead.

More humans take the place of the first. Danny keens, fights back a sob—when another tries to rouse him from his hiding spot with an exposed hand, Danny flashes his teeth.

The human flinches, but doesn’t go away.

Danny feigns a fanged bite. The figure jumps back. Good.

He’s too weak to run. He’s too weak to walk through the walls of his hiding spot and dart away. His visibility flickers—probably how a human found him in the first place. He’s so tired. Everything hurts. But if he looks dangerous and acts dangerous, maybe they’ll leave him alone. They have to leave him alone.

Please, please leave him alone.

They don’t.

There’s something in his face. Danny doesn’t recognize the shape immediately, but eventually something clicks: a loop on a stick is a catchpole. The strangers are trying to capture him.

He’s so afraid of something else around his neck. His whole body racks with shivers. He can’t run. He can’t bite. Please, please, please—

It doesn’t latch to his hand. It latches to his wrist.

Danny is only peripherally aware of being dragged onto his knees, of being dragged into a container. By the time the doors shut in around him, his mind is empty of anything that isn’t fear and pain, pain, pain.

He drops into his core.

*

Danny wakes up in a container.

It’s not the same container. But all containers are the same.

Danny screams. The soundwaves vibrate the glass until it shakes, slamming against the floor until cracks form in the concrete beneath him.

Still, no cracks form in the container. When he wails a second time, there’s no strength behind it. He just sobs.

He’s alone. He���s alone and he’s contained and no one is coming to get him. His transportation is in pieces. He’s injured and he’s scared. He’s so scared. Everything hurts. He wants to hide in his core and he wants to run away and he wants to slither through the wall and he doesn’t have the energy into any of it.

Danny curls up in a corner, hopes he’s left alone—or better, released—and hides.

He doesn’t know how much time passes before he hears a click.

…But he hears a click. Danny peeks open an eye.

There’s…food. He thinks it’s food, anyway. Oatmeal? It’s in a bowl and it’s beige and it’s on a tray on the ground.

Danny sniffs. …The last captors hadn’t offered him food. They hadn’t thought he’d had needs, or that they ought to feed him.

It’s a miserable, aching feeling when he thinks this is a step up.

There’s a flimsy plastic spoon on the tray. When Danny jumps on the bowl, devouring the contents as quickly as his body will let him, the spoon goes down the hatch with the gruel.

Danny falls back asleep in the far corner of the container miserable, cold, in pain, and injured. But he falls asleep full.

It’s a luxury to not be hungry.

*

There’s a click.

Danny ignores it. He’s not hungry. He’s sleepy. His body is trying to conserve calories and metabolize new ones. He doesn’t want to wake up.

The oatmeal goes uneaten.

*

There’s a click. Danny’s eyes crack open.

Apparently he’s been asleep for a while, because there are three bowls of uneaten oatmeal on the ground, waiting for him. All are in varying stages of crusting over.

Whatever. Free food. Danny wolfs it down anyway, and tucks himself back into his corner. He’s almost him-shaped again. His human traits are slowly returning, cell by cell, piece by piece. He can almost feel the fractures he knows he’ll have in his legs!

…Wait. Wasn’t his container opaque?

It’s…not anymore. The walls are clear. Danny can see—or, well, until he gets his eyes back, can sort of feel—the room around him, and the trace presences of the beings who occupy it.

It’s a lab. Danny knew it would be, but his core still drops down, down down. He had been praying he’d never see a live specimen lab ever again. He certainly hadn’t wanted to see yet another one from inside the cage.

Humans come and go from the lab. Most are in white coats and pants, but they’re not GIW. Or, well, they’re probably not GIW, anyway, considering that they’ve been feeding him. The guys in white never think of his needs, since they don’t care if he Ends or not. There are monitors that fuzz and warp in his not-vision with details he can’t make out on screen, but knows instinctively that the monitors pertain to him.

And to his capture.

There are some visitors in odd colored suits. They talk. The colorful ones don’t approach him, but they…watch.

No one approaches. Good. Danny will bite them if they do.

With the see-through window, Danny can see the bright-suited blob shove a tray of food through a slot in his container.

It doesn’t fall to the floor, though. There’s a little mechanical thing that brings the oatmeal and flimsy spoon to a safe rest on the steel floor.

…Alright. Bone appetite. Danny’s hungry, and food is food. He pours most of the bowl straight into his stretched mouth and scrapes the rest in with a spoon.

More of his wounds are sealing. Healing. His core doesn’t throb so horribly with pain. The cracks in his soul are smoothing out. With consistent food and rest, Danny will be able to actually mount an escape.

Good. Danny licks the flecks of meal from the edges of his mouth. Good.

When he naps, this time, it’s on purpose.

Soon he’ll be healed enough to leave.

*

The clear window doesn’t go away. Danny’s poor sight doesn’t improve, but he can see people come and go. Danny’s never truly left alone. There is always at least one brightly-colored human around (or one dark, silent human), and an assortment of white-coated scientists milling about.

The clear window lets them see him, presumably. If Danny wants to escape, he’ll have to be careful not to be seen.

Quietly, so quietly. Danny slo-o-o-owly amps up the resonance of his core.

There are cameras. There must be. There are always cameras. Disrupting the electrical flow in and around his container is essential to getting himself out of sight.

The lights flicker. The human milling about all flock to monitors, silent voices coming muffled through the see-though walls of the container. Danny reels in his resonance just a touch—whoops.

But no one is looking.

Something twinges in Danny. Well…no one is looking.

Very, very quietly, Danny peels a relatively safe amount of ectoplasm away from his core. A Danny-shaped shadow forms, and, yeesh, does he really look that bad?

Whatever. There’s no time.

Danny turns himself invisible. He slips through the walls of his container, and leaves the lab to explore the base.

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

The train ran through Gotham erratically, giving no signs as to were it would twist or turn next. There were many times it would suddenly lurch skyward only to fall back down a minute later.

The bats and birds had been forced to evacuate a large section of the city just because this thing kept plowing through trees and buildings like they were made of tinfoil, but would also turn intangible at seemingly random intervals. What was going on?

The train finally crashed into the ground at a ninety degree angle and the whole thing fell limp. It let out a sharp hiss as steam began to flow out from beneath it, it probably would have been really cool if it wasn't so comical. Finally the bats were able to approach without being flung off or dropped from the sudden intangiblity and they entered quickly, expecting a fight. Instead they found two boys, one with black hair and blue eyes and the other with white and green. They stared at them wide eyed as if they were the ones who should be surprised.

Nightwing groaned, mentally preparing to have two more little brothers. Batman took charge and asked them what thier names were. One gave what they assumed was a real name, Rin Okumura and the other gave an alias, Phantom. Scanning the scene as the two boys bickering he found a tied up woman with the bottom half of her body in the form of a giant spider.

"Don't touch. Demon." The boy with blue eyes told them in broken English, his tail waving behind him anxiously.

"She ate the conductor and everyone else on the train." The glowing one said.

Red Robin and Nightwing turned to them wide eyed, "She ate them?!"

The boys nodded, and Rin sheepishly added in Japanese, "Thats why the train was out of control. We...uh...didn't know how to drive."

They explained, separately due to Rin only really knowing Japanese. Appearently both teens were from different dimensions or realities, the adoption bait belonged to a group of people that fought supernatural beings and the magic users calling themselves "Excorsists" and they were basically in a secret war with the demons of a hell dimension called Gahena. Rin was a half demon and his father was high up in the hiarchy so from what they gathered people were pretty regularly racist toward him and Rin had normalized it. Nightwing already wanted to comfort his new baby brother.

Phantom didn't really explain anything, only saying he didn't mean harm. Which, fair.

Batman offered them a place to stay but they refused citing that they had schoo- places to be soon and they needed to get going. Phantom brought out a glowing map and ordered it to take them home.

A moment passed before the boys seemed distressed. Opening the map they found words forming in it in both English and Japanese, stating that there were no portals leading to either boys homes nor the Infinite Realms due to the presence of the Lazarus Pits. The boys looked at each other worried. Niether knew what the Lazarus Pits even were or had heard of them before. The way they got here was through the Spectral Express, which not only did they not know how to operate, but was currently totalled.

Bruce again offered them a place to stay and Rin excepted, but Phantom refused and chose to rough it in the wilderness outside the city despite the batfams warnings that that was a terrible idea. The words, "It'll be fine. I'm already dead." Shocked them long enough for Phantom to escape.

----

Blue Excorsist x Danny Phantom x Batman crossover my beloved <3

[duskyashe]

NaNoWriMo Day #17

[masterlist] [part one] [part three]

=============‹«⟨···•···⟩»›=============

While Danny was infinitely grateful for Clockwork and all the things he'd done for him over the past three years, he was really regretting giving the ancient ghost carte blanche when it came to his safety. The dimension travel was cool, he'd been able to see a crap ton of various superhero fights since getting dropped here, he'd even got a hoodie from Captain Marvel, but the de-aging thing? He was seventeen, not ten! How did being physically younger than he was chronologically protect him from anything? He'd learned to apply his mom's martial arts at fourteen, at ten he'd still only been learning the katas! Honestly, it was a good thing his being de-aged had only taken his muscle memory, and he still had his ghost half; without his powers, he would have been roadkill by now.

He'd just flown from the shining City of Metropolis all the way to a city Sam would have loved, if only for the aesthetic, when the sun touched the horizon. Looking around, Danny figured it'd be best not to be out on the streets after dark, and started looking for a place to crash for the night. There were a surprising number of empty and deserted apartments in the area of town he'd flown into, but most of them weren't the most defensible, so on he went, until he felt something... Different, something he hadn't felt in years. Not since Ellie had almost destabilized. This, though... This was different. This wasn't a young core crying out in terror, this was a strangled core crying out in pain and rage and confusion. And it wasn't a full ghost, either. It was another halfa. Danny was phasing into a highly fortified apartment before he even knew it.

Carefully picking his way through the apartment, Danny made his way to the back room where he knew the other halfa was. He could hear them gasping and hyperventilating, their core fighting its bonds yet gaining no headway. Rounding the doorway to the bedroom, Danny froze, his core aching at the sight of the state the older halfa was in. How the guy wasn't in the middle of a murderous rampage, he wasn't sure, but helping him would be significantly easier with Danny not having to protect a bunch of civilians at the same time, so he'd take it.

He settled his feet onto the ground, rolled the sleeves of his too large hoodie up slightly, and let out a couple small chirps. The effect was instantaneous, the older halfa's attention drawn completely to him. Seeing those glowing green eyes under a patch of white hair, focused with laser intensity on him, Danny shifted a bit as he relaxed. He'd managed to break his mental spiral, now all he had to do was interact with the guy and his core would do the rest of the work. Hesitantly, he shuffled forward and chirped a few more times, trying to encourage the guy to respond.

Danny had never been more relieved than he was when the guy chirped back, tears welling in his eyes as his shoulders relaxed. A sob worked its way out of the guy as he reached a hand out, as if grasping for a lifeline, and who was Danny to deny him that simple comfort? Ghosts were nearly as tactical as humans were, sometimes more so, in fact.

=============‹«⟨···•···⟩»›=============

Admittedly, falling asleep cuddled up in the older halfa's arms had not been his intention, but, well... Having someone freely give him comfort in return for receiving comfort had been something he'd missed terribly. He hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to his friends or his sister before Clockwork had sent him to this dimension. It had been... Way too long since he'd had a hug, especially one as warm and all encompassing as that one had been.

He didn't want to move from the safety of those strong arms holding him, didn't want to leave the comforting rumble of the older halfa's purr, but Danny desperately needed the restroom, and he still had some dignity left. Reluctantly, he tried to shift enough to slip out of the hug, only for those arms to tighten their hold on him ever so slightly. Tired blue eyes fluttered open, studying Danny's face for a moment before closing for a wide yawn.

"Where do you think you're going, kiddo?" The other halfa asked softly, his sleep-rough baritone voice weaving a layer of peace-calm-safety into the air around them.

"... I need the restroom..." Danny mumbled, fighting the urge to just stay right where he was. He hadn't felt this peaceful since the last time he'd visited Jazz at her college dorm.

The chest he was still half curled up to jiggled as the guy huffed an amused laugh. He was hugged a bit tighter for a moment before being released. "Just across the hall, kiddo. Do your business, then meet me in the kitchen for breakfast, alright? I have some questions I'd like to ask you, starting with what flavor of pancakes you like." Danny blinked but nodded. He was up and almost out the door when the guy spoke back up. "Oh, and kid? The name's Jason. Thanks for what you did for me last night."

Danny paused and turned to look back at Jason. The guy was already looking better now that his core wasn't being restrained by the sickly green gunk that had been strangling it. His blue eyes were almost glowing with life, and his skin held a warm peachy color that hadn't been there before he'd fallen asleep. Even his hair, black with a patch of white, seemed healthier. Danny smiled, small and content. "Danny, and you're welcome. You looked like you needed some TLC."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Tender love and care?"

"Nah," Danny smirked. "Tons of love and cuddles."

=============‹«⟨···•···⟩»›=============

Tehehe (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠) I'm very happy with how this turned out! We finally got Danny's point of view! Now, admittedly, when I wrote the first part, I didn't have a concrete age for Danny, or really any backstory for him being in Gotham except for he was on the run due to a Reveal Gone Wrong™. I just really liked the idea of Danny getting de-aged and punted into another dimension for his own safety, and meeting Jason as a byproduct. They've adopted each other, now lol

Here's some fun people who asked to be tagged if I continued this! @treepainting, @fancydelusionluminary, @blacksea21090, @undead-essence, @fisticuffsatapplebees, here's part two!

Have a good morning/day/night!

[ofthecaravel]

I'd Rather Be With You

Sequel to But You Look So Cool

Summary: Happy (????) Holidays!

Tags: Being home with your family for the holidays, The Twins conspiring, shame, doubt, arguing, Danny being a saint, NSFW at the very very end for like 2 secs

Words: 3k

A/N: Itty bitty holiday sequel to my most beloved! Wanted to touch more on Sam's family dynamic and what they've been up to since we left them. Thanks for reading MWAH

~~~

“Oh, my God, you were serious.”

“Did you think I was lying?”

“I mean, a little! Can you blame me?”

The Kiszka twins -home for the holidays, clutching wine glasses, and peeking around a doorway- were struggling to understand just what they were seeing. Not only had Sam brought someone home for Christmas (which is something they had never, ever expected from him, at least not in the state he’d been in for the past couple of years), but he had brought Danny Wagner. Danny fuckin’ Wagner, who stuck out in their collective consciousness for being a consistent presence during their Sunday school days and very briefly being the solitary member of their high school’s golf team. A nice, well adjusted boy with a nice, well adjusted family that he could easily be spending a much merrier Christmas Eve with. But here he was, laughing in the quiet living room of the Kiszka household and going through a photo album with Sam and their sister.  

“Crazy,” Jake murmured into a sip of his wine, shaking his head slightly as Josh nodded thoughtfully next to him. 

“It’s not like I’m mad he’s here,” Josh added, his eyebrows still high in surprise. “It’s just funny to see him next to Sam.”

They did admittedly look a little out of place nestled shoulder to shoulder. Danny’s smiling face was aglow with a wine drunk blush, snuggled up in a well fitting blue sweater and his hair tucked dotingly behind his ear. Sam, on the other hand, had his knees clad in oil stained mechanics pants and pulled up to his chin, looking not unlike an anxious pretzel as he chewed on his thumb and rested his head on Danny’s shoulder. 

“He pierced his ears,” Josh noted as he wiped some crumbs off the chest of his sweater. “Ya think Sam had something to do with that?”

“Definitely,” Jake smiled, his lips still stuck to the lip of his glass. “He probably did it for him. He’s gonna corrupt that sweet kid. Poor guy.”

“He’s been doing better,” Josh argued on behalf of his baby brother. “He’s got a job and his own place now. I swear Mom was gonna start charging him rent.”

“She would never,” Jake hummed, tuning in to the sound of their mother in the kitchen, talking to someone on the phone as dishes clinked in the sink. “He could crash the car into the house and she’d forgive him.”

“I guess the standards have been set pretty low,” Josh mumbled. Jake sighed a little and Josh cringed at his own words, slotting another cookie into his mouth and pulling out his phone.

He’d meant it as a joke, but it was still weird to even allude to everything that had gone down with their dad. It was hard to ignore, mostly when they were all together. It made it all the more obvious that someone was missing from the equation. Sure, he was a phone call away, but none of the siblings really wanted to talk to him. The twins were already graduating when their dad had been arrested, and they quickly escaped the immediate fallout with the titles of valedictorian, salutatorian, and two full ride scholarships that they rode the hell out of town. Ronnie had escaped into time with their mom and a myriad of friends to disappear in. And Sam…Sam had found his escape in means that only added to the fallout of the situation. 

So, yeah. The joke didn’t land. 

Especially during December. The family that used to fill their house simply didn’t bother to come by anymore, leaving only the immediate family to desperately try and revive a festive cheer that none of them really believed in anymore. Sam had barely attended the past few gatherings, and Jake and Josh had skipped them altogether under the pretense of their busy lives and jobs in Detroit. So imagine the oddity of having someone know all of the tension that would come with their awful little Christmas party and deciding to come anyway. 

“It’s just weird, dude,” Jake said plainly, finishing off his drink and setting it down loudly. “Kinda thought we’d be the ones bringing people home to try and fill the silence.”

“He’s making us look bad,” Josh chuckled, making a fond noise in response to seeing Danny give Sam a quick kiss to the forehead. “Look at that! What witchcraft has he been cooking up in his shitty little basement to swing that?”

“Love potions,” Jake responded in a silly voice and they both erupted into harmonizing giggles. 

The three on the couch looked up in confusion at them, which only made them laugh harder. Sam bristled instantly and Danny turned to see his eyes flicker with insecurity before glazing into a cold glinting squint.

“Shut the fuck up!” Sam barked, immediately (and correctly) assuming they were laughing at his expense.

“Sam!” their mom yelled from the kitchen, and Sam immediately closed his mouth and continued to glare stormily at his snorting brothers. 

“What’s funny?” Danny asked innocently, applying a gentle pressure to Sam’s shoulder with his own to try and calm him a little. Sam had been touchy for days leading up to this and Danny was honestly running out of ideas on how to soothe him.

“Nothing, nothing,” Jake said coolly, turning his back on them to return a bottle to their bar cart.

“He’s drunk,” Josh accused teasingly, exchanging an amused look with Danny that made Danny ease up ever so slightly.

“He’s an idiot,” Ronnie quipped, which Sam passionately nodded in agreement with. 

“You’re an idiot,” Jake retorted, his words carrying no bite as he and his sister traded mocking faces at each other while Danny watched with a shy smile. While the bickering continued, he looked over at Sam and melted a little at the sight. Around his siblings, Sam seemed smaller and softer than when he was trying to put on a suave front when he was on his own. Danny had obviously seen through that facade over a year ago, but Sam still attempted to carry himself with that same edge that Danny had fallen for but never really bought. However, in his childhood home surrounded by family and the ghosts of dynamics established long ago, there was no hiding for Sam. He was a little boy in a leather jacket being picked on lovingly by his big brothers and sister, and while Danny knew that Sam was going to be annoyed for the rest of the night, he really couldn’t help but find the whole scene adorable. 

“Danny is very tired and we are going to bed!” Sam finally shouted over his jabbering siblings, holding onto Danny’s arm and tugging to try and get him to his feet. 

“Aw, lame, Sam, come on!” Jake cackled while Danny gave Sam a look of confusion and amusement as they both stood up. “We were all gonna stay up until midnight and throw rocks at Santa’s sleigh.”

“I thought we were seducing him,” Josh complained, clearly much more into his idea. 

“Well, give him my number, then,” Sam countered. “Or throw a rock in my honor. I can’t be around you assholes for a minute longer.”

“That’s not very festive of you, Sammy,” Ronnie frowned, pulling on his sleeve as Sam attempted to shuffle Danny across the room almost as if he were a human shield. “Come on, stay.”

“I really am tired,” Danny said with remorse, giving all of Sam’s siblings a sincerely sympathetic smile. “But we’ll be up bright and early for presents, I promise.”

“You’re the sweetest, Danny,” Jake replied, clapping Danny on the back as they passed. “Don’t know why you bother with this street urchin.”

Sam rolled his eyes but Danny felt the genuine shiver of irritation from him as Josh and Ronnie hummed similar sentiments about Danny and Sam being…Danny and Sam.  

“Goodnight, you guys,” Danny bid them, giving a little wave as Sam practically dragged him up the stairs. 

--

They had all tossed him enthusiastic and properly festive goodnights as he chuckled and let himself get pulled along by Sam, who let out a frustrated sigh the second they were out of earshot. Danny only got a moment of appreciating the cute, vintage wallpaper of the hallway and the childhood photos hung up before Sam pulled him into his old bedroom and closed the door noisily behind them. Sam immediately collapsed face first into his pillow and let out a muffled groan while Danny cracked his neck and did a little perimeter walk of the room. He ghosted his fingers over posters ripped haphazardly out of magazines and Scotch taped to the wall and sun bleached science fair ribbons. Sam let out another noisy sigh while Danny continued to dote on every tchotchke and think with red cheeks about another time he’d surveyed Sam’s room while Sam vied for his attention. 

“They only razz you because they love you, baby,” Danny hummed, finally turning away from the sweetly dorky photos of Sam and his school peers to smile at Sam sprawled dramatically on his twin bed. 

“I wish they would do it in a way that didn’t remind me I’m such a fantastic fuck up,” Sam spat bitterly, flipping so he was staring up at the ceiling. His eyes were flat and dark in the way that Danny had seen for so many years and his heart fluttered sadly as he sat on the edge of the bed and put a reassuring hand on Sam’s cheek. Sam immediately let out a little huff and nuzzled against his palm.

“You’re really warm,” Danny noted simply as he felt the heat brewing on Sam’s skin.

“Yeah, ‘cause I’m fucking pissed off,” Sam muttered, rolling his eyes dismissively and shaking his head slightly as he stared at the wall and allowed Danny to swipe his thumb over his cheek and smooth his hair.

“You’re not a fuck up, Sam. I hate hearing you say that,” Danny assured Sam, using every ounce of sincerity in his body when he said it. Sam didn’t answer, simply continuing to chew on his lip and petulantly avoid eye contact. 

“Hey, can you look at me when I’m talking to you?” Danny asked sternly.

“Can you stop pretending like I’m some pathetic wimp fishing for a compliment?” Sam snapped, pulling Danny’s hand off of his face and rearranging himself again to stare into the expanse of the room. Danny recoiled slightly, unable to fend off the sting of Sam rejecting his kindness. But after a year of learning how to navigate Sam’s many tantrums and categorizing the roots of the meltdowns, he knew that Sam didn’t mean to hurt him. He never did. 

“Sammy,” Danny said softly, moving further onto the bed and tucking his feet under Sam’s legs. “I know you were really hesitant to come and do this at all.”

“They just make me so mad,” Sam whispered. “There’s just, like, this hole whenever we’re all together. Dad, I mean. His stupid choices and then, you know, my stupid choices. I don’t…I don’t want to be another empty space for them. And I feel like no matter what I do, I’m gonna be that.”

Danny couldn’t stand to give Sam his space for a second longer. He lowered himself to lay behind Sam and Sam immediately turned and buried his head into the crook of Danny’s neck, the both of them awkwardly entangling to keep Sam as close as possible to Danny’s chest while they clung together. There weren’t any tears from Sam, but Danny could feel the shudder in his thin chest as he fought to even out his breathing and calm down.

“And then,” Sam continued weakly, his voice high with emotion as he stumbled over his words frantically. “They’re giving me all that shit about how great you are and how you don’t belong with me. Like I don’t already know that. Fuck, Danny, I’m sorry but I agree with them. You deserve so much better than me and my-”

“Sam-”

“I’m serious, I swear I’m just waiting for you to wake up and realize I’m an asshole with-”

“Sam.” 

Sam, ever the obedient listener even in the midst of a full blown rant, cut himself off with a ragged exhale and pressed his mouth against Danny’s neck to silence himself. Danny held the back of his head and rested his lips right next to Sam’s ear, resisting the urge to nip his earlobe like he usually did when he was this close. 

“Sam,” Danny whispered, soft and smooth and steady. “You know I love you. You know I hate hearing you talk about yourself like this. I know you’ve had a lot of trouble coping with everything since your dad went away, and I know you made a lot of choices that you’re not proud of. But, I mean, you were a kid. A really hurt kid. And you’ve been trying so hard to change from the person you were and frankly, I can hardly believe you can’t see how much you’ve grown in this past year alone. You’re amazing.”

Sam sniffled slightly and burrowed up further against Danny. Danny smiled, his mind fuzzy with fondness as he thought about every instance that proved his own point. Sam, who quietly leafed through self help books rented from the library and wrote down all the tips and tricks he could because he was so determined to stop picking fights with anyone and everyone. Sam, who taught himself to cook with nothing but the cooking channel and the goal of having a new dish for Danny to try every week. Sam, who had worked infuriating shifts at the mechanics to pay for the lovingly hand picked presents for his family that now lay under the tree downstairs. Sam, who Danny loved more than anything.

“You should be with a good man,” Sam breathed, barely audible. “You’re gonna die wishing you hadn’t wasted so much time on me.”

“Good men die too,” Danny replied with a disbelieving laugh. “I’d rather be with you.”

Danny felt Sam’s lips smile slightly against his skin and he kissed his temple, still gently cupping the back of his silken head as his other hand absently doodled soothing shapes on the considerable curve of Sam’s back. If his hand dipped any lower, he’d be tracing the inky wings of the lower back tattoo Sam had surprised him with a few months back. Danny’s cheeks burned thinking about it for a moment too long and he channeled the warmth into pressing more kisses against Sam’s hair.

After a few minutes of silence, Sam pulled away just enough to look up at Danny through his starry lashes and give him a lovelorn smile. 

“Thank you,” Sam whispered sincerely, tucking a frizzy wave behind Danny’s ear with his deft calloused fingers. “I’m sorry for spinning out on you.”

“Family makes everybody crazy,” Danny shrugged, reaching up between them to lightly hold Sam’s chin with his thumb and forefinger. “And you never have to apologize. I’m happy to help.”

Danny tried and failed to smother his smile watching Sam’s pupils blow wide with affection as Danny kept a hold on his jaw. 

“I love you, Sammy,” Danny purred, teasingly brushing his nose against Sam’s. “And for the record, I have never once thought you were bad. You’re actually very, very good.”

“How good?” Sam asked bashfully, his lips parting to let out a shaky smiling breath as he playfully pressed his finger against Danny’s lip. If there was one thing Sam loved, it was hearing mountains and mountains of praise from Danny. And with all things considered, Danny figured he was owed it in.

“So good,” Danny grinned, tapping Sam’s nose. “You’ve always been so good for me, Sammy, right from the start. Such a good listener especially. So gentle and kind and nothing but good. And so, so pretty.”

“Now you’re just buttering me up,” Sam murmured with flushed cheeks, still staring unabashedly at Danny’s lips.

“I’m serious,” Danny rasped, his hand moving to properly cup Sam’s jaw with his fingers pressed right behind his ear. “If I had known how well you take direction, I probably would’ve started bossing you around a lot sooner.”

Sam’s eyes widened slightly and Danny knew he was teetering on the edge of falling deep into a sweet, needy headspace that he’d initially been shocked to uncover. But these days? He counted on it. 

“You want me to boss you around a little, baby?” Danny asked gently. “Do you want to forget your hard night and let me do the thinking for a little bit? And then you can wake up nice and happy on Christmas morning and open all the presents I got you. Does that sound good?”

“Yeah,” Sam breathed desperately. “Please.” 

Despite his impatience, he always knew what Danny wanted to hear from him.

“I didn’t even have to ask you to say please,” Danny delighted, finally giving Sam a kiss but pulling away far too quickly to whisper again. “You’re gonna have to be quiet, okay? I know that’s not your strong suit but we can’t have anyone hearing all your cute little noises.”

Sam nodded eagerly and, with both hands firmly planted on the sides of Danny’s head, pulled Danny into a much longer kiss that had Danny readjusting to pin Sam under him. Under any normal circumstance, Danny would’ve had Sam by the throat for grabbing him the way he did. He would’ve had him on his knees until there were tears in his eyes showing Danny how sorry he was for getting handsy without asking Danny first. But maybe Danny was feeling the holiday spirit a little more than usual and decided to show Sam some mercy. He’d bring it up later after Sam had the nice, black necktie Danny had gifted him as an early present wrapped around his wrists. 

“Love you,” Sam murmured dreamily against Danny’s lips as Danny put his weight on his knees and began moving his hands up to smooth over Sam’s chest and play with his waistband.

“Love you too,” Danny echoed with a mischievous smile. 

He didn’t give the chance for Sam to speak again before his palm muffled Sam’s chatty mouth and stifled his growls and whines until the first rose flush of dawn stretched over the newfallen snow and the lovesick boys tangled in a creaky little bed.

--

[jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka]

Part 3!!! You can read the summary here in part 1 if you’ve missed it

Pairings: Jake Kiszka X Danny Wagner *slash for the silly girls only okay

Warnings and tags: 18+ ONLY!!!, sexual content, oral (m receiving), slash of course (future SamXDanny so if that will freak you out in later chapters maybe just skip this all together), unrequited love, angst, third person POV Jake. Danny, and Sam, restaurant AU, brief talk about sexuality, hand jobs, edging

Word count: 8.8k

Danny hardly expected Jake to be up when he awoke, let alone smell him cooking up a breakfast downstairs.

He redressed into his dirty work uniform, feeling uncomfortable in the now wrinkled shirt and slacks but not really having another option. Hopefully Sam would still be asleep when he got home so he wouldn’t have to be seen sneaking back inside wearing the same clothes.

Trying not to think about what happened last night after he went to bed, Danny gathered up the borrowed clothes and towel, and eased his way down the stairs. The sound of metal utensils beating against mixing bowls and a bluesey playlist filling the entire first level of the apartment.

The end of the stairs deposited him in the living room. He could see the front door, could make a quick break, but as he smelled the food coming from the kitchen his stomach growled.

Along with the temptation of food, Danny didn’t want to just leave without thanking Jake once more for letting him crash. It also wouldn’t hurt to just check in on how he was feeling. See how he was handling the first morning waking up without Josh living here with him.

Still trying to remain undetected, he slipped into the kitchen, but instead of taking a left, he took a right into the joint laundry room and stuffed everything from his arms into the halfway full washer.

“Morning Danny-o” Jake called out to him in a chipper voice. Danny turned around slowly, flashing the best innocent smile he could muster.

Jake was leaned over a pot on the stove, and Danny moved forward so he could watch him pull out a pair of perfectly poached eggs, carefully placing them on the plates he’d set out.

“What are you doing up so early? And cooking what?” His eyes examined the countertops, taking in all the bits of ingredients Jake had pulled out to complete his meal. “Eggs Benedict? You made the sauce?”

“You made the sauce?” Jake repeated him in a mocking tone, clapping his shoulder as he moved past him to grab the pepper grinder. “Of course I made it, who do you think I am?”

Jake was sporting a cocky smile, humming and tapping his foot along with the songs that came on as he assembled two perfect sandwiches. One for him and one for Danny.

Graciously taking the plate Jake offered him, he followed the chef through the kitchen and into the small dining area at the end. “You seem like you’re in a good mood?”

“Well I slept like a rock” Jake replied with a chuckle as they sat together. “Went to bed feeling real relaxed. Thanks for that” he sent Danny a wink, his smile still shining in his eyes, reflecting a twinkle from the morning sun shining through the large bay window the table was situated in front of.

Danny’s face flushed, stuffing his mouth with the food to hide his embarrassment but ending up making a huge mess with the runny egg. Jake laughed now, shaking his head and looking away so Danny could clean himself up without being watched.

“I meant to be the one thanking you” Danny spoke up when he swallowed his overzealous bite, not even able to relish in the taste yet because he was so flustered, and he didn’t know why. “So, umm, thanks for letting me stay here”.

“Mhmm” Jake hummed, looking at Danny’s plate, then him, then back down to his plate, trying to get Danny to take a hint and shut up so he could eat the breakfast he’d made for him.

Danny took the hint the wrong way though, thinking Jake meant he had more to thank him for. “Oh! And thank you for the food! You’re a really great cook Jake”.

“I know” Jake replied, trying to sound cool and confident, but developing a slight blush of his own. “Now eat it before it gets cold you big dork”.

After they’d both finished, Jake collected both the plates and brought them back into the kitchen. “Let me clean up a bit then we will get going”. He set the plates in the sink, Danny helping him collect the pot and other used items.

“You don’t have to take me home. I was going to order an Uber or something” it sounded weird, impersonal, when he said his plan out loud. Like he was just some random Jake had picked up. Then he found his mind wandering to the conversation they’d had last night. Jake had picked up some randoms before, he was experienced. Had he brought them here? When Josh still lived with him? Or had he agreed to go back to theirs?

“It’s no bother” Jake replied as he washed up the dishes and set them aside to dry, knowing Danny’s reservations were based off of his ridiculous ideas that he was somehow intruding. Even if he didn’t tell him directly, he was glad Danny had come over, even if it was just to escape Sam and his nightly escapades with Savanna. Danny had been around for a long time. Highschool, parties, birthdays, holidays, Danny and his family were always invited. He had started off as Sam’s friend, being closest to him in age, but eventually Josh and Jake had taken to Danny just as well.

“I’ve got to go up to the restaurant for a bit today. I can drop you off on the way, give Sammy a nice little wake up call”.

“Umm, yeah I’d appreciate a ride, but I wasn’t exactly going to tell Sam where I was. Thinking it will be better to keep him guessing than trying to get any ideas”. Danny was avoiding eye contact, trying to laugh off his obvious nerves. Jake was starting to grow weary of Danny being so nervous around him, he was never like that before. At first it was cute, Jake was definitely one to tease anyways, but the mention of not even being seen together around Sam sounded over the top.

Wasn’t Jake just as much Danny’s friend now as he was Sam’s? What was the big deal if they hung out alone together? Well, besides the new found burning desire to consume him, body and soul.

Danny on the other hand knew Sam too well. He knew even something as simple as staying the night and getting a ride home would bring on a flood of never ending questioning. Even with as close as he had gotten to the twins, he and Sam had a special connection that sometimes left Sam being possessive. Usually Danny didn’t mind, he liked being needed like that, but lately his situation had grown more complicated, and he didn’t want to find himself hurting either party’s feelings.

As he noticed Jake's good mood begin to slip, he thought perhaps he was being a little too cautious. He did care about Jake; he was easy to be around, gentle in all the ways that mattered, while also having an edge and an air of confidence that made Danny want to explore boundaries like he never had before. Jake was his guide in this endeavor and he trusted him even more than he did before last week.

“On second thought, maybe I should come up with something?” Jake peaked over his shoulder to see Danny leaned up against the counter behind him. “I mean if we’re going to be spending more time together, then we should have a good cover story”.

There was a heavy shift in the air that turned Jake's mood back around and got him riled up again. “Oh yeah? Spending more time together? Whatever for?”

Jake started to walk away, going to retrieve his keys so they could get on their way, but Danny managed to snatch him by the waist and pull him down onto him. With his back pressed against Danny’s front, Jake made a mediocre effort of trying to squirm away, but really he was only enjoying wiggling his ass, pushing back into him even further until Danny settled him with a firm grip on his hip.

“As I recall, you’re too busy to find other people to fuck. So yes, I do expect us to be spending some more time together. Unless you were just using that excuse to get me into your room?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He reached up and cupped the back of Danny’s neck, pulling him down to give him a swift peck before successfully breaking away when the shock of his action left Danny stunned.

Although he was in the mood to hang around and see where this took them, they really did need to get going if he wanted to get the inventory done before the restaurant started to get busy.

Danny trailed behind him, back out the kitchen and through the living room while Jake questioned if his impulsive little kiss was okay or not. Sure the teasing and flirting seemed to be coming rapid fire from both sides, but they hadn’t kissed outside of being intimate. He didn’t know what ground they stood on, what was acceptable and what was off limits.

By the time they made it out the door though he felt good about it. Not like it meant anything, but more like they were in a place to be able to platonically show affection at least while it was just the two of them.

Sam was still stone cold when he heard his door creak open. He remembered telling Savanna she could stay the night but then promptly passed out from the rounds they went.

He didn't, however, remember Danny coming home last night. Assuming it was just his best friend checking in, he didn’t move or notice the figure sneaking through his room.

“I swear if you are naked under these sheets Sammy I’m going to have to strangle you” the voice of none other than his overbearing older brother jokingly threatened him before he was attacked in his own bed.

“What the fuck Jake!” Sam yelled, opening his eyes to see the grown ass man hovering over him as Sam tried to twist onto his back underneath him so his arms could attempt to throw the shorter one off.

They fought with each other for a few minutes until Jake pulled his pillow out from under his head and used it to playfully smother him until Sam was tapping out. Sam slapped at Jake’s elbow in their agreed upon surrender after multiple childhood fights just like this had gotten too out of control and left the brothers actually fuming mad at each other.

When Jake removed the pillow he tossed his head to the side, gasping for air, a blurry image of Danny standing in the doorway with his arms crossed watching the whole thing with a stupid smile on his face.

“You just let him come in here and catch me off guard like that?!” He whined at his friend, not yet putting two and two together yet.

“Yep, I was enjoying watching you get put in your place. It was about time it happened actually” he chuckled, kicking one foot over the other casually.

“Yeah Sammy, you’ve been a little too cocky recently. So Daniel here asked me to come over and teach you a lesson” Jake joined in the conversation as he moved to stand up off the bed.

“What did I do to either of you?” Sam retrieved his blanket that Jake had ripped off his barely clothed body before jumping on him, and tossed it back over himself so he could attempt to go back to sleep.

“Alright kids, I’ve got to get going” Sam pretended to close his eyes, but cautiously peaked as Jake rounded his bed and made his way towards the door, just in case he tried anything again. Danny straightened up, removing his shoulder from the frame to let his brother pass. “See you around” Jake spoke just above a whisper, before squeezing his arm as he slipped by. The interaction wasn’t at all suspicious, but the look in Danny’s eye as he watched him leave was.

“Where were you last night?” Sam questioned before he could walk off.

“I crashed at Jake’s last night. He's teaching me a few things at the restaurant to help out Kimberly. Invited me over for a few beers, it got late and I ended up passing out on the couch”. Danny replied rather quickly, like he’d rehearsed what he’d say if asked where he was.

“Help out Kim?” Sam heard the front door open and close so he let his guard down, sitting up in the bed since he was wide awake now. “You tryin’ to impress her or something? If you like her I can just ask Savanna to put in a good word for you”. He cocked a smile. Danny was usually too bashful and modest to make his move on girls so Sam would sometimes step in and use his skills to break the ice for him. He was just a good wingman like that, always helping his friend get laid.

“Not everyone is trying to sleep with their boss, thanks though” Danny scoffed and turned to leave.

“Whatever man, Kim’s hot though I wouldn’t blame you!” Sam called after him.

Danny sighed, well at least Sam didn’t seem too concerned about the staying with Jake part, but now he would have to deal with being teased about Kim. He only hoped Sam wouldn’t try to meddle too much and just let it be.

Learning inventory was not Jake's favorite. Sure, he’d helped back at home, but the family restaurant was much smaller, with a more simple menu that hardly ever changed, so it was easier to stay on top of things. Here it was more complicated, more diverse and expensive products to account for and multiple different area managers involved in keeping everything in order and accounted for.

He hadn’t realized Savanna was going to be in early today too. She didn’t seem to be helping much though. Mostly just socializing with the other managers which was annoying to watch so Jake buried himself in the work and the long list of products to look for and count.

About two hours in and nearing the end of his list Jake noticed some discrepancies on multiple different items for the bar and dining room. Since those were not his areas of expertise he decided to check in with the respective managers, looking around for Kimberly to start with since she was much easier to deal with.

When he couldn’t find her he sighed in defeat, knowing he’d have to check in with Savanna instead. He attempted to approach her kindly at first, showing her the clipboard in his hand with the page covered in red marks noting the errors.

“Hey, can you take a look at these for me? I’ve counted what we have a few times and the physical isn’t matching what we have on record”. Jake flipped over a few pages to check and see who had closed the past few nights and saw it was Savanna. Well, at least he was trying to bring this directly to her attention now rather than turning the paperwork in and letting her get spoken to about it later. Maybe there was a reason for there to be a few things missing and they could resolve it right then and there.

“Oh, don’t worry, I'll take care of it” she barely glanced down at the papers, practically brushing him off.

Trying not to get irritated, Jake tried to bring it to her attention again, a little less subtle this time. “Is there a reason you’re not closing out the bar with the correct numbers? I didn’t see anything on the waste log for the past few nights either. Maybe Sam isn’t getting everything written down to be logged in?”

Savanna scoffed, propping her hands up on her hips as she paused the frivolous task she was doing to turn and snap at Jake. “I said I’ll take care of it. Why are you even doing the inventory? You’re not a manager”.

Jake bit the inside of his cheek. There were many things he wanted to reply to her with, most of which weren’t relevant to the current conversation, so he decided to continue to keep them to himself. Especially because he got the feeling she was lashing out at him mostly because she was a manager and he wasn’t, yet they trusted him to take care of these things.

“Also, I am Sam’s manager so I will handle him. Just because you’re his brother doesn’t mean you have any authority over him when he’s on my clock. Got it?” Jake's eyes darted around when she spoke, hoping there weren’t many others around listening in on their conversation since he tried to keep the fact that he and Sam were related under wraps.

He was fuming by this point. Feeling absolutely belittled and disrespected, but he knew starting something with her now wouldn’t be the wisest move.

“Sure, whatever you say” he seethed and left her to her own devices. If she continued making mistakes like this then it would surely catch up to her soon enough, and maybe then she would realize how she could have used his help to fix it instead of pushing him away.

Jake made his last few notes before heading into the office where he found the kitchen manager and the hospitality director discussing next week's specials.

“Speaking of, here’s your little protégé you have doing all your work for you”. Joe, the director, chortled trying to make it seem like they’d been talking about Jake. It was no secret that after working nearly two decades together the director and the kitchen manager were close friends.

Shortly after Jake started at the restaurant the kitchen manager had suddenly announced he planned on retiring which sent everyone into a bit of a tizzy speculating if the director would retire soon too, and who would take over.

Since then, neither had set a date, only now they tended to take the mentoring approach versus doing most of the work themselves, and Jake had been one of the few that the kitchen manager had somehow decided to take under his wing.

“Here’s the inventory spreadsheet” Jake handed the clipboard to his boss then started to back away towards the door hoping they wouldn’t decide to bring him into a long winded conversation.

“Excellent work as always Mr. Kiszka!” The director praised him as the kitchen manager glanced over the lists. Jake noticed his scanning eyes seemed to stop over the third page, the one he’d tried to discuss with Savanna. He must have noticed the variance documented, but he didn’t say anything in the moment.

“How is it you got such a good young man? It takes most of those blockheads in the kitchen years to start showing the level of discipline he does”.

Jake's manager shrugged his shoulders, setting the clipboard down on the corner of the directors desk and sat back in his chair again. He was always his friend's quiet counterpart, and Jake liked that about him.

“My family runs a small restaurant back at home. I’ve just been in the business for a long time” Jake chose to speak up.

He took a moment to look Jake over, his hair was down since he wasn’t in the kitchen today, in his pair of old torn up blue jeans with the patches over the knees and the t-shirt he’d thrown on. “Ah I see! That reminds me” he turned back to his friend, “he’s got too many hours of PTO left for it nearing the end of the year soon”.

The kitchen manager nodded in agreement and glanced in Jake's direction. He didn’t even have to say anything, Jake already got the message.

“Heard, I’ll let you know by the end of the week”.

His boss nodded and went back to discussing a menu change. Jake took that as his queue to back out the door and take his leave. On his way out he noticed Savanna had been watching the door to the office for him to appear. Her eyes locked with his for a moment while she tried to read off of him if he’d said anything to the director. He let her worry, sending her a smirk that made her face burn red. He’d probably hear it from Sam later about treating Savanna nicely, but right now he didn’t care.

Once Jake made it back home he looked over his calendar in his phone, weighing which week he should take off. He already had one week scheduled for their yearly family trip back home to Michigan, but even with that he still had enough time for a second.

He thought about what he might want to do with this time, thinking a week at home alone sounded heavenly and like hell all in one. Then an idea struck him. He swiped out of the calendar and pulled up a browser to search for flights to New York. There was a week coming up that was cheaper than all the others so he went ahead and bought some plane tickets then messaged his boss the dates.

The next day Jake tried to settle into his couch in the early evening after completing his todo list of day off chores. The kitchen was cleaner than the day he’d moved in, all his laundry was washed and put away. He even pulled the vacuum out, that having always been Josh’s job since Jake hated vacuuming, but now he had no choice but to do it himself.

He had kept himself busy for the majority of the day, enjoying the quiet paired with his selection of music, while also hating it at the same time.

You couldn’t be over-stimulated easily working in kitchens. It was close working quarters, constantly bumping into people, squeezing through bodies, talking over others, all while sweating from the heat radiating off the ovens, stoves, and heat lamps. That being said, Jake treasured his time off.

He lived in a quiet neighborhood, in a nice apartment complex where he got along with all his neighbors. It was the closest place to feeling like he was still back at home, living in the country instead of the big city, and there was always Josh, his family, his own twin there to comfort him.

Now he was alone in his apartment, and it felt like anything but home.

The apartment still looked the same. Same furniture, same smells, same quiet. Only it was half empty. No yoga mat rolled up at the door ready to be carried out early in the morning. No frazadas tossed over the back of the couch, their colorful patterns brightening up the space. No assortment of teas displayed in a rotating wire rack on the kitchen counter.

Josh’s door, which was usually always open and inviting, was now shut and hiding its emptiness within. Jake still imagined instead that it was filled with tapestries and mountains of clothes.

Josh called earlier on in the morning, right in the middle of Jake clearing out the fridge, but he paused to talk with him. He enjoyed hearing the excitement in his brother's voice when he recounted all he’d been able to work on.

“You’ve got to come to New York brother! You’ll hate Times Square, it’s full of tourists and pushy street performers, but West Village. Jake, the food scene in Manhattan is unparalleled”.

“You know just how to speak my language”. Jake chuckled.

He hadn’t told him yet that he’d already booked plane tickets, hoping to surprise him closer to the date.

Although Jake wanted to talk to his brother again, he knew from their conversation earlier that he would be busy. Still, he pulled out his phone and selected another contact. The phone rang a few times before going to voicemail.

Jake sighed, he didn’t usually randomly call people, but he was feeling lonely and needy. Scrolling up through his contact list that consisted mostly of coworkers and the occasional friend from school, he selected another name from the list and hit call.

This time it rang twice before the other end picked up with a surprised “Hello?”

“Hey, I tried calling Sam, he didn’t answer” Jake started, trying to make it sound like he’d only called to check on his younger brother.

“He’s at work” Danny replied softly, his voice filling Jake’s ear with a familiar easing warmth. “Did you need something? I can try to get a hold of him for you”.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. I just talked to Josh this morning. I thought he’d like to hear he’s doing well”.

“That is good to hear” Danny replied. Of course, Jake didn’t stop to think that maybe Danny would enjoy an update on Josh just as much as Sam would have. Although Sam surely clued Danny in on everything without Jake having to speak to him, it was still nice to hear the enthusiasm from him directly.

“Sorry, did I bother you?”

“No, of course not. I was just finishing up some homework, about to figure out something for dinner”.

Having stayed so busy throughout the better half of the day, Jake hadn’t even realized until now that he hadn’t stopped to eat anything and that he was actually starving. “Now that you mention it, I’ve got a lot of veggies I need to use before they start going bad. I was thinking about making a pasta primavera”.

“Cooking on your day off? I was just going to grab some takeaway from around the block but that honestly sounds a lot better”. Danny let out a breathy laugh then fell silent.

Jake thought maybe Danny was waiting for an invitation. He certainly wasn’t going to invite himself again so soon. “Well, why don’t you just come over instead? The recipe will make more than I can eat myself anyways, and I’ll give you some to take back to Sam for when he gets off. I know he’s usually a ravenous dog looking for a meal after his shift”.

Danny waited a moment to respond, trying to not sound too eager about accepting. “Let me finish this up real quick and I’ll be there in about 30?”

“Yeah, sounds good, I’ll see you then”. He hung up the phone, a pleased smile spreading across his face at the idea of some company. Finding his energy regained, he hopped off the couch and headed into the kitchen to start prepping the arrangement of random vegetables he had leftover from other dishes.

He synced his phone back up to the speaker in the living room and turned it up loud enough to hear it in the kitchen, but not too loud that it would disturb any of his neighbors and got to work.

Thirty minutes went by quickly and a notification pinged through the music, Danny was on his way.

The sauce was simmering on the stove, just waiting to be married with the pasta he had picked up at his favorite market in town last week. As he waited for Danny’s arrival, he stood on his tippy toes looking into the cupboard full of glasses to try and figure out what drinks to prepare for dinner.

Wine would go well with the dish, but Jake thought that felt a little too date-y. Next to the wine glasses were a few tumblrs which reminded him of a nice bottle of whiskey he’d found at Josh’s party and hidden away in his room.

Bringing the glasses out, he set them on the counter and left the kitchen to retrieve the stolen bottle. As soon as he found it and started back down the stairs, a subtle knock sounded from the front door.

“Hey, come on in, I was just about to finish the pasta. Stopped to get this first” Jake flashed Danny the bottle of whisky as he stepped to the side and let him enter his apartment.

“It smells really good in here” Danny smiled but waited for Jake to lead the way.

Jake smiled back at the compliment and found that his heart was thumping in his chest for no apparent reason. Maybe he’d make his drink a double to curb that unnecessary effect.

They ate dinner in the dining room just like they had breakfast the morning before. Danny talked for a little while about the class he had earlier in the day until he stopped to ask Jake how his day had gone.

“Pretty uneventful, just cleaned up a bit. Not going to lie, I didn’t realize how empty the apartment would feel without all of Josh’s stuff crowding up the place” Jake replied with a sigh concealed by a chuckle.

Danny looked around, not having noticed a real difference until Jake mentioned it. “Well, I guess that just means you need to add some more of your own decorative touches”.

Jake thought about it for a moment, he definitely had his own style and interests, but he’d never felt the need to extend his personal touch past the confines of his bedroom. “I don’t know. I don’t plan on staying here much longer, so getting more stuff would only make moving down the line more of a hassle”.

Danny seemed surprised by the response, setting his fork down and sitting up in the chair. “Moving? You plan on moving?” Of course this was news to him. It wasn’t like he and Jake had often talked about life goals together, but Jake didn’t expect him to seem so invested in the question.

“I mean I’m not staying at the restaurant forever. When I talked to Josh this morning he made it sound like he was having a really good time in New York. I'm planning on going to visit him soon and the idea of traveling sort of got stuck in my head. I think when Sam finally graduates I’m going to try and get a job cooking for a cruise line or something. Sure, cooking the same old meals over and over again will get monotonous, but getting to see all the ports and the open sea, that sounds like it would be pretty cool to do for a while”.

“I see…” Danny was quiet, unsure about how to respond to Jake's unexpected revelation. He knew how he should react, happy and excited for his friend, but some other opposite feeling was preventing him from that and he didn’t know why. Instead he just picked his fork back up and finished the last few bites of his pasta.

When Jake saw he was finished, he stood to collect the dishes and rinsed them off in the sink before turning his attention to the glasses he’d set out.

“Do you want some ice?” He looked over his shoulder to see Danny still sitting at the table, lost in thought.

Danny snapped out of his head, standing to meet Jake at the counter. “I’ll have it however you’re taking yours”.

“Room temp it is then” Jake replied, over pouring the glasses with a smirk. It wasn’t very gentleman-like or the way a good host served drinks, but he needed to feel a little tipsy and didn’t want to be drinking a huge glass alone. This could be payback for the shitty mixed drink Danny tried to give him that night in his room.

There it was, Jake was thinking about Danny in a way he shouldn’t again. He had done so well staying focused throughout dinner. Calmly listening to Danny talk and keeping his mind from wandering as he watched his dusty pink lips move and the way his fingers clasped together in front of his face while he momentarily stopped eating to tell a funny story. Jake couldn’t even remember what the story was about, but he’d laughed along with Danny anyways.

Jake's eyes darted around, the thumping feeling in his chest returning as he scrambled to figure out what to do now that they were done eating. They found the small LED clock above the stove, it was still an hour to closing and even longer until Sam would be off. “I was actually starting a movie when I called earlier. Would you want to stay and watch it with me?”

“Is it a scary movie?” Danny responded with his brows furrowed, taking a sip from the glass which caused his brows to raise instead. He took a look at the bottle, reading the label with a pleased nod.

Jake tried the whiskey too, and it was a really good bottle. He hoped it wasn’t one Sam had gotten from the restaurant, but nonetheless he was glad he was the one enjoying it, and with Danny. “No, it’s not, although I can find a scary movie to watch if that’s what you want”.

He turned around and left for the living room, Danny following behind him with a quick “no, no thank you”.

The TV had stayed on this whole time, Jake having forgotten to turn it off since he was excited to start dinner, so all he had to do was pick up the remote and press play. He’d only made it about fifteen minutes into the movie, but he still explained all that had happened to Danny as they settled next to each other on the couch, glasses in hand and enough space between the two of them for a whole other person.

They made it another good twenty or so minutes into the movie when Jake realized he’d already finished his glass. “Need a top off?” He asked, pointing towards Danny’s barely touched drink.

“No, I’m alright, still need to drive”.

Jake left to refill his, feeling a bit dejected by the reminder that Danny was probably leaving after the movie ended. He wondered how long the movie was, he couldn’t remember noticing when he selected it. Honestly, he couldn’t really focus on the movie at all. From what he did catch, it seemed like something he’d be really interested in, but he was a bit too distracted by his companion sitting just out of reach.

He returned before too long, but chose to take a seat just a little bit closer this time.

He couldn’t tell if Danny noticed the slight change in proximity, so he continued to stare at the screen, trying to take in the flashing images without much success.

“I’m sorry, I should have been more excited for you” Danny spoke, startling Jake who had no idea what he was talking about. “When you said you wanted to move and travel, I didn’t sound very excited, and I’m sorry. I’m happy for you Jake, really” Danny turned ever so slightly to face him, their knees barely brushing against each other.

“I guess hearing about your plans just made me realize I have no idea what I’m going to do after I graduate. Travel? That sounds perfect, but first Josh leaves, now you’re going to leave, what about Sam?” He trailed off, trying to find his train of thought and organize everything he had going on. He’d been thinking about this since they sat back down, so there was so much he was still trying to sort out.

“So, this is about Sam?” Jake was trying to follow Danny’s rambling, but he couldn’t help but be reminded that Sam was Danny’s love, not him.

“No, well a little in a way. It’s just we all stuck together when we moved to Nashville, I can’t imagine drifting apart in just a year from now. You guys have all meant so much to me, each in your own ways. You’re all brothers, so you will always stick together, but what about me? What am I supposed to do alone?”

That heartfelt admission struck a nerve with Jake. He’d spent all day feeling nothing but alone, so he sympathized with the fear laced in Danny’s voice.

He reached over and took Danny’s drink from his hand, setting both of their glasses down on the table in front of them before sitting back and letting his hand rest on Danny’s knee. “You’re family Danny and we love you. Just because you don’t know what you’re going to do after graduation doesn’t mean you have anything to be afraid of”. He gave his knee a squeeze and offered a gentle smile, “the possibilities are endless really. You can take some time off and travel, work odd jobs until you find out what calls to you. Stay with Sam, keep him out of trouble for me”.

“I don’t know how much longer I can stay with him like that, Jake”. The conversation took a turn and the inner struggles Danny was dealing with came to light in what he felt was an intimately safe space. “Recently I’ve just felt so frustrated at him. At first I tried to figure out what had changed, if he’d said something or done something to piss me off, but then I realized he hadn’t done anything. Sam hasn’t changed at all, I have. I’m changing and I don’t know what to do about it”.

“What’s changing Danny?” He could tell that he was stressed about this, but he couldn’t help but press him further. Jake needed to know what was affecting him, and if he had anything to do with it.

Danny took a deep breath, gathering the courage to say what was really on his mind. “I- I think I like guys. Not all guys, just a few, but I mean, in the same way I like some girls… if that makes sense?” he ran his palm down his face, sighing in frustration.

Jake stared him down, Danny’s eyes were as wide as saucers, horrified that he’d admitted that and Jake was speechless. Finally Jake erupted in laughter, he couldn’t help it, but Danny’s being so innocent and confused after all they had already done together left Jake hysterical.

“Whatever made you think that? Having sex with me or being in love with my brother?”

Danny rolled his eyes and pushed his shoulder. Yes he realized that he’d already had sex with another guy, but one experience didn’t make you a full fledged gay did it? If so, how many times would?

“Sam and I have been really close for a very long time, you know that, and for the longest time it felt like enough. Just being there for him, being his best friend”.

“You’re right I do love him, I think I always will no matter what, but now I want more. I want to go on dates, cuddle without feeling like I’m hiding something, be all lovey-dovey”. He sighed again, already feeling defeated . “Do you think he will ever love me back?”

Jake was speechless once more. Looking at him he couldn’t see how anyone female or male could resist his god-like appeal. Danny was a catch, and he thought Sam sometimes took him for granted. He tried to choose his next words carefully, but before he could give him any sort of insight he needed to know something else.

He pulled his hand back and created some space between them again, sitting back into the armrest of the couch while still remaining turned towards him. “Danny, you don’t regret anything we’ve done do you?” He wouldn’t blame him if he did, Jake knew how messy this could get before his drunk self decided to say fuck it and literally fucked him anyways.

Danny’s expression changed from that of uncertainty to something more tender. “Regret? No, not at all. Do I feel guilty? Maybe a little”. Danny made a move this time, pulling one of his legs onto the couch until he was leaning on his knee and reaching over to brush his fingertips against Jake's cheekbone.

“Only because you’re just so tempting all the time. I can’t be around you anymore without thinking about touching you,” his hand sprawled out as it smoothed down Jake's jaw and neck, slipping underneath the stretched out collar of his cut up tshirt, “and kissing you”. He creeped further forward, until the tip of his nose was bumping against Jake’s and he let his voice fall into a soft volume just above a whisper.

Jake inhaled shakily, because he’d felt the same since the moment Danny walked through his front door. “I think Sam would be the biggest dumbass ever if he didn’t realize just how beautiful you are” he let his hand find purchase on Danny’s side, slipping it underneath the hem of his muscle shirt and dragging it along the burning skin, “and sexy”.

Danny shook his head, from side to side, some of his curly raven locks falling forward. Jake scooted his hips further down onto the couch until his groin came into contact with Danny’s knee between his legs. Letting Danny tower over him, he took his free hand and tucked the fallen strands behind his ear before pulling him down into a kiss.

“In the meantime, I’ll be here for you. I don’t want you to feel guilty about it though. I just want you to feel good”. Jake let his hand under Danny’s shirt circle around to his stomach, then grazed downwards until he was cupping him over his pants.

“Can I make you feel good Danny?”

He hummed, the touch not enough to elicit a moan from him, but the intention of it enough to grow the beginnings of an erection. The hand he had on Jake’s collar found its way back to his neck, applying just the slightest bit of pressure as he leaned forward again. “Only if I can make you feel good too”.

“That sounds like a deal” Jake replied quickly, not wasting a breath as he started to unbuckle Danny’s belt already while Danny connected their lips again.

The sun had gone down causing a darkness to set in the living room. The movie they’d given up on watching tonight was nearing its end in the background, casting a glow over their bodies as they hastily stripped down to just their underwear.

“Jake?” Danny called out to him after he somehow found their positions reversed and Jake sprawled out on top of him trailing kisses all over his now exposed torso, his smaller stature fitting perfectly against Danny’s longer frame. “Will you fuck me this time? I want to know how it feels”.

Jake pulled back with a wild look in his eyes, like the invitation was almost too good to pass up on, but he reeled himself back in knowing Danny wasn’t quite ready for that just yet.

“Do you want me to show you?”

Danny bit his bottom lip, a slight hesitation but ultimately nodding his head yes.

“I’ll be right back. Take these off while I’m gone” Jake grabbed the elastic of his boxers and pulled them until they came snapping back against Danny’s golden hip then darted upstairs.

Danny’s pulse was racing as he followed Jake's instruction and discarded his last bit of clothing into the pile on the floor. Only now he was feeling a bit embarrassed, lying completely in the nude waiting for him to return .

Jake was back quickly with his little bottle of lube in hand. He had to briefly stop though, to admire the man that was spread out for him like thanksgiving dinner finally set on the table after having starved all day while cooking.

“Fuck, why are you so sexy?” He commented aloud while his eyes focused on every square inch of smooth tanned skin from his chest down to the tip of his toes and to the also dusty pink tip of his dick.

Danny blushed, sitting up so he could wrap his arms around Jake's waist and pull him back down onto him.

Jake cupped Danny’s face in his hands, feeling the way his jaw went slack when his tongue came out to glide across Danny’s bottom lip, coaxing his mouth to let him in. He took his time kissing Danny, letting their tongues dance over each other trying to get him completely relaxed and sure before he started anything else.

Finally, when he felt like Danny had been reduced to a breathless puddle underneath him, he pulled back perching onto his knees. “I’m not going to hurt you, but I need you to say you will tell me to stop if it gets to be too much for you”.

A hint of fear flashed across Danny’s face, but when he looked into Jake’s tender eyes he knew there was nothing to be worried about. Jake would take care of him, always.

“I will” he agreed, watching in anticipation as Jake retrieved the lube and squeezed a small amount to begin with onto his palm. It was a slight surprise though when instead of heading right for his backside, Jake gently picked up Danny’s erection and began spreading the lube in his hand up and down the entirety of his shaft.

“Focus on what this hand is doing unless I tell you otherwise” Jake instructed him in a soft yet firm tone. Danny was holding back a tiny moan, but answered him with another nod of his head as he watched Jake work him over.

As soon as Danny rest his head back and let himself start to feel the pleasure from the handjob, Jake paused to squeeze another bit of lube onto his fingers, only this time the opposite hand.

“You have to relax, remember?” Jake spoke through a half smile, making Danny remember their first time together when their positions were reversed. A warm slightly wet pad of a finger pressed against Danny’s entrance.

Danny had to focus on mentally preparing himself for the touch to keep himself from flinching. Although Jake applied some pressure, he didn’t enter him just yet, quickening the motion in the hand wrapped around the front.

“Do as I said, focus on this hand not the other” he reminded Danny, a little more sternly this time with a tightening of his grip and adding a twisting motion as his fist came down against the base.

Danny choked back a moan, wiggling his hips in the slightest to ask for more of whatever Jake was doing with that hand before realizing he probably shouldn’t be moving around too much.

Then Jake started to add the first finger, little by little until he was just about all the way inside. Holding it there, he waited for Danny’s body to get used to the feeling, all the while continuing to pump his hand up and down. Fast and hard, followed by a few loose and slow where he drug his thumb over the tip causing Danny to sigh and groan.

“Jaaake” Danny breathed out in a lower register than his usual speaking voice. He knew what that meant, Danny was feeling good, and it wouldn’t be long until that coil in his stomach would be tightening.

He positioned another finger, just getting it ready for when Danny was nearing the edge.

“Are you close already?” His tone wasn’t teasing, or cocky, only needing to know so he could control Danny’s high. “Tell me if you’re close”.

“I am-” Danny groaned, his back picking up off the cushions so he could try and rock his hips into the tight fist “I’m close-”.

Jake stopped his stroking, but Danny's hand mindlessly flew down in an attempt to replace it and continue getting himself off. Jake slapped it away, “No, not yet. You still have another finger to take”.

A whimper escaped Danny’s parted lips as his body shivered from the lack of release. He felt Danny’s entrance fluttering against his second finger, and took that as his queue to start easing it in along with the first.

Danny did flinch this time, but didn’t cry out in pain, so Jake just dialed it back a bit and went even slower. “How are you feeling?” He checked in once he had the second all the way in.

“Like you just denied me an orgasm” Danny laughed nearly hysterically, his hand Jake had slapped away reaching up and running through his tangling hair as he blinked up at the ceiling. Well he was laughing, could be a lot worse, so Jake took that as a win.

“Yeah, and I’m going to do it again” he resumed the hand job, the mixture of residual lube and precum keeping Danny well coated and his hand gliding.

Then together he worked his fingers inside of him, pulling them out only halfway and working them back in, trying to press them even deeper. He repeated that motion a couple of times, letting his hands work in a patterned motion coming down on him every time he pressed inside, until Danny was close again.

When he pulled away a second time, Danny’s lungs emptied in one breath with a slur of curses like he’d just been submerged in ice cold water. He’d been expecting the denial that time, but that didn’t help him endure it one bit.

As soon as his body calmed down again, it was back to stroking and fingering. A deadly combo that Jake was thoroughly enjoying edging Danny with.

“Jake, what about you?” Danny managed to choke out through moans. “The deal was I could make you feel good too”.

Jake let a chuckle slip, because even though Danny was still coherent enough to form sentences, he wasn’t fully comprehending everything that was happening all at once and how Danny squirming and whimpering and shivering underneath him had Jake absolutely reeling towards his own release.

“Look” he instructed, removing his hand on Danny’s swollen cock to give him a peak between their bodies. There was a dark wet spot on Jake’s boxers where his own weeping cock stayed hidden. If he gave himself even the slightest bit of attention right now he knew he’d be busting quickly right there all over his couch.

Instead, he focused on Danny and learning his body’s indicators, storing them away in his head for future use. Like the way his knees fell further apart when he wanted more pressure, and tried to squeeze together when he was near the breaking point.

Danny’s eyes practically rolled back into his head as he realized Jake was getting off by pleasuring him. His body went stiff again, knees shaking, but he held himself back on his own, starting to rather enjoy the feeling from the little game Jake was playing.

To reward him, Jake returned his hand almost too soon, giving him just a couple of loose strokes. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about anything other than not cumming until I say so, okay?” Danny was being so obedient for him he wondered if he was getting more turned on by it. Jake certainly was.

The time between stroking and pulling away was getting shorter, and Jake knew Danny would be nearing his limit soon. He decided this would be the last time, giving his all into his aching hands.

Tears were starting to form in the corner of Danny’s eyes and his body glistened with a sheen of sweat as it writhed in pleasure turned pain, but the pain only adding to the pleasure.

“You’ve been so good, cum for me now Danny”.

Danny’s eyes peaked open, having squeezed shut in concentration. Slightly dazed and confused, not trusting himself that he’d heard Jake right.

“Do you not want to?” Jake questioned, barely slowing down again in case Danny actually wanted him to stop and edge him once more.

“No! I want to! I wanna cum!” the words burst out of Danny just before his load did. He spilled out onto Jake's hand, some splattering across his stomach and chest.

Jake waited for it to stop and his breath to return before carefully sliding his fingers out. Danny groaned at the loss, having actually gotten fully used to them by that point.

Their eyes were locked on each other, Danny still in shock from the power of the orgasm he’d just had and so incredibly thankful to the man above him who gave it to him.

Lifting his hand, Jake inspected the mess that had been made, and before anything could be said to stop him, he licked it clean.

“That is not what I had in mind when you said you'd show me” Danny stared up at Jake with starry eyes and a blissed out expression.

“You liked it though” Jake hovered over his messy body and planted a firm kiss right on his lips.

“Now,” he leaned back again and grabbed the aching bulge in his boxers, “are you going to change your mind and stay? Or do I need to take care of this on my own?”

@psychedelicsprinkles

[oliverreedmasterass]

I'm SO excited to share this collab I did with the unbelievably hilarious @jmkho!!

Words: 4.7k

Synopsis: GVF make their way to a haunted house for shits and giggles. If you've read Alex (@jmkho) and I's stories before, I think you know where this is headed...

Warnings: language, mentions of paranormal and supernatural events, blood

👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃

“Jesus,” Sam let out as they stood observing the house. It looked like any regular old mansion. Nothing screamed out ‘haunted house’ to him and he hated that. 

“What?” Josh questioned his younger brother as he stood tapping an annoyed foot on the ground with his hands on his hips. 

“Just…not very Halloweeny is it? I mean if you’re gonna make a haunted house and have people walk through it….put some effort in and throw some webs around. Lazy.” 

“Well, I found this on Groupon and thought, hey, we haven’t done something like this for a long time. Might as well get haunted a little!” Josh wiggled his eyebrows at the rest of them. “It would have been cool to try to find a listing for a real haunted house or like a haunted cabin, or even ship. Hell, I’d even take a haunted shed at this point. But it sounds like a ball of laughs to explore around.” Josh paused and sighed. He studied the house and couldn’t help but agree with Sam over the lackluster outside. Not even a pumpkin or a fake skeleton in place. Careless.

“I’m too brave for haunted houses,” Sam confidently stated. “I’ve never been in one that’s scared me before, I just don’t think it’s possible. You obviously wasted your money on this, Josh. It’s not gonna be worth it.”

“Sam,” Danny tried to quiet him, since it was evident he was upsetting Josh. 

“I mean, with haunted houses, you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, right?” Sam looked around at everyone with his eyebrows raised. “Like you have rats, cobwebs, and moaning noises. How is that scary? That’s just what Jake’s room looks like.” 

“Hey!” Jake protested. 

“Haunted houses are a cash grab. If I really want to get spooked, I’ll just look up photos of Mick Fleetwood. That guy looks like he has a lot of secrets that he needs to keep to himself.” 

Everyone stared blankly at Sam, unsure what to say in response to his monologue, and then shuffled to the front entrance to explore. The door creaked as they opened it, and that in itself was enough to get 5 stars from Josh and reconsider his initial disappointment. Nice that they committed to the experience and made the doors creaky. He was excited to add that detail to his review.

The place was huge. A gorgeous, mahogany staircase was the first thing that greeted them as they got through the door. Danny let out a whistle. “Wow.”

“Still no cobwebs,” was all Sam added, not hiding the fact that he wasn’t impressed or happy.

“Shall we look around? Get a feel of the place?” Josh asked, beaming a huge smile. He didn’t wait for anyone to agree; he just turned and skipped to the stairs.

Jake followed after him along with Sam, who let out a sigh, and then Danny, who was eyeing around the house.

“I call the master bedroom!” Sam suddenly called out, pushing his brothers and Danny out of the way so he could book it to the largest room. 

“Sam!” Danny yelled after him. “We aren’t staying here. We’re only supposed to walk around.” 

“Hey,” Sam paused in his tracks to face Danny. “If I paid to get inside this place, you best believe I’m gonna be crashing here. Especially if they have Sleep Number mattresses.” 

“I was the one who paid for our tickets though,” Josh mumbled to himself. 

“Enjoy sleeping in your twin beds with creaky bed frames, peasants,” Sam called over his shoulder as he fled down the hallway, out of sight. 

“How does Sam not know what a haunted house is?” Danny asked Josh and Jake. Josh shrugged, and Jake wiped his hand down his face. 

“He does know. The guy just won’t pass up on a good Sleep Number mattress.” 

While they waited for Sam to return, Danny and Josh scoured around the area and Jake tried to play Candy Crush on his phone. He was nowhere close to beating his high score though because he kept getting distracted by cold chills that were rippling through the room. 

“They’ve got a weird AC in this place,” Jake commented, not bothering to look up from his phone at the ghost that was chilling right in front of him, watching his Candy Crush game with wide eyes. 

Sam returned from “his” bedroom and let his intrusive thoughts win, body checking Josh so he nearly toppled to the floor with a loud “MAMA!” 

“Bump into me one more time, I dare-“ Josh let out but stopped when a door down the hall slammed shut.

Josh and Jake let out a scream that would put Ned Flanders to shame, but Sam rolled his eyes and cupped a hand to his mouth. “Gotta do better than that!!”

Jake started counting everyone.

No one was missing, so who shut the door?

Danny leaned towards the twins as they stared at the door. “Someone must have used magnets to do that. Easy to do, I bet. Nice little gag to make the door slam at random moments.”

Josh smiled softly to his friend and then grinned. “Nice little magnet magic!” Jake laughed and agreed but still eyed the door with concern.

“I’ll be back in a second,” Josh excused himself, jutting his thumb back towards the bathrooms they had passed near the main entrance. “Gotta do the ‘biz.’” 

“Just say you’re gonna take a shit, Josh, we won’t judge you,” Jake told him. 

“I will,” Sam countered, raising his hand. Josh looked between his brothers, shook his head, and hurried away. Jake watched his twin leave and then, without a word to Sam and Danny, turned on his heel and wandered away. 

“Okay, bye, I guess?” Danny called after him. Jake didn’t acknowledge him and disappeared into a room. “You’re not gonna leave me too, are you?” Danny turned to Sam. 

“You afraid?” Sam smirked at him. Danny folded his arms across his chest. 

“Absolutely not,” Danny protested. 

“Yeah, alright, buddy,” Sam chuckled. 

Danny and Sam strolled down the hallway. “- but then it was the perfect way -” Danny stopped talking as they both came to a halt. The ghostly figure of a man glided across the hallway in front of them.

“Oh my fucking god!” Danny let out in a hushed tone, frozen in place. What magnets could do that? Gotta be an actor. Magnets can’t do that. 

“I know right…” Sam replied in an equally hushed tone before letting out very loudly, “Look at them shoes! The size of those buckles? What is the point of them? Honestly? And that jacket colour with those pants? Did you get dressed in the dark?”

The ghostly man turned to look at them, seeming offended beyond anything. How dare they!

“Or did you just put on whatever fell out of your wardrobe?”

As Sam finished that, the man let out a loud snarl and began to rush at them. Danny was concerned that the actor would end up falling over at the speed he was moving. Sam let out a loud yawn.

Back in the bathroom, Josh finished his thirty minute hair routine to get his curls back into perfect, fluffy shape. 

“There we go,” Josh murmured to himself as he raked his fingers through his poof. “Fucking gorgeous.” He paused and gaped at the mirror. Letters began to slowly scrawl across the mirror in what looked to be blood. Josh watched the letters spell “GET OUT” and then glared. 

Jake, Sam, and Danny were hanging out in the kitchen, playing with the old fashioned toaster, when they heard muttered curses approaching along with small stomps of feet.

“YOU FUCKWITS,” Josh hollered.

The rest of the guys watched as he appeared in the room. “WHOEVER WROTE THAT ON THE MIRROR, GO FUCK YOURSELF. I’M SORRY BUT MAKING MY HAIR LOOK THIS GOOD TAKES TIME! DON’T TELL ME TO GET OUT…..YOU GET OUT!” His hands were balled up at his sides as his face turned red from the sheers rudeness of them not understanding how much work it took for him to make his hair look so fucking fabulous. They didn’t have the balls to understand.

Jake stared at his twin, completely confused. He knew for a fact not to fuck around with Josh as his hair time. Hell, he learned his lesson about that eons ago….

“What the hell are you going on about?” Sam asked out.

“One of you wrote ‘get out’ on the mirror as I was fixing my hair,” Josh tousled the front of his hair for emphasis as the rest of the guys stared at him.

Jake’s face paled, but Danny smiled at Josh and shook his head. 

“They’ve really put a lot of thought into this haunted house. They must have been using magnets on the other side of the mirror for you to see the words written out.” 

“It would have been a lot scarier if they wrote out Josh’s social security number,” Sam said as he crossed his arms and shook his head with disappointment. Josh thought over Danny’s explanation and let his tense shoulders relax. 

“Whoever was using those magnets had really good penmanship,” he commented, smiling off into space. Then he snapped back to reality. “So, what have you all been up to?”

“For the thirty minutes you were gone?” Jake ridiculed Josh. “Well, I bumped into Clive and he was telling me about the house.” Jake smiled.

Danny looked at Josh whose eyebrows were furrowed.

“Clive? Who’s Clive?”

Jake lifted a hand and gestured to the house. “You know…Clive! Really nice guy, kinda looks sick and pale, but good bloke. He was talking to me about the house. He was in the living room just sort of…standing in the corner staring at me.”

Danny nodded and let out a loud, “ahhh” before adding. “Okay so there’s more than one paid actor. Nice.” He smiled broadly. He was beginning to really appreciate how committed the haunted house people were to trying to scare them.

Suddenly, Josh let out a grunt and flung through the air, tumbling down the flight of stairs. 

“Oh my god!” Danny cried out in horror as he watched his small friend do a flip midair. Beside him, Jake and Sam laughed at their brother’s fall. Josh leapt back to his feet at the bottom of the stairs and brushed some dirt off his jumpsuit. 

“Did you see that?!” He called up to them. “Something threw me down the stairs!”

Danny looked around and realized that everyone was staring at him, waiting for an explanation. Sam raised an eyebrow at him, as if saying, well?

“Magnets,” Danny finally answered, even though internally he was screaming with fear. “It’s gotta be magnets.” 

“Of course,” Josh chuckled. He climbed back up the stairs with ease and rejoined his friends. “The people running this haunted house sure do have a sense of humor.”  

Despite everything that was kicking off, Sam decided he had enough. He was tired. And a tired Sam wasn’t a happy Sam.

“Right, I’m gonna retire and hit the hay, count sheep, head for slumber, pass out, head to Bedfordshire, go to-“

“We get it, but it’s only 2 p.m,” Danny cut him off. He watched in confusion as his friend waved a hand in the air before trudging off to his ‘suite.’

Danny, Jake, and Josh all stood there for a moment lost at what to do. Do they try to sleep? It was still day time! And after the stuff that had just happened, Josh was antsy to fix his hair again.

“GUYS!”

Sam’s voice broke their silence. They quickly ran over to where they heard him. He was standing stiff outside a bedroom, staring inside.

“Do you see it?” Sam asked them.

“What? Is the feng shui not to your liking?” Jake’s taunting voice went quiet as he joined his younger brother and looked into the room. The bed was spinning around on the spot while numerous items floated in the air.

Sam stomped into the room. Laughter was heard coming from somewhere as everything flew around. He walked to the bed, yanked up a clown doll and returned back to the guys in the doorway. “This! You see this? Tacky! He’s been laughing the entire time and he won’t shut the fuck up! He doesn’t even run on batteries or a pully thing.” He moved the doll to Danny and shook it. “Magnet boy, explain this and get him to shut up.”

Danny’s mouth opened and closed a few times at the sight in front of him. But all he could let out was, “those are some powerful magnets.”

Jake spun around in a full circle looking for his twin, and then stopped when he spotted Josh. 

“Oh,” Jake breathed out as he watched Josh ride around the room on a floating lamp like a bull, waving his fist in the air and hooting with glee. 

“YEEHAWWWW!” Josh called out before breaking into a ridiculously out of tune rendition of “Home on the Range.” Jake gazed at him in awe as Josh did barrel rolls in the air on his lamp. 

Sam, entirely ignoring his brother’s spectacle, impatiently nudged Danny in the side. Danny grunted in return. 

“You need to get rid of the clown doll,” Sam told him, nodding his head in its direction. “I don’t like the way it’s looking at me.” 

“That’s literally not my problem, Sam,” Danny replied, eyeing the doll. He didn’t want to go anywhere near the thing. 

Sam huffed in frustration. “Fine then,” he grumbled. He made a big show of removing his tennis shoes and, one by one, chucked them at the doll, striking it square in the face both times. 

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Sam screeched at the doll. 

Unbeknownst to Samuel F. Kiszka, in that moment, the clown doll stared deep into the depths of his soul and vowed that, no matter what it took, it was going to make the hairy mean guy regret ever being born. 

It took a while to get Josh down from the lamp, but when they did, Danny managed to get all of them to agree that they weren’t going to go into the master bedroom anymore. Sam was the most disappointed, but he eventually agreed that he wouldn’t really be able to appreciate the Sleep Mattress if it was doing 360s midair. 

After that excitement, Jake decided to get away from the spooky room and head downstairs. He was exhausted, confused, and a little tired. He spotted a TV and perked up a little.

He let out a joyful cry as Pirates of the Caribbean lit up the room. Glorious. It’s like the house knew he loved that movie. Thank you, house!

Suddenly the screen switched to static. Jake pulled a face and grabbed the remote, turning it back to the movie. He snuggled into the sofa more as it played before the screen went static again.

“Ughhhhh” he groaned, changing it back, only for the TV to switch to a static channel again. This went on for more than Jake would ever admit, and then the TV flicked to an image that no longer looked like Pirates of the Caribbean. Instead, it was a very blue toned shot of a well. What was this, Twilight??

As he grabbed the remote and pressed a number of buttons to try and change the channel, a hand emerged from the well. A girl with long black hair began to climb out and walk towards the screen on the TV.

“I’m gonna miss Captain Jack,” Jake grumbled to himself as he looked at the remote in his hand and continued to smash random buttons.

Water began to pour out of the TV as the girl got closer, and she lifted a foot through the TV screen, out into the living room in front of Jake.

“What kind of 4D TV is this?!” He asked out loud as he watched. Water was starting to pool around the carpet, flooding the room.

“Hey!” He yelled out. “You’re getting the carpet all wet! Stop that!”

Jake’s screams at the girl who had emerged fully out of the TV, just stood there dripping wet, grabbed everyone else’s attention and they ran into the room.

“She made me miss Pirates of the Caribbean and now she’s got the carpet all soggy!”

Danny was staring at the girl in terror, but rolled his eyes when he heard the guitarist whine. “Please Jake, you know that movie by heart, get over yourself. Also…” He lifted a hand to the girl and then to the TV and simply let out,

“Magnets.”

“Girl!” Sam entered the room and called to the child, aggressively motioning at her. “What do you put in your hair? Bacon grease? You look NASTY!” 

Although the girl’s face was hidden beneath her thick curtain of long, dark hair, it could only be assumed that she was frowning at Sam. Sam shook his head at her and tsked. 

“You need to use a hair mask. And comb your hair in the shower the second you turn the water off. With the length you’re going for right now, I can only imagine how many split ends you have. Also, how did you get so wet? Did you just run or something? That’s disgusting.” 

The girl made a sad whimpering sound, put her head down further than it already was, and slinked away. 

“That was kinda mean,” Danny scolded Sam. 

“She deserved to know the truth,” Sam disagreed. Danny didn’t like how proud of himself Sam looked. 

Suddenly, loud chimes rang through the mansion, making them all jump. 

“That must be the front door,” Josh realized. “I’ll get it!” 

Before Danny could counter that he shouldn’t go alone, Josh had already bounced out of the room. 

“Did the magnets cause the doorbell to ring?” Jake asked. 

Josh came back into the room, his arms piled high with pizza boxes. He dropped them onto the coffee table with a grunt and then put his hands on his hips, taking in the mountain of food with delight. 

“The pizza guy didn’t even charge me,” Josh announced. “That’s gotta be at least $100 worth of pizza.” 

“Free pizza is the best kind of pizza,” Danny had to admit. Within seconds, they were all devouring the food, cramming their faces like ravenous wolves. Sam had taken the veggie supreme pizza and was huddled in the corner of the room, his eyes dilated, looking around as if daring anyone to come close to him while he fed. 

Jake wiped his mouth with one of the throw pillows on the couch and then frowned. 

“Wait,” he said, “who ordered this?” 

They looked around at each other, shrugging.

With his mouth full and still chewing, Danny let out in weak defeat, “Magnets.” The Kiszkas all grunted in acknowledgment. While they continued to eat, entirely unbothered, Danny strainied to remember all the Latin phrases he knew on the off chance that he needed to perform an exorcism. Things were starting to feel a little bit too paranormal for him. 

Jake let out an exhausted sigh. “I’m not hungry anymore.”

His twin eyed him confused. “Dude, it’s dinnertime, you need to eat.”

Jake shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. I tucked into that weird greenish blob thing on the kitchen floor.”

Danny’s head snapped to Jake. “What?” Before Jake could repeat what he said, the drummer took off for the kitchen. His eyebrows nearly reached his hairline when he spotted small remnants of a green blob on the floor with a straw strewn next to it. What the loving fuck did Jake eat? Slimer from Ghostbusters? Danny wasn’t sure and didn’t want to wait long to find out.

Jake nearly jumped out of his skin when the drummer came back. “What did you put in your mouth?” Was all he asked.

Jake moved back away from his friend with a yelp. As Danny went to pry his mouth open to check, Jake bolted with his friend chasing after him.

Sam grinned at Jake and Danny’s show and then turned to say something to Josh, but stopped in his tracks. Standing in the doorway of the living room was the clown doll, armed with a knife, Chucky, Annabelle, and a collection of other definitely haunted toys staring him down. Instead of greeting them with fear, Sam let out a deep and booming laugh. 

“Bring it on, shitheads,” he encouraged them, waving his hand. Chucky was the first to take the bait and sprinted towards Sam with a menacing cackle. Chucky jumped to try and grab a hold of Sam’s leg, but Sam met him with his bare foot and promptly punted him out the window and into the sun. The other toys watched their comrade meet his end and roared with rage. 

“Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité!” the clown shouted, rushing at Sam with the knife. Josh watched in a mixture of awe and horror as his younger brother went to town, kicking his feet around like a Radio City Rockette, sending all of the bloodthirsty toys soaring out of the atmosphere. 

“These feet were made for kickin’!” Sam sang and clapped his hands after sending Annabelle so far off into the distance, it seemed likely she would make it to the edge of the universe. 

Danny was back from chasing Jake and stood utterly bewildered as he watched the chaos around him unfold. “Um…guys….I…I think this place might actually be haunted.”

Josh and Jake look at him, at each other, then back at him before bursting out in laughter.

“Oh Danny boy, don’t worry, it’s just magnets like you said!” Josh beamed to him before disappearing out of the room.

Danny watched him leave and then looked at Sam laughing maniacally.

Josh made his way into the sitting room and retrieved a plastic green visor from his back pocket, securing it over his head. 

“Hey guys,” he greeted the room full of ghosts who were crowded around a card table. “Can I join this round?” 

One of the ghosts nodded towards the single chair that was by the table. Josh plopped himself back into it, not noticing that all the other people were hovering above the ground and definitely translucent. A ghost that looked like she was from the Industrial Revolution slapped a hand of cards in front of Josh. 

“Good luck,” she said in a Cockney accent. 

“I don’t need luck,” Josh shook his head at her. He studied his cards, which were entirely out in the open for everyone to see, and then let out a delighted laugh. “Oh, you’re all going down.” 

The ghosts frowned at his hand, which was a 2 and a 7. The game picked back up and, after watching the ghosts throw chips into the middle of the table, Josh studied the cards on the table and started to whoop. 

“Go fish!” he shouted and did a little dance. He was met with blank stares. “Sorry if I’m a bit too excited,” Josh added. “I just like to live in the now, you know, really take in the present because, I mean, you never know, you could keel over dead any second! I just love to live life. It’s so wonderful to be alive.” 

Danny had joined Josh in the sitting room and gaped at him.

“Josh,” he hissed, trying to get his attention. Eventually, Josh looked back at Danny. 

“Hm?” 

“Quit being a dickhead.” 

“Huh?” 

“You’re saying, like, the worst things you could possibly say right now.”

“What?” 

Danny looked around, his heart thundering in his chest. “I think they’re all actually dead,” Danny whispered. Josh looked like he didn’t follow a single word that had come out of Danny’s mouth. “You know what?” Danny sighed. “Just forget it.” 

Josh shrugged, unbothered, and returned back to his card game. He noticed that all of the ghosts were still staring at him and puffed out his chest with pride. 

“Take your time to process my words of wisdom. I know it’s some deep shit.” 

One of the ghosts gave Josh a big thumbs down. 

Jake made his way back to the living room to see if the TV had fixed itself and the girl had bothered to clean up the damn mess she had made. To his dismay, the TV was in fact NOT fixed as it was still stuck on the image of the well, but the girl had climbed back inside the screen and was sitting on the edge crying.

Jake jumped when he saw Bruce Willis still standing in the corner. He was confused why the star was there but nonetheless excited.

Jake let out a breath of courage and moved towards him as he cleared his throat to get the man’s attention. It was weird seeing a Hollywood star in a random living room, but especially weird to see Bruce Willis with brown hair.

“Hey, hello. Hi. Mr. Willis? I…I’m sorry to bother you but I just wanted to say that I loved your work in Die Hard, it’s my favourite Christmas movie. I quote it all the time at the wrong moments.” He beamed at the actor.

Bruce Willis stared blankly at him. “I’m sorry you must have confused me with someone else. I’m Dr. Malcom Crow….I’m…not sure why I’m here. I’m a therapist ... I remember a shot…” 

Jake realized he was actually speaking to Bruce Willis’ character from the Sixth Sense and paled. “Ah….um….okay gotta go…bye.” There was no way he was breaking the bad news to the guy.

After getting a Gatorade from the fridge to power up following his battle against the “haunted” toys, Sam found Jake, Josh, and Danny and took in a deep inhale. Danny’s face fell when he saw that Sam’s mouth was open and ready to talk. 

“This haunted house is beyond weak,” Sam complained. “There aren’t any fake cobwebs, rubber snakes, or strobe lights. It’s literally just a normal house with a bunch of magnets! I’ve never been so disappointed in my life.” 

“You would moan about how cheap this haunted house is if it did have those things,” Danny countered. Sam frowned at his comment. 

“What matters is this house had the potential to be truly spooky, but everything just felt weird. I mean, nothing has scared me one bit.”

“No!” someone yelled off in the distance. 

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Josh rushed over and nearly yanked the door off its hinges.

There, stood 2 men in coats with glasses and clipboards.

“Fellas, you completed the study.” the first man boomed.

The rest of the guys joined Josh at the door. “Study? What study?” Danny asked the men. One was jotting down notes as he looked at each person and the other man spoke to them.

“You applied to take part in our haunting simulation study….you….you weren't aware?” The man was perplexed and then pointed to the other man’s clipboard and said, “Jot that down.”

They stared at Josh. “I thought it was a fancy groupon,” he let out.

“Interesting….thank you for your participation, but….what the fuck is wrong with you guys?”

All the members of Greta Van Fleet stared blankly at each other. Then, their faces cracked into goofy grins. 

“Awwww shucks!” they all called out to each other, slapping their knees. Audience laughter played overhead. 

Those Greta boys did it again!

[avelnfear]

Chapter Twelve

Masterlist

When Jason arrived at Wayne Manor, the last place he’d thought to check, he knew that Danny was there. An invisible hand was wrapped around the source of the odd feelings and instincts in his chest, and it was gently tugging him towards the backyard. He followed it with a single minded focus, not even noticing when he gained a trail of the sibling still at the Manor. The question still burned within the orb that was wrapped in the hand, making it hard to focus on anything else. 

The burning never seemed to ease or stop, at least it hadn’t for the hour or two it had taken him to find Danny. Every step felt like it took an eternity as it was weighed down with a weight so heavy he couldn’t find a comparison for it. Every breath was like one taken by someone on the brink of dying of thirst while in a desert, hot and raspy. He would have been worried that all of this was some odd sensation added to his usual fits with the Pit, but he could hear the Pit screaming at him to run away, trying to pull him away from the cold hand guiding his fire to the one person who could help.

The spiral of conflicting instincts fell quiet as he saw the scene he’d walked in on. Talia stood guard several feet away from where Danny, Nellie, and Damian were all curled up around one another. It brought an intense wave of belonging-happy-love-pride-mine-mine-mine crashing over him from that burning orb in his chest. It brought him up short and stole his breath in one smooth movement.

Jason stared at the scene before him, a boulder sinking through his stomach at the thought that he’d have to interrupt this even as a slicing wind seemed to demand that he join the cuddle pile. He took a step forward and Talia’s eyes snapped to his, carrying with them a knowledge-filled look that also seemed to be giving him permission. Like that was all he was waiting for, he stepped closer, stopping at some invisible barrier that he knew would be the point-of-no-return.

With a deep, fortifying breath, he stepped over the line, watching as Danny’s eyes snapped open and to his. Confusion was like a fog in front of them until it was washed away in understanding and a little bit of fear. Not a word was spoken, but the wind sang between them of the fact that nothing would ever be the same again. By the time he managed to tear his eyes from the magnetic pull of Danny's, the two others in the pile were awake and watching him with buried hope in their lives.

“You have a question.” Danny’s voice was soft and as quiet as ever yet there was something hard in it, like an ice that would never melt. It was clearly, to Jason at least, intended as a question that had failed to lift itself enough at the end.

A soft smile graced Jason’s lips, a smile that had been there since he saw the cuddle puddle earlier, and it didn’t fade as he said, “I do.”

Silence sat over the group for a few long minutes before Damian piped up with a sharp, “Are you going to ask it?”

The question was sharp, but Jason couldn’t shake the thought that it was only so sharp because of impatience. The sharpness was different from the usual brutal edge to Damian’s snark, it was more of a normal axe swing instead of the usual of an executioner's axe. Jason went to ask his own question when there was a flaring of fire from the orb.

“I- I don’t-” Jason broke off with a jagged sigh as he raked his hand through his hair. This should not be this hard.

Danny tilted his head. “You aren’t ready. Rest first. Question later.” That seemed to be all the talking energy Danny had for the day as he immediately laid back down, prompting Damian and Nellie to snuggle up once again, not that they’d drifted very far from each other in the first place.

“What just happened?” Tim’s voice was tense, like he was still waiting for something else to happen. Jason looked over at him to see that it wasn’t just Tim’s voice that was tense.

“Danny just told Jason to cool off before asking his question. There have already been too many big revelations for you all. You all need to process before we move on to the next big thing. You don’t have to be so tense, Tim, no one is going to blow up at each other.” Talia’s voice was cool, even, and oddly disappointed. Jason didn’t know what to think about it.

He took a deep breath, chest expanding and fire dimming slightly. “Okay. Process. Right.” His brain was a mass of mush in his head. The world around him was dimmer and brighter than it should have been, telling him that he was far too out of it to ask the question he needed to ask. “I can do that.” He would do that because he would have to. Things would be okay.

~`~`~

Things were not okay. It had been several months since the conversation in the garden that fall day, and he wasn’t quite sure that he’d processed everything. The burning in his chest was a near constant these days, growing and waning like it had a mind of its own. He’d started to hack up the dark green stuff from that one day in the Cave somewhat frequently. That was a double edged sword, good because it gave him more of his mind back, but bad because it gave him more clarity on the awful things he’d done. 

There were some things he didn’t regret, but there were also a lot that he did. He’d felt bad about what he did to Tim before, but now it was like he’d never known what guilt felt like before. Jason’d started talking to Harley about all the crazy shit in his head, and she’d been a big help, even though he couldn’t tell her everything.

The worst part was the dreams. While before his dreams had been filled with what he’d done wrong or how others had failed him, now it was like those few odd dreams were all he could have. He could never remember all of it, but he had flashes, flashes that kept getting longer and more intense. They always started out with a feeling of intense comfort-belonging-hope-love, but they rarely stayed that way, causing him to try to avoid sleep until Harley had bashed him over the head, both literally and figuratively, to get him to realize what he was doing wrong.

Beside all the crazy stuff happening, he and the other Bats had settled into a good rhythm with each other, becoming more and more like the family they all had always claimed to be, like the family he was finally admitting they could be. He’d even settled into a good pattern of days with the Nightingales. They traded who would make dinner or breakfast, telling stories about their lives to each other. Jason got to see more of the days when Danny couldn’t speak, realizing that he must have been really close to them in the past because of how well he could understand them even when speaking wasn’t an option.

The weird flashes of another person like the one he’d gotten when they were leaving the League of Assassins kept cropping up at weird times that didn’t make sense. The long black hair that he was used to sometimes appeared to be white and braided instead of in a ponytail or loose. The red duck earrings changed to snowflakes obscured by an odd mist, kinda like the kind that surrounds dry ice. Blue eyes were covered by black and white goggles or a blue veil with green snowflakes. He didn’t even want to get into the hero suit or fancy clothes that suddenly would swap in.

The whole Bat Family had learned that Danny hated Christmas, or, more accurately, he hated being forced to celebrate Christmas. He’d given them all gifts, amazing ones, but it was not in any way because of Christmas. It was apparently some trauma left over from his awful parents, and Jason respected that completely. He himself never really got into the Christmas spirit because of how many rogues decided to do Christmas themed heists and/or just had issues with the holiday itself.

Danny had continued to not give the Joker any satisfaction through making sure they didn’t show any emotion around him. This had the interesting effect of the longest stay the Joker had ever had in Arkham because he didn’t want to leave before making Danny react to him. Jason joined Ellie and Damian in providing comfort on days like that.

One interesting thing to happen over the months was when Danny introduced them all to Khuzbu, which was the human way of saying whatever its name was in Existence Speak. Khuzbu was a spherical treat with a hard outside, many different options for the inside, and a truly insane amount of flavor options. Dick had tried to joke by asking for the feeling of flying freely through the air only for Danny to deliver exactly that. The way Danny flavored the little spheres was by tossing it up and then catching it in a specific pattern, which was odd and kind of impossible until one considered that these were magic treats.

Jason would say that he’d had a lot of fun between the chaos of these months, if only the burning and howling wind-fire in his chest would have left him alone. It was hard to focus enough to even get out of bed some days, so he would lay there, paralyzed by snippets of memories and emotions that ebbed and flowed as if pulled by the invisible force of some moon. Those days were the ones where he would lose track of time only to come back to being taken care of by one of his siblings. 

The ups and downs were fine, just intense. The summer heat only seemed to make everything worse for Jason, but he managed to find ways to keep steady despite everything that was happening. There were some days when he felt lava flowing through his veins, others when he felt like a windstorm screamed through him, and still others when he felt calm.

Today was a day in July, getting kind of close to Tim’s birthday, and the whole gang was gathered together in the backyard of the Manor. He felt as calm as he could considering all the other factors, but he also felt oddly restless, like something big was about to happen or something massive was about to change. He felt oddly calm, now that he thought about it.

“Did I have a Lair?” The question finally burst from his lips, suddenly everything was silent, from the elements inside him to the people around him.

“Yes.” The simple word carried so much weight as it fell from Danny’s lips.

“Will you please take me there?” He didn’t fully know where that question came from, that was an absolute lie because he knew it came from the orb in his chest, but he was glad that it was out in the open. It just felt right in a way that he wasn’t sure it was possible to define with human words.

“Sure.” While the other word had carried a massive amount of weight, this one sounded like the wind was snatching it away, like it was being forced from lips that didn’t want to form the word, like it was a form of damnation to speak the word aloud.

Jason felt a sense of comfort and peace wash over him at the idea of going somewhere that he felt so connected to without even knowing if he’d seen it this life. He was going to a place that felt closer to home than he’d been in a long time. It was a feeling that somehow washed away some of the guilt that he felt over some of his actions in the past. The restless feeling also settled down some, like the massive thing was already set in motion.

He was so far in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the discussion going on around him, nor the fact that there was a betting pool and that several of his siblings were going to come along. He didn’t notice the strange looks he was getting from Talia, Damian, and Nellie, looks that were an odd mix of finally watching someone do something you’ve been waiting on and wondering what took so long. He was only drawn from his thoughts by Danny bumping shoulders with him.

“When?” Danny’s voice was quiet and soft, like always, but it felt somehow more there, more intense.

“Soon.” He offered a smile to cover his nerves as he answered the soft question.

“Tomorrow?” Danny offered a half smile of his own even as an indecipherable mix of emotions swirled in his eyes.

“Okay.” Jason could hardly wait.

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[scarletsaphire]

The 4th chapter for Deranged Senses, my EI with @pokkeshii and beta'd by @pricklenettle. The art for this chapter can be found here, as well as in the fic. Still go show her some love, it Looks SO cool.

Links for Tumblr Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Trigger warning for this chapter: Violence, loss of control, gore, cannibalism

Sam ran through the streets as fast as she could go. It wasn't fast enough, just like it hadn't been fast enough the last week, or the week before. She shouldn't have been surprised. It had always been Danny who could find ghosts quickly, Danny who could get to the ghosts quickly, and Danny who could wrap up the ghost fights quickly. Now that the ghost they were trying to find was Danny, all of that worked against them.

Jazz had called her and Tucker after coming home one day to find her parents in the basement lab, muttering to each other. "They know," she said over the phone. "And they know that something's wrong with him."

Sam and Tucker had arrived at Fentonworks as quickly as they could. Jazz had already explained the whole story, letting Maddie explain her side of things. Sam had known that something was wrong with Danny before the talk. 

She'd known that something was off with Danny for months. Its was why she'd started the fight with him in the first place; if she didn't make a fuss about it, than he'd just keep it a secret until the whole thing blew up to bite them.

She'd expected him to crumble within a few days, to give up and let them help him with whatever was the problem. That's always how it had been in the past. But a few days turned to a week, and then two, and now they were over a month after their fight and Danny was missing.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Danny Fenton was missing. Danny Phantom was just as active as ever, maybe more so. That's where Sam was off to.

The Fentons had taken the news of everything very well, and had quickly thrown themselves into figuring out what was wrong with Danny, with Sam and Tucker helping in whatever ways they could. In this case, that meant that they were all constantly rushing to any and all ghost fights, trying to beat the clock.

It hadn't been going well. Danny had gotten very good at cleaning up fights quickly, and whatever it was that was wrong hadn't made him any less efficient. If anything, he'd gotten faster. He'd clearly decided that property damage wasn't something he needed to worry about. The frequently torn up roads, caved in buildings, and broken fire hydrants did nothing to help them get to the scene quickly.

Maybe, maybe this time they'd get lucky. The detected ecto signature was one that neither the normal Fenton Tech or Tucker's recognized, which meant that whoever it was was probably a newcomer. A new foe meant that Danny should be slowed down, at least somewhat. That gave them an opening to corner him before he could go running off again.

It also helped that the attack was so close to the school during a school day. So close, in fact, that nearly the entire student body had heard the distant sound of a crash, and like the Amity Parkers they were, had all run towards the sound. Sam was only able to out pace them because of her years chasing after ghosts and her extra time in the gym. Tucker was lost somewhere in the back of the pack.

She needed to get there first. She needed to get there, so she could use the net tucked into her skirts pocket, drag Danny back down to earth, and apologize for this whole mess. And maybe slap him, but that could wait until everything was cleaned up.

Sam slammed into a corner store, using it to push off of and shifting her moment as quickly as she could. She finally got a good look at the source of the signal.

Just like she had expected, Danny was floating about 15 feet in the air, his hair whipping around wildly in a nonexistent wind, his eyes and hands blazing a brilliant green. She had not expected to recognize the other specter, hadn't expected to see a second Danny, this one with black hair and blue eyes and a white suit that he hadn't worn since that day.

She nearly tripped, stumbling over a loose stone and barely managing to catch herself with her hands. She pushed herself up as quickly as she could, but that small misstep was enough for the more athletically inclined members of the student body to catch up to her, and she was quickly swallowed into the crowd.

She couldn't see who she assumed to be fake Danny's face, but Danny Phantom was talking. A few weeks ago, and that wouldn't have been noteworthy at all. Now? It felt like a miracle. He'd been cutting out any and all banter, replacing it with hard punches and clawing hands.

Sam reached into her pocket, fishing out the new and improved Fenton Phones and placing it in her ear with practiced ease. It was a bit more difficult switching it to the integrated Ghost Gabber, since she'd never really had a reason to activate that, but it wasn't difficult. The cheering of the crowd fell into background noise as the Fenton Phone picked up on the conversation above her.

"It's not so easy now, is it?" Danny said. Or at least, she thought it was Danny, before she noticed that the real Danny wasn't speaking. "When you're met with your face staring back at you? You've been on such a rampage, ghost child. Far more than should have ever been allowed. That's why I'm here to put a stop to it."

Danny's laughter was loud enough to pierce over the cheering of the crowd, letting Sam hear it in both ears. The laughter coming through the Fenton Phone was clear and familiar. It was cold and angry and delirious, but it was still Danny's laugh. The laugh coming through her other ear was anything but. It was a forceful thing that, if she hadn't spent so much time around ghosts, she wouldn't call it a laugh at all. The air chilled around her as the hair on her arm stood on edge. There wasn't even any real sound to it, but she could feel it rolling over the crowd in waves.

When he finally stopped laughing, his face was split into a wide, eager smile. "Oh, this is going to be fun," the real Danny said. That was the only warning the doppelgänger got before he was being charged, Danny ducking low and flying fast.

Sam didn't bother turning around when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Is that...?" Tucker said, his voice barely above a whisper.

All Sam could do was nod and watch the fight. The Not-Danny seemed to have been expecting some kind of hesitation or moral dilemma, but there wasn't any as Danny tore into him with fists flying and searing ectoblasts pressed to ectoplasm. Sam had to keep reminding herself, with every hit the imposter took, that the real Danny was winning. That it was the real Danny, the creature of fists and teeth and ice and fury, who was winning, who was her friend.

The rest of the crowd was cheering, the people in the back pushing the whole group forward in an effort to see better, forcing Sam and Tucker to follow suit. Danny didn't seem to notice or care, pressed close to the imposter to the point where they were indistinguishable from each other. She barely managed to dodge a spray of green that fell to the ground from a wound she couldn't make out as the two spun around each other.

The fight, if you could call it that, lasted for a few more minutes before the floating figures separated. The fake Danny was covered in cuts and gashes, all sluggishly leaking ectoplasm. The real Danny was, as far as Sam could tell, uninjured, but was still dribbling ectoplasm off of sharp fingers she wouldn't define as claws and down his cheeks from his mouth. He was still smiling ear to ear.

The imposter tried to say something, but all that came out was a sickly gurgling noise that even the Ghost Gabber couldn't translate. Danny seemed to understand it. "See, that's only one of the many, many things you did wrong."

Danny floated forward. The imposter tried to get away, but Danny was quicker, wrapping his hand around the already bleeding arm and squeezing with a squelching noise. "Your first mistake was showing up here at all." His grip tightened, and the imposter's arm displaced like a squeezed stress ball. It tried to let out a cry of pain, but whatever it was choking on distorted that too. 

"Your second mistake was showing up now ." Sam wasn't sure which finally quieted the crowd; the ectoplasmic gore that drenched them all when the arm was finally squeezed to hard, the resounding popping noise that came with it, or the still distorted scream that didn't come from the imposter's mouth but from their whole being. Whichever it was, the crowd's cheers finally died out, replaced by a thick silence only broken by the massacre above them.

The imposter tried to flee, now that it wasn't being held on, but Danny dropped the appendage and grabbed the ghost by the back of the suit. "Your third mistake," Danny said, dragging the flailing creature closer. "-was showing up with that face."

There was nothing to drown out the sound of Danny's free hand digging into the imposter's chest, nothing to drown out the ghosts gurgled pleas for release. Danny continued despite it all. His fingers disappeared into the flesh, and then his hand, all the way to his wrist, before he yanked it out with one clean jerking movement.

The imposter melted. There was no other way to describe it, as its skin liquefied, falling away from muscles, which fell away from bones, and bones fell to the ground in a puddle of green. Sam and Tucker had to stumble backwards in tandem to avoid getting soaked, and Sam could still feel it on her tights and shoes. She could hear the crowd whispering and mumbling and a couple of people retching at the sight still floating above them.

Danny had removed a green heart, still beating and spraying ectoplasm from disconnected arteries. In the center of the heart was a glowing blue crystal ball, covered by the construct around it. The ghosts core, its very essence, almost exposed to the world. Sam knew just how bad that was from the trips to the far frozen. She'd never seen one before, and she'd hoped to never see one. Its faint glow, barely concealed by the ectoplasm, turned Sam's stomach more than anything else she'd seen today.

And then Danny brought the dripping heart to his lips, and the churning toward to bile that she had to force back down. Danny's teeth were sharp, sharper than she remembered them being, piercing through the layer of ectoplasm as if it wasn't there. The teeth reached the core, and the cracking sound echoed far louder than it should have.

"Of course it did," Sam thought distantly. "It was the closest to a dying scream it could give."

It was certainly harder for Danny to bite through, but he didn't struggle or stop. The core splintered in half between his teeth, shards flickering with a faded light caught in the now still heart shaped casing. The piece he'd bitten disappeared in his mouth, than down his throat as he swallowed hard.

Distantly, Sam could hear the crowd behind her, a combination of retching and gasping and heavy breathing. Tucker's hand, still on her shoulder, was squeezed tight enough that it was probably supposed to hurt. It probably would, when she couldn't feel the adrenaline pumping in her veins. She felt sick and jittery, but she couldn't run or fight or do anything besides sit there and stare at her friend, her best friend, as he ate someone's soul.

Ectoplasm dribbled out of Danny's face as he finished. His eyes sparkled with a mix of his normal green and the soft blue the other ghost's core had been. Sam watched as the blue mixed in with the green, turning teal, and then fading completely into Danny's green.

She only realized why she could see it so clearly after it was completely gone. Danny was looking straight at her, his eyes wide and face one of horror, a mirror of what was certainly her own expression. 

Sam fought to try and say something, anything. They'd been trying to get his attention for so long, and now that she finally had it, she couldn't speak around the lump in her throat and the pain in her chest. "Danny..." she choked out, her voice strained and shaky.

He disappeared before her eyes, vanishing once again. The only sign that he'd been here at all was the ectoplasm staining the ground.

[hermionegalathynius]

Found Family (2/?)

Hey, so I genuinely expected zero reaction to the first part (because the nysm fandom has cooled down a lot since the second movie came out) but it was great to see people reacting to it! (Even if it was just 2 likes 😅)

Anyway, here’s the next part! To those few of you reading, enjoy 😉.

Fandom: Now You See Me

Pairing: Daniel Atlas x Reader

Warnings: nothing, just you sharing a pizza with Danny.

Part 1 Part 3

The six of you spent the next hour going over the plans and working out the minor details. You and Lula were to make your debut with the Horsemen on the stage at the launch in three weeks’ time. With less than a month to prepare, you were to work with the other three Horsemen on a set for the performance. 

  Having been a duo for your whole magic career, Dylan suggested you and Lula split up for this first performance and do your acts with Atlas and Merritt respectively. It made sense, considering you were an escape artist, just like Atlas’s last partner had been. Henley. 

  When he heard what your specialised area of magic was, Atlas looked at you with an unreadable expression. It was a little unsettling and you got the impression you had let him down in some way. 

  “Okay, let’s wrap it up for today,” Dylan said, rolling up the blueprints. 

  With a sigh you realised you and Lula still had to catch the subway home. 

  “Yeah, we have to go now, Lula, if we’re going to get home before midnight,” you said, pulling your leather jacket on. 

  “Actually, ladies,” Dylan added, making you pause your search for your keys, “It might be easier if you both lived a little closer so we can all stick together. I have an extra room in this apartment for one of you and Danny has another in his.”

  “Oh, I call crashing here!” Lula said, flopping onto the couch and giving you what she probably thought was an inconspicuous wink, “I looked around earlier, this place is nuts.”

  “I guess that leaves Y/n with me,” Atlas said, catching your eye. 

  You gave him a small smile, “Thanks.”

  “Jack, you don’t live too far from here, do you?” Lula was asking. 

  “And that is my cue to leave,” you said quickly, grabbing your phone and making your way to the stairs. 

  “Yeah, me too,” Atlas said, following after you.

  Once outside, you suddenly realised you were going to be spending a lot of time alone with Atlas if you were living with him. It was a jarring thought. You also realised — as he climbed onto his motorbike — that you had taken the subway here. 

  “Um, any chance Dylan has another one of those lying around here somewhere?” you asked, stuffing your hands in your jacket pockets. 

  His quirked his brows, an amused smile playing around his mouth, “Nope. You’re riding with me. Here.”

  He extended an extra helmet to you and you took it, quickly placing it on your head and hopping on behind Atlas. 

  “Hold on,” he said.

  Settling your resolve, you held onto his waist.

  Unfortunately, you had never ridden as a passenger before, so the minute he pulled away, you panicked and wrapped your arms around him for dear life. 

  “Jesus, I wish I was driving,” you muttered, making him chuckle. 

  Luckily the drive took only ten minutes, and before you knew it you were stopping in a garage underneath an apartment building. 

  “I’ll ask Dylan to uh… acquire another bike for you,” Atlas said as you climbed off and began unbuckling the helmet. 

  “Acquire…?” You asked, frowning slightly at his strange word choice.

  “Uh, yeah, because he doesn’t buy them.”

  Your eyes widened, staring down at the bike you were just on. 

  “Don’t worry,” he added, “Only from big multinational companies who’s profits are barely affected.”

  “Well, okay then,” you said, feeling a little surreal. 

  You followed Atlas to the stairs and the two of you climbed them to the third floor. 

  The apartment was actually quite nice. There was a couch and a television on one side and a good sized kitchen on the other with a corridor branching off in the middle. You guessed that that was where the bathroom and bedrooms were. You suddenly realised you didn’t have your night clothes with you. Or any of your stuff for that matter. 

  “Um, I don’t have any clothes or toiletries,” you said softly, feeling a little awkward standing there as Atlas moved about the apartment.

  “Actually, you do,” he said, opening the fridge, “Dylan moved all your stuff here. It’s in your room. First door on the right, by the way.”

  You were shocked. Not because Dylan had somehow managed to move all your stuff here, but because of your lack of shock that he had. Barely twenty-four hours into being a Horseman and you were already getting accustomed to the abnormality. 

  “Oh, okay. Thanks,” you said, walking down the hall and opening the door he’d instructed. 

  Sure enough, a suitcase full of clothes sat on the bed, and two boxes full of books lay on the floor. There was a large window with the curtains drawn and an empty bookshelf against the wall. 

  All in all, it was probably the best room you’d ever had. 

  Changing into your tracksuit pants and a spaghetti strap top, you walked back into the main space.

  “Did I hear the doorbell?” You asked, padding into the kitchen where Atlas was typing away on his laptop, his eyes focused intently on the screen.

  “Uh, yes. I ordered pizza. Got a Hawaiian and a ham and mushroom. I’ll eat either, so take your pick,” he replied, jerking his head at the coffee table where there were indeed two pizza boxes. Your stomach growled in response to the idea of food. 

  With a grateful smile, you gathered your confidence and said, “You know, since we’re gonna be living together, we should take this brief period of respite to get to know each other.”

  His hands froze on the keyboard and he slowly retracted them from the laptop, turning in his chair to face you, “Alright, what do you want to know?”

  You shook your head and leaned against the armrest furthest from him, gesturing for him to sit down opposite you, “Come on, Atlas. Don’t leave me hanging.”

  He sighed, but it seemed less frustrated and more playful. You grinned as he got up only to plop down next to you. Leaning forward, you grabbed a pizza.

  “I’ll eat half of this one, and you eat half of the other, then we’ll swap? Deal?”

  He nodded, grabbing the other box.

  You grabbed a slice of ham and mushroom and hummed happily at the familiar flavour. 

  “Okay, I’m just going to get this out of the way quickly so we can clear the air,” you said eventually, tucking your legs underneath your body and avoiding his gaze, “I’m sorry my sister broke into your apartment. I know you and the others aren’t exactly overjoyed to have new teammates, but I promise we’re not just run-of-the-mill, amateur-“

  “Oh no,” Atlas interjected, a slice of Hawaiian balanced precariously in one hand, “believe me, you I don’t have a problem with. You seem sensible and probably a necessary addition to the group considering the maturity level you already witnessed today. Plus, you’re an escape artist and our old one left a while back.”

  Your expression softened, “Yeah, Henley, right? You guys were together?”

  He nodded, “Uh, yeah, but that’s irrelevant. My point is, you I don’t mind. Your sister on the other hand…”

  You laughed softly, glad to see the tension seep from the room, “Lula… she’s my older sister, but I’m the one who looks after her. She’s always been unpredictable and a little erratic, but once you get to know her you’ll see there isn’t a more loyal friend you could have. She’s the reason I got into magic, actually.”

  Atlas quirked his brow, tilting his head in silent query. 

  “When we were kids, Lula was obsessed with Lionel Shrike,” you began, aware of his eyes fixated on your face, “She would read every book on magic she could find just to see if there was any information about his tricks in there. She idolised him. I was 7 and she was 9, and while she was gushing over his card in the tree trick, I was frightened by his failed safe. I knew one day Lula was likely to out herself in a similar situation, and unless I learnt how to break her out of anything, I would lose her.”

  “That’s a lot of responsibility for a seven-year-old to take on,” Atlas murmured. 

  You shrugged, fiddling with your charm bracelet, “As I said, she’s the oldest, but I protect her. I always have. Anyway, from then on I began teaching myself magic tricks. While Lula taught me card work and illusions, I took it upon myself to learn the art of escaping. Trucker’s hitch, Bowline, Clove Hitch, you name it, I learnt how to escape from it.”

  “So you became an escape artist to save your sister if she ever tried something stupid,” Atlas summed up and you nodded, “But you do like magic right?”

  “Oh of course! Somewhere down the line I obviously realised I had found a passion in magic, but that didn’t divert my attention from my main goal,” you said. 

  “Is that why you decided to join the Horsemen?” 

  You gave him a bemused smile, “This is a lot of questions from someone who seemed content to sit in awkward silence ten minutes ago.”

  He huffed a laugh, “Yeah, well I’ve been known to be uh, standoffish. At least, that’s what others tell me.”

  “I get it,” you mused, “I’m the kind of person who enjoys her own company more than other people’s.”

  “It’s just easier, right?” He agreed, “You can’t control social situations. It’s like jumping straight in the deep end every time you enter a conversation.”

  “Merritt was wrong, you definitely don’t have control issues,” you stated, sarcasm dripping off your tone.

  He nodded, “Yep, I stepped right into that one.”

  You laughed softly, chewing and swallowing another bite of pizza, “Jokes aside though, I do get it. We might have more in common than we thought, Atlas.”

  “You can call me Danny,” he said, “Atlas sounds far too much like Dylan or Merritt. If we’re going to he living together we might as well be on a first name basis.”

  “Good point… Danny. In that case just call me Y/n.”

  “It’s nice to officially meet you, Y/n,” he said, a small, genuine smile spreading across his face. 

  “Likewise, Danny,” you replied, grinning. Then, reaching for the deck of playing cards lying on the far side of the coffee table, you shuffled around with them before spreading them out upside down and instructing, “Alright, pick a card, any card.”

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I'll be honest with you sometimes I hate this fic bc it makes me sad and I can't skip reading it bc I'm the one writing it -Danny Words: 2,129 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Kid Kingdoms (Acoustic)' -by Surfaces

XII: Weird Flex but Okay

They walk into a gift shop where Frank gets a stash of new shirts—he had to leave New Rome in a hurry, after all—and Percy calls Ara to a corner of the shop.

"Look at this." There is a rack of kids' backpacks just like her T-Rex, except these are all sea creatures.

"That's you," Ara points at a jellyfish at the top, its eyes are mismatched and half of its head is pushed in.

As they make their way out, Ara spots a shark-shaped hat and grabs it. When Percy catches up with her and sees what she's holding, he raises a brow. She puts the hat on. "Leo collects hats."

"Hats?"

"Weird hats," she clarifies.

Percy stares at it. "Weird hats for a weird guy. Makes sense."

Kate holds a light conversation with them, casually mentioning she's Phorcys's sister, so apparently, the nerd-looking girl is an ancient goddess, and Ara, the daughter of Olympus, is wearing a shark-shaped hat in her presence.

Percy keeps glancing at the exhibitions as if waiting for something to jump out of them. Ara's never seen him this worried while surrounded by water. When they reach the back of the Aquarium, they notice is packed with mythical creatures.

"This isn't right," Percy speaks under his breath.

The animals look malnourished and groggy like they're sedated. There are two Nereids in one of the tanks, and they don't even look up from their game when Percy walks by, which is alarming, cause all the Nereids love Percy.

"How can you keep them here?" Her brother asks Kate with anger.

"I know." She sighs with disappointment. "They aren't very interesting. We tried to teach them some tricks, but with no luck, I'm afraid. I think you'll like this tank over here much better."

"Holy mother of goats!" Hedge exclaims. "Look at these beauties!"

Ara turns the corner and stops. Her feet backtrack until she crashes against her brother and she points at the tank with a shaky hand. "Percy..."

"Are those—?"

"Telkhines?" Kate beams. "Yes! The only ones in captivity."

"But they fought for Kronos in the last war! They're dangerous!" Percy pulls Ara behind him.

"Well, we couldn't call it 'Death in the Deep Seas' if these exhibits weren't dangerous. Don't worry. We keep them well sedated."

"Sedated? Is that legal?" Frank asks.

"I don't think anything about this place is legal," Ara mumbles.

Percy keeps a hand on her shoulder for the rest of their walk to make sure she stays close, and just this once, Ara lets him. This place is freaking her out, it's quiet and dark and full of monsters.

"Hello!" A man appears out of a dark corner. Ara yelps and Percy yanks her back. To put it in the vaguest, most generous description she can think of, the guy looks like a humanoid crab. "Visitors!" Each word is blasted out of the speakers around them. "Welcome to Phorcys's Follies!"

"Do you think it gets old with time?" I ask Percy. 

We've been doing our homework in the living room, and I'm getting pretty bored.

"What thing?"

"Fighting monsters," I explain, rolling my eraser across the table. "Do you think it stops being thrilling as you get older?"

"It's getting pretty old already," he huffs, eyeing his pen with a scowl.

Percy's had to do most of the fighting so far. I get why he says that, but I roll my eyes anyway. "Well, I hope never to get bored of it like with school."

He snorts. "Why do you like going on quests? We're always getting hurt, you're always almost dying."

I laugh. "I can't snub on the cool stuff that happens to me, but I am sorry that most happen at your expense. If I could, I would change things to be the one protecting you, because I like fighting."

Percy nudges my side. "Now that you're learning to fight, we'll do it together. We'll protect each other, right?"

I smile. "Yeah."

"—THE MAP IN CHARLESTON," Frank startles her.

"But enough boring educational stuff! You've paid for the VIP treatment. Won't you please let me finish the tour? The three denarii entrance fee is nonrefundable, you know."

"Afterward, can we ask questions?" Percy inquires.

"Of course! I'll tell you everything you need to know." Phorcys claps and a new tunnel opens ahead of them. "Walk this way!" 

Frank leans closer and whispers as he mimics the god's posture. "Do we have to—?" 

"It's just a figure of speech, man," Percy replies. "Come on." 

"Hang on," Ara looks around. "Where's Hedge?"

Frank and Percy look at her. Her brother answers to her question. "He left with Keto, about two minutes ago." She stares at him blankly. Percy rolls his eyes. "You spaced out, didn't you?"

Ara shrugs and resumes her walk. "Gods talk too much, I can't help it..."

"The Greatest hero of our generation, everyone," her brother taunts her.

They walk until they reach a new empty tank. Phorcys stands in front of it proudly. "Beautiful exhibit, isn't it?"

"What do you keep in here?" Frank asks. "Giant killer goldfish?"

"Oh, that would be good! But, no, Frank Zhang, descendant of Poseidon. This tank is not for goldfish."

Frank backtracks when the god addresses him directly. Percy moves forward. "How do you know Frank's last name? How do you know he's descended from Poseidon?" 

"Well... It was probably in the descriptions Gaea provided. You know, for the bounty, Percy Jackson."

Percy draws out his sword and points it at the small god. "Don't double-cross me, Phorcys. You promised me answers."

"After the VIP treatment, yes," the god agreed. "I promised to tell you everything you need to know. The thing is, however, you don't really need to know anything. You see, even if you made it to Rome, which is quite unlikely, you'd never defeat my giant brothers without a god fighting at your side. And what god would help you? So I have a better plan. You're not leaving. You're VIPs—Very Important Prisoners!"

The god vanishes faster than they can attack him, his voice echoes from the speakers surrounding them. 

"You see, Mother never trusted me with big assignments, but she did agree that I could keep anything I caught. You two will make an excellent exhibit—the only demigod spawn of Poseidon in captivity—and the daughter of Olympus to fight them every day! 'Demigod Terrors'—yes, I like that! We already have sponsorship lined up with Bargain Mart. You can fight each other every day at eleven AM and one PM, with an evening show at seven PM."

"You're crazy!" Frank screams.

"Don't sell yourself short!" Phorcys replies happily. "You'll be our biggest draw!"

Ara hears a loud thud and turns to see Frank crashing against an invisible wall sealing the exit. Percy's hand is against the tank's glass and she can see the outline sinking into it, which means soon they'll be swimming. 

"We won't cooperate, Phorcys!" He shouts.

"Oh, I'm optimistic! If you won't fight each other at first, no problem! I can send in fresh sea monsters every day. After you get used to the food here, you'll be properly sedated and will follow directions. Believe me, you'll come to love your new home."

The crystal begins to crack. Percy can help Ara breathe but it would take some of his power away and eventually drain him, meaning she'd die. She spots a treasure chest from which bubbles are constantly coming out and feels slightly relieved, that's a good source of oxygen.

"I'm the son of Poseidon!" Percy claims. "You can't imprison me in water. This is where I'm strongest."

"What a coincidence! It's also where I'm strongest," the god chortles. "This tank is specially designed to contain demigods. Now, have fun, you three. I'll see you at feeding time!"

"Percy!" 

Her brother grabs her just in time before the glass shatters. The first thing she notices is that Percy's holding his breath, he holds her unmoving, and Ara slaps his cheek lightly to help him react.

"Hey!" It sounds like she's talking inside a box, but the boy snaps his eyes open and takes a sudden breath. Ara stares at him worryingly. "You okay?"

"Frank," he replies, holding Ara to keep her breathing and then turning around to look for the boy.

Ara pokes his shoulder and points up. "There."

Percy scowls at the giant Koi fish above them. Judging by his microexpressions, he's talking fish with Frank. Just another Tuesday for them. 

Percy shakes his head. "Frank's stuck as a Koi fish. Any ideas?"

Ara looks around the tank. She swims up—taking Percy with her—and touches the celestial bronze at the top. She closes her eyes and concentrates, starting to glow orange.

"The glass can stand low and medium force impacts, which is what we can generate underwater—at least Frank and I. But Phorcys thought of you as well, installed propulsors inside the tank that force the water to flow in separate directions at all times. Must be reinforced with magic so you can't rig it..."

She swims back down, pressing one hand against the glass, then seizes her T-Rex and opens it, fishing out a water bomb.

"We need something to optimize our strength, or get someone to hit it from outside at the same time we do. The glass wouldn't flex correctly and it'd crack, we could target the weak spots with Riptide and Almighty afterward."

Percy stares at her for a moment before replying. "So... in short?"

Ara places the bomb in his free hand. "Well, do you see anyone outsi..." 

Her question is left unfinished when Hedge and Keto enter the amphitheater facing them. Ara and Percy share a look and realize they're thinking the same thing. 

"Get his attention." She orders.

The girl drops Percy's hand, immediately feeling the pressure and coldness of the water around her. She holds her breath and swims towards the treasure chest. In the meantime, Percy grabs one of the giant marbles that they've got lying at the bottom of the tank. 

Ara dismantles the treasure chest so she can reach the plastic tube, she tugs it out and then takes a deep breath from it. Now she has an unlimited source of oxygen. She turns to see Hedge holding a conversation with Percy via wild gesturing.

Ara swims taking the tube with her, the currents making it harder to move since her cloak keeps dragging her around... Her cloak! She can clock in on another blessing, this feels like the right time to pray. 

Percy points at the glass and then lifts three fingers. Ara takes another breath from the plastic tube and then takes the water bomb from Percy and presses it onto the tube's end. She prays as she lifts it above her head with both hands.

Her body lights up a teal color. Ara's stomach sinks weirdly, she activates the bomb and lets go of it so the air from the tube throws it further away, the water swirls around them all in the same direction.

Percy smashes a marble against the glass and Frank—now human—pushes his whole body against it at the same time that Hedge kicks the crystal.

Several cracks spread across the surface and Ara locks eyes with her brother, knowing exactly what's next. She can feel the pressure building and pushing them against the glass, and so they press their hands against the cracks and force the water to escape through them at such speed that the wall explodes at once.

All the cuts she gets heal by the time she's back on her feet. She picks up her T-Rex, soaking wet and with the stuffing coming out. She spots the shark hat a few feet away and picks it up, coughing and trembling.

"Pan's pipes, Jacksons!" Hedge coughs. "What were you doing in there?"

Percy grabs him by the neck and starts running. "Phorcys! Trap! Run!"

Alarms blast around them. Percy glances at the trapped creatures with concern but Ara urges him forward. "Later, Percy! Don't stop!"

Phorcys voice booms out of every speaker. "Jackson!"

They don't know to which Jackson he's yelling, but it doesn't matter much. Phorcys must be desperate to activate some other trap because all kinds of special effects are happening around them. Ara catches her reflection in one of the tanks, the shark-shaped hat neatly placed on her head.

"Ha!" A sudden surge of adrenaline runs through her, Poseidon's blessing doing its job.

Percy looks at her, he gives her a hesitant smile at first that turns into peels of laughter as they keep running. For just one moment, it feels like they're kids again, exactly like the old times.

Ara spots a fire alarm and triggers it, causing panic among the visitors. She yells out confusing instructions so they run in every direction, distracting the staff so they don't go looking for them. She's not sure all the workers are monsters, but she won't leave it up to fate, they love messing with her and her brother.

They leave the Aquarium in one piece, but they continue to run, Percy and Ara laughing all the way to the Argo II.

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

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[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Au where Danny, at the age of 16 starts getting massive boosts to his powers and can no longer fully control them. This wouldn't be too much of an issue, after all his powers gave him a lot of trouble when they were first coming in so he could handle a round two, right? Wrong.

Not only was suddenly developing an actual sirens song that come with the lesser power of hypnotic suggestion essentially laced into his voice causing problems, he also has force fields popping up around him, ice climbing up walls and let's not mention what he accidentally did to Ember when he failed to control the strength of his ecto-blast. Ow.

But no one was prepared for his wail.

He didn't mean to. He swears he didn't. Not that it meant much to...nevermind. He told himself not to think about it. His parents weren't the only ones with amazing tech and engineering talent. Sam made the mistake of telling Tucker about that little fact and he was so mad he demanded Danny learn full techno-babel and the ghost had hated every minute. It was useful now.

The contraption covered the lower half of his face and part of his neck, the large shining silver expertly welded into that of a mask.

It didn't matter what he did. No amount of pulling, hitting or wailing/ would remove the mask. It was even designed to absorb the power of the wail before he could be allowed to release it. The only real drawback was that he couldn't speak anymore.

He needed to go into the zone and find someone to teach him to control his new influx of power, but as soon as he zipped through the portal in the lab he crashed into someone.

Looking up he saw Clockwork smiling down at him. Danny tried to chipperly call out to him as he usually would, only to be brutally reminded of the reason he was here.

"Theres no need to speak." The time deity said with that same smug air he always had, "I'll take you where you need to go." This apparently meant he was going to just rip the symbol off of Phantoms chest and slap a domino mask on his face before yeeting him through a portal directly onto a meeting room table where a bunch of superheros were casually chatting.

Danny took no issue with the superheros now pointing all manner of weapons at him but was more interested in how amazingly sturdy this table was. 10/10 would recommend. After a while of them asking questions he did some mimeing and discovered these guys were kinda bad a charades.

It was only when a guy dressed as a bat pulled a pen and some paper out of his utility belt that Phantom could properly communicate with them. He explained his situation and how he needed help. He did not expect to be placed in a program for super teens like himself. It was cool.

Much, much later, when he and the others were celebrating finally being able to remove the mask once and for all he caught his reflection staring back at him from the microwave.

He ran off to the bathroom in tears, followed soon after by Nightwing. Danny, through tears, explained to him that a spirits appearance is affected by thier personality and the things they had done. Thier bodies were a true reflection of who they were, with thier body shape, skin tone, eye color, ect all having deeper/symbolic meaning. "Fangs are no different" he told his mentor.

"Fangs are the mark of a killer. I really am a monster." Danny had accidentally killed his own parents with his wail.

Nightwing had one heck of a time calming Danny down after that.

[jerzwriter]

Crash - Part One

Book:                   Open Heart (Book 2)

Pairing:                Tobias Carrick x F!MC

Rating:                 Teen

Category:            Angst

Summary:   Tobias and Aurora rush to Edenbrook after learning Casey was involved in the chemical attack. As Casey and her friends try to come to grips with what's happened, others are taking the steps necessary to try to save her, Raf, and Danny. Tobias is determined to find a cure, but will he be on his game?

Words: 2.7k

A/N: FINALLY!!!!! I'm expecting this to be a total of three parts. I'm determined to tell Tobias and Casey's story - to finally let you all see how the couple came to be, and I have to go through this to get us there. I need to take some liberties (though not many) with canon to make the story work from their perspective, so you'll notice some dialogue, etc. is tweaked. Bold items are taken directly from Pixelberry's OH Book 2. Participating in @aprilchallenge - Wish, and @tobias-carrick-appreciation-week - Day 3 - Open Heart 2 Tobias & Casey Masterlist

For those unfamiliar with my Tobias & Casey HC: They are not together at the time of the attack. After meeting at the diner, they dated and were completely infatuated with each other, but Casey broke up with him after he stole her patient, Stephanie. She was considering reconciling when she was led to believe he was seeing June at the same time he was seeing her (he wasn't). Tobias was crushed, this was the first time he ever really cared for anyone, but Casey was adamant... she wanted nothing to do with him ever again. Her friends pushed her to create a dating profile, and when Tobias found out about it, he lost it and created one of his own. The night before the attack, he swiped right on Casey's - knowing it was a mistake right away. In a weak moment, she swiped right back... then was furious at herself and deleted the app. The chapter before this details more if you're interested, you can find it here: Betwixt, Bothered & Bewildered.

~~~~~~

“You should have turned right,” Tobias yelled, pushing an already frazzled Aurora to the brink.

“Charles Street is closed! Haven’t you been paying attention?”

Snapping at anyone, much less her boss, wasn’t something Aurora would typically do. Then again, neither was driving his hundred-thousand-dollar car through the streets of Boston like she was in the Indy 500. But they had both given up hope of anything being normal today.

“Go up as far as you can,” he ordered. “I’ll jump out and go the rest of the way on foot.”

“And what about me? Do you think Casey means nothing to me? She’s one of my best friends! The only person that gave me a chance when we met! And Raf and Danny are my friends, too….” she stopped to gulp back tears. Hysteria didn’t suit her, and it wouldn’t be beneficial now, not if she wanted to help.

Seated in the passenger seat next to her, Tobias silently reached the same conclusion. The cool, detached physician known for focusing on the task at hand… no room for emotion… had disappeared since Aurora burst into his office with the news. He barely knew the imposter who was standing in his place. The man whose shaky hands tossed the resident his car keys and told her to drive. The man whose heart wasn’t racing because of adrenaline, it had nothing to do with the thrill of a medical mystery lying in wait… the very things he usually lived for… Today it was pounding because of an emotion often foreign to him… fear.

“We have to get ourselves together,” Aurora insisted. “If we go in like this, we’ll just be in the way.”

“You’re a thousand percent right.” He said as Edenbrook came into sight, flashing lights of countless emergency illuminating its facade. “Wr need to get out shit together, and you need to park the car and come with me. Right now!”

“Park? Park where?”

“Here… in the middle of the street. I don’t give a damn. We have to go.”  

~~~~~~

Inside Edenbrook, Casey was looking at Bryce through a glass wall separating them for his protection…. she felt like nothing more than a contagion. He was leaning hard on his medical training, for despite the terror raging inside him, he did his best to play cool, and it seemed to be working because Casey, of all things, began to reassure him. She never failed to amaze… worrying about him when her situation was so dire. But caring about him, and the others, gave her a sense of control she needed desperately. It was the only thing giving her hope. So, when Ethan walked up behind Bryce, Casey offered him the same comforting smile.

“How are you feeling, Casey?” he asked, attempting to hide the gravity in his voice.

“I’m holding it together. Panic is the last thing any of us need right now.”

She wrapped her arms around herself, unsure if the frigid cold that overtook her stemmed from the toxin or from looking at the spot where Bobby had just lost his life.

“No matter how tempting it might be…” she wavered.

Ethan understood more than he cared to admit. So he grasped for the one thing that was helping him through. Medicine. Science. Facts and procedures. If he could get Casey to think that way, maybe it would help her, too… or not… but it was all he had to offer.

“June and Baz are on their way; we’ve got to get samples from you and Raf as soon as possible. Danny is too weak to risk even drawing blood right now. I’m going to suit up, and we’ll be right in.”

Moments later, her three teammates entered the room, Baz making a beeline for her.

“Casey, are you all right? Oh, what a stupid question. Of course, you’re not. But we’re going to get you through this.”

“Baz, give her some space,” June scolded. She turned to Casey with a serious but warm gaze. “Casey, sit down. We’re going to take your vitals and draw some blood samples.”

June’s no-nonsense approach was precisely what she needed. She knew she'd come undone if her feelings took over, so she forced herself to focus. But that valiant battle was almost lost when Raf released an excruciating wail, doubling over in agony as a violent wave of nausea gripped him. June saw Casey’s expression falter and acted quickly to keep her centered.

“I’m going to take care of him, Casey. We all are, and we’re going to take care of you, too. You know you’re in the very best hands.”

“I do,” Casey nodded ferociously. “I do.”

Pulling a chair beside Rafael, she lovingly held her friend’s hand as Ethan, June, and Baz tossed out theories and approaches, including her at every turn. She needed this. She needed to do her job, just like she did every day. It began to feel like everything would be all right… then her team members stood up to leave, and she had to remain behind. Ethan saw the terror in her eyes as they began to walk away. Gently reaching over, he touched her shoulder and made a vow.

“I promise, Casey, we’ll fix this. I’ll fix this. We’re not going to let you down.”

~~~~~

An hour or so passed by, and the agonizing quiet was punctuated only by Rafael’s occasional moans and the ever-slowing beep of his heart monitor. Casey stood up, ignoring the strange numb feeling in her feet, but she couldn’t ignore the dizziness that overwhelmed her.

“Casey,” Raf said weakly, “you should lie down.”

She looked at the bed, its soft pillows and warm blankets beckoning her, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that lying down meant giving up, and she wasn’t ready to do that.

“I’m fine,” she lied with a tender smile.

“You’re stumbling all over.”

“I didn’t say I was ready to pass a sobriety test,” she grinned.

“Look at you,” Raf laughed, followed by a wince. “At least you still have a sense of humor.”

“If I lose that, then it’s time to worry.”

Her head spun toward the glass wall when the eerie silence in the corridor was disrupted by the sound of familiar voices heading their way.

“Is that?”

“Thank God you’re still standing!” Jackie gasped.

“I told you I’d be back,” Bryce winked. “And I brought some company!”

“You might be standing,” Jackie said, “but you look like hell.”

“Way to be encouraging,” Bryce reprimanded.

Elijah neared the glass door, waving a paper bag in his hands. “I have encouragement in the form of cafeteria pizza. Sienna insisted we bring it to you.”  

“I’m sorry, but cafeteria pizza is our encouragement?” Casey questioned. “Are things that bad?”

“Hey, it’s the best we could do on short notice,” Bryce tried.

“And I appreciate it. But if things worsen, will someone run across the street to Angelo’s? I will simply die if this is my last meal.”

Casey looked through the glass at her friend’s sad, worried faces, and her heart ached.

“You can laugh at my horrible jokes,” she informed.

“Not if you’re joking about dying,” Jackie countered. “Then again… maybe we shouldn’t send the pizza in after all. I’ve always said it’s lethal.”

Casey chuckled. “See, that’s what I need. Besides, if I know Sienna, she’ll whip something much better up soon. Speaking of which, where is Sienna?”

“She went with Ethan,” Bryce replied. “The Feds dragged Travis out of here without saying where they were taking him. Luckily, Sienna knew where Farrugia was hiding, and she and Ethan shook the information out of the rat bastard. They’re on their way over to see what they can learn.”

“That’s so badass!” Casey said, visibly swaying on her feet. “I need to hear the full story later.”  

“That’s the attitude,” Bryce lauded.

Her eyes filled with tears; what she wouldn’t give to be wrapped in one of their warm embraces. For a moment, she let her bravado down, allowing herself to be vulnerable in front of the people she loved the most.

“Guys, how’s Danny?”

They all looked at each other, their expressions telling her all she needed to know.   

“Or… maybe it’s better if I don’t know?”

“We’re not giving up on him, Casey,” Elijah insisted. “And we’re not giving up on you and Raf either.”

“I know,” she smiled weekly, “but they haven’t even identified the toxin, and I’m… I’m so scared….”

“Oh, Case,” Jackie said, holding her hand against Casey’s on the opposite side of the glass. “I’m not going to lie; we’re all frightened; we’d be idiots not to be. But I refuse to believe this has anything but a positive ending, do you hear?”

“That’s exactly the attitude we need to have!” A voice bellowed from behind.

“T—Tobias?” Casey gasped as he and Aurora came into view.  “What… what are you….”

“We’re here to help, and we’re not alone. Tobias & I headed out right away, but a team is being assembled at Mass Kenmore. They're heading here, and we will figure this out… together.”

“I just… I…”

“Shh,” Aurora smiled, mustering up all her strength to not let Casey see the horror she felt at her appearance. “No need to thank me now. When this is all over, we’ll talk about that handbag you have that I love so much. Maybe that can be my repayment?”

Casey laughed, clutching her side in pain. Everyone jumped when it looked like she might fall, only to realize they could do nothing to help.

“Casey…” Raf moaned weakly. “Please lie down.”

“I’m OK,” she fibbed, turning back to Aurora with a half-smile. “The handbag is yours. Whether I make it or no….”

“HEY!” Tobias barked. “There will be no talk like that… Jackie’s right, there is only one outcome. Do you hear?”

Casey attempted to form a smile. “Tobias… you really took me swiping right last night seriously, didn’t you?”

When she saw his reaction, she immediately regretted her words. Gulping and blinking his eyes, he momentarily turned away.

“Well, that’s really... unimportant…now,” he grumbled. “All that matters is making sure we get you well.”

“Oh, Tobias, I….”

“Speaking of which,” he spoke over her. “Where’s Ramsey? I’m assuming he’s heading up the team?”

“He is,” Bryce said. “But he’s on a mission with Sienna right now, and Naveen is running the show until he’s back.”

“Then take me to Naveen,” Tobias demanded, taking a quick look at Casey over his shoulder.   

“Will do,” Jackie offered. “Case, we’ll be back up in a little bit, OK?”

“OK,” Casey nodded bravely, her chest tightening when she realized seeing them again was not a guarantee.

“Tobias….” she called out.

A look of surprise registered on his face when he turned back to her. “Me?” he mouthed, and she nodded to confirm. 

“Can I talk to you… just for a moment?”

“Of course…anything for you.” He turned back to the others. “Where is the war room?”

“Take the elevator to the ground level, make two rights. You can’t miss it.”

“I know the lab. I’ll be right down.”

“Holding you to that!” Jackie said, waving sadly at Casey as the elevator door closed.

It seemed like everything was happening in slow motion as he approached the glass. A surreal clip of an avant grade foreign film without subtitles. It was unfamiliar and frightening, yet somehow beautiful at the same time. The viewer would have no idea what was taking place but do their best to conceal their ignorance. That was how Tobias felt right now.

She looked so pale, her skin a washed-out grey that only accentuated the dark circles forming under her eyes. He couldn't have imagined seeing her this fragile and frail… yet she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He'd give anything to be next to her. If he was sure she'd welcome him, he would have rushed to her side; any danger to him be damned. That's when it hit him... another feeling he had done his best to avoid throughout his life coursed through his veins. Guilt. Unrelenting, agonizing guilt began to gut him.

This is my fault. He thought. If I hadn’t stolen Stephanie, she wouldn’t have stolen Farrugia. If Farruggia wasn’t at Edenbrook… Casey wouldn’t be in that room, possibly facing her end... and for what? For what? If it weren’t for me…

His stomach began to churn. The thought of anything bad happening to Casey was unbearable on its own, but if he were the cause… Maybe this would have happened at Kenmore, but that would have been fine. He’d give anything to trade places with her now. Anything to spare Casey.

Yes?” was all he managed to get out.

“I… I just wanted to thank you for coming. I didn’t think….”

“Did you think I wouldn’t? I know I haven’t made the best impression… I’ve been a downright ass at times, and I've made mistakes that I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for… but I know I’m a good doctor, better than good, I’m a great doctor, and if I can help….” He turned away as his voice tapered off. “I’d do this for anyone… believe it or not… but for you? I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll walk through fire if I have to… to save you.”

Casey deflected her eyes and winced. Swallowing did nothing to keep her teardrops at bay, with a jagged breath, she moved closer to the glass.

“I need you to promise me something…” she whispered.

“Anything… you say it… whatever you want….”

“When you get downstairs… and you see what progress has been made… or hasn’t… promise me you’ll tell what to expect. No matter how bad it might be….”

“Casey… I….”

“Tobias! I need someone who will level with me. I know my friends will try to sugarcoat things. They won't tell me if I'm on death’s doorstep; they'd want to protect me. Ethan would tell me, but it would gut him…” she let out a rueful chuckle. “The only other person I can count on to be honest at a time like this... is June…. and I’d really rather not get that news from her.”

“I was not with June,” he blurted. “Not since I met you. I know it might seem totally unimportant right now, but… but it’s important to me. I need you to know... I may be a royal asshole, but I would never do that to you.”

A puff of air escaped her, and she looked pained as she replied. “Dear God, Tobias. You really do think I’m dying. Don't you?"

“You are not dying! I don’t know much, but I know I won’t let that happen!”

“Tobias,” she sulked. “You know that’s not always within our control.”  

“Yeah, but I haven’t even started….and trust me… I’m a stubborn son-of-a-bitch.”

“Then go,” she chuckled sadly. “We'll talk again. I’m sure of it.”

Tobias nodded as he walked away backward, his eye never leaving her.

“I’m fixing this, Casey. If it’s the last thing I do. I’m fixing this.”

“I believe you,” she smiled, surprised that she was only half-lying. “Go. Go do your thing.”

Their eyes locked until the elevator door shut. A broken As whimper escaped her as soon as Tobias was out of sigh, and she was grateful for the wall that caught her. 

“Casey!” Raf gasped, attempting to get up to help her, but he was too weak and fell back into his bed. 

“I’m OK,” she whispered… slowly lifting herself to her feet. “I’m fine… that just took... a lot out of me.”

“Will you lie down, please?”

“I will,” she muttered, gripping her side as she shuffled, flinging herself onto the mattress when it was inches away, unsure if she would be able to take the remaining few steps. Her breath was shallow as she reached for the blanket, but she was so thankful for its warmth when she wrapped it around her shivering body. 

“I’m just closing my eyes for a few minutes,” she insisted as her head hit the pillow. “Just a few, Raf… I just… I am… I….”

The room was spinning around her, and she begged for it to stop. She'd do anything. She had been fighting it for hours, but now, and she greeted sleep as if it were an old friend. Finally, the spinning subsided, then everything went dark.

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