#Now that the observants are gone he's free to adopt danny

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 68

Danny stares up up up at the being cooing down at him, a mass of eyes and tendrils and whatever else twisting in and out of portals, shattering to sand and reforming, buckling into a smaller shape and expanding in an ever moving form. This was not what he was expecting when Clockwork offered to introduce him to Chaos, but maybe he shouldn’t be so surprised. 

Bonus DPxDC crossover: Clockwork introduced his lil baby ghostling to his old friend Chaos so they can set up playdates between their two kids. Klarion and Teekl are now being spotted with a white-haired boy and a green puppy that can go giant and monstrous like Teekle, to Young Justice’s (And the league’s) concern

[darks-ink]

Parental Woes

Humans form families of flesh and blood, while ghosts form theirs based on connections in their cores. But what does that mean for a half-ghost?

Prompt: Clockwork and Pandora, despite Danny’s protests, start acting as ghostly parental figures. Including showing up to Casper High's parent teacher conference. Prompt by: @going-dead​ Word count: 5,258

[AO3] [FFN] [more Phic Phight fics]

---

A knock sounded on the door, and Danny let himself slump down even further into the seat. He’d been hoping that his parents wouldn’t have shown up despite Lancer’s call, but alas. Should’ve figured that he wouldn’t be that lucky.

“Ah, there they are. Come in, folks, the door’s open,” Lancer called. He continued talking as the door clicked open. “I apologize for calling you two, but Danny has been…”

He trailed off, fell silent, and Danny looked up confused. And up and… up.

“Oh my god,” he groaned, resisting the urge to slam his head into Lancer’s desk. Belatedly, his core stirred in his chest, setting off his ghost sense.

“Um.” Lancer shot a quick look at Danny, but seemed reluctant to take his eyes off of the two ghosts that had entered their classroom. “I apologize, I thought you were Danny’s parents. They’ll be here soon, I expect, so it would be best if you two… left, before then.”

“They won’t be coming,” the larger of the two ghosts said, her voice low and threatening. She crossed one pair of her arms, the other hanging closely by her sides. “We are here in their stead.”

Lancer’s expression grew more panicked.

“Pandora, you can’t say it like that. You make it sound like you killed them. Why are you two here?” Danny shot the both of them an exasperated look. “This is a parent-teacher conference, and you’re not parents.”

She snorted dismissively. “We might as well be.”

“Yet I called the Fentons,” Lancer said, his voice shaky but determined. “I’m— I’m sure of that.”

“A call easily intercepted,” Clockwork dismissed, waving a hand. “We are here now, and not them. Now, shall we continue?”

“No!” Danny shoved the chair back so he could stand up. “No, you can’t just do this! Stop acting like you’re my parents just because you think you’d do a better job!”

Pandora’s blue fingers tightened on her spear. Clockwork’s eyes narrowed. Lancer shot him a look that was both baffled and worried.

“Mr. Fenton…” Lancer started, cautiously. “Perhaps it would be wise to…”

“No! If they think they can go against my wishes like this, I’m gonna yell at them! In fact…” Danny stepped closer to the both of them, crossing his arms. Angled his head so that Lancer couldn’t see his eyes, and then flashed them green. “You two think you’re so much better than my actual parents, but you don’t listen to me at all! That’s kind of a vital part of being a good parent, you know!”

The two ghosts shuffled uncertainly, shooting glances at each other.

“Danny…” Pandora started, but he shushed her.

“No! You don’t get to just— butt in whenever you want! Stop messing with my life whenever you want! I have actual parents, you know, and I don’t want you two trying to replace them!”

Pandora opened her mouth again, but Clockwork gently placed a hand on her arm. “We understand, Danny. We’ll leave. Our apologies.”

“I… Yes.” Her shoulders sunk down, and her crossed arms dropped. “Sorry, Danny. It’s just…” She made an aborted sort of noise. “We’ll talk to you later.”

Danny hummed, and the two ghosts turned around. Walked out of the door like nothing weird had just happened.

He waited for a moment longer, but it seemed like they had, in fact, left. Then he sighed, heavy and gustily, and turned back to Lancer.

“So, uh. Any chance we could ignore that that just happened?”

“Daniel, are those ghosts…” Lancer paused, seeming to reconsider what he’d been about to say. “Why are they so insistent on replacing your parents? Are your parents… aware of them?”

Danny groaned, dropping back into his chair. “No, they don’t know. Well, they’ve met Pandora before, but they don’t know about—” He gestured vaguely. “This.”

“And acting like your parents?” Lancer prodded. “That doesn’t seem like normal ghost behavior.”

“You’d be shocked.” Danny shook his head. “Ghosts are actually pretty prone to adopting people, or making their own adoptive families. It’s just…” He shrugged. “They usually stick to forming families with other ghosts, so people don’t really notice it, y’know?”

Lancer quirked an eyebrow. Danny sighed. No getting out of it, then. “They’re… trying to do the same with me. They think my parents aren’t doing a good enough job, so Pandora and Clockwork have been trying to replace them. But I don’t want them to!”

“How… have your parents not noticed this?” Lancer frowned. “Even disregarding the fact that you’re spending time with strangers without them knowing, those two are also ghosts.”

Danny snorted. “Yeah, they’re… not the most observant. A ghost could live under their roof and they wouldn’t notice.” He paused. “I… I love them, though. They’re my parents. Even if Pandora and Clockwork would be better, which I doubt they are, it’s… they’re my parents, you know?”

“Have you tried… informing those ghosts about this?” Lancer shifted, a hesitance to him that Danny wasn’t used to. “Now, normally I would recommend my students to stay away from potentially violent ghosts, but…”

“They’re not violent,” Danny snapped, immediately, before ducking back into his seat. “Sorry, it’s just— I know what my parents say about ghosts, but they’re not right. They decided what ghosts were like before they ever met one, and now every single interaction, they twist to fit their bias. And it’s… It’s unfair. To ghosts who aren’t like that.”

“Ghosts like these… Pandora, and Clockwork, and perhaps Phantom as well?” Lancer nodded, thoughtfully. “Their behavior certainly didn’t match up to my… expectations.”

“Yeah, it’s just…” He huffed. “They’re nice, you know, and they’re really helpful and stuff. But I don’t want them to butt into my life whenever they want, and I definitely don’t want them to try and replace my parents.”

Lancer hummed. “Have you considered telling that to them?”

“Well, no, but…” He paused, groaned. “Clockwork probably knows now, anyway.”

“Disregarding that unnerving and cryptic bit of information… Danny, how long has this been going on?” Lancer wove his fingers together, staring patiently at Danny. “Between your parents’… subpar parenting, and those ghosts attempting to adopt you instead… Is this why you’ve been struggling with school?”

“Uh…” He shrugged. “Sort of, I guess? A little, at least.”

Lancer sighed, nodded. “Well, I… Normally, this is where I would offer you advice and pointed help, but I’m… not too sure what to do about this. At the very least, I can offer you an ear, but I’m not too sure…”

“It’s fine, Mr. Lancer,” Danny interrupted him. “It’s… I’m working on it. Thanks, though.”

“I will give your… problematic behavior a pass for now, considering the… circumstances.” Lancer frowned, slightly, catching Danny’s eye. “But, Mr. Fenton, I won’t be so lenient again. If something happens, please tell us. Tell me, at least, and I’ll see what I can do for you. Yes?”

“Yeah, I gotcha.” Danny ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, it’s just… kind of a mess. I don’t want word to get out about… well, this. You know?”

“Yes, I understand fully.” Lancer rolled his chair backwards, standing up. “You’re free to leave. Thank you for talking to me, Danny, even if it wasn’t easy.” He made a face. “Or voluntary.”

---

Danny ducked around a floating island, barely twisting around it. The ectoplasm in the Ghost Zone fueled him, pushed him to fly faster than usual.

Clockwork’s tower came into view before he knew it, and Danny slowed down to land in front of the door. Hesitantly he knocked, paused, then opened the door anyway. Clockwork would’ve known he was heading here.

And indeed, it seemed that he’d been expecting him, as Pandora was present too. Good.

“Danny,” Pandora greeted him, perking up. Her hair flickered, twisting into a larger flame. “It’s good to see you.”

“Yeah, I… Sorry about yelling, earlier.” He shuffled his feet, looking at her, then Clockwork. “You guys mean well, I know, it’s just… I don’t want you two to replace my parents, you know?”

“We were, perhaps… a little too forward,” Clockwork admitted, cautiously. “I… We both apologize for that, Danny. For interfering when you didn’t want us to.”

Well, now came the hard part. “I know where you’re coming from, though.” Danny sighed, ran a hand through his hair. “My parents are far from perfect, and they’re… well, human. I’m not… I wouldn’t be opposed to having you two as my ghost parents, but not as a replacement of my human parents. I… If that makes sense?”

Clockwork smiled, the expression turning his face surprisingly soft as he flew closer to Danny. “I can only speak for myself, of course, but that sounds… understandable. You are not just a ghost, after all. You need to acknowledge your human side, too. Pandora?”

“Yes, I understand completely.” She kneeled, gently patting him on the head with a finger. “We did not want to deny you your human side, Danny, but I can see how it might’ve come across as such.”

“Just… you guys pushing your way into my human life is… not great.” He pushed open Pandora’s other hand so he could sit down on it. “I’m trying so hard to keep my human and ghost sides separate, at least for the public, you know? Even if Mr. Lancer was the only one who saw, it could’ve gone so wrong. And I know you two don’t like my parents, that you think that they’re not good enough for me, that they’re dangerous… but doing stuff like that could’ve endangered me, too!”

“It was, perhaps, a little rash,” Clockwork allowed, his mouth tight. “I was worried about your parents responding badly to the news, but I see now how this could’ve gone wrong, too.”

Pandora raised her hand a little, putting Danny at the same height as Clockwork. She sighed. “I thought we would be able to protect you no matter what, but… of course, it would’ve been best if no protection was necessary. I’m sorry, Danny. We did not think.”

“It’s… well, not fine, but I get it.” He huffed, fidgeting with the hem of one of his gloves. “You were worried, and trying to help. And I get that! I like it! I want you two to help, to… to teach me and to, well. Act as my parents, I guess? But I don’t want to lose my human parents, my original parents, along the way. And if you two just push your way in, I could lose even more than just them.”

“You’re right,” she admitted. “We should have listened to you. We had no right to take this decision from you.”

“Pandora is right,” Clockwork agreed. “It was wrong of us to insist in doing it our way. We’re ghosts, used to handling this stuff the ghost way, but that doesn’t apply to you. Not completely.”

“Well, I’m glad we can all agree on that, then.” He let himself fall backwards, lying flat on Pandora’s hand. “How about a compromise, then? About when you can come interfere, and that sorta stuff?”

Clockwork landed next to him on Pandora’s hand, his tail curling loosely around her finger. “That would be excellent, Danny.”

“What’s this, Clockwork? Physical contact?” She laughed, surprised. “Here I was, thinking that you don’t care about me.”

“Nonsense,” Clockwork denied with a wave of his arm. “I have no interest in you in that way, but we both care deeply about Danny, don’t we? That alone is a clear sign of your worth.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Hold on.” Danny held up his hands, interrupting the conversation. “Are you telling me that you two don’t actually know each other? I thought— Well, you know! You’ve been trying to replace my parents!”

“Well, yes.” Pandora twisted her head, narrowing her red eyes. “We have both been trying to make you part of our families. It only made sense, then, that we work together to achieve your optimal safety and happiness. No?”

“I… I guess?” He blinked, stunned. Tried to process the revelation. “Are you telling me that you just both went ‘this is my son’ about me and that’s why you two formed a team?”

“It was either this, or a fight to decide who got guardianship,” Clockwork said, a smile on his face and laughter in this voice. “We both figured we would try it the more peaceful way, first.”

Pandora nodded. “For your benefit, mostly. Normally, ghosts would compete, unless they feel a connection between each other. But we figured that you wouldn’t want us to, and that you would be upset if you heard about us fighting over you, so…”

“You two are unbelievable.” He dropped his head into his hands and groaned. “Were you two ever gonna tell me that you didn’t actually know each other? How did you two imagine a family unit working out if you two barely knew each other?”

“I… well.” Pandora hesitated, turning to look at Clockwork, who seemed equally thrown off. “It is not usually an issue among ghosts. I hadn’t… thought about it. You, Clockwork?”

“I must admit that it slipped my mind as well.” Clockwork’s hands drifted over the staff, almost fidgety in nature. “We hadn’t really… ran into any issues so far. Regarding the shared guardianship, at least.”

Danny snorted. “Right. Well, how about this. Why don’t we add shared family time into the compromise as well? Like, a set evening or whatever where we spent time together doing some sort of family activity. That way we all spent time together, and you two can get closer as well, and we’ll be doing family stuff. Sound good?”

“Sounds very good to me,” Clockwork agreed, smiling at him once more. “I would enjoy that greatly. Pandora?”

“Yes, the same for me.” She raised one of her free hands to ruffle his hair again, the oversized fingers gentle and careful. “Now, as for the rest of the compromise…”

---

“It just makes no sense!” Jack complained, loudly, over dinner. Danny rolled his eyes, only half listening. “Those two ghosts keep being spotted with Phantom, but they don’t seem malevolent in the slightest!”

“Neither does Phantom,” Jazz pointed out, reaching past their dad to dump another spoonful of mashed potato on Danny’s plate. Rude. “The only destruction he has caused was while fighting other ghosts.”

Maddie huffed. “That’s just what he wants us to think.”

“How can you know?” Danny asked, despite himself. In his moment of distraction, Jazz dumped another spoonful of food on his plate. He glared at her, before remember what he was talking about. “I mean, if you don’t think either of the big ghosts are malevolent, what makes you think that Phantom must be?”

“He has to have some kind of ulterior motive.” Maddie clicked her tongue. “Those other ghosts are clearly trying to exercise some kind of control over him. They only come here for him. Phantom, on the other hand, is here constantly. There has to be a reason for that.”

Jazz tapped her fork on the edge of her plate, frowning in thought. “And Phantom coming here to fight ghosts doesn’t count, then?”

“There must be more to it,” Jack denied. “Either way, those two larger ghosts… That’s what really confuses me. They appear as adults, usually, contrasted by Phantom seemingly being a teenager. But their interactions… I can’t make sense of it.”

Maddie hummed. “They’re almost like parents, if not by blood. Trying to teach him, trying to guide him into doing what they think is the right thing. Lashing out towards people who appear to hurt Phantom, whether vocally or with weaponry.”

“I thought ghosts didn’t do families?” Jazz asked, shooting Danny a look. She knew about Pandora and Clockwork, of course. Had been rather excited about the prospect of him embracing his ghostly side like that, but without dismissing the human part of him. “Wasn’t that something you two said? Besides, they look way different from Phantom, don’t they?”

“Ghosts don’t have families like us, but…” Maddie halted, suddenly caught up in her thoughts.

“We’re considering the possibility that ghosts have makeshift families,” Jack finished for her, gesturing with his cutlery. “They don’t retain memories from their life, so even if multiple people from the same family became ghosts, they wouldn’t know. So instead ghosts form some kind of adoptive families. Or so it seems!”

“I… Yes, like Jack said.” Maddie nodded, scooping up a bite of potato on her fork. “Why they do so, however, is more of a mystery. We think that they might have some kind of instinctual desire for them. Or some ghosts do, at least. A hunkering carried over from their former human lives.”

Ha, well. Danny kind of doubted that Clockwork had ever been human, quite honestly. But his parents were actually kind of close, so he was willing to give them the benefit of doubt.

He cleared his throat. “But why? I thought ghosts didn’t do emotions? Why would they want families, then? On what ground would they make them?”

“Well, that’s the question, isn’t it?” Jack grinned, seemingly excited about Danny participating in the ghost discussion. “Why do ghosts make families of their own?”

“It definitely requires further research,” Maddie agreed. “There are all kinds of factors to consider, too. Do animal ghosts carry these kind of desires too? Some other kind of instincts, carried over from their former lives? Do the human ghosts have more instinctual desires, too, that they pursue?”

Jazz hummed, looking at Danny. “Yeah, I wonder too. How human are ghosts, really?”

He grinned back. “Who knows?”

---

“Danny,” Clockwork said, disappointment in his voice. “You can’t let kids run all over you, no matter how bad you would feel about fighting back.”

Next to him, Pandora nodded vigorously, both pairs of arms crossed. “We didn’t train you for nothing! Letting him get away without a fight will just encourage him to try it more!”

“But fighting back will just make him target someone else!” Danny protested, throwing out his hands. “I would rather have him hit me than go for— for Mikey or Nathan or Tucker!”

“This isn’t the best way to help, Danny.” Clockwork drifted closer, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I understand that it is not in your nature. That it’s upsetting. But you’re not helping them by letting other kids bully you.”

“I… I guess.” Danny sighed, rolling his shoulder to dislodge Clockwork’s hand. “I’ll… keep it in mind. Thanks, Clockwork, Pandora.”

“Of course, Danny.” Clockwork took the sign and drifted further away again, a small smile on his face. “I— Ah.”

Danny only had a moment to process Clockwork’s pause when the bushes next to their clearing rustled. He took a step away from the noise, mentally reaching for his core—but his ghost sense hadn’t gone off?

The bushes parted, two familiar humans striding through. Dressed in their usual jumpsuits, teal and orange, guns clenched in their hands but not raised.

“Uh. Hi Mom, Dad.” Danny’s eyes followed their gazes to Clockwork and Pandora, who had withdrawn as well. “Um. This isn’t what it looks like?”

Maddie set a flat and incredulous gaze on him. “Daniel, we were listening to you three talk.”

He grimaced. Paused. Turned to Clockwork. “Why didn’t you warn us they were coming?”

“I…” Clockwork fiddled with his staff, running his black-gloved hands over it. “It is possible that I might have been… distracted.”

“You were too distracted by our conversation to pay attention to your future sight,” Danny realized. Finally he placed Clockwork’s expression, too. It was sheepish. He was sheepish. “The Lord of Time, everybody!”

Pandora snorted, flicking Clockwork’s shoulder lightly. “Not as omnipotent as you like to pretend you are, hm?”

“I will not have this from you, Pandora ‘I will keep all the world’s evils in a box which even the Box Ghost can steal’ of Athens.” Clockwork pushed her hand away from him with one hand, his other gripping the staff more tightly. “Now, let us leave.”

“No, wait!” Jack stepped forward, the movement so sudden that Danny flinched and Clockwork actually paused in raising his staff. “We don’t… We just want to, uh. To talk.” All Jack’s bluster seemed to disappear over the last sentence as he, too, grew uncertain. “We… were listening. Remember?”

“I don’t… get it…” Until, suddenly, it clicked.

They had been listening to Clockwork and Pandora parent him. Parent human him, regular old Danny Fenton.

“Wait. How did you even find us?” he blurted out, like that was suddenly the most important thing happening here.

His parents blinked at him, and even Clockwork and Pandora shot him incredulous looks.

“We… used a ghost scanner?” Maddie raised a hand with the device in it. Ah, of course. A modified version of the Fenton Finder with a mute function. Should’ve figured. “These two,” she gestured at Clockwork and Pandora, “have powerful and clearly defined ecto-signatures, which were easily tracked. Although we were originally tracking a third too—Phantom’s.”

Hm. Well, that added another layer of complication to this situation. He was pretty sure that the Finder still picked him up in human form, too.

The silence that fell was strained and awkward.

“So, now what?” Pandora asked, her voice tight and forceful, shattering the quiet. She turned her red eyes to Danny’s parents. “What will you do now?”

“What will we do?” Maddie repeated incredulously. “You have been— been trying to replace us! Have been toying with our son’s feelings! Doing— Doing something to him!”

Did they… Were they blaming Clockwork and Pandora for him being Phantom? Really?

“Mom,” he said, before she could continue ranting. “I… They haven’t done anything but help.”

“But you— and Phantom!” She looked frustrated beyond words, but— if she just listened instead of assuming, he could actually explain all this! “That’s—”

“Not their fault!” Danny interrupted her. “If anyone’s to blame for it, it’s me. Or maybe even you, but definitely not the two of them.” He watched his parents open their mouths and cut them off again. “It was the Portal. When it didn’t work I went to check it out. I was inside it when I accidentally turned it on.”

“But that— that would’ve killed you!” Her eyes grew wide, and next to her, so did Jack’s. “Danny…”

“I’m not dead! Just… half-ghost.” He laughed, uncertainly, awkwardly. “It, um. I know you don’t really believe that that’s possible, but, I mean. You guys were wrong about more ghost stuff, too.”

He gestured over at Clockwork and Pandora, paused, then himself as well. “With, you know, emotions and stuff. Ghost society.”

“Ghost employers,” Pandora added, grinning down at Clockwork. “Isn’t that right, Clockwork?”

The time ghost huffed, crossing his arms, looking like he was rolling his empty eyes. “Must we really talk about those ectoplasmic pests? This is about Danny.”

“We did have a lot of sightings of Phantom without those two,” Jack pointed out, softly. Almost gently. “But it… why didn’t you tell us, Danny?”

“I was planning to, originally,” he admitted, lowering his eyes. “Back when you first made the Ghost Finder. I was about to tell you, but then Jazz interrupted us, and then later the Lunch Lady attacked and I fought her off. But you’d seen the ghosts, and you guys got all rabid and ‘ghosts need to be studied and torn apart molecule by molecule’ and— and—”

His breath caught in his throat. He felt like he was choking.

“And I know you wouldn’t do that to me, if you knew, because you’re my parents and family comes first, always, but— But I was just—”

“Scared,” his mom finished for him, when he couldn’t. “You were scared of us. Oh, honey, I…”

She stepped forward, then hesitated. Like she wasn’t sure she was allowed to come near him.

Danny crossed the rest of the distance, wrapping his arms around her. Buried his face in the crook of her neck. “And I know I don’t have to be, that it’s irrational, that you’re not like that, but…”

Another pair of arms wrapped around the two of them, massive and warm. Danny looked up to see his Dad, expression sad and solemn. “Danny-boy, I… We never wanted to make you feel like you had to fear us. We… Oh, no wonder that you had to seek out the support of ghosts!”

“It’s not like that,” Pandora corrected, surprisingly gently. “Danny wasn’t the one to seek us out. Quite the opposite, in fact. No matter how much Clockwork and I pushed, to adopt him like us ghosts do, Danny refused. He wanted us, but he didn’t want us as replacements. He wanted you, too.”

“Daniel struggled immensely,” Clockwork tagged on, voice quiet and stoic. “Half-ghosts are rare beyond belief, and they are all… unique. They all face their own struggles, stuck between two worlds, never quite fitting in. Danny had some support from his human side—his friends, his sister, and, to some extent, even you. But his support from the ghostly side was… lackluster. There was the occasional alliance, but none of those lasted very long.”

Danny hummed, slowly removing himself from the hug so he could look at his parents properly. “I… Clockwork was the first ghost to go out of his way to help me. And Pandora, later, did the same. It’s… It’s normal for ghosts, I guess, to form makeshift little families like that. To grow close to someone and decide that the other is your family; your sibling, your parent, your kid.”

“That’s what Clockwork and I had,” Pandora added. “The both of us had looked at Danny, struggling but trying so hard to help, to be the best version of himself. And we both knew, in our core, that this young ghost was ours. A son. To help, to protect, to train.”

Clockwork nodded, slowly. His fingers were clenched tight around the staff. He was nervous, Danny realized. “Young Danny is… extraordinary. Ghosts are not good or bad, just like humans are not strictly good or bad. But Danny… Danny is grand. He is not perfect, no, but always strives for improvement. His desire to help, even at tremendous costs to himself…”

The corner of Clockwork’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. “It is not a feeling you can really describe, in terms a human can understand. It is something deep inside your core.” Clockwork placed a gloved hand on his own cloaked chest. “It’s a click, a connection. When I first aided Danny, I helped him unwind the possible futures that laid in front of him. Helped him prune off the worst ones. That’s when I knew that I would break the rules a thousand times for him.”

“He came to me, to my kingdom deep in the Ghost Zone,” Pandora started, when Clockwork finished talking. “The Box Ghost had stolen an artifact of incredible value from me. And rather than destroy it, like Danny surely could, he came to me. Asked me to help him stop the Box Ghost, so he could return the artifact to its rightful owner. To me. And I knew, then, that I would fight anything—and anyone—for the right to call him my son.”

“They didn’t even know each other, back then,” Danny elaborated, grinning uncertainly. “And normally, ghosts would fight over that sort of thing, you know? If they don’t know each other, they won’t want to share guardianship. And that makes sense, I guess. If it’s your kid, you wouldn’t want a complete stranger to have their hands on him, too.”

His mom frowned, turning to look at Clockwork and Pandora. “They seem plenty close to me, though.”

“We knew Danny wouldn’t want us to fight.” Pandora pressed the fingertips of one pair of hands together, dropping the other pair loosely by her sides. “And we figured, if the both of us felt such a connection with someone as good as Danny… then the other must be alright, too. And Danny…”

“Danny deserved the best he could get,” Clockwork finished for her. “If the world thought it fit for him to have two ghostly guardians of incredible strength by his side, well. We figured it was a just replacement for the human parents that hunted him.”

Jack and Maddie stiffened visibly.

“I didn’t want that, though.” Danny sighed, ran a hand through his hair. “I wanted them, yes, but I wanted you two too. Pandora and Clockwork are my… my ghostly guardians. My ghost parents, to use their terms. But you two are my real parents, my human parents. I want…” He sniffled, suddenly, and wondered when he’d started tearing up.

“I want both,” he admitted, wiping a hand past his eyes. “Because I’m half human, and half ghost, right? So I can have parents for both sides. Right?”

“I… oh, honey.” Maddie’s voice was soft, teary. “We… We didn’t realize… We didn’t even notice any of this happening, Jack!”

Jack wrapped an arm around Maddie, the two of them visibly itching to come closer, to comfort him. “Danny, I… We messed up. We could’ve lost you—we almost did lose you—and we didn’t even notice. Oh, kiddo.”

“And we would’ve deserved it,” Maddie tacked on, pressed against Jack. “For everything we’ve said, everything we’ve done—and not done. We didn’t even notice we were losing you.”

“I didn’t want to lose you two, either,” Danny admitted, creeping in closer. “Can I…”

They drew him into the hug before he could even finish the question. In his chest, his core chirped and churned and purred, whirring a tone of pleased-sad-upset-family.

“We love you, honey,” his mom told him, quietly. “And we’re so, so, sorry.”

“I know,” he whispered back. “I love you too, with all my heart, with all my core.”

But it churned, also, upset over the fact that two more parents were lingering far away. “But I… Clockwork and Pandora are mine, too. I can’t… I can’t pick.”

“You won’t have to,” Jack promised him, one massive hand ruffling his hair—although not nearly as massive as Pandora’s. “You were right. You’re human, and ghost, and you shouldn’t repress one side in favor of the other.”

“Besides…” Maddie drew back a little, looking at the two ghosts. “Having proper ghost experts around would be… good. Should you ever run into ghost-related issues, well… Clearly our research isn’t good enough.”

Danny grinned, cheerfully. “Can they—”

Jack nodded, gesturing over at Clockwork and Pandora. And, hesitantly, the two ghosts came closer.

“Come on!” Jack encouraged, his tone cheerful and just a tad forced. “We’re connected by our love for Danny, aren’t we?”

“That, we are,” Clockwork agreed, slowly. He floated up next to Danny, just shy of touching anyone. “It would be my pleasure to help you however possible, for Danny’s benefit.”

“Prude,” Pandora scolded lightheartedly, wrapping her four massive arms around their entire group. Forcibly drew Clockwork against the rest. “But he’s right. I, too, will do whatever I can to help Danny.”

“Good.” Maddie untangled one hand, softly ruffling Danny’s hair. “I never want to hurt Danny ever again, even on accident.”

“Amen,” the other three echoed, their voices almost synchronous.

And this? This, Danny could get used to.

Even if it wasn’t perfect yet, his human parents clearly wary of his ghostly parents, this was… this was leagues better than anything he could’ve ever predicted.

Laughter bubbled up from deep inside him, and he let it.

Next parent-teacher conference with Mr. Lancer was going to be a riot.

[thelastspeecher]

I can’t think of a good title, so I’m not gonna give this a title.

A little while ago, I got in a major mood for my Stay-at-Home Stan AU (my AU where Stan becomes a stay-at-home dad), to the point that I wanted to write a thing for it, but couldn’t think of one.  Luckily, @bluestuffeh came up with a premise.  So, here’s Stan, the legendary stay-at-home dad, helping Ford, the legendary mess, with a parenting problem.

Enjoy.

——————————————————————————————

              Stan strolled into the house, whistling.  He dropped his keys in the bowl by the door.

              Well, this is what life is gonna be like when the girls finally start school.  His hands on his hips, he looked around the living room.  Danny and Daisy had just been dropped off at some summer program being thrown by the local library.  They were finally old enough to do the activities alone, so Stan was trying to get used to spending the day at home on his own.  After all, they would be starting kindergarten in the fall.

              “What am I supposed to do?” Stan muttered to himself.

              It’s been so long since I did something other than take care of them. I forgot what I can do with free time.  Stan frowned thoughtfully.  Hobbies are a thing, right?  I haven’t been able to have hobbies for five years.  What did I like before I became a dad?  I know there was at least one thing.

              “You could always do some cleaning,” Angie’s voice said in the back of Stan’s mind.  Stan thought on that for a moment.

              Nah.  Trying to remember what hobbies I have is better.  Before Stan could spend any more time thinking, the phone rang.  He sighed in relief.  Good.  Coming up with hobbies sucks.  He walked over to the phone.

              “McGucket residence,” he said, picking up the phone.  “Stan speaking.”

              “Stanley, good, I- I need your help,” Ford’s voice said desperately. Stan pinched the bridge of his nose.

              “What did you do this time?”

              “Nothing!”

              “Really?  The last two times you needed my help, it was ‘cause ya made a deal with a demon or weren’t observing proper lab safety.”

              “I disagree with Angie’s assessment of my behavior in the lab.”

              “She’s got a PhD, too, Ford.  And I trust her a bit more with science, since she’s never grown wings.”

              “Despite you calling her your angel,” Ford muttered.  Stan flushed.  During his last visit, Ford had overheard Stan trying out new pet names for Angie.  And he refused to let Stan live it down.

              “All right, guess ya don’t need my help, then,” Stan said briskly.

              “No, wait!  I- I really do,” Ford said quickly.  “But it’s not because of something affecting me.  It’s Tate.”  That got Stan’s attention.  He straightened.

              “Did another supernatural whatsit try to adopt him?” he asked.

              “No, he’s sick.”

              “Okay.  What’s he sick with?”

              “He claims it’s the flu, but his symptoms don’t align with influenza.” Ford’s panic was evident in his voice. Stan could picture Ford running his hands through his hair, practically pulling it out in distress.  “He also says he’s had it before!  Stanley, what’s-”

              “Geez, Sixer, calm down,” Stan said, exasperated.  “Kids get sick all the time.  Don’t you remember how often we puked our guts up when we were Tate’s age?”

              “Um.  Yes?”

              “Look, it’s probably nothing.  Just ask Fidds what to do.”

              “He’s not here.”

              “Where is he?”

              “A conference.”  Ford’s voice rose in pitch.  “Stanley, it’s the first time I’ve been left in charge of Tate on my own!”

              “Really?” Stan asked.  “He’s lived in Gravity Falls with you and Fidds for a year.”  Ford spluttered for a few moments.

              “I- his ex-step-mother doesn’t have much faith in my childcare abilities, and she still has partial custody of him, so legally she has a say in who watches him.”

              “Right.”  Stan rubbed his forehead.  “Jenny still hates your guts, huh?”

              “Unfortunately, yes.  Stanley, I don’t know what to do, what if Tate’s seriously ill?  He’s clearly delirious if he’s claiming he has influenza and he’s vomiting,” Ford said in a rush.  Stan raised an eyebrow.

              “He’s puking?”

              “Yes!  I know we vomited as children, but-”

              “Ford.  He doesn’t have the actual flu.”

              “Of course not, his symptoms-”

              “He’s got stomach flu.”

              “…What?” Ford asked, dumbfounded.  Stan leaned against the wall, playing with the phone cord.

              “Stomach flu.  The girls had it last year.  I’ve seen some messes, but twin toddlers exploding from both ends?  Might have been the worst.”

              “What’s a stomach flu?”

              “You-”  Stan kneaded his forehead.  “How do you not know what the stomach flu is?  You’ve got a doctorate!”

              “Not in medicine!”

              “Yeah, but-” Stan huffed.  “You’re falling into that trap of having so much education you forgot the basics.”

              “Pardon?”

              “Angie does it sometimes.  She says that because she’s learned so much in her specialty, she sometimes forgets the things people first learn.”  Stan adjusted his position.  “Anyways, stomach flu is called…I forget the science word for it.  It’s not the actual flu, it’s an infection of your digestive tract. Or something like that.”  Stan frowned.  “Uh, the girls had…I think it’s called a rotavirus.  Most adults aren’t very vulnerable to it, but kids get them a lot. Could be what Tate has.  If it is, all ya gotta do is manage his symptoms and wait for him to get better on his own.”  Ford was silent for a moment.

              “How do you know so much about this?” he asked quietly.

              “Whenever anyone in her family gets sick, Angie goes nuts researching the illness.”  Stan sighed. “It always makes her more paranoid, so I don’t really like it.”

              “Why do you let her do it?”

              “I can’t ‘let’ my wife do anything, Stanford.”  Stan stretched.  “It’s not super harmful for her to do, so I just complain a bit.  She usually backs off once she realizes what she’s doing.  Anyways, when the girls got their stomach bug, she rattled off all sortsa stuff about it. Even while she was sleeping.”

              “She’s a sleeptalker?”

              “Yeah.”  Stan grinned. “It’s somethin’ else when someone who’s dead asleep is giving you a science lecture.”

              “Hmm.”  Ford cleared his throat.  “So, this is likely a viral intestinal infection?”

              “Probably.”

              “So there’s no reason for me to take him to the emergency room?”

              “Sweet Moses, Ford, no!  Don’t do that!” Stan yelped.

              “Wh-”

              “You’ll just run up a bill and the docs ‘ll send ya away with Pepto-Bismol. Not to mention, shit sometimes goes down at ERs.  Just keep him home and make sure he drinks plenty of fluids.  Make him soup, give him juice and water.  Has he had the Hershey squirts yet?” Stan asked.  Ford let out a long-suffering sigh.

              “No, Tate has not had any diarrhea.”

              “He probably will.  Be prepared for that.”

              “Great,” Ford mumbled.  “…Thank you, Stanley.”

              “No problem, Sixer.”  Stan chewed on his lip.  “Next time-”

              “Next time?!”

              “Ford, I literally told you five minutes ago that kids get sick all the time. Kids are germ factories that play with other germ factories and don’t know not to eat dirt.”

              “I knew not to eat dirt,” Ford muttered.

              “Well, not all kids do.  Tate’s gonna get sick again.  And again. And again.  Part of being a parent is dealing with that.  Calmly.  You can’t act like the world’s ending every time Tate pukes.  Take it in stride.  Give him some 7-Up and crackers, let him lay down and watch TV, and just keep an eye on him. Nine times outta ten, kids puke once and then they’re fine.”

              “What if Tate gets worse?”

              “Then you take him to see the doc.  But you don’t make a big deal outta it.  Kids pick up on how grownups act.  If a grownup is panicking, kids are gonna panic, too.  Even if you wanna scream, you keep it to yourself.”  Ford was silent.

              “I feel I’ve become a fool, Stanley,” he said after a moment.

              “Nah.  You’re just a first-time parent.  You think I was this good at being a dad when I started out?  No!  I freaked out all the time!  You get used to it.  And if you feel like you’re doing something wrong, you can always call me.  The girls are doing a thing at the library all summer, so I’m home alone during the day.”  Stan grinned.  “I kinda like telling my genius brother things he didn’t know, anyways.”

              “Ha ha, very funny,” Ford said.  Stan could hear the eye roll in Ford’s voice.  “I…I really do appreciate that, though.  Fiddleford will be gone for a few more days.  I’ve prepared as best as I can, but-”

              “Kids torpedo all your plans,” Stan said, nodding.

              “Yes.”

              “Now that you’ve calmed down a bit, you should probably go check on Tate. Make sure you set him up near a bathroom and make him some soup.  Tate likes the canned cream of chicken.”

              “I believe we have some of that in the kitchen.”

              “Warm it up for him, then.  And get off the phone.  I’ll help you with big things, but I’m not gonna hold your hand for this part.  You know how to take care of a stomach bug.”

              “…Yes, I do.”  Ford chuckled softly.  “Suddenly, I can recall all of the times we became sick with clarity.”

              “Yep.  Panicking makes you ignore things sometimes.”

              “You are correct.”  Ford took a breath.  “Thank you, again.”

              “No problem.  Go take care of your kid.”

              “I will.  Goodbye.”

              “Bye.”  Stan hung up the phone.  He looked up at the ceiling blankly for a few minutes, wistfully remembering some of Danny and Daisy’s firsts.  After a while, he broke free of the memories.  He was glad to have had those moments with his daughters, but he was also glad they were in the past.  Panicked phone calls to Angie’s parents weren’t something he missed.  He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

              “So…what hobbies do dads have?”

[hollymartinswrites]

Chapters: 12/? Fandom: IT - Stephen King, IT (Movies - Muschietti), Doctor Sleep - Stephen King, Doctor Sleep (2019) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh Characters: Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom, Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough, Mike Hanlon, Original Child Character(s), Dan “Danny” Torrance, Abra Stone Additional Tags: Fix-It, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-IT Chapter Two (2019), Domestic, Light Angst, Family Feels, Childhood Trauma, Adoption, Kid Fic, Adopted Children, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Marriage, Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier Are Parents, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Minor Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, Catholicism, Richie Tozier Has Issues, Extended Tozier Family, Medical Examinations, Stephen King References, The Shining References, Doctor Sleep References, References to Depression, Depression, Mentioned Sonia Kaspbrak

Summary:

Eddie and Richie embark on the most terrifying experience of all—parenthood. Or, the author desperately needed a domestic, family fix-it for Richie and Eddie and it turned into a much longer, angstier exploration than I expected.

Chapter XII: Richie and Eddie receive some surprising information about their daughter's shine.

“Hello?”

“Hi,” Richie said, wincing as his voice cracked nervously. Jesus, he sounded like an idiot. “Uh, hi, this is Richie. You called me last night. A few times.”

“Oh, yeah,” the voice on the other end of the line said before clearing his throat. “It’s Dan.”

“Yeah, I know,” Richie replied, wincing again. “Um, it’s not too early, is it?”

“No, I was already up,” Dan Torrance replied and Richie had the feeling he was telling the truth. “We’ve been playing phone tag.”

“I know, sorry about that,” Richie said and glanced at Eddie, who nodded briefly. “Um, listen, you’re on speaker right now and I’m with my husband. We had a few questions for you, if this is an okay time to talk.”

“Sure,” Dan answered. “Go ahead.”

“Well, um...Eddie?”

Eddie swallowed before leaning closer towards the phone.

“Uh, hi, I just...” he sighed. “Look, what the fuck exactly is this shine you’re talking about?”

To their surprise, Dan laughed.

“You’re gonna hate me for this,” he said, “but I don’t really know. I mean, I’ve been working with some scientists and researchers and at best, they can just say it’s a form of...psychic ability.”

“So...psychics are real?” Richie asked dubiously.

“Well, I’m pretty sure the ones on TV are full of shit,” Dan replied. “And it’s not like I can look at you and see exactly what’s going to happen in the future. It’s more like...ideas. If that makes any sense.”

“But our daughter sees the past.”

“She’s seeing flickers of it,” Dan explained, “through you guys. And the people around her. At least, that’s what A—what I think she is doing. She’s not reading your minds, if that’s what concerns you.”

Richie glanced at Eddie, who still had a puzzled look on his face.

“Why is it called the shine?” he asked.

“That’s just what someone called it when he explained it to me as a kid,” Dan replied. “The name sorta stuck.”

“Jesus, how many shining people are there?” Richie asked.

“I don’t know,” Dan sighed. “I think there’s a lot more than we think. Probably a lot who don’t even realize they have it. I don’t know why we develop it. I found out recently that I’m not the only one in my family who has it but who knows what that means. Maybe we’re all born with it and it just flourishes in some people.”

Richie and Eddie fell silent, their minds awhirl. Suddenly, Richie remembered Abracadabra.

“Dan, is this...having the shine as a kid...well, I mean,” he said, trying to gather his thoughts. “Our daughter has an imaginary friend. But she said that this friend taught her about her shine. Is that...normal? Or is someone…”

“Is our daughter in any danger basically?” Eddie asked quickly.

“No, no,” Dan said quickly. “I mean, not...shit. Look, there was a group of people who—they’re not around anymore—who could’ve...who, if they found out about your daughter, they could’ve hurt her but they’re all dead now.”

The room seemed to spin and Richie clenched his eyes shut, fighting the instinct to drop the phone and run to his daughter’s room and gather her up in his arms.

“What do you mean they’re dead now?” Eddie asked numbly, his hand gripping Richie’s free one tightly.

Dan was silent for a worryingly long moment.

“I mean just that,” he admitted quietly. “I made sure of it.”

“How can we know they’re all gone? I mean, you said you’re working with scientists. Are people going to show up one day and take our daughter away for tests or some shit?” Richie asked, the tremble in his voice evident.

“No, no,” Dan said quickly. “There isn’t a database of us or something. And I swear to you, I haven’t told anyone about your daughter.” He sighed. “Look, I know how you feel. I have...someone with the shine in my life who’s like a daughter to me. She’s older than your girl but still young, and I can’t...she’s the most important person in my life and protecting her is everything to me.”

Both men gazed at one another, wondering just how much he could understand. Richie sighed and looked down, absently noticing that his hand holding the phone was shaking slightly.

“Your daughter’s imaginary friend,” Dan said suddenly, “does she have a name?”

“Abracadabra,” Richie replied impassively.

Once again, Dan fell silent. Eddie frowned and opened his mouth to speak when the other man said, “Well, I had one at her age, too.”

“So...it’s nothing to worry about?” Richie asked.

“No,” Dan replied, a little too quickly. “Listen, I got to get ready for work. But you can call me anytime. I don’t mind.”

“How do we know you’re not full of shit?” Eddie asked suddenly, eliciting yet another wince from Richie.

Much to their surprise, Dan merely laughed.

“I don’t blame you for not trusting me,” he said. “I guess talk to your daughter. See what she thinks.”

With that, he ended the phone call.

It was ten o’clock in the morning and Richie was alone.

The kids were at school, Eddie was at work, and Richie was in his home office staring at a black Word document. His agent had been on him to increase his writing output and had demanded he work on some jokes for one of his clients’ upcoming visits to some late night show. He had given Richie a rundown of what topics to cover and how to segue into promoting...whatever the fuck this comic had to promote but it had all flown right out of his head.

Richie sighed and glanced at the time. 10:02. Fuck.

He ran a hand over his face and flinched. Maybe he should shave. But he hated shaving. But Lydia had complained about how his kisses were scratchy now. So he should shave. Right? Yes, get up, stretch, shave. Be an adult.

The phone rang.

Richie picked it up quickly, barely glancing at whoever was calling, just thankful.

“Hello,” he said quickly.

“Hey, whoa, that was fast,” Ben observed. “Barely gave it time to ring.”

“Well, you know I always get excited when you call, baby doll,” Richie cooed. “What’s going on? And wait, isn’t it like the middle of the night by you?”

“It’s seven,” Ben laughed. “I’ve been up for an hour.”

“Jesus,” Richie sighed. “I actually had an early start today, too. Fucking sucked. So, what do I owe this pleasure? Something good, I hope.”

“Yeah,” Ben said, “I’m actually calling to see what you’re doing for President’s Day weekend.”

Richie hesitated and furrowed his brows.

“You do realize it’s still September right, Ben? Or is Seattle following like the Julian calendar or something?”

“I know it’s September but you and Eddie have kids and real responsibilities,” Ben explained. “So, Bev and I have to catch you ahead of time.”

“Okay but you must know I can’t think that far ahead,” Richie replied. “I mean, the kids and Eddie are usually off for it.”

“Well, that’s why we’re telling you know, months in advance, to keep that weekend free, okay?”

“Um, okay,” Richie said, “for any specific reason? Is the world ending that day or something?”

“No, but if you get an email confirming your plane tickets to Seattle for that weekend, don’t freak out, okay?”

“What the fuck? You can’t do that.”

“Yes, we can,” Ben replied, a hint of self-satisfaction in his voice.

“Well, we’re just gonna pay you back.”

“No, you’re not.”

“What the fuck, Ben? What’s going on?”

“Bev and I just want you all here with us,” Ben explained gently.

“What about the rest of the Losers?”

“Them, too,” Ben replied. Richie heard a distant voice over the line and then Ben responding. “Bev just finished talking to Eddie. He promised to take the kids out of school the Friday before and take off, too. So you guys are coming.”

“You’re seriously going to pay for all the Losers, plus us AND our kids?” Richie asked incredulously.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you guys getting married again or something?”

Ben laughed.

“No, something bigger than that. We’ll see you then, okay?”

Richie sighed.

“Okay, but this is all very mysterious and I don’t like mysterious phone calls from old friends,” Richie pointed out. “I learned my lesson from Mike.”

Ben laughed again.

“I promise this is much better than confronting a supernatural clown and childhood trauma,” he insisted. “So mark your calendar and we’ll see you then.”

“Alright,” Richie asked, puzzled. “See you then. Love you, you mysterious, handsome bastard.”

“Love you, too, Trashmouth,” Ben laughed again before hanging up.

Richie stared at the phone and frowned, wondering just what the hell he was up to. He sighed. Lydia will be excited to visit Ben and Bev but he worried about Tess. She had never been on an airplane and Richie knew, from his own overwhelming experience as a kid, that it may be too much for her. Time to schedule another appointment with the counselor and get her ready. Good thing Ben and Bev had given them plenty of time to prepare.

He rubbed at his eyes and looked back at the blank screen staring up at him. Richie sighed again, closed the laptop, and walked away.

The following Saturday, the last before October, proved unseasonably warm so after dinner, Richie and Eddie packed up the girls into the car and treated them to ice cream and a visit to the local beach before the sun set.

Thrilled and energized by their post-ice cream sugar rushes, Tess and Lydia chased each other up and down the shoreline, built and stomped on their sandcastles, played chicken with the surf, and watch the few remaining surfers in wonderment. Richie and Eddie sat on the faded beach blanket and watched them, enjoying the cool breeze off the ocean and the sound of their daughters laughing amid the waves. It was, by all accounts, bliss.

Eddie sighed contentedly and leaned back onto his hands, one of which was covering Richie’s. Richie looked over at him and smiled.

“You okay there, Eds?” he asked.

“Very okay,” Eddie replied. He briefly closed his eyes. “We should do this more often.”

“Yeah,” Richie said. “Before winter hits and we’re cooped up inside the house all the time.”

Eddie nodded and straightened.

“What do you think Bev and Ben are planning in February?” he asked.

Richie shrugged.

“Who knows, but it’s gotta be big,” he answered.

“Maybe she’s pregnant,” Eddie offered.

“They wouldn’t fly us all the way out there for a pregnancy announcement.”

“Maybe she wants us there for the birth,” Eddie laughed.

“Yeah,” Richie said, rolling his eyes, “she wants us there holding up her legs as she pushes.”

“We’d be great birthing coaches,” Eddie replied, smirking.

“We’d have to be sedated.” Richie stretched out and laid down, closing his eyes. “It has to be something else.”

“I guess so,” Eddie replied. “Either way, it’ll be nice to get away during the winter.”

“Yeah to Seattle,” Richie snorted. “More grey skies and freezing temperatures.”

“Well, what if we plan another trip? Someplace warmer.”

Richie cracked open one eye to gaze at his husband.

“You wanna risk two big trips in one year with the kids?” he asked. “I mean, Tess has never even been on a plane.”

“I know,” Eddie replied, “but maybe it’ll—”

They were interrupted by Richie’s phone buzzing.

“Ugh,” Richie groaned, reaching into his back pocket and blindly handing it to Eddie, “answer it for me, would ya?”

“Rich,” Eddie said quietly as he took the phone, “it’s New Hampshire. Dan.”

Richie’s eyes flew open and he instantly sat up.

“Answer it,” he said quickly, glancing at Tess and Lydia happily searching for seashells.

Eddie did so, quickly putting it on speaker and leaning in close to his husband.

“Hello?” he said cautiously.

“Hi, uh, Richie?” Dan asked.

“We’re both here,” Richie answered. “What’s going on? Everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, just…” Dan sighed. “Look, I think I owe you guys an apology.”

Richie felt a chill that had nothing to do with the ocean breeze.

“What are you talking about?” Eddie asked firmly and Richie noticed his grip on the phone tightened.

“Well, it’s not really...I’m technically not the one who should be apologizing,” Dan said, “and I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure so…” he trailed off and sighed again. Richie wanted to throw up. “Look, basically, your daughter’s imaginary friend isn’t so imaginary.”

“What the fuck do you mean?” Eddie demanded.

“I mean,” Dan said quickly, “for the last couple of months, she’s been talking to my niece.”

Richie wondered how he could feel so dizzy while sitting on the solid ground. He shook his head but that only made it worse. He clenched his eyes shut and tried to quell the rising nausea in his stomach.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Eddie continued, his face pale and angry.

“My niece,” Dan repeated, as if now it made all the sense in the world, “she’s the one who your daughter has been seeing. She’s Abracadabra.” He sighed a third time before suddenly rambling, “She knows she’s not supposed to do this. But she’s in college now and she thinks she knows better. You know how kids are.”

“No, I don’t know how kids are,” Eddie replied, his voice deadly serious. “And I don’t know how an invisible, imaginary friend can be your living, breathing niece so please explain.”

Richie thought he heard Dan gulp and he couldn’t blame him. It wasn’t fun being on the receiving end of Eddie’s cold wrath.

“My niece can...she has the shine, okay? She’s the one who I’m trying to protect like you’re trying to do with your daughter,” Dan said. “But she’s not making it easy for me. And her abilities are...well, they’re very strong. She can...the researchers call it astral projection but—”

“Bullshit,” Eddie spat. “This is bullshit.”

“And she found out about your daughter,” Dan continued, “and she’s been trying to...give her advice, I guess.”

“How the fuck did she find Tess?”

“I don’t know,” Dan admitted. “Sometimes people with the shine, they can sort of sense one another. And like I said, Abra—”

“Abra?” Richie interrupted.

“Yeah, that’s her name,” Dan said lowly. “Abra has some of the strongest abilities I’ve ever seen. Somehow they crossed paths...either literally or...mentally.”

The two men fell silent. Their daughters were shrieking with laughter and all Richie wanted to do was grab them both and immediately rush home, locking the door behind them.

“I spoke to her today,” Dan continued, “and found this all out. I suspected it earlier but, yeah. So I wanted to apologize. Like I said, she knows not to pull this sort of shit but she’s nineteen and kinda...willful.”

“Are you seriously telling me,” Eddie said slowly, “that a nineteen-year-old stranger has been visiting and speaking to my four-year-old daughter?”

There was a long pause and Richie just knew Dan had to be kicking himself.

“Not physically,” he answered lamely.

“Fuck you,” Eddie responded. “Fuck you and fuck your niece, whoever the fuck she is. We’re done. We’re going to hang up, block this number, and if hear anything at all about someone seeing our daughter, we’re calling the cops.”

“And what are you gonna tell them?” Dan replied quickly. “An invisible girl is bothering us? Look, I made Abra promise to stop. And trust me, I’ll know if she’s lying. But you have to believe that she was only trying to help.”

“Don’t care,” Eddie said.

“Your daughter’s been doing better, hasn’t she?” Dan pointed out. “No more seizures or episodes, right?” At both men’s silence, he insisted, “That’s Abra’s doing. Just remember that, okay? You can be pissed off all you want but she was...she fucked up but her heart was in the right place.”

“We’re hanging up now,” Eddie said.

“This is a New Jersey number, right?” Dan asked suddenly.

Eddie glanced at Richie, who cleared his throat before admitting, “Yeah.”

“Look, Abra is in New York City,” he said. “I’m only telling you this because she fucked up. If you want to speak to her in person, I can...it can be arranged just please remember, she’s still a kid and she’s had some...trauma in her life.”

Both men fell silent again and Richie ran a shaking hand through his hair. Lydia called his name, waving and holding up what appeared to be a giant shell. He waved back.

“We have to go,” Richie said.

“Okay,” Dan sighed.

“And don’t call us ever again,” Eddie said, ending the call. He dropped the phone onto the blanket, his face still pinched with anger. He clenched his shaking hands into fists and shook his head, taking a deep, slow breath.

“Eddie,” Richie whispered, guilt suddenly overwhelming him. “Eddie, I—”

“Block that number,” Eddie said calmly. “I’m gonna go get the girls. It’s getting dark.”

Richie watched as his husband stood, brushed the sand of his legs, and walked towards the shore, their daughters rushing up to meet him with their hands filled with shells. He blinked when he realized he had tears in his eyes and quickly wiped them away, schooling his face into a wide grin as the girls raced up to the blanket, chattering excitedly.

“Wow, look at those,” he said, observing the shells in their outstretched hands. “That’s some excavation work, girls.”

“Daddy said we can put them in the garden,” Lydia announced happily.

“Sure, we can,” Richie agreed. “You guys ready to go?”

The girls whined and begged for another half hour but Eddie was right. The sun was setting and they knew better than to push off bedtime. Both men shook off and rolled up the blanket as the girls carefully placed their shells into a tote bag brought especially for the occasion before taking their fathers’ hands. As they walked up the beach to the boardwalk, Richie noticed Tess peering up at him curiously.

“You okay, kiddo?” he asked.

“Are you okay?” she responded.

Richie swallowed and nodded, smiling broadly.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he said.

Tess turned to look at Eddie but he smiled back down at her, as well. She looked as if she wanted to question them further but she was interrupted by her sister asking for ice cream on the ride home. Richie exhaled a breath, tightened his grip on his daughter’s hand, and thought only of home.

[chrismerle]

Action Romp part THREE

nope, it still doesn’t have an actual title. if I put it on AO3 I’ll worry about a title then, but for now it’s just the Action Romp. granted, this chapter has no action. not much of @nicxan‘s Dan, either. this chapter is mostly Shai being introspective and more of me shamelessly shipping them with the Affectionate Devil. also a guest appearance by @digitalmoriarty‘s Ashley!

There are preparations to make before leaving, of course. They don't actually know how long they're going to be gone, and they don't know what they're going to encounter. Presumably there are people Dan needs to speak to and orders he needs to give to his crew in his absence, considering the current condition of his ship. And there are some uncomfortable conversations that Shai needs to have, as well.

Putting things in order with the newspaper is more like lining up dominos and hoping they don’t fall. The functionary is nominally in charge in Shai's absence, while the devil is in charge of the functionary and Danny's revolutionary friend is in charge of the devil. They figure they'll balance each other out, and if all else fails then Lyme can knock them all out with the camera.

Everyone at Benthic is accustomed to them disappearing at this point, and generally willing to put up with it as long as they keep sharing their research.

Asking Dresden to keep up with the paperwork for the orphanage is simple enough. And Aunt Corrine is only too happy to help Marjorie with potential adopters in Shai's place, and she seems more amused than offended when they make her promise to leave her day job very far away from the townhouse.

It's really only the last conversation, the evening before they're set to leave, that's particularly uncomfortable. It happens at Caligula's, and they stare at the table as they speak.

"I'm aware it's really not fair of me to ask this. Or to ask anything, honestly."

The chair across from them creaks. "You can ask me for anything." Ashley sounds very matter-of-fact as they say it. Like they're stating the obvious.

Shai sighs out something like a laugh and busies themself with their coffee for a moment. "Ah, right. How silly of me." They set the cup down and glance up through their lashes. "I'm going away for a while." Ashley is going to say something, only to close their mouth when Shai adds easily, "No, I don't know how long." They lean back in their chair and fold their arms over their chest. "I need someone to make sure no one comes after the townhouse. I don't expect you'll actually have to do anything, but Hell already tried to set it on fire once. I would rather not have a repeat."

Ashley wants to do…something. It's subtle enough, but they look conflicted. Shai isn't actually sure what. Maybe to go with them. Maybe to go in their stead. Either way, it's not actually what Shai is asking.

"I can take care of myself, Ash," they point out when the silence stretches for just a moment too long. "And I'm going to go whether you agree or not."

Slowly, Ashley sighs. They drag the tip of one finger around the edge of their cup. And finally they concede, "I'll do what I can."

Shai smiles, crooked and cautious, though it takes them a beat too long to say, "Thank you."

They leave money on the table when they go.

--

The two of them are on the steamer. Danny seems a little perplexed, staring at the ship's mooring from the deck. Finally, he asks, "Wasn't this thing stuck in the mud beside the docks before?"

Shai scoffs and knocks their mug affectionately against the hull, sparing only a passing glance for the wine that tips over their fingers. "Don't insult her," they scold mildly. "She's not a thing." They don't actually answer the question, if only because they aren't sure how to explain that little excursion, and honestly it's not like the little steamer will be making another unexpected trip.

Instead, they simply ask, "Ready for whatever tomorrow brings?"

"I've been ready," Danny answers dryly, before he empties his mug and heads towards the cabin for the bottle. He sticks his head back out to point out, "I don't have quite as many ducks to put in a row as you do." He emerges a moment later with the bottle, admitting with a grumble, "Still weird to know I'll be at zee without my own crew, though."

Shai shrugs broadly before brandishing their mug for Danny to top it off. "The other option was to leave The Citadel in the hands of strangers."

Danny wrinkles his nose and mumbles something incoherent, though it has something to do with not trusting strange ships, either. Flipping him off seems like the most mature way to deal with such an insult to their ship, so that's what Shai does. If nothing else, it gets a startled laugh and Danny stops pouting for the evening.

(Admittedly, the wine also has a great deal to do with the absence of pouting, probably.)

They're a bit concerned, maybe. They don't like being taken off guard and they don't really know what's coming. But they've been in stranger situations before, and they'll doubtlessly be in stranger situations again. When they wave Danny off for the night, they're as relaxed as they're generally capable of being.

--

The devil shows up in the night, clicking his tongue and tutting when he finds them still awake, reading in the steamer’s cabin by candlelight.

"Shouldn't you at least pretend to get enough sleep for tomorrow?" he wonders dryly, slipping the book from their hands before they can protest.

Shai rolls their eyes and leans their chin on one hand, elbow on the table. "Worried for li'l ol' me?" they wonder, sweet and sly as prisoner's honey, regardless of their recent aversion to the substance. "You already know I can take care of myself."

The devil sighs with unwonted melodrama and leans a hip against the edge of the table. "My concern is more about what sort of trouble you'll get yourself into. You're very good at adding paperwork to my pile, even when it should be statistically implausible."

They scoff and flap a hand at him. "Please. I'm not set to go to the Iron Republic for weeks yet," they assure him wryly, leaning forwards on one elbow. "I think you'll be free of paperwork from me for a while, still."

His eyes narrow slightly, and he clicks his tongue. The devil doesn't get a chance to object, though, before Shai smiles, softer than usual. "You're actually concerned," they coo, gleeful and fond. "Well, let's have it, then."

"We don't know who the Maker is," the devil admits plainly. "Whoever they are, their name hasn't exactly crossed the desks at the Embassy."

"Well, I have always been a trailblazer," Shai muses, gaze drifting thoughtfully towards the ceiling.

The devil pulls off one glove for the express purpose of swatting them over the head with it, and they snort out an indelicate laugh.

"Have a little faith, dear." They grin up at him, toothy and impish, tip of their tongue caught between their teeth. "I have too many irons in the fire here to die out at zee for too long. I’ll be fine." They straighten up, palms on the table. "And if it will make you feel better, I'll even go pretend to sleep."

"It doesn't, but I understand you're doing your best," he returns blandly. Shai flings a bookmark at him.

--

The ship is stocked and ready to set sail. Shai and Danny are also stocked and…more or less ready to set sail. Shai's crew is gathered, and Danny has inspected them like he has any really choice but to get on the same ship as them. The map has been checked and re-checked and checked again. Danny has kissed his husband for luck, loudly and obnoxiously and in full view of Shai's ship and crew, and Shai has made an equally obnoxious show of swooning at the sight, also for luck.

It feels fitting to make an observation on the weather when one is about to set sail, but that is one of the many things Shai left behind years ago. Somewhere a mile over their heads, it's a pleasantly sunny, breezy morning, and they decide that will have to be good enough.

Danny is at the helm, because there are some things he won't compromise on, and frankly Shai would rather not be there. And soon enough, the docks are shrinking in the ship's wake.

[meenah-is-a-punk-rocker]

11 Spooky, Obscure Halloween Songs For Your Retro Costume Celebration

Not like the winter holidays of Christmas, Hannukkah, Kwanzaa, and the Solstice, which appear to abound with music both sacred and secular, the musical traditions of Halloween fall flat. I'll admit to simply skimming the preious entries, so please forgive me if someone already talked about Mike Smith's Panther in Michigan. Absolutely cute collection of wonderful comic interpretations of traditional nursery rhymes. Frankly, Carpenter's iconic theme for the classic horror movie could also be confirmation that a song is definitely extra horrifying when there's nothing however a plinking piano melody within the background. When youngsters dance they're more prone to making buddies and constructing their socialization skills. Depending on the variety of children you might have and the area you've this may be finished in several ways. The final will encompass six entries that, via 50/50 public televoting and jury voting, will be shortened to a top 2, profitable entry can be decided by the ‘gold last' during which the highest two entries in the final will battle it out for the title of Iceland's 2017 Eurovision entry, decided by public tele-voting. Please feel free to include any other Halloween occasion tunes in the feedback section beneath that you will have in your playlist this yr! Howdytoons brings you one of the best music movies and cartoons for teenagers including Dinostory, Halloween Songs and Rock'n'Rainbow. The Unique Nursery Rhymes - Read aloud to friends and family famous nursery rhymes and songs, such as Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, Jack and Jill, and Outdated King Cole. Use the songs to teach Halloween based mostly lessons and other ideas akin to counting, sharing, feelings, components of the physique, and extra! EFL/ESL Songs And Actions - This resource presents lyrics (and in some cases sound clips) in order to use music and video games to show English as second language. Characters from nursery rhymes, like Previous King Cole, Humpty Dumpty, or Mother Goose herself are Public Area Characters that may feature in all types of works. We've adopted Mom Goose's lead, including riddle rhymes as part of our weekly instruction. Opening with ominous bells, the mushy falling of rain and, lastly, a bloodcurdling scream, Concrete Blonde's Bloodletting” immediately units the temper for an uneasy Halloween night, kicked into high gear with the relentless pummeling of the drums, an ominous, gothic bass line, and haunting vocals courtesy of leader Johnette Napolitano. There was some debate concerning the racial message on the middle of this nursery rhyme (a couple elementary schools in 2011 replaced the lyrics with Baa, Baa Rainbow Sheep”), however most scholars agree that the rhyme has to do with the Great Customized tax on wool from 1275. To start this checklist, I selected one in all Rihanna's songs from Good Lady Gone Bad: Reloaded album. To preview and buy music from Halloween Songs & Sounds by Various Artists, obtain iTunes now. The video is a horror film briefly, with zombies, corpses, and an excessive quantity of near bare women. I can safely say that before a number of days ago, I had never actually listened to the tune in its entirety or given the lyrics any thought whatsoever. A dancey little quantity that tells the tale of the narrator becoming undead to be along with his lady for a Halloween social gathering unlike anybody earlier than. Featuring Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z and Rick Ross as well as Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, it is a beast of a Halloween tune lauded by critics and positioned at number 53 in NME's Best Tracks of the past 15 years. Advised in smooth-as-silk rhyming textual content, a witch and varied mates prepare for a party on Halloween night time, readying their haunted house for the trick-or-treaters who, as soon as they get a glimpse, flee in fright! There are eight completely different versions of this lovable Halloween bingo card you can get at no cost over at Loopy Little Tasks. Halloween songs for teenagers must be extra upbeat, like Monster Mash” by Bobby Boris” Picket. Hardly a bone-chilling Halloween ditty, however it might flip your costume celebration into an all-out sing-alongside. The place to Discover It: José-Luis Orozco's model (proven above) is excellent, although there are numerous videos on YouTube with Spanish lyrics and pictures to help kids observe alongside. To see all the songs on the Halloween Songs for Circle Time Playlist click on the playlist button in the upper left-hand nook. IS THE TUNE ABOUT ONE THING SCARY?: It's about being a nonconformist, which is barely scary for conformists. Like Alice Cooper, this had some rock royalty guesting on it - Mick Fleetwood and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac performed drums and bass duties respectively. Once they do, though, his lyrics rapidly stir up images of bats, undead souls, witches with capes and, after all, homicide that match perfectly alongside any Halloween-like setting. As an alternative, the rhymes have been steeped with political and satirical messages, created in such a method to confuse the authorities listening; thus, preventing legal or different backlash. It is Halloween is a picture book written by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Marylin Hafner, printed in 1977. So this song is finished by the rock group The Blue Oyster Cult and it made its debut in 1976. This music was created by the well-known composer Danny Elfman and it is secure to say that it is excellent for Halloween.

For these looking to have enjoyable this Halloween weekend with out getting all dressed up have a look below on the upcoming events that will entertain families and buddies. One other track that incorporates some old skool dance strikes and undoubtedly one to be carried out is the Monster Mash. Halloween was apparently influenced by the Celts in England, or by the Irish and Scots within the United States. The songs, poems, quotes and greetings are just a reflection of that, what your children really feel and take into consideration the vacation. Perhaps more despairing and disillusioned than creepy, but nonetheless sure to make any social gathering feel like a horror movie. Even inexperienced persons can play this free Halloween music by watching the intervals closely. The poster boys for Post-Punk existentialism, Pleasure Division practically invented the goth subculture due to their gloomy lyrics and disconnected, usually otherworldly melodies. A few months ago i attempted to get the Heffalumps and Woozles tune and itunes didnt have it on here. Encourage them to do the identical, i.e. repeat the rhymes after you in a fun and rhythmic tone. Whereas he never goes full bore wailer like he would on different 50s horror movie inspired songs , there's sufficient edge in his voice to know he's not messing around. The Antrobus Soulcakers Music is sung in the beginning of the Greenman Mummers Souling Play on YouTube. This piece has a haunting factor to it. Nonetheless, it's a fantastic addition to Halloween musical accompaniment that's been utilized in numerous films, TELEVISION shows, commercials, and other media.