#and for his Danno he will assure him all the times it take

[elizabethemerald]

Gala Daze DPxDC

AO3

“What a great idea Vladdie!” 

“I don’t know Jack…” 

“Oh I assure you, my dear Maddie that Daniel will be perfectly safe with me. I won’t let him out of my sight for a moment.” 

“Come on Maddie, it would be a perfect opportunity for our Danno to bump elbows with some rich bigwigs!” 

“Well maybe he can talk to them about getting some funding for ghost extermination. Very well Vlad. You can take Danny to Gotham.”

Danny was disassociating. While not entirely a new state of being, a dissociative episode had never lasted this long for him. He had been fully checked out from his body ever since the flight from Amity Park to Gotham. He had been thinking about turning intangible and just letting the plane fly through him so he could go home, when Vlad had leaned over to him to whisper in his ear. Vlad said if Danny stepped even one toe out of line, or did anything to embarrass him, Vlad would overshadow as many people as it took to ensure that Jazz was turned down by every college she applied to. He would ruin her entire future if Danny did even one thing wrong. 

Danny had started disassociating after that. 

His parents had done a lot to hurt him and Jazz. Usually the harm the elder Fentons did to their children was either accidental or unknowing. Like when Jazz was sick for days after the Thanksgiving dinner where Dad tried to fry the turkey in ectoplasm or like when they shot Danny when he was out as Phantom. 

However this time there was no excuse for them hurting their kids. If they ever listened to their children they would know that Danny hated Vlad and Jazz didn’t trust him. The kids had said over and over again for years that they didn’t like Vlad, but no! Uncle Vladdie could do no wrong! Danny and Jazz were just making things up for attention. 

Ancients, Danny hoped that he could keep his nose clean for the trip, he didn’t want to be responsible for Jazz having to give up her dreams of getting into an Ivy League school. He had lost huge swaths of time. He barely remembered leaving the airport and the next time he was cognizant they were heading to the gala in the tailored suits Vlad had ordered. 

Fortunately Vlad loved nothing more than the sound of his own voice, not even Danny or his mom. So he was more than happy to talk to the people around them about Danny and any time someone asked Danny a question he would be the one to answer instead. Vlad kept his hand either on Danny’s shoulder or on the back of his neck at all times so he couldn’t even slip away. 

Now he was talking to some rich fruitloop who kept trying to engage Danny in conversation. Brucie? Wait? Bruce Wayne? Yeah the guy was rich but why would Vlad go out of his way to introduce Danny to this airhead? 

“Well, yes, my son Damian does have many interests, but I can’t say that any of them have to do with NASA's latest satellite.” Mr. Wayne was saying in response to something Vlad had said. Ah. That made sense. Vlad wanted to brag, shove his superiority into Mr. Wayne’s face. Brucie turned to address Danny. “Tell me Daniel, what do you know about NASA's deep space satellite?”

“Uh, I prefer Danny actually, Mr. Wayne.” Danny said. Mr. Wayne’s eyebrows rose marginally considering those were his first words during this conversation. “And I-”

“Yes, Daniel really is attached to that childish nickname, isn’t he?” Vlad spoke up again. “Really Brucie, you would think children would grow up at some point. We should discuss this more over a game of golf next week…”

Danny let Vlad’s words wash over him again. The worst thing about Vlad was he really knew how to push Danny’s buttons. Of course he would bring up the new satellite only to show off to his rich rival, then not even let Danny talk about it. And then insulting him for his name! Prick!

He tried to avoid looking at Brucie’s concerned face. Obviously he was a socialite and knew all about the proper behavior for galas, and Vlad probably wasn’t meeting those social rules. There was a small part of Danny’s chaos-gremlin brain that wanted to say something seemingly innocuous but super sus if you thought about it. Nothing would make Danny happier than getting Vlad investigated for something stupid like tax fraud, but he couldn’t risk Jazz’s career just for spite. Or gremlin urges. 

Vlad moved his hand from Danny’s shoulder down to his lower back. Danny did everything he could to keep the snarl he wanted to make at that action from coming out. He still couldn’t help the full body shudder that shook his frame for a fraction of a second. Vlad shot him a look filled with malice and promised pain so Danny reigned himself back in and put his attention firmly on the floor in front of him. 

Danny clenched his fists, driving his nails into his own palms. He was sure he was bleeding, but he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t do anything. He hated feeling powerless. You would think that after the portal accident and him gaining actual real powers the feeling would be far more rare, except it happens far too often and he hated it. His hands were shaking with rage and suppressed desire to punch Vlad right in his smug, manipulative, fruit-loop face. 

He chanced a glance up just in time to see a girl melt out of the shadows near the wall. If he didn’t know better he would say she was a ghost with how easily she was able to appear. But she definitely wasn’t a ghost. Perhaps a touch liminal, but not a ghost. And she was watching him. 

Danny tilted his head slightly to get a better look at her and she tilted her head to match. Her eyes flicked to the two adults for only a fraction of a second to confirm they were still engaged in whatever conversation they were having, then her hand came up and she signed for letters in what Danny recognized as ASL. 

“R U O K.” 

She merely looked the question at him. He risked a peak at Vlad, but he was focused on trying to strong arm Brucie into meeting for a golf match and some private drinks. Other than his thumb rubbing circles into the small of Danny’s back he wasn’t paying any attention to him. Danny looked back at the girl who was watching him intently. He gave the smallest shake of his head he could, hoping that Vlad wouldn’t notice. The girl nodded and slipped effortlessly back into the shadows, all but disappearing from view. 

Several more minutes went by of mindless conversation with Mr. Wayne seemingly had given up on trying to get Danny to answer questions. He let his mind drift again to his beloved stars as he began naming the stars in biggest constellations visible in the night sky. 

For a while Danny thought that nothing would come of the mystery girl who had checked on him, until a crash echoed across the hall from the entrance of the gala hall. Vlad finally released Danny’s shoulder to whirl to face the noise. Then to his surprise, Mr. Wayne turned as well to put himself in between Danny and the crash, effectively hiding him from Vlad. At first he thought that was just serial adopter Brucie Wayne’s first gut instinct in a crisis, putting his body between a threat and the nearest black haired kid. 

However, immediately after Mr. Wayne stepped in front of him, two kids appeared out of the crowd, grabbed Danny’s shoulders and started to drag him away. He recognized the asian girl who had signed to him, and the other was, even more surprisingly, Damian Freaking Wayne! That meant that the other girl must be Cassandra Wayne! Sam had made sure Danny knew all the Waynes before the topic of the gala had even come up. Apparently the Waynes were the only people who made the events her parents dragged her to worth it. 

Damian and Cassandra maneuvered through the crowd so effortlessly Danny had to take a moment to check if they were using intangibility. The trio weaved through as the noise behind them got even louder until they pulled him into a back room of the hall where a very tired looking Timothy Drake-Wayne was already there on his laptop. He looked up at Danny in confusion for a second before returning his attention to the computer in front of him. 

“Don’t worry, that noise was just the chandelier in the entrance hall falling. Apparently it couldn’t take Dick’s weight.” Timothy, actual real CEO of Wayne enterprises said. Tucker would be losing his mind right now. 

Cassandra settled Danny into a chair while Damian marched up to Timothy. Danny could finally take a moment to look properly at the Waynes. All three of them wore elegant, likely name brand suits. Timothy was wearing a plain white shirt under his suit jacket while Cassandra and Damian wore black on black suits, though Damian’s did have some green highlights at the lapels and pockets. Timothy looked like his eye bags had eye bags, which Danny could relate to. 

“Father ordered you not to work for the night of the Gala.” Damian snapped. When Timothy didn’t dignify that with a response the youngest Wayne turned back to face Danny. “Vladimir Masters escorted you to the gala tonight.” 

Danny couldn’t help but snort. 

“What a polite way of phrasing that.” He said with a dark chuckle. 

“Would it be more accurate to call you his hostage?” Timothy asked from his chair, where he was still focusing on his computer screen and whatever it was he was working on. 

That brought Danny up short. He tried to stutter out a denial, but Damian quickly spoke over him. 

“Has he hurt you? Threatened you or someone you care about?” Damian demanded. 

“N-no!  He would never lay a finger on me!” Danny was quick to say, trying to project as much confidence as possible. Cassandra moved her flat hand in line across her face. Damian glanced at her and his eyes narrowed at Danny. 

“You don’t have to lie to protect him. We can protect you, our family has resources.” 

Danny shook his head over and over again. 

“I can’t talk about it. I can’t talk about it. I can’t talk about it.” He had to repeat himself, the phrase trapping themselves in his mind as he kept saying it over and over again. 

If he told them what Vlad had done to him, Vlad would ruin Jazz’s entire life. He already regularly tried to kill his father, but there was no telling what he would do to Jazz. Danny couldn’t tell them about being thrown into walls during his fights with Plasimus, or the clones Danny had watched melt in his arms under Vlad’s uncaring eye. He almost jumped out of his skin when a hand came to rest on his shoulder. 

While he was panicking, Damian had withdrawn, visibly uncertain about how best to approach him. Cassandra and Timothy had come closer, Cassandra had her hand on his shoulder providing a calm, steadying presence. Timothy had closed his laptop and scooted forward his attention now fully on Danny. He made some motion to the others that seemed to symbolize that he was going to be taking point. 

“You’re not from Gotham originally, is that right?” When Danny nodded he continued. “We have some heroes here in Gotham. Believe it or not, we Waynes get kidnapped a lot, get rescued a lot. We know some of the Bats, they could help you.” 

Danny was already shaking his head again. 

“No, no no! That’s even worse. The worst thing that can happen if you Waynes help me is Brucie gives Vlad WE for pennies on the dollar and Vlad gets even richer. But if you get Batman involved, then he could have a man inside the JL. He could turn them against the people, use them as a tool to take over whatever he wants. He could overthrow the Ghost King…”

Now Danny was really panicking. He had muttered the last bit, terror carving its way through him. It would be like the absolute worst of the fight with Pariah Dark and Dan all over again. Danny would have to fight, and maybe kill the Justice League to stop him. If he won, he would have to eradicate Earth’s heroes, and if he lost Vlad would become King of the Infinite Realms. 

“You are talking about mind control.” Damian said, his eyes wide.

“No! Not mind control. Overshadowing. Humans call it possession.” Danny was rambling now. Desperately trying to convince these silly rich people not to get involved. Danny was a lost cause, he couldn’t be helped. All he could do was keep his head down long enough for Jazz to get into her college of choice. The Waynes glanced at each other nervously for a moment and Damian pulled his phone from his pocket. 

“I think I need to make a call.” 

Danny snapped his head up, his attention on the far wall as his breath came out in a foggy puff, like he had just walked into a freezer. He didn't know it but his eyes were blazing green at that moment. 

“It’s too late now.” 

The Waynes all step back or slouch against their chairs. Only a second later the door to their room snaps open, Vlad furious, his once spotless suit now covered in red wine and assorted finger foods. His eyes burned red with rage as he locked onto Danny. Timothy immediately stood to his feet. 

“Ah, Mr. Masters.” Vlad pulled himself back from his rage with difficulty to acknowledge the young CEO. “We were just coming out to look for you. Your ward was grabbed by our security team. Small case of mistaken identity. It's standard procedure during these sorts of events to get my brothers and sister to safety in the event of another terrorist attack. Or worse a Joker attack. Thankfully it seems everything is under control. You may take your charge now.” 

Timothy brushed past Vlad without another comment. Damian glared at him, but he glared at everyone, while Cassandra just stared at Vlad, unblinking, like some kind of demonic cat. Her complete lack of reaction obviously weirded Vlad out even more than Damian’s aggression. 

“Oh I’ll do that.” He grabbed Danny’s arm hard enough to bruise. “Come Daniel. We’re leaving.” 

Danny turned away from the Waynes as he was dragged out the door. He didn’t want to face their pity. At least he did a good enough job convincing them that they can’t help him. Now he just had to last long enough to get back home again. He let himself checkout, ignoring Vlad’s crushing grip on his arm as he dragged from the gala and back to the hotel. 

When Danny next checked in with his body it was to Vlad screaming in his face and burning pain in his body. In Vlad’s furious race out of the Gala after his humiliation he had pulled Danny’s arm out of his socket. And to emphasize his points Vlad would hit him with ecto fire, each hit destroying more of his once nice suit and leaving burns on his body. 

“You think you can just toy with me in front of these richest elite? I will make your life hell! I will make your sister’s life hell! She’ll be lucky to make a living on the street corners of a shit hole like this!” He gestured out to the window, which Danny belatedly realized was open. “I just don’t understand why you make me do this to you, Daniel. Little Badger, you are forcing my hand and I-”

He shrieked as a batarang whipped from the open window. The lights in the hotel room flickered for a second and Batman, Robin and Orphan were standing in the room when the lights returned. Vlad turned to them, furious that they would interrupt. 

“Vladimir Masters. We have some questions for you.” Batman growled. 

“No! I think you’ll find Batman, that I have some questions for you!” Vlad’s eyes flared red. Danny tried to stop him but he was backhanded away

Vlad floated into the air as his ghost transformation rolled over his body. He reached out to grab Batman but before he could several things happened at once. First and most shockingly, Robin drew a katana and cut off Plasmius’ hand at the wrist. Then several voices shouted out at once.

“Azarath Metrion Zinthos!”

“Dnib siht tirips ot sti ydob!” 

“Puer iste spiritus maxime!”

Chains of gold, purple and blazing fire wrapped around Plasmius again and again. The chains dragged him down to the ground even as he snarled and swore at them. A man in a trench coat, a woman in a long black cloak and an actual stage magician appeared in the room, magic sparking at their fingertips. Cassandra had bypassed the battle completely to come to Danny's side, though she did still have her weapons in her hands. Batman turned to address him, ignoring Vlad’s continued vitriol in the middle of the arcane trap. 

“You’re safe now Danny. You don’t have to worry about him hurting you ever again. This I swear.” Batman said, his voice just as serious as it ever was, and for the first time in his life, Danny felt like he could actually believe it when someone told him he was safe. He collapsed to his knees, shuddering sobs shaking his body. He was safe, Jazz was safe from Vlad’s machinations. Maybe this nightmare could finally be over. 

[zeestarfishalien]

go to work

[spotify link]

The beginning of it was subtle. Danny just started talking less. Tucker and Sam attributed it to lack of sleep, which was true to a certain extent. He seemed to attack things with a peculiar single mindedness. Slowly his time spent relaxing with Sam and Tucker, just messing around and being a kid, became less and less. They assumed he was catching up on sleep or stuck in yet another ghost fight. By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late to stop him.

Got a feelin’ creepin’ under my skin

It began with a bad week. Sleep was something Danny could only daydream about in the brief moments he had to think. It’s ghost after ghost after ghost and then it’s assignment after test after quiz and in that time Danny managed to slip into sleep long enough to reach REM stage twice. With his mind shutting down he kept only two things in mind. Schoolwork and Hero work. All else fell to the side as his mind latched onto those things with a singleminded focus. He doesn’t remember much from that week, only the knowledge that if he stopped he’d breakdown right then and there and be of no use to anyone.

My mind hits a new trauma every rest of my head

The dreams are the worst part of sleeping. Not dreams…nightmares. Most days Danny is more tired after sleeping than before. He just smiles and gets back to work. Words fall from his mouth with most of them forgotten before they finish leaving his lips.

Kind lips get twisted dipped in poison

He knows he’s flinching anytime his parents come near but Danny can’t quite bring himself out of the fog in his mind long enough to control his instincts. Is it words of love or hate coming from them? He can’t stay focused on the conversation long enough to know. Is he “beloved Danno” or “ghostly menace?” Does it matter? They’re both him. He deserves it right? If he can’t protect everyone he’s useless. He can’t let himself become an annoyance so he has to go to work work.

Don’t care if I’m really ready

Go to work work

And my everything is unsteady

The fear of becoming Dan presses at the edges of his consciousness and so Danny throws himself harder into work. He can’t be idle. If he stops, then he has time to think and if he has time to think then the panic will set in.

My sanity slips and all the straws runnin’ thin

At some point school falls off his priority list. He retreats. He’s either in Amity fighting ghosts or in the Zone fighting ghosts. He barely remembers his name sometimes, but names don’t matter when you’re working. He doesn’t deserve a name if he can’t protect the town. He can’t fail, he can’t fail, he can’t fail…

Go to work work

If they hadn’t been assured that this was the same ghost, the heroes present would swear that this was something entirely different.

The spirit before them barely resembles the young boy he once was in life and early death. Teeth sharp for ripping and tearing flesh from anything too close to that wide jaw. Skin an eerie opalescent blue that seems almost translucent in the sun. The symbol on his chest is nearly obscured by the long white hair that hangs in lank strands over his face and chest. His limbs are either more of a suggestion or things too long and with one too many joints. Or even worse a joint that moves the wrong way.

The thing before them can barely be called human adjacent, but the kids who dragged them in insist that he’s still alive and human even if only half.

They watch as those needle sharp teeth rip another ghost’s arm off and they find themselves struggling to reconcile the image.

[Edit:] Feel free to add onto this or change it and take it in a whole different direction

[kinglazrus]

Dead Man Walking

Phic Phight | AO3 | FFN

Submitted by @syrren: Instead of making him half-dead, the portal accident makes Danny unable to die. This....changes things.

(or: how canon changes if the accident leaves Danny with deadpool-style regeneration abilities to make for a horrifyingly self-sacrificing vigilante, or with some kind of reset ability every time he dies to equally horrifying implications)

Summary: The accident changes Danny in ways he never thought possible. Sam and Tucker watch him fall from the portal dead and burnt beyond recognition, but he doesn't stay dead for long. He never stays dead. Of all the things Danny expected to happen when he walked into that portal, getting unlimited regeneration wasn't one of them, but now that he has it, he's going to put it to good use. Deadpool AU.

Word count: 3606

The first time Danny dies, his friends bear witness. They will never forget the ominous whirr of the portal as it turned on, the warning crackle of electricity, the final throat-tearing scream of their best friend. There are other things, too, that burned into their minds that day. How his body hit the floor of the lab with a thud, burnt beyond recognition, burnt so bad there wasn't any blood. How it smelled, to their horror, not so different from charred barbecue.

They like to pretend that part never happened. It's easy when all they need to do is call his phone and hear his voice, unaffected by the savage electrical heat that brought him to ruin that day. When he doesn't stay dead, it's not hard to pretend he never died at all. It took minutes for his body to fix itself, blackened skin overtaken by fresh pink muscle, which then sprouted new skin, perfectly unblemished.

Even the scar he got when he was fell off his bike at six years old disappeared.

"I liked that scar," Danny says, pouting when he finally notices its absence three days later.

"I don't think that's the right thing to get hung up," Sam says.

"But it looked like a spaceship!"

"I always thought it looked like an upside-down nine," Tucker muses.

"Or six," Sam says.

"Upside down nine is more fun."

They proceed like this for three weeks, mentioning the accident only in the lightest of terms, joking about their new, shared trauma. They are content to move on with their lives, forget it happened, go on as normal high schoolers. Until Danny dies again.

—

"What do you mean you don't want to hunt ghosts?" Jack exclaims. He gapes down at the trio, wholeheartedly baffled by this confession.

"I'll stick with tech, thanks," Tucker says, holding up his phone.

"Ghosts just aren't cool anymore," Sam says.

"Can I go back upstairs now?" Danny asks. At his question, Sam and Tucker fall silent. None of them make eye contact, and neither do they look toward the portal innocently humming only a few feet away. Danny is very aware that this is his first time in the lab since the accident. The same thought runs through Sam and Tucker's minds.

Jack doesn't notice the sudden change in mood. "Nonsense, Danno! You love ghosts. Why, I remember when you were just a tyke, you wanted to be a ghost when you grew up." He clenches his fist. "It was unacceptable. But that's okay! You can hunt them instead!"

He turns his back on Danny and his friends, eagerly going over the array of tools laid out on the counter. Ghost detectors, ecto-guns, protective shield, and an empty space where a thermos should be. "I forgot the best part! Wait right here, kids." Jack charges upstairs, leaving the kids alone.

Danny glances at the portal, unable to suppress a shiver. "You think he'd notice if I snuck away?"

"Nuh-uh, if you go, we go, too," Tucker says.

No one gets to go. Two sets of slimy green tentacles poke through the portal, probing the empty air. Their soft bodies soon follow, revealing a pair of ghostly octopuses.

"Holy shit ghosts are real." That is all Tucker has time to say before the ghosts attack. They launch themselves forward, shrieking in excitement. One goes for Sam and the other charges Tucker. They try to jump out of the way, but the ghosts are faster. The ectopuses tentacles wrap around them, pinning their arms down.

"Danny!" Sam shouts.

In retrospect, a smarter person would have gone for the ecto-gun lying on the table, freshly loaded and ready for a demonstration. Or, they might have shouted for his father, a ghost hunter who has trained his entire life for this scenario. But Danny acts faster than he thinks. He dives toward Tucker, the closest of the two, and digs his fingers into the ghost's tentacles. It screams as Danny's nails dig into its flesh.

The ghost's body goes translucent. Tucker slips out of its grasp, dropping to the floor in a heap, but Danny's hold stays firm. The ectopus panics, thrashing and tugging, its flailing limbs cutting through Tucker over and over without harming him. No matter what the ectopus does, it can't shake Danny loose, and his nails are starting to cut.

"Dude, you're doing it!" Tucker says, too soon.

As it flails, one of the ectopus' tentacles smacks Danny in the face, making his head snap back. At that moment, he and the ghost have the same realization. If he can touch it, it can hurt him back. The ectopus gives another shriek and its remaining seven tentacles surge forward. They wrap around Danny's arms, his chest, curling so tight his bones ache. The last one closes around Danny's throat.

His throat, weak like the ghost's flesh, crumples in an instant. His air disappears. No sound leaves his mouth, not even a wheeze, and his eyes bulge as panic sets in.

"Danny!" Sam and Tucker scream. Sam struggles against her captor kicking and gnashing her teeth, but her boots can't reach its body. Tucker grabs Danny, tries to pull him away, to bat off the ghost’s grip, but it is no use. The ghost is too strong, and Tucker can't touch it in this state.

Danny loses focus of them, then. His brain goes fuzzy, everything blurring around him while his face grows hot. All he can feel is the burn, the ache, the need to breathe, breathe, breathe damn it! The haze of the ghost looming over him fills his vision, slowly overtaken by red, then black spots.

As everything goes dark, Danny's last thought is this:

I guess I'm dead after all.

—

He hears the sobbing first. It starts off quiet and distant, but quickly grows louder, great hiccupping coughs scattered between heart-wrenching cries.

"Mr. Fenton!" someone screams. It happens fast, after that. Thundering steps, a deep cry of shock and pain that cuts him to his core. A piercing whine followed by two quick blasts.

The ectopuses' retreating shriek cuts through Danny loud and clear. His eyes snap open and air rushes into his lungs, a hoarse, wheezing breath that he holds for a moment. Then he takes another, and another, and he's breathing again, and he's not anymore.

Sam and Tucker, kneeling at his side, cry out as one. They throw themselves on him, blubbering messes the both of them. Danny's father, facing the portal, turns disbelieving eyes on him.

Danny's gaze drops to his father's hand and the ecto-gun clutched in it. "Oh, right." The word scrapes against his throat. He swallows, twice, until speaking doesn't hurt and says, "I forgot we had the gun.

"Danny!" Jack dashes toward them, dropping to his knees beside Danny. Sam and Tucker scramble back, giving him room. "Are you alright? What happened? You looked..."

Dead.

Because he was. Again.

"I'm fine," Danny assures him. "Lost consciousness, that's all.

"Danny, your face was blu—" Tucker yelps when Sam punches him in the shoulder, cutting him off mid-sentence. He rubs the spot, shooting her an offended look, but Sam's eyes are only on Danny.

Danny nods, just enough that she can see, a silent thanks.

"I think you kids should go upstairs now." Jack's voice trembles. He raises his hand, about to run it through his hair, but stops when he sees the gun he's still holding. "I'll take care of things down here. Call your parents and all that."

For the first time, Danny notices the green splotches littering the floor and the wall. Probably from the ectopuses.

Sam loops an arm around Danny's shoulders, hoisting him up. He stumbles when he gets to his feet, bracing himself against her as the room spins. It settles after a few seconds, but he still feels a bit lightheaded. A side effect of choking, maybe?

Tucker helps from Danny's other side. They go up to Danny's room in silence, their steps thumping up the stairs. Only once they're safely behind his closed door, and Danny is lying on the bed, does Sam speak.

"You died again," she says.

Danny touches his throat. "Yeah." Pressing gently, he feels is no lingering pain. Just like before, he healed without a trace. "Can I just not die now?"

"More like you can't stay dead," Tucker says.

"Tucker!" Sam hisses.

"What? It's true! Sorry that I'm not handling seeing my friend die twice very well!"

"Be quiet!"

Danny cuts in before they can devolve into shouting. "Let's just leave it at two, okay?"

Sam and Tucker share a glance over Danny's prone form and nod. The weight of that action is lost on Danny, whose only thought is that he wants to sleep for a very long time.

—

The knives don't kill him. They hurt like hell, but they don't kill him. He sees them flying toward him and leaps out of the way. Something strikes him in the gut, a solid punch that blows the air from his lungs and knocks him back into the walls. He thinks one of the frozen steaks got him, but when he looks down, he sees the handle of a kitchen knife sticking out of his stomach.

He stares at it, stunned, not feeling anything at first. Then, his body jolts, like a shock of electricity is running through him, and his nerves scream, heat building, until every little twitch sends a jolt of pain so deep coursing through him that he can hardly breathe.

"Danny, look out!" Tucker, or Sam, he can't tell which, so lost in his pain, cry out a warning. Danny doesn't move in time and two more knives bury themselves in his body, another in his stomach, and the other through his chest. The Lunch Lady cackles with glee as Danny gurgles. The last knife got his lung, and he can feel it slowly filling.

The pound of Sam's boots on the tiles reaches his ears. She shouts something, but he doesn't hear it. Trembling, Danny grips the handle of the knife in his lungs. In first-aid, they tell you to leave whatever object stabbing you in. It keeps the wound plugged, stops you from bleeding out. But Danny's instincts cry out against everything he was ever taught.

Take them out! Take them out!

He braces himself, then yanks. It hurts so much worse coming out, now that he's aware of the pain, the sharp edge searing as it rips the wound wider. He drops the knife and goes for the next one. All three fall to the floor beside him with a clatter, their blades shiny and red. Danny can't breathe, can barely think through the pain. He presses a hand against his chest, feeling the wound beneath his shirt.

It stitches itself together beneath his fingers. The searing pain retreats, replaced by a dull ache. By the time Sam reaches him and rips his shirt open to see his wound, his chest is healed.

"Technically, I didn't die," Danny croaks.

Sam sobs, covering her mouth with her hand. There's relief in her eyes, beneath the horror, and she makes a noise that might be a laugh, choked and garbled as it is.

Danny dives back into the fight with renewed vigour. Twenty minutes and one Fenton Thermos later, the ghost is gone, but not before half the student body saw some bloody idiot fighting it bare-handed.

"Did you see who it was?" Dash whispers to his friends.

Danny, clean of blood and wearing his gym t-shirt, slumps against the wall nearby, listening. Someone called the police when meat started flying through the hallways, and they apparently called Danny's parents. Ghosts are real and everyone knows it now, but Danny doesn't care about that at the moment.

"No, man. I wasn't close enough," Kwan answers Dash.

"Whoever that was, he totally just saved us all," Paulina says. She clasps her hands together and leans against Star. "He's such a hero."

Hero. The word resonates with Danny. He can't explain it, but it pulls at him. A hero. The school is in chaos, the yard covered in raw meat, the hallways hacked and slashed, but everyone is safe and unharmed thanks to Danny.

"More like a dumbass," Sam mutters from Danny's left.

"Semantics," Tucker says.

Between them, Danny only grins.

—

Jack paces in front of the portal, a tub of fudge cradled in the crook of his arm. Every few steps, he grabs a square and pops it in his mouth, chewing furiously. Between bites, he mutters.

"I'm telling you, Mads. He must have been some kind of ghost," he says.

"I don't know, Jack." Maddie, staring at the computer screen, tilts her head. They managed to grab a few stills from the school's security footage of the figure who fought off the ghost, but they didn't come out right. The surroundings are a little grainy, but no more than a standard security camera, so they know there's nothing wrong with the film itself. The ghost, who called herself the Lunch Lady if Maddie remembers correctly, is little more than a green haze in the image. They expected this. Ghosts don't interact with most technology well, not unless it is designed to interact with them.

But the smaller figure is distorted, a twisted shadow obscuring their form. Not ghostly, but not human either.

She clicks to the next image, getting the same results.

"Are you saying it's a human?" Jack asks without breaking stride.

"It's humanoid, but I don't think it's human, either. Yet it bled, so it's not a ghost. And look at this." She closes the files, revealing a folder full of pictures, all of them taken over the past couple of weeks as ghost sightings increased. "They show up at most fights and leave lots of bodily fluids behind." Jiggling the mouse, she circles a series of four images with the courser, all pictures of significant blood splatters. "But the samples..."

As one, she and Jack turn to the sample tray sitting on the far counter. Where the blood is deep red in the pictures, the samples they took have slowly turned to a dark, murky brown, like thick mud. The oldest sample from the first sighting is black.

Jack grabs a handful of fudge and shoves it in his mouth. "Not to mention," he speaks around the chewy squares, "what does it do with the ghosts?"

The lab door squeaks as it opens. Maddie and Jack fall silent, gazes turning toward the stairs. A pair of red sneakers appears on the top step, creeping down, until the wearer slowly reveals themself. Their son, Danny, with what looks like a thermos clutched in his hand.

"Sweetie, are you only just getting home?" Maddie asks.

Danny yelps in surprise. He jerks the thermos behind his back and swivels to face his parents, freezing on the step. "Oh, hey. I didn't think you guys would be here..."

Maddie narrows her eyes. "What did you do, young man? You were supposed to be home from school an hour ago."

"Nothing! I just got held up." Danny tugs the collar of his jacket.

That's odd. Maddie doesn't remember him leaving with a jacket this morning. The sleeves drape over his hands, down to his knuckles, and he has the collar turned up to cover his neck. It must be cold outside, even though September is only just ending. "What held you up?"

"Uh, that's kind of why I thought you guys wouldn't be here? There was another ghost fight. It got pretty bad." He shifts, pressing his arm against his side. Is his jacket darker there, against his ribs?

"Another ghost?" Jack exclaims. He slaps the fudge down on the closest surface, rattling the test tube samples. "Mads, we gotta go! There might still be some evidence!"

Maddie's eyes widen. "Oh, shoot. You're right! We need fresh samples." They race to grab their equipment, snatching up sample gathering packs from their desks, and charge up the stairs.

Danny presses himself against the wall, offering them a nervous smile as they go. "Stay safe!" he calls. The front door slams as Maddie and Jack make their exit, leaving the house in silence. Still, Danny doesn't relax until he hears the rev of the Fenton RV and the familiar squeal of its tires against the pavement. His shoulders slump and he breathes a sigh of relief.

"That was close." Taking his hand out from behind his back, he looks down at the Fenton Thermos. "Now let's get you taken care of."

As he empties the thermos back into the Ghost Zone, his gaze wanders to the computer screen, still open to the photo evidence. Danny reads the title of the folder. "Challenger?" He snorts. "That's lame." As he skims the photos, a couple jump out at him. In most, he can barely make out the shape of his own body—something he tries not to think about—but in one or two, he can recognize the colours of his clothes beneath the distorting shadow.

Danny slaps the cap back onto the empty thermos before moving closer to the computer, frowning at the screen. "That might be a problem."

—

Danny stands in front of his friends, fists resting on his hips, and shows off his new look. "Well? What do you think?"

Tucker looks him up and down, body shaking as he suppresses his laughter. "Is that a paper superhero mask? Did you spray paint your hair white?"

Danny's hands rise to his head. "It's a spray-on dye! I thought it was cool!"

"Ten bucks says it's super crispy."

"Don't be mean," Sam admonishes Tucker. "I think he looks pretty good. For a discount Jack Frost."

Tucker snaps his fingers. "Emo Jack Frost! The real one would never wear this much black."

"We are no longer friends," Danny says, turning away from them.

"Come on, don’t be a spoilsport."

"Nope, too late. I'm already dead to you."

Sam and Tucker share a confused glance. "Don't you mean we're dead to—" Before Sam can finish the sentence, Danny turns and throws himself out his bedroom window. "Danny!" They scramble after him, falling against the sill as they lean outside, peering down to the alley below.

Danny lies face-first on the pavement.

"Are you dead?" Tucker asks.

Danny raises his arm and gives them a thumbs up.

—

Valerie holds back a startled shout when the metal suit crashes onto the sidewalk next to her. She is not scared, but anyone would be surprised if two tons of metal suddenly fell from the sky. A scream, rapidly increasing in volume, drawings her gaze upwards just in time for a black-clad figure to plummet inches from her nose and land with a sharp crack on top of the suit.

This time Valerie cries out because holy shit, is he dead? Her panic sputters out when she peeks at the possible corpse and gets a good look at exactly who, or what, came falling after. A human figure dressed in all black with poorly coloured hair. It looks crispy as hell.

Valerie sneers. What kind of cheap dye did they use?

She recognizes the Challenger on sight. By now, more than half of Amity Park can, although Valerie can't account for the sudden style change. Maybe they realized how lame their regular t-shirt and jeans are and decided to switch things up. This isn't much better, though. Black hoodie, black pants, black boots, no style.

No one knows their name, but the moniker the Fentons gave them seems to have stuck. Valerie thinks it's a little on the nose, though.

Something wriggles in the corner of her eye and she looks to the Challenger's fist. It clutches a bright green blob, with stubby limbs and a wide mouth.

"Let go of me!" The blob beats its penny-sized fists against the Challenger's thumb. "You are my prey!"

The Challenger groans. "Can you shut up for a second? I think my neck broke." They squeeze the blob until it squeaks.

"Hey. Watch where you're throwing this stuff around." Valerie kicks the arm of the metal suit. "You nearly crushed me!"

The Challenger jolts. Their head whips up, accompanied by a loud crack, and they lurch to their feet. A mask covers their eyes—cheap like the hair dye, probably from a costume stored—but judging by the way their eyebrows shoot up, they look at Valerie with wide eyes.

"Uh, hey, Va—citizen." Their voice drops a solid octave. "Sorry about that! I'll watch out next time." They are about to say something else when a loud squeal interrupts up, the signature sound of the Fentons' approach. The Challenger pales. "Sorry, gotta go!"

They dash into the nearest alley before Valerie can get another word in, leaving her with the empty metal husk and the sound of the Fentons from two streets away. She gapes after them, unsure what to make of the brief exchange.

"Actually, wait a second." The Challenger pops back around the corner, leaping over the ghost's suit to reach Valerie. They grab her shoulders in a cold grip. "Are people really using that dumb name for me?"

At a loss for words, Valerie nods.

"Ugh." The Challenger groans and lets her go in favour of rubbing a hand down their face. "Stop that. It's so boring. Just call me... Phantom. Okay? See ya!" They spin away, too fast, and trip over the metal suit.

Wow, Valerie thinks as Phantom scrambles around the corner once more. We have the lamest superhero ever.

[lexosaurus]

Everything Was White Part 13

[see all chapters]

read on: [ffn] / [ao3]

General Warning: From this point on this fic is going to deal with reoccurring themes that may be triggering to some. Please check out the ao3 tags if you’re unsure.

---

Muffled voices pulled him from the comfort of unconsciousness, shaking his mind awake despite his feeble attempts to brush them off. For a moment, he thought about trying to tell the voices to keep it down, but that would have been too much effort, and he was so comfortable in this blanket and pillow…

…

…

...the voices rose in volume, this time gaining clarity, shape. Almost words. Close, but not quite. Not yet. Danny wasn’t ready. Five more minutes, he was so tired…

“...Danny…”

Wait.

What was that?

His eyes fluttered open, and he immediately took stock of his unfamiliar surroundings. He was...not in his bedroom. He was in his living room, on the couch where he must have fallen asleep after his almost mental breakdown over a glass of water.

How embarrassing. Danny hoped that no one spotted the water glass on the rug. Or, if they had, they hadn’t thought anything about it. Hadn’t figured out that it was on the floor because Danny tried to get water from the sink without using his wheelchair.

Maybe they wouldn’t connect the dots. Honestly, the thought of seeing that pitying expression on their faces as they watched him fail to do a stupidly simple task made him want to fall into a coma.

Oh well. He was awake now. Might as well go get something to eat to make his family and therapists proud.

Just as he was about to toss the blanket off his body, Jazz’s quiet voice sounded from the kitchen. “You can’t keep the truth from him forever.”

“We can, at least for now,” his dad said.

“It’s not going to work.”

Danny froze, the last of his fatigue zapped from his brain.

What truth? What were they talking about? What was going on in there?

He debated standing up and announcing his presence, but the blossoming sense of dread in his gut kept him still.

Whatever was going on, he had a sinking feeling that it was about him.

His mother spoke up. “We have to. It’s for his own safety.”

“It’s wrong,” Jazz countered. “It’s wrong to keep secrets like this.”

“I know, Jazz. But if we told Danny, he…”

His eyes widened, his breath catching in his throat.

Tell him what? 

“Jazz, you have to understand. With Danny in the position that he’s in right now, there are just certain limitations that we need in this house in order to stay on top of his recovery,” Jack explained.

“But cutting him off from his core?”

It was as if he were punched in the gut. He clenched the blanket, balling the edges in his fists. His instincts were screaming at him to jump up and demand the truth, but he buried that part of him back down inside his mind.

They would never tell him. They didn’t trust him enough. He wasn’t human enough.

But they always trusted Jazz. They favored her. She was the ideal child with her perfect grades, perfect ambitions, perfect brain.

Even if they wouldn’t tell him, of course they would tell her. 

“We have to do it, honey. We have no choice,” Maddie said.

“You see how he’s reacting to this though, right? He’s not himself.”

“We know, but it’s what needs to be done. He can’t be given access to his core, not right now.”

Why though, Dad? Tell me why...

“This is cruel,” Jazz said.

There was a brief pause, each second like a knife in Danny’s chest. He wanted so badly to snap, but he forced himself to stay still. To stay silent.

To listen.

There was a sigh, and Maddie broke the silence. “You have no idea how much it hurts us to see him like this. We know it isn’t right to keep a ghost from its core but...at the school that day. Jazz, I’ve never seen him like that. And it terrified me.”

Danny felt his blood drain from his face. His body turned ice cold.

He knew what they were talking about, and he assumed that that day was a distant memory in the past, something that would never be talked about again. And yet, here his parents were, digging up the most humiliating moment in Danny’s life, throwing it at his face like a weapon of why he couldn’t possibly be allowed his ghost half, why he needed to be shut off from himself.

“He’s come a long way since then.”

“Not long enough.”

They didn’t know. They didn’t understand what it was like. They weren’t there, they weren’t the ones who were cut open, who were beaten, who spent all day in and out looking at white walls, white floors, white suits, white ceilings, white equipment.

He hadn’t been himself that day at the school. He’d just come home from the hospital, he was coming off of a cocktail of heavy pain medication, he was physically exhausted from the PT and mentally exhausted from everything else. 

Okay, so he snapped in the locker room. He’d been pushed back into school, pushed into being around people, pushed into acting normal, like nothing was wrong, and the world was warping around him and he just fell apart. He freaked out, he broke a mirror, Dash and Kwan found him, and he paid the consequences for it.

“I don’t think he’d do that again.”

“You don’t know that, Jazz.”

“But his Obsession—”

“It’s protection. Phantom will make him do whatever it can in order to protect itself. Even if that means…”

It. 

The word echoed in Danny’s head.

You’re an it.

Something inside him cracked.

His vision glazed over, and suddenly the two students in Casper he’d hoped to never cross paths with again were standing over him, approaching cautiously, as if he were a wounded animal.

“Give me the glass, Danny,” Dash had said. “You don’t need it. Just give it to me, I’ll hang onto it for you. I’ll keep it safe.”

He looked down, and blood trickled through his fingers, splattering onto the white tile.

It was red. Why was it red?

Crack.

Maddie’s voice faded back into his consciousness. “We just can’t risk it.”

“So what, your genius idea is to keep lying to him about why you won’t take the chip out? Feed him some bullshit excuse about the lab? Danny’s a human but he’s also a ghost! You can’t keep him from his core and expect him to turn out okay!”

“We know that.”

“No, you clearly don’t!”

“Keep your voice down, hun. He’s asleep.”

“Then stop lying to him. Tell him the real reason why you won’t give him Phantom back.”

Danny couldn’t breathe.

His parents. The people who had gone to court for him, who fought so hard to get him home, who assured him that they’d go to the moon and back if it meant keeping him safe. 

He trusted them.

And they...they just…

Crack.

“You know we can’t do that,” his father said. “You said it yourself, Danny’s just as much human as he is ghost. Ghosts don’t have the capacity to think rationally about something like that.”

They just…

“Kwan, get Lancer.”

He didn’t understand. Why were those two here?

“Please, give me the mirror, Danny.”

No, they didn’t get it. He needed this. This was the only thing he could do, it was the only way out. He couldn’t let Operative O take his body again.

“Danny...”

They were afraid, he realized. They thought he was going to hurt them. He was a rabid animal, wasn’t he? And they thought he would attack them?

Another drop of blood splashed onto the tile.

Crack.

Jazz scoffed. “I cannot believe you would just—”

“He’s fragile, Jazz!” Maddie protested. “Whatever happened in the government facility changed him. He’s not the same boy he used to be, something inside him is fundamentally different now. Frankly, we have no idea how that has affected his Obsession.”

His head spun.

They lied to him.

“What, so the better option is to just cut him off from his core altogether and force him to play human all day? Great plan, Mom.”

“If that’s what we need to do to keep him safe, then yes, that is the better option.”

The mirror shattered, the pieces raining down, echoing as they bounced against the tiles. He watched with unfocused eyes as everything around him crumbled.

His heart pounded in his ears, drowning out the arguing voices in the kitchen. He fell to the floor and clutched a broken shard. 

He needed...he needed to...

Protect.

Danny saw red. 

His lips moved before he could stop them. “I thought you’d accepted me.”

The argument from the kitchen came to a screeching halt. 

“Danny! I didn’t—”

“No!” Danny pushed himself to a seated position. 

They kept him from his core on purpose. 

His parents, after all those painstaking hours in family therapy, all that talk about how they were a team and how they needed to work together, had lied to him.

They weren’t a team. They had never been a team. Danny was just…

He was just a ghost to them.

An irrational, stupid, ectoplasmic creature. 

They scrambled from the kitchen, moving into the living room with fear strewn across their faces. 

They hate ghosts. You know this, Fenturd. They hate you.

“We do accept you, Danno. We love you.”

They didn’t love him.

“We were just trying to protect you. Please understand, Danny,” Maddie begged.

They’re scared of you. They don’t know what it means to protect. They’re lying.

“Danny, you need to understand—”

“SHUT UP!” Danny gripped his hair with his hands, covering his ears to quiet the hurricane of emotions devastating his mind. “Shut up, shut up!” 

He didn’t know whether to laugh, scream, or cry. After all this talk, his parents had never accepted him as a ghost at all.

“I’m so sorry, son,” Jack said.

“I can’t—I can’t!” Danny spat out. He had a thousand different responses swirling through his brain, so many things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t. His brain wasn’t working, his voice wasn’t working, and everything he saw was painted in blood.

They lied to him.

“I—you—”

“Danny, you need to breathe,” Jazz said, but Danny could recognize that tone. That was the same voice she used when trying to calm down the neighbor’s hyperactive dog that had a bad habit of finding ways out of its fence.

Danny ripped his head out of his arms, swiveling up to meet the concerned gazes of his family. “Shut up! I’m not a fucking dog!”

“Danny, I never—”

“Stop treating me like a fucking animal! I’m not—I’m not!” Danny attempted to grip the coffee table to push himself up, but he only succeeded in falling back onto the couch. He cursed and blinked away the mist that clouded his vision because he was not crying right now. His parents did not get to see that.

Maddie jumped forward. “Careful!”

“No, shut the fuck up!” Danny yelled. “You don’t get to—to be concerned! You don’t get that!”

Maddie stepped back, looking as if someone slapped her across the face.

“Danny, please, calm down,” Jack tried.

If anything, the red lining in his vision only deepened. “No! I won’t, and you don’t—don’t—ah!” Danny hit his forehead with his hand, frustration clawing at his throat.

There was so much he wanted to say, but he physically couldn’t get it out. He couldn’t stand, he couldn’t talk, he could only sit here drowning in rage.

His body was betraying him.

His parents could fix this right now if they wanted to. They could take him down to the lab, remove the chip, give Danny any semblance of freedom back. They could do that.

But they stood there doing nothing. 

They like you like this. Helpless. Grounded. Easy to control.

“You lied to me! You knew—you fucking—my core isn’t even damaged, is it?”

Jack wrapped his arm around Maddie, who hadn’t even bothered to wipe away the tears that had spilled on her cheeks.

Because of him.

They hate you. 

“Is it?” Danny pressed, but he didn’t need a response. He knew the answer. He knew the truth.

It was written all over his parents' faces.

“Was my core ever damaged? At all?”

“It was, but—”

Danny shook his head in disbelief. “Cores are self-re—self-regenerating. I—I knew that. I knew that! It—it was healed before I left the hospital, right?”

His parents refused to meet his eyes.

“You lied to me. All this time, and—and you...you just…” Danny tried to stand up again, but failed. “I’m so fucking sick of this!”

“Danny, please understand. We only did it because we needed to protect you.”

“Protect me?” He let out a sardonic laugh. “You thought—you seriously thought you were—you were fucking protecting me? Do you not...even see? I can’t—I can’t even fucking stand up! I can’t stand! I can’t do anything! And you thought you were protecting me? Are you serious?”

Jack’s lips thinned. “Danny, do you not realize how close we were to losing you? And I don’t mean to the government. You blasted a school mirror and then tried to use one of the pieces to kill yourself! I mean, come on, son!”

Danny lurched back, stunned. “I wasn’t trying to kill myself!”

“Then what were you trying to do, huh?” Jack shouted back. “Because not even a few hours after we dropped you off back at school, we get a call from Mr. Lancer saying a few students found you in the locker room threatening suicide because you thought you were back with the government! What do you expect us to think, Danny? We’re your parents.”

“Shut up!” Danny squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the flashes of memory that threatened to surface.

“Jack—”

“No, Maddie—”

They hate you. 

His throat burned. “Shut up!” 

It wasn’t fair. His parents weren’t being fair. That incident—that was a fluke. An anomaly. And yet they were punishing Danny for something that happened weeks ago, before he went through the painstaking ordeal of inpatient and psychiatry and the PHP and the whole other host of therapies he’d been forced into.

“What was the point in sending me to—to inpatient then? If you were just going to keep treating me like a stupid animal?”

“Danny, we’re not treating you like an animal.”

“You sure as hell got me caged up like one!”

“Don’t talk to your mother that way!”

“Jack, honey—”

“Everyone, please calm down!”

“Stay out of this, Jazz!”

“Danny, I think—”

“I don’t care what you think!”

“Guys—”

“I NEED MY CORE!” Danny screamed, the sob finally tearing its way out of his throat.

His family fell into a deafening silence, and Danny could feel their stares as ugly sobs overtook him, ripping down any semblance of an emotional wall he’d managed to construct over these weeks.

His tears boiled on his skin, and he dug his hands in his hair in a desperate attempt to ground himself. But it didn’t matter, his body shook uncontrollably, his emotions burning through his throat leaving him gasping for air.

All while his parents stood there ten feet away from him. Frozen, unwilling to approach. Because he was a halfa, a monster, broken, unstable, trapped, feared. He was the demon that parents warned their children about, the thing that his parents had dedicated their careers to developing weapons against, a creature so dangerous that the government had funded an entire group to research and exterminate.

And up until two months ago, it was legal for him to be vivisected, to be experimented on, to be tortured to the point of paralysis.

He rocked back and forth, struggling to piece himself back together. And when he could make it through a shuddering breath without breaking down again, all he could do was croak out, “Why…”

His parents remained unmoving, faces pale, arms by their sides. Tears streaked his mother’s and sister’s cheeks, and his father’s unblinking gaze bore down on him.

But their silence wasn’t good enough, their sorrow and tears weren’t good enough. An invisible wall was growing between them with each passing second and they couldn’t even see it.

They know. They’re doing it on purpose. They don’t care about you.

“Why?” Danny insisted. “How could—how could you...how could you do this to me? I’m...I just…”

“We had to, son,” his father said. The moonlight cast a shadow over his face. “It was for your own safety.”

No. Danny was done with the lies. Done with the excuses. 

He was done.

Flaring his eyes, he bit back, “My safety, or yours?” 

His parents flinched, and Danny couldn’t find himself to care. They’d lied to him, they’d dug their hole, so now they had to live in it.

“Danny, please…” Jazz stepped forward. “Don’t do this.”

“No! You—don’t you get it?” Danny pleaded. “I can’t—Mom, Dad, I feel like a prisoner. I’m trapped in my body. I can’t—I can’t live like this anymore! I can’t fucking do it! You have no idea...and you don’t even care!”

“Of course we care, Danno.”

“Then why? Tell me the truth! Please, tell me why because—” His voice broke, and his head fell back into his hands. “Please...tell me why…”

Jack sighed. “It was just the decision we felt we needed to make. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t something we did because we wanted to hurt you. We love you, son. And we just wanted to know that you were safe.”

“We love you so much, sweetie.”

But they were blind because he wasn’t safe. And he was never going to be safe again. There would always be someone out there who had power over him, who wanted to control and erase him.

If they loved you, they would have listened.

They’re scared of you.

He glanced up to see Jack putting his arm around Maddie, pulling her in close. Jazz stood behind them, allowing their shadows to overtake her body.

Jazz said something, but Danny wasn’t listening. He didn’t care. He was trapped and completely alone. There would be no protests, no online petitions, and no jury on his side. No one to rescue him.

“Then give it—give me my core back.”

Jack shook his head. “I’m sorry son. We’ve made our decision.”

“I’ll find a way,” Danny insisted. “I know some ghosts. I’ll get them to—to take it out. You can’t...you—you can’t stop me.”

“Danny, I don’t think even Frostbite could—”

“You don’t know that, Jazz! He could—he could do it. He would figure it out if I asked.” 

His parents exchanged a look, one reminiscent of the exasperation when Danny would tell them that the detention hadn’t been his fault, that he did try to do the homework assignment, that he would try harder next time.

They didn’t believe him.

“He’ll do it,” he reiterated. 

“Danny, we’re not going to let any ghosts near you right now.”

“Like that ever worked before,” he retorted.

There was a pregnant pause, and Danny looked away. He felt nauseous, and anxiety speared through his chest.

“Please, I can’t—I can’t live like this. I can’t…” 

He knew how desperate he sounded, but for once he didn’t care. His parents were going to kill him by keeping his core locked up. 

Right now it was about self-preservation. If he couldn’t protect himself, it was over.

“Graduate from the PHP program first,” Maddie finally said. “Once you’re back in school, then we can talk, alright? We’ll talk about...about removing the chip.”

Danny whipped his head up, his eyes searching for any signs that she was lying, that she was going to pull the rug out from under him again.

But her face betrayed nothing.

“Graduate?” Danny breathed. “I just have to...graduate?”

“Yes. Show us that you’re okay enough to go back to school, and you can have your ghost half back.”

“I…” He tugged at his hair. “But that’s...that’s weeks…’

Maddie crossed her arms. “Those are my terms.”

Time slowed, and the distance between them only seemed to grow. He knew he was already behind leaving the PHP center that he was almost certain there was talk of shoving him back into inpatient.

But they didn’t get it. It wasn’t his fault, it was the government stalking him. It was Vlad. He had no choice, and he would never be able to graduate PHP. Not without his core.

“I—but—but, Mom. I need—”

“Son,” his dad said sharply. “I understand how difficult this is for you, but you’re not in a place where we can trust you right now. This is our compromise. Show us we can trust you, and you can have your freedom back.”

His eyes stung, and his throat was starting to squeeze shut.

No…

“Do we have a deal?”

This was impossible.

Even if Frostbite had a way of removing the chip, Danny had no way of finding him. Not without Clockwork’s interference, who didn’t seem to have any interest in contacting Danny as of late. 

The thought of Clockwork left a sour taste in Danny’s mouth. He hadn’t thought of the ancient ghost since his nights in the government compound, his body splayed out like a rag doll, shivering from shock. He remembered staring into the pitch black abyss around him begging for Clockwork to come help him.

But his calls were never answered.

Danny knew Clockwork could have freed him whenever he wanted, government ghost shields be damned. But he didn’t. And that made him just as guilty as everyone else.

And now Danny was alone, bound by his human physiology and his ghost hunter parents.

He had no choice.

“Okay. It’s—it’s a deal.”

---

His body was cold, dead, with waves of trembling coming in and out in spurts. Every breath hurt, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the burning in his chest, the soreness in his throat, or the way the alien warmth in his core seemed more overbearing than ever. 

He could feel it, the hand reaching between his ribs, gripping his core with its warm, gloved fingers. It was revolting, violating, how the hands invaded his body, tearing off his skin and ribs as if he were nothing but a rotting carcass.

He felt dizzy. Lightheaded. He put a hand on his chest, crinkling his shirt in his fist. It was his core, he needed to protect it. 

But he was useless. Nothing. He was at the mercy of his parents who were all but holding a loaded gun to his head while telling him to trust them. Who lied to him that they accepted him, that they were there for him. 

That they loved him.

He was stupid, so stupid. After all the months of hearing them enthusiastically discuss the ways they’d love to rip him apart, what made him think they’d love him just like that? 

Their acceptance was conditional, and their conditions were impossible for him to meet. How the hell did they expect him to graduate from PHP and reenter society like a normal person while they were drowning his core like this? Did they not see how badly he was suffocating? How much he was screaming, thrashing in the ocean for air, desperately trying to fight the undertow pulling him further and further away from his sanity?

He wasn’t going to make it. He was going to fail, he was going to drown. He couldn’t do this.

But there’s one way, a small voice in his head whispered. You’ve done it before and you were fine. It helped you.

His eyes trailed over to his nightstand with his old model rocket sitting proudly on top. He had never flushed the oxycodone. 

Maybe…maybe…

It can help you again.

He just needed to graduate the PHP program and he would get his core back and then everything would be okay. He could work on his problems the right way later. The way he was supposed to be doing it, that he couldn’t do right now because he was still missing half of himself.

Two weeks. That was all he needed. Just two weeks worth of medication, and then he’d be on his way.

You need this.

He pushed himself up as if he were a puppet on strings. Everything was bleak, gray-washed and oppressive. Nausea rolled over him in waves and a hand gripped his throat, pulling the oxygen from his body.

The nightstand glowed in the moonlight, and like a moth Danny felt himself drawn closer to it. Tunnel vision took over, and the world morphed into a series of photos in a time lapse. Snapshot after snapshot flickered past his eyes until a hand—his hand—was pulling the drawer open to reveal an orange bottle inside.

You’re ready.

He couldn’t live like this anymore.

The fear, the anxiety, his core. It was all so much easier before, back in the hospital. Back when the only thing he had to worry about was what constellation he was going to draw that day. Back before he had to face the public, his family, or Vlad. Back before he knew that the government had his phone tapped and was watching his every move.

Back before he knew that his freedom was only temporary.

He was a sitting duck, a kid trapped in no man’s land with no weapon, no armor, nothing to keep him alive.

“Two weeks,” he whispered. Two weeks and then he would be okay. He would graduate from PHP, he would get to go back to school, he would become a regular person again. He just needed to get there first.

He opened the bottle and shook out a small white pill into the palm of his hand.

Two weeks.

Tilting his head back, he tossed the pill into his mouth, took a sip of water, and swallowed.

There. 

It was done.

---

Thank you @imekitty for beta-ing the fic as well as helping me organize my plot better!

Thanks for reading!

---

<previous chapter / next chapter>

[cowandcalf]

There are still many trails of thoughts I need to explore

The other angel on the final scene between Steve and Danny – 10.22

Yes, Steve's dad had kept him on the island and other important details.

Hawaii stood for loss and struggle, for emotional pain and terrible childhood memories. In Steve's memory, Hawaii wasn't a place he would want to return to. Hawaii flipped from a happy place into an emotional hell hole Steve fought to forget over a long period. He had the chance to return for shore leave while he served his country but he didn't visit his father's house for years. Hawaii wasn't a place where Steve wanted to spend time. Steve lost the innocent touch of being a member of a happy, normal family forever when his mother got killed. His soul never healed from that tragic accident and everything that followed suit in the wake of grief and despair cut out pieces of his soul. Steve wanted to forget Hawaii. Maybe he planned to never return, to never set foot on that island again.

Steve lost Freddie in the same year his father got shot by the gun of his nemesis. He didn't deal with anything from that trauma. He stored it away and turned to his next mission - to find the murder of his father. He returned to Hawaii, a place he had run from since he'd been sixteen and now, he was forced to come back. He kept chasing forward, dashing away, pushing through everything for ten long years to revenge his father's death, to get it right and to make his parents proud. He only experienced more pain and revealed all the nasty secrets his parents had lied to him about for years.

Danno gave him an anchor, a reason to stay grounded and to fight the black mass of pain in his chest. Danny and also Steve's ohana helped him so he wouldn't turn into a living zombie with all the emotional and physical cruelty he had to deal with. Steve had never had the time to take a full stop for a deep breath of air. Never. He wasn't ready for that until now.

Ten years later, his emotional world has been nuked one more time. He has learned that his father knew for years that his mother was alive. John McGarrett kept his children in the dark and bound them to their pain. A betrayal no one will be able to overcome, such an abusive attitude. But Steve needs to find a way. And Hawaii is the unhealthiest place to do that. Steve needs to leave. He finally hits rock bottom and he acknowledges this with clarity. Steve is finally ready to face the past. And he's back to square one. He has to find a way how to deal with all of that.

Steve wouldn't be able to move on and to build a new life with Danny from where he stands after everything is done and solved. His scarred heart would always be in the way, hindering him to be with Danny. Steve leaves out of love for Danny to return when he has found a way through the darkness because it's there overpowering everything else.

As Aunt Deb once commented to Catherine, Steve would always be this sad, little boy who tried to be strong for his baby sister after their mother's death when he was anything but. And that pain is still locked up in Steve's heart to this very day.

The only person Steve needs to be with is Mary and his niece Joanie. Mary shares the same pain and they need to talk. They need to spend time together and they need to try to save what's left from this unyielding trust children are born with.

Danny is not the person for this matter, at least not yet. Steve trusts Danny with all his heart but Steve also needs Danny's understanding. He needs Danny to let him do this, to let him go, so he can find answers and to deal with everything that has turned him into the person he is now.

Danny has lost people too, Matty for example but Danny's parents weren't murdered. They are alive and healthy and they love their children unconditionally.

And here it comes guys, this is not the nicest part about McDanno but in good and in bad times, right? I need to get this out of my head because it's important and I need to explain why Steve has to leave. Steve needs to go for his own sake and the sake of his ohana and for the sake of the love he feels for Danny.

Danny is pushy at times and he can be over the top to avoid getting hurt. It's a streak I'm not fond of. I love Danny and I respect him deeply. He's only human and he has is way to deal with things. But he toys with power plays and emotional pressure when things get too close to his heart. When his mother came to Hawaii ready to get a divorce Danny moved heaven and earth to get his parents back together. He didn't respect his mother's wishes to get it done in her way. Yes, his parents found a way to be back together with Danny's help. But Danny didn't respect the boundaries his mother set.

And in a way, he doesn't respect the boundaries Steve has set. Danny's sad, he's upset and he's afraid to lose Steve. But Steve would have needed him at this moment and Danny refuses to give Steve this important emotional support. Steve would have needed Danny's approval and his blessing for the trip to roam the earth. And Danny denies it because he's too caught up in his hurt and his fear that Steve leaves for good.

Steve sits on the beaten wooden chair and stares out onto the ocean, emotionally torn to pieces because he just solved the last puzzle piece that kept him awake at night for ten long years. Steve's heart got broken so many times and he's not in a good place mentally and emotionally.

He's so occupied with the pain his parents have caused him and his sister Mary. And he has no idea how to deal with that big load of abusive shit his parents dumped on their children. Additional to this heavy weight there's the other one where every beloved person, every dear friend in Steve's life lives in a potential danger to be taken and tortured to get to Steve.

Steve nearly lost it over the fact that Danny might not make it because they wanted to get to him, pressure him to hand over the last damn secret his mother has left him.

Steve is tired. Steve is broken and he needs a break. Steve's in no emotional condition to work on a relationship and to be there for others. He had played the last ounce of strength that he has had in him. He has nothing more to give. He's the one who needs moral and emotional support, who needs his friends, especially Danny. Only Danny.

Steve said it more than once that he needs time, that he feels lost, that he hopes to find peace.

And the person who should have listened and should have understood what Steve's going through is Danny.

So, Steve tries to make it up to Danny in every way. He says he loves him, hugs him, looks at him closely and searches his eyes, hopes to catch Danny's gaze and Steve hopes to hear it back – the 'I love you, too'. Yes, Danny utters it but very reluctantly and a bit upset, even a bit angrily. He turns away from Steve refuses to look at him. What the hell, Danny? This is childish behavior. Steve watches him carefully but with the knowledge that Danny's so hurt he can't deal with it.

Steve waits but Danny drops down on the chair again and refuses to look at Steve. It's Danny's own choice to sit there all alone and to let Steve leave. Steve is the one who turns around to look back. He hopes Danny might turn his head one more time so Steve would be assured Danny loves him and that he understands Steve's reasons. But Danny gives him nothing but the cold shoulder and that's not okay. Nevertheless, Steve understands.

Danny could have walked Steve to the door. He could have been there at Steve's side until he got into the car to drive to the airport or whatever. But – and that's not easy to read but I have to say it - Danny throws his self-pity party at the beach, sitting there alone, drowning in hurt while he knows that everyone will drop by to say their goodbyes. He punishes Steve with a silent treatment because Steve, for the first time, is ready to only take care of himself and to only look after himself without looking after all others. Steve takes some 'me-time' and Danny feels excluded and can't handle it.

Steve doesn't leave Danny hurt and bruised on the beach. No! The bruises and the cracked ribs aren't even important. The guys deal with injuries like warriors. No, Danny decides on his own terms to sit there all alone and to feel sorry for himself instead of joining Steve. And that's what is happening and not the other way round. Danny could have walked with Steve up to the house.

Yes, Danny feels super sorry about his behavior a few moments later when he texts Steve and tells him he misses him already. That's also Danny's way to say 'sorry, babe, I was such an ass and I love you'.

That’s my other angle to have a close look at this amazing, great and intense scene at the beach.

The boys are going to be fine because their love has been forged lifetimes ago and it'll hold forever. Danny will come around to accept Steve's choice. I enjoyed watching this exchange of feelings. Steve and Danny are in a relationship and there are hurdles to take. At one point, Steve is going to call Danny and tells him to pack his bag because he misses him like hell and that he needs to see him. And Danny grabs his to-go bag which is ready since day one and races over the highway to catch the first flight that comes along to get as fast as possible to Steve.

McDanno forever. Thanks for reading.

[wastefulreverie]

Happy Birthday Vic! ♡

 Hey @babypop-phantom​, @ceciliaspen and I collaborated on this gift for you, hope you enjoy it! You're one of the coolest people I've met in the phandom and you deserve an awesome 17th!

As Fatigue Falls...

Word Count: 5152

Genre: Angst/Family

Relationships are tricky. Not particularly romantic relationships, but relationships in general. For instance, familial relationships; even if your family loves you, they can still be a bitch. And Danny… was far too aware of that. Sure, after he accidentally revealed himself in an alley ‒ not his finest moment ‒ his parents accepted him. They ruffled his hair and whispered assurances, "We'd never hurt you, Danno…" They wrapped his wounds and tucked him into bed, stressing their regrets. Hell, they even helped balance his commitments by taking on some of the lesser ghost attacks!

They were so, so supportive ‒ more than he could ask for. All should be well, right?

Well, reality was bitter. Even when everything should be alright, even when his family was trying, their relationship was strained. It wasn't that his parents didn't trust him (no, no they understood why he lied), they were just having trouble adjusting to their new family dynamic. And it's not like he could blame them, he got it. He wasn't their normal son anymore, he was an inhuman thing that fought other inhuman things… and that wouldn't just resolve itself. It's not like his parents could just ignore his abnormal tendencies, his obsessive nature, his powers….

Everything was different now and it was his fault. Their family relationship was in tatters and he didn't know how to even address it, forget mending it! Awkward dinners and stray stares… avoiding physical contact…. His Mom's sharp cough when he phased through the wall….

Not to mention, even though his parents were trying to help lessen his load, nothing felt different. He was stressed, overexerted. He was fighting fewer ghosts and spending more time on school, yet he was still exhausted. His grades were still shit and he was still a mess! Did his parents' efforts even matter? Was it worth putting them on the line ‒ letting them fight his fights ‒ if his grades didn't improve? He was just so tired all the time, apparently it didn't matter if he was fighting ghosts or studying… fatigue was a consequence of half-death.

Weeks passed with little change. He was still failing all his classes and he could hardly stay awake, even though he only fought ghosts once or twice a day. He didn't confront his parents… he didn't know how to tell them that this wasn't working. He didn't know how to admit that he wanted it to go back to the way it was before. If he was going to fail, either way, he'd at least want to fight ghosts in lieu of them ‒ but how do you spring that on someone? They didn't talk much about his other half, so it wasn't exactly easy to bring up.

He considered asking Jazz for help, but she wouldn't understand. Jazz would insist that he just needed like a tutor or something, but that wasn't it. Danny understood the class material ‒ he just couldn't stay awake enough to do any work! And Sam and Tucker… they could only offer so much. Sam suggested he needed vitamins (thanks, Sam) and Tucker recommended a sleep management app. Admittedly, he tried the sleep app for a week but it didn't do much; he'd go off schedule and have to reset everything. He ended up rage deleting it.

After a while, it felt like he slept more than anything else. Exhaustion seeped into his entire being and muddled his thoughts. School became a blur and home felt suffocating. He wanted to reach out, tell his parents that he didn't want them to hunt ghosts anymore. That was his responsibility and they had to stay safe. But he couldn't bring himself to… so he crashed on the couch, or on his bed. And he let sleep consume his worries because that's all he could do. (It was consuming him one way or another.)

Another failed assignment... Dash shoved him in the hallway... a ghost fight before dinner. That was tiring, he settled for a nap before his homework. Actually, no it wasn't a nap… and he slept through his alarm. Damn. Late for school, again. He must've drifted off again… Mr. Lancer shook him awake. Tucker said Paulina posted it on Snapchat ("lol when is fenton awake?"). At home, his parents caught a ghost on the news. Not long after, he fell asleep on the couch and woke up in bed. And slept through his alarm again‒

And then, he was laying on his back, staring up at a tiled ceiling. The specks in the tiles floated, circling his vision and expanding as a starburst. Something crinkled below him when he moved, like paper? His head throbbed, and the specks in his peripheral vision returned… everything felt drowsy. Where was he? Why was he here?

"‒...I know this isn't a question that parents like being asked but… do you know if he does any sort of drugs? Not to insinuate, but‒!"

A woman ‒ Mom ‒ growled, "Danny does not do drugs. He's a good kid."

"I'm sorry for asking. It's only odd ‒ passing out like this is usually not without precedent. If Danny does have a problem, we just want to help. It really worried us when we couldn't find his pulse!"

"His pulse is fine, though," Dad countered. "You found it later."

He'd passed out? At school? So that meant this must be the nurse's office… well, that explained the paper sheet he was laying on; this was an exam bed. It also explained why everything smelled like bleach wipes.

"Well, we did find his pulse ‒ but it was very faint."

"Danny's resting pulse is a bit slow, it's just genetic," Mom assured.

Sure. Everything about his medical diagnostics was crazy weird, but at least Mom was trying.

Danny pushed himself into a sitting position. His sloppy movement drew the attention of the adults and suddenly he was surrounded.

"Danno!" Dad announced. His dad pulled him into a hug and patted him on the shoulder, "Had us worried when you wouldn't wake up. Fell asleep in class and passed out cold!" He broke into an explanation. "Those football players had to carry you here because nobody could getcha to wake up, even your spooky girlfriend co‒"

"Stop overwhelming him, Jack," Mom intervened. "He's confused."

"Well, that's why I'm telling him!"

"Jack."

"How long was I out?" Danny asked. There was a clock on the wall but his mind was far too muddled to read analog right now. That and he didn't know when he fell asleep….

"Well, they called us about two hours ago but we just arrived," Jack recalled. "So about two-and-a-half hours? Is that right, Mads?"

Mom nodded. "We were grocery shopping," she elaborated. "But we're here now. Are you feeling okay, sweetie? Do you know why you passed out?"

No idea.

Danny shrugged. "I've just been… really tired lately. Guess my body just wanted some extra rest."

"Son," Dad hesitated, "your teacher said that you often sleep in class. Are you sure this isn't because of anything…" he struggled for words, "you're doing outside of class that makes you tired?"

What did that mean? They knew he stopped hunting ghosts full-time. But… then again, he was a ghost. They didn't know for sure that he'd stopped, he could always be fooling them somehow with duplication. Even though he wasn't.

"No," he shook his head. The gesture made his world throb again. "I've really just been exhausted."

Mom bit her lip. "You sleep so much at home, though. Something must be causing this."

"It could be a fever," the nurse suggested. She lagged behind his parents, curly hair tied into a bun. Her cheeks were sullen and her lipstick was a stale rose. "Now that he's awake we can take his temperature."

Danny's eyes widened. His body temperature was several degrees below hypothermic ‒ she couldn't do that. Then she would see, see what a freak he is and he wouldn't be able to explain. Thankfully, Mom and Dad were here (despite how… awkward this was).

"I don't think that's necessary," Mom interjected, steadily eyeing the nurse. "I don't trust digital thermometers, mercury thermometers are more accurate. I'd like to take his temperature at home if that's okay?"

The nurse bristled. "Yes, that is okay, but‒"

"Good!" Dad bellowed. "Then Danno here's ready to be checked out!"

"Well, you'll have to go to the attendance de‒"

Dad moved forward, scooping his arms around Danny. "Ready, son?" he asked, readying himself to hoist his son.

Danny flinched. Why was he touching him? Dad didn't touch him anymore, not since the reveal…. Sure, maybe he was fatigued or something but he was still fine. "I can ‒ I can walk, Dad," he shrugged off.

Dad faltered. Mom drew in a loud breath and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Let him walk Jack, he's tired, not ill."

Dad nodded. "Yeah, yeah I know."

Danny wasn't ill, but being a ghost was enough of an impairment in his father's eyes. Even if he did his best to hide it, Dad's true feelings were evident….

Once they were home, Danny's parents ordered him to the lab. In the car, they'd discussed how worrisome his chronic exhaustion was. And so, Danny recounted his sleep schedule ‒ he admitted how often he slept in school, at home, at Tucker's house, at the Nasty Burger…. He yearned to tell them more, to confess his poor grades and beg them to stop hunting ghosts. But now wasn't the time, obviously. (But… it's never the time.)

Danny hadn't been in the lab in a few weeks. He wasn't permitted to enter without parental guidance so he didn't hurt himself, which was reasonable, but sorta annoying. Not much had changed, which he expected. But there were… a few less deadly weapons strapped to the wall, which was vaguely reassuring. He knew that his parents disassembled anything that was especially dangerous for him so he appreciated that.

Mom pulled out a metal stool while Dad cleaned off their workstation. Danny sat on the stool and watched his parents scramble, searching for appropriate equipment. He tapped his foot against the tile and wondered if this was all worth it. "I don't see why this is a big deal," he protested. "I'm just tired. This doesn't mean it's my ‒ uh, ghost side is wrong or anything."

Mom glanced from a box of medical equipment. "Oh, we know sweetie. This exhaustion problem seems like it's causing you trouble, so it's just good to be cautious. Besides, it's not like we can take you to an actual doctor." She paused, "I don't think."

Danny blushed, "Nope. No real doctors, ever again." Why did she have to remind him? Today was destined to be the half-death of him.

"Aha!" Dad declared. "I found it!"

Mom winced, holding a hand to her head. "Inside voice, Jack," she chastised.

"Sorry," he apologized. "But I found my old glucose meter. I remember back when I had diabetes I'd get fatigued, so it's worth a shot!"

Danny tilted his head. "You had diabetes?" He knew his Dad didn't have the best eating habits, but he never thought it was so serious. No wonder Mom forced him on diets, even though Dad tended to reach for sweets.

"Oh, yeah," Dad fidgeted with the device. "I had it up until eight years ago. Injections aren't fun, I'll tell you that son!" he laughed. Well… Danny already knew that courtesy of Vlad.

Mom frowned, "Honey, I don't think he needs his blood sugar tested."

Dad shrugged, "It won't hurt to cross it off the list. We'll cross off all the regular stuff before we get into checking his ghost side."

"I guess that's true?" Danny agreed. He'd rather sit through a normal check-up than let his parents examine his ghost side.

Dad kneeled down in front of Danny's stool. He showed Danny where to put his finger on the glucose meter and turned it on. "It'll be just a pinprick," he warned. He pressed the button and Danny felt nothing… had the device worked? There wasn't any blood on his finger either, so it must've glitched.

Dad furrowed his brow. "I swear… I swear I saw the needle prick your finger, though," he observed.

Oh. The device had worked, but….

"I think his skin's a little too tough," Mom addressed. "We'll have to prick it ourselves." She reached behind her and waved a scalpel.

The scalpel complemented her hand far too well. The metal slid in her fingers, glinting under the fluorescents of the lab… the lab? Mom's goggles were red and dripped malice ‒ her true eyes belonged to her other face, his mother. These empty red eyes belonged to Maddie Fenton, scientist. And she was holding a scalpel, in the lab. And he was on a stool, a ghost.

Reflexively, Danny dipped into intangibility. He couldn't ‒ couldn't think straight. Mom wouldn't hurt him, she accepted him (albeit awkwardly). But she wouldn't do anything, right? Maddie Fenton, scientist, retired from harming her son! He was irrational, paranoid, scared‒

And why was he still scared? It had been months since the reveal! Was he really still this damaged?

He'd thought… their family dynamic was suffering because Mom and Dad were having trouble adjusting to his inhumanity. But that wasn't all ‒ he was scared of them as much as they were scared of his ghost-half. He'd been waiting for them to adjust, to heal, to build a bridge… but it took two sides to build a bridge. And he'd left his parents to do all the work.

As fast as he'd phased, Danny released his intangibility. He found her eyes and behind her goggles, Danny sensed… unbridled shame.She knew. Mom pursed her lips and lowered the scalpel, pressing it close to her own body as a silent assurance.

"‒good thing we're always prepared, right Mads!" Dad clapped, none the wiser.

"Oh, uh, yeah," she passed him the scalpel.

Dad turned to Danny. "Alright son, do you wanna do it or should I?"

Danny didn't want him to. The idea of Dad drawing his blood shook his core, even if it was just a drop. It would be so easy to say it, but… trust had to start somewhere, didn't it? "You can do it," Danny allowed. He cracked a false grin, "Just make it quick."

Dad slid the scalpel over Danny's index finger and pricked it just enough. They slid his blood onto the slider and waited. Dad read the meter and squinted, "If I remember correctly, this is bad."

Danny bit his lip, "Bad?"

"Your blood sugar shouldn't be this low. I don't know why it would be. Diabetes is when you have high blood sugar, right? Because your body doesn't produce enough insulin, that's what I had. But… low blood sugar, that's worse. That means you're producing too much insulin or your energy's being completely depleted!" Dad cut off and mumbled, "Why is your body depleting this much energy?"

"His ghost side," Mom offered. "His ghost side could be stealing his human side's energy?"

Danny crossed his arms. "I don't think it's like that. My body is still one body, I'm half-ghost but that doesn't mean that I have two separate 'sides' fighting over energy."

"Well, yes and no," Mom specified. "Your entire body is a complicated mess, sweetie."

"Joy," Danny remarked.

She winced and corrected herself, "You're a hybrid but there's still some division of your anatomy."

"That's right!" Dad agreed, picking up a notepad. "And now we know what the problem is! For some reason, your body isn't getting enough energy so you're burning up your energy reserves."

"Does that mean I'm like… starved?" Danny asked.

"You shouldn't be," Dad shook his head. "I gotta say, sometimes you eat more than I do ‒ I'm sure you're getting enough food! If I had to guess, I'd bet that your ghostliness is draining so much energy. Ghosts sustain on a lot of it! You're only getting your energy from human food, which isn't much."

"So he needs to absorb energy like a ghost," Mom deduced. "Human food isn't giving him enough energy, so he needs to eat like a ghost."

Danny's eyes widened. Eat… like a ghost? "Wh ‒ what does that mean?"

"Well, you have a number of options," Dad said. "Ghosts can absorb different types of energy. Most ghosts get their energy from the Ghost Zone by absorbing ambient ectoplasm, but since you live here you can't really do that. It takes time to replenish energy. Others can eat emotional energy (usually negative emotions) like that Spectra lady. But I don't know if you can do that ‒ we've gathered only some ghosts have that skill.

"And then there's the energy you get from fulfilling your obsession, but that's like… that's like snack energy. It isn't really much, not very helpful. I figure you've lasted this long on that energy alone. Oh! And the reason you're so fatigued now is because you're fighting less ghosts!" Dad realized.

Danny blushed. "Can… we not talk about my obsession?" Obsessions were private. He didn't like it when people addressed his obsession. But it did make sense; this exhaustion started when his parents started sharing his ghost hunting duties. His obsession was suffering.

"Oh, sorry Danno," Dad cringed.

"So what does that leave, Jack?" Mom asked. "He can't live in the Ghost Zone, he can't eat emotions, and obsessive energy isn't sufficient."

"Well…" Dad pondered. "There's something else we can try, but uh… I don't know if you'll like it."

Danny grasped the bottom of the stool. "What is it?"

Dad gulped and turned to the table behind him. He pulled open a drawer and found an opaque vial and shook it around, sloshing whatever was inside. "Purified ectoplasm," Dad scrunched his nose. "Nasty stuff, but healthy for ghosts."

Danny stared. "I have to eat that." He was pretty sure he could smell it from there; a nasty aroma of raw sewage, burnt lemons, and battery acid.

"It'll help you?" Mom offered.

"Nuh uh," he shook his head. "That's nasty." Not to mention inhuman. Humans didn't just eat otherworldly chemicals ‒ that was savage and everything he didn't want to be in front of his parents. His gut wrenched with the thought of eating that.

"I don't think there's another option, son," Dad deflated.

"Wh ‒ what about emotions?" he tried. "We don't know for sure that I can't eat those!" But would he really want to? Would he be content with feeding off of negative energy, draining people's happiness? And would he be able to stop? No, if anything he'd eat the ectoplasm… despite its grotesque appeal and belittling implications.

And he wasn't prepared for that.

Against his better judgment, Danny vanished. He wouldn't let his parents persuade him to eat it… just yet.

Danny descended down the stairs for dinner; he'd found refuge in his room for a few hours, but hunger was beginning to grate against his conscious. When he entered the kitchen, he expected to find Mom hovering over the stove or setting the table, but instead, she and Dad were sitting at the table. Their backs were turned to him, but he could read their body language ‒ they were waiting. On him.

Shit. He still wasn't ready. In his room, he'd repressed thinking about ectoplasm ‒ he'd curled into his beanbag and listened to a few 'therapeutic' rock songs Sam introduced him to. It was a good mental break, but not nearly enough time to come to terms with that.

Before he could fly back to his room, Dad addressed his presence. "Hey there Danno," he turned in his chair, "we just ordered a pizza, wanna sit down?"

It was a simple question but Danny didn't feel like he had an option. His voice cracked when he spoke, "Sure."

He sat across from his parents and avoided eye contact. Instead, he traced his fingers along the table, carefully touching the grooves in the wood. They didn't speak nor insist that he needed to drink ectoplasm for his health ‒ no heavy sighs, no rigid instructions. He met their eyes and found that they were calm, open, and passive… if they were still concerned they did an adequate job of hiding it.

Maybe he could avoid this confrontation a little longer.

"So, what kind of pizza did you order?" he tested the waters.

Mom rolled her eyes. "Well," she elbowed Dad, "your Dad was a heathen and insisted on pineapple‒"

"Pineapple's good!" Dad protested. "Tomato's a fruit, it goes well with pineapple!"

"Ew," Danny scrunched his nose.

"Agreed," Mom seconded.

"Jazz likes it!" Dad defended. "If she were here, she'd be on my side!"

"Well, she's not," Mom crossed her arms. "So now Danny and I have to smell your gross pineapple pizza while we eat pepperoni."

And like that, the atmosphere was suddenly lighter. The pressure on Danny's shoulders was alleviated and he didn't feel like he was being forced into anything. His parents were just being goofballs about pizza, this wasn't a deliberate ambush or anything. (He hoped.)

"‒doesn't smell bad, you're just picky!"

"I beg to differ," Mom countered.

After a moment or so, Danny joined their playful bickering. They teased each other about pizza and other silly things, putting earlier events behind them. Soon enough, their food arrived ‒ Mom and Danny set the table and Dad tipped the delivery guy. Despite Mom's dirty looks, Danny's hunger got the best of him and he dug into his food like a starving animal. Hell, by the time Dad started his second slice Danny had already scarfed down his fourth.

"Woah there, Danno," Dad chuckled. "Slow down a bit."

"So‒ry, Dad," Danny savored the last bite of his fifth slice. "'m‒ungry."

"I'd say," Mom muttered.

Danny held conversation with his parents while they finished their food, but after a few minutes, his stomach started to feel warm and heavy. His head felt sleepy and it was a labor to keep it up ‒ he'd rather just rest it on the table. He tried his best to stay awake, but this food coma was overwhelming… he slumped his head and tuned out his parents' voices….

The table's surface was rigid and this position was horrible for his neck, but everything felt better. Sleep was a blessing.

"‒anny," someone touched his shoulder. "Danny, wake up."

"Mmph," he moaned. Being awake was too much work, sleeping was… easier.

Mom nudged his shoulder again, "Come on, sleepy-head. We have something for you."

"'m not sleepyhead," he protested. She hadn't called him that since elementary school….

"Prove it, then," she joked.

"Ugh," he opened his eyes. "Fine."

The table had been cleared. Their plates had been put away and the pizza boxes had been placed in the fridge ‒ they must have let him rest while they cleaned. He felt a little guilty since he usually liked to help with those chores. His parents didn't deserve to do all the work while he dozed off… he just couldn't help it, though.

Dad was still sitting at the table ‒ eyeing Danny carefully. And suddenly, Danny realized that something was off about this. After dinner, Dad usually made a beeline to watch Jeopardy ‒ it was one of his daily rituals. So why was he just looking at him like that? Why was Mom standing behind him? And why did everything smell like burnt lemons ‒ oh. Oh no.

He immediately felt betrayed. This entire 'wholesome family pizza dinner' was just a ploy, or some backward-reward to guilt him into cooperating. He didn't want to eat the ectoplasm, but they had him where they wanted him. And even if he ran… they'd try it again. And again. Until he couldn't refuse them until he couldn't fight back.

They had his best interest in mind, he appreciated that. But he didn't want this for himself, even if it was the only way. Because eating ectoplasm was feral, inhuman, nasty. He wasn't even sure if normal ghosts ate ectoplasm ‒ he'd be even more of a freak! He didn't want to be reduced to that.

Mom drew her hand forward and placed a glass of gurgling, green ectoplasm on the table. Danny's eyes clouded with revulsion and he repressed a gagging noise. He could feel bile rising in his throat; everything in him rejected the idea of eating that. It wasn't right, it so wasn't right‒

"We thought you'd like to have something on your stomach before drinking that," Mom admitted. "We know that it's… gross. But we want you to be healthy ‒ you need something to replenish your energy and this will help you!"

Danny grimaced. They were right, but at what cost?

It hurt him more, that they were watching him. He wasn't human, he knew that ‒ he could conquer his inhuman quirks and accept himself. But Mom and Dad… they were still averse to his ghost side. He was still afraid to perform something so inhuman in front of them, he was afraid to do it himself!

He was just…

But earlier, hadn't he realized that he couldn't do this anymore? That he had to start trusting his parents when it came to these situations. Sure, the thing with the scalpel had been different but it was all the same principle. He needed to stop fighting this blame-game and admit the truth to himself. He wanted his parents to wholly accept him on their behalf but he didn't want to put any work in!

‒afraid.

That's what he was. Ectoplasm was disgusting, yeah. And he was definitely uncomfortable with eating it, it was vile and foul… yet, his parents knew that. They were okay with the notion of their son eating this, they were even pleading him to eat it. If they were okay with this and his abject inhumanity, why couldn't he? Besides, he had to do this sooner or later lest he be exhausted for the rest of his existence.

Danny's hand was shaking. His emotions still weren't on the same page as his mind, but he had to do it. Mom and Dad were watching him, steadily analyzing his actions. They were okay with this, or at least they were pretending to be fine. He could pretend too ‒ he could pretend that this wasn't ectoplasm, that it was only juice. Yeah, this isn't ectoplasm, it's juice! Just juice, juice, juice… (Nope, definitely ectoplasm.)

He reached for the glass and carefully wrapped his fingers around it. The glass was cool, chilled by the otherworldly composition of the ectoplasm. This was almost strange... when he wrapped his fingers around the glass, the ectoplasm stilled and ceased churning. It was like the substance itself could sense his presence, taming itself for him. With this phenomenon, Mom audibly gulped, but he ignored her… he couldn't turn back.

He picked up the glass and it was lighter than he expected. He supposed that ectoplasm didn't have much mass, which explained why he lost weight after the accident but it was still weird to acknowledge. His parents stared and he was suddenly aware of his heartbeat, beating ‒ throbbing in his ears. He swallowed a lump in his throat, biting back the bile he regurgitated. (It's just juice, you can do this.)

It still smelled like raw sewage, burnt lemons, and battery acid, but Danny brought the glass to his lips. No, no, no, no‒

He tilted the glass back and drank.

Initially, it wasn't as bad as he anticipated. It tasted weird, but not a bad weird? Really, the only part he didn't like was the texture ‒ it was kinda slimy with gooey chunks mixed in? And really cold, that was for sure. But the flavor… it tasted like raw meat (good, juicy meat) and honey, but it was also tangy? No, it wasn't really bad. Huh.

Though, it still smelled disgusting. It smelled like death, which was appropriate in some ways.

Once he realized that it didn't taste so bad, Danny downed all the ectoplasm. He chugged the entire glass in a few seconds and placed it back on the table. And when he swallowed… it's like his core hummed. His body immediately accepted the energy and he felt a rush of euphoria ‒ his ghost half wanted more. This felt so good it was almost wrong, so why was he so hesitant before? Mmmm this felt good.

"Danny?" Dad asked. "H ‒ how was it?"

Danny looked back at his parents. Mom winced before reorienting herself, gesturing to her eyes. "Danny, your eyes," she motioned.

"Huh?" he asked. Then he realized, they must be glowing. Right. They did that sometimes. Especially when his core was this happy….

"They're green," Mom explained, when he didn't respond.

"Oh, right." They weren't supposed to be green because his parents were still uncomfortable with that, even if they didn't say it. He blinked until his eyes faded back to blue. "That was… actually decent," he recalled.

He actually wanted more. Would they let him have more?

"Oh," Dad said. "What did it taste like?"

"Meat and honey," he responded. His parents seemed apprehensive, worried.

"Well, do you feel better?" Mom wondered.

"Yeah, a lot," he nodded. His core felt rejuvenated and fresh ‒ he could go for some more ectoplasm, actually. Sure, it was weird and not really human but it made him feel amazing, so… yeah. "Is there any more?"

His parents blinked, stupefied.

"You want more?" Dad raised a brow.

Danny shrugged. Maybe he shouldn't seem too eager.

"I'm not sure," Mom frowned. "I know you said that you feel better, but we don't want to overdose you or anything."

Yeah, that was a fair point.

"We can record your energy levels and determine how much ectoplasm is healthy for your diet," Dad suggested. "It will probably only take a few weeks to get accurate readings!"

"That sounds good," Danny agreed. That implied that he'd be eating more ectoplasm and he liked that idea.

"I suppose that works?" Mom conceded.

"I'm glad we got this figured out!" Dad grinned. "Now you won't be tired all the time, Danno!"

Danny laughed. That's right, he'd almost forgotten about that! Now his ghost side wouldn't be starved all the time.

"Thanks for helping me," he smiled. He really did appreciate it; they'd pushed him in a good direction, despite his resistance. He'd trusted them and it all worked out… maybe with a little more trust, they could figure out everything else too. They could resolve all the tension in their family dynamic… for real.

"You're welcome, sweetie," Mom ruffled his hair

His parents were so, so supportive ‒ more than he could ask for. And all would be well.

[flowerfan2]

Affinity - Ch. 5 (10.05)

McDanno, A03

A continuous story of season 10 episode codas.  Steve may describe their relationship as a dysfunctional marriage, but at some point, will he and Danny take a closer look at what it really could be?   

Chapter 5

You’re taking Charlie trick-or-treating near your house tonight, right?

Danny tugs his phone out of his pocket, squints at the text, and writes back.

Yeah, my neighborhood has the best decorations.  And Ms. Tanaka on the corner gives out whole candy bars.  Why? 

Danny pokes his head into Charlie’s bedroom to check on his son’s progress while he waits for Steve to respond. Charlie is still deciding between the Superman costume that Rachel bought for him, and a vampire ghost contraption that he insisted on creating with an old sheet and magic markers about twenty minutes ago.

 Probably nothing.  But we caught a case with a guy who broke out of a basement cell. Potentially very dangerous and unstable.  Nowhere near your place, though.

 Sure, I buy that.

No, really.  Ask Max if you want.

“Danno, I’m ready now!”  Charlie announces.  Danny assures him that the blood drops and fangs drawn on the sheet draped over his head look extremely scary, and they head outside, plastic pumpkin in hand.

Danny can catch up with Steve later. He’s not falling for his escaped basement monster joke.  For now he’s going to ignore Steve, and focus on Charlie.

That’s been his approach all week, ever since Steve kissed him.

Not just with Charlie, of course. Danny has, in no particular order, focused on (1) badgering Tani about her mermaid costume; (2) taking Quinn out to lunch to try to get himself to stop thinking of her as the enemy; (3) hassling Grace about midterms that she should be paying more attention to; (4) making sure that if he was paired up with Steve on a case they had another member of the team with them; and (5) also Charlie, who had a very important Lego club meeting on Wednesday after school.  

 All of this was designed to help him put things in perspective.  That perspective being that whatever Steve was up to last week after Danny hit his head was just about being a good friend and partner – work partner – not anything else.

 Danny’s not sure it’s working.

 That night last week, feeling Steve press a kiss to his cheek, Danny had felt something blossom in his chest that was far, far too dangerous to think about.  He can’t go down this road, not now, and really, not ever.  Not unless he wants to risk what he has with Steve.

But what if…? his treacherous brain keeps asking.  What if it wouldn’t ruin what he has with Steve?  What if this is something Steve wants?

 Steve had clearly thought Danny was asleep.  Does it mean that Steve has romantic feelings for him, but doesn’t want Danny to know? Or does it mean there’s nothing to know?

 Danny wishes he had been brave enough to tilt his head, to catch Steve’s warm lips with his own.  To see if Steve would have continued the kiss, lean close with just the right amount of pressure.  Slowly open up for Danny, letting him in, trading soft kisses and flickers of tongue until their hands started to wander, bodies pressed close…

 Danny closes down this train of thought abruptly.  Unfortunately it’s a train that keeps coming around, like it’s circling a Christmas tree, insisting on chugging itself into Danny’s mind over and over and over.  But he cannot be having these thoughts about Steve. His best friend.  His male best friend, who has shown no interest whatsoever in any male partners for the ten years Danny has known him (except you, a voice in his head whispers… maybe he’s shown an interest in you).

 The whole situation makes him dizzy, and not just from the blood rushing to his nether regions.  So Danny tries as hard as he can to focus on non-Steve things. End of story.

 It should be easy enough not to think about his partner tonight, since he’s keeping busy trick-or-treating with Charlie.  Except nothing about Steve is ever easy.

 His phone vibrates again, twice in a row, and Danny sighs.  It’s not as if he can ignore Steve’s texts.  Steve is his boss, after all (and right there, right there, is another reason nothing can happen between them.  As if Steve had any respect for the rules, which he doesn’t, but Danny does. Usually.)

 Can you believe Max is visiting with his son?  Wanna talk to him?

 Danny, you there?

 Danny gives up and calls Steve, trailing behind Charlie as they walk to another house, this one with cute little pumpkins on stakes lighting their driveway.

 “What is it?  I’m out with Charlie, can it wait?”

 “Hey, you didn’t tell me you were going as Oscar the Grouch.  Thought Charlie was too old for Sesame Street?”

 “Ha ha, very funny.”

 “I thought so.”  Steve’s voice turns serious.  “But really, there is a very angry guy roaming the streets tonight. Worse than you before your coffee.”

 Danny pauses, putting a hand on Charlie’s shoulder and looking around for anything out of the ordinary.  He doesn’t see any costumed kids older than about middle school age, and the parents tagging along don’t look like they’re hyped up on anything but sugar.

 “It’s quiet here.  Not even any obnoxious teenagers.”

 “Okay, just keep an eye out and let me know if you see anything out of the ordinary.”

 It’s a funny thing to say on Halloween, but Danny gets it.  The case may be bothering Steve more than he’s letting on.  “You need me to come in?  I can drop Charlie at Rachel’s-”

 “No, Danno,” Charlie whines, appearing in front of him with a pleading look on his face.  “Stay with me, you promised.”

 “You’re fine, Danny.  Everyone else is here.  Have fun with Charlie.”

 They hang up, although Danny feels a little pang.  <i>Everyone else is here.</i>  Even Max.  At least Quinn isn’t wearing some kind of sexy soldier costume tonight, if she sticks with what she bought while she and Danny were having lunch earlier in the week. Although Steve will probably appreciate the Top Gun outfit just as much.

 Danny sighs and trots to catch up to Charlie.  They hit a few more houses, but before long, Charlie is flagging.  He looks up at Danny with bright eyes, and Danny crouches down next to him.

 “I don’t feel so good, Danno.”

 Danny feels his son’s forehead. It’s a little warm, and Charlie’s eyes are bright.  “It’s time to head home anyway, bud.  You already got more candy than I ever did.”  He takes Charlie’s plastic pumpkin from him and nods appreciatively.  “Tons more.”

 “More than Grace ever got?”

 Danny grins, and slings an arm around Charlie’s thin shoulders.  “Definitely more than Grace.”

 Back at home Danny takes Charlie’s temperature.  He’s barely got a fever, but he’s thoroughly wiped out from all the excitement.  He doesn’t even protest when Danny gives him some Tylenol and puts him to bed.

 It’s only afterwards, sitting on his couch checking over Charlie’s candy, that Danny remembers Kamekona’s party. He had planned to head over there with Charlie for a little while after trick-or-treating.  He sends Kame a quick text with his apologies.  Just something else he’s missing tonight.

 Danny helps himself to a mini-Snickers and clicks on the television.  He tells himself that the team probably isn’t going to make it back to the party either, not with the cases that sprung up tonight.  Maybe he and Steve can stop by later in the week to meet Flippa’s mom while she’s visiting.

 Danny channel surfs idly, getting up to hand out candy every time the doorbell rings.  The pace of trick-or-treaters eventually slows, and Danny gets sucked into a show about a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost who are roommates.  It reminds him of the basement escapee Steve warned him about, and he takes a minute to do another check on his windows and doors.  Even though Tani texted him that the guy was found, you can never be too safe.

 He’s on his way back to the couch when the doorbell rings again.  It’s Steve, wearing a creepy mask and making a hooting noise that is probably supposed to be scary.

 “Come on in, you dope.”

 “How’d you know it was me?”

 Danny doesn’t dignify this with an answer.  “Want some candy?”  He holds out the plastic pumpkin to Steve, who takes it on his way to the couch.

 “Thanks.  Got any more beer?”

 Danny retrieves two cold beers from the kitchen and joins Steve, who is methodically picking through Charlie’s take and setting aside all of the Butterfingers.  Steve knows Charlie doesn’t like them.  The two of them had debated the merits of various candy bars a few weeks ago when Steve got him going by suggesting to Charlie that he hand out bags of pretzels instead of candy.  Charlie was not in favor.

 “Why aren’t you at Kamekona’s?” Danny finally asks, when they are settled in front of the television, the next episode of the ridiculous roommates show starting up.

 Steve barely finishes chewing his latest Butterfinger and frowns at Danny.  “I heard Charlie was sick.  Figured I’d better keep you company.”

 “That was very thoughtful of you,” Danny says, as Steve returns his gaze to the television.  

 “Besides, just because our guy didn’t turn out to be a monster, it is Halloween,” Steve says.  “You never know what might happen.”

 Danny swallows hard, and tries not to read anything into Steve’s comment.  Charlie is sleeping in the next room, after all.  And Halloween isn’t exactly a romantic holiday.

 But then Steve stretches and slings his arm over the back of the couch, practically around Danny’s shoulders, and slides a little closer to him.  Danny smiles and leans into Steve’s warmth.  He almost forgot Steve’s love for scary date movies.  Maybe something is happening tonight after all.

[namedforthefirst-blog]

@loudhaoleinatie | drabble/starter

“Mellie!” The doctor was just closing her car door when she heard the pitter patter of young feet running towards her and the excited squeal of the little girl she’d come to pick up from her mother. Turning to face her, Melinda flashed her genuinely bright grin before scooping Grace Williams up into a warm hug, smiling over the smaller shoulder at Danny’s ex-wife, who was bringing out Grace’s little travel bag.

“Danny called ahead and told us he was going to meet the two of you there,” Rachel spoke as she walked over and handed the younger woman the bag. Mel put Grace back down and took the bag to put it into her car.

“He is in the middle of a case,” Mel confirmed with a soft sigh, watching Grace kiss her mother goodbye and race to the backseat of Mel’s car, buckling herself in. “He said to take her to the beach, have a girls’ trip until he meets us there. I’ll be by her side the whole time.”

“I know. Danny speaks of you often. If he trusts you with our daughter, so do I.” The two women grinned at each other before Mel returned to the driver’s seat and headed back down the driveway. “Gracie, you ready for the beach?”

“Yeah! We can go swimming and surfing and shell picking and…” Melinda laughed as the girl rattled off every possible thing they could do once they got to their little “stay-cation” spot on the other side of the island. She was truly her father’s daughter…incredibly intelligent, talkative, and kind. That was how their car ride went for the rest of the way, the soft ambiance of the radio in the background as they chatted about the beach and about Mel’s lack of surfing skills. Grace assured her that she’d teach her everything she knew, though.

“We’re here, Gracie.” The girls stepped out of the car, staring up at the sweet little bungalow sitting beside the white sandy beach. Melinda pulled out their bags and went to unlock the door, laughing as a blur of brunette hair ran by her into the vacation house to claim her bedroom and change into her swimsuit. Pulling out her phone, she snapped a picture and sent it to Danny with a “We’re here. <3″ text, smiling adoringly at her phone as she sent it. 

Two days later, after many hours of sunshine and seawater, Mel and Grace were out on the sand, making a sandcastle together and trying to build it as high as they could. They talked about Danny and about Mel’s job, and she answered every question about medical knowledge that Grace threw at her. She asked her how she felt about her dad, and Melinda easily told her the truth. She loved Danny, and she wasn’t ashamed to say it, nor was she hesitant to be honest with the girl she’d grown so fond of. 

“I’m hungry, Mellie. Can we go in and eat?” 

“Sure, sweetie! Sun’s starting to go down anyway. We can go in and check in on Danno, see what he’s up to.” With that, they took a few pictures by the finished castle and a few of them together on the beach splashing around and laughing before putting on their shorts and shirts over their bathing suits and heading back inside the bungalow to relax and unwind for the evening. She was just finished closing the back sliding door after Grace had walked inside behind her when she instantly noticed something was off. There were items that were moved and the living room was in total disarray, as though someone had been searching for something. 

“Danny? Babe, have you wrapped up your case early?” she called out nervously into the house.

“Hi, honey...” A man that was certainly not her boyfriend came walking into the living room from the bedrooms, an unstable smile that quickly turned into a frown crossing his face as he stared at the doctor and then at the little girl. Todd...last time she came face to face with him, he had broken several of her ribs, and she had called the police on him. He was in jail...he should have still been in jail...How...why had the authorities not informed her that her ex-fiance was out of prison?

“My God...” 

“My Mel...my love...I-I wanted to come and see you...talk to you...but then I see this girl with you, who looks like you...” Mel’s eyes dart to Grace, who could instantly tell something was wrong by the look on the older woman’s face. “Is this your daughter, Mel, sweetheart? Were you...were you unfaithful to me?”

“Todd...I-I don’t know what you’re talking about...you shouldn’t...you shouldn’t even be here. Gracie...c-come here...get behind me, little kala.” She put out her arm towards the little girl who began to quickly move towards her, but Mel’s ex slammed his fist down on the glass table, shattering it and startling both of the girls. 

“DO NOT LIE TO ME!” he roared out as he pulled up his bloody fist, and Mel took Grace in her arms, pressing the frightened child behind her protectively. “DID YOU CHEAT ON ME?”

“T-Todd...stop shouting, please...you’re scaring her...W-We can talk...we can talk...just the two of us...o-okay? Just let..let me go put her to b-bed...”

“No. Neither of you are going anywhere...” His voice dropped to a dangerously furious low tone as he reached in his waistband and pulled out a gun, prompting a sharp intake of breath from Mel as she realized how his dark obsession had increased since being imprisoned. “Not until I get some answers.”

“Mellie?” Grace’s tiny voice behind her was terrified, and the doctor took a deep breath as she squeezed the girl’s smaller hand soothingly. “W-Who is that?”

“He...He is someone I knew a long time ago...but he did some very bad things, Gracie. He hurt me.”

“Someone you knew?!” Todd began to advance quickly on them, and Mel backed them up towards the back door, keeping Grace from his view. “I loved you...I put a ring on your hand! I was going to have you for the rest of my life, Mel! And all you had to do was listen to me!” Behind her back, she pulled out her cell phone and handed it discreetly to Grace, who took it in her free hand and hid it. She knew what to do in these kinds of situations thanks to her father. Mel hurriedly grabbed the cutting board on the counter and threw it at her ex’s head, turning and pushing Grace to the door before throwing it open.

“RUN! Go, Grace! Call HPD! Get to the neighbor’s house! GO!” she pleaded two seconds before Todd grabbed ahold of her neck and dragged her back inside. Grace screamed Mel’s name but did as she asked, racing towards the other houses on the beach as she pulled out the phone and dialed the HPD, explaining to them what was happening and begging for them to hurry. Thank goodness Mel had shown her the address and had told her what to do in case of emergency while they were there.

“Todd...T-Todd, please...” He was not paying attention to her pleas as he pressed her against the wall, his fist with the gun slamming repeatedly into the wall beside her until it formed a hole. There were tears streaming down her cheeks as she visible flinched from him, the terrible memories of the previous time she’d seen him racing through her mind once again as she glanced around for anything that could help her. 

“She isn’t m-mine...please just...calm down. Calm down, okay?”

“Do NOT tell me to calm down...” Striking her hard across the face, she sunk down to the floor clutching her throbbing cheek with a groan of pain. He stepped over her and skimmed his fingers along the mark the handgun had left on her face, almost appearing sorry.

“Mel, honey...I don’t want to hurt you...I don’t mean to...I just want the truth...” His fists curled as the anger flickered back on his face, replaced by his false sense of sympathy and security. She’d seen that look too many times. It was his mask, his way of lying to the rest of the world, convincing them he was a good man and a good fiance when in reality? Monster did not come close to what he was.

“Is Danny the bastard you’ve been screwing? Is he the reason you put me away? Hmm?” His hands slid down her sides, touching her after so long but watching as she shrank away in terror and disgust. It only made him angrier. She looked up into his eyes and shook her head.

“You...Y-You hurt me, Todd. You alm-almost killed me...I met Danny...a-after you were in...jail...”

“What...did I say...about lying?” Smack. Her cheek throbbed twice as hard with the second strike, and he stood up to land a well aimed kick against her ribs. 

“S-Stop...pl-pl...” Mel couldn’t breathe. He flashed the gun dangerously close in her face. 

“I don’t believe you. That little girl...she shouldn’t be here...but it’s okay, darling. Don’t worry...she won’t come between us. She won’t be a problem after today...we can go back to how it was before...you’ll come home with me. And it will all be okay again.” He walked out the back door with the gun in his hand, and Melinda managed to scramble to her feet, eyes glancing around until they caught on the meat tenderizer on the counter she was planning on using for the steaks. She had to get to Gracie. She had to keep her safe.

Stumbling quickly outside after him, seeing the way he was stalking towards the girl running out on the beach towards the next house over, hand clutching the phone she was crying into as she called for HPD and her Danno, Mel’s desperate need to protect the sweet, innocent girl surged inside of her, and with an enraged yell, she tackled the man to the sand, knocking the gun from his grip and grasping her makeshift weapon, preparing to use it on him. He grabbed her around the throat and flung her down, tugging her by the hair towards the ocean, where he shoved her down into the water even as she fought back against him.

“WHY COULDN’T YOU LOVE ME?! WHY WASN’T I ENOUGH FOR YOU??” he screamed irrationally as he pushed her head beneath the water. Saltwater filled her nostrils and lungs, and she tried to blow out through her nose as best as she could. “SHE HAS TO DIE FOR US TO BE TOGETHER!”

“Mellie!! Mellie!” In between gasps of air when he’d yank her up to shout at her, Mel could hear the concerned shouts of Danny’s daughter on the beach seemingly getting closer as if she was running back to help her. Todd released his ex and turned to face the girl, determined to get to her this time as Grace realized his attention had turned back to her. She turned and began to run from him, and Mel knew she was not going to allow Todd to touch a single hair on Grace’s head. Not while the doctor was still alive.

“Gra...ce...” she sputtered before she remembered the tenderizer and grasped it tight, hurling her arm upwards and making contact with her attacker’s head. He fell backwards, and she climbed on top of him as she choked and hacked up the water. And then the maternal instinct to protect Grace kicked in, and she went on the offense. Every time he yelled, every time he pushed her into the walls or threw her down the stairs. Every time he blamed her for not cooking what he wanted or accusing her of not spending enough time with him. Her memories fueled her wrath at the man who’d threatened the young child. She began slamming her fist into the dazed man’s face as she could hear the sirens wailing up the street, but she just did not want to stop anymore.

She kept swinging and kicking and hitting him in every way she could, breaking bones and dislocating his shoulder in the process, her clothes stained with blood from the both of them, until suddenly the police were pulling her off of him, and she halfway collapsed into the waiting arms of Chin Kelly. His arms wrapped around her as her rage quelled and became replaced with both the rising fear of facing her greatest nightmare mixed with relief that the police had arrived, and Grace was now safe. Mel’s aching shoulders wracked with sobs as she broke down, clutching Chin for dear life as she tried to explain herself through her tears. He kept murmuring that she was safe, that it was all right, picking her up and carrying her back towards the police cars where Grace had run to as soon as she had heard them driving up. Sgt. Lukela checked Todd’s pulse and told them he was unconscious but still alive, and that a group of HPD officers now surrounded him with guns drawn in case he woke up.

“Mellie?” She immediately climbed out of Chin’s grip and limped to the girl, falling to her knees and taking the scared child into her arms, holding her as close and as tight as she could, stroking her face and hair in relief.

“Grace...you’re safe...it’s all right...that horrible man will never touch you...he will never hurt you...”

“Us...He’ll never hurt us, Mellie...Uncle Chin is here now. Danno will come.” Grace curled deeper into the doctor’s embrace as Melinda began to cry again, the compassion of Danny’s daughter truly touching her as Chin dialed Danny’s number to tell him what had happened, his hand moving to clutch Mel’s shoulder in comfort as he smiled down at the girls in utter relief. They’d gotten there in time. 

[samsexualdeancurious]

Overdue | Chapter One

Pairing: McDanno

Words: 2,425

Warnings: None

Summary: Danny’s promotion

Written for @markinmi1

Betaed by @cowandcalf

Masterlist

It’s always strange when Steve’s not at the office, even if Danny knows he’s just meeting with the Governor. He doesn’t quite know what to do with himself- memories of every “how long have you two been married” joke flash through his mind at that- so he stays in his office and finishes up paperwork. Maybe he can get through it all before Steve decides to blow something up again.

When Steve finally arrives, a knot loosens in Danny’s chest; it tightens again when he sees the strangely thoughtful look on Steve’s face. Faces in that category have varying results but tend to swing one way and Danny really doesn't feel like finding out what mischief Steve has planned now.

Steve beckons, though, and Danny has to hide how eager he is to join the other man in his office.

“What’s up?” he asks.

Steve sinks into his desk chair. “Close the door.”

Danny does, even more certain now that Steve has done something terrible, possibly involving explosives or Russian spies. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Steve assures him. “I was just meeting with the Governor because I decided- and she agrees- that you’re long overdue for a promotion.”

That’s not at all what Danny was expecting to hear. “A promotion?”

“To Lieutenant.”

Danny’s mouth opens and closes a few times as he tries to work out exactly how to respond to that. Finally, he gets out, “What brought this on?”

Steve gives him the patent McGarrett ‘are you serious?’ expression. “Did you forget about successfully landing a plane without killing us or anyone else, and then giving me part of your liver without any hesitation, saving my life again?”

Danny ducks his head, feeling the heat in his cheeks. “I was just doing my job.” Liar.

“This is only the most recent example of you going above and beyond the call of duty for a case,” Steve points out. “Danno, you deserve a goddamn medal, but a promotion will have to do.”

He doesn’t know how to respond to that. It doesn’t feel like he goes above and beyond- it’s his duty, right? Comes with the badge. He’s going to do what it takes to keep the island safe, and he’s willing to do even more when it comes to protecting Steve. He didn’t even have to think before donating part of his own body to save his partner. It was the next logical step in keeping Steve safe.

“Does it come with a pay raise?” he asks, doing his best to lighten the mood a little.

Steve laughs. “Of course.”

“Okay, good, ‘cause I’m long overdue for one. Seven years overdue.”

God, the way Steve leans back in his chair, a grin lighting up his whole face- Danny’s stomach flips at the sight. “I won’t argue. So you’ll take the promotion?”

“Yes, Steven,” Danny laughs. “I’ll take the promotion.”

The ceremony is a week later. Steve decides to pull out all the stops and he’s had his dress blues dry cleaned by a local business that’s better at the proper creases than he could ever be. He looks damn good and he knows it. Hopefully, Danny thinks so, too.

The ceremony isn’t too extravagant. A handful of other officers are also receiving promotions, but Steve barely listens to all that. He’s too busy taking peeks at Danny where his partner sits in the front row, shoulders ridiculously broad in the uniform Steve kind of really wants to tear off of him. When it’s Danny’s turn, Steve trades places with Duke at the podium. He instructs Danny through the oath, hands over the shiny new Five-0 lieutenant badge, and shakes Danny’s hand. It may just be his imagination, but it seems like Danny is checking him out a little, too.

After the ceremony, Steve gets through the necessary hand shaking and polite small talk with Duke and the other high-level officers who sat on the small stage as quickly as possible so he can join Danny and the rest of the team on the floor.

Danny has one arm around Grace’s shoulders and Charlie, who is verging on too big to be picked up, perched on his other hip, and his smile is brighter than Steve has seen in a long time. He playfully bumps Steve’s arm when he’s close enough.

“You didn’t have to get all dressed up for me, babe,” Danny says. “I’m touched.”

Steve shrugs, grinning. “Only the best for you.”

Danny might be blushing, but Steve’s not going to call him out on it. Instead, he preens internally and begins to herd the group out to the cars and back to his house, where a late lunch is waiting.

Steve soon finds himself in what is most definitely one of his favorite places- standing of a grill full of ahi, watching his friends and family mill about the backyard and beach. Kono is helping Charlie build a sand castle down closer to the water. Abby, Chin, and Adam are chatting over plates of the delicious salad Rachel dropped off the night before. Rachel herself looks on with a fond smile as Grace beats Kamekona at cards.

“That smells good, babe,” Danny says, sliding in beside Steve and offering up a beer.

He’s changed out of his uniform and is dressed now in a t-shirt that looks like it might rip if he flexes too hard. Steve himself is down to just boardshorts and a loose sleeveless tee, ready to join Grace and Kono in the ocean later. He knows for a fact that Grace leaves her swimming suit here on purpose and he’s pretty sure Kono never takes hers off.

“These are pretty close to done,” Steve replies, trying not to lean into Danny’s hand when, once emptied of the beer, he presses it to the back of Steve’s shoulder, thumb rubbing softly over the closest tattoo.

“I’ll reign in the architects.”

Steve pretends he doesn’t hate it when Danny moves away, already calling for Charlie and Kono. The boy comes running, babbling about the moat “Aunt Kono” is digging, and a warm joy wells up in Steve’s chest at the sight. Few things make him happier than seeing Danny be the wonderful father he is, even if it just involves herding his son inside to wash up.

He finally tears his eyes away, trying to make it look like he hasn’t been staring, and instead they land on Rachel, who is no longer watching Grace. She shoots him a knowing smile as she crosses the lanai, bringing a clean plate for him to put the ahi on.

“You should tell him,” she says, in that cool way of hers.

“Tell him what?” Steve asks, deciding playing dumb is his best option here.

She just rolls her eyes. “Tell him that you love him.”

Steve feels his cheeks heat up and he stares down at the grilled fish, even though the smoke stings a little. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh.” Rachel’s smile is kind and knowing, but she doesn’t push, just glides away to save Kamekona from losing his entire life savings.

After dinner, Kono pulls a huge layered dessert out of the fridge and plants it in front of Danny. His eyes go wide.

“Is this…?”

“Tiramisu,” she announces proudly. “I may have called your mom.”

“Kono, you are a goddess among women,” Danny proclaims.

She laughs, holding out the knife to cut it with. “Save your declarations of love for after you’ve tried it.”

Danny eagerly cuts into it, setting neat squares on disposable plates he than passes around until he’s sure everyone has one. Only then does he dig in, groaning happily around the first bite before pulling Kono down so he can plant a kiss on her forehead.

“Like I said,” he tells her. “A goddess among women.”

Her blush and Danny’s fond expression is more than enough to make Steve smile, even without the delicious bite he just shoved in his own mouth.

When dessert is finished, there’s more socializing, some swimming and beach games that Danny complains about but participates in, and then things slowly wind down. Leftovers are divided and people begin to trickle out. Kono leaves hand-in-hand with Adam after quick hugs from Charlie, who’s definitely going to be headed straight to bed once Rachel gets him home, and Grace. Grace herself is going home with Danny, so she sticks around to help clean up a little. Steve can see her in the backyard wiping down the patio furniture and straightening things up while he and Danny get started on dishes.

Danny is the living embodiment of domesticity right now and it’s making Steve’s stomach do funny things. He keeps glancing over at where Danny is rinsing and drying, and he never wants to do dishes alone again. Danny fits right into his home in a way no one has in years and how Steve didn’t notice it before, he has no idea.

“Whatever it is you have to say, you should say it before your brain melts from all the thinking you’re doing,” Danny says, flicking him lightly with the towel.

Steve startles- he hadn’t realized he was staring- and quickly turns his attention back to the dishes in an attempt to hide the heat he can feel rising in his cheeks. “It’s nothing.”

Danny gives him one of his patented ‘That’s bullshit and you know it’ looks. “Uh-huh. Spill.”

Shit. Steve knows Danny’s not going to let this go. Maybe Rachel is right. He should tell him.

Of course, as soon as he opens his mouth to get the words- or words of some kind- out, Grace comes skipping through the back door with all the brightness of fifteen.

“The lanai and yard are clean,” she announces, falling in on her father’s other side and taking the dish he just finished drying from his hands. “Can we stay here tonight?”

“Don’t ask me, it’s not my house,” Danny chuckles.

“Uncle Steve? Can we spend the night?” She has her mother’s brown eyes, wide and pleading at Steve around Danny’s shoulder, and she’s one of the most important people in his life. How could he ever say no?

“Of course,” he tells her, feeling himself relax into the warmth of her joy. “As long as your dad’s okay with it.”

“You have tennis in the morning and your mom will kill me if you’re too tired for that, so I don’t want you staying up late,” Danny says as soon as she turns those eyes on him. “Do you have clothes?”

“Yeah, I left some in the upstairs guest room last week,” she assures him.

He rolls his eyes. “Of course you did.”

Her grin is wicked and playful. She snatches the last dish from Danny’s hands, puts it away, and vanishes upstairs to the room that’s essentially hers since she’s the only one who uses it anymore. Danny shakes his head, turning to Steve.

“She spends way too much time with you,” he says with a stab of a finger that leaves a little wet circle on Steve’s shirt.

Crisis averted. Steve shrugs and flashes Danny the same smile as Grace, just so he can get Danny talking some more. If Danny’s talking, then everything is okay.

Steve probably really should be more concerned about how easily Danny fits into his space, but he doesn’t care. In fact, he loves it. The sight of Danny sitting in a deck chair, beer in hand and bare feet kicked up, is Steve’s favorite sight in the world, especially when combined with the knowledge that Grace is upstairs finishing her homework. Steve lingers in the doorway to soak it in.

Danny glances over his shoulder and waves his apparently empty bottle. “You gonna stand there all night?”

“Patience is a virtue,” Steve points out, the wood of the lanai cool under his feet.

“You don’t make a man wait for his beer, Steven. That’s called cruel and unusual punishment.” Danny sets his empty bottle on the small table between their chairs and takes the new one Steve offers him.

“I’m not sure that’s covered by the constitution.”

“I’m sure it is.”

Danny’s lips wrapping around the top of the bottle should be illegal, Steve is pretty sure. He settles into his own chair, tearing his eyes away before Danny catches him staring again.

“Hey, what were you going to tell me earlier?” Danny’s eyes are bright, the sunset and house light casting shadows over his face. He’s the most beautiful thing Steve has ever seen, and it takes him a minute to figure out what exactly Danny is talking about.

“Oh, yeah,” he says, turning away. “I just, I wanted to tell you-”

This time the interruption is the vibrating of Danny’s phone. He frowns and catches it before it vibrates off the table.

“Hold that thought, babe.” He presses the phone to his ear and suddenly his accent is out in full force. “Hey, Bobby. Isn’t it a little late in Atlanta?... you’ll have to tell me about that case later. What can I do for you?” He rolls his beer between his fingers and takes a swig. “Aw, thanks, man. I really appreciate that.”

Steve turns away, hiding in his beer as Danny chats with who Steve assumes is an old cop friend from back east. Danny is smiling and he looks so proud of himself as he chats about the promotion.

“Well, I don’t think I’ll be moving to Atlanta anytime soon, but I appreciate the offer.”

Danny settles back in his chair and Steve can’t be there anymore. He taps Danny’s knee and murmurs, “I’m going to bed.”

The only response he gets is a nod and a thumb up, which is his permission to walk calmly- not scurry, Commander Steven J. McGarrett does not scurry- up to his room. He knows Danny has clothes to sleep in and toiletries for the morning already, so he rushes through his own bedroom routine and definitely does not throw himself onto the bed or pull a pillow to cover his face.

Danny isn’t leaving, not as long as Grace is here. He knows that. But Grace is growing up. She’ll be going to college in a few years and maybe getting married and moving on with her life, and then what? Because Danny is the best detective Steve knows and he could go anywhere. He could do anything.

He doesn’t need Steve.

“Fuck” is all Steve can say.

Tell me what you thought          Support my writing

Team McDanno: @tari-aldarion @mymcdanno @ssthongmagnet @soarincynindlca @books-and-icecream @nihilvanum

[urwarriorangel]

‘your tears wanna kiss me, too’ (danny williams)

my first danno fic!! i really hope you guys enjoy this! i love danno and i love that he calls everyone babe and that was basically the inspiration for this fic. as always, please lmk what you think! (and yes, this is loosely vday based!)

w: language, mentions of blood loss, character injury, angst (!!!no gifs r mine!!!)

The first time Danny called you babe, it caught you off guard a little. You were trying to decide what takeout to get and he asked if you wanted suggestions… babe. You almost asked him what was going on, but the next day, you caught him calling Steve babe too. He called Chin babe when he got hurt, Kono when she teased him about Grace, Catherine when she thought Doris hated her. So you thought Danny calling you babe was his way of welcoming you to the team and you thought nothing of it.

Well it’s been a few years and Danny still calls you babe offhandedly. You’ve accepted as part of the job, Danny doesn’t really think he likes you, and the rest of the Five-0 is hell-bent on setting you two up... with no luck thus far.

The team set you two up on a blind-double date for Valentine’s Day (where there really are no double dates, it’s just you and Danny) and it was going well until work happened.

The team is currently playing a game of cat and mouse with a gang of bank robbers: they’ve got 17 hostages inside and are threatening to kill them one by one if anyone on the outside makes a move. To make matters worse, you and one of the robbers got into a shootout when his dumbass decided to take a peek outside… and now you’re hurt.

“You got hit pretty hard, babe. You okay?” Danny points to your wounded shoulder and you just shrug, not paying any mind.

“I’ll be fine once we catch this jackass,” you whisper, ignoring the mind-numbing pain in your shoulder.

“No, Y/N. There’s a bullet dodged in your shoulder. We need-”

“What we need is to catch the moron who did this. My arm does not hurt, my brain does. And it will all get better once, whoa,” you stand up and for some odd, very unknown reason, you’re dizzy. You feel the world spinning and as the team rushes over to help you, you shake your head and stand tall, hoping to deceive them. “See? I’m fine. I… am…. fine.”

And, of course, everything goes black.

You wake up sometime later to this constant beeping, this annoyance that you needed to stop. You slowly open your eyes, blinking a few times as you register your surroundings and remember what happened: you got shot by a bank robber and now you’re in the hospital, which means that incessant beeping is you. So you rip off the bandages and the heart monitors and the needles and that’s when you realize you’ve made a mistake: the beeping turns into a flatline and wakes up Danny.

“What is-?” He hears the noise and wakes up, terrified that something has happened to you. Once his eyes land on you, he lets out a relieved sigh. “Holy shit, Y/N.”

“Hi,” you give him a soft smile as he all but runs to you, wrapping his arms around you to reassure himself that you’re awake.

“How are you feeling, babe?” He holds you at arm's length, lifting a hand to brush some hair out of your face.

“Like I just got shot. But also oddly alive. McGarrett’s rubbing off on me,” you shoot him a smile and he laughs, shaking his head.

“You’re insane, you know that?” You shrug, ready to respond but this is the time that Danny chooses to yell at you. “Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, please tell me something: what the hell were you thinking? What were you thinking shooting him from where you were? You couldn’t possibly have thought things would end well. And if you had gotten the moron, then what? Do you think they would have been okay with it? That they would all just agree to let the hostages go because one of their own was hurt?”

“Danny, please just-”

“No, I am not done yet. You know what? Forget about the hostages, forget about the jackass robbers. Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourself in? You could have died. Those robbers? They were all in the military. If you hadn’t caught him by surprise, you would have been killed. You could have died,” he whispers that last part and you see him nearly break in front of you.

He turns away from you. Guilt courses through you and for the first time in a long time, you feel your heart drop. Tears rush to your eyes as you consider everything that could’ve gone wrong, anything that could go wrong now. What if Danny hates you? What if you’d hit the shooter and they killed the hostages? What if he’d killed you? What if Danny hates you? What if they remove you from Five-0 because of this one stupid mistake? What if you’re stripped of your badge and everything you’ve ever known is taken away from you? What if Danny hates you?

“Please don’t hate me, Danno,” you whisper, voice cracking as Danny turns back to face you. You wrap an arm around yourself, embarrassed to be in this state in front of your coworker, your friend, the man you’d always hoped you’d be more with.

“Babe, what?” He furrows his brows, immediately walking back to you and placing a hand on your shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Danno. I’m so sorry,” you whisper and silent tears run down your face. “Please don’t hate me.”

“Babe, no no no,” he wraps his arms around you, a hand rubbing the back of your head as you cry on his shoulder. “Shh, I’m sorry. I don’t-I couldn’t hate you. I promise.”

You keep apologizing and for some reason (maybe it’s because you’ve pushed everything down for the past 15 years) the tears won’t stop. Danny kisses the top of your head, assuring you that he doesn’t hate you. He promises you won’t get kicked off Five-0, that everyone is fine and the robbers have been arrested. He even teased you about getting shot to avoid Valentine’s Day festivities.

“You’re fine. I was just-I was just worried that you wouldn’t be,” he whispers and pulls away, a small smile on his lips as he studies you. “I was worried you wouldn’t wake up. You lost a lot of blood, and I guess that just put me on edge. I’m so glad you’re awake, babe. I don’t know what I’d do if-if we lost you.”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” you whisper, a smile creeping onto your face as you lean forward and finally, finally, kiss Danny. His hands immediately cup your face and yours rest on his chest, smiles on both your lips as your mouths work as though they’ve got a mind of their own. And your tears do the same.

“God damn it,” you whisper and pull away, seeing as the tears won’t fucking stop. “Danno they won’t stop and I just really wanna keep kissing you but I don’t want saltwater in my mouth.”

“Looks like your tears wanna kiss me, too,” he laughs and you shake your head, tossing caution to the wind as you kiss him again.

“It’s about damn time.”

“Are you serious?”

“Did it seriously take a fatal gunshot wound to get you two to admit your feelings?”

“Ay brah! That’s what I’m talking about. A Kamekona special.”

[erandri]

For @embracetheshipping and @camned who both requested #48 from this prompt list

48: We’ve become the clingy couple that you used to complain about.

“Egh,” Danny grumbles and Steve immediately stops chewing his lunch, worrying for a second that Danny’s disgusted is aimed towards him. Only, when he looks over at Danny, he’s peering over his shoulder at something down the beach. He turns around to see what Danny is so offended by, only to see a young couple snuggling happily on their beach towel.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, stealing a piece of Danny’s shrimp while he’s distracted.

“They’re just so...” instead of giving an answer Danny just groans and waves his hand in a noncommittal way, taking another bite of his lunch.

“So... what? Happy? In love?”

“Clingy,” Danny deadpans, “It’s disgusting.”

“Are you really such a curmudgeon that you can’t bear to see other people happy?”

“I am when that happiness includes doing that,” Danny says with a roll of his eyes and Steve can’t help but smile at him.

Steve sidles up beside Danny on the back deck, wrapping an arm around his waist and looking down at the beach where the sun is quickly setting. Danny immediately moves closer, letting Steve wrap his arms around his waist and pull him so that they’re standing flush together. It’s not often that they go out onto the upper deck, both of them preferring the beach chairs, but he does have to admit that it does seem more intimate up here, just off the master bedroom and shrouded by the trees. Danny leans further into him as they watch the waves lap at the shore and he squeezes Danny tight and kisses the side of his neck, receiving a very pleased hum from his partner.

He smiles, savoring the moment while it lasts. It’s not often that they get a truly peaceful moment like this, and they seem all the more precious now that he and Danny are finally together, and he plans to savor each and every one of them.

Danny starts to play with his hands, running his fingers lightly over Steve’s skin in a way that speaks of casual intimacy. It’s a familiar move now, one Steve had quickly gotten addicted to, and he watches over Danny’s shoulder as he moves his fingers in nonsensical patterns up and down Steve’s arms. After a while, Danny takes his hand and turns just enough that he can give him a kiss.

“What was that for?“ he asks with a smile.

“Because I love you,” Danny answers like it should have been obvious, and he can’t help the charmed chuckle that bubbles out of him. “What?” Danny asks him, amused.

“Nothing, It’s just... we’ve become the clingy couple that you used to complain about,” he explains, remembering all the times Danny had been put off by the very same displays of affection that Danny now lavishes on him.

“You take that back,” Danny tells him, turning in his arms and pointing an angry finger at him but the smile takes away from his act.

“You can’t take back what’s true,” he teases, pulling Danny along with him as he slowly backs up into the bedroom.

“Well it is absolutely not true,” he raises an eyebrow at Danny’s denial and is rewarded when Danny starts launching into a diatribe about how they are not clingy, or cutesy, or any other word along those lines.

“Sure, Danno,” he says placatingly just as he backs up into the bed and falls down onto it.

“It’s true,” Danny assures him, but he stretches out over Steve and leans down to kiss him so Steve doesn’t give any credence to his words.

“Whatever you say,” he says when they break apart.

“Damn right whatever I say,” Danny nods and kisses him again, “I am not clingy,” Danny says and they he knows that it’ll be the last word on the subject. Just like he knows that come morning they’ll wake up wrapped around each other, just like they have every day since Danny moved in.

[geckogirl89]

Barnes & Noble: Gossip Central

Inspired by this prompt on @theshipperssoul: Person A & B are very close friends, and sometimes get mistaken for a married couple. A doesn’t correct them, and B asks A why they don’t later. A responds “Who wouldn’t want to be with you” and B’s reaction is up to you. 

Fandom: Hawaii Five-0 (2010) Pairing: Steve/Danny Rating: G Word Count: 1672 Notes: Set between the current season and season 8.

Steve had volunteered to help Danny shop for his kid's school supplies this year. Rachel had asked Danny to do it since she was helping take care of her mother in England after she had a heart attack. With Charlie entering first grade and Grace entering her sophomore year of high school, Danny had many things to buy this year.

After going to a couple of office supply stores, they went to Barnes & Noble to buy the books indicated on Grace's reading list for English class. Steve was leaning over and memorizing the list that Danny held between them. Steve was so focused on the list that he didn't notice how Danny was blushing at the hand he had lightly placed on Danny's shoulder. Or at least Danny hoped.

A bookstore employee with the nametag "Brenda" walked over to the pair. “Can I help you with anything?” she asked.

Danny showed the paper he was holding to the employee. “We have a supply list for books in the upcoming year.”

Brenda smiled. “Most of these should be in the ‘Back to School’ section over here.” The woman gestured to a display with her hand and walked towards it. Steve and Danny followed her. Danny glanced over the display and noted that several of the required books were on the table.

Brenda’s smile turned a little less formal. “I hope this helped you two gentlemen.”

“It did, thanks,” Danny said. Steve nodded in acknowledgment.

Brenda let out a wistful sigh. “You know, it's really nice to see couples shopping for their kid's school supplies. It's usually just one parent, but it's really good to see both parents involved.”

Danny held his mouth open for a few seconds, uncertain how to reply. This hadn't been the first time people had assumed that he and Steve were a couple. The duo had been subjected to a lot of jokes about being "bickering like an old married couple" from random suspects and witnesses in their cases and had even heard ribbing from their teammates about their relationship. Danny usually spoke to his parents or sisters on the phone, but he swore that he could hear their smirks when he mentioned Steve again. Hell, at one point, even Danny had said that their “marriage” had become predictable.

The more unsettling events had involved times when people sincerely believed they were together. One time, they had simply walked into a room, and a college girl assumed that they were her friend Kelly's dads. Then, there had been Ruth on that stakeout, who had heard that they were “partners” and assured them that she fully supported gay marriage. Those events honestly made Danny feel a little insecure. He wondered if he was giving out some kind of obvious vibe of attraction to Steve and that people thought they were together because of the inadvertent signals Danny had been showing.

Steve had reacted with good humor to the Ruth situation, and he had been offended with the college girl, but only because she thought he was old enough to be Kelly's father. Danny didn't know what to make of Steve's reactions to people thinking they were a couple. He glanced over to Steve, curious how he would react now, especially since Brenda had just implied that Steve was one of Grace's parents.

Steve smiled lightly. “Thanks.” So, apparently, he was just going to let Brenda think they were a couple? Danny had never seen Steve simply go along with people's assumptions before, and he was shocked.

Brenda walked away, and Steve began picking up a few of the books on the list. Danny spotted one on the far side of the table and moved towards it. “So, uh, you're just gonna let Brenda think we're together?”

Danny glanced surreptitiously at Steve, who shrugged at his question. “It would just make things more awkward if I tried to explain.”

Steve's reason made enough sense to Danny. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Steve put a book in their small shopping basket. “Besides, it's not like I'm offended or anything. I mean, who wouldn't want to be with you?”

Danny froze a few inches away from Steve, clutching a copy of the book he had been planning to put in their shopping basket. Steve's last words played over and over in a loop in Danny's mind.

Who wouldn't want to be with you?

Steve stiffened and slowly turned his head towards Danny. His gaze was frightened, like a hunted animal with a gun pointed directly at its face.

Danny began babbling. “Well, let's see. There's Rachel, Gabby, Melissa, once I screwed that one up. And most guys, except for you, apparently.” Danny let out a weak, pathetic chuckle.

Steve was confused. At least he didn't look like he was facing a firing squad anymore. “What?”

“That's, uh, that's who wouldn't want to be with me.”

Steve's next words were soft, but full of meaning. “They're wrong, you know.”

Danny grinned, finally putting his book in the shopping basket. He put a hand over Steve's shoulder. “Babe, that's sweet, but I think your perspective is a little skewed.” He started to laugh, but he stopped when he saw the pained look on Steve's face.

“Danno, I appreciate that you're being nice about this, but could you not, with the touching and the ‘babe.’” Steve sighed and put down the basket on the edge of the table. “It's just a little too much for me right now.”

Danny turned Steve around to face him. Steve was frowning and refused to meet his eyes.

Danny took a deep breath to prepare for his next statement. “What if I'm not just being nice?”

Steve made some kind of weird gulping noise in the back of his throat and finally met Danny's gaze. His expression was dominated by grief, but hope was starting to flash in his eyes.

Danny shook his head. “Maybe this will help you understand.” He positioned his hands at the back of Steve's neck and started to lean in. Steve's eyes widened before he beamed and leaned the rest of the way in. For a few blissful seconds, the world narrowed down to just the two of them. Somehow, Steve ended up moving them so that Danny was backed against the little display table. Danny was grateful for the support because his knees were starting to feel like jello. He was about to melt into a puddle at any second.

A throat was cleared behind them, and Steve pulled away from the kiss. Danny pouted, and then he looked behind Steve to see who had interrupted them and face palmed. It was Mrs. Yang, the head of the PTA at Grace's school, along with the store employee, Brenda, who had helped them earlier.

Danny peeked between his fingers to see Mrs. Yang trying to conceal her amusement with a stern glare. Brenda showed much less restraint. She was plainly smirking at Steve and Danny.

“Detective Williams, some of us are attempting to shop for the next school year. I have no issues with you kissing your boyfriend, but this is hardly the appropriate time or place.”

"You know her?" Steve asked.

Danny dragged his hand down his face slowly before he attempted to put on a pleasant smile for Mrs. Yang and turned to Steve. “Right, well we're done getting books, aren't we? Come on Steve, let's go.” He quickly snagged the list they had left on the table and grabbed Steve's hand. Steve picked up the shopping basket and let himself be dragged toward the classic literature section.

“Who was that?” Steve whispered once they were gone.

“Mrs. Yang, the head of the PTA at Grace's school.”

Steve hummed thoughtfully. "So, I guess she knows a lot of people?"

“And she has a reputation as a gossip. I wouldn't be surprised if she sent out an email about this to the entire PTA mailing list.” Danny was only exaggerating a little. She probably wouldn't send out an email, but he was sure all of the parents and most of the teachers would know about him and Steve within a couple of weeks.

Steve chuckled. “You, uh, you don't seem to mind the idea of everyone knowing about us.”

Danny shrugged. “I'll just make everyone jealous. I mean, who wouldn't want to be with you?”

Steve kissed Danny on the temple, and then he looked over at the list Danny was holding in his right hand. “You know, there are eight books on this list, and we only managed to pick up five.”

Danny pointed to an item on the list. “I remember seeing that one at the table, but the last two weren't there. They're around here, probably.”

“You want to get those last two first? That way Mrs. Yang can shop without being annoyed with us.”

Danny nodded. “Yeah, and if she's still there, we can get Grace a planner or something.” Danny didn't mind people knowing about him and Steve, but he still felt a little embarrassed at being caught making out with him at a bookstore. He didn't really want to run into Mrs. Yang again today, if he could avoid it.

Steve laughed and started walking off towards the area that housed the authors who had last names near the beginning of the alphabet. He was probably going to get the Jane Austen novel. “Whatever you say, Danno.”

Danny smiled over at Steve, biting his lower lip as he let his gaze travel over his partner. He sighed and went off to look for the other book they needed to get. He could ogle Steve later, when it was the "appropriate time and place." He could kiss Steve later, too. The thought put a stupid grin on his face. He hadn't imagined a mundane shopping trip ending this way, but Danny was incredibly grateful and giddy at the unexpected gift the universe had dropped into his lap today. Danny was looking forward to the end of this shopping excursion.

[cowandcalf]

Writer’s Month 2020 - To Find A Way

Prompt No.14 - Metamorphosis Part I

Chapter 1-6

Chapter 7

"Hey, Tanaka wants results on the case, asap. We need to come up with something useful today. He's pissed. He breathes down our neck. I hate it when he does that. We need hard proof to get that damn search warrant." Kono shoves a coffee to go under Danny's nose and hops up to sit on his desk.

Danny turns his phone upside down and pretends he hasn't been checking again if Steve had texted.

"What are you doing?" Kono's eyes are on his cell.

"Nothing."

"Uh-huh."

The hustle and bustle at HPD is intense with all the cops coming and going. An angry drunk shouts obscenities into the open space of the office where he sits cuffed to the chair next to Meka's desk. Danny watches the old woman who has lost her parrot. The poor woman clutches her purse and looks overwhelmed with what's going on at the police station.

"Kono, make sure Duke takes care of that lady over there. She's too old to sit for so long and she misses her pet. Can you do that?" Danny grabs his coffee and hopes Kono drops the thing with his phone. "Duke's always good with confused, old ladies. He'll make her feel safe and he'll find her bird."

"He's on his way back from questioning a witness. I'll call him and tell him. What's the plan for today?" Kono dials a number on her cell and looks expectantly at Danny.

"Let's check those bank accounts again. We need to find out how they get that money off the island. How they sell the puppies." Danny rattles down the points on their to-do list. He reaches for the case files with their suspects. "I'll comb through our interrogation protocols again to find the needle in the haystack. This lumberjack guy lies. We need some results fast. I wanna get back to the guy's house. I don't mind to punch the asshole in the face. We need to find the drugs and the puppies. God, I hate cases with puppy trafficking. People are so sick." Danny gets up and signals Kono to follow him.

"Where are we going?" Kono hops off the desk to catch up with him.

"I need a quiet place. I can't think in here. It's a mess and too loud. Let's go and sit at Kame's place. Maybe he knows stuff we don't. Let's work together."

"Tanaka wouldn't approve." Kono teases.

"I don't care shit about what Tanaka approves. He wants results. He'll get results. Come on, let's get out of here."

Danny checks his phone again. He can't fight that strong pull to just check on the incoming texts. It's pathetic and he's aware of that. But still. Damn it. Nothing. Danny senses the same dull tweak of disappointment when all he sees is the screensaver. It's Grace's picture. He loves Grace but still, he had expected a least one text from Steve. It's been days since he's watched Steve getting smaller in the rear mirror.

Grace's beloved face makes him smile of course. It's not that he doesn't love to look at a picture of his baby girl. But he would have liked if Steve had acted on that rain check. Steve hasn't texted in nearly six days. Not one lousy letter and it's messing with Danny's mood. No one needs to point out how stupid he behaves. Rationally Danny can deal with it, emotionally he can't. He worries Steve might have forgotten his number. But hey, he's ex-elite force. He should draw those few numbers from his mind with ease. And that leads Danny to the conclusion he tries to avoid. The one where the only logical explanation would be that Steve's just not interested and that he's forgotten about Danny.

Danny checks again, just to be sure he hasn't missed anything. He waits until Kono opens the door for him. His eyes are glued to the small display.

"Danny, we need to talk." Kono pushes the door open.

"About what?" He slips the cell into his back pocket.

"I've created a tally sheet to log how many times you've checked your phone since you've walked through that door this morning." Kono grins. "The log-ins are from five days. There's something going on. You never check your phone that often unless you expect something. It's not work-related I can tell. I smell romance in the air." Kono has this predator smile on her face Danny has learned to fear. She has tasted blood. Danny's in deep trouble. "You've met someone." That's not even a question. She's made a statement as if she sees right through him.

Danny's lost for words. "You did what? A tally sheet? What happened to privacy? And by the way, it's none of your business."

"You work with a bunch of crazy cops. Yes, it's my business. You're distracted all the time. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

"I don't know? I guess? Could you just shut up about it? It's nothing." Danny defends himself.

"Hey, you just stood there, waiting for me to open the goddamn door for you because you were so busy with checking your phone!" Kono shouts. "Tell me!"

"No."

"It's my business too when it affects your work."

"It doesn't affect my work!"

"I brought you coffee. Every damn day! Give me at least some details. The big picture! Who's this person who makes you forget about everything around you."

Danny stops dead in his tracks and gapes at her. "You brought me coffee hoping I would feed you some rom-com shit you just made up?"

"It was your favorite coffee, brah! Kamekona doesn't break either. He won't say a damn word!"

Danny can't even throw his hands in the air. He holds on to his coffee and to the files he picked from under his arm. "You did what??"

"I asked Kame what's up with you. He wouldn't say but his face twitched. You know the way it does when he hides something. But he wouldn't budge. So, that only means that something important is going on and you guys, have a secret you won't tell me. And that secret is related to you and the constant checking your phone!"

The smile splits Danny's face in half. "You're a damn good cop, Kono-san."

"Don't, nuh-huh, don't Kono-san me, not working, Danny! Who is it? You try to hide everything. It's extremely suspicious."

"Get it, shut up, and don't make me push you out the door when we're on the highway," Danny grumbles. "We take your car. You drive. I go through the files on our way to Kame." Danny inhales and rolls his eyes. "And no more questions, Kono, I mean it."

Danny's phone rings. He jerks to the unexpected sound. Kono snickers with her eyes all over him. She doesn't miss a single detail.

"Eyes on the road, Kono. Jesus!"

"You're smiling like a stupid idiot." She says.

Danny's too busy to reach for his phone. It's Rachel. His stomach drops fast. The disappointment makes him bite the inside of his cheek.

"That's not the person you have expected." Kono leans in and reads the caller ID on the screen. She has no feelings for personal boundaries. She's a pain in the ass today.

"Kono! For fuck's sake, watch the road!"

"Brah, you act strange. All tense and shit. I don't like it. Spill it already, dude."

Danny scoffs an answer but takes Rachel's call. "Rachel, what's up? Everything's fine? Is Grace okay?"

When he hangs up Kono just takes one look at him and is all serious again. "Danny? What's up? What do you need?"

"Can you drive me to the hospital?"

"Whoa! Something happened?" She shouts.

"No, God no. Nothing. Rachel's fine, Grace's fine." Danny runs his hand over his face. "You know, I told you Rachel undergoes in vitro fertilization because she and Stan can't get pregnant. She got the call. She has a two-hour window to harvest one of her eggs. She's at the hospital. Stan's in a meeting. She has Grace and she's scared and upset. I'm her backup if Stan can't be there.  I'll look after Grace when she's under. Can we make a detour to the hospital?" Danny explains.

"Sure, brah, whatever you need."

Kono drops him off and snatches the case files out of his hand. "Leave this to me. I'm at Kame's. Call me if you need anything. Be with Grace and let Rachel do what she came to do. Stan's on his way. I called the office. I'll come and pick you up. Call me, okay?"

"Thanks, Kono. I owe you." Danny's thoughts are already somewhere else.

"No, you don't owe me a single thing, Danny-san. You're ohana but you're not off the hook about your secret romance."

Danny sighs and shakes his head. He combs his fingers through the ruffled hairdo. He watches how Kono filters back into traffic.

The reception at the fertility center/the child birthing ward is painted in calm and friendly colors. The staff is always caring and supportive. Danny has mixed feelings to step into this realm where sadness and happiness are equally balanced. He and Rachel had never any difficulties getting pregnant. He feels deeply sorry for Stan and Rachel.

"Danno!" A loud, high-pitched voice called his name. With her pigtails flying Grace runs right into his open arms.

"Hi, monkey! Hey, love to see you, baby-girl. Everything's fine?"

"I don't like this place." Grace wraps her small arms around his neck.

"I'll make sure mommy is fine and then we head outside to check-out that awesome-looking playground, okay?"

Grace nods and holds on to him. Danny carries his daughter over to where Rachel gets checked her personal details. "Hi, Rachel, how are you?"

"Hi, Daniel. Thank you so much for coming on such short notice. I didn't have anyone else to call." She sniffs but stands tall. She's a brave woman. Danny's glad they've worked hard to become friends for the sake of Grace's happiness. They're good parents.

"Hey, everything's going to be fine. I'm here. I'll take care of Grace. Kono called Stan. He's on his way. You go and make sure you're one step closer to having a baby, okay?" Danny gently pets her shoulder. She seems so upset and nervous. Her eyes are big. She wears the stress like a cloak around her shoulders. The mood of her mother makes Grace cling to Danny. He holds her tightly to assure that everything is okay.

Rachel bites her lips. She shows a watery smile. "Thank you, a lot, Daniel. Can you – can you make sure Stan comes and finds me once he's here?"

"Yes, will do."

"Okay, I'll give you a call when I'm done." Rachel strokes Grace's back, "bye baby, mommy's back soon. Stay with Danno, okay?"

Danny and Grace wave Rachel goodbye. They watch until the automatic doors with the blinded glass close behind her back. Danny's gaze falls on a heavily pregnant woman who sits in the waiting area holding her round belly with her arms. She looks a bit stressed and her bangs are wet. Her cheeks are flushed. She sits there with her eyes closed and seems to breathe in a calming pattern. She's so young. Danny feels the distinct protective instinct kicking in. He hopes she's not alone and there's a loving husband who takes good care of her.

Grace wiggles in his arms. "Danno, can we go now?"

"Of course, monkey. Let's go and have some fun."

The automatic doors open again and a tall, dark, handsome man walks over to the blond, young woman. He wears cargo pants, dark, solid boots, and a rumpled navy-blue V-neck shirt hanging out of his pants. Danny recognizes the tattoos first. The way the guy walks over to the pregnant woman looks so familiar. Danny imagines bare feet and worn blue jeans and a lot of dirt.

Steve.

Danny hears Grace babbling and complaining. He holds onto her and watches Steve. He carries a bottle of water and sits down next to the beautiful-looking soon-to-be-mama. He gently brushes at the wet strands of hair to get it out of her eyes. Danny just stares at the perfect picture. He should have known it. Guys like Steve are taken, no matter the damage they carry around. Danny bites his tongue and swallows a pain so sharp as if stabbed in the gut.

The young woman must have said something because Steve's head darts around and he meets Danny's eyes. Danny hears the nurse at the reception talking on the phone. He realizes how Grace wants to be let down but he only sees Steve and the way he takes him in. The way his eyes shoot to Grace and back to him, and how he shuts down. How he pushes Danny away without saying a single word, or even twitching a finger. Steve doesn't smile, doesn't show he knows him. Danny feels deeply hurt and when he's hurt, he gets bold.

"Come on, Grace. I need to say 'hi' to a friend and I promise we're leaving after that." He puts Grace down and takes her small hand in his.

"Hi, Steve. Nice to meet you. I didn't know you're going to be a father soon. Congratulations." He says with the sweetest smile he finds in him. The hurt is like wet sand that pulls him down.

Steve clenches his jaw and stays silent. His gaze gets all soft when he looks at Grace though. "Hi, sweetheart, what's your name?"

Grace hugs Danny's leg and hides her face at his thigh. He protectively shields her by hugging her shoulder before he cups the back of her head. "That's Grace, my daughter."

Steve withdraws even more. He shuts down in a way Danny only senses and it hurts. It hurts. And he knows he has no right to feel hurt because he has no claim on this man.

"Okay, guys, I don't know what's this all about but Steve, you're rude. Just say 'hi' to your friend. God, Punk, where are your manners?" The young woman grunts and pushes herself to sit upright with her legs spread wide to make space for her round belly. Steve's immediately at her side to help her.

Danny's afraid she's going to pop any minute. "I'm Danny, hi, nice to meet you. Steve and I only met once. He might not recognize me. I wish you all the best and I hope you're doing fine. When is your due date?"

The woman's mouth falls open. She grabs Danny's hand with both hands and keeps it sandwiched in hers. "You are Danny?" She gasps. "Wow!"

A shudder of excitement ripples through Danny's chest.

Steve jerks out of his stupor. "Mary," his voice carries a warning tone, "just – please? Could you not?"

Grace whispers too loud that this woman has a baby in her belly. This makes even Steve smile.

"I'm Mary. It's so nice to meet you, Danny. Steve talked about you and I'm so happy to meet you. He promised I might one day but you know I'm impatient. And here you are. And I'm not due for two weeks. But our little sweetheart makes her own rules. It was a false alarm. I told Steve but he freaked out and wanted to go to the hospital to be sure. He's my brother, by the way, my big brother. Kawika, my husband, is on his way but he wasn't there when it happened."

Danny has a tight grip on his features. The odd mix of emotions makes him sleepy. What does all this even mean that Mary just spilled with this cute smile on her face? He can't look at Steve.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mary. I'm glad everything's fine." He wants to add more like thank you for taking good care of Steve or any similar, emotional shit he has no right to say but Mary's name gets called.

Danny turns to spot a good-looking man, dark skin, curly hair who jogs over to kneel at Mary's side. "Hi, baby, I came as fast as possible. How are you? How's our little nuglet?" The man kisses Mary's belly with so much love and devotion Danny has to look away.

"All the best to you, guys. I take Grace outside to play."

"Danny, wait!" Mary speaks up. "Kawika I want you to meet Danny. Danny, meet Kawika, my husband."

There's a glint of recognition in Kawika's eyes. His handshake is solid, strong, and full of trust. "Nice to finally meet you, Danny."

Danny's isn't far behind with being brilliant at filling in the gaps. "You're a friend of Kame."

Kawika's smile is blindingly open and kind. "Yes, and thank you."

Danny knows instantly he's referring to Steve and what has happened almost a week ago. Steve has talked about him with his loved ones. Danny's mood rises like a morning sun. He feels great. "You take care of your sweet wife."

"I will." Kawika turns and pulls Steve into a fierce embrace. They seem to be very close.

"Danny," Steve's voice makes him stop again, "I'll come with you and Grace if you don't mind?" That's the first sentence Steve says since they've met again.

"Sure, let's go."

On the way out, Graces holds on to Danny's hand and peeps up at Steve who walks beside her. Out of the corner of his eyes, Danny sees how Steve gifts her with lovely smiles until she giggles. Danny's heart just flips over in his chest.

TBC

Also on AO3

[cowandcalf]

Ua Hopu - 2.22

This scene - this special scene. I need to talk about it. I’ve always loved this long, heart-warming welcoming scene after Steve’s breakneck version of how to bring in Wo Fat, bloody and beaten up in a stolen helicopter at night, with the Yakuza holding him at gunpoint and Five-0 wrestling their way into the moment to take over. Because this scene was also the very first scene where the task force, Steve’s ohana, was back together after Steve just left to go for a manhunt, leaving a letter on Danny’s desk, without saying goodbye, without informing anyone - Steve just left.

But...(damn, and I never realized this!) but, this is also the very first scene for Alex with his whole team after he was back on the show after he’s returned from rehab. So - where do I go with this? I’ve collected the pieces of the big puzzle that is H50 and Alex and Scott and everyone else on the go. And that’s the reason it never occurred to me that Alex had to leave the show to seek help in a clinic and that everyone was worried sick. And that’s why they created a possibility for Alex to leave.

First, his friends and Scott didn’t know if he’s gonna make it and second, when would he return? Sure, I know there must have been a deadline and everything was covered. But only Alex and Scott, and Peter Lenkov and DDK and Grace knew how bad it was what was really going on. And for sure some other people knew, too. Alex looked gaunt at the end, with his cheek sunken and this haunted look in his eyes. Everyone knew something was off. And damn, I admire his professionalism and his strength and this iron will to get back on track. Gosh, this man, really.

Alex was absent for two episodes (2.20 and 2.21). I missed him something awful and I only realized on my rewatching marathon why Alex/Steve has missed those two episodes.

So, again, this scene. That’s the scene right there and I want to talk about how Steve greets everyone. It’s uncharacteristically sweet, intense, loving and every moment screams at me with how much Alex is relieved to be back, to be together with his friends, to be whole after months of pain and meds and addiction.

And the way Steve and Danny meet shows me how much they are in love. If everyone can remember how it was when you had this epic crush on a guy/girl and you aren’t together yet but you know it’s mutual and you dream about that moment every second of the day and then this person shows up and you are kind of shocked to see this person and your heart goes ‘boom’ under one second flat and your palms are sweaty and you can’t swallow anymore and you’re a nervous wreck. And do you know what I mean? And I talk about Alex and Scott here too.

So that’s why I need to talk about this scene because it freaking shows! Because this is not Steve hugging Kono and Chin and Danny - nope - in this scene, it’s Alex hugging Grace and Daniel and Scott. Especially Alex hugging Scott.

Steve’s first moments together with Danny. They play it cool, both of them. Steve’s look is so questioning, insecure but at the same time, he doesn’t want to show how much he’s afraid of Danny’s speech because he left without informing Danny, without so much as a word, showing trust to let Danny know what’s going on.

And Steve goes: “Book him Danno.” and Danny answers “You just could have said hello. (Not before he shouted ‘I knew it: Cargo pants’) So they banter to disguise their true feelings, playing it down, keeping distance. But Steve can’t do without touching and his hand clamps down on Danny’s shoulder lingers there and slides down only because Danny escorts Wo Fat to the nearest police car before he turns to look at Kono and at Chin.

Kono walks up to Steve after she has shot Adam’s lawyer.

Kono: “You don’t write. You don’t call.”

Steve: “Come here.”

Steve laughs and pulls her in.

(When did Steve close his eyes, hugging Kono after he had returned from a mission?)

Kono: “We missed you.”

Steve:” It’s good to be home.” (I mean look at his face!)

Steve is so overwhelmed, relieved and very needy for contact, to assure himself that everyone is still here, that everyone is doing fine and they are all there, waiting for him, missing him and all of them only feel whole again after Steve’s back in their inner circle, completing their ohana.

Steve even cups Kono’s head! I mean...my heart hurts, okay?

And then there’s Chin and it’s even more special how Steve greets Chin.

Okay, it begins like... come here, nice to be back and let’s not lean in too far. Chin seems hesitant because it’s Chin. Zen and distant and cautious and all this. But Steve just goes for it.

Chin: “It’s good to have you back.”

Tight, tight hug, almost grabby hands, not wanting to let go.

Chin: “You all right?”

Steve: “I’m good.”

And then this uncharacteristic question follows the hug and look at this wide and wild happy grin from Steve:

Steve: “You miss me?” (playful, teasing voice)

(And Chin laughs so freely and a tad surprised.)

Chin: “Ha-ha-ha.”

And Steve’s just so happy and handsy and somehow touch-starved. He cups Chin’s face!! He’s so damn happy to be back, to have all of his friends right there with him. When has Steve EVER asked if Chin is happy to have him back, touching his face? Jesus, so many emotions are exploding like a supernova right before my eyes.

Meanwhile, Danny’s watching how Steve greets Kono and Chin. Jesus. And how he’s watching, how his body language gives him away. Ah, dear God, have mercy.

Danny rubs his hands, repeatedly. He has his eyes on Wo Fat but he also tries to calm his wild hammering heart. And the best detail that gives him away how damn nervous he is, is the way he blows up his cheeks, pursing his lips. He’s a mess and he tries to cover it up. And he always casts his looks over to where Steve stands, knowing he’s next to say hello after all that has happened. He’s angry with Steve, he was worried sick, he’s deeply in love and he tries to steel himself for the moment where Steve’s arms will wrap him in a tight embrace after such a long, damn time.

Okay, first comes this nonsense bro-hug with Danny’s usual back patting. Danny approaches Steve with the sentence: “What a mess.” And Steve goes: “Yeah, yeah.” Those morons, seriously before they hug like this.

But the feelings rush over them like a tide and they can’t hold back and Steve and Danny kind of cling to each other, but they try to cover it up by joking and laughing but there are SO MUCH love and devotion floating around between the guys that I can’t. Honestly. This scene overwhelms me.

So, yeah, I really see Alex in this scene and next to him Scott, Daniel and Grace, and the dialog is almost too perfect. It also relates to the long weeks where Alex was absent and away from the set. This special scene shows a deeper reunion than just the one from the getting back together with the Five-0 task force members.

[flowerfan2]

Bound To Be Together - Chapter 13 (9.13)

McDanno, M, A03 A continuous story of Season 9 codas exploring the bond between Steve and Danny as they grow even closer.

Chapter 13 (9.13)

Steve’s still feeling a little shocky when he thinks about his team’s latest close call, even though Tani and Junior assure him that the only lasting effect from their sixteen hours in the hyperbaric chamber was an intense case of boredom.  Adam takes the day off, but the kids do seem fine, so much so that by the end of the day they’re demanding that everyone go out for drinks to celebrate a job well done.

Steve, however, is exhausted, and he still has a ton of paperwork to do.  He tells the team he’ll meet up with them in a little while, and gives himself a ten minute break to put his head down on his desk before he gets back to work.  It’s not something he’s accustomed to doing, but there’s no question that his crazy free dive yesterday has taken it out of him.

And if he’s honest with himself, he’s also avoiding Danny.  Danny’s given him time to figure his shit out, but in typical McGarrett fashion when it comes to relationships, he’s still procrastinating.  Although he thinks he made a little progress yesterday, finally asking Danny what was up with him and Rachel.  If only they had had a slightly longer walk before they found the body, he might have gotten more information.  But he’s pretty sure Danny told him there’s nothing going on.

Then Steve had to go and pull another of what Danny will likely call one of his stunts.  Danny had hardly protested; Steve can’t decide if Danny refrained because he’s just gotten tired of arguing with him, or if he realized that if Steve did nothing three of their closest friends (and all the scientists trapped on the underwater lab) would be dead.  The look on Danny’s face when he pulled Steve back up out of the water, the way Danny looked at him when Steve sat gasping for air… it was hard to decipher.  

Danny wasn’t angry at Steve, not like he was when Steve jumped into the stupid sand processing machine to catch a perp.  But he was holding something back.  Danny’s trying to give Steve his space, Steve thinks, and it turns out Steve doesn’t much like it.

 What he wants is his old Danny back, the one that says whatever’s on his mind, that will rant and wave his hands around, that isn’t afraid to raise his voice and argue with Steve. But Steve’s gone and made everything between them awkward, and Steve’s too much of a chicken to fix it.

 Even their time with Grace is weird these days.  Danny’s overprotective of her, with good reason, but while he’s happy to let Steve see her as well, he didn’t exactly invite him over for breakfast.  Danny wouldn’t even make Steve any pancakes.  He didn’t even laugh when Steve joked about it.

 Steve finally forces himself to pick his head up off his desk and stop sulking.  He’s got to actually do the paperwork he talked about, or when Monday comes everyone will know he was making excuses.

 An hour or so has gone by when his phone rings.  The governor wants a full down-run of the Nostromo situation, and then somehow the conversation turns to the governor’s friend’s nephew who wants to go to West Point and is looking for some advice on the application process and how to get a congressional nomination.  Steve doesn’t have a lot of recent information on the subject, but he’s got some friends that might be able to help, and he goes down a bit of a rabbit hole online to find the governor some information that might be useful.  

 It’s a good way to procrastinate some more.  With any luck, the team will finish up soon and he’ll be off the hook, free to go home and fall into bed without anyone having to witness how freaking tired he is.

 When he gets off with the governor, he turns back to his case report, and he’s just finessing the language about Junior’s clever use of the rescue beacon (which probably saved his life) when his phone rings again.

 “You’re not so old that you completely ignore all texts, are you?  Because I refuse to believe it, but I can be convinced.”  It’s Tani, sounding peeved.  There’s music in the background, and he can hear Junior enthusiastically butchering the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody.

 “Officer Rey, how can I help you?”  Steve says.

 “We’re still at Rumfire, bossman, waiting for you.”

 Steve glances at this watch. It’s after ten.  Oops.  “Um, Tani, I’m not sure-”

 “Don’t say it.  Do not say it.  Just get your ass over here.”

 “Really, I’m pretty tired-”

 There’s a deep sigh over the phone.  “You really haven’t read any of my texts tonight, have you?”

 He hasn’t.  And he has the feeling it’s too late.  “I’ve been on the phone with the governor.”  This is at least true, although definitely not the only reason he’s still at headquarters.

 “I’m sure that’s terribly important.  But your BFF is important too, right?”

 Steve’s stomach lurches. “What’s wrong with Danny?”

 Tani snorts.  “At least that got your attention.  He’s five sheets to the wind, as they probably say in the Navy, or at least they did back in the olden days.  And he won’t leave until you get here.”

 “What do you mean?”

 “He keeps saying he’s waiting for you.  ‘I’m waiting for that dumbass,’ are actually the words Danny used.  Multiple times.  Emphasis on ‘dumbass.’”

 Shit.  “But he’s okay?”

 Tani sighs, and mutters something that sounds very much like “you’re both dumbasses,” but Steve doesn’t call her on it.

 “Yes, Danny’s fine. But he’s totally wasted, and I think you should come get him.”

 Steve gets to the bar as quickly as he can, and tries to not wonder too much about what Danny really means when he says he’s “waiting” for Steve.  He’s pretty sure it’s not just Danny wanting Steve to come have mai tai’s (although they do make killer mai tai’s at Rumfire).

 The traffic is ridiculous in Waikiki, and the crowds of people along Kalakaua Avenue do nothing for Steve’s nerves.  He finally makes it through the Sheraton and into the bar.

 The place is packed, as it usually is on a Friday night, and it takes him a while to push through the sweaty crowds to find his team.  Junior and Lou are sitting at a table, the remains of what look like several orders of kalua pork nachos and shrimp bao in front of them.  Steve nods hello and grabs a handful of chip crumbs.  He scans the room quickly.  “Where’s everyone else?”

 Junior points towards the DJ, and Steve squints his eyes.  He really doesn’t want to get even closer to the pounding music, but it seems like he doesn’t have much choice.

 “Danny’s been asking about you,” Lou says, his face neutral, and Steve wants to kick himself.  Did he really think he could ignore Danny and his team wouldn’t notice?

 “I know,” Steve says. “I’ll go find him.”

 “Don’t forget to put on your dancing shoes,” Lou says, smirking, and Steve just sighs.

 When he finds Tani and Danny in the crowd, he can’t help but smile.  They’re dancing to that dumb song every beach-side resort in Oahu loves to play, Danny twirling Tani around and then jumping up and down as they cheer “cake by the ocean!”

 Danny spots Steve and his eyes light up.  He dances over, arms waving over his head like he’s at a middle school party.  He sings in Steve’s face, “You’re a real life fantasy, a real life fantasy!”

 “Hey, Danno,” Steve says. Danny’s dress shirt is rumpled, and his eyes are wide and bright.

 “Dance with me, Steve,” Danny says, shimmying up close and then grabbing Tani by the arm to bring her into the circle.  “Dance with us.”

 He can hardly say no, even though he can’t rival Danny and Tani’s excitement.  Steve grins at the two of them, and does his best to play along, letting the music take over and move his body.  

 Steve’s not sure how Danny knows all the words to the song.  He blames Grace.  But it’s surely not Grace’s fault that Danny keeps throwing flirty looks at Steve while he twists and turns, all head tilts and shoulder rolls.  “Let’s lose our minds and go fucking crazy, ah ya ya ya, I keep on hoping we’ll eat cake by the ocean.”

 Finally the song ends, and Steve swings an arm over Danny’s shoulders.  He’s sweaty and warm, and his thin shirt is damp.  Steve would really like to just hug him tight and breathe him in, but he can’t.  Not here, not now.

 “Time to go, partner,” Steve says, guiding Danny back towards their table.  Thankfully Lou and Junior are getting up, and Tani’s putting on her jacket, clearly indicating that the party is over.

 “I waited for you,” Danny says plaintively, and Steve allows himself a little half-hug with the arm he’s still got wrapped around Danny.  

 “I know, buddy.  I’ll drive you home.”

 Danny seems pleased with this, and practically giggles as Steve shuffles him out of the bar.  He’s really drunk, drunker than Steve has seen him in a long time, and is leaning heavily on Steve.

 Steve exchanges a look with Junior that he hopes communicates something along the lines of “how did you let this happen,” but Junior doesn’t seem to quite get it. Getting wasted in a very public, very tourist friendly bar isn’t really the right image for Five-0, and somebody should have done something about it… Steve pushes away the thought that the somebody in question was supposed to be him, and concentrates on making sure Danny doesn’t mow over any pedestrians as they make their way down the street.

 Steve is hoping Danny will sober up a little by the time they get back to his house, but he still seems pretty out of it as they go inside.  

 “You should go to sleep, Danny,” Steve says, as Danny pauses in the foyer.  “I’ll get you some water.  Sleep it off, you’ll feel better in the morning.”

 Danny gives Steve a challenging look and shakes his head.  “I’m not tired.  Let’s watch a movie.”

 “I don’t feel like a movie, and it’s late.”

 Danny pulls away from Steve and flops down on the couch, patting the spot next to him.  “I’m not asking you to hike the Himalayas, Steve. Just watch a movie with me.”  It’s the least you can do, Danny seems to be saying, after blowing me off tonight.  

 “Fine.”  Steve gets them each a glass of water first, and then joins Danny on the couch.  Danny’s got the remote in his hands, but he hasn’t even turned on the television.

 Steve’s about to take the remote and try to move things along, maybe rewatch a nice familiar Marvel movie,  when suddenly he’s got a lap full of drunk Danny.

 “I’m tired of waiting, Steve,” Danny says.  He’s straddling Steve, pushing him back against the couch.  His hand rove over Steve’s chest and shoulders, making his skin tingle.  “I’m tired of playing ball.”

 Danny leans in and kisses Steve, hard and desperate.  Steve can taste the liquor on his breath, and he moans as Danny thrusts firmly against his groin.

 “Danny,” Steve says, his mind spinning.  “Danny, no…”

 Danny sits up, still pressing down on Steve’s rapidly growing erection.  “No, what, exactly?”  Suddenly Danny doesn’t seem quite as drunk.  “No to us?  I asked you to think about it, Steve, I didn’t think you’d need to take a sabbatical to figure it out.”

 “No to…” Steve struggles to find a way to do this without pissing Danny off permanently.  “You’re drunk.”

 “And you know how I feel -  I’m not the one with a consent issue,” Danny replies bitingly.  “You’re sober as fuck.  So what’s it gonna be?”  

 “Danny…”  Steve wants to tell Danny how he feels, he really does, but the words just won’t come.

 Danny sighs, the fight going out of him.  “Give me something to work with here, Steve.  I miss you.  And I was so goddamned scared yesterday.  What you did… not many people can do that.  You’re not a kid, you don’t train for that now.  There was a good possibility you weren’t going to make it up, not alive. I couldn’t stop you, but, dammit, I was so scared.  When you finally broke the surface,” Danny swallows hard, and meets Steve’s eyes.  “I love you.  I don’t want to wait any longer to do something about it.”

 Danny’s voice cracks, and Steve can’t take it anymore. He lunges up and catches Danny’s mouth in a kiss, hands clutching at his shoulders.  Danny gets a hand in Steve’s hair and tugs, and then they’re frantically shedding their clothes and scrambling for a more comfortable position on the couch.

 “I wanna blow you,” Danny says, scooting down and nipping at Steve’s hip.  “Let me blow you.”

 Steve mumbles out his assent and then Danny’s mouth is on him, hot and wet and if he was a little younger, he’d be coming already.  But Danny slows down and takes his time, sucking the tip and then sinking down, doing something amazing with his tongue and then rising up and doing it over and over again.  

 “Fuck, Danny,” Steve groans, as the pressure intensifies.  “Danny, I’m…”

 Danny just looks up at him, eyes wide and mouth stretched, and Steve finally comes in a burst of pleasure that nearly whites him out.  When he recovers, he flips them over, nearly knocking them both to the floor, and gets his hand around Danny’s throbbing cock.  With his other hand he works over Danny’s nipples, kissing up and down his neck and collarbone.  

 Danny is letting loose a stream of profanities, his hands squeezing Steve’s ass as he writhes underneath him, hips thrusting and stuttering as he gets close.  When he finally comes with a low moan, he goes almost limp, except for one arm still wrapped tightly around Steve’s shoulders.

 Steve finally extracts himself and goes to the bathroom, returning with a wet towel to clean them up. But Danny is fast asleep, and no amount of cajoling will get him to move off the couch.  Steve covers him with a blanket and plants himself in the armchair for the night, not wanting to leave Danny alone.  

 He realizes, as he sits and waits for exhaustion to overtake him, that he’s still not really sure what’s up with Danny and Rachel.  Steve’s pretty sure that in this case, actions speak louder than words.  He just hopes he hasn’t made a mistake.