#overprotective danny phantom my beloved

[flwrkid14]

More overprotective Danny phantom with tim, because im litreally obsessed with ur Tumblr right now :D

hi YES thank you omg 🥹 !! i'm literally obsessed with overprotective danny too so let’s go:

listen. Danny is not used to people like Tim.

he’s used to loud protectors. people who throw themselves into danger with fists first and worry later. he’s used to having to yank Tucker and Sam out of the fire while also dodging a dragon’s fire breath and maintaining a ghost shield.

but Tim? Tim doesn’t shout when he’s hurt. He folds in on himself. Goes quiet. Bleeds out in the silence of a cave somewhere and acts like he’s fine because "it's not that deep" and “we still have work to do.”

And Danny—Danny hates it.

He starts floating after Tim on instinct. Appearing behind him in the shadows when he’s acting weird. Hovers just above him when he’s typing at the computer, phasing through walls to catch him if he stumbles, because someone has to. Someone has to notice when Tim’s holding his side a little too tightly. When his posture’s too stiff. When he’s three steps from falling apart but still smiling like nothing’s wrong.

And when Danny does notice, he just—scoops him up. No warning. No words. Just swoop, into the air, straight into bed, blanket burrito mode activated.

(“I was working—” “Cool. You’re horizontal now.” “I had three hours of research left—” “And you’ve had zero hours of sleep, next question.”)

It gets to the point where the rest of the family knows not to look at Tim wrong when Danny’s around. One too many times someone made an offhand comment—something small, a jab about Tim’s usual “workaholic behavior”—and Danny turned to look at them like his eyes could burn holes in concrete.

("Was that necessary?" Danny says, voice deceptively calm. "Because it sounded like you were being cruel to be funny, and I don’t think that’s funny.")

Tim swears he doesn’t need the protection. But he doesn’t pull away when Danny drapes an arm around his waist. Doesn’t complain when Danny curls protectively behind him in bed, cool skin pressed to warm. Doesn’t argue when Danny glares holes into the people who act like Tim is just fine, when he’s clearly—not.

Because someone sees him now. Someone knows.

And Tim’s not used to that either.

[fureliselost]

Hi, I was doing some thinking (and we all know that's a dangerous thing). Just random thinking. It ventured vaguely into DP territory and Brainy said "HOLD UP BITCH LEMME AU THIS" so here we go:

Sam Fenton AU.

Ok, that's not an accurate name because in this AU it would also be Danny Manson.

And Brainy also said "Valerie Foley/Tucker Gray" but didn't elaborate, so lemme elaborate on the first part before I figure that out.

Ok, so Sam is Phantom in this AU, she's Jack and Maddie's younger child instead of Danno. She's still her activist, vegan, goth self; except it has a little less "why can't my parents accept me for who I am" and a little more "screw society", because here she would've been, like Danny was in canon, basically a social pariah without having done anything to deserve it.

She, like Jazz, takes this one thing about her (being goth/alt) and maximizes it so that people will stop thinking of her as the "Fentons' child" and start thinking of her as her own person (even if her own person is viewed as "the freaky goth").

Unlike Danny, Sam joins Jazz in taking a stand against Jack and Maddie because "why can't you be normal parents".

Her relationship with Jazz would be a little different from Danny's. In this situation, Jazz wouldn't be as overprotective as she was with Danny because I can see Sam learning how to take care of herself and how to handle things in a way more similar to Jazz. The part about Jazz being overbearing, though? Not different. Jazz and Sam would bicker a lot too, there would be a lot of Jazz talking about Sam's "phase" and Sam complaining that Jazz tries to adequate herself to society's standards.

Danny in this AU is fun (as in, fun for me :))) ), his parents (Mr & Mrs Manson) had him study in private school in middle school but he convinced them to let him go to Casper High for High school. I pictured him having a sorta Lane Kim (Gilmore Girls) relationship with his parents, in that he pretends to be a good little boy who gets good grades, but in reality he hunts ghosts with Sam and Valerie and listens to rock (on Control Freaks he literally brings Sam a cd of his from a bad called Morbid Antisocial Youth, so that part is canon). I can imagine some scene like one from GG where Lane had a band shirt and when she took it off there was another one underneath written "Trust God", so someone asks "is that a band" and she answers "no, my life".

Valerie in this AU is supposed to be to Sam what Tucker is to Danny in canon, but also what Tucker is to Sam. She's not a social outcast tho. She used to be an A-lister but left/was kicked out when -- hold -- Tucker got into the A-listers. She's still very much that no-nonsense 8th degree belt (or 9th, idk the term) badass and, man, does she rock some guns/Fenton creep stick.

Our beloved Tucker is Valerie in this AU. He is an A-lister and uses some of his talent for technology to be the school blogger -- so even after the Cujo event, he's not completely demoted from the social ladder. But, boy, is he every bit as furious as Valerie was after the Cujo incident. He becomes the Red Hunter (Maybe I'll switch the color to Yellow or Green), yada-yada.

I was thinking about the whole GrayGhost romance, and like... Sam and Tucker would never date in this AU because Tucker is an A-lister, even if he's the one who doesn't beat anyone up. Valerie is also unlikely because, well, he's the reason she's not an A-lister anymore. But you know who doesn't have many objections towards Tucker? Danny-boy. I picture that they start talking via Doom and things go up from there.

Anyway, this is my crazy take on the Sam Switch AU (not the best name, but whatever), have a bad edit:

[dp-marvel94]

Face to Face -Chapter 28

Summary: When Danny went through the ghost catcher, he expected to be cured of the ghostliness that had haunted him since the accident, not to wake up on the lab floor with his parents saying he’d been overshadowed but everything’s back to normal now. But why does Danny Fenton cry himself to sleep to then dream of flying? Why does Phantom, the ghost who was supposedly possessing Danny remember a life that wasn’t his? Most of all, why do both the human and the ghost feel that something vital is missing, in their very soul? Or: Trying to cure himself of his powers one month after the accident, Danny accidentally splits himself but neither his ghost nor his human half know that that is what they did

First ->Last -> Next

Word Count: 6,581

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Note: Hi everyone! I'm finally back with a new chapter! Happy reading and feel free to tell me what you think.

Doing homework with his other self while huddled on the bed was comfortably normal. So was making small talk with Jazz as the pair, human and ghost, and the red-head set the table for dinner. For a moment, it was like any other family meal, as if nothing was wrong.

And then Mom had come up the stairs, the downcast look on her face serving as a harsh reminder that things were not alright. Her eyes briefly met Fentons before she looked down. At once, several emotions clashed in his heart but the boy pushed them away, deliberately focusing on putting the plates into their spots.

And now the group of five sat around the table in near silence. And it was awkward, so awkward, painfully awkward. Fenton sat at his normal seat, lithelessly picking at his food. He glanced over at his other half. With his hands clenched in his lap, the ghost looked just as uncomfortable as Fenton felt. Frowning, the human forced a bite into his mouth as he listened to Jazz talk about her day with their dad. But Mom remained silent, slowly eating. Occasionally, her eyes flickered up, meeting his or his ghost half’s eyes before looking away. 

Fenton’s heart fluttered with anxiety. Earlier, when he and Phantom had been talking, he’d felt...not confident per say but he’d had a plan, an idea of how he was going to react. He and Phantom had talked; the ghost had felt more anger over what happened than him while Fenton had been hurt but was trying to remain hopeful. It was odd, the two different feelings, but maybe they were again feeling different parts of the same thing. Either way, they could not give into that anger but would be hopeful and agree to Mom and Dad’s rules.

But now….Mom was back to avoiding his eyes, either pair. And that hurt. A tiny spark of annoyance flickered inside him at the avoidance. And she hadn’t apologized; Phantom’s words rang in his head, feeding his anger.

“Danny?” Jazz saying his name cut through the thought. “How was school?”

The human Danny sighed, before giving a vague answer. “It was fine. Just a regular school day.” He took a bite of his mac and cheese and chewed. 

There were more vague answers as Jazz and Dad asked Fenton what he was studying and then as Jazz asked Phantom what he did today. 

The ghost blanched. “I did some chores. I helped Mom and Dad in lab. And uhh… watched some Star Trek with Dad.” He carefully skipped over the details about what exactly happened downstairs and their parents’ argument. Tellingly, Mom and Dad said nothing either.

Jazz deduced that something was up. She glanced at the parents, giving questioning looks but neither acknowledged her curiosity. Instead Mom deflected. “How about you, sweetie? What did you learn today Jazz?”

With a raised eyebrow, the girl answered, explaining what she was studying in her classes. Her words became increasingly enthused as she talked about today’s lesson in AP Biology. (It was just like his sister to find any learning exciting, even if it wasn’t her beloved psychology). But despite her excitement, Jazz still gave occasional glances to Fenton and Phantom, looking like she wanted to ask about the tension between both versions of her brother and their parents. But she didn’t question.

Soon enough, the family finished eating. Or well….the human members finished. The ghost let out a relieved sigh as Mom stood up and started putting the leftovers away. Jazz soon followed. Dad stretched patting his belly happily as Fenton stood and Phantom floated from the chairs.

Mom turned around, addressing the kids. “Jazz, Danny did you finish your homework?”

Jazz shook her head as did Fenton. Phantom crossed his arms. “We still have a chapter of Animal Farm to read.”

The woman nodded in acknowledgement before turning to her husband. “Jack, honey. Do you want to work downstairs for a bit? We didn’t get very far on the ghost catcher today and….I have an idea I wanted to discuss.” 

Dad shrugged. “Sure, Mads.” 

With a wave, the two adults walked to the basement door before disappearing through it. Fenton watched with a tight frown. What exactly would they be discussing? And Dad’s reaction….He sounded casual and at ease, not angry at the woman like he’d been after their argument. In fact, he seemed satisfied with her promise to train their son and let him fly. Honestly, that was a surprising and the human Danny couldn’t help but feel disappointed, not that he had any words to explain why.

Phantom gently elbowed him out of his thoughts. “Come on. We’ve got reading.” A tight frown also plastered itself on his face; obviously he was thinking and feeling much the same.

With a nod, Fenton turned around. Then his eyes feel on Jazz. His sister stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room with one eyebrow raised.

“Did something happen with Mom and Dad today?” She asked quietly.

The human boy sighed. Like he surmised, she had picked up on the tension. The two counterparts glanced at each other, a wordless conversation passing between the two.

Phantom sighed. "It's….well basically, I brought up to them letting me fly and training my powers. And...Mom wasn't happy about it. She and Dad had a fight and Mom was being…." He trailed off.

Fenton continued. "Overprotective, neurotic, ridiculous, unreasonable." His voice quieted. "She...she said some things."

"What things?" Jazz's face hardened and both Dannys flinched at the anger in her voice.

Phantom swallowed. "Just...the same shit she always says about ghosts." He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Danny." His sister's voice softened, tinged with concern.

"No, it's...it's fine Jazz. I know she's wrong." He crossed his arms. "It's not like I'm a real ghost anyway."

Fenton blinked, taking in the words. He wasn't sure if that was true, how his ghost half stacked up compared to a typical ghost. That was something they should maybe talk about and try to sort out.

Meanwhile, Phantom continued. "Plus she changed her mind about training us. Even said it'd be cruel to keep us from flying. So maybe she'll change her mind about me too."

Jazz's lips turned down in concern, though there was a flicker of anger behind her eyes; somehow it was comforting to see her angry on his behalf. "Danny, that doesn't excuse any of this."

"You think I don't know that?!" The ghost hissed. "But I can't do anything about what she thinks so it's whatever."

His sister gapped. "It's...whatever? How can you say that? It matters!"

"No it doesn't." Phantom said.

At the same time, Fenton said. "You're right."

The ghost's mouth snapped shut and he shook his head. "No it-"

Fenton held up a hand. "Danny, you're angry and in denial. What Mom thinks does matter to us."

Phantom opened and closed his mouth before glaring with a little heat. Jazz glanced between the two with slight confusion. “You two disagree?”

The human Danny huffed crossing his arms. “Not really. Like I said, denial.”

His sister’s expression softened as she nodded in understanding. “So...you are bothered by what Mom says.”

“Ummm. Yeah” Fenton bit his lip. “But-”

Jazz interrupted. “You should tell her that.”

Both Dannys blanched, looking at each other. “Look, Jazz.” The human held up a hand. “Neither of me wants to talk about this.” His counterpart bit his lip nervously and nodded in agreement. Then Fenton continued. “I’m tired, okay?” He sighed, lowering his hand. “I don’t wanna fight with Mom about this, not when I can’t change her mind.”

“But Danny-” The girl started.

Phantom cut her off. “No Jazz. I know we’re...I’m mad enough that if we try to talk to Mom tonight, it’ll turn into an argument.” He looked down, cheeks darkening with shame. “I’d probably just make everything worse anyway, not get her to change her mind.”

Jazz’s mouth fell in a troubled frown.

Fenton spoke before she could. “Jazz, it’s okay. We’ll just….we’ll have to be patient with Mom, like Dad said. She..she loves me, all of me, even if she’s being bull headed. She’ll come around?”

The girl crossed her arms, looking between the two. She huffed. “I still want to go down there and give her a piece of my mind.”

Phantom gave a long suffering sigh. “You already did that. I don’t have the energy to deal with this again.”

Jazz’s eyes narrowed at the words.

The human Danny puts his hands together in a begging motion. “Please Jazz. Not today. Let’s just wait and see what happens. If it doesn’t get better,” He sighed. “We’ll...talk to her.”

“Fine.” His sister held up his hands exacerbatedly. “But when you go talk to her, I am going with you. Okay?”

“Okay.” Both Dannys nodded in sync.

With that, Jazz made a gesture as if to say ‘I’m watching you’. With a wave, she started up to her room to work on homework. A few moments later, the pair also walked and floated up the stairs and into their room. Fenton grabbed a book off the desk. Then he and Phantom took turns reading aloud from the first chapter of Animal Farm. 

After twenty minutes, the ghost closed the book. “So that’s the reading. Anything else?”

Fenton shook his head. “Nope, that was it.” He flopped onto his back. “Man...that was so much easier to finish with all of our brain.”

Phantom raised a brow. “Or..err...all our mind...since I’m pretty sure you have our brain.” The human blanched as his ghost half continued. “Since apparently we have a brain” Phantom pointed at his other self’s head. “and a core.” Then he pointed at his own chest.

Sitting up, Fenton copied the action. He looked mystified before snorting. “Well….that’s something.” He blinked. “How does that work?”

Phantom shrugged. “No idea. It’s something we’ll need to sort out together, I guess.”

“Yeah. I guess.” The human rubbed the back of his neck, studying his ghost. 

The other figure rose a brow in question. “What is it?”

“I was just thinkin’....what you said about not being a real ghost. Are we sure that’s actually true?” Fenton asked.

The ghost blinked, frowning. “I mean...I...uhhh… I thought I was a real ghost, for a bit.” He looked down at his hands, cheeks green with shame. “Right after the ghost catcher and…” His voice quieted. “When I thought I was an imposter.”

Fenton’s heart clenched at the word, imposter. He offered his other self a comforting pat on the arm.

The ghost looked up, meeting his eyes. “I’m not, obviously. I’m your other half and you’re mine. We’re human.” He motioned to his counterpart. “And we’re a ghost too.” Biting his lip, he motioned to his own glowing body.

“But?” The human raised a brow.

“Well...we’re both but...”Phantom bit his lip.  “We’ve...we’ve both said we’re not really human anymore. And if we’re not really human...”

“Are we really a ghost? Or something else entirely?” Fenton finished, running a hand through his hair. 

“Yeah.” His counterpart’s shoulders fell. “I just..I don’t know...” 

The human frowned. “Man that’s….” He put a hand on his head. “I wish we knew more about ghosts.” 

The ghost perked up at the statement, tilting his head questioningly at the statement. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just…” Fenton sighed. “The only stuff we know is from horror stories, which probably aren’t true. We’ve barely even seen another ghost.”

“You’re right. There was that...ectopuss thing which just kinda hissed at me and flew away.”

“And that lunch lady ghost who...basically yelled at us, attacked our friends, and kidnapped Sam.” Fenton shivered, remembering the flames, the flying cooking utensils, Sam trapped in a pile of meat.

Beside him, Phantom paled. He swallowed nervously. “Yeah...her.”

Keenly understanding the anxiety, Fenton smiled comfortingly. “That’s just one ghost. We don’t know if she’s typical. Others might be more peaceful or reasonable or….”

“Do you think there actually are others like that?” The ghost asked, eyes wide with hope. “Ghosts we might actually be able to talk to?”

“I hope so.” Fenton leaned back, propping himself up with his arms. “I mean, who knows what’s on the other side of that portal and…” He bit his lip. “No matter what, I don’t think all ghosts are bad. Dying doesn’t just turn you evil, right? You’re...we’re proof of that.” He said the last part quietly, looking down.

Phantom straightened, taking a more confident stance. “I guess...yeah, we are.” He rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly sheepish. “I guess it’s unfair to think that I’m different from other ghosts when we don’t actually know that I am.”

“Yeah…” The human furrowed his brow in thought. “I guess we need to try and find out more. See if any other ghosts show up. Maybe….” He worried his lip. “Maybe even talk to our parents about going into the Zone.”

Phantom scoffed. “Like that’ll happen.”

Fenton shrugged. “We can try. Mom and Dad did make the portal so they could learn more about ghosts. They’ll want to go into the Zone eventually to explore, maybe even find some ghosts to talk to.”

“Or experiment on.” The ghost muttered.

“Dude, you have to stop being so pessimistic.” The human sighed. “You know they’re not gonna experiment on a sentient ghost without their permission.”

For a few moments, Phantom continued sitting with crossed arms, a frown on his face. Then he conceded. “You’re right. They won’t. Now.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe I do need to stop being so negative. I guess...we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

“Yeah.” Fenton agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With that the conversation ended. With Mom and Dad in the lab and Jazz doing homework, the two Dannys struggled to find something to do. They were still grounded from their computer and video games. Finally Phantom suggested calling Sam and Tucker. The pair huddled on the bed with  their  cellphone between them as they chatted with their friends in casual, normal conversation. Or as normal as could be with two Dannys. Phantom smiled, enjoying himself anyway.

“I need to go.” Sam said after about an hour. “See you at school Fenton. And Phantom? Stay strong with your parents tomorrow. You’ve got this.”

The ghost blushed at the encouragement. “Thanks Sam.”

“I’ve gotta hang up too.” Tucker added. “Bye Danny. And Danny. And Sam. Talk to you guys later.”

“Bye.” Fenton and Phantom said in unison right before hanging up.

The human Danny glanced at the time on the phone. “We can do something else for 30 minutes, then I need to start getting ready for bed.”

His ghost’s lip turned down. “Alright….YouTube, then?” 

With a nod, Fenton opened the app and clicked on a video. “This one?”

Phantom agreed and the pair stretched out on the bed, comfortably half-laying side by side. With the phone clutched in Fenton’s hand, he pressed play. The ghost watched the video with mild attention, more enjoying the quiet and his own company than the actual content. Glancing at his counterpart, he furrowed his brow in thought. He didn’t remember being so content to be alone before this. He’d never been a social butterfly by any means; if he was honest, he didn’t like large crowds of people and got nervous far too often in social situations. But he still preferred being with his friends or family, even if that was just hanging out together in silence. That was still true of course; he still enjoyed being with his loved ones. But….a subtle smile creeped onto his face...being by himself wasn’t all that bad either.

Fenton’s yawning drew Phantom’s attention. The human’s head lulled to the side, his eyelids fluttering tiredly. 

The ghost gently poked him. “Come on. Let’s get you dressed for bed.”

The human jolted to sudden awareness. “I wasn’ asleep.” He half slurred.

Phantom chuckled. “Sure.”

“Wasn’t” This other half pouted, his arms crossed.

“Alright, alright. Whatever you say.” The ghost put up his hands in surrender, a fond smile spreading his lips.

“I’m not tir-” A yawn interrupted his word. Fenton blushed, face reddening in embarrassment. Phantom’s lip stretched up. A laugh shook his chest. Beside him, his human counterpart pinched his lips closed forcefully. With crossed arms and red face, he made a show of being grumpy….until the corner of his mouth twitched. Slowly, he smiled. “Okay. Fine. I’m tired.” 

With a sleepy groan, Fenton swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He walked towards the dresser and grabbed a pair of pajamas. Phantom averted his eye while the human undressed and changed clothes. Not even a minute later, Fenton left the room to brush his teeth.

With a sigh, the ghost floated off the bed. With his counterpart getting ready to sleep, the knowledge of his imminent future struck Phantom. He sagged in the air, running a hand through his hair and already thinking about how to occupy himself through the wee hours of the night. At the same time, he felt familiar worries creeping in.

The door swung open and the ghost turned, meeting his other self’s gaze. Fenton’s expression fell. “Oh.” Without any words, Phantom knew the human was sensing his thoughts completely. “It’ll be okay.” Again, he patted the ghost’s arm comfortingly.

“Thanks.” The ghost gave his own pat.

With that, Fenton sat down on the bed. After plugging in his phone which had still been laying on the bed, the boy laid down and pulled the covers up to his chin. Fenton offered his other half a smile. “Good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“See ya Danny.” The ghost said, returning the smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If there was a word to describe the next day, it was awkward. Tense...tense would be an appropriate word. Or uncomfortable, stressful, distressing, frustrating, nerve-racking. Maybe ever painful, traumatic, and agonizing. Okay, maybe Phantom was being overdramatic. But being grounded, stuck at home with Mom and Dad was not fun. 

The ghost sat on the couch, a notebook propped against his knees as he doodled. Ten minutes ago, he’d finished the vacuuming he was supposed to do yesterday. Now, it was quiet. The air was stale, constricted. The tension rose the hair on the back of the ghost’s neck.

 Mom and Dad were downstairs, as they’d been for most of the week. Actually, as soon as Fenton and Jazz had left for school, the pair had walked down the stairs with hardly a word to the ghost. Mom still struggled to look at him. The occasional sounds of metal being hammered or welded rang up the stairs. Words echoed, tense and clinical sounding.

“.….we need to reestablish communication…. But the energy requirements?….” Mom spoke fast, scientifically, like a woman intensely solving a problem.

The sound of a blow torch cut off. “Mads. The ¾ inch wrench.” Pacing footsteps. “No, not the ⅔. The ¾”

“That’s not what you said.” The woman grumbled.

“No, I-” Metal clanged. “Thanks hun.”

The pacing restarted. “That amount of energy needed to reintegrate……” The words drifted in and out of Phantom’s hearing.

“These batteries?” Dad questioned.

“No. No. No. They’ll overload but what if we…”

Phantom’s brow furrowed. What were they talking about? They were talking about him again, weren’t they? He shivered. Mom sounded so scientific, so focused on the problem of re-merging him. It should be comforting that she was trying so hard to fix things. But…..

“No Jack! You can’t cross those wires.”

“I know what I’m doing Maddie.” Dad said, with a hint of anger.

The ghost frowned. Oh no.

“Here let me.”

“Maddie. Maddie!”

“I’m just taking a look.”

“Well, I’m not done yet.” Dad’s voice hitched up, increasingly annoyed.

Phantom roughly closed his notebook. No. No. No. Nope. He wasn’t doing this, wasn’t listening to this, to Mom and Dad arguing again. With a huff, he floated off the couch and through the ceiling into his bedroom. He groaned, flopping onto the bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday wasn’t much better. More tension, more stress. More arguments drifting up the stairs.

“Jack! Where’s the copper wire?”

“In the shed.”

“I already looked there!”

“What do you mean you looked there?!”

“I mean, it’s not in there. Where did you put it?”

“Where did I put it?!”

Phantom groaned into the pillow on the couch. He sat up and floated back to his room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Downstairs, the front door swung open. Eyes widening, Phantom closed the book he was reading and phased through the bed. Coming through the ceiling, he beamed. “Jazz! Fenton! Thank god, you’re home.”

Fenton ran a hand through his hair. “It was that bad?”

Phantom frowned, shivering at the words.

Jazz pinned him with a serious gaze. “Danny?”

The ghost boy shrugged. “No.” He lied. “I was just so bored.” He waved his sister and counterpart over. “Come on, let’s-”

“You’re grounded and I have homework.” The girl interrupted.

Fenton groaned. “But it’s Friday.”

“Yeah, Jazz. It’s Friday, your homework can wait.” Phantom argued. “So let’s like...watch a movie or something.”

“We’re not grounded from TV.” The human Danny pointed out.

Jazz relented. “Fine.”

The three sat and watched TV until Dad came up the stairs and started pulling things out of the fridge. 

Fenton perked up. “Are you making dinner?”

The man turned. “Hi kids.” He smiled though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Yep, it’s a chicken and broccoli casserole night.”

Phantom nodded. “Do you want some help?” He asked mildly.

Dad’s smile turned up, looking a little more authentic. “Sure Danno.”

The ghost and his human briefly shared a look, both silently agreeing to help. With that, the teens stood or floated from their seats. Phantom chopped up some broccoli, Fenton grated some cheese, and Jazz started setting the table. Again, there was something nice and normal about the action; it was almost comforting as Dad asked about their day. 

Then Mom came up the stairs and that tension, the ever present damn tension, was back. She barely offered a smile as she greeted the teenagers, her gaze flickering down with guilt as she looked at Phantom. The ghost bit his lip, annoyance flickering at her behavior but he pushed it down. It was fine. He was fine. Everything was fine. He wasn’t bothered.

Fenton glanced over at him, raising a brow knowingly. The ghost looked down, blushing at the attention. Well, that was a lie. He was bothered. He was bothered, damn it. But what the heck was he supposed to do?

Dinner passed in tense silence and it was the same as the last few days. Strained conversation led by Jazz and Dad and ignoring the real issues.

“May I be excused?” Fenton asked, as soon as he finished his food.

Mom gave him permission without argument and he stood. Phantom followed after and the pair headed to their room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A nondescript Friday night of YouTube and reading with his ghost half, a boring night with occasional flashes from Phantom in his dreams and it was late Saturday morning.

Fenton sighed, rolling onto his back. Normally he’d be excited. It was Saturday. He could hang out with his friends and just relax after a busy school week. But he was grounded and things were horrible with his Mom and...he groaned in exacerbation.

“Yeah. This sucks.” His own voice rang out from across the room. 

Fenton sat up, meeting Phantom’s eyes. “Yeah.” He mildly agreed. Then he shrugged. “What do you wanna do today then?”

The ghost also shrugged. “I don’t know.” His nose wrinkled. “Wait….. The model rocket kit we got for our birthday. It’s still in the closet, isn’t it?”

The human’s eyes widened happily. “Yeah! How did we forget we had that?”

Phantom’s shoulders fell. “The...uhhh….accident.”

“Oh yeah.” Fenton frowned. The glowing green swirl of the portal flashed in his mind. “It was like 3 days after our birthday when we….ya know.” They’d gone into the portal and everything had changed.

The ghost floated forward. “Come on. Let’s get you something to eat and we can get started.”

The human nodded, accepting the offer for what it was- a distraction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making the model rocket was fun, leaving the pair of counterparts smiling as they bantered and joked and worked together. Soon enough the model was done. 

Fenton’s stomach growled and the ghost frowned at his counterpart. “You just ate.”

The human shrugged. “I’m a growing boy.”

Phantom rolled his eyes. “Come on then.”

Both stood up and walked out of the room with Fenton at the front. As they came to the top of the stairs, the human paused, feeling a cold hand on his shoulder. He turned, raising an eyebrow. “What?”

Phantom leaned forward, whispering. "Jazz is down there. Let's mess with her."

The human looked back, spotting their sister standing at the kitchen counter. He then looked back at his counterpart. "How?"

A mischievous grin stretched the ghost's face. "Ghost powers."

The corner of the human's lip twitched up. "Alright. What do you have in mind?"

"Turn around." Phantom instructed.

Fenton did as he was told. His brow furrowed as he felt cold arms wrapped around his shoulders, the ghost's chest pressed against his back. "Am I giving you a piggyback ride?" He questioned.

"Just watch." Phantom hissed, his voice right next to his counterpart's ear.

The human gasped as a chilling feeling spread from his neck where the ghost was touching him. His eyes widened as his hands turned translucent and then disappeared. "We're invisible." He whispered, studying the place his hands should be. He marveled, still not used to the sensation. Like the other times he'd turned invisible, he could still see the wavy outline of his body.

"I'm gonna float both of us off the floor, so don't like...freak out." Phantom said after a moment, somewhat sheepishly.

"I'm not gonna freak out." Even so, the human braced himself as the increasingly familiar feeling of weightlessness spread through his body.  He gasped softly as his feet left the floor.

"Alright. I'll take us down the stairs."Fenton glanced down, a spark of fear flickering in his heart at the sight. Behind him, Phantom stiffened. "Are you okay?"

The human squashed down the fear with a deep breath. "I’m fine.”

“You sure?” The ghost asked, surely with an eyebrow raised.

“Yep. We’ve got this.” Fenton said as confidently as he could manage. He smiled, feeling how his counterpart was bolstered by the trust. 

"Thanks." Phantom muttered. "Now try to stay quiet so we can sneak up on Jazz."

The human nodded in agreement. Under Phantom's influence, he felt his body drift forward in the air. His heart fluttered with nerves but also excitement. Something about this felt so….natural. It was surprising, considering how horribly he'd reacted to floating before the accident but clearly flying with Phantom had helped him face his fear and discomfort.

The pair made it to the bottom of the stairs and floated onward, towards Jazz who was making a sandwich. Fenton grinned, picturing what they'd do next, how they'd invisibly sneak behind Jazz and scare her. Similar amusement flowed into him from his other self and his smile widened.

Wait…..a new idea struck the human. Phantom stopped their advance, as he sensed Fenton's inspiration. A wordless question pressed into the human's mind. The boy furrowed his brow and closed his eyes. With a little effort, he sent his words to his other half. 

Let's move Jazz's phone.

Understanding sparked through the connection, the few words being enough for a plan to form between two halves of the same mind. Again, Phantom moved them forward until they were floating beside the table and within arms length of Jazz's phone. Two pairs of eyes glanced to find the girl still occupied, putting the cheese and meat back into the fridge. Silently, Fenton swiped the phone off the table. The device turned invisible as soon as his hand touched it. 

A moment later, Jazz turned around. She closed the fridge, grabbed her sandwich from the counter, and sat down. Putting the food down, she reached for her phone across the table. Her brow furrowed as her eyes surveyed the area in front of her. “I could have sworn…..” She stood up and turned around, eyes flittering over the counters. “Where’s my phone?” She muttered, pacing the kitchen.

Fenton fought not to laugh as her brow increasingly furrowed. 

“Come on. Where is it?” Jazz said to herself, increasingly confused.

Fenton’s hand covered his mouth to silence any noise. Jazz turned back around, walking towards the livingroom. “I know I brought it down here.”

With her back turned, the boy put the device back on the table. Curiosity tickled his mind from his ghost half as the phone reappeared. Then Fenton grabbed Jazz’s sandwich, turning it invisible. The ghost shook with suppressed laughter.

Their sister turned around, her eyes surveying the table before focusing. “There it is.” Confusion passed her face. “I just looked there and…..where’s my sandwich?” She wrinkled her nose, increasingly bewildered.

Again, she paced around the kitchen, her eyes hungrily tracing the counters. “This is ridiculous. What the heck is happening?” Fenton fought another laugh. “I know I brought it over here.”

She walked around the table and towards the invisible pair. Fenton’s eyes widened in panic, his body flickering intangible just before Jazz would barrel into him. Instead he shivered, choking on a scream as she passed through him.

Shock crashed into Fenton from his counterpart. He gasped as his powers failed and he popped back into visibility. Gravity reenaged and he stumbled onto the floor and forward, right into Jazz. The girl shrieked at a body suddenly slammed into her. Her arms stretched in front of her so she hit the counter before she could fall. Meanwhile, Fenton tipped forward, his heart pounding out of his chest. Then weightlessness overtook him again and he floated off the floor.

Jazz whipped around, eyes wide. “Danny!?” Her eyes trailed him. “What..you’re…” Her gaze flittered between the two heads and then to the human’s hands. “You have my sandwich!”

Fenton swallowed, holding the food out to her. “Here you go?”

She took it roughly, her eyes fixing on the empty space below him. “You’re floating?”

The human rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Ghost powers.”

“I’m the ghost powers!” Phantom waved with one hand.

Fenton laughed, his fright waning and the previous humor resurging. 

Suddenly, the door to the lab flung open. Mom stomped up, followed by Dad. 

“What happened? We heard screaming.” Mom’s eyes widened, as soon as her eyes fell on the floating Dannys.

The human boy’s laughter died. “You can put us down.” He muttered to Phantom.

More gently, his weight returned and he touched down on the floor. The ghost unwrapped his arms from his counterpart’s neck and floated to beside him.

Mom looked between the two. “What’s happening here?” She asked suspiciously.

Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. “We were playing a prank on Jazz.” 

The woman rose a brow and motioned for him to continue but the words stayed locked in both Dannys’ throats.

Jazz had no such problem. “They hide my phone and my lunch! Right behind my back! I thought I was going crazy.”

“Maybe you are.” Fenton snarked back.

This sister glared. “You turned intangible and flew through me!”

“You ran into us!” Phantom argued.

“Well you almost knocked me over.”  The girl crossed her arms.

“Kids, Enough!” Mom interrupted, glaring at Fenton and Phantom. “What were you thinking?”

The human boy paled. “It was...it was just a prank.”

“Yeah. We...we didn’t even mean to scare her. We were just...having fun.” Phantom blushed, looking down.

The adult opened and closed her mouth. “Just...you were just-”

Then Dad’s hand gently grabbed her arm. “Maddie, the kids are fine. It was just some harmless fun.”

Jazz glared. “Harmless! I walked through you!”

“It was an accident.” Phantom held up his hands.

“Yeah.” Fenton shivered. “And we’re never doing that again. It was….” He wrinkled his nose.

Dad’s eyes lit up. “What did it feel like?”

The ghost opened and closed his mouth, looking mortified.

Mom not so gently swatted her husband. “Jack!”

The man blushed. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Phantom muttered, putting his arms around his waist.

In her lessened anger, Jazz interrupted apparently choosing to save him the embarrassment.. “Why don’t we all just sit down and eat some lunch?” 

“Yeah, I was wanting some lunch.” Fenton said.

Mom crossed her arms, biting her lip. “We were in the middle of something.”

“We can give it a break for a bit, honey.” Dad sighed. “I know I could use one.”

Fenton looked over at the man and frowned. He looked tired and stressed with greasy hair and bags under his eyes. Actually….Mom didn’t look much better either, face wrinkled with deep stress lines. Phantom studied the adults as well, a frown on his face. The human glanced to the side, looking at Jazz. Based on her concerned look, their sister had also noticed Mom and Dad’s sorry states.

“Alright.” Mom conceded after a long moment.

With her agreement, Dad started pulling food out of the fridge and cabinet for lunch. Mom and Fenton joined, all three making their own sandwiches. At the table, Jazz and Phantom traded worried glances as they both watched their parents. Fenton joined in once he sat down. His brow furrowed. Maybe with all the long hours they’ve been working and the arguments Phantom caught parts of (huh….his ghost must have passively shared that with him at some point, probably when he was sleeping)...maybe he should be worried about them.

Mom and Dad sat down and both started eating without comment. Jazz and Fenton glanced at each other before the human Danny shrugged and dug in. A few moments passed with Phantom looking increasingly uncomfortable. The older girl noticed, giving him a comforting smile.

Meanwhile, Fenton looked between his ghost half and his parents. Oh, he was also feeling that awkwardness keenly, his own stomach flopping but…he was also worrying about their parents. He bit his lip; he wanted to ask them but it was probably make things more awkward and-

“So.” Phantom interrupted with a purposeful cough. “How is work on the ghost catcher going?”

Fenton blinked in surprise. Ah...well…. that was exactly what he wanted to ask. Wait...why was he surprised?

Dad frowned. “Well it’s...uhh…it’s going….”

The Dannys glanced at each other, also frowning at the response.

Mom carefully put down her sandwich. “We’ve been running into some...complications.”

Fenton’s eyes widened. “Complications?” He tried to keep the worry out of his voice.

Apparently, Dad noticed anyway. “Nothing some hard work and creative thinking can’t solve.” 

The human boy shivered at the forced confidence. Although knowing his Dad, maybe the man was as assured as he appeared?...No, who was he kidding? Whatever problems they were having, it must be bad.

“What complications?” Phantom asked, not comforted by the reassurance.

“Nothing you need to worry about sweetie.” Mom replied. “It will just take a few more days than we planned to make the modifications we need.”

Now she was just being evasive. What modifications? How many more days? And-

“Come on honey. We need to get back to work.” Mom interrupted.

Fenton’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth to argue but closed it, choosing not to push for more information. He wanted to know but it wasn’t worth making himself more worried. And he trusted Mom and Dad to get it sorted, right? Yeah, sure he did.

Having finished eating, both adults stood and headed towards the basement where they disappeared into the lab. 

With them gone, the human Danny sighed. He looked at Jazz, biting his lip. “Sorry about earlier.”

“Yeah, sorry.” The ghost repeated a moment later. “Sorry about flying through you…” He blanched at the statement.

Graciously, Jazz waved it off. “It’s okay, little brother. I’m not really mad, you just startled me.” She half-smiled. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it was actually pretty funny.”

“Really?” Fenton and Phantom said at the same time, eyes lighting up with hope.

Jazz rolled her eyes. “Yes. Once I got over the shock.” She crossed her arms, one brow raised teasingly. “I guess I should expect this now, with your powers.”

“Maybe.” The ghost rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

At the same time, Fenton confidently said. “Yes.” Phantom raised a brow in question so his counterpart continued. “Dude, we have ghost powers. Of course we’re gonna use them from pranks.” He grinned. “It’s our job as annoying little brother.”

The ghost laughed, his mood lightening. “Yes!”

Jazz scoffed good naturedly. “I’ve sure got the annoying part down.” Both Dannys stuck their tongues out at her in sync. She blinked at them before groaning. “One Danny’s bad enough. But both of you?”

“Oh, come on. You love us.” Fenton and Phantom said at the same time.

Jazz peaked up at the pair with a raised brow. Her expression softened. “Of course I do.” Then her lips turned down. “Not to break the mood but...did you notice how tired Mom and Dad look?”

Phantom frowned at the change of topic. “Yeah….they’ve been working really hard this week.”

“Do you think they’re overdoing it? Maybe we should get them to take a break.” Their sister mused.

The Dannys paused, looking at each other. Phantom sighed. “Maybe. They do seemed really focused.”

“But they always get like that when they’re working on a breakthrough.” Fenton countered, crossing his arms. “They were like that with the portal.”

Even as he said it, he felt guilty. Yes, they’d been near obsessed with the portal in the last few months of its completion. It had been the culmination of their life’s work. But this….this was caused by his own stupidity, twice over.

Phantom raised a brow, putting a hand on his human’s arm. Fenton shook the thought away. No, he was not going to blame himself, not again. Plus...he met his other self’s green eyes. If he hadn’t gone in the portal, he wouldn't have gotten his powers.

“Well yeah.” The ghost agreed, with less bitterness. “They’re really focused on trying to fix us.”

Well obviously, but with what motivation? Parental overprotectiveness, scientific curiosity, guilt. Or a strange mix of those? Fenton didn’t know.

“But still….we should get them to take a break tonight or tomorrow.” Jazz insisted. “Self care is important, no matter how important your work is.”

And that was just like Jazz. Though both Dannys did have to agree. “Yeah...but you can nag them about that.” Phantom said.

Then Fenton. “You are better at nagging.”

Jazz gasped in offense. “Why you little…”

And they were back to sibling banter to Fenton’s great comfort. He wasn’t sure how much more worrying about his parents and his relationship with them he could take.