Dandash - Blog Posts

Chapters: 8/? Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Dash Baxter/Danny Fenton Characters: Danny Fenton, Dash Baxter, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Paulina Sanchez, Kwan (Danny Phantom), Valerie Gray, Pookie (Danny Phantom) Additional Tags: Aged-Up Character(s), on the way to college, mentions of child abuse, Mentions of homophobia, Redemption Arcs, Bisexual Danny Fenton, everyone becoming good friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Second Chances, lots of classical literature references, Canon-Typical Violence, Angst, Lots of Crying, Some hurt/comfort, almost everyone has shitty parents, More tags to come as I think of them, Suicidal Thoughts, This is heavily inspired by marichat, stealing lots of headcanons from tumblr, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, not entirely canon compliant, I stole the pieces I like and combined them with fanon to get what I wanted, this was supposed to be a slow burn, Dialogue Heavy, some spooky shit will be snuck in here, Mutual Pining, Dissection, Bad Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton, lots of astrology references, Inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), horror aspects will be in here, but also cute fluff, Asexual Character, Mentions or pevious eating disorders Summary:

It's the end of senior year and Dash and Danny are having the worst time of their lives. Dash's father finds out he's queer and tries to kill him. That lands him in prison with divorce papers. Dash goes to therapy to cope and learn how to change his behaviors while taking some time off from school. He now needs to learn how to navigate the world and figure himself out. Danny fears he'll never figure out what he wants for his future beyond being the hero of Amity Park forever and he's running out of time to figure it out as he watches everyone he knows move on without him. Plus there are always the people hunting him down that he has to worry about on top of that.

The ghost zone was nothing like he had expected it to be. He'd thought maybe it was a mirror reflection of their world or some spooky alternate-dimension graveyard, maybe some sort of Area 51 situation. It was way brighter than that; a void of black with glowing currents of swirling green light. There were doors floating in the air- he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating them. The ground his feet landed on wasn't quite solid, more like a firm jello and he was a little worried it might open and swallow him whole. It was a rock path that twisted away into the darkness, occasionally branching off to floating islands.

Danny yanked him forward, his grip nearing painful as he dragged him up the path. He stumbled after him, his mind racing with about a million questions he was almost too hesitant to ask. Danny was walking fast, his movements stiff; he didn't want to ask anything stupid and irritate him when he was already on edge.

A pit of guilt tumbles around in Dash's stomach. It was true that he had almost no idea what he was doing when fighting ghosts- he'd had a little bit of practice the few times he'd teamed up with Danny in their earlier years of high school, but he'd been so focused on not dying that he hadn't learned much- and he was probably going to be a weak spot for Danny. But if that was what was keeping Danny focused on not throwing himself into direct danger, then so be it.

The silence and Danny's tense aura grew unbearable after only a few minutes. He took a breath and gently tugged Danny's hand to get his attention. "What are the doors for?"

Danny glanced back, stopping in his tracks. One look at Dash and he knew he needed to calm down; he looked like Valerie had her first time in the ghost zone, terrified (unlike Val, he had an underlying sense of awe shining in his eyes). He was still clinging to his backpack and Danny's hand like his life depended on it.

Danny closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. Dash was right; his anger made him abandon caution and put the people he cared about in danger. He couldn't count the many times Sam and Tucker had made that same argument with him. And here he was scaring Dash more than he needed to. It wasn't very hero-like of him. He opened his eyes to see Dash looking more visibly relaxed.

"I didn't know you could be so scary," Dash breathed, more curiosity in his voice than fear.

Panic crawled up his spine. "Scary? I thought you said I wasn't scary." Scary was treacherously close to evil; scary pushed people away. Scary was dangerous. That was the last thing he wanted.

Dash nodded a strange look on his face. "You don't feel scary. You still look scary. But whatever happened back there changed something. That was probably the most terror I've ever felt from a ghost. I mean-" Dash let the air whoosh from his lungs, a half smile on his lips- "You didn't look even remotely human for a minute and it- are you okay?"

It was hard to breathe past the lump in his throat; the ground under him was freezing, ice forming over the gaps in the rocks. Memories of his future self and his serpent tongue clawed their way through his mind. "Um, I, that's-" He let go of Dash's hand, his throat dry and tongue heavy. He gripped his hair, tugging, desperate to get his panic under control. "That's not good. I'm supposed to be human. Human is what keeps-" He choked on the rest of his sentence.

Dash reached out, gripping his shoulders and rooting him to the spot. The timbre of his voice was comforting; Danny wanted to drown in it, drown so far that his anxieties couldn't catch him. "It wasn't a bad thing, Danny. I'm glad you showed up when you did. I'm glad to have scary on my side."

Danny shook his head, denial coursing through his veins. He liked being scary and that was far worse than simply being scary. That kind of rush was something he couldn't give into, no matter what reassurances Dash could give; he knew where it led. "Yeah," he huffed. "Til it's not on your side."

Dash's hands trailed up the sides of his neck, leaving calming shivers in their wake, and came to rest on his cheeks, forcing him to look him in the eyes. Dash's eyes were so confident and… and something that Danny thought might be familiar but he couldn't place it. "Not gonna happen. With how worried you are about this, there's no way you'd let it happen. Scary isn't inherently evil. Sometimes it's hot- cool, sometimes it's cool."

Danny chuckled at Dash's slip-up, resting his forehead against his and matching his breathing until he was calm again. Maybe he was right; as long as he was checking himself and only channeling his powers in the right ways, he could stow some worry away. He rested his hands over Dash's and forced a small smile onto his face. "You think me being scary is hot?"

Dash wanted to kiss him.

He wanted to kiss him so badly.

His thoughts should have been elsewhere, like helping Danny through his panic or maybe watching for ghosts in the ghost zone. But some dumb part of him thought maybe he could kiss that stupid idea of him turning evil out of his pretty little head. He wanted to kiss him until he understood just how good he was.

But, if he was being genuinely honest with himself, he just wanted to kiss him. Plain and simple. He'd been thinking about it nonstop the last few days, the feel of Danny's lips on his; oh, how he wanted it to be real this time, for Danny to kiss him because he wanted to, because he liked him, and not because it was his only option for survival. He wanted Danny to want him; to want him despite their history, despite him being ace, despite everything. He'd never wanted anything more in his entire life. And he couldn't help thinking that if they were in a romance movie right now instead of a horror one, they'd be kissing already. And maybe, if he wasn't ace, this was the part of the horror movie where they snuck off and got killed because fooling around was more important than surviving. He kind of understood those characters right now, being in love was something worth dying for.

His eyes fell to Danny's lips- his fangs peeking out from under his grin- and resisted the urge to pull him down right then. Briefly, he thinks a younger him would have been pissed at Danny being taller, but now, well, he didn't mind having to stand on his tiptoes. "Would that be so wro-"

"Look at these two lovebirds~!" A woman's voice cooed.

Danny shoved him behind him so fast he swore he got whiplash. Danny glared at the approaching ghosts. They were riding a motorcycle and Dash was sure he recognized them; he just couldn't remember their names.

"What do you two want?" Danny spat.

"Woah, touchy!" The man, who looked more than just a little scraggly, whistled as he pulled up next to them. "What's got your undies in a twist, kid?"

"You," Danny hissed under his breath.

"Oh, you're just embarrassed to be caught making goo-goo eyes at your boyfriend in the middle of the zone." The woman teased, leaning against the man's back.

"This is hardly the middle of the zone, Kitty. What are you two up to so close to the portal?" Danny crossed his arms like a disapproving parent.

Dash remembered; Johnny and Kitty were two ghosts who'd caused a lot of trouble near the beginning of the ghost attacks. Paulina held a particular distaste for Kitty. He hadn't seen them lately, or maybe he just hadn't seen them causing trouble.

"Us?" Johnny feigned ignorance, placing a hand against his chest. "We're not up to anything, just out for a drive. Ya know, seeing the sights, stretching our legs, the like."

Dash fidgeted; these ghosts didn't give off a scary aura, but they still made him uneasy, especially the shadow twisting under their bike. He really wished Danny hadn't let go of his hand; without it, he felt like he would go toppling over the side of the path and fall eternally into the void around them. He took a small step closer to Danny, hoping the ghosts wouldn't sense his fear.

"Do you actually expect me to believe that?" Danny snorted.

Johnny rolled his eyes and slumped against the handlebars; the shadow under him seemed to mimic his exasperation. "Oh, come on, Your Highness, we were just gonna drive around the canyon a little and come right back. No trouble-making, honest."

Danny's shoulders lost some of their stiffness. "If I hear you caused even an ounce of trouble-"

"We'll be good, we promise." Kitty held her right hand up like she was swearing an oath in court.

Danny sighed. "Fine, I'll be back in two hours, you had better be back before me or-"

"Or you'll kick my ass, yeah, yeah." Johnny grinned, revving his motorcycle. "See ya later, kid!" He popped a wheelie and sped off toward the portal, Kitty waving goodbye over his shoulder.

Dash let the tension fall from his shoulders. "I thought you kept ghosts out of the human world?"

Danny shook his head and continued down the path. "Ghosts get restless and restless ghosts cause trouble. They just want to feel alive again. And those two have chilled out enough in the last few years that I trust them not to cause issues. I just hope my parents don't catch them."

Dash refrained from reaching for his hand, twisting his fingers in the straps of his backpack instead. He cleared his throat, not liking the deafening silence around them. "So, about those doors?"

Danny turned, slowing his pace to walk next to him again. "Every ghost has one, it's like their own personal afterlife, a world just for them. Most of the ghosts in the zone are content with their 'rooms' and never feel the need to leave. That's why it's so empty out here."

Dash nodded. "So, when I die, I'll get my own little door?" He thought that was kind of nice, knowing what happens after. It didn't seem as scary.

"Yup."

"Do you have a door?"

Danny liked Dash's questions. They were always genuine, no hint of disgust or distrust in them. Right now they were keeping him from going on a panic-induced rampage at Vlad's house. It also meant that Dash wasn't panicking himself. He was glad; he wasn't sure he'd be able to handle Dash's panic on top of all his whirling emotions and trying to talk his ghost half off the ledge of protective murder.

"I'm not sure. Probably, I've just never looked. I'm not really dead yet and I like it better out here. I could always ask, I guess." They were walking past one of the jungle islands. Danny kept his eyes peeled for Skulker.

"Ask who?"

"Clockwork. He's basically the god of time, he knows everything there is to know about the zone." Danny took a deep breath despite not needing it in this form. "He's also the reason I'm not evil right now."

Dash raised an eyebrow at him. "The god of time casually cherry-picked your future? And you can just ask him whatever question you want? Just like that?"

Danny smiled wryly. "Yeah, it's a long story. I can tell you all about it once we're sure Vlad isn't-"

"Danny!" Youngblood's voice shouted from the island ahead of them. He was dressed in his pirate outfit, the ship a few feet behind him. Ember, also in her pirate fit, was playing a sea shanty on the ship behind him. "Are you here to play pirates with us?"

Dash grinned at him. "You play pirates with the ghost kid?"

Danny's face burned; he resisted the urge to cover his cheeks when he noticed Dash looking at him. "Not always, sometimes it's astronauts." He turned away to shout ahead. "Not right now. I'm on a mission."

Youngblood perked up. "Like a super secret spy mission? Can I come?"

Danny shook his head. "Not this time."

"Ugh," the kid whined, throwing his pirate sword down. "Why does your stupid human boyfriend get to go and I don't?"

Dash slyly glanced at him and Danny suddenly wished the ghosts didn't like to tease him as much as they did. He'd rather explode than have to explain to Dash why they keep referring to him as his boyfriend. "Because we're going to Plasmius' place."

Youngblood's face fell, eyebrows pinching. "Do you have a death wish?"

"Hey, Dipstick!" Ember greeted, interrupting them. "Frostbite's been looking for ya."

Danny cringed at the nickname. "Thanks, we'll stop by on our way back."

She popped a bubble of gum- where she'd gotten gum, he had no idea. "Back from where?"

"He's taking his stupid, weak, fleshy boyfriend to Plasmius'." Youngblood huffed.

"Hey!" Danny snapped.

Ember eyed Dash. "Weak?"

Dash blushed but said nothing; he frowned at Youngblood.

"Do you have a death wish?" Ember continued.

"No. He's in Amity Park, we're just making sure he's not about to destroy the world again." He shuffled his feet, eyeing the path. He should just walk away.

"Like when he released Vortex to try and woo your mom away from her anniversary trip?" Ember sneered.

"Yeah, exactly that."

"Will you and your boyfriend play pirates when you come back?" Youngblood asked, picking his sword back up.

Danny stubbornly avoided Dash's eyes. "We'll see. Ember, would it kill you to stop spreading rumors?" He regretted not flying through here. Yes, he needed his arms free to protect Dash, but they could have been at the portal by now which was probably not only safer but also would have saved him a lot of embarrassment.

"Aw," Youngblood huffed. "We'll see always means no!" He skulked off to the ship, hacking a few branches down on his way.

Ember shrugged, a teasing grin on her face. "It might. Who said they were rumors though?"

Danny swallowed his nerves, staring her down. "You know they are."

A challenge flared in her eyes as she glanced at Dash, who stiffened from the sudden attention. "Are they?" She sauntered over to Dash, slowly, giving Danny time to admit that she was right. She reached a practiced hand out, trailing a single, taunting finger down his bicep. He flinched at the contact.

"Weak my ass." She slurred, her voice sultry on purpose. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

Danny crossed his arms, frowning, refusing to take her bait no matter how much it made his skin itch. Dash's eyes flicked to his, pleading.

"Um, I volunteered at one of your concerts a few years back." He took a step away from her. She circled him like a vulture, her hands all over him, the feather on her hat brushing his chin.

His blood boiled, urging him to step in and protect. He flashed his eyes at her. Just because he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of being right, didn't mean he couldn't give her a warning. Dash squirmed, trying to pry her hands off.

"Would you volunteer to do other things with these muscles?" She squeezed his arm.

Dash's face twisted up in disgust. "Um, I'm not-"

Danny stormed over, the comment enough to tip him over the edge, and wormed his way between them, aggressively removing her hands. "Okay, okay, back off!"

Ember's grin stretched across her face, triumph oozing from her fangs. "Rumors are always based in truth."

"Wouldn't your boyfriend be upset if I told him you were flirting with humans?" Danny grumbled.

Ember shrugged, already turning her back and waving. "Later, Dipstick."

Danny flipped her off, grabbed Dash's hand, and yanked him down the path. He was looking forward to taking his anger and embarrassment out on Vlad's house.

"She's pleasant," Dash mumbled. "Hey, why do all these ghosts think I'm your boyfriend?"

"Because they love to tease me, call me names, whatever they can to bother me 'cause they think it's funny. Sorry that she targeted you." Danny could see the branch off to Vlad's house up ahead.

"Names like Your Highness?" Dash bumped his shoulder playfully.

Danny sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Johnny just knows I hate the title. But he's not the only one who teases me like that. You should hear how Technus talks to me. It's so much worse in his accent."

"The title? Like an actual title?" Dash blinked at him. "You're like a ghost king?"

Apprehension coiled tight in his muscles. He hated when people found out about this part; Tucker still hadn't let it go. "No, um, after defeating Pariah Dark I should have been crowned by right of succession or whatever. But, I didn't want that responsibility and the ghosts here have been governing themselves just fine while he was asleep. I refused the coronation and left Clockwork and the Observants in charge like they've been. But, I'm still technically the heir to the throne. They call me in to make a few decisions from time to time, but there's not much else I do."

Dash tugged his hand, a small, playful smile on his face. "Forgive me, I had no idea I was in the presence of a prince." He bowed low, dramatically, maintaining eye contact. He guided Danny's hand to his lips. "Apologies, Your Highness."

Danny's heart nearly leaped out of his chest. The air left his lungs in a whoosh as Dash pressed a kiss to the back of his knuckles. He was hallucinating, that had to be it. No way a few comments and weird behavior from some ghosts had made Dash this brave.

A nervous giggle bubbled up his throat, his entire body suddenly feeling very warm, and he jokingly shoved Dash's shoulder, untangling their fingers and cradling his hand to his chest. "Oh my god, you're worse than them! I shouldn't have told you shit!"

Dash chuckled, a pretty red painting his face. "Old habits die hard, I guess."

Danny rolled his eyes and started walking down the path again- like the faster he walked the faster he could leave these fluttery feelings behind. "C'mon, Val's going to kill me if we waste any more time."

He turned around, making sure Dash was actually following him.

A satisfied, glowing smile curled onto Dash's lips. "Don't worry, I'm right behind you."

The air in Vlad's house was still, quiet and stale. There was a single security light illuminating the lab; the machines casting long, twisting shadows across the tiled floor. The tools on the table glinted ominously in the dim light; Danny gave them a wide berth as he crept into the room, alert for danger in any form it might take. He couldn't hear much beyond the hum of electricity and Dash's breathing.

He motioned for Dash to stay near the portal as he checked behind every piece of equipment he could find.

Nothing.

He floated over to the stairwell, listening for any sign of life in the main part of the house. Only the creaking of a settling house answered him. Once he was sure it was safe, he waved Dash over to the computer. "Okay, I'll see if there are any weird experiments lying around, you check the computer. If you see anything strange or dangerous in any way, let me know immediately. Be careful."

"You too," Dash whispered back as he eased into the dusty computer chair.

Danny examined the array of experiments and tools lining the table; it almost mirrored his parents' lab and he had to wonder if Vlad came up with these on his own or if he'd stolen the blueprints from his dad. They had all worked together once, so as much as he hated to admit it, some of these were probably his own inventions. Some of the tools were crusted in a thick green substance; he kept his distance, not wanting to know if it was ectoplasm or Fenton Venom.

"Happen to know his password?" Dash whispered.

Danny groaned. "Uh, try Maddie Fenton or ILoveMaddieFenton. Anything along those lines."

Clacking noises rose from the keyboard, followed closely by a snort from Dash. "I cannot believe that worked."

"Unfortunately, I can."

They froze as a dull thump echoed from upstairs.

"What was that?" Dash hissed, standing from the chair.

Danny put a finger to his lips, creeping back over to the stairwell. Again, a dull thump, like someone closing a door.

"Stay here."

"What?" Dash jerked his head. "No, what if-"

"Dash, I'm not arguing with you. Stay here, stay hidden."

"But-"

Danny flashed his eyes at him, feeling the slightest twinge of guilt. Dash flinched, taking a step back. He narrowed his eyes and huffed at him before plopping back in the chair. He was pouting. Danny shook his head and tiptoed up the stairs, eyes and ears peeled.

The library was just as impressive as ever, almost as impressive as the cobwebs now decorating some of the shelves and corners. The computer in here was covered in a dusty, dust cover, untouched. Even the statues on the mantle had a thick layer of dust; Vlad hadn't been home in some time, odd for a man who valued his material possessions as much as he did.

The only light in here came from the moonlight shining in through the windows. He stepped into the room, raising his hand to illuminate the space. The only shadows he saw were from the bookshelves.

A small wisp of cold breath fell from his lips and he had only a moment to duck before a blast of ice slammed into the wall behind him, the shards clattering to the ground in a small symphony.

He turned invisible, getting rid of the light, and hid behind a bookshelf. His heart hammered against his ribs, he glanced at the stairs. Thankfully, it looked like Dash had listened to him and not followed him up.

Silence encompassed the room.

He couldn't tell where the blast had come from; whoever had shot it was invisible. He slunk along the shelf, peeking between the books, searching for any sign of movement. The smell of ozone and snow lingered in the air as the temperature continued to drop. Whoever they were, they were powerful; he could practically taste the electricity crackling in the air. It popped along his skin, tempting him to react with his own. But he couldn't give his position away until he was safely out of reach of the lab.

He crawled up the side of the shelf, pressing low against the lintel. He slithered over the bookcases, twisting his way through the darkness as a faint glimmer shone from the doorway across the room. The itch to pounce burned under his skin. He stilled, his ghostly tail coiling around a nearby pillar. The light bobbed, an angler fish waiting just beyond. He could play this game, send a duplicate to attack, draw them out, and-

A loud thump rang, followed by a quiet curse, at the top of the stairs.

Danny whipped his head around to see Dash leaning against the wall, holding his foot. Panic pierced his heart, his veins running cold; a spark of green ignited where the light had been.

He launched forward, his claws gouging the wood of the cases as he scrambled over them in his desperate attempt to reach Dash before the shot did.

Just this once, let him be faster than light.

He crashed into him, knocking him to the ground not even a second before the ball of electricity hit where he'd been standing. He rolled off Dash, kneeling on his knee, snarling in the direction the attack had come from. His arm was raised with a glowing attack of his own on his palm. Dash groaned in pain behind him, adding fuel to his panic and rage. He was a mere moment away from destroying everything in his path when a familiar voice echoed out of the darkness.

"Danny?"

Dash groaned, gripping his arm where the blast had grazed him. It burned, it burned like hell, every muscle in his body felt like it'd been squeezed and stabbed by a hundred needles.

God, he was an idiot. Fuck, he should have stayed in the lab. He pinched his eyes shut, rolling onto his side, and clutching his arm to his chest. Jesus, it really fucking burned. He drew in shuddering breaths, praying for the tingling to go away.

He heard Danny sigh, the tension in the room easing. He blinked his eyes open to see a figure materialize in the light; he had to do a double-take. It was a woman, she was tall, her hair was snow white, and she had glowing green eyes- she looked exactly like Danny. Well, exactly like Danny if he'd had more feminine features, like higher cheekbones and a softer jawline.

What he noticed most was the logo on her chest; it matched Danny's perfectly.

"Oh, thank fuck," Danny muttered. "Dani, I thought-"

"Yeah, me too." She glanced nervously at Dash's curled form. "Is he okay? Did I hit him?"

Danny spun around, yanking Dash up into a sitting position. It made him dizzy. "Oh, shit, are you okay? Let me see. What the fuck were you thinking?!"

"Danny, not helping." Dash let go of his arm to push Danny back. The wound was blistering red and bubbling. It was hard to breathe with the pain in his chest.

"Jesus, that smell," Danny, shaking, ignored his hand, tenderly grabbing his arm and inspecting the wound. "What part of stay hidden did you not understand?"

Dash hissed at the contact. "I got worried. I heard something shatter and you didn't come back. I thought-"

"For a reason, Dash!" Danny's voice was pitchy, tears rolling down his face. "How many times have I told you not to worry about me? God, it's like you don't trust me to protect you!"

A cold pit fell into his stomach, tears pricking his own eyes. "I do trust you! I just-" Just what? What was he thinking every time he jumped in front of a ghost for Danny? Was it him trying to be a hero? Was he trying to make up for what he'd done in the past? No, no it wasn't that; at least not entirely. "I just didn't want to be left behind. I'm not useless you know."

Danny sighed, relaxing his grip. "You are too smart to be this much of an idiot. Where's your first aid bag?"

He nodded back toward the stairs, butterflies brushing his insides at the statement. His muscles were finally starting to relax again. "By the computer."

"Okay," Danny slid an arm around his waist, effortlessly pulling him to his feet. A wave of nausea swept over him and he hooked his non-injured arm around Danny's shoulder, leaning into his strong grip. "Let's get you patched up."

Dani leaned around to look at his injury, worrying her lip. "How bad is it?"

Dash examined it as they slowly made their way downstairs. At surface level, it was barely a second-degree burn. The real issue was the shock that had run through his body. "Not too bad. I just, uh, need to make sure I'm not having a heart attack."

"Fuck, my bad dude." Dani shoved some papers off one of the tables so he could sit down. "I didn't mean to electrocute my cousin's boyfriend."

Danny ignored the comment, already digging through Dash's backpack. "What is this?"

"Vinegar."

"When would we ever need vinegar?!" Danny tossed it onto a nearby table and rummaged through more pockets.

"Hey! I have that organized!" Dash grabbed Danny's wrist and forced him to let go of whatever he was holding. "Look at me, hey, you're panicking. Slow breaths, okay, I'm not dying. It's just mild electric shock."

Danny blinked at him, a few more tears escaping his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut and did as Dash suggested, breathing slowly. His hand flexed under his grip, like he was remembering something painful.

"Okay, I'll talk you through this, alright?"

He nodded.

Dash glanced at Dani. She had righted the vinegar bottle on the table and was twisting her hands in her hoodie. "First, please hand me some Tylenol, I can't superman this shit like you can. It's in the small front pocket."

Danny nodded, unzipping the pocket and grabbing the pills. He found the water bottles in the second zipper area and unscrewed one, handing both it and the pills to Dash.

He didn't think he'd downed medication so fast in his entire life.

The air was practically buzzing with Danny's nerves, it was like they were drowning in his panic. "Danny, I can't think with you worrying over there."

Danny shook his head like he was trying to clear something from his eyes. "How am I not supposed to worry? You were literally convulsing on the ground- I- fuck."

Dani put a hand on his shoulder. "I can take over if this is too much for you."

He shook his head again. "No, no, I've got it." He took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. "What next?"

"Now you need to put some medical gloves on, because unlike you, bacteria will harm me."

Danny nodded, fishing a box of gloves out of the big pocket. A Sharpie fell out and clattered across the table. "What in the world would you need a Sharpie for?" He pulled his Phantom gloves off and switched them for the ones in the box. (Dash didn't know he could do that).

Dash rolled his eyes. "Stop questioning my medical bag. There's a jug of distilled water in the biggest pocket, if you could use your ice powers to cool it down, we need to slowly run cool water over the burn to, well, cool it off." He was slightly entranced by the mist and ice forming in Danny's palms, as he did just that. "And for the record, I'm just a big baby. I was just trying to shake the burn off. I wasn't convulsing."

"You just suffered an electric shock," Dani blinked at him, concern plastered on her face. "I shot you with a huge amount of amps man. You weren't being a baby."

Dash hissed, digging his nails into the table as Danny gently poured the water on his burn. "It barely grazed me. Very mild electric shock. It's not even a third-degree burn."

Danny's hands were shaking, making the water swish from side to side. A moment from Tucker's slideshow passed through his mind; Danny had been electrocuted inside the portal. He must be having flashbacks.

"Hey," he whispered, "are you okay?"

"Me?" Danny's voice warbled. "You're the one who just got himself shot. I should be asking if you're okay."

"I'm fine." Surprisingly, he was. Everything besides the burn had faded into a dull ache, the pins and needles almost completely gone. "You're shaking."

He reached his uninjured arm out and rested his hand on Danny's arm. Danny shook his head, pouring the last of the water over the burn. "I didn't think I'd make it in time. I thought-" He inhaled deeply through his nose. "Okay, what next."

Dash squeezed his arm with what he hoped was reassurance. "There's a bottle of saline in the medium pocket, we need to clean the area before we put ointment on it. There's some gauze in there to use."

Danny nodded, turning back to the bag to find the items. Dani plopped down in the computer chair. "What are you two doing here anyway?" She fiddled with some papers on the desk.

"You didn't get my text?" Danny asked, uncapping the saline.

"You texted me?" She pulled her phone out and frowned at the screen. "Val's all by herself at the Colorado house?"

Danny poured the saline over the burn and gently dabbed the excess away with the gauze, focusing intensely on his movements. "I tried to tell her not to go. I just wanted to warn her that he was around in case she bumped into him. But I guess all my friends are trying to get themselves killed tonight."

Dash flinched, a pit of guilt opening in his chest. Later, when things weren't so tense, he might ask Danny to teach him some ghost-hunting basics- just enough that he could hold his own like Sam, Tucker, and Valerie. That way he wouldn't be such a burden on him. "There's burn ointment in the small pocket, red tube."

Danny nodded, returning the saline to where it belonged.

"Okay, but if he's in Amity Park, why are you two here? In Wisconsin?" Dani twirled in the chair, kicking her feet out and watching them narrowly avoid the desk.

"I wanted to see if he had any evil plans lying around. He said my dad invited him to visit, but I haven't heard anything about it from either of my parents." Danny grabbed new gauze and burn cream. "Usually my mom tells me so I can avoid him. So, I thought I'd see what I could find while he was away. What about you?"

Dani turned to the computer, clicking the email icon. "Same thing, scouring for evil plans. Pandora sent me. Said he was skulking around her place a few days ago and wanted to know what he was up to."

"Did he take anything?" Danny applied the burn cream to the gauze and then gently- like he was afraid to touch him- pressed it over the wound, going back for bandages to secure it.

"No, just being his usual creepy, suspicious self." She opened an email and cringed. "Your mom ever answer his creepy poetry?"

"Uh, I didn't know she was getting creepy poetry." Danny wrapped the bandages around his arm, firm but not tight. And he said Dash was the professional. He wished he'd look him in the eyes.

"How creepy is it?" Dash asked, hoping to dispel some of the building tension.

Dani glanced over at him. "Disgustingly creepy. I'm Dani, with an 'i', by the way, Danny's cousin. Nice to meet you." She held out a hand.

Dash shook it with his uninjured arm. "Dash."

She grinned, raising her eyebrow. "Oh, as in Baxter?"

"You know about me?" He swallowed his nerves, glancing at Danny.

She shrugged. "I didn't know you'd moved into boyfriend status. Last Danny told me he'd been-"

"Aren't you looking for evil plots over there?" Danny sniped, face glowing green. Dash was enamored with the way he blushed in Phantom form; he wanted to tease him all the time just to see it. It made his freckles look like tiny stars in a small galaxy.

She huffed, spinning back around to the computer. "Not my fault you don't update me on these things."

"Oh, and where have you been the last few weeks? You haven't answered a single text, it's not like I could have told you anything even if something was happening." Danny finished securing the bandage and started putting everything back where Dash had had it.

"I didn't have signal. I was rock hunting on Saturn." She opened an email and skimmed through it.

"You were on Saturn?" Dash squeaked. "How's that possible?"

"Ghosts are dead big guy." She laughed. "You don't need to worry about the effects of space on a dead body."

Dash glanced at Danny for confirmation. He shrugged. "It's true. I've been in space a few times."

"Let me guess," Dash sighed, "it's a long story."

Danny had the decency to look apologetic.

"Hey, check these out," Dani called, highlighting an email. "He's writing to the G.I.W. about something called 'Fenton Venom'. Know anything about that?"

"Yeah," Danny answered, moving to look over her shoulder. "Pandora didn't give you an antidote for it?"

"Oh, she might have. I kind of stopped paying attention after 'go kick Vlad's ass'." She clicked the forward button, typing in her and Danny's emails. She went to the outbound box and deleted the history of it.

"What's he saying about it?" Danny rolled his eyes. His phone chimed and he opened it.

"He's trying to sell it to them. It didn't say what he'd get back in that email, but there's a whole chain to look through." Dani clicked back out of everything, leaving the computer the way she'd found it.

"What in the world could he get by working with the G.I.W?"

Dani shrugged. "Who knows? It's not like he's ever been the most sane person. It might be some crackpot plan that he won't follow through on."

"Let's hope so," Danny said, typing a response on his phone. "Valerie just got to Colorado,"

"I'll go give her some backup." Dani hopped out of the chair.

"I should go with-"

Dani shook her head. "I think you should get you and your 'friend' home to rest. We can handle it."

"But-"

"We can handle it, Danny. But call me later? I do want to tell you about Saturn." She smiled at him.

Danny forced the air from his lungs, debating on arguing with her. He glanced at Dash, then at the stairs. "Yeah, okay. If anything happens, you'll let me know?"

Dani rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Yes, Dad, I'll let you know when the big kids start doing drugs and you need to come pick me up."

"I just worry, I mean, it's Vlad-"

"I know." Dani sighed. "But we can kick ass too, okay? You're not the only one who needs to worry about him."

"Okay, I'll text you guys in an hour to make sure you're okay." Danny offered Dash a hand.

He took it and pushed himself off the table, letting go to grab his backpack.

"Make it two." Dani grinned. "Now let's get out of this creepy place."

Somehow, the ghost zone was not as creepy as Vlad's house; Dash found it a much better place to be in. He fought the urge to slip his hand into Danny's; he wasn't scared, he just liked holding his hand. He followed Danny back up the path, his feet already used to the unstable rock ground. Danny was quiet like his mind was elsewhere. Dash cleared his throat. "Didn't you want to visit someone on the way back?"

Danny stopped and looked at an island not far in the distance. He shook his head. "No, I can come back later. It's best just to get you home. I shouldn't have brought you in the first place."

Dash crossed his arms, squaring his shoulders. "Well, that's not fair. Sam and Tucker get to come here all the time. And don't give me that crap about them having more experience." He added as Danny opened his mouth to argue. "They didn't have experience at one point. How am I supposed to learn if you leave me behind all the time?"

Danny's eyes fell to the bandage on his arm. "You don't have to get experience. You don't have to get involved."

Dash scoffed. "I'm already involved. I want to be involved. I'm here to help, so let me help." He gently wrapped his hand around the bandage, hiding it. "Danny, please. I'll be okay."

Danny ran his fingers through his hair, biting his lip (things Dash had wanted to do all week). "Okay, yeah, you're right. But we're taking the shortcut. No more risks tonight."

"What shortcut-" He was cut off as Danny picked him up, cradling him against his chest, and took off flying. It was crazy to him how second nature wrapping his arms around Danny's shoulders had become. Maybe he could get used to being a princess- it wasn't a bad gig.

Danny was quiet again. Dash didn't like when Danny was quiet. "Are you okay?"

Danny shook his head. "Not really. This is probably going to give me nightmares for weeks."

Dash sighed, awkwardly patting his back where his hand rested. "I'm sorry. I just thought you might need help."

"You have helped in the past." Danny sighed, his words almost lost in the wind. "You're right. I should trust you more. I'm sorry." He set them down on an island full of snow and ice. He seemed to relax when the temperature seeped into his bones. Dash reluctantly pulled his arms back to his side when his feet were on the ground- god, he regretted not switching his sandals out for real shoes.

"Don't be," Dash muttered. "We've both learned some things today."

"Yeah," Danny shook his head, seemingly shaking any sad emotions off as well. He looked back up at Dash, a small forced grin on his face. "Do you wanna see something cool?"

Dash's heart skipped a beat, memories flashing back to the beach. He shoved his feelings down and nodded. "Hell yeah."

Danny grabbed his hand and led him into the snowy desert. He had to admit, he liked how easy this was for them now, how easily their hands found each other, how well they fit together. Paulina was right; he could hear her in the back of his mind, screaming at him to just say it. His therapist would tell him to be brave, to trust his intuition. Dash was many things, brave was rarely one of them. But, he wanted to be. God, he wanted to be brave.

"Through here," Danny said, pulling him from his thoughts. He led the way under a bunch of frozen, hanging vines, letting go of his hand to hold them out of the way for him.

Dash ducked under and gasped as he stepped into a small, snow-covered grove. It was beautiful; a frozen waterfall fell into what had once been a crystal-clear lake but was now a pool of ice. The trees hiding the grove were weeping willows, their branches hanging down like crystal wind chimes, clinking together when they moved. The green light of the zone bounced off the glittery snow and gave the whole place an ethereal, spooky glow.

"Pretty, right?" Danny smiled. "It's my favorite place in the whole zone."

Dash shrugged his backpack off, dropping it on the ground by the entrance. "Yeah, it's beautiful. Are those-?" Dash waited til Danny turned to look at what he was pointing at before kneeling down and gathering some snow in his hands.

"Ghost squirrels? Yeah. I have no idea why they have three eyes. I think they're-" There was a sharp smack as the snowball hit Danny in the face. He spluttered, wiping the snow from his brow with the most offended look.

Dash couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up his throat. He'd never seen such a look of betrayal on Danny's face. His mirth was short-lived as Danny retaliated with a snowball of his own. It hit Dash's chin, the excess snow falling down his shirt. He yelped as Danny cackled at him. He dove for the ground, making another one. "Oh, it is on, Fenton!"

"You started it!" Danny laughed, ducking behind a nearby tree.

Dash crept around the other side, snowball at the ready. He pounced behind the tree, snowball raised, but Danny wasn't there. He took a chance and threw the snowball where his footprints ended, unsurprised when it fell unobstructed to the ground.

A tree branch moved above him, the glob of snow it carried falling on him. He shrieked shaking it off. A laugh echoed above him, bouncing off the icicles, sounding like a hymn in a church. Dash grinned. "That's cheating! Get out here where I can see you!"

"It's not cheating! I'm using my natural abilities." Danny giggled from somewhere nearby. Dash turned, trying to track him down. "Boo!"

Dash whipped around, shoving a snowball where he thought Danny's face was. Danny turned visible, shaking his head to clear the snow from his eyes.

"Ha! Gotcha!" He took his chance to run while Danny was distracted, ducking behind a different tree; he grabbed a low-hanging branch and pulled himself up, his arm aching a little where the injury was. Two could play this game. He gathered the snow on the branch into a small pile and waited.

A snowball smacked into the trunk where he would have been hiding. Danny appeared below him, a confused tilt to his head. Dash dropped the snow on him, barely keeping his laughter from giving him away. Danny stared up at him, his mouth hanging open, eyes wide in shock, snow dusting his eyelashes.

Dash shrugged smugly. "Natural abilities."

Danny quirked an eyebrow at him, a teasing smile replacing the shocked look. He leaned against the tree, arms crossed. "Right, I forget you're actually ripped. What other natural abilities do you have?"

Fuck, he had to be flirting with him, right? A comfortable heat made its home on his face and in his chest. What did that even mean? How did he flirt back?

The tree under him disappeared and he screamed as he suddenly found himself falling the small distance to the ground. The thick layers of snow cushioned his fall. He propped himself up on his elbows, playfully glaring at Danny who was laughing by his feet. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of the sound of Danny's laugh.

"Not many I guess."

He wanted to frame this moment, Danny laughing against the backdrop of the frozen, glowing trees; he was beautiful, even if he was making fun of him. He pushed himself up, grabbed onto Danny's belt, and yanked him down, wrestling him into the snow. Danny yelped and pushed back, the two of them rolling around, trying to win whatever contest they'd started.

Danny managed to get his hands on Dash's shoulders and effortlessly pushed him back, pinning his hands to his sides. The thought occurred to him that Danny could throw him across this clearing without batting an eye; and it should not have been as attractive as it was.

"Not fair," He huffed, leaning his head back into the snow to catch his breath. He did his best to ignore how close they were, not wanting to get his hopes up a third time. "You've got crazy ghost strength."

Danny's smile was blinding as he leaned down, so close they were bumping noses. "Maybe you're just out of practice."

"Maybe you're just cheating." If Dash's hands had been free, he would have reached up and tugged Danny down to him and kissed him right then because he couldn't take it anymore; his thoughts a single sentence on repeat.

Please, kiss me.

Danny's eyes drifted down to his lips.

Dash's insides squirmed, nerves lighting on fire.

"Dash," Danny breathed, "there's something I want to tell you."

Dash's air escaped from his lungs, it was hard to breathe past the emotions in his throat. "Yeah?"

Danny's hands flexed where they were pinning his arms down. "There's- there's a reason I was freaking out so bad about you getting hurt. And I- it's because I-"

"Great one! I finally found you!" A voice Dash hadn't heard before boomed.

Danny lept away from him, turning invisible in the process. (Dash found Danny turning invisible when he was embarrassed to be the most endearing thing he'd learned about him and his ghost half). Dash sat up, heart beating out of his chest as he gazed up at a huge, furry beast. It stood about eight feet tall, covered in fur, giant fangs peeking out of its maw. He froze, too paralyzed to scream.

The beast laughed. "At least I thought I did."

Danny reappeared in front of Dash, face glowing bright green. He coughed, rubbing his neck. "Heyyyyy, Frostbite. I didn't, uh, I didn't know you'd be out here."

The ground was much colder without Danny near; his fingers were tingling near numb. Danny turned and offered him a hand. Carefully, slowly, without taking his eyes off the creature, he took it and got to his feet. He stood behind Danny, cowering only a little. This creature, though massive and intimidating, clearly meant no harm. He tried to shove the fear coursing through his veins back where it came from.

"The fiery one told you I was looking for you, yes? I sensed you nearby, however, I was unaware you had a partner with you." The beast raised an eyebrow at Danny.

Danny cleared his throat. "Um, Dash, this is Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen. Frostbite, this is Dash, my…friend." He averted his eyes, hesitating.

Dash's heart nearly stopped as Danny stumbled over what to call him. They had been seconds away from changing that, hadn't they?

"Um, Ember said you were looking for me?"

Frostbite nodded. "Yes. However, it looks like your partner could use a fire. And a feast! We have one awaiting at home." The yeti reached an open hand down, waiting for something.

Danny grabbed Dash's hand, flashing him a reassuring smile, and pulled him over to the hand. They climbed on, Dash only slightly hesitating at the sight of the yeti's sharp claws glinting in the light. He clung to Danny's side as they were lifted and sat on his shoulder.

He could check getting a ride from a Yeti off his bucket list.

Danny had felt bad about not giving Dash a warning about the Yeti's culture. He hadn't wanted to leave Danny's side but they'd dragged him off, bundled him up in furs, and gave him the best seat in front of the fire faster than Danny could keep up. When they'd placed as many plates of food in front of him as their table could manage, he looked like he was about to throw up. His eyes begged Danny for help.

Danny leaned over, subconsciously resting a hand on his thigh, and whispered in his ear. "It's okay, Sam and Tucker have eaten here many times. It's perfectly safe."

Dash scoffed back. "I would not call a lot of things Tucker eats 'perfectly safe'."

Danny hadn't meant to put his hand on Dash's thigh.

Did he move it?

Would that send the wrong message?

He was trying to flirt with him.

He left it there.

He hadn't meant to be so touchy all day either; but he was comfortable with Dash, and a little in love, he couldn't help it. He'd been silently cursing Frostbite for showing up when he had. That had been the perfect moment to tell Dash he liked him, to kiss him- assuming Dash liked him back. It sure seemed like he did.

He had been flirting earlier right?

Oh, god, what if he'd been misreading everything all day? What if he was just teasing him?

Dash nudged him.

He snapped his attention back to the table to see Frostbite staring at him. "Oh, sorry, what was that?"

The yeti gave him a good-natured smile. "I asked if you'd seen Pandora lately."

"No," Danny shook his head, taking a bite of the stew in front of him. "But I just saw Dani, she told me Plasmius was lurking over there?"

Frostbite nodded solemnly. "Yes, he was around here too. He took the infi-map."

"Again?" Danny huffed. "I swear I'm going to kick his ass."

"No need to worry, Great One. It always ends up back where it belongs. I simply thought I should let you know he has it. I hear you're keeping a close eye on him again."

"News travels fast," he sighed, "He was threatening someone important to me. I want to know what he's up to and why." He involuntarily squeezed Dash's thigh- he swore he heard Dash whimper the tiniest bit. He removed his hand, hoping his claws hadn't done any damage.

Frostbite stood from the table. "I understand. I'll talk with the Observants and see if we can set up a watch here in the zone for him. If the map brings him back anytime soon, we shall do our best to capture him."

Danny leaned back out of the way of a smaller yeti who was clearing their plates. "Be careful, he has poison on him that can do some serious damage. You have antidotes from Pandora, right?"

Despite himself, Dash yawned, quickly covering his mouth so they couldn't see. Danny gave him a pitying look. It must be around eight a.m. by now.

"You do not need to worry about us, Great One. Although I do appreciate it." Frostbite gave Dash a playful glance. "I do believe it is getting late in your world. We should get you back."

Dash stood and started removing the furs they'd stuffed him into. Frostbite shook his head and yanked them back over him. "These are yours to keep, little one. Consider them a gift."

Dash blinked up at the yeti. "Oh, thank you. That's very kind."

"Thank you for keeping our savior company."

They said their goodbyes and once outside the cave, Danny scooped Dash back up and started flying back to the portal. "Sorry to keep you out so late."

Dash shook his head, his hair tickling Danny's chin. "I insisted. What's the infi-map?"

"It's a map of the entire ghost zone. It can take you anywhere you want to go here. But it's extremely dangerous and Vlad is always fucking shit up with it. It used to just be an annoyance, but he's gotten increasingly violent and murder-y in the past years. I'm worried he's going to get someone killed." Danny was ready for bed. Now that there wasn't anger or panic running through his veins, he was just plain exhausted. He could sleep for a whole week. But, he needed to get Dash home and text Dani and Valerie to make sure they were okay.

"Extremely powerful ghost artifact, got it," Dash muttered.

"You can fall asleep." Danny hummed. "I'll get you home safe."

"You don't have to take me home." Dash was drifting, his eyes having a hard time staying open.

Danny shook his head. "If my parents found out I let a boy sleep over without telling them, they'd ground me for life. They already think I'm the world's worst influence."

Dash chuckled. "I meant I could walk home."

"Oh," Danny's face burned. He fixed his eyes on the portal that was getting closer. "Yeah, no chance of that. Vlad could still be out there and you reek of ghost zone. Not to mention you're tired. Just get some sleep, I'll make sure you get home safe."

"Okay," Dash sighed. "I trust you." He relaxed into Danny's hold, falling asleep within moments.

Danny knew he'd have to come back to the zone early tomorrow. They'd forgotten Dash's medical bag back at the grove, and he'd have to check in with Johnny and Kitty.  But for now, he just needed to get Dash home safely and then get some sleep himself. He turned them invisible- so his parents wouldn't see them in case they were in the lab- and flew through the portal.

He made sure to tuck Dash in and feed Pookie a treat before he left.

Danny: U guys alr?

DanI: No, Dad, actually I think they have alcohol here N I'm scared

Danny: :(

Val: We're fine, worrywort. We didn't find anything unusual.

Val: How's Dash? ;)

Danny: Traitor

DanI: Oh, come on! U're so in love that it's nauseating. Y haven't U told him?

Val: Girl, you haven't had to listen to him talk about 'how kind he's become' or sit there and watch him stare into his eyes instead of doing homework. That's nauseating.

Danny: I almost told him. Frostbite interrupted me :(

DanI: U let a yeti stop U? How R we rel8d????

Val: If I have to sit through this any longer I won't survive. Tell him tomorrow istg

DanI: Tell him now coward

Danny: He's asleep. Like we all should B. Glad ur ok. Review those weird emails l8r?

Val: Yeah, we need to talk about that. Night

DanI: We should talk about Saturn first. U would not believe what I found, dawg.

Danny: Cringe. I'll call you 2morrow

DanI: I know U R but what am I?

Danny: If I'm cringe, ur cringe. Kinda the point

Val: Go the fuck to sleep

DanI: Night, Val <3

Danny: Night Val <3

"Are you ready to admit anything yet, then?" Paulina chirped from his phone. "Since, you know, you're visiting Danny the day after you're back from vacation and not me?"

Dash huffed, bringing his van to a stop for a red light. A stubborn part of him wanted to keep denying everything just so he wouldn't give Paulina the satisfaction of being right. "What, did my grandma snitch to you too?"

Paulina laughed. "If you were telling your grandma about him, then you're more whipped than I thought?"

Dash rolled his eyes, guiding his car through the green light. "Maybe more than I thought too."

Paulina screeched, absolutely delighted. "I didn't think you'd actually admit it! Tucker owes me twenty bucks!"

"You guys were placing bets?" The cars in front of him slowed to a stop. There were flashing lights up ahead signalling a detour. He craned his neck to see what was going on and only caught flashes of green; a ghost attack.

"Of course, what kind of friends would we be if we didn't? Sam bet that it wouldn't happen til college because both of you are too stubborn. She's gonna be so mad." Paulina giggled. Dash imagined she was kicking her feet too. "So, when are you telling him?"

Dash tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, urging the detour line to go faster. He was not in a particular hurry to get caught in the middle of another ghost fight. "I'm not."

Paulina sighed, long and dramatic. "Don't tell me you're still waiting for Phantom?"

"What?" Dash coughed, choking on his breath. There was a crashing sound from further up the street.

"What was that?" Paulina asked.

"Ghost attack," Dash responded automatically. "Why would you think I'm still waiting for Phantom?"

"Why else would you not want to tell Danny you like him? You can't have both, I mean, one that's unfair to the rest of us, and two, I think Danny would be pretty upset if he found out you still had feelings for a ghost when he's right there."

Dash snorted. "As if you don't also have a crush on Phantom."

"Passively! Like a celebrity crush! You almost kissed the guy!"

"It doesn't matter, I don't have to tell either of them anything. I'm allowed to have crushes that don't go anywhere. I don't have to share my feelings."

"Ugh!" Paulina pouted. "But don't you want to? I've seen how you look at him, Dash!"

"I don't want to rush anything, Paulie! Just three months ago I was still an asshole he wanted nothing to do with." Dash saw the ghost then. It was a massive T-rex stuck between two buildings. It was thrashing about as it tried to catch Phantom between its huge jaws. A spike of fear went through him as he flipped on his hazards. It had been a while since a ghost this big and dangerous attacked.

"I don't know about that," Paulina mused. "Sure we were awful to him, but that never stopped him from trying to go to our parties or hang out with us every chance he got. Sam and maybe Tucker had more of a grudge against us than Danny ever did. And remember that time our parents were kidnapped by ghost pirates? You were the one he picked to be his immediate backup. I don't think he would have done that if he hated you."

Dash felt his stomach flip, both in fear of the ghost in front of him and nerves from what Paulina was saying. A memory from the ghost mosquito epidemic rushed to his mind; Danny had been the only one to check on him when he was in danger. "Okay, but that still doesn't change my mind. I like how things are right now. I don't want to ruin that. Paulie, I've never even been in a relationship before. What if I fuck it all up?"

The T-rex roared, the force of it shaking the ground and his car. What was taking this detour so long?

Phantom was having a hard time getting close enough to the T-rex to use his thermos as it sent pieces of buildings flying through the air. It looked like the Fentons had also shown up as green bullet-like globs narrowly missed Phantom. How in the hell had they decided that Phantom was the bigger threat than a T-rex?

Dash gripped his steering wheel, knuckles turning white. Everything he learned about them made him feel bad for Jazz and Danny. Seriously, if Danny was down there about to be trampled, would they still priotize Phantom?

"No relationship is perfect, Dash. You can't avoid making mistakes. It's about communication and caring about how you fix issues, not avoiding them."

Dash breathed a sigh of relief as Phantom finally managed to capture the T-rex. Phantom turned and started shouting at the Fentons. It was an odd picture; a ghost hero floating the sky and berating a middle aged couple surrounded by pieces of broken buildings. It would make a lovely oil painting.

"I know," Dash relented, "but that doesn't make it less scary. I-" His words died in his throat as he watched the Fentons start shooting at Phantom again. Phantom was caught off guard, slow to dodge. One shot grazed his leg, causing him to stumble and fall right into a second shot that hit him directly in his torso. He went spiraling through the air, ectoplasm dropping like rain to the streets below. He was sinking closer and closer to the ground as he tried flying away, his powers failing him. He crashed into an alley close by Dash.

The Fentons were already in pursuit.

"I gotta call you back!" Dash muttered, ending the call before Paulina could respond, and yanked his van out of the detour line into the parking across the street. He scrambled out of his car, sprinting for the alley- he had to make it before the Fentons; even if he didn't know what he could even do, someone had to help.

"Phantom!" He shouted, turning into the alley. Phantom had one arm wrapped around his torso, the other was supporting his weight against the wall as he struggled to stand. Ectoplasm was everywhere, on Phantom, on the walls, on the ground, glowing like a bright neon sign for the Fentons. Its acrid smell burned Dash's nostrils.

Phantom looked up at the sound of his name. his eyes wide in adrenaline and panic. "Dash," he breathed, "you're back."

Phantom knew he'd been gone? Had he looked for him? Dash shook his head, not the time. He ran over to the hero, hands hovering uselessly in the air. "What can I do? They're coming."

Dash glanced around the alley, looking for anything useful. It was a dead end, solid brick wall too high and smooth to climb, especially with the state Phantom was in. There were no back doors to the buildings on the side to duck into and it was entirely empty except for one small dumpster near the end of the alley; too small to hide behind.

Nowhere to go.

Nowhere to hide.

Phantom moved his arm to check on the injury; a gaping hole in the right side of his torso, edges blackening and flaking off as the venom spread- the ectoplasm doing nothing to wash the venom away. His arm was starting to blister where it had been touching the wound and his leg was struggling to hold his weight.

Phantom's eyes darted between the wound, Dash, the alley, the sky, desperately trying to find a solution. He was sliding down the wall, his energy waning. He reached a hand out; Dash jumped into action, looping Phantom's arm around his shoulder and his own around Phantom's waist to support him. Phantom slumped against him, the chill of ectoplasm soaking straight through Dash's jacket.

They heard the Fentons' shouting close by.

Phantom gripped Dash's jacket (a backup, Danny still had his favorite one) with his free hand, pulling him close. He made eye contact; pain, panic, trust, desperation, several other emotions swirling in the depths of his green eyes.

"I trust you," he muttered.

Dash didn't get a chance to respond as Phantom crashed their lips together.

Several things happened all at once, too fast for Dash to process.

Phantom fell back against the brick wall behind him, taking a confused Dash with him. He turned his body so Dash's hip bone was keeping pressure on the wound and so that nobody entering the alley would be able to see the injury.

Phantom was kissing him. It was desperate, hurried, frantic. He was trying to communicate something to him, but Dash was too shocked to decipher it.

Phantom was bleeding out. He couldn't use his powers and he was bleeding out. He needed medical attention, not Dash's tongue in his mouth.

The Fentons were right around the corner, and the two of them were covered in ectoplasm; there was no hiding that. It stained his clothes, his skin, the alley. How was kissing him their best method of getting out of this? What piece of the puzzle was he missing here?

Phantom was kissing him, his fingers digging into Dash's back and Dash was starting to forget where they even were.

There was a bright flash of light behind his eyelids and suddenly the weight in his arms was heavier, the blood on his skin was warm instead of cold, the lips against his were now gasping for breath, the smell of iron assaulting his nose instead of bitter ozone.

Footsteps screeched to a halt at the entry to the alleyway; Dash barely registered them until a woman's voice echoed off the brick around them. "Danny?"

Phantom was pulling away from him, biting his lip and staring at him with pleading, desperate blue eyes.

His eyes were blue. Dash gasped, blinking up at him. The person clinging onto him in pure, unbridled fear wasn't Phantom; it was Danny. It was Danny's blood soaking his clothes. It had been Danny's lips on his. It was Danny begging for his help; Danny had said he trusted him to save him.

Danny was turning his panicked gaze to his parents who were standing in the alley with wide eyes. His parents who had just shot him; his parents who were trying to kill him.

Danny cleared his throat, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. "Mom!" he squeaked. "What are you guys doing here?"

The Fentons didn't seem to notice the blood everywhere now that it wasn't glowing green. Mr. Fenton frowned. "Didn't you notice the ghost, Danny? What are you still doing here?"

"Did you learn anything from our ghost safety lessons?!" Mrs. Fenton hissed.

Danny shrugged, nearly failing to keep a grimace off his face. "I was kind of busy." He glanced at Dash for backup, eyes begging, begging, him to help.

Dash blinked, still trying to process everything that had just happened. He sheepishly turned to the Fentons, careful not to take pressure off Danny's wound. He waved weakly. "Hi, Mrs. and Mr. Fenton."

Mrs. Fenton frowned at him. "The two of you could have been seriously hurt. Remove yourself from the Baxter boy and march yourself home right now, young man."

"Listen to your mother, Daniel, you're grounded." Mr. Fenton added.

Dash bit his tongue, fighting back his anger. Who were they to be concerned for his safety when they're the reason he's bleeding to death? Dash wanted to scream at them, rage, tell them exactly what he was thinking, but Danny sunk his fingers deeper into Dash's skin, sending a clear message; keep it together.

"I'm an adult now, you can't ground me." Danny grit his teeth, shifting his weight to lean more against Dash than the wall.

Dash was beginning to worry about how much blood his jacket was absorbing. How had the Fentons not noticed by now? Did Danny heal like this? How much time did they have?

"Isn't there a ghost you guys should be chasing right now?" Danny sneered.

Mrs. Fenton gasped. "Don't talk to-"

"He's right!" Mr. Fenton interrupted. "He's getting away, Maddie!" He took off down the street, not even looking back to make sure his wife was following.

Mrs. Fenton rolled her eyes, a sigh of exasperation leaving her. "Get home, Danny. We'll talk about this later." She took off after her husband, feet pounding against the sidewalk.

Danny sighed in relief, slumping to the floor, face pale and covered in a cold sweat. He grinned lazily up at Dash. "Fake-out make-out, totally a real thing."

Dash dropped next to him, hands already in action shrugging his jacket off to turn into a makeshift pressure bandage. Every memory he had with Danny and Phantom ran through his mind, a lot of weird coincidences started to make sense. "You're a ghost." He muttered intelligently.

Danny heaved a deep breath into his lungs as Dash tied the jacket around him. "Half-ghost."

"So, that time at the lake and outside my house, that was you? You're like, actually Phantom, not just possessed or something?" Dash's hands were shaking something awful. He shook his head. He needed to focus or Danny didn't stand a chance of making it. The wound was definitely worse now; about the size of a large baseball. The edges were still flaking off, but at a slower rate now that Danny wasn't in ghost form.

"Yeah, it was me. It's a long story."

"You kissed me." Dash was panicking. Blood was pounding in his ears and his chest felt tight. He grabbed Danny's arm to inspect the blisters there; they weren't as pressing of an issue.

"Fake-out make-out. Common Team Phantom tactic. Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else." Danny wheezed.

"You're a ghost. You're Phantom. Your parents are trying to kill you. Oh, my god, Danny, how did this happen?" The graze on Danny's leg wasn't a bad injury either. It would be fine until they could address the wound in his torso.

"Long story. I can tell you all about it when I'm not bleeding to death. We have a PowerPoint." Danny was starting to feel dizzy.

Dash hooked an arm under Danny's knees and another around his back, lifting him off the ground. Step one was to just get Danny to the car and then he'd figure out the rest. Obviously, he couldn't take him to his house, his parents might kill him.

"That's why Pookie attacked you. Cause you're dead. Are you dead? How does half-ghost work? Oh, god are you dying now? If you die again does that make you a full ghost?"

"Dash," Danny huffed, "I'm gonna pass out. I can't answer too many questions."

Dash peeked out into the street. Everybody had cleared out for the ghost attack. He'd be able to make it to his car unseen. He just hoped the Fentons weren't still lurking around. He sprinted for his car, careful not to jostle Danny too much. "Right, sorry. Who's we?"

"Sam, Tucker, Val, and me. Team Phantom."

Dash settled Danny in the back seat, reclining the seats to give him more room. "Okay, don't actually pass out."

"I might."

"Danny, listen to me. Don't pass out. If you pass out, I can't guarantee that I can bring you back."

"No promises," Danny breathed, laugh dying as he choked on his blood. "Sorry, about your jacket."

"Fuck my jacket." Dash closed the door and clambered into the front seat, frantically searching for his phone. "Just don't pass out and keep pressure on it. You said Sam knows?"

"Yeah, but she hates stitches."

"You'll need more than stitches," Dash muttered, dialing Sam's number. He started the car and turned it back toward his house. His mom was at work, it was probably the safest place they had. He'd just have to keep Pookie in his pen.

The phone was still ringing. "C'mon, Manson, pick up!"

"Ask her about the antibiotics," Danny mumbled.

The phone clicked as Sam answered.

"I mean it, Fenton. Keep your eyes open."

"Dash?" Sam hissed. "What's going-"

"Sam! It's Danny. He's in real bad shape. I need you, and Foley if he can, to grab whatever antibiotic he's talking about, a few gallons of distilled water, and medical gauze- the big pads- and meet me at my house in like ten minutes."

"Fuck," Sam muttered, tripping over something in her haste to get up. "How bad is it?"

Dash swallowed, glancing at Danny in the rearview mirror. His breathing was shallow; his skin was sickly pale and shiny with sweat. "Bad. Be fast."

He hung up to focus on driving so he didn't get anyone else injured. "Danny? Danny, talk to me. How are you doing?"

Danny chuckled weakly. "Just peachy."

Dash took a few breaths, the pungent smell of blood doing nothing to calm him down. "At least you're still making jokes."

"If I lost my humor, then I'd really be dead. There's no need to panic. I've had worse."

"There's a fucking hole in your side, what do you mean you've had worse?!" Dash took the corner to his street a little too fast.

"I'm half-ghost, there's, there's plenty of people lined up to, to torture me for any reason." Danny wheezed, his lungs failing him.

Dash felt sick. What in the world had Danny gone through up til now? "Okay, putting a pin in that for later. How do your ghost healing powers work?"

Danny choked back a groan of pain. "I don't really know. Full, full ghosts will heal back to where they were when they died. I just kind of, uh…" He trailed off.

"Stay with me, Danny! You kind of what?"

"Um, I don't know, it's like normal healing but accelerated? It's never be-been like this before. It usually just takes care of itself."

"Okay, okay. We can work with that." Dash pulled into his driveway. Sam and Tucker were waiting on his doorstep; Tucker chewing on his nails as he balanced gallons of water in one arm. Dash stumbled out of the car, throwing his keys at Tucker. "Foley, get the door open, get Pookie outside, and clear off the kitchen island. Sam, help me get Danny inside."

Tucker struggled to catch the keys, but he moved with a speed Dash hadn't thought him capable of once he had them. Sam was at his side in a moment, immediately moving to support Danny's shoulders as they worked him out of the car.

"We shouldn't stand him up, he might pass out. We'll just have to move him like this."

Sam nodded, paling when she saw the blood left behind on the seats. The two of them worked quickly to get him inside.

"Hi, Sam," Danny muttered, grinning at his friend lazily.

"Hi, idiot," She replied as they got him situated on the counter. She turned her attention to Dash. "What happened?"

Dash motioned to Tucker. "Grab a pillow from the couch to put under his head. Uh, his parents shot him with that weird venom stuff."

"So, you know?" Tucker asked, lifting Danny's head gently to place the pillow down.

"He knows," Danny uttered. "Guys, I'm not doing so good."

"Hang on, Danny," Dash whispered. "We've got you. Sam, how do these antibiotics work?"

Sam pulled a few deep blue vials out of her pocket. "We reverse-engineered them from the Fenton Venom, but they only work if the venom isn't active. We have to clean the wounds first."

Dash nodded, taking a few steadying breaths. "Okay, Tucker, grab a few towels from under the sink and do what you can to wash the venom off his arm and leg. Sam, I'm going to take the jacket off, there's going to be a lot of blood, you need to immediately rinse the venom off the edges of the wound so it stops spreading. Try to avoid getting water inside the wound. Got it?"

The two of them nodded, rushing to grab the aforementioned towels. Dash untied the jacket, ready to remove it once Sam was in position. He threaded the fingers of his free hand with Danny's. "This is going to hurt. You ready?"

Danny hummed, weakly clutching his fingers back. "Your hands are warm."

"Okay, go." Dash took the jacket off the wound, exposing it to the air. Danny hissed, painfully grasping Dash's hand. Tucker was quick to jump into action, taking great care not to spread the venom as he was cleaning it off.

Sam hesitated, rag dripping water between her fingers as she stared at the hole in his side.

"Sam," Dash soothed, trying not to let the fear and urgent frustration show in his voice though it was increasingly hard, "Do you need to switch places?"

Sam breathed out. "No, I've got this."

"Okay, hurry. We have to get his healing working again before he bleeds out."

Sam nodded, touching the rag to the wound. Danny screamed, crushing Dash's hand. Sam dropped the rag, covering her ears with her hands and squeezing her eyes shut. Dash grabbed her hand and replaced it with his in Danny's.

"Here, let me." He took her place, getting a new rag, pouring water over it, and immediately getting to work.

He blocked out the sound of Danny's screams and whimpers of pain as best he could.

His hands were covered in blood; he'd have nightmares about that.

The distilled water was a mute pink as dunked the rag in again.

"His arm and leg are done," Tucker muttered, tears staining his cheeks.

"There's bandages in the first aid kit under the sink, do you need the antibiotics?"

Tucker nodded as he rummaged around for the med kit. "They're supposed to help speed up the healing also."

"That's good." Dash huffed, getting the rest of the venom out. The wound slowly, incredibly slowly started stitching back together. He sighed, relieved. "Sam? Can you pass Tucker the antibiotics?"

Sam reached into her pocket, hands shaking, and passed over the vials. Tucker took them, passing one to Dash before he started with the bandages on his leg.

"Danny?" Dash asked, realizing he'd gone quiet. "You still with us?"

He didn't receive a response, but Danny was still breathing so he'd take it as a win. He'd gotten all the venom out and dosed the wound with antibiotics, but he wasn't really sure what to do now. It's not like he could stitch it up if the skin and muscle was just going to regrow.

"Uh, will this just close up?" Dash looked at Sam. She didn't respond, her eyes were closed and she was running her free hand through Danny's hair.

Tucker cleared his throat. "It should. He just… ends up fine."

"But you don't know for sure?" Dash washed his hands in the sink and grabbed the gauze pads the others had brought.

"No, he usually handles it by himself. I've never seen anything this bad."

"Okay." Dash's heart dropped. Danny had worse injuries than this, and he's dealt with it all alone? How had he managed that? Dash pressed the gauze pad over the wound, catching most of the remaining blood leaking out. He secured a bunch of layers in place with medical tape.

"Okay, he should be good." Dash breathed, leaning against the counter and resting his forehead in his hands. "Sam, Tucker, are you guys comfortable with washing the blood off him and getting him into some clean clothes?"

Sam nodded, finally opening her eyes. "Yeah, yeah we can do that."

Tucker raised an eyebrow on him. "Do you have some of Danny's clothes here?"

"No, I've just got mine, but he shouldn't be in bloody clothes. You two either if you can stand it."

"Are," Sam started, taking a deep breath, "are you okay?"

Dash shook his head. "No. There's blood all over me and my kitchen and my mom's van and I'm pretty sure there's some in my mouth from when he kissed me and he might die or is dead and-"

"He's not dead," Sam muttered.

"He kissed you?" Tucker gawked.

Dash hummed. "Fake-out make-out is what he called it."

"Wow," Tucker snickered. "Welcome to the team I guess."

"He's done that with all of you?"

"How do you think he figured out he was bisexual?" Tucker laughed, a strange sight when compared to the tears still making their way down his face.

Dash chuckled. "Figures." He sighed, watching some blood drop off the counter onto the floor. "I'm going to get started cleaning this up. Don't want it to stain and have my mom ask questions."

Tucker nodded, motioning to Sam to help him pick Danny up. "Salt and cornstarch help get blood out of fabric."

"Thanks, shout if you need help." Dash turned to the supply closet as the two of them gently hauled Danny upstairs. He really hoped they had cornstarch.

   It was hot.

It was cold.

Danny was shaking.

He inhaled, smelling fennel and cedarwood. It was warm, cozy.

He blinked his eyes open, groaning at the light; his surroundings blurry as his eyes tried to focus. Deep blue walls covered in sports and boyband posters stared back at him instead of glow-in-the-dark stars.

This wasn't his room.

Panic gripped his chest as he wildly grabbed at anything nearby to help pull himself up; the blood rushed from his head making him lightheaded. Warm, strong hands gently pushed him back down into the soft covers. Worried blue eyes and freckles filled his vision.

"Hey, easy, it's okay. You've just barely started healing, don't strain yourself."

"Dash?" Danny blinked, clearing his eyes. "Where am I?"

Dash leaned over, wringing water out of a rag and into a bucket before smoothing it over Danny's forehead. The chill of it was greatly welcomed. "My house. You're running a fever. Sam and Tucker are downstairs getting food. I'll have them bring you some water." He typed something into his phone before setting it back down. "How are you feeling?"

His muscles ached to the bone; his torso burned where he'd been shot; there was a headache pounding behind his eyes; his arm felt raw and his leg throbbed; he felt like he was being torn apart at the seams. "Shitty."

Dash huffed a small laugh. "Yeah, that seems right. Do you need anything?"

Danny shook his head, immediately regretting the action. "No." He swallowed against the dryness in his throat. "Sorry to traumatize you."

Dash forced a breath out of his lungs. "Yeah, when you're feeling better you owe me an explanation."

Danny grinned. "No promises."

"Okay, now you owe me two explanations." Dash joked back.

Danny hummed, his eyes drifting closed again. "Yeah, I know. Tucker has a slideshow that he's been dying to…" He trailed off, exhaustion creeping up on him and settling deep in his bones as he fell back asleep.

 The next time he was consciously aware of anything, he heard voices talking.

"Don't worry, my mom's working a late shift. It'll be fine for at least another six hours."

"How is he?"

"It's mostly just a surface wound now, uh, I guess it just has to finish stitching itself back together? But his insides are, well, on the inside."

Danny tried to open his eyes against the exhaustion weighing them down. His throat was parched. "Dash?"

There was some shuffling and then a hand was on his shoulder. "You okay?"

He shook his head, finally managing to get his eyes open, blinking up at Dash. "Water?" He croaked.

Dash helped him sit up, placing pillows behind his back and head to support him. Danny's hands shook as he accepted the glass of water; he chugged the whole thing, relishing the way the chill of it soothed his throat. He leaned back into the pillows taking deep breaths as Dash took the glass from him again.

Tucker sat on the edge of the bed, placing a comforting hand on his knee. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and sweatpants instead of his normal cargo pants and sweater. "How ya' doin', buddy?"

"Better," Danny breathed. "How long has it been?"

"About seven hours since the incident," Sam answered, not meeting his eyes. She was wearing a sweater and joggers, nothing close to anything she'd ever consider wearing.

"My, uh, parents. Have they…" Danny trailed off, a little distracted by the strangeness of Sam's attire.

Tucker shook his head. "They haven't called anyone. They're probably still trying to find Phantom."

Danny breathed, relieved they hadn't caused issues for his friends while he was out. "Good." He twisted his fingers into the fabric of his shirt. The material was thick and heavy. He glanced down to find a dark blue sweater in place of his t-shirt. "Okay, what's going on with all of our clothes?"

Dash coughed, red creeping onto his face. "Uh, well, you kind of drenched everyone in blood so you all had to borrow some of mine while yours are in the wash."

Danny, trying to bury the trauma of that, grinned at him. "I didn't take you for a sweater person."

Dash just shrugged.

The room fell into an awkward silence. He supposed he couldn't delay it any longer. "Alright, Tuck, you got your slideshow?"

Tucker jumped up and ran over to his bag. "You know I do. Dash, do you have a projector?"

"Yeah, one second." Dash searched through the drawers on his desk.

Sam took a long sip from the mug in her hands. She hadn't spoken much in the last couple of hours.

"You okay, Sam?" Danny asked, pulling Dash's blankets closer to him. They were cozy.

"Fine." She muttered.

Danny frowned. Her eyes were smudged with black; different from the normal precise lines she had. And it wasn't like her to not make a snarky comment by now.

Tucker sat back down next to him as Dash passed him the projector. He set it up to display on the wall opposite Dash's bed. Sam dragged the desk chair over to them.

Tucker cleared his throat and straightened an invisible tie. "If you'll please keep all questions til the end, we'll go ahead and get started with a detailed backstory of Amity Park's famous ghost hero, Danny Phantom."

"You didn't even change your name," Dash muttered, running a hand down his face. "How did I not notice?"

"There, there." Danny patted Dash's shoulder. "I try very hard not to let people find out."

"Dude, you almost kissed me at the lake and I should have- I even told Paulina that you looked familiar and didn't connect the dots."

Danny coughed, his face burning something awful. "Uh, so Tucker you were saying?"

Tucker smirked at him but clicked start on the slideshow, a picture of a younger Danny standing with a jumpsuit next to a non-working portal coming up. Tucker started rapping poorly. "So, Danny Fenton was just fourteen when his parents built a very strange machine. It was designed to view a world unseen."

Sam put a hand over his mouth. "No, you're not singing this whole presentation."

Tucker shoved her off. "Why not?! I worked really hard on this!"

Danny wrinkled his nose at him. "I'm gonna fall asleep before you finish singing, dude."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Ugh, you guys are no fun." He clicked to the next slide. "So, basically Sam dared Danny to fix his parents' machine and he went in there and died and got-"

"He didn't die." Sam protested.

Danny huffed. "There's no sugarcoating it, Sam. I died."

Tears were spilling over her eyelids. "You're still here, you didn't die."

He leaned around Dash to glare at her. "I think I'm the one that gets to decide if I died or not. I was electrocuted and I died. I know you don't want to accept that, but it's what happened."

Sam shook her head. "No. You just got weird ghost powers. Danny, I can't- I can't have killed you okay? I can't have been the reason my best friend died."

Danny reeled back, shocked, his heart aching. "You're not- It's not your fault, Sam. I probably would have gone in that portal at some point."

Sam stood from her chair, fingers harshly tugging at her hair. "No, no you wouldn't have. You were a good kid who didn't break rules. You didn't even want us down in the lab, but- but, I was trying to- ghosts were just supposed to be spooky goth shit! They weren't supposed to get my best friend killed!" She slumped against the wall and buried her head in her hands.

Danny wished he could get up to comfort her, but moving was excruciating. "Sam, I don't blame you for what happened. You know that right?"

"Of course you don't." She sneered. "You die and it's my fault but you don't blame me. I try to have a say in everything that you do after to try and prove I'm not the bad influence who got you killed and I end up over-controlling and you still don't blame me for it. You just ask for space. You're too good, Danny, and that's what got you killed. Cause you couldn't tell a friend 'no'."

Tucker did get up; he crouched down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry for saying it the way I did. I didn't realize you were beating yourself up over this. It was a dumb joke. And, I was there too you know. I encouraged it just as much as you did."

Dash was drumming his fingers on his knees and trying to look anywhere but at Sam. Danny felt a little bad for how awkward he must feel right now.

Sam shook her head again, what remained of her make-up washing away with her tears. "But, I'm the one who made him do it. And now every time you get hurt, it's my fault 'cause you wouldn't be fighting ghosts if I'd just listened to you when you said enough was enough."

"This," Danny gestured to himself and the wound in his side, "this is not your fault. I didn't have to listen to you. Deep down I was hoping that fixing the portal would make my parents see I'm just as smart and- and valuable as Jazz is. And this? This is because I was so pissed off at those same parents for ignoring the giant fucking dinosaur putting people in danger that I failed to remember I'm what they saw as more of a threat. It is not your fault, Sam. We were all dumb kids." Danny was out of breath, lungs heaving as they weren't fully rested.

Sam wiped her tears away, wrinkling her nose and wiping them on her pants. (She'd wash them for Dash later anyway.) "But I knew better. I should have known better."

Dash huffed, now he knew how his therapist felt. "Manson, if Danny doesn't blame you, then you need to forgive yourself. Or else you're just going to drown yourself and everyone around you in a wave of guilt and depression that won't do anyone any good. I don't think any of you need more of that."

Sam blinked at him. "Who taught you that, your therapist?"

"Yeah, so you should listen to professional advice."

"Dash is right," Danny added. "You can't keep beating yourself up over this. I'm the idiot who didn't look where he was putting his hand in a machine that was plugged in."

"Okay," Sam scrubbed at her eyes again, taking deep calming breaths. "Okay. God, I'm sorry for freaking out. That's such loser behavior, huh?"

Tucker squeezed her in a warm hug. "No need to apologize for expressing your feelings. I'll change the slide show. But only if you let me keep my theme song."

Sam snorted. "Deal. Speaking of your dumb slideshow, we'd better get through it before Dash dies of curiosity." Tucker grinned, helped Sam stand up, and then practically sprinted for the projector remote.

"You sure you're okay?" Danny asked.

Sam nodded. "For now. I should probably ask Dash for his therapist's number though."

"Okay, everyone ready? Let's start from the top, making edits as we go." Tucker clicked to the next slide.

They went over everything; from the portal accident to Danny learning how to use his powers to him beating the ghost king to Vlad causing issues with the Fright Knight to the Ancients appearing to parallel timelines. Danny had to give Tucker credit, it was a very thorough slideshow.

"So," Dash drawled as Tucker opened the floor for questions, "that's why you're so cold all the time? Cause you have fancy ice powers?"

"I wouldn't call them fancy, considering I could freeze from the inside out if I'm not careful, but yes." Danny relaxed back into the pillows, finding it hard to stay sitting by himself. Technically, he was still trying to shake a fever. He was slowly growing tired again even though he'd only been awake for half an hour.

"And, you're you the whole time? You're not like possessed by a ghost?"

"Yeah, it's me." Danny didn't really like admitting that part out loud a second time. Not when Dash was starting to connect a lot of dots.

"So, that time outside therapy, and in my backyard, and the la-"

"Yup!" Danny rushed, face starting to burn as he remembered the lake. "Yup, all me."

"Okay," Dash eyed him quizzically. "Why?"

Tucker started laughing. "You said thank you to him. It doesn't take much to get Danny to swoon-" He was cut off as Danny threw a pillow at his face.

"Shut up!" He hissed.

Sam joined in the teasing. "The whole reason he sat with you at lunch was cause you were nice and bandaged his booboo."

"Really?" Dash raised an eyebrow at him. "That's what made you want to be friends with me?"

Danny sunk into the pillows and pulled the blanket over his face. "I can't hear you over the sound of me trying to rest and recover here!"

"Very mature," Tucker snickered.

Sam poked his shoulder through the blanket. "Do you need help getting home Mr. Rest and Recovery?"

Danny frowned, poking his head back out. The thought of going home while he was healing wasn't the most appealing. He was still angry with his parents for putting the entire downtown in danger; he wasn't sure he could play civil with them in this state. Plus, they probably still wanted to ground him for what they thought was him ignoring a ghost attack to make out with a boy.

And he was still so very tired.

Dash cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact. "You can always stay here if you're not feeling up to moving. My mom usually goes straight to bed after a long shift. She wouldn't know you're here so she wouldn't be able to tell your parents."

Danny glanced between his friends, one option clearly more tempting than the other. He spoke tentatively. "If you're sure that's okay, then yeah, I'd like to stay. I just, don't really want to deal with my parents right now." Despite his best efforts to keep it at bay, he yawned.

"Alright then," Tucker stood and stretched. "Sam and I are headed out. Do either of you need anything from us?"

Danny shook his head.

Dash opened the door for them. "Uh, yeah, could you guys take the bloody rags and stuff to the dump?" He waved at Danny to signal that he'd be right back.

"See ya later, nerd." Sam smiled as she left.

Danny waved, happy that she was feeling better. He snuggled back down into Dash's bed, wincing as the muscles in his torso pulled at the wound. This thing was taking forever to heal.

He stared at Dash's wall as he drifted off, getting lost in the blur of posters and awards. He'd have to ask about those when he woke up.

 He woke to Dash gently shaking him. "Danny? Danny, wake up. I gotta check your bandages."

Danny groaned, forcefully rubbing the sleep from his eyes, head still groggy. "What time is it?"

"Just after two a.m. My mom just went to sleep." He set the first aid kit down on his bedside table. "Is it okay to lift your shirt?"

Danny yawned, "'is fine." He would have made a joke about the shirt not really being his, but he didn't have the energy to flirt with disaster right now. He fought to stay conscious as Dash removed the old bandage, put new medicine on the wound, and placed a new bandage on. "You're really good at this. You ever think about being a nurse?" He mumbled.

Dash snorted. "Do you see the hours my mom has to work? No thank you." He tugged Danny's shirt back down. "How are you feeling?"

Danny smirked lazily at him. "Better now that Nurse Baxter has taken care of me."

Dash's nose wrinkled. "Ew, that's what they call my mom." He reached around the medkit to grab a bowl and offered it to Danny. "I brought you some oatmeal, in case you were hungry."

Danny sat up far too quickly, head spinning. "Yes, please. I haven't eaten anything all day. I'm surprised Sam didn't kill me over it."

"Sam watches what you eat?" Dash tidied the med kit up and slipped it in under his bed before sitting next to Danny.

Danny averted his gaze sheepishly. "Uh, when I first got my ghost powers, I was so overwhelmed and worried about ghosts attacking at any second that I kind of didn't eat a lot. It lead to some really bad issues and Sam has been on my ass about eating properly since."

Dash nodded, twiddling his thumbs. "She's a good friend."

"Yeah, she is." Danny smiled.

Dash let him eat in silence for a few minutes before speaking again. "Can I ask you a few questions."

"Shoot." Danny was the only one who giggled at his pun.

Dash hesitated, biting his lip in thought. "What did you do before me? When you got injured?"

Danny shrugged. "Most of the time I would just take a nap and wake up mostly healed with a few sore muscles. If it required stitches, Jazz usually did it for me. The only reason I'm not healing as well is the Fenton Venom."

"And your healing works even when you're Fenton?"

"Yeah, it does." Danny chuckled under his breath. "Honestly? I thought you'd have found me out when Pookie bit me. That bite was already healing when you pulled out your fancy nurse stuff."

"That's why you didn't want me treating it." Dash hummed. "Okay, next one. Why were you hanging out with me as Phantom? Like actually?"

Danny took his time chewing his last bite and setting the bowl down before answering. "Well, you saving my ass that one time really meant a lot to me. Sam's not wrong when she said that was my main reason for seeking you out as Fenton. And, then I guess, I just kept running into you and I liked being around you, so I just stayed. Until I realized I was about to fuck things up and then I had to get out of there."

"Like when you almost kissed me?" Dash was prying, he knew. But Danny guessed he was owed an explanation.

"You were kind of pretty and I was a little distracted." Danny didn't dare let those words linger in the air. "Sorry, I just kind of left you freezing in your car. I panicked."

Dash shrugged, his face bright red. "It's okay. At least you got me to my car. You were so mad I thought you'd just leave me in the lake."

"It was freezing! You were going to get hypothermia! Seriously, who jumps in the lake after a ghost?"

Dash didn't hesitate. "You would have."

Danny jokingly rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah, but I'm also a ghost. It's not as dangerous for me." He leaned back and pulled the covers back up to his shoulders. He was still tired, but at least his fever seemed to be completely gone.

"How," Dash stopped, taking a breath and twiddling his thumbs, "how come you haven't told your parents? Isn't it more dangerous to not tell them? Since they're trying to kill you and everything?"

"You mean 'rip me apart molecule by molecule'?" Danny frowned, picking at threads in the blankets. "I don't know. I tried once, about a month after the accident. But they were distracted with a new invention and wouldn't listen and Jazz antagonized them over their tendency to be a little neglectful. After that they just kept talking about wanting to dissect ghosts to see what secrets they held. And I- I was scared. How can I prove their love of their son exceeds their love of ghost hunting? Today sure wasn't a great example. I'm more scared than I ever was before."

"God, I'm sorry. No wonder you never want to go home."

Danny shook his head. "It's not always like that. I love my parents, even if I'm upset with them right now. When we graduated, they took me out to my favorite restaurant and my mom had baked a whole cake that said 'congratulations Danny' on it. And they were so happy and proud of me. And on my birthday they planned a whole zoom call with Jazz and they all told me their favorite memories with me and gave me this photo album they had handcrafted full of favorite memories. They are thoughtful and they do care about me. It's just… I don't think they were ready for kids when they had us. At least, they weren't ready for two. It takes too much time away from their careers."

Dash reached forward, winding his fingers around Danny's in a show of comfort. "Cheers to complicated parents, right?"

Danny squeezed his hand. "Yeah, cheers to both of us having parents who tried to kill us."

"At least yours didn't know it was their son." Dash snorted.

Danny absentmindedly rubbed the back of Dash's hand with his thumb. "Can I ask something kind of shitty?"

"Go for it."

"Is your dad the reason you bullied me? I know you said he was the reason you stopped. I guess I'm just curious why you started."

Dash forced all the air from his lungs. He took a slow breath in. "Kind of. It was mostly my fault. He had said that weaker people deserved what came to them. And well, no offense, but you were kind of a twig back then and the other popular kids would make these mean jokes and I thought 'hey, this is what he's talking about. If you wanna stay on this end of it, you'd better participate'. So, I just started picking on you and hoped that would secure my spot with them. And it got worse after we kicked Valerie out. Sorry. I was just trying to make sure they didn't notice I was the weakest one among them."

Danny reached over and poked Dash's arm. "Weak, huh?"

Dash blinked, face turning red. "Uh, I meant, like emotionally."

Danny squeezed his hand. "Well, I'm glad you stopped. And I'm glad you and the others are friends now. You're all really fun to be around. And to be honest, I'd probably be dead without you today. Thanks for that."

Dash shrugged, gaze fixed firmly on the far wall as his ears felt like burning off. "You've saved my ass a lot. Even when I was being shitty to you. It's only fair I repay you."

"But you didn't have to. Especially when I kind of traumatized you by using you as a bandage and a distraction for my parents." Danny's eyes slipped closed again. He was getting tired of being so tired.

"Yeah, maybe next time we can leave the trauma out of it?"

Danny hummed, drifting off to sleep, Dash's hand still twined with his.

"Next time sounds nice."

First Chapter Up!

Basically, I was inspired by @tatumsdrawing mechanic au and I started this project mainly cause I found a severe lack of fics with stuff I wanted to read and decided to contribute.

Of All The Stories In The Stars, Ours Has Yet To Be Told (7031 words) by StarsWhisper Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dash Baxter/Danny Fenton Characters: Danny Fenton, Dash Baxter, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Paulina Sanchez, Kwan (Danny Phantom) Additional Tags: Aged-Up Character(s), on the way to college, mentions of child abuse, Mentions of homophobia, Redemption Arcs, Bisexual Danny Fenton, everyone becoming good friends, learning how to live, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Second Chances, lots of classical literature references, lots of astrology references, more tags coming when i think of them Summary: It's the end of senior year and Dash and Danny are having the worst time of their lives. Dash's father finds out he's queer and tries to kill him. That lands him in prison with divorce papers. Dash goes to therapy to cope and learn how to change his behaviors while taking some time off from school. He now needs to learn how to navigate the world and figure himself out. Danny fears he'll never figure out what he wants for his future beyond being the hero of Amity Park forever and he's running out of time to figure it out as he watches everyone he knows move on without him. Plus there are always the people hunting him down that he has to worry about on top of that.

~

“Do you blame yourself?”

Dash eyed his therapist for a moment before dropping his gaze to the floor. She was sitting comfortably on her big fluffy chair, legs crossed and clipboard in hand; Dash wondered how she was able to be at such ease all the time while the people she talked with were always so visibly on edge. The couch he sat on always felt too wide and isolating for just one person. It didn’t have enough stuffing and the wood always dug into his skin and made his bones sore.

“What?”

“Well, it is quite common for children in these situations to assume the blame for-”

“I’m not a child. I’m almost nineteen.”

She hummed, scribbling something in her notebook. Dash hated when she did that. He knew it was helpful, but it made him feel small. He didn’t like feeling small. She stared at him, waiting for him to continue the conversation. He hated when she did that too.

Dash snorted. “Blame myself for what? My dad trying to kill me? The disappointment in my mom’s eyes when she looks at me? That half the school hates me because of how I’ve treated them? You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“The divorce,” she answered, uncrossing and recrossing her legs, “but it sounds like there are other things on your mind. Would you like to talk about those?”

“No.” Dash sighed, shifting and failing once again to get comfortable. “I just… I feel so…” Angry? Sad? Guilty? Relieved? Scared? “...ashamed.”

“And why do you feel that way?”

“I don’t know.”

She waited patiently in silence. He shrunk in on himself, head tucking into his shoulders like a turtle.

“I just should have known better.”

“What should you have known?”

Dash huffed. “I don’t know, everything! That I was treating my mom like garbage; that I was acting just like my father even though I hated him; and that if I stayed on that path I would end up alone and angry and awful just like him. I just should have known better…” He let his words trail off, threading his fingers together and squeezing, hoping his therapist wouldn’t notice them shake.

“Dash, no one can be expected to know everything right away, or else every baby born would be Albert Einstein. We have to give ourselves the grace to learn. Shame is a powerful tool; it tells us what we feel the need to improve on. If we feel shame over our actions, we then know where to start to correct our course.”

Dash sighed and leaned back into the couch. “Then I have a lot to learn.”

“What have you learned so far?”

“That I suck.”

“Let’s try again with more constructive language. What have you learned so far?”

He took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears at bay. It was okay to cry, he just didn’t want to. “I need to start actively making decisions in my life to change. That I can’t keep going the way I’ve been going and expect to end up happy.”

“What does change look like to you?”

“I don’t know.”

She quirked her eyebrow, remaining silent.

“I actually don’t know. I mean, it’s not like I can convince my friends to stop bullying people.”

“You stopped, right?”

“Well, yeah. I did, but every time I tried to tell them why, they just laughed at me. How am I supposed to get them to change?”

“Let’s try focusing on the things that you can control. You may not be able to control other people, but you can control your environment. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, but that’s really hard to do. I mean, a quarterback with no friends during his senior year isn’t exactly a fun time.”

“I understand. Maybe you could try taking it in baby steps. For your homework today, I’d like you to write out at least a five-step plan for the change you want to see in your life.”

Dash took a deep breath, resetting his lungs. “Okay.”

“Is there anything else, you’d like to talk about, we’re almost out of time.”

“No,” then, “thank you.”

“Of course, it’s what you pay me for.”

Dash stepped outside, letting the door to the building slam shut behind him. No one ever talked about just how physically exhausting therapy could be. He wanted nothing more than to curl up with Pookie on his comfortable couch with some snacks and mindless T.V. But, he’d promised his mom he’d pick up groceries on his way back. He turned down the main road and began his long trek to the store.

“Shame is a powerful tool,” He grumbled under his breath. “It sucks.” He kicked a rock down the road. Maybe step one of his plan would be to finally convince himself to go back to school tomorrow. He kicked the rock again. Or maybe he could get away with graduating from home.

“Duck!”

Dash threw himself to the ground; growing up in Amity Park you learn not to hesitate. If someone says duck, you duck, no questions asked. A bird ghost smashed into the brick wall behind him; ghost feathers showering around him. He scrambled over to the alleyway, ducking behind the trashcans. Once he was safe, he peeked his head out to see the bird ghost stand up and shake its head. Phantom rushed past him, landing a kick straight to its chest.

He pulled his ghost-catching thermos out of apparently thin air and pointed it at the ghost. It screeched at him as it got caught in the blue whirlwind and clawed at the edges of the device; ultimately losing as Phantom capped it. He turned toward Dash. “Sorry, are you o-”

A bright, sickly green light shot through the air, clipping Phantom’s arm, glowing ectoplasm splattered across the ground. He screamed and dropped to the ground, cradling the injury with his other hand.

Dash leaned around the corner, straining to see what could have happened. The Fentons were standing there, Mr. Fenton holding a gun pointed right at Phantom.

“Ha-ha! Did you see that, Maddie! I got him on the first try!”

“Great job, honey. But go easy on the Fenton Venom; we want him alive or we’ll be limited in the experiments we can do.”

Dash frantically waved in Phantom’s direction; he was struggling to pull himself off the floor and was flickering like he was trying to disappear but couldn’t. They made eye contact- Phantom’s wide and panicked- and Dash pointed to the alley behind him, hoping against everything that the hero would understand what he meant. Then he full sprinted out of the alley and collided with Mrs. Fenton, knocking her into her husband and successfully grabbing their attention.

“Mrs. Fenton!” He screamed once they had all regained their balance. “Thank god you’re here. I saw a ghost!”

“You saw a ghost!” Mr. Fenton whipped around, gun in hand completely forgotten.

“It was huge! Like the size of a car! And it had like these, these, giant fangs and I couldn’t-”

“Dash, calm down.” Mrs. Fenton chirped. “Where did you see this ghost?”

Danny waited until he knew for sure his parents were distracted by Dash before making a B-line for the alley, trying not to let any of his blood fall onto the ground and give him away. He tucked himself behind the trashcan, desperate to keep all of him out of sight. The smell of burning flesh permeated the air. He moved his hand to check on his injury.

There was a fairly decent-sized chunk taken out of his arm and the area around it was bubbling and falling away, dissolving before it could actually fall off. It burned like hell. His hand was tingling from where he’d touched the injury.

“Figures they’d make a poison at some point,” He hissed, blinking his eyes to keep the tears at bay, he needed to be able to see right now. He tried turning invisible again, but this time he didn’t even flicker. “Fuck, what is this?”

“Oh, man that looks bad.”

Danny whipped his head around to see Dash staring at him. Panic swelled in his chest.

“Don’t worry, they’re gone, chasing a ghost that’s not even there.”

Danny sighed, resting his head on the building behind him. “Thank you.” When Dash didn’t immediately leave he added, “I’ll be okay in a moment, when I can get my powers back.” He left the ‘please go away’ to be implied.

“Right,” Dash nodded, swinging his backpack around and digging through it. “You wouldn’t happen to have like a ghost doctor or something would you?”

“No,” Danny bit back the scream of pain crawling up his throat. God, it felt like he was being torn apart molecule by molecule. It didn’t matter how many times he did this torture thing, it never got any easier to handle the pain. “Ow!”

“Right, okay,” Dash pulled a first aid kit out of his bag and then tossed the bag to the side of the alley, before dropping to his knees next to him. “Okay, I’ve got this.”

Danny leaned away from him. “What have you got?”

“Don’t worry, my mom’s a nurse and she’s taught me a lot of first aid. We need to wash that poison off before it does some real damage.” Dash looked around for a container of some kind and had to settle with one of the trash can lids. He put it next to Danny and started rummaging through his kit.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing? What if you make it worse?”

Dash inhaled sharply, like he was practicing extreme amounts of patience. “Look, you’ve saved my ass, like a lot, now let me save yours. Plus, it’s not like you have a lot of options right now, right?”

Danny wanted to argue, but Dash was right. Short of crawling across town to either Sam or Tucker’s house without his parents catching him or his arm falling off, he didn’t have any other options. He was still hesitant about it; at least he was until the poison hit a major nerve and his entire arm blazed with pain. “Shit!” He yelped, a few tears trickling down his cheeks. “Okay, fine. But fuck up my arm and I’m haunting you for eternity.”

“Deal.” Dash uncapped a bottle of distilled water and gently grabbed Danny’s arm, moving it over the lid and rotating it so the poison wouldn’t run over more of his skin. “Okay, this is probably going to sting. Just try not to move.” He tipped the bottle.

The water hit his skin and it did in fact sting. Danny inhaled sharply through gritted teeth and yanked his arm away. The water splashed off his arm and hit his leg, burning less than the direct poison, but still burning. “Shit!”

“I said sit still!” Dash whisper-yelled, quickly rinsing off his leg. “Sorry,” Dash frowned, “I’m sorry. Just, please try not to move. We don’t know what this stuff is and we definitely don’t want it getting anywhere else.”

Danny dug his nails into his palm, a few more tears falling from his eyes. He took deep breaths, trying to ignore the sting of the water. He flinched when the water hit the deepest part of his wound. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m sorry, I yelled. I didn’t mean to.” Dash threw the empty bottle of water away and grabbed a second one. “Hang in there, I need to make sure I got all of it out before we bandage it. Did it get anywhere else?”

Danny held his hand out to him. Dash grabbed his hand as gently as possible. His hand got off easier, looking more like road rash than poison. It didn’t sting as much when he poured the water over it. “Sorry.”Dash apologized anyway.

Danny chuckled.

“What’s so funny.”

“Nothing, I just don’t think I’ve ever heard you apologize this much. Are you sure I haven’t died again?”

Dash’s face turned red with shame. He capped the water bottle and turned to grab the antibiotic ointment. Figures Phantom would know about his past, he’s been around a long time and he was pretty sure ghosts saw things that others might not.“Thanks for noticing. My therapist says I’ve been making exceptional progress lately.”

Phantom burst out laughing, tears flowing freely now. His shoulders shook with the strength of his laughter, causing his hair to fall into his face. Is laugh was big and boisterous and deep. A soft pink glow illuminated his cheeks. He placed his free hand on his forehead, desperately trying to reign it in. His eyes were scrunched shut and his lashes were wet with tears.

It was ethereal.

Dash shook his head; focus!

“Sorry,” Phantom finally choked out, still gasping on the remnants of laughter, “sorry. I’m not laughing at you. Therapy is so cool. I promise I’m not laughing at that. It’s just-” another giggle- “I’m asking you about your vocabulary while I bleed out in an alleyway. What a crazy Tuesday, huh?”

“I’m just glad you’re not crying anymore.” Dash hyper-focused on putting the antibiotic ointment on the burns on Phantom’s hand and wrapping it with gauze.

“I wasn’t crying.”

“It’s okay to cry.”

“I know it’s okay, I just wasn’t.”

“Okay.” Dash chuckled, moving over to bandage his arm.

“Really, I wasn’t.”

“I bet this is handy, huh?” Dash changed the subject, pointing to his arm where the flesh was slowly, but surely stitching itself back together.

“What is?” Phantom turned to look where he was pointing.

“Your ghost healing stuff. Now that the poison is gone it looks like you’re doing fine.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess it is.”

Dash finished securing the bandages in place. “Not that I don’t- that everyone doesn’t appreciate it, but why do you do it? The hero stuff I mean. Surely a ghost would have better things to do in the afterlife?”

Phantom gingerly moved his arm around, testing its movement. He grinned at Dash. “Well, yeah, but who else is going to do it?”

“The Fentons and the Guys in White don’t seem too keen on retiring anytime soon.”

Phantom frowned, his brows furrowing. “Uh, yeah, and while they can be helpful, they’re not always the most reliable or efficient ghost hunters. Plus, they don’t know half the things I know about ghosts.”

“Right, that makes sense, I guess.” Dash began picking up the first aid stuff. “Has anyone ever said thank you?”

Phantom startled, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Um, no. Surprisingly, you’d be the first.”

A shout echoed in the distance. “Let’s circle back around, Jack. Maybe we missed an alleyway.” It was Mrs. Fenton and she was close by.

“If you can, you’d better,” Dash said to Phantom, who- when he turned around- was already gone, “go.”

He hurried to collect the pieces of his first aid kit and packed it up. His heart was beating so fast. Who would have thought he’d be the one to help his- the town’s hero out? And that he was really pretty when he laughed?

Dash reached for his backpack and stuffed everything in, before dumping the mixture of water and viscera into the trashcan and fixing the lid back in place. He sprinted out of the alley and down the road before the Fentons could find him and ask what he was still doing there.

He stopped to catch his breath and calm his racing heart. He had (in a less than technical sense) held Phantom’s hand today. Paulina was going to be so jealous. That was if she even wanted to talk to him. He didn’t really know what his friends would think about him now.

He sighed, that was a tomorrow problem. Right now his problem was getting to the store before they closed. And getting new supplies for his first aid kit.

Dash walked toward his old table as slowly as he could. Step one of his plan was just to see how everyone reacted. He’d go wherever he needed to from there, whether that be going friendless for the last month of high school or explaining to everyone why he wanted to stop being mean to people and hoping they’d agree.

Dash’s heart fell when he saw his usual spot next to Kwan was taken. In fact, the whole table was full. Paulina and Star were laughing at something one of the football players had said. Kwan was the first one to notice him.

“Oh, Hi, Dash!” He waved.

Dash waved back. “Uh, hi, Kwan.” Dash looked between them and instantly knew he had lost the battle.

Star kicked Kwan under the table. “Uh-hem.”

Kwan retracted his hand.

Paulina wouldn’t look at him. She looked sad, torn.

“Sorry, Dash,” Star murmured, “but one of the club rules is you have to be in a certain tax bracket to sit at the table.”

“My mom’s not poor.” Dash weakly defended.

“It’s the rules,” Star fiddled with her fork, “you know that.”

Dash inhaled. “Alright, whatever.”

“Dash, just so you know,” Kwan said before Dash could leave, “it’s not because you’re gay.”

“Thanks, Kwan.”

“We’re not homophobic.”

“Thanks, Kwan.”

“It is just because you’re poor.”

“Thanks, Kwan.”

“We’ll need your hall pass punch card back,” Paulina spoke softly, still not meeting his eyes.

“Fine, I’ll bring it by after school. I really thought you guys were better than this by now.” He turned and left. He glanced around the cafeteria and then headed for the door outside. Not a lot of people used the ones out there anymore because of all the ghost attacks. He’d be able to do some homework at least.

Dash sighed. A part of him still really wanted to tell Paulina about yesterday. And he’d had plans with Kwan to go see the new Nightmerica movie later this month that he’d been really excited for. Guess that was out of the question now.

As predicted, there were only a few freshmen at one of the tables. Dash sat at the one furthest from them. This was alright; a change of environment, just like his therapist had said, just on an expedited schedule. He sighed and pulled out his book for English class. Might as well get started on that homework.

Danny watched as Dash sat down. He hesitated all of about five seconds before he started walking over. A tug on his shirt stopped him.

“You’re joking, right?” Sam snorted, letting go of his shirt.

“What?” Danny shrugged, his best convincing smile plastered on his face. “Look at how sad he is.”

“He looks pathetic.” Tucker chided.

“And it’s what he deserves, to be sad and lonely.” Valerie glared in Dash’s direction.

“Oh come on, guys! He’s not that bad. When’s the last time he even bothered us?”

“So, what he patches you up and bats his big jock eyelashes at you one time and you’re stuck to him like a freshman with a crush?”Tuckertaunted.

“What!? It’s not like that! He’s just trying really hard to change and I think we should give him a chance.”

“Yeah, 'cause he totally gave all of us a chance.” Valerie sneered.

“Look, let’s just go talk to him and if he’s an ass about it, we can leave and you can all say, I told you so.”

“And if he’s not an ass we can invite him over for a sleepover and braid each other’s hair?” Sam giggled, excitedly flapping her hands.

“Yeah! Hey!” Danny frowned. “Come on, Sam. Can’t you be nice for once in your life?” Danny rolled his eyes and walked over to Dash’s table, not caring if the others followed him or not. They did, of course.

He sat his tray down, confidently he hoped. Dash startled, looking up from his book.

“Mind if we sit here?”

Dash hesitated, blinking. He rubbed his eyes, looked around the group like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and blinked again. “Uh, sure, I guess.”

Danny threw a grin behind him at Sam and Valerie and sat down in front of Dash. The others sighed and sat down on his side of the table. Dash was staring.

After a moment, Danny casually- oh so casually- pointed at the book in Dash’s hands. “That for Lancer’s advanced class?”

“Uh, yeah; the concurrent enrollment one. I didn’t really want to deal with it in college.” Dash closed the book and dropped it on the bench next to him, cheeks turning a little pink. He fumbled with his hands like he didn’t know what to do with them now.

“Hey, me too. I’m in the morning section though.” Danny punctured the side of his milk carton with a straw, wincing at the pressure it put on his arm. The wound wasn’t a giant hole anymore, but it still had a little more internal healing to do before his nerves would be back to normal. “Don’t tell Lancer this, but I didn’t really like The Scarlet Letter .”

“Wait, you didn’t?” Sam scolded, leaning around Tucker to make sure Danny visibly saw her disappointment. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Danny shrugged, glancing at Dash who was still staring at him like he’d grown a second head. “I just didn’t like the vibes.”

“I figured if anyone would understand the vibes of having a giant painted letter on their chest, it would be you,” Valerie smirked at him, picking distastefully at her mashed potatoes.

“It’s probably cause he didn’t finish it.” Tucker, oh-so-helpfully interjected as he tapped away at his PDA.

“You didn’t even finish it!?” Sam huffed, flinging her fork down, failing to startle Dash out of whatever staring contest he was having with Danny’s nose.

“No, I got bored.” Danny gazed back at Dash. Had he even blinked? “What did you think Dash?”

Dash didn’t react to the sound of his name. He was completely zoned out, a confused and panicked expression stuck on his face. His nose was scrunched up in thought.

“Dash?”

Dash finally blinked, jerking upright and hitting his hands on the table. He flinched, blood rushing to his face. “Uh, what?”

Sam rolled her eyes.

Danny chuckled. “ The Scarlet Letter , what do you think about it?”

“Oh,” Dash dropped eye contact, “I just barely started it.” He shoved some food in his mouth, remembering that it was there.

“Dude,” Danny laughed, “the test is in like two days.”

“Uh, dude , the test is tomorrow.” Tucker corrected, turning his PDA to show Danny the schedule.

“Shit, it’s tomorrow?” Valerie groaned. “I’ve got to finish those last two chapters fast.”

“You’ll tell me how it ends, right?” Danny batted his eyelashes at her.

“As if, Fenton. Do your own homework.” Valerie playfully shoved his shoulder.

“Ow!”

“Oops, sorry. I forgot.” She shoved his side instead.

“I’m sorry.” Dash blurted. His eyes were fixed intensely on the table this time and Danny thought he saw him shaking just the tiniest bit. “I’m really sorry that I bullied you guys for so long. I was told that I was better than certain people and I had a lot of anger from… everything happening at home and I never stopped to think about what I was doing and that’s not really an excuse, but you guys didn’t deserve that and I’m really sorry.” He took a deep breath, relaxing slightly now that he had gotten everything out.

Danny smiled at him. “Thank you, Dash. I appreciate that.”

Tucker couldn’t help the grin that crossed his face. He had to admit, an apology certainly felt nice. “Yeah, man. That was surprisingly mature.”

“I guess taking a few weeks off has really changed you, huh?” Sam sneered. Danny kicked her under the table. “It is nice to hear you say it though.”

Everyone turned to Valerie who was staring off to the side. Dash held his breath. She turned to him, her gaze softening.

“I suppose it’s been long enough and considering you just got a taste of your own medicine, I’m willing to give you another chance. Just make sure you don’t squander it, yeah?”

Dash released his breath, eternally grateful for Valerie’s good nature. “Thank you, guys. And again, I’m really sorry.”

“Keep saying it and I’m going to vomit.” Sam teased.

A silence fell over their table, everyone trying to release tension by eating their food. Danny wasn’t really sure what he should bring up after something like that and there wasn’t really anything he knew about Dash that Danny Fenton could ask him about. He wracked his brain, hoping to pull something out of thin air.

“So,” Tucker beat him to it, “Danny’s bisexual.”

“Tucker!” Everyone but Dash- who reeled back like he’d just been called a slur- yelled at him.

“What?! I just wanted him to know we’re not homophobic.”

“So, you just decide to out Danny?” Valerie scolded.

“Not cool dude.” Sam punched him in the arm.

“Ow! Sorry, you know how I am with uncomfortable silence.”

Dash was staring at him again.

“Tucker,” Danny sighed, “I am amazed you are capable of keeping any secret.”

“Are you really?” Dash whispered like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to ask such things out loud.

“Uh, yeah, I am.” Danny drew back, hunching in on himself. “Does that bother you?”

“No. Why would it bother me ?”

Danny just shrugged.

Dash cleared his throat. “Have you, uh, have you told your parents yet?”

Danny sighed, making Dash tense like he’d overstepped. “Yeah, I have.”

Dash glanced at him, making eye contact with him for the first time in a moment. “Can I ask how they reacted?”

Danny frowned. “Well, they didn’t try to kill me or beat me up if that’s what you’re asking. But, they didn’t leap for joy either. They kind of just-”

“That’s nice, Danny,” Tucker interrupted, clearly mocking his mother, “but have you seen the Fenton blaster anywhere? I swear I just had it.”

“Hey, that’s great, Danny! Now you can pick two of your chores to do today!” Sam bellowed, doing a really good impression of how his dad laughed.

“Oh.” Dash glanced down at his half-eaten lunch.

“Yeah, not the best reaction, but better than what you got, I guess.” Danny gave him a small, pitying smile.

“Basically everybody knows what happened then?” Dash picked at the table, getting a few slivers in the process.

“Yup, pretty much.” Sam drawled.

“You know how news travels through the A-listers and their parents.” Valerie scoffed. “Everyone had pretty much known what had gone down and why by Monday.”

“Awesome.” Dash sighed.

The lunch bell rang, saving everyone from the depressing turn the conversation had taken. Tucker quickly devoured the last few bites of his burger as everyone but Dash, who was taking his time to pack up his stuff, stood and headed for the door.

“I’m gonna invite him to study with us,” Danny stated.

“He’s good with History, so I’m okay with it,” Valerie shouldered the door open and sped walked down the hall. She had a class at the complete opposite end of the building so she had no time to waste.

“I still think you’re making a mistake Danny. Not a lot of people have what it takes to change.” Sam chided, throwing her lunch wrappers into the recycling bin.

“Come on, Sam.” Danny sighed. “When are you going to start trusting my decisions?”

“I trust you. It’s him I don’t trust.”

“Okay, then trust me when I say I trust him. He apologized. Isn’t that proof of something at least?”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Fine, but I’ll keep my I-told-you-so ready.”

“Good enough. Tucker?”

“I am currently making a betting chart, I’ll let you know what I decide based on how the bets are going.” He didn’t even bother to look up from his PDA.

“Okay, I’ll catch up to you guys.” Danny waved and waited for Dash while the other two walked inside.

Dash took longer than necessary to pack his bag. He needed a moment to decompress. Lunch had been a lot of big emotions all at once and he really just wanted a nap. He kept his book out, maybe he’d be able to get through some of it during his next class.

Dash watched as Danny leaned against the door, flinching when his shoulder hit it wrong. He rubbed his arm, wincing and taking a step away from it.

“Did you hurt your shoulder or something?” Dash asked as he opened the door, waiting for Danny to slip inside first.

“Oh, uh, I, um, sprained it while helping my parents in their lab. No big deal.” Danny trailed after him like Dash had hoped he wouldn’t. He didn’t know how much more awkward conversation he could take right now.

“Hey, I wanted to ask you if you’d like to join our study group after school today?” Danny somehow kept perfect pace with him, not even once bumping into anyone. It was like he didn’t exist in the same place as the crowd. Meanwhile, Dash kept bumping shoulders with people walking entirely too slow.

“I haven’t even really started the book.” They arrived at Dash’s locker. He opened it, hoping it would save him from this.

Danny leaned on his good shoulder against the locker next to his, clearly having no intention of leaving until he got his answer. “And I haven’t even finished it. Besides, we study for all our classes and Valerie says you’re really good at History. Plus, we can always just listen to the others discuss it and hope that’s enough to get us at least a C+.”

“Is that how you pass all your classes? Cheating off your friends?” He didn’t really know how to talk to Danny now that their dynamic had changed so rapidly. He was still reeling from the fact that Danny chose to sit next to him at lunch and talk casually about an assignment like nothing had ever happened between them.

Danny gasped. “How dare you, it’s not cheating. It’s studying. I’ll have you know I’m not a cheater.”

His eyes were so blue, like they had an internal light glowing behind them. And he had gotten taller over the years, much taller. He was at the very least as tall as Dash if not a few inches taller. He looked a lot less like the twig from freshman year and more like someone who could dominate professional basketball. Well, if professional basketball players dressed like an angsty theater kid. His hair had grown longer in the back and he’d dyed the underside white, creating a (fashionable) mullet situation. He’d started wearing black t-shirts and red flannels; chains dangled from the side of his jeans; he’d pierced his ears and Dash could have sworn he’d seen him wearing fingerless gloves on a few occasions. The only part of his outfit that was the same, were the red sneakers he wore.

“So?”

Dash blinked. That was the third time today he’d been caught staring. Come on, Baxter, focus! “So?”

“So, are you coming?”

“Why are you suddenly so keen to hang out with me? Usually, people tend to avoid the guy that was a piece of shit to them.” He reached for his math book, shoving it in his bag.

A lazy grin crawled its way onto Danny’s face. “Eh, you’re just not as big and scary as you think you are.” He fucking winked at him. Jesus Christ. “Besides, I may not have thrown you in a locker or chased you down the hallway or hung you from a flag pole, but I have played my fair share of nasty pranks on you in the past. And you’ve just apologized so we’re on even ground here.”

“Wait, what pranks?”

Danny spoke over him, “So are you coming or what?”

Dash gazed heavily into his locker. Danny was staring and it made him nervous. He weighed his options; he could either go home and take a much needed nap, tiptoe around his mother at dinner, and then hide in his room all night, or he could go study and maybe catch up on all the assignments he’d missed and had put off doing. “What subject are you good at?”

“Physics.”

“You’re good at physics but not math?”

“I choose not to question it.”

Dash made sure to sigh as dramatically as possible. “Fine, I’ll come.”

“Awesome!” Danny cheered, peeling himself away from the locker and walking backward to his class. “See you after school!” He turned and booked it down the hallway, almost disappearing into the crowd.

Dash sighed again, this time for his own benefit. He closed his locker and leaned his forehead against it. So much for his nap. At least he could tell his therapist he’d started making changes before he’d even finished writing out his five steps. She’d be proud.

Much later that night, Dash pushed open his front door, dropped his bag on the floor, and braced for impact. Pookie came running around the corner, yapping away, and slammed into his ankles. Dash knelt down, vigorously petting his dog.

“Hey, boy! Who’s a good boy? Who’s a sweet little guy? You are! You are!”

Pookie barked lovingly at him, shaking every molecule in his body from sheer excitement. He licked at his hands.

“Gross, Pookie. You’re gonna get a stomach ache from school germs.”

“Dash? You home, sweetie?” His mom called from the kitchen.

He drew in a deep breath, his body tensing from the anxiety rushing through his veins. His mom hadn’t really talked about what happened beyond making sure Dash knew she loved him no matter what. She’s been avoiding the subject. “Yeah!” He slowly made his way to the kitchen, Pookie following dutifully behind.

His mom was standing over the stove, spoon in hand as she stirred something that smelled amazing. She looked tired. She probably just barely got home from work.

“You’re home pretty late, did something happen?” She asked reaching for the spice cabinet.

Dash walked over and reached for the salt, handing it to her. She always put it back just a shelf too high. He peeked into the pan; stir-fry, his favorite. He avoided her eyes, he didn’t want to see the disappointment he knew he’d find there. “No, I was just at a study group trying to catch up on some homework.”

“With Kwan and Paulina?” She asked slowly, like he would fall apart if she made one wrong misstep.

He washed his hands in the sink. “No, actually, Danny Fenton invited me to join his group.”

She stirred the pot in front of her, falling silent for a moment. “That’s certainly a change.”

Dash felt like he was swimming in ice water. “Yeah, I, um, well, I apologized to him for giving him such a hard time and he sat with me at lunch.” Dash figured she didn’t need to know the exact order of events. “Kwan and Paulina don’t want anything to do with me.”

She frowned. “Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry. It’s not because…” She trailed off. She hadn’t said the word yet. Dash hated that she wouldn’t say it.

“No. At least they said it wasn’t; just that I’m apparently too poor for them now. Club rules.”

She pulled some plates down from the cabinets. “That’s probably just their parents spewing venom in their ears.”

“It’s the same thing we did to Valerie freshman year. I kind of knew it was coming, I just hoped things had changed.” Dash grabbed the filtered water from the fridge, pouring them both a glass.

“Thank you.” She plated the food and walked over to the table, Dash following her. “I’m sorry your friends turned out to not be so friendly.”

“It’s okay.” They sat down, eating in silence for a moment. Dash hated the silence the most.

His mom glanced up at him. “So, you apologized to the Fenton boy?”

Dash sat up straight, taking a deep breath before answering. “Yeah. I did.”

“How’d it go? I mean, obviously, you guys hung out, so pretty well?” She added even more salt to her plate.

“It was hard. And scary. But I think it went pretty well. Some of the others were there too, including Valerie. I think they were more hesitant to forgive me and I can’t blame them. But, I think it worked out okay. At the very least they were glad to have my help with History.” He picked a piece of meat off his plate to feed to Pookie, who was lying down by his feet like a good boy.

“I’m really proud of you, Dash.” His mom was looking at him, a smile on her face. He hadn’t seen her smile since the incident. He felt the shame covering him again.

“Don’t say that mom.”

“Why not? I’m very proud of the man you’re becoming.”

He set his fork down, focusing on controlling his breathing, he did not want to start crying in front of his mom again. “Cause I don’t deserve it. I was awful to you and to Fenton and the other kids at school. I haven’t even begun to make up for it, so how can you say you’re proud of me?” Too late, the tears were already halfway down his cheeks. He heard his mom stand up, but he was more focused on rubbing the tears away. Pookie was trying his best to comfort him by rubbing against his leg.

She gently held his face. “Dash, look at me son, please look at me.”

He did.

She was crying too.

“You have nothing to apologize to me for.”

“I said so many awful things to you and I destroyed our family.” He was full-on sobbing now.

“I’m sorry.” She choked out. “I’m so sorry I didn’t see what was going on sooner. You did not destroy our family. Your father destroyed this family. He destroyed this family when he taught my son to see others as less than. He destroyed this family when he taught both me and my son that we were unworthy of love. He destroyed this family when he started hitting my son. And he destroyed this family when he was ready to kill my son over who he loved. You didn’t deserve any of the things he did to you and I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you. It’s my fault, Dash, not yours.”

She pulled him into a tight hug, her tears spilling onto his shoulders. Dash hugged her back and for the first time in a long time, allowed himself to fall apart. He sobbed and cried and yelled and held her tight like his mother’s touch alone would keep every bad thing away from him. When he had calmed a little, just enough to hear her, she spoke again.

“Of course, I’m proud of you. Despite everything you’ve been through, you chose to get help and you chose to still be you. That’s so hard to do and you did it anyway. When I look at you I see someone who wanted something better for himself and went for it; I see someone who is becoming who he wants to be, not who he was taught to be; I see someone who apologized to the people they’d hurt even though it was incredibly hard to do; I see my son. And I am so very proud of my son. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel any other way.”

Dash sniffled, holding on because he wasn’t ready to let go yet. “I thought you were disappointed in me.”

“Disappointed? Never.” She sniffled too. “I was just sad. Sad that my son was sad. And sad that I married someone so evil. But, I love you. And I’m sorry I don’t say it enough.”

Dash finally pulled away, wiping his tears away. “I love you too.”

She gave him a watery smile. She sniffed, inhaled a deep breath, and stood up. “Look at us.” She chuckled. “We’re a mess and our food is probably cold. I’m sorry, I know it’s your favorite.”

Dash leaned down and picked Pookie up. The dog had been going crazy at the two emotionally unstable humans in his house. “I think we’ve said enough ‘I’m sorry’s’ for the night.”

“Ugh, you’re right. Let’s just order some takeout and we can watch The Bachelorette  or something and you can tell me which guys you think are the hottest.”

“Mom!” Dash was mortified.

“What? We haven’t talked about this yet.” She had the restaurant page and phone in hand, already typing in the number for the pizza place down the street. “I need to make sure you have better taste in men than I do. What pizza toppings do you want?”

Dash found himself laughing. It was nice to have his house feel like home again. He helped his mom clean the kitchen and get the couch blankets out of the closet for their impromptu movie night. Just as they were getting ready to hit play, his phone beeped with a text message.

Unknown Number: I stole ur # from, Val. :P Walk with us 2 school tmrw?

Unknown Number: It’s Danny.

Dash smiled down at his phone. What a dork. Dash saved the number in his phone, heart nearly caving in. It’d been all of one day and suddenly his entire life was different. He’d have to remember to thank Danny for being so forgiving.

“Who is it?” His mom asked.

“Uh, it’s Danny. He wants to walk to school together.” He twiddled his thumbs, not sure how to respond to the text.

His mom smirked at him. “Wow, that must have been some apology.”

Dash wanted to crawl under a rock and never come back out.

“Does he know you drive to school?”

“Probably not. I’ll just walk with him and tell him tomorrow.”

“Okay, whatever you say. Hit play, mister.”

Dash hit play on the TV. and typed a quick reply on his phone.

Dash: See you tomorrow

Nerd: Meet @ my place?

Dash: I’ll be there.

Nerd: See u tmrw :D

The Finished Animatic!!!

I’m so excited to share this with everyone!! This is definitely the biggest project I’ve ever done before and I’m so proud with how it came out

Enjoy the little gay ghost guys!!!👻👻👻

I still don't understand this scene... Dash clearly hates Danny so much and treats him so badly, but why did he accept Danny's request to open the locker door for him?

Yep. No wonder they uhh.... Respect him \(⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

FanArt for the incredible @ectoplasmranch for her fanfiction that just immediately ropped me in and I can't stop reading! (⁠☆⁠▽⁠☆⁠)

Like if I had to count everything that I enjoy, from plot building to character development, the slow burn, the wording, the pacing, just- I would start a whole chapter long rant lol

(for full effect: turn brightness up)

Edit: okay, I hate how Tumblr just worsened the quality... x~x

Sneak peak to a fanart I'm currently working on for the fanfic: "You Wouldn't Like Me Alive" over on ao3 from @ectoplasmranch

I just ADORE the more morbid wrap the story and looks of Danny as Phantom has soooo... let's see what my old horror-head makes of it!! :D

(incredible dandash story, go read it.)

Edit: I finished this picture!

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You Wouldn't Like Me Alive - Chapter 1 - the_bastard_king - Danny Phantom [Archive of Our Own]

Yep. No wonder they uhh.... Respect him \(⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠) FanArt for the incredible @ectoplasmranch for her fanfiction that just immediately

all art by @tired-all-the-time22

happy late Valentine's Day take this humble offering

I drew this in a hurry, I couldn't get this idea off my head, maybe someday I'll redraw it.

And I think Sam and Tucker wouldn't approve of their relationship 😆

I didn't know that people shipped them 👀