Danny felt woozy as he walked slowly along side Dash. He didn’t think he could fly yet and didn’t want to risk it, besides he didn’t want to just leave the teen after he pretty much saved his life.
So Danny walked beside Dash down the street towards his own home, ignoring the stares of the passing people. It had been nearly four years since he began his heroic profession, and many of the citizens had come to accept his presence in their lives.
Acceptance and acknowledgement, something he never thought would be his when he first started out.
Another wave of nausea washed over him and he wobbled a bit but covered it by reaching up for Graymalkin on Dash’s shoulder.
Graymalkin playfully swatted at his hand and darted across the back of Dash’s neck to watch Danny from his other shoulder. Dash laughed.
“So what, do you know this fuzz ball?” Dash asked patting the tiny creature on the head. “He looks like he isn’t old enough to be out of his mother’s shadow.”
“Yes I do know him unfortunately, he’s m-” Danny snapped his mouth closed with a click of teeth. It wouldn’t do to claim the cat as Danny Phantom’s, not when its home was at Danny Fenton’s. “He’s full grown, actually, though he does look only a month old.” He said, gritting his teeth and walking faster to keep up with Dash’s long strides though he felt completely exhausted.
“How do you know that?” Dash asked, inconspicuously probing for tiny slips of information, ties between the Phantom and Fenton. He knew the cat now, it was the one Danny had carried home yesterday after the accident. He remembered thinking such a tiny kitten shouldn’t have been out alone.
If there was any doubt before, though he wasn’t so dense as to actually doubt, there was none now. Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom were one in the same.
He looked back and saw Danny’s arm shaking, the one that Danny Fenton had in a sling all that day. He wondered if it healed when he transformed, or whatever he did when he became a ghost, or if he had simply forgone wearing the sling because it would be an obvious week spot and a miniscule, but still creditable, link between the two Danny’s.
“I-I uh…I don’t know. I guess I just feel it. He doesn’t…doesn’t carry himself like a kitten. When he walks it’s not all shaky and stumbling like a month old kitten. I think He’s just a really small cat. Premature, maybe a dwarf? A genetic anomaly?” Danny’s shaking increased, but there were no people around to notice as they had reached a more rural area and nearly everyone was in bed. No one but Dash to see.
He was pale and covered by a light sheen of perspiration, the rain soaked jacket giving no warmth to his freezing body. His eyes, normally a very bright green, were dull from exhaustion and his step, which was shaky to begin with but Dash hadn’t commented, had become something more of a stumble.
The cat on his shoulder nudged his face a bit, as though telling him ‘get on with it.’ But that nudge wasn’t needed as dash was already slipping his arm around Danny’s waist and lifting him up again.
Danny let out a squeak when he felt himself suddenly lifted from the ground. The warmth of Dash’s arms seeped through the fabric of his suit like heated water and felt feverish against his cool skin. The wet jacket provided some level of protection from the contact, but it was a feeble barrier and so loose that as Danny struggled it hiked up around his torso and slipped off one shoulder.
“Put me down you a*****e, I can walk!” Danny hissed, his throat felt sore and he couldn’t shout, but oh he wanted to.
“Are you kidding me? You look like you can barely stand. So shut up and enjoy the ride, this is the last time I’m carrying you Fenton.”
“Wh-what?!” Danny shouted, followed by a fit of coughs.
“Man, will you give your body a break, next you’ll be hacking up blood.” Dash adjusted his hold on Danny who felt just as light as before, but now instead of being limp he lay stiff with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at him. “I said you can barely stand so I’m carrying you. Got it.”
“You called me Fenton.” Danny said low and threatening.
“Yeah, so?” Dash countered, upset inside that he let it slip but not going to deny it. He wasn’t that much of a fool. “I always call you that.”
“What makes you think….how did you….when did….ah forget it!” Danny slumped, turning away from him to pout, which looked rather comical since he was still being carried bridal style. And to emphasize the hilarity of the situation Dash laughed.
“Shut up! I can’t believe you. What are you planning on doing hu? Hold it over my head? Make me do your homework for the rest of our high school year? Demand favors? Or are you just going to throw all blackmail out and spread the news all over? I bet a million people are willing to offer enormous sums of money for the inside scoop of Danny Phantom’s true identity!”
During the list of possibilities Danny started looking less and less angry and more depressed. Dash didn’t feel all that hot either, not if his hero actually thought he’d roll over on him.
“I’m not going to tell anyone. I wouldn’t. Do you honestly think after everything you’ve done, for me and hundreds of other people, that I would just give you up to those…those people?”
Danny looked guilty for a moment before his stern pout returned, he never looked at Dash. “You’ve never given me reason to believe otherwise.” He said.
“What?” Dash asked incredulous, “off course I have. All those times we fought together, the times I’ve helped you out. You should know to trust me.” Dash stopped and looked around. In the heat of the argument he had forgot to watch where he was going and got turned around. They now stood on some street corner in a neighborhood Dash, again, wasn’t familiar with.
“That’s only one side of me!” Danny protested, getting Dash’s attention again. In a frustrated huff he sat straight down on the curb, earning another startled noise from Danny. The smaller teen glared at him before trying to move off, he was now sitting in Dash’s lap. “Sure you were nice to Danny Phantom.” Danny said, trying to get out of both dash’s arms and his lap, but Dash’s grip on him remained firm and in the condition he was in, it was like falling in a blow up sumo suit. Nearly impossible. “But the hero is only half of who I am.” Finally Danny just gave up and slumped down again, this time looking Dash straight in the eye.
“Only…half.” Dash was startled when he saw… Danny’s eyes were blue, the kind of deep blue eyes that Danny Fenton had. Could his eyes change color?
“Yes.” Danny’s face softened, and he looked away again. “You were often friendly, admirable, and courageous around Danny Phantom, but you were rarely so gracious with Danny Fenton. To that part of me you were nothing but a bully. On the occasion a partner or even an ally, but still a bully. And just when I’d begin to like you, just when I’d think maybe you’d change. When I’d think that we could be friends, you’d do something to Danny Fenton that would utterly destroy all those hopes.”
“Fitness buddies…” Dash mumbled, but Danny caught it.
“Yeah…” He didn’t look back at Dash, though both wished he would. “I really enjoyed working beside you then and during the whole pirate parental abduction thing, and a million other times over the years. But you’d always, often immediately afterward, do something that would just wash every single one of those memories away.” Danny tensed. “I mean I fell off the freaking ship! Did you once ask if I was alright? If I was hurt? No, you socked me in my goddamn arm and said I’d abandoned you lot! Yeah, I sure felt loved.” He huffed, looking a little over exerted from the conversation.
“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t think…I didn’t know you were-” Danny cut him off.
“You shouldn’t have to know I was a freaking ghost superhero to show a little sympathy to a classmate who stuck his neck out to help you all save your parents instead of just going in and saving his own, which I totally could have done by the way. Just my parents, and Jazz, and no one else’s. But I didn’t. AND I got in trouble for using my Mom and Dad’s equipment! You know how long I was grounded! I even had to pick up after YOUR stupid Party. AT MY HOUSE! I DIDN’T EVEN GET INVITED TO A PARTY AT MY OWN HOUSE!” Danny shook, tears collecting at the edges of his eyes.
He was breathing hard now, deep shaking gulps of air, like he was drowning and would go back under water at any moment. He coughed, the shouting hurting his already sore throat. The damn Ghostly Wail left him with a gravely voice fore days on end, man he hated having to use it.
Dash didn’t know what to say. Didn’t think at all that all those things he did back then were affecting Danny this much. He just didn’t think. God he was an idiot. He didn’t know what to do, didn’t know how to amend the shattered and broken relationship they’d had all through high school. So he asked the only thing that could get by the lump in his throat.
“Where to now? Manson’s house?”
Danny’s head snapped up to look at him so fast he caught Dash on the chin. They both gave a sharp yelp and pulled back a bit, Danny uncrossing his arms to rub his forehead, Dash moving his jaw back and forth, since he didn’t want to let go of Danny, afraid the ghost boy would try and fly away. Ignoring the fact that he could just faze through his arms, Danny didn’t seem to remember that particular power.
“Sam’s probably still at that stupid social function with her parents, and Tuckers with her so that’s out to.” Danny said, not even going to ask why Dash thought Sam would know about his powers. They spent so much time together, it was obvious. “I can get home from…from here.” Danny blinked a few times, unsure why everything was going blurry. His breathing wasn’t returning to normal, in fact he felt like there wasn’t enough oxygen around them, he was going to suffocate, why was it so hard to breath?
Hard to breath, just like before in the alley, but this time he was taking in air, big fast gulps of air, but it wasn’t enough. Wasn’t…..enough.
-
Dash was about to retort that he wasn’t going to let Danny just walk on home in the condition he was in, but the way Danny looked at that moment killed the words, fast, with a big sharp knife.
“Fenton? Fenton are you okay?” Danny didn’t answer, just kept breathing, heavy quick breaths, like he had ran a marathon. Dash didn’t know what to do; he was trembling almost as much as the body in his arms. Quickly he stood, trying to think of some way to help.
“What to do, what to do.” He practically hopped from foot to foot trying to think. “Danny, are you alright? Please be alright. God, I don’t know what to do.” And then the trembling stopped.
Dash looked down, down at the relaxed body in his arms. He looked calm now, peaceful, sleeping. But Dash was panicking. Did he pass out? Did he die? Could ghosts die? Was it his fault, did he make him too upset? Too stressed out?
There was a low growl in his ear and he turned to the side just in tome to get a sharp set of claws raked across his nose. He stumbled back, which was odd because he couldn’t stumble away from something on his shoulder. The cat growled and pawed at his face again, just barely unsheathing its claws this time. A warning.
Dash shook his head and started running back the way he had come, trying to see street signs in the dim light of the far spaced streetlights. He practically jogged in place when he had to stop, running up and down streets, cutting through alleys, panicked. What was wrong, he had to find Danny’s home. Danny said he could get home from there. Danny knew the streets. God Danny was DIEING!
He was just about to start shouting for help, which he realized with eternal self loathing, he should have done to begin with, when he saw the enormous Fenton Works sign and the various other metallic structures jutting out of the old brick building.
With a rush of pure glee he ran full speed the last few blocks, as he had twisted around the neighborhood like a mouse in a maze, and took the steps in leaps, banging on the door with his fist until he heard a muffled shout and a click as the latch was pulled back.
And it was that moment, as the door cracked open; Dash realized that if Danny’s parents didn’t know about his secret he was practically condemning him to the autopsy table. All those threats, those various weapons being pointed with deadly precision, did they know it was their son? Would they hurt him before dash could explain?
It was too late, the door was opening.
(OMG perfect cliffhanger!)