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"No way, no way, no way! This has to be a joke!?"
"This is absolutely bogus! What kind of sick prank are you trying to pull?"
"I have no pranks to pull, you two decided to spy, and now have learned of a potential future," Clockwork explained, standing in front of the two wide-eyed halfas.
The two coincidentally ran into each other as they both headed to Clockwork's lair, Danny with questions to understand more about being a halfa, and Vlad to take a gander into his future to see what it had in store for him. A fight broke out between the two, with Clockwork being nowhere in sight, and led them in front of one of his time portals labeled 'FUTURE: 5 YEARS'. Vlad immediately ecto-blasted Danny out of the way to take a look, but then suddenly began yelling curses at the portal and charging up to blast it. Danny shoved him out of the way and happened to look into it too, his stomach dropping as he witnessed the scene in front of him.
There in the portal he saw what looked to be an older him, possibly around twenty-one, chatting and laughing with his arm around a much older man's shoulder as the two walked through a park. The body language between the two was clearly romantic as older Danny gave the other man a slight kiss on the cheek at times, and the two flirted back and forth. The problem wasn't the fact he was dating someone older than him, not at all, that wouldn't have freaked him out to that extent.
The problem was that his apparent date was Vlad Masters.
It was then that Clockwork showed up, leading to where they were now, yelling and screaming that the future they witnessed was some sort of messed up prank.
"Why would my future be dating a walking thorn in my side!?" Vlad yelled, baring his fangs at the time master. "I demand an explanation!"
"That isn't my job to tell you, you'll simply find out as the time approaches."
"Absolutely not!" Danny yelled, slightly shaking as he tried processing what he saw. "I know things didn't work out between me and Sam, but Vlad!? How the heck did my standards drop so low that I'd even consider dating a walking wannabe cereal mascot in the first place!?"
"Stop calling me a fruit loop!"
"I didn't even call you that this time, but thanks for letting me know that you know you are one."
The two's glares intensified at each other as they prepared to fight once again. Clockwork was having none of that as he yelled 'Time out!' and froze the two. He grabbed the two and dragged them to the entrance before unfreezing time. The sudden shift in location threw them off for a bit, and before they could start fighting again, Clockwork spoke.
"My lair holds the windows to many different timelines, not a single one being set in stone," he explained. "What you two saw was a possibility, not a definite. This is why I can't tell someone what their future may hold, because it all relies on the actions they take at critical moments in their lives."
"Well I know one thing for sure, I'm sure as hell never dating him." Danny pointed at Plasmius, a disgusted look on his face as he did so.
"That's the understatement of the century." Vlad gave a sneer in return. "I prefer my lovers to be around my age, not brats that still need help to pass math class."
"Leave my grades out of this!"
"Don't you leave them out enough? With that C average I'm shocked they're letting you move to twelfth grade, nonetheless let you even finish middle school."
"A-hem," Clockwork cleared his throat loudly, regaining their attention. "If you wish to keep fighting like children, do it somewhere else," he groaned exasperated, rubbing his forehead. "I have tasks I need to finish, and I'd rather not be delayed because of you two."
He shot a look at the two which gave them the hint, making them turn and go off in seperate directions from each other. Letting out a sigh, he headed back inside as a smirk found its way onto his face. While he did explain to them that no timeline was set in stone, and that the critical moments they take will set them down one path over another, he purposefully left out one important piece.
That being, the critical moment for the future they witnessed, and made plenty clear they detested, had just been completed right then. Specifically that the two had to become aware of a possible timeline where they became romantically involved.
Clockwork had already known of it for some now, but was shocked to see that this was the path fate had elected to send them down. From here on out, the two would fight some more with each other over this future, before calming down and agreeing to a 'mutual hatred' truce. As time would go on, they'd find themselves changing each other for the better, discovering new ways they felt about the other as they grew closer, all before leading them down to what they witnessed here today.
That being, their first date.
Everything was the way it was supposed to be, and Clockwork returned to his previously delayed work with no worries on his mind over the two halfas' soon-to-be blossoming romance.