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[Attempt number-one-hundred had been successful.]
When Dan woke up, his very first thought was his usual: ‘Goddamn son of a fucking bitch.’
That was when he realized that he didn’t say it out loud. That he wasn’t wearing his itchy (for some reason) jail uniform. That he was submerged in water and was wearing an oxygen mask over his mouth.
‘Son of a fucking bitch, indeed,’ thought Dan, as he tried to move his limbs or turn intangible. No luck. He was immobile and helpless.
It was then he wondered who could have done this, and inwardly rolled his eyes. He shouldn’t have bothered to wonder at all. That goddamn Clockwork had to be the culprit. Sure, Dan had destroyed the world – and he would have completely annihilated it if it weren’t for this ancient geezer. He’s always doing shit to ensure that the best timeline happens. Dan is someone who does not ensure that people live in the best timeline. So, of course he’s going to be used as a-- what? A fucking experiment or some shit?
Ancients.
Good to know that he’s threatening enough to be studied under a microscope.
It was then Dan felt his body being gently lifted. Then, he felt himself being pulled out of the water and into the fluffiest towel he’s ever felt.
‘What the fuck?’ he thought, feeling his brows scrunch. ‘Was I naked down there?!’
A small whine escaped his lips and---
‘Holy fuckity-fuck-!!’
Why did he—why does he—Dan sounded like a fucking baby! The more he squirmed, he heard more whines from his own fucking mouth. Dan didn’t want to know if he had tiny infant hands and feet, too.
But if he was a fucking baby, why the fuck was he under water?!
“Shhhh…” someone gently soothed. “I’m here… I’m here…”
‘Danny?!’
Fucking—‘You little shit!’ thought Dan, trying to wave his tiny baby fists but it was no use. He couldn’t lift his fists at all. They stayed clutched to his chest. And instead of an angry yell like he wanted to do, all his pathetic little baby self could do was whine and cry.
Dammit. Of course it was fucking Danny who put him in water, which was obviously a test tube! What, did the twerp decided that since Dan was a threat as a full-fledged adult ghost, he’d be less of a threat as a baby?!
‘You fucking coward!’ he wanted to shout at him.
But then, he was gently being rocked back and forth.
“I’m here… I’m sorry… I’m here…” Danny whispered. It was unfair how gentle the voice sounded because… it sounded a lot like… her.
‘Fuck you…’ thought Dan, unable to stop a yawn from escaping his mouth. He wanted to cuss Danny out for being so gentle, for stopping him from destroying everything, for being the one the realms seemed to favor.
Too many feelings. Anger, hatred, and longing. More and more of these emotions built up inside of Dan that it caused another whine to escape from his lips.
He felt himself being gently lifted again to feel… a kiss to his forehead.
‘The fuck?????’
“You are a little miracle,” Danny whispered in that painfully gentle voice.
Dan wanted to squirm, to get out of Danny’s arms and get the fuck away.
Dan wasn’t even sure if this was Danny anymore. No one ever talked to him that gently in… years. No one with the same amount of love and fondness, not since he lost… them. Danny had no love for someone who had turned into a monster. No, Danny had no love for a version of himself that had become a monster. The young boy looked upon Dan with fear and hostility, with determination to never become what Dan was.
And so, this person couldn’t be Danny.
It had to be… Vlad? A clone of Vlad? A clone of Vlad and Danny?
Well, whoever this is, he was a stranger. A stranger who had put him into a test tube to—make a baby. To make Dan a baby and fill some kind of void that Dan will surely never be able to fill, no matter how much this person’s voice was filled with so much love.
“Shhh… It’s okay… Don’t cry…”
‘Fuck off, fuck off, fuck off!’ Dan thought, whining even more. ‘I don’t fucking want you! I don’t need you! Put me the fuck back in that tube and grow me, you piece of shit!’
The rocking stopped. And because the gentle rocking stopped, Dan stopped his thinking to wonder why Dann--- why the young man seemed to have stopped. Then, he felt the arms holding him tremble.
Even as he was held, it felt like one of those amusement park rides where you suddenly fall down, but never crash. Except, instead of sitting, you’re lying down. It made Dan nauseous, which did make him whine a bit.
The young man that held him seemed to have sucked in a breath, before shakily letting it out. Then, Dan felt himself gently being laid to the ground. Once he were, the gentle arms and hands disappeared.
Dan felt… nothing around him. Heard nothing around him.
Did the young man just… abandon him? Just left him out here to die?
That… That little…
‘YOU DEADBEAT FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!’ Dan wanted to scream, and scream he did. Finally, he was able to wave his fucking fists into the air. ‘Get back here! GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!’ The young man leaving him seemed to have affected his breathing, because right now he was having trouble of it. He felt tear after tear running down his face, as his screams got louder and louder. ‘Don’t fucking leave me here to die! DON’T LEAVE ME!’
He was a baby. Who the fuck abandons a baby?
‘So many people,’ Dan thought, bitterly. And… it turns out that he’s going to be another one of the unlovable ones.
Well, Dan had never been lovable for years. And being turned into a baby doesn’t suddenly make him one.
But then…
But then…
Hands gently picked him up again, tucking Dan into his arms and gently shushing him, no matter how much the voice trembled.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m a monster, aren’t I?”
‘You are.’ He is. Dan… Dan clutched on tightly to the young man’s shirt. He’s going to make sure that the young man doesn’t dare leave him again. ‘Piece of fucking shit thinks he could escape responsibility? Fuck no!’
The voice chuckled, tightening his hold on Dan just a tad. “I won’t do that again.”
‘The fuck you won’t!’
“I’ll be right here for you,” the young man said. And now it seems that the two of them were headed towards somewhere. Even if Dan couldn’t hear the young man’s footsteps, he could feel his body swaying as if he was being gently carried with the wind.
“And…” the young man continued, “I’ll make sure that I’ll keep living for you… Daniel.”
Dan huffed, at least he thought he did. But, because it were a baby body, he most likely just breathed through his nose.
“Yes, your name will be Daniel. After my stepmother, Dana.”
That made Dan pause.
Because, ‘Who?’
The young man chuckled. “Yes, that’s a wonderful name. Daniel Drake. Do you like it?”
‘I hope the confusion shows on my fucking face.’
“No? Then, do you want to be called Danny?”
‘Fuck no, pass!’
“Ah. You’re like me, then. You’d like to be called Dan. Is that right?”
And, although Dan could not see it, his infant face let out a gummy smile. Eyes closed and mouth stretched wide in such a heartbreakingly familiar grin.
‘Fuck yeah!’ Dan inwardly cheered. ‘Maybe you’re not so bad.’
He felt himself being hugged close to the man’s face, his forehead being kissed again. “Dan, huh? Tim and Dan. You and me, against the world.”
‘I’m a fucking baby.’ Dan yawned and instinctively snuggled into the man’s hand. ‘See my fucking baby instincts? You’re on your own, kid.’
Finally, things were starting to fade as Dan allowed himself to be pulled into unconsciousness. ‘I better not wake up in a fucking sewer or something,’ thought Dan, clutching on extra tightly to the young man’s shirt. The last he heard before he slept was the young man’s chuckle, and felt a final kiss on the head.