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Chapter Text

 

Kissing is like drinking salted water. You drink, and your thirst increases. ~Chinese Proverb

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Danny paced across his bedroom, his hands alternating between running through his hair and fidgeting at his sides. He glanced at the Fenton Ghost Catcher sparkling innocently in the dying sunlight, winced, and quickly resumed pacing. Two minutes later, his gaze wondered back to his parents' invention.

The teen hero gulped and then approached the Ghost Catcher. He lifted his hand, but faltered, his fingertips just grazing the glowing green net. Hours ago, he had decided he needed to do this, but it was just so…wrong.

Echoes of Tucker's teasing comments and Valerie's snickers haunted his ears, and Danny's hand fisted at his side. Without a second thought, he transformed and flew through the glowing net. His scream caught in his throat as each cell, each molecule was forcibly split apart. He felt himself splitting apart. The oddest sensation, when your outlook is divided by two bodies. How does one describe the process of becoming two?

It lasted only a second, but by the time that second elapsed, Danny ceased to exist.

---

"Next time," Fenton said from his spread-eagle position on the floor, "we need to prepare a softer landing for me." He spat out blue carpet fibers and then climbed unsteadily to his feet. A wave of dizziness overcame him, and he held his head steady as the rest of the world spun. Only Phantom remained stationary in the spinning world, but Fenton suspected that was because the ghost was actually swaying in midair.

"There was never supposed to be a this time," the ghost of Danny said. He ran his fingers through his white hair, grimacing at the feeling. "And when was the last time we showered? My hair is filthy!"

Fenton leaned against the Ghost Catcher's pole for support, and soon the dizzy spell passed. He sighed in relief. "Let's not make a habit of this."

"Agreed." Phantom sagged against the upper ring of the Catcher. His ghost tail flicked behind him like a whip, displaying his agitation.

"I mean, there had to be another way to…to… to do this."

Phantom looked down at his human twin, frowning. "We went over all our options when we were one. This was the only way. Unless you want to play the fool in front of Paulina or Sam as well as Valerie?"

Fenton flushed. "No. That was…uh…"

"Terrible."

"I was going for humiliating, but that works too. But this…" Fenton waved a hand between him and Phantom. "…this is just…"

"Awkward?"

"Just wrong. Just very, very wrong."

Phantom shrugged his shoulders, but a similar grimace marred his features. "We've little choice. It's either this, or…"

Fenton squinted up at him. "Or…?"

"Or we remain uneducated and ridiculed at school. Or our reputation remains damaged. Or Valerie will never see us as anything more than a friend."

"…I can live with that." Compared to what they were supposed to do, the consequences weren't so—

"I can't."

Fenton's eyes snapped to his doppelganger's face. "What?"

Phantom landed beside Fenton on his newly appeared feet. He stared into his human twin's eyes, and said, "I refuse to be the laughingstock of the school any longer. I refuse to allow this deficiency to come between us and Valerie. We will do this."

"Whoa!" Fenton held up his hands between himself and the phantom. "Whoa, just-just slow down, okay. Can't we, you know, like, talk about this or something?"

"There's no need. We decided we would do this before we separated, and I'm not going to let you chicken out on me now."

Fenton bristled, almost wishing his eyes could still glow. "I'm not chickening out!"

"Then relax." The skin around Phantom's eyes softened. "Relax, or this will be more awkward than it needs to be." The ghost's tone was soft, gentle. It echoed around the room and in Fenton's ears like a breeze of cold air.

A chill ran down Fenton's spine, and the boy rubbed his forearms, trying to will away the goosebumbs the ghost's creepy voice caused. "It's not that easy, okay? I mean, we're supposed to ki—" He snapped his mouth shut, blood flooding his cheeks.

"Kiss," Phantom supplied. His green eyes rolled skyward. "Oh, the horror…"

"It is horrifying! We're the same person! The same guy! We can't k-ki-k—"

"Kiss."

"—each other! It's gross! It's wrong! How can you be so comfortable with the idea?"

Phantom frowned. "I'm not. I find it just as disgusting as you do."

"Then don't do it!"

"But what I find more disgusting than kissing myself, is kissing Valerie and then listening to her laugh at me again."

Fenton flinched. The sound of Valerie's laughter still rang in his ears. She had apologized when she realized she insulted Danny, but that hadn't stopped her from blurting to Starr he was a lousy kisser, and from there it had spread throughout the whole school.

"Wrong or not," Phantom continued, "we need to do this. We need to learn how to kiss before our date with Valerie tonight." He brushed his fingers against his human half's cheek.

Fenton's eyes flew wide open. He jerked away from Phantom's touch and stumbled backwards into the Fenton Ghost Catcher. "D-don't touch me!"

Phantom slowly lowered his hand, his left eyebrow quirked. "Physical contact is necessary for a kiss, you know."

"I know that! It's just—you—I can't—"

"You just can't kiss me?"

Fenton closed his mouth and nodded, his nose wrinkled.

"…Pretend I'm Valerie then, if you must."

The ghost advanced on Fenton, as graceful on his feet as he was in the air, and Fenton plastered himself against the metal pole. Phantom grabbed his shoulders, and Fenton closed his eyes, frantically willing the image of Valerie to the forefront of his mind. He imagined her right before their first kiss, when her dark complexion failed to hide her blush and her beautiful teal eyes held as much excitement as he felt.

Icy lips pressed against his own, and the image of Valerie shattered into a million pieces.

"Mph!" Fenton shoved his hands against Phantom's chest, sending the lightweight ghost tumbling backwards through the air. "Gross!" He scrubbed his lips against the back of his hand, seconds away from spitting.

"A simple 'Get off me!' would have sufficed," Phantom grumbled after he had righted himself.

"It's not going to work! How am I supposed to pretend you're Valerie when you're freezing to the touch?"

"Pretend I'm Ember or Johnny then!" Phantom floated back to his previous position, ignoring the way Fenton tensed. "I don't care who you imagine me to be, but we are going to teach ourselves how to kiss."

Fenton sagged against the bar at his back. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No."

Fenton grimaced. "I…" He shook his head. "Fine. Fine. We—I'll…" He stood up straight. He looked into Phantom's eyes, blushed, and quickly looked away, scowling. "Just do your worst…"

He couldn't see it, but he was sure Phantom rolled his eyes. "Charming."

Out of the corner of his eye, Fenton saw Phantom's gloved hand reach for his face. He swallowed as cold fingers seized his chin and forced him to face Phantom again, a scant two inches away. The light from the setting sun accented Phantom's natural glow a warm orange hue, but the ghost's green eyes shown brighter. Too close. Too intense. The human flushed and tried to jerk his head away, but Phantom held him firmly in place.

"Relax," he whispered, his breath ghosting across Fenton's lips as he drew closer.

Fenton screwed his eyes shut. A second later, Phantom's cold lips pressed against his. Fenton's shoulder muscles tensed, but he forced himself to relax by conjuring Valerie's image again. Except Valerie's lips were soft and smooth, not chapped from strong winds and high altitudes. Yet instead of detracting from the pleasure, the rough texture of Phantom's lips tickled Fenton's mouth and made the boy shiver.

Phantom drifted a little closer, adding pressure to Fenton's lips. Hesitantly, Fenton returned the pressure and tilted his head slightly to the side. Emboldened, Phantom parted his lips and slid his tongue along the crevice of Fenton's. The human chocked and tried to jerk his head away, but Phantom's hold on his chin tightened, stopping his kneejerk reaction.

"Open your mouth," Phantom ordered, his lips rubbing against Fenton's as he spoke.

"Um-umph!" Fenton mumbled. There was no way he was letting Phantom stick his tongue inside his mouth. That was just gross.

Phantom withdrew from Fenton and sighed cold air against his face."You are being very stubborn about this."

Fenton glared at him. "Like you're any better!"

Phantom returned glare for glare. Fenton wanted to look away from those blazing green eyes, but Phantom still held his chin, forcing him to maintain eye-contact. "I'm at least trying! What have you done except sit there and whine?"

"Hey!"

"The longer you fight this, the longer we both have to suffer. Now pucker your lips and let's get this over with!"

Fenton's eyebrows rose to his hairline, a light blush staining his cheeks. "Dude, that has got to be the most unromantic line I have ever heard."

Phantom paused. He titled his head slightly to the side, and the white strands of his hair tickled Fenton's face as he moved. "Should I be romantic?"

"What?" Fenton's blush intensified and spread to his neck and hairline. "No! No! D-don't even think about it!"

A corner of Phantom's lips turned up, an expression the human half of Danny recognized as the one they wore when they felt mischievous. "I think I should. A kiss isn't a kiss unless it's romantic."

Fenton sputtered, and he hated how his whole face felt like it was on fire. "Are you crazy? We can't—we're the same person!"

"We may have originated from the same person, but right now we are two separate entities." Phantom stroked his thumb along the dip in Fenton's chin, right beneath his lips, and smirked deviously at the human's horrified expression. "The only thing we share right now is a common goal."

"That's not how it works!"

"Isn't it, though?" Phantom released Fenton's chin, and the freed human scurried to the opposite side of the Ghost Catcher's pole. Phantom's smirk grew, amused. "What you think, I don't think. What you feel, I don't feel. You don't know what I'm thinking or what I'm feeling at this very moment. By its very definition, we are no longer the same person." Phantom placed a gloved hand on the pole and leaned into Fenton's face. "So what is stopping us?" he whispered in a husky voice.

Fenton made an odd yelping noise. He backpedaled away from the ghost, but tripped over his own feet before he could go more than two steps.

Phantom crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his shoulder against the pole, that infuriating smirk still plastered on his lips as he stared down at Fenton. "Is it wrong that I find your clumsiness…cute?"

Fenton opened and closed his mouth like a fish, unable to find the words he needed. His thoughts were jumbled, his mind unable to cope with this bizarre situation. Messing with him was one thing, but if Phantom was actually serious then…then…

"What are you afraid of?" Phantom asked. "We are the only ones in this room, the only ones that will know what happens behind this closed door. If, as you say, we are the same person, then there's even less to fear since to laugh or insult you would be to insult myself."

Fenton turned his head and stared at the carpet sticking up between the gap of his fingers. "I…"

Phantom's smirk slipped slowly into a frown. "Or is that what is really holding you back? That I will laugh at you like Valerie did?"

Fenton's fingers curled into a fist around the carpet fibers. "Of course not!"

Dropping his relaxed pose against the pole, Phantom stepped towards the glaring human. "That is what you're afraid of, isn't it? Or at least one of your fears."

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is. I know it is because …" The ghost knelt on his knee beside Fenton's outstretched legs. "…I fear the same thing."

Fenton glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. "You do?"

"Of course." The smirk returned to Phantom's face, although it was a great deal smaller. "After all, we used to be the same person with the same fears and wants."

Scowling, Fenton looked away. "It still doesn't change anything. I…I'm still…I can't…"

"We are—were the same person. If I can do this…" Phantom brushed his hand along Fenton's face until he cupped the other boy's cheek. Fenton's eyes snapped to the ghost's face. "…then so can you."

To his horror, Fenton felt his cheeks heat up beneath Phantom's cold hand. "I…that's not…it's not that simple. You—you're more confident about all this than I am. I don't even know what I'm doing!"

"That's what you have me for." Phantom's voice dropped an octave, the low pitch somehow heating Fenton's blood and making his heart beat faster. "Trust me," the ghost whispered, "and I will guide you through this."

"But you don't know what you're doing either."

"That is what I have you for." Eyelids lowering over neon green eyes, Phantom stared through dark eyelashes and into Fenton's contrasting blue eyes. "To tell me what feels good. To show me what makes you feel so hot you can't think. To respond when you feel pleasure." He rested his forehead against Fenton's. "I need you to allow me to please you."

Phantom's cold breath wafted across Fenton's lips, and the human boy's eyes began to close as a tingle of pleasure coursed down his spine. "But I…"

"But…?" the ghost echoed, his thumb caressing Fenton's cheek. Fenton's heart was beating so hard it almost hurt. Was this what Phantom meant when he mentioned romancing him?

"But it's wrong…"

"For one moment, we can make it right."

Phantom sealed their lips together. Fenton's hands flew to Phantom's shoulders and stayed there, immobilized by the conflicting desire to push him away and to pull the ghost closer. Phantom placed his hand on Fenton's hip bone and slipped his fingers beneath his white T-shirt. The icy fingers danced across Fenton's heated skin, and it was all Fenton could do to hold onto the ghost's shoulders as a wave of desire washed over him. The cold touch should have snapped Fenton out of whatever spell Phantom had spun on him, but the contrast in temperatures only pulled him in deeper.

Phantom's tongue traced Fenton's lips, and Fenton parted them without thinking. The cold tongue entered his mouth and grazed over his tongue. Fenton's facial muscles twitched. He hadn't liked the thought of swapping saliva with Valerie, and he didn't relish the thought of doing so now with his ghost half. Phantom's tongue explored and prodded his mouth, but his touches were light, cautious; his tongue flinched away a little every time it touched something, and Fenton realized the ghost felt the same way.

Then the tip of Phantom's cold tongue traced the underside of Fenton's, and the human boy gasped, his hands convulsing on the ghost's shoulders. Phantom hummed in interest, and the vibration carried into Fenton's mouth. The boy shivered. He slid his arm around his ghost's shoulders and pulled him closer until their chests were pressed together.

A smirk Fenton felt through his lips was the only warning he got before Phantom's tongue danced around his, alternating between feather-light touches and firm strokes. Fenton moaned, and with a few clever flicks and caresses, Phantom baited Fenton's tongue into participating in the dance his mind insisted was disgusting, but made his body hum with warmth.

Phantom angled his head to the side, granting himself better access into Fenton's mouth. Fenton tangled his fingers in Phantom's snow white hair, absently wondering if his hair was that soft or if it was just a ghost thing. The hand resting on his hip ghosted over his skin until it lay against the small of Fenton's back. It caused an interesting sensation to crawl up Fenton's spine, and the human unconsciously leaned into the cold touch.

Soon Fenton's lungs began to burn. He disengaged the tongue war and tore his lips away from Phantom, gasping for breath. His reprieve didn't last long as Phantom attempted to pull him back into the kiss.

"Wait! I—"

"I will shoot you if you make us stop now," Phantom said, his voice almost too deep and husky to be recognizable. He recaptured Fenton's lips, but Fenton broke away again a few seconds later.

"I need to breathe!"

"Then breathe through your nose." The ghost placed his hand on the back of Fenton's neck and used his new hold to smash their lips together. They both hissed in pain as their teeth clicked painfully together. "Sorry," Phantom murmured before returning to the kiss.

Fenton yanked on Phantom's hair to show his displeasure. The ghost responded by turning his glove intangible and scraping what little nails he had against the dip in Fenton's lower back. Where Fenton felt a wave of pleasure before he now felt a tsunami that crashed against his nerves and made him tingle in all the right places. Fenton moaned and hugged Phantom to him as he leaned against his cold hand, wanting that feeling again. Startled by his reaction, Phantom lost his balance and the two boys fell against the floor.

This time Phantom broke off the kiss. He half sat up from Fenton and cleared his throat. "That was—"

Fenton used his hold on the ghost's head to pull Phantom back down into the kiss. The ghost boy released a startled yelp, unintentionally giving Fenton access to his mouth. Fenton's tongue swooped inside and engaged Phantom's by using the same techniques the ghost had employed earlier. Phantom's eyes rolled closed as he returned the kiss.

Wondering if Phantom would experience the same sensation, Fenton trailed his hand along the ghost's spine and then grazed his nails against the dip of his lower back. Phantom gasped, his eyes flying wide open and his pupils dilating. Fenton chuckled until Phantom shoved his tongue almost down his throat. Fenton groaned and lifted his chin for better access.

The ghost shifted further on top of him and set his leg on the other side of Fenton's body, now straddling Fenton's midsection. Lightweight as the ghost was, his weight excited Fenton without restricting his breathing too badly. Phantom pulled his hands out from beneath Fenton's body and then slipped them beneath his shirt. His cold fingers caressed the small stomach muscles ghost fighting had awarded them. One hand traveled higher up Fenton's chest and the other massaged Fenton's sides.

Fenton broke the kiss and threw his head back, a breathless gasp escaping his lips. He panted through his mouth as Phantom's cold hands stroked his overheated skin, and he was frightened to realize he wanted the feel of Phantom's skin against his without any gloves to separate them—or even any suit at all.

"Ph-Phantom," Fenton stuttered, breathless.

Phantom kissed his throat, and Fenton was exposed to another sensation that sent all thought of stopping to his internal garbage bin. Before the ghost could pull away, Fenton pushed Phantom's face back against his neck. Phantom received the silent message and started alternating between kissing and licking Fenton's neck.

Moaning with abandon, Fenton exposed more of his neck to the ghost, and Phantom responded by placing an open-mouthed kiss against the side of his throat, sucking on the skin. Fenton arched his spine, his body pressing against his ghost as his lungs fought for air. Phantom trailed the tip of his tongue around the area he was sucking, his hand drifting down Fenton's sides. Phantom's pinky slipped beneath the waistband of Fenton's pants, and the image that accompanied the touch made Fenton moan and push his hips into Phantom's hand despite the fear he felt growing.

"Wa-wait," Fenton gasped out, "we can't—"

Phantom crushed their lips together again, careful of their teeth this time. Fenton hugged his ghost to his chest, wanting to push him away but also wanting him to be closer. Much, much closer. But he was already close enough to feel Phantom's core thrumming against his chest; any closer and they'd be one entity again. Phantom pushed his pants further—

"Danny!" Jazz shouted from outside their door. "Valerie wants you to call her!"

The boys froze, staring wide-eyed into each other's eyes. Faster than the Ghost Catcher had split them apart, Phantom flew to the opposite side of the room and Fenton scrambled backwards until he slammed his back against the bed. They stared in horror at each other as they gasped for air, Phantom more so out of fear than actual need.

Jazz pounded her fist against the door. "Are you awake, Danny, or do I need to come in there?"

"No!" the two halves of Danny screamed.

"Call your girlfriend then! She said you weren't picking up your cell phone. You shouldn't keep Valerie waiting like this."

They heard their sister leave and then sighed in relief. They glanced at each other, but quickly looked away as soon as their gazes locked.

"I—" Fenton cleared his throat, trying to shake off the husky timbre attached to his voice. "We, uh, we should merge back before we call her."

"Yes. That's…" Phantom cleared his throat as well. "That's a good idea."

Fenton swallowed. "Uh, yeah…" He used the bed to help him stand up, ashamed and embarrassed by how uncomfortable he felt in his pants. "Let's…let's get this over with then."

Phantom nodded and flew behind him. Fenton's whole body tensed, the hairs on his neck and arms standing on end. Phantom hesitated, considering how to hold him so they flew through the Catcher at the same time. Eventually he sighed and wrapped his arms around Fenton's waist. Fenton's skin crawled, and he dearly hoped it was out of revulsion. The ghost lifted them into the air and paused.

"I…" he started. "What we did…"

"Never again," Fenton agreed. "In fact, it never happened, right?"

Phantom floated silently for a few seconds. Then he hugged Fenton close to his chest and whispered against his neck, "If you say so."

Fenton's eyes flew wide open as he felt cold lips kiss the area of his neck that still tingled. "Wha—"

Phantom flew them through the Fenton Ghost Catcher.

---

Danny pushed himself onto his knees and grabbed his head, groaning. The memories of his two halves buzzed around his mind, each one clamoring for attention like little children. Swallowing, Danny climbed to his feet and stumbled toward his mirror, disoriented by memories of two people being compressed into his single brain. He crashed into his dresser and leaned on his hands, staring down at his fingers as he allowed the memories of both entities to wash over him.

One memory of Phantom's caught Danny's attention. It was after the…kiss. Phantom was staring down at Fenton, or rather a certain spot on Fenton's neck. His thoughts and feelings had conflicted about what to make of what he saw before finally settling on a tenuous agreement.

Danny looked at the wide blue eyes of his reflection and then slowly lowered his gaze to his neck. Swallowing, the hero touched a finger to the medium sized bruise and felt a mix of pain and pleasure from the raw skin. The pleasure Fenton felt as he received the hickey and the interest and fascination Phantom felt upon seeing his mark tore through Danny's conscious mind like a train wreck.

Nausea welled up in Danny's throat, and he quickly covered the hickey beneath his hand. He stared into his reflection's eyes, and nearly started hyperventilating when he realized his eyes were still dilated from want.

"What…did I just do?"

Chapter Text

 

---

"Sometimes two people need to step apart
and make a space between
that each might see the other anew,
in a glance across a room
or silhouetted against the moon."
~Robert Brault

---

Danny's fingers twitched against his desk, the only sign of his agitation as he once again sensed someone staring at him. A few seconds later, the person turned away, apparently bored by the lack of anything extraordinary, and Danny breathed a little easier…until another kid looked at him. Danny clamped down on the impulse to jump up and start demanding answers, and to hell with his social image. Acting like a lunatic would at least give them a reason to stare at him.

Grumbling under his breath, Danny fiddled with his turtleneck collar, pulling the red cloth higher up his neck. He doubted it was the hickey drawing his classmates' attention. He had a girlfriend. They would assume he received it from her. Paranoia, however, couldn't be rationalized, and the thought of people witnessing the bite mark filled Danny with shame.

"That is all I have for you today, class," Mr. Lancer said. "As much as it pains me to say this, you may use the rest of class time to—quietly—discuss the last few chapters of Midsummer Night's Dream. There is a test next week—" The class erupted into action, the social climbers running to Paulina's desk and the rest breaking off into groups to gossip loudly. "Silent Spring, people, I said quietly!"

Danny glanced at Valerie and felt his stomach churn at the murderous expression she still wore on her face. She was glaring at what looked like a newspaper on her desk, so Danny knew he wasn't the cause of her anger…well, not him, her boyfriend. She had acquired the look sometime after the end of lunch, after her talk with Paulina, so Danny assumed her anger was directed towards Danny Phantom. Although, she had been among those throwing Danny Fenton sidelong glances all day…

Danny bit his lip, hesitating. She looked so beautiful, with her dark hair falling in waves around her face and neck, her soft, smooth lips pursed together and her eyes ablaze with intense emotion. Just staring at her made Danny's heart quicken in excitement.

Tucker elbowed Danny in the ribs. He offered his friend a thumbs up when he faced him. "Go for it, dude."

Danny smiled at him before looking at Sam. Approval, acceptance, advice, he wasn't sure what he was looking for; he just knew he needed it from his only female friend.

Sam broke eye-contact and crossed her arms over her chest. "Go do what you have to do, Danny. We'll be here in case her bad mood makes her turn on Danny Fenton too."

Danny gave her a lopsided smile. "Thanks, Sam." She waved him off, sighing.

With both of his friends' support at his back, Danny pushed himself out of his chair and strode towards Valerie's desk, his pace calm and confident despite the nerves eating at his belly. The closer he got to her, the faster his heart beat against his chest.

"Hey, Val," he said. "I was wondering if—"

Valerie stabbed the newspaper with her finger, still glaring down at it. "Have you seen this?"

Danny closed his mouth, frowning slightly. He looked at the newspaper and almost instantly winced. A dedicated news reporter or an obsessed fan had captured a photo of Danny Phantom flying into Fenton Works. Danny Fenton's bedroom to be exact.

That would explain the stares, Danny thought. I need to be more careful… He shook his head, saying aloud, "Valerie, I—"

"What was he doing? Did he want something? Did he threaten you?"

"Valerie—"

"Did he hurt you? I swear if he so much as touched you—"

"You'll what?" Danny interrupted, his frustration with her prejudice making his tone harsher than he intended. "Beat him with a baseball bat? Come on, Val. You're a normal kid just like me. What could you do to a ghost?"

Valerie froze. Frowning, she looked away.

"My parents are ghost hunters, Val," he said, softly to make up for his harsh tone. "If I'm ever in danger, all I have to do is shout down the hall and they'll come running with guns blazing. Can't get much safer than that."

Valerie said nothing, although Danny knew what she must be thinking. That his parents were useless against ghosts. That they couldn't catch the Box Ghost, let alone Danny Phantom. That they were no Red Huntress.

Facing Danny again, Valerie asked, "What did he want?"

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't even see him. He must have just been passing through on his way to the Ghost Zone."

The muscles in Valerie's face and shoulders eased, the tense air about her beginning to melt away. "He left you alone?"

"Yeah. I mean," Danny forced a chuckle, "what would a superhero want from a loser like me anyway?"

"He's no more a superhero than you are a loser, Danny." She looked down at the newspaper again, her lips pursed in thought. "And just because you didn't see him, doesn't mean he wasn't there…Ghosts are tricky like that…"

"I guess…but I don't want to talk about him right now." He grabbed the paper out of Valerie's hands and flipped it over so Phantom's image was hidden from sight. An uneasy pressure in his shoulders lessened, allowing him to breathe easier. "I actually came over to ask you something…"

Valerie raised an eyebrow, a corner of her lips lifting in a smirk. "Finally over your embarrassment, Fenton?"

Danny's cheeks flushed. "I-I wasn't embarrassed."

"It sure seemed that way. You have been avoiding me ever since our first kiss. You even cancelled our date last weekend."

"I…L-last weekend…" Danny winced, his cheeks burning. He had been thoroughly burnt out on kissing after the…incident last weekend. But this time was special. He had been planning it ever since he and Valerie hooked up.

"There's nothing to be ashamed about, Danny," Valerie continued. "A lot of guys I've dated didn't know what they were doing when it came to kissing."

A lot of guys she's dated…Danny thought, wincing. Urgh, feels like I've just been punched in the gut…

"As long as you're willing to learn and…" her eyelids lowered over her eyes, "practice, you'll get the hang of kissing in no time."

Practice? Danny swallowed, feeling sick. I barely survived teaching myself how to kiss! Now I'm supposed to practice?

Valerie frowned, leaning forward in concern. "Danny?"

"Oh, uh, sorry. I was just thinking to myself." He shook his head forcefully. I'll worry about it later! "I…there is supposed to be a meteor shower tomorrow night. I was wondering if…you would like to watch it with me on Lookout Hill."

Valerie's worried expression blossomed into one of delight, and Danny felt his chest fill with warmth at the sight. "I would love to," she said.

A large, goofy grin spread across Danny's face. "Great! It's supposed to start around nine, so how does eight-thirty sound?"

"It sounds like a date."

The bell rang. Students leaped from their seats, rushing out of the classroom. Valerie placed her hand on Danny's bicep and gently kissed his cheek before following the crowd out the door.

Sam halted beside Danny, took one look at his face and said in a monotone voice, "Judging by the goofy grin, Valerie said yes?"

"She said yes." Danny threw his hands into the air and shouted, "She said yes!"

The few students still in the classroom threw him odd looks before continuing on with their own business.

"Nice going, dude!" Tucker said. He high-fived Danny, but as soon as his hand returned to his side, a teasing smirk spread across his lips. "Don't blow it with another lousy kiss."

Danny paled.

"Tucker!" Sam scolded.

"Oh, come on, Sam!" Tucker said, still grinning. "I rarely get to tease Mr. Heartthrob of the school over here about anything important."

"How is his kissing ability important?"

Tucker's smirk grew. "Don't you think it is?"

Sam scowled at him, her cheeks dusted a light pink.

"Tucker's right, Sam," Danny said, his shoulders slumping. "What am I going to do? I can't ruin another date with Valerie!"

"Just stop worrying about it, Danny," Sam said. "There is no secret to being a great kisser. You just have to go with what feels natural, and with enough practice, you'll do just fine."

Danny winced. There's that word again.

"Sam's right, dude," Tucker said. "Practice makes perfect, and if it's practice you need, then I'm sure Sam can—"

Sam slammed her steel-toed boot on Tucker's foot. Tucker chocked on a scream and hopped around on his uninjured foot, holding the other in his hands. "You had it coming," was all Sam said.

Danny backed away from his friends, edging towards the door. "Uh, I have to go, guys…"

"Ghost trouble?" Sam asked.

"…You could say that."

"We can help—"

"No! I-I can handle it. Besides, I have, like, loads of homework to catch up on." He turned and ran into the hall, shouting over his shoulder, "I'll see you guys Monday!"

Danny sprinted around the teenagers still loitering in the hallways, causing a few to shout as he ran past them—sometimes through them—on his way to the janitor's closet. Danny slipped inside the tiny room, transformed into Danny Phantom, and then shot through the ceiling and into the free open sky. After setting his course for Fenton Works and turning invisible to avoid paparazzi, the hero closed his eyes and buried his hands in his hair, his thoughts in turmoil.

With a top speed reaching over 112 mph, it didn't take long for Danny to reach Fenton Works. He flew into his bedroom and, in a flash of light, landed on the floor as Danny Fenton. The boy stared at his red shoes for a moment before his gaze traveled to the blanket-covered Ghost Catcher.

Swallowing his nerves, the boy grabbed a fistful of the shroud and yanked it off the large device. He stepped back, staring up at the green glowing net, a persistent, uneasy feeling twisting his gut. In less than thirty minutes, this invention had managed to make a mess of his life. Not to the degree of the Portal, of course, but pretty close. He couldn't even stomach the thought of kissing his girlfriend without remembering how…how he had…

Danny shuddered, his face contorted in an expression of disgust. He had kissed himself. He had enjoyed kissing himself.

Groaning, he scrubbed his face with both hands. "I really am a freak…"

He peaked through a crack in his fingers, looking at the mirror across his room. Overcome by a familiar urge, Danny's feet brought him to the mirror. He pulled down the red collar of his turtleneck and traced his finger along the outside curves of his own personal hickey. Because of his ghost powers, the bruise had already started to heal, albeit slower than it should, resulting in a sickly yellow-ish color in the center and a darker brown oval where his ghost half's teeth had marked his human half's skin. Danny's nose wrinkled in disgust, but his finger continued to explore the contours of the vanishing hickey.

This overwhelming urge to see the hickey happened every time he passed a mirror. He knew this fascination stemmed from the part of his personality Phantom had claimed when Danny passed through the Fenton Ghost Catcher last week, but he couldn't identify the reason behind the fascination. That, more than the creation of the hickey, frightened him.

Danny groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. With his hand still tangled in the black strands, Danny activated the change that transformed Danny Fenton into Danny Phantom. He watched as his hair became as white as snow and his eyes changed from pale blue to neon green, and upon staring into his altered reflection, Danny felt the uneasiness in his gut grow.

Danny released his hair and hooked his finger in the white collar of his jumpsuit. He took a deep breath and then pulled it down, revealing pale, unblemished skin where the hickey had been on his human form. Scowling, he jerked his hand away. His wounds always transferred through his forms. Always. Whatever injuries his ghost form sustains, his human form receives and vice versa.

Looking over his shoulder at the Ghost Catcher again, Danny shivered. It scared him, what something as innocent looking as a dream catcher could do to him. If he could understand what had happened last time, it wouldn't be as frightening, but he didn't know if the mess the kiss had descended into was just another side effect of the Catcher, or if it was something else. Something he didn't want to even think about.

According to Valerie and Sam, though, he didn't just need to know how to kiss. He had to practice kissing. As loath as he was to admit it to himself, he really had…enjoyed the kiss. If he had enjoyed it, would Valerie? He could perhaps take the experience and knowledge he had gained last time and hope it satisfies Valerie.

But if it wasn't enough…if she laughed at him again…

Danny groaned and dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. He couldn't face that again. Her laughter—and later everyone's teasing remarks—tore at Danny's heart and made him feel ill. It made him feel more ill than even the thought of kissing himself did.

"I—" Danny took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. I can do this. Just this once. Just separate, get it over with, remerge, and spend the rest of my life never thinking about this again. Ever."

A second deep breath later, Danny faced the Ghost Catcher. He squared his shoulders, lifted his chin, and, before he could allow himself time to reconsider, jumped through the net. The last sound Danny heard was his scream issuing from two separate mouths.

---

Dizziness struck Phantom as he separated from Fenton, his vision swirling as he fought to regain a semblance of self. He saw Fenton's black hair below him and quickly grabbed his arms before the earthbound boy could plummet to the floor like last time. Fenton thrashed against his hold, causing Phantom sway even more unsteadily in the air.

"Let go!" Fenton shouted. "Stop touching me! Let go!" His fist collided with Phantom's jaw, and the ghost grunted in shock, accidentally releasing Fenton. The human gasped as he fell, yelped when he collided with the floor, and lay there, groaning, as pain and dizziness assaulted him.

Phantom rubbed his sore chin. "I was merely trying to be helpful."

"I don't need your help," Fenton muttered into the floor.

Phantom rolled his eyes and floated further away from the human boy. He stared down at his other half warily, a look that was soon returned once Fenton picked himself up. "Well, this is…unexpected."

"You're telling me!" Fenton fisted clumps of his black hair and began pacing in chaotic circles. "I can't believe we did this! Again! I thought we agreed not to make a habit of this?"

"Apparently, combined, we didn't agree as much as we thought."

Fenton snorted. "Gee, I wonder whose fault that is…"

Although he had mumbled it, Phantom heard the accusation in his tone. He raised an eyebrow. "You're blaming me for this?"

"No, I'm blaming the Grim Reaper. Of course I'm blaming you! You gave me a freaking hickey!"

"You asked for that 'freaking hickey'," Phantom said, eyes narrowing. "And if I'm not mistaken, you received far more pleasure from the act than I."

Fenton's face lit up like a stop light. The boy sputtered incoherently, his arms performing wild gestures that made less sense than his words. Phantom crossed his own arms over his chest and stared down at his human self, smirking slightly. Fenton could deny it all he wanted, but he and Phantom had been one less than a minute ago. Phantom knew on an intimate level just how much Fenton had enjoyed it.

Fenton noticed Phantom's smirk and snapped his own mouth shut. Scowling, he looked away, reminding Phantom more of a disgruntled child than of the embarrassed half of hero. "You were still the one fascinated by the hickey," Fenton grumbled. "Always making us look at it and…" He paused and glanced at Phantom out of the corner of his eyes. "Why were you so fascinated?"

"We were the same person moments ago. Shouldn't you know the answer to that yourself?"

"Yeah, but it was confusing then and even more so now. Is it some sort of ghost thing?"

Phantom shrugged. "It could be for all I know. I don't fully understand it myself. All I know is that…the notion that I can…touch and leave evidence of that touch on the half of me that survived the accident…that I am not just…" He sighed, rubbing his arms. "The reason for my fascination is not something that can be easily explained, Fenton."

"It's not going to make you…um…"

Phantom arched an eyebrow. "Won't make me what?"

"Make you…uh…" Again, odd hand gestures.

"…Kiss you?"

"No—well, yeah, but I mean, it won't make you, uh, take it as far as last time, will it?"

Phantom's eyebrows lowered over his eyes, a mischievous smirk shaping his lips. "It's a possibility. If things become as heated as last time, I may be unable to control myself."

Fenton flushed all the way to his hairline. He stumbled back a step, shaking his head wildly as he frantically tried to articulate full sentences.

Phantom chuckled at his reaction. "Teasing, Fenton. Only teasing."

His face slowly returning to its natural hue, Fenton glared at his ghost half and growled, "Stop doing that."

"But it's fun to watch your reaction."

"Yeah, because I live to entertain you…"

Phantom's eyes crinkled at the sides as he once again smiled teasingly. "Don't you?"

Fenton shook his head forcefully. "This is serious, Phantom! If we're going to practice, then we can't let things go as far as last time."

"Why not? We both enjoyed it."

"Th-that's not the point! Y-you were going to t-t-touch…a-and I…I-I would have…"

The smile slipped from Phantom's face. "And you would have let me," he finished softly.

Fenton scowled down at his shoes, a blush coloring from his neck to the tips of his ears. "This is all your fault…"

"It takes two people to kiss. It only takes one to say no."

"But I did—"

"You voiced some doubt, but you did not push me away."

The human grimaced. "I…" He took a deep breath and then said, "Okay. Okay, we need some ground rules this time. Restrictions."

Phantom frowned. "Restrictions?"

"Yeah, like—"

"I am not going to restrict myself," Phantom said. "If we restrict our learning now then we may be hampered by it later on. Just because you're afraid of—"

Fenton recoiled for an instant and then snapped into defensive mode, blue eyes narrowed and his fists clenched at his side. "I'm not afraid! I just want some boundaries!"

"Yes, but you want those boundaries because you are afraid of what might happen if we don't have them. You don't trust yourself to say no because you liked what we did last time. You enjoyed it. You are afraid you will enjoy it again."

Fenton gaped like an angry fish, his mind unable to supply the words he needed to refute Phantom's claim. Smirking, Phantom landed on the floor in front of Fenton, and the human tensed like he wanted to jump back. Phantom leaned inches away from his face, but still Fenton's pride kept him immobile, the desire to prove he wasn't a coward stronger than the desire to avoid Phantom's touch.

"The difference between you and me, Fenton," Phantom said, lowering his voice for effect, "is that I don't shy away from something just because it frightens me." He flashed the human a wicked grin full of teeth. "I face it head on."

Fenton's face darkened. The boy's jaw tightened as he ground his teeth together, his eyes flashing with emotion even without a ghostly glow to aid them.

Phantom stared into those blue eyes, intrigued, before closing his own and standing up straight. "But if you are unable to face your fears—"

"If I'm not allowed boundaries, then I want to be in control of the kiss."

For a moment, Phantom froze, his mouth hanging open. Then he snapped it shut and glared at his human half. "No."

"You were in charge last time and look where that got us!"

"It was our first real experience," Phantom said. "I was simply overwhelmed!"

"Overwhelmed? You were seconds away from shoving your hand down my pants!"

"It's not like we haven't masturbated before!"

"M-m-masturbated?" Fenton's voice cracked on the word.

Phantom smirked impishly, amused as his human self continued to splutter. "It's an apt description of what we were about to do. Unless you prefer to believe we are separate beings, in which case it would be more accurate to call it a hand-job."

Fenton sputtered, his face as red as Phantom had ever seen it. "What is the matter with you? Do you even hear yourself?"

"Do you disagree? You said earlier that you would not have stopped me from—"

"Shut up!" Fenton clamped his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Phantom threw his head back and laughed. Fenton scowled and clamped his hands harder over his ears, trying to block out the sound of the other boy's amusement.

Still chuckling, Phantom grabbed Fenton's wrists and forced them away from his ears. He smiled as Fenton glared at him. "If you expect to lead me in a kiss, Fenton, then you can't be shy about this."

Fenton blinked, staring at him uncertainly. "You're…you'll let me lead?"

"Why not? It may be fun." Phantom released Fenton's wrists. "Just this once, though. Next time, I dominate."

"Uh, no, because there won't be a next time."

Phantom lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. "If you say so."

Fenton scowled at him. "There won't be!"

"If you say so."

"There won't be, Phantom!"

Phantom let his smirk talk for him.

Fenton scowled at him a while longer before crossing his arms and looking away with a huff. "There better not be…"

"Let us worry about this moment in time," Phantom said. He grabbed Fenton's chin and forced the human to look at him again. "You should always maintain eye-contact with the person you are about to kiss, Fenton."

Fenton flushed to the tips of his ears. He slapped Phantom's hand away and said, "Don't rush me."

"I'm not. I'm merely offering guidance." The ghost cocked his head to the side as Fenton once again turned away. "Eye-contact. Shyness becomes girls, Fenton."

Grumbling something about impatient ghosts, Fenton faced Phantom again and stared into the ghost's green eyes. Although a blush quickly stained his cheeks, the boy raised his chin defiantly and his gaze remained unwavering.

"Good, but," Phantom placed a hand on Fenton's warm shoulder, "this is not a competition. Relax yourself."

Fenton breathed in and out steadily, and soon the rigid shoulder beneath Phantom's hand loosened, becoming limp and flexible. Fenton lowered his chin to a normal angle but narrowed his eyes slightly, trading defiance for determination. The determined look on his human half's face awoke something in Phantom's core, and the ghost unconsciously shifted a little closer to him.

"Good," Phantom said. "Now your favorite part. Physical contact." To show what he meant, Phantom drummed his fingers against Fenton's shoulder blade.

The human shifted on his feet, frowning slightly. He placed his hand on Phantom's opposing shoulder, mirroring Phantom's arrangement, but then he trailed his warm hand along the curve of Phantom's neck until he cupped the base of his head, his fingers combing through the ghost's white hair and his thumb stroking his cold skin.

"Okay…" Phantom licked his lips. His eyelids lowered over his eyes, and Fenton unknowingly copied the action. Swallowing, the ghost whispered, "Whenever you are ready…"

Fenton stared into his eyes, hesitating, and Phantom had to clamp down on the urge to force his other into the kiss already. Fenton drifted towards the ghost until his warm lips brushed against Phantom's. The human paused, his hot breath tickling Phantom's mouth. Phantom returned Fenton's half-lidded gaze, his other's blue eyes centimeters away from his own, and tried to ignore the searing heat that was suddenly radiating from Fenton's hand and shoulder.

Fenton gasped and jerked away from Phantom, shivering slightly. "What the…"

"Why—" Phantom froze, staring down at the blue vapor emanating from his mouth. "Crap…"

A relieved smile split Fenton's lips. "Ghost alert! Guess that's the end of our first and last kissing practice!" His hand slipped from Phantom's neck, and he turned around and marched toward the Fenton Ghost Catcher, a bounce in his steps. "We'll just have to merge back and—"

Phantom flew in front of Fenton and grabbed the other boy's shoulders. "I have a better idea." Fenton tensed beneath his hands, staring at him warily. Phantom smirked. "I will go capture the ghost while you stay here and work on our homework. We can continue where we left off once I return."

"What?" Fenton traded his wary stare for wide-eyed panic. "No! Tha-that's not fair! I don't want to do homework!"

"We would have to do it anyway," Phantom pointed out. "This way, only one of us has to suffer."

"Yeah, me!"

"Better hope I return soon then," Phantom said and then flew towards their window.

"Only so that I can kick your—"

Phantom phased through the window, cutting off the rest of Fenton's speech. He smirked at his human self through the windowpane and performed an exaggerated wink. Fenton scowled, going so far as to bare his teeth at his ghost half. He reached for the closest thing at hand—a pencil—and chucked it at the window. Phantom laughed as it bounced harmlessly off the glass, and, with a taunting flick of his ghost tail, flew off in search of the ghost who had interrupted them.

---

Once Phantom landed safely on his bedroom floor, he dropped his invisibility and the thermos he held loosely in his hand. "I apologize, Fenton," he said as he rubbed his eyes. "I didn't mean to leave you all day. Johnny refused to return to his girlfriend, and…"

A faint snore interrupted him. Frowning, Phantom lowered his hands and stared at his human half. Fenton was draped over their desk, his head using their math book as his pillow and drool oozing from his mouth onto the pages. Despite the bright light shining on his face from the table lamp, Fenton appeared fast asleep and dead to the world.

Phantom glanced at their alarm clock and sighed when he saw it was an hour past curfew. Curfew meant little to parentless Danny Phantom, but Danny Fenton would surely lecture the ghost for leaving him with all the homework.

It wasn't Phantom's fault, though. Johnny had led Phantom on a wild chase through town, randomly ordering his shadow to attack this lamp post or that bystander whenever Phantom came close to catching him. Perhaps he was just unused to fighting ghosts while separate from his human half, but capturing Johnny and his shadow had taken far longer than Phantom expected. Another hour had been lost trying to lose the paparazzi, a difficult task when one can no longer become an invisible nobody…

A particularly loud snore brought Phantom's attention back to Fenton. Phantom's lips quirked up in an amused half-smile when he saw his other feebly trying to escape the light shining into his eyes. The ghost floated over to the desk and flicked the light off for him, instantly descending the room into darkness.

Fenton exhaled softly and snuggled against the pages of his math book. The ethereal glow Phantom produced gave a soft radiance to the objects closest to him, but the sleeping human didn't seem to notice the dim light highlighting his facial features. Phantom pursed his lips, considering the human half of himself for a moment, wondering how…strange it was to see himself from a different point of view.

Phantom's gaze lowered to Fenton's neck, where the top half of the hickey had escaped the confines of the red cloth. The ghost frowned. He shook his head a second later, and, before his thoughts could wander again, wrapped an arm around Fenton's back. He hooked his other arm under Fenton's knees, and after making a slight adjustment to his position, stood up with Fenton in his arms.

Fenton's head lolled against Phantom's chest, his black hair tickling Phantom's neck. Fenton shivered slightly, but for Phantom it felt like he held a too-warm heating pad. Not as hot as earlier when his ghost sense went off, but hot enough to be uncomfortable. Within seconds, however, the heat became less noticeable and Fenton's shivers less severe as Fenton's body heat warmed Phantom's skin and Phantom's core cooled Fenton's body temperature.

Fenton mumbled something unintelligible as he nestled his face against Phantom's chest. Rolling his eyes at his sleeping half's behavior, Phantom nevertheless allowed the other boy to drool on his suit. The ghost flew over to their bed and, gently, lowered Fenton onto the mattress. Using his intangibility, Phantom pulled the blanket out from beneath Fenton's body and then draped it over the human's form.

The only half of Danny that required sleep taken care of, Phantom floated back to the desk. Much as he didn't want to, he supposed it was only fair that he finish whatever homework that remained uncompleted. Technically speaking, it was his homework as well. The drool-drenched Algebra homework, however, could be dealt with later.

With Fenton's snores as background noise, Phantom grabbed the Earth Science book and began reading the assigned chapter.

Chapter Text

 

---

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise, we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them." ~ Thomas Merton

---

"Hey," a voice whispered, "wake up."

As the voice spoke, cold air gusted across Fenton's ear. He shivered and lifted his blanket over his head, smothering himself in a warm cocoon. He snuggled against his pillow, exhaling softly.

"Cute," the voice said, amused, "but that won't stop me from waking you by any means necessary."

The human garbled a sentence even he didn't understand.

"I warned you."

Hands as cold as ice pierced his warm cocoon and settled on the human's stomach. Fenton's eyes snapped open and he sprung forward, his hands automatically latching onto the cold arms that disappeared halfway through his blanket.

Phantom smiled, his eyes crinkling at the sides. "Morning, sunshine." His fingers wiggled against Fenton's belly, and he smirked as the human shivered from the cold. "Sleep well?"

"What? What time…?" Fenton paused. Less than two inches away, glowing green eyes stared into his own. Snow white strands dangled in front of the ghost's face and blended with Fenton's black hair, tickling the human boy's cheeks and forehead. Heat flooded Fenton's face and an odd squeak escaped his lips.

Phantom laughed, but he obediently backed away. As soon as his hands left Fenton's stomach, the human hugged the blankets to himself and concentrated on warming the chill left behind by the ghost. Phantom settled on the bed beside Fenton, his legs crossed.

"It's almost noon," he answered. He cocked his head to the side, thoughtful as he considered Fenton from a different angle. "You know, you talk in your sleep. And snore…and drool. It's quite disgusting."

Fenton grimaced, feeling more than a little sick. "You watched me sleep?"

The ghost snorted through his nose. "You're not that interesting, Fenton. I watched for all of two minutes, and only that long because I was able to engage you in conversation." Phantom's lips lifted in a smirk. "And for the record, no. I don't know why seven ate nine, but I'm fairly sure the X had nothing to do with it."

Fenton stared at him, slowly blinking. "…What?"

The ghost laughed. "It's unimportant, Fenton, don't stress yourself." The smirk shrank into a small smile. "You will stress yourself enough today, I'm sure."

"Stress myself? Why would…" Fenton blinked and then his eyes widened. He was literally sitting beside himself. His ghost half existed apart from him. Which meant they…

Suddenly the companionable distance between him and the other boy felt about as far apart as a pencil width.

Phantom reacted to Fenton's unease before Fenton could push either one of them off the bed. The ghost floated up and away from the mattress, and the tense set of Fenton's shoulders eased, the boy breathing a little easier.

The ghost boy sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "We must work on this 'space issue' you have…" His legs blended together to form his ghost tail, which then proceeded to flick back and forth in a thoughtful manner reminiscent of Phantom's expression.

"Yeah," Fenton said as he rolled his eyes. "You do that while I go eat." He threw his blankets aside and flinched when he considered how he must have ended up in bed last night. Did the ghost not understand personal boundaries at all?

"Ah, yes. Breakfast." Phantom nodded toward their desk. "I brought it up for you to speed things along."

Fenton cringed. He would much rather slow things down, but judging by the smirk Phantom threw his way, the ghost knew his intentions and would make such delaying tactics difficult. "Jerk," he muttered.

"I thought I was being rather helpful."

"That's exactly why you're a jerk."

Phantom chuckled and moved aside, allowing Fenton to walk past him. "I also finished the rest of our homework after you fell asleep last night, so you don't have to worry about completing it."

"…Eager much?" Fenton lowered himself into the chair, sighing. There went another distraction. Granted, working on homework with Phantom had the potential to be just as awkward, but at least they wouldn't have to…touch each other.

Phantom's eyebrows lowered over his eyes. "I am eager to see this through so we can merge back, yes." The ghost floated over to the desk so that he could continue the conversation face-to-face. Fenton grimaced and scooted his soggy bowl of cereal—and his chair—further away from Phantom. Said ghost rolled his eyes. "Fun as your company is, Fenton, I would much rather be kissing Valerie." He spread his arms out on either side. "As I stand right now, I am more likely to receive a kiss from her gun…"

"You're not exactly standing," Fenton said, gesturing with his spoon at the ghost's transparent tail.

The tail separated into two legs again. Phantom dropped onto his feet and leaned his hip against the desk's edge. He crossed his arms over his chest, smirking cockily down at Fenton. "Better?"

Fenton scowled, edging away from his other self. "What would be better is if you'd stop being so…flirty."

"Flirty?" Phantom's brow creased as he considered the word. "Yes, I suppose I am…but I only do it to tease you, Fenton. Your reactions are quite amusing."

"Gee, good to know I am so entertaining..."

"It's better than being boring," Phantom pointed out.

"Yeah, well, layoff a bit. You're creeping me out…"

"I'll try." Fenton lifted a spoon full of brightly colored cereal to his mouth, and the playful smirk Fenton had come to dread spread across Phantom's lips. "You're going to taste like Froot Loops."

Fenton froze, the spoon in his mouth, and even Phantom's smile fell as he realized a second meaning was attached to his words. Fenton chocked a little and then spat the cereal back into the bowl. He pushed it to the side, grimacing. "Lost my appetite…"

"I doubt the Fruitloop actually tastes like Froot Loops," Phantom said, cautious.

"I don't care. I'm not eating them."

Phantom stared at him in disbelief, eyebrows arching up his forehead. "I only meant it as a joke, Fenton. If anything, I should be the one objecting since I'm the one who will be kissing you, and will therefore be exposed to a Froot Loop flavor."

Of course, Phantom just had to bring the kissing thing up. Fenton flushed, scowling at the desktop. "I'm not eating them."

Phantom shook his head, sighing. "Whatever, I'm not about to force you." He set his hands on the desk and leaned towards Fenton, once again smirking. "Of course you realize that once you are finished with breakfast, there will be nothing preventing us from practicing."

Fenton leaned away from him, trying to regain the distance between them. He glanced at the bowl. Then glared at the ghost. Silently, he dragged the bowl back toward himself.

Phantom's smirk grew, but he didn't move from his position. "I don't know whether to be pleased or insulted."

"How about you just stop talking?" Fenton suggested.

Phantom sighed. He finally straightened from the desk and then ran a hand through his hair. "Unlike you, Fenton," he said, sounding tired, "I don't require sleep. I have been active all night with absolutely nothing to do. Excuse me, but I am bored."

"You could have flown around the city. You know, patrol…your job."

"I did…but the Phans apparently have some sort of Night Watch Unit…"

It was Fenton's turn to smirk at the ghost, and boy did it feel good. "Afraid of a few little girls, Phantom?" he questioned.

"Hah!" Phantom shouted. "Anybody who stays up past midnight in the mere hopes of catching a glimpse of me is insane, and is therefore neither little nor harmless."

"Oh. Well, sucks to be you then."

"You are me."

Fenton's smirk grew. "Not right now, I'm not."

The glare Phantom sent him for that comment made Fenton grin like a Cheshire cat, feeling smug and triumphant for the first time since they separated. If Phantom felt that way every time he 'flirted' with Fenton, it was no wonder the ghost was so impossible to deal with. That feeling was addicting.

"Eat your Froot Loops," Phantom growled.

Fenton snickered, but dutifully returned to his breakfast. At first, Phantom continued to glare at him as he ate, but then the ghost's gaze began to wander and his body soon followed. Relieved as he was not to have the other boy hovering over his shoulder, Fenton felt his unease grow. The ghost made no noise.

I don't trust myself, Fenton thought dryly, and then twisted in his seat so he could keep his eye on Phantom while he munched on his cereal. The ghost cast him annoyed glances occasionally, but he otherwise contented himself with staring out the window. Fenton supposed the outside was more interesting than the room Phantom had been confined in all night, and he soon began to focus more on eating his cereal than on watching his ghost half stare out a window.

After a few minutes had passed, Fenton heard Phantom murmur, "I hope this clears up before our date…"

"Hmm?" Fenton lifted the bowl to his lips and slurped the milk.

Phantom pointed at the sky. "The weather report said it would be partly cloudy today," he said, "but only a few patches of sky are visible right now. I'm worried the weather might ruin our date with Valerie."

Fenton set the empty bowl aside and licked milk from his lips. He pushed his chair back and walked over to stand beside his ghost half. Like Phantom had said, a large portion of the sky was covered by bulky clouds, but Fenton could see darker clouds on the horizon.

"Maybe it will miss us," he said hopefully.

"Maybe," Phantom said softly.

The ghost shifted on his feet, and his cold arm brushed against Fenton's. The sudden icy contact was like a jolt to Fenton's system, causing his lungs to stutter. He jerked away from the other boy and almost tripped in his rush to put more distance between them. Phantom looked at him, an eyebrow slowly arching up his forehead.

Fenton blushed, his breathing fast. "I, uh…i-if we have to cancel our date with Valerie, then there's really no point in…this," he gestured at himself and Phantom, "is there?"

Phantom continued to stare at him, which really didn't help cool Fenton's face. "There's no guarantee the clouds will block our view of the meteor show, Fenton, and even if they do, it is more sensible to practice anyway on the chance Valerie is willing to do something else for our date."

"Yeah, but…" Fenton wracked his brain, trying to find the words he needed to convince his ghost self. "B-but I would rather watch the meteor shower, and, and…"

Phantom's look darkened. "So long as Valerie is there, I'm sure we will enjoy whatever date we go on, even if it has nothing to do with space."

"Th-then…can't we just go on the date and not practice?"

Phantom crossed his arms over his chest, truly frowning now. "We already went over this, Fenton. Or have you forgotten how you were about to kiss me yesterday?"

A blush exploded across Fenton's cheeks, darker than the one before it. "Th-that—I wasn't—I…Y-you cheated! You used some sort of mind game on me!"

"I only alluded to you being a coward." The ghost rolled his green eyes. "Your pride did the rest."

"B-but I—you—" Fenton snapped his mouth shut and looked away, scowling. He hated how his ghost half had a counter for everything while he always ended up tongue-tied. It wasn't fair. They were supposed to be the same person, so why did Phantom always get the clever comebacks?

Phantom titled his head to the side, still staring at him, but his gaze had become thoughtful. Scrutinizing. "We are the only ones who will know, and neither one of us will judge the other. You're afraid we'll take things too far, so I have agreed to give you control. We discussed all of this already…why are you still so reluctant?"

Fenton grimaced, but kept his face turned away from his ghost. "You know why."

"Yes, you feel our actions are morally wrong," Phantom said slowly. "But…I don't understand why you feel it's wrong…just like you don't understand my fascination." He released a dry laugh. "You would think we'd understand each other better, seeing as how we are the same person."

Fenton's lips quirked into a half-smile. "Jazz used to say you can't truly know yourself until you see yourself through another's eyes."

"She may have the right of it." Phantom leaned his shoulder and his head against the wall, smirking at Fenton as white strands of hair shadowed his eyes. "You realize what that implies, of course."

The smile vanished from Fenton's face. "That…we…"

"That we are separate individuals," Phantom finished for him. "At least for the time being. The sooner you accept our separation, Fenton, the sooner we can finish this and merge back into a complete person."

He stood up from the wall, his sudden action snapping Fenton's gaze back on him. The ghost held his gaze a few moments before Fenton tore his away in favor of staring out the window.

"I agreed to let you dominate this time," Phantom said as if Fenton were still facing him, "but if you take too long to initiate the kiss, I will do it for you." He strode past Fenton, purposefully brushing his cold arm against Fenton's, and the human had to fist his hands at his sides to stop his kneejerk reaction at the touch.

Fenton rubbed the chill from his arm and glared over his shoulder at his ghost half. Phantom leaned against the Ghost Catcher's pole, lifted his chin and returned Fenton's glare with a cocky smirk. Like he was daring him. Challenging him.

Scowling, Fenton faced the window again. He felt Phantom's eyes on him, but he ignored it the best he could. He knew he had to kiss Phantom if he wanted life to return to normal, he knew the ghost wouldn't merge again until he was satisfied with their kissing prowess, but he didn't want to kiss Phantom. Just the thought made his stomach lurch unpleasantly. It was like kissing a…a twin brother or something.

Images and sensations from their last kiss flashed through Fenton's mind, causing an involuntary shiver to course up his spine.

Okay, he thought with a grimace, kissing Phantom is nothing like kissing a brother…but it should be!

Fenton crossed his arms over his chest, suppressing shivers and memories in equal parts. He could still feel Phantom's gaze on him, and it was making the small hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The whole situation was surreal. He wanted it to end.

"Everything all right, Fenton?"

"Fine," he spat.

Fenton heard the other boy sigh, the exhale sounding as frustrated as Fenton felt. He waited for Phantom to say something flirtatious or maybe something derogatory to compel him into action, but after a few seconds, Fenton glanced over his shoulder at his silent ghost half. Phantom stared back at him, an eyebrow poised, but otherwise waiting for Fenton to act.

A heated stirring in his veins made Fenton scowl at his ghost half. "Stop that."

The other boy blinked. "I'm not doing anything."

"You are too, now stop it!"

Phantom stared at him a while longer before his lips twitched. "You're losing it, Fenton."

"It's your fault!"

For Fenton, the amused smile that finally lifted Phantom's lips was the opposite of satisfying. "I suppose it is. What are you going to do about it?"

"Me? You're the cause of it!"

"And what exactly is 'it', Fenton?"

"I—it's—gah! You know what it is!"

"Well, I certainly have a good guess as to what 'it' is." Phantom dropped his hands at his sides and sauntered over to Fenton. Fenton's own hands tightened around his biceps and he took a hesitant step back before he held his ground, refusing to be cornered against the wall.

"'It'," Phantom said as he came closer, "is a discomfort in your stomach that makes you feel as if you are about to throw up. 'It' is a poison in your veins that makes you feel uncomfortable in your own skin. 'It' happens every time you look at me or I look at you." He now stood less than a foot away, infuriatingly casual in stance whereas Fenton felt like a tight spring about to burst. "Am I right?"

"No!"

"No?" The ghost braced his forearm against the wall above Fenton's head, bringing his face so close to Fenton's the human could see the different shades of green in his eyes. It was automatic, instinctual, for Fenton to stumble back a step, which brought him exactly where he didn't want to be; cornered against the wall.

Fenton knew the cold radiating off Phantom was produced by Phantom's core, that the ghost had to release it to keep his core from freezing over, but Fenton's firsthand knowledge of the process couldn't stop the shivers from crawling along his skin. This close to the ghost, the cold enveloped Fenton, encased him in an icy shroud. Phantom's cold aura smothered Fenton as completely as if he was enveloped in the other boy's arms.

"N-no," Fenton repeated, and then cursed himself for stuttering. Phantom's smile grew, prompting Fenton to glower at him. "You said you would let me lead."

"I did," Phantom agreed, "but I'm not kissing you right now am I? I'm merely…prompting you."

"Then do that over there. Away from me."

"It's not as effective over there." Although the cocky smile and the casual stance remained, Fenton noticed Phantom's eyes narrowed slightly. "Like I said yesterday, Fenton. You can't be shy about this. Be bold; take action."

"I can't—"

"No," Phantom said. "No doubts. Stop thinking about what's right and what's wrong and just do it." The ghost leaned a little closer, and Fenton's hands almost reached out to halt his progress before the human clamped down on the instinct. He didn't want to touch Phantom if he could help it. "I'm not going to wait forever, Fenton."

Fenton swallowed. Phantom's commanding tone made all those symptoms he had just listed erupt into action. Fenton didn't like it, but the ghost refused to move and he couldn't bring himself to move away either. Uncomfortable as those sensations were, they kept Fenton immobile, unable to escape Phantom's gaze.

If I do throw up, Fenton thought fiercely, I'm aiming for his boots.

"Fenton…"

Fenton's heart beat a little faster at the warning in the other boy's tone. He had to kiss Phantom now or the ghost would kiss him. He lost on both accounts, but if he kissed Phantom, he could at least control how far it went. Fenton lowered his gaze to Phantom's lips, and unconsciously licked his own.

This is so messed up! I'm messed up! Oh man… He took a deep breath. Calm down, Danny. You can do this. Another deep breath. Nobody will ever know. Just get it over with. Wait…how do I even start?

It was barely there, barely visible, but Fenton saw Phantom's lips start to turn down, and then he felt the cold aura amplify slightly as the ghost shifted towards him. Phantom was done waiting. He was going to kiss him.

Fenton panicked. He threw his arms around the other boy's neck, and before Phantom could do more than blink, slammed their lips together.

Neither one were prepared for the collision. It hurt, and Fenton knew he had done something wrong. Phantom was tense beneath his hands and against his lips. He had definitely done something wrong.

Phantom's eyes were wide as they stared into Fenton's, but as contact between their lips continued, Phantom's eyes returned to normal sizes. Staring into those eyes, Fenton felt himself begin to relax. Phantom wasn't making a move to deepen the kiss. He wasn't going to steal control. He would still let Fenton determine how far they went.

Fenton's vice grip on Phantom's neck loosened, and in response, the ghost's shoulders relaxed marginally. Fenton felt the other boy's lips soften against his and tried to lessen the almost painful pressure between them. Phantom's right hand, the one not braced against the wall, settled on Fenton's hip, and the human repressed a shudder at the cold touch.

I'm kissing myself, Fenton thought. He screwed his eyes shut, unwilling to stare into those green eyes any longer. This is so wrong. So very, very wrong. He shifted on his feet, causing their lips to slide almost pleasantly against each other. Oh man, oh man, oh man! What do I do now? I should have let Phantom lead—I don't know how to do this! I don't want to do this!

Phantom withdrew from the kiss. The loss of contact was so sudden Fenton followed his lips, taking a half-step forward before regaining control. He stared at his ghost self, blinking repeatedly. "W-what? Did I—"

Phantom shook his head. "You need to stop thinking so hard." The cold hand on Fenton's hip shifted to his back and then proceeded to stroke his spine in a soothing motion. "Do what comes naturally."

The hand at his back was distracting, but Fenton managed a small glare. "This comes naturally for you, not me."

"Hmm." Phantom half-smiled, an odd combination of amusement and curiosity in his expression. "I wonder why that is…"

Fenton blinked and then began to frown.

Before Fenton could think of a response, Phantom laid his forehead against his. The human boy reflexively jerked back, but the hand on his spine kept him firmly in place. Phantom's green eyes stared straight into Fenton's, and Fenton once again noticed the various shades of green in his irises. The dim glow the ghost naturally produced seemed concentrated around the irises, almost seeming to affect the green hues.

"Are you going to stare at me all day?" Phantom asked, and Fenton focused on the boy behind the eyes. "Or are you going to try again?"

Fenton blushed. He had to kiss Phantom again, but this time he had to do it right. But how do I do it right? he wondered. I don't know what—No. No, I can do this.

He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. The warm air ghosted across Phantom's cold lips, and Fenton saw the ghost's eyes flicker. It was small, barely noticeable. Fenton didn't know if it meant anything or not, but then Phantom's eyelids lowered, and somehow, the atmosphere between them became heavy. Fenton felt his own eyelids grow heavy in response, and he was suddenly very aware of the cold hands on his back and the icy body in front of him.

"Don't think," Phantom whispered, his own cold breath brushing Fenton's lips.

Fenton shivered, experiencing what Phantom had moments ago. Phantom's eyes were still staring into Fenton's, those burning eyes stealing his thoughts more effectively than Phantom's words. Thoughts of how wrong it was to kiss himself were shoved out of his mind as Fenton threaded his fingers through Phantom's white hair and lifted his chin. This time their lips met in a feather light kiss that lasted a few moments, Fenton adjusting to the feel of cold lips pressed against his again.

A stray feeling of trepidation entered his consciousness, but Fenton quickly shoved it away, afraid he'd freeze up if he considered what he was doing. Instead, he opened his mouth and touched the tip of his tongue against Phantom's cold lips, flinching only slightly. The ghost parted them, and, after a second's hesitation, Fenton swept his tongue inside the other boy's mouth.

Phantom straightened from his bent position, and the hand that had been braced against the wall came to rest on Fenton's upper back, enfolding Fenton in a loose hold. A shiver coursed down Fenton's spine as Phantom's tongue trailed along his.

Recalling his experience from last time, Fenton wrapped his tongue around the ghost's and sucked. Phantom inhaled sharply, his fingers convulsing in Fenton's shirt. A chuckle rumbled in Fenton's chest until Phantom's hand drifted to his lower back and pulled Fenton flush against the ghost boy's body. Fenton's breathing faltered for a second, his body tensing. His hesitance allowed Phantom an opening, and before he knew it, the human found himself pinned against the wall with a cold tongue sweeping the roof of his mouth.

Fenton moaned, digging his fingers into Phantom's scalp. Icy fingers found their way beneath his shirt, and Fenton shivered as Phantom traced them along his spinal cord. For a moment, Fenton fell limp in Phantom's embrace, surrendering to the sensations the other boy produced. He trailed a hand down Phantom's chest, caressing the muscles he felt beneath the skintight suit. A moan escaped the ghost, his clever tongue faltering.

The sound tickled Fenton's ears, and the boy echoed it without thinking, but then Phantom's tongue retreated into his own mouth as Phantom began to withdraw from the kiss. Fenton made an odd noise in protest and his teeth slid across Phantom's bottom lip as the ghost pulled away.

Fenton blinked his eyes open, feeling slightly disoriented. He saw Phantom staring at him through heavy lidded eyes, a heated stare Fenton unknowingly returned. Then his thoughts caught up with him and a blush burned his face.

Phantom smiled, but Fenton saw a light dusting of pink on the ghost's own pale cheeks. "And you accused me of having no control."

Sputtering incoherently, Fenton squirmed against Phantom embrace, but Phantom's hold on his waist tightened, holding him firmly in place. Phantom's glowing green eyes burned into Fenton's, aggravating the blush. Unable to escape, Fenton clasped his hands over his face, anything to block out the other's stare.

"Don't hide now," Phantom said. "That was a fine kiss."

Fenton groaned. "Oh man…what did I just do…?"

Phantom sighed, cold air gusting across the back of Fenton's hands. "You kissed me, and we enjoyed it."

Another groan, this time louder.

He couldn't see it, but Fenton sensed Phantom was rolling his eyes at him. "Get over it, Fenton. We're not finished yet."

Fenton jerked his head out of his hands, staring at Phantom with large eyes. "What?"

"We are supposed to practice," Phantom said, and Fenton heard the wicked amusement in his voice, "which means we must kiss multiple times."

"B-b-but—"

Phantom laid his forehead against Fenton's again, and the human's mouth snapped shut. "The more used to this we become, Fenton, the less likely we are to lose control." He stared at Fenton's dismayed expression a moment and then said in a softer voice, "Would you like me to lead this time?"

Fenton opened his mouth, ready to shout a refusal, but the gentle look in Phantom's eyes made him pause. Instead, Fenton said in an equally soft voice, "Why?"

"Aside from the fact that you had no more control over yourself than I did—" Fenton winced. "—you are uncomfortable in the leading role…and in kissing me in general. I thought it would be easier on you if I was in control of the kiss. This way, you wouldn't have to agonize over your own actions."

"That's…awfully considerate of you…"

Phantom's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "We are in this together, Fenton."

Fenton's own eyes narrowed. "Maybe so, but I don't trust you. You must have some ulterior motive…"

If anything, Fenton's suspicion made Phantom's smile wider. "Only that I don't follow, Fenton." He lifted his chin so that he breathed the next sentence against Fenton's lips. "I lead." A shiver Fenton couldn't suppress traveled along his frame. Close as they were to each other, Phantom felt the boy shiver in his arms and didn't bother to hide his smirk. "I promise to stop as soon as one of us feels we are going too far. Does that satisfy your caution?"

Fenton bit his lip. He was afraid of the sensations Phantom was able to cause in him with seemingly little effort…but the ghost knew what he was doing and even had better control over himself. Plus, like Phantom hinted at, if things went too far, Fenton could lay the blame at Phantom's feet.

"You'll stop?"

"Yes."

Closing his eyes, Fenton exhaled slowly. "Okay. Okay, fine. You're in charge. But—but if you mess up—"

"—then I will consent to your leadership once more, O' Doubtful One."

Fenton glared at him, unimpressed by his sarcastic tone, and the ghost smiled. Phantom's eyes half closed and then he brushed his lips against Fenton's in a chaste kiss. The human boy jolted in his arms, his eyes flying wide open.

"I was right," Phantom said.

Fenton shifted on his feet, looking anywhere but at the ghost. "About?"

Phantom licked his lips and smirked when Fenton's eyes followed the motion. "You taste like Froot Loops."

Chapter Text

 

---

"To love one's self is the beginning of a lifelong romance." ~Oscar Wilde

---

Phantom trailed his hand along Fenton's spine, trying to sooth the human's tense muscles. Instead, his touch prompted Fenton to tense further in his arms. A soft moan vibrated against Phantom's shoulder, and if Fenton had been less dazed and more aware, Phantom was sure the human boy would have been horrified by the sound—as well as the position they were in.

A wry smile lifted the ghost's lips. He shifted slightly so that his arms fit more comfortably around Fenton's waist, and the human—still panting, still dazed—shifted with him, now almost molded against Phantom's body. It was pleasant to hold another person like this. No doubt holding Valerie would be even better, but for now, Phantom was content to remain as they were.

It wouldn't last, of course. Phantom sighed, the soft exhale ruffling a few black hairs atop Fenton's head. Once Fenton's thoughts caught up with him, the passive boy in his arms would transform into a raging ball of denial and embarrassment. That it was taking this long for Fenton to collect himself at all meant Phantom's performance in their latest kiss ranked somewhere between amazing and overwhelming. The thought made Phantom chuckle.

The ghost laid his cheek against Fenton's head, his eyes sliding closed and a soft smile tracing his lips. It had been a good day, at least in his opinion. Fenton had made Phantom fight for every kiss they shared, but that only served to intrigue Phantom further. The challenge of luring Fenton into a kiss and then coaxing Fenton into losing himself in that kiss felt like a game, a contest.

The human didn't share his view, so of course Phantom had to mix up his approach. Fenton seemed to prefer it when he eased the boy into the kiss, but it was when Phantom seduced him that Fenton gave the best reaction. Definitely Phantom's favorite as Fenton embraced the give-and-take rhythm more easily. During their breaks between kissing—or better known as Fenton's anxiety attacks—Phantom would steal a kiss or two, which made Fenton throw a bigger hissy fit than usual, but Phantom enjoyed it too much to stop.

Humming to himself, Phantom trailed his hand along Fenton's lower back again, and this time the human stirred. He jerked his head off Phantom's shoulder fast enough to cause whiplash. A soft swear passed his lips, earning another chuckle from Phantom.

"Language, Fenton," he said. With the ease born of long practice, Phantom dropped his arms from around Fenton's waist as the boy scrambled away from him. Fenton's too-warm body had heated Phantom when they were pressed together, and now that he was gone, Phantom's core began to chill the warmth left behind. Phantom crossed his arms over his chest. He still had yet to decide if he preferred Fenton's burning touch, or the sudden cold that followed in his absence.

"Okay, seriously," Fenton said, his arms held out in front of him like he trying to ward off the immobile ghost. "You need to, like, relearn the personal boundary rule."

"I know the rule well," Phantom said, smirking. "But as we're the same person, there's no boundary between us. Your argument is invalid." His smirk grew, and he tilted his head to the side. "Besides which, you were the one draping himself on me. Perhaps you're the one who needs to relearn personal boundaries."

The human half of Danny rolled his eyes, refusing to jump on the bait. Although he did mutter a quiet, "You're the one pulling me into a kiss every five minutes…"

"Well, my dear human self, we were supposed to practice—"

"Not that often."

"—but if it makes you feel any better…" Phantom sighed. "That was our last kiss."

Fenton looked at him with wide eyes. "We're finished?" he asked, not even trying to suppress the hope in his voice. "We don't have to kiss anymore?"

"No, we're good. There is, of course, always room for improvement, but…" Phantom nodded towards their alarm clock, "we're out of time…"

Fenton followed his gaze and then swore when he read the florescent numbers.

"Once again: language."

"It's eight O'clock!" Fenton shouted. "That gives us less than half an hour!"

"Yes. Just enough time to merge back, center ourselves, and then shower."

Fenton's nose wrinkled on that last. "Shower?"

"This may be a casual date, but we should at least try to look our best, and you refused to take one while we were separate." Phantom rolled his eyes skyward. "You're apparently paranoid as well as shy. Honestly, Fenton, we have the same bodies. Why would I stare at you when all I have to do is look in a mirror?"

Fenton glared at him through the heated blush coloring his face, and although he said nothing, Phantom saw the other boy's eyes flicker to his lips. Phantom arched an eyebrow. A few seconds of uncomfortable silence passed between them before Fenton cleared his throat. "Let's just, you know, merge back already so we can forget about all this."

Phantom nodded and then sank beneath the floor. He reappeared behind Fenton and wrapped his arms around the other boy's waist. Instantly, Fenton's body heat spread along Phantom's skin, and Phantom hugged Fenton to his chest, savoring the almost uncomfortable heat emanating from the other boy. He placed his lips close to Fenton's ear and whispered, "I doubt either of us will forget this."

The ghost waited a second for Fenton to reply, but when the boy remained silent, Phantom smirked and flew them through the net.

---

Danny sat with his back propped against the Catcher's pole, his elbows balanced on his knees and his head buried in his hands. He breathed in deep, steady breaths as two sets of images and sensations from the past two days collided and mixed in his mind, blurring his vision and causing his stomach to roll unpleasantly. He groaned and tucked his knees closer against his chest.

Why did I ever think this was a good idea again? Danny wondered.

As if in answer, the last kiss between his two halves tore through Danny's mind, and the halfa groaned. Half in horror, half in pleasure. He cursed and banged the back of his head against the pole. How sick and twisted was he to find pleasure in kissing himself…

Something that feels that right can't be wrong, though, can it? Danny thought and then quickly shook his head. That was just Phantom's half of his personality talking.

Of course it's wrong. I have a girlfriend. Why am I going around kissing other guys? But I'm not kissing other guys. I'm kissing myself. There's a big difference.

Danny closed his eyes, recalling how it felt to hold his human self in his arms. How satisfying it felt to surprise his ghost self with a sudden bold stroke of his tongue.

Maybe so, he thought at last, but it doesn't feel that different…Is that such a bad thing?

Danny allowed that thought to float around in his head for a moment. The Phantom half of his personality agreed with the sentiment while the same question frightened the Fenton half.

Before his thoughts could start chasing each around again, Danny climbed to his feet, swaying slightly. A sudden stabbing pain behind his eyes made the boy groan and fall against the Catcher's pole. The metal was surprisingly cold, and Danny leaned his forehead against it, sighing as the cool temperature spread across his skin. A second later, he realized the cold was actually aggravating his headache, and he pushed away from the invention.

Shaking his head, Danny began his unsteady trek to his bathroom. So he had issues. What else was new?

Jazz would have a field day with this, he thought warily.

Good thing she'll never find out then…

Danny chuckled to himself, although the laugh had an underlying trace of unease. His sister had come dangerously close to finding out the first time Danny kissed himself. If Jazz had decided to barge in instead of knocking on the door…Danny shuddered. At the very least, she would have demanded an explanation, most likely followed up by a psychoanalysis. Danny knew he was messed up; he didn't need his sister confirming it.

The boy entered the bathroom and then slammed the door shut behind him. With half his thoughts wondering about Jazz's possible reaction toward her little brother being a closet narcissist, Danny grabbed the back of his shirt collar and slipped the turtleneck off his head. As his fingers fumbled with his jean's button and zipper, Danny's gaze wondered to the mirror and traveled along the expanse of visible skin reflected there, trailing along his developing abs and the slight dip of his hip bones.

Like a haunting memory, Danny felt Phantom's cold fingers tracing along those same muscles, felt his ghost half's satisfaction when the touch elected a breathless exhale from his human half. He could still see in his mind's eye, how Phantom's white gloved hand had pushed its way inside Fenton's pants, following the dip of Fenton's hip bones, and now, as Danny pushed his pants further down, his heavy gaze followed the same route—

Danny dropped to his knees, ducking behind the sink counter and out of sight of the mirror. "What the fuck was that?" he squeaked, seconds away from hyperventilating.

I just checked myself out! he mentally screamed. I-I fantasized about touching myself! Holy shit!

Language, his mind reflexively scolded.

I-I—holy shit!

No, wait. Danny forced himself to breath, trying to calm his nerves. This is normal. Completely normal! I was just checking out my muscles. Guys do it all the time. Like—like Dash.

But does Dash think about touching himself like that?

He might. It's not that far off from masturbation.

That thought produced a disturbing image, prompting Danny to repeatedly bang his head against the cupboard. This is so fucked up…

Language.

I can swear in my own thoughts.

But if we think it we may say it.

Danny blinked, his breath catching. "'We'?" he chocked.

The hero snatched his shirt off the floor and dashed out of the bathroom. He dodged around his sister—ignoring Jazz's startled cry—and ran into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. He leaned against the door's solid surface, gasping for breath as his heart beat frantically against his chest. Admiring himself, fantasying about touching himself, talking to himself…he was more than just messed up. He was bordering on insane.

Danny chewed on his bottom lip and glared at the Fenton invention that had caused all this. Grateful as he was to be a better kisser, if he developed that multiple personality something-or-other disorder, he was going to destroy that stupid invention.

Although, it had been fun to—

Fenton's half of Danny's personality balked at that thought, and Danny found himself forcefully shaking his head. It doesn't matter if it was fun! It's still wrong to kiss yourself!

Says who? Danny wondered. Clockwork? Jazz? The Easter Bunny? Where does it say in the Hero's Guidebook for Dummies that I'm not allowed to enjoy myself? Just for a little while?

Just because no one has said its wrong doesn't mean it's not.

Which only means I need to figure it out for myself. And since we both liked it, why shouldn't we pursue this?

Danny groaned and fisted clumps of black hair, pulling at the strands. "There's no 'we', there's just me!" he screamed.

A soft knock on the door, followed by a gentle call nearly made Danny's heart stop…until he reminded himself he was alone and not doing anything incriminating.

Danny released his hair, swallowed, and demanded in a slightly shaky voice, "What do you want, Jazz?"

"Are you okay, Danny?" Jazz's muffled voice said through the door. "It looked like you were running away from something."

Knowing Jazz, she purposefully made that statement ambiguous. Danny sighed. Why couldn't she just leave him alone? It was hard to freak out with someone constantly trying to make you feel better. "I'm fine."

"You didn't look fine. Can I come in?"

Danny glanced at the Fenton Ghost Catcher standing squarely in the center of his room. "No."

"Danny—"

"I have to get ready for my date with Valerie, Jazz! I don't have time for your psycho theories!"

Jazz fell silent for a few minutes, and in that time, Danny resisted slapping his forehead.

Oh, nice, he thought sarcastically. You probably just made your sister cry. Way to go, hero.

"You're supposed to watch the meteor shower with her?" Jazz asked, and Danny was relieved by the lack of sadness in her voice.

"Yes, and we're supposed to meet up soon."

"You know it's cloudy outside, right? There isn't a visible star in sight."

Danny scrubbed the heel of his hand against his forehead, grimacing. "I know that, Jazz. I…we'll just have to do something else."

"The clouds are low to the ground, aren't they? If you told her you knew her secret—or even better, if you told her yours, you two could still watch the meteor shower together. You know, above the clouds."

Danny released a dry, humorless laugh. "It's a little late for that, Jazz," he said. "If I told her I knew about her 'second job', she'd demand to know how, and if I told her my secret, she wouldn't want anything to do with me. She might even try to shoot me for 'manipulating her feelings' or something crazy like that."

"You'll have to tell her at some point, Danny. A relationship built on lies is one that is doomed to fail." She paused a moment as Danny bit his lip and glared off to the side. She added in a softer tone, "I just don't want to see you hurt."

Danny didn't respond, and a second later, he heard his sister walk away. Sighing, Danny allowed his body to slide down the door until he sat with his knees tucked against his chest. He covered his eyes with his hands, his fingers digging into his scalp.

She's wrong, Danny told himself. Valerie and I have our problems, but…I-I taught myself how to kiss for her, and she's willing to make sacrifices for me too. A relationship like that can't just fail because of a few secrets…

But those secrets have been pulling us away from each other, too. How many dates have I had to cancel and reschedule because a ghost attacked? How many times has Valerie run off so she could fight a ghost her radar alerted her to?

Danny looked up from his hands. "Too many…" he said to the empty room. His eyes closed as he sighed. "Okay. I'll tell her…just not now. Later. Soon."

How soon?

"I don't know, just soon!" A second later, Danny groaned, realizing he had just yelled at himself.

Shaking his head to clear it of such thoughts, Danny reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He flipped it open and stared at the screen for a moment before dialing Valerie's number. He pressed the speaker to his ear and listened to it ring, his heart beating a little faster.

On the third ring, Danny heard a click. "Hey, Danny. I was just about to call you."

Unbidden, Danny felt his lips lift in a gentle smile in response to Valerie's relaxed tone. "I take it you've seen the sky?"

"Actually, no. There are these dark, fluffy clouds blocking my view." She paused a moment and then added in a slightly subdued tone, "I suppose this means the date is off…unless you have a plan B?"

"I do, but—" He sighed dramatically "—it's not as cool as watching meteoroids burn up in the atmosphere."

"Nothing could top that," Valerie agreed, amused. "So? What did you have in mind?"

This was the hard part. Danny cleared his throat and straightened his back against the door. "Well, there's this new burger restaurant on Second Street that's supposed to be really good. It's called The Works."

"I know that place. Carl thinks it's going to steal all our customers. He views it as our top rival." She snorted. "Like the Nasty Burger could ever be considered competition…"

Danny chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. No offense, but your food tastes awful."

"None taken. You should see what goes on behind the counter."

"I'd rather not. So, are you interested?"

"A chance to stick it to Carl and spend time with you? Hell yeah I'm interested! I can meet you there in a few minutes."

"Great!"

His enthusiastic tone made Valerie laugh. "I'll see you there, Fenton," she said before hanging up.

Danny lowered his phone into his lap, grinning. He didn't know how she did it, but just talking to Valerie eased his nervousness. Anticipation for their date had Danny's heart beating wildly in his chest. Just the thought of kissing her made it feel like gravity no longer affected his human form. He felt more excited over his outing with Valerie than any one of those kisses Phantom and Fenton had shared. That had to say something, right?

A sudden chill raced up Danny's spine and materialized in the air in front of his face as a blue wisp of smoke. Danny stared at it a moment, dread and horror acting like lead in his stomach. He shoved himself away from the door and rushed to the window, tripping slightly as his unbuttoned pants dragged. He braced his hands on the windowsill and scanned the darkening skies.

Please be the Box Ghost, please be the Box Ghost, please be the Box Ghost…

The skies remained clear, yet Danny kept his muscles tense in preparation for a fight, and soon enough, he saw two ghosts fly up from the ground. They paused a moment to gather their bearings and then took off northward. His stomach dropped.

"No," he groaned. He banged his forehead against the windowpane. "Not them…"

Spectra and Bertrand, or in other words, the bane of Danny's peace of mind. He couldn't face them now. Not after he'd just kissed himself. Not after he'd just fantasized about touching himself. They would sense the inner conflict brewing in Danny, and they'd pick at it and pick at it until he was putty in their hands.

And what about his date with Valerie? He couldn't cancel on her now, not after he'd just rearranged their date. And he hated to think how she would react if he showed up late. She was particularly sensitive to being stood up ever since Tucker ditched her to take Sam to that dance Freshman year. Maybe she would understand if he called to say he would be a little late…but she might wonder why, and the thought of her waiting at the restaurant all alone made Danny flinch.

He didn't have time to fight Spectra. He had to leave now…but Spectra was a dangerous ghost. She was physically weak but mentally destructive. He couldn't allow her to torment someone just because he wanted to go on a date with his girlfriend…but he couldn't do both…

Danny glanced over his shoulder at the Fenton Ghost Catcher. The dim glow of the net almost seemed to be mocking him, laughing at his dependence on it. But if Danny separated himself again, his ghost half could go fight Spectra while his human half went on the date with Valerie. It was a near perfect solution. His two halves wouldn't even have to technically interact. The only problem was the personality issue.

The latest personality trend the Catcher seemed fixed on involved all Danny's confidence going into his ghost half and all his fears and anxieties going into the other. If Danny separated himself now, his human half would be shy and uncoordinated in his date with Valerie, resulting in Danny Fenton looking like a fool in front of his girlfriend…again. But if he somehow gave all the confidence to Fenton, then that would leave Phantom vulnerable to Spectra's poisonous words.

"What I need is a different set of personalities," Danny said to himself. He paced in front of the Catcher, his pants going unnoticed as they slipped further down his hips. "But…how do I control it? It's just a glitch in Mom and Dad's design. There's not really a pattern to it…is there?" Danny paused, his lips pursed in thought. "Maybe if I just think hard enough about what I want it will happen? But what personalities do I need?"

He shrugged to himself. "Well, the human half would have to be romantic enough to please Valerie, and the other half would have to be strong and confident enough to defeat Spectra…"

He smiled. "A lover and a fighter!"

The smile vanished, replaced by a frown. "But would that work?"

He shook his head. "It has to! We're running out of time!"

Valerie was expecting him in a few minutes, and since his human half wouldn't have ghost powers, he'd have to walk to the date. Cutting it short wasn't an option.

Danny faced the Ghost Catcher, his breath slightly shaky. "All right. All right, fine. But this is the last time, you hear me?" He didn't know if he was talking to himself or to the Ghost Catcher, and frankly, he didn't want to know.

He took one last deep breath, centering his thoughts around his feelings for Valerie and his duty to protect the city. When he opened his eyes again, they were neon green and his hair white as snow. He floated upwards with his ghost tail dancing beneath him. A second later, he flew through the mocking green net.

---

Unlike the last few times they had separated, Phantom felt almost no dizziness. He reached for his human half's wrists and was surprised when warm hands wrapped around his own forearms at the same time. Phantom lowered Fenton to the ground until the other boy's feet were firmly planted on the floor and then floated a safe distance away from him. Phantom cocked his head to the side, studying the human version of himself.

Fenton shifted on his feet, his wide blue eyes staring up into Phantom's. "Do you…feel any different?"

It was in the way that Fenton broke eye contact soon after that Phantom knew the answer to the question even before he assessed his own feelings. "No. I feel exactly as I had this morning. I assume you do as well?"

He received a mere head nod in response. The human boy fidgeted beneath the ghost's gaze and rubbed his arms, almost looking ashamed.

Phantom released an explosive sigh. "Then we merge back." He floated over to Fenton, intent to do just that, but the other boy stepped away from him, his eyes narrowed.

"Merge back? Why? We still have to—"

"We merge back because our plan failed. You're in no condition to go on a date with Valerie, not with you so…awkward. You might ruin our chances with her completely." He grabbed Fenton's wrist and pulled the human to him.

Fenton's hand clenched and he ripped his arm out of Phantom's grasp, glaring into the ghost's eyes. "Well, excuse me, Mr. High-and-Mighty. I apologize for being such an inconvenience to the two of us, but I don't see any option other than this, do you?"

"Yes."

"Oh really? Then please share with the rest of the class, O' Smart One."

Phantom frowned, the other boy's sarcasm beginning to fray at his nerves. "We merge back and, as one, go on our date with Valerie."

"And what about Spectra?"

"She can be dealt with after our date."

His casual response made Fenton pause, his eyes widening slightly. "Wait…you want to forget about Spectra? You think our date with Valerie is more important?"

"I do."

Fenton stared at him, his mouth agape. It was actually quite a humorous expression. "You—th-that's insane!" he finally shouted. "You can't not fight ghosts! That's—that's your job! If we're on a date, and Valerie's on a date, then there's no one to stop Spectra!"

"So? A half hour to an hour tops would Spectra have free reign."

"Yeah, and in that time she could seriously hurt someone!"

Phantom crossed his arms over his chest, unperturbed. "I won't abandon Valerie for some stranger. I value my time with her too highly."

Fenton returned to gaping at him, although why he found Phantom's stance on the matter so surprising was beyond Phantom. Their choice of action was obvious in his mind. He cared deeply for Valerie, and he—as Valerie had once almost done herself—was willing to give up ghost hunting for her.

Fenton's eyes shifted to the Ghost Catcher. Without his shirt on, Phantom could clearly see the human's shoulders tense, the only warning he received before Fenton charged at the invention. Phantom's eyes widened and he flew after Fenton, latching onto the human's bare waist. His added weight and momentum caused Fenton to trip. They both crashed into the Catcher and the three of them collapsed to the floor, the two organics grunting on impact while the invention produced a dull thud.

"What's the matter with you?" Phantom demanded as he sat up. "You could have broken it!" He grabbed Fenton's arms, but the human hugged the pole to his chest, resisting Phantom's efforts to pull him off.

"We're not merging back!" he shouted. "Go fight Spectra!"

"You're being ridiculous, Fenton," Phantom said, exasperated. "And you're wasting our time. Let go of the Ghost Catcher so we can leave for our date."

"No!"

"We're going to be late!"

"Like I give a crap!"

"Have it your way then."

Phantom reached over Fenton and placed his hand on the Catcher's pole, spreading his intangibility to the object. Fenton gasped as the solid object beneath him vanished and he fell the remaining two inches above the floor. Phantom erected the Catcher behind him and placed a hand on his hip, his other hand resting securely on the pole.

"I am a ghost," he reminded his human half, smirking. Fenton grumbled under his breath as he climbed to his feet. "Now, let us reunite and—"

Fenton tackled Phantom's midsection, sending them both to the ground again. The ghost's startled gasp became a grunt as gravity drove Fenton's weight into his stomach, a force that would have left him breathless had he needed breath in the first place. He growled and pushed against Fenton's right side, forcing the human to roll beneath him. He placed his knees on either side of Fenton's hips and pinned the boy's hands above his head. Fenton thrashed against Phantom's hold, his hips bucking and his legs fruitlessly kicking the air.

"Knock it off!" Phantom yelled after Fenton managed to knee him in the back.

"Get off me!" Fenton yelled in return. He heaved his whole body against Phantom's left side, almost managing to break the ghost's restraint.

Phantom tightened his hold on Fenton's wrists and bared fangless teeth. "I can and will overshadow you for the duration of the date," he growled.

Fenton stilled beneath him, his eyes snapping to the brightly glowing ones above him. Blue eyes narrowed a second later. "Valerie is a ghost hunter. She would know if I was being overshadowed."

Phantom leaned further over him, the glow of his Scary Eyes casting Fenton's face in neon green light. "Not if I do it right…"

Fenton bared his own teeth. In a single motion, he heaved his whole upper body forward and slammed his forehead against Phantom's. The ghost reeled backwards, his grip on Fenton's hands going slack. Fenton grabbed the Phantom's wrists and used his new hold to twist the ghost off him and onto the floor. Quickly, he settled on Phantom's waist and pinned his hands above his head, the reverse of their positions from before.

"We are sticking to the original plan," the human said as he glared into Phantom's eyes. "You'll fight Spectra, and I'll go on our date with Valerie. Got it?"

Unlike Fenton, Phantom relaxed beneath Fenton's control. At the human's commanding tone, he lifted his chin and returned the glare directed at him. "You're telling me what to do? Must I remind you that of the two of us, I am the one with power?" His eyes flared with light to demonstrate his point.

Fenton swallowed, his eyes flickering uncertainly, finally realizing how precarious his hold on the ghost truly was. Props had to be given, however, when the powerless human hid his emotions behind anger. "What is the matter with you? You're supposed to be the hero here!"

"This hero wishes to meet up with his heroine," Phantom replied, rolling his eyes. "Forgive me if I actually have feelings and wants other than fighting and defending the innocent." Black hair brushed against Phantom's forehead as Fenton shifted, bringing the ghost's attention to just how close the two of them were. "Would you render all our efforts of today useless?" Phantom asked, changing tactic.

His words made Fenton realize the lack of distance between them as well, and the human jerked back. Phantom's gaze shifted to the bare chest poised above him and trailed along the muscles and light scars he found there. His gaze fell lower and lower until he met the jeans that hung loosely on Fenton's hips, the barest hint of red boxers showing. His fingers twitched.

"…a chance."

Phantom lifted his gaze to Fenton's face, slowly blinking. "What?"

Fenton rolled his eyes, his lips turning down in annoyance. "I said to just give me a chance."

"At…?"

"Dating Valerie! Geez, do you have cotton in your ears or something?"

"Cotton, no." Phantom pursed his lips, staring up at Fenton. A cold lance of…attraction shot through his core. Thanks to the day they had shared together, Phantom was slightly more aware of the allure Fenton held. And with Fenton shirtless and on top of him, looking almost desperate…it wouldn't be difficult to flip them over into a more desirable position…

This was hardly fair.

Phantom sighed, his eyes closing for a moment. "All right, Fenton. You win."

The human blinked, his hands relaxing their iron grip on Phantom's wrists. "What? Really? That's it?"

"Yes. That's it." Fenton's eyes brightened, as did the smile that crossed his lip. Despite himself, Phantom felt his own lips twitch in response. His eyes fell to Fenton's chest again. He smirked and said in a purposefully husky voice, "You may wish to get dressed first."

Fenton blinked twice and then followed Phantom's gaze. He paled for a second and flushed hotly the next. A swear that was more squeak than anything passed his lips and he leapt off Phantom, stumbling slightly in his hurry. Phantom remained where he lay, laughing, and took great delight in watching the blush spread as Fenton fumbled with his pants.

Phantom lifted himself onto his elbows, still chuckling. "It's a good look for us. We should wear it more often."

It was amazing how red humans could get…Fenton scowled through his blush. "Just shut up and get out of here already…"

Phantom released one last chuckle before following Fenton's command and flying out the window. He paused a moment outside the building. Invisible, he floated back to the window and peered inside, catching sight of Fenton as the human bent down to grab his shirt off the floor. Phantom watched the corded muscles of Fenton's back flex and then relax as he stood up again. His eyes followed along the dip of Fenton's spine, traveling down his back, mesmerized as the muscles of Fenton's back continued to flex with the human's movements.

It wasn't until Fenton's white shirt blocked his view that Phantom tore his gaze away. The ghost half of Danny bit his lip hard enough to puncture the skin. Shaking his head, he floated backwards a few yards and then sped off in the direction Spectra and Bertrand had flown in.

---

They don't know it yet, but they just fucked themselves over, they did. Ehehe shh

Chapter Text

Chapter 5
Greener Grass

---

"To fall in love is easy, even to remain in it is not difficult; our human loneliness is cause enough. But it is a hard quest worth making to find a comrade through whose steady presence one becomes steadily the person one desires to be." ~ Anna Louise Strong

---

Every molecule in Fenton's legs screamed at him to run away, but the human forced himself to ignore it and keep walking towards his girlfriend. He could see her standing beneath The Work's awning, lit from behind by the restaurant's lights, and although she wore casual clothes, he couldn't help thinking she was beautiful.

Aside from a new orange headband, Valerie's hairstyle remained the same; free and wavy. The dark curls fell in waves over her bare shoulders and brushed against the yellow material of her off-the-shoulder sweater. She wore white jeans that hugged her hips, and on each wrist she sported large yellow bracelets…but no ghost detector watch.

In comparison, Fenton felt like a bumbling idiot who had just thrown on the closest clothing at hand…which, essentially, he had. Unlike Valerie, he wore the same clothes he usually wore. Loose fitting jeans, worn sneakers, and his favorite white and red t-shirt. However, the shirt had a high collar that failed to scream he was on a date, but he didn't have a choice. Not with Phantom's hickey broadcasting its presence to the world.

Valerie looked up at that moment, and Fenton's insides froze. Adrenaline fed his instincts, prompting the blue-eyed boy to dive behind a group of trash cans half a block away from the restaurant. His back banged against the hollow drums, causing a clatter that echoed down the street.

Fenton slammed his palm against his forehead. Fenton, you idiot! Hiding behind trash cans? Who does that? If Valerie—

"Danny?" Valerie called, and then he heard her shoes clap against the wet pavement as she approached his hiding place.

Fenton flinched, his heart beating faster. Slowly, he crawled out from behind the trash cans and climbed to his feet, his gaze firmly locked on the ground. "I, um…dropped something…" Glancing up at Valerie, he saw his girlfriend frown. He flushed and dropped his gaze again.

A second later, he heard Valerie snort. "If you say so, Fenton," she said, amused.

He rubbed the back of his neck smiling sheepishly as his blush spread. Valerie stared at him expectantly, and Fenton realized he was supposed to say something. He opened his mouth to do so, but no words came out.

They descended into an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the sound of Fenton's rapid heartbeat. After a moment, Valerie gestured at the restaurant. "Should we…go in?"

Still blushing like an idiot, Fenton nodded and walked towards her. He had only taken a few steps forward when his shoe skidded across a few pebbles on the sidewalk, and the boy yelled as he fell backwards. A grunt escaped his throat upon impact with the concrete, but it was the humiliation eating at his gut that left him groaning.

Valerie rushed forward and grabbed his hand, helping him back to his feet. "Are you all right?" she asked, scanning for injuries.

He nodded silently, staring down at their interlocked hands. The secret huntress smiled at that and used her hold to lead him to the doors. To Fenton, it felt like he was walking into a death trap. This wasn't at all like the last few times they dated. All his romantic abilities were locked inside another boy, off fighting ghosts. How was he going to survive this alone?

They stepped inside, and the first thing Fenton noticed was how uncomfortably warm the building was. He could barely breathe, it was so stifling. Valerie didn't seem to notice, however, and continued leading him to their destination. They passed many tables occupied by other couples, but some were empty, and Fenton didn't understand why Valerie didn't sit at those. A table was a table, right?

It wasn't until they were at the back of the restaurant that Valerie seemed satisfied. A single light had gone out, scaring away the other customers, but the dim lighting and seclusion created an intimate atmosphere, an effect that caused Fenton's heart rate to accelerate. Valerie slid into the booth, casting a smile at Fenton that reminded him of Phantom.

He swallowed, wishing he could trade places with his ghost half. Compared to this nightmare, Phantom had it easy.

---

Defeating two loathsome, soul-sucking ghosts was turning out to be far harder than he had expected.

Scales scraped against Phantom's jumpsuit as Bertrand constricted his snake-body tighter around the ghost boy, painfully binding Phantom's arms to his chest. The boy wheezed and thanked his dead lungs for not needing oxygen. That would have made this imprisonment deadly as well as uncomfortable.

Once more, he tried to activate his intangibility and slip out of Bertrand's grasp, but the glow around the other ghost intensified, somehow negating the power. Phantom groaned and allowed the back of his head to fall against the pavement. Why had he allowed Fenton to win that argument? Going on a date with Valerie was preferable over this by far.

Bertrand's wedge-shaped head slithered over the boy's shoulder, coming up to hiss against his ear, "Aww…is the little ghostie all tuckered out? We've only just started..."

Phantom jerked his head away, grimacing at the feel of the snake's tongue tickling his ear. In the right context, he was sure such a feather light touch could be quite pleasurable, but in this instance it was just creepy. Perhaps if Fenton was willing, he could-

But, no. They were no longer practicing.

Spectra floated over to the pair, her spectral black tail rippling as flame-like waves coursed through her shade form. "He's not tired at all, Bertrand," she said. "He just wishes he was somewhere else. Isn't that right, Danny?"

Phantom glared at her, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"He does seem awfully distracted," Bertrand mused. He spread his mouth wide in the viper's imitation of a grin. "Why, defeating him has never been easier!"

"You haven't defeated me yet," Phantom snarled. "This is nothing more than a temporary inconvenience."

Coils squeezed, prompting a pained gasp from the trapped ghost. "Does that feel temporary?" the other ghost hissed.

"Where would you rather be, Danny?" Spectra questioned.

He forced unnecessary air into his compressed lungs before he answered. "Away from you two, for starters."

"Now, that's not very nice. We just want to help. Maybe we could even…negotiate."

Phantom frowned, the word ringing in his ears. "Negotiate?"

She combed her fingers through his white hair, humming. "A hunk like you on a Saturday night, why, you must have had plans. Especially since you now have a girlfriend. What's her name again? Valerie?"

Phantom hadn't meant to, and he berated himself the second he did it, but he jerked against Bertrand's hold like he'd been stung.

"I believe you hit the bull's-eye, Spectra," Bertrand said, grinning that viper's grin again.

The she-ghost clapped her hands together in delight. "Ooh, let me guess! You two had a date planned, but you had to cancel because we showed up. Is that it?"

Phantom sealed his lips together, determined not to give anything else away.

"She must have been devastated. How many times before this have you canceled on her? Just think of all that misery you must cause her!"

"You're not a very good boyfriend, are you?" Bertrand asked, earning a glare from his prisoner.

"He has a point, Danny," Spectra said and drifted a little closer to Phantom's face. "If you keep this up, she might find someone else. Someone better."

The boy stared at her, trying to ignore the way his core throbbed at the thought. It was ridiculous, of course, but his mind presented him with the image of his human half and Valerie on their date. Laughing, kissing…Phantom's chest tightened, and not because of the snake.

"And she should too," the snake added.

"Oh, yes she should," Spectra agreed. "She deserves better than a boy who chooses ghost hunting over her."

"No." Phantom shook his head, his white hair tangling as it rubbed against the pavement. "No that is not…I didn't…" Fenton had been the one who wanted this, not Phantom. Fenton didn't deserve her.

Spectra placed her hands on his shoulders, their green glow spreading to Phantom. She bent down to whisper in his ear, "But it doesn't have to be that way, Danny. It's not too late. You can still have your date. All you have to do is forget you ever saw us."

Phantom's eyes darted between her and Bertrand. He…could forget about them. He had a duty to the city, but what about his duty to his girlfriend? She deserved better than this. He could just leave now, go on their date…

The green glow fizzled out of existence.

"What are you waiting for?" he heard Bertrand demand.

"I can't reach it," Spectra hissed. "I can sense it, I just can't grab it."

"Why not?"

"If I knew why, it wouldn't be an issue, now would it?" Spectra's fingers dug into his shoulders, and Phantom barely suppressed a pained hiss. "It doesn't make sense. I can feed of any human, even half human freaks like him!"

As the two ghosts continued to argue above him, Phantom blinked, the haze over his eyes clearing. Even if he ignored his duty, he would be unable to join Valerie on a date. For one, he was Danny Phantom, her most hated enemy. Two, Fenton was with her, so she had her date, even if it wasn't with him.

Honestly, the date was probably making the awkward boy feel as helpless as Phantom felt right now. Even if he wanted to, Fenton couldn't steal Valerie away from Phantom because he lacked nearly all romantic ability…and while Phantom was busy entertaining Spectra's little mind games, Fenton could at this very moment be ruining their date.

Green eyes blazed with supernatural blue light as Phantom willed his ice powers to build inside him. Being cold creatures themselves, Spectra and Bertrand failed to notice the drop in Phantom's temperature at first. It was when frost condensed on Bertrand's scales that the shape-changer faltered midsentence. He looked down at his captive, his reptilian eyes widening upon noticing the blue hue of Phantom's skin.

Phantom slammed open the floodgates of his pores. A cold aura from his core exploded outward in all directions, a cloud of icy air that froze everything in its path, most notably the two ghosts in contact with its point of origin. Spectra and Bertrand yelled and tried to recoil from Phantom, but were too slow and froze solid in moments. Everything within a five yard radius gained a coating of ice, leaving the panting ghost boy as the only colorful object in the vicinity.

Said boy turned transparent and floated out of Bertrand's hold. He landed on the frozen ground with the ease of an ice skater, smirking at the immobile ghosts. "A temporary inconvenience," he said as he slipped the Fenton Thermos off his back. "What did I tell you?" He uncapped the device and sucked the two ghosts inside. For a moment, he stared at the sealed Thermos, wondering if the specters were able to thaw or if they would need assistance.

He dismissed the thought a second later and leaped into the sky. He had done it! Laughing, he looped in a long circle, his ghost tail streaking across the sky behind him.

The release of so much ice energy left him feeling warmer than he had in a long time. He could actually feel the cold bite of the wind as it blew through his hair. Fenton always shivered in his presence, and Phantom wondered now if his touch would elicit the same reaction. And he wondered how comfortable it would be to hold the living boy in his arms now that their temperatures weren't so at odds.

Lights from the different businesses bathed the city with light pollution, and the astronomer in Phantom grimaced even as the city resident in him delighted in the warm and familiar glow. He rolled onto his back and then fell into a steep dive, allowing gravity to propel him towards the ground at dizzying speeds. Eyes closed, the boy relished the false adrenaline racing through his veins as the air surged past him, blasting against his exposed skin and pulling at his hair.

A distant honk cut through the airstream, causing green eyes to fly open. Phantom pulled up from his dive, narrowly avoiding the pavement by a couple inches. Bright lights cast from vehicles blinded him, and he barrel rolled to the right, dodging around the automobile. He dove to the left a second later in order to avoid becoming a window ornament for a car.

He flew back into the sky, paused a moment to stare down at the world below him. Pedestrians on the sidewalks noticed his presence in the sky and pointed up at him, speaking excitedly to each other. A soft smile crossed the ghost boy's lips, the knowledge that he had protected these people filling him with pride.

The chop-chop-chop of whirring helicopter fans canceled a portion of that pride. Phantom grimaced and activated his invisibility. He flew into the thrall of the city again, his green eyes searching for a similarly colored neon sign. Instead, his gaze landed on a different sign, and with a wry twist of his lips, the ghost dove for the building.

---

Fenton fiddled with the hem of his shirt, forcing himself to maintain eye-contact as Valerie spoke, but even though his eyes remained on hers—for the most part—and he nodded and made small comments here and there, his attention wasn't on what Valerie was saying.

His mind was unfocused, wondering in every direction, all of which inevitably led to his ghost half. How Phantom was fairing in his battle, if he'd captured the ghosts yet, what he would do once he captured them, and—most importantly—how the other boy would act in this situation. The last thought would lead Fenton into actually paying attention to Valerie's words…for a few minutes. Long enough to make appropriate comments to what she was saying.

It wasn't that he found her boring—on the contrary, Valerie was the most exciting girl he knew; who else could fight ghosts on a sled that flew as fast as Phantom?—but her choice in topic lacked interest for Fenton. His thoughts were on ghosts tonight, not the mundane experiences fast food workers endure. It wouldn't be a problem if she knew he knew her secret, but he didn't dare cross that bridge. Phantom was the one with finesse and smooth talking, not Fenton.

His gaze drifted to the glass of water before him, staring unseeingly through the clear liquid. He was out of his depth here…Valerie was talking, but even he knew this wasn't the way a date was supposed to go. He should try to contribute to the conversation…but every time he tried he stumbled over his words and whispered at a volume barely audible to Valerie.

"-says it would be better for business, but what do you think? ...Danny? Danny!"

Fenton started, his eyes jumping back to Valerie's face. "Huh?"

The girl's eyes narrowed. "I said, what do you think?"

The boy blinked a couple times, his face blank. "Um…about what?"

Valerie crossed her arms over her chest, frowning darkly, and Fenton gulped, recognizing that face as one she used while hunting Phantom. "If you think I'm so boring, why don't you say something instead of just sitting there?"

Fenton slouched against the back of the booth, almost sinking beneath the table. Her words offered a chance to choose a more interesting topic…but her tone was angry, a clear note of warning laced within the words. Not good. How would Phantom get out of this mess? He never would have fallen into it in the first place…but regardless, how would he fix it?

"Apologize and say you got lost in thought while imagining your parents' reactions."

Fenton's whole body literally jumped. His heart leapt into his throat, his stomach twisted, and his knees and hands banged against the table. The resulting table-quake caused the glass of water to capsize and spill its contents all over the table…and onto Fenton's lap. He jerked in his seat, yelping as the icy water seeped against his skin.

Valerie reacted quickly, throwing table napkins on the spill, trying to contain the mess. "We could use some help over here!" she shouted at the waiters. In an equally hard although quieter voice, she said, "I got this, Fenton. Go dry yourself off."

Fenton nodded. He scooted out of the booth and collided with a malleable wall that grunted upon impact. Scowling, the human seized his ghost's wrist and dragged him to the men's room. A waiter rushing in the opposite direction dodged around Fenton, but collided with the invisible boy behind him and fell backwards with a shocked gasp. Heads turned, and Fenton ducked his flaming face, his hand tightening around the wrist he held.

He ran to the bathroom, slamming the door open. He used his hold on the ghost to throw Phantom against the cubicles, shaking the thin walls and earning a disembodied groan from the spirit. But the act failed to dispel the betrayed anger inside him, even when the white-haired boy flickered back into visibility, revealing his pained grimace.

Fenton's hands clenched at his sides, the desire to punch that familiar face stronger than he ever remembered it being. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, his tone just above a growl.

"That was unnecessary," the other boy said, rubbing the back of his sore head.

"Answer the question!"

Green eyes opened and glared back into opposing blue. "Trying to repair the damage you caused," the ghost said, using the same tone, although the echo in his voice made his sound more intimidating. "You said you could handle this."

"But I was handling it, Phantom!" Fenton insisted, his voice cracking. "I was doing just fine until you got here! There was no reason for you to get involved!"

"'Fine'?" Phantom snorted. "That was not fine. That was a not a date. That was a one-sided conversation."

Fenton flinched. Phantom's tone, dry and with little emotion, was as painful as if the ghost had accused him of failing. A second later, blue eyes regained their glare as Fenton bristled. "It just started! I was…I'm still getting used to this."

"If you continue as you are, the date will be a complete failure."

And here he thought the other tone was painful…"Well, what the hell do you want from me?" he demanded of the ghost. "I'm the half of our personality that lost his pants every time he talked to Paulina! The only reason I haven't done so now with Valerie is because I don't have your stupid powers! So I'm sorry if I fail to measure up to your idea of a perfect date, but this is the best I can do!"

"And as it turns out, your best isn't good enough. That is why I intervened."

"Oh, so you can make it worse?" Fenton pointed to his soaked jeans. "Thanks to you, it looks like I just pissed myself!"

"That was your fault for being so easily startled!"

"What?" Fenton shouted, incredulous. His hands made clawing motions like they were strangling the air. "You—"

The ghost shook his head, breathing deep to calm himself. "This is pointless. We need to move on to plan B."

If this were a cartoon, steam would be pouring out of Fenton's ears. "We don't have a plan B," he spat. "And whatever happened to Spectra?"

"This," Phantom said, "is plan B." The word had barely passed his lips when the ghost suddenly shot forward like a bullet, diving beneath the human's flesh. A gasp was the only sound Fenton managed before he felt the other's presence spread throughout his body, poisoning his veins and invading his conscious thoughts. He doubled over and wrapped his arms around his middle, gagging. A green glow enveloped his body as he tried to shove the alien presence out of him.

"Just let it happen," Phantom ordered. His words brushed against Fenton's thoughts like a siren's call, almost warping them to do just that.

"Get out of me," Fenton growled in return.

Instead of obeying, Phantom dug further inside him and shoved Fenton's mind aside, grasping for control with icy claws. The human cried out and fell to his knees. The resulting pain from his kneecaps helped reconnect him with his body, and he pulled his lips back in a silent snarl as he repelled Phantom's presence to the outskirts of his awareness.

"This is—"

"No! Get out!"

A loud bang echoed off the walls, and the boys froze as a man rushed into the bathroom, running past Fenton's glowing form to the urinals. Phantom was the first to react, spreading his invisibility over Fenton's body. He wasn't sure which of them ordered the action, but Fenton dropped lower to the floor and peered under the cubicles. Both sighed in relief when they didn't see anyone else in the restroom.

"We should have checked we were alone when we first entered," Phantom said, silent to all but Fenton.

It was your fault, the other boy thought to himself, biting his lip to keep from saying it aloud. If he hadn't…

"We share the blame, Fenton. It was both our faults."

The human blinked, muscles tensing. Did you hear my…That's it! Out! Get out now!

"This is our best option for our date with Valerie!"

I don't care! Get out of me!

"You're being irrational!"

And you're being an ass!

A sigh inside your mind feels a lot like wind blowing past your ears. "Stop swearing. It's rude and so very unattractive."

Fenton's teeth dug into his lips, fury burning his eyes. The man finished relieving himself and moved on to washing his hands. Fenton shifted on his knees, pressed his fingertips against his stomach. He'd get one chance at this. Once this guy leaves, I want you out.

The ghost snorted, causing Fenton's eye to twitch. "You can 'want' me out as much as you like, Fenton, but that doesn't mean I'm leaving."

Fenton growled low in his throat. We'll see about that.

The guy shook water droplets off his hands and then swiped a paper towel of the electric dispenser.

"We shall."

Once done drying his hands, the man tossed the damp wad into the wastebasket. Fenton was so tense he was practically vibrating, and when the man was just a few feet from the door, he acted. Intimate knowledge of their powers allowed him to access Phantom's intangibility without the ghost's permission, and he thrust his hands into his own stomach, snagging his ghost's essence. Startled, Phantom gasped and was almost pulled from his human. At the last second, he concentrated his overshadowing powers, for all intents and purposes clamping around Fenton.

Breath exploded from the boy's lungs, and he squeezed his eyes closed. He waited a moment, breathing hard as he gathered his strength, and then he heaved with all his might. His shout and Phantom's surprised exclamation as he was ripped away from his human half bounced off the walls, probably loud enough for the other diners to hear. Fenton tossed the ghost aside and wrapped his arms around his middle, groaning as nausea overcame him.

"Why must you always be so difficult?" Phantom demanded as he landed on his feet beside him. The other half of Danny looked up at him, lips pulled back in a snarl. "I am only trying to—"

Fenton surged to his feet and slammed his fist against Phantom's jaw. The ghost grunted and staggered backwards until he collided with the cubicle walls. He raised his hand to his lips. The bright green color of his blood stood out against the white glove, and Phantom lifted incredulous eyes to the boy before him. "You hit me…"

Air burst from Fenton's mouth, a cross between a chocked laugh and a disbelieving huff. "No shit! I mean, you just—" A second huff of air, this one boarding on hysterical. "I can't belief you just did that!"

Phantom took a half step forward, but halted his advance when Fenton tensed and held his hand out.

"No," he said, "no, you do not come near me. Don't you dare come near me."

The ghost stared at him, his mouth open like he wanted to say something. "Fenton, I…" his voice trailed off. His green eyes closed, and when he reopened them, they were filled with concern. "Are you all right?"

Fenton laughed. "All right? How can anything about tonight be all right? I'm talking to myself for crying out loud! Hell, I kissed myself earlier!"

"Fenton—"

"And then he tries to overshadow me!" Another near hysterical laugh. "Do you realize how invasive that is? You could hear my thoughts!"

"But we're the same—"

Fenton sliced his hand through the air between them. "The hell we are! How can you stand there and claim to be me after all you've done tonight? After…after you kissed me? After you tried to overshadow me like I'm some sort of…of puppet?"

"I was only trying to—"

"—make tonight the perfect night for Valerie." Fenton rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like that makes it all better. You're so damned determined to make this one date as perfect as can be you're willing to ignore everything else in your way. Yourself, your morals, your duty to the city…Everything!"

The ghost protested, "I would have captured Spectra and Bertrand after the date."

"Oh, and you think Spectra would have waited for you? If we hadn't done this, if I hadn't forced you to go after them, Spectra would have fed off every person she came across. Kids, teenagers, someone on the brink of suicide…" Fenton crossed his arms and glared down at his shoes, ending in a whisper, "But who cares, right? Clearly, your date with Valerie matters more to you than the life of a stranger."

Phantom made a sound like was about to say something, but it caught in his throat, resulting in silence. Fenton could feel the other's green eyes on him, and it made him hug his arms closer against his chest, feeling exposed under the ghost's mystified stare. He opened his mouth to say something—anything to break the silence—but could think of nothing else to say, and shut it a second later.

After a long, tense moment, Phantom sighed. "I…I apologize. For overshadowing you, I mean. I overstepped my bounds."

Fenton glanced at him, but the ghost's eyes weren't on him. They were staring off the side, the light in them dimmed. Shaking his head, Fenton took a step toward the door. "I…I need to go. Valerie's probably wondering what's taking me so long."

He turned around, but froze when he felt a cool hand grab his shoulder. He tensed as the cold spread through his body, turning him intangible. The sound of water dripping onto the floor filled the restroom, and when it stopped, Fenton glanced over his shoulder at Phantom.

The ghost boy forced a smile on his lips. "I doubt you want to walk out there with a wet crotch."

A second of thought later, Fenton flushed, sputtering. Phantom's smile softened, became real, and despite the resentment he still felt towards the other boy, Fenton felt a stabbing pressure in his chest ease.

The boy looked away, frowning. He brushed Phantom's hand off his shoulder and quickly fled the restroom.

---

Phantom's hand slowly lowered as the door boomed shut. He twisted the hand around, staring at his palm as if searching for the source of the tingling warmth he felt there. Perhaps it was because Fenton had been pleasantly warm this time. Like the soft kiss of sunlight rather than the burning heat of hot metal.

Phantom clenched the hand into a fist. Sighing, he closed his eyes and ran his other hand through his hair. That...had not gone as planned. Nothing about tonight had. He was inclined towards laying the blame at Fenton's feet...but he was partially at fault too. They were both responsible for the way tonight had turned out, but he had escalated their problems by ignoring Fenton's opinions...treating him like a puppet...a tool... All this time, had he truly been treating Fenton as lesser?

The ghost groaned and fell back against the cubicle walls. He touched two fingers to his busted lip, tracing the sore area. Fenton had hit him. It was hard to believe. Like a shock to his core, and felt just as paralyzing too. It had shocked him out of his anger, sharpened his focus, and now he had a choice to make.

Either aid Fenton in charming Valerie—because no matter how he tried to hide it, Phantom knew the awkward boy was so far out of his depth he could barely breathe.

Or give Fenton what he wanted; a chance to prove himself.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6
Shooting Stars

---

"A man reserves his true and deepest love not for the species of woman in whose company he finds himself electrified and enkindled, but for that one in whose company he may feel tenderly drowsy." ~George Jean Nathan

---

Valerie's cheek rested in her palm while her other hand twirled her fork, a sad frown gracing her features. At Fenton's approach, she lifted her gaze to meet his, and Fenton's pace faltered. She offered him a small smile, unknowingly lifting the invisible weight off his chest.

The blue-eyed boy returned the smile and slid into his vacated seat. He stared at the table a moment, biting his lower lip as he tried to find the words to say. If Phantom was in his place, he would apologize and turn it into a compliment…but Fenton balked at the idea. He would just as soon move on with the date and pretend the last few minutes never happened.

No, he thought, squaring his shoulders and breathing deep. No more taking the easy way. I have to suck it up, pay attention to her, and prove to my nosey ghost half I'm just as capable of sweeping Valerie off her feet as he is.

After nodding to himself, Fenton lifted his eyes to meet Valerie's and swallowed when he saw her watching him with a raised eyebrow. "Um, I…" What was he supposed to say again? "I'm…I'm sorry about…all that. I just…" He paused, blinking. He twisted a little in his seat, scanning the restaurant.

"Danny?" Valerie asked.

"I…I just…" He licked his lips. It was probably just a draft or something… He shook his head and turned back to Valerie. "I just have a lot on my mind."

Valerie leaned forward, her elbows rested on the table. "Is it something I can help with?" Her eyes narrowed as something crossed her mind, and she too swept her gaze across the restaurant.

Fenton smiled shyly at her, touched by her concern. "Thanks," he said, "but I got this taken care of." He held up his right fist and grabbed the arm's bicep, flashing a goofy grin at her.

The act stole a laugh from Valerie, erasing the dark shadow haunting her eyes. The waiter arrived with their food, and Danny lowered his arms again, smiling at Valerie who shook her head, chuckling. It was amazing how uplifting it felt to make someone laugh. Already Fenton could feel tension leaving his shoulders.

"So you can be charming…"

Fenton jerked, but a cold hand on his knee kept him from banging it against the table again. "Phantom!" he hissed, his voice disguised by the clatter of the waiter setting down their dishes. "Get out of here!"

"Fenton—"

"Go away!"

Having finished his task, the waiter excused himself and left the teenagers to their meal. While Valerie busied herself with her cheeseburger, Fenton latched onto his ghost's wrist, only to have the appendage evaporate through his fingers. A second later, he felt a cold presence settle in the booth beside him. Guessing as to where it was located, Fenton tried to grab Phantom's arm, intending to drag him into the bathroom again, but once more, the ghost turned intangible and his hand passed through empty space.

Fenton spewed a whole list of derogatory names and insults—and just to piss the ghost off further, cuss words—in his head that Phantom would doubtless hear once they remerged, but while they were apart, he had every intention to make the ghost's undead life a living—

"So how good are you actually in a fight, Fenton?"

Blue eyes jerked back to Valerie's face, wide and confused. "Huh?"

Valerie shrugged. "Well, I've seen how Dash bullies you, Danny, how you run away whenever you can…" Her eyes shadowed briefly before she offered Fenton a coy smirk. "I could teach you some defensive moves if you like."

"Um, no, that's okay. I'm actually stronger than I let on."

Phantom's cold elbow drove into Fenton's side, causing the human to jerk in surprise. Fenton returned the action and was satisfied when he heard a soft and disembodied grunt.

The table hid the action from Valerie, who bit her lip and titled her head slightly. "Are you sure?" Her eyelids fell halfway over her eyes. "I am a good teacher…"

Before Fenton could respond, Phantom leaned against his shoulder, capturing Fenton's fist before it could strike him, and whispered hastily into the other boy's ear, "She is offering us a chance to spend more time with her."

A chill raced up Fenton's spine in response to the cold air brushing against his ear. He tore his fist out of Phantom's grasp. "I know how to defend myself, Valerie," he said, almost growled.

Phantom sighed, further tickling the sensitive area of Fenton's neck. Scowling, Fenton shrugged the ghost away from him.

Valerie leaned forward, frowning. "If you know how, then why don't you?"

Fenton opened his mouth to answer, but couldn't think of a response. They should fight back. Why didn't they?

Like a boomerang, Phantom's presence returned against Fenton's arm. "It would make matters worse," he whispered. "Dash would be compelled to prove his worth as your tormenter."

The human shifted, trying to edge away from the ghost's cool breath without being noticeable. "Um…" He glanced at the invisible Phantom. The explanation was sound…he didn't have a better response…but he didn't need his help!

"Just say it, Fenton."

The boy sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Because it would make it worse. Dash would feel like he had to beat me to a pulp to show he's better."

Valerie shook her head. "But he only attacks you because you let him. If you stood up to him, he would find someone else."

Fenton frowned. "Exactly why I don't fight back," he said, the words jumping to his tongue now. "I'm tough, I can take it. But other kids at school…I would rather Dash target me than some helpless kid."

His girlfriend crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the back of the booth. "No offence, Fenton, but you're one of those helpless kids at school. You shouldn't have to put up with Dash anymore than they do."

Phantom grabbed his shoulder before Fenton could snap a retort. "Let it go. Valerie cares too much to support your reasoning."

Fenton bit his lip, swallowing the words on his tongue. He disliked letting Valerie win the argument, but he also recognized the face Valerie now wore as the one she used whenever she argued with Danny Phantom, and he knew from experience it meant she wouldn't back down no matter what he said.

"Change the topic to one that will make her smile," Phantom instructed.

A sudden dip in the restaurant's noise level forced the ghost to press closer against Fenton to avoid being overheard. This close, Fenton could feel the muscles of Phantom's chest against his arm, and the human bit his lower lip, willing his blood to circulate normally.

"The goal is to enjoy each other's company," Phantom continued, "and one way to do that is to make each other laugh."

Fenton breathed in deep breaths, trying to cool his blush and dispel his anger. If he wanted this date to turn out right—and prove to Phantom he wasn't a hopeless inconvenience to them both—he needed to at least heed the ghost's advice. But it was hard to think straight when the guy you had been kissing all day was pressed flush against your arm, breathing into your ear.

Think Valerie, Fenton, he thought. She's beautiful and dangerous, and could probably take Phantom out within five seconds flat if she knew he was here…now what were we talking about? Dash? Valerie, Dash, the Red Huntress…

"I bet the Red Huntress could show Dash up."

Phantom squeezed his shoulder as Valerie's eyes widened, thrown by the mention of her alter-ego.

Panicking, Fenton hastened to add, "Uh, I-I mean, have you seen her? She's awesome! Sh-she could take on Dash no problem!" He forced a chuckle. "And getting beaten by a girl would be so humiliating…" Another warning squeeze by Phantom and Fenton's back went rigid. "Uh, n-n-not that girls are weaker than guys! I just meant th-that Dash thinks that, which is ridiculous, of course, b-because my mom's a skilled fighter and Sam always beats me and Tucker at video games and—"

"I get what you mean, Fenton," Valerie interrupted, a soft smile on her face. She set her elbows on the table again as she leaned forward. "You know about the Red Huntress?"

"Y-yeah. I mean, between my parents and the media, I hear a lot about her."

"Then you know she views Danny Phantom as an enemy," she said, voice carefully neutral. "Doesn't that bother you?"

Fenton paused, waiting for Phantom to make a suggestion, but instead, the ghost abandoned his side, and the sudden loss of contact left Fenton feeling oddly alone. The boy licked his lips, gathering his thoughts. "I…I'm not sure…but she does what she feels is right, and that's honorable if you ask me."

A smile blossomed across Valerie's face, proving he had said the right thing. She reached across the table and rested her hand over Fenton's. The boy flushed and dropped his eyes to their hands. He could feel the air around him growing too warm, too thin, too suffocating. He felt sweat break out over his palm, his forehead—

Phantom pressed against his side again and wrapped an arm around his waist, the ghost's cold temperature cooling Fenton's like a breeze of fresh air. Muscles relaxed as Fenton allowed his other's presence to wash over him. Returning his gaze to Valerie, he smiled and asked her for her thoughts on the Red Huntress.

---

The hand Valerie held in her own as she and Fenton walked to her apartment felt clammy with sweat, and it squeezed hers so lightly it was like it wasn't even there. Sometimes, Danny's grip on her hand would become almost painful, usually when he tripped or was startled by something…both of which happened far more frequently than Valerie would have thought possible.

At first, she had viewed his clumsiness as cute, but now she was starting to wonder if something was wrong. Danny was far from the most coordinated boy, but it had been at least two years since he was this clumsy. And nervous…and jumpy. Like he expected something to jump out of the shadows.

For the third time that night, Valerie's thoughts wondered to the newspaper article from yesterday's edition, where Phantom had been captured flying into Fenton's room. Danny swore he never saw the ghost, but he was the son of two professional ghost hunters and he was the boyfriend of the Red Huntress. He was a prime target for a ghost attack, especially for a ghost as crafty as Phantom. If the so-called protector of Amity Park had his sights set on the Fenton boy, it would explain why Danny jumped every now and then and was almost constantly scanning the empty area around them.

Or the reason wasn't ghost-related at all but rather caused by Valerie.

Guilt she rarely acknowledged bit at her stomach, making her feel ill. She looked at Danny. The boy was walking a pace or two slower than her with his gaze firmly locked on the ground. Occasionally he would glance to the side or at their interlocked hands, but it was only when he felt Valerie's gaze on him that he met her eyes, only to flush a second later and return to staring at his shoes.

Valerie sighed, wishing she had the guts to break the silence between them. It had descended on them some time after they left The Works, and it had only become more and more oppressive the closer they got to Valerie's apartment. She could practically feel the tension radiating off Danny with each step.

It didn't take a genius to know what Danny was so nervous about. Forget ghosts and other paranormal phenomenon. The one Danny was afraid of, the one who had hurt him, was Valerie herself.

Valerie's own eyes lowered in shame. Danny's hurt expression still haunted her. He had looked so…so crushed. She had apologized for laughing at him a second later, of course, but she knew from experience how little apologies meant. She had turned to her friend Starr to ease her conscience and to seek advice. Unfortunately, Starr was a pathological blather-mouth. In the end, Valerie had just made everything ten times worse for Danny.

Ever since then, Danny had been distant and nervous around her. He had canceled their date last Friday without any explanation, and he had avoided her the rest of the week. Honestly, she couldn't blame him, but that didn't mean she would just let their relationship fall apart because of one mistake. She had been trying to think of a way to repair the damage she'd caused when Danny gathered the courage to ask her out again, and a plan had formed in her mind.

The beginning of the date hadn't played out as she had hoped—what with Danny showing up in a turtleneck of all things, ignoring her, tripping over his words, spilling his water and disappearing into the bathroom for an extended period—but it improved after he'd been given the chance to regain his composure in the men's room. He was still mildly distracted, but he actually smiled at her and participated in conversations.

It was the end of the date she was looking the most forward to, however, when they would share a goodnight kiss and she would be presented with the opportunity to rebuild Danny's confidence by showing him how to kiss. There had been potential there when they kissed last time. She knew Danny could become a very skilled. He just needed to practice.

And she would be the one to supply that practice.

The thought brought a smile to Valerie's face as she led Danny inside the apartment complex. In comparison, the boy tensed as soon as they passed the threshold. His eyes darted around the lobby and behind them, as if searching for something. Once again, Valerie's thoughts returned to ghosts terrorizing her boyfriend, but she shook it off a second later. She had ghost detectors and hidden weapons located all around the complex. Only Phantom had ever made it inside undetected before, and she had made sure he learned his lesson about trespassing into her domain.

Valerie's apartment was on the second floor, and Danny's hand tightened around hers as they got closer. She could definitely feel the tension pouring off him now. Hoping to alleviate some of that tension, Valerie sent him an encouraging smile. Danny returned a small smile, although it shook around the edges and faltered once they entered the staircase.

"S-so, how's your dad?" Danny asked.

The sudden break in the silence made Valerie blink. "He's fine…a bit overworked and still urging me to focus more on my grades than on my jobs, but he never complains about living here. He does keep insisting on having a 'guy talk' with you, though." She cast her boyfriend an amused smile.

Danny laughed nervously and used the hand not clamped around Valerie's to rub the back of his neck. "Something tells me he doesn't want to talk about fishing…"

"Oh, I don't know…I have a feeling tadpoles will be mentioned…" Danny flushed, sputtering, and Valerie laughed at his horrified expression. "I'm only teasing you, Fenton. Daddy trusts you more than that."

Danny forced a nervous chuckle. "G-good. I don't think I could survive the resulting heart attack…"

The joke earned another laugh from Valerie. By the time they reached her door, she was relaxed—excited even—while Danny was as tense as ever. Valerie slipped her hand out of Danny's hold and turned to face her boyfriend. He was beat red and couldn't hold her gaze for more than a few seconds, but she would fix that soon.

"Well, it was no picnic on Lookout Hill," she said, "but The Works was certainly interesting."

Danny nodded, shuffling his feet. "Y-yeah…that Onion Ring Tower was pretty neat…"

Silence descended on them again. The uncomfortable kind, where both parties are unsure about what to do. For all her planning, Valerie hadn't considered how she would get Danny to kiss her. She had assumed he would jump right in, to give himself a second chance, but he was hesitating now.

I really must have hurt him, she thought to herself, biting her bottom lip. He looks terrified…maybe I should take the first step, ease him into it.

Before she could act, Danny stepped forward. He lifted his eyes to meet Valerie's. His cheeks were still red, but his gaze was unwavering. This was it then. Valerie released her bottom lip and allowed her eyes to fall to half-mast. She evened out her breathing and tried to calm her racing heart. Danny stepped closer, close enough for her to feel his body heat, and her vision grew hazy as she allowed her eyes to close further.

When she felt Danny's lips, it wasn't where she expected. She opened her eyes, but Danny was already walking—practically running—towards the staircase. Valerie bit her bottom lip and pressed a hand to her cheek, the lingering heat from Danny's kiss tingling beneath her palm.

---

Fenton stormed out of Valerie's apartment complex so fast he didn't notice the light rain soaking his clothes and hair. He did notice the cold presence that joined him soon after, although he tried to ignore it. He picked up his speed, trying to outpace the ghost. He made it to the street corner before Phantom suddenly appeared directly in front of him. Surprised, Fenton collided with the other boy, but the ghost had been braced and caught him easily.

"What happened?" he demanded

Fenton tore himself away from Phantom, crossed his arms, and scowled at the rain-speckled pavement. "Nothing happened."

"Nothing as in nothing you want to talk about, or as in nothing remarkable?"

"Nothing as in it's none of your business!"

"Oh yes," Phantom said, and Fenton could practically hear the eye roll in his voice. "Let us just forget for one moment that we are the same person and that, technically speaking, the date you shared with Valerie was also supposed to be my date and therefore everything that happened on or after said date is technically my business as well, what, my dear human self, could possibly have happened in the last five minutes that has you so irritated?"

His tone revived the flustered blush on Fenton's face. Scowling, the human shoved past the ghost and marched down the sidewalk. Unfortunately, Phantom fell into step beside the human, silent, but clearly awaiting a response.

It wasn't long before Fenton snapped. "If you had been there you would have seen what happened. You've been sticking your nose into this date ever since you showed up, but when it gets to the really difficult part, you disappear! Where were you?"

"Waiting outside in the rain," Phantom replied. "You know as well as I how dangerous Valerie's building is to a full ghost. I saw no reason to risk detection when you were so adamant about proving your abilities on this date without me." He glanced at Fenton, frowning. "That was the impression I received, anyway. Was I wrong?"

Fenton hugged his arms closer against his chest, glaring at his shoes as he stomped across the wet concrete.

"I don't understand, Fenton," the ghost continued. "That was what you wanted, right? You fought against my presence throughout the majority of the date, so I assumed—"

"I blew it, Phantom!" Fenton spun on the ghost, his heated glare now focused on the shining green eyes before him. The rain had by now soaked his bangs, the dark strands sticking to his forehead. Angrily, he wiped them away. "I ruined everything! The date, the kiss, the—the…the fucking walk to her apartment! If I had just let you overshadow me, the night would have turned out perfect!"

"I still wouldn't have been able to enter her apartment," Phantom said, annoyingly calm in the face of Fenton's anger. "I would have been forced to leave your body, and you would have been disoriented and unable to salvage any part of the kiss." He stepped closer to Fenton. "But I don't believe you ruined anything. Tell me what exactly happened."

"What happened?" Fenton repeated, incredulous. He started pacing in a sharp circle, his hands clawing at his hair. "I-I froze up! I knew what I had to do, but when it came down to it, I-I-I just…"

"What did you do?"

"I kissed her…"

"…But?"

Fenton sighed, ducking his head. "I kissed her on the cheek…"

Phantom fell silent as he digested the information, the only noise between them the soft hiss of water striking the earth. Fenton stared at his ghost half, waiting for a verdict. His eyes caught on the water droplets raining around the ghost boy, how the droplets captured and reflected Phantom's ethereal glow as they sprinkled around him, giving the ghost a sort of misty aura that sparked like it held fireflies trapped inside. Fenton wanted to laugh at his ghost half sparkling of all things, but found himself instead enchanted by the light show.

"Your actions ruined nothing," Phantom said at last, and blue eyes shifted from one light show to another as Fenton returned to staring into Phantom's eyes. "A chaste kiss can be considered romantic as well. It's possible your kiss left a greater impression on Valerie than if you had you attempted something more, uh, passionate."

"Something 'passionate' is what we spent all day practicing for, Phantom. It's the whole reason all of this—" he gestured between them "—happened in the first place. Don't you dare act as if I didn't just let us both down in there." He swiped drenched bangs out of his eyes again, trying to scowl at Phantom, although he suspected he looked more like a pouting, drowned rat. "This was supposed to be our chance to redeem ourselves to her."

Phantom shook his head, the action somehow managing to toss his own wet bangs away from his eyes. "There will be other chances at redemption. This one date doesn't need to be perfect." He tilted his head slightly to the side and touched his busted—now bruised—lip, smiling dryly at Fenton.

Now Fenton knew he was pouting. "Who has a change of heart in just one hour? You're supposed to be mad at me! You're supposed to yell at me for ruining our chances with Valerie and complain about how you should have overshadowed me when you had the chance!"

Phantom chuckled, tempting Fenton to hit him again. The ghost must have noticed where Fenton's thoughts were heading because he stepped out of arms reach. "I apologize, Fenton. It's just impossible to not…it is hard not to notice…" He chuckled again, an undercurrent of embarrassment in the sound. He rubbed the back of his neck and gave Fenton a lopsided smile. "You just look ridiculously cute like this…"

Fenton blinked at him, feeling lost. He opened his mouth to respond, only to find the logical part of his brain had shut down. "Dude," he grumbled at last, "you're really infuriating sometimes."

Phantom closed his eyes, still smiling, and brushed his own white bangs out of his eyes. "I must be, considering how often I annoy you." He reopened his eyes and offered his hand to Fenton. "We should get you out of the rain before you catch a cold."

The human stared at the outstretched hand a moment before frowning at Phantom. "You're acting nice again…" His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're up to something…"

The ghost raised an eyebrow. "The two are connected?" he asked, amused. He waved his hand, gesturing for Fenton to take it. "I know my actions tonight haven't inspired trust, but…" He smiled, a secretive glint in his eyes, and now Fenton knew he was planning something. "It's nothing painful, I promise."

Fenton warily eyed the hand. Gloved in white and dripping with rain water, it looked innocent enough, although its owner inspired little confidence…not that he had much choice. It was either take the hand or walk home in the rain…and it was a very long walk home.

Sighing, the living boy stepped within arm's reach. "Fine," he said. "But if you try anything like what you did before, I know where we keep the thermos."

Phantom smirked. "That would involve catching me first." He wrapped an arm around Fenton's shoulders and hooked his other arm beneath his knees, sweeping Fenton off his feet and into the ghost's arms. Instinctively, the human wrapped his own arms around Phantom's neck. Once he realized he was essentially hugging the other boy, he started to loosen his hold and pull back.

"I wouldn't suggest that," Phantom said, his knees bending and his face turned up to the sky. "You will want to hold on."

The ghost leapt straight up, and Fenton swallowed a startled shout. He clutched Phantom's neck and buried his face against the other boy's chest, trying to block the rain from striking his face and the wind from clawing at his hair. He pinched his eyes closed and gasped for breath as Phantom flew faster and faster into the sky, the wind howling like a fierce animal as they cut through the airstream.

Noticing his companion's discomfort, Phantom turned them both intangible, and the water they had accumulated made its second journey to earth while the two boys continued their flight uncontested. With the violent onslaught of wind and rain terminated, the human was able to suck in oxygen unheeded, although his lungs still had to fight for his breath; the air was thinner than usual.

Curious, Fenton permitted one eye to slit open. For a brief moment, he saw the world far—far, like a speck of dust far—below them, and then they were swallowed by darkness. Phantom's half-visible form produced the only form of light, his glow bouncing off dark billows in an eerie display. Fenton closed his eye again and focused on the thrum of Phantom's core beneath his cheek, allowing its gentle vibration to calm his own racing heart.

A few seconds later, Fenton felt a constant breeze strike them as Phantom stilled and returned their tangibility. Believing the ride over, he opened his eyes again, only to have them widen in awe. His blue irises darted right and left as Fenton absorbed new world around them.

Phantom smiled at him. "I take it you like it?" He crisscrossed his legs like he was sitting on a flat surface and then lowered Fenton into his lap, the human's legs dangling freely over the ghost's. He grabbed Fenton's wrists and peeled them away from his neck. He lowered them into Fenton's lap but didn't let go, consequently wrapping his own arms around the other boy's waist.

"It's awesome!" Fenton exclaimed.

He bent forward, peering below them where a blanket of clouds billowed and rolled in response to the gentle breeze in the stratosphere. They glowed a light gray color as they reflected the crescent moon's illumination, a far cry from the angry-looking black clouds underneath. The clouds stretched on for miles, like cotton had replaced land, and Fenton felt an irrational urge to see if they were as soft as they appeared.

Above the boys stretched an endless starry sky. It was free and clear, no clouds, with only the light from the moon polluting the skies and obscuring the stars. As he watched, Fenton saw a star streak across the sky. And then another. And another. Bright fireballs raining across the sky. A large grin split Fenton's lips.

"I had given up on seeing this," he said, caught up in watching the burning meteoroids disappear behind the curved cloudscape. "I mean, I wanted to, but with the clouds and the date with Valerie…" He trailed off and then twisted at the hip to look over his shoulder at Phantom. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"You've been a jerk all day, Phantom," Fenton said, his eyes narrowed. "Why are you suddenly being nice to me? I just ruined the date!

The ghost's lips spread into a mischievous smirk. "I could always drop you if you prefer…"

It could have been Phantom carrying out the threat or his own paranoia getting to him, but the solid form beneath Fenton suddenly didn't feel so solid. Fenton clutched the ghost's suit, his blue eyes large with panic. "Don't you dare!" he hissed.

Phantom laughed until his human half glared at him. Still chuckling, the ghost stroked his thumb across the back of Fenton's hand, as if trying to calm the boy with that small gesture. "I'm not quite sure why, Fenton," he finally answered. "You appeared stressed on our walk to Val's apartment, despite my attempts to ease your discomfort. Then you entered the building and it started raining, and I…" His voice grew soft, slightly mournful. "I remembered you mentioning how you would rather watch the meteor shower than go on the date with Valerie."

Fenton's forehead wrinkled in thought. He vaguely remembered saying that, although it hadn't been a conscious thought until now. If Phantom had given him a choice, he would have jumped on the chance without a second thought. "So this is sort of like your way to make up for being an ass?" he asked.

"Language," Phantom said, exasperated. "But yes, in a way. You know, you have not been the nicest Danny around either, Fenton."

"I didn't overshadow you."

"Nor did I punch you."

"Yeah, well I—"

Phantom sighed, the cold exhale hitting Fenton's neck. "Please, we have been fighting each other all day…"

Fenton looked away, biting his bottom lip. They lapsed into silence as both boys watched meteoroids streak across the sky, each boy naming off constellations in his head. A few meteoroids crossed as they streaked across the sky, creating a brief 'X'. Soon Fenton's eyes grew heavy and he felt himself begin to lean against Phantom. He jerked himself forward again, blinking, but a cold hand on his chest brought him back against the ghost's torso.

"You may as well relax," Phantom said softly.

"I try to avoid doing that around you," Fenton responded, not missing a beat, but allowed himself to rest against his ghost half. "It usually bites me in the butt later."

The other boy chuckled, the sound rumbling deep in his chest and transferring pleasantly through Fenton's back. "I suppose that's true."

"You suppose? It is true!"

"Whether it is true or not, I would rather you were comfortable in my presence, particularly right now. I only wish to enjoy the meteor shower with you."

Fenton turned his head to look at his ghost half, only to have the action bring his cheek into contact with Phantom's. Blushing, he jerked his head away. "Y-yeah, well, you could have merged us back together first."

Phantom hummed, amused, and rested his chin on Fenton's shoulder. "Perhaps…but events like this are better when shared. It wouldn't be the same if we were alone…technically speaking, I mean."

"I guess…" Unsure about how to respond, Fenton returned his focus to the meteor shower.

It really was a beautiful phenomenon…but Phantom had a point. If they were whole and everything was normal, it would just be another meteor shower, one of a dozen they had witnessed. The best memories were ones where they shared the sight with others. With their mom when they were really young, Jazz after she had said she knew their secret, Tucker and Sam after the whole fiasco with Desiree…

Danny had hoped to make another memory with Valerie, but Fenton supposed Phantom's company worked just as well…and vice versa. There was no way they would forget this crazy day any time soon.

Phantom rubbed his thumb in small circles against Fenton's side, an action that was strangely comforting. Without consciously thinking about it, Fenton found himself resting his head against Phantom's, his forehead cushioned by the ghost's white hair. It became harder to focus on the waning meteor shower as his eyes grew heavy.

"We can merge back in the morning," Phantom whispered.

Fenton wanted to object, but couldn't find the energy or motivation to do so. It wasn't that he was physically tired…but the day had been emotionally and mentally draining. It was even harder to stay awake when the stars falling around them had a calming effect on Fenton's mind…like counting sheep. The whole atmosphere had a calming effect on him. Even Phantom's presence was comforting, although he hated to admit it, even to himself.

"I'm still mad at you," Fenton muttered, attempting to appease his pride.

Phantom snorted. "Go to sleep, Fenton."

"Don't tell me…what…what to do." Nevertheless, the boy's eyelids fell over his eyes and his breathing evened out. The last sensation Fenton felt before he fell unconscious was Phantom's core thrumming against his back and the ghost's warmer-than-usual aura enveloping him like a blanket.

Chapter Text

 

---

"I don't think you can keep someone you truly love at arm's length on purpose; they'll always end up in your arms." ~Holly Nichole Miller

---

Phantom flew through the skies towards Fenton Works, spectral tail trailing lazily behind him as he drifted between thermals. The sleeping human in his arms mumbled something, and the ghost tightened his hold, hugging his other self more securely to his chest.

Rain hissed as it struck the buildings below them, and even though Phantom knew Fenton couldn't feel the drops passing through his intangible body, the human turned his face into Phantom's shoulder, much as he had when they were ascending into the clouds. His hot breaths warmed the ghost's collarbone, the slow exhales at odds with the violent downpour surrounding them. A soft smile stretched the corner of Phantom's lips and he slowed his headlong pace, prolonging the moment where his human half remained peaceful in his arms and an almost calm haven stretched out between them.

A low rumble boomed along the clouds and jerked the ghost out of his thoughts. Phantom shook his head like he was trying to shoo away flies and then forced himself to fly faster. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, twisted by confusion. The sooner he could escape his other half's presence, the sooner he could think straight.

Moments later, Fenton Work's blazing sign cut through the veil of rain, casting a neon green light on the water droplets raining passed the letters.

The ghost bent his head forward and whispered into Fenton's ear, "Almost there."

The human didn't respond, blissfully unaware of everything except the gentle thrumming of Phantom's core, but the sky gave a second disembodied rumble and Phantom put on another burst of speed. He slipped through the solid bedroom wall, but as soon as they entered the secure shelter, he grimaced, deafened by the rain pelting the window and roof like pebbles thrown from the sky. Fenton groaned and buried his face deeper in Phantom's shoulder. The ghost shook his head, suppressing whatever warm feelings flooded to the surface.

The green-eyed teen floated over to their bed and settled the human's lower half on the mattress. He set his own knee on the bed for balance and then lowered Fenton's head and shoulders onto the pillow, taking a moment to inhale before he sat up again, sliding his arm out from beneath the other teenager, his fingers brushing along the boy's neck.

He stared at Fenton's chest, watching as it rose and fell with each breath the human took, and then lifted his gaze to the other boy's face. Two blue eyes blinked up at him, and Phantom froze, feeling like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Fenton's lips parted and formed Phantom's name, the soft word lost amidst the rain's angry assault against the house.

The ghost half of Danny glanced at the Fenton Ghost Catcher glowing faintly in the middle of the room like a dying glow stick, before he returned his gaze to the half-lidded blue eyes staring hazily up at him. He swallowed.

"Go back to sleep."

The boy's features twisted slightly, stubbornly defiant even while half-asleep, and Phantom failed to resist smiling. The ghost hesitated a moment before he traced a few fingers along Fenton's forehead, brushing black strands away from his brow. The human's eyelids lowered until only a sliver of blue irises were visible beneath his lashes.

"You deserve a long rest after today, Fenton."

At his words, Fenton forced his eyes to open again. "You do too."

Phantom's lips quirked further. "Ghosts have no need for sleep."

"Doesn't mean you can't rest," he mumbled, and before the ghost could respond, he shifted a few inches away from Phantom until there was enough room for his other half to lie beside him. Fenton turned onto his left side, one half of his face buried in the pillow and his hair strewn across the white cotton beneath his head like a crown made of silk. A corner of his lips lifted in a drowsy smile, a single sky blue eye staring hazily up at the ghost.

Likely the awkward boy hadn't meant his friendly expression to be so alluring and wouldn't appreciate the ghost encouraging such thoughts once they remerged, but while it existed and they were separate, Phantom couldn't resist the surge of attraction that twisted his gut or the way it drew him towards his other half like a magnet. He hesitated only a moment before he laid his cheek on the opposing side of the pillow and stretched his body along the mattress, mirroring Fenton's position so their knees bumped against one another.

Green eyes shone brighter as Phantom smiled at his human half, their faces less than a few inches apart. "Thank you."

The blue-eyed teenager hummed and slid an arm under his half of the pillow. "Your bed too," he mumbled.

Phantom opened his mouth to respond that it wasn't just that he was willing to share the bed or even that he was considerate of Phantom's own mental exhaustion despite all that he had put him through, but instead the ghost pressed his lips together in a slight smile. Fenton's eyes were barely focused, but he mirrored the ghost's expression without seeming aware of it.

A few minutes passed with Phantom staring at him, watching as Fenton's eyes grew heavier and less aware. Soon the human's breathing evened out and Fenton's jaw muscles grew slack, his lips parting. His gentle breaths breezed over the slick skin and carried across to Phantom's mouth, the heated air brushing the ghost's own lips like a lover's caress. The thought brought a small blush to the white-haired teen's cheeks.

Phantom cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should merge back now, after all."

Fenton moaned. "Tired," he slurred and snuggled his face deeper into the pillow, eyes finally closing. "'Morrow…"

Phantom bit his lip. And in the meantime, he had to resist any…lustful thoughts about his other half while the boy slept beside him.

A small task, one would think. Half the attraction Phantom held for Fenton dealt with the awkward teen's quirks. Traits that were, thankfully, hidden whilst he slept. With Fenton asleep, no sense of accomplishment would overcome Phantom when the skittish boy relaxed into his touch, nor would a rush of excitement course through his veins when Fenton did or said something unexpected. Phantom touched two fingers to his healed lips. Doubtless, the human was still capable of surprising him even in his sleep, but the ghost couldn't find it in himself to resent that.

Fenton put so much emotion into every move and gesture. There was an almost subtle grace to his movements, too, but only when he was comfortable and only when baggy clothes didn't hide the way his muscles rippled when he moved… He was quite adorable, in an odd way, but hardly unique. Phantom probably did the same, in a polished…meticulous way…

Fenton had a raw grace. Emotion personified and unrefined, a breath of fresh air against Phantom's deliberate and carefully executed words and actions. Fenton fascinated—

The ghost pursed his lips. He was, in essence, admiring the other half of his personality. Likely it was only because he could touch and observe his baser self that he now realized how fascinating such traits were…On the bright side, once they remerged, these attractions would be shared. Divided and beat into submission, if only by Fenton's pragmatic side, but still there. Perhaps Fenton's half of Danny would gain a better appreciation for himself instead of criticizing every flaw he saw in the mirror. But…

Phantom sighed and turned onto his back. He had to edge closer to Fenton to keep from falling off the bed, of course, but he ignored the warmth radiating along his right side in favor of staring at the glowing stars on their ceiling.

This would be his last night apart from Fenton. Once they remerged in the morning, they likely would never separate again, and if by some miracle their full self wasn't completely frightened by all they had thought and done, and was willing to separate once more, there was no guarantee Phantom's personality and Fenton's duel personality would appear and be free to interact again.

In a way, their rejoining would be their death as he and Fenton would cease to exist, lost to the true Danny's personality.

Phantom bit his bottom lip and looked at Fenton, but the human's peaceful expression only made his chest tighten further. Before he could stop himself, the ghost reached over and brushed his knuckles along Fenton's cheek. The boy's eyes fluttered, but it seemed forcing them open again exceeded his abilities.

Smiling, Phantom slid his fingertips along Fenton's jaw and stroked his thumb over the boy's cheekbone, marveling at how similar they were and yet how unfamiliar his other half felt to him at this moment. He could touch this boy, hear his independent breaths and feel the other teenager's soft skin glide beneath his fingers, the human's natural heat seeping through Phantom's glove and caressing his own skin in turn. He knew trapped behind closed eyes was a mind far different from his own, one that saw events differently and reacted to them in ways Phantom didn't understand. One that used to be a part of his but now felt alien to him.

His fingers curled beneath Fenton's jaw and journeyed back to his chin, lifting his head slightly.

The line between their separate halves was clear, not blurred, but it would lose focus and eventually fade into nonexistence come morning.

Phantom lowered his eyelids and brushed his thumb over the human's parted bottom lip, the soft pressure drawing it further away from the upper and creating a wider gap between the two. The dim light cast from Phantom's eyes intensified, and he caressed his other's lips again, unaware he was drawing closer until his forehead connected with Fenton's. He felt the human's heated exhales on his lips once more, unconsciously parting his own and allowing their breaths to mingle on his tongue. Green eyes closed, ignoring everything but the rain's drumming against the roof and the familiar feel of Fenton's lips on his.

The human mumbled something against his lips, and Phantom forced his eyes open, drawing back in surprise. Fenton was still asleep, but the ghost frowned and pulled his hand back, curling it into a fist so his fingers wouldn't try to touch the other boy again. With a groan he rolled onto his other side, turning his back on Fenton. This was ridiculous. He had better control than that. He took a deep breath and focused his thoughts on Valerie.

Kissing Fenton was oddly fun, yes, Phantom had gained a strange attraction for someone who was essentially his twin as a result, yes, but physical appeals were no more than sparks. The attraction he felt for Fenton—the other half of himself—may shine bright for a brief moment, but it would eventually fade. Tomorrow, even. When they remerged…died…For now, he just had to endure this oddity until the sun rose.

Phantom suppressed a chuckle in his throat. Oddity indeed. He was attracted to the face, the body he had grown up with all his life. How crazy was he…He just…he needed to stop thinking about this.

The ghost shut his eyes and conjured Valerie's image, envisioning her in the bed beside him instead of Fenton. Her lips curled in a gentle smile, her lush hair all around them. A wild beauty tamed by sleep, and Phantom felt himself relax, his own lips forming a peaceful smile.

A few minutes passed with him daydreaming about his girlfriend, his mind finally sinking into a calming rhythm, but then heat along his back made his spine curve and push closer to the source, the cold teenager unconsciously seeking the almost uncomfortable warmth. His back met Fenton's hand, but Phantom didn't pay any attention to it. Not until the hand lifted over his body and a warm arm draped itself over his waist, pulling him to the heat source.

Phantom started. Fenton's nose pressed into the space behind his ear, humid breaths released from his mouth caressing Phantom's cold neck, and the ghost fisted the blanket beneath them, resisting his body's reaction. He could tell by Fenton's irregular breaths that the human was deep asleep, caught within the confines of a dream and not actually doing this on purpose, but…

Humans didn't normally seek out cold things while sleeping. Fenton should be shying away from him. Unless…

The human muttered a disjointed version of Phantom's name in his ear, and the ghost bit his lip, his suspicion confirmed.

A blush colored Phantom's cheeks and ears. As a teenage boy himself, he knew not to take the dream seriously and that Fenton was likely only dreaming about him now because his icy aura had affected his subconscious (he was the only cold being Fenton came into regular contact with, after all), but that didn't stop Phantom's mind from wondering down a direction it shouldn't.

As if the ghost's thoughts needed more convincing, Fenton nestled his face against Phantom's neck and shifted into a more comfortable position, his chest pressed along Phantom's spine. A gentle rhythm thudded just under his left shoulder blade, and the green-eyed boy squirmed, groaning.

Cuddling hardly warranted worse discomfort than their make-out sessions—moments that Phantom himself instigated—but the way their bodies aligned like matching puzzle pieces, and the soothing cadence of the rain just outside their room made Phantom's core hum, a nonphysical warmth spreading along his form.

Phantom shook his head. He needed to get away from this. Away from Fenton so he could think straight.

The ghost wiggled free of the human's grasp and floated off the bed. A cold chill filled his back and side where Fenton had pressed against him, but Phantom shook his head, pushing away the sensation. The human didn't seem to notice his absence, merely snuggled against the cold blankets and pillow. Phantom chewed on his cheek, staring at him a moment before he shook his head and flew out of the bedroom, soaring into the storm.

Thunder rumbled again, and Phantom paused, now a safe distance away from the house. Sighing, he dropped his intangibility and lifted his chin, allowing the rain to drench his face. Something was wrong with him…Whatever it was, though, he just had to endure it until morning. Once they remerged, he would be free of this confusion. Once…once they both stopped existing…

---

Fenton's fingers threaded through Phantom's white hair and his other arm wrapped around his shoulders, the human clinging to his other half as Phantom pinned him against the windowpane. They had been discussing clouds just seconds ago, he was sure of it, but now Phantom's lips were on his throat, the ghost's hands up his shirt, and all thought about clouds had been blown aside. Phantom closed his teeth over Fenton's neck, and the blue-eyed boy groaned, arching his head back as his other half sucked harshly on the skin.

Phantom's hands closed around his hips, and then Fenton found himself lifted higher up the window. He wrapped his legs around Phantom's waist and rubbed his lower half against the ghost's stomach, moaning his twin's name as the friction made his mind fog and his body flush. He felt Phantom smirk against his throat before he released the skin and tracked a trail of light kisses up Fenton's neck to his ear. The human shivered and murmured something—a plea, maybe.

The ghost picked him up, and then Fenton found himself dropped on their bed. Fenton's legs fell from Phantom's waist, and now the ghost straddled his hips, elbows braced on either side of Fenton's head. He could feel his ghost's cold breaths against his lips and tried to wrap his arms around his neck and pull Phantom down for a kiss, but found himself incapable of even opening his eyes.

It wasn't until he felt the green-eyed teen's lips touch his that he was able lift his chin and part his lips, meeting the hesitant swipe of Phantom's tongue with his own. The ghost shifted further over him, settling on his chest, and Fenton felt his skin shiver as the other boy's aura enveloped him. Phantom pushed Fenton's head deeper into the pillow, chapped lips rubbing against one another. Fenton felt the ghost's fingers thread through his hair, massaging his scalp, and forced his heavy arms to loop around his other half's shoulders.

Unfortunately, Fenton couldn't hug him closer, but when his ghost separated long enough for them to breathe, he managed to sigh Phantom's name before the other boy resealed their lips. After a moment, Phantom removed his tongue and his lips from Fenton's again and instead pressed their cheeks together, whispering a shushing noise in his ear as his hand traveled down Fenton's stomach.

"GHOST!"

An explosion hit the wall above Fenton's headboard, plaster and green smoke blasting into the room. The boy gasped and threw himself to the side, accidentally tripping over his blankets and falling off the bed.

"Did I get him?"

Fenton lifted his head off the carpet and blinked at the doorway where Jack stood, blaster smoking around the barrel. "Dad?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep. His eyes widened a second later and he scrambled to his feet, using the bed as support. "D-dad! Wha—what are you doing?"

He eyes darted around the room, but didn't see any sign of Phantom—not that he would with their dad there. The blue-eyed teenager flushed and dropped to his knees, hiding his lower half behind the bed. He touched his fingers to his lips and blushed even harder.

As usual, Jack didn't notice. He looked at the scanner in his hand and pouted. "Darn thing must still be busted…" He shook it a little and then puffed out his chest. "Not to worry, son! Your old man'll make sure that no-good ghost kid doesn't go poking his nose in your room again!"

"A-again?" Fenton stuttered. He jerked his hand away from his mouth, telling himself to worry about his father now and his chilled lips later.

"That punk busted into my house undetected by our security system and purposefully allowed those nosey news parasites to catch him at it. No one makes a fool out of Jack Fenton!"

The boy stared, blinking slowly. After a moment, his dream-addled mind recalled a black and white photo, the funny looks his classmates had sent him, and his shoulders slumped as the tension melted away. "Oh," he said, "you meant Friday's newspaper…"

"Of course I did! Why?" Jack's eyes narrowed and scanned the room, his grip on his weapon tightening. "Has he returned? Is he spying on us? Show yourself, spook!"

"No!" Fenton cried, frantically waving his arms. "No, Dad, he's not here! Y-you must have scared him off…"

"Did I?" Jack blinked a couple times and then rested the gun's barrel on his shoulder, beaming. "I must have! The scanner's no longer picking up any ecto-readings. Ha! I bet that ghost kid flew off in a hurry the second Jack Fenton stepped into the room!"

"Y-yeah," Fenton said, forcing a smile on his lips. "So there's, uh, no reason to shoot more holes through my wall, right?"

A chunk of plaster fell on Fenton's pillow.

Jack's mouth formed an "O" before he puffed out his chest again. "A small price to pay for protecting my family from ectoplasmic scum! But, uh, your mother and I will fix this up in a jiffy, son, don't you worry! Today even! The longer you delay, the harder it is to patch holes in the wall, as your grandfather used to always say."

Fenton nodded and shifted uncomfortably.

At that moment, Jack's gaze finally landed squarely on the Ghost Catcher instead of wandering over it, and his brows furrowed over his eyes. "Heeey…what's the Fenton Ghost Catcher doing in your room again?"

"Uh…"

"You know your mother's rules. No faulty inventions allowed near you kids without our supervision."

"Uh, y-yeah. I just wanted something to, um, defend myself with. You know, in case Phan-er, the ghost kid showed up."

Jack shook his head and stuffed the scanner inside his belt. "Rules are rules, Danny, especially your mother's rules. Besides, the Catcher's not destructive enough to deter ghosts." The hunter slipped an ecto-pistol from its holster and tossed it to Fenton. His son gasped and leaned into the throw, his arms awkwardly catching the gun above his bed. "That'll show 'em not to mess with a Fenton!"

The boy's grin wavered, but his unease went unnoticed by Jack, who had begun rambling about how much more fun they'll have on a father/son ghost hunting spree than on some lame fishing trip.

Fenton grabbed the gun's handle and held the weapon over the bed away from him, chewing on the inside of his cheek. He was fairly inexperienced when it came to conventional weapons, but an ecto-gun couldn't be that different from his ghost ray. And he had to admit, he felt vulnerable without his powers. Wielding a gun until Phantom dared to return and remerge would put him more at ease.

"—tell Maddie after you're done!"

The human Danny looked up, blinking. "What?"

"We'll tell Mads about you fighting ghosts after you return the Ghost Catcher to the lab! She'll be so excited!" A tear gathered at the corner of his eye before Jack wiped it away. "Our son's finally following in his old man's footsteps…Hurry up with the Catcher, Danny! There's no time to waste!"

Before Fenton had a chance to respond, Jack charged out of the room, grinning like mad. The teen made an odd sound and scrambled to his feet to chase after his dad, but stopped after a few messy steps. His, um, physical discomforts would make running difficult, and he didn't particularly look forward to sprinting through the house with a noticeable tent in his pants.

The boy blew his hair out of his eyes and collapsed on the bed. Great. He had just allowed his dad to enlist them in ghost training. Fenton ducked his head and ran his fingers through his hair. Phantom was not going to like this… he'd probably try to play it off as no big deal, just like he did with Fenton's disastrous date with Valerie, but Fenton knew he'd just messed things up for them again. Only thing that could possibly be worse would be if Phantom…

Fenton frowned and touched his lips. Honestly, unnerving as the dream had been, it was hardly the first time he—er, they had dreamed about…that. About each other…in that way. After last Friday…well…

They had freaked out the first few times, but they were teenagers. Wet dreams happen…a lot…particularly when the teenagers in question experience their first ever make-out session and walk away from the incident with an aching discomfort between their thighs and a head full of roiling emotions. Although unnerving, that Fenton had such a dream now, after he and Phantom had spent the majority of yesterday lip-locked, didn't mean anything.

What did trouble him was how cold he had felt before—and after—his dad barged into his room. He could have sworn it was real…he remembered the pressure on his chest and remembered wrapping his too-heavy arms around another firm body, chapped lips on his and soft hair brushing his cheek and forehead…

And the Fenton Tracker had led Jack into the room. Fenton no longer had his powers, which were the only reason it appeared "broken" in the first place, so there must have been a ghost in the room with him…Phantom must have kissed him while he was sleeping…but…why?

Fenton groaned, tugged on his hair one last time, and then stood up. Thinking about it wouldn't get him anywhere, he'd just have to ask Phantom about it later…indirectly, of course, so he wouldn't look like a total idiot if he turned out to be wrong.

The teenager shuffled over to the Ghost Catcher and lifted it up by the base, balancing the pole against his shoulder. He grunted and then walked unsteadily towards his door. He would just have to wait in the basement with the Catcher until Phantom returned. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes for the ghost to brave the Fenton household again, and then Fenton could get his answers and they could remerge long before his parents finished fixing the hole in his wall.

---

The setting sun cast an orange glow over the park, an otherwise romantic atmosphere had Valerie not been so keen on blasting highly charged anti-ghost energy through Phantom's side.

The ghost banked around a tree to escape a volley and braced his spine along the trunk. The energy exploded against the wood, shaking the plant a little and causing Phantom's hair to whip around his face, obscuring his wide grin. Pink smoke covered the area before Phantom shot out from the cloud and into the sky, Valerie hot on his heels. He performed a complex-looking barrel roll around Valerie's next shot, laughing when she hollered something about cocky show-offs. Phantom flipped onto his back and flashed his girlfriend a charming smile, curling his fingers in a small wave. She returned the greeting with another blast from her bazooka.

Phantom yelped and dived to avoid the shot before turning invisible. Valerie stilled her sled, swore, and tried to pick up his signature with her suit's built-in scanner. Phantom reappeared behind her and landed gently on her sled, his arms crossed behind his back as he leaned in to whisper, "Would you like to talk about it?"

Valerie gasped and swung her arm at him, but the ghost had already disappeared. "What makes you think there's anything I need to talk about, least of all to a ghost?"

"You just seem angrier than usual," Phantom said, circling the angry huntress, "which means either I have done something to upset you again or someone else has. Beautiful as you are when angry, Val…" He reappeared before Valerie, his head slightly tilted. "I would much rather see you smile."

She growled and fired again, the ghost vanishing at the last second to avoid the attack. "Don't expect to see that any time soon, Phantom, because you are my problem."

"Oh, so I have somehow upset you again. What was it this time? Did I invade your dreams? Am I confusing your emotions? Have I—"

"You're haunting Danny!"

Phantom froze and his facial muscles grew slack as his invisibility slipped. "Fenton?"

Valerie's eyes landed on his location, and before he had a chance to regain his senses, she fired. Phantom gasped and banked to the side fast enough to avoid a direct hit, but the blast still struck his side, searing though the material of his hazmat and straight through to his skin. The ghost hissed and sped off in the opposite direction, one hand covering the bleeding wound.

"I haven't done anything to Fenton!" he shouted over his shoulder. He yelped as a pink ray came close enough to singe a few hairs.

"Liar! You can't fool me!"

Phantom avoided the next attack by diving straight down. He kept the steep angle, occasionally swerving around Valerie's blasts, but the huntress followed hot on his tail, shouting accusations and threats Phantom was unable to hear over the roar of the wind. They descended between two buildings—the winds buffeting Valerie slightly off course—but still Phantom continued his dive until he could hear the traffic noise. He angled his flight into a more manageable slope for Valerie's benefit so they flew just above the sidewalk.

A few pedestrians quick enough to spot them gasped and leaped out of their way, newspapers and other light items fluttering in the hunter's wake. Phantom threw a glance over his shoulder at Valerie before his gaze trailed to the bright orange disk on the horizon behind her. He flinched and then jerked his gaze away, concentrating on avoiding the obstacles presented by the busy sidewalk. A split second later he activated his intangibility and dived beneath the street.

Above ground, Valerie cursed and lifted her sled at a near vertical angle, coming to a sudden halt. A couple people shouted in surprise and jumped backwards. The huntress ignored the small crowd gathering around her and activated her ghost scanner, quickly keying into Phantom's ecto-signature. A map of the city appeared across her visor, a flashing green dot hovering beneath her location before zooming off in the opposite direction. Towards Fenton Works…towards Danny.

Valerie's lips pulled back over her teeth as she growled. She slammed her foot on her board's peddle and rocketed after the ghost, barely clearing the civilians' heads. She had to reach Danny before Phantom. If she was right, he could be in grave danger—there was no telling what damage a jealous ghost could do.

Chapter Text

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"It is a mortifying truth, and ought to teach the wisest of us humility, that many of the most valuable discoveries have been the result of chance rather than of contemplation, and of accident rather than of design." ~ Charles Caleb Colton

---

Fenton groaned and collapsed onto the couch, bouncing slightly on the cushions. He glared at the TV as it showed yet another clip from earlier that day of Phantom egging the news helicopters on, the hero grinning cockily at the camera as he flew backwards.

Usually Danny avoided those helicopters and treated them like the irritating pests they were when they persisted. But Phantom…he smiled at the reporters, winked at them just before he escaped their trap, and sometimes he came close enough to chat with them—checking that they were all right if there had been a near collision and maybe answering a question or two to entice them into another round.

The first few times Fenton had seen this, he'd just about exploded with nerves, thinking his ghost half was going to blow some important secret, but the ghost handled each confrontation like a pro, answering each question with an easy smile even while he mixed reality with fiction. Naturally his other half had to be a master of duplicity on top of everything else. Jerk.

Always eager to improve their ratings by discussing their local superhero, the press was going crazy over "this abnormal behavior" and kept theorizing over what could have caused it. Some just thought Phantom was being especially playful today, critics warned this was another sign of him being two-faced, and others (the gossips) wondered if the change in attitude had anything to do with Amity's most wanted teen bachelor finally finding a girl to show off to.

Fenton was almost curious himself how Phantom would answer that, what with Val—wait, no, they were going to merge back before that could happen, even if he had to drag his wayward half, kicking and cursing, into the basement by his pretty white hair.

The boy made an odd growling noise in his throat before he stood up and began pacing again. Loud banging from upstairs resumed as his parents returned to fixing the hole in his wall, and Fenton hunched his shoulders, making a face. The noise (plus their dad's random shouts) had driven Jazz away already, and if Fenton hadn't been waiting for the other half of himself to bring his ass home so they could reunite, he would have left too. Gone to Tucker's or Sam's and—

"Fenton!"

Fenton sucked in a breath and spun around. He caught a glimpse of white hair and luminous green eyes seconds before Phantom slammed into him. They collapsed backwards onto the couch with a shout, but Fenton barely had time to catch his breath or become alarmed by their tangled limbs before Phantom scrambled up his body and sat on his hips.

"What are our parents doing in our room? Where's the Ghost Catcher?"

Fenton gaped at his panicked twin. The ghost's lips pulled back over his teeth and he grabbed his other half's shoulders, shaking him until Fenton's surprise snapped like a taut wire and his earlier anger and frustration came rushing back.

"You would know if you had been here!" he shouted, shoving his hands against Phantom's chest. The ghost's knees squeezed his waist, keeping him from unbalancing, and Fenton glared, heat warming his cheeks. "Where the hell have you been?"

"It doesn't matter." Phantom's fingers clenched around his human half's t-shirt. "Where is the Ghost Catcher?"

"In the basement! And yes it does-"

Phantom spread his energy over Fenton, and the human gasped, his skin tingling. They fell through the couch, the floor, down into the basement. Plummeting as fast as if they had fallen off the OP center's roof.

Fenton scrambled for Phantom's shoulders and wrapped his arms tightly around the other boy's neck. His heart stopped beating, his stomach tight with instinctual fear. Their fall jerked to a halt, but Fenton couldn't stop his rapid breathing or his trembling. He buried his face against his other half's shoulder, clinging to the illusion of stability Phantom offered even as the human's feet dangled in open air.

After a few seconds, his breathing calmed, his chest no longer heaving against Phantom's as he gulped for air. Instead, their torsos moved together as both boys breathed steadily, the ghost's tail swaying between Fenton's legs and the thrum of Phantom's core vibrating against the human's beating heart.

Phantom's arms, situated around Fenton's ribs, loosed. "Fenton?"

The blue-eyed boy jerked his head off the ghost's shoulder, cheeks flushed in humiliation. "A little warning next time, you jerk!" he shouted.

Phantom winced and his grip tightened again, but his eyebrows were still pinched and after a second his gaze wandered off Fenton and began searching the lab for the Ghost Catcher. "I'm sorry, but we don't have the time."

"The hell we don't!" Fenton unwrapped his arms and fit his elbows between their chests, shoving against Phantom and arching his spine away from the other boy. He kicked his legs, but the ghost's tail danced out of reach. "We had plenty of time this morning before you decided to flirt with your adoring fans all day, so you can damn well find the time to talk to me for five fucking minutes!"

"I was not—"

"You were now let go!"

Fenton wrenched himself out of Phantom's grasp, and without the ghost's support, he fell backwards, nine feet above the floor. His eyes widened and he sucked in a breath. Phantom's horrified expression mirrored his, their eyes locking before Fenton pinched his eyes shut, bracing himself. Cold hands seized his ankle and the human's momentum lurched to a stop. Opening his eyes, Fenton saw the metal floor swaying a foot or so below him, and he released a shaky breath.

"You bumbling idiot!" Phantom scolded, his usually steady voice breaking on a few syllables. "There are safer ways to reach the floor, like, I don't know, asking nicely?"

"Oh, shut up!" Fenton extended his arms and set both palms on the floor, managing to stop himself from swaying dizzily above the floor. "You weren't exactly listening, anyway." He kicked his free foot at Phantom, growling to himself when the ghost tightened his grip on his ankle instead of releasing him. "Let go already!" He kicked at his other half again, but Phantom grabbed his other ankle and held the two apart. "Phantom!"

"Is violence truly the only way you know how to solve things?" the ghost asked, and Fenton got the impression he was on the receiving end of a disapproving frown. His ears burned, but it had little to do with the blood flooding his skull.

"Well, maybe if you would listen without me having to resort to violence!" Fenton jerked his legs and wiggled his hips, throwing his whole weight into the movement in an attempt to break Phantom's hold on his ankles. Fenton's t-shirt fell further down his torso, pooling around his neck and armpits. "For fuck's sake, Phantom, let go!"

"And that is another thing!" The ghost wrapped his tail around Fenton's right leg, restraining the majority of his struggles. "Why must you swear so often?"

"Because you keep pissing me off!" Fenton pushed off the floor and swung his upper body up. He managed to grab the tail molded to his jeans like a snake, but the sleek appendage didn't offer much of a handle-hold. He fell back down and had to place his hands on the ground again to stop his momentum. He growled deep in his throat and began thrashing again, throwing all of his weight into the motions. Not that it did much, Phantom being a gravity-defying being and all. Weight meant little to him. "You said we didn't have time for this!"

"That was before you started behaving like a brat!"

"Oh, I'm the bratty one? Who's the one holding me upside down? By my feet?"

"Who is the one cussing and trying to bully his way through a problem?"

"I repeat, you're holding me up by my feet!"

"Because you're behaving like an immature child!"

"Dude, I'm getting light-headed!"

"Apologize and I will gladly set you down!"

"I can't feel my toes anymore!"

"Would you just-"

"I'm going to pass out!"

"You are not-"

"Black spots-"

"Oh for the love of-Fine!"

Phantom released his ankles, and for a second, Fenton balanced solely on his hands. His blue eyes widened, his left arm gave out, and his body inevitably pitched to the side. His body crumbled to the floor, the boy gasping in fear. His knees slammed against the metal flooring, and the human sucked in air through his teeth, his eyes stinging as they watered. Another hiss-metallic, metal grating against metal-sounded in the lab, and he forced his eyes open again.

Phantom lifted his thumb off the genetic Fenton lock, his form lit from behind by the now-open Ghost Portal. "Valerie in full hunter mode will arrive here within a few minutes." Fenton forced himself onto his feet, wincing as his weight strained his bruised knees. "She has gotten it into her head that I intend you harm, for some reason."

"Yeah, wow, I can't imagine how she ever got that idea." Fenton braced his hip against the counter and glared between his ghost half and the portal. "So what, you're gonna run away to the Ghost Zone and try to wait her out? And meanwhile we stay separated for another whole frickin' day?"

"You refused to remerge and I don't have the time to argue over it with you!"

"We had plenty of time this morning!"

"We had plenty of time last night as well!" Phantom shouted, one arm thrown out for emphasis. "The point is we don't have time now." He turned his back on the human and glared at the portal, his spine unnaturally stiff for him. Fenton clenched his jaw and stumbled after him, using the counter as support. "I will return in a few hours. We can remerge then..."

"What's the point? I may be pissed at you, but we're already here and there's no guarantee Valerie will stop hunting you just because you enter the Ghost Zone." Fenton halted about a foot away from his other half. He bit his lip for a second before pressing on. "I don't even care anymore, all right? Let's just merge back already, I'm sick of being only half of myself."

Instead of agreeing, Phantom's shoulders hunched. The gloved hand resting on the counter clenched into a fist. "So it hasn't even occurred to you yet..."

"Obviously not." Fenton's frown deepened. He crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight. "You were all, 'Where's the Ghost Catcher, we have to merge back right now, we don't have tiiiiiime for this' just a few minutes ago. What the hell is the matter now?"

"I'm not explaining it to you, there's no point burdening both of us." The ghost shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. Like he was shaking off the unmentioned burden. "We'll remerge once I return and that will be the end of it." He glanced over his shoulder at Fenton before he began his stiff trek towards the portal.

The human scowled, and though his knees sent painful shocks up his legs, Fenton pushed away from the counter and scrambled after his other half, grabbing Phantom by the arm. He tugged on his arm, forcing Phantom to finally face him. "You'll tell me now! I didn't wait all day for you just so you could brush me off a few minutes later!"

Phantom's scowled and jerked his hand out of Fenton's grasp. He opened his mouth to respond, but a second later he closed it. "Say please."

Fenton recoiled as if struck. "What?"

"It's not a difficult request." The ghost crossed his arms and raised his chin, one eyebrow lifted in challenge. "If you wish to know so bad you cannot possibly wait until I'm safe and can afford the time to explain myself to you then I demand you show me an ounce of respect."

Fenton ground his teeth together, glaring into his twin's green eyes. "How about you just tell me now so you can get out of here before Valerie blasts her way down here."

"Gladly. The faster you say please, the faster I'll be out of here."

"I'm not going to say please or apologize or do any of that polite crap when I'm so angry I could punch you!"

"Then there's no point for me lingering here, is there?"

Phantom quirked his lips in a fake smirk, jerked his wrist out of Fenton's grasp, and spun on his heel. Fenton's lips pulled back over his teeth. He launched himself at his other half, but Phantom must have expected it, because he turned intangible at the last minute and Fenton fell right through him. This time the human managed to direct most of his weight onto his hands, but his bruised knees still banged against the floor and were all too happy to make his nerves shriek.

Before he could collect himself, a cold hand grabbed his wrist and flipped him onto his back. He cried out in shock and (not even thinking about it) threw his fist out as he was rolled over. Before it could connect, Phantom grabbed his other wrist and slammed them both onto the metal floor. Fenton groaned and then glared at the ghost as Phantom set his knees on either side of his hips.

"Again you become violent." The ghost teenager tsked and then leaned down until his white hair brushed against Fenton's forehead. "My dear human self, I believe I am sensing a pattern."

"Yeah?" Fenton muttered, his cheeks warming, though it could have been anger or embarrassment. "Me too. How about some personal space!"

Phantom snorted, the cold gust brushing Fenton's lower face. "We went over this before. If we're the same person then no personal space exists between us." It looked as if he were about to add something, but a second later he closed his mouth. He stared down at Fenton, his eyebrows pinching together, and the human half felt his flush spread.

A loud thunk resounded in the empty lab, and the two boys froze. "That's odd. My scanners indicate an abnormality in the ghost child's structure." As one, Phantom looked up and Fenton lifted his chin, straining to see the portal almost directly behind his head. Skulker stared back at them, his metal eyebrows arching higher on his forehead. "Two ghost children?"

Phantom floated off Fenton, and the human scrambled to his feet. He winced as his knees ached again, but he positioned himself between Phantom and their hunter, glaring at Skulker. He held one arm out to hold his ghost half back, ignoring Phantom as he hissed his name. "We're a little divided at the moment, Skulker. How about you leave and we'll try again tomorrow."

The ghost frowned and angled his head to the side, as if he were really considering the proposition. After a few seconds, his lips stretched into a wide grin, revealing uneven metal teeth. "Or perhaps I should just capture you now, while you're weak."

Fenton growled low in his throat. "But we're no longer half human or ghost! There's nothing unique about hunting us now."

"On the contrary, a hybrid with the ability to separate his two halves is indeed unique and unusual." Skulker lifted his arm and a large bazooka rose from the armor. "And I can always stitch the two of you back together later."

He shot a blast of green energy at the two of them. Phantom cursed under his breath and wrapped his arm around Fenton's waist. Before the human could object the other teenager whirled them around, released Fenton and raised his arms, erecting a dome-like shield around them both. Fenton stumbled against the counter and grabbed an ecto-gun off the surface. The blast struck the shield and exploded across the surface. The human dropped to his haunches behind Phantom, and when the ghost lowered the shield, he ducked under his arm. Skulker was several feet away now, flying towards them with his guns primed. Fenton raised his own gun and fired his own shot at Skulker before the smoke had cleared.

The ghost shouted in surprise, but couldn't dodge. The blast struck his wing and his flight lost its stability. He veered sharply to the left and crashed against the counter, sending beakers and weapons flying off the surface. Phantom wrapped his arms around Fenton's waist and launched them away from the exploding chemicals and weapons.

They set their feet on the floor again several yards away from the opposing counter. Fenton winced and leaned heavily against Phantom's chest, his knees aching. His other half's arms lowered to circle his hips and tightened their hold. "Will you be all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine." Fenton grabbed Phantom's wrist and shifted his weight onto his left leg, scanning the lab for a familiar soup canister. "Where's the Fenton Thermos?"

The muscles against Fenton's back tensed. "In our room."

Fenton's blue eyes widened, and he twisted his midsection and gaped at Phantom, one forearm on his chest to force him to lean back as well. "You didn't even bring it with you?!"

"I wasn't hunting ghosts, I was-"

A sharp whine-different from Skulker's suit, more like the purr of new technology shooting out fire for jet propulsion-entered the lab, and both boys turned their heads toward the lab entrance. Valerie in full hunter get up flew her sled through the stair case and hovered above the floor. Her eyes scanned the lab, taking in the exploded lab equipment concealing Skulker's form and the open Ghost Portal which Fenton remembered their whole self explaining to her could only be opened by a Fenton.

Finally her gaze landed on Phantom, his arms around Fenton's waist and the human's arm on his chest as if to hold him back. Fenton could practically see the huntress drawing conclusions-the wrong conclusions-and he opened his mouth to shout "It's not what it looks like!" of all things, but Valerie beat him to it.

"Get your hands off of him!" she screamed. Phantom swore-the first time Fenton heard him do such a thing-and shoved his human half aside seconds before the blast left Valerie's gun. Fenton twisted to avoid landing on his knees, instead landing on his side, and as soon as his body made contact with the floor, he sat forward. Valerie's attack struck the ghost's attack and sent him across the room where he collided against the opposing wall, his gasp a pained shout.

"Phantom!" Fenton scrambled to his feet and rushed towards his other half, but a hand grabbed his shirt before he could achieve more than a couple yards. "Hey!" Valerie lifted him onto her sled like a potato sack, his stomach pressed against the metallic board at her feet. Before he could try to wiggle off or shout at her to let him go, the hunter whirled her sled around and rocketed up the staircase. Fenton pinched his eyes shut and held onto to the board tight enough for his fingers to turn white and his arms to lose feeling. He felt them take a couple sharp turns (the kitchen, into the living room) before Valerie slowed her board to a stop and Fenton allowed his eyes to open again.

Like he thought, Valerie had brought them to the living room. They hovered several feet off the ground, but that distance was quickly diminishing as Valerie directed her board to lower them down.

The huntress crouched on her board and laid her hand between Fenton's shoulder blades. "Are you all right, kid?" she asked, her voice unusually deep in an attempt to conceal it.

"I'm fine!" Fenton wiggled on her board, inching backwards until his toes found the floor. He shoved his front half off and landed on his feet, stumbling backwards into the couch both because of vertigo and his knees trying to buckle. He spread his arms over the couch's back and stared up at Valerie, meeting her frown with one of his own. "Look, I appreciate the help...Red, but you got it all wrong. Phantom was just protecting me."

Valerie's frown-what he could see of it through the tinted screen of her mask, deepened. Her nose wrinkled-something Danny and Phantom would have cooed at as adorable but which made Fenton think she'd smelled something she didn't like-and her hand tightened around her gun's handle, the material of her glove squealing. "Please tell me you're not honestly falling for his lies like everyone else in this town would."

"It's not a lie!" Fenton shouted, throwing out the arm holding the pistol. "Skulker came through the portal, and-"

"Skulker?" Valerie interrupted, her tone suddenly losing its mask. The grip on her gun loosened and she stood straighter before her eyes narrowed and she leaned towards him. "He's a hunter, what does he want with you?"

"I..." Fenton hesitated, flinching. "I...don't...know..." She frowned at him a while longer before her eyes widened and her face seemed to pale. Fenton rushed to add, "I may have just gotten in the way! He and Phantom seemed to know each other at the time, and I was in the lab when he showed up, so h-he may not even be interested in me..."

"Or maybe he is." Valerie's expression contorted into a furious scowl, her lips pulled back and her teeth exposed. "You're an easier catch than his usual prey, and you're valuable to more people than you realize..."

Fenton chewed on his bottom lip and stared at the space over her shoulder, his cheeks warming. A fortunate place to look, as it turned out. Skulker appeared behind Valerie, his gun aimed at the two of them, and Fenton sucked in a breath. He shoved off the couch and tackled Valerie to the ground, managing to escape the net launched at them by a hair. Valerie's sled, hovering in place where they left it, found itself bound in ecto-proof wires instead and clattered to the floor.

"Skulker!" Phantom's voice yelled, angrier than Fenton had ever heard his ghost half. He slashed his arm through the air, creating a long green arc of energy that would have slashed through Skulker's battle suit had the hunter not gone intangible. Phantom's next attack hit him just as he regained solidity, and the ghost was thrown away from the fallen humans. He collided with couch, flipping it over as he fell. The lamp on the coffee table overbalanced and smashed on the floor.

Fenton cringed and then looked down at Valerie, only then noticing he was laying on her chest, their faces a mask apart. Blood flooded his face. He squeaked and shoved himself off her, stuttering apologies.

"Fenton!" Phantom appeared beside him and grabbed his arm, dragging him onto his feet. Valerie scrambled to hers as well, but at the moment the ghost boy's green eyes remained fixed on Fenton's. "Get the Thermos out of your room."

"But my parents-"

"Are probably going to be here soon, anyway." Phantom turned him around and shoved his shoulder, pushing him forward. "You're Skulker's main target at the moment. Go!"

"What-" A second shove and Fenton stumbled a few feet forward before rushing to the staircase as fast as his knees would allow him. He paused once he was on the stairs and glanced back at them. Valerie and Phantom released each other's hands after completing a handshake, and Fenton felt a hollow pit in his stomach. Those spur-of-the-moment truces with Valerie had always made their heart-or core-race faster, a thrill of excitement and wonder overtaking them whenever they thought back on those moments. That a ghost hunter could trust them, that Valerie had their backs in these fights.

He had just missed out on one of those occurrences. He didn't know how he felt about that...

But now wasn't the time to wonder about it. The boy shook his head and charged up the stairs, leaning heavily on the rail. He heard the battle recommence behind him, Skulker likely having picked himself back up and attacked his opponents. He reached the second landing and raced for his room. Already he could hear his parents pounding nails into the boards criss-crossing the hole (a stand in until they could get the supplies needed for a full repair). A large crash sounded from downstairs, and the hammering finally stopped just as Fenton slid into the room.

Maddie spotted him first. She lowered her arm and frowned at her son. "Danny, what was that noise?"

"No time to explain!" Fenton scanned the room and grinned when he found the Thermos rolled against his desk. He dived for the canister and then raced out of the room with it clutched in his arms, shouting over his shoulder, "I'm absolutely positive it has nothing to do with ghosts though!"

"Ghosts?!" Jack shouted from inside the room, and Fenton slapped his forehead. He'd already reached the staircase when he heard his parents barreling out of his room, their weapons whining as they powered up. Fenton led the charge down the stairs, the Thermos clutched to his chest and his other hand gripping his ecto-pistol tighter. He glanced at the battle as he trotted down the stairs, breathing out in relief when he saw Skulker laying on the floor with Phantom and Valerie hovering over him.

That is until his parents spotted the same thing. Maddie leaped over the rail and Jack barreled passed Fenton, unintentionally shoving his son against the wall. Both parents took aim and Fenton's eyes widened.

"No! Mom, Dad, wait!" he shouted, but neither heard-or cared. Phantom and Valerie turned around upon hearing his shout, just in time for the ghost hunters to fire their attacks. Jack's shot went wide, hitting the wall just behind Valerie's shoulder, but Maddie's blast struck Phantom's chest and threw him against the wall for a second time that day. "Phantom!"

The ghost slid down the wall and landed on Skulker, his expression twisted in pain and his jaw clenched, teeth bared. Before he could regain control of his limbs, Skulker wrapped his arm around Phantom's chest, pinning the boy's arms to his side. "This family's just full of helpers," the older ghost commented, grinning.

Valerie hesitated, but the Fentons had no such reservations. Jack and Maddie fired at the two ghosts again and their son dropped his gun and fumbled with the Fenton Thermos, uncapping it. He stepped forward, but the two attacks were already inches away from Skulker and Phantom. Just before they struck, Skulker turned the two of them intangible and dropped through the floor. The blasts exploded against the wall, tearing yet another hole through the plaster.

Smoke filled the area for a few seconds before fading away. Fenton scanned the living room, his eyes darting around every nook as his feet guided him, spinning, further into the room. Minutes ticked by as they waited for the ghosts to make a reappearance, cold dread numbing Fenton's body with every second that passed and his other half remained missing.

"Aww," Jack groaned. He lowered his bazooka, pouting. "But we only just got here..."

"You know how ghosts are, Jack," Maddie said, patting his arm. "They run away as soon as they feel they're in danger." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a cookie.

Jack's sad face morphed into a wide grin. "Oooh, Macadamia nut?"

"Of course!" She handed it to Jack, and the man gobbled it down.

Fenton gaped at his parents, but he shouldn't be surprised-they didn't care about the ghost boy's wellbeing. He turned to Valerie, relieved and disappointed to see a torn expression on her face. "What about Phantom?" he directed at her.

The huntress glanced at the spot where the ghosts had vanished, but it was his parents who answered.

"Oh, sweetie, don't worry about him," Maddie said, already pocketing her blaster. "I'm sure that mechanical ghost will make quick work of that troublemaker."

"But-"

Jack sucked in a loud breath and practically skipped over to Valerie, jumping on the balls of his feet. "The Red Huntress! Maddie! Maddie! It's the RH!"

Maddie gasped/squealed and rushed over as well. Valerie drew back in surprise, her eyes wide. "You...know me?"

"Well, of course we know you!" Maddie said. "We make a point of knowing all ghost hunters, and you've certainly made an impression. You can't be much older than Danny and already you're showing us professionals up!"

"I even have your action figure!" Jack pulled said figurine from one of his numerous pockets and held it up for Valerie's inspection. A single proud tear escaped his eye as he chuckled. "Made it myself."

Valerie's lips stretched in a strained smile, but Fenton imagined he could see a slight blush behind the tinted screen of her mask. She glanced at her boyfriend, looking for his reaction, and Fenton realized this was the moment he should boast the red hunter's praises as well, assure Valerie it made no difference to him that she was a ghost hunter because he saw her alter ego was an amazing, kickbutt ghost fighter. But...

"He helped us!" he shouted. "Skulker wanted to...to skin the both of us, and Phantom protected me before you guys even got there, and...and you're just going to abandon him?"

"Don't take that tone with us, young man," Maddie said, her hands on her hips. "Your father and I have always strived to do what's best for this family, and that ghost has made it abundantly clear that he means us harm. If this 'Skulker' intends to dispose of him, then good riddance. This whole tone can rest easy tonight."

"Yeah!" Jack chimed. "What she said!"

"But, Mom-"

"Not another word!"

"But you don't understand!" Fenton bent at the middle and pressed the Thermos and cap so hard against his head he could feel a headache responding. His eyes darted to Valerie, and he stood a little straighter, taking a half-step closer, expression desperate. "You made a truce with him, you've got to help."

"I..." Valerie hesitated, and Fenton's parents returned their attention to her. She kept her eyes trained on Fenton's, but the boy could see in the way her shoulders straightened that the approval of her fellow ghost hunters-older and less skilled than her as they might be-meant as much to her as the approval of her boyfriend.

"The truce had been made on the terms of your protection," she said at last, tone quiet. "So long as Skulker is gone and you're safe, the truce is fulfilled."

"But Phantom-"

"Has been captured by Skulker before, and he managed to escape just fine." She shrugged. "He might do so again, but either way, it's no longer my business. He's not my friend, he's my enemy. I'm not obligated to come to his rescue every time he gets himself into a scrape."

Fenton bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, trying to stop himself from shouting that Valerie had been the one to help him escape that time. And all other times he had been captured, Phantom had had a human to bail him out as well, even if it was something simple like reverting to his human form. Which he could no longer do because his human half was twiddling his thumbs with a group of ghost hunters who refused to do anything useful.

"Fine." Fenton recapped the Thermos and pulled the strap from its hidden compartment, slinging the canister over his shoulder. It settled against his spine as he bent down to retrieve his pistol. "Then I'm going after him myself."

"Oh no you don't, son," Jack said, taking a minor step forward. "Those ghosts are probably long gone in the Ghost Zone by now. We can't let you go running off into that place all by yourself."

Fenton spread his arms out and took a half step back. "Well, feel free to join me then, oh great hunters."

"Daniel James Fenton!" Maddie yelled, scandalized by his tone.

"You would seriously go into that creepy world full of dangerous ghosts to rescue the one that has been terrorizing our town?" Valerie questioned.

"Yes! What part of this is so hard to understand?" Fenton demanded. "I don't care if he's a ghost, human, or vegetable! He saved my life just now, as well as a couple times before this. I'm indebted to him, and I'm not going to abandon him now when he's the one in danger." He looked down at his pistol for a moment, checking that the cartridge was full, if only so he could take his eyes off the incredulous faces of his parents and girlfriend, their disapproval causing his hands to shake more than the thought of going into the Ghost Zone as a complete human did. "And it's more of a Zone really."

Jack crossed his arms and Maddie rubbed her temples with one hand, but Valerie narrowed her eyes and studied him at an angle. "You're serious about this? About charging into hostile territory to rescue Danny Phantom?"

Fenton opened his mouth to respond, but he had already said all that he needed to. He sealed his lips and nodded his head.

The huntress sighed and bowed her head. "Fine. I'll go with you then." Jack and Maddie rounded on her, exclamations of surprise flying off their tongues, but Fenton sighed in relief and allowed his stance to relax. Valerie did the same and offered him a hesitant smile before turning back to the concerned parents. "I've been to the Ghost Zone before, I've navigated its planes and I will protect your son with my life."

"But rescuing the Ghost Boy?" Maddie said, incredulous.

"Think of it more like detaining..." Valerie stroked the barrel of her gun. "Phantom will escape Skulker eventually, you can be sure of that, but if we grab him before then, he'll be our capture."

Fenton winced, but the prospect made his parents hesitate, the pair glancing thoughtfully at each other. He ran his hand through his black hair, breathing deep to try and keep himself calm. He was about to save Phantom from one danger, just to place him in another, just as dangerous situation. He should have just snuck out on his own instead of involving hardheaded ghost hunters. He should have thought it through more, should have stayed downstairs to fight beside his ghost half, should have merge with Phantom when the ghost first showed up...

"Fenton! Move!"

His own voice, but shrill with fear and deep with echoes. The boy spun around and came face-to-gun with Skulker's raised arm, Phantom still held tightly against the robot's chest. Fenton had only a moment to take in the sparks shooting off the gun's charge-a stun gun-before Phantom kicked Skulker's arm and the shot flew passed Fenton's cheek. Black hair whipped around Fenton's face, the boy's heart stuttering in response to his shock and his eyes locked on the similar green pair in front of him. As a result, he only heard a female scream and a crash sound behind him. He only saw Phantom's eyes widen in horror and dismay.

"Valerie!" he screamed.

Fenton looked over his shoulder and saw their girlfriend slumped against the wall, her suit retracting like a frightened spider and her eyes shut tight. Unconscious. His parents whipped out their guns again, and Fenton turned back to the ghosts. Green light surrounded Phantom and the ghost boy blasted his way out of Skulker's grasp. He made a dash towards Valerie, but Fenton grabbed him around his waist and pulled his panicked ghost to his chest. Maddie and Jack opened fire on Skulker.

"I'll take care of her, Phantom, I promise, but you have to get out of here!" Fenton hissed. Phantom struggled against him, uncoordinated kicks and fingers clawing at his wrists in a pitiful attempt to make him let go, but Fenton tightened his hold and dragged him the opposite way, towards the staircase. "My parents and I can help her more than you can, and I'm sure she would rather have her boyfriend and his parents help her than her worst enemy!"

Phantom paused, his chest heaving under Fenton's arms, but his muscles were still tensed and his eyes were still locked on Valerie. Carefully, Fenton slowly began to release him. Skulker finally growled and flew off through the roof, abandoning the chase for now. The elder Fentons turned their gazes on Phantom and Fenton.

The human Danny put himself between the ghost and the hunters and shoved the Fenton Thermos against his stomach, pushing his other half back. "Go! I'll take care of her. Just trust me."

Phantom's eyes darted between him and Valerie-sparring one moment to glance at the hesitating hunters-before he growled in frustration and grabbed the Thermos out of Fenton's hands. He dove for the floor and disappeared through the ground.

"Awww!" Jack moaned again, depowering his blaster.

"Daniel James Fenton, what were you thinking?" Maddie demanded, marching over to him. "That ghost could have hurt you! We could have hurt you. Never get between us and a ghost again, do you hear me?"

"Y-yes, Mom," he said cringing. He glanced around her at Valerie and breathed out a little shakily. There was no pretending he didn't know about her secret identity now. He wiped his palms against his jeans and tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.

Maddie frowned and followed his gaze. A second passed and then she gasped and clasped a hand to her mouth.

"What is it, Mads?" Jack looked at Valerie as well. A huge grin spread across his lips and he pointed both index fingers at the girl. "Maddie, Maddie!" He jumped back and forth on his feet. "It's the Red Huntress's secret identity! Quick, take a picture before our memory is wiped!" He squinted at her face. "She looks like Danny's age. Who is she?"

"That's Danny's girlfriend!" Maddie said, voice high pitched in a squeal. "Danny's girlfriend is the Red Huntress!"

"Danny has a girlfriend?" Jack grabbed fistfuls of his hair. "My son's dating a ghost hunter? That's my boy! Just like his old man!"

Fenton blushed and slapped his forehead.

Chapter Text

---

The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost. ~G.K. Chesterton

---

A couple blocks away from Fenton Works, Skulker disappeared from sight. Phantom flew to the last place the older ghost had been and hovered uncertainly. His eyes darted to all the advantageous directions Skulker could strike from. He charged ecto-energy into his fists and reflexively bent his knees, ready to spring as soon as Skulker reappeared.

Anger and frustration didn't lend themselves well to patience, however, and Phantom had to clench his teeth to keep from yelling insults. Such a thing might work when he and Fenton were one, but Phantom felt it too crude for his tastes. He rotated in a circle, eyes darting until they landed back on the Fenton Works sign, visible even from so far away. He floated a few paces towards it before forcing himself to stop. He shook his head. He had to trust Fenton to protect Valerie…and trust their parents to protect Fenton.

"Come on, Skulker," he whispered, turning away from the house. "I have feelings to sort out, people to apologize to…I have no time for hide-and-seek!"

He heard a chop-chop-chop noise behind him and spun to face it, raising his glowing fists. But instead of an attack from Skulker, a news helicopter appeared around the next building over and raced towards him, a camera already pointed at Phantom while its operator shouted questions Phantom couldn't hear over the whirling propellers.

Phantom groaned. He straightened from his defensive posture and shook his hands out to discharge the green energy. The last thing he need was the media thinking he was attacking their helicopters. With Skulker on the loose, it wouldn't surprise Phantom if the helicopter got damaged and his critics blamed him for it.

He flew towards the helicopter. The cameraman appeared to be grinning, and Phantom realized it was the same man who once asked his to sign his chest with a razor. He cringed. Ew.

"Get out of here!" he shouted over the chopping of the propellers. "It's unsafe right now, you must leave!"

"Danny Phantom!" the cameraman shouted back, not sounding nearly as alarmed as Phantom felt he should. "Show us a trick!"

What am I, a dog? Phantom wondered, scowling. He stopped advancing on the helicopter and started floating backwards to maintain a comfortable distance. "You are in danger here, you should leave!"

"How about a smile for your fans, Phantom?"

Phantom narrowed his eyes at the man and pressed his lips together in a thin line. If he couldn't make them leave with Plan A, he'd have to use Danny's preferred Plan B.

Phantom waved his fingers cheekily at the camera before he activated his invisibility. He heard and ignored the cameraman's shout of dismay and dove for the alley beneath them. He dropped onto the ground and crouched beside a dumpster. The smell was incredible, and he pinched his nose, grimacing.

He was about to deactivate his invisibility when he heard a shout. He froze, waiting. Earlier that day he'd noticed his fans following the helicopters like the human parallel of scavengers and vultures, but he hadn't considered the dangers it posed. If Skulker grabbed even one to use as leverage…

The sound of a dozen humans running down the street echoed off the alley walls as the helicopter flew away in pursuit of a ghost they couldn't see. A few fans shouted his name. One shouted a proposition, and Phantom snorted.

He was about to stand when he heard two pairs of running footsteps coming towards him. Even though he was still invisible, Phantom ducked down further, cringing. The closer these humans came to him, the more likely Skulker would target them.

"How do you know that piece of circuitry isn't just leading us down a deep dark alley?"

Phantom's eyes widened and he straightened, his invisibility flickering.

"First, because the marriage of Fenton technology and my PDA is a beautiful, beautiful thing, and you should be in awe of its majesty, if not downright worshipful. Second, because of the suspiciously glowing dumpster right over there."

"You mean the one our fearless friend is hiding behind?"

"None other."

Phantom sagged against the dumpster, allowing his tension to leave in a brief burst of laughter. Sam and Tucker appeared around dumpster's edge, and Phantom allowed his invisibility to fully drop. He smiled up at them. Tucker returned the expression and offered him a hand up. Sam placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

"On business?" she asked, smirking, "or were you just hiding from your salivating fans and their heartfelt marriage proposals?"

Phantom hummed. "Both."

"Ghost trouble?" Tucker asked. "Need help? I developed this sweet new program on my PDA that'll help us find the ghosts your Ghost Sense warns us about." He frowned down at his device, eyebrows pinched in thought. "The search radius is small, but it's just a prototype. I'll work out the bugs later."

Phantom hesitated. Ghost Sense? He'd forgotten about that. It didn't come naturally to him since he didn't need to breathe anymore. He did so now, breathing in through his nose and letting the air out through his mouth. No chill raced up his spine and no visible wisp flew from his mouth. Which meant…

His core constricted, the ectoplasm in his veins sparking beneath his skin.

He launched himself into the air and spun around to face his friends, his quick actions causing them to jump. "Tucker, does your PDA sense another ghost nearby?"

"Uh…" Tucker fiddled with a few buttons on the PDA before shaking his head. "Nah, dude, just you. But like I said, the search radius is a bit small. Like, five feet small."

"Makes it kind of useless, doesn't it?" Sam teased, smirking.

"Blasphemy!" Tucker gasped. He clutched his PDA to his chest and cooed to it, "Don't you worry, Cassandra, the mean Goth doesn't know a thing about technology and how amazing you are."

"Wanna bet?"

"Guys," Phantom pleaded. His legs fused into a tail and began lashing restlessly. "I have to find Skulker before he doubles back on Fenton Works. Valerie and…well, Valerie is unconscious and vulnerable there. Skulker attacked earlier, and he might return while I search for him out here. I can't just wander around until I stumble upon him!"

"Okay, okay," Tucker said, holding up a hand. "Ghost on the loose, damsel in distress, got it. But my PDA still can't track Skulker unless we get close enough to where he is."

"It's mostly for our benefit," Sam added. "Unlike certain ghost-powered teenagers, Tuck and I have no way of knowing how close we are to a ghost. You'd be better off relying on your Ghost Sense." She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "You didn't leave Valerie out cold and alone, did you?"

Phantom hesitated. "No. She's…not alone."

"Then what are you worried about?"

"I'm…it's not…" Phantom ran a hand through his hair and glared at the ground as he bit down on his lip.

Perhaps, logically, he shouldn't feel so anxious. Jack and Maddie would do everything in their power to keep Valerie and Fenton safe, and while they were inept sometimes, they could protect their son and his girlfriend from Skulker without Phantom's help. Probably. He just felt he should be there. With Fenton. With Valerie.

He settled for a half truth.

"Valerie was fighting Skulker when she fainted in front of my parents. They know she's the Red Huntress." Tucker sucked in a breath and Sam's eyes widened. Phantom inclined his head, pleased they understood the gravity of that revelation. "Capturing Skulker is very low on my priorities list, at the moment."

"He'll just come back if you don't," Sam warned. "Remember that first time he tried capturing you? He kept popping out of nowhere." She shuddered. "Nightmare fuel. Like that fungus on Tucker's feet."

"Hey!"

"And if he does," Phantom said before another squabble could ensue, "I will deal with him then."

"We could always search for him on our way to Fenton Works," Tucker suggested, looking at Sam. "If he did double-back, we'll probably run into him on the way."

"Fine by me," Sam agreed with a shrug. "We were headed there anyway." She pointed a finger at Phantom's chest. "You have some explaining to do."

Phantom frowned at the finger. "Do I?"

"Yeah, dude," Tucker said. "You never wrote, you never called…we only have a few hours left before the weekend is over and we're only just now hanging out! What gives?"

Phantom winced and drew air in through his teeth. "This weekend…"

How could he explain? Most of Saturday had been spent kissing a shy boy with blue eyes and a smoldering temper. Last night had been split between yearning to hold Valerie's hand and floating above the clouds with the stars falling around him, the living half of himself falling asleep in his arms. This morning he had fled an emotion he couldn't face, the day passing him by as he went from one distraction to the next until his girlfriend reminded him of the thing he had been avoiding. Then everything fell apart in a matter of minutes and now he felt himself torn between what he wanted to do and what he needed to do.

"…was a bit hectic," he finished in a small voice.

"Then it will be a very entertaining walk," Sam said, smirking.

Phantom looked over his shoulder at the mouth of the alley. No one appeared to be walking down the street, most already home now that the sun was setting, but he doubted the streets would stay so clear once he stepped into the open. "I can cover more ground if I fly," he said. "I will hunt a while longer. Hurry to Fenton Works, but go through the back door. Ask for F-Danny. Half the explanation will be waiting for you right there.

Sam narrowed her eyes, suspicious. Phantom doubted she would figure it out before she saw Fenton. All the same, he resettled the Fenton Thermos strap on his shoulder and floated a foot higher into the air. A clear signal and one Sam observed with obvious reluctance.

Tucker sighed dramatically. "Ditched again. I'm sensing a pattern."

Phantom drew in a breath, his tail twitching. "I'll explain everything later. Just—"

"—hurry to Fenton Works," his two friends finished for him together, which was honestly insulting.

They waved goodbye and headed out the alley, Tucker once more fiddling with his PDA. Phantom waited a while longer before activating his invisibility and shooting into the sky. With the helicopters no longer anywhere in sight, it was a clear shot to Fenton Works, the neon sign already irresistibly drawing Phantom's attention.

He'd barely made it halfway before a chill raced up his spine, contracted his lungs, and made a blue mist escape through his mouth. He groaned and swore and almost ignored the alert. He wanted to, he desperately wanted to, but Sam's warning, that Skulker would just keep coming back, especially now that Phantom and Fenton had done something to intrigue him, echoed in his mind.

But he needed to finish with Skulker fast. Fenton would panic when their friends arrived on his doorstep, Phantom had little doubt of that. Valerie's secret exposed before him and his parents, followed by Sam and Tucker demanding an explanation? Fenton was going to need all the support he could get, and maybe a paper bag.

Sighing, Phantom floated lower and searched the buildings near Fenton Works. He spotted Skulker beside a billboard overlooking their bedroom, the creep already peering inside with a pair of binoculars. Phantom bared his teeth and clenched his fists, green ecto-energy bursting around his hands.

Without backup and not bothering to plan, Phantom dove for Skulker. The faster he dealt with Skulker, the sooner he could start fixing things.

---

Fenton turned the knitted doll of the Red Huntress over in his hands and forced his lips into an awkward curl for his dad's benefit. The tiny beads shifted beneath his fingers as he moved his thumb along the tightly threaded 'visor'. The doll had been made to resemble Valerie in her first suit, the one they had destroyed back when Danny had begun to fall for her. It was bizarre and oddly nostalgic to hold it in his hands. Back then, they had just begun to figure out how their abilities shaped them. Falling for Valerie had felt like the simplest thing in his life.

He glanced over at his mom. She had finished examining Valerie for any serious injuries just a few minutes ago and was currently speaking on the phone with Valerie's dad. Fenton frowned. If he could just get close enough to hear what she was saying…

"And this," Jack said excitedly. He moved the scrapbook onto Fenton's lap, forcing his son to hold the doll away to the side. There were half a dozen pictures of Valerie fighting Skulker on the page, most of which were shots taken from the ground by eye witnesses. "This was the moment your mother and I knew we had another serious ghost hunter on our side! Look at the way she aims for the joints, where the ghost's armor is weakest."

Fenton tore his eyes away from the blurry image of Danny Phantom in the corner of one picture and frowned down at the picture Jack pointed to. Valerie was dressed in her old jumpsuit and had her knees bent, bazooka braced on her shoulder. It was hard to tell with her mask covering her face, but one of the other pictures showed Skulker's left arm dangling from a few wires.

Fenton rarely bothered with aiming at weak spots. Their ectoblasts were usually strong enough to hurt the ghost regardless of where they aimed. Besides, not every ghost had a weakness that could be exploited.

"Every ghost has gotta weakness, son," Jack explained, and Fenton cringed. "The Guys in White have theorized that a thing called an 'energy conversion chamber' exists in every ecto-based subform, though they haven't offered any proof yet. It's believed to be the ghosts' strongest, most vulnerable organ. Your mother and I have been trying to build a machine that can sense where a ghost's 'ECC' is located. We just need a specimen to try our theories on, and WHAMO, the Fenton Core Aiming Bazooka will be ready for action!"

"Uh..." Fenton said weakly.

"But until that time," Jack continued, lowering his voice, "we gotta be smarter than our prey and the Red Huntress-" he paused a moment and grinned sly "-your girlfriend, knows just where to strike! Did you know she's often the first ghost hunter to arrive on site of an attack? Dedication, Danny! That's what it takes to make a great hunter!"

Fenton forced another weak smile.

"Red doesn't just know where the weak spot on a ghost's armor is either," Jack continued. "You see, Danny, we hunters must out think our prey! Finding their obsession and using it against them is the easiest, but there are other ways..."

To Fenton's relief, Maddie chose that moment to return to their couch, sparing Fenton from hearing what 'other ways' Jack had in mind. She sat on the arm of the couch beside Jack and touched his arm to halt his rambling.

"Sweetie," she said to Fenton, "would you mind making everyone some coffee? Valerie's dad will be here shortly, and I'm sure she would appreciate a cup once she wakes up too."

Fenton winced. He'd tried convincing his parents to leave Damien out of it, but while Jack was all for it, Maddie had put her foot down. "What did he say about Valerie's secret? And, uh, us finding out?"

"He already knew about her hunting, though he didn't sound happy about it," Maddie said, frowning. "I can't imagine why he wouldn't be. She's an amazing fighter!"

"Here, here!" Jack exclaimed. "Oh, oh, Maddie, remember that time she caught that Phantom punk in a net and dragged him around town on her hover board?"

Fenton blushed and stood up hurriedly. "I'll go make that coffee!" he said and dashed into the kitchen. Unfortunately, there was no door so he still heard his parents' laughter. And the jokes they made at Danny Phantom's expense. He placed a hand to his forehead and braced the other on the counter beside the coffee maker. "Don't go starting an argument, Fenton," he told himself. "You're in enough hot water with them already."

At the very least, he was going to get lectured about the dangers of ghosts and getting between them and his parents. But likely on the heels of that lecture would be another one: stay away from Danny Phantom. Don't listen to him. Don't trust him. It wasn't going to be pleasant, and without his other half to balance his emotions, he didn't know if he could resist fighting them on the matter.

Fortunately, the situation with Valerie had Jack and Maddie thoroughly distracted.

"Okay, okay, coffee…" Fenton opened the cupboard above the coffee maker and reached for the first bag of coffee beans he saw only to freeze with his fingers just grazing the bag. Valerie had a preferred coffee flavor...but what was it? He stared at the bags with wide eyes. "Um…"

A knock at the back door intruded on his dilemma, and, with some relief, he closed the cupboard and turned to the door. Only…it was too early for Damien to arrive at Fenton Works. Who could…

Whoever was at the door knocked again.

"Danny?" his mom called from the living room.

"I got it!" he called back, cringing.

Fenton opened the kitchen's back door...and promptly slammed it shut again. His friends yelled his name and one of them-Sam, it had to be Sam-tried to shove the door open. Fenton braced his back against it, but his socks offered too little traction to be of any help, and he slid across the floor.

"No!" he yelled, his feet desperately scrabbling for purchase. "Go away!"

"Danny!" his friends called again, more exasperated, right before they burst inside.

Fenton slumped to the ground behind the door, half-hidden until Tucker pushed the door shut. He tried to smile up at them, but it felt more like a grimace. "H...hi, guys. Uh, what brings you here?"

They looked at each other then back down at him. Sam crossed her arms and said in a deadpan voice, "Uh, you did?"

Fenton nodded his head. Once. "I did."

"Yeah," Tucker agreed. He sounded perplexed. "You said to ask for...you?"

Fenton closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. Then blew it out through his clenched teeth. "I'm going to kill him," he hissed.

"Yourself?" Sam asked, her tone turning dry. "Wouldn't that be suicide?"

"It's debatable."

Jack and Maddie rushed into the kitchen and then froze, the two staring at Fenton's friends with wide, slightly panicked expressions. Telling Valerie's sole remaining parent about her ghost hunting secret was one thing, but Fenton could see his parents drawing the line that would cut Tucker and Sam out of the trust circle.

If they hadn't, like, already known anyway.

"It's a little late to be visiting, kids," Maddie said, forcing an obviously fake smile. "Danny's busy helping us with something and can't play right now."

"Yeah!" Jack agreed. "Plus he's grounded!"

"What?" Fenton exclaimed, scrambling back onto his feet. "Since when?"

"Since you got between us and that ghost punk! Don't think your mother and I forgot about that, mister."

Fenton cringed, wincing one eye shut.

"Ghost punk?" Tucker asked, wary.

"Oh, don't worry, Tucker," Maddie said, "Jack and I scared Phantom off some time ago. You're plenty safe here."

"Danny got between you...and Phantom?" Sam questioned. She and Tucker looked at Fenton. He offered them a shaky smile.

"That's right!" Jack said. "So now he's grounded which means no games, no phone, and no friends coming over on school nights."

Sam and Tucker digested this information a moment longer before Tucker grinned and said brightly, "Oh don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton. We just came over to ask Danny about a school project we're working on. We tried calling, but if that sneaky Danny Phantom attacked, it's no wonder he didn't pick up!"

"Yup!" Sam said, just as brightly. "We just have a few questions, we won't be long. We can even discuss it in the basement if Danny's computer is still down there."

His parents visibly relaxed at the prospect of Tucker and Sam going to the basement instead of passing through the living room on the way to Danny's bedroom. Fenton didn't feel the same way, and he bit his lip as his friends sent him eerily similar 'you are so going to explain' looks.

"Uh," he said, "yeah, it's, um, down there still."

"Well alright," Maddie said slowly. "We still need your...help, sweetie, so don't take too long. Your dad and I will take care of the coffee."

Fenton sighed, resigned. Tucker and Sam grabbed an arm each and dragged him towards the basement, still grinning brightly at his parents. Fenton opened his mouth to tell his mom the flavor of coffee Valerie preferred, but the words, or more specifically, the knowledge still didn't surface, and he closed it again, frowning.

At the bottom of the stairs, Tucker and Sam released his arms, walked a couple steps forward then turned to face him. Fenton expected them to scold him, demand answers, glare him into submission. He did not expect Sam's smug smile or Tucker's accusing pout.

"You split yourself, didn't you?" Sam said.

Fenton eyed his two friends warily. "You two bet on me?"

"Just say yes, Danny, I got twenty bucks riding on this."

"I call foul!" Tucker objected. "They're still dating."

"The bet was that he couldn't date Valerie while keeping his double life a secret. Since he split himself with the Ghost Catcher, he no longer has a double life. I win by default."

"Wait," Fenton said, "how do you guys know I used the Ghost Catcher?"

"Seriously, Danny?" Sam gestured at the invention. Fenton had left it near the staircase, and it was one of the few inventions still standing after the battle. "It's right over there."

"You couldn't have just told her the truth?" Tucker moaned, pulling his hat down to cover his eyes. "I trusted you. I put faith in your integrity. Ohh the betrayal...What good is a superhero friend if they aren't morally upright enough to win bets?"

"Phantom and I are merging back," Fenton objected. "And we're still dating Valerie. It's just...as soon as Phantom gets back..."

"I'm more interested in why you split yourself in the first place," Sam said, a hint of amusement creeping into her voice. Fenton didn't know why, it certainly didn't feel very amusing to him, but he was too busy flinching to really dissect Sam's feelings.

Why did they ever think splitting up was a good idea? Why did they do it again? Why the hell were they still separate? Fenton shoved a hand through his hair and along the back, pulling on the ones at the base of his skull. "It's complicated. Like, really, really complicated, Sam..."

"We got time. And we were promised an explanation."

"Couldn't we at least wait until Phantom gets back?" he asked weakly.

"Okay, we don't have that much time," Sam amended. "Your ghost half said Valerie had been exposed and was unconscious. I'm guessing that's why your parents are so anxious?"

Fenton slumped his shoulders and nodded. "Her dad is on his way, too. Mom called him."

Tucker whistled, wide eyed. "Dude, your girlfriend is going to be so pissed." He considered what he said a moment and then quickly added, "Not at you! Well, probably not at you. I mean, it's not like it's your fault she got knocked out, right?"

Fenton twisted his lips in sheepish smile and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Kinda? Um, the stun gun was meant for me. Phantom deflected it at the last minute, and it hit Valerie instead." His friends shared a look, and Fenton slouched further, dropping his head into his hands. "We are in so much trouble, aren't we?"

---

As Skulker's robotic arm slammed Phantom into the street, the ghost half of Danny came to the unhappy conclusion that while he had all the powers, he definitely didn't have their skills at fighting. Phantom dug his fingers into Skulker's wrist joints and stared up in the general direction of Skulker's face, unable to see anything beyond his glowing green eyes.

"Perhaps we ought to talk about this," Phantom croaked around the hand squeezing his throat.

"Seems a bit unnecessary at this point," Skulker said. Orange sunlight glistened off his metal teeth as he grinned. "I had thought you would be more of a challenge without your humanity holding you back, though. Perhaps you're simply distracted? I suppose harming your mate to save yourself would weigh heavily on a conscience like yours."

Phantom narrowed his eyes, feeling them flash in anger.

"No matter." Skulker pulled a familiar set of handcuffs from his belt, and Phantom drew in a sharp breath. "There will be plenty of time for you to watch your human self suffer an even worse fate."

Phantom struggled beneath him, and Skulker clamped down harder on his throat, choking off Phantom's retort. He kicked at Skulker's legs, but the armor merely absorbed the blows, and Phantom desperately began willing ice to gather around his hands and freeze the metal beneath them. Skulker snapped the cuff onto Phantom's wrist before he could finish, and the ghost boy's power rebounded into his core.

Skulker grinned in triumph as Phantom cried out. "Now for the human half," he said. "And this time, you won't interfere."

Phantom glared at him, his fingers twitching against the ice coating Skulker's wrist before tightening their hold. He drew his knees up to his chest and then slammed his feet into Skulker's torso as hard as he could. The ghost jerked back and Phantom wrenched the armor's wrist. The chilled metal creaked and then cracked beneath the opposing forces. Wires sparked as the wrist separated from the arm, and Phantom quickly rolled from beneath Skulker and scrambled to put his back against the wall of a building. The empty end of the cuff clinked as it was dragged across the concrete, but Phantom was more concerned with the hand still squeezing his throat. The hand's pressure hadn't lessened even after being disconnected from the main body, and it hurt.

Skulker chased after him and reached for Phantom with his remaining hand. Like a cornered wolf, Phantom pressed himself as close to the building as he could and bared his teeth. He might have even growled if the hand hadn't been restricting his wind pipe. He didn't know what he could do to stop Skulker with his powers disabled. He didn't know how to fight as a human.

"Get away from him!"

A green beam collided with Skulker's helmet and sent it crashing into a car parked beside the sidewalk. The rest of the body crumbled in front of Phantom, and he stared at it in disbelief before following the trajectory of the shot back to its origin. Jazz stood with a Fenton Wrist Ray primed and aimed at Skulker, a group of humans quickly scattering away from her now that she'd joined the fight. Phantom gaped at her a while, his limbs shaking as tension began to bleed from his muscles. One of the humans stepped forward, and Phantom snapped into motion.

He shifted to his knees and began searching Skulker's armor for the key. Great as it was for Skulker to be defeated, with his threat neutralized and Phantom's powers sealed, Phantom was now more at risk from the humans who had gathered to watch the fight than anything else. Once they realized the fight was over, they'd begin closing in on him, and Phantom knew from the last time a united Danny Phantom had been without his powers how unpleasant that would be.

Jazz was the first to reach him, the Fenton Thermos he had dropped some time during the fight in one hand, Skulker's helmet held in the other. Phantom paused his search to look inside it for the real Skulker.

"I already sucked him up," Jazz said, triumphant glee clear in her voice. She would probably be insufferably proud of herself for days to come, but for once, Phantom didn't begrudge his older sister's interference.

"Tha-" he couldn't force the rest of the word past the hand squeezing his throat, so he settled for giving Jazz a wide grin. She flushed with pride.

He finally found the key in a compartment near the waist. He unlocked the cuff and allowed it to fall onto the armor. Without the barricade, his power surged from his core into his veins, and Phantom closed his eyes to savor the feeling. He grabbed the hand clasped around his throat, turned it intangible, and then threw it onto the pile so hard a chest plate cracked. Sucking in air right afterwards proved a bad idea, and he placed his hand over his aching throat as he started coughing.

Jazz watched him out of the corner of her eye as she sucked Skulker's suit into the Thermos. "You might want to wrap a cold towel around your throat until your healing powers kick in."

Phantom nodded, rubbing his throat. Two arms suddenly wrapped his shoulders and a woman's body pressed against his back. Phantom felt his face tingle as ectoplasm rushed to his face in a parody of a blush. "Uh..."

"Oh, Phantom!" Paulina cooed in his ear, and the blush on Phantom's face darkened. Or rather, brightened, ectoplasm being the luminous liquid that it was. "I'm so glad you're okay~"

"Thanks," he croaked, lips quirked in a wry smile. "I am too."

A bright flash drew his attention to Starr. She took another picture with her phone, and past her were more people gathering for a shot. And coming closer.

Jazz sucked up the last of Skulker's armor and raised an eyebrow at Phantom. His smile turned sheepish, and he turned invisible and his body intangible to slip out of Paulina's grasp. She made a distressed noise, but he ignored it and floated behind Jazz, grabbing her arms and spreading his invisibility to her. Fortunately the crowd was too busy trying to find him to notice Jazz's disappearance.

"Time to go," he whispered hoarsely. He floated them into the air above the crowd, and Jazz squeaked in surprise. He flew them towards Fenton Works at a pace slower than he preferred but was still probably faster than Jazz liked.

"What's the hurry?" she called over the wind. "I could have walked home."

Phantom shook his head. His throat still hurt, and while he could speak a little now, he didn't want to try speaking over the wind. Hopefully his voice would be recovered enough when he reached Fenton Works to help Fenton explain

"You know," Jazz said after a moment, "you really shouldn't encourage her." Phantom frowned down at her, and she explained, "Paulina. Just tell her you have a girlfriend and she'll back off."

"Unlikely," Phantom murmured. He flew through a billboard instead of going over it, startling a gasp from his sister. He would have loved to explain to Jazz that Paulina had a shrine to him in her locker, that she was the chairman of his very own 'Phan Club' and that she would more likely destroy his relationship with the mystery woman than forget about him. But his throat hurt. And anyway, it was Paulina. Hottest girl in school and the subject of many daydreams growing up. The attention was flattering.

Fenton Works came into view soon after, and Phantom quickly flew into his and Fenton's room, but when he didn't see his friends or other half, he sank through the floor and into the kitchen. He set Jazz down on the floor and motioned for her to be quiet and wait there a moment. She opened her mouth to protest, but he flew into the living room before she could say anything.

Invisible as he was, his parents didn't see him fly to Valerie's side, nor did they see him quickly place his hand over her watch and send a spark of ecto-energy into the fragile gadget before it could beep a warning. Only when that was done did he kneel on the floor beside the couch. He reached out and brushed his fingers across her forehead, smoothing away the hair that had collected there.

She appeared to be only sleeping. There was no pained crease between her brows, no tightness to her muscles. The few times Phantom and Fenton had been hit with a stun gun they'd been knocked unconscious for no more than five, ten minutes. They would wake up disoriented, their muscles tense and twitching, but that faded within the next few minutes.

Twenty minutes had passed since Valerie had been hit.

Hopefully it was only Phantom's powers that allowed him and Fenton to recover faster than Valerie. But if it was within his powers to heal wounds, could he consciously concentrate that energy and use it on someone else? He had subconsciously kept Fenton's hickey from healing, even when their minds were joined, surely that meant he could control it.

Fenton...

Phantom glanced over his shoulder and saw Jazz poking her head around the doorway, her brows pinched in confusion. Phantom rolled his eyes and looked at his parents. They sat together on the other couch, heads pressed together as they giggled and laughed at the pictures in Jack's scrapbook. Fenton didn't appear to be with them or Valerie, and if he wasn't in his room or the kitchen, that only left the basement. Likely with Tucker and Sam. Which meant he needed Phantom.

Phantom looked at Valerie one last time before he reluctantly stood and floated into the kitchen. As soon as he regained visibility, Jazz pressed a glass of ice water into his hand and whispered, "Did something happen to Valerie?"

Phantom took a drink. It was a little hard to swallow, but the cool water felt nice. "Skulker shocked her into unconsciousness," he answered as quietly as he could, "Mom and Dad saw."

Jazz paled. "They know she's..."

Phantom nodded. Jazz pursed her lips in thought, placing a finger on her chin.

His sister distracted, Phantom wandered over to the staircase leading into the basement. Tucker's voice echoed up from below, followed soon after by Sam. They spoke too softly for Phantom to hear the actual words, but their tone sounded amused, the conversation light-hearted. Perhaps he could stay with Valerie after all. The moment he went down there, he would have to remerge with Fenton, light-hearted conversation or not, and he would have no excuse to delay it.

"Well," Jazz finally said, "it could be worse."

Fenton's echoed voice sounded almost exactly like Phantom's, only the cadence was wrong. The rhythm of his voice rose and fell and paused in patterns Phantom's didn't follow. Whatever their origins, they weren't the same person, not to Phantom, not anymore. A shiver raced up Phantom spine, his stomach turning. He braced a hand against the wall and shook his head. Fenton spoke again, and unlike Sam and Tucker, he sounded stressed.

Phantom took as deep a breath as his throat would allow and set the glass of water on the counter. He looked back at Jazz. "It is worse."

---

Three friends stood around an oversized, glowing dream catcher, silent, aside from the nervous tapping of Fenton's heel. He stared at his feet as he chewed on his bottom lip, his arms crossed over his chest. He felt Sam and Tucker's eyes on him, knew their patience was waning, but how could he explain everything without giving away…everything?

The silence continued a few seconds longer before Tucker groaned loudly. "I miss the fun Danny," he said. "Dude, just, start at the beginning. Why did you split yourself?"

Fenton violently winced. "Uh..it, uh, we, uh…."

"Probably something to do with Val-er-ie?"

Fenton felt his cheeks warm at Tucker's knowing grin. His arms pressed tighter against his chest and he stared fixedly at his socks, jaw clenched.

"That looks like a yes," Sam said, amused.

Tucker hardly needed the encouragement. His grin grew wider and he leaned towards Fenton. "Betcha needed to impress her after that last big failure, huh, dude?"

Fenton's face got even redder. His hand itched towards his neck before he jerked it back down. "Maybe..."

"Protecting the city would certainly make that difficult," Sam said. "Which is why you split right? Because you couldn't handle dating Valerie and being a secret hero?"

"Hey!" Tucker objected. "That's cheating!"

Fenton frowned. Then his eyes opened wide and he jerked upright, arms falling away from his chest. "Yes!"

Sam and Tucker shared a matching look of raised eyebrows. "Is it just my bleak outlook on life, Folely, or does that enthusiasm look suspicious to you?"

"Oh, totally."

Fenton almost backed down, but he had the bit in his teeth now, a half-true lie to keep his more scandalous secret hidden. "Spectra and Bertrand attacked right before our date with Valerie last night," he said in a rush. "Phantom felt-" He frowned. "...We felt it'd be a bad idea to cancel our date, so we split. Phantom fought the ghosts and I went on the date."

"Uh-huh..." Sam said slowly. "Your date last night. On Saturday."

"Right."

"Danny...it's Sunday evening."

Fenton's eyebrows drew together. He stared down at his feet. "Yeah..." Sam and Tucker looked at each other again, and Fenton resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "We were supposed to merge back this morning, Phantom just never showed up."

"Busy flirting with disaster," Sam said, and Tucker snickered.

"Yeah," Fenton grumbled, still annoyed.

"So ghost Danny is out fighting Skulker and you're babysitting Valerie?"

Fenton's lips twitched at one side. "More like babysitting you guys now."

"Oh he jokes!" Tucker exclaimed, grinning.

"When I'm not being interrogated," he muttered dryly.

"Speaking of which, why aren't you the fun Danny?" Sam asked. She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side. "And why wasn't your other half disgustingly heroic? He didn't even seem that interested in fighting Skulker."

Of all the questions, that was the easiest to answer, even if it was the hardest to explain. "Yeah..." Fenton said slowly, "we thought it might be based on the mindset we have when whole Danny goes through the Ghost Catcher. When we split for the date, we tried getting Phantom to be a fighter and me to, well, be romantic." He shrugged and looked down as he slid his sock against the metal floor. "Didn't really work out so well."

"I'd say," Tucker said. "You're not very, um..." Fenton glanced at him from beneath his bangs, and Tucker trailed off.

"That's because I received all our charm."

Fenton sucked in a sharp breath and spun around. His white hair was disarrayed and there was a faded, hand-shaped bruise around his neck, but when Phantom's eyes locked with Fenton's, his lips twitched into a small smile. Frustrated as he was with his other half, Fenton felt his own lips twitching in return. Mostly out of relief.

Phantom descended the stairs, allowing Jazz to enter after him. Their sister had a hand clasped to her mouth, the other pointing back and forth between Phantom and Fenton. "Two? Two of them? There are two of them?"

"You likely became the fighter," Phantom continued. His smile twisted, becoming wry. "Which would explain why you keep trying to pick fights with me."

Fenton ducked his head, flushing, embarrassed both by the words and the tone. Underneath the teasing, Phantom sounded almost fond of him, and it made Fenton want to hide his face in the nearest inanimate object.

Sam frowned at the two of them. "Okay…so, ghost Danny is the lover and human Danny is the fighter? Because one of you had to protect the city so the other could go on a date with Valerie?"

"Basically," Fenton muttered.

"Talk about irony," Tucker joked.

Phantom came to a stop beside Fenton, and the human Danny carefully avoided looking at him. The slightly chilled aura still surrounded Phantom, and Fenton's skin prickled, a shiver racing up his spin.

"There are two Dannys!" Jazz squeaked.

"For now." Sam raised an eyebrow. "Or are you two planning to stay separated another day?"

Fenton shifted. He heard Phantom do the same beside him and felt Phantom's eyes on him. He turned his head away.

"We," Phantom said slowly, reluctantly, "were supposed to merge this morning. I don't wish to, but I suppose we must, given the situation with Valerie…"

Fenton snorted, clenching his jaw. Figures he would do it for Valerie.

"It would be a good time to tell her your secret too," Tucker cut in, smiling widely. "Wipe the slate clean of all secrets."

"Hey!" Sam protested. "Who's cheating now?"

"We can certainly keep an eye out for an opportunity," Phantom said, "but given Valerie's actions towards me, I doubt she'd take it well."

Tucker pouted as Sam grinned at him. He turned away and rapped his knuckles against the ghost Catcher's pole. "Okay, so how are we going to do this? You guys gonna fly through the net or should we lower it over you? Like that one time that made everything worse?"

"Seriously, guys," Jazz said, a little louder than necessary, "I'm going to need an explanation here!"

"Actually," Fenton said, straightening his shoulders, "could you two explain it to her?" He grabbed Phantom's arm and began pulling his unresisting ghost half towards the far side of the room. "We need to talk. Privately."

"Uh, sure?" Tucker said, but Fenton didn't wait to hear more than that.

As soon as he reached the portal, Fenton turned to Phantom, took a deep breath, and burst out in a whisper. "You kissed me."

Whatever Phantom had expected him to say, that wasn't it. His bemused smile slipped and he gaped, for once speechless.

"This morning," Fenton continued, "right before Dad burst into my room. I thought I was dreaming, but my lips were cold. And Dad had been following a ghost detector so there had to be a ghost, and you're the only one that would kiss me." When Phantom didn't respond, Fenton added, a little anxiously, "I'm not making this up!"

"You were dreaming about me?" Phantom finally said, a little dazed.

"That—no, dude, focus! Did you or did you not kiss me this morning?" Phantom hesitated, and Fenton pointed out, "I'll know either way once we merge, I just…" He ran a hand through his hair, struggling to find words to explain himself. "I'd wanted to ask you before then. It'll be different when we're, you know, one person. Everything gets muddled."

Phantom nodded slowly, staring at Fenton in a way that made his face flush. "It makes a difference," Phantom agreed softly.

Fenton managed to maintain eye contact for a few seconds before he dropped his gaze to his socks. "So did you?"

Phantom didn't answer immediately, and when Fenton looked at him again, Phantom's face glowed a faint green and he was the one who wouldn't meet his eyes. "Does it matter? We practiced on each other a lot this weekend."

"We weren't practicing this morning," Fenton said. "And I was asleep."

"And apparently dreaming about me…"

Fenton blushed spluttering. "I-I can't control that and you know it!" He ground his teeth together and tried willing his face to cool. "Look, I'll find out either way, so you might as well just tell me."

Phantom crossed his arms over his chest, one eyebrow raised. "You refused to merge when Valerie chased me, and now you're delaying it again to get this answer. Why? Why does it matter so much to you? "

Fenton glared at him, but didn't respond.

"I'll find out either way," Phantom said, mockingly, "so you may as well—"

"Because you ditched me right afterwards!"

The words were louder than Fenton intended, and he tensed before glancing at the other three in the room. They were staring at him, but they quickly looked away.

He turned back to Phantom, not meeting his eyes but staring at the DP symbol on his chest instead. He didn't want to explain himself, hated that he had to, the words holed up in his chest like thorns, it hurt to force them out. He whispered, "You flew off and avoided me all day until Valerie chased you back here and you needed a place to hide. It was like I..." Phantom stared at the floor. "It…I was just…"

"I hurt you," Phantom said for him, not looking up.

Fenton shrugged, his fingers fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "A little. Maybe. I didn't know if you were avoiding me because you had kissed me or because…well, I did punch you that one time. And I pretty much ruined the date with Valerie. And I have been trying to 'pick fights' with you the whole time, and probably a lot of other things so…" Phantom's green eyes were back on his face, and damn did they make things like breathing and talking difficult. "So yeah. Did you kiss me?"

Phantom stared at him a while, green eyes flickering over Fenton's face as the ghost fought his own internal battle. Finally, he whispered, "Yes…"

Fenton let out a sharp, shaky breath. "N-not because you were practicing or thinking about Valerie? You just…wanted to kiss me?"

The pause was longer this time, but Phantom eventually admitted, "Yes."

"Why?"

"I…wanted to." Fenton frowned, and Phantom lifted his shoulders in a shrug, sighing. "It truly is as simple as that, Fenton. There was no ulterior motive. I came to wake you, saw you lying there, I wanted to kiss you, and since I realized I would never get another chance, I did."

"But we're the same person," Fenton pressed, voice cracking.

"That hasn't exactly stopped us before."

"Practicing for your girlfriend isn't the same as kissing someone because you want to kiss them."

Phantom threaded both hands through his white hair and groaned, the sound coming out more gravelly than usual due to his damaged throat. "I know, Fenton! I know there is a difference, I felt the difference. That's exactly why I ran away." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, appearing to brace himself. "I think I'm starting to like you. The way we like Valerie." Fenton stiffened, and the ghost crossed his arms over his chest, not looking at him. "And as soon as we reunite as one person, you'll be gone. I'll be gone. We'll both cease to exist and it will be like none of this ever happened."

Fenton swallowed, his heart pounding. "That's probably for the best." As cold as Phantom was physically, fire burned in his glowing eyes as he glared into Fenton's. Defiant. Fenton gripped his shirt and met that gaze as best he could, though it made his palms sweat and his heart race faster. "We have to end this," he said, voice unsteady. "You can't develop feelings for m…me, Phantom, you just can't, we're—we're the same person!"

Phantom snorted. "I'm aware, Fenton."

"And we're dating Valerie! You're like…crazy about her."

"Yes," Phantom said, forcefully enough Fenton snapped his mouth shut. "I know, Fenton. I already agreed we must merge for her sake. What happened with Skulker already convinced me of that. I'm just…" He stepped closer to Fenton, ignoring the way the human tensed. He raised his hand, hesitated as his fingers brushed Fenton's face, and then rested his hand on his shoulder. His thumb grazed against Fenton's skin where his shirt failed to cover his collarbone. "I'm going to miss you."

Fenton stared back at his other half, wide eyed, unsure how to respond.

"Danny!" his mom called from upstairs, and Phantom flickered out of sight. "Damien Gray is here! He wants to talk to you about Valerie. You'll have to finish the project later."

"Uh." Fenton blinked half a dozen times as he struggled to reorder his thoughts. Phantom squeezed his shoulder briefly before his touch disappeared. "O-okay, Mom!" he shouted. "I'll be right up!"

When she didn't respond, Fenton turned back to his friends and the Ghost Catcher. Jazz stood off to the side, looking a bit dazed, her brows knit in concern, but Tucker and Sam were already in motion, picking up the Ghost Catcher between them. Phantom appeared in front of them, his arms crossed over his chest.

He looked over his shoulder at Fenton as the human half crossed the lab. His green eyes followed his every move, darting from his face to his feet to the way his shoulders moved as he walked, and Fenton realized Phantom was trying to memorize everything about him. Because Phantom thought he would never see him again. And he would miss him.

Fenton scrunched his eyebrows together. They were about to become one person again. Literally. Could you miss someone when you were…him? He knew feeling Phantom's thoughts wouldn't be the same as talking to him but—

They won't be Phantom's thoughts. Fenton blinked rapidly, his breathing becoming strained as an invisible band tightened around his chest.

Sam and Tucker raised the net, and Fenton felt like he ought to say something. Only no words came to mind. Instead, he stopped beside Phantom. Hesitantly, he allowed his arm to brush against Phantom's. Beneath the cold aura, Fenton felt Phantom's arm flex, and then a cold hand grabbed onto his. He didn't fully understand Phantom's feelings, but Fenton held his other half's hand and squeezed Phantom's hand as tightly as the ghost squeezed his.

"Ready, guys?" Tucker asked, and at their hesitant nod, he and Sam lowered the net. Fenton's vision filled with a familiar bright light.

Chapter Text

---

"In love, the paradox occurs that two beings become one and yet remain two." ~ Erich Fromm

---

It took longer than usual.

Instead of going through the net as two and coming out the other side as one, Fenton and Phantom were enveloped by a white light similar to the rings that heralded Danny's transformations. Their forms started to merge along their sides, beginning at their joined hands. Then the pain hit.

They both cried out, a dual shout that became a single wordless cry as their bodies fused into one being.

Before the light had finished fading, they wrapped their arms around their middle and sank to their knees. Fenton's sore, probably bruised knees. They trembled, panting for breath and trying to will Fenton's heart to stop racing. Fenton's right hand, the one Phantom had been holding, throbbed from how tightly they had squeezed each other in the end, and they had no doubt that if they shifted to Phantom's form, the opposing hand would feel just as tender.

If separation felt like their molecules were being ripped apart, this reunion had felt like they were being stitched back together, needle, thread, and a sever lack of any kind of numbing agent. Phantom, personally, felt it wasn't worth it.

"Danny!" their friends shouted in alarm.

Fenton and Phantom forced their eyes open, but their vision blurred and they grew light headed. The world shifted, and they tipped onto their side and laid on the floor, the concrete cool on their raw skin. They twisted their head and pressed their forehead against the floor as well. Unfortunately, it had no effect on their growing headache.

Two thumps beside their head, and then Sam's hand, smaller but stronger than Tucker's, grabbed their shoulder. They sucked air in through their teeth and waved in their friends' general direction, the heaviness of their arm making the movement jerky. Even with their eyes closed, it felt like the floor beneath them moved like they were in a boat, pitching from unseen waves.

"Fine, we're fine," they said. "Just need a minute." They pressed a hand to their temple and curled their right hand, the one that still ached, against their chest. "Everything is spinning."

From high above them, they heard Jazz say, voice tight, "Is this normal? Did it happen like this last time?"

A pause in which Fenton and Phantom realized the throbbing in their head coincided with the beating of Fenton's heart, and then Tucker said, "He jumped right into fighting Technus last time. It was like he'd never been separated in the first place."

That had been a year ago. They had been younger then, innocent. They never kissed—they hadn't even liked each other.

Of course not, you were a complete slob.

I wasn't the one fighting ghosts with our bedsheet for a cape.

Jealous?

Their lips twisted into a smile before their head gave a particularly painful throb and they groaned in pain.

"How long was he separated the first time?" Jazz asked.

"About a day," Sam said. "Maybe two."

"And this time?"

Another pause.

Tucker said, a bit dubiously, "He said he split himself right before his date with Valerie."

"You don't believe him?"

"If you haven't noticed, Jazz," Sam said, tone dry, "Danny doesn't lie well, and I'd say his human half was even worse at it."

Except Phantom had successfully lied circles around the news reporters, so at least one half of Danny could lie, and while Fenton might have struggled, he had admirably tried to keep their deeper secret hidden. They rolled onto their back and slit their eyes open enough to glare at the three of them. As one, Danny said, "We're in pain, guys, not deaf."

Sam, who happened to be the closest one to their head and so the easiest to focus on, raised an eyebrow. "'We'?"

Of course 'we,' they were-

They blinked at her and curled their right hand into a fist.

No…

They weren't Fenton or Phantom now, they were Danny.

He was Danny.

He was whole again, and Fenton and Phantom were only aspects of his personality that no longer existed.

And yet…his human heart felt strange, the regular beating a sensation that felt at once alien and familiar. His skin was too warm, his knees too sore, his body too heavy. Was this normal? Had it always been this way when they were one? Like every sensation received different reactions? How could he be just Danny when he felt so unlike himself?

Jazz knelt beside Sam and reached past her to touch their—his forehead. "Are you having an identity crisis? It can't be easy for two minds to fuse after…however many days it's been. Do you feel mentally numb? Are you anxious? Disoriented?

Danny winced one eye shut as he squinted up at her. "It's fine, Jazz, we've done this before. Stop worrying."

"There's that 'we' again," Sam muttered.

"You're not exactly making that easy, dude," Tucker said. "Can you even stand? They're expecting you upstairs."

Upstairs. Valerie. Upstairs and exposed because Phantom—because he had protected Fent—himself from Skulker's attack.

"Y-yeah." Danny brushed Jazz's hand away and rolled onto his front again, placing his hands flat on the floor. He took a deep breath and whispered to himself, "Okay, we—I can do this." He slowly pushed himself onto his hands and knees, his muscles twinging oddly—too heavy/normal—but stopped there and stared at the ground as the floor heaved beneath him. Danny licked his lips. "Help?"

As if they had been waiting for just that cue, Sam and Tucker surged forward and grabbed an arm each. His skin still felt a little too raw, but Danny ignored it and gratefully used their strength to pull himself onto his feet. Even once upright, his friends stayed by his side, holding onto his arms as Danny's leg muscles spasmed.

Jazz hovered off to the side, her concern practically tangible. "You can barely stand, Danny!"

"It's really not a big deal," Danny said as he stared at the floor. The swaying floor he stood on because he couldn't fly. Because he was in human form and humans don't fly no matter how much a part of him felt like he could. "Something like this happened last time too."

"When you fought Technus?" Tucker asked.

Danny blinked. Technus? They hadn't fought Technus, they had just practiced…oh. "…Yes," he said, emphasizing the word in the hopes his friends would believe him.

He couldn't see Tucker's and Sam's expressions, but Jazz's eyebrows pinched together. Great. He shook his head, and their headache twinged. His headache. Damn it.

Danny breathed in shakily and glanced at the staircase. He was barely holding himself together. If his parents and Valerie noticed him behaving oddly, if he started referring to himself as two instead of one, if he lost track of who he was during the conversation…

Without consciously thinking about it, his gaze drifted to the Ghost Catcher. Perhaps merging back right now had been a bad idea. His head hurt so much he could barely think, and he needed to think. Not just because Valerie needed him at his best with his parents now in on her secret, but also because of Fenton and Phantom.

They had been feeling things, things that Danny now felt, and he needed to understand exactly what those feelings were. There were so many emotions and memories cramming his head, only he didn't have time to sort himself out.

If they could just separate again, just long enough for Fenton or Phantom to fix things with Valerie—

Danny shook his head again, more violently this time, and stumbled out of Tucker's and Sam's hold, meandering towards the center of the lab. "We just have to walk it off…it'll be fine, I'll be fine."

Behind him, Tucker whispered, "Is he talking to one of us?"

"Probably?" Jazz whispered back.

Footsteps trotted after him, and just as he stumbled, Sam caught his arm, holding him up until Danny regained his balance. "Maybe you should split yourself again," she said, though the tone of her voice made it clear how much she disliked the idea. "You're obviously in no shape to be facing three ghost hunters."

Sam agrees.

Danny's face pinched into a grimace. "Please don't say that, Sam. It's hard enough keeping myself together as it is."

If he even was himself.

He clenched his fists, and the pain in his right hand flared. Wincing, Danny lifted it up to chest-level, spreading his fingers out as he stared down at it. The soreness was still there, but it was fading. They had held hands before and during the merge, Fenton and Phantom. It felt significant somehow. Like…like…

His vision blurred again as tears pooled in his eyes. Danny turned his head away from Sam before she saw and blinked rapidly, trying to will the tears away. He couldn't do this now.

Danny shoved the emotions aside and tried to focus on the moment before his two halves had merged. He remembered Fenton's confusion and Phantom's fear and the way they drew courage from each other, but he couldn't pinpoint the moment their minds melded. If they had melded.

Before, Fenton and Phantom had always been Danny's mind split in two, he was the original and they were the offshoots. But now it almost felt like they were the starting point and he was the by-product.

So was he Danny or were they two people stuck in a single body?

A pang of longing pierced his chest, and Danny nearly gasped, his right hand closing into a tight fist.

Someone clapped their hands together, and Danny looked over his shoulder, eager for a distraction.

"We need a distraction!" Jazz said, standing up straight and wearing her 'determined' expression. "Before Mom and Dad come down here to see what's taking Danny so long."

Tucker, still standing beside her, eyed Danny's sister warily. "You have something in mind?"

"Well…" Jazz deflated a little. "Not yet. But I'll think of something!"

"Well, let me know how that works out."

Danny sighed and pulled away from Sam, once again trying to walk on his own. He heard Sam following not far behind in case he fell again, which was a real possibility. The problem was that Phantom's muscle memory insisted he could fly and that their legs weren't supposed to be this heavy. Fenton knew better, and the two perceptions clashed each time Danny lifted his leg.

Much as he wanted to—much as it would help—he couldn't split himself again. They were—he was falling in love with himself!

Well okay not love, just…like. Phantom at least was starting to…like Fenton. Romantically. And Fenton—

Danny felt himself shy away from those feelings, his face warming and a shiver running down his spine.

Okay, fine, Fenton was feeling whatever (don't think about it, it doesn't matter anymore), but Phantom was definitely infatuated which meant Danny was infatuated with…himself.

So no, he couldn't split himself again no matter how much he wanted to, but he still needed time to adjust, time to remember who he was, time he didn't have because Valerie needed him upstairs. It was his fault her secret had been exposed to his parents. His fault for running away from his feelings instead of merging in the morning or even the night before. He should never have gone to watch the meteor shower with his other half. Now Valerie was unconscious and he had started developing feelings for himself and it was all just stupid. So stupid. What was the matter with him?

"I could always go upstairs and act surprised to see Valerie there," Jazz continued thoughtfully. "Everyone will be so busy trying to keep me from finding out what's really going on that they'll forget about Danny!"

A beat passed in which Tucker didn't respond.

"What?" Jazz demanded.

"You're as bad at acting as Danny is at lying."

"Hey!" she protested. "I've been protecting Danny's secret from Mom and Dad almost as long as you three have. I think I can buy us five minutes at least."

If he had never suggested they watch the stars, if he'd never witnessed his other half fall asleep in his arms, if he'd never taken so much pleasure in kissing Fenton then he wouldn't have developed feelings for someone who wasn't even supposed to exist, they would already have merged before Skulker ever attacked them, Valerie never would have gotten exposed, and losing himself and Fenton wouldn't hurt so damn much.

A bright flash of light interrupted Jazz's and Tucker's conversation and brought their attention back to Danny and Sam. The rings of light that heralded his transformation vanished above Danny's head and left Danny Phantom standing wide-eyed in the Fenton Works lab. Danny's green eyes darted to Sam's face and then to Tucker's and Jazz's before settling on his gloved hands. The fingers of his left hand twitched.

"I…" he said shakily, "I didn't mean to do that?"

Tucker turned back to Jazz, his eyes only slightly less wide than Danny's. "Better make that fifteen minutes."

---

Voices woke Valerie. A loud voice in particular made her head throb, a man's voice that practically bellowed his words. She recognized it, but the name slipped from her grasp and fear about who stood over her and her unknown location made her mentally reach for the ghostly energy always lurking just beneath the surface of her mind. She was about to summon a laser-shooting glove to her hand when another voice spoke. This one soft. Tired.

Her father.

"Valerie is only sixteen," he was saying, "she should be focusing on her schoolwork so she will be accepted into a decent college. Universities don't offer scholarships for ghost hunting vigilantes. She's risking her life and coming home with serious injuries for no reason."

"Hey now!" the loud voice protested. "The only thing standing between human society and the ghost menace attacking our city are people like us and the Red Huntress. She's not risking her life for no reason, she's risking it to protect others. She's a hero!"

"A hero who is only sixteen!" Damien countered.

Another voice, soft like Damien's but firmer, said, "I admit she is a bit young, but when ghosts attack the school on a regular basis, it's only natural our kids should find a way to defend themselves and their friends. I'm only surprised more kids Danny's age haven't begun to do the same."

Danny...

Danny Fenton.

Maddie and Jack Fenton were the ones talking to her dad. They were talking about her fighting ghosts.

Valerie's eyes shot open. The first person she saw was Jack Fenton towering over her, his bottom lip sticking out in an unhappy pout. He stood by her feet, and although he was facing her direction, his frown wasn't directed at her. Valerie turned her head to follow his gaze and came face-to-face with her father. Or rather the side of her father's head. He knelt beside her, but at the moment he was glaring up at Jack like Danny's father had personally offended him.

Valerie sucked in a sharp breath. The noise grabbed Damien's attention, and he snapped his head back around to face her. The glare instantly vanished from his eyes, and in its place came deep affection. It softened the corners of his eyes and lifted the years gray hair and barely-there wrinkles awarded him. Only his eyebrows remained pinched together, his lips thinned by concern.

"Dad," she croaked around the dryness in her throat, "I can explain."

His expression didn't change, accustomed to that response as he was. "Forget about that for now, Valerie," he said. He cupped her chin and swiped his thumb across her lower cheek. "How are you feeling?"

Valerie pursed her lips. She took stock of her status first by wiggling her fingers and toes and considering the areas of greatest pain. "My head and chest hurt," she said after a couple seconds. "And my muscles feel funny."

"That's to be expected. You received a large enough shock to render you unconscious. Do you remember the attack?"

Valerie frowned. Her eyes roved over her surroundings, taking in the ecto-burns on the walls and the broken furniture. She had chased Phantom here, to Fenton Works, believing him to be a threat to Danny. She remembered the spike of fear she'd felt upon seeing Phantom's arms around Danny, the confusion at her boyfriend defending the ghost's actions, and then the whirlwind of emotions and activity because Skulker, the ghost who only hunted dangerous and unique prey, attacked Danny.

She had formed a truce with Phantom to protect Danny Fenton from Skulker. She hadn't agreed to capture Skulker or to keep Phantom safe after the battle was over, but she remembered Danny insisting that he would go into the Ghost Zone by himself if no one would help him save Phantom. The resolve in his eyes, the way his lips had thinned when she had initially refused to save Phantom...

The grin after she'd agreed to save her enemy, and then Phantom's voice...

"Fenton! Move!"

"No," she said slowly. "I remember agreeing to go into the Ghost Zone with Danny, but after that..."

"Into the Ghost-what?" her dad exclaimed, outraged.

"I couldn't just let him go by himself, Dad!" she yelled back as she pushed herself onto her elbows. "I've been in there before, I could have kept him safe!"

"Why would he even want to go into a place called a ghost zone?"

"He-" Valerie bit down on her lip. It irritated her, she didn't want to say it, but it had been admirable in its own way. He might have wanted to go into the Ghost Zone for the wrong reason, but that he was willing to do it at all showed just how courageous Danny really was. He was just a normal person, after all. "He wanted to save a ghost from another ghost."

Damien's eyebrows drew together. "To save a ghost from another ghost...?"

Apparently that was the limit of Jack Fenton's patience. "Yeah, he wanted to save that no good ghost punk, Danny Phantom!"

The eyebrows that had pinched towards the center of Damien's forehead a second ago instantly shot up towards his hairline. "The ghost that cost me my job? The one you hate?"

"I don't hate him," she said, almost under her breath. "I just don't trust him."

"He's the town menace!"

"Actually, he's more along the lines of a town hero."

The adults twisted to face the kitchen entryway. Valerie had to push herself fully upright to do the same. Her stomach muscles protested, but she ignored them and swung her legs off the couch. Jazz stood in the door way, one hand on her hip while the other held a library book against her chest.

She smiled brightly at all of them, the cheer in her expression at odds with the forceful tone she had used. "Hi, Mom, hi, Dad! Am I interrupting something?"

"Jazz!" Maddie said loudly, the smile on her face just as oddly bright as Jazz's. "Sweetie! What are you doing home so early?"

Jazz's eyebrow rose fractionally, and her gaze flickered to the windows. The dark windows. "The library closed, mom. Like, an hour ago. I actually would have been home sooner, but there was a ghost fight a few blocks down. Between Danny Phantom and some ghost that wanted to skin him."

Valerie grimaced. She didn't want to think about Skulker's motives. Not when they were about Phantom, and definitely not when they were about Danny.

"Who won?" she asked, voice tight.

Jazz's gaze shifted to Valerie. She didn't answer at first, and the younger girl suddenly felt like her actions, expression, the very tone of her voice were under examination. She shifted uneasily. Finally, Jazz said, "Phantom did. But only because I shot the other ghost with the wrist ray Mom gave me."

"You shot a ghost?" Jack exclaimed. He ran to Jazz's side and picked her up a hug that was so tight it made her voice squeak out in protest. "That's my princess! We'll be a family of hunters after all!"

Damien dropped his head into one of his hands.

Valerie looked up at Maddie who stood beside the arm of the couch she leaned against. Danny's mother had her hands clasped beneath her chin, her mouth and eyes beaming with delight. Danny often complained about how obsessed with ghosts his parents were, but he'd never said how much they wanted their kids to join them. Finding out their son was dating a bonafide ghost hunter must have-

Valerie sucked in a sharp breath through her nose and reached for Damien's hand, the one that had held her chin moments ago. Her tight grip must have alerted him that something was wrong, because he looked up and met her wide eyes with a concerned gaze.

"They know?" she barely whispered, mouthing the words more than speaking them. "About...me?"

Her dad nodded slowly, the alarm fading from his expression though the concern remained.

"And Danny?"

At this, Damien hesitated. "I don't know. I haven't seen him."

Valerie sat up a little straighter and looked wildly around the room, as if Danny was going to suddenly pop out from beneath the overturned couch or come running downstairs now that she was awake. What had happened right after she agreed to go with him the Ghost Zone? Did he see her?

"Where's Danny?" she asked in a louder voice, catching the Fentons' attention.

Maddie redirected her grin to Valerie, but Jazz, finally on her feet once more and free of her dad's crushing embrace, looked suddenly panicked.

"Oh he's just-"

Jazz interrupted her mom, speaking almost too fast to understand, "Downstairs! In the basement! He's cleaning up down there, he said it's a real mess, and I peeked down there when I heard him, and he's right it really is a mess. There's exploded glass and unknown substances on the wall, and now that I think about it, I really don't think he should be around that stuff, but..." She paused and looked around, seeming to just notice the damage on the walls and furniture. "It's a mess up here too. What happened exactly?"

"That Phantom creep attacked Danny!" Jack said, his eyes narrowing. "And when I get my hands on that spook..."

Valerie pressed her lips together. She wasn't sure what had happened prior to Skulker's arrival, but harming Danny had been the last thing Phantom had wanted after Skulker showed up.

"Fenton! Move!"

Valerie frowned and placed a hand against her forehead.

"Did you see him attack Danny?" Jazz countered as she glared up at Jack.

"We were upstairs at the time," Maddie said when Jack only pursed his lips. "The only ones who know what really happened are Valerie and Danny."

They all looked at Valerie, and she tensed. She didn't want to defend Phantom, not to Jack and Maddie-they actually studied ghosts. If she said nothing, though, they would continue to focus on Phantom and ignore Skulker, a ghost that was arguably more cruel and gruesome and was for some reason targeting Danny. She shivered, imagining Danny on the island she and Phantom had escaped from.

"I don't know what happened before I got here," she said slowly, "but I only saw Skulker trying to kidnap Danny."

The Fentons frowned, and even Jazz paled, looking far more horrified than her parents for some reason.

Damien squeezed Valerie's hand, and when she looked back at her dad, he asked, "Is that how you got hurt? Because you were trying to protect him?"

"No...I don't think so." She frowned down at their interlocked hands. "I don't remember what happened exactly."

"The ghosts reappeared behind Danny," Maddie said, her voice softening. "The armored ghost-Skulker, was it?-aimed at Danny, but the blast went wide and hit you instead. Jack and I and fired on Skulker before he and Phantom ran away."

"Yeah," Jack grumbled, "but we would have gotten the ghost kid if Danny hadn't gotten in the way. That boy is so grounded!"

Valerie blinked. Twice. "He got in the way?"

"He stood between us and Phantom," Maddie explained. "So that we couldn't shoot at Phantom without hitting him too."

The hand not held in her father's clenched against Valerie's knee. "Why?"

"Because he's a hero," Jazz said, raising her chin. "Even if some people are too blinded by their own prejudices to see it." She looked pointedly at her mom and dad.

Valerie grimaced. That hit a little close to home. "I want to talk to Danny."

The defiance in Jazz's eyes vanished. "He'll be up here soon!" she said quickly.

"I need to talk to him now." Valerie released her dad's hand and stood up. Almost immediately afterwards the muscles in her legs spasmed and she fell back onto the couch. She drew her lips away from her teeth as she began rubbing her legs. "Damn..."

"You're going to stay right where you are, young lady," Damien said. He stood over her, and though his voice was stern, the hands he placed on her shoulders were gentle. "One doesn't walk off electrocution that easily, even with a ghost suit to protect them."

And the attack that had hit her had been meant for Danny. Valerie pressed a hand to her stomach, feeling sick. Why had Skulker been after Danny in the first place? It couldn't be because of her...?

"Jazz, sweetie," Maddie said, a hardness creeping into her voice, "why don't you see what's taking your brother so long. His chores can wait, we have a lot to discuss, and he really should be here with his girlfriend."

"But-" Jazz started.

"Jazz, please, it's important."

Danny's sister looked at Valerie, and something about Valerie's posture or expression must have hinted at her desperation because Jazz's expression crumpled, her shoulders sagging. She breathed in deeply and then let it out in a loud sigh. "Okay, Mom. I'll be right back."

"Thank you, Jazz."

As Jazz left the room, Jack and Maddie Fenton's attention turned to Valerie, and the young hunter tensed. Damien moved to sit beside her, his arm sliding around to wrap protectively around her shoulders. "You don't have to say anything you don't want to," he whispered into her ear. "Just say the word and we can go."

Valerie nodded, but she remained on the couch and watched Danny's parents.

Their expressions looked odd. Like they were trying to be serious, only there were little cracks in the facade, particularly on Jack's face. His lips trembled from the sheer force of his grin trying to burst free. Maddie was a little more composed, but there was an inquisitive glint in her eyes, a desire to pick apart Valerie's inner workings-or more likely her suit.

They looked more excited than stern, but Valerie knew how adults, especially parents, felt about a 'child' as young as her fighting ghosts.

"I won't give it up," Valerie said, raising her chin. "I'm the best hunter this town has, and I refuse to just sit around while ghosts do whatever the hell they like."

Damien sighed, but Jack practically squealed. "Just like a hero!" he said.

Valerie frowned. "I'm not a hero, Mr. Fenton. I just fight back."

Jack clapped his hands together from sheer delight, and Valerie realized she would never understand that man.

Maddie stepped forward, catching Valerie's attention. Her lips were stretched into a smile, but her eyebrows had lowered, making her look conflicted. "You are certainly one of the best hunters Jack and I have seen, Valerie, especially given your age and how long you've been fighting. You've become a formidable hunter within the past two years, and I have no doubt your abilities will only continue to improve. But your father is right." She paused and took a deep breath. "I can't in good conscience let you keep fighting ghosts on your own."

Valerie almost shoved herself off the couch, but Damien's arm around her shoulder kept her in place. She glared at Maddie instead, her jaw clenched. "You can't stop me," she bit out.

Maddie's lips quirked at one corner. "Your suit is ectoplasmic, dear. I'm sure we can invent something."

That caught Damien's attention, and he sat up a little straighter. "Can you really?"

Valerie shifted her glare to her dad as Jack whined, "Maaaddie..."

"Certainly," Maddie said cheerfully. "We already have an invention in the lab right now that can separate ghost energy from human hosts. We had designed it to extract ghosts after Jack had been possessed at our college reunion, but I'm sure it would work just as well on Valerie's suit." She frowned. "You know, ghost technology really isn't safe in the first place, no matter how useful. Where did you get something like that?"

Valerie only scowled and didn't answer. Mostly because she didn't know herself. She had acquired the suit right after Phantom had broken into Axiom Labs a third time, but how it had taken form around her and why it had done so were never answered. She'd been too furious with Phantom for costing her dad his job again that she hadn't bothered to find out.

"If you have an invention that can remove her ghost suit, can we not go down to your lab and do so now?" Damien asked.

"Dad!" Valerie pulled away from Damien, equal parts angry and hurt. "Ghost hunting is a part of who I am, you can't just rip it out of me because you don't approve!"

"It's not about approval, Valerie! It's about keeping you safe, that's all I care about!"

"I have enemies, Dad! Phantom, Skulker-they're not going to stop attacking me just because my suit is gone. How will I defend myself then?"

"We're not using the Fenton Ghost Catcher to destroy the Red Huntress," Jack said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest. His lip trembled, and he added, a little plaintively, "It's just not fair. That's not what I built it for."

To Valerie's surprise, Danny's mom placed a supporting hand on her husband's arm and smiled apologetically up at him. "Of course, Jack, I only meant that we could stop her, not that we would."

Meaning she wanted Valerie to know she held power over her, both through her inventions and Damien's approval. Valerie eyed Maddie warily. "What do you want?"

Maddie breathed in slowly, appearing to brace herself. "I want you to train under me and Jack."

"What?" Valerie launched herself onto her feet and glared furiously at Maddie. "I've been hunting by myself just fine!"

"Coming home every night with fractured bones, sprained ankles, and who knows what else is not doing just fine," Damien scolded, also standing. "It's not a bad idea, Val. You shouldn't be afraid to ask for help."

"I don't need help! Not from them, not from Vlad, and not from Danny stinking Phantom! Why does everyone think I can't do this on my own? I've been doing it for years!"

"Two years isn't that long," Maddie said, "not when there's always more to learn."

"About ghosts?" Valerie scoffed. "What else is there to know about them besides how to hurt them and what to do with them afterwards?"

"How about how one is created?" Maddie asked, narrowing her eyes. "Are you aware that if you were to die as you are, you would likely become the very thing you hunt?"

The words, so close to fears Valerie held close to her heart, made her flinch. As a nightmare it was something she could shrug off when the sun rose, but hearing it from a woman who studied ghosts...

"It's theoretical science only, of course," Maddie continued, "and one no hunter wants to validate, for obvious reasons. But it's something we must always be wary of. Don't become obsessed with the hunt, don't put the hunt above your own safety, and don't, under any circumstance, forget why we hunt." She nodded her head at Damien. "We all have loved ones we wish to protect. Even when that means putting our passion aside."

Goosebumps broke out over Valerie's skin, but she refused to lessen her glare or unclench her fists. She felt trapped. The ghost energy buzzed inside her head, ready to be called. "I don't need help," she said again, quieter, but more forceful. "Least of all from you two."

Something crashed against the kitchen floor and wood screeched against the linoleum in protest. A yelp and then, "Danny, that was the table."

"I know that, Jazz!"

Valerie tensed further and looked past Jack and Maddie in time to see Danny charge into the living room. His blue eyes met hers, and he beamed, as if her being a secret ghost hunter made no difference to him, as if he hadn't been avoiding her in the basement the whole time.

"Valerie!" he said, "you're okay!"

He took a step forward, but his foot must have caught on the carpet because he tripped and fell face-first onto the floor. Jazz was by his side a second later, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet.

"You're such a klutz, Danny!" she said a little too loudly, forcing a laugh.

The ghost energy fizzled out of Valerie's grasp. In its absence, Valerie crossed her arms and tried to swallow her anger before she lashed out at Danny too. There were many ways she had imagined telling him about being the Red Huntress, especially after last night's date. Most fantasies typically involved her saving him from a ghost attack, but they were often soured by the thought of Danny comparing her to his annoying parents or him finding out the ghost that had just attacked him had only done so because he was her boyfriend.

She had never imagined a mess like this one, where she was exposed before Danny and his parents and then pressured into submitting to their idea of training.

Once on his feet, Danny seemed to notice the tense atmosphere in the room and the self-depreciating smile on his lips faded. "Uh, w-what's going on?"

Valerie had a hundred responses to such an innocently poised question, but she bit down on her lip and settled for glaring at Maddie. The woman was looking at her son, but her eyes kept darting to Jazz, and when she spoke, her tone was strained and hesitant. "We just...invited Valerie to train with us, dear. So we can teach her about ghosts and how to...better defend herself."

If anything, Danny's expression became more puzzled and upset, his eyebrows drawing together and his lips turning down. "She goes to school and works two jobs, Mom. She can't just drop all that for additional-" he cut himself off, following his mom's gaze to Jazz, "um, an additional work load."

"Yes!" Valerie straightened and smiled at Danny. "Exactly." He shrugged one shoulder and tilted his head as he smiled back. She suddenly felt a strong urge to hug him, his absence for the past few minutes be-damned. He was on her side!

"One of those jobs is only voluntary," Damien objected, frowning at Danny. "She can put it on hold for a couple weeks."

"Can she?" Danny countered. "It's not like she can just call in on a sick day and expect no one to get hurt because of it. It's not that kind of a job. And even if she does, that still doesn't leave her a whole lot of free time. She still has to find time for homework." The self-depreciating smile returned. "I can't even keep my grades up and I don't work a part time job. Uh, and volunteer work."

"It hasn't done any favors for your guys' relationship either," Jazz chipped in.

Valerie and Danny both winced. Their eyes met briefly before Danny looked away, his cheeks red. "Y-yeah, that too."

Their relationship and how her ex-secret affected it was something they were going to have to discuss in private, not surrounded by their parents and Danny's clueless sister. Valerie lifted her chin and said, "I'm not going to stop volunteering. Even if you take my gear away, I'll keep going out, only with less protection."

Damien drew in a sharp, horrified breath, and Danny's eyes widened as he asked, "Take your gear...?"

"The Fenton Ghost Catcher can remove all kinds of ghostly influences!" Jack bragged cheerfully, as unaware of the atmosphere in the room as ever. If anything, Danny's eyes got wider.

"If Valerie won't quit volunteering," Jazz said before her dad could continue, "and school and her grades are the priority, that only leaves her job."

Valerie scowled. "I hate working at the Nasty Burger, I'd quit in a heartbeat, but I need to save up money for college and it's one of the only places that will hire high school students."

"And if Mom and Dad paid you to learn from them and help them catch ghosts?" Jazz suggested lightly, her eyebrows rising and her lips curling in a smile.

Maddie's attention snapped to her daughter, her own eyebrows rising in admiration. "Like an internship?"

"Yes!" Jazz exclaimed, delighted. "Then she could quit the Nasty Burger, train with you guys, and still get paid."

Damien hummed speculatively beside Valerie. "And she could put her work at Fenton Works down on a college application, especially since your family is funded by the government."

"Bu-but..." Valerie grasped for an excuse, anything other than I don't want to and I'm already a better hunter than the Fentons.

"Jazz...?" Danny questioned quietly, sounding uncertain. His sister put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"And she'll get to spend more time with Danny!" Jack crowed. "He's going to be training with us too!"

That caught Valerie's attention, and she looked at Danny with wide eyes. "You are?"

"I am?" A beat passed and Danny's equally wide eyes got even wider. He whispered, horrified, "I am."

"He had the Ghost Catcher in his room this morning and said he wanted to protect himself from ghosts!" Jack placed his hand on Danny's other shoulder and beamed down at his son. "Just like his old man."

Danny tried to smile back up at his dad, but it looked more like he was a few seconds away from being sick.

Valerie bit down on her lip as she desperately tried to think her way out of apprenticing with the Fentons. Every eye in the room gradually fell on her as they waited for her response, and Valerie felt the desire to activate her suit again and just run away. In the end, she looked at her father, at his tired eyes and weary posture, and the will to resist ebbed.

She eased her stance, relaxing her fists. "All right," she said, quietly, unhappily, "I'll…try. I'll give it a trail run."

Danny's parents cheered, especially Jack, and Jazz smiled proudly. Valerie only had a second to look at Danny before her dad crushed her in his embrace. Her boyfriend had looked worried, and she wanted to confront him on why, but then Damien whispered "Thank you" in her ear, and Valerie relaxed into the embrace, hugging him back.

If being professionally trained by older ghost hunters relieved some of the stress her hunting placed on her dad, then it would be worth every excruciating second she spent learning stuff she already knew. He deserved that much and more.

But by the time Damien released her, Danny had disappeared.

---

Sam stared up at the Fenton Ghost Catcher with pursed lips. It didn't look as if Jack and Maddie had worked on it, yet it had split Danny differently than last time and when his two halves had merged, they had screamed as if it hurt them. A lot. And afterward, Danny had been too disorientated to even stand up. He couldn't even keep his powers under control, something he hadn't struggled with in years.

Something had to have happened, but if the Ghost Catcher was the same as it had always been, then that meant the fault was with Danny.

Tucker finished his second circuit of the invention and stopped by her side. She glanced at him, and he grinned and said, "It's a shame they had to merge back."

Sam narrowed her eyes. "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking—"

"If they'd stayed separate, Valerie could have kept human Danny and you could have dated ghost Danny!"

He laughed at his own joke and she punched his arm. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough for him to playfully duck and flinch away from her, still chortling. She rolled her eyes at him and waited for Tucker's laughter to end. Her lips might have twitched with the beginnings of a smile, but if Tucker noticed he didn't mention it. His making light of her feelings for Danny made it easier to bear, and she wondered if he knew, if that was why he made so many jokes about it.

"They seemed reluctant to merge back," she said after a few seconds in which Tucker giggled to himself. "Do you think that might be why Danny was so…off?"

Tucker hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe. But we don't know how long he was really divided. Or how many times he split himself."

"So you don't think this was the only time?"

"Do you?" he countered.

She shrugged. "It just seems kind of…" she searched for a word, her nose wrinkling in frustration.

"Fishy?" Tucker suggested. "Weird? Unlikely? Like we're missing something vital that would make it all make sense?"

"Yes to all of that. I mean, the human half was definitely hiding something."

Tucker sighed. "I don't understand why he's keeping whatever it is secret. He knows we're gonna find out eventually."

"It's probably either something dangerous—in which case, we're going to find out when we inevitably get sucked into whatever grand plot is going on—or Danny did something really embarrassing."

They shared a look, one that commiserated with just how many times they had endured Danny's dangerous and/or embarrassing situations. It was an occupational hazard when you were friends with a superhero. It wasn't always pleasant, but they would always be there for him. That's what friends were for.

Danny's tendencies to keep some things secret just complicated matters.

A couple minutes later, still no sign of Danny, Tucker whipped out his PDA and started working on perfecting his program. Sam decided to take a more active approach to the waiting game and started cleaning the lab of broken beakers and spilled…whatever liquid was currently coating the floor and counters. She had just finished sweeping up the glass when Danny charged into the basement. He froze at the bottom of the stairs and stared at Tucker and then at Sam with side, slightly panicked eyes.

The broom clattered to the floor as Sam released it and touched the wrist ray she always wore. "What's wrong? What'd she do?"

"Um…" Danny blinked at her a couple times before he shook his head. "No, there's nothing wrong. Everything's fine." He braced his shoulder against the wall and pressed his forehead against the metal, one arm cradled against his stomach. "Except my ghost-hating girlfriend just joined the family business. That's kind of bad."

Sam frowned but didn't relax or remove her fingers from the wrist ray. "You're saying the Red Huntress and your parents are going to be working together now?"

Danny nodded his head, the black hair trapped between his forehead and the wall tangling as it was dragged up and down. "Mom and Dad are interning her so she can learn more about ghosts and she'll have adult supervision while hunting, which her dad seemed pretty happy about."

"Yeah but," Tucker protested, "Valerie already knows how to hunt ghosts, and she doesn't seem like the kind of person who cares about studying them. What is she getting out of this?"

"Well, she's going to be paid, but apparently Fenton-I signed us up for training with Mom and Dad this morning." He took a deep breath and sagged even more against the wall. "Which means I'm going to be training alongside Valerie. Under my parents' supervision."

Sam sucked in a breath and Tucker groaned in sympathy. "Ouch. Are your powers still acting up?"

Danny sighed. He stood up from the wall and showed them the arm that he had been hiding against his stomach. The arm that was now transparent. Intangible. "Yup..."

Sam gasped and rushed to Danny's side, Tucker only a step behind her.

She placed her hand on his elbow, just above the affected arm, and looked up the staircase to make sure no one was at the top. Tucker ushered the both of them away from the opening, and the two friends lead Danny to the computer chair and forced him to sit down. He flopped into the chair and didn't even protest as Sam and Tucker inspected his arm.

"I don't understand," Sam said, mostly to herself, "why are you losing control of your powers again? How long were you separated?"

"Not that long," Danny muttered. His arm regained tangibility and he pulled it from Sam's grasp. "It's probably nothing. Phantom hasn't had to hide our powers in a while so he's out of practice. Er, I'm out of practice. Whatever."

Sam frowned, crossing her arms. "I don't think you can just 'forget' a learned skill. Not so much that you're shifting forms and losing tangibility for over a minute anyway."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do?" Danny demanded, sweeping his arms outward. "It's either wait this out and hope it gets better or split myself again for however long Valerie's training lasts. And I'm not doing that. I can't split myself again, I don't know if I..." He pressed his hands over his eyes and sunk down in the chair.

"We can join up too," Tucker suggested. "We can cover for you if your powers start acting up."

Danny lowered his hands and shook his head. "Phantom seems to think it'll be a good way to spend time with Valerie. And after everything that's happened, we kind of need that time."

Sam raised an eyebrow. That was the third time he'd referred to one of his other halves. "Phantom?" she questioned.

Danny's eyes focused on her, and for a moment, the blue irises flashed green. "Yes?"

Whatever Sam might have said fled from her mind, the words on her tongue stilled by shock.

Tucker, on the opposite side of Sam and so unaware of the change in Danny's eyes, continued the conversation as if nothing had happened. "I hate to say it, but your safety is more important than my bet—I mean, your relationship with Valerie. If you need help, you just have to ask."

Danny's eyes returned to normal as he smiled at Tucker. "Thanks, but I think I can handle it."

"It doesn't look very 'handled' at the moment," Sam muttered.

Danny gave her a confused look, and Sam realized he was as unaware as Tucker. For that matter, she wasn't sure what had happened either. Had it just been Danny's powers activating? Or had the personality of Danny's ghost half—Phantom—responded to Sam calling his name? And if that was the case, why hadn't Danny noticed?

"So other than your parents getting two students," Tucker said, "how did it go with Valerie? Did you patch things up with her?"

Danny sucked in a breath. "No, I, um, panicked. I…" He stood up. "I should have stayed with her, why did we leave? We need to—" He groaned in pain and placed a hand to his forehead, sinking back onto the chair. "Shit…"

Tucker looked at Sam, but the Goth kept her eyes and her attention solely on Danny. "Valerie probably has enough to worry about right now," she said. "You do too. Until you get control over yourself, you should be careful around her. And your parents."

Danny made a face, lips pinched in displeasure. "I guess…" He sighed deeply and glanced at the staircase. "We should probably get you guys out of here before Mom and Dad decide to give Val a tour of the lab. If she sees you here, she'll assume I told you guys about her secret, and then I'll really be in hot water."

"Like you needed to tell us anything when her voice gives her away," Sam said, snorting.

"Her new suit mostly distorts it now," Danny pointed out. He stood again, and the transformation rings flashed around his waist. After he completed the transformation, Danny grimaced and placed his hand to his throat, blue light surrounding his palm. "I forgot how much it hurt," he said in a softer, slightly rough voice.

Sam frowned and added another tally to the ever expanding list. Now that she thought about it… "Your human form didn't have a bruise there."

Danny's eyes darted away, his cheeks slightly colored. "Y-yeah…injuries don't seem to transfer over if I receive them while I'm, um, divided."

Sam hummed, her eyes narrowing.

Apparently done answering questions, Danny grabbed their hands, and moments later, Tucker and Sam stood in the alley outside Fenton Works. The sun had completely set, and in the dark, Danny's ghost form glowed brightly. Ethereal as always. Sam bit her lip as she watched him float higher. She wanted to ask him what was really going on, warn him about what she'd seen and what Valerie might do if she saw the same, but…

Did she have a right to say anything? As a friend, sure, but as a friend who had a crush on him? How biased were her perceptions? Would Danny even listen to her?

Danny waved goodbye to them before turning invisible and (presumably) floating back inside. Tucker sighed, touched Sam's arm, and then he and Sam began the long trek home.

"That was way more hectic than I was expecting when we decided to track Danny down," Tucker said.

Sam nodded but didn't reply. Tucker gave her an odd look, and Sam hesitated before saying, "How much you want to bet Danny is going to split himself again?"

Tucker frowned. "We're already betting on his relationship with Valerie."

"All right. How about I change my stance to their relationship falling through because he splits himself?" Tucker hesitated, and Sam added, "Double or nothing."

Tucker's eyes widened and he grinned. "You're on!"

A couple minutes later, they stopped at a cross walk and Tucker looked at her, his eyebrows raised in concern. "Do you really think he's going to split himself? Even with how much trouble it's caused?"

"Ohh," Sam said lightly as dread and worry pooled in her stomach, "between training with Valerie and how much trouble he's having with his powers? Let's just say, I don't think he'll have much of a choice in the matter..."

Chapter Text

Monster Chapter from my own Personal Hell
...Part 1

---

"I'm so tired, but I can't sleep...standing on the edge of something much too deep...funny how I feel so much but cannot say a word...we are screaming inside, oh, but we can't be heard...so afraid to love you, more afraid to lose...clinging to a past." -Sarah McLachlan

---

This was bad.

Nothing about the day had been good, but this…Danny glared at his gloved hands as the lights that heralded his transformation fizzled out of existence for a third time.

Extremely bad.

"Come on," he whispered. Phantom's bruised throat turned Danny's voice into a hoarse growl that suited his mood. "We don't have time for this. We have to speak to Valerie before she leaves."

Jack's voice rang out through the house again, loud enough to be heard over the humming of the lab machinery despite being a floor above. Danny floated higher, ready to dart through the ceiling if the group moved into the basement. If they found Danny Phantom in their lab after the night they had all just had, he was dead.

…er.

His tail flicked in agitation as Danny ground his teeth. Even when he had first received his powers, Danny rarely struggled to revert to human. Turn ghost, yes, control his powers, yes, hold onto his ghost form, god yes, but not the reverse. He was human, had always been human. He might have been one with supernatural ghost powers, but he was still human.

Of course, that was before…everything. Before he had spent the weekend as a full ghost, before he had started seeing his human half as a separate person, before they had rejoined and his own heartbeat felt so weird…

"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath. "Think human thoughts. Think like…"

Fenton.

"I am Fenton, shut up!"

Danny pushed his hands through his hair and clutched at the white strands. He didn't have time to lose his mind, he had to speak to Valerie. They had just 'learned' her secret. Fenton couldn't—they couldn't—Danny couldn't just disappear on her now. Not now. He had to reassure her everything would be alright. He had to tell her he still trusted her, that he thought she was more amazing than ever. Compliment her. Maybe ask a few questions he had wanted to ask for a long time. Have a touching moment with her that, if done right, might end with a kiss that would—

Butterflies erupted in his stomach. Danny gasped and jerked backwards in midair. His thoughts whirled, his headache hit with renewed force, and the rings—the hells damned transformation rings—burst into life around his middle. Danny drew a sharp breath into his reawakened lungs. Then the rings passed over his head and he plummeted towards the metal floor of the lab. Danny let out the breath in a sharp cry and stretched his arms out as if to somehow break his fall.

Which is exactly what he did.

Danny stared at the floor less than a foot away from his fingers. He panted for breath as his heart hammered uncomfortably in his chest. He knew even as he did it that he wouldn't find him, but Danny couldn't help looking over his shoulder for Phantom. Stupid. Of course he wouldn't see him. He was Phantom. He knew he was Phantom because only Phantom would feel protective over their fall, the general sense of are you insane, are you okay, what happened, at odds with I almost died and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude towards their ghost powers that soon silenced the cacophony in their head.

They drew in a finale shaky breath. Then Danny, who could feel the ghost power he was using to hover in place (because, duh, he was half-ghost again, he had saved himself), lowered himself slowly onto his knees. He flinched, having forgotten they were bruised, and shifted them apart so his weight rested on his rear.

He closed his eyes and breathed in another, deeper breath. He was Fenton—human again, which was good. Very good, considering. But since he had de-transformed on accident…

"We're in so much trouble," he groaned.

They hadn't lost control of their powers after merging any time before this. Not on Saturday, not last week, and not after the Technus incident. Something had gone wrong with this merge. It had hurt as much as splitting apart had, which should have been their first clue, but now their powers and…and Danny couldn't tell who he even was anymore. He should feel whole, normal.

Instead he felt more broken than ever.

They could split apart again. Try remerging later. Maybe after they cleared things up with Valerie. There was no real reason they had to be one single Danny now, not when it was causing them so many problems they hadn't expected. Maybe they could even—

Footsteps on the staircase reached Danny's ears, and he jolted upright, blushing as he realized he had been staring at the Ghost Catcher. He looked at the entrance to the basement instead, but the footsteps were approaching slowly. Carefully. A step every half-second. Danny felt himself tensing, an instinctual response that had little to do with his confused mind. Neither ghost nor human liked being stalked.

The footsteps were too soft to be his dad, too cautious to be Jazz, and too loud to be his mom. That left Valerie.

Danny tensed further, though he didn't fully understand why. They were human now, there was no reason for them to hide from Valerie. She was a hunter, yes, and she probably wanted to torture some answers out of Phantom again, especially now, but Phantom was as safe from Valerie as he had ever been. Fenton made an excellent decoy that way.

Or…whatever.

Valerie paused on the stairway, just shy of seeing inside the room. Listening? Danny pushed himself into a half-crouch and inched backwards, his heart beating fast and his stomach twisting itself into knots. He might not know the reason why, but Danny couldn't face Valerie. He couldn't. He just couldn't. Not now. Not in the basement.

But they needed to talk to her—

Later—

Now.

Danny's right foot turned intangible, and he slipped forward, banging his bruised knee into the floor as he caught himself. He hissed sharply through his teeth—too loud. Valerie charged down the last few steps, her pistol beginning to hum. She swept it across the room as her eyes scanned the area. Both passed harmlessly over Danny. He shivered, realizing from the chill on his arms that Phantom—that they had activated their invisibility. He slowly pulled his intangible foot out of the floor, but the damage was already done. They really couldn't face her now.

Valerie stepped further into the room, and Danny, afraid of making another noise, kept as still as possible. "Okay, Phantom," she hissed. Danny flinched. "I know you're down here, you're not as quiet as you think you are."

The basement must have distorted Danny's voice, given it an echo that made his human voice sound ghostly, something Phantom had noticed himself barely an hour ago. But why was she so hostile? Danny knew she still disliked his ghost half, but after they had worked together to save Danielle, she had become less aggressive towards him.

Before Danny could do more than frown, Phantom's memories pushed forward, reminding him of the setting sun glinting off Valerie's faceplate, mischief alight in his veins as he flirted and teased his oblivious girlfriend. All humor had left as soon as she mentioned Fenton's name and he realized how much time had passed, but more importantly…

She thinks I'm haunting her boyfriend.

Danny cringed. That was… great. Just great. Not only were Danny's powers on the fritz and his mind a confused jumble of ghost and human, but Valerie was also going to be on the lookout for any odd behavior. Great. Fantastic. Way to go, Phantom.

Of course, Fenton had been the one to recruit them for ghost training, and that would prolong their exposure to not only Valerie but also to their parents and the ghost hunting technology that had a tendency to activate around Danny, human half or not. So… way to go, Fenton.

…Touché.

Valerie stepped further into the room, continuing to sweep the area with her eyes. Danny resisted the urge to move away from her. He could probably do it without alerting her, but if he lost his invisibility now, he really would be in trouble. Definitely as Fenton, but more so as Phantom.

There was something in Valerie's eyes. Not the usual fire that Danny had first been drawn to, the kind that appeared whenever Valerie met a challenge head-on, but one that bespoke anger. Frustration. He could see it in the way her nose flared with each breath, in the tight way she moved, like each muscle held tension just waiting for a release.

He wasn't sure if it was Phantom or his parents (or Danny himself for disappearing on her when she needed him the most), but now was the time to remain hidden. Danny wasn't the only one who embraced the term "misplaced aggression."

"Listen, ghost, whatever game you're playing on Danny," Valerie said and then paused, her mouth forming unspoken words before she snapped it shut. She closed her eyes for a couple seconds, taking several deep breaths. When she opened her eyes again, the fire remained, but her expression smoothed itself into a calm mask. "There's something going on, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it. Whatever it is. Consider this your last warning, Phantom, because if you hurt him, if you're playing with him to get at me, the understanding between us is over."

She stood just inside the basement a while longer, either driving her point home or waiting for Phantom to appear and defend himself. Danny, feeling sick, held absolutely still. Finally, Valerie's calm expression cracked. She swore explosively, spun around, and stormed back up the stairs. Danny didn't react until he heard his dad's voice boom Valerie's name.

He let out a breath he had been holding and sagged forward, closing his eyes as the cold chill of his invisibility left him. "So much trouble," he whispered to himself.

He stood up, his legs still a little shaky, and looked at the ceiling above him. His parents, Valerie, and Damien were up there. Talking about ghost hunting. About hunting him. The feeling that had made Fenton want to hide from Valerie was back, but this time the Phantom half agreed. They felt trapped. Backed into a corner.

Danny summoned the transformation, and this time the rings appeared and passed over his body without hesitation. He jumped off the ground as Phantom and shot towards the sky, passing through the living room where the hunters were talking, through his bedroom where the whole mess had begun, and into the night sky.

He didn't have a clear destination, but as soon as the moon caught his eye, Danny shot off in its direction at his fastest speed. It had risen above the horizon several hours ago, angling Danny's flight into a trajectory that quickly carried him above Amity Park. Within moments he was above the skyscrapers and entering the airspace reserved for airplanes about to land, surrounded by nothing but the stars.

It was reckless, dangerous, especially with their powers acting up, but the higher and faster Danny flew, the more Danny felt himself smiling. He rolled to the left and then to the right, feeling the wind tug at his hair, equilibrium lost as the stars spun around him. He righted himself and looked down, his hair whipping around his eyes as he watched the illuminated buildings and streets of Amity Park get smaller and smaller.

Just as they had when Phantom carried Fenton into the clouds.

The memory hit Danny like a physical blow. He gasped, eyes wide as he remembered Phantom's cold arms holding Fenton tightly to his chest, Fenton's hot breaths warming Phantom's collarbone, the darkness of the clouds right before the two halves of himself burst through the stratosphere and they saw the stars stretching out above them, a blanket of white clouds beneath.

Danny jerked to a stop. He stared up at the moon, his chest heaving for breath he didn't need while his core—Phantom's core—thrummed as it produced an uncomfortable amount of cold. The water vapor closest to him crystallized and made the air around him shimmer, but Danny was more concerned about how cold his face felt because that meant he was blushing.

Blushing.

Because he was…embarrassed?

They were embarrassed.

Phantom and Fenton.

Muddled as it was, the emotions of both were entirely laid bare, and their breathing quickened as they felt the echoes of their own and each other's reactions from that moment above the clouds reflect the beginnings of something tender. Something...

The meteors streaked across the sky in a brilliant light show that brought an awed smile to Fenton's lips. He had given up on watching the meteor shower until Phantom had flown them above the clouds for no other reason than because Fenton had wanted to see it. Not because they had to do something for Valerie, but because Fenton had wanted to see it.

He eventually fell asleep against his other half, putting all his trust in Phantom. It stirred a tenderness inside Phantom that made him hold Fenton just a little closer, a little more securely.

He lingered above the clouds long after his human half fell asleep, reluctant to let the moment go.

Danny breathed out a shaky breath. Wherever it had started, it had deepened into something impossible up here.

Phantom had recognized the beginnings of a crush forming, but Fenton…

Danny felt his blush deepen, and he groaned. He—they—Danny buried his face in his hands and closed his eyes tight. He couldn't do this. They couldn't do this. Enjoying a kiss was one thing, feeling romantic affection for the other half of himself was something else entirely. Worse, it hadn't gone away. Phantom and Fenton had merged, but the feelings were still there, inside Danny because they weren't completely merged, they were just…overlapped.

There was a part of him that liked what he was feeling.

Desperate, Danny shot into the sky again. He looped in a circle, and at the apex of the climb, allowed himself to fall towards the ground before corkscrewing to the side. He moved faster and faster, spun and twisted until he lost track of the ground. Anything to avoid thinking. He closed his eyes and lost himself to the wind buffeting his flight, to the exhilarating experience of flying after being earthbound for three days.

A part of himself relished in his joy of flying rather than the flight itself, the delight of one adding to the joy of the other, and it caused a fluttering sensation in his chest. There was too much affection in the feeling, and he shoved it away.

It wasn't until Danny tried to fly higher, failed, and felt his heart begin beating again that his eyes snapped open. He saw the last light of the rings vanish above his head, felt the wind on his face turn cold, and had enough time to suck in a deep breath before he plummeted towards the ground in a fall that was as familiar as it was terrifying.

The wind buffeted Danny, turning him head over heels as he fell. He couldn't even hear his own scream over the wind screeching in his ears. He tried spreading his arms out in a vane attempt to slow himself or at least control the fall, but that wouldn't save him. He needed ghost powers. Phantom.

He concentrated on reaching that part of himself that held his ghost powers, but they felt as out of reach as when he was only Fenton.

"Are you fucking serious right now?" he yelled. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, okay, language, right, fuck, he hates bad language. Fuck!"

He could only catch glimpses of the ground as he was spun around, but the buildings were growing in size at an alarming rate. He could already distinguish streets between them. He started screaming again. If he died, Sam and Tucker and his parents were going to track down his ghost and kill him again. If Valerie didn't get to him first, anyway.

Finally, finally, he felt a spark of concern amid the fear, and Danny seized on it. Coaxed it. Embraced whatever tender feelings came with it because he was going to die if they didn't go ghost right now, Phantom, come on.

The rings burst around his middle and spread outward. Ghost energy flooded Danny's veins, and he didn't wait another second. He twisted into the wind to take control of his spinning and angled himself into a gentle swoop to carry him upwards again. As his momentum began to ebb, Danny wrapped his arms around his chest. By the time he slowed to a stop, Danny was all but hugging himself, his legs fusing into a tail that coiled around itself.

He was less than a hundred yards above the nearest skyscraper.

"We're okay," he whispered, staring wide-eyed at the building's lights. "We're okay."

But if that had happened closer to the ground or, worse, during a ghost fight…

It wouldn't have happened at all if he hadn't pushed Phantom away. Danny closed his eyes and bowed his head, shaking from reaction. Lesson learned. He had fled Fenton Works to escape his problems, but this one had followed him. Would always follow him.

He couldn't escape himself.

---

After falling hundreds of feet, Danny 'limped' through the skies until he saw the Fenton Works sign. His descent had been slow and cautious, his trust in his control fractured. He wasn't sure what time it was, but if he played it right, he could claim to have been cleaning the basement…with a brief trip outside to the garbage container if Valerie brought up her visit to the lab.

Danny flew through the walls of the kitchen and hovered in place while he braced himself. He thought he had it down now. Sort of. His power hiccups seemed to coincide with the Fenton half or Phantom half gaining too much dominance over his mind, so if he allowed himself to feel nervous about seeing Valerie again while activating his transformation…

The rings appeared obediently. Danny transformed in midair and landed on the kitchen floor as a human, grinning until he realized that that was…really stupid. He cringed and scrambled for cover behind a counter. He waited for any of the three ghost hunters in the other room to investigate the flash of light, ecto-surge, or whatever was destined to give Danny's secret away because of course something was going to happen.

It had been that kind of night.

He could hear them talking in the living room about the Fenton Inventions, and after listening for a few minutes, Danny realized he only heard his parents. A glance at the microwave clock proved what he already suspected; Valerie had likely gone home hours ago. Her dad would never want her to stay out past eleven on a school night.

Danny stood up slowly and breathed out a sigh. Relieved as he was to not have to face her yet, Danny knew the reprieve would cost him. Although nothing had technically changed for him, there were still many things they ought to discuss now that Valerie knew Danny knew her secret.

His parents, on the other hand, were less intimidating, even if they were just as likely to attack him if he showed signs of being a ghost's 'human meat puppet.'

Danny squared his shoulders, reminded himself he was one single Danny, and walked through the kitchen arch as casually as he could manage. "Hey, Mom, hey, Dad."

His mom and dad looked up from the papers scattered across the coffee table and beamed near-identical grins at him.

"Danny!" Jack shouted as he bounced up. "There's my boy! Come on over here, son, we've got some things to discuss."

Danny hesitated. The excuses he had prepared for where he had been dried up in the face of his dad's enthusiasm. He looked at Maddie for a sign of what the 'discussion' could be about, but Maddie had gone back to studying the blueprints and papers, her grin having softened into a smile.

"O-kay," Danny said as he moved towards his parents. "Like what?"

"Valerie! The Red Huntress!" Jack grabbed Danny's shoulders and pulled him down onto the couch beside him. "Tell me everything!"

"Um...I just found out about her being Red when you did."

"No, no, no! Tell me what she is like!"

Danny stared at his dad, his mouth hanging open on words he couldn't voice.

"Jack," Maddie said sweetly, "we'll find out what she's like for ourselves soon enough."

If anything, that seemed to excite Jack further. He practically bounced in place. "We're going to show her all our inventions, Dan-O! She agreed to train with us! Gosh, that'll be something, right, Danny?"

"Uh, yeah," he mumbled. "It'll be something..."

"We've never had a pupil before," Maddie said, and though she wasn't as animated as Jack, Danny heard the excitement in her voice. "You and Jazz are wonderful, but it's clear the two of you aren't as interested in ghosts as your father and I."

Danny forced a smile.

Maddie clapped her hands, beaming once again. "And she has such wonderful form! It's no wonder she became such a successful hunter without any proper training. She's a natural."

A part of Danny agreed, but the other part, the current dominant part, only shrugged. "Well, she is a black belt."

Maddie's eyes instantly focused on him. "Really?"

"She said she started training back when she was..." Danny hesitated. He couldn't remember. Like the coffee thing, he knew the knowledge was there, he just couldn't remember… He closed his eyes, hoping that would help, but a second later he felt them burn beneath his eyelids.

He stiffened, his face paling, but the words came easily to his lips this time. "She began training when she was six and earned the basic black belt when she was eleven. She dropped out after her mom died."

"Oh," Maddie said, regretful. "I hadn't realized her mom had died."

Danny nodded. He hid his left hand behind his back and carefully willed a small amount of ice to form on his palm. The burn in his eyes turned cold, and he cautiously half-opened his eyes, keeping his head angled downwards. "I never asked. I doubt she wants to talk about it."

"No," his mom agreed, "probably not."

In contrast to their somber tone, Jack scribbled furiously on a piece of paper. "Parent issues! Maddie, she really does have all the makings of a superhero!"

Danny stood quickly. "I'm going to my room," he said, moving away from his dad before he could be pulled down again. He paused after a few seconds, however, when Fenton's memories reminded him of a problem. "You guys fixed my wall, right?"

His parents grew suspiciously quiet. Danny let the ice in his hand fade, waited a few seconds to make sure the burn in his eyes wouldn't return, and then turned back to the couch. Maddie had dropped her head in her hands.

Jack smiled at Danny sheepishly. "It won't leak!"

Danny groaned.

"We'll work on it some more while you're at school tomorrow," Maddie promised, lifting her head.

"Aww..." Jack whined. "But, Maddie..."

"You blew a hole through his wall, Jack."

"There was a ghost!"

Danny blushed. Phantom's memories of that moment were clearer than Fenton's, and they were not something Danny was prepared to think about. If ever. "Alright, I'll talk to you guys later, good night!" he blurted and made a dash for the staircase.

"Wait!" his mom called. "Danny!"

Danny winced. He paused with one foot on the first step, his hand on the banister. "Yeah?"

Maddie breathed in deeply as if she was bracing herself. "Phantom is a dangerous ghost no matter how friendly he seems." Danny stiffened, and Maddie's eyes, usually so kind and understanding when looking at Fenton, hardened. "I'm serious, Danny, he is not a hero. I want you to stay away from him."

Usually, his parents calling Danny Phantom evil hurt, but it was a pain that was easily brushed away with the knowledge that they just didn't know. This time, Danny's hand curled into a fist, and he had to consciously keep from clenching his jaw. "Right," he bit out before charging up the stairs.

As soon as he reached the top floor, he made a beeline for his room. He knew Jazz was in her room, he knew he could talk to her about what was going on in his head, he knew she could probably help, but his pace didn't even slow as he passed her door. If he couldn't admit even to himself what was happening, how could he explain it to Jazz?

Once he was in his room, Danny closed the door, pressed his back against the hardwood, and sank to the floor. The orange street light shone through his window, the only light source in his room aside from the glowing stars on his ceiling. He crossed his arms over his knees and rested his forehead on them, his eyes closed. The warm, skin-on-skin contact registered in his mind in the same way his heartbeat felt alien and flying felt like a new experience all over again, but he ignored it.

It was almost funny. He—whole, complete Danny—had been here in this exact position just last night after checking himself out in the mirror and fleeing from his own reflection. Now he was here again, the same problem as before only with several additional problems added to the load. As if the last one wasn't bad enough.

And they still hadn't gotten that shower.

Danny groaned, lifted his head, and dragged his hands down his face. "I can't take a shower now, I'll end up...looking. Ew. Damn it." He pushed his hands into his hair and pulled. "We—I can't do this. I can't avoid taking a shower for the rest of my life!"

There was literally nothing new for him to see, but if he couldn't even touch his own arms without some part of him noticing how nice it felt, then how could he take a shower where he would need to wash…everywhere?

No.

He was already—

No.

He couldn't.

Can we even get dressed?

Danny sucked air in through his teeth. Shit, he still had to change into his pajamas. Fenton had fallen asleep prematurely each night, but Danny was also Phantom, and the Phantom aspects of his personality was sure he did not want to spend a third night in his day clothes. No matter how embarrassing changing would be.

"Easy for you," Danny muttered under his breath, "we're not in ghost mode."

He stood, grunting as his sore knees protested the movement, but once on his feet, he hesitated, trying to remember where his pajamas were. The last time he had worn them, his only concerns had been a kiss that got a little out of hand and asking Valerie out to the meteor shower. Minor worries.

Several seconds passed before Danny, frustrated, pulled a new pair out of the drawer and set them on the dresser. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the back of his collar and pulled the shirt over his head. Gooseflesh instantly broke out over his skin and he shivered, but he wasn't sure how much of the cold air was simply room temperature and how much was due to his ghost powers.

He didn't want to know.

He tossed his shirt in the general direction of the laundry bin and quickly pushed his arms through the pajama sleeves. He paused, hesitating as he looked at the barely-visible buttons. Fortunately, it was too dark to see the details of his chest, but it occurred to him that an unbuttoned shirt against a flat chest was actually…

Danny flushed to the tips of his ears. Shit, he was so not going to have a gay moment while looking at his own chest. He couldn't even see it, but he knew how he looked, he could easily picture—

"No!" Danny hit his head a couple times. "Stop, stop, stop!"

He closed his eyes and quickly tried to button the shirt by feel alone, muttering under his breath about how stupid he was being.

A few buttons in however, the muttering trailed off as Danny's blush deepened. He was Fenton and Phantom at the same time, and with each experience receiving dual reactions from his senses, it was too easy for the motions of his fingers to be interpreted as one buttoning the shirt of the other, especially when the colder tips of his fingers brushed against his warm skin.

Danny swore and left the last two buttons undone. He pressed his hands over his eyes and willed the fluttering sensation in his stomach to stop.

God, he was such a mess.

He didn't even want to try unzipping his pants. At this point, that was just asking for a disaster. Fortunately, as with most things in his life, this one could be solved with a little help from his ghost powers. Danny grabbed his waistband and pulled the jeans through his legs in one clean, fluid motion. He grinned, pleased to have so neatly side-stepped the zipper situation, but froze the next instant as the thought 'That was hot…' floated unwanted through his mind.

Danny made a small noise in protest but couldn't really deny—

Striping clothes off like that was—

Holy shit. He had a ghost kink.

"We are not," he said, "we are so not thinking about that. Ever."

He dropped the jeans on the floor and kicked them away as if they were personally responsible for the images running through his head. He couldn't stop himself from imagining what it would have been like if Phantom had done the same thing to Fenton's clothes during the practice sessions. They never would have done something like that to Valerie, but it had really stopped being about practice after the first few makeouts—

Danny, in the act of lifting his leg, froze with his foot poised over his pajama bottoms. "Wait…what?"

He managed to maintain his balance on one foot while he thought back to Saturday in more detail than before, but the muddled memories, emotions, and sensations were too intense when combined. There were too many sounds, too many touches shared, too many moments where their eyes opened at the same time during a kiss. Too much pleasure amplified by two.

Danny sucked in a startled breath. He flailed on one foot, his heart suddenly beating too fast, the muscles in his leg trembling. He lost his balance and pitched to the side only for his ghost powers to catch him at the last second.

Danny was already blushing thanks to the memories, but the flustered feeling in his gut intensified. He attempted to accept and ignore the feeling like he ignored everything else he couldn't change and simply used his ghost powers to right himself.

Because they were his ghost powers. He had caught himself. Not Phantom.

Well, kind of Phantom, because Danny was Phantom, but not like…not like Phantom catching Fenton. They weren't separate anymore, that couldn't happen.

Even if it felt like it had.

"Focus," Danny said to himself as he spread the waistband of his pajama bottoms again. "Focus. And stop thinking."

The act of pulling on pants was routine and a lot easier to do without looking than the buttons had been. It wasn't until Danny settled them around his waist and looked at the draw strings that he encountered the first obstacle…considered it…and decided it wasn't worth the risk. They would just come untied during the night anyway.

Fully clothed in proper sleepwear, Danny let out a relieved sigh. It was a small step towards normalcy, and it wasn't exactly a success, but it was still a step. Unfortunately, while he would need to change again tomorrow morning, changing before and after PE would be the true nightmare. Even if he skipped the locker room shower, Dash and his cronies would pounce on any odd behavior, particularly behavior like blushing and fumbling fingers.

Shit…

If last week had proved anything, Danny's best option was to simply go to sleep. Shut his mind off and just…not think about anything. It had helped align his thoughts last time, though not as successfully as he would have liked. The problem was that he was as wary of lying in bed when he felt…like a stranger occupied the same physical space he did as he had been about changing clothes.

But, quite frankly, he was exhausted. Emotionally, physically, mentally…

Danny navigated his way through the dark room, sat on his bed, criss-crossed his legs, and pushed his hands through his hair as he lowered his head. Tired as he was, he didn't think he could fall asleep. Whatever his human body felt, his mind was too active. Too excited. There was a restless energy just beneath the surface that made him feel too wired for sleep.

And he was afraid that the reason was because he was half Phantom now, and Phantom didn't need sleep. At all.

Danny groaned and flopped backwards, throwing his arms above his head. The hole Jack had blasted through Danny's wall was right above his bed, barely illuminated by the street light, but it appeared to be covered well enough with wood planks and tarp. It wasn't the first time Jack had blown a hole through a wall, so Danny knew the construction was just a temporary fix until his parents could get the stuff they needed to fix it. He trusted it would hold for the night. Hopefully. Probably.

There wouldn't even be a hole in the wall to fix if Phantom hadn't given in to his attraction. Danny brought a hand to his lips as Fenton had done upon waking up. The way Phantom had after he fled behind the neighbor's house. The kiss had been chaste, not nearly as passionate as the ones he and Fenton had shared on Saturday, but it had affected them more. The only one that truly compared was the very first one, the one that had spiraled out of control after they had stopped focusing on what was wrong and started doing what felt right.

Which was ridiculous because all of it was wrong.

Danny turned on his side, blowing out a frustrated breath through his nose. He needed to stop thinking about the ghost half of himself kissing his human half and vice versa or he really was going to lose his mind. He rolled onto his front and crawled to the headboard before flopping down with a sigh. He closed his eyes and snuggled into his pillow.

Rain pounded against the window as the wind shrieked around the walls, but inside the room, Phantom's familiar chill aura surrounded Fenton, the gentle dip in the mattress signifying how close he lay, his cold breathes breezing across Fenton's lips. If Fenton hadn't been so tired, he might have smiled. He wouldn't be alone. Not tonight. Warmth swelled in Fenton's chest as his breathing grew quieter, sleep overtaking him.

A barely-there pressure brushed across his cheek—

Danny jerked his head off the pillow and sat up, ignoring his suddenly red cheeks. Fenton's memories faded soon after that moment, but Phantom's were clear and full of emotions Danny wasn't prepared to examine. "Okay, how about some video games," he said to no one in particular as he scrambled off the bed. "Some nice, mindless video games with, like, shooting and violence and stuff."

---

Birds chirped outside, the scent of freshly watered earth heavy in the air. The newly born sunrise softened familiar cheekbones, highlighted Fenton's mussed black hair. He shifted on the bed, his lips parting as he turned on his back, and just like that, the peaceful atmosphere took on an enticing edge

A cold touch on his cheek, a warmth against his hand, both sensations mingling on their lips.

Blue eyes snapped open. Fenton and Phantom gasped and jerked their head and upper body off the desk so fast their chair tipped onto its back legs. Their alarm activated Phantom's powers, and they passed intangibly through the chair's backrest before crashing with a pained grunt onto the concrete floor. Their chair fell on top of them a second later. Laughter burst around the room despite none of the other students having seen what actually happened.

"Grapes of Wrath!" Lancer shouted over the laughter.

Fenton and Phantom pushed their chair off them and slowly began to pick themselves off the floor, careful to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on their knees. By the time they once again sat on their chair, Lancer had crossed the room and stood over their desk, frowning down at them.

Torn between sagging in defeat or smiling sheepishly at his teacher in apology, Danny did neither and simply blinked up at the man.

Lancer's frown deepened, the hard glint in his eyes softening. "Everything all right, Mr. Fenton?"

Fenton nodded and Phantom said "yes" at the same time. They—no, Danny furrowed his brow and shook his head, amending, "I-I'm fine. Just, um, tired."

Lancer hummed, but continued to eye him. "Any headaches? Dizziness? Nausea?"

He believes we might have a concussion.

Danny shook his head again, although the action made his headache worse. "I'm fine, Mr. Lancer, really."

Lancer's expression didn't change, but he seemed to accept his excuse (or the secretive nature of teenagers) because he returned to the front of the class, lecturing about…Puck? Hockey puck? Doubtful, but neither half of Danny was willing to listen past the pounding in his head. With Lancer's back turned, Danny sank in his seat until his shoulders pressed against the backrest.

He couldn't doze again with Lancer glancing in his direction every few minutes, but that was probably for the best. One tender dream about kissing himself was enough for one class hour, thank you. Danny crossed his arms over his chest and stared at his desk, at the tiny nicks in the polished surface and the crude pencil drawing of a penis in the corner. He quickly moved his gaze to the opposite corner.

Spoilsport.

Danny ground his teeth together. He wasn't teasing himself. Phantom and Fenton no longer existed, it was just him. The one and only.

He still moved his notebook over the drawing and very carefully resisted the smile he felt tugging at his lips.

Motion in the corner of his eye drew his attention to Tucker. His friend lowered the hand he had waved and mouthed, 'You okay?'

Danny nodded. Shrugged.

Tucker didn't look convinced, his eyebrows still pinched in worry, but Danny turned away. He looked out the window as Lancer droned on about Midsummer Night's dream. It had started to rain while he slept, and the rivulets on the window distorted the outside world in a way Danny could totally sympathize with. The sight made shivers race up his spine and made his chest feel tight, memories of his two halves lying in bed together pressing to the forefront of his mind, but it was better than enduring Tucker's or Sam's concerned gazes.

Besides, he could—reluctantly—admit the sensations and memories weren't…entirely unpleasant. A bit alarming and, admittedly, more than a little concerning, but…enjoyable. Once he got past the awkwardness of its source, anyway.

Of course, that could just be the exhaustion talking. Between Phantom's restless energy and Danny's fear, he had stayed awake well into the morning.

It had been a very long night.

Danny sighed explosively. Deciding he was too tired to care about Lancer's watchful eye, Danny scooted up his chair and laid his cheek on the desk again. Lancer continued to drone on, making it harder to hear the sound the rain made. Nevertheless, Danny found himself straining to hear it.

He didn't think he could listen to the rain or watch another meteor shower without some part of him remembering Fenton's warm body sitting on Phantom's lap or Phantom's cold arms wrapping around Fenton's waist or the two lying in bed together while a storm raged outside. He didn't think he could ever escape the prevailing thought he would never be alone again.

It was disgustingly sentimental, and Danny hated how the thought made his insides warm with pleasure.

"Dramatic irony is when the audience knows more than the characters in a story do," Lancer said, as unaware of Danny's inner conflict as ever, "thus causing the characters' words and actions to take on a different meaning for the audience. For example, throughout the play, we know the fairies make the characters fall in and out of love through magic and pranks, but the lovers are completely ignorant."

Danny blocked the rest of Lancer's lecture out. He didn't want to hear about people falling in love, even if fairies were the cause. That of course left only the rhythmic pounding of the rain on the glass and memories of his two halves lying in bed together, when a confusing mix of fondness, longing, and fear brought Phantom's forehead against Fenton's. When Phantom's chilled aura lulled Fenton into falling asleep in his presence a second time, the human half of Danny feeling tired, safe, and finally able to relax after a long day...

Riiiiing!

Fenton jerked his head off the desk and stared wide-eyed at the students standing up around him. "Wha?"

Sam raised an eyebrow at his confusion. "That was the bell, Danny. Time to go?"

"Oh," Fenton—Danny said, blinking rapidly. "Right." He stood and began gathering his scattered supplies. Where was his pencil?

On the floor.

Right.

Half the students had already left by the time Danny stood and looped his backpack through his arms. Sam and Tucker waited patiently by his desk, and as soon as he was ready, they left the room as quickly as possible. They were the last ones out, and although Lancer frowned and watched Danny leave, he didn't call him back to his desk. So it was a win. Freedom at last.

"Sooo," Tucker drawled, "rough night last night?"

Danny flinched but immediately tried to cover it by laughing. "Of course not! What makes you think that? I slept great! There were no ghosts, no disturbing dreams, nothing but a peaceful night. Alone. By myself. One hundred percent me. Alone." He glanced at his friends-Tucker's eyebrows had shot up and Sam's face had settled into a deadpan 'are you serious' expression. "Too much?"

Sam snorted. "Yeah."

"I can't tell if you're lying," Tucker said, "or just neck deep in some serious denial."

Both.

Danny clenched his teeth and ignored the goosebumps the cold voice inspired.

"You know," Sam said, leeching emotion from her voice, "if you're having a little difficulty after merging, you can talk to us. We won't judge."

No, Danny thought, and for once, both his halves were in complete agreement, I can't talk to you guys about it.

Telling Sam and Tucker might lead them to asking why they were struggling so much to unite as one Danny, and from there they might find out about the...that they had...

Kissed.

And that they had liked it. A lot. His friends didn't consider Danny a freak because of his ghost powers, but would they if he admitted to what he had done? To what he was feeling? Even coming out as bisexual to them was making his palms sweat, and that was just a part of the problem.

Danny kept his head down, shoulders slightly hunched. "I'm fine, guys..."

It was obviously a lie, and Sam sighed. Tucker shook his head. But they didn't press him, and that silent support no matter what his decision made the tense knot in his stomach ease. Fists he had unconsciously clenched around his shoulder straps relaxed their tight grip, and Danny smiled at the two of them, albeit a little shakily.

"So," he said, forcing his voice into lighter tone, "what are the plans for today?"

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you grounded?"

"Oh. Right..."

"I'll probably just hang out at my house," Sam said. "Work on homework, blast some Dumpty Humpty, get into an argument with my parents…the usual."

"You have a built in home theater and bowling alley in your house!" Tucker objected. "And that's all you've got planned?!"

"I can't exactly bowl by myself, now can I?" Sam shot back.

"But a TV the size of your wall," Tucker persisted, throwing his arms out to emphasize the width of the theater-sized screen. "And released movies that aren't even in theaters yet!"

"Which aren't nearly as exciting to watch by myself!"

Danny winced, but neither friend noticed. He walked a little faster, hoping to reach his locker before a full-scale debate could break out. He usually enjoyed Sam and Tucker's fencing as much as they did, but his head ached and he was tired.

"Then invite me over!"

Danny stumbled half a step and huffed out a startled breath of air. That was an unexpected turn.

"Fine!" Sam shouted back. "But we're bowling so I can kick your ass!"

Did we miss something?

Danny shook his head. It actually wasn't that surprising. Tucker and Sam hung out all the time together, especially when he was busy either ghost hunting or stuck with his family. And since he had been spending more time with Valerie (and himself) than Tucker and Sam lately, they had probably been hanging out more often.

No, we missed something.

Danny clenched his teeth and ignored Phantom's voice. His voice. He was Phantom. Had always been Phantom—no, wait, Phantom had always been Danny and...

His head throbbed painfully, and Danny placed a hand over his eye.

"Still got that headache?" Tucker asked, frowning at Danny in concern.

"'M fine," he muttered through his teeth. "Just comes and goes a lot."

"Seems to come more than it goes," Sam said dryly.

Danny mumbled something incomprehensible.

The crowd finally thinned in front of them, giving the trio a direct line of sight to their lockers. Sam and Tucker branched off to go to theirs, but Danny froze in place. The heavy flow of teenagers eager to escape school wouldn't abide somebody standing in the middle of the hallway, and a shove to his back quickly got Danny moving towards his locker again. More specifically, moving towards Valerie who leaned against the locker beside his.

Valerie had her arms crossed over her chest as she frowned down at the floor, but at Danny's approach, she looked up. Her expression didn't change. "Fenton."

Danny froze. Did she know...?

She often calls us 'Fenton'.

Oh. Right. Danny cleared his throat and nodded in greeting. "Valerie."

He felt incredibly awkward. Too much like Fenton. If there was ever a time for his Phantom personality to become the dominant personality, now would be it.

...Minus the transformation.

...Probably better to avoid that possibility all together, actually.

"I was wondering if you wanted to walk to your house together."

Danny blinked, hesitating. "Uh, why? I'm grounded."

"Because your parents decided to start my 'training' immediately," she said, disdain dripping from her tone. "Which you would have known about if you hadn't run off last night."

Danny winced. He had known avoiding Valerie would land him in hot water with her, but considering how awful his night had been anyway, he didn't regret it. Even if that meant he had to do damage control while he was sleep deprived.

He slumped his shoulders. "Right. Sorry. I—"

Valerie held up a hand to stop him. "Not here." Danny closed his mouth and frowned. Valerie rolled her eyes. "Look around, Danny."

He did, but his head was throbbing again, and it took him a second to realize people were looking in their direction. Watching them. He stiffened. Jazz had checked the newspaper to make sure Fenton and Phantom hadn't been photographed together on the weekend, and she had given the all clear, but what if—no they were looking at Valerie too. His parents hadn't given away her secret...had they?

A little further down the hall, he saw Starr staring at him with her lips pursed.

He shifted uncomfortably. "Um..."

"They're just hoping for some drama," Valerie said as she glared at the people around them. Most looked away or pretended they hadn't been staring in the first place. "They're still talking about that picture of Phantom flying into your room, and they know how I feel about him."

Still? Danny thought in despair. It's been three days!

I have a very dedicated fan base.

"They're hoping I'll fight with you about it and they'll be able to overhear if you admit it."

Danny swallowed. "Admit what?"

"That you know Phantom." Valerie's lips thinned. "I want an answer myself, but that's something we should talk about out of earshot of everyone else."

Danny stared at her, a little wide-eyed. "It's raining," he pointed out weakly. Valerie raised an eyebrow and moved her leg to the side, bringing Danny's attention to the umbrella leaning against the lockers beside her. "Oh. Right."

Valerie grabbed her umbrella and stepped aside so Danny could more easily reach his locker. He sighed as subtly as he could and moved forward to unlock the combination. He only needed his jacket and history book. He hadn't thought to bring an umbrella. He opened the locker, and with the door temporarily between him and Valerie, Danny closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

If he messed this up, if he let his ghost powers show in front of Valerie, he could end up single. Or dead. If there was ever a moment he needed to be wholly united, it was now.

Danny stuffed his history book into his backpack, set it on the floor, and then shrugged on his jacket. It would be his best defense if he started to lose control of Phantom's powers. He turned to Valerie and smiled as he looped his arms through his backpack straps again. "Ready to brave the storm when you are."

Valerie raised an eyebrow, and for a moment it looked like she wanted to smile too, but something was holding her back. She offered her hand instead. He took it, and together they joined the flow of students heading for the doors. Danny glanced back at Tucker and Sam and managed to make eye-contact. Tucker flashed him two thumbs up and a wide smile while Sam mouthed 'Be careful'.

A stream of students blocked his view of his friends, and Danny breathed out through his nose, facing forward again as his mind raced.

Most of the students made a mad dash for the buses as soon as they got outside, but Danny and Valerie stepped off to the side out of everyone's way just inside the entryway so Valerie could let go of Danny's hand and open her umbrella. As the rain pounded against the door windows, Danny pulled his hood as far over his head as possible, tensing as his heart did an odd little flutter.

Rain pelted the window and roof, a sharp noise like pebbles thrown from the sky. Fenton groaned and buried his face deeper into Phantom's shoulder, woke enough to feel Phantom's arms pull him more securely against the ghost's chest. His lips formed a tiny smile as he dozed again, lulled by the noise and Phantom's familiar chill aura.

Danny shivered and clutched his backpack strap. Valerie pushed her umbrella through the doors, stepped outside, and then held the door open for Danny. As soon as they were clear, they intertwined their free hands and marched through the downpour, too many students running past them to risk talking.

Danny couldn't have spoken anyway. Not when he could smell the rain, could feel it soaking into his clothes and hear it plopping onto the wet pavement. It was too familiar. Too memorable.

By the time Phantom caught up to Fenton, they were both soaked from the rain. It meant nothing to Phantom's black, skin-tight suit, but Danny's white shirt had turned nearly transparent. It clung to his torso whereas his jeans hung off his waist, teasing Phantom with the barest hint of a red waistband. Fenton's face was angled down even as he stared at Phantom, desperate to know he had not messed things up for them. He kept brushing his wet bangs out of his eyes, but he didn't lift his chin, even as he scowled, trying to hide his confusion when Phantom didn't blame him.

Of the two of them, Fenton had gone against his nature the most, trying to make the date work and learn to kiss despite how uncomfortable and out of his depth he felt. And Phantom realized he wanted to do something for Fenton for once. Something that would make Fenton smile and not regret the day they had spent together.

Danny had enough sense not to clutch Valerie's hand, but he all but strangled his backpack strap. Despite the rain and the chill wind, his cheeks burned from his blush.

But Fenton had looked good...

Shit.

By this point, he and Valerie had passed the line of buses, so Danny stepped closer to his girlfriend, halfway under her umbrella, and raised his voice to be heard over the rain drops drumming against the canopy. "I have a few questions myself. How about we take turns?"

Valerie moved her umbrella to cover him more and tilted her head, arching an eyebrow. "I'll answer truthfully if you do."

Ouch.

Danny smiled, though his stomach twisted. "Sounds good."

"Then my first question." Valerie took a deep breath. "Are you upset with me?"

Danny, halfway through mentally preparing an explanation for Fenton's and Phantom's behavior the previous night, froze with his mouth partially open. "Uh?"

"You've been avoiding me ever since you found out about my secret." She didn't look at him, her eyes narrowed and fixed on the path ahead of them. "It's not that hard to figure out. I hunt ghosts just like your parents, and I've been blowing off our dates to do it. I've been lying to you. Of course you're upset; I just hadn't thought you would run away like that."

"I..." Danny's mouth hung open, half-closing around words that weren't properly forming in his mind. Two responses warred within him until, finally, he managed to force out, "I wasn't avoiding you." Valerie snorted. "I wasn't! I just needed to think." Which was true, even if it wasn't about Valerie. "A lot happened last night..."

Valerie sighed deeply. "You can say that again."

For a moment, the only noise between them was the rain drumming against Valerie's umbrella and Danny's jacket, the two teenagers thinking about the events of the previous night and the huge mess that had resulted. Valerie's exposure was pretty big...but Danny's thoughts circled around his two halves and the merging. It was hard to think about Valerie's secret—something he had actually known about for two years—when he was in the middle of an existential crisis.

"You didn't answer my question," Valerie said over the rain. "Are you mad at me?"

This time, the answer came more readily to his lips, and if his eyes burned a little, he kept them focused on the ground and angled slightly away from Valerie. No need to take chances. "Not mad, no. Worried, amazed, and a little tempted to wrap you in bubble wrap, sure, but not mad." His lips tugged into a smile. "I did say the Red Huntress was really cool during our date, didn't I?"

"That was before you found out you were dating her," Valerie responded. There was less tension in her voice, though, and her hand gave Danny's a brief squeeze. "It puts a different spin on things."

"Not so different that it'd change my opinion." The burn in his eyes subsided, and Danny took the chance to meet Valerie's eyes and grin. "Besides, how many guys can say they have a superhero girlfriend?"

She laughed lightly, and Danny thought her cheeks might have reddened a bit. "Not even you can say that, Danny. I'm not a hero."

"You were my hero yesterday," he said softly. His unoccupied hand tingled suspiciously, and he stuffed it into his pocket, bit his lip, and added as the sensation faded, "But don't count me out, next time. I can handle a ghost fight."

Valerie raised an eyebrow. "You could have handled two ghosts by yourself?"

"One ghost," he corrected. "And I wasn't exactly by myself."

"Ah." The smile vanished from Valerie's face and her gaze hardened. "Of course. Phantom was protecting you."

"Yeah." Danny pressed his lips into a thin line because a fluttering sensation in his stomach made him want to smile and that was...a problem. He didn't even know which part of himself was causing it. "He was."

Valerie grunted, a short, sharp sound that voiced her disagreement without words.

A part of Danny knew he shouldn't ask, but it was something they needed to know. He needed to know, if he was ever going to tell her his own secret. "Do you hate him?"

Valerie's lips thinned as she clenched her jaw. "It's complicated."

"Why?"

A rebellious spark appeared in her eyes as she lifted her chin, and for a moment, Danny wondered if she was going to claim he'd already asked his question. But then she let her breath out in a sigh. "I used to hate him, but if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be who I am. And I like who I am better than who I was. I know who my real friends are, I'm earning my own money instead of living off my dad's, and I'm the greatest ghost hunter this city has. I have Phantom to thank for all of that."

"...But?"

"But he did cost Daddy his job and it's because of him I live in a crummy apartment we're struggling to pay rent for instead of the house my parents bought together. He's the ghost that turned my life upside down. It's easy to blame him when things go wrong. More importantly though, he's hiding something."

Danny's gaze darted to her face and then away just as quickly. "What makes you say that?"

A bus drove past them, spraying water around the wheels that only barely missed the sidewalk. Worse, the bus produced a harsh gust of wind that buffeted Danny and Valerie. They braced against each other until the wind calmed. Danny looked over his shoulder to see if any more buses were coming, but most appeared to be driving straight rather than turning down the quieter street him and Valerie had.

Valerie started walking again, and Danny followed. Although his stomach was tying itself into knots, he didn't press her to continue, afraid of arousing suspicion. Had she figured it out? What did she think he was hiding?

Finally, Valerie said, "He has a cousin, did you know that? A little girl about two years younger than us." She chuckled to herself. "She's adorable and spunky, and I kind of wish she could have stuck around longer. She has a...condition that makes her a little unstable. And Phantom, he's...even when I was..." she took a deep breath, "torturing him for information, all he could think about was saving her from somebody, making sure she was okay."

Danny kept his head down.

"We made a deal where we would work together to save her and then Phantom would surrender himself to me and tell me everything I wanted to know. I thought he would just disappear afterward, but Danielle flew off safely, and as soon as she was out of sight, Phantom held out his hands to be cuffed." Valerie kicked a loose stone. It skipped over the soaked concrete before splashing into a puddle. "After everything, I couldn't do it. I let him go."

"That must have been hard," Danny said, a bit hesitant.

"Not really. It felt right. At the time." Her eyes narrowed. "I don't think he's evil, and I don't hate him anymore, but every time I try to get close, to find out more about him, he evades. He's hiding something from me, I know he is. Maybe I could let that go, but now he's targeting you."

Danny jerked reflexively. "Uh..."

"Between the newspaper, the way you've been acting this past week, and what happened last night, it's not hard to figure out." She looked at him, her eyes hard and serious. "So tell me truthfully, Fenton. Do you know him? Or is he trying to get at me through you?"

"Uh..." Startled, whatever response he had prepared before their walk began splintered into pieces. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came. Nothing coherent formed in his mind. He couldn't deny it because then she would hate Phantom all over again, but he couldn't fabricate a lie without Valerie hating Danny when she found out the whole truth. He couldn't tell her the whole truth because then she would ask about seeing them together the other day and that would eventually lead to her finding out he had kissed himself, which was bad but not as bad as developing feelings for each other.

What could he say?

Valerie narrowed her eyes. "Is he holding something over you?"

"No," Danny managed to force out. He wanted to explain further, but his thoughts whirled from one tangent to another.

What could he say?

Valerie hardened her voice. "Then what is going on?"

She sounded less like his girlfriend and more like the ghost hunter who hunted his alter ego. A chill began to spread through Danny, and it was exactly the last thing they needed because if they transformed in front of her—

But if they didn't think of something to say—

Danny pinched his eyes closed. He focused on his racing heart, the nervousness twisting his stomach. Let me handle this. Then, a little desperate, Please. We can-I can-

The chill subsided, but the alarm remained, along with a wariness that felt...alien. He shivered.

"I…" He drew air in through his mouth and let it out in a rush. "I don't know."

"How can you not know?" Valerie demanded.

He helplessly shrugged his shoulders. "Uh, well, you're asking the wrong person. I mean…" He felt a hysterical laugh bubble up in his chest, but he suppressed it. Now really wasn't the time to have an identity crisis. He smiled a little crookedly at her. "Who can say why a ghost does anything? But I don't think he's using me to get at you."

She stared at him, dark green eyes intent on his face. "Because you know him."

"Well, we're not, like, friends or anything."

"It's a yes or no question, Fenton."

"It's a complicated answer, Valerie."

"Why?"

"Because I...I thought I knew him but now I'm," he hesitated, reluctant to admit a truth he still hadn't come to grips with himself, "not sure..." To his discomfort, his voice sounded as lost and confused as the rest of him felt. Valerie continued to watch him with narrowed eyes, but at his tone, her eyebrows began to pinch together in concern. Taking a chance, Danny asked, "Did you ever think you knew someone only to realize they weren't who you thought they were?"

Valerie pursed her lips. After a few seconds of silence, her eyes softened. "Well," she drawled, one corner of her lips curling into a smile, "there was this one guy who was a complete jerk during a school project…"

Danny's own smile felt more natural than the others as both halves of himself relaxed. "The guy paired with that one girl who insisted she was too busy to care for their child instead of just admitting she was working one of the worst jobs ever?"

"It was humiliating!" Valerie protested. "Besides, I was also hunting ghosts."

"Oh really?" Danny asked, feigning surprise. "How long ago did you start?"

"Right after my dad lost his position and we moved to Elmerton."

"Wow. So...what's your origin?"

"My what?"

"You know, your origin story? How you became a superhero? All the heroes have one."

"I'm not a hero," she denied immediately, but she fell silent after that and turned her head away from him.

Danny frowned at her as Valerie's shoulders hunched slightly inward. While they had never known for sure, him, Sam, and Tucker, had suspected Vlad had something to do with Valerie's appearance on the ghost hunting field, especially after the invasion by Pariah Dark's forces. It was just Vlad's style to prey on someone who had fallen on misfortune, just as he had tried to benefit from Danny's confusion over his powers. But they couldn't deny Valerie might have been desperate enough for Vlad's money and charm to willingly or unknowingly become his pawn after she became the Red Huntress.

"My dad made my first suit after Phantom's dog attacked Axiom Labs," Valerie finally said, her light tone at odds with her posture. "Of course, he didn't mean for me to use it, but after Axiom Labs rejected it..."

Danny nodded slowly. "Your dad...?"

Valerie looked at him again, and this time there was something vulnerable in her eyes that made the gentle tingle of Phantom's powers buzz beneath Danny's skin. But then the wall slammed down as she straightened her shoulders and beamed at him. "Of course! He's a great inventor."

Danny blinked, torn. After a second too long, he laughed. "I'll say! That first suit was pretty cool. Don't tell my folks, though, or they'll never let you guys go."

"Noted," Valerie said, smiling, but the humor in her voice rang hollow.

She fell silent immediately after, and Danny, concerned and confused, didn't push. He didn't know what to say. Neither half of him did. There was something bothering her, something about how she became a ghost hunter. A small part of Danny hoped she was rethinking her rigid stance on ghosts after having met Danielle, but if that had been the case, she wouldn't still be so distrustful of Phantom.

There was one way he knew to lighten the mood, however, courtesy of Phantom and Fenton's time together.

Danny grinned and nudged Valerie's shoulder with his own. "Now that the rain is stopping, could you fly us the rest of the way? Perks of dating a superhero?"

Valerie raised an eyebrow. "So people can see Danny Fenton hanging out with the Red Huntress too? Isn't Danny Phantom enough?"

"Well, maybe people will finally make the connection that I'm the son of ghost hunters. Meeting ghosts and ghost hunters is bound to happen."

Valerie continued to hesitate, but an excited gleam was appearing in her eyes. "I have an identity to protect, Fenton."

"Well, you're going to be working with my parents soon, right? They're going to want to bring us out into the field at some point. Do you want to be seen training with them as the Huntress or Valerie?"

She pursed her lips. "I hadn't thought about that."

Danny didn't say anything else as Valerie thought, not wanting to pressure her, but he didn't have to. Her lips were already gaining an eager grin.

"If anyone asks," she said, her hand squeezing his, "I just saved you from a ghost."

"What?"

Valerie yanked Danny into an alley. He stumbled after her, too surprised to maintain his footing. The rain, now a light drizzle, was almost nonexistent between the two buildings, but stagnant puddles gathered on either side of the alley and gave it an unpleasant odor. Halfway through, Valerie released Danny's hand and turned to face him, grinning. She half-closed her eyes, her grin becoming wicked.

"Fold this," she said, passing the umbrella into Danny's hands.

He did so, briefly looking at the umbrella as he folded it before frowning at Valerie. "Are you going to..." he trailed off, his mouth working silently as he tried to find the right word. 'Transform' wasn't right because she didn't actually alter her form, not the way Danny did, but he also didn't think her suit worked the same way her old one had. "...change?" he finished, a bit lamely.

Valerie chuckled and spread her arms out. "Stand back, Danny."

Danny had never truly seen Valerie change into the Red Huntress, but he had theories. Fantasies. Daydreams.

He hadn't expected lightning to be involved.

The first few bolts swirled between him and Valerie, and Danny flinched back. The umbrella fell through his hands. His skin prickled from the electric charge, his heart beating too fast, his vision of Valerie's eyes lost as the purple energy surrounded her and green energy flashed in his eyes.

The cold sensation of ectoplasm suddenly coursing through his veins as his skin burned, electricity surging around him, illuminating the once-dark tunnel in shades of toxic green. His heart beating erratically, oddly, strangely, the scent of ozone and agonized screams-

Two screams?

He blinked as the electricity surrounding Valerie began to dissipate, leaving behind black and red armor that encased her from head to toe.

Danny gaped a few seconds too long as his head ached. Finally, he forced himself to whisper, "Whoa."

Valerie beamed, the sight just visible through the tinted glass of her faceplate. She didn't seem to notice how shaky he was. Danny subtly tried to hide his intangible arms behind his back.

"Pretty sweet, huh?" she said.

He forced a smile. "Electric."

She chuckled at his pun, which was fortunate because Danny didn't think he could string two words together yet without vomiting.

Note to self, he thought, don't ever stand near Valerie when she transforms.

Noted.

Danny bent down to pick up the umbrella, hoping to buy himself some time, but as he did so, another stray thought crossed his mind.

She activated my ghost sense.

He paused. He stared at his trembling hand as he thought back to the last few seconds, but all he could remember seeing was the portal. The accident. It wasn't until his fingers closed on the iced-over handle of the umbrella and felt the ice melting beneath his heated skin that he remembered seeing the cold wisp of his ghost sense.

He stood up slowly. His hands were still shaking, he felt like he was going to be sick, but if he showed any hint that something was wrong, Valerie might suspect Phantom. He couldn't even spare the time to worry about what effects the suit might have on Valerie because his ghost side would likely breech whatever flimsy barriers were still in place.

He had to act normal.

"Does it hurt?"

If his voice sounded too high, his tone slightly off, Valerie didn't comment on it. She shrugged. "A few tingles here and there, a bit cold. It doesn't hurt." She held up a hand and curled it into a fist, smirking as the material moved like a second skin over her fingers. "Not me, anyway."

Danny nodded and forced his smile to spread a little wider. "It's wicked."

She grinned back at him. "Deadly."

His grin faltered. He broke eye contact and looked around Valerie's feet. "Uh, what about your board?"

"Cover your eyes," she warned.

Danny tensed as more electricity gathered around the soles of her boots. Light flashed, and Danny quickly looked away, raising an arm to shield his eyes. When the light faded, he cautiously lowered it and stared at the red and black hoverboard floating at least three feet off the ground.

Valerie lowered the board until she was only a few inches off the ground. She bent her knees slightly and held her hand out to Danny. "Ready to fly, Danny?"

Danny couldn't restrain a small, ironic laugh. "Always."

He grabbed her hand, and Valerie pulled him onto the board behind her. He settled his feet easily enough, but as soon as it came time to hold on, he stared at Valerie's back, hesitating. "Um..."

"You're gonna want to hold on," Valerie called over her shoulder, sounding amused as she commanded the board to float higher.

"Right," Danny said, his eyes darting to her shoulders and then back to her waist. His mind was too torn for quick decisions like this. "Right."

Valerie angled her board into a more vertical angle, causing Danny to slip backwards. He yelped and threw himself forward, locking his arms around Valerie's waist more out of instinct than conscious decision. She laughed, the last sound Danny heard before they rocketed into the sky.

Chapter Text

---

A lie may take care of the present, but it has no future - Unknown

---

Valerie shot into the sky, the wind and her boyfriend screaming in her ear. She cleared the buildings on either side of them within seconds and had to fight the turbulence just above the roofs to keep her board flying straight. It was a familiar battle for her, but Danny's arms tightened around her waist as the board rattled beneath their feet.

"Holy shit!" he cried.

Valerie laughed. "Too much for you?"

Danny shook his head, but Valerie was already allowing a sudden downdraft to push her board into a short dive that made her passenger yelp. She righted her board soon after and pushed it to begin climbing again.

"Is it always so windy?"

Already impressed he wasn't begging her to set him down again, Valerie grinned and placed a hand on Danny's arms. "Always. Don't let go."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Unlike ghosts, there were natural laws Valerie had to observe whenever she took to the skies, and by this point in her career, she knew how to surf the air currents as well as any surfer on the ocean. She banked into the rough winds the buildings created, dove with the downdrafts, rose with the updrafts, and twisted her board into rolls whenever the wind would allow.

All throughout, Danny's arms remained locked around her waist, alternatively tightening and loosening with her maneuvers. After that first terrified shout, he never screamed. In fact, to her delight, Danny soon brought his head beside hers and yelled over the wind, "Can you go faster?"

She beamed. She didn't know how Paulina and the others had been fooled into believing Danny a coward when he clearly had more courage than the entire A-list combined.

"Hold on!" she yelled back.

Instead of accelerating her speed in a straight line, Valerie angled her board upward and shot higher into the sky. Danny buried his head in her shoulder, but he didn't cry out. Little rain drops splashed against her visor, not so much impeding her vision as reminding her to be mindful of the weather. She squeezed Danny's arm reassuringly. It was a long flight to reach the height she wanted, but she didn't dare fly any faster with a passenger in this weather.

And anyway, she liked how tightly Danny was holding on to her.

She leveled out and coasted to a stop just below the clouds. The rain had slackened considerably since they left the school, but it still drizzled from the clouds, and she didn't want to risk flying into them. Not with Danny there. He was new to flying, had only his grip around her waist to keep him safe, and he—

Danny's arms fell away as he stepped back. Surprised, she hurriedly held out a hand out to steady him, but he didn't seem to notice. The wind was fierce just below the clouds. Her board accounted for the turbulence well enough, and Valerie's boots were magnetically attached to her board, but Danny wobbled slightly, his jeans and the loose folds of his jacket pulling tight against his slight frame. Yet despite his precarious balance, Danny shuffled to the edge of the board, looked down at the city far, far below and…smiled.

Valerie frowned. It wasn't quite the reaction she had expected. Or hoped for. She looked down herself. The buildings had shrunk to the size of Lego constructions, the streets nearly indefinable. Any sane human would have freaked out or at least moved closer to Valerie. Maybe dropped to their knees to reduce wind drag.

Danny looked…fond.

A sneaking suspicion crept into her mind. "You've been up here before, haven't you?" she asked, raising her voice to be heard over the wind.

Danny turned wide blue eyes on her, the wind blowing his black around his face now that he had turned his back on the wind. "What? No. How would I—"

"Phantom."

Danny was never very good at lying. Valerie watched him flounder for a response, his mouth open but voiceless. Valerie turned away, feeling bitterly disappointed. She didn't know how deeply the connection between him and Phantom went, Danny seemed too confused himself to give a straight answer but there was something there. She'd heard it.

The sound of Phantom's voice screaming at Danny to move haunted her as if it were its own ghost. Phantom had always been emotional for one of his kind, but that shout held more fear for Danny than a mere acquaintance could account for. When she and Phantom had made their truce, the explicit goal was to keep Danny safe from Skulker. At the time she had assumed it was mostly for her that Phantom offered. But that shout…

And now, it seemed, Phantom had been the first one to share the skies with Danny. It could have been Valerie, it would have been her if she hadn't been too afraid to trust him with the secret that would have allowed her to do the same.

Danny's hand grabbed her shoulder. She couldn't feel his body heat through the armor plating, but she felt the slight pressure as he squeezed. Just the right amount of pressure to be felt through the strange metal. "Val, whether I've been up here before or not doesn't matter. Now is the first time I've been up here with you."

She looked over her shoulder. Danny smiled softly at her, a sweet expression that was hard for her to resist. She smiled back, pushing her resentment aside. For now. "You wanted to see how fast I could fly, right?"

Danny's eyebrows shot up and his gaze darted back to the ground far, far, far below them. His mouth formed an 'O' of dawning realization.

Valerie grinned. "Just like riding a roller coaster."

Danny threw an incredulous look her way. "Roller coasters have safety bars."

Valerie half-lidded her eyes and twisted her lips to form a more mischievous grin. "Stand in front of me and I'll hold onto you this time. Is that safety bar enough for you?"

His cheeks gained a rosy color, less from the tease, she thought, and more from her proposed positioning. "Oh, uh, right. Right."

"I can fly us down more slowly," she offered, trying to soften her voice, but it wasn't easy. This was her. She loved pushing herself to the extreme, daring the world to throw everything it had at her. If Danny couldn't handle it…

Danny's eyebrows knit over his forehead as he frowned at the ground. He straightened his shoulders and grinned at her, though Valerie could tell he was more determined than eager. "Let's do it."

Valerie gestured for him to move in front of her. His grin faltered and his blush regained its hue, but he cautiously edged around her and stood at the front of the board, just shy of where the prongs split down the middle. Valerie pressed against his back and wrapped her arms around his chest. She felt him gulp and couldn't help smiling.

"You ready, Fenton?" she asked sweetly.

"Ready," he said, his voice cracking. Valerie allowed the two tips of her board to dip down, and Danny's hands latched onto hers. "Oh my god," he croaked, only heard because Valerie's helmet pressed against the side of his head.

Valerie laughed. "We haven't even started."

"That's not the problem," Danny whispered, likely not intending Valerie's helmet speakers to pick up on the quiet words.

Valerie edged the board further forward, hissed one last warning to Danny, and pitched the board into its dive. Danny screamed, full of terror. Excitement. The wind ripped it from his lips. The force of their flight shoved Danny into her, straining Valerie's muscles as she held her ground for both of them. She clutched Danny as tightly to her chest as he squeezed her hands. They were halfway to the ground, the buildings rapidly growing in size, when Danny's scream tapered off into a howl of laughter. His hold on her hands loosened, and he stretched his neck out as far as the inertia would allow him. This further sign of Danny's bravery made Valerie let out her own joyful shouts. She turned her board just slightly, causing their flight to circle as they descended. Danny tightened his grip, the twists causing him to fall against Valerie's right arm, but he adjusted quickly, shifting his footing to remove some of the burden from her arm. He started laughing again.

Valerie tucked her chin between his neck and shoulder and hugged him to her. Danny wouldn't be able to tell the difference between her 'safety-bar' hold and her hug, but she knew.

She should have shared this part of herself with Danny ages ago.

She eased the nose of her board up, leveling their flight until they were once again flying straight. Below the roof of most of the buildings but well above the streets, Valerie guided her board towards Fenton Works, now farther away than when they had started. Danny didn't seem to mind. He shouted above the wind out of sheer excitement at their speed, and Valerie laughed.

Unfortunately, they were close enough to the ground people might notice how close the Red Huntress and Danny Fenton stood. Their velocity was slowing, so Valerie stepped away from Danny's back. Danny glanced over his shoulder at her, the wind wiping his hair into his eyes. He loosened his grip on her hands as she moved them to his shoulders.

"Val?" he shouted in question.

Valerie smiled, though she didn't think he could see it through his hair and her visor. "Don't want people thinking your cheating on me with myself!"

His eyes widened and it looked as though his cheeks colored. He jerked his head back into place. "Yeah!" he shouted, his voice sounding strained. "That…that would be bad, wouldn't it?"

They arrived at Fenton Works soon after, but they still had a little too much velocity to safely stop. Valerie flew around the Op Center a few times, Danny shifting his weight to accommodate the sharp turns. He was a fast learner.

Valerie flew lower as they slowed until she hovered in place a foot or two above the backyard. Danny jumped down easily. His legs didn't even wobble, though Valerie's had for weeks after she had first started flying. He looked back up at her, lips curled into an exhilarated smile, and for a moment, Valerie thought she saw green in his eyes.

It was probably a trick of the light.

"That was amazing!" he shouted.

Valerie grinned, but a more cynical part of her wondered if flying with Phantom would have excited him just as much. Maybe the reason he was so brave was because Phantom had helped him overcome that fear already. It was an unpleasant thought, and she quickly shoved it aside. She dismissed her board and dropped onto the ground beside Danny as it vanished.

"I always thought so." She stretched her arms above her head. She had never flown with a passenger before, and the slight burn from her muscles surprised her. "This suit is a lot faster than my old one, though. It was even able to fly me into space."

She expected him to bombard her with questions about what space had been like after that, space nerd that he was, but while his blue eyes did light up, it wasn't for the reason she expected.

"Do you realize that means you had to be flying at least seven miles a second?" he asked, practically standing up on the balls of his feet, and suddenly Valerie could see the family resemblance. "The G-force alone must have been killer!"

"I barely felt it, actually." She patted her chest piece. "This suit must nullify it somehow. I haven't experienced any vertigo or motion sickness since I got it."

It was adorable how excited her boyfriend looked as he breathed, "NASA," but Valerie had crazier Fentons to deal with that day. She had spent the whole day dreading her first day at 'training,' and while flying with Danny had certainly lifted her mood, Valerie still grimaced as she faced the Fentons' back door.

She didn't need training, it was a waste of time and degrading besides. It was only because of her age that Jack and Maddie thought she needed training at all. Her father would forever insist she wasn't ready, but the Fentons had respected her alter ego until the moment they learned she was the same age as Danny.

Danny came up beside her and nudged her arm. "Hey, they're mostly harmless. I think my dad just wants to show off his inventions to another ghost hunter."

Valerie pursed her lips. She could understand that. Grudgingly. "So long as they don't try to turn me into some sort of sidekick, we shouldn't have any problems."

Danny huffed a laugh. "As if you could ever be someone's sidekick."

She smiled back at him, but her stomach twisted. It wasn't such a huge leap from one man's pawn to someone else's sidekick. In some ways, only the word changed. The Fentons and Vlad had once been friends for a reason. She would have to remember that.

There was no more time for delay, however. Danny was already moving towards the door. Resigned, Valerie followed him.

The back door led into their small kitchen, and as Danny swung the door open, he called out that he was home and Valerie was with him. A crash resounded from the lab, and Valerie started, her muscles tensing.

"What was that?" she asked.

Danny unzipped his jacket and smiled apologetically at her. "Brace yourself."

"SHE'S HERE!" Jack shouted from the basement.

"Welcome home, sweetie!" Maddie said, only slightly quieter than Jack. "Come on down, your father and I are almost finished."

"Almost finished with what?" Valerie demanded, her voice high.

Danny shrugged. He slipped his backpack off his shoulders and set it on the table before pulling off his jacket and draping it over the back of a chair. "Probably some way to test you and your battle armor so they know what they're working with."

"You said they'd just want to show off their inventions."

"No, I said my dad probably just wants to show off his inventions. Mom is more interested in you and your suit's abilities. She'll be the one pushing you to your limits."

Valerie wrinkled her nose. "Great."

"It gives you a chance to show off," Danny pointed out, the dry tone of his voice slipping as he offered her a reassuring smile. "A chance to make them regret ever thinking you needed training."

Valerie couldn't help smiling back, her ire fading. "I knew there was a reason I liked you, Fenton."

For a moment, Danny's oddly colored eyes caught on hers, his smile faltering, but then another loud bang rang from the basement, and Danny abruptly broke eye-contract by bending down to untie his shoe before Valerie could ask why he had looked so startled. Not because of what she had said. He knew she liked him. He had to know. Sure, their first kiss had been a disaster, their date on Saturday a little odd, and finding out about her secret yesterday…

Okay, that was pretty major.

She reached down to touch his shoulder, her mouth already open to assure him she had only lied to protect him, but Danny spoke before her fingers could make contact.

"Go on ahead," he said, his fingers fumbling with the laces. "I need to take care of a few things first. And Mom and Dad are probably anxious to get started."

Valerie straightened and pursed her lips. Fine. She wouldn't push him. "Just don't take too long, Fenton. I could use some backup. They're a bit…"

Danny tilted his head to look up at her. "Intense?"

That was putting it politely, but Valerie nodded.

"I'll be quick," he promised.

Valerie sighed. The one good thing about training had been Danny's presence, but if he was going to insist on avoiding her again, there wasn't anything she could do, not without getting into a big fight, anyway. Valerie didn't want a fight. She just wanted Danny to stop acting like he was tip-toeing around her.

"Whatever," she said. "See you soon then." She moved toward the basement, her armored soles thumping against the tiles.

"See ya."

Valerie looked over her shoulder as she descended the stairs and saw Danny rubbing his forehead like he had a headache. She thinned her lips. Worried. Frustrated. But there were bigger concerns on her plate than Danny's insecurities, and she faced forward again.

The Fenton's basement-turned-lab had intimidated her the first time she saw it during the Ghost King's invasion, but now its rectangular shape and metal walls just seemed bland and small. Vlad's lab had more space, more finesse, but it had also felt darker, the atmosphere set by an innocent girl strapped to a metal slab. Jack caught sight of her and beamed. Behind him, Maddie fumbled with a metal ring half her size, but she managed to smile at her as well, and Valerie decided she preferred their crazy lab to Vlad's.

"Huntress!" Jack swiped something off the counter and charged towards Valerie, ignoring or not hearing his wife's "Jack!" as she tried maneuvering the metal ring without his guidance. "We call it the Ghost Gabber, and it was one of our first—"

"Jack!"

"Oh right!" Jack shoved the invention into Valerie's hands and ran back to help Maddie. "Sorry, Mads!"

Valerie looked down at the invention in her hands. It didn't look very destructive. It looked as if it had been built from spare parts. The speaker in the center could have come from an old stereo. She turned it around so the screen was facing her and the oddly shaped light bulbs gave her something to aim with, but unless the light bulbs were really lasers, she didn't see how it could help anyone fight ghosts.

Valerie looked up and watched the Fentons set the large ring against several others just like it that were leaning against the wall. There were a few boxes stacked on the ground beside them. She frowned and walked towards Danny's parents, setting the 'Ghost Gabber' on the counter as she passed.

"What is all this?

Jack perked up at her approach, but it was Maddie who answered first. "These are parts from our old obstacle course. We're going to build a new one to better suit you and Danny since the two of you will be training with us now." Her eyes were hidden behind reflective goggles, but her mouth was spread in an excited grin. "We'll need an accurate rating of your abilities, and a current measuring of Danny's after his latest growth spurt." Her smile softened, her voice warming as she spoke about her son. "He's getting so big…"

Valerie's lips twitched. Though Danny had grown to be the same height as his mom and certainly stood taller than Valerie as a result, if only by a couple inches, most of the guys at school still towered over him and would have laughed at the notion. He still fit in the lockers.

"I can't fly my board in here," Valerie pointed out. "Not at a good speed, anyway."

"Of course not," Maddie agreed. "That's why, while we're in the basement, we'll focus on fitness, aim, close quarters combat, tactics, ectoplasmic studies, and ghost theory."

Valerie lost her smile as the list grew.

"While in the field, we'll work on your speed and aim, show you and Danny how to work as a team, instruct you on how to approach a hostile target, how to locate a ghost—"

"Which is where the Fenton Finder comes in handy!" Jack crowed. He pushed forward with another invention, similar to the last, if a bit smaller. "It uses satellite data to locate the energy ghosts give off like a beacon and tracks those sneaky spooks down." He brandished it around in a sweeping arc.

Valerie frowned. Her current suit had to lock onto an ecto-signature, and the wrist alarm she had kept from her old suit alerted her when a ghost entered a certain proximity, but she never had anything that would allow her to see how many ghosts were in the city and where. If the Fenton Finder really used satellite data—and never mind how crazy that was—it was no wonder the Fentons kept breaking into odd places, claiming a ghost was around. She had thought they were just letting their paranoia get the better of them.

…Then again, they had broken into her class more times than she cared to count, and there definitely hadn't been a ghost. Her watch would have alerted her if one had gotten that close. Poor Danny had always looked like he wanted to disappear like a ghost afterward, though. The laughing students might have had something to do with that.

"Jack," Maddie said, sounding a little aggrieved, "we're still working on that. Remember how it…?"

"Oh." Jack straightened and his eyes widened. "Oh, right. Well." His grin regained its intensity. "There are still a few bugs to work out, but when this baby is done, there'll be nowhere for those spooks to hide!"

Valerie raised an eyebrow. "What bugs?"

Maddie waved a dismissive hand. "It has difficulty distinguishing ghosts from humans that have been in close proximity to ghosts and retain a charge from the radiation. We probably just have to adjust the sensor ratings, tweak the algorithm so it rejects lower-based radiation…although that might allow weaker ghosts to slip through the net…" She trailed off, her brows pinching together as she thought.

It made sense. The Fentons followed faulty equipment that insisted the kids in the school were ghosts, which led to them busting down walls or doors and jumping whatever student had last been attacked by a ghost. Ghosts were oddly drawn to the school, it wouldn't surprise Valerie if the students were contaminated by this point, but it still seemed ridiculous for supposed geniuses to mistake a human for a ghost.

Valerie breathed out a sigh. These were the adults who were supposed to train her.

"Let's get started," Maddie said brightly, clapping her hands. She looked around, as if finally realizing her son was missing. "Where's Danny?"

Valerie crossed her arms. "He said he would be down in a minute because he had to take care of a few things."

Maddie frowned, apparently as confused and displeased as Valerie. "I suppose we can start without him…"

Valerie shrugged, trying to demonstrate how unconcerned she was. "Fine by me. Let's get this over with."

---

Danny drank the last of the water in his glass and held it under the faucet to refill it again. He had already taken his bag up to his room, told Jazz he was home and that Valerie would be training as the Red Huntress so she couldn't join them no matter how much she pouted, used the bathroom as awkwardly and as quickly as possible, and now he was dallying at the kitchen sink, drinking his third glass of water. He had been stalling for almost half an hour, the procrastination was making his head ache so badly he thought he might throw up, but still he fought with himself, reluctant to go downstairs.

The lab was more dangerous than ever with three hunters training down there and his powers reacting to every positive response Valerie sent his way. His secret could be exposed in minutes, and then what was he going to do? Explain to his parents and Valerie that he wasn't possessed by Phantom and hope by some miracle they believed him? He would be forced to tell them the whole story just to appease them, every embarrassing detail about the weekend before because they had seen Fenton and Phantom as separate people and would want to know how and—worst of all—why.

At the same time, he had already messed up with Valerie the night before, he couldn't abandon her again. If she needed him, wanted his company, he needed to be there for her. Even stealing the time to compose himself probably hurt her, but it was either create a little distance or let Phantom's swooning ruin everything.

Danny frowned. "I wasn't swooning." The fond look in Valerie's eyes when she joked about liking him might have made him feel weak-kneed, but he hadn't swooned.

Bottom line, he needed to face his parents and Valerie or things were going to get worse. He just needed to keep himself together. Sure, Valerie was downstairs and would likely look amazing as she showed off her skills, but Jack and Maddie were supposed to be training Danny too. Maybe he would be too distracted for Phantom to notice Valerie. Maybe his Fenton half would enjoy training so much he wouldn't get nervous. Maybe everything would turn out all right.

"Yeah right," Danny muttered as he refilled his glass. "Not with my luck."

It was just something he had to do. He might not want to, he might be scared, but what else was new? That had been his life for the past two years. He walked toward the stairs, glass in hand, and tried to stifle his anxiety with the same determination he used every time he had to fight a powerful ghost at three in the morning. Because what else was new?

His headache ebbed, and Danny paused at the top of the stairs. The headache, the ever-present pressure in his head that had haunted him since the merge and had gotten worse just a few minutes ago was…gone? Just like that?

Just like that…

Slowly, cautiously, Danny allowed himself a small, triumphant smile. It was one more success, one more piece to the puzzle that would help him understand and overcome the incomplete merge. Because…duh! His head hurt every time the two halves of himself warred with each other, but if he could find the middle ground, the compromise between the lover and the fighter, the suave and the awkward, he would find himself.

He could do this.

Danny took a drink from his glass as he descended the stairs. His mom shouted at his dad to wait, but the warning came too late for Danny's reflexes to react in time.

His human reflexes.

Eyes burning, limbs suddenly shot with cold, Danny dropped his glass and caught the Booomerang between his hands.

He stared at the invention he held, wide eyes crossed, as his mom scolded Jack and Valerie's voice rose to ask what the problem was. Only then did Danny realize he had stopped breathing. He sucked in a deep breath, the cold tingling sensation in his limbs dissipating as his lungs filled, but the concern remained, directed at himself as if he was…Fenton.

Danny dropped the Booomerang and stepped back—onto the water that had spilled from his cup and turned to ice. He tripped backwards on the stairs, gasping, and like the night before, his powers activated and saved him from banging his head against the metal steps moments before impact.

The concern amplified. It was coming from himself but it was for himself.

Danny sucked in another deep breath and released it on an explosive, "Fuck."

"Danny?" his mom called.

Danny scrambled to his feet, worried the hunters might look up the stairway. "I'm okay!" he called back. He fumbled with the Booomerang and his empty glass. "I, uh, I caught it!"

"Caught it?" Valerie said. "I thought the boomerang was supposed to track ghosts."

Danny winced. He descended the last few steps into the basement, and his parents rushed to his side. He flinched, a minor jerk of his head, but they didn't notice. Maddie cupped his face between her hands and tilted his head to the light, checking for bruises. Danny rolled his eyes to the side and searched for Valerie. She stood a little way off, arms crossed over her chest. He couldn't see her expression through the glare on her faceplate.

"Sorry about that, Danny!" Jack said, clapping a hand on Danny's shoulder. "I forgot the last repair didn't take."

"It's fine," Danny insisted, his lips a little puckered due to his mom's hands. He handed the Booomerang to Jack and used his freed hand to gently pull Maddie's away. "I told you, I caught it."

"Ha!" Jack crowed. "That's my boy! You've got the quick reflexes of a Fenton!"

Maddie sighed and reluctantly stepped back. "So long as you weren't hurt."

"Hurt?" Valerie walked towards them, the glare vanishing and reappearing over her visor as she passed beneath the fluorescent lights. Danny tensed. Her voice had regained its hard edge, the one she used on Phantom. "You said it was supposed to target ghosts."

Jack and Maddie shared an unhappy look, and Danny felt his panic spike.

"It likes me?" Danny suggested quickly, forcing a smile. By the glare Valerie sent him, his weak joke was neither funny nor distracting.

"All our equipment identifies Danny as a ghost," Maddie explained.

Danny closed his eyes and tried not to groan.

Valerie's voice dropped to a lower pitch, almost a growl. "Why?"

"It's complicated," Danny tried, but Jack spoke over him.

"He turned on the Fenton Portal from inside the tunnel! His friends said there was an explosion, but Danny was perfectly fine, weren't you son? The doctors even said so!"

"An explosion?" Valerie's voice wavered, and in the midst of his panic, Danny wondered if she was upset because she was worried about him.

"Just a, uh, a bunch of ectoplasm," Danny said. "Not like fire or anything. It, uh, it didn't hurt. At all."

"He's perfectly healthy," Maddie agreed, her voice caught between cheerful and guilty. "But we believe the saturation of so much ectoplasm caused him to pick up a permanent signature. Our inventions can't tell the difference between Danny and a low level ghost. We haven't found a way to make them ignore his specific signature, but we're working on it, aren't we, Jack?"

"You betcha socks we are!"

Valerie's arms remained crossed over her chest. The overhead lights made it difficult to see through the tinted glass of her faceplate, but Danny could tell from her rigid posture she was probably frowning.

He opened his mouth, about to add a few details to his parents' hypothesis to make it more believable, but before he could, Valerie asked, "What did you mean when you said Danny turned on the Fenton Portal?"

Danny paled. He clamped his mouth shut. Valerie's head turned slightly to face him, and he dropped his gaze to the floor, afraid to meet her eyes, however obstructed.

He didn't see it, but he heard Jack's proud smile as he said, "He's the one who got it working! Mads and I had given up on breeching the Ghost Zone after it wouldn't activate, but then Danny here fixed it." He clapped Danny on the shoulder. "A genius in the making, just like his old man."

"You put the 'on' switch inside the portal, Jack," Maddie reminded him, sounding exasperated. Worried, Danny glanced up, but his mom was smiling fondly at Jack.

Danny's dad blushed. "Well…where else would I have put it?"

Maddie shook her head, still smiling.

"So if Danny hadn't turned on the portal…" Valerie said and then trailed off, waiting for one of them to finish the sentence.

Danny spoke before his parents could. "There would be no ghosts." He kept his head angled down, but met Valerie's eyes as best he could. Valerie might have been wrong about the details of Cujo ruining her dad's job, but in its own way, it had been his fault, and he let the regret and guilt show on his face. Not just for Valerie, but for everyone the ghosts effected.

It occurred to him in a distant part of his mind he tried not to acknowledge, that his pose and expression were the same as the ones Phantom had found so appealing on Fenton after the date on Saturday.

Danny shifted on his feet, his cheeks warming uncomfortably.

"Can you imagine how awful that would be?" Jack said, unaware of the tension between Danny and Valerie. "No ghosts? Booooring!"

Maddie laughed. "Oh, Jack."

Jack beamed. He patted Danny's shoulder again and walked back to their table, Maddie following at his side. Alone, Valerie eyed Danny, her head slightly tilted. Her stance remained taut, stiff. Danny swallowed and tried not to squirm.

"Is that why you've been avoiding me?" she asked. "Because you're ashamed now that you know what costing my dad's job led me to?"

Danny sucked in a breath, paling all over again. If she blamed both halves of himself, hated them for her predicament, he didn't know what he could do to fix it. "I wasn't avoiding you," he said. "But…I don't feel good about it."

Valerie nodded curtly.

"It was an accident," he tried.

"Was that how you met Phantom?"

Thrown by the non-sequester, Danny could only blink at her, his mouth open. "Uh, w-what? Phantom?"

"If you're not friends but you know him, then it's because you must have met at some point. You wouldn't have trusted a ghost if you knew how dangerous they were, so he must have been one of the first ones you met."

Danny frowned and shifted on his feet. She was putting a lot more thought into his relationship with Phantom than he would have liked. "Um, not exactly."

"'Not exactly?'" Valerie stepped closer, her movements sharp, aggressive. "Why don't you just tell me and stop dancing around a straight answer? What are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything!"

"You are! And I'm going to find out what." She pointed a finger at his chest. "Whatever you're hiding, whatever reason you have for hiding it, nothing good comes from ghosts. Especially that one."

Hurt rolled through Danny, and he clenched his jaw, suddenly angry. "What happens after you do?" For all the anger he felt, his eyes didn't flash. "What if you don't like what you find?"

Her eyes narrowed. "It already sounds like I won't."

Danny felt himself start to panic, but he firmed his jaw. "You won't."

Valerie shifted, the glare clearing from her visor, enough for Danny to see her lips were thinned and her eyebrows had lowered over her eyes. "Are you trying to protect him? Or yourself?"

Danny raised an eyebrow. His head throbbed and his heart pounded in his chest, but he managed to mutter in a low tone, "You're not a human hunter, Red."

Valerie's whole body stiffened. Danny tensed as well, drawing in a breath.

Fenton, you idiot, he berated himself. "Val," he said aloud, but Valerie swept a hand between them.

"Save it," she said. "Until you're ready to trust me, I don't want to hear anymore excuses." She spun around and followed Jack and Maddie to the far end of the basement.

Danny pressed a hand against his forehead and groaned, frustrated and in pain. It was one thing not to tell her, it was another to imply she was too violent to be trusted, that he valued Phantom's safety over their relationship. Damn it. Phantom wasn't even his own person anymore. There was no one to protect. Not that he would have needed protecting from Valerie. She might be quick to act, but she wasn't violent.

Even if she did torture him that one time.

And electrocuted him after she found out how much it hurt him.

And yelled abuse at him and hunted him for over two years.

Danny sighed. It sounded pretty bad out of context, and maybe it wasn't so insane to want to protect his ghost half from his ghost hunting girlfriend…but there was still no reason to do it now. Phantom wasn't in danger of her learning the truth because the truth was that Phantom and Danny were the same person.

…Mostly.

He followed after Valerie, muttering under his breath about how stupid it was to piss off his girlfriend. Stupid and unnecessary and not sweet, dang it.

Maddie lifted a stopwatch off the counter, and Danny hissed. Valerie looked over her shoulder at him, but turned back to Maddie as Danny's mom explained how important it was to keep in shape and know one's limits. Danny stopped beside Valerie and eyed the gadgets on the counter with mounting dread.

They were going to take a fitness physical.

"Damn it," he cursed quietly, and then just as quietly, "Language."

---

Valerie rolled the 'Jack-O-Nine-Tails' stick around in her hands and listened with half an ear as Jack explained the engineering behind it. Beyond 'it electrocuted ghosts on contact,' she didn't care. She kept her eyes on Danny, watching him sprint from one side of the basement to the other in Suicidal Sprints.

There was something different about the way he moved compared to gym class last year. His expression for one. His eyes stayed narrowed, his eyebrows drawn low in concentration whenever she saw the air sweep his bangs from his eyes. He used his whole body as he dropped into a crouch to touch the tape on the floor and rose again to sprint to the other marker.

If he had moved like that, or even wore that expression more often, she doubted their other classmates would have written him off. Had something changed? Or was it just another side Danny kept hidden? She chewed on her bottom lip and nodded in absentminded agreement as Jack said electricity seemed to be a useful tool against ghosts. Danny panted heavily, more out of breath than Valerie had been during her turn, but not as bad as their classmates would have her believe.

Had Danny kept this part of him hidden from her as well? She didn't share his gym class, but it wouldn't surprise her if their classmates were so intent on seeing him as an unatheltic loser that they didn't see his potential. Anyone who could tackle Suicide Sprints with that much focus had a future.

She glanced at Danny's mom. Maddie didn't seem surprised by Danny's athleticism, but she shouted encouragement at Danny with an excitement that was embarrassing to watch. She held the stop watch in a tight grip and joined Danny's progress back and forth in short, jumping bursts. It was almost cute.

Valerie sighed through her nose and rolled the metal stick in her hands again. So far, all the Fentons had done was test her suit's flexibility by making her stretch, measured her visual and auditory input, and ran her and Danny through a series of exercises she would have preferred remained a gym-only activity. She didn't know what all that data was supposed to tell the Fentons, but Maddie's enthusiasm hinted at some sort of payoff.

Jack just wanted to get down to the actual hunting aspect of ghost hunting and was biding his time by showing off as many of his nutty inventions as he could get away with.

And they were nutty. Case-in-point, Jack's face was at the center of the tails in the 'Jack-O-Nine-Tails.'

What bothered Valerie the most was that if it wasn't for the weirdness of Jack's trademark, the gadget would actually be quite handy. Almost all of them would be.

Valerie allowed her eyes to wander around the lab. There were many inventions on display, some of them more impressive than she would have expected from Danny's wacky parents, not that she would admit that out loud. What surprised her most were how few there were that were straightforward, shoot-destroy, annihilate-the-enemy type weapons. There weren't that many weapons at all. Most of their inventions were about identifying, subduing, or capturing the ghost.

They really were scientists.

"Time!" Maddie shouted.

Valerie looked back in time to see Danny drop to his knees and then lay down on the metal floor, his chest heaving as he panted. He made a dramatic whine, and Valerie smiled, amused.

"That was ten more sprints than your last record," Maddie said excitedly, beaming at the clicker she held in her other hand. "That's a twenty percent increase in a three month-dear, you know you shouldn't lay down like that. Here." She looped the stop watch around her neck and held her freed hand out to Danny. "Walk around the lab until your breathing and your heart settles."

Danny groaned again, but he took his mother's hand and allowed her to help him to his feet. He set one hand on his knee as soon as he let go of Maddie's hand. Valerie watched him take several shaky steps, his muscles no doubt aching from the abuse. She hummed softly in thought and twirled the Jack-O-Ninetails in her hand. Catching the movement from the corner of his eye, Danny flinched but tried to hide it by continuing to move to the outer edges of the lab with only a slight misstep that could have been blamed on exertion.

If he hadn't done something similar every time Jack handed her a new invention or she handled one carelessly.

Valerie supposed she couldn't blame him. She would be on edge too if ghost hunting equipment activated around her. But she didn't like it. There was something…

"This is the Fenton Weasel!" Jack crowed beside her.

Startled, Valerie fumbled to catch the Jack-O-Ninetails as it slipped from her hand. She clutched it to her chest and darted a glance at Danny, meeting his wide eyes before he turned away, pretending his back wasn't stiff and his hands hadn't fisted at his sides. Valerie sighed. Suspicious as she was about Danny's condition, she didn't actually want to hurt him. She didn't know if the drop would have activated the Jack-O-Ninetails, or if it would be able to launch itself at Danny from so far away, but given how the Booomerang, the security system, and the Finder had reacted to his presence in the lab, it was probably best not to risk it with one of the few inventions actually intended to harm.

Straightening, Valerie turned her attention to the new invention Jack held up proudly. Like most, it appeared to have been made from household item junk, this one a wet-vac. She held back a groan. The Fentons were definitely basement scientists.

"It sucks up ghosts and holds them in this secure compartment," Jack explained, bending down to pat the rectangular box the hose was attached to. "I once caught Phantom with this baby. He never would have escaped either if the Wisconsin Ghost hadn't threatened my family."

Valerie blinked. "Who?"

But Jack had already moved on, tucking the hose beneath his arm and aiming the nozzle like a gun. "Next time I catch that spook, he won't have a prayer..."

Maddie came over and put her hand on the nozzle, forcing Jack to lower it. Valerie wondered if it was dangerous to Danny too, but for once, Danny barely spared it a glance. "Have you shown Valerie our most important invention?" she asked, smiling sweetly as she set the clipboard with Danny's and Valerie's stats on the counter behind them.

Jack's face pinched in thought and then brightened into a beaming grin. "The Fenton Portal!"

"No."

His face crumbled and then brightened again. "The Fenton Family Assualt Vehicle!"

"No."

Jack frowned. "The Fenton Ghost Gloves?"

"No, Jack."

Jack hummed in thought, his eyebrows knitting over his eyes.

Maddie sighed. "Important to her, Jack." When Jack continued to look confused, Maddie suggested, "The Ghost Catcher?"

"Oh! Right!" Jack's grin reappeared on his face. "The Fenton Ghost Catcher."

At the mention of its name, Valerie tensed. "It's not important," she snapped. "Not to me." She remembered Maddie forcing her into a corner with just the threat of that device all too well. She knew it could apparently be used to remove her ability to hunt ghosts, and that's all she needed to know. "I'd rather hear more about the Ghost Portal."

Jack beamed at her as she thought he would, but Maddie wasn't so easily distracted. "It's important for you to know your options," she insisted.

Valerie crossed her arms. "I made my decision a long time ago. I want to hunt ghosts. I'll continue to hunt them no matter what you or my dad think, and that's all there is to it."

Maddie frowned. "I'm not threatening to remove your suit. I wouldn't dream of coming between the Red Huntress and her career. Jack would never stand for it…"

"No, I wouldn't!" Jack proudly agreed.

Valerie narrowed her eyes. "That didn't stop you from mentioning it last night where my dad could latch onto the idea."

Maddie sighed softly, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, they were as kind as Valerie had ever seen them. She reached for Valerie's shoulders, but Valerie stepped back, and Maddie's hands fell back to her side. Seemingly undeterred, her expression remained the same, only a pinch in the corner of her eyes displaying her concern. "Valerie, dear, you don't have to do everything alone."

Valerie stiffened. "I don't—what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Maddie said, firming her voice, "that Jack and I want to help you become the best ghost hunter in any way we can. We want you to succeed, Valerie! That's why Jack has followed your career so closely! That's why I agreed to take you on as an intern. I want to help you."

"By removing my ability to fight ghosts?"

"If removing your suit is what it takes, yes." Valerie narrowed her eyes, and Maddie quickly added, "But for now you can think of it as us showing you how to remove a ghost who is overshadowing someone."

Valerie opened her mouth to retort but didn't voice the words. "…What?"

"It can be applied to yourself too, of course," Maddie said, brightening, "if you ever change your mind about letting a ghost-powered suit of unknown origins reside inside you. But Jack and I designed the Ghost Catcher to separate ghosts and their energies from their human hosts."

A thump and a pained grunt interrupted Maddie before she could continue, and the three hunters turned to find Danny spread out over the metal tiles. He laughed nervously at them and quickly began to pick himself up. "I, uh, tripped? Wasn't, uh, wasn't watching where I was going."

Valerie eyed the bare floor around Danny, but Jack and Maddie were already moving on, Maddie scolding Danny to be more careful and Jack lamenting the clumsy 'Fenton genes' that also affected him when he was Danny's age. Danny smiled awkwardly throughout, shifting his weight from one foot to the other like he was uncomfortable with their attention.

Valerie crossed her arms, heaved a sigh, and called out in a dull voice, "Okay, so where is this miraculous Ghost Catcher?"

Danny's gaze jumped to hers, and while his awkward smile remained, she saw his body tensing. Like most inventions, the Ghost Catcher seemed to put Danny on the defensive, but why did the Ghost Catcher alarm him when all it did was remove ghosts? Wasn't the reason he was 'training' with her now because he'd had it in his room? She narrowed her eyes. She hated not having all the answers.

"It's this way!" Jack bellowed despite standing right beside her.

His large hand hooked around her shoulders, and he practically dragged her to the dream catcher stand she had initially dismissed as decoration. She gaped at it, noticing now that she was closer that the webbing had a faint green glow and that the hoop was large enough for an average-sized human to fit through, assuming they wouldn't be caught by the net, anyway.

"That's it?" she asked. "It's looks like a dream catcher." She flicked one of the feathers that dangled from the side.

"The Native design works best for disrupting ectoplasm's hold on our world's molecular structure," Maddie said, standing beside her husband. "We're not sure why. Perhaps something to do with the circle and the webbing working in tandem? We're not sure if the beads and feathers are important, but Jack insisted."

"So what?" Valerie crossed her arms again and eyed the device warily. "How is it supposed to work? Does it just...suck the ghosts out of people?" She didn't have a ghost inside her, but the Fentons had believed it would work on her suit... She stepped back.

"Well..." There was an uncertain quality to Maddie's voice, and Valerie turned her suspicious gaze on her. Maddie smiled unconvincingly. "That had been our initial plan, but it didn't appear to work as well as we had hoped, and there wasn't any real way for us to test it without contriving a possession more serious than the ecto-cold we picked up."

"Ecto-cold?" Valerie asked, dubious.

"So we adjusted it, altered its core design, and...Jack added a 'merge' option..." she finished this with a small exhale.

Jack puffed out his chest. "If we could gain control of the possession ourself, we could harness the ghost's powers, Mads."

"It's not feasible, Jack, and even if it was, would you really want to share your body with a ghost?"

Jack pouted, his shoulders slumping. "No..."

Valerie frowned. Danny hesitantly joined them, his own eyes bouncing between his parents and Valerie. He didn't look as confused as Valerie felt, but he had probably heard the argument at its creation rather than at its conclusion the way Valerie had.

"You would have to trust a ghost," he said.

"Exactly," Maddie agreed, as if that proved her point.

"Okay," Valerie said, holding up her hands, "what the heck are you talking about? What is the 'merge' option supposed to do exactly?"

She looked at Danny for an answer and watched as his eyes and then his head lowered. "It, uh, merges ghosts with us? In theory."

"And other organic material," Jack chimed in. "Like fudge!"

"And other ghosts," Maddie added, her goggles glinting as she smiled. "Also in theory."

Valerie brought a hand to her forehead, feeling the smoothness of her faceplate. "And you created a way to merge ghosts with other things because...?"

Maddie looked at Jack and Jack coughed, his cheeks slightly red. "Uhm, well, I might've, hmm, wanted to, um…" Even Danny turned to watch his dad, his expression just as curious. "That is, I might've…wanted to…" Jack coughed again and said in a rush, "become a superhero and fly and fight ghosts. Like you."

Valerie blinked and straightened. Surprised. Flattered.

"It didn't work, though," he mumbled, his shoulders slumping.

Maddie rubbed his arm. "Of course not, dear. Everybody knows a human can't have ghost powers."

Valerie twitched. A retort jumped to her lips, but she managed to stop herself before she could blurt out Danielle's secret. For all she knew, the Fentons could be just as willing to experiment on her as Vlad had been. They were friends, after all. Or had been. Besides, Danielle hadn't been stable, and that could have been because human and ghost weren't supposed to mix.

Vlad was a better example, but while she didn't care about exposing his secret, she didn't know enough about his condition to argue the point. She had assumed he was like Danielle, but he could just as easily be a ghost impersonating a human for however many years.

Better to let the comment pass and switch to a different topic. "So," she said, recapturing their attention, "how does it work?"

"Well," Maddie started, "we had originally intended for it to draw in any ghosts and ecto-energy that was nearby, but Jack and I discovered while we redesigned it that our hands pass right through the net!" Maddie clapped her hands together and rose onto the balls of her feet. "Like we were ghosts! We experimented with our weapons to see if it would strip them of their ectoplasm—it did!—and that was when Jack got the idea to add the merge option."

"So the net removes the ghost," Valerie said.

"Exactly!"

"And it can remove ghost energy-based...things, like my suit and your guns."

"Yup!" Jack said, grinning.

"You also have a son that's so coated in ecto-radiation your weaponry identifies him as a low-level ghost."

Neither Jack nor Maddie responded, the two parents going still. In contrast, Danny's eyes went wide.

"So why," Valerie said slowly, her eyes locking on the pale face of her boyfriend, "haven't you used it on him?"

Jack and Maddie looked at Danny, and he took a small step back, shaking his head.

"We never considered that," Jack said, thoughtful. "That would solve a lot, wouldn't it, Mads?"

"It would," Maddie agreed slowly, "but, Jack…we would have to make a few adjustments. Run a few controlled experiments first before we could use it on another person, especially Danny."

"You didn't have a problem with using it on me!" Valerie objected.

Maddie shook her head. "We were only speculating. We would have needed to make similar adjustments and run multiple tests before actually striping you of your ghost-powered suit. We just wanted you and your father to know it was possible. We would have to do the same with Danny."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Danny asked, his voice oddly strained.

"Of course you will, sweetie," Maddie said, her tone soft and gentle as she turned fully to face him.

"You can't seriously think you're better off with the radiation," Valerie demanded. "Half your parents' inventions think you're a ghost!"

"Exactly!" Danny shot back, his voice high as he took another step back. "Yeah, exactly, what if it does the same thing? Think I'm a ghost, I mean."

"That's why we'll need to make a few adjustments first," Maddie said. "We'll make sure it's perfectly safe."

But Danny shook his head again. "No, no way."

"C'mon, Danny!" Jack cheered. "Face it like a Fenton!"

Danny's expression became strained.

"Jack." Maddie laid a hand on her husband's arm. "We can't force him."

"Are you serious?" Valerie felt like screaming. Why weren't they taking it more seriously? "He's in danger every time he steps in this room! There's a large chance your inventions will activate and attack him! Mine might do the same! How are you supposed to train him?"

"Oh sure," Danny huffed, "no one can make you go through it for your own safety, but it's perfectly fine to force me?"

"It's not the same thing," Valerie objected. "I won't give up my ghost hunting because it protects the city. You're just scared. What if the radiation is hurting you? What if it's not just the weapons, what if your endangering yourself too? Ghosts and humans aren't supposed to mix, right?"

Danny flinched. He took a deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm fine, okay? It's been two years. If there were any side-effects, I think they would have shown up by now."

"How can you be so sure? Two years isn't exactly a long time."

Danny opened his mouth, but he didn't seem to have a ready comeback. He faltered with that for a moment before his dad crowed, "Vladdy!"

Danny snapped his mouth shut, wincing.

Valerie glared at Jack. "What does the mayor have to do with anything?"

"This wasn't the first time something like this has happened," Maddie explained. "Vlad also got hit with a high concentration of ectoplasm about 20 years ago."

"Right!" Jack cheered. "And we have the cure for the ecto-acne now too! So if Vlad's fine, Danny will be fine!"

"But Vlad's not—" Valerie stopped, her mouth still formed around the word. Human.

He wasn't human.

"The same thing happened to him?" Valerie asked. She looked to Danny for an explanation, her heart beating a little faster in her chest.

Danny shrugged and turned his head to the side, breaking their eye-contact. "Yeah. Sort of. He got blasted by Mom and Dad's first proto-portal when they were all in college. He's covered in as much…radiation as I am, but he still invents ghost hunting equipment without killing himself. And he hasn't kicked the bucket or anything because of some deteriorating ghost disease or whatever. So there's really no need for me to…" He waved his hand in the Ghost Catcher's direction, not even looking at it.

"That's because you found the cure for the ecto-acne, sweetie," Maddie said, beginning to frown. "It very well could have killed him when he had his relapse…"

Valerie brought a hand to her head and squeezed her eyes shut. Danny and Vlad had had the same accident with a ghost portal, they both radiated ghost energy the Fentons' attributed to some ghost contamination thing Valerie hadn't even heard about, but one wasn't human and one was…

Hiding something.

"Yeah, but I've never shown any signs of it," Danny objected. "And that didn't have anything to do with the ghost signature thing. Your equipment still thought he was a ghost after we cured it."

It was impossible. It should have been impossible. But the more she thought about it, the more she felt like she was going to throw up. It made sense. It made too much sense.

"I'm not goring through the Ghost Catcher," Danny said again, more firmly.

Valerie drew in air through her teeth. "Yeah. Sure. Fine. Whatever." She just had to get home. Preferably before she slammed Danny against a wall and started demanding real answers. At gun point.

 

 

Chapter Text

Sometimes I feel like this is only chemistry
stuck in a maze, searching for a way to
shut down, turn around, feel the ground beneath me
you're so close where do you and where do I begin?

…

You're the center of adrenaline
and I'm beginning to understand

- "The Best Thing" by Savage Garden

---

Exhausted, sore, stressed beyond belief, and just glad it was finally over, Danny fell against the wall beside the stairs as his parents left the lab. His dad threw him two thumbs up and a beaming grin before the climb carried him out of sight, and Danny rolled his eyes. Oblivious as ever, Jack hadn't noticed the tension between Danny and Valerie and probably thought they were about to have some quality bonding time or something.

If only.

Danny didn't know if it had been their argument right before training or his refusal to go through the Ghost Catcher, but he had felt her staring at him all throughout training, and he didn't think it was the kind of staring you wanted from your girlfriend. It was the kind where, had he been in ghost mode, he would have expected her to pull a gun on him.

Her constant attention had made him twice as nervous, twice as determined to keep his powers from activating, and the result was a splitting headache. Fortunately, after his parents finally announced the end of training, Valerie had turned all that focus on the Ghost Portal.

Danny turned his head to look at her and sighed quietly. Her back was to him, but the curve of her spine was rigid, her shoulders thrown back as she studied the portal from a safe distance. She hadn't said anything, but...she was probably thinking about how much his turning the darn thing on had cost her and her dad. Or wondering how he had met Phantom because apparently that was a concern of hers. She definitely didn't seem happy training was over, and that didn't bode well.

Danny rubbed at his temples, wincing as his headache spiked. He needed to talk to her. He knew he needed to. But there was an anger inside him he couldn't quite soothe no matter how much he tried to reason with himself.

Which was still stupid. He didn't need to protect Phantom from his parents and Valerie, he was Phantom. The anger still persisted, and he didn't know what to do about it other than maybe talk to Valerie. She wasn't the ruthless hunter his parents were, maybe he could convince her Phantom wasn't a bad ghost?

No, she was already suspicious of his and Phantom's connection. The less he brought up Phantom, the better. And he couldn't talk to her now because she was clearly upset about something too. They would fight, he knew they would because part of him wanted that fight.

He groaned and pushed his fingers harder against his temples as his headache throbbed. What's the matter with me?

"Is there a way to turn it off?"

Danny blinked his eyes open and refocused on Valerie. "What?" he croaked. She was still facing the Ghost Portal. He cleared his throat. "Oh, uh, probably not? I mean, it tore a hole into another dimension. It…sounds permanent. I think the Fenton Portal just lets us lock most of the weaker ghosts out."

Valerie moved closer to the portal until she could lay her hand flat against the locked doors. She was quiet for a moment before she said, "Probably better that way."

"How so?"

"Because then I would be out of a job."

The way she said it, the cold tone of her voice, made a chill creep down Danny's spine. "Would that be such a bad thing?" he asked, his own voice soft. To no longer have to fight to protect the town, to finally be free of a responsibility he had taken on when he was just a fourteen-year-old kid…it sounded like a dream.

Valerie turned to face him. She stared at him in silence, a silence made worse by his inability to see her expression through her helmet. He shifted against the wall, standing a little straighter against it, though his bruised knees twinged in protest.

Finally, she said, "I won't thank you for letting the ghosts into our world, Fenton." She began to walk towards him, her pace faster than he expected. He stood up from the wall. "But your dad was right about one thing." She walked past him and started ascending the stairs, leaving Danny to blink in surprise at the empty lab. "Life without ghosts would have been…boring."

Danny turned to watch her go, his mouth open to call her back, but…what could he say? No, get back here, you're supposed to be mad at me? That couldn't be it. After everything, after all the staring and silences, she just left? What had he missed?

Something is wrong.

Danny shook his head and pushed the chilling thought aside. There probably was something wrong, but if Valerie didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering her, then he wasn't going to let the extra time go to waste. The lab was finally empty. Danny turned his head to glare at the Ghost Catcher. Time for some ghost mischief.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and called on his transformation.

Several seconds later, he let the breath out as a curse and pushed both of his hands through his still black hair. Why couldn't he just be normally abnormal for five minutes?

Okay, so, maybe he had been letting himself focus a little too much on the physical aspect of training, and maybe he hadn't fought against his irritation with Valerie hard enough, and maybe he was pushing his other half away more than was necessary, but if he had let that part of himself in a little more, he might have iced the whole floor over just because Valerie was watching him. Phantom—Danny's ghost powers were practically on a hair-trigger as it was. The important thing was they had gotten through training with little to no hiccups, with their secret intact, and only a little fight with Valerie as a consequence.

Fenton did good. Danny did good. Whatever.

Except…their secret was intact, yes, but their relationship with Valerie was once again on shaky ground, and he had only a vague notion as to why. Since everything had started as a result of him trying to strengthen the relationship, he had saved the day, yes, but he had still lost in the end.

"Damn it," Danny muttered. He scrubbed his fingers through his hair, letting himself groan in frustration. Either at messing up with Valerie again or at how fragmented his mind was.

"Just focus on one problem at a time," he told himself. "It's fine. We got this."

First things first: how much time did he have?

He half climbed up the stairway and strained his ears. His dad was, as always, easily heard, but he had to listen a little harder for his mom's and Valerie's quieter voices. They were probably in the living room. It sounded like they were talking about plans for tomorrow, but Valerie was scheduled to work at the Nasty Burger that day, so it was more likely plans for Wednesday.

Danny didn't really care about the details so long as all three of them were too busy talking to return to the lab. That would change as soon as Damien arrived to discuss how it had gone, but until Danny heard his parents charging for the lab in an excited frenzy, he had time.

He reentered the lab and began to pace between the stairway and Ghost Catcher. He had had a close call. A really close call. If his parents had agreed with Valerie, if they had decided to force him through the Ghost Catcher 'for his own good,' things would have gone from difficult to very, very bad in a matter of seconds.

Worse, Danny doubted Valerie was just going to let the matter drop.

He had to hide the Ghost Catcher. Out of sight, out of mind. If he could keep his parents from seeing it, maybe they would forget about Valerie's suggestion altogether. Maybe they would forget about modifying it at all and he could still—

Danny forcefully shook his head. "No, it doesn't matter. I'm never splitting myself again, so it doesn't matter."

He just needed to hide it so his parents wouldn't try to unknowingly split him in a misguided attempt to fix him.

To do that, he needed his ghost powers because there wasn't anywhere to hide the darn thing in the lab, only he couldn't access his stupid powers without thinking like Phantom, so he needed to…to…what? Become blindly devoted to Valerie? Forget his responsibilities as a hero the next time a ghost showed up? Check himself out in the mirror? Why not go the full mile and just—

"Not helping," he grumbled.

Phantom was all about Valerie, so if he focused on his feelings for her, maybe he could go ghost. Tense as things were between them at the moment, Valerie was still beautiful. She inspired him with the way she gave no ground, kept up her grades, and fought ghosts with as much skill as his mom. Maybe more. She was just…amazing. And she liked him. Him.

But she was also caught up in her own prejudice, so focused and convinced she was always the one in the right. She had certainly had no problem handcuffing Danny to a table and torturing him for information because Phantom was just a ghost—

Danny found himself grinding his teeth, and he quickly shook his head. "We're supposed to be thinking about things we like about her." Which wasn't all that easy after listening to Valerie and his parents discuss ways to hunt, hurt, and destroy ghosts for however many hours, especially when those conversations inevitably circled around to one ghost in particular. He groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face. "Fine. Fine. New topic."

Except, aside from Valerie, the only other person Phantom ever seemed to think about was…

"No," Danny hissed. "No. It's bad enough that I…that we…oh hell…" He turned sharply away from the Ghost Catcher and marched towards the stairs, but the problem with leaving the Ghost Catcher where his parents could reach it remained, and Danny found himself returning to the device, his arms crossed over his chest and his shoulders hunched forward. "Damn it," he mumbled. "Damn it, damn it…"

Phantom might not have been necessarily interested in pursuing his feelings for Fenton, but he had accepted that they existed. If thinking about Valerie didn't work…thinking about Fenton would. After all, Fenton couldn't think about Fenton that way.

Then again, not that long ago, Danny might have thought the same applied to himself.

Danny glanced at the Ghost Catcher before quickly jerking his head away.

It wasn't even…difficult to think about Fenton. Like that. Unfortunately. The memories and emotions were near the forefront of his mind and had been since the merge, always waiting for his attention to wander. They weren't even unpleasant. They were just…confusing. He wasn't supposed to feel that way about…himself. Fenton. But Phantom hadn't just managed to develop feelings for what was supposed to be his other half, he had accepted them. Acted on them.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the skin heat beneath his palm as he blushed. He had been trying to hold onto his human form so tightly in part because he didn't want to let himself feel the attraction Phantom had felt. It felt somehow dangerous. And anyway, it was embarrassing. And weird.

Not that Fenton was much safer, but at least pushing the emotions away as Fenton wouldn't result in him falling from the sky.

He wasn't flying now, though. No one was around to see if his powers activated. He could do it. Give into the feelings or whatever. They were, in a sense, his own, and he couldn't keep running away from his own feelings forever.

Danny breathed out a resigned sigh. "This is a terrible idea," he said, though he was already lowering himself to the ground. He leaned his back against the Ghost Catcher's pole and shivered as the metal's cold touch seeped through his shirt. He pulled his legs up and rested his arms on his knees.

He should probably try remembering something from Phantom's perspective, something only Phantom remembered. He would prefer to think about watching the stars after Fenton fell asleep, but one memory his mind kept wandering to was the one where Phantom had flown into their bedroom just as the sun had begun to rise above the horizon. When Fenton had been asleep and Phantom had flown into their room to wake him up, but instead he had…kissed him.

Danny coughed. "Uh, m-maybe not that one. Maybe something earlier. Something that doesn't involve…" He trailed off, floundering for a word that encompassed Phantom's feelings and actions in that moment. There had been...a lot of emotion there. Danny bit his lip, his hands fisting his jeans. Danny didn't dare pick it all apart, but perhaps pieces of it? Just enough to find Phantom's mindset.

And anyway…he was curious.

Why had Phantom kissed him?

Phantom had known just as well as Fenton that they shouldn't—couldn't—go down that path, so…where had it gone wrong? Why had he kissed him? The night before he had even fled into the storm instead of staying with Fenton. And he had done that because...he had been frightened?

The way Phantom had been drawn closer to Fenton on the bed, his body's reaction to Fenton pressing against his back…those responses didn't just simply happen without cause. Like Danny was doing now, Phantom had spent the night thinking back on previous events, on his actions and the reasons behind them, and once he stopped and actually thought them through, once he stopped thinking of Fenton as only the other half of himself, a perception Fenton himself had so neatly destroyed when he had refused to be used anymore, everything he had done took on a new light. The kissing, the teasing, the hickey...

Early yesterday morning, Phantom, huddled beneath the leaves of a tree, drenched from his hair down to his feet, spent an hour or so berating himself, not just letting things get out of hand, but for encouraging them in some ways. For getting on that bed, for taking Fenton to see the meteor shower, for not letting Fenton handle Valerie on his own, for not ending the practice sooner when he knew…

Eventually, he had cycled around to denying there was anything wrong to begin with.

Mostly, he had convinced himself he was letting his own romantic nature get the better of him. Things hadn't gotten that far yet. With Valerie out of reach, he had simply found a different outlet. They weren't true feelings like the ones he had for Valerie, how could they be? And even if they were, there was no harm in them because Fenton would insist they merge in the morning anyway.

All those denials, all that lovely reasoning crumbled to ash the moment Phantom flew through the window and saw Fenton again.

Danny ran a self-conscious hand through his hair and tugged lightly on the strands, his cheeks starting to burn. He wasn't even sure which half of himself was more embarrassed. Phantom for having his feelings so thoroughly exposed, or Fenton for being the target of those feelings. It was all bad, and he had to take another deep breath to calm himself because he had to do this.

Danny let the breath out slowly. "Okay." He tilted his head back until his crown also rested against the Ghost Catcher's pole. He closed his eyes, his face scrunched in concentration, his fists clenched at his side. "Do your worst." Involuntarily, he twisted his lips in a smile. "Charming…"

Maybe it was the thought of losing him as soon as Fenton woke up and they merged, maybe it was a result of his having thought of Fenton and his feelings for him all night. Maybe it was just the atmosphere. Whatever it had been, it had caught Phantom in that moment, made his chest tight and the breath he hadn't needed catch in his throat. What had been boring the morning before had become captivating in the new light.

A light touch on his elbow failed to wake Fenton. Whispering his name failed to do the same. The soft twittering outside, a soft chorus that couldn't quite smother the sound of Fenton's light snores, tickled Phantom's ears and made him reluctant to speak louder, afraid to lose the peaceful dawn. Afraid to lose this once Fenton woke.

Danny bit down on his bottom lip.

Any other day, any other time, it might have been fine, but it had stormed the previous night, and the smell of a fresh dawn lingered in Phantom's nose. The birds were especially loud and cheerful, the rising sun had been casting a soft glow on the few remaining clouds, highlighting the room in subdued hues. Highlighting Fenton.

Fenton's limbs had been thrown every which way, one arm hooked over the back of his head, a leg even dangling off the side of the bed. His dark hair had been mussed all over his face and pillow, and his chest rose and fell in slow, even patterns that Phantom somehow, strangely found riveting. There had been nothing special about him or his position, but still Phantom couldn't look away.

Then Fenton had turned onto his back, his arm flopping above his head. It broke the spell, but worse, Fenton's lips had parted on an exhale, Phantom's attention had been recaptured and…

He gently brushed Fenton's black hair from his forehead, his eyes. He trailed his fingers down his cheek, his skin warming Phantom's through the latex, until he could cup Fenton's face. One hand braced him over Fenton, the elbow bending as he lowered himself, drawn by the same magnetic pull that had so caught him last night.

Danny squirmed. He pressed his hands over his burning face, but he had already learned he couldn't hide from himself.

There was no grand scheme. Like Phantom had told Fenton, he had kissed him because he wanted to. It had just felt natural to lean forward and kiss him. They had kissed a lot the day before, what was one more? Phantom had thought it would feel like those. But Fenton had been asleep—vulnerable, unguarded—the atmosphere had been different, Phantom's feelings had been different. There had been nothing similar about the kiss, nothing like the ones during practice.

Fenton's lips, thin and slightly parted at the start, softened beneath Phantom's, compressed into a kiss, and began to push back. Fenton beginning to wake beneath him, to lazily respond, made a fluttering sensation race from Phantom's stomach up to his chest where it made his core vibrate, energy shooting through him. The birds still twittered outside, but now he felt Fenton's warm breaths against his cheek, the rhythm no longer even, no longer calm.

Phantom pulled back and opened his eyes to see Fenton's fluttering blearily open as well, flashing glimpses of pale blue irises and widened pupils. Phantom fell back into the kiss without consciously thinking about it, a move further encouraged by Fenton clumsily raising his arms to wrap around his shoulders.

The morning might have progressed a lot more gently if Jack hadn't charged up the stairs, making enough racket to startle Phantom out of his trance. He had turned invisible, intangible, and flew from the room as quickly as he could, but he didn't go far. He had hid behind the neighbor's house and pressed a hand over his burning lips, wide-eyed and blushing.

That was when he panicked.

So it wasn't like Fenton's dream at all, but in some ways it was just as intimate. Maybe more so. Just remembering the way Fenton had begun to stir beneath him made that fluttering sensation return, albeit with a more human response.

Danny laughed weakly to himself, his cheeks still burning. He really did have a crush on himself. He—Phantom, in the midst of trying to make the date perfect for Valerie, had gone and fallen for his other half. Or started to. Danny laughed again, afraid he would die of embarrassment if he didn't. He pressed his hands harder against his face and leaned forward, taking shaky breathes between random bursts of laughter.

Of course, he had known that he…that Phantom had developed a crush, but knowing something wasn't the same as feeling it so completely. It was embarrassing, what with Fenton being a part of him as well, but it was also exciting.

We still have to hide the Ghost Catcher, he reminded himself.

Right.

Danny sucked in a calming breath. The thing was…as much as Phantom had feared losing himself and Fenton to the merge, if Jack and Maddie made their adjustments to the Ghost Catcher, that really would be the end. So long as the Ghost Catcher remained the same, there was always a possibility. Perhaps they wouldn't be the same two if they ever separated again, but there was a chance.

Danny felt his determination growing, and he sat up a little straighter, lowering his hands from his face. Yes. That was the angle he needed to reach his ghost powers. Protecting their secret didn't mean much to Phantom, they had hidden themselves from Valerie long enough, but protecting something else? Something he couldn't quite define?

Danny took a deep breath and tried activating his transformation again. The rings appeared as if they had been waiting for just that moment. They raced over him, turning him ghost in the space of a heart beat. Danny hesitated a moment, startled, but…okay. Mission accomplished.

He floated off the floor, cautious and bracing for his powers to abandon him again, but Phantom's feelings were at the forefront of his mind, he was no longer fighting them, and for once, both halves of himself agreed they had to hide the Ghost Catcher, even if it was for different reasons. It was enough for now.

He quickly flew over and grabbed the Ghost Catcher by the pole. In human form, it was heavy and awkward to carry, but as Phantom, Danny half-levitated, half carried the invention into the air easily, bracing the upper half of the pole against his shoulder. Activating his intangibility and invisibility, he flew through the basement's ceiling, through part of his parents' room, into his own, and set it down on his bedroom floor. Safe.

Danny floated backwards and started looking around his room. He couldn't just leave it in plain sight, and he didn't think his dad would be fooled by a blanket shroud a second time. Perhaps in his closet. The space, or rather, the door was too small for the Ghost Catcher to fit, but that was where ghost powers came in handy.

With a small grin on his face, Danny turned back to the Ghost Catcher and...

…hesitated.

A stabbing pain shot through his head. He gasped and pressed his hands against his temples. "No, no, no," he said. "You have to be kidding me." He looked at the Ghost Catcher, at the way the sunlight glinted against the metal ring, so like it had that first time, and quickly closed his eyes again.

Splitting himself had occurred to him many times since last night, but it was a harder idea to dismiss with Phantom's memories so close to the surface, when the Ghost Catcher was right there, once again in their room where they were safest.

Worse, splitting himself would remove his ecto-signature from Fenton. Over time, his parents might forget about the so-called radiation thing, especially with Valerie to distract them. He wouldn't have to worry about losing control of his powers in front of them during training. He wouldn't have to risk losing his powers during a ghost fight when Phantom's interest was weakest and Fenton's the strongest. No ghost had attacked yet, but they would. They always did at the worst moment possible because that was just his luck.

He could split himself. Right now. It would even be safer.

But he shouldn't. He knew he shouldn't. Sure, there had been a few hiccups, but he was finally getting back to normal. Slowly. He had had similar problems after Fenton and Phantom had first kissed. Granted, they weren't as…dangerous. Or extreme. But he had pulled himself together in the end, and he could do so again. He just had to hold out a few more days. Just a few more. Fenton and Phantom would have fully fused, and Danny would be himself again, the past events nothing more than a bad memory.

Danny sucked in a breath. His flight ability canceled out, and he dropped to the floor, his legs stumbling from the impact. "Wait," he said. "Wait, wait, wait." He reached out a hand to brace against the Ghost Catcher's pole, but the hand turned intangible, and he fell forward, stumbling a few steps.

"Okay!" He righted himself and held his hands out to either side. "Hold on. Just, just think it through. What…" He brought a hand to his head. "Ow…What was that thought? What did you—I mean by that?"

Because if staying as Danny meant Fenton and Phantom fading gradually…

Danny's core started pulsing with energy, his breathing coming faster out of reflex. It was already happening, he knew it was. He wasn't fighting with himself over the crush as much as he had been the day before. The memories weren't as jarring either. He had clung too tightly to one half of himself during the training session, making it harder to turn ghost after, but before that he had found the middle ground and felt more like himself—the real Danny—than he had since Friday, even if it was only for a few precious seconds.

Fenton and Phantom were getting closer to one person. The merge had worked the way it was supposed to, it was just taking longer. A lot longer, but they would really be one person if they just gave it time.

He was literally watching, feeling, sensing the loss of his and Fenton's individuality with each second they passed as Danny.

He had known it was happening, but he hadn't known.

"I can't do it," he gasped. "I can't."

Danny jumped into the air and spun to face the Ghost Catcher, but his power canceled out again, and he dropped back to the floor, falling forward onto his hands and knees. He sat up and pushed his hands against his temples, moaning in pain as the pressure built, the pain throbbing in his head. He was breathing too fast, but he couldn't seem to stop. His quick exhales frosted the air, the temperature in the room dropping.

He bent forward until he could press his forehead against the floor. "Shit," he breathed. There were three ghost hunters below him, he couldn't lose control of his powers like this. He tried reverting to human again, but like the time in the lab, nothing happened.

He groaned and rubbed his forehead against the carpet fibers, the scratchy sensation a minuscule distraction against the pain in his head. It had no effect against the building panic.

He chocked on a breath that could have been a sob. "We're not dying," he said, his voice unusually thick. "We're just going back to the way things were."

But even as he spoke, Danny felt contempt well within him at the very notion. Nothing about him had ever been normal, but even if the merge had succeeded and he had returned to his abnormal sense of normalcy, Danny had kissed himself. Had enjoyed kissing himself. Had developed feelings for his other half and couldn't stop thinking about him without losing some part of himself.

He had crossed a line, and no matter what happened after, that wouldn't change. How could he ever be normal again?

"We just have to find a new normal," he said, only for his head to throb painfully again. He groaned and pressed his hands harder against his temples. His stomach roiled, and Danny swallowed thickly. He opened his eyes to look for the trash can, but his vision swam, and he closed them again quickly, afraid he would throw up before he reached it. He had never done that before in ghost form, but there was a first time for everything.

He felt just as dizzy and nauseous as he had yesterday, what wrong with him?

"I can't," he gasped, and then again, "I can't."

Couldn't split himself. Couldn't lose Fenton and Phantom. Couldn't stand the way his head was starting to feel like it was ripping itself apart.

Danny made a weak noise in the back of his throat. With no other recourse, he stopped trying to reason with himself and just focused on his breathing. It kept hitching so he concentrated on taking deep breaths and letting them out slowly like Jazz had shown him. It wasn't working. He ground his teeth together, frustrated, hurting, but he kept trying.

The room was probably getting colder. The door was wide open. He was probably releasing enough energy to throw his parents' inventions into a frenzy.

The door bell rang, and Danny groaned. Damien had arrived. He would talk with Danny's parents for a while, and then Valerie would leave with him. Danny wasn't even going to get the chance to say goodbye. He needed to see her, but he was in no condition to do so.

"Damn it," he said through gritted teeth. The sooner he calmed down, the sooner he could see her. "Just focus."

The stabbing sensation ebbed slightly, and he took another shaky breath. The breathing thing probably would have worked better if he was human. Phantom didn't actually need to breathe after all, but he didn't exactly have a choice. He let the breath out slowly and breathed in again, concentrating on the slight expansion of his chest.

It was slow going, and he wasn't sure how much time passed as he sat there, just breathing, but he was eventually able to open his eyes without feeling like he was about to throw up. He couldn't see much with his head tucked between his arms, so he cautiously raised it from the floor and looked around his room.

The sun had set a little further, casting a deeper orange light through the window, but he doubted it had taken that long. His vision no longer swam, but there was still a queasiness in his gut he didn't trust. He took a last deep breath.

"That's it," he said, his echoing voice oddly strained. "We—I'm talking to Jazz."

It was a battle just to stand up. His legs and shoulders ached from his cramped positioning, his muscles felt almost as shaky as when Fenton and Phantom first merged yesterday. Worse, despite being in his ghost form, he felt hot all over. He braced a hand against the wall as he shuffled to his door. He couldn't resist glancing over his shoulder at the Ghost Catcher, watching the sunlight glint off the metal, the sight still a reminder of when he first split himself all those days ago.

Danny shivered and quickly turned away.

Luckily, Jazz's room was close to his own, right on the other side of the bathroom. Danny poked his head around the door frame and looked up and down the hall. He could hear his parents and Damien talking downstairs, but didn't relax until he heard Valerie as well. She said something that made the adults laugh. It didn't sound as if they had noticed his…whatever, but it was always better to play it safe where ghost hunters were concerned, especially when his powers were acting up.

"Jazz," he called in a near whisper. When she didn't respond, he floated towards her room, looking over his shoulder at the staircase. "Jazz." He peered around her door.

The light by her bed was on, he could see that from the hallway, but she wasn't there. Danny hesitated in her doorway, his mouth partially open. She wasn't there. She must have left while he was in the lab. He had told her about Valerie training as the Red Huntress, he might have even suggested she visit the library again so there wouldn't be any accidental meetings, at the time only thinking about his ongoing effort to convince Jazz she didn't need to take a gap year for his sake, and apparently she had followed through.

Danny bit down on his lower lip and flew back to his room, shutting the door behind him. He landed on the floor and began to pace around in a tight circle. He could always call her. She would come running if he told her he had had some sort of pseudo panic attack and needed her help, but that could send her running straight into Valerie's path.

Besides…if she had gone to the library again to work on her college applications, he didn't want to interrupt. It was bad enough she had taken a semester off to stay with him in Amity Park, he didn't want to set her back even farther.

He would just have to figure it out on his own, at least until she got back. He ran a hand through his white hair. And then again because he liked—

Danny jerked his hand out of his hair. "Damn it," he cursed. Even Fenton—

His foot turned intangible, and Danny crashed to the floor with a yelp. His head unleashed another painful throb, and Danny groaned, once against rubbing his face against the carpet fibers.

"Just let me die here…" he groaned.

He was sick of it. Absolutely sick of it.

Danny breathed in deeply then let the breath out in a rush. "Fine." He rolled onto his back and sat up, startled to find himself facing the Ghost Catcher. He quickly turned his head away. "Fine. Let's just work through the problem."

He had been fine all day until the possibility of splitting himself became not just a real possibility, but a matter of survival. At least for one half of himself. And because he kept dismissing the possibility out of hand, he was creating real tension inside himself that felt…dangerous. He probably shouldn't do that anymore.

So. Using the Ghost Catcher. Should he?

"Pros," Danny said, closing his eyes. "No more headache. No more power glitches. No ecto-signature to make Mom, Dad, and Valerie suspicious during training. No chance of turning human during a ghost fight. No more confusion about what I'm feeling or who I'm supposed to be. I wouldn't be an even bigger freak anymore, at least for a little while. I wouldn't be…" He hesitated on voicing the word, but that was part of it, wasn't it?

Sam and Tucker tried. They focused on the good, the fun, even when things got bad. His friends were the best, but sometimes it wasn't enough. It was fun having superpowers, fighting bad guys, but at three in the morning on a school night, confronted by yet another ghost calling him halfa, it was just…it was also…

Lonely.

Danny licked his lips and absently rubbed his hand over his forearm. "Cons," he whispered. "I'm finally starting to be me again. If I split, I'll just have to go through this all over again. And while we're separate, I'll have to trust…them. Phantom would have to be the hero. Fenton would have to fix things with Valerie. They could help each other, but then things might…happen."

Danny swallowed and ran his hand through his hair. His white hair. He jerked his hand back down. "Definitely," he said, his voice a little shaky. "Definitely don't want that. But…it's just a small crush. Those only grow if you let them, and if we keep our distance until the weekend, merge back on Friday night, pretend to be sick, I'll have three days to pull myself back together without having to worry about school or Valerie's secret or my parents' lessons. Sam and Tucker could handle any ghosts for that long."

He frowned down at his hands. It sounded like an ideal way to escape the mess Valerie's exposed secret had created on top of his own problems, just wait for a more opportune time for his mind to right itself. But while the lesson hadn't gone great, it hadn't been a disaster either. His own secret was still intact. Both secrets.

"Yes," Danny said quietly, "but we didn't train today. Mom only tested us physically, and Dad only showed off his inventions. Once we start using those inventions, Phantom's ecto-signature might attract or activate them, and then Valerie might be even more insistent we use the Ghost Catcher to fix the problem."

Which was why they had chosen to hide the Ghost Catcher. Jack and Maddie couldn't modify what they couldn't find, and more than anything, Danny didn't want them to change anything. Before, he might have been excited by the possibility that he could split his human and ghost self without splitting his personality as well, but that was before those split personalities started gaining an awareness to rival Danny's own.

It wasn't as bad as the time immediately following the merge, but Danny still sometimes found himself wondering if he was just the combined mind of two people. Of course that wasn't the case—he had been here first—but it was a little harder to remember he was the true Danny and they the splintered remains when moments like those in the lab kept happening. When he was more Phantom than Fenton or more Fenton than Phantom, was he still just Danny? Because in those moments…he didn't feel like he was.

To make things worse, Phantom's and Fenton's existence was only holding on by a thread. If all hope of ever separating was lost, either because of the merge or his parents' modifications…Danny didn't think the part of him that was Phantom would simply let it go, not now that he was so keenly aware of the process.

Whatever had taken place a few minutes ago, that had not been a fun experience. Danny would rather avoid a repeat performance, thanks.

And that was the whole reason he was even considering splitting himself again. Phantom. Phantom was too aware of himself as a person not to realize he was experiencing a form of death and too attached to Fenton for Danny's natural protective instincts not to react. He didn't want to lose himself. He didn't want to lose Fenton. Because Phantom was Danny, Danny didn't want those things either.

Danny allowed his eyes to trace back to the Fenton Ghost Catcher and breathed out a slow sigh. "You'll have to let go some time, Phantom," he said. "It's either you or me, and we already learned this lesson with Technus. Splitting now is just a stay of execution."

His face scrunched up in displeasure, but it was the truth, and he didn't feel any disagreement within himself. Only dissatisfaction. He might have to let go, but that didn't mean he had to let go now. Before, merging had made sense, but being together was creating even more problems than being apart had.

There was no guarantee splitting himself wouldn't in the end make things worse either, though. Phantom didn't like fighting, he wasn't especially good at it, how could he be a successful hero? And while Fenton had somewhat enjoyed the physical exertion during training, he had already made their relationship with Valerie take another downswing. He wasn't any better at romance than Phantom was at fighting. There was no guarantee they could even make it to Friday night without creating a bigger mess. The merge might even hurt worse after four days of separation instead of only three.

And yet…

Danny stared at the Ghost Catcher, chewing on his bottom lip. He wanted to. The more he thought about it, the more appealing it sounded, the more he really wanted to. Maybe it was just procrastination, and maybe he would regret it come Friday, but…it would be nice to see each other again. And figure out the whole crush thing in the privacy of their own head-space.

Just one more time, just one more chance. That's all they needed.

Danny stood, his eyes locked on the metal ring and the way the orange sunlight contrasted with the bright green of the glowing net. "If we do this," he said, his throat oddly tight around the words, "we have to keep our distance. And merge back on Friday after school. No putting it off."

He nodded to himself, as in in agreement, which…it wasn't, wasn't it?

He floated off the ground and approached the Ghost Catcher, stopping a foot before the net. He hovered in front of the invention, teeth catching his bottom lip as he stared through the net and saw everything on the other side tinted green. It was a mistake, he knew it was, but it was one he had to make if his mind was ever going to let him move on.

He hesitated, wondering if he should try to encourage his preferred personalities. If Fenton gained even a little of Phantom's confidence or Phantom some of Fenton's skill, they would have less trouble playing their parts.

But even as the idea crossed his mind, Danny found himself shaking his head. It was probably asking for even more trouble, wanting the two halves of himself that were developing feelings for each other to be apart again, but he—they—wanted to come out the Ghost Catcher the same as when they had gone in.

Besides, their personalities felt natural. His mind was already split in their direction. They just needed to be pulled apart.

Danny felt a chill run down his spine that had nothing to do with his ice core. "That…wasn't a comforting thought." He was their middle ground, after all. He was all that stood in their way. "Talk about being a third wheel," he muttered and then paused. He replayed that sentence in his head and laughed uneasily. "Right! Because we like each other! Ha ha! Funny…Not."

He groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. "It's fine. It's fine. So long as I—they—" He made a frustrated noise. "—no one lets anything happen, it'll be fine." He felt his trepidation raising, his headache returning, but he had already made his decision. He couldn't just back out now.

"One more time," he said. "One more time."

Danny gathered himself. He took one last deep breath and flew toward the net. Fear shot through him, but then the ecto-based strings sliced into him, cut at the connection between his human and ghost half, ripping him apart down to his molecules. It hurt, but it was the way he felt his mind pulled apart like Velcro that was the worst. The best. He cried out, his voice joined by another's, and then they were free. Of the net, the pain, each other, gravity—well, Phantom was, at least.

Fenton fell to the floor but caught himself with his hands and managed to turn the fall into a roll. To Phantom hovering above him, it looked impressive. As soon as he was sure Fenton had landed safely, however, Phantom pressed his hands to his chest, feeling the familiar thrum of his core. He touched his face, his hair, and then back down to his chest.

"Am I me?" he whispered, too quietly for Fenton to hear. Finally, truly speaking only to himself.

Fenton pushed himself to his feet, wincing in pain. Phantom remembered how much his knees had hurt, especially after the Suicide Sprints, and winced himself. He floated a little closer to the ground, a little closer to Fenton, but Fenton shied away, shuffling back several steps. His eyes, wide and very blue, lifted to meet Phantom's before dropping back down to the floor, hidden behind black hair as Fenton ducked his head.

"Um," he mumbled, "distance. Right?"

"Right," Phantom agreed, mostly because he hoped saying the word would convince Fenton to relax. Fenton's shoulders were starting to hunch forward, one of Fenton's hands moving to grab his forearm. Phantom knew a self-conscious posture when he saw one, and he moved backwards. Fenton's shoulders relaxed, but he didn't release his arm. And he didn't look up.

Phantom would have loved to savor the sight of Fenton a while longer after almost having lost him, would have loved to give Fenton the time he needed to feel comfortable around him again, but there was something he needed to know before his own gut would stop twisting itself into knots. "Are you…" How to phrase it? "You?" he finished weakly.

That startled a glance out of Fenton, even if his eyes remained mostly hidden behind his hair. "What kind of question is that?"

The tone was certainly right, but Fenton had never behaved like this before the merge. He had been shy when they practiced, but not to the point where he couldn't look Phantom in the eye when they weren't even doing anything.

"An important one," Phantom said. "Are you the same Fenton that went through the merge yesterday? Or do you feel…different?"

Fenton shifted on his feet. "I feel like I've just been run through a cheese grater—again—if that's what you mean."

"It's not." Phantom floated closer and then backed away again before Fenton could tense up. Perhaps he could be blunt. "Have you picked up another new trait, or are you the same Fenton I have a crush on?"

A blush spread across Fenton's cheeks, quickly hidden behind his hands. "You can't just say it," he groaned.

Phantom fused his legs into a tail and allowed it to undulate freely in sharp, agitated movements. "That I was developing a crush? We were one just a minutes ago, you know I how I feel. Felt." After all, nothing had been private. Just remembering how Fenton must have seen and felt...everything made Phantom's own cheeks chill. Fenton groaned again, louder that time, and Phantom sighed. "Are you?"

Fenton lowered his hands from his face and crossed his arms over his chest, his head turned away from Phantom. "There isn't exactly a guidebook on who I am at any given moment. It doesn't really matter, does it?"

Phantom lowered his own gaze to the floor, frowning. Perhaps in the sense there was no way to undo whatever damage the merge had caused, it didn't matter, but it felt important. Not just because he had liked that Fenton, but also in defining who Phantom was supposed to be as well.

"I suppose," he said, thinking aloud, "we'll figure out who we are the longer we stay separate. We have until Friday." Fenton shrugged. He still refused to look at Phantom, and it was starting to disturb him. "What is wrong?"

"Other than us separating again?" Fenton gave a short, harsh laugh. "Maybe I'm just dizzy."

Unlikely, given that Phantom's own head felt clearer than it had since they merged. There was a still a little disorientation, particularly from lingering memories that were not his own, but it was already clearing faster than it had when they were one.

More likely, Fenton was hiding something. Phantom flew towards him and landed a couple feet away. Fenton's eyes jumped to meet his. He sucked in a startled breath, scurried back a few steps, but in his haste, he tripped over his own feet and landed on his rear.

Phantom raised an eyebrow, watching Fenton scramble back to his feet, a deep red blush darkening his cheeks.

"Ass," Fenton grumbled, once again looking at the ground instead of Phantom.

Well. He still had a fixation with foul language. That was one thing at least.

Making an educated guess, Phantom said, "I'm not going to try anything, Fenton. I might have a small crush—a small one—but we have a girlfriend."

Fenton frowned and rubbed absently at a forearm. "We had a girlfriend yesterday morning too. That didn't exactly stop you from, uh, well…" Fenton's face flushed.

The little chill blush Phantom had felt earlier surged to his hairline. It was one thing for Fenton to know he had kissed him that morning, it was another for him to know how he had felt throughout. Intimately. Phantom coughed. "Point…taken…" Perhaps it wasn't so odd for Fenton to avoid looking at him. Phantom found his own gaze sliding to look out the window instead, embarrassed himself. "It won't happen again."

"Because we're going to stay away from each other?"

Phantom thrashed his tail, frustrated, but that had been the only compromise they could find as one person, and it made sense. They couldn't develop true feelings for each other, and Phantom had already found himself succumbing to a few. He was their weakest link, so if he wanted to stay close to Fenton, to hold him tightly because he had almost lost him—had felt him slipping away—then he ought to do the opposite, and that meant distance.

Besides. Practicing a kiss with his other half meant little. Kissing a person who felt less like his other half and more like a person all his own because he wanted to would mean cheating on Valerie. He had done it once due to extenuating circumstances, and it had led to Valerie getting hurt. He wouldn't do it again.

"Yes," he said, "I will keep my distance."

He looked back at Fenton in time to catch blue eyes staring back at him. Fenton quickly ducked his head again, rubbing the back of his neck as if to play it off. Phantom tilted his head to the side and watched the blush return to Fenton's face.

Huh.

"If you're going to hunt ghosts," Fenton said, voice too loud as he awkwardly changed the subject, "you should probably take the cell phone in case something comes up."

"Or," Phantom added, "in case you need to get in contact with me. You will be on a fairly predictable schedule, but patrolling could take me anywhere."

"Uh, yeah, that too." Fenton dropped his hand to his side and looked around the room. "Where did we—"

"In the backpack."

"Right."

Fenton…charged the backpack sitting innocently beside the bed where they had dropped it. His movements were odd, jerky, as he dug through the pockets. Phantom, a small, bemused smile on his face, floated into the air just above and behind him. Fenton's erratic movements worsened. He fumbled with a zipper for several long seconds, and it wasn't even the right one.

"Third pocket," Phantom said, "on the left."

Fenton reached into the appropriate pocket and pulled out their phone. He stood and spun to face Phantom in one motion, but while he must have known Phantom was behind him, he must not have realized his exact location because the motion brought his face within inches of Phantom's own. Phantom sucked in a breath. Fenton squeaked and stumbled back a step, catching his calf against the bed frame and falling onto the mattress, directly into the sunlight.

Phantom huffed a breath of laughter and held up his hands as he backed away. "Easy, Fenton. One would think you have never seen a ghost before."

"I can handle ghosts just fine," Fenton shot back, his eyes locked determinedly on the phone. "Phantoms are the problem."

Phantom hummed appreciatively, more pleased to hear evidence of Fenton's previous fiery wit than the weak pun on his name. He couldn't see what Fenton was doing on the phone, didn't dare hover over him again, but he didn't think Fenton was actually doing anything but giving himself a distraction.

Phantom took the opportunity to study his so-called other half instead. If all went according to plan, it might be his last and only chance. There was just something about Fenton that kept drawing his attention, and if he could figure out what that was, he might be able to conquer it. Subdue it. He had until Friday to overcome the crush for both their sakes. He knew he found Fenton strangely attractive, but that could just be from hormones. They had spent most of Saturday kissing, after all. Before they had received their ghost powers, there hadn't been anything special about them. Certainly nobody had given them the time of day, not even Sam, though Phantom liked to think her later interest had more to do with their willingness to take action and be a hero than their ghost powers. So they couldn't have been that attractive to start with. It had to be something else about Fenton that kept drawing Phantom to him.

Fenton looked up, blue irises catching the sunlight so they shone like glass, and as they finally met Phantom's, Phantom's thoughts derailed. Crashed. Threw themselves into the garbage can.

Two years must have done our appearance a world of good, he thought, a little helpless.

"Can I ask you a question?" Fenton said, oblivious to Phantom's need for a reboot.

Phantom made a noise that sounded vaguely like assent. Funny how his 'little crush' resisted Fenton just fine until the moment Fenton managed to look him in the eyes.

"How can you—it's not like I—" Fenton cut himself off, frustrated. He dropped his eyes and ran a self-conscious hand through his hair. "I look exactly like I—we—always have. So how are you able to…" He waved a hand vaguely. "You know."

"Find you attractive?"

"Well…yeah."

Phantom shrugged, but it worried him how closely their thoughts had followed each other. Perhaps the separation takes time as well, he thought.

"I mean," Fenton continued, "if I found you attractive, that's, uh, not really, um, well, you know, not that big of a surprise. If I did. Because you, uh, you're kind of…new to the whole Danny thing, but I've been here all my life—our life. So…"

Phantom raised an eyebrow, amused. "I'm not sure I understand."

Fenton must have caught his amusement because he sent an irritated look in Phantom's general direction. "I look like the original us, Danny, whatever, so how can you—" Again, the vague hand gesture that could mean anything.

"Oh. That." Phantom still sounded amused, and he could see it irritated Fenton since it was obviously a Big Deal, but Phantom had...mostly dealt with that crisis on his way to fight Spectra, and then again after Fenton had fallen asleep. Attraction didn't amount to much, it was just the starting point. It was the other things, the emotions that had twisted around the attraction that had Phantom more concerned.

"'Oh, that,' he says," Fenton grumbled. "It's only being attracted to yourself. What's so weird and unbelievable about that?"

Phantom smirked. He drifted closer, opened his mouth, a cheesy sentence already shaping itself on his tongue, but at the last moment he stopped. Distance, he reminded himself. Don't turn this around so you can tease him again. He swallowed the words he was about to say and instead thought seriously about what Fenton was asking and how he could explain.

Fenton had seemed to be on the brink of understanding it on his own just before the merge, back when he admitted it was different hearing an answer from Phantom rather than learning the answer as Danny, but Phantom wasn't surprised how long it was taking him. Fenton seemed to prefer acting on his feelings rather than puzzling out their source. If he felt conversing with Phantom was different, he wouldn't stop to wonder why.

"Do you remember the first time we kissed?" Phantom asked, making his echoed voice as gentle as he could to keep from spooking him. "Or learned how to kiss, I suppose."

Fenton met his eyes briefly, wary and worried about what direction he was headed, before he bit his lip and looked down again. He nodded his head.

"I suggested that we weren't really the same person anymore because we could think and act independently of each other. I admit I was, for the most part, teasing you and trying to goad us both into action. I didn't truly take it seriously myself, but lately I…have begun to wonder."

Fenton pulled his legs onto the bed and tried to criss-cross them beneath him, but he winced and pulled them apart again a second latter, setting his feet on the floor once more. Phantom frowned at Fenton's knees.

"Does it have anything to do with you not wanting us to 'die'—" Fenton made air quotations around the word "—when we merge?"

"We were dying." Phantom turned his frown on Fenton, his tail flicking anxiously. "Did you…not feel it as well?"

Fenton shrugged, and when he avoided Phantom's eyes again, it was more purposeful. "It was supposed to happen. We can't limp along as Danny like we did today for the rest of our lives."

Phantom couldn't argue with that, but he didn't have to simply accept death without trying to bargain his way out of it either. He sighed. "Regardless, when I think of you, I don't think of you as another part of myself but as a person unto yourself. So as I'm looking at you now, I no longer just see the other half of myself, I see another person, albeit one I have a history with. He looks different, he moves different, he acts different, he sees the world differently than I do. From there, it's not so difficult to find you attractive."

"That doesn't make any sense." Fenton plucked at the blanket beside his knees. "I still look like us. The face and everything we grew up with."

"We haven't exactly been looking in a mirror for sixteen years, Fenton."

"You know what I mean."

Phantom shook his head. "If you had seen the way your face lit up when we rose above the clouds, you would not find it so hard to understand… We only ever saw ourselves in the mirror or in photographs. It's a new experience entirely to see you from the outside." Fenton still looked confused, his eyebrows pinched as he stared at the floor. Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't know how to explain it any better than that. He was still trying to understand it himself. "If it makes you feel any better, it is a relatively recent development for me. I'm still adjusting myself."

Fenton didn't raise his head, but he glanced up at him, a question in his eyes he wasn't brave enough to ask.

One Phantom wasn't brave enough to answer. He ignored it and pointed at the phone in Fenton's hands. "Do you have a plan for how I will carry it? This suit doesn't come equipped with pockets."

Fenton looked down at the phone again, his mouth twisting into an odd frown. "I forgot about that..."

Phantom shrugged. Fenton hadn't needed to think about it this past weekend, but it had been a common complaint of theirs throughout most of their career as a hero, and one that had irritated Phantom a great deal these past few days. "I can't use our backpack, you will need it yourself."

"Yeah." Fenton chewed on his bottom lip as he thought. "Mom and Dad use utility belts. You might be able to borrow one of Mom's."

Phantom nodded. That would work. Only... "They are black."

"So?"

Phantom tried not to pout. "It will blend in with my suit..."

Fenton raised his head to look at him, eyebrows lifted in surprise. And then he laughed. Phantom had never really heard him do so before, and while he enjoyed the sound for its rarity and for watching Fenton pinch his eyes shut in a display of unabashed levity, he would have enjoyed it more were it not at his expense.

Fenton squinted his eyes open and asked, his voice choppy with unfinished chuckles, "Really, Phantom? Really?"

"Image is important in my line of work," Phantom said stiffly.

"Is it?" Fenton's blue eyes were bright with suppressed mirth, his grin large on his face. "In your hero duties?"

"Well…" Phantom allowed his rigid stance to deflate. "Not so much the fighting part." Fenton laughed again, and Phantom's own smile returned, bigger than before. "I suppose I can endure four days."

"I doubt anyone will notice," Fenton said, smiling freely up at him as if he hadn't been shying away from him since they separated.

"Perhaps not," Phantom conceded, his thoughts already turning away from his public image. He was the one who broke eye-contact with Fenton then. "Is there anything else before I leave?"

The suddenness of the question must have surprised Fenton because several seconds passed in silence before he said, voice oddly strained, "No, I think that's it. I can, uh, I can call or text you if we forgot anything."

Phantom nodded. He looked back at Fenton, dodged the quizzical blue eyes that were likely staring back at him, and focused instead on Fenton's knees.

It probably wasn't a great idea. It would require him to touch Fenton, violating their 'distance' restriction, but Phantom was the one responsible for the injury, and he couldn't simply ignore the pain he knew Fenton was experiencing without at least trying.

He floated towards Fenton, and noticed as he did so that Fenton tensed at his approach. He offered the phone to Phantom, but Phantom shook his head.

"I want to try something." He dismissed his tail and dropped onto the floor in front of Fenton, his legs tucked beneath him. He looked up at Fenton, noticing how wide his eyes had become before Fenton turned his head away.

"Now?" he asked, his voice shaky.

"I need to fix things before I leave," Phantom explained, but going by the frown on Fenton's face, he didn't understand. Phantom placed his hands on Fenton's knees, and the confused expression cleared.

"Oh," he said. "It's fine, I can just get ice from the freezer."

"I think I can do better than a few ice cubes."

Phantom winked at him, but Fenton had returned to avoiding his gaze and didn't see it. Phantom turned his attention to Fenton's knees. He had thought he could heal Valerie before, but he knew Fenton's pain more intimately. He had never done something like this before, not even purposefully healing himself. That ability just…happened. Still, Phantom thought he could do it. Whatever this latest merge-and-separation had done to them, he knew he was still more of a lover than a fighter. He could heal someone he cared about. It had to be something he could do. There had to be a reason he had their powers, a way to make them his own.

He started with summoning his ice powers to his hands, figuring he could numb the area if nothing else. He thought he heard Fenton breathe out in relief, but he wasn't sure and didn't want to interrupt his focus to find out. He pulled pure energy from his core then, but aside from directing it to his hands, he didn't know what to do with it. He breathed in deeply and then let the air flow back out. He would just have to chance it and trust his instincts. He remembered the pain he had shared with Fenton when they were one, the deep stabbing pain whenever they put pressure on their knees, and hardened his resolve. He could do this. He held tight to his desire to help him and pushed the energy out.

Soft green light emanated from his hands, and Phantom sat up a little straighter. Fenton made a startled noise, and Phantom looked up. Fenton stared down at where Phantom's hands rested on his knees, his eyes wide. Green light tinted his face and made his eyes shine a different color than the sun had. Phantom smiled, unable to help the tender expression. His feelings, after all, were partly what fueled the new power he was using.

Fenton's wide blue eyes shifted to Phantom's face. "You can heal," he breathed.

Phantom's smile grew a little wider. "I can."

For some reason Fenton seemed unable to breathe.

The green light between them winked out, and Phantom pulled his hands away. Distance, he reminded himself. For Valerie's sake and ours. He needed to leave. Now, before he could find anymore reasons to delay.

He grabbed the phone from Fenton's lax grip. Fenton's expression hadn't changed much, though there seemed to be the traces of a blush beginning to spread across his cheeks. Phantom smiled at him one last time. "Don't forget to take that shower," he suggested.

The beginnings of a blush darkened into a true blush. Phantom's smile grew, and then he sunk through the floor, turning himself invisible as he went. He needed to find a spare utility belt, and then he had a night to explore, an identity to puzzle out.

---

As soon as Phantom was gone, Fenton dropped his burning face into his hands. "Fuck," he said.

He pulled his legs onto the bed with him, bending his knees easily and without any trace of the previous stabbing pain that had tormented him since yesterday evening. His stomach gave another fluttering sensation that danced its way up his chest and made his heart pound frantically against his ribs. It was difficult to breathe. He felt horrible. He felt like laughing, more lightheaded now than he had been after the separation. Why would anyone—why would Phantom want to feel this way? And about him?

"Fuck," Fenton said again, louder and with more force. "Fuck."

Chapter Text

---

"As soon as one promises not to do something, it becomes the one thing above all others that one most wishes to do." - Georgette Heyer

---

Fourteen...

…Fifteen...

...Six…teen...

"Gee, Danny," Sam said, her purple lips stretched in a teasing smile as she stared down at Fenton from directly above his head, "is that actual effort I spy? You're usually crying on the floor beside Tucker at this point."

On the floor beside the bench, Tucker moaned pathetically.

S-seventeen…

Fenton's arms trembled beneath the barbell as he lowered it to his chest. Slowly. If Sam caught him relaxing his biceps so the bar and its load fell toward his chest instead of being lowered by his muscles, she would refuse to count it, and then he would have to do an extra bench press. He really would end up crying beside Tucker then.

"Did training with Valerie make you realize how valuable physical strength is?"

As soon as the bar was barely an inch above his chest, Fenton struggled to push it above him again, his breath wheezing from the effort.

"Are you hoping to show off next time? Because, I warn you, it's going to take more than two little ten and five pound weights to impress her."

"The…bar…" Fenton panted.

"Okay, fine, seventy-five pounds. Is that better?"

He couldn't do it.

"Sam," he gasped. "Sam!"

Laughing, Sam reached down and grabbed the bar. She lifted it out of his hands and set it into the grooves of the mounting rack for him. Fenton dropped his arms onto his aching, heaving chest, and groaned as his arms and shoulders burned. The flat bench he lay on, once so inviting, had little sympathies for his aches now.

"Don't get too comfortable," Sam warned. "You can take a little break, but remember, we're supposed to do sets of twenty-five."

"Fuck," Fenton gasped.

"Monster," Tucker hissed from the floor.

"Hey, if you can't handle it—" she tapped the circular weights on the right side of the barbell "—don't add an extra ten pounds. Not that I'm complaining, but seriously, Danny, I usually have to force you and Tucker to push yourselves. What gives?" She tilted her head to look down at him again, her short black hair swaying in front of her face.

Fenton turned his head away, a light blush on his cheeks. He was trying to behave as Danny would, but somehow he kept messing up. What was he doing wrong? Sam and Tucker kept giving him these looks. Had they already figured him out?

"Nothing," he said.

"Uh-huh…"

"Whatever has gotten into you," Tucker said as he finally sat up, "stop. Please. You know she's just going to expect me to lift that weight now too!"

Sam smirked at him and crossed her arms. "Consider yourself lucky you already did your sets today, noodle arms."

"'Noodle arms?'" Tucker chocked. He lifted his arm and flexed his bicep, pointing at the small mound of muscle. "I might not be able to lift as much as you yet, but there ain't nothing noodle about these babies."

"Please, the two of you can't even lift the bar without becoming winded."

A brief lull fell over the conversation, and as Sam and Tucker turned expectantly towards him, Fenton realized this was the moment where Danny would brag about his ghost powers. Only, Fenton didn't have ghosts powers. He hesitated, and the silence grew. Sam and Tucker shared another look.

Fenton cleared his throat. "One way to fix that!" he said, a little too brightly.

He reached for the bar again, and Sam hurriedly uncrossed her arms and returned to her spotter position. She helped Fenton lift the barbell off the mount, and as soon as the full weight of the forty-five pound barbell and its thirty pound load fell squarely on his arms again, Fenton's biceps twinged. He groaned. He would have enjoyed a longer break.

"Seriously," Tucker whined, "you two are going to be the death of me."

"Only eight left to go, Danny," Sam encouraged, ignoring Tucker's dramatics.

"Right," Fenton gasped, beginning to lower the barbell. It was only eight more. He could do eight more. He could. He would.

He did.

The moment Sam helped him place the barbell back on the mount at the end of his set, however, Fenton rolled of the bench and collapsed on the floor beside Tucker, gasping for air.

Sam laughed. "Feeling the burn, Danny?"

Fenton groaned. "Feeling it." In his arms, his chest, his stomach…He moaned pitifully and rested his cheek against the floor's cold tiles. They were a balm against his skin, leeching heat from his overworked muscles. It almost felt as nice as when Phantom—

Fenton scrambled to sit up. His friends gave him a strange look, and he nervously plucked at his gym shirt. "Um, uh…" He looked frantically around for a distraction.

Immediately, his eyes were drawn to the guys surrounding the leg side of the room. They were mostly popular jocks like Dash, all of them seemingly friends in one way or another. Fenton rarely paid attention to them aside from trying to avoid their notice, but they were being especially loud. He had even heard Dash yelling about something earlier, though he hadn't paid much attention at the time.

As he caught the eyes of three guys he didn't even know staring back at him, however, he realized that might have been a mistake. Despite being caught, they didn't look away. They spoke to each other, too quietly to be heard over the others.

Fenton started to turn away, but past the jock group, Mikey and Nathan were whispering and pointing at him too. What the hell?

"Uh," Fenton started, uncertain, "guys? Am I being watched?" Sam and Tucker looked around too, but they didn't look as alarmed as he felt.

There was a girl on his left who was pointing at him and speaking excitedly to her friends.

Another girl by the dumbbells was…glaring at him?

"They've been doing that for a while," Sam said, glaring back at the girl until she looked away.

"I thought you knew?" Tucker asked. "They haven't exactly been subtle."

He had noticed. Sort of. Valerie had pointed it out to them yesterday, but she said they were just waiting for drama. Why were they still watching him? Had they noticed something off about him too? Fenton pulled self-consciously on the hem of his Casper High PE shirt. "Why? I'm not—I mean, I haven't done anything?"

"Probably the same thing as Friday?" Tucker suggested. "About the news catching you flying into your bedroom?"

"Maybe someone saw you and your ghost half while you were separate," Sam offered. "Like if he flew you to your date or something."

"Jazz checked the newspapers," Fenton said. "She didn't see anything to do with us. They only brought up Phantom to talk about his behavior with the helicopters. And no, he didn't fly me to my date." He just flew him away afterward.

"You do realize newspapers are just the official news source?" Sam placed her hands on her hips and sighed. "But I wouldn't worry too much. If they had figured out your secret, they would be a bit more…"

"Rabid?" Tucker suggested with a grin. "Drooling and feral?"

Sam huffed a small laugh. "Yeah, especially if they knew their precious Ghost Boy was in their gym class, struggling to lift seventy-five pounds with his skinny human arms."

"Thanks," Fenton drawled dryly.

He wasn't worried about their secret as a halfa—if the town hadn't figured it out in two years, they weren't going to even if they stood side by side—but when Fenton and Phantom had been separate before, things hadn't been…strictly platonic between them. And if anyone had seen that…He ducked his head, willing himself not to blush.

"Just ignore them, Danny!" Tucker thumped Fenton on the shoulder. "Once they see how boring and uninteresting Danny Fenton is, they'll lose interest and start treating you like one of us mere losers again."

"Ha ha," Fenton mumbled.

"Anyway," Sam said, "my turn."

She walked over to the weight rack and picked up two twenty pound weights as easily as Fenton had grabbed the fives. Just watching made him cringe. She had to remove the ten and five pounds first so the bigger and heavier circular sized twenties were on the inside, but once she fit the other weights back on, Fenton realized she had just raised the weight of the barbell to a hundred and fifteen pounds.

Tucker sighed. "You ever get the feeling you're inadequate?"

"All the time," Fenton agreed, his own shoulders already sagging.

Sam grinned at them as she sat on the bench. "Can the two of you handle spotting me? Or should I find someone else?"

Fenton made a rude noise through his lips and pushed off the ground. "No way, we got this. Don't we, Tuck?"

Tucker made a weak whimpering noise in protest. Fenton grabbed his friend's arm anyway and pulled him to his feet.

"The death of me," Tucker said.

Laughing, Sam fell back on the bench, throwing one leg onto the other side. She scooted up the bench until the barbell was directly above her shoulders. She reached up and grabbed the bar as Fenton and Tucker moved to stand above her head, each grabbing the bar on either side of her hands.

"On the count of three," Fenton said.

"One," Sam started, her purple lips spread in a cocksure grin.

"Two," Fenton said.

"Three," Tucker whimpered.

The three of them lifted the barbell off the mount, Fenton and Tucker grunting from the effort. They released their hold, and the hundred and fifteen pound weight dropped onto Sam's arms. She lost her grin. Her eyes narrowed in concentration. She slowly lowered the barbell towards her chest and then lifted it into the air again without a single pause, her breathing still controlled and even.

"One." Fenton sighed, watching as Sam lowered the bar again. "I wish I could do that."

Tucker scoffed. "Who needs all that muscle when you have ghost powers?"

Fenton shrugged. He wanted to cross his arms over his chest, feeling all the more vulnerable now that he had noticed how many people were staring at him, but he didn't dare in case Sam needed help. He glanced around to make sure none were close enough to hear their conversation, but of course they weren't. No one wanted to be seen with Casper High's bottom rung losers. "It's not the same."

"Not the same as lifting an entire school bus full of kids?" Tucker huffed a laugh. "No, you're right. Lifting over a hundred pounds is way cooler."

"And you can't do either," Sam chimed in, only slightly out of breath.

Tucker gasped and pressed a hand to his heart. "Sam," he cried, "you wound me. After all this time, after everything I've done for you, to strike below the belt like this." He sniffed and wiped at an invisible tear. "I thought we were friends..."

Sam laughed lightly.

"Besides I got something neither of you have."

Fenton raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

Tucker smoothed down his shirt, closed his eyes, and lifted his chin. "Charm."

Fenton looked down at Sam, met her violet eyes, and then they both laughed.

"Oh yeah?" Tucker countered. "Watch this." He braced his elbow on Fenton's shoulder and winked at a couple girls who had been staring in their direction. The two girls stared a while longer and then giggled to themselves before turning away.

"Wow," Sam said. "I'm guessing that was a fail."

Fenton shook Tucker's arm off his shoulder. "Did you just try to make me into your wingman or something?"

"Danny, Danny, Danny." Tucker shook his head sagely. "You're my best friend. You're always my wingman. "

"I don't think I—"

"FenTON!"

Fenton jumped, tripped forward and had to grab the barbell mount to keep from falling.

"Was that Dash?" Sam asked, trying to crane her head up to see behind them.

A large hand grabbed Fenton by his hair before he could turn around himself. "Ow! Ow! Dash! What the hell?"

"Can it, loser." Dash pulled Fenton backwards, and Fenton, unable to do more than grab Dash's wrists with both hands, was forced to follow to avoid having his hair ripped out. "You're going to fix this."

"Fix what?"

"Let him go, Baxter!" Sam shouted. She set the barbell back on its mount, Tucker belatedly reaching down to help her. Once free of the weight, she rolled off the bench and charged after them. Tucker trotted after her, his eyes wide. "You can't just go stealing my spotter like that! That's a safety code violation!"

Dash's pace didn't slow, though he did pull a little harder on Fenton's hair, making Fenton wince. "Back off, Manson! This doesn't concern you."

Fenton couldn't see where they were going, bent backwards as he was, but he heard Kwan and Brad urging Dash on, and he had a fairly good guess. He could already see students other than Tucker and Sam following after them, and he clenched his jaw, pinching his eyes shut.

Dash flung him forward, and Fenton landed on his hands and knees in front of him. Kwan and several others with deep voices laughed. Fenton scrambled back to his feet and turned to face Dash, fisting his hands at his sides. The guys surrounding him were all taller and broader than Fenton. It didn't look good. Where was Ms. Tetslaff? Come to think of it, he hadn't heard her scolding her less athletic students in a while.

"See?" Dash jeered, scowling at the other guys. He turned back to Fenton and swept his arm out to indicate the jocks Fenton had noticed watching him earlier. "Tell them!"

"Tell them what?" Fenton demanded, matching Dash's frustration.

"That you're not friends with the most awesomest guy ever!" Dash shoved Fenton's shoulders, and Fenton fell back a step. After he caught his balance again, he glared up at Dash and straightened his back. It only seemed to make Dash angrier. "You don't talk to him," he shouted, "he doesn't give you lifts home, and he definitely doesn't bail you out every time I wail on you!" He shoved him again, almost knocking Fenton off his feet.

Sam pushed through the crowd and moved to stand beside him. A half second later, Tucker did the same. The tension in Fenton's shoulders eased, but he didn't relax his fists.

"Gee, Dash," Fenton said, forcing his voice into a light tone, "I'd love to, but I don't know who you're talking about."

Dash growled. Ignoring Sam's and Tucker's protests, he grabbed Fenton's t-shirt and lifted him onto the balls of his feet. "You know who I'm talking about, you loser!"

Fenton grabbed Dash's wrists again and leaned his head back as far as he could. "Sorry," he shot back through gritted teeth, "I don't speak blockhead. You'll have to spell it out for me."

"Holy shit," Tucker breathed behind him.

"Danny," Sam hissed.

One of the sports players laughed. "He's feisty for a weakling."

"You gonna let him talk to you like that, Baxter?" another asked.

Dash's eyes narrowed dangerously. Fenton met their glare. He could read the threat in them, but he didn't feel frightened. Strange. He didn't even have powers to bail him out this time.

"Phantom," Dash growled. "Tell them you don't know him."

"Why?" Fenton shifted on the balls of his feet. He doubted he could take Dash on, especially with so many of his buddies behind him, but he was determined not to be a harmless punching bag either. "What does it matter to you?"

Dash ground his teeth together. There was obviously something bothering him, even Fenton could see that, but it was apparently something he didn't want to say. Something to do with the possibility of Fenton and Phantom being friends.

"All right!" Tetslaff boomed from the back of the crowd. "Break it up! I leave the room for five seconds and you lot can't even behave that long?"

"More like half the class period," someone muttered.

The students surrounding Dash and Fenton started backing away, and Dash quickly released Fenton's shirt before Tetslaff could see. The sudden loss of Dash's grip made Fenton's weight fall back on his heels, and he stumbled back a couple steps. Tucker and Sam each grabbed one of his arms, steadying him.

"Get your butts into the showers already," Tetslaff continued. "I could smell the reek of teenager BO from all the way out in the hall!"

Sam held up the hand not holding onto Fenton's arm. "Actually, Ms. Tetslaff!" she called out. "I'd like permission to finish my set!"

The muscular teacher stopped stomping around her students and frowned at Sam. "Really, Manson?" She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Fine! But don't skimp on your shower. I don't care if it crunches into your lunch time, I'm not going to listen to Lancer's complaints about unhygienic, smelly pupils again because you want a little extra time on the bench press."

"Danny and Tucker were spotting me."

"Yes, yes, they can stay too. The rest of you! Clear out!" Tetslaff made shooing motions with her hands. "I ain't babysitting you wimps through lunch too!"

Tucker released a sigh of relief as the students began leaving the room. A lot of them threw curious glances at Fenton on their way out, particularly the ones who hadn't been watching him before Dash's tantrum. Dash's friends lingered the longest, waiting as Dash bent towards Fenton until they were at eye-level, making Fenton tense all over again. Tucker's hand squeezed his arm.

Dash's dark blue eyes glared into Fenton's. "You better keep your ghost hating parents away from my hero or I'm going to make your life a living hell, got it, Fen-toenail?"

Fenton blinked. His parents…? "That's what you're so upset about?"

"No," Dash spat, "but if your lame-o parents hear about this, I don't want them going after Phantom just because you wanted some attention."

"I haven't done anything!" Fenton protested.

"And it better stay that way!" With that last angry threat, Dash spun around and stomped away, his shoes practically punching the ground.

Fenton threw his hands in the air. "What does that even mean?" he called after him. "I don't even know what you're talking about!"

But Dash ignored him, and although some of the jocks glanced at Fenton as they followed Dash out of the weight room, no one stopped to elaborate on just what the hell that had all been about.

"On the bright side," Tucker began lightly, "they definitely don't know your secret."

"Yay," Fenton said unenthusiastically, lowering his arms.

"On the equally bright side," Sam said, "I just scored you the perfect excuse to escape showering until after everyone else has left. You're welcome."

Fenton hesitated. He had never liked showering with others as Danny, and the idea was even less appealing now. For multiple reasons. He appreciated Sam's intervention, but…

"Uh," Fenton began, "actually, I took a shower last night. So, uh…"

Tucker looped an arm around Fenton's shoulders. "I hate to tell you this, best buddy of mine." Tucker breathed in deeply and mock gagged. "But you reek. Must be all that nasty 'effort' you put in today." He paused a moment. "Any clues you want to share on that?"

"And why you were so ready to throw down with Dash?" Sam added, raising an eyebrow as she crossed her arms.

Fenton bit down on his bottom lip and shook his head.

"Damn." Tucker sighed. "Worth a shot. Would an explanation have convinced us to let you skip on the shower?"

"…Probably not."

Tucker released Fenton's shoulders and patted him soundly on the back. "There you go then."

"At least he admitted there is something going on," Sam said. "That's something." She uncrossed her arms and nudged Fenton's shoulder before walking back toward the bench press. "Come on. I still have twelve more presses to do."

Fenton smiled hesitantly as he followed her. "You don't mind?"

"Of course we mind," Tucker said. "We're your friends! You don't keep secrets from your friends, Danny."

"But we've learned these things have a way of coming out eventually anyway." Sam flashed a smirk over her shoulder. "Either you'll tell us, or we'll find out when it inevitably blows up in your face."

"Oh." Fenton sighed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Hey, what are friends for?"

---

Phantom landed on the school's roof and walked towards the side overlooking the outdoor picnic tables. He braced his forearms on the parapet and looked down at the students eating lunch. It was a nice day, unlike yesterday. The sun was shining, there were few if any clouds in the skies, and the temperature likely felt perfect for a human. There was even a fresh scent on the breeze from all the rain the day before. It didn't surprise him that some had chosen to eat outside, he just wondered if Fenton or Valerie would choose to do the same.

Phantom sighed and tipped his head down, his white hair dangling in front of his face. He should stop thinking about them. Valerie wouldn't want anything to do with Danny Phantom, and Fenton…well, he might like Phantom's company, assuming he managed to conquer his shyness, but they were supposed to be avoiding each other. It wasn't as easy as Fenton made it sound. Fenton didn't have ghost powers to tempt him.

Unless Phantom missed his guess, Valerie was likely in chemistry and Fenton would be finishing his PE class soon. They would both head to lunch afterward, but before that time, Fenton would have to shower. They had dodged around it yesterday by wetting their hair in the sink after everyone had left, but Phantom doubted the same ploy would work twice on Sam and Tucker. Fenton would have to take his shower. Might even be taking one now. It was…an awfully appealing thought.

Phantom shook his head and laughed to himself. He had literally showered as a human more times than he cared to count, but somehow catching sight of Fenton doing the same was exciting?

I'm either crazy or... Phantom ran a hand through his hair, his lips crooked in a sheepish smile. Better not finish that thought. He was just crazy.

He wanted to see Fenton again, that was all. The self-imposed exile was maddening after having almost lost him. He didn't need to be naked or wet from the shower or flushed from exercise. Phantom just needed to see him being his clumsy, defiant self, like the Fenton he remembered, and he would be content a while longer.

Four days just seemed like such a long time to go without even saying hello.

The bell rang, the sound softened by distance. Phantom set his chin on his arms and watched the students stand from the picnic tables and begin making their way back inside.

At least he could freely see and speak to Valerie. Or as freely as she would let him. Most likely on the battlefield. They weren't the tender moments he longed for, but he needed to give up Fenton to have those with Valerie, and that was…difficult. Not least of all because that would mean losing himself as well.

Phantom blew out a sigh. He wanted a great deal for someone who wasn't meant to exist.

For now, he would wait to see if Valerie and Fenton would eat outside. Even if it was just a distant glimpse, patrolling could wait that long. It wasn't like he and Fenton patrolled on school days anyway. Usually the ghosts just came to them.

---

Valerie bit harshly down on the end of her pen and glared at her open notebook as Mr. Felluca droned on about alkaline metals. The lecture was important, they had a test coming up, but so was the web she had been scribbling down in her notebook since last night. It had started as a little bubble detailing Danny's and Vlad's similar accidents, but it had since grown into a monster as she remembered more and more strange instances around Danny that could all link back to his accident and his potential as a…as a…

What were they supposed to be? Ghosts? Humans with ghost powers? Were they like Danielle? What exactly was she?

Valerie didn't have all the answers yet, but the clues she was gathering made her more sure than ever she wasn't going to like it. So far, everything was pointing to Danny being…something not entirely human. But how far did that go?

Starr nudged her shoulder. Valerie glanced at her from the corner of her eye, and Starr whispered, "Is he giving you trouble?"

Valerie looked back down at her paper. Danny's name, written in at least half the bubbles, stood out prominently against the other text. Valerie felt her cheeks warm a little, which was stupid. She wasn't some lovestruck teenager, this was serious ghost hunting business. Her boyfriend might actually be a ghost. She hunted ghosts.

She turned back to Starr, but the other girl's blue eyes were squinting at Valerie's notebook now too. Valerie quickly covered it with her hand, but not before Starr's eyes widened.

Her high-pitched voice squeaked out the one word Valerie hadn't wanted her to see.

"Phantom?"

On Starr's right, Paulina finally stopped scowling at Felluca for his nasally, hard to understand voice and jerked her head around to face Starr and Valerie, her eyes suddenly bright and excited. "What about the Ghost Boy?"

Valerie groaned and rolled her eyes. "Not now, Paulina."

"Even Valerie thinks he knows Fenton," Starr whispered excitedly.

"I do not."

"You do too! It's right there in your notebook!"

Valerie covered the offending bubble and glared at her best friend. "I know it's difficult for you, Starr, but maybe you could try minding your own business once in a while."

Starr smiled sweetly, unrepentant.

Paulina made a disgruntled noise. "Please, that is so last weekend. Of course Danny knows him. Didn't you see the picture?"

Valerie clenched her jaw. She hadn't forgotten the newspaper article, she just hadn't wanted to think about it. For numerous reasons. "All it shows is Phantom flying through Danny's room. He swears he never even saw him."

"Not that," Paulina huffed, flicking her hand as if disgusted. Valerie frowned. Paulina made a rude noise and rolled her eyes. "This is why you need to let my Papa help you out. You were so much more on top of things when you were rich."

"We don't need charity," Valerie said, her hands curling into fists.

Paulina shrugged. "Whatever. Here."

She whipped out her phone, but as soon as the lock screen appeared, she let out a squeal of delight that made Felluca pause in his lecture to glare warningly in their direction. Their table was far enough away he probably hadn't bothered to scold them for whispering, as aware as everyone else in the school that all sports players and cheerleaders got a free pass from Lancer, but he could confiscate Paulina's phone until the end of class period. Still, Paulina ignored him and cooed over the picture Starr had taken of her and Phantom on Sunday, back when Paulina had hugged Phantom after a ghost attack. Valerie had already seen it more than she cared to. Felluca reluctantly returned to his lecture.

"Anyway." Starr turned back to Valerie. "Personally, I think you could do way better than Fenton and his squad of misfits. Maybe Henry? He's not all that rich either. He wouldn't rub it in your face."

"I don't care about how rich guys are, Starr-"

"Obviously."

"I just like him." Or she had. Valerie glared at her notebook again. "Danny's hiding something from me, and I don't like that."

"Oh." Starr shrugged dismissively. "Guys hide things all the time. It's not a big deal."

"This is," Valerie said as quietly as she could.

"Here." Paulina passed her phone to Starr who promptly handed it to Valerie. Felluca didn't even bother to glare them. "See? They're totally talking."

Valerie frowned at the phone in her hands. Phantom was clearly visible, his glow and the way the rain reflected it drew Valerie's eyes immediately, but whoever had taken the photo had done so behind a window, and the occasional water droplet, the glare from a light source behind them, interfered with the shot.

There was someone standing in front of Phantom, she could see that much, but their face was in the glare. The rest of their body, from the white turtleneck to their red sneakers, was visible. Valerie's grip tightened around the phone. She knew that outfit.

"The picture is not that great," Paulina continued. "Whoever posted it said they were looking outside at the rain when Phantom suddenly appeared in front of this kid who was walking just outside their apartment. They don't go to our school, so someone else posted a picture of Danny for them to identify, and they swear he's the kid in the picture."

Valerie leaned over the phone, her jaw clenched. She had thought Danny had been acting strange during their date, but why hadn't he said anything? Perhaps not during the date, but after he found out she was the Red Huntress? Did Phantom have some sort of blackmail over Danny? Or had Danny wanted him there?

Given that Danny had defended Phantom on Sunday, even to the point of voluntarily entering the Ghost Zone to save him if necessary, Valerie had a bad feeling it was the latter.

Besides, Phantom didn't look threatening in the picture. He looked…shy?

Why was Danny even talking to him after their date?

"Did the person who posted it hear what they were talking about?" she asked Paulina.

The other girl shrugged. "Nope. They just saw them talking in the rain. They said they were going to record them but then Phantom flew away with Danny." She sighed dreamily. "If only he would fly me away from here…"

"He—he what?" Valerie spluttered, trying to keep her voice hushed even though every part of her wanted to stand up and scream.

She had suspected when Danny wasn't at all afraid in the sky yesterday, but to have it confirmed…She had started to think Danny might have flown up there himself since he was (probably) some sort of ghost-human hybrid like Danielle, but if Phantom had flown him up there, that…that could put a different spin on things. On a lot of things.

"Why aren't you more upset?" Valerie demanded, her breathing a little fast. "If Danny had been another girl—"

"Oh please. You're not seriously suggesting the Ghost Boy is gay." Paulina pointed imperiously at her phone. "You saw our picture when I hugged him. That adorable ghost blush, his goofy grin…there's no way he doesn't like me."

"There is such a thing as bi, Paulina. I should know."

"Uh, yeah, but why would the Ghost Boy choose Danny when he could have me? Besides." Paulina grinned wickedly, and Valerie braced herself for the attack. "Danny is already dating someone. Someone who isn't Phantom."

Valerie's pen squeaked in protest as Valerie clenched her jaw and glared at her old friend. "Danny isn't like that."

"Then neither of us has anything to worry about," Paulina concluded brightly. "Give me back my phone."

Valerie looked down at the phone one last time, trying to memorize all she could. She passed it back to Paulina who clicked on her lock screen again so she could sigh over Phantom's image some more. Valerie rolled her eyes. To her, he looked more startled and embarrassed than interested.

"Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?" she asked, turning to Starr.

Starr held up her hands. "You were so upset with Fenton yesterday, I thought you had seen it. They posted it on Paulina's Ghost Boy website Sunday."

Valerie wrinkled her nose. "I don't go on there, Starr." She had no interest in seeing people from Amity Park (and even some outside) fawn over some ghost because he happened to be cute and played a good hero game. They should all know better.

"Oh," Starr said, hesitant. "So, you haven't heard the latest?"

"What latest?" Valerie demanded. "There's more?"

"Well, that's twice Fenton has shown up in relation to Phantom," Starr said quickly. "So some people were talking about keeping an eye on Fenton so they could—"

"You mean stalking," Valerie interrupted. "They're planning on stalking my boyfriend? Because of two grainy pictures that don't actually prove anything?"

Starr hunched her shoulders forward. "Well...Paulina..." She looked imploringly at her friend.

Paulina finally looked up from her drooling. "What? Oh. Yeah. That was my idea."

"Call," Valerie growled, "it off."

"Uh, no." Paulina sniffed and ran her hands down her long black hair, pulling it over one shoulder. "Do you know how long it has taken me to convince them? Phantom never appears anywhere unless Fenton is there first. We should have been tracking Danny ages ago, but no one ever listened to me." She glared at Starr.

"They've never been seen together," Starr protested. "I thought you were still just crushing on Fenton."

Paulina slammed one hand on the desk, her cheeks flaming. "I do not have a crush on that loser!"

"Miss Sanchez!" Mr. Felluca shouted. "Please!"

Paulina glared at the teacher but sunk obediently down in her chair. Her voice once again quiet, she hissed. "I don't."

"Methinks you protest too much," Starr teased, grinning.

Paulina's lips pulled into a pout.

"Hey, stay away from my boyfriend, Sanchez," Valerie said. "And while you're at it, call off your creep squad."

Paulina scoffed. "They're just going to keep an eye out for Phantom. No one's interested in catching a loser and a has-been making out." She smirked devilishly. "Or trying to."

Valerie gritted her teeth. She refused to give Paulina the satisfaction of seeing how deeply the remark cut. It would just add more fuel to the fire, and Danny had already suffered enough because of her carelessness.

More important would be all the attention Danny was getting because of some unspecified connection to the so-called town hero. Danny finally knew her secret, he knew and he didn't mind, but she would still have to hide it and distance herself from him because of Phantom's obsessed fans. It wasn't fair. She was just lucky it had been raining yesterday. Nobody would have wanted to follow her and Danny into that downpour no matter how much they wanted to catch Phantom.

"They're not going to find anything," Valerie said as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "If Danny and Phantom have any interactions at all, it's because of Danny's parents."

"Oh!" Starr said brightly. "That's probably how Phantom got his ghost-catching thermos!"

"Probably," Valerie grumbled.

Paulina waved a dismissive hand. "We're not trying to incriminate him. Didn't you hear?" Paulina leaned into Starr's side to better stare at Valerie, accentuating her English as clearly and slowly as she could. "The Ghost Boy appears wherever Danny goes. I have been saying it for years!"

"She has," Starr chimed in with a sigh.

"He'll lead us right to the Ghost Boy."

"Thats—" Valerie started heatedly, but her mouth moved silently over several objections before she finally bit out "—insane."

"Whatever." Paulina sat up properly and picked up her pencil. "Just don't tell your loser boyfriend about this. It might ruin everything."

Valerie scowled down at her notebook and the web she had started last night. The web that was hinting at something Danny didn't want her to know. "I won't," she promised. She had her own answers to gather, after all, and if Paulina's minions wanted to help with that, all the better.

She picked up her pen again, and after several seconds of thought, she wrote "Phantom appears wherever Danny is" and connected it to a bubble about them sharing some sort of connection. They were both hiding something. She didn't have the words for it yet, but seeing those bubbles together…Valerie felt dread building inside of her.

She just knew wasn't going to like the answers.

---

Tucker and Fenton entered the boys' locker room, and to Fenton's relief, it was empty. He had half feared Dash or one of the other guys who had been staring at him would be waiting in ambush, but it seemed even they didn't have that kind of patience, not when the lunch bell had rung just a couple minutes ago.

Tucker moved towards their lockers, already stripping off his shirt. Fenton sighed miserably and followed his example, grabbing the back of his collar and pulling his shirt over his head in one smooth motion. A cold breeze blew over his exposed skin, and Fenton shivered. For more reasons than one.

Fenton chucked his shirt at the bench with more force than necessary. Tucker twisted his head to look over his shoulder at him, one eyebrow poised in question. Fenton forced a shaky smile. "You were right. It stinks."

"Uh-huh…" Tucker drawled.

Fenton undressed the rest of the way quickly and jumped into the showers before Tucker even finished gathering his own supplies. He really had showered the night before, it had just been a very late night shower. It had taken a long time for him shake off the effects of Phantom's presence, and even longer to gather the courage to strip in front of the mirror in the bathroom.

Fortunately, with Phantom no longer in his head, sharing his senses and broadcasting thoughts Fenton had never wanted directed at himself, the ordeal had been a lot less embarrassing. He didn't try to check himself out in the mirror, he didn't feel excited about his bare skin, and he definitely didn't feel like there was another person looking through his eyes, seeing what he saw. It was a relief and would have stayed that way if Fenton's thoughts hadn't wandered back to Phantom and the confusing mess of emotions he evoked, as inescapable as gravity and just as exciting.

Fenton gritted his teeth and ducked his whole head beneath the shower spray. No, he wasn't going there, not again. It had started innocently last night too, with Fenton wondering how it had sneaked up on him and whether or not he was actually feeling something or if it was just lingering traces of Phantom's own crush, but it had spiraled into thoughts of glowing skin, cold fingers, and what Phantom might look like in the shower instead, and—It had been exciting to think about, fine, yes, but he didn't want to think about Phantom like that.

"You forgot your towel."

Fenton jerked his head out of the spray and wiped frantically at his eyes. "What?" He heard Tucker's feet slapping against the wet stone tiles and looked up.

"Your towel." Tucker pointed at the hooks where they were supposed to hang their towels. Two towels now hung from the pegs, a yellow and a blue one. "I brought it in for you. No need to thank me. I can tell you're distracted."

"I'm not!" Fenton objected. He hurriedly grabbed his shampoo off the little shelf beneath his shower head and almost dropped it. "I'm just, uh, focused."

"Is that what we're calling it?" Fenton heard metal squeak, and then Tucker's shower head sputtered out its own rainfall, joining Fenton's in a near deafening cacophony. "Come on, Danny! We're bros. We share everything! Is it about Valerie?"

In truth, Fenton hadn't thought about his girlfriend much at all except to worry about seeing her again. "Sort of," he said instead, scrubbing the shampoo into his hair. "But, uh, not exactly."

"Yesterday was your first day training together, right?"

Fenton swallowed. "Yes," he said, almost too quiet for Tucker to hear over the rainfall. Fenton ducked his head beneath the shower spray again, rinsing the shampoo. "She and my parents really hit it off," he said, speaking louder, water spraying from his lips. "They really got into the whole hunting thing."

Tucker winced sympathetically. "Bet that wasn't pleasant."

"You'd bet right." Once his hair was clear of suds, Fenton stepped out of the warm spray and grabbed his body wash. He lathered his sponge but hesitated, swallowing. "We, uh, we got into a fight."

"Dude! You didn't say anything! Is it bad? How upset is she?"

Fenton shifted on his feet. "Don't know." Valerie was upset, but Fenton didn't think their relationship was in danger or anything. Then again, he wasn't the love expert his ghost half was. Phantom had an uncanny ability to pick up nuances about those around them. He could probably guess Valerie's mood just by glancing at her.

"Yikes." Tucker shook his head. "Guess that explains your behavior."

Fenton took a deep breath. Not even close. He began scrubbing his body as quickly and efficiently as he could. He wasn't as scared of it as he was yesterday, alone in the bathroom with thoughts about a crush he didn't understand plaguing him, but there was still the lingering memory of dual sensations that made him feel a little flustered. "I'm not acting that strange, am I?" he asked to distract himself.

Tucker held out a hand covered in soap suds out and waggled it side-to-side. "Just little things. I doubt anyone else would notice."

"Even Valerie?"

Tucker hesitated. "I want to say no because you guys haven't been dating that long, but...well, she is a ghost hunter."

Fenton bowed his head and sighed. "Right..."

"She's not your parents, though, Danny. She probably won't assume it's related to ghosts."

Except, she already had. And she had placed the blame squarely on Phantom. It wasn't even that far from the truth.

The rest of the shower passed uneventfully, and Fenton and Tucker joined Sam outside the gym only ten minutes after lunch began, but now Fenton's thoughts were churning. His silence and monosyllabic answers to any comments sent his way drove Sam and Tucker to discuss the movie they had watched last night after bowling in order to give him space. Relieved, Fenton stared down at his feet as he and his friends walked towards the cafeteria.

Something had gone wrong with their relationship with Valerie. Phantom had noticed it during training, and even if Fenton still thought she had just been frustrated, he trusted Phantom's judgment. The problem was Phantom was counting on him to fix things with her. Fenton didn't know the first thing about dating—he had barely held it together during their date, and even then he had had Phantom's help. What was he even supposed to say to her the next time he saw her?

In truth, he would have preferred to avoid her. The pressure to fix things, the obligations he had to a relationship he was only slightly interested in, just made Valerie a source of stress for him, and while Fenton wasn't great at these things, he didn't think that was fair to either of them.

He was far more interested in seeing Phantom again, and that was…bad. Bad, bad, bad, terribly bad, for numerous reasons. Fortunately, they had agreed to keep their distance so he wouldn't see Phantom until right…before they merged…

Fenton pinched his eyes shut and ran a hand through his damp hair. Damn it.

They were among the last students to arrive at the cafeteria. Sam carried her bag lunch in her hand, but she followed Fenton and Tucker to the end of the short line, still bickering about a cyborg character. Fenton didn't understand what it was about, but he smiled all the same as he watched them skillfully volley retorts and objections back and forth.

Someone in line ahead of them looked over her shoulder and caught his eye, only to turn back around quickly. Fenton lost his smile. He looked around the cafeteria, and while fewer people were looking at him, he noticed just as many glances would sometimes be thrown his way.

"Just great," he muttered quietly to himself. He still didn't know the reason, but Sam was probably right. Someone had seen him and Phantom together. He just wasn't sure how or where. The only time they had been outside the house together had been during the date and when they were above the clouds. And when they came back down.

Fenton felt his cheeks warming, Phantom's memories of that moment still a little too clear in his mind. Whatever motives Phantom had when he flew Fenton up there, by the time he flew them back down, Phantom had…he had held Fenton like he was precious, and Fenton was still trying to come to terms with that himself. He hoped nobody saw them then. It was…personal.

He glanced around again, but this time he spotted Valerie sitting at a table by the windows. She was all alone, her tray still mostly full as she scribbled in her notebook. Fenton took a deep breath. Right. He could do this. She was just like Sam. He could do this.

Short as the line was, Fenton and Tucker soon filled their trays, and Fenton warily led his friends over to Valerie's table. He was halfway there when it occurred to him she may not want company. He looked at Tucker for help, but Sam was already moving forward. She sat beside Valerie and opened her brown bag.

"Working on something, Gray?" she asked as she pulled out her salad.

Valerie flipped her notebook shut. "You could say that." She looked up as Fenton sat down across from her and Tucker beside him. "I was wondering where you guys were. Dash give you trouble again?"

Tucker pointed his fork accusingly at Sam. "Miss muscles over here refused to leave until she finished her 25 count set. Now, I ask you, is that necessary? Is that fair?" He stabbed his fork into the spaghetti the lunch ladies had prepared them. He slurped up the noodles and around his mouthful, he concluded, "I think not."

"She put forty-five pounds on each side of the barbell," Fenton explained, almost too quietly for a crowded cafeteria. "Tuck and I had to work together to spot for her."

Valerie turned raised eyebrows on Sam. "That'd make it a hundred and fifteen pounds?" Sam nodded, grinning. "Manson, you and I need to be in the same gym class next year."

"An actual weight lifting partner would be godsend at this point." She gestured at Tucker and Fenton. "I've been trying to whip these two into shape since the year started. It's only been a few weeks, but I can already tell it's hopeless."

"Hey," Fenton protested. "I'm getting better!"

"Give it a few months, Manson. You can't expect them to catch up when only a few PE days are dedicated to strength training. Me on the other hand? I have a weight room at my apartment complex where I work out everyday."

Sam leaned forward. "Really? How much do you lift?"

Tucker snorted.

"A hundred twenty-five."

"Not bad."

"Better than you."

"By ten pounds."

"Ten pounds may as well be ten miles if you think you can catch up to me."

Tucker shook his head. "Just admit defeat now, Danny. We may as well turn in our macho cards."

Fenton sighed. "What makes you think we ever had them?"

The two girls laughed at them, and Fenton tilted his head down to hide his pleased smile. Talking to Valerie wasn't so hard after all, so long as Tucker and Sam were there.

"Oh, Danny!"

Fenton stiffened. He knew that high-pitched, beautifully accented voice. Every boy in the school did. A glance at the two girls sitting across from him told him he was right even before he turned around. "Uh, yes?" he called back, uncertain. "Paulina?"

People really were looking in his direction now, though at least now that attention was shared with the girl strolling over to his table, Kwan following at her heels. As gorgeous as ever, Fenton nevertheless wished Paulina had found someone else to target. Like Tucker. Tucker was already salivating and whispering excitedly in Fenton's ear. Not Fenton. Fenton would rather curl up in a ball than speak to the most gorgeous girl in the school. He just knew he was going to blow it, whatever it was.

She stopped beside him, smiled, and without bothering to acknowledge the others sitting at the table, handed Fenton a flier. "It's our last summer party before we have to drain the pools. Kwan's hosting it this year."

She flashed a brief smile at Kwan. Kwan's own smile was more sincere as he met Fenton's eyes, but Fenton wasn't reassured. Kwan had been egging Dash on not even thirty minutes ago.

Paulina directed her smile at Fenton again, half-lidded her eyes, and said in a softer, more intimate voice, "We want you to come."

"Um…" Fenton looked down at the flier, flustered and blushing. Was there a way out of this without committing social suicide? He looked at Valerie for help, knowing she had once been a part of that crowd, but the others misinterpreted his look.

Paulina sighed. "Fine. Yes. Valerie, you can come too since you're dating him. But you better be civil."

With a beaming grin, Kwan handed Valerie a flier.

"How generous," Valerie said without emotion.

"What about us?" Tucker asked eagerly.

"You can come too," Kwan said brightly, handing him and Sam a flier each. "I know Fenton will only come if you guys do."

"Gee, thanks," Sam said, casually setting her paper aside. "So we're only invited because you want Danny there? I feel so loved. Really."

"Well they only want Danny to come so Phantom might show," Valerie said with only a little more emotion in her voice. The dangerous kind. "Isn't that right, Paulina?"

Paulina pouted.

Fenton pulled his paper apart and found a second one beneath the first. "Ah," he said, the only sound he could manage with his heart racing the way it was.

This again.

"Okay," Paulina admitted, "yes, Danny and his loser friends are only invited because that raises the likelihood of Phantom showing up to, like, seventy percent—"

"You said eighty," Kwan protested.

"A really much higher chance! But if he shows up, that would totally prove you know him. That will show everyone I was always right, I'll get my Ghost Boy, and Danny will get the fame of being known as his friend or whatever." She clapped her hands in front her chest. "It's a win-win for everyone!"

"And it was my idea!" Kwan added, grinning. "Do you realize how amazing it would be to have Phantom show up at my party? At my house?"

Sam narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. "Is this what had Dash so upset earlier? He doesn't want Danny there?"

Kwan winced. "Uh. M-maybe. Sort of."

"So you'll come, won't you, Danny?" Paulina asked sweetly, placing her hand on his arm.

Startled, Fenton jerked his arm away. He looked up hurriedly into Paulina's stunned face, but Valerie at least looked pleased. "Uh," he stuttered, "sorry. Um, I can let him know if I see him, but uh, I'm not going."

"What?" Paulina's gaped at him a moment before her eyes narrowed. "Why not?"

Fenton shrugged. "I'm grounded." And thank you Dad for that, he thought silently to himself.

"Danny, noooo," Tucker wailed, grabbing Fenton's arm.

Paulina stomped her foot. "You can't be serious, Danny! Just sneak out or something."

"Oh yeah sure," Fenton drawled, "let me just call Phantom up so he can bust me out of my parents' super protected, upper room floor." Paulina's eyes brightened, and he quickly amended, "That was sarcasm! I, uh, I mean, whoever even heard of a ghost having a cell phone?"

"Yeah," Valerie said, rolling her eyes, "because that was the most unbelievable part."

"If Danny's not going," Sam said as she pushed her flier to the center of the table, "then I'm not either."

"No one wants you there anyway," Paulina snapped.

"Just think about it, Fenton?" Kwan asked, almost pleaded if Fenton was hearing him right. "Maybe ask your parents if they'd let you off this one time. The party isn't until Friday anyway."

All the more reason Fenton couldn't make it. He and Phantom were supposed to merge that day, and they wouldn't be in any shape to attend a party afterward. "I doubt it." Kwan's shoulders slumped, and Fenton sighed. Dash really would wail on him if he upset his best friend. "But I'll ask."

"Thanks, man!" Kwan slapped him on the back. A little too hard. Fenton fell forward from the force of it and just managed to keep his face from falling into his spaghetti. "Uh, whoops?"

Fenton waved him off, and Kwan said a pleasant goodbye before running off to his next table. Paulina sighed, pouted at Fenton, and then followed after Kwan.

Once they were gone, Fenton drooped over the table, feeling boneless with relief. "Thank you, Dad."

Valerie snorted. "Really didn't want to go, huh?"

"Not really."

"I did!" Tucker held up his paper like it was the most tragic thing in the world. "It's a pool party! Do you know how many pretty girls in bikinis would have shown up?"

"Oh, get over it," Sam said.

"Dash would have killed me once Phantom didn't show," Fenton pointed out. "You saw how he was in the weight room."

"So get Phantom to show up." Valerie leaned forward on the table, her eyes half-lidded. "You implied you knew him."

Fenton shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Not really...we don't run into each other that often. I, uh, doubt I'll even see him before Friday." Assuming everything went to plan, Phantom didn't break his promise, and Fenton didn't have to save him from a ghost attack or their parents.

"What even brought all this on in the first place?" Sam asked. "Was it that newspaper, or did we miss something?"

"You mean you guys didn't know either?" Valerie asked. "I was starting to think I was the only one. I just found out myself a little while ago." She turned to Fenton, one eyebrow lifted. "Someone took a hazy picture of Phantom talking to someone in the rain. You can't tell who from the picture, but the person who saw him swears that someone was you. I confirmed it myself when I saw the picture. I recognized the shirt you wore on our date." Blood drained from Fenton's face, leaving his cheeks feeling cold. Valerie's eyes narrowed. "So, Fenton. What happened with Phantom after our date?"

Fenton opened his mouth, but he couldn't force any words out. He couldn't explain the meteor shower to Valerie. He couldn't let even a hint show on his face because he was sure whatever he had felt up there was not something he should have felt for anyone but her.

Tucker and Sam looked at each other, their eyes wide. They probably wanted to help, but they didn't know the details, not enough to come up with a believable lie anyway. It wasn't as if they knew they needed to keep Valerie from discovering Phantom had done something that, had Fenton been anyone but his other half, would have been considered romantic.

Hell...Phantom hadn't considered Fenton his other half at the time. It had been romantic. That's why their feelings had been stronger when they came down.

Shit.

Shit.

"Um..." Fenton rubbed the back of his neck. "H-he flew me home? It was starting to rain, right? It was...it would have been a long walk."

Valerie continued to stare at him with narrowed eyes. "Why don't I believe you?" she asked quietly. "How did he even know where you were?"

Fenton didn't know how to respond to that. Silence stretched between them again.

"I—" he started.

The window in front of them shattered into hundreds of pieces, the only thing Fenton saw before a body crashed into him. The two of them flew backwards. Fenton's back took the brunt of their fall, but then his head struck the concrete floor, and his vision went black. He heard screaming, Tucker, Sam, and Valerie shouting his name, but no matter how many times he blinked, he couldn't see anything. The body on top of him was cold, though.

"Phantom?" he said, but his tongue slurred the word, not forming it correctly.

"Fenton!" The weight on top of him left, and then Fenton felt Phantom touch his face. "Are you okay? Where are you hurt?"

"My head..." Fenton blinked a few more times, and slowly his vision started to clear until he could see Phantom's glowing green eyes too close to his own face. He winced at the bright light, and Phantom moved back. "What are you doing here?" he slurred.

Valerie dropped to the floor on his other side as Phantom fit his hand beneath Fenton's head, his cold fingers frantically probing. Valerie's gaze darted from Fenton to Phantom to Fenton and then back to Phantom. That was probably bad. Given what they had been talking about, she might figure out their secret.

Which secret, though? There were two.

"What happened?" Fenton started to sit up, but his vision swam, and he sank back down again. "You don't usually break windows when you fly through them."

"Ghost attack," Phantom said, his echoing voice clipped. "Outside."

"You should go deal with that then."

Phantom laughed, though he didn't sound very amused. "In a second."

"He's right," Valerie said. She pushed on Phantom's chest. "He's my boyfriend. You take care of the ghost, I'll take care of him."

Phantom huffed, frustrated, and rolled his eyes. "Why does that sound so familiar? The two of you do realize I can care for others too?"

"Both of you go," Fenton insisted. He tried sitting up again, pleased when he managed to make it to his elbows. "I'm fine." With a little more effort, he tensed his stomach muscles and sat up the rest of the way. He fell a little too far forward, but he managed to catch himself even before Phantom's cold hand and Valerie's warm one pushed against his chest. "I'll join you guys in a second."

"You can't be serious," Valerie said.

Phantom laughed dryly. "We better find him a babysitter or he really will follow us."

"Look no further," Tucker said, his sudden voice oddly bright and cheerful against the screams Fenton now realized were mostly coming from outside, audible because of the broken window. Phantom and Valerie didn't look surprised to see Tucker. How long had he been standing there? "I excel at Danny-sitting."

Fenton looked up at him and then around him. He saw kids running around, but he didn't see Sam. "Where's she?"

"If you mean Sam, she's outside fighting the ghost one-on-one like a total badass because someone's a little divided at the moment."

Fenton winced. From the corner of his eye, he saw Phantom do the same. The ghost sighed. "Okay." He removed his soothingly cold hand from Fenton's head and raised both hands in surrender. "I'm going."

He stood up and Tucker dropped to the floor in his place. Phantom looked over his shoulder at Fenton, meeting his eyes. He looked conflicted, his lips tight with worry. But then he launched off the ground and flew through the hole in the window.

"That was fast," Fenton mumbled.

"I think he's a little upset," Tucker said.

Valerie stood up as well. She looked between Fenton and the doors leading outside.

"I'm fine," Fenton insisted. "I just have a concussion, right, Tucker?"

"Sure looks that way to me. We'll have to get you to the nurse's office."

Fenton hummed. His head felt heavy, so he let it drop against Tucker's shoulder for a few seconds. When his head cleared a little more, he asked, "Is she gone?"

"Yup. Took off around the hallway."

"Oh good." Fenton lifted his head off Tucker's shoulder and rolled forward onto his knees. "Help me up."

"Dude," Tucker said in protest. "They got this. There's no need for you to fight this time."

"You don't understand." Fenton struggled to his feet, but lost his balance. Tucker caught him before he could fall. "We're like we were last time. Phantom doesn't like fighting."

"Which means the ghost is the lover and you're the fighter again?" Tucker sighed. "That explains PE. Why would you do this to yourself?"

Fenton chose not to answer and began walking unsteadily towards the doors leading outside. The other students had evacuated the cafeteria, making Fenton's path a clear shot, but still he struggled to walk in a straight line. Tucker trotted after him.

"I mean, I get it," Tucker went on, "I know how you hate all that responsibility and stuff you always complain about, but you do realize this makes everything ten times worse for you, right?"

"Tucker," Fenton whined. The doors were still too far away for someone struggling to walk in a straight line. He could still hear people screaming. He had to do something.

"And even if your ghost half hates fighting right now, you don't exactly need a whole lot of finesse when you're packing that much raw power."

"I just need to be there in case he needs help."

"Yeah, see, that's the thing. The way he was hovering over you just a little bit ago, I think you would be more distraction than help. I don't think he wants to watch his human self die a terrible death of, like, internal bleeding or something."

Fenton grunted. So close, Tucker, but I don't think self-preservation was on his mind. "Don't worry, I don't have internal bleeding."

"Do you realize how freaky it is that you can diagnose yourself that confidently? Not that I doubt your knowledge, of course, but I'm gonna need a second opinion. For my own peace of mind, you understand."

He was almost there. Fenton took a deep breath and almost gagged, his nausea roiling his stomach. He swallowed and in a shaky voice asked, "What ghost is attacking? Do I know them?"

"I don't think so. It looked like one of those behemoth ghosts. You know the ones. No names, they just scream and roar a lot. This one had really big teeth, six legs, and a long tail that probably whacked Phantom through the window like a baseball bat."

Fenton winced. He didn't think he would be sitting by those windows again any time soon. "Thanks for that image."

"You're welcome."

Finally, Fenton fell against the doors. He took a deep breath and then pushed them open, Tucker following anxiously at his side. The bright sunlight stung Fenton's eyes, and he had to squint as he stepped outside. He didn't hear as many screams as before, but students surround the area in front of the doors. Most were cowering against the walls and beneath the overhang, but some were moving towards the picnic tables. All of them gawked at the ghost fight instead of running inside.

Fenton sighed and leaned his shoulder against the door frame. "Why haven't they gone in?"

Tucker snorted. "Just be glad they found somewhere relatively safe before they sat down to watch the show."

Maybe so, but that just meant Fenton would have to push his way through to the front. He firmed his jaw. He stepped away from the door and began squeezing his way between gawking students, his speed earning him some complaints. He heard Tucker doing the same somewhere behind him, yelling at him to wait.

Fenton almost didn't notice when, instead of squeezing past a stranger, he brushed past Dash. If the hardened muscles and towering six foot figure didn't give him away, the way Dash squealed, "He's so cool!" did the trick.

Fenton flinched away from him, but Dash didn't seem to notice, his gaze riveted on Phantom. Fenton couldn't help following his gaze, saw the giant ghost fighting in the football field some distance away, and felt his own jaw drop. Tucker hadn't exaggerated. It was huge.

Purple fur with orange spots covered its body, but its furious red eyes and the shark-like teeth currently dripping saliva onto the field made it look more terrifying than cuddly. It towered above the goal posts and bleachers, balanced on four legs while the front two clawed fruitlessly at the air, its stiff, baton-like tail swatting around itself as it tried to catch whatever was buzzing around its head. Fenton had a bad feeling that something was Phantom.

He looked frantically around at the other students. "Where's—" He cut himself off noticing Sam standing beneath some trees on the other side of the picnic area. She had a wrist-ray on her wrist, but she didn't seem interested in challenging the ghost more than she already had. When he saw her shift against a tree, taking more weight off one foot, he understood why.

But that meant Phantom was all alone.

Fenton shuffled past the last few students and was about to break into a run across the field when Tucker grabbed his arm and spun him around. Fenton opened his mouth to shout at him, but Tucker's narrow-eyed glare made the words wither on his tongue.

"I know you're used to being the hero, Danny," he said, his usual jovial tone replaced by a serious one Fenton wasn't accustomed to, "but take it from someone who's only ever been human: there are times to help and times to stand down. This?" Tucker gestured at the behemoth and Phantom. The tail struck the bleachers, crushing several rows. Bright green light struck the large ghost's eye, and its pained roar shook the ground. "This is a time to stand down. Especially since you're injured. You don't see Sam racing off do you?"

Fenton glanced at Sam again. "But I...no...she's not, but—

"Exactly." Tucker released his arm and crossed his own over his chest. "I won't make you go back inside and straight to the nurse's yet because I know what it's like not knowing if he's going to be okay or not, but if you run off to try and help him, I will tackle you and I will sit on you. You hear?"

Though it hurt his head, Fenton snorted and forced a smile. "I hear."

"Good."

Fenton turned back to the fight, his smile fading. Phantom's speed and the distance between Fenton and the fight made it hard to see his features, but Fenton could see him as a white blur whenever he flew in front of the behemoth. It was just enough of a glimpse to raise his anxiety whenever the larger ghost swatted at him.

"Get down!" Valerie shouted, the only warning she gave before her board flew over the students' heads, forcing them all to duck. Fenton hesitated, confused, and Tucker wrapped his arms around his neck, forcing him down in time for Valerie's board to ruffle his hair. When they stood up again, the students cheered and shouted after her.

Tucker breathed out a sigh of relief and removed his arms from around Fenton's neck and shoulders. "And now he has backup."

Fenton nodded, but he didn't feel as relieved. He had been in Phantom's shoes too many times not to remember how dangerous the fights were. You had to be alert during every second, ready to react with only a split second warning because ghosts were fast. That kind of hyper-awareness was hard to maintain, and Fenton knew how Phantom felt about Valerie. He knew how much he struggled to focus on a fight.

But there wasn't anything he could do. He would just have to trust Phantom to handle it like Phantom trusted Fenton to handle their relationship with Valerie.

A shiver went down his spine, and Fenton crossed his arms over his chest.

Valerie reached the ghosts seconds later and shot pink-colored beams at the behemoth from cubes Fenton knew would be floating near her head. It roared in anger and swatted at her with its tail, but she darted beneath the blow and fired again. Blue light flared around the ground where it had set its front paws for balance, and when it tried to swipe at Valerie again, its paw stuck to the ground. It struck clumsily with the other one instead but missed Valerie.

Growling through it's teeth, it snapped it's jaws at the black and white blur flying near the ground, missed, and bit into the earth. More blue light, but the monster released the earth and shook its head before the ice could do more than coat its lips.

"This is nerve-wracking," Fenton said, gripping his arms so tightly it hurt.

"Now you know how Sam and I feel," Tucker joked, but he didn't seem much better off, his own eyes just as glued to the fight as Fenton's were.

"Are you sure there's nothing we can—"

"Yes."

The baton-like tail narrowly missed Valerie. Phantom shouted something at her, the battle too far away for Fenton to hear anything more than the echo of his voice. Valerie shot towards the creature, once more drawing its attention, and Phantom dove for the tail, bright blue light shooting from his hands to encase the tail's base. It didn't stop the creature from swinging it, but its mobility and speed were greatly reduced, allowing Phantom and Valerie to fly around it more safely.

The students behind Fenton cheered, but he doubted Phantom or Valerie could hear them.

The two of them followed the same scheme with the behemoth's remaining front leg, Valerie playing decoy with its tail while Phantom iced the paw to the ground as soon as the behemoth set it down for balance. He flew along its side to ice the back ones for good measure too, and with that done, only its head remained to snap at them. Limited as its range was by its stubby neck, it wasn't much of a threat for two fliers.

The behemoth wasn't what Fenton would call defeated, but unable to move, unable to float off the ground, it was as good as immobilized, and that was all Phantom needed.

The whirling vortex of the Fenton Thermos enlarged to engulf the behemoth. It shrieked in fear and rage as its huge body was forced into such a confined space. The students around Fenton grew completely silent as they listened to the ghost's cries and the Thermos' whirring. When both cut off, they erupted into an ear-shattering cheer, Dash's voice being the loudest.

Fenton sucked in a huge breath and let it out in an explosive, relieved sigh. "That was awful," he said, surprised to hear his voice shaking.

Tucker clapped him on the shoulder. "Until you two merge back? Get used to it."

Phantom and Valerie floated above where the ghost had been, apparently speaking. Now that he wasn't flying so fast, Fenton could see Phantom a little better, enough to judge he didn't appear hurt. He might have been smiling, though from this distance it was hard to tell. The way he bobbed in the air seemed to indicate happiness, but that could have just been because he was speaking to Valerie without her trying to shoot him.

Tucker nudged Fenton's side, and Fenton finally dropped his gaze from his ghost and his girlfriend and watched Sam limp towards them on her sprained ankle. She lifted her arm and waved at them. Smiling, Fenton and Tucker waved back.

When she was close enough to be heard, Sam called out, "I don't know what portal that behemoth crawled out of, but I'm sure glad those two were able to take care of it so quickly." She shivered. "I swear it wanted to eat me. I don't know what I would have done if you-know-who hadn't shown up and lured it onto the football field when he did."

"How did you keep it distracted?" Fenton blurted, unable to help himself. That thing had been huge and Sam was just an earthbound human with a wrist-ray.

"Acted like a bee and stung it all over the place." Sam patted the ray on her wrist. "The blasts come too fast for such a big creature to track, and they don't leave long enough trails for it to follow the trajectory. I hid and jumped all over the picnic tables and trees before I tripped on someone's lunch and accidentally stung it while it was looking at me." She leveled a pointed look at Tucker. "I was brought down…by a meatball."

Tucker roared with laughter. It must have been the reaction Sam was looking for because she smiled. She held up her hand and Tucker high-fived it.

She turned back to Fenton and crossed her arms. No high-fives for him. "Heroics aside, I think you have some explaining to do."

Oh...right. Fenton winced.

"Does this count as the situation exploding in his face?" Tucker asked.

"Definitely. It could have been worse, but I don't think you can get more 'in your face' than your ghost half crashing through a window and sending the two of you flying halfway across the room."

"We didn't fly that far," Fenton protested, but his voice was drowned out by the students cheering.

They surged past the trio, jarring Fenton's shoulder and almost knocking him down. Dizziness washed over him, and Tucker rushed forward to grab his arm, Sam grabbing the other. He righted himself and saw the students had all gathered in a tight cluster, arms stretched above their heads as they reached for Phantom. The ghost boy smiled at them as he rubbed the back of his neck, but then his green eyes lifted to meet Fenton's.

Almost as if he couldn't contain it, Phantom's lips stretched into the largest grin Fenton had ever seen on him, his green eyes bright and wide. He touched the Thermos strap cutting across his chest and released a giddy laugh Fenton could barely hear over the shouts but knew all too well. As much as Phantom insisted they were no longer the same, Fenton could almost hear Phantom's thoughts as if he had shouted them in his head.

I did it!

His white hair looked even more disarrayed than usual. The crowd tried catching his attention, yelling his name, but he didn't move his eyes away from Fenton's. Not far behind Phantom, Valerie's helmeted head looked back and forth between them.

"Come on," Tucker said, pulling on Fenton's arm. "We gotta get you out of here."

It was only after he and Sam forced Fenton to turn away that Fenton realized how wide his own grin had gotten.

—

Phantom's smile faltered as he watched his friends and Fenton leave, but, of course, they had to keep their distance. Fenton and Phantom had sworn to do so, and in truth, the less time they were seen together, the less likely someone would notice certain similarities. It didn't matter much now when they were apart, but it could cause a great deal of trouble after they merged.

But he would have preferred to bask in Fenton's grin a while longer, at least…

Phantom heard Valerie's board purr and spun to face her, but she was already leaving too, her board speeding around the school to a less public area.

Phantom heaved a sigh. I'm getting sick of all these secrets…

"Hey, Phantom!" Dash's voice rose above the other shouts from the crowd. Some were snapping pictures with their phones, the occasional flash drawing Phantom's attention back to those he had helped rescue.

"Can I have your autograph?"

"You're so cool!"

"Can you come to my party?"

Phantom smiled down at them, easily picking out familiar faces, but he wasn't feeling as buoyed by their enthusiasm as he had been. Valerie had helped too. He never would have defeated the ghost without her help, but few seemed to even notice her departure. For that matter, if Sam hadn't distracted the ghost for as long as she had, there might have been a lot more injuries, but none had noticed her leaving either.

"Phantom!"

Phantom floated a little closer to the ground, but still hovered well above their reaching hands. He had no interest in being mobbed. "Is anyone hurt?" he called out, the echo in his voice making his words distinct amongst the other shouts. If any were, perhaps he could test his healing powers on someone other than Fenton.

A general chorus of 'no's and denials and praises for his ghost-kicking-awesomeness shot that idea down. Phantom tilted his head as they continued. They were a lot more energetic than usual. Perhaps because, as Danny, Phantom didn't usually linger after defeating the ghost. Fenton wasn't fond of attention, and anyway, they always had to return as Danny Fenton before someone noticed his absence.

"When did you get ice powers?"

"That was amazing!"

Thinking about his other half, Phantom's eyes wandered back to Fenton. The three friends had just reached the school doors. There were other kids pouring out, drawn by the commotion and reassurances that the danger was over, and Tucker was trying to act as a buffer between them and his two injured friends to keep them from being jostled too badly. Fenton had a hand pressed over his eye, and he didn't look as good as he had a few seconds ago. The adrenaline must have been wearing off.

Phantom clenched his jaw before forcing himself to breathe out slowly. They had suffered head injuries before. Fenton would be fine. They usually had ghost powers to heal those head injuries, powers that only Phantom now had, but…he…they were supposed to keep their distance.

"Ghost Boy!"

"I have a talk show, could you—"

"Is it true you're really cold?"

Another camera flash brought his attention back to the crowd, but only for a moment. He looked back at Fenton in time to see Paulina push her way through the doors, squeeze past Tucker, and knock shoulders with Fenton before she was running down the stairs towards Phantom. Elated to apparently have Phantom's eyes on her, she beamed, and Phantom couldn't resist smiling back for a brief moment.

Another camera flash, and he lost his smile. Fenton had braced his side and head against the brick wall near the entryway and appeared to be taking deep, calming breaths. Phantom remembered concussions sometimes led to nausea and vomiting, dizziness, and sensitivity to light and noise, among other things, and he was sure Fenton was suffering the worst of it now.

"Hey, hey, Phantom, hey!"

He floated towards Fenton before he stopped himself. The crowd shifted with him, voices even louder as some yelled for him not to leave yet. Paulina had reached the outskirts and was jumping up and down with a piece of paper in her hand. Phantom blew out an annoyed sigh. He wouldn't leave until Fenton was safely inside the school again, but after that…

He had a choice to make. He could uphold their promise or he could…bend it a little. He had already done it once before. What could healing Fenton one more time hurt?

Chapter Text

"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." -Lao Tzu

---

By the time Tucker led them down the hallway toward the nurse's office, Fenton was following him more out of habit than as a conscious decision. Sam needed to keep her arm around Tucker's shoulders, using his steady support like a cane in order to keep her weight off her foot, and Fenton, dizzy and unsteady himself, shuffled along behind them. They were a sorry sight, but no one had paid them any attention when they left the cafeteria, and everyone who had been in the hall had rushed off to see Phantom before he disappeared, leaving the hallway empty apart from the three friends.

Fenton had thought Sam and Tucker would begin drilling him for details as soon as they were alone, but one look at his pained expression must have convinced them otherwise because they only whispered to each other. Fenton didn't mind. He didn't even care if it was him they were talking about. The pain behind his eyes and the nausea in his stomach made it hard to think or care about anything else.

So when Tucker stopped in the middle of the hallway, Fenton didn't notice and crashed against his back.

His two friends hissed as they struggled to regain their balance, and Fenton groaned, his head shrieking. "What's—" He looked up and met neon green eyes.

No more than ten feet away, Phantom floated in the hall, and at the sight of him, Fenton's heart began to pound. It wasn't adrenaline, he didn't feel like running, but he knew danger when he saw it, and as Phantom's lips curled into a devious smile, warning bells went off in Fenton's head. Not because he didn't trust that smile (which he didn't) but because his body's reaction to that smile was not good.

Phantom held up a hand and gestured for them to follow before he flew through a classroom door to his right, his tail disappearing through the wood like a fish through water. He must have scoped it out himself before appearing before them. The door's rectangular window showed only a dark, presumably empty room.

Sam and Tucker didn't hesitate. The two friends began to walk slowly towards the classroom, the pace set by Sam's sprained ankle.

Fenton, however, remained frozen in the hallway. "I don't think I—what if someone—shouldn't we go to the nurse's office?"

Sam and Tucker stopped and looked back at him. Tucker only looked confused, but Sam's deadpan 'are you serious?' expression radiated more exasperation and skepticism than Fenton could cope with in his condition. That he could only see the part of her face looking over her shoulder at him only heightened the effect.

"It's only going to take a few minutes to see what he wants," Tucker said. "It might be important."

Fenton shifted his weight from one foot to the other. It didn't matter what Phantom wanted, they were supposed to be avoiding each other. That they had interacted after the ghost attack at all was bad enough, even if it was just a shared smile that probably meant more than Fenton was willing to admit. Purposefully meeting in an empty classroom was just blatantly ignoring their distance rule.

Which was probably why Phantom had smiled like he was sticking his hand into a forbidden cookie jar…

Nothing was going to happen between them, not with Sam and Tucker there and not with their agreement still in place, but that wasn't the problem. It had never been the problem.

"Sam's ankle—" he tried again, but Sam cut him off.

"Is killing me right now," she said. "I could use a break. Come on, Danny, what are you so worried about?"

That wasn't a question Fenton wanted them to even think about, let alone ask. Afraid they might pursue an answer if he continued to hesitate, Fenton reluctantly let the matter drop. He maneuvered in front of his friends so he could push the door open for them, but as soon as he entered the room, he winced at the white light. Not from the windows, the blinds were closed, but from the ghost sitting at the front of the darkened classroom.

Warily, Fenton raised his eyes. Aside from the door Fenton held propped open, Phantom was the only light source, his soft glow only enhancing how dark the rest of the room felt by comparison. He sat on a desk near the front of the classroom, his legs crisscrossed beneath him, and the resulting image was so surreal, so supernatural despite Phantom's casual pose that Fenton felt his skin prickle.

Sam and Tucker didn't seem bothered. They walked past Fenton into the dark room, losing their colors and becoming near shadows themselves as they left the lighted hallway. They must have been used to it. Fenton didn't know how else they could just look at this scene and not take a moment to shake off the awe and excitement clinging to their entirely mortal and not at all glowing senses.

It helped that, as Fenton forced himself to fully look at Phantom, he saw Phantom running his fingers through his disarrayed hair in an attempt to tame it. Fenton knew it would be unsuccessful, but it was such a Phantom thing to do, something they had long ago given up even attempting after a ghost fight, that Fenton felt his lips twitch, his tight grip on the door handle loosening.

Phantom's eyes lifted, caught Fenton watching him, and he pulled his hand out of his hair, placing it on his lap with the other. Fenton quickly lowered his gaze to the floor again. He trudged after Sam and Tucker, allowing the door to shut behind him and cut off the majority of the hallway's light.

He could only see his friends as dark shapes at the moment, and the thin space between the desks had apparently forced them to split apart, but their shapes were becoming more defined as they neared Phantom. Fenton stopped at the first row of desks and braced his hand on the chair's backrest, not daring to go farther. Partly because he shouldn't go near Phantom and partly because his headache warned him against it. He made as quiet a pained sound as he could and covered one of his eyes with his free hand. The dark room helped his headache better than the fluorescent lights in the hallway had, but Phantom's white light stung straight through his eyes and aggravated his nausea in a way they hadn't.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked as she limped toward a desk in front of Phantom. "I thought you would try to bask in the adoration of your crazed fans until your parents showed up and chased you away."

"Or Valerie did," Tucker added, sitting on top of the desk beside Sam's. "How'd you get her to not attack you?"

Phantom shrugged his shoulders. "She seemed far more interested in defeating the behemoth, and afterward she said she was giving me a free pass until she figured some stuff out."

Fenton pinched both eyes closed and breathed deeply, his stomach roiling.

"That might mean trouble," Sam warned. "Don't let your guard down."

Wry smile in his voice, Phantom asked, "Optimistic as ever, Sammy?"

"I prefer to think of it as realistic."

A brief silence fell over the classroom, unnatural to Fenton's ears. His friends and Phantom could have kept the conversation going a lot longer. He looked up and saw Phantom staring back at him. Tucker and Sam seemed to twist around and do the same. Fenton pressed his hand harder against his face and ducked his head. Fortunately, while the room was light enough to see each other's shapes, he didn't think he was close enough to the hall light for them to see his expression or the blush spreading over his cheeks. Phantom was the only one clearly visible in the room.

"I came to heal Fenton," Phantom said, his voice softer than before.

"Uh, can you do that?" Tucker asked, hesitant. "I know you always healed fast, but it's probably different when you're split like this."

Fenton didn't see it, but he heard the smile in Phantom's voice as he replied, "Actually, I healed him after we separated last night."

"Whoa." Tucker didn't sound entirely convinced, but he seemed to understand the significance. "That's cool. Does it work on just your human half or other people too?"

"I'm not sure. I have only tried it the once."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Show us!" Fenton didn't move. He assumed Phantom didn't either, because several seconds later, Tucker asked, more hesitant, "Does it hurt or something?"

Phantom didn't answer. It wasn't like he knew the answer himself.

Fenton licked his lips, his grip on the chair tightening. "No," he said. "It doesn't hurt." If anything, the sensation of Phantom's powers tickling his nerves as they seeped through his skin, combined with the cessation of all pain, had felt good. Really good.

He still didn't move toward Phantom.

"So..." Sam drawled lightly. "Human Danny has a concussion that ghost Danny can heal, but both of you are hesitating for some reason?"

"My glow is probably hurting him," Phantom said slowly. "It might get worse if I come closer."

"So what? A concussion hurts too, and that's still going to hurt long after you're gone."

Fenton released a heavy sigh and lowered his hand. Now that Sam and Tucker knew it was possible, they weren't going to let Fenton escape being healed no matter how many excuses Phantom provided for him. There was no reason for them to, not from their perspective. Phantom had to have known that, but he had mentioned it anyway. "It's fine. I'll, uh, I'll just put my head down."

He looked up. Phantom's green eyes refocused on him, and Fenton's breath whooshed from his chest. It was too much like that night in their bedroom, seeing him in another dark room like this. He pinched his eyes shut again and blindly pulled the chair out from beneath the desk. He dropped into it, banging part of his knee against the desk's table leg so that it produced an unnaturally loud screech as the metal pegs scraped across the floor.

Fenton winced.

With his eyes shut, Fenton didn't see Phantom approaching, he only felt the air around him getting colder. He shivered. Any second Phantom would be close enough for his glow to illuminate Fenton's red cheeks, so Fenton hurriedly rested his forehead on the desk and wrapped his arms around his face.

Phantom released a small laugh. In a whisper hopefully too soft for their friends to hear, he asked, "Does the light hurt you so much, or are you that afraid to look at me?"

"We're supposed to be keeping our distance," Fenton hissed back.

"I know." Cold fingers brushed through Fenton's wet hair to his scalp. Fenton shivered again as something not unlike electricity arced through his spine and made the nerves at the tips of his fingers tingle. "I couldn't just leave you to suffer."

As Phantom's hand moved from Fenton's fringe to the back of his head, the water left behind retained the temperature of Phantom's cold touch. Fenton's breath shuttered on his next inhale, but he managed to keep the majority of the tremble from his voice as he said, "It's just a concussion. You didn't need to do this."

"Are you in pain?" Phantom countered.

Fenton wanted to argue with that, but the words caught in his throat. He squeezed his elbows a little tighter. He heard footsteps as Tucker helped Sam limp toward them, and he pressed his lips together.

"So how does this work?" Tucker asked. "Just by touch? Because you could have just healed him after you crashed into him. You were definitely feeling around his head long enough back then."

"It takes more concentration than you might think," Phantom replied as his fingers probed the same area he had earlier.

Checking for any caving, Fenton thought. It hurt, the area around the crash site extremely tender at the moment, but Phantom's touch was gentle, his fingers much colder than they had been near Fenton's forehead. Icy even. He must have been using his ice powers.

"Is that another way of saying, 'Shut up, Tucker, I need to focus?'" Tucker asked.

"If that is at all possible for you."

"Oh," Sam said with a laugh. "He told you, Tuck."

"Very politely, though."

The tingling sensation Fenton remembered from when Phantom's hands had begun to glow green last night spread over his scalp, made it itch. Sam and Tucker grew quiet. Fenton kept his hands firmly clasped around his arms and took a deep breath to brace himself. His knees had hurt, but they hadn't affected him as much as the concussion. He didn't know if Phantom healing his brain would—

Cold rolled like an intangible stream through Fenton's skull, and he couldn't stop his sharp exhale or the way his throat closed around it, producing an odd noise. Seconds stretched, prolonging the sensation of being submerged before it and the disorientation and pain were swept away, leaving behind clarity and relief that made a small laugh bubble from Fenton's chest. He sucked in a greedy breath of air after, shaking all over as his heart pounded rapidly in his chest. His fingers tightened on his elbows.

"Was that it?" Tucker asked.

"I think so," Phantom said. "A concussion is just a bruise on the brain, right?"

He continued to brush his fingers along Fenton's scalp, his touch no longer as cold as it had been. Fenton twitched, aware he should push Phantom's hand away, but he couldn't stop trembling. He felt like he could backflip off the desk, laugh until he couldn't breathe, challenge Dash to that fight he had so narrowly avoided. Phantom brushing his fingers through Fenton's hair soothed that restless energy and gave his senses something to focus on.

And…well, it felt nice.

"Close enough," Sam replied. "I don't think details matter much when it comes to magic and ghost powers."

Phantom snorted, and as the cool gust of air brushed over his wet hair, Fenton realized just how close Phantom was leaning over him. That he hadn't felt any exhales at all until that moment meant Phantom hadn't been breathing, which was odd to think about. It wasn't a big deal, it was just…strange.

Phantom paused, the hand in Fenton's hair stilling. Another gust brushed over him as Phantom breathed out, this time a little closer to the nape of Fenton's neck than he would have liked. Fenton wouldn't have thought anything of it, but then it happened again after a longer pause. After the fourth exhale, it hit him.

Fenton flushed, heat spreading up his neck, over his cheeks, to the tips of his ears.

He had just showered.

Phantom was smelling him.

Fenton pressed his burning face harder against the desk. Phantom breathed out a fifth time, and Fenton felt his chair shift slightly as Phantom drifted a little closer. Already on edge from the healing, the butterflies in Fenton's stomach went crazy, and Fenton bit down harshly on his lip. The body wash they had chosen when they were one smelled good to them both, that's why they had picked it in the first place, but there was more to it than that. A lot more.

This was why he needed distance, damn it.

Fuck, he thought desperately, shifting his legs beneath the desk. Phantom's hand was still in his hair. Every nerve in Fenton's skin felt like it was just waiting for something to happen. He already felt like he could run around the entire school building, he didn't need this too. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"So," Sam said, her light tone at odds with Fenton's racing heartbeat, "did it hurt?"

Fenton swallowed, his throat unnaturally tight. "N-no," he said, his voice thick, his tongue clumsy. Hopefully they would assume it was because his arms muffled the sound. "It…felt okay."

Phantom slowly, almost reluctantly removed his hand from Fenton's hair. His touch left his wet hair feeling cold, and Fenton had to swallow again as his mouth filled with saliva.

"Can I open the blinds now?" Tucker asked. He touched Fenton's shoulder, his warmth so at odds with Phantom's colder touch Fenton almost jumped. "You feel better now, right?"

Fenton cautiously raised his head from his arms and blinked down at the illuminated wood grain on his desk. The brightest source of light was behind him and to his left, going by his shadow, but Fenton already knew that. Phantom still floated close enough for his cold aura to encompass him. Its cold touch was only marginal comfort against his warm face. And neck. And ears…

The light didn't hurt his eyes anymore, though, and his headache was completely absent, so he nodded.

"Awesome!" Tucker ran over to the huge windows, tripping occasionally over a few desks and chairs since he couldn't see them. "I always wanted to do this!" he said right before he began twisting the blinds open.

As the bright yellow sunlight streamed into the darkened room, Phantom's glow lost its strength, and Fenton felt himself breathe more easily. His ghost was still behind him, he could still feel his cold aura, but it no longer felt as...intimate somehow.

With a gleeful cackle, Tucker ran over to the next window.

"I don't suppose you can heal my ankle?" Sam asked.

Fenton twisted his head and saw her sitting at the desk on his left, her foot resting on a chair blocking the aisle between their desks. One arm was hooked over the back of her chair as she stared behind Fenton, further proving Phantom's location. She looked hopeful, and now that Fenton's thoughts were no longer so hazy, he worried about how much her sprained ankle was hurting her. And how much it must chafe. Sam hated sitting around when she could be doing things.

"I planned to try," Phantom admitted. He floated between Sam and Fenton, his arm almost brushing against Fenton's shoulder. "I have only had the opportunity to heal Fenton, I would like to see if it will work on others."

"Call me your first volunteer then," Sam said lightly.

Phantom knelt beside the chair and placed his hand on her boot. "I will have to remove this. I'm guessing you can't?"

"Yeah, sprains and boots don't get along will."

Phantom nodded. He turned the boot intangible and pulled it through Sam's foot, his other hand fitting beneath Sam's heel before it could bang against the chair. He set the boot on the floor as Tucker finished opening the fifth and last window.

"Hey!" Tucker called out. "Wait for me!" He trotted back to them, carelessly dodging around chairs and desks.

Phantom placed his hand over Sam's ankle, and Sam sighed. Phantom turned his head to look at her, and while Fenton couldn't see his expression from this angle, he figured it must have been a confused one because Sam explained, "Your hands are cold. It numbs the pain."

"Ah. Right." Phantom looked back down at Sam's ankle. "Hopefully I can do more than just numb it, though."

Tucker stopped at the front of Sam's desk in time to see Phantom's hands begin to emit green light. Fenton leaned forward over his own desk, trying to get a better look himself. He had only seen it once, and, not believing it would work, he hadn't paid much attention. Phantom had been kneeling in the sunlight in front of him, and Fenton had been too busy struggling against the urge to stare at him to notice anything different until he felt the tingling sensation in his knees.

He had been caught in Phantom's gaze soon after, too captivated by how bright Phantom's green eyes shone and how the setting sun highlighted his white hair, so like the first time they separated, to watch what happened next.

He was pretty sure the healing light hadn't flickered like a dying flashlight, though. The light faded from Phantom's hands, and Fenton frowned. Apparently Phantom felt the same because he reignited the green glow. It fizzled from Phantom's hands a second time, not at all like the gentle fading Fenton had expected. A glance at Sam's disappointed expression confirmed it.

Still, Phantom tried again, and only when that attempt failed as well did Phantom sit back on his heels, his hand sliding from Sam's ankle. "I…suppose I can't."

He sounded crestfallen, and Fenton shifted in his chair, torn between relief and disappointment himself. He had started to think…well, Phantom had just finished explaining how he no longer saw Fenton as his human half the night he healed Fenton's knees, and to experience the first intentional healing in the wake of that conversation…it had all just seemed so reasonable, so plausible. If Phantom could do something they couldn't when they were one, didn't that mean he was a ghost all his own, separate from Danny Phantom? And if he was, did that mean Fenton was his own person too?

Looking into his eyes that night, Fenton had almost started to believe it.

But they had always been able to heal themselves. That Phantom could heal Fenton just proved they were still the same person, even if they were in separate bodies. It was still an ability, not a new power.

"That sucks," Tucker said. "Do you know how amazing it would have been if you could heal? I mean, more than your human half."

Phantom sighed, his head tilted down. "Yes. I know…"

Fenton crossed his arms over his desk and bit down hard on his bottom lip. The broad line of Phantom's shoulders had started to sag, and Fenton could hear in his voice something more than just disappointment. Doubt. The same thought must have occurred to Phantom as it had to Fenton.

They were the same person, though, it was for the best.

Phantom's shoulders sank a little farther, and the sight pulled a sound of protest from Fenton's throat before he even released his lip. Phantom half-turned his head, the corner of one eye meeting Fenton's.

Fenton sucked in a breath. Shit. He licked his lips. "You can't—I mean, maybe you can only heal me because—it's just—" He clenched his jaw, released the air in his lungs, and breathed in again, frustrated. He knew he should just let Phantom's theory fall apart, but he couldn't just stand by and watch it happen, could he?

Damn it.

Phantom started to turn more toward Fenton, his eyebrows lifted in concern.

In a quieter but no less strained voice, Fenton said, "We struggled to master our ice powers too, remember? And our flight, ecto-blasts…" Phantom's eyebrows lowered again as he frowned. It was better than the concern that made Fenton feel lower than an ant for even considering letting Phantom's confidence falter, but Phantom wasn't getting it. Fenton took another deep breath and tried again. "Healing me came as naturally as breathing because we've been doing it for years, but this is the first time you're trying to heal someone you were never, uh, with, so maybe—"

"You think I need to practice," Phantom finished for him. Slowly, he began to sit up straight again as the idea grew within his thoughts.

Fenton ducked his head. "Yeah. Probably." If it was really a new power. Fenton wasn't sure if it was or not, but at least Phantom was no longer doubting himself. Literally.

"Makes sense to me," Tucker said.

"It doesn't help Sam now, though." Phantom turned away from Fenton again, and with his other's intense gaze no longer focused on him, Fenton allowed his head to fall onto his crossed arms.

You idiot, he scolded himself as he clenched his jaw. What are you doing?

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you," Phantom said.

"You might not be able to heal the sprain," Sam said, "but you can still help."

"…How?"

Fenton turned his head to face Sam so his cheek rested on his forearm. Sam's purple lips had stretched into a mischievous smile. "A cold compress would do wonders right now. If you could sit in that chair, wrap your hands around my ankle, summon a little ice power, that would be great."

Phantom huffed a small laugh. "Should have known. I may as well go into service as a literal ice pack at this rate."

He stood and gently lifted Sam's foot so he could turn around and sit on the chair beneath it. It meant he was now facing Fenton with only a desk between them. Fenton lifted his head off his arms, his eyes wide. Phantom's lips twisted in a small, apologetic smile before he looked down at Sam's foot, maneuvering it into a comfortable position on his lap. He wrapped his hands around her ankle, and dim blue light radiated around his hands, tinting her purple tights. Sam sighed again, longer and with more evident relief.

"Better?" Phantom asked, amused.

"Much."

Fenton pulled his arms off the desk and scooted backward until his back connected with the backrest. He stared determinedly at the tabletop, but he could already feel the desire to look at Phantom growing. This wasn't the distance he was promised.

"Now that all those pesky injuries are taken care of," Tucker said as he sat on Sam's desk, "time to get down to business."

"Can you maybe find your own desk?" Sam demanded, prodding a finger into Tucker's side so that he jolted and squeaked.

"What business?" Phantom asked.

Tucker rubbed his side, glaring at Sam. "About why the two of you split. Again."

"Oh. That." Phantom laughed, though Fenton didn't see what was so funny about Sam and Tucker finding out already. Phantom's gaze drifted toward him, met Fenton's eyes for a brief moment, before Phantom returned it to Sam and Tucker. "You saw how poorly the merge went on Sunday?"

"That's putting it mildly," Sam muttered. "You could barely walk."

Fenton cautiously raised his chin, daring to watch Phantom. He was pointedly not looking at Fenton now, his gaze firmly set on Sam and Tucker. and although Phantom's tone was light, an easy smile on his face, his shoulders and back were rigidly straight.

Fenton narrowed his eyes. He had seen it to some extent on TV, but he hadn't understood. Phantom's casual stance when he lied or omitted the truth was an act.

"It was a little more complicated than that," Phantom said. "It was hard to move as one those first few minutes, yes, especially since our one body didn't move the way we were accustomed to, but there were more problems than the two of you could have seen. Our bodies merged, but our minds didn't, and the resulting disunity caused…far more confusion than you could ever imagine."

"I figured it was something like that," Sam said, her own eyes narrowed. Despite her words, she didn't look entirely satisfied. "No offense, but you were a mess, even on Monday."

"Did you get your powers under control at least?" Tucker asked.

Phantom shook his head. "They remained out of control until the moment we separated. Worse, we struggled to transform between our forms and accidentally reverted to human on one occasion. We were flying high above the city at the time."

Sam drew in a sharp breath through her teeth.

Tucker whispered, "Oh shit."

Fenton shivered, remembering the terror of the moment all too well.

"Obviously, we managed to transform in time, but it was a near thing." Phantom sighed. "Training with our parents and Valerie wasn't much better. Nothing happened that we could not also hide, but the fear of losing control caused a great deal of stress. Suffice it to say, the whole merge was an awful, disorienting mess. We were constantly fighting over what to do or say, and every time we fought, our headache grew. After two days of constant pain, confusion, and lack of control over my powers with no real sign it was getting any better, we decided to split apart again."

"I guess I can't blame you," Tucker said, though he sounded reluctant.

Fenton frowned. Everything Phantom had said had been true until that last sentence. They had proof it was getting better, that was the whole reason Phantom had balked and thrown them into some sort of panic attack in the first place. They had split apart because it was working, not because they had given up trying.

But that one lie fit into Phantom's narrative so well it almost felt like it was true.

Fenton shook his head slowly. How does he do that? Fenton would have told Sam and Tucker earlier if he had known how to bury that one truth like that. Phantom had only had seconds to come up with a lie and craft a way to spin it. Fenton had been struggling with it all day and still didn't know what he could have said.

Stupid, charming, too-smooth-for-his-own-good ghost, Fenton thought, frustrated to feel a smile creeping onto his lips.

Sam frowned and leaned forward. "But why was the merge bad in the first place? It's not like this is the first time you used the Ghost Catcher."

Phantom opened his mouth, but for once, he didn't have an easy response. Tucker and Sam waited, but when Phantom continued to hesitate, they looked at Fenton.

Fortunately, this was one question Fenton was somewhat ready for. Mostly because he had been thinking about it himself. "No idea," he said. "Mom and Dad made me return the Ghost Catcher to the lab, but I don't think they had time to work on it. They spent most of the day fixing the hole in my wall."

"Uh," Tucker said, hesitant, "why did you have a hole in your wall?"

Oh. Fenton snapped his mouth shut, his cheeks once again warming.

"We were supposed to merge Sunday morning," Phantom explained, his voice still casual. "Our dad followed the Fenton Finder to our room when I arrived to wake up Fenton. I went invisible before he could see me, but he still fired into the room, blasting a hole above our bed."

Fenton garbled a noise in the back of his throat. He didn't know how Phantom managed to stay so calm and just…omit certain details like that. Just remembering what he had learned from Phantom's memories of that time made Fenton want to scream into a pillow and laugh like a giddy idiot and possibly die.

Just dying sounded wonderful at the moment. Sam and Tucker had no idea about what was going on between the two halves of their best friend, and Phantom, the only other person in the room who knew, was very carefully not looking at Fenton. It was enough to make Fenton want to pull his hair out.

"So if it wasn't the Ghost Catcher," Sam said, "then what was it?"

She and Tucker looked at Fenton again, and he groaned, his face already burning. "I don't know! Why do you keep asking me, ask Phantom, he's the one who—" Fenton snapped his mouth shut. Shit, he wasn't supposed to bring up their feelings, indirectly or not. "U-um, I mean, h-he, uh—"

"I didn't want to merge," Phantom finished for him. His gaze slid to Fenton, his eyes slightly narrow. "Although, I doubt I was the only one, much as…my human self would like to believe otherwise.

Fenton flushed and looked back down at his desk.

"Danny," Sam pleaded, emphasizing their shared name, "there's nothing wrong with being unique. I thought you were starting to understand that."

"That's really not what this is about, Sam," Fenton said, his skin prickling as Phantom's gaze lingered on him.

"But it is part of it, isn't it?" Sam pressed. "You've always hated being half ghost and being different, but you don't have to tear yourself apart to fit in. I know you're worried about Valerie's reaction, but—"

"No, Sam," Phantom interrupted, "he's right." He looked at Sam again and gently squeezed her ankle, emphasizing the power he was using. "We disliked being half of one thing or the other, but more than that we hated being a ghost. I like who I am, though. Ghost powers and all."

"But not the fighting," Tucker chimed in. "You hated all those hero responsibilities, and I doubt lover-boy Danny likes them any better, not when it was the human half I had to hold back from the fight."'

"No," Phantom agreed, "I don't, and I dislike being nothing more than a superhero twenty-four seven, but—" he removed one hand from Sam's ankle, grabbed the Fenton Thermos strap cutting across his chest, and lifted it over his head. He set the canister down on Fenton's desk where the reflective metal sparkled in the sunlight. "—obviously I am still willing and able to play my part if that is what it takes to remain separate."

"But you're not remaining separate, right?" Sam demanded. "You can't seriously want to remain this way forever."

"No, we agreed to try merging again on Friday," Phantom said, his voice lowering. "If it doesn't work again, we will claim sickness and stay in our room over the weekend and see if it gets better…"

"Oh!" Tucker's eyes widened behind his glasses. "Friday!" He pointed at Fenton. "That's why you didn't want to go to that party!"

Fenton hissed, "Shut up!" but it was too late.

Phantom sat up straighter in his chair, his own eyes wide and interested. "Party?"

"No." Fenton braced his elbows and forearms on the desk and leaned over the tabletop, glaring at Phantom. "Don't even think about it." The ghost met his glare with an amused, almost fond smile. Fenton's thoughts faltered for a moment, his mouth moving over unspoken words before he caught himself. "We said Friday, Phantom."

"It would be Friday," Phantom replied. "Just after the party on Friday. What kind of party, by the way?"

"Nooo," Fenton groaned, leaning lower over his desk. "No party. You're not putting this off!"

Phantom tilted his head to the side and quirked one corner of his smile into a more playful smirk. "One hour?"

"No!"

"Two hours?"

"Don't raise it!"

"I'm with the fighter," Sam said, lifting her hand in the air and giving it a little wave. "Paulina only invited Danny because she's hoping her precious Ghost Boy will show up and prove a connection between your two halves, something we definitely don't want to happen."

"Really?" Phantom turned his attention on Sam, and Fenton dropped his chin onto the desk, grumbling about how he knew this would happen. "Why is that? Anyone thinking we might be one person would start to doubt their theory if they saw Fenton and I together at the party. It would strengthen our secret, not weaken it."

"One of our secrets," Fenton whispered.

Phantom's gaze darted to his face and then away again.

"I say we go," Tucker said. Sam glared at him, and he threw his arms out to either side for emphasis. "It's a pool party, Sam!"

Phantom blinked. "Oh," he said, very softly.

"Oh," Fenton mocked, just as softly.

Phantom sent a more irritated glance his way but didn't otherwise respond.

"It's dangerous," Sam said, turning her glare on Phantom. "People are already paying too much attention to your human half. If you show up because he's there the way Paulina says you will, that's going to draw even more attention, and then what are you going to do when you're whole again and need to go ghost?"

Phantom's brow furrowed, his lips turning down in a frown. "What do you mean? Because of the newspaper photograph?"

Fenton groaned and sat up from the desk, pressing his hands against his face.

"What?" Phantom asked, concerned.

"Someone caught a pic of the two of you talking after your date with Valerie," Tucker said. "They apparently posted it online, and since the newspaper already caught you flying into Danny Fenton's room, our clueless peers are getting suspicious."

"Has Valerie seen it?" Phantom asked. "What all did it show?"

Fenton lowered his hands and looked at his ghost half. For once, Phantom looked as disturbed by the news as Fenton felt, though he thought his distress had more to do with Valerie learning they were poised on the very border of cheating on her.

…Assuming they hadn't already. Fenton wasn't sure where that particular line was and where they stood on it. For all his confidence, he wasn't sure Phantom did either.

"Don't know," Sam said, shrugging. "We should probably go online and see for ourselves."

"Valerie saw it," Fenton said, instantly gaining Phantom's attention. "She's the one who told us about it."

"Is she upset?" Phantom asked, his quiet voice almost a whisper.

"I…she didn't seem angry at first, but she asked what happened between us, how you even knew about the date, and…I blanked." Fenton shifted in his seat, wincing. "That was when you crashed through the window."

Tucker laughed. "Yeah, rough landing, but talk about good timing. Your human half looked like he was really struggling. Did something embarrassing happen after your date or what?"

Fenton ducked his head and hunched his shoulders, letting his hair fall over his eyes and hopefully hide his reddening cheeks.

"You could say that…" Phantom said, but he didn't elaborate further. He sighed. "I suppose you're right, however. The party would probably be too dangerous."

"What? Noooo," Tucker wailed. He leaned forward and grabbed Phantom's shoulder and arm. Phantom's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "You can't give up on me now! It's a pool party, Danny! A pool! With beautiful girls in bikinis, swimming and sunbathing...and Valerie—Valerie! She was invited too! You want to see her in a bikini too, don't you? You're the lover-boy!"

Phantom smiled a little dreamily. "That would be nice..."

Sam made a frustrated noise and rolled her eyes. "Boys..."

"I don't think she wants to go any more than I do," Fenton said quickly. "She looked pretty happy when I said I wasn't going."

Phantom raised an eyebrow at him. "You told Paulina no?"

The way he said it, Phantom probably thought it had been hard, but Fenton shrugged. Paulina was gorgeous, but just remembering how she smiled at him after giving him the invitation sharpened Fenton's anxiety. If he made a fool of himself in front of her—and he would—the humiliation would crush him. He had already lived through that once with Valerie, he didn't want to experience it again with someone he wasn't even dating, no matter how beautiful and popular she was.

Phantom didn't need to know all that, though. "I told her I was grounded."

"Ah." Phantom closed his eyes. "I forgot. And since we agreed to merge that day, it offered a good excuse."

"Yeah."

"Still." Phantom opened his eyes again and stared thoughtfully at the floor. "It would have been nice." His lips twitched, but he didn't voice the thought that crossed his mind. He looked at Tucker. "Could you find out the details for me? I doubt Fenton will change his mind, but I would like to know what I am missing, at least."

"Sure! But they actually gave us fliers." Tucker stood up from the desk. "They're probably still at our table. I can just go grab them real quick."

"I'll go too!" Fenton tried to jump up from his own seat only to bang his knees against the underside of the desk and fall back onto his chair. He tried again, shoving his chair away from the desk with too much force, the chair legs scraping across the floor. "I'm going—" His foot caught on one of the legs, and Fenton half tripped, half stumbled off the chair. "—shit—I'll go too."

He glanced at Phantom and saw his other half watching him, another fond, slightly bemused smile on his face as if he didn't understand why Fenton was so flustered and tripping over stationary objects, but somehow, strangely, he liked him anyway.

Cute. He had said he thought Fenton's clumsiness was cute.

Fenton flushed a deeper red and took several steps back. "I-I'm, uh, hungry? I didn't get the chance to eat anything, s-so…"

"Uh, okay?" Tucker said. He was also watching Fenton, but he just looked confused. "I'm kinda hungry too. Maybe the lunch ladies will give us new trays because of the ghost attack. You want anything, Sam?"

Sam pursed her lips. "I won't eat their spaghetti, but could you see if they have any fruits?"

"Sure thing."

Tucker walked around Sam's desk, and Fenton, eager to leave, started speed walking toward the door ahead of his friend. It might have been his imagination, but he thought he could feel Phantom's gaze on his back, and it made his spine straighten, nerves twisting his stomach. He opened the classroom door and all but threw himself through the threshold. He forced himself to wait for Tucker, but in the meantime, he took several deep breaths and tried to will the heat from his face, briefly covering his eyes with his hands.

Tucker was only a few seconds behind him, opening the door after it had just shut. "So," he started, one eyebrow raised as he followed Fenton into the hallway, "that was smooth. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nope," Fenton said, beginning to walk down the hallway.

Tucker trotted after him. "Because if you want to talk—"

"I absolutely do not."

"—I'm here to listen."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"You're just hungry."

"Yeah."

"Okay," Tucker said, drawing out the word, "remember what happened with your 'I split myself in half but don't want to tell my best friends' secret that completely blew up in your face, like, ten minutes ago?"

Fenton winced, his steps faltering for half a second. "It's not like that. I'm not hiding anything."

"Danny. Buddy." Tucker placed a hand on Fenton's shoulder. "You? You're an awful liar. But if you insist on going back to the cafeteria, we're gonna have a bigger problem. I think you should stay."

Part of Fenton wanted to, that's why he needed to leave. "No, I—" He walked faster, Tucker's hand falling off his shoulder. "I'll race you there."

"Danny," Tucker protested, but Fenton burst into a run. Tucker chased after him, calling Fenton's name and complaining about them not being in gym class anymore, but Fenton didn't listen.

---

Phantom watched the door swing slowly shut behind Tucker and breathed out gently through his nose, disappointed. He didn't feel as tense around Fenton as Fenton clearly felt around him and would have enjoyed a longer visit, especially since Sam and Tucker were around to keep anything inappropriate from happening between them, but, apparently, Fenton had a lot going on beneath the surface he wasn't ready to accept yet.

Phantom couldn't really blame him. Such feelings for the one who was supposed to be your other half were…unsettling.

He turned back to Sam and found her watching him with narrowed eyes. Phantom's lips quirked into another disarming smile. "Yes?"

"He's not very dignified for a fighter," she said. "Are you sure you got your personalities right?"

"Probably not." Phantom relaxed in his seat, spreading one leg out and balancing Sam's foot on the other thigh. Her eyes wavered from his face. "I like to think we are more complex than a simple 'lover' and 'fighter' mentality, but the simplistic labels serve our purpose well enough, don't you think?"

"You know what? I think you're a little too smooth for my tastes." Sam crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes rising to glare suspiciously at Phantom. "And I don't believe your story about splitting yourself. I'm sure it was rough, and there was definitely something wrong with the merge, but you basically said it would be easier. Complexities aside, there's nothing easy about a self-proclaimed lover fighting villains while the supposed fighter is forced to sit on the sidelines and make nice with his girlfriend. All you've done is delayed things."

Phantom tilted his head to the side, considering his friend. He was going to have to step carefully with her. "No," he agreed, "it's not easier."

"So why did you do it? Was it Valerie?" Sam's jaw tightened for a moment. "Did something happen during training?"

"Nothing worse than what we were expecting." Phantom drummed his index finger against Sam's ankle bone, thinking fast. "She did suggest we go through the Ghost Catcher to remove the ghost energy that was causing our parents' inventions to activate around us—" Sam sucked in a breath "—but Mom and Dad were unwilling to force the issue after we refused."

"So you decided to split yourself in case it came up again?" Sam shook her head. "How does that fix anything? It's only a temporary measure. You'll still be in danger after you merge again."

"It was only a part of our reasoning, not the whole." Phantom frowned a moment. How much could he safely give away? Finally, he shrugged. "I can list the excuses we gave ourselves, but what it boils down to is the same reason the merge probably didn't work the way it was supposed to. We wanted to split apart." He quirked a self-deprecating smile, titling his head sheepishly. "Or I did, according to Fenton. He might be right. It was difficult to tell who wanted what."

Sam leaned her elbow on the desk. "And why do you want to split apart? Don't you miss being human? Don't you miss Valerie?"

Phantom lost his smile and pressed his lips into a thin line. "Of course I do, but it's not that simple—"

"Really?" Sam asked skeptically. "It's not that simple? Seriously? You split yourself in half, Danny! You're missing half of yourself!" Phantom flinched, his jaw clenching, but Sam pressed on. "If it was just your human and ghost sides, that would be one thing, but it's your mind too. You've been split into two extreme versions of yourself, and that's dangerous."

Phantom shook his head. "Sam—"

"Your fighter half tried to pick a fight with Dash and the ghost despite being injured, and you—" Sam laughed, the sound more frustrated than amused. "—I swear every move you make it's like you're flirting with me. You don't even seem aware of it, or at least you're not saying anything."

Startled, Phantom sucked in breath. Had he? Perhaps not with his words, but his actions? "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to—"

"I don't care!" Sam interrupted. Phantom ground his teeth, frustrated, but Sam looked just as upset. "You're missing the parts of your personality that would keep you from doing these things. You're only half of yourself like this. You can't keep going like this, the two of you need to—"

Phantom's eyes flashed. Worried he might accidentally hurt her with his core surging, Phantom released Sam's ankle, turned intangible, and launched himself backward and into the air above the desks. He crossed his arms and took several calming breaths, twisting around to face the windows.

"…Did I hit a sore spot?" Sam asked. Her tone wasn't as harsh as before, but if it had softened, it wasn't by much.

Phantom turned his head to look at her again. She watched him in turn. She had crossed her arms, but her eyebrows had also lifted in the middle, showing her concern. Of course, she wouldn't understand she was calling his whole existence into question, how could she? Technically speaking…she wasn't wrong.

Phantom released his latest breath. "You are awfully sure of yourself for someone lacking context."

Sam's eyebrows lowered until she was frowning again. "It's the truth. You can't run from it."

"Sure I can. In fact, I don't have to run, I can fly." He laughed, the sound rough in his throat. "I can fly over 112 miles away from here in less than an hour. I can turn invisible. Intangible. I could leave this town, and you might never find me. The only thing keeping me here are two important details." He tilted his head to the side, eying Sam speculatively. "One is Valerie."

She snorted. "Of course. You're the lover. But, Danny—"

"The other has to do with Fenton."

Sam's mouth snapped shut. She blinked a few times. "Your…human half? What does he have to do with anything?"

Phantom's lips curled into a slow, secretive smile. "What indeed?"

Sam continued to frown at him, but when Phantom refused to elaborate further, she huffed. "More secrets…"

Phantom shrugged. "For now, let us say I promised him we would merge on Friday, and I don't want to lose the trust he has placed in me."

"Okay," Sam said slowly, "but that's not the real reason?"

"No. Not entirely."

Sam groaned and rubbed her temples as if he was giving her a headache. "Whatever. Fine. I don't care." She obviously did. "So long as the two of you get your act together by Friday, it won't matter. I'm more worried about what comes after. Are you sure you're going to be able to pull yourself back together? Because from the sounds of it, I don't think you even want to anymore."

Phantom sighed, and when he breathed in again, it was to brace himself. "I don't."

Sam's head jerked up. "What?"

Phantom twisted around to fully face her and uncrossed his arms. He braced his hands on the chair's backrest, leaning forward. "If you could merge with Ember or another ghost," he said, speaking slowly, "and in the process create a theoretically stronger person at the cost of losing your individuality, would you do it?"

His serious tone made Sam pause. He had used a concept he knew was important to her, but he could already see by the slight narrowing of her eyes and the way her frown tightened at the corners that she was already rejecting the question. Possibly because she didn't like what it implied for Phantom if she agreed. "If that other ghost was my own ghost, yes."

Phantom sighed and released the chair. "Just think about it, Sam. It's not as simple as you might imagine." He straightened his back and glanced at the door. Fenton and Tucker would hopefully return soon, but it depended on how crowded the cafeteria became after the ghost attack. If Tucker was right about their classmates' interest in Fenton, it might be even longer. "In any case, the merge should work better on Friday. I'm already working on it, assuming I was the reason it failed last time."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

He shrugged. "I simply have to want the merge, right? I thought I had it Sunday, but…in truth, I was just forcing myself. This time I have four days to come to terms with the inevitable." Four days...Phantom breathed in another shaky breath. "If all goes well, you'll have your fully whole, half-ghost Danny by Monday."

Sam sat back in her chair. She didn't seem to like his phrasing, her hard expression turning sad. "I just don't want you to get hurt, Danny."

He laughed dryly. "It's far too late for that, Sam. I'm going to be hurt no matter what happens." He pointed at her ankle. "But you needn't be. Shall I return to being your cold compress?"

Her expression didn't lighten, but she nodded gratefully and lifted her foot off the chair seat. He carefully sat beneath it and wrapped his hands around her ankle, lowering it onto his lap again. They sat in silence for a while, Sam apparently thinking about what Phantom had said. For his part, Phantom leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling.

His plan for the merge on Friday wasn't so much a plan as a bucket list of sorts. There was a great deal he wanted to do before he…disappeared, and while he could do a great many things, the distance he was forced to keep from Valerie and Fenton ensured he couldn't do those things that were most important to him. Like going on a date with Valerie that ended with the kiss he had missed out on, or sharing an actual kiss with Fenton that wasn't stolen or forced. He couldn't allow himself the latter for obvious reasons, and the only way he could have the former would be to give up himself and Fenton entirely.

It was…frustrating.

And the nearer Friday came, the worse it would get.

Phantom breathed out heavily through his nose. He would have to content himself with trying to change Valerie's opinion of him—their ghost half—whenever the chance presented itself. The rest of the time he would spend earning Fenton's approval. From a distance, of course. That proud look in Fenton's eyes, the way he had smiled at Phantom after he defeated the giant ghost, was more than enough incentive to try to be a better hero, one worthy of the burden Fenton had entrusted to him.

Sam shifted her foot, and Phantom lowered his chin, looking down at her ankle. He may as well try to heal her again. Fenton's encouragement had been unexpected, but he was probably right. They rarely mastered their powers the moment they manifested. Funny how Phantom had all the powers, but it was Fenton who remembered how much effort had gone into mastering them.

Phantom's lips twitched into a small smile.

With Fenton, it had been easy, and not strictly for the reason he mentioned. Phantom knew how his pain felt, how a concussion affected him, sure, but more importantly, it seemed to Phantom his desire to heal him had been what pushed him over the edge. He couldn't explain that in front of Sam and Tucker, and anyway, he doubted Fenton would have appreciated learning how deeply that desire went…or where it came from.

Perhaps he already knew? Fenton had hidden his face, but the back of his neck and tips of his ears had been very red.

Regardless, if Phantom wanted to heal others, namely Valerie and his friends, he needed to find a way to make a similar connection. Emotions seemed to be the key, though he doubted he could replicate what he felt for Fenton, even for Valerie. Those feelings were unique. Tumultuous and strange, he was still trying to work his way through them. The other factor, that of his once sharing Fenton's pain and knowing how it affected him on an intimate level, might be even harder.

But he would try.

The green glow surrounding his hands caught Sam's attention. Or maybe it was something else. Her foot twitched in his hands. "I figured I would keep trying while we wait," Phantom explained. Then in a softer, more concerned voice, he asked, "Does it hurt?" Fenton had said it didn't, but Fenton had once housed Phantom and all his powers.

"No," she replied. "It just itches."

Phantom nodded, but he didn't take his eyes off her ankle. The light vanished from his hands before Phantom could feel the sudden energy loss he felt whenever he healed Fenton. Another failure.

He sighed. This was going to take a while.

Chapter Text

---

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

---

Fenton knew he had made a mistake even before he reached the cafeteria and saw how crowded it had become. He had heard the roar of many excited voices echoing down the hall, but he hadn't thought it would be so bad. There were more students than the last time he had entered. All the tables were packed to the point some students had to stand beside their chosen group's table, most likely crowding around Dash or anyone else who had seen the fight outside.

Fenton took a few more seconds to catch his breath, only for Tucker to grab his shoulder and pull him back. Fenton hissed, startled by the pain he felt just between his shoulder blades. When Phantom had crashed into him and they had landed on the floor, his back had taken the brunt of the fall, followed soon after by his head. Perhaps he shouldn't be surprised he was developing a bruise there, but the pain had been negligible compared to everything else, at least until Tucker pulled on his shoulder. He half-turned toward Tucker, confused and irritated, but Tucker held up a finger, gasping for breath.

After a couple seconds, he panted, "I know it was kind of crazy…and your concussion probably made it worse…but, dude, trust me on this…you're gonna want to keep a low profile."

"What?" Fenton turned to fully face Tucker, forcing his hand off his shoulder. "Why?"

It took Tucker several more seconds to get his breathing under control. Fenton wasn't much better off, still trying to catch his own breath after his sprint. They were a little more exposed in the hallway than Fenton liked, and, apparently, Tucker felt the same, because he beckoned Fenton to follow him further back into the hallway. Fenton did so, rolling his eyes.

"Okay," Tucker finally said when they were against a wall, several feet away from the entrance, "okay, so, picture this." He spread his hands out to either side as if he was about to start a grand story. "Local town hero, Danny Phantom, crashes through the cafeteria window and collides with some kid. Huge coincidence, right? Could have been anyone sitting at that incredibly unlucky seat, right?"

Fenton crossed his arms. "Duh. Including you."

"Uh, yeah, but I'm not the one everyone has been watching and speculating about, am I? I'm not the one who just recently had his picture taken with said window-destroying, local town hero, am I, Danny?"

Fenton frowned, his eyes narrowing. "No…but…"

"Oh no," Tucker went on before Fenton could think of a valid objection, "don't worry, it gets worse."

Fenton…didn't like the sound of that.

"So. Ghost is roaring and kids are screaming outside, the local town hero who can lift a school bus and blast lasers from his eyes has just been pitched through the window, so naturally everyone inside panics and starts running around like terrified chickens, trying to escape the room before the unknown but probably powerful ghost can follow Phantom inside. Right?"

"Uh, yeah..." Fenton said slowly. "Can you get to the point?"

"Big bad ghost? Terrified students? Think about it, Danny!" Tucker grabbed both of Fenton's shoulders, making Fenton grimace as Tucker gave him a tiny shake. "It was an emergency situation! But the hero knelt over you and he ignored them."

"No one would have paid attention to that," Fenton objected. "They were all trying to get out of here."

"Uh, dude, no." Tucker released Fenton's shoulders. "They noticed. Even as they were running away, they noticed. Do you know how long it took for your ghost half to return to the fight?"

"No, but—"

"Five minutes. That's a long time in a ghost fight."

"I had a concussion!"

"No one's gonna care how hurt you were! Not unless you're like bleeding from your eyes or got a piece of glass in your chest or…I don't know! Something they could see." Tucker crossed his own arms over his chest and rocked back on his heels then forward onto the balls of his feet, looking worried. "If he had crashed into anyone else, would your ghost half have waited around as long as he had?"

"If he crashed into you guys or Valerie—"

"Someone he doesn't know, Danny. That's what they're all trying to figure out. Does Danny Phantom know Danny Fenton?" Tucker shook his head. "Because I think they got their answer."

Fenton winced.

"You're right, though. No one would have cared normally, but with that stupid rumor going around, do you honestly think they didn't notice how much attention their hero was giving you when he should have been protecting them? Just one look at his face would have told them everything."

Fenton bit down hard on his lip. He hadn't seen Phantom's expression—he hadn't seen anything at first and it had been hard to concentrate afterward because of how much it hurt to even look at him—but it wasn't hard to imagine. He had seen Phantom's expression after Skulker's attack hit Valerie, and while he didn't think Phantom's feelings for him were as strong as his feelings for Valerie, if Phantom had looked anything like he had then, Tucker was probably right. The students running away from the attacking ghost would have looked for their hero, even for just a second, and found him lingering over Fenton instead, the terror on Phantom's face as loud and obvious as a scream.

But it hadn't felt like five minutes. It had felt more like one. Three at the most.

Damn concussions.

"Okay," Fenton said slowly, "you might have a point."

"Yeah well. To top it all off with a cherry on top, you and your ghost had to throw that silent little victory cheer as if the rest of us didn't exist. Seriously, did you even hear Sam and me trying to get your attention?"

Fenton hesitated. "Uh..."

"Right." Tucker laughed and shook his head. "Should have known. You looked out of it."

"I had a concussion," Fenton protested in a small voice. "And everyone was yelling…I couldn't…"

"I know, buddy," Tucker said, patting Fenton's shoulder. "That's why I'm not holding it against you. Just be careful. These guys have got you under a microscope now."

Fenton nodded, his hands clenching around his arms.

"I don't think they'll be talking about you yet," Tucker said, nodding at the cafeteria. "The ghost fight itself will be the main topic of choice, but if someone sees you, that might change." Tucker sighed again. "You should have stayed with Sam and your ghost half."

"Maybe," Fenton mumbled without conviction. He didn't like having the attention of numerous unknown teenagers on him, but in some ways, that was easier to bear than Phantom's alone. "I'm here now, though. Do you have any ideas?"

Tucker took off his beret and held it out to Fenton.

Fenton gave him and the hat a sour look. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Have you got any other bright ideas?" Tucker demanded. "Or even a hoodie? A jacket? I didn't see you wearing one this morning, but—"

"I wasn't," Fenton interrupted. "I didn't think I'd need it." A mistake he wouldn't make a second time.

"Then stop complaining." Tucker slapped the beret onto Fenton's head, and Fenton reluctantly reached up to adjust it properly. "We can't do anything about your face or your shirt, but at least we can hide your hair."

Fenton opened his mouth to ask why his hair should matter, but...come to think of it, he liked Phantom's hair. A lot. He hadn't really thought of his—their hairstyle as being attractive, it was just an easy, messy hairstyle, but if Phantom's hair looked that good on him...Fenton's hair probably looked that good on himself too. The only difference, after all, was the color. Others might think so too, it might be enough to draw their attention.

Cheeks warming, Fenton clamped his jaw shut and pulled the hat down until it sat more securely on his head.

"I'll get the fliers since there's a lot of people near the crash site," Tucker offered. "You go get the food."

Fenton nodded. He could do that. The people in the cafeteria had seemed more interested in talking than eating, they wouldn't be paying any attention to the kitchen. If Fenton kept to the walls and skirted around the crowds rather than going through them, he could (probably) make it to the far wall where the kitchen was without being spotted.

Hopefully the lunch ladies would be willing to give him and his friends another lunch. Fenton had enough money in his pocket to just buy another lunch, but that meant he wouldn't have enough lunch money to make it to the end of the week. Bagged lunches from home were…dangerous. Better if the lunch ladies took pity on him.

Tucker clapped Fenton on the shoulder. "Good luck."

Fenton nodded, and Tucker released his shoulder. He strolled into the cafeteria as if he was just returning from his locker or the bathroom and not trying to avoid attention. Fenton followed him partway, but hesitated at the doors and watched warily a moment to see if anyone would ambush his friend. He snorted at the mental image. Their peers were curious about Danny Phantom because so little was known about him, but ambushing one student to get at another who might know Phantom was taking things too far.

Probably.

Fenton shook his head, the weight of Tucker's hat feeling strange on his head. He entered the cafeteria but stuck close to the wall, trying to act as casual as Tucker had even though his shoulders kept wanting to hunch forward. There were many reasons why he didn't want people paying attention to him in relation to Phantom, but he largely just didn't want people staring at him. Judging him.

If he just knew what they wanted from him, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Paulina was pretty obvious. She wanted to use Fenton as some sort of bait to catch Phantom, but Dash? Kwan? Hell, half the students he had caught looking at him he barely even knew. Were they like Paulina? Hoping he could get them into contact with Phantom? Did they just want to know useless stuff about Phantom? Like his opinion on things and how he supposedly died?

He and Phantom had always kept their fans and the media from getting too close when they were one Danny, afraid they might realize Danny Phantom was half ghost, but it just seemed to have made everyone that much more obsessed with him.

Fenton groaned and rubbed his forehead, his fingers bumping the brim of Tucker's hat. He squeezed past a group of students that were standing on the outskirts of a crowd, but nobody seemed to notice him. Either Tucker was way off when he said Fenton would be under a microscope, or the people in this town were as unobservant as they had always thought because a hat wasn't much of a disguise.

They were talking about the ghost attack and Phantom, though. Specifically about how long it had taken Phantom to subdue the ghost and whether or not he could have done it without the Red Huntress's help. It was enough warning to encourage Fenton to duck his head and walk a little faster.

He reached the kitchens soon after, but he couldn't see anyone behind the counter. Fenton placed his hands on the counter and pushed himself a couple inches off the ground, looking through the windows into the kitchen itself. The lunch ladies usually began cleaning after everyone had been served since Fenton's lunch period was the last one of the day, but plates of food were still beneath the glass shields, spaghetti in the pans. He could see dirty dishes in the sink through the windows, but no one was scrubbing them clean.

Fenton relaxed his arms and landed on the ground with a slight bounce. "Huh," he said.

"They're complaining to Principal Ishiyama."

Fenton jumped, his gasp turning pained as his hip banged against the counter. Grimacing, Fenton rubbed lightly at the area and turned around. He hadn't heard anyone approaching over the sound of so many people talking, but he was still surprised to see three of his classmates had gotten so close. Lester, Nathan, and Mikey.

Lester smiled and waved while his twin, Nathan, glared at Fenton as if he'd personally offended him, but that was nothing new. He had been doing that since Valerie and Fenton started dating. Mikey had his camera pointed at Fenton, and as Fenton's eyes settled on it, the light flashed.

"Fuck!" Fenton covered his eyes, blinking rapidly beneath his hands. "What the hell, Mikey?"

"Nice hat!" Mikey said, laughing. "You know it's not going to fool anyone smarter than a fifth grader, right?"

"You probably think you're some sort of celebrity now, huh, Fenton?" Nathan grumbled. "Having to hide your face like that."

"But he's not hiding his face," Lester objected. "He's hiding his hair."

"What do you guys want?" Fenton demanded before Nathan could do more than glare at his brother. "And what will it take to make you leave?"

"I'm documenting all ghost attacks that happen at the school," Mikey explained, his voice warbling between a tenor and a baritone. Puberty wasn't being kind. It had already shot Mikey to a height that almost rivaled Dash, but without the rest of his body keeping up, leaving him looking even lankier than before. "I thought I would get an 'after the attack' photo of you." He squinted at Fenton behind his glasses, his lips turning down in a disappointed frown. "I thought you would look more beat up..."

"Gee, sorry," Fenton deadpanned. "I'll probably have a huge bruise on my back tomorrow if that makes you feel better."

"You're lucky you don't have worse," Lester said, grinning. "Considering the velocity you hit the ground at."

Fenton shrugged, but anxiety clawed at his stomach, making his fingers itch. "Just got lucky, I guess." He half turned back to the counter. "I'm really hungry now, so..."

"I just thought there might have actually been something wrong," Mikey said, ignoring the hint. "I mean, considering how long Phantom stayed at your side—"

"He thought I had a concussion," Fenton interrupted. "He was just being, uh, responsible."

"Oh," Mikey said, disheartened.

"Do you have a concussion?" Lester asked.

"If I did, that camera flash would have killed me." Fenton glared at Mikey, but the taller boy was looking thoughtfully at his camera and didn't see.

"I could have sworn..." he mumbled.

Fenton looked at the camera too, worried, but there was no way Mikey could have gotten a clear shot of him and Phantom. Not with how panicked everyone had been. Even Mikey wouldn't have stuck around long enough to snap a picture during a ghost attack.

Probably…

Fenton groaned. "Whatever." He turned around fully and grabbed a tray. If the lunch ladies weren't around to give him permission, they also couldn't stop him. He pulled two plates of spaghetti onto his tray, one for him and one for Tucker. "If that's all you guys wanted, I'll just—"

"Where's Valerie?" Nathan asked.

Fenton set the second plate down on his tray a little too hard. "V-Valerie. I…don't know. I haven't seen her since the attack."

Nathan scoffed. "Some boyfriend. If I was dating her, I wouldn't leave her side if something like this happened."

Fenton closed his eyes and breathed out harshly. Nathan had always irritated him and Phantom, but it was worse now. Fenton knew he wasn't a good boyfriend, he didn't need this conspiracy-loving nerd throwing it in his face too. "I don't think she would appreciate that."

"That's because you don't know her like I do."

Fenton gritted his teeth. Multiple retorts fired off in his mind, but Fenton bit back all of them. They would just result in a longer argument, and that was exactly what Nathan wanted. So long as Fenton didn't play his game, he couldn't win.

Fenton pushed his tray down the counter, his unwanted trio following him. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Nathan," he finally said. A quick glance over his shoulder showed Nathan scowling. Ha. Not especially witty, but it got the job done.

"That's a lot of food," Mikey said pointedly as Fenton grabbed a couple fruit cups. "You must be realllly hungry…"

"Ghosts don't eat, Mikey," Fenton said, still smiling over his success. "I'm just getting food for Sam and Tucker."

"Oh…"

"Don't worry, Mikey, we'll catch him." Lester rubbed his hands together, grinning. "The more they try to hide, the more fun it is when you trip them up."

Fenton's smile faded and his shoulders tightened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That we're onto you, Danny! Just you wait!" Lester threw his arm around Mikey's shoulders, an awkward reach now that Mikey was several inches taller than all of them. "Where have you been? Why did Phantom disappear shortly after you left? Are you really just hiding, or are you actually meeting with Phantom in secret? We're onto you, and we're gonna figure out what's really going on whether you want us to or not!"

Fenton licked his lips. Be like Phantom, he thought. Stay casual and only tell part of the truth. Phantom just made it look so easy. He cleared his throat. "It's not a secret, and, uh, we're not hiding. Sam hurt her ankle. I'm just grabbing us some more lunch while Sam stays off her feet somewhere less crowded."

"Mannnn," Lester whined, his arm slipping off Mikey's shoulders. "You can't just tell us."

Nathan nudged his twin's shoulder. "It's just a misdirection, don't listen to him."

"How'd she hurt her ankle?" Mikey asked, the only one sounding worried.

Fenton shifted on his feet as he hesitated. He didn't want to bring attention to Phantom's distraction, but... "She kept the ghost distracted while Phantom was, uh...you know."

"By herself?"

Fenton nodded.

"Whoa," Mikey breathed. "I didn't know that."

"Probably because you and everyone else are too hung up on Phantom," Fenton grumbled. He picked up his tray and started walking back the way he had come. The three friends trotted after him, and he groaned. "Don't you guys have to finish Dash's homework or something?"

"Not until Thursday," Lester said. "That's plenty of time. It's an easy assignment."

Fenton sighed, "Can't you take a hint?"

"Don't want us to see what you're hiding, Fenton?" Nathan demanded.

Fenton didn't bother to turn around, he knew Nathan would have his usual suspicious squint. "I'm not hiding anything," he bit out, "you're just irritating."

"You're in an awfully bad mood for someone who's been boosted up the popularity scale based on nothing more than a rumor," Lester said. He trotted a little faster until he was walking beside Fenton. Fenton moved a little closer to the wall, not that it helped. Lester didn't understand personal space and kept annoyingly close to Fenton. "Most guys in your shoes would totally take this chance to chat it up with the fairer sex, you know."

Fenton felt his cheeks warm at the very idea. He could barely talk to Valerie and Phantom without tripping over his words, and he actually knew them. There was comfort in familiarity, even if that comfort made the more familiar of the two too comforting. "I have a girlfriend," he reminded him.

"Never stopped anyone before," Lester said.

"You even try it and I'll tell Valerie," Nathan warned heatedly.

Fenton scowled over his shoulder and snapped back, "I wasn't going to!"

Despite Mikey's earlier words about Fenton's 'disguise' not fooling anyone, no one seemed to have noticed him yet. Most notably Dash or Paulina. Then again, maybe Tucker was wrong and no one cared as much as he thought. Fenton hoped that was the case. For now, he tried to peer around the crowds for his friend. Maybe Tucker could pry the nerds off his tail. He got along with them better.

Mikey rushed forward and squeezed between Fenton and Lester. "Is that why Paulina was talking to you earlier? She probably wanted to know about Phantom, right? Man, you're so lucky…"

"It's probably all just a scam," Nathan called from behind them. "I bet Phantom was just making sure he didn't hurt you because your parents are ghost hunters and he doesn't want to make them any more aggressive towards him."

It was a good excuse, and if Nathan hadn't sounded so hostile while saying it, Fenton might have jumped on it. "Who knows why a ghost does anything?" he said instead.

"Well, he definitely looked worried." Mikey held up his camera. "Maybe I'm just used to him always looking so cool and confident in his ghost fights, bantering with his enemies like a real-life superhero even though there's like ten of them and he's bleeding from his stomach, but I don't think I've ever seen him so upset. He almost looks human."

Fenton snorted because Phantom was less human than ever, but his brow wrinkled in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, just, you know, more like a person with actual feelings and stuff. Sometimes it felt like he was just playing a role?"

"He probably was," Lester said, leaning over to look at Mikey's camera too. "Assuming he died being a hero, it might be his thing. Ghosts are supposed to have trouble moving on, right?"

Fenton didn't want to hear this. He tried walking faster to out-pace them, and, miracle upon miracles, the other two slowed down. Presumably Nathan too. Fenton wasn't about to look behind to find out.

"But look at his face here," Mikey continued, his voice becoming less distinct from the other voices in the cafeteria. "He clearly has emotions..."

Fenton lost track of the conversation as he passed another larger crowd near the hall entrance, and he breathed out a sigh of relief. It wasn't like they were wrong. When he and Phantom were together as one Danny, becoming Danny Phantom, going ghost in a crisis, was a little like donning a superhero mask, even when all it accomplished was to make them feel braver. They certainly kept up that mask whenever they had to interact with the public.

But what that had to say about Phantom now that he was free to be his own person and not just a role...

Fenton gripped his tray a little tighter. He didn't want to think about it. It led down a dangerous path because if Phantom was free to be whoever he wanted to be, then Fenton—

Fenton spotted Tucker standing near the entrance and breathed out a sigh of relief, dismissing the unwanted thought. As he got closer, though, he saw that Tucker's expression looked frantic, and he was motioning Fenton to hurry up with the hand not holding a piece of paper. Fenton didn't think he was coordinated enough to run with a tray full of food, but he put a little more spring in his steps.

He reached Tucker quickly, but before he could ask, Tucker hissed, "Dash is looking for you."

That was all Fenton needed to hear. He darted out the door, Tucker close on his heels.

---

There had to be a trick to healing that Phantom wasn't grasping.

He frowned down at Sam's ankle where his glowing hands once again lost their green-tinted brilliance. The sixth failure. He had tried a few mental tricks. He had tried empathizing with Sam's pain. He had tried summoning their old feelings for her. Nothing was working.

It was so easy with Fenton. He didn't want to believe it was only a matter of them being the same person, but what else could it be?

"Not that I don't appreciate your dedication," Sam said before Phantom could try again, "but my leg is itching like crazy now, and I would like it back."

Phantom blinked and looked up at his friend's wry expression. "Oh." He crooked a sheepish smile and released Sam's leg, holding up his hands. "Sorry about that."

She lifted her ankle off his lap and gingerly rubbed the area he had been holding. "It's fine. Worth it if you can get it working."

Phantom nodded. That he could heal Fenton was awesome, but he wanted to do more than amplify something that had once been an ability. "It might take a while. I don't seem to be making progress."

Sam shrugged. She set her foot down, but on the ground, not his lap. "Have you considered it might not be possible for you to heal a sprain?"

Phantom wrinkled his brow in thought. "I don't see why not. It's a torn muscle. I have helped Fenton with those before."

Sam opened her mouth to continue with her theory, but then she paused. "You…have?" she asked hesitantly. She eyed him, frowning. "How long have you been apart again?"

Phantom leaned back in his seat, his own wariness rising in response to Sam's. "Only since last night and most of the weekend."

"But you only just discovered you could heal? Did you guys hurt yourself during last night's training or something?"

They stared at each other a moment, Sam waiting for an answer and Phantom confused about what she was getting at. He tilted his head to the side. When it struck him, he laughed. "No! I meant, my powers have healed…when we were one, my powers healed any sprains my human half suffered."

"Okay…" Sam said slowly, "that's…not much better, but I get it. Couldn't you just say that next time instead of making it sound like you guys have been splitting yourselves behind our backs?"

He could, except it hadn't even occurred to him that he was doing it in the first place. He shrugged one shoulder and set his elbow on her desk, resting his cheek on his fist. "What were you getting at?" He frowned thoughtfully. "About not healing a sprain?"

Sam crossed her own arms and leaned back in her own chair, uncomfortable but trying to hide it. A light dusting of pink touched her cheeks. "Well, it's basically a strained muscle, right?" Sam said. "It hurts, but I'm the only one who knows how bad it is. You should probably start with something more obvious, like a cut or a bruise. Something easily visualized."

Phantom tapped the fingers of his free hand against his knee. "I healed Fenton's concussion just fine."

Sam shook her head. "He's your human half, he doesn't count."

Once again, she was treating Fenton as merely an extension of Phantom. Or of Danny, rather. Phantom pressed his lips into a tight, thin line, trying to hold back the words clawing at his throat, but they wouldn't be restrained again, and they burst out in a heated, "He does."

It was only two words, but the force behind them made Sam's mouth snap shut on whatever else she was about to say. She stared at him, her eyebrows lifted in surprise. Phantom watched her in turn. The way she and Tucker were treating their separation irritated him, and if he couldn't share the truth without exposing his and Fenton's indiscretions, he could at least make one thing clear. Fenton had convinced Phantom to treat him as his own person only after Phantom had violated his personal boundaries one time too many, treating him like he was little more than a doppleganger. Phantom wouldn't stand by and let Tucker and Sam make the same mistake, even if they were unlikely to hurt Fenton as much as he had.

Sam's eyes narrowed. "Another sore spot?"

Phantom hummed. "You could say that."

If there was one thing Fenton and Phantom had loved about Sam when they were one, it was how intelligent she was. Phantom didn't feel that way now, but as he watched her piece clue after clue together, her expression frozen in her default emotionless stare while her violet eyes darted between one thought and the next, he could understand what had made the united Danny hesitate so long after Valerie asked them out. She was fascinating to watch.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to see if she reached a conclusion. The classroom door banged open, and Phantom jerked his head off his fist, his gaze snapping to the entryway in time to see Tucker and Fenton rush inside. Tucker slammed the door shut while Fenton stumbled to a desk. He set the tray of food he was carrying onto the wooden surface and then collapsed into the chair, leaning against the backrest as he gasped for air.

He was wearing Tucker's hat.

Only a few black strands peaked beneath the lip of Tucker's beret, less than the baseball cap had allowed last year, but it was still oddly cute

Phantom's lips twitched. There were more important details to ask, such as why they appeared to have rushed all the way from the cafeteria, but Phantom found himself blurting, "I like your hat."

Fenton ripped the hat off his head. His hair was too wet to bounce up again, and Phantom's finger ticked against his knee as the desire to run his hand through Fenton's hair came over him. Fenton certainly wasn't going to fix it himself.

It was hard to tell if Fenton's cheeks were red because he was blushing or because he was out of breath. "Shut up," he gasped.

"Is there a reason it looks like you guys were chased here?" Sam asked, cutting to the heart of the matter, unlike Phantom.

Tucker pointed at Fenton. "Dash is looking for Danny because you—" his finger slid to Phantom, "—disturbed the hornets' nest."

Phantom raised an eyebrow. There was only one thing he had done differently that might cause that sort of reaction, but to be sure, he asked, "Because I displayed too much interest in Fenton?"

Tucker hesitated, his mouth open.

Fenton groaned and dropped his forehead onto the desk beside the tray, his black hair splayed across the hardwood. "Of course you're not surprised."

Phantom laughed lightly. "No. I knew it was possible after you mentioned their newest gossip. If I had known before the attack how much interest you had gained, I would have…" Ignored Fenton's injury? Left Fenton on the ground? Avoided him after winning his first tough battle, never knowing how much a single smile could make him feel? "…been less obvious…" he finished weakly. "Somehow."

"Is it really that bad?" Sam asked.

"Probably not," Tucker admitted as he stood up from the door, "but in the middle of a crowded cafeteria, minutes after a ghost attack? Not the best time to chance it."

"Good point."

Fenton sighed and lifted his head off the table. "I got us some food, no problem. Everyone seemed more interested in Phantom's fight than whatever happened with me. The only ones who approached me were Mikey, Lester, and Nathan." He made a face, and though Phantom couldn't blame him, he also couldn't help smiling at the way Fenton's nose wrinkled.

"Did they have any fruit?" Sam asked, hopeful.

"Just the cups." Fenton picked a prepackaged cup of sliced pineapples off the tray. "Nothing fresh."

"Better than nothing." Sam didn't sound enthused, but she held out her hand for the cup. "Could you bring it over here? I would rather not limp all the way over there."

It was only a couple desks away, but Phantom figured it was the process of standing up she most wanted to avoid. It wasn't easy on only one leg.

"Uh…" Fenton's eyes flicked to Phantom before dropping to the tray again. "Yeah. Hold on. I'll just…" He set the fruit cup back on the tray and stood from his chair. He picked the tray up and walked behind the two desks separating them, his head down.

Phantom might have laughed at Fenton's obvious reluctance, but he understood the hesitation and its source all too well. They were supposed to keep their distance for a reason, and that reason was the same as the one causing Phantom's core to produce a little more energy, his spine to straighten until he was no longer leaning against Sam's desk but sitting up in his own chair.

He wondered if it was the same for Fenton and if the feeling of being poised above something dangerous was as exciting for him as it was for Phantom.

…Probably not. If Phantom had to guess, that unknown drop probably made Fenton more scared than excited, more vulnerable than brave.

Phantom considered floating to the desk in front of Sam, escaping Fenton's proximity and his role as a glorified ice pack, but an unconscious breath brought with it evidence of Fenton's recent shower, and the will to move vanished, replaced by a spark shooting down his spine. The overhead lights tracked across Fenton's black hair until he stopped beside the desk on Phantom's left, further evidence of Fenton's recent shower. Phantom hadn't been able to feel the wet strands through his gloves when he was healing Fenton's concussion, but the way his glow had made his hair shine had told him enough.

He just hadn't expected how much the scent would affect him.

He smells like me, he thought. Irrational and ridiculous as the thought was, Phantom couldn't help smiling.

Fenton set his tray down on his desk and handed two fruit cups over to Sam before cautiously sitting down himself. His blue eyes met Phantom's, but then Tucker pulled his own plate of spaghetti off the tray, and Fenton's gaze dropped again.

…The proximity wasn't doing any favors for Fenton.

Phantom rubbed the back of his neck and reconsidered his decision. His desire to stay close was exactly the reason he should distance himself, but more importantly, he was making Fenton far more nervous than he needed to be. That they had to be in the same room at the moment was unavoidable, but Phantom didn't need to sit so close to Fenton while they were there.

Sam's foot came to rest on his lap again, and the opportunity to escape passed. Phantom wrapped his hands around Sam's ankle and contented himself with avoiding Fenton's gaze as stridently as Fenton seemed to be avoiding him. Not exactly easy, but he would try. He turned his head in the opposite direction and looked out the window where the trees outside were swaying in the slight breeze, their leaves glinting in the sunlight.

"I got the fliers," Tucker said, pulling Phantom from his thoughts and his eyes from the window. He looked over his shoulder and saw Tucker holding out a sheet of paper. "Well, one at least. And I had to pry it from Mathew's hands after saying it was for Danny, so you better appreciate it."

Phantom smiled his thanks and removed one hand from Sam's ankle in order to take the paper.

"Is that how you found out about Dash?" Fenton asked.

Phantom's gaze started to move in his direction before Phantom caught himself and looked down at the paper instead. Everyone knew Kwan loved to draw, and on fliers for a party that was apparently taking place at his house, he had drawn a cartoonized pool with a couple guys jumping into the water. He must have photocopied it to create enough fliers, but Phantom appreciated the effort, even if it was a little odd.

"Yup," Tucker said, already stuffing spaghetti into his mouth from the sounds of it. "He seemed excited about Dash finding you, which says a lot about what he thought might happen."

Phantom twitched. He didn't like the sound of that. He stole a glance at Fenton before looking back down at his paper. "Will you be alright?" He hated to think he had made things dangerous for Fenton, but it wasn't like he could control another's actions.

"It's just Dash," Fenton said as if the guy who had tormented them since middle school wasn't a threat worth worrying about.

Phantom snorted and smiled.

Sam peeled open her fruit cup. "We only have four more classes. You'll just have to avoid him in the hallways, and that shouldn't be too hard."

"Hide in the crowds, keep my head down, and be ready to run," Fenton recited, bored.

The sound of plastic crumpling sounded in the room as the two humans in front of Phantom opened their fork packages. Well, he thought, this is about to get awkward for me. It wasn't as though he needed or wanted to eat, but the social convention was a tricky thing to escape.

"Used to be 'and if all else fails, go invisible,'" Tucker said, "but of course that's not possible for you now."

It was meant to be a light scold over their decision to split, but Phantom ignored it, his small smile twisting into a smirk. He lifted his gaze to Fenton, but Fenton was looking at his spaghetti, about to stab his fork into the mound of noodles. "I could always walk you to class. Invisibly, of course."

Fenton coughed. He lowered his fork and blocked the left side of his face with his hand, trying and failing to hide his blush.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea," Tucker said, "but kind of a pain. It's only a five-minute transition. Sam and I can keep a lookout."

Phantom nodded. He had just wanted to tease a blush out of Fenton, though now that the idea had been spoken, he realized walking to and from classes with Fenton was more appealing than he had first thought. It would give him something to look forward to, something to break up the monotony of flying patrol hour after hour. Unfortunately, their need for distance ruled it out as a possibility.

…It was too much like what he felt they should do for Valerie, anyway.

"If something goes wrong, you can call me," he suggested instead. "Fenton felt I should carry our phone in case anyone needed to reach me."

"At least you guys weren't completely reckless then," Sam said, half teasing, half exasperated.

She ate a slice of her fruit, and behind him, Phantom heard Tucker slurping at his noodles, but while Fenton had stabbed his fork into his noodles, he was just spinning it around. His hand was still trying to block the left side of his face. He hadn't had a problem eating cereal and lunch in front of Phantom the day they practiced, but now he was hesitating, his blush spreading across his nose.

Fenton lifted his eyes. He caught Phantom watching him just as Phantom caught him stealing a glance, and the two of them quickly looked away again.

This isn't going to work, Phantom thought. Whatever was bothering Fenton—and Phantom had several theories—it wasn't going to be resolved by forcing him to endure Phantom's company. He had sought out Fenton to heal him, to steal a little time in his presence, and he had done both. There was no further reason for him to stay, especially when doing so was causing Fenton so much anxiety.

He wanted to spend some time with Fenton before their merge on Friday, but not like this. Not with Fenton so tense and uneasy around him.

Phantom sighed. He had pushed the boundaries of their distance rule enough for one day. He removed his hands from Sam's ankle and folded the flier Tucker had gotten him into a small square.

"Leaving already?" Sam asked.

Phantom nodded. "I should get back to patrolling. If that behemoth was able to slip through a portal, other ghosts might have managed to do the same."

"Is that all you've done since you separated?" Tucker asked around another mouthful. "Patrol?"

"Pretty much." Fenton was trusting him to keep the town safe, and Phantom didn't want to let him down.

"Sounds really boring."

Phantom sighed and tucked the paper into one of the pockets of the utility belt. "Extremely." He had swiped the belt from their mom as Fenton had suggested, but he still didn't like how the black material blended in with his suit and obscured part of his suit's dividing white strip.

"We could help you out after school," Sam suggested.

Phantom snapped the pocket closed and then paused. It was a very tempting offer. Patrolling was a lonely, boring task, and Sam and Tucker would definitely make it more worthwhile, but...Phantom looked at Fenton. The other Danny had lowered his left hand onto the desk, but now he was biting down on his lip and staring at his food without seeming to see it. Fenton would be excluded from hanging out. Between his grounding, the practice session with their parents, and their self-imposed avoidance clause, there was no way he could come, no matter how much he might want to.

Without looking away from Fenton, keen on catching any further sign of Fenton's emotions, Phantom asked Sam, "What about your ankle?"

"I have a brace at home I can wear. You can just drop me off somewhere high and I'll play reconnaissance."

There was no real way to head this off then, and Phantom's desire to no longer be alone kept him from looking too hard for an alternative. But Fenton…it seemed unfair to leave him all alone, knowing Phantom and their friends would be hanging out and having fun without him, doing the one thing he likely most wanted to do himself.

"Fenton?" he asked quietly.

Fenton twitched at the sound of his name, but several seconds passed before he lifted his head. He smiled before his eyes met Phantom's, but when they did he could see how disappointed he was. There was resolve there too, however, hinted in the way he straightened his back and held Phantom's gaze. "They're your friends too. You don't need my permission."

It wasn't permission Phantom was looking for, but still he nodded. "Alright. I'll get the Fenton Phones and meet you guys on Lookout Hill after school."

Tucker and Sam chorused a cheer. They had yet to hunt or hang out with Danny since Thursday, and while Phantom was only half of the Danny they knew, he supposed he still counted. He smiled at their enthusiasm, feeling his own spirits lift. He hadn't realized how much he missed them.

He lifted Sam's foot and slid out from beneath it, but before he left, he created some concave-shaped ice that would rest on her ankle. She smiled her thanks at him, unable to speak around the pineapple she was chewing. She would probably get an ice pack from the nurse after she finished, a softer and less harsh alternative to an ice block, but it would suffice until then.

After slinging the Thermos strap over his chest again, he floated off the ground, pulled his legs into a tail, and waved goodbye to Tucker. His friend held up his fork in response, his cheeks already stuffed with food.

There was only one goodbye left after that. He paused beside Fenton's chair, hesitating.

Deciding to take the risk, he rested his hand on Fenton's shoulder and felt the muscles beneath his fingers tense. There was a lot Phantom wanted but knew he shouldn't say. Instead, he whispered, "Thank you," and tried to put as much feeling into the quiet words as he could. Not only grateful because Fenton wasn't going to stand between Phantom and their friends, but for so many other reasons Phantom couldn't explain.

The ear he whispered it into turned red, and that was as good a sign as any that Phantom should leave. He turned invisible, intangible, and removed his hand from Fenton's shoulder. The residual heat on his palm made him close his fist, but that caused the warmth to disappear faster.

Phantom shook his head, chastising himself. He flew through the classroom door, intending to check out the cafeteria himself before he left the school, but sucked in a breath and jerked to a stop in the hallway. He hadn't just flown through a door, he had flown through something warm. Very warm.

"Whoa! He's gone!"

"Where did he go?"

"Did you get a pic, Mikey?"

Phantom twisted in midair. Mikey, Nathan, and Lester were crowded around the door, all three trying to look through the door's rectangular window at the same time. Phantom expelled the air through his teeth. Fenton had said these three had approached him in the cafeteria, hadn't he?

Fortunately, Phantom knew how to handle this.

"Did it suddenly get cold for anyone else?" Lester asked.

Phantom laughed loudly, allowing his echoing voice to fill the hallway. The three teens yelped and stifled shrieks. They spun around, their eyes wide. They couldn't see him, but they apparently recognized his voice. Or perhaps they were able to piece the rather obvious clues together.

"Danny Phantom," they gasped in near perfect sync.

Phantom flickered into the visible spectrum long enough to wave and smirk mischievously at them. By the time he disappeared again, Lester was bouncing on his feet and Mikey was raising his camera. Nathan just stood there and gawked, though why he looked so surprised when he must have seen Phantom in the classroom, Phantom didn't know. Perhaps he had assumed the Phantom he saw in the classroom hadn't been the real deal.

Surprise...

"It's true!" Lester cheered. "I was right! It's true! Ha! Take that, Nathan!"

"Yes. It's true." Phantom dropped onto the floor in front of Mikey. Unseen, he plucked the camera from Mikey's hands, eliciting a gasp from the other boy. "Not that anyone will believe you."

"H-hey!" Mikey lurched forward, but Phantom jumped into the air again, out of reach. "Give that back! Y-you can't just take what doesn't belong to you!"

"Then perhaps you should consider not taking photos without consent," he retorted.

Phantom kept his invisibility from spreading to the camera, not wanting to scare Mikey too much. Mikey tracked Phantom and the camera's progress up to the ceiling with horror-filled eyes. It wasn't a comfortable expression to have directed at himself, but Phantom refused to feel bad about his actions. He turned the camera around in his hands so he could look at the digital screen and flicked through the pictures Mikey had taken. The latest photo was of Phantom whispering into Fenton's ear from inside the classroom. It was odd seeing it from this perspective. Phantom hadn't realized how close he had drifted toward Fenton, or how soft his expression had become…even through the tiny screen, his expression looked tender, even vulnerable.

He quickly deleted it.

"That's not fair!" Mikey complained.

There were several pictures of the four of them in the classroom together, all of them recent. Phantom could hear nothing from inside the room, so at least their conversation had been private, but the close-up picture of him holding Sam's ankle, a moment he hadn't seen where Fenton was looking at him while Phantom looked at the flier in his hands, and another where he was smiling at Fenton were bad enough. He deleted all of them. Even the zoomed in one that caught nothing more than his face and the blackboard behind him had to go. Any evidence these three had of him had to be destroyed or they would be able to collaborate their story.

"You're supposed to be a hero," Mikey continued to whine, sounding betrayed.

"So I am." Phantom flicked through more photos Mikey had taken of the students in the cafeteria, pausing a moment to smile at the one Mikey had taken of Fenton's wide-eyed face back when he wore Tucker's hat. There wasn't anything incriminating about it, so he left it alone, though he was sure Fenton would have preferred otherwise. "Perhaps you should consider your actions are more villainous than you think. Sneaking around and taking photos of unaware people isn't what I would consider noble, though, as someone forced to deal with media and paparazzi, perhaps I am biased."

Mikey fell quiet at that, but Lester countered, "We're trying to find out the truth!"

Phantom snorted. "If you had wanted the truth, you would have gone inside and asked for it. You're seeking gossip for the sake of popularity, not truth."

He searched through the pictures after his fight with the behemoth, hesitating over a picture of himself grinning above the crowd outside. He knew who he had caused him to beam like that, but the camera only caught him in the picture, so he left it alone. The very next picture, however, was of Fenton smiling up at someone off camera, someone too high to be human. The two together painted a clear enough picture. With a sigh, Phantom erased them both.

"As if you guys would have just told us," Nathan said. "It's a secret for a reason."

The following pictures were mostly of his fight with the behemoth, and Phantom was about to hand the camera back when the next photo suddenly changed from his fight outside to the cafeteria inside, presumably right after he had been thrown through the window. Three pictures passed in which people ran in front of Mikey's camera and he managed to only catch a few glimpses of his ghostly target, but then the picture of Phantom kneeling over Fenton appeared on the screen.

Phantom hesitated, his thumb touching but not pressing down on the delete button. It was the moment after they had crashed onto the floor together, right after Phantom had climbed off Fenton in a panic. In the picture, Phantom's face was only inches from Fenton's own, his hand cupping one cheek. He remembered that moment, the fear, guilt, and horror building inside him, but he hadn't realized how...terrified he had looked. The way Fenton's eyes had kept passing over him as if he couldn't see him had been what scared him the most, though the slur in his words had certainly amplified that fear.

Phantom didn't like seeing the reminder of what was for him a gut-wrenching moment, but that wasn't what stopped him from deleting it. In the other pictures Mikey had taken, Fenton had been facing away from the camera, or the two of them had been caught in separate photos. This one was different. In this one, Phantom's and Fenton's faces were only inches apart, and even though Phantom's features were twisted in panic and Fenton's were confused…

In all the time he and Fenton had spent apart, he had never seen himself and Fenton side-by-side. There were similarities between them such as the length of their nose, the shape of their eyes, the cut of their jaw, but there were differences too, superficial at best but so much more pronounced now that Phantom could see the two of them together.

And those differences made it look like they were…that they could be…

It was everything Phantom had wanted but nothing like he had expected. His core thrummed with energy, and Phantom bit down on his lip.

"—and what would Valerie think about all this?" Nathan continued, unaware Phantom hadn't been paying attention. "I swear I'll kick his—"

Phantom couldn't bring himself to delete the picture.

He flew down and handed the camera back to Mikey, the tall boy jumping in surprise before taking it. "Sorry," Phantom said, "I have to go."

He flew through the wall on the opposite side of Fenton's classroom and fled away from the school.

---

Sam needed the extra support, Fenton didn't begrudge her that, but the arm she had looped over his shoulders held their bodies closer together than he was comfortable with. Worse, he had to wrap his own arm around her waist to keep her supported, and her bare stomach made him feel all the more aware of how close they were walking.

Tucker had been the one to offer support to Sam before, but Sam had asked Fenton to help her to the nurse's office, and Tucker had declined to come, claiming he needed to use the bathroom. His grin had made Fenton think he was lying, but it wasn't like Fenton could refuse after that.

Fortunately, Sam's interrogation kept Fenton too distracted to pay more than a passing thought to how soft and warm her skin felt beneath his hand. "And you don't think that's at all concerning?" she was asking. "Your ghost half doesn't want to merge again, and you're not at all worried?"

Fenton sighed. They were almost to the nurse's office. Couldn't Sam walk just a little bit faster? The lunch bell was going to ring any minute. Fenton wanted to reach the office before the other students could swarm through the hallway. "Of course I am, but what do you expect me to do about it? I can't force him. If he's not ready, he can just split us apart again when we become one person."

"Not if your desire to be one person is stronger." Sam held up the hand holding onto her boot as if she was making a fist. "Come on, Danny! You want those ghost powers back, don't you? Being the fighter and all?"

Fenton gritted his teeth. She sounded a little desperate. He figured he should probably assure her, but she was simplifying the situation (simplifying him) and he didn't like that. "It's more complicated than that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Now she sounded exasperated. "You don't want to merge back either?"

"I didn't say that!" Fenton took a deep breath. "Look, can we talk about something else?"

"Sure, how about how I am literally going to kill you again if you make me win my bet with Tucker?"

Fenton frowned. "The...one where you think we'll break up with Valerie because we can't keep our secret from her?"

"It's adapted to your new circumstances, but sure, basically."

"That's not really any better than the last conversation."

"Well sorry, I'm just a little preoccupied with my best friend ripping himself in half because it was easier than the alternative!" She shook her head. "This isn't healthy, Danny."

"Maybe," he said, noncommittally. The failed merge had felt far more unhealthy than anything he and Phantom were doing now, but that wasn't anything he could explain to someone who hadn't lived through it.

They were only a few feet away from the door, forcing Sam to lower her voice. "I've just had a bad feeling about this ever since you guys merged on Sunday. Something bad is going to happen."

"Something bad always happens, Sam. This is my life we're talking about, remember?"

The door to the nurse's office opened before they could reach it, and Valerie stepped through the threshold. Her head was tilted down as she frowned at the floor, but as she looked up and caught sight of them, her eyes widened. And then narrowed.

"Speaking of which..." Fenton mumbled, his stomach dropping.

Valerie marched toward them, the nurse's door closing behind her. "Where have you been?" she asked Fenton. "I was starting to think I had missed you, but the nurses said you never even showed up." Her eyebrows lifted slightly in the middle. "Concussions are nothing to joke about, Danny. You should have come here straight away."

"Awkward..." Sam whispered.

"I..." Fenton started, floundering for a response. "I actually, uh, don't...have one...?"

Valerie crossed her arms over her chest. "I know what a concussion looks like, Fenton, you definitely have one." She stared at him, her frown growing more pronounced.

"Um…" Fenton licked his lips, trying to think fast. He could tell her he had faked it? No, that was stupid. That he had just been stunned? Would she believe that? Probably not. She probably got concussions all the time.

"You aren't concussed anymore," Valerie said, suspicion turning her voice harsh. "But you were. What the hell, Fenton?"

He could keep trying to come up with a believable lie, or he could just…tell her. Phantom used truth as a disguise all the time. Fenton could do it too. "Ph-Phantom…healed me?" he asked more than stated, which, given that it was the truth, wasn't a fantastic start.

"Phantom can do a lot of things," Valerie agreed, her severe expression not changing, "but I don't think healing makes the list."

"Actually, I was there," Sam said, waving her boot. "He's telling the truth. I saw him heal Danny myself."

Valerie's gaze slid over to Sam and then down to the barefoot Sam held above the floor. "Really? Because if you were there, why did he only heal Danny and not you too?"

"He tried," Sam said, forcing a casual tone herself the way Phantom had earlier, "but I get the feeling it was a new power he's still trying to work out."

Valerie didn't look impressed. Or convinced. "I would think a sprain would be easier to heal than a concussion," she bit out through a clenched jaw.

Fenton didn't have an explanation for that. Apparently neither did Sam. They both stared helplessly at Valerie as she glared at them. Sam's arm tightened around Fenton's shoulder.

"Funny," Valerie said in a tone that was not at all amused, "it's almost as if there's something more linking the two of you than just your name." Her teal eyes stared into Fenton's and then slowly lifted to his hair. His black hair. His blue eyes. "A lot more."

Fenton sucked in a breath.

The bell rang, and students stampeded into the hallway as if they had been waiting at the doors. Valerie stepped past Fenton, her shoulder almost knocking his she moved so fast. Fenton flinched out of reflex, and he and Sam fell against each other to keep from losing their balance, further complicated as Fenton tried to watch Valerie leave. Valerie hesitated behind them, but then Sam began urging Fenton toward the nurse's office as fast as her limping gait would allow. The concern on Valerie's face evaporated as she scowled. She turned away, and Fenton did the same, his heart in his throat, guilt in his stomach.

"I swear your life must be cursed," Sam hissed, though she sounded more worried than angry.

Fenton nodded shakily. "I think I need to lay down..."

"Yeah, well, get in line."

---

Chapter Text

 

"About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won't like you at all." -Rita Mae Brown

---

The speed and surprise of the attack knocked the air from Fenton's lungs even before he hit the ground. The bruise he had felt developing ever since his and Phantom's collision in the cafeteria shrieked its displeasure, the mat beneath him not quite sufficient to cushion the impact. He lay there and gasped for breath, staring up at the cloudless orange sky as his father cheered Maddie's grace and Fenton's…less than graceful tumble.

Maddie leaned over Fenton, her head blocking part of the sky. She raised an eyebrow and her lips curled into a smile. "You were supposed to land on your side, Danny."

Fenton groaned. That had been two lessons and several hundred falls ago. How was he supposed to remember that? Still, he rolled onto his front and pushed himself to his feet. He faced his mother and dropped into the ready stance she had recently taught him, his breath coming in quick, sharp gasps.

Maddie sent him a look of skeptical concern, and Fenton found himself grinning.

"Do that again," he said between breaths. "I'll get it right this time."

He didn't.

Maddie grabbed his fist as he swung, pulled him off balance, and threw him down onto his front. Fenton fought his instincts and landed on his knees and forearms instead of stretching his hands out to catch his fall, protecting his wrists as his mom had taught him earlier.

As soon as he landed he spun, sweeping his leg out. He managed to catch his shin against the back of Maddie's knees, forcing them to collapse. His mom gasped, but she executed the fall she had taught Fenton earlier, twisting as she fell so she landed on her side. Quickly, Fenton pounced. Positioned on her side as she was, Maddie easily rolled beneath his desperate lunge, and before Fenton could react, she was on his back and pinning him to the mats. Her elbow dug into his bruise, causing Fenton to hiss his pain into the polyester.

"Whew, Danny!" his dad cheered. "You almost had her!"

That was being generous in Fenton's opinion, but even his mom laughed, delighted.

"You're a natural born fighter!" she said.

That was more often Fenton's curse than something worth praising, but he blew a puff of air into the mat and smiled weakly, the tension leaving his muscles. Feeling the surrender, Maddie released him and stood. She offered her hand and Fenton gratefully accepted it, allowing her to help him to his feet. He needed it. After hours of training, his muscles were sore, his heartbeat and breathing fast. Thankfully, his mom had chosen to teach him outside in the backyard instead of the basement, and a steady, cool breeze gusted over his sweat-soaked skin now that the sun had begun to set.

Maddie must have noticed how tired he was because she threw a glance over her shoulder at her husband. Jack had excused himself from the day's training, insisting he didn't enjoy the martial side of ghost hunting as much. Instead, he had contributed to the training by cheering the two of them on and by providing drinks and towels as needed. He had even begun cooking a barbecue, explaining how Maddie and Fenton were working up an appetite.

Jazz had joined Jack on the sidelines a little over an hour ago too. She hadn't been as vocal as their dad, but she had occasionally shouted encouragement at Fenton. He hadn't heard anything from her in a while, however. Fenton took the opportunity to meet her eyes while their mom judged how close supper was to being done, hoping he wouldn't see suspicion there.

He did.

Shit.

Jazz smiled at him, but there was an absent feel to it, as though she wasn't really paying attention to him. If she didn't suspect the truth in its full detail, she was certainly thinking really hard about something.

"That's enough for tonight, I think," Maddie said, regaining Fenton's attention. She was looking at the sky, darker now that the sun had sunk farther beneath the horizon. "Perhaps we should have stopped sooner, but…well, you were doing so well, Danny!"

She beamed at him, and Fenton hesitantly smiled back, unsure if he should be pleased or guilty. It felt good to hear he had done something right for once, that he was actually good at something, but he was only good at fighting because he had separated from the half of himself that hated fighting. That didn't feel like something he ought to take pride in.

No matter how good it felt.

He mumbled, "I guess," and shrugged, trying to dismiss the whole situation.

It seemed to do the trick. Maddie's smile and gaze lingered on Fenton a while longer before she redirected them to the mats. "I better get this cleaned up before your father finishes. You know how clumsy he can be."

Fenton hurriedly scrambled off the mat and bent down to help his mom grab one, only for Maddie to wave him off. "But I—"

"I can handle it, sweetie, don't worry. You should sit down with Jazz. Rest."

Fenton sighed. His legs were shaking, though. Whatever skills he had unlocked within himself after losing Phantom's passive personality hadn't magically granted him stronger muscles. He and Phantom had neglected their physical body in favor of training with Phantom's cooler and easier ghost powers for too long, and the result left Fenton feeling weak and useless. He wanted to push himself. He wanted to be able to hold his own in a fight.

But one night of training past his limits wasn't going to fix that, so Fenton nodded glumly and watched his mom fold up the two mats and tuck them under her arms. It looked more awkward than difficult, but Fenton knew Maddie could just slide them down the staircase once she reached the top of the lab. She just had to get past the door—

Fenton ran ahead of his mom and pulled the back door open for her.

Maddie laughed lightly as she walked in, calling over her shoulder, "Thank you, Danny!"

Fenton forced a smile before allowing the door to swing shut. With his mom gone and his dad finishing their dinner…Fenton reluctantly allowed his gaze to fall on his sister again. She was staring at the ground instead of watching him, which was one small relief, or it would be if he wasn't so afraid of whatever it was she had noticed. Ideally he would follow his mom into the house and avoid Jazz altogether, but he needed something from her.

His feet, however, didn't seem to catch the memo. He tripped over them, torn between moving toward her and staying away. He managed to stumble forward until he caught his balance, but it earned him a strange look from Jazz.

Fenton cleared his throat and ignored it as best he could. He walked over to the bench, forcing himself to act casual as he sat down beside her.

Jazz's strange look remained unchanged.

Fenton's shoulders sagged. Yeah, he wouldn't have been fooled either. "Can I see your phone?" he asked. "I need to text…um, Sam."

"Why not use your own?" Jazz asked.

"Um, T-Tucker? Has my phone? I left my phone with him. Yeah. He said he could, uh, fix it? Or something." He clamped his mouth shut on the other words trying to complicate the lie. Wow. Smooth, Fenton.

Jazz raised a skeptical eyebrow, and Fenton forced his lips into a shaky grin. She rolled her eyes but reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "Whatever, Danny. You know, if you broke your phone again, you'll just have to tell Mom and Dad eventually."

Fenton nodded quickly as he took the phone from his sister. That was a better cover story than anything he could have said. He would have to remember that excuse.

"Thanks," he said. He unlocked the phone—Jazz huffed as he typed in the password without hesitation—and pulled up Jazz's contacts. Sam's number was there, more as an emergency contact than for conversation, he thought, so fortunately he didn't have to try remembering her number.

Because…he definitely didn't remember her number.

Quickly, he typed: "Did you tell Phantom about Valerie's suspicions?"

He deleted the message after sending it, not wanting Jazz to find out what he and Phantom had done. Sam and Tucker might not like him and Phantom separating, but they were used to rolling with whatever happened around their half-ghost friend. They could accept the separation so long as it was temporary.

Jazz, on the other hand, would nag and scold and urge them to merge back as soon as possible. Fenton didn't need that kind of pressure. He already knew what they were doing was stupid and reckless and would probably make things ten times worse once they merged, he knew that. It was just…complicated. Jazz wouldn't understand.

"So…" Jazz started slowly. Fenton smothered a groan behind his teeth. "That was…interesting."

"What was?"

"Your training with Mom." Jazz bumped her shoulder against Fenton's. "I thought you said martial training was a waste of time because you had…" she glanced at their dad—happily humming over his barbecue—before whispering, "ghost powers."

No, Phantom had said that. Or, well, they had as one Danny, but it had been Phantom's half of the personality that believed it. Fenton shook his head. "It's just harder to learn," he said, which was half true. Physical prowess didn't come naturally to them.

…Or it hadn't, anyway.

"You looked like you were enjoying yourself," Jazz pointed out.

Fenton didn't know how to respond without handing Jazz a blatant giveaway, so he shrugged his shoulders and hoped the noncommittal answer would convince Jazz to drop it.

Of course it didn't.

"It's almost like you're a whole other person," she continued airily.

Fenton winced. Fortunately, Jazz's phone vibrated in his hands, and Fenton happily ignored the comment in favor of reading Sam's reply.

"I told him as soon as we met up at the park. He wasn't happy about it but he's still refusing to merge back. Tuck and I are working on him though."

Fenton frowned and shifted his weight on the bench.

He didn't like Phantom ignoring the problem, but he didn't think he liked Sam and Tucker pressuring Phantom either. It didn't feel right somehow. They couldn't know or even begin to understand what Phantom and Fenton were going through. To them, merging was just the natural order of things, not the end of...them. Everything Fenton and Phantom were and everything they had gone through would end. Maybe not immediately, if the past Monday was anything to go by, but in some ways that was even worse.

Jazz leaned against Fenton's side and hissed into his ear, "You split yourself again, didn't you?"

Fenton jolted, jerking his head up to stare wide-eyed at his sister. A second later, he narrowed his eyes. "No," he said, putting as much force behind the whisper as he could, "I did not."

It didn't even sound convincing to his own ears, but Jazz took things a bit farther by pointing a finger at him. "Ha! Dropping contractions is the sign of a liar!"

Fenton had only the vaguest idea of what she meant by 'contractions' but that didn't stop him from hissing back, "You made that up!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did, you said there was no such thing."

Jazz's face puckered as if she had just tasted something sour. "Okay fine, but you're still lying."

Fenton rolled his eyes, knowing how much it would irritate Jazz. "Oh yeah? Prove it."

Instead of blowing up, however, Jazz crossed her arms over her chest and said, "The Ghost Catcher is in your room."

Fenton sucked in a breath and held it. Phantom had fled their room instead of hiding the Ghost Catcher in their closest like they had planned, so Fenton had hidden it under his bed instead. The base stuck out a bit, but Fenton thought he had hidden it well enough by draping his blanket over the prongs. He had even shut his door every time he left his room as an extra precaution.

If Jazz had seen it…

Fenton jerked away from Jazz and glared at her. "What were you doing in my room?"

"What are you doing splitting yourself in half again?" she countered.

"None of your business!" Fenton snapped. "What were you doing in my room?"

Jazz made an exasperated sound. "Getting my laptop back! You borrowed it last week and never gave it back! I wasn't trying to invade your privacy or anything."

"Your laptop wasn't under my bed!" Fenton objected, waving the hand not holding her phone. "It was on my desk."

"Yes," she whispered slowly, "and your blanket had fallen away from one of the Ghost Catcher's prongs when I went to go get it."

"So you decided to look under my bed? How is that not invading my privacy?"

"I already recognized it!" she objected. "I only looked to confirm my suspicions."

Fenton slapped his hand over his face and groaned. "What the fuck, Jazz."

"Hey, we're talking about your problems, not mine."

"We aren't talking about anything." Fenton lowered his hand back to Jazz's phone and woke it. "I'm just hiding the Ghost Catcher from Mom and Dad so they can't mess with it." His lips curled into a small, satisfied smile as he pulled up Sam's conversation again. He was getting better at half-truths.

Jazz made a sound like she was beginning to form an objection, but the word never fully formed, and half a second later, she huffed. "Fine, whatever, but why are you protecting the Ghost Catcher? From what Tucker and Sam told me, I thought you wanted Mom and Dad to fix it so that it would stop giving you weird personalities."

"Oh, uh, well…" Fenton squirmed on the bench, mentally cursing himself for celebrating too soon.

"You better not be planning on splitting yourself in half later," Jazz warned, narrowing her eyes. She muttered more quietly, "Assuming you haven't already…"

"Nnnn—" Fenton started, drawing out the sound, "—no?" He shook his head and tried to shove away the anxiety he felt whenever what he and Phantom were doing was brought up. He could do this. "I—it's none of your business, Jazz. If I want to or not, that's none of your business. I make my own choices."

Jazz pursed her lips, displeased.

She might have argued the point further, but the back door opened, and they both looked up. Maddie's face brightened upon seeing Fenton. Startled, he sat up a little straighter. He knew she had enjoyed teaching him, but training was over.

Maddie walked toward them, her gaze shifting to Jazz. "Jazz, sweetie, would you make us a side to go with the barbecue and set the table?"

Jazz's eyes darted between Fenton and their mom a few times. "Um…" She stood from the bench. "Yeah, sure."

After glancing one last time at Fenton, brow furrowed in confusion, Jazz went inside, leaving Fenton alone with their mom. Maddie took Jazz's place on the bench, and Fenton, unsure about where this was going, looked down at Jazz's phone. It had gone to sleep so its blackened screen reflected Fenton's features back at him.

"I just wanted to say," Maddie began, trying for a light-hearted tone, "that if I had known how good a fighter you were, I might have tried harder to convince you to give ghost hunting a chance. You're very good, Danny!"

Fenton shrugged, his face heating once more. He focused on his reflection and didn't meet his mother's eyes. "A lot of good a punch would do against a ghost…"

"You might be surprised…" Maddie didn't pursue the topic, though, allowing the subject to drop. "It's only…I'm very proud of you, Danny."

Fenton looked at his mom from the corner of his eyes. "Because I'm a good fighter?"

"No, sweetie." Maddie reached up and fiddled one-handed with Fenton's hair, trying to straighten it as she once had when he was younger. "For persevering. For not giving up. I've known grown men who became frustrated with the exercise and either gave up or lashed out. You kept at it for three hours and never lost track of your goal. I think that was very mature of you. I think it's a sign you'd make a great hunter."

The smile Fenton had allowed to grow froze in place. She wasn't wrong. Fenton was already a great hunter, or he was when he had Phantom's powers. But given certain context, the knowledge of knowing just who Maddie most wanted to hunt, how could he accept her praise?

"I like fighting," he admitted slowly. "I don't think I'd mind hunting ghosts." He took a deep breath and met Maddie's eyes. It was time to lay his cards out, merge or no merge. "But I won't hunt Phantom."

Maddie's hand stilled in his hair. So much warmer than Phantom's hand had been, it lingered in Fenton's hair for several long seconds before Maddie brushed her fingers through the strands one last time.

"Well," she said as she lowered her hand into her lap, "you're still training. You're not ready for a ghost of his caliber yet anyway."

Fenton narrowed his eyes, sensing the deliberate way she dodged his meaning. After stewing in his frustration for a moment, Fenton gritted his teeth and looked back down at Jazz's phone. "Was there anything else, or did you just want to belittle my choices?"

Maddie sighed. "Danny…he's a ghost."

"Duh. The glow kind of gave it away, Mom."

"Ghosts attack our town every day," Maddie continued, her voice more firm. "They have proven they can't be trusted. Even if Phantom is an outlier—which I doubt, given that he has attacked us in the past—keeping a wolf to guard your back is inviting harm on yourself and your family. It's a wild animal. You can't trust him."

"I do, though," Fenton said, almost too quietly for Maddie to hear over the sound of Jack's burgers sizzling on the grill. He stared into his reflection, amazed as his own words sank in.

He did. He was. Actively. Not just to adhere to the restrictions they had placed on each other, either. He was trusting his loving, too-smooth-for-his-own-good self to protect everyone in the town this very moment. It didn't seem so long ago he was too afraid to even take his eyes off his ghost half while Phantom wandered around his room. When had things changed?

Maddie sighed again, shaking her head. She laughed a moment later.

"Well, if he does ever turn on the town, at least strong fighters like you and Valerie will be there to stop him."

"Strong fighters?" Fenton shook his head. "Valerie maybe. I'm not sure what help I'd be."

"Don't sell yourself short, sweetie." Maddie placed a hand on Fenton's shoulder and pressed a kiss to his temple. "You're more capable than you realize."

The words made that tentative pride return again, and Fenton turned his head to smile shyly at his mom. She returned the smile before standing from the bench and walking over to help Jack finish the barbecue. Fenton watched them a moment as he chewed on his bottom lip.

He liked not being afraid of his parents. He liked looking forward to training with them instead of dreading whatever invention they had dreamed up. More than anything, he had enjoyed not having to hold anything back. He could go all out, be only himself—whoever that happened to be—and earn the praise he desperately craved, even if the source of that validation came from his parents.

Maybe…given enough time, enough good will through training, he could convince his parents Phantom was worth taking a chance on. That would be a worthwhile effort, wouldn't it?

Fenton looked down at Jazz's phone. He bit his lip and stared into his reflection's eyes. He woke the phone and deleted Sam's reply before exiting her conversation. Fenton hesitated, briefly closing his eyes and breathing slowly through the nerves fluttering inside his stomach.

He pulled up the conversation for his own phone number instead.

An icon of his face—their human face—stared back at him beside a message he and Phantom had sent Jazz when they were one. Something about a homework assignment Fenton couldn't remember anymore. The icon's blue eyes stared back at him, but unlike his reflection earlier, it was like staring at a ghost. Fenton didn't think he could ever look as cocksure and confident as that Danny did. An apprehensive shiver ran up his spine.

The nerves returned, but Fenton fought them as best he could and quickly typed, "Let's stick to the plan. I want to see this through. -Fenton"

He sent it before he could second-guess himself. He ran a hand through his hair and breathed in a shaky breath. It was so much harder to talk to Phantom now.

Which was stupid. Fenton's feelings might be changing, but the situation remained the same. Phantom was still his other half. He was still the same as Fenton, albeit with ghost powers, charm, confidence, grace…everything Fenton lacked…

But other than that—

Jazz's phone vibrated in his hand, and Fenton looked down to see Phantom had sent an old school ":D" face.

Fenton snorted, hiccuping a small laugh. He was about to reply when a second message appeared.

"Thank you"

Fenton's mind leaped, fitting the words to the voice that had whispered those same words into his ear hours ago. The one that had breathed cold air across the shell of his ear and managed to convey more meaning in his tone than through the words alone.

Fenton flushed. He dropped Jazz's phone into his lap and slapped both hands over his reddening face.

"Fuck," he choked.

---

Phantom cradled their phone in his hands a while longer, staring at the message Fenton had sent. Phantom wasn't sure if he should add anything else besides thank you, but that was largely how he felt, wasn't it? Relieved and grateful Fenton was willing to stick to the plan?

Certainly the excitement, hope, and curiosity he felt were emotions he should keep to himself. Despite Valerie's suspicions, their friends' disapproval, and their classmate's growing interest, Fenton was still willing to take a chance and hold out until Friday. Phantom wanted to know why. He wanted to understand because it felt as though something had changed.

It was…frustrating to be so in the dark.

"I reached the park again," Tucker's voice spoke from the Fenton Earphone. "I can't believe there are still so many people here. It's a school night, right? Doesn't look like there's any ghost activity, though."

Phantom breathed out a quiet sigh and looked at the stars above him, allowing his and Fenton's phone to sleep. Right. Duties first, emotional dilemmas later.

"It's not as though the park has office hours, Tuck," he said as he slid the phone into a belt pocket. "From what I have seen, the park doesn't usually start to clear out until after ten."

"I'll give it a cursory look and head out before then, if it's all the same to you. I don't much care for walking around here at night."

Phantom grinned. "Scared?"

"Don't even go there, ghost dude."

"What about your location, Danny?" Sam cut in.

"Ah…" Phantom had rolled onto his back and allowed his powers to float him wherever they chose the moment he realized Fenton was the one texting him. He had been above the school, but as he rolled over again and looked down, he saw Vlad's rich neighborhood stretched below him. "Above Vlad's. Figured I would include his house in case he tries something while Fenton and I are divided."

"Good idea."

It was a good idea, even if Phantom had mostly landed on it by accident. Sighing, Phantom headed toward their nemesis' house. He would only peek inside. He didn't feel confident in confronting Vlad, even by accident. Even combined and at their best, he and Fenton struggled to match the man. Mentally and physically.

"How are you holding up, Sam?" Tucker asked.

"About as well as can be expected. Bored out of my mind, but my ankle is feeling better. Are you almost to the hill?"

"Just gotta finish the circuit. I should be there in about a half hour, tops."

Phantom winced. That meant his friends would be heading home soon. Of course, it had been several hours already. They couldn't stay out all night, especially with Sam's ankle hurt the way it was, but it felt like barely any time at all, not when Phantom had a full night and a school day ahead of him. It had been nice to patrol the city together, bantering over the Fenton Earphones as though nothing had changed. It would have been nicer to just hang out, but Fenton was counting on Phantom, and their patrols had scored them two captures.

For a moment, Phantom was tempted to pull out their phone again and text Fenton exactly that, but Fenton had probably already given the phone back to Jazz. Phantom shook his head, dismissing the idea. It was just a weak excuse to try talking to Fenton again.

Still...maybe he could hang out with Tucker for a while? Play some video games in his room for an hour?

A red blur in his peripheral vision halted the suggestion before he could voice it. Curious, he turned his head and saw Valerie speeding above the houses on her hover board. Phantom raised an eyebrow, his lips thinning. He was too high up for her to have seen him, backlit by the clouds where his glow was almost indistinguishable from moonlight, but he still activated his invisibility. No need to tempt fate.

"Sam," he began slowly, "what exactly did Valerie say earlier?"

"She didn't really say anything," Sam replied, her voice crackling over the speaker, "she just looked pointedly at your human half's face and implied there was some connection between you two. Why?"

Valerie's board slowed before she hovered in front of Vlad's large house, drifting slowly toward the windows.

Phantom frowned. "Because it looks like she is paying Vlad a visit."

"Further proof she works for him?" Sam suggested, an edge to her voice.

"We already sort of knew that," Tucker pointed out. "Not really a surprise after she sold out Danielle to our 'benevolent' mayor."

"She helped me free her in the end," Phantom said.

Tucker made a noncommittal noise.

"Just watch yourself, Danny," Sam said. "Are you planning to eavesdrop?"

"Thinking about it, yes."

Only, Valerie wasn't entering the house. She peered in through a window before gliding over to the next, repeating the process as though she was looking for something. Perhaps looking for Vlad? Surely she could have walked through the front door if Vlad had been expecting her.

Whatever she was looking for, Valerie appeared to have found it by the fifth window. She backed her board a few feet away and then summoned three pink cubes to float around her head.

Phantom's eyes widened. "No—" he gasped, but the explosion came anyway, shattering Vlad's window and a fair portion of his brick wall.

"Danny?" Sam asked, sounding alarmed. "What's wrong?"

Phantom, fear rising in his chest, swallowed his own surprise. He needed to do something. "'Visiting' may have been the wrong word," he said, his voice a little shaky as he watched Valerie fly into Vlad's mansion. "She just broke into his mansion. Literally."

Sam hissed—loudly, if the Fenton Earphone was able to pick it up.

"Oh shit," Tucker breathed.

"Why would she do that?" Sam demanded.

"Maybe she's looking for information on Danielle?" Tucker suggested, uncertain. "You said she found out about half ghosts through her. Maybe she's even closer to your secret than we thought."

Phantom grimaced. Fenton wasn't going to like that.

"This may not be the best time," Tucker started slowly, "but I totally win the bet if she figures it out tonight, right?"

"Only if it doesn't lead to her breaking up with Danny."

Phantom clenched his hands into fists. The bet. He had learned of it through Fenton's memories, hazy as the finer details were, and where Fenton had accepted it as harmless bantering between friends, Phantom suspected it went deeper than that. Perhaps as a way to comfort Sam by making light of Phantom and Fenton's relationship with Valerie.

Whatever it was, he didn't like it being discussed like this in front of him.

Now wasn't the time to worry about it, though, so he pushed it aside. "I had best follow her inside to keep that from happening then, shouldn't I?" he said, a mocking edge to his own voice.

"Nice try," Sam said, "but we all know you only want to follow her so you can protect her from Vlad."

"Well...yes, partly."

"Go for it, dude!" Tucker cheered.

"No, don't," Sam hissed. "You're not yourself anymore, Danny. You're only half! If Vlad catches you now, you won't stand a chance against him. Remember Technus?"

"Oh," Tucker said, deflating, "right. Yeah, dude, better not."

Phantom gritted his teeth. "I may be 'only half', but I won't be alone. Valerie is there. I need to remove the Fenton Phone so she won't have another clue, right? I'll let you guys know how it went."

"No, we can help-"

"Danny!"

Phantom plucked the Fenton Phone from his ear and switched it off. The silence of the night pressed in on him, sudden in its enormity. There were distant sounds of traffic in the more popular parts of the city, but the rich district was as quiet as a graveyard. Probably more so. Phantom rubbed his ear while his other hand put the Earphone in an empty pocket of the utility belt.

That done, Phantom took a deep breath, composed a witty greeting in his head, and then dived for his arch nemesis' house.

---

Notes on tourism revenue, notes on advertisement...

Valerie shuffled through the papers on Vlad's desk for several more seconds before she grimaced in disgust and dropped the stack back onto the desk. If she had any doubts about Vlad Masters favoring profit over Amity Park's safety, all the proof she ever wanted was right there, but she already knew (suspected) her one-time idol was a jerk. His plans to turn Amity Park into a tourist attraction was just one more nail in the coffin.

It was not, however, what she had broken into his mansion for.

She doubted the drawers would hold anything else of value, but there was one locked drawer at the center of the desk that held some promise. She knelt on one knee and eyed the lock. She charged energy into her fist and was about to punch her way through (mostly because she could and because she really, really wanted to) when she felt a cold chill creep up her back. Her eyes widened. She surged to her feet, grabbed the specter by their suit and slammed them onto the desk, already pulling back a charged fist.

She was expecting the terrifying features of Masters'...ghost or whatever the Wisconsin Ghost had been. But the ghost's invisibility fell away as they grunted, and instead Valerie found herself pinning a young man's body to the desk, his white hair, green eyes, and all too familiar features striking her like a blow.

"You," she gasped, leaning back. Phantom smiled at her, a winsome expression that was also all too familiar. Valerie pulled her lips back from her teeth and drove the heel of her palm harder into his collarbone. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Val," he said, his stupid grin not abating. "Breaking and entering is not usually your style."

A surge of energy caused electricity to spark around her raised fist, and Phantom's grin finally faltered as he flinched. Valerie growled through her teeth, "What I do or don't do is none of your business, ghost."

Phantom looked for a moment like he wanted to object, but another flash of sparks made him raise his hands, palms up in surrender. "Yes, yes, of course, you're a wonderfully skilled ghost hunter and I am a ghost—no business crossing here. But you must admit, breaking into the mayor's mansion is pretty suspicious. The last time we were here, you insisted that Vlad Masters was a good man."

Valerie gritted her teeth together and sucked in a ragged breath through her nose. She didn't make a noise and she didn't think Phantom could see through her tinted faceplate, but his expression softened. One of his hands abandoned the universal surrender sign to lightly wrap around her wrist instead.

"Is everything alright, Val?" he asked, his voice achingly gentle beneath the echo.

Valerie released his jumpsuit and snatched her hand back. "Peachy," she snarled. "Or it was before you showed up. Don't you have adoring fans to bait?"

"Oh, a hundred screaming fans could never compare to a moment spent in your company, Val." Phantom smiled again, more slyly than before. Valerie jerked back a step. Without her hand holding him in place, Phantom shifted in the limited space between them until he was able to sit on the desk.

Valerie shifted another step backward, and her thigh bumped against the computer chair she had pulled from Vlad's desk earlier. She didn't need this. Phantom was way off script, flirting where he should be bantering, soft where he should be demanding answers... It was giving her a headache. If not for his confident delivery, Valerie could almost believe Danny and Phantom had swapped personalities.

Valerie bared her teeth at the thought and stomped forward, regaining the ground she had surrendered. "What do you want, Phantom? Why are you here?"

"I just happened to see your...dramatic entrance earlier." He shrugged, feigning an ease that didn't match how tightly he sat on the desk. "I figured there must be a reason and I came to offer my help."

"Your help," Valerie echoed, her tone tainting the words with all the skepticism she could manage. "Your help?"

"We have helped each other in the past," Phantom pointed out.

"With ghosts, not with this."

"And what is 'this'?"

Valerie stared at him, her fists clenched at her side. "Why would I tell you that?"

"Come on, Val. Aren't we friends?"

"No."

The curt, quick answer made the ghost wince, but Valerie felt no satisfaction from it. Where had he even gotten the idea? They were sometimes allies at most. Just the other day she had wanted to shoot him through a brick wall. There was nothing friendly between them, no matter how many truces they made during the heat of battle.

"Allies, then," Phantom amended.

"Sometimes."

"More than—"

"And not right now."

Phantom drew in a deep breath—did he need to breathe?—and tipped his head back. "Look, I can help you. If you had only asked, I could have gotten you through the wall without destroying it and putting yourself on a time limit. Or do you think Vlad doesn't have a security system that alerted him and the police the moment the blast went off? Don't let the lack of an alarm fool you. He uses a silent one."

Of course she knew he had a security system—all the rich bastards had one. Vlad was working overnight at his office, however, so the risk was worth it. The police could never catch her, but even if they did, she had enough clout with them to blame it on a ghost attack.

Valerie crossed her arms and didn't offer Phantom a response.

"Okay, look." Phantom slid off the desk, turning his unguarded back on Valerie. He pulled the locked drawer and its contents free from the desk in one fluid, intangible motion. He turned back to her and held the drawer out like an offering. "See? I can help you find what you need faster than you can alone. Whatever it is."

Valerie stared hard at the ghost before allowing her gaze to drop to the drawer. She had been expecting printed paper like the ones on Vlad's desk, but inside the drawer nestled only a small notebook. She took in a long breath and frowned at it for a moment before grabbing the notebook and stuffing it into a side pocket.

The notebook might hold the answer she was looking for, but she couldn't be sure and she didn't have time to look through it. The police wouldn't arrest her, but they would put an end to her search. She needed a quicker process, a more surefire target while she was here. Phantom could help with that.

...Of course, he could also sabotage her in the process, but she was already prepared to keep a close eye on him, waiting and watching for confirmation to a theory she had barely begun to form.

"Fine," Valerie said, glaring at Phantom even as the ghost's face brightened at her acceptance. "But I'm not telling you anything. If we're doing this, you need to keep your questions. To. Your. Self."

Phantom raised an eyebrow, his expression falling slightly at her tone. He still nodded, however, accepting her terms without arguing. It was a little surprising. Frustrating, because she didn't understand the change. She and Phantom often butted heads over matters such as this, but if he was going to follow her lead this one time without complaint, all the better. She didn't have time for anything less.

"I need to get into his lab," she said. "Can you get us in there without using the Fenton Portal?"

Phantom smirked. "Easily."

He set the drawer back in the desk and then held out his hand. Valerie stared at it, her lips pressed into a tight line. Of course Phantom needed to have some sort of contact with her in order to spread his abilities over her, he had explained as much the last time they had broken into Vlad's mansion together, and, of course, she had shaken his hand many times before. They did it frequently to setup a truce. But now felt...different.

Valerie raised her eyes to stare at Phantom's face. It was harder to see at night, in a dark room, when Phantom's glow was so much brighter, his ghostly appearance so much stronger, but Valerie could still pick out the features she had seen when Phantom had crouched beside Danny in the cafeteria, invisible until the moment she saw the two of them side-by-side. The same jaw, the same nose, the same shape of their eyes...

She had seen Danny and Phantom acting independently, they couldn't be like Danielle, it couldn't be true.

…But she had also seen Vlad and the Wisconsin Ghost in the same room together, and if Vlad and Danny had shared the same kind of accident…were they like Danielle? Or was something else going on?

Valerie grabbed Phantom's hand. His smile widened, and Valerie squeezed his fingers in warning. She might have given him a more verbal warning as well—something along the lines of reminding him she had a boyfriend—but Phantom lifted them into the air, and Valerie filed it away for later.

Flying with a ghost wasn't pleasant. There was no buffeting wind, no physical resistance, no gravity that could impede them. Vertigo was almost a guarantee. Still, it was effective. Phantom had turned the two of them intangible in seconds, and with solid things like walls and hidden doors no longer an obstacle, Phantom shot them through the halls of Vlad's mansion faster than Valerie ever could have on her own, even flying on her hoverboard.

Valerie gritted her teeth as her stomach roiled. It was effective, but unpleasant.

Fortunately, it didn't take long before Phantom was setting them down on the ground again. Valerie's boots clicked against the metal tiles, but Phantom's own landed with barely a sound. Absently, she shook free of Phantom's grasp and looked around, reacquainting herself with her once benefactor's secret lab. She wasn't sure if it had always looked so sinister and she had just been distracted or if her eyes were truly seeing it for the first time.

With nowhere better to start, Valerie approached the giant monitors. There was bound to be information somewhere in Vlad's database.

---

Phantom watched Valerie wake Vlad's multiple monitors and released a soft breath. His attempt to earn Valerie's acceptance for his and Fenton's benefit didn't seem to be going well, to put it lightly. If she did know of his and Fenton's shared past, her current antagonism toward him didn't bode well for their relationship. Hopefully Fenton would be able to salvage something, because at the moment it seemed something about Phantom was irritating her.

More so than usual, at any rate.

Phantom floated to her side and didn't miss the way her shoulders tensed at his approach. "If you tell me what it is you're searching for," he said slowly, "I can help you look."

Valerie scowled at him, and Phantom tactfully let the matter drop. That she was accepting even a portion of his help was a good sign. Probably.

He looked down at the keyboard. It was ridiculously big and curved along the table, but that was Vlad, ostentatious as ever. Valerie's fingers flew over the keys as she tried password after password, trying to log into the server.

"Try 'Madeline Masters,'" Phantom suggested, forcing his voice to sound casual.

Valerie gave him a sharp look, and he shrugged without offering an explanation. Mostly because he didn't want to think about it.

It became harder to not think about when Valerie entered the name and it worked.

Then Maddie appeared beside Phantom. Phantom jerked back, gasping. A second later he realized he could see through her. Phantom cringed and regretfully acknowledge he wouldn't be escaping Vlad's obsession for a while. Gross. Vlad had a hologram of Maddie...Phantom had almost forgotten, or perhaps scrubbed the knowledge from his mind. He grimaced

"Welcome home, Sweetums," the hologram said, beaming, her gaze directed at Valerie but aimed above her head.

"Maddie Fenton?" Valerie choked. "He has a life-size hologram of Maddie Fenton?"

"Is there anything you need, my sweet?" the hologram asked, still using Maddie's stolen voice and pitching it into an unnaturally sweet tone that made Phantom's teeth grind.

"Uh..." Valerie forcefully shook her head. "Okay, you know what? Fine. This is just too freaky, but whatever. So Vlad's a total basket case and I'm the last to know about it. Fine. But if he had stuff on Maddie, then he probably has stuff on the other Fentons, right?"

Phantom glanced at her, his eyes narrowing. "What—"

"Give me all the information you have on Daniel Fenton," Valerie commanded, speaking over him.

Phantom drew in a breath. That was not good. "Valerie—"

"Voice pattern not recognized," the hologram said cheerfully.

"Voice—he uses voice recognition?" Valerie snarled, frustration turning her voice into a growl.

Phantom breathed out a (very quiet) sigh of relief. That was too close. He glanced at Valerie, wishing he could see her expression through the tinted faceplate. "You broke into Vlad's mansion to dig up information on your boyfriend?" he asked, trying to sound incredulous and not bloody terrified.

Fenton and Sam must have been right. She was close to their secret.

Well...the official one.

Valerie turned her head towards him, allowing him to see into her mask and witness her eyes narrowing, her lips pulling into an angry, thin line. He waited for her to say something, but after glaring at him for several seconds, she turned to the computers and began typing furiously on the keyboard.

Phantom floated a little closer. "Because I am fairly sure asking him would have been safer."

Valerie ground her teeth together but didn't remove her attention from the computer. It seemed as though she was having difficulty finding a relevant file. Most of what popped onto the screen were blueprints, project citations, and one or two files on other ghosts such as Skulker.

"He's lying to me," Valerie finally bit out. "What's the point of asking a liar anything?"

Phantom licked his lips and darted his gaze away from her. "What makes you think he is lying to you?"

"None of your business, Phantom."

Ah...of course not.

Phantom crossed his arms over his chest and allowed his gaze to roam more freely around the lab. His eyes landed on the Maddie hologram. Her own gaze had left the space above Valerie's head and had settled on his face instead. Phantom stiffened. He circled around to Valerie's other side, and the hologram's eyes followed.

"Um," he started.

"Well that's something," Valerie snapped.

Phantom turned back to the computers. Valerie had managed to pull up a video that read Fenton Works along the taskbar. The video itself showed a high definition picture of Jack and Maddie fiddling with blueprints and several metal scraps on the lab counter. Phantom widened his eyes and drifted closer to the monitors.

"Mom?"

Phantom sucked in a sharp breath as Fenton entered the picture from the direction of the stairs. Beside Phantom, Valerie stilled, as rigid as a statue.

"Is there any non-contaminated ice cream?" Fenton continued, unaware of his audience.

"Not in the kitchen, dear," Maddie answered, looking up from the blueprints so that the overhead lights briefly reflected off her red goggles. "Check the freezer in the OP Center."

"Right..." Maddie returned to her work and Fenton turned around, but after taking a couple steps, he hesitated. He turned around again. The uneasy caution on his face was visible even viewed through the lens of whatever spy camera Vlad was using. "What, uh, what are you guys making?"

Jack perked up immediately. "It's something for Valerie's—"

"Jack, you wouldn't want to spoil the surprise."

"Oh right. Sorry, Dan-O! You'll just have to wait and see!"

Fenton nodded slowly, his uncertainty still visible, but he left the lab without further comment, and Jack and Maddie returned to their work.

"Cameras," Phantom finally managed to gasp out. "He's—Vlad—he is spying on..."

How much did Vlad know? How much had he seen?

He could know about Phantom's and Fenton's separation, he could know about the kiss, the practices, he could have seen—

Phantom felt his skin crawl, the sensation rushing up his spine, toward his mouth where he promptly gagged on his revulsion.

"He's after the Fentons' inventions," Valerie whispered, her voice strained. "He's a liar and a thief!"

Phantom nodded but he had to take several deep breaths before he could trust himself to ask, "Does he only have the one camera in the lab?" Several breaths or not, his voice still shook as he spoke the words. Vlad had shown no qualms about filming them through Valerie's suit or about cloning them, how much farther would he go? Could he have put a camera in their room?

Phantom hadn't eaten anything since his and Fenton's separation, but he still felt his stomach heave a warning, and he quickly covered his mouth.

"Why would he have cameras anywhere else?" Valerie asked, impatiently already scanning the other files on the monitor.

Phantom cautiously lowered his hand and took a few more breaths. "Because he has a hologram of Maddie Fenton and a password where his last name replaces Jack's."

Valerie looked at him, her eyes narrowed. "You think he's so obsessed he'd spy on her?"

Her and her son.

Phantom swallowed his disgust and managed a nonchalant shrug. "I've learned not to put anything past him."

Valerie's lips pressed into a thin line. She was silent a moment, but only for a moment. "You know him better than I do," she finally said, her tone devoid of emotion. She turned back to the computers.

As it happened, Vlad had one more camera hiding inside the kitchen light fixture, but by opening the file, Valerie gained access to its controls. Namely, it's ability to crawl from the light and fly into the living room.

It was mobile. It could have gone anywhere in the house, seen anything, been anywhere.

At that point, Phantom had to brace himself against the counter and place a hand over his face. It was all too much. Nothing had been confirmed about what Vlad had recorded, but the possibility that Vlad had seen into their private lives was more than enough to make Phantom's skin itch.

"Creep," Valerie muttered.

Phantom nodded, speechless.

"I should warn the Fentons."

Phantom sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. "If you mention Vlad's involvement, Jack won't believe you. Maddie might not either."

"What about Danny?"

"Fenton would, yes, so would Jazz, but if they destroy the cameras, Vlad could just send more. You must tell Jack and Maddie that a ghost is bugging their house. Once they find the cameras, their paranoia will keep them alert and safe until they invent something that will do it for them."

Valerie frowned at him. "You sound like you have experience working around them."

Phantom smiled wryly. "You could say that."

"For how long?"

Phantom's wry amusement faded. That question sounded too casual. He frowned. "How long what?"

Valerie maneuvered the mouse with far more care than necessary, careful not to look at him. "How long have you been protecting the Fentons?"

Ah...

Phantom tilted his head to the side and studied Valerie's posture from a different angle. She was tense, which wasn't surprising, given their location and what they just discovered, but she had also begun to lean toward Phantom, the computers and the answers they held ignored for the moment.

"Do you mean to ask," Phantom began slowly, "how long have I been protecting Danny Fenton?"

Valerie scowled.

Bingo.

Phantom grinned. "I think I have endangered him more often than I have protected him, to be honest."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "How long have you been 'endangering' him, then?"

"Since the portal accident." Valerie sucked in a breath, and Phantom huffed a short laugh. "That is what you were getting at?"

"You were there?" she asked, breathless. "What happened?"

"An accident." When Valerie scowled again, Phantom held up his hands. His grin didn't alleviate the aggression in her stance, but Phantom couldn't help it. It seemed he enjoyed getting a rise out of the people he was attracted to. "I wish I could tell you more, Val, but..." His grin slipped, replaced by a troubled expression. "But it was...very confusing."

His memories of the accident were disorienting at best. He and Fenton often relied on Sam's and Tucker's retelling of the events, both before and after, but...while Sam and Tucker had been inside the lab, they hadn't seen inside the portal, the tunnel. They had only seen the explosion and heard Fenton scream.

Not that there was likely more to it than that. An explosion of ectoplasm? A scream? A former full human steps out of the portal with ghost powers? The conclusion was an easy one to reach, even with only comic books to fall back on. Phantom's muddled memories were likely unreliable. If he had heard two screams, it was probably the result of Fenton's voice echoing off the tunnel walls.

"Did Danny change at all?" Valerie asked.

Phantom hummed thoughtfully, to buy himself time. If Valerie was asking him a question like that, she was probably still searching for the connection between him and Fenton. He would have to be careful, but maybe it wasn't as desperate as Fenton and Sam seemed to think. "Besides the ecto-signature he picked up?" he asked, playing along. "I didn't notice anything."

Valerie frowned, her expression pensive, but she didn't ask anything else. There was obviously more, something she was searching for in his face, but apparently it wasn't something she felt Phantom could (or would) answer because a moment later she turned back to the monitors.

Not good.

Phantom bit back a groan. "Val, we should leave."

"Then leave." She opened a different folder on the monitors, one that was also labeled under 'Cameras.' "I'm not going until I get my answers."

"Well what answers are you after?" he asked, trying not to sound impatient. He had hoped details on the portal accident was all she was after, that he could lure her away from the mansion with that, but if that wasn't enough...

"None of your—"

"Business, yes, I know, you said as much, but Vlad and the cops will be here any minute." Phantom braced his hands on the counter and looked at the monitors, Valerie, and then at the hologram of Maddie. "We need to hurry. Just tell me so I can help you."

Valerie scowled. "No, because you..."

She trailed off. Another video was playing, this time of Phantom—the true, half ghost Danny Phantom who looked too focused on the fight on-screen to be the Phantom watching it—throw an ectoblast at the one wielding the camera. Or the one who had been bugged with a camera, anyway. Phantom remembered seeing the same video sequence play on Vlad's screen when he had kidnapped Fenton and Phantom during his clone obsession. Phantom knew who was recording the footage of the video. The next sequenced video played, and he knew who had shot that one as well.

He glanced at Valerie and could see from her widening eyes and stiffened posture that she did too, but it was the moment the videos of Danny Phantom fighting the Red Huntress came together to form a 3D model of Valerie's enemy that she flinched away from the computer. Lines pointed to various parts of Phantom's body as notes scrawled across the screen, but Phantom didn't want to read any of it. He had seen it all before. He didn't want to see it again. He crossed his arms over his chest and turned his back on the screens.

"He used me to spy on you," Valerie whispered, sounding as though the breath had been punched from her lungs.

Phantom nodded, frowning. "I'm not sure how he got a camera on your old suit, but it looks that way. He likely noticed how inclined you were to fight me and took advantage of the situation." He glanced at Valerie from the corner of his eye, careful not to look at the monitors too. "I was never sure if you had agreed to it or not."

"Of course I didn't! I—" She broke off, torn and confused and perhaps a little horrified.

Not that Phantom could blame her. "That isn't surprising." Phantom sighed and glared down at his boots. "Vlad is not someone who asks for permission."

"But why was he spying on you? What is this?" She gestured at the monitors. "What was he after? Why is he spying on the Fentons? Why is he—why is he doing any of this?"

Phantom smiled wryly. "Do you want his answer or mine?" He looked up in time to catch Valerie's frown. "I did ask, once. He said, 'All I have ever wanted was love.'" Phantom shook his head. "Loneliness can drive a man to do bad things, I suppose."

Valerie's features were too hidden for Phantom to read any subtle emotions in her expression, but a moment later she asked, "And what do you think?"

"I think he only cares about what he wants. When that inevitably pushes people away, he blames them instead of himself." Phantom cracked a smile. "He is, as Fenton likes to call him, a 'Froot Loop.'" He spun one finger around his ear to demonstrate. "Crazy. Mad. Nuts. A complete jerk. And probably some unkind swear words thrown into the mix."

Valerie blew a puff of air through her lips. "Danny knows about Vlad too then?"

"Yes. He would have to. Vlad wants his mom." And he wanted her half ghost son to join him in villainy, but that would take too long to explain. "The only one who doesn't know in that family is Jack."

"At least I wasn't the only one," she muttered, but she didn't sound pleased about it. She sounded angry. She leaned onto the counter, hunching her shoulders forward. "I'm such an idiot."

Phantom twisted to face her, frowning in concern. "Val?"

"I'm such a fucking idiot," she repeated, her hands clenching into fists.

"You're not the only one he—"

"He used me!" she shouted, rounding on Phantom. "He was using me from the beginning and I let him! I believed him, I thought I was special, I thought he actually saw something in me worthwhile."

"You are—"

"I'm a gullible fool who almost got a little girl killed because I trusted this—this—" Valerie waved her hand at Vlad's monitors, trying to find a word.

"...Creep?" Phantom suggested.

"This asshole!" Valerie shouted instead.

Phantom hummed and inclined his head.

"Just because he said a few nice words and, and said he saw something in me no one else had, but all that time he was just—" She gestured violently at the monitors again, but this time her eyes followed and stayed locked on the screen, allowing the rest of her sentence to trail off.

Phantom looked at the screens to see what had captured her attention. Another video was playing, but this one was different from the others. For one, the Red Huntress was flying closer to the ground, and for another, she was chasing Danny Fenton, not Danny Phantom. Phantom frowned, confused. On screen, the Red Huntress fired her blaster, and Fenton—Danny—dodged the blasts more skillfully than the present Valerie expected he was capable, given the little sound she made beside Phantom. Finally the memory connected for Phantom.

It was the week they had started dating and hanging out with Valerie last year, back when Technus had taken control of Valerie's ghost hunting gear and used it to attack them. More than being forced to run away as a human to avoid Valerie finding out their secret, Phantom mostly remembered the frustration and disappointment he felt when he realized Technus really had been pushing him and Valerie together. It had pulled into question all that he had been feeling up to that point and left him with a sour taste in his mouth.

"What is he doing now?" Valerie demanded, exasperated.

Phantom returned his attention to the video and saw Danny's form and movements being dissected on the screen the same way their ghost form had been. He grimaced, reminded that Vlad had compiled the videos for the purpose of cloning him and Fenton. Of course he would record Fenton's half of their transformation if the opportunity ever presented itself. Their human body moved differently than their ghost. Their last merge had been a brutal reminder of that fact.

Notes began to scrawl across the screen again, words like "human form" and "ghost powers" catching Phantom's eyes. He drew in a breath and reached for the mouse, but Valerie was faster. She glared at Phantom, removing her gaze from the screen at the crucial moment Fenton's and Phantom's forms were presented side-by-side for comparison.

Phantom smiled as charmingly as he could. "I just thought we could hurry this along. Vlad and the cops—"

"I heard you the first time," Valerie interrupted impatiently.

Phantom floated backward, and Valerie twisted to keep him in her sights, just as he had hoped. For whatever reason, humans seemed to have a hard time looking away from him. "Then perhaps we could move this along? You have dug up quite a bit of dirt on Vlad, so perhaps we could—"

Valerie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I didn't come here to find out if he was a bad person, I already knew that."

The screen behind her changed to show a 3D rendering of what Phantom imagined was supposed to be human DNA and ghost DNA side-by-side. There were words there too, something about differences between the two, but Phantom didn't dare read Vlad's notes in case his attention drew Valerie's back to the screen.

He blinked and brought his gaze back to Valerie. "You knew? Then why would you risk coming here? Valerie, he's dangerous."

"Duh! In more ways than one, obviously."

Phantom frowned. Valerie's expression was, as ever, hard to read behind her face mask, but her body language screamed her agitation. She hadn't turned back to the computers, thankfully, but it wouldn't take long if he didn't distract her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, fingers gripping her biceps. "I saw him," she said quietly.

"'Saw him?'"

"I came back to make sure Masters was alright and I saw him—them," she spat the word, "whatever they were. He was fake all along."

"You're not making any sense, Val," Phantom said cautiously. "When was this?"

Valerie glared at him, appearing to debate with herself as she studied his face. Whatever conclusion she reached, it wasn't in Phantom's favor because the next moment she spun to face the computer again. Phantom cringed, but thankfully the video only had a few more seconds of notes on the DNA sequences before it ended. He bit his lip as he waited to see if Valerie would backtrack to what she had missed, but apparently she hadn't understood the significance of the DNA well enough to be curious. She exited the file, and Phantom blew out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Right after we saved Danielle," Valerie said as she began to search through the files. "I saw Vlad and the Wisconsin Ghost laughing together about how, how easy I was to fool." Phantom winced. "Then the ghost absorbed Masters as if that...kind old man I had looked up to was never anything more than an illusion."

"Val—"

"Yesterday, the Fentons mentioned Danny's oddities after an accident, an accident Vlad also had a long time ago, and now I'm thinking there was more to what I saw. A lot more." Valerie hovered her mouse over a new folder that read DANIELLE. Horror crashed over Phantom, and he gasped in a breath. "Something like what that girl—"

Phantom grabbed Valerie's hand and jerked the mouse away from the folder. She rounded on him, fury in her eyes, and Phantom had to fight not to flinch. Be like Fenton, he thought, clinging to his memories of Fenton's fierce expression. He wouldn't let her do this. You can't let her do this. He met her eyes and held her hand still when she tried jerking the mouse free.

"Val," he said, speaking slowly, "please. Leave her out of this."

Valerie tried jerking the mouse free again, but Phantom held firm, and she scowled. "You said you would help!"

"She's...she's my cousin," Phantom objected. "I won't let you go behind her back like this. If there is something you wish to know, you should ask her yourself."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Valerie said, sweet sarcasm tainting her tone, "I didn't realize you had a way to contact her. Silly me! Why don't you give me her phone number and I'll get right on that?" Phantom hesitated, and Valerie huffed a harsh laugh. "Thought so. What's the big deal anyway? I already know about her ghost powers."

Phantom clenched his jaw. Valerie wouldn't just learn about his and Fenton's secret, she would learn about Danielle's. Dani's real secret. Dani's life was hard enough as it was, she didn't need the one person who knew about her human and ghost halves to learn about how she had been created in a lab as well. Not like this. Not without her permission.

"Ask about something else, Val," he said. "Ask me about whatever it is you think Danielle's file might offer if you must, but ask something else."

Valerie glared at him, and Phantom matched her expression as best he could. He wasn't as good at it as Fenton, but for Dani, he would hold his ground. Valerie looking into Dani's file while Phantom just stood by, watching her, helping her...it would be wrong. He didn't need Fenton to shake sense into him, he knew where the line was this time.

Valerie must have realized he wouldn't budge because she folded on the next breath, dropping her gaze from Phantom's and glaring at the screen instead. "Fine. But if you're not going to let me see her file, at least answer me this: was Danielle unstable because she was a human and a ghost? The Fentons swear that shouldn't be possible, and clearly she wasn't in great shape, but she was still more than they thought possible."

Phantom carefully removed his hand from Valerie's and tilted his head to the side, considering. The easy answer was no, Dani was unstable because she was a clone, but could that be the reason? Vlad had been desperate for the midmorph DNA after all, saying it could be used to stabilize her. That implied it was some sort of binding agent, and if that was the case, it meant Dani was unstable because her human and ghost DNA couldn't bind themselves together without that final DNA sequence.

So had she been unstable because she was a clone or because human and ghost DNA were incompatible without that final strand?

Phantom sighed and shook his head. "It could be. But it might be something else too, something she wouldn't want me to talk about without clearing it with her first."

"Would Vlad know?"

Phantom gritted his teeth. "Yes."

"It would be in his database."

"...Yes."

"But you won't let me read it."

"No."

Valerie scowled at him, visible even through her faceplate, and Phantom pinched his eyes shut, blocking the sight.

"Some help you're turning out to be," she muttered.

Phantom's eyes flashed open. "I brought you down here, Val," he said, biting out the words, "but that does not mean I have to stand back and watch you violate Danielle's privacy. She's suffered enough at Vlad's hand. She deserves better than this from you."

Valerie stiffened.

The door to the lab slid open, allowing bright warm light to spill into the dim room, and a voice called out in a falsely cheerful tone, "So wonderful to have such talented youth protecting our city from pests and robbers. I suppose the intruder has been apprehended, hm?"

Torn between relief and apprehension, Phantom hesitantly allowed his gaze to slide from Valerie to Vlad as the man walked into the lab and the hidden passageway slid closed behind him. Vlad had forced a kind smile on his face, but Phantom wasn't fooled. From the way Valerie shifted at his side, she wasn't either.

"So who was it?" Vlad continued as he advanced toward them. "A rogue ghost, perhaps? Something strong enough to require both your efforts but not so strong the ensuing battle would damage my property? Why, if not for the gaping hole in my study, I could almost believe no one had broken in at all." He stopped a yard away from Valerie and Phantom and clasped his hands behind his back, still smiling cheerfully. "A bit excessive, don't you think? Ghosts don't usually need to break anything to enter a private home, but who else but a ghost could reach the second floor without equipment?"

Right. Vlad wasn't an idiot. He knew exactly what had happened. But if Phantom could just—

Valerie darted forward, and Phantom only barely managed to catch her shoulders before she could throw herself at Vlad. Pulling against Phantom's hold, Valerie spat vile insults at Vlad, referencing what they had seen in the lab between insults like "you fucking creep" and "jealous, lonely, asshole."

Phantom cringed, not only because Valerie was proving to have as vile a mouth as Fenton (maybe worse), but also because Vlad's false smile had fallen and his expression was darkening considerably.

"Valerie," Phantom hissed. She ignored him. "Valerie."

Would Vlad expose himself if they fought? Phantom wasn't sure he could hold the older hybrid off. He had never seen Vlad murder before, but given the violence he had seen from him over the years, he didn't doubt the man capable. If Valerie revealed how much she knew, incomplete as it was, Vlad might very well dispose of her to keep her quiet.

Phantom pushed Valerie back and slid himself into position between her and Vlad. Vlad's hard glare transferred to Phantom's face, and Valerie paused to gather breath, her own hidden face also turning to Phantom.

"I would suggest," Vlad said coldly, "that you reconsider your current course, Miss Gray. I hear your father is in a very vulnerable position right now."

Valerie gasped.

Phantom winced himself. Blackmail was Vlad's preferred method. He shouldn't be surprised, but all the same...he glanced at Valerie.

He couldn't see the tears in her eyes, but he heard the strain in her voice as she said, "If you hurt him, if you fire him without cause, I'm going straight to the press."

Vlad lifted an eyebrow, still staring at Phantom. A question. Phantom raised his chin and inched closer to Valerie.

Vlad sighed explosively. "Oh, very well. I won't press any charges on your little breaking and entering...this time. But if you tell anyone—and I do mean anyone—about what you saw here, I'll have no choice. Are we understood?"

Stiffly, Valerie nodded.

"Good." Vlad jerked his chin toward the hidden passage. "Then I suggest you leave. I have already dealt with the police. I myself will fix the hole you created, you needn't worry, I know how much you and your father are already struggling just to feed yourselves. I wouldn't want to make matters worse over a...little misunderstanding, hmm?"

Valerie breathed in a shaky breath. Through gritted teeth, she growled, "I can't believe I ever looked up to you."

"Yes, that's nice. Now, run along."

Valerie jerked her arm free from Phantom's grasp and ran for the exit, not looking back even as Phantom remained pinned beneath Vlad's gaze.

As soon as the lab door boomed shut behind Valerie, Vlad said in a neutral tone, "You are playing a dangerous game, Daniel."

Phantom shifted on his feet, uneasy. He was better equipped than Fenton to handle any word play Vlad attempted, but in the lab alone with him... He glanced behind Vlad, but Valerie was already gone. He blew out a quiet breath and faced his and Fenton's enemy, forcing his lips into a smile.

"I would have kept her from finding our secret if—"

"Not that!" Vlad snapped, startling Phantom. The man started pacing, and Phantom frowned, confused. "I mean that...that thing Jack invented. Ridiculous looking creation. He probably designed it himself. Maddie would never create something that looked so childish."

"They have invented a lot of things, Vlad," Phantom began slowly, "you will need to be more specific."

"The invention that looks like an oversized dreamcatcher, what else? The invention you used to merge your human and ghost forms together, the one you presumably used to split yourself apart in the first place."

Phantom widened his eyes and felt that uncomfortable twisting in his gut again. "How do you know about that?" he asked.

"Never mind that! You damn, foolish child, do you not realize how dangerous that was?"

Phantom raised an eyebrow. He had never heard Vlad swear before. The man was even still pacing, appearing more agitated by the second. "Dangerous?"

"Yes! Without the emotions of your human half, your ghost half could have become violent. He could have attacked you or anyone else in that house—in the city! Our human selves keep our ghost halves rational, controlled. You cannot simply rip yourself apart to fix some ridiculous teenage drama." Vlad scoffed at the very idea, rolling his eyes. "As you have no doubt noticed by how much you struggled to pull yourself together, it is clearly far more trouble than it is worth."

Phantom...found his lips beginning to stretch into a grin. Vlad? Was afraid of him? Phantom? Perhaps Phantom hadn't been too keen on heroing when he and Fenton separated on Saturday, but Fenton had set him straight. And anyway, he certainly hadn't wanted to hurt anyone. At worst, he had been apathetic to their plight because it hadn't felt real to him. But cause harm himself? He didn't even enjoy fighting.

More importantly, it seemed Vlad didn't know he and Fenton had separated again. It sounded as if he had only seen them merge the once—likely through the spycam in the basement. Which meant the private details of Fenton and Phantom's feelings were still their own.

"I think we're—I'm safe from my ghost half, Vlad," Phantom said. "He's more of a lover than a fighter, honestly."

Vlad scowled at him. "This is serious, Daniel. You ought to destroy that device."

Phantom's grin fell away as he grimaced. "What are you so afraid of? We were separate the whole weekend and I—he never showed any interest in hurting anyone."

"The whole week—Daniel!"

Phantom rolled his eyes.

"You cannot simply split yourself like that for an extended period of time!"

"It really isn't that big a deal," Phantom said, trying to cut off the lecture he knew was coming. Vlad wasn't any sort of relation, friend, or even a favorite enemy. Did Phantom really need to hear this from him too? "You never even met my ghost half, how can you be so sure he is—or was—unstable?"

Vlad looked at him pityingly. "Because all ghosts are the same. They all desire power. Surely you have noticed this by now. Even you are prey to it."

Phantom tilted his head and eyed Vlad thoughtfully. He could almost believe the man knew about the failed future he and Fenton had averted, the one where Phantom had become so evil the Ghost Zone's higher ups had gotten involved, all because Phantom had merged with Plasmius and—

Huh.

"Are you sure this has something to do with me?" Phantom asked. "Because it sounds like you have experience with this. Personal experience." Vlad finally paused in his pacing, his shoulders tense. "Vlad...did you split yourself?"

Vlad turned to face him, his eyebrows furrowed. "Do you honestly believe you were the only one who thought getting rid of these powers would get us what we wanted? Of course I tried splitting myself! I knew Maddie would struggle to accept a ghost for a husband, it seemed the only way I could move forward. But to destroy all that power would have been such a waste..."

He sighed and shook his head. "It was a mistake. Listen to me, for once, Daniel. Our only choices are to accept what we have become or to destroy what we created. Our ghost halves are not like us. They can't be trusted."

Phantom absorbed the information quietly, allowing it to reshape his view of Vlad. But only slightly. He was still a froot loop. It was just...oddly comforting to know the only other hybrid in existence had also once walked this path. He had reached a different outcome, sure, and one that apparently traumatized him, but at least Phantom's and Fenton's choices weren't as bizarre as they had believed.

Fenton might appreciate that.

"I understand better than you might expect," Phantom said, speaking quietly. "Believe me, I have seen how destructive an out of control ghost can be. But my situation is different."

Vlad rolled his eyes skyward and groaned. "Of course you would think that, you're only fifteen."

"Sixteen," Phantom corrected, "as of, like, eight months ago. You sent me a hundred dollar bill and I used to buy my dad a gift, remember?"

Vlad muttered under his breath.

"The situation is different for me because I, unlike you, am not a lonely old guy obsessed with another man's wife."

Vlad scowled.

Phantom smirked before continuing, "It is also different because the Ghost Catcher doesn't just split our human and ghost halves. It divides our personality between them. Perhaps it would be different if we used whatever invention you created, but our parents' invention isn't perfect. It can't make a perfect split, and the result is..." he trailed off, unsure himself what exactly was happening to them. "Well...not whatever you experienced. I mean, I don't think either of us is like the original Danny anymore, for one."

He smiled sheepishly, but Vlad had stiffened and didn't appear to find the expression as charming as Phantom had hoped.

"'Anymore?'" the older man asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Ah..."

Whoops.

"You split yourself again," Vlad stated. He began stalking toward Phantom.

Phantom lifted off the ground and floated backward, keeping his distance. "Well, yes," Phantom admitted. "But, like I said, I am not interested in hurting anyone. I don't even like fighting. Ask Fenton, he received the fighter's half of our personality. Or most of it."

"You expect me to trust you?"

Helplessly, Phantom shrugged. "It seems I am constantly forcing people into that position, so yes, I suppose you will have to. Fenton and I are not meant to merge until Friday."

"Three days from now?" Vlad demanded, incredulous.

"Yes? Look." Phantom held up his hands, palms forward. "You can think of it as a trial run. I am not your ghost half, I'm Fenton's. Or Danny's. Whatever. Point is, I haven't done anything wrong. You even thought I was Danny. I'm so...not-evil. I'm not like Plasmius or whatever you call your ghost half. I'm just...me. You have to give me a fair chance."

"Do I?" Vlad asked, raising an eyebrow. Thankfully, however, he had stopped walking toward Phantom. "Like you gave me a chance?"

"Well, no offense, but you used your first chance to threaten our dad's life at your reunion."

Vlad muttered something unkind, then louder, "A second chance."

"You used that one too when you kidnapped us alongside our mom and dragged us off to the Rockies."

"Third—"

"Put a million dollar bounty on my head." Phantom chuckled weakly. "Do you want to keep going? We have a long history. We haven't even gotten to the cloning."

Speaking the word, reminding Vlad of his ambitions, might have been a bad idea, because Vlad's expression darkened, became thoughtful as he stared hard at Phantom. Uneasy, Phantom floated farther away and began lifting toward the ceiling. He had never witnessed Vlad forming his plots before, but he thought that might have been what he was witnessing now.

"My friends are waiting for me outside," Phantom said, "so I'm going to..." He gestured at the ceiling. When Vlad didn't respond right away, only frowned harder, Phantom made good on his promise and fled the room, shivering.

As soon as Vlad was out of sight, however, Phantom berated himself for letting Vlad's obsession spook him into losing control. Only, he—he and Fenton—they had thought Vlad had given up on the son angle after he became mayor. He had never mentioned it again, anyway. Even when Vlad had kidnapped Danielle, his interest in watching her d-stabilize had seemed more scientific than as a desire to once more attempt cloning.

Phantom didn't want to be subject to the man's obsessions again. He didn't want Fenton to be either. If their experiences with Vlad had proven anything, it was that the man had no qualms about hurting them to get what he wanted. He had hoped he and Fenton would be free of him, but evidently not.

"Just great," he muttered to himself. "Way to put us back on the radar, Phantom." He flew through the mansion's roof and sighed, staring up at the moon. "Fenton isn't going to like this…"

Chapter Text

---

"Take a person's memories, and you change who they are." -Veronica Roth

---

Phantom's flight from Vlad's mansion ended only after he had flown several miles. He twisted midair to stare back the way he had come, but the sky was empty aside from some sweeping clouds, the city below him casting a warm, inviting glow. It seemed Vlad had chosen not to chase after him. For now. Phantom shuddered, remembering the way the man's eyes had lost their focus as he stared at him. Combined with Vlad's apparent fear of Phantom as a separate entity, the way he had only stopped when Phantom brought up Vlad's attempt at cloning…

Phantom shook his head, dismissing the matter from his mind. He—or they—could deal with Vlad after Friday.

He pulled the Fenton Earphone from his utility belt and, after switching it on, pressed it into his ear. "Tucker?" he called. "Sam?"

"Danny!" his friends exclaimed, their voices merging into static over the speakers.

A weight lifted from Phantom's shoulders. The past hour had been stressful, alarming, and extremely upsetting, but now Phantom could feel himself beginning to smile. Truly, what would he do without his friends? "Missed me?"

One of them scoffed.

"Dude," Tucker said, "you flew into Vlad's mansion with only a girl who used to work for him as backup."

"Yes, but that girl is one of the most skilled ghost hunters I'm ever likely to meet," Phantom countered. "She also happens to be my girlfriend."

"Not right now she's not," Sam countered, which…was true. "And the last time those two worked together, she tortured you, Mr. Ghost."

Phantom winced. "I…see your point."

"Forget about that for now," Tucker said, impatient. "What happened?"

Ahh, the unpleasant part of the night…

Phantom grimaced. As succinctly as he could, he summarized what he and Valerie had found. He only lightly touched on how...close Valerie's suspicions had come to their secret before he ended on Vlad's arrival. He didn't want to share Vlad's fear toward Phantom as an "untamed" ghost half, but he admitted Vlad knew about the Ghost Catcher. He even shared Vlad's disapproval but when Sam and Tucker grudgingly admitted to feeling similar misgivings, he distracted them with Vlad's odd behavior.

In his ear afterward, Sam and Tucker bounced ideas about what Valerie and Vlad were thinking back and forth. Phantom rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, letting the wind and the voices of his friends wash over him.

It was nice…Sure the topic was an uncomfortable one, but hearing Sam and Tucker tackle the problem helped ease Phantom's own fear. It was good not to be alone, to know they had his back, but more importantly, it just felt good to hear his friends.

He smiled.

"Anyway," he said once the conversation lulled, "what about you two? What have you been up to?"

"Oh," Sam began, sounding reluctant. "We've, um…"

Glee clear in his voice, Tucker interrupted, "We've been exploring your gossip page."

Phantom blinked his eyes open. "My…what page?"

"He means Paulina's website," Sam explained, sighing. "The one where they're talking about you and your human half because someone took a picture of you two. Remember? I guess it didn't affect you a whole lot, but the school is in a small uproar about it. You can ask your human half. Some people were watching him like a hawk as soon as school started, but after lunch it got really bad. Tuck and I just wanted to find out what they were saying."

Tucker snickered.

That was a bit worrisome. Phantom tilted his head as he stared up at the stars, allowing his flight to slow. "Is it…bad?"

"Define 'bad?'" Sam said dryly.

Tucker cackled like a deranged hyena. "Dude, man, you have to see what they're saying about you two."

Phantom winced. Definitely worrisome. What could be amusing to Tucker could easily prove disastrous to Phantom. It wasn't as though Tucker knew Fenton and Phantom were trying to hide anything other than the obvious secret.

"Where are you?" Phantom asked. "I'll come to you—either of you—and you can show me then."

"I'm halfway to Vlad's," Tucker replied, "because I was afraid somebody was getting himself in trouble. I'm on my way back to the park, though."

"You may as well head my way, Danny," Sam said, "it's not as though I have anything better to do."

"Better go invisibly, dude," Tucker suggested, "don't want people getting the wrong idea about the two of you too." He snickered again, and Sam huffed into the earphone.

Apprehension tightened Phantom's chest. He flipped over and sped toward Lookout Hill, more alarmed than ever about what someone might have guessed. "'Too?'" he asked, trying not to sound as worried as he felt. "What do you mean, 'too?'"

"Oh, no way I'm spoiling the surprise. You gotta see it for yourself."

Phantom would much rather not see it for himself, actually, but he pulled out his and Fenton's phone anyway, unwilling to wait. Besides, if it was what he suspected, better for him to see it alone than allow Sam to read anything from his reaction. She was sharper than most.

"What is the website called?" Phantom asked.

Tucker teased him about being unable to wait instead of answering, but Phantom got the website in the end, thanks to Sam. As the page loaded, Phantom prepared himself for a blindingly pink background, poorly taken photos of himself photoshopped beside Paulina or decorated with hearts.

What he didn't expect was for his own color scheme to dominate the site, or for the website to be neatly organized into a forum. He stared at his phone for several seconds, unable to connect Paulina to what he was seeing. A forum seemed too nerdy for the popular girl. The only bright color on the page was an acidic green that nearly matched his eyes, and even that was only for the links. The regular text was white, the background a near black, but nothing at all like the bright eyesore he had expected.

"Um," he began hesitantly, "are you sure this is Paulina's website?"

"Right?" Sam replied, sounding amused and oddly impressed. "It's Paulina's for sure, though. You can click on the 'Phantom's Future Girlfriend' creator link if you don't believe us."

"I'll pass."

Phantom scrolled through the forum, stunned. There were so many topics, all about him. Sure it was flattering, but now that he was Danny Phantom through-and-through, they weren't just talking about his alias, there and gone again as soon as he reverted to human. Now they were talking about him. No masks to hide behind. It was…somewhat embarrassing.

Some of the pinned topics included links like "How did the ghost boy die?" and "Inviso-Bill sightings" which Phantom appreciated for the pun even if the media-given name made him wince.

He scrolled to the unpinned topics, skimming the links without really reading them. It was…a lot to take in. He knew—they all knew—his Phantom identity had enough fame to be considered a minor celebrity for the city, but being hounded by fans and paparazzi hadn't equated in his mind to those same fans holding serious discussions about him online. He felt torn between wanting to know what they thought and reluctant to invade a space that, while about him, clearly wasn't for him.

He shook his head. If it related to Fenton, he had to know what they were saying. Ideally before Fenton heard anything relating to their potential feelings.

With that in mind, he started reading the topic links, searching for one that could relate to what happened on Saturday. "Where is the photo?" he asked before spotting a topic labeled "The Ghost Boy met someone outside my apartment!" "Oh, nevermind, I think I found it."

"I'm pretty sure someone must have helped Paulina set all this up," Sam continued from the earlier conversation as Phantom waited for the page to load. "There's just no way she did it by herself."

Phantom hummed. "Probably Starr? She is kind of a genius."

"Really?" Sam asked, dubious. "You mean Starr the satellite? The one that follows at Paulina's heels and giggles over girly magazines? That Starr?"

"Seconded," Tucker chimed in. "She's, like, way smart, Sam. I don't even know why she's in our grade."

"And how do you two know that?"

"She did a year's worth of our math homework," Phantom replied somewhat absently.

The page had loaded, and as promised, the photo his friends had described was the first one posted. Immediately, Phantom knew the photo was real. His memory of the moment was sharp, pulled into focus by the sight of Fenton staring up at him, vulnerable as he so rarely allowed himself to be and searching for Phantom's approval.

Apparently, when Phantom had stopped Fenton to ask what had happened inside Valerie's apartment, he had stopped him outside an apartment, and the opportunistic fan inside had wasted no time uploading the pictures they had taken.

"When did Starr do that?" Sam demanded.

"During last year's fake beauty pageant," Phantom answered even more absently than before, focused now on the fan's opening comment.

Their description of what they had seen outside their window gave Phantom a different perspective to the events he remembered, and he wasn't sure he liked it. It had been a moment of many things for him. Maybe even for Fenton. But this observer didn't know anything about that, their history or what was happening between them.

They didn't know how much Fenton had struggled to meet expectations, the amount of pressure that had been placed on him. They only saw a human kid shouting at Phantom. They saw Phantom remain calm and so they assumed that Phantom was trying to help and Fenton wasn't letting him.

They then described how they saw the argument resolve itself, Phantom laugh and smile about something (his own helpless attraction to Fenton, as it happened), and in the post they insisted there must be something deeper going on. Phantom lifting Fenton into his arms and then flying into the sky all but confirmed it for them.

Phantom chewed on his lip, upset but not sure why. It wasn't as though the poster was wrong. Events had happened exactly as they described. Perhaps he was upset because he and Fenton had been observed in an intimate setting, and that could cause trouble for them—had caused trouble for them. But it felt deeper than that.

After all, in some way, their conversation on that street had led Phantom to where he was now; divided once more from his human self and struggling with a crush he could not address and could not ignore. It was…it had been…a deeply personal moment for him.

"Sam?" Tucker called, bringing Phantom's attention back to the present.

Sam had gone quiet. Phantom ran the conversation before he started reading through his mind and then blew out a quiet sigh. "Fenton and I were made the judge for the pageant because Aragon wanted a half ghost to choose his bride, remember? A lot of the girls tried to score points by doing us favors, and Starr was one of them. She did a year's worth of our algebra homework when I..."

Phantom paused, frowning. Him? Or him and Fenton? It had seemed so obvious until that point that they were acting in unison even if Phantom's mind wouldn't see them as a whole being, but…asking Starr to do their homework felt distinctly like something he had done alone.

Hesitantly, slowly, and in a much quieter voice, he corrected, "—we asked?"

"Oh really?" Sam demanded, a hard edge in her voice. "What else? A foot massage? Maybe a kiss on the cheek? Do you not feel bad about taking advantage of them? At all?"

Tucker hissed Phantom's name, warning him to backtrack.

Phantom blinked, shook his head, and looked around. He was still soaring over the city's buildings, but had almost reached the park so he turned himself invisible. Just in case. "Are you mad at me or them?" he asked Sam warily. "Because your words say me but your tone says you want to hit something."

"Something like you?" Sam suggested, mockingly sweet. "Where are you anyway?"

"Keeping my distance…"

Tucker laughed. "Wise move, clueless!"

Phantom rolled his eyes. "I understand why Sam is upset, Tuck. I am not 'clueless,' I know what jealousy sounds like."

Tucker and Sam fell silent, which worked for Phantom, allowing him to read without further distraction. The first few people to comment on the original poster's image and description were excited and curious about who Fenton could be since the window glare had hidden most of his face, but after someone identified Fenton, the excitement seemed to ebb. A few questioned, "Who?" and "Why is the Ghost Boy talking to HIM?" but they didn't generate the same interest, and the thread ended soon after.

"I don't understand," Phantom said, frowning. "Why would this thread alone make everyone so interested in Fenton?"

"Is the thread in question 'The Ghost Boy met someone outside my apartment?'" Sam asked.

"Yes."

"Then that's because it's an old thread. The one that everyone is gossiping about is titled 'Phantom and Fenton: what's the connection?' It should be one of the more recent topics."

Phantom winced. "Usually those two names next to each other means trouble for us."

"At least they use your ghost name," Tucker offered. "Most of the time it's 'Ghost Boy' this and 'Ghost Boy' that."

"The content of the thread is good for your secret too," Sam added. "You should check it out. Maybe you'll learn a valuable lesson about splitting yourself."

Phantom sighed but pressed the back button and scrolled back toward the top. He clicked on the thread and eyed the first post warily. It was…very long. "Some things are worth taking a risk on," he muttered.

"Like what? Not making a fool of yourself because you can't think straight?"

"Among other things. Now shh. I'm trying to read."

Sam muttered something unkind, but Phantom ignored it in favor of reading the post.

Old_time_hole: Listen, I graduated from Casper last year, but I remember Fenton. He was a scrawny, clumsy kid who kept getting in trouble. He looked like he was always three seconds from passing out (honestly? Mood) and there was something downright spooky about him, but he was, like, completely normal otherwise. If it wasn't for his parents, who here would even know his name? You would forget who he was ten seconds after talking to him, he's that normal.

So what the hell is going on between him and Phantom?

First, it was that paparazzi photo the newspaper published where Phantom's, what? Sneaking into Fenton's bedroom? Next, he's talking to Fenton on a street that's nowhere near Fenton's house, and now people are going on about Fenton's strange behavior around ghosts? There are even some ghosts that apparently recognize him? His classmates also swear Fenton led them in an attack against a pirate ghost ship—and, funny enough! Phantom didn't show up until after Fenton had been hurt and thrown overboard. What took him so long? Why only then? Mrs_Phantom swears Phantom shows up wherever Fenton is too! Like that's not even the first time.

Is there something about Fenton that attracts ghosts to him? Like, did his parents leak some sort of substance on him and now ghosts find him delicious and Phantom's trying to protect him from getting eaten? Or is Phantom (and maybe the other ghosts) just after his parents' equipment? Are they friends or is it just business?

And what the hell is up with them having the same first name anyway? Coincidence? I THINK NOT!

Phantom blew out a breath. Well. That could have been worse. It was far from the only post, however, despite its creation being only two days ago. The thread was…alarmingly popular.

Phanatic56: Phantom's probably just using him for his parents tech. Seriously, why would Phantom even care about this guy? He's a jerk. Have you heard the way he talks to Dash? Fenton thinks he's so cool but he's lame, trust me. He and his friends are crazy.

Moon_ghost_goddess: uhh maybe we think Phantom cares because ghost-ate-my-homework saw them fly off together? They said Fenton wrapped his arms around Phantom's neck and everything. And let's be real, Dash can be a real dick. Just because Fenton stands up to him and bullies him right back doesn't mean Dash doesn't deserve it.

Phanatic56 : that doesn't mean they're friends. Maybe Phantom was just giving him a lift. You don't know.

Ghost-ate-my-homework: Have YOU seen the Ghost Boy carry anyone like that? He avoids everybody! I've never even seen him talk, like legit TALK to anyone before. It's always fight ghosts! Apologize for the mess! Fly away! The end!

You didn't see the way he looked and acted around this kid, alright? Fenton was unloading a lot of bullshit and Phantom just kept looking at him like he was waiting for Fenton to finish so he could comfort him. Which he did! Because THEY LITERALLY FLEW AWAY TOGETHER

Phanatic56: your making a lot of assumptions for someone who doesn't see Phantom on a daily basis

Ghost-ate-my-homework: Oh and you do? Just because you live in Amity Park and go to Casper High? PLEASE, we get ghost attacks here in Ellington too, you know

GhostLover83: guyyyyyys I hate to be That Person but…sneaking into his bedroom? Bridal carrying him into the sky? I don't think friends is the word we should be using, if you catch my drift

Ghost-ate-my-homework: NOW who's making assumptions?

Inviso_Billy: I bet they're friends, but more than that? Don't Fenton's parents want to, like, extra kill Phantom?

GhostLover83: ikr it's very romeo and juliet, huh?

Mrs_Phantom: Danny's cute but he's a total loser. Phantom has much higher standards than that. Have you seen the way he smiled when I hugged him? There's no way he has someone else!

Moon_ghost_goddess: Uh-oh, the queen is here

Inviso_Billy: Can we just get back to the friends thing? Because I think that has legit possibilities. I mean, why would Fenton help a ghost? He wouldn't! Unless he was friends with him. And we've all seen Phantom use FentonWorks Tech before so he must have an in.

Old_time_hole: But then why is it Danny Fenton and not Jazz Fenton? Why is Phantom so focused on this kid and not the other kid? I mean, let's face it, Jazz is hot, athletic, smart, and she has a grudge against her parents' profession. She would be the perfect one to help Phantom against their parents wishes, but she's not the one Phantom seems interested in.

So it can't just be the Tech, right? There's something more going on, guys, I'm telling you

GhostLover83: they bangin'

Phanatic53: I will find out who you are and I will shove your freak ass so deep into the lockers they'll have to get the Jaws of Life to break you out I s2g

GhostLover83: kinky

Inviso_Billy: Guys, seriously, can we at least agree they're probably friends?

Phantic56: NO

It continued in that vein for a while, and Phantom let out a quiet breath. The possibility of him and Fenton having feelings for each other was almost completely glossed over. No one had even mentioned the possibility that they were one single person. If anything, their original secret seemed more protected than ever, given that people were willing to craft wholly contrived excuses for why they were meeting and potential ways they could have met and befriended one another.

At least, that was what he thought until, moving through the next few pages and scrolling down, he found a new photo, posted by Inviso_Billy with a short description. As soon as he saw it, Phantom started berating himself for being such an idiot. He groaned, and in his ear, Tucker laughed.

It was the one picture he had allowed Mikey to keep. Captured between the bodies of fleeing students and now immortalized on the Internet forever, Mikey had snapped a picture of Phantom, his fear and feelings for Fenton writ clear all over his face as he leaned over him. Fortunately Fenton had been too confused from the concussion or he would have blushed and reacted to Phantom's proximity in that adorable way of his, adding an even clearer image of what was going on between them.

Phantom had known it might get out when he left the photo in Mikey's care. He had known. The photo had felt significant, though. Something the merge couldn't take away. Even now he couldn't help saving the picture to his phone, unwilling to lose it.

What he hadn't known was how much clearer the image would be once it was full size and not viewed through a tiny camera screen, how much emotion would be visible on his face. Terror, yes. Tenderness too. If Phantom had a heart as a ghost, it was in Fenton's hands and it looked close to breaking.

Phantom ran a hand over his face, his eyes. He couldn't help how he felt. He could have deleted the photo when he had Mikey's camera in his hands, but he would never choose to even if Clockwork allowed him to go back. There was nothing about this situation he would or could change, there was no point agonizing over it now.

It was just…frustrating.

He breathed in deeply and raised his hand into his hair, freeing his eyes so he could resume reading.

Ghost-ate-my-homework: HOLY SHIT

GhostLover83: It's not just me right? That's not the face you make when your "friend" gets hurt! I told you guys!

Yes-I-am-a-Star: Uhhhhhhhhhhhh Paulina?!

Ghostbutt69420: dang and Paulina's been bragging about a smile…If Phantom looked at me like that, I'd be on cloud nine. How in the world is Fenton just sitting there?

Inviso_Billy: Well his friends must call him clueless for a reason. Or maybe he's just really dazed here. Like, I really thought he might have a concussion or something but he was perfectly fine when I asked him about it a little while later.

Hi-Casper: Wait, doesn't Fenton have a girlfriend tho? She ran right up to them a little after this, didn't she? Valerie or something right? She used to be one of the a-listers.

Ghostbutt69420: oh no poor Phantom /3

Mrs_Phantom : The Ghost Boy is just being a good hero you idiots, calm down. Danny has dangerous parents and a girlfriend. He's a coward, a loser, and most importantly, he's not me!

Yes-I-am-a-Star: certainly not as pretty as you

Mrs_Phantom: :3

Ghostbutt69420: maybe that's the thing tho. What if Phantom is gay?

Moon_ghost_goddess: NO

GhostLover83: HA SUCK IT HETS

Mrs_Phantom: PHANTOM IS SO NOT GAY! There's just no way he isn't attracted to me. You've seen the way he looks at me

Yes-I-am-a-Star: He could be bi or pan. Maybe gender doesn't really matter to ghosts and it's all a matter of the soul or something, maybe that's why he hasn't dated anyone in the two and half years he's been here

Mrs_Phantom: You're not helping Starr

Ghostbutt69420: hey didn't Phantom smile at someone in the crowd after the ghost fight?

Mrs_Phantom: Yeah, ME

Inviso_Billy: Actually, that was Fenton. I had a picture of it too but it got deleted by accident. You should have seen it though. I think they were communicating somehow about something. His smile was as big as Phantom's

Hi-Casper: Seriously? He followed Phantom outside instead of going to the nurse? Are we sure they're not dating?

Moon_ghost_goddess: Fenton is dating Valerie Gray so unless he's two-timing her, I'd say Phantom is still available.

Old_time_hole: Single, maybe, but available? Scroll back up to that pic right now and tell me Phantom doesn't have feelings for that kid, ghost-hating parents or not. In fact, if they're not hiding a secret relationship, I bet actual money Phantom wants to date Fenton.

Phantom tried to keep it in, but the moment he read the words, it burst out of his mouth without permission. "Date Fenton?"

A second later he crashed into the branches of a tree.

The tree on Lookout Hill, to be precise. Sam guffawed with laughter, both in Phantom's ear and below him, and when she shared the news with Tucker, he joined her. Phantom grumbled a few unkind words under his breath, but they lacked any sort of heat, his attention less on his friends' teasing and the tree situation than on his whirling thoughts. He wiggled through the smaller branches until he reached the trunk and could sit more comfortably on a large branch.

"Oh man," Tucker gasped, "oh man, I knew it would be good, but I didn't think you would actually crash into a tree!" He barely squeaked the end of the sentence before he started laughing again.

Phantom shook his head, felt a twig tug at his hair, and irritably started trying to untangle it.

"The worst part is they would have kept thinking the two of you were friends if you hadn't split yourself again," Sam called up to him, speaking more to him than through the earphone. "Now everyone thinks you're dating yourself!"

She laughed again. Tucker started another fresh round.

Phantom successfully pulled the twig free without pulling on his hair too much. He threw the twig at Sam's head. She paused her laughter enough to gasp "Hey!" but it was too amused and rolled easily into the next laugh. Phantom sighed and leaned against the trunk. He supposed, from their perspective, it really was funny. To keep up appearances, Phantom should laugh too.

He just couldn't find the humor in something that was horribly, painfully true.

"Date?" he whispered to himself, unable to wrap his head around it. He didn't want that, he couldn't, but the word, the idea of it…it was such a strange thing to consider.

He had feelings for Fenton, he knew that, he had accepted it. But to build a relationship on those feelings? Something like that had never crossed his mind. Why would it? They had a girlfriend, but more importantly, their existence, as new and intoxicating as it was, could not last. He and Fenton had a literal deadline. There was little point in considering something more.

He wished his friends wouldn't laugh about it.

He sat in silence, his shoulders tense, head down. They couldn't see him, not with his invisibility active, but eventually his friends noticed his lack of response.

"Danny?" Sam called up. She pushed herself up to her knees and then slowly onto her foot, using the tree for balance as she stood. "You still there?"

Phantom licked his lips. "Yes. I'm just…reading."

"Oh."

A strained silence descended on them, not unlike the one right after Phantom said he wasn't clueless. He sighed. He needed to at least lure them away from the topic if he couldn't play along. The problem was…he wanted to talk to them about it. Unfortunately, even if Sam and Tucker were in on what was going on between Phantom and Fenton, they would…well, laugh. Scold them, probably. There would be little understanding and a lot of pressure to forget about Fenton as someone other than his human half.

At least it would be out in the open though, Phantom thought. At least I could speak instead of holding it all inside.

Tucker took a stab at guessing what was wrong and asked, "Is it about Valerie? I don't think she'll take the rumor seriously, dude, but you could always tell her the whole truth if you're worried."

Earlier that night, Phantom would have agreed, but after seeing how angry Valerie was about Fenton lying to her and how potentially close she was to their secret…She had been really angry, even if he didn't know exactly what she was thinking, he knew that much. She was getting closer to the truth, and that truth seemed to be hurting her. Would she even stay with them if she knew they had been lying?

If she would hate us if she knew the truth, Phantom thought, do we have any right to date her when she doesn't? He set one foot on the branch and hugged his knee to his chest. I'm taking advantage of her ignorance. That is not only wrong but potentially harmful for us both.

But I could lose her...

"I think you're right, Tuck," he admitted hesitantly, "it is the only way we can move forward. But I can't tell her like this. It will have to wait until Fenton and I are one again." Unfortunately, Fenton might not agree. It wasn't only Phantom's decision, after all. He sighed. He needed to talk to Fenton, really talk to him.

"All the more reason to merge again sooner than Friday," Sam said. "You guys are making a mess of things whether you're willing to see it or not! The only way you can fix everything is if you join together again."

Phantom leaned his forehead against the tree trunk, a bitter, half-smile on his lips. Give up Fenton and himself to save his relationship with Valerie? He had done that once before, hadn't he?

He looked down at his phone. His glow reflected off the screen, making it difficult to see his reflection in detail. He rubbed his thumb over his blurred image and closed his eyes. Fenton had sent him a text earlier, agreeing to hold out until Friday despite the hardships. It was a precious gift from one who had resisted their separation for so long. Could Phantom really just let that go, even for Valerie?

"No," he said, "not until Friday."

Sam opened her mouth and groaned her frustration partway into a shout. "You're insane, Danny," she snapped. "Just for the record. And when this is all over and your life's a mess, I'm gonna point that out. It's going to be the 'I told you so' of the year."

Phantom chuckled weakly. "Noted. But even if my life falls apart, so long as you two are still my friends, how bad could it be?"

"Don't you dare get sappy on me," Sam grumbled, sounding embarrassed, "that's cheating, you jerk. Take me home before I barf."

"What about Tucker?" Phantom asked. "Aren't you almost here, Tuck?"

"Eh…yeah, but go ahead. Sam's ankle is probably hurting, and I can't imagine it's been fun for her to sit on that hill all day. I'll keep heading there, and by the time I get to the Hill, you'll be back to give me my own lift home."

Amusement was rich in Tucker's voice by the end of the sentence, and finally Phantom felt his own lips pulling into a true smile. "Using me for my powers, guys? I'm hurt."

"It's the least you can do for helping you patrol," Sam said haughtily. "I can think of loads of things we could have been doing instead."

"Yeah, dude," Tucker added, "even when you're one Danny, we don't patrol this much. Are you sure you haven't switched personalities again?"

Phantom's smile turned a little sheepish. This, at least, he could share, even if he would keep the finer details to himself. "I'm sure. I am merely overcompensating for Fenton's benefit. I need to prove I can protect the town on my own so he will not cut our separation short."

"Oh, so it's your human half we should be pressuring?" Sam suggested, half serious, half teasing. "I guess we know who's in charge in this relationship."

Tucker choked out another laugh.

Phantom sniffed. With a feeling not unlike stepping onto a taut wire, he joked back, "Please, we all know who would top."

Tucker laughed a little more before groaning. "Oh, oh please, no! Let's not go there. The mental images alone will scar my mind for days."

Phantom snorted. He pushed off the branch he sat on and floated to the ground beside Sam. "Too much of a good thing for you to handle, Tuck?"

"As if!"

Having heard his voice behind her, Sam turned to face Phantom, violet eyes sparkling and lips curled into a smirk. "Are you sure you could top the fighter?" she asked slyly. Then she pointedly added, "Lover boy."

"Sam…" Tucker whined.

Phantom grinned, free in the knowledge she couldn't see it. He knew he could because he had. Sort of. Make-outs definitely weren't the same, but it seemed a good enough indication, especially when Fenton had been more comfortable following than leading during their practice.

Phantom's smile faltered. Actually…their practice had occurred before the split that made them into a lover and a fighter. Fenton was similar to the boy who had shied from Phantom's kiss during practice, but he wasn't quite the same. That one had sulked throughout the practice, but he hadn't wrestled with Phantom over the Ghost Catcher or dared to punch him when he crossed a line.

For that matter, the person Phantom had been during practice, while confident and smooth, thought more of his wounded pride than others' wants. He and Fenton, they were, technically speaking, not quite the same people they had been when they practiced in much the same way Phantom was no longer like their combined self. If he kissed Fenton, this Fenton, the one who fought him and smiled at him as if he had defeated Undergrowth all over again instead of some low level ghost…it would almost be like kissing him for the first time.

Phantom shook his head sharply, banishing the thought and the quick surge of excitement he felt as the idea took root. Stop it, he scolded himself.

But would Fenton give ground to him like he had before? After all, fighters did not give up easily…

…and wasn't that a thought?

Phantom cleared his throat. "Probably," he said, voice a little unsteady. "I mean, you saw how shy he is."

"Dude," Tucker groaned, "you spent way too much time thinking about that."

"Yes," Phantom agreed, embarrassed.

In contrast to Tucker's discomfort, Sam laughed. "You actually thought about it?"

"You said you wanted a lift home, Sam?" Phantom asked, ignoring the question in hopes they would drop it.

Sam laughed once more before nodding, allowing Phantom his escape.

Usually, he and Fenton carried Sam and Tucker into the air by holding their hand or wrapping an arm around their waist. They seemed to enjoy it more as it helped the illusion of flying on their own, and honestly, Phantom only needed to touch them to negate gravity. This time, mindful of Sam's hurt ankle, he lifted her into a bridal carry. She accepted the position more calmly than Fenton had and hooked one arm over his shoulder as he spread his invisibility over her.

"So you do carry 'just friends' like this too," she said.

"Like what?" Tucker asked over the earphone. "Oh you mean like a bride?"

Phantom could no longer see Sam's face, but he felt her tense and imagined she was blushing. "I hope you're not implying anything, Tuck," he said as he leapt into the sky with Sam, "because I distinctly remember you carrying Fenton and me to the hospital like this when we had to stop Spectra."

Tucker coughed. "That was to stop a ghost."

"And Sam is injured," Phantom pointed out.

"What about your human half then?" Sam teased. "The way your fans tell it, you were horribly romantic about the whole thing."

"Are you two seriously interrogating me on my motives behind carrying someone a certain way?" Phantom huffed. "There has never been an ulterior motive, I just use whatever way is easiest for everyone."

"Sounds like he's avoiding the question, Tucker," Sam said, a smile clear in her voice.

"Sure does, Sam," Tucker said, equally teasing.

"Are you two ever going to let this go?" Phantom asked, wary of the reply.

"Nope," they said in unison.

Phantom gritted his teeth. Perhaps he should be grateful they thought it more hilarious than anything, but it was just upsetting to hear his feelings turned into a joke.

It would be so very satisfying to admit that, yes, carrying Fenton like this had been horribly romantic. It had felt amazing. He couldn't stop thinking about it. It was throwing everything he thought he knew into question. He wanted to fly with Fenton again, he wanted to feel him fall asleep in his arms. So yes, actually, he did have feelings for Fenton, what of it?

…But they would tell him it was impossible. They would tell him they were the same person. They would insist he was letting his "lover" personality get the better of him.

Phantom let the frustration out as he sighed. What he was feeling might be true, but it had no place in their reality.

"Please refrain from making those jokes around Fenton, at least," he said instead, feeling somewhat defeated. "And if you can, try to keep the others at school from pressing him for answers. He doesn't need that kind of stress."

"We have to tell him what they're saying about you two," Sam objected. "He can't go into school blind to what's being said tomorrow."

"Yes," Phantom agreed, "he should know. But he doesn't need to hear his friends ridicule him."

"Ha, ouch?" Tucker said.

"We're just teasing you, Danny."

Phantom closed his eyes and sighed. "I know…"

Thankfully, Sam's house wasn't far, and it wasn't long before Phantom was descending toward her bedroom balcony. "For the record," he started, cautiously feeling his way through the words, "I don't think it's that crazy. Fenton and I aren't the same person like this."

"Except you sort of are," Sam said, "because it's only temporary. But if it makes you feel any better, Tucker and I are laughing at them, not you. Well, a little at you, but we still love you."

Tucker laughed. "Yeah, it's funny because they have no idea, you know? You made it just a little more plausible, and now they're literally jumping at shadows!"

Sam snickered too.

Phantom hummed. They had made it more than just "a little" plausible.

He landed on the balcony and carefully lowered Sam's legs, making sure she had enough support before he allowed her to take all her own weight onto her feet. He withdrew his touch, and she immediately appeared in the visible spectrum again, in time for Phantom to see her open her eyes.

"Thanks," she said, sighing the word out, "that would have been a long walk."

Her expression, the way she was staring upward…he would have to step carefully, wouldn't he? Sam had already warned him how often he flirted, unconsciously or not, and he didn't want to lead her on. With that in mind, he dismissed his initial response and said, "Anytime," as casually as he could.

She frowned, staring up where she thought he hovered—it wasn't, but she was close. She opened her mouth, but Phantom turned and flew back toward the hill. Instead of hearing her in person, he heard her speak from the earphone, "Is there really nothing we can say to convince you?"

"Good night, Sam," Phantom said. "Get some ice for that ankle."

She sighed.

"Wow, you know, for the loving half," Tucker said over the earphone, "you're not very romantic."

Phantom frowned. He angled higher into the sky until he could feel the wind pull his hair back along his head. "That is likely because I'm trying to not be romantic."

"Oh, so you do have feelings for Sam still? You're just trying not to act on them?"

"Tucker…" Sam growled over the line, proving she was still listening.

Phantom halted in midair, his muscles tensing. Far below him, the park's trees swayed gently in the wind and traffic raced along the roads. "I…"

"Oh, come on, Sam, he's the lover! If anybody would know it would be him, right?"

"Just leave it, Tucker."

"If you don't want to hear it you can just take out the earphone."

"I'm not just going to leave so you guys can talk about me!"

Phantom did not want to talk about this at all. "Why not?" he asked, his mind racing for an escape. "Sounds like you guys talk about me behind my back all the time. Or was the bet about Valerie and me something that just happened out of nowhere?"

"That's not the same thing," Sam objected.

"It kind of is, though."

"Hey," Tucker protested, "stop trying to change the subject."

Caught trying to do just that, Phantom made a face. "What subject?"

"The one about your feelings for Sam!"

"Which feelings, exactly?"

"Oh my god," Sam groaned. "Why are we even talking about this?"

"Because you deserve to know!" Tucker shouted.

Phantom winced, touching the earphone. He started flying again, heading toward the hill in hopes Tucker would be there. He pressed a hand to his temple and then pushed it into his hair, sighing. Tucker wasn't wrong, Sam deserved an explanation. There was only one problem.

"Look, I know Fenton and I had feelings for Sam in the past," Phantom said slowly, "but if you're asking me why nothing came of it, I am afraid I can't help you."

"In the past?" Sam asked, and for Phantom's sake, he tried not to hear how small her voice sounded.

"Back when Fenton and I were one," he explained. "As I am now, I'm sorry, but I don't feel anymore for you than I do for Tucker. You guys are my best friends and I am attracted to you both, but that is as far as it goes." He rubbed his thumb against his scalp, closing his eyes so he could think harder. "I know there had to be more than just attraction in the past, why else would we keep having those moments together? But I don't feel anything now. Even when I remember something that used to make us smile, I feel nothing. There is…there must be something that I am missing. So I can't help you."

Quietly, Tucker voice said over the earphone, "What the fuck?"

"But you still have feelings for Valerie?" Sam questioned.

"Yes," Phantom agreed. "In fact, when I think back on my memories of Valerie, my feelings for her are even clearer than they used to be. But even though I know we felt something for you before the split, I don't feel anything now. I don't even remember why we liked you. Friends, yes, but love? It was there, I'm sure it was, but as I am now I don't understand why we were drawn to you instead of, say, Tucker."

Tucker whistled.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Sam objected. "How can you remember you love her but not me?"

Phantom grimaced. This was one reason why he didn't want to discuss it. Especially long distance. He couldn't read Sam's body language, get a sense of how she was feeling through her expression. He wanted to lessen the blow as much as possible, but it was difficult like this.

"I don't know," he said. "I told you, there is…I'm missing something. Perhaps ask Fenton."

"Fenton?" Tucker asked. "Your human half? Why would he know and not you?"

"Probably because of the Ghost Catcher and the split personality thing?" Sam said. "But just because you two split doesn't mean…how can you not know how you were feeling only last week?"

"Or yesterday," Tucker corrected.

Because I am a different person today, Phantom thought, but it was a concept they wouldn't understand. Phantom didn't fully understand it himself. He could remember a time when he handed Sam a crystal, staring into her eyes, and…nothing. He only remembered blushing and smiling, so it must have been something similar to what he felt for Valerie or Fenton, but the feelings…if they were there at all, they had nothing to do with him.

He thought it might be because those emotions were Fenton's, not his, but there was one problem with that theory. That moment had been after their fight with Undergrowth, long before the thought of splitting themselves had ever crossed his or Fenton's mind. Phantom, as a person, had not even existed. How could he have a lack of feelings when he didn't even exist?

"But…." Tucker tried, "but you're the lover, right? Shouldn't you have all the romantic feelings?"

No, because if that were true, Fenton wouldn't struggle so hard against what Phantom suspected was Fenton's own attraction to him. "It might help you two," Phantom said, allowing some bitterness to bleed into his tone, "to stop seeing us as incomplete people. I am more than a lover just as Fenton is more than a fighter. He is just as capable of loving as I am."

"Uh, you know you're not actually a whole person like this, though, right?" Tucker asked. "Like, dude, we know how this goes."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "That's not how the Ghost Catcher works. It splits your human and ghost half, but it also splits you into two extreme versions of yourself. Remember Fun and Super Danny?"

"Ha!" Tucker laughed. "That was a crazy weekend."

"You're not complete like this, Danny. It's unsustainable. You're only half a person because your other half, the fighter, is training with your parents and/or sleeping right now. It's why you can't stop flirting even though you apparently have no feelings for anyone other than Valerie."

Phantom rolled his eyes skyward. First he was too unromantic and now he was flirting too much? "If I could be only a lover and not a fighter like you're suggesting," he said, speaking slowly, "then how could I have brought down that behemoth during school? How could I have overpowered these two ghosts we just caught? How is it that I'm willing to patrol the city and protect our town instead of trying to hang out with the people I love?"

Sam and Tucker didn't seem to have a response for that, not an immediate one, anyway, so Phantom continued, "What is more, I am not intentionally flirting. Believe me, if I was flirting with intent, you would be able to tell the difference. There is a major difference whether you want to see it or not. If I was an insatiable flirt, willing to fall in love with anyone who caught my interest the way you're implying, would I not be actively making passes at you two? Or Paulina? Or anyone? Because if that were the case, I am behaving quite out of character, aren't I?"

An uneasy silence fell over their conversation. Phantom flew upon Lookout Hill, circled it a few times, but when he didn't see Tucker, he sighed quietly and descended on the tree, landing in the branches much more gracefully than before.

"All I am saying," he continued, "is that you two can't keep trying to fit Fenton and me into these neat little shapes you have cut out for us. We're not so easily defined by your expectations."

Sam made a strangled noise.

"But that doesn't really prove anything," Tucker said weakly. "I mean, even the Fun Danny was willing to help us fight Technus in the end."

"Yes," Phantom agreed pointedly, "he did help, didn't he? Proving he was more than just a fun dude with no morals in the process."

"Oh…"

"We had to convince him it would be fun, though," Sam countered. "You could be doing something similar. Maybe a lover personality is only devoted to one person—" If only… "—and maybe by fighting ghosts you're just trying to impress Valerie."

Phantom chewed on his bottom lip and thought guiltily to himself, More like Fenton…

Valerie would likely never know about Phantom's efforts, and she definitely didn't understand how difficult it was for him. Fenton would, though. Fenton had. Just the memory of his smile after Phantom succeeded in defeating the behemoth was enough to make Phantom feel slightly giddy.

"I suppose that is partly true," he said, reluctant, "but I stand by what I said."

"And ultimately what you're saying," Tucker asked, "is that if we want to know about your feelings for Sam, we should ask your human half? Who is a fighter? Because he is capable of love too?"

Phantom grimaced. Fenton wasn't going to like that, but… "Yes."

"You gotta admit, though. That sounds really weird, him knowing but not you."

Phantom plucked a leaf from the branch above him and twirled it between his thumb and finger, watching it spin. "I don't know," he said softly, allowing his head to rest against the tree trunk. "Perhaps it was only my human half who liked Sam all along."

"Danny," Sam said, a gentle emphasis on the name, "ghost half, human half? They're both you. You don't have to see yourself as one or the other."

"Except now, of course."

"…Except now," Sam conceded reluctantly, "but not back then and not in a few days."

Phantom hummed, and though she couldn't see it, he shrugged. He supposed there was no point worrying about it, since the separation was all temporary. But…if Fenton did have those strong feelings for Sam everyone insisted they once had…

Phantom sank further against the trunk, slouching his shoulders. He spun the leaf and determined not to think about it anymore. Phantom's own feelings on the matter aside, Fenton liking Sam would be a disaster for their relationship with Valerie. Just as Phantom was trying his best to be a hero, Fenton would try his best not to ruin things with Valerie. That was the deal. So nothing was going to happen between them when Sam confronted Fenton about his feelings. Fenton wouldn't allow it.

But he might want to, Phantom thought, something inside him twisting unpleasantly. He dropped the leaf and thumped his forehead against the tree. Stop it! he scolded himself.

"Question?" Tucker asked.

Eager to take his mind off Fenton, Phantom lifted his head. "Yes?"

"Does your human half remember your guys' feelings for Valerie? Because if you don't remember your feelings for Sam but he does, then wouldn't you remembering your feelings for Valerie mean that he doesn't?"

Phantom stared down at the grass, watching the blades sway in the breeze as he thought. "That…would make a lot of sense, actually. He isn't comfortable dating Valerie, but I assumed that was because romance in general made him uncomfortable. That could still be the reason, but…maybe."

"And suddenly, I don't feel so bad about being forgotten," Sam said sarcastically. "Doesn't make a lot of sense why your feelings would be divided between you two like that, or why the lover has feelings for someone who fights him while the fighter has your guys' feelings for your ultra supportive friend, aka me, but that must be one of those oddities about the Ghost Catcher, right?

Phantom rolled his eyes. "If you wish to look at it like that. But I think there is something deeper going on."

"Like what?" Tucker asked.

"Well…" Phantom ran his fingers through his hair, trying to think. "It's hard to explain, but there are these…gaps in my memories. Or not gaps, exactly, but they're harder to remember, and if I do remember, I don't always understand why we acted the way we did."

"By 'we' you mean you and your human half?" Tucker asked.

They had gotten better about understanding Phantom's use of the plural pronoun, but Phantom wasn't surprised they needed clarification now. It was an idea that had been itching at his mind for a while, and even he wasn't comfortable about where it was leading him. "Yes," he said. "Me and Fenton as a united person."

"Can you give us an example?" Sam asked.

Phantom chewed on his bottom lip as he thought. The portal accident jumped to mind, the whirling chaos that started the whole mess, but those memories were never very clear to begin with. He needed something bigger than, say, forgetting their locker combination in order for them to take it seriously.

"The day we fought Pariah Dark," Phantom began slowly, hesitant. "Do you remember what happened?"

Sam didn't respond. Neither did Tucker.

"I remember being angry about what happened to Valerie," Phantom continued, "I even remember exposing her to her father to protect her from using the suit. I remember talking to you guys on the roof. What I don't remember is what motivated us to fight the king. It is…it was insane, right? But we won somehow." He lowered his hand and stared down at his palm. "'We' won…"

Or had it been Fenton?

"You don't remember anything at all?" Tucker asked. "Not even Sam and I bringing you backup?"

He sounded hurt. Phantom's lips twitched. "Yes, alright, I remember you guys cramming numerous ghosts into the Specter Speeder for an express delivery."

Tucker whooped.

"But everything else? It is…frustratingly hazy."

"You think it's like what happened with your feelings?" Sam asked. "You think your memories were divided too?"

"It's not that the memories are gone exactly," Phantom said. "I can still access them. It is simply that I am disconnected from them. We stood before Pariah Dark in his throne room, we exchanged a few words, and then…my body moved."

"What, like someone else was controlling it?"

"Exactly like that." Phantom shifted against the tree, moving until he could pull his legs onto the branch and fold them to his chest. He didn't like the implications anymore than they did. "It's stupid, I know, my mind must be playing tricks on me, but it almost feels like Fenton fought Pariah Dark, not me. Fenton was the one who wanted to defend the town, he was the one who dared to challenge a king, and he was the one who saved everyone because it couldn't have been me. I don't remember moving."

One of his friends made a noise like they didn't like what they were hearing.

Phantom sighed. "The memory just feels more like I'm remembering a scene from a movie. I'm disconnected from it."

"That's…it's probably just because of the split," Sam said.

"Yeah, dude," Tucker added quickly. "Don't let it get to you. It's just because Fenton's the fighter, right? So a memory about fighting is probably just something you're not all that interested in."

"Maybe," Phantom conceded. "It is not the only fight I remember like that, so you might be right. But does it not seem strange? It's not as though Fenton and I existed as separate minds in one body during those fights. My memories should be unaffected by what happens in the present, shouldn't they?"

"…Uh," Tucker started, "is this why you've been going 'we' and 'us' so often? Because I kind of get it now."

Phantom cracked a smile. "It is very confusing for me too."

"I bet."

"It's like what's happening with your feelings for me and Valerie but on a wider scale," Sam said. "You said you remember doing stuff with me that used to be romantic but now you feel disconnected from it."

"Yes. I think it might be happening to Fenton too." Phantom tilted his chin up, the bark of the tree pulling at his hair and scratching along his scalp. "I haven't spoken to him about it, but one thing he seemed frustrated by on Monday was that he could not remember Valerie's favorite coffee."

"Well," Tucker said, "what's so surprising about that? Getting someone the right coffee is a tricky thing. You can't be expected to know every little thing about someone."

"Tucker…" Phantom closed his eyes and sighed. "Valerie hates coffee."

"Oh. So why was—"

"That's my point. Fenton was trying to remember something that didn't exist because he had forgotten one little detail. He fooled himself into believing it was a thing and then became frustrated with himself when he couldn't remember what was never true in the first place."

"Ah…"

"You should talk to Jazz about this," Sam said. "It's probably just the Ghost Catcher screwing with your mind, but she might know something about what's happening. She's supposed to be studying that sort of thing."

Phantom hummed. "Maybe." He would much rather talk to Fenton first. He needed to know if Fenton was experiencing the same difficulties and what his thoughts were on the matter before he admitted anything to Jazz. The problem was getting close enough to hold an actual, private conversation when Phantom's feelings made doing so dangerous and Fenton's discomfort around Phantom kept him from even considering it.

There was a lot they could talk about if Phantom could just get Fenton alone. Not even necessarily about them, their feelings for each other, though he wasn't opposed to addressing that little problem. No, they could talk about letting Sam and Tucker know, about their memories, about Valerie, about their freedom as separate individuals and about if Fenton missed being half ghost or if he enjoyed finally being fully human again…

He wanted to know Fenton's thoughts on so many things…

"I realize this is all very important stuff," Tucker said, his voice light-hearted to contrast the previous heavy topic, "but I need clarification on something you said earlier."

Phantom blinked his eyes open. He had said a great many things. "Okay, what do you need to know?"

"Well, you know, I just couldn't help hearing that, apparently, you find me attractive, Danny?"

The smug tone was clear even through the earphone. Phantom rolled his eyes but allowed himself to smirk. "Don't get a swelled head, Tucker. I said Sam was attractive too."

"Hey, hey, you can't go pulling back now! If you think I'm hot, it's all good. I tend to have that effect on people."

"Sure you do, Tucker," Sam said sarcastically.

"But, dude, seriously, does that mean you like guys?"

Phantom frowned. "Yes," he said, "and girls too, obviously. I mean, Valerie—"

Sam interrupted, exclaiming in both their ears, "Danny! Danny, you're bi too?!"

Phantom winced, rubbing his ear. "Yes?" he said, and then, "Wait, too?"

Tucker groaned, loudly dramatic. "Oh hell…I'm the straight friend…"

"Tucker," Sam said, lowering her voice, "Tucker, join us…"

"I don't like guys, Sam!"

"Become one with the pride, Tucker…"

Phantom laughed. "Join us, Tuck," he whispered sweetly, "break free from society's expectations and embrace yourself…"

"Oh, nice one," Sam laughed, "coming from you."

"I refuse! As the designated straight friend, I—"

"Tucker," Sam interrupted, "we'll be a trio of gays! We can go to pride and wear matching shirts!"

"Are you sure, Sam?" Phantom asked, grinning. "There will be a lot of bright colors."

"A protest of love, diversity, and acceptance is the most Goth thing ever, shut up, Danny."

He snickered.

"Anyway!" Tucker said loudly. "How long have you known? It's not just because of the Ghost Catcher, is it?"

Phantom shook his head, still smiling. "No, we have known for a while, but we were not interested in any guys, and it didn't seem all that important until—" He cut himself off.

"Until?" Tucker urged.

"Until we started dating Valerie," Phantom finished. Safe in his tree, he scowled at himself. He'd gotten too comfortable and forgotten their bisexuality was only part of the larger secret. "It's just something I'm more aware of now."

"What, because you have a girlfriend?"

Because he had a girlfriend and yet he couldn't stop thinking about kissing another boy. "Yes," he said, refusing to explain further.

"Why haven't you told us?" Sam asked. "I only told Tucker last weekend, but I was planning to tell you too before this whole thing started."

Phantom shifted against his tree. "I'm not sure. You may have to ask Fenton that as well, but…" He sighed. His bisexuality was important to his identity, especially now that he was crushing on Fenton, but by coming out…he had forced Fenton too as well, hadn't he? "Please," he said softly, "don't ask him. I don't think he is ready."

"He's you though," Tucker pointed out. "As soon as you guys merge on Friday, what difference does it make?"

Phantom blew out a breath. "It matters," he said forcefully. "If you wish to look at it as such, as divided halves of one person, consider I am the half that is ready to be myself openly whereas Fenton is the half that is still hesitating."

"I get it," Sam said, "and he's right, Tuck. Just because part of Danny has come out to us doesn't mean he's ready to go all in."

Phantom sighed. It wasn't the way he wanted them to understand, but…so long as they didn't force Fenton to admit something he wasn't ready for, so be it. "He may open up once he feels comfortable," he said. "There was a moment on Monday he was almost willing to say something."

"Maybe I should tell him about my sexuality," Sam suggested. "I know I would have come out to you a lot sooner if I had known."

"That might work, yes."

"I could kiss a girl in front of him," Sam continued, building steam. "Someone who is an out of the closet bi or lesbian…someone like," her voice turned sly, "you're girlfriend."

Phantom stiffened. "What?"

"Ha!" Tucker crowed. "I forgot! Valerie is bi isn't she?"

"She is," Sam said, smug, "and believe me, I noticed when she came out."

"Oh, I bet you did."

"Could you not kiss my girlfriend?" Phantom pleaded, wounded. "I thought we were friends, Sam."

"Afraid of some friendly competition, Danny?" Sam asked, still teasing.

"Our relationship is a little rocky right now, so yes."

"That's your own fault," Sam pointed out, merciless. "But don't worry, I'll wait until you two break up."

"Oh. Wow," Phantom deadpanned. "Thanks. You are so generous. Truly."

Sam snickered. "I try."

"Joking aside," Tucker said. "How do we make your human half feel more comfortable around us?"

"You could start by using the names we've chosen for each other," Phantom said, rolling his eyes. "He prefers to go by Fenton. I go by Phantom."

"Uh…okay, but you're both Danny anyway, so…"

Phantom groaned and knocked the back of his head against the tree.

"What does it matter, anyway?" Sam added. "We're just using your first name instead of your last."

And normally, such as with Valerie, Jack, and Maddie, that was fine. But Sam and Tucker knew about their shared past as one person. They knew both Fenton and Phantom as Danny. Using their last names when there were two Danny's would simply make things easier, but they were deliberately choosing to make things harder by refusing to acknowledge there was a difference now.

And Phantom had asked her to. Twice.

"Other than the name thing," Tucker said, "can you think of anything else? I mean, you would know better than anyone else how to make yourself comfortable."

Phantom blew out a breath and stared up at the leafy canopy. His glow illuminated the leaves and tree branches above him, brightening an otherwise dark enclosure. "As it happens," he said slowly, "I may be the last person you should be asking. Surely you two noticed how tense he was around me?"

"Yeah, what was up with that?" Tucker asked. "It's like you had him spooked or something."

"Or something," Phantom agreed, his lips twitching.

"He seemed kind of scared of you."

"He may have been."

"Why would he be afraid of you?" Sam asked. "Unless you're hiding something from us, you're nothing like that evil jerk of a future self. Aren't you his other half? What's there to be afraid of?"

"Only when we're merged," Phantom corrected. "As we are now, he and I are as much strangers to one another as I am to you. Probably more. I wouldn't mind looking like a fool in front of either of you, but if Fenton made a mistake in front of me, like, say, he tripped and fell face-first into the dirt? It would be the height of embarrassment for him. So he moves carefully around me, questioning his every move, never wanting to make a mistake that might make me laugh at him like—"

Like Valerie had.

Phantom blinked at the leaves, sat up from the trunk and breathed in slowly, deeply, as realization dawned.

Valerie's laughter had been what pushed Phantom to kiss and practice kissing on Fenton, so he had assumed Fenton's semi-willingness to go along with their plans meant he felt the same. But Phantom had only done it to prove himself to Valerie. Fenton had only ever seemed interested in proving himself to Phantom, especially after the second separation on Saturday.

And if most of his clumsiness and awkward, halting actions stemmed from his desire to not make a fool of himself in front of Phantom like they had in front of Valerie the day she laughed at them…

Phantom sank back against the tree. How long has Fenton seen me the way I see Valerie? he wondered, feeling as though he had just been punched.

That was why he had been hurt when Phantom hadn't trusted him with the date. That was why he had behaved so aggressively, storming out of Valerie's apartment, keen to lick his wounds in private instead of admitting to Phantom he had failed. It was why he had looked to Phantom the way he had, like he was desperately looking for forgiveness and approval all at once, and why, though he had tried to hide the thoughts from Phantom when they were one, the meteor shower had meant so much to him. Why Phantom's distance the day after had hurt him.

He likes me, Phantom thought in wonder. The leaves rustled in the wind, their illuminated undersides flashing as they fluttered. Phantom breathed out and thought the words again, he likes me…

He had suspected there was something, but…he had assumed the merge was when Fenton started developing feelings, possibly more due as a response to Phantom's interest than anything Fenton felt on his own, and maybe that was still true, but there was more Fenton had been hiding from him.

Fenton wanted Phantom's respect, his approval. That couldn't be the case if Fenton only saw Phantom as the other half of himself the way he claimed. What was more, he had wanted those things long before the idea Fenton could be his own person had ever crossed Phantom's mind.

Phantom laughed softly to himself, lifting one hand to run his fingers through his hair. No wonder he punched me, he thought. He didn't see me as another version of himself. He saw me as a stranger, albeit one he…

Liked. Looked up to. Respected.

What had Phantom done to earn such regard? And so early on?

That first kiss…?

"Uh, Danny?" Sam called out. "You still there?"

Phantom cleared his throat. "Yes. I just…realized something."

"About your human half?"

Phantom pinched his eyes closed, his free hand clenching into a fist. "Please stop calling him that. Call him Danny or Fenton or Danny Fenton, just stop referring to us as if we are not real people." Before they could argue, he quickly spoke again, "And yes, about Fenton. But it's not something I want to talk about right now."

"Uh, okay?" Tucker said. "You sure?"

"Yes. How far away are you?"

"I'm almost there. I just need to climb the hill."

Phantom nodded and sighed. Good. Before, Phantom had wanted to stretch his time with Tucker and Sam as long as possible, but…he needed to think.

The giddy sensation in his chest was bubbling over, spilling into a butterfly sensation around his middle. All he wanted to do was rethink everything that had happened between him and Fenton, using this new realization as a key to unlock Fenton's behavior, but there was a bigger problem threatening to snuff it all out.

After all, there was a reason Fenton had denied feeling anything, why he was struggling so hard against what he was feeling. Nothing had really changed. They were still meant to be one person, not two. They were still intending to merge on Friday.

But now I'm sure he likes me. Phantom taped his fingers on the cap of the Fenton Thermos and smiled. He is going through the same thing I am, only he is responding to it in his own way.

I'm not alone in this.

Chapter Text

---

“Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them.” -Oscar Wilde

---

 

As much as he needed the money, Noah admitted reluctantly to himself that he had only agreed to take the late shift tonight of all nights because any attention Justin offered him was too tempting to squander, even when that attention amounted to his coworker asking him to work late on his day off so that Justin could go to a party. And probably pick up someone to spend the night with. Because that was Noah's brand of luck.

Noah slowed his car to a stop at the light, groaned, and dropped his forehead onto the steering wheel. It was 4am, he had only just escaped the hell that was cleaning up a fast food kitchen, and he still had to work on his dissertation about the ghost phenomena his town was under, the essay his ethics professor was expecting, a book review for his lit class...oh, and he should probably study for the biology test he had tomorrow. At ten in the morning.

"You're a blasted idiot, Noah," he told himself. "A horny, fucking idiot."

He wanted a shower. He wanted to wipe off the grime of that nasty kitchen before it soaked into his skin any more than it already had. Unfortunately, he would be lucky if he even got a chance to sleep more than a few hours.

Next time, he wasn't going to agree to Justin's request. Next time, he would ask to go to the party with him and convince their other coworker to take the late shift. If he was going to stay up that late and screw himself over the following day, he was at least going to get laid out of it. Or try to. Preferably by Justin. Though at this point, he had to wonder if he was worth the trouble.

Yes , he thought, sighing to himself, he is. Damn his muscles and sweet smile...

He just had to get the other man to notice him somehow...

The light turned green, and Noah reluctantly lifted himself from his slump and started driving down the near empty street again. In fact, aside from a single headlight driving toward him, the road was entirely his own. This was the longest strip of road back to his dorm, too, so Noah felt confident in pressing a little harder on the gas, driving another additional five miles over the speed limit. With any luck, he could take a quick five minute shower before working on his assignments. It might cost him study time and sleep time but it would be worth it.

It didn't even occur to him to be wary of that solitary headlight (probably a motorcycle) until a green beam of light shot at it from above.

Noah felt his whole body stiffen, a chill racing up his spine.

Ghosts .

He followed the tail of the beam back to its source and found what he assumed—hoped—was his town's ghostly hero flying out of an alley and then onto the road, parallel with the biker. Noah could only make out the white glow from this distance, but it had to be him. If it wasn't, if that was just some random ghost attacking innocent drivers on the highway…

A black void shot out of the bike, visible only as it flew in front of the street lights and then as it tackled the glowing boy.

Noah swore, deeply and violently even as his eyes frantically searched for a way out.

A ghost fight. He was driving into a ghost fight.

Shit!

They were heading toward him too. Even if he pulled over as the police instructed them all to do during a ghost attack, he would still get caught in the middle of the battle. They might pass him, but Noah doubted it. He was the only living person on the road. They were bound to notice him.

With that in mind, Noah slowed the car and turned right down the closest street. It wasn't as though he had never had to take a detour around a ghost fight before. Or at least the aftermath of a ghost fight. He relaxed in his seat and chuckled a little. Justin was a big fan of the ghosts. Wait until he heard Noah had almost driven into one of their fights.

A yellow headlight flashed into his rear-view mirror. And then a white light.

Fear shot through Noah all over again and he slammed on the gas before he even looked back. Were they following him? Shit, they couldn't be following him, could they? He glanced at his rear view mirror. A single headlight dominated the mirror. Not good. He checked his side mirror and felt his breath catch in his throat.

That was unmistakably Danny Phantom. Closer now, close enough he was no longer a shape of white light in the night but a boy several years younger than Noah with glowing green eyes and white hair whipping about his face.

If the situation wasn't so dire—and if the ghost kid didn't look so stressed—it would have been really cool.

As it was, it looked as though a ghost was targeting Noah. Phantom could stop it, though, right? He would stop the ghost. It was what he did. But why was the ghost after Noah in the first place?

Noah had almost reached the next red light, but what was he supposed to do with a ghost on a motorcycle after his tail? Slow down and get rear-ended at best?

Fuck that!

Noah removed his foot from the brakes and flew past the red light, whimpering all the while because holy shit.

The ghost and Phantom flew faster to keep up with him.

Noah rolled down his window and shouted, "What the fuck, go away! I don't have anything!"

Phantom looked at him, his green eyes meeting Noah's through the reflection of the side mirror.

Again, very cool, Noah thought frantically, but very bad timing!

The other ghost reacted too, by speeding up until it—he—was driving even with Noah, his face visible through the passenger window. He almost didn't look like a ghost. His glow was a lot dimmer than Phantom's and he had dirty blond hair, pale gray skin, a few speckled pimples, a cocksure grin on his face, and...and he looked Noah's age...

Omen , Noah thought, laughing uncomfortably to himself. Omen, omen, omen...

The ghost was yelling something at Phantom behind them, but his gaze began to pan toward Noah. Noah understood why as soon as a white light shone through his window. He turned his head and there was Phantom, directly outside his door.

Phantom met Noah's eyes from only a couple feet away and then raised his gaze. "Leave him out of this, Johnny!"

Noah gawked at his town's hero for several seconds before he jerked his gaze back to the road. He had always imagined meeting Phantom during a ghost fight would be reassuring, but all he really felt now was terrified. Probably because it was hitting him suddenly just how young the kid looked. Noah's life was in his hands, and the Ghost Boy seemed to be hesitating about what to do about it. Why?

Noah glanced at the other ghost quickly, noticed he was yelling something back at Phantom, and reached for the controls on his door, his fingers shaking as they pulled at the button to lower the passenger side window.

"—just have to tell me what you've been playing at, kid," the ghost shouted. "You can't lie your way out of this one, Shadow and I already saw your human side asleep in his bed while you're out here playing goody two shoes."

"First of all," Phantom shouted over the wind, his nose wrinkled, "stay out of his bedroom. What is the matter with you? Second, if you already know, why are you doing this?"

Even with the wind roaring through Noah's car, he could hear the otherworldly echo in both ghosts' voices. He sunk in his seat, his heart beating uncomfortably fast.

"Because there's gotta be more to it, right?" Compared to the strain in Phantom's voice, the other ghost, Johnny, drawled his words as if applying more emotion was too much effort. "Everyone knows how much you hated having a foot in both worlds, so if you had the means to do it all along, why did it take you this long to do something about it? Something must have changed, right? So what was it?"

"Johnny—"

"I bet it was about a girl. Puberty's gotta be hitting you pretty hard right about now, eh?"

Another intersection was coming up. Noah was gonna have to run another red light and pray there was no one driving on the other road when he did.

"Johnny!" Phantom snapped. "Call it out, now !"

"No can do, little man. Not until you tell me your latest secret. I got a bet going with Kitty."

"This isn't a joke," Phantom protested. "It will get him killed!"

"Oh, the human will be fine. Shadow knows what he's doing, don't you, buddy?"

An echoing laugh floated through the speakers of Noah's car. The hairs along Noah's arms and neck stood on end as he inhaled a sharp breath. His eyes, widened by fright, darted to Phantom. The Ghost Boy met his gaze, his eyebrows pinched and risen in concern, his mouth pulled into a tight line. Suddenly the stressed, worried look in Phantom's eyes made sense. Too much sense. Because Noah's car had been possessed.

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

Phantom's expression hardened. He looked back at the other ghost. "Call it out, Johnny, or I will make it come out."

Johnny laughed. "Just try it, kid!"

Phantom's jaw clenched. He looked at the car and gathered himself. Just as he dived toward the car, the void creature from before shot out of the hood and attacked Phantom instead. They collided and fell out of sight. Johnny laughed again. He cut himself off prematurely. Noah couldn't see what had upset the ghost, he was too busy staring in horror at the green electricity sparking along his dashboard.

"Shadow!" Johnny barked, sounding alarmed. "What did you do?"

The red light—

Noah pressed on his brakes. It was too much, Phantom, the ghost, the creature...he should have pulled over from the start.

He pressed on the brakes...but nothing happened.

"Shit," he gasped, pressing on the brakes again and again and again.

His car was listing to one side. He turned the wheel, trying to pull it back into his lane, but it didn't respond.

"Oh no, no, no," he cried.

He was turning off the road. He was—he was heading right toward the crosswalk pole.

"Shit, shit shit!"

He couldn’t slow down, he couldn’t turn the car—there had to be something he could do. Anything.

His car drove into the intersection, the pole only seconds away. He called out for help, but there was no time. The front of his car impacted the pole, crumbled. The airbag exploded in Noah’s face. Agony ripped through him, in his neck, his head, his chest. He heard glass shattering, metal screeching, himself screaming, and then, mercifully, he blacked out.

---

Something pressed on Fenton’s shoulder, the light pressure barely enough to stir some awareness into his unconscious mind. He mumbled incoherently and turned his face into his pillow. The pressure increased on his shoulder. It—a hand—shook his shoulder gently, and Fenton groaned a protest. The shaking stopped. 

Fenton started to slip back to sleep until a familiar, echoing voice whispered, “Fenton, please ,” followed by a more insistent shake. 

Fenton’s eyes snapped open. He was lying on his side, faced away from Phantom, but the dim glow illuminating Fenton’s bedroom proved Phantom was there even as Fenton lay frozen on the bed, afraid to turn over and see his ghost. 

“Phantom?” he called back, his voice thick from sleep, his tongue clumsy over the word. 

“Yes.”

Fenton may have hesitated to face Phantom, but Phantom had no such qualms. He rose above Fenton and floated over him until he could drop to the floor on the other side of the bed. His passage disturbed the air above Fenton, sending a slight wind over his skin. He shivered, staring wide eyed at Phantom as the ghost tucked his knees under himself and, slowly, hesitantly, raised his gaze to meet Fenton’s. His green eyes cast their own light on the dark room, tinting the white hair that fell in front of his face. 

Fenton blinked at him, squinting, but the gritty feeling in his eyes drove him to pinch his eyes shut again and scrub irritably at them. “What are you—” he began. “What time is—”

“It’s five-forty,” Phantom replied, his voice a whisper.

In that case, Fenton’s alarm was due to go off in only ten minutes. He groaned and rolled onto his back, allowing his arms to flop onto the bed. “Phantom, what the fuck?”

Ten minutes? He couldn’t have waited ten minutes?

Wait.

Fenton snapped his eyes open and jerked his head to look at Phantom again. “You’re not supposed to be here.” He lifted himself onto his elbows, the blanket previously draped over his chest falling to his waist. He shuffled away from Phantom, his legs and pajamas bottoms creating a whispering sound as he moved beneath the blanket. “What are you—you can’t be—”

“ Fenton ,” Phantom said again, firmer but just as quietly. Fenton stilled. “I didn’t come here to…I wasn’t going to kiss you. I just—” 

He stopped and stared at Fenton as though he was looking for something. But then he groaned, pinched his brilliant green eyes shut, and dropped his face into his hands. He lowered his head, bowing forward until his forehead and hands could rest on the mattress. His white hair spilled over Fenton’s much darker blanket, startling in its contrast.

Fenton hesitated. Even when Phantom had felt bad about his actions on Sunday, Fenton had never seen him act like this. “Phantom?” Fenton pushed himself up by his hands until he was sitting up in bed, towering over Phantom. “What’s wrong?”

Phantom blew out a sigh. “Nothing is…wrong. No one is hurt. Everything is fine.”

Fenton criss-crossed his legs and set his elbows on his knees. “Yeah?” he asked, sleepy and just worried enough to be irritated. “Everything is fine? Then why wake me up? You’re not supposed to be here.”

“It is my room too,” Phantom mumbled, but the words held little emotion.

“You’re not supposed to be here if I’m here,” Fenton corrected. 

Phantom sighed.  

Fenton wondered if it would be alright to reach for him, offer comfort by brushing his fingers through Phantom’s hair the way Phantom had when he healed Fenton’s concussion. The soft appearance of his white hair certainly looked inviting, contrasted as it was against the blanket. Fenton was deeply tempted and had even lifted his hand before he caught himself.

He jerked his hand back down and looked away, biting his lip. Just because you’re tired doesn’t mean you can just do whatever…

Phantom started moving, drawing Fenton’s gaze once more. He watched as Phantom slid off his knees and onto his rear, bracing his chest more fully against the bed. Phantom pulled his hands away from his face, turned his head until his cheek rested on the mattress. His one visible eye flashed open, staring up at Fenton. He blew out a quiet breath of air.

Fenton felt his cheeks getting warm, and he hastily looked away.

“I just needed to see you,” Phantom admitted. “I had hoped you could help.”

“Help with what?” Fenton asked, still turned away. He couldn’t look down at Phantom, not until the ghost stopped looking so vulnerable. Not until Phantom stopped looking up at him like… that .

Phantom hesitated a moment before asking, “How do you—” He stopped, sighed, and tried again, “We made a lot of mistakes in the past, fighting other ghosts.”

Cautiously, Fenton turned back to Phantom. Uncomfortable or not, if Phantom was seeking advice on ghost hunting, he needed his full attention. “Yeah?” he urged, hesitant. “Like when we flew into a wall while chasing the Box Ghost?”

Phantom’s lips twitched from a frown into a wry smile, and Fenton felt his own lips move automatically, the pressure in his chest easing in response to Phantom’s smile. “I remember that,” Phantom said. And then quieter, as if more to himself than to Fenton, “’We’…”

Fenton tilted his head to the side. Phantom’s expression had lightened, but he still seemed…diminished. “But that’s not what you mean,” Fenton guessed.

“No.” Phantom sighed. “I mean, for instance, if we moved too fast…and spooked a ghost into attacking…?”

Fenton frowned. “Attacking us?” They did that all the time. 

“No. Attacking a bystander. A human.”

“Oh.” No, that had never happened before, not the way Phantom was describing at least, which meant…if it hadn’t happened before in the past…Fenton sat up straighter. “Phantom—”

Phantom sat up too, pulling away from the bed. “It’s fine,” he said quickly. He floated off the floor and moved toward the outer wall. “We don’t need to merge—”

“What?” Fenton uncrossed his legs and stood up on his knees. “But I wasn’t going to—”

“—because everything is fine, Fenton—”

“Okay, but—”

“—no one is hurt.”

Fenton scrambled over the bed after him, but Phantom’s gaze was no longer meeting Fenton’s, directed instead toward the left corner of their room. “Phantom, wait, just stop a minute.”

“I caught several ghosts,” Phantom continued, still backing away. “The Thermos is on your nightstand. M—our—Jack and Maddie are in the lab so I couldn’t empty it.”

Fenton set his feet on the floor and stood. “You—”

“Have to leave, I know.” Phantom flashed a wry smirk at him, meeting his eyes for only a brief moment before looking away again. “Keep our distance, right?”

“No!” Fenton snapped. “Phantom, would you just—”

His alarm clock shrilled its alarm. Fenton jumped, startled. Phantom bolted through the walls of Fenton’s bedroom. 

Fenton stood frozen over his bed as the clock shrieked, waiting to see if Phantom would return once he realized it was just their alarm and not Jack coming to attack him again. 

He didn’t.

Fenton groaned loudly and dropped onto his bed, first to sit and then flopping backward onto the mattress. He twisted onto his front and crawled toward his nightstand. He pounded the snooze button harder than he needed to and then shoved his face into his pillow. 

“Damn it…” he hissed. 

---

Maddie sat at the table, the blueprints in front of her forgotten as she stared at her son. Aside from a trip to the basement to pick up some homework, Danny remained standing in front of their kitchen TV as he had since waking up, watching the screen intently as the news played. Maddie had insisted he eat, so he had a bowl of cereal he ate mechanically, but Maddie had meant he should eat at the table .

What could Danny possibly find so interesting about the weather?

Maddie turned to look at Jack, but he was no help. Her husband was still caught up in the designs of Valerie’s suit, scribbling equations and the occasional phrase into the margins of his own set of blueprints. He hadn’t noticed Danny’s odd behavior and likely wouldn’t until she pointed it out. 

Sighing quietly, Maddie returned her gaze to Danny. He was still watching the news even as Lance Thunder passed the feed back to Tiffany Snow, the weather forecast finished. Danny’s attention didn’t waver. 

It was such a shame. The day before, Maddie had thought she and Danny were finally—

“— and now, for our latest in ghost activity —”

Danny stiffened. The spoon and its load were lowered back into the bowl and then both were deposited on the counter beside the TV as Danny leaned closer to the screen. Maddie frowned. She gently nudged Jack’s arm, and his head shot up. Before he could say anything, Maddie held a finger to her lips and then tilted her head at Danny. Jack’s brows lifted but he nodded in understanding. 

Jack alerted that something had concerned her about Danny, Maddie silently pushed away from the table and walked around Danny until she had a clear view of the TV screen. The voices were a little too quiet, but before she even had to ask, Danny raised the volume. Not for Maddie’s sake, she didn’t think, but because he didn’t want to miss anything.

This segment must have been what Danny was really waiting for. 

On the screen, the news switched from their anchor studio to a street corner. Harriet Chin, Maddie’s friend from college, stood in front of a wrecked car, its front end crumbled inward, smashed by a pole on the sidewalk. The windshield and front windows had shattered, the doors and front of the passenger compartment compressed by the force of the impact.

Danny hissed in a breath. Maddie winced herself, feeling sorry for whoever had gotten caught between Phantom and another ghost. 

“Thank you, Tiffany ,” Harriet said, speaking into her handheld microphone. “ As you can see, I’m here at the scene of a ghost attack where a mere hour ago, college student, Noah King, faced a brutal assault from our ever present ghostly invaders. He was caught returning home from a late shift at the Nasty Burger when our resident defender, Danny Phantom, attacked a ghost riding a motorcycle along the same road.

“Although King tried to detour around the ghosts and their battle, the motorcycle ghost, later identified as Johnny Thirteen, pursued King and proceeded to use his safety as leverage against Phantom. You can see from the wreckage how well this ended for Noah King when Phantom failed to protect him.”

Fenton let out a harsh breath.

Maddie smiled. Good old Harriet.

“ Police are once again urging citizens to pull over in the case of a ghost attack and to take shelter in a building nearby.”

“Does that even help?” Danny muttered.

“Perhaps not against a ghost,” Maddie answered, “but it will protect them from any real world debris that gets thrown around. Such as cars or a downed pole.”

Danny’s body tensed. He glanced over his shoulder at Maddie before redirecting his gaze to the TV.

“ Fortunately for Mr. King, the story does not end there,” Harriet continued. “ Once or twice, Phantom has been known to linger at the scene of an accident in order to call 911, but this time, along with alerting the proper authorities, Phantom remained at the scene and reportedly kept Noah King calm and conscious until an ambulance could arrive.

“The paramedics report that, despite the obvious damage to the car and the blood on King’s clothes, when they arrived, King appeared to be free of injury. When questioned why, King answered Phantom had healed him—” Danny sucked in a breath. “— The police have their doubts, but there is no denying the evidence. With Phantom’s aid, Noah King was able to walk away from this brutal car crash with little more than a bloody t-shirt. ”

“He did it,” Danny whispered.

Maddie frowned and glanced at her son. 

“ The paramedics insisted King return to the hospital with them for a full check-up. ‘Ghosts are not humans,’ they insist, ‘they don’t know our biology. That Phantom was able to heal Mr. King at all is a miracle, but there is always that possibility of an incorrect healing.’

“Nonetheless, if the checkup comes back clean of radiation or a botched repair, they request that Phantom contact them. They believe that, with the proper training, this new power of Phantom’s could save a lot of lives. We can only hope he is willing and able. Back to you, Tiffany.”

“Thank you, Harriet, ” Tiffany said, the screen once more on her in her studio. She shuffled her papers on the desk and smiled at the camera. “ As ever, our local town hero is full of surprises. An ability to heal others would be invaluable, not only in the wake of a ghost attack, but in other catastrophes as well. We shall have to wait and see how this develops, but I, for one, am looking forward to watching Danny Phantom become an even greater hero to our town .”

Maddie scoffed. “He was never one to begin with.”

“You can say that again!” Jack crowed from the table. 

“Are you kidding me?” Danny gestured angrily at the TV. “Did you see that car? He saved his life! If he hadn’t healed him—”

Maddie laughed. “Oh, no, sweetie. I doubt that’s truly what happened.”

“Yeah!” Jack added. “That no good ghost punk isn’t—”

“But he did !” As soon as the word left his mouth, Danny sucked in a breath. “He...he did it. He healed him.” Danny’s voice trailed into a whisper. “He healed a complete stranger...” 

Maddie frowned. It was the second time he had reacted to the idea of Phantom healing Noah King like it was something grand. “Danny? Sweetie?”

Danny switched off the TV and shifted on his feet, moving back a step from the counter. He continued to frown as he crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t look at Maddie, but he asked, “Mom? Dad?” He hesitated a moment before continuing, “How can a ghost heal?”

“You mean,” Maddie said, “how can Phantom heal?”

“Well I…” Danny shifted on his feet and ducked his head lower. “Yes. You guys just don’t want to believe it because he’s a ghost, right? Well, just, I don’t know, for one minute, pretend he would, he did, and he’s able to again. How…” Danny hesitated and took a deep, somewhat shaky breath. “How can he—how is it possible?”

“Well…” Maddie studied her son. This was clearly a thought weighing heavily on him. “Ghosts have natural healing abilities, right Jack?”

“Yup! We’ve even seen Phantom heal himself.”

“Right.” Maddie smiled. “Their bodies are subject to their will and repair themselves easily. If he is able to harness that ability consciously, I suppose it’s possible he could be sharing that power. Of course, humans and ghosts aren’t physically the same, so he shouldn't know how to heal a human…”

Danny finally turned to look at her. “Yeah, right. Exactly. It’s a ghost power that’s affecting other—um, I mean, it’s affecting humans, but humans aren’t built like ghosts. It’s supposed to take us, like, days to heal. Or months.”

Maddie grabbed her elbow and raised her free hand to her face, tapping her chin. “Yes,” she agreed. “It is strange. Theoretically. Perhaps he understands how human bodies heal, even down to our cellular structure. It would be the only way his powers could speed up our usual healing process without damaging our cells.”

Danny nodded, appearing to consider Maddie's theory seriously. Maddie smiled and rested her cheek against her hand. Her little boy had shown the natural born skill of a ghost fighter last night and was even now seeking the science behind the ghosts they hunted. Finally, one of their children was showing an interest in hers and Jack's work, and she couldn't have been more proud.

She glanced at Jack. He flashed her a beaming smile and raised both thumbs. He understood how much she had been trying to reconnect with Danny, how much it meant to her that Danny was seeking answers, and Jack’s quiet support made her smile all the wider. Ghosts were his favorite subject to ramble on about, but he was letting her lead with minimal interruption so that she could connect with Danny. She loved him just a little more for that. 

"So he can because he was…he had..." Danny appeared to be searching for a way to phrase a thought. He gave it up with a sigh. "He understands human biology. Subconsciously. So, any ghost could do what he's doing? If they understood human biology enough?" 

Maddie made a face. "I doubt it."

From the table, Jack added, “It’s more complicated than that, Danny.”

“But…” Danny looked from her to Jack. “But you said if he understood human biology—”

Maddie uncrossed her arms and lightly touched his bicep. Last year, it would have been his shoulder, but her boy was getting so big . “You misunderstand, dear. Technically, he could heal us if he was somehow able to convert his ghost energy into energy our cells could use to repair themselves—and that is a big if, Danny! Your father and I studied for months to get that ecto-converter to work!”

“Yeah!” Jack shouted. “And then some ghost creep stole it!” He sniffed. “We hardly had the chance to use it…And we can’t just build another!”

Maddie pointed at her husband. “Exactly! All those equations—”

“The formula we used—”

“The ectoplasm—”

“It was a miracle we could make it work at all! Our physics just aren’t compatible. And when we tried again with a different sample, it blew up in our face!”

“Your father was devastated.” Maddie sighed and shook her head. “How you expect a ghost to be able to do the same without rigorous study or—”

“Mom ,” Danny whined, “can you get to the point?”

“The point is he is still a ghost , sweetie. Assuming he could transfer ghost energy into human energy, that still wouldn’t be enough because the question isn’t whether or not he’s able —ghosts are able to do many fantastic things! Your father and I have only begun to scratch the surface of what all they can and can’t do.” Maddie grinned and rolled onto her tiptoes, unable to completely suppress her excitement. “We don’t want to assume there is something a ghost can’t do because we have yet to find a cohesive limit that stretches along their entire species. Each ghost seems to be unique in how their powers manifest. Isn’t that fascinating ?!”

Maddie instinctively sought out Jack’s eyes. He had braced his chin in his hands and was looking at her with a besotted grin on his face. Maddie beamed back at him.

Danny coughed loudly. “Uh, ew?”

Maddie cleared her throat and settled down again. Right. Danny was only beginning to show an interest in ghost science. It was all just so exciting! “The problem is whether or not Phantom is…willing.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “Willing?”

Jack sniffed. “What ghost would care enough to help a human, Danny?”

Danny raised an eyebrow at Jack, the answer clear in his eyes even if Jack failed to see it.

“They would need to receive something in return to make it worth their while,” Maddie agreed. “Even Phantom is guilty of that, sweetie. He once made a deal with your father to fly him home in return for his freedom. A ghost was attacking the Fenton Portal, you see, and Jack needed to defend our home. Phantom completed his end of the deal, but helped no farther, leaving Jack to fight the ghost alone.”

Danny pressed his lips into a thin line, his jaw clenched. 

Jack was more vocal about his disagreement, and he pouted, wounded, before saying, “Maddie...I didn’t need that punk’s help.”

“Yeah,” Danny said quickly, “I saw that fight. Dad kicked butt! I—Phantom didn’t need to help him.”

Jack perked up immediately. “That’s right! Me! I kicked butt!” Jack beamed at Danny. Something seemed to pass between them, something about what they had both witnessed and achieved that day, and Danny curled his lips into a small smile. 

 Maddie sighed, but not unhappily. “Alright, you two win.”

“Ha!” Jack cheered, competitive as ever.

“But in any case, that isn’t what I meant by a ghost being unwilling. You see, ghosts are unable to feel empathy.”

“Empathy,” Danny deadpanned. “What, like, being sad when someone else is sad?”

"Essentially. The question becomes how can they want to heal someone if they don't know what pain feels like? If they feel pain at all, we believe it's through some median other than a nervous system, so they may not recognize it in us. For Phantom to heal humans, he would have to understand we're in pain, and that should technically be beyond him. All ghosts know are the anger and fear they felt when they died."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Unless ghosts are actually able to feel more emotion than you think. It's not like you guys have ever sat down to talk with one, right? All you're going to get is anger and fear if all you do is capture and fight them."

“Well…” Jack said, hesitant. “We’ve observed them attacking the town too!”

“Yeah, fine,” Danny allowed, “but they’re not always attacking, right?”

Jack narrowed his eyes. 

Maddie sighed. She had heard similar arguments from Jazz. "I suppose this is the moment where you try to explain Phantom is different?" Danny scowled and opened his mouth to reply, but Maddie raised her hand and quickly said, "It doesn't matter if he can feel more than we believe, anyway. In this case, it's about nonverbal communication. Perhaps, if he is as compassionate as you and your sister believe, he is able to sympathize when he sees someone is in pain, but empathy?"

“What’s the difference?” Danny asked, sounding irritated. “What’s so important about him feeling what we’re feeling?”

"It is the only way his ability to heal himself would react, dear," Maddie explained patiently. "If he is sharing his ability to heal himself with others, he must not only feel sorry for another person but feel that their pain is his own as well. Once their pain becomes his pain, his natural healing ability will react. Do you understand?"

Danny's brow was still wrinkled, but he nodded slowly. "I...think so." He lowered his gaze to the floor, sinking into deep thought.

Maddie smiled. "So you see why it's impossible."

Danny’s thoughtful expression vanished, replaced by confusion as he jerked his head up. “What? But he did —”

“This is all just speculation, Danny boy,” Jack reminded him. “We haven’t actually seen him or any other ghost heal somebody.”

“Yes,” Maddie agreed. “We don’t know for sure if Phantom can or not. We only have the witness testimony of one man, and that man made his claim after suffering a traumatic experience.”

“Okay, yeah, sure,” Danny said, rolling his eyes, “plus the totaled car and his bloody shirt. You know. The physical evidence that backs his story up.”

Maddie pursed her lips. Sarcasm. She was feeling a little less proud now. “Danny, I’m sorry, but I just don’t see how a ghost could empathize with us.”

“Us…” Danny narrowed his eyes. “Humans? Yeah, well, what if he, I don’t know, what if Phantom, like, he’s been around us so much he’s started to think like us?”

Maddie frowned. “You’re suggesting he’s assimilating with human culture?”

“I don’t…know what that means…?” Danny glanced at Jack, but the older man quickly shook his head and shrugged. 

“Assimilation is when you absorb and adapt to a foreign culture until it becomes your own.” Maddie rubbed her finger beneath her lower lip, thinking. She raised an eyebrow. “You believe Phantom thinks he’s semi-human?”

Danny made a face. He shifted on his feet, bit his lip. Hesitated. “Yes? Maybe. Um. I guess?”

“It would make sense,” Maddie said, speaking slowly. “He is still a ghost, of course, but he is unlike so many of the other ghosts we’ve studied. If he has absorbed our culture and way of living…to the point he feels closer to us than his own kind…that could explain why he attacks other ghosts too…we always assumed it to be a territory thing…”

It was a fascinating new theory she would have to explore. It relied heavily on assumptions, of course, but when dealing with ghosts, that was inevitable. Could he be integrating with human culture? It could explain why he was often seen doing human things like resting, eating, and playing without any trace of the grief you would expect from someone who had lost their life. He could be learning through humans how to behave rather than through other ghosts in the Ghost Zone. Like a blank slate. Or an amnesiac who latched onto the identity closest at hand.

It depended on his origin. If Phantom wasn't the recently killed human they had assumed him to be but was instead a manifestation of pure energy that had adapted to human life rather than the reverse...

Maddie looked at her husband. The good thing about working together for so long on top of being married was that she could see Jack following a similar path as her own thoughts. Unfortunately, where Maddie felt excited to explore a new theory, Jack…was beginning to frown unhappily. 

“Could he do it then?” Danny asked, pulling Maddie from her thoughts. “If he can heal humans, that means he can empathize with us, that’s what you’re saying?”

“Yes,” Maddie said cautiously. “Maybe. We would have to study the process of course…”

“And if he can empathize, that means he can feel a wider range of emotion than you guys thought.”

Maddie didn’t like where this was going. “Now, Danny, wait—”

“For instance,” Danny continued, raising his voice to speak over her, “if he witnessed a car crash that he was partly responsible for. You don’t think he might feel bad? Or more than bad? Like he needed to make things right or he would never stop hurting?”

“That is guilt,” Maddie corrected, “not empathy.”

“Fine, but you get what I mean?”

Maddie breathed out a sigh. “Yes, but, Danny, it’s just not possible.”

“Even if he was thinking like a human?”

“He might think like a human but that still wouldn’t make him one!” Maddie looked to Jack for help, but her husband looked troubled. Danny was getting to him. She needed to nip this in the bud. “Maybe he has adapted to human life,” Maddie conceded reluctantly, “but he’s still a ghost, Danny. He might be a little different than others of his kind, but he’s still a being of destruction and moral depravity. They aren’t people.”

Danny scowled. “You haven’t even met him.”

“I know who—”

Danny scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Mom, really? You don’t know anything about him. You wouldn’t even know his name if he hadn’t given it to the news.” Maddie pursed her lips. “So how do you know how he feels about anything? You don’t! You’ve never given— him a chance!”

Maddie closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths. “Danny,” she said softly, “sometimes—”

“If he can heal,” Danny interrupted, his voice hard, “then he can empathize, right? Because that’s the only way it would work. That’s what you said. So if he can heal, he has empathy, right?”

“Danny—”

“Right ?”

Maddie blew out her latest breath. “ Yes .”

“And if he has empathy, then he has emotions.”

“Danny…”

“And if he healed some stranger after accidentally causing a car crash, it was probably because he felt he had messed up. That he had done something wrong.” Danny paused a moment to breathe in. “And if he thought he had done something bad and had to make up for it, that implies he has morals. Right?”

Maddie frowned at her son and didn’t answer.

“So, adding that all up,” Danny continued, “with one act, Phantom proved he isn’t morally deprived, he doesn’t seek destruction, he can feel more than just anger and fear, and, what’s more, he recognizes those things in others, that people are as real as he is. Not just because he can heal but also because he was willing to.”

Maddie pushed back her goggles and hood, rubbed a hand over her face, and tried to think beyond the emotions screaming in her head. Danny wasn’t wrong, not exactly, but he was taking a great many leaps in his logic. Maddie would gladly tear his argument apart, but she was sleep deprived, torn between love and wounded pride, and taken aback by how determined Danny seemed. 

When was the last time she had seen him stand so firmly for something? Usually when he disagreed with her and Jack, he made a snide comment before sinking into a sulk. Where was the sulk? Had he always felt like this and he had just hit his limit? Had something changed when she wasn’t looking?

“Maddie…” Jack said softly. 

There was pain in his voice, she could hear it, although she doubted Danny could. She knew where it was coming from too. Danny was poking holes in their carefully held belief that Phantom was nothing more than the lingering remnants of someone who had already moved on. He couldn’t be a real person because that person had already died. Phantom was only supposed to be their strongest emotions given form and power due to how closely an alternate dimension paralleled their own. 

But Danny and Jazz couldn’t let that go uncontested. Phantom was aging. Phantom was learning. Phantom could heal. Phantom could feel. 

Jack was easily excitable, a genius who wanted desperately to be the one who proved his own theories, to live like a scientific superhero who fought bad guys, but he wasn’t sadistic. If Phantom was truly a real individual, no older than their son and with the ability to empathize and feel, what did that make them who hunted him?

Nothing good in Jack’s eyes. Beneath all the excited ranting and enthusiasm over hunting, Jack had a soft heart. If ghosts could be true people and not just manifestations of people long since departed, then they had been treating feeling, thinking beings as less than animals.

Jack wouldn't even watch a movie if a horse died.

She needed to stop this. Resorting to the one flaw she could most easily point out, Maddie said, “We don’t know he actually healed Noah King.”

Danny frowned. “The car is completely smashed, Mom.”

“Yes,” Maddie said, “but Phantom could have pulled him out of the car before it crashed. I’m willing to accept he might have done that much if the alternative means he healed him.”

Danny’s frown deepened. “But the blood—”

“Perhaps the stress caused a nose bleed?” Maddie thought it over before shrugging. “It has been known to happen. Phantom could have then pressured Noah into perpetuating this fantastical story in return for saving his life.” She thought about it for a few more seconds before nodding decisively. “Yes. I’m almost positive that’s what happened. It would be just like Phantom to blackmail someone into lying for him.”

Danny scowled. “You can’t make that kind of judgment call. You don’t even know him, remember? You’re just making up excuses for yourself so you don’t have to change your thinking.”

“Danny!” Maddie said, stung. “I’m just being rational.”

“No you’re not!” Danny snapped. He stomped past her and headed toward the living room, but stopped beside Jack at the kitchen table, his shoulders tense. He took several deep breaths before he turned around again. “If…if you don’t want to believe the car crash thing, then fine, but what if it wasn’t the only time Phantom healed someone?”

Maddie frowned. She looked at Jack, but he shrugged and shook his head. She turned back to Danny. “This is the first time we’ve heard about something like that.”

Danny bit at his lip and wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I…that’s because I didn’t tell anyone? Well, I told Valerie, I guess, but…”

“ Danny ,” Maddie gasped, aghast. 

Jack stood up and grabbed Danny’s shoulder, his eyes wide. “He healed you?”

Danny stared up at Jack, equally wide-eyed and apparently surprised by their reaction. “Yeah? Yesterday at school, after a ghost attack.”

Maddie rushed to their son’s side and grabbed his face, turning his head as she inspected it from different angles for any sign of the ghost’s tampering. No wonder Danny had been behaving oddly! “Why didn’t you tell us? Do you have any idea how dangerous he is? He could have—”

“Mom!” Danny stepped back, pulling out of Maddie’s grasp and shaking off Jack’s hand. “It’s fine. I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me—he doesn’t like hurting anyone! But a ghost attacked the school and I got a concussion—”

“A concussion ?” Maddie’s heart panged in distress. Her baby boy! “Those can be more serious than they seem, you should have gone to the nurse’s office and—”

“Mom, I did . I went with Sam, but there was nothing wrong with me because Phantom had already healed it.”

“Healed it…” Maddie stepped to the side and reached for Jack’s arm, found it already rising to wrap around her shoulders. “A concussion. Phantom healed…your concussion?”

“Yes ,” Danny said, rolling his eyes. “He felt bad because it was partly his fault. He crashed into me when the other ghost smacked him out of the air.”

“Guilt wouldn’t have been enough,” Maddie reminded him. No, the Ghost Boy would have needed a stronger emotional response than mere guilt. And it had been her son he had made that emotional connection with. “Jack…” 

She only needed to look up at her husband and he understood. “On it, Mads!” He released her shoulders and ran toward the basement. “No spook is gonna contaminate my son!”

Danny groaned. “He didn’t contaminate me!”

“Better safe than sorry, Danny.” Maddie sat in her vacated seat at the kitchen table and flipped over the blueprints so she had a clear surface to write on. “Do you remember what it felt like? Did it hurt? How much? Explain it as best you can.”

Danny crossed his arms over his chest. “Why? So you can trick me into incriminating him?”

“This is a new power we’re witnessing, Danny,” Maddie explained. “We need to learn as much about it as possible.”

“You just think he hurt me,” Danny accused.

Maddie pursed her lips. “He may not have done it intentionally,” she conceded reluctantly. “But…”

“But he’s a ghost, and you don’t trust ghosts.” 

“Sweetie…”

She reached for him, but Danny backed away. That rejection made her flinch back herself, pulling her hand toward her chest. There was a look in Danny’s eyes she hadn’t seen before. Frustration, yes. Some anger as well. But more than that, he looked…disappointed in her. He wasn’t only pulling away physically but emotionally too.

“What is it going to take for you to just…just…” Danny tipped his head back. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “You’ve never given him a chance. I don’t know why I thought I could…I’m so stupid…”

“Danny,” Maddie said softly, “please. What has gotten into you? You’ve never defended him like this before. How can I be sure he hasn’t done something?”

Danny looked down again. “He hasn’t.”

“But how do you know ?”

“Because I trust him!”

Maddie’s eyes narrowed. She had heard Danny admit he trusted Phantom last night, but it had lacked the conviction it held today. He had been surprised by his own words then as he was now, but he hadn’t been confident enough to shout them. 

“Trust doesn’t come from nowhere,” she said, speaking as much to herself as to Danny. “He has done something to earn it, hasn’t he?”

Danny pressed his lips together. His eyes darted toward the back door.

“Don’t even think about it, young man,” Maddie said sternly. She stood up from the table, ready for Danny’s next move. “You’ve been keeping secrets long enough, I think.”

Danny snorted. “You haven’t exactly given me much choice.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

Danny shrugged his shoulders and hugged his crossed arms closer to his chest. “How am I supposed to talk to you about…a ghost if you don’t want to listen? All you guys care about is hunting or experimenting on them.”

Maddie shook her head. “That’s because ghosts are dangerous , Danny.”

Danny snorted. “Right. Because you’re the expert on all things ghost related. Silly me. Should have remembered. You’ve never gone inside the Ghost Zone, but you know every single ghost among the billions that live there are as violent as the handful that attack our town. You’ve never really spoken to a ghost, but you know they’re all liars. You didn’t believe a ghost could empathize well enough to heal, but, oh, I guess that was just one more thing you thought you knew but actually didn’t .”

Maddie gaped at her son, stunned. 

“Face it, Mom! You and Dad know all the science behind how ghosts work, but you don’t know anything about why they behave as they do or what they’re capable of feeling or anything like that! You met an intelligent alien species and all you guys can think about is the best way to kill or exploit them! How was I supposed to talk to you about…about…meeting one…” 

The topic now back on Phantom, Danny’s speech faltered. He lowered his eyes, breaking the fiery gaze that had stunned Maddie into silence. She breathed in a shaky breath. She had no idea he was so passionate about their treatment of ghosts or that he had put so much thought into what it meant, opinions held back for who knew how long. If she didn’t step carefully…

Jack’s steps pounded up the stairs, much slower than when he had raced down them. Maddie glanced over her shoulder as he stepped into the kitchen again. She could see from his somber expression that he too had heard Danny’s words, and if he had been spared seeing the fire in Danny’s eyes, he had at least heard the pain in his voice.

“Danny,” Maddie said, speaking gently as she turned back to him. “Sweetie. How well do you know the Ghost Boy?”

Danny swallowed. He shifted on his feet, and his eyes tracked back toward the door. “Um, not…not that well?”

Maddie wanted to accept that. She wanted to, but…she didn’t. “Don’t lie to me, young man. A photographer caught him flying into your bedroom last week. You and Valerie both claim he protected you on Sunday, and when that mechanical ghost captured him, you were willing to follow him into the Ghost Zone. The Ghost Zone , Danny!”

“It was the right thing to do!” Danny objected. “After he protected me and helped Valerie defeat Skulker—I couldn’t just abandon him like that.”

“And I suppose shielding him from us was also the right thing to do?”

Traces of that fire returned to Danny’s eyes as he lifted his chin and stared defiantly at her. “Yes.”

No remorse. No hesitation.

Maddie’s grip tightened on her pencil. “It didn’t have anything to do with…personal feelings?”

The fire went out and Danny’s chin came down. He shifted on his feet, a small blush spreading across his cheeks. “Like, um, like specifically? What…feelings?”

Was she going to have to spell it out? “Are you two…” She took another deep breath before finishing, “ friends ?”

Whatever Danny had feared, apparently that wasn’t it because he released a small breath and allowed his shoulders to relax slightly. “Oh. Um, no? I don’t think so. I mean, we don’t hang out or anything…”

Maddie breathed her own sigh. That was some relief. She had feared…but, no, her son would never befriend a ghost. 

Whatever relief Maddie felt, however, it wasn’t felt by Jack. His hand landed on her shoulder and squeezed. He didn’t say anything about what had worried him, however. He beamed at Danny and crowed, “You just got a heightened sense of right and wrong, huh, Danny?”

Danny moved his gaze from Maddie to his father, wary and still a little tense. Slowly, as Jack’s proud expression held, Danny’s lips softened into a smile. “Right…”

Maddie frowned. “Jack?”

“He’s joining our ghost hunting team, isn’t he, Mads?” He gave Maddie’s shoulder a tiny shake, urging her to follow his lead. “If he’s got a problem with our methods, then we just have to adjust them. Can’t force him to take the shot if he doesn’t agree with it. Last time I tried to make him shoot Phantom, he threw himself clear out of the Specter Speeder!”

Jack barked a laugh, a sharp contrast to Danny’s cheeks flushing with color and Maddie’s jaw dropping in horror.

“Danny did what ?” Maddie exclaimed.

“That was an accident!” Danny protested. “I didn’t mean to!”

It had happened, though, which was why Jack had warned her. She bit her lip and shifted in her seat, leaning into Jack’s hand. 

Jack chortled a few seconds longer before he wiped a fake tear from his eye. "We're listening, son. Your mother and I can discuss changing our approach while you’re at school."

Danny looked between them, uncertain. "You can? You will?"

Maddie bit down harder on her lip.

"Of course!" Jack cheered. "You make a good argument, Danny! We've been scratching our heads over this ghost for two years now—maybe it's time we try something different!"

Danny continued to stare at them a while longer before he allowed his arms and shoulders to fully relax—dropping a guard Maddie hadn’t realized was there. A small smile spread across Danny's lips, brightening his whole face like the sun emerging from behind a cloud.

"Okay," he said, his tone bright, his voice quiet. "Cool."

"For now, though..." Jack lifted one of their inventions. Maddie had hoped Jack would grab the Ghost Catcher—better safe than sorry—but the invention in Jack's hand was one of their older designs, the Fenton Finder.

Danny eyed it with the same wariness he treated all their inventions, but he didn't flinch away when Jack switched it on. The machine began its usual humming and beeping as it searched for ghosts. Jack pointed it at Danny, and Maddie waited for the machine to pick up the ghost energy that had surrounded Danny ever since the accident.

Nothing happened.

The Fenton Finder continued to hum and beep periodically, all but ignoring Danny. Maddie stood and crowded against Jack, staring at the screen. Not only did it not detect traces of a foreign ecto-signature clinging to Danny, it also couldn't find Danny's unique signature at all.

"Huh," she murmured. "Strange..."

It had detected Danny just fine on Monday. They had yet to make another attempt at convincing it and their other inventions to ignore Danny, so truly, the lack of detection was odd because if nothing had changed about the machine, then something about Danny had .

"Perhaps Phantom removed the energy when he healed Danny?" Maddie suggested, thinking aloud.  "I'm not sure how...and it seems unlikely. It would have been too helpful of Phantom to have done so without a reason...Jack?"

Her husband shrugged. "Beats me!"

Maddie huffed.

"Alright, well." Danny backed away from them, still eyeing the Fenton Finder like he was afraid it would attack him. "I have to get to school, so...bye!"

He fled the kitchen, and Maddie barely had time to shout, "Don't forget! We're training with Valerie after school!" before the front door slammed shut. She sighed and dropped the hand she had raised. "That boy..."

"Aww, you can't blame him, Maddie." Jack switched off the Fenton Finder. "This is the first time one of our inventions hasn't insisted he's a ghost. He probably just doesn't feel safe around it."

"It's a passive device, Jack," Maddie objected. "It only detects ghosts, it doesn't attack them."

"No, that's what we do after it points us at the ghost!" He smiled, a far more subdued expression than his usual grin. "Heh. You don't think he's been afraid of us these past two years, do you, Mads?"

"Oh, Jack..." Maddie stood up on tip toes and kissed his cheek. "Of course not."

"It would just make sense, is all." Jack fiddled absently with the controls on the Fenton Finder, his lower lip pulled into a slight pout. "Why he's defending that ghost punk now. That whole..." He wrinkled his nose, "empathy thing. With Danny understanding how Phantom feels about being hunted. Or hated. Whatever it was."

Maddie sighed. "He really struck you with that, didn't he?"

Jack sniffed and shrugged his shoulders. "'Course not! Everyone knows ghosts aren't real people."

The blatant denial did nothing to reassure Maddie. "We can look into it, Jack," she said softly.

"It's a stupid idea," he muttered. "Probably won't find anything."

"Of course not," Maddie agreed. "But it will make Danny—" and Jack, now that Danny had made him doubt "—feel better in the end."

Jack nodded, looking a little mulish and frustrated with himself.

"Is that what made you worried earlier? When Danny said he wasn't friends with Phantom?" Maddie frowned, remembering the sudden way Jack had squeezed her shoulder. "You think he was lying about that?"

"Oh." Jack lifted his head and stared thoughtfully at the living room, the direction Danny had fled earlier. He shook himself all over and forced a grin on his face. "Nah! It was probably nothing."

"Jack," Maddie said slowly, pointedly, "you and I both know how certain, ah, social nuisances fly over your head—"

Jack muttered unhappily under his breath about people making things needlessly complicated.

"—but I trust your instincts." She hesitated, thought back on a number of occasions where Jack had believed to the depths of his soul that their childrens' vice principal was a ghost, among others, and quickly amended, "Most of the time."

Jack made a face and scratched at his neck. "I dunno, Mads...I thought for sure Danny was dating that Goth girl, and you saw how wrong I was there."

Maddie smiled, more than a little smug. She had been the one to warn Jack he was letting their own past as best friends alter his perception of Danny's and Sam's friendship. 

"Oh, but, Jack, you've never been great at romance," she said, affectionately touching his cheek. Dare she mention the missed anniversaries? No, better not. Jack had been trying to do better. "But this isn't about romance, it's about that pesky ghost!"

Jack turned his head to look at her. His wide blue eyes met hers, held them for several long seconds. Slowly, Maddie slid her hand from his cheek. There was something in his eyes, his expression...

"No," Maddie breathed, "you can't be suggesting—Danny would never—with the Ghost Boy ?"

"Well..."

Maddie laughed. "Oh, Jack, honey, you can't be serious!”

“Because he’s a ghost?” 

“Because Danny has a wonderful girlfriend! She is beautiful, an amazing fighter, and she flies around on a jet sled! Why would Danny give all that up for some troublemaker who—"

“Healed him?” Jack interrupted. “Has all those super cool powers? He flies and fights ghosts too! I can’t say that he’s beautiful…but all the other kids Danny’s age seem weirdly smitten with him, so there must be something about his appearance that attracts them. Maybe it’s a ghost thing...”

Maddie laughed again. “Jack, do you hear yourself? You sound like you’re advocating for Danny to have a crush on the Ghost Kid!”

“Only because you laughed at me!”

“I’m not laughing at you —”

Jack grumbled, “Are too…”

“—I’m laughing at the idea that Danny could be attracted to someone who…who…”

Who, in Danny’s eyes, was like a hero in truth? He had all but admitted it. 

“Okay,” Maddie said, hesitating, “well maybe…”

Phantom had been getting closer to Danny lately. Danny had been getting more defensive. Danny had stood against Maddie to defend Phantom, and had even looked and sounded hurt by her rejection of him. 

If they weren’t friends, then what were they to each other? What else but friendship or love could cause their son to turn against them?

“But…but Danny doesn’t like boys,” Maddie objected weakly. “He would have told us. Even if the boy he liked was…a ghost…boy…” 

She looked at Jack, but while his eyebrows had risen in concern, his expression hadn’t changed much. Danny had been keeping secrets from them for a while. What was one more about his sexuality? She couldn’t even be upset with him for hiding it, not if her own passion about hunting ghosts had forced him to keep it quiet. 

Ghost or boy, the heart wanted what it wanted, and if Danny’s heart wanted the infamous Danny Phantom…?

Oh, but she needed to sit down .

Maddie reached blindly behind her until her hand could hook on the chair and pull it toward her. She collapsed onto the seat. 

Jack, sweet, wonderful Jack, knelt beside her and stroked a hand up and down her back. “It’s just a hunch, Mads. It’s not like I have any evidence.” He grinned, flashing all of his teeth so he looked as goofy as possible. “And you know me! Always jumping at ghosts!”

It was easier to smile with Jack looking at her like that, but it still felt a little forced. “You do jump to conclusions a lot.”

“Heh!” Jack scratched his nose and lessened his grin into a smile. “I’m probably wrong this time too.”

“What made you think of it?”

“Oh.” Jack shrugged. “A few things here and there…plus that blush of Danny’s.”

Maddie frowned. “There are many reasons someone could blush.”

“Yeah, I know…it just struck me all of a sudden when I saw it. Like puzzle pieces coming together!”

“You hate puzzles.”

Jack sniffed. “Can’t say I’m liking this one much either.”

Maddie smiled. She leaned forward and kissed Jack’s forehead. “Your brilliant mind gave us this warning. Hopefully you're wrong, but now we know to keep our eyes open, just in case.”

Jack beamed at her, reacting as much to the praise as the affection in her voice, she was sure. “Don’t forget, Danny has a girlfriend! So long as he's with Valerie, there's nothing to worry about. We raised him better than that. And besides! Maybe Danny developed a crush on that ghost punk like so many of those other kids, but that doesn't mean Phantom feels the same way." He paused, his face taking on that sad, thoughtful expression from before. "Assuming a ghost could love in the first place…do you think…?"

Ah, the moral dilemma again…Maddie sighed and waved a dismissive hand. “Of course not. What ghost could put another’s happiness before whatever it is they want? Besides, we have yet to prove that ghosts can feel more than we thought.”

Jack smiled, but his eyes wouldn’t meet hers. He taped his fingers against his knees for several long seconds and didn’t say anything. Finally, “Did I mention Phantom caught Danny after he threw himself out of the Specter Speeder?”

“No,” Maddie said hesitantly, “but I’m not sure what that has to do with anything? Catching people who are falling is something Phantom is known for. It’s one reason so many people in the city have been fooled into believing he’s a hero.”

Jack’s eyes flashed to hers and then away again. 

Maddie sighed sadly. She wrapped her arms around his head and hugged him to her chest. “Oh, Jack…”

---

Fenton leaned his shoulder against the stop sign at his bus stop and frowned down at the sidewalk. He had accomplished his goal of making his parents reconsider their stance against Phantom, but something seemed…off. Jack had given in way too soon.

...Hadn’t he?

Fenton taped the toe of his sneakers against the pavement and sighed. "Stupid," he muttered. He taped his sneaker one more time and then slid the sole over the pavement. "You're just trying not to think about the other thing..."

Phantom's sad, guilty expression...the way he had looked at Fenton as if one word from Fenton could make the pain go away...

Fenton bit his lip. He knew why to some degree now, but he still didn't understand. Perhaps Phantom hadn't handled the fight well, perhaps he had provoked...something, but so what? Accidents happened, ghosts were hard to predict. It was always upsetting, but Fenton didn't blame Phantom for it. And beside, as Harriet Chin had pointed out, they had never actually stayed to comfort anyone after a ghost attack. It was too dangerous for their identity.

But Phantom had. He had called 911, healed the man, and stayed with him until someone arrived to help.

Even the paramedics had seen it. Even Tiffany Snow. She had summarized it in one sentence.

Phantom was becoming a better hero.

He was starting to put lives first, he was doing something he and Fenton as one person had never been able to do. And yet he had still looked so small staring up at Fenton. Could he not see it? Did he really think he wasn't as good if not better than Fenton? Their combined self?

Fenton saw it. What was more, he knew where Phantom had started, how big a deal this was for someone who had once refused to fight a ghost because they had a date. If Phantom didn't understand how he had been a hero last night...should Fenton say something?

Fenton crossed his arms over his chest, hugging himself tight.

Phantom had crossed their distance rule yesterday to heal Fenton, it seemed only fair Fenton should repay the favor now that Phantom was the one hurt, and yet...

The growling purr of the bus approached him from behind. Reluctantly, Fenton stood from the stop sign and turned to face it. At least Tucker would be on the bus. Fenton could maybe get his advice on what to do. He and Phantom used to lean on their friends a lot, and while Sam and Tucker weren't always able to understand, they were usually great at cheering them up.

Maybe that's what Phantom needs, Fenton thought as he climbed the steps onto the bus. Maybe I can take his mind off—no, fuck. Distance, remember, Fenton? We can't see each other .

How was he going to help if he couldn't see him, though?

He was so distracted by the dilemma he didn't realize anything was off until he was walking down the aisle toward his and Tucker's usual seat. He froze, one hand gripping the strap of his backpack as the near silence of the crowded bus registered in his mind. Slowly, he raised his gaze from the floor.

Aside from one or two groups who were whispering and huddled around their phones, the occupants of the bus stared back at him. Watching.

Like yesterday after lunch, Fenton thought, his face flushing, but so, so much worse…

Whatever rumors regarding him and Phantom had started at lunch must have become more widespread overnight. Before, it had largely been limited to his grade and under, but now even seniors were staring at him.

"Sit down, kid!" the bus driver barked.

Fenton jumped and raced down the aisle. Tucker was watching him too, the only welcome face in a crowd of judging stares, but he seemed to be torn between the same concern Fenton was feeling and a desire to grin. Fenton spun into his seat, tripped, and fell against Tucker's side. The laugh burst from his friend, and Fenton sank against him until his head was level with Tucker's shoulder. He pulled up the hood of his hoodie and yanked the strings taut, hiding all but his nose and mouth.

"What the hell?" he squeaked.

Tucker continued laughing as the bus finally began moving again.

Fenton punched his thigh.

"Ow!" Tucker shifted his leg away so it was no longer pressed against Fenton's. "Danny, it's fine, okay? Calm down. It's just rumors."

"Just rumors," Fenton muttered darkly, not reassured. "Sure. Yeah. Nothing to be worried about. Rumors aren't dangerous at all when you have secrets. I should have realized."

Tucker snorted. "Grumpy today, aren't we?"

"I wouldn't call this a good morning, so yeah," Fenton grumbled.

"If it makes you feel any better," Tucker said, nudging his arm against Fenton's shoulder, "it's a stupid rumor. I can show you what they're talking about if you want. It's probably a good idea, you're gonna want to know so you don't make things worse."

Fenton felt Tucker moving against his side. He sat up a little and cautiously pulled his hood open so he could see what Tucker was doing. Pulling out his cell phone, as it happened.

His cell phone...

Fenton opened his mouth and then froze as he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked to his right and found the people in the seats around them staring at Fenton and leaning closer as if they were eager to be part of a conversation.

Fenton made a rough noise in the middle of his throat and pressed his back against Tucker's side, his backpack caught between them.

"Hey," the guy directly across the aisle from Fenton's seat said, "is it true?"

"Is what?" Fenton stuttered.

"You know Phantom?" one of the girls asked, her eyes wide.

Air left Fenton's lungs in a choppy, coughing noise. They had asked him that yesterday too. His answer should be the same today, right? Deny, deny, deny...

"Of course not!" he said, his voice a little too high. "Why would I? Ghosts are...I mean, my parents are...um...we don't get along, y'know? Family of ghost hunters and...everything."

Frowns. Lots of frowns. They didn't look convinced. There was even one guy in the seat ahead of Fenton that raised a skeptical eyebrow. A girl behind him sighed sadly.

"Dude," the guy beside Fenton said, "don't freak out or anything, but seriously. I think Phantom likes you."

Fenton forced a shaky smile. Deny, deny, deny... "Sorry if it seems that way, but we're not really friends, so—"

"Not like as in friends , clueless," the girl behind him groaned. "Like as in: are you sure he hasn't tried to kiss you yet?"

Fenton's mouth dropped open. His face burned so hot he felt light-headed. "I—I—"

They had used Tucker's and Sam's old nickname for him too...

"No!" Fenton gasped. "He—kissed—he—what? No! I mean, why would— Tucker !"

Someone whistled. "Wow, look at that blush..."

"Okay, guys!" Tucker snapped. He stood up, and Fenton quickly scooted into his spot against the window. It was a little awkward squeezing around each other, but in the end, Fenton could huddle against the window while Tucker took the aisle seat. "Let him get caught up on what's going on before you start interrogating him for answers."

Tucker passed Fenton his phone, and Fenton, desperate to look busy, focused immediately on the screen. Tucker had pulled up a cool-looking forum site, but before he could appreciate the design choice too much, he read the title of the topic Tucker had chosen.

'Phantom and Fenton: what's the connection?'

Fenton pinched his eyes closed, clenched his jaw, and tried to smother the desire to scream.

The people around them protested, but Fenton ignored them, clutching Tucker's phone. It held the answer about what everyone was talking about, but it was more than that.

He leaned closer to Tucker and whispered in his ear, "Can I text…you know?"

Tucker raised an eyebrow but nodded his permission.

Sighing in relief, Fenton fell against the window again. He minimized Tucker's browser and then selected the messaging icon. He hesitated a moment, but all he had to do was close his eyes for the image of Phantom to hit him, the memory of his sad expression and shrunken posture strengthening his resolve.

Texting him would allow Fenton to obey the letter of their distance rule if not the spirit of it...

But what to say?

Fenton chewed on his lip. Finally, he typed, I saw the news, I know what happened. You woke me up for a reason. Let me help you. -Fenton

He quickly pressed send and then allowed himself to breathe in. Now he just had to wait for a reply, and while he waited...he grimaced and pulled up Tucker's browser again.

It was time to find out what people had been saying about them...

Chapter Text

---

"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." -Victor Borge

---

"In fact, if they're not hiding a secret relationship, I bet actual money Phantom wants to date Fenton."

Fenton paced in front of a picnic table outside the school, too agitated to sit calmly on a bench like Sam and Tucker. Several minutes had passed since he read that line, he was no longer on the bus, surrounded by teenagers watching his every expression, but the fluttering sensation in his stomach had yet to abate, his thoughts spiraling and spilling and tripping over what others were speculating about him and Phantom.

"...if they're not hiding a secret relationship, I bet actual money Phantom wants to date Fenton."

What was he going to do? He couldn't hide outside all day, but inside the school there were people talking about him, judging his worth and his actions, his appearance, his stance, his every word...

"I can't go in there," he said for what had to be the tenth time. "I can't, I can't..."

"You have to," Sam said. "The bell rings in, like, fifteen minutes."

In contrast to Fenton's panic, she sounded bored and a little frustrated. No surprise, given that her Mom had driven her to school. Her patience had already been exhausted. Sam adjusted her leg on the bench, the wrapped portion of her ankle clearly visible above the softer shoe the nurse and her parents had forced her to wear in place of her combat boots. Fenton glanced at the injury and then away again quickly, not wanting to add his confusion over Phantom's healing ability to the stress pile.

"I could pretend to be sick?" Fenton wrapped his arms around his middle. "Oh, you know what actually, I think I might just throw up..."

"That's just the anxiety talking, dude," Tucker said lightly. Unlike Sam, he had given up watching Fenton. He had laid his phone on the table and was scrolling through Paulina's website, apparently amused given his half smile. "You'll feel better once you start seeing the funny side of things."

"What funny side?" Fenton spun away from the trees blocking the outside dining area from the bus entrance and began pacing toward Sam and Tucker again. "Like when Paulina wrings my neck for allegedly stealing her crush? That funny side? Or what about when Valerie accuses me of cheating on her with a ghost? Or, or what about when Dash, like, beats me up and shoves me into a locker?" He reached the far end of the picnic table, turned, and paced toward the trees. "You saw how he was yesterday, and that was when everyone just thought Phantom and I might be friends! Now they think he—that I—that he and I—we—"

"...I bet actual money Phantom wants to date Fenton."

Fenton groaned and shoved both hands through his hair.

"Actually, everyone seems to think the attraction is one-sided at the moment," Tucker said, still scrolling through his phone. "The ones who have a crush on you—ghost you, I mean—absolutely hate the idea and are acting upset on your behalf. His behalf. Whatever. But then you got the guys who are having a blast trolling them. And some are just theorizing on what's really going on between you and your ghost half."

"Nothing!" Fenton looked at his friends, his fingers pulling at his hair, but as soon as Sam met his eyes, he quickly looked away again, afraid she might see the lie. "Nothing at all!"

"Yeah, duh," Sam said. Still bored. Still irritated. "You don't have to convince us, Danny, we know you, remember?"

"Yeah, man," Tucker added, "you can relax around us. We know the truth."

Fenton cringed. They really, really didn't.

"By the way," Tucker continued, "how far down did you read? You never said, you just shoved the phone back at me and tried to barricade yourself beneath your backpack."

Sam sighed. "Yeah, and, Danny, for the record, that sort of reaction is just going to throw more fuel onto the fire."

The same blush that had overtaken Fenton's face while reading the thread—particularly after that damn picture—inflamed his cheeks. Under his breath, he muttered, "Got as far as someone suggesting Phantom wanted to date me. Everyone was watching me on the bus. I just, I panicked, okay?"

Tucker finally looked up from his phone, but it was only to grin at Sam, reach across the table, and nudge her shoulder. "Wasn't that the part where you-know-who crashed into a tree?"

A small smile finally altered Sam's rigid expression.

"What?" Fenton looked between them. "Phantom?"

Sam's smile grew. "Yup."

Tucker snickered. "He was reading while flying last night. Next thing we know, he panics over the little d-a-t-e word, and then he's crashing into the tree above Sam!"

Just imagining suave, smoother-than-silk Phantom flying into a tree made Fenton smile, but the context behind why made his nerves flutter along his stomach all over again. Fenton knew what his own reaction had been—excitement, horror, something that might have been longing but was probably just...heartburn or...something—but what had Phantom felt? To such an extent he crashed into a tree?

"...Phantom wants to date Fenton."

Fenton shoved the thought, the last half of that stupid sentence, firmly into a Don't Think About It corner of his mind and proceeded to Not Think About It.

It might have even worked, had Sam not looked at Tucker with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Is it weird or normal that they both freaked out over the same thing?"

Fenton sucked in a breath. "Normal!" he shouted. Sam and Tucker gave him an odd look, and he added, "I mean...we're supposed to be the same person, right? So it's...it's normal?"

Tucker shrugged. "If you say so, man. Ghost-you seemed worried about what Valerie would think, but you're probably just embarrassed, right?"

Fenton bit his lip. He looked down and dragged his shoe over the grass, flattening the blades. "Yeah..."

"If you two would just merge back..." Sam said pointedly.

Fenton wrinkled his nose. Even if he was willing to go back on his word after texting Phantom yesterday, he couldn't do it now that Phantom was feeling so...insecure. "How would that fix anything? The whole thing started because someone caught us flying into our room last week, and that was back when we were still one person."

Tucker set his elbows on the table and leaned forward, his gaze suddenly intense. "'Us'? 'Us' flying into 'our' room?"

"Uh...yeah?" Fenton crossed his arms and eyed Tucker warily. "Like, me and Phantom when we were one?" Although Fenton didn't say 'Duh', his tone clearly implied it, and Tucker responded by sticking out his tongue.

Unwilling to get pulled into an immature fight, Sam continued Tucker's point by asking, "Why 'us' and not 'me'?"

Fenton rolled his eyes. "Why would I say 'me' when we were both there?"

"Because you weren't both—" Sam paused, hesitating. She made a face and lifted a finger. "Wait, hold on, it's tricky to wrap my head around, but you two weren't there together." Fenton opened his mouth, and she quickly added, "Not like you are now!"

Fenton frowned. "Yeah? So? I just said this was back when we were one person."

"Ah-ha!" Tucker cried, triumphant. "One person! 'Us' is plural!"

Fenton stared at him blankly. "Yeah...because Phantom and I were there, together, as one person."

Tucker held his mouth open, finger pointed upward, for several seconds before dropping his head onto the picnic table. "Sam...Sam, I give up. We can't fight stubborn."

"What's the big deal, anyway?" Fenton demanded. "It's just a word."

Sam sighed. "Because your ghost half said—" Tucker's phone chimed its text message notification, and Fenton's eyes zeroed in on where it lay on the table "—he was having trouble remembering things from your past, like his memories are being distorted or something. He spoke like you two were still separate even when you were one whole Danny."

"Oh." Heart leaping, Fenton watched as Tucker picked up his phone and swiped it awake. "That's weird...Tucker?" Fenton uncrossed his arms and moved toward the table, only to stop after only a couple steps. "Is it Phantom? What did he say?"

"Were you even listening to me?" Sam demanded. "This could be really bad!"

Fenton allowed his gaze to drift to Sam, to take in her frustrated expression, but... "Why does it matter if we're just going to merge again on Friday?"

"Because the same thing could be happening to you. This could be the whole reason the merge didn't work correctly the last time!"

"Maybe," Fenton conceded, though he didn't see how something as vague and unreliable as memories could cause them so much trouble. His gaze slid back to Tucker. "There's a lot of things it could have been, though, and right now Phantom might need our help, so can we focus on that? He was really upset this morning."

Sam blew out a frustrated puff of air.

"Upset?" Tucker asked. "Are you sure? His message just says 'I was only shaken. I'm fine now, I'm sorry I disturbed you. Focus on school and Valerie'. So whatever it is, he must be over it now."

Fenton groaned. "He's just playing it off. Did you guys see the news?" They shook their heads. "Well, a fight between Johnny and Phantom caused a car crash. The driver was seriously hurt, but because Phantom was able to heal him, he keeps insisting everything is fine and there's nothing wrong. But you guys should have seen him this morning!"

"Wait, he managed to heal someone?" Sam sat up straighter, losing her frustrated expression. "Someone other than you?"

"Yeah! But—" Fenton held up his hands, fingers spread, "—first thing's first, Phantom is really kicking himself over letting this guy get hurt in the first place. Trust me on this, he's not fine."

Tucker shrugged. "You would know better than anyone, I guess. It does sound like something you would do, though."

Fenton frowned. "Me?"

"Well, united you."

Sam huffed an odd laugh. Resigned but somehow...soft? "You always blame yourself when something goes wrong, Danny. That's part of what makes you a hero." She shook her head. "But don't worry, I know just the thing."

Sam pulled her own phone out of her backpack and pressed a number on speed dial.

Fenton's eyes widened. "No!" He ran toward the picnic table, hand outstretched, but Sam lifted her injured foot between them. Fenton froze, caught between his desire to snatch Sam's phone away from her and his unwillingness to hurt her ankle.

Sam raised an eyebrow and smirked. "No?"

"You can't—hang up!"

"I thought you wanted to help him?"

"I do but...Sam!"

Tucker watched them, his eyebrows lifted. "You know, this is a somewhat strange conversation when you think about it. Calling Danny when Danny's already here."

Fenton blew out a frustrated puff of air. "It's Phantom. I'm not supposed to be—" He winced. "We're supposed to be keeping our distance."

"Because of the rumor?"

"Um. Yes."

Tucker frowned.

Sam ended the call. "He didn't pick up anyway. Went straight to voice mail. I'll try again in a couple minutes. With all that flying, he probably didn't hear it go off."

Fenton sighed in relief.

Sam taped her shoe to his stomach before lowering it. "We have to talk to him in order to help him."

Fenton looked down and scuffed his shoe on the grass. "I know..."

How could he explain it? The thought of talking to Phantom over the phone caused the same amount of anxiety as walking into the school, only it was more...pleasant. An excited kind of anxiety. Like climbing into a roller coaster. Which was weird and frustrating and—

Fenton groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face.

"Look." Sam leaned forward. "We can't help you directly. Tuck and I have already learned how useless it is to even try."

Tucker sighed. "It's a pain in the butt to make you admit anything, dude."

"What we can do is give you—ghost-you—a different problem to focus on and solve. That will distract him from his own until enough distance has been placed between his emotions and what happened. After that, he should be able to face his problem without feeling so...overwhelmed."

Fenton looked at her from beneath his fringe of black hair, considering her earnest expression. "You really think that will work?"

"It worked in the past." A corner of her lips lifted in a smile. "It's working on you. Or haven't you noticed your worry moving away from the rumor and onto Phantom's wellbeing?"

Fenton opened his mouth, ready to protest he was still worried about what the other kids were saying, but...she was right. He was feeling less anxious than he had a few minutes ago. It wasn't so much that the problem had been resolved as he was able to look past it. For now.

He snapped his mouth shut.

Sam's smile grew. "We just need to get Phantom to help you through your problem while you help Phantom through his. Easy."

Easy.

Easy to talk to Phantom about people assuming they wanted to date? Easy to talk to Phantom period when Fenton knew those rumors weren't that far off? Easy not to...feel things?

Fenton swallowed. Easy...

Reluctantly, he nodded. Sam picked up her phone and dialed Phantom's number again. As it rang, she set it on speaker, allowing Tucker and Fenton to listen as three rings passed without interruption. Fenton brushed his sweaty palms down his thighs and looked away from the phone. The trees were swaying in the light breeze, their leaves rustling, but beyond them he could see another bus pulling into the circular path where buses were meant to drop off and pickup their riders.

He directed his gaze down at his shoes instead.

On the fifth ring, it cut off mid-tone, and Phantom's voice, breathless and a little hesitant, spoke through the speaker, "Hello? Sam?"

Fenton bit down hard on his lip.

Without preamble, Sam said, "Your human half read up on what people have been saying about you guys online, and now he's panicking and refusing to go inside the school. You need to talk to him before he has a heart attack."

"Or throws up!" Tucker tacked on, leaning over the table toward Sam in order to be heard.

"You don't have to tell him that!" Fenton objected.

"Fenton?"

Fenton glared at his friends, resentful that they would put him in that position so quickly, but their expressions were entirely unrepentant. Fenton sighed and held out his hand. If he was going to make himself vulnerable to the one person it would matter to the most, he wasn't going to do it with an audience.

Sam hesitated, apparently surprised by the request, but it was an understandable one—and largely a problem solely between Fenton and Phantom—so she handed the phone over. Tucker made a sound of dissatisfaction. Fenton ignored them both and took the phone off speaker before pressing it to his ear.

"Phantom, I..." He hesitated. How was he supposed to continue? He met Sam's and Tucker's eyes a moment before spinning on his heel and walking toward the school, out of their earshot. He didn't want to go inside the cafeteria, but the wall to the right of the stairs leading into the cafeteria felt promising. Something, anything to put his back against.

"...Did Tucker or Sam make jokes about it?" Phantom asked, forced to guess. "I had asked them not to, but—"

"They didn't," Fenton said quickly. "Well, Tucker was sort of laughing about it on the bus this morning, and he keeps telling me to look at the funny side of things, but that's about it."

"I suppose that is the best we can hope for, considering they don't know about...us."

Fenton pinched his eyes closed, feeling his face flush. "There is no us."

"Yes," Phantom agreed easily. "There is only...me. Correct?"

The blush worsened, heating Fenton's cheeks unbearably. "Yes."

"Yes..."

The conversation paused there, Fenton unwilling to continue and Phantom apparently waiting for him to add something. Fenton used the silence to cross the last few steps toward the school and then pressed his burning face to the rough brickwork beside the doors, desperate for the stone's cold touch.

"Fenton, I—" Phantom sighed. He must have changed his mind about whatever else he was about to say because his tone changed, becoming firmer, more serious as he asked, "Are the rumors disturbing you because they're true?"

Fenton pressed his forehead harder against the bricks, unmindful of the slight sting. It's to help him, he reminded himself. You can do this to help him, can't you?

Aloud, he said, "They're not true."

"They are more true than not."

Fenton groaned. He couldn't argue with that. "I...I saw the picture. From the cafeteria yesterday. When I had a concussion and you were leaning over me."

Phantom didn't respond right away, and Fenton wondered if he was as embarrassed as he himself would have been. Phantom's emotions were on display to so many people—and, in particular, to the one they were for. Fenton had been so out of it at the time he hadn't even noticed how desperate Phantom had looked once he got his sight back. It was only through the photo that he saw himself and Phantom from a distance that he had pieced together what had apparently been so obvious to everyone else.

Phantom hadn't even looked at Valerie when she landed on the ground beside them. His eyes had never strayed from Fenton. Why had that little detail escaped him until now?

Finally, Phantom said, "You were hurt. I will not...I can't make myself not feel, Fenton. No matter how much distance we place between us."

Fenton lifted his head from the bricks and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I know. But how am I supposed to go in there and lie about you having—" He coughed. "About you...having...a...a—"

"Crush."

"On..."

"You."

"Me." Fenton bit down hard on his lip, stealing a moment to himself, before continuing in a rush, "I can't lie! You know how bad I am at it! I'm getting better, but I can't lie to the whole school!"

"Then don't," Phantom suggested.

Fenton blinked his eyes open. "What?"

"The more you try to hide it, the more people are going to dig. They will keep digging, gaining interest from others in the process, until they manage to trip you up. So don't lie."

"Don't lie? But..."

"You said it yourself. You are terrible at lying, everyone will know the moment you try, so spare yourself the anxiety and admit the truth. I have a crush on you. You found out on Sunday. No, you don't know how to feel about it, but you're dating Valerie so your plan is to avoid me until I give it up."

"But," Fenton protested weakly, "but they'll ask questions like how I found out or how long I've known you. Stuff like that."

"You can admit I kissed you on Sunday morning if you feel brave enough. Say your dad barged into your room before you could react. As for the others, you can avoid answering them. You might struggle to lie, but you're good at avoidance." In a quieter voice, Phantom added, "Unfortunately..."

"What about Tucker and Sam?"

"They are ready to accept it as a joke. If you appear to be playing along, they'll fall for it. The truth is so fantastical to them they won't believe a word."

"And Valerie?"

Phantom didn't appear to have a ready response for that one.

"If she hears you kissed me," Fenton continued, "she's going to be pissed."

"Perhaps that would be for the best...I need to talk to you about her, but that can wait. Remember, she is close to our other secret. Perhaps this will throw her off our trail." His voice turned wry. "After all, who would ever believe we could be both the same person and yet crushing on each other..."

Apprehensive, Fenton shifted on his feet. "You're the only one crushing."

"My point still stands. It will take the pressure off you and send her and the others to me, where I can avoid giving a straight answer. Over time, they will start to think you were lying and that there was never any truth to the rumors, aided in part by Sam and Tucker's clear amusement over the whole thing. Sound like a plan?"

"Yes," Fenton said, reluctant. He didn't want to admit any part of the truth, but if Phantom said it would work... "How were you able to come up with this so fast?"

"It is only fast for you. I found out about the website and the rumors last night and came up with this plan while patrolling. I was going to share it with you this morning—" Phantom cut himself off. After an awkward pause, he cleared his throat. "Does that help? Is that all you needed?"

Fenton chewed on the inside of his cheek as he stared intently at the wall. He wanted to say yes, to end the phone call and focus on the plan that Phantom had made, but something still wasn't right. The distraction Sam had said would happen hadn't manifested. Fenton could still hear defeat in Phantom's voice. He hadn't even teased Fenton about the crush or flirted with him.

If Phantom had planned everything out overnight, then he wasn't actively engaged in solving Fenton's problem. The question was too easy, the answer little more than a response Phantom could give by route.

Fenton needed to admit a deeper truth.

He sucked in a deep breath. "No."

After a pause, Phantom repeated, "No?"

Already, in that one word response, Fenton could hear Phantom's concern and attention refocusing on him. He closed his eyes and willed himself not to shake from nerves, his heart and stomach leaping. "It helps, it's going to keep me from looking like such an idiot when people start asking me about you, but that isn't what I...they're just questions. I could have ignored them. That's not why I cant go in there."

"Alright," Phantom said, his tone turning gentle. Encouraging. "Then what is the problem? What has you so scared?"

"It's—" Fenton swallowed and pushed a hand into his hair. "Phantom, it's just like the thing with Valerie!"

Confused, Phantom said, "I don't follow..."

"The thing that started this whole...mess!" Fenton pushed away from the wall and began walking in a tight circle, back and forth, too agitated to stand still any longer. "When the whole school found out we were bad at kissing because Valerie told Starr. The bullying got worse, everyone started making fun of us, we couldn't go into a classroom without someone shouting a joke at us, you were afraid Valerie would break up with us because of it, and then one of us—probably you because of course it would be you—got the fan-fucking-tastic idea of splitting ourselves so we could figure it out in private. Now I'm fucking back to where we started!"

"Oh..."

Fenton tripped but caught himself without breaking stride. "Phantom, I can't go in there!"

"They won't be making fun of you this time," Phantom said. He tried to sound calm, but Fenton could hear the higher pitch in his voice, the quickened pace of his words, so at least he understood Fenton's fear and was empathizing with it. "The possibility of my crush will give you status. It will be like when we dated Paulina. Well...Kitty overshadowing Paulina, but Paulina as far as the others knew."

"But we're not dating and nothing is confirmed. Hell, they're still fighting about it online! Maybe some will believe you like me, but others are going to be, like, aggressive about proving it's not true. They're going to be looking for reasons I'm not good enough. For you." Fenton pressed the heel of his palm into his forehead, grimacing as if he was in pain. "They'll be like, 'Oh, there goes Danny Fenton. He's always wearing baggy clothes because his body is so twiggy. Ha! He just tripped over thin air. Look how clumsy he is'!"

"Fenton..."

"Someone is bound to bring up the whole kissing thing again too! Despite everything we've gone through, we never resolved that." Fenton stopped walking to bang his forehead against the brick wall. "Fuck! Damn it! I'm going to be the laughing stock of the whole school again, but this time I'll have to face it alone without any of your confidence. If we had just come out the Ghost Catcher the right way, you could be leading the whole school around in circles and I could be protecting the town!"

Phantom didn't respond, allowing Fenton's words to sink in as he thought. Fenton lifted his hand and saw that it was shaking. He bit his lip. Lowering his hand, he turned until his could brace his back against the school wall. He stared out across the field. To the left of the picnic area, the trees separated them from the buses, but straight ahead was the football field where Phantom and Valerie had fought the behemoth yesterday.

It could have been him. Fenton would have fought the ghost the moment it appeared. He could have dealt with it outside and Phantom could have swept Valerie off her feet the way he clearly wanted to inside. Everything would have worked out better if they had just…not been who they were.

"I am strong where you're weak," Phantom said, "but so are you when it comes to my weakness. If we had split the way we intended, we would still be weak in those areas. We would have no reason to grow beyond what we knew. By seeking each other out, we are making ourselves stronger, don't you see?"

Fenton blew out a puff of air. There was something in Phantom's voice. Something a little like... "You just got a romantic kick out of that, didn't you? Over us being like a balance and being stronger together."

"I—" Phantom coughed and cleared his throat. "I, uh, yes. Perhaps."

Fenton laughed. It was feeble, little more than a "ha ha ha" sound, but it was his first laugh all day. Less because Phantom taking a romantic meaning from their duality was funny and more because his suave other half sounded as though he had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

To his surprise, Phantom responded with his own laugh. It was just as brief as Fenton's, but there was a brightness to it, as if the joy had been pulled out of Phantom without his conscious consent. "It is an inherently romantic notion, Fenton. Don't you remember the phrase 'opposites attract'?"

Fenton scuffed his shoe across the grass until the heel lightly impacted the wall. "I doubt anyone else is going to see it that way. No one actually wants the hero to be interested in the school loser." He thought about it a moment, then amended, "Unless they are the chosen."

"Not everyone in that school wants to watch you fail, Fenton," Phantom reminded him, his calm, somewhat brightened voice at odds with Fenton's anxiety. Fenton found himself leaning into it, closing his eyes and blocking out other sounds like the airplane passing overhead. "There will be some on your side, such as those who want to know I'm of the gay community. Sam and Tucker especially."

"Sam and Tucker are only on my side so long as they don't realize the truth." Fenton lifted his chin and pressed the crown of his head against the wall, his hair catching on the rough brickwork. "As soon as they realize I'm not lying, they'll turn on me like the others. They don't want you to like me any more than the others do, even if it's for different reasons."

"Ahh..."

"And maybe there are people who want it to be true, but how will that be any better? They're the ones who are going to be asking me questions. They're going to be watching me just as much as the others. If I admit you do like me, they're going to pressure me to reciprocate because it's..." Fenton wrinkled his nose. "...romantic. Or something. My sexuality is going to be brought up, and I—" He pinched his eyes shut.

"And you're not ready," Phantom finished for him.

"Not when it's this visible." Fenton blew out a breath. "Phantom, however you feel about it, I hate the spotlight. I'm not any good at it."

"You're too genuine," Phantom agreed.

Fenton sighed and slouched his shoulders. "Exactly..."

"No, you misunderstand, I meant it as a compliment. It is something I admire about you."

Fenton opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but his cheeks had flushed and his thoughts felt...scrambled. He snapped his mouth shut.

"As for being the center of attention...perhaps people will be looking for your faults, but it is in pursuit of deciding why I couldn't possibly fall for you, correct?"

"Crush," Fenton muttered, unable and unwilling to speak louder. "No one's saying anything about falling in love or whatever."

"No," Phantom agreed, "they didn't because their knowledge is limited, but it is how I'm choosing to describe it."

Fenton lifted his hand to his face and scrubbed at his rapidly heating cheek. "Fuck, Phantom..."

It had been so smoothly delivered Fenton wouldn't have realized he was being flirted with if he hadn't been looking for it.

Phantom chuckled. "Too much?"

"Is admitting you're falling in love with yourself too much?" Fenton asked, incredulous. "Uh, yeah? I'd say so!"

"So would I, if I saw you as the other half of myself."

"Well, I am, so stop it."

"But, Fenton, it is because you were my other half that you have no reason to fear."

Fenton frowned. "How so?"

"Those who will be searching for your faults are doing so because they want to prove you're not worth my attention, but, Fenton," Phantom's voice softened, became more insistent, "we were melded two days ago, mind to mind. I know you. I know how your anxiety feels, I know how your stubbornness helps you stand your ground anyway. I know the heady rush of your anger and how it rises to defend others more than yourself. I know why your clumsiness manifests, how you feel so much all at once you can't help but second guess yourself. I know all of it.

"I already have an intimate knowledge of who and what you are as a person. There isn't anything they could point out that I don't already know about. They have already lost. I know all of it, and it hasn't changed anything. I have a crush on you regardless."

Fenton stared wide-eyed up at the sky, at the white clouds floating lazily overhead, and consciously forced himself to keep breathing.

"Then, of course, there are the things they don't know about. Like your bravery, your resourcefulness during battle, the way you have protected this town for years without any thanks or acknowledgment. We were joined at the time, but I wasn't the one who fought. Was I?"

Fenton made an odd noise, struggled a moment, before he managed, "No, but you were there too."

"True, but it wasn't Paulina who was on the battlefield with me, was it? Or Dash. It was you. We have a history, even if it is...a bit tangled. They don't know how it felt to be joined with you during some of our biggest fights. And, Fenton, you were..."

The smooth flow of Phantom's speech trailed off as he searched for a word. Wide-eyed and flushed to the roots of his hair, Fenton pulled the phone away from his ear, but he still heard Phantom's voice finish.

"...amazing."

Fenton hung up hurriedly. "Shit," he breathed.

About five seconds afterward, he realized how stupid that was and he fumbled two-handed with Sam's phone, trying to call him back. "Fuck. Damn it." He made a frustrated noise. "Why does he have to be so—"

Phantom's icon—or rather, their ghost form pre-separation—flashed on the screen as Phantom called him.

Fenton made a tight little noise in the back of his throat. He accepted the call and placed the phone against his ear again. Immediately, Phantom's rich laughter rolled through the speakers. Lively. Joyful. Nothing like the despondent air he had been under since he woke Fenton earlier that morning.

"Did you hang up on me?" Phantom asked, his voice bright and still rich with laughter.

"No!" Fenton denied, flustered. "It was, it, uh, cut off?"

Phantom laughed some more.

"Shut up," Fenton hissed.

"You're adorable, Fenton."

"I will hang up on you for real, I swear," Fenton threatened.

"Okay, okay, one more thing."

Fenton shifted on his feet and glanced down and to the side. "One more thing."

Phantom snickered a few more times. In a husky voice that instantly sent a jolt through Fenton's body, Phantom purred, "You're definitely not a bad kisser. They can no longer criticize you on that."

Fenton struggled to form a response for several long seconds before he blurted out, "Bye!"

He hung up and then lightly banged the back of his head against the brick wall, willing his face to cool and his heart to stop that. "Stupid, stupid...get a hold of yourself! He's just teasing you like always, you should be used to it by now."

Sam's text message notification went off. Warily, Fenton looked down at it and read, "I'm sorry!"

Fenton rolled his eyes. He texted back, "No you're not."

"I am a little bit. Please call me back. I'll stop. Promise."

Fenton stared down at the message, chewing on his bottom lip. Technically, he had accomplished his goal, hadn't he? Phantom was laughing again. He was acting like his old self, even if his flirting was more heavy-handed than usual. There was no longer any reason Fenton should reach past the distance they were meant to uphold now that Phantom's mood had been lifted.

No reason except...he wanted to.

Fenton called Phantom again. He must have been waiting for the call—hopeful or eager—because Phantom answered before the first ring had finished.

"Sorry, shouldn't have brought that up," Phantom admitted. "But it had to be said before someone tried to hurt you with our past failure."

Fenton pressed a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. "It was how you said it, you ass."

Phantom chuckled sheepishly.

"Look." Fenton placed a hand over his eyes and forehead. His skin felt hot. "The bell is about to ring. Can you wrap this up? I appreciate the confidence boost, but your opinion isn't going to stop them from making my life hell."

"It wasn't meant to, I was only hoping to fortify you against that hell. But..." Phantom's voice became hesitant, losing some of its confidence, "perhaps I could help you inside the school as well? If Sam lets you borrow her phone, you could text me updates on how things are going. I could offer advice if you run into a problem. I could help. I will help."

Fenton shifted on his feet and looked over his shoulder. Tucker and Sam were talking, the two of them bent over Tucker's phone on the table between them. "I don't think that's a good idea, Phantom. We're supposed to keep our distance." He turned away from his friends and braced his left shoulder against the school. "Besides, admit it, you just want to talk."

"Yes. Maybe. But it would help you out too, right?"

Fenton raised an eyebrow. "'Too'?"

"I know what you're doing, Fenton. You would not normally reveal so much to me. You made yourself vulnerable for my sake, didn't you?"

"Well, I..." Fenton winced, caught. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the sky. "You're not upset, are you?"

"No, quite the opposite. It is helping, but I'm not ready to let this good feeling go. Please, Fenton."

Fenton sighed. It would be nice to be able to reach Phantom if he started feeling stressed or things got out of hand. In fact, just thinking about heading into school with Phantom's support readily at hand made the anxiety squeezing his chest ease. Phantom's feelings for him were a problem, yes, but a more pleasant problem than being the center of attention without his help.

He pinched his eyes closed. "I'll ask her."

Phantom breathed out his own sigh, full of relief. "Thanks, Fenton."

"Yeah, just don't, uh, push things anymore, okay?"

"I'll try not to, but," his tone became sardonic, "I've been told it is in my nature as your other half to flirt uncontrollably."

Fenton tilted his head and peeked at Sam and Tucker from the corner of his eyes. He could guess who Phantom was referring to. "To be fair," he said cautiously, mindful as it sounded like a sore point for Phantom, "you have been flirting with me pretty much since we separated."

"We were meant to kiss, Fenton," Phantom protested. "It was warranted flirting."

Fenton snorted. "You just liked watching me squirm."

"Well...yeah, all right. That might have had something to do with it. Your reactions were—never mind, I probably shouldn't say."

"Probably shouldn't," Fenton agreed. "And I should probably go, so, um, bye?"

"Yes, bye, Fenton. Let me know what she says."

"Right." Fenton lowered the phone from his ear and ended the call. He slouched forward, shoulders curling inward until he could press his cheek against the rough brickwork. He made a rough noise in his throat and pressed a hand to his face. It still felt warm. He was still blushing, wasn't he?

Then again, he would probably be blushing throughout the day.

He turned away from the wall and began walking back to the picnic table Sam and Tucker sat at. His friends were no longer leaning over Tucker's phone. Instead, they were watching Fenton approach. Likely, they had been watching him for a while, possibly during at least part of his last conversation with Phantom. His steps faltered, but Tucker waved him over in a "hurry up" gesture.

As soon as he was within earshot of the table, Tucker called out, "Dude, man, you have got to get a hold of your reactions. If someone other than us had seen you talking to your other half just now, you'd have the whole school up in arms."

Fenton winced, his blush getting worse. "I—well, I—Phantom actually thinks I should play along, so that's fine, right?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Play along?"

"Like, uh, pretend they're right and figured us out." Fenton walked around the table and sat on the bench beside Tucker. "I guess I'm so bad at denying it, I'm just creating more interest by trying."

"Ha! I'll say!" Tucker held up his phone, grinning. "You got people going nuts online just over that whole bus thing."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Apparently, the only reason you would blush and stammer over their questions is if they were right and you're trying to hide something."

Fenton forced his lips into a weak smile.

"He's just shy, huh, Danny?" Tucker clapped Fenton on the shoulder and gave him a little shake. "It wasn't like it was any of their business anyway. If a guy had kissed Danny. You don't owe them anything, dude."

Touched but uncomfortable, Fenton bit his lip and ducked his head.

Fortunately, the bell rang before the conversation could continue. Tucker stood and moved around the table just as Sam used the table as leverage in an effort to push herself up without putting weight on her ankle. Seeing Tucker's intention, Fenton stood and followed him around to Sam's other side, and the two of them helped her stand. Once on her feet, she leaned more heavily on Tucker than Fenton, which, given his behavior so far that morning, was probably a good idea.

"So long as the two of you don't care about people making those kinds of assumptions," Sam continued as she limped toward the school, balanced by her grip on Tucker's arm, "I guess there's no reason to worry about that besotted smile of yours."

Fenton froze. Sam and Tucker continued walking toward the doors leading to the cafeteria, and after a moment of panic, Fenton jogged forward the two steps he had lost. "Excuse me, what? What smile?"

"Were you two talking about Valerie?" Tucker asked.

"A little bit, but what smile? When?" Fenton jogged ahead of his friends and turned to face them, walking backward. "I wasn't smiling."

"It was just a little one," Sam explained. "If it hadn't been for the blush and the soft look in your eyes, I never would have noticed. It was sweet."

Fenton felt his cheeks heating up all over again.

"The consequences of being shy, dude," Tucker said. He sighed mournfully. "All the girls are going to think you're cute. Again. What's it going to take to get noticed around here?!"

"If you want," Sam said with a wicked smirk, "we could ask ghost Danny to flirt with you in front of everybody. Maybe then you'll get the same attention as Danny."

"You can have it," Fenton muttered.

Tucker perked up. "Do you think he would?"

"Why not? He seems to enjoy flirting and he already admitted he found you attractive."

Fenton tripped but caught himself on the next step. "H-he, uh, he did?"

Sam's and Tucker's attention refocused on him, and there was something searching in their gaze, something that made Fenton want to hide.

Tucker opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Fenton hurriedly turned to Sam and said, "Phantom wants to know if I can borrow your phone so I can keep him updated on what's happening."

Sam looked down at the phone he still held in his hand, held out between them, and then slid her gaze up to meet Fenton's. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked. "People are going to assume you're texting him. Like I said, this rumor isn't going to go away if you keep throwing fuel on the fire."

Fenton bit his lip. That was true, but... "I don't know if I can get through this without his help."

"You got us!" Tucker pointed out.

Fenton forced a smile. Their support meant a lot, but he was lying to them. It wasn't the same thing.

Sam sighed. "Alright, fine. Just don't get it confiscated by the teachers and don't let Valerie see you texting someone else. Can't believe I'm saying this, but for the sake of your relationship, you need to be careful."

Fenton nodded enthusiastically. "I will. I will."

He looked down at the phone and quickly wrote up a text, letting Phantom know.

Right after he hit send, Sam hesitantly said, "Uh, Danny..."

Fenton looked up and met her eyes. Sam and Tucker had stopped walking. Now several feet away from them, Fenton did likewise, confused.

"Your ghost half," Sam continued, "he mentioned something last night about not being able to remember—"

Sam's phone vibrated in Fenton's hand, and he looked down. The text Phantom had sent in reply just said "Yes!" but Fenton could just imagine his other half's wide grin. Now that he was on the look-out for it, he felt his own lips stretching into a smile. He forced it away with a little shake of his head and looked up at Sam again.

"Yeah?" he urged when she didn't continue. "What doesn't Phantom remember?"

Sam hesitated.

Tucker nudged her with his shoulder. "Yeah, Sam. What doesn't he remember?"

Instead of answering, though, Sam shook her head. "No, don't worry about it, it's fine." She started walking, forcing Tucker to do the same. "It can wait."

They walked around Fenton. He stood in place, feeling as though he had missed something. But what? Something about Phantom? He sighed, turned, and trotted after his friends.

Whatever it was, if it was important, Sam would bring it up again later.

Chapter Text

 

"The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them." -Bernard M Baruch

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Twenty-two, Fenton counted as a boy moving down the hall looked away from his girlfriend and met Fenton's eyes. With the hand the boy had draped over the girl's shoulder, he pointed Fenton's way and whispered something in her ear. The girl looked over at Fenton, calculation in her eyes. Fenton swallowed. Twenty-three.

One good thing about waiting until the bell had already rung: the other students were too busy heading to class to do more than glance at Fenton as the trio pushed their way through the halls. The couple moved on without saying a word to him. All the same, Fenton's hands tightened on his backpack straps. He moved closer to Tucker's side.

Ahead of Fenton, a girl had closed her locker, but she watched Fenton and his friends walk down the hall instead of moving on herself. Another girl approached her, also looking at Fenton. Once they were close enough, the second girl whispered in the first girl's ear.

Twenty-four. Twenty-five.

The ones who watched from the sidelines were the worst, they made Fenton's skin crawl, but the ones who did a double-take as they passed him in the hallway held a special place in Fenton's hell. After all, most of the students in Casper High didn't know him. A lot of them would only know what he looked like through that damn photo. Every startled second glance meant they were seeing him for the first time…

…and that they were seeing him as Phantom's rumored crush, the one who was outing their local superhero as gay.

Twenty-six. Twenty-seven. Twenty-eight.

It wouldn't be a good first impression.

Fenton hadn't expected so much attention when he woke up that morning—he had simply thrown on some clothes, grabbed a hoodie that didn't smell, and made a passing attempt at taming his hair before racing downstairs to catch any news about Phantom on the kitchen TV. He hadn't even looked in the mirror.

Did he still have bags under his eyes? Was the hickey fully gone? Could they still see the yellowed edges near his collar? How was his hair? Fenton reached up and anxiously ran his fingers through it. He had been running his fingers through his hair more often as a nervous habit…was that making it look messier than normal?

There wasn't anything spectacular about him that their town hero should find attention-worthy, nothing that marked him as special now that he was fully human. He was just another slouched figure among many. He wasn't even attractive. He was sixteen, and yet Valerie was the only one who had ever seemed interested in him. Danny Fenton.

Well. Valerie and now Phantom. But. That was…

Different.

A senior Fenton only knew by reputation after she had come out as a lesbian the year before performed one of those double-takes, her eyes wide as they landed on Fenton a second time. She was walking in the opposite direction, fortunately, but she smiled at Fenton and winked before passing on.

Fenton bit his lip.

A girl's voice rose above the usual chatter in the hallway, shouting, "That's him?"

Fenton pulled his hood up.

Tucker chuckled. "The irony here…if only they knew the truth, right, Danny?"

Fenton mumbled something that could be misconstrued as an affirmative.

Sam's phone vibrated in his pouch, and Fenton stiffened, one hand dropping from his backpack strap. He slipped it into the pouch and grabbed Sam's phone. He felt the urge to see what Phantom had said, but if he looked at the phone…

He lifted his head, glancing from beneath his hood. His eyes met a brown pair staring right at him. The girl blushed, ducked her head, and hurried past them in the opposite direction.

Tucker sighed.

"What?" Fenton darted his eyes around, but no one else was staring quite so intently. If he pulled out the phone, they would just assume he was texting another human, right? After, all, ghosts didn't have cell phones.

Tucker shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it, man. It's too depressing."

"At least we know who the clueless one is," Sam said, also sighing.

Fenton frowned at his friends. "Seriously, what are you talking about?"

"Forget it," Tucker said. "You wouldn't believe us even if we told you."

Fenton waited a moment longer to see if they would elaborate—they didn't. They never did. The "clueless" thing was like some inside joke they were always tossing over his head. He rolled his eyes and pulled Sam's phone out of his pouch. He glanced around again before reading the text.

"How is the school? Is it as bad as you feared?"

Fenton blew out a breath. Phantom was only asking for a status update. He texted back, "I'm the newest freakshow in town, what do you think? No one has tried to, like, corner me and demand answers yet, but that could just be because the bell rang and they need to get to class."

He and his friends were almost to their lockers, so Fenton quickly hit send before stuffing the phone back into his pouch. He sped toward his locker, outdistancing Sam and Tucker. He shoved the books he wouldn't need for the next two periods inside, anxiously dancing on the tips of his toes, urging himself to move faster. He didn't share first period with Sam or Tucker, so he could wave goodbye and rush to class as soon as he finished. The sooner the better. If anyone were going to ambush him like they had on the bus, it would be at his locker. He was practically a sitting duck there.

He tried to comfort himself that the halls were already thinning. There was no time for someone to pull him aside. And anyway, he was only Danny Fenton. Sure, the rumors insisted he knew Danny Phantom, might even have caught the elusive ghost's attention in a romantic sense, but he was still just Fenton. An unimpressive, weird, socially outcast loser. No one would—

Starr slid between Fenton and his locker, slamming the hinge shut. Fenton yelped and stumbled back, only to crash against someone's broad chest. Starr beamed up at him, and Fenton, flustered by that smile, tried to edge around whoever stood behind him so he could put some distance between himself and the school's biggest gossip.

"Yo, Fenton!" Kwan's voice yelled just before the jock's arm caught Fenton around the shoulders. He grabbed Fenton's books with his free hand, freeing both of Fenton's. "Since we have the same period, we're going to walk you to class, is that cool, buddy?

Buddy?

"Uh…" Desperately, Fenton looked down the line of lockers toward Sam and Tucker.

Sam had crossed her arms and was leaning her shoulder against her locker as she watched the A-listers, but when her eyes met Fenton's, she shrugged. Tucker, on the other hand, grinned and gave him a thumbs up. When Fenton hesitated further, Tucker exaggerated a wink. Fenton made a face at him.

It couldn't be helped, though. They didn't share first period, and Fenton couldn't ask Sam to walk more than necessary just to defend him from the popular kids.

Reluctantly, Fenton mumbled, "I…guess…"

"Great!" Starr bounced forward and seized Fenton's arm, turning him away from Sam and Tucker. "We need to talk."

Fenton jerked his arm away from her. Unfortunately, he put too much weight behind the pull, overbalanced, and stumbled against Kwan's chest. Kwan's arm tightened around his shoulders, ensuring Fenton couldn't wiggle free of his hold as well. Fenton grimaced. Kwan was a head taller than him, and his grip pressed Fenton's left shoulder against his ribcage, uncomfortably forcing Fenton to stand closer than he preferred.

"Whoa, you okay there, bro?" Kwan asked.

"Peachy," Fenton grumbled, frustrated to realize his cheeks were growing warm. Fantastic. He was blushing, wasn't he?

Sam's phone vibrated in his pouch. Fenton sucked in a breath. He slid his hand inside the pouch and grabbed the phone, his blush worsening.

Teens darted out of Kwan's and Starr's way as the A-listers walked past. A few stopped in the hall to watch, their wide eyes on Fenton and his new escorts. Kwan and Starr had just confirmed the A-list crowd believed there was something to the rumors, and that meant—

Someone snapped a photo, and Fenton cringed. Right. So. That confirmation was going to be spread all over Paulina's website. That was exactly what those stupid rumors needed. More credibility.

Awesome…

"So," Starr sang as she and Kwan forced Fenton to walk between them, "bet you know what I want to talk to you about!"

Fenton glanced at her from beneath his hood, sullenly refusing to reply even as his cheeks burned.

She giggled. "Wow, you are moody today, aren't you?"

"Did you give my invitation to Phantom?" Kwan asked, his voice high with excitement.

Fenton shifted his shoulders, testing Kwan's grip. "No."

Tucker had.

Kwan's expression fell, but Fenton's eyes darted around, noting the increased number of people watching him. Watching. Not just looking anymore, a lot of them were watching. His skin crawled, anxiety twisting his stomach. If he thought he was in the spotlight before…

The phone in his pouch vibrated again, tickling Fenton's palm. He bit his lip and squeezed the phone, frantically trying to draw confidence from the phone and the connection to Phantom it offered.

"Your party is so not the most important thing right now," Starr said, laughing.

Kwan sniffed. "Speak for yourself…"

"Listen, Danny." Blond hair brushed across Fenton's arm as Starr leaned close. Fenton dragged his gaze away from a group of nerds and met Starr's eyes, his heart pounding. "I don't know what's going on between you and the Ghost Boy," she whispered, "if this is some sort of stunt you're playing or if you really have somehow magically caught his eye. Honestly? It doesn't matter."

Fenton swallowed, his throat unnaturally tight. "It—it doesn't?"

"Nope! Everyone knows Phantom and Paulina are bound to end up together in the end, and if not Paulina…" Starr shrugged. "Well, it's not going to be you. You know?"

Fenton frowned. He dragged his thumb over the phone's screen. "Ah…Well…" He lowered his eyes, his frown deepening. She wasn't wrong…

"There's just two things I need to know. First," she lifted a finger, "just how did you become the Ghost Boy's friend or whatever is going on between you two? Second," she lifted another finger, "Danny Phantom is straight, right?"

Fenton stiffened. His feet froze to the floor, a new, fresh blush flooding his cheeks. Even if Fenton stopped, however, Kwan hadn't. His grip around Fenton's shoulders forced him into motion again. Fenton fought it for half a second, his feet skittering uselessly over the floor.

"Damn it!" he snapped, frustrated. "Wh-why would I—shouldn't that be something you ask him?"

Starr rolled her eyes. "If anyone could actually catch him, yeah, but he never sticks around long enough for anyone to ask about anything."

"So why are you asking me?"

"Dude!" Kwan shook Fenton by his shoulder, making him grimace. "Phantom has never lingered after a ghost fight, never mind during one! Of course we're asking you, no one else has gotten anywhere close to him!"

Starr sighed. "Sunday was the most anyone has heard from him, and even then it was like he was toying with the reporters."

Fenton snorted. Because he was.

"Heyyy," Kwan said, grinning, "remember how the news people were talking about Phantom possibly having found someone to show off to? And that's why he was acting so frisky?" He shook Fenton's shoulder again for emphasis. "Maybe even someone he's been photographed hanging around lately? Someone like Danny?"

Fenton pinched his eyes shut and tried—very hard—not to groan. Damn it, Phantom!

Starr exclaimed, "Oh!" in an excited tone, but almost immediately she cleared her throat as if to brush her reaction aside. "Oh! Well. Maybe. But we're pretty sure he was showing off for Paulina." Kwan snickered. Starr lightly smacked the arm wrapped around Fenton's shoulders. "Shut it."

They turned down another hall, and Fenton opened his eyes. There were more students crowding the hall. Fenton's gaze met another boy's in time to watch his eyes widen in recognition and his jaw drop. Because of Fenton or because of his escorts? He darted out of Starr's and Kwan's path either way, just as other students before him had done.

I guess that's one benefit to being their prisoner…

More and more eyes fell on Fenton, drawn by the A-listers. Fenton hoped it was for them that everyone was looking and not Fenton himself. After Paulina, Starr was supposed to be the prettiest, most popular girl in the school. She was bound to draw attention. It didn't have to be about Fenton.

"—him? Fenton? Fenton!" Kwan shook his shoulder.

Fenton blinked and jerked his eyes away from a group of girls glaring at him. "Huh?"

"How. Did. You. Meet. Him?" Kwan repeated, drawing out the words as if Fenton was too slow to understand. "Somehow, you've managed to catch Phantom's attention, and we want to know how."

"So we can do the same," Starr said, "preferably after you've introduced us to him."

"Like at my party!"

Starr laughed. "Exactly!"

"So you guys can…" Fenton trailed off. He tried again, "Everyone just wants to use me to get at Phantom? That's why everyone is on my case right now?"

"Well," Starr said with another little laugh, "that's why I'm interested."

"Me too!" Kwan added quickly. "Plus learning more about my hero, of course, but yeah, I want to become his friend too."

So the attention had nothing to do with Fenton personally. That was…good. Fenton's lips twitched, almost wanting to smile, but there was something else, something uneasy and resentful replacing the anxiety. He gave voice to it, laughing harshly. "Wow! Okay. Well. I punched him. And yelled at him for being an ass. And apparently that is what caught his, er, attention. So. Yeah! Good luck with that."

Kwan's fingers dug into Fenton's shoulders. "You punched him?"

"Yup. Right in the jaw."

"Why?"

"Because he was being an ass!"

With kids clearing a path for them in the hallway, Starr took the opportunity to dart ahead. She turned to face them and raised her hands as she walked backward. "Wait, wait, wait. When was this?"

Could he tell her?

…Would it matter?

Fenton bit his lip, considering, before he shrugged. "Saturday."

"Oh!" Kwan said. "Before or after that one picture outside someone's apartment?"

"Uh, before?"

"But after," Starr said, "the photo in Friday's newspaper, when Phantom was caught flying into your room."

Fenton pressed his lips together. That…might have been a good reason not to answer.

"And Paulina insists there's been something going on between you and Phantom long before this. So, punching Phantom isn't what made you two friends."

"We weren't friends," Fenton objected. "I mean, we knew each other. I guess. But we rarely, like, saw each other?" He laughed, the sound holding a slightly hysterical edge. He was talking about Phantom as if they had always been separate. It was…surreal. But the lie came easily for once, and with a little half smile, Fenton added, "When—when we did see each other, we, uh, we kind of argued. So." He coughed. "Yeah. I wouldn't say we were friends. We just…um, worked together?"

"Because of your parents?" Kwan asked, excited. "Someone pointed out Phantom's always using a Fenton…thing."

"Thermos," Fenton supplied out of reflex.

Kwan's eyes brightened.

"What I don't get," Starr said loudly, as if to brush talk about Fenton's parents' aside—their presence in Fenton's relationship with Phantom wouldn't help her any, "is why you never mentioned any of this. Like, everyone's been trying to get in contact with him, and here you were, all along sitting on a working relation with the coolest guy around for, like…how long? A year? A month?"

Fenton stiffened. There was something in her tone, something dismissive, and before he could think better of it, he snapped, "Two years."

Starr scoffed. "Two years?"

Fenton gritted his teeth. "And one month."

Two years, one month, one week, two days, and sometime in the afternoon.

Kwan laughed. "You kidding, Fenton? Phantom and the other ghosts didn't show up until November."

Fenton smiled. He didn't say anything to contradict Kwan, but his smile must have held a little too much knowledge, too smug to be anything less than secretive, because Starr gasped and stepped forward instead of back, putting her right in Fenton's face and forcing the two boys to stop in the middle of the hallway.

"You mean Phantom was here before November?" she demanded.

Fenton leaned back. "Uh…"

"And you knew and were working with him that whole time?"

"Well…"

"Oh wow," Kwan said, stunned. "He was here and no one even knew…"

"Except Danny," Starr snapped no longer sounding so peppy. Fenton tensed. Starr turned her attention to Kwan. "Do you know what this means?"

"Um." Kwan smiled sheepishly. "That Fenton is really good at keeping secrets?"

"No! It means Paulina wasn't the first person Phantom saved—she wasn't the first human to meet him." Starr's eyes returned to Fenton, curious and—to his mind—calculating. "That was you."

Fenton didn't respond right away, only watched her, wary. He didn't necessarily want Starr—and Paulina—to see him as a threat. Perhaps he should downplay his connection with Phantom. He didn't want them getting too close. There was more at stake than a simple crush that would be gone one way or another by Friday.

But…

Fenton tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? What of it?"

Starr widened her eyes. They narrowed a moment later, glaring at Fenton as Starr pressed her lips into a thin, dangerous line.

"If you've known Phantom that long," Kwan said quickly, excitement lifting his voice, "do you know why he kidnapped the mayor? Why he stole all that jewelry? Do you know where he goes after a ghost fight? No one can find him! Is he going back to the ghost world? Oh shit! Do you know what was going on when our town got sucked into the ghost world? Like, what was that, right? Like, we know Phantom did something to fix it, but what did he do? Was it just another ghost he had to fight? Do you know what—"

Fenton shrank against Kwan's arm.

Starr made an annoyed noise deep in her throat and stomped her foot. "Save it for lunch, Kwan. We can ask him all the details then, when Paulina and Dash are around to hear it too." Her eyes returned to Fenton and she poked his chest. "You're eating with us today."

Fenton's jaw dropped. An invitation to eat with the popular kids was basically like a golden ticket to the lower masses—Fenton even thought he heard a few students who had been listening in grumble about how lucky he was. The Danny of two years ago certainly would have been thrilled.

The Danny of last week might have been too, come to think of it. Fenton thought his disinterest in the popular crowd had been stronger than Phantom's desire for attention when they were one, but…he couldn't be sure. He knew they had said the popular kids were a waste of time, or something to that effect, but had they still felt something anyway? Fenton couldn't remember the feeling, though he was sure something had been there.

Point was Fenton didn't want the invitation. Eat with the popular kids so they could grill him over every little detail about Phantom? So, he could, what? Fend off questions that would either expose his secret or his secret? Be their little steppingstone?

He didn't want it.

"I—I, I have to eat with Valerie," he said, desperate. "The—the person I'm actually dating?"

Starr smiled, and there was something dark in her eyes, something cunning as she gazed at Fenton. "She can come too."

…That was even worse.

"There's more important matters we have to deal with right now before things go any farther." Starr poked Fenton's chest. "Maybe you are friends with Phantom, maybe you have known him the longest." She poked him again, harder. "But is it true he has misguided feelings for you? Is he straight? Bi?"

"Oh!" Kwan nodded enthusiastically. "Right. You said that punching him changed things."

"I didn't say that," Fenton objected.

"Close enough. So how are things different?"

"I—" Fenton's mouth worked uselessly for a moment, soundless, before he clamped it shut.

Kwan waited a moment, but when Fenton didn't answer, he carried on, saying, "Because, seriously, he keeps showing up around you. And that photo! He's gotta be feeling something, you know? Looking like that? And like, hey man, if he's gay, he'll get no judgment here. I'll beat down anyone who so much as looks at him funny!"

Starr brushed some of her long blond hair over her shoulder. "Same, of course, but, like, does he like you? Romantically? Because Paulina swears up and down that he would look at you like he had in that photo if he saw you as a really close friend. Someone he cares about who had just gotten hurt, no romance required. So. Does he love you?"

Fenton forced his lips into a shaky smile. "Love is a bit strong, don't you think?"

Starr laughed. "Well, yeah! It's just a phrase, Danny. There's no way he'd be, like, in love with you. No offense or anything, I just can't see it going that far. You're…well." Her eyes roved over Fenton, her lips pulling tight. Fenton shrank back, his shoulders curling inward.

"Clumsy," Kwan supplied cheerfully. "Dorky. Sarcastic. Too stupid to be a useful nerd. A loser who hangs out with other losers. A Fenton." He shuddered mockingly. "That's a risk all its own. A ghost falling for the son of ghost hunters sounds like a fun idea, but, like, for real, Danny, there's nothing about you worth risking that."

"...people will be looking for your faults, but it is in pursuit of deciding why I couldn't possibly fall for you."

"Crush. No one is saying anything about falling in love or whatever."

"No, they didn't because their knowledge is limited, but it is how I'm choosing to describe it."

Fenton flushed, embarrassed anew as Phantom's words hit harder than they had outside.

Starr made an odd noise and waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever. I just mean does Phantom, like, have a crush on you?"

Fenton opened his mouth again but hesitated. Most of the other students had left by then, parting around the immobile A-listers and their hostage without a word, but there were still a few stragglers off to the side that seemed to be listening to the conversation, waiting to hear what Fenton was about to say. One had her phone in hand as she leaned against her locker, but her eyes stared back at Fenton.

Fenton shuffled on his feet, trying once more to pull away from Kwan. "Shouldn't—shouldn't we be getting to class?"

"Sure." Kwan hefted Fenton's books and grinned down at him. "Once you answer."

Fenton scowled. "That's blackmail. You two won't get in trouble if we're late but I will!"

Starr titled her head and smiled sweetly at him. "So, answer already, Danny. What are you so afraid of? If Phantom only likes you as a friend, now is a good time to let everyone know, don't you think? Before things get any more out of hand."

Fenton grimaced. "I…"

His hand tightened around Sam's phone.

Kwan shook Fenton's shoulder. "Come on, man! There's nothing to be afraid of. We just want the truth."

Fenton forced a laugh. "The truth? If I don't say what you want to hear, you're going to stuff me in a locker and make sure I'm late to class anyway! What's going to happen if I say we're—that Phantom and I—we—well, he—I—"

Starr scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. No one is gonna care what you say. Well…Paulina might. I guess."

"And Valerie," Kwan added. "If you dump her for Phantom. She'll be pissed. But, like, who could blame you, right? It's Phantom!"

Fenton flushed, his jaw dropping. "I—I wouldn't—Valerie isn't—"

Starr hissed and shoved her hand into Fenton's chest. "If you even think about hurting Valerie like that, I really will make your life hell, Fenton!"

"I wasn't going to!"

"But it's Phantom," Kwan insisted, practically singing the ghost's name. "Valerie would understand. After a while. Might want to avoid her at first."

Starr switched her scowl to Kwan.

"I'll pass," Fenton said warily.

"Ohh," Kwan said, dragging out the sound, "is it because you don't like boys? Is that the problem? 'Cause, like, I get that, but come on. It's Phantom!"

Fenton bit down on his lower lip and wished the ground would swallow him whole.

"He's, like, the coolest guy ever," Kwan continued. "Sure, he's a little small, but he's got superpowers! And he uses them to protect us! Did you see him fighting that ghost yesterday? Like, whoa, man, right?"

Starr raised an eyebrow. "You almost sound like you have a crush on him yourself, Kwan."

"Nah," Kwan dismissed, waving the hand on Fenton's shoulder, "nothing major. But if he started making advances on me? Oh man, I would be so down! Or I would give him a chance, at least. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, you know?" He looked down at Fenton. "What about you, Fenton? He's totally all over you."

Fenton bit down harder on his lip.

Kwan shook his shoulder. "Like, gosh, man, you know? Just the way he was looking at you earlier. You can't tell me he hasn't tried making a few moves on you…Maybe he was flirting, and you never noticed? Like, no offense, dude, but you never even noticed that Goth chick was into you. So, to be honest, I'm not sure you would recognize his feelings unless he was, like, super blunt about it."

"Uh, what?" Fenton asked, his voice strained and almost a whisper. "Sam? Phantom? He wasn't—what does—"

Kwan gasped. "Oh, oh! Maybe he was! Maybe that's why you're acting so shy about this! He made some grand statement or—"

The phone in Fenton's hand vibrated and began to play a tune from Dumpty Humpty. Fenton felt blood rush to his face and then drain away, leaving his face pale. Before he could think better of it, he yanked out Sam's phone and answered the call without looking at the ID. "H-hello?"

"Hey…" Kwan whined.

"Hello, Fenton," Phantom responded. "I saw from Paulina's website you may need help? Someone posted a picture of you and your new, uh, interrogators."

A little breathless, Fenton only managed a quick, "Yes!"

Starr tilted her head and frowned suspiciously at Fenton. "Who is that?"

"Who-who—" Fenton stuttered, wincing. Shit.

"Tell them it's Sam."

"What?"

"Do it."

"Uh." Fenton tugged on the strings of his hoodie. "It's, uh, Sam?"

Starr glanced from the phone to Fenton's face, her eyes narrowed, but something in his face must have fooled her because after a moment she shrugged. "Yeah, well…it's rude to answer a phone call in the middle of a conversation."

"Ask me how my ankle is doing."

"Uh, how is your ankle?" Fenton repeated dutifully.

Starr pouted.

Kwan grimaced and made an, "Ah," sound.

"Let us hope they have compassion to spare," Phantom said lightly. "Are you almost to class?"

"No." Fenton allowed his anxiety to vent out of his voice as frustration and added petulantly, "We're just standing in the middle of the hall. Just standing here. Talking."

Starr rolled her eyes and groaned, but she stepped aside. Fenton stepped forward, trying to pull Kwan into motion again. The jock didn't budge at first, his hand on Fenton's shoulder keeping Fenton from going far. Kwan only resumed walking when Starr did. Fenton breathed out a quiet sigh of relief as all three of them began walking toward class again.

"I take it that sigh means we got them moving again?" Phantom asked, his voice amused. "My, what power Sam holds."

They're probably afraid to start a fight with her, Fenton thought, unable to speak it aloud. Sam may not have been very high on the social ladder (mostly thanks to Fenton, Tucker, and her own rebellion against it) but she had her own pull on the upper tiers. A fight with Sam was one that had to be entered into carefully.

"Yes," Fenton agreed aloud, but then, after running the words through his head a few times to make sure there wasn't any message Kwan or Starr might pick up, he asked, "I don't understand, Sam."

"What?"

Fenton tried again, hoping Phantom would catch on without Kwan and Starr doing the same. "Why, Sam?"

"Oh! About why we are pretending Sam is the one calling you?"

Fenton sighed in relief. "Yes." He glanced at Starr. She was staring at him—well, frowning really—but she looked more annoyed than suspicious.

"We are simply muddying the waters a little bit," Phantom answered, his tone almost gleeful. Mischievous. "Adding a third variable in order to confuse things."

Fenton frowned at the floor. "Can you, uh, explain that?"

"Later, perhaps. If Sam and Tucker don't. More immediately, though, are you still wearing your hood?"

Fenton's hand rose, fingers touching the rim of his hood. "Yes?"

"You may want to remove it…"

"Why?"

"Perhaps I am unfairly biased," Phantom began slowly, "but you are creating a mysterious aura for those who don't know you, especially the way your eyes are peering from beneath the shadows. It is…oddly attractive."

Fenton opened his mouth, though of course Phantom wasn't there to hear his protest—or see the way his face flushed.

"It seems I have a weakness for blue eyes…"

Fenton choked, making an odd noise in his throat.

Starr's eyes narrowed.

"You are looking attractive and mysterious, Fenton. People will buy into the rumor if you keep that up. They will ask, 'how could Phantom be interested in Danny Fenton?' and then go 'oh duh! Just look at him!'"

"Okay!" Fenton spluttered. He threw back his hood, freeing his hair in all its messy glory. "Hood off! I got it! Gees!"

"You are blushing, aren't you? Don't hide it, let them see."

"What?"

Starr abandoned Fenton's right side to walk on Kwan's left. She stood on her tiptoes and braced her hand on Kwan's shoulder, pulling him down. She was shorter than Fenton, and Kwan had to lean down in order for Starr to whisper in his ear.

The arm around Fenton's shoulder loosened as a result.

"Wish I could see it," Phantom continued wistfully, unaware of the opportunity his trick had just given Fenton. "It must be impressive."

"Hold on," Fenton whispered.

He ducked his head beneath Kwan's arm and darted behind his back. Kwan's arm was twisted behind his back, and with a yelp, Kwan let go. Fenton circled around Kwan and Starr, putting Starr between them. Kwan lunged at him and crashed against Starr—she squealed in protest—and Fenton sprinted down the hall. The few kids lingering in the hall yelped and scrambled out of his way.

"Hey!" Kwan shouted after him. "Fenton, you little weasel, get back here!"

"Kwan!" Starr shrieked.

Laughing, Fenton continued to run.

"What?" Phantom asked. Fenton hadn't lowered the phone from his ear, and his laugh seemed to be energizing Phantom, going by the excitement lifting his voice. "What happened?"

"I escaped while they were distracted," Fenton explained, breathless because of the run. He darted in and around other students, making them gasp and hurl insults after him—he lifted his middle finger to them and kept running. "Was that your plan all along? To distract them?"

"Not exactly, but I'm glad it worked out that way."

"What was your plan?" Fenton's classroom came into view and he slowed his steps.

"It may take too long to explain. Are you almost to class?"

"Yes. I just made it to the door. I guess I'll talk to you later?"

"Alright."

Fenton stopped beside the door and an awkward moment passed between them as the call lingered. "Uh," Fenton finally said, uncertain, "bye?"

"Ah. Yes. Bye, Fenton."

The call disconnected. Fenton breathed out a sigh of relief and tucked the phone into his pouch again. One of his hands rose and grabbed his hood. His classmates would know who he was with or without the hood. He wasn't sure if he believed Phantom—why would wearing a hood make him attractive?—and he wasn't sure if he cared. It was the comfort he was after. It was embarrassing to hear Phantom saying all those things, but Fenton didn't particularly care if some random classmate thought the same.

Fenton grimaced. I'm thinking about this too much. He flipped up his hood and entered the classroom. He kept his head down, only peering upward to find a free seat, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. Ongoing conversations were interrupted as a few voices shouted at Fenton, but he ignored them. The bell rang before his classmates could shout any follow-ups.

With a little victorious smile, Fenton dropped into his seat as the teacher called for quiet.

A few seconds later, Starr and Kwan arrived. They stared back at him, expressions frustrated and annoyed, but they couldn't do anything now that class had started. Their algebra teacher, Mrs. Carol, ordered them to take their seats, and the popular kids reluctantly moved into the room. There was, unfortunately, one seat in front of Fenton still available, and Starr and Kwan silently pushed each other, fighting over who would take it.

Fenton's smile vanished.

Sam's phone vibrated again. Fenton crossed his arms over the desk and slipped the phone into the crook of his elbow.

"Did you tell Starr and Kwan about my crush? It would have been the perfect time to show you weren't hiding anything."

Fenton bit his lip. Right. That had been the plan, hadn't it? Fenton was supposed to admit the truth like it was nothing, like it was no big deal. The more casual he was about it, the less people would believe him. The more reluctant he appeared, the more they would believe the rumors were true because it would look like he was actively trying to hide something. It was just…

He texted Phantom, "No. It's not that easy."

Kwan won the seat, and Fenton grimaced. Dodging around Kwan after class ended was going to be tricky. Perhaps if Fenton left early for a bathroom break…? The teachers had all but given up on stopping him. There may not be a ghost, but it was still for a good cause.

Namely, protecting himself.

"Oh," Phantom sent. "I suppose you HAD struggled to admit it even when you were only speaking to me outside. A semi-hostile environment would have made things harder."

Kwan slammed Fenton's books onto Fenton's desk and leaned down to hiss, "Not cool, man."

Fenton stuck his tongue out at him.

The phone vibrated in his hand, and Fenton lowered his gaze, surprised Phantom had sent another text so soon.

"Are you ashamed? Because of my feelings for you? I understand I'm causing us a lot of problems, but I can't help how I feel."

Oh.

Smothering a groan, Fenton closed his eyes and lightly knocked the phone against his forehead. He was supposed to be the insecure one, not Phantom.

"Who are you texting?" Kwan asked.

"Sam," Fenton muttered.

Kwan made an "ah" sound.

Quickly, Fenton texted Phantom, "Not exactly."

Mrs. Carol began to take rollcall, and Kwan hurriedly sat in his seat.

"Then why?" Phantom asked. "Why are you always struggling to admit how I feel or what we must do or anything pertaining to the feelings between us? If it's not exactly shame, what is it? What makes you trip over the words? Disgust?"

Fenton chewed on his cheek. He just felt…

It was…

Fenton furrowed his brow.

"I don't know," he wrote. "I guess I'm just—" he wrote out the word afraid before erasing it. He bit his lip and stared down at the phone. He wasn't afraid. What was there to be afraid of? "—confused."

"Confused? About what specifically?"

"Can we not talk about it, please?"

"Will you be able to admit I have a crush on you to others if we do not?"

"Bastard," Fenton muttered under his breath, frustrated Phantom had a point. He closed his eyes and tapped the phone lightly against his head a few times, thinking. The teacher ended rollcall and began the lesson, but she rarely cared about whether her class paid attention or not, so Fenton felt safe ignoring the lecture. He had bigger worries.

Finally, he texted, "I'm just confused about how I'm supposed to feel, alright?"

"Oh? My having a crush on you has confused your feelings? How curious…"

"This," Fenton whispered, a blush beginning to taint his cheeks, "is why I don't want to talk to you about it." He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers against his right eye. Why must Phantom always find the most embarrassing angle?

"Fenton, are you struggling to admit I have a crush on you because you are embarrassed by my crush? Or is it because you can't decide if you are happy about it? Or, perhaps, it's both and that is what is causing the confusion?"

Fenton swore under his breath again. A little frantic, his heart beginning to beat faster, he texted, "I don't want to talk about this."

"Alright. You ought to talk about it at some point, but perhaps I'm not the best choice…"

Fenton made a face. Who else was he supposed to talk about it? Phantom was the only one who knew the full story.

"Good luck with school," Phantom added. "Let me know how it goes."

"Alright. Thanks. For before."

"Any time."

Fenton stared at the screen a moment. Sam had set Phantom's form as the icon image, and though Fenton knew it wasn't him—not exactly—he still stared at it. He shoved Sam's phone into his pouch and hid his head in his arms, his heart and mind racing. He just needed a few minutes calm himself. Find his footing again. Just a few minutes.

---

Phantom landed in front of the Nasty Burger's entrance and took a deep breath. In his hand he held a five-dollar bill he had found completely by chance on an empty sidewalk. He might have ignored the money—he had no need to eat and there wasn't anything he wanted to buy that was under five dollars—but Noah, the man Phantom had healed that morning, had mentioned he worked at the Nasty Burger, Phantom and Fenton's favorite junk food joint.

And, while Phantom had no need to eat, he realized he wanted a milkshake.

Perhaps it was a comfort thing…

He pushed the doors open and stepped inside, the bell above the door tinkling at his entrance. He looked around, apprehensive, but the dining area seemed empty. For the time being. There were two employees, one in the kitchen and one at the counter. The woman in the kitchen looked up at Phantom's entrance but the man at the counter continued to stare at his phone, looking distressed.

The woman's eyes widened.

Usually, positive attention from the human population made Phantom feel like all the fighting he and Fenton had done in the past was worth something, it often made him feel warm despite his cold temperature, but Phantom felt the urge to back out of the fast food restaurant as an excited look came over the woman's expression. He didn't feel like showing off or charming an audience at the moment; he just wanted a milkshake.

"Justin!" the woman snapped at her coworker.

Rolling his eyes, the man set his phone aside and looked up.

And then his jaw dropped.

Phantom almost turned around, but "Justin" was the name of Noah's crush, the one he had said traded shifts with him in order to party last night. Personally, Phantom didn't see why Noah bothered, but Fenton and Valerie were setting high standards in him.

"Good morning," Phantom called out politely as he approached the counter. "I was hoping to order a strawberry milkshake?"

Justin fumbled with his jaw a moment, struggling to form words. Finally, he managed in a high-pitched, squeaky voice, "What size?"

"Small, please."

Justin nodded jerkily. He started ringing it up but stopped as the woman approached the counter and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That won't be necessary, Justin." She smiled at Phantom. "It's on the house."

Phantom slowed to a stop in front of the counter. "I can pay," he assured her, holding up the five he had found.

She tilted her head and eyed him curiously a moment, and for some reason, Phantom thought he was being pitied. She looked to be in her late twenties, but her expression made him feel even younger than he was in that moment. Like a child that had wandered in off the street.

"Hun," she said gently, "is that all the money you have?"

Phantom frowned. He had no access to his allowance, no lunch money, no way to earn cash, so… "Yes," he admitted hesitantly, "but I don't need for anything. I'm a ghost. I'm…dead."

Sort of.

"Of course you don't need it, what kid needs money?" She shook her head. "For someone your age, it isn't about needing money, it's about using it for fun things."

"Like milkshakes?" Phantom asked pointedly.

"Like playing games at the arcade or—" she winked at him "—taking a pretty girl on a date."

Unbidden, a smile pulled at Phantom's lips.

"Pretty boy," Justin said quickly. The smile faded. Phantom and the woman looked at Justin, and the young man's pale cheeks turned red at the attention. "He's—it's—the Fenton kid!" He held up his phone. "Everyone is saying it! That you have on the Fentons' son!"

"Oh, Justin," the woman scolded, "internet rumors aren't reliable, we've been over this."

Justin's shoulders rose and he appeared to deflate a little. Phantom, partly out of sympathy, partly because it felt good to acknowledge he was attracted to another boy, said, "I do. A small one. He is dating someone else, though, so taking him on a date is out."

Justin's face lit up, his eyes opening wide and his grin stretching ear to ear. His mouth opened but he didn't manage to actually say anything for all that he looked as though he was about to explode with questions.

The woman gave Phantom an odd look. "You prefer boys then?"

Phantom shrugged. "Both."

Justin squeaked, "Oh my gosh, you're bi."

The woman chuckled. "You just made his whole day."

Phantom crooked a smile. "He would have found out from Noah eventually. We talked about boys to keep him distracted and awake while I healed him." The knot in his stomach tightened briefly. "I…" he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about…"

"None of that!" The woman grabbed one of the small milkshake cups and turned away from the counter. "We're the ones who should be thanking you, and that's why you're getting a free milkshake. Strawberry, was it?"

Phantom levitated an inch off the floor, buoyed by relief. "Yes. Please."

"And you can save that fiver for your boy crush. Should he ever realize what a catch you are, you should bring him here."

Phantom chuckled weakly. "Uh, yeah. Sure…"

The doubt in his voice made Justin lean forward, eyes bright. "Does he know?"

Phantom raised an eyebrow. Coming from one who, according to Noah, was blind to Noah's affections going back for the past several months, the question was more than a little ironic. "Given the rumors, it would be hard for him not to, don't you think?"

"Yeah, true, I guess," Justin said, not catching the wariness in Phantom's tone, "but what about before?"

Phantom shrugged. "I never hid my feelings from him." Doing so would have been incredibly difficult with their minds merged, and the emotion had been too new and raw, too exciting and too frightening for him to try. He still wasn't sure how Fenton had managed—assuming Phantom was right about Fenton's feelings for him.

Before Justin could press him further, his coworker came back with Phantom's milkshake. Seeing the pink 'shake, Phantom beamed and eagerly reached for it. He hadn't had ice cream or anything sweet in…days. A week. However long it had been. He pulled the straw into his mouth and swallowed a mouthful, humming happily as the flavor hit his tongue.

"Is that your favorite ice cream flavor?" Justin asked eagerly. "Strawberry? Or is it just your favorite milkshake? No one has seen you having one before, is this your first time drinking a milkshake?"

"Justin…" his coworker chided.

Phantom released the straw and asked the woman, "I'm sorry, I haven't gotten your name yet."

"Mary." She pointed to her badge. "I'm the scheduling manager here."

Phantom hummed. He swallowed another mouthful before saying, a little hesitantly, "Danny Fenton is…the one Justin mentioned. The one I have a crush on. He is dating one of your employees. Valerie Gray."

Mary's mouth formed an "o."

"So if you could keep my crush between the three of us—four, once Noah is released from the hospital, I suppose—I would appreciate it. I don't want to cause any problems between them."

Mary nodded, her expression clearing and then, oddly, settling into something like sympathy. "She isn't fond of ghosts, as I recall."

"Danny Fenton probably isn't either," Justin said, his voice more excited than sympathetic. "I mean, his parents are the Fentons! They're the local ghost hunters! Like, they're not as skilled as that Huntress chick, but they're pretty famous for wanting to, er…"

"Rip me apart?" Phantom supplied.

Justin winced.

Phantom sighed. "The crush isn't going anywhere. Seeing it spread and talked about like it is nothing more than juicy gossip is…a little painful.

"We won't say anything," Mary promised.

When Justin hesitated too long, she elbowed his side and he squeaked out a, "Right!"

Phantom smiled his appreciation. It may not be necessary. Fenton might manage to admit part of the truth to the gossips as they had planned, allowing it to get out anyway on their own terms, but it would keep Justin from talking about it in front of Valerie, at least.

"You can drink that here," Mary said, nodding at his milkshake. "These are our quiet hours, not many people show up here for breakfast. Go ahead and sit at one of the tables.

Phantom had intended to buy his milkshake and go, but he hesitated at the offer. He hadn't been welcomed anywhere in a while. Somewhere to simply rest where he didn't have to worry about being chased out sounded…luxurious. He only had a milkshake, it wasn't as thought he was eating, but if they were willing to accept his presence…

"Alright," he said, floating a couple inches from the counter. He scanned the tables. He usually sat at the booths when he was merged with Fenton and eating with their friends, but by himself? Perhaps one of the pedestal tables by the windows. He had an urge to perch. He pointed to one out of immediate sight of the doors. "I'll just be over there."

Justin released another excited squeak, but Mary grabbed his arm and dragged him into the kitchen for what Phantom assumed was about to be an employee conference. Phantom floated to his chosen table and a chair. As soon as he sat down, his legs fused into a tail and wrapped contentedly down a chair leg.

From the kitchen, he heard another squeaking sound.

Phantom ignored it. He set his milkshake on the table and unzipped a pouch on his utility belt. He pulled out his and Fenton's phone and stuffed the five-dollar bill in its place before zipping the pouch shut again. For once, he would be able to scroll through Paulina's website and text Fenton in comfort without worrying about accidentally dropping the phone, flying into anything, or encountering a fight.

Luxury.

Unfortunately, Fenton had yet to send a text. It was a little disappointing; second period would start soon. Fenton must have caught up to Sam and Tucker between classes, so perhaps he was only distracted, but his next class, economics, was more demanding than algebra. He would not be able to text Phantom that whole time.

Sighing, Phantom returned to Paulina's website instead. Although he refreshed the home page occasionally to check for any new threads, he tried to stick to the thread about himself and Fenton, wanting to stay on top of the rumors and any reports of what was happening at the school in case something went wrong.

So far, the thread was largely dominated by Starr's report about what Fenton had said during her interrogation. Fenton hadn't confirmed anything about Phantom's feelings or, apparently, his sexuality, but he had let slip that they had "known" each other for two years, something Phantom found particularly interesting.

Perhaps Fenton had only meant it in relation to their unified existence, but more and more Phantom felt like he had known Fenton for those two years as well. They hadn't spoken or even acknowledged each other, obviously, but it was as though Fenton had always been there, beside Phantom.

Phantom's lips twitched into a wry smile. Or me beside him, he thought.

There had been a few responses to Starr after that, but Phantom expected there to be more given the break between classes. Starr had yet to even bring up Sam's "call" to Fenton, which was sure to spark more debates. He refreshed the page, absently sucking on his milkshake.

Justin slid into the seat opposite him.

Phantom warily looked up from his phone.

"So," Justin said, beaming, "you can eat? Can you sleep too? How different are ghosts to humans? Are you really, like, for real dead?"

"Should you not be working…?"

"I'm taking my break."

"Ah." Phantom looked down at his phone again. He frowned, realizing there were a lot more responses than he would have expected over such a short break. Were they all responding to Starr's interrogation? "Yes, yes, depends on the ghost, and it's complicated."

"Uh…haha, can you elaborate on that?"

Instead of answering, Phantom asked, "How is Noah?"

Justin's expression crumpled. "Oh. He's—he's doing great. They just discharged him from the hospital. He's pretty stoked because the city is footing the bill for all his tests and his classes are giving him an extension. He says he's going to sleep for the next twelve hours, though.

Phantom smiled, more tension leaving his stomach. "That's a relief. I had never healed someone so hurt before. I was worried I had…"

Messed up.

Made things worse.

Missed something.

He shook his head. "Never mind." He scrolled up on his phone, trying to find the last post he had read. There were several posts written in all caps. Something must have happened at the school. Phantom scrolled faster.

Justin leaned over the table and peered at Phantom's screen. "Oh! You get on that website too?"

"I only found out about it yesterday," Phantom admitted. "I want to see what they're saying about Fenton."

Justin settled in his seat again and cupped his chin in his hand. Phantom glanced up and saw the older boy smiling at him. "You really care about him, huh?"

Phantom looked back down at his phone. "Yes." There was no point denying it, but he didn't offer anything more. He reached the last post he remembered and blew out a breath. This was going to be a long read.

From his peripheral vision, he saw Justin pulling out his own phone. Likely to check the website himself, but so long as it distracted him and kept him from asking Phantom too many questions, Phantom didn't mind.

The first three posts were in relation to Starr's interrogation, mostly speculating about Fenton's past with Phantom and how it might intersect with how often he had been seen running away seconds before the ghosts even showed up—Phantom hadn't realized anyone noticed—but then…

Inviso_Billy: HOLY SHIT FENTON JUST THREW DASH TO THE GROUND!

Yes-I-am-a-Star: That's what you're focusing on? The fight? Not the part where Danny admitted Phantom FUCKING KISSED HIM?

Inviso_Billy: You have your priorities and I have mine.

Moon_ghost_goddess: Wait a second, what do you mean he kissed him?

Ghostbutt69420: I heard it too! Dash pounced on Danny as soon as he entered the classroom and tried threatening him into admitting none of it was real, but then Danny shouted Phantom had been the one who kissed HIM.

Moon_ghost_goddess: Excuse me, WHAT?!

"Uh…Phantom?" Justin said, excitement making his voice pitch higher. "Did you really kiss—"

He looked up, but Phantom and his milkshake were gone.

---

The screech of indignant rage escaped Paulina's throat before she could control herself. Her teacher and, worse, her classmates turned widened eyes toward her, but she ignored them and typed a frantic message back to Starr. Mrs. Harris didn't warn her in words to lower her phone, but she cleared her throat pointedly.

In flawless Spanish, Paulina snapped at her Spanish teacher to mind her own business. The woman flushed and turned huffy, but Paulina finished her message to Starr and pressed send without acknowledging Mrs. Harris' wounded pride.

Valerie continued tapping her pen lazily against the table and stared out the window, the only one in the classroom who had ignored Paulina's outrage. Her apathy irritated Paulina, not least because it was Valerie's boyfriend who was ruining everything. Paulina was half tempted to shove Starr's message in her face, but no, Starr would send a message to Valerie any minute, and then Valerie wouldn't be so calm and thoughtful.

Paulina's phone dinged and she looked down.

"That's what Danny said! He said, 'Phantom was the one who kissed ME' and then something about taking it up with Phantom and leaving Danny out of it, but do you realize what this means?"

Paulina scowled, her nose wrinkling in distaste. She texted, "That Danny is a filthy liar?"

"No! Paulina, what if he really is telling the truth?"

"Why would the Ghost Boy be interested in HIM? He's such a loser!"

"Oh please, you think he's cute too."

"I DO NOT!"

"And, anyway, you've seen the picture. I was onboard your idea that he looks worried because he really cares about Danny as like a friend or maybe a brother, but if Danny's saying he kissed him, that puts a different spin on things, right? If Phantom has finally opened himself up to the idea of dating a human, this could be our chance!"

Paulina dropped her phone on the table and pressed her fingers to her temples. Frustrated. Irritated. She picked up her phone again and texted Starr, "Did Danny say if he kissed Phantom back?"

"No. Dash went all macho and tried to punch him before we got the chance to ask. That's another thing, though. You should have seen it. Twiggy Danny actually flipped Dash over his back!"

Paulina snorted derisively. "Serves him right. There's more important things going on than Dash's pride or whatever his issue is."

"He's jealous. You know he has wanted to be Phantom's friend ever since that adventure he says they had. But for real, Danny actually looked cool for a second there."

Paulina rolled her eyes and set her phone down again. Who cared? Danny had been taunting Dash since freshman year, so what if he managed to finally beat Dash at his own game for once? Dash would retaliate later, and the cycle would repeat itself. School yard drama was hardly going to interest a guy like Phantom.

So, what had? It just didn't make sense for a great hero like Phantom to choose Danny, especially when Paulina had made her feelings abundantly clear. It had been two years since she first met him under City Hall, and if he had yet to ask her out, that could only mean one thing: he didn't want to endanger her. His enemies would hurt her if they found out. Of course that was why, it was a classic hero struggle.

And that meant Phantom wouldn't date any human—least of all Danny.

So, Danny was lying. He had to be.

There was just no way Phantom was interested in Danny. Danny was just so…ordinary. Sure, his wide eyes and perky nose were a little adorable, and there was something unfairly enchanting about the combined effect of ice blue eyes and black hair, but he may as well be invisible next to Paulina's beauty and talents. She was a star athlete; he played video games. She could backflip off the top of a pyramid; he tripped over his shoelaces. She was the most desired girl in the whole school; he was the school loser.

There wasn't any comparison to be made. What could possibly be so special about Danny that it had caught Phantom's eye? Paulina had been trying to do so for years, but while Phantom seemed receptive, he never lingered after he saved her. He never stuck around long enough to talk, and he frequently pretended he didn't even know her name.

He never forgot Danny Fenton's name, though, she recalled, pouting. He kept trying to set me up with him. Maybe if I had taken him up on the offer, I could have gotten closer to Phantom because they're obviously friends. I could have used Danny to reach him. It seemed to do the trick for Sam…

If anyone had been her rival for Phantom, Paulina would have thought it would be Sam, especially after the newspaper compared the two of them as rivals for "Inviso-Bill's" affections. Sam was often seen fighting ghosts alongside Phantom, sometimes even talking to him. Paulina had even begun to wonder if Sam wasn't really the Red Huntress. She had only dismissed the idea when she realized Sam's body was too skinny. It lacked the curves that made Kwan and Dash drool over the Red Huntress' image.

But that still left the Red Huntress as a rival as well. She was obviously hot. She could fly and she fought ghost, so there was no risk in Phantom dating her like there was for Paulina. She even teamed up with Phantom sometimes. The only obstacle between her and Phantom would be her ghost hunting, but Phantom wasn't just a ghost, he was a hero. The Huntress could set aside her antagonism at any time and realize how amazing Phantom was, and then that would be it. Paulina didn't know how attractive the Huntress was under that mask, but even she knew she couldn't compete against someone like that, not if the Huntress ever lowered her guard and let Phantom in. Paulina knew how emotionally charged enemies falling in love could be.

So, in Paulina's mind, there had been three of them. Sam, because she appeared to have some sort of in as Danny's friend; the Red Huntress, because she was an amazing ghost fighter who, luckily, hated ghosts; and Paulina herself. She was beautiful. She was popular. She was a princess just waiting to be swept off her feet by the hero. Paulina knew boys, she knew which one appealed to them the most, so she wasn't too worried.

But now?

Danny?

Where the fuck had he come from?

She hadn't planned for him. If she had planned for Phantom liking boys at all, she might have expected Dash, but Danny Fenton? Twiggy, clumsy, weird Danny Fenton? If he meant anything to Phantom, it was only supposed to be as his friend, his source of information and ghost tech, not his boyfriend. Phantom wasn't supposed to have feelings for him. He wasn't supposed to kiss Danny.

Paulina felt another outraged shriek building and hurriedly tamped it down. It was already bad enough her classmates had seen her lose control the first time. Now wasn't the time to express her anger. It would only make her look weak against Danny's claim. Now was the time for dignity. Poise. Danny's lie would fall apart, as all lies must. She just needed to hold it together and wait it out.

Valerie shifted in her seat. If Paulina hadn't been so keen on catching her reaction, she might have missed Valerie slipping her phone onto her thigh. Rather than look at the phone as well, Paulina stared at Valerie's expression. Either Danny was telling the truth and another man (a town hero) was making the moves on Valerie's boyfriend, or Danny was spreading a lie about being kissed without any care for how it would reflect on his girlfriend.

Either way, Paulina knew how she would react, and she stared at Valerie, awaiting the moment of explosive fury.

Valerie's brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed. Her lips pulled away from her teeth, and she hissed out a furious whisper, "What?" Paulina waited, breathless for more, but then Valerie closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she glanced at Paulina. "What? I take it you heard too?"

Paulina sniffed. Although Valerie was whispering, Paulina thought she could still hear anger in her voice. "About your boyfriend being a dirty liar? Of course."

Valerie frowned. "I'm not sure he is lying."

"You can't be serious."

"I am."

Against all sense, Valerie actually seemed to be relaxing. She had been tense and wound up all morning, but upon hearing her boyfriend was, apparently, the recipient of Danny Phantom's affections, she was relaxing?

Paulina scowled at her. "What's the matter with you? You should be furious!"

"Like you?" Valerie raised an eyebrow. "Worried Danny's going to steal your man, Paulina?"

Paulina seethed, her face flushing with heat. She wanted to explain all the ways Danny was most likely lying, no matter what Valerie thought, but that would just make it sound like she was in denial. She finally burst out, "Why aren't you?"

"Because, unlike some people, there's more going on in my life than romance." Valerie set her chin in her hand again and looked out the window. "I've had cheating boyfriends in the past. I thought Danny was different, but…" She sighed, and the last of the tension left her shoulders. "I think I would actually prefer this."

Paulina clawed her fingers over the table. She really, really wanted to tear something. Maybe even Valerie's notebook, if she could have snuck it past Valerie's lightning-fast reflexes. "That's a completely different tune to the one you were singing yesterday. What happened to 'Danny isn't like that?'"

"Whatever, Paulina." Valerie began tapping her pencil again. "Find your drama outlet elsewhere. I will take Danny being a cheater over the alternative any day…"

Paulina clenched her teeth and seethed.

---

Phantom tucked himself against the bulwark of the Nasty Burger's roof and tapped his fingers against his milkshake as he listened to the phone ring in his ears. And ring. And ring. It reached the voicemail, and Phantom sighed before terminating the call. He sent a text instead, asking Fenton to call him as soon as he had the chance and then returned to Paulina's website as he waited.

What other choice did he have? Sam didn't have her phone and Tucker would be in the middle of class.

Unfortunately, those fans able to talk on the internet seemed more interested in the kiss Fenton had mentioned than in the fight that had occurred between Fenton and Dash after. The fight Fenton had, somehow, won. Without ghost powers.

Phantom tapped his fingers against his milkshake a couple more times before he took another drink—partly to distract himself. He wanted to fly to the school. If Fenton and Dash had fought, Fenton had likely been hurt at some point, which meant Phantom might need to heal him.

He needed to know how the fight went.

Why were the fans so determined to gossip about some kiss Fenton hadn't even wanted when Fenton had apparently launched Dash over his shoulder just minutes ago?

Finally driven by desperation, Phantom texted Tucker, "Tucker, hi, I need answers."

He switched back to the website, not really expecting a reply, but half a minute later, Tucker sent back, "DUDE, YOUR HUMAN HALF THREW DASH LIKE IT WAS NOTHING!"

Phantom sat up straight. Quickly, he texted, "Oh! Excellent, that is what I wanted to know. Give me the details."

"Alright, well, first, it was a little weird because Danny shouted that you had kissed him. Honestly, he sounded so frustrated I almost believed him too, but he was probably just trying to make Dash back down."

Phantom half smiled. "Probably."

"Well, it was a stupid idea because it just made him angrier. He had been holding onto Danny's shirt and he was about to punch Danny when Danny just, like, grabbed the arm Dash was holding him with, spun around, and made him flip over his back. Dash slammed into the ground so hard he couldn't even catch his breath. It was awesome!"

It was difficult to imagine, and doing so made Phantom feel a little lightheaded, a little turned on, something Fenton wouldn't appreciate, so Phantom brushed it and his imagination aside. "But Dash is huge, and Fenton doesn't have ghost powers anymore."

"That didn't seem to matter. I looked it up a little bit ago. Apparently, it's a Judo move, but it's supposed to be really tricky to get it right. He basically used his shoulder like a fulcrum! I didn't know you knew how to do that!"

Phantom raised an eyebrow. "I don't. Fenton must have learned the move yesterday during training."

"After a single day of training?"

"He is the fighter," Phantom said quietly to himself. To Tucker, he texted, "I guess so."

"Yeah, well, Kwan grabbed Danny's shoulder after that, and Danny kind of, like, forced him to let go by twisting into the hold and slipping under his arm. Kwan and Dash chased him into the classroom, and Danny tripped Kwan with a chair. He probably could have gotten away if people from the hallway hadn't crowded inside to watch.

"Wow…" After sending the one-word text, Phantom closed his eyes and leaned the back of his head on the bulwark. The sun warmed his face and his arched throat, the only exposed skin thanks to his jumpsuit. Wind tugged at his hair, brushing it over his forehead. After a moment, he opened his eyes and added another text, "I wish I had seen it. Fenton is…" he smiled wryly, "full of surprises."

"…Hey, man, I know it's impressive, but you don't have to feel jealous or anything. You're the one with ghost powers, remember?"

Phantom frowned at the screen of his phone. "Jealous?" He scrolled up and reread some of their conversation, trying to see it from Tucker's perspective. "Oh, I see. I am not jealous. Quite the opposite, really."

"What's the opposite of jealousy?"

Phantom smiled. "Admiration."

"Isn't that a little weird? To admire yourself?"

Phantom rolled his eyes, allowing his smile to fade. "No more weird than being jealous of myself would have been."

"Oh. Ah. Point taken." A moment later, Tucker asked, "Hey, uh, did you really kiss him?"

Phantom hummed uncomfortably. He may have exposed too much. It was too soon after Fenton's confession for Tucker to miss undertones the way he might have before, but, fortunately, sarcasm could disguise a great deal…

"Oh yes, of course, Tuck. I just couldn't resist kissing him."

"Haha, okay, okay, I get it, stupid question."

Phantom snickered, but his next question quieted his humor. "Is Fenton hurt at all?"

"Nope! The teacher arrived right when Dash caught Danny. He sent all three to the office. Dash was the only one hurt in that fight."

Phantom blew out a sigh of relief, the anxious knot in his shoulders easing. "Good. Thanks, Tuck."

"No problem."

Phantom switched back to Paulina's website, finally able to relax and focus on the fallout of Fenton admitting Phantom had kissed him. Phantom had told Fenton he could in order to make the idea Phantom had a crush on him more believable, but he hadn't expected Fenton to actually do it, especially not when admitting there was a crush at all had flustered Fenton so much.

It wasn't how Phantom would have liked the information to get out, either. Hopefully, it could be spun into Fenton trying to either antagonize Dash or Fenton trying to deflect Dash's attention away from himself. It didn't seem likely, given the eyewitness accounts on the website insisting Fenton had sounded as though the words had been ripped from him, but there was still a slim chance they could play it off…

Assuming they wanted it to be…

Another text popped up on the screen. Eager to hear from Fenton, Phantom clicked on it and—

Valerie.

Phantom sucked in a breath through his teeth. Of course. She was texting Fenton. Or who she thought was Fenton.

Or rather, Danny, their unified self.

It was a brief message. "We need to talk."

Phantom blew out a breath. "Never a good sign," he whispered to himself. She must have heard about Fenton's confession. And now she wants to warn him about me, probably. He closed his eyes and tipped his head back. What should he say? He suspected his response would be too flirty for her, Fenton's would be too aggressive, and…he couldn't remember how they would respond as one.

In the end, he chose the safe route. "When? Lunch?"

"So everyone can listen in? No thanks. We can talk on the way to your house or after your parents' training."

"Alright. See you then."

Phantom waited, half wondering if he should tack on an "I love you" or not. That was a thing couples did, but he didn't think Valerie would appreciate it just then. He wasn't sure if it really suited their relationship just yet anyway. It was still so young, and they were keeping so many secrets from each other.

He waited, but Valerie didn't text back.

Blowing out a sigh, he switched back to the website. It surprised him a little Valerie hadn't asked about the kiss, given how much it seemed to be blowing up, but perhaps she was choosing to find out the truth in person.

Mrs_Phantom: Urgh, PLEASE, Danny is obviously lying to get attention, would you losers calm down?

Moon_ghost_goddess: I hate to say it, but I'm siding with Paulina on this. There's just no WAY Phantom would kiss Danny. I mean…come on. He's. Guys. He's like. So weird. He's not even that cute.

Phantom snorted and half smiled. He had thought the same, allowing others' view of Fenton's appearance to influence his own, but then he saw Fenton after their latest separation, and… Perhaps during kissing and in response to a few physical reactions, he might have expected to feel attracted to him, but Fenton hadn't done anything except look up at him on Monday, and Phantom had felt his thoughts shatter like a dropped plate. From Valerie or Paulina, he might have expected to feel like his soul had just been stolen, but from Fenton?

He had been blindsided.

Phantom scrolled past a few more similar posts that accused Fenton of being lame and unattractive. He shook his head. He wasn't especially inclined to confront them as Fenton might have done, but if he had had an account, he might have. They were trying to speak for him, putting their views forward as if that would make a difference at all, as if Ashley from Chemistry seeing Danny Fenton as an ugly, clumsy oaf held more weight than Fenton falling asleep in Phantom's arms during the meteor shower, as if Fenton inviting Phantom to rest on the bed beside him wasn't an act of hard-won trust that still made Phantom's stomach flutter whenever he remembered how that day ended.

It simply didn't matter what they thought about Fenton.

And anyway. The ones saying Fenton was unattractive and lame also said Phantom was too hot for him. If Fenton and Phantom had still been whole, it would have been all sorts of ironic.

Then the conversation began to swing away from Fenton's looks and moved into a more uncomfortable direction.

They became supportive.

Phantom put the phone to sleep and pressed the edge of the phone case against his forehead, closing his eyes. He took a shaky breath. It was everything he needed, everything he wanted to hear, but they didn't understand. They couldn't know the history between him and Fenton. He wanted to read their support, let it soothe the raw edges of his feelings, but he couldn't.

The phone began to sing.

Phantom sighed in relief and shoved the confusion aside. Finally. He answered the call and pressed the phone to his ear. "Fenton—"

"I told Dash you kissed me!" Fenton blurted, the words spilling out in a rush for all that they were slightly hushed.

Phantom smiled and hugged a knee to his chest, the wind blowing his hair over his forehead again. He couldn't help it. Fenton was adorable when flustered. "Perhaps start at the beginning…?"