Work Text:
Clockwork gently kissed his beloved’s hand, prompting a smile to form on her face.
“Are you ready?” He asked, grasping her hand tightly.
“Of course, do you have the cookies?” Rhea asked, her voice whimsical.
Clockwork smiled, holding up a box. “How could I forget? Well then, shall we?” He asked, opening a portal for his wife.
“We shall.” Rhea smiled, stepping through the portal, clockwork following suit.
On the other side they were greeted with the sight of Dan Fenton playing video games, he didn’t even pause as he shouted. “They’re here!” and continued with his game.
Maddie entered the living room with a smile and greeted her guests with open arms.
“Clockwork, so nice to see you!” She greeted with a hug, she smiled as she then turned to Rhea. “And you must be Rhea! Oh, Danny has told us so much about you!” She said, pulling the Titan into a hug that she was more than happy to return.
“Likewise!” She said with a smile, “He’s such a nice boy, you must be so proud of him.”
“Oh, you’re so sweet, I wish we could take credit, but Danny has always been so independent.” Maddie gushed, suddenly a crash came from the lab, “Jack! Sweetie, our guests are here!”
“Coming!!” A booming voice replied from the lab.
“Dan, honey, can you set the table while we get the food?” Maddie asked. Dan grumbled, but did as he was asked.
Maddie led the couple into the kitchen. “You can set the cookies on the counter next to mine.” She said, pointing to a tray of glowing chocolate chip cookies. “I’m not sure what went wrong this time, I followed your directions perfectly and even cleared out the kitchen of any samples.” She explained, a slight frown maring her face as she pulled out a glowing meatloaf from the oven.
“It was most likely your own ecto-contamination that affected them.” Clockwork explained, floating the salad, mashed potatoes, and green beans behind him as they made their way to the table.
“It really doesn't take much.” Rhea agreed. “The mortal realm is not used to the influence of the infinite realms so even minor contamination can cause extreme reactions, especially if you experienced strong emotions while baking them.”
“Fascinating!” Maddie exclaimed as she set the meatloaf on the table. “I never get tired of learning more about the realms. Looking back, it amazes me just how microscopic our understanding was.”
Jack entered the room as she finished speaking, “You got that right! If it weren’t for Danno we never would have broken out of misconceptions!” He exclaimed before wrapping his wife up in a hug and kissing her.
“Yuck!” Dan growled. “Do you have to do that here?!?!”
Jack grinned ruffling Dan’s hair, “Oh? Where should we do it then?”
“Not here.” Dan grumbled, taking his seat at the table, his face a pinkish green flush.
Jack laughed once again, “He reminds me so much of Danny at that age! Still claiming that girls have cooties.” He glanced over the table, beginning to drool and turning to his wife. “You’ve outdone yourself again!”
“Oh hush, you! Let’s sit down and eat.” She said, ushering everyone to the table.
Once they were all sitting down, Jack and Dan immediately dug in, Jack only slightly more enthusiastic than his feral son.
“So how’s everything going at camp? Danny calls of course, but we all know he tends to keep things close to his chest.” Maddie asked as she sipped her wine.
“Quite well, Danny has been acclimating nicely to his new family members, though some are a bit more reluctant than others.” Clockwork explained.
“That’s certainly one way to put it.” Rhea chimed in. “That child is giving those kids the kick in the butt they’ve needed for centuries!” She cheered, toasting her wine with Maddie.
“Danny was always good at getting to the heart of things!” Jack boasted.
“He was never a fan of beating around the bush, Jazz always tried to act so mature, but Danny wouldn’t stand for it.” Maddie chuckled, “He used to run around the house with her teddy bear until she started loosening up.”
Rhea nodded along, “My grandson was doing much the same. Honestly, he always acts so tough, but really he’s a big softie.” She giggled.
“Now which one was this?” Maddie asked, taking a bite of her meatloaf.
“That would be Ares.” Rhea answered, Maddie nodded.
“Danny gave him a good scolding about watching how he spoke around those kids of his, even prompting him to reach out to his brother, Dionysus, for help.” Rhea smiled sweetly.
Dan grumbled, “He better not talk to her like that again, or I’m gonna use a spork next time!”
“Dan here hasn’t stopped talking about his new cousin since he got home!” Jack said with a laugh. “Apparently she’s quite the spitfire!”
“Indeed,” Clockwork agreed. “Clarisse is a wonderful influence on Danny. It seems like she has made it her personal mission to have family bonding every day.”
“Ghost bonding?” Maddie asked, her voice tinged with concern, “I hope they're being careful, Danny doesn’t fight humans very often.”
“Of course,” Clockwork confirmed, “Danny has been taking great care with the campers. He’s actually gotten quite protective of them, to the point that I’m concerned he may act rashly.”
“Have you seen any timelines where things go sideways?” Jack asked, concerned.
“I couldn’t tell you even if I did,” Clockwork gave Jack a look, the man deflated, “however, even before his arrival at camp, Danny’s futures have become more and more obscured from my sight. His arrival at camp only sped up the process, I’m afraid we’re flying blind.”
“Well, now you know how we mortals feel about parenthood.” Maddie smiled. “We’ve been flying blind since they were born and just doing our best, that’s all we can ask from you as well.”
“Of course.” Rhea answered with a smile. “If I may… I wish to properly adopt Danny as my own.” She said, taking her husband’s hand. “I know I can, and will, never replace you as his parents, but-”
Jack and Maddie looked at each other with soft smiles. “We would be honored.” Maddie said.
“We’ve had to come to terms with a lot over the last few years, including the fact that our son will outlive us and everyone he knows and loves.” Maddie gripped the table cloth tightly.
Dan stopped eating. He already had this talk with them, that didn’t mean he liked it.
“Knowing that he has people that will be around to stand by him through his journey, it’s lifted a weight off our shoulders we never knew was there.” Jack continued solemnly, he gently ruffled Dan’s hair.
“Fright Knight and Pandora have promised to keep an eye on Dan here, and Frostbite has promised to take care of Ellie.” He explained.
“It sounds like you’ve set your affairs in order,” Rhea said, her voice tinged with concern. “Is there something we should know?”
“No, nothings wrong, but we’ve been studying ghosts for years now. If anyone understands how short life can be, it's us. We made our wills and made arrangements for the kids as soon as each of them was born, so when we found out about their ghostly nature we decided to make arrangements for the inevitable.” Maddie explained.
“That’s very practical of you.” Rhea said calmly, keeping an eye on Dan.
“It’s the least we can do for our kids.” Maddie said “It’s not easy making these decisions, but if we make them, then they don’t have to make them later.”
“Dan, sweetie, it looks like Hestia decided to join us.” Rhea interrupted, “Do you mind keeping her company in the living room?” She asked, “We’ll bring out the cookies in a bit for the taste testing.”
Dan looked at his mom and dad, he nodded before, stopping to give them each a hug before he left the room.
As soon as he left, Rhea let her aura consume the room, sending waves of serenity towards the couple. Rhea and Clockwork wrapped the two in a hug and let them cry.
They both knew it was a long time coming. No matter how they phrased it, no matter how much they prepared, they knew what had happened and they knew what was coming.
Their children were dead, and they wouldn’t be joining them when their time came.
They had to stay strong for their kids though, so they never let it show how much it killed them. They knew they still needed to have this conversation with Jazz as well, needed to prepare her for what would come as she aged and they didn’t.
Danny knew, for such a goofy boy, he understood more than they would ever.
So the titans held the couple together as they fell apart.
It was the least they could do.
—
Hestia was having a much more enjoyable time as Dan proceeded to teach her all about the joys of mario kart.
She was quite enjoying the newest editions to her family. When her mother asked her to join them and watch the boy as they spoke to Danny’s mortal parents, she was more than happy to send a piece of herself to the Fenton hearth. It was an interesting experience as she had absolutely never been to this home, while the home was full of love the actual hearth was a bit too erratic to be comfortable.
The Manson and Foley hearths were much calmer.
While he hadn’t been adopted by her parent’s Dan was Danny’s little brother, so she was more than happy to count him as her own.
Until he used a blue shell.
She never thought she would involve herself in the petty rivalries of her siblings, but this?
This meant war.
The hearth roared with flames as the two raced along the dreaded rainbow road, determined to take first place.
Victory would be hers!
Unfortunately, right as they were neck and neck, their parents decided that was the perfect moment to bring out the cookies, distracting them both.
Bowser overtook them both, the final race ended in a tie, and the ghost and the god swore an eternal rivalry.
The cookies were delicious though, so neither could find any fault in their parents.
She preferred her father’s of course, but she had to admit, Maddie’s cookies certainly tasted like home.