Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“We should move Amity somewhere else.”

“Where would we move it, Dash? We’re the only place left!”

The idea was almost dismissed. Everyone in the auditorium who’d heard it either laughed, sighed, or ignored the jock. The ruin, as people called it, had happened during a school day and left the students trapped inside until things were deemed safe. It was. The city was safe. Nothing else was, though, so they were trapped. Those haunted few who remained.

Most of the young people had decided to gather in the school. Kids were adaptable, especially those who were used to dealing with ghosts on a near-daily basis. They spent their days with anyone who'd managed to make it to the city in time, and went home every night.

The end of the world apparently still wasn't enough for these kids to stop going to school.

“Dash.” Danny Fenton, one of the only kids who’d taken well to the situation, was staring at Dash with wide eyes. “That is the dumbest smart idea I’ve ever heard.” Danny Fenton, the weirdest kid in Casper High, was grinning as he stood and turned to rush through the crowd of resting refugees from beyond the city.

“Sam! Tucker!” Danny slid to a stop, falling into a crouch in front of where his two friends were resting. “I have an idea! Dash had the idea. But I have an idea of how to make it happen.”

This level of enthusiasm had been unheard of the past week, so Danny was drawing more eyes than usual.

“Danny…”

“Sorry, Dude, but I don’t trust a plan built on any of Dash’s ideas.”

“No, no, just listen. I’ve got those extra amulets that remove you from the time stream, right?” His friends looked increasingly concerned with every word, and Danny continued despite them. “I have four. Sam, you’ve got that book with all the stuff on summoning circles. Tucker, you’re a master at reinterpreting things to mean what you want.”

“Don’t say all that so loud,” Sam hissed.

“I am pretty smart,” preened Tucker.

“Clockwork help me,” Danny muttered. “I’m saying we reverse engineer a summoning circle and incorporate the amulets so that instead of calling something to Amity, we send Amity to another timeline. We've been to some before, and we know there are safe ones; it'll just be on a bigger scale. We transport the whole city and everything in it to safety.”

Sam loved Danny. He was her best friend and, for a while, they’d even believed their relationship was romantic. It wasn’t, but that didn’t change the fact that they knew the most intimate parts of each other. They’d bared themselves to each other in mind, heart, and more. Sam loved Danny like a brother.

In spite of all that, she felt nothing when she slapped him upside the head. “We can’t do that. It would need anchors. It would take days or even weeks to figure out the circle. Then, we’d have to draw a circle of runes around the entire city. We can’t manage that.”

“The amulets can be used to make anchors. There are literature and language students who could help with translations and speed up the work. We have a bunch of athletes and artists here who could help make the circle. Having everyone work together on it could even help it hold onto the city, if the people of the city come together to make it! Sam, please, this could work, and it’s all we’ve got.”

Tucker loved Danny, too, but he remembered what had happened the last time he trusted his brother from another mother without question. The portal incident had changed everything. This plan could do the same.

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“What if it does?” said Danny.

“What if everyone catches on to us because we know too much about this stuff?”

“Better than everyone dying,” said Danny.

“What anchors are you thinking we’ll use? The amulets have to be on people.”

“The three of us and... Huntress,” said Danny, gears turning in his head in a way Tucker knew meant they couldn’t stop him. “I stand for death, she stands for life, we’ll be on the north and south ends of the circle. Then you guys stand at east and west to represent... natural chaos and man-made order? Balanced in every direction. Everything represented. It‘ll work, ancients giving.” He turned toward a nearby student, one of the younger girls who was watching with a notebook in her lap. “Can I borrow that?” asked Danny.

“What for?”

“I’ve gotta write this down before I forget it.” The girl shrugged and handed over the book and a pencil, to which Danny gave a quick bit of thanks and turned to the paper, quickly sketching a plus sign and writing at each point. “Order versus chaos. Man versus nature. You two will keep us balanced on the planes of reality. The will of the timelines. We’ll land somewhere able to accept us.”

“Danny, where are you getting all this?” Danny didn’t answer Sam. He kept writing, eyes glowing green. She leaned down and saw small clocks turning in either iris. “Oh, shit.”

“What? Sam?”

She turned to Tucker. “He asked Clockwork for help, and he's getting it. We’re doing this.”

“…no. No, really?” Tucker looked. Those gears in Danny’s eyes had been literal. “Fuck. Alright. Get your book. I’ll watch him.” Sam nodded and rushed off to get her grimoire.

“Huntress and I will represent the balance of life versus death. The protection of humans versus the protection of ghosts. The indomitable human spirit versus the unstoppable power of spirits. She and I will keep us balanced on the planes and unharmed on our travels. We can carve safety and escape into the circle to represent our goals. We can carve danger and loneliness to represent what we’re running from. It will work.” The gears and clock hands faded from his eyes, settling back into his usual blue with bits of green around the pupil. “Please, Tucker, I’m telling you- where’s Sam?”

“She went to get her grimoire. We’re in.”

“You are?!” Somehow, Danny was surprised despite how much he’d argued for this. “Yes! Thank you, Tucker! Hey! Mr. Lancer?!” Danny was yelling across the room now, at the man checking in with various students and organizing who would venture out to ferry supplies throughout the city.

“Oh, dear. Yes, Mr. Fenton?”

“Please, call me Danny. Mr. Fenton’s my father.” Danny repeated the same line as every other time, though Lancer never listened. “Anyway, who are your best language students? Like, if you had to pick a handful of people from this room to decipher and translate a newly discovered language, who would it be?”

Mr. Lancer sighed and started walking toward them while responding, “As much as I would usually love the chance to encourage my students’ skills, I’m not sure I trust your question not to lead to trouble, Danny. Why do you want your linguistically talented peer?”

“I need their help to translate magical runes and reverse engineer a summoning spell into a sending spell.”

Lancer stopped walking. “What?”

“Well, Dash had this idea. What if we move Amity somewhere else? This timeline’s done for, but there are countless others. I’m sure you’ve got some idea about the multiverse theory. Well, it’s true! And Tucker knows enough about quantum mechanics, Sam knows enough about magic, and I know enough about making shit that shouldn’t work do what I want it to! We can reverse a summoning spell so that instead of pulling something to our circle, we’d send everything in the circle, so Amity, to another timeline where it’s safe! Look, I’ve got it all figured out! We just-!”

“No,” Lancer stopped Danny’s ranting, “no, I believe this is another situation where it is best I don’t know. My top three students are Star, from your class, Maria, who’s sitting by the west wall with a red headband, and Ralph, who is usually as stoned as granite. I couldn’t tell you where he is.”

“No worries, Lancer. That’s more than enough, thank you!” Danny jumped up and turned toward the girl whose book he was still holding. “Can I borrow this? Or rip out that page or something?”

“Dude, it’s mostly math notes. I'm happy to be rid of it.”

“Thanks!” Danny ran off. He would start by hunting down Ralph. He’d seen the guy around while looking for a spot to transform a few times. Dude knew all the best hiding spots.

-=o0o=-

Danny gathered Ralph, Maria, and Star in an empty classroom and texted Sam and Tucker to meet him there.

“Bro, your phone works? All the towers are gone.”

“Oh, yeah. Tucker and I set it up to run off ectoplasm. The stuff has a very mild form of hive mind, so all our tech can connect as long as it is near ecto or has ecto.” His friends both sent affirmatives, so he set his phone aside and turned to the three students in front of him. “Okay. You guys are all good with languages and stuff. Sam is on the way with a grimoire of summoning spells. We need your help to figure out which symbols do what, then reorganize them into a new ritual circle that would theoretically send Amity to another timeline.”

The three all stared at him in confusion for a few beats.

“Hell yeah.”

“No, not ‘hell yeah.’ He’s talking about magic. That’s not real.” Maria crossed her arms, staring at Ralph over her glasses.

“Well,” Star leaned against the desk behind her, “ghosts are real and some of them do magic. I don’t see why this couldn’t be real, too. Besides, if anyone would know, it’s Danny and his friends. They’re the experts on weird.”

“Thank you, Star. So,” he looked between them, “you guys in on trying to save the city?”

-=o0o=-

The next two days, Danny, Tucker, Sam, Star, Ralph, and Maria all lived out of that room. They were working in an almost assembly line. Star, Ralph, and Maria all worked on translating which symbols meant or did what, then Sam would determine which symbols were needed and which ones could be useful, which would be handed off to Danny, who used his ‘particular set of skills’ to make sure the magic circle would work.

Tucker kept them all fed and made sure they got enough rest while throwing his input in wherever he could.

“Hey, Danny, what if we put this on the south end? Would that close the fraying section?”

Danny looked over to where Sam was pointing. They’d had to grab a bunch of scratch paper to draw out the circle big enough for them to fit all the necessary details, so Danny had to peek around a desk to see that section.

“It could, but that would be too many ‘strength’ motifs on that end, wouldn’t it?”

“No, we took out the other one to add a stability rune for the city infrastructure.”

Danny stood on the desk and studied the circle with the added rune. “Everybody step out for a few minutes.”

“What?”

“Why?”

“Danny?”

He chewed his lip, moving to the north end of the circle. “This could be it. I’ve gotta make sure it’s stable, though. So, everyone get out in case it isn’t.”

The group studied each other, then started moving, with Tucker stopping to take some pictures of the circle so far. “It better work or we’ll lose a lot of progress.” Then, Danny was alone with a ritual circle of paper, tape, and various pencil, pen, and crayon markings. They'd had to improvise after they ran out of ink pretty fast.

He knelt down, balancing himself on the north circle as he gently pressed his hand against the symbols on either side of him. Being half dead had its perks, some of which were especially closely tied to being the literal manifestation of balance.

He let just a little ecto-energy build on his fingertips, dripping onto the circle and spreading along it, painting a complex series of shapes and swirls and angles all along the floor. He watched the other end, waiting for the moment it would connect. Either it kept flowing, closing the cycle and traveling around in a stable stream, or it would block itself, and they’d have to try again.

Wait for it, come on… Yes! Yes! It was moving counter-clockwise, steady, and strong! It worked!

He focused on the flow, feeling for anywhere that his energy wasn’t returning to him or was slowing down, but there was nothing. It worked perfectly.

-=o0o=-

A few more days later, almost everything was set. Star had convinced Paulina to use her experience captaining the Cheer Squad to organize getting the circle drawn. Almost every student from Casper High was willing to try anything, so they were all using anything they could find to make the ritual circle. There were sections of chalk, spray paint, sticks, rocks, and anything else that wouldn't get smudged or blown away.

All that was left were the anchors.

"Danny?"

"Hey, Val. You know my crazy idea to send Amity somewhere else?"

Valerie sighed and ushered Danny into the apartment. She was one of the only teens who hadn't been part of the circle-drawing efforts, electing to stay home with her dad instead. "This isn't going to be quick. Want something to drink? We have teas that will never be made again. Limited edition."

Those kinds of jokes had been common.

"Sure, whatever you want for yourself. I'm not picky." Danny settled in at the dining table, waiting for Valerie to join him with two cups of tea. On a first sip, Danny could make out something citrusy. It was good. "So, the ritual."

"Your magic circle. I've heard about it. Seen it too. It seems like you're messing with some really complicated stuff." Valerie took a drink and glanced out the window. They couldn't see the circle from her apartment, but she'd taken to patrolling the edge of the city to see how far the ruin had spread. No more Portal meant no more ghosts, so she didn't have to patrol for those anymore, at least. "Are you sure you know what you're doing? If this goes wrong-."

"I've done everything I can to make sure it doesn't. I've double-checked the finished circle, as have at least 15 other people, to make sure it matches the test version from the school. All that's left is to put the four anchors on the cardinal directions and actually use the damn thing."

"Anchors?" Oh, right. Valerie's dad was home. Danny was just going to assume he'd heard everything.

"Anchors. I may have made a deal with the sentient form of time itself a while back, long story. Part of that deal was that I got these," he lifted one of the four amulets from in his pocket for the father-daughter duo to see. "This is a time amulet. Anyone wearing one is temporarily removed from the timestream. You can test it if you want. Just put it on and everything around you stops."

Valerie didn't surprise Danny by holding out her hand. She did surprise him a little when, immediately after putting it on, she teleported to take it off on the other side of the room. "It works. It's real. Danny, why do you have this?"

"Clockwork and I have a deal. I've done some work for him here and there and the amulets make that possible. There's more to it, but that's the important bit." Danny put the other three amulets on the table, keeping one hand resting on top of them. "We're going to have four people as anchors, each with an amulet to surround the city with their power. Four people to keep everything balanced and provide enough power to let this actually happen. It's gonna run on ecto-energy, so we need four people with high levels of ecto to sustain it between them. My levels are out of this world, almost literally, so I'll handle most of that. Sam and Tucker are both connected to the realms in their own ways, so they're two of the others. We need one more."

Valerie sat back down with a furrowed brow. "Danny... why are you here?"

Well... time for the moment of truth.

Danny reached his hand across the table and, when Val put the amulet into it, set it with the others before taking her hand. "Val, I wanted to let this be something that I never brought up unless I absolutely had to. So, now that the entire city might depend on it, I think it's time you know." He focused on her eyes, her reactions, every little detail. "I've known about Red Huntress since you first started."

"What?" Her hand was squeezing. Oh, wow, her hand was squeezing hard. "Danny, what the fuck?"

"I know, it's a big thing. I'm sorry. I figured I didn't have to say anything unless you did, but this is big. We need Huntress to stand south for this. You- In the mask, you represent humanity and their protection and safety. The suit is partially made of ghost tech, too, so it's got to have latent ecto levels that will help stabilize the circle."

"Danny, how do you know that?" She wasn't looking away.

"You remember that time you caught Sam and me making out in the park?" She nodded. "We recognized your voice. It was before you had the modulator. Well, Sam recognized you. I was kind of, uh, distracted."

"Dammit, Danny." Val put her other hand against her forehead and turned away. "Fine, what does Huntress have to do? When and where do you need me?"

"As soon as you're ready, we'll each take an amulet and go to our end of the ritual circle. You'll be south. There's an empty space between the runes for you to stand in and a little gear shape to press the amulet against. Just hold it in place, focus on getting Amity and her people somewhere safe, and say anything that feels right. Pray to any god, or to no god, or even recite poetry or lyrics. Whatever works in the moment, even if that means staying quiet and just focusing on the task at hand."

"Don't rituals and things usually have a fancy chant you have to memorize?"

"Usually, but those chants are to connect the spell to something specific outside of the circle. This time, everything we need is already inside, so there's no need to call into the beyond. It doesn't hurt, though, so I know Sam, Tucker, and I all have powers we'll be calling on for help. Connections in the Ghost Zone that might be able to give us an extra boost or that could guide the city where it needs to go."

"What connections?"

Danny stared down at their clasped hands. He'd started to psych himself out trying to read Valerie. She'd gotten better at hiding her emotions, even from a ghost that could usually feel them on people.

"After Undergrowth, the Ghost of Natural Chaos, invaded the city, he claimed Sam as a kindred spirit. She was basically Ghost Adopted into his domain as his apprentice. It's why her greenhouse is so healthy and how she survives on plants that logically shouldn't sustain her."

Valerie nodded, head still in her hand. "Okay, makes sense. Tucker?"

"He's a reincarnation. His previous life was the Pharaoh Duulaman, who stands as the rightful ruler of the Ghost Kingdom Te Duat. So, Tucker is going to regain his memories and position as Pharaoh T. Duulaman when he dies. He's going to call on his connection to the history of man since his soul is technically one of the oldest dead-man ghosts. Meanwhile, Sam will call on nature."

Val pulled her hand off her face, now holding Danny's in both of her own. Danny looked up at her, immediately overwhelmed again by the laser focus in her eyes. "Then I'll be the safety of man. What are you? What could you connect to that balances against humanity's protection?"

"The protection of the dead. You're the living. I'm the dead. We're both protectors, emphasizing that safety is a primary focus of this spell."

"Wait, what? How are you a protector of the dead?"

"I, well... There's no good way to say this and it's, um... kind of private?" Danny glanced toward Damon.

"Nope. Dad's staying. He knows everything I know. That's our agreement for my hunting. I don't keep him in the dark on anything."

Fuck.

Here goes.

Danny sighed, sent another mental plea to Clockwork, and transformed.

Then the shouting started.

-=o0o=-

Three hours later, Danny, Sam, Tucker, and the Red Huntress were all in position. The city waited with bated breath as Danny pushed green from his hands, slowly filling the runes to his right and working around the circle. It would take time to fill and activate, time they didn't have.

"Clockwork, Pandora, Frostbite, and Noctourne. To those whose favor I have earned and those who have granted me their blessing, I beg you to extend it once more. Let time be on our side. Let this power be harnessed and danger locked away. Let this circle stand with the strength of a glacier. Let this city find a place to rest." Danny kneeled, held his hands to the runes on either side of him, and pressed his face against the amulet to keep it in place, bowing to the city he was trying to save.

"Father, Master, Sire, and King. Undergrowth, who calls me Kin, I call on you, as your heir, to grant refuge to these mortal weeds; that they might cultivate a new life in a garden with fruitful soil. Let us not control nature, but follow her whims and find a garden that will be made more plentiful for our arrival. Grant us favor, I beg of thee." Sam stood, vines slowly rising from the runes to wrap around her legs, grounding her and the amulet in the circle; nature accepted her plea.

"Men of days old and long-passed, People of Te Duat, hear your Pharaoh's command and heed his cry. Let the men of this world be preserved, be transferred, and be delivered to safety. Let this kingdom, which carries the memory of your own, continue on in another world. Let these men and theirs be kin, let them be compassionate, compatible, and comparable to our own. Let them find refuge among those who will have and accept them." Tucker stood, Pharaoh's Scepter once again taken from the museum as a personal focus and held upright in both hands, one foot forward to keep the amulet in place despite the miniature dust-storm rising around him, head raised to focus on a sun he would never again lay eyes on.

Valerie, donning her Red Huntress armor, sat on her heels and pressed her hands to the amulet. "I don't know what to say." The green rushed past her, around her, under her... even through her, sliding through her armor and her body like he was made of the same stuff. Maybe some of her was. "I don't know what to say." She stared at the amulet, the gears in it turning slower and slower with every passing moment. The wind was picking up, mostly coming from where Tucker was supposed to be. "I don't know what to say except help us. Please, we need help." She tilted her head back, eyes closed beneath the hood as she openly wept and begged that what little hope they had would not be destroyed in this moment.

The city lay quiet, the people waiting with bated breath, until the sky turned green, the wind whipped cold, the grass grew a foot tall, and then- The sun was back, the sky was blue, the air was still but for a gentle breeze, and the land beyond the city was wheat and corn. People struggled to stay standing as the city shifted slightly to the side, but the world was no longer charred and barren. Their city was safe.

Chapter Text

Martha Kent loved her life. A hardworking husband she could always rely on, a darling son with a heart of gold, and a thriving farm to which she happily dedicated her time all gathered into a life of fulfilled contentment.

She was tending to the vegetable garden, quietly humming to herself while trimming some dead leaves, when the earth shook. It built up slowly enough that she almost didn't notice. She wouldn't have noticed if not for the moment it stopped, everything suddenly going still except a gust of air that knocked her off her knees. All she could see were the carrot leaves around her head, but she could certainly hear the rushing footsteps coming her way.

"Ma! Ma, are you okay? There was this humming off to the west and then that gust and-." Ah, her darling son. Of course, he'd come running, the little worrier.

"Oh, don't worry about me, Clark. I'm perfectly fine. Confused about the ruckus, though. You said it was out west?" Clark nodded and helped her up despite her protests. Smallville was to the east, so whatever that was didn't come from town. Was it another situation like Clark's? Someone else from wherever he came from who took longer to travel? "Where's your Pa?" It was Sunday, so he wouldn't be working the fields.

"Uh, he's..." Clark stared at the ground, eyes unfocused as he listened for something only he could hear. "Pa's in the garage. I hear something draining so maybe he's changing the oil in the truck?"

"Well, I sure hope not. We're gonna need that truck to go check out what that was." Martha started on her way toward the garage.

"Wait, we're gonna go out there?"

"Oh, no, honey. First, we gotta make sure the truck's working. If it is, your Pa and I are gonna check it out. You are gonna stay here."

"What? But, Ma, what if-"

"What if it's dangerous?" Martha leveled her son with a stare, "if it is, I won't be sending my son straight into it." Clark let out an audible sigh and kept following.

-=o0o=-

Soon enough, they were standing in the garage with Pa. “Clark, what do your eagle ears hear out west?” Pa asked, closing the truck’s hood before stopping to watch Clark listen.

It was new, being able to focus on directions and distances, just listening for whatever sounds were out there, instead of focusing in on specific people or places or thing he knew he would hear.

His Pa had started testing him on it. ‘What are the Jackson’s eatin for dinner tonight? Your Ma will ask Miss Sam when she runs to the store tomorrow and see if you’re right.’ Clark had gotten every test right for the past month, so things were coming along nicely.

“I can’t quite tell. There’s a lot of noise that way. I can’t tell it all apart.”

“Well, how much are ya hearin? There’s not supposed to be anythin but crops that way.” Pa laughed. Clark did not. Those weren’t the sounds of crops.

“Well… it sounds like a hundred of Smallville, all at once. I can hear machines humming and people talking and even some crying, I think.” He focused on the crying, trying to tune out the machinery. "I think there are people panicking. Yelling for each other and making sure they're all safe, it sounds like." Clark was brought back to the space around himself by his Pa’s hand on his shoulder.

“Then I suppose that means we oughta get out there.” Clark nodded and followed his Pa to the truck. “Martha? Think you could catch anyone coming from town and let ‘em know that there’s a whole bunch of people needin' help out there? Tell ‘em Clark and I are already out there and I called you on the landline. That's how 'ya know.”

“Oh, alright. You two keep each other safe, ya hear?”

Clark leaned his head out the window while Pa started the truck. “Will do, Ma! I’ll make sure to actually call the landline if need be.”

Ma smiled, Pa put the truck in gear, and Clark settled in to listen beyond and see what he heard in the field.

-=o0o=-

"Pa, you see that out there?" Clark leaned forward, squinting his eyes to get a better look at the horizon.

"Don't think I do. Ya' got eagle eyes to go with your eagle ears, now?"

"I guess so. I see buildings out there. It almost looks like a city, but it's all warped." Clark studied the shapes in the distance, all tilted to the side just a bit. "Like if Central City got dropped in the fields and didn't land right." Clark had been looking at Central City for college. If it was this loud, though, he might have to look somewhere else. Maybe Metropolis, unless all cities were like this, in which case he might stay in Smallville.

"Didn't land right? What, there's a city on its side in the Macallan's fields?" Pa huffed the way he did when he was trying to laugh, always sounding a little annoyed if you didn't know him well enough to catch the hint of humor.

"Well, not on its side. It's tipping away from us, like when the old pine in front of the school got pulled up in that storm a few years ago and it looked longer from the classroom."

"You spent a lot of time starin' at that tree instead of listenin' to your teachers, huh?"

Clark didn't answer. Mr. Wilson hadn't been the most captivating in the classroom.

As the truck drew near, Clark could finally get a good look at the base of the city. The whole thing sat on a circular disc of dirt, mostly buried in the ground except the side facing them, which was lifted up about 20 feet.

Then, Clark saw a person on that ledge, swaying side to side.

"Pa. Pa! We gotta hurry, I think someone's about to fall off the edge and I don't have an excuse for running that far!" Clark leaned forward as if a little change would give him a better look, Pa pushing the truck faster once his son's words registered.

The figure was hunched, slowly standing up, but shaky on their feet and too close to the edge. A 20-foot drop, with no telling what the landing would be like, let alone what they would land on. Was the earth upturned and soft? Or were rocks strewn about that would break bones from that height?

Pa pushed the truck. Clark's hand itched for the door handle. The figure stumbled.

"No!"

"Clark, go."

"What?"

"If they need you, then go!"

Clark shoved the door open, trusting the wind to close it as he ran ahead. The figure jerked, their arms going out to the sides like they wanted to soften their landing, but didn't know which way they'd fall. Clark got close enough to see more details; black hair and sweater, jeans, and covered in dirt. Looked like a guy about his age.

The guy took a step back to steady himself, but there was nothing to step on. The guy fell. Clark jumped.

Hopefully, he could cushion their fall.

-=o0o=-

Danny got a glimpse of the golden fields around Amity, so different from the charred, barren earth that they'd grown used to. They'd done it. They'd made it to another timeline. Danny could almost taste the endless relief of Amity's citizens; her people had finally found hope that wasn't crushed under the endless weight of despair. They'd escaped that despair, and Danny could finally rest. He moved to sit on the large rock he knew was just behind him.

There was no rock. There was no ground. Fuck.

He tried to float, hover, fly, transform- anything. Danny tried to do anything that wasn't just giving in to gravity. Instead, his body and core, both exhausted from the ritual, fell to the ground like the rock he'd tried to sit on.

Maybe he should've considered the repercussions of providing almost all the ecto to make that spell work. If only he'd thought to use the amulets for something more than keeping the city in one piece, like batteries. Instead, he'd just trusted that his protective obsession would provide for the city. He was right, but now he was falling.

He expected the slam against his back, of course. He'd been thrown around enough to know what he was expecting.

He hadn't expected the momentum to only slow instead of stopping, or arms to wrap around him, or a grunted 'gotcha' to be pushed out of whoever was behind him.

Then they were both slamming into the ground, dirt flying up all around, and the person behind him was huffing like they'd just run a marathon. Danny wheezed, looking up at the mini-cliff he'd just fallen off of as he focused on the body beneath him.

Who the fuck just caught him and how were they still alive?

"You alright? Oh, goodness, please be alright. You probably know why there's a city where the Macallans were supposed to harvest next week. Oh, they're gonna be hurting. There was one hell of a corn profit they were supposed to make this year. Michael's gonna be cussing up a storm at school."

The guy - that definitely sounded like a young guy - was rambling, maybe panicking. Danny reached up with one hand, barely mustering the energy to grab the guy's wrist where it still rested over his own heart and feel his pulse. His heartbeat was strange, thumping too many times with each pulse, but steady, maybe. Danny didn't know. Did every human in this timeline have a slightly different heart that pumped differently? Would they deal with biological differences while they integrate into a new world?

"Oh, we're gonna have to call Ma and let her know to contact the authorities. Smallville might like keeping to itself, but this isn't gonna just slip by like usual. Say, is this helping at all? I heard that when people are hurt and out of it, you gotta keep talking to them."

"You've gotta-" Danny started, stopped to breathe, then tried again, "You've gotta keep them talking, in case they have... brain damage." It took a little too long for Danny to think of the words. He really hoped he didn't have a concussion or something. No, he didn't hit his head.

Did he? Man, he was out of it.

"Oh, right. That's it. Uh, what's your name?"

"Danny." He was at least present enough to know that much.

"Where're you from, Danny?"

"Amity Park. It's right there in front of us."

The guy laughed, chest lifting just enough for Danny to use the momentum and roll to the side, landing with the guy's arm pinned under his chest and dirt in his mouth.

"Why on God's green earth is your city right in front of us, anyway?" asked the guy, lifting Danny up enough for him to get his arms beneath himself and stop eating the ground. Not that he could lift his head yet.

"Our- our timeline was collapsing. Our Earth was done for. We- fuck." Danny was wheezing. His core felt like it was retreating back into itself, leaving a sharp, cold feeling in his chest and making his lungs freeze up. "We had to get to safety in another timeline. We landed here. The whole, uh, city knew the plan. There's no... no keeping it a secret." His arms shook as he spoke, belatedly realizing he was in a supported plank. Ancients, that was too close to a workout for how exhausted he felt.

Danny fell to the side again, this time resting on his shoulder against the side of the small crater from when he and the guy had landed. Speaking of which, he was facing the guy now.

Clear skin, too clear for a teenager. Blue eyes, bluer than Danny had ever seen on a human. He had dark black hair in a mess of loose curls on his head and a broad figure that meant muscle. He looked like a nicer, black-haired version of Dash. Nicer because he'd gone out of his way to cushion Danny's fall. He was also better-looking overall. He was... what was that word Sam liked? Ethereal. This guy was ethereal.

Were all people in this timeline like this? Were Amity Parkers doomed to being seen as ugly invaders?

"What's your name?"

"Clark. Pleased to meet'cha."

"Are you really?"

"Well..." Clark looked up at the city's edge, then at the small crater around them (not so small, really. They were lying completely within the bowl of earth), "it's interesting, at least. You said y'all're refugees from another timeline?"

"Pretty much. There's probably all sorts of political and government stuff that has to happen about that. Paperwork and shit. We're here now, though, and I definitely can't do that spell again for at least a few months, so we're stuck until then." Danny tried to smile, but his eyes were getting heavy and he could hardly focus. "I'm real tired."

"Oh, no, wait. I have to keep you talking, right?"

"Mm, yeah." Something shuffled to Danny's side that he couldn't see. Why couldn't he see? Oh, his eyes were closed. That must be Clark shuffling. "Gotta stay awake, too. Both are good for injured people."

"Okay, well, stay awake. Let's keep talking. What happened to where you came from? Why'd you have to leave?"

"Our government tried to blow up the afterlife." Those words, strange as they were, were familiar on his tongue. They'd been throwing that phrase around Amity like confetti at a kid's birthday for weeks.

"...how would they even do that?"

"Nukes. Atomic Bombs. Hydrogen bombs. All of it at once. It turned back on them. Amity was all that was left, and we weren't gonna last long." Danny chuckled. "They thought they could kill death. It doesn't work like that."

"I s'pose it wouldn't. So, just how many people did you bring into this world?"

"Uh, everyone from Amity, plus some of Elmerton. We're two cities that are really close together, so Elmerton got some of our protection."

"Wow." Clark moved again, brushing against Danny's arm. "Well, you might have to explain that a few more times. My Pa was following in the truck, and he's just pulling up. He can help us call the authorities and get all this ironed out."

"Ugh, I don't wanna. Can't we get your authorities and my authorities together? It'll be like getting our parents to plan a play date."

Clark laughed - deep, echoing, and sounding like it came straight from his gut - from somewhere above Danny. He must've stood up.

"Well, this play date might last a little longer than most. We won't have to do much to get our authorities to meet, though. They'll probably end up doing all that themselves."

"Good. I need a nap." Danny barely managed to open his eyes in time to see Clark waving into the distance. Danny hadn't realized before how much dirt was on the other boy. Was he just as dirty?

"Pa! Pa, you oughtta call Sheriff Bronson!" An engine shut off. Danny hadn't noticed it getting closer. Man, he was really in bad shape, huh?

"I'll call 911!" Clark's 'Pa' had a rough, strong voice, but there was something about it that spoke of safety. Maybe it was how steady he sounded even during such a weird situation. "This seems like a little more than Bronson can handle." Danny watched a figure step up to the side of the crater and then look down at him.

A tall, broad-shouldered man with brown hair that had gone grey at the temples and crow's feet on the outsides of hazel eyes stared Danny in the face for about forty seconds before reacting.

"You got a new friend, here, Clark?"

"This is Danny. He's from the city." Clark pointed up at the ledge above them. "He's been telling me all about it, Pa. They're refugees from another version of Earth."

"Hm." Clark's Pa looked back at Danny, who hadn't moved from where he was lying. In his defense, he was very tired, and this was very soft dirt. "You up fer' explainin' that to the cops?"

Did Danny like cops? Not particularly. The ones back home were never any help. He would try not to hold it against these ones, though. These were new cops with a new chance to make a new reputation.

Who was he kidding? He hated cops.

"Yeah, I can. My body's still pretty dead," heh, "so I'll just stay down here if that's cool."

"Ah, sure. That's... cool." Clark's Pa - Danny really needed to learn his name - pulled out what looked pretty similar to the phones back home, dialed it, and dropped it to Danny. "If they ask whose phone that is, tell 'em Jon Kent in Smallville. That's the nearest town."

Danny nodded with a smile as he held the phone up to his ear. It sure seemed like the same kind he was used to, so their tech would probably be compatible.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

"This isn't a prank, but it will sound like one. Is there a protocol for an entire city full of people seeking refuge in your reality? I'm calling on behalf of my city, which has just been transported to this reality because ours was collapsing, so it's kind of important."

"...I'm sorry, Sugar, could you say that one more time?"

"There's an entire city called Amity Park that just magically teleported into the world. We're about, uh... I heard something about the Macallan's cornfields outside Smallville?" Above, Clark and his Pa started chuckling at the mention of the Macallans. Danny hoped that meant he'd gotten it right.

"Magically teleported?"

"Yeah, it was kind of a jerry rig of magic that we cobbled together over a week or so. It worked, though, and now we're here, so I'm guessing there's gonna need to be, like... paperwork to deal with a whole new city appearing out of nowhere."

The dispatcher stayed silent, so Danny continued. "We brought the whole city with us, so we already have local government, city records, and all that. Should make things easier, at least."

"And how many people would that be?"

"Uhh, probably around 150 thousand. We've got records for most of the people. Still, some were refugees in the city before the magical transport, so we won't have records of everyone."

"...do you have any proof of this? Any of it?"

"Nothing I can prove over the phone, sorry." Danny heard a heavy sigh from the dispatcher.

"I'll send someone out to verify. If it's true, then we can figure out the next steps."

"Sounds good. I'll let the mayor know that someone's on the way. Should I stay on the line?"

"Uh... no. No, that's alright. I'll be in touch with the officer. You have a good day, now."

"I'll do my best, thanks." Danny hung up and lifted the phone, but Clark's Pa was standing tall and Danny's arm barely reached the man's knee. Damn. He had to stand up.

Danny rolled, managing to get his arms under his chest and start pushing up. As soon as he started to move, a pair of hands wrapped under his pits and helped him up. "Careful, you had a hell of a fall, not to mention all the- uh, magic." Clark kept an arm wrapped around Danny to help him stay upright, the other hand passing the phone back to his Pa.

"Thanks. So now we wait for someone to come confirm... all this."

Clark's Pa knelt down to put himself at eye level with Danny. "You're unsteady and lookin' a mess," gee thanks, "but I ain't seein' blood or nothin' similar. You hurt anywhere?"

"Uhm..." Danny took mental stock of himself, leaning further into Clark as he focused on how exhausted he was. "I don't think so? I'm just a little fried up, inside. It's like... if this whole spell was Christmas lights, I'm the one extension chord your dad ran all the power through. It's even worse because I hate Christmas."

"Really?" Clark moved toward the edge of the hole, helping Danny sit on the edge before climbing out. "I'm gonna be askin' more about that, I hope you know."

"Danny?" Oh, that was Jazz. "Danny?! Where are you?! Danny!"

"Down here! He's down here! He's alrigh'!" Man, Clark's Pa was loud. Danny flinched away slightly and likely would've fallen if Clark wasn't leaning next to him against the front of the truck.

A familiar redhead appeared at the ledge 20 feet up, hair pulled back into her now-usual braid, familiar headband still in place. "Oh, Danny! Don't you ever do that again! What are you doing down there? Who are these people?"

"The-" Danny tried to shout back, but broke down coughing instead.

"We're locals! Danny here fell just as we were getting here. I was able to catch him, at least. You his... girlfriend?" Clark didn't bother shouting, but kept his voice raised while he patted Danny's back.

"Ew, no! I'm his sister." Jazz held up her phone, "Danny! Tucker, Sam, and Val all checked with me. They're tired, but fine. I came to check on you since you're the only one who didn't make contact."

"Sorry, kinda tired." Danny tried to lift his head, but almost fell back on the truck's hood if Clark didn't catch him again. "Interdimensional travel is kind of a lot."

"No shit, Danny. That's why we had safety measures in place, and you were all supposed to check in after!" Jazz looked out at the road, eyes narrowing. "Are you guys expecting someone?"

Danny heard Clark's Pa let out a chuckle. "Well, Clark, looks like you're getting to see Sheriff Bronson after all. Good morning, Sheriff! Look, some new neighbors moved in!"

Chapter Text

The following months were deceptively calm. Most of the folks from Smallville came out and helped with clearing rubble, organizing files, and anything else that needed to be done. The farmers in the area also all came out with some of their equipment to help dig out some of the ground under Amity so she could sit level.

At the same time, Kansas State and some Federal Organizations were all working around the clock to put things together. Amity's local officials, led by Vlad, worked to provide information to the native government. Slowly, Amity Parkers were provided with legal identities, filtered into the social security systems, and all the rest.

Sam and Tucker had recovered after a few days that they'd spent encased in vines and sand, respectively. The jokes about hibernation and cocoons only did so much for Valerie, whose suit had short-circuited during transport, damaging her spinal chord and leaving her with tremors in her legs. Danny spent hours apologizing before she shot at him with an ecto-gun because "I have a literal exo-suit, Danny, I'll be fine! At least I don't look like a middle schooler's angsty self-insert OC!"

Physically, Danny was fine, but she was right about him looking different. In the first few weeks after entering their new world, Danny's physical appearance gradually changed. Vlad guessed that this change was due to Danny exhausting his core and his living body during the spell. As a result, both of Danny's forms had to merge to ensure his survival, since they were less like one full human and one full ghost and more... a third of each. Neither could sustain itself separately like before, so they had to merge into a single form and combine forces to get back up to 100%.

This meant that Danny's DNA was slowly rebuilding itself from the inside out, leaving him with some cosmetic changes. His hair was a constant mix of white and black, making him possibly the youngest person to have a salt & pepper greying pattern, and his eyes both had internal heterochromia. Bright green on the inside and bright blue on the outside made his irises look like islands in the ocean, Clark said.

That was the other big change; Clark had taken to coming out most evenings, plus over the weekends, to help Danny with whatever he was doing. Making sure Sam and Tucker were both okay? Clark was helping Sam fix the garden beds in her greenhouse that had been shaken up in transport. Spending time with Val while she recovered? Clark was fluffing her pillow dramatically to make her laugh.

He was just... there.

Eventually, Clark found Danny sitting on top of an apartment building, staring at a pile of bricks and metal that had once been a brownstone house.

"You were hard to find today. Usually, you're closer to the ground," Clark joked, settling on the building's edge next to Danny. "What happened 'ere?"

"This is... where the portal to the afterlife was." Danny had heard so many jokes, made plenty too, but he hadn't bothered really considering what had happened. "In the basement, the couple who lived here had a lab. They studied ghosts and made a portal to the afterlife to further their studies... The government found out about it and... They decided to kill death. Can't die if there's no afterlife, they thought. That's not how it works, though."

Danny pointed toward one of the neighboring brownstones, mostly collapsed like the one in the center. "The lab was off-center, but you can see the circle around it. The blast went up, got caught in the atmosphere, and then surrounded the planet. It went in all directions and, when it hit itself on the other end, crashed back down again. Everything was destroyed from the exact other end of the world." Danny moved his hands in a circle, closing around nothing until they stopped just before covering the top. "It just barely stopped before Amity. Everything we brought here was everything left. I'm pretty sure the only reason the radioactivity didn't end us, too, is because we were already saturated in it by the portal."

Danny felt more than saw Clark's head whip toward him. "Radio-"

"No worries. It was a slow exposure. We all adapted. I've got it worse than anyone, obviously, and I'm totally fine." Danny turned with a tired smile, tongue resting against one of his pointed canines.

"Why'd you get it the worst?"

Danny turned back toward the collapsed building, smile dropping instantly. "My room was on the second floor, about 20 feet above the lab. The door to the lab was in the kitchen, so my parents usually stored any ectoplasm samples in the fridge, unless they were actively observing them. That much exposure, my entire life... it adds up."

"Your- the scientists were your parents?"

"Yep. Jazz got away from it more; she was in all sorts of clubs and extracurriculars and things... I didn't really get away until middle school, when Sam moved to town and I started spending more time with her and Tucker, away from home. By then... well, I was already more ghostly than any other human. Got caught in an accident with the portal a few years back, so that really sealed the deal."

"... that's why you're different? From the other Amity folk?"

Danny nodded, shoulders hunching slightly. "It is now. When I was younger, it was just that my parents were the town's crazy people. Then I got older and... well, now I'm the town's crazy person."

"...Nah, y'all got Smallville close enough, I'd say we can share Great Uncle Earl. He ain't actually anybody's uncle, but he calls everyone 'Nephew'. The guy ain't got runnin' water or power out on his land, so he's, uh... got some creative ways o' doin' things."

Danny chuckled, shoving Clark away slightly, "That doesn't make him crazy, that makes him... economically challenged?"

"Well, the eco part I can agree with. The man smells like a pig's afterbirth."

"Oh, ew, what!?" Danny gagged, leaning away from Clark as if it would get him further from the concept. Clark just laughed, heavy, loud, and straight from the gut. "Fuck you, that is terrible!"

Clark wheezed something between his cackles, then quickly calmed, eyes darting as he thought something through. "Actually, Danny... So, your radioactiveness... Does it... make you different? Special?" Danny hummed affirmatively, studying Clark in case this went badly. They'd only known each other for a few months. "Then can- can I show you somethin'?" Huh?

Whatever sound Danny made must've sounded positive, because Clark swung himself around to grab the building ledge on either side of Danny, feet bracing against the wall below.

"Holy- Clark! What are you doing? Are you crazy?!" Danny grabbed Clark's upper arms, trying to steady his friend and keep him from falling.

"Danny-"

"No. No, no, no. I don't want to see anything that hurts you, and there is no way this doesn't hurt you. Clark- What the fuck?" Clark's legs were up. Clark's legs were- his body was horizontal. How was he doing that? "How are you- You're not even flexing! How are you holding yourself like this? Clark? How- No!" Clark pulled his hands off the ledge, fully floating in front of Danny. "Why aren't you falling? Clark- what- You..."

"There it is. Most people would'a caught on a bit sooner, Danny." Clark was laughing, eyes crinkling with the size of his smile.

Danny stared, carefully letting go of Clark, subconsciously scared that Clark would fall when he did. Somehow, nothing happened.

With proof that Clark was flying on his own, Danny grinned and slipped off the edge of the building.

"No! Danny!" Clark had dropped low, catching Danny in a bridal carry with wide eyes and shaky breaths. "Don'- Just because- That is so stupid! Danny!" He flew them back to the roof, landing carefully.

"That- Ha! That wasn't the idea! I-! Oh, ancients!" Danny buried his face in Clark's shirt, laughing just like the taller teen had been doing minutes before.

"Tha' isn't funny, Danny! What if all I could do was hover, huh? You could'a been really hurt! Worse, ya could'a died!"

"Shut up, you Boy Scout! I would've been fine!"

"Oh, would'ya, now? Sure, Danny, we're only 10 stories up!"

Danny grinned and kicked one leg up, using the momentum to swing his entire body above his head, hovering upside-down and eye-to-eye with Clark. "I was going to catch myself, no help needed. I appreciate the save, though. If I couldn't fly, too, it probably would've been necessary."

Clark's eyes were wide, first in shock, then with excitement. He shot off into the sky, making Danny whip around and follow with a whoop.

-=o0o=-

Weeks after revealing to each other that they could both fly, Danny and Clark were racing above the farm fields when Clark pulled back, coming to a stop slowly enough that Danny noticed and stopped alongside him.

"Clark?"

"Can I show you somethin'."

Danny crossed his arms with a crooked smile, "Last time you said that, you flew. What now? Lazer eyes?"

"Oh- well, um..." Clark was suddenly sheepish. "I usually call it heat vision, but-."

"No way!" Danny grinned, floating a bit higher with excitement, "You too?"

"Wa- Too?"

"Yeah! I thought- I mean- You told me that some people in this world have powers and are, like, Meta-People, but I thought people only had one thing they could do! I didn't realize you could do more than fly, so I didn't mention my other stuff, but-"

"Wait, what other stuff do ya have? I thought the flyin' was because of the radiation?"

"Well, yeah, but the radiation killed me and brought me back wrong. I'm a whole weird not-quite-human thing."

"You're- Are you no' human?!"

"Not anymore."

Clark gaped at Danny, slowly floating closer while his gaze darted over Danny's features, almost like he was taking in the pointed ears and teeth for the first time.

"You're no' human."

"Nope."

"That explains a lot..." Clark hesitated, chewing his lip for a moment. "Well, neither am I. I'm actually an alien."

It was Danny's turn to gape. "From space?"

"Yeah. My, uh- My parents actually found me in a pod... thing? It crashed in their fields, and I was inside. They took me in as their own. There's some writin' in the pod and some kinda key? I still don-"

"You still have it?!" Danny was inches away, eyes wide, and Clark could hear his heartbeat going at a normal human rate, so hammering away by Danny's standards. Maybe the heart rate should've been a tip for Clark on his friend's peculiarity.

"Well, yeah. Wha' would we do with it? Can't really send that to a museum withou' them askin' questions. Do ya... wanna see it?"

Clark could hear a buzzing coming from Danny, something that he'd usually assumed was just background noise until now. It hummed in his friend's chest, right alongside his heart, and started to rumble the longer Danny stared.

It almost sounded like a cat's purr.

"Danny? You a'right?" Clark reached a hand out. Before he could grasp his friend's shoulder, though, Danny flinched away.

Oh.

Ok.

"Wait, shit, no! I mean-! I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"It's fine, Danny. I'll jus'... I'll leave ya' to it, then."

"No, wait, Clark!" Danny grabbed Clark's hand to stop him from leaving and rushed back in front of him, "That seemed wrong. I have no issues with you being an alien. It's awesome! It is so cool! I- Okay, for this to make sense, I mean- I'm a ghost, right? I died, I'm dead, I'm a human-ghost hybrid." Danny was- what? "Well, the reason some souls stay as ghosts instead of passing on is because we have some 'unfinished business', right? Some obsession. Mine is space. I'm obsessed with space. Every night since we got here, I've just stayed up and studied the sky because it is so different here and there are whole new galaxies to learn about.

"But then you're an alien. You're from space. I didn't back off because I was like- scared or grossed out or anything. It was- well- I mean, I need you to understand that my space obsession is a major part of why I exist, now. Obsession doesn't cover it. And you- You're an alien."

"We covered tha', Danny." Clark watched Danny's eyes, desperate and pleading. "Why did ya flinch, then? If ya weren't scared..."

"I- um- I... realizedIwasabouttokissyou," Danny muttered, eyes screwed up tight as he let go of Clark to cover his face. "I know, I'm sorry, I don't even know if you like guys or anything, but you're a real, actual alien, and my obsession was kind of taking over, and you're already so nice and cool and really, really good looking, and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Clark stared, aware that he was taking a while to comprehend what had just been said to him.

Danny was a ghost hybrid. He died. They'd have to talk about the whole dead thing, but okay.

Ghost had obsessions that kept them tied to life. Okay, made sense, if you believed in ghosts, which Clark had to, as an alien.

Danny's obsession was space. Clark was a little surprised by that one, since Danny hadn't spoken much about it before now, but maybe it was a really private thing? Maybe that was a ghost thing that Clark could ask about.

Clark was an alien from space; he knew that. Danny was obsessed with space, so finding out that Clark was from space... made him want to kiss Clark? Why would it translate to kissing?

...How would Clark have felt if Danny had kissed him?

"You think I'm good-lookin'?" No, Clark, that wasn't any of what you just thought about!

"I- I mean, I've never seen anyone with such blue eyes, and your skin is weirdly clear, and you're, like, objectively attractive, so..." Danny flushed, ears turning green and hands turning red. Clark didn't know people could blush on their hands.

"So, it was just the, uh- The ghost obsession? Do... do all ghosts... feel that way about their obsessions?"

"What?" Danny moved his hands aside just enough to look at Clark, "No, no, the obsession, like- Oh god." Danny hid his face again and muttered the rest, only audible because of Clark's hearing. "Ghosts kind of just... don't have self-control about the subject of their obsession."

Don't have... wait... "Did you want to kiss me before your obsession got involved?" Clark didn't mean to say it so directly. Oh god, what if he was wrong? What if Danny didn't like him like that and-

"Yes." It was so quiet. It was such a quiet little squeak that Clark could barely hear it over the wind. Then it was so quiet afterward that Clark was fairly sure they'd both stopped breathing.

Danny wanted to kiss him before he knew Clark was an alien.

Then he almost did after finding out.

Clark floated closer, putting them eye to eye. "Do you still want to?"

Danny squeaked again, chest humming so much that it started to sound like a constant whistling. Then, Danny nodded.

Holy shit. Danny still wanted to kiss Clark. What- what did Clark do? Usually, he had no trouble letting people down gently, but he... he didn't want to. Clark didn't want to refuse Danny? Why would- Oh! Oh.

Well, in that case...

Clark reached up and carefully grabbed Danny's hands, pulling them away from Danny's face to reveal wide eyes and flushed cheeks. "Danny, do you want to kiss me right now?"

"Um- I-" Danny's eyes darted down to Clark's mouth, then back up to his eyes with a small nod. "Please?"

Clark's cheeks hurt from how hard he was grinning. "You really want to kiss me."

"Yep. I do. I just said that. Can we, please? Instead of talking about it? Because talking about it is starting to really freak me out and-"

Clark cut Danny off by dropping a peck to his lips, but missed and landed more on the corner of Danny's mouth. "How's that?"

"That's... That was too fast, I didn't even realize what was happening."

Clark agreed there. "Do you want to try again?"

Danny leaned forward slightly, eyes locking onto Clark's lips. Just as Clark was preparing to close the gap, Danny did it for him, hands slipping out of Clark's to hold the sides of his head.

Danny's lips were colder than Clark had expected, and a little chapped, but they moved against his own in a way that made Clark breathe him in like when he got the first whiff of one of his Ma's pies. His arms wrapped around Danny and held him tightly like a warm blanket just pulled out of the dryer on a cold night. His ears narrowed in on the heartbeat less than a foot from his own - steadily beating next to a content humming that almost seemed to echo in Danny's chest - and focused on it the way he'd done with his Pa that time he'd gotten lost in one of the fields, while he was learning to fly.

Everything about kissing Danny felt like home.