Jason huffs with each step up the stairs, the weight of the plastic grocery bags digging into his fingers. The contents of the bag range from normal everyday foods like eggs and bread to better items such as meats, various spices, and kimchi. Lord knows his main apartment needed more food, especially if his brothers were going to keep barging in like they own the place and taking from his cooking.
He reaches the last step and turns the corner, intending to head to his apartment, but a sight along the corridor stops him in his tracks.
A scrawny man with black hair, wearing a white t-shirt and jeans that envelope his frame is curled up against one of the apartment doors facing away from him. The sight is unusual, if a bit odd. Unfortunately, Jason’s own apartment is the one right after where the stranger is lying. He may have to interact with this guy if he wants to get past him.
Jason sucks it in and walks forward. He stops a few steps away from the mystery man. “Hey. Are you okay?” He asks.
The mystery man jumps up with a yelp, clearly startled. “Ah, yes!” he wipes his hands onto his jeans. “Sorry, it's just- I accidently locked myself out of my apartment.” His steady voice trailed off at the last part in embarrassment, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.
Now that he can see the man's face, Jason can say with certainty that this guy was actually pretty cute. He has a sharp jaw, black hair that is styled in a fluffy fringe, and icy blue eyes that feel as if they penetrate his soul. He takes a second to admire the man before him, then registers what was said. “Oh.” He murmurs. Then, an idea pops into his head. “Hang on, I might have something to help with that.” He side steps around the guy and goes to his apartment next door. He delicately places the grocery bags on the floor and unlocks his door.
The man waits until Jason comes back holding something. He gestures for the man to move out of the way and reveals a set of lock picking tools. It takes Jason all of ten seconds to crack open the lock. He opens the door and lets it swing open while he turns to the man, a smug smile on his face.
The man is staring at him with slightly wide eyes.
Jason realizes belatedly that perhaps knowing that your next-door neighbor can easily pick your lock is not the most comforting thought. He awkwardly coughs into his fist, “Yeah, the locks here are pretty sh*tty. Most people change them immediately after moving in.”
“Ohh.” The man responds, standing stock still in front of Jason.
Jason sticks his hand out for a hand shake, “Im Jason.” He smiles, trying his best not to intimidate the cute guy.
The man brings out his hand and meets him halfway. “I'm Danny.” Danny smiles back.
“So, Danny. You new around here?” Jason knows for a fact that Danny is new. For one, the apartments here have been empty for awhile, obviously nobody wants to move into Crime Alley of all places. Honestly it's sheer dumb luck that Danny just happened to get the one next to literally the only resident on this floor. Second, his accent stands out as a Midwestern accent; not exactly subtle against the harsher Gotham accent.
“Ah, is it that obvious?” Danny sheepishly smiles while rubbing his hand on the back of his next. “I had just finished unloading my stuff but that's when the door decided to close in on me.” He lets out an embarrassed laugh.
“Well lucky for you, I happen to be walking by.” Jason smirks.
“Yeah, lucky me.” Danny smiles. “I should- uh- probably head inside.” Danny points to his open door.
“Ah- right. Don't let me keep you. Don't forget to change that lock, crime here is no joke.” Jason wouldn't want his cute new neighbor to get shanked on his first night.
“Yes, right, thank you!” Danny walks through the doorway and closes the door behind him.
Jason sighs. Man, that could have gone a lot better. Hopefully Danny didn't think he was a creep.
Yeah right. Danny probably wants nothing to do with Jason now and probably never wants to see him again. Jason takes a deep breath and picks up his groceries again, taking them through his door and setting them on the table before returning and closing his door, making sure to lock it. He sets to organizing his haul and arranging everything where it's supposed to be.
Meanwhile in the apartment next door, Danny is rightfully freaking the f*ck out.
There he was having a pity party to himself in the hallway when out of nowhere this absolute unit of a man comes up and helps him. He said his name is Jason, and he lives right next door to him!
Danny had originally come to Gotham to escape his parents. They had started to act strange around him, giving him strained smiles and generally being awkward. His dad had even stopped calling him Dann-o, which in and of itself is a red flag. Snooping around invisibly had led to him finding them prepping an honest to god human sized cage in the basem*nt.
He knew right then and there that they knew. Danny had immediately contacted Jazz, Sam, and Tucker and initiated Plan Toast. It had been developed a few years back for if, no, when his parents found out his secret but had a bad reaction to it. He had grabbed his go-bag full of only the essentials and flew as fast as he could out of Amity Park.
It had hurt. Leaving his entire life behind just so he could keep living. If all went according to plan then Jazz should have destroyed the lab while their parents went out searching for him when they realized he was missing, destroying their life’s work whilst also destroying the portal. Ensuring that no ghost can accidently wander through the portal leading to their capture.
Thankfully Jazz was home from College during summer break. If not her then Tucker would have had to break into his home and destroy everything instead.
Which now leads him to Gotham. It was the second heaviest saturated place (first is Amity) with ectoplasm that could hopefully help maintain his health. Unfortunately a side effect that he hadn't taken into account was how absolutely rancid the ectoplasm here is. When they said the city was cursed they were not joking. With Danny having barely arrived and moved in that morning, his body is still adjusting to the filtering of the new ecto.
What does this mean? It means that Danny is going to struggle with his powers for a bit until his core figures out how to filter the stuff properly. Which was why he was out moping in the hallway lamenting about his luck.
At first he cursed at his inability to use the most simplest of his powers: his intangibility. He had gone through the entire five stages of grief before giving up, and that's when he showed up. A hulking figure with broad shoulders, strong arms, and the absolute meatiest thighs he had ever seen. The man has a prominent white streak at the top front of his hair and deep blue gray eyes that have hints of green in them.
Danny runs a hand through his hair and sighs, looking at his barren apartment. Right now his only furniture was a folding chair, a small table, a sleeping bag and a purple yoga mat underneath it. The go-bag had literally only essentials, which included but was not limited to emergency ecto, fake credentials, and a butload of cash (courtesy of Sam).
Danny hums while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He's going to need a job soon in order to stay afloat. Once he has a stable source of income he'll get to getting more furniture.
Easy peasy.
Danny frowns. This wasn't how he expected to live out his twenties, but at least it's better than being strapped down to a metal table and being experimented on.
Here's to hoping.
----------
A week had passed without them seeing each other, too busy with their lives for their schedule to coincide. Danny had found a job surprisingly easily. He had walked into a mechanic (his first choice of job) and asked if they were hiring. He had prayed to any deity out there (Anyone EXCEPT Clockwork, who he’s absolutely sure likes to laugh at Danny’s misery) that they wouldn't ask for some type of diploma stating that he knew his stuff. Thankfully someone answered since the Boss simply took him to the back, and said ‘show me what you can do.’
And with the childhood that Danny had growing up? Working as a mechanic was like cake.
Most likely they didn't ask for certification because it was located in Crime Alley. He knows he shouldn't be thinking it, but he's glad one of the outcomes of Gotham’s crime is being able to give people like him this opportunity.
He turns the corner to enter the corridor of his building and sees his neighbor. Jason looks tired as hell. His black pants are covered in wrinkles, a dark brown leather jacket is over a dark red hoodie with the hood over the jacket. He's taking a while to fit the key into the keyhole of his door, his eyes drooping every so often.
“Hey Jason.” Danny greets with a worried tone. Jason looks like he could fall over at any moment. Jason jerks awake and whips his head around, staring at Danny with an incredulous look.
Slowly, his features soften, and a tired smile graces his face. “Hey Danny,” Jason says in a horse voice, he quickly clears his throat. “What can I do for ya?”
“Oh, not for me,” Danny says, “Just checking in. Are you ok?”
In response, Jason gives a slow blink. “Yeah, yeah. I'm fine thanks. Just-” He cuts himself off with a yawn. He covers his mouth then drops his arm when he finishes. “Just tired.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
Jason hums, “Well, I'm going to go off to sleep. See you around.” He turns and stuffs the key into the keyhole, finally getting it in. Turning the key unlocked the door. He opens it, but stops before entering.
He turns his head and sees Danny standing there. It's not obvious at first glance, but since he was trained by the Bat he could pick up on the tiny microexpressions Danny gave off. He was feeling nervous, with small hints of dejection. Jason tries to lift his neighbors spirits by giving him a smile and a small wave. Danny perks up and smiles back, copying the gesture.
With that they both return to their homes.
The next day Jason wakes up around two pm. He groans when the only sunlight in Gotham hits him right in the face. He squirms in his sleep, and tries to move out of the way of the sun's greeting. He finally moves to a shady bit, the shadows a cool balm on the warmth the sun had left on his skin in its wake. His features relax and he is slowly drawn back to the murky depths of slumber.
The phone rings right next to him.
Jason groans loudly, wildly flailing his limbs about while stretching and simultaneously trying to get the blanket off of him. He reaches to the table on the side of his bed and grabs at the phone. On the top of the screen shows ‘DICKFACE’. He releases a deep sigh and answers the phone.
“What.” he growls out.
“Heyyyyy Jaybird!” Jason could practically feel Dick smiling widely on the other side. Probably even laying on a bed on his stomach and kicking his feet in the air like a little girl too. He would probably do that. “Just calling to see if we’re still cool for Friday movie night?” Jason lifts the screen to see the date: it's Thursday.
He had been awake for around seventy-two hours before he had slept, shutting down a major rival gang while simultaneously having his guys shut down their opponents’ facilities.
He’s had to cancel on Dick a bit too many times. Good thing that after that major fight he could take a night off. “Yeah, I can do movie night.” Jason confirms.
“Great! Damian might come along too, we’ll make sure to bring sufficient snacks. See you then!” Jason doesn't get time to respond before Dick hangs up, clearly too over excited to continue conversing.
Jason releases his breath and flops onto his back, releasing the phone and letting it clatter onto the table. He stares at the ceiling, not thinking of anything particular. Eventually thoughts do form, and they swirl before ending up on thoughts of his neighbor.
Danny. Not much has been figured out about him. Apart from being sweet, cute, and a nice guy, there hasn't been more information from their faint interactions. He remembers how he looked last night after Jason dismissed him so quickly. He should apologize, explain how it had been awhile since he last slept and couldn't comprehend anything at the moment. Being a Crime Lord is no excuse for being rude.
With that plan in mind, he lifts himself off and gets ready. He takes a hot shower, and then after changes into a normal pair of clothes. Putting on a red hoodie, he leaves his door unlocked and walks over to Danny's place.
He stands in front of the door and lifts his knuckles to knock but stops, hesitating. Jason takes in a deep breath and knocks onto the door. There is a clatter on the other side and muffled cursing. Sounds of pots and pans hitting each other rings out in a cacophony. Jason furrows his brows but forces his expression to become neutral when the door is yanked open.
Danny stands there with a guilty expression on his face. Looking behind him, Jason could see the absolute mess that had become Danny's kitchen. Tiny oil spills were covering a large portion of his stove surrounding a pan. Inside it was a sad charred piece of meat with burnt leaves next to it. His counter space was littered with pieces of pepper and salt, a cutting board sits innocently in the middle with still pieces of raw meat.
Jason looks back at Danny, and can see the exhaustion in his eyes. “Hi,” Jason whispers.
Danny grimaces at him, but still tries to smile; even if just a little. “Hi.” He weakly croaks back.
Jason shifts his stance. “I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. Or technically this morning since it happened at two am.” He softly chuckles. “I was sleep-deprived and just really tired, but that's not an excuse to be an ass.” Jason looks up at Danny to see his reaction.
Danny stood there with a small open mouth. He hadn't expected Jason to apologize. He understood that Jason was tired (he sure looked like it) and could understand wanting to go to bed as soon as possible.
His core fluttered at the thought of Jason having thought deeply of this interaction between them and going so far as to apologize.
It made something in him melt.
“It's okay.” Danny reassures Jason. “I get it, you were tired. I probably would have done the same in your position.”
“Still, I want to make it up to you.” Jason pushes. He looks behind Danny again to peer upon the damage of the kitchen. At that moment an idea pops into his mind, and he fights to keep his grin to himself at his thought. “How about I invite you over for dinner? As an apology.” A (hopefully) charming smile spreads on Jason's face at his offer.
He watches Danny as a blush rises to his cheeks, his pale skin making the rosy color more vibrant. “Dinner? Us?!” Danny tries to speak again but chokes on his voice, he gives a small cough. “Jason- you don't have to do that. I said it's alright.” He weakly tries to deny.
“But I want to.” Jason insists, stepping a bit closer to Danny.
Danny doesn't move back, just looks up at Jason. “Okay.” He agrees.
“Okay.” Jason repeats, smiling down at Danny. “You can come over to my place tonight at six thirty, does that work with you?”
“Yeah, it does.”
“Great.” Jason backs away, inwardly missing the strange coolness that had come from Danny. “It's a date.” He mischievously smiles and dips before Danny can give a response. He proudly walks back, knowing the other man is staring at his back. He opens his door, walks through, and shuts it. His back immediately hits the door and slides down, sitting on the floor with his legs splayed out. His face is set in disbelief that he was able to pull himself together enough to get Danny over for dinner.
His face slowly morphs into an incredulous smile.
He invited Danny over for dinner!
His face then turns into one of extreme panic.
Oh no. He invited Danny over for dinner.
He didn't have anything ready, what dish should he prepare? What ingredients does it use? Does he have what's necessary in his apartment? What if Danny is allergic to something?!
Jason shakes his head and stands back up. He grabs the keys to one of his cars, he can't mess this up. He wants to have an honest chance with Danny. He closes his apartment door and heads down to the garage, he's got planning to do!
…
…
…
Danny paced his room, continuously taking out a shirt from his closet, putting it up against his chest, checking to see if it would be a good fit, then throwing it onto his bed.
Jason had said ‘it’s a date’. A date. A DATE! Danny couldn't believe it! Honestly speaking he thought he didn't have a chance with Jason, but finding out Jason is interested!? This felt like a dream come true.
Unfortunately with dreams come nightmares.
How should he dress for this? Should he bring a gift? Would Jason be disappointed in the person he actually was? Slowly his thoughts began to spiral, but thankfully he caught himself before he could sink into a panic. “No! Bad brain!” He whisper yells to himself. He takes a couple of deep breaths, holding them in and doing the breathing exercises that Jazz had taught him before.
His nerves don't disappear, but they are able to sit on the back burner while he tries to make a decision. He decides to wear a thin black sweater covered by a dark blue NASA hoodie. On his legs are normal jeans, along with the only pair of shoes he currently has. Not the finest wear but it will have to do.
He walks out of the apartment and goes to a small grocery store around the corner, making a purchase and walking back home. He waits until the appointed time, making use of spare time with cleaning his kitchen from his poor attempt at cooking. Let it be known that when you try to learn to cook but it keeps coming alive and trying to eat you, it discourages one from learning.
At six thirty on the dot, Danny stands in front of Jason's door, offering in hand, and knocks on the wood.
Two seconds barely passes before Jason opens the door, wearing an excited smile while holding a wooden spoon. “Danny!” Jason greets. “Come in, come in! I'm just about finished cooking, but take a seat anywhere.”
“Alright.” Danny agrees. He holds out what he had bought from the grocery store, a Neapolitan ice cream. “I brought ice cream as a thanks for inviting me over, it's Neapolitian. I didn't know what flavor you like so I got the one that offers the best of all worlds.”
Jason smiles warmly and accepts the gift, taking it in his hands. “Well you're in luck, because Neapolitian happens to be my favorite.” He puts the container of ice cream in the freezer for later.
Danny closes the door, and looks to his right to see a shoe rack. He uses his heel to take off the shoe of his other foot and then his sock covered toes to take off the other shoe. He walks forward into Jason's apartment and comes to an immediate stop.
It's not the most lively apartment, with a worn but loved couch, a medium sized wooden table, and a small bookshelf filled with books. What is most impressive though is Jason's kitchen. It is fully decked out with everything a seasoned chef would need with multiple stove tops, a dishwasher, oven, and other gadgets along with metal hooks above the stove used to hang utensils.
And the smell. The smell of the food wafting in from the kitchen was mouthwatering. He wanted some so bad. Danny shook himself out of his stupor and walked forward. He stops to take off his Nasa hoodie, quickly straightening it out so that it doesn't wrinkle and hanging it on one of the various hooks on the wall for jackets. He goes around the counter and sits down onto a barstool, content with watching Jason finish cooking.
Jason glances up and catches Danny staring at him. He quickly looks back down and concentrates on the food, inwardly smiling. Jason may not have had many romantic partners, but thanks to all those books he read he is as prepared as he can be on how to make a home-date as romantic as possible.
He finished preparing the meal and loaded it onto two plates. He walks around the table, waiting for Danny to stand back up before they both walk to the dining table. Jason had prepared it before he had begun cooking. The plates were set in their places and in the centerpiece stood a small purple flower in an equally tiny pot, barely the size of a co*cktail glass. Two lit candles smelling of vanilla were set on either side of the small flower.
They both take a seat and pick up their utensils. Danny uses his fork and picks up a piece of what Jason had said was called ‘stir fry’. He lifts the offering to his mouth and takes a bite.
His eyes widen at the flavor. The vegetables are crispy in a tender sort of way, the sauces are an explosion of flavor that assault at his taste buds. Another bite, this time a piece of meat. The beef is tender and coated in the glaze of the fat and oil.
Danny had never had anything like this. Growing up in Amity and never venturing further from there, he had always had sort of the same meals growing up. But this? Danny felt ruined. He would never be able to enjoy another meal properly.
He lets out a low groan at the flavor, completely unaware at the face Jason made at the sound. “I take it you like it?” Jason asks, feeling pretty damn proud of himself for being able to get that reaction out of Danny with just his cooking.
Danny hums and nods in agreement, not wanting to have to hurry up and chew in order to answer. For a while the two ate in silence, simply enjoying the meal and the ambiance that comes along with it.
Unfortunately all good things come to an end and eventually they finish all of the food on the table. “That,” Danny leans back in his chair, “was absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing that with me.”
Jason smiles. “Of course, I love to cook so sharing it with others always makes me happy.”
Danny hums. “What makes you love it?” He asks.
Jason makes a thinking face, rubbing his thumb on the metal side of the fork while trying to word out his answer. “It's nice, doing a task that doesn't require much thinking.” He answers truthfully. “It also makes me feel good since I didn't get to eat such nice food growing up. Knowing that I know how to make these types of dishes now makes me feel better.” He doesn't say that cooking was also his own way of being able to spend time with Alfred, spending time with him so that he didn't feel so alone in the manor.
Danny smiles sadly. “I hear you, I didn't get to have many safe meals growing up at home. I had to resort to eating at my friends house or getting burgers but that becomes unhealthy real fast.”
The two felt an odd sort of kinship at having had a sh*tty experience with food growing up.
From that small revelation, conversation seemed to just flow between them. Neither noticed the passage of time as they talked. Their chatting ranged from everything and anything, from favorite video games (Doomed for Danny and Resident Evil for Jason), favorite movies (Wall-E and Pride and Prejudice), hobbies (surprisingly they both loved mechanics, they had raved for a while on that) and even random questions such as favorite colors or favorite animals and why.
The night had turned late and both men sat at the table, fresh out of things to talk about. Danny takes this as his que and stands up. “Thanks again for the meal.”
Jason stands up too. “Well thank you for the ice cream. Neapolitan happens to be my favorite.” Jason gives Danny a lopsided grin, and Danny can feel the butterflies in his stomach fluttering at the action.
Danny picks up the plates and carries them to the kitchen, intending on washing them. He stops in his tracks when a large firm hand grips onto his wrist. The half-ghost could feel the worn callouses on the other hands, a sign of being a hard worker. Danny looks to Jason in question, but doesnt stop him when Jason takes the plates out of Danny's hands.
“Please, allow me.” Jason walks to the sink.
Danny brows raise in alarm and follows after him, “Oh no I can't possibly do that.” Danny voiced. His imbedded Midwestern politeness dictated for him to do something and not leave everything to Jason, that would just be rude. “Please, let me do the dishes. You’ve already made that amazing meal for us.”
“But you're my guest.” Jason argues back with no real bite to his words, amusem*nt shining through his expression. “It wouldn't do well of me to have the guest clean up after inviting them.” Jason sets the plates down onto the sink.
Danny moves in close, standing right next to him. “Then.” He licks his lips. “How about we do them together?” He turns his head at Jason and tilts his head.
Jason gulps at the sight next to him, the way the warm light of the kitchen seems to shine around Danny. His icy eyes looking at him with lidded eyes, eyelashes fluttering in a way they have no right doing. “Yeah…” Jason agrees softly, then clears his throat and speaks a bit louder. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
The next few minutes are spent with them doing the dishes, cleaning off the remaining crumbs and lathering in the soapy water to clean off all the grime. Danny reaches for the next plate, but instead comes in contact with empty air. He looks to where the plate was and finds nothing, looking towards the man next to him reveals Jason holding the plate, having a smug smile on his face while he looks at Danny with a ‘What are you going to do about it’ look.
Danny is always up for a challenge.
In return he flicks a bit of the soapy water onto Jason. Danny laughs when some of it had managed to land on Jason's face, watching it make its way down his face and hang onto his chin. Jason co*cks his head, giving a feral grin and splashes the water right back. From there it devolved into an epic splash fight, ending with both of their arms and their tops to be covered in water.
They both laugh at the outcome of seeing each other wet and finish washing the plates.
Too soon the night comes to an end and Danny is standing in front of Jason's door, wearing his shoes and holding a small container of leftovers (which was very kind of Jason).
“I had fun.” Danny smiles cheerily.
“Me too.” Jason wrings his hands behind him. “I wouldn't mind doing this again.” He adds, trying to get the message across. He wants to ask Danny out on another date, but his flustered state won't allow him to get the words out.
Please get it. Please get it.
Danny's eyes light up, at one point they almost seem to glow on their own, but that's probably a trick of the light. “Would you- I mean, you don't have to, but,” Danny looks to the floor, then looks back up. “Would you like to hang out again some time?”
Jason smiles as relief crashes down on him. “Yeah, I'd like that.”
They bid each other farewell, Jason stands at his doorway and watches Danny go to his door and unlock it. Before Danny walks through, he waves farewell to Jason. Jason lifts his hand and waves back.
Both men turn and close their doors, locking them.
In his apartment, Danny sighs in joy at how amazing the evening turned out. He gets out of his clothes and lays down onto the bed, reminiscing about the man next door when he realizes something.
‘Crap’ Danny thinks, ‘I forgot my hoodie.’
----------
The next evening has Jason in his kitchen again, making a pizza from scratch for when his sibling or siblings come over tonight for Friday night movies. He chops the vegetables needed for the vegetarian pizza, moving about whilst gathering the necessary cheeses.
“Oh Jasooooon,” Dick sings out, walking around the corner holding a bag of pretzels and into the kitchen. Like usual, he didn't even bother to knock, simply broke into his home and made himself comfortable.
“Hey Dickie-Bird.” Jason answers dryly, focusing on the knife in front of him so he doesn't cut himself. “Did the Demon-brat end up coming?” He asks.
Damian rounds the corner, “Todd, I demand to know who this belongs to.” In his hand he is holding onto a familiar blue hoodie with a NASA symbol on it. “It is too small to fit you and no one in our household wears NASA hoodies.”
Jason glances over at the hoodie. He has to make a decision, if he tells his family about his new neighbor then they are surely going to go ‘investigative mode’ on Danny since his hoodie is in his apartment. On the other hand, if he doesn't tell them they'll find it suspicious, investigate, and figure it out on their own.
It's a lose lose situation for him either way.
“That? It belongs to my neighbor.” There, simple answer.
Of course, it's never simple. Dick’s head whips around from where he had been getting a bowl from Jason's cupboard. “Your Neighbor?” He repeats. Then, a mischievous expression grows on his face, his mouth widening to a cheshire grin. He sneaks up to Jason's side, “What was your neighbor doing over here in your apartment? Did you invite them over? Was it a date?!” Dicks smile only grew wider with the more questions he asked.
Damian is giving him a calculating look. “Have you done a background check on them to make sure they are safe?”
Jason rolls his eyes, he points the knife at Dick and gestures with it for every answer. “They came over for dinner. Yes, I was the one who invited him. Yes, it was in fact a date. And no,” he looks at Damian, “I haven't run a background check, and I don't have plans to. I want to see how this plays out, which means that you two-” he holds his index and middle finger at the same time to simultaneously point at both Dick and Damian, “-better stay out of it. You got that?”
Dick and Damian exchange glances. Dick holds his hands up in mock surrender, one of his hands holds onto a pretzel which slowly goes into his mouth. Damian however, crosses his arms with a scowl. “Todd, what if the person you are trying to court is dangerous? It is important to know his weaknesses in case he turns out to be villainous.”
Every day that passes this kid sounds more and more like Bruce.
Jason huffs while loading the pizza into the oven to be left for about twenty minutes. “Look, I just want this to happen naturally, like a normal person. Which means no background checks, no stalking, and definitely no spying on him. I dont want anyone from the family finding out so you better not f*cking say anything” It was definitely strange how comfortable Jason was being with getting close to Danny.
No matter how nice Danny was, he is still an unknown. Which could possibly be dangerous to not just him but his entire operation, Jason knew that. Yet every time that he has interacted with Danny he had felt a strange feeling of ease. As if nothing bad could happen and that everything had the chance to be better. He had felt more at ease with Danny then he had in the last few years. Something about Danny just made his chest warm up in funny ways.
Damian’s scowl turned into a severe frown. “It's not good to let your emotions influence your decisions, what if this is an attempt at mind control?”
“It's not.” Jason turns to look at his brother. His patience is starting to run out.
“Uhh, guys?” Dick calls out from the background.
Neither of them look at him, continuing their intense staring match.
“Todd-”
“Damian” Jason growls while cutting him off. “Leave it.” For a moment his vision turns a sickly green, the rage he is familiar with bubbles up. He takes a deep breath, clamping down on that growing anger. Opening his eyes reveals Dick standing at his side with tense shoulders, and Damian holding a blade.
Dick, ever the peace bringer, chimes in. “Alright Jay-bird, we’ll leave it alone, right Damian?” Dick gives Damian a look.
Damian gives a “Tch” in response, but begrudgingly nods his head.
Dick claps his hands, smiling widely, “So! Let's go watch that movie!” Everyone sits down, today’s movie is Jason's pick: Murder on the Orient Express. Once the pizza is ready everybody serves themselves and gets comfortable on Jason’s couch.
Throughout the film Jason kept feeling a bit odd. As if someone was staring at him and poking at him. A subtle glance showed that it wasn't any of his siblings. This felt a bit more… internal than that.
He shrugs it off and takes a bite out of another slice of pizza. He doesn't want to investigate something right now. Right now he just wants to enjoy movie night with his brothers, and later eat his newly acquired and soon to be demolished neapolitan ice cream.
…
…
…
Danny had been peacefully working on a new project in order to stave off boredom when he felt it. His ghost sense went off, but not in the way it usually went. Instead of a cold fog flowing out of his mouth, it seemed to get stuck in his throat instead.
Danny chokes on it, standing from his seated position at his table and pounds his fist into his chest, trying to dislodge the cold stuck throat. Eventually he is able to cough it all out. His eyes water at the edges in reflex to the coughing. He wipes it off, wondering just what had triggered his ghost sense.
He stretches his senses, trying to pinpoint just where it had come from. Can't be the random shades that inhabit Gotham, they have been there since the start and are too weak to properly trigger it. Cant be stronger than a full-blown ghost since his sense would work as normal instead of almost causing him to suffocate. His internal compass points itself to his left, but the only thing of note to his left is Jason's apartment.
Mmm. This is suspicious. He reaches out, his core thrumming while trying to find whatever it was. He brushes against something and immediately recoils back. It had felt angry, in a rage that threatened to fight even against God itself. It felt like screaming, fire, and deranged laughter. As soon as it had reached its peak, it wrestled with itself, grabbing at its own fury and subduing itself.
Danny blinks. What was that?
He gives a tentative poke at the no longer angry signal. It feels ghostly in nature, but wrong. As if someone had taken ectoplasm and had left it marinating, but instead of just overnight it's been out for years. It is now a hollow version of what it once was, steeped with deep emotions that threaten to bring everything to the ground with it.
Danny had never felt anything like this before. Another poke receives a small curious hum in return, barely there and ending before it could become stronger. But Danny had noticed. Whoever it was that had this stale ectoplasm in their system must be suffering through some crazy hyper emotions, yet they had managed to reel it in? This person must possess amazing self control for being able to manage angry ecto.
For once the half-ghost isn't sure how to go about it. Normally he senses someone, fights them, and then sends them home; but he can't this time. This person isn't a ghost, but they're not quite liminal either, too much ectoplasm in their system for that. Maybe some sort of particularly strong poltergeist?
Danny sits back down onto his chair and thinks this through. He decides to just leave it be. If whoever is at Jason's place right now is the source of the mysterious ectoplasm then they'll be gone the next day.
But what if it's Jason? His mind unhelpfully adds. Danny groans. Even if it were Jason then he doesn't have to do much anyway, just being in his vicinity would begin the process of flushing out the bad ecto with his pure filtered version.
His body had finally figured out how to process the ectoplasm of Gotham after only three days of misery. Now his powers are back in business and his core is doing flips at the thought of not being so alone in this new environment.
He had felt ‘mildly’ frustrated at not having anyone with knowledge about ghosts to talk to (he had sobbed uncontrollably and blacked out in his bathroom. He woke up next to a cold half-eaten cheeseburger that he still ate), but if Jason’s the one with the funky ectoplasm then he might not be so alone after all.
He wonders how this person feels. He hadn’t felt any other strong sources of ecto while wandering the city. It must have been so lonely for this person.
Well not anymore! Even if it's not Jason he still wants to be friends with this person!
His core lets a greeting out into the void, but nobody answers back. This person must have reeeally bad contamination if they can't even pick up on a greeting. Oh well, Danny has a whole lot of sitting around if he wants this person to get better from just being in his vicinity. He gets back to work on his project.
----------
Around five and a half months had passed, and Danny could say with certainty that the contaminated ectoplasm was indeed coming from Jason.
It would explain the white streak in his hair, when asked about it Jason had said that it's impossible to dye and is unfortunately stuck there forever. Makes sense since without ectoplasm to bind the hair dye then his hair would just chew its way through normal substances.
Throughout the five and a half months they had kept seeing each other. Inviting each other over for dinner and movies (They had gotten take-out whenever Jason stayed at Danny’s apartment). Danny had even gotten furniture for his place: a nice blue couch, a lounge table, a mediocre television that he saved from the junkyard and gotten it to function again, and someone had given him a packet with no return address that contained a full-blown NASA rug.
Jazz knew him so well.
Currently, Danny is waiting at his apartment for the scheduled time for their date. It's late, around Nine pm. Jason was the one who planned it, but did not tell Danny what it was since ‘it's going to be a surprise’.
Danny sighs at that. Over the past times that he has hung out with Jason, his core had felt fluttery and content, happy that someone similar to him is so close. He can feel Jason getting better too, the contaminated ectoplasm has slowly been leaving his system and being replaced by Dannys homemade filtered version: just like he had predicted.
Jason has most likely noticed already. Anyone who has ectoplasm in their system would immediately figure out that a change is happening. There was also the fact that Danny wasn't really doing anything to hide it, he had his ghostly traits on display whenever he and Jason hung out. The specter suspects that the only reason Jason had not brought it up was because he is being shy.
Well, in any case having Jason remove the tainted ecto will only help him in the long run. He'll wait until Jason is comfortable to talk about ghostly business. Danny is quite proud of this. Inadvertently helping his fellow dead person has also helped him to safely feed his obsession whilst remaining under the radar of the Bats.
They're not going to be paying any attention to him if Danny has any say in it.
…
…
…
Everybody is now paying attention to Danny.
The secret of Danny's existence was hidden for just a week before everybody became aware of him. Suddenly everyone is asking about Danny, asking for intel, likes and dislikes, habits, and even asking for pictures of Danny. Dick has been extremely dramatic, continuously asking when he can meet him. Normally this would make the pit flare like no tomorrow, but recently there has been a change.
Jason has been getting better at controlling the pit madness. It still flares up from time to time, but now instead of being all-encompassing as it normally is and demanding he hurt everyone around him, it's now only demanding to hurt specific people.
The drug dealers, rapists, pedophiles, his usual array of bad people in Crime Alley that he has to weed out. It’s also not the usual ‘murder them’ impulse the pits give him, but a casual ‘make them regret being born’ if that makes sense.
Whatever it is, it's been doing him real good. He's been enjoying life without having to walk around eggshells and living in fear that one day he is going to hurt his family in a way that he can't come back from. Jason had been talking to his family a lot more now, and they had noticed. The Bat family’s conclusion for this had been that Danny is a good influence and is calming Jason down.
Back to the issue at hand, there is also the problem of Danny himself. Jason knows Danny is a Meta. There is no way anyone could be that cold and still consider themselves a normal person. His family had already run a background check (just a surface check to see if anything immediately popped out, the only outstanding thing was about a ‘Genius Magazine’ and a Purple Back Gorilla. How a boy got onto a magazine dedicated for women geniuses was anybody's guess ) and didn't find anything suspicious, so they left it alone. But from what Jason had seen Danny didn't seem to carry the meta gene. Maybe he had flown under the radar? Either that or it wasn't reported, or it came from external means such as a lab accident like the speedsters.
Another piece of damning evidence is the fact that Danny can sneak up on Jason. Now, sneaking up on other people isn't that suspicious, but it's the fact that it's Jason that he can sneak up on. Jason, who was trained by Batman, later an entire cult of assassins, and has been applying his skills on the field for a majority of his life. The very same Jason.
No he’s not getting rusty. When he pays attention is when he noticed: Danny doesn't make any sound. No footsteps, no ruffling of clothes, and no noticeable breathing. At first it was alarming, Jason immediately thought that Danny was a part of the league (and that f*ck, Damian had been right), but those thoughts vanished when he watched Danny blow cold frost onto his room temperature soda to cool it down from the corner of his eye.
So not league (maybe), just a Meta with an interesting skill set, no biggy. If Bruce notices Danny having powers, he’s going to be insufferable with his ‘No Metas in Gotham’ rule. Which is why he's not going to tell Bruce anything.
Jason aint no snitch, especially to cute guys.
But he should probably talk to Danny soon about it. Being able to reassure the other man that he has nothing against Meta’s and that if Danny is ever in trouble that Jason would be there to help him no matter what is probably a good foundation for a (hopefully) future relationship.
And now Jason has to go pick said Meta up, the Crime Lord has something good planned and he doesn't want to mess the date up immediately by something stupid like being late. They literally live right next to each other.
Jason’s knuckles rap against the wooden door and stands patiently waiting on the side. In the time that it takes for Danny to go to the door, Jason looks down at his attire one last time to make sure he is presentable. He wears a plain white shirt with his leather jacket over it, black pants and steel toed combat boots. He is also carrying a large bag filled with stuff needed for the surprise.
Not too bad if he says so himself.
The door opens, Jason looks up and sees Danny wearing a black hoodie with a cartoon of a cat in an astronaut suit. “Hey” He smiles, flashing his fangs.
“Hey yourself gorgeous.” Jason quips.
His neighbor’s blush steadily rises while he locks his door, knowing that Jason is taking in his outfit. Danny clears his throat, “Shall we go?” He holds his hand out.
Jason takes it, “Lets.”
They both walk down the stairs and into the garage where Jason’s motorcycle lies waiting. It's not as good as his Red Hood one, but for a normal civilian it's pretty dang good. He puts on his helmet and passes his spare to Danny. While Danny is putting it on, Jason stuffs the bag into a compartment in his motorcycle so that it doesn't bother him while driving.
Turning around, Jason chuckles at the funny sight of Danny struggling with putting the helmet on. “Here, let me.” Jason gets close to Danny, lifting his hands to assist. They are both quiet as the leather-clad man helps Danny with the straps, tightening them securely before getting onto the bike.
The half-ghost held his arms in the air, not knowing where to put them. The motor revved loudly and quickly tore out of the garage. Danny tightly wraps his arms onto Jason's center, making sure not to use any ghost strength while still holding sufficiently tight so as to not fall off.
The smog overhead was all encompassing while they travel underneath it. They both rode for a while with Jason cutting corners, lane splitting, and taking most-likely not street legal short-cuts. They head west, going through Somerset, around Chinatown heading down to Old Gotham before taking a right turn leading to the Dini bridge that goes over the Gotham River. They ride through Burnside for a short amount of time, passing through and going deeper inland. Soon, Gotham was nothing more than a speck in the distance, only being able to be seen from the light pollution it emits.
The motorcycle eventually stops next to an empty field of grass. Jason cuts the engine and lets Danny get off first before unmounting. They take off their helmets at the same time, relieved to finally take them off after a while.
“An empty field?” Danny asks while looking around, he takes the moment to appreciate the view of the stars above them. He hadn't been able to see them in Gotham due to Gotham being Gotham, but here there isn't enough pollution to block out the beautiful sight.
“Yup.” Jason says while pulling out the bag and setting the helmets on the bike. “Come, this way.” he motions with his hand in a ‘follow me’ gesture. Danny complies and walks to him, keeping in step as Jason leads him to where he has in mind. It takes roughly ten minutes of walking, with Danny jokingly asking ‘are we there yet?’ multiple times.
“Are we there yet?”
“Actually, we are.” Jason sets the bag down.
Danny looks around, but it's the same empty field. He looks back at Jason only to see him laying down a large blanket onto the grass. The Crime Lord smooths out the folds from the blanket then settles down on it, he reaches over from the bag and pulls out containers from the inside. Upon opening, a rich delicious smell emits and hits Danny at full force.
“Oh.” Danny whispers, holding in his breath.
Jason looks up at Danny, who is still standing, and pats at the spot next to him. “I figured that since you haven't been able to see the stars from Gotham, that you would like having dinner under them?” Jason seems unsure of his words, and he fiddles with the zipper of his jacket. The more time passes in which Danny remains silent, the more anxious Jason becomes. He looks down at the blanket. “I-”
“I love it.”
Jason's head snaps back up, staring at Danny with half-open mouth. “You do?” He asks, words filled with hope.
Danny’s smile is positively brimming in delight. He lets out a light airy laugh and flops down onto the blanket. “Of course! You know I love astronomy, so being able to see the stars again is amazing.” His breath evens out as he looks up to the sky. He lifts his arm and points up, “There's Orion and his hunting dogs, which means if you go that way,” His arm moves to the left, “There's Ursa minor!” He laughs, “Which means that that way is north.”
“Huh.” Jason hums, amused at his neighbors' antics. He grabs one of the containers and puts it down on Danny’s chest. “Don't let the food go cold, but keep telling me about the star sh*t.”
He has such a way with words. Danny isn't at all put off with the way Jason speaks, it's how he grew up so he doesn't hold it against him. They talk quietly while eating their chili cheese dogs (that have no right being as delicious as they are) with Danny doing most of the talking. He points out where Andromeda is (“or at least, that's where it would be. It's hard to see it with the naked eye and with the city lights in the distance.”), he locates Cephius and Cassiopeia, excitedly telling Jason all about the stories about them.
Jason just sits there, watching Danny animatedly flay his arms around while explaining any and everything that catches his eye. Danny’s attention is on the celestial bodies above them but Jason’s is solely on the man laying down next to him.
He looks absolutely divine. The stars reflection gather in Danny’s eyes, making them seem as if they hold the entire universe inside them. His black hair is all splayed out on the blanket, like the halo of an angel. His frosty breath expels out from him as he continues his lecture about binary stars, if Jason focuses hard enough he can see small snowflakes in the air.
Danny stops rambling, “Sorry,” he mutters, sheepishly looking away, “I didn't mean to keep blathering about stars.”
“No!” Jason blurts out. He heavily blushes when he realizes his mistake. “It's okay.” he reassures, fully turning his body towards Danny and laying on his side. “I like listening to you.”
Danny gapes at him, his flustered face is hidden in the dark, only revealing small portions of it from the reflection of light on the moon. The feelings between them has changed. The air is charged with something. “I-” Danny gulps. “I like listening to you too.”
They both smile shyly at each other. Two men under the stars, no space between them because they are absolutely gay.
Jason’s smile softens. “Will you keep telling me about the stars Danny?”
And Danny smiles wider, showing his not-human teeth and letting his core purr, enraptured by the sight of Jason looking so happy and asking about his obsession.
They lay there for a long time with Danny continuously telling story after story of the cosmos and Jason listening to every part of him, humming and asking questions. If at one point they had both scooted closer to each other, close enough for Danny to lay his head on Jason’s chest and for Jason to feel the coolness that Danny emits, neither of them said anything, keeping this their little secret. Jason’s hand wrapped around Danny, holding him there against him. At this moment, it felt like nothing could go wrong in the world.
Hours had passed before they had decided it was time to go. The ride back was in a comfortable silence. Nothing needed to be said between them while they stood close to each other on the elevator, so close they could almost grab onto the other’s hand.
They turn the corner into the corridor, walking until they reach in front of Danny’s apartment. “Well, this is me.” Danny turns around. “I had fun, thanks for doing this Jay.”
Jason chuckles. “Anytime starshine.”
Danny wrinkles his nose. “Starshine?”
“Yeah, you keep talking about the stars when it's obvious that you're the brightest one.”
Danny barks out a laugh. “That's gotta be the cheesiest thing I've ever heard.”
“It is.” Jason affirms while nodding his head seriously. Danny just rolls his eyes and turns to unlocking his door, but doesn’t open it yet.
He turns to Jason, sporting a serious look on his face. Before Jason could ask, Danny steps closer, grabs Jason by the lapels, and pulls him in. Jason is silent when he feels the press of lips right next to his mouth on his cheek. Danny’s lips are slightly chapped and worn from being bitten, but to Jason it is the best thing he has felt ever.
Lips separate from skin as Danny steps back. He grins at Jason’s cherry red face and blank expression. “Goodnight Jason.” Danny turns, opening his door and walking through it before closing, leaving Jason in the hallway.
Jason stands there stupidly for a solid twenty seconds before his brain reboots. He makes it inside his apartment before everything finally registers. Both fists pump in enthusiasm, the feeling of exhilaration flooding him. “Yes!” He whispers to himself, being his only audience cheering for his accomplishment.
In the apartment next to him, Danny is a blushing mess. He covers his face with one hand, not believing that he actually did that. He is proven wrong when he can feel Jason’s core practically singing with joy from the other side of the wall.
Yeah, he thinks, it was a good decision.
----------
Jason has had a tiring night. Having to help the bats with a situation with The Riddler after he had escaped Arkham again, he had set several buildings with hostages to blow unless they could solve his riddles. It had made him postpone that conversation with Danny, which he's already been putting off for a week, so he’s going to have to do it sooner rather than later.
It had been a tiring night for both his body and his brain muscles. He walks up to his main apartment, having not wanted to feel the hard mattresses from his various safe houses. It could also be because his home had started making him feel better whenever he arrived. His muscles would unclench while tension seemed to simply roll off of him.
Jason's not sure why this happens, but he's not complaining. He locks the door behind him and shuffles to his bedroom. Various bits of clothes are dropped along the floor until he reaches his destination. Too tired to put on his sleeping clothes, he simply collapses onto his bed in just his underwear.
He lays on his side. After a moment he turns over to the other side. Only a few minutes pass before he huffs and turns sides again. This repeats over and over for about thirty minutes before Jason lets out a frustrated groan and gives up. He stares at his clock, which displays in red digital numbers 4:23 in the morning.
Jason stares disappointedly at the clock, then shifts his gaze to the dark ceiling above him. His thoughts wander, from what had happened with the Riddler before eventually settling on Danny.
Ever since he had taken Danny to stargaze, he couldn't get the feeling of him between Jason's arms out of his head. It felt like Danny belonged there. It felt right in so many ways that he couldn't explain.
He wanted Danny now. He wanted to have his arms wrapped around him, to feel the press of his curves against him and the steady rise and fall of movement of Danny’s chest as they breath against each other.
Jason's breath deepens at the images conjured up by his subconscious, unknowingly causing himself to harden. He snaps back to reality and curses at the dilemma of his own self making.
He pauses. He had been pent up these last few weeks, it wouldn't hurt to indul- No! No! Bad Jason! Danny had been so incredibly sweet and kind, he didn't want to turn into a perv!
His traitorous mind showed him another way Danny could fit in his arms, then another. Danny laying on the bed while Jason litters marks all over his neck. Danny being pressed against his back while Jason's hands wander all over him. Danny laying on top of him, too tired to keep going but still happily staying pierced on Jason's co*ck. He tries to fight off the images, breath deepening further and co*ck stiffening at the desire running through him, but the more he struggles the more his brain hits him with even more ways Danny could fit in his arms.
Finally, he snaps.
What Danny doesnt know won't hurt him.
Jason quickly shoves his hand under his boxers and tightly grips himself, groaning at the feeling. He palms himself, running his hand up and down in a steady motion.
He gasps as his grasp tightens along his length, his huge hand easily being able to grip around his shaft. Nothing could be seen inside the room apart from what little is illuminated from the street lights that manage to peek through the curtains. Gasps and rumbles could be heard coming from Jason as he jerks into his hand.
The thought of Danny, Danny, Danny is repeated like a prayer in his head as his thumb runs over his leaking tip, pressing down on it and letting out a soft moan. His hips jut forward at the mental image of Danny wrapped around his co*ck, bouncing from the force of Jason’s thrusts and leaving him in a drooling mess begging for more.
And Jason would give him more.
He continues his strokes, occasionally changing his grip or the strength of his strokes. His hips continue making small thrust into his hand. His brows are scrunched forward, eyes clamped shut. It feels as if fire is rising in his chest. Flaring in and out in pulsing waves and rushing through his gut and straight into his co*ck. His other hand grips tightly at one of his pillows, unknowing of his nails turning into small claws.
Jason pants like an animal, stroking harder in a desperate attempt to find his release. A thin layer of sweat covers his skin as the room begins to feel as if it's boiling, unknown to Jason. The magma of his chest feels as if it's rumbling, causing small shock waves along his skin. It's like its reaching out for something, calling and begging for something to be there next to him. A sudden feeling of icy coolness similar to that of a breath of cool morning wind brushes past him. The warmth and fire burning from his chest flashes white hot as hot streams of cum shoot out from him.
He collapses onto his bed, shaky from the exertion and his hand dirty from his release. That… Jesus that was intense. He stays that way, taking deep breaths and coming down from his high for a few minutes. He feels that odd poking sensation again, not on his sides but from inside of him. Jason focuses on it but it hides before he can pinpoint where it is. He lets out a tired sigh before before getting up. He heads to the bathroom and goes about cleaning the mess he made.
…
…
…
Behind the wall in the apartment next to him, Danny is shaking. His limbs are taught and his length is hard, begging for any sort of attention.
At around four-thirty in the morning, he had still been sleeping, dreaming of nothing and simply resting his body and mind. Slowly, sensations began to stir under his skin. The coolness of his ice core purring and fluttering, creating small fractals of ice onto the bed before immediately melting. The vibrations it gives off sends a pleasurable feeling all along his body, making sure to reach every inch of it.
Danny awakens with a gasp, misty fog escaping from his throat and out of his mouth. He shuts his eyes tight and subconsciously gives a small thrust against the pillow between his legs, noticing the tightness of his sleep shorts. The half-ghost’s core gives another spike in vibrations, causing Danny to yelp and give another half-aborted thrust.
It's cold in his room, his icy nature is causing the windows to become cloudy. His core feels like it's jumping out of his chest, purring like crazy and shoving all of these emotions at him.
Strangely, it doesn't actually feel like it's coming from him. Under the haze of deep arousal he can feel something else, another hum that seems to fluctuate, seemingly trying to match the frequency his own core is giving.
But what could possibly be doing that? There isn't a machine out there that could be able to find and replicate the vibrations that only ghosts gave. And it couldn't possibly be his parents' inventions since those are designed to hurt. So what-?
‘Danny’
Danny sharply inhales, feeling his core leap at the feeling of his name reverberating around his body. It shivers and tries to reach out, to find what is calling his name and flooding him with foreign emotions.
A strong wave of heat clashes against his ice. The feeling of Want-Need-Mine slams into his chest and rushes right down to his length. Without thinking he immediately shoves a hand down his shorts, tightly gripping onto his co*ck and giving it a hard stroke. Danny loudly moans at the stimulation. He kicks the pillow out of the way and draws his legs up tightly as the feeling of deep lust keeps washing over him. Its touch goes all over him, over his skin straight through his chest and right at his core, which happily reciprocates the incoming purrs by letting out its own trills.
Everything feels ultra sensitive, as if Danny is right in the middle of these two frequencies, using him as a conduit and allowing him to feel everything. What could be making these emotions-
‘Danny’
Danny gasps, covering his mouth with his free hand as he gives a particularly hard thrust into his hand. The burst of feeling, of Want-Need-Must have! comes from beside him. It's not coming from his own apartment. Its from-
‘Danny’
Oh god. It's coming from Jason's apartment. Danny whines at the implication, hips stuttering against his hand whilst tightening his hold on himself. Jason's core sends out stronger frequencies, practically broadcasting his desire for Danny, and Danny is feeling every single message from right next to him.
Another strong pulse, this time feeling hot-like magma knocks against him and floods to his core. A warble rises from Danny’s core in response, making his own co*ck harden even further.
Without much thought, he makes his sleep shorts intangible and yanks them off him, freeing his weeping member. With one hand he takes grasp of his length, the other reaches down and strokes at his entrance.
Since ectoplasm reacts to emotions and wants, and what he wants more than anything right now is Jason, Jason, Jason- his hole is slick when he pushes a finger past his entrance.
Danny whimpers, feeling the edges of hot molten rock rub against his icy glaciers, causing a hiss to slip past Danny’s teeth. It's not- it's not enough. Danny takes in deep breaths, trying to regulate the onslaught coming from Jason. Another finger joins is pushed into him, his mouth opens while he pants at feeling them stretching him open.
Jason sends out a harsher grumble, causing Danny’s hips to stutter. His icy core keeps pulsing, trilling and calling out to the man next door. Jason's own core responds. It lets out a deep growl that makes Danny shove his face into his pillow to muffle his whine. The rising fire caresses all over him, holding him in a loving yet firm embrace, running its blazing purrs up and down his figure.
Danny turns and looks at his ceiling, taking gasping breaths as Jason’s core speak washes over him, letting him know in detail exactly what Jason wants to do to him. Its deep warm hums surround him, his core loving every second of it. His hands work harder, stroking himself while pushing deeper into his folds. His hips begin to grow sloppy as he nears his release. When his own core finally matches frequency with Jasons, his world explodes into an array of color.
Danny bites his lip to muffle his loud moan, his release landing on his stomach and his fingers stopping their assault. He swallows, trying to wet his dry mouth. He keeps it open while he pants, trying to get oxygen into his system after that intense interaction.
As his head clears, questions start pouring in, such as ‘why the f*ck is Jason screaming out his want of Danny?!?’ His core wasn't even trying to hide it, just blasting at full volume for the world to hear, as if he doesn't know how to control it.
Danny’s thoughts stop in that moment. “...as if he doesn't know how.” His mind is blank as he processes this. Does Jason… not know?? Is this why he never brought it up? Because he didn't know?!
He really needs to talk to Jason soon. As soon as possible actually since he doesnt think he could survive another round of whatever just happened.
Should he tell Jason about… What had happened?
No! His mind screams. No, he is taking this information to the grave.
Oh wait. He can't. He's already dead.
‘Well then I'm taking it somewhere it can never be seen again!’ he screams internally while rolling onto his side. He groans heavily when he looks down at himself, realizing that he needs to get up and get cleaned. With a huff he stands from his bed and goes to his bathroom to do just that.
----------
When Jason woke up again, it felt weird.
Not necessarily wrong, just weird.
For one, his pillow was in shreds and had small claw marks all over the pillow case. Checking his nails and ‘nope, perfectly normal nails’. When he had gone to cook himself breakfast he had noticed the next change: he doesn't react to fire.
He had noticed when pinching at the corners of the tortilla of his quesadilla. Even after years of doing it his hands still feel a bit of pain when he miscalculates and touches the pan, but this time there was no pain. In a moment of stupidity, Jason puts the side of his finger on the pan, leaves it for four seconds, then yanks it back to check the damage. But when he goes to inspect the skin he finds nothing. Absolutely nothing except perfectly normal skin.
Jason stands there in his kitchen staring at his hand.
“... It is too early for this sh*t.”
He plates his quesadilla and takes it to his couch. He watches an episode of old looney toons while he eats, specifically the episode where Bugs Bunny is a conductor.
He finishes his breakfast and goes to brush his teeth. Jason grabs his toothbrush, puts toothpaste on it, holds it under the water so that it gets wet, and opens his mouth.
The toothbrush stops midway. It's dropped onto the counter as Jason quickly leans closer to the mirror. He opens his mouth and inspects the inside. Had his canines always been that big?! Instead of their usual size, it seemed as if his canines had grown into small fangs. They are much more prominent now, but thankfully not big enough to make him look like a vampire.
Jason takes a deep breath, trying to compartmentalize all of the things that have happened that morning. Freaky sh*t is happening to him and Jason has no idea what to do about it.
He knows for a fact that he doesn't have the meta gene so that routes a bust. He hasn't been in any lab accidents recently that he's aware of so no use looking there. What else has been changing?
He mindlessly brushes his (sharp) teeth while trying to figure out why this is happening.
It's only when at night while hes out as Red Hood does he reach his f*cking limit with the weird sh*t. He had been fighting off muggers when one of them had busted out a gun and shot at him. He was wearing kevlar, so while the bullet wouldn't cause a serious injury it would still hurt like a bitch.
So when the bullet went straight through him, he immediately took notice. Jason quickly wrapped up the fight and immediately went to a nearby safe house. He took off the bullet proof material to inspect the damage but found literally nothing. No bruising, no internal damage, nothing.
There wasn't even a mark on the vest itself, but Jason knows for a fact that he had indeed been shot.
This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder and Jason’s not sure if he's liking it. He's got to find out the reason for this as soon as possible. Guess he'll have to postpone that conversation with Danny again.
----------
Danny stood in front of Jason's apartment two days later (he could NOT face Jason the same day as…that… nor the next day for that matter since he was busy imagining bashing his head into his wall while he tried to write down everything that was needed to know as a ghost) it was around six pm.
He was holding onto another box of neapolitan ice cream that could hopefully be used for emotional support during the conversation.
Danny takes in a deep breath, holds it, and releases it in one go.
‘Alright. No time like the present.’
He knocks on the door. At first nobody responds so he knocks again. He knows Jason is in there, he can feel his presence on the other side. After Jason took too long, Danny pounds his fist on the door. He can hear shuffling on the other side, and a loud “Just wait a f*cking minute!” from Jason.
Jason yanks the door open, his pissed off expression diminishing immediately, turning into one of interest. “Starshine? What can I do for ya?”
Danny looks up at him in all seriousness. “Jason, we need to talk.”
Jason takes a deep breath. “Now's not such a good time, is next week alright?” Looking at him, Jason seems drained. His hair is not in its usual form of disarray, instead it just looks plain messy, as if someone had been running their hand through it over and over. His eyes have bags underneath him and his lips are split from having been bitten by worried teeth.
“No, no.” Danny pushes, trying his best not to sound desperate (even though he totally is). “You're gonna want to have this talk. Right now in fact.” Danny gave Jason a pleading look.
Jason looked, for lack of better words, constipated as he thought about what to do. “Look Danny,” Jason breathes, “I'm a bit busy trying to figure stuff out right now so now is not the best time.”
“Would it happen to do with weird changes being done to you?” Danny blurts out.
Jason's eyes widen, staring at Danny before narrowing in suspicion. At that point in time, Danny felt honestly impressed at his own stupidity. It's like there was nothing there to stop it, and now he has to suffer the consequences of his own actions.
Jason grabs Danny by the shirt and yanks him into his apartment. Danny lets out a startled yelp and is suddenly pressed against the door with a knife to his neck. Jason looks cold as he stares daggers into Danny. “What do you know?” Jason hisses.
Wow, this is so not going how Danny hoped it would be. But at least it hasn't reached the worst possible outcome yet.
Jason presses the blade deeper at his silence, enough for small drops of blood to form.
Danny should probably hurry it up before the worst possible outcome becomes reality.
“I can explain everything, let's just put the knife down and we’ll talk like the reasonable adults that we are.” Danny’s ‘sass under pressure’ defense system is kicking in at the worst time possible.
Jason scowls but reluctantly lifts the knife from against Danny’s neck. Danny breathes out a sigh of relief and is happy to be led by Jason. Jason makes Danny sit at the table while he stays standing, holding the knife firmly in his grip and staring at Danny with an angry expression. “Talk. Now.”
Danny gulps. “Well… what do you know about ghosts?”
Jason makes a funny look. “...Ghosts?”
“Yeah.” To an outsider this is probably the stupidest/weirdest conversation they are about to have, so Danny made sure to come prepared. He goes to take out a piece of paper, only stopping when Jason steps closer with his knife. Danny makes slow movements as he slowly pulls out a folded piece of lined paper torn out from a notebook. He offers the paper to Jason, who curiously takes it.
Jason keeps the knife in his grasp, only adjusting his handle on it so that his fingers are free. He grips both sides of the paper and unfolds it. It wasn't a perfect tear since it went past the lined edges made for tearing, instead going into the paper before halphazarding its way back to the lines.
“I tried my best to make the line straight but it wasn't working out. And I had already written everything on that paper and didn't want to write again.” One thing that hadn't left Danny when he finished high school is his unfortunate habit of just turning things in as is and hoping for the best. Besides, this isn't really a professional setting and the paper was originally meant for just himself so that he could follow through with a good enough explanation (he knows of his tendency to forget details so hopefully he can at least clear the important ones).
Jason looks at the header of the page.
‘HOW TO BE DEAD FOR DUMMIES’ is staring right at him.
Jason seethes at Danny, who when he finally remembers the stupid title he had put immediately tries to rectify the situation. “T-the paper was for me so that I could make sure to cover all the bases of being dead. I swear the title isn't meant to poke fun at your death.” That is a major no-no in ghost culture. If someone ever does do that on purpose then they are knowingly stupid and practically asking to get disemboweled.
Jason passive aggressively puts the sheet of paper down on the table and sits down. He looks through what had been written by Danny. ‘Being dead plus the trauma of it all, death with benefits, ghostly biology, death days, death culture, ectoplasm, own biology, Vlad, other ghosts to maybe watch out for’, the list keeps going but Jason decides to get some answers first.
He starts with his own. “How did you know about the… changes as you so put it.”
Danny’s shoulders raise and he looks down in a guilty expression. “About that… I was the one who was doing it to you.”
Jason sees green in his vision. “What.”
“Not in a bad way!” Danny holds his hands up as a show of innocence. “I had realized that you had contaminated ectoplasm in your system, which normally makes people like us sick. So I had helped filter it out with better stuff so you can become healthy.”
“Okay, back up. Explain to me what ectoplasm is.”
“Right, um.” One of Danny’s hands goes to rub the back of his neck while the other one rests on the table. “Ectoplasm is like- the building blocks of ghosts. Ghosts can't exist without ectoplasm. They need it, whether it be through filtration or self creation. The stuff is everywhere so it's not hard to find a source, the only hard part is finding a big one that can sustain you.”
Jason hums, inwardly trying his best to organize the sudden influx of information. Danny just keeps going. “Gotham has a lot of ambient ectoplasm, but it's just a teensy bit stale compared to the pure stuff.”
To Jason, this just feels like terminology for a new drug. So he asks, “what does this ‘ectoplasm’ look like?”
Danny smiles, “Like this”, and cups his hands together. He pulls at his core and releases the spare ectoplasm into his hands, forming a tiny green glowing pool. The sound of a chair screeching against the floor makes Danny take his eyes off of the green in his hands and look toward Jason, who is standing again but this time with a blood-drained look and shaking hands.
Danny immediately makes the ectoplasm dissipate. “Hey, hey. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you.”
Jason points the knife at Danny. “Why the f*ck can you create Lazarus water?!” He’s panicking, he knows he is, but Jason can't seem to pull his sh*t together right now. The man next door that Jason had been trying to romance turns out to be evil and most likely had connections with the league. The worst part isn't even the fact that Damian had been right, but that he had been played along by Danny this entire time with Jason none the wiser.
“Lazarus water? What's Lazarus water?”
…what??
“What?” Jason rasps.
Danny looks at him worriedly. “I asked what Lazarus water is.”
Jason's features twist. “It's a big bubbly pool of green sludge that smells of sulfur and dirty socks. It kills the healthy and heals the sick and dying.”
“Bubbling?” Danny’s eyes widen with something akin to horror. “Ectoplasm isn't supposed to be bubbling at all.” His face softens, but not with pity. “I assume you've had experience with it?”
Jason doesn't answer, instead he just looks at Danny with all the tiredness in the world. Danny simply nods his head in acknowledgment and continues, “Well, this Lazarus water as you call it was inside your system, and it was messing you up. Probably caused you crazy anger and other gnarly side effects, am I right?”
Jason nods.
“Right. And I had realized it after a while of being around you. I figured you didn't want the bad stuff so by being around me it filtered out and replaced it with my homemade good stuff! Does that make sense?” Danny is so straight-forward with this new information, at least it helps him make sense of it so it's sort of appreciated.
Jason concentrates. It's true that the pits have been mellowed out recently, that must be Danny’s doing. But even if that's true, “Then why has freaky sh*t started to pop up now?”
Danny tilts his head. “What kind of freaky stuff is happening?”
Jason sits back down. “Recently there have been changes. I had woken up with my pillow torn to shreds, my teeth are growing sharper, a bullet literally went right through me without hurting me, and I can no longer be harmed by fire!” Jason’s voice slowly rose throughout the explanation, becoming loud in his disbelief of the stupid sh*t happening in his life.
Danny nods seriously. “Seems like your body is finally healthy enough to produce its own ectoplasm.” He gazes at Jason’s dumbfounded face and tries to explain it a bit further. He keeps having to remind himself that people don't just inherently know this stuff. Sure he had to learn everything himself too, but at least he knew about ectoplasm due to his parents. “A normal healthy ghost always comes with a powerset. There are the typical ones that every ghost has, like invisibility, intangibility, flying, and not being able to be recorded.”
He looks at Jason to see if this is making sense, who nods his head at him to continue. “So, you said that fire doesn't affect you anymore?”
“Yeah, right now when I cook it doesn't burn me like it used to.”
The half-ghost raises his hand to his chin thoughtfully, “Then you may have a fire-core.”
“Fire core?” Jason asks.
“Oh yeah, if a ghost is strong enough then their core can orient themselves towards an element that they have an affinity to.”
Jason gives him an incredulous look, “...whats a core?”
Danny sighs self-deprecatingly, he's already blowing this conversation. Lord knows how confused Jason probably is. Danny straightens his back, “A core is basically everything to a ghost. Since people don't keep their bodies after they die, people get a core instead. It holds your brain, soul, and other important stuff while surrounding itself in ectoplasm that forms a corporeal form. Basically: a ghost body.”
Jason sits and thinks. He subtly looks down to check his body, but it's still the same flesh as it was before. “But how can this be possible if I'm not a ghost? I'm still living and breathing.”
Danny shifts in his seat. “But you have died before.”
Jason opens his mouth, and then closes it. He doesn't like talking about his death, but he needs answers. “Yes, I have.”
“...I have too.”
Jason looks at Danny, really looks at him, and sees a reflection of himself. Danny looks tired in ways that no normal person can achieve without going through something deeply traumatic.
Something like death.
Danny coughs into his fist, bringing them both back into the moment. “Ghosts don't typically like recalling or talking about their death-” That explains so much for Jason, “-but i'll give you a sparknotes version of how I died so it can be understood how we came to be. My parents are ghost-hunters, ‘ecto biologists’ as they call themselves, and have been working their entire lives into building a portal to an alternate dimension that leads to the realm of the dead. Or the Ghost Zone as they call it.”
Danny seems so nonchalant about what Jason thinks is a Justice League level problem. “When they finished building it, it hadnt worked. My parents had left the house to think over what could have gone wrong and I invited my friends over. We were being stupid teenagers and I got dared to go into the portal to take a picture.” Danny takes a deep breath. “I put on my hazmat suit and went it. I tried to look where I was going, but it was dark and there were wires everywhere.”
Danny looks up at Jason. “I didn't see the ‘ON’ button inside the portal when I tripped on the wires. The portal turned on and-” Danny gestures with his arms.
Oh, oh. God that is so f*cked up on so many levels. Killed by your parents' invention. But wait- “If you died, and I've died, then how are we-”
“Sort of alive?” Danny guesses the rest of Jason's sentence. By the look Jason gives him, he guessed correctly. “Well that's the thing. We aren't really alive, but we’re not quite dead yet. At first I thought you were a revenant, which is someone who was dead and came back to life, but you might be something else.”
“Something else? Like what?” This is a whole lot of information that in general is hard to wrap his head around, but he needs to know.
Danny just shrugs. “I don't know. For me, I'm a halfa. Halfa’s are people who are half dead and half alive. We think it happened when the portal opened with me inside. I basically got an entire dimension's worth of ectoplasm dumped on me while I was dying, which brought me back. From what I've read, halfas are created when a natural or artificial portal opens right where they're standing. But that's not what happened to you, is it.” The last sentence wasn't said as a question.
Jason releases the tension in his shoulders, he lets go of the knife (he had forgotten he was still holding it) and rests his elbows on the table. “No. I was dead for six months before I was found wandering Gotham. I had dug myself out of my own grave trying to escape. I was later found by a cult of assassins and dumped into the pits.” Jason probably shouldn't be saying all of this to a civilian, but it seems like Danny has his own can of worms and telling him this information might help him make more sense of the situation.
“So not a halfa yet you still have a core.” Danny closes his eyes and thinks long and hard. Jason unknowingly leans closer, waiting for the answer. “Mmm yeah, I have no clue what you are.”
Jason slouches back into his seat. “Nothin’? Really?”
Danny gives him a dejected smile. “Normally I talk to my friend Frostbite about it. He’s a ghost while also being my doctor, and he knows more about this stuff than me. But I haven't been able to reach him since he lives in the Ghost Zone and I can't get there without a portal.”
Jason nods, following along as best as he can. “And you can't go through any of the portals available?”
“Natural portals are unpredictable, they come and go as they please. The only artificial portals out there are either in my parents basem*nt, or in Wisconsin.”
Jason remains silent, hoping Danny would elaborate on that last bit, but Danny doesn't speak further on it.
Jason decides to continue probing, “So… when people die… they get powers?”
Danny lights up with the slight change in focus. “Not everyone who dies becomes a ghost. There are specific parameters that one needs in order to even think of becoming a ghost, but even then it's never a ‘for sure’ chance. So a person dies a traumatic and emotional death, they become a ghost, they form their obsession, and then they get powers normally based on that obsession.”
“...”
“...”
“...obsession?”
In Danny’s defense, he doesn't have his cheat sheet paper in front of him. He takes this in stride though and keeps on explaining. “Every ghost has an obsession. It's basically like in the movies when ghosts have unfinished business, but in reality their unfinished business is their obsession. It is something that is unique to every ghost and keeps them tethered and makes them want to stay around.”
Jason makes a silent ‘oh’. “Do we have obsessions?”
Danny nods excitedly, “We do! Although being half dead comes with a lot of cool powers, it also comes with the side effects of being dead; such as ghost culture, ghost habits, weaknesses, and also instincts. A ghost can have multiple obsessions, but that's rare. Mine is protection, but it also includes space.”
Jason thinks back to how excited Danny was on their date and how he kept talking non-stop about the stars. “Makes sense.”
Danny playfully scowls at him, knowing exactly what Jason is thinking. “It is important to feed your obsession, ignoring it makes a ghost sick and slowly grow weaker until they eventually fade away.”
Jason snaps straight. “Fade?”
Danny nods solemnly, “it is true death, no ghost I know knows what happens after fading.”
Jason shivers at that. “How does one feed your obsession?”
Danny looks at him. “What do you mean how? You just sorta-” he gestures with his hands, “-do it. For me I either fight people to protect others or I go learn about stars. It's different for everyone, this one guy I know is obsessed with boxes and is always hanging around them.”
Jason looks doubtful. “Boxes? Seriously?”
“He is known as the Box Ghost and he has power over all containers cardboard and squared.” Danny makes an exhausted face. “He said that phrase so much during my time in highschool that it is practically ingrained into my brain.”
Jason couldn't help it. He barks out a laugh and clutches his stomach when he sees the betrayed expression of Danny. His laughing soon devolves into chuckles as he wipes the tear gathering in the corner of his eye. Danny is not amused as he watches Jason finish his fit, inwardly his core is preening at having Jason laugh and no longer be so upset, even if it's at his expense.
“So,” Jason continues, still releasing a few stray giggles, “I just have to feed my obsession and I'll be fine?”
“For the most part, yeah. You also get the urge to protect your haunt.”
Jason tilts his head. “Haunt?” He repeats.
“Yeah, it's basically your territory. Each ghost finds their own corner and protects it, kinda like your own haunted lair.”
Jason huffs. “This is getting a little much.”
Danny casts him a sympathizing glance. “Oh Jason, there's still so much we haven't covered.”
“There's more?!”
----------
They had spoken for several hours before Jason decided to call it a night. They had eaten through the ice cream while Danny continued explaining everything he knew about ghosts. He got to the point about the Anti-Ecto acts and what it means for them both as ecto-entities if they were ever caught. Jason had looked absolutely furious at that and had to be talked down by Danny before he went marching off outside to God knows where.
It was sweet of Jason but there wasn't anything he could do. Against an entire government funded organization with weapons built specifically for them, they both didn't stand a chance. He told Jason as much and when Jason asked why hadn't Danny contacted the Justice League for help, Danny simply shrugged.
“They didn't believe in ghosts when we called.” He answered truthfully, “and at one point they just stopped answering.” Looking back on it, most likely the GIW had something to do with their calls not being put through. The Justice League would always answer calls, even if some of them turned into pranks. Simply not answering calls would be too risky and negligent.
Jason though looked like he was about to commit homicide and make it look like it was an accident, that's when they had decided to end the night.
That had been three days ago.
Three days of Danny worrying about whether or not Jason even wants to continue seeing him, about if he should move apartments or even leaving Gotham all together.
That last one was unfortunately impossible. Although it would hurt to be around and see places where he and Jason have had dates, it wasn't impossible. Danny’s job was here, he had a place, there was ambient ectoplasm all around, and he wasn't being hunted down by his parents or the government. That alone makes it worth staying in Gotham.
Even if he feels incredibly anxious at what Jason’s response will be. It's a lovely 4:28 AM and Danny is still awake, lying down on his bed and mindlessly scrolling on his phone.
The only sound is the shuffling of the sheets when Danny’s phone finally has enough charge for him to unplug it and roll over to the other side of the bed. The bedding here is cold and feels so nice to Danny. While he knows that he can technically cool himself down with his icy core, it just doesn't feel the same compared to a cool mattress.
A small sound comes from his living room, making Danny pause. A normal human wouldn't have noticed, but Danny is anything but normal. He silently floats off the bed, slipping through the covers with his intangibility and turning himself invisible. He floats through his bedroom door and uses his night vision to scan the area.
He stops when he finally finds what made the noise.
Red hood is lying collapsed on his floor, breathing heavily and leaking blood all over his NASA carpet. Danny quickly gets to work and makes himself visible. His feet hit the floor as he gets close to Red Hood but stops when the Crime Lord pulls out a gun and aims it at Danny.
Danny holds up his hands (an action he feels is happening a lot more often nowadays) “I only want to help, please.” He instinctively lets out Safe-Protect from his core to broadcast his intentions. Red Hood has no way of knowing, but after scrutinizing Danny with the whites of his helmet (that Danny swears has its own glow) he relaxes and puts the safety back on the gun.
Danny reaches up and touches Red Hood’s shoulder, transferring his power and making the vigilante lighter while he lifts him in his arms. Red hood grunts come out distorted from his helmet as he gets settled on the couch. Danny leaves him alone for a moment before returning and holding an industrial sized med-kit in his hands.
He gets down on his knees before the couch, ready to work but stopping himself. Danny isn't sure where on Red Hood's suit is the place to open it. At least the vigilante infringing on his couch notices and lifts the material until his wound is exposed.
Hood lets it be known that he is still holding onto his gun with his other hand. Danny doesn't react, he simply pours the disinfectant on the gauze and gets to cleaning gash on Hood’s torso. He apologizes before-hand for not having any pain killers (the only ones on hand are not meant for humans) and gets the go ahead from Red Hood to start treating him.
The motion is repetitive, except this time he is using real surgical thread instead of fishing wire to do the stitches. As he is half way done, a sizzling catches his attention. At the start of where Danny had begun sowing Hood back together, the sutures are melting and simply falling off.
Red Hood doesn't seem to notice, and if he does then he doesn't let it show. Danny frowns and tries to think of something new. As he stares at the red muscle from inside the tear, he notices a color standing out against the red.
He sees green flakes in the blood.
There is only one other person in Gotham who is alive and breathing and has something green in their system.
“...Jason?”
Danny looks down on the man laying and bleeding all over his blue couch. His core reaches out, just in case and yup- thats Jason alright. Jason is dressed as Red Hood, on his couch, holding a gun and bleeding profusely. Danny waits for what Jason has to say.
“...No?”
Danny just dead-pans at Jason, staring at him unblinkingly.
Jason breaks. “Okay yeah it's me. But you cannot tell anyone else, you hear me starshine? If people find out my identity or the fact that you're connected to me then you'll be in serious danger.”
Danny laughs, reveling in the irony of being on the other side of a secret identity while he takes out the ecto fishing-line. “I know, that's what secret identity means in the first place. It's not supposed to be out there for everyone to know.”
Jason takes off his helmet and sets it down on the floor next to Danny. Danny snorts when he sees the domino on Jason’s face. “You know that that doesn't protect your identity much, right?” He gestures at the mask.
Jason inwardly rolls his eyes while he works the domino off. “It's only as a last resort. Besides, the helmet has a bomb that goes off if anyone other than myself takes it off.”
Danny stares at the helmet, wanting to push it away but not touching it in case his Fenton luck decides to commit the biggest of oopsies. “You're really taking it to the grave huh?”
Jason chuckles, “Yeah.” He finally takes off the domino and sighs. It quickly becomes a hiss when Danny starts reapplying the sutures. “Hey wait- what's this weird glowy string?”
“This?” Danny stops his ministrations and pulls up the string to show to Jason. “This is ecto-fishing line. Although it's not the best option for stitches it is unfortunately one of the only things that works on us since our ghostly biology makes it chew through literally anything else.”
“Huh.” Jason’s gonna have to acquire some of it in the future if all the other options can be used. “So, you're really okay with me being Red Hood?”
“I mean- it's not really any of my business. Besides, what can I do, tell you no? It's your life man. It's just ironic considering I was a vigilante once too.”
“What?” Jason looks Danny up and down, not seeing any hint of muscle on the twink.
Danny snickers at the disbelieving look Jason is giving him. “Yeah! My obsession is protection. Can't do that without, you know, protecting people now can I?”
“But how did you do it?” Jason knows that without funding he wouldn't have been able to do any sort of vigilante work, and Danny looks like he barely hit twenty.
A flash of white light consumes his vision, his grip on his gun tightens but otherwise he does nothing and waits for the light to die off. In front of him lies Danny, but all of his features are inverted. His skin is a shade darker and his hair is now entirely white. His locks defy gravity and float all around him, Jason looks at Danny’s eyes and gasps when he sees that Lazarus green has replaced the familiar icy blues that he connects with Danny.
“This is how I have my secret identity. Remember I'm half ghost, so along with being human I also get what I call a ‘ghost form’.”
It took Jason a second too long to remember that right, they've had an entire conversation about being dead and what comes with it. “So you used your powers.”
“Yup! I mainly fought ghosts too since when the portal opened it was free reign for them to cross over to the living world. Eventually though I had to shift from protecting humans to protecting ghosts as well. I didn't want them to be caught by the GIW, or my parents. They may have given me a crappy childhood, but they didn't know any better, they were just trying to fulfill their obsessions.
“Eventually we were able to sort out our differences. None of them had the intention to really hurt me, they just fought since it's in ghost culture to fight a lot. The only one who I still have concerns on is Skulker since that guy repeatedly talked about how he wanted my pelt at the foot of his bed.”
Jason is left questioning Danny’s sanity while Danny turns back and finishes the stitches, tying it in a neat knot and admiring his handiwork (he also takes a moment to admire what skin he can see, and from what he can see Jason is built like a tank, he is so fine-) Danny shakes his head, trying to get his mind out of the gutter while heat rises in his cheeks and focuses on applying the bandages. “Alright, keep the bandages on for a week-ish and you'll be good to go.”
“Yes, nurse.” Jason salutes him mockingly.
“Ha ha.” Danny laughs in a flat voice, not amused. “By the way, what were you doing to get yourself hurt like this?”
Jason flinches at the reminder. “I was uh- I was caught off guard by a robber.” The truth was that he was on a fire-escape witnessing a group of thugs rob a small store. He had meant to jump off and catch them by surprise, but what ended up happening was him accidentally activating his intangibility and crashing onto the dumpster below him.
He definitely caught the robbers by surprise though, and had immediately gone to fight them. One of them got a lucky strike when the goon threw the knife while Jason was caught in a hold by another thug. He had quickly fled once the goons were tied and he had escaped to his apartment, unaware that instead of his own he had entered Danny’s instead.
Which leads to now. Danny raises a brow but doesn't comment on it further. He gathers his NASA rug in his hands and goes to wash it. Normally what Danny does to clean stuff of grime is simply turn it intangible and let whatever it is fall through, it doesn't get rid of smell though and that's when he does wash his things.
In this case he doesnt think Jason would appreciate Danny making his carpet intangible right outside his window and make a shower of Jason’s blood reign on the common folk below (even if it would be kinda funny)
“Wait” Jason calls out before Danny can leave the room. Danny turns around and waits for what Jason has to say. “You'll come back right?”
This guy. Danny smiles fondly and nods. “I promise.”
When Danny returned Jason was already sound asleep with his utility belt taken off and strewn next to his helmet. Danny grabs a galaxy blanket and lays it over Jason, tucking him in and making sure he is nice and comfortable. He affectionately smooths back Jason's two-toned hair before settling himself with his own blanket on a comfy chair.
Danny blows out some air while looking at Jason sleeping on his couch. His life had changed so drastically, and although he misses parts of the past, he finds himself not minding the present so much anymore. As long as he still had Jason, everything would be fine.
----------
Two weeks had passed since he had crashed into Danny’s apartment and bled all over his carpet, and life couldn't be better for Jason.
Now that there aren't any secrets between them, they've been seeing each other more often. On days when he isn't busy, Jason goes over to Danny’s place to practice his new powers and continue learning about the Infinite Realms.
Of course, practice would have been better if Danny actually knew how to explain things.
How the hell is Jason supposed to figure out flying when the only thing Danny tells him is, “imagine the butterflies you get in your stomach when you fall, and then imagine the opposite of that. That's how I fly.”
The f*cking nerd has the gall to give him an innocent smile and laugh without a care in the world all while Jason is struggling over imagining hypothetical butterflies and what not.
It's all a load of bullsh*t one after the other.
On the brighter side, Jason has been vehemently scouring through sources trying to gather as much intel on the GIW as possible. What had already been found is absolutely appalling, and as much as he hated it he brought it up with Bruce.
Red Hood wouldn't be able to do much about it. Danny had been right when he said that one man can stand against it, the GIW are like ants in which they are literally everywhere and right underneath everybody's noses. But the Justice League has more influence. They can bring attention to the Anti-Ecto acts and get them repealed much faster than Jason can.
If this had been half a year ago, Jason would have never gone to Bruce and would have tried to take on the organization himself, but not anymore. Now the madness is gone and in its place is something new, something better then what the pits originally were.
Jason doesn't have a ghostly body like Danny does. They had figured that most likely Jason is less than half and more than a quarter, somewhere around 36% Ghost.
Another absolute plus to the ghost stuff? Having an excuse to hang out with Danny. First they practice ghost stuff and whenever they get tired they eat, watch movies, play video games, or just hang out in general.
Sometimes they don't even do ghost stuff. Jason is sure Danny is in on it since whenever Jason knocks on the door and says “Want to keep making progress on ghost stuff.” Danny replies with “Right, ghost stuff” with an indulgent look and then they proceed to do no ghost stuff at all and just spend time together.
It's beautiful, it's amazing.
It is also torture.
They have been spending so much time with each other and have not once kissed each other!
Well not anymore! Jason has a plan to get the wheels rolling. To make their ‘we are seeing each other and still don't know what we are’ turn into a firm ‘we are dating!’.
He has to get everything right. He made sure to pick out a boring movie so that Danny’s attention could easily be strayed. Thank god for Danny’s ADHD because his mental illness has become Jason’s ticket in.
Danny knocks on the door of Jason's apartment, when Jason opens it he is greeted to the welcome sight of Danny wearing his signature space cat hoodie, sweats, and slippers that have rockets printed on them. “Hey starshine.” Jason beams and lets Danny in.
“Hey Jason.” Danny looks around the apartment that he is now intimately used to. He stares for a moment longer at Jason’s new digital clock which reads 6 PM Thursday. Although it's still early, darkness already creeps along the edges of Gotham, its smog allowing no light to penetrate its hold.
They exchange greetings and talk about their days while Jason brings out two mugs and pours cereal in each of them. Reese’s puffs for Jason and Fruity Pebbles for Danny. They pour the milk in and settle down for the movie.
It really is boring. They had finished their cereal early into the film and settled the empty mugs on the table. Right now both Jason and Danny are just sitting there on his couch, boredly watching a film about something to do with the Salem witch trials.
Right now is the perfect time to make a move on Danny. Jason can feel the imaginary sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head, his heart is beating in his head like a drum and is making his anxiety roll over him in waves.
Jason fakes a yawn (which quickly turns into a real one), stretching out his arms up above the couch, flexing the muscle and tendon until they are no longer stiff. Instead of settling his arms where they were in their previous position, Jason lays his left arm on the back of the couch, right over where Danny is laying against the cushions.
Alright, phase 1 complete. What's the next part?
…
…Jason can't remember. How does one go from busting a move to getting to kissing? How does one proceed from point A to point B?? Has it really been that long since he has dated that he lost all his experience? All of Jason’s training escapes at the feeling of Danny leaning into Jason. Ideas and plans vanish as the cool weight settles against him, Jason is practically screaming from within the confines of his own head.
Meanwhile, Danny is inwardly laughing his ass off. He was getting a bit suspicious during the movie when he kept feeling anxiety-nervous-excited-scared coming from Jason. When Jason yawned and put his arm around him, he had to hold back from laughing since that's what Jason had been worrying about.
He leans into Jason, delighting in the warmth and comfiness that is his neighbor. Danny can feel a spike in excited!-nervous!-worried-mustering from Jason.
It quickly turns into wanting-scared-what do I do??, blaring at him like a yowling cat that wants food. A sneak peek shows Jason not showing any outward reaction, but he does keep his gaze intensely focused on the screen in front of him.
Danny can guess what Jason wants. He too has found himself wanting to initiate physical affection between them. He might as well give Jason mercy and put in effort as well.
Danny slowly turns his head to Jason, waiting until the man notices and turns his head as well making them face each other. Danny gives a cheeky smile, “You know, if you wanted to kiss me all you have to do is ask.” He teases.
If Danny were still in highschool he would never have been so bold, but here in Jason’s apartment with his emotions on full display, there is no fear of rejection.
From what can be seen in the dim lighting of the room, Jason’s face erupts in flames, a strong blush prevailing over his features. He chokes on his words, “Yeah well, you try putting the moves on someone. It's hard doing it when you're so distracting.”
“Distracting?” Danny hums while leaning closer to Jason, pushing his chest against Jason’s side and turning to face him fully. “What part of me is distracting?” He asks innocently.
Jason’s eyes widen and he quickly turns away, mumbling something under his breath. Danny smirks, leaning in closer and using a bit of ghostly strength he gently pushes Jason down until he is laying flat on the couch with his head cushioned by the arm rest. He lays on top of Jason, resting his weight against the vigilante’s built chest while playfully tilting his head.
Jason mutters a small curse but stays quiet, his mind reeling and breath hastining at how the situation had changed so drastically in such a short amount of time.
Danny smiles co*ckily and asks again, “Jason” He says softly, focusing Jason’s attention back to being solely on him at the call of his name. “What part of me is distracting?” God, something about being a little sh*t is so appealing to Danny that he simply can't help himself when the situation allows for it.
Maybe it's a new obsession?
Jason gulps loudly, staring at Danny’s soft looking lips, how his icy eyes glow separately from the light that the forgotten movie gave off, how his black hair frames his face perfectly and his freckles slightly shine a soft pale green if stared at long enough.
He’s stalling. Jason needs to answer Danny. He struggles to catch his breath, for every inhale of air allows him to feel Danny’s body pressed against him. “Well it's- its-” Jason inhales, “everything.”
“Everything?”
Jason nods slowly in defeat. “I can't seem to focus around you, starshine. Everytime Im around you it's like thinking becomes the most difficult thing in the world.”
Danny’s eyes widen and his heart beats loudly at the soft words spoken, but Jason keeps going. “It's not only when i'm around you, even when we're not together it's like I can't focus! I'm always worrying about whether you're safe or in danger and when I'm going to see you again-” Jason cuts himself off with a sigh. “It's like I'm drowning. I am positively head over heels about you starshine, and f*ck me I want nothing more than to keep being with you. To have you next to me when I wake up and be there when I return from patrol, make you breakfast and continue watching movies or doing anything as long as it's with you. And I know that all of this sounds corny as sh*t but damn is it the truth. I want you Danny, every part of you, dead and all.”
Once Jason finishes, the room is silent. Danny is gaping, his core is silent and his heart has literally stopped beating as Jason lays his soul bare beneath him.
He is still breathing, if barely, and as the seconds tick by Jason’s confidence leaves and he slowly grows more and more resigned, preparing for rejection as his bravery now fully leaves him. His eyes look away, “Its okay if you don't feel the same way-” its not “I understand if your not ready for a relationship or-”
“Jason.”
Jason looks at the man laying above him. Danny’s eyes are half lidded, filled with so much love and devotion that it hurts. He has the widest, goofiest grin Jason has ever seen on a person, with cute fangs that poke out from the corners and glowing eyes that never fail to light up the room. “I'd love to be with you.”
Jason’s breath escapes him, his heart beats loudly in his ears and muffles everything else as he and Danny move closer. Their lips brush against each other, not closing in for a full kiss but not pulling back either. They regard each other, lips touching, bodies pressed so closely together, truly accepting of each other’s feelings and relishing in the relief that comes from acceptance.
Jason takes initiative, his hand cups Danny’s jaw and draws him forward. Their lips press against each other, soft and inviting. They don't move as they take in the way the other feels. While Jason’s lips are smooth, Danny’s is a bit chapped from his fangs digging into his lips.
That doesn't matter to Jason. How could it when he feels as if he has the entire world resting between his arms and currently kissing him. Danny moves a bit, eager to taste more of Jason. He gently takes Jason’s bottom lip between his sharp teeth and lightly bites down on it. This appears to be the right move since Jason gasps. Danny takes the opportunity for what it is and immediately shoves his tongue into Jason’s mouth.
Jason lets him, not fighting Danny and content to let the other take the lead with his tongue. Jason jolts as he realizes that Danny’s tongue is not normal. It is longer and feels smoother as it reaches in places that no other person ever has before. Jason moans into the kiss, his hands reaching up to grab at Danny’s hips. That seems to be some kind of trigger since Danny immediately starts shoving his tongue deeper, insistent in exploring every part it can. Jason holds him close while Danny ravishes him, licking at his lips and kissing him silly.
The vigilante’s hands wander while Danny defiles him, moving from his hips down to Danny’s thighs. A firm squeeze confirms that yes, while Danny is skinny and scrawny there is still some muscle hidden beneath the squishiness of his thighs. He paws at the flesh beneath Danny’s sweats, slowly rising higher until resting just below where Jason really wants to touch him.
Danny breaks the kiss, teasingly smiling at Jason and catching him in the act. “You're getting a little bold for our first kiss.” He purrs. Danny’s hand leaves from where it was holding Jason down, moving down lower and reaching for Jason’s hand that rests at the top of his thigh. Their breaths are heavy as Danny grabs his hand and moves it up, making it rest on his ass.
Jason sucks in a breath, his hand clenches and he whimpers at the soft mound that fits perfectly in his palm. Danny takes advantage of Jason’s distraction, his hand lets go of Jason’s, reaches up, and yanks him back by the hair. Jason’s yelp quickly turns into a soft moan as Danny shoves his tongue back into Jason's mouth.
Fog is clouding his brain at the overwhelming presence of Danny. One hand on his ass while the other reaches up and clutches the back of Danny’s hoodie, gripping it tight and keeping him in place while Danny kisses every inch of him available.
His mind blanks when he feels Danny’s hand, the one not grasping his hair, move up his shirt and feel at his abs. As the cold hand roves over the scarred flesh, Danny shifts himself for better leverage and moves up, moving until his hips are over Jason’s. When Danny rests his weight against him, he can feel something hard poke up at him through his sweats. Jason gasps and quickly breaks the kiss. He had been so entranced with their sudden makeout session that he didn't realize himself getting hard.
“I-Im sorry.” Jason stumbles, flustered over the highly embarrassing situation. He makes a move to get out from below Danny. “I'll just go and- wait, what are you- mmh!”
Danny grabs him by the shoulders, pushing him back and shoving their lips together while his hips grind down onto Jason’s co*ck. Jason groans loudly into the kiss and only gets to enjoy it for a moment before Danny pulls back.
“It's ok.” Danny whispers against his lips, he looks right into Jason's eyes and whispers his next words. “I'm excited too.” As a show of proof Danny grinds his own erection into Jason, letting him feel exactly what the Crime Lord had done to him.
The moment the stiffness against his own registers, Jason roughly grabs at Danny’s jaw and smashes their lips together. Their sounds fill the air between them as they grip at each other. They are both feverish and hungry while they eagerly press against each other, tasting the unique flavors of their past cereal while rocking their hips against each other, pressing their lengths together and rubbing up and down. Their hands move a mile a minute as they both try to feel each other as much as possible.
Their breaths are a combination of ash and frosty fog, their polar opposite temperatures feels so addicting against each other’s skin. The heat Jason always seems to give off nowadays seems a far thought against Danny’s icy cold touch, the chilliness soothing away at the burning intensity whilst also bringing a different kind of heat to Jason. Its too much, too much to fast, its-
It's not enough.
At that very moment, as if by some cosmic joke, the door opens.
Both men freeze. Danny looks into Jason's eyes, panicked, and then completely disappears from sight. His only evidence of having actually been there is the blanket that suddenly gets dropped on top of Jason.
“Hey Little Wing, I brought some take out from that Mexican place you like and- what are you doing?”
Jason completely ignores Dick as he blankly stares at the ceiling. It only takes a solid thirty of him reconsidering his life’s choices before he turns towards the backrest of the couch and groans (which quickly turns into a scream) loudly with all his might into the cushions.
Dick is left wondering just what is going on with his little brother. The oldest worries that it might be him that's annoying Jason, or maybe it's because of that guy next door.
Man, Jason must really be all up in his feelings if he's reacting in this manner. Either way, this is perfect blackmail material, so Dick has no regrets when he pulls out his phone and starts recording. He only stops when Jason throws a pillow at him in anger.
----------
The next couple of days were the same. Every. Single. Time.
They would find someplace alone, start getting into it, and then get interrupted by something or someone.
Sometimes it's Jason’s family members. Sometimes it's Danny's phone ringing from either his sister or his friends. Sometimes it's the mOTHERf*ckING SCARECROW GOING OUT AND NOT MINDING HIS DAMN BUSINESS ON THE ONE TIME JASON NEEDS IT.
If Jason was extra brutal in battling the Scarecrow, nobody made a comment on it. It seems his entire family has picked up on his recent streak of aggressiveness and don't want to get in its way.
He’s about to go see Danny again. Right now though, he has no intentions of initiating another intense make-out. Instead, he has big news he wants to share with him. Jason walks through Danny’s apartment after picking at the lock. It had become sort of a game between them with Jason picking the lock and Danny straight up walking through the wall to reach each other. He spots Danny lounging on his couch and nudges him to the side while snatching the remote.
He changes the channel from Courage the Cowardly dog and switches it to the news.
“Hey! I was watching that!”
“Shh, just watch.”
Danny grumbles but focuses on the screen, immediately becoming enrapt by the words crossing the screen. A blonde woman is standing on the street of a City. Probably not Gotham since the sun is out in the background. “-the new bill has been passed in congress, repealing the previously unheard of ‘Anti-Ecto Acts’ and thus is no longer legal to hunt or experiment on ecto-entities. The law had been hidden underneath other smaller laws in order to hide the cruel order from the masses. Other politicians and reporters alike are stating that it is a blatant violation against the Meta-Rights Acts and-”
The news reporter on the screen becomes silent when Jason pressed the mute button. He turns to Danny, finding the man staring at the screen in shock, unmoving and unblinking.
“Danny?” Jason takes Danny’s hand in his, slowly rubbing his thumb against the skin. “You there?”
Danny slowly turns towards him, his eyes are watering and his lip is quivering. “Is this-” He chokes, “Is this really real?” His eyes are so full of hope, of pain and suffering and longing.
Jason patiently smiles and cups Danny’ cheek. “Yeah, it's really real alright.”
Danny is silent for a few seconds, processing everything a mile a minute. A warm smile breathes life on his face, he giggles, which then turns into full blown delirious laughter. He closes his eyes and holds himself tightly while he starts floating upwards. He kicks his legs in the air in exhilaration, his laughter not being bound at finally being free. Free from the GIW, free from the hunters, free from his parents.
Jason watches from the couch, a gentle smile on his face as he watches Danny celebrate. The smile quickly leaves when Danny rams into Jason, causing him to let out a small ‘oomf!’ and catch Danny. His arms instinctively curl around the smaller frame, keeping him close while Danny is shaking. He has tears in his eyes when he looks up at Jason.
“I don't know how you did it, but thank you.”
Jason doesn't get to say anything before Danny presses his lips against him. The kiss is short before Danny jumps up and runs to his bedroom. He sits in the living room while occasionally hearing Danny’s voice from the other room, presumably talking to his friends and sister about the repeal.
Truthfully, Jason hadn't expected for the Justice League to work so fast, but that's what happens when you get a bunch of overpowered adults who have sometimes died learning about the acts. He feels (nothing) for the people working at the GIW since their lives are about to become a whole lot more chaotic.
Danny walks back in while Jason muses in his thoughts. He had cleaned his tears and is back to looking presentable but comfortable. He sits back down on the couch and burrows himself back into Jason’s arms, laying there and accepting the new change.
Danny feels like he can finally breathe. Stress that had been unknown to him is lifted from his shoulders. Ever since he was fourteen he had been living in fear, and even though he was in hiding and with Jason, the fear of being caught was still there.
Now though? It's like his core is singing from the release of its shackles. He can hear the other ghosts, the shades, the poltergeist, the spirits, the few scattered blobs, they are all singing too. They celebrate their victory and rejoice in their newfound freedom.
Danny is ecstatic. He turns to Jason, takes his jaw in his hand and turns his head before kissing him again. Jason hums into the kiss, slowly moving their lips and enjoying the moment.
The kiss stops after a few seconds. Danny looks at Jason, his eyes turning hungry and a green glow slowly replaces the icy blue. “I think I have the right way in mind to thank you.” Mischievousness and lust drips in his voice. Danny’s core is rumbling, rolling in need to lavish the man in anything he can offer for the great service he has done to their people.
Jason had single handedly been the turning point and had gotten those acts removed, saving ghosts and protecting them.
Protecting, his core echoes.
Both men don't know it, but right now is a heightened moment for all members of the infinite realm. The entire dimension is celebrating the freedom of ghosts in the dimension that the halfas come from. The ectoplasm everywhere is reacting to such excitement and thus is making accelerated energy and going to the ghosts that feed off of it.
Essentially, all current ghosts are now ridiculously happy, and ridiculously emotional.
A low growl escapes Danny when Jason returns his heated gaze. They both lunge at each other, biting at each other's lips and tugging at the unwanted clothes. Jason grips Danny’s hair, causing a hiss to release before immediately being swallowed up by Jason sealing his lips over his.
Danny groans frustratedly and yanks his own shirt off, making it go through him with his intangibility. Jason breaks the kiss and looks down. Both men stop moving while Jason sees Danny, he sees every scar, every blaster burn and every rope burn that has remained on him. Jason furrows his brows, but when Danny was about to ask what was wrong Jason takes off his own shirt.
Underneath are similar wounds. Gunshots, slashes, burn wounds, but the most damning is an ugly Y scar that runs through his entire chest.
Danny inhales, his hand slowly moves up to trace the line of raised flesh. He looks at Jason and kisses him again slowly, taking his time while tracing patterns with his hand. Jason is secretly relieved that Danny doesn't find his scar disturbing and rumbles lowly in his chest.
Over time their kisses resume their passionate intensity. Pressing against each other while hands feel at the available skin.
Danny breaks the kiss, he breathes heavily as he looks down to Jason who is equally breathing hard. “Do you- uh.” Danny swallows and Jason watches as his Adam's apple bobs up and down. “Do you want to go to my bedroom?”
No time passes before Danny’s world moves. He is lifted up into Jason’s arms in a princess carry and transported across his living room to his bedroom. Danny laughs and wraps his arms around Jason, kissing him on his nose, cheek, jaw and lips. Jason huffs, turning and catching Danny and returning his own kisses while he navigates his way to the bedroom.
With Danny pointing at the correct door, Jason turns the knob and pushes the door open with his hip. He takes a moment to analyze Danny’s bedroom. It's traditional with a bed that's a bit bigger than a twin with a bedside table and a lamp. What sticks out from the room though is the sheer amount of glow in the dark stars that are stuck to the ceiling. In the lack of light from Danny’s black out curtains, the stars glow prominently. The only light available is what leaks from behind the curtains. Jason looks at Danny with a questioning smile, subtly gesturing at the stars, Danny simply responds by rolling his eyes and kissing Jason’s lips.
Jason is reminded of his quest and settles Danny down onto the bed. It's a smaller bed than he's used to but it can work.
Jason kisses Danny, this time shoving his own tongue into Danny’s mouth and taking his breath away. Danny is having none of that and fights back, pushing his own strange tongue against Jason’s and battling it out. His sharp teeth nip and bruise Jason’s lips, leaving marks while his hands explore Jason’s shoulders. Jason growls when Danny begins pushing him back and in return pushes Danny down fully onto the bed.
Danny lays with his back to the cushion with Jason entangled above him. Jason holds onto Danny tightly, not letting any space be empty between them. They both pant from lack of air, taking each other in. They both admire the way the other glows in the night, how their faces are red and sharp breaths tangle between each other. Both men can feel the difference in body temperature each one has. Jason’s warmth is a soothing contrast to Danny’s cooling skin.
Jason chases after nipping cold, pushing down harder onto Danny and pressing himself deeply between his hips. The both groan at the stimulation to their hard sex’s, the clothes that lay between each other being their only barrier.
It is dark in the room, with the only light being what leaks through the curtains from the streetlights and from Danny’s glow in the dark stars. How ironic that they are about to be making love under the stars. Even if they are false, it's still something that made Danny’s co*ck stiffen even further at the idea of.
Of course, Jason immediately notices the change. He sinfully smirks, grabs the sides of Danny’s hips and sharply thrusts between Danny’s legs. Danny yelps and weakly thrusts back, moaning at the warmth that floods through him. Jason just chuckles at the reaction, and gets to unbuckling Danny’s pants.
Danny looks like such a vision underneath Jason. His expression is clouded while his hair is plastered down on his forehead. Danny’s icy blue eyes are intense as they gaze up at Jason, scrutinizing him and waiting for his next movements. So perfect. Not even his wildest imaginations could have conjured something better than what is being seen before him.
Danny notices his actions and does nothing to stop him, he just stares and admires the sight in front of him. Jason becomes aware of the staring and blushes. His fingers pinch the zipper and lowers it, unzipping Danny’s pants. He grabs the edges and lowers it down the halfa’s hips, then his creamy thighs, down his calves, past his ankles before yanking them off and throwing the pants to the floor.
Jason crawls back up Danny’s legs, enjoying the view. His gaze trails up the smooth expanse of skin, enhanced by the numerous scars that make itself home on Danny. Jason looks up to see Danny’s expression, finding the man in question to be looking towards the side with a heavy blush coating his face.
He has never had someone look at him with such a lustful expression. To not only see it in the way that Jason’s pupils dilated, his breath coming out in deep waves trying to get enough oxygen, his gaze so loving it almost hurts, but to also feel it from deep inside. His core croons in pleasure as Jason's Mine-Love-Want washes over him. He can also feel cheeky Mmm Pretty that rumbles out of Jason.
Danny rolls his eyes with a fond smile and grabs at Jason's shoulders, pulling him up and tugging him into a kiss. Danny bites at Jason's lower lip, making Jason release a low growl. Jason’s eyes widen at the new development of his ghost powers but quickly loses concentration when Danny shoves his tongue into Jason’s mouth.
Jason moans into Danny and bucks his hips into him, keeping his weight against Danny while one of Danny’s hands worms its way up to the nape of Jason's neck, grabbing at the hairs there. His other hand meanders down Jason's torso, feeling at each muscle in its path and tracing his fingers on Jason's scars. Jason separates from Danny and sucks in a breath when Danny reaches his waist.
Danny skips the hassle of getting Jason’s pants off the normal way and just phases them off with his intangibility. Jason shivers and then chuckles lowly, “Can't wait huh?” He asks with a devilish grin. His own fangs glint and stand out as the green glow of his eyes shines on his features.
Danny’s own eyes copy the gesture and glow brightly, his core chirps out in Hello! Surprised! And Oooooh~, Danny blushes in embarrassment while Jason's eyebrows raise. He makes an experiment by unexpectedly thrusting into Danny again. Danny gasps a breath while his core makes an interested Rrrp? Jason's eyes narrow at the realization he had made. He has to try so hard not to grin with what he's planning.
He grabs Danny's boxers, takes them off his legs and throws them off the bed. Jason does the same to his own boxers and settles back to his rightful place between Danny’s legs. They both lay bare before each other, and drink in the sight in front of them. They are witness to each other's life story, their scars and they're marks are exposed to the open world.
On Jason’s chest sits that menacing Y scar that runs through his entire torso. Danny pales a bit, and realizes that that's what could have happened to him if he stayed with his parents. Danny’s hand raises to touch the center of Jason's suffering, his left hand brushing against the raised skin.
Jason shivers and glaces down, noticing the marks on the hand on his chest. He settles his weight on his knees and grabs Danny's wrist. He brings the hand closer to his face, analyzing the burnt circle in the middle of his palm and the surrounding flesh. Jason's gray blue eyes soften at the sight before he closes his eyes, leans in and presses a loving kiss against the scar on Danny’s left hand.
Danny gasps and thrusts against Jason, ramming his weeping co*ck against Jason in need of friction. He had never before felt that. It was electricity, but not of his death. It felt of tingles and rumbles against his skin rushing through every crevice of his being. Danny peaks down further from Jason's expanse of skin, following the trail of muscle and laying eyes on Jason's co*ck.
Its thick, his length is huge as it stands tall and erect while dripping pre-come from the tip. Danny gulps at the obscene sight before him, his blush rising at the warmth and desire that rises in his body. Danny whines, he has had enough waiting around. “Jason.” He chokes.
Jason looks at him expecdetly, caught from staring at the mesmerizing sight of Danny’s body laid undressed. Like a present, made solely for him.
Him, and nobody else. Nobody else will ever get to have Danny after Jason ruins him. Danny will belong to him and solely to him.
Mine, his core rumbles in deep satisfaction. Only mine.
Danny looks right at Jason, a heavy blush rising all the way to the tips of his ears. “Please touch me.”
Jason follows the request and lets go of Danny's hand which wraps behind Jason’s neck. The Crime Lords hands slither up Danny's legs, pulling apart the man's thighs and settling close to him. “Do you, uh-” Jason pursed his lips, “Do you have any lube?” He gets out.
Danny’s whole face lights up in a fierce blush that travels all the way down his neck. Jason is enamored at the sight and almost misses it when Danny speaks. “Ah- well- I actually- you see uh.” He clears out his throat awkwardly and takes a deep breath. “Ghosts don't need lube since ectoplasm reacts how you want it. And since right now I… want you…” Danny’s voice steadily lowers in embarrassment to the point he is full on muttering. But it didn't matter, since Jason heard it all clearly.
“But- um. Jason?”
Jason looks up at Danny questioningly.
“I need to tell you. Something that hasn't come up before but since we are doing this now is-.” Danny takes a deep breath, trying to control his nerves. “This is actually my first time…”
His first time with anybody really, let alone someone who was like him.
Jason's core jumps in his chest, a possessive growl emanates from deep in his throat. His head leans down and roughly nuzzles against Danny’s cheek, a low purr filling the air as Jason’s nose nudges against the side of Danny’s face as his teeth catch onto an earlobe, lightly pulling at the skin between his sharp teeth.
Danny’s icy core trills in pleasure, relishing in the waves of greed and possessiveness and Mine! that Jason bluntly lets out.
Jason pants, trying to get oxygen into his system while his fiery red core lets out rumbles comparatively to that of a volcano. “It's alright.” Jason says while a dark puff of smoke escapes through his lips and nose. “I'll take care of you.” He runs a finger against Danny’s hole, surprised at the wetness that coats his fingers. Danny gulps, trying to stifle his moan at the feeling of Jason’s finger. Jason just smirks and inserts his pointer finger.
This time Danny doesn't muffle the sound he makes while Jason roles his finger around. He strokes at Danny’s inner walls while critically watching Danny’s expressions, finding the way that makes Danny feel the most pleasure. He makes way for another finger, gathering slick and scissoring open Danny’s hole.
Jason leans down and kisses Danny’s blissed out face, he locks his lips and harshly sucks Danny’s tongue. Danny’s core purrs loudly, so in love of the not-revenant above, wanting to be claimed and f*cked into the bed by the handsome man on top of him.
Jason harshly thrusts his fingers, adding another and pushing them deeper into Danny. His lips separate from Danny and lowers down Danny’s neck. Jason mouths at the expanse of soft skin, lightly piercing it with his fangs. His own deep flaming core rumbles when he arrives at the spot between Danny’s neck and shoulder. His lips go over the spot while his tongue tastes at the flesh beneath it.
He decides that it's best to leave that spot for later. Jason continues his wandering path, sucking down hard into Danny’s pale skin and making sure to leave marks that will stand out. He travels lower, his lips paying extra attention to any scare he comes across, kissing them and projecting his affection for the nerd that holds his heart.
Jason keeps going, leaving hickies in his wake and showering Danny in his devotion. He only stops when he reaches a pretty pink nipple. He glances up at Danny with a mischievous expression, which is Danny’s only warning when Jasons lips wrap around the small mound.
Danny sucks in air. Jason pumps his fingers while his tongue licks at Danny’s nipple, flicking it around and sucking down hard. Danny moans loudly when sharp teeth close down on the bud, playfully pulling at the pretty pink tip and rolling it between his teeth while it hardens. Deciding to trust Danny, Jason lets go of his grip on Danny’s hip and lifts his other hand. It smoothly cups at Danny’s peck, feeling at the softness gathered under his calloused hand and gives it a rough squeeze.
Danny’s breathing speeds up, watching Jason’s hungry expression while Jason fondles and feels at him. His bashful expression while spectating his lust-filled ministrations make Jason release the abused nipple and lean in with need that captures Danny in a forceful kiss.
His hand keeps thrusting into Danny, stroking at his walls and savoring the vulgar sounds of wetness that is being made. Danny feels numb, his mind is so clouded from the overwhelming pleasure being given to him. He manages to peek in between their bodies at Jason’s throbbing erection brushing up against Danny’s thigh. Danny feels close, so close. Danny’s own fingers don't hold a candle to the skilled hand of Jason. His core is fluttering, crooning its pleasure and hissing out frost from between his teeth.
Jason’s fingers suddenly pull out of Danny, startling him into letting out a slight gasp. He grieves at the feeling of emptiness inside of them when it disappears as another feeling arrives.
The tip of Jason's co*ck is resting right outside Danny’s hole, not entering the half-ghost but not backing off either.
Danny heaves a frustrated breath, moving his hips to try to force himself down Jason's length. Jason grabs Danny’s thighs and grips him tightly, silently marveling at the squishiness beneath his fingers while also appreciating the strength hidden beneath the soft skin.
Jason doesnt hide his evil smile. “Danny.” He sings, moving close to nip at the side of Danny’s jaw. Danny opens his eyes, only enough for them to be half-lidded. Jason's throat bobs as he swallows but he continues his plan.
He moves forward a bit, moving his tip deeper into Danny's entrance. Danny groans at the movement, slightly thrusting his hips for Jason to go faster. Jason keeps his grip at Danny’s thighs and doesn't give him space to move. He continues his snail pace and stops once his co*ckhead squeezes past Danny’s rim.
“You know…” Jason speaks as if having a normal conversation. “Earlier in the foreplay-” Danny squeaks at Jason’s bluntness, “-I noticed something interesting. Whenever I did something that for you felt good, for example:'' Jason thrust his hips lightly into Danny before retreating to his same spot at Danny's entrance. Danny keens desperately, his core thrums in his chest and preens at the satisfaction coiling in Danny’s gut. He wants Jason to just slam into him already! “Like that.” Jason grunts, “I keep feeling something in my chest. As if something is calling out to me.” He looks down at Danny.
Danny thinks blurrily through the fog in his mind, then straight up bluescreens at the implications Jason is making. In his chest. Calling out. To Danny that sounds like Jason has discovered core speak, the emotions released by ghosts and essentially ghost speak but on a more intimate basis.
“Almost makes me wonder.” Jason continues while rubbing his thumb into Danny’s skin, one hand having moved and now rests on his hip. “If you were hearing me while I was jerking off a few weeks ago?” Danny’s reddening face is adorable to watch as he stammers over his answer. “Since I'm currently feeling when you feel good, it's safe to say you could listen when I'm feeling good too. Am I right?” Jason feels pride in his explanation while he watches Danny below him. His tip is still firmly inside Danny, not moving an inch closer and making the man below him writhe in need.
Danny doesn't answer, he keeps his eyes scrunched close while he takes deep breaths.
Jason frowns but quickly comes up with an idea.
He pulls back, making his co*ckhead pop out of Danny. Danny breaths and looks down to what Jason is doing. Jason wastes no time and shoves the tip back in. He grunts and continues his motions, popping the end of his length in and out but never pushing further in.
Danny cries, feeling overly sensitive and raw at Jason teasing him in such a manner. He can't take much more of this. “Yes yes you were right!” Danny admits.
Jason stops his movements. He leans closer, eyes glowing a strong toxic green and stilling right next to Danny’s ear. “And,” his voice lowers, “did you like it?”
Danny takes in a deep trembling breath. “Yes.”
Jason feels a strong shiver run through him, his muscles are shaky and his co*ck is stiffening at the slightest squeeze from Danny’s walls. His breath fans over Danny, his chest is rumbling in delight and spreading through his body. He leans in closer, “Did you touch yourself while listening to me?” He asks cheekily.
This is as much torture for Jason as it is for Danny. He wants to shove himself inside Danny so bad, but he needs to hear him. Jason needs to hear the desperation in Danny’s voice, the release of any self-preservation that Danny has as he surrenders himself fully to Jason. He can see green tinting his vision, but no rage is found, only deep desire that consumes him and makes any form of self-restraint become brittle and difficult.
“Yes!”
Jason takes a deep breath. He slowly thrusts forward, pushing his length further into Danny’s folds. His walls are tight and seemingly sucking Jason further in, pulling him deeper until he bottoms out.
His breathing is ragged and uncoordinated, his muscles are trembling from the restraint as Jason pulls back out and thrusts back into Danny. Danny keens, his core whining and begging. Jason doesnt let it affect him, it's Danny’s first time and Jason doesn't want to ruin his experience by acting like a wild animal.
Danny whines. He can feel Jason holding back and it's making him frustrated. The halfa wants Jason to lose himself, to be pounded down onto the mattress and left unmoving for a while. His fangs sharpen and he snarls, projecting his desires from his core and sending the signals straight to Jason.
The thread of sanity breaks, Jason grips at Danny’s hips and slams him down hard onto Jason’s co*ck. Danny howls at the stretch of his insides trying to accommodate the gaping length forcefully shoved into him. Jason's member is a burning inferno inside his stomach, rubbing against his walls and filling him completely.
Green fills both of their visions. The carnal desire chips away at what's left of their sanity, hands grasp at one another to feel more than they can. It's not enough, it's not enough-
Jason waits no time before pulling out of the halfa and shoving himself right back in as deep as he can. Danny chokes out a moan as Jason lifts Danny up by the hips and settles him against Jason's waist, allowing for deeper entry.
He cries out in pleasure when Jason gives a particularly hard thrust, slamming into Danny over and over. His core whines and reaches out, searching for the strength and warmth of Jason's own core.
It responds to him, croaking and vibrating a smokey growl. Hot meets cold as both cores rub their frequencies against each other, shifting and whirring while trying to find the right wavelength. Jason keeps thrusting harder into Danny, gripping his sides tightly and shoving him down in match with his thrusts. Danny is mindless as the feeling of bouncing hits him repeatedly into that spot that makes him see stars. He blurrily watches the plastic glow stars above him while his entire body washes over with desire.
Both cores are whining, singing to each other and pitching noises quicker. The hum of radio static combined with sharp whistles and clicks fill the room as their cores rise and fall in frequency. Jason's lips wanders Danny’s body, going from his mouth to that spot in his neck that he had licked. He nibbles at it, salivating at the taste while his hips ram into Danny below him.
Without any prompting, Jason opens his mouth and bites down hard onto Danny’s skin. Danny chokes out a cry at the sharp fangs penetrating the base of his neck. His nails unknowingly turn into sharp black claws and scratch at Jason’s back, trying to gain any form of grip to steady himself.
At the feeling, Jason snarls. He wraps his arms around Danny and pulls him closer, trapping him in his embrace and harshly thrusting up into him. With no way to escape (not that Danny wants to) he is forced to take all of it.
Their cores harmonize, complimenting each in their songs as their pitch and frequency match.
They both loudly gasp and Jason slams hard into Danny, immediately emptying his release deep inside of Danny. Danny can feel the hot ropes of cum filling him, and his own release quickly follows, spilling on top of him.
They stay like that, stuck in each other's embrace and panting, glowing in the aftermath of their passionate lovemaking. The neon glow of both of their eyes remains present, only slightly lowering in their intensity.
Danny is the first to come back to his senses. His eyes focus back and his heart pounds in his chest (as fast as it can for a dead person). He looks to Jason, finding him curled into Danny’s neck and rumbling up a storm. His loud purrs seem to pierce through Danny’s skin, making his own core purr back.
Danny’s arms wrap around Jason, a hand reaches up and traces through Jason’s hair, going through the strands and lightly scratching his scalp. Jason grumbles and tries to dig himself deeper in Danny’s neck, rubbing against the skin and settling himself there.
Danny giggles and kisses Jason’s temple, showering him in love. A thought floats into his head. “I might have forgotten to mention that Ghosts can become very passionate when it comes to love making. It has the same aspects as fighting, there's no reason to hold back since everyone is basically immortal now. It also ties into our instincts for when- ah!”
Danny gets cut off when Jason thrusts firmly into him, hitting him in his aching deep spot. Danny had forgotten that Jason was still inside of him, his muscles are a teensy bit sore and there are bruise marks forming on his hips.
Danny looks at Jason and sees his glowing green eyes shining brilliantly against the darkness of the room. Danny’s own eyes light up, not any words are said as they grab each other and kiss each other deeply.
Jason resumes his thrusting, immediately going hard and forcing himself deeper into Danny. Danny just chokes on his moans, he loves the way Jason feels against him, holding him tightly and spearing him onto his co*ck in order to reach his deepest places.
It's nice, yes, but different formulas can create the same outcome.
Danny grips Jason’s shoulders and flips him over. Jason’s back slams onto the mattress and he is caught off guard. He makes a small voice that turns ragged when Danny shifts his hips, riding Jason all while gripping tightly at his shoulders.
Jason grabs at Danny’s hips, slamming him down with such force that it makes Danny let out a cry. Both hips meet in the center as they roll their hips to meet, creating waves of pleasure for both of them.
A series of growling and rumbling comes from their cores as they passionately make love. Jason pushes himself deep into Danny and releases his load into him again, rumbling in pleasure while rubbing his head against Danny and holding the man in his arms.
Rumbling and growling fills the air as both dead-adjacent beings f*ck each other like their lives depend on it. They remain in intercourse for hours, only stopping to sleep.
Jason tiredly cleaned Danny up before returning to the bed naked and wrapping his arms around the sleeping halfa. Their cores are purring, feeling each other’s presence and enveloping them in each other’s aura.
They both quickly fall asleep entangled in limbs and sheets and basking in the glow of their love.
…
…
…
Jason wakes up with green in his vision.
His breath is heavy again, cold sweat drips down his skin and his co*ck is straining, aching and hard.
Danny is asleep next to him, wrapped around his arm and snuggling into his warmth.
Jason tries to sleep it off, but the flaring in his gut grows stronger. He inwardly groans, trying to remain quiet while he palms at his length, trying to get it to go down.
Danny shuffles and turns around, Jason stills and tries not to move a muscle. Danny opens his eyes revealing the same glowing green coming from Jason's own eyes. “Are you hard?” He sleepily asks.
Jason’s shoulders release tension, “Yeah.” He mutters, feeling guilty of having gotten hard so soon. “But you don't have to do anything, I can-”
“Jason.”
Jason looks at Danny, who rolls over to lay on his stomach. His voice becomes muffled in the pillow but still clear enough for Jason to make sense of what he is saying. “We can still have sex, you're gonna have to put in the work though since I'm still a bit sleepy.”
Jason’s eyes widen in shock. He looks at Danny, “Seriously?”
Danny turns his head from the pillow and looks back. “Super serious.”
With Danny’s blessing, Jason sits up and turns, it takes some maneuvering but eventually Jason is on top of Danny. He grips his hard length and presses against Danny’s tight rim of muscle, slowly pushing himself in. Even though Jason had cleaned Danny himself earlier, Danny is still sopping wet inside. His dick easily glides past his walls and he inserts himself fully.
Danny sleepily moans when Jason pushes into him. His hips lift to meet Jason’s as his lover slowly slides into him. He can feel Jason’s co*ck deep inside of him, the head pushing against his walls causing more wetness to drip in and out of Danny.
Jason’s slow loving pace quickly turns brutal and punishing. The ache in Danny’s body deliciously burns while Jason grabs his hips tightly and pulls him back in time with every hard thrust. Danny is pressed deeply into the bed, his entire body is moving from the force of Jason forcing himself deeper into Danny, painting over his shoulder and mumbling praises into his ear while biting at the skin.
Jason leaves marks all over Danny, bruises and hickies all containing his devotion while a green glow emanates from his eyes. He roughly shoves himself deep into Danny and c*ms, painting Danny’s walls and filling him up.
Danny screams and c*ms, but Jason doesn't stop. He keeps pounding into Danny, slamming into him and not giving him any space to breathe.
Danny tries to crawl away, to get some reprieve but is quickly yanked by his hips back to Jason and forced to take it. He lies on the bed, overstimulated and cumming over and over again. Both men don't stop until neither of them can move anymore. Jason slowly pulls out of Danny’s dripping hole, a strange mixture of ectoplasm and cum slowly leaving him.
Jason cleans Danny back up and lies next to him, tightly wrapping his arms around the halfa and purring up a storm.
Danny’s core weakly chirps back, still overwhelmed from such intense lovemaking.
Yes, surely after this they will be seeing more of each other.
So much more.
![Ghostly Neighbor - Madz_Disaster - Danny Phantom [Archive of Our Own] (2024)](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mP8/h8AAvMB+NzmkbcAAAAASUVORK5CYII=)