Why Must Danny Have A Life™
Peter held Phantom…Danny, and waited. He could hear Danny sniffling, trying to be quiet about it, but damn if Peter wouldn’t have cried after telling a story like that too. So he held Danny in a vaguely uncomfortable side-hug and let him cry until he quieted down on his own.
“You wanna watch a movie?” Danny asked quietly, and yeah, his voice was still a little nasally.
“We can if you want,” Peter agreed, hedging. It just felt wrong, that after Dany had told him all these things about himself, that he still didn’t know about Peter’s past.
“Don’t tell me now,” Danny said, quietly, as if reading his mind.
“Tell you what?” Peter asked, just to make sure they were on the same page.
“Whatever your tragic past is. Don’t tell me now. It doesn’t have to be reciprocal. I told you because I wanted you to know, not because of some sort of weird implied quid pro quo thing. Take some time to process. Let both of us process. That was…it was a lot, yeah?” Danny chuckled wetly, “So enough tragedy for one day. I’m not saying I don’t want to know you. Because I do. But the heavy stuff can wait a little bit longer, okay? You’re allowed.”
Danny turned his face up to smile at Peter, revealing the tear tracks on his cheeks. Peter smiled down at him and wondered, vaguely, what it would be like to lean his head down just a little further and kiss him-
Woah. Full stop. Where had that thought even come from? Peter didn’t even like boys that way? Unless he did?
That was too much to handle right now. As Danny had said, he could take some time.
“So,” Danny said, still smiling up at him, “do you wanna watch a movie?”
Peter smiled so widely his face hurt. “Yeah Danny. I wanna watch a movie.”
Danny laughed and swung up to his feet in one fluid motion, leaving Peter blinking against the lack of weight and cool. Danny wasn’t cold in his human form, exactly, but he was definitely cool the same way metal right out of a refrigerator was cool. It wasn’t unpleasant, exactly, just…different.
“C’mon, Peter. Surely you have some sort of comfy apartment floor in this tower, knowing Stark?” Danny teased, pulling Peter out of his thoughts.
“I do, actually, yeah. A whole floor, even though I don’t even live here, because Tony is just Like That I guess,” he answered, laughing. “C’mon, Friday’ll take us down, then I can get something to eat while we watch.”
“You haven’t had lunch yet?” Danny asked, tilting his head to the side like a confused puppy.
Peter shrugged as he stood, stretching out his muscles and popping his joints. “Didn’t get around to it. I tend to lose track of time when I’m in the lab.”
Danny snorted as they both started walking towards the elevator. “Figures, I'm the same way. Someone has to pull me out to make me sleep, most times.”
The elevator doors slid shut behind them and the elevator started moving without either of them having to direct it.
“Yeah, usually Friday tells me when it gets late, that or my aunt calls.”
“You live with your aunt, then?”
“Mhm. Since my parents and my uncle died, it’s just been her and me. Tony and Natasha are family now, too, though,” Peter admitted as the elevator slid to a stop.
The doors opened to reveal Peter’s apartment floor, decorated in reds and blues because Tony thought he was hilarious. Everything there was soft, though, so Peter couldn’t say he really minded.
“I see,” Danny said, neutrally. Then, taking in the apartment, he smirked and added, “Nice place.”
Peter rolled his eyes as he headed for the kitchen, Danny trailing behind. “Tony likes to think he’s funny,” he explained.
At that, Danny snorted. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me.”
“You can sit, if you want. I’m just gonna make some sandwiches,” Peter offered, gesturing to one of the barstools in the kitchen.
“Sure,” Danny agreed, sitting.
“You want anything?” Peter offered, pulling ingredients out of the fridge and pantry.
“No thanks,” Danny said, voice tight.
He’d said he didn’t have to eat. Right. But what was his relationship with food that he said it like that? Come to think of it, the very few times he’d been around either Phantom or Danny when food was involved, the other boy had opted out with some excuse or another.
“Don’t like sandwiches?” Peter teased, swiping mayo on his bread, because he was incapable of leaving it alone.
“It’s not that,” Danny said, reluctantly. “It’s, um, it’s complicated. I’ll probably tell you about it at some point, but not today, okay?”
“Right,” Peter agreed, awkwardly. “Sorry, didn’t mean to pry.”
Danny chuckled wryly. “Don’t worry ‘bout it. I’m basically a walking landmine when it comes to bad memories and triggers, I’ll admit, but I’m pretty good about knowing my own limits. You can always ask, as long as you’re good with a non-answer.”
“Okay. Um, yeah, I mean, you don’t have to answer, obviously, I just wondered and I suck at keeping my mouth shut and-”
“Peter,” Danny interrupted, and he sounded amused, “it’s fine. Seriously. Stop talking now.”
“Right,” Peter agreed, blushing.
They were quiet as Peter finished making his sandwiches. Danny carried one of the plates into the couch for him while Peter got the other plate and a couple water bottles. They settled everything down on the coffee table and sat, close enough that their elbows brushed.
“What should we watch?” Peter asked, through a mouthful of roast beef sandwich.
“Hm. There’s a new Disney movie that sounds okay?”
“There’s always a new Disney movie,” Peter muttered.
Danny snorted. It was cute.
“Right. Friday, fire up the new Disney movie.”
The lights dimmed and the movie started playing. Peter finished his sandwiches and his waters. Over the course of the movie, somehow Peter and Danny ended up horizontal. They were both on their sides, Danny smushed between the back of the couch and Peter’s back. Danny had an arm thrown over Peter’s waist, rubbing absent circles with his thumb, his chin tucked on top of Peter’s shoulder. Peter wasn’t sure when, but he thought he might have dozed off. He woke before the movie ended, though, and Danny didn’t say anything.
When the movie was over, Danny sighed heavily and shifted, reaching a hand up to rub at his eyes. Peter took the hint and sat up, then stood, giving Danny room to maneuver up and off the couch. Which he did, standing and stretching out. He winced, then, and turned apologetic eyes on Peter.
“You have to go, don’t you?” Peter asked.
“Yeah,” Danny sighed. “Grandfather’s calling me. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. You’ve got a life, I get it. Or a half-life, at the least.”
“Haha. Yeah. Anyway, I should…go. But, um, I’ll come by when I can? You have my number from other stuff, right? My phone doesn’t work in the Realms, obviously, but I try and check it when I’m back on Earth. And Ellie introduced you to Cujo, right?”
“Yeah, I have ways to contact you. Seriously, it’s okay. You can go,” Peter reassured, smiling.
“Right,” Danny agreed, transformation rings washing over him. “I’m just gonna…” he gestured out the window, starting to walk backwards.
“Wait!” Peter called, a thought suddenly occurring to him. Danny froze. “Can you teach me ghost science sometime? I mena, it’s probably a little presumptuous to assume you’re good at it, I guess, but you mentioned a lab and you seem to know a lot and-”
Danny interrupted him with a chuckle. “Yeah, Peter. I’ll teach you ghost science sometime. In fact, remind me to introduce you to Shuri, okay?”
“O-kay?” Peter agreed, having no idea who Danny was talking about.
Danny laughed again. “See you around, Petey-pie.”
Then Danny was phasing out the window and opening a portal and was gone. Peter was left blushing furiously, mind going a million miles an hour, thinking “Petey-pie”?
“I have to meet the ghost King?” Stephen repeated, slowly.
Wong was standing across from him in the library of the Sanctum, hands folded in front of him, looking completely unconcerned. The asshole.
“That is the tradition, yes. And the agreement. The Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj have been allied with the Infinite Realms for many millennia. As the new Sorcerer Supreme, it is your job to meet and consult with the current ghost King on the state of things,” Wong repeated, nonplussed.
“Hold up. I knew there were ghosts, they attacked New York, but they’re organized? They’re our allies? And, more importantly, their government is a monarchy?” Stephen said, voice getting a little higher with every question.
“Yes, yes, and yes. And it might be maggots Prince right now, actually, I don’t exactly remember who was in charge when the Ancient One met with them-”
“Right,” Stephen agreed, blowing an exasperated breath out through his nose. “I have to meet ghost royalty. Because of course I do. When? How? How does that meeting even get arranged? I’m guessing we can’t exactly call them on the phone.”
Wong grinned, then, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “Don’t worry, Stephen. They’ll show up soon. They always do.”
Stephen put his head in his hands and groaned loudly while Wong cackled in the background. Why had he taken this job again, exactly?
Danny tumbled into Clockwork’s arms as soon as he was in Long Now. Clockwork chuckled softly as he caught him, running soothing fingers through his hair.
“Why am I so busy all the time?” he whined, pressing his face against the clock in Clockwork’s chest. “I swear I don’t even make it to school half the time.”
“I’m sure you’re there more often than that,” Clockwork countered, gently.
Danny shrugged. “Probably. Dunno. Doesn’t feel like it.”
“You are there as much as you need to be.”
And of course that was all Danny had really wanted to hear, he thought, starting to drift off to sleep.
“What didya want me here for?” he mumbled, yawning.
“Your wings are hurting you,” Clockwork said.
Danny huffed. Strong emotions did tend to make his wings hurt, the feathers chafing against his back where they were tucked away, the Deathmark there pulsing intently.
“Let me help,” Clockwork continued, steering Danny up to his bed.
Danny huffed again, but let Clockwork help him struggle out of his suit and hold his hand as he pushed his wings out. Clockwork’s hands were cold and familiar as he started rubbing Danny’s wings.
“Time out.”
That was the last thing Danny heard before he fell asleep.