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Kindred Spirits	By : RedelliaValentinos Category: +1 through F > Danny Phantom Views: 206 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, I don't own any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from writing this story, I write this purely for the enjoyment of writing. It's just me and a keyboard and my wild brain.

Chapter List
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Danny actually finishes the program a week early, thus giving him a few days to relax and celebrate. This takes the shape of him crashing in the living room with his friends, some sleeping bags and a few "B" horror movies. And Vlad doesn't mind at all. As far as he's concerned, the boy has earned the break. He's actually proud of him for finishing early. And Vlad has gotten used to the presence of the other children, he only had to swat Tucker's hand away from his computer once.
"What you've done to your own systems can easily be done to you," he'd warned, and it was enough. Tucker had paled and walked away. He wasn't out to scare him, but the threat still got the desired effect.
On the last Friday, Maddie came to visit again. Only, this time, she has Jasmine in tow. Vlad stops them in the foyer before they went near the stairs.
"He's finished the program a little early," he addresses Jasmine, "You'll find him binging on television in the living room."
And Maddie gulped. She's here to check on him. She's gotten so used to just seeing her son that she isn't prepared for a conversation. Vlad can sense the distress. The awkward wobbling waves of worry that pour off of her are hard to miss. Jasmine simply gives him a nod and walks off in the direction of the television. Jasmine leaving her mother behind makes Maddie even more nervous and she fidgets with her hands, knocking her knuckles together and heaving a few breaths of panic.
"What am I... Vlad, I can't... What am I supposed to say to him?"
"There's many things you could say. I'm afraid you'll have to wing it. That's what parenting is about, good or bad. Just go in there, and-"
"-No, no. Vlad, I... Please, I don't even know where to start."
Vlad sighs. She's a clueless wreck, but she's aware that she's clueless.
"You're going to have to talk to him, eventually."
"I know, but... I... I know."
She shifts her weight on her feet and starts pacing a bit. An apology is definitely due. But she's made a pretty big mess of things and there's a lot to apologize for. What she should start with? When should she start with? Maddie knows she's done a lot of damage, and is unsure of how much can be repaired.
Vlad watches her, folding his arms and moving back, giving her the room to space and think. He could help her, but this isn't a bed he made. It's hers, all her responsibility. He's bandaged wounds and given numerous lessons. He has coddled and fed, comforted and deflected. There are things he could have handled better. There are things he handled rather well under the circumstances. And there are steps he could have taken but didn't because they might not have had the intended benefit in the long run. Laughter emanates from the living room, calming his own slightly unsteady heart. It won't do him any good to soak in the nervous energy coming from the boy's mother, so he walks away, into the kitchen to prep lunch.
-
Danny is just as unprepared. If not more so. He wasn't expecting to look up and see his mother. He wasn't expecting her to visit. None of them were. And his core flutters uncomfortably at seeing her. His mouth goes dry and locks shut. What little color he has in his skin fades from his face. His fingers curl into the surface of a pillow that's in his lap, his left hand drifting behind the pillow so he can hide the black on his fingers. She doesn't notice the char. But she does notice that he pulls in on himself. Pulls away. And his eyes darken a little.
Jasmine nudges Sam and Tucker up to their feet and guides them out of the living room.
Danny, seated on the floor, feels smaller somehow. And there's a new desire to phase through the floor and nestle in the little gap between it and the basement ceiling. Out of sight and mind. He's not worried about being yelled at or lectured. He's just not ready to interact with his mother.
"Um..." Maddie clears her throat, "Vlad says you finished the program."
Danny swallows.
"He says you finished early."
He nods a little and clutches the pillow a little closer to his chest.
"That's good. That's... That's very good," she comes over and sits on the couch, "Hopefully next year wo-"
"-Look, mom, no offense, but I really don't wanna talk about it," he looks up at her, "okay?"
It catches her off guard. Both Danny's tone and just being cut off. She looks him in the eyes. He looks tired. He looks frustrated. And a little sad. And like there's more going on underneath the surface, but he isn't ready or willing to tell her. In her gut, she can actually feel that there's something else. Which is a strange sensation in and of itself. She's never really had gut feelings, before.
"Okay," she says softly, "Alright. I'll leave it."
Danny averts his gaze to the television. The movie is still running. He doesn't really focus on it, though. He stares into the screen, lost. He leans back against the couch and pulls the throw pillow closer, as close as he can. Wrapping it up tightly in his arms. Letting his blackened fingers into view, peeking out from the sleeve of his sweater.
She finally sees them. Burnt and ugly. The skin has healed. But the flesh strangely remains darkened. Even his nails are dark, almost sooty in their appearance. Flat. As if they were covered in a thin film of ash and grime. But they aren't. Nor do they reflect any light. Anyone else might mistake them for being covered with dried ink. She knows better. Maddie wants to ask how far up the hand it goes. She wants to see it up close. She wants to hold his hand.
"We... We've cleaned some things up at home. Done some repairs... And Jazz set up a schedule. For the chores and dinner and family time. That sort of thing. So far, we've been sticking to it."
Danny's eyes drift downwards, glazed over with frustration. He knows he shouldn't feel riled. But he does.
"Does dad know?" his words are barely above a human whisper, but she does manage to catch them.
"Well... I... To be honest, no, he doesn't. He's been sticking to the schedule, he just doesn't know why."
"So you never told him."
Maddie stiffens slightly. "He thinks he just hit his head. You know how he is. I was hoping, if you came home and saw the improvements, that you might stay?"
Faintly, in the distance, Danny's ears distinguish a knife on a cutting board that's cutting a little more quietly than normal. He's not surprised Vlad is listening. And the chopping slows a little, as if waiting for his response. And he already has one.
"Fifty percent is not one hundred percent."
Maddie blinks. "I... What?"
The knife in the kitchen pauses.
"Fifty percent is not one hundred percent."
"Meaning...?" She's confused.
"It's not enough."
Maddie blinks again. "I don't understand."
"It's math," Danny answers, "You and dad, one hundred percent. Just you, fifty percent. I don't wanna go home until he knows."
"Danny, you know how he gets... I don't think-"
"-Then at least try!" He snaps, turning towards her. "Yeah, I know how he is. He's as dumb as a fucking rock. I know," he ignores the shocked expression towards his language, "I've only known him my whole life. You want me home? Fine. But that's what I want, first. I haven't asked for anything from you since I was nine. If I'm never going to get anything else from you, you can at least do this!"
His core cracks. Just slightly. Just barely. A hairline. And too low on the spectrum for a human to hear. It hurts. He feels cold. His breath hitches with a wince and he turns away. Thus, Vlad chooses to appear in the doorway. He looks down at Maddie, eyes dark and grim. When she notices him, he holds an arm out into the foyer. A silent motion for her to leave.
Maddie wraps her arms around herself and gets to her feet.
"I'll come over Sunday. But if dad's still clueless..." he doesn't think he needs to finish.
His mother doesn't respond. She just follows Vlad's order.
If he wears out his welcome from Vlad and gets kicked to the curb, well... There's a charming heap of snow and ice in the Ghost Zone where Danny knows he'll thrive. If not there, then he wonders if there's a door for him. A realm of his own. He doesn't like that he's considering the possibility of Vlad giving up on him. But so many people have, so it wouldn't surprise him. The idea that his mother would half-ass this, just do what she thinks is enough...
Vlad ushers her out. When they get outside, he shuts the door behind him.
"He can't stay here forever," she utters, broken on how to meet his demand.
Vlad detects the shudder in her tone that proves the desire to have her child back and do right. But he's not in the mood and folds his arms. Maybe he puffs his chest out. Just a little.
"He'll stay for as long as it takes. He's really not asking for much."
"What am I supposed to do if Jack doesn't understand?"
The halfa shrugs. "Tell him you tried. That's all he wants. He doesn't expect anything of his father. You should actually be grateful. Even when you try, if Jack doesn't get it, and he won't, it's still not one hundred percent."
Maddie's eyes fog in confusion and she tilts her head to indicate so.
"It means he's settling for less."
Her eyes widen and he waits for her process that information.
"I imagine he'd like one hundred percent, but he already knows it's not going to happen. He's given up that fight. He's just dictating how much less he'll settle for."
She sighs.
"On the upside," he glares, careful not to let red swallow blue, "It certainly makes things easier for you, doesn't it?"
She gapes at him, his words poison delivered upon a serrated oral blade. They're meant to hurt. They're meant to sting. And they do.
"You-!"
He approaches, and leans in close. His voice drops to a low tone, gravelly and threatening, "I'm not here to help you, Madeline. Helping you was never my goal. I'm here to help Daniel. As far as I'm concerned, the fact that you're going to gain from this is just an unfortunate side-effect," he bites, "He's expecting less. Willing to take less. Willing to endure more. Willing to give that thousandth chance. Willing to just swallow it down if it falls through. Worse still, he's willing to rinse and repeat. Not many children in his situation have that kind of spine. Or fuse. So, my dear... Please... Be. Grateful."
Vlad knows it's not something to be grateful for, at all. Far from it, in fact. Because it means Danny doesn't expect much from her, either. She's failed enough that he's willing to just take the nonsense and suffer, and he has been, for several years. He's just expecting her to fail again. It means he's used to picking himself up off the ground. He's used to falling without a net, getting a cut and no stitches. No comfort, no pity, no response, nothing. Had it continued, had he not intervened, if Danny had just been left to his own devices with his abilities and the ridiculous household, a monster would have potentially spawned from the wreckage. His interference is possibly the only reason Danny hasn't fallen into the abyss.
Maddie backs away. He isn't fully convinced she's grasped the concept.
But if it'll give her something to chew on and keep her up for several nights, then he'll take it.
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Kindred Spirits