#ecto fics

Summary: Everything is falling apart. Phantom is acting weird and it's doing things to his head, his parents are paying attention to him and making things worse, his sister is being nosy and getting things wrong, and the mysterious circus that pulled into town seems to be the center of it all...

And somehow, it's up to Danny to put things right.

°°°

Danny was reluctant to wake up; he was warm and content where he was.

But the world had a way of worming its way into his consciousness, despite his reluctance.

He became aware of the light hitting his eyelids first. They were closed, but the weak sun still warmed them. It was still early morning—did he really have to wake up just yet? He was… he was actually kind of cozy…

Next, he became aware of his breathing. Each inhale felt heavy, and good, as if he were waking from a deep and restful sleep. Which, he supposed he was. They were soft in the silence of the room.

Then he became aware of the weight of his blankets. They were heavy, and soft, and he was warm and cozy beneath them. The last time he’d slept beneath them like this was when Phantom had—

His eyes snapped open.

Phantom.

Ohhh, no. No no no. Danny swallowed against the rising tide of shame as the events of last night came roaring to the forefront. Had he really gotten off with Phantom? What the fuck was wrong with him?

“Phantom?” His voice was quiet, timid. “Wake up, dude. We gotta—” Danny reached over at the same time he spoke, only for his hand to fall through the air to hit the mattress.

At first, Danny was relieved to find that he was alone. It meant that last night had been nothing more than a bad dream.

Then he put weight on his hand to sit up. Pain shot through him, and he collapsed with a groan, hugging his arm to his chest.

His bandaged arm.

The one Phantom bandaged the night before after—

After they’d—

“Oh fuck.”

“So,” his mom replied. No one else offered up a new starter, so the silence just hung awkwardly in the lab as Danny debated the best way to do this, as the ghost boy or the Fentons’ son. He would feel better doing this as Phantom, as if his half-ghost self still provided some kind of protection from his parents’ and their impending wrath. Fenton was just so vulnerable… Just as Danny had made his decision, his mom spoke up again.

“How long has this been going on?” Maddie asked in that soft, concerned-mom voice she did so well. It made Danny’s heart squeeze a little bit. He hadn’t thought about what was going through his mom’s head while he made his way across the Ghost Zone.

“Uhh…” Thrown off by the question, Danny counted back quickly in his head. “Since like July before freshman year?” He flashed a quick, nervous grin as he thought back. It had been a last-minute-before-school-started-back dare from Sam. He had started his freshman year as Danny Phantom.

“Two years?!” Danny could see the restraint it took his mom to not screech at the time at the top of her lungs. His dad was just watching all of this like a ping-pong match, head bouncing between the two of them so he didn’t miss a moment. He would get to voice all of his questions later, but Maddie might explode if she didn’t get this out.

“Give or take,” he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. It was almost the end of his sophomore year, so it was quickly approaching three years. He swallowed the urge to correct her. It wouldn’t help.

“So that was you all those times, fighting those ghosts?” At first, she sounded angry. The thought of her baby boy fighting those ghosts made her freeze up in terror. He was too young, only a child!

But then it dawned on her… “That was you all those times?” she whispered in horror as it dawned on her that she and Jack had tried to hunt and dissect the ghost boy for just as long. Her son. “Oh Danny,” she said as she yanked her ghost son in for a hug. All of this transpired in the space of a minute, leaving Danny with a sense of whiplash as he was jerked into the ferocious mom hug.

The new school year is fast approaching, which means that Mateo has to go home for the rest of the break. But Danny and Mateo don't want their time together to end, no matter how short their separation will be. Summer nights always seem to last for an eternity, and Danny plans on making the most of it with the one he loves the most before he has to say goodbye for a little while.

*—*—*—*—*—*

I'm slowly losin' hold of everything I've got...

...All I know is I don't want this night to end

Gonna cuss the mornin' when it comes, 'cause I know that the risin' sun ain't no good for me 'cause you'll have to leave

Part of the the world is having more fun than me (tonight) series.

The firelight danced along the too-green grass, casting mesmerizing shadows along the ground. The sun had long set, leaving only the black sky and the millions of stars visible this far away from the city. Music thumped from someone’s truck, but Danny wasn’t paying attention to it. He couldn’t. There were much more important things to pay attention to.

Like the way Mateo looked in the firelight.

His skin, already so warm, practically glowed in a way entirely different from the way Danny’s did, human and ethereal and impossible to keep his hands off of. The flickers of the flames sent shadows dancing across his face, smoothing away the little scar on his cheekbone, deepening the dimple in the corner of his smile. Danny leaned in and kissed said dimple, drawing Mateo’s lazy smile to him.

“What?” he laughed, tilting his head back to look up at his boyfriend.

And his eyes. Danny had never seen a human’s eyes glow the way Mateo’s did in the firelight. It was hypnotic. They never failed to draw him in. Unable to put words to the mountain of affection clamoring in his Core, he leaned down to press a soft kiss to the edge of Mateo’s mouth.

“Cariño?”

“Nothin’, just thinking about how pretty you look right now,” he murmured, kissing a line down his jaw to his neck. Mateo giggled and shoved at his shoulder.

“You’re drunk, fantasmito.”

“I resent that,” Danny huffed, straightening up so he could look at Mateo as his eyes slowly shaded teal, a smile tugging at his lips. “I think about how pretty you are when I’m sober too.”

Danny couldn’t help how wide his grin was when Mateo threw his head back to laugh. Danny curled his arm around Mateo’s waist and hauled him into his lap, caging him in with both arms, tucking his chin over his shoulder.

“Eugh, can you guys not be so disgustingly cute?” Tucker asked as he flopped onto the grass next to Danny. Sam sat with more grace on his other side. “Some of us are still woefully single. We can’t all get lucky with our roommates, y’know.”

“Tucker, you’re straight. And your roommate is as straight as Georgia makes ‘em,” Danny said with a laugh. Tucker grumbled something that sounded like still. Sam reached around Danny to slug his shoulder, which quickly devolved into a typical Sam-and-Tucker argument about… nothing in particular.

Mateo tilted his head back so his lips were pressed to Danny’s ear. “Do they even know?”

Danny didn't acknowledge Mateo directly; he just grinned and tightened his arms around him, pressing his face into his neck. His friends could be clueless about their relationship all they wanted. He just wanted to bask in this moment with his boyfriend while he could.

The bridge was bustling with activity once Mateo emerged from the depths of the ship. Around him, officers and sailors were shouting jargon he didn’t understand across the bridge. “Rig ship for dive!” “Aye, sir! Rig ship for dive!” Mateo ducked around a couple of sailors running for the opposite end of the bridge, watching in wide-eyed amazement as dials and switches were flipped in unison, more shouts overlapping as the beginnings of the dive began. From his place at the top of the bridge, Special Agent O called down, “Lieutenant, take her down!” “Diving officer, submerge the ship. Make the depth 1-0-8-5-0 meters,” Operative K shouted above the noise. A shiver ran down Mateo’s back. They were headed almost eleven thousand meters down. No humans had ever made it that far before, let alone a crew with a ship this size… Uncharted territory, and he was at the head of it. “Make the depth 1-0-8-5-0 meters,” the diving officer echoed, spinning a dial before jamming the intercom button to demand, “Dive, dive! Five degrees down bubble.” A call for, “Take us down!” went up across the bridge. There was a loud ka-chunk as the submarine was released from its hooks. The bottom of the ship opened with a pneumatic hiss. Then they were free falling. Mateo grabbed onto the railing to keep from toppling off the bridge as the submarine smacked into the water. He stayed at the front of the ship and clung to the railing as they began as their descent, smiling at Jack Fenton merrily waving them off through the orange glass that covered the bridge. Dark water lapped at the edges of the ship, and Mateo forced himself to take a deep breath as his knuckles tightened on the rail. He watched Mr Fenton wave until he disappeared beneath the black. Once they were submerged, large, orange lights clicked on, though they did nothing to penetrate the endless void surrounding them. Mateo couldn’t help but shudder even as a grin spread across his face. He was actually doing it! They were on their way to find the only remaining portal to the Ghost Zone! Giddiness was quickly subdued by the same gently-accented voice coming on over the intercom. “Attention, crew. Tonight's supper will be baked beans. Musical program to follow…” There was a heavy sigh, and then his voice dimmed like he turned away from the mic to call out, “Who wrote this?! Who’s performing?! You can’t just—” The intercom cut out with a round of laughter.

fun fact: i have thalassaphobia, which means doing research for and writing just this itty bitty scene made me want to vomit! they're heading down into marianas trench bc i hate myself

“Baldie, I got a bone to pick with you!” K sighed and held up a finger. “Hold that thought.” He spun on his heel to face the person bearing down on him with intent. “What is it this time, Tenadii?” The person, now dubbed Tenadii, scoffed. “Well for one, you’ve got my cart full of non-essentials! Cinnamon, oregano, cilantro… What in the hell am I supposed to do with cilantro on a submarine, K!” K leveled them with an unimpressed look visible even through their impenetrable glasses. Tenadii just glared back before reaching into their jacket and removing a ball of leafy greens. “And just what in the fuck is this?” “That would be lettuce.” K had shown no emotion in the very little time Mateo had known him, but there was a distinct lack of amusement as he leveled the Kiwi cook with a black look through even blacker shades. Mateo bit his lip to stifle his laughter, turning his face away to hide his smile. He had a feeling it would be most unwelcome at this particular moment. “I know what lettuce is, you fuckin’ drongo.” Indignation dripped from every syllable as they shoved the head of lettuce into K’s hands. “What the fuck is it doing with my supplies?!” “It’s a vegetable.” K spoke again, each world slow and deliberate as if he thought Tenadii was being dense on purpose. “The crew need the four basic food groups—” Tenadii cut K off by shouting over him, “So help me Rongomātāne, K, if you start listing the food groups, I will not be held responsible for the hiding you’ll get!” K pressed his lips together in a thin line as Tenadii squared up with him. Mateo sized the pair up, trying to determine what the outcome of the fight would be. Tenadii was shorter than the agent by several inches but broader by just as many. Whereas K’s frame was made for speed and precision, Tenadii’s frame was packed for power. Even though fighting was not Mateo’s strong-suit, it was obvious that K wouldn't want to get involved; he wasn't the type of man to pick a fight he couldn’t win. A smirk ticked at the corner of Tenadii’s mouth as K’s lips thinned further. He didn’t open his mouth again. “NO ONE wants to eat lettuce, K!” They gestured to the crew swarming around them. “Where’s the spinach?! The collard greens! The Swiss chard! Literally anything except fucking lettuce!” A sound from deep within the ship rumbled the loading bay around them. It must have been a signal of some kind because Operative K looked distinctly relieved at the distraction. He threw the lettuce back at Tenadii, who caught it without flinching. “Alright, Gordon Ramsey, pack it up! Time to move out!” K turned on his heel and marched off to wherever he was supposed to be when the alarm sounded, leaving Mateo alone with Tenadii. He gave them a tentative smile, wiggling his fingers in an awkward wave. Their eyes drifted up and down Mateo for a long moment. Then they snorted and disappeared into the crowd beginning to flood across the ship’s floor.

ghost light atlantis au skooooooooooo

tenadii is nikau, i just decided it made more sense for them to go by their last name here, at least for a time. makes them feel a little bit more weighty. i love this scene with cookie in the original atlantis, but when i was writing it out, i realized that it didn't make sense for nikau to be upset by the presence of lettuce bc of its existence as a vegetable, but bc its nutritionally useless

The bell above the door jangled merrily as it swung open. An unseasonably freezing chill swept in with the newest patron, and Danny shivered. His scowl deepened when it didn’t abate, instead sweeping deeper into the cafe. It came to a stop behind him. A familiar tingle zipped up his spine as the chill draped itself along his back, and the scowl on his face twisted into a snarl. Barely moving so his friends behind the counter wouldn’t reprimand him, Danny slipped an ectoblaster from his backpack next to him. Then he slid it under his arm and into the ribs of the ghost now behind him. “Get off me,” he said in a low voice, not moving to prevent drawing attention to himself. Phantom grinned and dipped his head to purr in Danny’s ear, “It’s good to see you, too, Danny. Will you always greet me with weapons?” “I will if you don’t get off me.” This close, Danny felt the elation ripple through Phantom’s aura. His chest burned with anger—and it was totally just anger, he tried to tell himself—and jerked the stool around so he could face the ghost that had become a permanent thorn in his side. Wrong move. Phantom didn’t float out of Danny’s personal space like he usually did, his face now a scant few inches from Danny’s. The gun was the only thing separating them. Danny dug it into Phantom’s ribs in an attempt to force him back, but the ghost refused to let himself be moved. His grin grew, and a light sparked in his eyes. Danny’s breath hitched. Memories of their chase—and how it had ended—flared to life. He had the sudden urge to punch the stupid ghost in front of him in the face. He wanted to fight, to shove down the fluttering in his stomach and fall back on what he knew. He knew exactly which of Phantom’s buttons he could push to get a reaction out of him. He could do it. It would be so easy. Danny opened his mouth to start the fight, but the words that tumbled out weren’t the ones he intended. “Where have you been, Phantom?”

Phantom's back!

SUMMARY:

Danny Fenton is stuck. At home, in the heat, in life. He wants to move. He wants change. He wants more. Phantom is stuck. In life, in death, in a realm he doesn’t belong in. He wants to explore. He wants to go home. He wants more. August hangs motionless in the air, hot and oppressive. A balmy haze hangs beneath heavy, ever-present clouds. Lightning teases the nightーan illusionーbut the rain never falls. It is here, in the dead of August when nothing dares move more than necessary, that our story begins.

EXCERPT:

There are only a few days within a year where the entire world holds its breath, waiting for the wheel of time to continue turning. 

Christmas Eve, as the clock ticks over into the joyous Christmas Day.

New Years' Eve, as the world awaits the new year that will surely bring nothing but wealth and luck and joy.

And the middle of August, as everyone waves their fans and pulls at their shirt collars, waiting for the last summer rain that will bring with it the cooling rush of fall.

The middle of August hangs in the air, motionless and hot. A balmy haze hangs beneath the ever present, thick white clouds that threaten rain but never deliver. Nothing moves or makes noise, the heat too oppressive to even consider thinking too loudly. The night taunts refreshing rain with lightning on the horizon, but it is only a result of the heat and nothing more.

It was here, in the dead of August when nothing dared move more than absolutely necessary, that three things happened with no connection anyone—save one—could see.

hi hello i have returned from the dead (danny phantom puns abound, i know) i've felt like SHITE for months now, so i'm going to mass answer some tag games i've been tagged in by @jadenoryuu and @deathcomes4u (i know penner has tagged me in some but theyre not showing up in my notes??? i'll find them in my emails later and reblog)

these will all be under the readmore with the original post linked!!