Real Love

by Heyguysitsme

Summary:

Danny Fenton, also known as Phantom, is falling for Valerie Gray, also known as the Red Huntress.

Absolutely nothing bad can come of that.

 

Or, how I imagine a gray ghost relationship would actually pan out.

Notes:

Title and chapter titles come from "Real Love" by Big Thief! Give it a listen if you want the vibes

Chapter 1: Having a bad week? Let me touch your cheek

Danny didn’t mean to fall in love with her. If anything, he was actively trying not to have feelings for her, knowing how dangerous letting another ghost hunter into his life could be. Sure, she was beautiful, and sure she talked to him like he might be actually worth something, and sure, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her when she walked into a room. But he didn’t mean to fall in love with her. 

It started, as many things did in Danny’s life, with a ghost attack. It was Skulker, again, and his attacks were becoming more of a routine these days than Danny would have liked. Really, he wouldn’t be very scared of Skulker at all anymore if it weren’t for the fact that every time he came around he seemed to have a new weapon, and although Danny and his friends always figured out how to defeat him in the end, it usually wasn’t before getting hit a few times by said new weapon. 

And something that his friends always seemed to forget when they were making jokes after the fight and brushing off the attack like it never happened was that weapons hurt. Heaven knows Danny could take a punch, but that didn’t mean he liked to. Why did everyone always expect him to bounce back so quickly when he was speared through the stomach or electrocuted with 30,000 volts?

Thus, when Skulker arrived at the school, Danny’s stomach plummeted like a rock and his pulse picked up like it always did. He was out on the field with half of his class for PE, mostly avoiding getting tackled by Dash playing flag football, when his ghost sense sent the shiver down his spine. Sam and Tucker weren’t with him, as they were in the gym with the other half of the class playing basketball. This was both a cause of anxiety for Danny as well as a relief. On one hand, he hated facing ghost fights alone. On the other hand, he felt better with the knowledge that his friends were safe and not going to get caught in the crossfire whilst trying to help him. 

“Ghost child!” Skulker growled as he arrived, flying ten feet in the air. Danny tensed into something resembling a fighting stance, scanning his surroundings for an opening to go ghost. Around him, people were screaming and running. The school’s ghost alarm was blaring, and Star and Paulina ran with Dash and his friends towards the gym, while some others ran towards the portable classrooms. Danny bolted towards the bushes bordering the field, trying to find cover so he could transform. Hidden between a large shrub and a tree, Danny transformed into Phantom, just as Skulker came up behind him and grabbed him by the neck. 

Danny went intangible, and flipped around in the air to face him. “What are you doing here, Skulker? Don’t you have better things to do than harass some high schoolers?” Danny taunted.

Skulker was wearing some new armor, with a shiny dark metal plate, and spikes on each of his shoulders. At his arms, Danny could see rows and rows of new rays, guns, and bullets, and at Skulker’s legs, some threateningly sharp knives. 

“There is only one high schooler I came here for,” Skulker responded with a smirk. “This one’s one of a kind.”

Danny did a double take when he saw the little brand inscribed on Skulker’s upper right chest. It was Vlad’s company. His stomach plummeted even more. 

“Are you working with Plasmius?” Danny demanded. “What are you planning?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Skulker asked. He threw a punch that Danny easily dodged, returning with some ectoblasts that Skulker’s armor absorbed like they were nothing. 

“Duh, that’s why I asked,” Danny muttered dryly. The quip wasn’t worth the effort in hindsight, as Skulker took that moment to land a solid hit across Danny’s face, and then another in his stomach. 

Danny recoiled and backed away for a moment. His left eye was throbbing, and he felt nauseous from the gut punch. Where were Sam and Tucker? He thought. Then a wave of guilt overcame him, coming from the ghostly side of him that hated the idea of any of his friends being remotely in any danger. As long as he kept Skulker looking at him, no one else would get hurt. Danny would take a million punches if it meant the school could evacuate and everyone could get to safety.

“All you need to know,” Skulker said, approaching Danny slowly, like a cat towards its prey, “Is that someone is willing to pay a very pretty penny to have you captured alive.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to be all cryptic. I know it’s Vlad.”

“Good,” Skulker purred, and reached behind his back to grab something at his belt. “Then you know what this is.”

Danny didn’t even have time to register the plasmius maximus in his hand before it was jabbed excruciatingly in his side and Danny’s ghost half slipped through his hands like water.

Danny screamed in pain and fell ten feet to the grass, hard. His stomach and face still throbbed from the hits, and now his elbows and back stabbed in pain as well. 

Danny was just barely pushing himself up, vision blurry and limbs trembling, when someone ran in front of him. 

“Hey!” She yelled, voice fiery as a luminous sunset. “Get away from him!” She stood over Danny, arms out protectively, creating a shield between Skulker and Danny.

Valerie. 

Danny jumped to his feet, ignoring the wave of dizziness and the twinges of electricity still burning through his muscles. “Val… You have to get out of here.”

“No way!” Valerie said.

“It’s not safe,” Danny said. His voice was weak and weary, and lacked any of the heroics that might have convinced her to leave him to face his enemy alone. 

“It’s gonna be okay,” she said, and it took Danny a moment to register that she was comforting him. It took him another moment to realize that he believed her. She was the Red Huntress, after all, and while that usually was bad news for Danny Phantom, right now he was just Danny Fenton. “Look, Danny, please don’t tell my dad about this, but…” She slung her backpack around to one shoulder and brought out a wrist ray and a large blaster. 

“You brought ghost weapons to school?” Danny asked, playing dumb. He could tell it was eating her up not being able to fully change into her Red Huntress suit. He knew the feeling a little too well. 

“What, you’ve never seen a girl with guns before?” Valerie quipped. She sent blast after blast of anti-ecto rays into the air, hitting Skulker in the shoulder and in the foot, but missing him otherwise. 

He was maneuvering in the sky, avoiding her hits pretty easily, but not willing to save himself and leave Danny, his prey, behind. He shot back at her with one of his lower-powered guns, clearly not trying to hurt her, but instead just to get to Danny. Valerie ran and ducked and jumped, barely avoiding his attacks that left smoldering holes in the grass.

Danny ran after her, keeping his head down and protecting his face with his hands the best he could. “Hey, Valerie! Could I get one of those?” He shouted over the noise of the alarm and the weapons fire. 

“No time!” She said, never taking her eyes off her target. “Just run!” Valerie said.

Skulker wasn’t after her, Danny remembered, he was after him. So he followed her directions and he ran. Across the field he could see Sam and Tucker racing towards him, but he moved the opposite direction from all of them, towards the road outside the school. He heard Mr. Lancer yelling at Sam and Tucker to get back inside and take cover. 

Skulker, predictably, turned away from Valerie and flew down to Danny, grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him to the ground, flat on his back.

Danny gasped, the wind knocked out of him. Fuck , that shit hurt when he wasn’t in ghost form. He stared at Skulker wide-eyed, feeling like a bug pinned to a wall. 

“Hey ugly!” Valerie called from somewhere to Danny’s right. Her voice was guttural and powerful, and relief flooded through Danny at the sound of it. Moments later, Skulker was thrown off Danny, chest smoking from the remnants of a ray blast. Valerie ran to Danny and grabbed his hand, pulling him up on his feet and away from Skulker before Danny could even figure out what was going on. “Come on!” Valerie said.

Danny ran with her, holding her hand for an embarrassing amount of time before he remembered it would be easier to run with both arms free. They headed towards the school, and reached a maintenance door to a small closet containing a water heater and AC unit that Danny knew would be unlocked from the times he had transformed in there.

Danny grabbed Valerie's hand and pulled the door open. “Hide!” Danny said, and she understood immediately.

They shoved themselves into the closet and shut the door behind them. The space was tight, and they were basically on top of each other, panting from the run and trying to make as little noise as possible. 

Muffled from outside, Danny heard Skulker fly past, and yell about finding the ghost boy. Finally, he seemed to be far away enough that they could no longer hear him. Danny pulled out his phone and turned on the screen so he could see in the dark closet. He realized immediately how close his face was to Valerie’s, and then how their chests were touching and their legs were intertwined. 

Valerie was still panting from the run, and a bead of sweat dripped down her face. Still, Danny thought she looked beautiful in the blue-light from his phone. 

Danny laughed a little, the adrenaline rushing through his veins. Valerie laughed too. 

“Are you okay?” She asked him. Her voice was so earnest. 

“Of course,” Danny said. Panic seized his chest for a minute. “Are you? He didn’t get you anywhere, did he?”

Valerie chuckled a little at his worry. “No, I’m fine, I’m fine… You on the other hand…”

“What?” Danny asked.

Valerie brushed a hand over his cheek, right where Skulker hit him in the face. “You might have a nasty shiner in the morning,” she said.

“I don’t bruise easily,” Danny said, knowing the bruise would be gone by the morning. That is, if he got his powers back. He didn’t know if Vlad had upgraded his weapon since the last time he used it, or how long it would take for Danny to be able to go ghost again. 

“You sure you’re okay?” Valerie asked. “You’re, like, twitching.”

Danny’s face burned with embarrassment. “Oh, yeah, just adrenaline or something,” he said. Truth was, his muscles were still spasming from the shock of the plasmius maximus. God , he hated that thing. For one thing, it was one of the most painful weapons Vlad had. For another, being cut off from his ghost half was somewhat excruciating. And that’s not even mentioning Danny’s hatred of being electrocuted, a trauma response Vlad knew damn well about. Danny itched to punch him in his smug little face. Using Skulker to do his dirty work for him? Pathetic.

“What do you think he wants?” Valerie asked.

“Who, Skulker?”

“Yeah.”

“He seems to be after Phantom,” Danny said.

Valerie scowled. “That good-for-nothing ghost can never keep his shit in the ghost zone,” she grumbled. The way she called him a ghost made it seem like he was the most despicable creature in the world. Danny held back a flinch. “Why’d he attack you, though?” 

“Oh, uh, I don’t know,” Danny said.

Valerie raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

“I– I mean, he said something about wanting my parents' technology, or something. I don’t know.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. 

“Why didn’t you just say so?” Valerie asked.

Danny shrugged. “I don’t really like advertising that my parents are ghost hunters,” he admitted.

Valerie smiled. “Well, I think it’s cool. After all, I’m the freak who brought ghost weapons to school, so…”

“I don’t think you’re a freak,” Danny said. Moments later, he was shocked those words even came out of his mouth, especially in the such sincere way he delivered them. 

Valerie looked down and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. 

“Speaking of ghost weapons…” Danny said. “I have a Fenton thermos in my locker. We can grab Skulker and take him back to the ghost zone.”

“Like the thermos the Ghost Boy uses?” Valerie asked, wrinkling her nose a little in disgust. 

“Well, he stole it from us,” Danny defended, cringing inwardly at how quickly he implicated his alternate self. Did he really like Valerie that much that he was willing to throw Phantom under the bus? God, he must really be down-bad.

“Don’t worry, we’ll make him pay,” Valerie said, as if that was a statement that would ease Danny’s worries, rather than increase them ten-fold.

She opened the door slowly to see if anyone was out there, and then untangled herself from Danny. Danny continuously poked at his ghost core to see if it was active, but it was still numb as ever. It was the most frustrating feeling in the world.

The two went to Danny’s locker and grabbed the thermos, and then together, with Danny mostly following Valerie’s lead, trapped Skulker without too much destruction. 

“Thank you for helping me,” Danny said sheepishly, walking with Valerie to her locker after the fight was over, so she could grab her books and go home. He could feel his phone blowing up with texts from his friends, and he discreetly shot them a text saying that he was okay but his powers were shorted out while Valerie’s back was turned.

“You don’t need to thank me,” Valerie said. “I hate ghosts as much as the next guy.”

Danny winced. “Yeah, me too,” he said. “Still, you fought him when everyone else ran. That’s… really admirable.”

Valerie shoved Danny playfully in the arm. “You weren’t so bad yourself.”

“Want to come back to my place?” Danny said. “I– uh, I mean! To take Skulker to the ghost portal. Want to see how it works?” 

“Uh, yeah!” Valerie exclaimed. 

So they went back to Danny’s house and released Skulker, and afterwards they sat in the kitchen eating chips and dip, and Valerie chatted a little with Danny’s parents, about ghosts and school and plans for college. 

Danny was surrounded by three ghost hunters, and he knew he should be scared, but all he felt was warm. 

—

Sam’s eyes were as wide as a fish’s. Tucker looked like he was ready to spit out his drink.

“You like the Red Huntress? ” Tucker exclaimed.

Danny rolled his eyes. “I don’t like the ‘Red Huntress.’ I like Valerie,” he said simply. He felt his cheeks burning and knew his ears would be twinged red. 

The three were sitting on the floor in Tucker’s room, a large pizza spread out between them and sodas scattered around. It was 2 am, and they were playing Truth or Dare. After two dares in a row involving using his ghost powers, Danny decided to pick truth for a change, and that was when Tucker asked him who he had a crush on. 

Danny knew they expected him to respond with the safe choice, like Paulina, or maybe if Danny was feeling especially vulnerable, to admit to liking Sam. But, instead Danny told the actual current truth: he had a crush on Valerie. 

“Hello? Do you have a couple screws loose? Valerie is the Red Huntress!” Sam said. 

“You think I don’t know that?” Danny sighed, and placed his head in his hands. “I think she likes me back, too,” Danny said sadly.

“Uh, duh,” Sam said. “It’s pretty obvious.”

“It is?” Danny perked up.

Tucker shoved him a little. “Too bad you can never date her.”

“Why not?” Danny asked.

Sam groaned and put her head in her hands. “Do you actually have ectoplasm for brains?”

Danny flinched a little at the comment. He knew it was a joke and meant playfully, but sometimes he hated being reminded of his ghost half, especially when it was deemed subpar to humans. He crossed his arms over his chest.

“You are a ghost. She is a ghost hunter. You see the problem here, right?” Tucker said.

Danny rolled his eyes. “Yes, I see the problem,” he said monotonously. “But that doesn’t change my feelings. I can’t just decide who I like and don’t like!”

Tucker shook his head disapprovingly. “I just don’t understand what you see in her.”

“Well, for one thing, she’s hot,” Sam supplied helpfully.

Danny pointed at her, eyebrows raised in agreement.

“Yeah, but there’s plenty of hot girls at our school to fall for,” Tucker countered. “Are you a masochist?” He asked jokingly. “Do girls threatening to kill you turn you on?”

Sam burst out laughing.

Danny groaned and hid his face in his hands. “Okay, we are so done with this conversation.”

They sobered up. “I’m serious though. What made you realize you liked her?” Tucker asked, genuinely curious. 

Danny shrugged, and squirmed uncomfortably under their gazes. He was never good at putting his feelings into words. “I guess… I guess it was the other day, when Skulker attacked and my powers were shorted out. She fought Skulker for me… she protected me, I guess,” he muttered. He stared at the floor, feeling embarrassed all over again. 

“She protected you because she’s a ghost hunter,” Sam said softly, pity in her voice. “If she saw your other half, she would have just as quickly turned the gun on you.”

“I know,” Danny muttered, eyes half lidded. “I guess… I guess I like her because she’s strong, you know? Like, I’m always the one saving everyone all the time, and I guess just this once… it was nice to be saved, you know?”

Sam and Tucker exchanged glances, probably thinking he was sad and pathetic and losing his mind.

“I don’t know…” Danny said. 

Sam studied Danny’s face for a moment and then shrugged, relenting her point of view. “Well, I guess it doesn’t hurt to just see where things go with her,” she said.

Tucker nodded. “Yeah, why not,” he said. “Just fuck around and see what happens, right?” 

Danny cracked a smile. “That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing every day since the accident.”

Then they were laughing, and the mood was light again, and they continued their game.

 

Chapter 2: Having your face hit, having your lip split, by the one who loves you

Summary:

things get complicated

Things were going so well. Danny could hardly believe his luck.

He had been ‘talking’ to Valerie for almost two months before finally asking her out on an official date, where they got dinner and went to the movies (surprisingly ghost-free!). Danny put his arm around her and she leaned into him, her warmth enough to melt his ice core. 

“Has anyone ever told you you’re kind of obsessed with her?” Tucker said, turning his head sideways inquisitively. His tone was jovial, not judgemental, but everything he said was true. 

Valerie had been his girlfriend for a month now, and Danny would be lying if he said she didn’t take up way more space in his brain than he had to give.

“I mean… maybe,” Danny admitted, shrugging. They turned around the corner to Sam’s locker and she fell into step with them. “Is there anything wrong with that?”

“I don’t know, is there?” Tucker asked.

“What are we talking about?” Sam asked.

“Nothing,” Danny said, at the same time Tucker said “Valerie.”

“Of course we are,” Sam rolled her eyes. 

Danny scratched at a scab on his arm. It was from a nasty burn the night before, mostly healed now and just a bit itchy. 

“How are you feeling after last night?” Sam asked.

“What?” Danny responded a little too fast, his face burning. “What do you mean?”

Last night, Danny and Valerie had their first kiss, a short, innocent thing that still made Danny feel giddy to think about. He had gone to her house at 11:30 on a school night to bring her a milkshake from her favorite ice cream shop because she had told him it had been a long day. They met out on the street so they wouldn’t wake her dad, and she leaned in and kissed him. 

“Didn’t you get shot? It was an absolute shit show,” Sam said. 

“Oh, right,” Danny said. It had been a bit of a shit show. Around 8 pm an ectopus began stirring up trouble on mainstreet, which should have been an easy fix if not for the Guys in White, Danny’s parents, and the Red Huntress all showing up to get a piece of Phantom. He got burned, electrocuted, and shot, in that order. And the ectopus got away. Talk about a long day. “I’ve healed, now.”

“Are you sure about that?” She glanced down at his right leg, which he may still be favoring a little bit today. Damn it, he thought he was doing a good job hiding the limp.

“Okay, maybe not completely, but I’m fine. ”

“Why didn’t you call either of us?” Sam asked. 

“Yeah, man, we could’ve helped you. We didn’t even know you got hurt last night until someone uploaded that video of you getting shot,” Tucker said.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t want to wake you guys. It was pretty late by the time I got back.”

Sam’s suspicious tone was relentless. “The news articles say it was only 9 when you got cornered. How late were you out?”

Danny sighed. These were his best friends, and he spent so much of his life lying, there was no point in lying to these two. “I might have gone to see Valerie after.”
Tucker burst into a cheeky grin, wiggling his eyebrows. “Ooh, some sort of bootie call?”

Danny hit him on the arm. “No, you freak.” He hoped they didn’t notice him blushing. “She just had a rough day, so I brought her a milkshake.”

Sam stopped in the middle of the hallway, and some freshman walking past ran into her before shoving around her. “Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight: you get shot by your girlfriend, and then you bring her a milkshake?”

Danny cringed. “Well it sounds bad when you say it like that.”

He meant to lighten the mood a little, but Sam still looked angry, while Tucker looked…sad? Pitying? His was a difficult expression to read. 

“Danny–”

“Look, Sam, I don’t want to hear it, okay?” He knew she thought his relationship with Valerie was unhealthy, and he was tired of her rants. It seemed like dating Valerie was the only thing that had gone right in his life in so long, and he just wanted to enjoy it.

They entered Mr. Lancer’s classroom five minutes before the bell, and most people were already at their seats, chatting and scribbling down last minute homework answers.

“Danny!” Valerie was already seated at her usual seat in the middle row closest to the window. Danny sat down at the desk beside her. 

“Morning, Val,” he said. Sam sat behind Danny, and Tucker sat beside Sam. This seating arrangement had become a new normal, after a couple weeks ago Danny disrupted the unassigned assigned seats the trio had sat in since the beginning of the year to be closer to Valerie.

“Hey Tucker, hey Sam,” Valerie said, and the two greeted her back, painting on smiles as if they hadn’t just been talking about her. 

“How’re you doing this morning?” Danny asked. 

“A bit tired, but not too bad. You?”

“Same. You working again tonight?” He was referring both to her normal job at the Nasty Burger and her job as the Red Huntress, which she often played off as having ‘work.’ Not that Valerie knew that Danny knew. 

“I’m not scheduled, but you know how my boss is,” Valerie lied, smoother than Danny has ever been able to. “He loves to call me in last minute, and makes me work crazy hours. But hey, I brought you this.” She pulled two Redbulls out of her backpack and handed one to Danny. “A little exchange for last night.” 

Their hands brushed for a moment as Danny grabbed the drink, and Danny’s chest felt warm. “My favorite! Thank you, Valerie.” They opened their cans and tapped them together in ‘cheers.’

Danny could hear Sam scoff behind him. “Hey Val, did you see that video of Phantom getting the shit kicked out of him last night? It’s all over Twitter.” Sam held up her phone with the video as proof. 

Danny seethed inwardly. It was too early for Sam’s games this morning. 

Valerie’s eyes lit up with the fire that only burned when talking about Phantom “You bet I did. That ghost got what was coming for him.” The way she spat the word ghost had Danny flinching in his seat. 

“Wow, you think so?” Sam played dumb, speaking in the same girly tone she used whenever she was trying to manipulate men into doing her bidding. It impressed Danny when it was pointed at others, but not when it was being weaponized against him. “I thought Phantom was just trying to be a hero.”

Danny looked to Tucker, as if to say A little help, please?

“Hey, guys, I think class is about to—” Tucker tried.

Valerie ignored him and turned around completely to face Sam, head high. “Trust me, Phantom is no hero. He’s just a ghost, like every other monster that’s attacked this town. He’s extremely powerful and manipulative. He can’t be trusted.”

“Really? So you think the Red Huntress was right to shoot him?”

“I think she should’ve done worse. If only she could’ve captured him, and given him to Danny’s parents to study. Or just destroyed him completely.” There was a certain bloodlust in her smile. Danny felt faint. 

“Well, if he did ruin your life like you say he did…” Sam said in agreement. This performance was all to prove a point, and it was pissing Danny off. “What do you think, Danny?”

What could he say? He really liked Valerie, and Valerie really hated one side of him. The blaster wound in his stomach throbbed in time with his heartbeat. 

“I think… You and my parents have the same idea,” Danny said halfheartedly. It was just then that Mr. Lancer walked in the room, calling for everyone to quiet down. Before he turned around, Danny could see Sam frowning at him. She didn’t seem proud of her little performance, just… sad.

Well, so was Danny, about so many things. But Valerie being his girlfriend wasn’t one of them.

After English, Valerie skipped to join Danny on his walk towards his next class. “Hey Danny,” she slipped between people to be next to him, and grabbed his hand. 

Her hand was warm and soft in his, which was always cold. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to say… since we were talking about it earlier…”

“Yeah?”

“I know you and your friends think Phantom is a hero, but, like, your parents are right, you know. Whether his intentions are good or not, he’s a level 8 ecto-entity, and that makes him extremely dangerous.”

Danny untwined his hand from hers. “I know, Val.”

“I’m just saying, if you see him flying around, you run away. Okay?” Her eyes were soft, pleading. She was worried about him. Even now, she just wanted to protect him. 

Danny walked a little closer to her, so their shoulders were touching. “Okay,” he said. “You’ll do the same too, right? Run the other direction if you see him coming?”

“Of course,” Valerie said.

Perfect, now neither of them were telling the truth. Valerie’s lie canceled out Danny’s, absolving him of guilt. They were on equal footing.

Danny laced his fingers back with hers, and they walked to 2nd period together.

Danny sat with Sam and Tucker at a bench in the park, sipping on smoothies. After a quick attack from the lunch lady, it was a chill afternoon. Danny’s anger at Sam had dissolved a little throughout the day and as she helped him fight off the ghost, but Sam seemed determined to rile him up again. 

“I do think there could be something toxic about a relationship with so many secrets,” Tucker said. They were discussing Valerie again, because of course they were. All Danny wanted to do was tell his best friends that he’d had his first kiss. He hadn’t meant to get this conversation started up again.

“If you really want this to work, you’re going to have to come clean at some point,” Sam said.

Tucker pointed the straw of his smoothie at Sam in agreement. “Mmm, I think so too,” he said. 

“What? I cannot do that!” Just the idea of telling Valerie that he’s Phantom made Danny’s heart rate pick up. “It doesn’t matter though! She hasn’t told me that she’s Red, so we’re equal.”

“I’m not really sure that’s how healthy relationships work, dude,” Tucker cringed. 

“Plus, it’s not equal– you know she’s the Red Huntress, and you haven’t even told her you know. You know all the facts of this relationship, and she only knows one side. That’s not fair at all,” Sam said.

She was pissing him off again. That usually happened because some part of Danny knew that she was right. 

“Well it’s different because if she knew who I was, she might hurt me!” Danny lifted up his shirt, where the circular scar from her blaster shot stuck out on his pale stomach. “I have never hurt her, and never would.” Danny crossed his arms. 

“That’s still not really fair, though, is it? She doesn’t have all the facts. She doesn’t know that she’s shooting at her boyfriend, and you do. That’s an unequal power dynamic.”

Danny scoffed. “Don’t act like you’re some sort of therapist. This is a complicated situation.”

“Yeah, and that makes it doomed to crash and burn.”

Danny deflated, running a hand through his hair. 

“She makes good points, Danny,” Tucker placed a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “I really am happy that you have a girlfriend– I’m happy that she makes you happy. But— don’t you think you deserve to be with someone that hasn’t hit you, shot you, threatened to kill you?”
“Don’t you think love shouldn’t hurt?” Sam added.

Danny stared at his lap, unable to stand seeing their pitying expressions. “Yeah, well…” His voice was thick, bitter. “I love my parents, too, and they hurt me all the time. I don’t hold it against them either. This all sounds like good advice for normal relationships, but my life isn’t that easy. I think that maybe sometimes I just will be hit by the ones who love me. And that’s my lot in life.”

“Danny, thats…” Sam started, but then she saw the thick tears welling up in Danny’s eyes, and bit her tongue. “Come here,” she said.

Danny shoved his face into her shoulder, and she wrapped her arms around him. Tucker, in turn, wrapped his arms around the both of them. Danny sobbed, once, twice.

“I just really like her,” Danny said wetly, voice muffled by Sam’s jacket. “And I don’t know what to do.”

They held him while he cried. What else could they do?

 

Notes:

comments give me motivation to write another chapter! let me know what you liked/ didn't like!