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“Phantom! Wait up!” Danny cried. He cursed under his breath as he lined up another jump, leaping across the small gap between floating islands. Compared to the Ghost Zone closer to home, this particular area’s islands were more tightly concentrated, and they were coated in a thick patch of vegetation that grew so densely across their surfaces that it was actually holding the chunks of floating rock together. The fuzzy soft leaves of the closest plant caught Danny as he fumbled his landing, and he stroked it absently as he pushed himself back up to his feet.
“Phantom!” Danny growled, glancing around for his ghost half. “You know I can’t fly like you! Stop going so far ahead of me!”
Suddenly a head popped up from the bushes on the far side of the collection of islands, Phantom looking over at him like a kid getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar. There was a smudge of something blue smeared across his cheek, which was rapidly flushing green.
“Sorry!” Phantom cringed, floating out of the bushes and over towards Danny to help steady him as he picked his way through the foliage. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you behind. I just got excited. I found them!”
“You did?” Danny asked, all earlier annoyance vanishing. “Where? Show me!”
Rather than lead Danny through the tangled leaves and branches coating the ground, Phantom scooped Danny up into his arms and flew over to the patch of bushes he’d been sitting in just before. He carefully set Danny down on one of the only clear spots of dirt on the island, and then crouched down next to one of the ghost plants. With a gentle touch, he lifted one of the branches, revealing that beneath the broad, silvery leaves, there were clusters of berries as blue as sapphires by the dozens.
Danny’s eyes widened, and he leaned a little bit closer. “Is that really it?”
“Yup,” Phantom announced proudly, tugging a scrap of parchment out of one of the pockets on his belt and spreading it out on the ground. Depicted on the wrinkled surface was a diagram of a plant that looked identical to the one that they were sitting next to, complete with a more detailed image of the berries themselves. Danny glanced between the drawing and the bush, feeling his excitement growing.
“You’re right. It looks exactly the same,” Danny agreed, reaching out to grab one of the bush’s leaves to get a closer look. “See, there’s the white stripe. This must be a Realm’s Rapture plant!”
Phantom quickly tucked the parchment back in his pocket, before rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “Frostbite is going to be thrilled. He told me that it’s really hard to get these in the Far Frozen, but they’re very important to yeti culture.”
“Oh? Is that why we’re out here looking for it?” Danny asked, studying the steel gray wood of the plant’s stem next. “I know you said you needed my help with finding it for Frostbite, but you forgot to mention why he even wanted it in the first place.”
“Yeah. I overheard him talking to another yeti about it when I was there for my last check up. He was saying something about how their stores were running really low, and that they’d have to send some gatherers soon.”
“How was the check up, by the way?” Danny asked absently, withdrawing his hand from the bush.
“Good!” Phantom replied brightly. “He said that my core is recovering well from the split, and that he doesn’t think there’ll be any lasting damage from us being separated.”
“That’s good to hear,” Danny said with a relieved sigh. “I’m still really tired all the time, but I think it’s been getting better. I just can't believe how long it’s been taking. It's been months!”
“Sorry Frostbite can’t help you recover faster,” Phantom told him sadly. He scooted over a little bit to gently bump Danny with his shoulder. “It would be nice if he could boost your energy like he’s been boosting mine, but I know it doesn’t work that way.”
“Yeah, it would be nice,” Danny agreed. “But I’m glad he’s able to help you, at least. You’re looking loads better than you did right after the split.”
“He and the other yeti have put a lot of time and effort into helping me get better.” Phantom looked at the Realm’s Rapture with a determined expression. “Which is why I really want to repay them somehow. And if I can spare a few yeti from having to travel so far away from the Far Frozen, hopefully that’ll at least be a start.”
“Phantom,” Danny sighed, giving his ghost half an exasperated look. “You know damn well they don’t expect repayment.”
“No. But I still want to do it.”
“Fair,” Danny allowed with a tip of his head, before turning his attention back to the plant they were crouching around. “Alright then, what do we need to do? Are we digging it up? Transplanting it?’
“No.” Phantom quickly shook his head. “That’s part of the problem; it won’t grow in the Far Frozen. But I checked the stores that Frostbite had been talking about. It looks like they only need the berries.”
“I wonder what they do with them?” Danny mused absently, looking down at the jewel-bright berries hidden in the shadows beneath the plant’s leaves. “Do they eat them, do you think?”
“Not sure,” Phantom said with a shrug.
“Well, how do they taste?”
Phantom gave Danny a funny look. “Not sure,” he repeated, laughing lightly.
Danny just raised an eyebrow, before gesturing towards the smear of blue across Phantom’s cheek that perfectly matched the colour of the berries. “Are you sure about that?”
But Phantom’s expression remained blank. “Huh?”
Rolling his eyes, Danny reached out and swiped his finger across Phantom’s face. When he drew his hand back, he held it up towards his ghost half, showing off the bright blue berry juice he’d just wiped off of him.
Phantom’s eyes went a little crossed as they tried to focus on Danny’s fingers right in front of his nose, and then widened in understanding. “Oh! Huh. I tried to pick one when I first found the bush, but they’re surprisingly delicate. I accidentally squished it instead. Must have scratched my face without realizing before I managed to get the juice off.”
He held up his own gloved hand, showing that the tips of his index finger and thumb were still stained lightly.
“Huh.” Danny looked at Phantom’s fingers, then back to his own. For a moment he just stared at the sticky juice on his hand consideringly. Then, with a careless shrug, he popped his fingers into his mouth to lick them clean.
“What the hell?” Phantom shrieked. “Danny, what are you doing?!”
But Danny didn’t reply. He was too busy letting out a low moan of delight. “Oh my god, that’s so good.”
“You can’t just eat random berries you find in the Ghost Zone!” Phantom scolded, grabbing Danny’s wrist to yank his fingers out of his mouth. “What if it’s poisonous to humans?!”
“Dude, no, it’s so good though!” Danny insisted, trying to pull his hand free. “Like, damn. You need to try it.”
“I’m not eating random ghost berries!” Phantom hissed, easily fending off Danny’s attempts to break free. “We’re supposed to be gathering them for Frostbite, remember? Not eating them ourselves!”
He quickly wiped the rest of the juice off of Danny’s hand with his thumb, and then finally released him. Absently, he also wiped his cheek clean, and then looked down at his stained gloves. When he saw how messy they’d become, he wrinkled his nose and made an annoyed noise. With an air of frustration, he tugged them both off and tucked them into his belt.
“There’s so many here, though,” Danny pointed out, looking back under the bush at the cluster of berries. “Plenty for the yeti. You should just try one.”
“Danny, no,” Phantom repeated much more forcefully. “We don’t know if it’s poisonous or not!”
“It doesn’t taste poisonous,” Danny argued, shuffling around under the bush. He cursed softly under his breath, but then made a tiny noise of triumph. A moment later he emerged from the foliage holding a single sparkling berry between his fingertips. “Here, try it!”
“Danny!” Phantom cried in exasperation.
“Fine, then I’ll eat it,” Danny said with a shrug.
He went to pop the berry in his mouth, but before he could, Phantom grabbed his wrist again with both hands. The pair glared at each other, both too stubborn to back down. The breeze kicked up, rustling the leaves of the surrounding foliage and making Danny's hair dance. Their eyes were locked, neither daring to blink.
Then, with a growl of frustration, Danny brought up his free hand to try to grab the berry.
Phantom must have seen Danny’s other hand moving out of the corner of his eye. He made a split second decision, and lunged forward. His lips closed around the berry in Danny’s fingers, plucking it from his grip before Danny could take it.
Danny let out a yelp of surprise, jerking back. He stared at Phantom in betrayal, but Phantom was too distracted with the berry in his mouth to notice. As Danny watched, his eyes went wide, his whole body suddenly shuddering as the berry’s flavour hit his tongue.
“Oh wow.” Phantom said around the berry in his mouth. “Oh wow.”
“It’s good, right?” Danny asked, leaning forward in anticipation.
“Oh, that is so good.”
“Right? I told you!” While Phantom was distracted, Danny quickly picked another berry and popped it into his mouth, groaning with delight as the delicious flavour exploded in his mouth and across his tongue.
“Wow, what the fuck?” Phantom swallowed down his berry, and then his eyes went somehow even wider. A strong shudder hit him, making his body tremble, and for a moment his eyes started to glow. “Oh shit.”
All of Danny’s excitement dropped away, immediately replaced with concern. He quickly swallowed his mouthful, clearing his throat so he could speak. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
“It’s…it’s not a bad thing,” Phantom quickly tried to reassure him, but Danny wasn’t placated. Phantom was clutching at his chest now, eyes wide and frenzied while his claws snagged on the fabric of his jumpsuit. As a ghost, he didn’t need to breathe, but something about the way his body was jittering gave the impression that he was panting for breath.
“This looks like a bad thing,” Danny insisted, kneeling next to Phantom and grabbing him by the shoulders. He looked pretty unstable at the moment, and Danny was a bit worried he might collapse. Danny could feel the heat of panic bubbling up in his guts, leaving his face feeling flushed and hot. “Are you going to be sick? I’m so sorry, I never should have tried to make you eat one.”
“No, no. I’m fine, Danny,” Phantom told him, even as he pressed into Danny’s touch. He practically folded in half, leaning closer until his forehead was resting against Danny’s shoulder. “I’m just…wow, it gave me a rush, that’s all.”
“A rush?” Danny couldn’t see Phantom’s face in their current position, so he looked down at the back of Phantom’s neck in concern. The skin there was flushed green, and Danny could see what looked like little beads of sweat breaking out. But that didn’t make any sense. Ghosts didn’t sweat!
“Yeah.” Phantom’s voice was getting lower, his body slumping more heavily against Danny. “It’s…nice, actually. I feel…wow, I feel great.”
“You don’t seem great,” Danny said carefully, his anxiety only growing as Phantom started to press even closer to him. When his ghost half began to nuzzle his nose into the crook of Danny’s neck, Danny stiffened in alarm. “Yeah, no. Something is definitely wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong, Danny,” Phantom insisted. His hands came up to wrap around Danny’s shoulders, holding him in place as he pressed his nose more firmly against Danny’s skin. A familiar rumble filled the air as Phantom started to purr. “I’m fine.”
“N-no, you’re not,” Danny tried to argue, but he could feel the heat in his belly from before starting to spread a bit lower, and he suddenly realized that it might not have just been panic colouring his cheeks earlier. “Y-you aren’t acting like yourself.”
Something in his voice must have caught Phantom’s attention, because he pulled away from Danny so he could look him in the eye. His brow was furrowed in confusion and a bit of rejection, his eyes hazy and clouded.
“Aren’t I?” he asked almost pitifully.
“Y-you aren’t usually this…affectionate,” Danny pointed out, glancing to the side. For some reason he couldn’t meet Phantom’s eyes at the moment. He swallowed thickly, feeling sweat starting to break out across his forehead as the heat in his belly continued to grow. “I…I think you might have been right earlier. I think these berries might be poisonous or something.”
“But I feel fine,” Phantom said petulantly.
“Well I don’t.”
That caught Phantom’s attention. He immediately straightened, any earlier pouting vanishing and his expression clearing. “What’s wrong?”
“I feel…hot.”
“Hot?” Phantom echoed in concern. He reached out and pressed the back of his hand to Danny’s forehead, before letting out a sharp hiss. “Yeah, you do feel warm.”
“T-that’s not all,” Danny admitted, beginning to squirm as something else started to become apparent to him. Phantom’s touch, though clinical and innocent, was only making it worse. “I’m…definitely noticing some, uh. Side effects. Wow, these things work fast.”
Phantom’s frown deepened. “Like what?”
“I’m, uh…” Danny squirmed some more, unable to actually admit it out loud. He ducked his head, feeling the blush on his face burning even hotter. Subconsciously, he started to lean against Phantom’s touch, just like Phantom had leaned into his own a moment ago.
“Danny, what is it?” Phantom demanded. His hand slipped from Danny’s forehead to rest on his shoulders, his fingers gripping and giving Danny a gentle squeeze. The touch could barely be counted as pressure, but it sent a sensation like lightning jolting through Danny’s nerves. He gasped and shivered, jerking in Phantom’s hold.
Phantom flinched away like he’d been burned. “Shit, I’m sorry! Did I hurt you? Did I scratch you?”
“N-no, no you didn’t hurt me. You definitely didn’t hurt me…” Danny’s arms came up to wrap around his middle, trying to hold himself together. His breathing was growing more rapid, his heart fluttering in his chest. “I-I’m okay.”
“Shit. I…I don’t know what to do,” Phantom admitted, running a hand nervously through his hair. He let out a shuddery little laugh. “I…feel kind of, uh. Off, too, now that I think about it. I’m not sure if…if it’s a good idea for me to, um. Touch you right now.”
Before he could stop himself, Danny let out a soft whine. “Why not?”
“You…want me to touch you right now?” Phantom asked, sounding flustered. His hand instinctively shot out towards Danny but before he made contact, he thought better of it, and pulled it away.
Danny saw the hand coming towards him and then leaving, and let out a little grunt of discomfort. “No, please. I think I need you to touch me. It’s…it’s starting to hurt.”
Phantom bit his lip, but the pain in Danny's voice got through to him, and he tentatively reached out again. The bare skin of his palm brushed against Danny’s cheek, cupping it gently. “What do you need?” he murmured.
Danny let out a relieved sigh as Phantom touched him, leaning into the contact. The icy caress of Phantom’s hand against his face was a soothing relief from the heat that was flooding his body now, leaving him panting for breath. Phantom had always been cold to the touch, almost uncomfortably so, but right now his chill was just what Danny needed.
He turned further into Phantom’s palm, burying his face and nose against it while he tried to take deep breaths. Humming quietly to himself, he nuzzled against Phantom’s hand, enjoying the sensation of soft skin on his cheeks, but it wasn’t quite enough. He was so hot, especially on the inside, and such a small amount of contact was doing nothing to ease the burn deep inside him. He needed something else. He needed something more.
On instinct, he opened his mouth wide and sucked two of Phantom’s fingers into his mouth.
Phantom sucked in a sharp breath of surprise. He started to pull away, but Danny latched onto his arm, following the pull so that he could keep Phantom’s fingers between his lips. He let out a low moan at the feeling of the tips of Phantom’s claws scraping delicately across the back of his tongue, the sensation making the rapidly growing hard on in his pants jump. He drew back his lips until he was sucking at Phantom’s fingertips, and then bobbed his head forward to bring them back into his mouth.
“D-Danny!” Phantom squeaked, his face as green as a traffic light and almost as bright. “What are you doing?!”
Danny released Phantom’s fingers with a wet pop. He looked at Phantom with hooded eyes, his breath hitching in his throat. “Please,” he said softly. “I just…I need…”
“Danny, s-stop,” Phantom said shakily. He leaned back as Danny started to tilt into his space, trying to escape, but he stumbled and fell. Danny followed him down until they were both spread out on the ground, Danny hovering over Phantom while his ghost half was splayed out beneath him. Phantom’s eyes were wide and nervous, but he was looking just as flushed as Danny, squirming against the ground.
“I…I don’t know if I can,” Danny admitted quietly, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “If you…if you want me to stop, you might have to…to restrain me somehow.”
At the mention of restraints, Phantom’s pupils blew so wide, his irises became just a slim green band around the edges. His mouth dropped open and he let out an involuntary moan.
Phantom's strong reaction intrigued him, and the corner of Danny’s lips curled up in a little bit of a smirk. He leaned in closer, until his face was just inches away from Phantom’s. “Oh? Would you like that?” he murmured softly. “Tying me up and leaving me helpless?”
“F-fuck, Danny,” Phantom breathed. “I…”
“You what?” Danny purred, enjoying how flustered he was making Phantom. Between the two of them, Phantom was usually the one who kept his cool when things went off the rails, so it made Danny feel kind of…powerful that he was able to make the normally stoic ghost seem so out-of-sorts. “You want to try it? It would be easy for you. You’re stronger than me. Wouldn’t even need any restraints. I bet you could hold me down all by yourself and I wouldn’t be able to so much as twitch.”
As Danny spoke, he realized how much the idea really appealed to him, and the erection in his jeans strained to full mast, pressing against the seam of his zipper. He reached down to adjust his pants, and Phantom’s eyes tracked the movement. When he saw how hard Danny was already, his mouth dropped open a little, his tongue darting out to lick his lips.
“You…you’d like that?” Phantom asked shakily, eyes locked on Danny’s groin. “If I…if I held you down?”
“God, yes,” Danny groaned. He'd only just discovered how much he'd like that, but now that he was aware, he was definitely down to explore the idea.
Phantom made a wordless hum, lost in thought for a moment. And then without warning he surged up, flipping them over so that Danny was the one flat on his back. Phantom’s hand wrapped around both of his wrists, pinning them above Danny’s head while Phantom straddled his thighs, trapping his hips against the ground.
“Like this?” Phantom asked sweetly, with a growing, devious smile, though there was a tremble in his voice that betrayed his uncertainty.
Danny moaned, his head falling back. He twisted and yanked on his wrists, but Phantom’s grip was like steel; he couldn’t move them an inch. He bucked his hips, making Phantom let out a soft gasp, but Phantom kept his seat on Danny’s lap without trouble.
“Fuck,” Danny breathed. “Oh fuck.”
“You know,” Phantom mused, reaching down with his free hand to stroke the bit of Danny’s collar bones that weren’t covered by his loose t-shirt. “I think I’m starting to see what you mean. This is nice.”
Danny’s breath hitched as Phantom dragged his claws a little bit lower, pulling down the collar of Danny’s shirt to reveal more of his chest. “Enjoying yourself?”
“Very much, yes,” Phantom agreed, sounding pleased as his confidence grew. “You?”
“Y-yeah,” Danny admitted, his hips bucking again. “I just…fuck, I need more.”
“Hmmm.” Phantom studied him thoughtfully for a moment, and then his eyes lit up with an idea. Without warning, he ducked his head down, burying his face against Danny’s neck. A second later Danny gasped as he felt cool lips start to kiss and suck at the sensitive skin beneath his ear.
“A-ah! Fuck! Phantom!” Danny cried, twitching against Phantom’s grip. Phantom held him down easily however, no matter how much Danny thrashed. He nibbled at Danny’s skin with his sharp teeth; not enough to draw blood, but enough that Danny could feel the scrape of his fangs along his pulse point. It was enough to make Danny moan, his eyes rolling back in his head.
“Mmm, you taste good,” Phantom murmured, licking a stripe up the side of Danny’s neck, before sucking his earlobe into his mouth. He rolled the soft flesh between his teeth for a moment, before trailing a series of little nips up the outer shell of Danny’s ear. “Almost as good as that berry.”
“Fuck. Phantom, you — !” Phantom gave Danny’s ear a particularly sharp bite, and he cut himself off with a gasp, his body arching under Phantom. “Oh god.”
Phantom chuckled quietly, lifting away from Danny’s neck to look down at him with hooded eyes. “You good?”
Danny just let out a wordless whimper, but based on the smug grin on Phantom’s face, he got the message anyways.
He leaned back in, but this time instead of focusing on Danny’s throat, he started licking and nibbling his exposed collarbone, his claw pulling the edge of Danny’s shirt down to give Phantom more room to work. Danny whined and wiggled, but no matter how much he complained, Phantom kept him pinned firmly in place, in no rush to move any faster no matter how much Danny was already begging him.
“God, you’re being such an asshole,” Danny groaned as he let his head fall back against the ground with a heavy thunk. “Quit teasing me!”
“But I like the sounds you’re making,” Phantom replied, pausing his attack on Danny’s skin just long enough to speak. “They’re just so nice.”
“Oh yeah?” Danny raised his head to shoot Phantom a glare. “Well imagine what I’ll sound like if you hurry up and just fuck me already.”
Phantom froze. Danny could practically hear the wheels turning in his head as he considered Danny’s suggestion, his pupils going impossibly wider. For a moment, he actually swayed in place, as if completely overwhelmed by the mental image.
And then he shook his head as if to reboot it, before staring down at Danny incredulously. “I-is…is that what you want?”
“I just want you to get me off,” Danny admitted desperately. “I don’t care how you do it, I need something. Please.”
“I…” Phantom hesitated, biting his lips. His hands slipped away from Danny’s wrists, finally freeing them, but he remained seated on Danny’s lap. He balled his hands into fists against his thighs as he seemed to grapple with himself for a moment. “I don’t know…I mean, we don’t have any supplies, and…and we’re in the middle of nowhere…Don’t we need, like, stuff?”
“You think I know?!”
“I’m pretty sure it’s a bit more complicated for two guys! We should be thinking about these things!”
“Do I look like I’m in any state to be thinking right now?!”
“Well one of us should be using his upstairs head to consider these things!” Phantom growled. Then his expression fell, his earlier confidence rapidly fading. “What the hell are we even doing right now?”
“What the hell do we even need, a condom?” Danny snapped, ignoring Phantom’s anxious muttering. “It’s not like you can get me pregnant!”
“Lube, for fuck sake!” Phantom threw his hands up into the air in frustration. “I know you remember looking into this when we were younger and questioning! I know we researched this! Gay sex needs fucking lube!”
Snarling in frustration, Danny started shoving at Phantom, trying to push him off. “You know what, forget it. I’ll just take care of this myself, then.”
“Like hell you will,” Phantom snarled right back, grabbing Danny’s arms and pinning them above his head again.
“Oh, come on!” Danny cried. “What do you want from me?!”
“I want you to just shut up for a second to let me think!” Phantom hissed, pressing Danny’s wrists more firmly into the ground for emphasis. Then he held himself there, hovering over Danny and glaring down at him. When he realized that Danny was actually listening to him and keeping his mouth shut, Phantom relaxed the tiniest bit, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he took his time to consider the situation.
The quiet moment stretched for several minutes, Danny growing more and more tense the longer Phantom just stared at him, lost in thought. Finally Phantom seemed to come to a decision, because he leaned back and gave Danny a cool look. “You want to get off so bad? Fine. But I refuse to hurt you. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it my way. Stay. Don't move.”
Danny grumbled something petulantly under his breath, but he was intrigued enough by Phantom’s conviction to at least see where this was going. So he dutifully lay there where Phantom had positioned him as his ghost half suddenly got up off of him and stalked away for a moment, disappearing just out of Danny’s line of sight.
He heard the sound of a zipper being pulled, followed by a bunch of rustling fabric, but he couldn’t see Phantom from where he was lying, and he had a feeling that if he turned his head to look, Phantom would get upset with him. So he continued to wait, staring up at the swirls of ectoplasmic clouds trailing overhead while the leaves of the surrounding foliage danced in the breeze in the corners of his vision in an attempt to distract himself from how hard he was right now and how badly he just wanted to get off already.
Whatever Phantom was doing, it was taking long enough that Danny started to get nervous. He began to shift against the ground, debating about getting up to search for Phantom. Just as he was about to move, however, he heard soft footfalls approaching.
When Phantom stepped back into view, Danny’s breath stuttered in his chest, and his eyes went wide in shock. Although he probably should have guessed what Phantom was up to when he heard the zipper earlier, it somehow hadn’t occurred to him that Phantom was undressing. But now here he was, standing bare to the world as he hovered over Danny, completely naked. His entire body was flushed green, his skin glistening with that strange ghost sweat from earlier. He was visibly hard, but despite the obvious signs of arousal, he also looked timid and unsure, hunched in on himself and unable to look Danny in the eye.
Sensing Phantom’s nerves, Danny pushed himself up on his elbows so that he could reach out a hand to Phantom. “Hey. Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Sorry, just…nervous,” Phantom admitted, reluctantly taking Danny’s hand and letting Danny drag him back down to kneel on the ground. “But, I just figured…I’m a lot sturdier than you. If you really want to do this, then…well…I think you should fuck me, instead.”
Danny’s mouth went dry. “A-are you sure? You'd let me do that?”
“I mean…yeah?” Phantom let out a shaky laugh, running his hand through his hair. “It’s kind of crazy, and I can’t believe we’re doing this now, but…I can’t say I’ve never thought about it.”
“O-oh?”
Phantom seemed to realize that he’d just said something he hadn’t meant to, because he squirmed and ducked his head, looking panicked. “I mean — that’s not — !”
“Holy shit. Phantom.” Danny sat up fully now, making sure he was giving Phantom his full attention. “Have you…have you thought about us having sex before?”
Phantom was too anxious to speak. After a few seconds, he gave Danny a very small, reluctant nod instead.
“Oh, wow,” Danny breathed, leaning back on his hands a little as he tried to absorb what Phantom had just revealed. “I didn’t…I had no idea that you…”
“Maybe this was a mistake,” Phantom suddenly interrupted, curling in on himself more tightly. “What the hell was I thinking, I should just — ”
“No, wait!” Danny’s hand shot out to grab Phantom’s wrist before he could get up and run away. “I’m sorry, just…just give me a second to process this. I never even realized you felt this way.”
Phantom looked away, his expression pinched. “I know it’s…it’s weird. But…you’re my other half, Danny. You’re the most important person to me, my partner and my soul mate. I think about you a lot, and sometimes, those thoughts get a little…intense.”
“I don’t think it’s weird,” Danny quickly assured him. “I mean…I haven’t thought about it before, but I’m definitely thinking about it now. And in case it wasn’t clear, I’m absolutely seeing where you’re coming from.”
For emphasis, Danny gestured towards his groin. His erection had flagged a little earlier when he and Phantom had been arguing, but the idea of Phantom thinking about him like that had made it pop right back up.
“O-oh,” Phantom squeaked, wide eyes fixed on Danny's bulge.
Curious now, Danny gave Phantom a smirk. “So have you ever jerked off thinking about me?”
Phantom’s face twitched, which was all the answer Danny needed, really.
“Seriously?” he crowed in delight. “How often?”
“Danny!” Phantom whined in embarrassment.
“No, no, you’re right. I’m getting distracted.” He reached out and scooped Phantom’s hands up in his own, cradling them gently. “Seriously, though. If you want this, I absolutely want this.”
“I d-do,” Phantom agreed anxiously. “I really do.”
“Okay. Then…let’s do it,” Danny said, like it was as simple as that.
And maybe it was. He smiled at Phantom, who smiled back. Almost as one, they began leaning closer, their faces coming together. Just before contact, Danny let his eyes flutter closed, and then he pressed his lips to Phantom’s, sharing their first kiss.
Given what was about to happen, it was a bit strange that their first kiss was so sweet and gentle. But Danny wanted to make sure that Phantom knew that this wasn’t just about sex, that he wasn’t interested in just a quick fuck. Even though he’d never thought about his ghost half in that sort of light before now, he had to agree with Phantom; they were soul mates, half of each other. Of course this would be more than just sex. He poured that sentiment into their kiss, hoping that Phantom picked up on what he was trying to convey.
Based on the way he could feel Phantom’s lips curling up into a small, sweet smile against his own, Danny had a feeling he'd gotten the message.
Their first kiss bled into the next one. And then the next. And the next. As they kissed, learning the feeling of their lips moving against each other, Danny began to gently push Phantom back, guiding him down carefully until he was the one lying on his back with Danny hovering over him, supported on one arm. It was a bit difficult for Danny to reach down and undo his pants one-handed, but he managed to pop the button on his jeans with his free hand and pull down the zipper without breaking his kiss with Phantom.
He let out a low groan as he managed to work his dick free of his boxers, feeling the cool air of the Ghost Zone’s breeze against the leaking tip. Beneath him, Phantom echoed his groan, his mouth dropping open as well, and Danny felt Phantom’s tongue tentatively poke into his mouth, testing the seam of his lips. Heat pooled in Danny’s belly, and he stroked Phantom’s tongue with his own, making Phantom whimper against his lips. Danny took advantage to lick into Phantom’s mouth, taking control of the kiss, even as his free hand started to lazily pump along his dick, trying to take a bit of the edge off.
Phantom must have sensed the movement, because he broke their kiss to glance down towards their bellies. Seeing Danny’s dick out, dripping and flushed, he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth before looking back up at Danny’s face.
“Are you ready, then?” he asked shakily.
“Are you?” Danny retorted. “You were the one worried about lube. Shouldn’t we use something?”
“I’m a ghost, Danny,” Phantom pointed out. “My body is a projection, I can make it do whatever I want.”
“Oh. Oh yeah,” Danny said. But then something else occurred to him, and his brow furrowed. “Wait, will this even feel good for you, then?”
“I just said I can make it do whatever I want,” Phantom huffed, rolling his eyes. “And I want this to feel good. So it will.”
“Oh. Okay, if you’re sure.”
“Just hurry up and do it, Danny,” Phantom groaned, reaching up to link his arms around the back of Danny’s neck for support. He lifted his hips up slightly, trying to give Danny a better angle.
Even though Phantom seemed pretty confident, Danny still took his time lining up his dick with Phantom’s entrance, pushing carefully against the rim. He started to tentatively apply pressure, splitting his attention between what his dick was doing and watching Phantom’s face for any sign of discomfort. To his surprise, the head of his dick slipped in with little resistance, and Danny glanced up once more to check if Phantom was uncomfortable.
“Oh my god, Danny, will you just put it in, already?!” Phantom cried in exasperation. He shifted his legs, wrapping them around Danny’s waist, and with a press of his heels, he forced Danny to thrust in all the way.
As Danny slammed into place, both of them let out low groans. Danny’s head dropped, his breath hitching as his dick was suddenly enveloped by Phantom’s ass down to the hilt. Despite Phantom’s ice core, his body felt warmer than usual on the inside; perhaps that was another thing he’d changed to make it easier for them to have sex.
“Oh god, I don’t think I’m going to last very long,” Danny admitted, struggling to hold himself in place as sparks danced across his vision.
“M-me neither,” Phantom agreed with a breathless laugh. “I think we waited too long.”
“As long as it’s not just me,” Danny chuckled.
He wanted to take another moment to just get used to the sensation of being buried deep inside Phantom’s body, but just then Phantom gave him a little nudge with his heel. Getting the hint, Danny slowly drew out until the tip of his dick was about to pop out, and then thrust back in sharply. Phantom let out another low moan, his head falling back to thump against the ground below him.
“Oh god, please keep doing that,” he whimpered.
“Y-yeah, okay,” Danny agreed, already pulling back again.
He started up a slow, careful pace, not wanting to rush things and come too quickly. He rocked into Phantom’s body, his hips slapping against Phantom’s ass with each thrust. Every time he slammed back in, Phantom let out another soft sound, his eyes rolling back and his naked body growing slick with sweat.
“Is this good?” Danny asked as he studied Phantom’s face, wanting to make sure that it felt as nice for Phantom as it did for him. “Is this what you want?”
“Yes. Fuck yes,” Phantom agreed. “This is exactly what I wanted. So good. So good, Danny.”
“Good,” Danny said, his voice trembling. “You feel so good, too.”
Phantom just moaned wordlessly, the arms around Danny’s neck tightening to pull him down against Phantom’s chest. The new angle left Danny pressed completely against Phantom’s body from chest to hips, and his long slow thrusts turned into shallow, sharp snaps that quickly built up the friction between them, the pleasure growing rapidly.
Danny was faintly aware of Phantom’s dick trapped between their stomachs. Not wanting Phantom to feel neglected, he tried reaching between them to grasp it, but the angle was too awkward. After a few failed attempts, he was forced to withdraw his hand, bracing himself on his elbow next to Phantom’s head.
“I can’t reach you,” he admitted, his breath coming out in short pants as he continued to grind into Phantom’s ass.
“Y-you don’t need to,” Phantom told him, his voice sounding just as wrecked as Danny’s. “I’m getting close.”
Danny could feel his own orgasm beginning to build at the base of his spine as well, and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer either. So with a groan, he buried his face in Phantom’s throat, and started fucking into him in earnest, no longer caring about rhythm. His only goal was to get them both off as quickly as possible.
“Fuck, Danny,” Phantom whimpered, his body starting to tense beneath Danny. “Danny, I’m so close.”
“Fuck,” Danny growled against Phantom’s skin, gritting his teeth. He reached down and hooked his hand around Phantom’s left thigh, yanking it up higher on Danny's hip so that he could get a better angle. Like this, he was able to go even deeper, and he let out a groan against Phantom’s skin that he could hear Phantom echo deep in his chest.
“Oh fuck, just like that!” Phantom moaned.
“Oh god, so good,” Danny wheezed.
“Oh, please. Please. Please, fuck, please!”
“Fuck. Fuck!”
Danny thrust a few more times, the pressure and pleasure building up to a crescendo. And then with a snarl he clamped his teeth down on Phantom’s shoulder, biting hard. A second later his orgasm hit him, and he cried out against Phantom’s skin as he shuddered and fell apart against him.
Right after, he felt Phantom go tense, and then his body began to shake and moan loudly as something cool and slick splattered against Danny’s chest. Phantom's ass clenched down on Danny’s cock, which sent another round of aftershocks rushing through his body, his dick letting out a few more spurts of cum to paint Phantom’s insides. And then he collapsed against Phantom’s chest, shaky, trembling, and completely spent.
The two of them just lay there for a moment, sweaty and tired. Danny panted, trying to catch his breath, while Phantom’s core hummed loudly beneath his ear. Eventually though, their sweat began to cool, leaving Danny feeling sticky and kind of gross.
With a groan, he pushed himself up off of Phantom. Glancing down, he noticed the mess they’d made of his shirt, and he grimaced.
“Oops,” Phantom said quietly, spotting the same thing Danny had. He sounded completely exhausted. “Sorry.”
“Eh, I’m sure it’ll wash off,” Danny dismissed with a shrug. He started pulling his shirt up over his head before it could stick to his skin, and then used it to wipe down Phantom’s stomach as best he could. “And if it doesn’t, well. Not the first shirt we’ll have to take down to the lab and burn so mom and dad don’t find it.”
“Usually that’s because we’ve gotten blood on it, not cum.”
“Exactly. At least this time it was something more fun,” Danny said, giving Phantom a cheeky grin.
Phantom snorted.
“How are you feeling, by the way?” Danny asked as soon as he was done cleaning them up. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” Phantom quickly assured him, finally pushing himself up into a sitting position. “I’m fine. You?”
“Feeling a bit gross and sticky, but otherwise I’m fine.”
“That’s good,” Phantom said slowly, gaze distant. And then he got to his feet and walked away without another word, presumably heading over to where he’d left his jumpsuit.
As he left, Danny’s expression fell. Something was wrong, he could feel it immediately. Something about the way that Phantom hadn’t even looked at him yet since they’d finished made Danny suspect that whatever was wrong, he was to blame. So with a sinking feeling in his gut, he pushed himself to his feet, fixed his pants, and then trailed after Phantom.
“Hey,” he said quietly when he reached Phantom’s side. His ghost half had his back to him, in the middle of pulling his jumpsuit on. Danny waited patiently as Phantom slipped his arms into the sleeves, pulling it up over his shoulders, and then zipping up the front. But when Phantom still didn’t turn around after, electing to keep his back to Danny even as he started to pull on his boots, Danny knew he had to press. “Hey, Phantom. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Phantom replied a bit too quickly.
“This is obviously not nothing,” Danny argued. “You won’t even look at me. Did I do something wrong? You said I didn’t hurt you, but…”
“You didn’t,” Phantom told him again, turning his head just enough to look at Danny briefly over his shoulder, before looking away again. “I’m fine.”
“Then what’s wrong?” Danny demanded. “What did I do?”
“Nothing!” Phantom snapped, growing more agitated. “I just — !”
“Just what?” Danny prompted when Phantom cut himself off.
“I just — !” Phantom went tense for a long moment, visibly fighting with himself, before his whole body suddenly slumped. With a sigh, he finally turned around to face Danny, though his eyes were hidden behind his hair as his head hung low. “I just…feel like this was a mistake.”
“A mistake? Why?” Danny asked, fighting back a tiny flinch. Sure, it had been a bit spontaneous, and probably a little ill-advised. But he’d liked it. It had felt really good to be so close to Phantom, the other half of his soul, giving and receiving pleasure. Surely Phantom felt the same way, right? Hadn't he said he'd thought about doing this with Danny before?
Had he expected better, and Danny had left him disappointed? He'd tried his best to make Phantom feel good, but what if he'd been faking it?
“Danny.” Phantom gave Danny a helpless look, his voice knocking Danny out of his spiralling thoughts. “We were both clearly under the influence during…all of that.”
Danny winced, unable to deny it. “Yeah, I guess.”
“It was a mistake! Neither of us would have done that if we hadn’t been high off of those stupid berries, or whatever,” Phantom argued, gesturing towards the bush in question. “It never would have even crossed our minds!”
Danny blinked. “It had crossed yours,” he retorted before he could stop himself.
Phantom’s mouth snapped shut, his eyes momentarily widening in surprise, before he cursed softly under his breath and quickly looked away. “T-that…fine, but without those berries, I never would have mentioned anything.”
“Well then, I’m glad we ate them,” Danny said simply. When Phantom’s head whipped back towards him to stare in shock, Danny just shrugged. “It’s like you said, it had never crossed my mind. If we hadn't eaten those berries, I never would have even considered how I actually felt about you, maybe until it was too late.”
“W-what?” Phantom stuttered. “H-how you feel…?”
“Yeah. This was kind of sudden, sure, but…Phantom.” Danny gave his ghost half a flat look. “Come on. No matter how turned on those berries made me, if I hadn’t wanted to be with you, I wouldn’t have had sex with you. I’ve got some self control, thank you very much.”
“S-so you…?” Phantom still looked a little bit lost.
“Phantom.” Danny laughed and shook his head, reaching out to grab Phantom’s hands. When Phantom didn’t try to pull away, Danny took advantage to lean in and press a gentle kiss to his lips, making Phantom gasp softly. When he pulled away, Danny gave his ghost half a gentle smile. “You love me, right? I hadn’t thought about it before, but I’m thinking about it now, and yes. I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you, too.”
Phantom’s face was blank for a full second, before he suddenly broke into a grin as warm as bright as the sun. “R-really? Are you serious?”
“Yeah, of course.”
In a burst of happiness, Phantom grabbed Danny’s face between both hands and kissed him breathless. When he finally let go, Danny actually swayed in place for a moment, trying to catch his balance after such an enthusiastic kiss.
“Whoa. Okay, I could get used to that,” Danny said, feeling slightly dazed.
“Good, because I’m going to do it again,” Phantom promised. But then he looked down at Danny’s bare chest, and then back to the surrounding bushes. “Maybe not right now, though. I think we’ve been out here long enough.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Danny agreed reluctantly, shaking his head to clear it. “Shit, we haven’t even gathered any berries for Frostbite yet.”
Phantom looked back toward the bush, nibbling his lip nervously. “I’m not taking you all the way to the Far Frozen without a shirt.”
“Maybe we can just pick the berries for now, and then you can bring them to Frostbite later?” Danny suggested. “You can drop me back off at the portal, and then swing over to the Far Frozen afterwards.”
“Fine,” Phantom agreed, grabbing his gloves off of his belt and slipping them back on before pulling a grocery bag out of one of his belt pouches. “But I’ll pick them. I don’t want you touching those things with your bare hands anymore.”
“Works for me!” Danny said cheerfully, following Phantom back over to the Realm’s Rapture. “I’ll hold the bag.”
The two of them settled in to do some berry picking, carefully collecting up the sapphire blue berries one by one and placing them delicately into the bag so that they didn’t burst and spread their juice everywhere. But as they worked, they kept trading blushing glances, gentle caresses along the back of hands, and then finally a few tender kisses.
“You know,” Danny said absently as Phantom picked the last few of the berries, the bag in his hands almost full to the top. He gave Phantom a mischievous smile. “These things were really tasty. And there are a lot of them here. Maybe we should keep just a few for ourselves…what do you think?”
Phantom’s growing smirk was all the answer he needed.