Work Text:
On the other end of the phone, the boy remained silent for a long time. Aside from the occasional sound of his breathing, he said nothing. Vlad waited patiently, enduring the unanswered silence. Daniel had been going through puberty rather intensely lately.
Fourteen—an age when such behavior was more than understandable. Vlad himself had struggled through puberty at that age, so Daniel’s defiance felt almost endearing. Meanwhile, the boy’s parents, Jack and Maddie, did nothing but complain about their son. Just this week alone, Danny had already broken curfew three times. He didn’t clean properly, nor did he do his chores as asked. His exam scores had barely scraped past a failing grade. Each time, Vlad listened patiently. He told them again and again that if he had a wonderful son like Daniel, he would treat this period of adolescence with patience. He reminded them not to forget that their wonderful son was going through puberty. But they never truly listened. Instead, they brought up Jasmine as an example. Jazz had gone through adolescence smoothly. She had never acted this way. Danny was being far too excessive. Vlad let out a deep sigh, thinking that they were not good parents—no, not even Maddie, whom he loved. Even Vlad, who had no children of his own, knew that comparing children was clearly a harmful parenting practice. Yet he couldn’t help but wonder whether they, the parents themselves, even understood that. Vlad always responded the same way. He acknowledged that Jasmine was undoubtedly a fine teenager, but insisted that Daniel possessed a potential even Jasmine did not. Jack and Maddie never listened to that answer, instead continuing to pile on their complaints about Daniel.
Daniel still maintained his silence. It was already a little past ten at night. From the sound of the wind coming through the phone, it was clear that Daniel was outside. Vlad wondered whether such a small boy could endure the subzero temperature. Jack and Maddie had probably let their son go out wearing that same T-shirt they dressed him in year-round. It wasn’t that they were poor—but rather that they likely spent more of their money on ghost hunting than on their child. ' Really? Daniel, I would be a far better parent to you than your own. '
“Daniel, it’s cold outside. Just tell me where you are.”
Daniel still gave no response. Once again, Vlad chose to endure the long silence and wait patiently. If Daniel truly was going through a serious phase of adolescence, Vlad desperately wanted to beg Jack and Maddie to stop complaining and actually talk to their son—to ask what kind of problems he was facing. But no matter how many times Vlad said such things, they never paid any attention.
Well, Danny doesn’t have any problems. If there is one, it’s that he doesn’t clean the lab. Even Jasmine—Daniel’s admirable older sister and emotional anchor—was still a minor herself, unable to resolve Daniel’s struggles. Which meant that, at this point, the role of Jack and Maddie should have been undeniably important. Instead, Vlad found his resentment toward them steadily growing.
“Vlad…”
After several long minutes of silence, Daniel finally managed to utter a single word. The boy’s voice was weak, hoarse, as if he had caught a cold. By instinct alone, Vlad was certain the little badger had been crying. Of course, Vlad was the boy’s greatest rival—but unlike Daniel’s parents, he could not bring himself to turn a cold eye to the boy’s difficult time.
“Why is it, little badger?”
“…Vlad, is all of this really right? My grades are a mess—at this rate, no college would take me, not even Nasty Burger. My parents scold me when they see my report card, and I can’t even make excuses. I can’t tell them their son is half-ghost and spends his nights fighting the ghosts in this town instead of studying. If they knew I was half-ghost, they’d dissect me. I mean—of course they don’t know, but… no. At this point, they really would dissect me.”
“…All right. Calm down, my boy.”
Vlad let out a deep sigh. Daniel poured out his pent-up frustration, then fell silent once more. Vlad knew this all too well. Jack and Maddie wanted to capture Phantom—Daniel’s other self—and they constantly held fervent discussions right in front of their children about how best to dissect that ghost boy. Meanwhile, their son—the very ghost they spoke of—was left to listen, burdened with anxiety and despair as he imagined how his own parents might one day dissect him. Daniel knew it, too. He knew his parents loved him, no matter what. But how could anyone remain sane after spending months listening to their parents describe, in chilling detail, how they would dissect someone just like him? Daniel was undoubtedly a good teenager—but he was still, at heart, only a child.
“…Maybe it would be better if I just died.”
“That’s far enough, my boy."
Vlad stopped the boy urgently. The situation was serious. Daniel was having suicidal thoughts. He hadn’t attempted anything yet—at least, not as far as Vlad knew—but with the boy’s whereabouts still unknown, there was no telling what might happen. Vlad grabbed his coat and prepared to leave.
“Where are you? I’ll come get you.”
“…I’m at the park.”
-
Vlad let out a long sigh as he finally arrived at the park. There was no one around, and the subzero temperature was unbearable with nothing more than a thin coat. As he scanned the area, he spotted Daniel sitting alone on a swing. Just as he’d feared, the boy was wearing only a light jacket, nothing more to protect him from the cold. Vlad felt a surge of anger—an urge to demand that Jack and Maddie become better parents, once and for all.
“…My little badger. It's cold.”
“Vlad…”
The boy listlessly rocked back and forth on the swing. Vlad’s eyes immediately caught sight of the marks on Daniel’s arms—self-inflicted scars. They weren’t severe, nor were they particularly noticeable, but Vlad took them seriously nonetheless. He wondered when this little badger had begun hurting himself. Judging by the wounds, some seemed recent, yet there were older scars as well—it must have started long ago. Vlad felt a surge of anger at the thought that no one in Daniel’s family—not even Jasmine—seemed to know what the boy was going through. Perhaps it was understandable for Jasmine, still a teenager herself, but Jack and Maddie had a responsibility to notice their son’s condition. With nightly battles against ghosts and constant bullying at school, it was obvious that Daniel must have been coming home past curfew covered in wounds. And yet, instead of asking where those injuries came from, they would have been far more concerned with why he’d broken curfew. Pushing those thoughts aside, Vlad offered a gentle smile and softly touched the boy’s wrist.
“My beloved little badger… you don’t have to do things like this.”
“…I know. But then how am I supposed to let these feelings out? When I come back from fighting ghosts, it’s already dawn. I barely get two or three hours of sleep, so my grades drop. The teachers scold me for sleeping in class, and my parents yell at me without knowing anything about what I’m dealing with…”
Daniel let out a deep sigh. Sometimes, he admitted, he had seriously considered revealing that he was Phantom—but he was terrified his parents might dissect him. And even if they didn’t, he feared that dangerous people or hostile ghosts would come after his family. Vlad agreed with him. This poor child, only fourteen years old, was forced to worry not only about his own safety, but also about his family, his friends, and even the safety of this small town.
Daniel bit down hard on his lip and began to cry.
“So maybe… maybe dying would free me from all of this…"
“Shh, shh, my boy. You’re carrying far too much.”
Vlad pulled Daniel into his arms and gently patted his back. In his embrace, Daniel finally let himself cry. Vlad sighed inwardly, again and again. The child in his arms was so small. Just a boy—barely even a high school student—yet burdened with an unbearable amount of responsibility.
Vlad had imagined it countless times: adopting Daniel. He had been entertaining that thought ever since he first met the boy, and it had never once faded. In the end, Daniel had turned down the offer of adoption more than once, but Vlad had never abandoned the idea. Daniel’s future seemed all too predictable. Even if luck favored him and he managed to get into college, he would inevitably inherit the run-down Fenton Works instead of attending a university instead of his sister. He must devote his entire life ghost hunting—a dangerous path that had begin in his early adolescence. Did Jack and Maddie even realize that their beloved son wanted to become an astronaut, to chase the mysteries of space, rather than hunt ghosts? Vlad knew he could never raise Daniel to become an astronaut himself—but at the very least, he could help this young boy pursue his dreams related to space, to support him fully and without reservation. If Daniel were to become his adopted son, Vlad might even sell off all the corporations he had built over his lifetime and spend the rest of his days with him—rather than trapping him in that decaying Fenton Works. Truly, Vlad wanted to adopt this little badger with all his heart, and he knew that this desire would remain unchanged even when Daniel became an adult.
“If you were my son…”
Vlad whispered sadly as he patted Daniel’s back. Daniel was still crying. Surely, even this young boy sensed it instinctively—that if he remained in his parents’ arms, no matter how much help Vlad offered, he would never become an astronaut. Instead, he would be confined to Fenton Works, spending his entire life there. Yet the boy cared more about his family’s feelings than his own happiness or future. In the end, he must have been selfish enough, at least in his heart, to consider becoming Vlad’s adopted son more than once. But if he were to leave as Vlad’s son, the family he left behind would have to endure the grief of losing their beloved youngest child. Daniel stopped crying and looked up at Vlad.
“…Sometimes, I wished I could be your son, too.”