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Initially, Danny was furious when he woke up only to find out that Vlad performed some ancient ghost ritual that shifted his obsession from his mom to Danny himself, and that somehow left them bonded to each other. The binding part Danny believed easily, but then Vlad had the audacity to look him in the eye and lie that the obsession thing was his plan from the beginning. This was Vlad, after all, ain't no way Vlad hadn't messed it up somehow. His Vortrex powers were gone, so while he yelled a storm at Vlad no actual storm appeared. Vlad took it with uncharacteristic grace, and that was enough to snap Danny out of it.
The thing that eventually made Danny somehow accept the whole bond mess was the knowledge that Vlad was quite literally incapable of harming him or his family. Vlad was the last person Danny wanted to see as his enemy, dangerous as he was, so having him as an ally - not just an ally, but obsessively concerned about his wellbeing to boot - took a huge amount of worry off his back. Having Vlad's crazy directed into protecting him instead of attacking him essentially solved most of his ghost related problems. The second Vlad had appeared by his side, fists ablaze and ectoblasts ready, the other ghost would drop the fight and disappear; eventually, most of them stopped showing up entirely.
The bond didn't have nearly as many restrictions on him as it had on Vlad, since the only thing truly required of him was to spend time with Vlad more or less often, but for Vlad it was way more strict. It was kinda hilarious to see Vlad being stuck when a conflicting situation came up and he got torn between his own will and the bond's compulsion; what he and the bond considered good parenting differed drastically. Be careful what you wish for, indeed.
And, again, non-crazy Vlad was pretty decent to be around, so it wasn't much of a chore. The bond was, apparently, a two way street, if slightly muted on Danny's end; while he couldn't do the aura checks Vlad had talked his ear off about, he could feel the man's emotions when they were strong enough to leak through. The tragic thing was that the dominant emotion Danny got from him most often was an overwhelming loneliness, and when the guy wasn't wallowing in it, he felt either sad or angry. The only times Danny got something resembling happiness were when he was nearby or when Vlad got into his teaching mode, eager to explain anything Danny wanted to learn, from the complicated intricacies of their species to the mundanity of how to make an omelet. Also he purred hard enough to vibrate the couch the few times Danny voluntarily hugged him.
Eventually, Danny started to ask to be taught random things; he was a hero, after all, and making someone this pathetically sad happy was a community service at that point. Just making sure the old man doesn't revert to his crazy ways or something. The easiest thing he could ask for help with was homework; Vlad was surprisingly patient, repeating his point as many times as needed until Danny finally understood. It'd been only a few weeks since the Vortex accident, and his grades had already significantly improved. For the first time in a long while, he was able to answer Lancer's question in class.
Dash didn't like that.
Which was why, the moment school let out, he found himself entering Vlad's mayoral mansion, as he knew Vlad was working from home that day. He kicked his sneakers off and dropped his backpack on the floor, not caring where it landed.
He followed the pull of the bond, leading him with the accuracy of a compass pointing north, rubbing at the bruises forming on his ribs as he went. Both of them were aware of each other's location at all times, human or ghost, making it impossible to sneak up anymore.
Unless, of course, one was distracted.
Vlad was sitting in one of his living rooms, typing furiously at the laptop and looking completely immersed in his work, seeing that he didn't immediately acknowledge Danny's presence as he usually would.
Danny stood there, watching him. This would've been a prime opportunity to pull a prank on him had he not felt so dead inside (more dead than usual.) He considered calling out, but it felt oddly wrong to distract him from work; the rule had been deeply ingrained in him since he was very little. Before Danny could change his mind, he sat down and wriggled his way under Vlad's arm, tucking his legs up on the couch and pressing tight against his side.
Vlad didn't startle, so it seemed he wasn't as dead to the world as he appeared, pulling Danny closer but continuing to type one-handed. His core instantly kickstarted into a soothing rumble, vibrating like a powerful motor against Danny's back.
Danny closed his eyes, forcing himself to relax.
He thought of his parents, always elbows deep in yet another project, mostly leaving Jazz and him fending for themselves.
He thought of Sam, who had to fight her parents off to be left alone.
He thought of how he'd eventually stopped coming to Tucker's place, because he couldn't handle watching some Disney-level parenting happening right in front of him.
He thought of Vlad, who had done a drastic 180 and turned out to be a pretty decent parental figure, if with the bond's help. Ironically, the bond left no room for doubt; Vlad wanted, obsessively, to take care of him. The concept was as surreal as it was exciting; not even a month in and he was completely hooked, if Danny was being honest with himself. He could admit he did want Vlad's attention, and having it suddenly cut short hurt; even he realized it was stupid to be upset the man was busy typing, but he was.
Ah, fuck it. Surely, whatever Vlad was doing wasn't that important?
As if he read his mind (or perhaps, he did catch something through the bond), Vlad closed the laptop and set it aside, just as Danny began to move. He crawled into Vlad's lap, arms going around Vlad's neck; his nose ended up in Vlad's collar, pressed against his skin, lungs full of the scent of cologne and Vlad and something inhuman, other, marking both of them different from the rest of humanity as the sole members of their species.
A half forgotten feeling of absolute security welled up inside him, something he'd only experienced in his very early childhood, like nothing bad could happen to him while he's being held in Vlad's arms. Vlad was cradling him like he's precious, unlike the crushing hugs of his dad and absentminded ones from his mom, his core singing to Danny's in a perfect resonance. One of Vlad's hands moved from his back to card through his hair, the gentle scratch of nails against his scalp sending tons of goosebumps down his spine and forearms, making the tiny hairs rise with a tingle.
He sensed Vlad's ectoenergy shift around them, and before he could raise his head he felt the soft blanket from the nearby armchair settle on his back, capturing the heat Vlad's fire core provided. Vlad spread it around so Danny's legs were covered as well, before returning to the previous position, fingers finding their way into his hair again.
Danny sighed, fully relaxed now, lulled into a blissful sort of comfort he'd never known before the bond. In moments like this it was extremely hard to blame Vlad for forcing it upon him.
“What happened, little badger?” Vlad asked quietly; Danny assumed he'd looked miserable enough to conclude something had indeed happened.
“Got a detention,” he mumbled in Vlad's neck, turning his head a little so the nails scritching him would hit a new spot. “Dash and his cronies again.”
Vlad didn't reply, but the bond flashed with a spike of anger. When he spoke, his voice was carefully devoid of it.
“Would you like me to deal with them?”
Danny jolted upright, the toxic green reflecting off Vlad's skin and eyes. Seeing his reaction, Vlad scoffed, the bond alight with amusement.
“Please, Daniel, I didn't even say anything about violence. There are other ways to get rid of this nuisance, my boy.”
Danny scowled, but allowed himself to be guided back, tucking into the embrace once more.
His parents had never done anything about the bullying. Mom went to a parent-teacher meeting once, was told Danny had provoked the A-listers, and believed it immediately. His dad told him to man up.
“I would,” Danny whispered, eventually. It felt wrong to sic Vlad on some school bullies, but damn did it feel nice to finally have someone else help him. He finally didn't have to shoulder everything life was throwing at him alone and he could cry with relief.
Vlad hummed in response, his core taking a delighted tone. If Danny knew anything about him, he was already going through his week's schedule to see where he could squeeze a meeting with the principal Ishiyama.
Footsteps attracted his attention, and when he lifted his head, over Vlad's shoulder Danny saw Vlad's duplicate emerging from the kitchen. Danny visibly perked up when he spotted a carton of ice cream in his hand. His favorite flavor, too.
“What about ‘spoiling my appetite’ before lunch?” Danny asked, eagerly taking the treat and a spoon handed to him. He wasted no time opening the lid, the frost on the side of the carton melting under his fingertips. The blanket slipped off Danny's shoulder when he'd sat up, and Vlad fixed it back into place.
“I'm sure your appetite will be fine just this once, little badger,” Vlad said, indulgent and happy, and Danny smiled at him around his spoonful.
Truly, out of all things Vlad had messed up, the bond ritual was one of the luckiest ones.