Refuge
Danny was not retired, technically he came when people needed him, he helped or protected them as the case may be. It just turned out that over the years they stopped needing him.
And that was fine, it meant humanity could take care of itself, it meant they were safe. That was what had to matter, no matter that deep down, the halfa was hurt by the information.
It was harder to accept change when you weren't part of it. Danny was immortal, eternal, and powerful, things that no longer fit the world. Not with all the heroes and wizards running around, not with Amity Park fading away, becoming nothing more than a part of his memories.
He fit in perfectly in the Realms, sure, but he knew that if he stayed there too long he'd stop feeling human, and that was dangerous.
So, no, Danny wasn't retired. But he lived in a simple house in Metropolis, though sometimes he got tired of Superman being able to hear literally everything and moved to his house in Fawcett. He used to switch between the two houses frequently, not that it was difficult since he had figured out how to make portals.
He had a few friends, like the orphan boy who lived at the train station and Conner, a teenager who sometimes just needed a house to stay in when he couldn't stand his father.
Neither Conner nor Billy minded his age, which was comforting, although they both got curious when he visited the other house. Danny didn't know how to explain that Eternity Rock and Superman made him nervous if he stayed too long (he didn't like feeling watched), so he just shrugged and told them he had two houses.
Neither of the kids understood but they accepted it. They both had a habit of calling him "Uncle", Danny thought it was odd, given that his appearance wasn't exactly...adult, but it seemed they were comfortable with that, and he left them alone.
Apparently his house (occupied or not) had become a haven for them. Danny always greeted them with a sandwich, or cookies, even though he felt like a grandmother doing so. He smiled for the first time in years, feeling happy to fit into someone's life.
That's why it was quite disconcerting to find the Justice League outside his door asking him to join them. Danny chuckled internally, because the current heroes actually believed they could force him into something, but he accompanied them anyway.
Superboy and Captain Marvel scowled at the League as soon as they entered the Watchtower, when they were told they were bringing in a "dangerous individual" they didn't expect to see their unofficial uncle.
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Idk why but I really like the idea of Eddie specifically being a former human who somehow got turned into a puppet. I’m not holding my breath for it to ever be canon, but something about his design just strikes me as more human-looking than the rest of the cast (Poppy, Barnaby, and Howdy are all animals, Sally’s a star, Julie’s a monster, Frank has a tube head, Wally doesn’t have a nose or eyebrows) so I wrote up a quick drabble about it inspired by these doodles by @sweetest-honeybee
[NOTE: I used he/they pronouns for Frank here]
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“Eddie...?”
Eddie stopped and looked back at Frank. “Yeah?”
“I...” Frank began to speak, but trailed off. “No, nothing.”
Eddie smiled and began to turn away.
“Wait!”
Eddie turned back around. He looked at Frank, whose arm was outstretched to him. Frank’s arm pulled back slightly, and his face scrunched into a mix of sadness and nervousness.
“I...I can’t leave your side!” said Frank. “Not now, not after everything!”
Eddie’s brows raised in genuine confusion. “Huh? But I thought you said it was better for you to stay behind with the others, while I go back where I came from by myself?” Eddie asked.
Frank brought their hands to his chest and looked down, fingers nervously intertwined with each other.
“Eddie...” Frank began, “The truth is...I do want to follow you! I can’t bear the thought of being that far from you!! But I also know you have to go back, b-because that’s where you belong!!! B-b-but without you I--I-I don’t--I--!!!!”
Suddenly, Frank’s head began to spin in a dizzy blur of emotions. Eddie had seen this before: whenever Frank got too angry or too nervous, their head would begin to spin like crazy. Luckily, Eddie also knew how to stop it.
With careful timing, Eddie gently brought Frank’s head to a stop by cupping it in his large, warm hands. Frank’s head went completely still, his mind focused only on the touch of Eddie’s hands. They felt like warm, cozy mittens.
“Easy there, love,” said Eddie. “I’m here, I got you. Now I want you to tell me, as calmly as you can, why you think you can’t go with me. You think you can do that?”
With his jumbled mind beginning to settle down, Frank nodded slowly. “Y-yes, I think so.”
Eddie began to remove his hands, but Frank’s own quickly clamped down onto them, pressing them back into place on their head. They looked into Eddie’s eyes pleadingly.
“P-please, don’t let go yet,” said Frank. “I’m afraid I might lose my head again.”
At that, Eddie smiled warmly and said, “I won’t.”
Frank’s fingers relaxed and curled over Eddie’s, grounding him to the reality of the moment. He and Eddie never stopped looking at each other.
“Eddie,” Frank finally explained, “Wherever you’re from, you’re not a puppet there. You only turned into one when you came to Home. Logically speaking, if you were to leave Home, you should turn back into...well, whatever your original self was. But, if I go with you--if I even can go with you--there’s no telling what could happen to me. Would I change like you? Would I stay a puppet? Would I even still be alive? Would we remember each other?”
Eddie’s brows furrowed. He hadn’t even considered any of that. It was already overwhelming enough for him to finally remember where he came from: a place so far removed from Home and the rest of the neighbors that the people there didn’t even look like his neighbors. There, Eddie was taller, softer, and hairier. He had extra fingers and needed to breathe all the time, or else he’d die. His people died. They aged, always in a constant state of changing, never in a fixed form like his neighbors. Like Frank said, Eddie wasn’t a puppet; he was something else. He was like the strange, unknown, five-fingered creatures that lurked below. He was like You.
“I...I’m scared, Eddie,” Frank continued. “Scared of...of change, and...of holding you back...”
Eddie raised his brows.
“Holding me back?” he asked. “From what?”
Frank’s eyes looked down gloomily. “From the life you deserve.”
Eddie’s heart--that was right, he had a real, beating, blood-pumping heart amid all that felt--sank and ached in his chest. Everything about Eddie’s being, physical and emotional, hurt right now. But the sight before him? Frank’s sad and fearful face? That hurt Eddie worse than anything else.
“Now listen here,” said Eddie, and he began to gently rub his thumbs against the side of Frank’s head, where their temples would be if he were...whatever Eddie was. “You ain’t holding me back from nothing, you hear?”
Eddie carefully slipped his left hand away from Frank’s head, but kept it within Frank’s line of sight. His right hand continued to cradle Frank’s head.
“You see this here ring?” Eddie asked, gesturing with his head to the ring that sat comfortably on his middlemost finger. “This ain’t no pity ring. I made a promise to love you, through good times and bad, in sickness and in health. That’s why I married you: because I love you, love. And puppet or not, I want to be your husband for the rest of my life, even if I never see you again. Because when I wear this ring, it says, ‘sorry, folks, but I belong to Frank Frankly.’”
Frank trembled slightly, and Eddie returned his left hand to its spot on their head.
“Do you mean that?” asked Frank.
Eddie nodded. “I do.”
Frank’s tense unibrow softened, and his frown shifted into a small smile. “It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve said those words to me, my dear.”
Eddie suddenly broke into a big, goofy laugh. His big, strong, warm mitten hands left Frank’s head and lifted them off of their feet. Eddie began to twirl Frank around in the air, and the sudden gesture, combined with Eddie’s heartfelt words, caused Frank’s smile to grow as well, leaving them both laughing happily.
The two continued to laugh gaily, even after Eddie set Frank down. Both kept their arms embraced within each other’s, the intimate moment lasting even as their laughter died down. They both stood like that for what felt like a good, long while. Eddie kept his eyes on Frank’s smile, while Frank kept his eyes closed and took in the sound of Eddie’s breathing.
Eventually, Eddie shifted his hands away from Frank’s arms to hold his hands. Frank opened their eyes, giving Eddie their full attention.
“Now I’ll tell you what, love,” Eddie said, “I don’t know if...whatever brought me to Home will let me leave, or if it’ll let us all leave together, but I ain’t leaving without you, neither, Frank. Not if I can help it. And like I said before: puppet or not...”
Eddie pulled a single hand away to tip his postman hat.
“...I’d be plumb honored to live out the rest of my days with my partner by my side.”
Frank’s eyes swelled with emotion. “Oh, Dearest!”
Frank pulled Eddie back into an embrace, Eddie following suit, and the two continued to stand there, felt arm in loving felt arm, foreheads resting comfortably against each other. They almost looked like they were dancing.
Maybe the pain would never stop hurting. But as long as Frank Frankly and Eddie Dear had each other, they both knew everything would be okay. They would make sure of it.
Because no script could rewrite a love like that.
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