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luxaofhesperides · 3 months

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For ghostlights: baby Ellie + tired Danny + Duke the baby whisperer?

He has no idea how his parents did it.

Babies are exhausting. Toddlers more so. Any infants in the strange stage in-between? Doubly so.

Ellie is wonderful and sweet and cute and such a terror that Danny genuinely has no idea how his parents managed to raise not one, but two kids. For all their eccentricities and absent-mindedness, he and Jazz turned out pretty well. Ignoring the whole halfa thing because that’s more his fault than theirs even if Jazz says they shouldn’t have created the dangerous environment in the first place.

That environment is exactly why Danny refuses to let Ellie go to his house in Amity Park. His parents say they’ve disabled all the weapons and ecto-sensors since he’s had to reveal himself as Phantom, but he knows that things slip their minds and if they can’t guarantee that the house is safe, then Ellie isn’t going in there. Simple as that.

This means that they live somewhere else now. Danny had thought about it, during the hours Ellie was asleep and he was awake, exhausted and worn down to his bones, and took Jazz’s advice to accept Vlad’s offer of buying a house for him. Except he argued Vlad down to an apartment in a city of his choosing where he wouldn’t stand out too much and he would be safe, or as safe as he can be, from anyone trying to hunt down ghosts.

So here they are. Standing in the empty living room of their new apartment in Gotham.

Gotham may not be very safe as a city, but it’s good for two ghosts trying to pass as normal.

Danny sighs yet again, and looks at the space he’ll need to fill. At least Vlad is footing the bill. It’s the least he can do for creating Ellie. Frostbite was the one who was able to stabilize her, though it was almost too late and resulted in her reforming as a baby, just one and a half years old. Jazz is the one who’s choosing most of the furniture, thankfully, so it’s something that Danny doesn’t need to worry about it.

It’s a new start to their lives and it feels so empty. So overwhelming. How did his parents do it? How do any parents do it?

Ellie smacks a small palm against his cheek and babbles lightly.

“I know, Ellie,” Danny says, giving her a tired smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll have this place looking good in no time.”

He adjusts her in his arms, then heads towards the bedroom. It’s the only room that has any furniture, and all that’s there is a bed, a crib, and a bookcase. There are a few boxes on the floor, labeled ‘bedroom’ and ‘clothing’ and ‘books’. Most of it came from his bedroom in Amity Park, but he’s pretty sure he caught Jazz sneaking a few things in before they closed the boxes and loaded them up into the car.

“Can you be good for five minutes?” he asks Ellie.

She babbles again and smacks his shoulder.

“I’m taking that as an agreement. Just let me open these boxes and start unpacking before you start causing trouble, okay?”

Ellie makes another sound, but it seems agreeable so Danny carefully lays her down in the crib and gets to peeling off the tape on the boxes. The opens the one labeled ‘bedroom’ first, finding blankets and sheets folded and stacked in vacuum sealed bags. One of them is his old childhood blanket, the one he carried around everywhere that was faded with age, barely blue, with white bunnies decorating it.

He was so small when he had this. It makes him oddly emotional to unpack it and pass it on to Ellie, draping it over her so her pudgy little hands can grab at it.

This is no time to cry, though! He forces himself to focus and makes his own bed, shaking out the sheets and fluffing up the pillows. He’ll worry about washing everything later; Vlad made sure to get an apartment with an in-unit washer and dryer, which means he was actually sensible while apartment hunting for Danny.

He doesn’t mean to flop onto the bed once it’s made, but he ends up there anyways. He’s barely gotten a full six hours of uninterrupted sleep since Frostbite deemed Ellie healthy enough to leave his care. The drive up to Gotham was long and wore him down to his bones.

He doesn’t mean to fall asleep, but he does, drifting off as he wonders, distantly, when Jazz will be back from getting them dinner.

Ellie wakes him up at dawn with a loud cry. Danny jolts awake, heart pounding in his chest as he panics because Ellie isn’t here, she’s supposed to be in his arms, where is she? And then he sees the crib, where Ellie is staring at him through the bars, and he nearly collapses with relief.

“Morning, El,” he says, voice rough from sleep, as he picks her up. She just stares up at him, then leans forward and rests her head against his shoulder.

It’s quiet moments like these that make his heart melt. Ellie’s had a hard life already; he wants to give her a better one, this time around.

A quick check of the time on his nearly dead phone shows that it’s barely past six in the morning, and Jazz texted him a few times. All about furniture, saying that she didn’t want to wake them and that food is in the fridge.

It’s only the mention of food that makes him realize how ravenous he’s feeling. Danny makes a beeline for the kitchen, ignoring everything else, and pulls out the boxes of take-out Jazz left stacked in the fridge. He devours it like he’s been starving for weeks, then gives Ellie her Ecto-Jello, the only food she’s allowed to eat until Frostbite gives the okay for solid, human food.

Once he’s got her burped and cleaned up, Danny looks out of the kitchen and realizes that Jazz was very productive while he was asleep. The living room isn’t empty anymore; a dark green couch is against the wall, a low, rectangular coffee table made of dark wood in front of it. Two armchairs are on both sides of the couch, and a television has been installed, fixed into the wall.

Jazz is asleep on the couch. Her legs hang off an armrest and she’s drooling slightly.

Her phone is charging on the floor, so Danny takes it and snaps a picture of her for later teasing, then sends it to himself and writes a note to her that he’s going out with Ellie to explore the neighborhood.

He’s finally feeling more settled, energized from sleep and food.

In the warm dawn light spilling in through the windows, Danny looks down at Ellie and thinks that they’ll be just fine after all.

. . .

Four months ago, Danny had hope. He was optimistic.

Gotham was a fresh start, a new lease of life for Ellie. It is Danny’s attempt to be a single parent, sacrificing college for Ellie, and he’s planning to go out and beat the gangs black and blue if they start anymore shootouts in the next year.

He had just gotten Ellie to sleep. She was actually peacefully taking a nap.

And then a drive by shooter raced down the street, gunshots echoing down the road, and Ellie work up crying. She still hasn’t stopped, despite how Danny rocked her, soothing her as best he could.

They had been outside when Ellie fell asleep, her head on his shoulder. He had been catching up with Sam and Tucker when the car drove by, people ducking and crying out to avoid the bullets. Danny instinctively covered Ellie and made them both intangible, saving them from any stray bullets, but they ruined her nap and he needs to make them pay for that.

“Shh,” he soothes, “You’re okay. We’re both fine. It’s okay, El, it’s okay.”

Her little hands clutch at his back, twisting the fabric of his shirt, and she lets out a heartbreaking wail. He pats her back, hurrying down the street to get back to his apartment building, ignoring the looks people were giving them as they passed by.

“I know it was scary, but you’re alright. You’re always safe with me, El.”

Ellie’s cries down down a little, but they don’t stop. She whimpers, burying her face against his shoulder as he finally reaches their apartment building.

The door’s locked, which wouldn’t be a problem except Danny can’t get his keys from his pocket. He knows he has them! But his pocket refuses to relinquish them and he has to stop every few seconds to pat Ellie’s back, trying in vain to calm her down.

“We’ll be inside in a second,” he tells her, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice, “as soon as I can get these freaking keys!”

“Hey, you alright?”

Danny startles, whirling around so fast it makes Ellie go quiet, clinging to him so she doesn’t get flung into the air. There’s a guy standing before him in a gray hoodie, looking at him with clear concern. It speaks to Danny’s level of constant exhaustion that he hadn’t clocked someone sneaking up behind him.

The guy offers an awkward smile. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you or anything. Um, do you need me to open to door? I live here too.”

Danny wonders for a moment if this someone dangerous, someone hoping to hurt Ellie, but she starts to cry again and he steps to the side. “Please. I can’t get my keys.”

“I’m Duke, by the way. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”

“Danny,” he replies, watching as Duke pulls out a large key ring, jangling with the amount of keychains on it, and easily opens the door. “I’ve been here a few months, but I’m usually inside. Or walking around in the mornings with this little monster.”

“That would explain it,” Duke says as he holds the door open, letting Danny in first. “I’m usually in classes at GCU, but I decided to take a mental health day after my lab, so here I am.”

Danny walks in and waits for Duke to follow, making sure the door closes properly behind them. “Thanks. How is GCU? What do you study? I was thinking of going there myself once she gets a little older and can go to school.”

“Oh, I’m majoring in English and Human Services.” He goes to say more, but Ellie wails again and Danny winces.

“I’m so sorry. That drive by woke her up and it’s really rattled her.”

“Hey, no need to apologize. I get it, Gotham is rough to kids.”

Danny tries rocking her back and forth, but it doesn’t help. He resigns himself to another hour of her crying before she exhausts herself, and makes for the stairs, going up to the fourth floor. Duke holds open the door again, then follows after them. It makes Danny wonder if Duke is planning to do something to them, then decides he can beat Duke in a fight, so it’s fine.

Duke doesn’t try to hurt them or steal Ellie away. He opens the door to their floor and stops before they do. “I’m in here,” he says, “If you ever need me to open more doors.”

“Thanks. Um, actually, I might need help opening mine?”

Duke just smiles and makes his way back to them, following them farther into the hall until Danny stops in front of his apartment.

“If I could just get my keys,” he starts.

“Here, let me hold her for a second so you can get them,” Duke offers. Danny wants to insist that it’s fine, but Ellie cries directly into his ear and Danny, at the end of his rope, passes her over.

Like magic, Ellie settles as soon as she’s in Duke’s arms. She sniffles and hides her face away, clutching to Duke’s hoodie, but she stops crying. They both go still, surprised, and stare down at her.

“Seriously?” Danny says as he finally pulls out his keys, “Are you trying to say that I’m the problem?”

Ellie babbles lightly, and Duke turns his head to futilely hide his grin.

He grumbles as he unlocks the door and pushes it open. Ellie is acting as if she’s never been upset before a day in her life, making herself at home in Duke’s arms.

“I can’t believe this. Betrayed by my own blood.”

Duke laughs as he follows Danny into his apartment, lightly patting Ellie’s back. “It’s always the smallest, cutest ones that do this.”

“Yeah? Do you work with a lot of kids or something? Used to being betrayed by the little ones?”

“I don’t work with kids per se,” Duke says, “But my foster family is a hot mess and the youngest of them likes to keep us all on our toes.”

“Family,” Danny says in a tired, fond tone.

“Family,” Duke agrees.

With his door open and Ellie calm, Danny’s ready to just lay face down on the floor for the rest of the day and not deal with anything else. He moves to take Ellie back, holding his arms out, and Duke tries to pass her over.

The key word being tries.

Ellie tightens her grip and kicks at Danny. She refuses to be taken away from Duke, making him awkwardly try to pry her off his hoodie. Danny really hopes Duke doesn’t notice how she goes slightly intangible to make his hands fall through her arms and legs. It shouldn’t be noticeable, but it’s hard to focus on anything but a kid that clings to you, so Danny holds out for Duke’s goodwill and silence.

“As nice as it is to meet you, you need to go back to your… parent?” Danny nods when Duke looks at him in askance. “You need to go back to your parent. Okay? Come on, kid, he’s waiting for you.”

Ellie shakes her head, makes a frustrated noise, and then turns and reaches out a grabby hand towards Danny.

She still refuses to be taken from Duke when Danny tries to pick her up again, so he settles with just letting her hold two of his fingers.

“I’m so sorry about this,” he says to Duke, face burning. This is why he hasn’t been going out and being social since he moved in; Ellie is a handful even on the best days, and Danny doesn’t want someone to judge him as unfit to parent her and have her taken away.

Duke shakes his head, stepping closer. “It’s all good, man. I don’t mind. It’s not like I had any plans today. I’m already skipping my classes, might as well spend it with you two than sleep all day.”

“Are you sure? I’d be happy to invite you in, but I know Ellie can be a lot and not everyone wants to spend their day off with a baby.”

“I’m sure. Besides, I’d just be down the hall anyways. It’s no skin off my back, man.”

“Well,” Danny says, stepping to the side to give Duke full access to his open doorway, “Come on in, then.”

Ellie keeps them connected, one hand in Duke’s hoodie and the other holding Danny’s fingers, and though her cheeks are still red from how hard she had been crying, she’s calm now with her eyes shining with mischief.

As the door closes behind them, Danny realizes that this is the first time someone he’s not related to has been inside his apartment. Not even Vlad has come in, always choosing to invite Danny and Ellie out for lunch instead.

It should make him nervous, but Duke is calm and easy going and kind.

He’s making silly faces at Ellie to make her laugh, completely at ease with her in his arms, as if he’s done this a thousand times before.

Gotham is a second chance at life for Ellie. It’s a sacrifice for Danny, to be alone and without friends or family around. He’d been ready to give up everything for Ellie, to focus solely on raising her, but with Duke filling his apartment with laughter, he thinks that he can make a life here too.

All he needs to do is take that first step, reach his hand out, ask Duke to stick around.

He can do this.

#ghostlights #dc x dp #dp x dc #dcxdp #dpxdc #dc x dp fic #prompt fill #my writing #i really love writing about characters struggling to be parents v suddenly and thru unconventional means #so here's danny a year out of high school living on his own for the first time w baby ellie #and duke who needed some space and independence while he's in college. bruce pays for the apartment while duke works part time for grocerie #and ellie who had been fully developed but unstable is now a halfa baby who remembers stuff but is also. yknow. a baby.#she absolutely latched onto duke to force danny to have a life outside of her. but also she can sense that hes kind and calm #which danny needs bc he is Stressed (tm)#this leads to duke bringing over food for them and looking after ellie while danny goes shopping or naps #both of them ignoring how duke has to leave suddenly for Hero Related Reasons and how danny and ellie have Powers #it's a v delicate balance they keep for the sake of keeping ellie safe #yeah they're gonna co-parent and realize they're basically dating after MONTHS of pining #the bats have bets on who gives bruce a grandkid first and literally no one bet on duke but here he is lol :)#thanks for the prompt!!

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moonshynecybin · 2 months

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short fic (1.6k) continuation of @kingofthering's forced coming out au where i read what they say and my brain immediately spirals ! context here... this is my take on the resolution where vale is god's guiltiest little motorcycle racer

Vale looks him square in the eyes, shakes his head like he can’t believe Marc doesn’t get it. He takes a sip of his beer and shrugs. Like it’s nothing.

“Marc, it’s my fault.”

“What? No, it isn’t.” Marc replies, instinctual. He had been the one on his knees. The one everyone could see in that photo. Vale hadn't needed to— Vale had done this because of him, the Honda PR person had said. He could’ve denied that he was even there that night, the way Yamaha had wanted him to.

Vale laughs bitterly. “It is. I asked you to do that. I told you to— I found you, that night.” Vale breaks off again, lip curling. He’s working through something, face uncharacteristically serious, and Marc knits his brow. Vale’s never like this, always quick with a joke, a comment, a deflection. Anything but the pain of the truth. Show.

Vale tilts his head, tries to find the words. “After Sepang I wasn’t going to—"

Marc folds his arms. He doesn’t know how Sepang has fucking anything to do with this.

“You broke it off.”

Vale’s face twists, he tugs on his earring, jitters his leg. “I know,” He says, quiet. Continues: “I was. I could see myself.” he takes a big breath, looks up at the sky. Marc keeps his eyes lasered on him, on the long line of his neck. The hinge of his jaw. The narrow spread of his shoulders. Marc inhales, draws his anger tight around him. He deserves an explanation.

“I should’ve been able to stay away from you.” Is what Vale settles on, with conviction. As if he hasn’t said the most confusing thing possible.

“What?” Marc says, caught out.

Vale scrubs a hand over his face, through his hair. Makes eye contact with the ground. He speaks slowly, like it’s hurting him.

“After Phillip Island. last year. I think— that I told myself that I had gotten too… invested. In you. In us. It didn’t make sense to me. I thought I couldn't be with you and win at the same time.”

Marc feels that hit him. Blinks fast. He curls his palm to rest over his elbow, digs a nail into the skin there. Flashes of that press conference imprint themselves on his memory, as tangible as touch. The waxy texture of the table, the flash of cameras, the sweat on the back of his neck. The sickening confusion, like a black hole in his stomach.

“Is that why you said what you said?” He asks, keeping his face blank, his voice even. He feels like live bees are thrumming under his skin, frenetic and disordering. He remembers the last time they’d fucked— not in the alleyway, but at Philip Island. How Valentino’s fingers had trailed over his back after he’d come. Gentle. How’d he’d been gone by the morning, the bed cold. “In Sepang?”

Vale looks at him, finally, and Marc inhales sharply. He's never seen him like this, with this precise expression on his face. He looks— vulnerable. Nervous. Scared even. Vale bites at the nails on one hand. Stares at the label of his beer bottle. Comes to some sort of decision.

He nods.

“And that night?” At the club, Marc means. In the alleyway.

Vale nods again, huffs a weak laugh. his eyebrows jump a little in an ironic expression. “I wanted to see you. If i hadn’t—“ He waves a hand through the air, a small gesture for such a huge, alien concept. “Then we wouldn’t be here. Doing this. It's me. My fault.”

Marc digs his nails harder into his elbow for just a second, then releases, a disbelieving spasm. HIs pulse is racing. He leans forward, putting his forearms on the table, until Vale looks him in the eye.

“No.”

“No?” Vale asks, looking confused and just a little miserable.

“No.”

Marc pinches the bridge of his nose. Takes a second to process.

“You want me?” He says, and it still feels like a risk, enough adrenaline coursing through his system he might as well be on track. It focuses him a little, like it always has. Simplifies things.

“Marc,” Vale starts.

“No, no. This is serious. Not just for sex. Not just for— all this,” What we’ve been doing, he means. The pretending. The show. How he’s been kissing Vale any chance he gets in public and then going back to ignoring him in private. Engineering ways to be seen together, just on the off chance he could get Vale’s hand on the small of his back. And how Vale, Marc is realizing, has been matching him every step of the way. Has been finding him in the paddock just so he can trail his fingers over the inside of Marc’s wrist, can kiss him good luck before a race. He had been the one to make the first move at the club, Marc remembers. Had been the one to find him in the alleyway. “For real. You want me?”

“Yes.” Vale says, after a moment eyes soft, the low light turning his curls bronze.

Marc thinks he means it.

He closes his eyes, breathes deep. There's other things he wants to talk about, that they need to talk about, but that’s something. Vale wants him.

“I was there too. That night. You—“ Marc swallows, “You were awful to me. For months. You made everyone hate me. I lost sponsors, I lost you. and I was still there. With you in that alley. You asked and I came. It’s not just your fault.” Marc says, and Vale shakes his head.

Marc leans forward, grabs Vale’s hand.

“When those pictures came out,” He says, “Did Yamaha give you a choice? To ignore it or to come forward?”

Vale takes a second to respond. “Yes.”

“And you wanted to come forward?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

And the silence breaks, Vale laughing that laugh of his, the one Marc used to do anything to hear, big and loud, like Marc’s said something insane. Something ridiculous.

“Marc. I don't know how many more ways I can say it.” He says, and Marc’s heart is racing in his chest, eyes meeting Vale’s like a lifeline.

For me, Marc thinks. Turns over in his mind until it feels like it might be the truth. He did it for me, to protect me. To make sure I could race.

Because without Vale, Marc doesn’t know if that would’ve been allowed— too big a PR risk after Sepang, especially with the way he rides. MotoGP is ruled by money, by advertising, and Marc as the only gay rider on the grid might’ve put him over the edge. Made him too much. It's harder to sell energy drinks after you’ve been photographed with a dick in your mouth.

But Vale had stepped forward too, spun the narrative. One of his best talents. One of his worst. But he’d flipped here, done the exact opposite of what he’d done in Sepang, and Marc and him had suddenly been something for people to root for— not an outlier to be exiled, but a team. The two biggest names in MotoGP much harder to get rid of as a unit than as individuals.

Vale had made sure Marc could get on his bike again. And that’s— that’s everything.

“Those photos…” Marc says, remembering what they were talking about. The whole reason why Vale felt he had to do this.

“You know, I don't actually mind the photos!” Vale says, his impish nature poking through a bit, sensing something from Marc and breaking the tension like he always does. He’s allowing himself to flirt, visibly assured by Marc’s hand on his, by the possibility that this conversation might be going well. “You looked very good on your knees. I might make copies.”

Marc closes his eyes, can’t help but smile. “Vale.”

“I might get them framed!” Vale toasts his beer, eyes crinkling at the corners. “In some ways, it’s our anniversary.”

“Vale!” Marc laughs, then taps him on the inside of the wrist, gets him to pay attention. There's one more thing he wants to know. He bites his lip. “Without those photos, what would’ve happened?”

Vale thinks, tilts his head to the side and shrugs. “I don't know.”

Marc nods, waits. He can tell Vale has more to say.

Vale raises a finger. “But here is what I do know: I love you. And we should do this, for real. No more pretend.”

Marc puts his head in his hands. Thinks about the last year, how awful it’s been. About how all the worst parts have involved Valentino. About how all the best parts have involved him too. About Vale deciding to do this with him. About that night at the Gala in June, when he’d thought Vale was going to kiss him, just the two of them, and how badly he’d wanted it. About Vale pulling him closer under his arm in that first press conference, and deflecting all of the worst questions like it was nothing, protecting Marc. About the precise shape his hand makes when it curves around Marc’s hip. About how he makes him laugh.

Marc smiles.

He picks his head up, laughs and feels a little like crying. Feels a little like flying. His brain won’t stop whirring. “We’re going to have to tell the factories. Honda and Yamaha.”

“Oh that’s easy! We find an alleyway—“ And Marc pushes him, doubles over laughing. Warm down to his toes, happy in his bones. This is going to work. They were always going to end up here. “What? It worked the last time.” Vale says.

“I'll think about it,” Marc says, still giggling, and feels Valentino’s ankle press against his under the table.

“I would enjoy that.”

“Mmm, I’m sure you would.”

“And in the meantime, I have those photos to hold me over.”

“Vale!”

#thought about writing this whole goddamn fic but then decided just to do the fun parts: beginning and end. who needs character development #skip all that. fast forward. follow your heart. the audience will fill in the blanks.#anyways this is after vale has had some REALIZATIONS and divested himself from delulu island and is basically miserable. slay.#callie speaks #motogp #rosquez #forced coming out au #my fic

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