Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Danny was bored.

He had spent the last two days moving everything into his apartment that he was going to share with Sam and Tucker. Everything he took from Amity, plus some things Sam and Tucker had forced him to buy for himself like an actual bed, were now in their proper places around his room.

And now he was bored.

Tucker would be moving in with him soon, once he finished getting his stuff packed up. He had been staying with Danny for the past two days, helping him move in and keeping Sam from spending too much money on him. Sam would be moving close, the apartment next door, because her family was still helping her financially but not if she moved in with “that boyfriend of hers.” Danny didn’t see what the problem was, Tucker was doing alright has a hacker and would be setting up some inventions to show the Waynes, so it wasn’t as if he couldn’t support Sam. Nor was it the case that Tuck was a bad person.

Barring the pharaoh in his head, but who’s counting that old dustbucket?

Danny shook his head as he stood from the bed he was laying on. He looked back at it and had to agree with what Sam had said when she convinced him to get it.

“Danny, you cannot sleep on the floor,” she had said, looking at him concerned. Danny hadn’t seen the problem then, he had done it plenty of times when his bed had been burned or had things on top of it that he didn’t want to move, but now he realized how bad it made him feel. His back pain, while not completely gone, was better. He also felt more rested than he had in a while.

Danny was out of survival mode for the moment, and, for the third time now, he was bored.

His friends always joked that a bored Danny is a dangerous Danny, because he would find a way to no longer be bored. Be it with a new food to try, a new ghost to fight, or a new invention. He had to stay occupied.

Being bored, he decided to go on the internet and look for jobs. Sam and Tucker both had assured him that he didn’t need to get one, since he was laying low, but they had provided him with a fake ID as well. What did they expect him to do? Let Danny Nightingale be a bum on the couch while his friends worked? It was a laughable idea. And even if the people at the job sucked, then he would have a way to think of new comebacks and things to talk about when he got back home. Especially since his friend group mostly only talked about ghost stuff now, and there was no way he could go back to that. At least, not as Phantom. They had all agreed to let Phantom die as to get the GIW off of their backs.

But, Danny thought as he booted up his computer, that didn’t get rid of his ghostly instincts. No, in fact, it made them worse. He had an innate need to protect now. The one thing he was insistent on getting for the apartment no matter how much it costs was a security system. He needed to know his friends would be safe if he was ever not there. Which was all fine and dandy. But it wasn’t enough.

As he scrolled through job listings for people who were security or protectors of a sort, he realized that a 19-year-old with nothing more than a GED and no military experience wasn’t going to get the pick of the litter when it came to jobs. He could join a gang, but this is Gotham, the local Bat population wouldn’t exactly be enthused to see him working like that. Besides the fact that there seemed to be a revenant that had set up a haunt specifically in Crime Ally. Yeah, gangs were out of the question. He had too many people he needed to not know what or where he was to risk fucking up ghost etiquette. No. Thank you.

But those two things didn’t make his job search any easier. No, it made it so much harder, which was surprising to no one. Maybe he should’ve listened to his mom all those times she told him to do higher level classes back in middle school, back before everything hit the fan.

Danny groaned and scrubbed his hand across his face. He had a couple of applications saved for various barista positions, he wouldn’t like it but he could deal with it and it would give him something to do so he didn’t go check out why Gotham had so much ambient ecto or what the ghost that had a haunt that was only a neighborhood had going on, and then he found it. A literal goldmine of a job.

Wanted: Secretary for Wayne Enterprises. The universe had heard him! A job he could see himself being at least ok at, that had new things to do every day, that didn’t require special training or college, and that was at WE! A company known for its competitive pay, good hours, good bosses, and benefits! He could have actual healthcare! Not that he could use it most places but he could say he was a meta if he could find someone that would keep it under the Bats radar and yet also wasn’t, y’know, awful.

Feeling much better about his chances, he shut the computer off and went to reheat the last of the tater tot casserole he had made for him and Tucker when they were moving him in. He would have to make some more in the morning, or convince Tucker to take him to a Batburger or something. He felt much better, much less bored, and, once he ate dinner, much sleepier. He didn’t bother to look at what time it was, he never got a full 8 hours anymore, it was broken up by alarms or attacks or nightmares so much that he knew he could get up and function just fine. He knew his alarm was set, he checked it off of his list. So now, he rolled over, and slept.

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He did not wake up on time.

He woke up two hours early.

Danny sat up from the same nightmare he usually got, being stuck in the portal over and over again, and went into the kitchen. Every time he got a nightmare since getting away from his parents, he would make something. It started from wanting food after a nightmare, as they would tire him out endlessly, and the action of eating could only happen when he felt safe, so it meant he was safe. But, he did not know how to cook very well in the beginning. To be honest, he still doesn’t.

Danny opened a shot of ecto as he gathered the ingredients to another casserole. The ecto would help pep him up and he didn’t want his friends any more contaminated with it from their food than they already were, being in hiding from the GIW. He was certain that none of his little trio looked completely human anymore, he mused as he browned the meat. If he really thought about it, they were all very Liminal. Like the Bats. His brow furrowed as he poured the meat and the soup into the dish and covered it with tater tots, wondering how many of the Bats had died. He was certain at least one did, if not more, and he was fairly certain that Red Hood was the one that had the haunt here.

It would make sense, he continued down the rabbit hole as he moved the dish into the over, especially with why he only had a neighborhood as a haunt, and why the Bats would avoid it. Danny didn’t know much, but he did know about haunt rules. Mostly because ghosts could very rarely get around them. Being in a ghosts’ haunt without their permission was akin to asking for death, and it was worse if you wronged them while in the haunt.

“Another reason to get a job,” Danny continued, unaware of the fact he was now speaking aloud or that Tucker had come in the front door with Sam in tow, “Staying out of the haunt is respectful on its own, but if it was Hood’s? Nah.”

Sam and Tucker sat down on the couch as Danny cleaned up the kitchen. They had arrived early, hoping to surprise Danny with breakfast in bed after he spent two days moving in. They knew their friend had overdone it and was going to get some form of pain, be it mental or physical, and they wanted to be there for him. They also knew that if Danny was already up and cooking, he either had a nightmare or was up all night. They agreed, in the way that couples do, to simply sit and wait for Danny to realize it was them who had entered the space, and not a random blob ghost floating by.

“I mean,” Danny continued, still oblivious to his friends on his couch, “Would it be that bad? If Hood is the ghost, he would be a revenant most likely, and that would make him less likely to tell He Who Shall Not Be Named where I am, but also, he might shoot me on sight. Very problematic, not very demure.” Danny finished up the dishes as he said this, and went to sit on the couch when he saw it was occupied.

“When did you get here?” He shrieked, jumping almost out of his skin (but not all the way thankfully, that had been an experience for all of them), and putting a hand to his chest. Sam and Tucker laughed as the ghost boy pouted and moved to sit next to them on the couch.

“So, what was all that about a job and Red Hood?” Sam asked, seeing as Tucker was still laughing, probably at a joke the pharaoh had made.

“Well, I got bored,” Danny said, and Sam groaned, dreading the worst. “It wasn’t that bad though! I just had the bright idea to get a job so I could still be protective and also not sit at home all day while you guys go out and have lives.” At this, his friends eyes softened.

“Danny-“ Tuck began, but Danny cut him off.

“Yes, I know, I can still have a life even if I’m half dead,” Danny shrugged off his friends concern as he got up to get his laptop, “But I want to have a Life. Capital L. With a job and a partner and a pet and memories and not just hiding.” He brought the laptop back to his friends and showed them the listings he had saved.

“Wait,” Tucker pointed at the screen, “That is not a barista job.”

“Correct,” Danny said with a shit-eating grin while Sam tried her hardest not to laugh at her boyfriend, “This is a Wayne Industries job. A job that someone like me could do fairly well in, without gaining a ton of scrutiny, and without a lot of training or college.”

Danny waited for his friends to shut him down. Even now, he expected them to be against everything he did even if it was a good idea. But he knew, logically, that they would help him decide if he should apply. They wouldn’t call him stupid or say he would never be good enough for even that job, as low as it was. But fear isn’t logical.

“I say go for it!” Tucker said, a ball of energy, “You would get good benefits, a good amount of time outside of the house, and it seems like a job you would do well at.” Danny smiled at this, knowing that if Tuck was singing his praises, Sam wouldn’t be far behind.

“Two conditions,” She said, and Danny’s face fell. “Number one,” she held up a finger, “We have to help with the application.” Danny nodded so hard he thought his head was going to fall off, which had happened before.

“And two,” She lifted her second finger, “I have to be able to help with your outfits and take you shopping and you cannot look at any of the prices.” Danny’s face dropped, causing Tucker to burst out in laughter again as Danny nodded his head and opened the application.

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“How do you not have an updated resume?!” Sam yells two hours later.

They decided to get comfy for the night, so she was curled up in a black tank top with matching sweats and face mask. Tucker was laughing, trying not to mess up painting her nails while letting his green mask dry. Danny was currently trying to deflect from the onslaught of indignation from his ex-girlfriend and now his best friend while in a matching NASA pj set and a purple face mask.

“I am dead!” He shouted, his apparent anger as fake as hers, “And also I forgot what jobs you guys had my fake have,” he mumbled with his head down.
Sam sighed, rolling her eyes with a smile, and motioned for Danny to hand the computer over. He did, and then gave Tucker a bottle of black nail polish to paint his nails with next.

“Dude, you aren’t my girlfriend.”

“Yeah, but you paint them so much better than I do,” Danny shot back while making puppy eyes.

“Damn,” Tucker relented, grabbing Danny’s hand as he and Sam cackled about Tucker’s predicament.

It took them the whole day to get Danny up to date on his story, properly fed (“Tater tot casserole IS food Sam!” “Danny, no.”), and applied for the job.

“Thank the Ancients it’s done,” Danny said as he tipped back into his bed.

“Thank the Ancients indeed,” said Sam, hauling a half-asleep Tucker over her shoulder so she could take him to bed. “I don’t know how we got you applied, him moved in, and a self-care night.”

“Time is outside of my domain,” he said offhandedly, and they both laughed.

“Speaking of, how long has it been since you’ve been back?” She asked.

“Well,” Danny started as he got up to follow her to Tucker’s room, “Not since last year, I don’t think.”

“How is he taking that?”

“I don’t know, to be honest with you, he hasn’t said anything to me since.”

“Have you seen the others?”

“Nope, but we all know that we are doing ok.”

At this point, they had made it to Tuck’s room. Danny watched Sam lay him down on the bed with such care, missing when she did that for him, but also knowing her and him would’ve never worked.

“So,” Sam started, “Do you mind if I stay over?”

“As long as I don’t hear anything, Manson, do what you want,” he gave her a lopsided grin as she blushed a furious red. “What? I know you are both consenting adults, you both have hormones, you like each other-“

“Get out get out get out!” She blushed as she pushed Danny out, and he laughed as he let her push him around. “Just, Ancients, never say anything like that again.”

“Alright, you ever need to talk about it, I am open to it,” he threw over his shoulder as he walked back to his room. He chuckled a little bit after he heard the door quietly slam shut, but didn’t tease her anymore. He was glad she had found her person, her and Tuck were so cute with each other.

He went over to his bed, laying down as he wished for his own person to have and to hold like Sam and Tucker.

Little did he know, Lady Gotham had been listening, and she had a plan.

Chapter Text

Danny awoke the next morning to Sam screaming her head off.

Not an awful way to wake up, compared to what he had woken up to, but seriously Sam? He asked to not hear them, for Ancient’s sake.

“Danny!” She yelled as she burst into his room. He groaned and covered his head with a pillow while silently thanking whatever was listening that he had made it another sleepover without hearing the two of them. “Danny, come on, this is important!” Sam yanked the covers off of the boy, laughing as he curled up to try to get some form of warmth.

“Sam, it is too damn early,” he grumbled, doing his best impression of a ball. His friends, because Tuck was there too now, damn him, were laughing at his antics. “Damn you, Tuck,” he said as he stretched out, looking for a pair of pants.

“You have an email!” Tuck shouted joyously, which would have been amazing, except an email at 7 in the morning and a very cranky Danny did not go together quite well.

“Oh, joy,” Danny drawled, letting his contempt for the idea show through his voice. He found his pants, on the floor where he had thrown them before crawling into bed last night. “Is it an eviction notice from how loud you were?”

“Danny! I would never!” Tucker shouted, clutching imaginary pearls, before showing a sly smile and adding, “At least not while you were home.”

Danny chuckled at his friends antics, glad he had his people with him even though they were slightly annoying at the moment. He stretched, dislocating his spine and then realigning it, and then doing the same for the rest of his joints. He finished off this bizarre routine with turning his head 180 degrees, both ways, and then rolling his shoulders. Sam and Tuck had been very grossed out the first time he did it, but Jazz and Danny had sat them down to discuss what ghostly activities he could do with them in the room and what activities he still needed to do, but would do away from them.

Safe to say, they got very used to the ghostly boy twisting like a pretzel in ways that could not ever been seen as human.

When he had finished, his friends ushered him back into the main living area. They had a bowl of cereal ready on the counter, and his laptop open to his email. Danny fixed himself a coffee, adding an ecto shot, before fielding the same question he got every morning.

“Why do you always add an ecto shot?”

It didn’t matter which one of his friends asked, they always wanted to know. He couldn’t very well tell them that he secreted all of his ecto away into the vials to keep his signature low, and to keep the local ghosts from recognizing him, so he shot off the same half truth he always did.

“Well, it’s like ADHD meds. Except its free. And, with it, I can keep awake for longer when I add it.” He watched as his friends nodded along. He knew that they knew it wasn’t the full truth, and they knew that he knew that they knew. It was a delicate balance, keeping them in his life without causing them to be in danger or to hate him. He knew from the past years that his best shot at keeping them was keeping them around, but it was a tightrope to walk.

“Yeah, yeah, drink your ghostly coffee and open your email,” Tucker rolled his eyes. Danny nodded as he brought the hot concoction over to the open laptop. He ate a spoonful of cereal, trying his best to wake himself up and get to the same level of excitement as his friends. Over an email. ‘God we really are growing up,’ he thought.

Danny then finally looked over to the screen and saw it. The email they were so excited over. He could feel his hair start to levitate from his excitement. There, at the top of the list, was an email back from Wayne Enterprises.

“In Regard To Your Application”

Danny looked back up at his friends. He took in their hope, their genuine curiosity, feeling those feelings with them. He swallowed, then clicked the email.

“To Daniel Nightingale,

We have looked over your application and have considered you a possible candidate for this position. Please call the following number during our business hours to schedule an interview if you are interested.

Regards,

Wayne Enterprises.”

Holy shit.

Holy.

Shit.

“Well?” Sam said, holding her hands together as she sat at the table. Tucker had brought over bowls of cereal for the both of them while Danny had read the email, and he was shoveling the food into his mouth.

Danny just looked at them. He was speechless. He was nowhere near awake enough to process the fact that he had been accepted to the job he actually wanted. And that he should schedule an interview. And soon.

Sam watched as Danny blinked, one eye after the other, and just slammed back all of his coffee in one gulp. Having known Danny for years, and having seen almost all of his reactions, both her and her boyfriend know what this means.

Danny watches, dazed from sleep, as his two best friends cheered for his win, getting the job he wanted and the sleep he needed. The coffee slowly worked it’s way through his system, thanks to his slow heartbeat, while he woke up and realized how much more he needed to do.

“Fuck,” Danny whispered, mentally cataloguing everything he would need, from a wardrobe, to interview prep, to a bank account, to Ancients knew what else, he certainly didn’t.

Sam saw her friend suddenly perk up and scan his eyes across the air, seeing the anxiety in his frame. The way his shoulders tightened, legs tensed, pupils dilated, and knew she had to do something before he could spiral any further down than he already was. So, she herself began to catalogue, seeing Tucker prepare for a brawl next to her if needed. Technically, neither of them could take Danny, not really, but they could tire him out until he could at least think straight.

Well, as straight as he could think.

“Danny, what’s going through your head?” She asked quietly, moving into his field of vision slowly, hands and feet visible, when his eyes suddenly cleared.

“What’s the dress code for a gender fucky secretary?!” He wailed, making both of his friends chuckle and relax.

“This is no laughing matter, guys? What do I do?” He continued as Tucker devolved into giggles.

“As cute as it is to hear Tuck giggle,” Sam began, throwing a look full of affection towards the beanie-clad man, “How about we reply to the email and get an interview before we panic about how we are dressing?”

“You- you’re-“ Tucker fought through laughter to deliver his joke, “You’re legitimately the gay best friend in a fanfiction, dude. What- haha- what do I wear? What are you expecting, to bag a billionare?’

“No,” Danny huffed, sending Tucker into another fit of laughter as he stood up and gestured wildly as he spoke, “it’s the principle! I get all the genders so I get all the fashion! Besides, someone has to stick up for Bruce Wayne, he’s a bit of an idiot but Ancients love him he’s trying! And what even is the dress code at Wayne? Do I even get to be genderfluid? And if so what are the limits?”

At this point of the rant, he was mostly going to get his friends to laugh, a feat he was succeeding at. But he also had actual questions hiding behind those jokes, ones that his friends caught on to.

“It’s Wayne Industries, of course they’re going to be inclusive, did you see the Bruce Wayne tiktoks last pride month?” Tucker said, once he had recovered fully from his giggles.

“And even if they aren’t, they will be.” Sam said, looking at Tucker. Danny smiled at the two of them, knowing they would burn down the world for him, and each other. Danny knew he would do the same for them.

Danny sighed, shaking his head as he reached for his computer again, typing out an email accepting the interview before rereading the email that was sent to him and then laughing, scrubbing a hand across his face and ruffling his hair.

“What?” Sam asked, curious and slightly worried as to why Danny had stopped typing.

“We’re all idiots,” Danny deadpanned, pointing to the email as Tucker dissolved into laughter again, causing them all to laugh again. It was nice, they hadn’t been together, laughing this carefree, in a very long time. Not since sleepovers before the portal, making fun of his parents and deciding what color nails they should all have.

Danny sighed, thinking of those simpler times while his friends laughed, then chuckled as he stood up to grab his phone, wincing slightly. He decided it wasn’t that bad of a pain day, dialing the number on the Wayne Enterprises email while he motioned for his friends to keep their laughter to a lower volume after Sam snorted and sent them both back into the cycle of laughter while holding their stomachs.

“Hello, Wayne Enterprises, this is Tam speaking, how may I help you?” A voice on the other end of the phone stated, sounding bored of her job.

“Hello, this is Daniel Nightingale, I’m calling to schedule an interview,” Danny stated calmly, internally freaking out while his friends composed themselves and moved to another room to give him privacy.

“Ah, Daniel, applying for the position of secretary, correct?”

“Yes, that would be me,” he replied, grabbing a notebook to take down the information from the call.

“Well, Daniel, you had a very strong resume and application, you would be a good fit here, but just some questions before we can schedule an in person interview,” he heard the sound of computer keys clicking before she went on, “Is Wayne Enterprises feasible for you to commute to? If so, how many days a week could you work?”

“Yes, Wayne Enterprises is where I could commute there daily, and I could work all days of the week.”

“Wonderful, Mr. Nightingale, you are comfortable with masculine terms, yes?”

“Yes, I prefer masculine terms as a fallback, but am comfortable with any pronouns and references, so long as they aren’t slurs, to be honest,” he says, going out on a limb and praying they would be comfortable with that.

“Of course, Mr. Nightingale, we at W.E. pride ourselves on inclusivity, so that won’t be a problem at all,” Tam said, warmth entering her tone for the first time in the call. Danny breathed a sigh of relief as she continued, “Would you be okay with signing NDA’s and a background check?”

“Yes, I am comfortable with both of those, and a drug test if needed.”

“Wonderful. Do you think you could come to W.E. tomorrow for that, say around 2 o’clock?”

“Yes, yes that would be agreeable,” Danny said, pumping a fist in the air quietly.

“Then that concludes this call, unless you had any questions?”

“No, ma’am, I am all good.”

“Then we will see you tomorrow, Mr. Nightingale, thank you for your time.”

“Same to you,” Danny answered as the call disconnected, then-

“SAM! TUCKER! I BASICALLY GOT THE JOB!”

Chapter Text

Danny thought he knew what he was getting into when he agreed to Sam’s terms. He in fact did not.

Standing in the middle of a very nice store, the name of which he was not paying attention to, he felt extremely out of his depth. There were racks of dresses and suit jackets and rows and rows of shoes and accessories, all of which were wildly out of his personal price range, but Sam had insisted.

“No leather other than black, navy and deep green would look good on him, and black shoes only,” Sam was saying to the shopper they had been assigned. The petite blonde woman had the aura of a preppy military commander, she had all but pounced on them from the moment they stepped into the store, guiding them to a couched area and asking what they had been looking for.

It was, in a word, awesome. As in, awe inspiring, the kind of awe that requires respect and terror, and Danny didn’t know that this kind of behavior was allowed in the general public. Certainly not in the upper class system. And yet here was this woman, with all the skill of a trained soldier and all the grace of a socialite, steering them towards what they wanted and keeping everyone away, customers, other attendants, and even the odd paparazzi.

“Wait, I can act like that?” Danny asked Sam, his eyes gleaming, as soon as the attendant had left.

“Yes? It’s just etiquette, she was protecting a sale for her commission and being polite about it,” Sam replied. Danny had occasionally had problems with social mannerisms, especially when he had switched between gender presentations and expressions.

Tucker, not paying attention to them, walked back with a beautiful red dress, which would hung all of Danny’s curves just right, made of silk, with a sweetheart neckline. He held it up silently, as if holding up a sacrifice to the two, which caused Sam to grin, slightly too sharp fangs on display.

“Oh, an offering for the monarch, come forth,” She said, waving him closer with a flourish, her voice brimming with laughter.

“Tuck, dude, it’s a wonderful dress,” Danny said with a sideways smile, “But I don’t think I have enough upstairs to hold it up.”

“Maybe not now,” Tucker replied, “But you never know when you’ll need to go undercover, or seduce a billionaire’s son, or just look hot and feel fem.”

Danny nodded, and grabbed the dress to try it on, beckoning Sam over to the dressing room and nodding when she grabbed the rest of the suits they wanted to try on. It seemed a bit roundabout, bringing his ex girlfriend to a dressing room with him, but she was the only one there who understood both male and female fashion and was comfortable when he shifted.

He went into the changing room to shift to try on the dress, finding it did in fact fit, and then promptly shucking it off to shift back and change into one of the suits for Sam to see.

“So? Like the dress?” She asked when he emerged with the suit on and the dress in hand.
“Yeah, it fit, it was nice,” He replied, seeing the glint in her eyes and silently preparing for the next wave of style advice to spew from her lips like a lecture from a fashion designer themselves. But strangely, it didn’t spew in his direction, but outside of the dressing room.

“Amanda, dear, add red to the colors acceptable, would you?” Sam called to the attendant, whose name was apparently Amanda, not that Danny knew that until now. He could hear Amanda and Tucker scrambling, as if they already had ideas and now could actually execute them.

Tucker loved fashion, he loved designing, he loved the ways the colors went together. And, as he once told Danny in confidence, it kept the pharaoh in his head more quiet. They all had to be more careful in some respects, and Tucker couldn’t spend all of his time hacking and building websites anymore.

But, he often wanted Danny to dress just a little better. Not haut couture, no, but maybe just a little less raccoon crawling out of a trash can. Danny thought he dressed perfectly fine, thank you very much. But this was an opportunity he knew Tucker would never turn down, especially with how high his spending limit for this trip was.

Danny, however, was starting to flounder. Sam, the angel she was, noticed this and decided to have the rest of the clothing bought under Tuck’s supervision, and steered the poor soul out of the dress shop. He said his goodbye’s to Amanda, and left, a few clothing items in his bag.

The ride back to the apartment complex wasn’t tense, but it was quiet. Danny wondered again what his psudeo-siblings were doing now. It wasn’t the first time he worried about them, about the repercussions of his choices. It wasn’t like he was forced into doing anything, but he wanted the chance to live his life on his own terms, even if he was only half alive.

“What’s so funny?” Sam asked, hearing his huff of laughter.

“Schodringers boy,” Danny said, causing them both to laugh slightly, remembering all the way back then, back when things were simple. Back before…

Danny was shook out of memories he wouldn’t enjoy reliving by the car pulling up to the complex. He and Sam got out of the car, walking up to the apartment.

“So, is Tucker staying with you tonight?" Danny asked to break the tension. He could see the slight fog leave Sam’s eyes, and could almost hear the plants sigh in gratitude.

“Danny!” She exclaimed, mostly joking. “We are no where near moving in together like that!”

“Like what?” Danny countered, “You guys have lived together before. You’ve been together for years, dude.”

“Yeah, well, that wasn’t as… domestic,” Sam says, uncharacteristically quiet. She holds herself more stiff, crossing her arms across her chest. Her eyes are averted, and she almost looks… smaller. Sam has never looked smaller, she always stands as if she is 6 foot, and that’s when Danny realizes.

“Oh shit, you like, love him, huh?” He says, his voice wrapped in care and compassion, pushing out waves of comfort from his core.

“I mean, yeah, I do. Of course I do, but,” She says, still looking away.

“It’s a lot deeper than you expected,” Danny finishes for her, his eyes soft. “I can’t say I get it, but I can say I won’t make it awkward. You guys are perfect for each other, honest. I might joke about other stuff, but even I know how you look at him.”

He knows because she never looked at him like that. The level of devotion and honest to gods love. It’s never been that way for them, even when they did date, and Danny expected this feeling to be much different. He expected to be jealous, angry, or even depressed. But, he feels none of those things.

As he takes Sam into a hug, he feels… relief. She found someone perfect for her, someone who would never hurt her, and he couldn’t be happier for her.

“Um, dudes? Are you guys ok?” Says Tucker, coming up the staircase to see Sam in Danny’s arms, both with misty eyes. “Are you leaving again?”

“No, Tuck, not leaving. Just some big emotions,” He says, shooting a look at Sam that screams for her to tell him.

“Yeah, uh, want to stay with me tonight?” She asks, eyes lighting up when Tucker affirms. Danny sees the soft look in her eye and remembers why he left the first time. They deserve the peace it takes to feel this way.

As they walk away to Sam’s door, Danny brings his bag of clothes into his apartment, feeling that wispy feeling of loneliness, of being alone in a crowded room. Of everything moving on without him.
He laid down to sleep, knowing he would have to actually get dressed for an interview the next day, decide how he wanted to be perceived. It would be a decision for tomorrow morning, not today.