Chapter Text
He rubbed at his eyes, swearing he could still see stars. Two hours of sleeping on a chair in the observatory had left him feeling foggy and his limbs and back aching. The breakfast in front of him--surprisingly standard, considering the extravagant dinners Vlad usually had his staff serve--smelled too strongly and disturbed his appetite.
“Good morning.”
He raised his head from his plate as Maddie entered the dining room, a cup of coffee clasped in her hands. He blinked hard to rouse himself, clearing his throat to return the sentiment.
She walked around the table that was much too large for someone who had until recently lived alone and sat across from him. “How did…” She appraised him with slight worry. “Did you sleep?”
“Yeah, just tossed and turned,” he responded automatically. At her observation of his plate, he took a bite that went straight to his nose and made his throat protest. He ignored the feeling and ate another.
“You’re up early,” she commented, taking a sip of her coffee.
“I am?” He wasn’t actually sure what time it was; just that the sun was completely risen by the time he’d left the observatory.
“It’s almost eight. You usually sleep until noon when you don’t have to wake up for school.”
He wanted to laugh at the insinuation that he slept a lot on days off. Six hours was a very good night.
“Well, what about you?” he countered, noting her attire suggested she was going out somewhere. It was nice (or at least her version of nice, which usually had a level of utility to even her most formal outfits). She had also either skipped breakfast in lieu of a cup of coffee, or she had eaten already. “Looks like you’ve been up for a while.”
“Don’t you remember? We’re going out today,” she said.
“We are? Where?”
“I’m not sure. Vlad’s keeping it a surprise. He did mention we would be outdoors. You don't remember? We talked about it at dinner yesterday.”
Danny tried to recall, but he had honestly been mentally absent for most of that meal. Still, he felt like he might have tuned in for something like that. He generally was able to pick up on things he loathed and intended to rebel against.
“I don’t know if I’m feeling-”
“It’s a nice day,” she interrupted him, eyes sincere, stern, and concerned all at once. “I think it would be good to get out of the house.”
He pressed his lips together, barely concealing his scowl.
“I don’t know how long we’ll be out, so you might want to make sure you finish your breakfast,” she encouraged.
Other than very small talk, they sat quietly together, the weight of the night before heavy between them. She didn’t leave until his very last bite, at which point she finished her more than likely cold coffee and told him to get dressed for their outing.
He put on the most comfortable thing he could find, still trying to recall being told about a this excursion. Had he known, he would’ve complained about it the moment it had been brought up. No use now, though. It was clear Maddie wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
He met her downstairs, descending the staircase to catch the middle of an awkward conversation between her and Vlad.
“I thought you meant all three of us,” Maddie said to him quietly, but something in her suspiciously innocent tone made Danny suspect that he had not, in fact, been invited to this outing.
“While I'm sure the three of us could do for an outing, I had intended for this particular venture to be for you,” Vlad replied, being obviously tactful.
“And I appreciate that, I do, but I think it will be good for all of us, don’t you?” Maddie smiled at him, staring at him with eyes that were both lure and trap.
He sighed, succumbing to the prolonged attention and smiling affectionately. “I’m sure you’re right.”
She smiled reciprocally, the expression widening at catching Danny descending the staircase out of her peripherals. “Hi, sweetie. Are you ready?”
He didn’t respond to the question; his only avenue of protest.
“Follow me,” Vlad said, leading them to the west wing of the mansion, up a flight of stairs, and onto the roof of the second story.
Danny frowned at the sight of a waiting helicopter. The idea of flying strapped into a tuna can, unable to appreciate the breeze and deafened by the propellers wasn’t exactly his idea of fun. He had the urge to voice his complaints until he looked at the excited smile on his mother’s face.
She almost looked giddy; a wide smile stretching across her face and brightening her eyes.
Danny hadn't seen her look like that in a while.
Rebellion abandoned him and he silently followed them into the vehicle. Maddie offered to help him buckle in, apparently worried his sling would interfere, but he insisted on doing it himself. The last thing he wanted was to have his mommy buckle him in front of Vlad. So he awkwardly strapped himself into the backseat and put on his headset. It was all clunky and uncomfortable, but he enjoyed watching the ease and eagerness with which his mom settled in at the front.
Vlad sat in the pilot’s seat, methodically prepping the helicopter before lifting off the helipad. Danny wondered why Vlad would have bothered with a pilots’ license since he could fly everywhere. Even a private jet made more sense to him.
“When was the last time you flew, Maddie?” Vlad asked her over the headset.
Danny rolled his eyes.
“It’s been far too long,” she replied, though her eyes were glued to the sights below and around them. “Although I do maintain my license. On the off-chance I get another opportunity.”
“How fortunate,” Vlad responded, looking over at her and smiling. “It seems an opportunity has presented itself.”
The smile she returned made Danny want to turn Vlad’s seat intangible.
They flew for about an hour. All the while, Vlad offered tips, suggestions, and instructions on the helicopter’s function for when she took over. He had her engaged completely on the topic, and Danny wasn’t sure there was anything he could say to disrupt them, so he sulked in the backseat, watching through what little window was available to him as the landscape passed by too slowly.
Eventually, they had entered into what looked like a national park with a stretching, untouched landscape of sandy stone, rivers, and lively plants not yet dehydrated by the summer heat.
Vlad touched down on the peak of a rocky hill and the location had Danny believing he had scouted the area out ahead of time. The elevated clearing, next to a clear, sparkling river that led into a small fall, surrounded by greenery that was less encumbered by thickets or other unpleasant plant-life was nearly picture-perfect.
Vlad exited and went around to help Maddie, but she had already hopped out and was looking over the landscape with the eye of someone eager to conquer it.
Danny struggled for a second or two to remove the seat-belts and headgear, but gave up. He squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating intensely as he reached for his core. He felt the urge of transformation and resisted it, squeezed his eyes tighter to bypass it. With some effort, he was finally able to phase out of the seat belt, letting it fall to his seat.
“Need help, Little Badger?” Vlad offered, watching him struggle with a smirk.
“I’ve got it,” Danny muttered, carefully stepping out and tossing the helmet onto the seat. It didn’t cease to surprise him how difficult simple tasks were one-handed.
“You ought to be more cautious with where and when you use your powers,” Vlad warned, reaching back into the helicopter and removing a picnic basket.
“She wasn’t watching,” Danny defended. “And you should be more careful where you talk about it.” Before Vlad could reply, Danny called for his mom. “What are you looking at over there?”
He felt smug as his mother called him over to look and despite not caring in the slightest about how the formation in the rocks had originally formed, he listened fervently to his mother.
“It’s an amazing thing, what a little time can do,” she told him as she praised the way the river had obviously shaped the landscape.
Danny looked at her thoughtfully. Despite what she had told Phantom the next before, her appreciation seemed sincere. “So… you like it here?”
“Of course I do,” she replied, then tilted her head at him curiously. “Don’t you?”
“Yeah, it’s nice,” he replied quickly, wondering who she had lied to.
She nodded, breathed in the scents the park offered, then checked behind them to see what Vlad was doing.
Danny looked, too, following his mother as she approached the blanket Vlad had laid out. He had emptied the picnic basket, or rather, what Danny decided was a first-date-kit. A decadent charcuterie board was arranged in the center, while several wines sat icing in a bucket on one of the corners most affected by the wind.
“Help yourselves,” Vlad offered genially, reaching into the ice bucket and removing one of the bottles. He presented it to Maddie. “Chateau?”
She nodded as she sat with her legs on one side across from him, helping herself to a chocolate-covered strawberry.
Danny sat between them, relieved to be in a position to keep them apart, but he disliked his own proximity to the man on his right. He grabbed a handful of cheese, popped one in his mouth and let his eyes wander absently.
“I apologize, Daniel, I didn’t bring anything for you to drink. There’s bottled water in the helicopter if you get thirsty,” Vlad said, handing Maddie a glass.
“It’s fine. I doubt a few cubes of cheese and a couple of slices of ham are gonna work up a thirst,” Danny quipped, noticing only a little bit of grazing had already made a significant dent in the platters.
Vlad flashed Danny a stern look before shaking his head dismissively. “This is just an appetizer. Lunch will be ready for us by the time we get back.”
“Will this be enough for now, Danny?” Maddie asked him.
He nodded. He was mostly just eating so he didn’t have to sit there in awkward silence.
“I saw you come out of the observatory this morning. How was it?” Maddie asked conversationally.
Danny's eyes flicked over to Vlad, irritated to see a satisfied smirk on the man’s stupid face.
Keeping his own expression neutral, he ate another chunk of cheese and shrugged. “The telescope worked.”
“It’s such a thoughtful gesture. How did you know he was interested in astronomy, Vlad?”
“He mentioned it at the reunion. I was surprised, honestly. I would have assumed his interests would be more closely aligned with your own,” Vlad replied.
“He was interested in the supernatural for a little while, but…” she trailed off, eyes flicking briefly at Danny with nearly veiled panic before moving on quickly. “I didn’t realize you two spent so much time together at the reunion.”
“He was very polite about it, but I think the reunion bored him,” Vlad replied with a wry chuckle. “I offered an alternative. We got to know each other quite well.”
Maddie dropped her weight onto a hand behind her and tucked her legs. “Oh?”
“We have far more in common than I thought we would.”
“One or two things,” Danny muttered loudly enough for it to be heard, though the remark did little to quell the disgust he felt at the idea.
Maddie didn’t appear to notice, nodding patiently as she listened.
“When I learned he enjoyed astronomy,” Vlad continued, either having not heard Danny or ignoring him, “I renovated the observatory for your next visit. I’m pleased it's being put to good use again.”
“I’m grateful. You know he wants to be an astronaut?”
Danny’s whole being tried to curl in on itself with embarrassment. He didn’t dare look at Vlad, instead dropping his head down to eat another piece of cheese to hide his beet-red face.
“Ah. A competitive profession. I’m sure as the son of a genius, it shouldn’t be a problem for him.”
Danny bristled. “There’s more to it than grades.”
“How did astronomy come up? Danny doesn't talk about it very often," Maddie inquired.
“Is that so? He was quite open with me,” Vlad replied, a feigned look of surprise on his face. “It was a short but enlightening visit.”
Danny met Vlad’s gaze briefly before down-casting his scowl. He could feel his mother watching them, a perplexed expression on her face.
Vlad must have noticed as well, as he continued conversationally, "His interest in astronomy wasn't the only thing. I was quite surprised to find he had an interest in the–”
“The Packers,” Danny cut in.
The two stared at him in surprise.
He had no idea what Vlad was about to say, but it was probably either something humiliating or something to trap him in another lie.
And anyway, it was his turn to put Vlad on the back-foot.
Danny smirked. “Yeah, we talked about the Packers a lot. He even showed me his theater of replays from decades back. You know, way back when they were good.”
Danny looked to see how Vlad would react, but Vlad hardly reacted at all, staring at him with an unreadable expression.
Maddie glanced between them, watching the interaction closely.
Disappointingly, Vlad chuckled with feigned fondness, dismissing Danny’s jab entirely. “I didn’t think sports would be something he was interested in, but he surprised me. Despite his stature, if he practiced and worked hard, he might could try out.”
The response deflated Danny, but he psyched himself up to try again to crack Vlad’s mask. “I was surprised, too. I thought, you know, because of your age, you’d like golf. But I guess that might be rough on your hip replacement, huh?”
He expected Maddie to reprimand him, or at least get onto him some, but she was quiet, sharp eyes watching them with a keenness that made him nervous.
He might be pushing his luck a little.
Vlad only chuckled. “Perhaps that’s why I won our game. You should never underestimate an opponent, no matter the age or stature.”
“Game?” Maddie pressed.
Danny squinted at Vlad confusedly.
“We played football. He showed promise, but he needs to commit to much, much more practice.”
It took a second, but as it sunk in, Danny scowled and corrected, “You did not win that. You forfeited.” After a short pause, he added bitterly, “And I do practice.”
Vlad smiled patiently. “Without a coach, you won’t get very far.”
“You played football?” Maddie asked incredulously.
“We had something of a try out and he impressed me. I think he could go far if he committed,” Vlad replied, looking at Danny hard over a sip of his drink.
“I didn't know you were interested in sports,” Maddie said, soft and hesitant.
She almost looked guilty.
He couldn't imagine why, but the reaction made him panic a little bit.
“I-I wasn't! I didn't really…” he paused, glanced at Vlad who looked far too pleased with himself.
He didn't want to give him this, but he couldn't hurt her if he didn't have to. He had made her feel guilty enough. He could eat this one.
“I didn't really think about it until I played,” he reassured, then glanced at Vlad to make sure he knew he hadn't won anything and added, “And I definitely won.”
She looked relieved, the worry vanishing from her features and being replaced with curiosity.
“So you like it?” she asked.
Danny wasn’t sure how to respond to the question, since the whole metaphor was getting a little too messy for him, but he didn’t have time to consider his answer or any unintended interpretations he might accidentally cause, so he simply, awkwardly confirmed he did.
“Then you should get a coach,” she said. “If this is something you're good at and you want to pursue, you should try out and get a coach.”
Danny and Vlad exchanged mixed glances. Vlad looked smug again.
So he had lost track of the metaphor.
“What if the coach is a Fruitloop?” Danny asked.
Maddie blinked at him. “What?”
“Crazy,” Danny interpreted. He tried to catch Vlad’s expression out of the corner of his eye to see if he’d gotten a rise out of the older man, but once again, he couldn’t read his expression.
Maddie’s brows pressed together in confused thoughtfulness. “Does Coach Mackey still run the football team? I do seem to remember J-” she stopped herself from saying his name, “people from high school saying he was a little unorthodox.”
“I highly doubt coach Mackey is crazy , but it shouldn’t matter, as long as the coach has the experience you need to learn,” Vlad added.
Maddie winced a little. “I don’t think that’s necessarily true… but Danny,” she once again turned her focus on him, and that probing look seemed to have vacated her expression for the time being. “It could look good on your resume to have some experience in sports. It could even help you get some scholarships.”
Danny grit his teeth to keep from arguing with her. There really wasn’t a point if she couldn’t understand.
From the corner of his eye, Vlad taunted him with another smug grin.
Danny tried to help put everything away, but his mom insisted he not worry about it and go ahead and buckle into the helicopter. Her motherly worry gave him an idea to try again to put a hitch in Vlad’s day.
“Hey, mom, I was wondering... “ he started, hesitating longer than was necessary to grab her attention.
She looked up from the platters she was gathering. “Yes, sweetie?”
“Well, uh… I’ve never gotten to ride in a helicopter before and I was wondering if I could… sit up front with you?”
Her expression turned sunny as she replied, “Oh I think that would be fun! But that’s, of course, up to Vlad.”
Danny expected Vlad to pose at least a little resistance, but Vlad smiled graciously and replied, “By all means.”
Concealing a suspicious squint Vlad’s way, Danny hopped into the front passenger seat and buckled in while his mother excitedly prepared for flight. Vlad sat calm and patient in the back seat as Maddie raised the chopper off the ground, disturbing dust like rippling waves in their wake.
Maddie maintained a composed expression until they were well clear of the ground, but after reaching a comfortable altitude, the dam broke and she began to excitedly point out anything and everything.
Danny smiled along and pretended not to be distracted. It wasn’t that he was uninterested. Far from it, he hadn’t gotten to spend this kind of time with his mom in a long time and it was great seeing her so excited, but he couldn’t focus on it, not with the third wheel in the back seat.
And especially not with Vlad taking the disruption of his date so well. He had recovered easily from the unexpected additional passenger, and Danny had only managed to mildly irritate him during the picnic. He thought for sure his latest stunt might’ve at least cracked the mask, but if anything, he seemed even more composed than before.
“I was quite the daredevil back when I first got my license,” Maddie continued, apparently unaware that she had lost half her audience. She laughed a little as a memory surfaced. “Once, I turned the copter upside down and let it--” She stopped midsentence, glancing Danny’s way before clearing her throat and gripping the steering wheel more firmly. “I was young and did some stupid, reckless things that no one else should do.”
Danny looked over at her, smiling a little to himself as she tried to backtrack on the story. He felt strangely comforted by the fact that she was trying not to be a bad example, but more amused that she had no idea just how wasted the effort was. He not only knew she was a daredevil, but if she had any idea the things he got up to…
“I’d say adventurous might be a more apt term,” Vlad said.
Maddie seemed to blush, waving a hand in halfhearted dismissal. “That's a little too generous.”
“Nonsense, you're far more experienced than you were back then. I'd imagine some of those reckless maneuvers are hardly an effort for you now,” Vlad said confidently, then leaned forward and suggested, “How about a demonstration, hm?”
Maddie’s eyes lit up at the idea, though Danny had to give her credit for taking at least a second or two to resist the temptation.
“Maybe just a little one,” she said, tempering her giddiness as she brought the nose of the helicopter up.
They were pressed into their seats as they rose, getting no reprieve at the pinnacle as she switched directions sharply, angling the chopper downwards as though she intended to crash headfirst into the ground below.
Danny wished he could feel the breeze hit his face and hair and it occurred to him that if his mother could fly, she probably would, too.
Her joy was contagious, and Danny found himself smiling and laughing with her, wishing only that they could go faster.
She did several more dips, a few twists, and flew far too close to obstacles, but maneuvered it all with an ease that she shouldn’t have been capable of without practice. It wasn’t as though they owned a Fenton Copter (as Jack would have undoubtedly called it). Who knew when the last time she was able to fly was. Danny could only chalk it up to her general genius. There was little she couldn’t do.
After a dip that might have been cutting it a little too close, however, Maddie seemed to come to her sense, straightening the copter and suddenly switching over to talking very pointedly to Danny about safety. She even tried to say that the demonstrations had been examples of what not to do.
Danny just laughed to himself, nodding diligently when his mom addressed him.
"I know what I'm doing which is why I showed you, but that kind of reckless flying--or driving--is dangerous and should never be done, okay? Recklessness with any kind of vehicle is dangerous," Maddie reiterated strongly.
"I got it, Mom," Danny assured her with a smile.
"I'm serious," she stressed, looking over at him.
Danny laughed this time, raising his hands in surrender. "I got it, Mom, seriously!"
She nodded, but looked happy that he was smiling.
Danny looked at her and grinned cheekily. "But I can say it's cool when you do it, right?"
She looked at him like she wanted to get on to him, but on seeing his face, she grinned back, just shaking her head.