Chapter Text
"I still don't understand how I got dragged into the fight," Danny murmured as the four of them walked inside Fenton Works.
"Because you can never stop yourself from engaging in a fight?" Jazz guessed.
"No, I know why I joined," He then shoved a finger in Tucker's direction. "Some asshole was punching my friend. I just don't understand why their friend started fighting with me and why the whole fight even happened?"
Tucker and Jazz exchanged a quick glance at each other, then looked away, blushing.
"Tucker was defending me," Jazz said quietly.
"What?" Danny asked. Slowly, his expression changed from one of confusion to annoyance and anger. "What did that asshole do?" He asked, eyes flashing green.
"Nothing. Geez, calm down."
"He didn't do anything because Tucker came to the rescue," Sam interjected as she clapped her friend on the back. "Good job, Tuck."
Tucker looked at the ground, sheepishly. He was never one to engage in fights, leaving that up to Danny. But when he saw what that douchebag was doing to Jazz, something in him snapped. Next thing he knew, he had a raised fist and the guy was on the ground.
Jazz noticed how uncomfortable Tucker was at the moment and couldn't help but think he was so cute for being so humble about the entire thing.
Maddie Fenton raised her, so of course, she knew how to defend herself, but she'd be lying if she didn't find Tucker stepping up and defending her so attractive. "Thanks, Tucker," she said quietly.
Tucker jerked his head up, noticing the beautiful tint of blush that colored Jazz's cheeks. He then felt his own cheeks heat up. "No problem, Jazz."
The interaction was not missed by Sam as she glanced between the two, hoping for one of them to admit their feelings. But then, their precious bubble was shattered.
"I'm gonna go get changed," Danny claimed, oblivious to the whole romantic tension in the room, as he walked up his stairs to his bedroom.
Sam narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend's retreating body. "God, he's so clueless."
"Tucker, you're planning to sleep over, right?" Danny called from his bedroom.
Tucker glanced away and grabbed his bag of sleep clothes from the couch. "Yeah," he called back. "I'm just gonna change too." Leaving Jazz and Sam alone in the living room.
Sam turned to Jazz to see the small smile she wore as she watched Tucker walk away. When he was out of sight, Jazz turned to Sam and paled as she saw a wicked smile on Sam's.
"Don't give me that look," Jazz sneered.
Sam gasped, feigning surprise. "What look? I would never give you a knowing look at how much you liked seeing Tucker defend you." She then walked up the stairs to Danny's bedroom. "Nope, never."
Once everyone was changed into their pajamas, they gathered back in the living room to finish the night with a movie and a couple of pizzas Sam had ordered.
Danny had his arm draped on Sam's shoulders, and Sam leaned her head on his chest. Tucker and Jazz sat on the other side of the couch with more space between them, with Jazz holding a pillow to her chest.
"It's no big deal. You've sat next to Jazz countless times." Tucker thought. Without moving his head, he shifted his eyes over to his left to see Jazz. She had her eyes glued to the movie. Her beautiful and comforting aqua blue eyes…
"Snap out of it, Foley!" Tucker chastised himself, quickly averting his gaze to the movie. The last thing he needed was for Danny to look over and see him making googly eyes at his sister. He would surely get the overly protective brother response.
Tucker sighed. He never held secrets from Danny; that wasn't their friendship. But this was one secret he could never tell. It didn't help that he would talk to Danny about women as if they were a goal to achieve. He mentally kicked himself for all the times he did that. He was just an immature kid who didn't know the first thing about women, thus, only talking about them based on their outward appearance.
Now that he is starting to admit to having feelings for Jazz, there is no way Danny would be okay telling him that he liked his sister. Yep. Looks like all the times he tried to act as a chick magnet have bitten him in the ass. It would be his karma to like his best friend's sister.
Who wouldn't like her, though? She had these calming blue eyes that settled all your nerves when she looked at you. Her smooth hair that glistened in the light smelled like strawberries. Her skin was blemish-free, and her ass…
It wasn't just her body that enticed Tucker, but her brain was a marvelous wonder. She seemed to know the psychological meaning behind everything. Every time Jazz talked, she always had something stimulating to say that would be enchanting for Tucker, even though her brother would zone out.
Her brother…She's Jazz. Danny's sister.
Tucker slouched into the couch. He knew it was in his nature, but he wished Danny wouldn't be so protective of his sister. Sam was basically his sister, and he was ecstatic when they got together. He'd hoped that Danny would react the same way, but it seemed to be a far-reaching wish.
Tucker shifted his eyes over to the lovebirds, watching them as they cuddled close together. He sighed inwardly. When they told him they were dating, it was like Tucker had free range at an all-you-can-eat meat buffet. He was happy for those two lovebirds, and he knew that Sam would be happy for him and Jazz, but he was unsure of Danny's reaction.
On the other hand, Danny had every right to be protective; Jazz was his sister. It'd be against the brother code if he wasn't protective over his sister against any guy, but Danny's protectiveness was on an extreme level. Not that he could help it. He had a lot more reasons to be protective of his loved ones, with him being a hero and having enemies.
Tucker glanced back at the lovebirds, watching as Danny gripped onto Sam's arm as a jump scare came on the screen. Sam lifted her head off his chest and smiled at him as if to say that she couldn't believe that scared him. Danny playfully rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the movie.
Maybe if Tucker used Sam as a human shield when he told Danny…Tucker shook his head. That would just piss Danny off more. As much as Danny was protective of Jazz, he was on a whole other level of protectiveness for Sam. He saw what Danny did to Elliot…
He had only heard what he did to Amara through Jazz when she heard Danny muttering curses in his room after they captured her. It wasn't even the whole story, but it still made all the blood in Tucker's face drain. When Tucker gained enough courage to ask Danny what he did to Amara when he released her into the Ghost Zone, Danny's face darkened, and he simply responded, "Don't worry about that."
Growing up, he knew Danny as the clueless goof who clumsily got through life. But if Tucker learned anything in the past year, it was that Danny had a side of him that would do anything if the ghost crossed the thin line between acceptable and a death wish.
But Tucker wasn't a ghost. He wasn't an enemy. He wasn't a strange guy who only had one thing on his mind. He was his best friend…he would never hurt Jazz. Danny would never have to worry whether his sister was being treated right by him. He knew that he would rather have all his electronics stolen from him before he could even think of hurting her.
Tucker glanced back at the objection of his desires. He wanted so badly to hold her like Danny was holding Sam. He wanted Jazz to look at him the way Sam looked at Danny. He wanted to feel the butterflies in his stomach forever and be able to kiss her anytime he wanted.
For now, though, he settled on sitting next to her on the couch.
"You've got to hide your sneaky glances better." Sam said as she walked into the guest bedroom where Tucker was lying and scrolling through his phone. Sam sat down on the desk chair backwards, settling her chin on the back of the seat.
Tucker put his phone down. "Where's Danny?"
Sam gestured with her head to the window. "Ghost."
"Was it that obvious?"
"I think I counted twelve times in the first thirty minutes. I stopped counting after that."
Tucker groaned, shutting his eyes from embarrassment. "Did Danny notice?" He asked, peeking his eye open.
"You mean Mr. Clueless?" Sam cocked an eyebrow at Tucker as if asking him if he was being serious.
"I can't help it. She's just…something else…"
Sam nodded softly. "So what's stopping you, Tucker?"
"Is that a serious question?"
"Seriously? What do you have to lose?"
Tucker sat up in his bed. "How about my ability to breathe? Danny would kill me if I told him I wanted to ask his sister out."
Sam rolled her eyes at her friend's dramatization. "The worst Danny would do is spy on you if you asked her out. After the first five dates, you'd be in the clear."
Tucker snorted. "Gee, that makes me feel better."
"Look, Tucker, take it from me. Don't wait for something that could be life-changing. If you feel as strongly for her as I believe you do, it would be worth the risk." Sam got off the chair and made her way to the door. "You know," she started as she turned to face him. "Prom might be a good time to test the waters…" With that, she shut the door behind her, leaving Tucker in his thoughts.
"Maybe…"
Sam made her way down the hallway to Jazz's bedroom. She twisted the doorknob, not caring to knock.
"Oh, hi. Welcome in," Jazz said sarcastically with a hint of annoyance in her voice, setting her book down.
"I thought you didn't mind walking into bedrooms without knocking first," Sam shot back, sitting down on Jazz's desk chair in the same fashion as when she was talking to Tucker. Jazz blushed, remembering her mistake of walking into her brother's room hours before.
"The one time I don't -"
"Jazz."
"Fine. I won't barge in on Danny without knocking first."
Sam beamed. "Thank you. So…" She trailed off, leading Jazz to come to the conclusion and blush.
"Yes, he was amazing…The way he ripped that douchebag away and just…defended me." Jazz shook her head, shooting up to defend herself. "But I am a strong woman who can defend myself!"
Sam raised her hands defensively. "Oh, I'm not judging. You know I'm a fighter too…but there is something about a man who will get his hands dirty for you..."
Jazz brought her hands to her ears. "I do not need to hear how you think my little brother is hot! I get it enough at school when people find out who I am."
Sam rolled her eyes. "Speaking of school…" she started, changing the subject. "What are you going to do about Ben?"
Jazz sighed. "I'm going to be fair and let him be."
Sam perked up in her chair. "Does that mean…"
"It doesn't mean anything yet." Jazz responded, holding her hand up. "It just means that I have a lot to think about." She said, turning glum.
Sam nodded, frowning slightly at the desperate look on Jazz's face. She remembered when she had that look herself when Danny and Valerie were dating.
It hurt. And seeing two people that she cared about a lot be hurt by each other stung her heart.
"I get that it can hurt at times," Jazz lifted her head as Sam spoke. "And the fear can force your mouth shut and paralyze you. But there's only so much distraction you can do, Jazz. From where I'm standing, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. You never know what could happen."
Jazz nodded slowly, shifting her gaze to look out her bedroom window. Seeing Tucker dancing with another girl was like a stab to the heart. If seeing him dancing hurt that much, what would it feel like when he starts dating someone? She thought back to when Sam was dating Elliot and remembered how Danny was a wreck during that time. Could she go through with that herself?
"Sam?" Both women looked up at the doorway to see Danny standing there, shifting from his ghost half back to his human half. "What are you guys doing?"
"Just talking about world domination. Let's go to bed." Sam responded, shrugging her shoulders. Her dry response made Danny scoff. Sam stood up and walked towards Danny, but stopped before passing the threshold completely, turning to Jazz. "Something to think about, right?"
Jazz nodded, smiling softly at the goth whom she's come to see as a sister. "Yeah. Thanks, Sam."
"Something to think about?" Danny asked, repeating Sam's words as he shut his door behind them.
Sam crossed over to his bed and shimmied herself under his blankets. " I just warned her of the dangers of opening your door before knocking. I don't think you'll have any problems with that anymore."
Danny smiled, a glint of mischief and appreciation in his eyes. He turned off his light, walked over to his bed, and got under the blankets, lying on his side holding Sam from behind her. "You're the best." Danny kissed her cheek before both dozed off to sleep.
"I still don't understand why you bought a plane ticket to come home just for one night," Danny remarked as he and Jazz cleaned up the living room from last night. Jazz was drying up the last two shot glasses while Danny started tying the garbage bag up.
Jazz exhaled deeply. "I told you, Danny. I just wanted to see everyone." She opened up the cabinet to place the shot glasses away. "I was a little homesick."
Danny raised an eyebrow, not believing his sister. "You? Homesick? The same person who's been ready to go to Yale since middle school?"
"Why is that so hard to believe? Sometimes you need to go back to your roots."
Danny opened up a lower cabinet to pull a new garbage bag out to replace the old one. "You know, Jazz…I'm not as clueless as everyone says I am."
Jazz's breath hitched. She coughed to mask her nerves. "Uh, what do you mean?" Danny couldn't know about Tucker. There's no way he could possibly know.
"Come on, Jazz. Yesterday, you and Sam were speaking in code, but I caught that there was a 'he'. Look, you're my sister; if something's happening at college with a guy, you can always call me."
Jazz breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness for his cluelessness." "Everything's okay, Danny. But if that changes, I'll call you."
"Good," Danny said with a smile appearing on his lips. He lifted the full garbage bag and made his way to the back door to dispose the garbage. "Because I'm not a typical brother. Kicking ass isn't the only thing I can do." He said, flashing his green eyes playfully at Jazz, gesturing to his ghost half.
Jazz scoffed, chuckling under her breath. "Don't I know it…" She said before he closed the door behind him.
Jazz walked over to the living room to straighten out the blankets and pillows. She was just about done folding one blanket when she noticed Tucker at the bottom of the stairs. "Hey, Tucker," she greeted, unsure why her mouth had suddenly become dry.
"Hey, Jazz," Tucker waved awkwardly.
Jazz groaned inwardly at her racing heart. "Why does he have to do things like that?"
"Is there anything I can help with?"
Jazz shook her head. "No, there wasn't much, honestly. Danny just went ahead and took the garbage out."
"So…" Tucker said, rubbing his hands on his pants. When did they become so sweaty? "Are you going back today?"
"Yeah. Things to do and all…" Jazz joked quietly. "So, how does it feel knowing graduation is right around the corner?"
A small smile graced Tucker's lips, grateful that Jazz was able to carry on a conversation so naturally. "Yeah, it's crazy. Never thought that we would make it." He joked.
"Hey," Jazz walked over to Tucker and boldly placed her hand on his shoulder, letting the therapist in her control her movements. "There was no doubt on my end."
Sparks shot inside Tucker, where Jazz's hand was. As he felt himself drown in her aqua blue eyes, his conversation with Sam echoed in his head. "Don't wait for something that could be life-changing. If you feel as strongly for her as I believe you do, it would be worth the risk."
"I was wondering if-"
"Oh, hey Tuck," Danny greeted as he opened the back door and shut it behind him. "Oh wow…" Danny trailed off as he walked up to Tucker and Jazz. Jazz quickly took her hand off Tucker's shoulder, and Tucker took a swift step back.
"This is it. This is where I die."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."
Danny furrowed his eyebrows and looked intently at Tucker. When Danny raised his hand, Tucker squeezed his eyes shut. "That's a big one."
"Huh?" Tucker opened his eyes.
"Your bruise," Danny said, pointing at Tucker's cheek. "That guy got a good one on you. But I know you got some good hits on him last night, too. No one gets in a fight with us and leaves unscathed...well, anymore at least." Danny joked, turning towards the stairs and going to his bedroom.
Tucker and Jazz settled in the silence for a bit, adrenaline slowing down from when they thought Danny realized what was in front of him.
"Um, what did you want to ask me?" Jazz asked as her nerves cooled down.
"Oh, uh…" Tucker tried to gain all the confidence he had just moments before, only to be left with fear and doubt. "I was just…wondering…if you had a good weekend?"
Jazz deflated slightly at the question. The one before Danny interrupted sounded like Tucker was going to ask her something life-altering. Or maybe she was being hopeful. Was he really going to ask her out? She allowed herself a moment of disappointment before reflecting on her weekend, even if it was brief. She had a fun night hanging out with Danny, Sam, and Tucker. She had a little girl time with Sam, which was much needed. She drank and danced the night away until a drunk idiot came behind her. And she got to see Tucker protect her. She wasn't sure how, but this weekend made her even more entranced by him. Even thinking about it made her cheeks flush. All in all, it was a hell of a night she'll never forget.
"Yeah…" Her lips curled into a soft smile. "I had a great weekend."