Epilogue

Danny chewed on his pencil as he read over the page in the book floating before him. The two months that passed since he left Amity Park to live with Vlad in Wisconsin seemed like forever at times. It was lonely with only him and Vlad filling up the huge castle. He could almost understand why Vlad seemed to have this desire to spoil him rotten. It had nothing to do with the obsession with Danny's mother that he carried with him for twenty long years after the Proto Portal accident. Danny was fairly certain it didn't have anything to do with Vlad's desire to make Danny seem him as a father, though he still caught the older half ghost slipping up and calling him son at times, so maybe there was a little of that. But spending all this time with the man, Danny saw Vlad's loneliness. Twenty-four years passed since Vlad got his ghost powers. He was rich and ran several successful companies. But what was billions of dollars and a huge castle when he was sad and alone all his life? Danny felt a little bad for the way he treated the other half ghost when Vlad was trying so desperately to fill a hole in his life. Vlad didn't go about it the best way. But could Danny blame him for wanting someone to care about him?

His days in Wisconsin were filled mostly with training his ghost powers. Danny never imagined the huge relief that would come with being able to use his powers freely without constant fear of discovery in his own "home." It was still hard to think of the castle as home, but he greatly enjoyed being able to float about the castle and walk through walls. It gave him this weird sense of what it might be like to live in the Ghost Zone. He shook his head at that thought. Two months didn't give him full control over his powers, but Vlad said his progress was coming along well.

Outside training, Danny spent many hours working on his studies. No fun was to be had in the house of Vlad until all his studying was done. It was weird that he didn't actually mind the strict rule. He wished he was still studying with Dash and Kwan and the other football jocks. Studying with them was fun, and he got far more done under their guidance than he ever did trying to study with Sam and Tucker. Without the constant threat of ghost attacks hanging over his head, Danny was able to focus more fully on his studies, and he was surprised that he actually enjoyed it. Although, he didn't think he would ever like math. He always pestered Vlad when he got stuck on problems. The older half ghost shocked him by never getting annoyed with his request for help. Danny wondered if Vlad secretly enjoyed helping him with his studies. It was too late for him to get accepted into any colleges, but Vlad assured him that he would be able to get accepted somewhere next year. It was more surprising when Vlad told him he shouldn't feel ashamed for being a year behind in college compared to his friends. According to Vlad, several young teenagers fresh from high school decided to take a year off before attending college. Unlike them, however, Danny wasn't going to be skipping around the world traveling or goofing off. He would be stuck making up lost credits from high school and achieving a decent grade point average so that he could get accepted to a college.

He received e-mails and phone calls from his father once a week to check up on him. Despite how much his father pestered him for details, Danny only told him that he was doing fine and getting a lot work done thanks to the ever watchful eye of Vlad. He heard from Tucker almost every day, which made some of the loneliness go away. It was three weeks later after he left that he finally told Tucker all about his feelings for Dash and that Dash actually returned those feelings. He received an e-mail immediately that was filled with a string of random letters and symbols that Danny wasn't sure how to make sense of or respond to. It made him a little worried. But four days later, he got another e-mail in which Tucker said, "I'm happy for you" and apologized for his initial freak out. Danny smiled at that. He never expected the news to be taken with a simple smile and a "good for you." He almost wondered why the blowout wasn't much bigger. In another two days, Tucker told him that Sam ranted like a crazy person ever since that one night that Danny hung up on her phone call. After accusing him of having ulterior motives for wanting to hang out with Dash, Sam had it in her head that Danny was harboring unhealthy feelings for the jock. Tucker thought it was hilarious until Danny's confession, but he assured Danny that they were still the bestest best friends in the world and his sexuality, or choice of boyfriends, wasn't going to change that.

Danny didn't receive any word from Sam. He only heard about how she was doing from Tucker, who said he was actually avoiding her whenever possible. She was still furious at Danny for leaving, and apparently her suspicions of his feelings for Dash only added to her anger. Tucker promised he was never going to tell Sam the truth about Danny and Dash, even though Danny didn't ask him to keep it secret. But he couldn't help imagining Sam blowing up if she knew.

Every time he received a message from Dash, Danny couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He knew he looked ridiculous whenever he read Dash's e-mails. Vlad made a point of telling him so, which only earned a childish tongue sticking out from Danny. He couldn't really help it. It still all felt like a dream that Dash liked him. But as happy as he was hearing all the news from Dash, it made Danny feel all the more lonely. He wished he was still back in Amity Park so that he could see Dash every day. Two months was too long!

Even though he seemed to have this need to spoil Danny, Vlad refused to give him everything for free. It wasn't enough for the older half ghost to train him and ensure a good education for him. Vlad wanted to instill a good work ethic into Danny as well. He got Danny an internship at his company located in Wisconsin. Danny didn't get paid for his work at the company, but Vlad looked at the work he accomplished over the week and gave him an allowance that he felt was equal to Danny's performance. It was like doing chores for his parents, except this way, Danny got actual job experience. The people he worked with were actually pretty great guys and promised to rave about him if he ever wanted to use them for references on job applications. Danny scrubbed at his face. He still wasn't sure what he was going to do with his life. Right now, it was all about work, training, and studying. His mind didn't even have much time to think about what kind of job he wanted. Vlad promised there would always be a position available at his company if Danny ever needed it. That fact made Danny happy, but he didn't want to be forever relying on Vlad's help. Eventually, he needed to get out and make his own way in life.

"Danny."

The book snapped shut in front of his face, and Danny only realized then that he spaced out and probably was staring at it for at least the last ten minutes. He looked up and blinked at his sister standing in front of him. Jazz got out of college a week ago and arrived at Vlad's castle four days later. After all apologies were made, mostly on his part for being such a jerk to her when she was only trying to look after him, they spent a lot of time catching up with each other. Jazz wasn't even the least bit surprised that Danny was gay - bisexual, he insisted - and tried to ramble off all the evidence she observed over the years until Danny told her it was completely unnecessary for her to prove the point. "Hey!" he protested with a frown. "You made me lose my place." He stretched in midair before touching down on the floor of his bedroom.

"You didn't even shower after you finished your training?" Jazz held the book out of reach when Danny tried to grab for it. Her mouth turned downward as her nose wrinkled.

Danny rolled his eyes, getting the picture. He smelled. He was still a bit sweaty from the workout. "I was going to shower after I finished up this last bit of homework," he assured her and snatched the book back from her. "I was just relaxing for a bit." Sometimes, the workouts that Vlad put him through could be exhausting, and he wanted to collapse and sleep for a week afterward.

"Hurry up and get to it!" Jazz ordered, pointing a finger toward the attached bathroom.

"Okay, bossy pants," Danny replied, but he said it in a teasing manner. He was trying not to be mean to his sister like before, but she still tried to mother him a lot and sometimes it came out as a bit bossy.

"I just don't want you coming to dinner smelling like a dirty gym sock."

After Jazz left his room, Danny placed the book back on his desk before he entered his bathroom. He lifted his arm and took a whiff. His face wrinkled, and he had to admit that Jazz almost hit the nail on the head with her description of his body odor. He hopped into the shower, and after a thorough scrubbing all over, he thought he was clean enough to be accepted at the dinner table. The first few days when he arrived at the castle, Vlad would give him a sour look and order him to clean up if Danny came to the table without showering after a training session. He was glad Vlad didn't try to force him to change his style of clothing too, but Vlad was a stickler when it came to certain rules. Showing up at the dinner table smelly and sweaty was not to be accepted. He grabbed some clean clothes from his closet and dressed in a hurry as his stomach growled. Until Jazz broke up his thoughts, Danny didn't realize how hungry he was.

"Okay, okay. I'm not a filthy slob anymore," Danny announced when he entered the dining room. Vlad frowned at his poor manners, but that only made Danny grin. It was his little way to remind Vlad that he wasn't some perfect little clone manufactured in a laboratory. It was unnecessary, and he knew it, but he always had that lingering thought that Vlad still thought he could mold Danny into exactly what he wanted out of a "son."

"Well, that's good to hear."

The voice made him jump. Danny spun to the left, his eyes growing wide as he stared at the familiar blond man. He could practically feel his sister's beaming smile at his back. "Dash!" He resisted the urge to go running into the man's arms. Two months passed since they last saw each other, and he didn't want to appear overeager at the man's presence. But it was Dash, and he was here! Danny simply wanted to throw his arms around the man and hold on tight and never let him go again. He felt like a pathetic lovesick puppy, but it was much too long since they last saw each other. He thought he saw a nervous fidget from Dash and thought perhaps the man was thinking the same.

Dash reached up, his fingers threading through black locks. He leaned in, and Danny's heart fluttered, thinking they were about to kiss in front of Vlad and Jazz. But Dash stopped and stared deep into his eyes. "You're not wearing contacts?" He sounded confused, his fingers still buried in Danny's hair.

His mind didn't process the question at first. Then it hit him, and he laughed. "Yeah, Vlad did all this crazy research and testing, but there was no way to reverse what that whole merging did to me appearance wise," he explained. His cheeks warmed as Dash remained standing close, so very close. "It took about three and half weeks for me to master, but I can alter my appearance a little to mask the white hairs and weird eyes." He grinned proudly at the achievement. That was the moment Dash chose to finally close the distance and kiss Danny again for the first time in two months.

"You lovebirds have plenty of time to play catch up," Vlad said flatly, making the two men jump apart. "But dinner is getting cold."

Danny fought the flush creeping up his cheeks. "I guess we shouldn't make him wait," he mumbled to Dash. Taking the jock's hand, he pulled Dash toward the long dining table where they sat together. Jazz smiled happily at them, and Danny hoped she and Vlad didn't feel it was necessary to embarrass him into an early grave.

Danny kicked the door shut behind him as he entered the studio apartment. He shrugged out of his coat, feeling the desire to let it fall to the floor and ignore it. But he opened the closet next to the front door and looped the collar over a free hook bolted at the back of the closet.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," he said as he tugged off his shoes. He was in a habit of kicking them off immediately after entering the apartment. A whole day of standing on his feet made him want to fling the darn things out the window and want to run around barefoot for the rest of his life. He tossed his shoes into the closet without much of a second thought. "I tried to sneak off without getting seen, but Mrs. Walton insisted that I join them all for a drink to celebrate her thirtieth birthday. And old man Barker," he grinned, imagining the man shaking a fist in the air with an angry shout that he wasn't that old, "wanted to celebrate his daughter getting in to Harvard. I ducked out of there as soon as I could."

His rambling halted in his throat as he stepped into the darkened room at the end of the front hall of their apartment. He blinked several times then swept his eyes about the room, taking it all in. The lights were out, but set up all around the room were dozens of candles, giving the wide space a soft warm glow. His stomach growled at the smell of steak and a raspberry sauce and some kind of sautéed vegetable medley. It wasn't unusual for Dash to cook dinner when he got home first. Danny would probably be the one cooking dinner the next night. But the romantic setting with the mood lighting and the two candles set upon the table and rose petals scattered about, adding a floral smell to the aroma of the waiting dinner wasn't the norm for them. They celebrated special occasions, of course, but Danny's mind blanked on why today deserved this overly romantic treatment.

"Oh god," Danny mumbled, turning his gaze to Dash, who sat at the table waiting for him. "What did I forget?" A horrible feeling settled inside him. He knew Dash wouldn't be angry with him forgetting something. Annoyed, maybe. Upset, sure. But furiously angry? Not likely. They had busy lives, and sometimes one of them would forget a special day, but it was never on purpose. "It's not the anniversary of our first date. That's not for another two months!" He felt panicky. What could he possibly be forgetting?

Dash laughed, probably amused at the man getting worried over nothing. "No, not that," he agreed. "It's been ten years-"

"No, let me think!" Danny insisted as he took the seat opposite Dash at the table. He chewed on his lip, thinking hard about what took place ten years ago. His growling stomach was not helping the thought process!

"You can start eating."

Danny scowled at him for Dash's clear amusement at his struggle to think of what today meant to them. But he was hungry and couldn't resist the tempting meal in front of him. He cut off a slice of the steak, and his mouth watered the moment the bite of steak touched his tongue. It was sinfully delicious! He thought as he chewed the mouthful. "Ten years," he mumbled after he swallowed. When it came to him, his eyes bugged out and he gaped at Dash. "Why exactly are we celebrating ten years since I left Amity Park? Which also happens to be the last time Sam ever spoke to me." His eyes narrowed at Dash as he slammed down his fork. He was still bitter over Sam's attitude about the whole thing. How could she not see that it was best for him to leave Amity Park?

Dash shook his head, frowning. "That's not what we're celebrating." He lifted his gaze as he reached across the table to place his hand over Danny's hand. "We're celebrating ten years since we admitted we might be in love." That announcement brought a dark blush to Danny's cheeks that not even the low light of the candles could hide. "And ten years since we shared our first kiss."

"You're the sappiest bastard in the world," Danny mumbled, even though the fact that Dash remembered made his insides twist happily. Leave it to the big, bad jock to be the more romantic one. Over their years living together, Dash only proved what a hopeless romantic he was by surprising Danny with little gifts for no reason. He would pop up at Danny's job with a single rose just to let him know that he was thinking of him. Sometimes, it made Danny want to die from embarrassment, but he loved it regardless. It always made his heart skip, and even when they fought, Dash found some cheesy way to make it up to him. Even right now, with Dash grinning at him, Danny couldn't help but lean across the table and kiss him.

"And you love it," Dash said, smirking as Danny sat down again.

With a roll of his eyes, Danny eagerly returned to his dinner. Ten years seemed to fly by for him. After college, Dash ended up getting a job as a mechanical engineer doing all kinds of crazy projects that Danny listened to him talk about but didn't fully understand all the details to. Vlad would call him on occasion, wanting his help on a project. While Danny was still living in the older half ghost's castle, Dash got pretty chummy with Vlad, shockingly. Vlad introduced Dash to ecto based weaponry, and having done plenty of mechanical work beforehand, Dash adapted to the new field easily. It wasn't something he specialized in, but Dash had pretty good knowledge on how it all worked. Danny suspected Vlad used it as some sort of professional excuse to check up on them, even though he had a standing invitation to visit them whenever he liked.

While Dash went through college with a definite direction in mind, Danny fumbled around his first few years, switching what he wanted to major in several times before figuring out what he wanted to do with his life. It still seemed a little crazy to him, and he even spoke endlessly with Lancer, of all people, for advice. He became a teacher. He taught first graders and was forever thankful that Lancer encouraged him to follow this path. He couldn't imagine a life where he didn't walk into that classroom and spend all day with a room full of children who sometimes seemed like too much of a handful for him. They loved his story time with his tales of ghosts that made them gasp with fright, but he kept them not too scary so none of the children would go home with nightmares.

He appeared as Danny Phantom from time to time, but the world didn't need him all that much. He still hated to admit that Vlad was right on that point. When he wasn't chasing down every single ghost that popped up, his life was a lot less chaotic. Most of the ghosts that he met simply wanted to be left alone. He didn't bother them all that much unless they were terrorizing humans too much or destroying the town. He was on better terms with some of his old enemies, who stopped seeing him as a giant target to beat when he no longer chased them around. He was finally happy with his life.

Then he frowned at Dash, who didn't miss it. That worried look entered his dark blue eyes. "What's wrong now?" Dash asked on the wary side, not sure the answer would be something he liked.

Danny shook his head, and a breathy laugh escaped him. "It's crazy, but I almost wish that ghost was still around. I never even learned his name."

An incredulous look had Dash's mouth gaping open. "You do remember that he caused that whole merging thing, right?" His hand tightened visibly around the fork he held half way to his mouth. "You do remember how that merging affected you? You do remember that Vlad said there was no guarantee that you would have survived if the transformation completed itself or that if you did survive, you would have no control over yourself?" Fury flashed in his eyes.

"Yes, I remember all that." Danny sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "What I meant was, that I kind of wish I could thank him." He held up a hand to stop Dash before he could start an angry tirade. "I remember everything that happened. He thought he was turning me into some monster with that attack. I doubt he realized the outcome he would be giving me by attacking me." A fond smile spread onto his face as he stared across the table at Dash. "If he hadn't hit me with that attack, if I hadn't landed in your backyard that night, we might not be here together right now. We might not have had these past ten years. Even with the bad times we've had, I wouldn't want to exchange what I have for the world. And that ghost was part of what made all this possible."

"Now who's being the sappiest bastard?" Dash quirked a smirk at him.

"Oh, shut up!" Danny flushed darkly as he pretended to become entirely too interested in the few carrots left on his plate.

"There is one more thing."

Danny lifted his gaze as Dash set a small black box on the table between them. His gaze wouldn't leave the box for the longest time. Then he snapped his eyes up to meet Dash's eyes. The man merely stared back expectantly with a hint of shyness. He almost looked like he was ready to claim it a joke and laugh off any awkwardness between them. Danny picked up the box and slowly lifted the lid. What lay squished between the folds of soft velvet wasn't anything fancy. It was a simple band of gold, no flourish or sparkling jewels. Just a band, but the meaning of it spoke volumes.

"You really-" Danny snapped his gaze back to Dash. His voice trembled, and his eyes shone with hope.

"I know we can't legally get married. No big fancy wedding," Dash said, somewhat embarrassed as he leaned forward on the table. "But I love you, and I want to be yours." He plucked the gold band out of the still opened box then took Danny's hand in his hand. "If you'll have me?" The ring hovered before Danny's ring finger, waiting for an answer.

Danny stared into Dash's hopeful eyes. His mouth worked up and down a few times, no sound able to emerge in his shock. They dated each other for the last ten years. They moved into their studio apartment six years ago. They loved each other despite the occasional clashes. Yet it still made him speechless to hear Dash ask him that. "Of course I will!" Danny finally managed to say as a wide smile refused to leave his face. The ring slipped onto his finger and felt like it had been there all his life. Danny leaned across the table until he could rest his forehead against Dash's. "I love you too, you sappy idiot." Then he tilted his head and pressed his lips to Dash's, who happily returned the kiss.

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed the story! =)