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Danny had been at Wayne manor for a few weeks now, and it still felt fake. He had bounced around in so many foster situations that became unsettled by his presence, had spent so much time in different group homes not getting along with the other kids there, before Bruce Wayne himself had taken him in as a foster.
He couldn’t really believe it. After his family’s death in the Nasty Burger explosion, he had fought tooth and nail not to end up with Vlad—and it had worked! Enough people in town had seen him in screaming matches with Vlad to back their bad relationship and help his argument. He couldn’t beat Dan, but he could ensure that he never became him. If he never went with Vlad, there was no chance for their ghost halves to get removed and fuse together to create Dan.
That had led to months of bouncing around foster situation after foster situation. Nobody wanted him. He either didn’t get along with the other kids in the home, didn’t get along with the adults, or they were just unnerved by him. He hadn’t realized he had a naturally unnerving presence as a half-ghost now, but apparently people were noticing there was something off about him and they didn’t like it. Nobody back in Amity Park had that problem with him. All of Amity Park was probably drenched in the feeling thanks to the portal and all the ghost attacks that nobody could notice his own unsettling presence.
Now he had been in Wayne Manor, being fostered by Bruce Wayne himself, for several weeks. Nobody acted like they were bothered by his presence. Well, Damian was, but Danny was pretty sure he was bothered by almost everyone’s presence. He hadn’t met all of the family yet, although he had seen some of them swing by in passing. Not all of Bruce Wayne’s children lived at the Manor anymore, so he was less likely to run into them. Currently living in the Manor were Cassandra Cane, Tim Drake-Wayne, Duke Thomas, and Damian Wayne. Damian and him avoided each other, which Danny was perfectly fine with. Duke gave him funny looks, or tried to look too hard at him, like he could see something else in Danny. It unsettled him, so he avoided Duke entirely. Cass… Danny was pretty sure she followed him around more often than he fully knew, but she seemed alright. Tim was busy enough that they didn’t interact much. It worked out, mostly.
Bruce Wayne himself seemed pretty busy as well, and Danny would admit that he also avoided him when possible. Alfred was the family’s butler, although he seemed a bit like a grandfather as well, and Danny was the most okay with him. It was easier to be around the older man, and Danny could sit quietly in his presence without feeling the need to do or say anything.
That’s what he was doing currently, as the man prepared lunch for those who were present in the house. Some of the house was gone at work, but school was out for Christmas break so others were home when they would normally be gone. The old man was informing Danny of some of the Christmas plans while he made lunch. Danny was seated at the island, sipping on a cup of hot cocoa.
“Master Dick should arrive tonight and he is staying through the holidays. Master Jason will also be over for the holidays, although he has not given a day for when he will arrive to stay yet.” Alfred spoke, moving from the fridge to where he was preparing things on the island across from Danny. Danny had met Dick Grayson once, and didn’t know what to think of the other man. He lived in Bludhaven, and had visited the house once or twice since Danny had moved in but Danny had avoided him, as well. He hadn’t met Jason Todd, yet, but had heard about him from the other family members. Alfred continued to speak.
“Miss Stephanie will also be here for the holidays, I believe she will also arrive tonight.” Stephanie Brown. Not technically a child of Bruce Wayne, but she might as well be. She had been over quite a few times since Danny moved in, mostly to spend time with Cass. Danny also avoided her. Really, he just avoided everyone. He didn’t want to cause more issues and get kicked out of Wayne Manor like he had been sent back from everywhere else he’d been so far.
Alfred, at least, was incredibly kind and seemed understanding. Bruce Wayne seemed kind, if distant and busy. But for the most part, they all left him alone and he had access to anything he could probably need. That was as good as he was going to get, and he knew he was running out of options with how many homes he had gone through. He couldn’t risk getting sent back again.
Danny absently nodded along to what Alfred said, watching the man work. He wasn’t really paying attention to what he was making, but he was taking in what he was saying about when people would arrive. It was nice to know when things would be changing. As much as he had been avoiding the family where he could, he knew that time was running out—and fast. Christmas was approaching, and everyone was returning to the Manor to celebrate together. They weren’t going to just let him avoid everyone for the holidays, and he wasn’t sure how well he was going to handle being around so many people when he had been avoiding most of the household.
Not only that, but he was also pretty sure that there was more going on in Wayne Manor than met the eyes, but he was too worried about getting kicked out to stick his nose into their business. There was an air of caution all around him, as if not only was he treading carefully, but they all were as well. Like they didn’t want to spook—hah!—him, but also like they were keeping something from him. He wasn’t sure what to think about that, but he wasn’t in the right place to investigate it yet. Or at least, that’s what he was telling himself.
“Master Danny?” Alfred’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he snapped his head up to look at the older man. He had been staring into his cocoa. He gave a small hum in response.
“Would you like to help me take lunch to the dining room?” He asked.
Danny nodded, slipping from his seat at the island and grabbing a tray of what looked like little sandwiches. A glance to his side showed that Alfred was carrying a tray of soup ahead of him. He dutifully followed Alfred to the dining room, setting down the tray of sandwiches where directed. Damian and Duke were already sitting at the table, but Danny turned tail back to the kitchen to grab more things. He could hear Alfred asking them to tell the others that lunch was ready behind him.
Danny grabbed his mug of cocoa and took a carefully steadying breath before heading back into the dining room. He couldn’t avoid the family he was being fostered by forever, and this was one of those times he couldn’t effectively avoid them. Besides, the soup Alfred made smelled amazing, and he didn’t want to miss out on it. He kept his eyes away from the others as he found his seat, which was a ways from the end of the table he knew was Bruce’s seat. He had seen where everyone else sat, had figured out where the missing family members probably usually sat based on the gaps, and picked his seat based on that. He had yet to be told to move any of the times he had eaten in the presence of others, so he guessed he had chosen correctly or they didn’t mind the seating too much when the others weren’t present.
Damian wasn’t back from fetching others like Alfred had asked, but Duke was back and Cass and Tim were seated at the table now as well. Cass was seated next to him. Danny was almost positive that it wasn’t her usual seat, but rather that she had chosen it because she somehow knew that he was most okay with her after Alfred himself. Tim was absorbed into something on a tablet he was holding, and Duke was doing his best not to make it obvious he was staring at him again.
He wasn’t doing a very good job.
Danny suppressed his urge to sigh and waited for everyone else to arrive so he could eat and leave, so as not to be rude. Damian soon arrived with Bruce Wayne himself, and they sat down. Alfred disappeared back into the kitchen and Danny desperately wished he could go with him as they all began to grab their food. At least he knew the food would be worth it.
“Danny,” Bruce started, “How would you feel about going to some stores with me after lunch?” Danny looked up at the head of the table. He thought the offer over. It was nearing Christmas, and he didn’t have any types of gifts for any of the family. Bruce had made it clear he would buy Danny anything he needed, and if they went to the stores maybe he could get something small for people so he wouldn’t seem entirely ungrateful to be there. Even if he did avoid everyone.
Before he could give his answer, Danny heard the front door swing open. That could be any number of people; Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Jason Todd, someone else the Wayne’s knew. But with the door opening came a feeling Danny hadn’t sensed in months. A chill crawled up his throat, freezing his lungs.
A ghost.
A ghost just entered Wayne Manor.
It caught in his throat. He coughed, once, and nothing passed his lips. What sort of ghost would only partially trigger his ghost sense? He could feel the death coming closer as heavy boots tread across the floor towards the dining room. Nobody else in the room was worried, they all thought it was someone they knew.
Danny turned his eyes to the doorway that faced the front entry.
“Has Alfred made cookies yet? What the hell—another one old man?!” Someone walked through the door while talking, but changed what they were saying as they spotted Danny sitting there. They shot a look at Bruce before looking back at Danny. They were alive. Right? They felt… off. Possessed? They didn’t seem possessed. Danny narrowed his eyes at them, and they simply stared back. The guy felt like a ghost. The ice was still lingering in his throat. He had to be. Well, there was one way to provoke a ghost into reacting to him. He was facing the newcomer, the others couldn’t see his face.
Danny flashed his eyes at the maybe-ghost.
The other’s eyes widened, and then narrowed and he scowled. Duke made a sound similar to a wince crossed with a yelp off to his side, but Danny couldn’t take his eyes off the newcomer.
“What. The. Hell.” He spat. Okay, not the reaction Danny was expecting. Danny slid out of his chair without taking his eyes off the guy, who looked like he was bracing for a fight. In fact, it sounded like everyone at the table was slowly getting up, as if being careful.
“Jason, this is Danny.” Bruce’s voice was an odd sort of level. Like he was speaking to an animal he might spook. Was he speaking like that for Danny or Jason’s sake? Wait, Jason? This was Jason Todd ?
If he had a ghost in him, then Danny definitely needed to get that out. The Waynes wouldn’t want a ghost in their family member.
Danny and Jason were still staring at each other.
“Bruce. Where the hell did you get a kid who’s been in the pit?” Jason spat. Pit?
“Jason, Danny doesn’t have anything to do with that.” Bruce’s voice was still dangerously level.
“Bullshit, old man.” Jason hissed, narrowing his eyes further at Danny.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Todd. Fenton could not have been anywhere near a pit.” Damian spoke, sounding bored of what was happening. Danny ignored him. Maybe flashing his eyes had been the wrong move? Danny wasn’t sure now. Either way, they’d disrupted lunch. Danny shifted his feet, getting into a better stance to lunge in case this was about to turn into a fight, like it usually did when other ghosts were involved. Jason seemed to evaluate what he did and Danny watched him shift his own weight.
Alfred chose that moment to enter the room again.
“Young sirs, if you would be so kind as to take your seats. The soup will go cold.” He said, and Danny watched Jason visibly deflate.
“Yes, Alfred.” He said, stepping closer to the table. His eyes stayed sharp on Danny, but he wasn’t glaring anymore. Danny straightened himself up, giving a slight nod to Alfred and sitting back down. Jason sat across from him and Alfred served him a bowl of soup.
The table fell into an odd silence.
Danny and Jason continued to stare at each other for a bit, and then Jason addressed Bruce again without looking away from Danny.
“So, where’d you find Danny?”
“Danny is a foster from out of state. He was in a difficult situation and did not have a lot of options left.” Bruce answered carefully, and Danny nearly snorted. He didn’t have any options left. Bruce Wayne was probably the end of the line for him. Jason just hummed in acknowledgment.
“So, Danny,” he addressed him directly instead, “Been in any green bubbly pools lately?” He asked, and that one actually startled Danny out of his silence.
“What?” His face must have shown his shock and confusion well enough, because Jason leaned back in his seat and picked up his bowl of soup.
“No? No pits of green liquid that made you pissed off?” He asked, arching an eyebrow at him. Danny only shook his head, his own eyebrows scrunching up in his confusion.
“Jason.” Bruce’s tone was warning.
“No, old man. You didn’t see what I did. You can’t feel whatever he is putting off, here.” Jason looked to Bruce, whose jaw tightened.
“So, Danny, absolutely no green pools that brought you back to life?” Jason turned to him again, and Danny felt all the blood drain out of his face.
The green glow of the portal as it switched on, the electricity racing up his arm. Screaming. Green. Green. Green.
Jason’s face turned serious as he looked Danny up and down. Danny clenched his jaw and glared at his soup.
“Cool. You’re going shopping with me after lunch. Bruce, I’m taking your new kid out. Sibling bonding or whatever.” Jason said, and Danny’s neck almost cracked with how fast his head whipped back up to look at Jason. Jason was looking at Bruce. Bruce and him stared at each other for a moment before Bruce sighed and gave a small nod.
“Alright. Be back for supper.” He said, sounding defeated and exhausted. It was the first time Danny had heard him sound like an actual dad. Danny wasn’t sure what to think about any of what just happened. He thought a ghost entered the Manor, and now he was going to go shopping with Jason Todd after lunch. Said Jason Todd who just asked him very weird and pointed questions about a green pit or pool, but also being brought back to life. The same Jason Todd that somewhat set off his ghost sense, but not completely. He couldn’t be a ghost, the family was acting like this was his normal. But then, what was he?
——
Before long, they were leaving the Manor. Jason led Danny to a motorcycle and shoved a helmet on his head, telling him to hold on tight once he had climbed on behind him. After that, they were weaving through the streets and Danny was glad he had been on Johnny 13’s bike enough to know how to ride with the flow of it.
They didn’t go anywhere to shop. Instead, they pulled up to an apartment building, and Jason didn’t wait for Danny as he headed inside. Danny had to jog to catch back up. They entered an apartment that looked pretty empty, and Danny wondered if Jason actually lived here or not. The space didn’t look lived in at all. Jason sat himself down on the couch in the small living room.
“Alright kid, spill.” Jason stated, gesturing to one of the other seats around him. Danny hesitated, sitting down on the other end of the couch.
“Spill what, exactly?” When he looked at Jason's face, he was met with a dead-pan expression.
“Look, Jason, I really don’t know what you’re talking about with the green pits or pools or whatever.” He started, and Jason shook his head.
“I know you don’t know about that. But you went real pale when I mentioned a green pool bringing you back to life. And you looked like you were remembering something else. You can’t pretend your eyes didn’t flash green, or that you can’t also feel something weird between us.” Jason spoke a bit more carefully now, like he was trying to be courteous about it but was still being firm. Danny looked at the floor. Silence fell over them for a moment.
“Why do you feel like a ghost?” Danny asked, tilting his head to look back up at Jason. Jason looked absolutely baffled.
“A ghost? What do you mean I feel like a ghost ?” Jason didn’t sound like he didn’t believe Danny. That was a start. But he did sound bothered by the thought.
“I, um, I can sense ghosts. And you feel like one. But not exactly.” Danny frowned at his own explanation. That didn’t make any sense. Jason seemed to consider it, though.
“So you can just, what, tell when someone has died and been resuscitated?” Jason asked. Danny could tell he was feigning a light air.
“Uh, no. If doctors bring someone back, they count as fully alive.” Danny tapered off into a whisper at the end, looking down at the floor again.
“So,” Jason sounded uncomfortable now, “Only people who have truly died would feel like a ghost.” It wasn’t a question. Jason was stating it. Danny nodded.
“Is that why something feels,” Jason paused, “Different, with you? Why I can tell something with you, too?” Danny looked back up at that.
“Can you not normally feel anything with others?”
“No.”
“Oh.” Danny paused. Jason was looking at him like he was trying to figure things out.
“You really never got dunked in the pits?”
“I have no idea what the pits are.”
“Huh. What was up with the eyes, then?”
“These?” Danny flashed his eyes again, and Jason nodded.
“Yeah, those.”
“Uh, I thought you might be possessed so I was trying to aggravate the ghost.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Jason actually laughed, tipping his head back and everything. Heat rose to Danny’s cheeks.
“So, you’ve actually, you know.” Jason asked, and then threw up his hands in a defensive gesture when Danny’s eyes flooded with green immediately. Danny closed his eyes and put his face in his hands.
“Yeah. It’s not a good idea to ask, though.”
“I get it. I have, too.” Jason said this softly, and they fell into silence once more.
“The others know. They’ll be accepting of it.” Jason added after a moment, and Danny lifted his head out of his hands.
“They know ?”
“Yeah, it’s a long story. I’ve got a grave and everything technically.” He was playing it off with humor again. Danny could get behind that.
“Lucky. I never got one of those.” He snarled back. Jason looked stunned for a moment, then smirked.
“We could fix that, if you want.” Jason responded. Danny grinned back. Maybe this wasn’t so bad. Maybe this could all work out still. The feeling he got from Jason was still odd, being the feeling of not-quite-a-ghost. But if Jason had died and come back to life somehow, and wasn’t a halfa like him, that could explain it. He wouldn’t pry.
“Duke’s been staring.” Danny muttered, thinking about how the other had been looking at him. Jason frowned slightly.
“Staring like he can see something?”
“Yeah.”
“Duke’s a meta. He can see things that others can’t. But, he doesn’t see anything with me.”
“We’re not the same thing.” Danny shrugged. He already assumed that, after the pit questions and the way his ghost sense wasn’t quite correct with Jason. And his time now spent with the other.
“He’s probably just trying to figure out what he’s seeing. It’s not always clear to him. I wouldn’t worry about it, but I’ll talk to him about it. Without telling him too much.” Jason winked at him, and Danny found himself smiling again. Yeah, maybe Christmas wouldn’t be too bad if Jason was going to be around for it.
“Well,” Jason stood up, “We should head to some stores and then back to the Manor before Bruce loses it because I have you out too long. Besides, I have one of his credit cards, so we can get whatever we want.” His tone was light and teasing. Danny stood, smiling as well.
“You think I can pick out some Christmas presents for some of the others?” Danny asked, and Jason's smile turned softer.
“Yeah, you can.”
Maybe this whole thing would work out with the Wayne’s after all. At least with Jason, things were going well.