And he had every right to be. Ever since ghosts became a much more known thing in their town, Phantom had been able to interact with people other than Jazz and in his own body. Most notably being Jazz’s younger brother Danny, whom Phantom had developed a hopeless crush on not long after being introduced to him through Jazz.
Danny didn’t know that the ghost he’d shared a few conversations with was actually sharing a body with his sister, and therefore, shared the same memories of those interactions. And in fact, the awkwardness that stemmed from that is one of the main reasons Phantom had been trying not to interact with the boy.
But he hadn’t been counting on Danny seeking him out. And the chance to be able to interact with Danny as his own person had been too good to pass up, even if it did strengthen his crush.
Something Jazz had very conflicting emotions about.
Especially when, during a conversation earlier that day, Phantom had offered to take Danny on a flight later that night without thought. Jazz had immediately started lecturing him, but the hesitant yet hopeful response Danny gave knocked down half of her grievances on the spot.
But that didn’t mean she was going to let Phantom go without some ground rules. Or embarrassing him first.
‘You’re not allowed to hold him in any way more intimate than necessary.’ She listed, making Phantom blush even as he checked his appearance in the mirror.
“O-okay. That’s fair.”
‘You’re not allowed to kiss him.’
“I w-wasn’t thinki-!”
‘Keep your emotions in your corner and I’ll stay in mine until this whole thing is over.’
Phantom let out a shaky breath. That would be the hard part. “I’ll do my best.” It was all he could promise.
It seemed to satisfy Jazz enough though, because she continued. ‘And above all else, make sure he has a good time.’
Phantom blinked, not expecting the rule but not surprised by it either. “I will.” He said, “I hope, at least.”
Jazz sighed in his mind and levelled all the seriousness she could at him. ‘If you mess up anything tonight, I will never forgive you and I promise it will be hell.’
Phantom gulped at the threat. He knew she meant it.
Knocking on Danny’s window, Phantom tried his best to calm the racing of his core. It would need to be at reasonable levels or Danny would feel it when he… held…
Oh. Shit. It’s going faster again.
He felt Jazz give him the equivalent of an eye roll and a comforting pat on the back. Her reactions were limited, tucked away in her safe spot of their shared consciousness as she was, but he was grateful for the awkward support before she would try to bury herself deeper.
‘Try’, because, as they’d learned, they could be pulled to the front of the mind more easily if the other was feeling emotional distress. And given the state Phantom was in, Jazz would be in for a hell of a tug-o-war game tonight.
Phantom’s thoughts completely froze when Danny opened the window, greeting the ghost with a bright grin that reflected the excitement he felt.
“Phantom, you came!”
He grinned back, “Of course. I’ve been looking forward to this.” He tilted his head as he looked at the boy. “Were you expecting me not to come?”
Danny blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, “I was worried that something might come up and you wouldn’t be able to make it.”
Phantom smiled at the shy admission, “Well, I’m glad nothing did. Are you ready?”
After a bit of awkwardness in trying to find the best way to hold Danny, they settled on a side by side position where Danny’s arms were around Phantom’s neck as the ghost held onto his waist. Less than a minute from there, they were flying high above the city and giggling in euphoria.
“So, what do you think?” Phantom asked the human that clung to him tightly.
“This is amazing!” Danny laughed. “How high can you go?”
“Until the oxygen runs out, I guess. Wanna go?”
“Yes!”
Phantom laughed at the enthusiasm and brought the two of them high above the clouds. He stopped before they could get too high, not wanting to actually take Danny to the point his oxygen ran out (and his too. Sharing a body with a human made things like breathing necessary). But Danny didn’t even notice, too caught up in staring at the stars in wonder.
“I’ve never seen them so clearly before. It’s like they’re all around us.” While Danny continued to turn his head in all directions to take in the sky, Phantom never once took his eyes off the boy in his arms. He was so entranced by the sight of his crush; he didn’t fully register when Danny eventually looked down and smirked. “Hey Phantom?” The ghost hummed, “How do you feel about free falling?”
“I do it all the time.” Phantom answered easily. “I love how it…” He looked at Danny, seeing how wild his grin really was. “No.” He said simply.
“Pleeeaaasse.”
“It’s reckless.”
“You just said you do it all the time.”
“I’m a ghost. I can fly.”
“It’s not like you won’t catch me.”
“Of course, I will. But what if something hits you on the way down? Like a bird or a plane?”
“Pretty sure you’d see a plane coming.”
Phantom sighed. It was hard to dissuade the boy when his own resolve was crumbling. He did love free falling, and he really wanted to share the experience with Danny. “Okay, fine.”
No sooner had he said it was Danny laughing and enveloping him in a tight hug. “Thank you!”
The ghost laughed back, and just to scare the apparent daredevil in his arms, he allowed his body to return to the laws of gravity. Danny’s grip tightened automatically at the sensation of falling but he lifted his head with a grin as they tilted upside down. He started laughing as they broke through the clouds, Phantom joining him as he began to pull back after a cursory glance at their surroundings. Grinning widely, Phantom let go of Danny, watching as he spun and laughed falling through the sky.
There was no fear at all in him, and Phantom’s core thrummed at the trust that was being shown to him by this action. After a long moment of just falling, the two came face to face again and for a while, they just stared. Both of them had a soft smile on their face as they gazed at each other.
Phantom was the one to move first, reaching out to hold Danny as he slowed them to a stop and righted them. The tops of the tallest buildings were still a fair way away from them, but Phantom wasn’t taking any risks.
Danny’s smile widened, “That was the best.” He said breathlessly.
Euphoria bubbled in his entire being and came out in giddy laughter. Taking in his crush, red faced and hair messy from the wind while beaming at him with pure delight, Phantom decided the flight had turned out even better than he had hoped.
