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Recovery

// The second installment of the interactions between Temporal And Danny via Skype RP. Takes place about a week after the incident with the GiW. Under a readmore due to length.

It had taken a lot of convincing, but eventually Danny had talked Vlad into bringing him back to his own timeline, and his own lair. After promising to get the rest he needed and to not go out and get into anymore trouble, or at least until he was healed, he was left to recover in his own room. Here, he could draw on the energy stored in his lair to help speed up his recovery. But it was still a slow process; The weapons the Guys in White had used had anti-ghost properties, which interfered with his healing, at least until the human part of his system managed to expel the last of the contaminates. So now he lay there, bored out of his mind and unable to sleep, debating trying to drag his body out of bed for at least a glass of water or... something. Anything to help rid himself of some of this nervous energy.

He hadn't known. Caught up in both his own duties and the problem he was having straightening out what the Observants had done he hadn't had a chance to look in on Danny for some time. After all it wasn't like he could simply pull up his timeline like he used to to look in on him. Even if he wanted to, Danny's timeline was at best a blur of shapes and colors that he could, if he was extremely lucky, make out. It's what happened when one with a power over time got extremely close to another. It stopped them from making things turn out better for them, or for changing time for them. He had stopped by to see the hybrid once or twice but when he hadn't seen anyone he had just thought that Danny had been out making rounds or talking to his allies, it had never even occurred to him that something was wrong. When the gears told him of what had happened he had at first frozen before he tried to make things better. Of course they had stopped him, and of course he had gotten mad. How dare they not have told him that Danny was in their hands! It took him almost a full day to stay calm long enough that he could promise that he wouldn't try and change anything as soon as he went to the heir and that he was going to see him, if they liked it or not. So he found himself wondering the more private area of Danny's lair trying to find exactly where he was with Artemis a few rooms ahead of him. When he came to the bedroom door he paused knocking on it before opening it a bit. "Danny?" He called out as Artemis slipped in. Seeing the teen on the bed he trilled in happiness telling Temp that he was there. Before Danny could even tell him to come in or go away he was through the door and practically tackling the heir into a tight hug. "You're okay, thank time you're ok..."

Danny had certainly not been expecting visitors, and even if he had, he would have assumed it to perhaps be Vlad, checking in on him to make sure that he wasn't doing something he wasn't. And of all the people who could have been visiting him, Temp would have been near the bottom of the list, considering what had happened between them. And apparently his own lair was conspiring against him, because he didn't even feel Temp's presence until he heard his voice after the knock on the door. He glanced up sharply, ignoring the way it pulled at the burn wounds on his throat as he stared at the doorway, not even sure how to act as Temp let himself and Artemis in. Even if he had thought of something, he wouldn't have had time to act, as suddenly Temp was there, pulling him into a nearly crushing hug that was not too kind to his injuries. Danny hissed, flinching from the hug and trying to use his forearms to get Temp to ease up. "Ah! T-Temp! Easy!" He choked out, tears springing in his eyes from pain of various levels and sources.

As soon as he heard the hiss he stiffened and pulled back looking at Danny, really looking at him this time instead of just throwing himself at him. Wide green eyes looked over him seeing all of the bandages covering almost all of him from his hands up to his shoulders and his neck down his torso. Temp’s spectral tail wound around itself in worry and guilt and though he wanted nothing more than to gather Danny into his arms again he didn’t want to hurt him more than he already had. “Sorry,” he mumbled looking down at the carpet and forcing himself to stay where he was, “I didn’t mean… I just…. I’m sorry.” If he had know he would have fought Danny’s own Clockwork tooth and nail to make sure this had never happened to him, would have gladly pushed a different ghost into harm’s way to make it so that Danny wouldn’t have had to go through any of it. Hell, he would have run the risk of diving into their prison to free the hybrid himself if he had known, consequences be damned. Would have traded places with him and let them do what they wanted to ‘Phantom’ without Danny ever having to know. His core ached at the thought of what he might have had to go through and his eyes drifted back to look at him not able to hide how worried he was.

Danny winced at the initial discomfort as Temp released him, though he breathed a tiny sigh of relief as he leaned carefully back against the pillows. It wasn't comfortable, but then again there was no position that was really comfortable in the shape he was in, and this one kept him from thrashing as much when the inevitable nightmares hit. He eyed Temp for a moment, before his own gaze settled firmly on the bedspread in front of him. "... It's okay," He said as calmly as he could, trying to ignore the aching that picked up in his chest, trying to keep up the mask. "I'm fine. I just wasn't... expecting it was all." It was an outright lie, but he didn't want to make things worse. His bandaged hands picked a little at the comforter, still not looking up. "May I ask what you're doing here?" He asked, his tone a little bit distant. "I mean... I'm... not really... in the shape to be entertaining guests, if you were here to visit." Danny pointedly didn't bring up that Temp would have known that if he'd bothered to look in. Because that would have led to him asking why he hadn't helped, hadn't been there. Why he was only now showing up, a full week after he'd been rescued by Vlad of all people, even if it was the 'good' Vlad. Their last parting still weighed heavily on Danny's mind and heart as well, and he found himself ducking his chin a little. The marks had long since either faced or were covered by other bruises, burns, and bandages, but the memory of seeing them, of what it signified, still was bright in Danny's mind. And the doubts that had come with it had only grown stronger as time had passed.

It was easy to see the careful way that Danny moved and Temp inwardly winced knowing that he had probably only made his injuries hurt that much more. Blue eyes turned away from him to look down at the bed and he had to bite his tongue to keep himself from saying anything. It wasn’t okay. He should have been there, should have saved him, should have gotten him out of there before all of his injuries had happened. Liar Temp called mentally as he was told that he hadn’t been expecting it. Shaking his head he had to fight to keep himself right where he was and to not move over by Danny and cup his face, kiss his forehead, and shower him with every loving gesture that he could that wouldn’t hurt him. “I’m not here to be entertained, I’m here to help, to do whatever you need me to until you’re healed. I know…” Temp sighed and looked down at the floor, “I know it’s late Danny but I didn’t know. If I had I would have…” Temp swallowed hard knowing exactly what he would have done if he had caught them. He had seen it once already. “I can’t see your timeline anymore, and I came as soon as I did.” As soon as he was able to at least, the gears had refused to let him slip through any of the portals he had created to get here until he had given his word that he would only come to see to Danny and not go after the ones that had locked him up in the first place.

Danny glanced up, a brief look of confusion in his eyes at Temp spoke, before shaking his head. "Temp... I promise. I'm fine. I'll be okay. You don't need to waste your time acting like a nurse-maid or something. If I wanted or needed that, I would have stayed at Vlad's." It took everything Danny had to keep his expression blank, to not give away his internal turmoil at Temp's presence. He didn't really understand the significance of Temp not being able to see his timeline, though he doubted Temp would lie about something that. Still... he wasn't really mentally or emotionally prepared to deal with Temp right now, not while he was still recovering from this ordeal, and still not finished grieving over his broken heart beforehand. He didn't know how well he'd be able to maintain his mask around the Guide. He needed to convince Temp to leave, some way or another. "I mean, come on, Temp. We both know you've got more important things on your plate than to cater to me."

“If you’re fine,” Temp asked looking at him seriously, “Then why does just moving difficult, and don’t tell me that it isn’t, I know it’s why you were shifting around so carefully.” He wasn’t stupid, he might not have had what happened to Danny happen to him but he had been through his fair share of fights that had taken him time to recover from. Getting mad, however, wouldn’t be helpful and he took a deep breath to keep himself calm. “I’m not trying to be a nurse-maid, but I know you. You are going to go out before your healed because someone will need your help, or something will have to get taken care of that you think you have to take care of on your own. I won’t let you put yourself into danger like that.” His eyes hardened with resolve, “Nothing is more important than making sure that you are resting and healing. I’m sorry, but I’m not leaving.” He wasn’t, unless there was something big that he had to go and do he would keep himself here, even if he had to hide away and watch Danny from the shadows to make sure he wasn’t straining himself. There wasn’t going to be anything that would change his mind about this, this lair was his home for as long as it took Danny to heal.

A pained expression crossed Danny's face as Temp insisted that he was going to stay, whether Danny liked it or not, and he was entirely unable to hide it from the other Halfa. His core, which had been giving off a low aching hum since Temp had shown up, now seemed to almost be humming at two entirely different and dissonant pitches, one that made his damaged chest ache and his head spin. He wanted to argue, to fight with them, to yell at him and make him go away... but he simply didn't have the energy or willpower to do so anymore. And if being here made Temp happy... made him feel better about all of this, then who was Danny to argue? "... Suit yourself," He said quietly, turning his head away so he wasn't looking at Temp, so it would be a little harder for the other half a to see the pain in his eyes at having to endure Temp being there, knowing that the relationship he wanted with the older half-ghost was nothing but a pipe dream. Besides... maybe if he gave in, Temp would eventually grow bored of waiting on him, and would eventually be forced to leave to handle something actually important.

There was no way that he could hold himself back when he saw the pained look on Danny’s face, the utter defeat as he looked away and simply accepted the help without a fight. Floating over to him he very carefully kissed Danny’s temple, not wanting to irritate his injuries worse, but needing to somehow comfort him, to stop the pain that he was feeling. “I promise I will try not to hover and let you have your space. All you will have to do is call for me and I will be right here to help with anything that you need.” He was going to have to figure something out if someone wanted to talk to Danny, maybe if it was those he knew the heir trusted he would let them in, otherwise they would have to be kept away. It meant hiding who he really was, they couldn’t exactly explain why an alternate version of their King to be was taking care of him, or let it get out how hurt he was, but that could be taken care of with a clothing change. He would just have to hide his face so no one could see it. “Do you need anything?”

Danny's breath hitched when he felt Temp's lips press against his temple, and a painful knot formed in his throat that simply didn't want to be easily swallowed away. Why, why did Temp have to make this harder for him? Why did he have to tease him with snippets of the things they used to share, back when he'd let Danny believe that there had actually been possibly something more between them? It was nearly more than Danny could stand to take, and yet... A deep sigh escaped him at Temp's question, and Danny simply shook his head no, not trusting himself to speak right now, not trusting his voice to not betray the pain he was feeling in his chest, that was far worse than any of the physical wounds he bore. He continued to do his best to avoid looking at the Guide, hoping that if nothing else, at least Temp would leave him alone in his room if he gave every indication that he didn't need him there.

Nodding he pulled away, “I’ll leave Artemis here just in case. I know a few things that could help you heal faster. They taste awful, but they help; I just have to see if you have what I need to make it.” Turning away from Danny he sighed as Artemis whined clearly torn, “I’m not going to leave the lair Artemis. If I need something I will go back to the tower to get it. I know you came to watch me, but I’m not going to do anything. Stay with Danny.” As Temp left the room Artemis sighed and settled down by the teen, ready to zoom off if he did think of something that he wanted so that it could be gotten for him. He probably shouldn’t leave Temp alone, but with Danny as hurt as he was the small gear had no doubt that the heir would come first to his mind before his need to see that something be done to those that had taken him. Giving a soft trill of question he watched Danny still not so sure that he was as fine as he said he was.

Apparently even in the horrible condition that he was, Danny was capable of fooling Temp, or at least misleading him into thinking that the pain he was showing was simply his injuries, and not emotional pain. He said nothing as Temp spoke of some sort of remedy that aided in healing, keeping his gaze trained on the far wall, barely even hearing the words being spoken to him. He felt more than saw Temp leave the room, and Danny heaved a sigh of relief, one bandaged hand lifting to wipe at his face, oblivious to the fact that Artemis was still there with him. "I can't do this..." Danny murmured to himself, feeling the tightness in his chest that had nothing to do with the bandages, but nevertheless made it difficult to breathe. His breath actually caught a few times, precursor to sobs he refused to let out, and he kept his hand over his face, trying to hold back the frustrated and pain-filled tears. Why couldn't Temp just have left well enough alone? Why did he have to insist on being here? Was he really that oblivious to the pain his presence was causing, or was Danny somehow actually that good of an actor? Trying to swallow the knot lodged in his throat, Danny closed his eyes. If nothing else, maybe if he pretended to be asleep, Temp would leave him alone most of the time, and he wouldn't have to think about how he wished he could hold him and be held, could kiss him and show him that he really was going to be okay. All the things he couldn't do, and he really didn't have the energy to ignore.

The small gear watched, its worry only growing as Danny wiped at his face and spoke. Artemis knew from the times that Temporal had broken down what the hitching breath meant. ‘Danny?’ the small gear asked him softly floating worriedly up towards the bandaged teen’s face. ‘It okay. Safe now. Temp keep safe. No worry. Be okay.’ Nuzzling against Danny to try and cheer him up the small gear whined slightly. It didn’t know what was wrong or how to help, but he just wanted this Danny to be happy. Temp had been sad the last time that he came back and had buried himself into work like he only did when things were bothering him. Had something happened? ‘Need talk? No tell anything. Not even if beg. It help.’

Danny gave a small start of surprise when Artemis floated up near his face, speaking. He hadn't realized that the gear had still been there, assuming he'd left with Temp since he hadn't paid close attention to what Temp had been saying just before he left. Danny tried to swallow hard, his hands dropping from his face as Artemis nuzzled his cheek. "I...It's nothing, Art," Danny tried to insist. "I'm just... Tired. In a lot of different ways." He hoped it would be enough to make the gear content. Even if he promised not to tell, Danny didn't feel comfortable talking about what had happened between he and Temp, particularly to someone so close to Temp. "I'll be fine. I just... Need time." Time he wasn't being given because of Temp insisting on being there, on "helping" him. "I'll get... I'll get over it eventually, hopefully." If he didn't he didn't know what he was going to do. The dissonance in the resonation of his core felt like it was ready to split him in two, the desire to be close to Temp warring with the hurt that wanted to pull away. The fact that Temp seemed oblivious to the pain he was causing Danny only seemed to make things worse.

Whining sadly the gear floated there for a bit, wanting to help but not sure how. It was obvious that something was bothering Danny but he knew from dealing with Temp that getting him to talk about it was something else entirely. ‘Well, here if need it. For anything. All do is ask.’ The gear made a plan to corner Temp later and ask him if he knew anything about why Danny was so sad but he would stay by Danny for awhile. ‘If tired, sleep. I keep safe’ The gear told Danny seriously seeming to almost puff up to try and prove that he was strong enough to do so if something came. 'Even chase Temp away if want.'

Danny blinked at Artemis as assured him once more that if he wished to talk, that he was there, and that he'd keep him safe if he wanted to sleep, even to the point of chasing Temp away if needed. A lopsided smile crossed Danny's face, a brief look of gratefulness to the gear managing to filter out through the mask he'd been trying to hold up. "... Thanks, Art. I really do appreciate that." He took a slow, deep breath. "Things are just... difficult right now. It's... not just my body that's hurting." He sighed, turning his head away. "I just... let myself hope for something that I should have known better about hoping for. And that... That was something I was already dealing with even before the thing with the Guys in White happened. And it all just... sort of made things worse." He was keeping things as vague as possible, considering that Artemis honestly didn't seem to know what was going on. "... It hasn't gotten better. And it just... makes things difficult right now. Hard enough trying to recover physically from all this crap... But this?" Danny unconsciously pressed one bandaged hand carefully against his sternum, where his core continued to give an aching dissonant buzz. "... I kind of wish you guys hadn't come here... I don't... I don't like Temp seeing me like this. I don't... like him feeling obligated to be here and help me. And hearing that he doesn't even trust me enough to take care of myself..." Another sigh, and Danny closed his eyes, not really sleeping, but rather holding back the burning sensation that signaled the imminent onset of tears if he wasn't careful. "But... I guess it doesn't matter... and if it makes him happy... Then I'll just... try and deal with it."

Artemis was happy that he could get Danny to smile, even if it was just a little one. It was sad to know that Danny wasn't just hurting because of what had happened but that he was hurting in other ways as well. What had happened to him that had made him hurt so bad, to make him not want them there anymore? He would find out from Temp just what he had done to make Danny so sad, for now though Danny needed him where he was. To have him listen even if he wasn't saying much. However when the bandaged hand pressed against his chest, Artemis understood better what kind of pain was hurting the teen. 'Obligated?' The gear questioned before shaking, 'We not let come. He scared that Danny hurt, was angry at them, had keep away until calm. Worried about Danny. Came not cuz had to, came because cared. Scared loose Danny.' Chittering at him Artemis turned around in place in irritation, 'Danny happy is important! Danny deserve happy! Danny is good! Get lots of happy!'

Danny glanced back over at Artemis as he started speaking again, blinking a little at the gear. He stayed silent through the proclamation that Temp had come because he was scared Danny had gotten hurt, that he'd lose him. Though the words had been well intentioned, they had hit on the internal fear Danny had maintained, that in the end he was little more than a possession to Temp. Of course he'd be angry if that were the case, as well as scared of losing him. No one wanted to lose things they felt belonged to them. But he didn't say it out loud to Artemis, instead just slowly and carefully shaking his head so as to not disturb the already loosening bandages around his throat. "It's not always that simple, Art. Sometimes... sometimes you have to give up being happy to make others happy. And some people... no matter what they do, or how much good they try to do... they never end up happy. That's just how the world works sometimes." His gaze grew distant again as he stared unseeingly at the far wall. "I'm starting to figure I fall in that category. I don't... think I was ever really meant to be happy. Not in the long run, anyway." He blinked, coming back to himself, giving a sigh as he ran a bandaged hand over his face. "But... thanks for the sentiment, Art. At least one person feels that way. And that's nice to know."

Artemis didn’t understand why Danny thought he wasn’t ever going to be happy but before he could ask there was a light knock on the door and Temp came back in. Moving over to the two of them he set down the first aid kit by the bed and glancing at the bandages. For doing it himself they were good, but Temp could tell that they were already loose and having loose bandages rubbing over his wounds was not going to help them any. He hadn’t heard much of the two had been talking about but he had caught the end of it. It made his core ache to think that Danny thought his life wasn’t going to be a happy one, that he had given up on his own happiness to make others happy. It wasn’t like he could tell Danny that it wasn’t true, not when he couldn’t see into his timeline that well, but he knew now more than he had before that him being here was only because the heir was trying to please him. He had thought, at least Danny would be a bit happy that he had come, that he still wanted to be around him even after he told him that he couldn’t love him. Maybe… Maybe he had been wrong to come at all. “We should fix your bandages, with them loose like that they are just going to make things worse.” Worse than he already was.

Danny's head jerked up a bit when he heard the light knock on the door, wincing as it pulled on the burn wounds along his neck. He found himself staring at the door as Temp came in, wondering how much of the conversation between he and Artemis he had heard. But Temp approached the bed calmly as far as he could tell, so maybe he hadn't heard anything. Another wince crossed Danny's face when Temp mentioned replacing his bandages. "I... I can do it myself," Danny tried to insist. He didn't want Temp to see the still healing wounds. While they were far better than they'd been that first night Vlad had rescued him, most were still not entirely healed, and the jagged tears they left on his body were horrifying to look at, even if they were all stitched up. It wasn't something he wanted to subject Temp to. "I have before. It's a little tricky... but not impossible."

“And not that great if what they look like now is anything to go by.” He knew Danny hated to be without his shirt because of the many scars that were hidden under it, but Danny hating him and healing well and properly was better then him struggling to do it himself because he didn’t want Temp to see. He knew the wounds had to be bad a he took a deep breath, he was going to have to stay as calm as he could, getting angry at the bastards who had done it wouldn’t help Danny. “I’m going to do it and then I will leave you alone so that you can get some rest, but getting them on you right will get them to heal better and make them hurt less.” Watching Danny carefully he kept his own emotions back, after all, he had told Danny he didn’t love him, so he should act like he didn’t. Even so, he wanted to take care of him, to let him relax, sleep, and heal. If the teen wanted him gone afterwards he wouldn’t blame him and he would leave without argument, but right now his health was more important.

Danny watched Temp almost warily, and he couldn't prevent the hurt that crossed his face at Temp's emotionless response. He was too tired, physically and emotionally, to keep his mask up, and it seemed like the longer Temp was there, the more it just drove the knife into his heart. Once more, Danny's gaze dropped, that defeated expression crossing his face. "... Do what you will." He answered softly. He didn't have the energy to argue with Temp, and truth be told, the loose bandages were rubbing a few of the wounds raw. Because he knew Temp was probably going to insist on it, Danny gingerly peeled back the covers, exposing his legs to show that a good portion of his upper legs were also bandaged. And as he carefully shifted to the edge of the bed, exposing his back to easier view, it was obvious that at least in a few places there had been bleed-through, though it wasn't bad. Danny forced himself to keep his breathing even, his head lowered so that his bangs fell to cover his eyes so Temp wouldn't see the tears pricking in them.

Oh how he wanted to gather Danny up into his arms and tell him that everything was alright, that he did love him, that he was sorry he hadn’t corrected him when he had first got it wrong, how much it hurt that he let his words be misinterpreted, but he couldn’t. Sighing to himself he watched as Danny moved out from under the covers moving closer to him and starting to carefully undo the bandage. If he hadn’t taken a tight hold of his emotions before he had started to peel it away he would have needed to take a moment to calm himself. He knew what the Guys In White could do, that the spin off of it in Danny’s time was even more ruthless seemed hard to believe. but there was no mistaking it with the evidence in front of him. Swallowing hard Temp looked over the wounds on his back carefully to make sure that none of them were infected, paying very close attention to the one that had opened up. Gathering what he needed from the kit he had brought in he started to clean the wounds that needed it, leaving those alone that didn’t, before he started to wrap the heir back up. He was careful making sure that while it was tight it wouldn’t be uncomfortable or constricting, but that nothing would come loose and rub like they had been doing. Temp prayed to whoever would be listening that Danny couldn’t feel, or notice, the slight tremor in his hands.

Danny kept his head lowered through the whole ordeal, trying to keep from wincing as Temp unwound the old bandages, a few of them sticking a little where the dried blood had almost plastered them to the skin. He knew Temp was trying to be gentle, but it still hurt, and his breath caught several times. When the Guide began to clean the wounds that had slightly bled through, he had to grit his teeth, trying to keep from flinching away, or making noises of pain outside of the occasional sharp inhalation or slight hiss. He wasn't able to keep the tears from his eyes as he endured the treatment, his hands tightly clenching the side of the bed regardless of how that also hurt his bandaged hands. Eventually Temp got to the point where he was re-wrapping Danny up, and Danny couldn't help but feel relieved. While he had injuries elsewhere, his back truly was the worst of it. Overcome by the pain, however, Danny couldn't quite stop himself from leaning forward, resting his forehead against Temp, taking in even a slight moment of comfort at the other's help and proximity even as the guilt stirred in his gut over feeling this way towards Temp still. His breath shuddered in his chest, and he had to swallow hard to get past the lump in his throat, trying to keep from sobbing, as that would only make things worse, and aggravate his wounds to boot. Let Temp think the tears were due to physical pain, which in truth they partly were. Surely he would think that way anyways.

When Danny leaned against him he was sure that he was going to get yelled at, that Danny was going to blame him, even if only a little, for not being there for him when he needed it like he had promised but nothing came. Carefully Temp wrapped one arm around him, mindful of where he had seen the worst wounds and avoiding them, his gloved hand gently running through black hair. “I’m sorry Danny…. I’m sorry,” Temp said softly to the teen that leaned up against him, and he was for more than one reason. That he couldn’t tell Danny how he felt, that he let the teen believe something that wasn’t true, that he had gotten captured, that he hadn’t been there, that he was still hurting him, all of it and more. If Danny wanted his comfort he would gladly give it to him, no matter if it was just pain from his wounds or pain in his heart, he wasn’t about to deny him the same bit of comfort that he wanted.

Danny had expected Temp to stiffen, to push him away, gently or not. After all, why would he want Danny being that close to him? But instead of what Danny had anticipated, instead Temp gently wrapped an arm around him, subtly pulling him a little closer. Danny could feel the gloved fingers gliding through his hair in a comforting motion, and after a moment he realized that he could hear Temp apologizing. For what, Danny wasn't sure, though he assumed it was because Temp thought he had hurt Danny further while binding his wounds. Danny shook his head slightly against Temp, but wasn't able to actually say anything. His resolve was weakening, and after a moment his hands released the death grip he had against the side of the bed, instead wrapping them around Temp, fully burying his face against Temp's torso as the sobs he'd been trying to hold back finally broke loose. Right then, it didn't matter that Temp didn't actually love him. He was there, and he was trying to help, and God but Danny couldn't stop himself from being thankful even as it make his core ache. The strange dissonant tone still hummed in his chest, hard enough to almost be felt buzzing through him. But he did his best to ignore it, to just take the comfort that Temp was offering even if a part of him hurt to do so.

It surprised him when arms wrapped around him to pull him a bit closer burying his face against him before he started to cry in sobs. It had to have bothered his wounds but after all that Danny had gone through it would be better for him in the long run to get all of it out now rather than trying to hold all of it back. “I’m here Danny,” he told the teen firmly but softly, “I will always be here.” Even if he was forced to watch Danny from the shadows he would do so to make sure this never happened to him again. For now the best he could do was stay where he was to give the halfa he loved as much comfort as he could, that hopefully him being there helped at least in part. His finger continued to run through his hair as he held him in as tight of an embrace as he dared his core aching at seeing how much pain he was in. He should know, he should have told him, but no matter how much his mind screamed at him his lips wouldn’t move, his voice wouldn’t form the words. He was too afraid. It wasn’t fair to Danny, but he couldn’t.

Sobs continued to force their way out past a throat tightened by pain and sorrow, causing Danny's chest to heave. It made his injuries hurt, but he was entirely incapable of stopping them once they'd started. He barely even heard Temp's words, too caught up in the release of sorrow and pain and fear that had been built up inside of him after everything that had happened the last few weeks. He remained in place even after the sobs began to die down, reluctant to release Temp from his grasp, not knowing when, or even if, he'd ever get to hold him close like this again. But eventually he knew he had to let go, and with a shaky breath he carefully released Temp, his head still bowed, ashamed to look up. "S-sorry," Danny mumbled, trying to wipe his face with his loosely bandaged hands, the gauze soaking up the tears. "I just... I'm sorry..." His hands moved to cradle against his chest, where his core was humming and nearly maddening levels, so much so that he was surprised Temp couldn't hear it. "I... I can... do the rest, if you don't... if you'd rather not do anymore." If you'd rather not be around me any further, so I don't grab you like I did this time...

Even as the sobs quieted Temp didn’t move, didn’t stop running his fingers through Danny’s hair, didn’t make any more to pull back or push him away. It wasn’t until Danny let go of him that he let go of the teen, though it had taken an extra moment to do so. Cupping his head in both his hands Temp knelt so that he was even with Danny, “You don’t have anything to be sorry about.” Smiling slightly Temp shook his head, “I told you I would help you with them, not much help if I only do a part of it and then force you to do the rest on your own. I’m here to help.” Leaning in the guide rested his forehead against Danny’s for a few moments before he let go of his face and went grabbed out more of the bandages. There were still five of them that needed to be looked at and Temp moved to Danny’s hands next, kneeling back down onto the floor so that he could get at them easier and not have to have them held out to him. Seeing the burn marks he couldn’t help but wince, knowing that having something hot enough to leave marks like this would have to have been worse them a lot of the others. Ice cores didn’t do well around heat of any kind, and to have something as hot as this would have been pressed on his skin? Phasing off his gloves he cooled his hands more than they were normally, one holding the halfa’s hand still while he cleaned it. While he couldn’t say that it would help, it wouldn’t hurt either, and hopefully a bit of cold would do some good. There was more to deal with than there had been before, a few small bits of... fabric? ...that he phased out of his skin. He took extra care as they were wrapped back up trying to make sure that Danny could still semi use them.

Danny was caught a little off guard when, after he had been released from the embrace, that Temp had moved lower so that he was at eye level with him, cupping his face to make sure that he was looking at him. Danny's eyes were puffy, still moist from tears, and there was a vulnerability that had Danny been aware of it, he would have been horribly embarrassed by it. Then Temp leaned forward, resting his forehead against Danny's, a familiar action that make his heart ache, made him want to reach out all over again and hold Temp close. But he refrained, and eventually Temp moved on to treat his other injuries. Danny blinked a little in surprise as Temp phased off one of his gloves, and the touch of cool skin against his own bare hand was almost shocking. He found himself biting his lip to try and distract himself, trying to keep his hands still as Temp treated the tender flesh, and dealt with the few pieces of melted fabric that Vlad hadn't been able to remove last time due to the sheer damage done to his hands. His breath shuddered in his chest as he held his silence all throughout Temp's treatment, head too fuzzy from a mix of having been crying along with the pain and just general exhaustion. Eventually his hands were wrapped up, and Danny experimentally moved his hands, trying to see what about of mobility he still had. It was a little less than before, but that was only because the bandages were actually properly done this time. "... Thanks, Temp..." Danny mumbled, assuming that would be the last of it, actually forgetting about the rest of his bandaged wounds.

Watching as Danny flexed his hands he could see how tried he was, though it surprised him that Danny seemed to be dismissing him when they still had more to do. “Did you not want me to get the last of them before you get some rest? I can leave them until later but they might rub worse if we leave them loose like they are.” It would be better to get them now, but if Danny was that tired it might be worth it to just leave them where they were. Thinking about it Temp gave a small smile to Danny, “I will try to make it quick promise and you can sleep after, I just don’t want you to get rubbed raw on top of everything thing else.” Reaching out he lightly touched the bandage on Danny's neck, not doing anything yet, just waiting for him to say yes or no.

Danny glanced up from his hands as Temp began to speak, a moment of confusion crossing his face. He had honestly horror about the bandages on both his neck and legs, at least until Temp had spoken up, then carefully reached out to touch his throat. A strange flash of... Something flickered across his face, and he shifted a little uncomfortably. After all, the last time Temp had access to that particular area, he'd left several rather prominent lovemarks, which had later distressed Danny after their fallout. What was worse, part of him was responding positively to Temp's touch, wanting to encourage it even despite everything. Not even so much in a sexual way, but in a comforting, trusting way. Drawing in a shaky breath, Danny carefully nodded, studiously avoiding eye contact with Temp. "I... O-okay..." he answered, hating how nervous he sounded even as he reluctantly tilted his chin up so Temp world have better access.

When Danny had shifted uncomfortably Temp had pulled his hand back a bit, trying to give him his space back and hopefully make him feel more comfortable again. Still he waited until Danny told him what he wanted before he made any move towards the bandage again. As blue eyes avoided his own Temp grew concerned, what was it under the bandage on his neck that made him so uncomfortable about getting the bandages changed? Yet he did agree to it and Temp nodded carefully undoing it. What he saw made him grit his teeth, and breathe deeply looking at the burn carefully. Temp’s mind had little problem proving an answer to what it was that had made the burn and he fought hard to keep his anger down, after all he didn’t want Danny to think that he was mad at him but he couldn’t stop his hands from shaking slightly as he treated it. He knew the Guys in White had never treated ghosts kindly, but to put a collar on Danny like he was some soft of animal, like he had no mind and would attack them if they even got near… if he knew Artemis wouldn’t be watching over him like a hawk he would go and give them a piece of his mind. Blinking he leaned closer to one side of Danny’s neck seeing that it was swollen up. Was it infected? “This might hurt a bit Danny,” he warned the halfa as he cleaned it though it didn’t bubble like he had thought. Why then was it so swollen?

Though Danny was avoiding actually looking at Temp as he started removing the bandages, he was certainly able to sense the other Halfa's reaction. The pause was telling in and of itself, and out of his peripheral vision Danny could see the slight trembling of Temp's hands, a sign he was either upset, or furious. But he held his silence as Temp began to treat the burn, his cool hands surprisingly soothing against the irritated flesh. As Temp went to clean the side of his neck where it was swollen, however, he couldn't help but let out a hiss of pain, even though the Guide had warned him of what was coming. His bandaged hands tried to clench, though it was difficult for him to do, not to mention the fact that it hurt to try. "C-careful..." Danny managed to croak out. "Vlad... The good Vlad... said that it looked like they had... injected me with something. He think that whatever they used is why I was... well... kind of feral when Vlad came to break me out. He doesn't know what all was in it... but he said it looked like I was having some sort of... like... allergic reaction at the injection site." Again, he kept his eyes away from Temp. "Vlad... did the best he could do, under the circumstances... but... Well... my burns are actually because of him. He was trying to get this huge ecto-proof metal collar off of me so he could teleport me back to his home, but..." Danny's gaze clouded over a little. "I don't really remember it, but Vlad told me that I was still pretty feral, and still struggling against him despite how... how injured I was. And he was forced to more or less use his fire abilities to cut through the metal. But... it heated the metal up enough that it burned me. I burned my own hands trying to get the collar off of me. At least... again, that's what Vlad told me."

Drawing back at the hiss of pain Temporal listened as he was told what had happened, why Danny had the burns in the first place, though it was better than the horrors his mind had come up with for them he still couldn’t help but feel anger at what Vlad had done. Didn’t he know they were ice cores?! Didn’t he understand how badly heat affected them?! Why had he chosen to burn through it when it was metal!? His anger only increased the more that he heard. They were injecting Danny with something that had made him lose his mind, that had turned him feral. Leaning forward he rested his forehead against Danny’s shoulder taking deep shuddering breaths. Danny was in his lair. He was safe. They weren’t going to get their hands on him again. He knew his breath was leaving him in puffs of colder air but he couldn’t help it. How dare they, how dare they ! ‘Temp, can’t...’ he heard Artemis say to him but he didn’t move or say anything to the gear. If he tried he knew it would come out in a growl, so he tried to calm down a bit more before he answered. “I told all of you I wouldn’t fly off to kill them, that I wouldn’t leave them like…” Like he had left the ghost that had attacked Clockwork. Shaking his head he left out a deep sigh, “I’m sorry, I know I said I wouldn’t bother you but I just…” He could have lost Danny, either to them running experiments on him or what they had injected him with, there had been no way to know that it would have worn off. Wrapping his arms lightly around his waist he breathed in deeply, the fact that Danny was there in his arms and safe helping to quell his anger. Part of his mind berated him, after all who was he to take anything away from Danny’s presence when just being there made the teen feel worse?

A flair of confused concern flared in Danny's chest when Temp seemed to suddenly lean forward, his forehead resting against Danny's shoulder. He could feel the cold drafts of air coming out as Temp breathed, though Danny wasn't entirely sure what was going on. He was about to say something, but Artemis beat him him to the punch. The comment only had him a little further confused, at least until Temp answered. He inhaled sharply once he realized what they were speaking about, and his hand moved to grip Temp's arm. "Don't... please... I don't... I don't want you to chance getting caught by them," Danny said quietly but firmly. "Vlad is handling it. That particular group is under investigation as it is. That was the first time I'd found one of their labs actually in current use. There's no way they can get rid of all the evidence, move everything... not without setting fire to the place and losing millions of dollars in equipment and research." His eyes stared at Temp, a haunted look in them. "I'm sure Vlad did what he said he'd do... he was just as angry, and just as ready to... to slip back into old habits because of it. I wouldn't let him... and I won't let you. You're better than them, Temp. Please... don't sink to their level." Danny swallowed hard when Temp wrapped his arms around his waist, and for a moment it was almost like it had once been between them. Feeling tears well in his eyes again, Danny leaned forward in turn, resting his forehead in the crook of Temp's neck so he couldn't see his tears, his own arms moving to hug Temp back. "I... I'm okay. I'll be okay." He whispered, his throat too thick to actually speak normally. "Just... please... don't. Don't go... I can't... I couldn't handle it if they managed to get you."

Surprisingly the grip on his arm only made him calm down more, though he would bet anything that it was because there was further proof that Danny was here in front of him and not in some lab. “I won’t,” he promised, “I’m here to help you, not to beat the crap out of them, even if they deserve worse.” No he wasn’t going to go anywhere until he was sure that Danny was well enough to be able to hold his own, and even then he wasn’t sure if he would be able to stay away for long. He wouldn’t let Danny be taken away again without anyone knowing. The arms around him were comforting and after a few more deep breaths his breath could no longer be seen. However, he didn’t want to move. Having Danny close like this, being like they used to, he wanted it but he knew that he still had the last of the bandages to do, and he didn’t want to keep Danny awake more than he had to. Pulling back he sighed, “Thank you. I have to finish up then you can get some sleep.” When Danny was sitting up as well he carefully wrapped the burn back up, checking with him often so that it wasn’t cutting off his breathing or making him feel choked. Looking over the ones on his thighs he tried to think of what would be the easiest way for him to be able to change them. “Can you lay back for me Danny? It will make it easier.”

It was with great reluctance that Danny released Temp, but release him he did when the older Halfa let go of him in turn. He offered Temp a shaky smile, ignoring the way his core was practically begging him to reach out and pull him right back into the embrace. Taking a deep breath, he let Temp resume treating the burn and injection site on his neck, trying not to wince as Temp wound the gauze there again once more. Part of the reason that set had been so loose was because of the residual sense of choking that the collar had given him when he'd worn it before. Though Temp made sure to keep it loose enough that it didn't choke him, the sensation of it against his throat was still unnervingly similar. Eventually, however, Temp finished, and Danny gave an experimental sigh to verify that he could still breathe just fine. His head was starting to buzz a little from mental and physical exhaustion, but apparently they weren't done yet. "Hmm? Oh..." Danny said, glancing down at his legs and wincing. He'd sort of forgotten that he'd been sitting there the entire time in just his boxers, and that the bandages on his upper legs still needed to be done. Taking a shaky breath, Danny nodded slightly, moving to lay down gingerly at the edge of the bed, keeping his knees bent so his legs would be propped up off the bed. "This work?" He asked, letting his eyes close for a moment to ease the tired burning sensation.

“That’s fine,” Temp said as he started to unwrap one leg. He had been worried that Danny would have just as bad wounds on his legs than he had on his back, but though there had been one deeper cut, the rest weren’t near as bad as anywhere else. That was good. Looking at Danny he couldn’t but to smile at him as he laid there with his eyes closed. Not sure if he had fallen asleep or not Temp moved quietly to fix his pillows so that they were all fluffed and ready for him to fall back onto them and pass out. Resting his hand on Danny’s he resisted the urge to lay next to the teen in bed. “Danny?” He asked softly not wanting to startle him if he had managed to fall asleep. “Come on let’s get you on the bed right so you don’t have to sleep like that.”

By this point Danny had become inured to the discomfort that came with dealing with his injuries, mostly able to ignore them save for an occasional wince. Soon enough, Temp was finished, though Danny resisted moving for a moment. Apparently as he did so, Temp shuffled about a bit. He could hear the sound of the pillows being moved and fluffed. Moments later he felt a cool touch through his bandaged hand, Temp's voice filtering through. He cracked one eye open, a lopsided smile on his face. "Do I have to?" He asked in a weak joke, but even as he said it started going through the motions of getting himself back up again so he could lay on the bed properly this time. But even as he moved to settle on the bed, his hand reaching out to hold Temp's wrist. "Temp... I..." He caught himself before he could finish what he had been about to ask, to see if Temp would be willing to stay, at least until he fell asleep. Realizing once more how selfish the request was to ask that of Temp would be after everything that had happened between them, he released the Guide's wrist, his eyes shifting away. "... Never mind. Sorry." He took a shaky breath. "Thanks... for... you know... doing this. Being here." He said, a sad, wistful smile crossing his face as he shifted to lay on his side so his back wasn't up against the bed this time.

There was no way that he could help the answering grin that spread across his face, and with a playful eye roll Temp nodded, “Come on ‘young man’ into bed with you.” When Danny grabbed his wrist he looked at him in question though whatever he was going to say was trailed off before he let go. “Of course.” Hesitating a beat he spoke up again, “Do you need anything else? You looked like you had a question…” Letting his sentence trail off he waited. He didn’t want to leave, but he didn’t want to stay either if Danny didn’t want him to. He had promised after all that he wouldn’t bother him and he was still unsure if he was really wanted there or not. Yes he hadn’t been kicked out, no he hadn’t been argued against when he had told Danny he was staying, but how much of that was from the heir just not wanting to fight with him? How much of it was because he was too afraid to stay here alone? Even if it was his own lair that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t feel afraid still. So he waited for an answer, trying not to get his hopes up too high just incase.

A very tiny wince crossed Danny's face as Temp asked about his aborted question, and he slowly shook his head. "It... It was nothing. Just... a silly thought. Probably because I'm tired." It was a weak excuse, but the best he could come up with. He'd already been rejected once by temp. He wasn't exactly in the mood to set himself up to be rejected yet again in addition to everything else. He pointedly avoided Temp's gaze, that grin he'd sported earlier completely gone now. He was tempted to leave it at that, to just turn away and attempt to go to sleep, but his core kept nagging at him until he was willing to speak. "But... you know... if you want to stick around... you're welcome to." It was the best he could do right now, even if what he really wanted to ask was for Temp to lay there wil him, a reminder that Danny had actually managed to get away from the Guys in White, that he was safe. And maybe even delude himself into still believing he was actually loved, not just vaguely cared for.

He tried to not feel dismissed, to feel like he was being pushed away, after all this was what he had wanted right? He had wanted Danny to not be as close, to not think that he didn’t love him back. Seeing what had happened to him though, that he could be taken from him without even having to be in his own timeline… it had fully hit home what Danny had told him. Temp’s thoughts were only for the Observant in his timeline and what they could do to Danny, not what was here and could hurt him. Now it had smacked him in the face and still he didn’t say anything. He was about to turn and go when he spoke and Temp clung to the words, “You wouldn’t mind?” The words had left him before he had even known he was going to say them and tried not to hear how hopeful they sounded. Sitting on a chair next to the bed he half leaned on to it, wanting to lay with Danny but not wanting to push him either. This was better than nothing after all.

Danny hadn't expected Temp to acquiesce to his comment, and his gaze shifted back over to the older Halfa as he pulled up a chair next to the bed. It hadn't been entirely what Danny had in mind but... maybe this was the most Temp was comfortable with. Danny drew in a shaky breath, hoping Temp wasn't doing this out of pity. "Only... Only if you actually... you know... want to stay," Danny said softly, unable to keep the worry off of his face. "You don't... you don't have to if you don't want to. You're not... You aren't obligated. So... only if you really want to stay." In spite of his words, however, Danny found his hand seeking one of Temp's, a vulnerable expression on his face that spoke far more than his words did. The fact that, no matter what had happened, that he was still very much in love with Temp, and that even though it hurt, that he couldn't entirely give it up.

Green eyes looked at Danny as he spoke up again, telling him that he only had to stay if he wanted, worry showing in his eyes as he told him that he wasn’t obligated to. Sighing slightly Temp’s hand twisted as the heir’s brushed against it, only remembering that he didn’t have his glove on as skin met with skin, his fingers closing around the hand that had sought his own. “I told you,” Temp said softly as he looked into Danny’s eyes, “I’m not doing this because I feel like I have to. I want to be here for you, I just wasn’t sure you wanted me hanging around you like this.” Green eyes looked away and a part of him wanted to say it, wanted to tell Danny the truth about how he really felt and beg him for forgiveness. But the words wouldn’t come, just like they wouldn’t before.

Danny swallowed hard as he felt Temp accept his touch, going so far as to reciprocate the hand hold. His core was continuing to hum low in his chest, and he felt the tears starting to prick at his eyes again. Temp's gaze flickered away, and after a moment Danny's did too. "That... that isn't the problem," Danny said quietly, barely loud enough to hear. "The problem is that I want it too much." The hand holding Temp's lightly squeezed it, though Danny didn't look up at the confession. "And I... I didn't feel like it was right to... To ask you to put up with that, since you don't..." His throat tightened, and he couldn't bring himself to say it. It simply hurt too much. "... I'm sorry. I shouldn't be... be asking this of you. It's not right of me... I just... I don't even know."

But I do! Temp’s mind screamed, his core a high humm that he could swear he could hear. No matter how much he shouted it in his mind, how he tried to force the words to form he couldn’t say it. He didn't want it too much, if anything what he wanted was normal, because it was what they had had before Danny had confessed about how he felt, and he had been unable to do the same. There was no doubt to the Guide that he loved the half a in front of him, that he wanted to be with him, to stay with him no matter what came along, but he had ruined that by not speaking up. And now... now could he ever get Danny to believe him even if he could say the words? Or would the heir take it all as a big joke and think that he was being mocked or pitied. "There isn't anything wrong with you asking me, I don't mind, if... If it was something I didn't want to do then I wouldn't."

Danny's breath hitched as Temp spoke, his hand flexing slightly around the one he was holding. "... Then, please?" He asked in a very small voice, embarrassed to be begging Temp to stay but not enough to keep him from doing it. Not for the first time he berated himself for having spoken up that day, having confessed his true feelings. He was starting to believe that ignorance really was bliss; a bliss he was no longer afforded. Danny didn't just let Temp remain seated in the chair , however. He gently tugged on his hand, trying to coax him to lay next to him. he wanted... needed.. to feel someone there, to feel the security of being held and being able to hold back. if Temp would allow him this one last indulgence, he'd be eternally grateful.

Hearing the small voice his green eyes looked at Danny’s blue trying to see if he meant it, if he wanted it. Feeling the tug on his hand he gave into the request climbing onto the bed he laid down next to the other halfa carefully winding his arms around him and nuzzling into his hair, just like he always had. He would give him this, give him anything that he asked for to try and make it up to him, to try and show him that he did love him until he was able to say the words out loud. “I’m here Danny,” Temp said to him softly his arms tightening slightly.

At that particular moment, it didn't matter to Danny that Temp may have been only doing this out of pity, or because of the fact that he'd been hurt. It was something he needed desperately, and he was willing to push away the hurt of knowing Temp didn't share the same feelings. Drawing in a shaky breath, Danny leaned into Temp's embrace, letting his forehead rest against Temp's collarbone, a few tears of gratitude slipping from his eyes unseen. "... Thank you..." He whispered, his own arm moving to loosely wrap around Temp as he tried to simply draw comfort from Temp's proximity. It was amazing how well it worked, since after a couple of minutes of just resting there, his breathing altered to a slow, deep pace. The struggle to actually sleep seemed to fade away as, for the first time since Danny's foolhardy words, he was able to relax in Temp's arms, and be in some semblance of peace. His wounds still ached, both physically and emotionally, but they were pushed aside by the need for rest, and the comfort that Temp offered.

--- The next morning---

Green eyes slowly blinked open as he snuggled into the warm body lying next to him trying to put off actually getting up. He didn't want to move, didn't want to chance waking Danny up and saying that he didn't want him holding him anymore or worse that he wanted him to leave. Of course he would try to argue that Danny wasn't well enough yet to be left on his own but if he truly wasn't wanted then he would leave. Feeling his stomach grumble he let out a soft internal sigh, he should get up and get something for them both to eat. As much as he didn't want to move if he was hungry then it was possible that the Heir would be as well. Probably better to get the food, Danny had gotten rest but he hadn't seen him eat anything since he had gotten there, not that he was there for long before they had fallen asleep, but still, he had no idea how much he had. Relaxing in the comfort of the embrace for a bit longer he careful phased out of the hold and headed towards the kitchen to see what he could make.

Danny had been exhausted enough from both the pain and emotional turmoil that he didn't even stir as Temp phased out from under his arm. He continued to breathe slowly and deeply, his rest thankfully dreamless. But after a few minutes, a part of his seemed to register that something was missing, and slowly his eyes fluttered open for a brief moment. He was in his bed, in his lair. He was also alone. Had he just dreamed Temp had been there? Probably... Danny let out a deep, disappointed sigh, rolling carefully over to his other side, curling up a little and wrapping his arms around himself. Of course it had to have been a dream. Temp probably wouldn't have willingly rested next to him in his embrace, no matter what the reason. Swallowing the lump that tried to form, Danny closed his eyes again, not wanting to face reality at the moment. He was far too tired still, and at the moment it seemed his dreams were a nicer place to be than in the real world. He didn't fall completely back to sleep, however, but rather into a lighter dose, still somewhat awake and aware, but at least letting his eyes and body rest even if his mind didn't entirely want to.

Frowning at the batter in the bowl the guide ran through everything in his head. He had jumped back to his tower a few times to get things that he needed and he was trying to think if there was anything else that had to be added in. Turning on the stove he let it heat before adding the batter in, ‘Temp?’ Humming in question at the gear he kept an eye on what he was doing rather than turning to look at Artemis. ‘What happen?’ Stiffening he glanced back at the gear before looking back to the cooking pancakes, “What are you talking about Artemis?” The small gear was quiet for a bit before he answered, ‘I mean you and Danny. What happen?’ “What makes you think that something happened?” ‘Danny sad, you sad, not touch, not play, just sad. Why?’ So Artemis had noticed that things weren't the same with them. “It’s complicated Artemis,” Temp mumbled as he flipped the pancake. ‘When things easy?’ the gear countered, ‘What happen?’ Sighing he shook his head, “A lot Artemis, and I dont want to talk about it.” ‘Should.’ Ignoring the gear Temp went back to doing what he had been before. It took awhile for Temp to get everything ready, from figuring out where everything was, to cooking, and then cleaning up, but hopefully the teen had kept sleeping. It wasn’t anything complicated or fancy just regular old pancakes, but hopefully Danny wouldn’t mind too much. Balancing the plates he opened the door carefully trying not to spill everywhere. “Danny?” He called as he floated over to the bed, “I have breakfast.”

Danny continued to doze quietly, mostly unaware of what was going on in the other room. But he did stir slightly as the smell of something cooking made its way from the kitchen to the bedroom, making his stomach clench in reminder that he'd had little more than soup for the last several days, since Vlad had been wary about straining Danny's system as he recovered from his ordeal. Still, he was reluctant to actually get up, convincing himself that the smell was just part of some sort of lucid dream he was having. This was reinforced when Temp came back into the room carrying the plates. After all, it wouldn't make much sense for him to do that since Danny had determined his previous presence had been part of a dream. He was too tired to realize the inconsistency of that, or to realize that Temp could have just left in the interim. Danny let out an unintelligible mumble, trying to resist waking up, but his stomach growing more insistent now that the food was in the room and the smell that much stronger. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes, turning to look over his shoulder, a confused expression on his face to see the Guide floating there. "... Temp?" He asked, his tone hesitant, as if he didn't quite believe what he was seeing. "Wh... Am I still asleep?" He murmured more to himself, shifting a hand to rub at his eyes.

Watching him with a bit of amusement as he mumbled and tried not to wake up, he thought that maybe he had come a bit too early with food, if Danny was still fighting so hard to stay asleep. The confused expression as the teen finally turned over to look at him confused him as well, was he out of it so much that he didn’t realize where he was? Smiling he nodded as he was called out to moving closer to the bed and offering out a plate. Hearing the mumbled words he chuckled, “Not that I know though you did fall asleep pretty easily earlier, I would bet my time staff you’re awake now.” Letting him finish rubbing his eyes he offered the pancakes again, “They aren’t anything special, just plain old pancakes, but I didn’t know when you last ate so I got up to make some. I figured you would be hungry when you got up.”

No matter how Danny tried to dispel the "illusion", Temp remained floating there, still holding the plate of what Danny belatedly realized was pancakes. Carefully, Danny pushed himself back up into seated position, situating himself so he was gingerly leaning back against the pillows he propped to protect his back from his headboard. He accepted the plate Temp held out to him, but simply set it in his lap, still not looking away from Temp, a strange expression on his face, as if he still couldn't quite believe it. "I... you... You're really here? That wasn't some sort of..." He trailed off, his breath catching a little in realization. Swallowing hard, he dropped his eyes to the plate on his lap, trying to keep from having an emotional outburst. He almost couldn't believe it. Temp was really there? And not only that... but he had stayed? He took a shuddering breath, before giving a weak smile. "Thanks... Temp. I... I really appreciate it." He glanced down at his bandaged hands, not sure how well he'd be able to wield the fork. Since Vlad had mostly been feeding him soup, he'd stuck to drinking it out of cups. This was going to be a bit of a challenge to not end up getting the pancakes and syrup everywhere.

Blue eyes watched him as he held out the plate, shifting into a sitting position before going back to staring at him even as he took the offered plate. Spectral tail winding around itself in a sudden bout of shyness Temp sat on the edge of the bed. It was his turn to look confused as he nodded, of course he was there, he had been here for while now. Was it that hard to believe that he wouldn’t have just disappeared on him? Returning the weak smile he sat more comfortably on the bed instead of perching on the edge of it though it faded a bit when Danny looked at his bandaged hands. “Crap, I didn’t even think about you not being able to hold a fork.” Well this wasn’t any good, how was Danny supposed to eat if he couldn’t hold the fork to eat it with? He could always cut up the pancakes for him but that still left the problem of Danny being able to eat them. With a sigh he set his own pancakes aside shifting again so that he was closer to Danny and taking back the plate. Cutting up a bit of the pancake he speared a piece onto the fork and offered it to him.

Danny glanced up when Temp started to speak, and he hastened to try and reassure Temp that he'd figure it out, but before he could get a word out the other Halfa set aside his own plate, settling down closer and taking the plate away from him. "Temp, I can..." He started to say, but then Temp began to cut into the pancakes, gathering some on the fork and holding it out to him. Danny's cheeks and ears began to flush in embarrassment. "Y-you don't have to do that, Temp! I can eat them on my own, I promise." He tried to protest, not sure he was comfortable with the idea of being hand-fed by Temp like a baby. Bad enough that he had to do it once when he literally had been a baby, but this was entirely different.

Raising an eyebrow at him Temp kept the offered pancakes out, “With your hands bandaged like they are? You might be able to but it’s not going to be the easiest thing, besides I should have thought of that before I made them. If you really want to struggle eating them on your own I’ll let you I just figured this would be easier.” The fact that Danny had gotten so red over the offer was amusing, though Temp made sure that none of it was seen, it might have been worth the mistake of making pancakes just to be able to see that.

Danny couldn't hold Temp's gaze; he looked away, grumbling slightly. "Can you at least let me attempt to do it on my own?" Danny asked, embarrassment making the words come out a touch whiny. "I don't need to be fed like a baby. And my hands aren't broken, just bandaged. I can still move them... sort of."

Putting the fork back down on the plate he gave it back to Danny with a nod not able to hide the amusement now, "Alright, but I wasn't offering to make you feel like a baby." Moving back a bit so that he could grab his own pancakes again Temp began to eat watching to see how well Danny would be able to eat with his hands limited movement.

Danny didn't bother to mask the sigh of relief as Temp acquiesced to his request, he turned the plate so that the handle of the fork was easier to grasp for his hand. Since there was already pancakes speared on the fork, he carefully wrapped his hand around the handle, lifting that bite to his mouth. His eyebrows rose in surprise at the taste. He knew Temp was pretty good at cooking, but he'd never had pancakes at the Clocktower before, and compared to the pancakes his mother usually made, which you had to worry about biting back sometimes, this was really good. 'Okay, that hadn't been too hard' he thought to himself, before using his other hand to carefully rotate the plate again. Still holding the fork in the same position, he attempted to shift his wrist to change the direction the fork was aimed, carefully trying to cut another chunk off the pancakes. It took more wiggling the fork around than he usually would, and occasionally the handle of the fork would press against his burns through the bandages, but he did his best to ignore it, rather dealing with the pain than the embarrassment of being fed like that.

Trying not to stare as Danny ate he was glad that it didn’t seem like it was too hard for him to eat, though there were times when it looked like he was having a hard time with it. Still the guide kept himself from reaching over to take the plate away and do it for him but it seemed the heir had fallen into a good pattern with it. Slow going it may be but he was doing just fine with it on his own. As the pancakes were finished he reached out for the plate again, “Alright I’m going to go wash the things I used to cook, you relax here. No buts!” Temp told the halfa before he could argue, “I made the mess I can clean it.” Taking Danny’s plate he grinned at him before heading out the door, “If you don’t fall asleep we could always play card of something when I’m done!” Heading out into the kitchen he started to get to work on the dishes, filling the sink and taking off his gloves so that they wouldn’t get soaked. ‘What happen?’ A voice said behind him and he scowled at the dish he was washing, he had thought Artemis had dropped it. “Nothing Artemis, drop it.” ‘No,’ the gear said moving in front of Temp’s face, ‘Tell what happen!’ “Artemis,” Temp lightly growled at the gear. ‘No! Tell!’ “Why won’t you drop it?!” He almost yelled at the gear the dish he was washing forgotten. ‘It bother you! It bother Danny! Something happen! Why won’t tell?!’ Rubbing his face he groaned, “Because I’m an idiot who can’t say what I want even when it’s right there!” Artemis let out a questioning trill and Temp sighed, “He loves me Artemis, he told me he loves me and I can’t say it back. I love him, but I can’t tell him that, I can’t. If I tell him and then something happens I… I can’t go through that again Artemis, I can’t lose someone I love again. He said it and all of this happened. What is going to happen if I tell him back? It doesn’t even matter, he… I let him think that I didn’t care about him that way. When I told him I couldn’t he thought… he thought I meant I couldn’t love him . He wouldn’t believe me now even if i did tell him, even if I could get it out. After all of this…” Temp took a deep shaky breath his voice dropping low, “I’m scared Artemis. I could have lost him. Not from the Observants or anything that I was trying to protect him from in our time, but something here in his own time. I can’t watch over him, I can’t see him, he might have been killed and I…” His throat tightened and cut off his words. He never would have known. He might have figured it out eventually but it would have taken him time, time that Danny might not have had. If Vlad hadn’t gotten to him, had pulled him out of there when he did, how much longer would he have been there? What else would they have put him through? “How can I ever make any of this better?”

Danny was almost hyper aware of Temp's gaze even if the Guide was trying not to watch too closely, and Danny suspected the other Halfa was having to force himself not to try and take over again, at least if he had to take a guess at it. Still, Temp refrained, and Danny slowly managed to get through the plate of pancakes on his own. Feeling almost uncomfortably full after a week of eating very little in the way of solid outside of noodles and stuff from soup, Danny gave a contented sigh as he finished. He blinked up over at Temp as he took the plate from him, a protest dying on his lips and the older Halfa insisted that he could clean up the mess he made himself. Giving Temp a lopsided smile, he held up his hands in mock surrender, letting Temp have his way with this. Not like he was going to argue getting out of having to clean if he could help it. Still, after Temp left, he couldn't remain in bed. He was getting a little restless, for starters, but mostly it was because he really needed to use the restroom. He waited for a moment until he assumed Temp had made it back to the kitchen before easing out of bed and making his way carefully to the bathroom, hoping to keep from alerting Temp to the fact that he was out of bed. He heard the water start in the sink as he stepped into the bathroom to do his business. Once done, he was about to sneak back to his room when he heard raised voices. "What in the...? Is that Artemis? Why are they yelling?" He murmured quietly to himself, carefully sneaking closer to the kitchen but staying out of sight. He knew he shouldn't be eavesdropping, but he was curious as to what could get the seemingly mild mannered gear practically shouting at Temp, and vice versa. Ah, so apparently Artemis had noticed the way things were strained between himself and Temp, and had decided to ask Temp what the deal was. Danny bit his lip, debating on easing away, not wanting to hear from Temp how Danny himself had messed things up between them because he couldn't keep his mouth shut, confessing to feelings that Temp couldn't share. But before he could get away, Temp was responding to Artemis, and what he had to say made Danny's heart thud painfully in his chest, his breathing stopping for a moment as he stared at the far wall, wide eyed at what Temp was saying. Temp... loved him? He actually loved him? But he just couldn't say the words? Or at least, not to his face. He didn't seem to have any trouble telling Artemis. But why? Why then had he let Danny believe all this time that he didn't? Why hadn't he tried to clarify, to explain that he just couldn't say the words? Danny swallowed hard, belatedly taking a shaky breath and trying to keep his stomach from churning from the sudden onset of many mixed emotions. Clenching his jaw, he slowly started to make his way back to his bedroom. He didn't want Temp to realize what he had overheard. He wasn't sure just how truthful Temp was being with Artemis, though he didn't know why he'd lie to the gear, but he still had a little trouble believing it. Whatever the case was, though, he decided right then and there that he wasn't going to confront Temp about this, instead letting the Guide take whatever time he needed to decide what he really wanted. Eventually Danny made it back to his room, and he carefully slid back under the covers again, debating whether to feign sleep again, or perhaps use the suggested card game to carefully probe for more information, or verification of what Temp had said.

‘Have to try,’ Artemis spoke after a short pause, ‘Have to try make better. Even if can’t tell, try. Danny understand. Never know if don’t try.’ Sighing Temp went back to washing the dishes, “I know Artemis.” The gear left him alone as he finished cleaning, letting Temporal think things through on how he was going to make it up to Danny, or how he was going to show him without being able to tell him. As he headed back towards the room he took a deep breath, pushing his swirling thoughts away so that Danny wouldn’t be able to tell. Knocking softly he peeked his head in, “Danny? You still awake?” It was possible that he had fallen back asleep, the bags under his eyes were proof that he hadn’t really been getting too much sleep and he didn’t want to wake him if that was the case. If he was awake though, and the heir allowed him, he wanted to hang out with him more before he was sent away.

Danny still hadn't made up his mind what he wanted to do by the time Temp had returned, which effectively took the choice away from him seeing as he was still obviously sitting up and not laying down and asleep. trying to not let the recent revelation show on his face, or the turmoil he was feeling be expressed, he threw on a shaky smile as Temp poked his head into the room. "Hey," He greeted softly, waiting for Temp to enter into the room. "Yeah... I'm still awake. I think the sugar is sort of... making it hard to sleep. I haven't had any in a while." It was a lie, of course, but hopefully Temp would swallow it. After all, it was true. He hadn't had anything sweet since before he'd been captured.

Seeing that Danny was awake and sitting up in the bed he moved over, nodding in understanding as he was told that the sugar was keeping him up. It very well could be sugar, or that Danny didn’t feel comfortable alone, or any of another dozen reasons why, but he wasn’t about to question it. Plopping down on the bed he grinned, “So think of anything that you would like to do, or any games you want to play? Just to let you know I won’t go easy on you whatever you do pick.” It was clear that he was challenging Danny to try and beat him in whatever it was that they did decide to play and he felt the worry he had about his conversation with Artemis fade a bit. He would still try and figure everything out but for now getting the heir to have a good time and forget about what happened was more important.

Danny blinked slightly at how... casual Temp was being, considering the conversation he'd just had with Artemis. Was Temp really that good of an actor? If so... how much of what had been happening lately had been the act, and how much was the truth? Had he been acting around Artemis? Or was how he acted around Danny the thing that wasn't real? Doubts swirled in Danny's head, with no easy fix to them. To keep his mind off of it, though, and to prevent Temp from realizing what he knew, he turned his attention to the question Temp had posed. "Hmm? Oh... I... uh... hadn't really thought about it. Been mostly just... thinking. And trying to decide if I wanted to ignore the sugar rush and try to sleep anyways." He gave a slight sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head. "I'll be honest... I'm probably not up for anything too mentally challenging. I'm still pretty loopy right now. Do you have any suggestions?"

Humming Temp tapped his lips trying to think of a game that you didn’t have to concentrate too much on. “Well there are always games like Go Fish, Blackjack, Crazy Eight’s, War…” trying to think of any more he gave a shrug, “That’s all I can think of to play if any of them sound good or if you really want you can try and sleep. Its up to you.” To be fair Temp wouldn’t mind either, playing card games would be fun, and getting to hold Danny again, if he wanted him too, would be just as nice. The choice wasn’t his to make though so no matter how nice it sounded there wouldn’t be anything that he could do if he was told to get lost instead.

Danny thought for a moment when Temp listed off a few of the games they could play, but only one of them sounded like it would take minimal mental effort, considering it was a game entirely of chance. "Why don't we try War, and see how far along we get before I crash from this sugar high," Danny suggested. "Do you remember where the board and card games are kept? I think I have a regular deck in the card drawer." Danny figured they could keep up with some idle chit-chat while they played, and if he did actually get tired, it was simple enough to just gather their individual decks and put them aside if they wanted to play later.

When War was suggested Temp nodded and got up, "Yep I remember," he called heading over to where is was and looking around for some cards. Finding them he brought them over and dealt them out after a quick shuffle. "Aces high or low?" Temp asked as he gathered up his delt cards.

Danny carefully shifted on the bed so Temp could more easily join him, though he couldn't sit completely cross-legged due to the wound on his thigh, he simply let that leg stay straight and out to the side, leaving the space that would be between them open for the cards. "Aces can be high, and Jokers trump," Danny replied as Temp shuffled the deck and dealt. Danny carefully gathered his stack into a neater pile, resting it in one hand on his knee as he dealt his first card. " Ten of hearts," he observed aloud as he waited for Temp to draw, mentally trying to think of a conversation to strike up. He had a feeling that asking things like 'how have you been?' and 'what have you been up to?' would be dangerous territory considering the tenuous peace they had going.

Flipping up a three of hearts Temp shook his head, at least it was a low card though in a way every card counted if you wanted to win the game. "How are your bandages? None of them feel loose I hope," he asked as Danny took the cards. Flipping up his next card he pulled up the queen of clubs, green eyes glancing up at Danny.

Danny glanced up briefly as he flipped his next card over. Four of diamond. He pushed the two cards over to Temp as he thought about his reply. "They're okay. I don't think any of them have come loose," he replied, flipping over his next card. Jack of clubs. "The one on my throat keeps sort of... making me feel a little choked, but I think it's more... you know... psychological. It's not actually that tight, just... you know... after what happened..." He trailed off, clearing his throat. "Still.. Thank you. I know I did earlier but... it... really does mean a lot to me that you helped me out. I just..." He took a deep breath. "I needed to be someplace familiar... and I couldn't stand to be at Vlad's anymore. He's such a worry wart and mother hen you wouldn't even believe." He gave a weak chuckle. "I figured I'd be able to heal faster here, since... you know... I've basically got all that spare energy at my disposal. But something... something they did or used makes it... hard to heal right. It's a lot slower than normal, and even slower in ghost form, which... you know... is actually the opposite of what usually happens."

Picking up the cards and slipping them randomly into his deck he listened, wishing there was something that he could do so that it didn't make Danny feel that way, but knowing that there wasn't going to be much that he could do. If he loosened the bandages they were going to rub his skin raw and they needed them on at least until his wounds healed a bit more. Smiling at him he flipped up his next card, a ten of spades and pushed them both away from himself. "You don't need to keep thanking me, I told you, I don't mind, and that isn't going to change." Chuckling Temp shook his head, "I know first hand how much of one that he can be, that's why I told you if I started to annoy you for you to just tell me to go away, I didn't want to turn into him." Taking a deep breath when he heard that they had blocked his healing he didn't let himself get upset. "It makes sense," he admitted begrudgingly, "After all they don't want ghosts to heal before they can properly examine the damage." Turning up a four of hearts he pushed it towards Danny sure the other halfa was going to end up taking it. "Anyway," he said changing the subject, "I didn't ask how you liked the pancakes."

The sheepish half smile, half grimace crossed Danny's face. "I know... I know... but... still. I just... saying 'thank you' doesn't feel like enough, but I don't know how else to thank you, so I just sort of... keep saying it over and over." He gathered the cards and deposited them randomly into his own deck even as Temp started to push the next card towards him. Understandable with a low card like that. "And yeah, Vlad was kind of suffocating me... but then again I was with him for a full week before I managed to convince him to let me come home." He shook his head, drawing his own card, his eyebrows raising. Three of Hearts. Looks like Temp won even with a low card. Danny pushed the two cards back towards Temp. "I know he was just worried after the way he found me, and I know he's predisposed to want to help considering... you know... his son and all..." It was still awkward to think about Vlad being the biological father of one of their alternates. "But I still kind of wish he didn't insist on treating me like I was made of glass." He sighed, before shaking his head, drawing his next card. King of Spades. Nice! "The pancakes?" Danny asked, glancing back up again in surprise. "Oh! They were really good, actually. Better than Mom's... though don't tell her I said that." He grinned a little at Temp.

"I'm surprised he let you come back at all," Temp said with a grin as he picked up the cards that Danny had pushed back towards him, how was it that Danny had managed to pull a number just below his own and with all the cards they had left too. "Maybe, he could just care about you as yourself too." Pulling his card his nose crinkled in disappointment, there went the Queen of Hearts. "Glad you liked them, I can't cook much, but the stuff I can I'm decent at. Though I think that has more to do with me cooking it all the time more than anything else." Flipping up the seven of diamonds he put it down in front of him that one could really go either way.

Danny snorted a little at both of Temp's comments as he picked up the cards. "Trust me, I had to argue long and hard with him, and in the end I had to point out that being in my lair where I'm literally surrounded by my own excess energy would probably heal me faster. And... well, I'm slow, but I can get up and around. I just promised I'd mostly stay in bed unless I needed to, you know... eat or use the restroom or shower or something." Showering was still an ordeal, considering his many stitched wounds, and having to deal with unwrapping the bandages and re-wrapping new ones afterwards. "And... I know he cares, surprisingly enough. I wasn't exactly the nicest person to him when we first met, but... he kinda grew on me." Danny chuckled, drawing his card. Red Joker. That was almost guaranteed win unless Temp drew the other Joker. "Hey, better than I could probably do. I still mostly stick to really simple stuff that's like... already pretty much boxed up and ready to go. I know I should learn to do more, but... I haven't really had a pressing need to."

Chuckling Temp shook his head, "I can't say anything, the only reason I got out of his care was because I had frozen time so he couldn't stop me from going through a portal and home. He was irritated with for a bit after that though." Shaking his he couldn't help but grin, "Probably thought the same thing that I did, that you would try and help someone even though you're not in the best shape to do so." Seeing Danny's joker he sighed flipping his own card over though thankfully it was only an eight of hearts. What was with all the heart cards he was pulling up? If Artemis was doing anything he swore he would get the gear back for his hints. "That he does," Temp agreed. Snorting Temp flipped up his next card, Jack of Spades, while giving Danny a look, "If you are going to be employing anyone to help run your city then I doubt you will ever need to, even more so if you have any cooks to make sure that any scientists that come to work can grab a quick bite before diving back into their work. You'll probably get things sent to you on a constant basis."

Danny let out a huff as he snagged the cards. "Geez... nice to see so many people have such faith in me," He said, a touch of acidity in his tone. "I'm not stupid. I know I'm in no condition to fight. I'm probably lucky that no one has decided to try their hand at sneaking into my own lair to do me in... though they'd find it pretty hard to do." He flipped over a card, which turned out to be the five of spades. He pushed the cards to Temp. "As for cooks... later on down the line I might hire someone to help the scientists, but I think I'll stick to making my own meals. That way I know what's being put inside of them." He drew another card, which turned out to be the seven of hearts.

Frowning Temp shook his head even as he gathered up the cards, "Its not that Danny." Flipping over the three of clubs and passed it to the teen as he thought about how to say what he wanted. "Even if you know you're not in a condition to fight, you wouldn't let that stop you if someone really and truly needed your help. Not for something petty but if a powerful ghost showed up you would think about others first and yourself second. It's just the kind of person you are. I didn't mean it in a cruel way, or to say that it was a shortcoming, just that you have a lot of heart." Temp didn't look up at him as he flipped over his next card, the four of spades. He would have said it was something they had in common, but Temp wasn't so sure anymore. He took lives and weighed them out by helpful they would be as a whole, if there were a room of eleven people and one had a gun, the one that needed to die would, there was no way around it. What was better for all in the long run was the path that was gone down.

Danny's lips pulled into a thoughtful frown. "Well... yeah, but... that's kind of my job, isn't it?" He asked quietly. "Local hero and all that. And I've fought with really bad injuries before. I've fought when I was... when I was heart sick over various things. I normally manage to come out on top." He shook his head, flipping the card over. Nine of clubs. He shook his head and collected the cards, flipping the next one over right away. Five of spades. "Believe it or not... I tend to be more careful when fighting when I'm in bad shape. But... what else am I supposed to do? Just sit back and watch when a ghost decides to wreck havoc in town? When one decides to start killing?" He shook his head. "I've got enough blood on my hands already... I don't want to add more to it."

"I believe you, but there are other capable hunters in Amity, let them handle things for a little while unless it's something big that you don't have a choice with." Nine of spades, he sighed taking Danny's five and rubbing his eyes a bit before he pulled the next one, two of hearts. "I just want you to be careful," he spoke softly staring intently at his card. Swallowing hard he didn't look up, couldn't not while his mask was so close to slipping, he just had to take a bit to get it back into place before he looked back up again.

Danny nodded slightly. "That's what I'm doing now," He admitted softly as Temp collected the cards and played his own. "I... I've told Mom and Dad recently. My secret, I mean. Before I was... was caught." He rubbed the back of his neck. "They don't know about the whole King thing... but they do know about me being half ghost, and the fact that I've got a lair on the other side of the portal. That was a whole different argument, getting them to let me stay here. Mom tries to come through to check on me sometimes, but she can't get past the main door yet. I haven't had time to key her to it." Danny drew his next card, but he found himself staring at it for a moment, not laying it down. "... I'm doing the best I can, Temp. I... learned my lesson. I just need to be a lot more careful... with a lot of things." He sighed, laying down the ace of hearts. He stifled a yawn behind his hand. "... Hey, you want to put the game on hold for a bit? I think I'm hitting my crash."

Temp looked up in surprise as Danny told him that he had given up his secret to his parents, but he smiled as he heard that they had accepted him, and it stretched into a grin as he found out that his mom was still trying to check in on him. "Well then next time I come by I will have to make sure its when they are here so I can bow before you and exclaim my loyalty to the ghost king!" Temp joked bowing as well as he could while he was sitting on the bed. "Hey," he called to get the heir's attention all of his playfulness gone, "You're doing the best with what was thrown at you Danny." Nodding Temp took Danny's noticeability larger deck with his own and set them down so that each could be grabbed easily. Fidgeting a bit Temp stared down at the cards, "Do you want me to go then and let you sleep or do you... do you want me to stay like last time?" He tried not to wince as he noticed the hopeful sound in his voice as he asked the last part.

Danny gave Temp a mildly sour look. "Do that and I'm not talking to you for at least a week. I don't want to have to listen to that crap from the... from my friends," he corrected himself, wincing internally and having almost slipped up again and said the wrong word. He handed Temp his half of the deck, not horribly concerned if they got mixed up, stifling another yawn. "That's what I keep trying to tell people, but... I dunno. Maybe I'm just getting too weighed down by all of this or something." He sighed, shifting a little and wincing at how stiff he was from sitting in the same position for so long. He did pause, however, when Temp asked his question. His mind flickered back to what Temp had said to Artemis in the kitchen, and he found himself chewing on his lip a little. "... Whatever you want to do is fine with me. You're... welcome to stay if you want, but if you'd rather head home... I'd understand," He said after a moment. If Temp wanted to stay, he'd be more than happy to have him there, but he wasn't going to try and let him be guilted into staying if he didn't want to.

"I meant..." Temp started then sighed slightly, if Danny hadn't caught that he wanted to know if he wanted him to stay in the room with him like before then that meant that he probably didn't want him around. Forcing a grin on his face he shook his head, "Nothing needs my attention right now or Artemis would have let me know, you're not going to get rid of me that easy." Turning away from the bed he let his grin fade trying not to let his shoulders slump as he did so, "Just call if you need anything then when you wake up, alright?" He had been right then, the only reason Danny had wanted him there last time was because he was afraid, but it didn't seem like he was anymore. Waking up to see he was in his own lair had probably done that so he wouldn't be of anymore help. At least he had gotten to hold him again, even for awhile.

A confused look crossed Danny's face as Temp made to leave. Did he not actually want to stay? It was so hard to tell with Temp, and Danny was having trouble telling the truth from the lies. "... Temp... I... You..." His words faded off, and he swallowed hard, not able to hide the flash of hurt on his own face. Maybe Temp really didn't want to be there with him. Fair enough, since it was his prerogative. "... O-okay. I'll... I"ll keep that in mind," he said, though he wasn't able to keep his disappointment out of his tone. Clearing his throat, he shifted to go lay down, trying not to think about how his heart was hurting all over again at this fresh rejection. He curled up on his side, his back to Temp so the older Halfa couldn't see his face, he pain that he struggled to hide.

When Danny started to talk he stopped listening to the words that he said before they stopped and trailed off silence hanging between them before he was told that what he had said would be kept in mind. Taking a breath Temp turned back around seeing that Danny's back was towards him. He had to know, had to know if he was wanted to stay with him like they had been before when they slept or if Danny truly didn't want him there. Floating back over to the bed he got on bringing his arm around the teen and nuzzling into him, "I meant, do you want me to stay with you like this, not if you wanted me to stay in your lair." He waited with his breath held, not sure if he was going to get yelled at or hit, but hoping that Danny wouldn't mind, that he would let him stay and hold him.

Danny had been fully expecting Temp to leave, and given that he was floating, and therefore making little to no sound, it probably wasn't surprising when he gave a little start when he felt the bed right next to him depress, an arm moving to wrap around him and the sensation of someone nuzzling into him. His breath hitched for a moment as he registered that Temp had actually come back, that he was there beside him. Then, carefully, he turned in Temp's arms, his own moving to wrap around Temp tightly, nearly trembling with the force of his emotions. His face moved to tuck against Temp's collarbone, and his words become slightly muffled. "Please... I know it's selfish, but... please," He asked quietly, his throat closing up on him a little.

The small jump when he laid next to him wasn't surprising and Temp still held his breath waiting to be pushed away, to be told to leave. He only thought it more as the body he was holding turned towards him and he waited for the shove that he thought was coming, but instead of getting shoved away the teen only moved into his embrace further, his own arms wrapping around him. "If it's selfish, then let me be selfish with you," he told Danny as he nuzzled against him again. He wanted so bad to pull the warm body closer to his own, to hold him tightly, but he knew that he couldn't with the injuries that he had so he snuggled himself closer not realizing that a soft rumble had started in his chest. No doubt that the heir could hear it but Temp was too happy to care or even notice.

Tears sprang in Danny's eyes at Temp's words, his arms tightening a little in response. He didn't reply verbally, simply gave a shaky nod, pressing his face a little more firmly against Temp's chest. His mind flickered to the conversation he had overheard between Temp and Artemis. If Temp had been telling the truth... If he really did love him and just couldn't say it aloud... Then he would have to try and give him the benefit of the doubt. It didn't mean it didn't still hurt that Temp was willing to let him believe all this time that the Guide was unable to love him, but... In a way he understood. He knew how much of an impact Clockwork's death had on the older Halfa. The fact that Temp was even able to, willing to love him at all, even if he couldn't say the words to Danny's face, was a miracle in and of itself. He took a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh, a small smile gracing his face when he heard Temp start to purr, a sure sign that he was happy where he was. With his face as close to Temp's chest as it was, he had no trouble hearing or even feeling the rumble. Enheartened by this clear sign that Temp actually wanted to be there, he let himself fully relax against the Guide, the stress starting to slowly ebb away.

--- A few days later ---

Temp snuggled in closer to Danny as he started to wake up, it had been a few days since he had come, and though he had had to leave a few times, for the most part he had been there with the heir nonstop. The fact that Danny continued to want him there even with what he believed still amazed him. Eyes slowly opening as he felt something tapping him be blinked sleepily, trying to see what it was that was trying to get his attention. Artemis moved in front of his face, no doubt checking to see if he had woken up and let out a quiet trill, 'Wake up, someone here.' Temp blinked at the gear a few times before he phased himself carefully out of Danny's arms. "Who's here?" Temp asked quietly trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. 'Observants, and a few ghosts.' Stiffening Temp looked up at Artemis and sighed, he had figured that someone would show up eventually, things never stayed secret for long after all, and if any ghost had been trying to find him to ambush and hadn't been able to find him in Amity... Rumors traveled fast in the Ghost Zone, and they probably wanted to make sure with their own eye that Danny wasn't dead. "Danny you have visitors," Temp told the heir as he lightly shook him awake. If Danny could fool them at least enough to show that he wasn't completely beat then that would be good. That was provided that they could get them to believe so. Still he wasn't about to let Danny go down there on his own either. "Come on, you have to get up," he called out to Danny again trying to rouse him once again. Getting off the bed he left the making sure Danny was wake to Artemis trying to decide if it would be better to go down there in disguise or just as himself.

Danny had resisted waking up initially when Temp was first roused. By now he had gotten used to Temp occasionally having to leave. But just a few moments later he could hear Temp's voice calling his name, trying to wake him up. Giving a slight grumble, Danny yawned, rubbing his eyes as he peered up at Temp. "Mmm... wha?" He mumbled, his eyes still bleary from sleep. But as Artemis joined in, explain again what the deal was, Danny let out a muffled oath, irritably throwing the covers off of himself, rubbing his face with his hands. "Are they already here, or just on their way?" Danny asked, knowing that often times the gears had been able to give Temp advanced warning regarding the approach of his own Observants. But that was in his own universe, not in Danny's, and he didn't know if the gears had the same ability here. Sighing, Danny pushed himself to his feet, taking a moment to make sure his balance wasn't compromised before walking over to his closet to throw something on. Granted, he'd be changing into Phantom form, but he'd rather go knowing he had clothes on his human form as well. "Any idea what they actually want?" He asked as he carefully pulled a shirt over his head, settling it over his remaining bandages. He'd been healing nicely, once his body had managed to slough off the rest of the contaminates, but he was by no means back to top fighting condition. Danny glanced over at Temp, trying to see what he was doing as he transformed into his ghostly self. "... Are... you coming with?" Danny asked after a moment. "You don't have to. I'm sure I can handle the Observants, and I know you probably wouldn't feel comfortable being around them."

‘Coming soon,’ the gear warned Danny as he moved to get dressed. When Danny asked what they wanted Artemis let out a low whine, ‘Can’t tell.’ “They probably either heard about you getting captured or that you had a run in with the Guys in White and have come to see if your still alive. all it would have taken is one ghost seeing you fighting with them and then them telling on other and it could spread through the Ghost Zone.” Nodding Temp turned towards Danny a different outfit on then he had had before. “I’m not about to let you go down there by yourself, even if your Observants are nicer I would rather not take the chance that someone is going to try and kill you. What do you think?” Temp asked turning so Danny could see all of it. It wasn’t much the tattered gray shirt hung down to where his belt was effectively covering everything but his tail, and the blue cloak that went with it kept his face in enough shadow that only his glowing green eyes could be seen. The time staff that was normally with him was replaced with a large handled sickle, “It’s enough to hide who I am at least and it will give them pause if there is an unknown they have to deal with.”

Danny arched an eyebrow when he turned to see what changes Temp had made to his outfit, looking him over from top to bottom, though his eyes lingered on the scythe for a moment. "A little overkill, isn't it?" Danny asked, a brief smile tugging at his lips before he turned his game face on. "Alright, might as well go face the music. I'm not meeting them in my Throne Room, though. That's a little too pretentious since I'm not actually King yet. They can find me in my study." He gestured for Temp and Artemis to follow him as he headed for the elevator that lead to the lower levels. It was signature locked to prevent access to upper levels without being accompanied by him to prevent unauthorized access to where he lived. Only now, it meant Temp had to go with him to the lower public levels of his lair. Eventually he guided Temp to his study, gesturing for Temp to take a seat while he sat behind the desk. "If we look like we're discussing business, it'll appear more like everything is normal," Danny suggested softly as he picked up a pen, scribbling a few random things on a nearby notepad. "They might question why I have a bodyguard otherwise." Once he said that, he made sure he had a interested, curious mask on. "So... what exactly are you wanting to do here?" Danny asked in his normal voice, as if he were conducting an interview, assuming the other ghosts would be showing up at any moment.

Temp followed Danny through the halls of his lair his eyes looking around here and there, true Danny had given him a tour of the whole place but there weren’t many times that they were actually down in the more public area. Artemis, however, who had never really seen the rest of it was zooming around and chittering nonstop about all of the things that they passed, clearly excited to see more of it than he had. Putting his scythe down, but keeping it within easy reach, he sat in the chair the opposite of Danny and grinned as he was asked what he was doing there, even though Danny couldn’t see it. “To protect and serve our future King. I am a good fighter and I would not hesitate to risk my life should it be needed,” Temp answered trying to change the way his voice sounded at least a bit. It probably wasn’t necessary but he did it just in case. As Danny had guessed it didn’t take them long to get to them, “Phantom!” One of the two called as they barged into the room, “We have heard disturbing rumors!” “Disturbing rumors indeed. We had heard that you were taken.” “Yes! We had to come see for ourselves if they were true!” “If they were true!” Temp tried hard not to show how much he disliked being around the Observants simply looking over to them with narrowed eyes his hand back on his scythe, “Your Majesty?” He questioned Danny, clearly waiting to be told if he should be wary or not.

Danny had to resist pulling a face and sticking his tongue out at Temp, instead appearing to write something down. Before he had a chance to respond, however, the Observants had barged into the study, much like he had expected. He waited for them to finish their broken and shared speech, before pointedly putting his pen down and steepling his fingers, a very studiously blank expression on his face. "Counsel Members," Danny said evenly as way of greeting. "This is an unexpected surprise. I'd ask to what do I owe the privilege, but then, you've clearly already stated it." He placed his hands on his desk, pushing himself to his feet in a measured movement. "As you can see, I am perfectly fine. I'm not sure what rumors you've been hearing, but clearly they must be wrong." He gestured to himself. "Otherwise how would I be here to talk to you?" He glanced over at Temp, a mildly apologetic expression on his face. "Forgive me, we may have to put your interview on hold for the time being, at least until I have this all straightened out. But you are welcome to stay for the time being. A trial run, I suppose you could call it." There was a tiny twitch of his lips that almost could have been a smile, before he turned back to the Observants, all business once again. "Was there anything else you needed, or were you only here to verify rumors ?" He put as much irony and scorn as he could into the word, showing how little he appreciated being interrupted during what he considered to be far more important business.

Temp watched the transformation in Danny with a bit of awe, how he went from his normal relaxed self, to someone that commanded every bit of attention from everyone in a room. That he had flipped that switch so easily, from one minute being joking and relaxed, the next he was powerful and authoritative. It was… Hot Temp’s mind provided for him and he did he best to not show any outward sign of the heat he could feel rising to color his cheeks. It didn’t help that Danny looked over at him and Temp had to try his damnedest not to squirm under the gaze, just barely managing to nod. The Observant were silent for a moment before one spoke up, “It is not only that which brings us here, while we know now that you are fine and can bring truth to the rumors, there is another matter at hand.” “Yes, there is more to discuss with you about matters at hand,” the other agreed before continuing, “Those that fought with you have been going after any that they can.” “They have managed to get a few as it is.” “With ties to the human world you are the only one that could do something to stop them. They are a threat to the ghost that live in Amity Park.” “A threat to those that live there,” the other agreed.

Danny listened to the Observants with a passive expression, before holding up a hand to stall further commentary from the two. "I assure you, the matter is being dealt with. It many not be as quickly as you would prefer, but there are other factors that I have to take into consideration. I would like to see this issue resolved with as little physical intervention as possible on our part. Let the hunters take down their own, so they don't have further excuse to make things difficult in the future." Danny rested his hands on his hips, showing no signs of distress, though he never let his gaze leave the Observants, pinning them with a hard, icy stare. "I have spoken with Ghostwriter about this, though I suppose since you are so concerned about this, you could spread the message as well that the ghosts need to lay low for a bit. At the very least in Amity Park, since that is where most of the... issues have been." Danny rolled his shoulders back a little, ignoring the way it irritated a couple of the wounds on his back. "Nevertheless, I'll see what I can do to try and... speed up the process. Trust me, I want this dealt with as quickly as you do, perhaps even more so."

The Observant glanced at each other before giving Danny a slight bow, “We will see what we can do to make sure the message is spread and to inform those that want to know about it that you have things handled.” “Yes, we will also try and dispel the rumors of your run in with the hunters.” “If Your Highness does not need us further?” Waiting until they were dismissed the Observants turned and left and Temp let out a sigh, turning away from Danny, “Well, that was something.” How many pleasant encounters with the Observants had he had over the past year? True these were not the same as his own, but one looked just as much as the next did to him. Though in truth he was glad that these Observants seemed to be more inclined to work with Danny rather than against him.

Danny gave a nod to the Observants as they agreed to spread the message. "Thank you. I would appreciate your assistance on this matter." He shook his head, crossing his arms, again, ignoring how it pulled on the healing wounds and scars on his back. "Unless you have anything more you need to bring to my attention, that will be all," he said by way of dismissal. Even after the Observants left, Danny didn't ease up right away, retaking his seat and picking up his pen, writing something down quick. He did glance up when Temp spoke however. "Mmm. Yeah... I suppose..." He shook his head, visibly trying to drop the mask. "Sorry. Yeah, I guess it kinda was. They don't come around too often, and they usually only do so if they think there is an emergency. Which apparently building my lair was one." He snorted. "They also showed up when Clockwork had that run in with a lot of the other Ancients. They basically sent me to go rescue him. But other than that, they typically leave me alone." He wrote down a little more, before tearing the paper off the pad, folding it and sticking it in a drawer for later. "Alright. I think that's over with. Want to head back upstairs?" He asked, rising to his feet again, this time smiling at Temp.

Well that was one less worry Danny had to put up with at least, even if they only did things when they were asked to it was better than them purposefully trying to get into the way. “As odd as it might be, maybe it was a good that they did,” Temp grimaced at that fact that he was agreeing with Observants but they had had a point, “I mean, if you didn’t have your lair you wouldn’t have felt nearly as secure as you have felt having it.” It was odd seeing the switch in Danny, that he had to fight to drop his mask back down again and Temp found himself wishing that Danny hadn’t. Turning away from the ghost again he nodded at least he had time to get the blush off of his face before he had to drop the hood. “Sounds like a plan.” Getting up Temp followed along with the heir as they headed back up. ‘Temp okay?’ “What?” he asked looking at the gear, “Why wouldn’t I be okay?” ‘Still hiding.’ Shifting a bit, he shrugged it off, “It’s nothing Artemis I was just worried that someone might show back up?” Dang it, why had that come out more as a question than as a statement.

Danny sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he started to lead Temp and Artemis back the way they had came to return to his personal suites. "Yeah... and I mean... for the most part they typically leave me alone. They're a little... pushy sometimes if you haven't noticed, but I think that's just because they're used to getting their own way." He snorted, pushing the button on the Elevator. "I am glad that they sort of led me on the path to making my lair. I just... it would be nice to know for certain if they were really on my side or not. Kinda hard to trust them when I know they still tried to have Clockwork kill me, and then trying not to taint my view of them because of what I know of the Observants from your world..." The elevator opened, and Danny stepped in, holding the door open so Temp and Artemis could come in. At the brief conversation between the two, Danny looked over in concern. "Hey... if you're worried about them being able to see you or something, then don't be. I was told that their vision of me tends to be pretty blurred because of what Clockwork pulled, and that includes anyone around me at any given time. So you don't have to keep the hood down so low if you don't want to." Eventually the Elevator made it to the top, and Danny gestured for Temp and Artemis to precede him before stepping off himself. "So... what do you want to do? Return to our interrupted nap, or do something else?"

Looking away from Danny he shook his head, “I-It's not that.” Thankfully the elevator made it to the top floor and Temp stepped off to be stopped by Artemis before he could really go anywhere. ‘Then why?’ He was going to kill the gear, no doubt this was Artemis’ way of getting Temp to start saying things to Danny but he couldn’t of picked a worse time to try it. “Anything sounds good!” Temp practically shouted moving around the gear, “Games! Naps! Trivia!” It was a mistake, as soon as his eyes were off of him Artemis had gotten a hold of the hood he had on and pulled it back, easily making his face visible and the not entirely faded blush that was still dusting his cheeks. “Artemis!” he yelled swatting the gear away only to catch sight of Danny his blush returning as he hastily pulled his hood back up to hide his face. “LET’S GO PLAY A GAME!” he shouted making a break for where he knew Danny kept all of them.

Danny watched the two of them argue in confusion, pausing just past the threshold of the elevator to observe their strange little tiff. He had no idea what was going on, or why Artemis was suddenly being so insistent, but when Temp shouted what they could do and tried to walk away, the gear somehow grabbed a hold of Temp's hood, pulling it back away from his face. Danny caught sight of the flushed face, but if anything that only made him even more confused. Why was he flushing? Had something angered or embarrassed him? Before he could say anything, Temp had swatted Artemis away and yanked his hood up, rushing off to the game closet after shouting about playing a game. An uneasy look crossed Danny's face and he looked over to Artemis in askance. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked the gear quietly. "I didn't make him angry somehow, did I? All the yelling... is he trying to cover up being upset?"

‘Hmmm, don’t think angry,’ Artemis said to Danny, ‘Oh! You ask! Won’t tell me, might tell you!’ Artemis said before landing on Danny hair, ‘Ask! Ask!’ The gear chimed at him clearly thinking that it was the best idea. Temp, true to what he had shouted, was looking for a game that he could use to distract Danny with when, or if, the gear and him had followed. It would need to be something a bit more involved so the heir didn’t have a chance to think about asking him at all. He just need something that was long enough that he would forget all about what had just happened. Hearing, what he thought, was Danny come into the room he called out, “So, ah, anything you don’t want to play? It would help narrow things down.”

Danny glanced up as Artemis moved to settle on Danny's head, an uncertain expression on his face. "I dunno, Art. He doesn't seem to want to talk about it, and I don't want to push him if he's upset... not when we're just barely starting to be able to talk to each other without things being strained." He sighed, shaking his head slightly as he moved to go follow Temp into the room where his game closet was. "I don't have any preferences, no," Danny replied as he moved to go stand by Temp. He hesitated a moment, before reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. Temp. If you don't want to play a game, you don't have to. I'm not... gonna pry. I don't know what the deal is, but..." he trailed off, having to resist running his hand through his hair and chancing knocking Artemis off. "Anyway, just... thought I'd let you know." He sighed, moving to go sit on one of the chairs while he waited for Temp.

He didn’t move when Danny came over by him telling him that he had no preferences to what game they played, but he froze when the hand touched his shoulder only relaxing when he moved away. Shifting a bit he sighed, “It isn’t anything bad I promise just… are you always that… authoritative when you’re dealing with people as the Heir?” He asked. If he was he might have to avoid being around Danny when he was out on business, well at least as much as he could while Danny was still hurt, he wasn’t about to let Danny go out by himself if more ghosts came to see for themselves that he was well. Or at least keep himself under control when it came to those times. They had just really started talking again, and he didn’t want to run the risk of Danny pulling away again especially not over something like that.

Danny glanced over when Temp began to speak, a confused look on his face. "Uh... Not all the time," Danny replied, shaking his head. "It kinda depends on the ghost. I'm like that more with the ghosts I either don't like or don't trust. I'm usually a little more easy going around ghosts I'm friends or allies with." He scratched the back of his head. "Why do you ask? Did... It bother you seeing me like that?" There was a note of worry in Danny's tone. "I promise, I wouldn't ever be like that to... To my friends, and those I care about," he tried to reassure Temp. "That includes you." Danny worried that Temp would start to view him poorly after this. "I know I seemed kind of cold and rude, but I was trying to convince them that they wouldn't want to overstay their welcome."

Temp listened to Danny still with his back turned on him, listened to the worry in his voice as he tried to reassure him that he was never going to be that way with the ones he cared about and trusted. Only, he couldn't say that he wouldn't mind if Danny ever did. Something was going to have to give a bit at least or no doubt the teen was going to fret about it until he was in pieces. "I'm not worried about that, as soon as you started talking to me again you relaxed and were just like you were before they had come. I've just... I've only seen you that way twice before and it was for very different reasons." And he was trying not to say exactly what those reasons were or what it had done to him, "It's just different is all." Hopefully Danny would leave it at that, even if he had said he wouldn't pry he knew how curious he could be and he really really didn't want to have to tell him that he had thought that it was hot. Maybe after he had told Danny the truth about loving him and had gotten him to see that it wasn't a prank or a joke. Maybe then, but not before.

Danny continued to stare at Temp's back as he spoke, and despite his reassurance, Danny couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. Why wouldn't he even look at him? Not only that, but Danny didn't understand what Temp had been getting at. Since when had he been that cold and dismissing of Temp? Never that he could remember, unless you counted when he had left abruptly when he had first admitted feelings for Temp and Temp had freaked out on him. At the time he had been hurting, and so he'd closed himself off a little emotionally to try and protect himself. But that still wasn't the same as how he had acted with the Observants. "..." Danny bit his lip, then looked away, staring at the floor and very clearly not convinced, but not wanting to press the issue after promising he wasn't going to pry. His hands writhed a little in his lap, fingers twisting around one another, thumbs fidgeting as he waited for Temp to make his choice. One thing was certain: he was going to do whatever he could to avoid acting like that around Temp, if it made the Guide act like this afterwards.

Grabbing a game Temp turned to look at Danny seeing him bite his lip and look away. Frowning he moved over to the heir and set the board game on a chair next to him watching as he fidgeted with his hands. “Danny?” Pulling down his hood in worry, he tried to meet the blue eyes as he moved in front of him to cup his face, kneeling down so they were closer to the same eye level. “What is it?” he asked looking at him in concern. What had he said? It must have been something that he had said, though Danny had been worried earlier he hadn’t been like this. Somewhere he had said something poorly and it had been taken in the wrong way again. But what? He had been asking if that was how he always acted around others, that it was different for him to see him that way… could that be what Danny had mixed up? “It’s what I said isn’t it?” Sighing slightly he looked away and he could feel a bit of heat come to his cheeks again as he dropped his hands, “I meant that... you’ve only been dominating like that a few times around me and it.. uh, wasn’t for show.” Time his face must be bright enough to be glowing by now.

Danny hadn't looked up when Temp called his name, but in the end it became a moot point as Temp pulled back his hood and shifted so he was floating at more or less eye level in front of Danny. The fact that he was cupping his face, making it almost impossible for Danny to look anywhere else didn't help matters. Danny's jaw flexed beneath Temp's hands as his teeth clenched briefly, his breath coming out a little broken as Temp asked him what was wrong. Danny didn't answer right away, not entirely sure how to word what he was feeling, and in his prolonged silence Temp continued to speak. It only made Danny more confused when he saw Temp begin to flush again, releasing his face as he further explaining what the 'problem' had been. "I... what?" He asked, uncertainty in his voice. "But I wasn't... trying to be dominating? I just... I was trying to be cold and distant. Unapproachable. I was even borderline rude to them. So when you said that I had been like that to you before..." He shook his head. "I thought... I... I don't know. I thought it bothered you, or made you angry. I wasn't sure what you were even talking about, when I had been like that to you in the past." The confused expression still lingered on his face. "You consider that to be dominating? Is... that a good or a bad thing?" He asked, a wariness in his voice, as if he was afraid of asking the wrong thing.

“You might not have realized that was what you were doing, but you were. You demanded the attention of everyone in the room, it’s not something that you have to think about. You might have been cool and distant to them, but they didn’t even try to talk over you when you held up your hand, and I would bet if it had been a roomful of screaming ghosts they would have fallen Silent just as fast as the two of them did. Dominating isn’t just with your physical body, it’s in your body language and your aura.” Temp gave a slight shrug, unsure of just how to explain it to Danny in another way. He just had it, if he was aware of it or not. Temp shook his head no still not really looking at Danny, it hadn’t made him angry or bothered, well at least the kind that he meant . “For you?” Temp asked finally meeting the blue eyes, “It’s a good thing, beyond a good thing actually. Even more so because you’re the heir and ghosts, even people, will listen to you when you talk to them like that; you’ll be heard without having to shout over anyone. It just ah, has a different effect on me when it’s coming from you.”

Danny fell silent as Temp explained, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. He had never thought of acting in such a manner as being a dominating thing, but as Temp laid it out for him, he could start to understand what Temp meant, at least a little. But it wasn't really something he did consciously, and really, there had only been a few times he'd ever really been able to rally a large number of people. Even then, it had been a fight to get it across that he was someone who knew what he was doing. When had that changed? He had no idea as to why this was apparently suddenly a thing that he had. Was it simply because he was the acknowledged Heir, and had thus far beaten every single Challenger and would-be assassin who had come after him to date? Danny wasn't sure. But even if all of that were true, if it was a supposedly good thing to have, then why had it bothered Temp so much, to the point where it made him start to freak out a little, to run off as if here were avoiding him? To stiffen when he'd merely lightly touched his shoulder? Was being like that somehow frightening to Temp? Was that why he was flushing, because he was embarrassed at reacting with fright? "I... what... kind of effect?" Danny found himself asking cautiously. "I mean... if I need to be careful about... not being like that around you... I'll try to avoid doing so in the future. I don't... I don't want to... to frighten you or anything like that..." His gaze shifted away, a look of shame crossing his face. Was this just another sign that he was turning into a bad person? That he inspired fear in the person he loved?

Relaxing a bit as Danny thought all of it over Temp waited as it all turned over in his head. What he not expected was to be asked exactly what sort of effect it had on him. He knew it was asked in caution, knew that Danny was less experienced in this kind of thing, so of course what he had meant had gone completely over the teens head. Of course he was going to have to explain it to Danny in more than vague detail. Burying his face in his hand he let out a small groan, not noticing that Danny had looked away in shame, "I'm not frightened when you act like that, and I don't think I could really ever be frightened of you. I know you wouldn't hurt me. Its just... I..." Taking a deeper breath he sped through it as fast as he could, knowing that even if his face was hidden, his blush had reached his ears and couldn't be completely hidden. "I just find it really hot when you act like that and I'm sorry I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable but I couldn't help it and when I looked at you I remembered the last few times you were like that things happened and I couldn't stop my mind connecting them I'm sorry!" Temp spoke fast and all in one breath, not moving as he finished, waiting for Danny to yell at him, to tell him that he had no right to say that to him. Even if he wanted to though he wouldn't have been able to move, he was stuck in the spot that he was in, waiting for Danny to make the next move and afraid of what it was going to be.

Danny cautiously looked back at Temp when he buried his face in his hand and groaned, wondering what it was that he'd said to inspire such an action. But then Temp started to speak, the confusion only becoming even more evident on Danny's face as the Guide corrected his misconceptions as to him making the other Halfa afraid. He watched in bewilderment as the flush on Temp's face worsened, and he started speaking in a rush almost too fast for him to understand. Almost being the key word. "Oh... Wait, what?" He asked, blinking as what Temp said finally sank in. Danny was too caught off guard and surprised by the revelation, giving his previous fears, to be embarrassed in turn. "You... when I...? Uh..." Danny rubbed the back of his neck, trying to sort through all of this information. "Okay... okay, I think I... understand now... but why didn't you just... tell me?" He asked after a moment, shaking his head. "I wouldn't have gotten mad at you or anything. It's... it's not like everything that happened in the past just sort of became non-existent after... you know..." Danny averted his gaze. "Sorry... I just... I guess I don't know how I'm supposed to take the information right now, considering..." He'd be lying if a tiny part of him was... happy. That Temp still did think of him in that way. But there was another part, the part of him that had grown insecure after Temp's failure to explain how he felt, that worried that maybe physical attraction was all Temp had actually felt beyond a 'friendly' relationship. And given that Temp believed that Danny believed that Temp couldn't love him, that made things more than a little awkward.

Taking a deep breath Temp moved his hands away from his face though he didn’t look up at all, staring intently at the ground. “I… I didn’t want to say anything. We’re just starting to talk again after everything, I didn’t… I didn’t want that to stop.” He would have just dealt with it and let everything be and the teen would have been none the wiser. After everything, he didn’t want Danny to kick him out of his life and if hiding the fact that something that the heir did made him think that he was hot, well, that was a small thing to do in light of losing Danny forever. “We’re just starting to get things back, I was afraid if you found out that you wouldn’t want me around anymore.” Even though Danny could take care of himself without really any trouble anymore he had stayed because he didn’t know when, or if, Danny would tell him to stay away.

"Temp..." Danny sighed, not sure what to say to him after that confession. After all, it wasn't like his own feelings and desires had gone away, and if Temp really did feel the way he admitted to Artemis, then it would only make sense. "... I know things are kind of... awkward between us right now," Danny said slowly, his hand reaching out to take one of Temp's own. "But... That doesn't mean that I'm going to want you to just go away because of something like that. In case you've forgotten, I..." He hesitated, wincing slightly. He couldn't bring himself to say it again, not after what happened last time. Not until Temp could say it to him in return. "... I care about you. A lot. It's why things... got strained. Because it's hard for me to just... pretend. Pretend that I don't still feel the same way, because... I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. I didn't want you to feel... obligated to act a certain way around me if you didn't... didn't really want to." God, why was he admitting this right now? Was he trying to set himself up for more heartache? "I just... I want you to be happy, no matter what way things need to be between us for that to happen." Apparently he was trying to do so. He sighed, releasing Temp's hand and running his hands over his face and through his hair. "... I'm sorry. Just... ignore all that. Ignore me. I'm not mad at you, though, so... don't worry about that anymore, okay?"

When Danny’s hand took his own he looked up at him noticing the wince as he paused before telling him that he loved him, instead just saying that he cared about him a lot. How the halfa could still care for him so deeply after what had happened he had no idea and the fact that he still wanted him to be happy no matter what happened between them, it made him feel all the more selfish for not correcting him when he had first taken what he said wrong. Artemis chittered as Danny ran his hands through his hair, dislodging the gear, though he simply settled down onto the game. Floating up a bit he wrapped his arms around Danny, mindful of the wounds that he still had, “I don’t feel obligated to be around you Danny, I want to be. If I didn’t want to do something then I wouldn’t and if I didn’t like something that you were doing, or it made me uncomfortable, I would let you know.” As he was told to ignore him Temp shook his head, “No, I’m not going to ignore you, you’re too important to me for that.”

Danny inhaled sharply in surprise as Temp floated up to embrace him, before he let his head fall forward to rest his forehead against Temp's collarbone. "That's... not what I meant," Danny said quietly. "I didn't want you to feel obligated to... to act a certain way simply because of me. I... you..." He drew in a shaky breath, and in spite of himself, in spite of the fact that he was still worried, he found himself confessing the thoughts he'd been having. "... From day one, I know you've had... difficulty with this. With... whatever it was that we are... or were... or whatever." He lifted his head again, though he didn't meet Temp's eyes. "I understood your hesitation... I know you were... are... still working through your grief. But..." He sighed, his shoulders drooping a little as he seemed to deflate in Temp's arms. "Sometimes it felt a little like... like you were humoring me or something. That it wasn't what you really wanted. And that day after those... games we played..." Danny swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat at the memory, "It only seemed to... you know... verify that. That everything we had been doing together was you just... indulging me because I'm the one who felt that way." Despite his best efforts to stay calm, tears still sprang into his eyes, threatening to spill. "Since then... I've... I dunno... I found myself second guessing everything that happened between us... trying to find the truth in the actions. Trying to figure out... why you let things happen if you didn't... if you didn't..." He drew in a ragged breath. "I'm... I'm sorry. I'm just... It's been hard. I've been... been trying to figure out how to... to not feel the way I have... because it wasn't fair to you to make you feel like you had to keep acting when you didn't... didn't share the same feelings." He paused for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. "And then... then all this happened. And it's... it's been like it was before things had happened... and I've just been so confused and I don't know what is real and what is fake sometimes. I don't know if you're doing this just because I was hurt, or because you actually want to. I don't know... I don't know what I am to you, because we've always been so careful to avoid putting a name to whatever it was that we are, and now I don't know if you really just see me as you did in the beginning... as a friend and brother who got sucked into pretending to feel something more. Or if it's not even that. If I'm just..." He cut himself off sharply, his throat tightening as he shook his head.

Temporal felt as much as heard the shaky breath that was let out and he felt his brow furrow in worry, what was it that had Danny so tied up in knots? Before he could ask the hybrid started to tell him. Humoring him? All this time he had thought that he didn’t actually feel as deeply for him as he did? That he was just getting close to him because it was what Danny wanted and not him? His core hummed low in his chest as he was told that it was only confirmed that day that he hadn’t corrected him, that everything that he had been doing, every kiss, everytime he held him, all of it was only being given to him because he was the one that wanted it not because Temp had wanted to give it. The Guide had messed up, messed up bad when he hadn’t corrected the halfa on what he thought, no wonder he had been so stiff and unsure around him. If all of this had been going on his his head since then it made a lot more sense why Danny was always saying that he was sorry for wanting to hold him, that he was being selfish for doing so. The hurt that he must have been carrying all this time… Pulling back a bit so that he could look at Danny while he was talking to him he cupped his face in his hands and looked him right in the eyes. “I’m sorry, I...I didn’t know that I was hurting you that badly. I need you to understand this though Danny, I have never, not once, pretended to care for you, or used you to pass the time, or to get over my pain. I care for you, because it’s you , because I…” Temp’s voice caught the word getting stuck in his throat before he even had a chance to start on it. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath he would have to go about this another way, but one that would get the halfa to understand that his feelings ran deeper than just simply caring for him, that he had just as much feelings for the heir as he did for him. “I have feelings for you Danny,” he said opening his eyes to look at him once more, determined to get him to understand, “More than just simply caring for you, more than just a friend. My feelings are the same as your own.” Leaning forward he rested his forehead against the one in front of them his eyes closing in sorrow, “I should have told you, should have made you understand when you first told me. It’s not that I can’t… that I can’t feel that way towards you, it’s that I can’t say it . The last person I said it to died and after you said it all of that happened with you and I can’t… I can’t lose someone I care so much for again. I know it doesn’t make sense, I know that that isn’t how things work… but I… I can’t. I’m sorry, but I just can’t say it yet.” Pulling back again he looked at the heir, but he didn’t give him time to answer him, not just yet, there was still more that Danny had said that he had to talk about. “Not once when we did things together was I only doing it to humor you. They were things that I wanted too, that I still want with you, and not because I felt like I had to. Nothing I do with you has any reason behind it besides me wanting to do it with you, to have that with you, to share how you make me feel. All those times that we talked, all the things that I have told you about what has happened, about me, everytime I have kissed you, or touched you, or held you in my arms, none of it was an act.” Sighing Temporal shook his head, “I’m an idiot, and I’m a jerk, and I don’t know how to handle things sometimes, but I have never, and I will never fake my feels for you. Yes I came here when I found out you were hurt, but I didn’t come out of some obligation, I came because I care about you, because I was worried about you, and I was scared. You had told me once that there was more that could get you than the Observants from my time, that there were things here that could hurt you, but I was so focused on them that couldn’t see it. When I found out that you had been taken, that you…” Swallowing hard Temp closed his eyes his hands shaking slightly as they fell from his face to rest against his chest his eyes glued onto them, “That you could have died …” He knew his voice had cracked as he said it, even if the words had come out only in a whisper it had been easy to tell, “That the last thing you would have believed is that I couldn’t ever feel like that for you …” He shivered having to take a few deep breaths before he could go on. “That’s why I came, because I knew I had to fix what I had done, but I was so sure that you would want nothing to do with me anymore, that you would have thrown me out sooner then let me stay and help.” Shaking his head he looked back into the eyes in front of him, “I avoided saying what we were, because if I had, it would make it real. If it was real… I could lose you and I couldn’t bare to even then.” A low growl rumbled in his chest, “Don’t you dare ever think that again. You are not a toy, or thing, or a zfmpc ,” Temp practically spat, “You are Daniel Fenton, who shoulders burdens so no one else has to, who faces down those stronger than himself to protect those that need it and never asks for anything in return, who does everything to make others happy even if it is at the cost of his own, who has so much love to give to those close to him. Never let anyone make you feel like you are less than the amazing person that you are Danny. Not even idiot Halfas,” he told him seriously before kissing his forehead.

In spite of himself, Danny couldn't help but flinch a little when he initially felt Temp's hands move to cup his face, fearing that the Guide would be angry or annoyed at what he had to say. He had difficulty meeting Temp's eyes even as he was guided to look straight on at them. His core seemed to vibrate almost violently in his chest, and his heart, which typically barely even beat when in ghost form, seemed to be almost clenching on him. But instead of words of reprimand, of anger, instead Temp started to apologize for hurting him. And as Danny stared dumbfounded at the Guide, his ears almost buzzing and having difficulty understanding what was being said, the older Halfa continued, trying to explain his own stance on things. It was so hard to believe, since it sounded so close to what Danny wanted to hear, and when Temp began to say that he cared for him for being him, and started on, his breath caught in his chest. Of course, a second later it was let out in a tiny sigh. Of course Temp couldn't bring himself to stay it. But instead of entirely brushing it off, Temp continued to try and explain. But when Temp tried to say that his feelings were the same as Danny's own, the younger Halfa stiffened. Was Temp being honest? Did he really feel exactly the same as Danny felt, or rather how Danny had been forced to describe it earlier, too afraid to admit to loving Temp still after what happened the last time he had said it. Danny was about to let himself believe that this was what the case was, but Temp managed to dash that misconception before it had much of a chance to grow, admitting that it wasn't the fact that he couldn't feel it, but simply that he couldn't say it. It was a superstition Danny couldn't understand entirely; Whether or not Temp said it had nothing to do with what happened to him. His having told Temp that he loved him had no bearing on what had happened recently, outside of the fact that his depression following their sort of break up had led to him letting himself be distracted and captured more easily. Danny wasn't given the chance to comment, however, as Temp continued on, explaining that nothing they had ever done together had been done without the express desire to do so on Temp's part. That Danny had not simply been indulged or humored, but that everything, from every secret to every hug to every kiss and more had been entirely because Temp himself also wanted to do so. Danny found himself swallowing hard, biting down on his lip a little to try and prevent himself from automatically protesting when Temp called himself an idiot and a jerk. He reassured Danny that he'd never fake his feelings, or act in a way he didn't want to, up to and including his visit here and now. He confessed his fears, and his desire to make things right again, the hands slipping from his face to his chest and knowing that Temp was thinking of the bandages that still lay hidden beneath his suit. The anger in his voice when Temp caught on to what Danny had tried to stop himself from saying made Danny flinch slightly, but again, Temp reassured him that he was nothing like what he feared. As if the kiss Temp gave his forehead was a trigger, something inside of Danny broke, and all of a sudden he found himself changing back into human form, lurching forward to wrap his arms tightly around Temp, his breathing shuddering as he tried in vain to choke back the sobs threatening to overtake him. He was just so overwhelmed by everything Temp had to say, and had such a hard time believing it, yet at the same time desperately wanting to. Even if Temp couldn't actually flat out tell him that he loved him, he more or less implied that he did. And it was enough to make Danny's head spin, his core humming with conflicted feelings of the joy of hearing it, and the fear that maybe it wasn't really true. It left him unable to do or say anything as he clung to Temp, sobbing into his neck and trembling against him as he tried to regain control of himself.

The bright light of Danny’s transformation took him by surprise but not as much as the lurch did and Temp found his arms full with a sobbing halfa. Wrapping Danny in his own embrace, though he was careful of how tight he held him, he nuzzled against the now black hair as he let him cry. His lips pressed against the teen where they could trying comfort him as he let his emotions out. “I’m here Danny, I promise I won’t do something like that to you ever again.” He wanted to hold the heir back as tightly as he was being held, but he knew that if he did so he would hurt him and he had been hurting enough. As the sobs slowed Temp used his powers to bring a box of tissues over so that Danny could blow his nose. “Better?” he asked softly, still holding onto him as the tears seemed to have slowed to nothing.

Temp's words, though comforting, only seemed to increase the reaction Danny had as he let out weeks of fear and stress and sorrow against the other Halfa. It took far longer than Danny would have liked for him to regain control over himself, and even then he had been reluctant to pull away, almost afraid that if he did so, that it would break the spell, that he would realize that this wasn't real or something to that effect. But as he calmed Temp noticed, levitating a box of tissues closer. With a reluctant sigh Danny released Temp and pulled back a little, his eyes still downcast as he accepted the box, grabbing a couple of tissues to wipe at his face and blow his nose. "Thanks..." he mumbled, his voice distorted from crying so hard. If it weren't for the fact that his face was already red just from crying, he'd probably be flushing in embarrassment. " 'M sorry..." He added softly, the words barely intelligible, his hands gripping the tissue box as tightly as the tender skin could tolerate.

As Danny mumbled an apology Temp sighed and kissed his temple, “You have no reason to be sorry.” Even if Danny had pulled away a bit his arms still hung around him, still giving him whatever support and comfort that he might need. “Do you understand what I meant?” he asked looking at him seriously, he didn’t want there to be more misunderstandings between them but he couldn’t be sure unless he asked and made sure that everything had been taken how he had wanted it to be. No more assuming on his part, he needed to know that Danny understood that he loved him but that he just couldn’t say it right now. If he didn’t, well he would just have to explain it again and again until he was sure that he did. Temp loved Danny, and he didn’t want to hurt him anymore, didn’t want him to feel abandoned because he, in all his stupidity, had decided it was better for him not to know just how much he cared for him.

Danny swallowed hard as Temp told him he had nothing to be sorry for. It felt like, at least to Danny, like he'd been breaking down on the other Halfa a lot lately, something that he didn't feel like was fair to the Guide to have to deal with. But before he could say anything, Temp was speaking again, and what he said caused Danny to pause, at least for a moment. Danny's breath shuddered in his chest as he tried his best to sort through it all, before shyly looking up to meet Temp's serious gaze. "... I... I know what you're kind of implying, but... I've been wrong before and I don't want to assume." Danny rubbed at his eyes with his arm, trying to wipe away the lingering traces from his tears. "I'm just... I'm afraid to be wrong again. I don't... I don't even know what we are, Temp. I don't know where we stand. I don't know where to go from here, because I'm afraid if I let myself... let myself believe what I hope it is you're saying, that I'm going to be mistaken all over again and I..." Danny's words choked off as he lowered his gaze again to the tissue box.

Waiting while Danny thought everything over he reminded himself that he needed to keep breathing. If something was misinterpreted he could clear it up while both of them were right there so that they would be on the same page. Looking shyly up at him, the heir told him that he knew what he was implying but that he didn’t want to assume anything. He was afraid that he was wrong, and confused over what they were to each other, that he didn’t want to let his hopes get too high. Hooking a finger under the teen’s chin he waited until Danny looked up at him before he leaned forward a placed a light kiss on his lips. Green eyes looked into the blue and Temp couldn’t help but fidget a bit. He didn’t want to put a name to what they were, since he wasn’t so sure either, but if it would help having a base to what they were then that was what he was going to do. “Will you go out with me Danny?” Blushing a bit he looked away, “I know it’s a bit backwards since we have already done things but… would you?” Looking back at Danny he tried not to fidget too much, it could be that he would get turned down, that the other halfa wouldn’t want to, but he had to ask. “I… I really like you Danny. Not as a brother, and so much more than just a friend,” he spoke his gaze dropping again, “I want to be with you.”

Danny waited with bated breath for Temp to say something, anything, that would indicate how he took all of this, or what he was really wanting out of all of this. Hope and dread mingled in his gut, making it churn uneasily as his heart beat almost too hard. But rather than a verbal reply, Danny found himself twitching as Temp hooked a finger under his chin, lifting his head up. He stared at Temp in askance, not sure what he was doing, before the other Halfa leaned forward, his lips brushing against Danny's own in a brief, gentle kiss. Danny's mind went blank for a moment, his breath catching, almost afraid to actually think about the fact of what had just happened. As he was still processing it, Temp's question filtered through, and his core suddenly seemed to ramp up to high gear. Temp was... officially asking him out? Granted, they'd done much of the same when they'd first gotten together, but... this was the affirmation that Danny needed, that Temp really did want this. Or so he hoped in any case. "You... you really want this?" Danny asked, his voice coming out softer than he'd like, and far more vulnerable than he was comfortable with, but damn it he was tired of hurting, and he didn't want to chance it again. "I... God, Temp, please tell me you're serious. Like, really serious. Because I don't think I could take it if you don't really mean that. So please... please tell me that this is what you really want... because if it is..." A shaky smile crossed Danny's face, his hand tossing the tissue box on top of the game in the other chair, his hands moving to carefully wrap loosely around Temp's waist. "Then I want to be with you too. So... yeah... I'll go out with you, or however you want to call this." Tears of a different sort pricked Danny's eyes as he pulled Temp closer, leaning his forehead against Temp's and a relieved laugh escaping him as he held Temp as tightly as he dared.

Of course he was sure that he wanted this, that he wanted to be with Danny, to go out with him, to be his. He tried to tell the teen that but he didn’t give him the chance before he smiled at him shakily and wrapped his arms loosely around him. Temp couldn’t help but smile brightly back at Danny their forehead resting together as the heir gave a laugh. “I am serious,” he said seriously as he held the warm body in his arms a bit tighter, “I want this, I want to be with you Danny, I want to be your’s and for you to be mine.” Leaning forward he kissed the teen again, a bit harder than before as he tried to get his own emotions through to the halfa. Resting his forehead against Danny’s again he grinned, “I guess this means we’re officially boyfriends now. That means I’ll have to be more romantic, start bringing you flowers and chocolates, whispering sweet nothings in your ear.” Chuckling a bit his grin widened his eyes slipping closed as he relaxed in Danny’s hold.

Danny's throat tightened for a moment as Temp confirmed again that being together with him was what he really did want, and Danny couldn't help the bright smile that crossed his face as Temp said so. When Temp kissed him the second time, Danny returned it, trying to put his own feelings into it. The kiss broke perhaps a bit sooner than Danny would have wanted, but he needed to catch his breath, his heart pounding and his core, which had been giving a dissonant hum for weeks now, finally began to vibrate in a good pitch, no longer hurting but instead almost attempting to heal the previous ache in his chest. Danny's eyes were still bright, but it was with happier tears rather than the pained, sorrow filled ones from before. "I guess so," Danny agreed, smiling widely as he shifted in the chair so Temp could sit next to him more easily while still holding on to one another. Thank goodness it was a fairly wide chair. "Though I promise you, none of that is going to be necessary. Just... being able to be with you is more than enough to make me happy."

Seeing Danny shift on the chair so that he could sit next to him he smirked, instead pulling the halfa against him and moving to sit in the chair with Danny on his lap and nuzzling into the warm neck mindful of the still healing burns. “I like this better,” he sighed content to have Danny in his arms once again without having him as his own. Chuckling Temp couldn’t help but grin, “Then I shall have to spoil you so much with my attention that you kick me out from being sick of it.” He wasn’t sure if Danny actually would, but he would do everything he could to make up for hurting him. Pulling back he smiled warm and lovingly at the teen, wiping away a tear that had managed to escape. Temp wasn’t entirely sure what had made him fall for the heir, but he knew that he loved him deeply and that it only seemed to grow the more time he spent in his company.

Danny gave a small yelp of surprise when Temp continued to shift then do that instead of sitting side by side he was instead now straddling the Guide's lap. His hand shifted to brace against Temp's chest even as the older halfa tugged him closer. He felt Temp's arms wrap around him even as he leaned forward to gently nuzzle at Danny's sensitive and tender neck. The younger halfa inhaled sharply, but the action didn't precisely hurt, so he relaxed a moment later. Feeling Temp chuckle before he even heard it, he pulled back to arch an eyebrow at the Guide. He have a snort, lightly poking Temp in the chest. "Cheesy, Temp. Real cheesy. But you're gonna have to work really, really hard to get that to happen." His smile became softer as Temp wiped away a tear, and he found himself leaning forward to rest his forehead against Temp's. "I don't think I could get sick of you, after all." He added, before closing the short distance and pressing his lips to Temp's, his eyes fluttering shut.

Smiling his eyes closed as Danny leaned forward and rested his forehead against his own. He was going to comment but lips pressed against him and he returned the gesture eagerly. Pulling away he tried to catch his breath his eyes opening halfway as he looked at the halfa in front of him his arms tightening around him. "Are you sure about that Danny?" He wasn't entirely serious but there was a part of him that wanted to know, that wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be let go of. There was no way that Temp was going to let go of Danny again, or make him think that he didn't love or want him, not ever again, and he wanted to make sure the same was true of Danny. That he wouldn't simply let him go and move on to something else.

Danny's hand moved to cradle Temp's face, his eyes opening back up again at the Guide's question. A smile tugged at his lips as he felt Temp tighten his arms around him. "I'm sure," Danny replied with conviction. "I can't say I won't get irritated with you sometimes, or frustrated, or annoyed. There may be times I just want to be left alone to my own thoughts for a while. But I will never, ever get sick of you." Danny's expression grew more serious. "Temp... I... You know how I feel about you. And that's only ever gotten stronger as time went on. That's why... why it hurt so much. Because I wanted so much to be with you like that, but knowing... thinking... that you didn't want it in return... It hurt. But I still wanted to be around you, even if only as... as your friend. Not because I stopped feeling like that for you, but because I still wanted to be able to be a part of your life... even if... even if it wasn't the way I wanted." He took a deep, shaky breath, his thumbs brushing across Temp's cheeks. "Do you understand? No matter what happens... I'm always going to want to be there. To be a part of your life, however you'll let me be."

Leaning into the hand, green eyes watched him and heard the conviction in his voice. Swallowing hard Temp closed his eyes as Danny's thumb brushed over his cheeks leaning forward he had to stop himself from squeezing tightly as his face pressed against Danny's chest. Taking a shuddering breath he couldn't help the happy tears that gathered in his eyes from the heir's words. "Thank you," he said softly his voice shaking a bit as he did. Looking up into Danny's eyes he wore a completely happy smile on his face his sight blurring a bit from his tears.

Danny's heart skipped a beat initially as Temp shifted to lean forward, pressing his face against Danny's chest, but after a moment he simply let his hands fall to wrap around him, leaning his head down to kiss the top of Temp's head, trying to be comforting as he heard and felt Temp's breath shudder. When Temp looked back up again, he saw the tears brimming in the green eyes, but the expression on his face was happy, helping to ease the constriction around Danny's heart. He leaned down, gently placing a kiss over each eye as if to kiss away the tears. "You don't have to thank me. Not for this."

Closing his eyes as Danny leaned forward to kiss them his happy expression stayed. He needed to thank Danny for not giving up on him for still being there for him even after what had happened, that he still wanted to be with him, all of it and more. However, he didn't argue with Danny about it instead letting it go as he nuzzled lightly into his neck again ever mindful of the burns that were still healing. Inhaling deeply he gave the skin in front of him a light kiss, he wasn't going to let Danny out of his arms again. "So, your Highness, what would you like to do with your loyal subject?" He asked teasingly.

Danny arched an eyebrow, before giving a slight snort. "Well, first of off I'd probably suggest that you ditch the disguise, since you don't really need it anymore," Danny said wryly, plucking at the tunic and cloak Temp still wore. "After that..." His eyes flickered over to the game, but shook his head. "I know you wanted to play a game, but... honestly I'm kinda wiped out. And our nap did kind of get interrupted by our unexpected guests. Would... would it be okay if we just did that again? For now at least?"

Chuckling Temp grinned, "As you wish." Though he didn't let his hold of Danny go he floated them both towards the door fully prepared to follow through with Danny's suggestion about going to get his more normal clothes on before resuming their interrupted nap.

Danny found himself having to hold on tighter to Temp as he lifted up off of the chair with Danny still more or less straddling his lap. Danny let out a nervous little laugh, though he knew Temp wouldn't let him fall, since he never had in the past. Besides, it was a short enough trip to Danny's bedroom, and Danny wiggled out of Temp's hold to climb onto the bed so Temp could deal with his 'disguise'.

Holding onto the heir as he floated along he made sure that he wouldn't fall or even get close to it. When they got into the room and the teen started to wiggle from his grasp he was tempted to hold onto him as he tried but he let him go. unclipping the cloak from around his shoulders he rolled them back to get them to let go of the bit of tension they held. taking off the tunic that he had pulled on, glad to be rid of the loose fitting thing, he the. Turned towards the bed flying over to it, not bothering to put his own cloak back on or belts, or anything else that he normally wore. Blurring his face into a pillow he opened up one eye to see what Danny was doing and if he was coming to lay down as well. Shaking his head to get the stray strand of hair out of his face he opened up his arms inviting Danny into them.

Danny didn't need to be invited twice. As soon as Temp had gotten situated on the bed and opened up his arms, Danny was scooting closer, nestling up next to Temp, tucking his head under Temp's chin and against his chest. His own arm moved to wrap around Temp's waist, the other tucking between them, and he heaved a small sigh of contentment. He murmured something that sounded like "sleep well," and a very quiet "... love you," though the words were muffled against Temp's chest as he closed his eyes, attempting to let himself drift off into sleep.

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