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Title: MakeDamnSure (SongShot) p.2
Rating: M
Summary: Tucker has always believed that the only way that Sam and Danny will finally admit they care is by trapping them together for an extended period of time. And he manages to trap them, however unintentionally.
Author's Notes: MakeDamnSure is by Taking Back Sunday from the album Louder Now.

For Megan, my twisted little muse. Scissor shaped across the bed really is a hot line, isn’t it? Now I suggest you read some of the stuff I write before I start making you the Mary Sue…

MakeDamnSure p.2

You hollow out my hungry eyes
You hollow out my hungry eyes

“You know, I would have agreed that it was too cold for ice cream, but the way you steam up the bathroom…” Sam chuckled as she nibbled at the edge of the ice cream cone Danny had just flown in for her.

He smirked. “You’re lucky I let you have the first shower. If I hadn’t, you’d have been a very, very cold Sam.”

She shrugged and Danny’s eyes dilated as he watched her swipe her tongue across the vanilla mass she’d picked. He’d gone with chocolate. Good, old fashioned, tried and true chocolate. And he’d swear that the pink of her tongue was only that much more because of the creamy white ice cream. It made him think of things that he shouldn’t have thought. Like how sweet she must taste with the soft vanilla flavor still in her mouth. How much better she probably tasted without it, with just her.

Like how her tongue would look as it swiped across his skin, and Danny blinked the thought away as Sam looked at him curiously before he shifted off the bed, hurriedly and fluidly, the motion making the mattress heave. Without any warning Sam herself was bounced, and the cone in her hand. The softly melting ice cream toppled from its safe haven in the cone and dropped down onto her lap, splattering her night shirt and making little dots of vanilla across the bedspread.

Sam cursed as she tried to salvage what was left, but the ice cream refused to hold together as she tried scooping it up, and Danny grabbed a shirt from the top of the nearest bag to help her scoop it up, sighing as he deposited it in the sink, turning back to her with a towel in hand.

“Sam, I’m sorry,” he said as she pulled at her shirt, grimacing at the stickiness.

Then her eyes lit on the shirt by the sink and she glared at him. “That was my last clean t-shirt, Danny. What am I supposed to wear now?” She paused and then yanked the towel out of his hands to sop at the ice cream and smear it off of hers before holding a semi-clean hand out in demand. “Give me one of yours. Now.”

Danny arched an eyebrow and glanced down at his nearly shirtless state. The tank top had seen better days, and he bit his lip so that he wouldn’t laugh. “Um, Sam. This is my last clean shirt.”

She glared even more fiercely. “Then what am I sleeping in?”

“Don’t you have anything else?” Danny asked as Sam threw the towel at him, missing so that it smacked into the mirrored wall behind him.

Without a look back she stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door, making Danny wince as he looked at it. Then it cracked open and the sticky shirt was wrapped around his head as she hit what she aimed at this time. A second later and the sweatpants she’d had on followed, and Danny barely had a moment to try and stick a hand up before they too were around his face.

“I want a pair of your pajama pants. And I want the nightgown from my bag,” she said severely. “And don’t you dare say a word about it, either, Danny Fenton.”

It was cryptic right until he had her bag opened up and found the object of his search. The pajama pants had been easy, right on top of his bag, he’d been planning to switch into them from jeans. He figured he could rough it for a night and sleep in those, even if the denim was still a little too new to be comfortable and soft. He’d ruined her clothes, it was the least he could do.

But the thing that she called a nightgown was pushing the limits. Silky and soft and a deeply matte black… He wondered if, when she had bought it, it had been termed a nightgown. Because to Danny, the silk and lace gown looked more like something that was worn only to be taken off.

Wisely Danny stayed silent as he rapped on the closed door. It opened a crack and her hand poked through, fingers outstretched and expectant. He dropped the clothes in her hand and then backed off as the door closed again with a thud. Danny sighed as he quickly mopped up the rest of the mess and set her shirt and pants to soak in some water. She’d be mad no matter what, but maybe if he tried to clean them a little too, she wouldn’t be as mad.

He’d only just managed to strip the sticky bedspread and bundle it up in his hands when the bathroom door opened again and Sam stepped out. For a moment Danny couldn’t breathe, she looked so beautiful. Not that he didn’t always think she was beautiful, but she never… well, she never dressed like this for him. The green pajama pants were easily ignored as his imagination provided him with a remembered length of pale leg, and the silky black materiel skimmed along her body smoothly, hugging itself to the curves and sliding against the flat span of her stomach.

Thin lacy straps found their way down her shoulder, plunging down to a scoop that let him imagine would it would be like if it were just a little bit lower, and Danny was suddenly very glad for the wadded material he held in front of him. He was speechless, dumbstruck.

“It looks stupid, I know,” she said as she plucked at the hem of the nightgown self-consciously. “I didn’t really plan on anyone seeing me in it,” she mumbled.

She looked up at him and then dropped her eyes just as quickly before she reached out and hit the switch to plunge the room into darkness. “I’m tired,” was all she said, and moments later Danny heard her crawling across the bed and sliding beneath the still clean sheet he’d left on it.

The blanket was dropped, forgotten as Danny felt his way to the bed and sat down. “You don’t look stupid,” he said into the silence. She snorted and he reached a hand out, feeling a blush burn its way across his face as he found the smooth skin of her shoulder, fingers perched just so, so that all he had to do to slide the strap down would be to pull. Slide the strap down and press his mouth to the soft skin there, kiss it, find his way up her throat so that he could—

“No, really,” he said as he killed that line of thought ruthlessly. “You look nice. Really nice.”

She didn’t say anything.

“Sam.”

“Don’t try and humor me, Danny.” This time when her voice came it was tired, and Danny pulled his hand back as he tugged his shirt off and stretched out next to her.

“You’re beautiful, Sam.” This time the silence was abrupt, and Danny knew that Sam wasn’t going to say anything, knew that he’d probably gone too far by saying that. She wasn’t ready to think of him in any way but as a friend, and he’d probably freaked her out. Seriously freaked her out.

“You don’t have to sleep in your jeans.” Her voice startled him, he was so sure she’d gone to sleep as he lay awake in the dark.

“I don’t have anymore pj’s,” he said, trying to make it into something teasing and failing miserably.

“So? Those can’t be comfortable.”

She had a point and Danny waited a moment to see if she would say anything else before shimmying the jeans off and tossing them in the direction of his bag, hoping that it hit it, or just came close. She shifted a moment after him and he heard the rustle of silk as she did, and immediately rolled to his side away from her, trying desperately to control his hormones. It was one thing to sleep next to her when they were both practically dressed. Another thing entirely to lay there in nothing but his boxers and to know that she was lying next to him wearing something out of a fantasy.

He sighed again and rolled back to his back as he tried to concentrate on anything but her. They were leaving in the morning. They’d have to make up time, so they’d have to avoid anything that would be a congested area. No skimming through Vegas to see the strip lit up at night like they’d planned. He’d take that side trip on the way back. They could easily cut through New Mexico and then across Arizona and then it was a straight shot—

“Are you asleep?” The warm hand on his side and the soft voice from next to him startled him from his mental mapping, and Danny nearly jumped.

He chuckled a little once his heart found its place in his chest again and replied, “No.” Another chuckle and he asked, “Are you asleep?”

He could almost see her rolling her eyes as she said, “I wouldn’t be talking to you if I were, Danny.”

He started to roll towards her just as she reached a hand out to him saying, “Here,” and he realized that she was shoving his pajama pants back at him, that when he’d been tugging his jeans off, she’d been pulling them off to give back to him.

But that realization fled swiftly as he realized that it was a slim Sam wearing nothing but that little black negligee who was practically pressed against him, that it was the woman he’d loved since he was a boy, and she was so close, and she smelled so good. He could see her faintly in the dark, thought he could see her eyes as they stared at him, startled and wide. Thought that he could see as she bit her lip in fear or nervousness, but it didn’t really matter to Danny at all right then, not when she was right there with him, and all it took was for him to take the pajama pants from her, drop them somewhere far away from between them, and slide his arm around her to pull her closer.

“Danny,” she whispered, and Danny knew that no matter what happened next, there was no going back for him. Maybe she could, but he couldn’t. He did the only thing he could do. He kissed her.

And we lay, we lay together just not
Too close, too close (How close is close enough?)
We lay, we lay together just not
Too close, too close

Sam knew that she surprised Danny the second that his mouth met hers and, instead of pulling away like he’d expected, she moved closer, now truly pressed into him, feeling the heat and hardness of him against her as she parted her lips for him, tasting him as he slipped his tongue inside her mouth. It couldn’t be helped, the way he felt against her, the warmth of his fingers as they gripped her side almost painfully tight, the staccato rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her hand.

She could taste the chocolate of his ice cream in his mouth, and below it a darker, more masculine taste that she knew had to be Danny and Danny alone. Truly, the two fake-out make-outs that they’d had when they were fourteen did no justice to the way the man kissed. And the way he’d touched her at fourteen was… Pitiful at best when compared to the things he was doing now.

The second he realized that she wasn’t going to fight Danny’s fingers had let go of her and, before Sam could protest, had started to skim down the length of her body. She whimpered against his mouth as his hand found the small of her back and pulled her closer, willingly going and letting herself melt against him. Almost as if he understood the language of her body Danny lowered his hand further, letting it caress across the curve of her hip to grasp her thigh and pull her that much more firmly against him.

The tilt of his hips as he angled her back settled the length of him against her and Sam gave a gasping moan into his mouth before her head slipped back as he moved against her, the friction between the silk of her panties and the cotton of his boxers creating a delicious heat that spread up through her body. Another moan, this time as Danny lowered his mouth to the pale arch of her neck and attacked it, lips, tongue and teeth laving it as he brought his other hand up to slip one thin, dark silken strap down her shoulder.

Danny’s mouth dropped lower to press a kiss to the crook of her neck before ghosting across to her shoulder, placing another kiss there as Sam moaned beneath him. He was settled, snug between her legs, slowly working lower. Sam arched her body against him as she felt him slide the other strap off and begin to work the other strap down, his mouth dancing from one collarbone to the other as he moved to the soft skin of her other shoulder. From the tension along his body she knew that he wanted more, and that he was afraid to take it.

So she gave it to him.

Without a second thought she pushed him back, gently but abruptly, making confusion, worry, fear streak across his face as she followed him, pulling herself upright. She only smiled as she reached for the hem of the short negligee, giving it an unsubtle jerk and pulling it up and over her head. She tossed it then, Danny’s eyes following it just long enough to see it land in the same vicinity that the almost returned pajama pants had landed, before turning his eyes back to her.

She wasn’t sure if she was pleased or not when his gaze never wavered from her own. Murky blue eyes locked on hers, and through the darkness she saw his jaw tense and then relax as he reached a hand out to her. She tried not to, but Sam couldn’t help but lean into his touch, letting the warmth of the hand cupping her cheek seep through her as she looked up at him.

“You’re sure about this? About you and me and this?” he asked softly, eyes burning into hers.

She only nodded.

Without another word Danny guided her back down to the bed and Sam could only sigh, smile, and close her eyes as he lowered his mouth back to hers. His fingers ghosted down her sides, like he wanted to touch her and was too afraid. Sam almost sighed in annoyance before she felt the calloused grip of one hand smoothly cupping her breast, thumb flicking across the nipple so that she arched into him, a strangled gasp of pleasure being swallowed into his mouth as he kissed her more firmly, tongue sliding against hers as she tried to breathe through the sensations.

Then his mouth left hers and drifted back down her throat, across her collarbone, and before Sam could even smile with anticipation he kissed her breast, tongue flicking out to test the nipple much as his thumb had. And when he lowered his mouth to her, to kiss and suck and lap at the tender flesh, she could only mewl her pleasure and feel the way his mouth curved in a pleased smile. She was overly sensitive, she knew it, and knew it was because her experience in the bedroom was limited. Nonexistent, actually, unless she counted anything done alone…

She didn’t. For all intents and purposes, she was a virgin, and completely new to the touch of a man’s hands.

It was this knowledge that had her gasping his name as his mouth slipped lower to delve his tongue into her bellybutton, kisses placed gently, hotly against the smooth skin of her stomach. This secret that made her so pleased that he’d made the move, had asked, had touched. Was touching. She’d always known that she wanted her first time to be with someone she loved.

It was just beautiful that it was with the one man she loved more than anyone else in the world, and that she hadn’t had to eventually settle for a pale replacement for the love of her life.

“Sam?” he murmured, and she glanced down to see him looking up at her, his fingers slipping around the waistband of the panties, and the gentle pressure that was his real request. Without a second thought she lifted her hips and allowed him to slide them down her legs and throw them—where she didn’t know, and more importantly, didn’t care.

But the expected toss that should be his boxers, and the weight of his body against hers never came, and she looked down at him, the question in her eyes as she saw him smile up at her, an unexpected glint in his blue eyes, dark and uncompromising. His fingers danced along the firm skin of her thighs, gently rubbing and caressing as he watched her. Before she could question it Danny had bent his head and sealed his mouth against her.

A helpless sound escaped her at the first sure stroke of his tongue, and Sam lifted her hips in place without ever meaning to. His mouth moved over her mercilessly, tongue swirling and stabbing and stroking until her entire body was quivering beneath his touch. He lapped at her again, this time letting his fingers stroke gently across her sensitive flesh as he lifted his mouth to look up at her and watch the soft sheen of sweat that slicked across her body.

“You like that, huh?” he asked, almost on a smirk. His voice was harsh with pleasure and desire, knowing that he could do this to her, make his Sam come so undone that she couldn’t even string a coherent response together.

“Danny…” Her voice was soft and her body moved against his hand, and Danny let a finger slip to her entrance, barely dipping inside her as he lowered his mouth to briefly lash against her with his tongue.

She moaned, long and low, and Danny smiled as he looked up again. “You like it?”

“Please.” The plea was almost lost as she whimpered again, and Danny stroked her again.

“Tell me, Sam?” Almost an order, but not quite. Close, but nothing like what he’d intended. Sam could hear the yearning in his voice as he asked it. She bit her lip as he slid his mouth across her again, tongue delving inside of her for a moment before he looked again—she could feel his eyes on her even if the desire had her near blind with it.

“Yes,” she hissed out as another wave swarmed over her and broke, lifting her that much higher. A peculiar fire was burning deep within her, and she just knew that if he touched her again for more than a moment, if he just kissed her, god, if he even spoke to her again in that sensual voice, she’d come undone…

Without warning his mouth was on her again, and then he was sinking one long, hard finger inside her. She went completely to pieces, knowing somewhere in the back of her mind that the way she was crying out, calling his name, had to be heard throughout the entire little motel. Hell, the town was small enough that everyone knew what Danny was doing to her. But she couldn’t bring herself to care.

All that mattered was her and him and the way it felt.

When she could hear again, see again, when she could just breathe again, she let out a long shuddering breath through half smiling lips. “You did like it, then,” she heard Danny murmur as he placed a gentle kiss to her before crawling up her body.

“I’ll kill you when I can feel my toes again,” she whispered on a shaky laugh.

He chuckled against her neck, his face buried there for a moment as her breath caught in her throat again, the feeling of him brushing against her startling her. He lifted his face and looked down at her wondering expression and gave her a half hearted shrug. “Ghost powers come in handy for all sorts of things,” he murmured as moved against her a little more firmly.

She bit back the moan and Danny smiled lazily down at her. “So, when you can feel your toes?” She nodded, and the grin turned wicked. “I guess I’ll just have to make sure you never feel your toes again.”

He kissed her then, wiping the smart remark he knew she was about to say clear out of her mind, and then moved against her and into her. It was a quick, firm thrust, and she was much tighter than he’d expected. It wasn’t until he realized that her eyes were closed, her body was tense and her face was buried against his chest that Danny knew exactly what he’d done.

“Oh, shit, oh, fuck. Sam, god, I’m so sorry,” he muttered rapidly as he tried to pull away from her. She wouldn’t let him, legs locking around him so that he remained deep inside of her, arms clinging to him and not letting him budge as much as an inch.

He heard her in the spaces between his harsh breathing, the faintest whimper, and this time not from any pleasure he was giving her. “Sam, please,” he started but was cut off when she moved her face from his chest and looked up at him.

Her eyes were bright and he knew that for at least a moment she’d been close to crying. Danny hated himself in that moment but she shook her head. “Don’t, Danny. Don’t say it, and please, don’t move for a minute. Okay?”

And he didn’t, for a full minute and then some. Her breathing evened out and he could feel her relaxing as she became accustomed to him, and Danny nearly sighed in relief as he realized that she wasn’t hurting anymore. Or at least if she was hurting, it wasn’t as bad as it had been with the initial hurt he’d unwittingly given her. He bit his lip and pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes closed as hers were.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered, his mouth close enough to hers that he could as soon kiss her as talk.

He could feel it when her mouth curved into a smile. “Would you have done this if I’d told you?” she asked as she moved carefully beneath him, her hips shifting a fraction of an inch.

He groaned, half from the pleasure and half from the question. “No,” he choked out as she moved again. “But why?”

His eyes were open and staring into hers when she answered. “Because I wanted it to be you.” And this time when she moved it was in earnest and Danny couldn’t find the strength to keep still anymore.

She didn’t shift away from him, she didn’t close her eyes or try to hide any pained sounds or movements, and Danny was reassured by it as he lower his mouth to hers again, kissing her gently as he began to thrust in earnest, unable to resist the heat of her, the way her legs tangled around his and urged him inside of her. The way her amethyst eyes darkened and were half slit as he made love to her.

The way her lips parted as he drove her into madness, her breath escaping in little moans and gasps and whimpers. The way she was all at once boneless beneath him and yet moving with him perfectly. Her hands in his hair, drawing his face down to hers to capture his lips, her tongue across his before another moan broke from her throat and her head dropped back again. Telling him in a dozen tiny ways how much she wanted him and needed him and loved him, even if she wasn’t able to give voice to the words.

She loved the tiny noises that came from the back of his throat, the way his hips moved against hers. The way the steady rhythm he’d created with her began to fall apart as he, she, as they both began succumbing to it. The hand on her thigh, squeezing and caressing and then grabbing, to lift it up and press it alongside his waist as he shifted his body against hers to change the angle of his thrusting.

It made the difference, and Sam’s world splintered around her as she clung to him, knowing that he wasn’t very far behind as he pressed his face against her neck giving one last thrust as he buried himself inside her. He was whispering her name, a broken plea that she could barely hear through the ecstasy.

“Sam, I—oh, God, Sam…”

I love you.

I just wanna break you down so badly
Well I trip over everything you say
Well I just wanna break you down so badly
In the worst way

He woke before her and was already dressed before she made her first stretch of the morning. It was awkward; she could admit it freely, if only to herself. He, fully clothed and lounging on the side of the bed with some kind of fast food breakfast half eaten in his hand before he put it down. Her entirely naked but for the sheet that she was tangled in. and when Danny looked at her she gave him a hesitant smile.

A smile that he returned freely as he leaned down, brushing her hair from her face and pressing a kiss to her forehead, then another to her lips before saying so very quietly, “Morning.”

Her thoughts were frayed as she slipped off of the bed, the sheet coming with her as a shield against his eyes—no matter that she’d had his mouth on her in places she’d only dreamed of. Sam found herself unwontedly shy. Random clothes were grabbed from her duffel, and she was disappearing into the bathroom for a quick shower with blessedly hot water to sooth the ache of never used muscles. It helped, even with the unexpected tension in her body as she wondered about it.

Surely it meant something to him. It meant so damned much to her… But how could she tell him? He was male, and in his twenties. In college. And he’d obviously known what he was doing. She could only hope that she wasn’t a conquest, a notch to be added to his bedpost when he got back to Amity.

She jumped when he knocked softly on the door. “Sam? I got the car and settled up for the room.”

“O-okay,” she managed to get out before she closed her eyes. It was irrational, the fear. But she was clean, and she was dressed, and the only thing left to do was to stop hiding like a child and confront him.

See what his reaction was.

The handle was wet and warm beneath her hand as she turned it and stepped out. She didn’t look around as she laid the towels out on the counter to dry, nor as she shoved her clothes into her duffel and tossed her toothbrush, paste and deodorant in. Then she looked up, and shook her head as she realized she was alone. The door was open, and she could see Danny stuffing his own bags into the trunk of his beloved Chevelle, and she zipped hers up with a sigh.

With a toss it was flying towards the door as she gave the room a once over to make sure nothing had been missed, only to be startled out of her scrutiny by the scrape of his shoe at the doorway, and she turned, eyes wide. He was staring at her with the oddest expression on his face, a sort of wistful half smile that she’d seen so many times before. Since they’d been kids in high school, she remembered as she turned fully. How many times had she seen him like that? Seen him start to say something only to stop and say nothing in the end?

“Did you get everything?” she asked to break the silence, not sure if it was uncomfortable or not. He didn’t answer.

“You look so beautiful, Sam,” he said quietly before closing the distance between them in two long, sure strides. His fingers buried themselves in the dampened strands of her hair and he pulled her closer. “So damned beautiful.”

He kissed her, much more chastely than she’d expected, but it was enough to take her breath away. And it was more than enough to make her insecurities die an ugly little death as he held her against him, his lips against hers and his hands holding her face gently.

And when he pulled back the peculiar little expression was gone. But, she realized with a flush of relief, this time he’d said something. He’d told her that she was beautiful, and then he’d kissed her.

Maybe that’s what he’d been wanting to say all along.

---

It was the little things that made the rest of the trip. They were silent as they drove out of the little town that they would never forget. It was hard to forget when one became lovers with the person they loved, and for that alone it was unforgettable. The highway was clear and the interstate had next to no traffic on it as Danny followed the curve of the on ramp, his foot pressing slowly but steadily down on the gas pedal.

The Chevelle responded beautifully, more so than expected for a vehicle that was in its fortieth decade of rumbling down the road—a testament to its restoration, and to the mechanic in the middle of nowhere.

But the purr of the engine was only music to Sam’s ears for so long. They hadn’t been on the road for even an hour before one slim hand reached out to fiddle with the stereo system Danny had painstakingly installed the day after his nineteenth birthday. It was, much to Sam’s endless amusement, capable of CD’s as well as cassette tapes, a rarity nowadays but standard for Danny: some of his favorite music was on cassettes. She knew that he had a collection of old Journey and Aerosmith and Eagles tapes he’d swindled from his parents in the glove box, but for the moment she was content to surf the free waves to see what she could find.

Danny grunted when she skimmed past a few stations that were far too poppy for both of them, and frowned in annoyance at her out of the corner of his eye when she passed up the oldies station. But then, Danny knew that if Sam had a choice of radio stations she would pick something that was rock. Or at least rockish. She listened to almost anything, but he knew her heart thrived on the alternarock scene.

If anything, he knew that she had hundreds (nay, thousands) of albums by too many bands to count. Hell, she wasted more money on CD’s and concerts in a few months than he had in his whole life.

To her credit, and Danny was perfectly capable of giving credit where credit was due, she always offered to take him and Tucker along. Or, more usually, demanded. Some of the concerts she went to devolved into complete chaos with mosh pits breaking out anywhere there was enough even ground for a few people to bash themselves, and anyone who got in their way, together.

Those were the times Danny and Tucker acted as buffers. And those were the times they nursed a great many bruises and scuffs and scrapes and, even once, a broken bone. Only a finger, but Tucker had taken Sam to town for that and came out a new PDA and tons of upgrades ahead.

She settled on a station with a random beat that didn’t sound familiar and Danny sighed as he realized that it would be hours before he got any control over the radio. Especially since he was the one driving and she had already proven that she was more than willing to argue over his music choices. She’d even pulled out the puppy dog eyes on the first leg of the trip to avoid having to listen to oldies for more than an hour. But, and Danny knew that she’d kill him the rest of the way if she knew, he didn’t really mind her choice in music that much.

It wasn’t like he didn’t have his own collection of Breaking Benjamin and Fall Out Boy and the like. But what Sam didn’t know wasn’t going to hurt her. It might hurt him one day, but certainly not her. He’d smiled as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She looked so… not happy. Happy was too small of a word, to easily used and misinterpreted. You could be happy and not satisfied, or happy and not fulfilled. Happy and not any number of things that Danny didn’t want to apply to Sam. But there were other words, and one in particular that he couldn’t help but cling to as it crossed his mind.

Content. She looked content, and that was a million times better than happy. And it worked, because he knew he was the one who had helped her be that way. That knowledge warmed his heart nearly as much as loving her did.

He wasn’t wrong about the radio. It took a lot longer to snag it than he’d expected. He drove till near exhaustion, and then let Sam behind the wheel of his baby in an attempt to make up as much time as they could. But the nap he managed to snag hadn’t been nearly enough and Sam insisted on stopping for another hotel. It was well after dark and Danny argued the entire way into yet another town and to another tiny motel.

And argued again as she insisted on paying for the rooms. It was to the point where she followed him out of the car and into the lobby, startling the poor man on duty with the somewhat vehement bickering. To anyone who didn’t know them it looked like a serious fight. Tucker would have said it was foreplay.

“You’ll be needing rooms?” he offered with a hesitant smile, and Sam grinned at him as she clamped a hand over Danny’s mouth.

“Yes, just for the night.”

“And I’m paying for them,” Danny shot at her as he yanked her hand away from his mouth. He’d very nearly given in to the childish urge to lick her palm until she let him go.

The man fiddled with his keyboard and stared at the screen for a moment. “Two rooms?”

Danny opened his mouth to answer, but for once in his life he wasn’t exactly sure what to say. He glanced at Sam unsurely and saw that she hadn’t so much as looked at him, only smiled as Danny tried to figure out what to say. Say yes and lose the chance to have Sam sleeping next to him. Say no and possibly have her mad at him for assuming, which was a fate worse than death. Even if he was already half dead.

So in the end it was Sam who answered.

“No. Just one room,” she said with a glance at Danny, amethyst eyes dark. “With a king sized bed.”

---

“Hey! That was my finger!” Sam yelped as she pulled her hand back and examined her fingertips. She glared at Danny. “I see tooth marks,” she muttered before fishing some more fries from the bag and holding them out to Danny.

“Well, if someone hadn’t eaten my lime and vinegar chips I wouldn’t have had to starve for four hours until the next exit with food,” he said pointedly. “Not naming names or anything. But I am a guy. And I have to eat all the time to just function.”

Sam stuck her tongue out at him and chuckled. “I don’t know. You function pretty well without food. Without sleep.”

He grinned at her. “Are you complaining?”

She shook her head. “Nope.” It was easier to admit that. He’d been no less attentive the night before, and even if they were both still exhausted, it was a good exhausted, and worth it. She’d waited years for this kind of exhaustion, and she was going to hold on to it with both hands while she had it.

She dug another fry out and popped it into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully for a moment.

“Sam.” Danny’s voice pulled her back to the present and she glanced over at him with an absent smile. “Those are my fries. You already ate yours.”

“And I have the bag. Which makes all of them mine.”

Danny took up the argument with relish as they drove, and neither of them noticed when they crossed into California.

I just wanna break you down so badly
Well I trip over everything you say
I just wanna break you down so badly
In the worst way (worst way)

Pasadena was not what either of them had expected. Or at least it wouldn’t have been if either of them knew what to expect. But the CalTech campus was a refreshing mixture of foreign and familiar with the expected student filled atmosphere that was universal and yet the almost LA almost beach scene that was completely southern California. They didn’t necessarily have to drive through the CalTech campus to get to the house that Tucker was splitting with three other roommates, but it was easier to cut through and follow Tucker’s directions than to circumvent the slower campus speed limits and try and find their way around.

Sam was enthralled, but Danny had expected that the second they’d laid wheel on the verdant grounds. Danny was annoyed. He just wanted to get there now that they were so close. He could easily admit to himself that a great deal of that was born from his desire to turn down Tucker’s offer of staying with him, and Danny’s want of getting another hotel room with Sam. It wasn’t going to happen though; it would likely be the last time the three stayed under the same roof for another few years while Tucker worked on his Master’s and Sam fought her way into environmental politics in New York.

He couldn’t take that away from them. It’d been too long since they’d all chilled.

Of course at nearly ten o’clock at night there would be no chilling. Even if Tucker wasn’t halfway asleep (or having his mind warped by the internet or a new videogame) Danny knew that both he and Sam were well on their way to passing out. Even if he’d managed to talk her into a hotel, there would be nothing but sleep, albeit sleep wrapped around her was good enough for him.

“I think that’s it,” Sam said as Danny followed the last turn in Tucker’s directions and got a glimpse of the house Tucker was living in.

“Sam, that’s not a house,” he managed as he pulled into the drive in front of it.

She laughed. “I wonder who they’re renting it from. Bill Gates?”

“You’re here!” came the shouted greeting as the front doors were flung open and Tucker flew out. He’d gotten taller since high school and completely dwarfed Sam as he wrapped her in a tight hug, lifting her from the ground and swinging her around. His hug for Danny was manlier with much back pounding, but no less enthusiastic for it. “You guys are so late. You’re only going to have a few days before you have to drive back.”

Sam shrugged and pointed at Danny. “It’s his fault for buying defective parts.”

“Hey!” Danny said as he tugged the bags from the trunk. He tossed hers to Tucker. “Just for that I’m never letting you drive it again.”

“So,” Tucker said as he led them inside and closed the door behind them. There was a snick as it locked itself automatically, but Tucker didn’t even flinch as it did so Danny assumed that it was a normal function of the house. “You let Sam drive the Chevelle. You never let me drive the Chevelle.”

Danny shrugged as he glanced around the massive living room. “You were also never trapped into making up two days worth of driving. When I said we were taking the scenic route I meant to see some sights, not be trapped in Nowheresville.” He let out a low whistle. “Tucker, my man. You’re living like a king.”

Tucker snorted. “It’s a technogeek’s heaven,” he said.

“How are you affording it?” Even Sam had to wonder at it. Tucker’s family wasn’t as fiscally able as hers, and nothing in recent years had indicated Tucker inheriting a small fortune. It was a wonder.

The house itself was massive, and set back on a lot that was barely big enough for it. The living room was done in smoky greens and medium colored woods complete with a fireplace that probably had never been used. There was a large flat screen mounted on one of the walls with theatre style couches vaguely positioned towards them, and too many colored dots behind dark glass in built in niches surrounding the television. Beyond it they could see the kitchen, done in matching wood and blues that complemented the green. Beyond that was a wall of glass that led out on to a yard that was larger than Sam would have expected, given how close the house was to the curb in front. It was dominated by a slate tiled pool and Jacuzzi. It was too dark to make out much more than the moonlight glinting from the water, and she turned to Tucker expectantly and rolled her eyes as he laughed sheepishly.

“I, uh, I’m not paying for it,” he said with a faint grin. “It’s part of the private scholarship deal thing. For my Master’s. I got offered the scholarship at the beginning of the year and when I accepted it I got to move in here. One of the perks.”

“I want perks like that,” Danny said with a laugh as Tucker shrugged and started up the stairs.

“It’s not bad. Really, it’s great,” he said. “I’m on the second floor with Darcy. You won’t see her, she went home for spring break. But we’ve got two guest rooms here. This one,” Tucker said as he dropped Sam’s bag just inside the first door on the left, “is yours, Sam. Darcy’s is across the hall.”

Darcy was an individual, Sam decided as she took in the hand painted door that labeled the room as hers. Too much of it was scientific, and Sam could only assume part of it was an inside joke that was more perverted than scientific. But she wasn’t going to ask. Tucker pointed at the closed door next to Darcy's and said, “That’s mine. Danny’s is the one after that.”

The layout was only logical because of the open air above the living room. The hall was bordered with a wood and glass railing that was modern and timeless all at once. She decided she was in love and made a mental note to find out who the architect and decorator were. She had an inheritance that was made to spent on a home like that.

Sam glanced in the room Tucker had given her and her jaw dropped. “That’s a huge bed, Tucker.”

He laughed. “California king. Guaranteed to be the biggest bed you’ve ever slept in without custom construction.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Plenty of room to move.” She was proud that she didn’t so much as glance at Danny. He was a smart guy. He’d figure out the invitation if he wanted.

“Right, so you guys must be tired. I’ll introduce you to Evan tomorrow. He’s up on the third with Alex, but Alex also went home for the holidays. Evan stayed; he’s on my team,” Tucker explained. “So you guys have a good night’s sleep, and tomorrow we can get started with the fun.”

Good night’s were said and Danny watched with shadowed eyes as Sam closed her door behind her. “Right. Shower, sleep.” He shouldered his bag and smiled at Tucker. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

---

He was smooth. Beyond smooth. But his intelligence was severely lacking. The shower had been an experience in itself, one of those expensive and luxurious arrangements with the sprays that ran up and down the wall and a big, oversized showerhead that let the water rain down. It had been relaxing, even when he tried turning the water ice cold in an effort to keep himself from sneaking to Sam’s room and taking her up on her offer. A futile attempt; he knew he would anyway.

The trouble had come during the actual sneaking. For a guy who was half ghost and a fairly brilliant tactician, he’d certainly gone about it stupidly. Instead of slipping through the walls, or at least just going invisible, he’s just crept down the hall like a teenager sneaking out.

But how Tucker had known to open his door at that exact moment escaped Danny. And Tucker had known, because the look on his face and the languid way he leaned against the door frame practically screamed, “I know you’re up to something.”

“So,” he said into the quiet hallway. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing?” Danny tried. And failed miserably, because he was only three steps from Sam’s door in nothing but his pajama pants and bare feet, and it was painfully obvious that something certainly was going on.

Tucker gave him a glare. “Right. Try that on someone that doesn’t know you both as well as I do. You let her drive your car. That was a clue right there. You’re all touchy feely with her, and don’t try to deny it, I saw you two practically cuddling as you stood next to each other.” Tucker ticked them off on his fingers. “The way you look at each other, and you don’t even blush. And don’t try and tell me she didn’t invite you to spend the night with her.”

Danny took a breath, let it out, and shrugged. “Alright. I won’t.”

Tucker’s jaw dropped and he gaped at his best friend. “You guys finally got together?”

Danny bit his lip then he shrugged again, rubbing one arm self consciously. “I don’t know. There’s something going on. I don’t know exactly what it is, for her at least.” He looked Tucker in the eyes and didn’t even blink as he said, “But it’s serious for me. I’m in love with her.”

Tucker sighed, shaking his head. “Tell me something I don’t already know. I think most of Amity Park knows that one by now.”

Danny glared. “I’m not that obvious.”

Tucker arched an eyebrow and chuckled. “Um, dude? Yeah. You are. I think she was the only one who didn’t notice. Or did you never wonder why her parents hated you and not me?”

“Well, that does make sense.”

“If it helps,” Tucker offered. “I’m pretty sure she loves you, too.”

Danny smiled faintly but said nothing.

“So you know that this is the part where I threaten bodily harm if you hurt her, right?” Tucker asked.

Danny bit back a laugh as he flushed red. “Yeah. Not a problem, don’t intend on ever hurting her.”

“Just so we’re clear.” Tucker’s door whispered shut and Danny let out a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding.

Three steps and a gentle tap later he was slipping through the door that Sam opened for him and wrapping his arms around her with a sigh. Her hair was still wet and smelled like flowers as he buried his face in it, holding her tightly. “Tired,” he murmured as she tugged him to the bed and down beside her. “Can I just hold you?”

She made a soft noise of assent and burrowed her way against his side. “G’night, Sam,” he murmured. Only soft steady breathing answered him, and Danny smiled in the dark.

---

“It was nice,” Sam said as she settled back into the still familiar passenger seat of the Chevelle. “We’ll have to come visit him again during summer.”

Danny arched a dark eyebrow at her as he carefully steered his way into the fast lane of the interstate. “Come here? Tuck’s coming home for summer.” The look she gave him spoke volumes and he chuckled. “Okay, so he’ll stay here in technogeek heaven. It’s really creepy to know that it’s a Dalv scholarship.”

“But perfectly safe,” she pointed out, “since you killed Vlad and will own Dalv in a few years.” She bit her lip, chewing the delicate skin for a moment before smiling widely at him. “When you own the house can you get me a copy of the plans? I want a house like that.”

Danny laughed. “How about when I own the house I just give it to you?”

“But what about the scholarship kids? Are you going to cancel the scholarships?”

Danny smirked. “Nah. But I can build more houses for them. If you like that one so much, you can have it.”

She grinned and twisted in the seat. “Can you move it, too? California’s nice, but I still like home better.”

It was the first time since they’d started the trip that Danny wasn’t sure what Sam meant. Half of him was afraid that she meant New York. The other half was hoping that she meant Amity Park. Instead of answering he only tightened his grip on the steering wheel and absently switched lanes to move around a slower moving car before sliding back to the right and settling in for the drive.

“So, Vegas, right?” Sam asked after a long while of silence.

Danny made a noncommittal sound, then sighed softly. “Yeah, Vegas. Straight shot along here, then I thought we could get off on 70 and go through Denver. Nothing much fun after that, just Middle America, but I hear the Rockies are nice this time of year.”

Sam smiled.

Description
Title: MakeDamnSure (SongShot) p.2
Rating: M
Summary: Tucker has always believed that the only way that Sam and Danny will finally admit they care is by trapping them together for an extended period of time. And he manages to trap them, however unintentionally.
Author's Notes: MakeDamnSure is by Taking Back Sunday from the album Louder Now.

For Megan, my twisted little muse. Scissor shaped across the bed really is a hot line, isn’t it? Now I suggest you read some of the stuff I write before I start making you the Mary Sue…

MakeDamnSure p.2

You hollow out my hungry eyes
You hollow out my hungry eyes

“You know, I would have agreed that it was too cold for ice cream, but the way you steam up the bathroom…” Sam chuckled as she nibbled at the edge of the ice cream cone Danny had just flown in for her.

He smirked. “You’re lucky I let you have the first shower. If I hadn’t, you’d have been a very, very cold Sam.”

She shrugged and Danny’s eyes dilated as he watched her swipe her tongue across the vanilla mass she’d picked. He’d gone with chocolate. Good, old fashioned, tried and true chocolate. And he’d swear that the pink of her tongue was only that much more because of the creamy white ice cream. It made him think of things that he shouldn’t have thought. Like how sweet she must taste with the soft vanilla flavor still in her mouth. How much better she probably tasted without it, with just her.

Like how her tongue would look as it swiped across his skin, and Danny blinked the thought away as Sam looked at him curiously before he shifted off the bed, hurriedly and fluidly, the motion making the mattress heave. Without any warning Sam herself was bounced, and the cone in her hand. The softly melting ice cream toppled from its safe haven in the cone and dropped down onto her lap, splattering her night shirt and making little dots of vanilla across the bedspread.

Sam cursed as she tried to salvage what was left, but the ice cream refused to hold together as she tried scooping it up, and Danny grabbed a shirt from the top of the nearest bag to help her scoop it up, sighing as he deposited it in the sink, turning back to her with a towel in hand.

“Sam, I’m sorry,” he said as she pulled at her shirt, grimacing at the stickiness.

Then her eyes lit on the shirt by the sink and she glared at him. “That was my last clean t-shirt, Danny. What am I supposed to wear now?” She paused and then yanked the towel out of his hands to sop at the ice cream and smear it off of hers before holding a semi-clean hand out in demand. “Give me one of yours. Now.”

Danny arched an eyebrow and glanced down at his nearly shirtless state. The tank top had seen better days, and he bit his lip so that he wouldn’t laugh. “Um, Sam. This is my last clean shirt.”

She glared even more fiercely. “Then what am I sleeping in?”

“Don’t you have anything else?” Danny asked as Sam threw the towel at him, missing so that it smacked into the mirrored wall behind him.

Without a look back she stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door, making Danny wince as he looked at it. Then it cracked open and the sticky shirt was wrapped around his head as she hit what she aimed at this time. A second later and the sweatpants she’d had on followed, and Danny barely had a moment to try and stick a hand up before they too were around his face.

“I want a pair of your pajama pants. And I want the nightgown from my bag,” she said severely. “And don’t you dare say a word about it, either, Danny Fenton.”

It was cryptic right until he had her bag opened up and found the object of his search. The pajama pants had been easy, right on top of his bag, he’d been planning to switch into them from jeans. He figured he could rough it for a night and sleep in those, even if the denim was still a little too new to be comfortable and soft. He’d ruined her clothes, it was the least he could do.

But the thing that she called a nightgown was pushing the limits. Silky and soft and a deeply matte black… He wondered if, when she had bought it, it had been termed a nightgown. Because to Danny, the silk and lace gown looked more like something that was worn only to be taken off.

Wisely Danny stayed silent as he rapped on the closed door. It opened a crack and her hand poked through, fingers outstretched and expectant. He dropped the clothes in her hand and then backed off as the door closed again with a thud. Danny sighed as he quickly mopped up the rest of the mess and set her shirt and pants to soak in some water. She’d be mad no matter what, but maybe if he tried to clean them a little too, she wouldn’t be as mad.

He’d only just managed to strip the sticky bedspread and bundle it up in his hands when the bathroom door opened again and Sam stepped out. For a moment Danny couldn’t breathe, she looked so beautiful. Not that he didn’t always think she was beautiful, but she never… well, she never dressed like this for him. The green pajama pants were easily ignored as his imagination provided him with a remembered length of pale leg, and the silky black materiel skimmed along her body smoothly, hugging itself to the curves and sliding against the flat span of her stomach.

Thin lacy straps found their way down her shoulder, plunging down to a scoop that let him imagine would it would be like if it were just a little bit lower, and Danny was suddenly very glad for the wadded material he held in front of him. He was speechless, dumbstruck.

“It looks stupid, I know,” she said as she plucked at the hem of the nightgown self-consciously. “I didn’t really plan on anyone seeing me in it,” she mumbled.

She looked up at him and then dropped her eyes just as quickly before she reached out and hit the switch to plunge the room into darkness. “I’m tired,” was all she said, and moments later Danny heard her crawling across the bed and sliding beneath the still clean sheet he’d left on it.

The blanket was dropped, forgotten as Danny felt his way to the bed and sat down. “You don’t look stupid,” he said into the silence. She snorted and he reached a hand out, feeling a blush burn its way across his face as he found the smooth skin of her shoulder, fingers perched just so, so that all he had to do to slide the strap down would be to pull. Slide the strap down and press his mouth to the soft skin there, kiss it, find his way up her throat so that he could—

“No, really,” he said as he killed that line of thought ruthlessly. “You look nice. Really nice.”

She didn’t say anything.

“Sam.”

“Don’t try and humor me, Danny.” This time when her voice came it was tired, and Danny pulled his hand back as he tugged his shirt off and stretched out next to her.

“You’re beautiful, Sam.” This time the silence was abrupt, and Danny knew that Sam wasn’t going to say anything, knew that he’d probably gone too far by saying that. She wasn’t ready to think of him in any way but as a friend, and he’d probably freaked her out. Seriously freaked her out.

“You don’t have to sleep in your jeans.” Her voice startled him, he was so sure she’d gone to sleep as he lay awake in the dark.

“I don’t have anymore pj’s,” he said, trying to make it into something teasing and failing miserably.

“So? Those can’t be comfortable.”

She had a point and Danny waited a moment to see if she would say anything else before shimmying the jeans off and tossing them in the direction of his bag, hoping that it hit it, or just came close. She shifted a moment after him and he heard the rustle of silk as she did, and immediately rolled to his side away from her, trying desperately to control his hormones. It was one thing to sleep next to her when they were both practically dressed. Another thing entirely to lay there in nothing but his boxers and to know that she was lying next to him wearing something out of a fantasy.

He sighed again and rolled back to his back as he tried to concentrate on anything but her. They were leaving in the morning. They’d have to make up time, so they’d have to avoid anything that would be a congested area. No skimming through Vegas to see the strip lit up at night like they’d planned. He’d take that side trip on the way back. They could easily cut through New Mexico and then across Arizona and then it was a straight shot—

“Are you asleep?” The warm hand on his side and the soft voice from next to him startled him from his mental mapping, and Danny nearly jumped.

He chuckled a little once his heart found its place in his chest again and replied, “No.” Another chuckle and he asked, “Are you asleep?”

He could almost see her rolling her eyes as she said, “I wouldn’t be talking to you if I were, Danny.”

He started to roll towards her just as she reached a hand out to him saying, “Here,” and he realized that she was shoving his pajama pants back at him, that when he’d been tugging his jeans off, she’d been pulling them off to give back to him.

But that realization fled swiftly as he realized that it was a slim Sam wearing nothing but that little black negligee who was practically pressed against him, that it was the woman he’d loved since he was a boy, and she was so close, and she smelled so good. He could see her faintly in the dark, thought he could see her eyes as they stared at him, startled and wide. Thought that he could see as she bit her lip in fear or nervousness, but it didn’t really matter to Danny at all right then, not when she was right there with him, and all it took was for him to take the pajama pants from her, drop them somewhere far away from between them, and slide his arm around her to pull her closer.

“Danny,” she whispered, and Danny knew that no matter what happened next, there was no going back for him. Maybe she could, but he couldn’t. He did the only thing he could do. He kissed her.

And we lay, we lay together just not
Too close, too close (How close is close enough?)
We lay, we lay together just not
Too close, too close

Sam knew that she surprised Danny the second that his mouth met hers and, instead of pulling away like he’d expected, she moved closer, now truly pressed into him, feeling the heat and hardness of him against her as she parted her lips for him, tasting him as he slipped his tongue inside her mouth. It couldn’t be helped, the way he felt against her, the warmth of his fingers as they gripped her side almost painfully tight, the staccato rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her hand.

She could taste the chocolate of his ice cream in his mouth, and below it a darker, more masculine taste that she knew had to be Danny and Danny alone. Truly, the two fake-out make-outs that they’d had when they were fourteen did no justice to the way the man kissed. And the way he’d touched her at fourteen was… Pitiful at best when compared to the things he was doing now.

The second he realized that she wasn’t going to fight Danny’s fingers had let go of her and, before Sam could protest, had started to skim down the length of her body. She whimpered against his mouth as his hand found the small of her back and pulled her closer, willingly going and letting herself melt against him. Almost as if he understood the language of her body Danny lowered his hand further, letting it caress across the curve of her hip to grasp her thigh and pull her that much more firmly against him.

The tilt of his hips as he angled her back settled the length of him against her and Sam gave a gasping moan into his mouth before her head slipped back as he moved against her, the friction between the silk of her panties and the cotton of his boxers creating a delicious heat that spread up through her body. Another moan, this time as Danny lowered his mouth to the pale arch of her neck and attacked it, lips, tongue and teeth laving it as he brought his other hand up to slip one thin, dark silken strap down her shoulder.

Danny’s mouth dropped lower to press a kiss to the crook of her neck before ghosting across to her shoulder, placing another kiss there as Sam moaned beneath him. He was settled, snug between her legs, slowly working lower. Sam arched her body against him as she felt him slide the other strap off and begin to work the other strap down, his mouth dancing from one collarbone to the other as he moved to the soft skin of her other shoulder. From the tension along his body she knew that he wanted more, and that he was afraid to take it.

So she gave it to him.

Without a second thought she pushed him back, gently but abruptly, making confusion, worry, fear streak across his face as she followed him, pulling herself upright. She only smiled as she reached for the hem of the short negligee, giving it an unsubtle jerk and pulling it up and over her head. She tossed it then, Danny’s eyes following it just long enough to see it land in the same vicinity that the almost returned pajama pants had landed, before turning his eyes back to her.

She wasn’t sure if she was pleased or not when his gaze never wavered from her own. Murky blue eyes locked on hers, and through the darkness she saw his jaw tense and then relax as he reached a hand out to her. She tried not to, but Sam couldn’t help but lean into his touch, letting the warmth of the hand cupping her cheek seep through her as she looked up at him.

“You’re sure about this? About you and me and this?” he asked softly, eyes burning into hers.

She only nodded.

Without another word Danny guided her back down to the bed and Sam could only sigh, smile, and close her eyes as he lowered his mouth back to hers. His fingers ghosted down her sides, like he wanted to touch her and was too afraid. Sam almost sighed in annoyance before she felt the calloused grip of one hand smoothly cupping her breast, thumb flicking across the nipple so that she arched into him, a strangled gasp of pleasure being swallowed into his mouth as he kissed her more firmly, tongue sliding against hers as she tried to breathe through the sensations.

Then his mouth left hers and drifted back down her throat, across her collarbone, and before Sam could even smile with anticipation he kissed her breast, tongue flicking out to test the nipple much as his thumb had. And when he lowered his mouth to her, to kiss and suck and lap at the tender flesh, she could only mewl her pleasure and feel the way his mouth curved in a pleased smile. She was overly sensitive, she knew it, and knew it was because her experience in the bedroom was limited. Nonexistent, actually, unless she counted anything done alone…

She didn’t. For all intents and purposes, she was a virgin, and completely new to the touch of a man’s hands.

It was this knowledge that had her gasping his name as his mouth slipped lower to delve his tongue into her bellybutton, kisses placed gently, hotly against the smooth skin of her stomach. This secret that made her so pleased that he’d made the move, had asked, had touched. Was touching. She’d always known that she wanted her first time to be with someone she loved.

It was just beautiful that it was with the one man she loved more than anyone else in the world, and that she hadn’t had to eventually settle for a pale replacement for the love of her life.

“Sam?” he murmured, and she glanced down to see him looking up at her, his fingers slipping around the waistband of the panties, and the gentle pressure that was his real request. Without a second thought she lifted her hips and allowed him to slide them down her legs and throw them—where she didn’t know, and more importantly, didn’t care.

But the expected toss that should be his boxers, and the weight of his body against hers never came, and she looked down at him, the question in her eyes as she saw him smile up at her, an unexpected glint in his blue eyes, dark and uncompromising. His fingers danced along the firm skin of her thighs, gently rubbing and caressing as he watched her. Before she could question it Danny had bent his head and sealed his mouth against her.

A helpless sound escaped her at the first sure stroke of his tongue, and Sam lifted her hips in place without ever meaning to. His mouth moved over her mercilessly, tongue swirling and stabbing and stroking until her entire body was quivering beneath his touch. He lapped at her again, this time letting his fingers stroke gently across her sensitive flesh as he lifted his mouth to look up at her and watch the soft sheen of sweat that slicked across her body.

“You like that, huh?” he asked, almost on a smirk. His voice was harsh with pleasure and desire, knowing that he could do this to her, make his Sam come so undone that she couldn’t even string a coherent response together.

“Danny…” Her voice was soft and her body moved against his hand, and Danny let a finger slip to her entrance, barely dipping inside her as he lowered his mouth to briefly lash against her with his tongue.

She moaned, long and low, and Danny smiled as he looked up again. “You like it?”

“Please.” The plea was almost lost as she whimpered again, and Danny stroked her again.

“Tell me, Sam?” Almost an order, but not quite. Close, but nothing like what he’d intended. Sam could hear the yearning in his voice as he asked it. She bit her lip as he slid his mouth across her again, tongue delving inside of her for a moment before he looked again—she could feel his eyes on her even if the desire had her near blind with it.

“Yes,” she hissed out as another wave swarmed over her and broke, lifting her that much higher. A peculiar fire was burning deep within her, and she just knew that if he touched her again for more than a moment, if he just kissed her, god, if he even spoke to her again in that sensual voice, she’d come undone…

Without warning his mouth was on her again, and then he was sinking one long, hard finger inside her. She went completely to pieces, knowing somewhere in the back of her mind that the way she was crying out, calling his name, had to be heard throughout the entire little motel. Hell, the town was small enough that everyone knew what Danny was doing to her. But she couldn’t bring herself to care.

All that mattered was her and him and the way it felt.

When she could hear again, see again, when she could just breathe again, she let out a long shuddering breath through half smiling lips. “You did like it, then,” she heard Danny murmur as he placed a gentle kiss to her before crawling up her body.

“I’ll kill you when I can feel my toes again,” she whispered on a shaky laugh.

He chuckled against her neck, his face buried there for a moment as her breath caught in her throat again, the feeling of him brushing against her startling her. He lifted his face and looked down at her wondering expression and gave her a half hearted shrug. “Ghost powers come in handy for all sorts of things,” he murmured as moved against her a little more firmly.

She bit back the moan and Danny smiled lazily down at her. “So, when you can feel your toes?” She nodded, and the grin turned wicked. “I guess I’ll just have to make sure you never feel your toes again.”

He kissed her then, wiping the smart remark he knew she was about to say clear out of her mind, and then moved against her and into her. It was a quick, firm thrust, and she was much tighter than he’d expected. It wasn’t until he realized that her eyes were closed, her body was tense and her face was buried against his chest that Danny knew exactly what he’d done.

“Oh, shit, oh, fuck. Sam, god, I’m so sorry,” he muttered rapidly as he tried to pull away from her. She wouldn’t let him, legs locking around him so that he remained deep inside of her, arms clinging to him and not letting him budge as much as an inch.

He heard her in the spaces between his harsh breathing, the faintest whimper, and this time not from any pleasure he was giving her. “Sam, please,” he started but was cut off when she moved her face from his chest and looked up at him.

Her eyes were bright and he knew that for at least a moment she’d been close to crying. Danny hated himself in that moment but she shook her head. “Don’t, Danny. Don’t say it, and please, don’t move for a minute. Okay?”

And he didn’t, for a full minute and then some. Her breathing evened out and he could feel her relaxing as she became accustomed to him, and Danny nearly sighed in relief as he realized that she wasn’t hurting anymore. Or at least if she was hurting, it wasn’t as bad as it had been with the initial hurt he’d unwittingly given her. He bit his lip and pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes closed as hers were.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered, his mouth close enough to hers that he could as soon kiss her as talk.

He could feel it when her mouth curved into a smile. “Would you have done this if I’d told you?” she asked as she moved carefully beneath him, her hips shifting a fraction of an inch.

He groaned, half from the pleasure and half from the question. “No,” he choked out as she moved again. “But why?”

His eyes were open and staring into hers when she answered. “Because I wanted it to be you.” And this time when she moved it was in earnest and Danny couldn’t find the strength to keep still anymore.

She didn’t shift away from him, she didn’t close her eyes or try to hide any pained sounds or movements, and Danny was reassured by it as he lower his mouth to hers again, kissing her gently as he began to thrust in earnest, unable to resist the heat of her, the way her legs tangled around his and urged him inside of her. The way her amethyst eyes darkened and were half slit as he made love to her.

The way her lips parted as he drove her into madness, her breath escaping in little moans and gasps and whimpers. The way she was all at once boneless beneath him and yet moving with him perfectly. Her hands in his hair, drawing his face down to hers to capture his lips, her tongue across his before another moan broke from her throat and her head dropped back again. Telling him in a dozen tiny ways how much she wanted him and needed him and loved him, even if she wasn’t able to give voice to the words.

She loved the tiny noises that came from the back of his throat, the way his hips moved against hers. The way the steady rhythm he’d created with her began to fall apart as he, she, as they both began succumbing to it. The hand on her thigh, squeezing and caressing and then grabbing, to lift it up and press it alongside his waist as he shifted his body against hers to change the angle of his thrusting.

It made the difference, and Sam’s world splintered around her as she clung to him, knowing that he wasn’t very far behind as he pressed his face against her neck giving one last thrust as he buried himself inside her. He was whispering her name, a broken plea that she could barely hear through the ecstasy.

“Sam, I—oh, God, Sam…”

I love you.

I just wanna break you down so badly
Well I trip over everything you say
Well I just wanna break you down so badly
In the worst way

He woke before her and was already dressed before she made her first stretch of the morning. It was awkward; she could admit it freely, if only to herself. He, fully clothed and lounging on the side of the bed with some kind of fast food breakfast half eaten in his hand before he put it down. Her entirely naked but for the sheet that she was tangled in. and when Danny looked at her she gave him a hesitant smile.

A smile that he returned freely as he leaned down, brushing her hair from her face and pressing a kiss to her forehead, then another to her lips before saying so very quietly, “Morning.”

Her thoughts were frayed as she slipped off of the bed, the sheet coming with her as a shield against his eyes—no matter that she’d had his mouth on her in places she’d only dreamed of. Sam found herself unwontedly shy. Random clothes were grabbed from her duffel, and she was disappearing into the bathroom for a quick shower with blessedly hot water to sooth the ache of never used muscles. It helped, even with the unexpected tension in her body as she wondered about it.

Surely it meant something to him. It meant so damned much to her… But how could she tell him? He was male, and in his twenties. In college. And he’d obviously known what he was doing. She could only hope that she wasn’t a conquest, a notch to be added to his bedpost when he got back to Amity.

She jumped when he knocked softly on the door. “Sam? I got the car and settled up for the room.”

“O-okay,” she managed to get out before she closed her eyes. It was irrational, the fear. But she was clean, and she was dressed, and the only thing left to do was to stop hiding like a child and confront him.

See what his reaction was.

The handle was wet and warm beneath her hand as she turned it and stepped out. She didn’t look around as she laid the towels out on the counter to dry, nor as she shoved her clothes into her duffel and tossed her toothbrush, paste and deodorant in. Then she looked up, and shook her head as she realized she was alone. The door was open, and she could see Danny stuffing his own bags into the trunk of his beloved Chevelle, and she zipped hers up with a sigh.

With a toss it was flying towards the door as she gave the room a once over to make sure nothing had been missed, only to be startled out of her scrutiny by the scrape of his shoe at the doorway, and she turned, eyes wide. He was staring at her with the oddest expression on his face, a sort of wistful half smile that she’d seen so many times before. Since they’d been kids in high school, she remembered as she turned fully. How many times had she seen him like that? Seen him start to say something only to stop and say nothing in the end?

“Did you get everything?” she asked to break the silence, not sure if it was uncomfortable or not. He didn’t answer.

“You look so beautiful, Sam,” he said quietly before closing the distance between them in two long, sure strides. His fingers buried themselves in the dampened strands of her hair and he pulled her closer. “So damned beautiful.”

He kissed her, much more chastely than she’d expected, but it was enough to take her breath away. And it was more than enough to make her insecurities die an ugly little death as he held her against him, his lips against hers and his hands holding her face gently.

And when he pulled back the peculiar little expression was gone. But, she realized with a flush of relief, this time he’d said something. He’d told her that she was beautiful, and then he’d kissed her.

Maybe that’s what he’d been wanting to say all along.

---

It was the little things that made the rest of the trip. They were silent as they drove out of the little town that they would never forget. It was hard to forget when one became lovers with the person they loved, and for that alone it was unforgettable. The highway was clear and the interstate had next to no traffic on it as Danny followed the curve of the on ramp, his foot pressing slowly but steadily down on the gas pedal.

The Chevelle responded beautifully, more so than expected for a vehicle that was in its fortieth decade of rumbling down the road—a testament to its restoration, and to the mechanic in the middle of nowhere.

But the purr of the engine was only music to Sam’s ears for so long. They hadn’t been on the road for even an hour before one slim hand reached out to fiddle with the stereo system Danny had painstakingly installed the day after his nineteenth birthday. It was, much to Sam’s endless amusement, capable of CD’s as well as cassette tapes, a rarity nowadays but standard for Danny: some of his favorite music was on cassettes. She knew that he had a collection of old Journey and Aerosmith and Eagles tapes he’d swindled from his parents in the glove box, but for the moment she was content to surf the free waves to see what she could find.

Danny grunted when she skimmed past a few stations that were far too poppy for both of them, and frowned in annoyance at her out of the corner of his eye when she passed up the oldies station. But then, Danny knew that if Sam had a choice of radio stations she would pick something that was rock. Or at least rockish. She listened to almost anything, but he knew her heart thrived on the alternarock scene.

If anything, he knew that she had hundreds (nay, thousands) of albums by too many bands to count. Hell, she wasted more money on CD’s and concerts in a few months than he had in his whole life.

To her credit, and Danny was perfectly capable of giving credit where credit was due, she always offered to take him and Tucker along. Or, more usually, demanded. Some of the concerts she went to devolved into complete chaos with mosh pits breaking out anywhere there was enough even ground for a few people to bash themselves, and anyone who got in their way, together.

Those were the times Danny and Tucker acted as buffers. And those were the times they nursed a great many bruises and scuffs and scrapes and, even once, a broken bone. Only a finger, but Tucker had taken Sam to town for that and came out a new PDA and tons of upgrades ahead.

She settled on a station with a random beat that didn’t sound familiar and Danny sighed as he realized that it would be hours before he got any control over the radio. Especially since he was the one driving and she had already proven that she was more than willing to argue over his music choices. She’d even pulled out the puppy dog eyes on the first leg of the trip to avoid having to listen to oldies for more than an hour. But, and Danny knew that she’d kill him the rest of the way if she knew, he didn’t really mind her choice in music that much.

It wasn’t like he didn’t have his own collection of Breaking Benjamin and Fall Out Boy and the like. But what Sam didn’t know wasn’t going to hurt her. It might hurt him one day, but certainly not her. He’d smiled as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She looked so… not happy. Happy was too small of a word, to easily used and misinterpreted. You could be happy and not satisfied, or happy and not fulfilled. Happy and not any number of things that Danny didn’t want to apply to Sam. But there were other words, and one in particular that he couldn’t help but cling to as it crossed his mind.

Content. She looked content, and that was a million times better than happy. And it worked, because he knew he was the one who had helped her be that way. That knowledge warmed his heart nearly as much as loving her did.

He wasn’t wrong about the radio. It took a lot longer to snag it than he’d expected. He drove till near exhaustion, and then let Sam behind the wheel of his baby in an attempt to make up as much time as they could. But the nap he managed to snag hadn’t been nearly enough and Sam insisted on stopping for another hotel. It was well after dark and Danny argued the entire way into yet another town and to another tiny motel.

And argued again as she insisted on paying for the rooms. It was to the point where she followed him out of the car and into the lobby, startling the poor man on duty with the somewhat vehement bickering. To anyone who didn’t know them it looked like a serious fight. Tucker would have said it was foreplay.

“You’ll be needing rooms?” he offered with a hesitant smile, and Sam grinned at him as she clamped a hand over Danny’s mouth.

“Yes, just for the night.”

“And I’m paying for them,” Danny shot at her as he yanked her hand away from his mouth. He’d very nearly given in to the childish urge to lick her palm until she let him go.

The man fiddled with his keyboard and stared at the screen for a moment. “Two rooms?”

Danny opened his mouth to answer, but for once in his life he wasn’t exactly sure what to say. He glanced at Sam unsurely and saw that she hadn’t so much as looked at him, only smiled as Danny tried to figure out what to say. Say yes and lose the chance to have Sam sleeping next to him. Say no and possibly have her mad at him for assuming, which was a fate worse than death. Even if he was already half dead.

So in the end it was Sam who answered.

“No. Just one room,” she said with a glance at Danny, amethyst eyes dark. “With a king sized bed.”

---

“Hey! That was my finger!” Sam yelped as she pulled her hand back and examined her fingertips. She glared at Danny. “I see tooth marks,” she muttered before fishing some more fries from the bag and holding them out to Danny.

“Well, if someone hadn’t eaten my lime and vinegar chips I wouldn’t have had to starve for four hours until the next exit with food,” he said pointedly. “Not naming names or anything. But I am a guy. And I have to eat all the time to just function.”

Sam stuck her tongue out at him and chuckled. “I don’t know. You function pretty well without food. Without sleep.”

He grinned at her. “Are you complaining?”

She shook her head. “Nope.” It was easier to admit that. He’d been no less attentive the night before, and even if they were both still exhausted, it was a good exhausted, and worth it. She’d waited years for this kind of exhaustion, and she was going to hold on to it with both hands while she had it.

She dug another fry out and popped it into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully for a moment.

“Sam.” Danny’s voice pulled her back to the present and she glanced over at him with an absent smile. “Those are my fries. You already ate yours.”

“And I have the bag. Which makes all of them mine.”

Danny took up the argument with relish as they drove, and neither of them noticed when they crossed into California.

I just wanna break you down so badly
Well I trip over everything you say
I just wanna break you down so badly
In the worst way (worst way)

Pasadena was not what either of them had expected. Or at least it wouldn’t have been if either of them knew what to expect. But the CalTech campus was a refreshing mixture of foreign and familiar with the expected student filled atmosphere that was universal and yet the almost LA almost beach scene that was completely southern California. They didn’t necessarily have to drive through the CalTech campus to get to the house that Tucker was splitting with three other roommates, but it was easier to cut through and follow Tucker’s directions than to circumvent the slower campus speed limits and try and find their way around.

Sam was enthralled, but Danny had expected that the second they’d laid wheel on the verdant grounds. Danny was annoyed. He just wanted to get there now that they were so close. He could easily admit to himself that a great deal of that was born from his desire to turn down Tucker’s offer of staying with him, and Danny’s want of getting another hotel room with Sam. It wasn’t going to happen though; it would likely be the last time the three stayed under the same roof for another few years while Tucker worked on his Master’s and Sam fought her way into environmental politics in New York.

He couldn’t take that away from them. It’d been too long since they’d all chilled.

Of course at nearly ten o’clock at night there would be no chilling. Even if Tucker wasn’t halfway asleep (or having his mind warped by the internet or a new videogame) Danny knew that both he and Sam were well on their way to passing out. Even if he’d managed to talk her into a hotel, there would be nothing but sleep, albeit sleep wrapped around her was good enough for him.

“I think that’s it,” Sam said as Danny followed the last turn in Tucker’s directions and got a glimpse of the house Tucker was living in.

“Sam, that’s not a house,” he managed as he pulled into the drive in front of it.

She laughed. “I wonder who they’re renting it from. Bill Gates?”

“You’re here!” came the shouted greeting as the front doors were flung open and Tucker flew out. He’d gotten taller since high school and completely dwarfed Sam as he wrapped her in a tight hug, lifting her from the ground and swinging her around. His hug for Danny was manlier with much back pounding, but no less enthusiastic for it. “You guys are so late. You’re only going to have a few days before you have to drive back.”

Sam shrugged and pointed at Danny. “It’s his fault for buying defective parts.”

“Hey!” Danny said as he tugged the bags from the trunk. He tossed hers to Tucker. “Just for that I’m never letting you drive it again.”

“So,” Tucker said as he led them inside and closed the door behind them. There was a snick as it locked itself automatically, but Tucker didn’t even flinch as it did so Danny assumed that it was a normal function of the house. “You let Sam drive the Chevelle. You never let me drive the Chevelle.”

Danny shrugged as he glanced around the massive living room. “You were also never trapped into making up two days worth of driving. When I said we were taking the scenic route I meant to see some sights, not be trapped in Nowheresville.” He let out a low whistle. “Tucker, my man. You’re living like a king.”

Tucker snorted. “It’s a technogeek’s heaven,” he said.

“How are you affording it?” Even Sam had to wonder at it. Tucker’s family wasn’t as fiscally able as hers, and nothing in recent years had indicated Tucker inheriting a small fortune. It was a wonder.

The house itself was massive, and set back on a lot that was barely big enough for it. The living room was done in smoky greens and medium colored woods complete with a fireplace that probably had never been used. There was a large flat screen mounted on one of the walls with theatre style couches vaguely positioned towards them, and too many colored dots behind dark glass in built in niches surrounding the television. Beyond it they could see the kitchen, done in matching wood and blues that complemented the green. Beyond that was a wall of glass that led out on to a yard that was larger than Sam would have expected, given how close the house was to the curb in front. It was dominated by a slate tiled pool and Jacuzzi. It was too dark to make out much more than the moonlight glinting from the water, and she turned to Tucker expectantly and rolled her eyes as he laughed sheepishly.

“I, uh, I’m not paying for it,” he said with a faint grin. “It’s part of the private scholarship deal thing. For my Master’s. I got offered the scholarship at the beginning of the year and when I accepted it I got to move in here. One of the perks.”

“I want perks like that,” Danny said with a laugh as Tucker shrugged and started up the stairs.

“It’s not bad. Really, it’s great,” he said. “I’m on the second floor with Darcy. You won’t see her, she went home for spring break. But we’ve got two guest rooms here. This one,” Tucker said as he dropped Sam’s bag just inside the first door on the left, “is yours, Sam. Darcy’s is across the hall.”

Darcy was an individual, Sam decided as she took in the hand painted door that labeled the room as hers. Too much of it was scientific, and Sam could only assume part of it was an inside joke that was more perverted than scientific. But she wasn’t going to ask. Tucker pointed at the closed door next to Darcy's and said, “That’s mine. Danny’s is the one after that.”

The layout was only logical because of the open air above the living room. The hall was bordered with a wood and glass railing that was modern and timeless all at once. She decided she was in love and made a mental note to find out who the architect and decorator were. She had an inheritance that was made to spent on a home like that.

Sam glanced in the room Tucker had given her and her jaw dropped. “That’s a huge bed, Tucker.”

He laughed. “California king. Guaranteed to be the biggest bed you’ve ever slept in without custom construction.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Plenty of room to move.” She was proud that she didn’t so much as glance at Danny. He was a smart guy. He’d figure out the invitation if he wanted.

“Right, so you guys must be tired. I’ll introduce you to Evan tomorrow. He’s up on the third with Alex, but Alex also went home for the holidays. Evan stayed; he’s on my team,” Tucker explained. “So you guys have a good night’s sleep, and tomorrow we can get started with the fun.”

Good night’s were said and Danny watched with shadowed eyes as Sam closed her door behind her. “Right. Shower, sleep.” He shouldered his bag and smiled at Tucker. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

---

He was smooth. Beyond smooth. But his intelligence was severely lacking. The shower had been an experience in itself, one of those expensive and luxurious arrangements with the sprays that ran up and down the wall and a big, oversized showerhead that let the water rain down. It had been relaxing, even when he tried turning the water ice cold in an effort to keep himself from sneaking to Sam’s room and taking her up on her offer. A futile attempt; he knew he would anyway.

The trouble had come during the actual sneaking. For a guy who was half ghost and a fairly brilliant tactician, he’d certainly gone about it stupidly. Instead of slipping through the walls, or at least just going invisible, he’s just crept down the hall like a teenager sneaking out.

But how Tucker had known to open his door at that exact moment escaped Danny. And Tucker had known, because the look on his face and the languid way he leaned against the door frame practically screamed, “I know you’re up to something.”

“So,” he said into the quiet hallway. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing?” Danny tried. And failed miserably, because he was only three steps from Sam’s door in nothing but his pajama pants and bare feet, and it was painfully obvious that something certainly was going on.

Tucker gave him a glare. “Right. Try that on someone that doesn’t know you both as well as I do. You let her drive your car. That was a clue right there. You’re all touchy feely with her, and don’t try to deny it, I saw you two practically cuddling as you stood next to each other.” Tucker ticked them off on his fingers. “The way you look at each other, and you don’t even blush. And don’t try and tell me she didn’t invite you to spend the night with her.”

Danny took a breath, let it out, and shrugged. “Alright. I won’t.”

Tucker’s jaw dropped and he gaped at his best friend. “You guys finally got together?”

Danny bit his lip then he shrugged again, rubbing one arm self consciously. “I don’t know. There’s something going on. I don’t know exactly what it is, for her at least.” He looked Tucker in the eyes and didn’t even blink as he said, “But it’s serious for me. I’m in love with her.”

Tucker sighed, shaking his head. “Tell me something I don’t already know. I think most of Amity Park knows that one by now.”

Danny glared. “I’m not that obvious.”

Tucker arched an eyebrow and chuckled. “Um, dude? Yeah. You are. I think she was the only one who didn’t notice. Or did you never wonder why her parents hated you and not me?”

“Well, that does make sense.”

“If it helps,” Tucker offered. “I’m pretty sure she loves you, too.”

Danny smiled faintly but said nothing.

“So you know that this is the part where I threaten bodily harm if you hurt her, right?” Tucker asked.

Danny bit back a laugh as he flushed red. “Yeah. Not a problem, don’t intend on ever hurting her.”

“Just so we’re clear.” Tucker’s door whispered shut and Danny let out a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding.

Three steps and a gentle tap later he was slipping through the door that Sam opened for him and wrapping his arms around her with a sigh. Her hair was still wet and smelled like flowers as he buried his face in it, holding her tightly. “Tired,” he murmured as she tugged him to the bed and down beside her. “Can I just hold you?”

She made a soft noise of assent and burrowed her way against his side. “G’night, Sam,” he murmured. Only soft steady breathing answered him, and Danny smiled in the dark.

---

“It was nice,” Sam said as she settled back into the still familiar passenger seat of the Chevelle. “We’ll have to come visit him again during summer.”

Danny arched a dark eyebrow at her as he carefully steered his way into the fast lane of the interstate. “Come here? Tuck’s coming home for summer.” The look she gave him spoke volumes and he chuckled. “Okay, so he’ll stay here in technogeek heaven. It’s really creepy to know that it’s a Dalv scholarship.”

“But perfectly safe,” she pointed out, “since you killed Vlad and will own Dalv in a few years.” She bit her lip, chewing the delicate skin for a moment before smiling widely at him. “When you own the house can you get me a copy of the plans? I want a house like that.”

Danny laughed. “How about when I own the house I just give it to you?”

“But what about the scholarship kids? Are you going to cancel the scholarships?”

Danny smirked. “Nah. But I can build more houses for them. If you like that one so much, you can have it.”

She grinned and twisted in the seat. “Can you move it, too? California’s nice, but I still like home better.”

It was the first time since they’d started the trip that Danny wasn’t sure what Sam meant. Half of him was afraid that she meant New York. The other half was hoping that she meant Amity Park. Instead of answering he only tightened his grip on the steering wheel and absently switched lanes to move around a slower moving car before sliding back to the right and settling in for the drive.

“So, Vegas, right?” Sam asked after a long while of silence.

Danny made a noncommittal sound, then sighed softly. “Yeah, Vegas. Straight shot along here, then I thought we could get off on 70 and go through Denver. Nothing much fun after that, just Middle America, but I hear the Rockies are nice this time of year.”

Sam smiled.