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When Danny goes a day without even a text from Ethan, he knows something's wrong. He approaches Scott and Stiles after school to ask about it, but they're infuriatingly evasive. "Look," Danny finally says, "I know you guys are into some weird stuff, between the virgin sacrifices and the wolf stuff and I don't know what else."
"Would you keep your voice down?" Stiles says, looking around to make sure no one heard. "And for the record, we weren't participating in virgin sacrifices, we were trying to prevent them."
"Whatever, I don't care. Just tell me what happened to Ethan. Is he okay?"
Scott and Stiles share a look. "We're not sure," Scott says. "It's... kind of complicated."
Danny rolls his eyes. "Pretend I'm smarter than you."
"He and his brother were stabbed. We're just... not sure which of them actually took the hit."
"Or if the damage was the same for both," Stiles adds, and Scott nods.
Danny stares at them for a second. "What?!"
"Yeah," Stiles sighs. "You're probably gonna want to come with us."
******
They won't tell him anything before they get him a milkshake at the diner, which Danny won't eat because he's pretty sure this can't be real life. "A supertwin?" he repeats incredulously.
"Yeah, they do some like Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger magic and become one dude," Stiles says as if it were obvious.
"A supertwin," he says again dubiously.
"Oh come on, you'll believe werewolves, but you're hung up on Power Rangers?"
"The point is," Scott says, "we don't know which one was really hurt or what because they were one guy when it happened."
Danny pulls his milkshake closer and drinks to give himself something to do. He wouldn't ever wish harm on somebody, but Aiden's kind of a dick, and he can't help but hope he was the one that got hurt. He doesn't want to know the answer, but he has to ask, "If he was okay, wouldn't he be able to text me back?"
Scott and Stiles share a look again. He really wishes they'd stop that. "Maybe not," Scott says. "We don't know where they are. Their... pack. They could just be healing."
"If it was Ethan. If he's the one that got... How bad was it?"
Scott swallows. "Pretty bad."
Danny pulls his shake closer and concentrates on it for a little while.
******
A thought occurs to him by the time he goes back to school the next morning, so the first thing he does is corner Stiles.
"Does the fact that Ethan's dating me have anything to do with your and Scott's craziness?"
"Uh," Stiles says and shifts his bag on his shoulder.
"Stiles."
"I don't know, alright? Honestly. Since you turned out not to be a part of all this, you're no longer in the line of fire. At least that's what Ethan told Scott."
Danny stares at the floor. He doesn't really like the sound of that. "But originally."
Stiles's voice goes soft. "Yeah, I mean, they thought they could use you to get to us. But that doesn't mean anything," he hurries to add.
Danny laughs. "Maybe not to you."
"Look, I'm not the biggest fan of the company he keeps, alright, but right now they're helping us. We have a common enemy." He rubs his arm absently. "I still don't necessarily trust him, but he seems to really like you."
Danny makes it halfway through third period before he can't take it anymore. Ethan may be dead for all he knows, so sending him a text is hardly gonna have repercussions.
> Did you only ask me out to get at my friends?
> I don't get exactly what's going on between you guys but I don't wanna be a part of it.
Before fourth period, he sends one more.
> I hope you're not dead. But after you tell me that you're not, you probably shouldn't call me for a while.
******
That night, Danny's parents are out on their date night, which is lucky, because when Danny answers the doorbell around 7, Ethan is there dripping blood on their doorstep.
"I'm sorry," Ethan says immediately, working to wrap an alarming amount of gauze back around his torso. "It came loose on the way here. I'll clean it up, I swear."
"Just-- get inside before somebody sees," Danny says, against his better judgment.
He makes Ethan sit on the edge of his bathtub, not wanting to take any chances with his mother's carpet. He aches to see Ethan hurt, but he holds his resolve. "What are you doing here?" he says, trying for angry but only managing to sound exhausted. He leans back against the sink and tries to look menacing.
Ethan looks up at him sheepishly. "So I guess you know about the whole werewolf thing now, huh?"
Danny rolls his eyes. "That has nothing to do with this."
"It does, though," Ethan says, his voice pleading. "When we came here, it was with the pack. I'm... not in charge, there. My instructions were to get close to Scott's friends."
Danny straightens from his slouch. "I think that answers my question."
"No, Danny." Ethan reaches for his wrist before he can move toward the door. "Please. Let me explain."
"You're not even supposed to be here. I told you to leave me alone."
"After I told you I was alive, you said," Ethan says with a hopeful smile. "That gave me a shot first."
Danny pulls his wrist away and pinches the bridge of his nose. He should just walk away. "You have two minutes."
"We were supposed to get close to Scott's friends, but I didn't even know you knew him when we first met. I just... liked you. And when I found out you did know him, well, it happened to work out from both sides. But I asked you out because I wanted to, not because anybody told me to." He shifts to better meet Danny's eye, grimacing as he moves. "You gotta believe me. I was so happy when you weren't part of Scott's pack. It meant you were safe."
"And what if I had been?" Danny demands. He thinks of Jackson, of secrets people thought were kept from him and how sick he was of pretending ignorance. "You expect me to believe it would've made a difference that you 'liked me'?"
Ethan grimaces again, but this time it has nothing to do with his wound. "It's not like that," he entreats, looking desperate. "This guy that's in charge... he's really powerful. He wouldn't hesitate for a second to kill me if I stepped out of line."
Danny does have to admit that the stakes are higher here. He'd just thought they were having fun, up until a couple days ago. He can't really expect the guy to die for him, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. "Why do you follow this guy?"
Ethan falters and stares at the floor. "It's a long story. He manipulated us, Aiden and me. At first it really seemed cool; he helped us gain all kinds of power." He smiles. "You don't even know what the rush of the full moon's like."
"At first?" When Ethan looks up, Danny clarifies, "You said at first. What about now?"
The corners of Ethan's mouth turn down. "It's still a rush," he says, though he sounds unsure. "But we never have any fun anymore. There's always some kinda enemy we gotta take care of."
"You could always switch sides?" Danny suggests, though he knows he's wasting his breath.
Ethan looks as sad about it as Danny is. "I couldn't leave my brother."
"Yeah," Danny says, and that's about all that can be said.
"We're breaking up, aren't we?" Ethan says, resigned.
"Yeah." He figures he'll have to get used to being single again.
******
When Ethan returns to school the next day, he has scratches on his face that weren't there the night before. "What happened?" Danny can't help but ask.
Ethan laughs, a little meanly. "I wasn't supposed to leave."
"They did this to you for coming to see me?" Danny asks incredulously.
Ethan leans close and whispers, "Probably better you got out when you did."
Danny watches him go and thinks he's probably right, but he's not sure.
******
The next time he sees Scott and Stiles in the library, frantically flipping through a bunch of books, he drops his stuff down between them and says, "What can I do to help?"
Stiles snaps his book shut immediately, but Scott gives him a considering look. "It's dangerous. Are you sure you wanna get caught up in this?"
"I'm a survivor," Danny says, and pushes down any memories associated with that. "Besides, I know it was my paper on currents that helped you out the last time."
"That was a dream," Stiles says, indignant.
"I don't dream about you, Stiles."
"You're killing me, man."
******
The first time Ethan sees him as a part of Scott's pack, Danny isn't watching. He hears about it second-hand, from Stiles.
"He looked like someone had just stabbed his puppy right in front of him," Stiles says. "It was brutal."
"He'll get over it," Danny says, only a little bit bothered. Or so he tells himself.
******
Ethan corners him on the way out of school exactly three weeks after they broke up (not that Danny's counting). "What do you think you're doing?" Ethan hisses at him.
"I thought I was heading home," Danny says. "No practice today."
"You know what I mean," Ethan snaps, looking around and pulling Danny back into the shadows. "You joined Scott's pack."
"That shouldn't even matter to you anymore."
"I can't protect you," Ethan says in a harsh whisper, stepping closer and reaching out.
Danny steps away with a warning look. "I'm not asking you to."
"Please, Danny," Ethan says, and this time when he steps in Danny doesn't back away. His kiss isn't unexpected, but the fact that Danny doesn't stop him is. He knows he should push him away, but he's only human.
Ethan's kiss is as thorough as Danny remembers, his whole body pressing against Danny's like he can't fathom space between them. Danny's hand moves up to cup Ethan's neck easily, and he's half-hard and pressing into him before he remembers that this is a terrible idea.
"Stop," Danny says, pushing him away by his hips. "We can't."
Ethan tilts his head against Danny's neck and breathes for a few seconds. "I know."
I want to, Danny almost says, but that's a bad idea too.
Ethan straightens up and meets Danny's eyes intently, looking more conflicted than Danny has ever seen him. Danny's eyes drift closed when he brushes one last kiss against his mouth, whispering, "Don't give up on me yet."
When Danny opens his eyes, he's gone.
******
After the Darach is defeated, Scott and Derek immediately shift focus back to taking down Deucalion. Danny is conflicted, because as much as he wants to take down the guy, he doesn't want Ethan to get caught in the crossfire. He has a feeling Ethan feels the same way about him.
He gets stuck researching some medallion the other pack stole from the Darach, but all he winds up with are Celtic symbols he doesn't understand. On his third straight night of thinking he's on to something and then getting nowhere, he decides to visit Dr. Deaton and get his advice.
Instead, he's ambushed before he can get all the way out of his car.
"Ethan?"
"Shh, get back in the car." Ethan crouches down and moves around to the other side, slipping in the passenger's side and staying low in the seat. Danny just watches him in amusement. "In the car, c'mon."
Danny gets back in, but only because he has to see where this is going.
"Drive somewhere. I don't think I was followed, but just in case."
"Fine, but you're reimbursing me for gas." Ethan turns to smile at him, and Danny notices the scratches on the side of his face.
Once they're a good distance from the vet's office, Ethan speaks quickly and quietly. "Aiden is starting to get restless. I think he's tired of taking orders too. I can't say for sure, but I think if I go, he'll come too."
Danny very carefully watches the road and does not react, but he figures Ethan can hear his heart rate speed up.
"And there's a medallion," Ethan says excitedly, and Danny's eyebrows shoot up. "You know about it?"
"All I know is there's a medallion," Danny admits.
"Okay, well brace yourself. It's designed so that whoever is wearing it is completely protected from supernatural creatures."
Wow, okay. That's gonna be a game changer. Danny's already planning how to get this information to Scott. "Why are you telling me all this?"
He can see Ethan turn to him out of the corner of his eye, but his response doesn't come right away. "Because I want you to take Deucalion down, and this might be the last chance I get to help. I think they already suspect my loyalties are divided."
Danny swallows. He pulls up to a stop sign and sits back to look at Ethan. If they're going to do this, they'll do it right. "Is there an easy way to get it off him? The medallion?"
Ethan's eyes sparkle. "That's the beauty of it. He won't wear it! He's too arrogant to think any of you can hurt him. That's where you come in."
******
When Danny carries Ethan's plan back to Scott and the others, there's a lot of debate over whether to trust Ethan. Danny does, but he can't completely convince the others. In the end, they decide that even if it's a trap, they've got the manpower to handle it.
It's not a trap. As Ethan promised, Deucalion is caught unawares and devotes all his resources into the fight that commences. During all the commotion, Ethan is able to slip away and liberate the medallion from its hiding place before anyone notices.
Or so Ethan says when he shows up at the vet's office. Danny wouldn't believe him if he wasn't standing in front of him holding the chain with the medallion in two hands.
"I'm sure they've noticed you gone by now," Danny points out, letting Ethan past the barrier. "Especially Aiden."
"I know, so we need to hurry," Ethan says. He shifts the chain to spread it apart, and Danny doesn't know what he's doing until he reaches up and drapes it around Danny's neck.
The medallion is surprisingly light and immediately warm when it hits his skin under his shirt. "There," Ethan says, sounding satisfied, before he tilts his hand and claws appear.
"Whoa, what are you doing?" Danny says, but when Ethan grabs his arm, nothing happens. He can feel Ethan's hand, but where his claws should be cutting through flesh, they just stop. He stares in fascination for a second before smacking Ethan on the shoulder. "You jerk, you could've tested it a little more slowly."
Ethan grins. "No time. I've gotta run before my past catches up with me. Promise me you'll wear this all the time." He moves in close enough that Danny can feel it when he exhales, and his hand lays gently on top of the medallion through Danny's shirt.
Suddenly, it occurs to Danny, "You were planning this the whole time?"
Ethan looks up from his reverie with the medallion, eyes clouded. "You're the first one they'll go after, if they can't find me. I had to make sure you were safe."
Danny lays his hand over Ethan's. "You can join Scott's pack. They'll protect you."
"They'll never trust me," Ethan says, self-deprecating.
"You just gave them a pretty good reason to," Danny points out.
Ethan shakes his head. "They won't kill Deucalion tonight. They'll need more than the element of surprise to pull that off."
"Still. You helped us, you made sure he didn't have the magical medallion, and you left him a man down. Doesn't hurt."
When Danny leans in to kiss him, Ethan reels him in by his shirt like he's been waiting for it. Danny smiles into the kiss, and then makes a noise of approval when Ethan's hands find his hips. They're just starting to feel the rhythm of it when Ethan suddenly stiffens and then, after a second, releases him.
"I've gotta go," he says urgently. Danny doesn't understand what's made him act this way until he hears Scott's bike in the distance, coming closer.
"They'll give you a chance," Danny swears.
"Maybe," Ethan says, eyes darting back to the window nervously. "But not tonight. I'm sorry."
He drops one last kiss on Danny's lips like a promise, like that day behind school, before he disappears.
******
It takes two weeks for everyone to properly let Ethan into the pack, and even longer to convince them to help save Aiden too. Danny has a feeling the only reason Deucalion didn't kill him outright was because he couldn't afford to lose both of them, but things are harder for Aiden now than they ever were.
Ethan comes back from the battle bloodier than Danny's ever seen any of them, and Aiden's even worse off. They only stick around long enough for Deaton to stitch them up, and then Ethan disappears with Aiden without telling anyone where he's going.
Danny gets a call from Ethan three days later. "We're going crazy here, man. Can you come by?"
"Where are you?" Danny asks, already reaching for his keys.
Ethan gives him an address, explaining their situation. "Deaton set us up in a safe house, but it's surrounded by mountain ash. No wolves in and neither of us out."
Danny makes a noise of sympathy. "Cabin fever?"
"Big time. Aiden's still healing, but I could use a friendly face. And a break."
He proves his point by barely even touching Danny before asking him to break the line and saying, "I'll be back."
Aiden is just waking up when Danny walks in his room. "Oh, it's you," he says when he spots Danny, sinking back down on the bed. "You do realize I'm the other one, right?"
"You do realize I'm one of the only ones that'll even look at you, right?" Danny retorts. He tosses a bag of Cheetos at him. "I brought food. You're welcome."
"Ethan went out?" Aiden asks, sitting up and tearing into the bag instantly.
"Just for a few minutes."
He stays in the room for a while, messing around on his phone. Aiden probably wouldn't admit it, but Danny thinks he appreciates the company. "He's crazy about you, you know," Aiden finally says, interrupting Danny's game of Angry Birds.
Danny blinks as he looks at Aiden, trying to parse out what he just said. "What?"
"And I mean literally crazy. He never woulda gone through all that for some random guy. I wouldn't go through that for anybody."
"You went through it for him," Danny says, fighting against the tightening of his throat.
"That's different." Danny raises his eyebrows, but Aiden doesn't take the bait. "Anyway, just know that if you break his heart, I will rip that medallion off of you and tear your throat out with my teeth."
Danny smiles. "It's nice to know you care."
It takes another three days for Aiden to be well enough to safely leave the house, and then Danny is finally, mercifully alone with Ethan.
Ethan wastes no time getting Danny pinned beneath him on the bed before sticking his tongue down his throat. Danny groans and rocks against him, completely unashamed at how fast he gets hard.
"You're done healing, right?" Danny asks as he pulls Ethan's shirt off. When Ethan answers in the affirmative, Danny pushes and flips them so he's on top of Ethan. He knows Ethan could have blocked the move easily, but that just makes it better. "Good."
He shoves at clothing until it's out of the way, and then he licks Ethan's cock from root to tip. Ethan groans appreciatively and grabs at the mattress. "You know," Danny says, licking some more but still hanging back, "your brother said something interesting to me the other day."
"Now is not the best time to talk about my brother," Ethan says, frowning.
"He said you were crazy about me," Danny says before closing his lips around the head of Ethan's cock and sinking down.
"Oh fuck, I am right now," Ethan says, his hips twitching toward Danny as he moves up and down Ethan's cock.
When Danny finds himself rutting against the mattress, Ethan puts a stop to what they're doing and has them switch positions. Danny lays back wearing nothing but his medallion and lets himself get lost in the feeling of Ethan's mouth on him. Ethan stops long enough to move back up and kiss Danny slowly and lazily, fumbling elsewhere at the same time, and when he returns to Danny's cock, he's circling a lube-slicked finger around Danny's hole.
"Yeah," Danny encourages. He shouts when Ethan's fingers hit his prostate while Ethan licks just under the head of his cock, and Danny wonders for a moment if he's going to come just from this. "Slow down a second," he urges, and Ethan moves up to kiss him again as he slides in a third finger.
Ethan continues to kiss him while he lines up his cock and begins to push inside, and then Danny's treated to the line of his neck as he stretches up and bites back a cry. Danny takes a second to adjust, but he finds the stretch isn't as bad as he thought it would be. And then Ethan returns his gaze to him and gives him the sweetest smile Danny has ever seen.
"I am, you know," he says, and his hips jerk just a little bit, as if the movement were involuntary. "Crazy about you."
Danny stares back at him, wide-eyed, his heart beating out of his chest. And then he pulls Ethan to him in a crushing kiss and mutters, "move" against his lips before licking his way into Ethan's mouth.
Ethan doesn't hesitate to follow his command, fucking into Danny with sure, even strokes as they kiss. Danny digs his heels into Ethan's back eventually, urging him to go faster until they're both shifting frantically against each other. Ethan comes with a muffled cry, pulling out before he's truly spent to sink down on Danny's cock again and suck him off. Danny gasps Ethan's name as he licks and sucks purposefully in the spot Danny's most sensitive until Danny's arching up off the bed and coming against his lips.
"The feeling's mutual, you know," Danny says once he's stopped seeing stars.
Ethan lays heavily on Danny's right side, his hand resting over the medallion. "I notice you waited until after I gave you an amazing orgasm to cop to it."
"Well, I had to be sure," Danny says with a grin and pulls him in by the back of his neck for a bruising kiss.
THE END