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So.
Danny had been with the Justice League for what, eight months? Nine months? He’d been helpful on all missions he’d been assigned to, even if it was just crowd control. As Phantom, he’d been on his best behavior and had been the perfect gentleman. Yet Robin had kept a close eye on him, insisting that he be paired with Phantom whenever they had a mission together. It made him a little self conscious and he felt that he couldn’t make any wrong calls with Robin breathing down his neck.
If he could just be told what Robin’s problem with him was? Like did Danny not take things seriously enough? Was he not following the chain of command? Or maybe he wasn’t following protocol? He’d swear that he’d read the rules at least five times! The only thing left that he could think of was that there was something about HIM in particular. Was it his ghostly side? Or maybe he didn’t like the idea of another alpha being on his team? Or that Danny chose not to block his scent? Robin and all of the Bats wore scent blockers religiously that way no one would ever be able to tell who they were.
Thing was… Danny didn’t care because his ghost form and his human form had different scents. As Phantom, he smelled more like freshly turned dirt, what could only be described as ‘winter’, and that unique scent that was ectoplasm. It turned most people’s noses. He didn’t exactly let his scent spread out or scent things that weren’t his, so it shouldn’t bother people.
Theoretically.
In practice, it was a bit different.
As a human though, Danny’s scent profile was a lot more normal. Oak, tea leaves, and pear. Tree scents were super common in alphas, as were non-citrus fruits. The tea leaves were a little more unique, but it did appeal to a lot of people. Most omegas Danny had dated had liked his human scent. Whenever he’d purposely left an item out that was scented with his Phantom scent? Immediate disgust. He was becoming resigned to the fact that if he did end up finding a mate, they would only like his human half. Was that really something he was okay with compromising on? Not really. He wanted someone who liked all of him, and his entire scent.
Sighing, Danny made his way to the changing room in the Watchtower and his locker. He wanted to go back to Gotham and his shitty apartment, order take out and watch his favorite space documentary for the billionth time. He’d really like to forget about whatever vendetta Robin had against him and just go home. Danny pulled out his keys, his phone, and his wallet. He’d transform back into a human once he’d zetaed into Go- What was that? There, in his locker, was an envelope.
Danny looked around curiously. No one was in here at the moment. He had been on the Watchtower for a full six hour monitor shift though, so who knows how many people could have come by here and left it there. They all knew which lockers belonged to whom. Their names were on there, for Ancient’s sake. Danny had also decked his out with a plethora of stickers. Humpty Dumpty, Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and many, many others.
He opened the envelope and pulled out what was within. It was a piece of paper, along with a few pressed flowers. Danny recognized absolutely none of them. He read the letter, blushing as he got further into it.
Dearest Phantom,
Your dedication to be a hero is admirable. The pride and care you put into this work is apparent to everyone when you come onto the scene. Your confidence in who you are and your abilities inspires those around you. To compound all of your incredible qualities, your scent is mouth watering. It haunts me in the hallways; I am drawn towards you. I struggle to remove my gaze from your alluring visage. I dream of your teeth in my neck, and mine in yours, binding us as mates for the rest of eternity.
I am aware my desire for you is one sided. I am not your ideal mate. Nonetheless, I could not bear to go on any longer without you at least being aware that I exist. That I pine for you from afar. You have my heart, Beloved.
Eternally yours,
D
Ancients.
He’d just been given a secret admirer note like he was in some high school romance! This was the Justice League for Ancients sake!
But… the fact that someone actually liked his scent as Phantom? That meant there were some people out there who could potentially like both of his scents and his different sides! Maybe hope wasn’t lost yet. It was also super flattering that someone liked him. Danny had to admit his core was thrumming at the thought. Usually it was him chasing after other people, this was the first time someone was showing interest in him! There was a slight skip in his step as he made his way to the zeta tube to go home, the envelope and letter in his pocket.
***
It wasn’t the only letter.
Danny was getting about one a week. His admirer called him ‘Beloved’, ‘My Angel’, ‘My Desired Alpha’, and more little pet terms. Beloved was the clear favorite though. Whoever his admirer was, they always gave him dried pressed flowers with each letter. Whoever they were, they could draw. They’d given him some really pretty sketches of him. Danny could see in the drawings how his admirer saw him. He’d never really thought he was particularly handsome. They’d also begun scenting the letters. He couldn’t help but press the paper to his nose, trying to get as much of the mouth watering smell as he could.
It always faded after a few days.
Danny really wanted to find out who they were.
Whoever they were clearly knew him, and had been talking to him. They knew he loved space and aliens. They knew he had an older sister. Danny had also been given some gift cards to coffee shops and bakeries in Gotham. It had… actually been really fun to go to them and trying out all of the different pastries. Baklava. Danishes. Scones. Tarts. Cannoli. Danny had to admit, he was definitely being wooed. Whoever his admirer was, they were using the tried and true method of appealing to him using his stomach.
It was working.
Unsure of who his admirer was, Danny did his best to try and make more friends on the Watchtower and participate more in team building exercises. So far, he hadn’t really noticed anyone who was overly interested in him. Everyone was acting the same. Superboy was chummy and liked to spar with their powers against each other. Arrowette was still as boisterous as usual. Robin still watched his every move behind the white lenses of his domino, waiting for Danny to make a mistake. Although now that he’d thought about it, even when he did make a mistake, Robin didn’t belittle him or scold him, just helped him fix it, which was nice.
Maybe he was being too harsh on the other man.
***
Danny was only slightly closer to figuring out the person who had been sending him letters. He’d narrowed it down to two people. Terra and Blue Beetle. Okay, technically three, since something inside him was refusing to put Robin outside of the running. So maybe he had a small crush on the other man. Danny really admired him and his leadership. Robin was in a position Danny DID NOT want. Danny did not want to be in charge of any sort of super powered team. That did not sound like his idea of a good time. Things changed after a mission though.
Danny had gotten the approval to fly a Javelin in space three months ago, but he’d yet to go on a mission where it would be needed. Flying there and back had made Danny so giddy with joy and excitement that he’d barely paid attention to the mission briefing. It was just a rescue mission, responding to a distress call of some aliens that had crashed. He’d gotten to help them repair their ship, talk to them, and even get a few samples of the local flora and fauna. Danny’s mood died a bit when Terra pulled him aside to talk to him.
“Phantom. I’ve been wanting to ask for a while, but would you be interested in going on a date?” Danny blinked at her, trying to hide his disappointment. Wait, why was he disappointed?
“Oh. Wow, um, thanks! I’d love to! Uh, I’m assuming we’re going undercover or something? Secret identities and all?” Danny responded after a moment.
“Great! Oh, yeah. I was thinking just something more low key, in the cafeteria or something, just to get to know each other better before going on one in disguise,” Terra told him with a big grin. “How about we eat together tomorrow? We’ll both be on the Watchtower.”
“Sounds good. See you then,” Danny returned her smile. She gently peeled off one of the scent blockers on her wrist, then reached out, lightly rubbing her wrist against his and up his arms, scenting him lightly. Danny couldn’t help the blush he got from her bold action.
Looks like she liked him more than he’d thought.
Based on the scent though, she wasn’t his admirer.
Danny stood there, in a bit of a daze as she walked away. Just months ago, he’d thought that no one would ever, ever like him in his Phantom form because of his death adjacent scent. Now, here he was, being scented possessively by a confident omega. Why wasn’t he dancing in joy? Sure, he liked Terra. He could probably date her for a long time. His alpha wasn’t really interested. Danny would ignore that though. Shaking himself, Danny began to head towards the locker room. The blush came back in full force when he realized that Robin was watching. Had likely watched the whole thing with Terra. Not wanting to hear about how fraternizing with other members of the League wasn’t a good idea, he walked faster.
***
That HARLOT.
How DARE she scent Phantom? She didn’t know a thing about him! All she cared about was that he was a handsome alpha, and a powerful one at that! She didn’t care at all about how much he loved space! She didn’t know how he’d been studying Kryptonian, Martian, and Tamaranean in hopes of being able to talk to some of the alien members of the League in their native tongue. What did she know about his love of mechanical engineering? Or how he spent time with Cyborg and some of the Watchtower mechanics, discussing the latest inventions and upgrades on the tower.
Did she notice how he gave his all in a fight? How he bled green? How Phantom would send out far more duplicates than he should in order to help others? Did she make note of how citizens would balk and sneer at his scent? How Phantom clenched his jaw and held his tongue? How Phantom would look to be on the verge of crying when children, who had minutes before been thanking him for saving them, would run and cower behind their mother’s skirts the moment they caught a whiff of how the hero smelled.
NO
She only saw the cheery outside and didn’t bother to look deeper within.
She couldn’t appreciate Phantom’s scent like he could.
Yet…
Phantom had agreed to go out with her.
Had allowed her to scent him.
Had blushed handsomely when she’d done so.
He envied her. He’d waited so long, been so unsure of how his affections would be accepted that he’d delayed and delayed, only sending letters with his scent on them. The scent that he never let loose around the Watchtower. Father and his family would be disappointed with him should he reveal his scent, the scent that was very infamous as belonging to his civilian identity. Rubbing a corner of the letter with his claim was his rebellion, his way of enticing Phantom.
Their scents complimented each other.
They were compatible.
Phantom already had his heart.
It terrified him to think he was about to lose Phantom’s to another.
Not that it had ever been his in the first place.
***
Lunch with Terra was fine. She was pretty cool. He might actually like her. Yet he kept feeling disappointed that she wasn’t his admirer. Danny also hadn’t received a letter in weeks. His alpha would whine pitifully in his head, upset that the omega it liked the most was no longer interested in them. That’s what it meant right? That he didn’t get another letter. Going to his locker at the beginning of a shift or at the end of one had been his favorite part of working on the Watchtower.
Not anymore.
Danny didn’t know what to do.
He clearly wasn’t going to be happy if he stayed with Terra. He should break it off. But he was also just… enjoying the fact that someone liked him. He could tell Terra didn’t like how she smelled. He could see that she scrunched her nose up whenever he approached. It - He didn’t want that. It might be better off if he was alone forever than with someone who didn’t like all of him. Danny sighed.
“Terra. I don’t think this is going to work out.” Her head snapped towards him, no longer paying attention to the monitor.
“What,” she asked him coldly. Danny squirmed uncomfortably. He hated conversations like this.
“It’s been nice, going out, but I don’t really feel a spark. So… I’d like to go back to just being teammates.” He was letting her down gently. Right? Danny was trying to be nice about it, but he couldn’t force feelings that weren’t there. Oh Ancients, was that the Watchtower shaking?
“You’re dumping me? You!?! Of all people?!?” she snarled, her face twisting. This… was not going to go well.
“Let’s… calm down. We don’t want to destroy the Watchtower,” Danny tried to soothe her, to calm her down.
That… just made it worse. The metal chairs in the room started floating, Terra’s eyes glowing. There was a clang of metal in the background. He needed to try and shield himself and try his best to stop her from puncturing a hole in the side of the space station. A breach like that could not only suck them out, but if it wasn’t repairable, it would suck out all the oxygen onboard and cause everyone to suffocate. Danny had not been expecting her to react like that! Lifting his arms, he created a shield, bracing himself for impact. There was a blur, coming from the corner of the room. It went behind Terra and knocked her out.
She collapsed, her form crumpling to the floor, the floating chairs crashing to the floor. Standing above her prone form was Robin, a vicious snarl on his face. Where had he come from? How did he get here so fast? Robin reached up to tap at his comm.
“Robin to Watchtower core. We have a... Disruptive member who’s access to the tower should be revoked for the foreseeable future until they are assessed by a mental health professional.” Robin turned off his comm, then approached Danny, standing way too close. He could feel Robin’s exhale against his face.
“Are you alright?”
“I - Yeah. How’d you get here so fast? I thought you weren’t on this shift?” Oh, great going Danny. That was totally how you thanked someone for knocking out your not girlfriend who’d gotten weirdly upset that you didn’t want to go out on dates anymore.
“I am not.” Robin didn’t move. He was still so close, looking up at Danny through those white lenses. It was getting a little uncomfortable.
“No regrets,” Robin whispered.
He grabbed Danny’s suit, pulling him down to kiss the shorter vigilante. Danny felt a gloved hand, wait, no, that was a bare wrist, rub against his neck and along his arms.
Whoa.
That was way more claiming than anything Terra had done!
Danny found that he didn’t really care though. The lips moving against his were distracting him. This… this was so good. His inner alpha was rumbling in approval. Robin pulled away and turned around, just as Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern burst into the room. Robin and Danny had to explain what happened to the three other members. Batman’s gaze was trained on Danny, his eyes tracing the path Robin’s hand had taken. Where Robin had laid a claim to Danny.
Robin had followed Batman, while Green Lantern took the unconscious Terra away. Wonder Woman told Danny to head home, and that someone else would cover his shift. It wasn’t until he was in the locker room that he got a chance to sniff the part of his suit that Robin had marked.
Danny stilled, then grinned.
It was the scent of his secret admirer.
Seems like they had a lot of talking to do.