#Jealous Jim

[morganbritton132]

Look, Eddie and Hopper have this whole song and dance thing going on. They’ve been doing it for years.

Hopper is the small town cop that acts like he’s tired of Eddie’s shit but is actually secretly amused by him. Eddie is the misunderstood outcast that’s a little misguided but good at heart.

It’s their thing.

Hopper catches him doing bad shit, drives him around in the back of his truck like he’s taking him to the station. They talk. Hopper lets him go a block from Forest Hills.

That’s it. That’s the thing.

Why is Hopper suddenly spending all his ‘Eddie time’ focused on Steve Harrington and his busted up face? Why is Hopper in the parking lot of Malvald’s, giving Harrington shit for driving with a concussion when he’s said nothing about Eddie’s busted taillight?

Honestly, it’s bullshit.

“This is bullshit,” Eddie declares in the backseat of Hopper’s cruiser, windows rolled down because he smells like weed and trespassing. Eddie throws himself forward, sticking his head between the front seats like, “Why does he get to sit up front?”

“I’m not a criminal,” Harrington muttered, slouched down. “I’m a hostage. I’m being held hostage.”

“I’m being falsely accused too.”

“Neither of you are being accused of anything,” Hopper finally speaks up. “And you’re not falsely accused of anything, Munson. I saw you trespassing at Hawkins Lab with my eyes. Steve…shut up.”

“Oh, he’s ’Steve’ now but I’m just ‘Munson?’ Favoritism at its finest.”

“Dude, he doesn’t even like me,” Steve says, finally looking at Eddie. “He broke into my house and took me to get tortured.”

“I took you to get a hearing test.”

“Torture,” Steve emphasizes and then a beat later, “You still got your, uh, stuff?”

“Nah, the cop took my stash,” Eddie says but giving Steve a sign that he clearly has more on him.

“Bummer,” Steve replies and then turns back around in his seat. “You can drop Eddie off with me, Hop.”

[wwillywonka]

Set course for Delta Vega.

1 x 04 - Where No Man Has Gone Before

[null-doesnothing]

the true artist trekkie experience is trying to figure out how the fuck to draw Jim Kirk and getting repeatedly frustrated the more times you see people somehow do it flawlessly

[aurumacadicus]

Well I lied it's the evening lol. It's a bit angsty which is why I didn't post it on Christmas but it's fine for now probably. It's just over 3K so watch out for the cut!

--

Tony’s Christmas present was delivered two weeks after they broke up.

Steve stared at it, wondering what to do. It was a painting he’d done, something to try out watercolor with. He’d planned the view of the skyline from the tower, but he hadn’t really liked his work. Even now, he could admit he’d been too ambitious with his first project, colors muddling together into unplanned browns. But Tony had loved it, especially when Steve had painted a tiny red spot flying over the buildings when he finally gave up on realism, had gushed over it until he’d forlornly watched Steve put it away with the other paintings he was disgruntled with for not working.

Steve had gotten it framed professionally for him when he realized how much Tony had loved it, had even picked out a spot in his bedroom where it could be hung. At the time, the choice was partly because he knew Tony loved it, but mostly because Tony was so supportive when he tried anything new. He wanted to let Tony know he appreciated it, and the painting had even grown on him when he was looking at it and remembering Tony’s compliments—how much he’d improved between the blues of the bases of the buildings and the splotchy peach sunset behind them, how charming it was that the thickness of his outlines changed, how obvious his intentions were behind his mistakes.

Steve didn’t know what to do with it now. Their relationship ending hadn’t been… explosive. He still lived in his apartment in the tower. They still worked and fought together. They just… stopped being close. He stopped staying the night. Meals together didn’t happen unless it was a team event. Things between them were… okay. Fine, even.

Maybe fine enough he could still give the painting to him, Steve thought, considering. It could be an olive branch. Steve couldn’t imagine keeping it, now, but he also couldn’t imagine giving it to anyone else, either. Maybe he could just… leave it for Tony, and Tony could decide what to do with it.

Steve still had clearance to the penthouse, but so did the rest of the team, so he tried not to read into it too much. Besides, it was just a quick in-and-out. A delivery, he could call it, if Tony asked. He wondered where to leave it. He didn’t want to just leave it out for anyone to find. But he also didn’t want to hang it where he’d planned, because that seemed too intimate. Finally, he decided to just leave it leaning against the wall where he’d meant to hang it. Hopefully Tony would understand that meant it was his to do with as he wished, even if it was just to throw it out.

“JARVIS, call Mama Rhodes,” Tony’s voice suddenly called out, clipped, and Steve nearly jumped out of his skin. Tony was already supposed to be gone. He looked around frantically for a place to hide, suddenly feeling like he was intruding, and finally ducked into Tony’s bathroom.

“Yes, Sir,” JARVIS replied after a moment, and then there was the sound of a line ringing.

Steve cautiously took a step closer to the door and peered out, ready to duck back out of sight. Tony was pulling his suitcase out of the closet, along with a handful of clothes—casual things, he thought, denim and cotton and flannel. Comfy clothes.

“You’re late,” a warm, amused voice said as soon as she picked up. Steve couldn’t help but feel a little wistful; he was supposed to meet Mrs. Rhodes for Christmas. Colonel Rhodes had given him an approving little nod when Tony had asked if he could bring Steve. He’d ridden that high for days.

“I know, I—a party ran late, and then I had to put out a couple of fires in R&D,” Tony answered, stuffing his things into his suitcase. “I’m packing right now, and then I’ll—take the train?”

“Oh, you can bring a car if you want, honey,” Mrs. Rhodes replied. “Traffic’s not bad. It’ll be about the same as the train.”

“Okay,” Tony answered, harried. “I’m sorry. I’ll be there in a couple hours.”

“You’ll still be here in time for coffee and cake,” Mrs. Rhodes answered. There was a long pause as Tony scrambled over to grab his underwear and socks, but finally, softly, she asked, “And… your beau? Steve? Is he coming with you or arriving separately?”

Steve dropped the painting he was still holding in shock. Luckily, Tony shut the drawer of his dresser loudly at the same time, so he didn’t notice. Mrs. Rhodes still thought he was coming? Tony hadn’t told her they’d broken up? They’d split just after Thanksgiving. He’d had weeks to tell her.

“…Steve…” Tony began, and his knuckles had gone white where he was gripping his underwear. He hesitated, then straightened his shoulders, expression flat. “Steve was called away on a mission.”

Steve gaped at him. That was a bald-faced lie. He was not on a mission. They were broken up.

“Oh, honey, it’s Christmas,” Mrs. Rhodes sighed.

“Hydra doesn’t take holidays,” Tony insisted. “He wouldn’t have gone, but it was really important. He wanted to come to meet you, Mama.”

“Hmm,” Mrs. Rhodes responded, clearly not believing it. “Well. Jim will be very disappointed. He wanted to see if Steve fit on the hide-a-bed.”

Tony let out a bark of reluctant laughter, face falling. “Yeah,” he said, rubbing a hand over his face. He looked miserable. “Well. He said he’d try to make it in time for your New Years Eve party.”

“If he doesn’t make it, there’s always the fourth of July,” Mrs. Rhodes answered, kind and putout somehow at the same time. “And before you say anything, I know it’s his birthday. I could make him a cake!”

“He likes strawberry rhubarb pie better,” Tony said, walking over to stuff his underwear into his suitcase. “Mama, I’m gonna get on the road. I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll hide a slice of cake with a carrot decoration from Carol for you,” Mrs. Rhodes assured him, and then, “Drive safely, honey.”

“I’m Iron Man. I’m not gonna die on the I-95,” Tony grumbled.

“Drive safely,” Mrs. Rhodes repeated, in that way that all mothers did when their children were being sassy and they had no patience for it.

“Yes’m,” Tony answered obediently, and his shoulders sagged as the call clicked off.

Steve sank back into the bathroom, mind whirling at the fact that Tony hadn’t told what was, ostensibly, his family about their breakup. And he hadn’t taken the chance to set the record straight even when Mrs. Rhodes had asked about it. Instead, he’d… lied. Had acted as if nothing was wrong between them, that they were still dating and Steve had still wanted to go. Why?

It was too much. Steve couldn’t make sense of it, and he knew it would eat away at him the entire time Tony was gone. He would take his lumps for being in Tony’s penthouse. He just needed to know.

“Why didn’t you tell her we broke up?” he asked, stepping out of the bathroom.

Tony jumped, both feet leaving the ground, and he stared at Steve in shock as he turned to face him. “Steve?! What the fuck are you doing here?!”

“Wanted to drop off your present,” Steve answered brusquely. “Why didn’t you tell her we broke up?”

Tony’s mouth flapped uselessly. For a moment, he looked angry, and Steve was sure he’d be told in no uncertain terms to fuck off. Finally, though, he just… sagged, sad and defeated, and answered, “I didn’t want to ruin Christmas again.”

Steve frowned, confused. “What?”

Tony sucked in a breath. It sounded wet, but Steve couldn’t be sure, because Tony turned back to his suitcase, stuffing clothes into it without finesse. “Christmas… sucks. It just does. It’s like people forget I’m Tony Stark until Black Friday and they’re shocked I have to go to work. They’re shocked I still have to publicly mourn my parents. They’re shocked I have to go to every charity event I’m invited to. I barely have time to sleep, let alone spend time with someone else. And it makes them realize that this will be their life. Every December is going to mean being lonely because I have to work. So I have to tell the Rhodes that the reason I’m showing up alone is because I’ve been broken up with, and they say ‘oh, honey,’ and they try to take my mind off it, but I know I’m just a huge downer every year.

“And I just thought,” Tony added, sucking in another wet breath, and Steve’s heart broke when he saw his shoulders begin to shake. “I thought maybe they’d let it go. If I pretended everything was fine, and you were just out of town, it would be okay. I’d tell them we broke up in January and everything would be fine.”

“Tony,” Steve whispered, carefully stepping closer. It made sense, even as it made him feel sick. Part of the reason they’d broken up was because they weren’t seeing each other outside of battle. It made for difficult conversations, always keyed up with no downtime to decompress. Steve thought the only thing Tony had said that was wrong was that it started right after Thanksgiving—he’d gotten busy long before November. But maybe, if he was so used to it, it seemed that way to him. Steve reached out, meaning to take Tony’s elbow, turn him to face him.

Tony seemed to sense it, flinching away and spinning back toward him. “Please,” he whispered back. “Please let me tell them you’re just out of town. It’s Carol’s first Christmas with the Rhodes. I don’t want to ruin this for her.”

He wasn’t crying, Steve noticed in relief, even though he looked like one wrong move would send him cascading over the edge. He opened his mouth, then closed it again when Tony’s shoulders fell, as if expecting him to turn him down. What had he called it in that last fight? ‘Your inability to even see other people’s moral standards’ and ‘your expectation for them to bend to yours.’ Tony thought he’d be so offended by the lie that he didn’t care if it ruined anyone’s family Christmas. Steve didn’t want to know if he could feel any lower than he did.

“Of course, Tony,” he said instead, and it hurt a little that Tony visibly relaxed in relief, but he figured he deserved it. He opened his mouth again, to apologize for being just another person who let him down when he’d promised himself that he wouldn’t be, but that would be too selfish, he thought. “I hope you have fun,” he said instead, and he meant it. He hoped it didn’t sound snide or trite.

“I always have fun with the Rhodes,” Tony offered, turning back to his suitcase. He fiddled with his clothes for a moment, then glanced up at Steve out of the corner of his eye. “You won’t be alone?”

Steve felt his heart do a flip. Even hurting, Tony was concerned about him being alone for the holidays. “I thought I might go with Natasha to the farm.”

“Good. That’s… good,” Tony said, playing with the zipper on his bag. Finally, he let out a little, overwhelmed sniff and zipped it closed with finality. “I have to get going. I’m already late.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed quietly. He didn’t want Tony driving the icy roads in the dark.

“If you…” he trailed off, then sighed, shaking his head as he hefted his suitcase up. “Merry Christmas, Steve.”

“Merry Christmas,” Steve echoed, unable to do anything but watch him leave. He thought about telling him about the painting before he was gone, then decided against it. It might be too much; Tony was already fragile. It would be there when he came back, after all.

He went into the bathroom to retrieve it, smoothing his thumb over the splotchy facsimile of the armor, then carefully leaned it up against the wall where he thought it would go best.

.-.

No one said anything about Steve not being there until New Year’s Eve, and Tony was grateful. He’d managed to forget the hurt for a while, even, playing with Lila and talking sports with Terrance. Roberta didn’t even say anything when he came in for a ‘mom hug,’ long and lingering, her nails scratching along his scalp soothingly.

“I appreciate it, man,” Jim said, clapping him on the shoulder gently. “Carol was really nervous about meeting the family. You can tell me what’s really going on, though. Is Steve actually dealing with Hydra?”

Tony twisted his champagne glass in his fingers quietly, frowning. “Well…”

Jim said nothing for a moment, then gave his shoulder a firmer squeeze. “Okay. So who are you going to kiss at midnight, then?” he asked, giving him the out instead of forcing him to admit anything.

Tony tipped his head back to blink up at him in confusion. “Huh?”

“Literally my girlfriend is here Tony,” Jim sighed, shaking his head. There was a smile curling at the corners of his mouth, though. “I’m going to be kissing her.”

Carol swiveled from where she’d been talking to Monica and Lila, squinting at them skeptically. “Did you just insinuate that you and Tony kiss each other on New Year’s Eve?”

“Reluctantly, I’m confirming it,” Jim sighed.

“How come everything about you guys is weird?” Monica asked, more curious than judgmental.

“You get used to it,” Lila assured her.

Monica didn’t look convinced, but she also didn’t argue. “Alright.”

“I’m kissing Carol,” Jim told Tony flatly.

Tony sighed, glancing around the room. Terrance and Roberta would kiss. They always did. He and Lila used to give each other a kiss on the cheek, but she was currently at that tender age where adults were gross in general, and family especially. He was, apparently, very uncool. He contended this would change when the next StarkPhone came out, but he also wasn’t going to push it with a pubescent teenage girl. He was kind of scared of them and especially of Lila because she’d already muttered judgmentally about his goatee.

He perked up when he noticed Maria talking with Roberta. “Maybe—”

“No,” Maria answered firmly, not turning around.

Tony crossed his arms in a pout, turning a scowl on Jim. “Well. No one I guess.”

“Don’t you have a boyfriend?” Carol asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

For a moment, Tony felt caught out, even though he knew she was just reminding him of social mores like everyone else and not pointing a finger in his face and telling everyone he was single again. He felt a cold sweat come over him, that she’d announce to the room at large that he was a failure and a liar for not admitting his relationship was over before Christmas.

“That’s honestly never stopped us,” Jim cut in, before he could out himself, and slung an arm over Tony’s shoulders in solidarity. “Or, well, Tony.”

“Tony’s always passed out kisses like candy,” Lila confirmed with a resolute nod, and Tony heard Terrance and Roberta both sigh. It maybe sounded fond. He wasn’t going to read into it.

Carol’s mouth flattened into an unimpressed line. “Every fffricking day there’s something weird about you guys to learn.”

“That fricking was very natural,” Tony assured her, because she’d already received several side-eyes for her swearing.

Carol lifted her fist, but even just a ‘playful’ nudge to the arm was painful, so when the doorbell rang at the same time, Tony shoved his champagne into Jim’s hand and scurried to answer it. It could be some neighbors with some black-eyed peas for them to eat in the new year. He didn’t understand the tradition, but Roberta always made her famous jalapeño-honey cornbread to go with it, so who was he to complain?

But it wasn’t tiny Mrs. Mathers at the door with a Tupperware full of beans. Tony blinked, staring at the broad chest in front of him, then tipped his head back. His mouth dropped open a little in shock when he recognized who, exactly, was standing in front of him

“Did I miss it?” Steve asked breathlessly.

“Huh?” Tony answered dumbly.

Steve reached toward him, and Tony noticed a duffle bag hanging from his arm dropping to the ground at the action. He blinked, too stunned to react with anything more. Steve should be at the Barton farm, he thought dimly. Or… somewhere else. Not here. Not with him.

Steve’s hands were cradling his face, and his expression was so tender. Tony stared up at him, confused and alarmed. Maybe he’d been taken over by body snatchers or something? They weren’t like this anymore. They’d broken up almost a month ago.

“Tony,” Steve said gently. “This was the worst month of my life. I hated not being with you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Tony blinked again, a hand drifting up to cover one of Steve’s. “Surely not worse than that month of food poisoning,” he began, voice a croak.

“That wasn’t food poisoning,” Steve corrected, like he always did, but he sounded fond instead of annoyed like he used to. “It was just poisoning. I was being poisoned.” The smile playing at his lips fell. “You put up with me while I was pissy and sick, and I couldn’t do the same when you got busy with work. I’m sorry. I want to do better, I… Will you let me? Can we try again?”

“It will be the same thing every year,” Tony sighed, frowning.

“Next year, I’ll be prepared,” Steve told him firmly. “Next year, I’ll know better. Next year, I’ll help.”

“Steve,” Tony began, even as he leaned his face into Steve’s grip. He wanted to believe him, was the thing. Up until the end, things had been so good. Steve had been so sweet, so attentive, so kind. And he’d thought he’d been a pretty good boyfriend too. But things hadn’t been working, at the end, both of them testy and on edge, without enough time to decompress from battle, work, each other. “I want to… but—”

“Please just give us one more chance,” Steve whispered, pressing closer, bending so he could lean their foreheads together. “One more. And if it doesn’t work, then that’s that. And I’ll be the one to come tell everyone, so you don’t ruin Christmas, okay? It’ll be me. I’ll ruin Christmas.”

Tony’s resulting laugh was shaky, but he had to admit it was the first truly genuine one he’d managed since they’d broken up. “Steve…”

“Please,” Steve begged, and then, “But obviously if you say no, that’s okay too. But I just thought… we both decided to call it quits. I thought maybe we could both decide to try again.” He hesitated, then leaned back a little, quietly asking, “Do you want to?”

Steve had been leaving a Christmas present for him the last time he’d seen him, Tony remembered, and he could feel his cheeks heating. He’d been thinking about it in every spare moment he had. It had to be something special, if he didn’t want Tony to open it in front of the rest of the team when they came back in the new year. It had to mean he was earnest. But did that mean he wanted to try again? After everything?

Steve’s palms were still warm against his cheeks, and Tony couldn’t help but sag into his grip. “Okay,” he whispered, and then, “I didn’t have anyone to kiss at midnight, anyway.”

“Rude,” Steve griped, but there was humor in his tone. “I want to kiss you all the time. Everyone should have been jumping at the chance.”

“Yeah,” Tony agreed, laughing a little, and then laughed harder into Steve’s mouth when he lunged in for a kiss.

[clonememesfrikyeah]

During drill exercises

Spar: “Damn I’m thirsty, can I get a drink from your canteen 17?”

Alpha-17: “Go for it.”

Fordo: “Trust me Spar, you don’t want to do that.”

Spar: “I’m not scared of a little back wash vod, we’re literally all the same person.”

Spar: *spits it out as soon as he takes a fat swig.*

Spar: “God damn it, it’s vodka!”

Alpha-17: “131 proof strait up. I’ve been waisted since the day we graduated.”

[2063april5]

The ones about them dating in TOS already imply that they broke up and got back together post-TMP, it's just about when it technically started.

Let me know specific episodes when you think it clicked for them or your theories and propaganda in the tags I'd love to hear them

[hahasuchagarbage]

Ah, yes. Me, my henchmen and their favourite shitty rip off of me they keep bringing to our hideout

[steddieas-shegoes]

another one for the requests ^^

a steve and johnathan friendship please. will and el seeing steve as their older brother along with johnathan, hopper and joyce treating steve as their own, and johnathan and steve just overall having a good friendship. (pre-relationship steddie with eddie getting jealous of johnathan because steve just recently came out to the Party as bi, and jancy broke up weeks before it, and none of the others - except robin ofc - know why steve is spending a lot of time at the hopper-byers' house)

I AM TEAM STEVE AND JONATHAN BEING FRIENDS!!! They both did shitty things, and just as real humans do, they figured it out and made themselves better. I'm also team Eddie is incredibly jealous of any other man who gets Steve's attention. This request was unexpected and fun and I liked being able to explore Jonathan a bit more. Thank you!!! - Mickala ❤️

-------------------------------------------------

If you asked Steve where he thought he’d be a year ago, his answer wouldn’t have been this.

Sitting on the Byers’ couch, running his hands through Jonathan’s hair while he cried.

Steve has practically been living at the Byers home for a month, Joyce insisting he join them for dinner so often it just got easier to come over after work every day and spend the night when he had a few too many beers with Hopper.

Will had quickly become his second favorite kid, only behind Dustin, tied with Max.

He was shy, but Steve loved the way he lit up when he talked about things he cared about. He was so excited to show Steve his new campaign ideas when he came over, and even though Steve only understood about 10% of what came out of his mouth, he couldn’t help smiling at him the entire time.

But his friendship with Jonathan was most surprising of all.

Even Robin was getting jealous.

But it was different with Jonathan.

Especially when he broke up with Nancy.

It wasn’t ugly, there was no big argument, and there truly were no hard feelings between them.

But Jonathan was hurting and Steve was there.

And no one knew the post-breakup with Nancy Wheeler hurt quite like Steve.

But that was weeks ago, and Steve kind of expected things to be going better than they were.

“It’s not even that I’m upset she’s going! I’m glad she’s going. That’s why I broke up with her. I’m just also sad that it has to be like this,” Jonathan sniffled against Steve’s lap.

Nancy left for Yale today. It wasn’t her first choice, but it was the best option for her major out of the offers she got. Everyone had gotten together to see her off, even Jonathan, and it looked like he’d held off the breakdown as long as he could.

“Hey, it’s understandable to be upset. You loved each other and it’s hard to see that final goodbye. Up until now she was still hanging out with all of us so it didn’t feel real, now it does.”

Jonathan sighed and closed his eyes.

Steve smiled down at him.

“You’ve got time to figure out what you’re lookin’ for, man. It’ll get easier to be without her.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Steve was startled when the door opened, Will excitedly talking with Eddie, who’d been driving him back after Hellfire for two weeks now.

“Hey Will, hey Eddie,” Steve said with a small wave, one hand still occupied with playing with Jonathan’s hair.

“Hey Steve!” Will exclaimed.

Will kept talking to Eddie, but Steve noticed he wasn’t paying attention.

He was glaring at Jonathan.

Steve looked down to see if Jonathan was glaring at him, or for any explanation of what was happening.

But Jonathan’s eyes had closed again, his face not quite smiling, but more relaxed than it had been for most of the evening.

When Steve looked back up at Eddie, he was looking at the floor, brows furrowed and a frown on his face.

“Uh, Will, I’m gonna head home. I’ll see you on Saturday, though?”

Will looked dejected, and Steve hated it.

“Oh. Okay. See you Saturday,” he said, walking out of the living room to get to his room.

Steve saw red.

“What the hell is your problem?” Steve asked Eddie.

“What?” Eddie had the audacity to look shocked at being called out for his suddenly shitty behavior towards Will.

“Will was talking to you and you just blew him off.”

Jonathan sat up now, his eyes burning a hole through Eddie.

Jonathan and Eddie got along fine, they weren’t close friends or anything, but they seemed to get along when they all hung out in a group. But Jonathan was incredibly protective of Will, way more than Steve even, and if Eddie was being rude to him, Jonathan would make sure he knew he wasn’t going to let it happen.

He was a chill guy until you messed with Will or El.

Then again, so was Steve.

“Uh. I.”

Jonathan stood up and walked over to Eddie. He didn’t look angry yet, not like he had the potential to be, but he didn’t look pleased.

“Get your shit under control, man. It’s not what you think. Will doesn’t deserve you acting like that because you’re jealous.”

Which made no fucking sense to Steve, but he decided to let Jonathan handle it.

Eddie’s wide eyes watched as Jonathan left the room, probably to check on Will.

Steve stared at him from the couch, not sure what to say.

“Um. I’ll go. Sorry,” Eddie said awkwardly, which is something Steve wasn’t used to.

Eddie was never awkward, always bigger than his body in ways Steve didn’t think possible. Unapologetically loud, fun, a spitfire.

So seeing him like this made him hesitant to believe he meant any actual harm towards Will.

“Hey,” Steve stopped him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, man. Um. Just tell Will I’ll call tomorrow.”

And then he was gone.

Steve knew better than to follow; Whatever was going on with Eddie would be fine by tomorrow.

Will, however, may be truly hurt and upset.

Steve walked down the hall quietly, not wanting to interrupt Jonathan and Will if they were in the middle of something.

He heard their voices speaking so softly. That should have been a sign to turn around.

But then he heard his name.

“He didn’t mean anything by it, Will. He had a jealous moment because of Steve and took it out on you. I’m sure he’s sorry.”

“Why was he jealous of Steve?”

Jonathan sighed.

“You know how Steve just came out a couple weeks ago?”

“Yeah.”

Steve was about to fall through the wall just to hear where this was going.

“Well, Eddie’s had a massive crush on him for damn near a year now. And he got his hopes up that Steve might feel the same when he came out, which is fine. It’s a natural reaction, you know that. But he also knows that I broke up with Nancy and spend a lot of time with Steve and you saw how he was comforting me when you got home. To you, it looks like just brothers helping each other, but to him, it probably looked a little different.”

“What, like you two are together? Gross.”

Jonathan laughed.

“Yeah, I know. But I can see how he would think that. And you and I both know it hurts when someone we love doesn’t return our feelings.”

Steve’s head was spinning.

Eddie having a crush on him felt like something Jonathan was making up just to make Will feel better.

Just when he was turning around to go back to the couch and figure out what the hell he was feeling, El came out of her room.

She froze when she saw him.

She looked towards Will’s bedroom door, then back at Steve.

He silently begged her not to say anything, and luckily, even without reading his mind, she seemed to know what he was asking.

She nodded and walked along to the kitchen, where Joyce was finishing up dinner for all of them.

“So, do you think Steve likes Eddie? Or is Eddie gonna have to feel terrible forever?”

“Will, you’re not gonna feel terrible forever.” Steve couldn’t hear if Will said anything, but the silence only lasted a moment. “But I think maybe Steve does and just doesn’t realize it. Or maybe he does and just doesn’t think Eddie feels the same. Don’t know how since he literally makes heart eyes at him every chance he gets.”

They both laughed and Steve felt unbalanced, like the next breath might knock him over.

If they were right, if Eddie had feelings for him, then he could see why he was so upset finding Jonathan’s head in his lap earlier.

“Boys! Dinner!” Joyce yelled from the kitchen.

Steve jumped and quickly walked to the kitchen so Jonathan and Will wouldn’t know he eavesdropped on their conversation.

He was quiet through dinner, which wasn’t too unusual. He answered questions when he was asked, asked El about her next girl’s night with Max, asked Will about his campaign.

But Jonathan kept looking at him like he knew.

He got out of there as soon as he was done helping with clean up, saying he was tired and needed some rest before his opening shift tomorrow.

El and Will gave him a hug, Joyce kissed his cheek, and Jonathan followed him out.

That wasn’t what he wanted.

Jonathan stopped him at the front door, hand on his arm.

“Steve. Will’s okay. Don’t be too hard on Eddie, okay?”

Steve just nodded, then gave Jonathan a quick hug before leaving.

He drove home in silence, only his thoughts keeping him company.

—---------------

He talked to Robin because of course he did. She would know what to do.

“Dingus, this feels pretty black and white to me. You have confirmation he likes you. You just spent 20 minutes telling me how amazing he is, which means you like him. He isn’t gonna make a move if he thinks you’re with Jonathan, and he’s valid for thinking that, by the way. You two are freakishly close. You have to do something.”

Steve knew she was right, but he hated when she was right, and he didn’t want her to be right.

“But what if Jonathan is wrong? Maybe he just thinks that’s why he was upset.”

Robin stared blankly at him.

“Steve. Ask Eddie out or I am gonna jump off the cliff at the quarry. God, I cannot with you two.”

Which led Steve to believe Eddie had been talking to Robin about him and caused him to spiral again.

But Robin ignored him and said she wouldn’t talk to him about anything except work until he grew a pair and talked to Eddie.

—--------------------

He was standing outside of the Byers house, here for dinner again, but Eddie’s van was parked outside, which was weird.

It’s not that he wasn’t welcome, Joyce always invited anyone who needed to eat.

It’s just that Hellfire was supposed to be right now, at Eddie’s house, which was not here.

But he was here.

Jonathan opened the door, trash bag in hand, and smiled when he saw Steve standing there.

“Oh, you’re here! Everything okay?”

Steve nodded.

“You sure?” Jonathan started to look concerned. “If you need to skip, I’m sure Mom will understand. She knows you’re working a lot.”

“No, I’m good. Uh, need me to take that out?”

“No, I got it. You go inside, say hi to everyone.”

Steve had no choice but to do what he said.

Something felt off.

And when he walked into the living room to see El and Will sitting on the floor with Eddie, everything felt off.

“Steve!” El yelled, jumping up and running over to give him a hug.

Will followed behind, not quite as enthusiastic, but smiling all the same.

Eddie waved from the floor, small smile on his face.

Steve hated whatever was happening, not because Eddie was here, but because Eddie was never like this around him. He was usually easygoing and tactile, not quiet and awkward.

“Is that Steve?” Joyce called as she walked into the living room. “Hi, honey! Can I have your help with something for just a second?”

“Of course.”

He followed her back into the kitchen, ignoring the way his stomach was in knots at the idea of having a family dinner with Eddie here.

“So, Eddie’s having a rough day, and we invited him for dinner. His favorite is lasagna, so that’s in the oven. Will told me his favorite dessert was brownies, but the texture just isn’t right on these. I’m worried they won’t cook right. Can you take a look?”

Steve wasn’t exactly a baker, but he dabbled in it. His specialty was homemade brownies.

He tried not to let his mind linger on why Eddie was having a rough day, and followed Joyce to where the brownie mix sat in a bowl, which was a very pale brown color.

He knew without even tasting it what was wrong, but he didn’t want to make Joyce feel bad, so he stirred it a bit and then dipped his finger in the batter.

“Ah. Needs cocoa powder,” he said with a smile.

“Of course! I can’t believe I forgot that. Could you get that taken care of?”

And then she was gone.

So, Steve handled it.

He found her cocoa powder, added it in, then took another taste.

This was his recipe. He’d given it to her a while ago, but she’d joked that she couldn’t possibly do his brownies such a disservice.

Whatever was going on with Eddie must be bad.

Then Eddie walked in the kitchen. Alone.

Just as Steve was licking his finger to make sure it didn’t need any more sugar or salt.

They stared at each other for a moment, both their eyes wide in surprise.

“Brownies? What’s the occasion?” Eddie finally asked.

“Uh. Joyce said they’re your favorite?”

“They are. But why does that matter?”

“Uh. She said you were having a bad day.”

Eddie’s face was red.

“Oh. Um. I just had a doctor’s appointment is all.”

Steve’s heart stopped.

“Is everything okay? Are you hurt? Are you sick? Did they find something wrong?”

Steve was closer to him, his hands hovering over his body like he could sense if something was off.

“I’m okay,” Eddie smirked. “Just had to do a lot of tests and I’m sore now. Nothing wrong, though.”

“Good. That’s good,” Steve supplied, his hands dropping to his sides uselessly.

“Yeah. Good.”

Whatever was happening here sucked. Steve hated being like this with Eddie.

He thought about what Robin said, about what Jonathan had told Will.

“You wanna go out with me sometime?”

Steve was an idiot. Truly. Just spitting it out like that, no warning, not even sure if Eddie actually did like him.

“What?”

Eddie looked like he was five seconds from passing out.

“Like on a date?” Then Steve stopped. Eddie would have said yes if he really liked him, right? He wouldn’t have hesitated. “Yeah, I mean, it’s cool though, if not. We don’t have to. Just an idea. I mean Jonathan said-”

“What did Jonathan say?”

“He said you liked me, and he’s just trying to be a good friend and help me out, maybe he was just making sure I didn’t feel bad for liking you so much, I dunno-”

Eddie’s lips were on his.

Eddie’s lips were on his.

Holy shit.

“You’re not with Jonathan?” Eddie asked without pulling away completely.

Steve shook his head.

“You don’t like Jonathan?”

Steve shook his head again.

“You like me?”

Steve nodded.

“Then yeah, let’s go on a date.”

Steve suddenly heard cheering from just outside the kitchen.

He pulled away from Eddie and turned to see Joyce and Jonathan standing behind a clapping El and Will.

“You guys are the worst,” Steve said, running a hand over his face.

“Are we? You never would’ve made a move on your own dude,” Jonathan said, giving him a high five before swiping his finger through the brownie batter.

“I was gonna!”

“When you were 50 maybe!”

Everyone was laughing when Hopper walked in the front door.

“What’s so funny?” His gruff voice thundered through the living room and kitchen.

“Eddie thought Steve and I were a couple,” Jonathan said. “Fixed it, though. Now they’re together.”

Hopper looked between all of them, shook his head, then started heading to his bedroom to change.

“I don’t know why I ask,” his voice could be heard as he walked away.

“So, where are you taking me on our first date, Stevie?”

“How about we let Jonathan pick since he wants to meddle so bad?”

Jonathan laughed.

“This was all mom’s idea. She was tired of the pining.”

“You should go get milkshakes!” El said.

“And then go to the drive-in!” Will added.

“Not a bad idea, actually,” Steve said, turning to Eddie. “Sound okay to you?”

“Yeah, but first, bake these brownies. Your brownie recipe is my favorite.”

“You’re my favorite,” Steve replied.

Everyone groaned.

“Oh, now it’s gonna be worse,” Jonathan joked, shoving Steve’s shoulder playfully.

“So much worse,” Eddie added with a smile.

[khaopybara]

i'm just saying. if mix turns out to be sand's ex, i'll assume he has a type (the same way i assume alan has a type) (and it's not only the "i'm attracted to people with very questionable behavior" type) because look!!

[elizabethemerald]

I wish you would write a fic where the ultimate portal caused Claire to become a half-ghost like in Danny Phantom

Claire focused, past the pain in her hands, on the staff in her hands. She could feel her body splintering and breaking, cracks spreading up her hands and arms and out from her eyes. This was going to kill her, but as long as she could get the remainder of Trollmarket out, as long as she could save her friends, save Jim, she would be ok with her fate. 

She felt Jim join her with a hand on the staff, she heard him shout as he did so. The unbearable, excruciating pain of the portal ripping through her reduced a little as first Jim, then Toby, then Aaarrrgghh and Blinky and finally her little brother. It wasn’t enough, she knew even with them trying to take on some of the load, that this would still be her death. 

The swirling purple cloud swept out from the staff, encircling all of the trolls in the Gyre Station and for just a moment the dark purple was replaced with glowing green. Then they vanished from the station to reappear hours later. 

“What’s this?” An older, wise sounding male voice said. 

“Another? Just like me?” Said a younger male voice. 

“You are mine, body and soul.” Hissed a woman’s voice that would come to haunt her nightmares in the weeks to come. 

Claire put her hand to her head. Ever since the portal she had been feeling off. She wasn’t sleeping, could barely keep food down, and she was constantly shivering. Her dreams had been strange and terrifying but she never remembered them other than a sense of horror when she awoke. 

She shook her head and reached for one of her textbooks in an attempt to distract herself. She watched in annoyance as the book fell and slammed into her bedroom floor, driving a spike of pain between her eyes. She huffed in annoyance and crouched down to pick it up… and her hand went right through the book like it wasn’t there. 

Claire could feel her hand tingling even as she was able to it through the book and through the floor beneath it. She was panicking, but rather than feeling her breathing pick up and her heart race, she couldn’t feel either. Her feet slipped through the floor and she started sinking as her panic grew even worse. 

“Hey, Big-Eyes! I- whoa!” NotEnrique galloped into the room to grab her shoulders and tried to pull her back into her bedroom. “Come on, Sis! The ‘rents are home! Can’t have you falling into the living room!” 

She took a deep breath, her first in who even knew how long and she pulled herself the rest of the way out of the floor. There was something glowing on her chest, but she ignored it as she forced herself to be solid, and breathe and for her heart to beat like it was supposed to. 

“Don’t tell anyone about this ok?” Claire asked her brother, even as she tried to still her shaking hands. 

There was a new guy in Arcadia Oaks. He didn’t stand out that much from any of the other high school students she had seen, but something about him seemed to pull her focus. She could feel the shadows around her swirling around her ankles as she narrowed her eyes at him. She watched him breathe out a small cloud of fog, look around in confusion, then zero in on her. 

She glared at him and gripped her collapsed staff tightly in one hand and a gaggletack in the other. He hurried over to her, a friendly smile on his face, but she didn’t trust that any more than she trusted his human appearance. 

“Hi! My name’s Danny!” The stranger said. He held out a hand for her to shake. 

“I’m Claire, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind holding this for me would you?” She thrust the gaggletack toward him. 

Danny looked at her in confusion before he took the horseshoe out of her hand. He twirled it on his finger for a moment before it slipped off and hit him in the head. As he scrambled to pick up the fallen horseshoe Claire could see strange, green glowing marks on one of his hands. They didn’t look too different from the black marks she could feel on her own hands. 

“Do you want your horseshoe back?” Danny asked as he rubbed the side of his head and offered her back the gaggletack. Claire took it, but kept her eyes narrowed at him. 

“Claire!” She startled as Jim called out to her. Only a moment later her boyfriend had his arm around her shoulders as he glared at Danny. 

“Well, I’m going to head out, Claire, you and I should talk soon. I might be able to help you out a little. I know what it’s like to go through all this by yourself.” Danny handed over his phone number and waved goodbye, giving Jim a wary look as he left. 

Jim had been suspicious and paranoid about Danny, but Claire finally convinced him to keep his distance while she met with the strange guy. There was just something about him that sang to her, <Same, Same, Same> his presence seemed to say. Whatever was happening to her since the Ultimate Portal, he seemed to know and maybe could help her. 

She had all but ordered him to wait for her signal rather than escort her to the meeting. He and Toby were around the block, if she texted or if they heard anything disturbing they would intervene immediately. She rolled her eyes, as long as she had the shadow staff she would be fine, and for some reason she didn’t think Danny would threaten her. 

Danny had shown her the Litchenberg figures that crawled up his arm and told a very brief version of his accident with a portal to another world. Claire just as hesitantly showed him the black cracks that now marred her arms, she could hide them when she wanted to, but anytime she didn't focus on them they reappeared. 

Apparently they were the same. Halfas. Half alive, half dead. An exclusive club of five now. The information just about knocked the breath out of her chest and she almost fell through the floor, except Danny was able to grab her and turn her solid again. 

“By the way would you like me to get rid of your passenger?” Danny asked, glancing at her eyes, seemingly to look into her soul. Was that something Halfas could do? Claire looked at him in confusion and he explained. “Looks like you might be partially overshadowed. Er, I suppose humans call it possessed.”

“I’m possessed? Yes! If you can get rid of it, do it!”  Claire hissed, terrified of what she might have brought back with her from the portal. 

Danny reached into her chest and pulled out a glowing golden orb before tossing it aside. Claire could feel more than hear the being scream as it left and she felt like a great weight she had been carrying since the portal was suddenly gone. 

“What was that?” Claire all but shrieked, desperately keeping her voice down so Jim and Toby didn’t storm the area.  

“I don’t know, but she was powerful. I don’t think you’ve seen the last of her.” Danny looked wary, his eyes tracking something Claire couldn’t see or sense before his face brightened. “But maybe you got to keep some of her powers, my girlfriend back home was possessed by an angry plant ghost and sense then has been able to influence plants around her. We think with enough practice she might be able to fully control them too.” 

Danny didn’t stay in Arcadia for long. After he showed her how to transform into her half ghost form, and wasn’t that a trip and a half, he left. He had his own responsibilities in a city called Amity Park in Illinois. However he promised to come if she called. 

She added him, Toby and Jim to a group chat where they could all vent and share memes about the supernatural problems they dealt with. Danny added his two best friends and apparent partners, Tucker and Sam. Claire was absolutely not taking notes on what it was like to have a polyamorous triad, even if she did send lots of questions about it to Sam. 

Her and Danny talked a lot about ghostly powers and the other halfas. She knew to be wary of Vlad Masters and that Ellie Phantom was Danny’s clone/daughter and was traveling the world. Apparently Dan Phantom was Danny’s alternate time-line future self who was on parole to see if he could be trusted in this timeline. She decided she didn’t need more information and vowed not to mess with time travel. 

Danny guessed she had a “shadow-core” and that was why shadows seemed to jump to her command when she was upset. They both went back and forth before they decided she was probably a protector spirit like Danny was. Her final thoughts before the portal had taken her life were about protecting her friends and the trolls. She was a little worried about how unhealthily codependent she was with Jim and Toby, but according to Sam that was par for the course, and that Danny would freak out if any of them were hurt while out of his sight. 

Life in Arcadia continued on in a terrifying way. Gruesomes swarmed to the city in anticipation of the battle to come. Claire was able to free Draal from Gunmar’s control with her ghost form. The Defenders of Arcadia raced to Merlin’s tomb, only to find the ancient wizard wasn’t dead. And now Jim was… Jim was… in a way him slipping out of her sight in the black potion Merlin had created felt just like her opening the portal. She didn’t think he was a halfa like she was, but in the same way, Jim’s life ended and would never be the same. 

Now Morgana was free and the Eternal Night was upon them. Morgana, who had possessed her, used her to revive Angor Rot. Morgana who was one of the most powerful sorceresses in history. She desperately hoped that Team Trollhunters would be able to defend the city and the world, but she also knew that sometimes you have to call for help. 

Danny and Team Phantom answered in a big way. Danny flew his team to California and worked to defend the citizens alongside the Trollhunters. Sam worked with the local plant life to restrain and trip the Gumm-Gumm hoard while Tucker focused on coordinating emergency services and the defense. 

Claire and Danny fought side by side while Jim fought Gunmar. The two of them were barely able to defeat Morgana, with Claire wresting full control of her shadow staff from Morgana before the two of them banished her to the Shadow Realm. 

Danny apologized profusely, he had wanted to get some help from the other ghosts but something was making them nervous and behave strangely. She wasn’t sure what that was about, but she told him he could call on her and the Trollhunters would answer. Blinky mentioned possibly creating a Gyre tunnel to Amity so they could travel back and forth easier. Toby and Tucker weren’t thrilled by that announcement.

Love this prompt. I think team Trollhunters and team Phantom would work together really well. They 've both got a self-sacrificial hero, a goth who gets possessed by a powerful enemy, and a best friend who the writers are desperate to pretend is straight. oh also an enemy who literally has two faces and unhealthy obsession with the hero's mom.

Also did you think about the fact that the by becoming a halfa, The Ultimate Portal has to kill Claire at least half way? Devastating. The parents will never forgive themselves.

I forsee team Phantom eventually retreating to Arcadia if the GIW /the Elder Fentons ever go too far. Leave the ghost hunters behind and retreat to magic and fucked up city. Also the number of people in this city who have two halves is extradinarily high. Jim, Claire, Danny, Aja, Krel, Varvatos, and all the remaining changelings.

Power levels: Baseline Danny is stronger than Morgana's possession. Danny and Claire are about even with full power Morgana, making it a tense but winnable fight. Ghost King Danny is about as strong as Merlin and Morgana working together, and about as strong as any of the Arcane Order individually, though I think the full order actually working together would be able to destroy even the Ghost King, just like the Ancients against Pariah Dark.

The events of 3:Below and Wizards would play out very differently with the help of Team Phantom and I doubt that Rise of the Titans would happen at all.

Thanks for the prompt! Feel free to send me more prompts!

[dynamitekansai]

WWE: EXCLUSIVE: After his big win on WWE Raw, Jey Uso thanks the WWE Universe for bringing out the fireflies.

[jimfirewoodsimp]

Jim : I’ve been dropping them the most insanely obvious hints for like a year now. No response.

John: Wow. They sound stupid.

Jim : But they’re not. They’re really smart actually. Just dense.

John: Maybe you need to be more obvious? Like, I don’t know… “Hey! I love you!”

Jim : I guess you’re right. Hey John, I love you.

John: See! Just say that!

Jim : Holy fucking shit.

John: If that flies over their head then, sorry Jim , but they're too dumb for you.

Jim : John.

[thegetdownrebooter]

The whites are turning on Caitlyn Clark for possibly being a democrat.

[redamanccys]

this was said about jenna fischer you have got to be kidding girl if she's mid what are we

[askjimdefroque]

Good :) We can get that lovely restaurant you like so much too. Also I hope you dont mind if on your next business trip I go to Deacon Benjamin’s house?

-Sherry 💍

The deacon?? I…I guess so, yeah?

[a-n-i-m-a-t-i-o-n]

You know maybe approaching Jim & Kates relationship from a more sibling-like connection would make the sequel’s story seem less cliche? And also keep with the familial themes from the first movie.