#prompt: alone

[thisapplepielife]

Written for @steddieholidaydrabbles.

A Wish His Heart Made (Or Some Shit)

Prompt Day 20: Alone | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Language | Tags: Post S4, Eddie Munson Lives, Escaping Hawkins, Starting a Whole Life on His Own

It's fucking cold. The asshole landlord never turns up the boiler enough to heat the entire building. Eddie bangs on the metal, the sound reverberating around the room, probably not doing anything other than fooling Eddie into feeling like he's doing something proactive to warm the place up.

The heat ain't coming upwards, not tonight, and Eddie knows he shouldn't have to wear gloves inside his own apartment, but that's where he's at presently.

Alone, on Christmas Eve. 

He had to work today, and so did Wayne, and it wasn't feasible for either of them to travel. It sucks. He got out of Hawkins, but there was a cost, and sometimes it feels pretty goddamn steep.

It's a shitty studio, in a shitty neighborhood, but it's his. He can afford it, barely, but that means he can stay away from Hawkins, and the townsfolk that nearly put his head on a pike. 

He's making coffee in an old, dirty maker he found at the thrift store that looks like shit but still works, when he hears pounding at the door. His rent is paid up, so either the landlord is pissed off about him banging on the radiator, or he's about to be murdered. 

Either way, both deadbolts are fastened, and he's not talking to anyone tonight. He's not in the mood. But the banging doesn't let up.

He approaches the door, gives it a thump with his fist, and yells, "What?!"

There's silence, then:

"Eddie? It's me. Us."

Eddie stills, "Steve?"

"And Robin," comes her voice, and his fingers barely work through the gloves and the cold, as he tries to twist the locks open.

It is Steve and Robin. 

Bags at their feet. 

"Merry Christmas," she says, and he nearly knocks her to the ground as he flies into her arms. She complains, but Steve doesn't, as he hugs him next.

It's a Christmas miracle. A wish his heart made, or some shit. 

He was lonely, and he manifested them out of thin air.

So. Eddie lets them into his studio that barely had room for one, let alone three. But they can make it work for a few nights.

Only, what was at first a few nights, has turned into months. Now, it's summer in the city, and they're worried about the heat in the opposite way.

His bed is in a small room that's not private at all. The pass-through cut into the wall wasn't an issue when he lived alone, but now it shows that this is a fucking small apartment. His bed is butted up to the wall, and they've moved the couch that Robin sleeps on the other side, so there's just a framed hole separating them.

Eddie and Steve share custody of the bed, just usually not at the same time. Robin deemed them too gross, too boy, to share with, and they can't afford the extra laundry to change sheets every time one of them sleeps in it.

Eddie doesn't mind crawling into sheets that have the lingering smell of Steve clinging to them. His crush, something he's tried to tamp down deep, has only grown since they've moved in.

Robin's on the couch, and Steve's sitting on the inside edge of Eddie's bed, both of them hanging towards each other in the open frame, as if they haven't seen each other in a million years. It's cute. He likes them being around, he really does. They're hardly ever all here together, so they've made the tight quarters work. Sure, sometimes Steve shaves while Eddie showers to both be on time, but that's unusual. Tonight, however, they're all home at once, and Eddie is trying to fall asleep with the warmth of Steve Harrington far, far too close as they share the bed. 

Steve's hand is on Eddie's thigh, and it feels like he's being ignited.

Eddie wakes up sweaty. Steve's laying across him, leg pinning him to the mattress. This isn't okay. This is torture, having Steve's warm breath hitting his neck. Eddie has to wiggle loose, get out from under him, but Steve's heavier than he looks. Solid, as their bare skin is glued together by sweat. 

Jesus H. Christ.

He died in the Upside Down. He's sure of it now. This isn't real life. No way. Steve Harrington would never be plastered to him in bed in any other scenario.

"Steve," Eddie says, "it's too hot."

Not that there's any place for him to go, and the only place he moves is closer. Eddie rests his hand against Steve's back. 

Steve stirs, and sits up looking through the wall, "Robin's gone. I can move to the couch."

Robin will be pissed off, but Steve's already climbing through the hole in the wall, his ass in Eddie's face before falling onto her couch with a thud. 

He pops back up, and looks at Eddie, "So, this is what Robin sees."

Eddie laughs, and leans against his side of the wall, elbow propped up, "It's like visiting a foreign land, huh?"

"Little bit," Steve answers, and smiles. They're still close, even with half of a wall between them. 

Eddie wants to say something, do something, but he doesn't want Steve to leave. He doesn't want to be all alone again. 

"I'm happy we're here," Steve says, and Eddie smiles, leaning closer.

"I'm happy you're here, too."

Steve lays his hand on Eddie's arm, and Eddie looks down at it. Hoping it means something. 

Eddie covers Steve's hand, and Steve grins, leaning towards him. His lips barely grazing Eddie's, like he's giving him an out, an easy exit, if he wants one.  

Eddie doesn't want an out, but it seems ridiculous that they're doing this now, a wall between them, but it feels easier. 

Steve moves to his knees, is basically hanging through Eddie's side of the window, hand tangled in Eddie's hair, kissing him like he's wanted to do it for ages.

Maybe he has. That'd make two of 'em.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @steddieholidaydrabbles and follow along with the fun!

Notes: I realized I wrote the radiator banging into two different prompts this year, lol, my brain must be calling out for me to watch Beaches, I guess.

[flammabel]

Cal Kestis Week: Tuesday day 3

Prompt: Alone

[wiisagi-maiingan]

You are allowed to exist alone in public btw. You're allowed to go to the movies alone and go out to eat alone and hang out in a park alone and go for a walk alone and whatever else. It isn't weird or creepy, it doesn't make you lonely or a loser or whatever. You are allowed to just exist as yourself.

[dippingmytoesin]

The Realm's Greatest Actor

Danny didn't mean to lie. He really didn't. Or, well, he did. But he didn't want to! He had no choice.

He wasn't great at lying, but he was amazing at acting.

So that's what he did. He acted, playing the part of a thousand-year-old king stuck as a kid. It was easy because it wasn't fully an act.

Danny had died. When he died, he was fourteen. His ghost stayed fourteen forever. His human half stopped noticeably aging at 18 or 19-ish. He has been a ghost for... 240 years? 245? Maybe a little more. And he has been the Ghost King for 235.

So, he acted the part. When he was summoned, he pulled out the theatrics. Chill the room, frost the floor and walls, maybe a little of the ceiling. Fancy cape, fancy crown, fancy fantasy king clothes. Presentation of what most expect.

But he was forever fourteen, so he needed a little... something more, if you will. Floating around, randomly appearing behind people, the occasional echoing giggle. A fae-like trickster, if you will.

So was his act. He would get summoned, decide whether to do the thing or not, maybe have a mostly harmless twist. Like making people make him food, or he turning the big bad into a squirrel, or whatever. A childish trickster, with the powers of a god.

He set up some rules for himself he didn't actually have to follow.

Don't go into a room before invited, but after even the slightest invitation, he could go whenever he pleased for the rest of eternity.

Shake hands to 'seal a deal' or, if they're really gross, snap. And when you shake, do way too much; fast and eager.

Whenever someone asks him to do something, ask for something in return. If they say no to what he asked, just huff and do the thing they asked anyway.

Laugh at random comments, and make random comments that make no sense. i.e, "Wow. The walls are so hungry here! You should probably paint them blue.

Sprinkle a little ice on random things, and anything he eats or drinks. Don't explain it, and maybe do it for some people he likes.

Randomly stare at things, and tap/poke a door knob before opening the door.

There were a few smaller things, but that was the gist of it. Random rules to throw people off his scent. Leave them wondering and curious.

So, when Danny is summoned to help with a world-ending threat by a bunch of heroes that remind him of when he was a kid watching cartoons, he helps. And he stays. But how long can he keep up this charade?

(Prompt- you're here!) (part 1)

[lotus-pear]

horrendously late entry for @luneariann’s dtiys!! congrats on one million ely i’m so proud of you <3

[emacrow]

When John Constantine died, he didn't think his last deal actually saved his soul.

Especially with a enormous room full of Gods, Demons, Faes and other being he swindled his soul with.

He didn't expect that deal with the Ghost King in the infinite realm for beating darkseid accidentally contaimnented his poor excused piece soul with ectoplasm to morph into a halfa when he died doing what he never thought he do last.

Save a kid from an illegal ectoplasm extraction from what would've cause the future to end later on.

The next thing he knows, he is in a giant room with all the entity he swindled, sitting on a red plush pillow. Feeling smaller than ever, looking at his tiny tanned pudgy baby hands before a loud whined was heard.

"Fuckin Infinite king got him."

"Yeah, fuck that, I'm not fighting the infinite king after what he did to Chaos last time. He can keep Constantine's stinky soul."

John could only stare in amazement and some twisted sense of shock as one by one, more and more entities were leaving the room, giving up their own contracts, some cursing or grumbling under their voices, even the one who swear she'll get him, could only gritted her teeth, and throw a cursing tantrum before throwing her own contracts on the floor before walking out the room.

Leaving John alone, sitting on a plush pillow with the main person who has caused all this..

Danny Phantom, who was sitting down, relaxed in mid-air, playing with a miniature newborn galaxy like it was a playdoh. White hair full of stars constellations as braids holder, face covered in stardust with a smug grin on his face.

"Why..?" John could only say softly. After all the trouble he cause with the infinite realm high king, he didn't expect this.

"You'd grown on me after accepting that deal to take out the ecto-acts, and seeing your cheese grated soul like that and knowing what going happen after you die. It was the least I could do, plus.." Danny said honestly, waving his hand a bit in gesture.

"Now, there are no excuses that I can't look in your cursed astronomy tower at the house of mysteries!" Danny said with his cheek beaming brightly.

John could only stare blankly for a moment before he started to giggles.. that giggles morphing to a full-blown out crying mixture laugh.

The tiny, purpled hair toddler sobbed like a baby for the first time in years, tears of overjoyed or overly emotional sense of relief that he escaped his own damnant thanks to one deal with a scrawny teen in a outhouse diner 3 years ago.

Hell, being turned into a 3 year old toddler halfa was a better thought than he had in mind, even at the expense of no alcohol for the next 14-18 years would be worth it.

Part 2 -> here

[stars-obsession-pit]

Danny’s ghost sense has been… weird.

It keeps going off at school without any ghosts being nearby. It does still alert him of the his typical adversaries, but at other times there’s just… nothing there. No ghost to fight.

And it can’t just be Amorpho in disguise, either; Danny has confirmed that they aren’t in the area. Nor are there any new faces that could be a ghost in disguise like Spectra had done.

At first, he assumes it must be a random power/control issue—he’s certainly had those before—but it keeps happening and Frostbite’s scans come back normal.

He can’t stand it. He starts making maps/notes of everything around him every time it happens to try to find any commonalities.

Eventually, he does. It seems like every “false positive” has gone off around a certain student (or at least weren’t confirmably not nearby). It was surprising—sure, he wasn’t close with them, but he hadn’t noticed anything amiss. If they’ve been replaced or possessed, the ghost is doing a very good job blending in. But even if they aren’t openly causing chaos, he can’t just let a possibly dangerous ghost go.

So he confronts the student as Phantom.

And they promptly break down sobbing.

They’d died, but came back as a ghost and decided to hide their corpse and pretend like nothing happened.

Danny… has no idea how to respond.

[bookwyrminspiration]

[puppetmaster13u]

You know what I need more of? The Batkids completely fucking with the Justice League and their rogues and coming up with stories for their existence.

Like I am talking about the creation of demigods sort of stories, like Loki sort of stories.

Duke has convinced all of Gotham that he's the Bat Signal brought to life and that's why he's never seen at night and why the signal literally doesn't work during the day. He's waiting giddily for the story to spread outside of the city.

The batkids have convinced half the League that Nightwing is quite literally Batman's lovechild with Justice. Hey, Constantine had a one night stand with the manifestation of a city and they've dealt with gods before, so surely it's not that surprising? Right???

I need more of the Batkids being little shits, of Alfred the-greatest-enabler Pennyworth backing them up and Bat(the-biggest-troll)man to never confirm the stories, but he doesn't deny them either.

[mischievous-thunder]

Wade's the only one who can handle you with expertise and without perishing, Kitty Princess!

[stealingyourbones]

Amity Parkers are super good at dealing with superhero and villain battles, getting out of the rubble, helping others get out, etc.

This doesn’t shock anyone. There’s so many cities that consistently deal with superhuman battles that millions of people around the world are used to it and know what to do during a battle. Hell, there’s even government standard safety drills in schools about villain attacks now.

They didn’t stand out for a long long while among crowds of other city goers trying to flee a battle scene.

That was until a green glowing android appeared out of nowhere defeating heroes and villains alike because their abilities were rare enough to be hunted by this mysterious newcomer. So far no known weapon is able to hit the being while intangible.

That is until one unassuming citizen pulls out a strange wrist ray contraption that seems to actually stun the creature for a few seconds.

NOW all eyes are on these citizens that once lived in Amity Park

[crow-crystal]

DP x DC PROMPT

Waylon didn't plan this. He didn't plan to meet a kid in the sewers, and he certainly didn't plan on adopting the little tyke. Then again, the toddler kinda adopted him first. Danny was obviously a meta or something. No normal kid looked like a strange mix of fae and animal. Though the kid was happily calling himself a crocodile anytime someone asked what he was nowadays. It wasn't too long after Waylon adopted (Danny refused to leave and started calling him dad, so he gave up and accepted his fate) that another kid appeared. She was a spitfire, that was for sure, a little red-headed werewolf named Jazz. She was only a bit older than Danny, too.

Tucker is a meta (You decide the powers) and visits the family in the sewers with new random tech he makes. He was reborn in a nice (eh) part of gotham. His family chose to reincarnate with him, so they knew everything. They're just happy to enjoy trying things and jobs they didn't get to last life.

Sam is rich, again, much to her loathing. She's the daughter of a couple owning a company that is mostly focused on making things clean the earth (only reason she isn't seething), and also, she's a meta with control over plants. Her parents are infact ghosts that the group had befriended that happened to be planning on reincarnating anyway. They don't remember everything. Not everyone was allowed that, (ghost king Danny had privileges to ensure he didn't ignore infinite realms issues. Stupid Observants.) So Sam gets along swell with her new parents, and Tucker does as well.

Danny and Jazz end up being the reason Waylon gets an apartment. Its in crime ally, but hey, it's better than the sewers. (They still go down to the sewers. It's still their territory, their haunt. Plus, Uncle Grundy is there!) It makes it easier for Tucker to visit. (Tuck and his parents' visit for Thanksgiving and Christmas, Waylon has adult friends now, yay!).

Yada Yada, after a year or two passes, Danny gets summoned, and the Justice League is too late to stop it. Baby Danny is in ghost king regalia, confused, but before the Justice League can do anything, Jazz has already ripped open a portal (thanks wulf and cujo) and the heroes are facing a VERY angry werewolf pup and a PISSED Waylon Jones who's too busy picking his tired and disoriented ghost kid up and letting Jazz climb up his back while growling at the heroes to do anything else. Batman, in a rare sense of smartness, let's them leave without a word.

Batman may or may not be arguing with Jason about interrogating them, but eventually doesn't as a way to appease Jason and bc he knows the tired dad look waylon has.

[seth-whumps]

the concerned team surrounds a badly hurt whumpee after a battle. their surroundings are still horribly dangerous, so whumpee can't lose it. not now, not here, not without risking lives. but with a burn that pulses like agony, or a wound stinging with corrosive acid, or a spear impaled half through the stomach, it's all they can do to clench their fists, loosely cradle their injury, and shut their eyes tight against the pain. too loud, and the whole team is in danger.

so, with teeth bared, they haul a high pitched, keening whimper up from the back of their throat.

the sound is pleading and uneven and through their normally calm voice, horrifically out of place. it's the final straw to the team that they need to get out, and soon. because whumpee never makes that sound.

(not unless they are desperately holding back a scream.)

[itsmedemibones]

I asked for requests, you get Maid Dress Golurk.

@drakeling-e I know this isn't what you meant. And yet. I genuinely enjoyed doing this.

[smileyobrien]

TEMPORAL MECHANICS 101 by Admiral Janeway

[emacrow]

Dani wasn't the only clone that Danny saved.

There were 3 other clones that were prematurely made, kind of stabled, but didn't look how Vlad wanted and were going to be terminated, in which Dani was desperate in the first place.

Three clones varieties mixed between his dna and ectoplasm between ages of 1-5 The panic danny had felt holding toddler that look like him except for a star birthmark his cheek while looking at Sam and Tucker with big pleading puppy blue eyes along with Dani.

Thankfully, Sam had a backup backup bunker plan already refurbished and full of food using her three month allowance in case things went bad with his parents, along telling jazz because she will full murder him if he kept four little possibly now his children/cousins/clones? away from her.

The juggling and balancing between fighting ghosts, raising little kids, and school alongside the GIW, Beating Pariah King, his future self and revealing to the town that he was Phantom to save the world was brutal to him, Sam, Jazz and tucker.

Thankfully, his parents accepted him, but the paranoia scratched at his brain to hide about his clones/kids and overpowered him to not say anything about his kids to them yet.

Then came clockwork and his crytic words and Crown of Fire and ring of rage nonstop appearing floating rather innocently following him.

He has tried everything at this point, stuffing it in his locker, putting it in a fenton ghost proof chest and dumping it into the distant deep lake, freezing it which only made it a crown of ice that drips snowflakes and the ring of rage into a ring with a aurora instead of a skull.

It took him half a day to figure out he accidentally became King of the Ghost Zone, which is also known as the infinite realm of the dead due to conquest after he accidentally commanded Ghost writer to tell him why the crown of fire kept following him like paulina before she knew he was Phantom.

Apparently, since he was the last one to take the final blow on Pariah King using everything he got, the crown took a liking to his protection/space core and decided that he would be king whether he like it or not.

He was clearly king material after he balanced everything he went through alongside raising 3 baby ghostlings, which was rather proud achievement.

Leaving Danny in control of an infinite realm of the dead alongside a much more infinite amount of paperwork now streaming to him, half of them being complain about a guy name constantine with overdue summonings now set to him instead of Pariah King on paused time.

What's next? Is the Justice League actually real?