Creepslayerz happened and then I ran into an 'imagine your otp' so this was born. I hope you enjoy! Also I'm offended that Eli isn't an available character to tag on this stupid site.

They don't share many classes, really only one if they don't count gym, but that small window of time is enough to talk about their creepslayerz business. It's become an almost daily thing too – they make plans in the few minutes before class officially starts or whenever the teacher leaves the room.

Only this time is different.

Eli twists around in his seat and says in a hushed voice, "Hey, Steve." He smiles and waits for the usual recognition, but there is nothing. However it isn't because he is dozing, no, he has a strangely adept ability to snap out of his sleep in an instant, especially when it comes to anything creepslayerz. This is something else. Right now Steve's shoulders are slumped as he rests his cheek against his knuckles and stares vacantly out the window. Eli frowns. "Um, Steve," he speaks a little louder and waves a hand in front of his friend's face.

Steve blinks as he notices something waving and the daze is broken. He shifts his gaze toward Eli. "Oh, hey, Eli. What's up?"

Eli's brow furrows for a moment before he bounces back "Creepslayerz business." He grins. "Have you caught any new creepers or seen anything suspicious we should check out?"

Steve shakes his head with a strange lack of energy. "I haven't been out much. Sorry." He shrugs. "Lot of homework."

"O-Okay." Eli lets it go and faces forward just as the teacher walks in. He doesn't stop thinking about it though. Steve always goes out, even without him. He has sports and parties and all kinds of other things that very much require going out. And he especially doesn't worry about homework – ever. Oh well, he'll just have to try again at lunch. They don't make a habit of sitting with each other, Steve insists it has to be this way to keep cover, but occasionally he can convince him to eat lunch together. Hopefully today will be one of those days.

…

Lunch comes around and after a not so quick trip through the line, Eli looks over the cafeteria to try and locate Steve. Within seconds he spots the familiar blonde hair, set off from the crowd. Well, that certainly makes this easier. He scurries toward Steve, ducking and weaving around people before he breaks through to the corner where the losers normally sit. There is no one here now though. Steve's presence probably scared them all off. No one else knows that he isn't so bad.

Eli plops down in front of Steve. "What'd you get?" He looks between Steve and his plate. He keeps it light, but he can't help but worry about the fact Steve chose this seat. No one chooses this seat. Sure, it made talking to him easier, but he can't ignore the red flags this choice sets off.

"Pizza." He shrugs before picking up his slice and nibbling on it.

Eli chews on the inside of his cheek. That response is another bad sign. The few times he has eaten lunch with Steve he only answers in one of two ways – over the top as if he is some kind of play and gruffly, mocking Eli's interest in his food. It's just food, nothing special about it. While Steve can be a bit simple-minded, he does not give simple answers. Moreover he does not take small bites. Never ever. "Are you, um, feeling okay?"

Steve makes a point to take a bigger bite from his food. "Yeah, just fine." He doesn't even bother to put on a smile. "Just tired I guess. From all our stuff."

Eli makes a soft sound beneath his breath. Steve spoke with such disinterest it was hard to stop himself from looking offended. Their stuff. Stuff. That's how Steve refers to homework, his parents, or whatever nasty goo they may have been splattered with from their missions. But never does he talk about their creepslaying like that. He is so not fine. "Well, then you should definitely eat. Eating boosts energy, helps you focus, and even improves your mood! Although fish would have been a better choice than your pizza because of the omega-3 in it. Better in the long term. " Maybe he should outright say that Steve is in fact not alright, but he isn't all that receptive to confrontation, especially of the emotional variety.

A smile twitches at Steve's lips. "Alright, Brainiac. I'll eat more fish or whatever."

Eli brightens at even the smallest sign he might be breaking through the cloud hanging over Steve. Still, it's clear whatever is bothering Steve is far from gone. That smile won't last long.

…

At the end of the day Eli rushes from the school to catch up with Steve. He finds him in the parking lot on the way to his Vespa. "Steve!" he calls. His pace evens out once he reaches Steve's side. "I was wondering. Do you want to come over today?" He smiles, but he watches Steve carefully all the same.

Steve frowns and averts his eyes. "I don't know…"

Eli leaps in front of him. "Come on," He strikes a pose. "Creepslayerz." He waves his hands as he grins from ear to ear.

Steve puffs out a laugh. "You dork." He rolls his eyes, but his smiles betrays him. "I'll come." He gets on his Vespa. "Get on."

Eli hops on and takes hold of Steve's shoulders and then they're off.

It takes them no more than a few minutes to get from school to Eli's house, much faster than any bus could ever hope to be. Honestly Eli would rather do this every day if he could convince Steve, but he hasn't quite managed that. Again an issue with breaking cover.

They head straight to Eli's room and he prepares to settle on the bed until Steve deviates from the path.

Steve takes a seat in the floor at the foot of the bed. "Hey," his voice is soft, "you think we could do something different, like a game or something."

Eli blinks and stares curiously at his head, unable to see his face from where he stands. "Y-Yeah, sure!" They play games occasionally, but it is definitely not their norm. Steve just gets weirder and weirder as this day goes on. "What do you want to play? Madden? Killer Instinct? Mortal Combat? Speed?" He nods as he offers the final option. It is just about the only game that isn't a video game he was able to get Steve to play. Mostly Steve refuses anything but fighting or sports games.

Steve shrugs. "Chess?"

Eli's face goes blank. Okay, Steve is broken. For sure. Many, many times Steve has sworn up and down he would never, ever play chess or any of his nerd games with him. Well…who is he to look a gift horse in the mouth. "I'll get that!" He scurries to his desk and grabs the game from the shelf. When he comes back he sits on the floor across from Steve. "I'll be black," he says as he sets up. "That means you go first."

"Cool." He drags a pawn two spaces.

Eli moves one of his pawns to match.

They go back and forth like this for a while, much longer than was necessary. Eli could have beaten Steve into the ground with four or five moves easily. Steve is far too distracted to be any real challenge. He simply allowed the game to go on.

Steve sighs and leans back against the footboard. He closes his eyes and crosses his arms almost as if to hug himself. He remains quiet for a long moment. Then he says, "I hate myself."

Eli starts. "What?" He stares wide eyed. Did he seriously just say that? Why? Is this what has been on his mind all day, eating away at him? His thoughts buzz as he searches Steve's face for an answer.

Steve says nothing. He doesn't even move.

Eli frowns and his brows knit together. "Well…" he rubs his finger and thumb together as he mulls this over. "That's okay." He doesn't need an answer. Not today. It is enough that Steve admitted this at all. He crawls over to Steve's side.

Steve blinks and confusion creases his face. He glances at Eli, not sure what to expect.

Eli leans his head against Steve's shoulder. "I'll just have to love you enough for both of us." He smiles up at Steve. "Until you can see yourself the way I do."

Steve's expression softens and a light flickers to life in his eyes. "Thanks," he whispers. He wraps an arm around Eli's shoulder in a loose hug. "I needed that."

"Anything for a creepslayer." For him.

Instead of making a separate story for every small idea I have for these two I'm just going to add to this story. So like I said in the summary it will be more of a series of drabbles rather than an overarching story. Thus it won't necessarily be chronological either, you can read these chapters in basically any order. Also, you can take this as shipping or just friendship, it can go either way. I hope you enjoyed! Please review.